By the direction of the law-giver, with their slaves— Houbigant renders this verse, This is the well which the princes digged; which the nobles of the people digged in that place which their staff assigned, or pointed out. The Hebrew is, word for word, says he, in indicio facto per baculos ipsorum; expressing, that the princes with their staves marked out the ground where the well might be found. Syrus gives nearly the same translation, et indicaverunt eum baculis suis; and they shewed it with their staves. Those who follow our version understand the meaning to be, either that the waters sprung up with such ease and speed that the princes no sooner directed with their staves where to dig than their labours were successful; or that the princes, and those who bore staves, the badges of dignity, joined with the multitude in digging it.
They went to Mattanah— Le Clerc takes this to be the same place with that called Vaheb; Numbers 21:14 for vaheb in Arabic signifies a gift, as matthan does in the Hebrew.