BS\Z35 .A38S COPM I THE BOOK OF GENESIS, PART OF THE BOOK OF EXODUS g^ -"»- God called the light Day, and the darkness he_called A: Night. And it was evening, and ij; was morning; one 7ki*cfCU) ing of lif>lit and darkness, of waters above and waters below, of earth and seas, of day and night. Then we have the general before the elementarj" creation, the elementary before the special. It is in vain to inquire scientifically, as some have done, of what kind this tirst-created light was. We ai'c not here in the realm of science, nor is the anthropomorphic arrangement of this Divine revelation of the facts of creation to be set parallel with our upward feelings after the ways and works of the God of Nature. 4.] Tlie oversight and ap- proval by God of each of the works of cre- ation, as made, is recorded again and again, in the spirit of the whole narrative, ac- cording to the analogy of human workman- ship. But not only so. The sacred writer has' it, from the first, in his purpose to affirm the absolute goodness of the Divine works : and this formula is only another and a more detailed method of saying that all creation followed the behest and the cha- racter of its maker. Himself all good. and God divided] As above noticed, this divimon, this specific arrangement out of confusion, is the general character of these former days of creation. The scientific in- quiry how this division wore possible without the heavenly bodies, whose creation follows on the fourth day, is both a misuse of science and a misunderstanding of the narrative. No such matter-of-fact priority is here in question ; light and darkness, as here spoken of, are not merely dependent on the presence or absence of the sun, but are phenomena of human sense and objects of human thought, distinct from each other. That they are so, is the effect of the creative act of God. By what arrangements lie made provision for their alt-crnution, does not enter here. Between the light and the darkness is literally, between the light and between the darkness. 6.1 Here, again, we sec the spirit of the narrative. We are still on the ground of purely elementary and general distinction, and the words will not bear pressing into literal accuracy. It is not always day where tliere is light, nor always night where there is darkness. But God made light to be the distinguisliing mark of day, and darkness of niglit. Tlie olijcction tliat the eflicient causes of the succession of day and niglit have not yet been mentioned as created —as it does not stand in the way of the sacred M'riter, so neitlier should it in oni-s. This, again, is not enough remembered. The sacred writer could speak of this division : he could imply this succession through three days and a half ; and yet he had no scruple to record after all this (ver. 14), that God said, Let there be lights . , . to diridc the day from the niyht. Surely we are not called upon to be wiser than he was, nor to reconcile that as a dilference which was none to him. He had reason for writing as he did; and the question for us is, What was that reason ? By God calling tlie light Day, &c., is implied that God made the light (as above) to be the distinguishing mark of that which we call Day, &c. and it was evening . . .] This, which is, as it were, the burden or refraii), of the six strophes in the narrative, is especially instructive, as it here occurs for the first time. For how shall we seek, if _we are to seek, to press it in this case to a literal interpretation ? There can be none, unless indeed the pri.n- eval darkness is to be taken as the evening) and the creation of light as the morning. And if that be so, then surely all attempt at literal interpretation is at an end. For neither was that darkness an evening, nor that light a morning, except in a sense al- together figurative and non-literal ; and hardly even then, for evening darkens on- ward into night ; which could in no sense be said of that primeval darkness ; for it brightened into morning. From tliis con- sideration alone it would follow that the idea of a common day of 24 hours being intended, is quite foreign to the purpose. But this consideration does not stand alone. Such an hypotliesis would be involved in the absurdity of limiting God's rest on the seventh day to a day of the same length, whereas we know that that rest is enduring. Again, let it bo observed that tno whole notion of equality of endurance, or of close succession, of these " days " of creation, is GENESIS. i••/{»#<. f^ that it teas good. ^'^ And ij; was evening, and it was J^^(^'^ morning ; a third day. i'^ % And God said. Let there be bly, because we arc not at a point of com- pletion ; the upper and lower waters are separated, but on earth it was not yet good, for the dry land had not appeared. 9 — 13.] The third day's work : the r-EY LAND and THE SEAS : and vegetatiox. Observe the symmetry of the whole. This third day, on which plants were made, answers to the sfxth, on which animals and man were created. 9.] The earth was as yet a mere watery desert. It was necessary that the land and water should be separated, before the products of the earth could ap- pear. Kalisch well remarks, " "NVe have no right to ask how vegetation could exist and thrive before the creation of the sun ; ac- cording to the biblical statement, the world and its contents were miraculously formed by the will of God ; they are not the result of mere natural laws :.and that order of the days seems just designed and intend- ed to teach that tlie vegetation was called forth by the Omnipotence of God, and not by the influence of the solar rays." 10.] In the poetical expansion of this brief account, Ps. civ. 5 — 9, the method of this division between water and dry land is de- scribed to be the ascending of the moun- tains and subsidence of the valleys, and the consequent " parting" of the waters to the latter. See also Prov. viii. 24—29. But, as Kalisch again observes, we are not by either of these descriptions set at unity with the conclusions of science. The con- tinents and seas have not always been rela- tively fixed ; and the rock formations, even beneatb the ocean, are not only full of animal and vegetable fossil remain!?, but are themselves evidences of long ages , of deposit wlien they formed part of conti- nents. " We have willingly renounced," he continues, " the attempt to discover that harmony [between Scripture and Science] ; and both science and biblical exposition will gain by this candid understanding." 11.] Let the eartb bring fortb represents the endowing of the earth with power so to do. It is disputed, whether here two or three kinds of vegetable productions are specified. Some believe the first, here ren- dered grass, to represent vegetation in gen- eral, and to include the two subordinate kinds, the herb and the fruit-tree. Others, and it seems to me with more probability, regard the first as pointing to the universal covering of the earth, which, as was ancient- ly believed, was of spontaneous growth without seed, while the second and third specify the herbs or "vegetables" which are propagated by seed, and the race of trees which bear both seed and fruit. above (upon, A. Y.) the earth.] It is doubtful, again, whether these words represent the stature of the tree rising above the earth, as distinguished from that of the herb and the grass, — or belong to all the varieties of vegetation mentioned. The former view is supported by the use of the same He- brew expression in ver. 20, "that may fly above the earth ;" I have therefore kept the same rendering here as there. 14 — 19,] The fourth daijs work : the heavenly bodies. From this point, the second half of Creation's week begins : the GENESIS. y ^ J Job iii. 3. J.T. X. 2. Mjtt. %\\' k So I.. 2. i. XV. 3 ; xxix. 39. Ps. civ. 19. Jer. »iii. IJoh xxiviil. 33. •-y m So ch. ix. 7. r^ / Tf Kxod. i. 7. •7 '»*'SnSoLev.v.2; ' xi. 29, &c. Uglits in tlie expanse of the heaven to divide' between the day and the night ; and let them bo for J signs, and for ^ seasons, and for days, and years : ^'^ and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heaven to give light upon the earth : and it was so. ^^ And God made the two great lights ; the greater light to ^ rule the day, and the lesser light to ^ rule the night : he made the stars also. ^" And God set them in the expanse of the heaven to give light upon the earth, '^^ and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness : and God saw that it was good. ^^ And it was evening, and it was morning ; a fourth day. -^ And God said. Let the waters ™ swarm with "moving crcaturcg that "have life, and let fowl fly above the earth (-towards the expanse of times of the ntiljation of birds (Jer. viii. 7, divisions of it answering to those of the first half. On the first day light was made: on the fourth, it is divided into its various vessels for the use of the world. On the second, the expanse of heaven was arranged, dividing the waters : on the fifth, the waters and the air are peopled with the winged tribes. On the tliird, the land and its vegetation is called into being : on the sixth, animals to people that land, and feed on its products ; and, lastly, man, for whom all is made. Observe, again, that in this section all is geocentric, related from the position also of man, with reference to this earth only, and as judged of by man's eye and measurement. Of astronomy or its facts there is here not a word, 14. lights] Ixmiiwrks, reposi- tories of light. for signs, &c.] Tluse terms have been variously interpreted. Ka- lisch thinks the most likely understanding of them, " for signs of the seasons, days, and years ; " but Knobel and Keil, as it seems, more probably take " signs " as importing the to- kens given by the heavenly bodies, which are so^ often mentioned in Scripture (see rcff.). seasons] not merely times naturally marked, or days and years would not be also specified, but festal times ; the word is de- rived fi"om a verb signifying to constitute, to appoint: seerctf., in all which places the same Hebrew noun occurs, and is thus ren- dered in A. v., except in Ps. civ. 19, where it is *' He appointed the moon for seasons." Other appointed times, having reference to man or beast, may also be included, as the where A. V. thus renders the word), the rut- ting-time of beasts, the periods of women, &c. days and years need no explan- ation. 15.] Ob-erve, all these services of the heavenly bodies are for the earth and for man. Of aught else there is no account taken. 16—18.] The final words of this verse in the Hebrew arc simply, — "and the stars." Notice, again, how the myriads of fixed stars, and firmaments, are spoken of merely with reference to ffii'iny light upon the earth, and to serve man's purposes. " Biblical astronomy is derived from mere optical appearance ; the eye alone is the judge ; the moon is represented as the se- cond of the great heavenly orbs, and as a luminous body ; the stars are nothing else but her companions ; and their only end is to shed their chaste lustre on our small planet." Kalisch. 20—23] The fifth dag's u-orl: : FISHES AND Binus. 20. Let the waters] As on the second day of the first triad, tlie waters below were separated from the waters above, and the expanse of air was constituted be- tween the two ; so on this, the second day of the second triad, those waters and air were peopled with living creatures. Observe, this is the first introduction of animal life : creation rising in a climax from the lowest to the highest. teem with] It is im- possible to represent exactly the force of the Hebrew. The verb and the following sub- stantive have the same sound, which feature cannot be preserved in English. The verb 15—26. GENESIS. heayen. 21 ^^(J Qgd p created the ffreat i wliales, and every living creature that moveth, with which the waters teem abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind : and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and mul- tiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let ^ fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And it was evening, and it was morning ; a fifth day. 24 ^ And God said, Let the earth britig forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things', and beast^ of the earth after their kind : and it was so. 2o And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and all the creeping things' that creep^upon the '^'ground after their kind: and God saw that it icas good. 26 ^ And God said, Let us t&jjit^ p"vrr. 1,'rpfr. q Exod. vii. 9. I^;.. xxMl. 1. , See Ezek. A/X«vi ( xxxii.2. J«r / •';- ^ rSoch. ii. 19- efT eTt/ Exod. XX. 21. I K I is probably not to bring forth abundantly, but to creep, or creep \_w{th\ i. e. to sivarm [with] : it is used of the frogs in Ex. viii. 3, the river shall swarm [with] frogs ; and of men in reff. The substantive derived fi-oni the verb usually denotes creeping things (rcif.). "Plainly," says Quarry, "it is the similarity in the manner of moving, ■with a wavy or serpentine action of the body, that gives rise to the double use of the word, ■while the signification ■5\'hich the verb has, to swarm, or produce abundantly, is plainly derived from the abundant offspring of such creatures, the numerous fry of fishes or young of worms being perhaps the chief ground for this use of the word. It is em- ployed here for the sake of the alliteration, which cannot be preserved in a translation without departing from the .sense of eitlier the verb or the noun." that have life] literally, a living- soul, where soul repre- sents the animal principle, the vital element: see in ch. ii. 7. There is no trace in the original of the fowl being created out of the water, as the A. V., by inserting that, '•'■fowl that may fg," gives. towards the expanse] Literally, to the face of the ex- panse, i. e. to the under face, which is turn- ed towards us. There may be, as some have thought in classing both fishes and birds under one, as moving creatures, reference to the similarity of their motion ; birds swim- ming in the air with their wings as fishes ■with their fins in the water. 21. Great whales] The word thus rendered is derived from a verb signifying extension, and is used to denote any great monsters ; as, e. g. ser- pefits, ref. Exod. : crocodiles, ref. Isa. : dra- gons, ref. Jer. No scientific clas.sification must be thought of; " the Hebrew term de- notes both mammifer and non-mamraifer." Kalisch. 22.] Here we first hear of a blessing, and a command to multiply ; for here we first have the power of spontaneous propagation. The words in the earth are a testimony against the connection of the creaticm of the fowls with the xcaters. 24 — 34.] The sixth claysicork: the ani- mals OF THE EARTH, AND MAN. Ou this third day's work of the second triad of the week, see above, on ver. 14. living creatures] The same expression as before, living soul : expressing the complex idea of all creatures thus brought into being, that they had animal life. They are sub- divided into three classes: cattle — the non- predaceous, graminivorous animals : beasts of the earth, — the beasts of prey, and creeping things, worms and reptiles. 25.] The word rendered ground is not that which has been rendered earth throughout the liistory, but is Adamah, soil, the term cognate to Adam (see ou both, ch. ii. 19). 26—28.] This is the first instance of more than one ' saying ' of God duriug the creative day. Let us make] This plural form of deliberation has been variously inter- preted : — (1) The idea of a Trinitarian ex- planation lay too close to the inclination and the practice of the Christian Fathers, and those who in modern times have followed them, not to draw them aside. But any such .V GENESIS. t/T/ make man in our ** image, after our * likeness : and let sch. T. 3; ii. 6. 1 Sam. vi. 5, \yi.\" ' them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the t 2 Chron. iv. 3. J i,a.xi.ib. j^Q^^Y of the heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over the creeping things that creep^upon the intimation here would be in the hig^hest decree unnatural and incongruous. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which lies at tlie very root of the New Covenant, was gradually and insensibly opened even in the Old Test- ament. But to discover, in such expressions as this, inlets into the secrets of the Godhead, is to violate the proportion and analogy of faith. (2) Some have thought it the plural of majesty : against which it is urged as an objection, that the repetition of the plural again "/« our imaije, in ovirli/icness," seems to rcciuire a deeper reason than one of mere form ; or (3) of agreement with the plural form of Elohim,— which cannot stand, seeing that in ch. xi. 7, we have the same deliberative plural connected, not with the plural form Elohim, but with the singular Jehovah; or (4) of commtniica- tion, understanding that God took counsel with the heavenly powers. But tliis, though adopted by the Jewish Targums and I'liilo, and by the Christian Delitxsch, would both be unbetitting, and is contradicted by what follows : for man was not created in the image of the angels as well as in that of God, but in that of God only ; or (o) of mere superfluity, having no meaning at all,— which hardly needs refuting ; or (0) as an address to that personified Wisdom of God which; is said (i'rov. viii. 22, tf.) to have been present with God at the creation : but this in its bare form would be liable to the same objections as lie against the Trinita- rian '.explanation ; or (7) of pure deliberation, one who deliberates being both speaker and spoken to, and thus having a kind of double personality. This last view is that of Ka- lisch, who refers to ch. xi. 7, above noticed, and to Ezra iv. 18, vii. 24 (which two seem rather the regal jjlural of majesty). I am inclined to think that the habit, testified by the name Elohim, and cor- rected by its usage with singular verbs and adjectives, of connecting plurality, perhaps for the sake of majesty, with the idea of God, would in some measure account for this plural. And it would be no objection, that the same plural occurs with the singu- lar Jehovau in ch. xi. 7 : because the idea would there rule the deliberative expression, as here. Then, again, do the phrases " in our iiniffe, m our likeness," necessarily re- quire any more profound account than this ; they must necessarily follow the form of the preceding, 'i'his shadowed ideal plurality might, as Laugc well reminds us, not be altogether unconnected witli the fact that besides God, the spirit of God has been already mentioned. The fact of Divine deliberation here, and here only, in- terrupting the continuous flow of God's creative acts, sufficiently indicates the -solemn- ity of that which is to follow. Earth and earth's tribes were prepared ; but now there is a king to be set over them, —one like them, but also unlike them : a complex being, made up of the dust of the earth and of the image of God. We may observe, once for all, that the word here rendered man is Adam, as throughout the whole history of the fall, I have followed Kalisch's example, and have not changed it into a proper name, till we arc beyond this portion of Genesis, and he is distinguished in the gcneal>i;its from other men. in our image, after our likeness] The former substantive means priniarilv, a shadow; hence a sketch, or effigy, or image (see reff.) : the latter is lit- erally rendered (reff.). The distinction between these two phrases, much maintained of old, viz. that the former applies to the physical, the latter to the eth- ical side of man's likeness to God, appears to be groundless. They are far more proba- bly synonymous. Luther has rendered them "an image which may be like us." That the two words do not difier in meaning, is shown by their indiscriminate use, the for- mer in ver. 27 and in ch. ix. 6, and the latter in eh. v. 1, where the same thing is evidently meant. This likeness consists not in his nobler external form, — for God has none ; not in his imperial rule over earth and her inhabitants, — for this would be only a consequence of his likeness to God ; — but in his superior spiritual nature, which he has by direct communication from God, as the parallel account, ch. ii. 7, gives it. This spiritual nature, when free from sin, reflect- 26—11. 2. GENESIS. u vcr. 1, refF. rUL^' earth. ^7 go God " created man in Lis^ image, in tlie image of God ^ created he him ; male and female ^^ created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it : and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth. 29 ^ And God said. Behold, I have gi^en you every herb bearing seed, which yiUUt^jf is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed ; to you it shall be for foody ^^ ^nd to every beast of the earth, and to »^»^'/ ^j every fowl of the heaven, and to every thing that creep- eth upon the earth, wherein tltej'e is life, I have rjircn every ^ '^ green herb for meat: and it was so. ^i And God saw '' ^"^^vii: ^^l'''"'- ever3[_thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very '* - good. And it was evening, and it was morning ; the sixth day. II. 1 And the heavens' and the earth were finished, and all the '^ host of them. ^ And on the seventh day God .. i ed in small the spiritual nature of God him- self. When sin intervened, it lost its purity and dignity, its holiness and blessedness, but not its basis and form. Christ is the restorer again to it of the Divine image, Col. iii. 10 ; Eph. iv. 24. The words all the earth are rendered by the Syriac version, and are by some commentators understood to imply, the beasts of the earth or of the forests. Otherwise, they are not specified in this catalogue. 27.] The repetition gives solemnity and importance — the fact was as God in His deliberation had proposed it. male and female created he them] There is no absolute assertion here that one pair alone were first created : but it follows in the Jchovistic narrative, ch. ii. 7, 22 ; and is implied in the Elohistic of ch. v. 3. There is no reason to infer from these words that both sexes were at first united in the man, as some have supposed. This account is independent of the details which follow in ch. ii., and speaks generally. But evident- ly in the form of this narrative, both sexes were created on the sixth day, so that the Jehovistic account, ch. ii. 4, must be re- garded not as consecutive on this, but as complete in itself, and beginning from the first. — It has been observed that the paral- lelism of style begins at this verse, and gives to it a kind of jubilant character. 28.] The blessing of man and the declaration of his prerogative of dominion next follow. The blessing is double : that of fruitfulness they share with the fishes, fowls ; that of dominion is peculiarly their own. 29, 30.] The assignment of food to man, and the animals. It appears from this, that vegetable diet alone was originally assigned to man, the vegetable world being shared between him and the inferior animals ; man taking the seed-bearing trees and plants, and the animals the "green herbs," literally, the green of the herb. Traditions of the same fact are found in various Gentile writers of Greece and Rome, and the ancient practice of Egypt, India, and Syria agrees thereto. life is literally " a living soul." 31.] The approval, given separately to each day's work before, is now not repeated for that of the sixth day, but is spread over the whole, and the approval is intensified by the addi- tion of very. The latter clause stands liter- ally a day, the sixth. II. 1.] Gtnicral summary. The word rendered host is generally used of the heavens alone. In ref. Xeh., we have the expression more conformed to ordinary usage. In ref. Isa., the word rendered armies in A. V. is the same : see note there 10 GENESIS. II. y Exod. xxiii. 25. Job i. 10. Ps. Ixv. 10 i ended his work wliicli he^made ; and lie ^ rested on the seventh day from all his ■work which he^made. ^ And God y blessed the seventh day, and ^ sanctified it : because that on it he rested from all his work which he * created and made. ^*^ ' Prov. ill. 33. ' / I Lev. xii. ». Jucl i. U. ach. i. l,nff, "inilij'ix'v.' ■* IT ^ These are the venerations of the heaven^ and of 12, IS i xxxvi. ° ; 1, ». Num. Ui. 1. Buth iv. 18. 1 Chron. i. 29. Sec ch. v. 1. 2, 3.] God's rest on, and blessing of, the seventli day. Tlare is no ditliculty in the asstrtiou that God ended His work on the seventh day. As Keil well remarks, this ending liad two aspects, — negative, in leaving oil' creating, and positive, in blessing the seventh day. The Samaritan I'cntateuch, as also the LXX., reads sixth for seventh, doubtless on account of the apparent dilii- ciilty. Otlicrs, as Kaliseh, understand ended as a pluperfect, had ended: but tliis hardly seems necessary. rested] Ceased to work, sec Lam. v. 14, 15, where the A. V. renders the vtrb by cease. In none of those places is there any implication of rest owing to weariness, but merely of abstaining from doing what was done before. Still, although •we know that the Creator of the ends of the earth is not weary, Isa, xl. 23, it would be vain to deny that by the very terms here the human idea of rest after work is suggested, and was meant to be suggested. Tlie record of creation, which throughout suits the Divine acts to man's ways of thought, here gives the most notable example of tliis pro- cedure, in the Almiglity worker resting from His work. It was to guard against the literal acceptation of this, that our Lord asserted against the Jews, " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work," John v. 17. 3.] blessed is the same word as before in cb. i. 22, 28. Here it is left to be explained by wliat follows. Its usage with regard to inanimate things will be found in relf. sanctified] Set apart as holy, "separated it from tlie other days, and gave it a higher signiticancc," as Knobel. This higher signiticance was not fully brought out till the giving of the Mosaic law: though there are traces of the recurrence of the day being observed in pre-Mosaic times: see on ch. iv. 3; viii. 10, 12. It is useless to deny that the intent of this ordinance, solemnly completing as it did the work of creation, was to be coeval with mankind, the appoiuted lords of the world thus finished. But it is, by this very con- sideration, and the reason on which it rests, equally futile to suppose that any subsequent circumstances could change the day thus to be observed. "We cannot first say that this- sanctification of the seventh day isbindiiiij > u all men in all time, because its ground > - ii- cerns God's rest after creation, and then transfer that obligation to another daj% to which no such reason applies. With the stricter Mosaic sanctions of the day, we Christians have no concern : but its signifi- cance as commemorative of God's rest has no more passed away for us than the signilieancc of the rainbow or any other fact naturally re- curring which has been by God clothed with sacred meaning. That the Christian Church has seen tit to observe as a sacred day the Jirst which witnessed the resurrection of our Lord, is a matter resting on wholly dilferent grounds, and not to be referred to this or- dinance for its sanction : a practice which in the purer times of the Church, and by bcr best authors, was consistently repudiated. To confound the two is to destroy the land- marks of the symbolism of creation and of the kingdom of grace. " The Church," says Delitzsch well, " keeps the Sunday ; but the Sabbath remains the blessed and hal- lowed Day of Days." created and made] Literally, created to produce, or created producing : a frequent Hebrew mode of speech, used constantly in such phrases as "spoke saying" (lit. spoke to speak), Exod. vi. 10, al.,— "laboured to do," Eccl. ii. 11, &.C. II. 4— III. 24.] Second account of the creation of tlie ivorld and of man : Pakadi.-• 16; xi. 2, retr. sxxvii. 2. wlien they were created] Lit., in their creation. litre the first mem- ber of the sentence apjicars to end : not as in A. V. So Kalisch. But see Num. iii. 1, ■ffhich seems to favour the other construction. In the day that] It is not necessary, as some have done, to suppose that we must take the word day literally (see reff.), so as to create a discrepancy between this and the former account. 5.] Literall}-, and every plant of the field was not yet in the earth, and every herb of the field sprouted not yet : i. e. the earth was as yet void of .vegetable life. This might be taken as de- noting a point in ch. i., corresponding to the middle of the third day, were it not for the reason which follows : viz. that the earth was as yet dry. In ch. i. the waters at first covered the whole, then (ver. 9) were gathered into one place and the dry land appeared. In that case the "dry land," having but newly emerged from the water, would not be in want of rain. ' It is lament- able to see commentators attempting, by quibbling on mere words, to deny a substan- tial difference like tliis. Thus it is said that because the land is called '\dry " there, the account is in accord with this which affirms dryness of it. But who does not see that the term "dry (land) " there is merely one of distinction from " water," and has absolutely nothing to do with the intrinsic quality of the earth composing such land ? On the difference between the earth "dry" and "dried," see note on ch. viii. 14. 6, a mist] The word is rendered by the LXX. and the ancient Syriac version, a fountain : but this appears to be incorrect. The moisture rose in vapour, and fell in rain, for so it is implied. 7. The creation of the man] Thus one of the hindrances to vege- tation was removed ; and now the other is to be taken away. One is to be supplied to till the ground. formed] fashioned, shaped : the word is used in reff". Isa., of workmen forming an image, of weapons formed, of the work of a potter. a living creature] see reff., where the Hebrew words are pre- cisely the same. The description is not one bringing out any distinctive attribute of man, but simply one describing tlie animation of the form shaped out of the dust of the earth, whereby he became, what in ch. i. the various tribes of created things are described as be- coming, a living being. The difference, whatever it may be, between him and other living creatures, is not declared in this term, but would be deduced from the agency whereby he was endued with life. Into no other creature do we read that God breathed the breath of life. This verse seems plainly referred to in Job xxxiii. 4. See also Isa. xlii. 5. 8 — 15. The garden of Eden, a garden] This word is rendered in the LXX. and Vulgate a paradise, — that name being one common to the Semitic languages (occur- ring in Neb. ii. 8 ; Eccl. ii. 5 ; Cant. iv. 13) to signify the gardens which surrouuded the palaces of kings and the wealthy : see 2 Kings XXV. 4 ; Jer. xxxix. 4. in Eden] The word signifies pleasure or delight ; and is thus used in Ps. xxxvi. 8 ; 2 Sam. i. 24. Hence the Vulgate here renders " a garden of 2)leasure," and so the LXX. in ver. 15. But by comparing ch. iv. 16, there can be little doubt that it is here used as a proper name, and denotes a particular spot. "Where situated, has been a vexed question, which never can be determined. The various opinions would require pages even to enumerate ; they may 12 GEXESIS. II. whom lie had formed. ^ And out of the ground made God_Jehovah to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden ; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first^ Pison : that is it which compass- eth the whole land of ' Ilavilah, where f/icre is the gold ; 1- and the gold of that land is good : there is J bdclliuiu and the ^ onyx stone. i-^ x\.nd the name of the second be found tabulated in Kalisch. Observe, tbc ■which is before Egypt, as thou goest toward ich.Txv. 18. 1 Sam. XV. 7. j Num. xi 7 only. k V.xoil. xxix. name in Hebrew is distinct from that of Dden in Assyria, mentioned 2 Kings xix. 12; Isa. xxxvii. 12; Kzck. xxvii. 23; Amos i. 5. eastward] Tliis word is rendered in the Vulgate, //'/;« t/if begiimiiig^ but scliolars seem agreed that this is a mis- take : see rcff., especially the two first : and that it signifies in, or at, or towards the east. 9] Consistency of interpreta- tion requires tliat we understand tlie tree of life here and in Rev. xxii. 2 (ii. 7) by the same rule. In this history, it is a tree, tlie fruit whereof conferred immortality ; see ch. iii. 22 ; as that of the other tree con- ferred knowledge of the difference between right and wrong. 10^14.] Compare, throngliout, the description of the heavenly paradise in Rev. xxii. 1, 2. It seems .\ssyria: " in ref. 1 Sam. it is also con- nected with " Shur, that is over against Egypt." There is a Ilavilah, a son of Cush the son of Ham, in ch. x. 7 ; and another, the son of Joktan the son of Eber, ib. 29. On the peoples supposed to be descended from these, see Ilarilnh, in Smith's Biblical Dictionary. 12.] From tlie description of the gold as good, it is plain that the countries and rivers here spoken of are to be regarded as subsisting when tlic account was written, not as belonging to a state of things gone by. bdellium] In tlie He- brew, Bdolach. Ilere, again, we have a dis- pute as to what is intended. Bdellium is explained by Pliny to be a ;ium, found in Bactriana, Arabia, India, ^Icdia, and Baby- lon. But Gesenius tliinks this could not be futile to seek geographically for four rivers precious enough to be ranked witli the onyx which rise iirar one anotlier, thus rational- which follows : and therefore inclines to tiie izing the description. Tliere was one rirer opinion of the Jewish writers, who believed (not mere contiguous origin) : and it, after pearls to be intended. In ref. Num., the it had watered the r/anfni, was parted into manna is said to have been of the eohnir of four streams, whose names indicate the most bdellium, which would suit the pearl, but important rivers of the world. heads not so well the gum. But Pliny describes does not signify source.% but principal it as translucid, like wax ; so that there streams, i. e. as we should say, arms. seems no force in this argument. the 11, 12.] It is quite uncertain what river is onyx stone] Ileb. Shoham, generally thus here indicated, — opinions are very various, interpreted : this intei-pretation at least suits The most notable are those which identify the colour, — the name meaning /^fl^/*-, and Pison with 1. the G.vxces. Tliis was held the oiii/x being so named as signifying in by Josephus, Eusebius, Ambrose, Epipha- Greek a fiiigernail. See reflP. 13.] nius, Jerome, Augustine, and others. Ka- lisch prefers the Indus. Some have thought of the Fhasis^ but only, it would appear, from similarity of sound. Havilah] "What this is, is equally uncertain. Opinions have been mostly ruled by previous con- About GiHOX there is less dispute, almost all agreeing that it is the Xile. In Jer. ii. IS, the LXX. render Sihon, which is the Xile, by Geoti. The land of Cush (eldest son of Ilam, ch. x. 6), which it is said to encompass, is the country of the South, com- jecture about the river Pison. The land of prising Ethiopia and all that was known to Ilavilah in ref Gen. forms one boundary of the Hebrews in their direction. See reff. the people of Ishmael, the other being " Shur, Kalisch mentions and illustrates the ancient 9—19. GENESIS. 13 0: al river^ Glhon : the same is it that compassetli the whole land of ^ Gush. ^^ And the name of the third river^ Iliddekel : that is it which floweth in front of Assyria. And the fourth river^ that is Euphrates. ^^ And God ^ /t^rr^p^rvL Jehovah took the man, and -^wi him into the garden of Eden to till it and to guard it. i'^ xind God Jehovah ^t'C^L ^^/ /t^^ commanded the man, saying. Of every tree of the garden thou maj^est freely eat : 17 but of the tree of the know- ledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 1^ ^ And God_Jehovah said. It is not good that the man ^t ^'-^cyrtL/ sliould be alone ; I will make him an ™ help " likeunto him. 1'^ And out of the ground God__Jehovah formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air^ and brought ^^■'-■<-:' it unto the man to see what he would call it : and Avhat- ^^•--/ /2l* V J y popular belief that the Ganges and Xile, or Indus and Xile, were part of the same great river. 14.] Hiddekel is generally be- lieved to be the Tigris. The name is formed by prefixing the epithet "swift" (Chad) to the name of the river, Digla, or Dekel, the universally-received name of the Tigris, which already signified " siciftness." There is a difficulty in the rendering of the A. v., totcard the east of Assyria, seeing that the Tigris bounded Assyria on the west. The marginal rendering, eastward to Assyria, devised to escape the difficulty, seems hardly allowable. The word rendered toward the east also means " iu front." It is used in Ps. exxxix. 5, in this sense, and Isa. ix. 12 ; and Kalisch maintains that it has this mean- ing here. So also Knobel, and others. The fourth river has no local notice attached to it, as being thorouglily known to the He- brews. 15.] The second object is now accomplished, a man to till the ground. The other part of the duty of the man is stated with reference to present circumstances, under which a garden requires watching and protecting. Knobel understands it to have been the guarding his charge against the tribes of beasts which were about to be created. 16, 17.] The primal com- mand to the man. Tlie only difficulty in these verses is presented by the concluding words. Man did not die in the day when he ate thereof. The simplest solution of the diffi- culty is found ill remembering that death is not only the actual separation of soul and body, but includes all that culminates in that separation. A man may, as we say, " die by inches : " and may be said, espe- cially if passing from a state where deatli was not the necessary end of his days, to die, when the seeds of death begin to work in him. It is not sufficiently borne in mind, that man's exclusion from the tree of life which could have conferred immortality on him, was the carrying out of this sentence. 18 — 24.] The creation of u-oman. 18.] like unto him, literally, as in front of, or, over against him ; i. e. corre- sponding to himself. The likeness is both physical and mental. The same word is used in ref. Isa., of one tiling set over ayainst another by way of comparison : in ref. Neb., of one set of men eorrcspondiny to another. The Vulgate renders as our text. 19.] In pursuance of the purpose just announced, Jehovah forms out of the ground the beasts and birds. Eut for the difficulty of uniting this second narrative with the former one, no one Avould have dreamt of other than the prima facie under- standing of this, that at this time, and sub- sequently to man, the beasts and birds were created. As to the reconciliation of the two, it need not trouble those wlio, like tlie sacred writer who originally set together these two accounts, are not slaves of the letter but free- men of tlie spirit. Those who insist on strict historical consecutiveness in the days 14 GENESIS. II. och. XT. 1 pLiterally,buiU Sew 1 Kings xviii. ;>2. soever tlie man called every living creature, tliat ?ra.9 the name thereof. 20 ^j^fj the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field ; tA. but for the man he found not an help like unto him. 21 And God_Jehovah caused a ° deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept : and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the_i3lace thereof; 22 and the rib, which GodJehovah had taken from the man, p formed he into a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 ^^^ w^q man said, This time it is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh : this shall be called "Woman, because this was taken ''u;''i^u.'32: o^* ^^ Man. 24 q Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife : and they shall be one flesh. of creation are obliged here to have re- not helps corresponding to him. course to various devices which for us are woman] In the Hebrew, Ishah, as being uunceded. The man was endowed by his taken out of Ish. 24.] These words Creator with the gift of speech — and that may be intended as spoken by the man : or endowment presupposed the perception of they may be the words of the writer of the congruity of sounds with the things Genesis. The latter is maintained by De- which to the thoughts of men they represent. Exejcising this faculty and perception, the man gives names to the various animals. 20.] he, that is, the man, found no help like unto him (self). Tiie process of litzsch, both as suiting best the citation by our Lord, Jfatt. xix. 5, and because this particle *' Wherefore " or " Therefore " commonly! introduces parenthetical remarks by the writer : see reflf. But Delitzsch giving names was, in fact, that of declaring Beems subsequently to have changed his attributes and qualities : and among all these, none occurred bearing with it that correspondence to himself which was sought for. See below on vcr. 23. 21, 22.] Notice again, as characteristic of this second narrative, the formative and tentative pro- cesses used. Compare the short and majestic words of the former narrative, " male and female created He them." Jehovah built up the lib into a woman. the rib, as taken from the side, where is the heart : typifying the close and inseparable con- nection. "Woman is made, not out of the dust of the earth, but out of man. Woman did not receive the command to obedience, but through and as part of man. T\'oman did not take any part in those first utter- ances which fixed the names of creation, but inherited them from man. There is no part of the sacred narrative warning us more forcibly against bondage to the letter. The whole is parabolic and symbolic. 23.] this time it is, — in contrast with the previous exhibition to him of those who were view ; and the coherence of the narrative as well as the solemnity of the saying appears to require that it should be represented as a prophetic saying for all mankind, spoken by their first father. That our Lord quotes it as a word of " Him that made them fiom thfi beginning," is in no way against this view ; not because, as some, Adam may have spoken by Divine inspiration (of which there is no hint, and which would not, after all, fulfil tlie saying of our 'Lord), but because the whole ^account is one given by God's inspiration as a Divine narrative of the origin of mankind. The mention of father and mother in the mouth of Adam is, of coarse, not to be judged servilely according to 'the letter, but to be regarded as of a piece with the whole spiritual character of the narrative. Their state was one of innocence void of shame — as that even now of cliildren, — of whom these same words may still be said, 25— in. 24.] The Fcill. \ox. 25 is not, as commonly taken, the conclusion of what has gone before, but, as Quairy has 20— III. 4. GENESIS. 15 25 And they were botli naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. III. ^ And the serpent was more 'subtil than any beast of tlie field which God Jehovah had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden ? ^ And the woman said unto the serpent. Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat : ^ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. * And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not die : ■well pointed out, the opening of the follow- ing iiarvative. However solemn the purport of that narrative, the coherence of it is found in, (1) the fact of their nakedness (ii. 25) ; (2) the discovery of that nakedness (iii. 7) ; (3) the remedy of that nakedness (ili. 21). 25.] Of the whole of the account, it is hardly to be doubted that the solemn fact of man's temptation is conveyed to us in terms of parable and allegory. Reverence requires this conclusion, no less than reason. To suppose the narrative realistic and matter of fact is to degrade it from tlie higher spiritual reality. Tliis view has been held without blame, both iu ancient and modern times. Eusebius says, " There is present to each of us a wicked demon, lying in wait for us, a seducer, and a hater of good, and the same that from tlie beginning plotted against the salvation of man. He (Moses) calls this demon a di-agon and a serpent, because he is black and allied to darkness, full of poison and malice. .... by his fraud our first parents also fell from their Divine estate ; " hereby plainly showing that in his view the spirit- ual and not the literal interpretation was to be taken. And Cardinal Cajetan Bays, " It is plain, both by the method of speech of all Scripture, and by that of this narrative, that under the name of the serpent we must not understand the reptile thus called, but the devil " With this interpret- ation we are content : not inquiring fur- ther whether the tempter of man is to be supposed to have assumed the form of a ser- pent, and in that form to have spoken with Eve, any more than whether the serpent is to be conceived as changing its physical character after the curse, llegarding the whole as a Divine parable setting forth to us the spiritual facts of the fall of man, we ic, W, al. S/,r-t /y I are not careful about such matters. See below on ver. 14. It is remarkable, in con- nection with our Lord's saying in John viii. 44, that t]ie Samaritan Pentateuch has liere liar instead of serpent : the two words iu Hebrew differing only by one letter. Ob- serve, that the name Jehovah is not used by the serpent, nor by the woman, but only by the sacred writer in the course of his nai*- rative. Some commentators have found deep meaning in the non-use of " Jehovah " by the serpent : but they have omitted to observe that it is wanting in the woman's speech likewise. Those who have observed on this, have thought that it was to preserve the Holy name from the desecration of being uttered to the serpent. Observe that doubt is the beginning of temptation. Stress bus also been laid on the fact that the woman's answer goes further than the Divine prohibition. Kalisch regards this as an exaggeration, showing " the fanaticism of passion and its self-deception ; " but he thinks, as she did not receive the command, this may have arisen from its being niisre- ported to her. Lange sees in this ovejdone obedience the first wavering of allegiance. But surely we may turn round suoh subjectivities as easily the other way, and suppose this additional particular to have been inserted in the ardent desire to obey. Not that I really take it so— but such a consideration serves to show the insecurity of such fine tracking of words to their supposed sources. The same may be said of almost all the minute inferences which have been druwl* from this reply. The best exposure of their unsafeness is that some hold Eve's reply to be a sign of her unswerving loyalty, others of her incipient disloyalty to God. 4.] It is not easy to give iu this verse the force of the origiual, which brings out iuto promi- 16 GENESIS. III. ."li/Neh. viii. 13, m:ii!j.; ix. 20. Piov. xxi. 11. '/ t Job xvi. 15. Kccl. iii. 7. . Eiiek, xiii. 8. ^ for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your e^-es shall be oj^ened, and j'-e shall be as God, know- ing good and evil. ^ And wh^en the woman saw that the tree teas good for food, and that it wm pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to ^rnake one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat^ and gave also unto her husband with her/ and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they icere naked ; and they * sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves girdles. ^ And they heard the voice of God_Jehovah walking in the garden in the cool of the day : and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of God Jehovah amongst the trees of the garden. ^ And God Jehovah called unto the man, and said unto him. Where art thou? ^^ And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I nan naked ; and I hid mj'self. ^1 And he said. Who told thee that thou art naked ? Ilast thou eaten of the tree, -whereof I com- manded thee that thou shouldest not eat? i- And the man said. The woman whom thou gavest to he with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did cat. ^^ And God nencc the threatened punishment as somctliinj: utterly incongruous to the known eftoct of the fruit. It may best be done perliaps by laying strong emphasis on the word die. Our insertion in the A. V. of '' surcli/" does not answer the purpose, because that adverb is apt to be taken with the whole, as if it ■were, "Surely ye shall not die:" which, tliough Kalisch thus renders, can hardly represent the meaning. 6.] to make one wise] There is considerable doubt about the meaning of this word. The LXX., Vul- gate, tlie Targum of Onkelos, and some of the ancient versions, render it to look upon. But seeing that the word will certainly bear the other meaning (see rcff.), and that the proposed one introduces almost a repetition of the preceding clause, I have kept the A. Y. 7,] It seems better, with Kalisch and Gcscnius, to take this as the ordinary fig, whose leaves would require uniting for this purpose, than, with Knobel, and others, as the Ij.inana or niusa, one of whose leaves would be too large for the purpose. The ordinary fig is indigenous over the whole East. 8.] The anthropomorpliism of the narrative may be said here to reach its highest ex- ample. Eden is the garden of God, and He is represented as gone forth to walk in the cool, literally, the wind, of the day, i. e. in the breeze which springs up in the evening, and invites into the open air. Who can doubt that we are as much in the region of parable here, as when we read of the House- holder who ])lanted a vineyard and let it out, or the certain man who came seeking fruit on bis fig-tree .= 11.] Literally, Of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat, of that hast thou eaten 1 12, 13.] Kalisch's remarks here are well worth extracting : " God was in familiar intercourse with man in the happy days of his innocence. He was loved as a father ; fear Avas unknown : the severe rule, ' nobody be- holds . God and lives,' did not yet exist. As man was scarcely aware of his superiority over the animal creation, so he was hardly impressed with that awe of God which the consciousness of His grandeur inspires. His eyes were not yet opened. He knew neither pride nor humility. He Avalkcd in .sim- plicity, careless, but sure of the right path. 0—15. GENESIS. 17 Jcliovali said unto the woman, AVhat is tliis t//at thou hast done ? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled mc, and I did eat. ^'^ And God_Jehovah said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou ar^ cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field ; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and '^dust shalt thou eat all the days of vNum.xxxv. '' _ . O ' -^ 21,22. Ezek. thy life : ^^ and I will put "■ enmity between thee and the xxxvlsVoniy. ulsn. IxT. 25. , Micali vii. 17. 3 1 '/ SeePs.lxxii. ' 9. Isa. xlix. 23 ; aUo Ps. cii. 9. Tint now he was awalvencd to a sense (if duty. He cannot beat- the presence of God: it I'verwlichnshis spirit. lie hears His step ; lir hides himself; lie answers timidly to the il'i' stion of God; he fears His anger; ho triis to avert it, by laying the fault partly i!|inu his wife and partly upon God himself ; ' the woman whom thou gavest to be ivith III , she gave me of the tree, and I did I :it ' ; and Eve, not less terrified, accuses the .'^I'lpent as the cause of the transgression. 'i'lic voice of conscience troubled for the first time the internal peace. The harmony of till' mind was disturbed. We abstain from (L\oloping the many and important practi- c;il trutlis contained in this narrative ; we ciiniiot wonder that many have here abandon- ed themselves to the strains of the preacher ; it is indeed tempting to pursue the inimit- able and unparalleled description of the consequences of sin, the uneasiness and timidity, the cowardice, the internal wretch- edness which, as a last resource, impeaches even God as the primai-y cause of the offence. It is sufficient for us to have indicated the general course of ideas which our section suggests, and to have pointed out the suc- cessive stages of innocence, temptation and conflict, sin, remorse, and banishment, which are represented by the Paradise, the serpent, the forbidden fruit, the concealment, and the curse." I may add to these admir- able remarks, that if, in the majestic sim- plicity of the former cosmogony in ch. i., one felt that we were listening to Him who in the beginning made the heavens and the earth, we here feel that every word of the mysterious parable is in- spired by Him who " needed not that any should testify of man; tor lie knew what was in man." 14, 15.] As, long after, the rainbow, a phenomenon which must have always subsisted since the creation of liglit and water, was consecrated to a sym- bol of the covenaat between God and man, so here the serpent, which must always since its creation have maintained its present form and habits, was in that form and thoso habits appointed a symbol of the deceiver's punisliment; and so was that enmity between it and mankind, which issues in the wounds of man's lowest part, followed by the crush- ing out of the serpent's life, consecrated as a pledge of the ultimate triumph of man in the person of the great seed of the woman, over the tempter of souls. Cleave to the letter as historical fact, and all this is lost. Admit the divine parable, and the reference is indisputable. The LXX. have here "upon thy breast and upon thy belly shalt thou go," combining the reading " upon thy breast," which the Vulgate also follows, with the re- ceived one. dust shalt thou eat] As crawling in the dust, deeper and more abun- dant in the dry East than with us (see reff.) ; and thus necessarily mingling all it eats with dust. 15.] The Messianic import of this curse is recognized in the Targums. The Targum of Jonathan says: "it will be, when the children of the woman observe the commandments of the Law, that they will tread thee on thy head, and when they forsake the commandments of the Law, thou Avilt be able to bite them on their heels ; but they will be healed, and thou wilt not be healed : and they will, in the days of the Messiah, be able to make a bruise with the heel." Kaliscli. Observe, it is it, or he, viz. the wo- man's seed, that shall bruise the serpent's head, not she, as the Vulgate and the Church of Home have it here. Even were it she, no such application of the words could be made as that Church makes to the Virgin Mary, for it would mean she, tlie M'Oman then present, by means of her seed which is to come. The deeper or parabolic sense of the words is veiled under that which is ordinary and physical as regards the common relation of the serpent to man. c 18 GENESIS. III. w Job ix. 17. Ps. cxxxix. 11 (coverj only. X ch. V. 29. y ch. iv. Cant. only. •woman, and between tliy seed and her seed; it shall ^bruise tliy bead, and thou sbalt "^bruise its heel, i^ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy ^jDain and thy conception; in ^pain thou shalt bring- forth children ; and thy 5' desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto the_man he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying. Thou shalt not eat of it : cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in -''pain shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life ; ^^ thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field ; ^^ in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return, ^o ^^j ^lic man called his wife's 16.] thy pain and thy conception, i. e. the pain which accompanies thy preg- nancy. Some, as Knobel, take the "and" as meaning especialli/ : thy pain (throngh- out life, in the physical troubles inci- dent to the sex), and especially thy preg- nancy. And yet, though this shall be so, the woman, as a second curse, shall desire again the'occasion of this pain ; and, tliirdly, though thus the subject of all the suffering which accompanies the propagation of the race, she shall be the subordinate, and ruled over by the man. 17 — 19.] To the man is appointed penal labour, and death for his sin. Before, he was put into the garden, to till it and keep it; but now the soU is to be stubborn, and to defy his labour, and cause him pain and disappointment. Before, he had access to the tree of life, which was to make him immortal (and this was not forbidden him, see on ver. 22) : now he is to be driven out from access to it, and to return to the earth again. The word which we render for thy sake is, by the differing apprehension of a single turn in a Hebrew letter, translated "m t/ii/ tcorks" by the LXX., and " in tluj work " by the Vulgate. 18.] And this labour will be hindered by the curse of the soil, over- powering his tillage with noxious growths. He will eat, not the rich spontaneous fruits of Eden, but the herb of the field — the lesser growths sown by his own toil. 19.] the sweat of thy face, because it is on the face that that effect of labour is first and prominently shewn. On the latter part of the verse, see on ver. 22. It is commented on by St. Paul in 1 Cor. xv. 47, " the first man was of the earth, earthy." 20 — 24.] The man and his icife are clothed by Jehovah, and are driven out of the garden of Eden. 20.] The connexion of this verse here has been thought somewhat dif- ficult to assign. Its place has to some appeared to be after ch. iv. 1. Perhaps it is inserted here, because here the man and his wife are first reunited in the narrative after the separate account of their parts in the act of disobedience and its consequences, and in connection with the words of God to the woman, relative to her conception of children. Murphy remarks, " The man here refers to two expressions in the sen- tences he had heard pronounced on the ser- pent and the woman. . . It is the woman who is to bear the seed, and this seed is , to undo what had been done for the death of man, and so re-invest him with life. This life was to come by the woman. Again, in the address of the Judge to the wpman, he had heard the words, ' thou shalt bear children.' These children are the seed, among whom is to be the bruiser of the serpent's head, and the author of life. . . He gives permanent expression to his hope in the name which he gives to his wife." Simi- larly Delitzsch : rendering " for she is be- come the mother of all living," viz. by the 1(3—24. GENESIS. 19 zch. xxvii. 16. Job xli. 7, ul. Cet^ name Eve ; because slie was the mother of all living. 21 Unto the man also and to his Avife did God Jehovah niake,^'';'^'"^-^'"^/'''**^/ •garments of ''skin, and clothed them. -^ ^ And God_Jehovah ^aid, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know fjood and evil : and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of lifc^ and eat, and live for ever/ - * therefore God Jehovah sent him forth from the garden if Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. - ' So he drove out the man ; and he placed at the east of , the garden of Eden the ''Cherubim, and a flaming sword which ^ turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. aExocl.xxv.18, «Vi". Num. ■^/ ^/ vii. 8'J. 1 ' / / S:im. iv. 4. , 2 Sam. XX. U*''-/ (1'!,. xviii.lll;. ' 1 Kings vi. 23, &c. (2 Clirou. iii. 7, / &c.) 1 Cliion. ffK/ xxviii. IM. ' x. 1, &c.; '**/ - xi.22 ; xxviii. H, 16. b Job xxxvii. 1'.'; xxxviii. 14. words concerning child-bearing just pro- nounced by God : and regarding the name as given in faith and hope. Knobel thinks the connection is by way of contrast to the preceding verse, which seemed to im- ply the extinction of the species ; but still thinks that after iv. 1 would be its more appropriate place. Eve] Chauah, i. e. living ; rendered by the LXX. Zu'c, i. e. life ; but in chap. iv. 1 by Eua. 21.] The first act of Divine mercy, in answer to man's first word of faith — healing tlie first wound which the consciousness of good and evil bad inflicted. It is hardly allowable to assume, as some have done, that these " coats of skins" were the skins of animals slain in sacrifice. But it is to be observed, that the Targum of Onkelos paraphrases the words as "garments of honour upon tlie skin of their flcsb " (see 1 Cor. xii. 23), thus un- derstanding the skin as their s/cm, which the garment covered. 22.] God is again (see i. 26) introduced a^ taking coun- sel, speaking to Himself: here, perhaps, more evidently than there in a communica- tive sense, seeing that one of us widens those addressed by Ilim, at least to the higher order of spirits, who minister round Ilis throne. To see here, with some of the Fathers, an argument for the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, is surely far-fetched, use was not forbidden him, nor would it have been precluded even after tiic fall, had he remained in the garden. Some comment- ators (e. g. Keil and Delitzsch) suggest that in that case, the "living for ever" would have been to him not eternal life, but eternal persistence in the present sinful state : but surely we cannot gather so much from the mysterious narrative. 23, 24.] Heaven and earth are now disjoined by the sin of man. Paradise was tlie symbolic setting forth of God's unity with, and dwell- ing among, man. And now this presence of God on earth is not altogether withdrawn, but is set up to the exclusion of men from its most holy place. As in the temple after- wards, so here, the Holy Place is westward : it is at the cast of Paradise that the barrier to God's presence is setup. For the Cherub- im, here mentioned, are in Scripture ever- more the attendants, and bearers up, of the throne of God (see relf.). The cherubic forms (Ezek. x. l4) arc the same as those borne by the four living beings, who sur- rounded the throne in Rev. iv. 6— 8. I have dealt ^yith this matter in my Ilulscan Lectures for 1841, and am still of the same opinion, that the placing of these Cherubim at the east of Eden was indicative of ordin- ances of worship, and a form of access to the Divine presence still open to man, though and but ill calculated to serve the cause of he was debarred from entrance into paradise. Christian orthodoxy. Thiseven Delitzsch con- fesses, and "Wordsworth merely states the fact timidly. lest lie put fortlihis hand. . .] Then our narrative implies, as St. Paul asserts, 1 Cor. xv. 47, that man was created subject to death, but would by the use of the tree of life have gained immortality. This See further on chap. iv. 3, and Smith's Biblical Diet., \uv\iix "Cherub." the flaming sword] lit. the flame of the sword, not borne in the hands of the Cherubim, but separate from them, which turned -every way — i. e. continually flashing, or corns- cant, in all directions. Evidently, from the 20 GENESIS. IV I / t>^~j,' fr-j lY. 1 And tlie man knew Eve liis wife ; and she con- ceived, and bare Cain, andsaid, I liave gotten a man by tbe help_of Jehovah. ^ ^^-^^ gj^e again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground, ^ And in process of timelt^came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. ^ And Abel, he also brought of the '^ firstling-s of his flock and of the fat thereof. And context, the purpose of the guard was to bar the way to the tree of life against man's entering and partaking of it. But it had at the same time a symbolical and teaching significance as regarded man. It was a pro- vision of access as well as an ordinance of ex- clusion. IV. 1 — 26.] The jMsteritij of Adam. In the whole of this section, with the single exception of Eve's speech, ver. 25 (where Elohim only is used), the name Jehovah is used simply, without the addition of Elohim. It is to he regarded as another separate document, distinct alike in its pro- saic narrative style (see on vv. 23, 24) from the majesty of the first portion (eh. i. — ii. 3) and the poetic symbolism of the second (ch. ii. 4— iii. 2i). 1.] The knoicledge of Eve his wife involves the recognition and use of her for that purpose to which God had ordained and especially devoted her. Cain] i. e. possession, or ac- quisition," gain," to answer to lier saying. by the help of Jehovah] In the He- brew the phrase might mean even Jehovah, the particle eth which precedes the sacred name being the usual sign of apposition in the accusative case. And this possibility has been used to introduce the idea that Eve be- lieved she had borne the Incarnate God, the seed of the woman. But such an idea is by almost all confessed to be alien from the con- text. No such promise is even latent in ch. iii. 15. So that we have no way but to take the less usual sense of the particle, and to render it with, i. e. by the help of. Ka- lisch has with ; Wright, by the help of. 2.] again bare, literally, " added to bear.'" Some liave thought, because there is no mention of a second conception, that Cain and Abel were twins. But this does not seem necessary. After what went before, the fact only needs stating. Observe, it is not said that she called his name Abel ( Hevel, nothingness, vaniti/). That name was in all probability given afterwards, owing to his premature end. Notice the difference in ver. 25. 3.] The words in process of time seem best to render the Hebrew at the end of days. Kalisch says, ' ' at tlie end of a certain indefinite time, when both the ease and the atHuence of a pastoral life were seen in suHicient contrast to the toils and cares of the husbandman." See his views below, on ver. 4. Cain brought simply some of the fruits of his labour : we arc not told that they were the first or the best. This seems, from the beginning of the nai-rative, to make a difference between the brothers. For 4.] Abel brought some from anKuig the firstlings of his flock, and from their fat. Kalisch re- gards the and as meaning especially. Abel's offering consisted of these first-born them- selves, and of their fat. That they were first slain would hence appear ; but it lies in the background : a valuable truth, but not belonging to the present comparison between the sacrifices. Abel's was the " better sacri- fice" (Ileb. xi. 4), as being the best of what he had, which does not appear of Cain's. We must not travel beyond the sacred nar- rative when we have these indications ■within it. Cain being an agriculturist, could but do as he did in the /natter of his offering. The fact of the brothers each bringing"of his own as an offering would be disturbed by one having recourse to the other for the material of his offering, as must have been on the hypothesis of Cain's fault having consisted in not bringing a slain sacrifice. How the acceptance of the one offering and the rejection of the other were shewn we are not told. Some have imagined in tlie consumption of the one by fire from above, and not of the other ; and Theodotion in his version actually has given ^'consumed bij fire " as the rendering of the verb, whereas 1—8. GENESIS. 21 Jclipvali had respect unto Abel and to liis offering : ^ but ^^(*^/ unto Cain and to bis offering- he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his *^ countenance fell. ^ And "^seeKIIv'^d. Jtliovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth ? and why is /^W tliy countenance fallen? " If thou doest well, shalt thou skU' ,-^ » not be accepted ? and if thou doest not well, sin licth at a^^^Uri/ 1(10 door. And unto thee is his desire, and thou shalt rule yrl^ii-^ ' u^-er hiui. ^ And Cain talked with Abel his brother ^^ and trU,/ di -A, its meaning is simply regarded, "looked "w itli favour on." Tiiore is no mention of an alttr, as in ch. viii. 20, in the case of Xoah, > ' that it seems we must rather think of s iiie appearance or word of Jehovah by ■ iih the preference was shewn. As to the creuce itself, it is, I think, unavoidable to iiose that there was ground for it in the \ ions character and the present state of . ii J of Cain, and that we have a hint of this ill wr. 3. Whether, as Kalisch insists at some L iijj,th, we are to suppose previous hatred and envy of his brother, lam not so sure. There is enough in the narrative to beget tluit in an unthankful and selfish mind. Cain was very wroth] Literally, it burned in (or with) Cain exceedingly, i. e. his anger was much iutlamcd. his coun- tenance fell] He scowled and hung his head, as men do in displeasure. 6.] It seems to be implied here and in the following verses that Jehovah was in some way manifested as present. 7.] There are few verses in the Bible about which there is more uncer- tainty. It seems dillicult to extract sense from any of the various renderings. I can only lay before the reader those of the prin- cipal commentators and versions, (a) The LXX. give it, — " If thou hast offered rightlij, but hast not divided riglUhj, hast thou not sinned? Rest quiet : toward thee is his {or its) resort, and thou shalt rule over him (or it)." (b) The Vulgate : " If thou hast done u-ell, shalt thou not receive? but if badly, ivill not sin be forthwith present at the doors ? but in thy power tcill be his (or its) desire, and thou shalt rule over him (or it)." (c) Kalisch : " If thou doest well, wilt thou not find acceptance ? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and to thee is its desire; but thou shalt ride over it," inter- preting that sin, as a wild beast in ambush, lies at the door, desiring to have thee. {d) Kuobel : " Is there not, if thou doest well, lifting up [of countenance) ? but if thou doest not icvll {falling of countoiance) ? This latter an ellipsis, filled up out of vv. 5, 6. Sin is lying in trait before the door, a7id to thee is its desire, but thou shalt rule over it.'' And so very nearly Keil, except that he does not fill in the ellipsis, but makes the last clause depend upon " If thou doest not tcell" .... and similarly also Delitzsch. (e) The idea pressed by Abp. Magee on the atone- ment, that *' sin lieth at the door," ought to be rendered "a< the door a sin-offering is crouching," and that the words point to the opportunity of atonement by sacrifice seems to be universally repudiated by Hebraists. {f) In the uncertainty I have left the A. Y. of the former 2)art unaltered. It expresses very nearly the sense as given by the Tar- gxmi of Onkelos, and seems in no respect to violate the requirements of the original. In the latter portion I have abstained from changing his and him with its and it, al- though the consensus of nearly all comment- ators is that way, feeling that the words may apply to Abel, who, as the younger brother, is described by God as still ready to submit himself to his elder brother. This certainly suits better ch. iii. 16, where nearly the same words occur. I have only supplied is, instead of shall be. 8.] Here, again, is a difficulty. The Ilebrew word ren- dered talked, or spoke, has not properly this meaning. The literal rendering is: And Cain said unto Abel his brother in which case there is an ellipsis, nothing which was said being mentioned. And in consequence we have in the Samaritan Pentateuch, in the LXX., the Vulgate, the Syrian Version, and the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan, these words inserted, " Let us go into the field," and some are in favour of inserting them in the text. But they are not found in a single Ilebrew MS., nor in the Targum of Onkelos, nor were they in the Ilebrew text used by Origeu. 22 GENESIS. IV ech. xviii . 20, ai; xix. l;i. Ex od. ii li. ii. J;il Ties V . 4. Ha b. ii. 11. See Job xvi. IS; ; UVL. xxvi 21, also Hel). xii .24. ./^■ft/ + or, Mine iiii- quit!/. II ur, Joigiven. it came to pass, when tliey were in tlie field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. ^ And Jehovah said unto Cain, AYhere is Abel th}"- brother Y And he said, I know not : Am I my brother's keeper ? 10 And he said. What hast thou done ? *^the voice of thy brother's blood crieth imto me from the ground. ^^ And now art thou cursed from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand ; 12 when thou tillest the ground, she shall no_ more yield unto thee her strength ; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. ^^ And Cain said unto Jehovah, ^ ^ly f punishment is greater than can be |1 borne. ^^ Behold, thou Some have supposed that " ?T' shouhl be supplied after " said," viz. that ■which God had said to Cain, — *' Cain tokl it to Abel ; " but this -would not seem likely to have been, nor if it had happened, would it come na- turally into the narrative. Others have sup- posed that another verb, composed of nearly the same letters, should be read, signifying that Cain watched Abel his brother (so Kno- bel) ; hut thus we should be entering the realm of conjecture, which must in the criti- cism of the sacred text be strictly forbidden. Gesenius, in his Lexicon, taking the meaning that Cain told to Abel the words of God, thinks it implied that a temporary reconcili- ation took place, but that afterwards in the field Cain's suppressed indignation broke out again, and led to the murder. I have again, in the uncertainty, left the A. V., which, whether it exactly render the Hebrew verb or not, expresses what happened. slew him] In what manner and with what weapon is uot intimated, and it is vain to speculate. 9.] Knobel remarks that the evil in man has made a step onward : Adam and Eve, when challenged, confessed their fault ; Cain denies his. 10.] This way of speech, representing murder, or other crime, crying for vengeance, is common in the sacred text (see reff.). It is in allusion to this voice of Abel's blood that in ref. Ilcb. the writer describes Christ's blood as speaking better things : reconciliation, and not ven- gence. 11.] cursed from, i.e. driven out, as an accursed exile from. But more than this. Not only does the ground eject thee from a particular fovoured spot (com- pare "from thy face" below, vcr. 14), but she has a quarrel against thee everywhere ; that blood (in the Hebrew plural, those streams, drops of blood) which thou hast poured upon her shall curse her for thee, so that she shall no longer yicdd her strength under thy tillage, — a double curse of the ground for man's sake. Kalisch disputes this, the usually received interpretation, and insists that it was only that particular portion of ground which had received his brotlier's blood that .should be cursed with barrenness for Cain : viz. the land of Eden. But what follows is against this : his vagabcmd life is connected with the ground not yielding her strength to him. And what additional par- ticular would it be in his punishment, that the district from which he was to be ex- pelled should not yield her strength to him.' This detail would act pei- contra : he would be driven from earth which would be bar- ren to him, to that which would be fertile. The LXX. render the latter clause of the verse, '■^groaning and trembling nhnlt thou be on the earth : " probably they mistook one of the Hebrew verbs. 13.] The word rendered punishment is the common terra for sin, and so may indeed be rendered here, provided we understand si?i, or iniquity, to imply the apprehended magnitude of his sin, now first revealed to him by its punishment. And the words rendered than I can bear may also have the meaning given in the mar- gin. Gesenius prefers both these ; and they are adopted by the LXX., Vulgate, Syriac Version, the Targum of Onkelos, and many ancient expositors. But the A. V. seems to fit the context better, seeing that he goes on to complain of the heaviness of the sentence against him. 14.] from thy face I shall be hid seems certainly to point to some 0-17. GENESIS. 23 ^t driven mo out this day from tlie face of tlio ground ; and from tliy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive I and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, *^-<^..^<- that every one that findcth me shall slay me. i^ And »*^i^«^'^'-/ Jehovah said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, r ^i»-»^y' vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And Jehovah / ^U^d/ appointed a s^sign imto Cain, thatjno one finding him should ^ l^xod"iiL 12./^/ '^^^' kill him. 1*^ *[[ And Cain went out from the presence of 1 »"'^^"''Mij'//.-.Vt/ Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of JYod, on the east of f-'!r.tC/ Eden. 17 ^jitl Cain knew his Avife ; and she conceived, and bare Enoch : and he builded a city, and called the especial location of God's manifested presence in Eden (see on eh. iii. 24). Kalisch is very indignant at tliis intei'prctation, desij^nating it as " an almost heathen idea, that the pre- sence of God is bound to a certain spot, which lie has chosen for His residence, or the sphere of His activity." But surely lie forgets the "place Avhere I have put my name,'' and the prevalence of this idea throughout the IMosaic dispensation (see Jonah i. 3, 10). Cain's fear that every one that should find him should slay him, seems to belong to a later period when the earth should be peopled, for as yet he was the only man on earth besides Adam and Eve. Perhaps the history ifee//" belongs to this later period. If so, we have repeated goings back to the ear- lier time again, e.g. vv. 17, 2o. 15.] AYe may ask, with some degree of surprise, why God granted this uncommon indulgence to a murderer, who had insidiously killed his own brother } Did not God Himself give the dis- tinct precept, " He who sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed" ? Why was it necessary to take such anxious precautions to save a life forfeited according to human and Divine right ? There is a peculiar point in the words : " He who killcth the murderer (Cain), vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold." " We hesitate to speak with de- cision where the text is silent." Kalisch. Equally mysterious is the sign which God gave to Cain. It appears to have been some pledge on God's part which reassured him. The A. V. appears not to be justified in "■ set a 7nark upon." 16 — 24.] Caiu^s dwelling and posterifij. He is described as going eastward further still, as our first parents were driven eastward, and the pre- sence of God was set up on the east of Eden. The name Nod signifies ^2(7^< or exile. The Vulgate does not give any proper name, but renders, " dwelt as a fugitive in the earth on the east side of Eden.'^ But from the ex- press naming of a city in the next verse, it is probable that some thus named territory is intended. Knobel connects the whole with China, " the oldest and best known Cainitish people." But all is in uncertainty. We have evidently here only fragments, too brief to be intelligible, of ancient prehistoric documents. 17.] Of the wife of Cain we know nothing : no daughters of Adam and Eve have been as yet mentioned ; but we read of such at ch. v. 4. The narrative proceeds, as with regard to Cain's fear expressed in ver. 14, as if the world were already peopled. Enoch] i. e. dedication, or initiation. " The resemblance of names in the two fami- lies of Cain and Seth are remarkable. In the family of Cain we have Enoch and Lamech, Irad, IMehujael, Jlcthusael ; and in the fam- ily of Seth we have Enos, Cainan, Mahala- leel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech. Two names ai-e here identical, Enoch and Lamech ; in a third there is a likeness of two syllables." Bp. Wordsworth. There is not the least ground for the idea started by Ewald, and supported by others, that the two families were really one and that we have here two accounts in error. The names do not occur in like places in the genealogies; and examples of similar names in diflerent lives are common enough in Scripture. " There is a Judith among the daughters of Hcth (ch. xxvi. 34); a Korah among the sons of Levi (Exod. vi. 31) and among those of Esau (ch. xxxvi. 5); a Kenaz in the family of Esau (ch. xxxvi. 11) and in that of Judah (Xum.xxxu. 12)." Keil. And on 24 GENESIS. lY. name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 1^ xVnd unto Enoch was born Irad : and Irad begat Mchu- jael: and Mehujael begat Methusael : and Mcthusael be- gat Lamech. ^^ ^ And Lamech took unto him two wives : the name of the one uxm Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. ^o And Adah bare Jabal : he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of_such as have ^'cattle. 21 And his brother's name icas Jubal : he was the father of all such as handle the ^ harp and J pijje. 22 ^^d Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, a '^ forger of every kind of ' instru- ment in brass and iron : and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, carried during dancing or processional motion, — more what we understand by the lyre. pipej I'erbaps a combination of pipes, like our " Pan's pipe." In all the reff. the A. V. has " organ." But that instru- ment in the modern acceptation is an inven- tion of later ages. The word (wjoogahv) is connected by Kalisch and others with a root meaning to blow, and must be taken as re- presenting icind instruments, as the other does stringed instruments. 22.] The derivation of Tubal-cain is acknowledged on all hands to be entirely obscure, and it would exceed the limit of the present work to give the discussion on it. The syllable cain is omitted by the LXX. The sense may be as in A. v., but the revised text is preferred by the Hebraists, tlie sharpener being taken not figuratively, as instructor, but literallj', as a forger or polisher; and the latter noun, whicli is literally only "cutting," that which cutteth, being understood of the tool, not of its maker. brass] This word, which occurs very commonly, is always rendered brass in the A.V. In strict accuracy it ought to be copper, as the mixture of copper and zinc, now known as brass, was not known to the ancients. But the word brass is so fami- liarized to us, that I have not thought it well to make the change. the sister] Why tliis sister is named does not appear, nor need we be anxious to inquire, among these primaeval fragments. The name Naa- mah signilies pleasatit, or lovely. The scope of this notice of the Cainite race seems to be to represent them as advancing in all worldly arts and arms, and becoming exceedingly prosperous on earth : but unconnected with the worship of Jehovah. The race are never h ch. xxvi. U ; xlvii. 17. Exod. x.xxiv. 19. i ch. xxxi. 27. 1 Sam. X. 5. Ps.cxxxvii.2. Isa. xxiii. Ifi, al fr. j Job xxi. 12; XXX. 31. Vs.. cl. 4, only. k a sharpener. 1 Sam xiii. 20. Jobx»i. 9. Ps. vii. 12; lii. 2, only. 1 here only.* See uote. any hypothesis concerning our Lord's bre- thren there must have been repetitions of the names Judah, Joses, Simon in the Holy family. " The similarity of names shows nothing more than that the two branches of the human race maintained intercourse with one another." Keil. Builded is literally "was building," and does not seem to im- ply that ho linished the building. Here, again, it would seem as if the world were more populous than by the place of the nar- rative wc should suppose. 19.] Poly- gamy originates in the race of Cain, and in the same line various occupations and arts take their beginning. Keil notices that the names of Laiuech's wives indicate already a state of luxury and enjoyment. Adah signi- fies adornment or beauty (it was also the name of the Hethite wife of Esau, ch. xxxvi. 2, 4), and Zillah, tinkling sound (but accord- ing to Geseiiius, shadow). 20.] Jabal, probably meaning projit : the word used for "the increase of the earth" (Deut. xxxii. 22). He introduced the nomad pastoral life of the eastern tribes. Keil suggests that the eating of lUsh may be well implied as introduced, which seems not to have been from the first. The word rendered cattle simply signilies in the primitive meaning possessions, but as the sole possessions of nomads are Hocks and herds, became the usual word for cattle (see reff.). 21.] Jubal, signifying wi«s/ca^ sound : the word is represented in our jubi- lant, Jubilee. the harp] This Hebrew word i^Kinnohr) occurs 41 times in the Bible, and is always rendered harp by our trans- lators. It follows from the context of several of tlie places (see in reff.) that it was a smaller instrument than the harp at present, being 18—26. GENESIS. 25 Adali and Zillah, Hear my voice ; Ye wives of Lamecli, hearken unto my speech : For I have skiin a man for my_ wound, And a young man for mybruise, 2-* For Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, And Lamech seventy and sevenfold. -^ ^ And Adam knew his wife again ; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth : For God, said^ site, hath ap- pointed me another seed instead of Abel^ whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son ; and he called his name Euos : then began men to ™ call upon the y m ch. xii xiii. 4; xxi. 33; xxvi. 25. Ps. Ixxix. 6. Isu. xii. 4. named aj^ain after this chapter. 23, 24.] Here, again, we have a mysterious particular iutrocUiced, which has never received even a probable interpretation. The conjecture which seems at any rate not to contradict any probability is that Lamech had slain some man in self-defence ; and here in a poetical form he represents to his wives his innocence, and his conviction that if Cain's slaughter by an avenger of blood were for- bidden, much more must his own be. The renderings " to my woimdiiiff," " fo my hurt," in the A. V., are generally regarded as erroneous. " As Drechsler remarks, the history of the Cainite race begins with a deed of murder, and ends with a song of murder," Wright : who with many modern scholars, Ewald included, understands the words as a song of blasphemous triumph on the inven- tion of the sword, and renders the verb in the future, I icill slay. This alone may serve to show how entirely the interpretation and reference are wrapped in uncertainty, and also to read a lesson to all positive and rash interpreters of other parts of this prima;val history, which, perhaps only] fi-om our own ignorance, appear to us more clear in mean- ing and reference. This saying of Lamech's presents strikingly the characteristic parallel- ism of Hebrew poetry, and has consequently been generally arranged as a lyrical frag- ment. 25, 26.] The narrative returns to the first progenitors of mankind, and their further posterity, in the line of which the future history is to be continued. It seems as if the writer of Genesis had retained this por- tion of the document prior to the new narra- tive in ch. v., in order to bind the por- tions together. (See on ch. v. 1 ff.) "We may notice that here first is the first man called by the proper name Adam, without the article : Ila-Adara, the man, having in every case where he is directly introduced been heretofore used. Seth] Appointed or substituted. The words are put into the mouth of Eve, without any notice to indicate that they are hers. Observe, that she uses the name Elohim, whereas at the birth of Cain she used Jehovah ; can any reason be assigned for this ? that given by Knobel, be- cause the Sethites were Elohists, would be a reason for the name appearing in any inser- tion in ch. v., but not here, where we are still apparently in the portion belonging to the history of Cain aiul Abel. Keil's reason that Elohim, God, who had made up the loss, is the contrast to Cain, man, who had occa- sioned it (so also Delitzsch), has perhaps more likelihood, but hardly seems to reach the root of the matter. Least of all will the fair- judging reader agree with Bp. Wordsworth, who tries to convince him that because the one name occms in a passage otherwise de- voted to the other, therefore no distinction is to be traced between the Elohistic and Jeho- vistic documents. I would rather seek the reason in supposing that this joining link between the history in ch. iv. and that in ch. V. itself belongs to some independent document. 26.] Another link with the next independent account in ch. v. Enosh signifies 7nan, but usually on the side of our weakness and nothingness. See Ps. viii. 5, where the word is used. So that, as Delitzsch observes, the meaning is not far removed from that of Abel. The words that follow to the end have seemed to the conmicntators full of mystery. The expression " to call on the name of Jehovah " is found in the Pen- tateuch only in the Jchovistic parts (see reff.), 26 GEI^ESIS. Y. name of Jehovali.' Y. ^ This is tlie "book of tlie genera- tions of Adam. In the day that God created Adam, in the likeness of God made he him ; ^ Male and female created he them ; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. ^ % And Adam lived an, and in tbe sense of making prayer to Him. The notice, here inserted by the Jehovist writer, seems merely to indicate tliat at this time, coincidently with the apostasy of the Cainite race, there began to be a distinct and formal worship of Jehovah, that God-fear- ing line being founded, in and down which the true worsliip of the Lord descended. It is not that then first the name of Jehovah was known ; for we have Eve using it at the birth of her first-born ; but that it then first became a formal and di;tinctive name in men's worship. There is notliing correspond- ing to" »ic?i" in tlie Hebrew ; it is literally, then began to call, &c., no subject to the verb being specified. So widely differing have been the interpretations, that the Targum of On- kelos paraphrases, " Then the children of men ceased to call on the 7iame of Jehovah." V. 1 — 32,] The generations from Adam to Noah (Eloliistic). See on ver. 29. From tliis point the sacred narrative follows only the line of the descendants of Seth, the call- ers upon the name of Jehovah ; this line alone is important for the purpose of the tracing down of God's covenant with man, and the bringing in of tlie father of the fiiithful. Of such patriarchs there are ten from Adam to Xoah, and again (ch. xi. 10, ff.) ten from Noah to Abraham. 1. The book of the generations] Simi- larly the Gospel of St. Matthew begins : meaning the register, a genealogy. The recapitulation shows that we have here a complete document, not a continuation mere- ly of that which has gone before. 2.] This is a recitation of ch. i. 27, 28, as far as "blessed them." The word Adam is the same throughout these two verses, without the article. God called man Adam when he was created, he being so named in the nar- rative of tlie act of his creation, ch. i. 27. 3, ff.] The chronology of these ten pa- triarchs is ranch disturbed by the varieties which we find in the Samaritan Pentateuch and in the LXX. The accompanying table will show the differences. .•^ p y . Present Hebrew Samaritan text Pentateuch. L.i-v. Kamcs. Asp at birth of Rest of life. Whola Ufc. Age at birth of son. Rest of Whole life. lite. Aac at binli of Rest of life. Whole life. Adam 130 800 930 130 800 930 230 700 930 Seth ... 10.5 807 912 105 807 912 205 707 912 Enos . 90 815 905 90 815 905 190 715 905 Cainan 70 840 910 70 840 910 170 740 910 Mahalalccl . G.5 830 895 65 830 895 165 730 895 Jared 162 800 962 62 785 847 162 800 962 Enoch 6.5 300 365 65 300 365 165 200 365 Methuselah 187 782 969 67 653 720 167 (or 187 802 782) 969 Lamech 182 595 777 53 600 653 188 565 753 Noah 500 450 950 500 450 950 500 450 950 Age of, at Flood 100 100 100 Total from Crea- , tion to Flood 1656 1307 2242 It will be seen, by the notes on ch. xi. 10, to enter on disquisition on matters of that there are difterences of etpal import- this kind, as to di-aw inference from the ance in the genealogy of ten post-diluvian phenomeua which may be useful to an patriarchs. Now, the object of the present English reader for the practical benefit of edition of the Old Testament is not so much his faith. And such an inference in the 1—13. GE.XESIS. 27 Lundrccl and thirty years, and begat a son in his likeness, after his imago ; and called his name Seth : ^.And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth M^erc eight hun- dred years : and he begat sons and daughters : ^ And all ; the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years : and he died. ^ And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos : ^ And Seth lived after he be- gat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters : ^ And all the daj's of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years : and he died. ^ % And Enos lived ninety 3-ears, and begat Cainan : ^^ ^\.nd Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters : ^^ ^ndi all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years : and he died. ^^ ^ xVnd Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel : ,^nd Cainan lived after 13 he begat Mahalaleel eight present case seems to be this : that we have, in the presence of such uncertainty as tliis, absohitely no right to assert the numerical accuracy of these dates. Quarry has well pointed out that as we do not undervahie tlic Divine authority of the Gospels of St. ]\[atthcw and St. Luke, because of the de- monstrable inaccuracy, as to matter of fact, of tlie genealogies of our Lord given' by those two Evangelists ; so neither need the Divine authority of the Book of Genesis be undervalued, because of tlic manifest uncer- tainty of all these technical chronological enumerations. We happen to know that in St. Matthew's genealogy three whole gener- ations are omitted to make the three four- teens square with one another. How can ■we tell what similar process, or what other process, may not have been employed, to square the ten antediluvian and the ten postdiluvian patriarchs ? How can we tell what difference in conventional Avays of reckoning, at present untraceable by us, may have assigned to Noah and Abraliara, who ■were contemporaries during oSjyears, to the former a life of 950 years, to the latter a life of 175 years? On such matters, and where we are involved in such uncertainties, it surely becomes Christians to suspend their judgment, — "not to be unwise, but under- standing what the Avill of the Lord is," — and above all, to abstain from harsh and un- favourable expressions towards those who dill'er from them in method or iu result of their search after truth. See, on the whole details, Mr. Stuart Poole's able article on " Chronology," in Smith's Biblical Diction- ary. 3. in his likeness, after his image] Do these words imply a continua- tion of the Divine likeness and image, or a discontinuation? The word '^own" of coui-se implied, but not expressed in the He- brew, and inserted in the A. V. for per- spicuity, tends to throw the bias somewhat too strongly in the latter direction, and to bring out a contrast where it may not neces- sarily be implied. On tlie one side we have Kalisch, " The Divine image impressed by God as the first man was inherited by his descendants ; for Adam begat Seth in his image and his likeness ; " and Knobel, even more decidedly, holding that to insist on the identity was the object of the insertion of these words. On the other side, we have several of the older commentators, and recently Keil, Bp. Wordswortli, and Prof. Murphy. Keil gives a slightly moderated view — that it is meant tliat Adam transmitted the Divine image through his own condition — which includes the de- terioration introduced tlirough sin. But perhaps it is more natural, seeing that the Divine image is expressly predicated of man again, ch. ix. 6, and as a reason for a permanent institution, to understand tlie words simply of the transmission of the image of God, in which Adam was himself created. 12. Mahalaleel] praise of 28 GENESIS. Y. . vi 9, only, e Mic. vi. hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daugliters : 1^ And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years : and he died. ^^ ^ And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared : ^^ And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters : i' And all the days of Maha- laleel were eight hundred ninety and five years : and he died. ^S 51 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch : l^ And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters : 20 ^-^^^ qH |]^g days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years : and he died. 21 ^ jt^^id Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah : 22 And Enoch ° walked with God after he begat Methuse- lah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters : 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years : 24 J^j^d Enoch ° walked with God : and El (God). 22 — 24.] A special notice is given of Enoch, " seventh Irora Adam." The dread monotony of " and he died " is now first broken through, as Delitzsch well ob- serves. His further commentary is worth extracting: "Enoch's life had another issue. He walked with God ; this expression, only found in the antediluvian history (see reff.), is more than to tccd/c before God (ch. xvii. 1 ; xxiv. 40) or to walk after . . . (Deut. viii 19). It betokens the most intimate com- munion of life witli God, as it were a walk- ing beside God who still walked among men (ch. iii. 3). [NVc may notice that the LXX. render walked with "^j/ertser/," and that this is adopted in Ileb. xi. 5, 6.] The name IIA-ELOniM evermore recalls the contrast of the created and worldly to God ; in the N. T. it would be said that his walk was in heaven. To this walk corresponded his end of life : he suddenly disappeared (on this ex- pression, was not, compare retf.), God had taken him away. AVith the other patriarchs long life is a blessing from God ; Enoch's early end (his 36oth year corresponds about to our 33rd) was no premature death : he was in some manner, surprising and inex- plicable to his contemporaries, taken hence, and taken into nearer proximity to God, with whom he had here walked. It is not said that he was taken up to heaven : heaven Avas at that time not yet in the later sense the place of blessedness, the essential par- ticipation of God's revelation of Himself in glory. Heaven and earth were not yet, in respect of their personal self-witness of God, separated as they afterwards were. God snatched away Enoch from this nether world of sin and evil, to which he, as we know from Jude 14, f. (compare Sirach, xliv. 16), had proclaimed the future coming of God to judgment, and set hira in His own imme- diate presence, where is no sin or evil, and that without his becoming a prey to death, Heb. xi. 5. He excepted him, therefore, from the law of death, shewing that though He had subjected man to this law. He bound not Himself to it, — that personal im- mortality was an attainable gift of grace, that for them who Avalked with Him in the life of the body, a higher existence was re- served." And Kalisch well observes, " "We are convinced, that the ' taking away ' of Enoch is one of the strongest proofs of the belief in a future state, prevailing among the He- brews ; without this belief the history of Enoch is a perfect mystery, a hieroglyph without a clue, a commencement without an end." On all matters regarding the Tery curious apocryphal Book of Enoch, see Dr. "Westcott's article in Smith's Biblical Dictionary, and the Introduction to the Epistle of Jude in my Xew Testament for Englishreaders. 25.] Some have traced 14— TI. 2. GENESIS. 29 Phe was not; for God took him. 25 ^Vnd Methuselah p,f^ , '''"•..'''• ' 31!. Jub vu. tt, lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech : -^ And Methuselah lived after he begat La- meeh seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters : 27 ^nd qH the days of Methuselah were a nine hundred sixty and nine years : and he died. 28 51 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son : 29 Xi^^ he called his name Noah, saying, «- /• ^^ "*• This same shall relieve us frojn our work and the toil of c^-f*^/ ^"^1 iTri our hands, because of the ground which Jehovah hath fiz^r^/ cursed. ^^ And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters : "^^ And all the da^'s of Lamech were seven «- liundred seventy and seven years : and he died. -^2 And Noah was five hundred years old : and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. YI. i And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and ^'^*^ daughters were born unto them, 2 That the 'i sons of God ^ xxxvm'v'"' saw the daughters of men that they Kcre fair; and they ri'ii'xx^x."6; :>'.'• in the name Methuselah — man of sending forth [Bp. Wordsworth adds (0/ u-ater), but this seems pure fancy] — a prophetic intimation of tlie Hood, secinsj that he died tlie same year as the flood began. But all this is untrustworthy. Gcscnius intei-prets the name, the man of the wea- pon (missile). Such ground needs tlie utmost caution in treading. 29.] Noah, i. e. rest. The sacred writer connects the name with another root signifying to com- fort (see below), "caring,"- as Simonis (quoted in Gesenius) observes, " more for the reality of things than of words." The con- struction is, — shall comfort us from, i. e. shall comfort tis by relieving us from. This is nearest expressed in English by " relieve us from," as Kalisch. This last comment- ator understands the name, as given, to be prophetic of a relief of the human race from the necessity of living on vegetable food, re- quiring the hard labour of incessant tillage, and tlie coming permission to eat the llcsh of animals. Surely this is most fanciful. Even if we are to understand ch. i.x. 3, tf. as the first JJivine sanction for the practice of eating flesh, who shall say that the prac- tice did not prevail long before ? Ob- serve, that the name Jehovau is here found. It was Jehovah Elohim -who had cursed the ground, ch. iii. 17. And thus the occurrence of the name is a sign of minute accuracy, ■which should not be overlooked. It may point to a " Jehovistic" insertion or correction of the " Elohistic " narrative. 32.] The mention of the t]iree sons, unprecedented as yet, serves to preface us for their playing some notable part in the history whicli is to fol- low : also for the continuation of the " book of generations," no longer in one main line, but in three branches. See ch. x. 1, fl'. Of these sons, Ilam was the youngest (see ch. ix. 24) ; Shem the eldest (see ch. x. 21, in our text).- VI. 1— IX. 29.] The life-time of No.\H. TiiK cwusES OF THE Flooh, its HISTORY AND ITS CONSEQUEN-CES. On the mixed Jehovistic and Elohistic charac- ter, see Introduction. 1 — 7.] Tlie causes of the Flood. Andlierein (1— 4) the unnatural union of sons of God with daugh- ters of men, by which giants and men of re- nown came upon earth. AVitli regard to these sons of God, I liavc maintained in the Introduction to the Epistle of Jude, N. T. for English readers, vol. ii. part 2, tliat they are most probably to be understood as being angels. In no other way, in spite of the 30 GENESIS. VI. -^/ ■X7 took tliem wives of all wliicli they cliose. ^ And JeliOYali said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh : yet his daySj^sEall' be an hundred and arj^nmciits to the contrary by Hengstenberg, Quarry, aud others, can we understand the contrast between the sons of God and the daughters of Man: for however the dis- tinction may have been drawn between the godfearing race of the Sethites and the un- godly race of the Cainites, nothing ap- proaching any justitication of such names for thetwohasbeuuadduced. Andagain, only thus can St. Jude's expression respecting Sodom and Goniorrha, that they committed foniica- tion in like manner to these angels, be ex- plained. The great objection to this, which was the opinion of the early fathers, and of I'hilo and Josephus, seems to be that it opens the way to the idea that the narration is mythical and not historical. But is this really so .' And if it were so, is it to over- bear the plain sense of words, and the com- mon sense of interpretation ? What wonder would it be, — what Avould it be worthy of narration,— that these took place, mixed marriages between the godly and ungodly } Has not this been already testified by the community of names in the Sethite and Cainite lines .' And what issue such as is here stated, could have been the result of those mixed marriages .>' Again, in order to carry through what I cannot help calling this makeshift interpretation, the word "men," in ver. 1, must be limited to the Cainite line, whereas it is plainly and un- raistakeably used of the whole human race, and as about to distinguish the human race from some other order of beings to be pre- sently mentioned. "We conclude, therefore, moved by these considerations, and by the others adduced by Dr. Kurtz, that these sons of God were beings of a higher order than man. We are here in the region, as Bp. Wordsworth has well argued in his long note on the flood, of the miraculous, and our simple understanding of the same text is not to be overthrown by considei-ations deduced from our present ordinary conception of things, To what ultimate inference this leads us is no con- cern of the interpreter. On the phrase sons of God, see rcfl\ 3.] Here is another verse over which much controversy has been spent. The two streams of interpretation may be thus described: 1. (corresponding to the translation, My spirit shall iiot alwai/s rule in man while he is also flesh) The Spirit of God, the Lord who giveth life, was not any longer to preside in man in the flesh for so long a period as it had hitherto done, approaching a thousand years ; but his life shall henceforth be reduced to a hundred and twenty years. So, in the main, the LXX., the Vulgate, Kalisch, Knobel, and many others ; and so Delitzsch, but he un- derstands the former clause to mean that God would withdraw His Spirit of life from the whole race of man, i. e. destroy the race, — and the latter clauses as below. 2. (corresponding to the translation, Mtj spirit shall not always strive xcith man, for that [because] he also is flesh) The Spirit of God, the author and suggester of all that is good in man, was not any longer to strive with a race who had by their carnal corruption shewn themselves to be flesh. also] i. e. as well as the lower tribes (so Knobel) ; but in this prospect of the withdrawal of God's striving Spirit in man, his days (of gracious respite) should be 120 years. Thus this latter view regards the words as spoken 120 years before the flood, i. e. in the 480th of Xoah's life. So Kinichi, and most modern interpreters. The whole verse is a battle-field • of commentators, and it seems impossible to decide. It is, as so often in the interpretation of difficult 0. T. texts, Hebraist against Hebraist, one great scholar insisting on a meaning for a word which another great scholar entirely denies that it can ever have. We may say here, by way of laying down some landmarks for the interpretation, 1. That the spiritual meaning, of God's (warning) Spirit striving with man, is something quite alien as yet from the primaival narrative. 2. That the interpreta- tion of " his days," as meaning his time of grace intervening before judgment is in- flicted, is not after the analogy of ch. v., where "the days of" is used ten times in the sense of " the life of." 3. That this last interpretation cannot be said to square with the following history, in which the lives of the patriarchs far exceed the limit of 120 years. 4.] The context shews (so Kno- bel and others. Lange, &c., maintain the contrary, that the giants were on the earth 3—11. GENESIS. 31 ^ The •■ giaiits were in tlic cartli in those twenty years daj's, and also after that the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare chihlren to them, these were the mighty men which xccvc of old, men of renown. ^ ^ And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and ihat OA'cry ® imagination of the thoughts of his heart iccm only evil continuall}'. ^ And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground ; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowl^ of the air; for it rcpenteth me that I have made them. ^ But Jut^-^-i/ Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah. ^ ^ These are ^ t'^-^/ the generations of Noah : Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God. ^'u... , 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ilam, and Japheth. II I'he earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth i.«^// 'ij oj k^ / ,' ^ i ' v-and his female. ^,0f fowU, also- of the air by sevens, the male and the female ; to keep seed alive upon the face of ' '.^- "• .5 , all the earth. ^ ^ For yet seven days, and I will cause it Amos IV. 7. J J ' to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights ; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the ground. ^ And Noah did accord- ing unto all that Jehovah commanded him. ^ And Noah icas six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. '^ ^ And Noah Avent in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, ^ because of the waters of the flood. ^ Of clean beasts, and ' of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 9 there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. ^^ And it came to pass * Lev.^'xi.' 3R. after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon ptixxxvii.7. the earth. ^^ ^ In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, b ch. viii. 2. ** iD^^Eccrxii.'^' in the second month,^the seventeenth day of the month, Hos'xm'3 \the same day were all the * fountains of the great deep 0,1 broken up, and the ^windows of heaven were opened. . Xlll. (chimney^ Wal. ill. 10, only. 2.] The distinction between clean and im- two and two, though it looks like the fulfil- clean cannot for one moment be treated as ment of tlie command in vi. 19, 20, need not an anachronism, introduced here out of the be inconsistent with the taking in of sevc7i Mosaic law. Those who are prepared to pair of clean animals in ver. 2. think so humbly of the writer of the Penta- 11—24.] Principally Elohistic. " The flood tench surely forget that he and those who began on the 17th day of the 2Dd month, came after him must have been aware of which was later called Jar : it corresponds such an absurdit}-. Eathcr is the distinction Avith April or May ; it is not the Marliesh- a testimony to the subsistence at that time van, or October, which is never designated of sacrificial arrangements, which would as the second, but the eighth month ; for the necessitate such a distinction. That sacrifice year is, throughout the Bible, counted from was in view is clear from ch. viii. 20. Nisan, not from Tishri." Kalisch. See on We must imagine of these sevens as seven Exod. xii. 2. 11. fountain] The great pair, otherwise they could not have come deep, i. e. the ocean, was conceived as having "male and his female." And the Hebrew its springs in the earth ; see Job xsxviii. IC; expression is " seven and seven," whereas in Prov. viii. 28 ; and the meaning is, that the subsequent clause it is not " tico and these fountains were (lit.) rent open, and two," but simply "two." (It is to be noted caused the sea to flood the earth from be- that the LXX., Yulgate, and Syriac versions neath, as the rain from above. win- read " iico and two.") 6.] literally, dows] Xot the same word as so rendered ch. son of six hundred years. 7 — 10.] We viii. 6. This word, aruhboth, is derived have here again the resumption of the ori- from a root signifying wearing or plaiting, siual Elohistic account. See ch. vi. 20. This and comes_ to mean a window from the lat- 2—23. GENESIS. 35 ^- And the rain was upon tlio cartli fort}- daj-s and forty nights. 13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shcni, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark ; ^"^ they, and every beast after his kind, and all the c-^' cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepcth npon the earth after his kind, and every fowl '^ after hjs kind, every bird of every sort. ^^ And they ^^T^/ '^ went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. ^^ And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had com- •■ manded him: and Jehovah, shut him in. i'' And the /■ — flood was forty da3's upon the earth ; and the waters in- creased, and bare up the ark, and it rose above the earth. "^" ^/^ *^/ 1^ And the waters prevailed, and increased greatlj^ upon the earth ; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. 1^ And the waters prevailed *^ exceedingly iij)on the earth ; and all the high mountains, that n-ere under the whole heaven, were covered. ^0 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail ; and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and «^ of cattle, and of beast, and o_f ever}'- creeping thing that ''/ 'Z '/ creepcth upon the earth, and every man: 22 qI\ {^^ whose ^'•''■' nostrils icas the breath of the spirit of life, of all that nris in the dry laiir/, died. 23 And he destroyed every living i(,~Jhu^ c^^c substance which was upon the face of the ground, both c lit. much fnuch.i>cc ch. xvii. 2,6,20; XXX. 4a. Exod. i.7. Kum. XIV. 7. .7K./ ticodorrctioulatocl matorinl with which win- dows were formerly closed. The waters heing divided (ch. i. 6) into those ahove and be- low the expanse of heaven, both contributed to the flood of the delun^e. 12. was] i. e. fell. It endured, on the earth, more than three times as long, vcr. 24. 13.] i. e. in the seventeenth day of the second month, as above in vcr. 11. By the three wives we see that monogamy was pre- served in the God-fearing family. Yer. 14 is a complete enumeration of the animals which ■went in. X^c last words may be also ren- dered, as by Kalisch, everi/ bird, every winged creature. The close of ver. 16 is remarkable, as introducing into this Elohis- tic portion the name Jkhovah. Knobel re- marks that the clause also betrays the strong anthropomorphism of the Jchovist writer. One would rather say perhaps that he has in mind the covenant which God had estab- lished with Noah, and of which this shutting him in was a pledge : Jehovah being especi- ally the covenant name of God. The phrase is literally, Jehovah shut behind him. It should be remarked that in the progress of the narrative Noah possesses the power of opening and closing the ark. See ch. viii. 6, 13. So that this act can only be regarded as an assurance of security to Noah and his family. 17. was] See above, vcr. 12. AVent on increasing. No expressions could well be stronger than those hei'C used to assert the universality of the flood. 20. ] Fifteen cubits, i.e. upwards of 26 feet, above the tops of the highest mountains. 36 GENESIS. VII. i -. ch. xi XXX. 23 Exod. li 1 Sum. i man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and tlie fowl of tlie heaven ; and they were destroyed from the earth : and Noah only reiiaamed_alire, and they that were with him in the ark. ^4 ^^d the waters prevailed upon the earth an • 29; hundred and fifty days. VIII. ^ And God 'h'emembered IS. Noah, and every^living thing, and all the cattle that nrjs with him in the ark : and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged ; ^ the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed, and the rain from heaven was stopped ; ^ and the waters re- tired from off the earth continually : and after the end of the hundi'ed and fifty days the waters were abated. ^ And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. ^ And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month : in the tenth montJi, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. ^ 1[ And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the YIII. 1—19.] Subsidence of the Flood, and of the Ark: the going forth of Noah. (The whole section is Eloliistic.) 1. a wind] The ordinary means of clearing away the rain-cloud and producing dry weatlier. 2.] See on ch. vii. 11. 3. con- tinually] Literally, in going and returning. The hundred and fifty days included 'ihe forty days of the rain's falling. For, seeing that Xouh entered the ark and the flood began on the 17th day of the 2nd month, Ave have (counting the mouth at 30 days) 13 days of the 2ud month + 120 for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th months, + 17 for the 7th + 150 days. 4, 5.] It seems to be implied that at the time indicated, the ark first took the groxmd — obviously on the highest peak of Ararat ; then the waters continuing to decrease, on the first day of the 10th month tlie tops of the mountains (generally) were seen. Ararat] "The name in its Biblical sense may be most correctly considered as descriptive generally of the Armenian higlilaiuls, the lofty plateau which overlooks the plain of the Araxes on the N., and of Mesopotamia on the S." Mr. Uevan's article, in Smithes Biblical Diction- ary, which see. The Ararat consists of two unequal peaks, the higher 16,254 French feet high, and covered with perpetual snow, —the lesser 12,284 feet high. Delitzsch observes : " There is no point in the old world which lies in tlie interior and yet so truly island-like, surrounded by great waters, ■which seem to have fallen on all sides from its height. And there is no point in the old world which has a central position in reference to so many great features of land and sea. It is the higliest mountain-top, with the exception of the Himalayas, in the old world " See also Kalisch's long and graphic note. 5.] In seventy-two days after the grounding of the ark, on the highest peak the tops of the surrounding lower mountains became generally visible. Then 6.] forty days after that Noah makes the first trial of the state of the earth. As before observed on ch. vi. 16, the word here rendered window is diflferent from that which we have there translated light. This may have been one division or portion of that larger aperture perhaps extending the length of the ark. There is no reason what- ever to infer that there was but one such aperture of the limited size which one man might open. "V\''e may be allowed to remind the reader that our own common usage is to speak of opening " the window," though there may be many windows in the room. This " window " might even be a mere open- 24— Till. 13. GENESIS. 37 ark which he had made : " and he scut forth the raven, Avliich wont forth to and fro, until the water* were dried *./ Ut^cA^ etus of the Greeks and Romans (the progenitor of the human race), is too strong to be overlooked. The name Gomer has been traced iu the Klmmerians of Homer and the classics, also iu the Cymrij or Cym- rian, even now used by tbe Welsh, as tlieir national name. IMagog is supposed to indi- cate the Scythians, and the second syllable to have affinity with C«!^(ttites), a branch of the Canaanitish race. Dodanim] as coupled to Kittim, seems to represent sdme people in Greece. The name is also written Rodanim, and is here rendered in the LXX. Rhodians, by which name they have also rendered Dedan in ref. Ezek. Dodanim is now gen- erally 'assumed to answer to the Dardnni, the ar and o being interchangeable, as in Bar- milcar and Bomilcar, Hamilcar and Ham- ilco. The Dardani were anciently found in Illyrium and Troy. The Dodona in Epirus reminds one of this name, and Kalisch thinks the Dawiians in Italy may be repre- sented by it. On all these names see the articles in Smith's Biblical Dictionary. 5. the isles of the Gentiles] would appear to include the coast of the Mediter- ranean. The word signifies not only island but also any maritime tracts. The notice in this verse must evidently be regarded as anticipatory of ch. xi. 1. 6 — 20] The sons of Ham. Ciish'\ The well-known designation of the Ethiopians, the farthest South of the children of Ham. "They dwelt," says Knobel, " partly in A.sia, e. g. in India, Gedro.sia, Carmania, and Southern Arabia, and farther north in Susiana and Babylonia. In these lands the ancients speak of dark- skinned tribes known by thrm as Ethiopians, who partly vanished in old time, partly re- main in fragments even now. But the 46 GENESIS. X. rs'^'ix™i'i.'i»: Canaan. 7 And the sons of Cusli ; "^ Seba, and '^ Havilali, ve'V.Mich ii andySabtah, and ''Raamali, and =^ Sabtecliali : and tlie 11; XXV. 18. 1 ' ' sons of Raamab ; ^ Sbeba, and *= Dedan. ^ And Cusli . XV. 7 Chron. i.9,2:i y 1 Chron. i. 9, onlv. z 1 Chron. i. 9. Ezek. xxvij. 23 (ch. XXV. SJ. c ch. xxv. 3. 1 tin ™lv. a 1 Chron. i. 9. b 1 riiron. i. 9. See ver. . 9, 32. Jer. xxv. 23 ; xlix. 8. Ezck. x.xvii. 15, 2n r. Ezck, xxvii. 22, 13, only. main body of this race dwelt in Africa, in the present Xuhia and Abyssinia. To these African Ethiopians the name Cush in the 0. T. usually applies ; but in these national tables, the name indicates the Ethiopian race jrencrally, and has a wider meaning. In the division of lands here the sons of Cush are also mentioned, whom the writer enum- erates from West to East. " In all the reff. except in the genealogical table in Chron., Cush is rendered Ethiojiia in the A. V. Mizraim] Thij is the name through- out the 0. T. for Egypt or the Egyptians. Mr Stuart Poole, in his art. in Smith's Biblical Dictionary/, maintains that the form IMizraim can in no case be a man's name, as neither can any of those (ending in im) in vv. 13, 14, but must indicate nations, and that the order here may furnish a clue to the positions. Cush would stand first as the most widely spread of these peoples, extending from Baby- lon to the Upper Nile ; the territory of IMizraim would be the next to the north, embracing E"-vpt and its colonies on the N. W. and N. E. Phut as dependent on Egypt might follow Mizraim, and Canaan as the north- ernmost would end the list. The occurrence of the name Mizraim in the 0. T. is far too frequent to admit of a list of reff. It is ever V where rendered Egypt in the A. V. except in Genesis 1. 11, where the name is given as it stands in a compound word. Phut] has been ordinarily under- stood to indicate the Libyans. See Mr. Stuart Poole's art. in Smith's Biblical Diet., who inclines to interpret it rather of Nubi- ans. However this may be, "the few men- tions of Phut clearly indicate a country or people of Africa, and probably not far from Et^ypt. They occur only in the list of Noah's descendants and in the prophetic Scriptures ; " see the reff., which seem quite to bear out this assertion, and on Isa. Ixvi. 19. Canaan] The well-known pro- genitor, or natural name of the Phoenician tribes, occupying the territory from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. See on bis descendants below. 7. Saba] To this name is allotted the north of Ethi- opia, including Meroe, which is sometimes called Saba by Josephus. See Mr. Stuart Poole's art. in Smith's Biblical Diet. Havilah] See on ch. ii. 11. Thei-e is an- other Ilavilah mentioned in tliis chapter, ver. 29, as a son of Joktan, see tliere. This one is taken as representing the district Khaiclan (which is similar in name) iu Yemen ; it is " a fertile territory embracing a large part of myrrhiferous Arabia." Mr. Stanley Poole in Smith's Biblical Bid. Sabtah] This name has been traced in Sabbatic or Sa- bota, an important inland city in South Arabia. See Mr Stanley Poole's art. as above. Kaamah] This name has been identified, by means of the LXX. and Vul- gate renderings, Ttegma, as a city so called, and mentioned by tlie ancient geograpliers, on the shore of the Persian Gulf. See Mr. Stanley Poole's art. as above. Sabte- chah] iMr. Poole thinks this name has not been satisfactorily or even proximately traced. From its position here, we should expect a people on the Per.sian Gulf ; and Knolii^l connects with the name a maritime town and river Sa??(?/f/rtA-e mentioned by Ptolemy. Put this seems far-fetched. Sheba] This Cushite Sheba is not to be confounded with the better known Sheba of ver. 28, on wliieh see ; it seems to represent a people on the Persian Gulf, wliere we are told are the ruins of an ancient city called Seba. In ref. Ezek. Sheba is mentioned as here, in connexion with Raamah, as bringing to Tyre spices, precious stones, and gold. On the r^'appear- ance of some of these names in ch. xxv. 3, as children of Keturah, see there. Dedan] IMuch obscurity rests over this name. Mr. Stanley Poole (art. as above) thinks tliat the view best supported by the facts of tlie case is, "that Dedan son of Raamah settled on the shores of the Persian Gulf, and his descendants (see ref. Ezek.) became caravan- merchants between that coast and Palestine." Mr. Poole thinks the name is to be traced in the island of Dadan on the border of the Gulf. In Jer. xxv. 23, Ezek. xxiii. 15, the name is connected with islands. 8 — 12.] Parenthetical notice concerning Nimrod. Its diversity of material from, and disconnexion with, what went before and 7—11. GENESIS. 47 d 1 riiron. i 10. Mi.-.ih ». 6. only. vii. 1. xxvi. begat ^Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. ^ lie was a mighty hunter '^ before the Loud : wherefore it is said, Eveii_as Nimrod the miglity liunter before the Lord. 10 ji^i^f[ ^he beginning of his kingdom was f Babel, and ^Erech, and ^' Accad, and Calnch, in the fS'ech.xi.a land of Shinar. H Out of that hmd he went forth to As- i.i.:Jr„„w. o^, 12. I'. Jonul _. (AcU vU. 20.) ^C V shur, and builded Nineveh, and the„j;ity 'Rchoboth, and ".^'x^wa'?? (^ -S^j what follows, and the occurrence of the lasar), while the name of Accad is preserved name JcJiovah, mark the insertion as due to in tlie title Kin:i-aLkad, by which the the Jchovist supplcmcntcr. Nimrod] founder or cmhcllislu'r of their towns was See Mr. Bevan's article in Smith's Bihiical distingui.-hcd (Rawlinson, i. 43.5). Bevan. JJict. The e.\pres,>;ion he began to be a See JMr. Grove's art. in .B/i//m//J«W. Knobel mighty one in the earth, is explained that finds the name Calneh in Chalonitis: the he was the first wlio established an empire, name of a district north of Babylon on the becoming a conqueror, and joining more cities east bank of the Tigris. On the land of than one under his rule. 9.] This no- Shinar, see note, cli. .\i. 2. 11.1 Tliis tice is generally taken in its simiile primary yerse, as it seems now generally agreed nar- sensc, tliat this great conqueror was also a rates a further progress towards greatness on great follower of tlie chase, a pursuit which, tlie part of Nimrod, in going further north- as Dclitzsch remarks, " has remained to this day, true to its origin, the favourite pleasure of tyrants." The expression before the Lord is more than a mere intensitive ; it signifies that in the sight of Ilim wlio over- looks all the world, such greatness was emi- nent — that the reputation was world-wide. The citation of popular proverbs is found also in ch. xxii. 11 ; K'uni. xxi. 27 ; 1 Sam. X. 12; xix. 24. Ilis first establishment of his kingdom began with these four — Babel (universally known as Babylon. The an- cient tradition made the Ethiopians found- ers of Babylon — an Ethiopian King Ce- ward into and conquering Asshur. The ren- dering in the A. V. seems to be possible, but mistaken. Four more cities are mentioned as built by Nimrod in Assyria. First, Nineveh. It would be beyond the limits of a note to give any full account of the early history of and conjectures respecting Xineveh. IMr. Layard, who lias most rigli't to do so, has related botli these in his article in Smith's Biblical Did. Nimrod is con- nected with Nineveh more by tlic modern name Niraroud, given by the Arabs to tlie principal mound of ruins, than by any ancient tradition. Rehoboth] Tliis pheus : and recognized a migration of word properly signifies streets, and is taken the people of Cepheus northwards, Knobel). by Jerome to mean, in connexion with the Belus also, the mythical founder of Baby- following word in tlie Hebrew, the streets Ion, was said to be of Egyptian origin, of the city, viz. of Nineveh : and it is so being the son of Poseidon and Libya, rendered by the Vulgate. But it is "-ener- " The name Cush itself was preserved in ally supposed to represent a distinct place ; Babylon and the adjacent countries under and its locality is very variously assigned. Kalisch says the name was very common, and ;jye have in ref. another instance of its occurrence. This Eehoboth is now gener- ally supposed to represent a portion of the existing ruins of Nineveh. Tiie Samaritan and the form of Cosswi, Cissia, Cuthah, Susiana, or Chuzistan." Bevan. Erech] The earliest seat of empire was in the south part of the Babylonian plain. The large mounds, which for a vast number of centuries have covered tlie ruins of ancient version reads here, for Rehobotlu Sutcaii : cities, have already yiehied some evidence of which name is found united with Calab on the dates and names of their founders, and the breast of a statue of the god Nebo, dis- ■we can assign the highest antiquity to tlie interred at Nimroud by Sir II. Bawlinson. towns represented by the mounds of Kiffer Sutcan is supposed to represent Sittacene, a (pc rhaps the early Babel, though also idon- district in southern Assyria. Calah] tified with Calneh), Warka (the biblical Kalisch identifies this witli tlie large mound, Erecli), Mugheir (Ur), and Senkcrch (El- Kalah Hherghat, about 05 miles south of 48 GENESIS. X. 2Tin"s-!i" Calah, i^ ^nd Eesen between Nineveli and J Calali : tlie kicijronj^u, samee'stlie great city. ^^ And Mizraim begat '^ Ludim, fES.'xxvif. and ^ Anaiuim, and "^ Lebabim, and ^ Naijbtubim, i^ and 10; XXX. 5). tfv/i fchron'Tii; " Patbrusim, and ° Caslubim, (outj)f wbom came Pbilis- ' onlv. m 1 Chron. i. 11, only Lubims, 2 Clirnn. xii. 3 ; xvi. f>. Nah. iii. 9. Dan. xi. 43. a 1 Chron. i. 12, only. Puthros, Is» xi 11. Jer. xliv. 1, 15. tzek. xxix. U ; xxx. 14, only. o 1 Chion. i. la, only. . Mosul, on the right bank of the Tigris. Calah, he says, possessed one of the most extensive palaces, and is several times men- tioned on the black obelisk of tlie central palace of Niniroud as the residence of the king. But Layard {Biblical Diet., as above) regards Calali as the same with Nimroud. Resen] This has been identified by some with the ruins of Nimroud, regarding Nineveh itself as being Kouyuiijik. But these sites seem at the best very uncertain. the same is the great city] Knobel refers this to the whole four just mentioned, Nineveh, Eehoboth, Calah, and Resen : these four places are the site tchich is named the great city, viz. Nineveh in the wider eense. See Jonah iv. 11 ; iii. 3. 13 — 20. ] Continxtation of the sons of Bam. Resumption of the Elohistic gene- alogy. In what follows respecting the sons of Ham individual and national names are mixed. All these in vv. 13, 14 are plural in form; and in vv. 16, 17, the names are unmistakably national. 13, 14.] Sons of Mizraim, on whom see note, ver. 6. Lubim] Tlicre is some diffi- culty in assigning the Scripture mention of Lud and Ludim between this ]\Iizraite people and the Shcmite of ver. 22. Vly. Stuart Poole discu.sses the matter in Smith's Biblical Diet., and thinks it probable that this ap- parently Egyptian tribe are intended in Jer. xlvi. 9, " Cush and Phut that handle the buckler," and'^the Ludimthaf bend the bow," in Pharaoh -Nccho's army. In Ezek. xxvii. 10, again, Lud is associated with Phut as in Jer., and, probably again, the African Ludim. In Ezek. xxx. 5 we have a similar associa- tion. But (see the article) there are reasons why this must remain uncertain. Ana- mim] Probably a people of North Egypt ; but nothing probable has been discovered about their site. Lehabim] Now generally identified with the Lxihim of refli'., and supposed to be the Libyans, the inhabitants of N.W. Africa. See art. in Biblical Diet. Naphtuhim] Kalisch con- nects this name with the Libyan city Nassata, in the north of the province of ]\lcroe, which was the capital of an Ethi- opian kingdom. Pathrusim] The con- clusion of Mr. Stuart Poole in the Biblical Diet. (Pathros) is, " On the evidence here brought forward, it is reasonable to consider Pathros to be part of Upper Egypt, and to trace its name in that of the Pathyrite Nome (district in which Thebes was situ- ate). But this is only a very conjectural identification, which future discoveries may overthrow." He thinks that the etymology which connects the name with " that which is southern" must be abandoned. CasluMm] There is nothing to lead to the identification of this race. They were long supposed to be the Colchians, who are related to have been an Egyptian colony ; but this is very doubtful, especially as the Philistines are said to have sprung from these Caslu- hims, and they certainly never carae from Colchis. " The only clue to their position is their place in the list between the Pathru- sim and the Caphtorim, whence it is pro- bable that they were seated in Upper Egypt." Stuart Poole. Knobel connects the name with Mount Casius and the town Cassitmi, the territory of which was afterwards called Cnssioti-t. out of whom (or whence) came Philistim] The name of the Philis- tines is derived from a verb signifying to migrate, and so this notice is, as Mr. Bevan remarks [Biblical Diet.) "an etymological as well as an historical memorandum." An attempt has been made to set up a transposi- tion here, and to make out that the notice refers to the Caphtorim who follow, because it is said (see ref. on that word) that the Philistines came from them. But we evi- dently must take this place as we find it. There is no reason why, the settlements being near, the Philistines may not have come from both. Caphtorim] have been in former times identified with tiie Cap- padocians, Cyprians, and Cretans : others have supposed the name to be traceable in Coptos. But all appears uncertain. On the derivation of the Philistines from them, see (12—19. GENESIS. 49 itim,) anrl p Caplitorim. 15 ^ ^Ynd Canaan boo-at Sidon bis ppr"'- "•'^'" .firstborn, and Iletb, i^ and tbe Jebusite, and tbe Amor- it o, and Girgasito, i" and tbe Hivite, and tbe i Arkite, and 'tbe Sinite, ^^ ^jid tbe *' Arvadito, and tbe ''Zeniarite, and tbe Ilamatbite : and afterward were tbe families of tbe iCanaanites spread abroad, i^ j^^^^ tjje border of tbe Xlvil. 11. AmoB ix. 7. q 1 Cliron. 1.15, onlv. r 1 Cliron. i. 16, only.^^el•Ez(■k. xxvii. 8, 11. B IChr.i.ie.onlT t 1 Chion. i. 10, only. Humiith Num. xiii. Zl.iin.l fre- quuntly. phovo. 15, f.] The sons of Canaan and \tlie 7-ares dcrired from him. Sidon] ,Tlu' Can;i;initisli peoples of Phoenician race, ithouirh they spoke a Semitic lan^jtiage, were bdtli liistorically and mytlioloj^ically origin- ially from the south. Sidon and Tyre were tluir most ancient cities. Sidon was the loiily Phoenician city known to Homer. From Heth came tlic Hittites, who dwelt about tin; mountains of Jndah, and especially near Hebron. But from Josh. i. 4 their settle- ments must have been originally much wider ; and from 1 Kings x. 29, 2 Kings vii. 6, there were kings of the Hittites in the days of Solomon and of Jorara. The four next-mentioned sons of Canaan dwelt iu Palestine : the Jebusites, in and around Jerusalem ; though defeated by Joshua, they maintained their ground in their city Jcbus, were unsuccessfully attacked by the tribes of Judah (Judg. i. 8) and Benjamin (Judg. i. 21; xix. 11), driven out by David, but never entirely extirpated. They are mentioned after the return from Babylon, Ezra ix. 1. The Amorites, Kiiobel thinks, are not the great people of that name E. and W. of the Jordan, but a portion of them only who were mingled with the Ciinaanites on the mountains of Judah. The name implies, dwellers on the summits. See Mr. Grove's interesting artrele {Biblical DictioiMri/), w^ho. however, does not maintain the above distinction. The Girgasites may possibly be connected with the Gerge- senes mentioned JIark v. 1, on the E. of the Sea of Galilee. The Hivites inhabited Shechem and Gibeon, and had a settlement in the N. near the foot of Hermon and Lebanon. They were not a large people, and are frequently included under the Amorites. The Arkites are supposed to be the in- habitants of a town Arka or Arke, at the X. Western foot of Lebanon, whose ruins are still called Tel Arka. The Sinites were in the same neighbourhood, at a town which still preserved the name of Sini in Jerome's time, and which existed as a village called Sin near the river Arka, as late as the 15th century. The Arvadites dwelt in the island of Aradus, olf the Pho-nician coast. It is a mere rock, only 7 furlongs in circumference, but grew to be a settlement almost rivalling Sidon, by exiles from which it was founded, — and even sent out colonies, of which Tar- sus was one. It was ruled by its own kings for many centuries, but yielded, first to the Persians, then to Alexander and to Ptolemy Soter. But, instead of declining, it ro.se to greater prosperity ; it was declared a city of refuge, and probably regained its independ- ence, for it oticred alliance and supi)ort to Antiochus Epiphanes ; but after his time it declined, becoming subject to Syria, Arme- nia, and Rome, and was finally destroyed under Constans. A village ( Riiad) still re- calls the name, and there are remains of mas- sive I'hocuician walls. The Zemarites are certainly not Samaritaiis, as the LXX. and Vulgate here render ; for it does not corre- spond with the Hebrew word. They are sup- posed by Kalisch to have been the inhabit- ants of Simyra, near Antaradns (a town opposite the island of Aradus) or Tortosa, The ruins now bear the name of Sumrah. It was once thought that the Zemarites were the tribes round Edessa, near the river Zamyrus. The Hamathites were iuhabit- auts of Hamath, the principal city of Upper Syria. It was on the Orontes, and coni- nianded the whole of the valley. For an account of its history see Smith's Biblical Dictionary and Kalisch. It was called by the Greeks Epiphania. It still exists ; and when Burckhardt visited it in 1812, had 30,000 inhabitants. The concluding notice imports that the Canaanites, who at first dwelt in the neighbourhood of Zidon, spread further over Palestine, viz. as specified in the next verse. 19.] The borders south- ward of the Canaanite extensions. Gerar was a large city to the south of Palestine, the capital of Abimelech, and probably birth- place of Isaac. Its situation is very uncertain. See Dr. Hayman's art. iu Smith's Biblical 50 GENESIS. X. u ch. XX. 1,2; xxvi. 1, G, 17, 20,26. 2 Chron. xiY. 13, 11. r/ Mk Canaanite^ was from Sidon, as thou comest to " Gerar, unto Gaza ; as tliou goesty unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admati, and Zeboim, even unto Laslia. 20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, ami in their nations, ^l ^ JJnto Shem algo, the father of all the children of ^ Eber, the Jbrother of Jaj)heth the_elder, even to him were cldldren born. 22 i^chron. i. 18, Thc childrcn of Shem ; ^ Elam, and Asshur, and ^ Arphaxad T ver. 25 ; ch. xi. 15, 16. 1 Chron. i.l9. w ch. xiv. 1,9. 1 Chron. i. 17, al. fr. X ch.xi. 10,&c. Dictionary. But see also note on ch. xx. 1. The four names Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zehoim, will be found discussed under ch. xix. ; the fifth, Lasha, is involved in un- certainty. From the expression even unto, it would appear to be beyond the " cities of the plain " first mentioned, and from the meaning of the name, a fissure or break, we might expect to find it in a ravine. Such conditions would be fulfilled in Callirhoe, which was Jerome's conjecture for it. But there are no traces of a town in this neigh- bourhood. See Mr. Bevan, Biblical Dic- tionary. This verse in the Samaritan Pen- tateuch stands thus : The boundary of Ca- naan teas from the river of Egypt to the great river, the ricer Euphrates. Kalisch sets this down to a corruption originating in the mistaken idea that the boundaries of the kingdoms of Israel were intended. Yer. 20 is a formal conclusion, as ver. o. 21 — 31.] The children of Shem : placed last, as has been before noticed, to clear away the collateral matter and leave the main subject to be treated. The notice, the father of all the children of Eber, mani- fests the object of the sacred writer, to give the people of the Hebrews, who are included (compare ver. 25 and ch. xi. 16, ff.) among Eber's descendants. But tliis is doubted by some (see Mr. Brown's art. "Plebrew" in Bib- lical Dictionary), who think that this notice only means that Shem was father of all that dwelt east of the Euphrates (see on ch. xiv. 13). But on this supposition it would he difficult to account for the insertion of the Avords in this prominent place. The words, the brother of Japheth the elder, are taken in three ways: 1. That Shem was Japhet's elder brother, i. e. older than Ja- phet. So Knobel and others. 2. That Shem was brother of Japhet the elder, i. e. young- er than Japhet. So the LXX. and many commentators. 3. That Shem was brother of Japhet the elder, i. e. younger than Japhet, but older than Ham, — the elder of the two brothers of Japhet. It must, we think, re- main uncertain whether Shem or Japliet was the eldest brother. No real difficulty, as Quarry has well shewn (Genesis, &c., p. 192, f.), is occasioned on either h)-pothesis. Dr. Colenso's assertion that in Abraham's ancestry every person mentioned is the eldest son of his father, is a pure assumption of his own. 22.] Elam " appears to be the province lying S. of Assyria and E. of Persia, which is termed Susis or Susiana by the geographers. It includes a portion of the mountainous country separating the Mesopotamian plain from the high table- J land of Iran, together with a fertile and valuable low tract at the foot of the range, between it and the Tigris. The passage of Daniel (viii. 2) which places Shushan (Susa) " in the province of Elam, " may be regarded as decisive of this identification, which is further confirmed by the frequent mention of Elymiieans in this district, as well as by the combinations in which Elam is found in Scripture, Gen. xiv. 1 ; Isa. xxi. 2 ; Ezck, xxxii. 24." ]Mr. Rawlinson, Biblical Diet.. Asshur] As we learn from ver. 11, the Assyrians were afterwards conquered by the Hamites. They inhabited the plain E. of the Tigris and N. W. of Susiana. The name imports a plain or level. They afterwards spread N. and N. W. into Syria' (see on Amos ix. 7), Cappadocia, and Pontus Enobel says, " From many names of places,! persons, and deities, the Assyrians were Semitic, at all events originally ; but some of their elements of language are Aryan, and from Isa. xxviii. 11, xxxiii. 19 (see alsoi xxxvi. 10), their tongue was not understood' by the Hebrews." Arphaxad] Tliis name is supposed to point to the nortln m district of Assyria, called Arrhaphachi/is, adjoining Media, and lying chiefly S. of the Gordiaean Mountains. Some suppose the name to mean the highland of the Chid- \ dl 10—2: GENESIS. 51 andyLud, and Aram. 23 ^mj f]^Q cliildrcn of Aram; >" ',,^''[™i 'iJ^ vr»-, ' ^ TJz, and Kul, and Gethcr, and ]\Iasli. 24 j^^^^ Arpliaxad begat Salah ; and Salah begat Eber. 25 j^^^^ unto Eber were born two sons : the name of one iras Pcleg ; for in bis days was tbe earth divided ; and his brother's name u-as "■ Joktan. -^ And Joktan begat Ahnodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 27 ^^d Iladoram, and Uzal, Kzek. xxvli. Ill; XXX. 5. : ch. xxii. '.'1 ; xxxvi. 28. Job i.l which Rt'c. l.Chron. i. 17. a I Chrnn.i. 19, daans. Lud] See on ver. 13. Jose- pluis supposed Lud to be the ancestor of tlie Li/dians, and there are certain indications which favour the idea ; but the existence of ja powerful people named Ludeii near Meso- potamia, easts doubt on it, unless by chance the two may be the same, and may have migrated westward. See Jlr. Stuart Poole in Biblicdl Bid. Aram represents the Aramooans, the in- habitants of the country about Lebanon. There were Aramaeans also E. of the Eu- phrates in Mesopotamia. See Mr. Grove's art. in Biblical Diet. 23.] Uz was probably between the Idumaans and the Euphrates. On all points respecting it, see on Job i. 1. Hul] The strongest evi- dence as to the site is in favour of the dis- trict about the roots of Mt. Lebanon, where the names Ard-el-IIuleh, a district to the N. of Lake Merom ; Ulatha, a town noticed by Josephus, between Galilee and Tracho- nitis ; Golan, and its modern form Djaulun ; bear some affinity to the original name Hul, or, as it should rather be written, Chul. Mr. Bevan, in the Biblical Diet. Gather] jS'othing is known. Absalom was the son of JIaacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Ge.shur, which was on the Orontcs. But all is conjecture. Mash] Josephus connected the name with Mesene in Lower Babylonia, far away from the rest of the Arama)an race. But others more probably have traced it in Mt. Masitis 'of classical writers, a range forming the N. bound- ary of Mesopotamia. The name is given as Meshsch in 1 Cliron. i. 17. 21] This mention of Arpbaxad's sons comes in appar- ently in order to introduce the geographical notice of Joktan and his posterity, vv. 2G — 30. The words, for in Ms days was the earth (or land) divided {niphlcgah), have given rise to much speculation. It is utterly improbable that they have any refei'ence to the division of the earth between the sons of Noah, seeing that Pcleg is in the fifth gener- ation from Noah, and, according to the genealogy in the next chapter, at least 130 or 140 years after the Flood. The most pro- bable interpretation is tliat the name was owing to a partition of the earth (or, land) between Peleg and his brother Joktan, whose numerous family split off, leaving Pcleg in JNIesopotamia. See below. Joktan] The name signifies the small, or younger. He is the reputed ancestor of Arabian tribes occupying the southern part of the peninsula. A province and town of Kaclitan (which is his Arabic name) still exist. On tlie Joktan- ite settlements, see below. Of the thirteen sons of Joktan, Almodad is thought to be traceable in El-mudad, a fiimous person- age in Arabic history, the reputed father of Ishmael's Arab wife and chief of the Jok- tanite tribe Jurhum. The name was com- mon among its chiefs, but not among other tribes. Sheleph] " The tribe which sprung from him has been satisfactorily identified, both in modern and classical times, as well as the district of the Yemen named after him." Mr. Stanley Poole in Biblical Dictionary. The latter appears to have been the district of Sidnf, and the former the tribe of Shelif or S/ndaf. Hazarmaveth] This name also is satisfac- torily ideiitified with the Arabic province Hadramdut in Southern Arabia ; it is sit- uated East of the modern Yemen ; its chief ports are Mirbat, Zafari, and Kishcem. The Greeks and Eonians called the people ChatramotitiB or Chatiarnmitie. See Mr. Stanley Poole, as above. Jerah] The identification is doubtful. A fortress named Ycralch has been mentioned ; bnt others have fancied, because Jerah signifies the moon, that the Jerahites were the Alilaei, a people dwelling near the Red Sea, for llerodotus says of the Arabs tliat they call the moon Alilat. Hadoram has not been satisfactorily traced. Kalisch finds them in tiie Adramita, but others think this name belony-s rather to Iladramaut above. 52 GENESIS. X. 28—32. b 1 Chron. i.22. Isa. Ix. 6. Jer. vi. 20. Ps. Ixxii. 10. ^s-^l and Diklah, 28 ^nd Obal, and Ablniael, and ^ Sheba, 29 and Ophir, and Havilali, and Jobab : all tbese were tbe sons of Joktan. "^^ And their dwelling was from Mesba, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. ^2 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their genera- tions, in their nations : and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the j&ood. XI. ^ And the whole TIzal] The name of Sana, the capi- tal city of Yemen, was anciently Awzal. It was called Auzara by the classics. Diklah signifies a palm-tree, and is perhaps traced in a place named Dakalah in Arabia, or in several named Nakhleh, another name for a palm-tree. All, however, seems uncertain. Obal has not been identified. Bocliart thought he had traced him in the Avalita?, a tribe on the E. African coast opposite to Arabia. Abi- mael is totally uncertain ; not even a proba- ble guess has been made. Sheba] The kingdom of this name embraced the greater pai't of Yemen, or Arabia Felix. The people were the Sab;f ans. It was from this and not from the Cushite Sheba (see on ver. 1) that the Queen of Sheba came to visit Sohmion. See Mr. Stanley Poole'.s art. in the Biblical Dictionary. Ophir] Very great disputes have arisen about the site of this place ; but here, from the accurate specification of the land of the Joktanites which follows, it seems evident that Ophir must be sought in Arabia, not in India, as many have supposed. On the whole matter see Mr. Twisleton's art. in the Biblical Dictionary. Havilah] See on ver. 11. There is no reason to suppose a different Havilah meant from that one ; probably, as in several other cases, the Cushites and Shemites were mixed there. Jobab has as yet escaped research. But Mr. Stanley Poole reminds us that Ptolemy has mentioned a tribe the Jobarite (or Jobabitii??) in South- ern Arabia. 30.] Mesha seems yet to want satisfactory identification. Mr. Stanley Poole (Biblical Dictionary) thinks the near- est approach to it has been the seaport 3Iusa or Miiza mentioned by old geogra- phers, and lying near a mountain now called Jebel Moosa, in lat. 13° 40' N., long. 43° 20' E. Kalisch thinks it is the Island Mesene at the N. W. point of the Persian Gulf. Sephar has been better made out. " There appears to be little doubt that the ancient sea-port town called Dhafdri or Zafdri, and Dhafur or Zafur, represents the Biblical site or district." Mr. Stanley Poole, as above, whose article see for col- lateral matter. " It is situated on the coast, in the province of Hadraraaut (see above on ver. 26), and near to the district which ad- joins that province on the East, called Esh- Shihr, under a lofty mountain (as here de- scribed). There are still ruins attesting its ancient importance (Ibid.). 31.] The formal close, as at ver. 5, 20 : followed, 32, by a general conclusion of a similar kind : completing the Elohistic account of the peopling of the earth by the three sons of Noah : and naturally followed by the taking up again of the generations of Shem, the line of the sacred history, at ch. xi. 10. XI. 1 — 9.] The confusio7i of tongues, and dispersion of vmnkitid. Respecting the general understanding of this narrative, it may be sufficient here to observe that almost all the' difficulties supposed inherent in it have been imported into it by making it say more than is contained in it. And we may further ob- serve, that whatever be its meaning it is mani- festlv to be taken — 1. As explanatory of much which has already taken place in ch. X., where, after the account of the dispersion of the descendants of each of the sons of Noah, we have it specified that it was after their tongues ; and 2. As not asserting any- thing inconsistent with the substantial unity of tongue among the tribes descended from each son of Noah. In the object that they might not undertake one another's speech, these at least were not included. The in- sertion, as remarked upon ch. x. 32, is Jehovistic. 1.] The words here are important as furn- ishing some clue to what has gone before. XI. 1—5. GENESIS. 63 ; earth was of one •= language, and of one speech. 2 ^n(j n 'came to pass, as they journeyed eastWrd; that they found a plain in the land of Shinar ; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, '^ Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and ^ slime had they for morter. ^ And they said, ^Go to, let us build us a city^ and a tower/ whose ^ top mai/^ reach unto heaven ( and let us make us a name/ lest we be scat- tered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. ^ And the p Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which =Job xil. 20. 1*8. IXXXi. S. Prov. xvii. 7. Ua. xlx. lb. cY V d vT. 4, 7. ch. xxxviil. IG, Kxod. I. 10 {tome on). , yy -r^ edi. xiT. 10. Vv*'*^ Kxod. ii. 3, . / • only. ^w Tint/ 4 ' ' . f Dout. i. 2». ' fc ■* w Uan. iv. 22. g Kioii. xbl. 211 , x^uUv. S. Num. xi. 25 ; Tliere was a time when the whole earth was of one language; when 'they" — all mankind that then were— journeyed, and came to a certain place, and combined in a certain purpose. No words are needed to shew that this must have been before the dispersion of the descendants of the sons of Noah. What, then, was the whole earth .' Have we any right to give it one meaning here and another in the history of tlie Flood.' The Hebrew has literally of one life and one (plural, as also in the Jeliovist portions, ch. xxvii. 44 ; xxix. 20) words. 2.] The word rendered by the A. V. from the east is interpreted by Kalisch in the east. The very same expression is tran.slated " East," i.e. eastward, inch. xiii. II, and "eastward" in ch. ii. 8. the land of Shinar] This word probably means two rivers. It seems to have been the Jewish name for Babylonia, as no trace of it is found in the ancient inscriptions. See Prof, llawlinson's art. in the Biblical Diet. The neighbourhood of Babylon is described by Herodotus as a great plain. 3. bum them throughly] The more usual way of hardening the bricks seems to have been sun-drying : but these are to be thorouglily burnt, for endurance. Both kinds are found in the ruins of Baby- lon, slime] Herodotus speaks of a tower and a river, both named Is, the latter flowing into the Euphrates, and bringing down bitumen in abundance. And other writers testify to the quantity of asphalt found in Mesopotamia. Modern travellers desci'ibe the tower and river, and the use of and traffic in the bitumen. Layard observes, that the cement in the ruins is so tenacious that it is almost impossible to detach an entire brick from the mass. See Kalisch. 4. ] Their purpose seems to have been to gain a centre of permanent habitation, and also a distinguishing memorial or mark by which their repute might be handed down. There doubtless is something of rebellion against God's purposes implied in their de- termination. He would have them spread over the whole earth, while they resolved to be gathered in one spot. The idea of a tower whose top might reach heaven is related here as entertained by them bona fide: in other places the expression is used hyperbolically : see refi". There is no trace in Scripture of the popu- lar idea that their design was to provide an effectual escape from a future deluge. With this description the accounts of Babylon given by classical writers entirely agree. The gigantic walls were of burnt brick, cemented with asphalt, as were also the magnificent temple of Belus, and the hang- ing gardens. The circumference of the city was according to some 480 furlongs, or 60,000 paces ; according to otliers, 385 or 360 furlongs. The most important edifice was the quadrangular temple of Belus, of which each side was two furlongs in length ; out of it rose an enormous massive tower of eight stories, according to Herodotus, of one furlong in diameter, and according to Strabo a furlong (600 feet) high. The ruins of this vast tower are generally sup- posed to be the enormous mound called the Birs Ximroud. The building of Bab) Ion is generally ascribed by the ancients to t^emi- ramis; but this must mean only its fortifying and strengthening, for the city was con- fessedly older. It is described ch. x. 10 as built by Nimrod ; but in that narrative it has no such importance as here, and is classed with other cities as liaving been built at the same time. 6.] The anthropo- 54 GENESIS. XI. the children of men buikled. ^ j^^^^ the Loed said, Be- V , li; xxxil. 1". ^um. X.30. Kutliii.U. . / . Jer. xxii. 10; /•^r.-*C xlvi. IB. part to that Divine intimation which we learn, from the subsequent Jehovist account, was made to his son. It may have been that the two designs coincided, as Kalisch supposes, or it may have been that Abram persuaded his aged father to accompany him. It appears that Nahor also went to Haran. Compare eh. xxiv. 10 ; xxvii. 43 ; xxix. 4, 5. That the call of Abram took place in Ur and not in Ilaran, as Keil and others maintain, is clear from ch. xv. 7 (see also Neh. ix. 7 ; Acts vii. 2), which expression it is impossible to explain away, as Keil and Dclitzsch endeavour to do. Haran (in Greek Charran, see Acts vii. 2) was in Mesopotamia (ch. xxiv. 10), or more strictly in Padan-aram (ch. xxv. 20), in the beautiful country between Mount Masius and the Euphrates. The name has never changed, the town being still called Ilarran ; and the Chalda^an language and worship prevailed there to a late time. It was famous for the defeat of the Roman army under Crassus by the Parthians. See Prof. Kawlinson's art. in Biblical Diet. 32.] Why they stopped in Ilaran docs not appear. It is possible that the death of Terah there may suggest the reason. Or the halt may have been made owing to local political circumstances. From ch. xii. 5 it appears that Abram spent a consider- able time there before his onward journey, they went together] These words, rendered tJiexj went forth with tliem in the A. v., have occasioned some dispute as to their precise meaning. The text gives that preferred by Knobel and Kaliscli — they ii-ent tcith each other, i. e. together. Some suppose icith them to mean with the un- named members of Terah's family, viz. Nahor and his : but it is well replied that had they been intended they would have been specified. Keil preferred to understand " they (Lot and Sarai) went forth with them " (Terah and Abram), and so doubtless the A. V. intended. XII. 1 — XIII. 18.] Abuaji's call and Mir.HATioN. From this time the name Jehovah prevails, and it becomes evident that the tracing down of the covenant of God with the chosen people is that which forms the thread of the narrative. There are apparent from time to time fragments of another narrative, worked in by the sacred writer ; but much caprice and doubt- ful assertion has been indulged in by able writers, such as Ewald and Knobel, in as- signing the various portions of the narrative to different writers. And on the other hand, orthodox commentators, such as Keil, strangely deny, in the face of all evidence, the incorporation by the Jehovist of elder documents. Dclitzsch, equally orthodox, acknowledges, and carefully traces out, the different elements of the narrative. This we shall also endeavour to do as we proceed. XII. 1.] This command was given to Abram not in Ilaran, but in Ur : see above, and add to what was there said, that the terms of the command itself involve this. For we read (eh. xi. 31) that the whole family reached Ilaran on their tcay to Canaatk But this command must apply by the words, " a land tliat I will shew thee," to a time when the direction of the journey ■was unknown. The force of it was still abid- ing and working upon Abram, and when the cause of his detention in Ilaran was over he went forth thence, leaving his fath' there. On the statement of Stephen, Acfl vii. 4, that this was so, and the subterfuges of commentators to justify it, see my not»-T there in NewTestanient for English Readers. The figures are as follows : Terah lived 70 years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Ilaran (ch. xi. 26) ; lived 205 years, and died in Haran (xi. 32) : Abram was 7-5 when ho left Haran (ver. 4). So that Abram having 58 GENESIS. XII. ;ii. ^ yf<.uti ^tt..» > k Fieli. txvii. 13 (Rev. xviii. 13 ; Mace. X. 33). 1 ch. xviii. 21 j xix. 12 ; xxix. 22. from tliy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee : 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt he a bless- ing : 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and^ursejliim that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. ^ gQ Abram departed, as Jehovah had spoken unto him ; and Lot went with him : and Abram ica8 seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. ^ And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had ga- thered, and the ^ souls that they had gotten in Haran ; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan they came. ^ ^ And Abram passed through the land imto the ^ place of Shechem, imto been born about Terah's 70th year, about 70+ 75 =z about 145, Terah's age when Abram left Haran. Bp. "Wordsworth and others attempt to get over the difficulty by supposing Abram to have been the youngest of the three sons of Terah, and to have been begotten when his father was 130. And yet this very son regards it as impossible that he himself should beget a son at 99. (See ch. xvii. 1, 17.) Not to say further, that by this argument all the deductions drawn in Scripture from the miraculous birth of Isaac would entirely disappear (see Rom. iv. 17 — 21 ; Ilcb. xi. 11, 12). For us plain people, who believe our Bibles, it is enough to fol- low their data, and to assume that Terah lived 60 years after Abram's departure from Haran. the place of thy birth] 8uch is the general meaning of this word : see reff. In some places it seems to signify kind- red as Gen. xliii. 7 ; Esther viii. 6. 2, 3.] The promise to Abram ranges itself in six particulars, forming three pairs of parallels. I. (1) Making into a great nation, (2) personal blessing; II. (3) greatness of name, (4) being a source of blessing ; III. (5) blessing of his well-wishers and dis- comfiture of his enemies, (6) being a general blessing to all men. The unfolding of the fulfilment of this promise, afterwards made special in its last member to the seed of Abraham (ch. xxii. 18, xxvi. 4), is the great subject of all Scripture. On the prophetic meaning of the concluding words, see below and on ch. xxii. 18. The words in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed have given occasion, as was to be expected, for much contention on the part of the rationalist interpreters. Knobel, Avho is the best example of them, would understand them, that all families of the earth should hless with (or, ««) tliee^ i.e. wish themselves blessed in, by the example of, Abraham ; wish for themselves blessedness like his. This rendering he defends by ch. xlviii. 20, " In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh." The objection to this is that the verb is in the passive voice, not bless, but be blessed. And although in the repetition of the promise, ch. xxii. 18, xxvi. 4, the passive voice is not used, but the reflexive, that does not by any means exclude from those places the sense which this requires, much less does it require force to be put on the plain words here by doing away with the passive sense. On those places, see notes there. On such a matter we may further remark, that we may well leave the New Testament writers, to M'hom He- brew was familiar, to decide for us which of the senses should prevail. And this has been plainly and emphatically done. See Acts iii. 25 ; Gal. iii. 8, 14. Notice that literally the expression is, " all the families of the ground," so that the blessing is an echo of the primal curse, ch. iii. 17. 5. the souls that they had gotten] "Were slaves : see reff. Abvani's stay in Haran must, from this verse, have been consider- able. 6. the place of Sichem] Geseuius interprets this expression, which appears to be found only here, as the neighbourhood of 2—8. GENESIS. -oo ^ the ""oak of Moreli. And the Canaanite uris then in the ""^tMi"'*' land. 7 And Jetiovah appeared unto Abrara, and said, c.m.xi.so. Unto thy seed will I give this land : and there builded he h^m^x-s. an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him. ^ And Sicheni ; Ktil, as the site where afterwards stood Sichcm ; most others, as if " the place of" were redundant, the jjface, Sirhem, and this seems favoured by the occurrence of tlie word in this sense in refF. See also eh. xxxiii. 18. SiiECiiEJi was one of the oldest towns in Palestine, in a narrow valley be- tween the mounts Gerizini and Ebul, about seven miles south of Samaria. It was in early times inliabited by the Ilivites (ch. xxxiv. 2) : there Jacob bought a parcel of a field and built an altar (xxxiii. 19). In the division of the land, Shcchem was in tlie lot of Epliraim, but was assigned to the Levites, and became a city of refuge (Josh. xxi. 20, 21). The mountains of Ebal and Gerizim were of great interest as being the appointed spots fur the declara- tions of blessings and curses on the ob- servers and breakers of the law (Dent, xxvii. 11 ; Josh. viii. 33 — 35). Here Joshua as- sembled the people before his death and pledged them to serve the Lord (Josh. xxiv. 1, ff.). Ilere Jotham delivered his parable against the rule of Abimelech (Judg. ix. 7, ft'. 22, ff. ; see Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 236). The city was destroyed by Abime- lech (cf. ver. 45). But we find all Israel meeting at Shechem (1 Kings xii. 1, ff.) to make liebohoam king. After the captivity the place was occupied by Samaritans. The " men from Shechem," Jer. xli. 5, who were coming up to the house of the Lord and were slain all but ten by Ishmael, ■were pi'obably Samaritans of the mixed race, the result of the Babylonians sent by Shalmaneser (2 Kings xvii. 24) dwelling among the people of the land. On the N'ew Testament interest attached to the place see notes on John iv. 2, and on its modern history as Nablous, the art. by Prof. Hackett in Smith's Biblical Diet. the oak] Thus the best Hebrew authorities seem agreed in rendering the word, and not plain. The same is the case in all the places mentioned in reff. The only question is whether the tree should not rather be named the terebinth than the oak. The matter seems very doubtful, and cannot be discussed in a note. See Mr. Houghton's art. " Oak" in the Biblical Diet., and Kalisch's long and interesting note on sacred trees. Tliere is also a difference respecting Moreli. Knobel thinks it is not a proper name, and renders, " the oak of the teacher,'' comparing ^'■Ihe oak of the witches," Judg. ix. 37, which he regards as identical with this. But the view that ]\Ioreh is a proper name has generally prevailed. Afr. Grove, in the Biblical Diet., thinks that the name may not be unconnected with " the land of Moriah," in ch. xxii. 2. He also remarks, that perhaps a trace of this ancient name is discernible in the word Morthia, which appears on some ancient coins as a title of Xeapolis. There seems to be no connexion with the hill of Jloveh in Judg. vii. 1 : see there. the Canaanite was then in the land] See ch. xiii. 7 ; xxxiv. 30. This notice was most probably added to shew that the land was not empty at that time, but that the subsequent promise im- plied a displacement of inhabitants then in possession. This, of course, enhanced Abram's faith, and made his obedience more admirable. Notliing can be more natural than such a notice : and there is not the slightest reason for supposing it to be an interpolation of later date than the narrative itself. The promise of ver. 7 was an ex- pansion of that in ver. 1 into concrete par- ticulars. It was repeated to Abraham, ch. xiii. 15, 17 ; xv. 18 ; xvii. 8 ; to Isaac, xxvi. .3 ; to Jacob, xxviii. 13 ; xxxv. 12. 7. Abraham builded an altar to Jehovah in Shechem, as did Jacob afterwards, ch. xxxiii. 20. There was afterwards a sanctu- ary of Jehovah in Shechem (see Josh. xxiv. 1, 26), the beginning of which was doubtless this first act of the Patriarch's worship. Bethel [Jerusalem], Hebron, and Beersheba were similarly places known as hallowed to the worship of Jehovah. See ver. 8 ; ch. xiii. 18; xiv. 18 [ch. xxii. 1, ff., but see on Moreh above] ; xxi. 33 ; xxvi. 25. ■who appeared unto him] See ch. xxxv. 1. 8, 9.J His journey south- uards. No motive is assigned for the journey further south. Possibly the famino had already beguu which drove him (ver. 10) 60 GENESIS. XII. -^t-fi^/C^^ ^/ lie removed from tlience unto g, mountain on the east of iv^xi/ Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, 7v. and Hai on the east : and there hejbuilded an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon the name of Jehovah. ^ And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 10 ^ And there was a famine in the land : and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there ; for the famine was grievous in the land, ii And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair „.J7::*-.^^oman to look upon : ^^ therejbre it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say. This is his wife : and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. ^^ Saj^, I pray thee, thou art my sister : that ^Ai^ it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall into E^ypt. Beth-el, so named here by an- ticipation, for it was at this time called Luz, and did not become Beth-el till after Jacob's vision (see ch. xxviii. 19), was in the direct thoroughfare of Palestine (see Judges xxi. 19). On the situation of Abram's tent, see notes, ch. xiii. 10. on the west] liter- ally, from the sea, which is the universal ■westward boundary of Palestine. Would Moses, who was born and bred in Egypt, have used this expression ? The exact site of Hai (or Ai) is unknown. The various conjectures will be given on Joshua vii. 2. The same notice that it is on the east side of Beth-el is there given. 9. the south] literally, the dry country, the desert. 10 — 20.] Abrain's sojourn in Egypt. The deliverance of Sarai. The account of the pressure of famine on the nomad patri- arch and the seeking of plenty in the more permanently settled Egypt is in singular ac- cord with two subsequent parts of the history — (1.) When Isaac (ch. xxvi. 1), on the occurrence of another famine, is for- bidden to go down to Egypt ; (2.) When Joseph's brethren during time of famine go to buy corn in Egypt. Keil remarks that the custom of flying to Egypt for food is even now exemplified by the Bedouin tribes when dearth arises. The history respecting Sarai reappears in another form in ch. xx. 1, ff., at the court of Abimelech, king of Gerar : and, in substance, again in ch. xxvi. 1, ff., also at the court of an Abimelech, king of Gerar, but i«appening to Isaac and Rebekah. Abraham himself explains in ch. xx. 13 that the giving out of Sarah as his sister had been a mattersettlcdbctweenthemat the beginning of his wanderings. It is vain, as some of the orthodox commentators (e. g. Keil) have done, to try to soften down Abram's un- truthfulness. Bp. Wordsworth well remarks, Abram came forth from a land of idolaters. He was surrounded by idolaters in Canaan, and by idolaters in Egypt, and, we may add, was himself born of idolatrous parents. And wherever idolatry abounds falsehood abounds. Sarai was at this time upwards of 65 years old, for (ch. xvii. 17) she was ten years younger than Abram, who was 75 when he left Haran (ver. 4). It seems the worthiest and most reverent way of regard- ing considerations of this kind, to remember, with Kalisch, that we are in a region of primaeval history not to be measured out by our present rules of verisimilitude, w'ith- out using that recollection, as he does, to impugn the credibility of the narrative as one of facts. If, as Knobel has observed, the writer "perhaps conceived a certain divine grace to have dwelt about the progenitress of the people of God," why might not his conception have just as w'ell represented the fact as not ." What right have we to assume that all heroic ideas about primaeval men and ages are ideas only .' That such ideas are found in works of mere human fiction is surely no proof that they never corresponded to fact at all. We may hesitate to believe that the 9— XIII. 1. GENESIS. CI live because of thee. ^* ^ And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egj'ptians bchekl the woman that she rras very fair. ^^ The princes also of •^f -^Z ^ ^ Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh : />*«*vvy -ziy and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. ^^ And he entreated Abram well for her sake : and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and manservants, and maidserv- ants, and she asses, and camels. ^7 And Jetiovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. ^^ And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, ^^'^lat is this thfft thou hast done unto me ? why didst thou ^ not tell me^she icas thy wife ? ^^ Why saidst thou, She is my y-^'- ^/ sister ? so I might have taken her to me to wife : now there- 7ir..t X7^^, fore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. ^^ And Pha- raoh commanded ///« men concerning him : and they sent jv^ *•'- c^*^^/ ^W. him away, and his wife, and all that he had. XIII. i And»x72l *.-*^ / Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all r/ old men of Troy declared Helen's beauty, at 100, worth the world's battle, but this Bcepticism need not aifcct our reception of the Scripture prinneval history. We may ob- serve, and ought not to conceal, the entirely selfish nature of the arrangement. It is not made to save Sarai but to save Abram by the more easily sacrificing her. If she were known as his wife, she could be had only by destroying him ; if as his sister, the end might be accomplished without affecting his safety, nay, with probable good results for his worklly prosperity. The slight semblance of truth by which the falsehood was upheld (see ch. xx. 12) oiTly testified that it was known to be a falsehood in the conscience. " Pharaoh is the common title of the native kings of Egypt in the Bible, corresponding to P-RA or PII-RA of the hicrogljiibics." Mr. Stuart Poole, Biblical Diet., who further remarks on this Pharaoh, that while there arc no clear indications in the Scripture narrative for the identification of this Pharaoh, there are strong chrono- logical presumptions that he was one of the Shepherd kings, probably Salatis, the head of their first and most powerful line. These are confirmed by the notice which follows, ver. 16, that he gave Abraham camels, for that animal was hateful to the subsequent Egyptians on account of its great value to their enemies, the Sheplicrds, and nowhere appears on any of their monu- ments. The most probable date of Abram's visit is about 2080, which would accord with the time of Salatis. 16.] The presents are much the same as the items of the patriarchal wealth given elsewhere, e. g. ch. xxiv. 35 ; xxxii. 15 ; Job i. 3 ; xlii. 12. It is to be observed that in these enumerations we nowhere find horses men- tioned, though they were the pride of Egypt. This result fully bears out what we said above of the selfish nature of Abram's compact. 17.] We may perliaps venture to guess at the nature of these plagues by the fuller account in ch. xx. 18. According to Josephus, the cause of them was revealed to Pharaoh by the priests. The words so might I, &c., might also be rendered, owrf / took her to me to wife. This Pharaoh did, altliougli, as we may fiiirly supply from the subsequent account (compare ver. 17 with ch. xx. C), that he was providentially withheld from consummating his marriage with her. 20.] The concluding words seem to imply in the Hebrew that Pharaoh's men escorted him and his out of the land. XIII. 1 — 13.] The return of Abram to Canaan : his severance from Lot. He returned to the " dry couutrj-," the desert Josh. xvii. —1.8. Judg. ix.20. Chron. viii. 7, al. > oh. XX. 15 ; x,\xiv. 10; xlvll. 6. 62 GENESIS. XIII. ^,M/ tliat lie had, and Lot witli him, to tlie south. ^ ^nd Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. ^ j^^^ j^e went on his journeys from the south even to Beth- el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, be- tween Beth-el and Hai ; ^ unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first : and there Abram called on the name of Jehovah. ^ ^ And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. ^ And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together : for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of A'bram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle : and the Canaanite and the ^ Perizzite dwelled then in the land. ■/kIuss' ^ And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen ; for we he brethren.^ Is not ° the whole land before thee ? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me : if pch.xxiv.«. thou wilt take p the left hand, then I will ffo to the p riffht : Num. XX. 17 ; ^" - -«- ' O O ' ^'xiiM. ^j. {^ijf^Q 11^(^2) art to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 1^ And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the region South of Palestine (see cli.xii. 9). 2.] indicated is left in oliscurity. On the The woi'd rendered rich is the same various places in rcff. the scattered notices as that rendered "grievous" in eh. xii. of them will be commented on. From this 10 : heavy in material, to move and to feed, and other places they seem to have been 3. his journeys] After the manner inhabitants of the southern part of Palestine. of a nomad, not in one journey, but in 9.] On the modes of expression, see many marches — by stations. On the place reff. 10.] " Immediately east of the spoken of, see eh. xii. 8, and note below on low grey hills on which the Canaanitish ver. 10. Kalisch remarks, " It is evident Luz and the Jewish Beth-el afterwards from the tenor of the text that Abram's stood, rises, — as the higlicst of a succession premeditated aim was the service which of eminences, each now marked by some he intended to solemnize ; and the words vestige of ancient edifices, — a con.'^picuous ' he invoked the name of the Lord ' imply hill ; its topmost summit resting, as it were, a more profound devotion than an ordinary on the rocky slopes below, and distinguished prayer : they are hence used only on cer- from them by the olive-grove which clusters tain predominant occasions, and tend here over its broad surface above. From this to prove that Abram returned from the height, thus offering a natural base for the land of multifarious idolatry, in which his patriarchal altar, and a fitting shade for progeny lost and forgot the true faith, as the patriarchal tent, Abraham and Lot a pure and believing servant of tlie Creator." must be considered as taking the wide sur- 5.] Lot had become prosperous in vcy of the counti-y ' on the right hand and the prosperity of Abram. 7.] The on the left,' such as can be enjoyed from no land (i. e. about those parts) was not other point in the neighbourhood. To the empty : the Canaanite (ch. xii. 6) dwelt east there rises in the foreground the jagged there, and also the Perizzite. This latter range of the hills above Jericho ; in the is here first mentioned — not in the catalogue distance the dark wall of Moab; between in ch. X. ; so that the origin of the people them lies the wide valley of the Jordan, its 2—18. GEJ^ESIS. G3 round about Jordan, that it icas well watered every where, 9fC.yL.J before Jehoa'AH destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, efcn as t^^'u/ the ^ garden of JEIIO^•AH, like the hind of Egypt, as thou 'secEzek""'"" comest unto Zoar, ^^ Then Lot chose him all the region xxlu'-'b,'*.' Jo^ ' ^*-'-v^ round about Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they of-TL,/ separated themselves the one from the other. ^^ Abram dwelled in the laud of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched hk tents as far as Sodom. l"^ But the men of Sodom iccre wicked and sinners before Je- «-^a2>«.// aj"**"— -'^Z HOVAH exceedingly. ^^ ^ And Jehovah said unto Abram, after that Lot was sej)arated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art^northward^ ^ and southward/ and eastward^ and westward : ^^ for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. ^^ And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth : so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. ^7 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth ^^^ ^^ j, ^ . of it : for ^1 will ffive it unto theei ^^ xVnd Abram pitched xxulit, ^A^y^i • ' -^^ ° _ ■'^ - I'.i; XXV. 9; Im tent^, and came and dwelt in the oak- grove of ^ Mamre, fa'oniy.' '"/> 6^/ * jj course marked by the tract of forest in its fame, as of the garden of Eden, as of the which its rushing stream is enveloped : and valley of the Nile ; no crust of salt, no vol- down to this valley a long and deep ravine, canic convulsions had as yet blasted its now, as always, the main line of communica- verdure, or touched the secure civilization tion by which it is approached from the of the early Phoenician settlements which central hills of Palestine — a ravine rich with had struck root within its deep abyss." vine, olive, and fig, winding its way through Stanley, as before. well-watered] A ancient reservoirs and sepulchres, remains 6f number of streams descend from the moun- a civilization now extinct, but in the times tains of Moab and fertilize it. The garden of the patriarchs not yet begun. In the south of Jehovah (reft'.) is of course Eden. On and west the view commanded the bleak hills Zoar, see note, eh. xix. 22. 13.] Lot of Judoja, varied by the heights crowned pitched his tent as far as Sodom, advanced with what were afterwards the cities of in his nomadic journeys to Sodom : there wc Benjamin, and overhanging what in a find him, ch. xiv. 12 and xix. 1. The word later day was to be Jerusalem, and in the plain here is the same as before, the region far distance the southern range, on whose round about, — the district, as Kalisch.. It slope is Hebron. Northward arc the hills came to be used without the adjunct " of which divide Judasa from the ricli plains of the Jordan^ 14, ft'.] Reneical of the Samaria." Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, promise to Abram. " That dreary view, p. 218. the region round about Jor- unfolded then in its primaeval desolation bc- dan] Literally, the circle of Jordan — the fore tlie eyes of the now solitary patriarch, environs of Jordan. The LXX. expression would be indeed peopled with a mighty (perichorus) is that occurring in Matt. iii. 5, nation througli many generations, with and rendered there as in our text. Kalisch mighty recollections, like the dust of the compares the French arrondissement, and the earth in number, for ever." Stanley, as German Kreis or Bezirk. " He saw not above. 18, the oak grove] See on ch. indeed the tropical fertility and copious x. 6. Mamre, as we learn from ch. streams along its coui-se. But he knew of xiv. 13, 24, wus a person, brother of Eshcol 64 GENESIS. XIY. wliicli is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto Jehovah. XIV. 1 And it came to pass in the days of Amrapbel king of Shiuar, ^ Ariocb king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of and Aner, and all three brothers were con- federates of Abraham (see also ch. xviii. 1). But in the other reff. the name appears simply as that of a place. See on ch. xxiii. 20. Hebron] This is the first mention of this famous city. It is situated among the mountains, 20 Roman miles S. of Jeru- salem, and the same distance N. of Beer- sheba. It is one of the most ancient cities in the world. See Num. xiii. 22, where it is said to have been built seven years before Zoan, in Egypt (see there). Its former name was Kirjath-Arba, the city of Arba, the father of Anak, and pi'ogenitor of the Anakim (see Josh. xv. 13, 14; xxi. 11). At Hebron Sarah died, on which occasion Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite the field and cave of Machpelah, for a burial- place. The cave is still there, enclosed with- in the walls of a mosque. On the entry of the Israelites Hebron was taken by Joshua (Josh. x. 36), and given by him to Caleb (Josh. xiv. 13, f. ; xv. 13, 14). It was assigned to the Levitcs, and made a city of refuge (Josh. xxi. 11 — 13). Here David established his seat of government, and reigned seven &nd a half years over Judah (2 Sam. v. 5). For other and later particu- lars, see Mr. Porter's article, Biblical Diet. He says, " About a mile from the town, up the valley, is one of the largest oak trees in Palestine. It stands quite alone in the midst of the vineyards. It is 23 ft. in girth, and its branches cover a space 90 ft. in diameter. This, say some, is the very tree beneath which Abraham pitched his tent ; but how- ever this may be, it still bears the name of the patriarch." XIV. Invasion of Palestine hy four East- tern kings (1 — 7). Their triumph, and cap- ture of Lot (8 — 12). Rescue of Lot by Abram (13 — 1^5). Bis meeting with the king of Sodom and with Melchizedek (17 — 24). This chapter shews us Abram not only as a sojourner in the land which after- wards his seed was to possess, but as a political power and conqueror : and this, doubtless, not so much for the interest in this world's history, which such an ex- hibition of him may have, but for the in- terest thereto attaching in reference to the future kingdom of God. It shews us Abram in conflict with this world's powers and victorious, foreshadowing in the long perspective of prophecy that which the kingdom of Abram's son, Solomon, more nearly represented, the prevalence of Abram's seed and its redemptive work in the world. This portion of the history belongs to the Jehovist in its present form ; but evidently he has wrought up a much older document. This will be illustrated in detail as we pass on. Ewald is disposed to think this vener- able fragment of history one of the oldest portions of Genesis. In it first we are in- troduced to this world's matters in the form of action such as our histories deal with. 1.] Of Amraphel nothing is known. He was king or chief of Babylonia (see on ch. xi. 2). The name Arioch (see ref.) pro- bably means lion-like: he was chief of Ellasar, probably Larsa, called Larissa by the Greeks, an old Chaldean town, about half-way between Ur and Erek. " Tlie in- scriptions (says Prof. Rawlinson, Biblical Diet. ) shew it to have been one of the primi- tive capitals, of earlier date, probably, than Babylon itself." It must not be confounded with Thelassar, 2 Kings xix. 2. Our know- . ledge of Chedorlaomer is only conjectural. Traces have been found on the inscribed bricks in Chaldea of a king Kudur maptda, who bears also the title of " ravager of the West." Even nearer to the name is that of Kedar-el- Ahmar, or the red, a great hero in Arabian tradition. He was king of Elara (see on ch. x. 22, and art. " Chedorlaomer " in the Biblical Diet.) He appears as a settled king of great power, able to make war 2000 miles from his country, and hold- ing other kings, among whom is the king of Babylon, under his supremacy. This pre-eminence was of short duration : Elam fell under Babylon and Assyria, and afterwards (?) under Persia, when Susa (Shushau) the Elamite capital became the scat of empire. Tidal is otherwise un- known. His title, king of nations (Go- zim), seems to imply that he was chief of a number of nomadic tribes. Some have called to mind " Galilee of the nations " (Matt. iv. 15) ; but this must be only for 1—5. GENESIS. 65 Elara, and Tidal king of nations ; 2 that these made war ^ with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Go- morrah, Shinab king of Aduiah, and Shcracbor king of Zcboiim, and the king of Belay which is Zoar. '^ All these ; were joined together in the vale of Siddim^ which is the ^y salt sea. ^ Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ^ And in the four- teenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that iccve with him, and smote the * Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zu25imin Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, V ^/ tch.«v. 20. Oj Dput. ii. 10, ' 21); iii. 11. J"-li. xii. 1 ; TiVn. 12 ; xui. 1.5. illustration, not for identification, as wo have obviously in this history nothing to do with Galilee. 2. ] On all these towns, sec notes, ch. xix. Of these kings, whose names are not elsewhere found, nothing is known. The last city, Bela or Zoar (see on cli. xix. 22), has no king named, probably on account of its insignificance. 3.] The vale of Siddim is named only here. The meaning of the name is doubtful. The Hebraists, Gesenius and Kalisch, sup- pose it to mean "a plain cut up by stony channels, which render it ditlicult of transit." The word translated vale {Emek) is also applied to the plain of Jezreel, and hence is explained to be " a broad, flattish tract, sometimes of considerable width, enclosed on each side by a definite range of hill." This vale of Siddim, at all events, by the very terms of our text, formed a portion of the low land afterwards submerged by the Salt Sea. Sec on the whole, Mr. Grove's art. in the Biblical Diet. The notice, which is the salt sea, is one of those added by the writer of Genesis to the ancient document. See vv. 2, 6, 7, and notes. 5.] The Eephaims (sec reff.), or giants, appear first hero in the E. of Palestine, but are after- wards found in connexion with the Phi- listines in the "W. as enemies of Israel. There is no mention of them in ch. x., so that they were not Canaauites. Their last remaining king was Og, whose sway was very extensive (Josh. xii. 4, 5). The Zuzim and Emim were giant tribes of the Ecphaim, dwelling, the former in the coun- try afterwards held by the i\Ioabites (Dcut. ii. 10), the latter, called Zamzummims by the Ammonites (Deut. ii. 20), between the Arnon and the Jabbok. Ashteroth Karnaim, or Ashteroth of the two horns, is quite unknown as to situation. Knobcl says it has been recognized in Tell Ash- teroth, in the neighbourhood of Damas- cus. But Mr. Grove, writing at the same date {Biblical Diet., 18G0), makes no men- tion of this recognition. It is elsewhere called Astaroth in Edrei (Dcut. i. 4), or simply Ashtaroth (Josh. ix. 10): in Josh, xii. 4, xiii. 12, 31, we have "Ashtaroth and Edrei," as separate cities, pertaining to Og in Bashan. Ashtaroth was his residence (Deut. as above). In later times it was known as Carnaim, 1 Mace. v. 43, 44, or Camion, 2 Mace. xii. 2G. The adjunct Karnaim probably alludes to the worship of the horned goddess Ashtoreth, or the moon (Astartc) : but some refer it to a mountain with two peaks or horns, in the neighbour- hood. It is somewhat doubtful whether Ham is a proper name at all. The LXX. and Vulgate render the word (Be-ham) '•'■together ^ciththem." But the general opinion is, that a place is represented, possibly the Ammonitish capital Rabbath Ammon, the ruins of which arc now called Amman. The Samaritan Pentateuch has here the totally difl'erent name Lishah, meaning thereby perhaps the Lasha of ch. x. 19. Sha- veh Kiriathaim, or the plain Kiriathaim : a city so called is mentioned Num. xxxii. 37 as having been bnilt by the Reubenites, and as pertaining to them. Josh. xiii. 19, — as a Moabitish city, Jer. xlviii. 23 ; Ezek. XXV. 9 ; by Eusebius and Jerome as Kari- atha, 10 miles west of Mcdeba (which, how- ever, does not appear to lie in a plain). The identification thus seems to be quite uncertain, as it may well be, considering that Kiriathaim simply means two cities. 6.] The Horites mean dwellers in caves, as the inhabitants of Mount Seir (the 66 GENESIS. XIY. 'vUt^/ u Exod. xvii. 3, 14. Num. xxiv. 20. 1 Sam. XT. 3, 8. V 2 Chron. [xx. 2, only. 6 and tlie Horites in tlieir mount Seir, unto El-paran, whicli in by tlie wilderness. 7 And they returned, and came to En- mislipat^wliich. h Kadesl^, and smote all the countrj^ of the ^Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in ^Ha- zezon-tamar. ^ And there went out the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim^ and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the A^ale of Siddim ; 9 with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of EUasar ; four kings with five. ^^ And the rugged, full of clefts and caverns) or Petra might ■well be called. Their expulsion and destruction by the Edomites are recorded in Deut. ii. 12. El-paran, the oak- (or terebinth) of Paran, the E. limit of the ■wilderness of Paran. On this latter see note, Deut. i. 1. Here we have another of 'the explanatory notices which abound in this history. 7.] If they marched northward, they arrived in the desert of Zin, which formed a part of the great wilderness^of Paran. Here lay, on the fron- tier of the Iduma>an land, the old province and town of Kadesh or Kadcsh-barnca (Num. xiii. 26 ; xx. 16). It was not distant from the town Gerar (ch. xx. 1), extended from here to the S. districts of Canaan, and formed its southern boundary (Num. sxxiv. 4 ; Josh. xv. 3). Therefore Moses could from here send the scouts for the exploration of the promised land, and treat with the King of Edom regarding the transit of the Hebrew array (Num. xiii. 20 ; xx. 14). " The town contained a celebrated well which, from an unknown but no doubt important cause, was called En-mishpat, Well of Judgment, which more ancient name later gave way to tliat of Kadesh {Jwhj), likewise pointing to the holy character of the place." Kalisch. In con- nexion with both names, it may be remem- bered that it was here Moses, in striking the rock, spake unadvisedly with his lips (Num. XX. 10, 11), and -kas judged for his offence; and here also " the children of Israel strove ■with the Lord, and He was sanctifed in them " (Num. v. 13). The objection to con- necting these incidents with the name seems to be that because of that strife the water did receive a name, viz. that of Meribah (ib.). The explanatory words, which is Kadesh, have apparently been inserted by the Supplementer. There is some difficulty in the mention of the Amalekiteshere, seeing that "duke Amalek," who is ordinarily taken as the progenitor of that people, was the grandson of Esau (ch. xxxiv. 12, 16). If that -were so, then this mention of the country of the Amalekites must be understood as meaning, ichich was afterwards that of the AmaleJdtes. But some (see Mr. Bevan, Biblical Diet.) suppose that the assumption with regard to Esau's grandson is unfounded, and that the Ama- lekites were the ancient inliabitants of the peninsula of Sinai and the wilderness inter- vening between the southern hill-ranges of Palestine and the border of Egypt. For their subsequent history see retf., and notes thereon. the Amorites] See on eh. X. 16, and note on the report of the spies. Num. xiii. 29. Mr. Grove in Biblical Diet. regards the name not as indicating a distinct tribe, but as being a local term only, sup- porting the opinion by the curious blending of the designation Amorite with the various Canaanitish Gentile appellations — Hittite, Canaanite, Hivitc, Jebusite. Hazezon- tamar] In the only other place where this name occurs (ref ) it is explained to be En- gedi. The word is said to mean " the fell- ing of palm-trees^' and the place may be the "city of palm-trees" of Judg. i. 16. See Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 297, note. 8.] Here we have another pa- renthetical notice of the identity of Lela with Zoar. 10.] There is, perhaps, an imi^lication that the bitumen pits were con- nected with the overthrow of the kings : theyfell there, i. e. in the pits, probably by 6—15. GE^^ESIS. 67 vale of Siddim icas full of sliinepits ; aiid the Icings of Sodom and Goniorrali fled, and fell there ; and they that remained fled to the mountain. ^^ And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. ^2 ^^d they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and dejDarted. 1"^ % And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew ; for he dwelt in the oak- grove of Mamre the ^/ ^/ ♦V Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner : and these toere confederate with Abram. i"* And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his (u.jCt^tt- tried scrra)ifs, born in his own house, three hundred and >w^~-/*'^' eighteen, and pursued t/toti unto Dan. ^'^ And he divided -i, 'C^ a-' being entangled in them, and unable to escape. From the bitumen found on its sur- face and shores the sea received the name of Laciis Asphaltites. The sentence is literally, " The vale of Siddim was pits pits of bitu- men," i. e. was all pits. The remainder, the three kings of Admah, Zeboiim, and Lcla, fled, as Lot afterwards, to the heights of Moab. 13.] There has been much discussion over the words Abram the He- brew. The simplest explanation of all is that of Knobel, that the term is to be understood in its obvi(ms later sense, as distinguishing Abram from the Gentile races and people who occur in the narrative. Thus we have, "Let the Ilebrews hear," 1 Sam. xiii. 3. See also ib. ver. 7, and xiv. 21. The chief objection to this view is that there does not appear here any sufficient reason for such contrast being made. Another explanation is, that Abram is thus called here owing to his descent from Eber, ch. x. 21. It is true that Eber's descendants there seem to be specially mentioned as constituting a race by themselves ; but again there would be against this tlie former objection that no reason exists here for thus distinguishing the patriarch. There remains the solution afforded by the Septuagint rendering, which the Hebrew word will bear, Abram the crosser-orer, or the immifjrant, viz. from the other side of the t Euphrates. If this were a name by which Abram was known among his Canaanitish ' contemporaries, and if this remarkable docu- ment were, as has been by some supposed, a fragment of Canaanitish history incorporated by the Jehovist, then a reason would be furnished for this title being given. But the question why Abram is here thus called, cannot be considered as satisfactorily solved. On the oak-grove of Mamre, sec note, ch. xiii. 18. Eshcol, the cluster of grapes, was in after times the name given by the children of Israel to a valley near Hebron, because of the bunch which the spies brouglit from thence. But there can hardly be any con- nexion between the two names. Of Aner nothing is known. confedei'ates with Abram] Literally, lords of the oath of Abram, possessors of a treaty with A. 14. his brother] i. c. his near relative. See ch. xiii. 8. armed] Literally, poured out or emptied out. tried] Or proved — faithful and skilled. The root of the word signifies to narrow, hence to initiate or im- bue with. unto Dan] If this is the same place as that afterwards named Dan by the Danites, the word must have been sub- stituted here for its older appellation Laish (see Josh. xix. 47). But this (though held by Ewald) seems very improbable, as other ancient names have not been thus changed, but have been parenthetically explained. See vv. 2, 7, 8. And yet we can hardly fix on any other place, as Dan lies almost in the line of the way from Sichem to the neigh- bourhood of Damascus, along which Abram pursued the kings. Another place, if it be anotlier, Dan-jaan, is by Keil supposed to be this Dan. It is mentioned 2 Sam. xxiv. 6, but corresponds there again very well with the Daiiite city, formerly Laish. 15.] He divided himself against them, i. e. split his forces into two portions. Hobah has not 68 GENESIS. XIY. o- lU^^^Ji^-^-''-/ himself against them, he and his servants, hy night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. ^^ And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. ^^ ^ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer^ and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the valley of the king. ^^ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine : and he was the priest of the high God. 1^ And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth : been satisfactorily made out. It was to the lett hand, i. e. the north, of Damascus. The Hebrews regarded themselves as facing the East, and named the quarters of the compass accordingly. The Jews regard the village of Jobar, a few miles N. E. of Damascus, as answering to Hobah. At Burzeh, very near, is a spot held in veneration by the people as having been the " praying-place " of Abra- ham, where he returned thanks to God after the discomfiture of the kings. See Mr. Por- ter's art. Biblical Diet. 17.] Nothing is knoT\ni of the name or the site of the valley of Shaveh. It is probable that the word itself (see on ver. 5) means a valley, in which case the valley of Shaveh is a redupli- cation. In 2 Sam. xviii. 18 we read that Abraham erected for himself a monument in the "valley of the king," but we are not told where it was : see there. 18 — 24.] Abram'' s meeting with Melchize- dek. His renunciation of the spoil. It would exceed the limits of a note to give the many different opinions about this mysterious personage, Melchizedek. "Bearing a title which Jews in after-ages would recognize as designating their own sovereign, bearing gifts which recall to Christians the Lord's Supper, this Canaanite crosses for a moment the path of Abram, and is unhesitatingly recognized as a pei'son of higher spiritual rank than the friend of God. Disappearing as suddenly as he came in, he is lost to the sacred writings for a thousand years ; and then a few emphatic words for another mo- ment bring him into sight as a type of the coming Lord of David. Once more, after another thousand years, the Hebrew Chris- tians are taught to see in him a proof that it was the consistent purpose of God to abolish the Levitical priesthood. His person, his office, his relation to Christ, and the seat of his sovereignty, have given rise to innumer- able discussions, which even now can scarcely be considered as settled." Mr. Bullock, Biblical Diet. It may be stated briefly, that he has been variously supposed to have been Shcm, au- thorized by the dignity of age and by para- mount lordship of Canaan, to bless Abram and convey to him his right over the land, (so the Jewish opinion in Jerome's time, — the Samaritan, as reported hy Epiphauius, — the later Targums, or Jewish comment- aries, — and in modern times, Luther and Melanchthon, Lightfoot, and others), — a>» angel (ascribed to Origen by Jerome), a Power or Virtue of God, or even the Holy Ghost (various heretics blamed by the Chris- tian Fathei's), the Son of God, in human form (some of the ancients, to whose opinion Ambrose inclines, as well as some modern critics), the Messiah (a Jewish opinion), Ham, or Enoch, or Job. But we may safely treat all these as fanciful and imneeded. The typology connected with Melchizedek does not require that he himself should be re- garded as any superhuman person, but merely exalts the human circumstances under which he appears into symbols of superhuman things. Everything combines to shew that Melchizedek was a Canaanitish king who had retained the worship of the true God, and combined in his own person the offices of king and priest. It is to be observed that there is not used regarding him, nor does he nse, the title of Jehovah, but that of the High God, a title found also in the question ad- 16—23. GEXESIS. G9 20 And blessed be tlie bigb God, which liath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. -^ And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give mo the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I ^ lift up mine hand unto Jehovah the high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 ^That I will not talic from, a thread even to a shoclatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, w Exod. »i. fl. Num. xiv.HO. Drut. xxxii. 40. Dan. xii. 7. X So ch. xxi. 23 ; XX vi. 29; xlii. 15. Ps. xcv. 11 (Heb. iv. S). dressed (Micali vi. 6) by the IMoabitisli king Balak, to his prophet Balaam: but tliat Abram in answering the King of Sodom probably in bis presence, atbrins the identity of his covenant-God, Jehovah, with the High God, possessor of heaven and earth, of whom Mflehizedek had spoken. llcspecting Salein, the city of Melehizedek, there is much discussion. Mr. Grove {Bibli- cal Diet.) thinks that no satisl'actory identi- fication is possible. He quotes Dr. Wolff, •who maintains that Salem is not a place, but part of the title, "King oi jjeace." This is also held by Bleek and others. The general idea has been in ancient and modern times that Salem is Jerusalem, because it is so called in Ps. Ixxvi. 2. Certainly it is : but this is no argument whatever for this Salem being also Jerusalem. Jerome identifies it with the Salem (Saleira in the Greek) near where John the Baptist was baptizing, John iii. 23. He reports that in his time the ruins of JMelchizedek's palace were shewn there. But this Salem would be at a great distance from any point where Abram might be met : and if we are to take the account strictly, this incident happened (ver. 17) after Abram' s return, and consequently in Hebron, which makes it likely that after all Salem may be Jerusalem. On all other points connected with this history, see notes on Heb. vii. 1 — 4. There the sacred writer adduces this incident as manifesting the supcri(n-ity of the priesthood of Christ, who (Ps. ex. 4) was to be a priest after the order of Melehizedek, to the Levitical priesthood hererepreseutedby Levi's ancestor, Abraham. Melehizedek is greater than Abraham, be- cause Abraham receives blessing at his hand, and pays tithes to him of all his spoil. It ' is interesting to sec the view taken of this incident by Kalisch, a Jew : " Everything is here significant, everything typical: it is obvious that the dim background is designed to veil a grand religious and po- litical future i\rclchizedek brought forth to Abraham bread and wine, not to re- fresh him or his men, for Abraham had, among the booty of the enemies, seized their large stores of provisions also (vv. 11, 24), but to perform a symbolical ceremony, in which bread and wine had a typical mean- ing. For bread represents the ordinary daily food, the necessities of ph3'sical subsistence, whilst the wine points to the cheering de- lights of life and to the spiritual cravings of religion, in the rites of which it formed an important object." He also notices that whereas the Canaanitish king served only the most High God, but Abram the same God by the sublimcr name of Jehovah, the religious enlightenment of the king of Salcra was but a ray of the sun of Abraham's faith. " This is another instance of the extreme carefulness of the Scriptures in the applica- tion of the names of the Deity : the serpent was not allowed to profane the holy name (iii. 1 — 5) ; Japheth, though blessed, stood not under the direct protection of Jehovah (ix. 27) ; and Melehizedek, tiiough a believer in God, had not entirely understood the God of the Hebrews. On the blessing, and the paying of tithes, in their deeper significance, sec on Hebrews, as above. 21.] Certainly the impression is that the offer of the spoils by the king of Sodom takes place at the same time and in the presence of Melehizedek. And this is confirmed by the repetition in Abram's mouth of the name and designation of God used already by Melehizedek. On the prefacing this by the special Divine name, see above. The king of Sodom appears moved by the liberality of Abram to a like generous return. But there is no league between Abram and Sodom, nor will he give his riches to the idohiters about him. This is at least a dif- ferent spirit from that in which he acquired his riches in Egypt, ch. xii. 16. I lift up my hand, i. c. I swear : sec reff. The 70 GENESIS. XV. ^ y 2 Chron. xxi. 20. Ps. xxxix. 13. z Lev. XX. 20. Jer, TTTn - 30. lest thou slioiildest say, I have made Abram ricli : -'^ Save only tliat wliicli tlie young men have eaten, and the por- tion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre ; let them take their portion. XY. ^ After these ;^ ^, ,.. things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, . saying, Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, cnid thy ex- ceeding great reward. ^ And Abram said. Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I ^ go ^ childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus ? ^ And Abram said. Behold, to me thou hast given no seed : and, /^,w/-v/ lo> one belonging to my house is mine heir. 4 And, be- ^ir<-^ 'aia., hold, the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, This^ azsam vii.i2; gball uot bc thiuc hcir ; but he that shall ^ come forth out XVI. 11. ' of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. ^ And he brought him forth abroad, and said. Look now toward heaven, and tULj tut I number the stars, if thou be able to number them : and he said unto him. So shall thy seed be. ^ And he believed in words do not appear to record a past action, but to describe a present one. Abram tbcn and tbere makes oath to God. That I will not take is literally If I take : tbe act of lifting np tbe band in abjuration im- plying the calling down God's anger on him- self if he did that which he abjured. See reff., and compare 1 Kings six. 2, and like passages. from a thread to a shoe- latchet (or lace)] Meaning, any of even the most vile and trivial things, over which, and which only, the expression extends. 24.] Save only is literally Not for me: only. . . . Abram claims, for himself, nothing ; for his own servants, only that which they had eaten ; for his allies, their fair portion of the spoil. XV. Promise of an heir to Abram, and solemn covenant of Jehovah tvith him. 1.] Literally, there was a word of Jehovah to Abram. The vision was not one in sleep, as is evident from what follows. Apparently the first portion, to verse 9, happens during the night (ver. 5). Then the obedience to the command (ver. 9) takes place during the day, and the night again supervenes in vv. 12 — 17. God had shewn Himself to be Abram's shield in Egypt and in his late en- counter : the reward of which He speaks is to come, and to it Abram's question applies. It is not quite certain whether we should keep the idea that God was his reward : Kalisch renders, " I am thy shield : thy re- heard will be very great." But Keil and Knobel retain the text. 2.] This is the first time that Lord Jehovah occurs. I die (literally, go, depart : see reff.) child- less (literally, naked). the heir is lit. the son of possession. There is in the original a play upon words : the heir is ben- meshek, and the appellation of Eliezer is Dam-mesek : such alliteration, as frequently, expressing a certain degree of despondent feeling. In Isa. xvii. 1, Damascus is again introduced in an alliteration ; Masah Dam- masek, "the bm-den of Damascus." There is some dispute over the name and designa- tion of this steward. As they stand in the Hebrew the words would be Damascus Eliezer. Kalisch is inclined to think that the two words together makes his name, as Hadad-czer (2 Sam. viii. 3), Chushan- risliatbaim (Judg. iii. 10), &c. ; and so the LXX. and Vulgate render. But almost all the commentators, however they get at the meaning as a question of Hebrew, believe tliat Eliezer of Damascus expresses the sense. Probably he was a servant acquired at that city during Abram's journeying. 3.] one belonging to my house is literally a son of my house, that expression being evidently equivalent not to one horn in my house (that his own son would be), but to one attached to, a defendant of, my house. 1—11. GENESIS. 71 Jehovah ; and lie counted it to him for righteousness. 7 And he said unto him, I am Jkhovaii that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldces, to give thee thi.s hind to inherit it. ^ And he said,^Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it ? ^ And he said unto him. Take for me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle- dove, and a young pigeon. ^^ And he took for IIim all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another : but the birds divided he not. ^1 And the birds of prey came down upon the carcases, but /L/r^/ ^/ o1 6.] Keil remarks, ".In the strictly maintained objective character of the narra- tives of Genesis, in accordance with which simple facts without insertion of any subjective judgment are told, this remark seems so surprising that the question presses itself on us, whence Moses has derived it. How did Abram manifest his belief in Jehovah ? And how did Jehovah reckon it to him as righteousness ? The answer to both questions must not be sought from the N. T., but miist be given or implied in the context. What return, then, did Abram make to the promise, or what did he do on its reception .' When God for the confirmation of the same in ver. 7 pledged Himself to him as Jeiiovaii, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give him this land in possession, Abram re- plied, ' Lord, how shall I know that I shall iuherit it .' ' And then God commanded him, 'Take one,' &c. And Abram took the animals as prescribed and did as God com- manded him. By this prompt fulfilment of that which God ordered him to do, Abram shewed, as matter of fact, that he believed Jehovah : and that which God did with the animals which Abram sacrificed was the practical declaration on Jehovah's side that He reckoned Abram's faith as righteousness. The signification of the divine act is finally given in ver. 18 : 'In the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram.' Accordingly, He shewed that he reckoned Abram's faith for righteousness, in that He made a covenant with him, and took Abram as a party into covenant witli Himself." On the N.T. sig- nificance of this verse, see notes, Eom. iv. 3. 7.] We have before referred to this verse to shew that the command of God to Abram first came when he was at Ur, not afterwards at Haran. 8.] The same request may be made with two different minds. Zacharias (Luke i. 18) asked this in unbelief; the Blessed Virgin (Luke i. 34), as Abram here, in faith, humbly yearning for further assurance. God, who sees the heart, answers iiccordingly. 9.] The animals prescribed are of the three kinds afterwards by the law allowed for sacrifice : and the birds are those repeatedly mentioned in the law as to be brought for offerings. The animals were to be each three years old, denoting, says Kalisch, the perfection of their species. But we Christians cannot shut our eyes to a deeper symbolism in this sacred number, especially when we remember that this part of the covenant symbolism was to be " for ME," i. c. to signify God's part of it (see also ver. 10). The universal Eastern custom was to divide the sacrifices, as Abram did, and both the contracting parties passed between the halves. Here one alone of the parties, Jehovah, thus passed. Abram's part of the covenant was the obedi- ence of faith : and God on account of this en- tered, He, the righteous God, into bond with Abram, thus made a contracting party with God, and therefore accounted righteous. See above. 10.] Abram appears to have done this not by special command, but as being aware what purpose the killing of these animals was to serve, viz. that of ratifying a covenant. Abram took these, as commanded, for Gon. So Kalisch. On the practice of cutting the sacrificed animals in two and passing between the parts, see Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19 ; Ps. 1. 5. 11.] Abram drove them away in the expectation that the sacrifice was about to serve God's purpose ; another act of faith. 12.] The great 72 GENESIS. XY. Abram drove them away. ^^ And when the sun was going /-r>-»^i. ^*v^^ / »y after my seeing ? ^^ Wherefore the well was called Beer- »^<.*'v/ lahai-roi ; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. ^^ 51 And Hagar bare Abram a son : and Abram called his son's name, Avhich Ilagar bare, Ishmael. ^*^ And Abram icas fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. XVII. ^ And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto hear in Isa. xxxvii. 4, 17. 12.] The rov- ing fierceness of the wild ass of the desert is described Job vi. 5 ; xxiv. 5 ; xxxix. 5, 8. See also Ps. civ. 11 ; Isa. xxxii. 14. The rendering in the text is that of Kalisch. The A. v., by omitting the central word in the sentence, loses altogether the point of the prophecy. "The character of the Ishraael- ites, or the Bedonins, covdd not be described more aptly or more powerfully. They have preserved it almost unaltered during three or four thousand years. . . . They have defied the softening influence of civiliza- tion, and mocked the attacks of the invader. Ungovernable and roaming, obeying no law but their spirit of adventure, regarding all mankind as their enemies, whom they must either attack with their spears or elude with their faithful steeds, . . . the Bedouins are the outlaws among the nations. ... 'In the desert, everybody is everybody's enemy,' is their proverbial saying." Kalisch. in the presence of] Is interpreted by Dc- litzsch as rather meaning to the east of, but Kalisch, and the majority of commentators, render as in text, and understand it as de- scribing "the wide and almost indefinite extent of territories through which the Bedouins roam, so that they seem to be everyAvhere before the eyes of their brethren." Certainly, as Kalisch observes, their limit being said, in ch. xxv. 18, "unto Shur, that is before Egypt," they did not dwell only to the east of their brethren. 13.] " She exclaimed, with mingled feelings of exulta- tion and submission, ' Thou art the God of seeing ; ' for she said, ' Do I even still see after seeing ? ' that is, Thou art to me a God whom I saw unpunished : for although I saw Thee I still live and see the light of day." Kalisch. Compare ch. xxxii. 30 ; Exod. xxxiii. 20 ; Deut. v. 24 ; Judg. vi. 22, 23; xiii. 22; Isa. vi. 5. Do I still see, i. e. live, as explained in the next verse, 14. Beer-lahai-roi] Literally, '^ the fountain for the life of beholding." Kalisch. He renders it, the wi'll of seeing God and living. It is stated to be between Kadesh, i. e. Ka- deshbarnea (see ch. xiv. 7 ; also xxiv. C2 ; xxv. 11), and Bered. This latter has not been satisfactorily made out. Mr. Grove {Biblical Diet.) thinks it to be El-Chalasah the ancient Elusa, 12 m. S. of Beershcba. Mr. Rowlands claims to have discovered this well about 12 m. from Kadesh, on the road to Jebcl-es-Serr (Shiu- .') — at a place still called by the Arabs Moilahi Hadjar, Moi (water) being equivalent to Beer (well). See Eev. G. Williams, Hohj City, i. p. 4Go. 15, 16.] The fulfilment of the jjromise to Ilagar. 15-] AVe can surely find no ground here for asserting a discrepancy from vcr. 1 1 . Abram obeys the order there given to Hagar. XVII. 1 — 25.] The covenant sealed by a 7iew name given to Abram, and by circum- cision. The narrative is considered by Knobel to belong throughout, with the ex- ception of the opening words, to the original Elohistic document, and to be unchanged. Abram had waited fourteen years at least for the performance of the promise, and no sign of it had appeared. This appearance of God denoted the fulness of the time for the 76 GENESIS. XVII. , Shaddai ; ! Ch. XXXV. him, I am " God Almiglity ; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 XxiA. I will make my covenant between me and tbee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. ^ And Abram fell on his face : and God talked with him, saying, ^ As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. ^ Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abra- ham ; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an ever- lasting covenant, to be a God imto thee, and to thy seed after thee. ^ And I will give unto thee, and to th}^ seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God. ^ 51 And God said unto Abraham, covenant promise to be put in fulfilment. God here calls Himself El Shaddai, God All-mighty, able to perform that which He had promised. I reserve the full explanation of this name for the remarkable place, Exod. vi. 2, 3. There is an appropriateness in its special revelation here, seeing that in order for God's promise to be performed the coiu-sc of nature itself would have to be changed. " Is anything too hard for Jehovah ? " was an appeal made by God Himself during the course of the narrative (ch. xviii. 14). Abram's part of the covenant was to walk before, in the presence of, God in the obedience of faith. See ch. vi. 9 ; Micah vi. 8 ; IMatt. v. 48 ; James iii. 2. 2.] Knobel thinks that this was the only narrative of the making the covenant contained in the primeval document, the others having been afterwards added by the Jehovist. That would account for the ap- parently first introduction here of the pro- mise of multiplying Abram exceedingly, which had been already given both generally, ch. xii. 2, and specially, ch. xv. 5, in the Jehovist supplement. Abram, overcome with the Divine majesty and grace, prostrated Jiimself. See Levit. ix. 24 ; Ruth ii. 10. 5.] Abraham Ta.eans father of a multi- tude, the latter part of the name signifying " the noise and tumult characteristic of agi- tated crowds." Kalisch. Henceforth both narrators use no other name for him than Abraham. 8.] The land wherein thou art a stranger is literally, the land of thi/ sojournings or icanderings. 9 — 14.] The ordinance of circumcision. In apply- ing what we know from history to this narrative, we must bear in mind what was before said (ch. ix.) on the covenant character there given to the rainbow. It is as futile to attempt in the face of historical and eth- nical facts to deny that circumcision existed before Abraham received it as the sign of God's covenant, as it is to deny in the face of physical facts that the rainbow existed before Noah received it as the sign of God's covenant. Keither our Lord's saying that it was of the Fathers as distinguished from Moses (John vii. 22), nor Stephen's, that God gave Abraham the covenant of circum- cision, is the least to the purpose. "When- ever and among whomsoever the practice first originated, Jewish circumcision was "of the Fathers," and the coreHo«pcct. Kalisch well remarks that God pro- cn ded with far greater leniency than even Abraham's anxiety had the courage to advo- cate : for He delivered the house of Lot, the only virtuous family which was found in Sodom, lie furtherremarksthatthcpatriarch, su fur from, as some have said, shewing the "impudence" of importunity, had asked simply for justice, and not fur mercy : "he might at once have insisted on the principle, t the sinners only should die, whatever tl their number might be: though he had con- fidence in the Divine attribute of justice, he had not fathomed its whole depth. Comp. Kum. xvi. 22 ; Ezek. xviii. 20." XIX. The destruction of Sodom. The incest of Lot. 1.] Kalisch renders, " And two of the angels came" «fcc. lu his character for hospitality, Lot is the counterpart of Abraham. lie sits at the gate, where he might best see approaching strangers. He has no idea who they are : see vv. 2 and 8. Eut they probably had something beautiful and majestic in their appearance : see on ver. 5. 2. ] He addresses them as my lords. The word is the same as that by which Abraham addressed God, ch. xviii. 3, in the singular, but it is differently pointed in the Ilebrew, and evi- dently must be diiferently understood, as the sentence is in the second person plural, not singular, as there. And accordingly, while the Masoretic editors have a note against Adonai there, ^'sacred," meaning that it is the name of God, here they note the '"pro- fane," meaning that it is the name of man only. wash your feet] See on ch. xviii. 4. They decline his otter of hospitality, as not wishing to become guests of any among 84 GENESIS. XIX. Nay ; but we will abide in tbe street all nigbt. ^ And be pressed upon tbem greatly ; and tbey turned in mito bini, and entered into bis bouse ; and be made k ch. xxr 8 ; tbem a ^ feast, and did bake unleavened cakes, and judg."xw.i2. tbey did eat. ^ ^ But before tbey lay down, tbe men of tbe city, tbe men of Sodom, compassed tbe bouse ' jer'uii"' I'o^^iiclj botb old and young, all tbe people ^from every quarter : ^ and tbey called unto Lot, and said unto bim, Wbere are tbe men wbicb came in to tbee tbis nigbt ? bring tbem out unto us, tbat we may know tbem. ^ And Lot went out at tbe door unto tbem, and sbut tbe door after bim, ^ and said, I praj' you, bretbren, do not wickedly. 8 Bebold now, I bave two daugbters wbicb bave not known man ; let me, I pray you, bring tbem out unto you, and do ye to tbem as is good in your eyes : onl}^ unto tbese men do notbing, because tbey came under tbe sbadow of my roof. 9 And tbey said, Stand back. And tbey said, Tbis one came in to sojourn, and be continually judgetb ns : now will we deal worse witb tbee, tban witb tbem. And tbey pressed sore upon tbe man, even Lot, and came near to break tbe door, i^ ]3^t tbe men put fortb tbeir band, and pulled Lot into tbe bouse to tbem, and sbut to tbe door. ^^ And tbey smote tbe men tbat were at tbe the Sodomites : but 3] at longtli yield, done, suppose that Lot had any end in view and are entertained. Tliis apparently was beyond that which the proposal declares, or to try the sincerity of his invitation, and to that it was due to his perturbation of mind, bring about that sifting of his character as Augustine suggests. It seems simply to which the following shameful incident af- have had in view the averting of a fearful forded. a feast] Literally, a drink, crime (enhanced in this case by its violating but used in this wider sense in reff. Proba- the sacred rights of hospitality) by the per- bly the cause of the absence of leaven was mission of another crime, the very thought the suddenness of the occasion : see also of which we happily in these Christian days Exod. xii. 33, 34. 4 — 7.] From Levit. cannot find place for in a father's heart. 22—25 we learn that the practice of the sin 9. Stand back] i. e. make way for here contemplated was among the principal us to enter the house. So Knobel and causes why God exterminated the Canaan- Gesenius. Others, as Kaliscb, interpret itish nations. from every quarter] Liter- the expression, " Cone Jiither (to us)." ally, from the end, viz. of the city. See he continually judgeth us] i. e. is con- reff. 8.] It is ditficult to give an stantly protesting against our customs and account of this offer consistently with any practices. The threat which follows is in- estimate of Lot as a "righteous" man. terprcted by Knobel, that they would smite But in our estimating we must remember and kill him, whereas they would only mis- that the same offer was made, and the thing handle his guests. But Lange remarks actually done, in the parallel case at Gibeah that the following words point to quite of Benjamin, Judges xix. 24, ff. Guided by another (and a darker) meaning. 10, that other case, we cannot, as some have H.] The blindness does not appear to have 3— i: GENESIS. 85 cl(.)or of the liouso with blindness, both small and great : so that they wearied themselves to find the door. '2 ^ And the men said unto Lot, Ilast thou here any one besides ? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and what- soever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place : ^^ for we will destro}^ this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of Jehovah ; and Jehovah hath sent us to destroy it. ^^ And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said. Up, get you out of this place ; for Jehovati will destroy this city. And he was as one that mocked in the eyes of his sons in law. ^'^ ^ And when the ™ morning ™ arose, then the angels hastened Lot, say- ing. Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here ; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters ; Jehovah being merci- ful unto him : and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. i"^And it came to pass, when m ch. xxxii. 24, 26. Josh, vi. 15. Judg. xix. 2o, al. been literal and final, but to have consisted in a bewilcicring of their vision, so that they could not find the door. Augustine well says, Had they been struck blind, they ■would not have wearied themselves to find the door, but would have ceased to seek for it. 12.] The mention of the son in law before the sons and daughters is some- what surprising. Lange has proposed to read thus : " Hast thou here any besides as son in ld in ch. x. 23 as one of the children of Aram, and it was from Ur of the Chassidim (Cliald;rans) that Abram was called. "Whereas here Chesed is a son of Nahor. But there is no reason against the repetition of names in the 16— XXIII. G. GENESIS. 101 Hcuinali, she bare also Tebah, and Galiani, and Tliahash, and Maachah. XXIII. ^ And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old : these u-erc tlie years of the life of Sarah. ^ Ji^^^i (Sarah died in Kirjath-arba ; the same is Hebron in the Luul of Canaan : and Abraham canio to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. ^ if And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Ileth, saying, "^ I am a stranger and a so- journer with you : give me a possession of a buryingpkico with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. ^ And the children of Ileth answered Abraham, saying unto him, ^ Hear us, my lord : thou art a prince of line of Slieni : wc have already two in Abiain's fainily bciiring tlic name of Xalior, Abraham's grandfather and brother: and Ur of the Chassidim may be thus called by anticipation. See Job xxxii. 2. Elihu is saiil to be a Biizite, of the kindred of Ram (= Aram). Of Kemuel, I'ildash, Jidlaph, nothing more is known. Knobel traces Ilazo in a district-name, Cliazene, of whicli there was one in Mesopotamia, and one in Assyria. Betliuel appears afterwards in the narrative of eh. xxiv.: see there. Tebah (Thibatli), near the city of the Syrian king Hadadezer, 1 Chron. xviii. 8 (called Bu'tali in 2 Sam. viii. 8). Tiiahasli is traced in a town Atachas, N.W. of Ki^ibis. We have an Aram-Maacluih in 1 Chron. xix. 6 (Syria-iMaacliah in A. V.); the border of Og, king of Bashan, reached as far as to the ^Maacbathites (Josh. xii. 5) ; the tribe of Manasseh took the country of Argob to tlie coasts of Gesliuri and MaachaMii (Dent. iii. 14): see also Josli. xiii. II, 13, where it is stated that the Gesluirites and JIaacliathites still dwelt among the Manassites. "We have the city Abel of Beth-maacliali mentioned 2 Sam. XX. 15; 1 Kings xv. 20; 2 Kings XV. 29. It is worth notice tliat Absalom's motlier was Maacah, daughter of 'I'almai, king of Geshnr (2 Sam. iii. 3), and that .Ab- salom's daughter bore the same name, 1 Kings XV. 2 ; 2 Chron. xi. 20. XXII 1. Death of Sarah. Purchase by Abraham of the cave of Mac/ipc/ah as a bury- ing place for her. Sarah is the only woman ■whose age is mentioned in the Scripture. Slie occupies an important place, as the mother of the cliosen people (see 1 Pet. iii. 6 ; Isa. li. 2). 2.] On Hebron, sec note, ch. xiii. 18. Tlic words in the land of Canaan are added for fulness of desi-ri[)tion, but not without reference to tlie fiict that thus the mother of the faithful rested in the land promised to her descendants. Abra- ham came] Probably from some nomad ex- cursion in the iieiglibourhood, or perhaps (but this is not so likely) from Becr-sheba, where he is last heard of aa dwelling, ch. xxii. 19. 3.] Abraham must be thought of as " weeping over the face " of Sarah (2 Kings xiii. U), and he rises up from the face (so refP.) of his dead. In this rising u]) is implied tlie act of going to the gate of the city where the sons of Ileth (or Ilittites) were assembled. These sons of ileth were Canaanites (ch. x. lo) ; from them afterwards Esau took wives, ch. xxvi. 34, 35. 4.] Abraham knew that the land of Canaan was to be the inheritance of his seed ; and the securing a grave in it for his and for himself was an act of faith on his part. The possession of a buryingplace clearly had reference to future burials as well as to that now urgent. 5.] The reply of the eliiUlien of Ileth is deeply re- spectlul to Abraham, and confers on him an unusual favour — admission for his dead into the family sepulchres of the inhabitants: but it does not meet the point at which his request had aimed. There is some dilhcnlty in the word rendered "unto him ;" it is unusual in such a connexion. But there seems no reason for departing from the A. V. Tiie LXX. have rendered it as if it were an- other word of similar sound, and signified " No ; " " Not so, my lord." But there can be little doubt that this is an instance of the carelessness of which that celebrated version 102 GENESIS. XXIII. wExod.xv. 4. God amonjT: lis: in tlie "^clioice of our sepulch.res bury Deut. xii. 11. " ■■■ _•' Ez'l;k'?xiiv'.5. thy dead ; none of ns sliall withliold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. 7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Ileth. ^ And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight ; hear me, and intrcat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, ^ that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field ; for as much money as it is w^orth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you. ^^ And Ephron sat among the children of Heth : and EjDhron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Ileth, of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, ^^ Naj^ my lord, hear me : the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee ; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee : bury thy dead. ^'^ And Abraham, bowed down himself before the people of the land. ^^ And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wUt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field ; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there, i^ And Ephron answered Abra- preseiits so many examples. a prince of inconvenience, and it was " before Mamre'' God seems to signify more than merely " a i. e. close to the patriarch's own residence. mighty prince,'' as A.\. They viewed him The LXX. and Vulgate render the word as enjoying in a special manner the Divine Machpelah, " f?ow6/e .• " butit would appear, favour, and possibly, as Kalisch suggests, in error. 10.] It would seem that tlie regarded his residing amongst them as a notice, with which this verse begins, alludes protection and a safeguard again -.t Divine not to Ephron having dwelt among the inflictions : compare Abimelech's confes- children of Heth, but to his having been sion, ch. xxi, 22. They therefore repudiate present, sitting at the gate. The Hebrew his description of himself as a stranger and word is the same as that rendered "sat," a sojourner, and manifest a wish to incorpor- ch. xviii. 1 ; xix. 1. all that went in at ate him among themselves. He therefore, the gate are the inhabitants who assembled while courteously acknowledging their fa- there for the purpose of converse and busi- vourable proposal, now makes known to ness. See on ch. xxii. 17. It has been re- them his full mind on the matter. His de- marked that the procedure here is even now scription of himself as a stranger and a acted continually over by the crafty Oriental sojourner had not been given at random : bargainer. He offers to give the object it had its deep foundations in truth, and was sought, for nothing ; he depreciates its price not to be coraplimeTited away, but to be as a trifle not worth having; and thus ob- adhered to and acted on. 9] There tains at last more than it is worth, were two reasons why Abraham chose Mach- "Ephron, unable longer to withstand the pelah : it was "at the end" of Ephron's temptation, but reluctant openly to exhibit field, and so could be parted with at small bis avarice, with adroit cunning preserved 7— XXIV. 1. GENESIS. 103 ham, sii^'ing unto him, ^'^ ^ly lord, hearken unto me : the hind is icorf// four hundred shekels of silver ; what is that betwixt me and thee ? bury therefore thy dead. ^^ And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron ; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, whieh he had named in the audienee of the sons of Ileth, four hundred shekels of silver, cur- rent with the merchant, i' % And the field of Ephron, which WY/s in Machpelah, -which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which mis therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that n-cre in all the borders round about, were made sure ^^ unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Ileth, before all that went in at the gate of his cit}'. ^^ And after this, Abra- ham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre : the same is Hebron in tlie land of Canaan, ^o And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a bury- in gplace by the sons of Heth. XXIV. ^ And Abraham was old, coul well stricken in age : and Jehovah had the appearance of disinterestedness, while lie was exacting a considerable sum from the rich emir ; he seemed even impatiently to solicit the honour of furnishing the desired ground. But Abraham understood well liis stratagem and its motives, and he at once paid the amount hinted at in current silver, such as merchants give and receive." Kalisch. See the same remark, and the whole trans- action thus commented on, in " The Land and the Book," p. 578. 16.] There was then no coined money, sp that ingots of silver were weighed for the price; the phrase " current with the merchant " implying jier- haps that the ingots were certified genuine and of proper weight by some mark. But all respecting the primaeval habits of pay- ment in commerce is very doubtful. See Mr. Stuart Poole's art. " Money," in S/nith's Biblical Diet. 17.] This mi- nute specification seems like a recital of the very formula of sale, and shews the solemn significance of the whole pro- ceeding. By the expression which was iu (the) Machpelah, it would seem as if the name belonged not to tlie cave only, but also to the district or property. See Dean Stanley, "Localities visited in the East in 18G2." before Mamre, in the face of Mamre, probably implies, eastward of Mamre. Tradition is certainly at fault con- cerning the saered sites at Hebron. For while Machpelah is universally believed to be within tlie walls of the great mosque or Ilaram, in the city ; a spot 15 furlongs off, on tlie road to Jerusalem, is pointed out, the Eamet el Chalil, the traditional dwelling- place of Abraham, where Josephus mentions the terebinth tree as standing in his time. It is probable that this part is an error, and the other authentic. Vv. 19, 20 relate the burial in like formal terms, the place, city, and country being again specified, and the fact also of the field and cave being secured to Abraham, and by whom. The best and most recent account of the Mosque at He- bron is found iu Dean Stanley's " Localities in the East visited in 1862," published as an appendix to his " Sermons in the East." XXIV. 1 — G7.] Abraham's servant is sent to Haran to find a iiife of the house of I\\ihor for Isaac. lie brings liebekah. Tiiis beautiful narrative belongs totlie Jeho- vistic portion, as is abundantly shewn in its progress. 1.] Abraham was 140 years old : see ch. xxv. 20. 2.] This might, or might not, be tlic steward, Eliezer of Da- mascus, mentioned ch. iv. 2. That was 104 GENESIS. xxiy. : Exod. xxiii. 20, 2:i ; xxxii. 34; xxxiii. 2. Num. XX. 16. T See ch. xii. 16. blessed Abraham in all things. 2 ^^^ Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh : ^ and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the Elohim of heaven, and the Elohim of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell : ^ |jut thou shalt go imto my coun- try, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto ni}' son Isaac. 5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land : must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou earnest ? ^ And xlbraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. ^ ^ jp_ HOVAH, the Elohim of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall ^send his angel befoi'e thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. ^ And if the Avoman will not be willing to follow thee, then thovi shalt be clear from this my oath : only bring not my son thither again. ^ And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. ^^ % And the serv- ant took ten camels of the ^ camels of his master, and de- parted ; for all the goods of his master /cere in his hand : and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of nearly 60 years ago. "Whoever this was, he was in the fullest confidence of his master, and amply justified it : comp. ver. 10. The whole narrative gives us an emi- nent example of domestic faitlifulness in a God-fearing family, but such an one as we may be thankful that many families among ourselves can parallel. The effect of tlie fear of God is the same in all lands and ages. Put thy hand under my thigh] In these words is euphemistically described a practice of making an oath binding by touching that part of the body which symbol- izes power and continuance. For the Jew, a further sanctity was imparted to this con- firmation of an oath by that member being the recipient of God's covenant of circum- cision. The practice is found besides in ch. ilvii. 29, only. 4.] See similar ex- pressions in the Jehovistic, ch. xii. 1. 5, 6.] The servant understands the mission of obtaining a wife for Isaac to be so en- tirely committed to him, that in case tiie endeavour to bring one back failed, it was a question whether Isaac should not be taken there to choose for himself. Tliis proposal Abraham, in the firmness of his faith in Gud's promise, strongly repudiates ; and in the case supposed (which however [ver. 7] he is confident in God will not arise), absolves the servant from tlie obligation (ver. 8). 10.] Mesopotamia is in the lleb., Aram Naliaraim, Aram of the two rivers, lying between the Euphrates and the 'I igiis. the city of Nahor is Ilaran, whither Kahor must liave (though this is not related) followed his father Terah : see ch. xi. 31. 11.] The servant, having been 2—15. GENESIS. 105 Nahor, 1^ And he made his cornels to kneel down -u-ith- out the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw tcafcr. ^^ And he said, Jehovah, the Elohim of ray master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kind- ness unto my master Abraham. ^^ Behold, I stand by the well of water ; and tlic daugliters of the men of the city come out to draw water : ^ ' and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall sa}'. Let down thy pitcher, I pray tliee, that I may drink ; and she shall say. Drink, and I will give th}' camels drink also : her thou hast ap- pointed for thy servant Isaac ; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. ^^ bred in a school of piety (;is Kaliscli), com- mits liis way unto God's iirovidence to prosper it. But at tlio same time he takes the course pointed out by human providence. He goes to the place wliere and at tlie time when he was most likely to see the young women of the town. " The principal well was a place (compare Exod. ii. 15; also ch. xxix. 2, If.) whither the duties of the daugh- ters of tlie inliabitants called them at certain times of the day. Even the daughters of the chief seldom fail to appear there with their vessels. The well or cistern is for the females what the gate is for the men : here they indulge in friendly conversation and exclianide the text, have been, and thus making void God's word with our inventions. 15.] The 106 GENESIS. XXIY. ^ And it came to pass, before lie liad done si^ealdng, tliat, behold, Rebekah came out, wbo was born to Bethuel, son of Milcab, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16 j^y^^ ^i^g damsel icas very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her : and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said. Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher, i^ And she said, Drink, my lord : and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. ^^ And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw uriter for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. 20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw wafer, and drew for all his camels. 2i And the man beheld her in silence, to know whether Je- hovah had made his journe}^ prosperous or not. 22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels Aveight of gold ; 23 and said. Whose daughter art thou ? tell me, I joray thee : is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in ? 24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. 25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. 26 And the man bowed down, and prostrated himself to Jehovah. 27 And he said. Blessed he Jehovah, the Elohim of ni}^ mas- ter xibraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth : I being in the way, Jehovah led me to the house of my master's brethren. 28 And the damsel ran, and told her mother's house according to these words. hearing on the shoulder seems to have heen of enduring thirst, drink, when an opportu- the practice with the Hebrews : see ch. xxi. nity oflers, an enormous quantity of water, 14 ; Exod. xii. 34 ; Josh. iv. .5. We have it will be acknowledged that the trouble to also bearing on the head mentioned, ch. xl. which the maiden cheerfully submitted re- 16. 16.] On " going down to the well," quired more than ordinary patience." see above. 19.] The words until they 22.] The ring was a nose-ring : see on ver. have done drinking are by no means with- 47. The weight specified is a bekah, which out significance. Kalisch remarks, " If it is := j a skekel. The presents were not as yet remembered that camels, though endowed in bridal presents : those first come in ver. 53, an almost marvellous degree with the power and could not be given till the consent of 16—43. GENESIS. 107 29 ^ And Rcbekah had a brother, and his name teas Laban : and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. ^^ And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, and tlie bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Hebekah his sister, sa^'ing, Thus spake the man unto me ; that he came unto the man ; and, bcliold, he stood by the camels at the well, ^i ji^nd he said. Come, thou blessed of Jehovah ; wherefore standest thou without ? for I have prej^ared the house, and room for the camels. ^2 ^f ^^mj the man came into the house : and Laban un girded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that ucre with him. 23 And there was set before him to eat : but he said, I will not cat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Sj^eak on. ^'^ And he said, I am Abraham's servant. ^'^ And Jehovah hath blessed my master greatly ; and he is become great : and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. ^^ And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old : and unto him hath he given all that he hath. 37 And my master made me swear, saying. Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell : ^^ but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. ^^ And I said unto my master, Peradvcnture the woman will not follow me. '^^ And he said unto me, Jehovah, before whqm I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way ; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house : *^ then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred ; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. '^'^ And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Jehovah, Elohim of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go : ^3 behold, I stand by the well of water ; and it shall come to pass, that the virgin which coraeth forth to draw irafcr, and I say to her. Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to Laban and Betliuel had been ascertained. 31.] i. c. he hud given orders to that 108 GENESIS. XXIY. drink ; ^4 q^i-^^ s|ie say to me, Botli drink tliou, and I will also draw for thy camels : let the same be the woman whom Jehovah hath appointed for my master's son. *'5 And before I had done sj^eaking in mine heart, behold, Ke- bekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder ; and she went down unto the well, and drew wafer : and I said unto her. Let me drink, I pray thee. ^*^ And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give th}^ camels drink also : so I drank^ and she made the camels drink also. '^^ And I asked her, and said. Whose daughter art thou ? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him : and I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands. ^^ And I bowed down, and prostrated myself to Jehovah, and blessed Jehovah, the Eloliim of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. 4^ And now if ye will shew mercy and truth to iny master, tell me : and if not, tell me ; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. ^'^ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said. The thing proceedeth from Jehovah : we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. ^^ Behold, Re- bekah is before thee, take I/cr, and go, and let her be th}^ mas- ter's son's wife, as Jehovah hath spoken. ^- And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he prostrated himself before Jehovah to the earth. ^'■^ And the servant brought forth vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and gave the/n to Bebekah : lie gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. ^* And they did eat and drink, he and the men that icere with him, and tarried all night ; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away luito my master. ^^ And her brother and her mother said. Let the damsel effect, on lieaiinar bis sister's story. cility of Bethuel, being the ground of it. 50.] Prof. Blunt, in bis interesting little But Knobel justifies it on the ground of the volume on " Coincidences in Scripture," ad- brother exercising guardianship over bis duces the consistent manner in which sister, as in eh. xxiv. 5, 11, 2.5 ; Judg. xxi. throughout this narrative a secmidary place 22; 2 Sam. xiii. 22. 53.] Tiiese wire is allotted to Bethuel, the master of the the bridal presents destined to ratify the bouse, as characteristic of a trutliful history, espousal. 55.] about ten days is liter- some untold fact, such as possibly the imbe- ally days, or ten,— i. e. some days, say ten. 44—65. GENESIS. 109 abide with us aLout ten clays ; after tliat she shall 2:0. ^6 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing Jkhovaii hatli 2)rospered my way ; send me away tliat I ma}' go to my master. ^7 And they said, AVe will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. 58 And they called Ilebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man ? And she said, I will go. -59 And they sent away Rcbekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. <50 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, raayest thou become thousands of myriads, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. ^^ % And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man : and the sei-vant took Rebekah, and went his way. ^'- And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi ; for he dwelt in the south country. ^3 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field towards the evening : and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming. ^^ And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. ^^ And she said unto the servant, What man is this that walkcth in the field to meet us ? And the servant said, It is my master : 58. Wilt thou go with this man T] There is 110 iieeil to supply unytliiiij;- such as '^ now, or stay here a while f'^ 'J"hc man was on the point of departure ; would she go with him ? 59.] The nurse's name was Deborah. "We read of her deatii many years after, cli. xxxv. 8. 60.] Tiie wisli for prolific abundance is character- istic in the family to whom this was tlie Special promise. The latter portion of the wish is singularly coincident with the bless- ing tf God on Abraliam in ch. xxii. 17. 61-] Kuobel thinks the two portions of this verse parts of two separate narratives, incorporated together. Certainly they look like independent accounts of the same tians- actioii. 62.] Isaac had been on an ex- cursion which took him to the well wiiere Hagar had been found by the angel (ch. xvi. 14), between Kadesh and liered, and he was now returning. lie dwelt in the Negeh, or south country (see oil. xii. 9), i. e. not at Ileliron, but in tlie neighbourhood of Beer- sheba. 63 ] The interpretation of the word rendered to meditate is very various, and quite uuceitain. It is given as here iu the LXX. (by the same word which they use in I's. Ixxxvii. 3, 6, 12), the Vulgate, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the general- ity of ccmmentators ; but Onkelos and the Arabic version i>ive it " to pray;" the Syriac, to take a walk ; while Knobel contends for the sense " to mourn " (for his mother), and Gesenius thinks there has been some error in transcription, and that the word ought to be another, signifying "?o moke his roitnch," to overlook his Jlucks and herds. The word occurs but this once in the Bible. As the rendering of the A. V. seems to be more generally adopted than any of the others, I have left it in the text. 64] " It is an Kastern custom, prevalent in many parts to this day, that women, when riding on the road, and meeting strani;e men, descend from their animals, as a mark of respect offered to the str(mger sex." Kalisch. But it seems to be more general and to be uniform- ly done by travellers of both sexes on meet- no GENESIS. xxiy. therefore sTie took lier veil, and covered lierself. ^^ And the servant told Isaac all tilings that he had done. ^7 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife ; and he loved her : and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. XXY. 1 And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah. ^ And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and ^Shuah. ^ And ing any distinguished person. 67.] The wives of Jacob had separate tents, eh. xxxi. 33. This tent would naturally be at Hebron where Sarah died, and there is no- thing in the narrative to forbid tliis, as Knobel thinks ; Isaac brought his wife from where he dwelt at the time of her arrival to Hebron. It was now three years since Sarah's death ; and some have supposed that the " Jehovist," in thus writing, must have set Sarah's death later, seeing that 30 or 70 days were tlie usual period of mourning. But our narrative obviously is not treating of a mere formal period of mourning, but of filial sorrow, which is not bounded by time. XXV. The descendants of Abkaham. Herein (vv. 1 — 4) Abraham's marriage icith Keturah, and their progeny ; (vv. 5 — 10) his death and burial; ( vv. 11 — 18) the descend- ants and death of Ishmael ; (vv. 19 — 34) the two S071S of Isaac. Tlie portion 1—18 is Elohistic, belonging, as Knobel gathers from various indications, to the original document. 1.] Keturah is called a concubine in 1 Chron. i. 32. It is usually assumed, but merely on the assumption of the history following in chronological sequences, that Abraham espoused Keturah after Sarah's death. And the words, " Then again " of the A. V. leave this impression on the English reader. But there is nothing in the original to bear this out. The literal sense is, "And Abraham added and took a wife," i. c. took annther wife besides Sarali : but ichen is not said. Indeed, from ver. 6, which says that he sent away the sons of his concubines during his lifetime, it would be most improbable that they should all have been born after Sarah's death. 2, ff.] This list is not without its difficulties. Of the names mentioned, Sheba and Dedan have before been mentioned, ch. x. 7, as sons of Eaamah, the son of Cush, the son of Ham. Such occurrences can only be accounted for by observing that the names here given are those of tribes quite as frequently as those of individuals, and supposing that the S.ibeans and Dedanites were of mixed descent from Cush and from Abraham. And this appears to have been actually the case according to the national traditions of Arabia, given by Kalisch, p. 477. These traditions recognize three elements of Arab descent : 1. A prim- aeval race answering to the Cushites of ch. x. 7. 2. The pure Arabs, answering to the Semitic descendants of Joktan, ch. x. 25, ff. And 3. An influx of 12 tribes, sprung from Ishmael, and called the mixed Arabs. These last Kalisch holds to have compre- hended also the descendants of Abraham by Keturah. Several of the names here given are untraceable, while others have been recognized in history. The name Zimran is supposed to be discovered in the Znbram of Ptolemy, a town between Mecca and Me- dina. Of Jokshan notliing certain is known. Some have regarded the name as identical with Joktan of ch. x. 25, if., but this is hardly probable, and would ratlier create than remove difficulties. Medan appears not to be immediately related to Midian, which next follows. Ptolemy mentions a Madiana and Madtama on the East coast nf tlie gulf of Akabeh. A branch of the Midianites is found also in these parts, and a town Madia7i (or Madiene, as Josephus), supposed to be the residence of Moses' father-in-law. The better known portion of the Midianites, dwelling further X., in the neighbourhood of the i\Ioabites and Ammonites, as well as the Sinaitic ilidianites, will be treated further on in the history. See on Exod. ii. 15. Ishbak is supposed to be traced in the valley called Sabak, or Sibak, and other places of a similar name, Shebek, and Esh-Shobak. See Mr. Stanley Poole's article in the Biblical Diet. Shuah was the tribe to which Job's friend, Bildad, belonged, see rcff. ; and bene e 6G— XXY. 9. GENESIS. Ill Jokshan begat Slieba, and -''Dcdan. And the sons of De- dan were ^Assliurim, and Letusliim, and Lcummim. '^ And the sons of Midian ; '^Ephah, and E^jhcr, and Ilanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these n-cre the children of Keturah. ^ ^ And Abraham '^gave all that he had unto Isaac. ^ But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. 7 And these arc the daj's of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. ^ Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of //ears ; and was gathered to his people. ^ And his sons Isaac and Ishmacl buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field Isa. xJti. 13. JcT. xlix.7,8. Ich. x\i. 10. Judtt. xi. 2. Gal. ir. 30. must be looked for near Uz, see ch. x. 23 ; xxii. 21 ; and note on Job i. 1. Slieba (see above) is connected with those Sabians, ■who in Job vi. 19 are mentioned togetiier with tlie companies of Tenia, and in Job i. 15 plundered the herds of tiie Edoniite Job. The "travelling companies of Dedanim" are mentioned in rcf. Isa., and in connexion ■with the "inhabitants of the land of Tenia: " in ref. Jer. both people are included in Edom, as also in ref. Ezek. The sons of Dcdan (see also above) bear the names of tribes with the plural termination -iin ; of these the Asshurim are incutioned in reff. Ezek. in connexion with Arabia; the Letu- shim are traced by Knobel as the Ileleiiu Arabs, dwellers iu the neighbourhood of Leits, four days' journey S. of Mecca, and spreading into otaer parts of Arabia : aud the Leum- miin as the beni Lam, a far- spreading tribe, centralized in the same parts, but extending even into Babylonia and Mesopotamia. 4.] Ephah is mentioned in connexion •witb Midian and Sheba in reff. Isa. as bring- ing dromedaries in the day of Israel's ])ros- perity. Epher] Knobel finds tlie sons of Ghiphar mentioned by the Arab geographers ; but of two tribes bearing this name, Mr. Stanley Poole objects {Biblical Diet.) that the first is a branch of Amalek, the second is IsbuKU'lite, but neither is Midianitisli. Hanoch] Or Henoch, 1 Chron. i. 33. Knobel mentions a town Hanakye or Chanuka, 3 days' journey N. from jNIedina. Abidah] This name, as well as Eldaah, have not been traced, though again Knobel thinks be has found two tribes corrcspondin'" to them. It will be seen from these notices that the descendants of Keturah are to be sought, and that many of their names have been found among the Southern tribes of Arabia. 5—10.] Abraham's death and burial. 5, 6.] i. e. He made Isaac his chief heir — transmitted to him all that be was possessed of at his death. See reff. the concubines may be only Ilagar and Keturah, but we cannot say that there may not have been others. Their sons were dowered and sent away before Abraham's death, to be out of the way of Isaac. It does not follow (as Knobel) from the fact of Isli- niael's presence at his father's funeral, that he was not sent away before : it would be natural that he, as chief of the sons in the second rank, and besides signalized by au especial covenant of blessing from God, ch. xvi. 10 ; xxi. 18, should return to Hebron on the solemn occasion. Abraham sent them into the East country, i. e. to Arabia. A similar departure of Esau from Jacob is related ch. xxxvi. 6. 7.] So that it w-as just a century since Abram's call out of Ilaran, ch. xii. 4. 8.] The two verbs, gave up the ghost, and died, are identical iu meaning : the repetition belongs to tiie solemnity of the narrative. The English reader may be reminded liiat "gave up the ghost " is equivalent to " breathed his last," " expired," and has no reference to the spirit. full of years is merely full, satiated, in the 11 (brew. The expression was gathered to his people does not relate 112 GENESIS. XXV. 29. ech. xvi. H. fch.xxviii. 9; xxxvi. ;i 1 Chion. Isa. Ix. 7. gPs. oxx. 5. Cant. i. 5. Ifa. xxi. 16, 17 ; xlii. 11 ; Ix. 7. Jer. ii. 10,49; xxviii. 2**. Ezek. x.wii. 21. h(Josh. XV..W). isa. xxi. U. iJob vi. 19. Isa. xxi. U. Jer. XXV. ■U. of Epliron the son of Zoliar the Hittite, wLicli is before Mainre ; ^^ the field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth : there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. 1^ T[ And it came to pass after the death of Abra- ham, that Elohim blessed his son Isaac ; and Isaac dwelt by the well <^Lahai-roi. ^'■^ ^ Now these are the genera- tions of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Ha gar the Egypt- ian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham : ^^ and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, ac- cording to their generations : the firstborn of Ishmael, ^Nebiijoth; and ^Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, ^^ and Mishma, and ^Dumah, and Massa, ^^ Hadar, and ^Tema, to burial, for this was not so : Abraham's " people" dwelt at this time in Ilaran, and he was buried at Hebron. Besides which, the fact of burial is here, and in many other places, specified over atid above (see ch. xv. 15 ; XXXV. 29 ; 1 Kings ii. 10 ; xi. 43, &c.). Nor is it a mere synonym for dying : for in many places, as here, it is specified over and above the fact, here repsatedly expressed, of death (see ver. 17; ch. xxxv. 29; xlix. 33; Num. XX. 26; Deut. xxxii. 50). The only assignable sense, therefore, is that of re- ference to a state of further personal exist- ence beyond death : and the expression thus forms a remarkable testimony to the O. T. belief in a future state. 11.] The Divine blessing which had accompanied Abraham descended to him who is now the possessor of the promises. Isaac's dwelling at the well Lahai-roi (rcff.) was apparently only temporary, for in ch. xxxv. 27 we find that bis habitual dwelling-place was at Hebron. 12 — 18.] The descendants^ and death, of Ishmael. On the number, 12, of the sons of Ishmael, see on ch. xxii. 20. The eldest, Nebaiotli, has of late become the subject of controver.sy. It had been universal since Jerome to identify the descendants of Ne- baiotli with the Nabatheans of Arabia Petroea. But a doubt has been now cast on this. It would be quite beyond our limits to enter on the discussion, which will be found well summarized in Mr. Stanley Poole's art. " Nebaiotli," in the Biblical Diet. He inclines, till more decisive evidence shall be found against it, to maintain the generally believed identification. From ref. Isa. the Nabatheans were a pastoral people. They are mentioned as allies of the Jews in the JIaccabtjean period, 1 Mace. v. 24, 25 ; ix. 35. Kedar] The classical geographers class together the Nabatheans and Kcdncans, as is also done in rcff. Isa., and both ap- pear to have inhat)ited Arabia I'etraja, and had their capital Petra, the Ivedra;ans being to the N.W. and next Palestine. Tiiis being so, the mention of them is naturally fre- quent. See reff., where their principal cha- racteristics may be found. Tlie name sig- nifies black, dark-skinned : see especially ref. Cant. The name passed into the Rabbinical appellation for all the Arabs. Of Adbeel (=1 a miracle) and Mibsam (:= sircet odour) nothing at all satisfactory is known. Mish- ma may be connected with the Masaniani of I'tolemy, N.E. of Medina ; and there is a tribe in Arabic writers named the Beni-Mis- mah ; but nothing more is known of them. Dumah in ref. Isa. is coupled with Seir, the forest of Arabia, and Kedar ; it is Duinaitha or -metha in I'tolemy, and is uncertainly situated, in Arabia Felix or Deserta. See ]\Ir. Stanley Poole's art in Biblical Diet. Massa is thought to appear in the Masani, a tribe N.E. of Dumah, mentioned by Ptolemy. Hadar (written Iladad iu 1 Chron. i. 30) seems to be traced in a moun- tain Iladad, N. of Medina, on the borders of the Syrian desert. To this last is coupled Tema in a way peculiar to these two, and perhaps indicating that they dwelt together, separate from others to whom they are not so coupled. In ref. Job Tema is connected with Sheba, and in ref. Jer. with Dedau and Buz. The name is said (Mr. Stanley Poole, Biblical Diet.) to be satisfactorily identified with Teyma, a small town ou the 10-21. GE]^ESIS. 113 •T< tur, Naphisli, and Kedomah : ^^' these arc the sons of 1 Innacl, and these are their names, by their towns, and 1 » \ their castles ; J twelve princes according to tlieir nations. J <='•• ''*•''• '^■ '' ^Vnd these arc the years of the life of Ishniael, an hun- dred and thii'ty and seven years: and he gave up the U^iost and died ; and was gathered unto his people. ^^ And they dwelt "^from Ilavdah unto Shur, that is before kisam.xr.i I'uypt, as thou goest toward Assyria : and his Uot was cast '•'^^s;/'j" ill the presence of all his brethren. ^^ ^ And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son : Abraham begat Isaac : ^0 ^nd Isaac was forty years old when he took Eebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramaean of "'Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Aramaean. 21 And Isaac "intreated Jehovah for his wife, because she mch. xxxi. 18 ; xxxiii. 18; XXXV. 9; \W\. 15. See niso xxviii.2, 5, 6, ■ , :ind note ; also ell. xlviii. n Exod. viii. 30; X. 18. Judg. xiii. e. Job xxxviii. 26. confines of Syria, in the nciglibourliood of Duinah. There, as at Dumah also, are the ruins of a stronghold or castle (ver. 16). There seems to be no doubt that Jetur re- presents the Ituncaus, between Bashan and Damascus, spreading however N. of that city into Lebanon, progenitors of tlie modern Druses (Luke iii. 1). Of Naphish nothing seems to be known. Kedemah (tlie East) may be connected with the Beni Kedem or children of the East, mentioned as a special tribe of Arabs in Judg. vi. 3, 33 ; vii. 12. Compare also " they of the East," Isa. xi. 14 ; " the men of the East," Ezek. xxv. 4, 10. 18.] See on ch. xvi. 7; xx. 1 ; also on ch. ii. 11. The exact boundaries indicated are somew'hat uncertain. Shur, as above, seems to be the eastern limit of Egypt. Havilali is altogether un- decided : see art. in Biblical Diet. as thou goest towards Assyria seems to mean, it thou wert to leave Egypt for As- syria, Shur would be before it, i. e. east of it, facing thee. There is some diihculty in the last clause of the verse. The verb ren- dered in the A. V. "■died" is "fell." Ge- senius, as well as the greater part of modei'ii Hebraists, believes the woi'd to mean hero dwelt, and the clause to be a taking up again of the prophecy in ch. xvi. 12, where a ditferent verb is used. The same verb as this occurs in ret!', 1 Sam., where it is rendered " lay along," namely, camping in their tents. Perhaps the best rendering is that of Kalisch, his lot was cast. 19— 34.J The history of Isaac. The birth and fortunes of Esau and Jacob. The well-known formula, " These are the generations," introduces a new portion of the history, which now resumes the main line of the patriarchal descent. The repeti- tion of the fact of Isaac's birth is in the man- ner of these resumptions : see ch. v. 2. Of a like kind is the recapitulation in ver. 20 of Isaac's marriage. It would seem as if these portions were intended to be used separately, and each to carry completeness in itself. Xalisch remarks, "These reiterations, natural in themselves, far from causing dif- ficulty, are in harmony not only with the style of the Bible, but of ancient historio- graphy in general, and are in this instance not without a positive gain, for they add the valuable chronological fact, that Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, a statement of decided importance for the exact understanding of several circumstances connected with Isaac's history." Pa- dan-aram, the plain of Aram, designates the champaign country of Syria, i. e. Mesopo- tamia, '■^ Aram Naharaim," Aram of the two rivers, together with the desert at the W. of the Euphrates, as contrasted with the moun- tain region of Syria reaching westward to the Mediterranean: see relf. In IIos. xii. 12 the same country is designated by Sedeh-Aram, {z=cotcntrij of Syria, A. V.) from which Gesenius infers that Padan is equivalent in meaning to Sedeh, Held, or champaign. 21.] This barrenness lasted 20 years, as we gather from ver. 26. It was the lot of Sarah, and of llachcl also : see ch. xi. 30 ; 114 GENESIS. XX Y. u-as barren : and Jehovah was intreated of him, and Re- bekah his wife conceived. 22 j^^^^ ^j^g children struggled together within her ; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus ? And she went to enquire of Jehovah. 23 ^^id Jehovah said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two people shall be separated from thy bowels ; And people shall be stronger than people ; o Rom. ix. 12. And ° the elder shall serve the younger. 2^ ^ And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, be- hold, there icere twins in her womb. 25 ^mj ^j^g £j.g^ came out red, all over like an hairy garment ; and they called his name Esau. 26 ^^(j after that came his p Hos. xii. 3. brother out, and his hand p took hold on Esau's heel ; and his name was called Jacob : and Isaac teas threescore years old when he begat them. 27 And the boys grew : and Esau was a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field ; q Job i. 1,8; and Jacob icas a i harmless man, abiding in (the) tents. viii. 2(1. ' O \ / prol^xii. ^^ And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Hebekah loved Jacob. 29 ^ ^j^i Jacob cooked pot- tage : and Esau came from the field, and he nris weary : xxix. 31. The -word rendered intreated, responses in His name. The response is in and elsewhere (reff.) used for praying, is in the form of poetical parallelism. 25, its primary meaning '■'■burnt incense." But 26.] The whole narrative is symbolical and the literal sense need not be pressed, has reference to the subsequent fortunes of for his wife] literally, before his wife ; the two peoples. Esau signifies hairy; it is the same term as occurs in cli. xxx. 38, Jacob imports heel, but has also another where Jacob laid the rods before, i. c. iu meaning, that of a cheat or deceiver. The; front of, the flocks. Eut there can be no boys were born 15 years before Abraham's doubt that the word here has the force of for death : see above. 27.] Esau's life and or in behalf of : acquiring this meaning habits were wild and lawless ; Jacob's were through that of '■' having reference to," '■'■in harmless and stay-at-home. The adjective regard of .'^ 22.] This antenatal strug- rendered "^ilain" in A. V. is literally per- gle was prophetical of the future enmity of feet, blameless : it is ordinarily used (see the twiu brothers. And Eebekah is rcpre- reff.) of a righteous. God-fearing character, sented doubtless as recognizing this presage but appears here to designate Jacob's gentle- of misfortune, and making it matter of en- ness and innocence, as set against Esau's fierce quiry from Jehovah. Kalisch interprets and lawless disposition. This difference was her " going to enquire of the Lord " as shewn also by their habits : Esau hunted in having recourse to God's prophet Abraham the field, while Jacob abode in [the] tents. (Luther thought, to Shetn ; some, to Mel- 28-] literally, because venison was chizcdek), who still survived (compare ch. in his mouth. 29.] We have here a xxi. 5 with ch. xxv. 7, 26; see ch. sx. 17, striking picture of the habits of the two. and compare 1 Sam. ix. 9). Knobel, on the Jacob is performing the menial duties of the other hand, and Kcil, understand that she tent, and has newly prepared a savoury mess went to some place where Jehovah was of the red Icntile or vetch. Esau comes in adored and where priests were ready to give tired, and longs for the appetizing food. Dr. I m 22— XXYI. 1. GENESIS. 115 ^^ and Esau said to Jacob, Let mc cat, I pray tliec, of that red, that red pottage ; for I am weary : therefore was his name called Edom (red), 31 ^^nd Jacob said. Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 ^^j Esau said, Behold, I am on the way to die : and what profit shall this birthright do to me ? 33 ^\^u(l Jacob said. Swear to me this day ; and he sware unto him : and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 3^ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles ; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way : thus Esau despised ///•>? birthright. XXVI. l And there was a famine in the laud, beside the first famine that was in Tristram says : " There are several varieties recognized, and the Red Lentil is considered the best. . . It is generally used as a pottage, or cooked as the Spaniards cook haricot teans, stewed with oil, and flavoured Avith red pepper. It is by no means an unsavoury dish." Nat. Hist, of the Bible, p. 462. The words here are literally, cooked a cooked (dish) : brewed a broo. 30.] The words run in the Hebrew, Let me eat now of that edom (red), that edom (red) ; for I am weary: therefore his name was called edom (red). In the heat of hunger he omits the name, and merely asks for the mess by its outward appearance, as that red (stuff). 31.] Jacob, tlie quiet but sly man, on the watch for his advantage, seizes the opportunity. We may supply in the background, from the intimation of his mother's favouritism, that the promises attaching to the birthright, unheeded by the free-rover Esau, were thoroughly understood and valued by Re- bekah and her son. That such a considera- tion has two sides to it, one looking towards good, the other towards evil, is an inconsist- ency found in liistory because it is found in man. 32.] This saying of Esau, "Be- hold, I am on the way to die," may be understood in three ways : they may have (1) a general meaning, — I care only for the present : I shall die, and the bii'tliright will pass on and be of no use to me ; (2) a par- ticular one, referring to his way of life, — I am meeting death every day in the field, and am not the man to benefit by the birthright, constantly exposed as I am to the risk of life ; or (3) one belonging to the occasion then present, — " I am ready to die of faint- ness and fatigue, and so hold a present meal of more value than a distant contingency." Of these the A. V., by rendering, " I am at the point to die," chooses the third. Kalisch and Keil prefer the first, Kuobel the second. 33, 34.] Jacob is not slow to follow up his advantage, and to shew his value for that which Esau despised. The narrative accumulates terms of contempt to shew the lightness and profanity of Esau. lie be- haved as if it were an ordinary meal and nothing especial had happened. But he had by his conduct thrown himself out of the line of that world's blessing, to record which the sacred writer held his pen. XXVI. 1 — 33.] Further history of Isaac, The whole portion is Jehovistic in cliaracter. This is shewn both by the Divine name, vv. 2, 12, 24, 25, 28, 29, and by the reference to previous Jehovistic matters, as God's oath to Abraham, ver. 3, Abraham's sojourn in Gei-ar, ver. 15, &c. Various other tokens of the same are enumerated by Knobel and others. 1 — 6.] Renewal of the p)-omise to Isaac in Gerar. 1. in the land] viz. of Canaan, where Isaac appears to have been dwelling since ch. xxv. 11. There is great similarity in tliis part of Isaac's life to that of Abraham. In fact, the son seems to be a faint copy of the father. Like him, he is tlic in- heritor of the Divine promises, and the father of the chosen seed ; but there is not in Isaac, as there was in Abraham, any great personal character, and he falls into the track of his father's life and habits, as we so often find in corresponding cases among ourselves. Even his very standing in the blessing of the promise is dependent on the past righteous- ness of Abraham, ver. 5. It would appear that the design of Isaac in going to Gerar had been to proceed further into Egypt;, as 116 GENESIS. XXVI. r ch. xxii. 16. u ch. xxii. 18. tlie days of Abraham. And Isaac went imto Abimelecli king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2 ^nd Jehovah ap- peared imto him, and said, Go not down into Egyj^t ; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: ^ sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee ; for unto thee, and mito thy seed, I will give all these coun- tries, and I will perform the ^" oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father ; ^ and I will make thy seed to mul- tiply ^ as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries ; and * in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; ^ because that Abraham '^ obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. ^ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 ^ And the men of the place asked him of his wife ; and he said, She is my sister : for he feared to say. She is my wife ; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Eebekah ; because she was fair to look upon. ^ And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah had been done by Abraham under similar distress. It must be remembered that there ■was an oath of friendliness between Abra- ham and Abimelech (ch. xxi. 22 — 24). This can hardly be the same Abimelech : at the time of Abraham's sojourn in Gerar he ■was aa hundred years old, and Isaac was born ; sixty years then elapsed before Esau and Jacob -were born, and the boys were now grown up. So that it must have been at least eighty years since that former visit, even considering that it lasted many days. But Abimelech seems to have been the royal title among the Philistines, rather than a personal name. In I Sam. xxi. 10 — 15 the name of the king of Gath with whom David took refuge is Achish ; but in the title of Ps. xxxiv. the same king is called Abime- lech. On Phichol, see below, ver. 26. 2.] The command with which the verse ends is o-eneral— choose not thine own habitation, but be guided by My Divine intimations. 3. this land] viz. Philistia, Gerar. all these countries] viz. Canaan and its surroundings : this is the only place Avhere the promise to the chosen seed is thus ex- pressed. The reff. will shew how entirely these promises are a recapitulation of those made to Abraham. The accumulation of words in ver. 5, by which Abram's obedience is described, is one oftener occurring when the law was fully revealed. This was natural, supposing Moses to have been the writer. He would express the Divine say- ings in terms familiar to himself. 7 — 11.] Be gives out his icife as his\ sister ; it i.t detected, and she is saved. Seel on this incident notes on ch. xii. 10, ff. It! is at all events characteristic of Isaac toj tread almost servilely in the steps of Abra- ham his father ; and it is to be noted, that! the fraud has not the same result here as it . had on the latter occasion in Abraham's time ; for Rebekah was not taken into Abimelech's harem. We rnayalso note two other things : 1. It is against this being the same Abimelech, that no suspicion arises at the repetition of the allegation of sisterhood. 2. It IS, for the identity that Abimelech ex- presses no chance of his own having takeu Eebekah, but only of* one of the people having outraged her. 8, if.] There is here no Divine interference : all is human detection and human foresight. There is no —18. GENESIS. 117 I his wife, ^ And Abimelecli called Isaac, and said, Bc- ! hold, of a surety she is thy wife : and how saidst thou, She /s' my sister ? And Isaac said unto him. Because I said, Lest I die for her. ^^ And Abimelech said. What is this thou hast done unto us ? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldcst have brought guiltiness upon us. ^^ And Abiuielech charged all //is people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. ^^ Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold : and Jehovah blessed him. ^^ And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: l"* and he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants : and the Philistines envied him. 1^ And all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them, and filled them with earth. ^^ And Abime- lech said unto Isaac, Go from us ; for thou art much mightier than we. ^^ ^ And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they further meaning in ver. 8 than appears in 6, note. It is said to he practised hy the the words. What passed was no more than Arabs of modern times along the lines of is related, but was enough to justify the passage of the pilgrims when their demands king's inference. of black mail are not paid. 17 — 33.] ^ 12 — 16.] Isaac's prosperiti/ in Gerar. Isaac moves to the valley of Gerar, and 12.] Knobel remarks that we do not thence to Beer-sheba — disputes about icells ; read of Abraham that he sowed the land ; final reconciliation, and treaty with Abime- he appears only as a nomad with flocks and lech. It is evident from our naiTativo that herds. But wo do read it of J.acob and his the valley of Gerar was at some distance sons (eh. xxxvii. 7). "The fact," Kalisch from Gerar itself, a circumstance which has observes, " marks a progress in the history not been taken into account in Dr. Ilay- of the patriarchs : it is the transition from man's art. in Biblical Diet. Stanley men- uncertain migrations to a more settled mode tions the Witdy Kibab as being probably of life ; it implies a more permanent interest that which was known in ancient times as in the land itself ; during one season at least the valley, i. e. the torrent-bed or Wady of the Hebrew could call his own, not only the Gerar {Sinai and Pal. p. 159). 18.] grave of his parents, but the soil which gives These wells are not mentioned in ch. xxi., life and wealth." The neighbourhood of but only one, which Abinielech's servants Gaza is to this day exceedingly fertile, and had taken away. Tlicre were other occasions Kuohel quotes from Burckliardt cases of as of strife of which the history takes no ac- rich a return. Yer. 15 appears to relate, count. Knobel maintains, witli his confi- not what the Pliilistiues had done, but what dent " evidently," that the wells mentioned they did, in consequence of their envy of in this verse and those in vv. 19, 21 arc Isaac. On the wells, see ch. xxi. 25, if. ; identical, and that we have here a mixture of and on the practice of filling up wells as an two accounts. But never was an assumption act of hostility, 2 Kings iii. 25, and Isa. xv. more groundless. It has no support what- 118 GENESIS. XXVI. had digged in tlie days of Abraham his father ; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham : and he called their names after the names by M'hich his father had called them. ^^ And Isaac's servants digged in '^ cfrnt'^iv: fs. ^-^^ valley, and found there a well of "^ springing water. z7ch!xiv. 8. 20 _^nd the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herd- John iv.10,11. men, saying, The water is our's : and he called the name of the well Esek [Contention] ; because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also : and he called the name of it Sitnah [Strife]. 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well ; and for that they strove not : and he called the name of it Rehoboth [Enlargement] ; and he said. For now Jehovah hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 2* And Jehovah appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father : fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. 25 And he builded an altar there^ and called upon the name of Jehovah, and pitched his tent there : and there Isaac's servants digged a well. 26 ^ Then Abiraelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his fiiend, and Phichol the chief captain of ever in the context. The two wells of vv. also ch. xxxv. 6, the building of an altar 19, 20 are manifestly new wells. 19.] and setting up a place of worship. Here springing, literally living : see reff. also Isaac seems to have fixed his home for 20, 21.] The Gerar herdsmen may have laid most of the remainder of his life : see ch. claim to these wells as being in their valh-y ; xxviii. 10. He died, however, at Hebron, but when 22.] Isaac left the valley, ch. xxxv. 27. The well dug at Beer-sheba there was no longer any such claim possible, by Isaac's servants would seem to have been Robinson found at the junction of the roads one of the two larger at present remaining to Gaza and Hebron ruins of a city, now there: see on ch. xxi. 25. It may have called in Arabic Euhaibeh, and naturally been a characteristic act, by way of repeat- suggesting Rehoboth ; but he says thei-e are ing what had been done by his father. no traces of a well, the water supply having 26.] The motive of this visit seems to have been by means of cisterns. 23 — 25.] Isaac been, that Isaac had now grown sufficiently leaves the neighboiirhood of Gerar for the important, having established himself near neighbouring district of Beer-sheba, appar- their frontiers, for definite relations to be ently fi-om the desire of peaceful habitation cultivated with him. And the memory of and enjoyment of water for his flocks. Here their somewhat churlish dismissal of him, the promise is renewed to him, but again and the quarrels which had happened since, for Abraham's sake. The very place was may have made them the more anxious to full of the memories of the great patriarch, remove cause of offence from his mind, who had dwelt and worshipped there, ch. xxi. Ahuzzath Ms friend] Thus we 33. The occurrence of the Divine intima- have in 1 Kings iv. 5, Zabud son of tion induces, as in ch. xii. 8; xiii. IS; see Nathan "principal ofiicer, and ike ki?>ff's 19— XXVII. 1. GENESIS. 119 his army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, "Wlierefore come j ye to me, seeing ye hate mo, and have sent me away from you ? 28 And they said, We saw certainly that Jkiiovah was with thee : and we said, Let there be now an oath be- twixt us, eirii betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee ; -^ that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing' but good, and have sent thee away in peace : thou art now the blessed of Jehovah, ^o And he made them a feast, and they did eat and di-ink. ^i And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another : and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. ^^ And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. ^^ And he called it Shebah : therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day. ^^ ^ And Esau was forty j'ears old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daugh- ter of Elon the Hittite : ^^ which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. XXVII. ^ And it came to f riend ;" and 1 Chron. xxvii. 33, Husliai It is useless to attempt to evade the difficulty, the Aichite, " the king's companion." The as some have done by a suggestion which visit was one of official state. On the name we forbear to characterize, that the former Phichol appearing as that of the commander narrative gives the origin only of the name of Abimelech's army both here and iu the of the well, whereas this speaks of the citi/. history of xlbrahani also, various conjectures Far rather would we seek a solution in the have been made. The safest conclusion is fact, so apparent throughout the life of that of Mr. Grove {Biblical Diet.), that it is Isaac, that his whole bent and plan seems to a Philistine name of the meaning of which have been to copy Abraham his father, and we are ignorant. We have no means of as it were to retrace the lines which he had saying whether it may or may not have been previously traced. an official name. See note on ver. 1 : and 34, 35.] 77/e double marriage of Esati. on Abimelech's speech to Isaac, see above. Esau, like his father, marries at 40. lie There is evidently, from ver. 29, a desire to takes two wives, which is not, as some have have a difTei'cnt interpretation put on the said, attributed to him as a sin : Abraham former, sending him away fiom the true one. had done the same, and so did Jacob. The In this characteristic trait Knobel sees incon- sin, and that which brought grief to his sistency between this account and that in parents, was that ho took those wives, being ver. 16 ! 31.] So in ch. xx.xi. 46 a himself ungodly, out of the heathen race of meal was the accompaniment of a solemn the Canaauites. On the names of these contract. 33.] He called it, i. e. the wives see note, ch. xxxvi. 2. Tliey were Avell, Shibgah, oath: see on the whole ch. both Ilittites, of the children of Ileth: see xxi. 31, note. The account of this second ch. x. 15. They introduced misery into the origin of the name Beer-sheba must be re- family tents. We see its depth and power garded as rather au intimation of a coinci- in ch. xxvii. 46. dence than as to be pressed in its literal sense. XXVII. Jacob's fraud vjwn his father 120 GENESIS. XXVII. -f or, sword. pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him. My son : and he said unto him, Behold, here am 1. 2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death : 3 now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy f quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison ; * and make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring if to me, that I may eat ; that my soul may bless thee before I die. ^ And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, that he might bring it. 6 ^ And Rebekah sj)ake unto Jacob her son, saying. Be- hold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my and brother, 1.] Isaac was at this time 137 years old, as appears thus: Joseph was 30 years old when he stood befoi'e Pharaoh (oh. xli. 46) ; there had passed the seven years of plenty, and two years of famine when Jacob came into Egypt and de- clared himself 130 years old ; so that, Joseph being 39 when his father was 130, he was born when his father was 91. But Joseph was born when his father had been 14 years in Mesopotamia (compare ch. xxx. 25 with xxix. 18, 21, 27), so that Jacob was 77 when he fled to Mesopotamia; and as he was born when his father was 60 (ch. xxv. 26), — Isaac must have been at this time 137. At this age his half-brother Ishmacl had died (ch. xxv. 17) ; but Isaac survived yet 43 years (see ch. xxxv. 28). It is literally, his eyes had grown dim from seeing, i. e. so that he could not see. He had not given up Esau as his first-born, notwithstanding the prophecy and the transaction about the birthright. Isaac's character is usually treated as that of the good and weak old man, led captive by his mere sensual predi- lections. But those who thus estimate for- get that the father, as a lover of justice, had every right on his side in maintaining that of which Esau had been unjustly defrauded. The type of his predilections and desires may have been low, as undoubtedly was that of his favourite son's ; but while we accept the sacred narrative in this chapter as a record of God's inscrutable ways of bringing about His purposes, we must not for a moment let our plain sense of His justice and truth be warped by any theological considerations ; we must not withdraw our sympathies from Esau the victim, nor suffer our indignation against the instigator and the perpetrator of the wrong to be blunted. "We shall find in the course of the history that whatever great results followed the crime, it did not remain unvisited on the heads of both those guilty persons. 3.] The word rendered quiver is found only here : it specifies that which is kuuff on, and has by some been rendered sword. But Knobel remarks that the sword is girded on, while the quiver is suspended. Still, one name for a sword was a hanger, and perhaps the bow would of itself imply the quiver, without its being mentioned. venison is rather a translation by de- rivation than by sense, which is '■^venare mihi venationem," " hunt me the produce of hunting," i. e. game. Such is exactly re- presented in the derivation of the word by venison, which is venatio ; but not in the ordinary sense of the word, which is the flesh of deer. In the concluding words of the verse Isaac shews a consciousness of his patriarchal dignity as the holder and trans- mitter of the Divine covenant-promise, and as the vehicle of fate and blessing in vii-tue of this office. 5, 6.] Notice Esau his son, . . . Jacob her son. 7.] The words Jjefore Jehovah, if not actually uttered by Isaac, shew Eebekah's sense of the 2—15. GENESIS. 121 death. ^ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. ^ Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats ; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as ho loveth : ^^ and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. II And Jacob said to licbekah his mother. Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man : 1'^ my father pcradventurc will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver ; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. ^^ ^Ynd his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son : only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. ^^ And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother : and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. ^'^ And E-ebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them ujjon Jacob her younger son : solemnity of tlic intended blessing, gathered from the tone of him whom slie had over- heard speaking. The blessing of a father, as before God, would be ratified by, as it would be inspired by, Him in the full con- sciousness of whose Presence it would be pronounced. 11.] Jacob urges no such scruple against the voice of his temptress as his son afterwards uttered (ch. xxsix. 9), but is afraid only of the consequences of de- tection. (The Syriac version and some MSS. of the Samaritan Pentateuch have, "■Thou wilt bring a curse upon me. ") But his wicked mother had provided for all this by a scheme heartless in proportion as it was monstrous and unnatural. She will take ad- vantage of the failing sight and impaired perception of her aged husband for her per- fidious purposes. At the same time we can- not help regarding with a sort of admiration her lofty appreciation of that result which she sought, and her self-forgetful devotion (vcr. 7) to her beloved son ; but it is as we feel the same sort of admiration for Lady Macbeth — with full consciousness of, and never forgetting, her crime. 15.] It has been a dream of the more fancilul of ancient and modern commentators, that this goodly raiment of Esau consisted of the sacerdotal robes belonging to him as the firstborn in the patriarchal family, and that " the transfer of the sacerdotal robes from Esau to Jacob seems to be typical of the transfer of the priesthood from the Jew- ish hierarchy to Christ and the Church." Bp. Wordsworth. But to say nothing of the sort of typology which sees in a transfer to Israel a type of a transfer /ro»i Israel, we may fervently exclaim, ahsit omen ! at the same time that wc remind the reader of the improbability of such an inter- pretation of the garments, in the absence of any intimation in the text. Besides, would such vestments, supposing them to have ex- isted at all, have been described as "raiment of the eldest son " during his father's life- time ? And even if they .could have been so described, is it likely that the ambitious Eebekali would have allowed them to remain Esau's, when the birthright to which they Avere attached bad been, in her view and his own, transferred to Jacob ? They were probably best, or state garments of ".my lord" Esau, in which he sought the com- panies of his brother hunters, and redolent (ver. 27) of the aromatic shrubs of the wild- erness which they had brushed through. The objection that if so they would be in the keeping of his wives is of no weight. Esau seems still a member of his fatlicr's house- hold, of the treasures of which Picbckah was naturally the keeper. in the house] 122 GENESIS. XXYII. 1^ and slie put the skins of the kids of tke goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck : ^^ and she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. ^^ If And he came unto his father, and said. My father : and he said, Here am I ; who art thou, my son ? ^^ And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn ; I have done according as thou badest me : arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20 ji^j^^ Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son ? And he said. Because Jehovah thy Elohim brought it to me. ^i And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. ^2 ^^j Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. ^3 ^j^^ -j^q discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands : so he blessed him. 24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau ? And he said, I am. 25 ^^^ he said. Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it * near to him, and he did eat : and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 ji^j^^ j^ig father Isaac said unto him, This word house has surprised Knobel, as the comment on this wicked fraud. Nor inconsistent with the usual term tetit. He was this aloue. His subsequent life presents says ch. xxxviii. 11 is not parallel, as that many times the cheater cheated: compare has reference to Canaanitish connexions, ch. xxix. 25 ; xxxiv. 30 ; xlii. 36 — 38, and But may not the expression be merely a the suspicion of fraud, ch. xlv. 26. Observe general one .' 16.] " The skins of how the blasphemy is enhanced by the most goats are well adapted to the purpose for solemn name of God being used, and His which Jacob (?) employs them. For the covenant relation to Isaac introduced : Je- hair of the Syrian long-eared goat, though hovah thy God. 21.] The arousing often black, is long and soft, and looks and and the lulling of the old man's suspicions, feels not unlike human hair, whence the are alike characteristic. He suspected Jacob Romans employed it for wigs and other from habit ; but his distrust was lightly ap- artificial coverings of the head " (see Cant, peased by an expedient which would hardly iv. 1). Kalisch. 20.] The baseness of have taken in an intelligent child. Yet Jacob is here coped by his blasphemy. It is though appeased, it is not set at rest. It no mean sign of the sublimity of Scripture arises again ver. 24, and even then is with that no word of disapproval is inserted in difficulty overcome. The concluding words cases like this. The condemnation is left to of this verse, so he blessed him, must ap- the " discernment of good and evil" which parently not be understood as importing that we have "even of ourselves;" and when the blessing was now given, for eV evidently passed, it is in the history's sequel, amply follows in vv. 27 — 29 (compare the reference justified. Jacob's own infinite anguish as to it, ver. 37) ; nor again as being a mere the victim of deceit, ch. xxxvii. 34, 35, is preliminary or summary blessing, afterwards xDi'iit. xxxiii. 13. H"». xiv. jS. Zech, viii. 12. IG— 33. GENESIS. 123 Come near now, and kiss me, my son. ^7 And he came near, and kissed him : and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the "^smcllof my son wcam. iv. n. As the smell of a field Which Jehovati hath blessed : 28 And fGod give thee +ThcEiohim. Of the ^ dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of corn and wine : 29 Let people serve thee, And nations bow down to thee : Be lord over thy brethren. And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee : Cursed are they that curse thee. And blessed are they that bless thee. 30 ^ And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ^^ And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it mito his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. ^^ And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou ? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. ^3 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said. Who ? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him ? yea, and he shall be to be expanded ; but as anticipatory, and reflf. 29.] From physical the blessing summarizing vv. 27 — 29 ; q. d. the main goes on to political prosperity. The Edom- instrumcnt in deceiving Isaac and extracting itcs, descendants of Jacob's brother, were sub- the blessing from him, was the fact that his jugated by David (2 Sam. viii. 14 ; 1 Kings hands were, &c. 27.] On the smell of xi. 13 ; Ps. Ix., title). Sec below on ver. his raiment see note, ver. 15. The word 40. The concluding words were remarkably raiment may perhaps include the skins of the reproduced by Balaam, Num. xxiv. 9. goats. As Knobel remarks, all contributed 30—40.] EsaiC s return ; his despair at the to confirm the old man and obtain the bless- trencher // and atthc irrevocable blessing. The ing, — the meal, the wine, the kiss, the wild words of the patriarch, spoken in the fulness odour. 28.] The blessing is conveyed, of Divine inspiration, are irrevocable, how- as usual with such sayings, in a form of ever obtained. This is one of the mysterious poetic parallelism. The dew and the fat- parts of the narrative ; but it only represents ness of the earth are in Palestine closely to us the constant issue of similar successes in connected. The dews there are like rain (see life itself. The wrong is done, the prize is The Land and the Book, p. 491): compare thereby won; there is no reversal of the 124 GENESIS. XXVII. blessed. ^^ And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father. Bless me, even me also, my father. ^^ And he said, Thy -brother came with subtil ty, and hath taken away thy blessing, ^^ And he said. Is not he rightly named Jacob [Defrauder] ? for he hath defrauded me these two times : he took away my birthright ; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me ? ^^ And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants ; and with corn and wine have I sustained him : and what shall I do now unto thee, my son ? ^^ And Esau said unto his father. Hast thou but one blessing, my father ? bless me, even me also, my father. And Esau ych. xxi. ifi. ylifted up his voice, and wept. ^^ And Isaac his father answered and said unto him. Behold, apart from the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling. And apart from the dew of heaven from above ; 40 And by thy sword shalt thou live. And shalt serve thy brother ; And it shall come to pass when thou shalt revolt. That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. issue ; the enjoyment of the prize may be withstanding some fertile valleys in the poisoned by the wrong, but the prize itself is eastern parts, Edom is probably " the most of no less value. On all this compare the desolate and barren uj^land in the world" N. T. comment, Heb. xii. 17. 35.] (Seetzen, cited by Keil). So also Shaw Isaac has now his eyes opened to the double describes it, " a solitary, empty waste," and fact, — Jacob's unpiincipledfiaud and Jacob's Burckhardt, "a stony desert." No words destination to inlierit the blessing and birth- could more accvu-ately describe the habits of right. 36.] " Supjjlanter " is pei'haps its inhabitants than those of living by their nearer to the meaning, but is not so well sword, existing as robbers and freebooters, understood. 39 ] This is put a poor Witness the perils, to this day, of a visit to remnant of blessing after that bestowed upon Petra. On thou shalt serve thy Jacob. But it has been well observed by brother, see above, ver. 29. The renderings Delitzsch that it contains in it the elements of the following words have been very di- of trouble for Jacob's blessing, and thereby verse. Tlie Targum of Onkelos give them, bco-ins to visit on the latter the unjust means " And it shall come to pass, when his sons whereby he obtained it. The arrangement shall transgress the words of the law, thou is poetical: see above, vv. 27 — 29. The shalt," &c. The ancient Syriac, " If thou opening words most likely signify the very shalt repent, thou shalt," &c. The Hebrew contrary of that by which the A. V. renders verb signifies to roam at Ubertij, to rush them. Esau was to dwell in the barren wildly about, as cattle free from the yoke, land of Idumrea, far off from the fertility of It is thus used in Jer. ii. 31. See note his brother's lot. Travellers say that not- there. It seems that our nearest English 34— XXVIII. 1. GENESIS. 125 4^ H And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing where- with his father blessed him : and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning- for my father are at hand ; then will I slay my brother Jacob. ^'^ And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah : and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Be- hold, th}^ brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, ])iirj)osi)/(j to kill thee. ^^ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice ; and arise, flee thou to Laban ni}- brotlier to Ilaran ; '^^ and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother^s finy turn away ; "^^ until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget t/iat which thou hast done to him : then I will send, and fetch thee from thence : vrhy should I be deprived also of you both in one day ? ^^ And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life be- cause of the daughters of Heth : if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Ileth, such as these ichich are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me ? XXVIII. 1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and term in this connexion is " to revolt." The Edoraites were to be subjugated by Israel, but would in time assert their liberty and succeed in shaking off the yoke. This they did in the reign of Jorani, 2 Kings viii. 20, ff. They were brought under again by Amaziah (2 Kings xiv. 7 ; 2 Chron. xxv. 11). In the latter days of the kingdom of Judah the Edomites were a cause of annoy- ance (see 2 Chron. xxviii. 17). 41 — 45.] Esau holes and threatens Jacob ; his mother sends him awaxj to Haran, It is again characteristic, that Esau will not afflict his father by taking revenge on Jacob, but will wait till his death. He makes no account of his mother, who was indifferent to him. Kalisch calls in question this rendering, and prefers, " Days of grief arc at hand for my father, for I will slay," &c., without any reference to Isaac's death. But the common interpretation seems universally accepted, and certainly suits better. It does not, as Kalisch objects, " presuppose a deliberate calmness and self-control on the part of Esau totally at variance with his character," but only an interference of his passion for revenge on his brother with that of tender- ness for his father, a very common incident with impetuous persons. It surely woiild be far more inconsistent with his character to suppose a side-look at his father's pro- bable distress to be a bitter accompani- ment of his feeling of revenge. The historical comment on this tlireat is found at ch. XXXV. 29. 44.] by the words a few days Rebekah persuades her son to tear himself from home. The punishment of the fraud is beginning. She never saw him again. 45.] If Esau killed Jacob, she would lose them both, because the cus- tom of the avenging of blood would have compelled Jacob's nearest of kin to kill Esau. 46.] It is curious to see such commentators as Knobel, maintaining that this speech of Rebekah's is inconsistent with what has gone before. It is simply another fraud upon the feeble Isaac, who was un- conscious of the threat of Esau. Rebekah sets up the pretext of Jacob going in search of a wife, which had enough of reality to commend it, to induce his father to send him away without being informed of the more cogent reason. Isaac falls into the trap, and hence his speech to Jacob, ch. xxviii. 1, ff. On Esau's wives, see ch. xxvi. 34 and xxxvi. 2, ff. XXVIII.— XXXV. The history of Jacob; his icanderings ; his wives and chil- 126 GENESIS. XXVIII. charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Padan- aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father ; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban tELSHiBBii. thy mother's brother. ^ And fGod Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou may- est be a multitude of people ; "^ and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee ; that thou maj'-est inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. ^ And Isaac sent away Jacob : and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramaean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. ^ 51 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence ; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan ; 7 an(l that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram ; 8 and Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father ; ^ then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took imto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of J^eba- joth, to be his wife. ^^ ^ And Jacob went out from dren ; his return to Canaan ; his sojourn at or more briefly in Kaliscli. 2.] On Padan- Shechem, at Bethel, at Mamre, ivhere Isaac aram.seeoncb. xxv. 20. 3.] OnElShad- dies and is buried. And herein, XXYIII. dai, see note, cli. xvii. 1. 5.] Bethuel 1—5] Isaac blesses Jacob and sends him to take the AraniEean, see eh. sxv. 20, where Laban a icife among Laban' s daughters at Baran. is called by this name ; and note there, as There is no inconsistency -n-hatever in this above. 6—9.] Esau's third marriage. incident as here related, with what has just This proceeding of Esau shews the same passed in ch. sxvii. Eebekah had kept the characteristic misapprehension of the posi- aged Isaac uninformed of the true reason why tion, and of his father's mind, as we have she sent Jacob away, and had substituted seen in him before. It fulfils that mind to for it her anxious desire that he should not the letter, but violates it in the spirit, take a wife of the daughters of the land. There is, again, no inconsistency with what Isaac acts on this, and in dismissing Jacob, has gone before, as some have thought, gives him his special blessing, at the same Esau need not have known that his mother time reiterating the general terms of the had heard of his threat against his brother : patriarchal promise in the form of a solemn he sees his brother's dismissal to Haran, and wish for him. In this whole portion the its ostensible reason. He knows that his Elohistic and Jehovistic elements are gener- wives were displeasing to his father ; and he ally intermingled. It is not the purpose of endeavours in his clumsy way to repair the this commentary to follow out such consider- mischief. On Mahalath, see ch. xxxvi. 3. ations in detail. Those who wish for a com- 10 — 22.] Jacob' s journey , and dream plete account may find it (allowing for the at Luz. On Haran, see ch. xi. 31 ; xxiv. rationalistic bias) in Knobel's commentary, 10. 11.] This was not at the end of 2—18. GENESIS. 127 Beer-slicba, and went toward Haran. ^^ And lie lighted ' ujion a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set ; and he took one of the stones of that place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. ^^ XwA. he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the tojD of it reached to heaven : and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 1-^ And, behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed ; ^* and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south : and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ^^ And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land ; for I will not leave thee, until I have done tliat which I have spoken to thee of. ^^ 51 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place ; and I knew it not. ^^ And he was afraid, and said, IIow dreadful in this place ! this ts none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. ^^ And Jacob rose up early in the morning, the first day's journey; for, as Xnobcl ob- an enlargement of tbcm, both in that the serves, Jerusalem was several days' journey blessing to all races on earth (literally, of the from Beer-sheba, and Bethel was further on earth's surface, on the ground : so also ch. still. 12.] This symbolical dream of xii. 3; notch, xviii. 18; xxii. 18; xxvi. 4) Jacob's has deep meaning, and serves as a is not only said of the seed, but is made revelation to him of God's promises and pur- personal, in thee and in thy seed ; doubt- poses. This is necessarily implied in the nar- less because this was he whose personal rative. On the one side is Jacob, a lone name was to designate, as he personally man, not sheltered by the walls of a city or was to multiply into, the whole race of of a house, but lying down to rest under the Israel ; and also in that there is here con- canopy of heaven ; on the other is He who tained a guarantee that God would guard never slumbers nor sleeps, keeping watch Jacob in all his paths, and would bi-ing him over Israel, imparting to man grace and back to the land of liis birth, and would not help by His heavenly messengers, and re- forsake him till all His promises should be ceiving men's wants through the same. The accomplished. 16. Jkhovah is in this whole represents the future fortunes of Israel place is the predication of an especial and and the connexion of the chosen people with solemn presence, such as all men associate God. The sjTubol is alluded to by the with a spot which is called the house of God. Psalmist in Ps. cxxi., and by the prophet In saying that it was the gate of heaven, Hosea, ch. ii. 4, o, and in its deeper and fullest he does no more than revive the vision of meaning by our blessed Lord, in John i. 51. the night : here heaven had been opened to 14.] This was not only a renewal of him. 18.] The putting the stone pil- the promises to Abraham and to Isaac, but low for a monument derives further signifi- 128 GENESIS. XXYIII. 'I ch. xxxi. 45; XXXV. 14. Jos. iv. 9,20; xxiv.26, 27. 1 Sam. vii. 12. and took tlie stone tliat lie had put under liis liead, and ^set it up /or a monument, and poured oil upon tlie top of it. 1^ And lie called the name of that place Beth-el : but the name of that city u-as called Luz at the first, ^o ^^d Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, ^i so that I come again to my father's house in peace ; then shall Jehovah be my God : 22 and this stone, which I have set for a monument, shall be God's house : and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. XXIX. 1 Then Jacob lifted up his feet and came into the cance and endurance by bis anointing it, as Moses did tbe tabernacle and its furniture afterwards, Exod. xxx. 26. "We read else- ■wbere of the custom of setting up stones as memorials : see reff. There is a curious fact in connexion with this narrative, that of the mention by various ancient writers of anointed stones as objects of veneration, which anointed stones were called Boetulia in Greek, and Bcetyli in Latin, apparently from their usually being aerolites, and thus Avere regarded as having come from God's dwelling. Accounts are given of such stones in Phrygia, Phoenicia, S3Tia, Arabia, Egypt ; and the celebrated Caaba at Mecca is an excellent example. The setting up of such pillars has been stated to have been for- bidden by tlie law in after times, on the strength of Levit. xxvi. 1 ; Deut. xvi. 22 ; but see at those places. 19.] The giving of the name Beth-el, the house of God, is again narrated ch. xxxv. 15, and said to have taken place on Jacob's return. That account is purely Elohistic ; but there is no reason for regarding it as inconsistent with this. This may be well related in anticipation, as Jacob may have given the name lightly and cursorily now, and more formally and finally then, or both narratives may relate but one incident,— the naming of the place Beth-el, — without saying when it happened. 20.] This vow of Jacob is the first formally recorded in Scripture, and consists of a promise that if he should return safely, Jehovah should be his God, and he would dedicate the tenth of his property to Him. It is of the essence of the vow, that this dedication should be voluntary, contingent on a certain event ; and it follows that no deduction can be hence made as to the obligatory nature of payment of tithes. It would have been mockery to dedicate to God what already belonged to Him. The stone was to be the house of God (Beth-Elohim), i. e. a place where God should be worshipped. The sub- sequent fortunes of Beth-el, thus named and consecrated, were remarkable. It was further hallowed by the erection of an altar on a Divine command to Jacob himself on his re- turn, ch. xxxv. 1, flf. ; afterwards it became the resort of those wdio wished to enquire of God, Judg. XX. 18, 26 (where " the house of God " in both verses ought rather to be Bethel): next we meet with it as the (idol- atrous) Holy place of the kingdom of the ten tribes, 1 Kings xiii. 32, 33 ; Amos v. 13 (where see note). The incidents which happened there in the course of that king- dom, and the fulfilment of the prophecies of Hosea (iv. 15 ; v. 8 ; x. 5, 8) and Amos (v. 5 ; vii. 10 — 13), are admirably com- mented on in Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, pp. 220—223. XXIX. 1— XXX. 24.] Jacob's arrival at Haran, and sojournitig icith Lahan. His service for his wives, Leah and Bachel. The births of his children. 1. lifted up Ms feet] Such expressions are used at the com- mencement of long or important undertak- ings, e. g. in Matt. v. 2 Jesus opened his mouth and taught them. The children (sons) of the east here are the inhabitants of Mesopotamia. The expression is generally used of the Arabs E. of Palestine : see reflT. 2.] This well is apparently not the 19— XXIX. 10. GENESIS. 129 land of tlio ^children of the cast. 2 \y\(\. ho looked, and aJudg.vi.3,33; vii. 12; vili. beliold a ^yell in the field, and, lo, there iccre three flocks iv.:io.\?/,"1! of sheep lying by it ; for out of that well they watered the j^'i'fta, uf Uic E.J flocks : and the stone upon the well's mouth was great. 2 And thither were all the flocks gathered from time to time : and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. * And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence he ye ? And they said. Of Ilaran are we. ^ And he said unto them. Know ye Laban the son of Nahor ? And they said. We know //im. ^ And he said unto them, Is he well ? And they said, He is m'cU : and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. 7 And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together : water ye the sheep, and go and feed thcDi. ^ And they said, We can- not, until all the flocks be gathered together : then they roll the stone from the well's mouth : and we water the sheep. ^ % And while he j^et spake with them, Eachel came with her father's sheep : for she kept them. ^^ And same as tbat in ch. xxiv. 11, fF. It seems that -wbicli was the custom day by day. I to be furtlier from the city, and different in have attempted to make this plain by in- its maungemcnt. This well is dosed by a serting the words from time to time in large stone which is only removed at the italics. 4.] The antecedent of them is assemblage of the flocks and shepherds in the left to be gathered out of the preceding ; evening. This usage is illustrated in the viz. the herdmen who were with the three Land and the Book, p. 589 : " Cisterns are flocks. 5.] Laban was actually the very generally covered over with a large grandson of Nahor. The insignificance of slab, having a round hole in it large enough Bethuel, Laban's father, is here also kept up to let down the leather bucket^ or earthen as in ch. xxiv. 7.] On the intelligence jar. Into this hole a heavy stone is thrust, of Rachel's coming, Jacob, wishing his in- often such as to require the imited strength terview with her to be private, exhorts the of two or three shejiherds to remove. The shepherds to water their flocks and depart same is seen occasionally over icells of ' liv- with them, as it is not yet evening. This ing water ; ' but where they are large and they reply they cannot do, because the stone the supply abundant no such precaution is must be rolled away, which is not done till needed. It was cither at one of these cis- all the flocks were gathered. This their re- terns, or less abundant and more precious ply seems much more probably grounded on ■wells, that Jacob met Rachel ; and being a their iinwillingness to break the custom (no stout man, nearly (?) seventy years of age, he small consideration with Orientals) than on was able to remove the stone and water the their lacking strength to move the stone. flock." The whole scene is most graplii- Nor is there any improbability in Jacob cally described. We have a similar one in venturing, on the strength of his relation- Exod. ii. 16, ff. Ver. 3 describes, not as the ship to Laban and his love for Rachel, to do impression is from the A.V., that which took that from which the shephcrils had shrunk, place on this occasion, which would be in- 9.] for she kept them is literally, consistent Avith what follows, ver. 7, 8, but for she was a shepherdess. The un- E 1 130 GENESIS. XXIX. it came to pass, wlien Jacob saw Rachel the dai;gliter of Laban bis motber's brotber, and tbe sbeep of Laban bis motber's brotber, tbat Jacob went near, and rolled tbe stone from tbe well's moutb, and watered tbe flock of Laban bis motber's brotber. ^^ And Jacob kissed Racbel, and lifted up bis voice, and wept, i^ ^^d Jacob told '"l^'J-is!'^^' Racbel tbat be icas ber father's ^brother, and tbat be icas Eebekab's son : and she ran and told ber father. ^"^ And it came to pass, when Laban beard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that be ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things, i* And Laban said to "i'sfJxil him. Surely thou art my ''bone and my flesh. And he is.^seech. g^]3Q(jg with, him the space of a month. ^^ ^ And Laban said unto Jacob, Art thou my brotber, and sbouldest thou serve me for nought ? tell me, what shall thy wages he ? 1^ And Laban bad two daughters : the name of tbe elder was Leah, and the name of tbe younger ivas Rachel. 17 Leah's ej^es were dull : but Rachel was beautifid and well favoured. ^^ And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give ber to another man : abide with me. married daughters of the nomad Arahs to in the wider sense : see next verse and rcff. this day keep the fiocks. The meeting is in 14.] the space of a month is literally a the highest degree touching and natural, month of days. Kalisch denies this, and The forlorn man, driven from his father's renders, "a month as regards days," or house by peril of his life, was at once met, "time." The difference is trivial, not only with his own flesh and blood, but 15.] The sense seems somewhat disturbed with her who in a moment becomes to him the by the A. V. The fact of being a relative centre of his new and recovered life. The would rather enhance than diminish the history is drawn from the very deepest wells of wages, and on this consideration the ques- human emotion. His service done, and his tion of Laban depends, and the answer of impassioned manner, justify his taking the Jacob also. 17.] Leah's eyes were privilege of a near relative, and all doubt on feeble, i. e. dull, without brilliancy and this is removed by his own avowal. Ob- freshness. In the East the clear expressive serve the continual and studied repetition, lustrous eye is accounted the chief feature " the daughter of Laban his mother's in female beauty. It was compared to the brother," — " the flock of Laban his mother's eyes of the gazelle : see 1 Sam. xvi. 12. brother," — "her father's brother," — Re- On the contrary, Rachel's beauty was com- bekah's son," — "Jacob his sister's son." plete : she was beautiful in form and The joy of meeting is imparted to her whom beautiful in look, both in figure and in face, he met : she rwis and tells her father. 18, 19.] All this is represented in And he attain, in his turn, welcomes the way- Eastern customs even now. It is still the farer with the same affectionate ardour, custom to serve for a wife. Eurli:b. Onkelos render in the main) to the two 38.] The effect produced is illustrated hy lambing times, the stronger lambs bein"- many writers on natural history, and is said yeaned in autumn and the feebler in spring : to prevail especially among shfep. 40.] but simply regarded the distinction between There is some difficulty in this verse. The the stronger and the weaker individuals on meaning seems to be, that when these ab- each occa.sion. If a difficulty be sugfcsted normal lambs were produced, Jacob separ- by the probability that these would be pro- ated tliem, and took care that the flocks (of miscuously mingled, it is easy to reply that Labaii) should always look towards them Jacob as the shepherd had power to classify (setting tliem to leeward of Laban's flocks), the flock as he pleased. 43.] literally, and all his dark sheep he took care to pre- the man broke forth, expanded, largely sent to the sight of Laban's flocks, keeping largely. It has been observed that in the the two apart, so that ordinarily Laban's wholeof this narrative of Jacob's stratagems, flocks saw nothing but streaked and brown the sacred names do not once occur-, cattle. Thus he further helped out his XXXl. I— IQ.] Alienation of Laban. Jacob stratagem above detailed. The words in the is divinely commanded to return home; he flock of Laban are puzzling, unless they re- takes cotmsel with his wives. 1. this fer to the whole sentence, as if a comma were glory] See reff., literally, weight. Bp. after brown. One can hardly venture to Wordsworth appositely refers to St. Paul's render them " i ^ith liim, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two camps ; 8 and said, If Esau come to the one camp, and smite it, then the other camp which is left shall escape. ^ % And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, even Jeiiovaii, which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee : ^^ I am too little for all the mercies, and for all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant ; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan ; and noAv I am become two camps. 1^ Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau : for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, mother with children. ^'^ And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. ^"^ ^ And he stayed there that same night ; and took of that which ''came into his hand a present r i Kir^s x. u. for Esau his brother ; ^^ two hundred she goats, and Ps. x'c. 12 (see note). and centre of operations is here plainly Mount Seir : tliei'c lie is found, and thence he sets out with his large following, whereas there, in ch. xxxvi., he took all his persons and his substance and went into the country from the face of liis brother Jacob : and it is added, " Thus dwelt Esau in Mount Seir." It is hardly creditable that by some of the orthodox commentators this difficulty is not even noticed. 7.] Some think that the prospect of meetinir Esau's lawh ss hordes of Bedouins distressed Jacob. But doubtless the common view is right, which regards him as shrinking from his oti'ended brother, in memory of his threat (ch. xxvii. 41, 4'2), and believing that this large host was intended for an attack upon him. Esau's real motive seems to have been to enhance his generous reconciliation by a demonstration of his power to hurt if he would. The word Mahanah (sec ver. 2) is used throughout these verses as signifying the parts of Jacob's company, and ought to have been carefully preserved in the A. V., as it is by the LXX. It is caprice of this kind, rendering this woi-d '■'■host" in ver. 2, '■'■band'' in ver. 7, and "■com- pany " in ver. 8, which has so obscured the meaning of Scripture for English readers. 9 — 12.] Jacob's prayer. Observe the exactness of this address to God as contrasted with Laban's appellation of Him in ch. xxxi. 53. 10.] The Hebrew expression is little among all the mercies, &c., i. e. too little to have received, less than all. In saving two camps he does not use the form Mahanaim as in ver. 2, but sh'nay Mahanoth, taking a different form. This is worth notice, in connexion with the remarks quoted on ver. 2. 11.] The concluding words, mother with children, like "■root and branch," be- token utter extirpation of a family or a com- munity : compare Hosea x. 14. 13 — 23.] His present, and his preparations for meet- ing Esau, there] i.e. at Mahanaim, which by the spirit of the narrative could not be far from both Jordan and Jabbok. The ex- pression, which came into his hand, imports which he had earnud and gotten. I have changed "to" for into, as expressing this somewhat more clearly. The words of the A. V. seem rather to import, which came uppermost, which were the first to present themselves ; whereas the gift was most care- fully selected and ordered. Tiie whole pur- pose is evidently to di'in-ecate wrath. 14, 15.] We are told that the proportionate numbers are those.bcst calculated for breeding. The arrangements and orders in vv. 16 — 20 146 GENESIS. XXXII. twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 1^ thirty milch camels with their colts, fort}^ kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. ^'^ And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by them- selves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. ^7 And he com- manded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou ? and whither goest thou ? and whose are these before thee ? 18 then thou shalt saj^. They he thy servant Jacob's ; it is a present sent unto ni}^ lord Esau : and, behold, also he is behind us. ^^ And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. 20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob in be- hind us. Eor he said, I will appease him with the pre- sent that goeth before me, and afterwards I will see his face ; peradventure he will accept of me. 21 Qq ^ent the present over before him : and himself stayed that night in the camp. — And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. ^3 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. 24 ^ And Jacob was left alone ; and there arc just those best calculated to mollify an ii. 37). It intersects the mountain-range of angry man. Esau is to meet each generous Gilead. Its modern name is Wady Zuika. present separately, that the effect may be Its banks are fringed with thickets of cane again and again repeated. Each time with and Oleander, and are clothed above with the same deferential words, and the same oak forests. See Porter's Handbook, and assurance that Jacob was not about to shrink his art. in the Biblical Diet. 24 — 32.] from meeting him. All this lies in his own Jacob tcrestles with an angel. Change of reasoning, ver. 20. 21.] There is no his name. It would appear that Jacob re- reason, with Bp. "Wordsworth, to suppose mained on the hither bank of the torrent, that he fortified himself there, because the when he had sent over all that he had. It word camp occurs here : it has occurred was for him a solemn crisis, and he sought throughout, as noticed above ; and he would retirement and solitude. To give, as Kalisch, hardly fortify himself in a position he an entirely spiritual meaning to the wonder- meant to leave before meeting the enemy, ful scene which follows is little better than 22.] His two women-servants, Bilbah trifling with it. 'Wliatever be the interpret- and Zilpah, belonged to his own family, ation of this historj-, which is perhaps the being the mothers of his sons. The sons strongest example of anthropomorphism in were all of tender age at this time. The the whole of Scripture, tlicre can be no river or torrent Jabbok was " the border doubt that if the sacred narrative be good of the children of Amnion " (Dent. iii. 16; for anything, it has its two sides, the Josh. xii. 2 : see also iSTum. xxi. 24 ; Deut. spiritual and the outward. Xot only did 15—32. GENESIS. 147 "wrestled a man with liim until the breaking of the day. 2^ x\.nd when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 ^^nd he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. ^7 Xnd he said unto him, What is thy name ? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said. Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel [Contender with God] : for thou hast con- tended with God and with men, and hast prevailed, 2^ And Jacob asked /liiii, and said. Tell lac, I pray thcc, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it f/icd thou dost ask after my name ? And he blessed him there. ^^ And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [Face of God] : for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Pcnuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted ujDon his thigh. '^'^ Therefore the children the incident betoken a mighty crisis in Jacob's inner lite, but it also was aceonir- panied by supernatural tokens of the kind indicated in the narrative. The man here spoken of is an appearance of God, that appearance of which we have before spoken, whose words are uttered in the Person and name of God Ilimsclf. 24.] The word for wrestled is only found in this place, and is said to be an ancient form. From it {Javatjk) is the name of the torrent, Jabbok. 25.] In tliis symbolic struggle we may perhaps discern the spiritual meaning. Jacob had too much, and often in his life, wrestled with and resisted God, and God prevailed against him by the power of alUictions — crippling him in his lamily and his personal happiness — causing him to enter into life maimed, rather than being whole to be lost. And the power and struggles of Jacob's faitli prevailed to hold the blessing from God, but not without that faith being sad- dened by repentance. The triumph was greater tlian the defeat : for by the former he obtained the name of the Contender with God, whicli holy theocratic name descended to his posterity, and became their natural •appellation. the hollow of the thigh] AVhere passes tlie neivus iscltiuduiis, the greatest of the sinews, descending through the leg to the aukle. 26.J The im- mortal must not be seen by mortals in that day which lights them to ordinary work : their apparitions occur in the night when this world's light is withdrawn. The idea has been universal, and here tinds the sanc- tion. Jacob's was the true pertinacity of faithful etfectual prayer. Compare llosea xii. 4, where his prevailing is ascribed to his " weeping " and making supplication unto the angel. 28.] Israel, from Sara, the same word wliich gave meaning to tiie name Sarai, and El, God. iSo that tlie meaning is doubtful between " a Prince of God," and " a Contender with God." 29.] The name of the divine messenger is not to be told to men : so in Judges xiii. ] 7, 18. See also Exod. iii. 13, 14 ; Levit. xxiv. 11 ; Isa. ix. 6 ; Eev. xix. 12. 30] On the remarkable parallelisms in this passage between the divine and the human, see note, ver. 2. 31.] No account has been given by the Hebraists of the change in the spell- ing of the name Peniel to Penuel. It has been suggested that the latter may have been the commonly recognized local name, and that the slight change to Peniel may have been made to suit the etymological deriva- tion. Commentators have drawn attention to the parallel case of St. Paul, who after an abundance of divine revelations, received a thorn in the tlesh, 2 Cor. xii. 7. 32.] 148 GENESIS. XXXIII. of Israel eat not of the sinew of the hip, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, imto this day : because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip. XXXIII. 1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. ^ And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph behind. ^ And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. ^ And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him : and they wept. ^ And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children ; and said, Who «re those with thee? And he said. The children which God hath graciouslj^ given thy servant. ^ Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. ^ And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves : and after came Joseph This practice has no sanction in the law, but is, "unto this day" in which we live also, rigidly observed by the Jews. A strict Jew cannot, for that reason, eat of a leg of mutton which has come from a Christian butcher. There is some doubt about the appellation of the sinew in this verse, from an uncer- tainty as to the meaning of the Hebrew root of the word used. The more probable sense of the term is that given in the text, which is preferred by Gesenius, Knobei, Keil, Kalisch, and other Hebraists. But Gesenius confesses that '^ the sinew ivhich shrank" (A. v.), or which failed, is also a legitimate rendering. XXXIII. Meeting of Jacob and Esau (1—16). Jacob settles at Sheehcm (17—20). 1, 2.] The arrangement is one of dis- trust and timidity. The least cared for are put in the bruut of the possible danger. But there is no cowardice : he advances to the front himself. It is not asserted, but may be fairly taken as implied, that Each el and Joseph were behind Leah and her children. The Hebrew is as our text, the same word being used for behind in both cases. Com- pare ver. 7. 3] He bowed himself, after the Eastern fashion, bending the body so that the face nearly touches the ground. He did this seven times, to denote the com- pleteness of his humiliation, and his deep sense of the guilt by which he had merited his brother's displeasure. The text gives us to understand that these obeisances were made not on the same spot, but one after another as he approached Esau. 4.] Very different is the behaviour of the reck- less and generous Esau. We can hardly read this description without being reminded of another penitent in Luke xv. 20, to whom the same gracious reception was granted. The very words used by our Lord in the Greek there are the same as those of the LXX. here. The Masoretic editors of the Hebrew text have set dots over the word " kissed-him," which are generally explained as expressing a doubt of the genuineness of the kiss. Surely it need not be doubted, but is entirely in keeping with Esau's cha- racter. A very curious substitution for the word was given by some of the Jewish com- mentators, "he bit him :" and the Targum of Jonathan explains the weeping of Jacob to be occasioned by pain in the neck, that of Esau by pain in the teeth ! 5 — 7.] Jacob's wives and children attracting Esau's attention, are presented to him and do 1— IG. GENESIS. 149 near and Hacliel, and (licy bowed themselves. ^ And ho said, "What meniicd thou by all this fhost which I met ? +"<'''• ™"'''- And he said, These arc to find grace in the sight of my lord. ^ And Esau said, I have abundance, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. ^'^ xVnd Jacob said. Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in tliy sight, thou wilt receive my present at my hand : for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. ^^ Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee ; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have everything. And he urged him, and he took it. ^^ And he said. Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go by thy side. ^•^ And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the chil- dren are tender, and the flocks and herds giving suck are with me : and if men should overdrive them one da}^, all the flock will die. ^'^ Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant : and I will lead on softly, according to the pace of the cattle that goeth before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. ^^ And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee soDie of the folk that are with me. And he said, What need- eth it ? let me find grace in the sight of my lord, i^ 51 So reverence before liim. The order observed relation ; the other was clear in this matter, here coiilirnis the ordinary interpretation of pass over, in vcr. 14, nuist be apparently ver. 2. 8—11. The jtresejit next at- understood as applying- to Jordan. But \vc tracts Esau's attention. The same word find Jacob next at Succotii, E. of Jordan : {Mahana/i) is again used as before. see below. And it does not appear why 9, 10.] Esau's generous answer does not Esau should have to cross Jordan to get to satisfy Jacob, because the non-acceptance of Seir. The whole scene of this interview the oll'ered gift would leave doubtful the fact seems to need better localizing than it has of entire reconciliation. Jacob might truly yet met with. Again, it would seem from say, not in mere compliment, that the siglit this vei'se as if Jacob also were directing his of Esau's face had been to him as the sight course toward Seir ; and this is hardly met of God's face, discerning as he did in liis by saying, as Keil, that he probably meant brother's altered mind to him a sign of the to visit .Esau at Seir at some subsequent divine favour. 13, 14.] The excuse time. 15.] Esau is anxious that his was genuine. Tender children, such as brother should have an escort from among many of Jacob's were, would be injured, and his followers. We can hardly fail to sec in flocks in milk, or witii young, would die even this reply a lingering of mistrust, if nut of with u day's overdriving; and therefore his brother, yet of his wild followers. The could not keep pace with Esau and his men. rendering is somewhat uncertain. It may Observe Jacob addresses Esau always as "mi/ be as in A. V., which, in doubt, I have rc- Ivrd," but Esau speaks to Jacob as "»jy tained ; or it may be as Kalisch gives it: brother." The one had a guilty conscience, " tc/terefore do I thus Jlnd grace in tlie eyes which forbade him to touch ou the brotherly of my lord ; " Other renderings are giveu : 150 GENESIS. XXXIIT. tJosh.xxiv.32. Job xlii. 11, only. Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. ^7 And Jacob journeyed to Succotli, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle : therefore the name of the place is called Succoth [Booths]. ^^ ^ And Jacob came ^in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram ; and pitched his tent before the city. ^^ ^^d he bought a parcel of a field, where he had sj)read his tent, at the hand of the children of Ilamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred * pieces of money. '^^ And he erected there an altar, and called it the LXX. have, " ^Vhy this? it is enough, that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord;" the Vulgate, '■^ There is no need: this is all I ivant, to /ind," &:c. On any of these the sense is the same. 17.] Succoth is another of those placesVhose site is as yet wholly unascertained, and our view as to even its pro.ximate situation must de- pend on the whole theory which we adopt as to the meeting-place of Jacob and Laban. Mr. Grove {Biblical Diet.) says, " From the itinerary of Jacob's return it seems that Succoth lay between Peniel, near the ford of the torrent Jabbok, and Shechem (compare Gen. xxxii. 30, and xxxiii. 18). In accord- ance with this is the mention of Succoth in the narrative of Gideon's pursuit of Zcbah and Zalmunna (Judg. viii. 5 — 17). Ilis course is eastwai'd — the reverse of Jacob's — and he comes first to Succoth and thence to Penuel, the latter being further up the mountain than the former (vcr. 8, ' he went up thence'). ... It would appear from this passage that it lay to the East of Jordan, which is corroboi'ated by the fiict that it was allotted to the tribe of Gad (Josh. xiii. 27)." Jerome also sets it " on the other side of Jor- dan, in the district of Scythopolis," so that it cannot by any probability be the place gener- ally called by this name, which is W. of Jor- dan and considerably N. of Jabbok ( ]Vadi/ Zurka) ; and known also as Scythopolis and Bethshean : nor again with Sakut, which Burckhavdt thought he had identified as Succoth, also on the "W. side of the Jordan. It would appear that Jacob lived for some time in Succoth. Knobel calls this impro- bable, seeing that he was returning to his father's house. But as Keil suggests, he might have gone thence and visited his father : and his great establishment could not well have found place with Isaac. Be- sides, it appears that Dinah was grown up when he came to Shechem, and she must have been hardly more than an infant when he left Laban. 13.] There is consider- able uncertainty about the construing of this verse. It seems very improbable that the word Salem should be a proper name, as the A. v., after the LXX. and Vulgate, has ren- dered it. No such place is known in the nciglibourhood of Sichem (Xablus), nor mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. The meaning is far more probably " in peace," and the reference is to eh. xxviii. 21, where, in his prayer, Jacob speaks of coming again to his father's house in peace. And so it is taken by most of the Hebraists. On Shechem, see ch. xii. 6, 8. 19.] This is tlie first possession of land, as land, by the Patriarchs in the country of Promise. In ch. xxxvii. 12 we find that Jacob, then dwelling at Hebron, had his flocks at Shechem. The piece of money here mentioned is expressed by an unusual word (reft'.), Kesitah. Of this word two interpretations have been given. 1. A latnh, as A. V. in margin here, following the LXX., Vidgate, old Syriac, Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Targum of Onkelos. But Gesenius remarks that there is nothing in the etymology favouring this, and that in the patriarchal days the practice of barter had given place to that of pur- chasing by weighed silver : see ch. xxiii. 16 ; xlvii. 16. 2. The other interpretation makes the Kesitah a piece of money, or a precious metal, of some kind : of what value it is quite uncertain. This is favoured by Acts vii. 16, which must refer to this transaction. Some have supposed the medium to have been a coin impressed with the figure of a lamb: but there is no reason to suppose that coined money was at this time in use. The word Kesitah comes from a root signifying 17— XXXI Y. 6. GENESIS. 151 El-elohc-Isracl [God (El), tlie God of Israel]. XXXIV. 1 And DInali the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. ^ ^Ynd Shechem the son of Ilanior the Ilivite, prince of the country, saw her ; and he took her, and lay -with her, and " ravished her. ^ ^y^^j j^j^ gQ^j clave unto Dinah the " daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and '' spake unto the heart of the damsel. ^ And Shechem spake unto his father Ilamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. 5 And Jacob heard that he had ^defiled Dinah his daughter : » now his sons were with his cattle in the field : and Jacob held his peace until they were come. ^ ^ And Hamor the father of Shechem went out imto Jacob to commune with Ju.li. xix. 2-» ; XX. 5. 2 Snm. xiii. 22. Lam, V. 11. ch. 1. 21. Uos. ii. 14. i. fi, &c. ; i. U ; li. n. fo weigh, or balatice. 20.] Tliis whole transaction was an act of faith on the part of Jacob. The purchase of land, and that in tlie very place wlicre God had first promised Abraham that the land should be his, shewed his conviction in the certainty of that 2)roniise as renewed to him and his seed; the erection of an altar on this his own land connected the act of purchase with the God in whose promise he trusted : and the nam- ing of that altar bespoke special faith in the symbolic meaning of the name which God had given him, and its endurance in his pos- terity. In the buihling of an altar on that spot he had been preceded by Abraham, ch. xii. 7. XXXIV. DinaJCs seduction by Shechetyi ; the vengeance taken on him and his by Simeon and Levi. 1.] Dinah was ap- parently about thirteen when tliis happened, an age at which Oriental maidens are ripe for marriage. She, as already remarked on ch. xxxiii. 17, was but a child when Jacob left Padan-aram ; but there had been a con- siderable time spent in Succoth. Joseph, who was not far from the same age as Dinah, was seventeen when he was sent to his brethren, ch. xxxvii. 2. There is no abso- lute fixity in any of these suggested dates ; but neither is there any assignment of dates which would render this history improbable. The idea that Dinah must have been a mere child at this time has nothing in the narra- tive to support it, and the implication in ch. xxxiii. 17 is against it. Observe, this is Jacob's first great trouble and in it he is the victim of deceit on the part of his own sons, as he bad, in his time deceived his own father. 1.] No abso- lute blame is conveyed in this mention of Dinah's act, but there can be no doubt that it is mentioned here for warning, and as having led to the dephn-able consequences which followed. 2.] The proceeding was merely the carrying out of that which had been in two cases with Sarah, and in one with Rebekah, stopped before its sad issue. According to the usual practices of heathen society, it had nothing noteworthy in it. But it is already strongly condemned and thought matter of the sternest revenge in the patriarchal family. Nothing can more strikingly shew the different moral atmosphere of the two societies. For the Hivite, see ch. x. 17. As regards the fact, it should be remarked that no gradual temptation and seduction is described, but an act of violence, as will be seen by refer- ring to the use of the same word in the reff. This ought to have been carefully observed in the English version, especially as the verb in vv. 5, 13, 27, is another, and really signifies to deflc. It would therefore ap- pear that Dinah suff'ered, rather than con- sented to, the penalty of her vain curiosity. 3.] Notwithstanding, there Avas true aff'ection between the two. Shechem spoke to her heart, i. e. strove to gain her afl'ec- tion: see reff. 4.] For this was the parents' matter: seech, xxi. 21; xxiv. 1, &c. 5.] The verb used here (see above) is not the same as that in ver. 2. Its usage will be seen in reff. Jacob held his peace, i.e. took no step: see 2 Sara. xix. 11. It 152 GENESIS. XXXIV. : = Detit. xxii. 21. Judg.xix.23. y Josh. vii. 15. Jutlg. sx. 6, xviii. 25, only. b = 2 Chron. xxii. 10 (Ps. cxxxvii. 6 ?). him. 7 ^n(J the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it : and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had '^ wrought folly y in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter ; which thing ought not to be done. ^ And Ilamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter : I pray you give her him to wife. ^ And make ye mar- riages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. ^^ And ye shall dwell with us : and the land shall be ^ before you ; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. ^^ And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. 12 ^gk me never so much '^ dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me : but give me the damsel to wife. ^^ \^y\^ the sons of Jacob answered She- chem and Ilamor his father deceitful!}', and ^ laid a plot, because he had defiled Dinah their sister : ^'^ and they said unto them. We cannot do this thing, to give our sis- ter to one that is uncircumcised ; for that ivere a reproach unto us : ^^ but in this will we consent unto you : If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised ; 1^ then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. ^^ But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised ; then will we take our would appear, from Jacob's speech in ver. 30, that he was inclined to compromise the matter. 7.] The expression wrought folly in Israel manifestly bclnngs to a later time (see reff.), and betrays the hand of a subsequent editor. It may have been used by Moses, as it was by Joshua (ref.) ; but could hardly have been found in any docu- ment dating previously to the constitution of a community known by the name Israel. The last clause of the verse is a weighty testimony, on the part of the sacred writci', against the enormity of the crime. The words are still simpler than would appear: the notion of ought not is only implied in them : •which is not done, is not the cus- tom, is the literal rendering : see a similar construction in ch. xx. 9; xxix. 26. 8- your daughter] Spoken to the father and the brothers, as being her natural guardians: see ver. 17. 10. the land shall be he- fore you] Free to your choice : see reff. 12.] The dowry (reff.) Avas the present which the bridegroom gave to the parents or relatives of the bride. The case provided for iu ref. Exod. is in all features but one the same as this. The gift was the present to the bride. The two are distinguished in the narrative, ch. xxiv. .53. 13.] The ordinary interpretation, " and said," or '■^ and spoke," is rejected by the Hebraists, — Gesenius, Knobel, Keil, all adopting the rarer sense of the Hebrew verb f^arar, found without doubt in reff. 2 Chron. and perhaps in the Psalms also. Onkelos gives " and spoke suhtUhj ; " the Vulgate, " being angry." 17.] On our daughter, see ver. 8. 19.] Shechem had no hesitation iu 7—27. GENESIS. 153 daugliter, and wc will bo gone. ^^ And their words pleased Ilamor, and Shecbcni Ilamor's son. ^^ And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter : and he teas more honoured than all the house of his father. 2^ ^ And Ilamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, 21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein ; for the land, behold, it is lai'ge on all sides before them ; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one peo^jle, if every male among us be cir- cumcised, as they are circumcised. 23 s/kiH i^ot their cat- tle and their substance and every beast of their's be our's? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. 2i And unto Ilamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city ; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. 25 ^ And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. 26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the 'edffe of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's cExod.xvii.is. O ' ^um.xxl. 24. house, and went out. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon ""h.vY."i''' complying : tlic words do not imply that he father : see ch. xxxvii. 21, ff. ; xlii. 22. forthwith did that which was proposed, but Simeon and Levi were the two next of are anticipating. The latter clause does Dinah's brothers. Quotations are given from not mean that his disposition was more hon- travellers in tlie East, illustrating the seve- ourahle, but that he stood in the highest rity with which brotliers avenge insult to a place of public honour and esteem, and his sister's honour. Burckhaidt gives a case in consent would therefore ensure that of all. wliich three brothers endeavoured to kill their 20.] On the gate of their city, on the sister's betrothed, merely on account of some place of assembly and council, see ch. xxiii. innocent caress. 26.] The expression 4—10. 21.] Literally, it is large of with the edge (lit. the face, mouth) of the hands to their faces, i. e. it is large to sword (retf.) denotes relentless execution. riglit and left before them. 23.] By For anything tliat we gather from the nar- cattle, as in ch. iv. 20, is meant pasturing rative itself, Dinali was detained against her and grazing flocks and herds, and by every will. Nothing has been said to imply that beast is meant beasts of burden, as camels she returned the affection of Sliechem. and asses (Num. xxxii. 26). 25.] 27.] This verse is not coupled to Reuben seems to have taken no part, being, those which went before, and hence some as firstborn, especially responsible to his have regarded vv. 27 — 29 as an insertion. 154 ge:n'esis. XXXIV. dExod. T. 21. + E1. the slain, and spoiled the city, because ttey had defiled their sister. 28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which icas in the city, and that which nrts in the field, 2!) and all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. 30 ^jj(j Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to '^make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites : and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me ; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. ^^ And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an har- lot ? XXXV. 1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there : and make there an altar unto t God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest Koil oTijects to this that the insertnr would have taken care to put in the copula also, and regards the abruptness as characteristic of the transaction, which is surely improbable. The sons of Jacoh are apparently the other sons of Jacob, as the A^ulgate renders. It is no objection to this that no blame is laid on them in their father's dying words in ch. xlix. Simeon and Levi were the chief perpetrators of the crime. 30.] On the Canaanites and Perizzites, see ch. xii. 6 ; xiii. 7. few in number is literally people (men) of number, i. e. a body of persons easily counted. Tlie fear expressed by Jacob was a very natural one, and might have come to pass, but for the reason given in ch. XXXV. 5. That this was not the only cause of Jacob's horror at the conduct of his sons is shewn by his dying speech, ch. xlix. 5, where their moral delinquency is fully asserted. 31.] This had been done, in that she had first fallen victim to Shechem's lust, and then had been kept in his house. The exasperated brothers keep out of view altogether, like angry men, any circumstances on the other side. The whole history points to what was so often Israel's sin in after time — the double fault of min- gling with the idolatrous people around them, and using immoral means to vindicate their national pre-eminence. Compare e. g. the whole of Judges iv., v. XXXV. 1 — 15. Jacob hij divine com- mand goes to Bethel. God renews to him the promise and the change of 7iame : and he reneios the name Bethel. It was now many years (not less than 30) since Jacob had made the vow to Jehovah in Bethel. This vow he had not as yet performed. And now the divine command enjoins on him im- mediately to do so. Kalisch thinks, and with probability, that one reason which had hitherto hindered him may have been, that whereas the performance of the vow would imply an entire devotion of him and his to Je- hovah (see its terms, ch. xxviii. 20 — 22), the state of his household with regard to the retention of strange gods would by no means permit this. Certainly this view falls in well with our vv. 2 — 4, in which he in- augurates his journey to Bethel by clearing his household of objects of idolatrous wor- ship. Several things in this narrative ap- pear like repetitions of what has been related before. The re-naming of Jacob, ver. 10; the naming of Bethel, ver. 15; the setting up of a monument, ver. 14 ; coupled with the fact that in all this history the divine name is Elohim, whereas in all that other about Bethel (ch. xxviii. 10 — 22), it is Jehovah : these considerations make it at least probable that the sources of our narrative are not one, but several. 1.] God (Jehovah) had ap- peared to him, ch. xxviii. 13. Knobel says this statement is not exact, as there was no actual appearance in ch. xxviii. But surely the words " behold Jehovah stood above it " cannot well be otherwise understood. JS_XXXV. 8. GENESIS. ]55 F.ick. XX. 7, IK, XXXvii.il. fKxu(>lh-cl. ^^ ^ And they journc^'cd from Beth-cl ; and tiiere was ^ some distance to come to Ephrath : and Rachel ( availed, and she had hard laboiir. ^7 And it came to p iss, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. ^^ And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Bcn-oni [Son of my grief] : but his father called him Benjamin [Son of hap- piness]. 19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. 20 And Jacob set a j^illar upon her grave : that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day. -^ ^ And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar. 22 ^ And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine : and Israel heard iL Now the sons of Jacob were twelve : ^3 {\iq sons of Leah ; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zcbulun : ^i the sons of Rachel ; Joseph, and Benjamin : ^j and the sons ■which he had namod Bethel in ch. xxviii. But there is nothing to support such an idea. 16 — 20.] Birth of Benjamin. Bachel's death and burial. 16.] some distance, literall)', a distance of land. There is something pathetic about the precise designation of the spot, so sad in memory to the patriarch. It would seem as if the notice had come from him before ■whose eyes that tract of land, with the ele- vated Bethlehem at the end of it, had remained unforgotten in after life : compare ch. xlviii. 7, ■where tlie expression occurs as here, and in the mouth of Jacob. The LXX. has a curious addition here : it runs, " And Jacob left Bethel, and pitched his tent opposite the tower of Gadcr (sec below, ver. 21) : and it came to pass, when he drew near to Chahratha, to come to Ephratha, Rachel," &c. The Vulgate has also a curious render- ing, " But going out thence he came in the spring time to the country which leads to Ephrata." The tomb of Rachel is one of those sites in Palestine which can hardly be questioned. The traditional spot is about half an hour north of Bethlehem. The pre- sent building is merely " an ordinary Moslem tomb of a holy person, a small square build- ing of stone witli a dome, and witliin it a tomb in the ordinary Mohammedan form, the whole plastered over with mortar." Biblical Diet. 17.] It was this very con- fidence, that she should have another son, that she expressed at Joseph's birth, ch. XXX. 24. On the well-known grave of Rachel, see 1 Sam. x. 2. Tlic unto this day gives no certain date, but evidently be- longs to a period later than Moses ; to a time when the sites of the Land of Promise were known to the Jews by dwelling in it. 21, 22.] Ecuhen's deed of shame. 21.] Migdal-eder, or the tower of Edar (flocks), meaning probably a watch- tower for the guarding of the ilocks (see 2 Kings xviii. 8; 2 Chron. xxvi. 10; xxvii. 4), is said by Jerome to be 1000 paces from Bethlehem. It is mentioned only here, and is at present iniknown. 22.] Jacob's sin is visited on him by degrees, stroke after stroke. The notice, Israel heard it, points to this, and serves, besides, to connect this account with the mention of this deed in the last speech of Jacob, ch. xlix. 4. The LXX. adds at the end of the verse, " .'Vnd it ap- 158 GENESIS. XXXV. of Billiali, RadLel's handmaid ; Dan, and Naplitali : 26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid ; Gad, and Asher : these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Pudan-aram. 27 ^ And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. 28 ^\^^(i the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. 29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days : and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. XXXVI. ^ Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom, 2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan ; Adah the daughter of Elon the Ilittite, and Aholibamah the daugh- ter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite ; ^ and peared wicked in his sight." The use of Israel for Jacob in this small portion is re- markable. See ch. xxxvii. 3 ; xlv. 28 ; xlvi. 30 ; 1. 2. It is found in all these places iu connexion with solemnity or pathos. 26 — 29.] Jacob's return home, and Israel's death. The notice in ver. 26 is not strictly- correct, for Benjamin was born in Canaan after his return. Such a matter is of no consequence where it occurs, but should warn us not to press similar notices, the in- correctness of which is not so obvious. 27.] See ch. xiii. 18; xxiii. 2. 29.] In ch. xlix. 31 the place of Isaac's burial is said, as might have been expected, to have been the cave of MachpeLih, which Abraliam pur- chased for a burying-place (ch. xxiii. 19, f.). The history of Isaac is brought to an end here, because the object of the sacred narra- tive is henceforth Jacob and his fortunes, and he is now established in his father's house at Hebron. Isaac really survived Jacob's return to Hebron 12 years. This may be seen as follows : Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born (ch. xxv. 26), consequently Jacob Avas 120 at his father's death. But he was 130 at his migration to Egypt (ch. xlvii. 9), which therefore was 10 years after. At that time Joseph was between 39 and 40 (compare ch. xli. 46, 47, and ch. xlv. 6). But, seeing he was 17 when he was sold into Egypt (ch. xxxvii. 2) , and 23 years elapsed between that and Jacob's migration, Isaac must have survived Joseph's selling into Egypt between 12 and 13 years. Hence it also follows that Joseph was sold im- mediately on Jacob's coning to Hebron. XXXVI. Esau and the Edomites. As iu ch. xxv. the history gives the genealogies of Abraham's descendants by other wives in order to dispose of them, and to treat the line of Isaac, so here it gives the genealogies of the descendants of Esau in order to have done with them and to advance in the line of Jacob. In both cases the races enumer- ated are those which iu subsequent limes had to do with Israel. 1 — 8.] Esau's wives and sons. His re- moval to Mount Seir, and its cause. 1.] Esau was called Edom, as related ch. xxv. 30. The same notice is appended iu vv. 8, 19, 43. 2, 3.] There is consider- able difficulty about the names of Esau's wives. Comparing this account with the previous one in ch. xxtI. 34, xxviii. 9, we find that two of the three names are entirely different. There it is said that Esau took 1. Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Ilittite ; 2. Bashemath, the d. of Elon the Hittite ; 3. Mahalath, the d. of Ishmael, sister of xs'^e- baioth ; whereas here the d. of Elon the Hittite appears as Adah, and Ishmael's d., the sister of Nebajoth, as Bashemath. It is hai'dly possible, using one's common sense, not to recognize some confusion here. Both accounts have Bashemath as one of Esau's wives. According to ch. xxv. she is d. of Elon the Ilittite ; according to this account, she is d. of Ishmael. This is one element of confusion. One woman could not answer both these descriptions, and it is drawing a little too largely on our credulity to ask us 2G— XXXVL GENESIS. 159 Eashematli Islimaers daughter, sister of Nebajoth. * And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz ; and BasLeniath bare Reuel ; '^ and Abolibauiah bare Jeush, and Jaalain, and Korah : these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. ^ And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, A\ hich he had got in the land of Canaan ; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. 7 Yov their riches were more than that they might dwell toge- ther ; and the land wherein they were strangers could not to accept two wives of Esau both called Lasbeniath. Loth accounts cannot be ac- curate. Then the third wife, who in ch. XXV. is Judith, the d. of Bee7-itl\e Hittite, is lieic AhoUbamah, the d. of Anah tlie d. of Ziheon the Hicite. And, as if to make con- fusion worse confounded, it appears from vv. 20, 25 that AhoUbamah was the d. of A nail tlie son of Zibcon, the son of Seir the Ilorite. And even there we have some ap- parent confusion between two Anahs, one the son, and the other the grandson, of Seir : for although it would at first sight seem that the Anah of ver. 2o is the son of Seir, taken in his order between Zibeon and Dishon, yet from tlie express description of Anali in ver. 24 it would seem as if it were he tliat is taken up in ver. 25, which view is confirmed by AhoUbamah being mentioned as his daughter, who, as we were before told, was [grand] daughter of Zibeon. Another simihir element of confusion is found again in ver. 26, where Dishon, anoth.er of tlic sons of Seir, in his order, is again synonymous with a Dishon son of Anah in ver. 25. The various shifts resorted to by those comment- ators who are determined to reconcile at all hazards are more amusing than creditable, and are really not worth recounting. The only honest conclusion must be with Kalisch, " We are obliged to confess that the Hebrew, text, though containing several inipurtant coincidences, evidently embodies two ac- counts, irreconcileably difl'erent." And even thus we shall still require the hypothesis that sui^scquent changes have further confused the two accounts. The coincidences arc — 1. That Esau had three wives. 2. That one was a daughter of Elou the Hittite. 3. That another was a daughter of Ishmael, and sister of Xebaioth. 4. That one of the three was called Bash- emath. How anyone, with these data be- fore him, can resist the inference that Gene- sis is compounded of various independent documents, entirely passes comprehension. Only two of the wives were daughters of Canaan, properly speaking, even as they are described here. As the genealogy of AhoU- bamah is given vv. 20, 25, she was also not a Canaanite, for the Horites seem to have .been the aboriginal inhabitants : see ch. xiv. 6 ; Deut. ii. 12. But this does not apply to her description here. It is quite capricious to alter Hivite into Horite here, as even Kuobel proposes : and for any pur- poses of harmonizing, useless, as will be seen from what has been said. In fact, it would, while removing the discrepancy in the Gentile descriptions of AhoUbanuih, in- troduce another into these, vv. 2, 3. 4, 5.] Esau's Jive sons. Of these we may observe — 1. That the eldest is synonymous with the friend of Job, wlio is called (comp. ver. 11) the Temanite : 2. That the second is synony- mous with the father-in-law of Moses, Exod. ii. 18, there called ^'priest of Midian." 6—8.] The cause of Esau's removal to SIouTit Seir apparently operated after Jacob's full return to Hebron, and taking possession, in his father's extreme old age, of all that was Isaac's ; and we have here recorded not the cause of Esau's first dwelling at Seir, but that of his final and entire removal. Jacob was the acknowledged head of the house, and the swarm cast off was that of the really elder, but now by force of circum- stances become the younger brother, cattle and beasts, as often before, the for- mer being the sheep and kiue, the latter the 160 GENESIS. XXXVI. lJer.xlix.7,2n. Eztk.xxv.13. Amos i. 12. Hab. iii. 3. bear tliein because of tbeir cattle. ^ Tbus dwelt Esau in mount Seir : Esau is Edom. ^ ^[ And these are tlie gener- ations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir : 10 these are the names of Esau's sons ; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. 11 And the sons of Eliphaz were ^Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 ^^i^ Timna was con- cubine to Eliphaz Esau's son ; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek : these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife, i^ And these are the sons of Reuel ; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah : these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife, i^ 9^ j^^-^d these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's beasts of Inirden, asses and camels, the country] Ileb. the land=: went forth ; hardly as Kalisch, " into another country." Mount Seir is the mountain ridge ex- tending along the east side of the valley of Arabah, from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf. The name signifies rovgh, or rugged. " The view from Aaron's tomb on Hor, the centre of Mount Seir, is enough to shew its appropriateness. The sharp and serrated ridges, the jagged rocks and cliffs, the straggling bushes and stunted trees, give the whole scene a sternness and rugged- ness almost unparalleled." ]\Ir. Grove, Biblical Did., whose art. see. On Esau is Edom, see above. 9—28.] Genealogy of the sons of Esau. And herein (10 — 13) the sons of Adah and Bashemath. Observe these two of Esau's wives have their sons and their grandsons enumerated, whereas of Aholibamah (ver. 14) only the sons appear. The same distinction is observed when the dukes are enumerated below. Of these names, Eliphaz and Reuel have been observed on before. Teman is elsewhere in Scripture the name of an Edomitish territory (see>eff. ). Its inhabit- ants enjoyed a repute for wisdom (Jer. xlix. 7 ; Baruch iii. 22, 23), and from it came Elipbaz the Temanite, Job's wisest friend. Knobel makes it probable that Teman was in N.E. Idumsea. Euscbius and Jerome mention a Thaiman, 15 Roman miles from Petra. See on vv. 34, 42. Omar is recog- nized bv Knobol in the present name of an Arab tribe, Beni-Amyner, in N. Edom and S. Palestine. Another Arab tribe in S. Palestine is called Ammareh. Zepho] In 1 Chron. i. 36 called Zephi. Knobel mentions a place Szajteh or Szophia (Sa- fieh in Van de Velde's map), S. of the Dead Sea, where many Arab tribes fix their winter-quarters. But he does not regard the identification as certain. Gatam] In the LXX. Gotham. See ver. 16. Knobel compares Jodham, the name of an Arab tribe ; but there is no certainty. Kenaz represents the Kcnezites, Xum. xxxii. 12; Josh. xiv. 14, of whom Caleb was one, and Othniel bis brother. Josh. xv. 17; Judg. iii. 9 — 11. See note on ch. xv. 19. The name Kenaz was borne by a grandson of Caleb, 1 Chron. iv. 1.5 (but the text is doubtful). From ver. 42 Kenaz was also a town. 12.] Timna, again, is a place, ver. 40. It is a question much debated, whether the Amalek mentioned here is or is not the ancestor of the well-known people of that name. The mention of the Araalekites in ch. xiv. 7 (see there), coupled with the Amorites, certainly seems to imply that that people were existing at that early period. If so, then this Amalek must be, as Knobel and others suppose, distinct from that other, and probably that of a mere portion of the great Amalekite people. The same seems a lawful inference from xxiv. 20 : see there. 13.] The second division of the Edomites. None of the names in this verse are traceable among the Arab tribes. The old geographers mention a tribe Sameni, who may be connected with Shammah, but nothing is known of their habitat. 14.] The third division. Its two former 8— 23. GENESIS. 161 wife : and she bare to Esau Jcush, and Jaalam, and Korah. 1-5 ^f Those were ™ sheiks of the sons of Esau: ■"iii's^i;'-]!;., tlie sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau : sheik ^il^w. xv!.' Toman, sheik Omar, sheik Zepho, sheik Kenaz, ^'^ sheik Korah, sheik Gatam, a)i(l sheik Amalek : these arc the sheiks f//af came of Eliphaz in the kind of Edom ; these urrc the sons of Adah. 17 1[ And those air the sons of Eouel Esau's son ; sheik Nahath, shoik Zerah, sheik Slianimah, shoik INFizzah : there are the sliciks i/iaf came of Itouol in the hind of Edom ; these arc the sons of Ba- shomath Esau's wife. ^^ % And these are the sons of Aholibumah Esau's wife ; sheik Joush, sheik Jaahun, shoik Korah : these iccrc the sheiks f/iat came of Aholi- bamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. ^^ These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their sheiks. 20 ^ "These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who "inhabited "js^jj"'- the huid; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, 21 ° xxiii.'s"'!" and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan : these are the sheiks 3J: •'"''«• '• 'of the Ilorites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. 2- And the children of Lotan were Ilori and Homam ; and Lotan 's sister iras Timna. ^3 ^Vnd the children of Shobal were these ; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shei)ho, and names arc untraceable ; the latter, Korah, is not the habit of Genesis to give pedigrees of foil 11(1 in the Wady A'«)a7iy (A"i(ra;e/t iu Van mere heathen races, unconnected witii the de Yckle's map), S.E. of the Dead Sea. main stream of the sacred history. The 15 — 19.] The sheikhs, or leaders of Horites signify properly dwellers in caves, the Edomite tribes. Knobel maintains that from the Hebrew llor, a cave. The land of the word Altiph, here used of all these, is Edom is full of " holes in the rocks." See not an individual, the chief of the tribe, but Job xxx. 6. To this day tlie picture of tlic tiihe or gens itself. But he is opposed wretchedness given in tliat passage is realized by the general consent of commentators: see among tlie lower tribes of the land of Edom. reif. In the following list the name Korah Seven divisions of tlie Ilorites are mentioned, occurs among the sons of Eliphaz, where it and are deduced from Seir as their ancestor, is not found in the previous enumeration, — 22.] Tlic name Lotan, Knobel recog- and again among those of Aholibamah. nizes in a wild and inliiispital)le tribe, the This is prob.ibly owing to some mistake. Lyatbineh, in the neighbourhood of I'etra. The Samaritan text omits the name among Hori again reminds us of the troglodyte the sons of Elipliaz, but it is not to be trust- habits of the race : see above. Hemam is ed in this list, as it evidently corrects, e. g. recognized in a town mentioned by geo- it h;is in ver. 2 Mahalath for Bashemath, to graphers ancient and modern as S. of Petra accord with ch. xxviii. 9. 20 — 30.] on ^Nfnunt Sherab. On Tininah, see above, The genealogy of the Horites, the inhabit- ver. 12. 23.] Shobal is the name used ants of the land, i. e. before the Edoniites by the chroniclers of the Crusades for the came in (Deut. ii. 12, 22). This genealogy part of Arabia S. of Kerek, i. c. for Edom ; must be inserted on account of their subse • but tliey I'efcr this name to I sbliak, eh . xx v. 2. quent connexion with the Edomitcs, as it is See also Judith iii. 1 in tlie Vulgate. Alvaa M 162 GENESIS. XXXVI. Onam. ^4 And these are the children of Zibeon ; both Ajah, and Anah : this icas that Anah that found the warm springs in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. ^5 And the children of Anah icere these ; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 And these are the children of Dishon ; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. ^7 The children of Ezer are these ; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan. 28 The children of Dishan are these ; Uz, and Aran. 29 These arc the sheiks tliat came of the Horites ; sheik Lotan, sheik Shobal, sheik Zibeon, sheik Anah, ^^ sheik Dishon, sheik Ezer, sheik Dishan : these arc the sheiks tJiat came of Ilori, accord- ing to their sheiks in the land of Seir. ^^ ^ ^And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, is supposed to be reproduced in the Alawin, a tribe of evil repute N. of Akaba. Manahath] I'toleniy mentions a place west- ward of Petra called Monuchiatis, which possibly is connected witli tliis name. Shepho is perhaps connected with Mount Shdfeh, N. of Akaba. Ebal and Onam are untraceable. 24-] Zibeon is wholly un- known. Ajah is traced in the Haiwat, a tribe of evil repute N. of tlie Elanitic Gulf. On Anah bcinjj the son of Zibeon, see on ver. 1. The translation mules in the A. V. {giants in the Samaritan Pentateuch and in Onkelos) seems to be abandoned, and warm springs supposed to be the right one. These might be the warm springs in the Wadi/ el Asal, S. of the Dead Sea, or perhaps those yet hotter springs in the Wacly Hamad. 25.] There is some confusion in this list, as be- fore noticed on ver. 1. This Anah is evi- dently the son, not the grandson, of Seir, as the pedigree is not pursued beyond the second generation from Seir. children is literally sons, a terra elsewhere used as the technical one in genealogies even where only one son is mentioned, e. g. ch. xlvi. 23; Num. xxvi. 8; 1 Chron. i. 41 (where Dishon only is mentioned) ; ii. 8. 26.] The name Hemdan is traced in a portion of the tribe Omran, called Bumady, E. and S.E. of Akaba, and also N. of Petra, and further N. still, in the land of Moab. Esh- ban is traced in another portion of the same tribe called Usbany. Ithran and Cheran are unknown ; as also are 27. ] Ezer, and Zaavan ; Bilhan is very uncertain ; but Akan is found in a tribe on the Elanitic Gulf, named by the old geograpliers Acheni, and a place Achana, mentioned in Eusebius, where David is supposed to have built ships. 28.] Uz is in all probability connected with the country of Job, — see Mr. Bevan's art. in Biblical Diet., and note on Job i. 1. Pliny mentions a tribe named Areni in East Idumaea. But some suppose that Aram should rather be read, and that we have here a record of a mingled tribe of Edomites and Aramaeans. Knobel supposes Dishon and Dishan mere forms of the simpler Dish, wliich word is found in the Arab race Dcish, mentioned by geographers as dwelling near the Dedanites. 29, 30.] 'I his list of sheikhs of the Ilorites is coincident with that of the sons of Seir. 31—39.] List of Edomite kings. The perplexing portion of ver. 31 is the addition of the words which ch)sc it. It is hardly possible in any spirit of fairness to regard them as other than a token of at least the clause itself being written after the kingdom in Israel had been established. Those interpreters who are de- termined to make all tilings square have managed to Wrest them into a prophetic de- claration, dependent on the promise to the I'atriarchs that kings should descend from them (ch. xvii. 6; xxxv. 11) : others have connected them with the provisions of Moses concerning the kingdom. Dent. xvii. 14 — 20, Of course we do not deny that either of these explanations is possible. The question for us is not tliat, but whether any such explana- tion is natural, or would have been thought 24—40. GENESIS. 1G3 before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. 32 ^^^ ]3g]j^ ^jjg ^^^ ^f j^^pj. i-eigncd in Edoni : and the name of his city irns Dinhabah. 33 ^Vnd Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of iBozrah rciirned in his stead. 34 ^pfj Jobab died, and TTusham of tlie land of Temani reigned in his stead. 35 J^^^d Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bcdad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead : and the name of his city tens Avith. 36 ^^d Iladad died, and Samlah of Masrckah reigned in his stead. 37 ^^nd Samlah died, and Saul of Kehoboth b// the river reigned in his stead. 38 ^j^^ Saul died, and Baal-hanan the son of x\chbor reigned in his stead. 39 ^Ynd Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadad reigned in his stead : and the name of his city was Pan ; and his wife's name fcaa Mehetabel, the daughter of Hatred, the daughter of Mezahab. ^^ And these are the names of the sheiks fhaf came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names ; sheik Timnah, q I»a. TXXiT. 8; Ixiii. I. Jer. xlix. l:t,22.C Amos i. r.;. . of, unless for a preconceived purpose. There is to our mind far less violence done to our faith by supposing this clause, or even the whole list (if Idunncan kings, to be a later insertion, than by such (as it seems to me) forcing of the plain sense of words. None of tliese kings of Edom are known. In the triumjjbant song of Jloses and the children of Israel, Exod. xv. 15, mention is made of the s/ici/cs of Edom; but in Num. xx. 14, ff., we find Closes asking permission of the kin(/ of Edom to pass through his land. So that it is perhaps not to he assumed that tlie rule of sheiks in Ed 'Ui was* superseiled by that of kings. 32.] It is curious to find so near a sonnd to Balaam son of Bcor in tlic Bela sou of Beer of this verse. The Je\vi>li expositors remark on the similarity. Dinhabah is not known. 33.] Bozrah is known to us as an Kdomite city from reff. The name survives in the village Bxisairch, midway between Tetra and the Dead Sea. 34.] On Temani, see ver. II. 35.] This defeat of Midian is otherwise quite unknown to us. 36.] The name Mas- rekah signifies place of grapes, and hence Knobel has thought that it may be pointed out by large ruins between Petra and Schobek, described by Burckhardt, where a tribe dwells largely cultivating grapes, ex- porting raisins in abundance to Gaza, and selling them to the Syrian pilgrims. 37.] Kehoboth is a very common name. It has been by some supposed to be on the Eu- phrates (see Mr. Grove, Biblical Diet.), but it is difficult to see how that can be. Eusebius and Jerome speak of a place Robotha in Edom in their time : and the word nahar, here rendered river, is used of small brooks as well as of great rivers. 39.] From the circumstance of this Hadar (called in 1 Chron. i. 50 Hadad, apparently in error) not being said to have died, and from the par- ticular enumeration of the names of his wife and her father and graudfatiier, it has been not without probability supposed that this king of Edom was reigning at the time of the writer: and if so, this may have been the king of whom i\roses requested safe pas- sage as related in Num. xx. 14, ff. In 1 Chron. i. 51 the historian has inserted the supplementary notice, " Iladad died also." 40—43.] The sheikhs of Edom, and their chief toicjis. There were 13 tribes (vv, 11 — 14), and only 11 towns are named. Therefore some tribes had no town, being, it may be supposed, nomads. On Timnah, see ver. 12. Most of tiicse places are un- known. Aholibamah means dweUintj on high, and is probably to be sought on the 164 GENESIS. XXXYI. 10, 27 ; XXV. 12, 19 i xxxvi. sheik Alvah, sheik Jetheth, ^i sheik Aholibamah, sheik Elah, sheik Pinoii, ^^ sheik Kenaz, sheik Teman, sheik Mibzar, '^^ sheik Magcliel, sheik Iram : these be the sheiks of Eclom, according' to their habitations in the Land of their possession : this is Esau the father of the Edoniites. XXXVII. 1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ^ i- These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren ; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives : and Joseph brought imto his father their evil report. ^ J^ow Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age : and he made him a coat of mani/ colours. ^ And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his highest part of jMniint Seir. Elah, other- wise F.lath, says Knobel, now Allah on the Eed Sea. Pinon appears to be the same as Punon, a ])lafc of encampment of the Is- raelites, where Moses lifted up the brazen serpent (compare Num. xxi. 9 with xxxiii. 42). There were there brass (copper) mines, to which afterwards many Christian confess- ors were condemned. It is described in tlie patristic writings as between Petra and Zoar. On Kenaz and Teman, see ver. 11. Knobel thinks that Mibzar represents Petra. The meaning of the word is a fortress, and Petra (rock) was so called from its extraordinary strength: see Jer. xlix. 16, 17; Obad. 3; also Ps. cviii. 10 (Ix. 9) ; 2 Kings xiv. 7, and note. Eusebius and Jerome mention a large village Mahsara in Gabalene which belonged to Petra. Magdiel signifies the praise of God, and Knobel thinks it may have been the site of a temple. Iram is unknown. The LXX. here and in 1 Chron. have for this name Znphoin. XXXVII. — L. The history of Jacob. All that is now left is to pursue the fortunes of Jacob. And the whole story of Joseph is for this purpose most important. It is the introduction to the migration of Jacob and his family into Egypt, on which depended the subsequent history of the chosen people. 1.] The copula is by the Yulgate rendered "But," and doubtless there is a slightly adversative force intended. The Edomites, inhabitants of TMpunt Seir, have been before us. Esau had quitted the land of promise, and branched off from the line of the Covenant blessing; but Jacob re- mained there. in the land whereinhis father was a stranger, tlnis recalling the oft-repeated promise of God, in the land of Canaan, thus specified by name. Here then we have the posture of the heir of the promises— dwelling in Canaan, and waiting on Providence to unfold his future course. 2.] Xow the writer passes with this formal title (see above on reff.) to tlie his- tory of Jacob for the rest of the sacred book. Jacob's previous acts and annals belong to the history of Isaac. Tj'terally, was feeding (tending) with his brothers among the sheep. In the next clause it is express- ed that he served under his brothers, Bil- hah's and Zilpah's s(ms. It was their place to instruct him in the work of a shepherd. The word for evil report is derived from a root signifying to creep, or approach in- sidiously. No slur is intended on the cha- racter of Joseph, with which, as Kalisch well remarks, depravity and meanness were totally at variance. 3.] Joseph was born when his father was 90. See note, ch. XXXV. 29. On the use of the name Israel in passages of pathos, see above, on ch. xxxv. 22. The expression here rendered a coat of many colours, and literally a tunic of parts, occurs again, 2 Sam. xiii. 18, of the 41— XXXVII. 13. GENESIS. 1G5 brethren, tlicy hated Lim, and could not speak peaceably unto bini. ^ % And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told if his brethren : and they hated him yet the more. ^ And he said unto them, Uear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed : ^ for, behold, we icere binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright ; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 8 ^^(i j^ig brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us ? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. ^ ^j And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said. Behold, I have dreamed a dream more ; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the ^eleven stars made s- obeisance to me. ^^ And he told it to his father, and to his brethren : and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed ? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth ? ^^ And his brethren envied him ; but his father observed the saying. ^^ 51 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. ^^ And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy ! Kings garment worn by king's daughters. Another interpretation of vcr. 3 is that whereas the onlinary garment for youtli in the East is simply a body coat without sleeves reach- ing to the knees, this was with sleeves and reaching to the feet. So Joseph us lierc. 5 — 11.] His brethren-'s hatred is in- creased, and his father's rebuke ineurrtd, by his two ambitious dreams. 8.] Ms dreams — the fact of his liaving thus dreamt : his words— the fact of liis having told tliem. Or does this last mean, his continued evil re- port of tliem to their father .' 9, f.] First he tells the second dream to his brethreti witli wliom he was, and then to his fatlier and his assembled (or, tlic rest of liis) brethren at home. This second dream re- lated not only, as the first, to his brethren, but to his father and mother also. 10.] In Jacob's rebuke, tlie words " 1 and thy mother" have been regarded as an incon- sistency, considering that Rachel had been some time dead. Some of those wlio re- pudiate this have drawn from them an in- ference that Jacob looked for a resurrection. But both are wrong. The inconsistency vanishes when we come to relleit tliat it was as much in Joseph's dream, and Jacob merely recites it in interpreting it: and as to the other view, surely it was not in the other world tliat the dream was to find its fulfilment. It never teas fulfilled : for Leah, who only could have been regarded as standing in Piachel's place to Joseph, died before the migration into Egypt: compare cli. xlvi. 8, ff., with .\lix. 31. Knobil connects the 11 stars, Joseph himself being the twelfth, with the fact that the signs of tiie Zodiac were not unkn( wn to the Isiaelites (reff.). Tiie word for observed in the EXX. is very nearly that u>ed by St. Luke wlun he re- latis that " His motlier kept all the.-e things," ch. ii. 19. 12—24] His brclhrvn plot his death. Bevben dissuades it. 12.] In ch. xxxiii. 19 we hear of Jacob's buying a fit Id in Shechem. It would seem that he had there a station for liis ilocks. 13.] It would appear that Joseph had 166 GENESIS. XXXVII. brethren feed tlie flock in Sliechem ? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. 1* And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it he well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks ; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ^'^ And a certain man found him, and, behold, he uris wandering in the field : and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou ? ^^ And he said, I seek my brethren : tell me, I pray thee, where they feed tJieir flocks. 17 And the man said. They are departed hence ; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. ^^ And Avhen they saw him afar ofi", even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. ^^ And they said one to another, Behold, this lord of dreams cometh. 20 Come now there- fore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some j)it, and we will say. Some evil beast hath devoured him : and we shall see what will become of his dreams, ^i ^^^ Reuben t»er. 22. hcard it, and he '^delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22 And Eeuben said unto them, left his brethren and was living at home (see still called "Tell Dothan," with a ruined ver. 4) ; but his father wishes him again to aqueduct and other remains of antiquity at consort with them. There is besides some its base. See Van de Yelde's Memoir to ac- traee of anxiety in Jacob's mind for fear his company the map of Palestine, p. 308. Dr. sons may have been involved in some evil Thomson (Lajjf/aju/iJooA, p. 466) says, "The matter. I4.j The sending of a lad of neighbourhood affords the very best pastur- seventeen, and one so beloved, all the way age : and at the base of the mound is a from Hebron to Shechem, is a noticeable fountain where the brethren of Joseph may feature in the narrative. He appears, from have watered their flocks." 18, f.j The ■ver. 15, to have gone alone. 17.] Do- Chrislian reader can hardly fail to be re- than is only mentioned in 2 Kings vi. 13— minded of the language of our Lord's parable, 19, as the scene of the miracle of Elisha's Matt. xxii. 38, nor to apply the parallel, servant's eyes being opened to see the 19.] The expression, lord of dreamers, heavenly hosts wliich guarded his master, is used in bitter scorn. 20.] 'i he name It is apparently mentioned in the Book of Dothaim, of which Dothan is, says Kalisch, Judith, iv. 6 ; "vii. 3 ; viii. 3, as Dothaim. a contracted form, signifies double cistern. It seems from Judith iii. 9, where however " I am not aware," says Dr. Thomson, "that the words in the original " near Dotrea," are there still exist old cisterns about Dotliaim, printed in our English Bibles, without a but there are very few ancient sites where shadow of authority, ''near unto .hid(ea"( !) they are not to be found." " The traditional to be on the S. side of the plain of Jcz- ' pit,' at the N. extremity of the Sea of reel, between Scythopolis and Geba. Ac- Gennesareth, is much too far Northward." cording to Eusebius and Jerome it lay 12 Kalisch. 21.] We have seen on ch. Roman miles N. of Samaria. And just in xxxiv. 25 that Eeuben, as the firstborn, had that place travellers have found a mound a peculiar responsibility. 22. lay no 14—28. GENESIS. 1G7 Shed no blood, hut cast him into tliis pit that ?'s in the wiklerness, and "hiy no hand upon him ; that he might deliver him out of their hands, to bring him back to his father again. ^3 ^ ^Yj^j {^ came to pass, when Joseph was corae unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph of his coat, the coat of manij colours that iras on him ; 24 Qjid they took him, and cast liim into a pit : and the pit was empty, there icas no water in it. 2o ^Ynd they sat down to eat bread : and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a compan}^ of Ishmaelitcs came from Gilcad with their camels bearing tragacanth and ^balm and ^ladanum, going to carry if down to Egyjot. ^G And Judah said unto his brethren. What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood ? 27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelitcs, and let not our hand be upon him ; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were con- tent. 28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen ; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and uch. xxii. 12. I.xod. XXIV. 11. tlrut. xiii. 9 (AcU Xii. I). vJcr. viil.22 xlvi. II ; U. will, xliii. : onlv. hand upon him] i. e. put him not to death : sue veil'. It IS a strange feature in the moral constitution of the brethren that they could be pi'rsua(k^d to satisfy their revenge and imagine that their guilt was loss, by letting Joseph perish in the pit, rather than shed his blood. On this use of cisterus, see Jer. xxxviii. 6; Lain. iii. 53. 23.] See on ver. 3. According to Eastern habits, it would be his only garment. lie entered Egypt naked, as was the custom with slaves and captives, Isa. xx. 4, in strange contrast to his subsequent array of pomp, ch. xli. 42. 25.] The highway from Gilead to Egypt still passes by the Tell Dothaim, to Ramleh, Gaza, and Egypt. The first men- tioned of these articles of commerce is pro- nounced to be the gum of the Astragalus tragarantha, a thorny shrub found through- out the East, figured in Tristram's Nat. Hist, of Bible, p. 394; the second, halm, is else- whi;re connected with Gilead (reff.) : it was a very precious gum obtained from the bal- sam tree, almost peculiar to Palestine. See Jlr. Drake's art. in the Biblical Diet, and Tristram's Nat. Hist, of the Bible, p. 337, M'here the plant is figured. The third item, erroneously rendered in the A. V. (here and in ref.) myrrh, is the ladanum, or gum of the cistus creticus, said to have been originally combed from the beards of goats which browse upon the plant, but now beaten from the shrub by a kind of wliip, from which it is afterwards scraped. See Biblical Diet, and Tristram, p. 458, where tlio plant is figured. 26.] Jiidah's speech shews tluit during the meal, and in Eeu- ben's absence, the purpose had been altered, and t!ie first plan of slaying Joseph again adopted. On this view, which is Knobel's, conceal his blood means, escape detection for his murder. Kaliseh takes another view, and thinks that daring tlic meal their con- science troubled them, and Judah only gavo expression to their thoughts that " blood cimcialed" was blood still; meaning by blood concealed, his obscure death in the pit. 28.] The notice contained in the first clause seems to belong to a different account from that which we have been as yet reading. The idea maintained by some commentators (even Keil here) that the same persons in the course of the same sentence could be Ishinael- ites and iSIidianites, will hardly be enter- tained except by those who are determined to carry through a thing at all hazards. In ch. xxxix 1 it is the Islimaelites who s(dd Joseph into Egypt; in ch. xl. 15 he de- scribes himself as " stolen out of the land of the Hebrews." All such variations arc not 168 GENESIS. XXXVII. X ch. XX. 16 ; xxxiii. 19; xlv.22. Judg. ix. 4 , xvi. n. 2 Kings V. 5, al. jNu 30. Deut. xxxii. 22. Job xi. 8; xiv. A. Prnv. XXX. 13. Isa. V. U. Hab. ii. 5. sold JosepTi to the Istmaelites for ^ twenty pieces of silver : and they brought Joseph into Egypt. ^9 ^ ^j^([ Reuben returned unto the pit ; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit ; and he rent his clothes. 30 ^^d he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not ; and I, whither shall I go ? 31 ^i2cl they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood ; 32 ^nd they sent the coat of man// colours, and they brought if to their father ; and said, This have we found : know now whether it be thy son^s coat or no. 33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat ; an evil beast hath devoured him ; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. 34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many duys. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him ; but he re- fused to be comforted ; and he said, For I will go down into the ^ grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wei:)t for him. 36 And the Midianites sold him into Egj-pt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, chief of the guard. XXXYIII. ^ And it came to pass at that time, that Judah to be ovemclJcn, but to gather instruction from. It is clear that there is notliiiig in them which invalidates the consistency of the narrative, or they would not have been allowed to remain together in the text, twenty pieces] Or shekels: the original has no word ; see reff. 29, 30.] Reuben comes again to the cistern, in pursuance of his plan of ver. 22, but finds not Joseph, whither shall I go ?] i. e. what will become of me? 35.] Tiiis announce- ment is startling after the deed which they have done. But there is no limit to human hypocrisy. the grave is Skeol, the place of departed spirits. The A. V. some- times renders it by hell, sometimes by the pit. 36.] The word here is Medauim, whereas in ver. 28 it was Midianim : and from ch. xxv. 2, Medan and Midian were two different descendants of .Abraham. Potiphar is the abbreviated form of Poti- pherah : see ch. xli. 50. The LXX. express both by Petlphres. The word rendered officer is liteially eunuch ; but this name appears to have been given to others among royal officers than those to whom it properly belonged. In ch. xl. 2 the same term is applied to the butler and baker. Potiphar was captain or cliief of the executioners, for so the expression literally means. He ap- pears, from ch. xxxix. 20, to have have had the charge of the royal prison. XXX\'in. The history of Judah and his dawjhter-in-law Tainar. The object of this parenthetical chapter seems to be to shew how near the offspring of Jacob were to falling into the habits and loathsome sins of the Canaanitish peoples ; and to pave the way for the history of their removal into the land of Egypt, which took place by means of Joseph's being sold and carried thither. At the same time it defines and accounts for tiie two main branches in the kingly line of Judah. 1.] Judah seems to have intended to break away from the house of his father, but by the hint given in ver. 26 to have been shocked by the enormity of the sins in which he thus became involved, and to have returned again. The time is marked, by the fact that Judah was still with his bre- thren at the sale of Joseph into Egypt, as being after that incident. He irent dutni, because Hebron, where Jacob dwelt, is in 29— XXXVIII. 11. GENESIS. 1G9 went do\^Ti from liis brethren, and turned in to a ceilain Adullumite, whose name vas Ilirah. 2 ^^fj Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name /ras Shuah ; and he took her, and Avent in unto lier. "^ And she conceived, and hare a son ; and he caHed his name Er. '^ And she conceived again, and hare a son ; and she called his name Onan. '^ And she yet again conceived, and bare a S071 ; and called his name Shelah : and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. ^ And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whoso name iras Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Loiii); and the Lord slew liim. ^ And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto th}'- brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. ^ And Onan knew that the seed should not be his ; and it came to pass, when he went in imto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. ^^ And the thing which he did displeased the Lord : wherefore he slew him also. ^^ Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown : for he said, Lest peradventure he die the ninuntnin country of Jiulah (Josh, xv, 5i), and Adullam (soc Josli. xv. 3.3) in the plain (or vulk'v, ib. 33). This phice (Josli. xii. 1.5) was tlie scat of a Canaanitish king : it was in its iieighbourliood tliat David sheltered in a cave from the pursuit of Saul (I Sam. xxii. 1, 2) ; it was from hence that the tliree mighty men broke; througli tlie host of the Philisiinesand fetched David the water from the well at 15ethlehcm (2 Sam. xxiii. 13, ff.). Rehoboam built one of his forts there (2 Chron. xi. 7), which was afterwards cele- brated (.Micah i. 15). After the captivity it was still an inhabited town (Neh. xi. 30), and is mentioned later still in 2 Mace. xii. 38. The site has never been satisfactorily identilied. Van de Velde believes it to he Deir Diippan, about two hours N. of Beit Jiboin (Eleutheropolis). Thencighbourliood consists of limestone hills, pierced with many caves. 2.] Notice that Shuah is the name, not of Judah's wife, but of her fathrr : see ver. 12. 5.] Chezib is not mentioned elsewhere, but is probably ident- ical with Aclizib (Josli. xv. 4-1 ; Micah i. 14), and Chuzeba (1 Chron. iv. 22), in the low country of Judah. In the place in 1 Chron. the men of Chozeba arc numbered among the sons ofSficlu/i. 'I'hey had, in the taking possession of the land of promise, gravitated to the birthplace of their ancestor, and its neiglihourhood. In connexion with this circumstance tlie mention of that birth- place here is remarkable. 6.] The name Tamar in Hebrew signifies a jialm-trec, but this is no token that she was of Semitic blood. The names of Melchizcdek and Abimclcch are parallel cases. 7.] Tlierc is no detailed explanation of the reason of tlie death of £r, hut it would seem by what follows, ver. 10, to have been something connected with the peculiar sins which brought destruction on the Canaanitish races. 8.] On the law and practice of leviiatic marriage (so called from the Latin levir, a brotlier-in-law) sec note on Deut. xxv. 5, ff. and Matt, xxiii. ff. 11.] From Levit. xxii. 13 we learn that it was usual for a widow without chil- dren to return to her father's house. Judah had no intention to give Tamar to Shelah, althougli he professed it. He had the fear with which the story of Tobit has familiar- 170 GENESIS. XXXYIII. also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. ^^ ^ And in process of time the daughter of Shuah, Judah's wife, died ; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite, ^^ And it was told Tamar, sajnng, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep, ^^ And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnath ; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife, ^^ AVlien Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot ; because she had covered her face, ^^ And he turned unto her by the way, and said. Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee ; (for he knew not that she teas his daughter in law.) And she said. What wilt thou give me, that thou maycst come in unto me ? ^^ _^n(J \xe said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, "Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it ? ^^ And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said. Thy signet, and thy string, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave them her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. i^ And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. -^ And, ized us, that she was a fatal wife, hringing herself, perhaps indicated some act sub- death on her succe-^sive husbands. 12.] sequent to the mere veiling herself — pos- The situation of Tiinnah, or Timnatha (for sibly the wrapping some large mantle over Timnath appears to be an error) is uncer- her. There is some doubt about the place tain. It seems to have been Judah's station where she sat by the way. I have given it as for his flocks, and to have been above where the I. XX. and the Samaritan, and Kalisch, he was before. It is perhaps the Timnah Knobel, and Keil. Others think it is the in Josh. XV. 57, a town in the mountain passage by two fountains. If we take the country of Judah. See Mr. Grove's article proper name, Enaim may perhaps be the in the Biblical Diet. It must be distin- same as Enam, in the low country of Judah, guished from a fnmtier town of Dan and Josh. xv. 34. 17.] The present of a Judah between Rt thshemesh and Ekron, kid is found in Judg. xv. 1 as sent from in the plain, Josh. xv. 10; xix. 43 (in the Samson to his wife. 18.] She chooses latter place called Timnathah). On sheep- those things that might best identify Judah. shearing feasts, see 1 Sam. xxv. 4 ; 2 Sam. The signet was worn inside the garments, xiii. 23. 14.] See Judith x. 3. The suspended round the neck with a silk string covering herself with a veil was to prevent (Cant. viii. 6; Jer. xxii. 24; flag. ii. 23). her recognition by Judah : but the act seems Both these she asks for, and for tlie staff in also to have some reference to the character his hand. Herodotus tells us that every she was assuming : see Job xxiv. 15. The Babvlonian carried a staff, adorned with a subsequent expression, wrapped or covered carving of some flower, or fruit, or animal. 12—30. GENESIS. 171 Judali sent the kid by the hand of his fricud the Adul- huiiite, to receive his pledj^e from the woman's hand : but he found her not. ^i Xhen he asjced the men of that phice, saying, Where is the harlot, at Enaim by the way side ? x\.nd they said, There was no harlot in this place. 2- And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, t/iaf there was no bal- lot in this jilnce. 23 \■^■^^[ Judah said, Let her take if to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. -^ ^ And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Taniar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot ; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Ju(Udi said. Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. -'^ When she icas brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child : and she said, Discern, I pray thee, M-hose are these, the signet, and string, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged t//c/ii, and said. She hath been more righteous than I ; because that I gave her not to Shelali my son. And he knew her again no more. ^7 ^ And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins irere in her womb. ^8 ^j^d {^ came to pass, when slie travailed, that the one put out liis hand : and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 ^i[^^ i^, came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out : and she said. How hast thou broken forth ? tJti>i breach he upon thee : therefore his name was called Pharcz [Breach], ^o \t^^ afterward came out his brother, 21.] The name by which Ilirah calls pronounced upon Taniar as being now by her is literally a holy woman. In the horrid marriage one of the huly race. Had she religious rites of the goddess Ashtoreth the merely been punished as the betrothed of priestesses or female devotees were harlots, Selah, she would have been stoned: see Levit. who sat and solicited the passers-by: see xx. 10; Deut. xxii. 23, tf ; Ezek. xvi. 40; Jcr. iii. "2; Ezek. xvi. 2o ; Baruch vi. 43. John viii. 5. 26.] Judah recognizes in 23.] The meaning is, then, since we this the retribution ior his own injustice to cannot liud her, let her keep the pledge, Tamar, and an apology for lier crime. Butin- notwiilistanding its superior value, lest we asniuch as Ilebre^v customs afterwards sanc- incur shame on account of the business. tioned by the law (Lcvit. xviii. 15 ; xx. 12) 24.] The punishment of burning for un- condemned such an act as incest, he repeated chastity was afterwards by the law reserved it not. 29.] Most commentators regard for the daughters of priests: see Levit. xxi. 9. the saying of the midwife as allusive to the And Knobel thinks that this sentence was division of the kingdom, by which a breach 172 GENESIS. XXXIX. that had the scarlet thread uj)on his hand : and his name was called Zarah [Sunrise]. XXXIX. ^ And Joseph was brought down to Egypt ; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had broujrht him down thither. 2 ji^^^^ Jehovah was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man ; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ^ And his master saw that Jehovah uris with him, and that Jehovah made all that he did to prosper in his hand. ^ And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him : and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. ^ And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that Je- hovah blessed the Egyptian's house for Josephs sake ; and the blessing of Jehovah was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. ^ And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand ; and with him he knew not ought, save the bread which he did eat. 7 ^ And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. And it came to pass after was made in the sovereignty of the house of David, wliich came of the line of Pharez. The chronology of this chapter and of the events whicli depend on it is not easy. Jacob was at least 88 at the time of Judah's birth, seino; he was 78 at the time of his flight to Haran, and served 7 years before he married Leah, and this was his fourth son by her (see ch. xxix. 31 — 35), some time having elapsed before she bore him any children (ib. 20, 25, 31). And he was 130 at the time of his migration to Egypt (ch. xlvii. 9). So that we have barely 42 years' interval. But in that time Judah has grown up sons, has grandsons by their widows, one of whom has two sons, Hezron and liamul, who went down into Kgypt with Jacob and his family (ch. xlvi. 12). All thismayhave been, but requires the utmost limits of pos- sibility in each case, for 3 X 14= 42, — and Shelah, the youngest of the three sons, was grown up before Judah's intercourse with Tamar. XXXIX. Joseph in Potiphar'' s house and in prison. The question as to tlie probable date of Joseph's arrival in Egypt is too diffi- cult and complicated for treatment in these notes. It will be found discussed at length in Mr. Stuart Poole's article in the Biblical Dictionary. On the whole, it seems pro- bable that the date was ab(mt 1900 B. c, under the dynasty of shepherd kings, who ruled mainly in Lower Egypt. On Potiphar and his office, see notes, ch. xxxvii. 36. 2—5.] Notice the introduciion of the sacred name Jehovah for the first time into Joseph's history. He seems to have lield the same place in bis master's house which Eliezer held in Abraham's (ch. xv. 2 ; xxiv. 2). 6.] The wi>rds are literally, knew not any thing with him, i. e. says Knobel, in cumpaiiv, in partner.-liip, with Joseph : the association with one so careful and faithful enabled liim to do without personal know- ledge of his affairs. But this committal of his affairs to Joseph did not extend to any- thing concerning his food, for that would have been an abomination : see on ch. xliii. 32. So also Keil. The concluding words of this verse introduce what follows. 7.] We are told by both ancient and modern writers that female chastity ever has been at a low ebb in Egypt. Li the case of one particular mentioned in the note on ch. 1—20. GENESIS. ITJi tlaese things, that his master's wife east her eyes upon Joseph ; and she said, Lie with me. ^ But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behokl, my master wot- teth not what is with mo in the house, and he halli com- mitted all that he hath to my luind ; ^ f/wrc is none greater in this house than I ; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife : how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? ^^ And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph da}' by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. ^^ And it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into the house to do his business ; and t/icir iras none of the men of the house there within. ^^ And she caught him by his garment, saying, Ijie with me : and he left his garment in her hand, and flcfl, and got him out. ^^ And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 1^ that she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us ; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice : ^^ and it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. 1*' And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. ^^ And she spake unto him according to these words, sajdng, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me : ^^ and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. ^^ And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me ; that his wrath Avas kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the xxxvii. 36, being accurate, some explanation 20.] It has been suggested that Poti- may be sii'- liis own the process described does not imply the innocence, he says not an angry word ao-ainst use of fermented wine. But this can hardly any who had mistreated liim. 15.1 be, as we have representations of drunken He mentions the fact of his abduction from persons on the ancient Egyptian monuments : his father's house by tlie simple name of and the reason for the form of action must be stealing or abducting him, shewing the cau- obscure. Pos-ibiy it may have been merely tion of one who would not involve his asymbolismbulonging to the dream: the juice brethren in disgrace before a stranger: and squeezed into the cup signifying the wine he names the land of Canaan, the land of which ultimately should result from such the Hebrews, to identify himself with that squeezing. Compare Zeeh. iv. 12, where race, rather than with the Canaanites. the pouring of oil (in the vision) from the 19.] The explanation seems to be 176 GENESIS. XL. thereof: The three baskets are three days : ^^ Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree ; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. 20 ^ A.n(\. it came to pass the third day, irJtich ivas Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants : and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker amons: his servants. 2^ And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again ; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand : 22 jj^it he hanged the chief baker : as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him. XLI. ^ And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed : and, behold, he stood by the river. 2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed ; and »joi,vm. u, they fed in the ^ sedge. ^ And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and lean- fleshed ; and stood by the ofl/o' kine upon the brink of the river. "* And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. ^ And he slept and dreamed the second time : and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, that the chief baker ■was to beheaded, and shewing that the word as written was well his body huns: up in disgrnce : see Deut. understood by them. In ref. the LXX. xxi. 22, 23; Josh. x. 26 ; 2 Sam. iv. 12. render the word by Am^owms (rush). Jerome XL!.] Pharaoh's dreams, and Joseph's exphiins it to mean, " all the green plants interpretation of them. '\ I.] the river tliat grow in the marsh." In Isa. xix. 7, (stream), where the scene is in Egypt, or the where there is no such word in the Hebrew, river of Er^ypt (ch. xv. 18; see note there), the LXX. have, "the green ac/;j all round the are the usual appellations of the Nile in the river." 3, 4.] The second dream exactly 0. T. But the word for these two is not the corresponds. On the symbolism of both it same : the former (ha-yeor), the stream, is may be remarked, tliat the Nile is the con- used here and in Exodus, wluMcas in the difion of fertility in Egypt, and that the other expression it is Nahar Mizraiju, tlie bull (Osiris) was the symbol of the Nile. foi-mer being the ordinary word for "river." The cow, on the other hand, in the hiero- The word here used is said to be derived glyphical paintings, represents the earth, from an Egyptian root signifying a dyke or agriculture, and food. And Isis, — to whom channel, and never is applied as a proper the cow was especially sacred, and who is name to other than the Nile, except in Dan. represented horned, and also under the form xii. 5, IF., where it means the Tigris. 2.] of a cow,^is the goddess of the all-nourish- The word for sedge, or reed-grass, is ing earth, or of tlie land fructified by the achoo, also an Egyptian word. It is re- Nile. On the further signification, see note, markable that the LXX., making their ver- ver. 26. 5 — 8.] The second dream in- sion in Alexandria, preserve this word as it terprets its If. The seven ears on one stalk is; "they fed in the achi:" and so the is supposed to point to the triticitm cotnpo- Coptic translator, also an Egyptian, both sidmi, or Egyptian wheat, of which this is a 19— XLI. 16. GENESIS. 177 rank and good. ^ And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after thera. 7 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, ii ira.s a dream. 8 Ji^nd it canio to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the '^ maaicians of Eji-vpt, '"■•''•• yM"""- and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his oI'ik' dId"" dream ; but f/tcrc iras none that could interpret them unto ;'!i/,Uij.' Pharaoh. ^ ^| Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do renicniber my faults this day : ^^ Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker: 1^ and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he ; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. ^^ And tho'e teas there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard ; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams ; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. ^'"^ And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was ; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. ^^ ^\ Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon : and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. ^'^ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it : and I have heard say of thee, thai thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. ^^ And peculiarity. "The East wind, blowinj^ from the cliicf butler means partly his offence the sandy steppes and deserts.in the vicinity against his king, partly his forgetfulness of of the Red Sea, and from the Arabic peniu- his benefactor. 11.] See on ch. xl. 5. sula, olten withers the vegetation of Lower 14.] The fact of Joseph having shaved Egypt, and completely destroys the labour himself is in striking accord with the Egypt- and the hopes of tlie husbandman " Kalisch. ian custom, which was to let the beard and The word rendered magicians comes from a hair grow in mourning only — otherwise most root signifying to cut in, or engrave, or scrupulously shaving : whereas the llebrcws scratch (other conjectural derivations may cultivated the hair and beard and shaved in be seen in Kalisch's note). These persons token of mourning (see 2 Sam. x. 4, 5 ; Isa. were those elsewhere called the i//t'ro-(7r«wi- xv. 2 ; Jer. xvi. 6; xli. 5 ; Amos viii. 10). mateis, those whose duty it was to inscribe lie changed his raiment, from the ordinary the hieroglyphical inscriptions. Janncs habit of the prison to that of ordinary life and Jambres are cited by Eusebius as the or even of festal rejoicing. The fact of chiefs of the Hierogramniateis. The word his having it in his power to do so shews occurs only (see reff.) in this Egyptian por- that he was not treated as ordinary prisoners tion of the Pentateuch and in the Book of are : see ch. xxxix. 22, 23. 16-] It is Daniel, wiiich imitates tlie diction of the not in me, literally, «o< «7i^, and let him ap- point officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of. the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. '^■^ And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn '^ under the hand of I^haraoh, and let ""l.^'llf /Ill's, them keep food in the cities. ^G ^^^^ ^Ju^t food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egj^t ; that the land be not cast off through the famine. '^'' ^ And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 28 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this ?>, a man in whom the Spirit of God is ? 29 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, t/icre is none so discreet and wise as thou art : "^^ thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled : only in the throne will I be greater than thou, ^i And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. '^^ And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vest- ures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck ; 1 Kings xi. 9 ; Job xxxiii. 14; Ps. Ixii. 11. shall my people he ruled. Some of the 33, f.] Joseph gives this advice, as Ilebraists (o. g. Gescnius, Knobel) render it, emboUk'Ued by the position which his inter- " 07i thij mouth shall my people kiss," and prctation of I'haraoli's dream had given hiiu. interpret it of the kiss of homage. But most But it is done in all simplicity, with that of the others believe tlie meaning to be as in openness which characterized Joseph : com- the text, objecting that the kiss of homage pare his bearing to his temptress, ch. xxxix. was reserved for princes. 67.] The 9 ; to tlie chief baker, ch. xl. 18. 34. signet-ring (the Hebrew word for wliich is take up the fifth part] i. e. lay on a tax of derived from a root signifying to dip, because a fifth of the produce. 35. vmder the the ring is dipped in tlic sealing matter to handj i.e. subject to tlie control: see reff. make the impression) has always conveyed the 37 — 42.] The exaltation of Joseph, power of the wearer, and the royal signet Pharaoh and his court are at once struck carried with it the authority of the ring : with the appositencss of the interpretation, see Esther iii. 10 ; viii. 2. On the vestures and unhesitatingly adopt it as the true one. of fine linen we may remark that the pricst- The Spirit of God was sliewn to be in him, hood, the foremost caste of Egypt, wore both by tiie interpretation, and by the wis- only linen and cotton garments, and no dom of words with which he had followed it woollen. The golden chain is found adorn- up. 40.] There is some dithculty in ing the neck of persons of distinction in tiic the phrase rendered, according to thy word Egyptian wall-paintings. 43.] i. e. his 180 GENESIS. XLI. ^■^ and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he "^ft?reh"fe«V had; and they cried f before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt, ^4 ^^^ Pharaoh said unto JosejDh, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. ^'5 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath- paaneah [Saviour of the world, or Revealer of secrets] ; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti- erer.sn. ch. j^hcrah prlcst of ^On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. ^^ H And Joseph u-as thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Josejih went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. ^7 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. ^S And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities : the food of the held, which teas round about every city, laid he up in the same. ^^ And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering ; for it was without number. ^^ And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. ^^ And Joseph called the name of chariot was the noxt to the royal state cliariot is, one who belongs to Ra, or the stm. The in splendour. The word Abrech, rendered priestly caste was the royal caste also. The '■^ Bow the knee,'' is of entirely obscure origin, kings chosen out of the militaiy caste Avere It is not known whether it is Hebrew or adopted into the priestly caste, and taught Egyptian. Tlie marginal rendering in the the mysteries known to it alone. That this A. v., "tender father," is allowed to be a was the case with Joseph is evident from ch. mistake. On the whole the rendering of the xliv. 5. On was the popular name of Beth- A. V. is that most approved, though by no shemesli or Ileliopolis, these names meaning means certain. I have therefore placed the t?ie house or city of the Sun. The Egyptian literal rendering in the margin. 44.] sacred name was Ha-Ea, with the same sig- I am Pharaoh, i- e. king, which the name nification. Cyril of Alexandria, living in implies ; I have power to decree this. I'oyP*' ^^1^ ^'* signifies the sun also. It 45.] The name given to Joseph has been was on the E. side of the Pelusian branch of variously understood. Jerome interpreted the Nile, just below the point of the Delta, it in the Yulgate Snhator Mundi (Saviour and about 20 miles N.E. of Memphis. For of the world) ; and the LXX. write it Pson- all particulars about it, see Mr. Stuart thomphanech , which may perhaps be made Poole's art. in the Biblical Diet. 46.] in Coptic to mean this. It has been also Respecting the chronology of Joseph's life, rendered " the revealer of ?n;/steries," so see above on ch. xxxv. 29. 49.] The Onkelos, and the old Syriac. Kalisch pre- astonishing fertility of the Egj-ptian corn fers the former. It has been before remarked has been shewn by the results of sowing on ch. xxxvii. nit., that Poti-pherali is the grains found in ancient tombs and mummy- same name as Potiphar. The signification cases. 51.] Connected with the naming 43-XLII. 5. GENESIS. 181 the firstborn Manasscli [^rulviiig to forget] : For God, said he, Lath made mc forget all my toil, and all my father's house. ^" And the name of the second called ho Ephraim [Double fruitfulness] : For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of ray affliction. ^^ ^ ^^^ ^\q seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. ^^ And the seven years of dearth be- gan to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands ; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ^'^ And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread : and riiaraoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph ; wliat he s:iith to 3'ou, do. ^^ And the famine was over all the face of the earth : and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians ; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. ^"^ And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy, because that the famine was sore in all lands. XLII. ^ Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons. Why do je look one upon another ? ^ And he said. Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egj'pt : get you down thither, and buy for us from thence ; that we may live, and not die. 3 ^ And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn \\\ Egypt. ^ But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren ; for he said. Lest peradventure mischief befall him. ^ And the sons of Israel came to buy com among those that came : for the famine was in of Joseph's first son is the question first logists say, shown by the expression the land raised in the fifth century by Tlieodoret, of my affliction below. It was this, in how it came to pass that in all this tiuie virtue of iiis slavery and imprisonment, not during which Joseph was in highest power of his exile, from home. Ilis subsequent in Egypt, he had never comnninieated with affectionate treatment of his fiither and his his latlier. Surely it is no sufficient answer brethren only increases the difficulty of his to this to say, with Keil, that the over- long silence. 53—67.] The famine. whelming sense of God's wondrous purposes 56.] The storehouses are literally, all for him in Egypt so occupied his mind, as to in which [there Iras'] in iheiu, viz. corn, preclude the thouglit of such communication. XLII. — XI.,V.] Joseph diid his brethren. The problem must be left unsolved ; and is, 1.] look one upon another, in want we cannot help feeling, further complicated of counsel, and dispair. 4.] Uenjamin by the apparent prominence into which his was emphatically the son of Jacob's old age. forgctfulnt'ss of his father's house is thrust But at this time he was a grown-up man, by the naming of this his first-born son. and at the migration into Egypt had ten That he retained aff'ectionatc remembrance sons : see ch. xlvi. 21. 5.] among those of his father's house is not, as some apo- that came is graphically expressed iu the 182 GENESIS. XLII. viii. 8; X. 5. (Ezek. iv. 20 ; vii. 24.) Dan. ii. 10, 15; iv. 17, 25, 20, 32 ; T. 21,29, onlv. g little one : see ch. ix, h ch. v._24. the land of Canaan. ^ And Joseph was the *' govern or over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land : and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down them- selves before him u-ifh their faces to the earth. 7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them ; and he said unto them, Whence come ye ? iVnd they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. ^ And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. ^ And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them. Ye are spies ; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. ^^ And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. ^^ We are all one man's sons ; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. ^^ And he said unto them. Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. ^^ And they said. Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan ; and, behold, the ^ youngest is this day with our father, and one ^is not. ^^ And Joseph said unto them. That is ii that I spake unto you, saying. Ye ore spies : ^^ hereby ye shall be proved : By Hebrew, in the midst of those that came : the crowd approached and were scrutinized by Joseph, and in the midst of them were his brethren. 6.] The word rendered governor, Shalit, is, except here, said to be only found in the books contemporary with and following the captivity. Salatis is given by Josephusas the title of the first .shepherd- king. The root is found in the title Sultan. Joseph's dreams (compare ver. 9) were not literally fulfilled, liis father being absent ; nor, as observed on ch. xxxvii. 10, could they ever be, seeing that his mother was dead. But in spirit they were. Joseph recognized his brothers, they having been already grown-up men M-hen he was sold, and retaining now tlieir former costume ; they did not recognize him, who had grown from boyhood to manliood, and besides was in a habit and with adornment strange to their eyes, and spoke a tongue not under- stood by them. It might well be suspected that tliey were spies, especially if the time usually assumed for their visit, that of the dynasty of the shepherd-kings, be correct. For tliis dynasty, we are told by IManetho, was ever in fear of invasion from the then powerful Assyrians ; and Joseph us says that on that account they fortified the Eastern side of Egypt. Hence men arriving from Asia, and especially Jacob's sons, who from their Chaldaic origin were more like the Eastern Semitic peoples than Canaanites, might well arouse suspicion as to their being Assyrian spies. The nakedness of the land may well refer to its being easily accessible, having fewer strong places than other coun- tries. 11.] The force of this answer lies in the im[n'obability that one man would expose so large a number of his family to the perilous life of spies, who found no (iiiarter when detected. true, literally upright, men, not bearing a double character. 14.] i. e. what I said is still not disproved, but awaits disproof as follows, to be gathered from your own account of yourselves. 15.] .loseph swears by the life of Pharaoh. See similar instances among the Ilibrcws themselves, 1 Sam. xvii. 55; 2 Sam. xi. 11, both, however, in addresses to the king. A 6—23. GENESIS. 183 the life of Pharaoli j^c sliall not go forth lience, except your 3'oungcst brother come hither. ^^ Send one of 3'ou, and let hiiu fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether ihcrc he any truth in you : or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. ^^ And he put them all together into ward three days. ^^ And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live ; for I fear God : ^^ if ye he true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison : go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses : -0 but bring your youngest brother unto me ; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. 21 ^1 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear ; there- fore is this distress come upon us. ^2 ^nd Reuben an- swered them, saying. Spake I not unto you, saying. Do not sin against the child ; and ye would not hear ? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. 23 Xji([ ^j^gy J^i^ew not similar form occurs in the address of Abigail to David, 1 Sam. xxv. 26, so tliat it was not confined to royalty. Knobul suggests that Joseph may have feared that they had treated Benjiimiu as they had treated hiinstlf, and took this way of easing liis anxiety. 16, 17.] Ills iirst proposal is a severe one, and tended to bring them to tliat sense of their guilt whieh they afterwards expressed. 18 — 20.] This second proposal is more nKMcifiil. It is introduced by the assertion I fear God, inlplyin^■ that he did not wish to press matters with har.-h severity against tliem, nor to as ume tlieir obnoxious cha- racter as proved, before they had the oppor- tunity of answering his challenge to disprove it. Tliis do and live, i. e. by doing this, take the only way of escape fnmi the death which awaits you as spies. Luther well re- marks, that these hard-hearted men were to be broken and rendered penitent. 'J heir lie, "one is not," had shewn tlieni to be hard- ened in and carelos about tlieir great sin. This moved Joseph to try their hearts more thoroughly. The trial was certainly un- pleasant enough, and yet proceeded from an intcntiim perfVctly void of anger, towards tlieni. " i," adds Luther characteristically, " should have handled them more roughly." By the words, " and Ihey did so," the fol- lowing narrative is anticipated, as Joseph proposed, so it took place. 21, if.] The frame of mind which it was Joseph's object to produce was produced. To this many things must have contributed ; among them, doubtless, the contrast between their treat- ment of their brother and that which they were now receiving. They had consigned him, innocent, to death by starvation, while they, though presumed to be guilty as spies, were to receive bread for the hunger of their households, and to have a chance of final escape. There is no need, in interpreting this verse, to suppose, as Kiiobel does, any dis- crepancy of varying accounts. The whole hangs together perfectly well. Selling a lad into slavery was surely a crime Avhich an awakened guilty conscience might well re- present to it>elf as equivalent to his murder. 22.] It is remarkable that this charge is laid upon them by Ileuhen, who at the time (eh. xxxvii. 22) was the one who coun- selled them to " shed no blood." The mask is dropped from his self-deceit, and be sees that that cruelty which be advised was in reality nothing short of that which they had 184 GENESIS. XLII. tliat Joseph understood them ; for tlie interpreter was be- tween them. 24 ^jj(j \^Q turned himself about from them, and wept ; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their ejes. 25 ^ Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way : and thus did he unto them. 26 \^y^ ^j^gy laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. 27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender at the halt- ing place, he espied his money ; for, behold, it icas in his sack's mouth. 28 And he said unto his brethren. My money is restored; and, lo, if is in my sack: and their heart failed t/icw, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this f//af God hath done unto us ? 29 ^ And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them ; saying, ^o The man, n-Jto is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 And we said imto him, AYe are true ?nen ; we are no spies : ^2 -^e be twelve brethren, sons of our father ; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. ^3 And the man, the lord of the country', said unto us. Hereby shall I know intended. But more is done by this speech have been among the most active in the sin of Reuben's: see on ver. 24. 33.] against Joseph. 25, if.] They appear to Joseph had completely put on the Egyptian, liave had, besides their vessel or sacks of corn According to the usual views of the time at for the famine of their households, each a sack which this happened, the kings of Egypt for piuvender for their assLS by the way. It were of Semitic origin, but doubtless all was at the mouth of this sack that Joseph public matters were transacted in the Egypt- had the money placed. And when they ian language. the interpreter] i. c. the came to rest for the night (it is deceptive to official court interpreter. 24.] This think of the place as answering in any sense first softening of Joseph's is not enough, nor of the word to our iiin) one of tlum opened does it turn him from his fixed purpose of his sack to give provender to his ass (and to bringing Benjamin to Egypt. He takes those of the rest, for this is implied liy ver. Simeon, the second in age, because Reuben 3o), and found the money. 28.] their the eldest, besides being the natural leader heart failed them, literally, went out : they of them all in their journey and return, had had no courage left. They were evidently shewn himself at Shechem, and again by his on their return to be charged with being words here, the best aff"ected towards Joseph, thieves as well as spies, and they regard this Whetlier, as Knobel conjectures, there was as another item in God's retribution for their any special reason, besides his being second sin. 29, ff".] The generally unfavour- in age, which made liini take Simeon, we able character of their report is borne out cannot say. Certainly his subsequent eha- by the discovery of Iheir money in every ractei-ization by his father (eh. xlis. 5) is sack. It now appears certain that they are not against the assumption that he might to be hardly dealt with on their return. 24— XLIII. 5. GENESIS. 1.S5 that yc ai'e true men; leave one of your brethren Iicrc with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and bo gone : ^^ and bring your youngest brother unto mc : then shall I know that yc arc no spies, but f/iat yc are true vicn : so will I deliver you your brother, and yc shall traffiek in the land, ^o ^ j^^^^ [^ came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of mone}-^ nris in his sack : and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. ■^^ And Jacob their father said unto them. Me have ye bereaved of my children : Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin aica// : on me come all these things. 37 And Eeuben spake unto his father, saying. Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee : deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. ^^ And he said. My son shall not go down with you ; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone : if mischief befall him by the way in the whicli ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs Avith sorrow to the grave. XLIII. i And the famine was sore in the land. 2 j>^i^([ {^^ came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them. Go again, buy us a little food. 3 ji^ii^ Judah spake unto him, saying. The man did solemnl}^ protest unto us, saying. Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. ^ If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food : 5 but if thou wilt not send /iiin, w'e will not go down : for the man said unto us. Ye shall not see my face, 36.] Jacob's argument of complaint second time, taking icith them Benjamin. is, that on him all this comes : it is to them 2 ] Jacob seems to have forgotten the matter of negotiation, but to him of loss and condition of their again going down to Egypt, sorrow, for it is /(js children who are being 3 — 10.] J udali did not state the mat- wasted away by it. 37, f.] To this Reu- tcr accurately, if the account in ch. xli. be ben, tiio (irsthorn and responsible, answers exact; for Joseph, according to that account, that not on his father's children alone shall had not cnqnind as he here states : it was the stroke descend — he will venture his own true that eiicumstiinccs had forced it out of as pledges for the safety of Benjamin. It them, but that did not amount to what he must he owned to be somewhat of a strange here says. But it would appear, from ch. way of ensuring the safety of a son, to add xliv. 19, that this, and not that, was what two grandsons to tiie loss if such should really happened. Sec note there. It has happen. 38.] But the aged father will been suggested that Judah intervened be- not be persuadtd: his heart is wrapped up cause Reuben liad already tried his utmost in his youngest son. in vain, and Levi, who was next eldest, was XLIII.] Joseph's brethren visit E K'. smnnu. G J G J J hru I'll. xvii. the man, that he may send away with you your other '*''''*''•"• brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I Jam bereaved. ^^ % And the men took that present, J';','-4'^'"^,h and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; '^ixri!)'^"' and rose up, and Avent down to Egj'pt, and stood before Joseph. 1^' And when Joseph saw Benjamin Avith them, he said to him that was over his house. Bring tJie men into the house, and shiy, and make ready ; for tJicsc men shall dine with me at noon. ^'' And the num did as Joseph bade ; and the man bi'ought the men into Joseph's house. ^"^ And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Josej^h's house ; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in ; that he may cast himself upon us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. 19 And they came near to him that was over Josejjh's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, -0 and said, ^ sir, w^e came indeed down at ^ ^-h- """• le- ■^ ' ' r.xod. IV 10, the first time to buy food : -^ and it came to pass, when "' we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, eccnj man's money ivas in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight : and we have brought it again in that tliey were to take three payments, We know abundantly from Ilerodotus and — double money besides that which was in other authorities that it was only from tlieir sacks — but that they were to take certain animals tiiat the royal and priestly mimey of a second, i. e. the same, amount, castes abstained, and only certain among And so they describe what they had done, them that abstaimd altogellier: and the thi)u;;h not witli the same Hebrew woid, eating of biids was general. 18.] ver. 22. 14] El Shaddai, see as in They think that they are treated in this marg. mercy, literally, bowels; see on exceptional way fur tiie purpose of judgment ver. 30. There is a characteristic ditl'cruncc in upon them for tluir tlal't. casthim- the mode of nii ntionin^' the two, your other self is literally, roll himself: see Jub .\xx. brother, and Benjamin. 15.] double ^'i- 20.] sir appear^ to be literally, money is right lure : the Hebrew words are Pray, sir, — "'Me prat/ tliee, sir," LXX. in ilitfirent order. 16.] As before (ch. The same phrase is lound in reff. 21.J xlii. 7), it seems that all who came to buy The diveruence heie from the more exact passed before Jo.seph, so that he distin- account given in ch. xlii. 27, 35 is no more giii.-hcd his brethren among the crowd, and than was natural under the circum?tances. Benjamin with them. The objection which In rebiting to a stranger, especially one of has been here again found, that the higher wliuni we are in awe, we are apt to suppress castes of the Egyptians ate no animal food, details, even at the expense of some trifling only shews the ignorance of the objectors, inaccuiacy. Truth in such cases is not the 188 GENESIS. XLIII. m 1 Kin^s iii. 26. 11. Is . xlv 6; ver. 14. Zech. vii. 9, al. See Phil. ii. 1 ; Philem. 7, 12. our hand. ^2 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food : we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. ^3 And he said, Peace he to you, fear not : your God, and tlie God of your father, hath given jou treasure in your sacks : I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. 24 Aud the man brought the men into Josej)h's house, and gave iliem water, and they washed their feet ; and he gave their asses provender. 25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon : for they heard that they should eat bread there. 26 ^ And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present ^ which icas in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. 27 And he asked them of tJieir welfare, and said. Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? /v he yet alive ? 28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. 29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Ben- jamin, his mother's son, and said. Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me ? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. "^^ And Joseph made haste ; for his ™ heart yearned upon his brother : and he sought ivheve to weep ; and he entered into his chamber, coincidence of details, but the identity of re- sult. 23.] The steward is in his mas- ter's secret, and acts under confidential orders. Peace be to you is here not the mere formula of greeting, but a mode of reassuring: compare tlie same use in Judg. vi. 23. There is nothing in the steward's following words to imply that he, or any of Joseph's household, liad renounced idolatry. The meaning intended to be conveyed by them to those whom they addressed was, that their family tutelar God had cared for them in this manner. We know, and they knew who this God was: but all we can fairly infer from the steward's words is that the frequent mention of such a family God by his master had impressed him, and sug- gested the words in the deception which, after all, he was playing on his hearers. Literally, your money came to me. 25.] Their feelings must have wonderfully altered since they were brought to the house, ver. 18. 27.] Joseph's question is literally. Is there peace to your father . . ? and their answer. There is peace to thy servant our father. The same expr< ssion with the same meaning occurs in Joab's treacherous words to Amasa, 2 Sam. x.\. 9. 29.] There is notliing in the address my son tending in any way to disturb the c'.ironology of Jacob's family. Joseph's position, as well as his superior age, if, even of a few years, would justify the expi'ession. Of course it must be confessed tliat tiiere is throughout something to us in the estimate of Benjamin and the words used respecting him, inconsistent with the idea tliat he was at tliis time father of 10 sons (eh. xl\i. 21, where see notes). In ver. 8 and ch. xliv. 30 — 34, he is '^ the lad," "a little c/ii/d," in ch. xliv. 20. But this is not affcctid by the jjassagc now before us. 30.] his heart, literally, his belly, yearned, liter- ally, waxed hot. The expression is a xi. 13. 22-XLIY. 5. GENESIS. 189 and wept tlicrc. ^^ And he washed liis face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. 32 x^^d they set on for him by himself, and for them by them- selves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves : because the Egyptians might not eat broad with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. ^"^ And they sat before him, the firstborn ac- cording to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth : and the men marvelled one at another, ^i And he took aud soit messes unto them from before him : but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and "were merry with him. XLIV. " s";,!."}. u'. 1 And he commanded him that was over his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks tcith food, as much as the}' can cari-y, liuK-'i^'G; li! and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. ~ And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. ^ As soon as the morn- ing was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. ^ And when they were gone out of the cit}', and not 7/ei far off, Joseph said unto him that was over his house, Up, follow after the men ; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye re- warded evil for good ? ^ Is not this it in which my lord familiar one in the 0. and X. T. : see rcff. It is frequently mentioned in the Ilomeric 31.] After washing away the traces of poems, wliere the hirgest and best pieces arc his emotion, he orders the table to be reserved for eminent guests, or double por- sprcad. 32.] Historians describe to us tions, as at the Spartan common meals for tlie extreme exclusivcness of the Egyptians, the kings, as related by Herodotus. The Tliey kept all the castes separate at meals : number five seems to have been in especial Joseph liimself, as chief minister of state, or regard in Egypt : see ch. xli. 34; xlv. 22; perhaps as belonging by marriage to the xlvii. 2, 2-1 ; Isa. xix. 18. The reason is priestly caste, eats by himself, the members stated to have been, that the Egyptians of his suite and court by themselves, and the recognized only five planets. The older Hebrews separate again. Herodotus tells versions translate the word which we ren- us that an Egyptian never kissed a Greek, der were merry more ciY.nsAy—viebriali nor would use a knife or other implement sunt, as the ^'ulgate. And tlicre is hardly belonging to a Greek, nor would eat even any escaping this, seeing that it is tlie identi- lawful flesh if cut by a Greek. See on ch. cal word used of Xoah in Gen. ix. 21 and in xxxix. 6. 33.] Doubtless this was done many other places (reff.), where it is impos- to produce in them the impression tliat sible to suppose any more favourable inter- Joseph was possessed of supernatural in- pretation admissible. sight: compare ch. xliv. 5, 15. 34.] XLIV. Joseph's further (Jevice io detain This was the practice in the East, by way his brother. Judah's deprecniion. 6.] of honouring guests : see 1 Sam. ix. 23, f. " The ancient Egyptians, and still more the 190 GENESIS. XLIY. drinketli, and whereby indeed lie divinetli ? ye tave done evil in so doing. ^ ^ And he oyertook tliem, and lie spake unto them these same words. ^ And they said unto och.xvm.25; liim, Whoreforo saith my lord these words? °Be it far from thy servants to do according to this saying : ^ be- hold, the mono}", which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan : how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold ? ^ With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. 1^ And he said, Now also let it he according unto your words : he with whom it is found shall be my servant ; and ye shall be blameless. ^^ Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. ^^ And he searched, and began at the eldest, and ended at the youngest : and the cu]3 was found in Benjamin's sack. ^^ Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. 1'* ^ And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house ; for he u'as yet there : and they fell before him on the ground. ^^ And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done ? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine ? i*^ And Judah said, What shall we Persians, practised a mode of divination from the Solomon among the ancient Persian goblets. Small pieces of gold and silver, to- kings, the founder of Perscpolis ; and Alex- gether with precious stones, marked with ander the Great, so eager to imitate Eastern strange figures and signs, were thrown into manners, is said to have adopted the sacred the vessel, after which certain incantations goblets also." Kalisch. The LXX. render were pronounced, and the evil demon was the Hebrew word Gevia by Kondu, which invoked ; the latter was then supposed to seems to have been the Egyptian name ; the give the answer, either by intelligible words, Hindoo priests still call their sacred vessels or by pointing to some of the characters on Kundi. The word rendered divinetb the precious stones, or in some other more [nichesh) means to hiss like a serpent mysterious manner. Sometimes the goblet (tiachas/i), and hence to murmur incanta- was filled with pure water, upon which the tions. There is no proof that Joseph himself sun was allowed to play, and the figures really practised this divination : the whole thus formed, or which a lively imagination intent is to inspire terror into his brethren, fancied it saw, were interpreted as the desired and impress them with his supernatural omen: a method of taking auguries still character. 12, 13.] Now took place employed in Egypt and Nubia. The goblets the true proof of them. Would they give were usually of a spherical form ; and from up Benjamin, their father's darling, as they this reason, as well as because they were be- had before got rid of Joseph .' or would lieved to teach man all natural and many they faithfully defend him that had been supernaturalthiugs, they were called 'celestial entrusted to them ? In ver. 17 Joseph tests globes.' Most celebrated was the magnifi- them by proposing to separate Benjamin cent vase of turquoise of the wise Jemsheed, from them. Juduh answers for the rest, G— 27. GENESIS. 191 sa}' unto my lord? what shall wo speak? or how shall wc clear ourselves? God fhatli found out the iniquity of +"*-eioiiim. thy servants : behold, we arc my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. ^" And he said, Be it far from me to do so : hut the man in whose hand the cujD is found, he shall be ray servant ; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. ^^ ^ Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy serv- ant, I pray thee, speak a word ^in my lord's ears, and let Psam ivm not thine auger burn against thy servant : for thou art evcu "'"'' as Pharaoh. ^^ M3' lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother ? ^^ And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one ; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father lovcth him. -^ And thou saidst unto thy servants. Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. 22 ^^j^ ^g ^.^[^ ^^^^^ j^y. lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, hk father would die, 23 ^^^ thou saidst imto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24 ^^^ \^ came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord, ^o }^-^^ qu^, father said. Go again, and buy us a little food. ^6 And we said, "We cannot go down : if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down : for we may not see the man's face, ex- cept our youngest brother he with us. -'' And thy servant my father said unto us. Ye know that my wife bare me as having in the previous pleading with his be in prayer." in my lord's ears i. e. father (xliii. 8, if.) guaranteed the safety pressin;;ly and intimatily : see rell'. of Benjamin : see note there. And this is 19.] This is the same statement as we have why prominence is given to him in ver. 14. had from the brethren to tlicir father ch. The moment Benjamin was in peril Judah, xliii. 7, and it hence appears that it was as the responsible party, comes to the front, the exact state of the case, or Judah would Josepli was still in his house, waiting, doubt- not have ventured to appeal to Joseph's re- less, the issue of the device. 18, fF.] collection of it. 20.] On the words a Kalisch justly calls this pleading speech of little one, see note, eh. xliii. 29. his Judah's " one of the masterpieces of Hebrew brother is dead] .See uw. ch. xlii. 22. composition." Its beauty mainly consists in 22.] Literally, he will leave his father, the simple and pathetic statement of facts, and he ■will die. 27—29.] 'J'he savings Luther says, 'I would that I could pray so of Jacob on several occasions, and indeed well to our Lord God, as Judah prays here that which he may be supposed to have said, to Joseph, for it is a perfect example of are put together. my wife] Hardly prayer and of the earnestness which should because he counted Eachcl his only true wife, 192 GENESIS. XLIY. two sona : ^8 and the one went out from me, and I said, Surely lie is torn in pieces ; and I saw liim not since : 29 and if ye take tliis also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. ^^ Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us ; seeing that his qisam. xTiu. Q soul Is bouud vip iu the lad's soul; ^^ it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not u-ifh vs, that he will die : and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. ^2 Pqj. thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, say- ing, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever, 33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord ; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 3* For how shall I go up to ni}^ father, and the lad be not with me ? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father. XLY. ^ Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him ; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. ^ ^Ynd he Avept aloud : and the Egyj)tians and the house of Pharaoh heard. ^ ji^^^^ Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph ; doth my father yet live ? And his brethren could not answer him ; for they were troubled at his pi'esence. * And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. nor would such a thought surely have been own suite outside and that of Pharaoh heard uttered by a son of Leah's. It is, however, him (not, heard of it) : this conclusion of the remarkable, that in tlie enumeration in ch. verse is manifestly connected with the fact of xlvi. Rachel is emphatically called "Jacob's his weeping aloud. "We must therefore in- icife," ■which title is not given to Leah. fcr that Joseph's official residence was in, or 32.] As in ch. xliii. 9, the concluding words close by, the royal palace. In ver. 16 we are literally, " / sJiall have sinned to mxj are told that the news of that which had father all the days." happened were told in Pharaoh's house; but XLY. The recognition. Joseph sends for that was a distinct matter. 3.] The his father. 1.] The pleading of Judah question which their former intelligence had has conquered, not the determination of again and again solved is again asked by Joseph, which had no real existence, but his Joseph. But this is an exqiiisite stroke of power of repressing his feelings. But he truth. He now has entered into a different will not have the Egyptians know the de- relation with them. The " old man, your tails of his brethren's crime and his own father," is now become "my father." Be- secret history. 2.] Literally, he uttered fore, it was a question of courtesy ; but now, his voice in weeping. As he did so, his of love. 4.] He calls them nearer, and 28— XLY. 14. GENESIS. 103 And he said, I am Joscpli your brother, whom ye sohl into Egypt. ^ Now thcrelbrc be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither : for God did send me before jom to preserve life. ^ For these two years hath the famine been in the hmd : and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither he ploughing nor harvest. "^ And God sent me before you to preserve you a 'remnant in the earth, and to save your lives by a great ' j,?,' ^iiv' ? ^' deliverance. ^ So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God : and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Eg^-pt. ^ Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt : come down unto me, tarry not : ^^ an(j thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and th}' herds, and all that thou hast : 1^ and there will I nourish thee ; for yet there are five 3'ears of famine ; lest thou, and thj^ household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. ^2 And, behold, j'our eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto j^ou. i^ ^^^ j yg shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen ; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. ^"^ And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, gives tlicra more detailed proof, at tlie same 5). The LXX. render the word here and in time fathoming by bis simple words the very cb. xlvi. 34 by " Geseni of Arabia : " and depth of that guilt with which their con- we know from Herodotus and Strabo that science was charging them, and endeavouring the ancients reckoned the Eastern cities of to remove it. 5.] As Luther remarks, Egypt, Heliopolis and Ileroopolis, as in " You sold me, but God bought me for His Arabia. So that it was to the N.E. of good purposes." 8.] So in 1 Mace. Egypt, where even now is the most fertile xi. 32, King Demetrius writes to his father part (see ch. xlvii. 6, 11) and in the neigh- Lasthenes. 2 Chron. ii. 12; iv. 16. 10. bourhood of the capital, where Joseph dwelt. the land of Goshen] Otherwise called (ch. 11.] come to poverty is literally, be- slvii. 11) " the land of Raa7nses." Knobel come a possession, i. o. be sold into slavery, says that the Elohist alone knows it by this This was really the case witli the Egyptians latter name. It was to the East of the Nile themselves as the result of the famine : see as lying nearest to the immigrants from ch. xlvii. 19, fF. 12.] Ue challenges Canaan; and neither at this time, nor in the any possible thought that niiglit doubt his history of the Exodus, do we hear of any identity, appealing to all, and to that one crossing of the river. But it must have ex- who knew him best. I'robably, in this his tended to the Nile, witness the hiding of the speecli to them, he had rcsimicd a peculiar infant j\Ioses, ancj the regrets for the fish and familiar way of speech by whieii he which they used to cat in Egypt (Num. xi might be infallibly known to be their brother. xxxviii. 21. Job xxxix. 27. Eccl. liii. 2, 194 GENESIS. XLY. and wept ; and Benjamin wept upon his neck, l^ More- over he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them : and after that his brethren talked with him. i^ ^ And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come : and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. ^^ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye ; lade your beasts, and go,- get you Tinto the land of Canaan ; ^^ and take your father and your households, and come unto me ; and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and je shall eat the fat of the land. ^^ Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you carriages out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 And let not your eyes spare your furniture ; for the good of all the land of Egypt is your's. ^i And the chil- dren of Israel did so : and Joseph gave them carriages, Exod. ^ according to the ® commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 22 "Po all of them he gave each man changes of raiment ; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. 23 And to his father he sent after this manner ; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. 24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that je fall not out by the 15.] Only after lie had thus embraced firm his friendly feeling to them, dismisses them and wept over them, have they courage them with costly presents— giving, as before, to talk with him. 16 — 20.'\ Pharaoh'' s five times as much to Benjamin as to the invitation to them to come to Egypt. The others, besides a rich present in silver, promise of the good of the land, the fat of Garments were and are the usual present in the land, does not here seem to refer to their the East : see Judges xiv. 12 ; 2 Kings v. 5, being located in Goshen, but to bountiful 22, f. 24.] He was afraid that they and rich supply of their present wants : see might begin to discuss and allot the blame ver. 23, and ch. xxiv. 10. The king orders belonging to each for selling him into Egypt. Joseph to send carriages for their transport, This, to quarrel, or fall out, is the sense of and we know that Egypt was from of old the same Hebrew word in Prov. xxix. 9 ; rich in carriages and horses : see ch. xli. 43; Isa. xxviii. 21. On the other hand, Kalisch, xlvi. 29 ; 1. 9 ; Exod. xiv. 6, fF. ; xv. 1, 4, Gesenius, and others maintain the sense 19 ; also 1 Kings x. 28, f. ; Isa. xxxi. 1 ; '■'Be not afraid ; " meaning, of any after xxxvi. 9. 20.] Make no trouble at plot of mine to terrify or bring you back as leaving behind your possessions in Canaan, before. So the Hebrew word in Exod. xv. household furniture, and the like. The word 14; Deut. ii. 25 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 15, al. But is literally your utensils, articles of house- surely the former sense is the better ; and hold use. 21.] commandment, literally, Knobel brings a grammatical objection mouth : see reff. 22.] Joseph, to con- against the other. 25—23.] They 15— XLYI. 8. GENESIS. 195 way. -'^ If And they went up out of Egj'pt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, ^g and told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. 27 _/^nd they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them : and when he saw the carriages which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived : 28 and Israel said. Is is * enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive : I will go and * N^m.xw'a. see him before I die. XLYI. ^ And Israel took his xxiv.i6™i Kings XiX. 4. journey with all that he had^ and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And ho said, Here a))i I. ^ And he said, I con God, the God of th}^ father : fear not to go down into Egypt ; for I will there make of thee a great nation : ^ I will go down with thee into Egypt ; and I will also surely bring thee up a