OR,
THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES.
WITH A COMMENTARY.
BY
RT. REV. E. HAROLD BROWNE, LORD BISHOP OF ELY,
AUTHOR OF "EXPOSITION OF THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES, SERMONS ON THE
ATONEMENT," "THE PENTATEUCH, IN REPLY TO COLENSO," ETC.
(This forms a part of the volume of the "SPEAKERS' COMMENTARY" On the
Pentateuch.)
SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG & CO.,
654 BROADWAY.
I873.
PUBLISHERS' NOTICE.
TI'HE general adoption by the Sunday Schools of the International Uniform Series of Lessons has created a demand
for a concise and intelligible Commentary upon Genesis, which
should present, in an authoritative and popular form, the results
of the most recent research. This want is fully met in Dr. E.
HAROLD BROWNE'S exposition of this book, as given in the
volume of the " Speaker's " Commentary, devoted to the Pentateuch. In order to bring it within the reach of every teacher
and scholar, it is herewith presented in a separate form, and at
a price ($I.50), which cannot fail to secure for it a very wide
circulation.
Dr. E. HAROLD BROWNE, the Lord Bishop of Ely, is widely
known to the American public from his Expyosilioiz of the
Thirlty-Niine Articles, while his very able work on the Pentateuch, in reply to Colenso, exhibits his special fitness for the
undertaking, which he has so ably accomplished in this volume.
His Commentary on Genesis, while bearing evidence of the
ripest and most devout scholarship, is nowhere overburdened
with a useless parade of learning. It is compact, but exhaustive,
and throughout intelligible to every Bible student. For general
use in connection with that portion of the Holy Scriptures now
under study in our Sunday Schools it must prove very generally
acceptable.
In this connection, tne attention of teachers is urgently
invited to the volume of LANGE'S COMMENTARY Ofn Ge iesis,
translated and edited by Dr. Tayler Lewis and Dr. Gosman,
under the general supervision of Dr. Schaff. The additions
to this volume by Dr. Tayler Lewis, in particular, have attracted
the widest notice in England as well as in this country, and have
everywhere been justly regarded as among the most important
of recent contributions to sacred literature. These two volumes give the student the best and ripest results of modern
biblical scholarship. Lange's Genesis is' a volume of nearly 700
pages, royal 8vo, and is sold at $5 in cloth.
PREFACE.
T is about seven years since the Speaker of the House of
Commons, the Right Hon. J. Evelyn Denison, conceived
the idea of the present Commentary, and suggested its execution.
It appeared to him that in the midst of much controversy
about the Bible, in which the laity could not help feeling a
lively interest, even where they took no more active part,
there was a want of some Commentary upon the Sacred Books,
in which the latest information might be made accessible to
men of ordinary culture. It seemed desirable that every educated
man should have access to some work which might enable him
to understand what the original Scriptures really say and
mean, and in which he might find an explanation of any difficulties which his own mind might suggest, as well as of any
new objections raised against a particular book or passage.
Whilst the Word of God is one, and does not change, it
must touch, at new points, the changing phases of physical,
philological, and historical knowledge, and so the Comments
that suit one generation are felt by another to be obsolete.
The Speaker, after mentioning this project to several prelates and theologians, consulted the Archbishop of York upon
it. Although the difficulties of such an undertaking were very
great, it seemed right to the Archbishop to make the attempt
to meet a want which all confessed to exist; and accordingly
he undertook to form a company of divines, who, by a judicious
distribution of the labour amongst them, might expound, each
the portion of Scripture for which his studies might best have
fitted him.
The difficulties were indeed many. First came that of
PREFACE.
treating a great and almost boundless subject upon a limited
scale. Let any one examine the most complete Commentaries
now in existence, and he will find that twenty or thirty ordinary
volumes are not thought too many for the exhaustive treatment
of the Scripture text. But every volume added makes a work
less accessible to those for whom it is intended; and it was
thought that eight or ten volumes ought to suffice for text and
notes, if this Commentary was to be used by laymen as well
as by professed divines. Omission and compression are at all
times difficult; notes should be in proportion to the reader's
needs, whereas they are more likely to represent the writer's
predilections. The most important points should be most prominent; but the writer is tempted to lay most stress on what
has cost him most labour.
Another difficulty lay in the necessity of treating subjects
that require a good deal of research, historical and philological,
but which could not be expected to interest those who have
had no special preparation for such studies. In order to meet
this, it was resolved that subjects involving deep learning and
fuller illustration should be remitted to separate essays at the
end of each Chapter, Book or division; where they can be
found by those who desired them.
The general plan has been this. A Committee was formed
to select the Editor and the Writers of the various sections.
The Rev. F. C. Cook, Canon of Exeter, and Preacher of
Lincoln's Inn, was chosen Editor. The work has been divided
into Eight Sections, of which the present volume contains the
Pentateuch. Each book has been assigned to some writer who
has paid attention to the subject of it. The Editor thought it
desirable to have a small Committee of reference, in cases of
dispute; and the Archbishop of York with the Regius Professors of Divinity of Oxford and Cambridge agreed to act in
this capacity. But in practice it has rarely been found necessary
to resort to them.
The Committee were called upon, in the first place, to
consider the important question, which has since received a
PREFACE.
much fuller discussion, whether any alterations should be made
in the authorized English Version. It was decided to reprint that
Version, without alteration, from the edition of I6 I, with the
marginal references and renderings; but to supply in the notes
amended translations' of all passages proved to be incorrect. It
was thought that in this way might be reconciled the claims of
accuracy and truth with that devout reverence, which has made
the present text of the English Bible so dear to all Christians
that speak the English tongue. When the Prayer Book was
revised, the earlier Psalter of Coverdale and Cranmer was left
standing there, because those who had become accustomed to
its use would not willingly attune their devotions to another,
even though a more careful, Version: the older Psalter still
holds its place, and none seem to desire its removal. Since
then, knowledge of the Bible has been much diffused, and
there seems little doubt that the same affection, which in the
middle of the seventeenth century clung to the Psalter and
preserved it, has extended itself by this time to the Authorized
Version of 161 i. Be that as it may, those who undertook
the present work desired that the layman should be able to
understand better the Bible which he uses in Church and
at home; and for this purpose that Bible itself gives the best
foundation, altered only where alteration is required to cure
an error, or to make the text better understood.
This volume is sent forth in no spirit of confidence, but
with a deep sense of its imperfections. Those who wish to
condemn will readily extract matter on which to work. But those
who receive it willing to find aid in it, and ready to admit
that it is no easy matter to expound, completely, fully and
popularly, that Book which has been the battle-field of all sects
and parties, which has been interpreted by all the ages, each
according to its measure of light, will do justice to the spirit
that has guided the writers. Such will find in it something
that may help them better to appreciate the Sacred Text.
1 These emendations are printed throughout in a distinctive type, darker than
the rest of the note.
PREFACE.
"As for the commendation," says Coverdale,'"of God's
holy Scripture, I would fain magnify it as it is worthy, but I
am far insufficient thereto, and therefore I thought it better
for me to hold my tongue than with few words to praise or
commend it." Our English Bible has come down to us, won
for us by much devoted labour, by persecution, by exile,
even by blood of martyrdom. It has still much work to do,
and when we consider the peoples to whom we have given
our language, and the vast tracts over which English-speaking
peoples rule, we feel how impossible it is for us to measure
the extent of that work. We humbly desire to further it in
some small measure, by removing a stumblingblock here, and
by shedding light upon some dark places there. Such human
efforts are needed, but the use of them passes, whilst the Word
of God of which they treat will endure to the end. Yet it is
permitted to offer them with an aspiration after the same
result that attends the Word of God itself; and that result is,
in the words of inspiration, "that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might
have life through His name." (John xx. 3I.)
More than seven years have elapsed since this Commentary was first
projected. It will, doubtless, be admitted that this period is not longer
than might be reasonably demanded for the preparation of any considerable portion of such a work: but it is due to all concerned with this
volume to state that but for unforeseen circumstances it would have been
published much earlier. We have to deplore the premature death of no
less than three contributors, two of whom had undertaken the commentary
on Exodus and Numbers. All the writers in this volume had, in consequence of this and of other circumstances, a much larger amount of
work imposed upon them than they were prepared for, long after the
commencement of the undertaking. For one book they had to write
the entire commentary; for another to re-write, with a special view to
condensation, notes which had been prepared with great ability and
learning by Mr Thrupp. This statement is made simply to account for
the delay in the publication. The other parts of the work are now far
advanced, and two volumes, including the historical and poetical books,
will probably be printed within twelve months.
CON TENTS
GENESIS.
INTRODUCTION. BY THE BISHOP OF ELY.
Document Hypothesis...... 2I Proper names compounded with JAH 2. 6
Unity of plan and purpose through- Meaning and antiquity of the name
out........... 22 JEHOVAH, with further reference to
Division of book into Toledoth.. ib. Exodus vi. 2, 3...... b.
Of the names of God, as used in Genesis 24 Elohistic and Jehovistic passages..28,,,, and in Exodus Alleged inconsistency with modern
Vi. 2, 3....... 2 science.......29
COMMENTARY AND CRITICAL NOTES. BY THE BISHOP OF ELY.
pp. 3I —36.
PAGR PAGI
On the Days of Creation. Chap. i. 5 36 On Circumcision. Chap.xvii. xI. 3. Iz
On the Creation and Primitive State of ~ I. Reasons for the rite. ~ 2. Origin
{Man. Chap. ii. 7....... 43 of circumcision, whether pre-Abra-.
On the Effect of the Fall. Chap. iii. 19. 47 hamic or not.
On the Historical Character of the Temp- The Dead Sea, Site of Sodom and Zoaro
tation and the Fall. Chap. iii... 48 Chap. xix. 25.... 13I
Cherubim..... 49 ~ I. Characteristics of Dead Sea. Tes~:. Traditional accounts. ~ Z. Taber- timonies ancient and modern. ~ 2.
nacle and Temple. ~ 3. Seen in Geological formation. ~ 3. Were
Visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and St Sodom, Zoar, &c. on the north or
John. ~ 4. The Cherubim of Para- south of the Dead Sea?
dise. ~ 5. Etymology of name. On the Chronology of Jacob's life. Chap.
Chap. iii. 24. xxxi. 41...... 77
On the Early; Civilization of Mankind. ~ I. Difficulty of the question. ComChap. iv. X....... 8 mon reckoning. ~ 2. -Suggestion of
Difficulties in the Chronology of Chap. v. 6i Dr Kennicott. ~ 3. Dates on this
~ I. Difference of texts. ~ 2. Longevity hypothesis. ~ 4. Greater facility for
of Patriarchs. ~ 3. Antiquity of explaining the events thus obtained.
Human Race, as deduced from (I) On Shiloh. Chap. xlix. o..... 232
Geology, (2) History, (3) Language, ~ x. Different renderings of the word,
(4) Ethnology. ~ 2. Choice of renderings, either 4
lT7heDeluge. Chap. viii.... 74 or S. ~ 3. Messianic, by consent of
~ I. WVas it historical? ~ z. Was it Jewish and Christian antiquity. ~ 4.
universal? Answer to objections.
GENESIS.
I NTRODUCTION.
PAGE,AGE
Document Hypothesis.. I Meaning and antiquity of the name
Unity ofplan and purpose throughout. 22 JEHOVAH, cwith further reference
Division of book into Toledoth.. 22 to Exod.'vi. 2, 3....
Of the names of God, as used in Genesis 24 lohistic and Jehovistic passages. 8
E xod. vi. 2, 3 25 Alleged inconsistency with modern
Proper names compounded vwith JAH. 26 science. 29
I F it be once admitted that the Pen- wrote the later books, he certainly wrote
tateuch, as a whole, is due to Moses, Genesis; and on the other hand, if he
there can be no difficulty in admitting did not write Genesis, he wrote nothing.
that Genesis, the most ancient part of Hence to shake the foundation of Genthe Pentateuch, is due to him. If he esis is to destroy the fabric of the Pentawrote the history of the Exodus, he, teuch. The progress of the criticism has
either as author or compiler, must have been sufficiently gradual. It was sugwritten the introductory history of the gested long since by Vitringa, that Moses
times of the patriarchs. The unity of may have had before him "documents
design is very manifest throughout. Moses of various kinds coming down from the
was employed to mould and form a times of the patriarchs and preserved
simple and previously enslaved people among the Israelites, which he collected,
into an organized nation. He had to reduced to order, worked up, and where
give them a code of laws, civil and ec- needful, filled in," scihedas el scrinia _paclesiastical, for the guidance of their na- trum, ayzud Israeli/as conservata, Mosem
tional life. The infant people was to be a collegisse, digqessisse, ornasse, et utbi deficietheocracy, the germ and embryo of a bant, complesse (' Obs. Sac.' I. C. 4). A
theocracy greater than itself, guarded conjecture of this kind was neither unand isolated for fifteen centuries, till by natural nor irreverent. It is very pro% new revolution it should expand into bable that, either in writing or by oral
the Church of Christ. It was obvious delivery, the Israelites possessed traditherefore, that he, who had to write the tions handed down from their forefathers.
earliest chapters of its history, should It is consistent with the wisdom of Moses,
begin by tracing down its descent from and not inconsistent with his Divine inthose who had from the first been the spiration, that he should have preserved
depositaries and witnesses of the truth. and incorporated with his own work all
If, however, adverse criticism has been such traditions, written or oral, as had
busy in trying to dislocate all portions of upon them the stamp of truth.
the Pentateuch, to disprove its unity, The next step in the theory was, that
and so to shake the evidence for its taken by Astruc in I753, who taught,
Mosaic origin; it has been signally busy that the names of God (Elohim and
in so dealing with Genesis. If Moses JEHIOVAH), occurring in the book of Gen
22 INTRODUCTION TO
esis may distinguish respectively the do- and even throughout the Pentateuch, but
cuments or memoirs from which Moses these are the two most observable. Then
compiled his history. He believed that comes the well-known passage in Ex.
there were no fewer than twelve docu- vi. 3, where the Most High says to Moses
ments, the two chief being the Elohistic that He was known to the fathers by the
and the J ehovistic. name of El-Shaddai, but by the name JELater writers again have varied this HOVAH He was not known to theml
theory with every possible variation; whence the introduction of the name
some believing that there was one Elo- Jehovah in the history of Adam, Noah,
hist, and one Jehovist document; others Abraham, &c., is argued to be a proof of
that there were more than one Elohist, later authorship.
and many Jehovists; and exercising a It may be well then to shew:
subtle ingenuity, most convincing at least First, that the Book of Genesis is not
to themselves, they have traced minutely an ill-digested collection of fragmentary
the transitions from one document to documents, but a carefully arranged naranother, sometimes even in the midst of rative with entire unity of purpose and
a sentence, guided by some catchword plan.
or form of expression, which they have, Secondly, that the use of the names of
as others think most arbitrarily, assigned God is neither arbitrary nor accidental,
to the first or second Elohist, to the first, but consistent throughout with the Mosecond, third, or fourth Jehovist, accord- saic authorship, and the general scope of
ing to the number of authors in which the history.
they respectively believe'. Another step I. Unzity ofi lan anzdzrprose t/rouzr/zhas been to suggest, that the different out.
documents, often, as it is alleged, giving First then, as to the organic structure
different versions of the same story, have of the book, though it may be somewhat
been carelessly and clumsily put toge- obscured by the modern division into
ther. And a further still has been to chapters and verses, as it was of old by
deny, that Moses could be either the the Jewish division of the Pentateuch
Elohist, the Jehovist, or the compiler into peras/him or sections; careful examiand redactor, it being evident that the nation will shew, that the arrangement is
whole was a later work, due perhaps to methodical and orderly from first to last.
Samuel, perhaps to Hilkiah or Jeremiah, The book begins with a general introperhaps still later to Ezra or some sur- duction, from ch. i. I to ch. ii. 3, wherein
vivor from the captivity, or possibly to the creation of the universe is related in
a collection of the labours, the piously language of simple grandeur, very possifraudulent labours, of them all. bly in words handed down from the reThe salient points in their arguments motest antiquity, than which none could
are these. There appear to be two ver- be more fitted here for the use of the
sions of the history of the creation, the sacred historian.
first from Gen i. I to Gen. ii. 3, in which After this the book consists of a series
only the name Elohim occurs, the other of Toledo/h, or genealogical histories, the
from Gen. ii. onwards, in which the first of which is called " the Toledoth of
name of JEHOVAH occurs in combination the heavens and the earth," ch. ii. 4; the
with Elohim. Again, there appear two others being the respective histories of
accounts of the Flood, which though in- the different families of man, especially
terlaced in the book of Genesis, may be of the ancestors of the people of Israel,
disentangled. These also are charac- from Adam to the death of Joseph'. The
terized respectively by the same variety
in the names of God. Similar phenomena The word Toeds/ has by some been renare said to prevail throughout the book, perl be ois,of atgenerations" cannot properly be used of the creation of heaven and
earth; but it is not necessary to drop the figuraI An abstract of the different theories from tive language in a translation. By an easy metaAstruc to the present day may be seen in Haver- phor, the word, which described well the family
nick (' Int. to Pent.' p. 45, Translation, Clark, history of a race of men, was applied to the
Edinburgh), and'Aids to Faith,' M'Caul's history of the material creation. The word,
Essay on' Mosaic Record of Creation,' p. I9i. moreover, as used in Genesis, does not mean a
THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 23
great divisions of the book will be found Some of these sections relate only to
to be: collateral branches and are brief. The
I. The Introduction, from ch. i. I to larger sections will be found to have subch. ii. 3. divisions within them, which are carefully
2. "The generations of the heavens marked and arranged. As a ule, ineach
and the earth," beginning with ch. ii. 4, of these successive Toledoz/, the narraand extending on through the history of tive is carried down to the close of the
the fall to the birth of Seth, ch. iv. period embraced, and at the beginning
3. " The book of the generations of of each succeeding portion a brief repeAdam," from ch. v. to vi. 8. tition of so much as is needed of the
4. " The generations of Noah," giving previous account is given, and with it,
the history of Noah's family till his death, very often, a note of time. Thus the
from vi. 9 to end of ix. Introduction is ushered in with the words
5. "The generations of the sons of "In the Beginning." Then the second
Noah," giving an account of the over- section, referring to what has just been
spreading of the earth, from x. I to xi. 9. recorded, announces "The generations
6. " The generations of Shem," the of the heavens and of the earth when they
line of the promised seed, down to Abram, were created, in the day that the Lord
Nahor, and Haran, the sons of Terah, God made the earth and the heavens,"
Xi. io to 26. ch. ii. 4. Then again ch. v. I, having
7. "The generations of Terah," the the same note of time (" In the day,"
father of Abraham, from whom also in &c.) refers back to the account of crethe female line the family was traced ation, "In the likeness of God made
through Sarah and Rebekah, from xi. 27 He him, male and female created He
to xxv. II1. them," &c. The next section, vi. 9,
8. "The generations of Ishmael," from "The Toledoth of Noah,' recapitulates
xxv. I2 to xxv. I8. the character of Noah, the degeneracy
9. "The generations of Isaac," con- of man, and God's purpose to destroy
taining the history of him and his family all flesh. In xi. I o, the age of Shem
from the death of his father to his own and the birth of. his son two years
death, xxv. I9 to end of xxxv. after the flood, are named. The like
IO. " The generations of Esau," xxxvi. plan is observable in the "Toledoth
I-8. of Terah," xi. 27; "the Toledoth of
I. " The generations of Esau in Ishmael," xxv. i2; "of Isaac," xxv. 1 9,
Mount Seir," xxxvi. 9 to xxxvii. I. "who was forty years old when he took
12. " The generations of Jacob," giv- Rebekah to wife;" "of Esau," xxxvi. I:
ing the history of Jacob and his sons to where his marriages are recorded again:
his own death and the death of Joseph, and lastly, in the case of Jacob (xxxvii. 2),
xxxvii. 2 to the end of ch. 1. we find, in the verse immediately preceding (viz. xxxvii. I), a note telling us
history of the mode in which persons or things the position of Jacob at the time, and
carne into existence, but rather the history of again in vv. 2 and 3 the age of Joseph
those who descended from them. Thus " the
Toledoth of Adam" gives the history of Adam ("Joseph was seventeen years old"),
and his posterity. In like manner "the Tole- taking us back to a point of time twelve
(loth of the heavens and the earth" is the history years before the death of Isaac, which had
of the material universe and its productions. been before recorded, that so we might
See Keil on the'Pentateuch,' Vol. I. pp. 70 see the new starting-point of the history.
sqq. (Clark, Edinburgh).
1 It seems strange that the "generations of Space will not allow the tracinfg of
Abraham" should not be given distinctly from similar recapitulations and notes of time
those of his father, and Quarry thinks that the in the smaller sub-sections of the history.
title may have existed, and have fallen out of
the MS. just before the last clause of xii. 4.
The reason, however, which he himself assigns, very characteristic of the whole book,
seems sufficient to account for the omission, viz. and are had recourse to wherever perthat the history contained in this section is that spicuity of narrative seems to require'.
of Abraham, Lot, Sarah, and of Isaac and
Rfbekah (all descendants of Terah), down to 1 They are traced at length by Quarry (' Ce
the death of Abraharm. nesis,' pp. 326 to 340o).
24. INTRODUCTION TO
This brief review of the divisions of JEHOVAH, on the contrary, is as clearGenesis shews that it was not a loosely ly a proper name as Jupiter or Vishnu.
compacted structure, carelessly or clum- Elohim and Je.hovah are therefore as
sily thrown together by some one, who distinguishable as Dews and Jupiter; the
found a variety of heterogeneous mate- difference being only in this, that, whererials and determined to mass them all in as the worshippers of Jupiter admitted
one: but that it was drawn up carefully, "gods many and lords many," a multi —
elaborately, and with distinct unity of tude of Dii, the worshippers of Jehovah,
purpose; whether from pre-existing do- on the other hand, believe in no Elohim
cuments or not it matters comparatively except JEHOVAH. We may see at once,
little to enquire. then, that there may be good reasons for
2. Of the names of God as used in the expecting the title Elohim to be chiefly
Book of Genesis. employed in some passages, whilst the
The names by whichthe Supreme Being proper name JEHOVAH would be chiefly
is called in the Old Testament, and espe- employed in others. For instance, in
cially in Genesis, are chiefly two, Elohim the general account of creation it is very
and JEHOVAH, the one generally rendered natural that Elohim, the Mighty One,
in the versions God, the other LORD. We the God of creation and providence,
meet also with El (which is but a shorter should be the word in use. So, where
form of Elohim), with Elion, Most High, foreigners, people of heathen nations, as
(in the Pentateuch occurringonly in Gen. Hagar, Eliezer of Damascus, the Egypxiv. I8 in connection with El; El-Elion, tians, &c. are introduced, it is most naGod most High, though in the Psalms it is tural that the word Elohim should be
found with Elohim and Jehovah, and also more frequent than JEHOVAH, unless
stands alone), and Shaddai, Almighty (in where some distinct acknowledgment
the Pentateuch generally with El, El- of JEHOVAH is intended. On the conShaddai; elsewhere standing alone). trary, when the history of the chosen
The name Eloh/im is derived either people or their ancestors is specially confrom the Arabic root Alaha, " to fear, cerned, and the stream of the Theocracy
reverence, worship," or, much more pro- traced down from its fountain head,
bably, from IKN (alah) = ~.i "to be then the special name of Him, who was
strong, to be mighty'." It is the simple, not ashamed to be called their God,
generic name of God, " The Mighty." would probably be of more frequent use.
It does not occur in the singular in the This, if kept clearly in view, will explain
earlier books of Scripture, except in the many of the so-called Elohistic and Jeabbreviated form of El. The plural is hovistic phenomena in Genesis. Anoprobably a plural of excellence and ma- ther thing to be noted is this. The
jesty. As in Prov. ix.I, "'wisdom," occurs Semitic tongues, especially the more
in the plural Chochmo/h, to signify wis- ancient and simpler forms of them, deal
domn in the abstract, including in itself much in repetition, and where our moall the treasures of wisdom and know- dern Aryan languages would put a proledge; so Elohim in the plural is applied noun, they very frequently repeat the
to God, as comprehending in Himself noun. From this general habit of repetithe fulness of all power and all the attri- tion, and especially the habit of repeatbutes which the heathen ascribe to their ing the noun rather than using the proseveral divinities (see Smith's'Dict. of noun, when in any one chapter or section
Bible,' Art. JEHOVAH). Still the word is a we tind either the word Elohim or the
title rather than a name. It is applied name JEHOVAH, we are very likely to find
to false gods, as well as to the true. The the same frequently recurring. In conheathen nations round about the Israel- sequence of this, the several passages
ites would have recognized the existence will to an European eye look as if they
and the divinity of El and of the Elohim. were strongly marked either by the title
Elohim, or by the name JEHOVAH. For
It is or probable that the ver to signify instance, it is alleged that in the first
"fear and worship" is derived from the name account of crtio
of the Deity, than that the name of the Deity account of crhation, h. ii. 1-3,
was derived from the verb signifying "to fear." Elohim occurs thirty-five times, and
THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 25
that there is here no other name of 2, 3, where according to the Authorized
God: but it has been replied, that,'if it Version," Godspake untoMoses, and said
occurred once, it was only natural, owing unto him, I am JEHOVAH; and I appeared
to the uniformity of the whole passage, unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob,
that it should have occurred again at by the name of God Almighty, but by
each account of a separate creation, and my name JEHOVAH was I not known to
also that in modern language a pronoun them." The inference derived from this
would have been substituted in many passage has been this. The person, who
cases for the repeated title or name. recorded these words of God to Moses,
Hence the thirty-five are in effect re- would never have written a history of
ducible to one. The passage is scarcely still earlier times, in which the name
more really marked as Elohistic by the JEHOVAH should be introduced not only
name Elohim occurring thirty-five times, in the narrative, but in the mouths of
than if it had occurred but once; for its the various speakers, from Eve downhaving occurred once would inevitably wards. Hence, no doubt, in his earlier
lead to its continued and frequent recur- history the writer of this passage would
rence'. surely have been an Elohist. The parts
The most important passage in rela- of Genesis then, which are characterized
tion to this question is, of course, Exod. vi. by the use of the title Elohim, may probably be attributed to him: but all the
1 Quarry,'on Genesis,' pp. 341, 400, 401i parts in which JEHOVAH predominates
The following table of the alternation of the were evidently added afterwards, and
names in the first Ii chapters is given by the must be due to some one who was not
learned author, and will shew how different the
virtual occurrence of the respective names is alive to the incongruity of introducing
from the apparent, superficial occurrence on Jehovistic language into a history of
which so much has been built: events and speeches prior to the revela-.... J. tion of the name JEHOVAH. It follows,
iii. i —5. Elohim 3...time = of course, that the very first who could
iv.. Jehovah I... possibly have written the original Elo2-16. Jehovah 8... = listic narrative was Moses, the J ehovisa5. Elohim i... =-I tic portions being necessarily much iater
26. Jehovah I... I than Moses. It is further argued, howv. I. Elohim 2 =I'22-24. Elohim 3... =I ever, that names compounded with the
29. Jehovah i... = sacred name of JAH or JEHOVAH do not
vi. 2-4. Elohim 2... =A occur till the time of Samuel. hence
5-8. Jehovah 4... it is added that the name could not
9 a-22. Elohim 5.... I have been known, nor the sixth chapter
vii. — 5. Jehovah 2... =I of Exodus written, till the time of Sa9. Elohim I... =I muel: and further, it is now alleged that
6 Jehovah I... the name JEHOVAH is unknown even to
Jehovah i.
viii. I. Elohim 2...=I the writer of the earlier Psalms, and that
Is. Elohim I... = therefore probably David learned it late
20-2I. Jehovah 3... = in life from its inventor Samuel.
ix. i-6. Elohim 2... -I The romance of modern criticism is as
8 —i7. Elohim 4....z
26. Jehovah I... remarkable as its perverse ingenuity: for
Elohim 1... = when once a theory has been suggested,
27. Elohim I =I its author and his followers proceed
x. 9. Jehovah 2 =I forthwith to construct an elaborate hisxi. 5-9. Jehovah 5....
_ _- tory upon it, as much as if, instead of
Ig 1 excogitating a theory, they had discover"Hence for the purposes of the present en- ed a library of authentic records. The
quiry, and as evidence of any predilection of wider the theory is from all that has
either name, the case is just as if in these eleven hitherto been believed from concurrent
chapters, in the order of succession and at the testimony and careful enquiry the more
distances here indicated, the name Elohim had t 1 n h
recurred singly I5 times, and the name Jehovah it finds acceptance and is hailed as a
12 times." discovery. If we look a little closely
,26 INTRODUCTION TO
into the foundations of the theory, it will JEHOVAH is part of the same, but proappear as baseless as other dreams. bably the third person present, or, as
First, as regards the names compound- others think, the same tense of a causative
ed with JAH, we have at all events Joche- (Hiphil) form'. But if so, there can be
bed, Joshua, Jonah, Jotham, Micah and no question, as even Ewald fully admits,
Jonathan and mount Moriah, besides that the name must have been prethree named in Chronicles, Azariah (i IMosaic. In Hebrew the verb is always
Chr. ii. 8), Abiah (I Chr. ii. 24), Ahijah haya/, though in Syriac and Chaldee it
(I Chr. ii. 25), all of which at least ap- is always havah. A name therefore depear to have been so compounded, and rived from,avak and existing in ancient
which it is a gratuitous slander to say Hebrew, must have come down from a
were the inventions of later days. More- time prior to the separation of the Heover, it by no means follows, that one brews from their kindred Aramreans, i.e.
age should have had the fashion of a not later than the time of Abraham. In
special form for the composition of fact the name invn (IHVH) could not
names, because we find that fashion have been found among the Hebrews, at
prevailing some centuries later. Names any period of history from the descent
compounded with any name of God are into Egypt to the captivity of Babylon:
rare in the early ages, but became coin- and as it undoubtedly exists in Hebrew
mon in the later. Secondly, as regards writings prior to the captivity, so it must
the Psalms, there is no foundation what- have originated before the time of Joseph.
ever for saying that the earlier Psalms We must conclude, then, that the name
are Elohistic and the later only Jeho- JEHOVAH was not unknown to the patrivistic. Many of the manifestly and con- archs, nor do the words of Exodus necesfessedly later Psalms (as the 78th, 82nd, sarily mean that it was. These words
I I4th, &c.) are eminently Elohistic, whilst literally are, " I am JEHOVAH: and I apmany of the earliest (as the 24th, 27th, peared (or was manifested) to Abraham
34th, &c.) are as eminently Jehovistic'. and to Isaac and to Jacob by El-ShadBut again, the form and derivation of dai, but My name JEHOVAH was I not
the name JEHOVAH points to a pre-Mosaic known to them:'" that is to say, " I
origin. Some of the German writers in- manifested myself to the patriarchs in
deed have tried to trace the name to an the character of El-Shaddai, the Omniattempt at expressing in Hebrew letters potent God, able to fulfil that which I
the name of the Phcenician god, lao. had promised; but as to my name (i.e.
Time will not allow of a lengthened con- my character and attributes of) JEHOVAH
sideration of this theory here. Suffice it I was not made manifest to them'." (So
to say that its chief support is an oracu- LXX. Vulg. oivc E6cXwo-a, nooz indicavi).
lar response of the Clarian Apollo quoted The words strictly and naturally imply
by Macrobius ('Sat.' I. c. I8) about 400 this. The ancient versions seem to conA.D.; which has been clearly proved by firm this interpretation. It is no new
Jablonsky to have originated in a Juda- one framed to meet modern objections,
izing gnostic2. but was propounded by Aben Ezra
It is now generally admitted by com- and Rashi among the Jews, and by
petent Semitic scholars, that the word many of the most illustrious Christian
signifies "the existent" or something commentators of past times.
nearly akin to this. The true pronuncia- The theory then of the late invention
tion, of course, is lost; but there can be of this sacred name has really no foundano reasonable doubt, that, as the name tion. That its use was very much more
of God declared to Moses in Ex. iii. I4,
of God declared to Moses in Ex. iii. 4, 1 Thus it corresponds in form with such names
viz. ul~X, I AMn, is the first person pre- as Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, which are all the third
sent of the substantive verb, so the name persons singular present of verbs.
1 The Editor has shewn this more at length 2 "In El-Shad lai" is interpreted to mean
in his tract, called'The Pentateuch and the "as El-Shaddai," "in the character of ElElohistic Psalms' (Longman). Shaddai," (Gesen. Lex. s.v.! div. C.). "The
2 See the whole question discussed in Smith's name of Jehovah," as meaning the character of'Dict. of Bible,' I. p. 953, and Quarry,'Genesis,' Jehovah, is very common. Cf. Ps. v. I1, viii. I,
p. 3oo sqq. ix. Io, Is. XXvi. 8, xxx. 27.
THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 27
prevalent after the revelation to Moses Josh. xxiv. I4, the Israelites in Egypt
in Exodus than it had been before, there had learned to serve strange gods, there
can be no reasonable doubt. God made would be the more reason why Moses
His special covenant with Abram, be- should set before them the one true
ginning with the emphatic words, "I God, as their own God, and exhibit Him
am El-Shaddai," Gen. xvii. I. So again under His name, JEHOVAH, thereby the
on a like occasion He spake to Jacob, more clearly to mark Him off from the
Gen. xxxv. II. Hence both Isaac and false Elohim of Egypt, and the false EloJacob seemed to lay especial stress upon him of Canaan.
that name in times of trouble and anxiety Now the facts of Genesis remarkably
(see Gen. xxviii. 3, xliii. I4), as recalling coincide with all this probability. Some
to them the faithfulness and the power portions of the narrative do indeed preof their covenant God. But to Moses sent what is called an Elohistic aspect;
the words are frequently spoken, "I am and especially those portions, which, of
JEHOVAH," and the covenant, which had their very nature, are most likely to
been assured to the patriarchs by God as have existed in the traditions current
El-Shaddai, the Mighty God, is now from old time among the Israelites, viz.
assured to the people of Israel, by the the general account of the Creation, the
same God, as JEHOVAH, the self-existent, Flood, the covenant of circumcision made
the cause of all being, governing the with Abraham, and the genealogical
past, the present, and the future. Let tables. These then Moses appears to
us then suppose, that Moses had access have adopted, much as he found them,
to, or knowledge of, oral or written perhaps perpetuating, word for word, in
traditions concerning the Creation, which his writings what before had been floatmlust from the nature of the case have ing in unwritten record. Yet these porbeen originally matter of revelation, the tions of the narrative are not loosely
Flood, the history of Abraham, Isaac and thrown in, but rather carefully and orJacob; it is most likely that he would ganically incorporated and imbedded in
have made these the ground-work of his the whole.
history. If the name,JEHovAH, was known For instance, in the history of creation,
to the patriarchs, but had, as seems most we have first, in Gen. i. ii. I-3, that
likely from the first chapters of Exodus, which was very probably the ancient pr/been latterly but little used, perhaps meval record of the formation of the
whlolly disused, among the Israelites in world. It may even have been commuEgyplt; then it is pretty certain that nicated to the first man in his innocence.
these traditions or documents would At all events, it very probably was the
have had El, Elohim, or Elion, for the great Semitic tradition, handed down
name of God, perhaps even to the exclu- from Noah to Shem, from Shem to Abrasion of the name JEHOVAH. In working ham, and from Abraham through Isaac,
tup these materials into a continuous his- Jacob and Joseph, to the Israelites who
tory, some of the documents would be dwelt in Egypt. Without interfering with
preserved entire, others might be so ar- the integrity of this, the sacred author
ranged and so worded as to fit them to proceeds in the same chapter to add a
be connecting links one with the other, supplementary history, briefly recapituwhile we should probably find many por- lating the history of creation, with some
tions of the history in the hand of the au- little addition (in vv. 4-7), and then
thor or compiler himself. If Moses was proceeding to the history of Paradise,
that author, though he would often use the Fall, the expulsion, and the first bitthe name Elohim, we might naturally ter fruits of disobedience. In the first
expect to find that he had a fondness part of this second or supplementary
for that sacred name by which the Most history we meet with a signal phenome-High had declared Himself as the spe- non, viz. that, from ch. ii. 4 to the end
cial Protector of His people; and hence of chapter iii. the two names (or rather
we might look for that name in passages the generic and the personal names) of
where another writer perhaps would not God, JEHOVAH and Elohim, are used
have introduced it. If, as we infer from continually together. There is no other
28 INTRODUCTION TO
instance in Scripture of' this continued observable, The like occurs again in
and repeated use of the united names. ch. xi. 6; where neither Elohim, nor JEIt is evident, that the author, who adopt- HovAH-Elohim, but JEHOVAH alone is
ed the first ancient record and stamped the name of God made use of'. There
it with authority, and who desired to is not space to go through the book of
bring his people to a worship of the great Genesis and shew how similar principles
self-existent JEHOVAH, used this method prevail throughout. If the basis of the
of transition from the ancient Elohistic history of the Flood were an ancient Elodocument to his own more immediate histic document, Moses appears to have
narrative, in order that he might more interwoven it with a further narrative of
forcibly impress upon his readers, that his own. The one portion may be markthe Elohim who created all things was ed by the prevalence of one name, the
also the JEHOVAH, who had revealed other by that of another name of God;
Himself to Moses, and who was now but the consistency of the one with the
to be spoken of as the Protector and other is complete throughout (see notes
King of the great Theocratic race, whose on the history, infra). The same will
history was to be traced down even appear in other portions of Genesis,
from the very creation of Adam. The though the creation and the flood most
consistency and close connection of the clearly exhibit both the phenomena retwo parts is admitted by some, who are lied on by the theorists and the facts
far from admitting the Divine original leading to a refutation of their theory.
or high inspiration of the Pentateuch. It must not, however, be thought that
"The second account," says Kalisch (in the variety in the employment of the
loc.) "is no abrupt fragment; it is not sacred names could have resulted only
unconnected with the first; it is not su-' from the variety of the materials used
perfiluous repetition; it has been com- by Moses and the additional matter
posed with clear consciousness after, and introduced by himself. Careful obserwith reference to, the first. The author vation will shew, that, whilst often it
of the Pentateuch added to an ancient was a matter of indifference whether
document on creation the history of the one or the other name was introman's disobedience and its consequence. duced, yet there was no mere careless-...The first account was composed in- ness in the introduction. On the condependently of the second; but the trary, in most passages it is impossible
second is a distinct and deliberate con- to doubt that the choice of the name
tinuation of the first....It does not mere- adopted is the happiest possible.
ly recapitulate, but it introduces new Thus in the first history of creation
facts and a new train of thought." The we have Elohim, the mighty one, God
consistency of the two narratives, and of Creation and Providence, then in
a consideration of the alleged incon- order to mark the transition of subject
sistencies, will be seen in the commen- and yet the unity of the Being spoken
tary (on ch. ii. especially). One singular of, we have for two chapters JEHOVAH
point of resemblance it may be well to Elohim; but when we come to the ivth
point out here. In ch. i. 26, in the so chapter and to Eve's exclamation, when
called Elohistic document, we have the she hoped that her firstborn should be
remarkable words, " Let us make man," the ancestor of the promised seed, the
the plural pronoun used by the Almighty words ascribed to her connect her hope
Himself, and the appearance of deli- with JEHOVAH, Him whom the Israelites
beration. In ch. iii. 22 (in the so called learned to look on as their covenant
Jehovistic portion) we have again, " Be- God, who was to make good all the
hold the man is become as one of us:" promises to the fathers. Again, in ch.
again the very observable plural, and v. the genealogy from Adam to Noah
again perhaps even more markedly has no Divine name except Elohim, till
anthropomorphic language, as though we come, in v. 29, to the birth of Noah,
the Most High were taking counsel, and his father's pious anticipation that
before executing His judgments. This he should be a comfort to his race, in
identity of thought and speech is very 1 See Quarry, p. 348.
THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 29
reference to the earth, which had been ter. Surely this is constructing a theory
cursed. The use of the name JEHOVAH in despite, not in consequence, of the
in this verse points us at once to the facts on which it ought to stand'.
fact that Noah became the second head Again anthropomorphisms are said
of the Theocratic race, the new deposi- to characterise the Jehovist passages.
tary of the promises of God. If we This is by no means unlikely, considerpass on to ch. xiv. we are introduced ing that JEHOVAH is the personal name
to Melchizedek, priest and king of a of God, and that by which He was
Canaanitish people. He is a worship- pleased to reveal Himself familiarly to
per of E1-ElIionz, God most High, this His people; yet they are far from exbeing evidently the name by which the clusively belonging to the Jehovistic
Almighty was known to him and to his portions. Lastly, all the indications of
countrymen. Once, however, the name a more advanced civilization, such as
JEHOVAH occurs in the chapter, but it the use of gold, jewels, earrings, musical
is in the mouth of Abraham, and Abra- instruments, camels, servants, &c. are
ham evidently uses it that he may shew assigned to the Jehovist, and are thought
that he acknowledges the El-Elion wor- to mark a period later than that of
shipped by Melchizedek to be one and Moses. But surely the Israelites, who
the same with the JEHOVAH, who was the had dwelt for centuries in the fairest
God of Hebrews. "I have lift up my province in Egypt, and Moses who had
hand to JEHOVAH, El-Elion, possessor been bred up in the court of a powerful
of heaven and earth," xiv. 22. A similar and luxurious Pharaohn, must have
propriety of usage prevails throughout been familiar with a civilization considerGenesis, and will frequently be referred ably in advance of anything that we
to in the notes. read of in Genesis. Indeed the graphic
Again, verbal peculiarities are said to account which Genesis gives of the
distinguish the so called Jehovistic from simple habits of Abraham and the other
the so called Elohistic portions of the patriarchs is one proof of its antiquity
Pentateuch, so that, besides the variety and its truth. It is very doubtful
in the use of the names of God, it is whether an author even in the time of
possible for a keen eye to disentangle Samuel, more than doubtful whether one
the different documents the one from the in the reign of Solomon, of Josiah, or
other by noting the phraseology peculiar one of those who returned with Ezra
to each. It will be plain that, if even from captivity, could have written the
this were proved and patent, it would history of the forefathers of his race
still not interfere with the Mosaic origin with all the truthfulness, all the simof Genesis, so long as we admit that plicity, and all the accuracy of detail
Moses may have used the so called to be found in the Book which is called
Elohistic MSS. or traditions. The the First Book of Moses. Moses could
Elohistic phraseology would then be have written it, for he had every conceivcharacteristic of the more ancient docu- able qualification for writing it. The
ments, the Jehovistic would belong to writer of after times, who could have proMoses himself. It is, however, very duced that book, must have been himself
clear, that the peculiarities are greatly a wonder, unsurpassed by any of those
magnified, if they exist at all. Some- wonders which he is supposed to have
times indeed the theorists discover that devised and recorded.
a passage must belong to the Elohist
for instance, because it contains Elohistic The supposed inconsistency of the
expressions; but then, though the name statements in Genesis with the recent
JEHOVAH occurs in it, that name must
be a later insertion because it does not I The distinction between the Elohistic and
correspond with the general wording of Jehovistic words and phrases is carefully and
the chapter. Thus the name JEHOVAH elaborately investigated by Mr Quarry ('Genesis,'
in c. xvii. is argued to be evidently p. 578 sqq.). The conclusion at which he
arrives is the very reverse of the conclusion
out of place, because Elohim occurs arrived at by the believers in the fragment
everywhere else (ten times) in the chap- theory.
30 INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
discoveries of science will be found undoubted difficulty; yet perhaps not
treated of in the notes to the earlier insuperable, when we consider all that
chapters. It may be well here only to may have happened (no where more
say, that in the present state of our probably than here) in the transmisknowledge, both critical and scientific, sion of the text from Moses to Ezra
a patient suspension of judgment on and from Ezra to the destruction of Jemany points seems our wisest attitude. rusalem.
It is plain that a miraculous revelation Let us suppose that it had pleased
of scientific truths was never designed God to reveal to Moses the fact that
by God for man. The account of the earth revolves round the sun, a
creation is given in popular language; fact familiar now to children, but unyet it is believed that it will be found known to astronomers for more than
not inconsistent with, though not an- three thousand years after the Exodus.
ticipatory of, modern discovery. And The effect of such a revelation would
after all, modern discovery is yet in a probably have been to place the believer
most imperfect condition, the testimony and the astronomer in a state of anof the rocks and of the stars but im- tagonism. The ancient believer would
perfectly read, whilst there is room for have believed the truth; yet the obno small diversity of sentiment on the server of the heavens would have trimeaning of many of the expressions umphantly convicted him of ignorance
in Genesis. At present the greatest in- and error. We can see plainly that the
consistency alleged as between Genesis wise course for both would have been
and science is to be found in the ques- to suspend their judgments, believing
tion of the antiquity of man. Whilst the Bible and yet following out the
there is at least good reason for with- teaching of nature. A Galileo would
holding confident assent from the con- then have been, not feared as a hereclusions of some eminent geologists as tic, but hailed as a harmonist. There
to the evidence of the drift; it is quite appears now to some an inconsispossible to believe that Genesis gives tency between the words of Moses and
us no certain data for pronouncing on the records of creation. Both may be
the time of man's existence on the earth. misinterpreted. Further research into
The only arguments are to be drawn science, language, literature and exegesis,
from the genealogies. As those given by may shew that there is substantial agreethe Evangelists are confessedly incom- ment, where there now appears partial
plete, there cannot be sufficient reason inconsistency. It would evidently have
for maintaining that those in Genesis served no good purpose, had a revelamust have been complete. It is true tion been vouchsafed of the Copernican
that we have only conjecture to lead system, or of modern geological science.
us here: but if the genealogies, before Yet there may be in Scripture truth popuand after the Flood, present us only larly expressed concerning the origin of
with the names of leading and "repre- all things, truth not apparent to us, besentative" men; we can then allow no cause we have not yet acquired the
small latitude to those who would extend knowledge to see and appreciate it. Certhe duration of man upon the earth to tainly as yet nothing has been proved
more than the commonly received six which can disprove the records of
thousand years. The appearance of Genesis, if both the proof and the recompleteness in the genealogies is ar cords be interpreted largely and fairly.
THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES,
CALLED
GEN ESIS.
CHAPTER I. 2 And the earth was withot t fotm,
The reation.of heaven and earf/, 3 of ate and void; and darkness was upon the
light, 6 of thzefirmament, 9 of the earmt sepa- face of the deep. And the Spirit of God
rateiftonz the wzaters, ii and mtadefrciifisd moved upon the face of the waters.
14 of the sun, moon, and stars, 2o offisha and And God s Let there be'.Cor.4.6
fozewl, 24 of beasts and cattle, 26 of man in 3 And God sad, Let there be
Psalg. 3 lthe inzage of God. 29 Also the ap5oi ntment light: and there was light. t Heb. be.T36.~ of food. 4. And God saw the light, that it trCe t..n.
PCI4..I. T N "the beginning God created was good: and God divided t the bet...ee.
ebr7. 23. the heaven and the earth. light from the darkness. Ihess.
CHAP. I. 1. In the beginning] Not "first passages of Scripture in which the verb in
in order," but "in the beginning of all things." question occurs, the idea of a true creation
The same expression is used in Joh. i. I, of is that which is most naturally implied. Even
the existence of the "Word of God," " In where the translators have rendered it otherthe beginning was the Word." The one wise, the sense is still clearly the same, e.g. in
passage illustrates the other, though it is partly Numb. xvi. 30, "If the LORD make a new
by the contrast of thoughts. The Word cwas, thing (lit. create a creation), and the earth
when the world was created. open her mouth;" or again, Ps. lxxxix. 47,
God created] In the first two chapters " Wherefore hast Thou made (Heb. created)
of Genesis we meet wirth four different verbs all things for nought?" The word is evi.
to express the creative work of God, -viz. dently the common word for a true and orii, to create; z, to make;- 3, to form; 4, to ginal creation, and there is no other word in
build. The first is used of the creation of Hebrew which can express that thought.
the universe (v. I); of the creation of the the heaven and the earth] The universe
great sea-monsters, whose vastness appears popularly described according to its appearto have excited special wonder (v. zi); and ance as earth and sky. In similar language,
of the creation of man, the head of animated as Grotius notes, the new creation, to be
nature, in the image of God(v. 27). Every- hereafter looked for, is described z Pet.
where else we read of God's making, as from "il. 13, as "new heavens and a new earth."
an already created substance, the firmament, The Hebrew word for heaven is always
the sun, the stars, the brute creation (vv. 7, plural, whether as expressive of greatness, or
I67 25, &c.); or of His forming the beasts, perhaps of multitude, like the old English
of the field out of the ground (ch. ii. I9); or plural, welkin.
lastly, of His building up (ii. 22, margin) 2. And the earth'was'without form, and
into a woman the rib which He had taken -void] Desolate and void. Thesetwowords
from man. In Isai. xliii. 7, three of these express devastation and desolation. They
verbs occur together. "I have created him are used of the desert, Job xii. 24; xxvi.
for my glory, I have formed him, yea, I have 7; of the devastated city, Isa. xxiv. xo; of
made him." Perhaps no other ancient lan- "the line of wasting, and the plummet of
guage, however refined or philosophical, could destruction," Isa. xxxiv. I. In Jer. iv. 23
have so clearly distinguished the different acts they describe the utter wasting of a conof the Maker of all things, and that because all demned and desolated land. Whether in the
heathen philosophy esteemed matter to have present verse they indicate entire absence of
been eternal and uncreated. It cannot justly life and order, or merely that the world was
be objected that the verb create, in its first sig- not then, as now, teeming with life; whether
nification, may have been sensuous, meaning they express primeval emptiness, or rather
probably to he'w stone or to fell timber. desolation and disorder succeeding to a former
Almost all abstract or spiritual thoughts are state of life and harmony, cannot immediately
expressed by words which were originally be determined. The purpose of the sacred
concrete or sensuous; and in nearly all the writer is to give a history of man, his fall,
32 GENESIS. I. Iv. 5.
5 And God called the light Day, tAnd the evening and the morning t Heb.
and the darkness he called Night. were the first day. evAendn
was, and the moorwing wis,
his promised recovery, then specially of the'Aids to Faith,' p. rio, &c.; but very prochosen seed, and of the rise of the Theocracy. bably the creation of the sun is related in v. I,
He therefore contents himself with declaring where under the word heaven (or heavens)
in one verse generally the creation of all may be comprehended the whole visible unithings, and then in the next verse passes to verse of sun, moon, and stars. Now, the
the earth, man's place of abode, and to its pre- history is going on to the adaptation of the
paration for the habitation of man. Count- earth for man's abode. In v. X a thick darkless ages may have elapsed between what is ness had enveloped it. In this 3rd verse the
recorded in v. I, and what is stated in v. z. darkness is dispelled by the word of God,
Some indeed have insisted on the close con- the light is separated from the darkness, and
nection of v. 2 with v. I, because they are the regular succession of day and night is estaunited by the word And: but this particle, blished. Still probably there remains a clioudthough necessarily implying transition, does ed atmosphere, or other obstacle to the full
by no means necessarily imply close connec- vision of sun and sky. It is not till the fourth
tion. The Book of Leviticus begins with day that these impediments are removed and
"And the Lord called unto Moses." The the sun appears to the earth as the great
Book of Exodus begins with the same word luminary of the day, the moon and the stars
And, though centuries intervene between its as reigning in the night. Light may, perhaps,
history and that of the Book of Genesis; and have been created before the sun. Yet the
so our translators have very reasonably ren- statement, that on the first day. not only was
dered the Hebrew particle in that passage not there light, but the succession of day and
And, but Noow. The meaning of the verse night, seems to prove that the creation of the
before us evidently is, "' In the beginning God sun was "in the beginning," though its visible
created the universe;" but, at the time now manifestation in the firmament was not till the
to be spoken of, the earth, which is our chief fourth day.
concern, was shapeless and waste. The verb
"was" as used in this verse implies, not 4 God the light, that i as good
succession, but condition at the time in The earlier the records, the more we find
squcessiotn, butcondionon. at the time in them of anthropopathic language, as the
better fitted to simple understandings. The
darkness was upon the face of the deepl design of words like these is to express emNo light penetrated to the desolate and dis- phatically, that all the works, as they came
ordered ruin. The deep may mean either direct from the hand of God, were good, and
the confused mass itself, or, as more fre- that the evil did not result from any defect in
quently, the abyss of waters and the clouds the workmanship, but from the will of the
and mists with which the earth was sur- creature not according with the will of the
rounded. Creator.
the Spirit of God moved upon the face of divided the light from the darkness] In
nthe Jwater] The Targum of Onkelos and mih the chaotic condition described in v. z, all
many Jewish commentators render "'a mighty things were confused and commixed; but
wind was moving," &c., which is favoured, when God called the light out of darkness
though not proved, by the absence of the ar- He set bounds to both of them, and caused a
ticle. The common rendering is the more succession of day and night, calling the light
natural, especially if the word "moved" sig- day and the darness night
nifies, as some think, not merely fluttering or
hovering, as of a bird over its nest, but also 5. And the evening and the morning were
brooding, as of a bird sitting on its eggs. (See the first day] Literally, "And it was (or
Deut. xxxii. ii, where it is used of the eagle became) evening, and it was (or became)
fluttering over her young.) The Spirit of morning, day one."
God appears to be represented as the great Some think the evening is put before the
quickening principle, hovering or brooding morning, because the Jews reckoned their
over the earth and the ocean, and breathing days from evening to evening. Others think,
forth upon them light and life. that, as the darkness was first and the light
3. God said] In the cognate languages called out of darkness, so the evening (in
wGord hsaid e In h the cognate languages Heb. ereb, the time when all things are mixed
the word here rendered said has the force of and confounded) is placed before the morning;
and thus the whole period of chaotic darkness
Let there be light: and there.was light] may have been the first night, and the first
Was light created before the creation of the day that period of light which immediatedy
sun and other luminous bodies? That this succeeded the darkness.
is possible has been shewn by Dr McCaul, See Note A at end of the Chapter.
v. 6-14.] GENESIS. 1. 33,Psal1.36. 6 q And God said, cLet there be Earth; and the gathering together of
r. to.a 2 firmament in the midst of the the waters called he Seas: and God
tei.iex- aters, and let it divide the waters saw that it was good.
-....i frtO. fom the waters. 1 i And God said, Let the earth
7 And God made the firmament, bring forth tgrass, the herb yieldingf fHeb.
and divided the waters which were seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit'.
under the firmament from the waters after his kind, whose seed is in itself,
which were above the firmament: upon the earth: and it was so.
and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth
dJet. 5s. 8 And God called the dfirma- grass, and herb yielding seed after his
115- ment Heaven. And the evening and kind, and the tree yielding fruit,
the morning were the second day. whose seed was in itself; after his
e Psal. 3 9 qT And God said, eLet the kind: and God saw that it was good.
& 136. 5. waters under the heaven be gathered 13 And the evening and the mornlob 38. 8. together unto one place, and let the ing were the third day. fDeut
dry land appear: and it was so. 14. t And God said, Let there I9
1o And God called the dry land be flights in the firmament of the Psal. 136
6. Let there be a firmament] The earth is or the expansion. The LXX. rendered itfirspoken of as covered with waters, partly, that mament (see here Quarry' on Genesis,' p. 79);
is, the waters of the sea, partly the heavy and hence it has been argued that Moses
clouds and vapours, which hung round it in taught the sky to be a hard, metallic vault,
its state of desolation and darkness. The in which the sun and stars were fixed; but
dispersion of some of these vapours lets in the the most learned modern commentators, inlight. Then, in the present verse, the clouds eluding Gesenius, Kalisch, &c., believe theand mists are described as raised up above true etymology of the word to shew that
the firmament, the firmament itself dividing expanse, not frrzmament, is the right translation.
between the waters of the ocean and the The teaching however of the present passage
~clouds of heaven. It is plain from this that does not depend on the etymology of the word.
the word rendered fir mament embraces the If a writer in the present day uses the English
atmosphere immediately surrounding the sur- word heaven, it does not follow, that he supface of the earth, which bears up the clouds poses the sky to be a vault heaved up from
floating in it, in or on the face of which also the earth. Neither would it follow that the
the birds are described as flying (see v. 2o). inspired writer had taught, that the portion of
In v. 24. the word is extended further atmosphere, intervening between the sea and
to embrace the whole region of the sky in the clouds, was a solid mass, even if the word
wrhich sun and roon and stars appear. In used for it had etymologically signified solidity.
this respect, as Le Clerc notices, it corr-esponds with the classical word crelzm, et te rt i forh rs] e
have here the first calling forth of life upon
which meant at times the air just round us, at e e first
the earth, vegetable life first, soon to be sucotiher times the place of the stars and planets; life earth was made
and so lilkewYise of our owfn English word ceeded by animal life. The earth was made
henen we may say the birdsl i of o n heavenh w fruitful, and three kinds of vegetation were
clouds of heaven, or the stars of heaven. The assigned to it; the tender grass, the comol-iginal sense of the wsord has been much de mon covering of the soil, fit chiefly for the
use of the lower animals; herb bearing seed.
bated, but is of little consequence; for the se of the ld er animals; herb bearing sed
ccredwrrit'er woulduse the commnon language rwhich should be adapted to the service of
of his people, and not go out of his way to man; and trees, with their conspicuous frits;
devise one which would be philosophically all three so ordained, that their seed sho-ld
accurate. The verb, from which the sub- be in themselves, that they should contain,
stantive is derived, signifies (I) to beat or not a principle of life only, but a power also
of fecundity, whereby the race should be perstamp upon, Eeky s. varnping, xxv. xxii. petuated from generation to generation.
spread abroad by stamping, z S. xxii. 43;
(3) to beat out metal into thin plates, or gold 14. Let there be lights] Lit. luminaries,
into gold leaf; Ex. xxxix. 3, Num. xvi. 38, lig.ht-bearers, spoken of lamps and candleIsai. xl. xl.; (4) to spread forth, extend, sticks, Ex. xxv. 6, Num. iv. 9, s6. The
stretch out, Job xxxvii. I8, Ps. cxxxxvi. 6, narrative only tells what sun. moon, and stars
Is. xlii. 5, xliv. 24. The most probable mean- are in relation to the earth. x;vhen the clouds
ing of the substantive therefore is the expanse and mists are dispelled from its surface, the
VOL. I. C
34 GENESIS. I, [v. 15-24.
i Heb. be- heaven to divide t the day from the bring forth abundantly the moving I Or,
tween. Me tch-ee5.xg.
dayeade night; and let them be for signs, creature that hath tlife, and fowl t Heb.:,wet~t. and for seasons, and for days, and that may fly above the earth in the
years: topen firmament of heaven. tHeb.
15 And let them be for lights in 21 And God created great whales, vfz-, tthe firmament of the heaven to give and every living creature that moveth,.f...:%
light upon the earth: and it was so. which the waters brought forth abunI6 And God made two great dantly, after their kind, and every
teb.af, lights; the greater light tto rule the winged fowl after his kind: and God
the rule ofe
the day, day, and the lesser light to rule the saw that it was good.. night: he made the stars also. 22 And God blessed them, saying,
17 And God set them in the iBe fruitful, and multiply, and fillchap. 8.
firmament of the heaven to give light the waters in the seas, and let fowl &9.,.
upon the earth, multiply in the earth.
eJer.3r.35. I8 And to grule over the day 23 And the evening and the mornand over the night, and to divide the ing were the fifth day.
light from the darkness: and God 24 ~[ And God said, Let the earth
saw that it was good. bring forth the living creature after
I9 And the evening and the morn- his kind, cattle, and creeping thing,
It Esdr incg were the fourth day. and boast of the earth after his kind:
6. 47. 20 And God said, "Let the waters and it was so.
seas confined within their boundaries, and life. The word nephesh, which we have
the first vegetation springs up; then the rendered breath, corresponds nearly with the
sky is cleared up, the sun, moon, and stars classical psyche, the vital principle. It is used
appear and assume their natural functions, of the breath, of the living principle, of the
marking days and nights, seasons and years; soul or seat of feelings and affections, and of
and God makes or appoints them, the sun to living beings themselves.
rule the day, and the moon to rule the night. and fowl, &c.] and let fowl fly.
16. he made the stars also] The purpose 21. great wvhales] Great sea monof the sacred narrative being to describe the ste r s. The word is used of serpents, Ex. vii. 9,
adaptation of the earth to the use of man, no Deut. xxxii. 33, Ps. xci. 13, Jer. i. 34, and of
account is taken of the nature of the stars, the crocodile, Ezek. xxix. 3, xxxii. 2. It is
as suns or planets, but merely as signs in the not likely that the Israelites should have had
heavens. The words in the text may be a much knowledge of the!larger species of whales
kind of parenthesis, not assigning the special which do not frequent the shores of the Meditime of the creation of the stars. Moieover, terranean. Their early acquaintance with
the word used is "made," not "created," see Egypt had impressed them with a horror of
on v. I. When tlhe Sun and Moon became the crocodile, and in the desert they had
great lights to rule the day and to rule the become familiar with large serpents. In
night, then also the stars shone forth; the Is. xxvii. 1, and perhaps in Job vii. It, this
heavens were lit up by the sun in the day- name apparently belongs to sea monsters; but
time, by the moon and stars in the night- we may remember that the Hebrews applied
season, all of them declaring the glory of God the term sea to great rivers also, like the Nile
and shewing His handy-work. and the Euphrates. (See Is. xix. 5, Jer. li. 36,
20. the moving creature] The versions ren- Ezek. xxxii. 2, Nahum iii. 8.) It seems, on the
der reptiles. The word is of wide significance, whole, most probable, that the creatures here
most frequently used of reptiles and fishes; the said to have been created were serpents, crocoverb from which it comes, and which is here diles, and other huge saurians, though possibly
translated " bring forth abundantly," means any large monsters of sea or river may be into scwarnz, to creep, to propagate itself rapidly. cluded. The use of the word created in this
MWe may prohably therefore understand here place has already been remarked on v, I.
the insect creption, the fishes of the sea, and Another reason for its use may be, that, as he:the reptiles and saurians of sea and land. Egyptians paid idolatrous worship to crocothat hath life] Literally perhaps,' Let diles, the sacred historian would teach that:the waters swarm with swarms of the breath they also were creatures of God.
of life." Let the waters teem with innu- 24. The fifth day was chiefly occupied
merable crcatures, in which is the breath of in peopling the waters with fishes and reptiles,
v. 25, 26.] GENESIS. 1. 35
25 And God made the beast of the 26 I And God said, k Let us make k chap. 5-.
earth after his kind, and cattle after man in our image, after our likeness: & 9. 6.
their kind, and every thing that creep- and let them have dominion over the 7.Cor. I
eth upon the earth after his kind: and fish of the sea, and over the fowl of Ephes. 4.
God saw that it was good. the air, and over the cattle, and over CQe ~. Io,
and the air with birds. The work of the made after the likeness of the angels. To a
sixth day gives inhabitants to the land, similar effect Maimonides,'More Nevochim,''"cattle" (i.e. the well-known animals, which p. ii. ch. 6. See Munster in lor., Cleric. in loc.,
afterwards became domesticated, though the Heidegger, p. 32.
name was not exclusively attached to them), Some interpreters, both Jewish and Chris" and creeping things," such as serpents, lizards, tian, have understood a plural of dignity, after
crawling insects and the like, "and beast of the manner o~ kings. This is the opinion of
the earth," i. e. either the wilder and fiercer Gesenius and most of the Germans. But the
beasts, as distinguished from cattle, or perhaps royal style of speech was probably a custom
more generally animals of all kinds. of much later date than the time of Moses.
26. And God sqid, Let us make man] It Thus we read Gen. xli. 4I-44, " I have
has been observed by commentators, both set thee over the land of Egypt.... I am
Jewish and Christian (e. g. Abarbanel, in loc. Phraoh." Indeed this royal style is unknown
Chrysost. in loc.), that the deliberation of the in Scripture. Some of the modern rationalists
Creator is introduced, not to express doubt, believe (or affect to believe) that the plural
but to enhance the dignity of the last work, name of God, lohim, was a mere relic of
the creat:ion of man. So even Von Bohlenl ancient polytheism, and that though Moses
" A gradual ascent is observed up to man, the habitually attaches a singular verb to the plural
chief work of creation, and in order to exalt nominative, yet here'the plural unconsciously
his dignity, the act of his creation is accom- escape-d from the narrator's pen" (Von Bohl.).
paniesd by the librations o reator." The ancient Christians with one mind see in
The creative fiat concerning all other creatures these Cords of God that plurality in the Divine
runs, "'Let the waters bring forth abundantly," unity, which was more fully revealed, when
"Let the earth bring forth," &c. Man is that God sent His only begotten Son into the
great "piece of work," concerning which God world, and when the only begotten Son, who
is described as taking forethought and counsel, was in the bosom of the Father, declared
as making him in His own image, and (ch. ii Him to mankind. So e. g. Barnabas (ch. iv.),
Justin M., Irenars, Theophil., Epiphan.
7) as breathing into him the breath of life Justi M., Ireni us, Theophil., EQTipht..
Three times in v. 27 the verb created is used ('Hares.' xxxiii. 4-z), Theodoret ('Quest. in
concerning the production of man; for, though Gen.').
his bodily organization may, like that of the
beasts, have been produced from already in oar image, after our likenefs] Many
beasts, have been produced from already Christian writers think that nothing is meant
created elements ("the dust of the ground, except that man was created hol" and innoch. ii. 7); yet the complex being, man, "of cent, and that this in-lre of God was lost
reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting," when Adam fell. That holiness, indeed,
was now for the first time called into being, foird part of tAhe likeness may be infelred
and so was. unlike the beasts, wholly a new from Col. iii. so, "t he new man, which is
creation. fror Col. iii. IO, "the new man, vhich is
renewed after the image of Him that created
Let us make] The Jews vary much in their him;" but that the image of God was not
explanation of these words. Philo speaks of wholly obliterated by the fall seems clear
"the Father of all things addressing his own from Gen. ix. 6, Jas. iii. 9. And, if so, then
powers" (',De Profugis,' p. 359). The Tal- that image did not simply consist in perfect
mud says, "The Holy One, Blessed be TIe, holiness. Some, both Jewish and Christian,
does nothing without consulting the family have supposed that it referred to that dowhich is above" (Sanhed. c. iv.). Moses minion, which is here assigned to man. As
Gerundinus says, that God addressed the God rules over all, so man was constituted
earth, for, as the earth was to give man the governor of the animal world. St Basil
the body, whilst God was to infuse the spirit, M. in i Hexaemeron' (qu. by Clericus) conso "in our likeness" was to be referred both siders that the likeness consisted in fieedom
to God and to the earth. Abenezra writes, of will. This probably is a most important
"When, according to God's commandment, point ill the resemblance. The brute creatures
the earth and the sea had brought forth are gifted with life and will and self-conplants and living beings, then God said to sclousnlC:. s, and even with some powers of
the angels,'Let us make man, we will be reason' but they have no self-determining will,
occupied in his creation, not the seas and the n,) chlice between good and evil, no power
earth."' So he considers man to have been of sidf-:-ducation, no proper moral character,
c2
36 GENESIS. 1. [v. 27 —31.
all the earth, and over every creepingo which is upon the face of all the earth,
thing that creepeth upon the earth. and every tree, in the which is the fruit
27 So God created man in his own of a tree yielding seed; "to you it "c}-p.c
image, in the image of God created he shall be for meat.
IMatt. i9. him; Zmale and female created he them. 30 And to every beast of the earth,'Wisd. 2. 28 And God blessed them) and God and to every fowl of the air, and to.z chap. 9. said unto them, "'Be fruitful, and mul- everything that creepeth upon the
I- tiply, and replenish the earth, and sub- earth, wherein there is tlife, I havegiven t Ieb.
due it: and have dominion over the every green herb for meat: and itso.l.
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of was so.
the air, and over every living thing 31 And ~God saw every thing that a Ecdcis
t Heb. that tmoveth upon the earth. he had made, and, behold, it was very
f Hib. 29 $q And God said, Behold, I have good. And the evening and the mornseeZ~Zrg given you every herb tbearing seed, ing were the sixth day.
and so no true personality. God is the essen- All this was accompanied at first with perfect
tially personal Being, and in giving to man an purity and innocence; and thus man was like
immortal soul, He gave him also a true his Maker, intelligent, immortal, personal, writh
persornality, self-consciousness, power of free powers of forethought and free choice, and
choice, and so distinct moral responsibility. at the same time pure, holy and undefiled.
NOTE A on CHAP. I. v. 5. Ox THE DAYS OF CREATION.
Tr.I vexed question of the duration of the mounting up through birds and mammals,
days of creation cannot readily be solved from till it culminates in man. This is the course
consideration of the wording of this verse. of creation as popularly described in Genesis,
The English Version would seem to confine it and the rocks give their testimony, at least in
to natural days, but the original will allow the general, to the same order and progress.
much greater latitude. Time passed in regular The chief difference, if any, of the two witsuccession of day and night. It was an inge- nesses would seem to be, that the Rocks speak
nious conjecture of Kurtz, adopted by FlHugh of (I) marine plants, (z) marine animals, (3)
Miller, that the knowledge of pre-Adamite land plants, (4) land animals in their succeshistory, like the knowledge of future ages, sive developements; whereas Moses speaks of
may have been communicated to Moses, (X) plants, (a,) marine animals, (3) land anior perhaps to the first man, in prophetic rnals; a difference not amounting to divervision, that so perhaps vast geological periods gence. As physiology must have been nearly
uwere exhibited to the eye of the inspired and geology wholly unknolwan to the Semiwriter, each appearing to pass before him as tic nations of antiquity, such a general COrso many successive days. It has been said respondence of sacred history with modern
moreover that the phenomena under the earth's science is surely more striking and importsurface correspond with the succession as de- ant than any apparent difference in details.
scribed in this chapter, a period of compara- Efforts have been made to compare the Intive gloom, with more vapoutr and more car- dian cosmogony with the Biblical, which
bonic acid in the atmosphere, then of greater utterly fail. The cosmogony of the Hindoos
light, of vegetation, ofmarine animals and huge is thoroughly adapted to their Pantheistic
reptiles, of birds, of beasts, and lastly of man. Theology, the Hebrew corresponding -with
(See Kurtz, Vol. I. p. xxvii. sq., Hugh Miller, the pure personal Monotheism of the Old' Test. of Rocks,l passirn, 8&c.) In the present Testament. The only important resemblance
condition of geological science, and with the of any ancient cosmogony with the Scriptural
great obscurity of the record of creation in account is to be found in the Persian or Zothis chapter, it may be wise not to attempt roastrian; which is most naturally accounted
an accurate comparison of the one with the for, first by the fact, which will be noticed
other. Some few points, however, seem hereafter, that the Persians, of all people, exclearly to come out. In Genesis, first of all, cept the Hebrews, were the most likely to
creation is spoklen of as "in the beginning," a have retained the memory of primitive tradiperiod of i definite, possibly of most remote tions, and secondly, that Zoroaster was prodistance in the past; secondly, the progress of bably brought into contact with the Hebrews,
the preparalion of the earth's surface is de- and perhaps with the prophet Daniel in the
scribed as gradually advancing fr;om the rocks court of Darius, and may have learned mruch
to the vegetable world, and the less perfectly from such association.
organised an:imal creation, then gradually
V. I-4.] GENESIS. II. II.7
CHAPTER II. 2 aAnd on the seventh day God Exod.
TZefirst sabbath. 4 Th/e manner of the cren- ended his work which he had nmade; a2,', 7
tion. 8 Theplanztin, of the garden of Eden, and he rested on the seventh day from Deut 5.
o10 and the river thereof. I7 Th7e tree of I4
knowoledge otnly forbidden. i9, 20 The all his work which he had made. e).. 4
in< of the creatur'es. 2ir The making of zoo- 3 And God blessed the seventh day,
Wmanz, and institution of marriage. and sanctified it: because that in it
T HUS the heavens and the earth he had rested from all his work which
were finished, and all the host God "created and made. Heb.
of them. LIff4 q These are the generations of,eaed to
CHAP. II. 3. And God blessed the seventh complete; and that, having called man into
day] The natural interpretation of these words being, He ordained him for labour, but yet
is that the blessing of the Sabbath was imme- in love and mercy appointed that one-seventh
diately consequent on the first creation of man, of his time should be given to rest and to the
for whom the Sabbath was made (Mar. ii. 27). religious service of his Maker. This truth is
It has been argued from the silence concerning repeated in the ivth Commandment, Ex. xx.
its observance by the patriarchs, that no Sab- Ix; though there was a second and special
batic ordinance was really given until the reason why the Jews should observe the
promulgation of the Law, and that this pas- Sabbath day, Deut. v. x5: and very probably
sage in Genesis is not historical but anticipatory. the special day of the seven, which became
There are several objections, which seem fatal the Jewish Sabbath, was the very day on which
to this theory. It is first to be observed, that the Lord brought them from the land of
this verse forms an integral part of that history bondage, and gave them rest from the slavery
of the creation, which, if there be any truth of Egypt. If this reasoning be true, all manin the distinction, is the oldest portion of the kind are interested in the sanctification of the
Pentateuch, the work of the Elohist, very Sabbath, though Jews only are required to
possibly handed down from the earliest ages keep that Sabbath on the Saturday; and not
of the world, and taken by Moses as the very only has it been felt by Divines that the
groundwork of his inspired narrative. Second- religious rest of the seventh day is needful for
ly, the history of the patriarchs extending the preservation of the worship of God, but
over at least ezoo years is all contained in the it has been acknowleged even by statesmen
boor- of Genesis, and many things must have and physiologists that the ordinance is invalubeen omitted, much more memorable than able for the physical and moral benefit of
the fact of their resting on the Sabbath, which manklind. The truly merciful character of
in their simple pastoral life would seldom hlave the ordinance is fully developed in the Law,
called for special notice. Thirdly, there are where it is extended not only to the manindications even in Genesis of a division of servant and maidservant, but to the ox and
days into weeks or hebdomades. Thus Noah the ass and the cattle, that they also should
is said twice to have waited seven days, when rest with their masters, Ex. xx. lo, Deut. v. 14.
sending the dove out of the ark, Gen. viii.
Io, i2. And the division of time into weeks'wbich God created and made] Lit. "which
is clearly recognized in the history of Jacob, G created t mae. So the Targum
Gen. xxix. 27, a8. TEhe same hebdomadal of Onkelos and the Syriac version render it.
division was known to other nations, who are The Vulgate has'which God created that
not likely to have borrowed it from the He might make it." Onl the difference
between the verbs create and make see on
Israelites after the timne of the Exodus. Moreoer it appears that, ee the giving ch. i. i. The natural meaning of the words
over, it appears that, before the giving of
the commandments fionm Mount Sinai, the here is, that God first created the material
Israelites were acquainted with the law of the universe, the heavens and the earth," and
Sabbath. In Ex. xvi. i a double portion of then made, moulded and fashioned the new
manna is promised oin the sixth day, that created matter into its various forms and
none need be gathered on the Sabbath. This organisms. This is the explanation of the
has all the appearance of belonging to an R. Nachmanides, "all His work which He
acknowledged, though perhaps neglected, or- had created out of nothing, in order that He
dinance of Divine Service, not as if then for might make out of it all the works which
the first time the Sabbath were ordained and are recrded in the six days." (Qioted br
consecrated. The simple meaning of the text Fagius,' rit. Sacri')
is therefore by far the most probable, viz. 4. These are the generations, &c.] The
that God, having divided His own great work Jerws tell us, that, when these words occur
into six portions, assigned a special sacredness without the copulative and, they separate the
to thle seventlh on -which that work became words following from those preceding, but
38 GENESIS. II. v. 5.
the heavens and of the earth when 5 And every plant of the field bethey were created, in the day that the fore it was in the earth, and every
LORD God made the earth and the herb of the field before it grew: for
heavens, the LORD God had not caused it to
that when they have the and, then they unite sacred writer is about to describe more in dewith the preceding. It is apparent, that the tail the results of creation. The world had
narrative proceeds in direct order from Gen. been made; next comes a history of its nai. I to this verse, ii. 4, and that from this tural productions, its plants and trees, and
verse there is a return to the first formation chief inhabitants. And as the history of a
of plants and vegetables and to the creation man's family is called the "' book of his geneof man, a kind of recapitulation, yet with rations," so the history of the world's producsome appearance of diversity. This has been tions is called " the generations of the heavens
noticed long ago. In the I7th century (I655) and the earth."
Is. Peyreyrius wrote a book to prove, that'uben they'were createdj By these words
the accbunt of the creation of man in ch. i the inspired writer reveals the truth set
related to a pre-Adamite race, from which forth in the former chapter, that heaven
sprang a great majority of the Gentiles, and earth were creatures of God, "Lthe genewhereas the account in ch. ii. was of the rations" referring to what is to come after,
creation of Adam, the direct ancestor of the not to what preceded, as though the universe
Israelites and of the nations in some degree hadsprung romgeneration or laturalproduc
related to them. The book was condemned tion.
an" suppressed. Some modern writers have
more or less embraced its views, but it seems the LORD God] It has long ago been
that the whole Bible, both Old and New obser that the sacred name JEHOVA
Testament, refers to Adam as the head of the first time here in verse 4. The
whole human race, so that, if pre-Adamiite Jews give as a reason, that the works being
man existed at all, the race must probably have now perfected, the perfect name of God, "the
been extinguished before Adam was created. LORD God," is for the first time adopted. It
Moreover, ch. ii. 4 sqq. is evidently a conti- seems most probable, that the sacred writer,
nuation of ch. i., although there is a return having in the first chapter recorded the creaor recapitulation in vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, in order to tion as the act of God, giving to Him then
prepare the way for an account of Paradise His generic name as the Supreme Being, now
and the fall. See note at end of the chapter passes to the more personal history of man and
The word "generations," toledothhis immediate relation to his Maker, and thereThe word 11 generations," toledoth, which fore introduces the more personal name of
occurs for the first time in this verse, meets
us again continually at the head of every prin- God, the name by which He became afterwards
known to the patriarchs, as their God. The
cipal section of the Book of Genesis. Thus union o the patrarchs, as ther od. he
union of the two names JEHOVAH Elohim
chl. v. i, we have " the book (or account) of throughout chapters ii. iii. is singularly apthe generations of Adam," in which the de-lohim of the
scendants of Adam are traced to Noah. From prtpriate, as indicating that the Elohim of the
ch. vi. 9 we have the generations of Noah, first chapter is the same as the JEhAH
where the history of Noah and his sons is who appears afterwards in the ourth chapgiven. In ch. x. we come upon the generations history. On the name o ime hroughou the docuof the sons of Noah, where the genealogical histos n the names of God and to Genesis.
table and the history of the descendants ofenesis, see Int
Shem, Ham, and Japhet are recorded. Ch. 5. Afnd every plant of the _fehl] So the
xi. (IO-26) gives us the generations (or LXX. and the Vulg. But the Targums, the
genealogical table) of Shem. Ch. xi. 27 be- Syr., Rashi, and the most distinguished mogins the generations of Terah, the father of dern Hebraists, such as Rosenmiuller, GeseAbram. Ch. xxv. xz gives us the generations nius, &c., translate, "Now no plant of
of Ishmael. Ch. xxv. 19 the generations of the field was yet in the earth, and
Isaac. Ch. xxxvi. I, the generations of Esau; no herb of the field had yet sproutxxxvii. 2, the generations of Jacob, which are ed forth; for the LORD God had not
continued to the end of the book. caused it to rain upon the earth,
The word itself naturally signifies the gene- and there was not a man to till the
ration or posterity of any one. It is used in ground."
general to usher in a history of the race or It was objected long ago, and the objection
descendant of the heads of the great patri- is repeated with all its force by the German
archal families. The application of the word critics of the day, that this is opposed to
here is very appropriate. The primary crea- ch. i. II, where we read, I" God said, Let the
tion of all things had just been recorded; the earth bring forth grass," &c. Hence it is
v. 6 —.] G EN E SIS. II.
rain upon the earth, and there was not t of the' dust of the ground, and breath- t Heb.
a man to till the ground. ed into his nostrils the breath of life;.O..d.t Of.
BOr, 6 But l1there went up a mist from and -man became a living soul. 0ICor. s5.
a mtst 4th
the earth, and watered the whole face 8 Il And the LORD God planted a C4i Cor.
"w"nt -h of the ground. garden eastward in Eden; and there IS 45
7 And the LORD God formed man he put the man whom he had formed.
inferred that the first and second chapters is said to have created man in His own image,
constituted two independent and contradic- because the production of a rational, personal,
tory traditions, clumsily put together by the responsible being clothed with a material
compiler of Genesis. The difficulty had been body was a new creation. Spiritual beings
anticipated by R Nachman. who observes, existed before; animal natures had been called
that this passage does not refer to the pro- forth from earth and sea; mall had an animal
duce of the earth created on the third day, nature like the beasts, but his spiritual nature
but to those herbs and plants, which are raised was in the likeness of his Maker. So in this
by the cultivation of man. L. de Dieu also chapter again the Creator is described as
(' Critica Sacr.' in loc.) notices, that the words forming man from the earth, and then breathrenderedplant,field and greuw, never occur in ing into him a living principle. It is probably
the first chapter, they are terms expressive not intended that the language should be phiof the produce of labour and cultivation; so losophically accurate, but it clearly expresses
that the historian evidently means, that no that man's bodily substance was composed
cultivated land and no vegetables fit for the of earthly elements, whilst the life breathed
use of man were yet in existence on the earth. by God into his nostrils plainly distinguishes
the LORD God had not caused it to rain that life from the life of all inferior animals.
zon the earh, and there s not a man to till All animals have the body, all the living soul,
the ground. (6). But there'went up a mint, ch. i. 2o, 21, but the breath of life, breathed
&c.] It is objected here also, that the first into the nostrils by God Himself, is said of
chapter speaks of the earth as enveloped in man alone. Cp. "the body, soul and spirit"
waters and vapours, and that there could of ancient philosopy and o the Apostle
Paul.
therefore have been no lack of rain and mois- P
ture. The inconsistency is again more apparent than real. In the first place, the mist, or 8. a garden] The versions render a
vapour, or cloud, here mentioned as watering Paradise, which is a Persian word, signifying
the ground, may perhaps tally well with that rather a park than a garden, pleasure grounds
watery condition of the atmosphere, of which laid out with shrubs and trees.
we read in ch. i. But next, the purpose of in Eden] The word Eden signifies dech. ii. is to give an account, not of the crea- light and the Vulgate renders a garden of
tion or adaptation of the whole earth, but of
t a f a s delight, a pleasure garden; but the word is a
the preparation of a special chosen spot for
the eparlyabode of ma Thiath spot may have proper name, and points to a region, the extent
the early abode of man. That spot may have. I *.., of which is unknown. Two countries are
been in a region where little or no rain fell, mentioned in Scripture with the same name,
and which derived all its moisture from vaviz., one in Mesopotamia near the Tigris,
pours or dews. It may not have been wholly K. xix., Is. xxxvii. 2,. ii. 23;
without vegetation, but it was not a cultithe other in the neighbourhood of Damascus,
vated field; no herbs, or shrubs, or fruit- Amos i; but neither of these can be identrees'fittedfo man's use grew there;Amos i. $; but neither of these can be identrees fitted for man's use gew there; no rain tified with the region in which Paradise was
was wont to fall there (as some render c, placed. uch has been written on the site
"not even a mistwentuptowte tp laced. Much has been written on the site
"1 not even a mist went up to water the
grond," or more probably), "1yet there went of Paradise, but with no very definite result.
groulnd, or more probably), yvet there went
u t t w e fae of te The difficulty consists in discovering the four
up a mist and watered the whole face of the It is
groud." e te Crer me rivers mentioned in vv. II, I%, 13, I4. It is
roand." hm hen the Creator made Adam, generally agreed that one, Phrath (v. I4) is the
tht he miht not wander about a helpless Euphrates, and that another, Hiddekel, is the
savage, but that he might have a habitation all the ancient
*d to X.,., lia g e o,.,Tigris, and so it is rendered by all the ancient
suited to civilized life, a garden or cultivated VSS The name of the Tigris in Chaldee is
VSS. The name of the Tigris in Chaldee is
field was planted for hilm, provided with such..
fieldas was best adapted to his Diglath, in Syriac Diklath, in Arabic Dijlat,
vegetable produce as was best adapted to his
>comforts and anlts. all closely corresponding with Hiddekel, and
firom one of them the word Tigris itself is
7. AZnd the LORD God formed man of the probably a corruption. The following are
dust of the A;round, &c.] Here again, as in i. 26, the principal opinions as to the names of the
27, the formation of mnan is ascribed to the other rivers, and consequently as to the site
direct workmanship of God. In ch. i. God of Paradise.
40 GENESIS. II. [v. 9.
9 And out of the ground made the food; the tree of life also in the midst
LORD God to grow every tree that of the garden, and the tree of knowis pleasant to the sight, and good for ledge of good and evil.
I. Josephus identified the Gihon with the of authority seems in favour of No. 2, or
Nile. something nearly corresponding with it;, and
2,. Calvin, Huet, Bochart, and others be- it is the solution (molre or less) adopted by the
lieved the river of Paradise to have been the best modern interpreters.
united streams of the Tigris anl Euphrates
called the Shat-el-Arab, which flows by Bas- 9. made the LORD God to grosv] aVe
sora. Its four heads, on their shewing, would must understand this of the trees of Paradise
have been, on the north, the two separate only.
streams of the Tigris and Euphrates, on the
SI. the tree of life also in the midst of the
south, Gihon, the eastern, and Pison, the garden] Jewish and many Christian comwestern clhannels, into which the united stream mentators consider that there was a virtue in
again bratnches out below Bassora, before it this treewhich was calculated to preserve
falls iilto the sea. Havilah would then be the from diseases and to perpetuate animal life.
north-eastern part of Arabia, and Cush the Kennicott (' Two Dissertat.' Diss. i.) argued
region of Kissia, Susiana or Chuzestan. A that the word "tree" is a noun of number,
general exposition of this view may be found
Geog of e 0. T., ch whether in the Hebrew or the Greek (comp.
in VWiells, * *g. of *p * r Rev. xxii. a), and that all the trees of Para3. J. D. Michaelis, Rosenmtiller, and Karl dise excep t the tree of knowledge, the true
Von Raumer, who appear to be followed bye tree of knowledge, "the
test of good and evil," were trees of life, in
Kurt, identify Eden w ith the Armenian the eating of which, if man had not sinned,
highlands, making Pison to be the Phasis or his life would have been perpetuated continuArtaxes and Gihon to be the Oxus, Havilab
Araxes, and Gihon to be the Oxus, Havilah ally. The fathers inclined to the belief that
is with them the country of the Chwalissi,
the life to be supported by this tree was a
w1hich is said even now to be called by the
VIch is said even now to he called by the spiritual life. So $t Augustine (' De Gen. ad
Russians Chwaliskoje More. L
4.Hu e ens Ch bvaliskvoje torae. w lit.' vIII. 4) says, " In other trees there was
o Heidegger believed that Eden wasaa nourishment for Adam; but in this a sacraportion of the Holy Land.
O thers again find. the site in India or ment," i.e. The tree was a sacrament or mys5. Others again find the site in India or
tic image of, and perhaps also supporting, life
C-casssi~a. eternal. Its reference not to temportal, bu
Of these opinions No. I is utterly untena-.'.
Of *hs *iin o u untena- r: * to eternal life, seems to be implied in Gen. iii.
ble. The identification of Gihon with thee implied in Gen. iii..z. In Prov. iii. I8, XVisdom is compared to
Nile probably originated with the Alexandrian 2. In Prov. 8, Wisdom is compared to
Jews pr who f or the honour ofh their countrydn.the tree of life: and in Prov. xiii. Iz, we read.
Jewss, who for the honour of their country hen the desire cometh, it is a tree o
II When the desire cometh, it is a tree of
would have had the Nile to be one of the " which connects it with the hope of the
life," which connects it with the hope of the
rivers of Paradise. This was confirmed by future. And so perhaps we ay say pretty
the mistranslation of Cush into Ethiopia. It
is imosbe ovvrsconfidehtly, that whatever was the physical
is isi however, seing aside all r ques- effect of the fruit of this tree, there was a lestions of inspiration, that one so familiar with
sonl contained in it that life is to be sought
Egypt as the writer of Genesis should have s
conceived of the Nile as connected with the by man, not from within, from himself in
his own powers or faculties, but fi'om that
Tigris and Euphrates. See Kurtz,'Hist. of his own powers or facties, but from that
Old Covenant' (Clark's Library), Vol. I. p. 73. which is without him even from Hi who
only hath life in Himself. God only hath
No. z has the advantage of pointing to an Himself God b
single river whic might in te life in Himself; and the Son of God, who by
single river, which might in primitive times eternal generation fm the Father hath it
have been described as branching out into f the Fte at
four divisions or heads. Moreover, Arabia in given to Him to have life Himself was
whc cetl va a typified to Adam under this figure as "the
which certainly was a region called Havilah, is
near to the western channel, whilst Author of eternal salvation." Joh. i. 4, xiv..blr.o.eft n 6, Rev. ii. 7, xXii. 2 (see Falius in loc. and
which may have corresponded with the land Rev. 1. 7, xxii. 2 (see Fagius in Ic. and
of Cush borders on the eastern channel. Heidegger,' Hist. Patriarch.' Exerc. Iv.).
of Cushb, borders on the eastern channel.
The chief difficulty in No. 3 is that at pre- the tree of knowledge of good and evil]
sent there is no junction between the heads Onkelos paraphrases, " of the fruit of which
(Of the four rivers, Tigris, Euphrates, Oxus, they who eat learn to distinguish between
and Araxes, though all may take their rise in good and evil." The tree appears to Lave
the same mountain system, and may possibly been the test, whether man would be good
in more ancient times have been more nearly or bad; by it the trial was made whether
related. The question is one which has been in keeping God's commandments he would'mruch discussed, and is not likely soon to be attain to good, i.e. to eternal life, or by
*et at rest: but the weight of argument arnd breaking them he shoull hIIave evil, i.e. eter
V. 10 —I7.] GENESIS. II 4I
o10 And a river went out of Eden to 14 And the name of the third x, zer
water the garden; and from thence is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth
it was parted, and became into four 11toward the east of Assyria. And the ii or,
heads. fourth river is Euphrates.
a Eclus. l I The name of the first is dPison: 15 And the LORD God took lithe o1r,
24 29. that is it which compasseth the whole man, and put him into the garden of i'fn"i.
land of Havilth, where there is. gold; Eden to dress it and to keep it.
12 And the gold of that land is i'6 And the LORD God commandgood: there is bdellium and the onyx ed the man, saying, Of every tree
stone. of the garden tthou mayest freely tmIeb.
I3 And the name of the second eat::/ot s/Od
river is Gihon: the same is it that 17 But of the tree of the knowledge eat.
t Heb.
oCuh. compasseth the whole land oftEthiopia. of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of
nal death. The lesson seems to be, that man to African Cush, i.e. Ethiopia.
should not seek to learn what is good and 14. toward the east of Asl;sia] The
evil from himself but from God only; that name Asshur included Babylonia, an.d evenl
he should not set up an independent search Persia: see Ezra vi. Aa, where Darius is called
for more knowledge than is fitting, throwing King of Assyria: but in the time of Mioses
off the yoke of obedience and constituting probably Assyria proper would be underhimself the judge of good and ill. Some have stood, a region of low land on the left banlk
thought that the tree had not this name from of the Tigris, perhaps only including the
the first, but that it was given it after the country afterwards called Adiahene. It is
temptation and the fall, either because the hardly correct to say, that the Tigris runs
tempter had pretended that it would give "to the East of Assyria." Perhaps the ren.wisdom, or because Adam and Eve, after derings in some of the versions "towards" or
they had eaten of it, knew by bitter experi- "before Assyria" may be correct.
ence the difference between good and evil.t has
17. tou s,:ai't not eat of it] It has been
12. bdellium] a transparent gum obtained questi-oncd why such a test as this should
from a tree (Borassus dfabelliformis) which have been given; whether it be consistent with
grows in Arabia, India, and Media (Plin.' H. God's goodness to create a sin by making an
N.' XII. 9. ~ I9). This is the translation of arbitrary enactment; and how "the act of
Aqu., Symm., Theod., Vulg.: Josephus and eating a little fruit from a tree could be
many moderns, as Celsius ('Hierob.' i. 324), visited with so severe a penalty." But we
Cleric. in loc. adoptit. The LXX. renders " the may notice that if there was to be any trial
carbuncle;"' the Arabic, "sardius;" Kimchi, of man's obedience in Paradise, some special
Grotius, Bochart, Gesenius, and others, with test was almost necessary. His condition of
great probability take it to mean " pearls," simple innocence and happiness, vwith no disof which great abundance was found in India order in the constitution of his body or in
and the Persian Gulf, and this falls in well the affections of his soul, offered no natural
with Bochart's belief, that Havilah bordered temptations to sin. Adam and Eve had none
on the Persian Gulf. It appears far more but each other and their Creator near them;
probable that it should mean either pearls or and they could have had no natural inclinasome precious stone than a gum like bdellium, tion to sin against God or against their neighwhich is of no great value. bour. If we take the ten Commandments
the onyx] Most of the versions give "onyx" as the type of the moral law, we shall find
or " sardonyx;" Onkelos has " erl." none that in their state of healthy innocence
they could naturally desire to break (see Jo13. Ethiopia] Cush. This is a word of seph Mede, Bk. I. Disc. 4o). Their position
wide extent. It generally belongs either to was one of freedom indeed, but of dependArabia or to Ethiopia. From Gen. x. 7 sqq. ence. Their only danger was that they
it will appear how widely the sons of Cush should prefer independence upon God, and
spread forth: their first settlement appears to so seek for themselves freedom in the direchave been in Arabia. Nimrod founded the tion of evil as well as in the direction of
kingdom of Babylon. Afterwards they set- good; and the renouncing dependence upon
tied largely in Ethiopia. In the mlore an- God is the very essence of evil in the creacient books of Scripture, the Asiatic Cush is ture. Now the command concerning the
more frequently, perhaps exclusively, intend- fruit of the tree, simple and childish as it may
ed. Later the name applies more commonly appear, was one exactly suited to their sim
42 GENESIS. II. LV.I8-23.
it: for in the day that thou eatest to every beast of the field; but for
Ileb. thereof tthou shalt surely die. Adam there was not found an help
sJdatdioe. 18.I And the LORD God said, It meet for him.
is not good that the man should be 21 And the LORD God caused a
CECclas. alone; I will make e him an help meet deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he
7,5b. for him. slept: and he took one of his ribs,
asJbefore 19 And out of the ground the LORD and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
God formed every beast of the field, 22 And the rib, which the LORD
and every fowl of the air; and brought God had taken from man, made he t ioeb.
I Or, them unto IAdam to see what he would a woman, and brought her unto the bai',t
te ""a. call them: and whatsoever Adam call- man.
ed every living creature, that was the 23 And Adam said, This is now
name thereof. bone of my bones, and flesh of my
tHeb. 20 And Adam tgave names to all flesh: she shall be called Woman,
~aie dZ. cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and because she was'taken out of man. I
ple and childlike state. Moreover it is not it was God's will to place Adam, in order to
inconsistent with God's general dealings with mature his mental powers, and to teach him
mankind, that he should at times see fit to the use of language, the animals are brought
test faith and obedience by special and un- to him that he might name them. Nouns are
usual trials. Compare Gen. xxii. I, Matt. the first and simplest elements of language;
xix. z I. and animals, by their appearance, movements
thou shalt surely die] St Jerome (' Qu. and cries, more than any other objects sugin Gen.') proposes to adopt the translation of gest names for themselves.
Symmachus, "' Thou shalt become mortal or
liable to death." It is needless so to trans- fod n help meet for
late, but the meaning of the threat probably him] There is some obscurity in the origiwas that the effect of eating of the fruit of nal of the words "an help meet for him;"
that tree should be to poison the whole man, they probably mean "a helper suited to," or
soul and body, with a deadly poison, making rather " matching him."
the body mortal, and the soul "dead in tres- 22, the rib...made He a cqwoman] lit. The
passes and sins." WVith the day of trans- side He built up into a woman. The
gression a life commences, which is a living word which primarily means "rib" more fredeath. St Paul uses the expression, " Death quently signifies " side:" whence many of the
worketh in us." There was, however, doubt- rabbins adopted the Platonic myth (see Euseb.
less some remission of the sentence, so that'Pra p. Evang.' xii. Iz), that man and woman
they did not die instantly, as was the case were originally united in one body, till the Crewith the Ninevites (Jonah iii. Io); and then ator separated them. The formation of woman
a remedy was provided which might ultimate- from the side of man is without question
ly turn the curse into a blessing. Still the most mysterious: but it teaches very forcibly
sentence was ncever wholly reversed, but the and beautifully the duty of one sex towards
penalty tool effect at once. the other, and the close relationship between
19. the LORD God formed] The account them, so that neither should despise or treat
of the formation of the brute animals here with unkindness the other. That respect for
does not, as some have supposed, necessarily the weaker sex, which we esteem a mark of
imply that they were created after Adam; the highest refinement, is taught by the very
but it is introductory to the bringing them act of creation as recorded in the earliest ex —
one by one to Adam that he may name them, isting record. The New Testament tells us
and it is intended to lead up to the statement that marriage is a type of the union of Christ
that they were none of them suited to be and His Church; and the fathers held that
Adam's chief companions. They were form- the formation of Eve from the side of Adam
ed by God of earthly materials; but the typified the formation of the Church from
breath of Divine life had not been breathed the side of the Saviour.'he water and
into them. blood which flowed from that side were held
bIroufght them unto Adam to see'~whbat he the *lne to signify baptism, the other to belong
vuouidt call thzem] The power of speech wuras to the other great Sacrament, both water and
quould call them] The power of speech was blood cleansing from sin and making the
one of those gifts which friom the first distin- Church acceptable to God.
guished man from all other animals; but, as Church acceptable to God.
tending to that civilized condition in which 23. vomnzan, because she was taken out vq
V. 24, 25.j GENESIS. II. 43
Matt 9' 24 Therefore shall a man leave 25 And they were both naked, the
farkIo. 7. his father and his mother, and shall man and his wife, and were not a56. cleave unto his wife: and they shall be shamed.
Eph. 5. 3T. one flesh.
man] Hebrew "Ishsha because she was taken 24. 7Therefore, &c.] These may have been
out of Ish." Hence many have argued that the words of Adam, or of the inspired hisHebrew must have been the primitive lax- torian. Matt. xix. 5 seems to refer them to the
guage. The same, of course, is inferred from latter, which also is the more natural interother names, as Eve, Cain, Abel, &c., all pretation. Then too they have more obhaving appropriate significance in Hebrew. viously that Divine authority which our Lord
The argument is inconclusive, because it is so emphatically ascribes to them. Such inciquite possible to translate names from one lan- dental remarks are not uncommon in Scripguage into another, and to retain the meaning ture; see for instance ch. xxxii. 32.
which those names had in their original tongue.
NOTE A on CHAP. II. V. 7. ON THE IMMEDIATE CREATION AND PRIMITIVE
STATE OF MAN.
ON the question of man's direct creation in Though it has been asserted without any
distinction to the hypothesis of development, proof that man, when greatly degenerate,
and on his original position as a civilized reverts to the type of the monkey, just as dobeing, not as a wild barbarian, we may re- mesticated animals revert to the wild type;
mark, ist, It is admitted even by the theorists yet the analogy is imperfect and untrue. Man
themselves, that in the present state of the undoubtedly, apart from ennobling influences,
evidence the records beneath the earth's surface degenerates, and, losing more and more of the
give no support to the hypothesis that every image of his Maker, becomes more closely asspecies grew out of some species less per- similated to the brute creation, the earthly
fect before it. There is not an unbroken chain nature overpowering the spiritual. But that
of continuity. At times, new and strange forms this is not natural to him is shewn by the
suddenly appear upon the stage of life, with no fact, that, under such conditions of degeneprevious intimation of their coming. 2ndly, racy, the race gradually becomes enfeebled,
In those creatures, in which instinct seems and at length dies out; whereas the domestimost fully developed, it is impossible that it cated animal, which reverts to the type of
should have grown by cultivation and suc- the wild animal, instead of fading away, becessive inheritance. In no animal is it more comes only the more powerful and the more
observable than in the bee: but the working prolific. The wild state is natural to the
bee only has the remarkable instinct of build- brutes, but the civilized is natural to man.
ing and honey-making so peculiar to its race; Even if the other parts of the Darwinian
it does not inherit that instinct from its pa- hypothesis were demonstrable, there is not a
rents, for neither the drone nor the queen-bee vestige of evidence that there ever existed any
builds or works; it does not hand it down to beast intermediate between apes and men.
its posterity, for itself is sterile and child- Apes too are by no means the nearest to us
less. Mr Darwin has not succeeded in re- in intelligence or moral sense or in their food
plying to this argument. 3rdly, Civilization, and other habits. It also deserves to be
as far as all experience goes, has always been borne in mind, that even if it could be made
learned from without. No extremely barba- probable that man is only an improved ape,
rous nation has ever yet been found capable of no physiological reason can touch the quesinitiating civilization. Retrogression is rapid, tion, whether God did not when the imbut progress unknown, till the first steps have provement reached its right point, breathe into
been taught. (See Abp. WVhately,'Origin him "a living soul," a spirit "which goeth
of Civilization,' the argument of which has upward," when bodily life ceases. This at
not been refuted by Sir John Lubbock,'Pre- least would have constituted Adam a new
historic Man.' Both have been ably reviewed creature, and the fountain head of a new race.
by the Duke of Argyll,'Primeval Man'). On the derivation of mankind from a
Moreover, almost all barbarous races, if not single pair, see Prichard's'Physical Hist. of
wholly withput tradition, believe themselves Mankind,' Bunsen,'Philosophy of Universal
to have been once in a more civilized state, History,' Smyth,'Unity of the Human
to have come from a more favoured land, to Race,' uQatrefages,' L'unit6 de l'espace
have descended from ancestors more enlight- Humaine,' &c.
ened and powerful than themselves. 4thly,
44 GENESIS. III, v. I- 7.
CHAPTER III. 4 aAnd the serpent said unto the 2Cor..l..
I The serYent deceiveth Eve. 6 Man's shame- woman, Ye shall not surely die: I Tim. 2.
feid fall. 9 God arraignethz them. 5 For God doth kno that in the I4
serpent is ctursed. I T'he promised seed. I6 5
Thepunishoenzt of mankind. 2r 5Tzeir first day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
clothing. 22 ~l/eir caslizf, ofl ofg5aradise. shall be opened, and ye shall be as
OW the serpent was more sub- gods, knowing good and evil.
IN 8 til than any beast of the field 6 And when the woman saw that
which the LORD God had made. And the tree was good for food, and that
I Heb. he said unto the woman, tYea, hath it was tpleasant to the eyes, and a tHeb.
IYea, be- a, desire
{Lt&',..,. God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree to be desired to mnae one wise, dsired
tree of the garden? she took of the fruit thereof,'and bE( CUS.
2 And the woman said unto the did eat, and gave also unto her hus- TiM. 2.
serpent, WiTe may eat of the fruit of band with her; and he did eat. I4the trees of the garden' 7 And the eyes of them both
3 But of the fruit of the tree which were opened, and they knew that
is in the midst of the garden, God hath they were naked; and they sewed fig
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither leaves together, and made themselves ii Or,
shall ye touch it, lest ye die.:aprons. i,
ChIAP. III. 1. Nlo- the serpent] "Almost 5. God doth knorw] The tempter reprethroughout the East the serpent was used as sents God as envious of His creatures' happian emblem of the evil principle," Kalisch, ad ness, the ordinary suggestion of false religion
h. I.: but Kalisch himself, Tuch and others and unbelief. Then he suggests to Eve the
deny that the evil spirit is to be understood desire of self-dependence, that which is in fact
in this narrative of Genesis. Yet not only the origin of all sin, the giving up of dependdid the East in general look on the serpent as ence on God, and the seeking for power,
an emblem of the spirit of evil, but the earliest wisdom, happiness in self.
traces of Jewish or Christian interpretations asgo] Or more probably, "as Got.'
all point to this. The evil one is constantly The plural word Ellohbm stands at times for
caled by the Jews'the old serpent," Ran- false gods, at times for angels, but most comnacsb as a,'kadrn;oni (so also in Rev. xli. 9, monly for the one true God.
"' that old serpent the devil"). In Wisd. ii.
24, we read, "' By the envy of the devil death knowing good' and evil] Having a clear
entered into the world." Our Lord Himself understanding of all great moral questions;
says, "the Devil was the murderer of man not like children, but like those of full age,
from the beginning" (Joh. viii. 44). Von who "'by reason of use have their senses exBohlen observes that " the pervading Jewish ercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb.
view is the most obvious, according to which v. 14). This was the serpent's promise,
the serpent is considered as Satan; and the though he knew that the result would be
greatest confirmation of such an interpreta- really a knowledge of evil through the pertion is the very general agreement of the Asi- version of their own will and their own ill
atic myths" (ad h. 1.). Some have thought choice.
that no serpent appeared, but only that evil 6. to make one,ise] Gesenius and others,
one, who is called the serpent; but then he after the LXX. and Vulgate, render to look
could not have been said to be " more subtle upon.
than all the beasts of the field." The reason
7. the eyes of them both vwere opened, &c.
why Satan took the form of a beast remark- lTheir eyes were truly opened as the serpent
able for its subtlety may have been, that so had promised them, but only to see that in
Eve might be the less upon her guard. New the moment when they departed from God
as she was to all creation, she may not have they became slaves of the flesh, that the freebeen surprised at speech in an animal which will and independence of God, and knowing
apparently possessed almost human sagacity. the good andthe evil, delivers them up to the
Fit vessel, fittest imp of fraud... powe:of evil. Man, who had his glorious.. For in the wily snake destiny before him of becoming by means of
Whatever sleights nonewouldsuspicious mark, the knowledge and love of God, and by obeAs from his wit and nature subtlety dience, the free lord of the world, ceases, by
Proceeding, which in other beasts observed disobedience, to be master of himself." (0.
Doubt might beget of diabolic power, Von Gerlach,'Comment.' ad h. 1.).
Active within beyond the sense of brute. fi lea ves] Celsius, Tuch, and Gese-'Paradise Lost,' IX. 9I. nius, have doubted whether this was the Ficus
v. 8-I5-.] GENESIS. III. 4-5
8 And they heard the voice of the 12 And the man said, The woman
LORD God walking in the garden in whom thou gaveft to be with me, she
the tcool of the dayT: and Adam and gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
his wife hid themselves from the pre- 13 And the LORD God said unto the
sence of the LORD God amongst the woman, What is this that thou hast
trees of the garden. done? And the woman said, The
9 And the LORD God called unto serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Adam, and said unto him, Where art 14 And the LORD God said unto
thou? the serpent, Because thou hast done
Io And he said, I heard thy voice this, thou art cursed above all cattle,
in the garden, and I was afraid, be- and above every beast of the field;
cause I was naked; and I hid myself. upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust
I I And he said, Who told the; that shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten 15 And I will put enmity between
of the tree, whereof I commanded thee and the woman, and between
thee that thou shouldest not eat? thy seed and her seed; and it shall
Carica of Linnaeus, supposing it to have been 14. cursed above all cattle] \r e can
the AMzsa Paradisiaca; but the word is that hardly doubt that these words were in part
used throughout Scripture for the well known directed against the animal, which was made
fig tree (see Rcediger in Ges.'Lex.' p. 1490). the instrument of man's ruin, as in the law
8. I tee voice of the LORSD God] The the ox which gored a man was to be put to
Whole of this history of the creation and the was ever to bear about the remembrance of
h-oie oft this history of the creation and the death like a malefactor. Thus the serpent
fll is full of these anthropomorphic represen- that evi t ea b the man
tations. The Creator is spoken of as if con- that evil, which he had been made the means
suiting about the formation of man (i. 26), as of ploducing, was to be the enemy of man,
r~ecetinlg oXn the res!ult of His creation, and causing him suffering, but in the end sufferdeclaring it all very good (i. 3I), as resting ing from him utter destruction; yet, as the
fdon His Tolk (ii. a), as planting a garden serpent was but the outward form of the
fro Adam (ii. 8) bringing the animals t him spirit of evil, so the language of the Alto nAdame the (ii. I9), then building up the mighty, which outwardly refers to the serrio of Adam inito a woman, and bringing her pent, in its spiritual significance is a curse
to Adam to be his bride (ii. 22). Here again upon the evil one. And as the curse is for
tAdam hears His voice as of one walking in the sake of man; so in it is contained a prothe garden in the cool of the day. All this over that which first caused its fall. The
the garden in the cool of the da.r All this mise that the human race shall finally triumph
corresponds well with the simple and childlike character of the early portions of Gene- most natural interpretation of the cursW ight
sis. The Great Father, through His inspired indicate, that the serpent underwent some
w7ord, is as it were teaching His children, in change of folrm. It would, however, be quite
the infancy of their race, by means of simple consistent with the narrative, even in its most
langnagSe, and in simple lessons. Onkelos has literal acceptance, to understand that it merely
here "a The Voice of the TWAord of the LORD." implied continued and perpetual degradation
It is by this name, "the WVord of the LORD," coupled with a truceless war against mankind.
that the Targums generally paraphrase the kind
name of the Most High, more especially in 15. seed] Allix, as quoted by Bishop Pathose passages where is recorded anything like trick, observes that in this promise God did a
a visible or sensible representation of His MIa- kindness to Adam, who otherwise by the
jesty. The Christian fathers almost uniyer- temptation might have been estranged from
sally believed that every appearance of God his wife; but here the promise of redemption
to the patriarchs and prophets was a manifes- is through the seed of the'woman. I Martation of the eternal Son, judging especially riage, which had been the vehicle of the fall,
from J oh. i. 1i8. i~i is now also to become that of salvation; the
cool of the day] Lit. "wind of the seed of the woman is to bruise the head of
day," which is generally understood of the the Serpent." (Kurtz, I. 78.) The promise
cool breezes of evening. Paradise had been is, no doubt, general, that, though the seed
to man the place of God's presence, which of the serpent (mystically Satan and all his
brought heretofore happiness, and security. servants) shall continually wage war against
Now that sin had come upon him, the sense the descendants of Eve, yet ultimately by
of that presence w as accompanied with sharme God's appointment mankrind (the whole seed
and fear, of the woman) shall triumph over their spi
46 GENESIS. III. [v. I6-I.
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the
his heel. tree, of which I commanded thee, sayI6 Unto the woman he said, I will ing, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed
greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring shalt thou eat ofit all the days ofthylife;
forth children; and thy desire shall be i8 Thorns also and thistles shall
Otr, Ilto thy husband, and he shall crule it tbring forth to thee; and thou shalt t He
subjed to th hebo h il
itby/ us- over thee. eat the herb of the field; sbud.
bc.r..4. 17 And unto Adam he said, Be- I9 In the sweat of thy face shalt
34. cause,thou hast hearkened unto the thou eat bread, till thou return unto
ritual enemy. If there were no more than it is rendered by most ancient Versions and
this in the language used, even so there would Comm. as Syr. Sam. Saad. St Paul refers to
be, an obscure indeed, but still a significant it in the words "The God of peace shall
promise of some future deliverance. But the bruise Satan under your feet shortly." Rom.
last words of the verse seem not merely xvi. 20.
general but personal. In the first clause it 16. Unto the woman He said It is nois said, that there should be " enmity between ticed by Tertullian, that though God punished
thy seed and her seed;" but in the second Adam and Eve, He did not curse them, as
clause it is said, " It (or he) shall bruise thy He did the Serpent, they being candidates for
head." It was the head of the particular restoration ('adv. Marcion.' ii. 2c) f
serpent (not of the seed of the serpent only),
which the seed of the woman was to bruise. I quill greatly multiply ty sorrowq and thy
And though we must not lay stress on the conception] Some suppose this to be a hendismasculine pronoun "he," because the word duoin for "the sorrow of thy conception."
for seed is masculine in Hebrew, yet there is The words rather mean that woman's sorrow
the appearance here of a personal contest, and her conception should both be multiand a personal victory. This inference is plied. The mother has not only the pains
strengthened by the promise being made to of childbirth, but from all the cares of materthe seed of the'woman. There has been but nity greater sorrow connected with her comone descendant of Eve, who had no earthly mon offspring than the father has. The
father; and He was " manifested that He threat of multiplying conception indicates,
might destroy the works of the devil." not that Eve had already borne children, but
Though the Jewish writers do not rl that childbirth would not dirhave been uninterpret the promise of the Messiah; yet knownhadthefirstpairremainedin Paradise.
the Targums of Jerusalem and of the Pseudo- Tihy desire shall be] Desire here expresses
Jonathan both say that this victory over the that reverential longing with which the weakserpent shall be " in the days of the Messiah." er looks up to the stronger. The Vulgate
It is well known that Roman Catholic therefore renders, "Thou shalt be under the
divines have attributed the victory to the power of thy husband." This is also the inVirgin Mary, misled by the rendering o terpretation ofAbenezraand ofmanymoderns.
some MSS. of the Latin, Ipsa, she. The The comparison with ch. iv. 7 shews that there
original Hebrew is perfectly unequivocal; is somewhat of dependence and subjection irmfor, though the pronoun might be so pointed plied in the phrases.
as to signify either he or she, yet the verb 17. And unto Adam He said] Hero for
is (according to the Hebrew idiom) mascu- th first time Ad occurs without an aricle
line. Moreover the LXX. has seed in the as a proper name
neuter, but the pronoun referring to it, " hpe,"
in the masculine, which would naturally refer cursed is the ground for thy snke] The
it to some individual son of the woman.'whole earth partakes of the punishment, vwhich
The Syriac Version also has a masculine pro- the sin of man, its head and destined ruler,
has called down. The creature itself is subjected to vanity, Rom. viii. 20o. Death reigns.
shall bruise] The LXX. followed by the Instead of the blessed soil of Paradise, Adamn
Vulgate and Onkelos has "shall watch," and his offspring have to till the ground now
probably meaning to watch and track as a condemned to bear thorns and thistles, and
hunter does his prey; but the word in Chal- this is not to end, until the man returns to
dee signifies "to bruise or crush." In this, the earth from which he was taken. Yet
or nearly this sense it is used in the only even here there is some mark of mercy: for,
other passages in which it occurs in Scrip- whereas the serpent is cursed directly, and
ture, viz. Job ix. 27, Ps. cxxxix. xi, and so that with a reference to the earth he was
V. 20-24.] GENESIS. III. 47
the ground; for out of it wast thou lest he put forth his hand, and take
taken: for dust thou art, and unto also of the tree of life, and eat, and
dust shalt thou return. live for ever:
20o And Adam called his wife's 23 Therefore the LORD God sent
tCHebak. name lEve; because she was the him forth from the garden of Eden,
mother of all living. to till the ground from whence he was
2I Unto Adam also and to his wife taken.
did the LORD God make coats of 24 So he drove out the man; and
skins, and clothed them. he placed at the east of the garden
22 q[ And the LORD God said, Be- of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming
hold, the man is become as one of sword which turned every way, to
us, to know goodand evil: and now, keep the way of the tree of life.
to travel over; here on the contrary the stood upright, a knowledge, which evil angels
earth, rather than the man, is cursed, though have from their own deliberate choosing of
for the man's sake and with reference to him. evil instead of good. The difficulty of this
(Tuch.) interpretation is, that it supposes God to
19. See note A at end of Chapter. speak of Himself as One among other spi20. Evze] Chavvah, Life. Not only be- ritual beings, whereas Ile cannot be likened
cause she gave birth to all living, but perhaps to any one, but is infinitely above and beyond
with a further prophetic meaning, in refer- all created natures. Some therefore would
ence to the promise just given, because the understand here and elsewhere, the plural as
race of man, now subject to death, should a mere plural of majesty. Still there is a
* be made alive by the Offspring of the woman, manifest plurality of person. It is not merely
"like Us," but " like one of Us." Hence it
22. the mran is become as one of us] was the universal belief of the early Christians,
Man was not a mere animal, following the that here as in Gen. i. 2n, God was speakimpulse of sense, without distinction of right ing to, and of, His coeternal Son and Spirit.
and wrong.'He had also a spiritual per- See note B at end of Chapter.
sonality, with moral will and freedom of
forechoice. His lower nature, though in sub- lest he putfoIth his hnd] Vatablus, who
iooks on the tree of life as no more than
iection to the higher, as that was in subjec- looks on the tree of life as no more than
tion to God, yet acted as a veil, screening as though God bad said, "Lest he should
from him what might have been visible to
pure spiritual intelligence: hence, though he have a vaon expectation excited in him bi
knew good from knowing God and living in laying hold of this symbol of y promise;
that shall be taken from him which might
dependence on Him, yet he knew not evil,
having had no experience of it hitherto. His give him such a hope of immortality," ad
Il therefore, although sinful, was not like. I. But Augustine, who spoke of the tree
the sin of angels, who had no animal nature of life as a sacrament, probably meant by a
tohs obscure vision or to tempt by sense, sacrament something more than a mere emto obscure vision or to tempt by sense.
Their fall must have been more deliberate, blem and many of the fathers looed on
more wiiful, less pardonable. But, hen this judgment of God, whereby man ws
man by fatal mischoice learned that there excluded from the reach of that, which might
man by fatal mischoice learned that there a merc
was evil in the universe as well as good, then have made him immortal, as rather a mercn b
he had acquired a condition like to that of
perpetuated, it would have been an tremorspiritual beings, who had no veil to their
understanding, and could see both on the tality of sin. So Gregory Nazianzen says
fright handi, and on the leftt The meaning the exclusion from the tree of life was "that
then of this mysterious saying of the Most evl might not be immortal, and that tle
High may be, that now by sin man had punishment might be an act of benevolence."
attained a knowledge like the knowledge of (Greg. Naz.' Orat.' xxxvii n. I. See Papure spiritual existences, a knowledge which trick).
God has of necessity, a knowledge which the 24. Cherubims] See note C at end of
angels have, who might have fallen but who Chapter.
NOTE A on CHAP. III. v. 19. ON THE EFFECT OF THE FALL.
NOTHING can really be plainer than that the suiting from the presence of God and a life
narrative describes a most deplorable change in dlependence on His support, to a state of
in the condition of the first parents of man- sin and shame following on disobedience to
kind, a change from a state of holiness re- His will and a desire to become independent
48 GENESIS. If[.
of Him. It is the distinctest possible ac- have actually brought in. And the remedy
count of a sin and of its punishment. More- would have been apparently less simple and
over in all subsequent teaching of Scripture more complicated. As the Scripture history
the whole human race is represented as shar- represents it to us, and as the New Testament
ing in the exile of Adam from his Maker, interprets that history, the Judge of all the
and hence in his sinfulness; for holiness and earth punished the sin of Adam by depriving
happiness are inseparable from the presence him of His presence and His Spirit (that
and the Spirit of God. It may be impossible "'original righteousness" of the fathers and
fully to explain all the justice or the mercy of the schoolmen, see Bp. Bull, Vol. It. Dis. v.
this dispensation. Yet we may reflect that and Aquinas,'Summa,' ii. i. qu. 8z. art. 4),
man was created a reasonable, free-willing, and thus subjecting him to death. But'responsible being. All this implies power to though He thus "concluded all under sill,"'will as God wills, and power to will as God it was indeed "that lHe might have mercy oll
does not will. It implies too something like all," Rom. xi. 32. The whole race of man
a condition of trial, a state of probation. If condemned in Adam, receives in Adam also
each man had been put on his trial separately, the promise of recovery for all. And in the
as Adam was; judging from experience as Second Adam, that special Seed ofthe Womlan,
well as from the history of Adam, we may the recovery of the whole race is effected,
see the probability that a large number of insomuch that as in Adam all died, even so
Adam's descendants would have sinned as he in Christ all shall be made alive. And thus in
sinned. The confusion so introduced into truth the mystery of sin can only be cleared
the world would have been at least as great up by the mystery of redemption; whilst both
as that which the single fall and the expulsion exhibit the justice of God brought out into its
once for all of our first parents from Paradise fullest relief only under the light of His love.
NOTE B on CHAP. III. V. 22. ON THIE HISTORICAL CHARACTER OF TIIE TEMPTATION AND THE FALL.
TIIE traditions of all, especially Eastern though widely distinguished from it by the
nations, have more or less of resemblance gross Pantheism of the Hindoo Theology:
to the record of the first three chapters but that the Hebrews can owe nothing to these
of Genesis. This is, according to some, to is evident from the fact that they are not conbe explained by mere similarity in all early tained in the Vedas and the most ancient
mythology. According to others it results Sanscrit literature, from which alone it is
from the Hebrew histories borrowing the possible that even the later Jewish writers
myths of neighbouring countries and pro- could have borrowed. Indeed the history of
pounding them as historical truths. There Krishna first appears in the'Bhagavat Gita,'
can be no reasonable doubt, that the writer a work assigned to the 3rd century afof Genesis puts forth his history as history. ter Christ, and which is supposed to have
Hence some of the early rationalists admitted drawn largely from Christian or Pseudoan historical foundation, though they thought Christian sources. The nearest resemblance,
it coloured by subsequent fancy. Eichhorn however, is traceable between the Biblical
for instance ('Urgeschichte,' Th. 2. B. a) sup- record and the teaching of the Zendavesta. As
posed that Adamn dreamed of the formation there is a likeness in the history of Creation
of Eve out of his side. Eve (as Abarbanel and in the description of Paradise, so there is
had also imagined) saw the serpent eating a special similarity in the account of the fall.
poisonous fruit, then ate of it herself and According to the doctrine of Zoroaster, the
gave it to her husband; and thus awakened first human beings, created by Ormuzd, the
in them both sensual thoughts and the first good principle, lived in a state of innocence
feelings of shame. A thunderstorm seemed to in a happy garden with a tree wvhich gave
them the voice of God; they fled in terror them life and immortality; but Ahriman, the
forom Paradise, and in the unkindliness of a evil principle, assuming the form of a serpent,
sterile land, the toils of agriculture and the offered them the fruit of a tree, which he had
pangs of childbirth found a punishment for himself created; they ate and became subject
their fault. But such forced explanations to evil and to a continual contest between
saon gave way to mythical interpretation. light and darkness, between the good motions
Paradise is but the golden age of the He- of Ormuzd, and the evil suggestions of
brews; the tree of life is the Ambrosia or Ahriman. As the Hindoo traditions are
Amrita of Greece or India; the tempter disfigured by Pantheism, so are the Persian
finds a parallel in the contests of Krishna by dualism; and both are markedly conwith the serpent, or in the Persian myth of trasted with the pure monotheism of the
Ahriman'deceiving the first human beings Bible History. But Hartmann, Von Bohlen,
under a serpent's form. The Indian cosmo- and other mythical interpreters, have imagingony and the history of Krishna certainly ed that the Mosaic account was really borbear some resemblance to the Jewish history, rowed frorn the Zoroastrian; a theory which
GENESIS. III. 49
could only be established by proving that the patriarchs; anti then the fact, that the tradlearly chapters of Genesis were not written tions of Persia were of all others the nearest
till after the Babylonish captivity; for it was to the Jewish traditions may easily be exthen that the Jews first came into close con- plained. Let us suppose the account in
tact with the Persians, and might have bor- Genesis to be the great Semitic tradition.
rowed some of their superstitions. perhaps delivered direct from Shem to AbraAgainst so late a date the language of the ham, from Abraham to Jacob, from Jacob
first chapter of Genesis is conclusive. There to Joseph, and incorporated under Divine
are indeed a few Aramaisms in Genesis; but guidance by Moses in his history. Is it
it has been ruled most justly, that "Arama- unlikely that Japhet may have given the very
isnms in a book of the Bible are proof either of same account of his own posterity? and
a very early or of a very late origin." The where would it have been so well preserved,
Patriarchs, who came from Ur of the as in Iran, that spot, or at least near to that
Chaldees, may have naturally spoken a He- spot, where the Aryan races seem longest to
brew not unmixed with Chaldaisms, and have dwelt together, and where the tradition
some names, as that of Eve (Chava) and was most likely to have been undisturbed
that of the LORD (JEHOVAH), both of by constant migrations? The Persians prided
which have a Chaldee or Aramaic form, could themselves on their pure and ancient denot possibly have been invented later than scent; and modern ethnologists have given
the age of Moses, unless they were invented to those tribes which peopled India and
after the Babylonian Captivity, when the Europe the name of Aryan, after the inhabitJews again came into contact with the Chal- ants of Iran and the noblest race among
deans in Babylonia. That the Aramaisms of them, the Arii. If the Hebrews retained the
Genesis really mark antiquity, not novelty, Semitic tradition pure and uncorrupted,
should almost be self apparent to one familiar through their adherence to the worship of
with the original. The Hebrew of the first the true God, whilst the Persians had the
three chapters of the Bible is most emphati- Japhetic tradition, though corrupted by dualcally archaic. It cannot therefore be a modern ism, the resemblance between their respective
Chaldaized Hebrew, but is a Hebrew so accounts would be in every way natural,
ancient as still to retain strong traces of its and the real historical basis of them both
original union with its sister dialect Chaldee. would be the simplest solution of the diffiIts peculiar conciseness is the exact opposite of culty.
the diffuse and verbose style of the Chaldee It may only be necessary to add that this
in Daniel or Ezra. The 3rd verse of Genesis reasoning will not be affected, even if we
owes much of its proverbial grandeur to this should concur with those who argue, that
very conciseness. So many thoughts are the history of the fall is a true history though
perhaps nowhere else in the world uttered in veiled under allegorical imagery, i. e. that
so few syllables. The very reverse of this is Adam and Eve were created innocent and
true of the language when it had become holy, that they were subjected to a trial and
infected by the Chaldee of the Captivity. fell under it, thereby bringing in sin and
But, if the legends of the Zendavesta were death upon mankind, but that the description
not borrowed by the Jews in their captivity, given of this in Genesis is not literal but
then the real contact point between them emblematical and mystical (see for instance
and the Jewish history must be found in Quarry'on Gen.' p. Ix2, and Warburton
pre-Mosaic times, in the days of the early quoted by him).
NOTE C on CHAP. III. V. 24. CHERUBIM.
(I) Traditional accounts of the Cherubim. (2) Cherubim figured in Tabernacle and Temple.
(3) Cherubim seen in visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, St John. (4) Cherubint of Paradise.
(5) Etymology of name.
IN this passage the Cherubim appear to be by man." It is possible that Josephus' Phaliving beings, angels of God, fulfilling the will risaic prejudice in interpreting the second comof God. Elsewhere (except in brief allu- mandment may have led him to"this profession
sions as Ps. xviii. io; z Sam. xxii. II) we find of utter ignorance concerning the forms of the
them as sculptured or wrought figures in the Cherubim, for he charges Solomon witha breach
Tabernacle and the Temple; or as images in of the law on account of the oxen under the
the visions of prophets, which visions have al- brazen sea (' Ant.' vIII. 7. ~ 3), and in the face
ways more or less of the other imagery of the of Exod. xxvi. 3 I (compared with Ezek. x. 2o),
Temple presented in them (Ez. i. x; Rev. iv. he denies that the veil of the tabernacle had any
and perhaps Is. vi.). living creatures on it (' Ant.' HIi. 3. ~ 6). Still
Tradition gives no satisfactory account of the Apostle (Heb. ix. 5), who speaks of "the
the appearance of these cherubic figures. Jo- Cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat,"
sephus, (' Ant.' III. 6. ~ 5) says that they were adds, " of which we cannot now speak par"winged animals in form like nothing seen icularly," as though, after the captivity and
VOL. 1. D
50 GENESIS. III.
the destruction of the first Temple, not only nacle and the Temple, representing either
had the sacred figures never been restored, but the personal angels of God, or at least those
even the memory of their shapes had been ministers and agents of His in creation which
lost. do His pleasure and wait upon His will.
1. The Tabernacle and the Temprle] When We should infer, that their offices were (X)
Moses is commanded to make the ark, we to guard what is sacred and unapproachable,
learn that he was to make the CapporethJ, the gate of Paradise (Gen. iii. 4), the ark of
the mercy seat or covering of the ark, of the covenant of the LORD, in which were
pure gold, and Cherubim looking towards deposited the two tables of the Law (comthe mercy seat, stretching forth their wings pare Ezek. xxviii. I4-I6, where the Prince
on high to cover the mercy seat. The Che- of Tyre is compared to a Cherub, who in
rubim were to be of a piece with the mercy Eden covers with his wings the precious
seat, or at least of the same material (Ex. stones): (z) to surround the mystic throne
xxv. I7-20). There is no appearance of of God and to attend His presence (hence
more than one face to each Cherub, nor of the Most High is constantly spoken of as
more than two wings. The Cherubim on dwelling between the Cherubim, i.e. by His
the mercy seat in the Tabernacle appear to Shechinah on the mercy seat, I S. iv. 4;
have been exactly imitated by Solomon in 2 S. vi. 2; 2 K. xix. I5; Ps. lxxx. 2, xcix.
the Temple, unless they were the very Cheru- x; Is. xxxvii. I6): (3) perhaps to bear up
bim of the Tabernacle removed to the Temple. the throne of God upon their wings, and
Their height is said to have been ten cubits, to carry Him when He appeared in His
and their wings touched the walls on either side glory. (Comp. z S. xxii. II; Ps. xviii. Io,
(x K. vi. 27). Besides the two Cherubimon the "He rode upon a Cherub, and did fly: yea,
mercy seat, figures of Cherubim were wrought He did fly upon the wings of the wind.")
on the curtains of the Tabernacle (Ex. xxvi. 2. The visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel and St
I, 31, xxxvi. 8, 35), and were afterwards John] It is doubtful whether the Seraphim
engraven on the walls and doors of the Tem- in the vision of Isaiah ch. vi. (the only place
ple, along with palms and flowers, (I K. vi. in which they are named in Scripture) be the
29, 32, 35): also on the bases of the ten lavers, same as the Cherubim or not. The scene
on the borders that were between the ledges is the same as in the Cherubic visions of
were " lions, oxen and Cherubims." (I K. vii. Ezekiel and St John, viz. in the Temple (vv.
29). Then again were four wheels a cubit I. 6). The Seraphim occupy a place like
and a half high, and again we find "Cheru- that of the Cherubim, viz. just by the
bims, lions and palm trees." (-. 36.) Throne of God; and their taking the live
The special offices of the Cherubic figures coal from the altar seems to connect them with
in the Tabernacle appear to have been, first, the burning coals of Ezekiel's Cherubim (Ez.
the watching and guarding of the ark and i. 13). As far as we can judge these Serathe sacred law deposited within the ark, to- phim resemble the Cherubim of the Taberwards which they are represented as look- nacle and the Temple in having human forms
ing and over which they spread their out- and single faces, but they have six wings
stretched wings, and secondly, to attend and each: "-With twain he covered his face,
bear up that mystic presence of God, which and with twain he covered his feet, and with
*appeared in the Cloud of glory over the twain he did fly."
mercy seat. That Cloud of glory had led WVe come now to the visions of Ezekiel
Israel through the Red Sea and the wilder- and St John. These visions also have their
ness, the guide and guardian of God's people, seat in the Temple as the image of Heaven.
the symbol of His presence, especially in the (See Ezek. x. 2, 3, S, 18, where we meet
giving of the law, having a twofold aspect, at with the altar fire and the courts of the Temtimes as darkness, at times as a pillar of pie: and Rev. passim, where all the imagery
light; now a glory settling on the Taber- is drawn from the Temple, e.g. the candlenacle or resting above the ark, at another stick ch. i. I2, the High Priest ch. i. 13, the
time accompanied with fire and lightnings, so altar ch. vi. 9, &c.) In both visions the
that the people durst not look on it. (Ex. throne corresponds with the place on which
xiii. 21, 22, XiV. 19, 24, xvi. TO, xix. i6, 18, the Cloud of glory rested between the Che20, xx. 18, xxiv. I6, 17, xxxiii. 9, xxxiv. 5, rubim. The Cherubim then are described
xxxvii. 6-9, xl. 34-38; Num. ix. I5-23, as living creatures (Ezek. i. 5; Rev. iv. 6),
xii. 5-Io, xvi. 19-42). WThen the Taber- in the form of a man (Ezek. i. 5) with four
nacle is set up, the Law is deposited in the (Ezek. i. 8, ii. 23, x. 7, 8-2I), or with six
Ark, the cloud is promised to rest upon the wings (Rev. iv. 8), having eyes all over
covering of the Ark, and, as the Cherubim (Ezek. i. I8, x. I2; Rev. iv. 8). In Ezekiel
guard the Law and the Testimony of God, they have each four faces, viz. of a man, of a
so they may be supposed reverently to sur- lion, of an ox, of an eagle (Ezek. i. Io, x.
round the throne of His glory. i6). In St John they have but one face
If we went no farther, we should natu- each, these faces being respectively of a man,
rally conclude, that the Cherubim were wing- of a lion, of a calf and of an eagle (Rev. iv.
ed human figures, sculptured in the Taber- 7). Their feet appear to Ezekiel as straight
GENESIS. III. 5'
feet, like the feet of oxen (Ezek. i. 7). In is it that some Egyptian type should have
Ezek. x. I4, we have the very singular phe- been followed: and we find in the Egyptian
nomenon that the face of a Cherub seems Sculptures, and in the i8th dynasty, which
identified or synonymous with the face of a was probably the dynasty of the Exodus, excalf or an ox. (Comp. Ezek. i. Io; Rev. iv. anmples of a shrine or ark wonderfully calcu7.) It is thought by many, that in these lated to remind us of the ark of the Covenant
latter visions we have a fuller description of made by Moses. It is carried by persons of
the Cherubim of the Tabernacle and the the sacerdotal race, by staves, as the Levites
Temple than we could gather from the carried the ark. In the centre is the symbol
earlier accounts in Holy Scripture. It is of the Deity, and two winged human figures
supposed that they too, like the Cherubim spread out their wings around and over it.
in the visions, must have been composite (Lepsius,'Denkm.' iii. B1. 14.) These two
creatures, if of human form, yet with heads figures, however, represent the goddess Ma,
of other animals, either as described by Eze- under the two-fold notion of "justice" and
kiel or by St John. Moreover, as such com- "truth." This is clear from the ostrich feaposite figures must plainly have been emblem- thers on the heads of the figures. This godatical, it has been thought that the Cheru- dess is often called "the double Ma," and it
bimn by their faces of a man, a lion, a bull is very doubtful, whether, notwithstanding
and an eagle, perhaps expressed the strength this apparent similarity, there is any relation
and wisdom of the Divine Majesty, or per- between these figures and the Cherubim of the
haps the strength and the swiftness, with Tabernacle.
which His ministers do His will. Again, as What then is to be said of the vision of
they surround the throne and guard the Law Ezekiel and of St John who nearly repeats
of the Most High, so perhaps we may un- the imagery in Ezekiel? VWe may observe,
derstand, that the natural and the spiritual that Ezekiel was a priest (Ezek. i. 3). iHe
creation being knit up together in one great was therefore probably familiar with the
scheme, these symbolic creatures indicate that sculptures in the Temple, especially the Cheall things, all creation, wait upon God, all rubim carved on the bases of the ten lavers,
do His will, all work together for good to along with bulls and lions, and with four
the godly and for judgment on the un- wheels curiously connected with them. His
godly. They guard His law, and execute vision, the scene of which was the Temple,
its judgments, and keep off the sinner from naturally was mixed up with objects in the
the blessing of its rewards. Temple. The connection of his Cherubic
The existence cf composite winged em- figures with wheels is explained by I Kings
blematical figures amongst nations more or vii. 29, 30, 33. Even the lion and bull.-heads
less connected with the Hebrews is now well of these figures may have come from the
known. The Sphinx and the Griffin have mingling of the Cherubim with the bulls and
long been familiar to us: but it has been re- lions in the Temple. But, besides this, he saw
marked as singular that Mr Layard should these visions by the river Chebar in the land
have discovered in Nineveh gigantic winged of the Chaldeans; and there he and his people
bulls with human heads, winged lions, and would, no doubt, have become familiarized
human figures with hawk or eagle heads, cor- with the gigantic winged guardians of the
responding so nearly with the winged Cheru- temples and the palaces in Babylonia and Asbim of the visions of Ezekiel and St John. syria, the bulls and lions and eagle-headed
These gigantic figures too are generally placed men, and human-headed bulls. It is highly
as guards or sentinels at the entrances of tem- probable that the difference between the Cheples and palaces, like the guarding Cherubim rubim in Ezekiel's vision (repeated with cerof Holy Writ. Moreover, they are evidently tain variations in St John's), and the Cherunot objects of idolatrous worship, but appear bim in the Tabernacle and the Temple rerather as worshippers than as divinities. It sulted in part from this. In God's dealings
is argued, that it is not improbable that Mo- with man, He constantly uses for lessons
ses should have adopted similar emblems, op- things just before men's eyes. And so He
posing the true worship to the false, and may have done'n this case with Ezekiel. It
placing in the temple of the true God em- is almost certain that Ezekiel's visions did not
blems of protection, watchfulness, power, and represent accurately that to which he had
glory, similar to those used in the temples of the been used in the Temple. Hence he appears
gods of the nations. (See Lammert,' Die Che- not at first to have recognized them as being
rubim' in Jahrbiicher fuir Deutsche Theol.' Cherubim; but at the end of his second vision
Zwdlfter Band, Viertes Heft, Gotha, I867). he tells us, that now he knew they were CheIt is, however, to be observed, that nothing rubim (Ezek. x. 0o). To Moses, on the other
connects Moses with Assyria or the Assyrian hand, but still on the same principle, God had
sculptures: and indeed those found by Mr dictated the carving of figures like those
Layard in the Temple of Kojundjik, which which he had seen in Egypt, figures emblemare most to the point, are not considered by atical of guardianship, and of the reverence
himn to be of great antiquity. Far more likely of those who wait constantly upon God, but
52 GENESIS. IV. Iv. I-3.
which had never been objects of idolatrous turning every way of the sword of flame perworship. Thus He sanctioned, or at least haps points to this; and the sacred writer
tolerated, that which seems so dear to re- may possibly have signified under the symbols
ligious humanity, the use of symbolism, where of angelic beings the great ministering powers
dangers fiomn its abuse were not great. We of nature.
conclude, therefore, notwithstanding much This at least is taught us by the Cherubim
authority to the contrary, that in all proba- guarding the way to the Tree of life. Parability the Cherubim of glory shadowing the dise had been lost by sin; but it was not gone
mercy seat were winged human figures, with for ever. The tree of life, and the garden
human faces too. where it grew, were still in full glory under
The Cherubim of Paradise] It is noticed the keeping of God and of His holy angels.
that Moses describes the placing of the Che- The forfeited life is not irrecoverable: but it
rubim' at the gates of Eden in words suggest- can only be recovered through fighting and
ed by that which he had to carve in the conquest, suffering and death. There were
Tabernacle. " He placed...Cherubim" is in between it and man the ministers of righteous
the Hebrew lath "HIe made to dwell," a vengeance and the flaming sword.
term specially belonging to the dwelling of The Etymology of the word Cherzub is very
the glory of God in the Shechinah, the cloud obscure. Some derive it from Z:ln (Cherab)
of glory. And the Paradise Cherubim were " to plough," it being inferred from Ezek. i.
to keep, lit. "to guard," ('Ye)) the way Io compared with x. 14, that the true Cherub
to the tree of life, as the Cherubim in the form was that of an ox. Others compare
Tabernacle guarded the Ark of the Covenant. gin? (Kerob) "near," i.e. admitted to the
Those, who believe the Cherubim in the Ta- special presence of God. The Talmudists asbernacle to have been like those seen by Eze- sert that the name signifies " a child," and
kiel, naturally believe also that they were but that the faces of the Cherubim were the faces
emblems of those powers of nature and crea- of children. Eichhorn and others compare
tion by which the Creator so constantly the Greek typo.+, ypulror, firom the Persian
works His will. The Cherubim and the greifen "to hold," and consider the name to
flaming sword at the East Gate of Paradise be nearly equal in significance, as well as in
to them mean only that the way back to derivation, with the fabulous Griffin or Gry-.
Eden and to the tree of life was closed by phon of the East. Gesenius suggests the
such natural hindrances as the Author of na- root'n9 (Charab) = n'n (Charam) "to shut
ture saw fit to interpose. It is not impossible out," "to consecrate" (hence haram, a sathat even if the Cherubim of the Tabernacle cred shrine). According to this derivation,
were not composite creatures, but simply the Cherubim would be the guardians and
winged human figures, much the same may defenders of that which is consecrated, of the
have been meant. There are doubtless hosts Shrine or the Paradise. Canon Cook (see
of spiritual beings that surround the throne of Appendix to this volume) has traced the word
God and do His will; but all things serve Him. to an Egyptian root, which probably means
He maketh the winds His angels, and a flame " carve," or at any rate " shape." In Matt.
of fire His ministers. The stern, mechanical, xviii. z, XEPe3 is the Coptic for VtopXj.
CHAPTER IV. Cain, and said, I have gotten a man
I The birth, trade, and relhzioan of Cain anrid from the LORD.
Abel. 8 The nzmrder of Abe. I I The curse
of Cain. I7 Enoch thefirst city. I9 LZazecl 2 And she again bare his brother
and his two zvives. 5 The birtlh of Seth, 26 tAbel. And Abel was ta keeper oft Hfeh
aZnd Eni3OS. sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the tHleb
ND Adam knew Eve his wife; ground., edbe.
and she conceived, and bare 3 And tin process of time it came o, e"'n
CHAP. IV. 1. The last Chapter was a Jonathan "a man, the angel of the LORD."
history of the first birth of sin; this gives us Following the latter paraphrast, Luther,
an account of its developement, as also of the Munster, Fagius, Schmidt, Pfeiffer, Baumfirst out-spreading of the human race. Cain gart. and others, have rendered "I have gotand Abel are respectively types of the two ten a man, even JEHOVAH," as though
opposing principles discernible throughout the Eve understood that the seed, who was to
sacred history; Cain of the unchecked domi- bruise the serpent, should be incarnate Deity,
nion of evil, Abel of the victory of faith. and supposed that Cain was that seed. We
Ihave gotten a man from the LORD] LXX. can, however, scarcely see ground enough to
"by means of the Lord;" Onk. " from believe that Eve's knowledge was so advanced,
the Lord;" Syriac "for the Lord;" Pseudo- or her faith in the Messiah so lively as to
v. 4.] GENESIS. IV. 53
to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit firstlings of his tflock and of the fat t Hles
of the ground an offering unto the thereof. And the LORD had are- goals.
LORD. spect unto Abel and to his offer- 4.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the -ing:
have called forth such an exclamation. It is the year." So Fagius, Bochart,'Clericus,
more probable that the particle rendered in Dathe, Rosenmiiller, and many others. Cleour Version from is a preposition (it is in the ricus quotes from Aristot.'Ethics,' VIII. 2.
next chapter (v. 24) rendered cwith), and that " It appears that ancient sacrifices were offerit signifies, as the LXX. has it, by means of, ed after the gathering of the fruits of the
or, as Gesenius, by the help of: There is, earth, they being a kind of first fruits. Morehowever, little doubt that her words had over, at that time, men were most at leisure."
some pregnant meaning, and that she looked
on Cain as at all events one of that race an ering]
on hain asats destin vednt tm ov'er that rae signifies an unbloody oblation. It is frequently
which was destined to triumph over the seed translated a meat oering." Its nature is
of the Serpent. translated "a meat offering." Its nature is
of the Serpent. defined, Lev. xi. i seq.
"The use of the name (JEHOVAH) is defined, Lev
significant, though we cannot think that Eve 4. of the firstlings of his Sock and of the
already knew this name of God, which was fat thereof] There has been in all times a
first revealed to iman at a later period of his difference of opinion as to the Divine or huhistory, and which is of Hebrew origin, man origin of sacrifice. Sacrifices were so
whereas that language probably did not exist thoroughly sanctioned by the Divine law in
until the time of the dispersion at Babel. after times, so generally accepted by God,
Yet, doubtless, the historian expresses the and made so conspicuously types of the Lamb
true meaning of Eve's speech which she spoke, of God, that it is difficult to conceive how
inspired by that help which had been gra- they should have arisen but from a Divine
ciously given her of God" (Keil,'Bibl. Com- command. Yet, there is a deep silence as to
ment.'). any such command, whilst the institution of
2. Abel.] She called her first-born Cain the Sabbath and of other positive ordinances
(possession), but this second Hebel (breath, is distinctly recorded. Hence, many have
vaopour, vanity, nothingness), because all hu- thought that sacrifice was dictated by an inman possession is but vanity. Yet it is not stinct of natural religion, and then, by a consaid, that Abel was so named by Eve herself, descension to man's infirmity, sanctioned for
as Cain had been. Hence it is possible, that a temporary purpose, and constituted an
the name Abel was that by which he became image of redemption. It is impossible to say
known, after his life had passed away like a what the view of the Apostolic fathers was;
breath or a vapour. but from the time of Justin Martyr (' Apol.'
Abel qwas a keeper of sheep, but Cain cwas II. 9;'Dial.' pp. 237, 292), the fathers gena tiller of the ground] The word ren- erally adopted the belief that sacrifice was a
dered sheep includes sheep and goats. It is human, not a Divine ordinance. A remarkobserved that the wildest nations live by able exception to this appears in a passage of
hunting, those, who have thrown off the first the most learned of the 4th century divines
barbarism, are nomadic, feeding sheep and (Euseb.'Dem. Evang.' I. 10o), in which he
cattle, those more civilized are agriculturists distinctly ascribes the origin of sacrifice to a
(see Rosen.). Hence the rationalist view co- Divine inspiration, though even this does not
incides with the heathen, that a state of na- necessarily imply a Divine command. It
ture was pure barbarism, and that man gra- may be fairly said, that no certain concludually emerged from it into nomadic, then sion on this question can possibly be arrived
into agricultural, and finally into civilized at, in the silence of Scripture. The principal
life. In contradistinction to this, the account arguments on the side of the Divine origin
of Genesis represents man as placed by his may be seen in Bp. Jer. Taylor,'Duct. Dub.'
Maker in a state of very simple civilization. Bk. II. R. xII. ~~ 27, 30; Witsii' Egypt.'
Adam in Paradise was "to dress and to keep" Ilt. I4; Kennicott,'Two Dissertations,' II.
the garden (Gen. ii. I5). His sons must p. I84 sq.; Magee' On Atonement,' Disc. II.
have learned from him the knowledge which and notes; Faber,'Three Dispensations,' Vol. I.
he had thus acquired. It is not likely to The arguments on the opposite side may be
have been extensive knowledge, probably the found in Spencer,'De Legibus Heb.' Lib. III.
very simplest possible, but still sufficient to Diss. ii.; WVarburton,' Div. Legat.' Bks. vs.
rescue them from a state of pure barbarism, Ix.; Davison's'Remains,' art. on origin of Saand from the necessity of living by the chase. crifice. The work of Outram,'De Sacrificiis,'
See note A at the end of this Chapter. should by all means be consulted, which takes
3. in process of time] Lit. "at the end of an impartial survey of the whole question.
days." Abenezra understands "-c at the end of had respect unto] Comp. Num. xvi. rI;
54 GENESIS. IV. Lv. 5 8.
5 But unto Cain and to his offering 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not II Or,
he had not respect. And Cain was Itbe accepted? and if thou doest not excel-.
very wroth, and his countenance well, sin liqth at the door. And Iunto'Icy?
fell. thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt sz,,becz,
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, rule over him. b Wisd. xac
Why art thou wroth? and why is thy 8 And Cain talked with Abel his 3-iatt. 2
countenance fallen? brother: and it came to pass, bwhen 35-ohn.:EJohn 3.
12. Jude il.
Amos v. 2z. How did the Almighty express understand sin to mean the punishment of sin,
His approval of Abel's offering? According in which sense the word is sometimes used,
to the ancient Greek translation of Theod., it see Zech. xiv. J9 (so Onk., Vatablus, Cornel.
was by sending down fire to consume the sa- a Lapide). Some again interpret " a sin offercrifice, as in Lev. ix. 24; Jud. vi. zI; I K. ing" (another frequent sense of the Hebrew
XViii. 38; i Chr. xxi. 26; 2 Chr. vii. I. This word) which in the form of an animal victim
explanation has been adopted by St Jerome, lies or crouches at your door (see Kennicott,
Rashi, Abenezra, Kimchi, Luther, Grotius, as above, p. 2i6, and Lee,'Lex.' s. v. nIfNa ).
Delitzsch, and many others. Nothing but The chief objection to this latter interpretaconjecture can guide us in this matter. itWe tion is that there is no instance of this use of
must be content to suppose, that some sign, the word before the giving of the Law; which
intelligible to both the brothers, was given Law appears to have brought out into clearer
from above. The reason, as well as the relief the knowledge of sin and the need of
mode, of the acceptance of Abel's gift has sin-offering. See Rom. iii. 20.
been greatly debated. Ver. 7, and Heb. xi. 4, And unto thee shall be his desire, &c.)
seem to prove that the difference of spirit in There are two principal interpretations or
which the two offerings were made caused these worcs, which have divided commentethe diversity of acceptance. The Apostle tors in all times the one set referring his desays, "c By faith Abel offered a more excellent sire to Abel, the other to sin. The LXX.
sacrifice." Faith, therefore, was the motive Version clearly refers it to Abel, which interpower; yet the result may have been that the pretation is auopted by Chhrysost., Ambrose,
sacrifice so offered was a better, fuller, and Augustine, and most of the fathers, by Gromore acceptable sacrifice. Some have main- tius, Vossius, Heidegger, by our own transtained that Cain brought fruits only, that lators, and by a majority of English conlmenAbel brought both fruits and the firstlings of tators. The sense will then be, that Cain,
his flock (see Kennicott, as above, p. 194). whose jealousy had been excited by God's
The wording of the original does not seem to eptance of A
warran, whilst we may see in the acceptance of Abel, need not, if he behaved
wa1rrant this. But, whilst ore may see in the well, fear that Abel should be preferred bedifferent spirit and disposition of the offerers fore him; his pre-eminence of birth should.
a reason why one should be accepted and the still be preserved to him: the desire of the
other rejected, still " the view so often ex- younger brother should be towards him (an
pressed, that Abel's bloody sacrifice resulted idiomatic expression specially noting the longfrom a more profound religious apprehension ing of one who looks up to another as an obthan that of Cain, which was' without shed- ject of reverence, and so noting dependence,
ding of blood,' seems to agree with the gene- as of a younger brother on an elder, cp. Gen.
ral bearing of the text" (Kurtz,'Hist. of 0. iii. o6). The other interpretation, which is
C.' Vol. i. p. 89); even if it be not admitted thou
C.' Vol. I. p. 89) even if it be not nite apparently, though not certainly, favoured by
that a Divine ordinance had already sanction- the Vulgate, is given in the Targunls of Jered animal sacrifices. salem and Pseudo-Jonathan, and adopted by
5. countenance fell Cp. the original of Rashi, and most Jewish writers, by Luther's
Nehem. vi. i6. translation, Munster, Pererius, Rosenmtiller,
7. shalt thou not be accepted] Is there Von Bohlen, Delitzsch, Knobel, Keil, and
not acceptance? Lit. "lifting up " either most of the Germans. The sense of the pasof guilt (i. e. pardon), or of the countenance, as sage on this supposition would be,'" Sin lieth
when a suppliant bending down his face is crouching like a wild beast at the door of the
accepted, and so his face raised up and cheer- soul; its desire is towards thee, yet thou
ed. Or more probably as the A. V., Is there art not given over into its power; but if thou
not acceptance? Shalt thou not be accepted wilt, thou shalt be able to keep it in subjecby God? tion." The former of these interpretations,
if thou doest not uvell, sin ieth at the which is also the more ancient, seems both
door] This is generally explained as mean- more natural and more according with the
ing that sin crouches at the door or the soul, simple meaning of the original.
like a wild beast, ready to devour it. Others 8. Cain talked ECith Abel] The origin.
v. 9-I4.] GENESIS. IV. 55
they were in the field, that Cain rose I2 When thou tillest the ground, it
up against Abel his brother, and slew shall not henceforth yield unto thee
him. her strength; a fugitive and a vaga9 Si And the LORD said unto Cain,,, bond shalt thou be in the earth.'Where is Abel thy brother? And he i3 And Cain said unto the LORD,
said, I know not: Am I my brother's 11 My punishment is greater than I can i Or, Ayj
iniquizy is
keeper? bear.,rotler
Io And he said, VWhat hast thou I4. Behold, thou hast driven me iZaaybe
done? the voice of thy brother's t blood out this day from the face of the fJrvi.e.crieth unto me from the ground. earth; and from thy face shall I be
II And now art thou cursed from hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a
the earth, which hath opened her vagabond in the earth; and it shall
mouth to receive thy brother's blood come to pass, that every one that
from thy hand; findeth me shall slay me.
means more naturally "Cain said to Abel." Adam and his family, should wander about
Accordingly in some few of the Masoretic without a settled habitation or a fertile dwellMSS. there is the mark of an omission here. ing place, living hardly in a barren and inhosThe Samaritan Pentateuch, the LXX., Syr., pitable wilderness.
Vulg., read "' Cain said to Abel his brother, 13 My punishment] There is great vaLet us go into the field." These latter words, riety of interpretation hee. The Herews
riety of interpretation here. The Hebrews
however, do not occur in the Greek Versions constantly expressed sin and punishment Jbr
of Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, or the sin by the same words; moreover to bear,
most ancient Targum, that of Onkelos it Is and to take away or forgive, were thoughts
probable that the words were inserted in the closely connected. Hence (I) "My sin is
Sam., LXX., &cc. as a gloss, from the difficuly too great to be forgiven" (as in the Marg.) is
of explaining the passage without them; and the rendering of LXX., Onk., Syr., Vulg.,
that this is really an example of an ancient Saad. Whilst (2) Abenezra, Kimchi, and
and obsolete usage of the verb to say, which the majority of modern commentators, render
here means either to talk cwith, as the A. V., the A. V., "y punishment is greater
or to tell, as Jerome, or to command, to lay a than I can bear." Both these renderings
command upon, according to Arabic usage, as can be defended on good grounds by Hebrew
Prof. Lee. usage. The latter seems more accordant with
10. the voice of thy brother's blood crieth the temper of Cain's mind, and is probably
unto me] The verb " crieth" here agrees correct.
with "blood," which is in the plural, in
which form it is used specially of blood shed, 14. nronz thy fac shall I be hmd] Though
drops of blood, above all of blood shed by manifested
violence and murder. Murder is a crime presence as in Eden, yet there were at times
which cries to heaven for vengeance, and some indications of that presence, (e.g. see v.
though the blood may be hidden, its voice 4). It may perhaps be inferred that some
cannot be silenced, special place had already been set apart for
Divine worship and sacred service. (On this
11. novw art thou cursedfrom the earth] The subject see Blunt.'Undesigned Coincidences,'
words are variously rendered (I) " Cursed I.p. 9 eighth Edition, IX863).
art thou from the ground," i.e. the curse shall eth
ewery one that findeth me shall siay me1
come upon thee from the earth, which shall deth me shall sla' me]
not yield thee her fruit (Abenezra, Kimchi, Josephus, Kimchi Michaelis and others,
Knobel). (2) Cursed art thou away from have supposed that Cain feared death from
Knobel. (2,) L' Cursea art thou away from the beasts of the field; but most commentathe land," i.e. Thou art cursed and banished the beasts of the field
tots rightly understand that his fear was from
from the land, in which thou hast dwelt, and tors rigbtly understand tat is fear was from
in which thy father and brethren are dwelling
Renm aterThKnb (3) Cused served by Kurtz that, according to hints gaart thou even more than the earth" which thered fiom Gen. iv. 2S, the murder of Abel
had been cursed (ch. 7). Of these probably took place just before the birth of
had been cursed (ch. iii. 17). Of these (3) -er the creation of man,
seems quite inadmissible; either of the others
yields a pertinent sense. The second is the Gen. v. 3. e need not suppose that Cain,
most probable. Abel, and Seth, were the only sons of Adam.
Indeed, from Gen. v. 4, we infer that there
12. When thou tillest, &c.] The curse wereothers. Cain, Abel, and Seth, are menwas in effect, that Cain should be banished tioned for obvious reasons; Abel for his piety
from the land inhabited and cultivated by and his early death, Cain for his wickedness
56 GENESIS. IV. Lv 15 —I9.
15 And the LORD said unto him, he builded a city, and called the name
Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, of the city, after the name of his son,
vengeance shall be taken on him seven- Enoch.
fold. And the LORD set a mark upon i8 And unto Enoch was born Irad:
Cain, lest any finding him should kill and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehim. hujael begat Methusael: and Mei6 gq And Cain went out from the thusael begat tLamech. f Feb.
presence of thu ILORD, and dwelt in I9 i, And Lamech took unto him Le'n''
the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. two wives: the name of the one was
tHeb. I7 And Cain knew his wife; and Adah, and the name of the other ZilCu-aock. she conceived, and bare tEnoch: and lah.
and the worldly wisdom of his posterity, Seth though not the gardenz of Eden, in which
because he was the ancestor of the promised Adam had dwelt since the fall, was esteemed
seed. There may then, in I30 years, have a sacred spot, a spot in which still a peculiar
grown up a very considerable number of chil- presence of God was looked for by man. See
dren and grandchildren to Adam and Eve. on v. I4.
An Eastern tradition assigns to them no less
than 33 sons and 27 daughters. n~od] i.e. "vandering." It is 1mpOssible
to say where Nod was situated, except that
15. Therefore] The LXX., Symm., it lay east of Eden.
Theodot., Vulg., Syr., read Not so. So
Dathe and others. 17. Enroch] It has been contended that
in these genealogies Adam=-Enosh, Enoch
ofwhosoeper slaeth Cain, though guilt Xy or Chanoch = Enoch, Cain = Kenan, Irad
of a terrible sin, may not have had the fullalaleel, ethusael
and fixed purpose to commit murder, but i Jered, Mehujael = Mahalaleel, Methusael =
and fixed ppose to commit murder, but in ethuselah. In the first place, however, there
a moment of furious anger have seized a is a manifest difference in the roots of the
weapon and dealt a murderous blow, perhaps names so identified; next, the paucity of
hardly aware of its deadly consequences. names at this early period may have natuHence, it may be, the Most High forbids him rally led to similar names being adopted
to be put to death, but sentences him to a in different families; 3rdly, the relationship
perpetual banishment from his early home, of the families of Seth and Cain, and the proand to a life of misery and sorrow. Kalisch ably occasional intercourse between t
bably occasional intercourse between them,
well observes, af The early death of Abel can would not unnaturally tend to the same
be no punishment; he seemed in fact to enjoy result. Dettinger is quoted by Kurtz (Vol.
the peculiar favour of God; his offering was
graciously accepted. We find, therefore, i ving called attention to th
l fact, that the text furnishes more detailed
this narrative the great and beautiful thought, particulars about Enoch and Lamech, whose
that life is not the highest boon; that the names were so similar to Sethite names, in
pious find a better existence and a more bless- der to prevent
order to prevent the possibility of their being
ed reward in another and a purer sphere; but o.d.eward Xn another and a purer sphe confounded, and to shew more clearly that
that crime and guilt are the greatest evils confounded, and to shew more clearly that.;....the direction in which these two lines tended
that they are punished by a long and weari- See Kurt as above,
Ir @ ~ < was markedly opposite. See Kurtz as above,
some life, full of fear and care and compunc- Hvernick ntrod. to Pentateuch.
*ion rf X * 72 -ce." Havernick,'Introd. to Pentateuch,' p. Io9.
tion of conscience. "
set a mark upon Cain] Gave a sign to builded a city] Rather "began to build a
Cain. LXX. The interpretation that God city," lit. "was building a city." It is not
provided Cain with some mark which would necessary to suppo e that the city was built
make him known is adopted by Pseudo-Jona- immediately on the birth of Enoch. It may
than, most of the Jewish Commentators, have been built when Cain had lived many
Luther, Calvin, Piscator,'Wogal, &c. Most years and was surrounded by children and
modern commentators agree that God gave grandchildren. The word city is, of course,
some sign to Cain to assure him that he not to be interpreted by modern ideas: a
should not be slain, (Abenezra, Gabe, Dathe, village of rude huts, which was distinguished
Rosenm., Gesen., Maurer, Hitzig, V. Bohl., from the booths or tents of the nomads,
Tuch, Baumg., OKalisch, Delitzsch). Of would satisfy all the conditions of the text.
what nature the sign may have been, we have 19. Lamech took unto him troo wises] Here
now no means of learning. we have the first example of polygamy; which,
16. the presence of the Lord] It is ques- though afterwards tolerated, had its rise
tioned whether this means merely from con- among the sons of Cain, and is evidently menversing with the Lord, or whether Eden, tioned for reprobation.
v. 2o —23.] GENESIS. IV. 57
20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was ficer in brass and iron: and the sister
the father of such as dwell in tents, of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
and of such as have cattle. 23 And Lamech said unto his wives,
21 And his brother's name was Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye Or,
I would
Jubal: he was the father of all such wives of Lamech, hearken unto my slZy
as handle the harp and organ. speech: for hI have slain a man to....'ZZt
22 And Zillah, she also bare Tu- my wounding, and a young man llto &c.
I In a U Or, inz
~oueb.cur bal-cain) an tinstructer of every arti- my hurt. Or,y 1s,,..
20. the father of such as dwwell in tents, born at least 5oo years after the creation of
and...hae cattle] Jabal invented tents and Adam, according to the Hebrew Chronology,
introduced the custom of pasturing cattle or Iooo years according to the LXX. Chronoround the tents, and perhaps even of stalling logy. VWhether we must understand that
them in tents. Moreover, the word here he invented the use of both copper and iron,
used for cattle implies larger cattle, whereas or only of copper or bronze, which led in
that used of Abel v. a applied only to smaller course of time to the farther invention of
cattle: Jabal therefore was the first who in- iron, it may be difficult to decide from the
troduced the thorough nomadic life. (See concise and obscure wording of the text.
3Bochart,' Hieroz.' P. I. Lib. II. C. 44.) That the most ancient inhabitants of Europe
21. the harp and the organ] The kinnur, were ignorant of the use of metal, as indimhich descended to the Greeks and was by cated by the discovery of flint weapons in the
them called Kinura, is described by Josephus gravel, can be no proof that they were unas having ten strings and as played on by a known to the early descendants of Adam.
plectrum; but in I Sam. xvi. 23, xviii. Io If the colonists of Australia were for the
xix. 9, David is said to have played on it next thousand years to be separated from all
with his hand. It was probably, when in- connection with the rest of the world, it is
vented by Jubal, the simplest form of stringed quite possible, notwithstanding their present
instrument. The word rendered organ was high state of civilization, that they might
apparently a pipe, bagpipe, panpipe, or some utterly lose many of the arts of civilized life,
very simple wind instrument: 0 nkelos renders and perhaps, if there were a deficiency of coal,
it by pipe or flute. " It is not an accidental or lime, or native metals, even the use of mefact, that the lyre and the flute were intro- tallic instruments.
duced by the brothers of a nomadic herds- Nothing can be more natural or probable
man. It is in the happy leisure of this occu- than the difference of character and developpation that music is generally first exercised ment in the descendants of Cain and Seth
and appreciated." Kalisch. respectively. In the former we see the children of this world wise in their generation,
22. an instructer qf every artfcer in rapidly advancing in art and the acquirebrass and iron] So Onkelos. Perhaps (with ment of riches, but sensual, violent and godLXX. and Vulg.) s ener of eery nstr- less. In the latter we find less of social and
mzent in bronze and iron. The word rendered
brass is certainly either bronze, or, more proba- pote r eu, nv ml cp lated by the dictates of conscience and by
bly, a native metal, copper (see Smith's'Dict. of faith in the Providence and Grace of God.
the Bible,' art. Bss). Bronze is a alloy of Resemblances to the names of Lamech's
copper and tin, very much harder than either
copper and tin, very much harder than either family have been traced in the names of those
of them and also than brass, with a little more to whom the Latins attributed similar inventin it becomes bell-metal. Previously to this tions. Thus Tubal Cain has been thought
time all weapons for defence or instruments of =Vulcan, Naamah, "the lovely, or beautin
husbandry may have been of flint, or wood, ful," may then= Venus, Jubal, the inventor of
or bone. Uncivilized nations at the present the lyre = Apollo. It is observed also that
time have weapons made of flint, wood, bone, the refinement and perhaps the luxury of the
shark's teeth, &c. W here nations have lost
hrks t,. Wr n n he l descendants of Cain appear in the names of
the usages of more civilized life, they seem to their wives and daughters, naamah, lovely,
have fallen back on a flint age, then to have Adat beauty or ornament Zilah, s
invented bronze weapons (in the case of South A eauty or ornament Zllah, shdow.
America weapons of gpld), and lastly to have 23, 24. And Lamzech said, &c.]
discovered the use of iron. Tubal Cain is And Lamech said unto his wives,
here described as the first who made metal Adah and Zillah, hear my voice.
instruments and sharpened them. It is not to Ye wives of Lamech, give ear unto my speech,
be objected, that this was too early for the For I slay a man if he woundeth me,
invention of metals. If Tubal Cain was con- Even a young man, if he hurteth me,
temnporary with Enoch (the descendant of Lo! Cain would be avenged seven-fold,
Seth in the same degree) he must have been But Lamech seventy-and-seven fold.
s58 GENESIS. IV. [v. 24-26.
24 If Cain shall be avenged seven- hath appointed me another seed infold, truly Lamech seventy and seven- stead of Abel, whom Cain slew. I Heb.
fold. 26 And to Seth, to him also there Oroc.
25 ~ And Adam knew his wife was born a son; and he called his themselves
again; and she bare a son, and called name *Enos: then began men lto.n..eof, his name t Seth: For God, said she, call upon the name of the LORD. LORD.
The speech of Lamech has exercised the as the ancestor of the Theocratic race and of
skill of translators and interpreters of all the promised seed.
times. Its obscure and enigmatical character 26. then began men to call upon the name of
is admitted as a mark of its remote antiquity the Lord] Then began he to call on the
even by the most unfaeourable critics. The name of the LORD. There is great diversity
apparent meaning of the words is this. Amid in the interpretation of these words. The Sathe violence of the times, especially among maritan Pentateuch and the Vulgate refer them
the descendants of Cain, Lamech comforts to Enos, "Then he, i.e. Enos, began to call
his -wives with the assurance that with the aid on the name of the LORD." The LXX. has
of the bronze and iron instruments now in "Then he hoped," &c. it being possible to
his hands, he could kill any one who injured refer the verb to a root signifying " to hope,"
him (" I slay or would slay a man for whence some have understood, that the birth
wounding me"); and that, if it had been of Enos inspired a new hope that the promise
promised to Cain, that he should be avenged to Eve should be fulfilled. The Targum of
seven fold, there was power in the hands of the Pseudo-Jonathan has " In those days men
Lamech's family to avenge seventy-seven fold. began to make themselves idols, which they
The speech is one of confident boasting. La- called after the name of the Word of the
rnech trusts in is weapons of brass and steel LORD." This interpretation is adopted by
to maintain his cause, even when referring to some celebrated Jewish commentators (Kimwords used by God to his forefather Cain. chi, Rashi, &c.), who derive the verb fiom
The chief difficulty lies in the use of the a root signifying "to profane," and render
perfect tense in the verb slay: lit. "I have "Then was there profanation in calling on
slain," (which is the rendering of the LXX. the name of the LRan." Jerome ('Qunst.')
Vulg., Syr., &c.). That difficulty seems to mentions this as the opinion of many Jews in
have suggested the supposition that a not may his days. The most natural sense of the
have fallen out (,which is the rendering of Hebrew is, that when Enos was born, Seth
Onkelos, "I have not slain,") or that it should his father in gratitude and hope then began
be rendered interrogatively ("Have I slain?"): to praise the LORD and to call on Him with
but the more probable explanation is, that in reassured hope in His mercy and His prothis ancient distich the perfect tense is used to mises. There is nothing to connect the verb
express the arrogant confidence of the boast- with Enos as its nominative case rather than
er; even as at times the perfect is adopted in with Seth; nor again is there any good
the most sure word of prophecy, the future ground for the notion that emphasis is to be
being represented as having all the certainty placed on the special name of God, jEEnovAhn;
of the past. The words rendered in the as though then for the first time- He was
A. V. "'co my wounding"-" to ray hurt"- invoked under that name. The sacred narraprobably mean "for my wounding," &c. i. e. tive has all along used the name JEHovAIh;
"for w aounding me," or " in revenge for his and whether we believe it to have been known
wounding me." from earlier times or to have been revealed
25. Seth] i.e. "'Foundation," from the first to Moses, there is nothing whatever to
word signifying to place, rendered here "ap- connect its revelation and acknowledgment
pointed." Seth caine into the place of Abel, Fwith the birth of Enos.
NOTE A. ADDITIONAL NOTE ON CHAP. IV. V. 2. ON THE EARLY CIVILIZATION OF MANKIND.
HAVERNICK ('Introd. to the Pentateuch,' preparation of metals, belong to prehistoric
Translation, p. o04) has shewn that the tra- times, and that in the historic period these
ditions of ancient nations, the Phcnicians, arts have made comparatively no great adEgyptians, Greeks, &c. refer the invention vances." The recent discoveries of human
of agriculture to the earliest mythic ages; remains, and of the implements of human inand that the investigators of history, Her- dustry in the gravel and drift formations on
der, Link, Schlosser, &c. have been led to the Earth's surface, may seem to contradict
the conclus;on that "the discovery of the all this. Ethnologists distinguish,i flint age,
breeding of cattle, of agriculture, and of the a bronze age, and an iron age, as harving ex
V. 1, 2.] GENESIS. V. 59
isted in ancient Europe; during the first. of places of defence and of sepulture, containing
which only flint instruments, during the se- pottery, ornamental sculpture, articles in siicond bronze, during the third, iron instru- ver and copper, and stone weapons, with
ments appear to have been in use. And, as skulls of the Mexican type. Above these
for the most part in the earlier periods, the have grown a succession of forests, in which
skulls seem to have been smaller and of a the Red Indians for centuries may have
lower type than those of later date, the theory housed and hunted (Lyell, pp. 39, 40).
of early barbarism and of progressive civiliza- They prove that in those very ancient days
tion has been thought to derive confirmation there must have been a civilization, of which
from Geology. Sir Charles Lyell says also, all traces have vanished above the surface of
that "' had the original stock of mankind been the earth. As regards the fossil skulls found
really endowed with superior intellectual in Europe, that knowrn as'"the Neanderthal
power and with inspired knowledge, and Skull" is of the lowest type, and is said to be
had possessed the same improvable nature as the most apelike skull ever seen, though its
their posterity, the point of advancement, capacity, 75 cubic inches, is greater than that
which they would have realized ere this, of some individuals of existing races. It was
would have been immeasurably higher" (' An- discovered in a cavern with the thigh of a
tiquity of Man,' p. 3738). He goes on to say bear: but there is nothing to prove its great
that, instead of rude pottery and flint wea- antiquity. It may be very ancient, but may
polls, we should in that case have found works be comparatively modern. But the skuil
like those of Phidias and Praxiteles. It may found at Engis near Liege, which appears to
be answered, that Scripture does not repre- have been contemporary with the Mammoth,
sent the first man as " endowed with superior and is assigned by Lyell to the post-pliocene
intellectual power and with inspired know- age, although the forehead is somewhat narledge." All that we learn is, that Adam row, may be matched by the skulls of indiwas placed in Eden to till it, that his power viduals of European race (Lyell, p. 80o): and
of speech was exercised by having to name the skull of the fossil man of Denise, though
the brute creation, that he had a simple com- said to be contemporary with the Mammoth
mand given him, and afterwards a special and coeval with the last eruption of the Puy
promise. Morally he may have been, in the Volcanoes, and therefore as old as, or older
first instance, in a state of innocence, without than, any other human skull yet discovered,
being intellectually in a condition of emi- is of the ordinary Caucasian or European
nence. As for the advance of knowledge, type (Lyell, p. 2oo). No prudent Geologist
many nations have been in a state of mental will admit, concerning any of these crania,
cultivation and of art knowledge incompa- more than that they bear marks of rude as
rably beyond that of Adam and his children, compared with civilized races, rather more
and yet have remained for centuries upon mastication, more prominent marks of muscenturies without any apparent progress; for cular attachment and the like, all things of
instance, the people of China. All that we every day occurrence. So, in fact, the argusay is, that his primary state was not a state ment from Geology is really coincident with
of savageness, but rather of rudimentary civi- the testimony of Scripture and of universal
lization. And this is really not opposed, but primitive tradition, viz. that man, in his oriconfirmed, by the records of Geology. " We ginal condition, was not a helpless savage, but
must remember, that as yet we have no dis- had at least the rudiments of civilization and
tinct geological evidence, that the appearance intelligence.
of what are called the inferior races of man- When we read that Cain was a tiller of the
kind has always preceded in chronological or- ground, we do not necessarily conclude, that
der that of the higher races" (Lyell, as above, he cultivated wheat and barley; he may have
p. 90). On the contrary, some of the most known only of fruits, vegetables, roots, &c.
ancient remains of man and man's art give Yet it is observable, that cereals have been
indications of considerable civilization. In discovered with some of the very early rethe valley of the Ohio there are hundreds of mains of human industry.
mounds, which have served for temples, for
CHAPTER V. God created man, in the likeness of
TI gT7eneazlogy, age, and death of thestriarz-cis God made he him;
jfroo Adz ancto iVoah. 24 Tre god/inzess 2 b Male and female created he a wiN,.
and translation of Enoch. them; and blessed them, and called 2j
(Thl~on. I-iS is the abook of the genera- their name Adam, in the day when
tions of Adam. In the day that they were created.
CHAP. V. 1. the book of the generations] history of Adam and his descendants. See
The record or recounting of the genealogical ch. ii. 4.
60 GENESIS. V. [v. 3-20.
3 ~ And Adam lived af hundred I2 q[ And Cainan lived seventy
and thirty years, and begat a son in years, and begat tMahalaleel: I Gr.
his own likeness, after his image; and I3 And Cainan lived after he be-,~r~zel
called his name Seth: gat Mahalaleel eight hundred and
Chron, 4 cAnd the days of Adam after he forty years, and begat sons and
&, had begotten Seth were eight hundred daughters:
years: and he begat sons and daughters: I4 And all the days of Cainan were
5 And all the days that Adam lived nine hundred and ten years: and he
were nine hundred and thirty years: died.
and he died. I5 ~ And Mahalaleel lived sixty
6 And Seth lived an hundred and and five years, and begat tJared: tHeb.
t Heb. five years, and begat tEnos: I6 And Mahalaleel lived after he 7ercd.
Ens 7 And Seth lived after he begat begat Jared eight hundred and thirty
Enos eight hundred and seven years, years, and begat sons and daughters:
and begat sons and daughters: I7 And all the days of Mahalaleel
8 And all the days of Seth were were eight hundred ninety and five
nine hundred and twelve years: and years: and he died.
he died. I8 Iq And Jared lived an hundred
9 q And Enos lived ninety years, sixty and two years, and he begat
and begat t Cainan: Enioch.
to And Enos lived after he begat 19 And Jared lived after he begat
Cainan eight hundred and fifteen Enoch eight hundred years, and begat
years, and begat sons and daughters: sons and daughters:
I I And all the days of Enos were 20 And all the days of Jared were
nine hundred and five years: and he nine hundred sixty and two years:
died. and he died.
3. Adam lived, &c.] The genealogy given genealogy was "a memorial witnessing both
is that of the Sethites, probably as the line the truth of God's promises and also the faith
of the promised seed. The genealogy of the and patience of the fathers." The chronology
Cainites was given much more imperfectly in of this chapter is very different in the Hebrew,
the last chapter, and with no dates or chro- the Samaritan and the Septuagint, as will be
nological marks, because, says Keil, being seen in the following table of the generations
under the curse of God, they had no future. from Adam to the flood (see also note
He quotes Baumgarten as saying, that this infra).
Hebrew Text. Samaritan Text. Septuagint.
sYe ars XYears Y
before Rest Whole before Rest Whole 1efore Rest Whole
birth of of Life. Life, birth of of Life. Life. birth of of Life. Life.
Son. So. Son.
Adam'I33 oo00 930 I 30 0 30 700 930
Seth 105 807 91g2 I 5 807 912 205 707 9gr'
Enosh 90 8t5 905 90 815 905 190 715 905
Cainan 7o 840 g9 o 70 So 98 I 70 740 9Io0
Mahalaleel 65 8.30 895 65 830 895 65 730 895
Jared 62 80oo 962 62 785 847 6, Soo 062
Enoch 65 300 365 6 300 365. i65 oo i 365
Methuselah 187 782 969 67 653 720 IS7 782 969
Lamech18 595 777 53 600o 653 i88 565i
Noah 500 500 5oo
Shen; at the Flood Too 00 10oo
Date of Flood t656 1307 26 2
6. ]~'nos] i.e. man. Adam signifies man, 9. Caincan] i.e. possession.
mankind, generally. Enos, or Enosh, is rather 12. AMahalaleelj The Praise of God.
mortal, amiserable man. The now growing 15. Jared] The root of this name sigexperience of human sorrow and firazility nifies Do descend, Descent.
may have suggested this naml 18. Enzoch] i. e. consecrated.
V. 2 —-32.j GENESIS. V. 6i
2i ~T And Enoch lived sixty and were nine hundred sixty and nine
fGr. five years, and begat tMethuselah: years: and he died.,atse. 22 And Enoch walked with God 28 qT And Lamech lived an hunafter he begat Methuselah three hun- dred eighty and two years, and begat
dred years, and begat sons and daugh- a son:
ters: 29 And he called his name t Noah, t Gr. A7n4
23 And all the days of Enoch were saying, This same shall comfort us
three hundred sixty and five years: concerning our work and toil of our
d Ecclu. 24 And dEnoch walked with hands, because of the ground which
44Heb.I God: and he was not; for God took the LORD hath cursed.
him. 30 And Lamech lived after he be25 And Methuselah lived an hun- gat Noah five hundred ninety and five
dred eighty and seven years, and begat years, and begat sons and daughters:
lemech. 3Lamech: 3I And all the days of Lamech
26 And Methuselah lived after he were seven hundred seventy and seven
begat Lamech seven hundred eighty years: and he died.
and two years, and begat sons and 32 And Noah was five hundred
daughters: years old: and Noah begat Shem,
27 And all the days of Methuselah Ham, and Japheth.
21. Methuselah] Perhaps "the missive of This caused great grief among the Phrygians,
death." Bochart interprets "His death the whence "to weep as in the days of Annacus"
sending forth," as indicating that his death became a proverb. At his death came the
was contemporary with the pouring forth of deluge of Deucaliois, and all men were dethe waters, for Methuselah must have died stroyed (Suidas, v. Nwtovaos, Steph. Byz. v.
in the very year of the flood. Gesenius gives'IKSVLov).
the sense of the word as wvir teli, "the man 29. he called his name Noah, saving, rhis
of the sword" or " of the dart." From its same shall comfort us, &c.] The name' Noah"
frequent occurrence in Phcenician inscriptions, signifies " Rest," and the connection between
&c., there can be little doubt that Methu= the thought of rest and that of comfort is
Betha=man. obvious. Lamech appears as one oppressed
24. he'wLas not'; for God took him] The with the toil and labour needful to subdue
LXX. rendering seems to interpret this of the earth, and with the feeling that God had
translation. So do all the Targums. In cursed it and made it sterile. He expresses a
Ecclus. xliv. x6, we read cHe pleased the hnpe, that Noah would be a comfort to his
Lord and was translated (into Paradise, ac- parents and the bringer of rest; whether the
cording to the Vulgate), being a pattern of mere natural hope of a father that his son
repentance." The words are, no doubt, ob- should be a support and comfort to him, or
scure. Yet, when we remember how uni- a hope looking to the promise made of old
versally the promise of the Old Testament is to Eve, or a hope inspired by prophetic vision
of life and blessing in this world, not of an that Noah should become the second founder
early and happy death, we could scarcely of a race, the head of a regenerated world,
doubt that the ancient interpretation was the it may be hard to say. There may have
true one, even if it had not been that given been an unconscious prophecy in the expresin Heb. xi. 5. The history of Enoch is rea- sion of a merely pious hope.
sonably supposed to be the origin of the Whitch the LORD hath cursedl This ocPhrygian tradition concerning a certain An- curs in a chapter which modern critics call
nacus or Nannacus, who lived upwards of Elohistic. Therefore they consider this an in30oo years, concerning whom it was prophe- terpolation. The truer inference wonld be that
sled that after him all would be destroyed. the Elohistic theory is unfounded.
NOTE A. ON THE CHRONOLOGY IN CH. V.
Difficulties in the Chronology. I Difference of texts. 2 Longevity of Patriarchs.
3 Antiquity of human race, as deduced (I) from Geology, (2) from History,
(3) from Language, (4) from Ethnology.
THE genealogies in this chapter and in may be considered together. The difficulties
chapter xi. are the only sources extant for which suggest themselves may be arranged as
the construction of a chronology of the patri- fallows:
archal ages. The questions which arise are i. The disagreement between the Hebrew,
of the same kind in both genealogies, and Samaritan and Septuagint texts.
62 GENESIS. V.
2. The extreme longevity assigned to the globe; and thou:h sceptics argue that this
patriarchs. only places the Scriptural account on a level
3. The insufficient time allowed for the with other mythic histories (see Von Bohlen,
existence of man upon the earth. Vol. Ir. p. Ioo), yet we may reply that, if
I. The first of these difficulties is such the Scripture account were true, the tradias to render it impossible to arrive at a'tions of other nations would be almost sure
certain conclusion as to the exact dates of to preserve some traces of the truth, and that
the creation of man, the Deluge and the call this is a more probable explanation of the
of Abraham; but it in no degree affects the fact, than the supposition that all these naveracity of the Sacred Record. It is true, tions, however unconnected with each other,
that there appears something like design in should have stumbled upon the same fabulous
the alterations which must have taken place; histories.
thus the Hebrew gives the age of Adam It is well observed by Delitzsch; "We
as 130 + 800 = 930, whilst the LXX. give must consider that all the old-world popu230 + 700 = 93o, and so on in the case of most lation was descended from a nature originally
of the Patriarchs, the results being frequently immortal (in Adam andl Eve), that the climade to tally, whilst the constituents of these mate, weather, and other natural conditions
results disagree. Hence, whilst some have were very different from those which succharged the Alexandrian translators with ceeded, that the life was very simple and
lengthening the periods, in order more nearly even in its course, and that the after-working
to satisfy the demands of Egyptian chrono- of the Paradisiacal state was not at once lost
logy, others have supposed that the rabbins in the track of antiquity." To this Keil adds,
shortened the time, to escape the force of the that this long life must have been very faChristian's argument, that the world was vourable to the multiplication of mankind,
six thousand years old, and that therefore for the formation of marked characters, and
the Messiah must have come. If either of the developement of the good and evil qualithese charges be true, it only brings us in ties of different races. Family affection, piety,
face of what is already familiar to all critics, good discipline and morality would strike
viz. that the errors of copyists were some- their roots deeper in pious families; whilst
times intentional, but that even these do not evil propensities would be more and more
affect the general integrity of the text. It is developed in godless races. Supposing, howwell known that there have been some few ever, that physiology should ultimately decide
designed corruptions in the text of the New that the extreme longevity of the patriarchs
Testament. It need not surprise us there- was not possible, without a continued mirafore, if we find reason to think that there cle, we should only be driven to the principle
were some attempts of a like kind in the text already conceded, that numbers and dates,
of the Old Testament. If anywhere the especially in genealogical tables, are liable in
temptation to correct existed; it could never the course of transcription to become obbe stronger than in the genealogical tables of scured and exaggerated.
the ancestors of the Jewish race. Indeed, as 3. The third objection is derived from the
numbers are of all things the most liable to opinion now very generally gaining strength,
become confused in ancient documents, very that man must have been in existence on the
great errors in restoring them may be con- earth more than four or even six thousand
sistent with the most honest intention on the years before the Christian era.
part of the restorers. And, though we be- The arguments for the antiquity of man
lieve in the Divine guidance and inspiration are:
of the original writer, we have no right to (I) Geological.
expect that a miraculous power should have (X) Historical.
so watched over the transmission of the re- (3) Linguistic.
cords, as to have preserved them from all pos- (4) Ethnological.
sible errors of transcription, though a special (I) The very eminent British geologist,
Providence may have guarded them from such Sir C. Lyell, has attempted to prove, that
loss or mutilation, as would have weakened man, having been contemporary with the
their testimony to Divine and spiritual truth. mammoth and other extinct mammalia, must
a. As to the extreme longevity of the have been living at least ioo,ooo years on the
Patriarchs, it is observable that some eminent earth. Although unfortunately in physical
physiologists have thought this not impos- science a great name always carries with it a
sible; and even Buffon, by no means inclined crowd of followers, far more than in politics,
to credulity on the side of Scripture, ad- literature or religion, yet in the present inmitted the truth of the record, and could see stance Sir C. Lyell has failed to carry conphysical causes for such long life in early viction to some of the most eminent of his contimes. (See'Aids to Faith,' p. 278.) It is temporaries. Elie de Beaumont on the contiundoubted, that the traditions of ancient nent and several of the most distinguished
nations, as Greeks, Babylonians, Egyptians, geologists in England demur to his concluHindoos, and others, point to the great sions. The conclusions are based on two
longevity of the early inhabitants of the principal assumptions; first, that relies of
GENESIS. V. 63
man, flint instruments or the like, are found as yet we have no distir.:t geological evidence
in recent and post-pliocene formations, which that the appearance of what are called the
have been deposited in juxtaposition with inferior races of mankind has always preceded
bones of the mammoth and other extinct in chronological order that of the higher races."
mammalia; secondly, that the present rate p. 9o. On the contrary, it was shewn above
of deposition must be reckoned as the normal that the evidence which we have points to
rate, and that at that rate the beds, which some degree of civilization in the earliest
overlie the extinct mammal and human re- periods. Indeed had it not been so, it is
mains, must have taken a vast time to form. hardly possible that man should not soon have
Of course much depends on the argument become extinct in the presence of so many
from uniformity. There are many men of animals whose mere physical powers were so
science, who, accepting Lyell's general prin- much greater than man's. But then is it
cipies, yet believe that in former ages there credible, that for some go,ooo years the huwere causes at work, which would have pro- man race should have been stationary, having
duced much speedier deposition and great- acquired almost from the first the art of maker rapidity in the formation of beds of all ing flint instruments, but all farther progress
kinds, than we see going on at present. It in the arts of civilization having apparently
may perhaps be true, that man was coeval been reserved to the last 6,ooo years? On the
with the mammoth; but a mammoth was whole, it seems impossible not to conclude that
found early in this century in Siberia pre- the geological evidence as to the antiquity of
served in the ice, with skin and hair fitting it man is as yet imperfect and imperfectly read.
to live in a cold climate, and with flesh upon it, (z) The historical arguments are chiefly
of which it was possible to make soup. Now, derived from Egyptian sources; for, though
even allowing for the great preserving power the Indians, the Chinese, and the Babylonians
of ice, there is neither proof nor probability profess to go back to hundreds of thousands
that this animal had been dead loo,ooo years of years of past history, it is generally ador even more than 6,000 years. But again, it mitted that their historic times do not at the
seems probable that man was in existence at very utmost extend farther back than to the
a time when animals now inhabiting tropical P7th century B. c. The eminent Egyptologers,
climates roamed at large in the forests of Gaul Bunsen and Lepsius, relying on the monuments
and Britain. How long it may have taken to of Egypt and the statements of Manetho, claim
reduce the climate of Great Britain from a for Egypt a national history from nearly io,ooo
tropical to it's present temperate condition, is years B.C. It is, however, quite certain that
a qluestion very difficult to solve. A change much of the evidence for this is of the vaguest
in the Gulf Stream, an alteration in the re- possible character, and that very large deducspective elevation of land and water, let alone tions must be made for myth and for conall question of the gradual cooling down of temporary dynasties. In all probability the
the earth itself, would do much towards this. earliest Egyptian dynasty cannot be dated
13esides, not human bones, but only flint in- farther back than B.C. 2700. (See'Aids to
strliments are found in the gravel and caverns Faith,' Essay vI. I7, pp. 252 sq., also'Biblical
iwitdh bones of extinct mammals. Moreover, Dict.' Arts. Chrocol/gqy, Egyept, and the Exthe present opinions of geologists rather go to cursus at the end of this volume).
negative entirely the tropical character of the (3) The linguistic argument is of this na-.
British climate inthe mammoth and tiger periods. ture. Languages are of slow growth. The
Sir Chas. Lyell admits that even now "the divergence of several modern European lanBengal tiger ranges occasionally to latitude 520 guages from Latin has been comparatively
North" (i.e. the latitude of England, and pro- inconsiderable in I:oo years. Can we then
bably in a climate much colder than England), believe all languages to have been formed, and
"and abounds in latitude 480, to which the to have diverged so widely from each other,
small tailless hare or pika, a polar resident, since the dispersion at Babel? One answer
sometimes wanders southwards" ('Antiq. of to this is, that only those languages which
Man,' p. I58). IWe may see therefore many have a literature change slowly. As long
contingencies which might have brought hu- as the Authorised Version of the Scriptures
man remains into contact with the remains of and the works of Shakspeare are read in
tropical animals, at a period much more recent English, the English language will never be
thian that assigned to such proximity by this much unlike what it is now, or what it was
eminent writer. three centuries ago. But where there is no
Difficulties of various kinds attach to Sir literature, a few years create a complete reCharles Lyell's very large numbers; for in- volution; wild tribes in a single generation
stance, at anything approaching to the present cease to understand each other. And, even
rate of increase the descendants of a single keeping out of sight the miracle of the dispercouple would have multiplied to nearly the sion at Babel, emigration, which carried no
number of the present population in about literature with it, would soon have created
6coo years. Again, according to Sir C. Lyell's an endless diversity of tongues. The cni-cf
own admission, "we must remember, that difficulty, however, is in. the slow growth of
64 GENESIS. VI. [v. I -3,
languages to a high degree of grammatical imperceptible, are at other thnes extremely
perfection, such as of Greek to the language of rapid. The early condition of mankind, with
Homer some 900 years B.C., and of Sanskrit its frequent migrations, wide separations and
to the language of the Vedas, nearly o100 little intercommunion, must have been favourvears B.C. But we must remember, that the able to rapid change, whilst its later more
Samaritan and LXX. chronology allow an stationary condition is favourable to contiinterval of more than 3ooo years from the nuance and perpetuity of type.
Flood to the Christian era, and i8oo years There is one other important objection
(the difference between 3ooo and 20oo) will made to the genealogies in this chapter and in
give considerable scope for grammatical de- Chapter xi. viz. that each gives a catalogue
velopement. of but ten generations; which looks as if
(4) The ethnological argument is ground- neither were historical. A probable solution
ed principally on the apparently unchanging of this difficulty would seem to be, that the
character of some of the races of mankind. genealogies neither were, nor were intended
Especially it is observed, that in very ancient to be, complete. Like other genealogies or
Egyptian monuments the negro race is de- pedigrees, sacred and profane, ther omitted
picted with all its present features and pecu- certain links, and perhaps only recorded and
liarities. It would therefore be impossible, it handed down to posterity those ancestors of
is argued, that all the varieties of man should the race who, for some reason or other, were
have sprung up, if their ancestors were a more than the rest deserving of remembrance.
single pair, brought into being not more than This solution would be entirely satisfactory,
600ooo or 80oo years since. It is replied, that if it were not for the appearance of chronologisupposing, which is disputed, the alleged an- cal completeness which both the genealogies
tiquity of the monuments in question, still exhibit in their present form; the age of the
a race, continuing under nearly the same cir- patriarch at the birth of his son and suc-,umstances, is not likely to change since first cessor, and the number of years which he
its peculiarities were produced by those very live~d after that birth, being given in every
circumstances. Such has been the case with case. If therefore the above explanation be
the negroes since the time of the Egyptian adopted, it would almost be necessary to add
monuments. If we take the LXX. chronology that, in the course of transmission and tranas correct, the negroes may have been in Africa scription, a greater appearance of completeness
for nearly i5oo years before the reign of had been given to the catalogues than had
Sethos I., when we find them so clearly de- existed in the original record. Such hypopicted on the monuments. Their change to theses are never to be too lightly adopted;
that climate, their fixed habits of life, and but they are far more probable than those of
isolation from other races, may have soon im- the modern critical school, which reject the
pressed a character upon them, which whilst historical truth of the earlier books of the
continuing to live under the same condition Bible. The genealogies of our Lord given in
ever since, they have never lost for a period the Gospels have undoubtedly some links
extending now to more than 3000 years. But omitted, and yet are reduced to a form of
we witness rapid changes in race when cir- great completeness. This is a strong argucumstances rapidly change. The European ment for believing that the genealogies in
inhabitants of the North American States are Genesis may have been treated in the same
said even in two or three generations to be manner. W;,e may observe that this supporapidly acquiring a similarity of feature and sition, viz. that some links are omitted, will
conformation to the original inhabitants of allow a much greater antiquity to the race
the soil, though not losing their European of man, than may at first appear on the face
intelligence and civilization. Many similar of the text of Scripture. In fact, if it be cor.
facts are noticed; which prove that changes rect, the time which it would allow, is almost
of race, thouugh sometimes so slow as to be unlimited.
CHAPTER VI. the earth, and daughters were born
TAze zwoickedness of te zworld, wzAic/h provoked unto them
God's wazctr, and cartsed t/ei food. 8 XNoah 2 That the sons of God saw the
findet gfrace. It Thle order, form, andZ edP daughters of men that they were fair;
ofJ the ark, and they took them wives of all which
ND it came to pass, when men they chose.
began to multiply on the face of 3 And the LORD said, My spirit
CHAP. VI. 1. And it came to pass] The of the first rise of sin, of its terrible manifestinspired writer has now given us an account ation in the murder of Abel, of its further
. 3.] GENESIS. VI. 65
shall not always strive with man, for shall be an hundred and twenty
that he also is flesh: yet his days years.
developement in the race of the first murder- stom, Cyril of Alexandria, and Theodoret,
er, and of the separation from the profane of condemn this view as monstrous and profane.
the descendants of the pious Seth. He pro- The rationalistic interpreters (Gesenius, Roceeds in this chapter to assign a reason for senmiller, Von Bohlen, Tuch, Knobel, Ewald,
the still more universal spread of ungodliness Hupfeld, Kalisch, Davidson, &c.) naturally
throughout the world, such as to call down prefer it, as favouring their belief, that the
from heaven a great general judgment on first chapters of Genesis exhibit merely the
mankind. Hebrew mythology. But it is also adopted
2. the sons of God sa.zv the daughters of by several of the more orthodox German
men] Wr7ho were the sons of God? and who commentators, as Hofmann, Baumgarten,
the daughters of men? Delitzsch, Kurtz, who contend that some
I. Perhaps the most ancient opinion was very portentous wickedness and excess of sin
that the sons of God were the young men of must have been the cause of the Deluge; a
high rank (as in Ps. lxxii. 6, "I have said, complete subverting of the whole order of
Ye are gods, and ye are all the sons of the God's creation, so that the essential condition
most Highest"), whilst the daughters of men of man's social life was imperilled and overwere the maidens of low birth and humble thrown. The chief arguments in favour of
condition: the word for rneJ in this passage this view are (X) that "sons of God" mostly
being a word used at times to signify men of mean angels, see Ps. xxix. 1, lxxxix. 7; Job i.
low estate (cp. Isai. ii. 9, v. i ). According 6, ii. ir, xxxviii. 7; Dan. iii. 25; (2) that
to this interpretation the sin lay in the un- the "daughters of men" can only be antibridled passions of the higher ranks of so- thetic to something not human; (3) that the
ciety, their corrupting the wives and daugh- context assigns a monstrous progeny to this
ters of their servants and dependants, and the unnatural union; (4) that St Jude and St Peconsequent spread of universal licentiousness. ter appear. to sanction it; (5) that any ordiThis seems to have been the earliest interpre- nary promiscuous marriages are not sufficient
tation among the Jews. It is adopted by the to account for the judgment of the flood.
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan. by Sym- 3. The third interpretation is that "the
machus, Abenezra, Rashli, Kimchi, and by sons of God" were the descendants of Seth,
some moderns, Selden, Vorstius, and others. who adhered to the worship and service of
The chief. objection to this is that there is the true God, and who, according to some
scarcely proof enough that the name "sons interpretations of cl. iv. 26, were from the
of God" was ever given to Amen of high rank, time of Enos called by the name of the Lord,
or that the word for man (Adam) ever meant and that " the daughters of men" were of the
people of low rank, except when contrasted race of the ungodly Cain. This was the bewith another word for man (namely, Ish). lief of the eminent Church fathers, ChrysoCompare vir and omno in Latin. stom, Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret, Augus2a. A second interpretation,' also of great tine, and Jerome. It was adopted by Luther,
antiquity, is that the sons of God were the Calvin, and mlost of the refrmners, anld has
angels, who, moved to envy by the connubial been the opinion of a great majority of mohappiness of the human race, took to them- dern commentators.
selves human bodies, and married the fair 4. It was suggested, by Ilgen, that the
daughters of men. This interpretation is Cainites were called "sons of the gods" besupposed to have the support of some ancient cause of their ingenuity and inventions, and
MSS. of the LXX. (as mentioned by August. that their intermingling themselves with the' De Civ. Dei,' xv. 23). It is argued that St other races of men caused the general corrupJude (6, 7) evidently so understood it, as he tion of mankind.
likens the sin of the angels to the sin of the cities 5. The author of'the Genesis of the
of the plain, "' the going after strange flesh." earth and of man' suggests that "' the sons of
The same is thought to be alluded to in 2 Pet. the gods" (so he would render it) may mean
ii. 4. Philo ('De Gigant.' Vol. I. p. 262); Jo- the worshippers of false gods. These he looks
sephus (' Antiq.' Lib. I. c. 4, ~ i): and the most on as a pre-Adamite race, and would render,
ancient of the Christian fathers, as Justin not "daughters of men," but "daughters of
Martyr, Tatian, Athenagoras, Clement of Adam." The pre-Adamite worshippers of the
Alexandria, Tertullian, Cyprian, Lactantius, false gods intermarried with the daughters of
moved probably by their reading of the LXX. Adam.
and being ignorant of Hebrew, adopted this Of these interpretations it appears most
interpretation. The Apocryphal Bookl of probable that the right is a modification of 3.
Enoch and some of the Jewish writers also WYe are not probably justified in saying that
expounded it so. The later fathers, Chryso- there were but two races descended from
VOL. I. E
66 GENESIS. VI. [v. 4, 5.
4 z-There were giants in the earth children to them, the same became
in those days; and also after that, mighty men which were of old, men
when the sons of God came in unto of renown.
the daughters of men, and they bare 5 ~1 And GOD saw that the wickedAdam, the race of Cain and the race of Seth. for that he also is flesh] The modern
Adam may have had many sons; but the his- interpreters, Gesenius, Vater, Schum, Tuch,
tory of the Cainites is preserved because both render "Because of his error he is become
of their impiety, and of their ingenuity; that wholly flesh," or, as Rosenmiller, " whilst
of the Sethites, because at least in one line of their flesh causeth them to err." The objecthat race piety and true religion flourished, tion to the reading of the Authorized Version,
and of them came the family of Noah which which is that of all ancient Versions and comwas preserved in the ark. There appears to mentators, is that the particle rendered that
have been a growing corruption of mankind, never occurs in the Pentateuch, but only in
more rapid, no doubt, in the family of Cain the later Psalms and other clearly more
than in any other race, but still spreading far modern books of the Old Testament. It is
and wide. The line of the Sethites, traced in in fact an Aramean particle. But it must
ch. v., alone appears to have kept itself pure, never be forgotten, that Aramaisms are to be
the little Church of God, in the midst of expected, either in the most modern, or in
gathering darkness of the world around. This the most ancient portions of Scripture. There
little Church may well have been called "the is therefore good reason to adhere to the
children of God," a term by no means limited Authorized Version.
in Scripture to the holy angels. They alone yet his days shall be an hundred and
were the salt of the earth; and if that salt twenty years] Josephus ('Ant.' I. 3, 2) and
should lose its savour, all would become after him, Tuch, Ewald, Hdvernick, Baumworthless and vile. W7hen therefore some of garten, Knobel, Hupfeld, Davidson, &c.,
these "sons of God" went out from their suppose that this alludes to the shortening
own little home circle, to make mixed mar- of the term of human life. But all the
riages with the general heathenized races Targums, Saad., Luther's Version, Rosenm.,
round them, the elements of corruption were Hengst., Ranke, Hofmann, Kurtz, Delitzsch,
brought from the world into the Church, the understand "There shall yet be a respite or
Church itself became corrupted, and the sin- time for repentance of I2 years, before the
gle family of Noah appears to have been kept threatened vengeance shall overtake them."
pure from that corruption, just as afterwards The normal duration of human life did not
the family of Lot was the only family in as Delitzsch truly observes, become fronm
Sodom free from the pollution and depravity this time I2o years, and the whole context
of the cities of the plain. The salt had lost shews, that thejudgment impending was that
its savour. At all events too little was left of the Flood, and that it uas a respite fiom
to purify and to save the world. It could that which is here promised, that time might
but save the souls of the few righteous that be given fr Noah's preaching, and man's
were therein. repentance. The only argument, that can
Concerning the giants, see note on v. 4. even appear to have weight against this in3. My spirit shall not alwuays strive] Is terpretation is that of Tuch, repeated by Bp.
rendered, (i) "shall not dwell" by LXX., Colenso, viz. that Noah was Soo years old
Vulg., Syr., Onk., Saad.., and others. (2) (cp. ch. v. 32) when this saying, "His days
"' Shall not judge," or which probably is the shall be zo0," is ascribed to the Almighty,
same thing, " shall not strive," by Symm., ad that he was 6oo years old (c. vii. 6)
Targg. Joh. and Jerus., Rashi, Kimchi, Lu- when the Flood came. Hence there were
ther, Rosenmiller, &c. This is the rendering but Ioo years, not I20 given as a respite.
of the A. V. and is probably correct. (3) But there is really no ground whatever for
" Shall not rule," by De STette, Rosenmiiller, asserting that all which is related in ch. vi.
Maurer, Knobel, IDelitzsch, &c. (4) "Shall tool place afer Noah was 500 years old.
not be humbled," Gesenlius, Tuch, &c. No XW5hat is said in v. 32 is that Noah was o50
great difference in the general significance of years old, when his three sons were born.
the passage will be produced by adopting a The Deluge may have been threatened long
T before this..different translation. Kimchi, and some of
the German commentators, understand, not 4. There wvere giants in the earth in those
that the Holy Ghost shall no longer dwell or days, and also after that, &-c.] It is hence
itrive with man, but that the spiritual princi- argued that by "Sons of God" must be
ple implanted by God in man shall no longer meant angels or fallen angels; from the:rule in him, or no longer contend against his union of whom with the daughters of nian
ani-mal nature. sprang the race of giants. But there is no
v. 6-I5.1 GENESIS. VI. 67
nessof man was great in the earth, and Io And Noah begat three sons,
I Or, /ie that 1 every imagination ofthe thoughts Shem, Ham, and Japheth.'iatoZfl. of his aheart was only evil tcontinu- II The earth also was corrupt bebrew word ally. fore God, and the earth was filled
signifieth 6 And it repented the LORD that with violence.
not only
t/,e i,2,gi- he had made man on the earth, and 12 And God looked upon the earth,
nation,
but also it grieved him at his heart. and, behold, it was corrupt; for all
theasr- a 7 And the LORD said, I will de- flesh had corrupted his way upon the,t ISes.. stroy man whom I have created from earth.
2 chap. 8. the face of the earth; tboth man, and 13 And God said unto Noah, The
Matt. I5. beast, and the creeping thing, and the end of all flesh is come before me;
tHeb. fowls of the air; for it repenteth me for the earth is filled with violence
every day.
tHeb. that I have made them. through them; and, behold, I will
Tnfto as.,a. 8 But Noah found grace in the destroy 1ithem with the earth. H Or, from
eyes of the LORD. I4 qT Make thee an ark of gopher the ea,,/h.
9 SW These are the generations of wood; trooms shalt thou make in the t Heb.
aEcclus. Noah: " Noah awas a just man and ark, and shalt pitch it within and' ""aSt
4 Pet7.2. 5. I perfect in his generations, and Noah without with pitch.
i;srz~,li, walked with God. 15 And this is the fashion which
thing said of a race of giants springing from sentiments are even more than in the later
this union. " In those days were the (well- books of Scripture attributed to the Almighty.
known) Nephilinm, in the earth" cannot have No sound criticism would see any appearance
such a sense, especially when what follows of myth in this.
is taken into account, "and also after that, 9. These are the genertions of] See note
when the sons of God went in unto the on ch. ii. 4.
daughters of men, and they bore children
to them, these became mighty men, men of 14. an ark of gopher zwood] The word
renown." Evidently the passage shews, that for ark occurs only here and in Exod. ii. 3,
Niephilim were on earth before this union, 5 of the ark or boat of papyrus or bulrushes.
and afterwards also from these marriages This word might perhaps lead us to suppose
sprang men of warlike spirit, who made that the ark was of the form of a vast chest
theimselves a name. The result was, as when or coffer, rather than of the form of a ship;
the Israelites afterwards made marriages with fitted to carry a heavy burden, not to sail
the Midianites, a great and general corruption over the waters; yet the proportions given
of manners. The warlike character and per- are those of a ship, though of rather greater
haps bodily strength of these Nephilim is speci- width than usual, see on v. I5.
ally noted, as explaining what is said in v. I3, gopher rwood] It is uncertain what this
that the earth was filled with violence. wood was. The Targumists followed by
Nephilim. The LXX., Vulg., Syr., and many Jewish and Christian commentators
Targum render " Giants;" Aq. and Symm. rendered Cedar, others Juniper or Box. Ful"violent men." Most derive the word from a ler, Bochart and Celsius suggested Cypress, in
root signifying to Jfal; and understand " the which thev have been followed by most
rallen " (whether men or angels), or, more modern commentators. The affinity between
probably, "those who fall on others," rob- the roots gophar and cupar is great, and cypress;ers or tyrants. (Aquila, Rosenm., Gesenius, is a wood well fittedfor ship-building and
Kurtz.) O(thers (among whom Tuch and abounding in the parts of Syria next to BaKnobel) derive from a root signifying uwon- bylon, which many have supposed to be the
der, and understand monsters, prodigies. We country inhabited by Noah.
r:-et with the name again Num. xiii. 33, as
mlet wtrith the name ag*~ain N'um. Xiii. 33, as -rooms] literally nests, different compartthat of one of the Canaanitish tribes, who ments fitted for the habitation of men and
appear to have been men of large stature, animals.
as vwere the Rephaim, the Anakim and others.
This very likely was the reason, why the pitch] more probably asphaltos, bitumen,
word came to be rendered "giants," which which is said to be particularly suited for
does not seem to have been its original closing up the interstices of the timbers and
meamning. making a vessel watertight.
6. it reepented the LORD] All the language 15. this is the fashion] The actual form
-of this portion of Scripture is suited to the of the ark is not described. The proporinlfant condition of the world. Hence human tions only are given, which are not very
E2
68 GENESIS. VI. [v. I6 —9
thou shalt make it of: The length of a flood of waters upon the earth, to
the ark shall be three hundred cubits, destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath
the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the of life, from under heaven; and every
height of it thirty cubits. thing that is in the earth shall die.
i6 A window shalt thou make to I8 But with thee will I establish
the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou my covenant; and thou shalt come
finish it above; and the door of the into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and
ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; thy wife, and thy sons' wives with
with lower, second, and third stories thee.
shalt thou make it. I9 And of every living thing of all
17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring flesh, two of every sort shalt thou
different from those of "The Great Eastern." ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish them
Reckoning the cubit at HI inches; the pro- from above." It is quite possible that it may
portions would be length 525 ft., breadth 87 have been a window course running for a
ft. 6 in., height 52 ft. 6 in.; those of " The cubit long under the top or deck of the ark,
Great Eastern" being length 680, breadth 83, lighting the whole upper story very similar to
depth 58. (See Smith's'Dict. of Bible,' Art. the clerestory of churches (see Knobel here).
Noah.) The length of the cubit is doubtful, The word is translated by Symmachus'a
as there appear to have been 2 or 3 differ- transparency." It seems not impossible that
ent measures so called. In all probability some transparent substance was used. This
it means the length from the elbow to the may easily have been known to the Anteend of the hand, a variable measure, of diluvians, who had made the progress in arts
course, but'sufficiently accurate for the pur- described ch. iv. 21, 22. Perhaps the invenpcses of those simple times. It is mentioned tion was lost after the Deluge, an event
by the German commentators that Peter Jan- which must have reduced mankind to almost
sen in I609 built a vessel of the same pro- original simplicity and rudeness. It is by
portions as the ark, though smaller, viz. no means clear, that these windows were all
Length Izo, width 2o, depth i2 ft. It was in the roof or deck. They may have been in
found most convenient for stowage, contain- the gunwales, i.e. on the higher part of the
ing one-third more freight than ordinary yes- sides of the vessel, like the port-holes of a
sels of the same tonnage, though it was modern ship of war. And, if they were
unsuited for making way quickly through covered with a transparent substance, it is
the water. quite possible that they may not have been
John Temporarius quoted by Heidegger confined to the upper story of the ship, as
(' Historia Sacra,' I. p. 338) made a curious the word "above" does not necessarily mean
calculation, according to which the ark would on the upper part of the vessel, but may
have afforded abundant room for all the mean the top of the window course.
animals then known, and food for their
voyage. Tiele also in his commentary cal- the door of the ark] There was naturally
culates that there was room for 7ooo distinct ut one opening beside the window course,
species. (See Kurtz, I. p. Ioi.) through which all the inhabitants of the ark
were to be let into it.
16. A cvindozvs shalt thou make to the
ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above] 19. tawo of evely sort shalt thou brinzg
There is a great variety of interpretation into the ark] Of course if we will admit nohere, some rendering a Wvindo-w, others light, thing out of the ordinary course of nature,
or daylight or a transparent subsfanco, others, we shall be unable to receive the Mosaic
after the LXX., an inclined roof, or sloping deck. history of the Deluge. Yet, even on natural
Much too has been said against the historical principles, we may in some measure explain
truth of a narrative, which could assign but Noah's power over the beasts..~When a
one window of a cubit long to so vast a terrible catastrophe is closely impending,
ship.- The interpretation of Gesenius seems there is often a presentiment of it in the
evidently the true, viz. that the unusual word brute creation. Under the pressure of great
translated " window" (the word in ch. viii. 6, is danger or great suffering, the wildest animals
quite another word) means really a set of will at times become perfectly tame and
windows, a window course, a system of tractable. Most likely too, Noah and his
lighting: and the use of the feminine gender family would choose pairs of very young
in the pronoun suggests to the same high animals, just old enough to feed themauthority, that the right rendering would be, selves, as being the most tractable and as
"A window system shalt thou make to the requiring less room than those full grown.
v. 20 —4.] GENESIS. VI. VII. 69
bring into the ark, to keep them alive AND the aLoRD said unto Noah, 2 Pet.
with thee; they shall be male and Come thou and all thy house 5
female. into the ark; for thee have I seen
2o Of fowls after their kind, and righteous before me in this generaof cattle after their kind, of every tion.
creeping thing of the earth after his 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt
kind, two of every sort shall come take to thee by tsevens, the male and t Heb. e-.
unto thee, to keep them alive. his female: and of beasts that are not ven" SCvC"
21 And take thou unto thee of all clean by two, the male and his female.
food that is eaten, and thou shalt 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens,
gather it to thee; and it shall be for the male and the female; to keep
food for thee, and for them. seed alive upon the face of all the
-et.. i. 22 -CThus did Noah; according to earth.
7' all that God commanded him, so did he. 4 For yet seven days, and I will
CHAPTER VII. cause it to rain upon the earth forty
days and forty nights; and every livXNoa/, wet/e Hs famimy, ansd t/Ze livinlg ing substance that I have made will I
lures, euter sito Ike ark. 17 The be. inniuzg,
ilzreesse, anter coneizznanhce of/ ste fbo i' tdestroy from off the face of the earth. floH',
If the ark was to hold, not only birds and here is but an amplification of the former
quadrupeds, but insects and reptiles, possibly injunction, which had probably been given
eggs or larvae may have been preserved. Izo years before. In the first instance it
was said that Noah's family should be preCHAP. VII. 1. Anda the LORD said unto served together with a pair of every kind of
Joah] The preceding chapter accounts for beast. In the second, that, whilst the general
a period of Iso years. At the beginning of rule should be the saving of a single pair,
that period, God had declared His will to yet, in the case of the few clean beasts, there
destroy mankind by a flood, unless they should be preserved, not one pair only but
profited by the time still given them for seven. The objection that this was an antirepentance. Noah is ordered to prepare an cipation of the Levitical distinction of beasts
ark, the building or which may have occu- into clean and unclean, is wholly groundless.
pied the greater part of this season of respite The boundary line between clean and unHe is told at the very first that he and his clean animals is marked by nature. Every
sons are to go into the ark, and that a pair tribe of mankind would distinguish between
of every kind of cattle and fowls and moving the sheep and the hyaena, between the dove
things should go in with him and be pre- and the vulture. Whether animal food was
served alive. In the present chapter we eaten before the Deluge or not, it is certain
reach the end of the I20 years. The ark that flocks and herds were fed for the sake of
has been built in the prescribed form with their milk and wool, and that of them victims
due preparation and capacity. Noah has were offered inr sacrifice. This alone would
done according to all that God had com- separate between the clean and the unclean.
manded him (ch. vi. sz), and now the Lord It is not improbable, that the distinction even
gives to Noah fuller directions concerning the of the names " clean and unclean " had been
animals which he was to take with him. fully established by custom, long before it
2. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to was recognized and ratified by the Law.
tbhee by sevens, the male and his female] It is 3. Offowis lsao of the air by sevens] In the
questioned whether there were to be seven or Samaritan, the LXX. and Syr. this verse runs,
seven pairs of every clean beast. Some think c " And of all the fowls of the air which are
there were to be only seven, the odd number clean by sevens, the male and the female, and
being accounted for by the fact that the of all fowls which are noti clean by two, the
clean beasts were preserved for sacrifice, that male and the female, to keep seed alive upon
therefore more of them were needed than of the face of all the earth." This must have
unclean beasts, and the number seven was been a very ancient reading; but it appears
adopted as a sacred number. The addition to have arisen fr-om a gloss or commentary
of the words " the male and his female" having crept into the text. It probably gives
(comp. v. 9), seems to favour the belief that the true sense of the passage.
seven pairs are intended. In any case there is 4. yet seven days] The I2o years ended
no inconsistency between this verse and ch. and the ark prepared for the saving of his
vi. 20, "two of every sort." The command house, Noah is allowed yet seven days more
70 GENESIS. VII. [v. 5 —5.
5 And Noah did according unto all Noah's life, in the second month, the
that the LORD commanded him. seventeenth day of the month, the
6 And Noah was six hundred years same day were all the fountains of
old when the flood of waters was up- the great deep broken up, and the
on the earth. 1windows of heaven were opened. U Or,
7 ST And Noah went in, and his I2 And the rain was upon the
sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives earth forty days and forty nights.
with him, into the ark, because of the 13 In the selfsame day entered
waters of the flood. Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Ja8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts pheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's
that are not clean, and of fowls, and wife, and the three wives of his sons
of every thing that creepeth upon the with them, into the ark;
earth, I4 They, and every beast after his
9 There went in two and two unto kind, and all the cattle after their kind,
Noah into the ark, the male and the and every creeping thing that creepeth
female, as God had commanded upon the earth after his kind, and
Noah. every fowl after his kind, every bird
I Or, on io And it came to pass l after seven of every sort. t.
te seven/i days, that the waters of the flood were I5 And they went in unto Noah
day. I5 And they went in unto Noah'
upon the earth. into the ark, two and two of all flesh,
iI e In the six hundredth vear of wherein is the breath of life.
for gathering all safely into the place of the ark could rest on Ararat on the i7th'of
refuge before the flood sets in. the seventh month. Thus the I7th of the
9. two and twmo] This again is no co-n- seventh month appears to have been exactly
tradiction to v. a. The rule was that all five months of thirty days after the I7th of
animals, clean or unclean, should go in two the second month. This would make the
and trwo, that rule was not broken, but am- Noachic year a year of 36o days, correspondplified, by the direction in verse z, that of h the old Egyptian year, unless any
clean animals there should be more than a intercalation of five days was made use of.
single pair, viz. seven or seven pairs. On the presumption that this reckoning is
11. In the conclusive, it has been argued that the account
11. In the six hundredth year of Neoah's of the Flood must have been of much later
life, in the second month, the seuenteenth daly date than Moses, as the Israelites never learnofj the month] The questions concerning the ed to reckon by solar time till after the BabyDeluge year are complicated by the uncer- lonish captivity. It is certain however that
tainty, I. whether the year was the old civil the Egyptians used solar time long before the
year beginning with the month Tisri in the date of the Exodus which is answer enough
autumn, or the sacred year which from the to this difficulty.
time of the Exodus was appointed to begin With regard to the fort days' rain it
with the month Abib, the Passover month, seems pretty certain that those ee nt adi
seems pretty certain that those were nGt addiin the spring: z. whether the calculation be tional to but part of, the 250 days of the
Lunar or Solears teitetowmy -prevalence of the flood. Supposing the above
As regards the first question, we may no- calculation to be correct, we have the very
tice th ththe year did not begin from Abib, un- remarkable coincidences that on the i 7th day
til the time of the Exodus, and that even then of Abib the ark rested on Mount Ararat on
the civil year was reckoned from Tisri. Hence the I7th day of Abib the Israelites passed
we may naturally conclude, that the year of over the Red Sea-on the i 7th day of Abis
the Flood began with Tisri, or about the Christ our Lord rose again from the dead.
autumnal Equinox. If so, the i7th day of
the second month would bring us to the ewere all the fountains of the great deep
middle of November, the beginning of the broken up, and the swindoUws of heaven cvere
wintry and rainy season. opened] It cannot be imagined, that this is a
The second question seems at first sight philosophical explanation cf the flood. Tht
resolved by comparing this verse (vii. i I) with use of Scripture is always to describe the
vii. 24 and viii. 4, from which comparison it phenomena of nature, not to trace their hidappears that the flood began on the 7th of den causes. The words here written express
the second month, lasted ISo days, i.e. five only the effect produced upon man's senses.
months of 30 days, and had subsided, so that There was a flood of waters from above and
v. 16-4.] GENESIS. VII. VIII. 71
I6 And they that went in, went the creeping things, and the fowl of
in male and female of all flesh, as God the heaven; and they were destroyed
had commanded him: and the LORD from the earth: and CNoah only re- I Wisd io.
shut him in. mained alive, and they that were with 2 Pet. 2. 5.
17 And the flood was forty days him in the ark.
upon the earth; and the waters in- 24 And the waters prevailed upon
creased, and bare up the ark, and it the earth an hundred and fifty days.
was lift up above the earth. CHAPTER VIII.
I8 And the waters prevailed, and I 7The zalers asszvag'e. 4 The ark reste/zh on
were increased greatly upon the earth; A4r-lat. 7 The ravenz and te (dove. I5 Noah,
and the ark went upon the face of beinhY comandedi, i8 goeth forth of fje ark.'20 H-le bdildeth anz alta; and offereth/ sacrifce,
the waters.' I which God accetpeth, andiraomiseth to curse
19 And the waters prevailed ex- ze earlt/z no more.
ceedingly upon the earth; and all the A/ND God remembered Noah, and
high hills, that were under the whole every living thing, and all the
heaven, were covered. cattle that was with him in the ark:
20 Fifteen cubits upward did the and God made a wind to pass over
waters prevail; and the mountains the earth, and the waters asswaged;
were covered. 2 The fountains also of the deep'Wisd. io, 21 bAnd all flesh died that moved and the windows of heaven were
4' upon the earth, both of fowl, and of stopped, and the rain from heaven
cattle, and of beast, and of every creep- was restrained;
ing thing that creepeth upon the earth, 3 And the waters returned from off
and every man: the earth tcontinually: and after the tHeb.
tHeb. 22 All in whose nostrils was tthe end of the hundred and fifty days an.rze-p
the breath
~/,f iet, breath of life, of all that was in the the waters were abated.
zSf/i'r"f dry land, died. 4 And the ark rested in the seventh
23 And every living substance was month, on the seventeenth day of the
destroyed which was upon the face of month, upon the mountains of Arathe ground, both man, and cattle, and rat.
from beneath. The clouds poured down rain, CI-IAP. VIII. 1. God remembered Noah]
and the seas and rivers swelled and burst their As it is said, I Sam. xv. x, " It repenteth
boundaries; so that to one who witnessed it Me that I have anointed Saul to be king,"
it seemed as though "the fountains of the i.e. I have decreed to put another in his
great deep were broken up, and the windows place, and above (Gen. vi. 7), " It repenteth
of heaven were opened." Me that I have made man," i.e. I have deter16. and the LORD shot him inl] Bj sozme mined to destroy man; so here " The Lord
providential or supernatural agency the door remembered Noah" does not point to a preof the ark, which could not have been secured vious forgetfulness, but to God's great mercy
with pitch or bitumen by Noah, was secured towards him (Theodoret).
and made water-tight. 2. The fountains, &c.] The clouds were
dispersed by a wind, the waters no longer
17, 18, 19. In these verses the frequent increased, and the effect was, as though, after
repetition of the same thought in almost the the forty days of rain and flood, the founsame words has been supposed by Astruc and tains of the deep and the windows of heaven
others to evidence the work of different were closed
hands. Repetition, however, is universal in
a simple state of society, wherever great A. Arrat] The belief that this is the
strength of expression is aimed at. Even in mountain-range now commonly called Mount
late Hebrew such repetition is familiar, but in Ararat, the highest peak of which rises nearly
early Hebrew it meets us at every turn. 17,ooo feet above the level of the sea, rests on
a very uncertain foundation. Far more pro20. Fifteen cubits upyvard] i. e. from 25 bable is the opinion that Ararat was the
to 28 feet: a depth apparently above the ancient name of Armenia itself, or, rather, of
neighbouring mountains, perhaps depressed by the Southern portion of Armenia. The name
convulsion, or otherwis?. See note on the occurs only here, and in X Kings xix. 37; Is.
Deluge at the end of the eighth chapter. xxxvii. 38, where it is mentioned as the place
72 GENESIS. VIII. [v. 5 —IO.
tIIeb. 5 And the waters tdecreased con- 8 Also he sent forth a dove
goietg,, g tinually until the tenth month: in the from him, to see if the waters were
decreas- tenth month, on the first day of the abated from off the face of the
month, were the tops of the mountains ground;
seen. 9 But the dove found no rest for
6 T And it came to pass at the end the sole of her foot, and she returned
of forty days, that Noah opened the unto him into the ark, for the waters
window of the ark which he had were on the face of the whole earth:
made: then he put forth his hand, and took
Heb. 7 And he sent forth a raven, which her, and tpulled her in unto him into t Hebgoi;',g went forth tto and fro, until the waters the ark. eto co e..
rItAz,,. were dried up from off the earth. To And he stayed yet other seven
to which the sons of Sennacherib fled, after such is the marginal rendering of the A.V.
the murder of their father. Most of the which though not supported by the VSS. is
ancient VSS. render the word by Armenia accordant with other Hebrew idioms (see
(Aq., Symm., Theod., Vulg., and in Kings Quarry,'Gen.' p. 397). Another objection to
and Isaiah the LXX., though in Gen. the Armenia is found in the statement of Strabo
LXX. leave it untranslated). The Targums (lib. xI. p. 527), that the vine does not grow
tender Kardu or Kardon, probably meaning there (cp. Gen. ix. zo). Accordingly HarKurdistan, or the Gordyozan mountains, douin contends that Ararat could not have
which run to the South of Armenia, dividing been in Armenia, but is to be sought for in
the valley of the Tigris from Iran, on, or the North of Palestine, where it borders on
near to which mountains, in the Chaldzan Antilibanus and Syria (' De Situ Parad. terres.'
tradition of the Deluge preserved by Bero- in Franzii, Edit. Plin.'Nat. Hist.' Tom. x.
sus, Xisuthrus is said to have landed. Jerome pp. 259, 260). Yet the Io,ooo are said to
('on Isai.' xxxvii.) tells us, that " Ararat is a have found old wine in Armenia (Xen.'A nab.'
champaign country of incredible fertility, 4. 4, 9); and vines are said at this day to
situated in Armenia, at the base of Mount grow in the highlands of Armenia, at a level
Taurus, through which flows the river of 4000 feet above the sea. (See Ritter, quoted
Araxes." Moses, Archbishop of Chorene, A.D. by Knobel, on ch. Ix. 2o.) Von Bohlen,
46o, the famous historian of Armenia, also arguing from Gen. xi. z that Ararat lay easttells us that Ararat was a region, not a moun- ward of Shinar, identifies it with Aryavarta,
tain. A Mohammedan tradition has no doubt the sacred land to the North of India, to
placed the site of the ark's resting on the which the Hindoo tradition points. The
top of the highest ridge of the mountain, Samaritan VS. places it in the Island of
called anciently Macis, by the Persians Coh Ceylon. Though on such a question cerNoah; and this has been thought to corre- tainty is impossible, the arguments in favour
spond with what is related by Nicolaus of of Armenia are very strong.
Damascus, that there was a mountain in Ar- 6. the windoqw] or opening, from a verb
menia called Baris, to which people escaped meaning to perforate or open. This is quite
in the general Deluge, and on which a vessel a different word from that used vi. i6. ThL
struck, parts of which long remained (Jo- A.V. would suggest the idea, that Noah was
seph.' Ant.' I. 4). All this, however, is some- commanded (vi. i6) to make a window, and
what vague. WVVe can only say with certainty that now he opened that window; whereas
that, so long as the time when the LXX. VS. the original expresses the fact, that Noah was
was made, Ararat was believed to correspond commanded to make a window-course, or
with, or to constitute a part of Armenia. light system, and that now he opens the winMoreover, general belief has pointed to the dow or casement in the ark which he had
necghbourhood of Armenia as the original made on purpose to open.
dwelling-place of the first fathers of man- It has been
kiind. 7. qwuent forth to and fro] It has been
Yet the claims, not only of the central supposed that there were carcases of men and
mountain peak, but even of any portion of beasts floating on the waters, that from them
Armenia, to be the site of Noah's landing- the raven found a place to light upon, and
place, have been disputed by many. In Gen. also food; and hence, though it returned
xi. z the migration of the sons of Noah to- from time to time and rested on the ark, it
wards Shinar is said to be I" from the East." never again sought an entrance into it.
If sol it could not have been from Armenia. 8. a dove] Noah, finding no sufficient
It is, however, most probable that the right indication from the raven, now sends forth
rendering should be, as in Gen. ii. 8, xiii. II, the dove, a bird which rests only on dry
not "from the East" but "eastward," and places and feeds only on grain.
V. II —20.] GENESIS. VIII. 73
days; and again he sent forth the i6 Go forth of the ark, thou, and
dove out of the ark; thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons'
rI And the dove came in to him wives with thee.
in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth I7 Bring forth with thee every
was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah living thing that is with thee, of all
knew that the waters were abated flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and
from off the earth. of every creeping thing that creepeth
12 And he stayed yet other seven upon the earth; that they may breed
days; and sent forth the dove; which abundantly in the earth, and be
returned not again unto him any more. fruitful, and multiply upon the
13 qI And it came to pass in the earth.
six hundredth and first year, in the I8 And Noah went forth, and his
first month, the first day of the month, sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives
the waters were dried up from off the with him:
earth: and Noah removed the cover- 19 Every beast, every creeping
ing of the ark, and looked, and, be- thing, and every fowl, and whatsohold, the face of the ground was dry. ever creepeth upon the earth, after
I4 And in the second month, on their tkinds, went forth out of the t Heb.
the seven and twentieth day of the ark.
month, was the earth dried. 20 91 And Noah builded an altar
I5 qT And God spake unto'Noah, unto the LORD; and tool of every
saying, clean beast, and of every clean fowl,
il. an olive leaf] Theophr.' Hist. of the German commentators see in the acPlant.' L. Iv. c. 8, and Pliny,' Hist. Nat.' L. count of this sacrifice a late interpolation,
XIIi. c. 25, are cited as saying that the olive derived from the Mosaic or Levitical customs
grew under water in the Red Sea, and bore of sacrifice. Delitzsch justly observes that
berries there. AVhether this be so or not, it in most of the traditions of the Deluge, exis probable that the olive may live more ternal to the Israelites, as the Phoenician,
healthily under a flood than most other trees. Indian, Greek, &c., a sacrifice forms part of
It is eminently hardy, and will grow in a the legend. The pretence, therefore, that in
favourable soil without care or culture. The the Biblical narrative this was an afterthought
following passage illustrates the extraordinary of a Jehovist interpolater riust be gratuitous.
powers of adaptation to circumstances pos- 21. a sweet sa'vonr] Lit. "the savour
sessed by some plants. " The formation of of satisfction or delectation," the word
sprouts gives the plant the means of attach- Nichoach, " satisfiction," having a reference
ing itself to the most varied conditions, of to Noach "brest." Cp. like expressions in
persisting through periods of continued cold Lev. ii. I2, xxvi. 3I; Ezek. vi. I3, xx. 41.
and heat, damp or drought, according as the The gratitude of Noah, and his faith as maniclimate may produce, and guarding against fested by the sacrifice, were acceptable to
death in all cases of frustrated seed-develop- God.
ment......Thus Littorella lacustris, which
never flowers under water, maintains and in- for the imal ntion of man's heart is
creases itself by lateral runners, year after evilfrom his youth] In ch. vi. A, it is writyear, at the bottom of the lakes of the Black ten that God's anger was nloed, because
Forest, and only comes into flower when the every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
water retreats in the driest years, which was only evil continually." Here, on the
scarcely occur oftener than once in ten " (A. contrary it is said, that " the Lord said in His
Braun,'IRejuvenescence in Nature,' p.I, 42, heart, I will not curse the ground any more
The olive (Ole for man's sake, for the imagination of his
Ray Society). The olive (Olea Europea) is heart is evil from his youth." The Germans
generally a plant of the Mediterranean: other discover an inconsistency between the words
discover an inconsistency between the words
species occur at the Cape of Good Hope, of the Elohist in vi., and those of the Jethe Himalava mountains, and elsewhere.
the Himalaya mountains and elsehere. hovist here. Soi-me have endeavoured to recon-.pluckt of] rather, as Vulg., fre shl. cile these passages by translating "although"
20. every clean beast] Probably not instead of "for." The true solution is, that
every beast which was afterwards permitted in the first instance (ch. vi. S) the actual sinto the Israelites for food, but those which fulness of man, the constant tendency of every
were esteemed clean for sacrifice; viz. oxen, imagination of his thoughts to evil, is represheep and goats, doves and pigeons. Some sented as moving the anger of God, and tend
74 G ENESIS. VIII. I[v. 2 L 22.
and offered burnt offerings on the is evil from his youth; neither will I
altar. again smite any more every thing living,
I Heb. 2I And the LORD smelled ta sweet as I have done.,Z-'t. savour; and the LORD said in his 22 tVVAhile, the earth remaineth, i Heb.
chap. 6. heart, I will not again curse the seedtime and harvest, and cold and thtdysal
chp.. ground any more for man's sake; heat, and summer and winter, and teear
19. for the aimagination of man's heart day and night shall not cease...
ing to man's destruction; but in the present creatures, and how He is moved not to curse,
instance (ch. viii. 2I) the Lord is described as but to pity and to bless those who turn to
considering the feebleness of his nature, and Him with penitent hearts, and faith in that
pitying that natural propensity to evil, which great Sacrifice, of which Noah's offering was
every man inherits at his birth. a type and a prophecy.
The word in the original for imagination, 22. seedtime and harvest] The Deluge
is the word which the Rabbins used to ex- bad confounded earth and sea. There reignpress that desire of evil, which results from ed as it were one long winter, almost one unoriginal sin (Buxt.' Lex. Chald.' p. 973; Ges. broken night, over the whole world. But' Thes.' p. 6 9). Accordingly in ch. vi. we see thenceforth the Lord decreed, that seasons
God's righteous indignation against the hard- should follow in their course, the season of
ened, impenitent, unbelieving sinner. Here, sowing and the season of reaping, the cold
on the contrary, we read of the Lord's com- and the heat, the summer and the winter, the
passionate kindness to His feeble and erring day and the night.
NOTE A on CHAP. vIII. THE DELUGE.
i. Was it historical? (a) Traditions among all races of men. (/ff Explicable only on
the supposition of historical foundation. 2. WVas it universal? (a) How to
judge of the narrative. (3) Universal probably to mankind. (y) Geological difficulties. (8) Rationale of Deluge.
Two great questions concerning the Flood of the second trial, returned no more. Judgirng
Noah naturally present themselves: i. Is the then that the flood was abated, he took out
account of it historical or mythicali. WVas some of the planks of the vessel, and found
the Deluge partial or universal? that it had stranded on the side of a moun1. Many of the Germans, and according tain. Whereupon he and all his left the ship,
to Davidson "all good critics" have aban- and offered sacrifice to the gods. The place
doned the historical character of the narra- of landing was in Armenia; where part of the
tive. The physical difficulties are supposed vessel still remained, from which the people
to be insuperable. The whole therefore is of the country scraped off the bitumen and
said to be "mythical, embodying the old made amulets (see Cory's'Ancient Fragm.'
Hebrew belief in the retributive character of pp. 22, 29, ist Edition). Of the Aryan tradisin" (Davidson,' Introd. to O. T.' Vol. I. p. tions, first, the Greek is to be found in the well
187). How then, it may be asked, does it known classical legend of the floods of Ogyges
happen, that so many nations retained a recol- and Deucalion. Pindar ('01.' Ix. 37), first
lection of the same great event? The races mentions the flood of Deucalion. The acof mnankind have been divided by modern count is given at length by Ovid; by whom
Ethnologists into Semitic, Aryan (Iranian or the reason assigned is the general prevalence
Indo-European) and Turanian. It'will be of violence and wickedness ('Metam.' I. 240,
found, that in all these races there are tradi- &c.). Apollodorus (Lib. I.) ascribes the detions of a flood, which destroyed all mankind luge of Deucalion to the determination of
except one family. The Semitic account is Jupiter to destroy the men of the brazen age.
to be found in the Bible and in the Chaldaean And Lucian (' De Syra Dea') speaks of it as
tradition, which is the nearest to that of the having destroyed the whole human race. The
Bible, and which comes down to us in the Persian tradition may be that embodied in
fragments of Berosus preserved by Josephus the Koran, though there probably incorpoand Eusebius. According to that tradition, rated with the Scriptural narrative. The
Sisuthrus or Xisuthrus being warned of a flood Hindoo tradition represents Manu as warned
by the god Cronus, built a vessel and took by a great fish to build a ship, that he might
into it his relatives and near friends, and all be preserved during an impending deluge.
klinds of birds and quadrupeds. The vessel The ship was saved by being lashed on to the
was five stadia in length and two in breadth. horn of the fish, and was ultimately landed on,TVhen the flood had abated, he sent out birds, a northern mountain. (See the tradition at
which first of all returned to himi, but, after length, Hardwick,'Christ and other Masters,'
GENESIS. VIII. 75
p. ii. ch. iii. ~ 3.) The Phrygian story of The existence of cosmogonies, more or less
Annakos (supposed to be Enoch) who foretold alike, may be easily conceived of. But, that
the Deluge, is singularly confirmed by a medal in all parts of the world, among races the
struck at Apamea (called Apamea Kibotus, i.e. most remote and dissimilar, there should preApamea, the Ark) in the reign of Septimius vail a belief, that, after man was created on
Severus, on which is depicted an ark or chest the earth, all men but one family, were defloating on the waters. Two people are seen stroved by a Deluge, is intelligible only on
within it and two going out of it. On the the supposition, that some such event actop of the ark a bird perches, and another tually did occur; an event simply, graphically
flies towards it with a branch between its and accurately related in the Book3 of Genesis,
feet, on the vessel; in some specimens of this but variously distorted and disguised in the
coin, are the letters NO2. It can hardly be legends of the heathen world. An universal
doubted, however, that this coin, and the tra- belief, not springing directly from some indition connected with it, come somewhat stinctive principle in our nature, can with
directly from Hebrew sources. The third reason only be ascribed to tradition of an
division of the Human Race, the Turanian, historical fact. The only other explanation
has also everywhere traditions of the Deluge. suggested is utterly impossible, viz. that in
In China, Fa-he, the reputed founder of many parts of the world among the more
Chinese civilization, is represented as escap- civilized and the most barbarous alike, reing from the waters of a deluge, and he mains of marine animals found beneath the
reappears as the first man at the produc- Earth's surface had suggested the same betion of a renovated world, attended by his lief, viz. that there must have been an univerwife, three sons and three daughters (Hard- sal Flood. Even supposing this possible, how
wick, Part iii. p. i6). The inhabitants of does this account for the similarity of the
the Polynesian Islands, who are probably of tradition not generally only, but in minute
Malay origin, especially the Figi islanders, particulars in the remotest parts of the inhave distinct accounts of a deluge, in which a habited world?
family, eight in number, was saved in a 2. The second question, VWas the Deluge
canoe (Hardwick, InI. I85). Similar tradi- Universal? has long divided those who betions prevailed throughout the continent of lieve that it was historically true, and that it is
America, the aboriginal inhabitants of which correctly related by Moses. The most literal
are now generally believed to be all of one interpretation of the language, especially of
stock, and by their physical and linguistic the words, Gen. vii. I9, "all the high hills
peculiarities are by the greatest ethnologists that were under the whole heaven, were
identified with the Turanian races of Asia. covered," would lead to the conviction that
(See Bunsen,'Philos. of Univ. Hist.' Vol. II. it must have been universal. Yet it is cerp. II2.) In Central America, the inhabitants tain, that many, who accept implicitly the
of Mexico had paintings representing the De- historical truth of the narrative, believe the
luge, a man and his wife in a bark or on a inundation to have been partial. Of such
raft, a mountain rising above the waters, and we may distinguish two classes of writers,
birds, the dove, the vulture, &c. taking part ist those who think that all the then living
in the scene. In North America, the Chero- race of man was destroyed; but that those
kee Indians had a legend of all men destroyed regions of the earth not then inhabited by
by a deluge, except one family saved in a man were unaffected by the Flood 2and,
boat, to the building of which they had been those who believe that the Flood swept
incited by a mysterious dog, which recalls the away only that portion of mankind with
Indian fable of the friendly fish (see Hard- which the Sacred narrative is chiefly conwick, Part IIi. pp. I6I —64). cerned; and which had become corrupted
Thus among the more civilized countries and vitiated by the promiscuous marriages
of Europe, and in well nigh every portion of mentioned in ch. vi. i, 2.
Asia and America, in every different race of In order to place ourselves in a fair posimankind, we find traditionary accounts of tion for judging of these questions, it may be
this great catastrophe, and of the miraculous well to consider the nature of the narrative,
deliverance of a single family. The mythical and the common use of language among the
interpreters insist, that every nation had its Hebrews. And if we do so carefully, we
mythic age, its mythic traditions, and that as shall surely be led to conclude, that the
we discover the same myth of a deluge in all Deluge is described as from the point of
other nations, we naturally conclude that view of an eye-witness. It has been so much
the Hebrew narrative is in like manner my- our wont to look on all the early portions of
thical. But how can it be explained, that in Genesis as a direct revelation firom God to
all parts of the world, people have stumbled Moses, that we rather consider the picture to
on the same myth? VWhat is there, apart be drawn, if we rmay speak so, as from the
from tradition, that so commends the fable of point of view of the Omnipotent. Yet, even
a Deluge and of the saving of one household if we are right in esteeming all as a simply
to the imagination and invention of mankind? direct revelation, it may be, that, the reve
76 GENESIS. VIII.
lation was given in prophetic vision, and that Noah and denunciation of judgment on marnMoses wrote, not merely what he had heard, kind. He describes the building and the
but also, and rather, what he had seen. But proportions of the ark. He narrates the 40
we may remember too, that the custom of days of rain and the swelling of the rivers
Scripture is to refer historical records to the and of the ocean, in the words which most
evidence of eye-witnesses. This is very much forcibly describe that great catastrophe (Gen.
the case in the New Testament. The Apostles vii. i ). He then describes how the waters
and Evangelists constantly claim to have been prevailed, till the ark was raised up and
present at the scenes which they relate (see floated over them (v. I8). At length, not
especially Luke i. I, 2; Joh. xix. 35, xxi. 24; only did the ark float, but the highest hills
Acts i. 3; I Cor. xv. 3-8; 2 Pet. i. I6; i Joh. disappeared (v. I9); nothing was visible
i. I); and they relate them as those scenes ap- under the whole vault of heaven. but sea and
peared to them. The baptism of Jesus, the air. The very words are " All the high hills
transfiguration, the walking on the waters, the under the whole heaven were covered."
multiplying the loaves and fishes, the Cruci- T\rhere the ark was at this time, or where
fixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Noah and his family had been dwelling
tongues of fire at Pentecost, are all simply before, we cannot tell. The country may
painted as they who were present saw and con- have been mountainous, and so, in order to
ceived of them. And this is equally true in the hide the hills from view, the waters must
Old Testament. Take for instance the much have been very deep, or it may have been a
debated miracle of the sun and the moon plain country, as many think the region
standing still at the command of Joshua. round about Babylon, with few hills in sight
The phenomenon is related just as the con- and those not of great altitude; in which
tending armies witnessed it. It is not re- case but a moderate depth of water would
ferred to its natural causes, whatever they have sufficed to cover all the highest hills
may have been. That merely is related under the whole canopy of heaven. The
which actually appeared. At Joshua's com- inhabitants of the ark probably tried the
mand, and of course by Divine intervention, depth of the Deluge by a plumb line, an
the Sun and the Moon, which would natu- invention surely not unknown to those who
rally have seemed to describe an arc in the had acquired the arts of working in brass and
heavens and to descend into the west, thenir, iron (ch. iv. 22), and they foulnd a depth of
on the contrary, seemed to stand still in the r5 cubits. Then all flesh, all that was on
midst of heaven. Now just so is the Delulge the dry land, died. And, as the gathering of
described in Genesis. It is pictured, as it the waters is thus described, so in ch. viii.
would have presented itself to the eyes of the subsidence is given in the same simple
Noah and his family. Moreover, on the graphic style. At length, on a specified day,
principle iust mentioned, it is in the highest the ark rests. It is found that it had stranddegree probable, that the description is really ed near to some of the hills in a generally
that which was given by one of such eye- plain country, perhaps to the south of Armewitnesses. It would have been very strange nia, perhaps in the north of Palestine, perif no such description had been given and haps somewhere in Persia, or in India or
preserved. Shem would almost certainly elsewhere. The waters continually decrease,
have related it, over and over again, to his it may be the vapoqirs also clear off; and at
children and grand-children. They would length the summits of the surrounding hills
have treasured it up in their memories and become visible, though the plain country still
have handed it on. As has been so notori- is flooded. Noah then sends out the Raven.
ously the case among later nations (see Max It goes to and fro, but returns no more to
Muller's'Sans. Lit.' p. Soo) the very words the ark. No account is given of its wanderof the original narrative would be carefully ings; what appears to Noah and his family
recorded from father to son, whether in is all that we learn. So too of the Dove.
writing or by oral tradition; and so, in all It goes forth and, finding no rest, comes back
probability, we have in Genesis the very again. Once more it is sent out. Whither
syllables in which the Patriarch Shem de- it goes no one can tell, all that appears is,
scribed to the ancestors of Abraham that that it has found dry land. It brings back
which he himself had seen, and in which he an olive leaf in its beak; and Noah judges
had borne so great part. The Divine autho- that the waters were abated. From first to
rity of the narrative would be no more last the description is just that which Shem
affected by this, than the authority of the or Noah would have given of all that he had
Gospel of St Mark is affected by the pro- himself seen.
bable fact that St Mark relates that which If this be the true explanation of the
St Peter communicated to him as the result narrative, we may then more readily see
of his own ocular and aural experience. how the question of the universality of the
Let us then view it thus. One of the eight Deluge stands. The words used may certainhuman beings saved in the ark relates all that ly mean that the Deluge was universal, that it
he saw. He mentions first God's warning to overwhelmed, not only all the inhabited parts
GENESIS. VIII. 77
of Asia, but also Europe, Africa, and America, with the ungodly; that the inhabited world
Australia, New Zealand, and Oceanica: most, was consequently filled with violence, and
if not all, of which Islands and Continents that God had decreed to destroy all mankind,
were probably then without human inhabit- except one single family; that therefore all
ants. Yet, if only the inhabited world was that portion of the earth, perhaps as yet a
inundated, and all its inhabitants destroyed; very small portion, into which mankind had
the effect would have been the same to Noah, spread, was overwhelmed by water. The ark
and would, most likely, have been described was ordained to save the one faithful family;
in the same words. The purpose of God and lest that family, on the subsidence of the
was to sweep away the sinful race of Adam waters, should find the whole country round
That purpose would have been effected by a them a desert, a pair of all the beasts of the land
Deluge, which covered the whole of that and of the fowls of the air were preserved along
portion of the globe, which may be called with them, and along with them went forth to
the cradle of the human race. The words of replenish the now desolated continent. The
the narrative are perhaps no stronger than words of Scripture (confirmed as they are by
would have been naturally used to describe an universal tradition), appear, at least, to
such a catastrophe. The most striking is mean as much as this. They do not necesthe passage, "All the high hills under the sarily mean more.
whole heaven," ch. vii. I9. But this is no The geological objections to the history of
more than such expressions as, " I begin to the Deluge are chiefly such as the discovery
put the dread of thee upon the nations that of loose scoria on the tops of the extinct volare under the whole heaven," Deut. ii. 25: canoes of Auvergne and Languedoc, the im-' all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to possibility of the waters extending to the
buy corn," Gen. xli. 57: "as the Lord thy height of IS cubits above the mountains, and
God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom the permanent distribution of the animal kingwhither my lord hath not sent to seek thee, dom over the different parts of the world.
&c.," I Kings xviii. Io. WVhen the ancients It'is said the loose scoria on the mountains
speak of the whole world, they mean at most of Auvergne and Languedoc must have been
the whole world as known to the ancients. swept away by an universal flood. It is,
When they speak of the whole heaven, they, however, quite conceivable, even if the Deluge
mean the Pwhole visible canopy or expanse of extended to those regions and to the tops of
the sky; and so, when they speak of the earth, those hills, that the gradual rise and subsithe land, the dry ground, they mean at times dence of the waters may have left there revery limited portions indeed of the earth's mains of volcanic action, which are not so
surface. The strictest interpretation of the light as has been asserted, almost untouched.
record, according to the habit of speech The difficulty in conceiving of the waters
among Semitic nations, will allow us to un- rising I5 cubits above the highest mountains
derstand that a Deluge prevailed, extensive is a difficulty in the mind of the objector, not
enough to destroy all the living race of man, in the text of Scripture, which nowhere
and to cover with water the Whole visible face speaks of such a rise. (See the earlier Dart of
of nature. It is another question, whether this note.) The possibility of vegetation surwe may admit, that any portion of the human viving has been considered in the note on ch.
race, except the eight persons miraculously viii. I. The most serious difficulty in conpreserved, can have escaped. Some suppose ceiving of a Flood universal (not only to the
the descendants of Cain to have peopled world inhabited by man, but to the whole
China, and not to have been involved in the surface of the globe) is in the history of the
Deluge, which, in their belief, was sent on distribution of the animal kingdom. For expurpose to destroy those apostate and dege- ample, the animals now living in South
nerate Sethites, who had defiled the chosen America and in New Zealand are of the same
race by intermarrying with unbelievers. type as the fossil animals which lived and died
Others think that the Nephilim of Numb. there before the creation of man. Is it conxiii. 33 were descendants of the Nephilim of ceivable that all should have been gathered
Gen. vi. 4, who must therefore have survived together from their original habitats into
the Deluge. Others again, as the authors the ark of Noah and have been afterwards
of'The Genesis of the Earth and Man,' redistributed to their respective homes? The
and of'Adam and the Adamites,' suppose difficulty, however, vanishes entirely, if the
that there was a pre-Adamite race of men, sacred narrative relates only a submersion of
and that the history in Genesis relates only the human race and of its then dwelling-place,
the fortunes of the Adamites, having no re- a sense of that narrative, which exact critiference to the rest. WTithout pronouncing cism shews to be possible, perhaps even the
too hastily on any fair inference from the most probable, irrespective of all questions of
words of Scripture, we may reasonably say, natural science. The cavils against the single
that their most natural interpretation is, that window, the proportions of the ark, &c.
the whole race of man had become grievously have been considered in their respective places.
corrupted, since the faithful had intermingled The peculiar unfairness of the objections
7S GENESIS. IX. [v. I-3.
urged is to be found, not so much in the ob- vain. Yet surely we can see, that the great
jections themselves, as in the insisting at the moral lesson and the great spiritual truths
same time on an interpretation of the Scrip- exhibited in the Deluge and the ark were
ture narrative, on principles which would not well worth a signal departure from the combe applied to any other history whatever. mon course of nature and Providence. The
Not only are we required to expound ancient judgment was far more marked, the deliand Eastern phraseology with the cold exatAt- verance far more manifestly Divine, than they
ness applicable only to the tongues of Nor- would have been, if hills or trees or caves
thern Europe, but moreover to adhere to all had been the shelter provided for those to be
the interpretations of past uncritical ages, to saved. The great prophetic forepicturing of
believe that there was but a single window in salvation from a flood of sin by Christ and
the ark, that the ark stranded on the top of a in the Church, of Christ would have lost all
mountain, within sight of which it very pro- its beauty and symmetry, if mere earthly
bably never sailed, that the waters of the refuges had been sufficient for deliverance.
Flood rose three, or even five miles above the As it is, the history of Noah, next after the
sea level, and other prodigies, which the sa- history of Christ, is that which perhaps most
cred text, even in its most natural signifi- forcibly arrests our thoughts, impresses our
cance, nowhere either asserts or implies. consciences and yet revives our hopes. It
If it be inquired, why it pleased God to was a judgment signally executed at the
save man and beast in a huge vessel, instead time. It is a lesson deeply instructive for all
of leaving them a refuge on high hills or in time.
some other sanctuary, we perhaps inquire in
CHAPTER IX. 2 And the fear of you and the
I God blesseth Boah. 4 Blood and mtrder are dread of you shall be upon every beast
forbidden. 8 God's covenant, 13 signfled r6 of the earth, and upon every fowl of
thei oa rlenisthe ai upon 8 a reeise upon the world,
2o 5lantelh a vineyard, ei is drunken, and the air, upon all that moveth upon the
msocXked of his son, 25 czrseth Canaan, 26 bless- earth, and upon all the fishes of the
ct/ Shies, 2 7rayetzfr7aaphet, 29 anddiet. sea; into your hand are they delivered.
A ND God blessed Noah and his 3 Every moving thing that liveth
Caihap. I, 9 sons, and said unto them, aBe shall be meat for you; even as the
&..7. fruitful, and multiply, and replenish green herb have I given you all chp
the earth. things.
CHAP. IX. 1. Arind God blessed Noah, &c.] man's supremacy and power over the inferior
Noah, now become the second head of the animals. It has been a question whether
human family, receives a blessing, the former there had been a permission of animal food
part of which is but a repetition of the bless- or not. The almost universal opinion of the
ing first pronounced on Adam, ch. i. 28. ancients was that only vegetable food was
The sin of man had frustrated the intent then permitted; and if we remember that
of the first blessing. The earth had been most probably the early race of men lived
filled with licentiousness and violence, fatal in a warm and genial climate, and that even
to the increase of mankind, and at length now some of the Eastern nations are conbringing down a judgment, which swept all tented and healthy upon a vegetable diet,
but one family away. Now all begins anew; we shall be the more disposed to acquiesce
and God repeats the promise of fecundity, in an interpretation which seems to do less
which sin had made of none effect. violence to the text. It cannot, however,
be said that there was firom the first a
2. the fear of you and the dread of you] prohibition of animal food. From very early
The small remnant of mankind just rescued times we find sheep and cattle kept at least
from the Deluge might have perished from for milk and wool, and slain for sacrifice,
the attacks of wild beasts, which had pro- ch. iv. 2, So. Whether then it had been
bably been young and tame in the ark, but conceded or not from the first; it is likely
were now adult or adolescent and returning that those who fed and sacrificed sheep, like
to their own wild natures. The assurance Abel, who kept cattle, like Jabal, or who
given in this verse was therefore a very need- handled instruments of bronze and iron, like
ful comfort to Noah and his family. Tubal Cain, would in the course of time
have learned the use of animal food. If so,
3. Every moving thing that liveth shall we may consider the words of this verse as
be meat foryou] In the primal blessing (ch. a concession to the infirmities or the necesi. 28, 29, 30) there had been mention of sities of mankind, coupled with restrictions,
. 4 —Io.] GENESIS. IX. 79
~Lev. I7. +4 But flesh with the life thereof, 7 And you, be ye fruitful, and
14~. which is the blood thereof, shall ye multiply; bring forth abundantly in
not eat. the earth, and multiply therein.
5 And surely your blood of your 8 qT And God spake unto Noah,
lives will I require; at the hand of and to his sons with him, saying,
every beast will I require it, and at 9 And I, behold, I establish my
the hand of man; at the hand of covenant with you, and with your
every man's brother will I require the seed after you;
dMatt. 26.life of man. io And with every living creature
dMt. 2 -6 dWhoso sheddeth man's blood, that is with you, of the fowl, of
by man shall his blood be shed: efor the cattle, and of every beast of the
chap. I. in the image of God made he man. earth with you; from all that go
27. eite y o wmlt go
which may have been called for by the savage 6. /hJoso sheddeth man's hloodl Here the
eractices of the Antediluvians. manner in wlich God will require the blood
s4. wfe ith the life thtereof Rashi and of the murdered man is specified. There
shall be a legal retribution, life for life.
some other Jewish commentators understand
a prohibition of the practice of eating flesh for in the image of God made he man]
cut from the living animal, and so Luther The slaughter of brute animals was pertranslated, " the flesh which yet lives in its mitted, though wanton cruelty towards them
blood." The monstrous wickedness of the was forbidden; but man was made in the
Antediluvians, by which the earth was filled image of God, and to destroy man's life has
with violence, may have taken this form in it the sin of sacrilege. Moreover, the
among others; and these words without doubt image of God implies the existence of a percondemn by implication all such fiendish sonal, moral, and therefore, in the creature,
cruelty. They prohibit also the revolting a responsible will. Though the holiness,
custom of eating raw flesh; for civilization which was part of the likeness, was lost in
is ever to be a handmaid to religion. But the fall, still the personality and the moral
over and. above all this, there is reference to being remained. To destroy the life of such
that shedding of blood, or pouring out of an one is therefore to cut short his time of
life, which formed so great a part of typical probation, to abridge his day of grace, to
sacrifice, and which had its full significance step in between him and his moral Governor,
in that pouring out of the soul unto death, to frustrate, as far as may be, God's purposes
which won for man the resurrection to eter- of love and mercy to his soul. Hence the
nal life. We need not look for any scientific sin of murder is the greatest wrong which
explanation of the connection between life man can do to his brother man; perhaps also
and blood here, or in the subsequent legal the greatest insult which man can offer to
enactments (e.g. Lev. iii. 17, vii. 26, xvii. Io; Him who is the loving Father of all men.
X Sam. xiv. 32; Ez. xxxiii. 25). The ancients The Jews held that there were seven preno doubt generally believed the blood to be cepts given to Noah, which were binding on
the seat of the life; but it is also literally all mankind, to be observed by proselytes of
true, that the shedding of blood is equivalent the gate and by pious Gentiles, viz. abstinence
to the destruction of life; and so in these from murder, from eating the flesh of living
early injunctions the God of mercy taught animals, from blasphemy, idolatry, incest,
the value not only of human, but of all theft, and the submission to constituted auanimal being, and along with the forbidding thority; the first two and the last are exof manslaughter forbade wanton cruelty and pressly enjoined in the words recordea d in
indifference to the sufferings of His brute this chapter, the other four result from the
creatures. dictates of natural religion.
5. And surely your blood of your lives will 9. I establish my covenant with you, and
I require, &c.] There have been many pro- -withyour seed after you] A new covenant is
posed translations of this verse. The A.V., now made with all the human beings rescued
which accords with the most important an- from the flood, and through them even with
cient versions, no doubt gives the true mean- the beasts of the field, that there should not
ing. "The blood of your lives" probably again be a flood to destroy all flesh. This,
signifies "your life blood." Under the law perhaps, more than any other part of the
the ox that gored was to be killed (Ex. xxx. history, seems to prove that the Deluge ex28), which seems a comment on this passage. tended at least to the destruction of all the
In Ps. ix. x2 God is said to be the requirer then living race of man.
of blood, a phrase id~nti*:.l with that made 10. from all that go out of the ark, to
use of here. every beast of the earth] An idiomatic ex
So GENESIS. IX. [v. I I-2 T.
out of the ark, to every beast of the i6 And the bow shall be in the
earth. cloud; and I will look upon it, that
fIsai. 54. i i And I1 will establish my cove- I may remember the everlasting cove9. nant with you; neither shall all flesh nant between God and every living
be cut off any more by the waters of creature of all flesh that is upon the
a flood; neither shall there any more earth.
be i flood to destroy the earth. I7 And God said unto Noah,
12 And God said, This is the This is the token of the covenant,
token of the covenant which I make which I have established between
between me and you and every liv- me and all flesh that is upon the
ing creature that is with you, for per- earth.
petual generations: I8 Sq And the sons of Noah, that
i3 I do set my bow in the cloud, went forth of the ark, were Shem,
and it shall be for a token of a cove- and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is
nant between me and the earth. the father of tCanaan. t He'
FEcclus. I4 gAnd it shall come to pass, 19 These are the three sons of C;''..'a
43- I - when I bring a cloud over the earth, Noah: and of them was the whole
that the bow shall be seen- in the earth overspread.
cloud: 20o And Noah began to be an hus5 And I will remember my cove- bandman, and he planted a vinenant, which is between me and you yard:
and every living creature of all flesh; 21 And he drank of the wine, and
and the waters shall no more become was drunken; and he was uncovered
a flood to destroy all flesh. within his tent.
pression, signifying that the covenant shall region or continent, so the flood had reduced
extend not only to those that go out of the mankind almost to the simplicity of the days
ark, but also to every beast of the earth. of Adam. Still, without doubt, many of the
Not only those preserved in the ark, but all inventions of the antediluvian race would
other animals are Lto be interested in this pro- have been preserved by the family of Noah;
rnise. From which we can hardly fail to and probably among the rest the cultivation
infer that the destruction of the lower animals of the vine.
was confined to a celtain district, and not 21. he drank of the wine] Many have
general throughout the earth.
general throu.ll —p —ghout the earth-. supposed that Noah was the discoverer of
13. I do set mny bo} in th.e clotd] it, the art of making wine, and even that he
I have set rIVy bow. The covenant was was the great planter of the vine. So they
an universal covenant; the sign of the cove- have palliated his faultby ascribing it to
nant wras therefore ato be one visible to all ignorance of the effects of wine. It is hardly
nations, and itntelligible to all minds. It probable that, with all the difficulties of his
appears at first sight as if the words of the new position, Noah should have invented fersacred record implied that this was the first mentation. More likely is it, that the inger-ainbow ever seen on earth. But it would nious and intemperate descendants of Cain
be doing no violence to the text to believe, had long before discovered it. Noah may
that the rainbow had been already a faiiiar have been but little used to strong drink, and
sight, but that it was newly constituted the hence may not have known that it would so
sign or token of a Covenant, just as after- soon overcome him; yet we may well follow
wards the familiar rite of baptism and the the wisdom of Calvin, and say, "Leaving all
cusstomary use ofm bread and wire were by this in uncertainty, let us learn from Noah's
our Blessed Lord ordained to be the tokens intemperance how foul and detestable a vice
and pledges of the Neve Covenant in Christ drunkenness is." The Holy Scriptures never
between His Heavenly FNaether and every conceal the sins even of God's greatest saints,
Christian soul, and the sins of saints are sure to meet with
chastisement. Noah's piety is plainly recorded.
20. Noah began to be an husbandman] It is also plainly recorded that he fell into
Husbandry had been much used before the sin, whether partly of ignorance or wholly of
flood; but nowv there was a new condition of infirmity; that sin brought with it shame,
the earth, and all was, as it were, begun and, as is so often found, was the'occasion of
again. As an incursion of barbarians has sin to others, and led on to consequlences
often swept away the civilization of a whole disastrous to the descendants of all those who
v. 22-27.] GENESIS. IX. 81
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, 24 And Noah awoke from his wine,
saw the nakedness of his father, and and knew what his younger son had
told his two brethren without. done unto him.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan;
garment, and laid it upon both their a servant of servants shall he be unto
shoulders, and went backward, and his brethren.
covered the nakedness or their father; 26 And he said, Blessed be the
and their faces were backward, and LORD God of Shem; and Callaan lo....
they saw not their father's naked- shall be nhis servant. i
ness. 27 God shall 1 enlarge Japheth, and su....'.
in any degree shared in the guilt'of it. Noah it has sometimes been thought, that Japheth
sinned, Ham sinned, perhaps, too, Canaan was the eldest and Ham the youngest, the
sinned. So there was a heritage of sorrow order being changed for the sake of putting
to the descendants of Noah in the line of first Shem, who was the progenitor of the
Ham, to the descendants of Ham in the line chosen seed. Yet many writers of great auof Canaan. thority, both Jewish and Christian, under22. Ham, the father of Canaan] The stand by the term here used, "his younger
great difficulty in this history is that Ham (lit. little) son," not his son Ham, but his
appears to have sinned, and Canaan is curs- grandson Canaan. (So Levi Ben Gerson,
ed. Some see in this simply the visiting Abenexra, Theodoret Procopius,Joseph Sea
of the sins of the fathers on their children. liger, &c.). This would correspond with the
But then why only on one of those children? tradition mentioned by Origen (see last note),
A propriety has been discovered in the curse that the sin of Ham was shared by Canaan,
on Canaan, as he was Ham's youngest son, or perhaps chat Canaanl vas the guity perjust as Ham was the youngest son of Noah. son, his father only not having condemned,
Yet this is all gratuitous and without autho- but rather joined in his wickedness.
rity from the text of Scripture. It has been 25. Cursed be Canaan, &c.] In the patrithought, once more, that Noah's prophecy ex- archal ages, when there was no regular order
tended to all the posterity of Ham, but that of priests or prophets, the head of the family
only that portion which affected Canaan was was the priest, and these blessings and curses
preserved by Moses, in order to animate the spake they not of themselves, but being high
Israelites in their wars against the Canaanites; priests they prophesied. Yet we can hardli
others again have conjectured, that in the fail to see also in these histories a lesson, that
prophecy of Noah, instead of " cursed be a parent's blessing is to be valued, a parent's
Canaan," we ought to read, " cursed be Ham curse to be dreaded.
the father of Canaan," but such conjectures, Blesed be the LORD God of Shem]
without authority of MSS. are quite inadmis- 26. Ble ssed be the LD God of S
sible. The extreme brevity of the narrative Tile plopecy here assumes the form of a
renders it impossible to explain it fully. No- thanksgiving to God, frol whom all holy
thing is said, save only that Ham saw -his desires and good counsels come, and who had
father naked, and then told his brethren. Wie put into the heart of Shem to act piously. At
are even left to infer that he told this scoff- the same time, t is clearly implied, that the
ingly; but for the curse that follows, we Lord, JEHOVAH, shoull be very specially
the God of Shem, which was fulfilled in the
might suppose that he had only consulted section of the descendants of Abraham to
them as to how best to conceal their father's
shame. Something therefore there plainly is, b the peculiar people of God.
which requires to be supplied in order fully Canzaan s/hall be his servant] Noah foreto clear up the obscurity. Yet this cannot tells the subjugation of the land of Canaan
now be discovered. Conjecture only is pos- by the people of Israel, when the Canaanites
sible. should beco-ne servants of the descendants of
Origen mentions as a tradition among the Shem.
Jews, that Canaan first saw the shame of his
grandfather and told it to his father. In that 27. God shall e e Japheth There is
case, it may have been that the chief sin lay a paronomasia on the name Japheth, which
with Canaan, and hence that he especially in- probably signifies " enlarged." The Hebrew
herited the curse, Mliany cornmenitators have word " shall enlarge" is, neglecting the vowel
adopted this opinion, and it would certainly ponts, letter for letter the same as the word
solve most of the difficulty. Japheth. The prophecy looked forward to
the wide territory which was assigned to the
24. His yoznger son] Ham is always descendants of Japheth, reaching from India
named second among the sons of Noah; but and Persia in the Esast to the remotest bounVOL 1. F
g2 GENESIS. IX. X. [v. 28,1.
he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; CHAPTER X
and Canaan shall be his servant.
28 il And Noah lived after the Th1eeviteroizs of Noah. a The sonsof9z.
flood three hundred and fifty years. Jst /z. 6 The sons of Se11am. 8 irod the
29 And all the days of Noah were
nine hundred and fifty years: and he T OW these are the generations
died. 1. of the sons of Noah, Shem,
daries of Europe in the West, and now How fully all these predictions have been
spreading over America and Australia. carried out in the history of Asia, Europe
and he shall dzvell in the tents of Shem] and Africa, hardly need be said.
(I) The Targum of Onkelos, Philo, Theo- 28. And Noah lived, &c.] These two
doret and some other interpreters, Jewish and verses seeIn the natural conclusion of ch. v.
Christian, understood He i.e. God, shall dwell but are disjoined from it in order to insert
among the descendants of Shem." (2) Many the history of the life of Noah.
more, (e.g. Calvin, Bochart, Rosenm., Tuch,
Del., Reinke, Keil), following the Targum of CHAP. X. 1. Now these are the generathe Pseudo-Jonathan, consider Japheth to be tions] From the history of Noah the sacred
the subject of the proposition. Jonathan's para- narrative proceeds to the genealogy of the
phrase is' "The sons of Japheth shall be pro- sons of Noah. It is admitted on all hands
selyted and dwell in the schools of Shem," that there exists no more interesting record,
and the majority of Christian interpreters un- ethnological and geographical, independently
derstood the prophecy to be similar to that of its Scriptural authority.
in Isai. lx. 3, 5, " Gentiles shall come to thy The genealogy traces the origin of all nalight, and kings to the brightness of thy rising tions from a single pair. The human race de-...the abundance of the sea shall be converted scended from Adam had been destroyed by
unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall the flood, with the exception of Noah and
come unto thee." Nearly all those nations his family. Though it is quite possible to
whose history and language shew them to be interpret the language of the sacred narrative
Japhetic have been converted to a belief in consistently with the belief that the Deluge
the religion of the God of Shem, which has was not universal, it at least appears most
long been the religion of all Europe, and probable that the man-inhabited world was
which is now mtaking way even among the submerged. And again, although some have
Aryan races of Asia. (3) It has been sug- contended that the different races of man are
gested by some, though with little ground of so dissimilar, that they must have descended
probability, that instead of "tents of Shem," from different primitive stocks; yet the inwe should render "tents of renown," the taber- quiries of naturalists and physiologists at prenacles of Japheth being spoken of as famous sent tend rather to diminish than to increase
and illustrious. Of the three interpretations, the number of distinct species, both in the
(2) may be pronounced somewhat confidently animal and the vegetable world, and so to
to be the true. By that the continuity of mate it even the more certain that human
the whale prophecy is preserved. The first beings constitute but one species deducible
part, v. 25, refers only to the descendants of from a single pair. The same anatomical
Ham and Canaan. The second is the blessing structure, especially of the skull and brain,
on Shem, with a -repetition of the condem- the same intellectual capacities, though differnation of Canaan. The third is the blessing ently developed in different nations, the same
on Japheth, concluding also with the condem- general duration of life, the same liability to
nation of Canaan. disease, the same average temperature of the
The prophecy then embraces the following body, the same normal frequency of the pulse,
particulars: I. That the world should be the fruitful intermarriage of all races, and
divided among the descendants of Noah, but that with no instinctive natural repugnances,
that Japheth should have the largest portion are manifest indications of an unity of species
for his inheritance. 2. That the descendants (Del.). From the time of Blumenbach (whose
of Shenm should preserve the knowledge of the book I De natura generis humani unitate' is
true God, and be specially chosen to be His still a standard work on this subject) down to
inheritance and His peculiar people. 3. That the present day, the most eminent physiologists
the descendants of Japheth should ultimately agree in considering these and similar argudwell in the tents of Shem, that is, according ments well nigh conclusive in fayour of the
to Jewish interpretation, should learn from unity of the human race. (Consult especially
the descendants of Shem the knowledge of the Prichard,' Phys. Hist. of Mankind;' Smyth,
true God. 4. That Canaan, and perhaps other' Unity of Human Race;' Quatrefages,' L'unit6
Hamitic nations, should be depressed and de i'espece humaine,'and his report on'Anthro-educed to a condition of servitude. pologie'). To these physiological considera
V. 2.1 GENESIS. X. 83
Ham, and Japheth: and unto them and Magog, and Madai, and Javan,
were sons born after the flood. and Tubal, and Meshech, and TiT Chron. 2 nThe sons of Japheth; Gomer, ras.
tions we may now add the evidence to be de- This is the more to be noticed, when we
rived from human language. " It was a pro- learn that in savage tribes those who speak
found saying of William Humboldt, that the same dialect will sometimes, by separaman is man only by means of speech, but that tion and estrangement, become in the course
in order to invent speech, he must be man al- of a single generation unintelligible to each
ready" (Lyell,'Antiquity of Man,' 468). other.
This alone is an argument for the unity of Certain rules are to be observed for the
that race which is distinguished from all other clearing up of some difficulties in the geneanimals by the possession of articulate lan- alogy of this chapter. T. Though some noguage. But, moreover, the greatest philolo- tice may be taken of the progenitors of all
gists of the present day seem to be approach- nations, yet naturally those families, more or
ing the conclusion that the evidence of com- less connected with the Hebrews, are the
parative grammar, so far as it goes, is in fa- longest dwelt upon. 2. Whereas all are said
vour of the original unity of human language. to have settled and dispersed themselves
" One of the grandest results of modern com- "after their families in their nations," it will
parative philology has been to shew that all appear that only the larger division by nalanguages belonging to one common stock- tions is traced in the case of more remote
and we may say, enlarging this view, all lan- peoples, whereas those related to or borderguages of the earth-are but scattered indica- ing on the Hebrews are traced both according
tions of that primitive state of human intel- to the wider division of nations, and the
lect, and more particularly of the imitative narrower of families. 3. Although the first
faculty, under the higher excitement of poeti- division of the earth is spoken of as made in
cal inspiration, in which the language origi- the time of Peleg, and some families may be
nated, and with which every language remains traced no farther than up to the time of such
connected, as well through the physiological division, yet the developement of those more
unity of the human race, as through the his- specially treated of is brought down to the
torical unity of the family to which it more time of Moses. 4. For none, however, must
especially belongs" (Meyer ap. Bunsen,' Chris- we seek a very remote settlement, as the
tianity and Mankind,' Vol. IIs. p. I63). So original dispersion could not have extended so
writes Dr Meyer: and Prof. Max Mluller far. 5. In some cases the names of nations
says, "These two points Comparative Philo- or tribes appear to be substituted for the
logy has gained. (I) Nothing necessitates names of individuals, such as the Jebusite, the
the admission of different independent begin- Hivite, the Arkite &c., very probably also such
nings for the material elements of the Tura- as Kittim, Dodanim, Mizraim &-c.; and even
nian, Semitic, and Aryan branches of speech: perhaps Aram, Canaan and the like. This
nay, it is possible even now to point out radi- may be accounted for in more than one way.
cals, which, under various changes and dis- "The purpose of the sacred writer was to
guises, have been current in these three trace nations and families, rather than to give
branches ever since their first separation. (z) a history of individuals, and he therefore
Nothing necessitates the admission of different speaks of nations known by name to the
beginnings for the formal elements of the Tu- Israelites as begotten by (i. e. descended from)
ranian, Semitic, and Aryan branches of speech; certain patriarchs, in preference to tracing
and though it is impossible to derive the their descent through unknown individuals.
Aryan system of grammar from the Semitic, Perhaps too individual patriarchs and progeor the Semitic from the Turanian, we can nitors had become known by tradition to
perfectly understand how, either through in- posterity, not by their own original names,
dividual influences, or by the wear and tear but by the name of the place they had settled
of grammar iW its own continuous working, in, or by the name of the tribe which they
the different systems of grammar of Asia and had founded and ruled. The origin of
Europe may have been produced" (Max names is often very obscure, and it has been
Muller, bid. pp. 479, 480). Once more, al- common in most rude societies for persons to
though it may not be possible simply to as- be called after places or properties. It is
sign all Semitic tongues to the descendants of quite possible that even the very earliest patriShem, Aryan to the descendants of Japhet, archs, as. Shemn, Ham and Japheth, Canaan
and Turanian to the descendants of Ham; it and the like, may have been known in after
is still observable that comparative philology ages by names which adhered to them
seems to have reduced all languages to three through ever's in their history or places
distinct stocks, even the rapid degeneracy of where thev had fixed themselves. Thus
barbarian dialects not wholly obscuring their Shem may have been the man of rame, the
relationship to one of these three families. most renowned of Noah's sons, Ham, the
F2
84 GENESIS. X. [v.3.
3 And the sons of Gaomer; Ash- kenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
man who settled in the cwarms regions of the Scythians in the reign of Cyaxares, they
Africa, Japheth the father of the fair people of made an irruption into Asia Minor, from
Europe, or perhaps the man whose descend- which they were driven back again by
ants spread abroad mor'e widely than the Alyattes. Their name, which then nearly
rest. Canaan again may have been the dwell- disappears in Asia, is recognized again in the
er in losw lands, while Aram may have derived Cimbri, who occupied the Cimbrian Chera title from having chosen the high lands for sonesus and other parts of the North of
his home. This theory, if true, would not Europe, and in the great Celtic tribe of
interfere with the historical character of this Cymry, the ancient inhabitants of Britain
Chapter; especially if we consider that He- and the present inhabitants of NWales.
brew may not have been the primitive tongue, Magog] The statement of Josephus (' Ant.'
in which case all these names must either s. 6), that the descendants of Magog were
have been translations of the original names, the Scythians is generally accepted as true.
or names by which the bearers had become In Exek. xxxviii. 2, 14; xxxix. a. 6, we find
known to posterity. WVe have many ex- IMIagog as the name of a people inhabiting
amples in Scripture of persons changing their "the sides of the North" closely connected
names or adopting new names from events with Meshech the Moschi, and Tubal, the
in their history, e.g. Abram changing into Tibarenes, with a prince named Gog, having
Abraham; Esau to Edom; Jacob to Israel; horses and armed with bows, which correSaul to Paul, &c., &c. The whole number sponds with the local position and military
of families noticed in this chapter amounts to habits of the Scythians. The Scythians, ac7o; tut it is to be oseved that in somine cording to their own traditions, lived first in
cases the descent is traced only to the grands Asia near the rinver Araxes, afterwards they
sons, in other cases to the great grandsons possessed the whole country to the ocean and
of Noah: in the family of Shem only, the the lake Maotis, and the rest of the plain to
ancestor of the Hehrews, the descent is the river'Tanais (Diod. Sic. It. 3). Herodotus
traced through six generations. (I. Io3-Io0) relates their descent upon
2. Japheth] It is doubtful whether Ja- Media, and Egypt, till they were surprised
pheth was the eldest or the second son of and cut off at a feast by Cyaxares. From
Noah, see in v. 2i. He is generally men- their intermixture with the Medes, the Sartinned last in order, Shem, Ham and Japheth. matians appear to have arisen, and from them
but fi-om ix. 24, it is generally inferred that the Russians. See Knobel.
Hami was the youngest. In this genealogy he AIladal] The Mledes were called Alada
occurs first, the reason being probably this; by themselves, as appears from the arrowShern is reserved to the last that his desceti headed inscriptiols, changed in the Semitic
may be traced to a greater length, and Han to Madai, and by the Greeks to Medoi.
last but one, because his descendants were They dwelt to the S. and S. W. of the Casthose most closely connected with the de- pian, and coming over to Europe in small
scendants of Shem. The etymology of t pe lparties mingled with the Scythians, whence
name Japheth should seem fromix. 27 to be sprang the Sarmatians.
firom the root Pathah, to extend. But the
language in ix. 27, may be only an example Ja'van] From Javan was " Ionia and tle
of the paronomasia so common in Hebrew whole Hellenic people" (Jos.'Ant.' i. 6).
poetry; and Gesenius, Knobel and others Cp. Is. lxvi. xI9, Ezek. xxvii. I3, Daniel viii.
prefer to derive from raphah, to be fair, from 21, where Alexander is called king of Javan;
the fair complexion of Japheth and his de- Joel iii. 6, where "the sons of the Javanites"
scendants. are put for the Grecians (vies'AXalcov), Zech.
ix. I3. Greece is called Ionia in Egyptian
Goazmer Josephus n ('Ant.'. 7) says that hieroglyphics and Yuna in a Cuneiform inGomer was the ancestor of those whom the scriptin at Persepolis (Gesen. s.v.). The
scription at Persepolis (Gesen. s.v.). The
Greeks called Galatians, who were formerly Ionians were the most Eastern of the Helcalled Gomarites. The descendants of Gomer lenic raCes, and so were the best known to
have accordingly been generally identified with the Asiatics. The course of migration had
the Celtic race called in ihe time of Homer
Cimmerii, who are first known as inhabiting parts of Greece.
the Chersonesus Taurica, which still retains the name Crimea. (See Herod. Iv. Iz, Titbal, and M11/eshech] These names con45. asch.'Prom.' V. 72.-) The relation of stantly occur together; see Ezekl. xxvii. 13,
Gonmer to Magog and Madai corresponds xxxii. 26, xxxviii. 2, 3, xxxix. I; where we
with the original juxtaposition of the Cimmne- find them joined with the invading army of
rians to the Scythians and Medes, the Cim- Gog and Magog, and going with Javan to
merians dwelling first on the confines of Tyre to purchase slaves and vessels of brass.
Asia and Europe. Being driven thence by Meshech is by Josephus said to be the father
v. 4.1 GENESIS. X. 85
4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
of the Cappadocians, who had, he tells us, Tanais. Knobel conjectures that the Celts
a city called Mazacha, and to Tubal he or Gauls were the descendants of Riphath,
traces the Iberians who dwelt between the and that they first lived near the CarpaEuxine and the Caspian. Later writers have thians, which he identifies with the Montes
long identified Meshech with the Moschi, in- Riphzi.
habitants of the Moschian mountains between Togarmabh] Mentioned again Ez. xxvii.
Armetla, Iberia and Colchis. Bochart was 4., xxxviii. 6. Josephus identifies with the
the first to identify Tubal with the Tibareni, Phrygians, Bochart with the Cappadocians.
who dwelt on the Southern shore of the Eux- Michaelis, and after him most moderns, preine towards the East and near to the Moschi. fer the Armenians; so Rosenm., Gesen,
Knobel considers the Tibareni to be con- W7iner, Knobel, &c. The Armenians themnected with the Iberians: Tubal= Tibar= selves traced their origin to Haic the son of
Iber. Thogoreu or Thorgau (Mos. Choren.. 4,
Tiras] Josephus identifies the descendants ~ 9). Ezekiel (xxvii. 14) attributes to Toof Tiras with the Thracians. So Jerome, garmah great traffic in horses; and Strabo
the Targums, and most modern commenta- (xl. 13, ~ 9) speaks of the Armenians as
tols. Tlhe Getx and Daci, north of the famous for breeding horses. Modern philoDan ube, belongecd to the Thracian stock. logists consider the Armenian as an Aryan
According to Grimm and some other anl- or Indo-European language, which correthorities, the Getae were the ancestors of the sponds with the descent from Japheth.
Goths, which would immediately connect the 4. And the sons ofa Javan; Elishah] EzeThracian and Teutonic races together. The kiel (xxvii. 7) mentions the isles of Elishah
chief reason, however, for considering Tiras as those whence the Tyrians obtained their
the ancestor of the Thracians seems to be the purple and scarlet. Some of the Targums
similarity of the names. Accordingly other identify with Hellas, in which they are folresemblances have been found. Tuch for in- lowed by Michaelis, Rosenin., and others. Jostance is in favour of the Tyrseni or Tyr- sephus (' Ant.' I. 6) identifies with the JEolians,
rheni. which is the view adopted by Knobel. Bochart preferred the Peloponnesus, which was
3. the sons of Gonzer; Ashkenaz] There famous for its purple dye, and of which the
is little to guide us to the identification of most important district was called Elis.
Ashkenaz, except the name and the mention VWhichever view he adopted, there is little
of Ashkenaz Jer. li. 27 in company w.ith doubt that the descendants of Elishah in the
Ararat and MIinni, which makes it probable time of Ezekiel were a maritime people of
that the descendants of Ashkenaz dwelt near the Grecian stock.
the Euxine and the Caspian. Bochart sug- Tarshish] By Josephus identified with Targests Phrygia, where were the lake and river sus in Cilicia; by the LXX. (Is. xxiii. I,
Ascanius. The Rabbi Saadias says the Slavi. &c.), Theodolet, and others, with Carthage;
T'arg. of Jonathan gives Adiabene. Some,by Eusebius, who is followed by Bochart and
have discovered a resemblance of sound in most moderns, with Tartessus in Spain. TarScandinvian, and also to Saxon. The modern shish, from the various notices of it, appears
Jews called Germany Ashkenaz; and Knobel to have been a seaport town towards the
considers this to be the true interpretation of WVest (cp. Ps. lxxii.; Is. lx. 9); whither the
thie name; though etymologically he finds in Phoenicians were wont to traffic in large
it the race of Asa or the Asiatics, Ash-genos. ships, "ships of Tarshish" (see I K. x. 22,
TIhese Asa or Asiatics he thinks, dwelt in xxii. 48; Ps. xlviii. 7; Is. ii. I6, xxiii. x, I4,
Asia Minor (comp. Ascania), and after the Ix. 9) sailing from the port of Joppa (Jon. i.
T'oian war migrated towards Pannonia and 3, v. a) It as a most wealty and lloutheice torwTards the Rhine. The Scandi- rishing mart, whence came silver, iron, tin,
navians traced their origin to Asia, and called and lead (Ps. lxxii. io; Is. lxvi. Ig; Jer. x. 9;
the home of their gods Asgard. It has been Ezek. xxvii. I2, 25). The name Tartessus is
conjectured by Bochart and others, that the identical with Tarshish, the t being constantly
Black sea was called the sea of Ashkenaz, substituted by the Syriac for the Hebrew
which sounded to the Greeks like Axenos, sibilant (cp. Bashan= Batan a, Zor=Tyre,
their original name for it, and which by an &c.). The Spanish were among the most
euphemism they changed to Euxeinos. famous of the Phoanician colonies, and were
Rip,ltl] Josephus says Paphlagonia, in specially rich in metal (Diod. Sic. v. 3' —38;
which he is foloowed by Bochart, Le Clerc, Arrian. II. I6; Plin.'H. N.' III. 3; Mela, II.
&c Most modern commentators compare 6, &c.); of which colonies Tartessus was thle
the Riphxan mountains, which the ancient most illustrious. It appears to have been
geographers (Strab. vilI. 3, ~ I. Plin.'I-I, N.' situated at the mouth of the Guadalquiver
I n. i. MNela, I. I 9, &c.) place in the remote (Strabo, IIr. p. 148). Two passages in ChroNorth. MIela (II. z) places them East of the nicles (z Chron. ix. 2t, xx. 36) seem irre
86 GENESIS. X. [i.5 -— 7.
5 By these were the isles of the 6 qT 6And the tons of Ham; Cush, b Chron
Gentiles divided in their lands; and Mizraim, anc Phut, and Canaan. I'
every one after his tongue, after their 7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and
families, in their nations. Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah,
concilable with this, and induced St Jerome the Egyptian name for Egypt, probably the
('in Jerem.' x. 9), and after him Bochart and same word as Ham, signifies blackness, with
others, to suppose that there must have been perhaps some notion of heat (see Plutarch,
another Tarshish in the Indian Ocean, which'De Iside et Osiride,'~ 33). The blackness is
could be approached by the Red Sea, an opi- now generally admitted to refer to the soil,
nion now generally rejected. Knobel supposes denoting its colour and fertility. (See Exthat the original inhabitants of Tarshish were cursus.) In Ps. lxxviii. 5I, cv. 23, cvi. 22,
the Tusci, Tyrsenians, or Tyrrhenians, a Pe- Egypt is called the land of Ham, which seems
lasgic, though not Hellenic race, inhabiting to confirm the belief that Kem (in Greek
great part of Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia, and Chemia) is the same as I-Ham. The descendthat very probably Tartessus in Spain was a ants of Ham appear to have colonized
colony or offshoot from these people. Babylonia, Southern Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Kittim (or Chittim)] Identified by Jose- and other portions of Africa.
phus with Cyprus, in which we meet with Much has been written of late about the
the town of Cittium; by Eusebius, and after Hamitic languages. The frequent mixture
him by Bochart, with the inhabitants of the of the Hamites with the descendants of Shem
part of Italy contiguous to Rome. In I makes it very difficult to discern clearly beMaccab. i. I Alexander is said to come from tween their tongues. Bunsen considers ChaChittim, and (I Macc. vii. 5) Perseus is called mitism to be the most ancient form of SemiKing of the Kitieans, which induced Michae- tism, in fact Semitism, before the Hamites
lis and others to suppose the Chittim to be and Shemites thoroughly parted off from each
the Macedonians. Most modern interpreters other and firom their primeval dwelling-place.
seem to acquiesce in the opinion of Josephus, The ancient Egyptian has a Semitic base with
that Cyprus (see Is. xxiiLi, Ia) may have Turanian (negro) infusion, but the Hamitic
been a chief seat of the Chittim, but add races have so frequently been conquered,
that probably their colonies extended to the morally and physically, by the descendants
isles of the Eastern Mediterranean (see Jer. of Shem and Japheth, that their original
ii. Io; Ezek. xxvii. 6). So Gesen., Knobel, languages have been lost or corrupted by the
Delitz., Kalisch. prevalence of Semitism or Aryanism.
Dodaniin] has been compared with Do- Csh The name Cush is generally transdona in Epirus. By Kalisch it is identified lated Ethiopia. The etliopians a he time
with the Daunians. Gesenius suspects Doda- of Josephus were called Chus i Cushites
nim to be equivalent (perhaps by contraction) Of Josephus were called Chusi Cushites
- / and that is still the Svrwiac name for the
with nDardanihi= Dardani or Trojanst an Abyssinians. There is, however, good reason
opinin which lie confirms by the autho14lty to believe, with Bochart, and others, that
of the Bereschit Rabba on this verse. Knobel with Bochart, and others, that
the first home of the Cushites was Chuzisconjectures that we have traces of Dodanim tan and the adjoining parts of Southern Asia,
both in Dodona (a name which he says pre- from whence they spread in different direcvailed through Illyricum and Northern tions main d havin crossed te a
Greece) and also in Dardania and the Dar- and settled in y thiopia
dans. There is another reading in I Chr. and settled iny some of those, pia. ho a
i. 7, and here also (Gen. x. 4) in the Gr. and Certainly some of those, who are here
Samaritan, viz. Rodanin, Rhodii, the people mentioned (e.g. Raamah, Sheba, Dedan, vv
of Rhodes. 7, 8) as the descendants of Cush, established
colonies in Asia. Some passages in the Old
5. isles of the Gentilesl The word here Testament seem to require that we should
rendered Isle very probably meaning originally place Cush in Asia, as Gen. ii. 13; so also
"habitable region" (Is. xlii. 15), is generally Exod. ii. i6, 21, compared with Num. xii. r;
used either of islands or of places on the sea in the latter of which Zipporah is called a
coast. On the whole of this verse see Jos. Cushite, whilst in the former she is said to be
Mede, Bk. x.'Disc.' XLIX. L. By the phrase a daughter of the priest of Midian. This
"Isles of the Gentiles" were understood those connects Cush with iMidian, which was in
countries of Europe and Asia Minor to Arabia Felix, near the Red Sea. Again, in
which the inhabitants of Egypt and Palestine Hab. iii. 7 Cush and Midian appear to be
had access only by sea. connected. In Job xxviii. I9 we read of "the
6. Ham] It is generally thought that the topaz of Cush." Now, there is no reason
name means warm, which is to be compared to suppose that Ethiopia produced topazes,
with the Greek Aithiops (Ethiopian), which but Pliny (xxxvII. 8) speaks of an island ot
has a similar significance. The word Kern, Arabia in the Red Sea as f.amous for this
v. S.] GENESIS. X. 87
and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raa- 8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he bemah; Sheba, and Dedan. gan to be a mighty one in the earth.
gem, which is also noted by Dioidorus (III. were near neighbours; there may have sprung
39). All this connects Cush with Asia, and from them a mixed race, which spread toseems to prove that the first settlement of the ward Tyre and Sidon and dispossessed, partCushites was in Asia. Their subsequent ly also intermingled with, a Semitic race oriemigration into Africa, so that one division ginally inhabiting the region of Palestine and
was on the East and the other on the WXrest Phcenicia.' As Abraham and his descendants
of the Gulf of Arabia, may account fbr appear to have changed their native Aramean
the language of Homer, who speaks of the for the Hebrew of Palestine, so very probably
A,;thiopians as divided into two distinct tribes the Hamitic Canaanites, long mingled with
('Od.' I. 23), a distinction observed by Strabo Shemitic races, acquired the language of the
('Geogr.' I. p. zi), by Pliny (lib. v. c. 8), and children of Shem. The whole character of
by Pomponius Mela (lib. I. cap. 2). the Canaanitish civilization and worship was
Mzra is udoubtedly Egypt. The o Hamite, not Semitic. Like the sons of Seth,
_Mizraim7 is undoubtedly Egypt. The origiln and meaning of the word has been muc~h the sons of Shem lived a nomadic, pastoral
life; whilst, with a like resemblance to the dedebated, but with no certain conclusion. If e; c hidst, with a like resemblance to the der
the singular be the Hebrew Mazor, it should scendants of Cain, the arrites were builders
thesignify a mobend or foHtebrew pa Gesenius of cities and fortresses, and rapidly grew into
signify a mound or fortifed place. Gesenius
and others prefer the Arabic Meser, a limit prosperous, mercantile races, with an advanced, but corrupt civilization. Compare
or boundary. The dual form has been supposed to indicate Upper and Lower Egypt. Egypt, Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Sidon, and
It perhaps may be the rendering or transcrl-ip- Arabs &.
tion of Mes-ra-n "children of Ra," i.e. of v
the Sun. The Egyptians claimed to be sons 7. the sons of Cush; S&ba] Seba appears
of Ra. (See Excursus.) It certainly seems as to be the name of a commercial and wealthy
if the name belonged rather to a race or na- region of Ethiopia; see Ps. lxxii. io; Is. xliii.
tion than to a man; and, therefore, the son 3, xlv. T4. In the last passage the Sabeans
of Ham here named is probably designated (Sebaim) are called "men of stature;" and
as the founder or ancestor of the Egyptians Herodotus says'hat the Macrobian Ethioor people of Mizraim. plans "were reported to be the tallest and
Phut] The name Phut occurs several times comeliest of men" (ImI. o). According to. osephus (I Ant.' II. Io), Mero[ was anciently
in the Old Testament, and generally in con- called Seba until Cambyses gav it the name
nection with the Egyptians and Ethiopians, h
nection with the Egyptians and Etiopians, of his sister MeroP. Meroe is described as a
sometimes with Pelersia and Ll2ri-d. See J er. strong fortress situated in a most fertile counxlvi. 9; Ezek. xxvii. no, xxx. 5, Xxxviii. 5; Nab.nc o th rivrs Astop
iii. 9. The LXX. in Jeremiah and Ezekiel L u
al. wa. re.der L LXX. In Soremia p and hze l and Astaborus. The ruins of Meroa still realways render JLibyans. So Jose~phus says main to the north-east of the Nubian town
(' Ant.' I. 6), that Phut colonized Libya, and f
that the people were from him called Phut- eny
ites. The Coptic name of Libya is Phaiat Havilah] Havilah, the son of Joktan, ocSt Jerom speaks of a river curs, v. 29, among the descendants of Shem.
Some identify the descendants of Havilah
Mauritania, and the region round it, as called the son of Cush with the Avalitae on the
Phut to his time. ('Tradit. Hebr.') coast of Africa; whilst others place them in
Canzaan] The name is thought by some Chawblru of Arabia Felix. There is an inevito be derived friom the nature of the country table contrsion from the name of a g;,andson
in which the descendants of Canaan lived, viz, of -Iam being the same as that of a descenda flat, depressed region, from the Hebrew root ant of Shem. Niebuhr and others have asCana (hiph.) to depress. The fact, that the seroed that there were two Chawlans, and
Canaanites appear to have spoken a Semitic have ascribed one to the Shemite, the other to
tongue has been alleged as a reason why they the Hamite. It seems very possible that the
should not have been of Hamitic descent. descendants of Havilah the son of Cush inKnobel has well observed, however, that they termingled with the descendants of Havilah
are said by the ancients to have removed from the Joktanide, and so ultimately formed but
the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, with one people, whose dwelling-place was Chawwhich agrees tihe mythology which brought Ian, the well-known fertile region of Yemen.
into relation the Phcenicians' ancestors Age- Sabtah] By Gesenius and others, who connor and Phcenix sometimes with Belus and fine the Cushites to Africa, the descendants
Babylonia, sometimes with ZAgyptus and Da- of Sabtah are placed on the African shore
naus (the AEthiop), Cepheus aIld Libya. In of the Gulf of Arabia. More commonly, and
the earliest days the Hamites and Shemites more probably, their home is sought for in
88 GENESIS. X. [v. 9, 1.
9 He was a mightv hunter before io And the beginning of his kingthe LORD: wherefore it is said, Even dom was I Babel, and Erech, and Ac- tI;Br a.
as Nimrod the mighty hunter before cad, and Calneh, in the land of
the LORD. Shinar.
Hadramaut, a province of Southern Arabia, brews being to call any ancestor a father, and
where Pliny (vI. 32) places the city of Sab- any descendant a son. The name Nimrod is
batha or Sabotha. It is said, that to this day commonly derived from, the Hebrew marad,
in Yemen and Hadramaut there is a dark to rebel. The Eastern traditions make him a
race of men distinguished from the fairer man of violent, lawless habits, a rebel against
Arabs, and belonging evidently to a different God, and an usurper of boundless authority
original stock. (Knobel.) over his fellow-men, at whose instigation men
Ramanh] LXX. Rhegma. The connec- began the building of the tower of Babel.
tion of Raamah with Sheba and Dedan, of (Jos.'Ant.' i. 4.) He has accordingly been
whom he is here said to be the father (cp. identified with the Orion of the Greeks, and
Ezek. xxvii. 22), leaves no doubt, even with it has been thought that the constellation
those who confine the other Cushites to Ethi- Orion, called by the Hebrew lKesil " the fool,
opia, that the settlement of Raamah must be the impious:" and by the Arabs "the giant,"
sought for in Southern Arabia, in the neigh- was connected Nwith Nimrod, who is said in
bourhood of Sheba and Dedan. Ptolemy the LXX. to have been a "giant on the
(vI. 7) places Rhegma, and Steph. Byzant. earth." The Scripture narrative, however,
RKhgma on the shore of the Persian Gulf. says nothing of this violence and lawlessness,
Sabtechah] is by some placed in Ethiopia. and the later tradition is very doubtful andi
Bochart, who is followed by Knobel, places vague. The LXX. spell the name Nebrod,
it in Caramania, on the Eastern shore of the so also Josephus, which some have referred
Persian Gulf, where the ancients (Ptolem. to a Persian root signifying'var, a warrior;
vi. 8; Steph. Byz. z) mention Samidace or but this etymology is altogether uncertain,
Samydace. and not to be relied on.
Sheba, and Dedan] Sheba occurs again he bgzan to be a mighty one in the earth]
in v. 28 as a son of Joktan, and Sheba and He was the first of the sons of Noah distinDedan together, Gen. xxv. 3, as children of guished by his warlike prowess. The word
Joktan, the son of Abraham and Keturah. "mighty one" (in the LXX. "giant") is conThis is evidently another example of the in- stantly used for a great warrior, a hero, or man
termingling of the Cushites with the Joktan- of renown. Cp. Gen. vi. 4; Judg. vi. Iz;
ides, and generally of the early descendants xi. I; I S. ix. I; 2 K. v. i; Ps. xxxiii. i6,
of Shem and Ham. In Ezek. xxvii. I52zo lxxviii. 65; Is. xiii. 3, &c.
we find the Cushite Dedan supplying Tyre
9. Ha was a mighty hunter] LXX. "a
with merchandise brought from beyond the
w~ithl merchandise brought fr~om beyond the giant hunter." Bochart says that by being a
sea, while the Shemite Dedan supplies the pro- fious hunter he gathered to himsf all the
fan. ous hunter, he gathered to himself all the
duce of flocks. Sheba is known to us as enterprising young en of is generation, tenterprising young inen of his generation, atan important and opulent region of Arabia tached them to his per
T) 1 Tr 1 *- r 1. tached them to his person, ard so became a
elx a K. x. I; Ps. lxxii. IO. IS; Job. kind of king among them, training his follow15, vi. 19; Is. Ix. 6; Jer. vi. Ta; Ezek. xxvii. ers first in the chase, and then leading them
22; Joel iii. B.) The Sabeans are spoken f to war. Compare cules, Theseus, eleby Strabo (xvi. p. 777) as a most opulent c. among he reeks. The Jerusle
and powerful people, famousformyrrh, frank- ager, &c. among the Greeks. The Jerusalem
and powerful people, famous for myrrh, fi-ank- Targum renders 11 He was mighty in hunting
incense, and cinnamon, their chief city being and in sin efore the Lord, fohe as a
Mariaba, (in Arab. Marib). This was after- a bL
Marsiaba, in Arab. Marib). This was after-. hunter of the sons of men in their languages."
wards the famous kingdom of the Himyaritic The Syriac also renders' a warrior." FolArabs, so called probably from the ruling lowing these, many have understood, that he
family of Hnimyar. It is probable, that the was a hunter of men, rather than a hunter of
Cushite Sheba, and his brother Dedan, were beasts.
settled on the shore of the Persian Gulf (see
Raamah above); but afterwards were com- before the LoRD] Is most likely added
bined with the great Joktanide kingdom of only to give emphasis, or the force of a suthe Sabeans. perlative (cp. Gen. xiii.:o, xxx. 8, xxxv. 5;
8. Cush begat Nimrod] Nimrod is here I S. xi. 7, xiv. I5, xxvi. 2; Ps. civ. I6;
separated from the other sons of Cush, per- Jonah iii. 3; Acts vii. 2o): though some unhaps because of his great fame and mighty derstand "against the Lord," as I Chron.
prowess; but it is quite possible, that the xiv. 8, where it is said "avid ent out
words " Cush begat Nimrod" may only mrean against them," literally "before them."
that Nimrod was a descendant of Cush!, not 10. And the behginning of his kingdom,was
immediately his son, the custom of thc He- Bab.l] The later Chald-zans and Babylonians
V. I1, I2.] GENESIS. X. 89
IOr, h' i r Out of that land " went forth I2 And Resell between Nineveh st"zeets0
went out t/3 cit5'
intoAssy- Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and and Caiah: the same is a great
Or;, Mlfe lithe city Rehoboth, and Calah, city.
spoke a Semitic language, but the most ancient Shinar] Unquestionably the country round
Babylonian inscriptions shew that the earliest about Babylon, the great plain or alluvial
inhabitants spoke a Turanian or Cushite country watered by the Tigris and Euphratongue, and were therefore of the same race tes. The name seems to have been Jewish;
as the Ethiopians and Southern Arabians. though there was a town in Mesopotamia
Moreover, the most ancient traditions bring known to the ancients, called Singara (Arab.
the first colonists of Babylon from the South. Sinjar); and Rawlinson found in the AssyThus Belus, son of Poseidon and Libya, is rian and Babylonian inscriptions the name
said to have led a colony from Egypt into Sinkareh in cuneiform characters. The name
Babylonia, and there fixing his seat on the too is found in Egyptian monuments of the
Euphrates, to have consecrated the priests iSth dynasty, from Thothmes I.
called in Babylon Chaldeans (Diod. Sic. lib.
i. c. ii.): and the fish-god Oannes, the great So11. Out o that land weant forth A.shvr]
civilizer of Babylon, is said to have risen out o LX., Sr., Vulg., Saad., Ltth., Calv.
of the Red Sea (Syncell.'Chron.' p. S). Nim- J. D. Michael., Dathe, Ros., V. Bohlen. But
rod is probably to be identified with Belus; the reading of the margin, " fro this land
t the word Bls itself (= Bel Baal) is nt he went out into Assyria,'" is the rendering of
butL the word Belus itself ( = Bel = Baal) is not
so much a name as a title, meaning lord or all the Tarums, of Nachmanides, and after
mraster, and may have been given traditionally t1em, of Drusius, Bochart, Le Clerc, De
W,~ette, Baumg., Tuch, Gesenius, Knobel,
to the first founder of empire in the earth.'The words " beginning of his kingdom' may Delitzsch, Kalisch, and most modern intersignify that Babel was the first, or possibly preters. The syntax fully admits of this
that it was the chief city founded by Nimrod. nterpretation; and the general sense of the
passage requires it. Nimrod is the subject
Erech] The Targums, Ephraim Syr. and here treated of. Asshur, the son of Shem,
Jerome, render Edessa. Bochart says Areca v. 22, was at least a generation older than
on the confines of Babylonia and Susiana: Nimrod, who may probably have first colobut it is now generally agreed to be ArchoE, nized the countr,-t called after him, Asshur
the ruins of which, called W\arka, lie about (or Asds,/ ia); Nimrod, or one of hisdescendthirty hours to the south east of Babylon. ants, afterwards invading and governing that
The numerous mounds and remains of bricks country. Asshur was a region through which
and coffins indicate that this was probably the Tigris flowed, to the N. E. of Babylonia,
the burying place of the kings of Assyria. including a portion of Mesopotornia.
(See Rawlinson, lFive Monarchies,' Vol. r.
P. 23.)'anXad buzlzhed NineqJve] According to Hel-odotus, Ninus (the mythic founder of Nineveh)
Accard Spelt Archad by the LXX. and was the grandson of Belus, the mythic founder
Achar by the Syr., has been compared by of Babylon (Herod. I. 7). This, the most
Bochart with the river Argades in Sithacene, ancient Greek tradition, well corresponds ith
the whole region having perhaps been called the account of Scripture, for the sords " he
Archada. Le Clerc, who is followed by Ge- went out into Asshur," might be rendered
senius, suggests Sacada, a town lying not far "one went out into Asshur," not distinctly
below Nineveh, where the Lycus falls into defining Nimrod as the individual who built
the Tigris. Knobel proposes a tract north of Nineveh.
Babylon called Accete. The only ancient Nvieh, the ancient metropolis or Assyria,
authorities (the Targums of Jerusalem and on the Eat branch of the Tigris,became in
Pseudo-Jonathan, Ephraim Syrus, Jerome, after ages the largest and most flourishing
Barhebrxus) render the word by Nisihis, a city of the old world. It is described in the
city on the river Khabour. Michaelis and book of Jonah as "an exceeding great city
many moderns adopt this as the probable site of three days' journey" (Jon. iii. 3), with
of Accad. 20o,ooo children "' who knew not their right
Calneh] (Calneh, Amos vi. 2. Calno, Is. hand from their left" (Jon. iv. iT), which
x. 9, perhaps Canneh, Ezek. xxvii. 23, where would make a population of about a,ooo,ooo.
one of De Rossi's MSS. reads Kalneh). Targg. According to Diodorus Siculus, it was no
Jer. and Pseudo-Jon., Euseb., Jerome, Ephr. less than 55 miles in circumference (Diod.
Syr. give Ctesiphon on the east bank of the IL. 3), built, no doubt, like the ancient cities
Tigris, opposite Seleucia, N.E. of Babylon. of the East, with pastures and pleasure grounds
The name Calneh survived in Chalonitis, a interspersed among streets and houses. Even
region of Assyria, where Pliny places Ctesi- in Babylon, which was of less extent than
phon. In this identification of Calneh with Nineveh, Diodorus (ii. 9) says, that there
Ctesiphon most modern interpreters agree. were gardens and orchards, and land sufficient
90 GENESIS. X. [v. I3, 4.
I3 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and 14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim,
Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naph- (out of whom came Philistim,) and
tuhim, Caphtorim.
to provide corn for all the people in case of a Again, in Ezek. xxx. 4, 5, Cush, Phut, and
siege. Nineveh is mentioned among the cities Lud are connected with Mizraim. In Isaiah,
or fortresses captured by Thothmes III. (see on the contrary, we find (lxvi. I9) Lud " that
Excursus, p. i). It was attacked by Phraortes draw the bow" connected with Asiatic and
the Mede, who perished in the attempt to take European tribes, Tarshish, Pul, Tubal, and
it (Herod. I. Ioz). His successor, Cyaxares, Javan. The existence of the two tribes both
having laid siege to it, B.C. 625, was obliged called Lud, the one Semite and the other
to raise the siege by an incursion of Scythians Hamite, is inevitably a cause of confusion.
(Herod. I. I03); but finally succeeded in re- Anamim] Another Mizraite race, concernducing it, B. C. 597 (Herod. I. Io6). From that ing whom no certain or very probable conjectime it lay desolate, though Tacitus (' Ann.' ture can be made. Knobel identifies them
XII. 13) and Ammianus (xvIII. 7) mention a with an Egyptian name of the Delta.
fortress of the name. Its site has been identified by modern travellers with the ruins of Lehairn]l Generally agreed to be the same
Nebbi Yunus and Koyunjik, nearly opposite as the Lubim, X Cioi. xii. 3, xvi. 8. reckoned
to Mosul on the East banks of the Tigris. among the Eftiopian forces, and in Nah. iii. 9,
(See esp. Layard.' Ninev.' Vol. I. pp. I36.) Dan. xi. 43, named with the Egyptians; ac-.
The language of the inscriptions discovered cording to Josephus, the Libyans. The oiin these ruins appears to be an ancient Semi- ginal home of this people appears to have
tic dialect. This is not inconsistent with the been to the west of the Delta
foundation of the city by a descendant of Najphtuhim] Mentioned only here and
Nimrod; for the indigenous race was no I Chr. i. II. Bochart, followed by Michaelis,
doubt derived from the colonization by As- Jablonski, Gesenius and others, compares the
shur, the son of Shem, and the adoption of name of the Egyptian goddess Nephthys, the
the Semitic language has parallels in the cases wife of Typhon, to whom the parts of Egypt
of Babylon and Canaan (see above on v. 6). bordering on the Red Sea were consecrated.
Moreover, it is thought that in Assyria, as Plutarch (' De Is.' p. 355) says, "The Egypwell as in Babylonia, two distinct languages tians call the extremities of the land border-'xisted, the older being Taranian, the other ing on the sea by the name of Nephthys."
Selaitic; accordingly, at Koyunjik, vocabu- If this be so, the Naphtuchim were probably
laries have been discovered with two languages a people dwelling on the Red Sea on the conarranged in parallel columns, and tablets ap- fines of Egypt. Knobel supposes them to
parently in a Turanian dialect have been have been the midland Egyptians, who in
found in the ruins. their great city Memphis worshipped Phthah,
11. and the city Rehoboth] Lit. "the streets and were called in Coptic Phaphthah, "the
of the city." (people) of Phthah."
12. the same is a great cityJ It is ex- 14. Pathrbusim] The people of Pathros,
tremely difficult to identify Rehoboth, Resen mentioned often in the prophets (as Is. xi. II;
and Calah with any known sites. Perhaps Jer. xliv. I; Ezek. xxix. 14, xxx. I4). The
the most probable conjecture is, that the four name Pathros occurs, sometimes as if it were
cities here named, viz. Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, separate from Egypt, sometimes as if it were
Resen, and Calah, were all afterwards corm- part of Egypt; whence Bochart concluded
bined under the one name of Nineveh, and that the Thebaid was intended, which at times
that the words, v. I,+ "the same is a great is reckoned as in Upper Egypt, at times as
city," applied to this united whole, not to the distinct from it. Pliny mentions Phaturites
single state of Resen. This is adopted by as a praefecture of the Thebaid, (' Hist. Nat'
Niebuhr, Grote, Knobel, Rawlinson, De- 1. v. 9, ~ 47). The words of Ezekiel (xxix.
litzsch. I4), where Pathros is called the land of the
13. Ludim] There was also a son of Egyptians' birth, is compared with Herod.
Shem named Lud, v. 22; but these Ludim (II. I5), who says Thebes was anciently called
were an African tribe. They are probably Egypt. Pa-t-res in Egyptian means "the
the same as Retu, the Egyptian name for land of the south."
"man," especially the Egyptians. The name Casluhimn] Bochart conjectured the Colappears to have belonged to the old popula- chians, who were an Egyptian colony (Herod.
tion of Central Egypt. In Jerem. xlvi. 9, II. 104; Diod. Sic. I. 28; Strabo. I. 3). In
Gush, Phut, and Ludim are mentioned toge- this he is followed by Gesenius and others,
ther, the Ludim are said to "handle and though the similarity of name seems the chief
bend the bow," and all are placed in the reason for the identification. Forster (' Ep.
army of Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt. ad Michael.' p. I6 sqq.) conjectured Casiotis,
v. 5,I6.] GENESIS. X. 91
tHeb. 15 q1 And Canaan begat tSidon his i6 Andthe Jebusite, and the Amo"zi'C~o' firstborn, and Heth, rite, and the Girgasite,
a region between Gaza and Pelusium, so Gesenius mentions this with approval, and it
called from Mount Casius. He is followed is advocated by Knobel. Recent investigain this by Knobel, who says the name in tions in Egyptian identify Caphtor with
Coptic signifies burning, hence applicable to Capht-ur, i.e. the Great Capht. This is
a dry, arid, desert region. He combines Bo- compared with the Egyptian name Coptos.
chart's view with Forster's, supposing that Again, the name AEgyptus is probably identithe Colchians were a colony from Casiotis. cal with Ai-Capht, i.e. the coast of Capht,
This view is adopted and ably defended by (compare t1'13i N, I-Caphtor, "the isle or
Ebers (' JEgypten,' &c. p. 2zo). coast of Caphtor," Jer. xlvii. 4). This Capht,
Out of whom came Philistinm] In Jer. xlvii. or Capht-ur, was probably the Northern
4, Amos ix. 7, the Philistines are traced to Delta, from which the Phcenicians emigrated
the Caphtorim. Hence Michaells and others into Asia. Thus Capht became the Egyptian
think that there has been a transposition name for the oldest Phoenicians, whether in
in this verse, and that it ought to run " and Asia or in Africa. (See Ebers,'A gypt.' &c.
Caphtorim, out of whom came Philistim." voc. Caphtorim; see also Excursus.)
The Samaritan text, however, and all Ver- 15. Sidon his first-born] Sidon was, acsions read as the Hebrew. Bochart therefore has conjectured, that the Casluchim and nician state. Of all the Phicis Homer
Caphtorim were tribes which intermingled, knew only Sidon. The city stood on the
the Caphtorim having strengthened the Cas- Eastern coast of the edity stood on the...Eastern coast of the Mediteanen, about
luchian colony by immigration, and that hence 20 miles North of Tye, which latter is said.he Philistines may have been said to have 2o miles North of Tyre, which latter is said
the Philistines may have been said to have
come fom either. The name Philistine which by Justin to have been a colony of Sidon.
come blom either. he name P hipistine, which So important was Sidon in most ancient times,
probably comes from an 1Uhiopic verb fXA that all the Phcenicians are comprised under
to emigrate, is often rendered by the LXX. the name of Sidonians (josh. xiii. 6; Judg.
(as Judg. xiv. 3, xiv. I) by allophyloi, aliens, xviii. 7): and this extension of the name was
foreigners..known to the Greeks and Romans (compare
The following difficulties are urged against Urbs Sidonia, i.e. Carthage, which was a
the Egyptian origin of the Philistines; first, colonyofTyre Virg.'In.'I.677; alldSidothat their language was probably, like that of na Dido, Tin.' I. 446, 63, &c.). The name
the other inhabitants of Canaan Semitic; * -
the other inhabitants o Canaan, Semiic Sidon is supposed to be derived from fishing;
secondly, that they uwere uncircumcised (i S. for the Phcenicians called fish Sidon (Gesen.
xvii. 26), whilst Herodotus tells us that the'Thesaur.' p. 1iis).
Egyptians were circumcised. The linguistic
difficulty may be explained by the very pro- Heth] The ancestors of the Hittites, who
bable supposition, that the invading Philis- inhabited the hill country of Judea, estines or Caphtorim adopted the language of specially in the neighbourhood of Hebron.
the conquered Avim (Deut. ii. 23), or other These, however, were but one portion of the
tribe amongst whom they settled. The other race, which according to Josh. i. 4 (cp. Ezek.
disappears, if we consider, that everything in xvi. 3) became more important. In the time
dress, customs, and religion of the Philistines of Solomon and Joram there were independindicates that they separated off from the ent kings of the Hittites, I K. x. 29; 2 K.
other Mizraic tribes at a very early period vii 6. They are by most Egyptologers idenand that circumcision was probably adopted tified with the Kheta, a very powerful tribe,
by the Egyptians at a much later date. and masters of Syria.
Caphtorim] It is plain from Jer. xlvii. 4, 16. the Jebusite] Inhabitants of Jebus,
where the Philistines are called "L the remnant the ancient name of Jerusalem, mentioned
of the isle (or maritime country) of Caph- Judg. xix. Io, II; I Chr. xi. 4, 5. The Jetor," that we must look for the site of the busites, a mountain tribe (Num. xiii. z9; Josh.
Caphtorim near the sea. The Targums and xi- 3), seem never to have been conquered,
ancient Versions render Cappadocia, followed or to have recovered possession of Jerusalem
by most of the ancients, and by Bochart. and to have retained it, till David took Jebus,
Others (Swinton, Michaelis, Rosenmfiller, &c.) I Chr. xi. 4, 5: and even after the conquest
have conjectured Cyprus, the original name we find Araunah the Jebusite, who is called
of which has been thought to have been "Araunah the king" (z S. xxiv. 23) living in
Cubdr or Cyptrus. Calmet and others pre- peace and prosperity in the land.
fer Crete, comparing the statement of Taci- the Amorite] Apparently the most powtus (' Hist.'v. 2) concerning the Cretan origin erful and widespread of all the Canaanitish
of the Jews, and supposing that he may have tribes, dwelling chiefly in the hill-country of
confounded the Tews with the Philistines. Judzea, subject to five kings (Josh. x. S), but
92 GENESIS. X. [v. 17 — 2.
I7 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Adand the Sinite, mah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
18 And the Arvadite, and the Ze- 20 These are the sons of Ham,
marite, and the Hamathite: and after- after their families, after their tongues,
ward were the families of the Canaan- in their countries, and in their nations.
ites spread abroad. 2I 1q Unto Shem also, the father
19 And the border of the Canaan- of all the children of Eber, the broites was from Sidon, as thou comest ther. of Japheth the elder, even to
A4.z.at. to Gerar, unto tGaza; as thou goest, him were children born.
also spreading to the other side of Jordan, to to the habitation of this race. The ancient
the North of the Arnon (Numb. xxi. I3), interpreters, Targg., Rashi, Saad., and probaeven to the river Jabbok (Num. xxi. 24). bly Jerome, give Emesa; Michaelis, led by
Simonis, followed by Gesenius, traces the Bochart's conjecture and followed by Rosenm.,
name to an old word Amor or Emor, eleva- Gesen., Kn-obel, suggests Samyra, a city of
tion, mounlain, the Amorites being moun- Pheinicia on the sea coast, near the river
taineers or highlanders. Eleutherus, the ruins of which are still called
the Girgasite] Josephus (' Art.' i. 6) Samra.
says we have the name and nothing else of the Hamathite] Hamath was an importthis people. Eusebius and others have identi- ant city, called by Amos (vi. 2) "Great
fied them with the Gergesenes (Matt. viii. Hamath," the chief city of Upper Syria on the
23), who lived to the East of the Lake of Orontes at the foot of Libanus (Judg. iii. 3;
Gennesaret. There is a difference of reading Jer. xlix. 23; Zech. ix. a), the nletropolis of
in St Matt.; some DMSS' having Gerasenes, a region called the "land of Hamath" (z
others Gadarenes; but Gesenius thinkls, that K. xxiii. 33). It was called Epiphaneia by
Gerasa is but a corruption by the omission of the Macedonians (Jos.'Ant.' I. 6). It still
g from Girgasa. however in the East retains the name of Ha17. th~e HIwite] A people living in the lmah, and has been visited and described by
neighbourhood of Hermon and Lebanon (Josh. Burckhardt and other modern travellers.
xi. 3, Judg. vi. 3), near Sichem also (Gen. and after-ward Cwere the families of the
xxxiv. z), and Gibeon (Josh. ix. I, 7): Gese- Canaanites spread abroad] The first place of
nius interprets the name to signify pagani, the habitation of the Canaanites was probably on
inhabitants of villages. the Mediterranean, in Phcenicia, in the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon; but by degrees
the Arkite] Inhabitants, according to Jo- ourhood of Tyre and idon; but by degrees
sephus, of Arca a city of Phcenicia, near Liba- they spread abroad through the whole of
nlus, I2 miles to the north of Tripoli. It wTas Palestine, from Tyre and Sidon on the North
afterwards called Cesarea Libani, a name to Gerar and Gaza and even to Lasha.
f:ound on coins of the reign of Vespasian. 19. Lasha] The Targum of Jerusalem
Alexander Severus was born here. Shaw and and Jerome (' QuOst. ad Genes.') identify
Burckhardt describe the ruins of a fine city Lasha with CallirrhoP, which Pliny (' N. H.'
as still to be found there, called Tell Arka. v. c. 6) and Josephus ('B. J.' I. 33) speak of
the Sinite] St Jerome (' Quest. in Genes.' as famous for its warm springs. It was situad h. 1.) says, that " near Arca was another ated on the East of the Red Sea.
city called Sini, which, though ruined, still 21. Shern also, the father of all the chiretained its ancient name." Michaelis (' Spicil.' dren ofEber] As Han is specially called the
Pt. 1i. p. 29) quotes Breidenbach ('Itiner.' P. father of Canaan, so probably Shem is desig47) as mentioning a city of the name of Syn nated as the father of Eber. The Hebrews
in the same neighbourhood in the fifteenth and the Canaanites were brought into concentury. stant conflict and exemplified respectively the
18. the Ar-zvadite] Inhabitants probably characters of the Hamites and the Shemites,
of the city of Aradus, on an island of the same their ciaracters and their destinies.
name, about three miles fromn the Phcenician the brother of Japheth the elder] There
coast. The LXX. render here and elsewhere is a great ambiguity in the original of these
the Aradite, and Josephus ('Ant.' I. 6) says words. The LXX., Symm., Targ. of Onke"the Aradite inhabited the island of Aradus." los render as in the English text; so Rashi,
Gesenius derives the name from a root, signi- Abenezra, Luther, Cleric., J. D. Michael.,
fying " to wander," and quotes Strabo (xVI. Dathe, &c. But the Syriac, Arab., Vulg. ren2, ~ r3) as saying that the city was built by der i"the elder brother of Japheth," in which
flgitives from Sidon. they are followed by Rosenm., Gesenius,
the Zemarite] There is little certainty as Knobel, Delitzsch and most modern con
V. 22 —25.1 GENESIS. X. 93
c Chron. 22 The Cchildren of Shem; Elam, 24 And Arphaxad begat'Salah; teb.
1. 17'IDS hel,. t.
t HIb. Ar- and Asshur, and *Arphaxad, and Lud, and Salah begat Eber.
pae-sl'zanc. and Ararm. 25'And unto Eber were born two d, Chro=[
23 And the children of Aram; Uz, sons: the name of one was Peleg; I
and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. for in his days was the earth dividmentators, who say, that if "the brother of from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee to the
Japheth the Elder" had been meant, the He- Euphrates. The name Aram has been supbrew idiom would have required the addition posed to mean high (from Aram r= rn, to be
of "son" —" the elder son of Noah." This high). In Genesis we read of Aram-Nahaappears to be true: moreover, Shem is gene- raim, i.e. Aram between the two rivers = Merally mentioned first, and is perhaps put last sopotamia, which, or part of which, is also
here, because the writer proceeds almost with- called Padan-Aram; and Laban who dwelt
out interruption from this point with the there is called the Aramean (Gen. xxv. 20,
history of the descendants of Shem. In Gen. &c.). Homer ('I1.' ii. 783); Hesiod ('Th.'
ix. 24, Ham appears to be called the youngest 304); Pindar (' Fr.' v. 3), &c. speak of the Syson of Noah; but see note on that verse. On rians as Arimi.
the whole, the common order of enumeration 23. Uz] From him no doubt was named
is probably the order of ag-e.'" the land of Uz,"' in which Job lived. (Job
22. The children of Seminl The Shernites i. I.) It is there rendered by the LXX. Audwelt chiefly in Western Asia, South of the sitis. Ptolemy (v. i9) mentions the _Esita
Asiatic Japhethites. as inhabiting the northern part of Arabia DeElam] Elymais, a region adjoining Su- serta, near to abylon and the EuphratesI
siana and Media, called by the Arabs Chu- which Bochart, Gesenius, and others, identify
with the inhabitants of Uz or Ausitis. The
zistan. Daniel (viii. z) places Shushan (i. e.
Susa) in Elam, which immediately connects name Uz occuls also among the descendants
Elam with Susiana. of Abraham (Gen. xxii. 2I), and again (Gen.
sshur] ithout doubt thexxxvi. 28) among the descendants of Seir the
5Asshur] Wia.thout fisdoubt, the ances c ~ Hivite; and it has been conjectured, with
thie Assyrians. At first, per~haps, the nami more or less probability, that these different
Asshur or Assyria was restricted to the re- Semitic families may have coalesced.
gion round about Nineveh, Iknown to the
Greeks as Adiabene. Afterwards it spread, liol] Josephus places in Armenia, accord
especially to the North-west, and embraced ing to Bochart, that part called Cholobotene
the Syrians. The foundation of its principal by the Greeks, as though it were Beth-Chul,
greatness is ascribed to the Babylonians in the home of Hul. Michaelis, followed by
v. II. This corresponds with the tradition in Knobel, suggests that the name Celesyria
Herodotus (r. 7), which attributes the foun- may have come from Hul or Chul. Rosendation of Nineveh to Ninus, the son of Belus, muller has suggested the Ard el Hhuleh, a
the founder of Babylon. district near the sources of the Jordan.
_Arphaxad] Bochart conjectured that the Gether] No probable site has been fixed
on for the descendants of Gether.
tame Arrapachites, a province in Northern
Assyria, bordering on Armenia, was derived JMlkash] Josephus (' Ant.' i. 6) says, " Mash
from Arphaxad; and as this was the country founded the Mesanuans," i.e. the inhabitants
of the Chaldees, it has been thought that in of Mesene, near Bassora, where the Tigris and
the three last consonants of the name Ar- Euphrates fall into the Persian Gulf. The
phaxad, viz. ch-s-d, are contained the ele- opinion of Bochart is adopted by Gesenius,
ments of the name Chasdim (i. e. Chaldseans). WV:iner, Knobel, and others, that the descendJosephus certainly tells us that " Arphaxad ants of Mash were the inhabitants of Mons
gave the name Arphaxadxans to those after- Masius, a range of hills to the North of Mewards called Chaldoeans" (' Ant.' I. 6). sopotamia.
LudJ Josephus says the Lydians (I Ant.' 24. Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah
I. 6). He is followed by Euseb., Jerome, and begat Eber] The name Salah appears to signify
by Bochart, and most moderns. The re- sending forth, extension, as Eber, the name of
semblance of their manners and of their more his son, signifies passing over. Many of the
ancient names to the Semitic confirms this names in these genealogies are significant, and
tradition. It is probable, that their first home were probably given to their bearers late in
was not far from Armenia, whence they mi- life, or even historically, after their deaths.
grated into Asia Minor. Salah and Eber seem to point to this facr,
Aram] The country called Aram in Scrip- that the descendants of Arphaxad were now
ture was the highland region lying to the beginning to spread forth from the first cradle
north-east of the Holy Land, extending of the Semitic race, and to cross over the
94 GENESIS. X. [. 26 —29.
ed; and his brother's name was Jok- 27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and
tan. Diklah,
26 And Joktan begat Almodad, 28 And Obal, and Abimael, and
and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Sheba,
Jerah, 29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and
great rivers on their way to Mesopotamia, moon. Bochart has suggested the identificaand thence to Canaan. tion of his descendants with the Alilei
25. Peleg; for in his days'was the earth (Agatharch. c. 49; Strabo, xvI. p. 277)=the
divided] It is generally supposed fi-om this, Beni Hilal ("the sons of the new moon'),
that Peleg lived contemporaneously with the who dwelt south of Chawlan.
dispersion of Babel. It is, however, quite 27. Hadoram] There has been no sapossible, that the reference is to a more par- tisfactory identification of the descendants
tial division of regions and separation of races. of Hadoram with any known race, though
The genealogy is now specially concerned Bochart compared the Adramita of Ptolemy
with the descendants of Shem and the ances- (v;. 7) and the Atramitd of Pliny (vI. 28)
try of the promised race, which is here traced in the south of Arabia.
down to Peleg to be continued farther in ch.
xi. i8 sqq. The two races, which sprang UzalJ This name is identified with LAwfrom Eber, soon separated very widely from zal, the ancient name of Sanaa, the capital
each other, the one, Eber and his family, city of Yemen
spreading north-westward towards Mesopo- Diklah] in Syriac signifies Palm; whence
tamia and Syria, the other, the Joktanides, Bochart and Gesenius identified the descendsouthward into Arabia. As the sacred nar- ants of Diklah with the Minaci, a people
rative in vv. 3I, 32, speaks expressly of the of Yemen, who inhabited a palm-growilng
general spreading forth of the sons of Noah, country. Michaelis conjectured a people conand in ch. xi. i-9 relates the confusion of tiguous to the Tigris, the name of which river
their languages, it is very probable that in in Syriac and Arabic was Diklat.
this verse the division of the land concerns 28. Obal, and Abirnael] Only very tiun
only the separation of the Shemites. certain conjectures have been made as to
Joktan] There is a general consent in fa- these names.
your of the colonization of Southern Arabia Sheba] We read much of Sheba, a counby the descendants of Joktan, with the names try in Arabia Felix, abounding in gold, preof whom correspond several of the districts cious stones, fiankincense, and famous for
and cities of that country. The Arabs iden- its merchandise (I K. x. I; Job vi. I-; Ps.
tify Jolktan with Kalltan, who was the tra- lxxii. Io, 15; Is. Ix. 6; Jer. vi. 20; Ezek.
ditional ancestor of the Beni Kahtan, inha- xxvii. 22; Joel iii. 8). The Arabic and Greek
-bitants of Yemen or Arabia Felix. In Ara- accounts of the Sabaeans, a people, whose
bia the Joktanides, no doubt, found some capital was Saba or Mariaba, three or four
peoples settled there already, viz. the Cushite days' journey from Senaa, correspond thodescendants of Ham (ver. 7), and the Ludite roughly with all this. See on ver. 7 above.
descendants of Shem (ver. 22). The Arabic
authors are silent concerning any Cushites, 29. Opir] On no geographical question
but derive the ancient Arabic races from the has a greater diversity of opinion existed than
K ahtanides (i.e. the Joktanides). on the site of Ophir. The position of ()phir,
as a son of Joktan, and the settlement of the
26. Almoarlac The names Modad and t
a o*a The names and other Joktanides in Arabia, form a strlong
Morad (r being often a corruption of d by a argument in favour of placing Ophir in A
clerical error) occur frequently in Arabic ge-.
c goe- bia also. The historical notices, however, inl
nealogies. The syllable Al is probably the s The historical notices, hoeer,
(l~c~'~l~~efinit;~;. )'llab. li is probably the books of Kings and Chronicles (i K. ix.
einite article. ~z~26-28, x. II, XXii. 48; 2 Chr. viii. I, ix. To)
Sheleph] has been compared by Bochart have inclined many to place Ophir either in
with the Salopeni of Ptolemy (vI. 7), in- India or in Africa: whilst others have thought,
habiting the interior of Arabia, and is iden- that two Ophirs are mentioned in Scripture,
titied with a tribe of Sulaph or Seliph in Ye- one in Arabia, the other in India or Ceylon.
men. The Arabic writers speak of a large The question is discussed at length by Geseregion called Salfie, south-west of Sanaa. nius,'Thes.' p. 142. See also' Dict. of Bible,'
IRazarmcarveth] The name agrees in every s. v. Ophir.
letter with Hadramaut, the name of a pro- Havilah] It is generally thought that
vince on the southern coast of Arabia, fa- Chawlan, in Arabia Felix, was the home of
mous for its fertility in myrrh and frankin- the descendants of Havilah. (On the Cushite
cense, and for the unhealthiness of its climate. Havilah, see note on v. 7.) Whilst some
Jerab3] The name in Hebrew signifies the have thought that there were two Chaw
v. 30, 4. GENESIS. X. XI. 95
Jobab: all these were the sons of f Babel 5 Therconfusion, oftonzgies. IoThe
Jokta. geznerations of Shez. 27 The g'enerations of
Joktanl. Terah the father of Abram. 3r Terah goeth
30 And their dwelling was from;'rom Ur to flKtran.
Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a D the whole earth was of one awis o
mount of the east. r A
mounthesarte of the east. IS Z language, and of one'speech. 5,'Ieb. lit
3x These are the sons of Shem,
2 And it came to pass, as they t Heb
after their families, after teir tongues,from the ast, that they
in their lands, after their nations.he
found a plain in the land of Shinar;
32 These are the families of the
sons of Noah, after their generations, and they dwelt there.
in their nations: an by. Atnd'they said one to another, t Teb.
in their nationsd and by the earth after G to, let us make brick, and mburn a sai
the nations divided in the earth after to his
them throughly. And they had brick,e/gbou'r.
for stone, and slime had they for b.ur..,zent
to a bcrnCHAPTER XI. mortar. ig.
I One Ia guage iz the world. 3 The building 4 And they said, Go to, let us
lans, one belonging to the descendants of the must render "eastward," lit. "on the sides
joktanide and the other to the sons of the of the east."
Cushite Havilah; others have thought that the a plain] The word more naturally means
two races were intermingled and confounded. a deep valley, but it is often used of a wide
Jobab] Ptolemy (vi. 7) mentions the Jo- vale or plain.
barite near the Indian Sea, which Bochart Shinar] \Without doubt the region round
conjectured to have been Jobabita, in which about Babylon, to which, besides Babylon,
he is followed by Gesenius. Bochart and Ge- pertained the cities of Erech, Kalneh and
senius think the name to be = the Arabic Je- Accad (Gen. x. Io, where see note). The
bob, a desert. fertility of this country for the production of
30. And their dowelling zwas from Mesha, wheat is greatly praised by Herodotus (I.
as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the East] 193).
IvIesha has been identified by Bochart with
3. lt us make brick, and burn them
the seaport of Musa or Muza, mentioned by throughl The regions of Assyria and BabyPtolemy vr. 8; Pliny vI. 23, &c. iichaelis, trogl] The egions of Assyria and Baby
Pfollowed by Rosenmy.ler, s, &c., &c. preh, lonia consisting of rich alluvial plains would
ferred Mesene, a place at the mouth of tile provide no stone and were specially abundant
Tigris and Euphrates, not far from Bassora. in brick earth Hence, when Nimrod built
Babel and other towns in Shinar (ch. x. Io),;Sephar] is pretty certainly ZafAr or he and those with him must have learned the
Dhafari, a seaport on the coast of Hadra- art of brick-making. The building of villages
maut. It is pronounced in modern Arabic in the earlier settlements of the Noachidx had
Isfor, and is not so much one town as a series been probably of wood or stone.
of villages near the shore of the Indian Ocean.
(Fresnel, quoted by Gesenius, p. 968.) they had brickfor stone, and slime had theyfor
mortal] All the versions give asphalte or bitumen for the word chemer, "slime". Herod.
CrI-TAP. XI. 1. one languagne] The general
opinion or the Jews and ancient Christians (0. 179) describes the building of the walls of
tas that this language was Hebrew. The Babylon much as the sacred history describes
was tat thisla ewas H The this building of the tower of Babel. He says
names of the most ancient places and persons a deep foss vas dug all round the city, from
mentioned in Scripture being Hebrew seems which the mud was taken in large bricks and
to countenance this belief. But it is impos- burnt in furnaces. Then for mud or mortar,
sible to arrn'ive at any certainty on the question, they used hot bitumen and so built the walls
it being notorious that names have been trans-e mentions a town called Is
lated fiom one language into another in man the city e mentions a town called IS,
instancesd f with a river of the same name near it, about
eight days'journey from Babylon, where much
2. it came to pass, as they journeyed from bitumen was obtained and carried to Babylon
the east] On the difficulty in these words, for the building of the city. See also Strabo
and on the first home of the descendants of (Lib. xvI. p. 74), who speaks of the excelNoah, see note on viii. 4. If Armenia was lence of the Babylonian bitumen for building.
that first home, we must suppose either that Justin also (Lib. I. a) speaks of Semiramis as
they had journeyed in a south-easterly direc- having built Babylon with brick and liquid
tion before they turned towards Shinar, and bitumen, which flowed in great abundance in
then they would journey from the east, or we the neighbourhood. Diodor. Sicul. (ii. Iz),
96 GENESIS. XI. [v. 5,6.
build us a city and a tower, whose 5 And the LORD came down to
top may reach unto heaven; and let see the city and the tower, which the
us make us a name, lest we be scat- children of men builded.
tered abroad upon the face of the 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the
whole earth. people is one, and they have all one
Pliny (' H. N.' xsxx. 5), Athenaus (Lib. II. sage seems the true. In ch. x. Io, we find
5), and other ancient writers, mention a lake that Nimrod founded a kingdom in Shinar.
close to Babylon abounding in bitumen, which He and his followers were apparently actufloated on the waters. (See Reland, Palestin.' ated by an ambitious spirit, not satisfied with
II. pp. 244, 245). The town of Is, mentioned the simplicity of a patriarchal life, nor willing
by Herodotus (as above), is identified by mo- to be scattered abroad, as so many were, by
dern travellers with Heets, where bitumen the migratory instinct that seems to have led
pits are still found on the western bank of the the descendants of Noah thus early to form
Euphrates. Some of the heaps of ruins, which extensive settlements, but desiring to found
have been identified with the ruins of Baby- an empire, to build a city, with a strong
Ion, exhibit specimens of sun-dried bricks laid citadel, and so to hold together in a powerin bitumen, producing walls of great strength ful commonwealth, and to establish for themand solidity. Mr Layard tells us that at Birs selves a name, fame, importance, renowln,
Nimrod, "The cement, by which the bricks thereby, it may be, attracting others to join
were united, is of so tenacious a quality, that their community. Perhaps there was an alit is almost impossible to detach one from the lusion to this in the prophecy (Is. xiv. 2t),
other," ('Nineveh and Babylon,' p. 499). "I will... cut off from Babylon the name
and remnant and son and nephew " (i. e. grand..
4. a tower, whose top zmaJy reach unto hea- son or posterity) "saith the LORD." The
yuen] That is to say " a very high tower," just tradition which assigns the lend in the buildas the cities of the Canaanites were said to be
great and walled up to heaven " (Deutl. i., ancient and general. (See Joseph.'Ant.' I.
ix. i), or as Homer ('Od.' v. 239), speaks of 4, Aug.' De Civit. Dei,' xvI. 4, &c.) Itmay
a pine tree I'high as heaven." Many have have arisen chiefly from what is said of him
identified this tower with the temple of Belus in ch. x. 9, Io, II. It is worthy of remall,
(Her-od. s. I8I), which is described as con- that, though the descendants of Shem and
sisting of eight squares one upon other, Japheth shared in the judgment which conthe dimensions of the lowest or base being a founded the tongues, yet their dialects have
stadium in length and in breadth. The mound to this day a nearer resemblance between
called Birs Nimroud is generally supposed to themselves than those which may perhaps be
be the ruin of the' temple of Beltus. attributed to the children of Ham. As the
let us make us a name, lest uwe be scattered Shemites and Japhethites have had a higher
abroad upon the face of the'whole earth] Jose- civilization, so they have retained a purer
phus gives as the motive for building the language The Semitic dialects all have a
totwer of Pabel, that the builders feared strong family likeness. The Aryan or Indoanother deluge, and hoped tlat the towver European (i.e. probably the Japhetic) dialects,
would be high enough to save them from its though more diverse than the Semitic, are yet
wa'ters; Nsimrod, the leader in the scheme, all easily assignable to a common origin; whiht
boasting that he could so defy the vengeance the Turanian and other languages branch cR
into endless varieties.
of God. Again some have thought, that Noah into endless varieties.
had deliberately marked out the settlements of 5. the LoARD came doeun to see] An inhis posterity (Usher, ad A. M. i 7r57), and that stance of the natural anthropomorphic lanNimrod and his followers were unwilling guage suited to the teaching of man in a state
to submit to this. Then some Jewish wri- of simple and partial civilization.
ters have interpreted the word name (Shem) the children of men buildedl It has been
to mean God, "thename of God" being often thought, though perhaps on insufficient
put for God Himself; and so have imagined ground, that "children of men" as in ch.vi. z,
that the builders of the tower proposed to designates the impious portion of the human
make an idol temple. Others have supposed race, bad men, as opposed to " children of
that the descendants of Ham under Nimrod God;" and possibly the rebellious offspring
made here some reference to Shem, the fa- of Ham.
voured son of Noah, as though they would 6. this they begin to do] Perhaps rather
have said, " A blessing has been promised to " this is tle beginning of their deeds." This
Shem, but we will make a Shem for our- is their first act of daring and impiety, and
selves." Clericus suggested that the word unless they be effectually checked, nothing
SIenem meant here a monument (cp. 2 S. will restrain them firom going farther and
iii. I). The simplest sense of the pas- farther.
v. 7 —I3] GENESIS. XI. 97
language; and this they begin to do: confound the language of all the
and now nothing will be restrained earth: and from thence did the LORD
from them, which they have imagined scatter them abroad upon the face of
to do. all the earth.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there Io qI bThese are the generations i Chron.
confound their language, that they of Shem: Shem was an hundred years I' I'
may not understand one another's old, and begat Arphaxad two years
sCeech. after the flood:
8 So the LORD scattered them I And Shem lived after he begat
abroad fiom thence upon the face of Arphaxad five hundred years, and beadl the earth: and they left off to gat sons and daughters.
build the city. 12 And Arphaxad lived five and
9 Therefore is the name of it called thirty years, and begat Salah:
j',,niwn,. " Babel; because the LORD did there 13 And Arphaxad lived after he
8. they left ofj to bzild the city] It 10. These are the generations of Sherm]
seems, therefore, very doubtful how far the VWe have here the third genealogical table.
builders could have proceeded in building The Ist was given in ch. v. from Adam to
their tower, and hardly likely that the famous Noah; the 2nd in ch. x, the genealogy of the
temple of Belus should have been to any con- three sons of Noah, the descendants'of Shem
siderable extent erected by them, though not being traced down as far as Peleg. Now we
improbably that great structure may have been have the line of Shem farther carried down to
raised on the foundation laid at this time. Abraham, the fatherofthe faithful, theancestor
The tradition that God overturned it with a of the promised seed. In ch. x. no account is
tempest(Jos.'Ant.'I. 6; Euseb.'Praep. Evang.' given of the length of the generations or of the
Ix. 4), though probably unfounded, witnesses duration of life; but here in ch. xi. as before
to its not having been completed. in ch. v., both these are supplied. Concerning
9. Babe/] Fromrn Ba/al7, tco conzfolnqd, con- the chronological question and the ages of the
tracted from Ba/lbal, con9fusion. The Gr-eek patriarchs, see Introduction and on ch. v. note
tradition was, that the city was named after A. It may be observed here, that we marl at
Belus, its mythic founder. So the Etymo- once the transition from the antediluvian to
logicum iMagnum says that "s Babylon was the postdiluvian duration of life. Noah lived
named after Belus, who founded it." Hence 950 years, Shem only 6oo, Arphaxad, the first
Eichhlorn suggested, that the name originally born of Shem after the deluge, only 43 8; when
was Bab Bel, "the gate or court of Bel, e come to Peleg, ho seems to have been. e. Baal or Belus. So Rosenmiiller, Gese- contemporary with the dispersion, life is still
nius and others have thought it might be Baib shorter, Peleg lived 239 years, Reu 239, Serug
I1, the " Gate of God." These derivations are 230, Nahor: 48.
really much less likely than that given by The following table exhibits the different
Moses. There was no such person as Belus, calculations according to the Hebrew, the
except that Nimrod, whose scriptural name Samaritan, and the Septuagint texts respectprobably signifies rebel, may by his own people ively.
have been called Baal, Belus, Lord.
H-lebrew Text. Samaritan. Septuagint. Hebrew Text.
Years I I I Years Years
before Rest |Whole before Rest Whole before Rest Whole Year Year of
birth of of Life. Life. birth of of Life. of Life. birth of of Life. Life. of birth
Son. Son. Son. AM. A.M.
Shem 100 500 6oo 500 6oo 100 500 600 1558 2158
Arphaxad 35 403 438 135 438 135 400 535 68 097
KainanI 130 330 460
Salah 30 403 433 13o 303 433 130 330 460 i693 21T6
Eber 34 430 464 134 270 404 I34'270 404 1723 2187
Peleg 30 209 ~239 130 109 239 130 209 339 1757 1996
Reu 32 207 239 13 107 239 132 207 339 I787 2026
Serug 30 200 230 130 [oo 230 130 200o 330 x819 I997
Nahor'29 II 148 9 69 1 I48 Ii 125 304 TS849 1997
Terah 70 135 20 70 75 145 0 I35'209 187 8 2083
Abraham 1948 21 23
VOL. I.
98 GENESIS. XI. XI. v. I4-29.
begat Salah four hundred and three 22 And Serug lived thirty years,
years, and begat sons and daugh- and begat Nahor:
ters. 23 And Serug lived after he begat
I4 And Salah lived thirty years, Nahor two hundred years, and begat
and begat Eber: sons and daughters.
I5 And Salah lived after he begat 24 And Nahor lived nine and
Eber four hundred and three years, twenty years, and begat fTerah: fLue 3.
and begat sons and daughters. 25 And Nahor lived after he begat 34,:trI
c i Chron. I6 CAnd Eber lived four and thir- Terah an hundred and nineteen years,.dC 9ed ty years, and begat dPeleg: and begat sons and daughters.
Lukne3.35 17 And Eber lived after he begat 26- And Terah lived seventy years,
Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and gbegat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. fJoshua
and begat sons and daughters. 27 q Now these are the genera- 4Chron..
i8 And Peleg lived thirty years, tions of Terah: Terah begat Abram, 2X
and begat Reu: Nahor, and Hlaran; and Haran begat
I9 And Peleg lived after he begat Lot.
Reu two hundred and nine years, and 28 And Haran died before his fabegat sons and daughters. ther Terah in the land of his nativity,
2o And Reu lived two and thirty in Ur of the Chaldees.
e Luke3. years, and begat eSerug: 29 And Abram and Nahor took
35 2 And Reu lived after he begat them wives: the name of Abram's
Serug two hundred and seven years, wife was Sarai; and the name of
and begat sons and daughters. Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter
27. Noew these are the generations of Terah] doubly defended by a trench of immense
Not perhaps a distinct genealogy, but the wind- depth, cut out of the living rock behind it.
ing up of the genealogy which had already The other is an abundant.pring (the Callirbeen traced to the sons of Terah, and the ex- rhoe of the Greek writers) issuing in a pool
panding it into a fuller account of the fami- of transparent clearness and embosomed in a
lies of these sons and especially of Abra- mass of luxuriant verdure, which, amidst the
ham. dull brown desert all around, malkes, and
must always have made, this spot an oasis, a
2,?. Ur of tide Chaldlees] Mentioned cnly JParadise in the Chaldzan wilderness." (Dean
here. There is great diversity of opinion as Starleyi On the JeCish Cha rch,' 1- ps 7( )
Lo the site of this city, except that it was in ipolemusasquctedby Euseb.IPcp. Evang.'
Chaldea, i.e. the southern part of Babylonia. sx. i7, says that Abrahan was born in the
Bochart, followed by Michaelis, Rosenmriller city of Babylonia called Camarine, which
ant many others, identified it with Ur, which is the city Uria and by interpretamentioned by Ammianus Mlarcellinus (xxv. 8. tion city of the Chaldees, ich Gesenius e
c* 26), whende t ren of th tion city of the Chaldees, which Gesenius excol. n6), aheun describing the retn or the e th plains by saying that Ur in Sanscrit signifies
oman rmy under Jovian after the death of city, country, (cognate perhaps with the HeJulian, as lyilng between Nisibis and the Tigris. brewt, c 9t), the original anuage of the
tatn brew I,.), the original language of the
Ancient tradition and the opinion of many
Ancernt connect it withtChaldees having been cognate with the Indian
moderns connect it with the modern O rfa,
the Edessa of the G1eeks well krnown in and Persian. This city is supposed to be now
represented by the ruins Umgheir on the right
Christian times as the capital of Abgarus, represented by the ruins U he on the right
its first Christian King, who is said to have bank of the Euphrates. which appears by its
written a letter to, and to have received a bricks to have been called Hur by the. natives.
letter from our Saviour. " The traditions of (Proressor Rawlinson in Dict. of Bible.')
Abraham still live in the mouths of the Arab 29. Iscab] According to Josephus ( Ant.'
inhabitants of Orfa. The city lies on the I. 6), Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and Jerome
edge of one of the bare rugged spurs which (' Qu. in Genes.') the same as Sarai. This,
descend from the mountains of Armenia, into however, hardly seems consistent with Gen. xx.
the Assyrian plains in the cultivated land, I2, where Abram speaks of Sarai as daughter
which, as lying under the mountains, was of his father but not of his mother; though
called Padan-Aram. Two physical features it is very difficult to say with what exactnesd
must have secured it from the earliest times the terms father, daughter, brother, &8c. are
as a nucleus for the civilization of those used. Ewald has conjectured that Iscah was
regions. One is a high crested crag, the Lot's wife and therefore mentioned here; but;natural fortification of the present citadel, there is no evidence for this
v. 30-2.] GENESIS. XI. XII. 99
of Haran,. the father of Milcah, and CHAPTER XII.
the father of Iscah.
r God c[lIceth Abtarm, anzd eIvsseth himrt wz'lJ a
30 But Sarai was barren; she had prozmise of Christ. 4 Re dtyartetlh wilh Zot
no child. frot I aran. 6 FIe journeyeth through Ca31 And Terah took Abram his noaan, 7 zovzich is promzised Zimt in a vision.
r o He is driven by a fanzinze into Egypt. I I
son, and Lot the son of Haran his Fear mahketh hain fciasn his wuife to be his sisson's son, and Sarai his daughter in ter. 14 P/ia, aok hav i-takel herfrom kitz,
law, his son Abram's wife; and theyv byp gles is conpelled to soestore her.
t Neh. 9. went forth with them from h Ur of OW the,LORD had said unto Acts 7.3.;dith7 the Chaldees, to go into the land of Abram, Get thee out of thy
Acts 7. 4. Canaan; and they came unto Haran, country, and from thy kindred, and
and dwelt there. from thy father's house, unto a land
32 And the days of Terah were that I will shew thee:
two hundred and five years: and Te- 2 And I will make of thee a great
rah died in Haran. nation, and I will bless thee, and
31. and they'went forth wcith theni] i.e. vii. z St Stephen tells us, what also appears
Terah and Abram went forth with Lot and most likely friom the history in Gen., that
Sarai. The Samaritan (followed by LXX. God appeared to Abram " lwhen he was in
and Vulg.) by a slight transposition of the let- Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran."
ters and different pointing reads'"He brought This led our translators to render "had shaid."
them forth." -, The Hebrew lacks the pluperfect tense; but
Haran] The Carrhoc of the Greeks and the continuous character of the narrative from
Romans, where Crassus fell, defeated by the this point marks the propriety of adopting a
Parthians (Plutarch,'Vit. Cras.' 25. 27. 28. simple perfect, which is also the rendering of
Plin. v. 24). It is called Charran in Acts the ancient versions. The recounting briefly
vii. 4. of events up to the death of Terah in the last
32. two hundr-ed and fve years] The.chapter was by a prolepsis. %We have here
Samaritan Pentateuch has here oine h/.7Znd-ed the beginning of a new Chapter in the history,
of a new dispensation and a new covenant.
and forty five, which Bochart and others conaidelfortyie; which Bochart and others con- Henceforth the narrative concerns only the
sider the right number. St Stephen (Acts chosen people of God and those who affect
vii. 4) says the migration of Abram into them and their fortunes.
Canaan was after his father's death: but from
v. 26 szupra it seems as if Terah was only Get thee out of thy couzntiry] Lit. Go thee,
70 when Abram was born, and by xii. 4 a pleonasm of the pronoun, common in many
we find that Abram was 75 when he left languages. The call was evidently firom the
Haran. This, according to the Samaritan, birthplace of Abram, Ur of the Chaldees;
would appear to be the very year of his and not only Abram, but his father and
father's death. It is certain that the Samari- other of his family seem at first to have
tan text cannot have been tampered with by obeyed the call: for Terah took Abram and
any Christian hand to bring it into conformity Lot and Sarai, and L" they went forth fiom Ur
with St Stephen's statement, and it may very of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan"
likely have preserved the true reading. It is (ch. xi. 3i). The land is here called by the
possible, however, that Terah may have Almighty "the land that I will shew thee,"
been really 130 years old when Abram was but Mloses, in ch. xi. 3I, calls it the land of
horn: for though it is said in ver. 26 that Canaan, the destination of Abram being
Terah lived seventy years and begat Abram, known to Moses, though it was not at the
Nahor and Haran, yet it does not follow that time of his call known to Abram himself.
Abram was the eldest son, having been named 2. I Nwill mnake of thee a great nation]
first as being the heir of the promises and the Literally fulflled in the glories of Israel,
subject of the future history. Indeed some spiritually and more largely in the spiritual
of the rabbins consider Abram to have been Abraham's seed a
the youngest son, in which case he may have according to the promise," (al. iii. 29.
been born when his father was I3o years old
nd thou shlah be a blessino- Kimchi on.
(see Word~sworto h on Acts vii. 4). Zech. viii. I z, followed by Clericus and
CHAP. XII. 1. Now the LORD had said] Knobel, interprets "shalt be an example or
Now the LORD said. The former chap- type of blessing," so that men shall say
ter had carried the history down to the "Blessed be thoiu, as Abraham was blessed."
death of Terah. The present chapter returns Others, as Roseniiiller, Gesenius, &c. conto the date of the call of Abram. In Acts sider the substantive to be put for the partiG2
ioo GENESIS. XII. [v. 3-6
make thy narme great; and thou shalt 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife,
be a blessing: and Lot his brother's son, and all
3 And I will bless them that bless their substance that they had gatherthee, and curse him that curseth thee: ed, and the souls that they had gotten
chap. I3. band in thee shall all families of the in Haran; and they went forth to go
& 22. 8. earth be blessed. into the land of Canaan; and into the
Acts 3. 25. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD land of Canaan they came.
had spoken unto him; and Lot went 6 eU And Abram passed through
with him: and Abram was seventy the land unto the place of Sichem,
and five years old when he departed unto the plain of Moreh. And the
out of Haran. Canaanite was then in the land.
ciple, a blessing for blessed, comp. Zech. viii. and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem"
I2. More probable, as well as more natural, (Is. ii. 3). It has indeed been said with truth,
is the interpretation adopted by Tuch, D)e- that the Semitic nations, and especially the
iitzsch, Keil, and others, and commended by descendants of Abram, were from the time
the last words of v. 3,'"Thou shalt be a of Abram to Christ the only believers in the
blessing or cause of blessing to others besides unity of the Godhead, and that ever since the
thyself." Christian era they only have taught monotheism to mankind. But that which was the
3. 1 vill bless them that bless thee, anzd special blessing to Abram's race, has also,
curse him that curseth thee] God's blessing springing from that race, become the universal
was to extend to Abram's friends and fol- blessing to mankind. Of him "as concerning
lowers, and the enemies of Abram were to be the flesh Christ came."
subject to God's curse. Two different Hebrew words are here translated by the one. seventy and feyears old] See on ch.
English word curse. Some think that the Xi. 32.
one expresses more properly the reviling and 5. the souls that they had gotten] that
malediction of man, the other the wi'thering is, the slaves or dependants whom they had
curse of God. Both, however, are used of attached to them. So in Ezek. xxvii. 13,
God and of man, cp. Job iii. 8; Deut. xxi. slaves are spoken of as " souls of men." Onz3. The first in the English Version, that kelos renders, "The souls which they had
used of God, is undoubtedly the stronger of converted to the law in Charran." So the
the two. Pseudo-Jonathan and Jerusalem Targums
in thee shall all far'ilies of the earth be render "the souls whom they had prose
lyted." And following this tradition, Rashi
blessed] Here again Rashi, Cleric., Knobel, says thatAndbrm made proselyts radition, Rai
and some others interpret the words to mean ad Abra m made proselytes of the mn.
that Abram should be so blessed in his family and Sarai of the women.
that all families of the earth should wish for into ths land of Canaan they came] Leavlike blessings (comp. Gen. xlviiii. 20, " In thee ing Haran they must have crossed the river
shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Euphrates, firom which'crossing it is very
Ephraim and Manasseh"). The words how- commonly supposed the name Hebrew was
ever, can with no shew of reason be rendered derived (rendered by the LXX. in Gen. xiv.
otherwise than as rendered in the Authorized I3, o 7repclrrl, the crosser over). Thence their
Version, following the LXX. and Vulg. Nor course must have been southward over the
can it be understood otherwise than that all desert, probably near to Mount Lebanon, and
families of men should in some mlanner de- thence. to the neighbourhood of Damascus.
rive blessing through Abram. The Taigum of Josephus (' Ant.' I. 7) quotes from Nicolaus
Onkelos has for thy sake, and so the Jerusa- of Damascus (' Hist.' bk. iv.), l"Abraham
lem Targum; but this is an unauthorized reigned in Damascus, being come with an
exposition. army from the country beyond Babylon called
It is not necessary to assert that the pre- the land of the Chaldxans. But not long
diction here given was such as to enlighten after, leaving this country with his people he
Abram with any fiull clearness as to the way migrated into the land of Canaan, which is
in which his seed should bless all nations. now called Judaea." Josephus adds, that the
Indeed the promise is twofold, general and name of Abraham was even in his days famous
particular. Generally it is true, that Abram's in the country of the Damascenes, and a vilseed was for centuries the sole depositary lage was pointed out there, which was called
of God's objective revelations, and that that Abraham's habitation.
knowledge of God which was confided to 6. the place of Sichem] So named by
them has by them been spread to all na- anticipation. The word place may perhaps
tions. "Out of Zion went forth the law, indicate that the town did not vet exist.
v. 7,.] GENESIS. XII. 10I
7 And the LORD appeared unto an dallar unto the LoRD, who ap- dchap. tI
Cap,'33 Abram, and said, CUnto thy seed will pared unto him. 4I give this land: and there builded he 8 And he removed from thence
It is generally supposed that Sychar (Joh. iv. foliage would, no doubt, be a natural resting
5) is the name by which it was known place for a caravan or Arab encampment in
among the later Samaritans, though the iden- the desert; but the great fertility of the valtity of Sychar with Shechem is not quite ley of Shechem favours the belief that there
certain (see Smith's'Dict. of the Bible,' Art. may have been a grove rather than a single'Sychar'). The word Shechem signifies a tree. Nothing is known as to the meaning of
shoulder, and, unless the town derived its the word lMoreh: it may have probably been
name from Shechem the son of Hamor, it the name of a man, a prince of the land, or
pi nbably was situated on a shozlder or ridge owner of the property.
of land connected with the hills of Ebal and the Canaanite qwas then in the land] The
Gerizim. Josephus ('Ant.' Iv. 8) describes original settlement of the sons of Canaan
the city of Shechem or Sicima as lying be- seems to have been in the South near the Red
tween Gerizim on the right and Ebal on the Sea; a Semitic race probably occupied the
left. The name Neapolis was given to it by regions of Palestine and Phoenicia; a colony
Vespasian; and the ancients clearly identify of the Canaanites afterwards spreading norththe later Neapolis with the ancient Shechem; wards, partly dispossessed and partly mingled
e.g. Epiphanius (' Har.' IIi. io55), "In Si- with the ancient Shemite inhabitants, and
chem, that is in the present Neapolis." The adopted their language (see note on ch. x. 6,
modern name is Nabulus. The situation of see also Epiphan.' Heres.' LXVI. n. 84). The
the town is described by modern travellers historian therefore most appropriately relates
as one of exceeding beauty. Dr Robinson that, at the time of the emigration of Abram
writes, "All at once the ground sinks down and his followers, the Canaanite was already
to a. valley running toward the Wiest, with a in possession of the land. The conjecture,
soil of rich black vegetable mould. Here a therefore, that these words were written by
scene of luxuriant and almost unparalleled a later hand than that of ivoses, after tlhe
verdure burst upon our view. The whole ancient Canaanite inhabitants had been exvalley was filled with gardens of vegetables pelled, is altogether beside the mark.
and orchards of all kinds of fruits, watered LO
7. -,,,Ind the LORD appeared unto aram]
by sever-al fountains which burst forth in n Aariovs partsf and flow wehsward in refresthing This is the first mention of a distinct appearvarious parts and flow westward in refreshing ance of the LORD to man. His voice is heard
ance of the LORD to man. His voice is heard
streams. It came suddenly upon us like a by Adam, and He is said to have spoken to
scene of fairy enchantment we saws notching by Adam, and He is said to have spoken to
scene of fairy enchantment, we saw nothing Noah and to Abram: but here is a visible
v Noah and to Abram: but here is a visible
to compare to it in all Palestine" (Vol. II manifestation. The following uestions nap. z75. See also Stanley's'Sinai and Pales-'Lin)IP34 Ti sot, pbaby nt yt turally arise, I. Was this a direct vision
tine,' p. 234.) This spot, probably not yet of JEHOVAH in Bodily shape? 2. Was
so cultivated, but even then verdant and it an mpression oduc ed on the mind of
beautiful, was the first. dwellingplace of the vision of God
a+ *. X.... >. the seer, but not a true vision of God?
Patriarch in the land of promise. as it an angel personating God?
the plain of Mloreh] The oak (or tere- 4. W~as it a manifestation of the Son of
binth) of Moreh. There is considerable God, a Theophania, in some measure antivariety of opinion as to the nature of the cipating the Incarnation? (I) The first
tree here mentioned, called Elon in He- question seems answered by St John (Joh.
brew. Celsius ('Hierob.' I. p. 34) has ar- i. r8), " No man hath seen God (the
gued that all the cognate words, EI, Elon, Father) at any time." (2) The second to
Elah, &c. signify the terebinth tree, the word a certain extent follows the first. WThether
allon only being the oak. So Michaelis there was a manifestation of an objective
('Supplem.' p. 72), Rosenm., Delitzsch, reality, or merely an impression on the
Keil, &c. The question is discussed at great senses, we cannot possibly judge; but the
length by Gesen. ('Thes.' p. 5so), who doubts vision, whether seen in sleep or waking,
the distinction between Allon and Elan (a dis- cannot have been a vision of God the Father.
tinction merely of vowel points), and inter- (3) The third question has been answered
prets both by oak, or perhaps generally a large by many in the affirmative, it being conforest tree. The LXX. and Vulg. render oak. cluded that "the Angel of the LORD," a'The Targums (followed by the English Ver- created Angel, was always the means-of comsion) render plain (see also Stanley,'Sinai munication between God and man in the Old
and Palestine,' p. 414). It may be a ques- Testament. The great supporter of this opition also whether the oak of Moreh was a nion in early times was St Augustine ('De
single tree, or whether the word used may be Trin.' III. c. xi. Tom. viii. pp. 80o5-8Io),
a noun of multitude, signifying the oak grove. the chief a:-guments in its favour being the
A single tree of large size and spreading statements of the New Testament that the
102 GENESIS. XII. [v. 9-12.
unto a mountain on the east of Beth- the land: and Abram went down
el, and pitched his tent, having Bethel into Egypt to sojourn there; for the
on the west, and Hai on the east: famine was grievous in the land.
and there he builded an altar unto the I I And it came to pass, when he
LORD, and called upon the name of was come near to enter into Egypt,
the LORD. that he said unto Sarai his wife, BetHeb. 9 And Abram journeyed, tgoing on hold now, I know that thou art a fair.a.Sjougr- still toward the south. woman to look upon:
neying. IO Il And there was a famine in 12 Therefore it shall come to pass,
law was given "by disposition of angels," should be the inheritance of his children. Ac"spoken by angels," &c. (Acts vii. 53; Gal. cordingly, he built an altar there, as conseiii. I9; Heb. ii. 22). It is further argued by ctating the soil and dedicating it to God. It
the supporters of this view, that "the angel is not mentioned that he offered sacrifice, but
of the LORD" is in some passages in the Old as the Hebrew word for altar means the place
Testament, and always in the New Testa- of slaughter or of sacrifice, there can be no
ment, clearly a created angel (e. g. Zech. i. I I, doubt, that it was an altar of burnt offering,
I2, &c.; Luke i. 1i; Acts xii. 23); and that which he built, as was Noah's altar (ch. viii.
therefore it is not to be supposed that any of 20o), the only altar spoken of prior to this
these manifestations of the Angel of God or time.
Angel of the Lord, which seem so markedly 8. he removed] lit. he plucked xup his
Divine, should have been anything more than tent pegs. The journeying was by repeated
the appearance of a created Angel personating encampments, after the manner of the Bethe Most High. (4) The affirmative of the douins.
fourth opinion was held by the great majority
of the fathers from the very first (see, for in- beth-el, i. e. the House of God. Ths is
stance, Justin.'Dial.' pp. 280-284; Tertull. by anticipation. It was called Lzlo at this'adv. Prax.' c. i6; Athanas.'Coot. Arian.' time (see ch. xx.iii. I9; Judg. i 23) The
Iv. pp. 464, 465 (Ed. Col.); Basil,' adv. pesentname is eitan.
Eunom.' ri. i8; Theodoret,'Qu. V. in Exod.' Hai] was about five miles to the East of
The teaching of the fathers on this head is Beth-el, the ruins of which bear the name of
investigated by Bp. Bull,' F. N. D.' Iv. iii. Medinet Gai.
In like manner the ancient Jews had referred called upon the name of the LORD.] See ch,
the manifestation of God in visible form to the iv. 26.
S.bechinah, the lIetatron, or the Memra de
Jah, apparently an emanation from God, havy- 9. going on till toward the south] The
ing a semblance of diversity, yet really one words express a gradual change of place,
with Him, coming forth to reveal Him, but after the nomadic fashion. As food ofiered
not truly distinct from Him. The fact, that itself he pitched his tent and fed his cattle,
the name A.ngel of the Lord is sometimes used and when food filed he went onwards to
of a created Angel, is not proof enough that fresh pastures.
it may not be also used of Him who is called 10. a famine] A country like Cansa-n,
"' the Angel of mighty counsel" (eEyadX77,s imperfectly cultivated, would be very subject
3ovoXk"AAyyeXo!, Is. ix. 6, Sept. Trans.), and to droughts and famine. The part of Egypt,
"the Angel of the covenant" (Mal. iii. I); which lay immediately South of Canaan, apand the apparent identification of the Angel pears to have been especially fertile. It uwas
of God with God Himself in very many pas- at that time inhabited by a people skilled in
sages (e.g. Gen. xxxii. 24, comp. vv. 28, 30, agriculture, and flooded periodically by the
Hos. xii. 3, 4; Gen. xvi. Io, I3, xlviii. IS, i6; Nile. Egypt is still the refuge for neighbourJosh. v. 14, vi. 2; Judg. ii. i, xiii. 22; Isa. vi. I; ing nations when afflicted with drought. It
cp. Joh. xii. 41; Is. lxiii. 9) leads markedly to is said that Abram went down to Egypt "to
the conclusion, that God spake to man by an sojourn," not to live there; for he had reAngel or Messenger, and yet that that Angel ceived the promise of inheritance in Canaan,
or Messenger was Himself God. No man saw and, though this famine may have tried, it did
God at any time, but the only begotten Son, not shake his faith.
who was in the Bosom of the Father, declared 11. Behold.. thou r arfair czoman] Sarai
Him. Ite, who was the Word of God, the was now more than sixty years old: but
Voice of God to His creatures, was yet in her life extended to I27 years, so that she was
the beginning with God, and Hle was God. only then in middle life; she had borne no
Unto thy seed.vill I give this land: and there Children, and at the age of ninety, though not
budildd he an altar] This is the first definite naturally young enough to have a son, was,ronmise to Abram, that the land of Canaan yet preserved in a coainltiinLn ef unusual and
v. 13-19.] GENESIS. XII. I03
when the Egyptians shall see thee, I6 And he entreated Abram well
that they shall say, This is his wife: for her sake" and he had sheep, and
and they will kill me, but they will oxen, and he asses, and menservants,
save thee alive. and maidservants, and she asses, and
13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my camels.
sister: that it may be well with me I7 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh
for thy sake; and my soul shall live and his house with great plagues bebecause of thee. cause of Sarai Abram's wife.
I4 T And it came to pass, that, I8 And Pharaoh called Abram,
when Abram was come into Egypt, and said, WThat is this that thou hast
the Egyptians beheld the woman that done unto me? why didst thou not
she was very fair. tell me that she was thy wife?
I5 The princes also of Pharaoh 19 Why saidst thou, She is my
saw her, and commended her before sister? so I might have taken her to
Pharaoh: and the woman was taken me to wife: now therefore behold
into Pharaoh's house. thv wife, take her, and go thy way.
preternatural youth, so that she bore Isaac; "Excursus on Egyptian WVords" (by the Rev.
her fair complexion would contrast favourably F. C. Cook) at the end of this volume. It
with the swarthy complexion of the Egyptians. may be compared with the title " Sublime
The Arab life of Abram naturally made him Porte."
wary of danger. He was about to sojourn It is difficult to fix the particular Pharaoh
in *a country with a despotic government, or dynasty under which Abram came into
and among a licentious people. \Ve see in Egypt. Generally the characteristics of the
the conduct of Abram an instance of one Court, as briefly described in Genesis, point
under the influence of deep religious feeling to a native dynasty of very remote date. Some
and true faith in God, but yet with a con- circumstances, the friendly reception of a
science imperfectly enlightened as to many Semitic nomade and the use of camels (v. I6)
moral duties, and when leaning to his own among the Egyptians, have suggested the
understanding suffered to fall into great error belief that Abram's Pharaoh must have
and sin. The candour of the historian is been a shepherd king (see Smith's Dict. of the
shewn by his exhibiting in such strong relief Bible, Artt. Pharaoh and Zoan); and Sir
the dissimulation of Abram as contrasted Gardiner xW.ilkinson (' Ancient Egyptians,'
with the straightforward integrity of Pharaoh. Vol. I. chap. ii. p. 42) has identified him with
15. Phlaraoh] The name or title, by Apophis or Apepi, the sixth monarch of
which the kings of Egypt are called ings of Egypt are Manetho's th dynasty. tlled is, hoever,
OId Testament. josephustellsusthat "Pha- impossible to admit so late a date. The
raoh among the Egyptians signifies king." Pharaoh of Joseph was almost certainly a
It used to be thought that it was the Coptic ing of the zth dynasty. Arams Phaword Ouro with the article Pi or Ph. (Ja- raoh must therefore at latest have been one of
blonski, Diss. iv. section,'De Terra Gosen') the first kings of that same dynasty, if not
Later the opinion of Rosellini, Lepsius, Raw- belonging to a dynasty earlier still. The oh
linson, Poole and others has been that it cor- jections, derived from the camels, and other
responded with the title of the Sun-God apparent indications of a shepherd reign, are
RA, with the article, PH —RA, a name which fully considered in Excursus I. "1 On the
was given to some of the kings of Egypt. Bearings of Egyptian History on the PentaGesenius objects to this from its lacking the teuch,'" at the end of this volume, by Rev. F.
final oh ('Thes.' p. 29); and there isinsui- C. Cook: and the period of Abram's sojourn
cient evidence that the title was really a in Egypt is shewn to be most probably under
common title of the kings. Very recently M. one of the earlier sovereigns of the i2th
De Rougel has shewn that the hieroglyphic, dynasty.
which is the regular title of the Egyptian the yvoman qvas taken into P araoh's house]
ldings, and which signifies "'the great house" Probably even at that early period Egypt had
or "the double house," must be read Peraa reached such a pitch of corrupt civilization
or Perao. This singularly corresponds with that the sovereign had a hareem, and Sarai
J ---- --— o —---- -t hat chosen to be one of his wives.
the statement of Horapollo (i. 6i), that the was
iging was called o'or Iyar,'- the great house." 18. Pharaoh called Abram] Josephus says,
The identity of this with the name Pharaoh that the priests told Pharaoh for what cause
is admitted by Brugsch, Ebers ('IAEgypten, that plague had fallen on him (' Ant.' r. 8).
&c.' p. 26), and is argued at length in the It is more likely that Sarai herself, being
Io4 GENESIS. XII. XIII. [v. 2 o-7.
20 And Pharaoh commanded his the place where his tent had been at
men concerning him: and they sent the beginning, between Beth-el and
him away, and his wife, and all that Hai;
he had. 4. Unto the a place of the altar, a chap. I
which he had made there at the first: 7.
CHAPTER XIII. and there Abram called on the name
r Abram and Lot returnz out of Egypt. 7 Ey of the LORD.
dzisareemen t they laort asuzznder. I o Lot oeth
to wicked Sodom. 1 Glod srenewel the pro- 5 e And Lot also, which went
maise to Abrain. Is8 Hi removetz to l7ebron, with Abram, had flocks, and herds,
and there buildeth an altar. and tents.
AND Abram went up out of E- 6 And the land was not able to
gypt, he, and his wife, and all bear them, that they might dwell tothat he had, and Lot with him, into gether: for their substance was great,
the south. so that they could not dwell. toge2 And Abram was very rich in ther.
cattle, in silver, and in gold. 7 And there was a strife between
3 And he went on his journeys the herdmen of Abram's cattle and
from the south even to Beth-el, unto the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the
interrogated about it, confessed the truth 3. on his journeys] By his stations, or
(Patrick). according to his encampments, i.e. either sta19. so I mig7ht have taken her] Heb. So tion by station, as before, pitching his tent for
I took her. LXX. Syr. Onk. Though the a time at one station and then removing it to
Vulgate followed by the Arabic has, " so that another; or perhaps, returning by his former
I might have taken her." The meaning is, stations, according to his original encampDeceived by Abram's words, Pharaoh took rnents when he was journeying southwards.
her with the intention of maklting her his wife, unto the place Swhere his tent had been at the
but was hindered from doing so by the afflic- beginningz,] Shechem was the first place at
tions with which God visited him (see Theo- which he rested and built an altar; but he
doret,' Qu. LXXII. in Gen.' Op. xii. Au- probably remained there a comparatively short
gustin,'De Civit. Dei,' xvI. 18). St Jerome time. The Canaanites then in the land (ch.
("'rad. Heb. in Genes.') refers to Esth. ii. I2, Xii. 6) would doubtless have occupied all the
where we learn that the custom of Eastern most fertile country about Shechem. His
monarchs was, that a maiden should undergo second place of sojourn was the mountain
twelvemonths of purification before she was near Bethel, where he is said to have built an
actually taken to wife. It was, he thinks, altar and called on the name of the Lord, and
during some such period that Pharaoh was where very probably he had continued until
plagued and prohibited from marrying Sarai. the famine began to prevail. (See ch. xii. vv.
It deserves to be noticed, that throughout the 7, 8, 9, io.)
history of the chosen race, Egypt was to them 6. tie land quas not able to bear theus]
the scene of spiritual danger, of covetousness Lot was the sharer of Abram's prosperity.
and love of riches, of worldly security, of They came up out of Egypt with much larger
temptation to rest on an arm of flesh, on possessionsthanbefre, more'"locksandherds
man's ownl understanding, and not on God and tents' for their now mo-e numerous reonly. All this appears from the very first, in tainers. The land too had but just recovered
Abraham's sojourn there, Sarai's danger, their from a state of drought and dearth: "and the
departure full of wealth and prosperity. Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the
land" (v. 7), and probably by their occupaCHAP. XIII. 1. and Lot'with him] tion contributed to the scarcity of pasture.
Lot is not mentioned in the descent into.
Egypt, because no part of the narrative there this people. TheyBut little is non of
concerns him. On the return to Canaan he this people They are not mentioned in the
becomes a principal actor, catalogue of nations in Gen. x. They are
mostly coupled, as here, with the Canaanites.
into the south] That southern part of Ca- They appear from Josh. xi. 3, xvii. IS, to have
naan, whence he had gone down into Egypt, dwelt in the woods and mountains. Bochart
The south, or Negeb, is almost a proper name. describes them (' Phaleg.' Iv. 36) as a rustic,
2. very rich] He had grown rich in agrarian race, living without cities and in
Egypt. He has now to experience some of villages only, the name itself signifying pagani,
the dangers and ev ils of prosperity.'villagers, rustics.
v. 8-I5.] GENESIS. XIII. to5
Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled II Then Lot chose him all the
then in the land. plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed
8 And Abram said unto Lot, east: and they separated themselves
Let there be no strife, I pray thee, the one from the other.
between me and thee, and between I2 Abram dwelled in the land of
my herdmen and thy herdmen; for Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities
we be'brethren. of the plain, and pitched his tent to-' 9 Is not the whole land before ward Sodom.
thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, 13 But the men of Sodom were
from me: if thou wilt take the left wicked and sinners before the LoRD
hand, then I will go to the right; or exceedingly.
if thou depart to the right hand, then 14. q And the LoRD said unto AI will go to the left. brain, after that Lot was separated
io And Lot lifted up his eyes, and from him, Lift up now thine eyes,
beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it and look from the place where thou
was well watered every where, before art northward, and southward, and
the LORD destroyed Sodom and Go- eastward, and westward:
morrah, even as the garden of the I5 For all the land which thou 7"Chap.
LORDn, like the land of Egypt, as thou seest, bto thee will I give it, and to & 26. 4.
Delut. 34.
comest unto Zoar. thy seed for ever. 4.
dwelled then in the laand See on xii. 6. or plain along the river —through which it
8. Let there be no str~ie] A noble ex- flows, perhaps as comprehensive as the Ghor
ample of disinterestedness and love of peace itself. (Robinson,'Phys. Geog.' p. 73.)
exhibited by the father o(f the faithful. 13. sinners before the LORD] Sodom,
10. Lot lifted his eyes] They were Gomorlah, Admah and Zeboim are menZA. Lot li~ted lr~L3 hiS ep~sl.hey.ee tioned, Gen. x. I, as among the first settleprolbably encamped on that mountain on the tinned, Gen. x. i9, as among the first settleeast of Bethel, having Bethel on the west and ments of the Ce aanites. The fertility of the
Hai on the east, where Abram had built
lu::urious and enervating character of the
the altar and called on the name of the Lord l ious and enervating character of the
climate, rapidly developed the sensual vices
(ch. xii. 8). The very spot can be traced of this early civilizedbu depraved race. Their
fiom the indications of the sacred text (Stan- er. Thi
ley'som the indications of the sacred text (Stan-From wickedness is mentioned here perhaps in antithis Ispot Lot and Abram chose their rme- cipation of the history in ch. xix., but partly
this spot Lot and Abram chose their re- - * -
also in order to exhibit more clearly the
spective possessions. Lot saw the plains of also in ord
thoughtlesslyess and wrldliness of Lot
Jordan, watered by fertilizing rivers, not vet their and worldliness of Lot in
o' 1. -..'1 @ choosing their neighbourhood for his resibroken up by the overflowing or outbursting as
of the great salt lake, very probably irrigated distinguished from the humility and
like the land of Egypt which he had lately
left, where the Nile refreshed the soil, and the 14. Lift zp now thine eyes, &c.] He'was
plague of famine never came. Taking no probably still on the hill east of Bethel. Here
warning by the dangers, bodily and spiritual, once again, on his return from Egypt to the
which had beset them in Egypt, he feared not land of his inheritance, God renews his prothe proximity of the wealthy and luxurious mise to Abram. The world, with its dan-.nhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, but gers and its honours, may have tempted
thought their land pleasant even as the garden Abram, but it had not corrupted him. He
of the Lord. He chose the rich pastures of came back from Egypt with larger knowledge,
the plain, and left Abram the less promis- probably all the more armed against sin by
ing, but, as it proved, the safer inheritance of having had some experience of its seductions.
the hill country of Judza. It was a selfish He is still the chosen of God; and he is comchoice, and it proved a sad one. forted under separation from his kinsman, and
as thoul comest unto Zoar- See on ch. xiv. 3 the discovery of that kinsman's lower motives
r See on ch. xiv. 3* and less disinterestedness, by the assurance
12. land of Canaan] That is, Canaan that God was still ever with him and pledged
strictly so called. to preserve and provide for him.
the plain] Lit. " the circuit or neighbour- 15. to thee] The land even in present
hood," the country round about Jordan. So possession was his, so far as was needed by
the LXX. (Ges.'Thes.' p. 7.I7. Stanley, him as a nomade chief, though its permanent'Sinai and Palestine,' p, 287.) The low tract occupation was to him andt his seed after hir,
Io6 GENESIS. XIII. XIV. [v. I6-2.
i6 And I will make thv seed as I8 Mel7chizedek blesseth Abram. 20o brarm
the dust of the earth: so that if a man ivtk kim? tithe am The rest of the spoil, his
hpartZners havinfg had their portions, he recan number the dust of the earth, then storeth to the k/ein of Sbdom.
shall thy seed also be numbered. ND it came to pass in the days
I7 Arise, walk through the land i of Amraphel king of Shinar,
the length of it and in the breadth Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaoof it; for I will give it unto thee. mer king of Elam, and Tidal king
I8 Then Abram removed his tent, of nations;
t Hb. and came and dwelt in the tplain 2 That these made war with Bera
~;$ai. of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and king of Sodom, and with Birsha king
built there an altar unto the LORD. of Gomorrah, Shinab king of AdCHAPTER XIV. mah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim,
The bottle of foar igs against -five. i Lot and the king of Bela, which is
is takenr pirisonser. 4 Abrani rescueth /him. Zoar.
for ever] i.e. in perpetuity. But, when we as in early times was the case with all fertile
consider that the promises to Abram have countries (Thucyd. I. z). The history of this
their full completion in Christ, to whom are war is a remarkable episode, and is thought
given " the uttermost parts of the earth for a by many to be a very ancient document inpossession," there need be no limit to the sense corporated by Moses in his great work. So
of the words " for ever." Tuch, Ewald, Kurtz, &c. who all bear tes18. the plain of Mamre] The Oaks (or timony to its internal proofs of historical acterebinths) of Mamre, see on ch. xii. 6. Pro- curacy. TheoccurrenceofthenameJE-Obably it means l"the oak grove" or'"Wood VAH in it is inconsistent with the theory,
of Mamnre," called after IMamrne the Amorite, which assigns the use of that name only to
the friend andally of Abram (ch.xiv. I3- 4) the later portions of the book of Genesis.
Hebron] Called Arba or IUsjoth arba (see in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar]
ch. xxiii., xxxv. 4. Judg. i. Io) till after the The king of Shinar, (Babel, Onkel., Bagdad,
death of Moses, when Caleb too the city Arab. Erpen., Pontus, Jonathan,) as being the
death of MIoses, when Caleb took the city
and changed its name to Hebron. It has been representative of Nimrod, founder of the
thought therefore that the words here "which great Babylonian Empire, is mentioned first.
is Hehron,'" must have been inserted by a The name Amraphel is probably Assyrian, its
later hand than that of Moses. It is more derivation unlnown.
probable that Hebron was the original name, Arioch] If, as it is supposed, the root of
changed to Kirjath-arba during the sojourn this word be ari, a lion, the bearer of it would
of the descendants of Jacob in the land of appear to have been Semitic.
Egypt, and restored by Caleb at the conquest Ellasar] Jonathan Telassar (see z K. Yxi\.
of Palestine. So Karme (cited by Rosen- Iz; Isa. xxxvii. I%), a place not far off. It is
muller), Hengstenberg, Keil, &c.; see also on more probably identified with Larsa or Lach. xxiii. 2. This was the third resting place rancha, the Larissa of the Greeks, a town in
of Abram: i. Shechem, 2. Bethel, 3. He- Lower Babylonia, or Chalde-a, between Ur
bron. Near it was the cave of Machpelah, and Erech, on the left bank of the Euphrates
where he and Sarah were buried. It is now (Rawlinson, Kalisch, &c.).
called El thalil, " the friend," i. e. the house Chedorlaomer king of Elarn] It seems
of the friend of God. Near to it stands an from the narrative that at this time the king
ancient Terebinth, once a place of heathen of Elam was the most powerful of the Asiatic
worship (Delitzsch). The cave of Machpe- princes (Le Clerc). lie Elamites appear to
lah still is there, surrounded by a mosque, in have been originally a Semitic people (ch. x.
which lie probably the dust of Abraham and 22). If then they had now gained a superiIsaac, and perhaps the embalmed body, the ority over the Hamitic races, it is not imDromummy, of Jacob, brought up in solemn bable that the Canaanites of the plain of Jorstate from Egypt, ch. 1. I3 (Stanley,'Sinai dan, having been originally subject to the
and Palestine,' p. IO;). kings of Shinar, or Babylon, bore unwillingly
the transference of their fealty to the Shemite
CHAP. XIV. 1. And it came topass] Wv'e king of Elam, and tool the first opportunity
come now upon a new scene in the life of throwing off their allegiance, whereupon
of Abram. The choice of Lot was soon the king of Elam, now the head of the four
seen not to be a wise choice, even for earthly kingdoms named in this verse, gathered his
happiness. The rich plains of Sodom and subjects or tributary allies. and strove to reGomorrah were likely to be scenes of strife, duce the Canaanites again to subjection. Re
v. 3 —5] GENESIS. XIV. Io7
3 All those were joined together 5 And in the fourteenth year came
in the vale of Siddim, which is the Chedorlaomer, and the kings that
salt sea. were with him, and smote the Re4 Twelve years they served Che- phaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and, 1or,
dorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims lzzo
they rebelled. in IShaveh Kiriathaim, tazinz.
cent discoveries shew that Susa (the capital the reason why the five kings chose it for the
of Elymais) must have been one of the most field of battle, as being more favourable to
ancient cities of the East. Sir Henry Rawlin- the weaker party.
son thought he discovered a name corespond-'which is the salt sea] The extreme deing with Chedorlaomer on Chaldwan bricks, pression of the Dead Sea, 13 i6 feet (Robinson,
viz. Kadur-Mapula, the second portion of the'Phys. Geog.' p. 90o), and other geological
word being of course distinct. Another title phenomena, are thought to favour the belief,
by which Kadur-Mapula was known was that there must have been originally some
" Ravager of the West," which corresponds lake at the extremity of the valley of the Jorwith the account here given of Chedorlaomer. dan; but perhaps after the destruction of
Rawlinson and others consider the dynasty Sodom and Gomorrah the lake greatly exof Chedorlaomer not to have been Semitic, tended itself, so as to cover much which bebut belonging to a race of Harsites, who had fore may have been low valley land. The
subdued the original Elymscans. vale of Siddim i3 generally thought to have
Tidal king of nations] Symmachus renders been at the southern extremity of the Dead
"King of the Scythians," which is approved Sea, where are now to be seen the principal
by some commentators, because Scythia was deposits of salt and bitumen, the site being
inhabited by many different tribes (Fuller, occupied by the shallow southern portion of' Miscell. SS.' Lib. IL c. 4, quoted by Rosenm.). that sea (see Robinson,' Physical Geography
Le Clerc, followed by Rosenmuller, prefers of the Holy Land,' pp. 73, 213).
Galilee, called " Galilee of the Gentiles" or 4. Twelveyears, &c.] See on v. i.
"nations" (Is. ix. I; Matt. iv. iS. See
also Strabo, Lib. xvi. ~ 34, who says that 5. Rephaims] The LXX. renders " Githese northern parts of Judxa were inhabited ants," so virtually do Onk. and Syr. It is,
by various mixed tribes,' Egyptians, Arabs, no doubt, the name of an ancient people;
Phoenicians). But all this was probably later very probably a tribe resident in the Holy
in history, and the name Galilee of the na- Land before the immigration of the Canaantions was given to Galilee, because it was still ites. They appear to have been a people of
inhabited by other tribes, whilst Judoea was large stature. Og, the king of Bashan, at the
inhabited by none but Israelites (Gesenius, time of the Exodus, is mentioned as the last'Thes.' p. 272)~). W~Se may most probably remaining of their race (Deut. iii. I). Their
conjecture that Tidal was owned as the chief habitation was to the north-east of the valley
of several nomade tribes, who, like Abram, of the Jordan, the country afterwards called
had no stationary home. For Tidal, the LXX, Pera. They must also have extended to the
has Thargal, which is preferred by some, as south-west; for the valley of Rephaim, named
having the meaning of "Great chief" in the after them, appears to have been in the neighearly Hamitic dialect of the lower Tigris and bourhood of the valley of Hinnom and BethEuphrates country (Rawlinson, in Smith's lehem, to the south of Jerusalem (see Josh.' Dict. of Bible'). xv. 8, xviii. I6; 2 S. v. xI, 22, xxiii. I3).
The name "Rephaim," in later times, is con3. oale of Siddim] The meaning of stantly used for " the dead," or rather for the
this name has been a great puzzle to inter- " ghosts or manes of the dead" (Job xxvi. 5;
preters. The LXX. render it "the salt val- Ps. lxxxviii. II; Prov. ii. 18; Is. xiv. 9, xxvi.
ley." Onkelos evidently refers the derivation 14). Whether there is a connection between
to Sadeh, a plain (as though Mt11. was plural the name of this ancient and afterwards
of,;i1). So Aquila and Rashi. They extinct people, and this word thus used for
are followed by Stanley (' Sinai and Palestine,' " the dead," is very doubtful (Gesen.'Thes.'
p..49I). Aben Ezra derives it from Sid p. 1302).
(1*'t), lime, because of the abundance of Ashteroth Karnaim] " Ashteroth of the
bitumen, which was used as lime (see ch. xi. two horns." It is most probable that this
3). Gesenius suggests an Arabic root signi- was the same as the Ashtaroth, where Og the
fying an obstacle, and so concludes that the king of Bashan dwelt (Deut. i. 4; Josh. ix.
valley of Siddim was a plain full of rocky Io), in the east of the inheritance of the tribe
valleys and irregularities. In v. Io it is said of Manasseh; and that it was named from the
to be full of bitumen pits, which was perhaps worship of Astarte (Ashtoreth), whose image
Io8 GENESIS. XIV. [v. 6,7.
6 And the Horites in their mount En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and,Or, Seir, unto I El-paran, which is by the smote all the country of the Amav-v~,,. wilderness. lekites, and also the Amorites, that
7 And they returned, and came to dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.
was such as to suggest the idea of a horned from the Dead Sea southward to the Elamitic
figure (see Gesen.' Thes.' p. 1082). In like Gulf. Mount Seir is called in the Samaritan
manner Athor (the Egyptian Venus, as As- Pentateuch and the Jerusalem Targum "'Gatarte was the Phoenician). was depicted with bla," and the northern part of the range is
horns like a cow (see Rawlinson's' Herod.' still called " Jebal," or "'the mountain," by
Vol. II. pp. 6I, 62). Some, however, think the Arabs. The wonderful excavations in the
the two horns to refer to two hills, between rocks near Petra may very possibly be due to
which the city lay, and the name " horned" these "Horim," or cave-dwellers. They were
was intended to distinguish this town from driven out by the Edomites (Deut. ii. I2),
the city comrnonly called Ashtaroth only (see who also after the manner of their predecesRosenm. in loc. and Smith's' Dict. of Bible,' sors " made their nest high like the eagle."
s. v. Ashtaroth). El-paran] i.e. " the oak or terebinth wood
Zuzinms] Little is known concerning the of Paran." The great wilderness, extending
name or place of this people. The LXX. and to the south of Palestine, the south-west of
Onk. render "the strong or mighty ones." Idumzca, and thence to the Sinaitic range,
L e Clerc thinks the name means I" wanderer," appears to have been called the wilderness of
from the root Zuz Tit, "to move oneself." Paran. It probably lay to the west of the
Michaelis understands "dwarfs." Both deri- wilderness of Sin, but at times is to be taken
vations are rejected by Gesen. (' Thes.' p. 4Io0). in a wider sense, as comprehending the desert
They are very generally thought to be the of Sin (see Gesen.'Thes.' pp. 47, og1090o). Elsame with the Zamzummims (Deut. ii. 20), paran is here said to be by the wilderness, i. e.
who are spoken of as a race of great stature, on the eastern side of the great desert, markand connected with the Horim, as are the ing the farthest point to whrich the expedition
Zuzims here. of Chedorlaomer reached. The wilderness of
zin H-am] If the Zuzim be the same as ithe Paran is identified with the modern desert of
Zamzm, they must have dwelt in he El-Tih, the wilderness of Zin or Sin being the
X\Vady-el-Arabah (Stanley, ISinai and Palesterritory of the Ammonites, and Tuch, fol-bh (Stnley,'na and Pales
lowed by Knobel, considers that Ham here is tine, p. 92)
t1he same as Rabbath-Ammon. There is an- 7. to En -mishpat, wchich is Kadesh] The
other reading in seven Samaritan MSS. fol- LXX. renders "to the well of judgment,"
lowed by the LXX. and Vulg. viz. (a a/i a the Vulg. "to the well of Mishpat." Some
c ili) "withem" butthe point- suppose it to have derived its name from
arV7oi~, cZ1um7 illis)'~ with them;" but the pointing of the Masorites seems more likely to be
tlhe true. (Num. xx. i2), and that the name is here
given proleptically; but it is evidently here
the Emims] The name is supposed to be given as the ancient name to which the more
the Hebl-ew for "terrible ones." The Rev. modern Kadesh corresponded. Syr., Onk.,
". C. Cook identifies the name with Amu, Jerus. render Kadesh by Rekam. Josephus
thie Egyptian word for nomad Semites. In calls it Arekem, which he says now bears the
D)eut. ii. io, II, where they are mentioned in name of Petra (' A. J.' Iv. 4). This identity
the same connection as here, they are spoken of Kadesh with Petra is ably defended by
of as "a people great and many and tall." Dean Stanley ('S. and P.' pp. 94, 95). AnThey dwelt in the country afterwards occu- other site for the ancient Kades, or Ain-Mishpied by the nMoabites. pat, is vindicated for Kudes or Kades, lying
Shavzeb Kiriathaim] or "the plain of Kiria- to the east of the highest part of Djebelthaim," or "the plain of the two cities." Kiri- Halal, about i2 miles to the E.S.E. of Morathaim is mentioned, Num. xxxii. 37, Josh. lakhi (see Williams,'Holy.City,' Vol. I. p.
xiii. I9, as in the possession of the sons of 467; Kalisch, Delitzsch, Keil, in loc.) Strong
Reuben. Eusebius says it was well known in objections to both these sites are urged in the
his day, a village inhabited by Christians, art. Kades in Smith's' Dict. of the Bible.'
close to the Baris, about Io miles west of Amnlekites] See note on ch. xxxvi. i2,
M/edeba ('Onorm.' KtLptaOct'L). Hazezon-tamar] i.e. " The pruning of the
6. the Horites in their mount Seir] The palm," the same place which was afterwards
name " Horites" means "inhabitants of caves." called Engedi, " the fountain of the wild-goat"
These people dwelt in the mountain region (z Chr. xx. 2). The palm-groves, which gave
called Seir (lit. "the hirsute," probably from the original name, and for which Pliny says
Its thick forests and brushwood), extending Engedi was famous (' Nat. Hist.' v. 7), have
v. 8 —I5.] GENESIS. XIV. 1og
8 And there went out the king of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their
Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, victuals, and went their way.
and the king of Admah, and the king 12 And they took Lot, Abram's
of Zeboiim> and the king of Bela brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom,
(the same is Zoar;) and they joined and his goods, and departed.
battle with them in the vale of Sid- 13 q And there came one that had
dim; escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew;
9 With Chedorlaomer the king of for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre
Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and
and Amraphel king of Shinar, and brother of Aner: and these were conArioch king of Ellasar; four kings federate with Abram.
with five. -14 And when Abram heard that
Io And the vale of Siddimwasfull his brother was taken captive, he
of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom II armed his Strained servants, born in his II Or,
and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; own house, three hundred and eigh- IlOftr,t
and they that remained fled to the teen, and pursued them unto Dan. i'istzructtl
mountain. I5 And he divided himself against
i i And they took all the goods of them, he and his servants, by night,
disappeared, but the ibex, or Syrian chamois, here used means "to draw out," as a sword
still inhabits the cliffs in the neighbourhood from its sheath: and the word trained is ap(Stanley,'S. and P.' p. 295). The place was plied to the teaching of children (Prov. xxii. 6),
situated in the wilderness of Judaa, to the and to initiation or consecration, as of a house
west of the Dead Sea, according to Josephus (Deut. xx. 5), or a temple (I K. viii. 63).
3o0 stadia from Jerusalem (' Ant.' Ix. c. I). born in his owun hozse] Of his own patriarchThe ruins found at a place called Ain Jiddi, al family, not bought, hired, or taken in war.
with a fountain in the midst of a mountain unto Dan] Some taking this Dan to be the
country, to the west of the Dead Sea and of same as Laish, which was not called Dan till
about the latitude of Hebron, are supposed to after the country was conquered by the
mark the original site of Engedi or Hazezon- Danites (Josh. xix. 47; Judg. xviii. 29), have
tamar. thought that this passage was not from the
10. Iiimepits] Bitum-en-pits: ofasphalt hand of Moses. So Ewald ('Gesch.'I. 3), who
or bitumen, fronm wrhich the Dead Sea was supposes Dan to have been substituted by a
afterwards called Lacus Asphaltites, or Sea of laterhand for Laish in the original MS. Others
Asphalt. have thought that another place was meant
fell there] i.e. were overthrown there; for here (so Deyling, Havernick, Kalisch, Keil).
the king of Sodom seems to have been one of Keil contends that the Dan, formerly called
those who fled to the mountains and escaped, Laish, which was on the central source of the
see v. 17. Jordan (see Joseph.'Ant.' I. Io; Stanley,'S.
and P.' p. 395), could not have been the Dan
13. one that had esca~ped] Rather those I 0 here mentioned, as it did not lie in either of
that escape (Ew. 277; Ges.'Thes.' the two roads leading from the vale of Siddim
p. II ies), to Damascus. Both he and Kalisch think
the Hebrew] i.e. either "the descendant of this Dan to be the same as Dan-jaan (2 S.
Eber," which seems most accordant with the this Dan to be the same as Dan-jaan (2 S.
Eber," which seems most accordant with the xxiv. 6), apparently belonging to Gilead, and
words in ch. x. 2z, where Eber seems to have to be sought for in northern Per a, to the
given a general name to his descendants, or soutl-west of Damascus The chief objec*(as the LXX., Aq., Vulg., and most ancient tion to this is, that Josephus (as above,'Ant.'
interpreters), " the stranger from beyond the I. IO) and Jerome (I Q. Hebr. in Gen.' ad h..)
Euphrates,"' an appellative from the Hebrewf distinctly speak of the Dan here mentioned, as
noun or preposition Eber, 73t, signifying the situated at the source of the Jordan. The con"opposite side, beyond." The mention of jecture of Le Clerc (Cleric. in loc.) is not
Abram as the Hebrew is due to the fact, contemptible, viz. that the original name of
that the messenger, who came and told him the fountain was " Dan," i. e. "judge," (cp.
what had happened, was an inhabitant of the Ain-mishpat, the fountain of justice), the
land, and Abram was to him one of a strange neighbouring town being called Laish; but
country and strange race. that the Danites gave the name of the rwell,
the plain] The oaks or oak groves. which corresponded with that of their own
14. He armed his trained servants] Ie led tribe, to the city as well as the fountain,
out his trained servants. The verb 15. he divided h;nself against them, he
110 GENESIS. XIV. [v. If —IS.
and smote them, and pursued them I7 4T And the king of Sodom went
unto Hobah, which is on the left hand out to meet him after his return from
of Damascus. the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and
I6 And he brought back all the of the kings that were with him, at
goods, and also brought again his the valley of Shaveh, which is the,:Sam.s
brother Lot, and his goods, and the aking's dale. 1).
women also, and the people. i8 And'Melchizedek king of Sa- I.
and his servants, by night] From v. 24 it ap- Adel and Adel-Chan, i. e. "' the just king," a
pears that besides Abram's own servants title common to some Mahommedan kilngs,
there went out with him Aner, Eshcol and as the princes of the Deccan and Golconda:
Mamre, with their followers. These divided but the Hebrew form of the word seems to
their forces, surprised the invaders at differ- point to a proper name rather than to a title.
ent points of attack during the darkness, and Cp. Abi-melech, Gen. xx. 2, Adoni-zedek,
so routed them. Josh. x. 3. The Targums of Jerusalem and
Hohah, uwhich is on the left hand of Damas- Pseudo-Jonathan say, that Melchizedek was
cus] i.e. to the north of Damascus, the north Shem, and St Jerome (' Qw. ad Genes.' in lc.)
being to the left of a man, who looks toward tells us that the Jews of his day said he was
the sunrising. A place called Choba is men- Shem the son of Noah, and calculating the
tioned, Judith xv. 6; Eusebius (' Onom.' v. days of his life, shewed that he must have
X)o,/3) says that in his day a village existed in ived to the time of Isaac. (See also Epist.
the neighbourhood of Damascus called by LXXIIIo'ad Evang.' Opp. I. p. 438). This
this name, which was inhabited by Ebionites. opinion has been adopted by many moderns,
About two miles from Damascus is now a and is defended at length by Jackson' On the
village called Hobah, said to be the place Creed,' B. Ix. It probably arose from conto which Abram pursued the kings (Stanley, siderations of the great dignity of the king'S. and P.' p. 414 k). and priest, who blessed Abraham and took
tithes of him, and from the readiness of the
17. the valley of Shaveh, which is the Jews to ascribe such dignity only to an anking's dale] In X S. XVlii. e 8, we read that cestor of their own. The Jews very anciently
Absalom in his lifetime " took and reared up considered him at least to be. a type of Mesfor himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: siah (Schoettgen.'Hor. Hebr.' T. II. p. 645);
for he said, I have no son to keep my name in but they generally seem to have believed that
remembrance: and he called the pillar after he was a prince of the country, as the Targum
his own name, and it is called unto this day, of Onkelos and Josephus, which both describe
Absalom's place." Josephus (' Ant.' vII. Io) him simply as king of Jerusalem, in which
says, that the monument was two stadia from they are followed by most commentators of
Jerusalem. This would correspond well with modern times. It is a question of interest,
the valley of the Upper Kidron, where are the but impossible to solve, Was he of the Canaantombs of the judges and other ancient sepul- itish race or Semitic? On ch. x. 6, some
chres, a very likely place for Absalom to have explanation is given of the fact that the
erected what was evidently intended as a Canaanites spoke a Semitic tongue. The
sepulchral monument. The tomb now known name and titles of Melchizedek are Semitic,
as Absalom's is probably not his, as it appears but this proves nothing. He dwelt among
to be of later date, corresponding with the Canaanites; but there had probably been
rock-tombs of Petra belonging to a period Semitic inhabitants of the land before the
later than the Christian era (Robinson,'Phys. immigration of the Canaanites (see on ch. xii.
Geog.' p. 92). It is not, however, possible to 6); and so Melchizedek, who was a worshipdetermine the situation of the valley of Shaveh, per of the true God, may have been one of
and its identity with the later King's Dale of the original Shemite stock. There were, howa S. xviii. I8, without first fixing the site of ever, worshippers of the true God, besides the
Salem, of which Melchizedek was king. If Israelites, retaining patriarchal truth, as Job,
Salem be Jerusalem, then Shaveh may wrell and Balaam, and so it is not certain that Melhave been the valley of the Kidron, close to chizedek was a descendant of Shem. He
Jerusalem: but if Salem were some more is, in fact, as the Apostle tells us, introduced
northern city, we must leave the position of is without father, without mother, without
Shaveh undetermined. See on v. I8. descent," with no mention of the beginning
18. Melchizedek] Various have been the of his priesthood or the ending of it, and so
conjectures in all ages as to the person of Mel- specially suited to be a type of the Son of
chizedek. Some have supposed the name to God. He is mentioned once besides in the
be a title, like Augustus or Pharaoh, rather Old Testament, viz. in Ps. cx. 4, where the
than a proper name, comparing Malek-ol- priesthood of Messiah is said to be after the
Tv.19.1 GENESIS. XIV.
lem brought forth bread and wine: 19 And he blessed him, and said,
and he was the priest of the most Blessed be Abram of the most high
high God. God, possessor of heaven and earth:
order of Melchizedek; and again in the New rusalem; but the more ancient opinion, viz.
Testament, Heb. v. vi. vii., where the com- that the cities of the plain lay south of the
parison between the royal priesthood of Mel- Dead Sea is ably defended by Kuinoel (' Ep. ad
chizedek and that of Jesus is drawn out at Hebr.' vII. I), Robinson (' B. R.' II. x88,
length. The special points of resemblance of' Phys. Geog.' zI3), Kurtz, Knobel, Delitzsch,
Melchizedek to Christ are: I. that he was not Kalisch, Keil, &c., and is most probably the
of the Levitical order, local, national, but pre- true. See also note on the Dead Sea at the
vious to the giving of the Law, catholic, uni- end of ch. xix.
versal; 2. that he was superior to Abraham, the priest] This is the first time that the
blessed and took tithes of him; 3. that (as wordpriest, Cohen, itepe~s, sacerdos, occurs in
often in old times, Virg.'JEn.' III. 8o; Arist. the Bible, and it is in connection with the'Pol.' III. 14, &c.), he was both king and worship of an ancient people, perhaps not
priest; 4. that no beginning and no end are related by blood to the chosen race. The
assigned either to his priesthood or his life; etymological meaning of the word is unknown.
5. his name too " king of righteousness and The word itself is applied afterwards both to
king of peace," are eminently suited to a type the Levitical priesthood and to the priesthood
of the Son of God (Heb. vii. 2, 3). The of false religions. The patriarchs seem to have
bringing forth bread and wine is not referred had no other priesthood than that of the head
to by the Apostle; but the ancient Church of the family (Gen. viii. 2o, xii. 8, xxii., xxvi.
loved to dwell on this as typical of the insti- af, xxxiii. 20; Job i. 5); but here we find
tution by the Saviour of the ava-la civatl/LaKros, Melchizedek designated as a priest and as perthe incruentum scacriJcium, as they were wont forming many priestly acts, solemnly blessing,
to call the Holy Eucharist; and later ages taking tithes, &c. There is no distinct menmay have made more of it than Scripture will tion of sacrifice, which was afterwards the
warrant. (See Jackson, as above, Bk. IX. most special function of the priesthood. As,
sect. ii. ch. x.) however, sacrifice was a rite of common use
king of Salem] Josephus ('Ant.' I. io), among the patriarchs, and, later at least, among
Onkelos and all the Targg. understand Jeru- all surrounding nations, there is no reasonable
salem, which is called Salem in Ps. lxxvi. 2, doubt but that Melchizedek was a sacrificing
and this is pretty certainly the true interpreta- priest, and so more fitly a type of Christ, who
tion. Jerome however ('Epist. Lxx1II. ad offered Himself a sacrifice without spot to
Evant.' Tom. I. p. 446, edit. Vallars.), says it God (see Kuinoel on Heb. vii. I). Philo indeed
was not Jerusalem, but a city near Scy- asserts that Melchizedek offered the first fruits
thopolis, called Salem up to his time, where of the spoil in sacrifice, E'rmLVL'KL E'vE (' De
the ruins of Melchizedek's palace were shewn, Abrah.' p. 38i), a thing by no means improand of which it is written (Gen. xxxiii. 18), bable; and connected with such a sacrifice
" Jacob came to Shalem." Yet Shl/em, in may have been the bread and wine, correGen. xxxiii. is rendered by Onkelos and a sponding with the mola and libations of later
majority of modern commentators, not as a days.
proper name, but rather " in peace" (see note the most high Gord] This is the first time
on ch. xxxiii. i9). Moreover, Jerome else- we meet with this title, Elion. It occurs
where ('Qu. in Gen,') speaks of Melchizedek frequently afterwards, as Num. xxiv. 6 (where
as'"king of Salem, which was the former it is used by Balaam, also an alien firom the
name of Jerusalem." Probably Salem was the family of Abraham), Deut. xxxii. i8, Ps. vii.
oldest, Jebus the next, and Jerusalem the I8, ix. 2, xviii. I3, xlvii. X, lxxviii. 35, &c..
more modern name of the same city, though where sometimes we have Elion alone, somesome think that the Salem here was the same times joined with El, sometimes with JEHOas Salim near AEnon, where John baptized VAH. It is observed that Sanchoniathon (ap.
(Joh. iii. 23). If, as is most probable, Siddim, Euseb,'Prep. Evang.' I. io) mentions Elion as
Sodom and Gomorrah, lay to the south of the the name of the Phcenician Deity. So the
Dead Sea, there is no reason why Salem should words alonim cwalonuth, which occur in the
not have been Jerusalem, or that the valley of well-known Punic passage in the Poenulus of
Shaveh, which is the " king's dale," should not Plautus, are supposed to correspond with the
have been the valley of the Kidron. If the view Hebrew Elionim velionoth, "gods and godadvocated by Mr Grove (' Dict. of Bible,' desses." This may be true; the worship of
art. Shaveh, Sidcdim, Sodom, Zoar), and de- the Phcenicians, as of other heathen nations,
fended by Dean Stanley (' S. and P.' pp. 249, was, no doubt, a corruption of the ancient
&c.), viz. that the valley of Siddim was north patriarchal faith: but it is plain, that Aof the Dead Sea, be correct, then no doubt, bram here acknowledges Melchizedek as a
Salem must have been a place far north of Ie- worshipper of the true God: and in v. 2z,
32 ~~ GENESIS. XIV. XV. [v. 20O-I,
2o And blessed be the most high 24 Save only that which the young
God, which hath delivered thine ene- men have eaten, and the portion of
mies into thy hand. And he gave the men which went with me, Aner,
ceb,. 7. him ctithes of all. Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take
21 And the king of Sodom said their portion.:,4,. unto Abram, Give me the tpersons, CHAPTER XV.
and take the goods to thyself. X God enzcouraSgetz Abram. 2 Abram com22 And Abram said to the king of plaineth for want of ant heir. 4 God proSodom, I have lift up mine hand unto mzseth him a son, and a bdliflying of his'seed. 6 Abram i~s jstfied by faih. 7 C(rthe LORD, the most high od the naan is promised again, and conifirmed by a
possessor of heaven and earth, sis'n, 2x anda visiotn.
23 That I will not take from a A FTER these things the word of
thread even to a shoelatchet, and the LORD came unto Abram in
that I will not take anything that is a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I
thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have am thy shield, and thy exceeding
made Abram rich: "great reward. a Ps. 6.
Abram uses the very titles of God, which careful not to lay himself under any obligahad been used by Melchizedek before, coup- tion to their king, lest he should become too
ling with them the most sacred name JEH-IO- much associated with him and them.
VAIH, the name of the Covenant God, under 24. tlhe young men] Abram's trained
which He was ever adored by the chosen seed servants, whom he had led to the fight (Cp.
as specially their God. a S. ii. I, I K. xX. I4).
19. possessor of heaven and earth] The
LXX. and Vulg. have "IMaker of heaven C-IAP. XV. 1. After these things the word
and earth." This is probably the true mean- of the LoRD came onto Abram in a vision]
ing, but the word may have either significance We have in this chapter a repetition of the
(Ges.'Th.' p. Iz2I. So Deiitzsch and Keil). promises to Abram, given when he was first
20. he gave him tithes of ali] The sen- called (ch. xii. I), and when he first entered
tence, as it stands, is ambiguous, but the into the land of Canaan (ch. xii. 7), with the
sense is ob viously (as LXX.., Joseph., Jona- farther assurance that his own son should be
than, and Ileb. vii. 6) i" Abrait gave Melchi- his heir. This is the first time that the exzedek tithes of all," i. e. the spolia opima, the pression so frequent afterwards " the word of
tenth part of the spoil which he had taken the LORD" occurs in the Bible. It has been
fi-om the enemy (Joseph.' Ant.' I. io). questioned whether the " vision" was a dream
or waking vision. The same word is used of
21. Give me the persons, and take the goods Balaam, " which saw the vision of the Alto thyself.] i. e. restore those of my people, mighty, falling, but having his eyes open"
whom you have rescued, but keep what- (Num. xxiv. 4, 6). The way in which Abram
ever other property of mine you may have was led out and saw the stars, and the siubselighted on. quent reality of the sacrifice, look like a waking
22. I have lift zup mine hand unto the vision, and it is not till v. iz, that he falls into
Lo.RD] A common form of solemn attestation a deep sleep.
in all nations. (See Dan. xii. 7, Virg.'I fl.' Fear not] Abram had now become a
XlcI. I95.) On the identification of the name great man, with wealth and a comparatively
EI-elion with JEHOVAH, and on the use of settled home: but he was in a land of stranthe latter name, see notes on vv. 1, 8S. gers, and many of them of godless life. He
23. That I ewill not take] Lit. "If I had been engaged in a war, and his vely
wvill take." The particle if was constantly victory might bring reprisals. In his old age
used in s-wearing, there being, an ellipsis of he had no children to support and defend
some such expression as " God do so to me him. Accordingly he now is assured of God's
and more also if," (I S. iii. I7). The particle farther protection, and secured against those
is literally rendered in Heb. iii. II. There is feelings of despondency natural to one who
a marked difference between Abram's con- was lonely, childless, and in danger. It is
duct to Melchizedek, and his conduct to the observed that the words "fear not" have inking of Sodorn. From Melchizedek he re- troduced many announcements of Messiah, as
ceives refreshment and treats him with honour Job. xii. i5; Luke i. 13, 30, ii. Io (VWordsand respect. Towards the king of Sodom he worth).
is c;stantaand reserved. Probably the vicious thy exceeding great reward] The word
lives of th-e in-::aitants of Sodom made him ereat is here an infinitive absolute used ad
v. 2-6.] GENESIS. XV. II
2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, shall come forth out of thine own
what wilt thou give me, seeing I go bowels shall be thine heir.
childless, and the steward of my house 5 And he brought him forth ais this Eliezer of Damascus? broad, and said, Look now toward
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be
thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one able to number them: and he said
born in my house is mine heir. unto him, bSo shall thy seed be. n Rom. 4.
4 And, behold, the word of the 6 And he Cbelieved il the LORD i8.Rom. 4.
LORD came unto him, saying, This and he counted it to him for right- 6.,Gal 3. 6.
shall not be thine heir; but he that eousness. Jal.. 2. 23.
verbially, so that the more exact rendering ger. It is quite possible that the title " son
may be, "Thy reward exceeding abundantly." of my house," was applied to inmates of the
The LXX. render "Thy reward shall be hoase, especially those in honourable office in
exceeding great," which is approved by the household, whether born in the family, or
Roediger (in Ges.'Thes.' p. 1257), Rosenm., afterwards adopted into it. The relation of
Delitzsch. the head of a family to his retainers was, in
the case of Abram at least, truly paternal.
2. Lord GOD] Adonai JEHOVAH. This It evidently more resembled the connection
is the first use of these two words together. between a feudal chief and his vassals than
When separate, both are rendered by versions, that between a master and his slaves. That
ancient and modern, by the same word LORD. some of them were "bought with money,"
Except in v. 8, the same combination occurs appears indeed from the passages above reagain in the Pentateuch, only in Deut. ill. 24, ferred to; but they were evidently not in the
ix. 26. In all these passages it is in the voca- abject condition which attached to slavery in
tive case, and JEHOVAH alone does not occur later days, and the principal among them was
in Genesis as a vocative (Qarry,' Genesis,' marked out in default of his own offspring as
p. 234). heir to his master, though Abram had near
seeing Igo childless] Abram, though blessed relations, and some of them at no greater
personally, feels that the promises of God seem distance from him than Lot and his family,
to extend into the future, and does not un- then living in the plains of Jordan.
derstand that they can be fulfilled in him
alone. 5. tell the stars] In the promise to Noah
the rainbow had been the sign given from
the stewvard of my house is this Eliezer of on high, a sacramental promise of mercy
Damascus] The literal rendering is "The son to mankind. Now to Abram the still brighter
of the business" (or perhaps'" of the posses- and more enduring token is the starry firimasion ") "of my house, he is Damascus Eliezer." ment. His seed should abide as.' the faithful
It is most probable that "Damasctus" is put witness in heaven." There is the pledge of a
for " a man of Damascus," as the Authorized brilliant future for his house, even as regards
Version. The words rendered "steward of material prosperity; the pledge of still greater
my house" are very obscure, so that some blessings to that spiritual family, which by
ancient versions leave them untranslated. The baptism into Christ became "Abraham's seed,
older critics generally render "son of the and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. iii.
business," i.e. "steward;" the majority of 27, 29).
modern commentators, after the Syriac, preferring " son of possession," i.e. "heir." The 6. Aind he believed in the LORD; and he
passage, therefore, must be read either "the counted it to him for righteousness] The root
steward," or " the heir of my house is Eliezer of the word rendered believoed has the sense of
of Damascus." The tradition of Abram's supporting, sustaining, strengthening. Hence
connection with Damascus has already been in the Hiphil conjugation (as here), it signireferred to (see Nicol. Damasc. Ap. Joseph. fies to hold as firm, to rest upon as firm, hence'Ant.' I. 7; Justin. xxxvI. 2). If Abram to believe and rely upon as true and stable
came into Palestine by the way of Damascus, (Ges.'Thes.' p. 114). The promise here made
it is not unlikely that he should have taken by the LORD to Abram was given to him
his principal retainer from that place. before circumcision, whilst there was yet not
3. one born in my house] Lit. "son of even the germ of Levitical Law. It contained
3. one born in my house] Lit. " son of.
my house." The expression is like, but not in it the promise of Christ. It elicited from
necessarily equivalent to that in ch. xvii. I 2,7 Abram the great evangelical principle of faith.
necessarily equivalent to that in ch. xvii. Iz, 2z 7
God promised that which was opposed to all
(nl".:1), he that is born in the house, as op- appearance and likelihood. Abram relied on
posed to those bought -with money of an y stran- that promise. He surrendered his own wisdom
VOL. I. H
114 GENESIS. XV. [v. 7-Ir.
7 And he said unto him, I am the three years old, and a turtledove, and
LORD that brought thee out of Ur of a young pigeon.
the Chaldees, to give thee this land Io And he took unto him all these,
to inherit it. and divided them in the midst, and
8 And he said, Lord GOD, where- laid each piece one against another:
by shall I know that I shall inherit it? but the birds divided he not.
9 And he said unto him, Take me I And when the fowls came down
an heifer of three years old, and a she upon the carcases, Abram drove them
goat of three years old, and a ram of away.
to the wisdom of God, and so gave up his thought he saw a vision" (Acts xii. 9): and
own will to the will of God. So he became even where there is much faith, a man may
the heir of the promises; and the internal distrust himself, may feel that though now
principle of faith became to him the true the belief is strong, yet ere long the first imprinciple of righteousness. It was the only pression and so the firm conviction may fade
righteousness possible for the feeble and the away. Thus Gideon (Jud. vi. I7), Hezekiah
sinful; for it was a reposing on the power (2 K. xx. 8), the Blessed Virgin (Luk. i. 34)
and the love of the Almighty and the Holy asked a sign in confirmation of their faith,
One. It was therefore reckoned to him as and, as here to Abram, it was graciously
what may be called a passive righteousness, given them.
and at the same time it was productive in him
of an active righteousness: for the soul which 9. ake me an heier of three years old
relies on the truth, power, and goodness of The age chosen was probably because then
another, in the strength of that truth, power, the animals were in flll age and vigour
and goodness, can itself be active in them all: (C-rysost.'in Gen. Hm. xxv.). The
taking advantage of the power and goodness animals were those which specially formed
relied upon, it becomes itself powerful and the staple of Abram's wealth: they were also
good and true. The Apostles naturally dwell those, which in after times were specially
upon this first recorded instance of faith, faith ordained for sacrificial offerings. It has been
in God, implied faith in Christ, and consequent said, that the transaction was not a real
accounting of righteousness, rlecorlded hefore sacrifice, as there was no sprinkling of blood,
all legal enactments, as illustrative of the great nor dferin g on an altar: but the essence of
evangelical grace of faith, its power as resting the true Hebrew sacrifice was in the slaying
on One who is all powerful, and its sancti- of the vic
fying energy, as containing in itself the prin- bnc, sacrifice) signifies laying: and it was
ciple of holiness and the germ of every right- rather with the shedding of blood than with
eonus act. (Rom. iv. v.; Gal. iii.; Heb. xi.; its sprinkling that atonement was made (Heb.
Jas. ii., &c. &c.) ix. 22). The covenant was made according.
to the custom of ancient nations. The sacri7. I am the LORD that brought thee out ficed victims were cut into two pieces, and
of Ur of the Cjhaldees] In ch. xi. 3i, Terah is the covenanting parties passed between them
represented as having left Ur of the Chaldees (see Jerem. xxxiv. I8, I9). The very word
and settled in Haran with Abram, Sarai and covenant in Hebrew, Berith, is supposed by
Lot; whilst in ch. xii. I, Abram is represented Gesenius to be firom a root signifying to cut
as having been called by the Lord to go out of (' Thes.' p. 238); and the common formula
Haran, cp. v. 4. These different statements for "to make a covenant" is carath berith,
are thought to be inconsistent with each other " to cut a covenant" (so v. i8), comp. the
and referable to three different hands. W he- Greek opKta rEvezew (Hom.' Il.' v. 124) and
ther there was a distinct command to Abram the Lat. faidus fetrire (see Bochart,' Hieroz.' I.
to leave Ur does not appear. The LORD by 332). The division into two is supposed to
His Providence may have led him and his represent the two parties to the covenant;
father out of Ur to Haran, with the design of and their passing between the divided pieces
leading him further onward, and afterwards to signify their union into one. In this case
by special revelation have called him to leave Abram was there in person to pass between
Haran and to go to Canaan (see Quarry, the pieces, and the manifested presence of God
P. 430). passed between them under the semblance of
fire (v. 17).
8. quhereby snalt I knoco] Abram be8.'whereby snail I knoz] Abram he- 10. the birds divided he no] So under
lieved God; but there may have been some the Law thedoves offered as burnt offerings
misgiving as to the reality of what he saw and were not cleft in two (Lev i. I7).
heard; like St Peter, who 1"wist not that it
was true which was done by the angel, but 11. thefowls] The birds of prey. The
v. 12-18.] GENESIS. XV. xI5
1x2 And when the sun was going in peace; thou shalt be buried in a
down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; good old age.
and, lo, an horror of great darkness I6 But in the fourth generation
fell upon him. they shall come hither again: for the
I3 And he said unto Abram, Know iniquity of the Amorites is not yet
dActs7.6. of a surety dthat thy seed shall be a full.
stranger in a land that is not theirs, 17 And it came to pass, that, when
and shall serve them; and they shall the sun went down, and it was dark,
afflict them four hundred years; behold a smoking furnace, and t a burn- t Heb.
I4 And also that nation, whom ing lamp that passed between those azlamt~0f
they shall serve, will I judge: and pieces. echap. z2
afterward shall they come out with I8 In the same day the LORD 7-.
great substance. made a covenant with Abram, say -& 26. 4.
I5 And thou shalt go to thy fathers -. ing, eUnto thy seed have I given this Deut. 34word used (ait) means any rapacious animal, mean either going to the grave, in which his
especially vultures or other birds of prey. It father or his people had been buried, or, (as
is probably of the same root as the Greek by Knobel and others) going to that place,
aEros, eagle. where the souls of his ancestors are in the
Abram dro~ve them arway] It is generally state of separate spirits. That it cannot mean
thought, that the vultures seeking to devour the former here seems to follow fi-om the fact,
the sacrifice before the covenant was rafied hat Abram was not to be buried in his
typified the enemies of Israel, especially the father's burying-place, but in a grave which
typlne himse l prcIsed especially the he himself
Egyptians; and in a spiritual sense they repre he himself purchased in the land of his adopsent the spiritual enemies, which seek to tion.
destroy the soul, keeping it from union with 16. in the fourth generation] On the
God through the accepted sacrifice of His chronology from the Descent into Egypt
Son (see Knobel in loc.). to the Exodus, see note on Exod.
12. when the sun was going dozwn] The the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full]
evening came on before all the prepara- The Amorites, the most powerful people in
tions were made, a solemn time for conclud- Canaan, are here put for the Canaanites in
ing the covenant between God and the seed general. Their state of moral corruption is
of Abram; but it may have been said that it abundantly manifest in the early chapters of
was evening, not night, in order to shew that Genesis; and in the Divine foreknowledge
the great darkness was preternatural (V. Ger- it was seen that they would add sin to sin,
lach). and so at length be destroyed by the Divine
vengeance. Still the long-suffering of God
a deep sleep] The same word as that used waited for them, giving time for repentance,
Gen. ii. zI, when Eve was taken from Adam's if they would be converted and live.
side. The constant translation,'Kotrao-t (ecstasy), by the LXX. shews the belief that the 17. when the sun qwent down, and it was
sleep was sent by God for purposes of Divine dark] Or, " when the sun had gone down,
revelation. that there was a thick darkness." So the Vulan horror of great darkness] Lit. a h or r or, gate.
a great darkness. Theprophets werefre- a moka
quently appalled when admitted to the special was the tok en of the presence of God, as
was the token of the presence of God, as
presence of God: but here perhaps the horror when He appeared to Moses in the burning
was connected also with the announcement bush, and to the Israelites in a pillar of fire.
about to be made to Abram of the suferings The word lamp may very probably here
of his posterity, signify a flame or tongue of fire. The
13. four hun In Ex.. 40 Hebrew word which is cognate with lamp,
13yis called 430Possiblyhears] tn ec g and the other Aryan words of like sound
is called 43o. Possibly here the reckoning is
in round numbers; also the Hebrews were not significanceo, a.) has prbably its radical
ill-treated during the whole 430 years. Compare laim, lip, &c. (see Ges.'flam
Compare labium, lip, &c. (see Ges. I Th.'
p. 739).
15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in
peace] A similar expression occurs ch. xxv.. 18. made a covenant] Lit. "cut a cove8, xxxv. 29, xlix. 33. It is interpreted to nant." See above on v. 9.
H 2
II6 GENESIS. XV. XVI. [v.1 9-2 —
land, from the river of Egypt unto the back to submit herself, i and tellert her of
great river, the river Euphrates: her child. I5 Ishmnel is born.
19 The Kenites, and the Keniz- OW'V Sarai Abram's wife bare
zites, and the Kadmonites, him no children: and she had
20 And the Hittites, and the Pe- an handmaid) an Egyptian, whose
rizzites, and the Rephaims, name was Hagar. /
2I And the Amorites, and the Ca- 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Benaanites, and the Girgashites, and the hold now, the LORD hath restrained
JeSusites. me from bearing: I pray thee, go in
CHAPTER XVI. unto my maid; it may be that I
may obtain children by her. And t Heb.
I Sarai, behin barren, gitlve/h Hagar to Abram. be bzui1td,
4 zaBr, beiong /t~ictedfor dersisin her mris- Abram hearkened to the voice of by er.
tress, rZZnneth awayo. 7 An anzelr seeth her Sarai.
the river of Egypt] Many understand not Genesis, and the connection of the first four
the Nile but the WaEdy-El-Arisch which, how- verses perfectly natural. The promise of offever, is called "the brook or stream of spring had been made to Abram, and he beEgypt" as in Is. xxvii. Iz, not "I the river of lieved the promise. It had not, however,
Egypt." The boundaries of the future pos- been distinctly assured to him that Sarai
session are not described with minute accu- should be the mother of the promised seed.
racy, but they are marked as reaching from The expedient devised by Sarai was according
the valley of the Euphrates to the valley of to a custom still prevalent in the east. Laws
the Nile. And in z Chron. ix. z6, it is dis- concerning marriage had not been so expressly
tinctly stated that "all the Kings from the river given to the patriarchs as they afterwards were.
(i.e. Euphrates) even unto the land of the Yet the compliance of Abram with Sarai's
Philistines and to the border of Egypt" were suggestion may be considered as a proof of the
tributary to Solomon. Cp. z S. viii. 3. imperfection of his faith; and it is justly
observed, that this departure fi-om the pri19. The Kenites] An ancient people in- meval principle of monogamy by Abraham
habiting rocky and mountainous regions to has been an example followed by his descendthe south of Canaan, near the Amalelkites ents in the line of Ishmael, and has proved,
(Num. xxiv. zI seq.; I S. xv. 6, xxvii. o, morally and physically a curse to their race.
xxx. 29), a portion of which afterwards mi- o
grated to Canaan (Judg. i. i6, iv. I, 7). an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose namne wns
Iagar] Hagar, no doubt, followed Sarai from
the Kenizzites] Mentioned only here. Bo- Egypt after the sojourn there recorded in ch.
chart (' Phaleg,' Iv. 36) conjectures that they xii., when it is said that Abraham obtained
had become extinct in the period between great possessions, among other things, in "menAbraham and Moses. servants and raidservants," v. i6. It is genthe Kadmonites] i. e. "the Eastern people." erally thought that the name Hagar signifies
They are not elsewhere named. Bochalt flight, a name which may have been given her
thought they might be the Hivites, elsewhere after her flight from her mistress, recorded
enumerated among the Canaanites, and spoken in this chapter, in which case the name is here
of as inhabiting the neighbourhood of Mount given her proleptically, a thing not uncommon
Hermon (Josh. xiii. 3; Judg. iii. 3), which in Scripture history. Others suppose that she
was to the east of Canaan. derived her name from having fled with
her mistress out of Egypt. As she was an
20. the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and Egyptian, it is not likely that the Hebrew or
the Rephaims] See on ch. x. i5, xiii. 7, xiv. 5. Arabic name of Hagar should have been given
21. the Amorites, the Girgashites, and her by her own parents.
the yebusites.] See on ch. x. I5, s6.'the Can.ites] here 2. it may be that Imay obtain children by her]
the Canaantites] here distinguished from tLit. I may be built up by her." The words
the kindred tribes, are described as inhabiting " house" and " family" are in most languages
the low country " from Sodom to Gerar, unto used figuratively the one of the other. The
Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodonl, and Go- house, considered as representing the family,
morrha, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto is built up by the addition of children to it,
Lasha" (Gen. x. I9). and so the very word for son, in Hebrew, Ben,
is most probably connected with the root
CHAP. XVI. 1. Now Sarai, &c.] The re- banah, "to build" (see Ges.'Th.' p. a15).
capitulatory character of this verse is con- Comp. ch. xxx. 3, where also it appears that
sistent with the general style of the book of the wife, when she gave her handmaid to her
v. 3-I2.] GENESIS. XVI. II?
3 And Sarai Abram's wife took found her by a fountain of water in
Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after the wilderness, by the fountain in the
Abram had dwelt ten years in the way to Shur.
land of Canaan, and gave her to her 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid,
husband Abram to be his wife. whence camest thou? and whither
4- T And he went in unto Hagar, wilt thou go? And she said, I flee
and she conceived: and when she saw from the face of my mistress Sarai.
that she had conceived, her mistress g And the angel of the LORD said
was despised in her eyes. unto her, Return to thy mistress, and
5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My submit thyself under her hands.
wrong be upon thee: I have given lo And the angel of the LORD said
my maid into thy bosom; and when unto her, I will multiply thy seed
she saw that she had conceived, I was exceedingly, that it shall not be numdespised in her eyes: the LORD judge bered for multitude.
between me and thee. i I And the angel of the LORD said
6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Be- unto her, Behold, thou art with child,
hold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to and shalt bear a son, and shalt call
t'tbiat her tas it pleaseth thee. And when his name "Ishmael; because the LORD IIThat is,
tsgod tiyes Sarai tdealt hardly with her, se fled hath heard o thy afflictio. tenr.
thiwne eyes. hth hear.
t Heb. from her face. 12 And he will be a wild man; his
af/licded
fher. 7 IT And the angel of the LORD hand will be against every man, and
husband, esteemed the handmaid's children as flight from Sarai, took the route most likely
her own. to lead her back to her native land of Egypt;
3. after Abram had dwelt ten years in and Gesenius supposes that Shur very probathe land of Canaan] Abram was rnow 85 and bly corresponded with the modern Suez.
Sarai 75 years old (cp. xii. 4, xvi. i6, xvii. I7). 8. Hagar, Sarai's maid] The words of
These words are doubtless intended to account the angel recal to Hagar's mind that she was
for the impatience produced in them by the the servant of Sarai, and therefore owed her
delay of the Divine promise. obedience.
4. her mistress wvas despised in her eyes] 11. Ishmael: because the LORD hath heard]
Among the Hebrews barrenness was esteemed i.e. "God heareth, because JEHOVAH hath
a reproach (see ch. xix. 31, xxx. I, z3; Lev. heard." The name of God, by which all
xx. o20, &c.): and fecundity a special honour nations might acknowledge Him, is expressed
and blessing of God (ch. xxi. 6, xxiv. 6o; Ex. in the name Ishmael, but the name JEHovAnI,
xxiii. 26; Deut. vii. 14): and such is still the the covenant God of Abraham, is specially
feeling in the east. But, moreover, very pro- mentioned, that she may understand the probably Hagar may have thought that now mise to come to her from Him, who had
Abram would love and honour her more already assured Abraham of the blessing to
than her mistress (cp. ch. xxix. 33). be poured upon his race.
5. My wvrong be upon thee] i.e. 1"my 12. a wild man] Lit. "a wild ass of,
wrong, the injury done to me is due to thee or amnong men;" i.e. wild and fierce as a wild
must be imputed to thee, thou art to be ass of the desert. A rendering has been sugblamed for it, inasmuch as thou sufferest it gested, "a wild ass, a man, whose hand is
and dost not punish the aggressor." So in against every man." The suggestion is very
effect all the versions, LXX., Vulg., Targg., ingenious; but for such a rendering we should
&c. have expected to find the word Ish (vir) not,
as it is in the original, Adam (homo). The
7. the angel of the LORD] In v. 13 dis- word pere, wild ass, is probably from the
tinctly called the LORD. See on ch. xii. 7. root para, signifying "to run swiftly." This
Shur] according to Joseph. (' Ant.' vI. 7) is animal is frequently mentioned in Scripture,
Pelusium, near the mouth of the Nile, which, and often as a type of lawless, restless, unhowever, seems more probably to be the equi- bridled dispositions in human beings (see Job
valent for Sin (see Ges.'Thes.' p. 947). On- xi. 12, xxiv. 5; Ps. civ. II; Is. xxxii. I4;
kelos renders here "Hagra." The desert of Jer. ii. 24; Dan. v. 2I; Hos. viii. 9). In
Shur is generally thought to be the north Job xxxix. 5, another Hebrew word is used,
eastern part of the wilderness of Paran, called but most commentators consider that the same
at present Al-jifar. Hagar, no doubt, in her animal is meant. The description of their
II8 GENESIS. XVI. XVII. [v. I3-IchIap. 25. every man's hand against him; aand I6 And Abram was fourscore and
I8. he shall dwell in the presence of all six years old, when Hagar bare Ishhis brethren. mael to Abram.
13 And she called the name of the CHAPTER XVII.
LORD that spake unto her, Thou 1 God renewetlh the covenant. 5 Abram his
God seest me-: for she said, Have name is changed in token of a greater blessI also here looked after him that ing. Io Circumcision is instituted. I5 Sarai
her name is changed, and she blessed. I7
seeth me? Isaac is promised. 3 Abraham and Isnihmae
I4 Wherefore the well was called are circumcised.
2cha. 24. Beer-laha-roi; bholdit is between ND when Abram was ninety'rFhatis, Kadesh and Bered. tX years old and nine, the LORD
kt / thf I5 qT And Hagar bare Abram a son: appeared to Abram, and said unto a chap. 5.
iveth an.d and Abram called his son's name, him, I am the Almighty God;,walk i Or,
which Hagar bare, Ishmael. before me, and be thou 1 perfect. or, szice
great speed in Xen.' Anab.' Lib. I. is well litzsch, and most moderns. The name of God
known. Gesenius refers to a picture of the throughout this chapter is JEHOVAH, except
wild ass of Persia in Ker Porter's'Travels when Hagar the Egyptian speaks; yet the God
in Georgia and Persia,' Vol. I. p. 459, and of vision who reveals Himselfto her is carefully
says, that a living specimen which he' saw identified with the JEHOVAH of Abraham.
in the London Zoological Gardens in 0835 14. Beer-lahai-roi] "The well of life
exactly corresponded with this picture ('Thes.' f vision," i.e. where life remained after vision
p. 1123). of God. (See Ges.'Thes.' p. I75.) This
his hand wvui/ be against every man, &c.] seems to be the meaning of the name accordor "upon every man," a common phrase for ing to the etymology derived from the last
violence and injury (cp. Gen. xxxvii. 27; Exod. verse, though others render it "the well of
ix. 3;Deut. ii. I6; Josh. ii. I9; r S. xviii. I7, i, the living One (i.e. the living God) of vision."
xxiv. 13, I4). The violent character and law- between Kadesh and Bered] On the site of
less life of the Bedouin descendants of Ishmael Kadesh and its uncertainty see on ch. xiv. 7.
from the first till this day is exactly described The' uncertainty of the site of Bered is still
in these words. greater, and therefore the difficulty of arriving
in the presence of all his brethren] Lit. "in at the exact position of Beer-lahai-roi is alfront" or "before the face of all his brethren." most insuperable. Mr Rowlands (in Williams'
This may point to that constant attitude of' Holy City,' I. 465) thinks that he has disthe Bedouin Arabs, living every where in covered its site at a place called Moilahhi,
close proximity to their kindred races, hover- about io hours south of Ruheibeh, in the
ing round them, but never mingling with road from Beersheba to Shur, or Jebel-es-sur,
them: or, we may render " to the east of all a mountain range running north and south in
his brethren," atranslation adoptedby Rosenm., the longitude of Suez.
Gesen., Tuch, Knobel, Delitzsch, &c. The
Arabs are called in Job i. 3, "'the children of CHAP. XVII. 1. lAnd uwhen Abram ewas
the east," and in some passages of Scripture ninetyyears old and nine] i.e. just thirteen years
the phrase "in the presence of," is explained after the events related in the last chapter,
to mean "eastward of" (see Numb. xxi. Ix; compare v. 25, where Ishmael is said to be
Josh. xv. 8; Zech. xiv. 4); the rationale of now thirteen years old.
this being, that when a man looked toward the Almighty God] El-Shaddai. The word
the sunrise, the east was before him. Shaddai, translated by most versions "mighty,"
13. Thou God seest ne: for she said, Have or "Almighty,"isgenerally thought(byGesen.,
I also here looked after hinm that seeth nzie?] Rosenm., Lee, &c. &c.) to be a plural of exThou art a God of seeing, for have cellence (in this respect like Elohim), derived
I also seen here after seeing? The from the root Shadad, the primary meaning
Authorized Version has nearly followed the of which appears to have been "to be strong,"
rendering of the LXX. and Vulg., which is "to act strongly," though more commonly
inadmissible. The meaning of the words is pro- used in the sense of " to destroy, to devastate."
bably, "Thou art a God that seest all things," The later Greek versions Aq., Sym., Theod.,
(or perhaps "that revealest Thyself in vi- render iLcavob, "sufficient," "all-sufficient."
sions"); "and am I yet living and seeing, after So Theodoret, Hesych., Saad. Accordingly,
seeing God?" (cp. Judg. xiii. ax). So ap- Rashi and some of the Jewish writers conparently Onkelos; and this rendering is adopt- sider it to be compounded of two words, slg-.
ed by Rosenm., Gesen., Tuch, Kalisch, De- nifying" who is sufficient?" the improbability
v. 2-12.1 GENESIS. XVII. I19
2 And I will make my covenant thy seed after thee, the land Iwherein tHeb.
between me and thee, and will mul- thou art a stranger, all the land 0fofetfY.s
tiply thee exceedingly. Canaan, for an everlasting possession;
3 And Abram fell on his face: and and I will be their God.
God talked with him, saying, 9'q And God said unto Abraham,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant Thou shalt keep my covenant thereis with thee, and thou shalt be a fore, thou, and thy seed after thee in
tlfeb. father of I many nations. their generations.
fucaoins. 5 Neither shall thy name any more 1o This is my covenant, which ye
be called Abram, but thy name hall shall keep, between me and you and
Rom. 4. be Abraham; bfor a father of many thy seed after thee; CEvery man child' Acts 7. 8
17' nations have I made thee. among you shall be circumcised.
6 And I will make thee exceeding I i And ye shall circumcise the flesh
fruitful, and I will make nations of of your foreskin; and it shall be a
thee, and kings shall come out of thee. dtoken of the covenant betwixt me dActs7.8.
7 And I will establish my cove- and you. Rom.4..
nant between me and thee and thy 12 And he that is'eight days old tlHeb.
seed after thee in their generations eshall be circumcised amongyou, every eight days.
for an everlasting covenant, to be a man child in your generations, he that Lev2. x2
God unto thee, and to thy seed after is born in the house, or bought with ohn 72. 2.
thee. money of any stranger, which is not
8 And I will give unto thee, and to of thy seed.
of which derivation is very great. The title, afterwards to Christians in Christ, and sealed
or character, El-Shaddai. is said, Exod. vi. 2, 3, to them in the sacred rite of baptism.
to have been that by which God was revealed 4. of many nations] Of a multitude
to the patriarchs, not ttien, at least in its full of nations; as in margin.
meaning, by the name JEHOVAH; and it is 5. Abraham] i.e. "father of a multinoted as occurring in those passages which tude." He was originally Ib-ramn, "exalted
the German critics call Elohistic. In this father." Now he becomes Ab-rahaim, "father
very verse, however, we read it in immediate of a multitude;" raham, in Arabic, being a
juxtaposition with the name JEHOVAH, and vast number, a great multitude. Abraham
in Rutn i. zo, zI, we find the identification of was literally the ancestor of the twelve tribes
JEHOVAH with Shaddai. Probably, like Elo- of Israel, of the Ishmaelites, of the descendhim, and Adonai, we may consider El-Shad- ants of Keturah and of the Edomites; but
dai (a title known to Balaam, Num. xxiv. 4, spiritually he is the father of all the faithful,
I6, and constantly used in Job), to have been who by faith in Christ are "Abraham's seed,
one of the more general world-wide titles of and heirs acbording to the promise" (Gal. iii.
the Most High, whilst JEHOVAH was rather 29). It has been very generally believed that
the name by which His own chosen people the letter H here introduced into the names
knew and acknowledged Him. The title, both of Abraham and Sarah is one of the two
which especially points to power, seems most radical letters of the name JEHOVAII (as the
appropriate when a promise is made, which other radical y was introduced into the name
seems even to Abram and Sarai to be well- Joshua), whereby the owner of the name is
nigh impossible of fulfilment. doubly consecrated and bound in covenant to
2. I'will make my covenant] The word the LORD (see Delitzsch, in loc.). The cusfor "make" is different from that used in tom of giving the name at the time of cirxv. I8. There God is said to have "cut" a cumcision (Luke i. 59) probably originated
covenant with A'uDram by sacrifice, which from the change of Abraham's name having
phrase has probably special reference to the been made when that rite was first instituted.
sacrifice and also to the two parties who made 10. This is my covenant] i.e. the sign,
the covenant by sacrifice (see on xv. 9). Here token and bond of the covenant.
He says, " I will give my covenant between 12. eight days old] Seven days, a sacred
Me.and thee." The freedom of the covenant number, were to pass over the child before he
of promise is expressed in this latter phrase. was so consecrated to God's service. There
It was a gift from a superior, rather than a was a significance in the number 7, and then
bargain between equals; and as it was ac- was a reason for the delay that the child
companied by the rite of circumcision, it was might grow strong enough to bear the oper.
typical of the freedom of that covenant made ation.
120 GENESIS. XVII. [v. 13-18.
13 He that is born in thy house, i6 And I will bless her, and give
and he that is bought with thy money, thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless
must needs be circumcised: and my her, and tshe shall be a mother of na- t Heb.
covenant shall be in your flesh for an tions; kings of people shall be of e...ome
everlasting covenant, her. natios.
14J And the uncircumcised man 17 Then Abraham fell upon his
child whose flesh of his foreskin is not face, and laughed, and said in his
circumcised, that soul shall be cut off heart, Shall a child be born unto him
from his people; he hath broken my that is an hundred years old? and
covenant. shall Sarah, that is ninety years old,
I5 iT And God said unto Abraham, bear
As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not 18 And Abraham said unto God,
call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall O that Ishmael might live before
her name be. thee!
13. He that is born in thy house, &c.] signify "my princess:" the change to Sarah
"' Moses has nowhere given any command, indicating that she was no longer the princess
nor even so much as an exhortation, inculcat- of a single race, but rather that all the families
ing the duty of circumcision upon any person of the earth should have an interest in her (Jenot a descendant, or a slave of Abraham, or rome,' Qu. Hebr.' p. 522); many think th:4t
of his descendants, unless he wished to par- Sarai means simply "noble, royal," whilst Satake of the passover.... In none of the his- rah more definitely means " princess;" which,
torical books of the Old Testament do we however, seems neither etymologically nor
find the smallest trace of circumcision as ne- exegetically probable. Ewald explains Sarai
cessary to the salvation of foreigners, who ac- as meaning "contentious," from the verb
knowledge the true God, or requisite even to Sarah, M't7, which (Gen. xxxii. 29; Hos. xii.
the confession of their faith: no not so much 4) occurs in the sense of " to fight, to conas in the detailed story of Naaman (z K. v.); tend." This meaning is approved by Gesein which indeed every circumstance indicates nius ('Thes.' p. 1338), but the more usual
that the circumncision of that illustrious per- derivation is probably the true.
sonage can never be supposed" (Michaelis,
Laws of Moses,' Bk. IV. Art. x84). There "s e shall become na ior s.
is a marked distinction in this between circumcision and baptism. Judaism was in- 17. lazughed] Onkel. renders "rejoiced."
tendl-ed to be the religion of a peculiar isolated Pseudo-Jon. " marvelled." The Jewish compeople. Its rites therefore were for them alone. mentators, and many of the Christian fathers,
Christianity is for the whole human race; the understood this laughter to be the laughter of
Clhulrch is to be catholic: baptism to be ad- joy not of unbelief (Aug.' De Civ.' xvi. 26).
ninistered to all that will believe. So also many moderns, e.g. Calvin, "partly
exulting with gladness, partly carried beyond
14. that soul shall be cut of from his himself with wonder, he burst into laughter."
peopile] Tlhe rabbinical writers very generally It is thought also that our Blessed Lord may
ucjddersstand that the excision should be by have alluded to this joy of Abraham (Joh. viii.
Divine judgment. Christian interpreters have 5), " Your fther Abraham rejoiced to see
hmostly understood the infliction of death by My day, and he saw it and was glad;" for it
the hand of the rmagistrate: some (Cleric. and Xwas at the most distinct promise of a son, who
Miichael. in loc.) either exile or excoinmuni- was to be the direct ancestor of the Messiah
cation. The latter opinion was afterwards that the laughter is recorded (cp. also the
retracted by Michaelis, and it is pretty certain words of the Blessed Virgin, Luke i. 47). On
that death in some form is intended (see Gesen. the other hand it must be admitted, that A'Thes.' p. 78). braham's words immediately following the
15. thou shalt not call her name Sarai, laughter, seem at first sight as implying some
but Sarah shall her name be] There is but unbelief, or at least weakness of faith, though
little doubt that Sarah signifies "n Princess," in they may be interpreted as the language of
allusion probably to the princely race which wonder rather than of incredulity.
was to spring from her, though Ikenius, fol- 18. 0 that Ishmael might live before theel]
lowed by Rosenmuller, argues in favour of a These words may be interpreted in two
meaning to be derived from the Arabic root ways, according as we understand the laughSaraa, signifying, "to have a numerous pro- ter of Abraham. They may mean, " I dare
geny." As to the original name Sarai, the not hope for so great a boon as a son to be
older interpreters generally understood it to born hereafter to myself and Sarah in our old
V. I9 —27.] GENESIS. XVII. I 2 I
/chap. I8. i9 And God said, f Sarah thy wife his son, and all that were born in his
& 2. 2. shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou house, and all that were bought with
shalt call his name Isaac: and I will his money, every male among the men
establish my covenant with him for of Abraham's house; and circumcised
an everlasting covenant, and with his the flesh of their foreskin in the selfseed after him. same day, as God had said unto him.
20o And as for Ishmael, I have heard 24 And Abraham was ninety years
thee: Behold, I have blessed him, old and nine, when he was circumand will make him fruitful, and will cised in the flesh of his foreskin.
echap. 25. multiply him exceedingly; 9twelve 25 And Ishmael his son was thir-'2. princes shall he beget, and I will teen years old, when he was circummake him a great nation. cised in the flesh of his foreskin.
21 But my covenant will I establish 26 In the selfsame day was Abrawith Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto ham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
thee at this set time in the next year. 27 And all the men of his house,
22 And he left off talking with him, born in the house, and bought with
and God went up from Abraham. money of the stranger, were circum23 q And Abraham took Ishmael cised with him.
age, but O that Ishmael may be the heir of 20. as for Ishmael, I have heard thee]
Thy promises!" or they may imply only a There is an allusion to the significance of the
fear, that now, when another heir is assured name Ishmael, viz. 1" God heareth."
to Abraham, Ishmael should be excluded from 25. Ishmael his son wqas thirteen years old]
all future inheritance. The Arabs have in consequence always circumcised their sons at the age of 13. Josephus
19. Isaac] i.e. "he laughs," the thrd per- mentions this (' Ant.' 1. 13), and it is well
son singular of the present tense: similar forms known that the custom still prevails among
are Jacob, Jair, Jabin, &c. the Mahometan nations.
NOTE A on CHAP. XVII. V. IO. CIRCUMCISION.
(i) Reasons for the rite. (2) Origin of circumcision, whether pre-Abrahamic or not.
(a) Egyptians said to have first used it. (3) Answer from lateness and uncertainty
of the testimony. (.y) Balance of arguments.
TuIE reasons for this rite may have been but was then made the token of the Noachic
various, Ist, to keep the descendants of Abra- covenant; as the stars of heaven were made
ham distinct from the idolatrous nations the sign of the earlier covenant with Abraham
round about them, the other inhabitants of (ch. xv. 5); may it have been also, that cirPalestine not being circumcised, 2ndly, to cumcision already prevailed among some naindicate the rigour and severity of the Law of tions, and was now divinely authorized and
God, simply considered as Law, in contrast to made sacred and authoritative? There would
which the ordinance that succeeded to it in be nothing necessarily startling in the latter
the Christian dispensation indicated the mild- alternative, when we remember that the corness and mercy of the new covenant, 3rdly, responding rite of baptism in the Christian disto signify that the body should be devoted as pensation is but one adaptation by supreme au-,J living sacrifice to God, " our hearts and all thority of natural or legal washings to a Chrisoar members being mortifiedfrom all carnal and tian purpose anid a most spiritual significance.
worldly lusts," and so to typify moral purity. It is certain that the Egyptians used cir(See Deut. x. i6; Jer. iv. 4; Acts vii. SI). cumcision (Herod. II. 36, 37, 104; Diod.
An important question arises as to the ori- Sicul. I. 26, 55; Strabo, xvII. p. 524; Phil.
gin of circumcision. XWas it first made known Jud.'De Circumcis.'i. p. 2IO; Joseph.'Ant.'
and commanded to Abraham, having nowhere viii. Io;' Cont. Apion.' I. 22; II. I3). The
been practised before? Or, was it a custom earliest writer who mentions this is Herodoalready in use, and now sanctified by God to tus. He says, indeed, that the Egyptians and
a higher end and purport? A similar question Ethiopians had it fi-om the most remote antiarose concerning sacrifice. W~as it prescribed quity, so that he cannot tell which had it
by revelation or dictated by natural piety and first; he mentions the Colchians as also using
then sanctioned from above? As the rainbow it (whence Diodorus inferred that they were
probably did not first appear after the flood, an Egyptian colony), and says that the Phce
122 GENESIS. XVIII. [v.,2.
nicians and Syrians in Palestine admit that which the Egyptians, and above all the Egypthey "learned this practice from the Egyp- tian priests, especially affected, partly to guard
tians" (Herod. II. Io04). This is evidently a against disease incident in those hot climates
very loose statement. The Phcenicians pro- (see Philo, as above, p. 2 1; Joseph.' C. Apion.'
bably did not use it, and the Jews, whom He- II. I3), partly for other reasons, which may
rodotus here calls " the Syrians in Palestine," have been real or imaginary (see Michaelis, as
admitted that they had once dwelt in Egypt, above, Art. i86). This side of the question
but never admitted that they derived circum- is ably defended by Michaelis;' Laws of Moses,'
cision from thence. The statements of Dio- as above, and Kalisch, in loc.
dorus and Strabo, which are more or less In answer it is truly said, that the Greek
similar to those of Herodotus, were no doubt historians are too late and too loose in their
partly derived from him, and partly followed statements to command our confidence; that
the general belief among the Greeks, that the the tribes cognate with the Egyptians, such as
" Jews were originally Egyptians" (Strabo, as the Hamite inhabitants of Palestine, were noabove). It is stated by Origen (' in Epist. ad toriously uncircumcised, that the Egyptians,
Rom.' ch. II. 13) that the Egyptian priests, especially the Egyptian priests, are not unsoothsayers, prophets, and those learned in likely to have adopted the rite at the time
hieroglyphics were circumcised; and thesame when Joseph was their governor and in such
is said by Horapollo (I. 13, I4). If these high estimation among them, and that the
ancient writers were unsupported by other question concerning the relative dates of Abraauthorities, there would be no great difficulty ham and the different Egyptian dynasties is
in concluding that Herodotus had found cir- involved in too much obscurity to be made a
cumcision among the Egyptian priests, had ground for such an argument as the above to
believed the Jews to be a mere colony from be built upon it. (See Bp. Patrick, in loc.;
Egypt, and had concluded that the custom Heidegger,' Hist. Patr.' II. 240; Wesseling
originated in Egypt, and from them was learned and Larcher,'ad Herod.' II. 37, I04; Graves
by the Ishmaelites and other races. It is, how-' on the Pentateuch,' Pt. II. Lect. v.; Wordsever, asserted by some modern Egyptologists, worth, in loc.) Again, the argument dethat circumcision must have prevailed from rived from the ancient Egyptian language
the time of the fourth dynasty, i.e. from at proves nothing, the words are lost or doubtleast 2400 B.C., therefore much before the date ful. The argument from the mummies proves
generally assigned to Abraham, B.c. I996, and nothing, as we have-no mummies of the anthat it was not confined to the priests, as is, cient empire. The figures in the hieroglyphics
they say, learned from the mummies and the are later still. The only argument of weight
sculptures, where circumcision is made a dis- is that derived from the old hieroglyphic,
tinctive mark between the Egyptians and their common in the pyramids, which is thought
enemies (see Sir Gardiner Wilkinson, in Raw- to represent circumcision. It may on the
linson's' Herodotus,' pp. 52, 146, I47, notes). whole be said, that we cannot conclude from
If this be correct, we must conclude, that the the loose statements of Greek writers x5
Egyptians practised circumcision when Abra- centuries later than Abraham, nor even from
ham first became acquainted with them, that the evidence of monuments and sculptures
probably some of Abraham's own Egyptian as yet perhaps but imperfectly read and unfollowers were circumcised, and that the Di- certain as to their comparative antiquity,
vine command was not intended to teach a that circumcision had been known before
new rite, but to consecrate an old one into a it was given to Abraham; yet that on the
sacramental ordinance. Some even think that other hand, there would be nothing inconthey see in the very style of this and the follow- sistent with the testimony of the Mosaic
ing verses indications that the rite was not al- history in the belief, that it had been in use
together new and before unknown; for had it among the Egyptians and other African tribes,
been new and unknown, more accurate di- before it was elevated by a Divine ordinance
rections would have been given of the way in into a sacred rite for temporary purposes, to
which apainful and dangerousoperation should be served in the Mosaic dispensation. A very
be performed (Michaelis,' Laws of Moses,' able summary of the arguments on both sides,
Bk. Iv. Ch. iii. Art. I85). The Egyptians, not, of course, embracing those drawn from
Ethiopians, and perhaps some other African the more recent discoveries in Egypt, is given
races, are supposed to have adopted it, partly by Spencer,' De Legg. Heb.' lib. I. c. $. ~ 4.
from regard to cleanliness (Herod. II. 36), See Deut. x. I6 and Note.
CHAPTER XVIII. AND the aLORD appeared unto Heb.I3
X Abraham entertaineth three angels. 9 Sarah him in the plains of Mamre: a2
is rprazedfor laughing al the strangge pro- and he sat in the tent door in the
misce 17 The destruction of Sodoom is revealed heat of the day;
to Abraham. 23 Abraham maketh intercession
for the men thereof: 2 And he lift up his eyes and
V. 3-7.] GENESIS. XVIII. I23
looked, and, lo, three men stood by and tcomfort ye your hearts; after t$ ebhim: and when he saw them, he ran that ye shall pass on: for therefore
to meet them from the tent door, and tare ye come to your servant. And t Heb.
bowed himself toward the ground, they said, So do, as thou hast said. passed.
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have 6 And Abraham hastened into the
found favour in thy sight, pass not tent unto Sarah, and said, tMake ready tJHas
away, I pray thee, from thy servant: quickly three measures of fine meal,
4 Let a little water, I pray you, be knead it, and make cakes upon the
fetched, and wash your feet, and rest hearth.
yourselves under the tree: 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd,
5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and
CHAP. XVIII. 1. plains of Mamre] Oaks in the strangers, but could not have known
or oak grove of Mlamre, see xiii. 18; their heavenly mission.
xiv. 13. 3. My Lord] It is to be noticed that Abrain the heat of the day] Abraham was sitting ham here addresses One of the three, who
in his tent under the shade of the trees, at the appears more noble than the rest. The title
noon day when the sun was oppressive, and which he gives Him is Adonai, a plural of excelwhen the duty of hospitality specially sug- lence, but the Targum of Onkelos has rendered
gested to him the receiving of travellers, who JEHOVAH (ns), as supposing that Abraham
might be wearied with their hot journey. The had recognized the divinity of the visitor.
time of the day may be also mentioned, that 4. wash yourfeet] In the hot plains of
it might be the more certain that this was an the east travellers shod only with sandals
open vision, not a dream of the night. found the greatest comfort in bathing their
2. three men] In v. I it is said, "The feet, when resting from a journey. (See ch.
LORD appeared unto him;" in v. 2A it is said, xix. 2, xxiv. 3z; Judg. xix. Zi; I Tim. v. io.)
" The men turned their faces from thence, and
went towards Sodom; but Abraham stood 5. comfort ye your hearts] Lit. sup
yet before the LORD;" in ch. xix. I it is said, port your hearts." The heart, considered as
"There came twcwo Angels to Sodom at even." the centre of vital functions, is put by the
It appears from the comparison of these pas- Hebrews for the life itself. To support the
sages, and indeed from the whole narrative,
that of the three men who appeared to Abra powers and spirits. (See Ges.'Thes.' p. 738,
ham, two were angels, and one was JEHO- 6, G I. a.)
VAH Himself. On the belief of the ancient for therefore are ye come to your ser-vant]
Church that these manifestations of God were The patriarch recognizes a providential call
manifestations of God the Son, anticipations upon him to refresh strangers of noble bearof the Incarnation, see note on ch. xii. 7. See ing, come to him on a fatiguing journey.
also on this passage, Euseb.' Demonst. Evan.' 6. three measures of fine meal] Three
Lib. v. c. 9. There was, however, a belief seahs of the finest flour. A seah was
among many of the ancients that the three the third part of an ephah according to the
men here appearing to Abraham symbolized Rabbins. Josephus ('Ant.'Ix. 4) and Jerome
the three Persons of the Trinity; and the ('Comm. on Matt.' xiii. 33), say that the
Church by appointing this chapter to be read seah was a modius and a half. The accuracy
on Trinity Sunday seems to indorse this of this comparison between the Hebrew and
belief. This need not conflict with the Roman measures is doubted, as it does not coropinion, that the only Person in the Trinity respond with the calculations of Rabbinical
really manifested to the eyes of Abraham was writers. (See Ges.'Thes.'pp. 83, 932; Smith,
the Son of God, and that the other two were' Dict. of Bible,' Vol. III. pp. I74", 1742.) The
created angels. Indeed such a manifestation two words, Kemach soleth, rendered "fine
may have been reason enough fcr the choice meal," are nearly synonymous, both appearing
of this lesson on Trinity Sunday. It has been to mean fine flour, the latter being the finer
observed that One of the three mentioned in of the two. They might be rendered "flour
this chapter is called repeatedly JEHOVAH, but of fine flour." According to the Rabbinical
neither of the two in ch. xix. is ever so called. Commentary,' Vajikra Rabba,' soleth is the
boywed himself tozvard the ground] This was kemach of kemachs, the fine flour of fine flour.
merely the profound eastern salutation (cp. (See Ges.' Thes.' p. 959.)
ch. xxiii. 7, It2, xxxiii. 6, 7). Abraham as yet cakes upon the hearth] Probably the slmwas "entertaining angels unaqwares" (Heb. xiii. pler form of cake baked in the midst of hot
a). He may have observed a special dignity cinders.
I24 GENESIS. XVIII. [v. 8 —5.
gave it unto a young man; and he ceased to be with Sarah after the
hasted to dress it. manner of women.
8 And he took butter, and milk, and I2 Therefore Sarah laughed within
the calf which he had dressed, and set herself, saying, After I am waxed old
it before them; and he stood by them shall I have pleasure, my clord being. Pet, 3
under the tree, and they did eat. old also?
9g v And they said unto him, Where 13 And the LORD said unto Abra-.s Sarah thy wife? And he said, Be- ham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh,
hold, in the tent. saying, Shall I of a surety bear a
io And he said, I will certainly child, which am old?
return unto thee according to the time I4 Is any thing too hard for the
Cchap. 17. of life; and, lo, bSarah thy wife shall LORD? At the time appointed I will
2, 2. have a son. And Sarah heard it in return unto thee, according to the
the tent door, which was behind time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
him. I5 Then Sarah denied, saying, I
I I Now Abraham and Sarah were laughed not; for she was afraid. And
old and well stricken in age; and it he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
8. butter] i. e. thick milk or clotted Xato yva, a, qblXdr'l rrfpLTrXop/rlEV0o 8'
cream. The modern Arabs have a simple evLavTro
mode of churning, and make very good but- rE'ES dykaa Xa r;Kvva.
ter. Robinson ('Res.' ii. p. I8o) describes Hornm.'Od.' A. 247the baking of cakes and making of butter (See Rosenm. in loc.; Ges.'Thes.' p. 470.)
among them in the present day. It is, how- Prof. Lee ('Lex.' p. I93) denies the soundever, most probable, that the word, rendered ness of this criticism, and virtually indorses
butter in the Old Testament, was rather thick the Authorized Version, " as (at) the season,
milk, or more probably, thick cream, though period, of a vigorous woman." There is,
in one place (Prov. xxx. 33), it may perhaps however, very little doubt that the criticism
be rendered cheese. The ancient inhabitants of is correct.
Palestine used olive oil where we use butter.
(See Rosenm. and Ges.'Thes.' p. 486.) 12. laughed] Whatever may have been
the nature of Abraham's laughter (see xvii.
they did eat] That spiritual visitants, though I7), this of Sarah's seems to have resulted
in human form, should eat, has been a puzzle from incredulity. She may scarcely have
to many commentators. Josephus (' Ant.' I. recognized the Divinity of the speaker, and
ii) and Philo ('Opp.' II. i8), say it was in had not perhaps realized the truth of the
appearance only, which is implied by Pseudo- promise before made to Abraham. St Au-.
Jonathan, Rashi and Kimchi. If the angels gustine distinguishes between the laughter of
had assumed human bodies, though but for a Abraham and that of Sarah thus, "The
time, there would have been nothing strange father laughed, when a son was promised to
in their eating. In any case, the food may him, from wonder and joy; the mother
have been consumed, miraculously or not; laughed, when the three men renewed the
and the eating of it was a proof that the visit promise, from doubtfulness and joy. The
of the angels to Abraham was no mere vision, angel reproved her, because though that laughbut a true manifestation of heavenly beings. ter was from joy, yet it was not of full faith.
10. he said] In v. 9 we read "they Afterwards by the same angel she was consaid," i.e. one of the three heavenly guests firmed in faith also."' De C. D.' XVI. 31.
spoke for the others. Now we have the my lord] See I Pet. iii. 6.
singular number, and the speaker uses language suited only to the Ruler of nature and 13 the LORD said Here the speaker
of all things. is distinctly called JEHOVAH, and it seems
much more reasonable to believe that there
according to the time of life] There is some was a Theophania of the Son of God, than
difficulty in the rendering of these words. that a created angel was personating God and
The phrase occurs again, z K. iv. I6. It is speaking in His name.
now generally thought that the sense is the
same as in ch. xvii. z, "at this set time in 14. Is any thing too hard for the LORD?]
the next year" (cp. xviii. I4); and that the Lit. "Is anything too wonderful for the
words should be translated, "when the season Lord? " Cp. Luke i. 37.
revives," i.e. when spring or summer comes At the time appointed I wvill return unto thee,
round again. Compare according to the timze of lif/] See on v. Io.
v. 16-28.] GENESIS. XVIII. I25
I6 qT And the men rose up from from thence, and went toward Sodom:
thence, and looked toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the
and Abraham went with them to LORD.
bring them on the way. 23 qT And Abraham drew near,
I 7 And the LORD said, Shall I and said, Wilt thou also destroy the
hide from Abraham that thing which righteous with the wicked?
I do; 24 Peradventure there be fifty rightI8 Seeing that Abraham shall surely eous within the city: wilt thou also
become a great and mighty nation, destroy and not spare the place for
and all the nations of the earth shall the fifty righteous that are therein?
* chap. x2. be dblessed in him? 25 That be far from thee to do after
Acts 3. 25. i9 For I know him, that he will this manner, to slay the righteous with
Gal. 3. 8 command his children and his house- the wicked: and that the righteous
hold after him, and they shall keep should be as the wicked, that be far
the way of the LORD, to do justice from thee: Shall notthe Judge of all
and judgment; that the LORD may the earth do right?
bring upon Abraham that which he 26 And the LORD said, If I find in
hath spoken of him. Sodom fifty righteous within the city,
20 And the LORD said, Because the then I will spare all the place for their
cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, sakes.
and because their sin is very grievous; 27 And Abraham answered and
21I I will go down now, and see said, Behold now, I have taken upon
whether they have done altogether me to speak unto the Lord, which am
according to the cry of it, which is but dust and ashes:
come unto me; and if not, I will 28 Peradventure there shall lack
know. five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou
22 And the men turned their faces destroy all the city for lack of five?
16. Abraham went wcith themr] The three viii. 29, xi. 2. The meaning would then be,
heavenly visitors all go towards Sodom. A- "I have foreknown and chosen Abraham,
braham goes some way with them, how far that he should be the depositary of my truth,
is not said. There is a tradition that he went and should teach his children in the way of
as far as Caphar-berucha, from which the religion and godliness, that so the promises
Dead Sea is visible, through a ravine. made to him should be fulfilled in his seed
and lineage. So Ges. (' Thes.' P-5 7 I), Rosenm.,
17. Shall I hide from Albraham] The Tuch, Knobel, Delitzsch, Keil, &c.
LXX. adds here " my son," which is quoted e chv.'
by Philo (s. p. 40I, Mangey) as "Abraham 20. the cy] Cp.. ix. I3.
my friend:" so that in all probability, copies 21. I ctvilgo down] Ch. xi. 5, 7; Ex.
of the LXX. in the time of Philo had this iii. 8. The reason for God's thus revealing
afterwards familiar name of Abraham ex- His purpose to Abraham seems to have been,
pressed in this verse. Cp. 2 Chr. xx. 7; Isa. that, as Abraham was to be the heir of the
xli. 8; James ii. 23. promises, he might be taught and might teach
his children,'who were afterwards to dwell in
19. For I knotvw him, that] This is the that very country, that God is not a God of
general reading of the ancient Versions, LXX., mercy only, as shewn to Abraham and his
Vulg., Targg., &c. &c. It does not,' how- descendants, but a God of judgment also, as
ever, seem to correspond with the Hebrew witnessed by His destruction of the guilty
idiom. The literal rendering would be, " I cities of the plain.
have known him, to the end that, in order 22. the men turned theirfacesfrom thence,
that, he should command his children, &c." &c.] The two created angels went on to SoThe word (Mop, to know) is sometimes used dom (see ch. xix. I), "but Abraham stood
of the eternal foreknowledge and election of yet before the LORD," stood yet in the preGod, as in Amnos iii. 2, "; You only have I sence of that third Being who was not a
known of all the families of the earth." Cp. created angel, but the eternal Word of God,
Exod. xxxiii. i%; Job xxii. I3; Ps. lxxiii. II, " the Angel of Mighty counsel" (Isai. ix. 6,
cxliv. 3; Is. lviii. 3; Nah. i. 7. And compare LXX.); "the Messenger of the covenant"
a similar use in the Greek Testament, Rom. (Mal. iii. x).
126 GENESIS. XVIII. XIX. [v. 29-3.
And he said, If I find there forty and CHAPTER XIX.
five, I will not destroy it. ZLot entertainelh two antgels. 4 The vicious
29 And he spake unto him yet again, Sodomites are stricken with blindness. I2 Lot
and said, Peradventure there shall be issentfor safety into t/ie mountains. i8 He
obtainetl leave to go into Zoar. 24 Sodom and
forty found there. And he said, I Gomorrah are destroyed. 26 Lot's wife is a
will not do it for forty's sake. iillar of salt. 30 Lot dwelleth in a cave. 3
30 And he said unto him, Oh let not The incestuous original of Moab andAmmon.
the Lord be angry, and I will speak: AND there came two angels to
Peradventure there shall thirty be.t — Sodom at even; and Lot sat in
found there. And he said, I will not the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing
do it, if I find thirty there. them rose up to meet them; and he
31 And he said, Behold now, I have bowed himself with his face toward
taken upon me to speak unto the the ground;
Lord: Peradventure there shall be 2 And he said, Behold now, my
twenty found there. And he said, I lords, turn in, I pray you, into your
will not destroy it for twenty's sake. servant's house, and tarry all night,
32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord and awash your feet, and ye shall rise a chap..8
be angry, and I will speak yet but this up early, and go on your ways. And 4
once: Peradventure ten shall be found they said, Nay; but we will abide in
there. And he said, I will not de- the street all night.
stroy it for ten's sake. 3 And he pressed upon them greatly';
33 And the LORD went his way, as and they turned in unto him, and
soon as he had left communing with entered into his house; and he made
Abraham: and Abraham returned them a feast, and did bake unleavened
unto his place. bread, and they did eat.
32. I will not destroy it for ten's sake] them all the rites of hospitality. In those days
A noted example of the efficacy of prayer, of there were neither inns nor perhaps even
the blessedness of a good leaven in a city or caravanserais, so thait private houses only could
nation, and of the longsuffering mercy of God. give lodging to strangers.
-we qwill abide in the street all night] The
CHAP. XIX. 1. trwo angqels] Lit, the "street," lit. "the broad, open space," protwo ang~els. So LXX. Thetwo men, +who bably included all the streets, squares, and
left Abraham still standing in the presence of inclosures, frequently extensive in an eastern
the LORD (ch. xviii. 22) now came to Sodom city, and in these early days perhaps less
built over than in modern towns. The warmth
of the climate would make it easy to pass the
Lot sat in the gate of Sodom] The gate of night in such a place. The words of the angels
the city was, in the ancient towns of the may be compared with our Lord's manner as
east, the common place of public resort, both recorded Luke xxiv. 2S, " He made as though
for social intercourse and public business. He would have gone further." The visit of
This gate of the city nearly corresponded with the angels was one of trial previous to judgthe folrutm or marlket-place of Greece and ment (see ch. xviii. zI), trial of Lot as well as
Rome. Not only was it the place of public of the people of Sodom. Lot's character,
sale, but judges and even kings held courts of though he is called "; a righteous" or upright
justice there. The gate itself was probably an "man" (2 Pet. ii. 7), was full of faults and
arch with deep recesses, in which were placed infirmities, but here he comes out well under
the seats of the judges, and benches on either the trial. His conduct is altogether favourside were arranged for public convenience. ably contrasted with that of the inhabitants
(Cp. ch. xxxiv. 20; Deut. xxi. I9, xxii. i; of the city, and so he is delivered, whilst they
Ruth iv. I. See also Hom.'I1.' Lib. Ii. are destroyed.
48.) 38. a feast] Lit. "a drink, or banquet,
bowed himself] See on ch. xviii. z. symposium." It is the word used commonly
2. my lords] The Masorites mark this word for a sumptuous repast.
as " profane," i. e. as not taken in the divine, unleavened bread] As having no time to
but in the human sense. Lot, like Abraham, leaven it. Literally the words mean " bread
only saw in the angels two men, travellers of sweetness," i.e. bread which had not been
apparently wearied with the way, and he offers made bitter by leaven.
v. 4 —3.] GENESIS. XIX. I27
4 IT But before they lay down, the 9 And they said, Stand back. And
men of the city, even the men of they said again, This one fellow came
Sodom, compassed the house round, in to sojourn, and he will needs be a
both old and young, all the people judge: now will we deal worse with
from every quarter: thee, than with them. And they
5 And they called unto Lot, and pressed sore upon the man, even Lot,
said unto him, Where are the men and came near to break the door.
which came in to thee this night? Io But the men put forth their
bring them out unto us, that we may hand, and pulled Lot into the house
know them. to them, and shut to the door.
6 And Lot went out at the door I And they smote the men bthat b5Wisd. xg
unto them, and shut the door after were at the door of the house with
him, blindness, both small and great: so
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, that they wearied themselves to find
do not so wickedly. the door.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters I2 e1 And the men said unto Lot,
which have not known man; let me, Hast thou here any besides? son in
I pray you, bring them out unto you, law, and thy sons, and thy daughters,
and do ye to them as is good in your and whatsoever thou hast in the city,
eyes: only unto these men do nothing; bring them out of this place:
for therefore came they under the 13 For we will destroy this place,
shadow of my roof. because the Ccry of them is waxen 20.hap
4. all the people from every quarter] The writer relates the history simply and without
utter shamelessness of the inhabitants of comment, not holding up Lot as an example
Sodom, as well as their unbridled licentious- for imitation, but telling his faults as well as
ness, is briefly but most emphatically expressed his virtues, and leaving us to draw the inferin this verse. The Canaanitish nations in ences. He brought all his troubles on himself
general, and the cities of the plain especially, by the home he had chosen. He was bound
were addicted to those deadly sins so strictly to defend his guests at the risk of his own
forbidden to the Israelites. See Lev. xx. life, but not by the sacrifice of his daughters.
227 23.
9. Stand back] Lit. "Come near, farther
6. Lot wvent out at the door unto them, off."
and shut the door after him] Lit. "went out
at the doorway, and shut the door after crvill needs be ajudge] ore "Judging, he win
at the doorway, and shut the door after judge," referring, probably, as Tuch observes,
him."
to Lot's frequent remonstrances with them for
8. I have two daughters] These words their licentiousness and violence, which is reof Lot have been much canvassed in all times. ferred to in 2 Pet. ii. 7, 8.
St Chrysostom thought it virtuous in him not
to spare his own daughters, rather than sacri- 11. they smote the men that were at the
fice the duties of hospitality, and expose his door of the house wqith blindness] Perhaps the
guests to the wickedness of the men of Sodom word for blindness rather indicates confused
('Hom. xxIII. in Gen.'). So St Ambrose ('De vision, LXX. doparla. In Wisd. xix. x7, the
Abrah.' Lib. I. c. 6), speaking as if a smaller darkness in which these men were involved is
sin were to be preferred to a greater. But St compared with the plague of'darkness which
Augustine justly observes, that we should may be felt," which fell on the Egyptians
open the way for sin to reign far and wide, if (Ex. x. 22). If it had been actual blindness,
we allowed ourselves to commit smaller sins, they would hardly have wearied themselves to
lest others should commit greater (' Lib. contr. find the door, but would have sought some
Mend.' c. 9. See also' Quu. in Gen.' 42). We one to lead them by the hand (August.' De
see in all this conduct of Lot the same mixed Civit. Dei.' xxII. I9). The same word, the
character. He intended to do rightly, but root of which is very doubtful (see Gesen.
did it timidly and imperfectly. He felt strongly'Thes.' p. 961), occurs only once again, in
the duty of hospitality, perhaps by this time 2 K. vi. i8, where, apparently (see vv. i9, 20),
he had even some suspicion of the sacred cha- not real blindness, but indistinctness of vision
racter of his guests, but his standard of right, and misleading error are described. Aben
though high when compared with that of his Ezra interprets it as meaning "blindness of
neighbours, was not the highest. The sacred eve and mind."
128 GENESIS. XIX. v. I4-22.
great before the face of the LORD; they had brought them forth abroad,
and the LORD hath sent us to de- that he said, Escape for thy life; look
stroy it. not behind thee, neither stay thou in
I4 And Lot went out, and spake all the plain; escape to the mountain,
unto his sons in law, which married lest thou be consumed.
his daughters, and said, Up, get you I8 And Lot said unto them, Oh,
out of this place; for the LORD will not so, my Lord:
destroy this city. But he seemed as 19 Behold now, thy servant hath
one that mocked unto his sons in found grace in thy sight, and thou
law. hast magnified thy mercy, which thou
IS qT And when the morning arose, hast shewed unto me in saving my
then the angels hastened Lot, saying, life; and I cannot escape to the mounArise, take thy wife, and thy two tain, lest some evil take me, and I
t Heb. daughters, which tare here; lest thou die:
e~ fond0r. be consumed in the I iniquity of the 20o Behold now, this city is near to
uniFshF- city. flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh,
dWisd. Io. i6 And awhile he lingered, the let me escape thither, (is it not a little
6. men laid hold upon his hand, and one?) and my soul shall live.
upon the hand of his wife, and upon 21 And he said unto him, See, I
the hand of his two daughters; the have accepted tthee concerning this t Heb.
LORD being merciful unto him: and thing also, that I will not overthrow t'yace.
they brought him forth, and set him this city, for the which thou hast
without the city. spoken.
I7 T" And it came to pass, when 22 Haste thee, escape thither; for
13. the LORD hath sent us to destroy it] of the devoted region, which he had formerly
The angels speak here as messengers of judg- coveted for his own, and where, when he
ment, not as He, who conversed with Abra- parted from Abraham, he had made his habiham, ch. xviii. 17-33. tation, and sought to enrich himself.
14. which married his daughters] Lit. 18. my Lord] The Masorites have the
"the takers of his daughters." LXX. " who note kadesh, i.e. " holy," but it is probably no
had taken his daughters." Vulg. "who were more than the salutation of reverence, see
about to marry his daughters." Some, Kno- v. 2. For, though Lot had now found out
bel, Delitzsch, &c., have held that besides the dignity of his guests, there is no evidence
those mentioned, vv. 8, 30, Lot had other that he thought either of them to be the Most
daughters, who had married men of the city, High. Indeed the word might be rendered
and who perished in the conflagration with in the plural "my lords," as the Syr. and
their husbands. It is more commonly thought Saad.
that he had only two daughters, who were 19. I cannot escape to the mountain] Lot
betrothed, but not yet married; betrothal and his family were, no doubt, exhausted by
being sufficient to give the title "son in law" fear and anxiety and he felt that if he had to
or " anbridegroom " to their affianced hushands. go r and antand hf that, he had to
or "bridegroom" to their affianced husbands.
go to the mountains of Moab, he would be
15. whbich are here] Lit. " which are exposed to many dangers, which might prove
found." This seems to Knobel and others to his destruction; another instance of defective
indicate that there were other daughters, but courage and faith, which yet is pardoned by a
that these two only were at home, the others merciful God.
being with their husbands in the city (see on some evil] The evil, i.e. the destruction
v. x4); but it very probably points only to about to fall on Sodom; all Lot's conduct
the fact, that Lot's wife and daughters were here denotes excessive weakness.
at home and ready to accompany him, whilst
his sons in law scoffed and refused to go. 20. is it not a little one?] Though Zoar
may have been involved in the guilt of the
1.6. the LORD being mercfiul unto him] other cities of the plain, Lot pleads that it has
Lit. " in the mercy" (the sparing pity) " of but few inhabitants, and that the sins of such
the LORD to him." a small city can be but comparatively small.
17. that he said] i.e. one of the angels. So Rashi.
the plain] The kikkar, the circuit of the 21. I have accepted thee] Lit. " I have
Jordan. Lot was to escape from the whole lifted up thy face." It was the custom in the
V. 23-28.] GENESIS. XIX. 129
I cannot do anything till thou be and all the plain, and all the inhabitants
come thither. Therefore the name of the cities, and that which grew upon
of the city was called Zoar. the ground.
f Heb. 23 ~1 The sun was t risen upon the 26 e But his wife looked back from
gonefovrth. earth when Lot entered into Zoar. behind him, and she became a pillar of
e.Deut. 29. 24 Then ethe LORD rained upon salt.
Luke 7. Sodom and upon Gomorrah brim- 27 ~T And Abraham gat up early in
9ai. stone and fire from the LORD out of the morning to the place where he
Jer. 5~. 40 heaven; stood before the LORD:
Amos4. II.
Jude 7. 25 And he overthrew those cities, 28 And he looked toward Sodom
East to make supplication with the face to "The LORD rained from Himself." It is a
the ground; when the prayer was granted, common idiom in Hebrew to repeat the noun
the face was said to be raised. instead of using a pronoun.
22. Zoar] i.e. "~ little." It appears by brimstone and fire...out of heaven] Many
several ancient testimonies to have been be- -explanations have been offbred of this. Whelieved that Zoar or Bela, though spared from ther the fire from heaven was lightning, which
the first destruction of the cities of the plain, kindled the bitumen and set the whole country
was afterwards swallowed up by an earth- in a blaze, whether it was a great volcanic
quake, probably when Lot had left it, v. 30. eruption overwhelming all the cities of the
(See Jerom' ad Jos.' xv. and'Qu. in Gen.' plain, or whether there was simply a miracuc. xlv.; Theodoret'in Gen.' xixo). This lous raining down of ignited sulphur, has
tradition may account for the statement in been variously disputed and discussed. From
Wisdom x. 6, that five cities were destroy- comparing these words with Deut. xxix. 23,
ed, and of Josephus (' B. J.' IV. 8. 4), that where it is said, " The whole land thereof is
the "shadowy forms of five cities" could be brimstone and salt and burning," it may be
seen; whereas Deut. xxix. 23 only mentions reasonably questioned, whether the " brimfour, viz. Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and stone" in both passages may not mean bitnZeboim: yet, on the other hand, Eusebius mten, with which unquestionably, both before
(v. 3aXA) witnesses that Bela, or Zoar, was (see ch. xiv. Io), and after the overthrow, the
inhabited in his day, and garrisoned by Ro- whole country abounded (see also Jerusalem
man soldiers. Targum quoted in the last note). The Al24. the LORD rained upon Sodom and Upon mighty, in His most signal judgments and
Gomorrah brimstone andfire from the LoRD out even in His most miraculous intervention
of heaven] The LORD is said to have rained has been pleased often to use natural agencies;
as, for instance, He brought the locusts on
from the LORD, an expression much noted by as, for instance, He brought the locusts othem
commentators, Jewish and.Christian. yl Egypt with an East wind and drove them
commentators, Jewish and.Christian. Several
of the Rabbins, Manasseh Ben Israel, R. Si- back with a West wind (Ex. x. I3, I9).
meon, adthers, by the first JEIOVA under Possibly therefore the bitumen, which was the
sta the angel Gabriel, the angel of ner natural produce of the country, volcanic or
stand the angel Gabriel, the angel of the otherwise, was made the instrument by which
LORD: but there is certainly no other passage th offending cities made the instrumen y which
in Scripture, where this most sacred name * *-
in Scripture, wheto a cre this most sacred name velation to Abraham, the visit of the angels,
is given to a created angel. Many of the the deliverance of Lot, mark the whole as
fathers, Ignatius, Justin M., Tertullian, Cy- iraculous and the resut of direct interven7 A a * sT-1 *rT11 I- nmiraculous and the result of direct intervenprian, Athanasius, Hilary, The Council' of
Sirmium, &c. see in these words the mystery ton from above, whatever tay have been the
of the Holy Trinity, as though it were said, instrument which the Most High made use of
I" GOD the'Word rained down fire from GOD t work His pleasure.
the Father;" an interpretation which may 26. a pillar of salt] All testimony speaks
seem to be supported by the Jerusalem Tar- of the exceeding saltness of the Dead Sea,
gum, where "the Word of the LORD" is and the great abundance of salt in its neighsaid to have "rained down fire and bitumen bourhood (e.g. Galen.'De Simp. Medic.
from the presence of the LORD." Other pa- Facult.' IV. I9). In what manner Lot's wife
tristic commentators of the highest authority actually perished has been questioned. Aben(as Chrysostom, Jerome and Augustine) do Ezra supposed that she was first killed by the
not press this argument. Aben Ezra, whom brimstone and fire and then incrusted over
perhaps a majority of Christian commentators with salt, so as to become a statue or pillar of
have followed in this, sees in these words a salt. There was a pillar of salt near the Dead
peculiar "elegance or grace of language;" Sea, which later tradition identified with Lot's
"The LoRD rained...fronl the LomrD" being a wife (Joseph.' Ant.' I. ir; Iren. Iv., 5; Tergrander and more impressive'node of saying, tullian,' Carmen de Sodoma;' Benjamin of
VOL. I. I
Iro GENESIS. XIX. Lv. 29-37.
and Gomorrah, and toward all the that we may preserve seed of our
land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, father.
the smoke of the country went up as 33 And they made their father
the smoke of a furnace. drink wine that night: and the first29 T1 And it came to pass, when born went in, and lay with her father;
God destroyed the cities of the plain, and he perceived not when she lay
that God remembered Abraham, and down, nor when she arose.
sent Lot out of the midst of the over- 34 And it came to pass on the
throw, when he overthrew the cities morrow, that the firstborn said unto
in the which Lot dwelt. the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight
30 qT And Lot went up out of with my father: let us make him drink
Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and wine this night also; and go thou in,
his two daughters with him; for he and lie with him, that we may prefeared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt serve seed of our father.
in a cave, he and his two daughters. 35 And they made their father
31 And the firstborn said unto the drink wine that night also: and the
younger, Our father is old, and there younger arose, and lay with him; and
is not a man in the earth to come in he perceived not when she lay down,
unto us after the manner of all the nor when she arose.
earth: 36 Thus were both the daughters
32 Come, let us make our father of Lot with child by their father.
drink wine, and we will lie with him, 37 And the firstborn bare a son,
Tudela,'Itin.' P.44. See Heidegger, II. p. 269). nunquam esse matres quarm sic uti patre debuThe American expedition, under Lynch, erunt,'C. Faustum,' xxII. 43~) It is too appafound to the East or Usdum a pillar of salt rent that the licentiousness of Sodom had had
about forty feet high, which was perhaps that a degrading influence upon their hearts and
referred to by Josephus, &c. lives.
29. God remembered Abraham] He re- 32. let us make our father drink,wine]
membered Abraham's intercession recorded in It has been suggested in excuse for Lot, that
ch. xviii. and also the covenant which He had his daughters drugged the wine. Of this,
made with Abraham, and which was gra- however, there is no intimation in the text.
ciously extended so as to benefit his kinsman But the whole history is of the simplest chaLot. racter. It tells plainly all the faults, not of
30. he Jfeared to dwell in Zoar] Jerome Lot only, but of Abraham and Sarah also.
('Qu.' ad h.l.) supposes that Lot had seen Still though it simply relates and neither praises
Zoar so often affected by earthrquakes that he nor blames, yet in Lot's history we may trace
durst no longer abide there, see on v. 22. the judgment as well as the mercy of God.
Rashi thought that the proximity to Sodom His selfish choice of the plain of Jordan led
was the reason for his fear. The weakness of him perhaps to present wealth and prosperity,
Lot's character is seen here again, in his not but withal to temptation and danger. In
trusting God's promises. the midst of the abandoned profligacy of
~dw~elt in a ca~ve] These mountainous re- Sodom he indeed was preserved in comparative purity and so, when God overthrew the
gions abound in caves, and the early inhabit-, he d o e te
ants formed them into dwellingplaces; see cities of the plain, he yet saved Lot from de..
struction. Still Lot's feebleness of faith first
on ch. xiv. 6.
caused him to linger, v. i6, then to fear escape
31. there is not a man in the earth] Iren. to the mountains, v. I9, and lastly to doubt
(iv. i;) Chrysostom (' Hom. 34 in Ge- the safety of the place which God had spared
nes.'), Ambros. (' De Abrahamo,'. 6), Theo- for him, v. 30. Now again he is led by
doret, (' Qu. in. Gen.' 69), excuse this incestu- his children into intoxication, which betrays
ous conduct of the daughters of Lot on the him, unconsciously, into far more dreadful
ground, that they supposed the whole human wickedness. And then we hear of him no
race to have been destroyed, excepting their more. He is left by the sacred narrative,
father and themselves. Even if it were so, the saved indeed from the conflagration of Sodom,
words of St Augustine would be true, that but an outcast, widowed, homeless, hopeless,
"' they should have preferred to be childless without children or grandchildren, save the
rather than to treat their father so." (Potius authors and the heirs of his shame.
v. 38.] GENESIS. XIX.'3'
and called his name Moab: the same a son, and called his name Benis the father of the Moabites unto ammi: the same is the father of
this day. the children of Ammon unto this
38 And the younger, she also bare day.
37. Moab] According to the LXX.=me- race, of Bedouin habits, worshippers of Moab, i.e. "from the father." So also the lech, "the abomination of the Ammonites."
Targ. of Pseudo-Jonathan, Augustine, Je- I K. xi. 7rome, &c. alluding to the incestuous origin of De Wette and his followers, Rosenmiller
MVoab. The IMoabites dwelt originally to the Tuch, Knobel, &c. speak of this narrative, as
East of the Dead Sea, from whence they if it had arisen from the national hatred of
expelled the Emims (Deut. ii. i i). Afterwards the Israelites to the Moabites and Ammonites,
they were driven by the Amorites to the but the Pentateuch by no means shews such
South of the river Arnon, which formed their national hatred (see Deut. ii 9, I9): and the
Northern boundary. book of Ruth gives the history of a Moabitess
38. Ben-ammi] i. e. "son of my people," who was ancestress of David himself. It was
in allusion to his being of unmixed race. The not till the Moabites had seduced the Israelites
Ammonites are said to have destroyed the to idolatry and impurity, Num. xxv. I, and
Zam-zummim, a tribe of the Rephaim, and to had acted in an unfriendly manner towards
have succeeded them and dwelt in their stead. them, hiring Balaam to curse them, that they
(Deut. ii. 22.) They appear for the most part were excluded from the congregation of the
to have been an unsettled marauding violent Lord for ever. Deut. xxiii. 3, 4.
NOTE A on CHAP. XIX. 25. THE DEAD SEA, SITE OF SODOM AND ZOAR.
(i) Characteristics of Dead Sea. Testimonies ancient and modern. (2) Geological
formation. (3)'Were Sodom, Zoar, &c. on the North or South of the Dead Sea?
THI-E Dead Sea, if no historical importance at- masses of fossil salt which lie in a mountain at
tached to it, would still be the most remark- its South-west border, and by the rapid evaable body of water in the known world. poration of the fresh water, which flows into
MIany fabulous characteristics were assigned it (Stanley, IS. and P.' p. 292; Robinson's
to it by ancient writers, as that birds could'Phys. Geog.' p. I95). Both ancient and
not fly over it, that oxen and camels floated in modern writers assert that nothing animal or
it, nothing being heavy enough to sink (Ta- vegetable lives in this sea (Tacit.' Hist.' v. 6;
cit.' Hist.' v. 6; Plin.'H. N.' v. i6; Seneca, Galen.' De Simpl. Med.' Iv. 19; Hieron. ad
I'Q. Nat.' lib. II.). It has been conjectured Ezech. XLVIL. i8; Robinson,'Bib. Res.' Ii.
by Reland, with some probability, that le- p. 2z6). The few living creatures which the
gends belonging to the lake of Asphalt said to Jordan washes down into it are destroyed
have existed near Babylon (see on ch. xi. 3) (Stanley,'S. and P.' p. 293). No wonder,
were mixed up with the accounts of the Dead then, that the Salt Sea should have been called
Sea, and both exaggerated (Reland,' Palest.' the Dead Sea, a name unknown to the sacred
ii. pp. 244 seq.). writers, but common in after times. Even
The Dead Sea called in Scripture the its shores, incrusted with salt, present the apSalt Sea (Gen. xiv. 3; Numb. xxYxiv. 3, 12), pearance of utter desolation. The ancients
the Sea of the Plain (Deut. iii. 17, iv. 49; speak much of the masses of asphalt, or bituJosh. iii. i6), and in the later books, " the men, which the lake threw up. Diodorus
East Sea" (Ezek. xlvii. I8; Joel ii. 20; in Sic. affirms that the masses of bitumen were
Zech, xiv. 8, "the former sea" should be ren- like islands, covering two or three plethra
dered "the East Sea"), is according to Lynch (Diod. Sic. Ii. 48); and Josephus says that
40 geographical miles long by 9 to 9-3 broad. they were of the form and magnitude of oxen
Its depression is 13x6 feet below the level of (' B. J.' Iv. 8. 4). Modern travellers testify
the Mediterranean. Its depth in the northern to the existence of bitumen still on the shores
portion is 1308 feet. Its extreme saltness was and waters of the Dead Sea, but it is supknown to the ancients. Galen. (' De Simplic. posed by the Arabs, that it is only thrown up
Medicam. Facultat.' c. i9) says that "its taste by earthquakes. Especially after the earthwas not only salt but bitter." Modern travel- quakes of 1834 and I837, large quantities are
lers describe the taste as most intensely and said to have been cast upon the Southern
intolerably salt, its specific gravity and its shore, probably detached by shocks from the
buoyancy being consequently so great that bottom of the Southern bay (Robinson,'B. R.'
people can swim or float in it, who could not [i. p. 229;' Physical Geog.' p. 201. See also
swim in any other water. This excessive Thomson,'Land and Book,' p. 223).
saltnes- is probably caused by the imml-ense There is great difference between the NorthI 2
132 GENESIS. XX. [v.,92.
ern and Southern portions of the sea. The the plain as having lain at this Southern exgreat depth of the Northern division does not tremitv of the sea. The general belief at preextend to the South. The Southern bay is sent that that portion only of the sea can have
shallow, its shores low and marshy, almost been of recent formation, and hence that that
like a quicksand, (Stanley,'S. and P.' p. z93). only can have occupied the site of the vale of
It has been very generally supposed from Gen. Siddim, the belief that Sodom was near the
xiv. 3, that the Dead Sea now occupies the vale of Siddim, the bituminous, saline, volcanic
site of what was originally the Plain of aspect of the Southern coast, the traditional
Jordan, the vale of Siddim, and to this has names of Usdum, &c., the traditional site of
been added the belief that the cities of Sodom, Zoar, called by Josephus (as above) Zoar of
Gomorrah, &c. were situated in the vale of Arabia, the hill of salt, said to have been Lot's
Siddim, and that they too were covered by wife, and every other supposed vestige of the
the Dead Sea. Recent observations have led destroyed cities being to the South, all tend to
many to believe that probably a lake must the general conviction that the cities of the
have existed here before historic times. Yet plain (of the Kikkar) lay either within or
it is quite conceivable that the terrible catas- around the present South bay of the Dead
trophe recorded in Genesis, traces of which Sea. On the other hand, Mr Grove (in. Smith's
are visible throughout the whole region, may' Dict. of the Bible') has argued with great
have produced even the deep depression of ability in favour of a Northern site for these
the bed of the Dead Sea, and so have arrested cities, and he is supported by Tristraln (' Land
the streams of the Jordan, which may before of Israel,' pp. 360 —363). The chief grounds
that time have flowed onwards through the for his argument are Ist, that Abraham and
Arabah, and emptied itself into the Gulph of Lot, at or near Bethel, could have seen the
Akabah. At all events, it is very probable plain of Jordan to the North of the Dead Sea,
that the Southern division of the lake may but could not have seen the Southern valleys
have been formed at a comparatively recent (see Gen. xiii. o): 2ndly, that what they saw
date. The character of this Southern part, was "the Kiykkar of the Jordan," whereas
abounding with salt, frequently throwing up the Jordan flowed into the Dead Sea at its
bitumen, its shores producing sulphur and Northern extremity, but probably never flownitre (Robinson,'Phys. Geog,' p. zo4), corre- ed to the South of that sea: 3rdly, that later
sponds accurately with all that is told us of writers have been misled by apparent simithe valley of Siddim, which was "full of larity of names, by the general belief that the
slime pits" (Gen. xiv. Io), and with the his- sea had overflowed the sites of the cities and
tory of the destruction of the cities by fire by uncertain traditions. It is, however, to
and brimstone and the turning of Lot's wife be observed, that Mr Grove's arguments rest
into a pillar of salt. Very probably there- on two somewhat uncertain positions: first,
fore the vale of Siddim may correspond with that, in Gen. xiii. 1 I0-3, Lot must have been
what is now the Southern Bay of the Dead able to see, from between Bethel and Ai, the
Sea. There is, however, no Scriptural au- cities of the plain; whereas it is possible that
thority for saying that Sodom and the other the language is not to be pressed too strictly,
guilty cities were immersed in the sea. They Lot seeing at the time the river Jordan North
are always spoken of as* overthrown by fire of the present Dead Sea, and knowing that
from heaven (cf. Deut. xxix. 23; Jer. xlix. the whole valley both North and South was
I8, i. 40; Zeph. ii. 9; 2Pet. ii. 6). And Jose- fertile and well watered; secondly, that no
phu.s (' B. J.' Iv. 8. 4) speaks of " Sodomitis, part of the Dead Sea can be of recent foronce a prosperous country from its fertility mation, notwithstanding the terrible catasand abundance of cities, but now entirely trophes all around it, to which not only Scripburnt up," as adjoining the lake Asphaltites. ture but tradition and the present appearThis was observed long ago by Reland (II. p. ance of the whole country bear testimony.
256), and is now generally admitted by tra- On the other hand, both tradition, local names
vellers and commentators. All ancient testi- and local evidences are strongly in favour of
mony is in favour of considering the cities of the Southern site of the cities destroyed.
CHAPTER XX. ND Abraham' journeyed from
I Abrahanm sojorzrnet/ at Gerar, 2 denieth his thence toward the south counwfe, and loseth her. 3 Abimelech is re. try, and dwelled between Kadesh
provei for her in a dream. 9 He rebuketh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
Abraham, I4 re.storetl Sarah, i6 and re- And Abraham said of Sarah his
provetzi her. 17 He is healed by Abraham's 2, nd Abraham said of Sarah his
prayer. wife, She is my sister: and AbimeCHAP. XX. 1. From thence] i.e. from visitors, and whence he had beheld the smoke
Mamre, where he had received the heavenly fi'om the conflagration of the cities of the plain.
v. 3-7.] GENESIS. XX. I33
lech king of Gerar sent, and took He is my brother: in the lintegrity n r,
Sarah. of my heart and innocency of my ior, Siizety
3 But God came to Abimelech in hands have I done this. rity.
a dream by night, and said to him, 6 And God said unto him in a
Behold, thou art but a dead man, for dream, Yea, I know that thou didst
the woman which thou hast taken this in the integrity of thy heart; for
tHeb. for she is *a man's wife. I also withheld thee from sinning
atoaned 4 But Abimelech had not come against me: therefore suffered I thee,sa~odb near her: and he said, Lord, wilt not to touch her.
thou slay also a righteous nation? 7 Now therefore restore the man
5 Said he not unto me, She is my his wife; for he is a prophet, and he
sister? and she, even she herself said, shall pray for thee, and thou shalt
It may have been painful to him to abide in a bated by Keil (p. i70, Eng. Trans. p. 2,42.). He
place where he would be hourly reminded of observes, that the name Elohim indicates the
this terrible catastrophe, or he may merely true relation of God to Abimelech; but that
have travelled onward in search of fresh pas- in v. I 8, JEHOVAH, the covenant God of Abraturage. ham, interposes to save him. All the more midwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and so- nute details of this history are different from
journed in Gerar] He settled apparently in a that in ch. xii. In Abimelech we see a totally
fertile country lying between the two deserts different character from that of Pharaoh; the
of Kadesh and Shur, and finally took up his character, namely, of a heathen imbued with
residence as a stranger or sojourner (so the a moral consciousness of right and open to
word "'sojourned" signifies) at Gerar, a place receive a divine revelation, of which there is
which, St Jerome says, was on the southern no trace in the account of the king of Egypt.
border of the Canaanites. Gerar was not far It is *not to be wondered at that the same
from Gaza (Gen. x. I9), and Beersheba (xxvi. danger should twice have occurred to Sarah,
26). Its site has probably been identified by if we remember that the customs of the heaRowlands (Williams'' Holy City,' I. 465) then nations, among which he was sojourning,
with the traces of an ancient city now called were such as to induce Abraham to use the
Khirbet-el-Gerar, near a deep WVady called artifice of calling his wife his sister.
Julf-el-Gerar, about three hours to the south- 4. had not come near her] A pparently
south-east of Gaza. a divinely sent illness had been upon him,
2. She is my sister] This was Abraham's vv. 6, i8.
plan of action, when sojourning among a righteous nation] i. e. a nation guiltless as
strangers, of whose character he was ignorant, regards this act of their king; but it may be,
see v. 13. He has been defended as having that the people of Gerar were really exempt
6" said she was his sister, without denying that from the worst vices of Canaan, and living in
she was his wife, concealing the truth but not a state of comparative piety and simplicity.
speaking what was false" (August.'c. Faust.' 6. suffered I thee not to touch her] See
xxiI. 3). But, though concealment may not on v. 4.
necessarily be deception, we can scarcely ac- 7. he is a prophet] i.e. one inspiled by
quit Abraham either of some disingenuous- God, or the medium of God's communications
ness or of endangering his wife's honour and and revelations to mankind. Thus Exod. vii.,
chastity, in order to save his own life. Aaron is said to be Moses' prophet, becaulse
Abimelech] Father of the king, or perhaps he was to convey the messages and co,.lnmaolds
father king, the common title of the Philistine of Moses to Pharaoh. An objection has been
kings, as Pharaoh was of the Egyptians. The made to the antiquity of the Pentateuch from
age at which Sarah must have been at this the statement in i S. ix,. 9, that "he that is
time, some twenty-three or twenty-four years now called a Prophet was beforetime called a
older than when Pharaoh took her into his Seer." Hence it is argued that the Pentateuch,'souse (ch. xii. IS), creates a considerable dif- which always uses the word prophet, cannot
ficulty here. We may remember that Sarah be of the great antiquity assigned to it. The
after this became a mother, that though too difficulty is only on the surface. "Prophet"
old for childbearing under normal conditions, was the genuine name applied to all who deshe had had her youth renewed since the visit dared God's will, who foretold the future,
of the angels (Kurtz), when it was promised or even to great religious teachers. "' Seer"
that she should have a son. The assertion of had a more restricted sense, and was appromodern critics that this is merely another ver- priated to those only who were favoured
sion of ch. xii. io-2o, the work of the Elohist, with visions from heaven. The word prophet
whilst that was by the Jehovist, is ably com- occurs constantly in the Pentateuch in the
134 GENESIS. XX. [v. 8-I6.
live: and if thou restore her not, I2 And yet indeed she is my sister;
know thou that thou shalt surely die, she is the daughter of my father, but
thou, and all that are thine. not the daughter of my mother; and
8 Therefore Abimelech rose early she became my wife.
in the morning, and called all his I3 And it came to pass, when God
servants, and told all these things in caused me to wander from my father's
their ears: and the men were sore house, that I said unto her, This is
afraid. thy kindness which thou shalt shew
9 Then Abimelech called Abra- unto me; at every place whither we
ham, and said unto him, What hast shall come, asay of me, He is my d chap. i
thou done unto us? and what have brother. 13
I offended thee, that thou hast brought 14 And Abimelech took sheep, and
on me and on my kingdom a great oxen, and menservants, and womensin? thou hast done deeds unto me servants, and gave them unto Abrathat ought not to be done. ham, and restored him Sarah his
IO And Abimelech said unto Abra- wife.
ham, What sawest thou) that thou 15 And Abimelech said, Behold,
hast done this thing? my land is before thee: dwell twhere t Heb.
I And Abraham said, Because I it pleaseth thee. as isged
thought, Surely the fear of God is I6 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, eYes.
not in this place; and they will slay I have given thy brother a thousand
me for my wife's sake. pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee
general sense of one in communion with God, heathenism of the Canaanitish races, and had
and made the medium of God's communica- lately witnessed the overthrow of Sodomn for
tions to man. The word " seer" would gen- the licentiousness of its people, and he natuerally be out of place in such a passage as this, rally thought that the inhabitants of Gerar
or such as Ex. vii. I, xv. 2o; Num. xi. 29, might be equally forgetful oif God, and therexii. 6, &c.; but in the tine of Samuel, whien fore prone to all wickedness.
"the word of the LORD was precious there 12. she is my sister; she is the daughter of
was no open vision," (I S. iii. i;) the appli- myJ'ather, but not the daughter of ny mother]
cation of the title "' seer" to Samuel, who had Sarah's name does not occur in the geneavisions specially vouchsafed to him, was very logies, and we do not know any thing of her
appropriate; yet after his time, though the birth but that which is here stated. Such
name was sometimes employed to designate marriages, though afterwards forbidden (Lev.
the inspired teachers of mankind, the older xviii. 9, II, xx. 17; Deut. xxvii. zz), may
and more comprehensive title of "prophet" not have been esteemed unlawful in patriagain came into common use, not only for archal times, and they were common among
teachers of religion generally, but also for the the heathen nations of antiquity (Ach. Tatius,
most favoured of God's servants. (See'Mosaic Lib. I.; Diod. I. 27; Herod. III. 3i; Nepos,
Origin of the Pentateuch,' by a Layman, Cimon,' c. r.) Many Jewish and Christian
P. 97.) interpreters, however, think that daughter here
he shall pray for thee] As the prophets means gnddaughter, and that Sarah was the
were the instruments of God'srevelations, same as Iscah, the sister of Lot (ch. xi. 29),
e who is called "the brother of Abraham" (ch.
His messengers, to man; so men made the xiv I6).
prophets instruments for sending their prayers
up to God (Cleric.). Cp. Jer. vii. I6, xi. I4, 13. God caused me to uander] In general
xiv. II. the name of GoD (Elohim), though of plural
form, is joined with a singular verb. In this
10. WGhat sauest tho] Manly recent case, however, the verb is in the plural. Similar
commentators, Knobel, Delitzsch, Keil, &c., constructions occur ch. xxxv. 7; Exod. xxii. 8;
render, " W.hat hadst thou in view?" The 2 S vii. 23; (cp. I Chr. xvii. 21); Ps. viii. I%.
more simple sense is, what didst thou see in In Josh. xxiv. I9, the adjective is in the plural.
the conduct and manners of me or my people, The Samaritan Pentateuch here and in ch.
that thou shouldest have done so to us? Didst xxxv. 7 has the verb in the singular.
thou see us talking away the wives of strangers 16. a thousand pieces of silver] Lit. "a
and murdering the husbands? thousand of silver." The versions insert "she11. Surely the fear of God is not in this kels" or'didrachmas;" nothing can be known
place] Abraham had seen the impiety and of the weights and measures of this early time.
v. 17-6.] GENESIS. XX. XXI. I35
a covering of the eyes, unto all that AND the LORD visited Sarah as he
are with thee, and with all other: thus f had said, and the LORD did
she was reproved. unto Sarah aas he had spoken. a chap. x7,
17 qT So Abraham prayed unto 2 For Sarah bconceived, and bare &a8. IO.
God: and God healed Abimelech, Abraham a son in his old age, at the aActs 7.8.
and his wife, and his maidservants; set time of which God had spoken to Heb. ii.
and they bare children. him.
i8 For the LORD had fast closed 3 And Abraham called the name
up all the wombs of the house of of his son that was born unto him,
Abimelech, because of Sarah Abra- whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
ham's wife. 4. And Abraham circumcised his
son Isaac being eight days old, cas God c chap. 17.
CHAPTER XXI. had commanded him. 12.
I Isaac is borns. 4 1ie is circtumcised. 6.Sactah's 5 And Abraham was an hundred
joy. 9 tlagar and Ishmael are cast forth. years old, when his son Isaac was
I5 Hfagar in distress. 17 The angel con- born unto him.
fortethz her. 22 Abimeleciz's covenant withG
Abraham at Beer-sheba. 6 AT And Sarah said, God hath
Probably the thousand pieces of silver indicate God, who interposed for Abraham and prethe value of the sheep and oxen, which Abi- served the mother of the promised seed.
melech gave to Abraham, though some think
it was an additional present.
CHAP. XXI. 1. the LORD did unto Sarah
16. he is to thee a covering of the eyes] as he had spoken] In ch. xvii. i6, GOD proThere is great variety of opinion as to the mised that He would give Abraham a son
sense of these words. If we follow the ren- by Sarah his wife, on which promise Abradering of the Authorized Version, the most ham fell on his face and laughed, whether
probable interpretation is that of Heidegger, from incredulity or for joy. What God (EloSchrweder, Rosenmoller, &c., viz. this, that in him) then promised here the LORD (JE1IOearly times in the East unmarried women often VAnI) fulfils.
went unveiled, but married women always 2. at the set time of zwhich God had spoken
veiled themselves. Cp. Gen. xxiv. 65. Hence to him] The "set time" was fixed, ch. xvii.
Abimelech meant to say, that Abraham should 2i, and xviii. Io, 14. (See note on ch. xviii.
be like a veil to Sarah, screening her from the Io.) Modern critics see in ch. xvii. and in
eyes of all other men. See Rosenm. in loc. this ch. xxi. an Elohistic portion of the hisHeidegger, II. p. I63. The words might have tory of Abraham, and in ch. xviii. a Jehobeen rendered, as by the LXX., Vulg., Targg., vistic portion. Yet this present chapter seems
Syr., "it" or "they," i.e. the one thousand clearly to point back to both ch. xvii. and ch.
pieces of silver " are to thee a covering of the xviii., and in its first verse it uses twice the
eyes," in which case the meaning would pro- name JEHOVAH, whilst in the second and
bably be " this gift is to thee for a covering to subsequent verses it has constantly the nanme
the eyes, so that thou shouldest overlook or Elohim until we come to v. 33, when both
condone the injury done to thee." So St names are conjoined, for Abraham is said to
Chrysostom, and among moderns, Gesenius, have called on the name of "' The LORD, the.
Tuch, Knobel, &c. everlasting God."
thus she,was reproved] Here also there is 3. Isaac] The name which God had apgreat diversity of interpretation; but the Au- pointed for him, ch. xvii. I9. See also note
thorized Version is probably correct, and we on ch. xviii. x2.
must understand the words to be those of the 6. God hath made me to laugh] Whathistorian, not of Abimelech. So apparently ever was the nature of Sarah's laughter when
Onk., Arab., Saad., Kimchi, Gesen., Rosenm., the promise was made to her (see ch. xviii.
&c. I 2), she now acknowledges that God had
18. the LORD] Keil has obserlved, that made her to laugh for joy; and she recognizes
the various names of the Most High are used that He, whom she then took fo:, a traveller
very significantly in these two last verses. The and who made the promise, at which she
care of Abimelech and his wives belonged to laughed, was truly GoD.
the Deity (Elohim). Abraham directed his quill laugh cith me] The Hebrew might
intercession not to Elohim, an indefinite and mean "laugh at me" or "laugh with me."
unknown god, but to Ha-Elohim, "the" true The Authorised Version rightly follows the
"God;" and it was JEHOVAH, the covenant LXX., Vulg., Targg., &c.
136 GENESIS. XXI. [V 7 —I4
made me to laugh, so that all that woman shall not be heir with my son,
hear will laugh with me. even with Isaac.
7 And she said, Who would have ii And the thing was very grievsaid unto Abraham, that Sarah should ous in Abraham's sight because of his
have given children suck? for I have son.
born him a son in his old age. I2 q[ And God said unto Abraham,
8 And the child grew, and was Let it not be grievous in thy sight
weaned: and Abraham made a great because of the lad, and because of thy
feast the same day that Isaac was bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath
weaned. said unto thee, hearken unto her
9 IT And Sarah saw the son of voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be
Hagar the Egyptian, which she had called.
born unto Abraham, mocking. I3 And also of the son of the bondio Wherefore she said unto Abra- woman will I make a nation, because
Gal. 4. ham, dCast out this bondwoman and he is thy seed.
4*' her son: for the son of this bond- I4 And Abraham rose up early in
7. Who would have said] The render- riding" (see Buxtorf,' Lex. Chald. and Taling of the Authorised Version is most like- mud,' p. 7I9), as does the Syriac. The later
ly correct. The obscurity of the passage Targums (Pseudo-Jon. and Jerusalem) unprobably arises from its poetical form. It derstand some acts of idolatrous worship or
has been long ago observed, that the words perhaps impurity, (comp. Ex. xxxii. 6, where
are apparently those of a short poem or hymn, the same word is used for " play," and I Cor.
like the hymn of Hannah, I S. ii. I-7, or x. 7). It is quite untrue that the word
the Magnificat bf the Blessed Virgin, Luke i.'laugh," here rendered "mocking," is never
46-55, the resemblance to which is the more used but in a good sense. In ch. xix. 14, it
noticeable, as Isaac was an eminent type of is rightly rendered " mocked." See also Gen.
the Lord Jesus (see W\ordsworth ad loc.). xxvi. 8, xxxix. I4, I7; Ex. xxxii. 6. It proThat these words were of the nature of a bably means in this passage, as it has generally
hymn or poem is seen in the use of a poetical been understood, zn"mocking laughter." As
word (millel) for "said," instead of the more Abraham had laughed for joy concerning
common words (dibber or amar); and also in Isaac, and Sarah had laughed incredulously, so
the appearance of regular parallelism of the now Ishmael laughed in derision, and probamembers of the sentence. bly in a persecuting and tyrannical spirit
(see Gal. iv. z9).
8. the child grerw, and wUas weaned] From
I S. i. 23, 24; z Macc. vii. z7; Joseph. 10. Cast out] These words are quoted'Ant.' ii. 9. 6, it has been inferred that chil- by St Paul (Gal. iv. 3o), introduced by " But
dren were not weaned among the Hebrews what saith the Scripture?" The words were
till they were three years old. Ishmael was those of Sarah, but they are confirmed by the
thirteen years old when he was circumcised, Almighty, v. 12.
ch. xvii. 25, and one year after Isaac was
ch. xvii. 25. and one year after Isaac was 12. in Isaac shall thy seed be called] Here
born, ch. xvii. z2. If therefore Isaac was
is the distinct limitation of the great pro
three years old at his weaning, Ishmael must is the descendants of Abrahave been then seventeen. If Isaac was but ham in the line of Isaac (see Rom ix )
ham in the line of Isaac (see Rom. ix. 7).
one year old, Ishmael would have been fifteen. Go's promises gradually developed themX God's promises gradually developed themmade a great fecast] By comparing i S. selves in fulness, and yet were gradually rei. 24, 25, it would seem that this was very stricted in extent: to Adam first; then to
probably a religious feast. Noah; to Abraham; then to one race or seed
of Abraham, viz. Isaac; to one of Isaac's
9. mocking] The word, which natural- children, viz. Jacob; to one of the twelve paly means to laugh, is rendered by the LXX. triarchs, viz. Judah; then to his descendant
and Vulg., "playing with Isaac." Tuch, David; and lastly to the great Son of David,
Knobel, &c. say the word means merely, the true promised Seed; but as all centred in
"playing like a child." Gesenius thinks it Him, so too from Him they have spread out
was "playing and dancing gracefully," and to all redeemed by Him, though more espeso attracting the favour of his father, which cially taking effect in those, who are " the
moved the envy of Sarah. The Targum of children of God by faith in Christ Jesus"
Onkelos appears to give the sense of 1"de- (Gal. iii. 26).
V. I5-I7.] GENESIS. XXI. I37
the morning, and took bread, and a I6 And she went, and sat her down
bottle of water, and gave it unto over against him a good way off, as it
Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and were a bowshot: for she said, Let me
the child, and sent her away: and she not see the death of the child. And
departed, and wandered in the wilder- she sat over against him, and lift up
ness of Beer-sheba. her voice, and wept.
I5 And the water was spent in the 17 And God heard the voice of the
bottle, and she cast the child under lad; and the angel of God called to
one of the shrubs. Hagar out of heaven, and said unto
14. a bottle] A skin or leathern bot- those in the former part, not having been retie, probably made of the skin of a goat or a lated at first, lest there should be a break in
kid. (See the word bottle in Smith's'Dict. of the continuity of the history of Isaac and
the Bible.') Ishmael.
putting it on her shoulder] Hagar was an 15. she cast the child under one of the
Egyptian, and Herod. (II. 35) says that the shrubs] From this expression again it is iinwomen in Egypt carried burdens on their ferred that Ishmael must have been a child in
shoulders, but the men carried them on their arms. Such a conclusion, however, is not
heads. According to the testimony of the borne out by these words, nor by the whole
sculptures both men and women carried bur- narrative. The boy was young, but he was
dens on their shoulders. It is common now evidently old enough to give offence to Sarah
in the East to see women carrying skins of by mocking (v. 9). At a time when human
water in this way. (See Robinson,' B. R.' 1. life was much longer than it is now (Ishmael
P. 3,40, II. pp. I63, 276.) himself died at I37), fifteen or sixteen would
and the childtl The sacred writer has been be little removed from childhood. The growcharged with an anachronism here, both from ing lad would easily be exhausted wkn the
his use of the word I" child," when Ishmael heat and wandering; whilst the hardy habits
must have been from fifteen to seventeen o the Egyptian handmaid would enable her
years old (see note on v. 8), and because it is to endure much greater fatigue. She had
said that the original indicates that he, as well hitherto led the boy by the hand, now she left
as the bread and water, was placed on Ha- him fainting and prostrate under the shelter
gar's shoulder. The word for "I child" toe- of a tree. (So Le Clerc followed by Rosenled), however, is used for boys of adolescent muller.)
age, as in Gen. xlii. 2,, of Joseph, when he 16. a good mway off, as it mwvere a boUmwas seventeen. It is true, the Vatican MS. shot] Lit. I"as far off as the drawers of a
of the LXX. renders I" he placed the boy on bow," or " as they who draw a bow," i.e. as
her shoulders," which Tuch adopts as the far as archers can shoot an arrow.
right rendering; but the Alexandrian MS. of
the LXX. has simply "and the boy," whilst 17. the angel of God] No where else i
the hasmplI n th boy" Genesis does this name occur. Elsewhere it
the Vulg., Targg., Syr., connect the words e
* a- s s t t-1 Ad * *1 1 is always "the Angel of the LORD." We
"'putting it on her shoulder" only with the is always "the Angel of the L9 And
bread and the bottle of water, which is per- meet with it again in xod. xiv., And
fectly consistent with the Hebrew, whether the Angel of God, which went
camp of Israel, removed, and went behind
the verb be rendered by the past tense, or, as camp of Israel, removed, and went behind
probably wih a y i te them." The identification of the Malach Eloprobably with accuracy in the Authorised
Version, by the participle. The promise, him with Eloim (cp. vv., i9, 2o,) here is
which Abraham had just receive, that Gd exactly like the identification of the Malach
which Abraham hadjust received, that God
JEhOvAI- with JE:inovArI in other passages;
would make a nation of Ishmael also, v. 13 J J p3,
may pabl h navn ld Ishimat tust tha. t te a clear proof that there is not that difference
may probably have led him to trust that the Elohistic and Jehovistic passages
boy and his mother would be provided for, n the E'entate c f wch somc has bee
and so to leave them with only provision forwritten. In ch. xi. 7, whilst Hagar was
their immediate wants. ten. In ch. xvi. 7, whilst Hagar was
still Abraham's secondary wife, we read that
in the vilderness of Beer-sheba] Abraham, the Angel of the LORD, the covenant God of
who had been now for at least a year dwell- Abraham, appeared to her. She and her son,
ing in the neighbourhood of Gerar (ch. xx. i), by Isaac's birth and their expulsion from
may very probably have by this time taken Abraham's household, are now separated from
up his residence at Beersheba (see vv. 33, 34). the family and covenant of promise, yet still
The name Beersheba is here given prolepti- objects of care to Him who is "the God of
cally (see v. 31), unless the events in the lat- the spirits of all flesh," and " of all the ends
ter palt of this chapter took place before of the earth."
138 GENESIS. XXI. [V. 8 —32.
her, VWThat aileth thee, Hagar? fear 24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
not; for God hath heard the voice of 25 And Abraham reproved Abithe lad where he is. melech because of a well of water,
I8 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold which Abimelech's servants had viohim in thine hand; for I will make lently taken away.
him a great nation. 26 And Abimelech said, I wot not
19 And God opened her eyes, and who hath done this thing: neither
she saw a well of water; and she didst thou tell me, neither yet heard
went, and filled the bottle with water, I of it, but to day.
and gave the lad drink. 27 And Abraham took sheep and
20 And God was with the lad; and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech;
he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and both of them made a covenant.
and became an archer. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe
21 And he dwelt in the wilderness lambs of the flock by themselves.
of Paran: and his mother took him a 29 And Abimelech said unto Abrawife out of the land of Egypt. ham, What mean these seven ewe
22 qi And it came to pass at that lambs which thou hast set by themtime, that Abimelech and Phichol selves?
the chief captain of his host spake 30 And he said, For these seven
unto Abraham, saying, God is with ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand,
thee in all that thou doest: that they may be a witness unto me,
23 Now therefore swear unto me that I have digged this well.
Neb. here by God tthat thou wilt not deal 31 Wherefore he called that place
5f adt falsely with me, nor with my son nor Beer-sheba; because there they sware 11 Thatis,
ltazt lie I 3 The well.to, me. with my son's son: but according to both of them. of Mse
the kindness that I have done unto 32 Thus they made a covenant at oatk.
thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to Beer-sheba; then Abimelech rose up,
the land wherein thou hast sojourned. and Phichol the chief captain of his
18. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him ch. xxvi. 26, and, as it signifies "the mouth
in thine hand] So the Versions, according of all," it has been supposed to have been the
to the common use of the same verb with name of an officer, the grand vizier or prime
the same preposition. Cp. Deut. xxii. 25; minister of the king, through whom all comJudg. xix. 25, 29; z S. xiii. ii, &c.; and see plaints and petitions were to be made to him.
Gesen.'Thes.' p. 463. " From this," says Abimelech was also an official name. See on
St Jerome, "' it is plain that the boy whom ch. xx. z.
she held in her hand had been her companion 23. that thou quilt not deal falsely with
on the journey, not a burden on her shoul- me] Lit. "if thou shalt lie unto me;" the
ders,"'Qu. in Gen'. common form of an oath in Hebrew. See
19. God opened her eyes, and she sanw a above, on xiv. 23.,well of,water] Very probably the mouth of 31. Beer-sheba] i.e. "'the well of the
the well had been purposely covered by the in- oath," or, it might be, " the well of the
habitants of the desert, and was now by God's seven." There was a connection between the
gracious intervention discovered to Hagar. sacred number seven and an oath; oaths being
21. in the'wilderness of Paran] (See on lratified with the sacrifice of seven victims or
ch. xiv. 6). Probably the great desert, now by the gift of seven gifts (as seems to have
called the desert El-Tih, i. e. "the wander- been the case here), or confirmed by seven
ings," extending from the W;ady-el-Arabah witnesses and pledges. (See Herod. III. 8;
on the east, to the gulf of Suez on the west Hom. Il.' xIx. 243). Beer-sheba was in the
and from the Sinaitic range on the south to WVady-es-Seba, a wide water-course or bed
the borders of Palestine on the north. of a torrent, twelve hours south of Hebron,
in which there are still relics of an ancient
took him a wifie out of the land of E2gyptl
ctook him a to the out o the land oprevalet i town or village, called Bir-es-Seba, with two
According to the custom then prevalent in
bs or- t 1 t r s deep wells of good water. See Robinson
the East for parents to choose wives for their'
S B. R.' I. p. 204, seq. St Jerome speaks of
sons. (See ch. xxiv. 4, 55; Exod. xxi. xo.) the city as remaining in his day ('Qu. adGen.'
22. Phicholj The name occurs again in xxI. 3I).
v. 33-I.] GENESIS. XXI. XXII. I39
host, and they returned into the land CHAPTER XXII.
of the Philistines. i Abraham is tempted lo offer Isaac. 3 Ife
o rar, tree. 33 q[ And Abraham planted a " grove giv/et/ proof of his failh and obedience. I!
in Beer-sheba, and called there on the The angcl s/ayet// An. x3 Isaac is exchanged
wi'// a rtmzl. 14 7he p/ace is cal/ed 7ehvovaname of the LORD, the everlasting jireh. i5 Abraham is blessed againz. 20 The
God. generation of NVahor unto Rebekah.
34 And Abraham sojourned in the AND it came to pass after these a Heb. i.
Philistines' land many days. things, that aGod did tempt I7.
33. Abraham planted a grove] Rather is great variety or' tradition, but no evidence,
a tamarisk tree. This is the rendering of as to the age of Isaac in this chapter. AcKimchi, which is adopted by Gesenius (' Th.' cording to Josephus ('Ant.' I. I4), he was
p. 159), Rosenm., and most of the German twenty-five. Aben-Ezra supposes that he
critics. (The ancient versions vary very much was only thirteen, whilst some of the rabbins
in their interpretation.) The hardiness of this put him even at thirty-seven (see Heidegger,
evergreen shrub would fit it to be a perpetual II. 28).
memorial to Abraham and his followers that
this well was theirs. God did tempt A4braham] Lit. "The God
*thisvel was theierls. God]did tempt," &c. possibly referring to the
the LoDn, the everlastin. g God] " JEHO- last two verses of the last chapter (where J,VAII, the God of eternity." The word, ren- HOVAH is called El-olanm), meaning " this
dered everlasting, means probably "the hidden same God." Much difficulty has been most
time," that, whose beginning and ending are needlessly found in these words. St James
hidden in darkness, hence "eternity" (Ges. tells us (i. I3) that II God cannot be tempted'Th.' p. 1o35). It signifies also "the world,' with evil, neither tempteth He any man,"
"the universe," and hence, according to Mai- language which it has been thought difficult
monides, it means here the God of the uni- to reconcile with this history in Genesis. So,
verse, the Creator of the world. So the some have endeavoured to explain away the
Samaritan, Syr., and Arab. versions. The words of this passage, as though Abraham
more probable sense, however, is that given had felt a strong temptation rising in his own
in the Authorised Version, which corresponds heart, a temptation from Satan, or from self,
with the LXX., Vulg., Onk., and other a horrible thought raised perhaps by witnessTargg. The JEHOVAH whom Abraham ing the human sacrifices of the Phoenicians,
worshipped is here identified with' El-O lam," and had then referred the instigation to God,
the God of eternity, which was very probably thinking he was tempted from above, whereas
a local name for the supreme Being. Com- the real temptation was from beneath. The
pare " Elion" in ch. xiv. 22. difficulty, however, has arisen from not observing the natural force of the word here
CHAP. XXII. 1. And it came to pass rendered "did tempt," and the ordinary use
after these things] This is the only note of of that word in the language of the Old
time that we have in this chapter, excepting Testament, especially of the Pentateuch.
the fact that Isaac was now grown old enough According to the highest authorities, the prito bear the wood of the burnt offering, and to mary sense of the verb corresponds with that
carry it up the mountain. The words "after of a similar word in Arabic, viz. "to smell,"
these things," rather refer us to all that had and thence "to test by smelling" (see Ges.
been passing before. Abraham, after long'Thes.'p. 889, and the testimonies there cited).
wanderings and many trials, is presented to us Hence it came to signify close, accurate, deliin the last chapter, as eminently comforted cate testing or trying. It is translated by
and in a condition of peaceful prosperity. "prove," "assay," "adventure," try," and
The promised, longed-for son has been given that very much more frequently than it is
to him; his other son Ishmael, though no translated by "tempt." For instance, David
longer in his household, is growing up and would not take the sword and armour of
prospering, Abraham is in treaty and at peace Saul, because he had not "proved them,"
with his neighbours the Philistines, he sojourns I S. xvii. 39. Again, he prayed in the words
for many days at Beer-sheba and its neigh-' examine me, O LORD, and prove me" (Ps.
bourhood, with abundance of cattle, in a xxvi. a); and in very numerous and familiar
place well watered and fertile. Thus it ap- passages in the Pentateuch, we read of God
pears to have been with him till now, when "proving" men, whether they would be obehis son, his only son Isaac, whom he loved, is dient or disobedient, the samc Hebrew verb
growing up to early manhood, his chief com- being constantly made use of. (See Ex. xv.
fort and stay and hope in this world. But A5, xvi. 4, xx. 2o; Deut. iv. 34, viii. z, i6,
times of prosperity are often times when trial xiii. 3, xxxiii. 8). Accordingly, whilst most
is needed for us, and so we find it here. There of the versions adhere closely to the sense of
140 GENESIS. XXII. [v. 2.
Abraham, and said unto him, Abra- 2 And he said, Take now thy son,
tHeb. ham: and he said, IBehold, here I thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest,
am. and get thee into the land of Moriah;
~"try," tentare, in this passage, the Arabic tified this Mount Moriah of the temple with
renders it very correctly,'" God did prove the mountain in the land of Moriah, on which
Abraham." Words having the sense of "try" Abraham was to offer his son, whence probamay generally be used either in a good or a bly here Onkelos and the Arab. render "the
bad sense. This particular word has gener- land of worship." No sufficient reason has
ally a good sense, except where men are said been alleged against this identification except
to try or tempt God, e.g. Ex. xvii. a; Num. that in v. 4, it is said that I" Abraham lifted up
xiv. 22; Deut. vi. i6; Ps. lxxviii. I8; cvi. 14, his eyes, and saw the place afar off," whereas
&c. The whole history of Abraham is a Mount Zion is said not to be conspicuous
history of his moral and spiritual education from a great distance. Thence Bleek, De
by the teaching of God himself. He was to Wette, Tuch, Stanley ('S. and P.' p. 251,
be the head of the chosen seed, the father of' Jewish Church,' I. 49), and Grove ('Dict.
the faithful, himself the type of justifying of Bible,' s. v. Moriah), have referred to Moreh
faith. Here then, after long schooling and (Gen. xii. 6), and attempted to identify the
training, in which already there had been site of the sacrifice with "the natural altar on
many trials (such as his first call, his danger the summit of Mount Gerizim," which the
in Egypt, his circumcision, his parting with Samaritans assert to be the scene of the sacriLot, &c. &c.), one great test of his now fice. Really, however, the words in v. 4,
matured and strengthened faith is ordained mean nothing more than this, that Abraham
by God. We have many instances of the saw the spot to which he had been directed at
trial of men's faith by the Most High. One some little distance off, not farther than the
remarkable example is that recorded in Matt. character of the place readily admits. The
xix. zI. It cannot be that He who sees the evident meaning of the words " the mount of
heart needs such trials for His own informa- the vision of the LORD" (see v. I4); the fact
tion: but it is important for our instruction that the mount of the temple bore the same
and correction, for example to future ages, name (z Chr. iii. I), the distance, two days'
and for the vindication of God's justice, that journey from Beer-sheba, which would just
such trials should be permitted, and that so suffice to bring the company to Jerusalem,
men's characters should be drawn out and ex- whereas Gerizim could not have been reached
hibited to themselves and others. So St Au- from Beer-sheba on the third day, are a:,gugustine, " all temptation is not to be blamed, ments too strong to be set aside by the single
but that whereby probation is made is rather difficulty mentioned above, which is in fact
to be welcomed. For the most part a man's no difficulty at all. This identity is ably despirit cannot be known to himself, unless his fended by Hengstenberg ( Genuineness of the
strength be proved not by word but by actual Pentateuch,' ii. i62, translated by Ryland),
trial." (' De Civit. Dei,' xvi. 32. See also Knobel (in loc), Kalisch (in loc.), Kurtz (' Hist.
Ambros.' De Abr.' i. 8.) of Old Covenant,' VolI.. X 7 i), Thomson (' The
Land and the Book', p. 475), Tristram (' Land
2. Take now thy son, thin on, thine of Israel,' p. 52).
more ways than one Isaac might be called offer him therefor a burnt ojering] It canhis "only son." He was the only son by his not justly be urged that the command was
wife Sarah: he was the only son of promise, (I) in itself immoral, or (X) that it was a
and to ~wthom the promises were given and virtual sanction of human sacrifice. (i) As
assured: by the expulsion of Hagar and Ish- to the objection that it was immoral, it may
m-nael he was the only son left to his father's be said, that the true basis of all morality is
house. The rendering therefore of the LXX. obedience to the will of God; but further
"beloved" is not necessary. The words, em- than this, it is plain from the whole story
phatic as they are, "Thy son, thine only son, that the command was wholly of the nature
whom thou lovest," are all calculated to im- of a trial. Abraham was the special type of
press and enhance the sacrifice which Abra- trustful, obedient, loving faith. He believed
ham is called on to make. that all which God commanded must be right,
Moriah] The meaning of the'name seems all that He promised must be true. Hence
clearly to be Mori-jah, "the vision" or "the he knew that when the injunction was clear,
manifested of JEHOVAH." To this root it the obedience must be undoubting. The
is evidently referred by Sym., Vulg. ("the land wisdom, the justice, and the goodness of God,
of vision"), Aq. ("the conspicuous land"), were such that, though he might not underLXX. (" the lofty land"). In 2 Chr. iii. I, stand the reason of the dispensation, he must
Solonmon is:aid to have built his temple on reverently and patiently submit to it. This
Mount Moriah; and the Jewish tradition too was not a mere blind credulity. He had
(Joseph. Ant.'. I. 13. a; VI. I3. 4) has iden- lived a long life under the special guiding,
V.3-9.] GENESIS. XXII. 141
and offer him there for a burnt offer- 6 And Abraham took the wood of
ing upion one of the mountains which the burnt offering, and laid it upon
I will tell thee of. Isaac his son; and he took the fire in
3 qI And Abraham rose up early in his hand, and a knife; and they went
the morning, and saddled his ass, and both of them together.
took two of his young men with him, 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham
and Isaac his son, and clave the wood his father, and said, My father: and
for the burnt offering, and rose up, he said, tHere am I, my son. And t Heb.
and went unto the place of which God he said, Behold the fire and the wood: Be/tolddt
had told him. but where is the "lamb for a burnt Or, kid.
4 Then on the third day Abraham offering?
lifted up his eyes, and saw the place 8 And Abraham said, My son, God
afar off. will provide himself a lamb for a burnt
5 And Abraham said unto his young offering: so they went both of them
men, Abide ye here with the ass; and together.
I and the lad will go yonder and wor- 9 And they came to the placewhich
ship, and come again to you. God had told him of; and Abraham
training, and teaching of the Lord, and so he crated into the planet bearing his name, having
knew in whom he had believed. The comrn- an only son by a nymph named Anobret,
mand therefore, strange as it was, was but a called therefore Jehoud" (= Heb. Jahid),
final test of the firmness of his faith; and his "which is even now the name for only-beobedience to that command testified that the gotten among the Phenicians, when great
faith was intelligent as well as unconditional perils from wars were impending over the
and unwavering. (2) The objection that land, having clothed his son in royal appathis was a virtual sanction to the heathen rel offered him up upon an altar which he
custom of offering human sacrifices is still had built," (Euseb.'Praep. Evang.' Lib. I.
less tenable. That such sacrifices were com- c. Io).
mon in later times is unquestionable, and pro- 3. rose up early in the morning] The
bably they may have been already adopted by raham's obethe Canaanites, who celrtainly were afterwardsimple
dience are plainly marked in all the simple
much addicted to them. Although we must detailsofths verse
ascribe them not to Divine but to Satanic
influence, their observance plainly shewed the 5. come again to you] It may be questioned.
devotion of the offerers to the religion of their whether this had in it a prophetic significance,
demon gods. The God of Abraham would Abraham "accounting that God was able to
have His special servant, the father of the raise his son up even from the dead" (Heb. xi.
chosen race and of the promised Seed, mani- 17). In fact it was proved by the event to be
fest his faith and obedience to the true God a prophecy, though Abraham may have utto be not less than the faith and obedience of tered it unconsciously (so Rashi): and that
idolaters to their false gods. This could not faith in God, which never forsook the patribe more signally done than by his readiness to. arch, probably in the lowest depth of his
overcome all scruples and all natural feelings anxiety brought a gleam of hope, that in some
at the command of Him whose voice he knew, unforeseen way his son, even though slain,
and whose leading he had so long followed. should yet be restored to him at last (see
But the conclusion of the history is as clear a Origen,' Homil. vIII. in Gen.' ~ 5).
condemnation of human sacrifice as the earlier
6. laid it upon Isaac his son] Compare
part might have seemed, had it been left in- Joh. xix. 17 the great Antitype bearing the
complete, to sanction it. The intervention of the r i Ori
the angel, the substitution of the lamb, the wood for the sacrifice of Himself (Origen. D.''IHom. viii. in Gen.' ~ 6' Aug.'De C. D.'
prohibition of the human sacrifice, proved XVI 32; De Trin.' III 6)
that in no case could such an offering be acceptable to God, even as the crowning evidence 8. God'will prozvide himself a lamb for a
of faith, devotion, and self-sacrifice. The burnt o/fring] The lamb. The fathers see
following is the well-known perverted account in this again an unconscious prophecy by
of the sacrifice of Isaac in the Phcenician Abraham (see Origen as above, and Ambrose
traditions, as preserved from Sanchoniatho by' De Abr.' lib. I. 8). He probably meant to say
Philo Byblius, "Cronus, whom the Phceni- that God had provided that Isaac should be
cians call Israel, being king over that country, the lamb or victim for the burnt-offering: but
who after hi.5 death was deified and: conse- his words were more literally fulfilled in the
I42 GENESIS. XXII. [V. vI —13.
built an altar there, and laid the wood I2 And he said, Lay not thine hand
in order, and bound Isaac his son, and upon the lad, neither do thou any thing
bJames 2. blaid him on the altar upon the wood. unto him: for now I know that thou
Io And Abraham stretched forth fearest God, seeing thou hast not withhis hand, and took the knife to slay held thy son, thine only son fron
his son. me.
i i And the angel of the LORD I3 And Abraham lifted up his eyes,
called unto him out of heaven, and and looked, and behold behind him a
said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, ram caught in a thicket by his horns:
Here am I. and Abraham went and took the ram,
unexpected event, the ram caught in a thicket, in Gen.' LXXIII). Compare Origen (' Homil.
and in a deeper spiritual significance when God vIII. 8), who refers to those words of the
sent His Son to be " the Lamb of God that Apostle:-" God spared not His own Son, but
taketh away the sin of the world." freely gave Him up for us all."
9. Abraham built an altar there] R. thou hast not w(ithheld thy son] These words
Eliezer in' Pirke Avoth,' c. 3I, has a tradi- in the LXX. (ourK ferco rof vio tro-U) ap-.
tion that this was the same place at which pear to be referred to in Rom. viii. 32 (Tro
Adam sacrificed, at which Abel offered his Zl&ov vioO ovd e'4ce-aro). Whence we may
burnt-offering, and where Noah built an altar learn that St Paul held the sacrifice of Isaac
and offered a sacrifice: so that it was appa- to be prophetic of Christ.
rently supposed that Abraham merely re- 13. behold behind him a ram caught in
paired the ruins of the ancient altar. What- a thicket by his horns] T'here is a various
ever the tradition is worth, it may illustrate reading (supported by many MSS., by the Sathe history. An altar of earth or of loose marital Pentateuch, LXX., Vulg., Syr., Sam.,
stones would be very quickly raised. and perhaps Onkelos), which might be renbound Isaac his son] It was common to dered thus: "1 Behold a single ram caught,"
bind victims, especially human victims (Ovid, &c. a ram, that is, separated from the flock.' Eleg. ex. Ponto.' IIi. 2z; Virg. i An. ii. 134). There is a similar expression in Dan. viii. 3:
The Jews agree that Isaac yielded submis-'" Behold, there stood before the river a ram,"
sively to his father's will and consented to Le lit. " one ram," or a "I single ram." The sepabound and sacrificed (Joseph.' A. J.' i. 23; ration of the ram thus caught is significant,
Eliezer,'in Pirke,' c. 3I; so also Chrysost. both historically, as shewing the Providential'Homil. in Gen.' 46). Herein he was the agency of God, and also as pointing to that
truer type of Him, " who, when He was re- Lamb of God, who was " separate from sinviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, ners" (Heb. vii. 26), bearing alone the burden
He threatened not; but committed Himself to of our iniquities. St Augustine thinks the
Him that judgeth righteously" (I Pet. ii. 23). horns caught in the thicket typical of the
10. stretched forth his hand] The steady Lord Jesus crowned with thorns before His
deliberate purpose of Abraham, and yet all sacrifice (' De C. D.' xvI. 32).
the natural shrinking of his spirit, are admi- ofered him up for a burnt ofering in the
rably expressed in the details of the history. stead of his son] It has been argued that the
lamb substituted for Isaac, not Isaac himself,
11. the Anoge of the the LORD] Up to this was the true type of the Lord Jesus, who
verse we have only the name Elohim, God. died that we might live. This, however,
Now that the Divine intervention to save would be a very imperfect explication of the
Isaac and to accept a ransom for his life is mystery. The antitype is always greater than
related, we find the name, JEHOVAH, the the type, and hence in the prophetic system
great covenant name frequently made use of, of the Old Testament, types are multiplied
though the name Elohim occurs again in the that they may express collectively that which
next verse. The Being here called "the can but partially be expressed by one of them.
Angel of JEHOVAH," who speaks as with The fathers recognize the double type in this
Divine, supreme authority, is doubtless the whole history. The father with full delibeAngel of the Covenant (Mal. iii. I), the ever- rate purpose offering up his dearly beloved,
lasting Son of the Father, who alone " hath only-begotten son, the son willingly obedient
declared Him" (John i. 18). unto death, the wood for the sacrifice carried
12. noxw I know that thou fearest God] by the victim up the hill, the sacrifice ful" God tried Abraham," says Theodoret, "not filled in purpose though not in act, and then
that He might learn what He knew already, the father receiving his son in a figure from
but that He might shew to others, with how the dead (Heb. xi. I9) after three days of
great justice He loved the patriarch" (' Qu. death in the, father's purpose and belief; all
v. 14 —6.] GENESIS. XXII. I43
and offered him up for a burnt offer- i5 q And the angel of the LORD
ing in the stead of his son. called unto Abraham out of heaven
IThat is, I4. And Abraham called the name the second time, c Ps. o05.
ThORD of that place "Jehovah-jireh: as it is I6 And said, cBy myself have I 9ccus. 44.
will see, said to this day, In the mount of the sworn, saith the LORD, for because k 73.
vie, LORD it shall be seen. thou hast done this thing, and hast Heb. 6. r.
this is as much an actual prophecy of the gested the belief, that the name Moriah in v.
sacrifice and resurrection of the Son of God X is used proleptically, and that it really orias was possible without a true slaying of ginated in this saying of Abraham.
Isaac, for which was substituted the slaying as it is said to this day, In the mount of the
of the rarm. That which Isaac's sacrifice LORD it shall be seen] Or, " it shall be prowanted to make it perfect as a type was vided."
actual death and the notion of substitution. There is great variety of renderings in the
These therefore were supplied by the death of ancient Versions. Indeed, if we disregard the
the ram, and his substitution for a human vowel points, it would be equally possible to
life. Theodoret says ('Qu. in Gen.' LXXIII.) translate " In the mount of the Lord it shall
that I Isaac was the type of the Godhead, the be seen or provided," or " In the mount the
ram of the manhood." This perhaps sounds Lord will see or provide," or'" In the mount
fanciful at first; but the correspondence is in the Lord will be seen." The LXX. takes the
truth very exact. Isaac was of too noble a last, the Vulgate, Syriac and Samaritan take
nature to be slain upon the altar; God would the second. - Onkelos departs from his habit
have abhorred such an offering. Hence the of translating, and paraphrases, like the late
Most High prepares a victim to be as it were Targums; "' And Abraham worshipped and
joined with Isaac and then to suffer, that prayed there and said before the Lord, Here
thus the sacrifice should not be imperfect. shall generations worship; whereupon it shall
So the ever blessed Son of God was by nature be said in that day, In this mountain Abraabove the possibility of suffering; hence the ham worshipped before the Lord." St Jerome,
Eternal Father prepares for Him a perfect taking the Latin, explained it thus: "This behumanity ("a Body hast Thou prepared came a proverb among the Hebrews, that if
me"), that He might die in that nature which any should be in trouble and should desire
was mortal, the immortal, impassible nature the help of the Lord, they should say, In the
being yet inseparably united with it. Thus, motunt the Lord vwill see, that is, as He had
Isaac and the ram together symbolized and mercy on Abraham, so will He have mercy
typified in almost all particulars the sacrifice, on us" (' Qu.. Hebraic. in Gen.' XXII).
the death and the resurrection of the Son of On the whole, the pointing of the MasoGod, who also was the Son of man, rites, a tradition never lightly to be rejected,
We may observe too, that not only was which is followed by the Authorised Version,
Isaac thus made the most memorable type of seems to give the most probable sense of the
the Redeemer of the world (Isaac, who other- passage (So Ges.'Thes.' p. I246; Rosemn.,
wise seems less noticeable than either Abra- Knobel). But, in any case, there seems not
ham or Jacob), but also that Abraham had the only a general assurance of God's providential
singular honour of representing the highest, care of His people, who in trouble may reholiest God and Father, who " spared not His member that " the Lord will provide," but
own Son, but freely gave Him up for us all" also a special prophecy, ist of the manifesta(Rom. viii. 32. See Aug.'De Civ. D.' xvI. tion of the Lord in His temple at Jerusalem,
32). where He was to be seen in the Shechinah or
14. JEHovAH-jireh] i. e. " the Lord will cloud of glory between the Cherubim, where
see," or 1" the Lord will provide." The same He provided access to Himself and sacrifices
wrords which Abraham had used in v. 8, for His service; andly, of the coming of the
but with a change in the sacred names. In Lord to His temple (Mal. iii. i), thereby
v. 8, when Isaac had asked, s" where is the nmaking " the glory of the latter house greater
Lamb?" Abraham answered, Elohim jireh than of the former" (Hagg. ii. 9); and of His
" God will see," or " provide a lamb for Him- providing there a Lamb for a sacrifice, which
self." Now he perceives that he had uttered should save not only from temporal but from
an unconscious prophecy, and that the God eternal death, taking away the sin of the
(Elohim) in whom he trusted had shewn world.
Himself indeed JEHOVAH, the Eternal Truth 16. by myself have I swcorn] This is
and the covenated Saviour of his servants, and the final promise of the Lord to Abraham,
so he names the place JEHoVAH-jireh. The confirming all the former promises by the
connection which there is between these words solemnity of an oath, and " because He could
and the word Moriah (see on v. z) has sug- swear by no greater, He sware by Himself"
144 GENESIS. XXII. [v. r7-24o
not withheld thy son, thine only 2o IT And it came to pass after
son: these things, that it was told AbraI7 That in blessing I will bless ham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath
thee, and in multiplying I will mul- also born children unto thy brother
tiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, Nahor;
and as the sand which is upon the sea 21 Huz his first-born, and Buz his
Heb. lip.'shore; and thy seed shall possess the brother, and Kemuel the father of
gate of his enemies; Aram,
9chap. 12. I8 dAnd in thy seed shall all the 22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and
kI8.Is. nations of the earth be blessed; be- Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
Ecclus. 44. cause thou hast obeyed my voice. 23 And Bethuel begat eRebekah:'Called,
Acts 3. 25. i9 So Abraham returned unto his these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, R'bec9a.
Gal. 3. 8. 19 So unt bZ
young men, and they rose up and went Abraham's brother.
together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham 24 And his concubine, whose name
dwelt at Beer-sheba. was Reumah, she bare also Tebah,
(Heb. vi. 13). The vast importance of the nations. St Jerome (' Qu. in Gen.') thinks
revelation and of the promise here recorded is that Job was a descendant of Huz or Uz the
proved by this remarkable act of the Most son of Nahor. It is said that Job was of the
High. " God, willing more abundantly to land of Uz (job i. i), and his friend Elihu
shew unto the heirs of promise the immuta- was "a Buzite of the kindred of Ram" (xxxii.
bility of His counsel, interposed Himself by 2). If Ram be the same as Aram, we have
an oath" (or "made Himself the Mediator to then the three names in this verse-Iuz, Buz
be sworn by," ElE-rlruTEVOcv;OpKc); " that by and Aram occurring in the history of Job.
two immutable things" (i. e. His word and His In Jerem. xxv. 23 Buz is placed with Dedan
oath, Chrysost., Theod., Theophyl.), "in and Tema, apparently in Arabia Petroea.
which it was impossible for God to lie, we 2
might have a strong consolation, who have dim (or Chaldans) to have derived their
fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set name rom him, to which conjecture the ocbefore us" (Heb. vi. I 7, i8). Abraham had currence of the Chasdim also in the Book of
by Divine grace achieved a victory of faith ob, ives some colour (see on v. 21). If,
unheard of before in the world's history; and indeed, Ur of the Chaldees" as so called
so to him personally a most blessed and most when Abraham dwelt theees" was so called
solemn promise is given of prosperity, honour would be an anachronism, but very prothis would be an anachronism, but very proand enlargement to him and to his seed after
bably it may have been known as Ur of the
him. But this great victory of Abraham's Chaldees hen Moses wrote, and so desiwas the type of a still greater victory to be nated by him, though the Chaldees or Chaswon hereafter by God and God's only begot- ed by im not ave been in existence in the
ten Son; and so the promise to Abraham includes a promise still greater to all mankind days of Abraham.
for in the seed of Abraham all the nations of 23. Bethuel begat Rebekah] The relathe earth were to be blessed for ever. N. B. tionship therefore of Rebekah to Isaac was
Onkelos renders here, " I have sworn by My that Rebekah was daughter of Isaac's first
_VWord," Memra; and the Arabic, "I have cousin. They were, as we should say, first
sworn by My own Name." cousins once removed. Nahor was the elder
is in- brother of Abraham, and his granddaughter
20. it was told Abraham] This is in- may have been of a suitable age to be the
troduced for the sake of tracing the genealogy wife of Abraham's son.
of Abraham's brother Nahor down to Reof Abraham's brother Nahor down to Re- these eight] The sons of Nahor, like the
bekah the wife of Isaac, v. 23. sons of Ishmael and of Jacob, were twelve in
21. Huz] See on ch. x. 23, where we number. But though it happens that among
have seen Uz and Aram together before. It the descendants of Terah three persons had
is only natural that names should have been twelve sons, there is such a diversity in the
repeated in the same race, the race of Shem. Uz other circumstances of the family, such a
and Aram also occur among the posterity of difference with regard to their mothers, and
Esau (Gen. xxxvi. 28), whence Idumea is there are so many other patriarchs, Abraham,
called "'the land of Uz" (Lam. iv. zI). This Isaac, &c., the numbering of whose children
recurrence of names in juxtaposition creates were quite unlike these, that the notion of a
some obscurity as to the sites to be assigned mystic number. is utterly untenable (see Keil
to their descendants in the division of the in ioc.).
V.'-7.] GENESIS. XXII. XXII. -45
and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maa- before his dead, and spake unto the
chah. sons of Heth, saying,
CHAPTER XXIII. 4 I am a stranger and a sojourner
I Thle age and deaith of Sarai. 3 T/Ieg jr- with you: give me a possession of a
chase of M.iaczpea/i, 19 zohere Sarah owas buryingplace with you, that I may
bonied,. bury my dead out of my sight.
AND Sarah was an hundred and 5 And the children of FHeth anseven and twenty years old: swered Abraham, saying unto him,
these were the years of the life of Sarah. 6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a
2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; *mighty prince among us: in the choice t Heb
the same is Hebron in the land of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none G od.G'
of Canaan: and Abraham came to of us shall withhold from thee his
mourn for Sarah, and to weep for sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury
her. thy dead.
3 qI And Abraham stood up from 7 And Abraham stood up, and'
CHAP. XXIII. 1. _And Saranh sas an hitn- bury their dead rather than to burn thenm;
dred and seven and twenty years old] Sarah corpora condmere quam cremare (Tac.'Hist.'
is the only woman whose age is mention- v. $). It is observable that this is thus mened in the Scriptures (Lightfoot,'Har. of tioned first, when the first death takes place
Old Testament,' Gen. xxiii.), because as the in the family of him, who had received the
mother of the promised seed, she became the promises. The care of the bodies of the demother of all believers. (I Pet. iii. 6) (Del., parted is a custom apparently connected with
Keil.) She died 37 years after the birth of the belief in their sanctity as vessels of the
fsaac, as she was go when he was born. Grace of God, and with the hope that they
2. K.irath-arba; the same is iebron in the may be raised again in the day of the restitulandof Canaan]. See on ch. xiii. i 8. The suppo- tion of all things. The elaborate embalming
sition that the name Hebron was not given till of the Egyptians had perhaps a very different
the time of Joshua, and that the use of it in significance, looking rather to retain the beGenesis indicates a later hand, is contradicted loved body in its former shape, and perhaps
by the natural force of these words. They to preserve the living principle in permanent
appear plainly to have been written by some existence with it, rather than hoping that the
one not then living in the land of Canaan. body, being'Isown a natural should be raised
H-.ebron was apparently the original name, a spiritual body."
which was changed to Kirjath-arba, and re- 5. safying onto him] The Sam. Pent. and
stored again by Caleb, Josh. xiv. IS. LXX.read (by the variation of a single letter),
A4brabamz came to mourn for Sarah] Aben- "saying, Not so."
ezra and others infer from this that Abraham 6. thou art a nrety jrine amo sl lit " a
\was not with Sarah when she died. It may prince of God." See on ch. x. 9, the name
nmean no more than that Abraham vwent into of God being apparently added to give a suSarah's tent to mourn for her, perlative force: cp. I Sam. xxvi. I2, where
R. D. Kimchi writes, "jWhen the Scripture
4. I am a stranger and a sojourner] would magnify anything, it joins it to the
(Cp. Heb. xi. I3). Abraham had only pas- name of God."
tured his flacks, moving from place to place, in the cho ce of our sepolchres butry th dlftd
as a nomad chief; but the various Canaanitish The Hittites in the complimentary manner
tribes had settled in the land, building cities common in oriental bargains (see Thomson,
and cultivating fields; and so as Lighltfoot'Land and Book,' p. 578) offer Abraham to
observes ('Harm.:' on Gen. xxiii.), " a bur-ial bury his dead in their sepulchres; but there
place is the first land that Abraham has i~ was a separation between them of faith and
Canaan." The heir of the promises was but life, which forbade Abraham to deposit the
a stranger and a pilgrim, never to rest but in body of Sarah in the same grave with the
the grave, but with a glorious future before people of the land. We know nothing of the
him for his race and for himself; assured that funeral rites of the Canaanites at this early
his seed should possess the land, and himself period, nor wrlhether they buried the bodies
"4desiring a better country, that is a heavenly." of the departed or only their ashes. It is,
Give me a possession of a buryingplace cwith however, very probable, that there were idoyolu This is the first mention of burial. It latrous rites connected with their sepulture,
was noted by the heathen historian as a cha- which it would have been unlawful for Abraracteristic of the Jews, that they preferred to ham to countenanc..
VOL. I.- K
146 GENESIS. XXIII. [v. S-IS.
bowed himself to the people of the I I Nay, my lord, hear me: the
land, even to the children of Hleth. field give I thee, and the cave that
8 And he communed with them, is therein, I give it thee; in the presaying, If it be your mind that I sence of the sons of my people give I
should bury my dead out of my sight; it thee: bury thy dead.
hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron 2 And Abraham bowed down himthe son of Zohar, self before the people of the land.
9 That he may give- me the cave 13 And he spake unto Ephron in
of Machpelah, which he hath, which the audience of the people of the land,
Tifeb. is in the end of his field; for tas saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray
$,,oey. much money as it is worth he shall thee, hear me: I will give thee money
give it me for a possession of a bury- for the field; take it of me, and I
ingplace amongst you. will bury my dead there.
Io And Ephron dwelt among the I4 And Ephron answered Abrachildren of Heth: and Ephron the ham, saying unto him,
f Heb. Hittite answered Abraham in the tau- I 5 My lord, hearken unto me: the.ears. dience of the children of Heth, even land is worth four hundred shekels
of all that went in at the gate of his of silver; what is that betwixt me
city, saying, and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
7. bo-wed himself] The Vulgate has for as much money as it is vorth] lit. "for
"adoravit coram populo." It wassimply the fall money." The same words are rendered
deep reverence common in the East (cp. I I Chron. xxi. 22, "for the full price."
Sam. xxv. 24; xxviii. 14; I Kings xviii. 7; 10. all that went in at the gate of his
Kings ii. i; Esth. viii. 3). It was a matter city] The transaction took place publicly at
of courtesy and respect, also of entreaty or of the gate of the city, the forum or public place
gratitude. of the ancient cities of the East, see on
9. the cave of Machpelah] The soil of ch. xix. i.
Palestine being rocky naturally suggested 11. the fiell give I thee] Compare z Sam.
sepulture in caves (see Winer,'Realw.' s.v. xxiv. 20, 24. Both conversations, that beGrabes, Smith,'Dict. of Bible,' s.v. Burial). tween Abraham and Ephron, and that beAll the ancient Versions render the words tween David and Araunah, are specimens of
"cave of Machpelah" by "the double cave," the extreme courtesy of the Eastern people in
deriving Machpelah from the verb Caphal to the transaction of business.
divide, to double. Interpreters have explained 13. But if thou vilt give it, Ipray thee,
this in various ways, as either that there were hear me] Rather perhaps, "But do thou,
two entrances to the cave, or that it had a I pray thee, hear me." Two particles of
double structure such that two bodies (as wishing or intreating are used.
e.g. that of Abraham and Sarah) might be
laid there (see Heidegger, H. 131). Others, i oney for the iel Lt. "themoneyofthe
however, treat the word as a proper name, field," i.e. the value of the field.
and Gesenius considers it more probably to 15. four hundred shekels of silver] The
signify "portion" than "duplication." Thesite word shekel means merely weight, cp. pondus,
of this ancient burialplace is,well ascertained. pound. See on ch. xx. x6, where no namne fo
Josephus tells us that "Abraham and his de- a coin or weight occurs, but only the words "a
scendantsbuilt monuments over thesepulchres" thousand of silver." Here we first have the
here (A. J. I. 14), which were said to be name of a weight, though probably not of
stillvisible in-the daysof Jerome (' nomnrast.'). a coin. There is no mention of coinage in
Now a mosque is erected over the ground Scripture before the Babylonish Captivity;
believed to cover the sepulchres. The Haram but the Egyptians had rings of gold and silver
or sacred precinct of the mosque is surrounded of fixed weight long before VlMoses, which
by a wall, believed to be as ancient as any- are represented on the monuments. The first
thing now remaining in Palestine. The pre- actual Jewish money appears to have been
sent condition and appearance of it are de- coined by Simon Maccabmeus (I Macc. xv.).
scribed by Robinson ('B. R.' II. p. 43I sq.), It is not easy to conjecture accurately what
see also Thomson,''Land and Book,'p. go80, and the value of a shekel may have been in the.a full account of the sepulchre in the appendix time of Abraham. In later times the LXX.
to Stanley's'Sermons in the East.' and the New Testament (Matt. xvii. s4)
v. 6-3.] GEN ESTIS. XXIII. XXIV. I147
i6 And Abraham hearkened unto ham fcr a possession of a buryingplace
Ephron; and Abraham weighed to by the sons of Heth.
Ephron the silver, which he had
named in the audience of the sons of CHAPTER XXIV.
Heth, four hundred shekels of silver I 4Abraham swearetlh his servant. io T7e
e h silver,serva, n'sjourney: 1 hzis. raye;: 14 hissign.
current money with the merchant. i5 IPe'eka:ze z'etelhJ him, I8 fzufilletkz his sizn,
I7 ~1 And the field of Ephron, 22 recezivekt jeuzes, 23 seetvetl her Kindred,
/ 28~~~~~~~~~5 a*zd invviyiteh hiz home. -O6 The servant
which was in Machpelah, which w vas 250rsed God. i. Iii n entert.6inetke sem.
blesseti God. 29 Laban entertaineth him.
before Mamre, the field, and the cave 34 T'he servant shertelh his message..o50
which was therein, and all the trees Laban and Bethecel a prove it. 58 Rebekak
that were in the field, that were in all co;sente/,Z to go. 62 isaac meeleth her.
Mlle borders round about, were made ND Abraham was old, and well t Heb.
sure A stricken in age: and the LORD ins./iS Unto Abraham for a possession had blessed Abraham in all things.
in the presence of the children of 2 And Abraham said unto his eldHeth, before all that went in at the est servant of his house, that ruled
gate of his city. over all that he had, a Put, I pray a chap. 4
i9 And after this, Abraham buried thee, thy hand under my thigh: 29Sarah his wife in the cave of the field 3 And I will make thee swear by
of Machpelah before Mamre: the the LORD, the God of heaven, and
same is Hebron in the land of Ca- the God of the earth, that thou shalt
naan. not take a wife unto my son of the
20 And the field, and the cave that daughters of the Canaanites, among
is therein, were made sure unto Abra- whom I dwell:
identify the half shekel with the didrachma, was I37 at the death of Sarah. Isaac was
which would make the shekel nearly half an then 37; and when he married Rebekah, he
ounce, azo grains of our weight, or a little was 40 (see ch. xxv. 20o). Abraham therefore
less in value than half-a-crown of our present must have been in his I4oth year at this time,
money. The field therefore would have been and he lived 35 years after it (oi. xxv. 7).
purchased for about fifty guineas, 52/. IOs. 2. unto his eldest servant of his house] Lit.
(See Gesenius,'Thes.' p. 1474; WViner,'R. "to his servant, the elder of his house." The
V. B.' s.v. srekel; Smith's'Dict. of Bib.' s.vv. word elder in Hebrew as in most languages is
money, shekel, wceights and measures.) used as a title of honour, cp. Sheykh, Senatus,
16. current money vwiit the merchant] yEpov7ES, presbyter, Signor, Mayor, &c. (Ges.
Lit. "silver passing with the merchant." The'Thes.'p. 427; Hammond, on Acts xi. 30).
Canaanites were great merchants, so much It is generally supposed that this was Eliezer
so that the very word Canaanite became a of Damascus, see ch. xv. 2.
synonym for merchant, see Job xl. 30 (in Put, Ipray thee, thy hand under my thi3g] A
Authorised Version xli. 6); Prov. xxxi. 24. form of adjuration mentioned only here and
It is therefore very probable that they early of Jacob, ch. xlvii. 29. Various conjectures
learned the use of silver as a means of barter: have been made by Jews (Joseph.' Ant.' x. I 6;
and though it may not have been coined, yet Hieron.'Qa, in Gen.;' Ambrose,'De Abrathe masses or bars of silver may have been ham.' I. 6; Eliezer, in'Pirke,' c. 39), and by
early formed into conventional shapes, or the fathers (Ambros.'De Abrahamo, I. 9;
marked with some rude sign to indicate their Hieron. ubi supra; August.' De C. D.'
weight (see Ges.'Thes.' p. 982). XVI. 33); but nothing is known with certainty
17. the feld, &c.] Not only the cave, ofthe signification of the action. Aben-Ezra
as first proposed by Abraham, but the whole supposes that it. was a form of oath prevalent
field with trees in it, which may have formed in patriarchal times but only taken by inferiors,
part of that grove of Matare, where Abraham as here by Abraham's steward, and in Gen. xlvii.
dwelt before the overthrow of Sodom and 29 by a son to. his father; that accordingly it
where he built an altar to the Lord. was a kind of homage, the servant or son therecwvere amade szure unto Abraham] Lit. "stood by indicating subjection and the purpose of
firm to Abraham." obedience. (See Heidegger, I. pp. I34, 135;
Rosennl. in Ioc.)
CIHAP. XXIV. 1. Abcraham',was old] He 3. of the daughters of the Canaanites]
K2
148 GENESI S. X I V. Iv. 4 —-II.
4 But thou shalt go unto my coun- angel before thee, and thou shalt take
try, and to my kindred, and take a a wife unto my son from thence.
wife unto my son Isaac. 8 And if the woman will not be
5 And the servant said unto him, willing to follow thee, then thou shalt
Peradventure the woman will not be clear from this my oath: only bring
be willing to follow me unto this not my son thither again.
land: must I needs bring thy son 9 And the servant put his hand
again unto the land from whence under the thigh of Abraham his master,
thou camest? and sware to him concerning that
6 And Abraham said unto him, matter.
Beware thou that thou bring not my Io 10 And the servant took ten
son thither again. camels of the camels of his master, and
7 MI The LORD God of heaven, departed; nfor all the goods of his Or,o a..
which took me from my father's house, master were in his hand: and he arose,
and from the land of my kindred, and and went to Mesopotamia, unto the
a chap..2. which spake unto me, and that sware city of Nahor.
7. &13. IS. Unto me, saying, b Unto thy seed will I I And he made his camels to kneel
&26 4.- I give this land; he shall send his down without the city by a well of
The licentiousness of the Canaanites had pro- other passages in Genesis (xxv. 2o; xxviii. 2,
bably determined Abraham against marrying 6, 7; xxxi. I8; xxxiii. IS; xxxv. 9, 26; xlvi. I)5'
his son to one of their daughters. He had we read of Padan Aram or simply Padan
also, no doubt, reference to the Promised (Gen. xlviii. 7), "the Plain of Syria,"'"the
Seed, and desired that the race from which flat land of Syria." Aram-Naharaim occurs
He was to come should be kept pure from again Deut. xxiii. 5; Judg. iii. 8; Ps. lx. 2
admixture with the race of Ham. (Heb.). Both names describe the low fHat
country lying between the two rivers Tigris
6. Bewvcare thou that thou bring not my son and Euphrates, though Padan Aram was
thither,agqain] Abraham had been distinctly more limited in extent than Aram-Naharaim.
called of God to leave his own country, and The whole highland country of Syria appears
to be a stranger and sojourner in the land which to have been. called Aram, as many think to
was to be his hereafter. It would therefore distinguish it from Canaan, the low country,
have been an act both of unbelief and of Aram meaning "high" and Canaan "low"
disobedience, to send his son back again. He land. The country, however, vhich lies betrusted that He, who had so called him, tween the two rivers, is chiefly a vast plain,
would provide his son with a wife from his though intersected by the Sinjar range, and
own kindred, not defiled, at least as the becoming more mountainous towards the
Canaanites were, writh heathen worship and North (see Stanley,'S. and P.' p. x29; Smith's
heathen morality; but in any case he would'Dict. of Bible,' II. p. 338). Aram-Narather his san should wed among the aliens haraim was the whole region afterwards called
than return to the place whence he himself Mesopotamia, lying between the two rivers:
had been bidden to depart. Padan Aram being a limited portion of this
10. ten camels, &c.] The journey was country of flat character in the neighbourlong and could only be performed in safety hood of Haran (see on xxv. 20, xxvii. 43).
by a considerable company or caravan. The the city of Nraaor] i. e. Haran or Charran
words which follow, "for all the goods of his (compare ch. xxvii. 43, and see ch. xi. 3I;
master were in his hand," very probably are Acts vii. 2).
no more than an explanation of his taking so 11. made his camels to kneel down] That
many camels with him, his master sparing they might be unloaded, and rest there. (See
nothing to make the journey successful. The on the whole of this scene, Thomson,' Land
LXX. and Vulgate render "and he took part and Book,' p. 592.)
of all his master's goods in his hand," as though he time t
Abraham had sent a present with the servanto, where
to conciliate the favour of the bride's family. Minerv, in the form of a girl carrying a
Minerva, in the form of a girl carrying a
to Mesqpotamia] Lit. " Aram of the two pitcher, meets Ulysses as he is about to enter
rivers," or "Aram-Naharaim."' The name the city of the Phcenicians in the evening.
INaharina constantly occurs in Egyptian in- See also Robinson,'B. R.' vol. 1I. p. 368, where
scriptions of the i 3th and g9th dynasties. In a somewhat similar scene to this is described.
V. I2 —22.] GENESIS. XXIV. 149
water at the time of the evening, even to look upon, a virgin, neither had
tHeb. the time tthat women go out to draw any man known her: and she went
wFi.. Wziek water. down to the well, and filled her pitcher,
T.dra, I2 And he said, O LORD God of and came up.
water go
fori,/. my master Abraham, I pray thee, 17 And the servant ran to meet
send me good speed this day, and shew her, and said, Let me, I pray thee,
kindness unto my master Abraham. drink a little water of thy pitcher.'Ver. 43- I3 Behold, CI stand here by the iS And she said, Drink, my lord:
well of water; and the daughters of and she hasted, and let down her
the men of the city come out to draw pitcher upon her hand, and gave him
water: drink.
14 And let it come to pass, that 19 And when she had done giving
the damsel to whom I shall say, Let him drink, she said, I will draw water
down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I for thy camels also, until they have
may drink; and she shall say, Drink, done drinking.
and I will give thy camels drink also: 2o And she hasted, and emptied
let the same be she that thou hast her pitcher into the trough, and ran
appointed for thy servant Isaac; and again unto the well to draw water,
thereby shall I know that thou hast and drew for all his camels.
shewed kindness unto my master. 2 And the man wondering at her
I5 qT And it came to pass, before held his peace, to wit whether the
he had done speaking, that, behold, LORD had made his journey prosperous
Rebekah came. out, who was born to or not.
Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of 22 And it came to pass, as the
WHeb. Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her camels had done drinking, that the nOr,
good of pitcher upon her shoulder. man took a golden " earring of half a jewelfotf
cn-once. ~ i6 And the damsel was *very fair shekel weight, and two bracelets for ewae.
12. 0 LORD God of my,master Abra- who accuse the so-called Jehovistic chapters
ham] The Darnascene recognizes JEl-IOVAII, Of being modern (of the date of Sainuel for
the God of his master Abraham, the Supreme instance), ground their arguments on a minute
Disposer of all things. He had probably criticism of the difference of the words used
been born a heathen idolater; but Abraham, by the Elohist and the Jehovist writers reto whom God had been revealed as JEHO- spectively. It is, however, here very appavAIn, the eternal self-existing, had no doubt rent that the word child, " nangar," had not,
taught his household to acknowledge Him as in the time of the writer of this most Jehothe Covenant God of Abraham and his family. vistic history, been distinguished in the singuIt is very observable, however, that when lar number into masculine and feminine,
Abraham administers an oath to his servant, nangar and nangarah, boy and girl.
he makes him swear not only by JEHOVAH, thereby shall I knoew] Perhaps more corbut adds the God of heaven and the God of rectly "by her shall I know;" though the
the earth, which might be a stronger sanction Versions generally render the feminine proto one brought up in ignorance of the faith of noun here by a neuter, the Hebrew having no
his master. neuter gender.
give me good speed] Lit. " cause to meet 15. who uwas born to Bethuel] See ch.
me," i. e. the person of whom I am in quest. xxii. 20 and note.
14. the damsel] The word here used
for damsel is of common gender, signifying astonished" at finding his prayer so suddenly
a child or young person of either sex. This ansrered.
is a peculiarity of the Pentateuch. In all the
later books the distinction of gender is ob- 22. earring] So LXX., Vulg., but per
served, the feminine affix (fl) being used when haps more probably "' nose-ring." St Jerome
a girl is intended. It is important to notice in Ezek. xvi. 11, I2, mentions that to his day
this here; first as shewing the antiquity of the women in the East wore golden rings
the Pentateuch generally; secondly, as shew- hanging down from their foreheads, on their
ing that this chapter, which is markedly je- noses. Hence here the marginal reading gives
hovistic, is also of marked antiquity. Those, "iewel for the forehead." To the present
150 GENESIS. XXIV. [v. 23 —41.
her hands of ten shekels weight of 32 q And the man came into the
gold; house: and he ungirded his camels,
23 And said, ~Whose daughter art and gave straw and provender for the
thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there" camels, and water to wash his feet, and
room in thy father's house for us to the men's feet that were with him.
lodge in? 33 And there was set meat before
24 And she said unto him, I am him to eat: but he said, I will not
the daughter of Bethuel the son of eat, until I have told mine errand,
Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. And he said, Speak on.
25 She said moreover unto him, 34 And he said, I am Abraham's
We have both straw and provender servant.
enough, and room to lodge in. 35 And the LORD hath blessed my
26 And the man bowed down his master greatly; and he is become
head, and worshipped the LORD. great: and he hath given him flocks,
27 And he said, Blessed be the LoRD and herds, and silver, and gold, and
God of my master Abraham, who hath menservants, and maidservants, and
not left destitute my master of his camels, and asses.
mercy and his truth: I being in the 36 And Sarah my master's wife
way, the LORD led me to the house bare a son to my master when she
of my master's brethren. was old: and unto him hath he given
28 And the damsel ran, and told all that he hath.
them of her mother's house these 37 And my master made me swear,
things. saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to
29 1 And Rebekah had a brother, my son of the daughters of the Canaanand his name was Laban: and Laban ites, in whose land I dwell:
ran out unto the man, unto the well. 38 But thou shalt go unto my
30 And it came to pass, when he father's house, and to my kindred,
saw the earring and bracelets upon and take a wife unto my son.
his sister's hands, and when he heard 39 And I said unto my master,
the words of Rebekah his sister, say- Peradventure the woman will not
ing, Thus spake the man unto me; follow me.
that he came unto the man; and, 40 And he said unto me, The
behold, he stood by the camels at the LORD, before whom I walk, will send
well. his angel with thee, and prosper thy
3I And he said, Come in, thou way; and thou shalt take a wife for
blessed of the LORD; wherefore my son of my kindred, and of my
standest thou without? for I have father's house:
prepared the house, and room for the 4. Then shalt thou be clear from
camels. this my oath, when thou comest to
day some Eastern nations wear nose-rings. appears also from v. 67, where Sarah's tent
Schroeder ('De Vest. Mul. Hebr.' c. xxii. ~ is named, and Rebekah is installed in it at
2). Hartmann ('Hebr.' iI. I66); W.iner ('R. her marriage. The daughter naturally went
W. B.' II. I62); Gesen. ('Th.' p. 870); Rosen- to tell her mother rather than her father of
miiller (in loc.), argue for the rendering what the servant of Abraham had done; the
"nose-ring" in this passage. The word, how- jewel, which he gave her, being perhaps inover, simply signifies a ring. tended to denote the nature of his embassage.
half a shekel] Probably about 2 drachms
or a quarter of an ounce. See on ch. xxxiii. I4. 33 I czuill not ent, until I hae told mine
errand] Ancient hospitality taught men to
28. her mother's house] Her father Be- set meat before their guests before asking
thuel was still living (see v. So); but the them their names and their business; but
mother is mentioned, perhaps because even here the servant of Abraham felt his message
thus early women may have lived in se- to be so momentous, that he would not ea
parate tents from the men (Rashi): which till he had unburdened himself of it.
v. 42-58.] GENESIS. XXIV. t5'
my kindred; and if they give not way to take mny master's brother's
thee one, thou shalt be clear from my daughter unto his son.
oath. 49 And now if ye will deal kindly
42 And I came this day unto the and truly with my master, tell me:
well, and said, O LORD God of my and if not, tell me; that I may turn
master Abraham, if now thou do pro- to the right hand, or to the left.
sper my way which I go: 50 Then Laban and Bethuel anaw Vz. 13. 43 dBehold, I stand by the well of swered and said, The thing proceedeth
water; and it shall come to pass, that from the LORD: we cannot speak unwhen the virgin cometh forth to draw to thee bad or good.
water, and I say to her, Give me, I 5I Behold, Rebekah is before thee,
pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher take her, and go, and let her be thy
to drink; master's son's wife, as the LORD hath
44 And she say to me, Both drink spoken.
thou, and I will also draw for thy 52 And it came to pass, that, when
camels: let the same be the woman Abraham's servant heard their words)
whom the LORD hath appointed out he worshipped the LORD, bowitng himfor my master's son. self to the earth.
45 And before I had done speaking 53 And the servant brought forth
in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came tjewels of silver, and jewels of gold, uHeb.
forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and raiment, and gave them to Re- vzcsses.
and she went down unto the well, and bekah: he gave also to her brother
drew water: and I said unto her, Let and to her mother precious things.
me drink, I pray thee. 54 And they did eat and drink, he
46- And she made haste, and let and the men that were with him, and
down her pitcher from her shoulder, tarried all night; and they rose up in
and said, Drink, and I will give thy the morning, and he said, eSend me ever. 56.
camels drink also: so I drank, and away unto my naster. &59.
she made the camels drink also. 55 And her brother and her mother
47 And I asked her, and said, said, Let the damsel abide with us a 11 Or, a
full,ear;'
Whose daughter art thou? And she few days, at the least ten; after that or, te.,
said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's she shall go. months.
son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and 56 And he said unto them, Hinder
I put the earring upon her face, and me not, seeing the LORD hath prothe bracelets upon her hands. spered my way; send me away that
48 And I bowed down my head, I may go to my master.
and worshipped the LORD, and blessed 57 And they said, We will call the
the LORD God of my master Abra- damsel, and inquire at her mouth.
ham, which had led me in the right 58 And they called Rebekah,
50. Laban and Bctbuell The brother is subsequent history of Jacob. The Hebrew
here put before the father, and in v. 39 the tradition was that Bethuel died on the day that
brother only is mentioned. It appears that Eliezer, Abraham's servant, arrived (Tarin those days the brother was much con- gum of Pseudo-Jonathan, on v. 55). Josephus
sulted concerning the marriage of his sisters (' Ant.' 1. i6) speaks of him as dead, which,
(Cp. ch. xxxiv. 13; Judg. xxi. z2): but it however, is unlikely, see on ch. xxvii. 2.
has also been observed that Bethuel is altogether kept in the background in this history, S3. jewels of silver, &c.] Lit. "vessels
as though he were a person of insignificant of silver," &c.
character, see ch. xxix. 6, where he is altogether passed over, Laban being called the 55. days, at the least ten] Lit. " days
son of Nahor, who was his grandfather. (See or ten." Certain days or at least tell; unless
Blunt's' Coincidences,' p. 3s, and Words- "days" be a phrase for the regular period
worth in loc.) Laban was evidently an active of seven days, i.e. a week, when it would be
stirring man, as is manifested throughout the " a week of days or ten days."
152 GENESIS. XXIV. [v. 59-67.
and said unto her, sWilt thou go with 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes,
this man? And she said, I will go. and when she saw Isaac, she lighted
59 And they sent away Rebekah off the camel.
their sister, and her nurse, and Abra- 65 For she had said unto the serham's servant, and his men. vant, What man is this that walketh
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and in the field to meet us? And the sersaid unto her, Thou art our sister, be vant hadsaid, It is my master: therethou the mother of thousands of Iail- fore she took a vail, and covered herlions, and let thy seed possess the gate self.
of those which hate them. 66 And the servant told Isaac all
6I l And Rebekah arose, and her things that he had done.
damsels, and they rode upon the 67 And Isaac brought her into his
camels, and followed the manl: and mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebethe servant took Rebekah, and went kah, and she became his wife; and he
his way. loved her: and Isaac was comforted
62 And Isaac came from the way after his mother's death.
/chap. I6. of the fwell Lahai-roi; for he dwelt
l25. in the south country. CHAPTER XXV.
It Or, 63 And Isaac went out Ito medi- I Tfhe soIs of Abrah/im by Keluferah. 5 T/e
o Piray. tate in the field at the eventide: and division of his goods. 7 His age, anld dealh.
he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, 9 -is bzurial. 12 The enzerations of Ish/-.o ed. 17 II,s age, an d deatz/. I9 Isaac ray,behold, the camels were coming. el/ foRebekahl, being ba7rren. 2T2 TechildrenJ
59. their sister] Only one brother is der "to pray;" some (Syr., Aben-Ezra) "to
mentioned, viz. Laban: but her relatives gene- walk." The word, however, appears most
rally are spoken of here, as saying of her, probably to signify religious meditation (see
"Tanou art our sister, " sister being used in Ges.'Thes.' p. 1322). Such occupation
that wide sense for relation, in which brother seems very characteristic of Isaac, whose
is so often found in Scripture. whole life was so tranquil, and his temper
her nur-se] Her name, Deborah, and her and spirit so calmn and submissive, as suiting
death are mentioned ch. xxxv. 8. one who was made an eminent type of Him,
who " was oppressed and afflicted, yet He
62. And Isaac came from the'way of the opened not His mouth: He was brought as
tvwell of Lahai-roi] Perhaps "Isaac had come a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep befrom ajourney to Lahai-roi,'" or "had returned fore her shearers is dumb, so He opened In)t
from g-oing to Lahai-roi." His mouth" (Is. liii. 7). St Jerome (' Qua. in
for he dexwelt in the south country] Probably at Gen.') sees in this quiet meditation and prayer
Beer-sheba. Abraham's later dwelling places a type of Him "who went out into a mounhad been Hebron and Beer-sheba. After the tain apart to pray" (Matt. xiv. 23).
sacrifice of Isaac, we find him dwelling at
Beer-sheba (xxii. I9), until we hear of the 4omary for bothmen and women, when udeath of Sarah at Hebron. Very probablyor t e on,
Abrm r d ar ts t Emir or great personage is approaching, to
Abraham returned after this to Beer-sheba.
alight some time before he comes up with
And so Isaac, whether living with his father, tle oen frequently refuse to ride in
them. Women f iequently refuse to ride in
or pitching his tent and feeding his flocks near the presence of men; and when a company of
him, is here represented as dwelling in the them are to pass through a town, they often
south country. In ch. xxv. x we find that, dismhunt and walk" (homson,'Land an
after Abraham's death, Isaac took up his doou, P w93. "
residence at Lahai-roi, to which we find that
lie had been on a visit, when Rebekah arrived, 65. a boail] The long cloak-like vail,
where perhaps he had already been pasturing with which the Eastern women covered their
his flocks and herds (Knobel). All this is faces (see Jerome in loc. and in: Comment.
in the strictest harmony; though the German ad Jes.' III.; Tertullian,' De velandis Virgicritics discover the hand of the Elohist in nibus' (Cap. xvi.). Even at this early period
chapter xxiii., und in the earlier verses of xxv., it seems to have been the custom for brides
and that of the Jehovist throughout xxiv. not to suffer the bridegroom to see their faces
63. to meditate] So LXX., Vuig., but before marriage (cp. ch. xxix. 23, 25).
the Targg., Sam., Arab., Saad., Rashi, ren- 67. Sarah's tent] See on v. 28.
V. - 7.1 GENESIS. XXV. I53
strive inz her 7cwomb. 24 The birt/h of Esau and 4 And the sons of Mlidian; Ephah,
Jacob. 27 Their dzeffer-ence. 29 EZsau sel/eth and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah,
Inzs bsirthZ ZrigLt. and Eldaah. All these were the chilHEN again Abraham took awife, dren of Keturah.
and her name was Keturah. 5 qT And Abraham gave all that he
a Chron. 2 And ashe bare him Zimran, and had unto Isaac.
1. 32. Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and 6 But unto the sons of the concuIshbak, and Shuah. bines, which Abraham had, Abraham
3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and gave gifts, and sent them away from
Dedan. And the sons of Dedan Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastwere Asshurim, and Letushim, and ward, unto the east country.
Leummim. 7 And these are the days of the years
CHAP. XXV. 1. Then again Abraham took of Mecca, on the Red Sea; Jokshan with the
a'wife, and her name wnas Keturah] The Cassanitx on the Red Sea (Ptol. vi. 7, 6);
later Targg. and some other Jewish commen- Ishbak with Shobek, in Idumma (Knobel,
tators (Rashi and R. Eliezer, in'Pirke,' c. Del., Keil).
3c; see also Jerome,' Quj. in Gen.'), say that Medan, and Midian] In ch. xxxvii. 28, 36,
Keturah was the same as Hagar, whom Abra- the Midianites and Medanites are identified.
ham took again, after Sarah's death. This The Midianites dwelt partly in the peninsula
seems inconsistent with v. 6, which speaks of of Sinai, partly beyond Jordan, in the neigh"the concubines" in the plural, meaning, bourhood of the Moabites. WVe meet with
doubtless, Hagar and Keturah. The latter, them first as the merchants to whom Joseph
though called wife here, is called concubine Was sold by his brethren (as ch xxxvii. 28
in I Chron. i. 32. Moreover, in I Chron. i. sqq.), trafficking between Egypt and Canaan.
28, 32, the sons of Keturah are named sepa- Next we find Moses flying to the land of Mirately from Isaac and Ishmael. The concu- dian, and marrying the daughter of a priest
bine (Pilegesh) was a kind of secondary wife, of Midian, Exod. ii. I5, I6, zI, whose flocks
sometiWes called " the concubine wife," Judg. pastured in the diesert, in the neighbourhood
xix. I; z S. xv. x6; xx. 3. It is generally of MloulntHoreb (Ex. iii. i). Later we find
supposed, that Abraham did not take Keturah the people of Midian in immediate juxta-poto wife, till after Sarah's death. So the fa- sition with the Moabites (Num. xxii. 4, xxv.
thers generally. Abraham lived to the age of 6, 17, I8), We find them afterwards as forI75. If we consider this extreme old age as midable neighbours to the Israelites, invading
equivalent to eighty-five or ninety in the pre- and oppressing them, though afterwards exsent day, his age at the time of Sarah's death pelled and conquered (Judg. vi. vii. viii.). It
would correspond to that of a man of from has been thought that traces of the name of
sixty-five to seventy now. Midian may be found in Modiana on the
Some, however, think, that Abraham took Eastern coast of the Elanitic Gulf menKeturah to be a secondary wife, during tioned by Ptolemy (at, 7), (Knobel).
Sarah's life, though no mention is made of
this marriage till this time, as the chief pur- 3. Sheba, and Dedan] Are named, ch.
pose of mentioning~ it xwas that some account x. 7, among the descendants of Cush. It has
should be given of Keturah's children. So been thought that in these as in other inKeil, Poole (in'Dict. of Bible'), &c. It is stances, the Shemite and Hamite races interimpossible to decide this question, as the text married, and that there consequently arose a
gives no note of time. The Authorised Ver- certain confusion in their names, or that very
sion indeed renders, " Then again Abraham probably they adopted names froIn those with
took a wife," but the Hebrew only conveys whom they were thus connected (see on ch.
the notion that Abraham took another wife. x 6, 7; also Ges. Thes.' p. 322).
2. she bare him Zimran] Josephus ('A. 4. Ephah] We meet with this MidianJ.' I. Ir.) tells us that the descendants of itish tribe in Is. Ix. 6, as a people rich in
Keturah occupied the Troglodyte country camels and gold and incense. The attempts
and Arabia Felix, which statement is repeated to identify the various descendants of Ketuby Jerome (' Qu. Heb. in Gen.'). Some of their rah, mentioned in this chapter, with the
names occur among the Arab tribes, but it is names of tribes or cities known to later geonot easy to identify them all clearly graphers and historians, may be seen in KnoZimran has been thought to be identified beI, Del., KeiI, &c. The uncertainty of such
with the Zabram of Ptolemy (vt. 7, S), the identification is very great.
royal city of the Cinwdocolpitm to the West 6. eastwzard, unto the east country] That
154 GENESIS. XXV. [v. 8 —2x.
of Abraham's life which he lived, an 14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and
hundred threescore and fifteen years. Massa,
8 Then Abraham gave up the 15 "HHadar, and Tema, Jetur, Nanghost, and died in a good old age, an phish, and Kedemah:
old man, and full of years; and was i6 These are the sons of Ishmael,
gathered to his people. and these are their names, by their
9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael towns, and by their castles; twelve
buried him in the cave of Machpelah, princes according to their nations.
ill the field of Ephron the son of 17 And these are the years of the
Zohar the Hittite, which is before life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty
Mamre; and seven years: and he gave up the
I chap. 23. IO0 The field which Abraham pur- ghost and died; and was gathered
i6. chased of the sons of Heth: there was unto his people.
Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. I8 And they dwelt from Havilah
i I ST And it came to pass after the unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as
death of Abraham, that God blessed thou goest toward Assyria: and he
his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the tdied in the presence of all his bre-I*U
c chap. x6. cwell Lahai-roi. thren.'14
& 24. 62. I2 qT Now these are the generations I9 qT And these are the generaof Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom tions of Isaac, Abraham's son; AbraHagar the Egyptian, Sarah's hand- ham begat Isaac:
maid, bare unto Abraham: 20 And Isaac was forty years old
d'Chron. 13 And dthese are the names of when he took Rebekah to wife, the
1 29. the sons of Ishmael, by their names, daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of
according to their generations: the Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the
firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Syrian.
Kedat, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 2I And Isaac intreated the LORD
is into Arabia, the inhabitants ou which were the heavenly Jerusalem," spoken of in Heb.
called Bene-Kedem,;'childreil of the East" xii. 22, and which God is said to have pre(Judg. vi. 3; I K. iv. 30; Job i. 3 Is. xi. I4). pared for the faithful patriarchs, Heb. xi. i6.
and afterwards I"Saracens," i.e. " Easterns." 9. his sons Isaac and Ishmael] From
8. Abraham gave zop the ghost] The his- this we see that Ishmael, though sent to dwell
tory of Abraham is thus wound up b -fore Eastward, had not lost sight of his father
the history of Isaac's family is told. Abra- and Isaac; and very probably their father's
ham did not die till Jacob and Esau were death reconciled the two brothers to each
born. Indeed they were fifteen years old at other. Isaac is put first as the heir, and the
Abraham's death: for he died at I75, Isaac heir of the promises.
was then seventy-fiye years old, but Esau 16. castles] See on Num. xxxi. 1o.
and Jacob were born when Isaac was sixty 19. And these are the generations of Isaac,
(see v. 26). Abraham's son] This is the beginning of a
cwas gathered to his people] This cannot new Section in the history of Genesis, which
mean that he was buried where his fathers continues to the end of ch. xxxv. Accordhad been buried, for he had been a hundred ing to the uniform plan of the author, there
years a pilgrim in the land of Israel, far from is a brief recapitulation, in order to make
the home of his ancestors, and he was buried the Section complete. In this case it is very
in the cave of Machpelah. The place therefore brief, consisting of the latter part of v. I9,
seems to indicate the belief of the patriarchal and v. 20.
ages in a place of departed spirits, to which 20. the Syrian of Padan-aram] The
thc souls of the dead were gathered. Thus Aramean of Padan-aram. Padan-aram
Jacob expected to " go down into the grave is the " plain or flat land of Aram," translated
(to Sheol) unto his son," though he did not or paraphrased in Hosea xii. I2 by Sedehbelieve his son to have been buried, but to Airam, "the field or plain of Aram." In the
have been devoured by wild beasts (ch. xxxvii. last chapter the country of Rebekah is called
35; compare also Deut. xxxii. so50). St Au- Aram-Naharaim, or Aram of the two rivers.
gustine (' Qu. in Gen.' 268) interprets the words See on ch. xxiv. Io. There is no reasonable
"his people," of "the people of that city, foundation for the belief that Padain-aram
v.X22-25.] GENESIS. XXV. 155
for his wife, because she was barren: two manner of people shall be sepaand the LORD was intreated of him, rated from thy bowels; and the one
and Rebekah his wife conceived. people shall be stronger than the other
22 And the children struggled to- people; and ethe elder shall serve the ~Rom. g
gether within her; and she said, If it younger. 12'
be so, why am I thus? And she weont 24 Iq And when her days to be deto inquire of the LORD. livered were fulfilled, behold, there
23 And the LORD said unto her, were twins in her womb.
Two nations are in thy womb, and 25 And the first came out red, all
was the old name used by the so-called Elo- likely, by going to a prophet. The Jerusahist, Aram-Naharaim being the name which lem Targum, followed by several Jewish
had been adopted by the later Jehovist. It commentators says, she went to Shem; others
was natural that the historian, when relating say to Melchizedec. Abraham, who was
the embassy of Eliezer of Damascus to Me- still living, was the head of the family then
sopotamia to seek a wife for Isaac, should dwelling in Palestine; he had been specially
have used the general name of the country honoured by revelations from heaven; and
into which- Eliezer was sent, whereas in the was probably esteemed the patriarch-priest of
present Section more particularity is to be the whole race. It is most likely, therefore,
expected, where Jacob is described as sojourn- that if the inquiry was made through a man,
ing for years in Padan-aram, the land of it would have been made through him. Still
Laban; just as in one case it might be natural we may conclude with St Augustine (' Qu.'
to speak of going into Scotland, whilst in a 72), that nothing is certain except that Remore detailed account, we might prefer to bekah went to ask of the Lord, and that the
speak of the Highlands of Scotland, or the Lord answered her.
Lowlands, or of some particular county or
district.i 23. lvwo nations, &c.] The response is
in antistrophic parallelisms, a poetic form, in
21. Isaac intreated the LORD for his which no doubt it was more readily handed
cuife, because she cvas barren] This barren- down from father to son:
ness had lasted twenty years (v. 26). Another instance of the delay in the fulfilment Two nations are in thy womb:
of God's promises, and of the trial of the and two peoples shall be sepafaith of those for whom the greatest blessings rated from thy bowels;
are reserved. The word here used for prayer and nation shall be stronger than
is by many thought to mean frequent and re- nation,
peated prayer; implying the anxious desire of and the elder shall serve the
Isaac to be blessed with offspring. Gesenius younger.
(p. Io85) thinks the word is connected with To this see the reference Mal. i. 2, 3, "Jacob
a root signifying "to offer incense," which have I loved, and Esau have I hated," and in
certainly appears to belong to it in Ezek. viii. Rom. ix. o10-I3, where St Paul shews that
Ir. If it be so, we must believe that the pa- election to the privilege of being the depositriarchal worship, which from the earliest tories of God's truth and the Church of God
times was accompanied with sacrifice, had on earth is inscrutable, but not therefore nealso, whether from Divine revelation or from cessarily unjust or unmerciful. Such election
an instinctive feeling, adopted the use of in- indeed plainly marks that God does not choose
cense. men as His instruments because of their merits,
22; If it be so, cwhy am I thus?] An but it does not shew that He is therefore simobscure saying. The Vulg. and TPargums ply arbitrary. In all there is a hidden stream
eunder, "If it was to be thus with me, why of mercy flowing. The chosen race shall be
did I conceivew" The Arabic has, "If I made the means of salvation to others as well
had known it would be thus, I would not astothemselves. Their privilegeswillbeblessed
have sought for offspring." Much to the same to them, if they use those privileges faithfully
effect Rashi, "If such be the sufferings of
effect Rashi, "If such be the sufferings Of Otherwisewhilst they are the channels of God's
pregnancy, why did I desire it?" The Syriac grace to their brethren, they themselves will
and most of the German Comm. understand be cast out, and others shall come into their
it, " If it be so, wherefore do I live?" inheritance..nd she cvent to inquire of the LORD] By 25. red, all over like an hairy garment]
prayer, or by sacrifice, perhaps at some spe- He seemed as if covered with a kind of fur, a
cial place of prayer; as to the domestic altar thick down, which is said to be found on some
of Isaac (Theodor.'Qu. in Gen.'), or more new born infants. It gave an animal appear.
:56 GENESIS. XXV. [v. 26-32.
over like an hairy garment; and they the did eat of his venison: but Rebe I Hnb.
called his name Esau. kah loved Jacob. z..s.. hfi
26 And after that came his brother 29 q[ And Jacob sod pottage: and.,.oul/.
/ hIos. 12. out, andfhis hand took hold on Esau's Esau came from the field, and he was
3, heel; and his name was called Jacob: faint:
and Isaac was threescore years old 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed
when she bare them. ne, I pray thee, with that same red t Heb.
27 And the boys grew: and Esau pottage; for I am faint: therefore was re,,hz.',
was a cunning hunter, a man of the his name called,Edom. tkat red
field; and Jacob was a plain man, 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this- aThti
dwelling in tents. day thy birthright. Red.
28 And Isaac loved Esau, because 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am
ance to Esau, and probably indicated his more favourite son to sin against truth and justice,
sensual nature. Owing to this he was called and brought heavy trials and sorrows on them
Esau, hairy." both.
Jacob] Meaning, literally, "he holds the 30. Feed me, I pray thee,'with that same
heel;" but, from the act of a person tripping red pottage] Let me, I pray thee, detup an adversary in wrestling or running by vour some of that red, that red. The
taking hold of the heel, it signifies also to words express the vehemence of the appetite,
"' trip up," "to outwit," " to supplant." (See and probably the very words uttered by Esau
xxvii. 36). in his impatient hunger and weariness. The
red lentil is still esteemed in the East, and has
27. a cunning hunter] Skilled in llunt- been found very palatable by modern traveling. Instead of following the quiet pastoral lers (Robinson,'Bib. Res.' I. 246). Dr Kitto
life of his forefathers, Esau preferred the wilder says he often partook of a red pottage made
life or a hunter, betokening his wild, restless, of lentils. "Thie mess had the redness, which
self-indulgent character, and leading him pro- gained for it the name of red" ('Pict. Bib.'
bably to society with the heathen Canaanites Gen. xxv. 30, quoted in Smith's'Dict. of
round about. Bib.' II. 92). It is also described by Thoma zman of th Jfield] This is antithetic to son,'Land and Book,' p. 587, as exhaling an
what follows, "ha dweller in tents." It pro- odour very tempting to a hungry man.
bablv indicates still more fully the wild life of therefore cwas his name'called Edom] Names
Esau. Instead of spending his life in the society appear to have been frequently given from ac-.
of his family, returning to his tent after the cidental causes, especially in the East; and
day's labour at night, he roved over the coun- sometimes the occurrence of more than one.
try, like the uncivilized hunters in half savage circumstance to the same person seems to
lands. have riveted a name. Thus we read above
that Esau was born with red hair and colour.
Jacob cqvas a plain man] An upright.
Jacoba, a man of steady, domestic, moral His frantic demand for red pottage and selling
habits.' his birthright to gain it, may have conspired
with his hair and complexion to stamp the
dewelling in tents] i.e. staying at home, at- name Edom (or Red) upon him. The contending to the pasturing of the flocks and the jecture of Tuch and others, that the name
business of the family, instead of wandering was connected with the Red Sea, near which
abroad in search of pleasure and amusement. the Edomites dwelt, is wholly groundless.
(See Ges.'Thes.' p. 634.) The Red Sea was never so called in early
times, or in Semitic tongues. The name Red
28. Isaac louved Esau, because he did eat was given in later days to this sea by the
of his venison] Lit. " because venison was in Greeks.
his mouth." The bold daring of Eiau was,
perhaps by force of contrast, pleasant to the 31. Sell me this day thy birthright] It is
quiet spirit of Isaac. That quiet temper was doubtful what privileges the birthright carnot strong enough to rule such a restless ried with it in patriarchal times. In after
youth; there was also a marked selfishness in times a double portion of the patrimony was
Isaac's affection, which brought with it its assigned to the firstborn by law (Deut. xxi.
own punishment. The mother, on the con- i-c I7); but in the earliest days the respect
trary, loved the well-conducted and helpful paid to the eldest son is very apparent; and
Jacob. Yet her love too was not guided by as the family spread out into a tribe, the
the highest principle, and so led her and her patriarchal head became a chieftain or prince.
v. 33 —.] GENESIS. XXV. XXXVI. 57
teIb., tat the point to die: and what profit
dieg. shall this birthright do to me? CHAPTER XXVI.
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me 1 Isaac becauzse offamine went to Gerar. ^ God
this day; and he sware unto him' instructeth, and blesseth hint. 7 I-e is reraoved
6Heb.,2 and "he sold his birthright unto by AC bmelch for denying his wX. sr Ife
birthright groweth rich. i8 He di ~kesek, Si
Jacob. and Rehoboth. 26 Abivzelech maketh a cove34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread znant with hint at Beer-sheba. 34 Esauz's
and pottage of lentiles; and he did wives.
eat and drink, and rose up, and went AND there was a famine in the
his way: thus Esau despised his birth-. land, beside the first famine that
right. was in the days of Abraham. And
It also looks as if the head of the family exer- we see his better feelings overcoming his vincised a kind of priesthood. Then the father's dictiveness. Whatever his own final state
chief blessing was given to his firstborn son. with God may have been, he has disinherited
Abrove all, in the family of Abraham, there his children, left them wild men of the desert
was a promise of peculiar spiritual privileges, and the rocks, instead of leaving them heirs
which, if not fully understood, would have of the promises and ancestors of the Messiah.
been much dwelt upon by believing minds. Jacob, with a less prosperous life, has yet
All this -was to Esau of little account com- gone through a long training and chastening
pared with the desire of present gratification from the God of his fathers, to whose care
of appetite. It has been thought, not im- and guidance he had given himself; he suffers
probably, that the famine impending (see heavily, but he learns from that he suffered;
xxvi. I) was already, more or less, pressing on at last he geses down to Egypt to die, cornmthe family of Isaac (Lightfoot,'Harm. of forted in having his children yet alive, confessO. T.' in loc.). Esau had perhaps been seek- ing that few and evil had been the days of
ing in vain for food in the chase, whilst Jacob the years of his pilgrimage, but yet able to
had prepared a mess of pottage, sufficient to say in peaceful confidence upon his deathbed,
relieve the pains of hunger. If it were so, "I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD."
Esau, wearied and famished, may have been H-e has inherited the promises; but for trying
strongly tempted to give up much for food. by unworthy means to anticipate the promise
But his worldly and "'profane" character is of inheritance, he has to go through a life of
exhibited in his contempt for that, which was, trial, sorrow, and discipline, and to die at last,
whether in a worldly or in a spiritual point of not in the land of promise, but in the house
view, rather an object of faith or sentiment, of bondage.
than of sight and sense. Jacob, a man of
wridely different character, had probably looked CHAP. XXVI. 1. Abimelech] It has been
with reverence on the spiritual promises, though doubted whether this be the Abimelech with
with culpable ambition for the personal pre- whom Abraham was concerned or not. The
eminence of the firstborn. He and Esau were events related in this chapter took place about
twins, and it may have seemed hard to him eighty years after those related in ch. xx.
to be shut out from the chief hope of his It is not therefore impossible, when men
house by one not older than himself, and lived to I8o, that the same king may still
whose character was little worthy of his posi- have been reigning over the Philistines; and it
tion. This may be some excuse for his con- has been thought that the character described
duct, but the sacred history, whilst exposing here is very similar to that in ch. xx. It
the carnal indifference of Esau, does not ex- seems more probable that the present Abimetenuate the selfishness of Jacob. Throughout lech should have been the son or successor of
their history, Esau is the bold, reckless, but the earlier king. Names were very frequently
generous and openhearted man of this world; handed down to the grandson, recurring alJacob, on the contrary, is a thoughtful, reli- ternately, and this may very possibly have
gious man, but with many infirmities, and been the case here: but moreover, Ahbimelech
especially with that absence of simplicity and (father king, or father of the king), may very
uprightness, which often characterizes those likely have been, like Pharaoh, a title rather
who have made their choice of heaven than a name, so also Phichol (the mouth of all,
and yet let their hearts linger too much on i.e. commanding all), sounds like the title of
earth. the commander in chief or the grand vizier,
The events correspond with the characters Cp. xxi. 22, xxvi. 26.
of the men. Esau lives on his rough and Gerar] The chief city of the Philistines
reckless life; though towards the end of it now Kirbet el Gerar.
I58 GENESIS. XXVI. [v. 2-12.
Isaac went unto Abimelech king of my wife; lest, said he, the men of
the Philistines unto Gerar. the place should kill me for Rebekah;
2 And the LORD appeared unto because she was fair to look upon.
him, and said, Go not down into 8 And it came to pass, when he
Egypt; dwell in the land which I had been there a long time, that
shall tell thee of: Abimelech king of the Philistines look3 Sojourn in this land, and I will ed out at a window, and saw, and,
be with thee, and will bless thee; for behold, Isaac was sporting with Rea chap. 13. unto thee, and unto thy seed, aI will bekah his wife.
T 51. give all these countries, and I will 9 And Abitnelech called Isaac, and
perform the oath which I sware unto said, Behold, of a surety she is thy
Abraham thy father; wife: and how saidst thou, She is my
4 And I will make thy seed to sister? And Isaac said unto him, Bemultiply as the stars of heaven, and cause I said, Lest I die for her.
will give unto thy seed all these coun- io And Abimelech said, What is
tries; and in thy seed shall all the this thou hast done unto us? one of
1 2:,.p.,. nations of the earth be bblessed; the people might lightly have lien with
22. I5.18 5 Because that Abraham obeyed thy wife, and thou shouldest have
my voice, and kept my charge, my brought guiltiness upon us.
commandments, my statutes, and my I I And Abimelech charged all his
laws. people, saying, He that toucheth this
6 T And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: man or his wife shall surely be put to
7 And the men of the place asked death.
him of his wife; and he said, She is It Then Isaac sowed in that land,
my sister: for he feared to say, She is and treceived in the same year anc,,H
2. the LORD appeared unto him] The sin, and the deep importance of strict truthlast recorded vision was at the sacrifice of fulness had not been fully unfolded to the
Isaac more than sixty years before, ch. xxii. patriarchs in their twilight state of faith.
These revelations were not so frequent as The difference in the details of this story
they seem to us, as we read one event rapidly and the events in the life of Abraham is too
after the other, but just sufficient to keep up marked to allow it to be thought that this is
the knowledge of God and the faith of the only a repetition of the histories in ch. xii.
patriarchs in the line of the chosen people and xx. In the history of Abraham Sarah
and of the promised seed. was taken into the house of Pharaoh, and
Go not down into Egypt] "In the first afterwards into that of Abimelech, and in
If~amine, which was in the days of Abrahame " f both cases preserved by Divine intervention.
Abraham had gone down to Egypt. Proba- In the history of Isaac, there is no apparent
intention on the part of Abimelech to take
bly, after this example, and from the plenty intention on the part of Abimelech to take
with which Egypt was blessed, Isaac had Rebekah into his house, but he accidentally
p dith which Egypt was blessred, Isaac had discovers that Isaac and Rebekah were not
purposed to go down there now, brother and sister but husband and wife, and
3. Sojourn in this land] He was the then reproves Isaac for his concealment of
heir, to whom the land had been promised. the truth, on the ground that so some of his
He is to dwell in it, as a stranger and so- people might have ignorantly taken Rebekah
journer, and not to be tempted by suffering to wife.
to go down to that land of spiritual danger,
from which his father so narrowly escaped. 12. sored in that land; The patriarchs
were not so wholly nomadic and pastoral
4. all these countries] The lands of the in their habits of life as to neglect agriculdifferent Canaanitish tribes named in ch. xv. ture entirely. Even the Bedouins practise
I9 —z2. The pronoun here rendered "'these", agriculture at the present day as well as grazis one of those ancient forms peculiar to the ing (Robinson,' B. R.' Vol. I. p. 77).
Pentateuch (ha-el; in the later books it would
bteB kacr-elev). an hundredfold] An hundred measures;
i.e. probably a hundred measures for each
7. She is my sister] Isaac acted on this measure sown, a very unusual increase, though
occasion just as Abraham had done in Egypt not quite unknown in a virgin soil, especially
and in Philistia. Probably too, he called if -the corn were barley. (The LXX. an'd
kebeklh his sister because she was his cou- Syr. render here "a hundred of barley,"
v. 13 —29.1 GENESIS. XXVI. I59
hundredfold: and the LORD blessed 22 And he removed from thence,
him. and digged another well; and for that
I3 And the man waxed great, and they strove not: and he called the
Heb. twent forward, and grew until he be- name of it Rehoboth; and he said, That is
Oi,z.g came very great: For now the LORD hath made room
14 For he had possession of flocks, for us, and we shall be fruitful in the
and possession of herds, and great land.
POr, store of llservants: and the Philistines 23 And he went up from thence
dsbary. envied him. to Beer-sheba.
I5 For all the wells which his fa- 24 And the LORD appeared unto
ther's servants had digged in the days him the same night, and said, I am
of Abraham his father, the Philistines the God of Abraham thy father: fear
had stopped them, and filled them not, for I am with thee, and will bless
with earth. thee, and multiply thy seed for my
i6 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, servant Abraham's sake.
Go from us; for thou art much 25 And he builded an altar there,
mightier than we. and called upon the name of the LORD,
I7 $l And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent there: and there
and pitched his tent in the valley of Isaac's servants digged a well.
Gerar, and dwelt there. 26 ~T Then Abimelech went to him
i8 And Isaac digged again the from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his
wells of water, which they had digged friends, and Phichol the chief captain
in the days of Abraham his father; of his army.
for the Philistines had stopped them 27 And Isaac said unto them,
after the death of Abraham: and he Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye
called their names after the names by hate me, and have sent me away from
which his father had called them. you?
I9 And Isaac's servants digged in 28 And they said, tWe saw cer-tHb.
the valley, and found there a well of tainly that the LORD was with thee: seW.'g we
t Helm t springing water. and we said, Let there be now an oath
20 And the herdmen of Gerar did betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee,
strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, and let us make a covenant with thee;
The water is ours: and he called the 29 tthat thou wilt do us no hurt, t Heb.
n That is, name of the well 1 Esek; because they as we have not touched thee, and as',~o,,:,tf,. strove with him. we have done unto thee nothing but
2, And they digged another well, good, and have sent thee away in
and strove for that also: and he called peace: thou art now the blessed of
Ia-.eI the name of it "1 Sitnah. the LORD.
which Michaelis and others have adopted. now filled up, twelve feet in diameter, and
rhe reading and rendering of the Authorised regularly built with hewn stone (Robinson,
Version are more generally supported, and are'Phys. Geog.' p. 243; see also' B. R.' p. 289).
probably correct.) The fertility of the soil 26. Phichol] See on v. i. The name sigin this neighbourhood is still very great. nifies "the mouth of all," which would be
17. the valley of Gerar] The word for applicable to a grand vizier, through whom
uvalley signifies properly the bed or course of a all might have access to the sovereign, or to a
stream or mountain torrent, a wady. It is not general whose voice gave command to all.
easy to say which of the valleys running to The former sense would seem the more prothe sea, South of Beer-sheba, may be identified bable, if it had not been said that Phichol was
with this valley of Gerar (see Robinson,' the chief captain of the artny."'Physical Geography,' p. II2). 29. thou art now the blessed of the
22. Rehoboth] Probably identified,as to LORD] WVe have here twice (see v. 28) the
ite with the Wady er-Ruhaibeh, where are sacred name JEHOVAH, used by the heathen
the ruins of an extensive city, eight hours king of Gerar. This does not, however, inSouth of Beer-sheba. Here is an ancient well, dicate that the writer of this porticn of th:
i6o GENESIS. XXVI. XXVII. [v. 30 —.
30 And he made them a feast, and daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and
they did eat and drink. Bashemath the daughter of Elon the
3 And they rose up betimes in Hittite:
the morning, and sware one to an- 35 Which cwere ta grief of mind chap. 27
other: and Isaac sent them away, and unto Isaac and to Rebekah. iIeb.
they departed from him in peace. CHAPTER XXVII. vistirit.
32 And it came to pass the same sendet Esau r venison. 6 Pebea
day, that Isaac's servants came, and instructehs 7ctcob to obtainz i/e blessingz. 15
told him concerning the well which aIcob nuzder the person of EsaZ obtainetA it.
they had digged, and said unto him, 30 EsaL bricSgetlaveiso,. d,3 Isnaac teinb/eyo.
34 Esazt copl7tzinelh, atd by ziio;trlunztly obvh/e have found water. taineth a blessing. 4I Ile threatenet/h _acob.! That is, 33 And he called it I" Shebah: there- 42 rebesao/l disop/oinzeth it.....anis. fore the name of the city is "Beer- ND it came to pass, that when
II That is, a
te ueofsheba unto this day..X Isaac was old, and his eyes were
a 3 q1 And Esau was forty years dim, so that he could not see, he
old when he took to wife Judith the called Esau his eldest son, and said
history had so-called Jehovistic tendencies, 300). It is supposed by Robinson, that the
or that he simply identified the name JEHo- one is that dug by Abraham, the other that
vAII with the name Elohim. Abraham had dug by Isaac; the name having been afterdwelt for some time in Gerar, either under wards given to both.
this very Abimelech, or under his immediate
predecessor. Abraham was known as a wor- &c.] Isaac
shipper of JuEovAhI, and was seen to be was now a hundred years old. Esau marblessed and prospered by hin s seGod. Now ries two wives and both of them Canaanites.
again Abraham's son Isaac comes and so-t of his polygamy and his mar
journs for a long time in the same country. rying without consent of his parents from
He too worships his father's God, and is among the idolatrous Hittites and Hivites
seen, li!ke his father, to prosper abundantly. (see ch. xxxvi. 2), he is called I' a fornicator"
The Philistines therefore recognize him, as by the Apostle (Heb. xii I6). These two
This f ither, to be a woreshipper of JEiHOVA, verses do not belong so much to this chapter
and perceive that he has succeeded to his fa- as to the next. The account of sau's mar
ther in the favour of their great Protector. rage, and the consequent grief of Isaac and
Abhimelech does not profess himself a wor- Rebekah, is intended to prepare the way for
shipper of the LORD, but looks on the LORD the succeeding history.
as the God of Abraham, and sees that Abra- 35. a grief of mind] A bitterness of
ham's son Isaac is "Inow the blessed of the spirit.
LORD."
33. he called it Shebah: therefore the CHAP. XXVII. 1. Isaac Iwas oldt The
name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day] Jewish intepreters say he was now one hun"Shebah" means both seven and oath; the dred and thirty-seven years old, the age at
number seven being a sacred number among which Ishmael died fourteen years before,
the Hebrews, and oaths being apparently and it is not improbable that the thought of
ratified vwith presents or sacrifices seven in his brother's death at this age put Isaac in
number (see ch. xxi. 28). There is no in- mind of his own end. The calculation on
consistency in the history which tells us that which it is inferred that Isaac was one hunAbraham gave the name of Beer-sheba to this dred and thirty-seven, Esau and Jacob being
well long before, and under similar circum- seventy-seven at this time, is as follows;
stances. The well, dug by Abraham, and Joseph was thirty years old when he stood
secured to him by oath, had been covered before Pharaoh (Gen. xli. 46), then came
and lost. It is found by Isaac's servants just seven years of plenty (v. 47-353), which made
after the covenant made between him and Joseph thirty-seven; then two years of
Abimelech. The whole series of events re- famine ere Jacob came into Egypt (ch. xlv.
calls to Isaac's mind the original name, and 6), which brings Joseph's age to thirty-nine;
that which gave rise to the name, and so he but at this time Jacob was one hundred and
restores, not the well only, but the name thirty; therefore Jacob must have been ninealso. " Upon the Northern side of the WVady ty-one when Joseph was born. Now Joseph
es-Seba are the two deep and ancient wells, was born in the last year of the second seven,
which gave occasion to this name" (Robin- or in the fourteenth year of Jacob's service
son,'Phys. Geog.' p. 242;'B. R.' I. p. with Laban, at the very end of that year
.o ~ —8.s] GENESIS. XXVII. I6I
unto him, My son: and he said unto 5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac
him, Behold, here am I. spake to Esau his son. And Esau
2 And he said, Behold now, I am went to the field to huntfor venison,
old, I know not the day of my and to bring it.
death: 6 qT And Rebekah spake unto Ja3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, cob her son, saying, Behold, I heard
thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, thy father speak unto Esau thy brother,
t Hea. and go out to the field, and Itake me saying,
some venison; 7 Bring me venison, and make me
4 And make me savoury meat, such savoury meat, that I may eat, and
as I love, and bring it to me, that I bless thee before the LORD before my
may eat; that my soul may bless thee death.
before I die. 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my
(ch. xxx. 25, 26). Take fourteen years out it from him for ever by a solemn oath.
of ninety-one, Jacob's age when Joseph was Moreover, in order that his heart may be the
born, and we have seventy-seven for the age more warmed to him whom he desires to
of Jacob, when he was sent away from the bless, he seeks to have some of that savoury
wrath of Esau to the house of Laban. (See meat brought to him which he loved.
Lightfoot's'Harmony of Old Testament' in
loc., works by Pitman, I822, Vol. II. pp. 96,
97). If this calculation be true, Isaac had: no doubt treasured up the oracle which had
l Ifo threis yealnber tolruie, hIsaac had assured her, even before their birth, that her
still forty-three years to live, his quiet life younger son Jacob, whom she loved, should
having been extended to an unusual length. younger son Jacob, whom she loved, shold
There is however great risk of numerical calT~here is however great risk of numerical cal bear rule over Esau, whose wild and reckless
culations from various causes being inexact. "bitterness of soule Lo' her. She probably
The last chapter had brought us down only knew that Jacob had bought Esau's birthto the hundredth year of Isaac's life, Esaun
tobeing then but forty and in some respects right. Now, believing rightly that the father's
being then but forty; and in some respects benediction would surely bring blessing with
an earlier date seems more accordant w;rith benediction would surely bring blessing with
an earlier date seems more accordant with
the tenor of the subsequent history, it being l she fears that these promises and hopes
hardly probable that Jacob should have been faith fil She believed, but not with that
seventy-seven when he fled to Laban and, which can patiently abide till God
served seven years for his wife, and then works out His plans by His Providence. So
another seven years for his second wife; even to force forward the
at a period when human life was still ex- event by unlawful means; even, as some have
thought that Judas betrayed Christ that he
tended so far beyond that of fuiture genera- ght
1 t s. r 1 z *e might force Him to declare Himselfla ing
tions. On the chronology of Jacob's life see and to take the kingdom. Every character
nlote at the end of ch xxxi. and to take the kingdom. Every character
in this remarkable history comes in for some
3. quiver] So LXX., Vulg., Pseudo- share of blame, and yet some share of praise.
Jon.: but Onkelos, Syr. have "sword." The Isaac, with the dignity of the ancient patriarch
Iewoish commentators are divided between and faith in the inspiring Spirit of God,
the two senses. The word occurs nowhere prepares to bless his son, but he lets carnal
else, but is derived from a verb meaning to and worldly motives weigh with him. Re"hang," to "suspend," which would suit bekah and Jacob, seeing the promises afar
either the quiver which hung over the off and desiring the spiritual blessings, yet
shoulder, or the sword, the "hanger," which practise deceit and fraud to obtain them,
was suspended by the side. instead of waiting till He who promised
4. that my soul may bless thee] There should shew Himself faithful. Esau, deappears a singular mixture of the carnal and frauded of what seems his right, exhibits a
the spiritual in this. Isaac recognizes his natural feeling of sorrow and indignIation,
own character as that of the priestly and which excites our pity and sympathy; but we
prophetic head of his house, privileged to have to remember how "for a morsel of
bless as father and priest, and to foretell the meat he sold his birthright," and that so,
fortunes of his family in succession to Abra- when he would have inherited the promises
ham in his office of the prophet of God. he was rejected, being set forth as an example
Yet his carnal affection causes him to forget of the unavailing regret of such as wantonly
the response to the enquiry of Rebekah, "the despise spiritual privileges, and when they
elder shall serve the younger," and the fact have lost them, seek too late for the blessings,
that Esau had sold his birthright and alienated to which they lead,
VOL. I. L
162 GENESIS. XXVII. [v. 9 —24.
voice according to that which I com- I7 And she gave the savoury meat
mand thee. and the bread, which she had prepared,
9 Go now to the flock, and fetch into the hand of her son Jacob.
me from thence two good kids of the I8 ql And he came unto his father,
goats; and I will make them savoury and said, My father: and he said,
meat for thy father) such as he loveth: Here am I; who art thou, my son?
Io And thou shalt bring it to thy 19 And Jacob said unto his father,
father, that he may eat, and that he I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done
may bless thee before his death. according as thou badest me:' arise, I
I I And Jacob said to Rebekah his pray thee, sit and eat of my venison,
mother, Behold, Esau my brother is that thy soul may bless me.
a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 20 And Isaac said unto his son,
12 My father peradventure will feel How is it that thou hast found it so
me, and I shall seem to him as a de- quickly, my son? And he said, Beceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon cause the LORD thy God brought it
me, and not a blessing. tto me. t Heb
13 And his mother said unto him, 2z And Isaac said unto Jacob, fore.
Upon me be thy curse, my son: only Come near, I pray thee, that I may
obey my voice, and go fetch me them. feel thee, my son, whether thou be
I4 And he went, and fetched, and my very son Esau or not.
brought them to his mother: and his 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac
mnother made savoury meat, such as his father; and he felt him, and said,
his father loved. The voice is Jacob's voice, but the
Hab. 15 And Rebekah took Igoodly rai- hands are the hands of Esau.
desirable. ment of her eldest son Esau, which 23 And he discerned him not, bewere with her in the house, and put cause his hands were hairy; as his
them upon Jacob her younger son: brother Esau's hands: so he blessed
i6 And she put the skins of the him.
kids of the goats upon his hands, and 24 And he said, Art thou nmy very
upon the smooth of his neck: son Esau? And he said) I am.
15. goodly raiment of her elder son Esau] 20. Because the LORD thy God brought it
St Jerome ('Qg. Hebr.' in loc.) mentions to me] The covering of his falsehood with
it as a tradition of the rabbins, that the this appeal to the Most High is the worst
firstborn in the patriarchal times, holding part of Jacob's conduct. In the use of the
the office of priesthood, had a sacerdotal names of God, Jacob speaks of JEHOVAHI as
vestment in which they offered sacrifice; and the God of his father. A little further on in
it was this sacerdotal vestment which was the history, Jacob vows that, if he is prokept by Rebekah for Esau, and which was spered in his journey, then JEHOVAH shall be
now put upon Jacob. See on ch. xxxvii. 3. his God (ch. xxviii. 2I). This is exactly
accordant with the general use of these sacred
16. the skins of the kids of the goats] names. Elohism would, so to speak, correMartial (Lib. xII. Epig. 46) alludes to kid spond with our word Theism.. Though Jaskins as used by the Romans for false hair to cob was a believer in JEIIOVAH, yet revelaconceal baldness. The wool of the oriental tion in those early days was but slight, and
goats is much longer and finer than of those of the knowledge of the patriarchs imperfect.
this country. (Cp. Cant. iv. I,. See Bochart, There were gods of nations round about.'Hieroz.'p. I, Lib. i. c. C,5. See also Rosenm., JEHOVAH had revealed Himself to Abraham
Tuch, &c.) and was Abraham's God, and again to Isaac,
and Isaac had served Him as his God. It is
18. cwho art thou, my son?] The anxiety quite possible that Esau, with his heathen
and trepidation of Isaac appear in these wives, may have been but a half worshipper
words. He had perhaps some misgiving as of JEHovAH; but Jacob recognizes Him as
to the blessing of Esau;, and doubted whe- the God of his father Isaac (cp. ch. xxxi. 53),
ther God would prosper him in the chase and afterwards solemnly chooses Hinm as the
and bring him home with venison to his object of his own worship and service. See
father. however note on ch. xxviii..,
v.$5 —37.] GENESIS. XXVII. 163
25 And he said, Bring it near to 31 And he also had made savoury
me, and I will eat of my son's veni- meat, and brought it unto his father,
son, that my soul may bless thee. and said unto his father, Let my faAnd he brought it near to him, and ther arise, and eat of his son's venison,
he did eat: and he brought him wine, that thy soul may bless me.
and he drank. 32 And Isaac his father said unto
26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I
him, Come near now, and kiss me, am thyv son, thy firstborn Esau.
my son. 33 And Isaac ttrembled very ex- teb.
27 And he came near, and kissed ceedingly, and said, Who? where is t~,,,lZ
him: and he smelled the smell of his he that hath ttaken venison, and gezt
raiment, and blessed him, and said, brought it me, and I have eaten ofit0,.
t Heb.
See, the smell of my son is as the all before thou camest, and have bless-....t1e.
smell of a field which the LORD ed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
hath blessed: 34 And when Esau heard the words
"H eb. Ti. 28 Therefore aGod give thee of of his father, he cried with a great and'*1M the dew of heaven, and the fatness of exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his
the earth, and plenty of corn and father, Bless me, even me also, 0 my
wine: father.
29 Let people serve thee, and na- 35 And he said, Thy brother came.tions bow down to thee: be lord over with subtilty, and hath taken away
thy brethren, and let thy mother's thy blessing.
sons bow down to thee: cursed be 36 And he said, Is not he rightly
every one that curseth thee, and named'Jacob? for he hath supplant- 1Thatis,
blessed be he that blesseth thee. ed me these two times: he took away -t.r
30 qT And it came to pass, as soon my birthright; and, behold, now he
as Isaac had made an end of blessing hath taken away my blessing. And
Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone he said, Hast thou not reserved a
out from the presence of Isaac his blessing for me?
father, that Esau his brother came in 37 And Isaac answered and said
from his hunting. unto Esau, Behold, I have made him
26. kiss mzel Tuch has suggested that brightness ofherrising"...when theabundance
Isaac asked his son to kiss him, that he of the sea should be converted unto her, the
might distinguish the shepherd who would forces of the Gentiles should come unto
smell of the flocki from the huntsman who her" (Isa. lx. 5, 6. Cp. Rom. xi. 25).
would smell of the field. It may have been 29. cursed be every one, &c.] This is
so (see next verse), or it may have only been the continued promise to the chosen race, first
paternal love. given (Gen. xii. 3) to Abraham. It is ob28. God] Lit. The God, i. e. that God served, however, that Isaac does not pronounce
just named, the God of thy Father, viz. on Jacob that emphatic spiritual blessing, which
JEHo VAh. It does not indicate (as Keil) God Himself had assured to Abraham twice
"the personal God," nor is it (as some would (xii. 3; xxii. i8), and to Isaac once (xxvi. 4),
have it) a Jehovistic formula. The article is " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
perfectly natural as referring to Jacob's be blessed." There was something carnal and
words v. 2o. The blessing is, as usual, sinfiul in the whole conduct of the persons
thrown into the poetic form of an anti- concerned in the history of this chapter, Isaac,
strophic parallelism. Rebekah, Jacob, Esau: and it may have been
29. Let people serve thee, and nations bous this which withheld for the time the brightdocwn to thepe] This was fulfilled in the est promise to the family of Abraham; or
extensive dominions of the descendants of perhaps it may have been that that promise
Jacob under David and Solomon, buat, no should come only from the mouth of God Himdoubt, has a fuller reference to the time when Se, as it is given aferwards in ch. xxviii. 4.
"the LORD should arise upon Israel, and His 36. Is not he rightly named Jacob?] Lit,
glory should be seen on her, when Gentiles " Is it that he is called Jacob, and he supshould come to her light, and kings to the planteth or outwitteth me these two times?"
L2
I64. GENESIS. XXVII. [v. 38-45.
thy lord, and all his brethren have I father blessed him: and Esau said in
given to him for servants; and with his heart, The days of mourning for
n Or, corn and wine have I " sustained him: my father are at hand; dthen will I dObad.io.
~.,orled. and what shall I do now unto thee, slay my brother Jacob.
my son? 42 And these words of Esau her
38 And Esau said unto his father, elder son were told to Rebekah: and
Hast thou but one blessing, my fa- she sent and called Jacob her younger
ther? bless me, even me also, O my son, and said unto him, Behold, thy
father. And Esau lifted up his voice, brother Esau, as touching thee, doth
Heb. I2. band wept. comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
17. 39 And Isaac his father answered 43 Now therefore, my son, obey
c er. 8. and said unto him, Behold, cthy dwell- my voice; and arise, flee thou to
fir t ing shall be "the fatness of the earth, Laban my brother to Haran;,n-ss. and of the dew of heaven from above; 44 And tarry with him a few days,
40 And by thy sword shalt thou until thy brother's fury turn away;
live, and shalt serve thy brother; and 45 Until thy brother's anger turn
it shall come to pass when thou shalt away from thee, and he fbrget that
have the dominion, that thou shalt which thou hast done to him: then I
break his yoke from off thy neck. will send, and fetch thee from thence:
4I eT And Esau hated Jacob be- why should I be deprived also of you
cause of the blessing wherewith his both in one day
A paronomasia on the name Jacob. See on 7). Judas Maccabxus defeated them frech. xxv. 26. The words seem to mean, Is quently (i Macc. v.; 2 Macc. x.). At last
there not a connection between the meaning his nephew Hyrcanus completely conquered
of his name Jacob, and the fact that he thus them, and compelled them to be circumcised,
supplants or outwits me? and incorporated them into the Jewish nation
39. thy dqwelling shall be the fatness of (Joseph.'Ant.' xIii. 9. I); though finally
the earth, and of the deaw of heaven from under Antipater and Herod they established
above] Lit. " from the fatness of the earth an Idumaan dynasty, which continued till the
and from the dew of heaven." Castalio, Le destruction of the Jewish polity.
Clerc, Knobel, Del., Keil, render the prepo- when thou shalt have dominion] More prosition "from" by I"far from." So apparently bably when thou shalt toss (the yoke).
Gesenius ('Thes.' p. 8o0, absque, sine). But So the LXX., Vulg. (eycutias); Gesen.'Thes.'
the Authorized Version corresponds with the p. I269; Hengst., Keil, &c. The allusion is
ancient versions. The very same words with to the restlessness of the fierce Edomite under
the very same preposition occur in v. 28, and the yoke of the Jewish dominion. The proit is difficult to make that preposition parti- phecy was fulfilled when they revolted under
tive in v. 28, and privative in v. 39. Joram and again under Ahaz; and finally
40. by thyt sword thou shalt live, and when they gave a race of rulers to Judca in
halt serve thy brother, &tc. JOsephus (Bv J I the persons of Herod and his sons (see last
IV. 4. I) describes the Edomites as a tumultuous, disorderly race, and all their history 43. Haran] It appears that not only Aseems to confirm the truth of this description. braham and the family of his brother Haran
The prophecy thus delivered by Isaac was must have left Ur of the Chaldees (see ch. xi.
fulfilled in every particular. At first Esau, 3 ); but that the family of Nahor must have
the elder, seemed to prosper more than his followed them to Haran, which is therefore
brother Jacob. There were dukes in Edom called "the city of Nahor" (ch. xxiv. io).
before there reigned any king over the chil- The name Harran still remains in the centre
dren of Israel (Gen. xxxvi. 3I); and whilst of the cultivated district at the foot of the
Israel was in bondage in Egypt, Edom was an hills lying between the Khabour and the Euindependent people. But Saul defeated and phrates.
David conquered the Edomites (I S. xiv. 47; 45. why should I be deprived also of you
2 S. viii. I4), and they were, notwithstand- both in one day?] i.e. of Jacob by the hand of
ing some revolts, constantly subject to Judah Esau, and of Esau by the hand of justice (ch.
(see I K. xi. 14; z K. xiv. 7, 2z; z Chr. xxv. ix. 6). The sacred history has shewn us the
i I; xxvi. a) till the reign of Ahaz, when they sins and errors of the family of IsLac; it here
threw off the yoke (2 K. xvi. 6; 2 Chr. xxviii. briefly but emnphatically exhibits the distress
v 46 —rI.] GENESIS. XXVII. XXVIII. 165
ha. 26. 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I the land twherein thou art a stranger, t Heb.
35- am weary of my life because of the which God gave unto Abraham. j5D r ZY,M
daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a 5 And Isaac sent away Jacob:
wife of the daughters of Heth, such and he went to Padan-aram unto
as these which are of the daughters of Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian,
the land, what good shall my life the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and
do me? Esau's mother.
6 ~l When Esau saw that Isaac
CHAPTER XXVIII. had blessed Jacob, and sent him away
I Isaac blesseti _74cob, andsenet/ih him toPoa'on- to Padan-aram, to take him a wife
aram. 6 Esz ma't/ AahaLzt the dg-and that as he blessed
ter of ishmael. Io The vision of Yacob's
cr of is/imoel 1 The visiong of 7co fro m the nce; and that as he blessed
laZdder. I8 T'he stone of Be/i-el. 2o zcoh's him he gave him a charge, saying,
vow. Thou shalt not take a wife of the
AND Isaac called Jacob, and bless- daughters of Canaan;
ed him, and charged him, and 7 And that Jacob obeyed his father
said unto him, Thou shalt not take a and his mother, and was gone to
wife of the daughters of Canaan. Padan-aram;
aHos. 22. 2 a Arise, go to Padan-aram, to.8 And Esau seeing that the daughthe house of Bethuel thy mother's ters of Canaan t pleased not Isaac his tbine.
father; and take thee a wife from father; Z't /,tc
thence of the daughters of Laban thy 9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, eys, &C.
mother's brother. and took unto the wives which he
3 And God Almighty bless thee, had Mahalath the daughter of Ishand make thee fruitful, and multiply mael Abraham's son, the sister of
t Heb. thee, that thou mayest be a multi- Nebajoth, to be his wife.
Oan assem-,;y Of tude of people; IO ST And Jacob went out from,p5eee. 4 And' give thee the blessing of Beer-sheba, and went toward bHaran. b Calleld,
Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed i i And he lighted upon a certain C/arr..'
with thee; that thou mayest inherit place, and tarried there all night,
and misery which at once followed; Isaac character, or enfeebled by age. (See on ch.
and Rebekah left in their old age by both xxiv. so.)
their children; idols become scourges; Esau
d:sappointed and disinherited; Jacob banished. God Almg
fr-om his hom.e, destined to a long servitude under this name that God appeared to Abraand a life of disquietude and suffering. Even ham, ch. xvii. i, and gave him the blessing to
those, whom God chooses and honours, can- which Isaac now refes.
not sin against Him without reaping, at least 4. the land cwheretn thou art a stranger]
in this world, the fruit of evil doings (I Cor. Lit. the land of thy sojournings.
Xi. 3?2). 8. pleased not] Lit. were evil In the
eyes of.
CHAP. XXVIII. 1. Isaac called Jacob,
and blessed him] Isaac has learned that God 11. he lighted upon a certain place] Lit. he
had decreed that Jacob should be the heir lighted on the place. The definite
of the promises, the recipient of the blessings. article probably indicates either that it was the
Accordingly, in v. 4, he invokes on Jacob place appointed by God, or that it was the
"the blessing of Abraham," that "he and his place afterwards so famous from God's reveseed should inherit the land of his sojourning," lation to Jacob. We may well picture to ourand no doubt also the spiritual blessings pro- selves the feelings of Jacob on this night, a
nounced on the descendants (if Abraham. solitary wanderer from his father's house,
going back from the land of promise, con2. P0adan-aram] See on xxiv. to, xxv. scious of sin and in the midst of danger, with
l0, XXV~I. 43. a dark and doubtful future before him, yet
Bethuel] This looks as if Bethuel were still hitherto having always cherished the hope of
living, not as the Jewish tradition says, that being the chosen of God to bear the honours
he died before Isaac's marriage. It is more and privileges of his house, to have the inheritlikely that he was either naturally of weak ance promised to Abraham, and now too with
i66 GENESIS. XXVIII. [v. I2-20.
because the slun was set; and he 15 And, behold, I am with thee,
took of the stones of that place, and and will keep thee in all places whiput them for his pillows, and lay down ther thou goest, and will bring thee
in that place to sleep. again into this land; for I will not
I2 And he dreamed, and behold a leave thee, until I have done that
ladder set up on the earth, and the which I have spoken to thee of.
top of it reached to heaven: and be- I6 ql And Jacob awaked out of his
hold the angels of God ascending and sleep, and he said, Surely the LoRD is
descending on it. in this place; and I knew it not.
~ chap. 35. I3 cAnd, behold, the LORD stood iy And he was afraid, and said,
48. 3. above it, and said, I am the LORD How dreadful is this place! this is
God of Abraham thy father, and the none other but the house of God,
God of Isaac: the land whereon thou and this is the gate of heaven.
liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy I8 And Jacob rose up early in the
seed; morning, and took the stone that he
14- And thy seed shall be as the had put for his pillows, and set it up
~Heb. dust of the earth, and thou shalt for a pillar, and poured oil upon the
eua. t spread abroad d to the west, ancd to top of it.
deut I2. the east, and to the north, and to the I9 And he called the name of that
e chap.. south: and in thee and ein thy seed place "I Beth-el: but the name of that li That is,
3. the housr
3& 18. I8. shall all the families of the earth be city was called Luz at the first. of God.
& 2.8. blessed. 20o And Jacob vowed a vow, say46. 4.
the words of Isaac's blessing just ringing in feeling is encouraged by the highest sanction
his ears. Whether would fear or faith prevail? in Ex. iii. 5.
12. a ladder] God takes this opportu- 18. set, it up for a pillar, and poured oil
nity to impress Jacob more deeply with the zpton the top of it] This was probably the most
sense of His presence, to encourage him with ancient and simplest form of temple or place
promises of protection and to reveal to him for religious worship; excepting the altar of
His purpose of mercy and love. stones or earth for a burnt sacrifice. Whether
The ladder might only indicate that there this is the first example of such an erection we
was a way from God to man, and that man cannot judge. It was a very natural and obmight by God's help mount up by it to hea- vious way of marking the sanctity of a spot;
ven, that angels went up from man to God, as in Christian times wayside crosses and
and came down from God to man, and that the like have been set up so frequently. The
there was a continual providence watching pouring oil on it was a significant rite, though
over the servants of God. So the dream would what may have been the full significance to
teach and comfort the heart of the dreamer. Jacob's mind it is not easy to say. St AugusBut we cannot doubt, that there was a deeper tine (' De C. D.' xvI. 38) says that it was
meaning in the vision thus vouchsafed to the not that he might sacrifice to the stone or worheir of the promises, in the hour of his greatest ship it, but that as Christ is named from chrism,
desolation, and when the sense of sin must or unction, so there was a great mystery (sahave been most heavy on his soul. Our Lord cramentum) in this anointing of the stone with
Himself teaches (John i. SI), that the ladder oil. The constant connection in religious
signified the Son of Man, Him, who was now thought between unction and, sanctification
afresh promised as to be of the Seed of Jacob seems a more probable solution of the ques(v. 14); Him, by whom alone we go to God tion.
(John xiv. 6); who is the way to heaven, and
who has now gone there to prepare a place 19. Beth-ell Abraham had built an altar
for us. in this neighbourhood (xii. 8, xiii. 4); and
it is possible that the spot thus sanctified
13. the LORD stood above it] Onkelos may have been the very place which Jacob
renders "the glory of the LORD." lighted on (v. II), and which he found to be
16. Surely the LORD is in this place] It the house of God and the gate of heaven.
is possible that Jacob may not have had quite The place consecrated perhaps first by
so intelligent a conviction of God's omnipre- Abraham's altar, and afterwards by Jacob's
sence as Christians have; but it is apparent vision and pillar, was plainly distinct from the
throughout the patriarchal history that special city which was " called Luz at the first," and
sanctity was attached to special places. This which afterwards received the name of Bethel
v. 21-3.] GENESIS. XXVIII. XXIX. I67
ing, If God will be with me, and enter/ainetl him. iS r'aob covenanteth for
*Rachel. ta3 He is dGeiZed w vi h Leah. ~8 ]2re
will keep me in this way that I go, Raeh. 23 He is deceived wi/c Leak. 2ie
wi;~ O 3 s~marrie/th also Rachel, and serve/th foor her
and will give me bread to eat, and seven years more. 3,2 Leah bearreh Reuben,
raiment to put on, 33 Simeon, 34 Levi, 35 and 7udah.
2i So that I come again to my T HEN Jacob Iwent on his jour- tibH
father's house in peace; then shall the ney, and came into the land offeet.
LORD be my God: the t people of the east. t eb.
22 And this stone, which I have 2 And he looked, and behold a
setfor a pillar, shall be God's house: well in the field, and, lo, there were
and of all that thou shalt give me I three flocks of sheep lying by it; for
will surely give the tenth unto thee. out of that well they watered the
CHAPTER XXIX. flocks: and a great stone was upon
I 7acob cometh to the well of Hran. 9 He the well's mouth.
takelh acquainzance of Rachel. 13 Laban 3 And thither were all the flocks
from its proximity to the sanctuary. So late I; Deut. xvi. 22, &c.). What was good in
as the time of Joshua (see Josh. xvi. I, z) the its origin had become evil in its abuse.
two places were distinct. When the tribe of 21. then shall the LORD be my Godj
Joseph took the city (Judg. i. 21-26), they So the LXX., Vulg., Syr.; but the Arab.
appear to have given- to the city the name of and several of the Hebrew commentators put
Bethel, formerly attaching only to the sanc- these words in the protasis; And if the
tuary, and thenceforward, the name Luz LORD will be my God, then shall this stone
having been transferred to another town, the be God's house," &c. The Hebrew is amold town of Luz is always called Bethel. biguous, and so is the Targum of Onkelos:
According to Eusebius and Jerome ("Ono- but the change of construction and of tense
mast.' art. usaleBm) it lay about twelve miles certainly appears to be at the beginning of
from Jerusalem on the road to Sichem. Its v. Its v2, for all the verbs, beginning with "will
ruins are still called by the name of Beitn. keep me " in v. 20 to the end of v. ii, are in
The rocky character of the hills around, and the same form (the perfect with vau converthe stony nature of the soil, have been much sive); and in verse 2 there is a change to the
noted by travellers (see Robinson,' B. Ro' II. fuure. I this be so, the whole assage will
pp. I27 —I30, and Stanley,' Sinai and Pales- then run, "If God will be with me and will
tine,' pp. -I7-223). It has been thought by keep me in the way that I go, and will give
many that this act of Jacob, in setting up a me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, and
stone to mark a sacred spot, was the origin of if I come again to my father's house in peace
Cromlechs and all sacred stones. Certainly and if the LORD will be my God, then shalc
we find in later ages the custom of having this stone, which I have set fol a pillar, be
stones, and those too anointed with oil, as the house of God, and of all that Thou shalt
objects of idolatrous worship. Clem. Alex. give me, I will surely give a tenth unto Thee."
('IStromat.' Lib. vII. p. 713) speaks of "wor- The fulfilment of this vow is related in ch.
shipping every oily stone," and Arnobius, xxxv. I5, where God again appears to Jacob
(' Adv. Gentes,' Lib. I. 39), in like manner, on his return from Padan-aram, and Jacob
refers to the worshipping of " a stone smeared restores the pillar which he had before set up,
with oil, as though there were in it a present and again solemnly gives it the name of Bethpower." It has been conjectured farther that tle el, the house of God" (see Qiarry,'on
name Bzetulia, given to stones, called animatedGenesis, p 486)
stones (XioL EgtrvXot), by the Phoenicians'
(Euseb.' Proep. Evang.' I. io) was derived 22. give the tenth unto thee In ch. xiv. 20,
from this name of Bethel. (See Spencer,'De we have an instance of Abraham giving tithes
Legg.' I. X; Bochart,'Canaan,' II. 2.) These to Melchizedek. -Here we have another proof
Bztulia, however, were meteoric stones, and that the duty of giving a tenth to God was
derived their sanctity from the belief that they recognized before the giving of the Law.
had fallen from heaven: and the name has
probably but a fancied likeness to the name CHIAP. XXIX. 1. Then Yacob, &c.] Lit,
Bethel. Still the connection of the subse- "~ Then Jacob lifted up his feet and came into
quent worship of stones with the primitive the land of the children of the East,". e into
and pious use of them to mark places of wor- Mesopotamia, which lies East of Judma.
ship is most probably a real connection. The 2. he looked, and behold a ovuell] Cp.
erection of all such stones for worship was ch. xxiv. II-I5. The similarity of the two
strictly forbidden in later times (see Lev. xxvi. stories results from the unvarying customs of
I68 GENESIS. XXIX. I. 4-19.
gathered: and they rolled the stone tered the flock of Laban his mother's
from the well's mouth, and watered brother.
the sheep, and put the stone again I And Jacob kissed Rachel, and
upon the well's mouth in his place. lifted up his voice, and wept.
4- And Jacob said unto them, My I2 And Jacob told Rachel that he
brethren, whence be ye? And they was her father's brother, and that he
said, Of Haran are we. was Rebekah's son: and she ran and
5 And he said unto them, Know told her father.
ye Laban the son of Nahor? And 13 And it came to pass, when Lathey said, We know him. ban heard the tidings of Jacob his t Heb.
i Heb. 6 And he said unto them, tIs he sister's son, that he ran to meet him, h/anritg
Is there
tae to well? And they said, He is well: and embraced him, and kissed him,
and, behold, Rachel his daughter comn- and brought him to his house. And
eth with the sheep. he told Laban all these things.
tHeb. 7 And he said, Lo, f4it is yet high i. And Laban said to him, Surely
iet'ay day, neither is it time that the cattle thou art my bone and my flesh. And
should be gathered together: water ye he abode with him tthe space of atHeb.
the sheep, and go and feed them. month. ofdy.
8 And they said, We cannot, until I5 q And Laban said unto Jacob,
all the flocks be gathered together, Because thou art my brother, shouldest
and till they roll the stone from the thou therefore serve me for nought?
well's mouth; then we water the tell me, what shall thy wages be?
sheep. I6 And Laban had two daughters:
g 1iT And while he yet spake with the name of the elder was Leah, and
them, Rachel came with her father's the name of the younger was Rachel.
sheep: for she kept them. 17 Leah was tender eyed; but
Io And it came to pass, when Ja- Rachel was beautiful and well facob saw Rachel the daughter of La- voured.
ban his mother's brother, and the I8 And Jacob loved Rachel; and
sheep of Laban his mother's brother, said, I will serve thee seven years for
that Jacob went near, and rolled the Rachel thy younger daughter.
stone from the well's mouth, and wa- 19 And Laban said, It is better
the East, and from the natural halting place 14. the space of a month] Lit. " a month
being a well outside a city. of days;" the word " days" being frequent5. Laban the son of Nahor] i.e. the de- ly added to a note of time, as we might
scendant, the grandson of Nahor. Just as in say " a month long," or as here in the Authov. I2, Jacob calls himself the brother of La- rized Version, "' the space of a month."
ban, being in truth his nephew. The omis- 17. tende' eyed_ i.e. weak eyed, so LXX.,
sion of Bethuel is here again observable. Vulg., &c.
6. Is he well?] Lit. "Is it peace to him?" 18. I cqvill serve thee seven years for
8.?We cannot] Probably because there Rachel] In the case of Isaac and Rebekah,
was an agreement not to roll away the stone Abraham's servant gives handsome presents to
till all were assembled, not because the stone Rebekah, ch. xxiv. S3, the Eastern custom at
was too heavy for three shepherds to move. marriages. Jacob could give neither presents
9. Rachel came zwith her father's sheep] nor dowry, for he was a fugitive from his faSo Ex. ii. i6, the daughters of Reuel', the ther's house, and describes himself as having
priest of Mlidian, led their father's sheep to passed over Jordan with only his staff (ch.
waier-. And even now among the Arabs it is xxxii. io). He proposes therefore to serve
not beneath the daughter of an Emir to water Laban seven years, if he will give him his
the sheep. daughter to wife, a proposal, which L,aban's
13. he told Lahbarn all these things] i.e. grasping disposition prompts him to accept,
proIably the caulse of his exile fro home, his even firom one whom he calls brother and
father's blessing and command to him to marry
a wife of his mother's kindred, and the va- 19. It is better that I should gi-ve her to
rious events of his journey, thee, &c.] It has always been the custom
V. 20-33.] GENESIS. XXIX. I69
that I give her to thee, than that I 27 Fulfil her week, and we will
should give her to another man: abide give thee this also for the service which
with me. thou shalt serve with me yet seven
20o And Jacob served seven years other years.
for Rachel; and they seemed unto 28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled
him but a few days, for the love he her week: and he gave him Rachel
had to her. his daughter to wife also.
21 eI And Jacob said unto Laban, 29 And Laban gave to Rachel his
Give me my wife, for my days are daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be
fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. her maid.
22 And Laban gathered together all 30 And he went in also unto Rathe men of the place, and made a feast. chel, and he loved also Rachel more
23 And it came to pass in the even- than Leah, and served with him yet
ing, that he took Leah his daughter, seven other years.
and brought her to him; and he went 31 If And when the LORD saw
in unto her. that Leah was hated, he opened her
24 And Laban gave unto his daugh- womb: but Rachel was barren.
ter Leah Zilpah his maid for an hand- 32 And Leah conceived, and bare
maid. a son, and she called his name 1 Reu- eThatso
25 And it came to pass, that in the ben: for she said, Surely the LORD
morning, behold, it was Leah: and hath looked upon my affliction; now
he said to Laban, What is this thou therefore my husband will love me.
hast done unto me? did not I serve 33 And she conceived again, and
with thee for Rachel? wherefore then bare a son; and said, Because the
hast thou beguiled me? LORD hath heard that I was hated,
26 And Laban said, It must not he hath therefore given me this son
tHeb. be so done in our tcountry, to give also: and she called his name'Si-l Thatls
0place. the younger before the firstborn. meon.
with Eastern tribes to prefer marrying among Isaac and Esau. The polygamy of Jacob
their own kindred. must be explained on the same principle as
20. but a feoe days, for the love he had that of Abraham. It had not yet been exto her] He loved Rachel soy much, that he pressly forbidden by the revealed law of God.
valued the labour of seven years as though The marriage of two sisters also was afterit were the labour of but few days in cor- wards condemned (Lev. xviii. 8g), but as yet
parison with the great prize, which that la- there had been no such prohibition.
bour was to bring him. 31.'was hated] i.e. less loved (cp. Mal.
24. Zilpah his maid for an handmaid] A 3)
So ch. xxiv. 6I. 32. Reuben] i.e. "Behold a son." The
25. it.was Leah] This deception was words which follow are but one of those plays
possible, because there appears to have been on a name so general in these early days;
no religious or other solemn ceremony, in they do not give the etymology of the name;
which the bride was presented to the bride- they have however led some to think that the
groom, and the veil in which brides were meaning of "Reuben" is rather "the son of
veiled was so long and close that it concealed, vision," or as Jerome interprets it, " the son
not only the face, but much of the figure also. of God's gracious regard,"filium respectusgra27. Ful~fil her'week] i.e. celebrate the tuiti. The Syr. and Josephus give the name
as Reubel, the latter explaining it as "ithe pity
marriage feast for a week with Leall (cp. of God" ('IAnt.' I. x9. 8), which is supported
Judg. xiv. x2); and after that we will give
thee Rachel also. " It as nrot afer allnother by Michaelis, though it is obviously a corrupt
week of years that he should receive Rachel reading (see Rosenm in c. and Gesen
to wife; but after the seven days of the first
wife's nuptials." (St Jerome,'Q. Hebr.' 33. Simeon] i.e. "hearing." The birth of
in loc.) It has been cuOserved that the her first son convinces her that God hath
fraud practised by Laban on Jacob was a fit seen her, the second that God hath heard
penalty for the fraud practised by Jacob on her.
I70 GENESIS. XXIX. XXX. [v. 34 —-I4.
34 And she conceived again, and 4. And she gave him Bilhah her
bare a son; and said, Now this time handmaid to wife: and Jacob went
will my husband be joined unto me, in unto her.
because I have born him three sons: 5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare
R That is, therefore was his name called I Levi. Jacob a son.
joined{. 35 And she conceived again, and 6 And Rachel said, God hath
aMatt. I bare a son: and she said, Now will I judged me, and hath also heard my
II That. is, praise the LORD: therefore she called voice, and hath given me a son: thereaiseb. his name l"Judah; and tleft bearing. fore called she his name i Dan. H That it,
oodfros M
bioarg. 7 And Bilhah Rachel's maid conCHAPTER XXX. ceived again, and bare Jacob a second
I Rachel, in grief for her barrenness, giveth son.
Bilhah her maid unto 7acob. 5 She beareth 8 And Rachel said, With reat t Heb.
Dan and Naphtali. 9 Leah giveth Zilipah wrestlinga
her -maid, who beareth Gad and Asher. 4 wrestlings have I wrestled with my of God.
Rezebenfindeth mandrakes, with which Leah sister, and I have prevailed: and she
buyeth her husband of Rachel. 17 Leakl bear- called his name "' aNaphtali. n That is,
eth Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah. 22 Rachel coy wrestbeareik yoseph. 25 7acob desi-reih to deart. 9 When Leah saw that she had left'Ywng.
27 Labatn stayethA Aim on a new covenant. bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and' Called,
37 yacob'spolicy, whereby he became rich,. gave her Jacob to wife. 13,
AND when Rachel saw that she Io And Zilpah Leah's maid bare linm.
_ bare Jacob no children, Rachel Jacob a son.
envied her sister; and said unto Ja- Ii And Leah said, A troop cometh:
cob, Give me children, or else I die. and she called his name Gad. E That is,
a iroo/', or,
2 And Jacob's anger was kindled I2 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare co,,tpay.
against Rachel: and he said, Am I in Jacob a second son.
God's stead, who hath withheld from I 3 And Leah said, t Happy am I, for Heb.t
thee the fruit of the womb? the daughters will call me blessed: and /aoi,,ieso
3 And she said, Behold my maid she called his name'Asher. /That is
Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall I4 ql And Reuben went in the days
IHeb. bear upon my knees, that I may also of wheat harvest, and found mane bZuit by t have children by her. drakes in the field, and brought them
34. Le~vi] "Association"or "associated." tune cometh, or, "in good fortune," i.e.
35. Judah] i. e. "praised" (from the Ho- happily, prosperously. The rendering of the
phal futzure.of Jadah). Authorized Version is favoured by the Samaritan version, and has been supposed to be in
CHEAP. XXX. 3. that I may also have accordance with ch. xlix. i9. The latter, howchildren by her] Lit. "that I may be builtup ever, may have no reference to the derivation,
by her." (See on ch. xvi. 2.) but be only the common Oriental play upon a
word. The LXX., Vulg., Syr., Onk., Jerus.,
6. Dan] i. e.'judge." Pseudo-Jon., all interpret Gad to mean " sue8. i/sth great wrestlings] Lit. " with cess," " good fortune," "prosperity." So
wrestlings of God." The LXX. renders " God Gesen., Rosenm., Knobel, Del., Keil, &c.
has helped me," and Onkelos, "God has received my prayer." So virtually the Syriac. 13. Happy am I, &c.] Lit. in my hapThough the addition of the name of God piness (am I), for the daughters call
often expresses a superlative, yet "wrestling" me happy; and she called his name
being a type of prayer, it is most probable Asher, i.e. happy.
that in this passage the allusion is to Rachel's 14. mandrakes] So with great unaniearnest striving in prayer with God for the mity the ancient versions and most of the
blessing~ of offspring. (So Hengst., Del., Jewish commentators. There is little doubt
Keil.) Above, v. I, Rachel had manifested that the plant was really the atropa mandraimpatience and neglect of prayer, seeking from gora, a species closely allied to the deadly
Jacob what only could be given of God. nightshade (atropa belladonna). It is not unJacob's remonstrance with her, v. 2, may have common in Palestine (Tristram, pp. Io03, Io4).
directed her to wiser and better thoughts. It is said to be a narcotic, and to have stupefy11. A troop cometh] Rather, Good for- ing and even intoxicating properties. It has
v. 15-25.] GENESIS. XXX. I7I
unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel maiden to my husband: and she called
said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, his name RIssachar. That i&
of thy son's mandrakes. I9 And Leah conceived again, and
I5 And she said unto her, Is it a bare Jacob the sixth son.
small matter that thou hast taken my 20o And Leah said, God hath enhusband? and wouldest thou take dued me with a good dowry; now
away my son's mandrakes also? And will my husband dwell with me, beRachel said, Therefore he shall lie cause I have born him six sons: and
with thee to night for thy son's man- she called his name bZebulun. Thatis,
drakes. 2 I And afterwards she bare a daugh- b Called,
Matt. 4I6 And Jacob came out of the ter, and called her name U Dinah. 13,
field in the evening, and Leah went 22 S[ And God remembered Rachel, iZabzI;
out to meet him, and said, Thou and God hearkened to her, and opened j,,ngileui
must come in unto me; for surely her womb.
I have hired thee with my son's man- 23 And she conceived, and bare a
drakes. And he lay with her that son; and said, God hath taken away
night. my reproach:
I7 And God hearkened unto Leah, 24 And she called his name " Jo-'.That isand she conceived, and bare Jacob the seph; and said, The LORD shall add
fifth son. to me another son.
I8 And Leah said, God hath given 25 ql And it came to pass, when
me my hire, because I have given my Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob
broad leaves and green apples, which become has been inferred from this, that Joseph was
pale yellow when ripe, with a strong tuberous born at the end of the second seven years of
bifid root, in which Pythagoras discerned a Jacob's servitude; though it is by no means
likeness to the human form, whence many certain that Jacob demanded his dismissal at
ancient fables concerning it. They are still the first possible moment. The words of this
found ripe about the time of wheat harvest verse seem to indicate that Jacob did not deon the lower ranges of Lebanon and Hermon. sire to leave Laban, at all events till after JoThe apples are said to produce dizziness; the seph's birth. Many reasons may have induced
Arabs believe them to be exhilarating and sti- him to remain in Padan-aram longer than the
mutating even to insanity; hence the name stipulated fourteen years; the youth of his
tuffah el jan, "apples of the jan" (Thomson, children unfitting them for a long journey,'Land and Book,' p. 577). The ancients be- the pregnancy of some of his wives, the unlieved them calculated to produce fruitfulness, happy temper of his beloved Rachel, whom he
and they were used as philtres to conciliate may have been unwilling to take from her
love, hence their name in Hebrew, dudaim, parents, till she had a son of her own to comi. e. love-apples. Rachel evidently shared in fort her; above all, the fear of Esau's anger,
this superstitious belief. (See Held. Tom. II. who had resolved to slay him. There is nothing
Ex. xix.; WAriner,'R. TNr. B.' voc. Abram; necessarily inconsistent in the narrative. It is
Ges.'Thes.' p. 324; Rosenm. in loc.; Smith's possible that Leah should have borne 6, Ra-'Dict.' voc. mandrake), &c. chel i, Bilhah 2, and Zilpah 2 sons in seven
18. Issachar] i.e. " there is a reward." years. It is not certain that Dinah was buorn
20. Zebuln] i.. "Idwelling," derived from at this time at all. Her birth is only incidentzabal, to dwell, with a play on the word ally noticed. It would be possible even that
Zabad, "to give, to endow." Zebulun should have been borne by Leah
ithought later than Joseph by Rachel; it being by no
21. ~Dinah] i.e. "judge~ment'." It is thought means necessary that we should believe all the
that Jacob had other daughters (see ch. xxxvll. births to have followed in. the order in which
35; xlvi. 7). Daughters, as they did not con- they ale enumerated, which is in the order of
stitute links in a genealogy, are not mentioned mothers, not of births. The common expla
except when some importans t history attaches nation is, that the first four sons of Leah were
to them, as in this case the history in ch. born as rapidly as possible, one after the
xxxiv. other, in the first four years of marriage. In
24. Joseph] i.e. "adding," from jasaph, the meantime, not necessarily after the birth of
" to add," with a play on asaph, " to take Leah's fourth son, Rachel gives her maid to
away.' Jacob, and so very probably Bilhah gave birth
25. whepen Rachel had born Joseph] It to Dan and Naphtali before the birth of Ju.
172 GENESIS. XXX. [V. 26-36.
said unto Laban, Send me away, that do this thing for me, I will again feed
I may go unto mine own place, and and keep thy flock:
to my country. 32 I will pass through all thy flock
26 Give me my wives and my to day, removing from thence all the
children, for whom I have served speckled and spotted cattle, and all
thee, and let me go: for thou know- the brown cattle among the sheep,
est my service which I have done and the spotted and speckled among
thee. the goats: and of such shall be my
27 And Laban said unto him, I hire.
pray thee, if I have found favour in 33 So shall my righteousness anthine eyes, tarry: for I have learned swer for me tin time to come, when tHeb.
by experience that the LORD hath it shall come for my hire before thy frow."
blessed me for thy sake. face: every one that is not speckled
28 And he said, Appoint me thy and spotted among the goats, and
wages, and I will give it. brown among the sheep, that shall be
29 And he said unto him, Thou counted stolen with me.
knowest how I have served thee, and 34 And Laban said, Behold, I
how thy cattle was with me. would it might be according to thy
30 For it was little which thou word.
br/eb. hadst before I came, and it is now tin- 35 And he removed that day the
Jrr/r. creased unto a multitude; and the he goats that were ringstraked and,al llyo,/a. LORD hath blessed thee tsince my spotted, and all the she goats that were
coming: and now when shall I pro- speckled and spotted, and every one
vide for mine own house also? that had some white in it, and all the
3i And he said, WVhat shall I give brown among the sheep, and gave
thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt themn into the hand of his sons.
not give me any thing: if thou wilt 36 And he set three days' journey
dah. Leah, then finding that she was not originally meaning to "divine," but then havylikely to bear another son soon, may, in the ing the general sense of "investigate," "disstate of jealousy between the two sisters, have cover," " learn by enquiry," &c.
given Zilpah to Jacob, of whom were born
Asher and Naphtali, and then again in the 30. increased] Lit. broken forth.
very last year of the seven, at the beginning of since my coming] Lit. "at my foot," i.e.
it, Leah may have borne Issachar, and at the God sent blessing to thee following on my
end of it Zebulun. Another difficulty has footsteps, wherever I went. (See Ges.'Th.'
been found in Reuben's finding the mandrakes: p. I26z.)
but there is no reason why he should have 32. removing from tence all the spotted
been more than four years old, when he dis- and speckled cattle] It is said, that in the East
covered them, and attracted by their flowers the sheep are generally white, very rarely black
arnd Iuits, brought them to his mother. (See or spotted, and that the goats are black or
PeLav.'De Doct. Temp.' x. I9; Heid. II. brown, rarely speckled with white. Jacob
Excr. xv. xviii.' Kurtz'on the Old CoveExer. xv. xviii.; Kurt,'on the O)ld Cove- therefore proposes to separate from the flock
nan,,' in loc.; Keil in loc. &c., and note at
neat,' in bc.; Kend of ch xxxi ) all the spotted and speckled sheep and goats,
end of ch. xxxi.) which would be comparatively few, and to
27. I have learned by experience] I have tend only that part of the flock which was
learned by divination, literally either pure white or black. He is then to have for' I have hissed, muttered" (so Knobel on ch. his hire only those lambs and kids, born of
xliv. 5), or more probably, "I have divined by the unspeckled flock, which themselves should
omens deduced fromn serpents" (loch.' Hier.' i. be marked with spots and speckles and ringo20; Gesen.'Th.' p. 875). The heathenism of strakes. Laban naturally thinks that these will
Laban's household appears by ch. xxxi. I9, 32; be very few; so he accepts the offer, and, to
and though Laban acknowledged the LORD as make matters the surer, he removes all the
Jacob's God, this dlid not pievent him from spotted and ringstraked goats, and all the
using idolatrous and he-atibenish practices. It sheep with any brown in them, three days'
is however quite possible that the word here journey from the flock of white sheep and
Beed may have acquired a wider signification, brown goats to be left under Jacob's care (see
V. 37 —8.] GENESIS. XXX. XXXI. 173
betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob CHAPTER XXXI.
fed the rest of Laban's flocks. I 7acob u/pon0 displeasure deparrethi secrelfy. r9
37 1 And Jacob took him rods of Rachel stealetl herfJatler's imaofes. 2z L.Zoban
p37 rszethl ater him, 26 antd comipoaine/h of
green poplar, and of the hazel and the wrong. 34 Rachel's policy to hide the
chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes images. 36 7zcob's complaiit of Laban2. 43
in them, and made the white appear The covenant of Laban and Thacob at Galeed.
which was in the rods. /AND he heard the words of La38 And he set the rods which he f ban's sons, saying, Jacob hath
had pilled before the flocks in the taken away all that was our father's;
gutters in the watering troughs when and of that which was our father's
the flocks came to' drink, that they hath he gotten all this glory.
should conceive when they came to 2 And Jacob beheld the countedrink. nance of Laban, and, behold, it was
39 And the flocks conceived before not toward him tas before. t Teb
the rods, and brought forth cattle 3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, ZZnd
ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. Return unto the land of thv fathers, 4o"~.
4o And Jacob did separate the and to thy kindred; and I will be
lambs, and set the faces of the flocks with thee.
toward the ringstraked, and all the 4 And Jacob sent and called Rabrown in the flock of Laban; and he chel and Leah to the field unto his
put his own flocks by themselves, and flock,
put them not unto Laban's cattle. 5 And said unto them, I see your
4i And it came to pass, whenso- father's countenance, that it is not
ever the stronger cattle did conceive, toward me as before; but the God
that Jacob laid the rods before the of my father hath been with me.
eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that 6 And ye know that with all my
they might conceive among the rods. power I have served your father.
42 But when the cattle were feeble, 7 And your father hath deceived
he put them not in: so the feebler were me, and changed my wages ten times;
Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. but God suffered him not to hurt
43 And the man increased exceed- me.
ingly, and had much cattle, and maid- 8 If he said thus, The speckled
servants, and menservants, and camels, shall be thy wages; then all the catand asses. tle bare speckled: and if he said thus,
vv. 35, 36), lest any of them might stray unto he contrived that the ewes and she goats should
Jacob's fock and so be claimed by him, or any have the speckled lambs and kids in sight.
lambs or kids should be born like them in "His own flocks" mentioned in the latter part
Jacob's flock. of the verse were the young cattle that were
37. plar] So Celsius (Hirobo born ringstraked and speckled; "Laban's
37. paplmar So Celsius aftHierobot.' th
292), an6d many other authorities after the cattle," on the contrary, were those of uniform
Vulg., but the LXX. and Arab. have the storax colour in the flock tended by Jacob; not that
tree, which is adopted Arab. have the storax flock which Laban had separated by three days'
tree, which is adopted by Gesenius(p. 740).
and many others. 740 journey from Jacob.
hazel] Almond, Ges. (p. 747). CHAP. XXXI. 2. as before] Lit. "as
chesnut tree] Plane-tree, Ges. (p. I07I). yestelday and the day before."
40. And yacob did separate the lambs] 5. the God of my father hath been with
The apparent inconsistency of this with the me] i.e. God has been present with me and
rest of the narrative, especially with v. 36, has has protected me. Jacob calls him the God
induced some commentators to suspect a cor- of his father; so distinguishing the Most High
ruption in the text. The meaning, however, from the gods of the nations and from the
appears to be, that Jacob separated those idols, which perhaps the family of Laban had
lambs, which were born after the artifice men- worshipped. vv. I9, 30.
tioned above, keeping the spotted lambs and 7. ten times] i.e. probably "very firse.
kids apart; but though he thus separated them, quently." Cp. Num. xiv. 22z; Job xix. 3.
174 GENESIS. XXXI. [L. 9-20.
The ringstraked shall be thy hire; I4 And Rachel and Leah answerthen bare all the cattle ringstraked. ed and said unto him, Is there yet any
9 Thus God hath taken away the portion or inheritance for us in our
cattle of your father, and given them father's house?
to me. 15 Are we not counted of him
Io And it came to pass at the time strangers? for he hath sold us, and
that the cattle conceived, that I lifted hath quite devoured also our money.
up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, I6 For.all the riches which God
l or, and, behold, the trams which leaped hath taken from our father, that is
upon the cattle were ringstraked, spec- ours, and our children's: now then,
kled, and grisled. whatsoever God hath said unto thee,
I I And the angel of God spake do.
unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: I7 qT Then Jacob rose up, and set
And I said, iHere am I. his sons and his wives upon camels;
I2 And he said, Lift up now thine i8 And he carried away all his
eyes, and see, all the rams which leap cattle, and all his goods which he had
upon the cattle are ringstraked, spec- gotten, the cattle of his getting, which
kled, and grisled: for I have seen all he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to
that Laban doeth unto thee. go to Isaac his father in the land of
a chap. 28. 13 I am the God of Beth-el, awhere Canaan.
"8. thou anointedst the pillar, and where 19 And Laban went to shear his
thou vowedst a vow unto me: now sheep: and Rachel had stolen thetmb.
arise, get thee out from this land, and images that were her father's. t Heb.
return unto the land of thy kindred. 2o And Jacob stole away tuna- ~/Iza,
10. the rams] The he goats. to be his hire should multiply rapidly: but yet
grisled] i. e. "1 sprinkled as with hail," the consistently with his mixed character, partly
literal meaning of the word I"Igrisled. " believing and partly impatient of the fulfilment, he adopted natural means for bringing
about this event which he desired (so Kurtz
Beth-el.") In v. ii it is said, "the angel of and apparently Keil).
God spake unto me." The Jewish com- hath sold us] Probably refertnentators explain this by saying that God ring to Laban's giving his daughter to Jacob
spoke through the mouth of the angel, and
spoke throug~h the mouth of the angel, anrl ring to Laban's giving his daughter to Jacob
therefore though the angel actually spoke to as wages for his service.
Jacob, yet the words are the words of God. 19. And Laban t went to shear his sheep]
The Christian fathers generally believe all such The force of the tenses in the Hebrew will
visions to have been visions of the Son of God, perhaps be better explained as follows: " Now
who is boath God and the angel of God: see Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and (or,
on ch. xvi. 7. whereupon) Rachel stole the Teraphim which
There is no necessary contradiction between were her father's, and Jacob stole away unathis dream and the account of Jacob's artifice wares to (lit. stole the heart of) Laban the
given in the last chapter. If the dream oc- Syrian." There may be a series of paronocurred just before the flight of Jacob from masias in the Hebrew, "Rachel stole the
Laban, it would be an indication to Jacob Teraphim," "Jacob stole the heart of Laban;'
that all his artifices would have had no effect, andagain, "the heart of Laban" is Lebhad it not been God's pleasure that he should Laban, the first syllable of Laban correspondgrow rich. The labours of the husbandman ing with the word for "heart."
do not prosper' but through the blessing of images] Teraphim. These were unGod. It seems, however, not improbable that doubtedly images in the human form, but
Jacob is here relating to his wives two dreams, whether whole length figures or only busts
that concerning the sheep and goats having has been much doubted. In i S. xix. 13, Mich:'l
occurred at the beginning of his agreement puts teraphim (the plural. perhaps for a single
with Laban, and that in which he was com- image) in David's bed to deceive the messenmanded to depart from Padan-aram just gers of Saul; which looks as if the image was
before his actual departure. This was sug- of the size of life. In the present history as
gested by Nachmanides and iS approved by Rachel hides them under the camel's saddle,
Rosenmuiler. If so, we may infer, that Jacob they were probably not so large. Laban calls
believed the promise that the sheep which were them his gods v. 30, which corresponds with
v. 2 —34.] GENESIS. XXXI. I75
wares to Laban the Syrian, in that he 28 And hast not suffered me to
told him not that he fled. kiss my sons and my daughters? thou
21 So he fled with all that he had; hast now done foolishly in so doing.
and he rose up, and passed over the 29 It is in the power of my hand
river, and set his face toward the to do you hurt: but the God of your
mount Gilead. father spake unto me yesternight, say22 And it was told Laban on the ing, Take thou heed that thou speak
third day that Jacob was fled. not to Jacob either good or bad.
23 And he took his brethren with 30 And now, though thou wouldhim, and pursued after him seven est needs be gone, because thou sore
days' journey; and they overtook him longedst after thy father's house, yet
in the mount Gilead. wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
24 And God came to Laban the 31 Anld Jacob answered and said
Syrian in a dream by night, and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for
untro him, Take heed that thou speak I said, Peradventure thou wouldest
tl.eb. not to Jacob teither good or bad. take by force thy daughters from
frm good
to and. 25 q Then Laban overtook Jacob. me.
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in 32 With whomsoever thou findest
the mount. and Laban with his bre- thy gods, let him not live: before
thren pitched in the mount of Gilead. our brethren discern thou what is
26 And Laban said to Jacob, thine with me, and take it to thee.
What hast thou done, that thou hast For Jacob knew not that Rachel had
stolen away unawares to me, and stolen them.
carried away my daughters, as cap- 33 And Laban went into Jacob's
tives taken with the sword? tent, and into Leah's tent, and into
27 Wherefore didst thou flee away the two maidservants' tents; but he
Heb. secretly, and tsteal away from me; found them not. Then went he out
sitea/ and didst not tell me, that I might of Leah's tent, and entered into Rahave sent thee away with mirth, and chel's tent.
with songs, with tabret, and with harp? 34 Now Rachel had taken the imwhat we find afterwards concerning their wor- alluding to their use as oracles; and that by
ship (see Judg. xvii. 5; xviii. I4, I7, T8, o0). Prof. Lee,' from the JEthiopic root, signifying
They are condemned with other idolatrous " to remain, survive," so that the name may
practices (I S. xv. 23; 2 K. xxiii. 24), and in originally have meant " relics." The motive
later times we find that they were consulted of Rachel's theft has been as inuch debated as
for purposes of divination (Ezek. xxi. 2i; Zech. the root of the word and the use of the images.
x. 2). They have been generally considered It is at all events probable, that Rachel, though
as similar to the Penates of the classical na- a worshipper of Jacob's God, may not have
tions. Most probably they were of the nature thrown off all the superstitious credulity of her
of a fetish, used for purposes of magic and own house, and that she stole the teraphim for
divination, rather than strictly objects of di- some superstitious purpose.
vine worship. In them we perhaps see the 20. stole away unaqwares to Laban] Lit.'
earliest form of patriarchal idolatry; a know- "stole the heart of Laban," i.e. deceived his
ledge of the true God not wholly gone, but mind and intelligence.
images, perhaps of ancestors, preserved, re- 21. the rivers The Euphrates
vered and consulted. There have been ru-
moznt Gileadl So called by anticipation.
merous conjectures as to the derivation of the name from what l ccurred bename. The majority of recent Hebraists refer It received the name from what occurred beto the Arab. root tarafa, " to enjoy the good low, vv 46 47.
things of life," and think that teraphim were 26. as captive: taken cwith the sword]
preserved and honoured, like the penates, or As captives of the sword.'the household fairy, to secure domestic pro- 29. It is in the power of my hand] So
sperity (see Ges.' Thes.' p. 520o). Other but probably, not as Hitzig, Knobel, Keil, &c.,
improbable derivations are that suggested by " my hand is for God," i.e. my hand serves
Castell from the Syriac Teraph, "to enquire," me for God, is powerful.
176 GENESIS. XXXI. [v. 35-47.
ages, and put them in the camel's 4I Thus havre I been twenty years
furniture, and sat upon them. And in thy house; I served thee fourteen
tIIeb. Laban'searched all the tent, but years for thy two daughters, and six
found them not. years for thy cattle: and thou hast
35 And she said to her father, Let changed my wages ten times.
it not displease my lord that I cannot 42 Except the God of my fi_;lr,
rise up before thee; for the custom of the God of Abraham, and the fear of
women is upon me. And he search- Isaac, had been with me, surely thou
ed, but found not the images. hadst sent me away now empty. God
36 q And Jacob was wroth, and hath seen mine affliction and the lachode with Laban: and Jacob an- bour of my hands, and rebuked thee
swered and said to Laban, What is yesternight.
my trespass? what is my sin, that 43 qt And Laban answered and
thou hast so hotly pursued after me? said unto Jacob, These daughters are
fHeb. 37 Whereas thou hast tsearched my daughters, and these children are
Je~'t. all my stuff, what hast thou found of my children, and these cattle are my
all thy household stufif? set it here cattle, and all that thou seest is mine:
before my brethren and thy brethren, and what can I do this day unto
that they may judge betwixt us both. these my daughters, or unto their
38 This twenty years have I been children which they have born?
with thee; thy ewes and thy she 44 Now therefore come thou, let
goats have not cast their young, and us make a covenant, I and thou; and
the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. let it be for a witness between me
39 That which was torn of beasts and thee.
I brought not unto thee; I bare the 45 And Jacob took a stone, and
Ex. 22. loss of it; of bmy hand didst thou set it upfor a pillar.'2. require it, whether stolen by day, or 46 And Jacob said unto his brestolen by night. thren, Gather stones; and they took
4-0 Thus I was; in the day the stones, and made an heap: and they
drought consumed me, and the frost did eat there upon the heap.
by night; and my sleep departed fiom 47 And Laban called it' Jegar-sa- l That.
mine eyes. hadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. to, z-~p
34] the camels furniture] The word for Abraham appears as of livelier faith and as
furniture (Car, perhaps cognate with currus, admitted to a more intimate communion with
car, carry, carriage, &c.), seems to have signi- God. Hence Jacob not unnaturally calls his
fied a covered seat, litter, or palanquin, which father's God "' the fear of Isaac."
was placed on the back of the camel for carrying women and children and supplied with 47. Laban called it Jegar-sa/:aduzta: but
curtains for concealing them, not only from Jacob called it Galeed] Jegar-sahadutha is
sun and wind, but also from public view (see the Aramaic (Chaldee or Syriac) equivalent
Ges.'Thes.' p. 715 and the authorities there or the Hebrew Gaieed; both meaning the
referred to). The Teraphim, being probably "heap of witness." It appears therefore that
not of large size, would easily be concealed at this time Jacob spoke Hebrew whilst his
under such apparatus. Iuncle Laban spoke Syriac. We can only acUnder such appacount for this by supposing either that the
38. This tcwenty years] See above, v. 4I, family of Nahor originally spoke Syriac and
On the chronology, see Note A at the end that Abraham and his descendants learned
of this chapter. Hebrew in Canaan, where evidently the He40. in the day the drought consumed me, brew language was indigenous when he first
and the frost by night] In the East it is com- went there, having probably been acquired by
mon for extremely hot days to be succeeded the Hamitic Canaanites from an earlier Sheby very cold nights. mite race-or else, which is not otherwise,
42. the fear of Isaac] That is to say, supported, that the ancestors of Laban having
the object of Isaac's reverential awe. The left the early seat of the family had unlearned
whole history of Isaac points him out to us as their original Hebrew and acquired the Syriac
a man of subdued spirit, whilst his father dialect of Padan-aram.
v. 48-55.] GENESIS. XXXI. I77
48 And Laban said, This heap is pillar be witness, that I will not pass
a witness between me and thee this over this heap to thee, and that thou
day. Therefore was the name of it shalt not pass over this heap and this
called Galeed; pillar unto me, for harm.
I That is, 49 And 1IMizpah; for he said, The 53 The God of Abraham, and the
sva oleo- LORD watch between me and thee, God of Nahor, the God of their fawhen we are absent one from an- ther, judge betwixt us. And Jacob
other. sware by the fear of his father Isaac,
50 If thou shalt afflict my daugh- 54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice nor,:ters, or if thou shalt take other wives upon the mount, and called his bre- bizst
beside my daughters, no man is with thren to eat bread: and they did eat
us; see, God is witness betwixt me bread, and tarried all night in the
and thee. mount.
5I And Laban said to Jacob, Be- 55 And early in the morning Lahold this heap, and behold this pillar, ban rose up, and kissed his sons and
which I have cast betwixt me and his daughters, and blessed them: and
thee; Laban departed, and returned unto
52 This heap be witness, and this his place.
~49. Mizpah] i.e. 6"watch-tower." though he felt the power of the God of Jacob
-We learn from Josh. xxiv. 2, that the ancesgThe Lo Rewatch] Here Laban adopts both tors of Abraham worshipped strange gods.
the language and the theology of Jacob. He There is a very marked unity of purpose
calls the place Mizpah, which is a Hebrew throughout this chapter in the use of the names
name, and he acknowledges the ratchfulness of the Most High, utterly inconsistent with
of JEHOVAH the God of Abraham. the modern notion of a diversity of authors,
according to some not fewer than four, in the
53. The God of Abrahamn, and the God of different portions of the same chapter. To
Nahor, the God oftheirfather, judge hetucen us] Jacob He is JEHOVAH, v. 3, and the God of
The verb judge is in the plural. This looks as his father, v. 5, &c., whilst Laban acknowif Laban acknowledged JEI-IOVA as Jacob's ledges Him as the God of Jacob's father, v.
God and Abraham's God, but being himself-de- 29. Once more Jacob.refers to Him as the
scended from Nahor and Terah and doubting God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac (v. 42),
whether the God who called Abraham from his by appeal to whom it was but likely that
father's house was the same as the God whom Laban would be moved; and lastly Laban,
Terah and Nahor had served before, he couples being so moved, himself appeals to the watchthe God of Abraham with the God of Nahor fulness of JEHOVAH, V. 4%9 but yet joins with
and Terah, and calls on both to witness and Him, as possibly a distinct Being, the God of
judge. Polytheism had still hold on Laban, their common ancestor Nalhot
NOTE A on CIAP. XXXI. V. 4I. ON THE CHRONOLOG,' -OF. JA&O''S LIFE.
(I) Difficulty of the question. Common reckoning. (2) Su gestion, of Dr, Kennicott.
(3) Dates on this hypothesis. (4) Greater facility for explaining, the events thus
obtained.
THiE difficulties-in the Chronology of the life of Jacob servei for his wives;: an:inference,
Jacob and his sons are very great, so great which would oblige us to. cuqnlde tha t all
that Le Clerc has said, "There occur en- the sons, of Jacob except Benjamin, eleven in
tanglements (nodi) in these things which no number, were born in six years, a thing not
one has yet unravelled, nor do I believe quite impossible, but highly improbable (see
will any one ever unravel them." It has on ch. xxx. 25). The second,> is,, that, Jacob,
been generally held by commentators, Jew- in vv. 38,.41, of this ch. xxxib seems to. say.
ish and Christian, that Isaac was I37 and that his whole sojourn. in Padan-aram, waJacob 77 when Jacob received his father's, only twenty years. If these points be made:
blessing, and left his father's house to go to. out, we cannot deny the conalulsion, that asPadan-aram. (See note, ch. xxxvii. i.) This Joseph was 39 whenr Jacob was 130, an.d so
calculation rests mainly on the following two born when Jacob was 9X} therefore Jaco.h
-points: the ist is that Joseph was born. just must have been 91-I44 77, when he fled:
fourteen years after Jacob went to Haran, i.e. from Beer-sheba to Padan-ar.am.
at the end of the second hebdonmade which As regards the first point,. however, it h. a
VOL. I.
178 GENESIS. XXXII. Iv. I-4.
already. been seen (note on ch. xxx. 23), that Years of Jacob's
it is not necessary to conclude that Jacob life
should have wished to leave Laban immediately o Jacob and Esau born.
on the conclusion of his 14 years' servitude. 40 Esau marries two Hittite wive%
On the contrary, with his children too young en. xxvi. 34.
to carry on so long a journey, with but little 7 Jacob goes to Padan-aram, Isaac
independent substance, and with the fear of being II7.
Esau before his eyes, it is far more likely that 1 58 Esau goes to Ishmae and marries
he should have been willing to remain longer his daughter, Gen. xxviii. 9.
tl 63 Ishmaeldies, aged I 37, Gen. xxv. i 7.
in the service of Laban. But, if this be so, 63 Ishmaeldies, aged 3 7, Gen. xxv. 17.
we have then an indefinite time left us for this a, 64 Jacob marries Leah and Rachel,
additional sojourn, limited only by the words F Gen, xxix, Li, 27, 28., Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
1"when Rachel had born Joseph" (ch. xxx. born of Leah.
25). Jacob may have lived and worked for Dan and Naphtali born of Bilhah.
twenty years longer-with Laban, and not haveah.
twienty years longerwith Laban, and not have L7 End of fourteen years' service.
asked. for his dismissal, till Joseph was old 7z Beginning of zo years mentioned
7~ Beginning of 20 years mentioned
enough to travel, or at all events till he was in Gen. xxxi. 38.
born. MXFo Gad and Asher born of Zilpah,
As to the second point, almost all commen- c e Issachar and Zebulun born of >
tators take the statements in vv. 38 and 41 as Leah
identical, v. 4I being but a repetition, with { l eDinah. born
greater detail, of the statement in v. 38, as
appears in the translation of the Authorized 9i Joseph born of Rachel.
bes b 9 aAgreementmade,Gen.xxx. 25-34.
Version. It has, however, been suggested by vents in the mily unknown.' Events in the family unknown.
Dr Kennicott, that very probably the twenty Flight from Padan-aram.
years in v. 38 are not the same twenty years
as those mentioned in v. 41, and that the 98 BenJamin born, Rachel dies,
sense of the Hebrew would be better express- 1o8 Joseph at 17 is carried to Egypt,
sense of the Hebrew would be bGen. xxxvii. 2.
ed as follows, v. 38, "one twenty years I was Isaac dies at en. xxxv. 8.
with thee" (i. e. taking care of thy flocks for IZI Joseph, aged 30, Governor of
thee but not in thy house); and (v. 4.), "another twenty years I was for myself in thy goes down to Eypt, Gen.
house, serving thee fourteen years for thy two 130 Jacob goes down to Egypt, Ge
daughters and six years for thy cattle." This, Jacob dies, Gen. xIvii. 28.
he contends, is a legitimate mode of rendering It is not possible to date accurately the
the repeated particle (zeh, zeh). Each mention events in ch xxxi. iii. but the above
of the twenty years is introduced with the s a far more probabl ch ronology than
"oIthis," which word, when repeated, seems a far more probable chronorogy than
word ZO), Lthis,7Xwhilch nrorduhenrepeated, that commonly acquiesced in. According to
is used in opposition or by way of distinction the common calculation, Judah and his sons
(see Ex. xiv. 2o; Job xxi. 23, 25; Eccl. vi. 5). Er and Onan must have been quite children
He understands Jacob therefore as saying, that when they married, whereas the assigning 40
he had served Laban fourteen years for his instead of 20 years to the sojourn of Jacob in
~wives, after that he had for twenty years Padan-aram, will allow time for them to have
taken care of his cattle, not as a servant but grown up, though even so their marriages
as a neighbour and friend; and then, not must have been for that time unusually early.
satisfied to go onl thus without profit, at last The common calculation, which makes Jacob
for six years more he served for wages, during 84 at his marriage, whilst his son Judah could
which short period Laban had changed his not have been more than 20, and his grandhire Io times. children Er and Onan not above 15 when
If this reasoning be correct, and Bp Horsley they married (see Keil on ch. xxxviii.), must
has said that Dr Kennicott assigns unanswer- surely require some correction, even allowing
able reasons -for his opinion, then the following table will give the dates of the chief events for the length of patriarchal lives on th e one
side and for the early age of eastern marriages:in Jacobs:life, on the other.'CHAPT:ER XXXII. 2 And when Jacob saw them, he.I'yao's vision at.ahanaioz. 3 His rEves said, This is God's host: and he
sage to Essan. 6 He is V-fizaid of Esau's called the name of that place i Ma- I Th tis.
corning. 9 HIe poray4et for deliverance. pc two k s..S
13 He sendeth a freseznt to Eseau. 24 He Or, cJ/9,J
wrestleth with an anel at iPenzi, where he is 3 And Jacob sent messengers becalled srael. 3i He laltelh. fore him to Esau his brother unto the
A ND Jacob went on his way, and land of Seir, the t country of Edom. t uIb.
the angels of God met himr.. And he commanded them, say-f"''
v. 5 —o.] GENESIS. XXXIT. I79
ing, Thus shall ye speak unto my and distressed: and he divided the
lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith people that was with him, and the
thus, I have sojourned with Laban, flocks, and herds, and the camels, inand stayed there until now: to two bands;
5 And I have oxen, and asses, -8 And said, If Esau come to the
flocks, and menservants, and women- one company, and smite it, then the
se.rvants: and I have sent to tell my other company which is left shall
lord, that I may find grace in thy escape.
sight. 9: ~i And Jacob said, O God of
6 S1 And the messengers returned my father Abraham, and God of my
to Jacob, saying, We came to thy father Isaac, the LORD which saidst
brother Esau, and also he cometh to unto me, a Return unto thy country, a chap. 31
meet thee, and four hundred men and to thy kindred, and I will deal't-Ieb
with him. well with thee: I az zess
7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid Io'I am not worthy of the least &c.
CHAP. XXXII. 1. the angels of God neh is still retained in the supposed site of the
met him] The conjectures of various Jewish ancient town (Robinson).
interpreters concerning this vision of angels 3. unto the land of Seir, the country of
may be seen in Heidegger, Tom. ii. Ex. xv. Edom] It does not folw necessarily from
~ 37. The real purpose of it seems to have this verse, that Seir had by this time become
been this. LWhen Jacob was flying fiom Esau's Esau's permanent place of residence. The
anger into Mesopotamia, he had a vision of historian calls Seir the country of Edom, beangels ascending and descending on the ladder cause it had become so long before Moses
of God. HIe was thus assured of God's pro- wrote. Esau was a great hunter, and very
vidential care over himn, and mysteriously probably a conqueror, who took possession of
taught that there was a way frowm heaven to Seir, driving out or subjugating the H-lorites.
earth and from earth to heaven. Now he is t may have been for this very conquest, that
again about to fall into the power of Esau; he as no at the head of 400 armed men
and so the angels encamped, perhaps on each (v. 6). He had not yet removed his houseside of him (.Iahanain, v. a, signifying "two hold from Canaan (ch. xxxvi. 6); and did
camps"), may have been sent to teach him, not settle permanently in his newly conquered
as a sinilar vision tailgh't afterwards the serv- possession till after his father's death, when,
ant of Elisha (z K. vi. I6, r7), that, though yielding to the assignment made to Jacob by
he was encompassed writh danger, there were Isaac's blessing, he retires to Idumxa, and leaves
more with him than could be against him, or, Canaan to Jacob (ch. -) (See Kur
as the Psahmist wrote afterwards, that "the in c.)
angel ef the LORD encampeth round about
them tha't fur him, and delivereth them" (Ps. 7. Jacob cwas greatly afraid and disxxxiv. 7)t fThus Josephls ('A. J.' I. aso) ttressed] Though he had just seen a vision of
says, "these visions were vouchsafed to Jacob angels he was not ulnaturally alarmed at the
returning into Canaan, to encourage him with apparently hostile approach of Esau. He
happy hopes of what should befal. him after- makes therefore all preparation for that apwards," and St Chrysost. ('Hom. 58 in Gen.'), proach, and then takes refuge in prayer. His
"the fear of Laban havig passed away, there faith was ing perfct, but he was a religious
succeeded to it the fear of Esau; therefore the man, and so ie seeks in his telror help from
merciful Lord, willing that the pious man God.
should be encouraged and his fear dispelled, 9. 0 God of nmy father AZbraham, and
ordained that he should see this vision of God of my father Isaac, the Loon] Tihis
angels." combination of names is natural and exact.
2. 1ah anaim] i.e. "Itwo camps." Some He appeals to the Most High as the Covenant
have thought the dual here used for the plural; God, who had given promises to his fathers,
others -t1hat Tacob thought of his own camp of which promises he himself was the heir,
and the camp of angels. (So AbenexJra, and and who had revealed Himself to the chosen
after him Clericus.) More likely the angels family as the se.f-existent JEHOVAH, who
were encamped on the right-hand and on the would be their God. The whole prayer is
left, so seeming to surround and protect Jacob one of singular beauty and piety.
(see on v. I). The place called Mahanaim 10. I am not'worthy of the least of all
was in the tribe of Gad, and was assigned to the mercies] Lit. " I am less than all the
the Levites, Josh. xxi. 38. The name Mah- mercies."
M2
i80 GENESIS. XXXII. [v. I-24.
of all the mercies, and of all the ther meeteth thee, and asketh thee,
truth, which thou hast shewed unto saying, WVhose art thou? and whithy servant; for with my staff I ther goest thou? and whose are these
passed over this Jordan; and now I before thee?
am become two bands. I8 Then thou shalt say, Whey be
I I Deliver me, I pray thee, from thy servant Jacob's; it is a present
the hand of my brother, from the sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold,
hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest also he is behind us.
he will come and smite me, and the 19 And so commanded he the seHeb. mother t with the children. cond, and the third, and all that fol12 And thou saidst, I will surely lowed the droves, saying, On this
do thee good, and make thy seed as manner shall ye speak unto Esau,
the sand of the sea, which cannot be when ye find him.
numbered for multitude. 20o And say ye moreover, Behold,
I3 ~1 And he lodged there that thy servant Jacob is behind us. For
same night;'and took of that which he said, I will appease him with the
came to his hand a present for Esau present that goeth before me, and
his brother; afterward I will see his face; peradI4 Two hundred she goats, and venture he will accept t of me. t Heb.
twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, 21 I SJ went the present over before "Yface/.
and twenty rams, him: anld himself lodged that night in
IS5 Thirty milch camels with their the company.
colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty 22 And he rose up that night,
she asses, and ten foals. and took his two wives, and his
I6 And he delivered them into the two womenservants, and his eleven
hand of his servants, every drove by sons, and passed over the ford Jabthemselves; and said unto his ser- bok.
vants, Pass over before me, and put 23 And he took them, and tsent t eb.
a space betwixt drove and drove. them over the brook, and sent over ccfue"d,
I7 And he commanded the fore- that he had.
most, saying, When Esau my bro- 24 N And Jacob was left alone;
11. the mother cwith the children] Lit. face" was equivalent to accepting a person
"upon the children." Whence some have favourably (lb. p. 915).
thought that there was allusion to the mother 22. the ford Jabbok] or "the ford of
protecting the child, as a bird covers its young Jabbok." The name Jabbok is either derived
(Tuch, Knobel, Keil), or to the slaying-of the from bakak, "to pour forth, to gush forth,"
child before the parent's eyes, and then the or from abak, "to wrestle," from the wrestparent upon him (Ros.); but the sense seems lin of acob there. I:t flowed into the Jorcorrectly expressed by " with," as in Ex. xxv. dan about half way between the Dead Sea and
22; Num. xx. ii; Deut. xvi. 3; Job xxxviii. the sea of Galilee, at a point nearly opposite
32, &c. (See Ges.'Thes.' p. Io27.) to Shechem. It is now called Zerka, i.e.
13. of that'vhich came to his hand] "blue" (Ges.'Thes.'p. z32).
or perhaps "that which had come to his 23. the brook] The word signifies either
hand," i.e. into his possession, what he pos- a brook, a torrent, or the bed of a torrent,
sessed. sometimes dry and sometimes flowing, like
20. I'will appease him, &c.] The sen- theArabicWady.
tence literally rendered would be, "I will 24. Jacob awas left alone] He recover his face with the present that goeth be- mained to the last that he might see all his
fore me, and afterward I will see his face, family pass safely through the ford, that he
peradventure he will accept my face." " To might prevent anything being left behind
cover the eyes or the face" was an expression through carelessness; and most probably that
apparently signifying to induce the person to he might once more give himself to earnest
turn away from or connive at a fault. (Ges. prayer for God's protection in his expected
pp. 700, 706.)'To accept or lift up the meeting with his brother Esau.
V. 25-26.] GENESIS. XXXII. 18I
and there wrestled a man with him hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of
f Heb. until the breaking of the day. joint, as he wrestled with him.
ascending
of tsce 25 And when he saw that he pre- 26 And he said, Let me go, for the
novn'g"n. xvailed not against him, he touched day breaketh. And he said, b I will b Hos.
the hollow of his thigh; and the not let thee go, except thou bless me..
there'wrestled a man wzith him] He is should he obtain mercy and be received back
called " the angel," Hos. xii. 4, and Jacob to his father's house as the heir of the prosays of him (v. 30), " I have seen God face mises? This eventful night, this passage of
to face." The Jews of course believed that the Jabbok, was to decide; and the myshe was a created angel, and said that he was terious conflict, in which by Divine mercy
the angel of Esau, i.e. either Esau's special and strength he is permitted to prevail, is
guardian angel (cp. Acts xii. si), or the vouchsafed to him as an indication that his
angel that presided over Esau's country (cp. repentance, matured by long schooling and
Dan. x. I3). So Abenezra and Abarbanel. discipline and manifested in fervent and humMany Christian commentators also prefer to ble prayer, is accepted with God and blessed
consider this a vision of a created angel, as by the Son of God, whose ancestor in the
thinking it inconsistent with the greatness of flesh he is now once more formally constituted.
the Creator to have manifested I-Timnself in
the Creator to hae manifested iself the hollow of the thigh] The socket of the
this manner to Jacob. Most of the fatlhers,
however thought this to have been one of th hip-joint, the hollow place like the palm of a
however, thought this to have been one of the
manifestations of the Logos, of the eternal hand (Heb. Caph) into which the neck-bone of
Son, anticipatory of His incarnation. Theo- the thigh s inserted. The reason of this act
dorett (QaL. 92 in Gen.) argfues thus a of the Angel was very probably lest Jacob
len~gth. (See also Justin Mt.'Dial.' ~ at,- should be puffied up by the "abundance of the
kTertull.'Contra MarLcion.' c I.'ub revelations;" he might think that by his own'H. E.' I. %X; August.'4De. D.' Euseb. strength and not by grace he had prevailed
c. &C'). From vv. 29, 3, this seem' tXV.e 3 with God; as St Paul had the thorn in the
&c. &c.). From vv. 29, 3, this seems the flesh sent to him lest he " should be exalted
true opinion. The word for' wrestle" (abak) above measure," 2 Cur. xii. 7. (So Theodoret
is derived from abak, "dust," from the rolling in oc.).
of athletes in the dust when wrestling with
each other. 26. Let me go, for the day breaketh]
until the breaking of the day] lit. till the Lit. " for the dawn ariseth." The contest had
rising of the dawn." taken place during the later hours of the night.
It was now right that it should be ended: for
25. whuen he sawzv that he prevailed not the time had arrived, the breaking of the day,
against him] There must have been some >when Jacob must prepare to meet Esau and to
deep significance in this wrestling, in which s anger. It was for Jacob's sake,
an1 Angel, or mor-e probably the God of not for His own conver.ience, that the Divine
angels, Himself "the Angel of the LORD," wrestler desired to go. (So Abarbanel, Heiprevailed not against a man. The difficulty degger, &c. &c.).
of believing that man could prevail against
God led to some forced interpretations, such except thou bleJJ me] Jacob had plainly
as that of Origen (' De Principiis,' Lib. Iii.), discovered that his antagonist was a heavenly
and Jerome (' in Epist. ad Ephes.'c. vi.), that Visitor. Though he had been permitted to
Jlacob ~wrestled against evil spirits, and that p-prevail in the contest, he still desired blessing
the " MIan" is said to have wrestled with him for the future.
in the sense of assisting him, wrestling on his 28. Israel:for as a priw-e hast thou power],
side; an interpretation refuted by the words The verb Sarah and its cognate Sz~r sigof the "Man" Himself in v. 28. The mys- nify "to contend with," and also "to be a
tical meaning of the whol. transaction seems prince or leader." See Judg. ix. zz; Hos. xii. 4
probably to be of this kind. The time was (Ges. pp. 326, 1338, Ros. in loc.). It is
an important epoch in Jacob's history. It quite possible that both senses are conveyed
was a turning-point in his life. There had by the word, and it might be rendered either,
been much most faulty in his character; "thou hast contended with God,"' or "thou
which had led him to much trouble, and sub- hast been a prince with God." The Authorjected him to a long penitential and reforma- ised Version combines both. The best Vss.,
tory discipline. He was now returning after an LXX., Vulg., render, "-Thou hast had power
exile, of 20o or more probably 40 years, to the with God, and how much more wilt thou
land of his birth, which had been promised to prevail with men," which has been followed
him for his inheritance. It was a great crisis. by many moderns, as Heidegger, Rosenm.,
Should he fall under the power of Esau and &c. The sense is thus rendered more perspiso suffer to the utmost for his former sins? or cuous, as implying a promise of safety from
182 GENESIS. XXXII. XXXIII. [v. 27-8.
27 Anld he said unto him, What is AND Jacob lifted up his eyes, and
thy name? And he said, Jacob. A looked, and, behold, Esau came,
chap. 35. 28 And he said, CThy name shall and with him four hundred men. And'~' be called no more Jacob, but Israel: he divided the children unto Leah,
for as a prince hast thou power with and unto Rachel, and unto the two
God and with men, and hast pre- handmaids.
vailed. 2 And he put the handmaids and
29 And Jacob asked him, and said, their children foremost, and Leah and
Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And her children after, and Rachel and
he said, Wherefore is it that thou Joseph hindermost.
dost ask after my name? And he 3 And he passed over before them,
blessed him there. and bowed himself to the ground
30 And Jacob called the name of seven times, until he came near to'That s, the place U-Peniel: for I have seen his brother.
t/df %God face to face, and my life is pre- 4 And Esau ran to meet him, and
served. embraced him, and fell on his neck,
31 And as he passed over Penuel and kissed him: arnd they wept.
the sun rose upon him, and he halted 5 And he lifted up his eyes, and
upon his thigh. saw the women and the children;
32 Therefore the children of Israel and said, Who are those twith thee? t Heb.
eat not of the sinew which shrank, And he said, The children which God i" t/ee?
which is upon the hollow of the hath graciously given thy servant.
thigh, unto this day: because he 6 Then the handmaidens came
touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh near, they and their children, and
in the sinew that shrank. they bowed themselves.
7 And Leah also with her children
CHAPTER XXXIII. came near, and bowed themselves:
7 The kindness of 7acob and Esau at their and after came Joseph near and Ra- t Heb.
meetingz. I 7 7acob comethi to SzcLoth. IS What iv
At S/cae he bcyet/ ca field, andto bccidd' an chel, and they bowed themselves. l f/its
altar caled E/ -elohe- srael. 8 And he said, t What meanest thou baZd to
Esau. The difficulty, however, of thus ex- nerve of oblivion." Whatever be the literal
plaining the particle Fau before 1"hast pre- sense of the words, they doubtless mean the
vailed" is great. "' sciatic nerve," the nervus ischiadicus, which
29. Wherefore is it that thou dost ask is one of the largest in the body, and extends
aftermy name?] Comp. Jumdg.x i. I8, "And down the thigh and leg to the ankle. The
the Angel of the Lord said unto him (i. e. Arabs still use this same word (NJasheh or
lanoah), Wghy askest thou after my name Naseh) to designate the sciatic nerve (see Ros.
seeing it is secret?" lit. wonderful.' In the in loc., Ges.'Thes.' p. 924). The cuspresent instance perhaps the words mean, tom prevailing among the Jews to this day of
" IWShy dost thou ask my name? as it may be abstaining religiously from eating this sinew
plain to you who I am." seems a lasting monument of the historical
30. Penie i.e.theface of God." Else- truth of this wonderful event in the life of
30. Peniel] i.e.'the face of God." Else- T 5
where it is always Penuel, and the Samaritan Jacob.
Pentateuch and the Vulg. have Penuel here.
The LXX. does not give this name itself,XIII. 3. bed h to
but translates it both here and in v. 3I. Jose- groound] A deep oriental bow, not probably
phus has Phanuel only. The words only difphus has Phanuel only. The words only dif- such profound prostration as is expressed in ch.
fer by a single line in one letter, and have no X.: "he bowed himself with his face to
difference of meaning. Strabo (' Geogr.' L. the ground."
XVI. c. 2, ~~ I5, I8) mentions a town among 5. thf!o are those with thee?] Lit. "to
the Phcenician cities with a Greek name of the thee; " i. e. that thou hast.
same meaning, viz. Theouprosopon. 8. W3'hat meanest thou by all this drove]
32, the sinew which shrank] This is Lit. "W What to thee is all this camp?" The
the rendering of LXX., Vulg., Onk. Many sheep with their shepherds assumed the apJewish and Christian commentators have ren- pearance of a band or troop, hence called
dered it "the nerve of contraction" or "' the "camp."
v. 9-1-8.] GENESIS. XXXIlI. 183
by all this drove which I met? And tender, and the flocks and herds with
he said, These are to find grace in the young are with me: and if men should
sight of my lord. overdrive them one day, all the flock
9 And Esau said, I have enough, will die.
eb. my brother; tkeep that thou hast I4 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass
eethat unto thyself. over before his servant: and I will
aihne. Io And Jacob said, Nay, I pray lead on softly, t according as the cattle t Heb.
thee, if now I have found grace in that goeth before me and the children accordigfoo
thy sight, then receive my present at be able to endure, until I come unto of te
my hand: for therefore I have seen my lord unto Seir. adzacthy face, as though I had seen the 15 And Esau said, Let me now c/tef of
face of God, and thou wast pleased'leave with thee some of the folk that the i4Zwith me. are with me. And he said, tWhat tHcb. set,
i i Take, I pray thee, my blessing needeth it? let me find grace in the tr H l.
that is brought to thee; because God sight of my lord. isa.isf
hath dealt graciously with me, and I6 ql So Esau returned that day on
because I have enough. And he his way unto Seir.
urged him, and he took it. I7 And Jacob journeyed to Suc12 And he said, Let us take our coth, and built him an house, and
journey, and let us go, and I will go made booths for his cattle: therefore
before thee. the name of the place is called ISuc- viThat is,
13 And he said unto him, My coth. booths
lord knoweth that the children are i8 q And Jacob came to Shalem,
10. for therefore I have seen thy face, before me and the children be able to endure]
&c.] Rather "for I have seen thy face, as According to the pace (lit. "the foot")
though I had seen the face of God." The same of the cattle that is before me, and acparticles are rendered "because," Gen. xxxviii. cording to the pace of the children.
26; *" forasmuch as," Num. x. 31;' because," The word for cattle is literally " work;" thence
Num. xiv. 43 (see Ges.'Thes.' p. 682). Ja- anything acquired by labour, property, and
cob pleads as a reason why Esau should accept hence cattle, the chief possession of a pastoral
his present, that Esau's face had seemed as people.
gracious and favourable to him as though it until I come unto my lord unto Seir] It is
had been God's face. It is highly probable probable that Jacob here intimated a hope that
that Jacob here refers to his vision of God in he might one day visit Esau at Seir. It does
the night past at Peniel. The words he uses not necessarily mean that he was directly on
are "for I have seen thy face, like a vis'on his way thither; his course being evidently toof Peney EZl-ohim," i.e. "the face of God." It wards Shechem.
might have seemed likely that Jacob on his 17. booths] Perhaps only wattled enmeeting with Esau would use the special name closures, or very possibly some simple conof their father's God, JEIOVAH; but this, in trivance of branches and leaves made for
addition to the reason given above, would have sheltering the milch cattle from the heat of
been like claiming to be the heir of the pro- the sun.
mises and under the peculiar care of JEHso- Succoth] "Booths," from saccac, to entwine,
VAH, which would have been very offensive to to shelter. Jacob could easily visit his father
Esau. from this place. Jerome ('Qut. Heb.' ad h.l.)
11. my blessing] That is, "this gift says that " Sochoth is to this day a city beyond
which is meant to express good will and affec- Jordan in Scythopolis." According to Josh.
tion, offered with prayers for blessing on the xiii. 27, Judg. viii. 4, 5, Succoth was in the
recipient" (cp. Judg. i. 15; I S. xxv. 32, xxx. valley of the Jordan, "on the other side of the
26; 2 K. v. i$). Jordan eastward," and was allotted to the
I have enough] Lit. *" I have all." tribe of Gad.
w1t3. chitb young] In milk. 18. to Shalem] Or "in peace." The
LXX., Vulg., Syr. render "Shalem." Robin..
if men should o bverdri've them one day] Esau s son (' B. R.' lIs. 322) and Wilson (;Lands of
400 horsemen would be likely to move too the Bible,' II. 72) mention a place still called
rapidly for the milch cattle. Salim to the east of Nablus. On the other
14. according as the cattle that goeth hand the Sam. Pent. has Shalom, i.e. "safe."
I84 GENESIS. XXXIII. XXXIV. [v. 19-7.
CCalled, a city of " Shechem, which is in the Hamor the Hivite, prince of the
Ats7,, land of Canaan, when he came from country, saw her, he took her, and
Padan-aram; and pitched his tent lay with her, and tdefiled her tHeb.
before the city. 3 And his soul clave unto Dinah Ker.
I9 And he bought a parcel of a the daughter of Jacob, and he loved
field, where he had spread his tent, the damsel, and spake tkindlv unto t Hehb. t
U Called, at the hand of the children of " Ha- the damsel.
Acts 7. i6,
>mmor.I6 inor, Shechem's father, for an hundred 4 And Shechem spake unto his fasIOrt3, 1pieces of money. ther Hamor, saying, Get me this dam2o And he erected there an altar, sel to wife.,1 That is, and called it U El-elohe-Israel. 5 And Jacob heard that he had deGod the
odtzeR XXXIV filed Dinah his daughter: now his
Israe. CHAPTER XXXIV.
I Di1at is rovished by Shechem. 4 le sueth' sons were with his cattle in the field:
to mrorr /zer. I3 The sons of yaob offir the and Jacob held his peace until they
conditioln of cir'cumcision to the Shech/emites. were come.
Go faintotr and Shechemn persuade theot to 6 q And Jiamor the father of Sheaccept it. 25 The sons of 7wcob upon that
atlvawztagre slay thenz, 27 aznd slpoil thzeir city. chem went out unto Jacob to com30 _7zcob repsrovfh Sioeon and Levi. mune with him.
/ND Dinah the daughter of Leah, 7 And the sons of Jacob came out
which she bare unto Jacob, went of the field when they heard it: and
out to see the daughters of the land. the men were grieved, and they were
2 And when Shechem the son of very wroth, because lie had wrought
Onkelos renders " in peace," and he is follow- of God. Jacob therefore calls El the God of
ed by Saadias, Rashi and most Jewish corn- Israel, and gives this title to the altar, which
mentators,. by Rosenm., Schum, Gesen., he built on the spot which had already been
Tuch, Del., Knobel, Keil. consecrated by Abraham (ch. xii. 7). Jacob
a city of Shechem] If instead of "to Sha- had hitherto always spoken of EnOVAI-I as
lem" we adopt the rendering " in peace," or the God of Abraham, and the God, or the
"in safety;" then we must render here "to Fear, of his father Isaac. Now on his grathe city of Shechem." It was perhaps called cious acceptance by Him, his change of name
after Shechem the son of Hamor (v. 7Tg). In by His appointment, his return to Canaan as
ch. xii. 6 (where see note), we read of "the the heir of the land, he calls Him his own
place of Sichem," i.e. perhaps the site on God, El, the God of Israel.
which Sichem or Shechem was afterwards built. CHAP. XXXIV. 1. Dinah the daughter
It was the first place in which God appeared of Leah] Her birth is mentioned (ch. xxx.
to Abraham, and it is the place at which,I) before the birth of Joseph (vv. 22, 23).
Jacob re-enters the promised land; for Suc- If Jacob's sojourn in Padan-aram was 40
coth, whence he came to it, was on the other years long and not 2o only (see note at the
side of Jordan. Abraham only purchased a end ofch. xxxi.), it is quite possible that Dinah
burial-place, Jacob purchases a dwelling-place. may have been some years older than Joseph,
Perhaps the country had now become more ho was 77 at the beginning of the history
fully inhabited, and therefore land must be related in ch. xxxvii. (see v. a), i.e. probably
secured before it could be safely lisved upon. about a year or two after the events related in
19. an hundred pieces of money]' A hun- this present chapter. In: any case therefore
dred Kesita." All the ancient Versions (except she was not less than I5 years old at this time,
Targg. Jerus. and Jonath.) render "a hun- supposing her to have been no older than
dred lambs," whence it has been inferred that Joseph; so that the objection urged by Tuch
the Kesita was a piece of money bearing the and others that at this time she was but 6 or 7
impression of a lamb. It appears however to years old cannot be maintained.
have been either an ingot or bar of silver of'went out to see the daughters of the landc]
certain weight, or perhaps merely a certain Josephus (' Ant.' I. Xi) states that a feast
weight of silver; a word of the same root in among the Shechemites was the occasion of
Arabic signifying "a balance," "a pair of this visit.
scales." (See Ges.'Thes.' p. I24I. Lee,' Lex.' 3. spake Kindly unto the dmsel Lit.
in voc.). "' Spake to the heart of the damsel." So ch. 1.
20. El-elohe-Israel] The name Israel 2I; Judg. xix. 3; Isa. xl. z; Hos. ii. i4, &c.
contains in it the syllable El, one of the names 7. he had wrought foily in Israel...cwhicb
v. 8-25.] GENESIS. XXXIV. I85
folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's 17 But if ye will not hearken undaughter; which thing ought not to to us, to be circumcised; then will
be done. we take our daughter, and we will be
8 And Hamor communed with gone.
them, saying, The soul of my son I8 And their words pleased Hamor,
Shechem longeth for your daughter: and Shechem Hamor's son.
I pray you give her him to wife. 19 And the young man deferred
9 And make ye marriages with us, not to do the thing, because e had
and give your daughters unto us, and delight in Jacob's daughter: and he
take our daughters unto you. was more honourable than all the
Io And ye shall dwell with us: house of his father.
and the land shall be before you; dwell 20 ST And Hamor and Shechem his
and trade ye therein, and get you pos- son came unto the gate of their city,
sessions therein. and communed with the men of their
i I And Shechem said unto her fa- city, saying,
ther and unto her brethren, Let me 2I These men are peaceable with
find grace in your eyes, and what ye us; therefore let them dwell in the
shall say unto me I will give. land, and trade therein; for the land)
I2 Ask me never so much dowry behold, it is large enough for them;
and gift, and I will give according as let us take their daughters to us for
ve shall say unto me: but give me wives, and let us give them our
the damsel to wife. daughters.
13 And the sons of Jacob answered 22 Only herein will the men conShechem and Hamor his father de- sent unto us for to dwell with us, to'
ceitfully, and said, because he had be one people, if every male among
defiled Dinah their sister: us be circumcised, as they are cir14 And they said unto them, We cumcised.
cannot do this thing, to give our sister 23 Shall not their cattle and their
to one that is uncircumcised; for that substance and every beast of theirs be
were a reproach unto us: ours? only let us consent unto them,
15 But in this will we consent un- and they will dwell with us.
to you: If ye will be as we be, that 24 And unto Hamor and unto Sheeverv male of you be circumcised; chem his son hearkened all that went
I6 Then will we give our daugh- out of the gate of his city; and every
ters unto you, and we will take your male was circumcised, all that ewent
daughters to us, and we will dwell out of the gate of his city.
with you, and we will become one 25 qi And it came to pass on the
people. third day, when they were sore, that
thint ought not to he done] Lit. " and so ceitfully" from the former clause, rendering
it is not done." These are not the words and "spoke deceitfully:" but the rendering
of the sons of Jacob, but of the sacred histo- of the Authorised Version seems preferable.
rian. It is not likely that the family of Jacob 18. their words pleased Hamor, &c.]
should by this time have acquired the generic The readiness of the Shechemites to submit to
name of Israel; but Moses uses the designa- circumcision may be accounted for, if circumtion which had become familiar in his own cision had by this time become a rite known
(lay. The words of this verse seem to have to others besides the descendants of Abraham
become proverbial, they are almost repeated (Herod. Ii. Io4). At al events, it was now
in 2 S. xiii. I2. But this is no reason for practised not only by the sons of Jacob and
supposing that the words of this present verse his household, but by the Ishmaelites, and'should be ascribed to a later hand than that of the family and household of Esau, all growing
Moses. into important tribes in the neighbourhood of
13. and said] Schultens, Gesen. (p. 3I$), the Shechemites.
Knobel, Del., &c. translate here "and plotted" 25. Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren,'r "laid snares:" others repeat the word " de- took each man hi; svord] i.e. sons of the same
i86 GENESIS. XXXIV. XXXV. [v. 26-3.
two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and together against me, and slay me; and
Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
his sword, and came upon the city 3I And they said, Should he deal
X chap. 49. boldly, and aslew all the males. with our sister as with an harlot?
H6e. 26 And they slew Hamor and She- CHAPTER X
tiebi. chem his son with the *edoge of the
sword, and took Dinah out of She- I Godsenleth tocob to Be//-el. e Jorgeh
his house of idols. 6 He buildetl a al atar at
chem's house, and went out. Belh-el. 8 Deborah dieth/ at Allon-bachut/h.
27 The sons of Jacob came upon 9 God blesseth yacob at Beth-el. i6 Rachel
the slain, and spoiled the city, because travaileth of Beeziamin, anzZ die/i in the zway
to Edar. 22 Reubent lieth wih/ Rilhah/, 23
they had defiled their sister. The sons of Yacob. 27 7acob cometh to Isaac
28 They took their sheep, and their at Hebron. 28 The age, death, and burial of
oxen, and their asses, and that which Isaac.
was in the city, and that which was ND God said unto Jacob, Arise,
in the field, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there:
29 And all their wealth, and all and make there an altar unto God,
their little ones, and their wives took that appeared unto thee awhen thou a chap. 27
thev captive, and spoiled even all that fleddest from the face of Esau thy 43
was in the house. brother.
30 And Jacob said to Simeon and 2 Then Jacob said unto his houseLevi, Ye have troubled me to make hold, and to all that were with him,
me to stink among the inhabitants of Put away the strange gods that are
the land, among the Canaanites and among you, and be clean, and change
the Perizzites: and I being few in your garments:
number, they shall gather themselves 3 And let us arise, and go up to
mother, Leah, as well as of the same father, treachery and murder. This is only another
Jacob. In ch. xxiv. 50o, s5, &c. we saw La- instance of Jacob's weak character, and of the
ban taking a principal part in giving his sister fidelity of the historian. Jacob's own fault
in marriage Michaelis (in loc.) mentions it as was want of straightforward honesty. It is
a prevalent opinion in the East that a man is reproduced with grievous aggravations in his
more affected by the dishonour of his sister sons. The timidity of his disposition, a kinthan even by the dishonour of his wife, as he dred defect with untruthfulness, shews itself
may divorce his wife but can never cease to be now in his exclamation of fear rather than of
LhS sister's brother. We are not to suppose moral horror. His more righteous indignathat Simeon and Levi without help from others tion, the result of calmer thought, is expressed
attacked and slew all the males: they had no in his final judgment on the fierceness of their
doubt a retinue from their father's household anger and the cruelty of their wrath (ch. xlix.
with them, and perhaps were accompanied by 5, 6, 7).
some of their brothers, though they only are
specially mentioned, as having taken the lead CHAP. XXXV. 1. Beth-eli See on ch.
in the assault, and as most strongly actuated xxviii. I9.
by the spirit of revenge. 2. strane gods] Not only had Rachel
27. the sons of Jacob] i. e. others be- stolen her father's teraphim, but probably
side Simeon and Levi, for all appear to have others of Jacob's company had secreted injoined in the original stratagem (see v. I3), struments of idolatrous worship in the camp.
and probably all assisted in spoiling the city. As they had just spoiled a heathen city (ch.
30. I being fe-w in number] Litt. I xxxiv 27), it is not unlikely that they brought
being men of number." That is, I and my such instruments from that also.
family and followers (compare "I am become be clean] "Purify yourselves." The same
two bands," ch. xxxii. Io) are men so few word is frequently used under the Law for
that we can easily be numbered. A common purification from legal uncleanness before
idiom: see Deut. iv. 27; T Chr. xvi. I9; Ps. access to sacred ordinances (Lev. xiv. 4; Num.
cv. I2; Isa. x.. I9; Jer. xliv. 28. viii. 7; 2 Chr. xxx. IS; Ezra vi. 2o; Neh. xii.
It seems strange that Jacob should have 30; xiii. 22). Such purification was probereproached his sons as having brought him bly in the patriarchal times, as often even
into danger, not as having been guilty of under the law, by washing merely, all such
v. 4 —II.] GENESIS. XXXV. I87
Beth-el; and I will make there an b called the place El-beth-el: because bchap. 2&
altar unto God, who answered me in there God appeared unto him, when rThatis,
the day of my distress, and was with he fled from the face of his brother. t
me in the way which I went. 8 But Deborah Rebekah's nurse
4 And they gave unto Jacob all the died, and she was buried beneath
strange gods which were in their hand, Beth-el under an oak: and the name
and all their earrings which were in of it was called I Allon-bachuth. n That is,
their ears; and Jacob hid them under 9 qT And God appeared unto Jacob eep oj g/'
the oak which was by Shechem. again, when he came out of Padan5 And they journeyed: and the aram, and blessed him.
terror of God was upon the cities that Io And God said unto him, Thy
were round about them, and they did name is Jacob: thy name shall not be
not pursue after the sons of Jacob. called any more Jacob, cbut Israel Cchap. 32,
6 5[ So Jacob came to Luz, which shall be thy name: and he called his 28.
is in the land of Canaan, that is, name Israel.
Beth-el, he and all the people that i i And God said unto him, I am
were with him. God Almighty: be fruitful and mul7 And he built there an altar, and tiply; a nation and a company of nac:remonial washings being the prototypes of LXX. and Vulg. Versions have the verb in
baptism, by which, false religions being re- the singular, which may be the true reading;
jetted, men are brought into the Church of but see on ch. xx. I3.
the living God. 8. Allon-bachuth] "The oak of weeping."
4. ear-rings] perhaps talismans or idola- 9. God appeared unto?acob again,'when
trous symbols worn in the ear. Augus- he came out of Padan-aram] He was now at
tine ('Qu.' ad h. 1.) calls them "idolatrous Bethel, the place from which he may be conphylacteries," idolorumphylacteria, and(' Epist.' to have set out for Padan-aram, and
ccxLv.) he mentions a superstitious use of ear- where he made his vow that if God would
rings even in his own day among the African be with him and be his God, he would make
Christians "not to please men but to serve that place the house of God. He had now
demons." come back again to the same spot; he had
the oak'which cwas by Shechem] See fulfilled his vow by consecrating Bethel as the
note on ch. xii. 6. It may have been finder temple of God; this might then well be conthe very oak, or oak-grove, where Abraham sidered as the accomplishment of his return
pitched his tent, and which seems to have from Padan-aram. Accordingly God apbeen sacred -even in Joshua's time (Josh. xxiv. pears to him here once more, promises him
26). again, and more emphatically, protection,
5. the terror of God] God inspired blessing, inheritance, confirms the name of
into the minds of the neighbouring tribes a Israel to him, a name given by the angel at
sense of fear, so that they did not pursue the ford of the brook Jabbok, but now fixed
Jacob in order to avenge the slaughter of the and ratified, and assures him that his posterity
Shechemites. shall be numerous, powerful and blessed
Accordingly Jacob, recognizing the fulfilment
6. Luz] See ch. xxviii. I9. of all that had been promised him when he
7. El-beth-el i.e. "the God of Beth- fled from Esau, and of all that his vows had
el," or "the God of the House of God." pointed to, rears again a stone pillar as he had
At Bethel God first appeared to him. Then done forty years before, and again solemnly
he devoted himself to God's service and re- names the place Bethel. The whole of this
ceived the promises of God's protection. He history thoroughly fits in to all that has gone
accordingly called the place Bethel, which before, there being nothing whatever to supname he now renews with addition of El. port the notion that it is a mere legendary
God appeared unto him] The word for repetition of the previous vision.
God, I" Elohim," being here as generally in the 11. I am God Almighty] El-Shaddai.
plural, the verb is by a kind of attraction put It was by this name that God revealed Himin the plural also. Some have discovered in self to Abram, when he changed his name to
this a relic of polytheism, and Onkelos has Abraham, and promised. him the land of
rendered angels, a most unwarrantable trans- Canaan for an everlasting possession (see ch.
lation. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the xvii. 8). The use of the same name here is
T88 GENESIS. XXXV. [v. 12 —27.
tions shall be of thee, and kings shall ried in the way to Ephrath, which is
come out of thy loins; Beth-lehem.
I2 And the land which I gave 20o And Jacob set a pillar upon her
Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's
give it, and to thy seed after thee will grave unto this day.
I give the land. 21'i And Israel journeyed, and
I3 And God went up from him in spread his tent beyond the tower of
the place where he talked with him. Edar.
14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the 22 And it came to pass, when Isplace where he talked with him, even rael dwelt in that land, that Reuben
a pillar of stone: and he poured a went and dlay with Bilhah his fa-dchap. 1
drink offering thereon, and he poured ther's concubine: and Israel heard it. 4.
oil thereon. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
i5 And Jacob called the name of 23 The sons of Leah; Reuben,
the place where God spake with him, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and
Beth-el. Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and
i6 SIT And they journeyed from Zebulun:
Hf eb. Beth-el; and there was but ta little 24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph,
a ine~ way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel and Benjamin:
F~4M't travailed, and she had hard labour. 25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's
17 And it came to pass, when she handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
was in hard labour, that the midwife 26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's
said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these
have this son also. are the sons of Jacob, which were
PlThat is, i8 And it came to pass, as her soul born to him in Padan-aram.
ie son of was in departing, (for she died) that 27 T And Jacob came unto Isaac
rot. she called his name tIBen-oni: but his father unto Mamre, unto the city
I' That fis, ate he-r
atiZe sof his father called him "Benjamin. of Arbah, which is Hebron, where
lzetgz.t 19 And Rachel died, and was bu- Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
therefore singularly appropriate, and Jacob stood after the land had been so long inhabitrefers to it with evident comfort and satisfac- ed by unfriendly tribes. On the knowledge
tion at the close of his life (see ch. xlviii. 3). of the geography of Palestine by Moses, see
16. a little'way] These words pro- Introduction to the Pentateuch, p. I7.
bably in the original denote a definite space. 21. towver of Edar] i.e. "tower of the
The LXX. does not translate the principal flock." It was apparently a watch-tower for
word. The Vulg. improperly renders "in the the protection of flocks against robbers and
Spring time." Onk. has "an acre of land;" wild beasts. (Cp. 2 K. xviii. 8; X Chr. xxvi.
the Syr. "a parasang;" Saad. and Arab. Io, xxvii. 4.)
Erpen. "a mile." The Jews generally incline
to understand "a mile," because of the tra-.
ditions that Rachel's tomb was a mile from punished by his being deprived of his right of
ditions that Rachel's tomb was a mile from p.., v
Bethlehem or Ephrath (v. 9). primogeniture, ch. xlix. 3, 4; I Chr. v. a.
Bethlehem or Ephrath (v. I9).
18. Ben-oni] i.e. "son of my sorrow." and rael heard it] The LXX. adds
B"and it was evil in his sight." The sllence
Benj~amin] i.e. "son of the right hand," a of the Hebrew expresses more eloquently the
name of good significance, the right hand indignation of the offended patriarch.
being connected with prosperity, as the left
hand was with calamity. Some ancient ver- 26. in Padan-aram] i.e. except Ben
sions (favoured by the Samaritan Pentateuch) jamin, whose birth has just been recorded in
interpret Benjamin as "son of days," i.e. Canaan (v. i8).
"son of old age." There is evidently, how- 27. Jacob came unto Isaac his father]
ever, an antithesis between Benoni, "son of Whether this was just before Isaac's death,
sorrow," and Benjamin, "son of prosperity." or whether Jacob spent some time at Mamre
It might possibly be interpreted "son of with his father, we do not read. If this were
strength," from the "strong right hand." only just before his death it is very probable
20. unto this day] i.e. till Moses wrote. that Jacob had visited him from time to time
It was worthy of notice that the pillar still before.
V. 28-13.] GENESIS. XXXV. XXXVI. I89
28 And the days of Isaac were an his sons, and his daughters, and all
hundred and fourscore years. the tpersons of his house, and his cat- t Heb.
29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, tle, and all his beasts, and all his iso,chap. 25. and died, and ewas gathered unto his substance, which he had got in the
people, being old and full of days: and land of Canaan; and went into the
his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. country from the face of his brother
Jacob.
CHAPTER XXXVI. 7 For their riches were more than
i Esan's three wives. 6 His removing to mount that they might dwell together; and
Seir. 9 His sons. 15 The dukes which de- the land wherein they were strangers
scended of his sons. 20 The sons and dukes of
Seir. 24 Anahfindeth mules. 3I The kiings could not bear them because of their
of Edom. 40 The dukes that descended of cattle.
Esau. 8 Thus dwelt Esau in I mount Seir: a Josh. 2+
NTOW these are the generations Esau is Edom. 4.
of Esau, who is Edom. 9 qT And these are the generations
2 Esau took his wives of the daugh- of Esau the father of t the Edomites ITheb.
ters of Canaan; Adah the daughter in mount Seir: Edoin.
of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah Io These are the names of Esau's
the daughter of Anah the daughter sons; cEliphaz the son of Adah the c Chron
of Zibeon the Hivite; wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashe- I. 35, &C.
3 And Bashemath Ishmael's daugh- math the wife of Esau.
ter, sister of Nebajoth. i i And the sons of Eliphaz were
a Chron. 4 And aAdah bare to Esau Eli- Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam,'-35. phaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; and Kenaz.
5 And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and I2 And Timna was concubine to
Jaalam, and Korah: these are the Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare'to
sons of Esau, which were born unto Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons
him in the land of Canaan. of Adah Esau's wife.
6 And Esau took his wives, and I3 And these are the sons of ReuCHAP. XXXVI. 2, 3. Adah, &c.] See and Pseudo-Jonathan put here Gabala for
note A at the end of the Chapter. Seir. The southern part is called Sherah.
6. cwent into the country] Lit. "into 9. the father of the Edomites] Lit. "the
a land." Onk. and Vulg. has "into another father of Edom," i.e. either " the father of the
land." The Sam. Pentat. has " from the land Edomites," or "the founder of Idumaea."
of Canaan." The LXX. "from the land." 11. man We read elsewhere of a disThe Syr. reads " into the land of Seir," which t in Idumsa caled Teman, famous for its
is adopted by Ewald, Knobel, Delitzsch, Keil, trict in Idumma called Teman, famous for its
wisdom (Jer. xlix. 7, zo; Amos i. Ii; Hab.
&c. In ch. xxxii. 3, Esau is mentioned as in iii. 3); and in Job we meet with Eliphaz the
the land of Seir, but then probably he was Temanite, probably descended from this Teonly there for a time, perhaps engaged in its man, the son of Eliphaz, the son of Esau.
conquest, now he finally takes up his abode Pliny (' H. N.' vI. 32) speaks of the Thimathere. See note on xxxii. 3. nmi in connection with Petra.
7. the land vwherein they wvere strangers Omar] is compared by Knobel with the
could not bear them because of their cattle] Beni Ammer in Southern Palestine and NorThey were not settled inhabitants, but only them Idumea, and with the Amarin Arabs
sojourners in the land: and though they were and the Amir Arabs, all mentioned by Seetallowed to pasture their flocks in the land, yet zen Burckhardt and R
it was not to be expected that the settled in- obinson.
habitants would tolerate more than a reason- Zepho] Compare Zaphia, a place to the
able number of cattle from one family to eat south of the Dead Sea (Knobel).
up the produce of their fields. Kenaz] Compare Aneizeh, the name of an
8. mount Seir] Mount Seir was the Arab tribe, and of a fortress to the north-east
mountainous country between the Dead Sea of Petra (Knobel).
and the Elamitic Gulf, the northern part of 12. Amalek] The ancestor of the Amawhich is called Jebal, i.e. "the hill country," lekites, who probably at an early period sepaby the Arabs. So the Targums of Jerusalem rated themselves from the rest of the Edom
190 GENESIS. XXXVI. [v. 14-24.
el; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, i8 qT And these are the sons of
and Mizzah: these were the sons of.Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke Jeush,
Bashemath Esau's wife. duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were
14 $I And these were the sons of the dukes that came of Aholibamah
Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.
the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: I9 These are the sons of Esau, who
and she bare to Esau Jeush, and is Edom, and these are their dukes.
Jaalam, and Korah. 20 ~ dThese are the sons of Seir Id Chlron
I5 q These were dukes of the sons the Horite, who inhabited the land; 38.
of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the first- Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and
born son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Anah,
Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, 21 And Dishon, and Ezer, and DiI 6 Duke Korah, duke Gatam. and shan: these are the dukes of the Horduke Amalek: these are the dukes ites, the children of Seir in the land
that came of Eliphaz in the land of of Edom.
Edom; these were the sons of Adah. 22 And the children of Lotan were
17 1 And these are the sons of Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister
Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke was Timna.
Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: 23 And the children of Shobal
these are the dukes that canze of Reuel were these; Alvan, and Manahath,
in the land of Edom; these are the and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. 24 And these are the children of
ites, and formed a distinct and powerful tribe. 15. dukes] i.e. duces, leaders of tribes,
The Arabs have a legend concerning an abo- phylarchs. The Hebrew alluph is connected
riginal tribe of Amalek, with whom it has with eleph, which signifies either " a thousand"
been thought that the Edomitish Amalekites or "a family." Hence Bochart and others
were fused. N6ldeke has a monograph on understand here chiliarchs, leaders of thouthe Amalekites, in which he shews that the sands; whilst others, with more probability,
Arabian legends concerning them are drawn understand phylarchs, heads of tribes or famidirectly or indirectly from the Old Testa- lies, (see Ges.'Thes.' pp. Iog, xo6). Roment, and are utterly valueless when they de- senmuller thinks that the word is used metopart from that only historical source. There nymically for a family, and would render
is no authority in the Old Testament for the "' These are the families (or tribes) of the sons
existence of this aboriginal tribe, except the of Esau." This interpretation would apply
mention in ch. xiv. 7 of " the country of the well throughout the catalogue, but does not
Amalekites." This, name, however, is pro- so well correspond with the etymology and
bably given by anticipation, not because the formation of the word.
country was so called in Abraham's time, but 16. Duke Korab] These words are
because it had become known by that title omitted in one MS. in the Sam. Pent. and
before the time of Moses and the Exodus. Version. They are considered as having
The Amalekites, having their chief seat to the crept in through a clerical error fron v. i8,
south of the mountains of Judah, as far as by Kennicott, Tuch, Knobel, Delitzsch,
Kadesh (Num. xiii. 29, xiv. 43, 45), spread Keil, &c.
over the whole of the northern part of Arabia 20. sons of Seir the Horite] The inPctrea, from Havilah to Shur on the border
Pctrua+t from Havilah Xt Shur on theborder habitants of the country previously to the
of Egypt (I S. xv. 3, 7, xxvii. 8); whilst one Edomitish invasion. The Horites (i.e. Trog.
branch penetrated into the heart of Canaan Edomitish invasion. The Horites (he. Trog.
branch penetrated into the heart of Canaan lodytes or dwellers in caves), mentioned ch,
(Judg. xii. Is). xiv. 6 as an independent people, were partly
13. Nahath] " A descent." Cp. with exterminated and partly subdued by Esau and
the valley of Akaba of like significance his descendants (Deut. ii. 12, 22).
(Knob.). - Lotan] is compared with Leyathan, the
Shammah] Cp. the Sameni, a tribe of No- name of a fierce tribe in the neighbourhood of
mad Arabs mentioned by Steph. Byzant. Petra (Knobel).
(Knob.) 22. Hemam] Cp. Homaima, a place to
14. Aholibamah] See note A on vv. 2, the south of Petra (Knobel).
3 below. 23. Alvan] Cp. the lazwarin, a tribe of
Korah] Perhaps perpetuated in the mo- Arabs of evil notoriety to the north of Akaba
dern tribe of Kurayeh (Knobel). (Knobel)
V. 25-33.] GENESIS. XXXVI.'9r
Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this 29 These are the dukes that came
was that Anah that found the mules of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke
in the wilderness, as he fed the asses Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah,
of Zibeon his father. 30 Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke
25 And the children of Anah were Dishan: these are the dukes that came
these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the of Hori, among their dukes in the
daughter of Anah. land of Seir.
26 And these are the children of 31 1 And these are the kings that
Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and reigned in the land of Edom, before
Ithran, and Cheran. there reigned any king over the chil27 The children of Ezer are dren of Israel.
these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and A- 32 And Bela the son of Beor
kan. reigned in Edom: and the name of
28 The children of Dishan are his city was Dinhabah.
these; Uz, and Aran. 33 And Bela died, and Jobab the
Manahath] Ptolemy, v. I 7, 3, mentions an emphatic promise from God Almighty
Manychiates west of Petra (Knobel). (E1-Shaddai) to Jacob that "kings should
Shepho] Cp. the hill Shafeh north of Akaba come out of his loins." The Israelites, no
(Robinson,'B. R.' I. 256; Knobel). doubt, cherished a constant hope of such a
kingdom and such a kingly race. Moses him24. Anah that found the mules] Anah that self (Deut. xxviii. 36) prophesied concerning
found the hot springs. (See note on vv. 2,3 the king that the Israelites should set over
below.) The Greek Versions do not translate them; and hence it was not unnatural that,
the wordyemim (the LXX. has ray'IatszIv).' when recording the eight kings, who had
The Samaritan text has " the Emim," a gigan- reigned in the family of Esau up to his own
tic people, with which agrees the Targum of time, he should have noted that as yet no
Onkelos, "the giants." This is followed by king had risen from the family of his brother
Bochart, Patrick, and others. The Targum Jacob, to whom a kingly progeny had been
of Pseudo-Jonathan renders "mules," being promised. The words in the original are
followed herein by Saad., Kimchi, and many "before the reigning of a king to the sons of
Rabbins, by Luther, and the Authorised Ver- Israel;" and might be rendered, "whilst as
sion. The Vulgate renders "warm waters," yet the children of Israel have no king;" there
aquas calidas, and the Syriac has "waters," being nothing in the words expressive of a
a rendering adopted by Gesen. (see'Thes.' past tense, or indicating that before the writp. $86), Rosenm., Schumann, and most mo- ing of the sentence a king had reigned in
dern interpreters. There were many warm Israel.
springs in this region, the most famous being The other difficulty in the passage is chroCallirrhoe, in the Wady Zerka Maein, which nological, it being thought that so many dukes
some suppose to have been the very springs and kings could not have succeeded one andiscovered by Anah. other in the period which elapsed from Esau
31. nd these are the kings that reined to Moses. But there is no reason to suppose
in the land of Edom, before there reigned any that the dukes, mentioned from r. -5 to Iv
king over the children of Israel] These words reigned in succession, then the kings from v.
have led many to suppose that this and the 31 to 39, and then again the dukes mentioned
following verses were a late interpolation, as, from v. 4 to 43. On the contrary a comparihave been written son of Num. xx. 4 with Exod. xv. OI shewsr
it is thought, they must have been written a s
after kings had reigned in Israel. Spinoza that a single ing was reigning in Edom conargued from them that it was clearer than temporaneously with several dukes or phylmidday that the whole Pentateuch was written archs. The dukes (as their title indicates)
centuries after the time of Moses; a most il- were not sovereigns of the whole of Idum-a,
logical conclusion, for the utmost that could but princes or rulers of tribes or provinces:
be inferred would be that (as Kennicott sup- moreover the kings do not appear to have
posed) these verses were taken from I Chron. succeeded by inheritance, the son never suc
i. 43-54, and having been inserted in the ceeding to his father. Hence they were promargin of a very ancient MS. of Genesis, had bably elected by the dukes.
crept into the text. 33. Jobab] The LXX. and some of the
There is however nothing inconsistent with fathers consider this to have been the same
the Mosaic origin of the whole passage. In person as Job; and the mention of Eliphaz in
the last chapter (ch. xxxv. I i) there had been v. ii in connection with Teman, and of Eli
192 GENESIS. XXXVI. [v 34-43.
son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in
his stead. his stead: and the name of his city
34 And Jobab died, and Husham was Pau; and his wife's name was
of the land of Temani reigned in his Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred,
stead. the daughter of Mezahab.
35 And Husham dNed, and Hadad 40 And these are the names of the
the son of Bedad, who smote Midian dukes that came of Esau, according
in the field of Moab, reigned in his to their families, after their places, by
stead: and the name of his city was their names; duke Timnah, duke
Avith. Alvah, duke Jetheth,_
36 And Hadad died, and Samlah 41 Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah,
of MIasrekah reigned in his stead. duke Pinon,
37 And Samlah died, and Saul of 42 DukeKenaz, duke Teman, duke
Rehoboth by the river reigned in his Mibzar,
stead. 43 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram:
38 And Saul died, and Baal-hanan these be the dukes of Edom, accordthe son of Achbor reigned in his ing to their habitations in the land of
stead. their possession: he is Esau the fa39 And Baal-hanan the son of ther of theEdoites.
phaz the Temanite in the book of Job favours this verse " after their places, by their names"
this belief. with those in v. 43, "' according to their hahiBozrah] A famous city of'Idumaea (see tations in the land of their possession," it Is
Isa. xxxiv. 6, lxiii. I, &c.), remains of which inferred with great probability, that this seare still traced in El Buseireh, a ruined village cond catalogue of dukes is, not a catalogue of
in Jebal. (Burckhardt,'Syr.' 407; Robinson, dukes who reigned subsequently to the kings
1i. i67.) of the preceding verses, nor a different version
37. Rehoboth by the river] or Rehoboth of the catalogue given in vv. IS to I9, but raHannahar, so distinguished from Rehoboth Ir, ther a territorial catalogue, recounting, not
ch. x. i. The river here is probably the the names, but the cities in which the various
Euphrates. dukes or phylarchs before named had their
39. Hadarl Called Hadad in I Chr. i. seat of government. If so, we must render
so, and here also in the Samaritan text. He " the duke of Timnah, the duke of Alvah, the
probably was living when Moses wrote, as no duke of Jetheth, &c." Two of the names in
mention is made of his death, an argument for this list correspond with two in the former
the Mosaic origin of this chapter; for Hadad list, viz. Timnah and Kenaz, because, as it is
could hardly have been living after the time of supposed, the dukes Timnah and Kenaz called
the kings of Israel, to which period those who their cities after their own names. Aholibafrom v. 3I consider it to be an interpolation mah may have been a city called afer the
would assign this genealogy, or perhaps the Horite princess (v. 25). (So Schumann, Kno.
whole chapter. bel, Del., Keil, Kalisch, &c.).
40. And these are the names of the 43. the father of the Edomites] See on
dukes, &c.] From comparing the words in v. 9.
NOTE A on CHAP. XXXVI. VV. 2, 3.
Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Ch. xxxvi. 2.
Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daugh- 1. Aholibamah, daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; and Bashemath, Ish- ter of Zibeon the Hivite.
mael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth] The dif- 2. Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite.
ficulty of reconciling this with the names of 3. Bashemath, daughter of Ishmael, sister
the three wives of Esau, as g.ven in ch. xxvi. to Nebaioth.
34, xxviii. 3, will be seen by comparing the From this table it appears that every one of
two accounts as follows: the three wives is designated by a different
Ch. xxvi. 34, xxviii. 9. name in the earlier history from that in the
1. Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. later genealogy. Yet there can be little doubt
2. Bashemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. that 2 Bashemath the daughter of Elon = Adah
8. Mahalath, daughter of Islhmael, sister the daughter of Elon, nor that 3 Mahalath=
to Nebaioth. Bashemath, both being described as daughter
v. 1, 2.] GENES IS. X X I I. 193
of Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth. We may to admit of solution by saying that Hittite
therefore conclude also that 1 Judith - Aholi- (like Amorite) was a generic name for a large
bamah. This excludes the explanation sug- portion of the Canaalitish people, compregested by several commentators, that the wives hending both Hivites and Horites. It is not
of Esau, named in ch. xxvi. 34 had died with- improbable that Hivite in v. a may be an
out offspring, and that Esau had married error of transcription for Horite (inM for'It),
others. It seems far more probable that the in which case we have only to conclude that
one set of names were those which they bore in the Horites of Mount Seir were reckoned by
their father's house, the other set having been Isaac and Rebecca as among the Hittite ingiven to them by Esau, or by the Edomites, habitants of Canaan. If, however, the readafter they had become mothers of tribes. ing Hivite be correct, it is not impossible that
1. The identity of Judith and Aholibamah the Hivites, a southern people, may originally
may appear thus. Judith is called the daugh- have come from Mount Seir, and have beenl
ter of Beeri the Hittite, whilst Aholibamah is dwellers in its rocky fastnesses, which is the
called "the daughter of Anah, the daughter meaning of the word Horite (troglodyte,
of Zibeon the Hivite." Anah was probably dweller in caves). If this be correct, then
not the mother, but the father of Aholibamah, we must conclude that Judith the daughter
the second "daughter" being referrible back of Anah, called Beeri, from his finding the
to Aholibamah, and not attributable to Anah hot springs, and the granddaughter of Zibeon
(unless the reading of the Samaritan, LXX., the Horite, one of the tribes reckoned in the
and Syriac, "' the son of Zibeon," be the right great Hittite family, when she married Esau,
reading); for in v. 24 we find that Anah was assumed the name of Aholibamah (" the tent
the son of Zibeon, and the grandson of Seir' of the height").
the Horite. The reason why the same person 2. Bashemath is described exactly as Adah
has been called Anah and Bteeri has been de- is, i.e. as the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
rived by Hengstenberg and others from the There is no difficulty here except in the
fact that Anah is said, in v. 24, to have dis- change of name into Adah, " ornament," a
covered the hot springs, from which very pro- change not improbable for Esau to have made.
bably he acquired the name of B3eeri, i. e. font- 3. In the same manner Mahalath is the
anus, "the well-finder." A greater difficulty daughter of Ishmael the sister of Nebaioth,
is apparent in his being called a' Hittite" and Bashemath is the daughter of Ishmael the
(xxvi. 34), a "1 Hivite" (xxxvi. 2), and a sister of Nebaioth. There -would be no diffi"Horite" (xxxvi. 2o). It is observed that culty in this, except that Bashemath, the sethese three words'i irittite," " Hivite," and cond name of the daughter of Ishmael, is the
"1 Horite," differ in Hebrew by one letter same with the first name of the daughter of
only, and that they were easily interchanged Elon the Hittite. If this seems to some irrein transcription. It is, however, clear (from concileable with probability, it may be ascribed
xxvn. 46) that Rebekah calls Judith a daugh- to an error of transcription, likely enough to
ter of Heth. And from xxxvi. o20, 24, 25, occur in the writing out of genealogies, and
that Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah, was the Samaritan text reads Mahalath in the gea Horite. The difficulty seems therefore rather nealogy as well as in the history.
CHAPTER XXXVII. AND Jacob dwelt in the land
2 /osej is iz ted of his brlezthrenz. 5 2is tco t wherein his father was a stranger, f eb.
tteanlzs. 13 Yacob send'eth hizm to visit his in the land of Canaan. thers
brethren. iS His brethrenz cons'ire ihis deat. 2 These are the generations of Ja-jO,""~
zIY ReuIben saveth hAnr. 2 6 They sell hin to cob. Joseph, being seventeen years
the ftisneelites. 3i His ft)her,; deceived by
the bloody caot, noatrneth for bim. 36 He is old, was feeding the flock with his
sold to Potll5ar in h>jly. brethren; and the lad was with the
CHAP. XXXVII. 1. And Jacob d.-welt in 2. These are the fgenerations of Jacob.]
th/e land, &c.] Ch. xxxv. concluded the his- The'Toleeoth, or genealogical history of Isaac
tory of Isaac. Ch. xxxvi. disposed of the began (ch. xxv. I9) after the death of his
history of Esau and his descendants down to father Abraham, a few verses having beein
the very time of the Exodus. (See on ch. allotted (vv. i -i8) to dispose of the hisxxxvi. 39.) This first verse of ch. xxxvii. tory of his brother Ishmael. In the same
now lands us in the time and place, from manner, the Toledoth of Jacob are given in this
whence the succeeding history is to begin. chapter after the death of his father Isaac,
Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's ch. xxxvi. having intervened to account for
eojournings, in the land of Canaan. Esau and his family. Many of the preceding
Esau had left Canaan to Jacob, who after chapters had been occupied with the history
their father's death became the sojourner in the of Jacob and his sons, but Jacob's Toledoth
land, which his posterity were to possess. begin at this point, because now he has become
VOL. I. N
194 GENESIS. XXXVII' [v. 3 —O
sons ofBilhah, and with the sons ofZil- sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf
pah, his father's wives: and Joseph arose, and also stood upright; and, bebrought unto his father their evil report. hold, your sheaves stood round about,
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more and made obeisance to my sheaf.
than all his children, because he was 8 And his brethren said to him,
the son of his old age: and he made Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or
O r, him a coat of many H colours. shalt thou indeed have dominion over
pieces. 4 And when his brethren saw that us? And they hated him yet the
their father loved him more than all more for his dreams, and for his
his brethren, they hated him, and words.
could not speak peaceably unto him. 9 q And he dreamed yet another
5 qt And Joseph dreamed a dream, dream, and told it his brethren, and
and he told it his brethren: and they said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream
hated him yet the more. more; and, behold, the sun and the
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I moon and the eleven stars made obeipray you, this dream which I have sance to me.
dreamed: Io And he told it to his father,
7 For, behold, we were binding and to his brethren: and his father
the sole head and father of the chosen seed. ing to the hands and ankles as worn by Jewish
The Toledoth, or family history, of Jacob con- maidens. But the engraving at Beni Hassan
tinues now till his death ch. 1. just mentioned makes the former interpreta2. Joseph, being seventeen years old.] This tion (I) the more probable.
history goes back a few years; for Isaac must It has been thought by some that Jacob,
have been living when Joseph was seven- in his anger at thR sins of his elder sons,
teen. (See note at the end of ch. xxxi.) especially of Reuben his firstborn, and in his
Btlt the historian had fully wound up the partiality for Joseph, the firstborn of Rachel.
history of Isaac, before commencing the Tole- designed to give him the right of primogeniture,
doth of Jacob; and he now gives unity to the that this robe was the token of birthright, and
history of the descent into Egypt by beginning perhaps even designating the priestly office of
with the adolescence of Joseph, his father's theheadof thefamily (Seeeidegger, Tom..
fondness for him, and his brothers' jealousy p. 58I. Braunius'de Vestitu sacerdotali,' pp.
of him. 473 sqq., Kurtz, Vol.. p. 378, Clark'stransla3. the sJon of his old ague] It is not im- tion, Blunt,'Undesigned Coincidences,' p. is.)
possible that the greater part of this narrative 7.'we were binding sheaves in the field]
may have been chrbnologicaily before the birth It appears from this, that Jacob was not a
of Benjamin and the death of Rachel, related mere nomad, but, like his father Isaac (ch.
in ch. xxxv. i8. xxvi. Ix), had adopted agricultural as well as
coat of many colours] (I). The LXX. pastoral employments.
Vulg. and most modern versions render a 10. his father rebuked him] Joseph
garment made of different pieces, of patch- may have told the dream in the simplicity
work, and so of many colours. In the well- of his heart, or perhaps he may have been
known scene from the tomb of Chnoumhotep elated by his father's partiality and by "the
at Beni Hassan, a tomb of the XIIth dynasty, abundance of the revelations" (Z Cor. xii. 7).
the Semitic visitors who are offering presents thy mother] It is possible that Rachel
to the Governor are dressed in robes of rich may have been living now, for neither the date
colouring, apparently formed of separate small of the dream nor of Rachel's death are clearly
pieces or patches sewn together. There is an given. The dream may have been some time
excellent engraving and explanation in Brugsch, before the selling of Joseph, and is only re-'Histoire d'Egypte,' p. 63. lated here as one of the reasons which caused
(2). The versions of Aquila, Symm., Syr. his brethren to hate him. If, however, Rarender a tunic with sleeves or fringes extending chel was dead, we must then understand Jacob
to both hands and feet, tunica manicata et to mean by "thy mother" either Leah, who
talaris (see Hieron.' Q.' ad h. i.), which is would be his step-mother, or perhaps more
the interpretation adopted by most modern likely Bilhah, who was Rachel's handmaid,
Hebraists (see Ges.'Thes.' p. 1117). WVe find and at once nurse and step-mother to JoThamar, the daughter of David, wearing this seph; and it is not impossible that in either
same dress (z S. xiii. i8): and Josephus Leah or Bilhah the dream may have been ful-'Artnt.' vii. 8. I) speaks of long garments reach- filled; for we do not know whether they were
V. I —24.] GENESIS. XXXVII. I95
rebuked him, and said unto him, went after his brethren, and found
What is this dream that thou hast them in Dothan.
dreamed? Shall I and thy mother I8 And when they saw him afar
and thy brethren indeed come to bow off, even before he came near unto
down ourselves to thee to the earth? them, they conspired against him to
I And his brethren envied him; slay him.
but his father observed the saying. 19 And they said one to another,
I2 q And his brethren went to feed Behold, this t dreamer cometh. tHeb.
their father's flock in Shechem. 20 Come now therefore, and let d,,seo,/
13 And Israel said unto Joseph, us slay him, and cast him into some
Do not thy brethren feed the flock pit, and we will say, Some evil beast
in Shechem? come, and I will send hath devoured him: and we shall see
thee unto them. And he said to what will become of his dreams.
him, Here am I. 21 And a Reuben heard it, and he a chap. 4a
I4 And he said to him, Go, I pray delivered him out of their hands; and 22.
Heb. thee, t see whether it be well with thy said, Let us not kill him.
pee tof brethren, and well with the flocks; 22 And Reuben said unto them,
/zy) bpre- and bring me word again. So he Shed no blood, but cast him into this
sent him out of the vale of Hebron, pit that is in the wilderness, an; lay
and he came to Shechem. no hand upon him; that he might rid
15 qT And a certain man found him out of their hands, to deliver him
him, and, behold, he was wandering to his father again.
in the field: and the man asked him, 23 ST And it came to pass, when
saying, What seekest thou? Joseph was come unto his brethren,
i6 And he said, I seek my bre- that they stript Joseph out of his
thren: tell me, I pray thee, where coat, his coat of many' 1 colours that l Or,
they feed their flocks. was on him;
17 And the man said, They are 24 And they took him, and cast
departed hence; for I heard them say, him into a pit: and the pit was empty,
Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph there was no water in it.
alive or not when Jacob went down into of the water in these wells. Dothan is said
Egypt. (Euseb.'Onomasticon') to have been twelve
14. out'of the zlvae of Hebron, and he Roman miles north of Sebaste (i.e. Shechem
came to Shechem] It appears from this that or Samaria) towards the plain of Jezreel. It
Jacob was now dwelling in the neighbourhood still retains its ancient name (Robinson,' B. R.'
of Hebron where his father Isaac was still III. I22).
living (see on v. 3). After the slaughter of 20. some pit] A cistern, or well, dug by
the Shechemites (see ch. xxxiv.) Jacob jour- the shepherds of the country, to catch and
neyed southward; but from the fact that his preserve the rain-water. Some of these cissons were sent to feed sheep in Shechem, it is terns were very deep, and a lad thrown into
not impossible that he may have left some of one of them would have been unable to escape.
his cattle still in their old pastures, and his 24. the pit ewas empty, there uwaas no
anxiety here about his sons, who were thus weater in it] Apparently referred to byZech.
feeding in Shechem, may have arisen in part ix. II, in a prophecy of the Messiah. Joseph
from the enmity excited against them in that has been recognised by most Christian interneighbourhood by their violence. In ch. xxxv. preters as a type of Christ; in his father's love
we trace Jacob's southward journeyings from for him, in his being sent to his brethren, reShechem first to Bethel, v. 6; then to Bethle- jected by them, sold to the Gentiles, delivered
hem, vv. I6, 19; then to the tower of Edar, to death, in the sanctity of his life, in his huv. 2I; and finally to Hebron, v. 27, where miliation, in his exaltation to be a Prince anti
Isaac died, v. 29. But from this verse, ch. a Saviour, in that his father and mother and
xxxvii. I4, we infer that Jacob must have brethren all came and bowed down to him.
ar rived at Hebron several years before his We may notice here, that the counsels of his
father's death. brethren to prevent the fulfilment of his dreams,
17. Dothan] or Dothnin, the two wells or like the counsels of Herod and the Jews to
cisterns. They may have gone there because prevent the fulfilment of the prophecies conN2
I96 GENESIS. XXXVII. [v. 25 —35.
25 And they sat down to eat 30 And he returned unto his brebread: and they lifted up their eyes thren, and said, The child is not;
and looked, and, behold, a company and I, whither shall I go?
of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with 31 And they took Joseph's coat
their camels bearing spicery and balm and killed a kid of the goats, and
and myrrh, going to carry it down to dipped the coat in the blood;
Egypt. 32 And they sent the coat of many
26 And Judah said unto his bre- colours, and they brought it to their
thren, What profit is it if we slay father; and said, This have we found:
our brother, and conceal his blood? know now whether it be thy son's
27 Come, and let us sell him to coat or no.
the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand 33 And he" knew it, and said, It is
be upon him; for he is our brother my son's coat; an c evil beast hath de- clcap. 44.
t Heb. and our flesh. And his brethren twere voured him; Joseph is without doubt 25.
arkee content. rent in pieces.
28 Then there passed by Midian- 34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and
ites merchantmen; and they drew and put sackcloth upon his loins, and
Psal. i05. lifted up Joseph out of the pit, band mourned for his son many days.'7
Wisd ro. sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for 35 And all his sons and all his
3cts7,. twenty pieces of silver; and they daughters rose up to comfort him;
brought Joseph into Egypt. but he refused to be comforted; and
29 ql And Reuben returned unto he said, For I will go down into the
the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not grave unto my son mourning. Thus
in the pit; and he rent his clothes. his father wept for him.
cerning Jesus, only served to bring about bours, and very probably joined together in
God's counsels, which were wrought out by caravans and commercial enterprizes. Very
the very means taken to defeat them. If probably too the Ishmaelites, being the more
Joseph had not been sold to the Midianites, powerful tribe, may have by this time become
he would never have been exalted to be gover- a general name for several smaller and assonor in Egypt. If Christ had not been perse- ciated tribes.
cuted and at last crucified, He would not spicery] probably "storax," the gum of the
have worked out redemption for us, have risen styrax-tree. So Aqu. followed by Bochart,
from the dead, and ascended up into His'Hieroz.'II.p.532, Gesen.'Thes.'p.883,&c.
glory. The LXX. and Vulg. give only "perfumes."
25. they sat down to eat bread] In balm] Probably the gum of the opobalsam
this heartless meal Reuben can have taken or balsam-tree, which grew abundantly in
no part. It appears from verse 29, that Gilead, and was especially used for healing
he must have left his brethren, perhaps with wounds. This is the interpretation commonly
the very purpose of seeking means to rescue given by the Jews, and adopted by Bochart
Joseph. The simplicity and truthfulness of ('Hieroz.' i. 628); Celsius ('Hierob.' l. i8o);
the narrative are all the more apparent by Ges.'Thes.' x8s5, &c.). Lee (Lex. in loc.)
the indifference of the writer to the ques- contends for "mastich" as the right rendering.
tion how and why it was that Reuben was myrrh] According to almost all modera
absent at this point of the history. A forger interpreters Ladanum, an odoriferous gum
would have been likely to tell all about it, and found on the leaves of the cistus creticus or
make it all plain. Yet strangely enough, this cistus ladanifera. (See Celsius,'Hierob.'.
very artlessness has been made an argument 280-288, Gesen.'Thes.' p.748, Smith,'Dict.
against the historical truth of the narrative, as of Bible,' s.v. Myrrh.)
being clumsily arranged, and inconsistent in
these details.. 27. ere content] hearkened.
25. a compa;ny of Ishmeelites] "A tra- 35. his daughters] See on ch. xxx. zi2.
velling company" or "caravan." Ishmaelites into the grave] To sheol. He thought
atterwards called Midianites in v. 28, and his son devoured by wild beasts, therefore the
Medanim in v. 36. See note on ch. xxv. 2. word Sheol translated " grave" must here mean
Medan and Midian were sons of Abraham the place of the departed. The word appears
by Keturah; Ishmael his son by Hagar. The to signify a hollow subterraneous place(comp.
ishinaelites and Midianites were near neigh- hell, hole, &c.). (See Ges.'Thes.' p. I348.)
V. 36 —6.] GENESIS. XXXVII. XXXVIII. I97
tie>nucbk 36 And the Mbidianites sold him 2 And Judah saw there a daughter
But the into Egypt unto Potiphar, an tofficer of a certain Canaanite, whose name
signify not of Pharaoh's, and clicaptain of the was aShuah; and he took her, and a Chron
only eu- 2. 3.
ny chs, butguard. went in unto her.
arsoiCag CHAPTER XXXVIII. 3 And she conceived, and bare a
coarfi ers, son; and he called his name Er.
and off,- I %dEtah becrreteh Er, Onan, and Shelah. 6 bAnd she conceived again and bNllnl
Cers. Er manrieth Tamear. 8 The trespass of Onan. 26. s c g.
cdH eftfHe II banzar stayeth for Shelah. 13 She de- bare a son; and she called his name
slaungclter- ceivetih tda/h. -27 She beareth twins, Ph/arez Onan.
nen, or, and Zarae.
ex-c' l- ecto * t 5 And she yet again conceived,
Oers, A ND it came to pass at that time, and bare a son; and called his name
crtie mar- k that Judah went down from his Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when
/cfa4. brethren, and turned in to a certain she bare him.
Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er
36. Pot;phar] Generally supposed to be exception of that which was involved in the
the same as Potiphera, i.e. "devoted to Ra," history of Joseph. There is also a remarkthe Sun-God. (See Ges.'Thes.,' p. Io94.) able contrast brought vividly out by this
It is far more probably "devoted to Par or juxtaposition of the impure line. of Judah and
Phar," i.e. to the Royal House or Palace. his children with the chastity and moral in(See'Excursus on Egyptian Words' at the tegrity of Joseph as seen in the succeeding
end of this volume.) chapter.
an offcer of Pharaoh's] Heb. "an eunuch;" at that time] It is by no means certain
but used also of chamberlains and other offi- that this note of time is to be immediately
cers about the court. The immediate prede- connected with the events in the last chapter.
cessor in Manetho of Sesostris, who was of The strict chronological sequence in these
the same dynasty with Joseph's Pharaoh, was Toledoth is not always followed. Episodes,
slain by his eunuchs. like the genealogies of Ishmael and Esau above
captain of the guard] Chief of the execu- referred to, are introduced here and there, in
ti oners, or " commander of hebody guard," order to avoid interrupting the general order
who executed the sentences of the king. (Cp. of another narrative, and so this episode of the
2 K. xxv. 8; Jer. xxxix. 9, lii. I.) Herod. history of Judah is brought in to prevent an
(nI. x68) tells us that "a thousand Calasirians interruption in the history of Joseph. If the
and the same number of Hermotybians form- chronology in note at the end of ch. xxxi. be
ed in alternate years the body-guard of the adopted, Judah would have been at least 26
king" of Egypt. at the time of Jacob's flight from Padanaram, and from that time to the going down
CHAP. XXXVIII. 1. it came to pass at to Egypt there would be an interval of 33
that time] This chapter may appear to be years.
an useless digression inserted at an incon- swent down from his brethren] i.e. went
venient time; but in reality it supplies a very southward (Abenezra, Rosenm. &c.).
important link, and this was probably the Addullamite] Adullam, a place afterwards
best place for its introduction. In the Tole- famous in the history of David, r S. xxii. I
doth, or family history, of Jacob, the two (see also Josh. xii. Is; 2 S. xxiii. I3; i Chr.
chief persons were Joseph and Judah; Joseph xi. I5; z Chr. xi. 7; Micah i. I$), is menfrom his high character, his personal import- tioned by Jerome as existing in his day, then
ance, his influence in the future destinies of a small village to the east of Eleutheropolis.
the race, and his typical foreshadowing of the It must have lain in the southern part of the
Messiah; Judah, from his obtaining the vir.. plain of Judah, but its site has not been distual right of primogeniture, and from his covered by modern travellers.
being the ancestor of David and of the Son of
David. Hence, at a natural pause in the 2. a certain Canaanite, whose name zvas
history of Joseph, viz. when he had been Shuah] Shuah was the name of the father
now sold into Egypt and settled in Potiphar's of Judah's wife, not of the wife herself,
house, the historian recurs to the events in as appears from the Hebrew and from v.
the family of Judah, which he carries down xZ. This marriage of Judah with one of the
to the birth of Pharez, the next link in the daughters of the land was the fruitful source
ancestry of the Saviour. Thus he clears of sinandmisery inhisfamily.
away all that was necessary to be told of 5. at Chezib] Probably the same as Achzib
the history of the twelve patriarchs, with the mentioned with Adullam, Mic. i. I4, IS.
I98 GENESIS. XXXVIII. Lv. 7-17.
his firstborn, whose name was Ta- up unto his sheepshearers to Timmar. nath, he and his friend Hirah the
cNumb. 7 And c Er, Judah's firstborn, was Adullamite.
26. -. wicked in the sight of the LORD; and I 3 And it was told Tamar, saying,
the LORD slew him. Behold thy father in law goeth up to
8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go Timnath to shear his sheep.
in unto thy brother's wife, and marry I4 And she put her widow's garher, and raise up seed to thy brother. ments off from her, and covered her
9 And Onan knew that the seed with a vail, and wrapped herself, and
should not be his; and it came to sat in tan open place, which is by the t Ieb.
pass, when he went in unto his bro- way to Timnath; for she saw that tye, door O,
ther's wife, that he spilled it on the Shelah was grown, and she was not Enajim.
ground, lest that he should give seed given unto him to wife.
to his brother. I 5 When Judah saw her, he thought
Io And the thing which he did her to be an harlot; because she had
tHeb. displeased the LORD: wherefore he covered her face.
n Me eyes slew him also. I6 And he turned unto her by the
f tot. II Then said Judah to Tamar his way, and said, Go to, I pray thee,
daughter in law, Remain a widow at let me come in unto thee; (for he
thy father's house, till Shelah my son knew not that she was his daughter
be grown: for he said, Lest perad- in law.) And she said, Wlhat wilt
venture he die also, as his brethren thou give me, that thou mayest come
did. And Tamar went and dwelt in in unto me?
her father's house. I7 And he said, I will send thee'Heb. I2 f And tin process of time the *a kid from the flock. And she said, tbch.,erfuct.r daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou'/tjZ!
tiflied. and Judah was comforted, and went send it?
6. Tamar] i.e. "a palm-tree." Heb.'), Gesen., Winer and most modern in8. raise up reed to thy brother] As this terpreters. Enaim is probably the same as
was before the law of Moses, it would appear Enam, Josh. xv. 34. Enam is a place in the
probable that this lex leviratus, law of mar- plain which lay on the road from Judah's
riage with a brother's widow, rested on some dwelling-place to Timnath (Knobel). Other
traditional custom, very probably among the possible renderings are "at the opening of the
Chaldees. The law of I Moses did not abo- eyes," i.e. in a public place, such as "the
lish it, but gave rules concerning it (Deut. ossing oftwo roads, (so V yrand
xx~v. 5), as was the case as regards many many Jewish interpreters); and "at the breakother ancient practices. This law of levirate ing forth of two fountains" (so Abenezra,
marriage prevailed among Indian, Persian, Rosenm. and others): but the first i3 pretty
African, and some Italian races (Diod. Sic. certainly he true.
XMI. I8). 15. an harlot; because she had covered her
face] Probably Judah thought her to be
11. Then said Judah to Tlamar] Judah a woman having a vow. In v. 2I, he calls
perhaps superstitiously seems to have thought her by a title translated "harlot," meaning
Tamar in some way the cause of his son's literally "consecrated," i.e. to the impure
death (cp. Tobit iii. 7); or he may have worship of Astarte, as was the custom of
thought Shelah too young to marry. Babylon in the worship of Mylitta (Herod. 1.
12. Timnathl Probably not the border town I99). This abominable worship was very
of Dan and Judah, between Ekron and Beth early introduced into Canaan and Egypt. So
Shemesh (Josh. xv. io), but Timnah in the Kedeshah, "a consecrated woman," appears to
mountains of Judah (Josh. xv. 57). have come into use as a kind of euphemism.
his friend] The LXX., and Vuig. have The veil probably led Judah to think her thus' his shepherd," but Onkelos, Syr., Arab. and under a vow: for there is no reason to supmost modern interpreters, render as the Au- pose that mere profligates so covered their
thorised Version, which is probably right. faces (seeGes.'Thes.'p. II97). The worship
of the Dea Syra at Byblos is recorded at a
14. in an open place] In the gate of very early age. In the time of Rameses II. it
Enaim. So the LXX., Jerome (in'Loc. was already very ancient.
v. I8 —.] GENESIS. XXXVIII. XXXIX. 99
I8 And he said, What pledge shall By the man, whose these are, am I
I give thee? And she said, Thy sig- with child: and she said, Discern, I
net, and thy bracelets, and thy staff pray thee, whose are these, the signet,
that is in thine hand. And he gave and bracelets, and staff.
it her, and came in unto her, and she 26 And Judah acknowledged them,
conceived by him. and said, She hath been more righteous
19 And she arose, and went away, than I; because that I gave her not
and laid by her vail from her, and to Shelah my son. And he knew her
put on the garments of her widow- again no more.
hood. 27 I And it came to pass in the
20 And Judah sent the kid by the time of her travail, that, behold, twins
hand of his friend the Adullamite, to were in her womb.
receive his pledge from the woman's 28 And it came to pass, when she
hand: but he found her not. travailed, that the one put out his hand:
2I rThen he asked the men of that and the midwife took and bound upon
place, saying, Where is the harlot, his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This
Or,.i',n that was " openly by the way side? came out first.
And they said, There was no harlot 29 And it came to pass, as he drew
in this place. back his hand, that, behold, his brother
22 And he returned to Judah, and came out: and she said, "IHow hast i o,,
said, I cannot find her; and also the thou broken forth? this breach be up-/, e..t
men of the place said, that there was on thee: therefore his name was called t/-......
no harlot in this place. IdPharez. g,-ainst
23 And Judah said, Let her take 30 And afterward came out his T'hatis,
Heb. it to her, lest we'be shamed: be- brother, that had the scarlet thread a hrea.....'emt.. hold, I sent this kid, and thou hast upon his hand: and his name was 2M4t
p Mrislllpf. ~R/Iatt. 4.
not found her. called Zarah.
24 qT And it came to pass about
three months after, that it was told CHAPTER XXXIX.
udah, saying, Tamar thy daughter I 7oseJh advanced in P]otiha's house. 7 fie
uda saying, amar ty augter esisteth his zmistress's temptation. 13 tAe is
in law hath played the harlot; and falsely accused. o He is cast in prison. 2
also, behold, she is with child by God is uith ALzi there.
whoredom. And Judah said, Bring PND Joseph was brought down to
her forth, and let her be burnt. A Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer
25 Wheil she was brought forth, of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an
she sent to her father in law, saying, Egyptian, bought him of the hands
18. Thy signet] A seal or signet-ring. nearest of kin was to take the widow to wife,
The ancients wore it sometimes, not as a ring hence when Shelah does not take her, she
on the finger, but hanging round the neck by considers Judah the right person with whom
a cord or chain (Ges.'Thes.' p. 534). to form such an alliance.
thy bracelets] Thy cord: the cord or string 29. How hast thou brokenforth? this breach
by which the seal was suspended (so Ges., be upon thee] Or, "why hast thou made
Rosenm., Schum., Lee). - rent for thyself?" or a"hast rent a rent for
staff] It was probably of considerable thyself?"
value, as among the Babylonians, and on
value, as among the Babylonians, and o Pharez] t.e. "breach" or "breaking forth."
Egyptian monuments.
21. openly] At Enaim. See on v. 14. 30. Zarah] i.e. "rising."
26. She has been more righteoes than 1] CAP. XXXIX.. And Josh as
Judah acknowledges that he had done wrong C dAP. XXXIX. 1. And Joseph as
to Tamar in not giving her his son, Shelah, broght dow to Egypt, &c.] A recapitula
according to the lex leviratus, that the bro- ton of the narrative in ch. xxxvii. 36, which
ther should raise up seed to his brother. had been interrupted by the history of Judah'
It appears further from Ruth ch. iii. iv. that, family in ch. xxxviii.
according to the patriarchal custom, the Ishneelites] See on ch. xxxvii. 2.5.
200 GENESIS. XXXIX. [v. 2 — 3.
of the Ishmeelites, which had brought 7 qI And it came to pass after these
him down thither. things, that his master's wife cast her
2 And the LORD was with Joseph, eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie
and he was a prosperous man; and he with me.
was in the house of his master the 8 But he refused, and said unto
Egyptian. his master's wife, Behold, my master
3 And his master saw that the wotteth not what is with me in the
LORD -was with him, and that the house, and he hath committed all that
LORD made all that he did to prosper he hath to my hand;
in his hand. 9 There is none greater in this house
4 And Joseph found grace in his than I; neither hath he kept back anlly
sight, and he served him: and he thing from me but thee, because thou
made him overseer over his house, art his wife: how their can I do this
and all that he had he put into his great wickedness, and sin against God?
hand. I o And it came to pass, as she
5 And it came to pass from the spake to Joseph day by day, that he
time that he had made him overseer hearkened not unto her, to lie by her,
in his house, and over all that he had, or to be with her.
that the LORD blesszd the Egyptian's i i And it came to pass about this
house for Joseph's sake; and the bless- time, that 7oseph went into the house
ing of the LORD was upon all that he to do his business; and there was none
had in the house, and in the field. of the men of the house there within.
6 And he left all that he had in 12 And she caught him by his garJoseph's hand; and he knew not ment, saying, Lie with me: and he
ought he had, save the bread which left his garment in her hand, and fled,
hle did eat. And Joseph was a goodly and got him out.
person, and well favoured. I3 And it came to pass, when she
2. the LORD zvas'with Josephl The tions of the household, the garden, the field,
variety in the use of the Divine names; in the &c.
history of Joseph is very observable. The
name J EHOVAH occurs only where the 6. Joseph cwas a goodly person, and rZuel1
narrator is speaking in his own person; until favouredl Lit. "was fair of form and fair of
we come to ch. xlix. where Jacob uses it in aspect," or "appearance."
the midst of his blessing on Dan, ch. xlix. I8. 7. his master's zuifel The licentiousIn all other speeches in the history we haveess of the Egyptiar woen has T lways been
Elohim, sometimes Ha-Elohim with the arti- colained of th e Egyptian women has always been
cle, and sometimes El, or Ha-E1. The rea- mplained of (see Herod.. I; Diod. i.
cS9) The same appears from the monuments,
son of this is generally apparent. The whole 59)w The same appears from the moluments
history, though given by an inspired writer which prove also that women did not live so
history, theough give~n by an inspired fam-iter,retired a life in Egypt as in other ancient and
to whom the name cJEHIOVAII was fiamiliar, especially Eastern countries (XVilkinson, Vol.
concerns the history of Joseph and his kindred es. p. 389, Hengstenb.c Egypt.} p. 26). TheVe
in contact with a heathen people. It is there- is a very remarkable resemblance between this
is a very remarkable resemblance between this
fore on all a ccounts natural that he general passage in the history of Joseph and a very
name Elohim, and not the specially revealed ancient Egyptian Romance in the Papyrus
name JEHOVAHI, should be used in dialogue. Even the narrative, as in ch. xlvi., is "The Two Brothers," in which the wife of
most naturally carried on in a so-called Elo- the elder brother acts in the same manner
histic form, the name Elohim being of com- and uses almost the same words towards
mon use to both Hebrews and Egyptians. the younger brother as Potiphar's wife uses
The adoption of the name El (or I-Ha-El) in towards Joseph (see Ebels,'Ig)-pten,
xlvi. 3, is probably with marked reference to
the blessing on Abraham pronounced in the P. 3II).
name of El-Shaddai in ch. xvii. I. 9. sin against God] The direct sin
4. overseer] The Egyptian sculptures would have been against his master; but
represent the property of rich men as super- Joseph clearly recognized that the true guilt
intended by scribes or stewards, who are of all sin consists in its breach of the law, and
exhibited as carefully registering all the opera- disobedience to the will of God.
V. 14-3.] GENESIS. XXXIX. XL. 20r
saw that he had left his garment in seph, and tshewed him mercy, and tHeb.
her hand, and was fled forth, gave him favour in the sight of the kiEdo.....
I4 That she called unto the men keeper of the prison. unfto zim
of her house, and spake unto them, 22 And the keeper of the prison
saying, See, he hath brought in an committed to Joseph's hand all the
Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came prisoners that were in the prison; and
in unto me to lie with me, and I cried whatsoever they did there, he was the
Heb. with a tloud voice: doer of it.
treat. 15 And it came to pass, when he 23 The keeper of the prison looked
heard that I lifted up my voice and not to anything that was under his
cried, that he left. his garment with hand; because the LORD was with
me, and fled, and got him out. him, and that which he did, the LORD
I6 And she laid up his garment made it to prosper.
by her, until his lord came home.
I7 And she spake unto him accord- CHAPTER XL.
ing to these words, saying, The He- I Thze bdtier and baker of Pharaoh ii 2rison.
brew servant, which thou hast brought 4 posetP ziath cha~rge of t/hem. 5 fle interreltetl/z their dreams. 2o They come to/ass
unto us, came in unto me to mock me: according to his iitei/prettizo;z. 23 7'he inI8 And it came to pass, as I lifted gratitude of the butler.
up my voice and cried, that he left his /~ND it came to pass after these
garment with me, and fled out. ~ things, that the butler of the
19 And it came to pass, when his king of Egypt and his baker had ofmaster heard the words of his wife, fended their lord the king of Egypt.
which she spake unto him, saying, 2 And Pharaoh was wroth against
After this manner did thy servant to two of his officers, against the chief
me; that his wrath was kindled. of the butlers, and against the chief
20 And Joseph's master took him, of the bakers.
and put him into the prison, a place 3 Aind hie put them in ward in the
where the king's prisoners were bound: house of the captain of the guard,
and he was there in the prison. into the prison, the place where Jo21 q But the LORD was with Jo- seph was bound.
20. prison] The word here used oc- of his confinement was mitigated, and at
curs only here and in ch. x1. It probably length the* chief of the executioners himself
means a turret or rounded (perhaps arched) (either Potiphar, or, as some think, his sucbuilding or apartment, arched or rounded for cessor) intrusts him with the care of imstrength, used as a prison or dungeon. It portant state prisoners. The fact that Joseph
appears from ch. xl. 3, to have been a part of was not put to death, and by degrees treated
the house of the captain of the guard or chief kindly in prison, has given rise to the conjecof the executioners, in which the state pri- ture, that Potiphar did not wholly believe his
soners were kept, and to have had a special wife's story, though he to a certain extent acted
jailer or keeper of the prison, an officer of the on it (Cleric in loc., Keil, &c.).
chief of the executioners, placed over it. In
ch. xl. i5, Joseph speaks of it as "a dungeon" CI-IAP. XL. 2. the chief of the butlers]
or pit, which would quite correspond with The chief of the cupbearers. The office
the character of an arched or vaulted room. of cupbeare' to the sovereign was one of imIn Ps. cv. 17, I8, the imprisonment of Joseph portance and high honour in the East. See
is represented as having been very severe, Herod. II. 34.
"whose feet they afflicted with the fetters, chief of the bakers] or "confectioners."
the iron entered into his soul." It is most The Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan adds that
probable that at first Joseph's treatment may "they had taken counsel to throw the poison
have been of this character, the crime with of death into his food and into his drink, to
which he was charged having been such that kill their master, the king of Mlizraim." This
a slave would most likelS have been instantly is probably only a conjecture from the fact
put to death:for it. By degrees, however, he that the two offending persons were im.
gained, under God's Providence, the confi- mediately concerned with the food and the
dence of the jailer (v. *2), when tihe rigour drink of the king.
202 GENESIS. XL. [v. 4-'6.
4 And the captain of the guard branches: and it was as though it
charged Joseph with them, and he budded, and her blossoms shct forth;
served them: and they continued a and the clusters thereof brought forth
season in ward. ripe grapes:
5 qT And they dreamed a dream I And Pharaoh's cup was in my
both of them, each man his dream in hand: and I took the grapes, and
one night, each man according to the pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and
interpretation of his dream, the butler I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
and the baker of the king of Egypt, I2 And Joseph said unto him, This
which were bound in the prison. is the interpretation of it: The three
6 And Joseph came in unto them branches are three days:
in the morning, and looked upon them, 13 Yet within three days shall
and, behold, they were sad. Pharaoh' lift up thine head, and re- IOr,
7 And he asked Pharaoh's officers store thee unto thy place: and thou reck'n.
that were with him in the ward of his shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his! Heb. lord's house, saying, Wherefore tlook hand, after the former manner when
or? ye so sadly to day? thou wast his butler.
8 And they said unto him, We 14 But t think on me when it shall t Heb.
have dreamed a dream, and there is be well with thee, and shew kindness, rez:e,,{
no interpreter of it. And Joseph said 1 pray thee, unto me, and make men- See.
unto them, Do not interpretations be- tion of me unto Pharaoh, and bring
long to God? tell me them, I pray you. me out of this house:
9 And the chief butler told his 15 For indeed I was stolen away
dream to Joseph, and said to him, In out of the land of the Hebrews: and
my dream, behold, a vine was before here also have I done nothing that
me; they should put me into the dungeon.
io And in the vine were three I6 When the chief baker saw that
4. they continued a season] Lit. "days," the fresh juice, which would accord with the
by which the Jews very generally understand statement of Plutarch (' Is. et Osir.' ~ 6) that
a year. the Egyptians before the time of Psammetichus
9. a -vine] Herodotus denies the ex- neither drank wine nor made libations thereof,
istence of vines in ancient Egypt, and says as esteeming it to have sprung from the blood
that the Egyptian wine was made of barley of those who made war with the gods; but
(II. 77). Yet Herodotus himself (II. 42, 48, the monuments represent the process of fer44) and DiodorYus (I. II) identify Osiris menting wine in very early times. See last
with the Greek Bacchus, the discoverer of the note.
vine, and Diodorus (I. i5) expressly ascribes 13. shall Pharaoh lift up thine head] Some
to Osiris the first cultivation of the vine. But, think this expression merely means "will take
moreover, it now appears from the monu- count of thee," " will remember thee." Cp.
*ments that both the cultivation of grapes and Ex. xxx. I1; Num. i. 49; where the marginal
the art of making wine were well known in reading is 6 "reckon." More probably the
Egypt from the time of the Pyramids. Wine meaning is, "xw'ill take thee out of prison"
was universally used by the rich throughout (see Ges. p. 914).
Egypt, and beer supplied its place at the tables 15. the land of the Hebrecvs] Though
of the poor, not because " they had no vines the patriarchs had been strangers and pilgrims,
in the country, but because it was cheaper."ham, Isaac and Jacob had effected
(Sir G. WVilkinson's note in Rawlinson's something like permanent settlements in the
lHerod. I. 77. See also Rosellini, Vol. Ii. neighbourhood of Mamre, Hebron, Shechem,
pp. 365, 373, 377; Wilkinson, Vol. Ir.'43; &c. Probably too the visit of Abraham to
Hengstenberg,'Egypt,' &c. p.i6; Havernick, Egypt and the intercourse of the Egyptians
I Introd. toPentateuch,' is hl.l.; Ebers,'.gyp- with the Hittites and other Canaanitish tribes,
ten,' p. 323.) had made the name of Hebrew known to the
11. I took the grapes, and pressed them] Egyptians. Joseph does not say "the land of
Some have thought that this indicates that the Canaan," lest he should be confounded with
Egyptians did not at this time practise the the Canaanites, who were odious to himself as
fermentation of the grape, but merely drank being idolaters.
v. 17 —6.] GENESIS. XL. XLI. 203
the interpretation was good, he said CHAPTER XLL.
unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, I P/zaraah's two dreams. 25 7osepz interlOrffu and, behold, I had three white bas- jreteh them. 33 legiveh Pharaoh counsel.
bozl,38 3 osephI is advanced. 50 le begetetlk
vF/tOS. gkets on my head: JManasseh and Ephmraim. 54 The famine
17 And in the uppermost basket deninneth.
tHeb. there was of all manner of bakemeats AND it came to pass at the end
Pfhait for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat th of two full years, that Pharaoh
the zBu, them out of the basket upon my head. dreamed: and, behold, he stood by
or, cook. 18 And Joseph answered and said, the river.'This is the interpretation thereof: 2 And, behold, there came up out
The three baskets are three days: of the river seven well favoured kine
19 Yet within three days shall and fatfleshed; and they fed in a
It Or, Pharaoh I lift up thy head from off meadow.
axc/.snd thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; 3 And, behold, seven other kine
tke thy and the birds shall eat thy flesh from came up after them out of the river,
ofice from
eee.. off thee. ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood
20 q- And it came to pass the third by the other kine upon the brink of
day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, the river.
that he made a feast unto all his ser- 4 And the ill favoured and lean-,Or, vants: and he Hlifted up the head of fleshed kine did eat up the seven well
recvonead. the chief butler and of the chief baker favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh
among his servants. awoke.
21 And he restored the chief but- 5 And he slept and dreamed the
ler unto his butlership again; and he second time: and, behold, seven ears
gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: of corn came up upon one stalk,
22 But he hanged the chief baker: t rank and good. tf eb.,tE
as Joseph had interpreted to them. 6 And, behold, seven thin ears and
23 Yet did not the chief butler re- blasted with the east wind sprung up
member Joseph, but forgat him. after them.
16. three white baskets] Probably "baskets The Nile had a sacred and a profane
of white bread;" so LXX., Aq., Vulg., Syr., name. The sacred name was Hapi, i.e. Apis.
Onk. Some prefer "' baskets full of holes," The profane name was Aur-, with the
" perforated," or " wicker baskets." epithet aa great. The Coptic forms ilpO,
on my head] See Herod. II. 35, of the men &pCu, correspond exactly to the Hebrew
bearing burdens on their heads. yeor.
17. bakemeats for Pharaoh] Lit. "food. kine] The Egyptians estmed the
for Pharaoh, te wor of a baer." The 2 kine] The Egyptians esteemed the
or Paraoh, the wor o a bae. The cow above all other animals. It was sacred
Egyptians appear to have been very luxurious to Isis (Herod. Io. 41) or rather to Athore
in the preparation of different kinds of bread to Isis (Herod.' 41), or rather to Athor,
and pastry. (See Rosellini, Vol.. 264; the Venus Genetrix of Egypt, and was looked
ainson, pa. (384; IIengstenberg, p.II- 2{;7.) W on as 1" a symbol of the Earth and its cultivation and food" (Clem. Alex.'Strom.' v. p.
19. shallPharaoh lift up thy head fronz off 67I). Hence it was very natural that in Phathee] The same words as those used in v. J13, raoh's dream the fruitful and unfruitful years
with the addition of " from off thee," malking should be typified by well-favoured and illthe most vital difference. The mode of pu- favoured kine (see Hengstenb.' Egypt,' p. 28).
nishment was probably decapitation, the most inameadow] In thereed grass. The
common form of execution in Egypt (Ges. word (Achu) is of Egyptian origin. It is
p. 915); though some have thought hanging not common, but occurs in a papyrus of early
or crucifixion, as Onkelos in loc. Possibly date (akh-akh, green, verdant). Jerome (on
the words may only indicate capital punish- Isai. xix. 7) says that " when he enquired of
ment, like the capite plecti of the Latins. the learned what the word meant, he was told
by the Egyptians that in their tongue every
CHAP. XLI. 1. the river] The " yeor," thing green that grows in marshes is called by
an Egyptian word signifying " great river," this name." It probably therefore means the
or "canal," used in Scripture for the Nile. sedge, reed, or rank grass by the river's side.
204 GENESIS. XLI. [v.7-18.
7 And the seven thin ears devour- dreams; to each man according to
ed the seven rank and full ears. And his dream he did interpret.
Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a I3 And it came to pass, as he indream. terpreted to us, so it was; me he
8 And it came to pass in the restored unto mine office, and him
morning that his spirit was trou- he hanged.
bled; and he sent and called for I4 T bThen Pharaoh sent and pbl o05
all the magicians of Egypt, and all called Joseph, and they brought him;~i,.
the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh hastily out of the dungeon: and he..... /I i
told them his dream; but there was shaved himself and changed his rainone that could interpret them unto ment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
Pharaoh. I5 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
9 I Th n spake the chief butler I have dreamed a dream, and there
unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remem- is none that can interpret it: and
ber my faults this day: I have heard say of thee, that II thou ii Or,
I o Pharaoh was wroth with his canst understand a dream to inter- whel,.ki..l
servants, and put me in ward in the pret it. dre
captain of the guard's house, both me I6 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, i,,/,,re,,
and the chief baker: saying, It is not in me: God shall a.
i i And we dreamed a dream in give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
one night, I and he; we dreamed 17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
each man according to the interpreta- In my dream, behold, I stood upon
tion of his dream. the bank of the river:
12 And there was there with us a I8 And, behold, there came up
young man, an Hebrew, servant to out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed
the captain of the guard; and we told and well favoured; and they fed in a
chap. 4o. him; and he ainterpreted to us our meadow:
I2, &C.
6. east uvind] Probably put for the compound imitating an Egyptian name (see
S. E. wind (Chamsin), which blows from the Ges.' Thes.' p. 2 I). There has, however,
desert of Arabia. The East wind of Egypt is no Egyptian name been found like it. The
not the scorching wind, and indeed seldom magicians appear to have been a regular order
blows; but the South-east wind is so parching of persons among the Egyptians, learned
as to destroy the grass entirely, if it blows priests, who devoted themselves to magic and
very long (see Hengstenberg, p. io). astrology (see Hengstenberg, p. 28, and Poole
7. bebold, it kwas a dreacm] The impression in Smith's' Dict. of the Bible,' art. Margic).
on Pharaoh's mind was so strong and vivid, 13. me he restored Joseph prophesied
that he could hardly believe it was not real. that I should be restored, and, as he propheThe particulars of the dream are all singu- sied, so it came to pass.
larly appropriate. The scene is by the Nile, 14. shaved himsef] The Hebrews cheon which depends all the plenty of Egypt. rished long beards, but the Egyptians cut both
The kine and the corn respectively denote the hair and beard close, except in mourning for
animal and the vegetable products of the
animal and the'vegetable products of the relations, when they let both grow long (Herod.
country. The cattle feeding in the reed grass relations, when they letboth grow lon rod
shewed that the Nile was fertilizing the land II 36) t On the monuments when it was.,intended to convey the idea of a man of low
and supporting the life of the beasts. The lean
condition or a slovenly person, the artists
cattle and the scorched-up corn foreshadowed represented him with a beard" (tilkinson,
a time when the Nile, for some reason, ceased
to irrigate the land. The swallowing Vol. III. p. 357; Hengstenberg, p. 3o). Joto irrigat land.The swallowing up of seph, therefore, when about to appear bethe fat by the lean signified that the produce fore
of the seven years of plenty would be all con- Pharaoh, was careful to adapt himself to
the manners of the Egyptians.
sumed in the seven years of scarcity.
8. maicians] Apparently "sacred scribes- 15. that thou canst understand a dream
the name, if Hebrew, being composed of to interpret it] Lit. that thou hearest a
two words signifying respectively a style and dream to interpret it.
sacred. Some have thought the word to be 18. in a meadow] In the reed grass.
of Egyptian origin, or perhaps a Hebrew See on v. 2.
v. 19-40.] GENESIS. XLI. 205
19 And, behold, seven other kine of Egypt; and the famine shall concame up after them, poor and very sume the land;
ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as 31 And the plenty shall not be
I never saw in all the land of Egypt known in the land by reason of that
for badness: famine following; for it sha;!l be very
20 And the lean and the ill fa- tgrievous. t Heb
voured kine did eat up the first seven 32 And for that the dream was tavy.
fat kine: doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is
ca it;m/tae~ 2i And when thea had tteaten because the thing is n established by UOr,
i,.7.ari them up, it could not be known that God, and God will shortly bring it Iord.
15arr's of of Gtod
x/,le. they had eaten them; but they were to pass.
still ill favoured, as at the beginning. 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look
So I awoke. out a man discreet and wise, and set
22 And I saw in my dream, and, him over the land of Egypt.
behold, seven ears came up in one 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let
stalk, full and good: him appoint officers over the land, Jl o,,
MOr, aI. 23 And, behold, seven ears, Pwi- and take up the fifth part of the
thered, thin, and blasted with the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous
east wind, sprung up after them: years.
24 And the thin ears devoured the 35 And let them gather all the
seven good ears: and I told this unto food of those good years that come,
the magicians; but there was none and lay up corn under the hand of
that could declare it to me. Pharaoh, and let them keep food in
25 F And Joseph said unto Pha- the cities.
raoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: 36 And that food shall be for store
God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is to the land against the seven years of
about to do. famine, which shall be in the land of
26 The seven good kine are seven Egypt; that the land tperish not tHeb.
years; and the seven good ears are through the famine. ott
seven years: the dream is one. 37 IT And the thing was good in
27 And the seven thin and ill the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes
favoured kine that came up after of all his servants.
them are seven years; and the seven 38 And Pharaoh said unto his serempty ears blasted with the east wind vants, Can we find such a one as
shall be seven years of famine. this is, a man in whom the Spirit of
28 This is the thing which I have God is?
spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is 39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh. Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee
29 Behold, there come seven years all this, there is none so discreet and
of great plenty throughout all the wise as thou art: Psail. o,
land of Egypt: 40 - Thou shalt be over my house,:~Iac. 2.
30 And there shall arise after them and according unto thy word shall all 532kcts 7. io.
seven years of famine; and all the my people be truled: only in the ~Heb.
plenty shall be forgotten in the land throne will I be greater than thou. or,,d
34. take up the ffth part of the land] the Egyptian kings usually imposed a tribute
i. e. Let him exact a fifth of the produce of of one tenth, and that in this season of unthe land. The Hebrew is literally I"let him usual abundance Joseph advises Pharaoh to
fifth the land." (Compare our phrase " to double the impost, with the benevolent intentithe the land.") It has been questioned whe- tion of afterwards selling the corn so collected
ther the advice was to purchase a fifth of all in the time of famine (Cleric. in loc.). On
the produce, or rather to impose a tax amount- the large storehouses and granaries of Egypt,
ing to one fifth of the produce of the land. see Hengstenb., p. 36, Wilkinson, II. 135.
It has been not improbably conjectured that 40. according unto thy word shall all my
206 GENESIS. XLI. [v. 4I-45.
41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, they cried before him,'tBow the Or,
See, I have set thee over all the land knee: and he made him ruler overfate,..
of Egypt. all the land of Egypt. taHbebc
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring 44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
from his hand, and put it upon Jo- I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall
seph's hand, and arrayed him in ves- no man lift up his hand or foot in all
Or, silk. tures of rfine linen, and put a gold the land of Egypt.
chain about his neck; 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's
43 And he made him to ride in name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave
the second chariot which he had; and him to wife Asenath the daughter
people be ruled] So, or nearly so, ("at thy ('Opusc.' I. zo7); Rosellini ('Monuments,' I.
word shall all my people arm themselves, or p. I85), have so interpreted it. They are
dispose themselves,") the Versions, Targg. and followed in the main by Gesenius (p. Ii8I,
most commentators. But Kimchi, Gesenius, "the supporter or preserver of the age") and
Knobel, &c., render "and all my people shall a majority of modern commentators. The true
kiss thy mouth," as a token of reverence and meaning appears to be "'the food of life," or
obedience. The objections to the latter in- "of the living." (See Excursus on Egyptian
terpretation are that the kiss of reverence was Words at the end of this volume.) The
on the hand or the foot, not on the mouth, Targg., Syr., Arab. and Hebrew interpp. renwhich was the kiss of love, and that the con- der I"a revealer of secrets," referring to a
struction here is with a preposition never used Hebrew original, which is on every account
with the verb signifying "to kiss." improbable. There can be no doubt that
42. ring] The signet-ring was the Pharaoh would have given his Grand Vizier
special symbol of office and authority. The an Egyptian name, not a Hebrew name, just
seal to this day in the East is the common as the name of Daniel was changed to Beltemode of attestation, and therefore when Pha- shazzar, and as Hananiah, Azaiah and Mishael,
raoh gave Joseph his ring he delegated to him were called by Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach,
his whole authoritv. Meshach, and Abednego.
fine linen] The byssus or fine linen of the Asenath] either "devoted to Neith," the
Egyptians. The word used for it is Shes, a Egyptian Minerva (Ges.'Thes.' p. I30), or
well-ascertained Egyptian word. It is men- perhaps compounded of the two names Isis
tioned in Ezek. xxvii. as imporLed into Tyre and Neith, such a form of combination of two
friom Egypt. It was the peculiar dress of the names in one being not unknown in Egypt.
Egyptian priests. (See Excursus on Egyptian W~ords at the end
a gold chain] Probably " a simple gold of this volume.)
chain in imitation of string, to which a stone Poti-bpherah i.e. " belonging" or " devoted
scarabeus set in the same precious metal was to Ra," i.e. the Sun, a most appropriate
appended." (WVilkinson, Ii. 376. See also designation for a priest of On or Heliopolis,
Hengstenberg, p. 3I.) the great seat of the Sun-worship. (See Excursus on Egyptian WVords at the end of this
43. Bolzu the knee] Abrech. If the volume.)
volume.)
word be Hebrew, the rendering of the Au- On] Heliopolis (LXX), called, Jer. xliii.
th:orised Version is probaibly correct. The 13, Beth-shemesh, the city of the Sun. CyTargums all give "father of the king" (cp. ch ril ad. Hos.. 8), says, On is with them
xlv. 8), deriving from the Hebrew.4b, a father, the Sun." The city stood on the Eastern
and the Chaldee Rech, a king, which, how- ban of the i a fe miles north of Memever, is thought to be a corruption of the his, and was famous for the worship of Ra,
Latin Rex. It is generally thought to be an th Sun as also fo
Egyptian word signifying "Bow the head," the learning and wisdom.EgvPtia vWolc sigmifying'ebon the headl" of its priests (Herod. Ii. 3). There still rehaving solmle resemblance in form to the mains an obelisk of red granite, part of the
Hebrewv (De Rossi, IEtymol. Egypt.' P. * Temple of the Sun, with a dedication sculpSo Gesren. Tshes.,' p. I9, and most of the tured by Osirtasen or Sesortasen I. It is the
Gsermas). A more probablhe interpretation oldest and one of the finest in Egypt; of the
is that which is given in the Excursus on zth dynasty. (Ges. p. 52, ilkinson, Vol.. 2th dynasty. (Ges. p. n2, WVlkinson, Vol.
Egyptian Words at the end of this volume,. 44; also Rawlinson's Herod. is. 8,
viz. "Rejoice" or "Rejoice thou!" Brugsch,'H. E.' p. 254.)
45. Zaphnaoh-paaneah] In the LXX. The difficulty of supposing that the daughPsonthompnhanek. The Vulg. renders Salvator ter of a priest of On should have been married
lundi, "Saviour of theWorld." Several learn- to Joseph, a worshipper of J E.HovA-I, has been
ed in the language and antiquilties of Egypt, unduly magnified. Neither the Egyptians nor
Bernard (in Joseph,'Ant.' II. 6); Jablonski the Hebrews were at this time as exclusive as
v. 46-2.] GENESIS. XLI. XLII. 207
o0r, of Poti-pherah priest of On. And 53 ~ And the seven years of pien.
2p"s. Joseph went out over all the land of teousness, that was in the land of
Egypt. Egypt, were ended.
46 qI And Joseph was thir'y years 54 e And the seven years of dearth epsal. Io
old when he stood before Pharaoh began to come, according as Joseph 26.
king of Egypt. And Joseph went had said: and the dearth was in all
out from the presence of Pharaoh, lands; but in all the land of Egypt
and went throughout all the land of there was bread.
Egypt. 55 And when all the land of Egypt
47 And in the seven plenteous was famished, the people cried to Phayears the earth brought forth by raoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unhandfuls. to all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph;
48 And he gathered up all the what he saith to you, do.
food of the seven years, which were 56 And the famine was over all
in the land of Egypt, and laid up the face of the earth: And Joseph
the food in the cities: the food of opened tall the storehouses, and sold t Heb.
the field, which was round about unto the Egyptians; and the famine, tZlhereevery city, laid he up in the same. waxed sore in the land of Egypt.
49 And Joseph gathered corn as 57 And all countries came into
the sand of the sea, very much, until Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn;
he left numbering; for it was with- because that the famine was so sore
out number. in all lands.
d chap. 46. 50 dAnd unto Joseph were born
204. 5two sons before the years of famine CHAPTER XLII
& 4a. 5came which Asenath the daught5er 7acob sendeth his ten sons to buy corn in
of pries ~'gytI 6 They are inyirisoned by 7ose/h
cOr, of Poti-pherah n priest of On bare for spies. I8 They are set at liberty, on confrrice. unto him. dition to bring Beljaniin. 2I T/ihey thave
5I And Joseph called the name of'remzorsefor 7joseph. z24 Simzeon is kept for a
And Joseph called the name o f pee. i5 They return wit/ corn, and their
IlThat is, the firstborn I Manasseh: For God, 1mo,)ey. 29 Their rclatioz to Jitcob. 36
{e,~2;ig. said he, hath made me forget all my Y7icob refuseti to send Benejamnin.
toil, and all nay father's house.T OW when a Jacob saw that aAct3
52 And the name of the second 1 there was corn in Egypt, Ja- I2'
U That is, called he IIEphraim: For God hath cob said unto his sons, Why do ye
triit., caused me to be fruitful in the land look one upon another?
of my affliction. 2 And he said, Behold, I have
they became afterwards. The Semitic races 52. Ephraimz] i.e. "doubly fruitful," a
were treated with respect in Egypt. Joseph dual form.
had become thoroughly naturalized (see 54. the dearth] Notwithstanding the
v. 5I and ch. xliii. 32), with an Egyptian name fertility generally produced in Egypt by the
and the rank of Viceroy or Grand Vizier. overflowing or the Nile, yet the swelling of the
Abraham had before this taken Hagar, an Nile a few feet above or below what is necesEgyptian, to wife, which would make such sary, has in many instances produced destrucan alliance less strange to Joseph. Wrhether tive and protracted famines, such that the
Asenath adopted Joseph's faith we are not told, people have been reduced to the horrible nebut, in the end at least, she probably did. (See cessity of eating human flesh, and have been
also Excursus on Egyptian AV ords, on " Ase- almost swept away by death. (See Hengstennath wife of Joseph," at the end of this volume.) berg,'Egypt,' &c., pp. 37,.38; HAvernick,
46. thirty years oldJ He must therefore Int. to Pentateuch, p. 2i8; also Smith's'Dict.
have been thirteen years in Egypt, either in Poti- of Bible,' art. Famine.)
phar's house or in. prison. (See ch. xxxvii. z.) in all lands] The drought which affected
51. Manasseh] i.e. "causing to forget." Egypt reached the neighbouring countries also.
He was comforted by all his prosperity, so Ethiopia, Arabia, Palestine, and Syria, would
that he no longer mourned over his exile. It be especially affected by it; and the Egyptians,
does not follow that he was ungratefilly for- and Hebrews also, would look on these lands
getful of his home. as comprehending the whole known world.
o08 GENESIS. XLII. [v. 3-19.
heard that there is corn in Egypt: my lord, but to buy food are thy
get you down thither, and buy for servants come.
us from thence; that we may live, i I We are all one man's sons; we
and not die. are true men, thy servants are no spies.
3 ~T And Joseph's ten brethren I2 And he said unto them, Nay,
went down to buy corn in Egypt. but to see the nakedness of the land
4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, ye are come.
Jacob sent not with his brethren; for 13 And they said, Thy servants
he said, Lest peradventure mischief are twelve brethren, the sons of one
befall him. man in the land of Canaan; and,
5 And the sons of Israel came to behold, the youngest is this day with
buy corn among those that came: for our father, and one is not.
the famine was in the land of Canaan. 14 And Joseph said unto them,
6 And Joseph was the governor That is it that I spake unto you,
over the land, and he it was that saying, Ye are spies:
sold to all the people of the land: and 15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By
Joseph's brethren came, and bowed the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go
down themselves before him with forth hence, except your youngest
their faces to the earth. brother come hither.
7 And Joseph saw his P':thren, I6 Send one of you, and let him
and he knew them, but made him- fetch your brother, and ye shall be
self strange unto them, and spake tkept in prison, that your words may Io Ie
t Heb t roughly unto them; and he said un- be proved, whether there be any truth
katrds to them, Whence come ye? And in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh
tit/ tkzem. they said, From the land of Canaan surely ye are spies.
to buy food. I 7 And he t put them all together t deb.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, into ward three days.
but they knew not him. I8 And Joseph said unto them the
A chap. 37. 9 And Joseph b remembered the third day, This do, and live; for 1
I. dreams which he dreamed of them, fear God:
and said unto them, Ye are spies; to I9 If ye be true men, let one of
see- the nakedness of the land ye are your brethren be bound in the house
come. of your prison: go ye, carry corn for
IO And they said unto him, Nay, the famine of your houses:
CHAP. XLII. 6. he it'was that sold plexion had been much darkened by living so
to all the people of the land] We are not long in a southern climate.
to suppose that Joseph personally sold the 9. the nakedness of the land] i.e. the decorn to all buyers, but that he ordered the fenceless and assailable points of the country;
selling of it, and set the price upon it; ard like the Latin phrases, nuda urbs presidio, nuvery probably, when a company of foreigners data castra, nudi defensoribus muri (Ros.; Cp.
came to purchase in large quantities, they Horn.'11I. xI.39, rtLXos' Eyviv5Sr). The
were introduced personally to Joseph, that Egyptians were alwavs most liable to be ashe might enquire concerning them and give sailed from the East and North-east. (See
directions as to the sale of corn to them. Herod. Ill. 5.) The various Arab and
7. spake roughly unto them] Lit. "spake Canaanitish tribes seem to have constantly
hard things with them," as the margin. This made incursions into the more settled and
did not arise from a vindictive spirit. It was civilized land of Egypt. Particularly the
partly that he might not be recognized by Hittites were at constant feud with the Egypthem, and partly that he might prove them tians. Moreover the famous Hycsos invasion
and see whether they were penitent for what and domination may have been very nearly
they had done to him. impending at this period.
8. they knew not him] He was only 7 15. By the life of Pharaoh] Cp. similar
when they sold him; he was now at least 37, phrases (I S. i. 26; xvii. 55; z S. xiv. I9;
and had adopted all the habits and man- 2 K. ii. 2, 4, 6). Not distinctly an oath, but
ners of the Egyptians; probably even his com- a strong asseveration.
V. 20-35.] GENESIS. XLII. 209
Cchap. 43. 20 But cbring your youngest bro- 28 And he said unto his brethren,
ther unto me; so shall your words be My money is restored; and, lo, it
verified, and ye shall not die. And is even in my sack: and their heart
they did so. rfailed them, and they were afraid, t eb.
2I qT And they said one to an- saying one to another, What is thiso"rtt
other, We are verily guilty concern- that God hath done unto us?
ing our brother, in that we saw the 29 Nq And they came unto Jacob
anguish of his soul, when he be- their father unto the land of Canaan,
sought us, and we would not hear; and told him all that befell unto
therefore is this distress come upon us. them; saying,
22 And Reuben answered them, 3o The man, who is the lord of
dchap. 37. saying, dSpake I not unto you, say- the land, spake t roughly to us, and tHeh.
2I' ing, Do not sin against the child; took us for spies of the country. /l.. S
and ye would not hear? therefore, 31 And we said unto him, We are ti'g.
behold, also his blood is required. true men; we are no spies:
23 And they knew not that Joseph 32 We be twelve brethren, sons of
tHeb. understood them; for t he spake unto our father; one is not, and the youngan in er-,t-erwas them by an interpreter. est is this day with our father in the
eh/ueen 24. And he turned himself about land of Canaan.
them. and wepti and returned
from them, and wept; and returned 33 And the man, the lord of the
to them again, and communed with country, said unto us, Hereby shall
them, and took from them Simeon, I know that ye are true men; leave
and bound him before their eyes. one of your brethren here with me,
25 4q Then Joseph commanded to and take food for the famine of vour
fill their sacks with corn, and to households, and be gone:
restore every man's money into his 34 And bring your youngest brosack, and to give them provision for ther unto me: then shall I know
the way: and thus did he unto them. that ye are no spies, but that ye
26 And they laded their asses with are true men: so will I deliver you
the corn, and departed thence. your brother, and ye shall traffick in
27 And as one of them opened his the land.
sack to give his ass provender in the 35 qT And it came to pass as they
inn, he espied his money; for, behold, emptied their sacks, that, behold,
it was in his sack's mouth. every man's bundle of money was in
20. bring your youngest brother unto me] been one of the most unfeeling and cruel
There seems some needless severity here on towards himself, according to the savage temthe part of Joseph in causing so much anxiety per which he shewed in the case of the Sheto his father. WVe may account for it per- chemites. See ch. xxxiv, xlix. 5.
haps in the following ways. Ist, Joseph felt 25. their sacks] Rather, their vessels;
that it was necessary to test the repentance of the word is different from that elsewhere used
his brethren and to subject them to that kind for sacks, and apparently indicates that they
of discipline which makes repentance sound had some kind of vessel for corn which they
and lasting. 2ndly, He may have thought carried within their sacks.
that the best mode of persuading his father to 27. in the inn] The khan, or caravango down to him in Egypt was first of all to serai in the Eas The kwasand is, or caravan
bring Benjamin thither. 3rdly, He was mani- ca n nd room to ret,
where men and cattle can find room to rest,
festly following a Divine impulse and guiding, but which provides neither food for man nor
that so his dreams should be fulfilled, and fodder for cattle. It is doubtful, however
his race brought into their house of bondage whether anything of this kind existed so early
whether anything of this kind existed so early
and edtucation. as the time of Joseph. The Hword means only
24. Simeon] It has been thought that "a resting place for the night," and very
he took Simeon, either because he was the probably was only a station, at which caranext in age to Reuben, whom he would not vans were wont to rest, near to a well, to
bind as having been the brother that soug'ht trees, and to pasture, where the tents were
to save him, or perhaps because Sirneon had pitched and the cattle were tethered.
VOL. I. ~
2Io GENESIS. XLII. XLIII. Lv. 3G-6i.
his sack: and when both they and with us, we will go down and buy
their father saw the bundles of money, thee food:
they were afraid. 5 But if thou wilt not send him,
36 And Jacob their father said we will not go down: for the man
unto them, Me have ye bereaved of said unto us, Ye shall not see my
my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon face, except your brother be with you.
is not, and ye will take Benjamin 6 And Israel said,'Wherefore dealt
away: all these things are against me. ye so ill with me, as to tell the man
37 And Reuben spake unto his whether ye had yet a brother?
father, saying, Slay my two sons, if 7 And they said, The man t asked i e.
I bring him not to thee: deliver him us straitly of our state, and of our,aseci us.
into ray hand, and I will bring him kindred, saying, Is your father yet
to thee again. alive? have ye another brother? and
38 And he said, My son shall not we told him according to the tenor t Teb.
go down with you; for his brother of these words: tcould we certainly tfiYl,.
is dead, and he is left alone: if mis- know that he would say, Bring your...tZ
chief befall him by the way in the brother down? know.
which ye go, then shall ye bring 8 And Judah said unto Israel his
down my gray hairs with sorrow to father, Send the lad with me, and
the grave. we will arise and go; that we may
live, and not die, both we, and thou,
CHAPTER XLIII. and also our little ones.
I z7aob is hardly persuzaded to send Benjamin. 9 I will be surety for him; of my
15 7oseJih entertaineth his brethren. 31 He hand shalt thou require him: b if I J chap. 44.
makseth them afeast. bring him not unto thee, and set him 32.
ND the famtine was sore in the before thee, then let me bear the
land. blame for ever:
2 And it came to pass, when they o For except we had lingered,
had eaten up the corn which they surely now we had returned " this " Or,
twice by
had brought out of Egypt, their fa- second time. this.
ther said unto them, Go again, buy I I And their father Israel said unus a little food. to them, If it must be so now, do
3 And Judah spake unto him, say- this; take of the best fruits in the
tHeb. ing, The man tdid solemnly protest land in your vessels, and carry down
/proersti~n unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my the man a present, a little balm, and
echa. face, except your a brother be with you. a little honey, spices, and myrrh,
" ces, 42d myrrh,
2o. 4 If thou wilt send our brother nuts, and almonds:
36. Me have ye bereaved] Jacob sus- ported into Egypt annually from the neighpects that they had been in some way the bourhood of Hebron (see Ros. and Ges.
cause of Joseph's supposed death and of p. 319).
Simeon's captivity. spices] Probably Storax. See on xxxvii.
against me] Lit. " upon me," i.e. upon me z5.
as a burden too heavy for me to bear. myrrh] Ladanum. See on xxxvii. 25.
CHAP. XI,III. 11. of the best fruits in nuts] Pistachio nuts. So Bochart ('Hie.
the land] Lit. "of the song of the land," roz.' II. iv. Iz); Ceis. ('IHierobot.' Tom. i. p.
i.e. the most praised produce, the fruits cele- 24); Ges. (p. 2oz). The LXX., followed by
brated in song. Onk., Syr., Arab., renders terebinth, probably
because the pistachio nut tree was considered as
balzm] See xxxvii. 25. a species of terebinth. All these fruits may
honey] So rendered in all the Versions, have grown in the land of Canaan, though the
though some think that it was composed of the corn-harvest may have utterly failed. Thus
juice of grapes boiled down to a syrup of the also may we account for the fact, that the
cousi-tency of honey, called in Arabic Dibs; small supply, which could be carried from
which even in modern times has been im- Egypt by ten asses, sufficed for a time to sup
v. 12-29.] GENESIS. XLIII. 211
i2 And take double money in your deed down at the first time to buy
hand; and the money that was brought food:
again in the mouth of your sacks, 21 And it came to pass, when we
carry it again in your hand; perad- came to the inn, that we opened our
venture it was an oversight: sacks, and, behold, every man's money
i3 Take also your brother, and was in the mouth of his sack, our
arise, go again unto the man: money in full weight: and we have
I4 And God Almighty give you brought it again in our hand.
mercy before the man, that he may 22 And other money have we
send away your other brother, and brought down in our hands to buy
U Or, And Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my food: we cannot tell who put our
haze been, children, I am bereaved. money in our sacks.
Ci. 15 qi And the men took that pre- 23 And he said, Peace be to you,
sent, and they took double money in fear not: your God, and the God of
their hand, and Benjamin; and rose your father, hath given you treasure
up, and went down to Egypt, and in your sacks: tI had your money. t Heb.
stood before Joseph. And he brought Simeon out unto them......ey
i6 And when Joseph saw Benja- 24 And the man brought the men ~,'
min with them, he said to the ruler of into Joseph's house, and dgave them d chap. 18.
his house, Bring these men home, and water, and they washed their feet; &4. 32.,Heb.kiii tslay, and make ready; for these men and he gave their asses provender.
kill, killYvg. shall tdine with me at noon. 25 And they made ready the preteb. 7 And the man did as Joseph sent against Joseph came at noon:
bade; and the man brought the men for they heard that they should eat
into Joseph's house. bread there.
I8 And the men were afraid, be- 26 ~1 And when Joseph came home,
cause they were brought into Joseph's they brought him the present which
house; and they said, Because of the was in their hand into the house, and
money that was returned in our sacks bowed themselves to him to the earth.
at the first time are we brought in; 27 And he asked them of their
f Neb. that he may t seek occasion against us, twelfare, and said, t Is your father well, t Heb.
ro, and fall upon us, and take us for bond- the old man of whom ye spake? Is "'..
Vs. men, and our asses. he yet alive? I nhere
leace to
I 9 And they came near to the 28 And they answered, Thy ser- yorffi.
echap- 4.2. steward of Joseph's house, and they vant our father is in good health, he tter
cIeb. communed with him at the door of is yet alive. And they bowed down
dow, sZe the house, their heads, and made obeisance.
down. 20 And said, O sir, Cfwe came in- 29 And he lifted up his eyes, and
ply Jacob's household. There was a griev- reaved.] Cp. Esth. iv. i6; 2 K. vii. 4. The
ous famine, but still all the fruits of the earth expression seems partly of sorrow and partly
had not failed. Corn was needed; but life of submission and resignation.
can be supported, especially in a warm climate, 18. that he may seek occasion against us]
with hut a moderate amount of the more solid Lit. " that he may roll himself upon us," that
kinds of food. is, probably, "' that he may rush out upon us."
14. God Almighty] El Shaddai. Jacob 20. 0 Sir] "Pray, my lord," or "Hear,
here uses that name of the Most High, by my lord," the word translated 0 is a particle
which He made Himself known to Abraham, of earnest entreaty.
and afterwards renewed His covenant with 26. ind bouwed themselves] Joseph's
Jacob himself (ch. xvii. x, xxxv. II; where first dream is now fulfilled. The eleven
see note). Hereby he calls to mind the pro- sheaves make obeisance to Joseph's sheaf. It
mise of protection to himself and his house, as is observable, that Joseph's dream, like Phawell as the power of Him who had pro- raoh's, had reference to sheaves of corn, evimised. dently pointing to the supply of food sought
If I be bereaved of my children, I am be- by the brethren.
02
212 GENESIS. XLI1I. XLIV. [v. 30-5.
saw his brother Benjamin, his mot her's much as any of theirs. And they
son, and said, Is this your younger drank, and twere merry with him. tHeb
brother, of whom ye spake unto me? lrgely.
And he said, God be gracious unto CHAPTER XLIV.
thee, my son. I yosefh'spolicy to stay his brethren. 14 71130 And Joseph made haste, for deh's hbljre szp~lieation to 7oselih.
his bowels did yearn upon his brother: ND he commanded tthe steward t Heb.
and he sought where to weep; and he of his house, saying, Fill the him tae
entered into his chamber, and wept men's sacks with food, as much as his A/oug,
there. they can carry, and put every man's
3i And he washed his face, and money in his sack's mouth.
went out, and refrained himself, and 2 And put my cup, the silver cup,
said, Set on bread. in the sack's mouth of the youngest,
32 And they set on for him by and his corn money. And he did
himself, and for them by themselves, according to the word that Joseph had
and for the Egyptians, which did eat spoken.
with him, by themselves: because the 3 As soon as the morning was light,
Egyptians might not eat bread with the men were sent away, they and
the Hebrews; for that is an abomina- their asses.
tion unto the Egyptians. 4 And when they were gone out
33 And they sat before him, the of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph
firstborn according to his birthright, said unto his steward, Up, follow after
and the youngest according to his the men; and when thou dost overyouth: and the men marvelled one take them, say unto them, Wherefore
at another. have ye rewarded evil for good?
34 And he took and sent messes 5 Is not this it in which my lord
unto them from before him: but drinketh, and whereby indeed he "di- 1 Or
make/A
Benjamin's mess was five times so vineth? ye have done evil in so doing. tri-;,l?
29. my son] Joseph addresses Benjamin marvelled that strangers should have seated
his younger brother with this paternal saluta- them exactly according to their ages.
tion, not only from the difference in their 34. sent messes unto them] The custom
ages, but as being a governor he speaks with is met with elsewhere, as a mark of respect
the authority and dignity of his position. to distinguished guests (see I S. ix. 23, 24).
32. the Egyptians might not eat bread five times so much] Herodotus mentions'with the Hebrewvs] The Egyptians feared to the custom of giving double portions as a
eat with foreigners, chiefly because they mark of honour. The Spartan kings'"are
dreaded pollution from such as killed and ate given the first seat at the banquet, they are
cows, which animals were held in the highest served before the other guests, and have a
veneration in Egypt. Hence Herodotus says, double portion of everything" (vI. 57; cp.
that an Egyptian would not kiss a Greek, nor also Hom.' II.' VI. 32z, VIII. I62).
use a knife or a spit belonging to a Greek,he word is
nor eat any meat that had been cut with a chiefly used of drinking to excess, but not
Greek knife (Her. IL 45). Joseph probably always; see for instance Hagg. i. 6.
dined alone from his high rank, the distinctions of rank and caste being carefully ob- CHAP. XLIV. 2. my cup] or rather
served; but, as he was naturalized in Egypt, bowl. In Jer. xxxv. 5 the word is rendered
and had, no doubt, conformed to their do- "tpots." In Ex. xxv. 31, xxxvii. 17, it is
mestic customs, he would probably not have used of the "bowl" or calix of the sculptured
needed to separate himself at meals from the flowers. It was evidently a larger vessel,
native Egyptians, as would his brethren from flagon or bowl, from which the wine was
the land of the Hebrews. poured into the smaller cups.
33. they sat before him] The Egyp- 5. diuineth] Divination by cups was
tians sat at their meals, though most of the frequent in ancient times. Jamblichus (' De
ancients, and, in later times at least, the He- Myst.' III. 14) mentions it, so Varro (ap.
brews, reclined. August.' Civ. Dei,' VII. 35), Pliny (' H. N.'
the men marvelled on.' at another] They XXXvll. 73, &c.). The latter says that "in
v. 6 —8.] GENESIS. XLIV. 2I3
6 ~ And he overtook them, and he 13 Then they rent their clothes,
spake unto them these same words. and laded every man his ass, and re7 And they said unto him, Where- turned to the city.
fore saith my lord these words? God I4 q[ And Judah and his brethren
forbid that thy servants should do came to Joseph's house; for he was
according to this thing: yet there: and they fell before him
8 Behold, the money, which we on the ground.
found in our sacks' mouths, we brought IS And Joseph said unto them,
again unto thee out of the land of WVhat deed is this that ye have done?
Canaan: how then should we steal wot ye not that such a mail as I can
out of thy lord's house silver or gold? certainly I divine? Id Or,
9 With whomsoever of thy servants I6 And Judah said, What shall we ".-:.z?
it be found, both let him die, and we say unto my lord? what shall we
also will be my lord's bondmen. speak? or how shall we clear ourIo And he said, Now also let it be selves? God hath found out the iniaccording unto your words: he with quity of thy servants: behold, we are
whom it is found shall be my servant; my lord's servants, both we, and he
and ye shall be blameless. also with whom the cup is found.
i i Then they speedily took down I7 And he said, God forbid that
every man his sack to the ground, and I should do so: but the man in whose
opened every man his sack. hand the cup is found, he shall be my
I2 And he searched, and began at servant; and as for you, get you up
the eldest, and left at the youngest: in peace unto your father.
and the cup was found in Benjamin's i8'i Then Judah came near unto
sack. him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy
this hydromantia images of the gods were in not declaring himself to them until he had
called up." It was practised either by drop- tested their repentance and had brought his
ping gold, silver, or jewels, into the water, schemes concerning his father to a point, there
and then examining their appearance; or sim- can be little doubt. He was never tempted
ply by looking into the water as into a mirror, to deny that he was joseph, for no one sussomewhat probably as the famous Egyptian pected that he was. In fact he simply premagician did into the mirror of ink, as men- served his disguise. But in the present pastioned by the duke of Northumberland and sage he seems to have used words which,
others in the present day. (See Lane,' Mod. though not affirming that he could divine, yet
Egypt.' II. 362.) nearly implied as much. It is to be observed,
The sacred cup is a symbol of the Nile, however, that whatever may be thought on
into whose waters a golden and silver patera this head, Joseph is not held up to us as
were annually thrown. The Nile itself, both absolutely perfect. As it was in the case of
the source and the river, was called " the cup Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the history is
of Egypt" (Plin.'H. N.' vTII. 7I). This simply told of the events as they occurred.
cup of Joseph Wvas of silver, while in ordinary Joseph was a man of singular piety, purity,
cases the Egyptians drank from vessels of and integrity, in high favour with Heaven,
brass (Hecat us in'Athen.' xI. 6; Herod. and even at times inspired to declare the will
II. 3 7; see Haivernick,' Introd. to Pentateuch,' of God. It does not follow that he was perfect.
ad h. 1.). If inspired apostles were sometimes to be
15. gwot ye not that such a man as I can blamed (Gal. ii. II, I3), the holiest patriarchs
certainly divine?] Joseph here adapts him- are not likely to have been incapable of error.
self and his language to his character as it If the act was wrong, we must not consider
would naturally appear in the eyes of his bre- it as the result of Divine guidance, but as
thren. We are not to assume that he actually the error of a good but fallible man, whilst in
used magical arts. This would be quite in- the main carrying out the designs of Proviconsistent with what he said to Pharaoh, ch. dence. Making the worst that can be made
xli. i6, disclaiming all knowledge of the fu- of it, it is difficult to say that any character in
ture, save as revealed by God. It has been Scripture, save One, (of which at least we have
questioned how far Joseph was justified in the any detailed account) comes out more purely
kind of dissimulation which he thus used to and brightly in the whole course of its history
his brethren. That he was perfectly justified than the character of Joseph.
214 GENESIS. XLIV. XLV. [v. I9-4.
servant, I pray thee, speak a word in not with us; seeing that his life is
my lord's ears, and let not thine anger bound up in the lad's life;
burn against thy servant: for thou art 3I It shall come to pass, when he
even as Pharaoh. seeth that the lad is not with us, that
I9 My lord asked his servants, say- he will die: and thy servants shall
ing, Have ye a father, or a brother? bring down the gray hairs of thy
20o And we said unto my lord, WVe servant our father with sorrow to the
have a father, an old man, and a child grave.
of his old age, a little one; and his 32 For thy servant became surety
brother is dead, and he alone is left of for the lad unto my father, saying,
his mother, and his father loveth him. CIf I bring him not unto thee, then I c chap. 43
2I And thou saidst unto thy ser- shall bear the blame to my father for 9.
vants, Bring him down unto me, that ever.
I may set mine eyes upon him. 33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let
22 And we said unto my lord, The thy servant abide instead of the lad a
lad cannot leave his father: for if he bondman to my lord; and let the lad
should leave his father, hisfather would go up with his brethren.
die. 34 For how shall I go up to my
23 And thou saidst unto thy ser- father, and the lad be not with me?
a chap. 43. vants, aExcept your youngest brother lest peradventure I see the evil that
come down with you, ye shall see my shall "come on my father. t nt.
face no more. af.a er.
24 And it came to pass when we CHAPTER XLV.
came up unto thy servant my father, X Yoseph ma/eteh himszsef knozwn to his bh-rf/.wz..
we told him the words of my lord. 5 Hle comforteth them in God's providence.
25 And our father said, Go again, 9 lre sendeth for his fath/er. I6 Pharaoh
2z~~~c5 And our faiMether sad o again cZ it. I 7osefifraiisheth thezlbr
and buy us a little food. theirzjozrney, and exhorteth them to concord.
26 And we said, We cannot go 25 7acob is revived with the newrs.
down: if our youngest brother be T HEN Joseph could not refrain
with us, then will we go down: for himself before all them that
we may not see the man's face, except stood by him; and he cried, Cause
our youngest brother be with us. every man to go out from me. And
27 And thy servant my father said there stood no man with him, while
unto us, Ye know that my wife bare Joseph made himself known unto his
me two sons: brethren.
28 And the one went out from me, 2 And he t wept aloud: and the t HeB
chap. 37. and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh/foaz,,:,s
33. and I saw him not since: heard. weeig
29 And if ye take this also from 3 And Joseph said unto his breme, and mischief befall him, ye shall thren, a I am Joseph; doth my father a Acts.
bring down my gray hairs with sorrow yet live? And his brethren could not 13.
to the grave. answer him; for they were "troubled II or,
30 Now therefore when I come to at his presence. errmf
thy servant my father, and the lad be 4 And Joseph said unto his bre28. Surely he is torn in pieces] From a slave. He is evidently now much softened;
these words probably for the first time Joseph has witnessed Jacob's affliction with deep symlearns what had been Jacob's belief as to his pathy and sorrow,, and so has been brought to
son's fate. contrition and repentance. The sight of his
34. hoiw fhould I go uip to my father] repentance finally moves Joseph at once to
The character of Judah comes out most fa- make himself known to his brethren.
vourably in this speech. He had, in the first
instance, saved Joseph from death, but yet he CHAP. XLV.,.'wept aloud] Lit., as the
had proposed the alternative of selling him as margin, "' gave forth his voice in weeping."
v. 5-15.] GENESIS. XLV. 215
thren, Come near to me, I pray you. all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry
And they came near. And he said, not:
I am Joseph your brother, whom ye io And thou shalt dwell in the
sold into Egypt. land of Goshen, and thou shalt be
5 Now therefore be not grieved, near unto me, thou, and thy children,
t Heb. tnor angry with yourselves, that ye and thy children's children, and thy
ithere et sold me hither: "for God did send flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou.e...eri me before you to preserve life. hast:
chap. so. 6 For these two years hath the i i And there will I nourish thee;
20. famine been in the land: and yet there for yet there are five years of famine;
are five years, in the which there shall lest thou, and thy household, and all
neither be earing nor harvest. that thou hast, come to poverty.
Heb. 7 And God sent me before you t to I2 And, behold, your eyes see, and
X.,,trem preserve you a posterity in the earth, the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that'ant. and to save your lives by a great de- it is my mouth that speaketh unto
liverance. you.
8 So now it was not you that sent I3 And ye shall tell my father of
me hither, but God: and he hath all my glory in Egypt, and of all that
made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord ye have seen; and ye shall haste and
of all his house, and a ruler through- bring down my father hither.
out all the land of Egypt. I4 And he fell upon his brother
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, Benjamin's neck, and wept; and
and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Benjamin wept upon his neck.
Joseph, God hath made me lord of 15 Moreover he kissed all his bre6. earing] i. e. " ploughing." To field of Zoan" or Tanis, Ps Ixxviii. 12, 43),
" ear" is an old English word from the An- and probably extending south as far as to the
glo-Saxon root erian, "' to plough," cognate head of the Red Sea, and nearly to Memphis.
with the Latin arare. (See Bosworth,' An- It appears, in Gen. xlvii. iI, to be called the
glo-Saxon Dict.' 25 k.) It occurs in the Au- land of Rameses, and the Israelites, before the
thorised Version; Ex. xxxiv. z2; Deut. xxi. 4; Exodus, are said to have built in it the cities
i S. viii. I2; Isa. xxx. 24. of Raamses and Pithom (Exod. i. II). It
7. lo preserve you a posterity in the earth, was probably, though under the dominion of
and to save your lives by a great deliverance] the Pharaohs, only on the confines of Egypt.
To make you a remnant in the earth Hence the LXX. here renders "Gesen of
(that is, to secure you from utter destruction), Arabia." In ch. xlvi. 28, where Goshen oc
and to preserve your lives to a great curs twice, the LXX. call it L'the city of
deliverance (i.e. to preserve life to you, so Heroopolis in the land of Ramasses." Joseph
that your deliverance should be great and placed his brethren naturally on the confines
signal). of Egypt, nearest to Palestine, and yet near
himself. It is probable, that either Memphis
8. but God] Lit. "The God." That or Tanis was then the metropolis of Egypt,
great Personal God, who had led and guard- both of which are in the immediate neighed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and who still bourhood of the region thus marked out.
watched over the house of Israel. (See Ges. p. 307; Poole, in Smith,'Dict.
a father to Pharaoh] i.e. a wise and confi- of Bible' Art. Goshen; Hengstenb.'Egypt,'
dential friend and counsellor. The Caliphs &c. p. 42 sq.).
and the Sultan of Turkey appear to have 11. and thy household] Thehoushold of
given the same title to their Grand Viziers. Abraham and of Isaac consisted of many
(See Burder,'Oriental Customs,' ad h. 1.; servants and dependents, besides their own
Gesen. p. 7; Ros. in loc.). families. So Jacob, when he came fi-om Pa10. the land of Goshen] The land of dan-aram, had become "two bands." It is
Goshen was evidently a region lying to the probable that some hundreds of dependents
north-east of lower Egypt, bounded appa- accompanied Jacob in his descent into Egypt,
rently by the Mediterranean on the north, by and settled with him in Goshen. So again in
the desert on the east, by the Tanitic branch v. i8, Joseph's brethren are bidden to take
of the Nile on the west (hence called " the their " father and their households."
216 GENESIS. XLV. XLVI. [v. I6-2-.
thren, and wept upon them: and after good things of Egypt, and ten she asses
that his brethren talked with him. laden with corn and bread and meat
i6 ~ And the fame thereof was for his father by the way.
heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, 24 So he sent his brethren away,
Joseph's brethren are come: and it and they departed: and he said unto
tf -eb. t pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. them, See that ye fall not out by the
iot zhe eyes 17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, way.
rt/.fP- Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; 25 ~ And they went up out of
lade your beasts, and go, get you unto Egypt, and came into the land of
the land of Canaan; Canaan unto Jacob their father,
i8 And take your father and your 26 And told him, saying, Joseph
households, and come unto me: and is yet alive, and he is governor over
I will give you the good of the land all the land of Egypt. And tJacob's i Heb.
of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of heart fainted, for he believed them not.
the land. 27 And they told him all the words!9 Now thou art commanded, this of Joseph, which he had said unto
do ye; take you wagons out of the them: and when he saw the wagons
land of Egypt for your little ones, which Joseph had sent to carry him,
and for your wives, and bring your the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
father, and come.' 28 And Israel said, It is enoulgh;
I-rteb 20 Also Iregard not your stuff; for Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go
y...o'e the good of all the land of Egypt is and see him before I die.
spyzae, &'C. yours. CHAPTER XLVI.
21 And the children of Israel did I yacob is coenforted by God at BIeer-sheba: 5
so: and Joseph gave them wagons, 7hence he with his company Zgoeth into Lg'et.
according to the'commandment of 8 The nm nber of his faozily that wcent into
]z~~pt. 29 _7osej/h meez'ez' ~ob. 3r _f~e
Pharaoh, and gave them provision for ipzstr9ucet ishz brneeteltz oz io ansuer to
the way. Pharaoh.
22 To all of them he gave each ND Israel took his journey with
man changes of raiment; but to Ben- all that he had, and came to
jamin he gave three hundred pieces of Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto
silver, and five changes of raiment. the God of his father Isaac.
Hae,.m 23 And to his father he sent after 29 And God spake unto Israel in
cy,,;rr.ig this zmanner; ten asses t laden with the the visions of the night, and said,
24. See that ye faJll not out by the wvay] four-wheeled car, mentioned by Herodotus,
So all the Versions; but as the word rendered was used for carrying the shrine and image
"ifall out" expresses any violent emotion as of a deity. (See Sir G. WVilkinson's note to
of fear or anger, some prefer to render, " Be Rawlinson's Herodotus, ii. 63, and the ennot afraid in the journey;" so Tuch, Baumg., graving there.) When Jacob saw the wagons,
Gesen., and many moderns. The ancient in- he knew that they had come from Egypt, and
terpretation is more probable. They had al- so he believed his sons' report, and was comnready travelled on that journey several times forted.
without meeting with any evil accident; but
there was some danger that they might quar- CHAP. XLVI. 1. to Beer-sheba, and
rel among themselves, now that they were re- offered sacrifces, &c.] Here Abraham and
conciled to Joseph, perhaps each one being Isaac, built altars (ch. xxi. 33, xxvi. 25), and
ready to throve the blame of former miscon- worshipped. Jacob naturally felt it to be a
duct on the others (Calvin). place hallowed by sacred memories, and being
27. vmagons] Carts and wagons were anxious as to the propriety of leaving the land
known early in Egypt, which was a flat coun- of promise and going down into Egypt, he here
try and highly cultivated; but they were pro- sacrificed to the God of his fathers, and no
bably unknown at this time in Palestine and doubt sought guidance from Him. BeerSyria. The Egyptian carts, as depicted on sheba was South of Hebron on the road
the monuments, are of two wheels only, when by which Jacob would naturally travel into
used for carrying agricultural produce. The Egypt.
V. 3 -I2.] GENESIS. XLVI. 2I7
Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here 7 His sons, and his sons' sons with
am I. him, his daughters, and his sons'
3 And he said, I am God, the God daughters, and all his seed brought
of thy father: fear not to go down he with him into Egypt.
into Egypt; for I will there make of 8 qT And bthese are the names of Exo&. a.
thee a great nation: the children of Israel, which came into T. & 6. I4
4 I will go down with thee into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: cReuben, Numb.
Egypt; and I will also surely bring Jacob's firstborn. I Chronl.
thee up again: and Joseph shall put 9 And the sons of Reuben; FIahis hand upon thine eyes. noch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and
5 And Jacob rose up from Beer- Carmi.
sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Io t dAnd the sons of Simeon dExod 6.
Jacob their father, and their little ones, Jenluel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Chron. 4
and their wives, in the wagons which Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the 24.
Pharaoh had sent to carry him. son of a Canaanitish woman.
6 And they took their cattle, and i I qT And the sons of eLevi; Ger- 6,Chron.
their goods, which they had gotten in shon, Kohath, and Merari.
JoSh. 24. the land of Canaan, and came into 12 T And the sons offJudah; Er f-chron.
2. 3.
4sal. i05. Egypt, aJacob, and all his seed with and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, & 4. 2.
-2 3,. sh. 4 h imP.
IS. 52. 4 him: and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in Chap.38. 3
3. I am God, the God of thy father] "I with them on asses, have women and children
am El'-a reference again to the name " El- with them, and are armed with bows and clubs.
Shaddai," by which the Most High so specially They are described as Absha and his family,
made covenant with the patriarchs. See on and the number 37 is written over in hieroch. xliii. I4. glyphics. The signs, which accompany the
fear not to go doown into Egypt] Abraham picture, indicate that they were either captives
had gone down there and been in great danger. or tributaries. Sir G. Wilkinson, however,
Isaac had been forbidden to go thither (ch. has suggested that possibly this indication may
xxvi. 2). Abraham, Isaac, Jacob had all been result from the contemptuous way in which
placed and settled in Canaan with a promise the Egyptians spoke of all foreigners, and the
that they should in future possess the land. superiority which they claimed over them.
Moreover, Egypt was, not only a heathen land, Moreover, they are armed, one of them is playbu-t one in which heathenism was specially de- ing on a lyre, and others bring presents; which
veloped and systematized. Jacob might there- things point rather to an immigration than to
fore naturally fear to find in it dangers both a captivity. (See XWilkinson, Vol. i. p). 296,
worldly and spiritual. Hence the promise of and plate. Brugsch, IH. E.' p. 63, where the
God's presence and protection was signally scene is well engraved, and a good description
needed. annexed.)
4. Joseph shall put his hand upon thine 7. his daughters] Only one daughter
eyes] The ancients, Gentiles as well as Jews, is named and one granddaughter. This verse
desired that their dearest relatives should close implies that there were more. Married women
their eyes in death (Hom.'I1.' xI. 453;'Od.' would not be mentioned in a Hebrew genexxIv. 296; Eurip.'Hec.' 430;'Pheen.' 2465; alogy; hence Jacob's sons' wives are not reVirg.'IAn.' Ix. 487; Ov. 1Heroid.' I. counted among the seventy souls that came into
5. the son of Irae crrid Jco their Egypt. See v. 26. Dinah remained unmarried. IIence she only of Jacob's daughters is
father] The scene depicted on the tomb of named n
Chnoumhotep at Beni Hassan cannot be the
Egyptian version of the arrival of the Israelites 10. Jemuejl] Called Nemuel, Num. xxvi.
in Egypt; but it is strikingly illustrative of the 12; I Chron. iv. 24.
history of that event. The date of the inscrip- Ohaa'] Not named in Num. xxvi. I2; I Chr.
tion is that of the zth dynasty, which was iv. 24.
probably the dynasty under which Joseph lived; Jac.Jn n] "Jarib," I Chr. iv. z4.
a number of strangers, with beards (which the Zohar] "Zerah," Num. xxvi. 13; I Chr.
Egyptians never wore, but which in the sculp- iv
tures indicate uncivilized foreigners), and with
dress and physical characteristics belonging to 11. Gershon]' Gershom,' I Chr. vi. I6.
the Semitic nomads, appear before the governor 12. A4d the sons of Pharez wvere Hezron
offering him gifts. They carry their goods and Hamul] The difficulties in the chro
218 GENESIS. XLVI. [v. I3-21I
the land of Canaan. And the sons of nah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah,
Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. and Serah their sister: and the sons of
-x Chron. 13 Il rAnd the sons of Issachar; Beriah; Heber, and Malchiei.
7' I- Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and I8 These are the sons of Zilpah,
Shimron. whom Laban gave to Leah his daughI4 q[ And the sons of Zebulun; ter, and these she bare unto Jacob,
Sered, and Elon, and Tahleel. even sixteen souls.
15 These be the sons of Leah, 19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's
which she bare unto Jacob in Padan- wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.
aram, with his daughter Dinah: all 20 q[ iAnd unto Joseph in the land chap. 4I.
the souls of his sons and his daughters of Egypt were born Manasseh and
were thirty and three. Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter
i6 qe And the sons of Gad; Zi- of Poti-pherah R priest of On bare unto1 Or,
phion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, him.
Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. 2 I qr kAnd the sons of Benjamin k Chrom,
-, Chron. i and A r6 8.
7. 30. 1 7 ~ zAnd the sons of Asher; Jim- were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, 76 &8.
nology of this catalogue have suggested the Benjamin. Now Judah was probably 79 at
thought that it did not form a part of the Jacob's death, at which age his son Pharez
original history of Genesis. The difficul- may easily have had two sons. Indeed, the
ties are really no greater than we might expect statement immediately coupled with the names
to find in a document so ancient, and where of Hezron and Hamul, viz. that Er and Onan
names and numbers are concerned, which of had died in Canaan, seems introduced on purall things are most likely to puzzle us. In this pose to account for the reckoning of these
verse it appears that Er and Onan having died in grandchildren of Judah, born in Egypt, with
Canaan, two of Judah's grandchildren are sub- others who had been born in Canaan.
stituted for them. It has been said that Hezron
and Hamul could not have been born before I Chr. vii Called Jashub Nm. xxv
the descent into Egypt, as the events related
in ch. xxxviii. took place after the selling of 15. thirty and three] that is, including
Joseph, and that, therefore, Pharez could not Jacob himself, but not Er, or Onan, who
have been old enough to have two sons at the were dead, nor perhaps Leah.
time of that descent. Moreover, it is argued, 16. Ziphion]'Zephon' in Num. xxvi. 15.
that Judah himself could not have been more Ebon i,' Num. xxvi. 6.
than 42 at this time, which is inconsistent with o] o' Num. xxvi.
the apparent statement that his third son, Pha- Arodi]'Arod,' Num. xxvi. 7.
rez, not born till after the marriage and death 17. Ishtbh] Not mentioned in Numbers.
of his two elder brothers, Er and Onan, should Probably he had not left descendants and
himself have had two sons. To this it may be founded families.
replied, (I), that we must not assume that the
events in chap. xxxviii. necessarily took place of this verse the XX. inser.] At the end
after those in ch. xxxvii. It is most likely that of th verse the LXX. insert the names of
ch. xxxviii. was introduced episodically at a son of Manasseh, and Galaa the
convenient point in the history, to avoid break- n of lachir, and Sutalaam and Taam the
sons of Ephraim, and Edem the son of Sutaing the continuity of the story. (See note on laam. (See Numb. xxvi. 28-37; I Chr. viio
xxxviii. I.) (2) Again, if the chronology of
the life of Jacob proposed in the note at the 14.) Thus the whole number of persons bte
end of ch. xxxi. be correct, Judah was, not 42, comes 75 The passage however is not inhe
but 62, at the descent into Egypt, in which case maritan, with which the LXX.mostly agrees.
the two sons of Pharez may easily have been 21. the sons of Benjamin] These are
born then. (3) Moreover, it is quite possible ten in number. According to Numb. xxvi. 40
that the names in this catalogue may have two of them, Naaman and Ard, were grandcomprised, not only those that were actually sons of Benjamin. According to the common
of the company, which went down into Egypt, chronology Benjamin was only 23 at the combut also all the grandchildren or great grand- ing into Egypt; an age at which he could
children of Jacob born before Jacob's death. hardly have had ten sons, or eight sons and
This would not be inconsistent with the com- two grandsons, even if he had two wives and
mon usage of Scripture language, and it would some of the children had been twins. The
allow 7 years more for the birth of those two considerations alluded to at v. 2, however, will
grandsons of Judah and for the ten sons of allow us to calculate that Benjamin was 3z at
V. 22-34.] GENESIS. XLVI. 219
Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, chariot, and went up to meet Israel
Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. his father, to Goshen, and presented
22 These are the sons of Rachel, himself unto him; and he fell on his
which were born to Jacob: all the neck, and wept on his neck a good
souls were fourteen. while.
23 qT And the sons of Dan; Hu- 30 And Israel said unto Joseph,
shim. Now let me die, since I have seen
24 q And the sons of Naphtali; thy face, because thou art yet alive.
Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and 31 And Joseph said unto his breShillem. thren, and unto his father's house,
25 These are the sons of Bilhah, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and
which Laban gave unto Rachel his say unto him, My brethren, and my
daughter, and she bare these unto father's house, which were in the
Jacob: all the souls were seven. land of Canaan, are come unto me;
t eut. o. 26 ZAll the souls that came with 32 And the men are shepherds,
2'2. Jacob into Egypt, which came out for ttheir trade hath been to feed f Heb.
t Heb. of his tloins, besides Jacob's sons' cattle; and they have brought their thaeyn
wives, all the souls were threescore flocks, and their herds, and all that cttle
and six; they have.
27 And the sons of Joseph, which 33 And it shall come to pass, when
were born him in Egypt, were two Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say,
souls: all the souls of the house of What is your occupation?
Jacob, which came into Egypt, were 34 That ye shall say, Thy servants'
threescore and ten. trade hath been about cattle from our
28 [ And he sent Judah before youth even until now, both we, and
him unto Joseph, to direct his face also our fathers: that ye may dwell
unto Goshen; and they came into in the land of Goshen; for every
the land of Goshen. shepherd is an abomination unto the
29 And Joseph made ready his Egyptians.
the going down to Egypt (see note at the end reckoning. The genealogical tables of the Jews
of ch. xxxi.), and therefore forty-nine at the were drawn up on principles unlike those of
death of Jacob, by which age he might easily modern calculation. And there would be no
have been the father of ten sons. impropriety, on these principles, in reckoning
Three of Benjamin's sons, Becher, Gera and the children of Joseph only, or in adding to
Rosh, are wanting in the table given in Num. them his grandchildren also, especially if the
xxvi., probably because they had not left chil- latter became founders of itnportant families
dren enough to form independent families. in Israel.
Ehi, 2M~uppim, and Huppim] Called' Shup-c 28. he sent Judah before him unto Joseph,
ham, Hupham, and Ahiram,' in Num. xxvi. 38, to direct his face unto Goshen] i.e. He sent
39. Judah before himself (Jacob) to Joseph, that
27. all the souls of the house of Jacob, Joseph might direct him to Goshen.'which came into Egypt,'were threescore and 34. every shepherd is an.abomination unto
ten] The number is made up of the 66 men- the Egyptians] Herodotus speaks of the
tioned in the last verse, Jacob himself, Joseph, aversion of the Egyptians for swineherds (II.
and the two sons of Joseph. The LXX. 47). The monuments indicate their conreads here " The sons of Joseph, which were tempt for shepherds and goatherds by the
born to him in Egypt, were nine souls. All mean appearance always given to them. Neithe souls of the house of Jacob, who came with ther mutton nor the flesh of goats was ever
Jacob into Egypt, were seventy-five." See eaten or offered. Even woollen garments,
above note on verse 2o. St Stephen (Acts vii. though sometimes worn over linen, were es..
14) adopts the number 75, probably because teemed unclean. No priest would wear them.
he, or St Luke, quotes the LXX. version, as They were never worn in temples, nor were
all Greek-speaking Jews would naturally have the dead buried in them. To this day, sheepdone; and it may be fairly said, that both feeding is esteemed the office of women and
numbers were equally correct, and that the slaves. The fact that the Egyptians themselves
variation depends on the different mode of were great agriculturists, tillers of land, and
220 GENESIS. XLVII. [v. -9.
CHAPTER XLVII. we come; for thy servants have no
I 7osefih presenleth five of his brethren, 7 and pasture for their flocks; for the fahis father, before Pharaoh. ii He give/h mine is sore in the land of Canaan:
them habitation and maintenance. 13 He
eetteth all t/e Egy/fftians' mzoney, i6 their now therefore, we pray thee, let thy
cattle, i8 their lands to Pharaoh. 222 The servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
priesls' land lwas not bought. 23 He [letet 5 And Pharaoh spake unto oseph
the zandto itemrfor afifth zpart. 28 7cob's age. 5 And Pharaoh sp unto Joseph,
29 He sweareth yoseph to buay him with his saying, Thy father and thy brethren
fzthers. are come unto thee:
HEN Joseph came and told 6 The land of Egypt is before
Pharaoh, and said, My father thee; in the best of the land make
and my brethren, and their flocks, thy father and brethren to dwell; in
and their herds, and all that they the land of Goshen let them dwell:
have, are come out of the land of and if thou knowest any men of actiCanaan; and, behold, they are in the vity among them, then make them
land of Goshen. rulers over my cattle.
2 And he took some of his bre- 7 And Joseph brought in Jacob
thren, even five men, and presented his father, and set him before Phathem unto Pharaoh. raoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said unto his bre- 8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob,
thren, What is your occupation? How old art thou? heb
And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, Ho~
mnany are
servants are shepherds, both we, and,The days of the years of my pil- tjy days
also our fathers. grimage are an hundred and thirty years of
4 They said moreover unto Pha- vears: few and evil have the days of t' fe?
raoh, For to sojourn in the land are the years of my life been, and have 9, 3.
that their neighbours the Arab tribes of the in Egypt. (Robinson,'B. R.' I. p. 78, 79;
desert, with whom they were continually at Kurtz, Vol. Ii. p. Is.) M. Chabas has collected
feud, were nomads only, may have been suffi- notices of great interest showing the riches
cient to cause this feeling. The Egyptians and beauty of the district under the x9th
looked on all the people of Egypt as of noble dynasty ('Mel. Egypt.' II.)
race(Diod. v.5 8), and on all foreigners as low- 7. and Jacob blessed Pharaoh] Some
born. Hence they would naturally esteem here reider " Jacob saluted Pharaoh," a posa nomadic people in close proximity to them- sible translation, as the Eastern salutation is
selves, and with a much lower civilization often with words of blessing: but the natural
than their own, as barbarous and despicable. sense of the word is'" to bless;" and if Jacob
W~hatever be the historical foundation for the had bowed himself to the ground before Phaexistence of three dynasties of Hycsos or Shep- roh according to a familiar Eastern custom
herd-kings extending over a period of froi-m it would probably have been so related in the
5o0 to icoo years, there can be little doubt history. MAore probably the aged patriarch,
that the Egyptians were frequently harassed with the conscious dignity of a prophet and
by incursions from the nomadic tribes in their the heir of the promises, prayed for blessings
neighbourhood. Some of these tribes appear upon Pharaoh.
to have subdued portions of Lower Egypt aid
to have fixed their seat of government at 8. Horw old art thou?] How many are
Tanis (Zoan), or even at Memnphis. The days of the years of thy lif?
great Hycsos invasion was after the time of 9. rumy pilg'rimage] Lit. "my sojournJoseph, Mwho probably lived under a Pharaoh ings." Pharaoh asked of the days of the years
of the twelfth dynasty (see Excursus); but of his life, he replies by speaking of the days
the hostility between the Egyptians and the of the years of his pilgrimage. Some have
nomad tribes of Asia had no doubt been of thought that he called his life a pilgrimage,
long duration. because he was a nomad, a wanderer in lands
not his own: but in reality the patriarchs
CHAP. XLVII. 6. in the best OfSthe land] spoke of life as a pilgrimage or sojourning,
The modern province ot Es-Shurkiveh. which because they sought another country, that is a
appears nearly to correspond with the land of hea.vecly (Heb. xi. 9, Ix). Earth was not
Goshen, is said to "' ear the highest valuation their homte, but their journey homnewards.
and to yield the largest revenue" of any Jfow and evil] The Jews speak of Jacob's
v. 1o —.] GENESIS. XLVII. 221
not attained unto the days of the I6 And Joseph said, Give your
years of the life of my fathers in the cattle; and I will give you for your
days of their pilgrimage. cattle, if money fail.
Io And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and 17 And they brought their cattle
went out from before Pharaoh. unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them
I I ~ And Joseph placed his father bread in exchange for horses, and for
and his brethren, and gave them a the flocks, and for the cattle of the
possession in the land of Egypt, in herds, and for the asses: and he t fed He,
the best of the land, in the land of them with bread for all their cattle
Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. for that year.
I2 And Joseph nourished his fa- I8 When that year was ended,
ther, and his brethren, and all his they came unto him the second year,
11 Or, father's household, with bread, Utac- and said unto him, We will not hide
ca a tie cording to their families. it from my lord, how that our money..H.e. 1d. 3 IS And there was no bread in is spent; my lord also hath our herds
cordittng all the land; for the famine was very of cattle; there is not ought left in
zize ones. sore, so that the land of Egypt and the sight of my lord, but our bodies,
all the land of Canaan fainted by rea- and our lands:
son of the famine. 19 Wherefore shall we die before
14 And Joseph gathered up all the thine eyes, both we and our land?
money that was found in the land of buy us and our land for bread, and
Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, we and our land will be servants unto
for the corn which they bought: and Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we
Joseph brought the money into Pha- may live, and not die, that the land
raoh's house. be not desolate.
I5 And when money failed in the 20o And Joseph bought all the land
land of Egypt, and in the land of of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the EgypCanaan, all the Egyptians came unto tians sold every man his field, because
Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for the famine prevailed over them: so
why should we die in thy presence? the land became Pharaoh's.
for the money faileth. 2I And as for the people, he reseven afflictions: (I) the persecution of Esau; according to the LXX. corresponded with the
(2) the injustice of Laban; (3) the result of Heroopolis of after times. (See on this city
his wrestling with the Angel; (4) the viola- Hengstenberg,' Egypt,' p. 5I, and Excursus
tion of Dinah; (5) the loss of Joseph; (6) at the end of the volume.)
the imprisonment of Simeon; (7) the depar- 12. according to their families] Lit. "to
ture of Benjamin for Egypt. They might the mouth of their children;" meaning very
well have added the death of Rachel and the probably, "1 even to the food for their chilincest of Reuben (Schumann). dren."
11. the land of Rameses] In Ex. i. I I, 20. Joseph bought all the land of Egypt
the Israeli!:es are said to have built treasure for Pharaoh] All the main points in the
cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses. It statements of this chapter are confirmed by
is possible that Goshen is here called the land Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, and the monuof Rameses by anticipation, as it may have ments. Herodotus (II. Io9) says that Sesosbecome familiarly known to the Israelites by tris divided the soil among the inhabitants,
the name " land of Rameses" after they had assigning square plots of land of equal size
built the city Rameses in it. Very probably, to all, and obtained his revenue from a rent
however, the Israelites in the captivity only paid annually by the holders. Diodorus (. 54)
fortified and strengthened the city of Rameses says that Sesodsis divided the whole country
then already existing, and so fitted it to be a into 36 nomes and set nomarchs over each to
strong treasure-city. The name Rameses be- take care of the royal revenue and administer
came famous in after times from the exploits their respective provinces. Strabo (xviI. p.
of Rameses II., a king of the g9th dynasty: 787) tells us that the occupiers of land held
but he was of too late a date to have given it subject to a rent. Again, Diodorus (I. 73,
name to a city, either in the time of Joseph, 74) represents the land as possessed only by
or even at the time of the Exodus. Rameses; the priests, the king, -and the warriors, which
222 GENESIS. X LVL II. [v. 22-26.
moved them to cities from one end 24 And it shall come to pass in
of the borders of Egypt even to the the increase; that ye shall give the
other end thereof. fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four
I Or, 22 Only the land of the priests parts shall be your own, for seed of
Ptieces. bought he not; for the priests had the field, and for your food, and for
a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, them of your households, and for food
and did eat their portion which Pha- for your little ones.
raoh gave them: wherefore they sold 25 And they said, Thou hast saved
not their lands. our lives: let us find grace in the
23 Then Joseph said unto the peo- sight of my lord, and we will be
ple, Behold, I have bought you this Pharaoh's servants.
day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, 26 And Joseph made it a law over
here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land of Egypt unto this day, that
the land. Pharaoh should have the fifth part;
testimony is confirmed by the sculptures nonmes and into square plots of equal size by
(W'rilkinson, I. p. 263). The discrepancy of Sesostris be the same transaction as the purthis from the account in Genesis is apparent chasing and restoring of the land by Joseph.
in the silence of the latter concerning the The people were already in possession of
lands assigned to the warrior caste. The re- their property when Joseph bought it, and
servation of their lands to the priests is ex- they received it again on condition of paying
pressly mentioned in v. zz; but nothing is a fifth of the produce as a rent. But whether
said of the warriors. There was, however, or not this act of Sesostris be identified with
a marked difference in the tenure of land by that of Joseph (or the Pharaoh of Joseph),
the warriors from that by the priests. Hero- the profane historians and the monuments comdotus (II. I68) says that each warrior had pletely bear out the testimony of the author
assigned to him twelve arurce of land (each of Genesis as to the condition of land tenuie
arura being a square of Ioo Egyptian cu- and its origin in an exercise of the sovereign's
bits); that is to say, there were no landed authority.
possessions vested in the caste, but certain 21. he removed them to cities] He had
fixed portions assigned to each person: and collected all the corn, which he had stored
these, as given by the sovereign's will, so up for the famine, into the various cities of
apparently were liable to be withheld or Egypt, and so he removed the people into the
taken away by the same will; for we find cities and their neighbourhood, that he might
that Sethos, the contemporary of Sennacherib the better provide them with food (Schum.).
and therefore of Hezekiah and Isaiah, actually deprived the warriors of these lands, 22. Only th land of the priests bought he
which former kings had conceded to them not] See on v. 2o.
(Herod. II. I41). It is therefore, as Knobel the priests had a portion assigned them of
remarks, highly probable that the original Pharaoh, and did eat their portion uwhich Phareservation of their lands was only to the raoh gave them] This does not mean that
priests, and that the warrior caste did not the priests were Pharaoh's stipendiaries, which
come into possession of their twelve arurte would be inconsistent with the immediately
each, till after the time of Joseph. In the preceding words, as well as with the statement
other important particulars the sacred and of profane authors as to the landed possessions
profane accounts entirely tally, viz. that, by of the priests. On the contrary, it means,
royal appointment, the original proprietors of that Pharaoh had such respect for the ministhe land became crown tenants, holding their ters of religion, that, instead of suffering
land by payment of a rent or tribute; whilst Joseph to sell corn to them and so to buy up
the priests only were left in full possession of their land, he ordered a portion of corn to
their former lands and revenues. As to the be regularly distributed to them during the
particular king to whom this is attributed by famine, and so they were not reduced to the
Herodotus and Diodorus, Lepsius (' Chronol. necessity of selling their lands. This regard
Egypt.' I. p. 304) supposes that this was not for the priests is expressly assigned to Phathe Sesostris of Manetho's 12th dynasty raoh, not to Joseph, and so there can be no
(Osirtasen of the Monuments), but a Sethos need to apologize for Joseph's respect to an
or Sethosis of the x9th dynasty, whom he idolatrous priesthood.
considers to be the Pharaoh of Joseph. The 26. Joseph made it a law] The final
x9th dynasty is, however, certainly much too result of Joseph's policy was that the land
late a date for Joseph. It may be a question was restored to the Egyptians, with an obliwhether the division of the land into 36 gation to pay one fifth of it to Pharaoh for the
v. 27-.1 GENESIS. XLVII. XLVIII. 223
Or, except the land of the I priests only, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt,
$rinces. which became not Pharaoh's. and bury me in their buryingplace.
27 ~T And Israel dwelt in the land And he said, I will do as thou hast
of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; said.
and they had possessions therein, and 31 And he said, Swear unto me.
grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And he sware unto him. And cIs- IHe
28 And Jacob lived in the land of rael bowed himself upon the bed's 2
tHeb. Egypt seventeen years: so t the whole head.
Vth/te age of Jacob was an hundred forty
years of and seven years. CHAPTER XLVIII.
29 And the time drew nigh that ose with his sonis visiteth his sick father.
2 f7rcob strengtheneth himself to bless them. 3
Israel must die: and he called his son He repeateth the promise. 5 l:e taketh
Joseph, and said unto him, If now Ephraim and Manasseh as his ownz. 7 IRe
I have found grace in thy sight, elleeti 7oseph of his mothear's grave. g He
blesseth Ephraim and /Manassek. I7 lge
c.hap. 24. b put, I pray thee, thy hand under prefeprret/ i te younzger before thze elder. I
2. my thigh, and deal kindly and truly Heprophesieth their return to Canaan.
with me; bury me not, I pray thee, ND it came to pass after these
in Egypt: things, that one told Joseph,
30 But I will lie with my fathers, Behold, thy father is sick: and he
purpose of maintaining the revenues of the The: fifth part" which was paid to Phastate. Much has been written in condemna- raoh for the revenues of the state, and perhaps
tion, and again in vindication of these pro- for public works of all kinds, agricultural
ceedings. Was Joseph a mere creature of and others, was not an exorbitant impost.
Pharaoh's, desirous only of his master's ag- The Egyptians appear to have made no diffigrandizement? or was he bent on establishing culty in paying one-fifth of the produce of
a tyrannical absolutism in violation of the their land to Pharaoh during the years of
rights and liberties of the subject? The bre- plenty; and hence we may infer that it would
vity of the narrative and our imperfect ac- not have been a burdensome rent when the
quaintance with the condition of the people system of agriculture was put on a better
and the state of agriculture in ancient Egypt footing.
make it impossible fully to judge of the wis- 28 the'whole age of Jacob] Lit. the
dom and equity of Joseph's laws. This much, days of Jacob, even the years of his life.
however, is quite evident. The land in favourable years was very productive. In the plente- 29. bury me not...n Egypt] Jacob had
ous years it brought forth by handfuls (ch. a firm faith that his descendants should innerit
ous years I brought forth by handfuls (ch, the land of Canaan, and therefore desired to
xli. 47). Even the fifth part of the revenue of be buried there. Moreover, he very probably
corn (v. 34) was so abundant that it is de- be buried there. Moreover, he very probably
scribed as like "the sand of the sea, " and wished to direct the minds of his children to
" without number" (v. 49). Yet there was a that as their future home, that they might be
liability to great depression, as shewn by the kept from setting up their rest in Egypt.
seven years of famine: the monuments too in- 31. boewed himself upon the bed's head]
dicate the frequent occurrence of scarcity, and So the Masorites point it. So the Targg.,
there was evidently no provision against this Symm., Aquila, Vulg., but the LXX., Syr.,
in the habits of the people or the management and Epistle to the Hebrews (xi. 2I), read " on
of the tillage. If Pharaoh had not been moved the top of his staff." The Hebrew word withto store up corn against the famine years, the out the vowel points means either " bed" or
population would most probably have perished. I" staff." The only distinction is in the vowel
The peculiar nature of the land, its dependence points, which do not exist in the more ancient
on the overflow of the Nile, and the unthrifty MSS. It is therefore impossible to decide
habits of the cultivators, made it desirable to with certainty which was the original sense of
establish a system of centralization, perhaps to the word. It is quite possible that the meanintroduce some general principle of irrigation, ing is, as the Apostle quotes the passage, that
in modern phraseology, to promote the pros- after Joseph had sworn to bury him in Caperity of the country by great government naan, Jacob bowed himself upon the staff
works, in preference to leaving all to the uncer- which had gone with him through all his wantainty of individual enterprize. If this was so, derings (Gen. xxxii. Io), and so worshipped
then the saying,' Thou hast saved our lives," God. And this seems the more likely from
was no language of Eastern adulation, but the the fact that it is not till after these things
verdict of a grateful people. that one told Joseph, " Behold, thy father is
224 GENESIS. XLVII I. [V. 2-12.
took with him his two sons, Manas- 7 And as for me, when I came
seh and Ephraim. from Padall, cRachel died by me in cchap. 35.
2 And one told Jacob, and said, the land of Canaan in the way, when'9
Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto yet there was but a little way to come
thee: and Israel strengthened himself, unto Ephrath: and I buried her there
and sat upon the bed. in the way of Ephrath; the sane is
3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, Beth-lehem.
God Almighty appeared unto me at 8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons,
a chap. 28. aLuz in the land of Canaan, and and said, Who are these?
35. 6. blessed me, 9 And Joseph said unto his father,
4 And said unto me, Behold, I They are my sons, whom God hath
will make thee fruitful, and multiply given me in this place. And he said,
thee, and I will make of thee a mul- Bring them, I pray thee, unto me,
titude of people; and will give this and I will bless them.
land to thy seed after thee for an I Now the eyes of Israel were
everlasting possession. tdim for age, so that he could not see. f reT,.
" chap. 4r. 5 IT And now thy btwo sons, Eph- And he brought them near unto him; hkeary
josh. 13. raim and Manasseh, which were born and he kissed them, and embraced
7' unto thee in the land of Egypt before them.
I came unto thee into Egypt, are I i And Israel said unto Joseph, I
mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they had not thought to see thy face: and,
shall be mine. lo, God hath shewed me also thy
6 And thy issue, which thou be- seed.
gettest after them, shall be thine, and I2 And Joseph brought them out
shall be called after the name of their from between his.knees, and he bowed
brethren in their inheritance. himself with his face to the earth.
sick" (ch. xlviii. i), so that Jacob probably Christ came, who is over all God blessed for
had not as yet taken to his bed. At the same ever. There was, however, a kind of setime we must not always press the quotations condary birthright given to Ephraim (see xlix.
in the New Testament as proof of the true 22 sq.), who became ancestor of the royal
sense of the Hebrew original, for it is natu- tribe among the ten tribes of Israel.
ral for the Apostles to quote the LXX. as 6. shall be Lalled after the name of tCeir
being the Authorised Version, just as modern brethren] Shall not give names to separate
divines quote modern versions in the vernacu- tribes, but shall be numbered with the tribes
lar languages without suggesting a correction of Ephraim and Manasseh. XWe hear nothing
of their language, v,-hen such correction is un- of any younger sons of Joseph, and do not
necessary for their argument. know for certain that any were born to him;
but it has been thought that they may be menCHIAP. XLVIII. 3. GodAlmighty] " El- tioned in Num. xxvi. 28-37, I Chr. vii.
Shaddai." See on ch. xliii. I4.
14 29'
at Luz] i. e. Bethel. See ch. xxviii. I7, I39 7. Rachel died by me] When adopting
xxxv. 6, 7. the sons of Joseph, Jacob turns his thoughts
5. as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be back to his beloved Rachel, for whose sake
mine] Thy two sons shall be as much count- especially he had so dearly loved Joseph. Roed to be my sons, as Reuben and Simeon, my senm., Gesenius and some others propose to
own two eldest sons, are counted to be mine; translate here "Rachel died to my sorrow,"
accordingly Ephraim and Manasseh became lit. "upon me," and therefore as a heavy
patriarchs, eponymi, heads of tribes. Some burden to me; but the received translation is
think that, as Reuben was deprived of his supported by the Versions, and by the frequent
birthright, so here the birthright is given to use of the preposition in the sense of "near
Ephraim, the elder son of the firstborn of me," "by my side."
Rachel. But the birthright seems rather to 12. Joseph brought them out from behave been trans'erred to Judah, his three twveen his knees] Joseph brought them out
elder brothers being disinherited, the first for from between Jacob's knees, where they had
incest, the other two for cruelty (see ch. xlix. gone that he might embrace them, and pro8-Io) Accordingly, Judah became the royal bably placed them in a reverent attitude to
tribe, from whom as concerning the flesh receive the patriarch's blessing
v.r 3 —22.] GENESIS. XLVIII. 225
I3 And Joseph took them both, remove it from Ephraim's head unto
Ephraim in his right hand toward Manasseh's head.
Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in I8 And Joseph said unto his fahis left hand toward Israel's right ther, Not so, mv father: for this is
hand, and brought them near unto him. the firstborn; put thy right hand upon
I4 And Israel stretched out his his head.
right hand, and laid it upon Eph- I9 And his father refused, and said,
raim's head, who was the younger, I know it, my son, I know it: he
and his left hand upon Manasseh's also shall become a people, and he
head, guiding his hands wittingly; for also shall be great: but truly his
Manasseh was the firstborn. younger brother shall be greater than
d eb... 5 T And dhe blessed Joseph, and he, and his seed shall become a tmul- tHeb.
2'X said, God, before whom my fathers titude of nations. fdtness.
Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God 20o And he blessed them that day,
which fed me all my life long unto saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saythis day, ing, God make thee as Ephraim and
i6 The Angel which redeemed me as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim
from all evil, bless the lads; and let before Manasseh.
my name be named on them, and the 2i And Israel said unto Joseph,
name of my fathers Abraham and Behold, I die: but God shall be with
I Heb. Isaac; and let them tgrow into a you, and bring you again unto the
as~,sh multitude in the midst of the earth. land of your fathers.
ctrease. 17 And when Joseph saw that his 22 Moreover I have given to thee
father laid his right hand upon the one portion above thy brethren, which
head of Ephraim, it displeased him: I took out of the hand of the Amorite
and he held up his father's hand, to with my sword and with my bow.
and he bowed himself ewith his face to the showing that these three are but one God, and
earth] i.e. Joseph bowed down respectfully that the Angel is one with the fathers' God
and solemnly before his father. The LXX. and with the God who fed Jacob like a sheep.
has "They bowed themselves," which differs 22. Moreover I have given to thee one
but by the repetition of one letter from the portion] There is little doubt blt that this:received reading. rendering is correct. The past tense is used
14. guiding his hands wvittingly] So Ge- by prophetic anticipation, and the meaning is,
sen., Rosenm., and most modern interpreters; "I have assigned to thee one portion of that
but the LXX. Vulg. &c. "putting his hands land, which my descendants are destined to
crosswise." This has been defended by some, take out of the.hands of the Amorites." The
comparing an Arabic root, which has the word rendered portion is Sh.chem, meaning
sense "to bind, to twist," but it cannot be literally "a shoulder," thence probably a ridge
shewn ever to have had the sense "to cross." or neck of land, hence here rendered by most:
versions and commentators "portion." She16..he ln~el which redeemed me from chem, the city of Samaria, was probably named'
all evil] There is here a triple blessing: from the fact of its standing thus on a ridge
"The God, before whom my fathers walked, or shoulder of ground. (See on Gen. xii. 6.):,
"The God, which fed me like a shepherd, all Accordingly here the LXX., Targ. of Pseudo -.
my life long, Jonath., as also Calvin, Rosenm., and sorme
"The Angel, which redeemed (or redeemeth moderns, have, rendered not "portion," but
me) from all evil." "Shechem," a proper name. The history of,
It is impossible that the Angel thus identified Shechem is doubtless much mixed up with the
with God can he a created Angel. Jacob, history of the Patriarchs, and was intimately
no doubt, alludes to the Angel who wrestled connected with all their blessings. It was
with him and whom he called God (ch. xxxii. Abraham's first settlement in Palestine, and
24-30), the same as the Angel of the Cove- there he first built an altar (ch. xii. 6). There
nant, Mal. iii. x. Luther observes that the too Jacob purchased a piece of ground froro
Verb " bless," which thus refers to the God of Hamor the father of Shechem, and built an
his fathers, to the God who had been his altar (xxxiii. i8-2o). This was, however,
Shepherd, and to the Angel who redeemed not "taken out of the hand of the Amorite
him, is in the singular, not in the plural, with sword and bow," but obtained:peaceably,
VOL. I. P
226 GENESIS. XLIX. [v. I-5.
CHAPTER XLIX. 3 qI Reuben, thou art my firstborn,
I acob calleth his sons to bless them. 3 Their my might, and the beginning of my
blessing in5_articular. 29 Hle chargeth them strength, the excellency of dignity, Heb.
about his burial. 33 He dieth.cellency of power:
and the excellency of power: dono.fthou
I ND Jacob called unto his sons, 4 Unstable as water, tthou Shalt p.: 35.
i and said, Gather yourselves to- not excel; because thou awentest up 22.
gether, that I may tell you that whiJh to thy father's bed; then defledst I
shall befall you in the last days. thou it: he went up to my couch. my erorc,
2 Gather yourselves together, and 5 ql Simeon and Levi are brethren; isg Or, te
hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken instruments of cruelty are in their swords are
unto Israel your father. habitations. violeSne.
by purchase. Some have thought therefore end, but rather that from which his predicthat the allusion is to the victory over the tions took their beginning. It was not the
Shechemites by Simeon and Levi related in terminus ad quem, but the terminus a quo.
ch. xxxiv., the Shechemites being here called The return to Canaan was a fact established in
Amorites, though there Hivites, because Am- the decrees of Providence, the certainty of
orite was a generic name, like Canaanite: but which rested on promises given and repeated
it is hardly likely that Jacob should boast of a to the Patriarchs. Jacob therefore does not
conquest by his sons, as though it were his repeat this, farther than by the injunction, in
own, when he strongly reprobated their action the last chapter, and again at the end of this,
in it, and even "cursed their anger, for it was that he should be buried, not in Egypt, but
fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel" (ch. at Machpelah, the buryingplace of his fathers.
xlix. 7). Though, therefore, it is undoubtedly 3. the beginning of my strength] Some
told us, that Jacob gave Shechem to Joseph, important Versions (Aquila, Symm., Vulg.)
and that Joseph was therefore buried there render "the beginning of my sorrow," a pos(Josh. -xxiv. 3z; John iv. 5. See also Je- sible translation, but not suited to the parallelrome,'Qu1. in Gen.' xlix.); and though there isms. For the expression, as applied to firstmay be some allusion to this gift in the words born sons, comp. Deut. xxi. 17; Ps. lxxviii.
here made use of, by a paronomasia so com- I cV. 6
mon in Hebrew, it is most likely that the
rendering of the Authorised Version is correct. 4 Unstabl as water] or "boiling over
The addition of "one" to "portion " seems to like water." The meaning of the word is
decide for this interpretation. I"I have given uncertain. The same root in Syriac expresses
thee one Shechem," would be very hard to "wantonness;" in Arabic, "pride," "swelling
interpret. arrogance." In this passage it is clearly connected with water. The Vulgate translates,
CHAP. XLIX. 1. in the last days] The "Thou art poured out like water." Symmafuture generally, but with special reference to
fulture generally, but with special reference t chus renders "Thou hast boiled over like
the times of MIessiah. The Rabbi Nachmani- water." The translation of the LXX. is pecudes says, " According to the words of all, the liar, but it also seems to point to boiling as
last days denote the days of Messiah." The well as to the insolence of pride (e';po-r ole
passages in which it occurs are mostly Messi- uiup, /07 EKxEo1s). Modern lexicographers
anic predictions (see Numn. xxiv. 14; Isa. i.; (as Gesen., Lee, &c.) generally give "boiling
Jer. xxx. 2z4; Ezek. xxxviii. I6; Dan. x. I4; ove.
Hos. iii. 5; Mic. iv, t). The exact words of thou shalt not excel Perhaps, though,
the LXX. are used in Heb. i. I, and virtually through thy swelling wantonness, thou risest
the same in Acts ii. I7; a Tim. iii. I; I Pet. i. up like water when it boils, yet it shall not be
20; 2 Pet. iii. 3, where the reference is to the so as to excel and surpass thy brethren. Not
times of Christ. (See Heidegger, Vol. II. one great action, not one judge, prophet, or
xxIi. 6; Gesen.' Thes.' p. 73.) The pro- leader from the tribe of Reuben is ever menphecy of Jacob does not refer exclusively to tioned in history.
the days of Messiah, but rather sketches gene- then defiledst thou it] " Thou hast polluted"
rally the fortunes of his family; but all is or desecrated it."
leading up to that which was to be the great 5. instruments of cruelty are in their haconsummation, when the promised Seed should bitations] Probably, "Their swords are income and extend the blessings of the Spiritual struments of violence;" so the Vulg., several
Israel throughout all the world. It is to be Rabbins, and the most eminent moderns. The
carefully noted, that the occupation of Canaan word occurs only here, is very variously renby the twelve tribes under Joshua was not the dered by the Versions, and is of doubtful c(eripoint to which his expectations pointed as an vation.
v. 6-o.] GENESIS. XLIX. 227
6 0 my soul, come not thou into brethren shall praise: thy hand shall
their secret; unto their assembly, be in the neck of thine enemies; thy
mine honour, be not thou united: father's children shall bow down befor in their anger they slew a man, fore thee.
Or, and in their selfwill they H digged down g Judah is a lion's whelp: from
owAed a wall. the prey, my son, thou art gone up:
7 Cursed be their anger, for it was he stooped down, he couched as a
fierce; and their wrath, for it was lion, and as an old lion; who shall
cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, rouse him up?
and scatter them in Israel. Io The sceptre shall not depart
8 ql Judah, thou art he whom thy from Judah, nor a lawgiver from be6. mine honouer] Probably a synonym 8. Judah, thou art he vwhom thy brethren
for " my soul" in the first clause of the paral- shall praise] Judah, thou, thy brethren
lelism. The soul as being the noblest part of s hall praise thee. The word "thou" is
man is called his glory. See Ps. viii. 5 (6 emphatic, probably, like "Judah," in the vocaHeb.), xvi. 9, xxx. 12 (13 Heb.), lvii. 8 (9 tive, not, as some would render it, "Thou art
Heb.), cviii. I (z Heb.); (Ges.'Thes.' p. 655). Judah,'.' which is far tamer. The reference is
cdigged down a call HaLms trung an ox. to the meaning of the name. Leah said, "Now
So the margin'"houghed oxen." The singlu- will I praise the Lord, therefore she called his
lar "an ox" must be used to retain the paral- name Judah" (ch. xxix. 35). Judah, notlelism with "a man" in the former clause, withstanding the sad history of him and his
both have a collective intention. This is the house in ch. xxxviii., shewed on the whole
rendering of the LXX. and gives the com- more nobleness than any of the elder sons of
moner sense of the verb. It is therefore adopt- Jacob. He and Reuben were the only two
ed by most recent commentators. The same who desired to save the life of Joseph (ch.
Hebrew word, with a distinction only in the xxxvii. 22z, 6); and his conduct before Jovowel point, means "' ox" and "' wall." seph in Egypt is truly noble and touching (see
7. ill dvide them in Jaco, and scat- ch. xliv. 18-34). Hence, when Reuben is
ter7. I ll dd them in JTcobhs andas mo scaly deprived of his birthright for incest, Simeon
ter them in Israe] This was most literally d L for manslaughter, Juah, who is
fulfilled, for when Canaan was conquered, on next in age, naturally and rightly succeeds
the second numbering under Moses, the tribe to it
of Simeon had become the weakest of all the
thy hand shall be in the neck of thine ene
tribes (Numb. xxvi. I4); in Moses' blessing mies; thy father's children shall bow do'wn
(Deut. xxxiii.) it is entirely passed over; and before thee] He was to be victorious in war,
in the assignment of territory it was merely and the leading tribe in Israel; the former
mingled or scattered among the tribe of Ju- promise being signally fulfilled in the victories
dah, having certain cities assigned it within the of David and Solomon, the latter in the elevalimits of Judah's possession (Josh. xix. I-9); tion of Judah to be the royal tribe; but both
whilst the Levites had no separate inheritance, most fully in the victory and royalty of Dabut merely a number of cities to dwell in, scat- vid's Son and David's Lord.
tered throughout the possessions of their brethren (Josh. xxi. I-40). \Vith regard to 9. Juda is n lion's whelp: from the prey,
the latter, though by being made dependent on my son, thou art gone up] Judah is comthe tithes and also on the liberality of their fel- pared to the most royal and the most powerful
low countrymen, they were punished, yet in of beasts The image is from the lion retiring
process of time the curse was turned into a to the mountains after having devoured his
blessing. (See Mede, %'WTorks,' Bk. I. Disc. prey: not probably, as Gesenius and others,
xxxv.) Of this transformation of the curse "thou hast grown up from feeding upon the
into a blessing there is not the slightest intima- prey."
tion in Jacob's address: and in this we have a as an old lion] As a lioness (Bochart,
strong proof of its genuineness. After this Hieroz.' I. p. 7i9; Ges.'Thes.' p. 738).
honourable change in the time of Moses (due The standard of Judah was a lion, very proin great part to the faithfulness of Moses him- bablyderived from these words of Jacob.
self and of the Levites with him), it would 10. The sceptre shall not depart from
never have occurred to the forger of a pro- Judah, &c.] Render
phecy to cast such a reproach, and to foretell A sceptre shall not depart from Judah
such a judgment on the forefather of the Le- Nor a lawgiverfrom between his feet,
vites. In fact, how different is the blessing Until that Shiloh come,
pronounced by Moses himself upon the tribe And to him shall be tile obedience of
of Levi in Deut. xxxiii. 8 sqq. (See Keil.) the peoples.
228 GENESIS, XLIX. [v. ~-,3,
tween his feet, until Shiloh come; he washed his garments in wine,
and unto him shall the gathering of and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
the people be. 12 His eyes shall be red with wine,
I I Binding his foal unto the vine, and his teeth white with milk.
and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; I3 e Zebulun shall dwell at the
A remarkable prophecy of the Messiah, and the Targums add the name of Messiah, and
so acknowledged by all Jewish, as well as all the more ancient Jews held it to be an
Christian, antiquity. The meaning of the undoubted prophecy of Messiah.
verse appears to be "The Sceptre (either of 5. 1"Unto him shall the gathering of the
royal, or perhaps only of tribal, authority) people be." Rather, " Unto him shall be the
shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver obedience of the nations." The word for obe(senator or scribe) from before him, until Shi- dience occurs only onde besides, in Prov. xxx.
loh (i.e. either'the Prince of peace,' or'he I 7 but, if the reading be correct, there is little
whose right it is') shall come, and to him doubt of its significance. (See Ges. pp. 6zo,
shall the nations be obedient." There are I2oo; Heidegger, Tom. IL. p. 748.)
some obscure expressions, but we may confi- As regards the fulfilment of this prophecy,
dently hold that the above paraphrase conveys it is undoubted that the tribal authority and
the true sense of the passage. the highest place in the nation continued with
1. The word sceptre, originally denoting a Judah until the destruction of Jerusalem. It
staff of wood, a strong rod taken from a tree is true that after the Babylonish Captivity the
and peeled as a wand, is used (I) for " the rod royalty was not in the house of Judah; but
of correction, (2) for "Ithe staff of a shep- the prophecy is not express as to the possessioni
herd," (3) for "the sceptre of royalty" (as of absolute royalty. Israel never ceased to be
Ps. xlv. 7; cp. Hom.'II1.' II. 46, Ioi), (4) a nation, Judah never ceased to be a tribe with
for "a tiibe," which may he because the at least a tribal sceptre and lawgivers, or ex-.
sceptre denoted tribal as uwell as regal au- positors of the law, Sanhedrim or Selnators, and
thority, or because tribes were considered as with a general pre-eminence in the land, nor
twigs or branches from a central stem. (See was there a foreign ruler of the people, till at
Ges. p. 1353.) It is probable that the sceptre least the time of Herod the Great, just before
in Balaam's prophecy (Num. xxiv. I7) has a the birth of the Saviour; and even the Herods,
reference to these words of Jacob. though of Idumaan extraction, were consi2. " A lawgiver," so, more or less, all the dered as exercising a native sovereignty in
Ancient Versions. The LXX. and Vulg. ren- Judah, which did not quite pass away till a
der " a leader," the Targums paraphrasing by Roman procurator was sent thither after the
"I scribe or interpreter of the law." The word reign of Archelaus, the son of Herod the
certainly means "a lawgiver" in Detut. xxxiii. Great: and at that very time the Shiloh came,
2z; Isa. xxxiii. z2; and all ancient interpreta- the Prince of peace, to whom of right the
tion was in favour of undtrstanding it of a kingdom belonged. (On the meaning of the
person. The R. Lipmann, however, proposed name Shiloh, see Note A at the end of the
the sense of "a rod or staff" answering to Chapter.)
"the sceptre" in the former clause, in which 11. Binding his foal unto the vine, &c.]
he has been followed by eminent critics, such Many think that the patriarch, having spoken
as Gesenius, Tuch, Knobel, who think that of the endurance of the reign of Judah till the
this sense is more pertinent here, and in Num. coming of Christ, returns to speak of Judah's
xxi. 18; Ps. lx. 7 (see Heidegger, Vol. II. p. temporal prosperity during all that period;
738; Ges. p. 154); but it requires proof that but the Targums of Jerusalem and Pseudothe word, naturally signifying ", lawgiver," Jonathan refer this verse to the Messiah. So
sometimes undoubtedly tneaninig "'lawgiver," also several Christian fathers (e.g. Chrysos-.
and always so rendered in the Versions, can tom, in loc., Theodoret, Qu. in Gen.'); inmean lawgiver's staff or sceptre. terpretirg the vine of the Jewish people, and
3. " From between his feet" is rendered the wild ass of th e g converts brought
by the Versions, and generally by commenta- into the vineyard of the Church. The washtors fi-om among his posterity. (See Ges. ing of the garments in wine they consider an
4i. 2 1 4. til Shiloh come." Forfllercon-) allusion to Christ as the true vine (John xv. 1),
4. "Untl Sho come" For fuller con- to His treading "the winepress alone" (Isa.
sideration of the name "Shiloh," see Note A at lxiii. 1-3), and empurpling His garments with
the end of the Chapter. The only two admis- His own Blood. (See eidegger, II. pp.
sible interpretations are that the word is (I) sqq.)
a proper name, meaning "the Peace-maker,"
"the Prince of peace,' or, (a) according to 12. His eyes shall be red'with'wine,] &c.
the almost unanimous consent of the Versions Or perhaps (as the LXX., Vulg., Targg. Jeand Targums, " He, whose right it is." All rus., and Pseudo-Jon.), "His eyes shall be
v. 14-I9.] GENESIS. XLIX. 229
haven of the sea; and he shall be I6 T Dan shall judge his people,
for an haven of ships; and his border as one of the tribes of Israel.
shall be unto Zidon. I7 Dan shall be a serpent by the
i4 ~T Issachar is a strong ass couch- way, t an adder in the path, that biteth t Heb.
ing down between two burdens: the horse heels, so that his rider shall s~''e.
15 And he saw that rest was good, fall backward.
and the land that it was pleasant; 18 I have waited for thy salvation,
and bowed his shoulder to bear, and O LORD.
became a servant unto tribute. 19 ql Gad, a troop shall overcome
redder than wine, and His teeth whiter than A paronomasia on Dan (i.e. a judge). The
milk." This is generally supposed to refer to words may mean that, though he was only a
the land flowing with milk and honey, and son of Bilhah, he shall yet have tribal auithoabounding in vineyards; but the fathers ap- rity in his own people. The word translated
plied it to thO Messiah's kingdom in the same " tribe " is the same as that translated " scepmanner with the last verse, e.g. "That His tre" in v. io. Onkelos and others after him
eyes shine as with wine know all those mem- suppose the allusion to be to the judgeship of
bers of His Body mystical, to whom it is Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan (Judg.
given with a sort of sacred inebriation of mind, xv. 20o).
alienated from the fleeting things of time, to
* * b r * X X 17. Dan shall be a serpent by the Cway,
behold the eternal brightness of wisdom." n The rorn for adder,
(Agustin. C. Faust. II 42 Tom VIII an adder in the path] The word for adder,
2(A4)stin. I C. Faust.' X1. 42, Tom. vXii. Shephiphon, is translated by the Vulg. cerastes
P. 24). the horned snake, the coluber cerastes of Lin13. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of nxeus, a small snake about I4 inches long and
the sea] "Zebulun shall dwell on the shore of one inch thick, lurking in the sand and by the
the sea, and he shall be for a shore of ships," way side, very poisonous and dangerous.
(i.e. suited for ships to land on), "and his (Bochart,'Hieroz.' Pt. ii. Lib. Iin. c. I2.)
border" (or farthest extremity) "shall be by The people of Dan in Judges xviii. 27, shewed
Zidon." As far as we know of the limits of the kind of subtlety here ascribed to them.
Zebulun, after the occupation of Canaan, it Perhaps the local position of the tribe is
reached from the sea of Gennesareth to Mount alluded to. It was plarced originally on the
Carmel, and so nearly to the Mediterranean. outskirts of the royal tribe of Judah, and
It did not reach to the city of Zidon, but its might in times of war have to watch stealthily
most western point reaching to Mount Car- for the enemy and fall on him by subtlety as
mel brought it into close proximity to Zido- he was approaching. The comparison of
nia, or the territory of Tyre and Sidon. The Dan to a serpent lying in wait and biting the
language here used, though in all material heel seems to imply some condemnation.
points fulfilled in the subsequent history, is It is certainly observable that the first introjust what would not have been written by a duction of Idolatry in Israel is ascribed to the
forger in after times. Zebulun had not pro- tribe of Dan (Judg. xviii.), and that in the
perly a maritime territory; yet its possessions numbering of the tribes in Rev. vii., the name
reached very nearly to both seas. It was far of Dan is omitted. From these or other
from the city of Zidon; and yet, as approxi- causes many of the fathers were led to believe
mating very closely to the land of the Syrians, that antichrist should spring from the tribe of
might well be said to have its border by or to- Dan (Iren. v. 30, 32; Ambros.'De Benewards Zidon. Tyre probably was not built dict. Patriarch.' c. 7; Augustin.' In Josuam,'
at this time, and therefore is not named in the Quest. 22; Theodoret,'In Genes.' Q(aest.
prophecy. Io 9; Prosper,' De Promiss. et Przedict.' p. 4;
14. Issachar is a strong ass couching Gregorius,'Moral.' c. 18, &c.).
down between two burdens] Probablv "Issa-d for t
18. I have waited for thy salvation, 0
char is a strong-boned ass, couching down LORD] This ejaculation immediately followbetween the cattle pens," or "sheepfolds." ing the blessing on Dan is very remarkable,
The last word occurs only here and in Judg. but not easy to interpret. The Targg. Jerus.
v. 16, where it is rendered sheepfolds (see and Pseudo-Jonath. (and according to the
Rcediger in Ges.'Thes.' p. I470). The Complutensian Polyglot Onkelos also, though
prediction all points to the habits of an in- the passage is probably spurious) paraphrase
dolent agricultural people, and to what is the words by saying that Jacob looked not
likely to accompany such habits, an endur- for temporal redemption, such as that
ance of oppression in preference to a war of ht by Gideon
independence. wrought by Gideon or Samson, but for the
eternal redemption promised by Messiah. Is
16. Dan shall judge his people, &c.] it not possible, that Jacob, having been moved
230 GENESIS. XLIX. [v. 20-25.
him: but he shall overcome at the 23 The archers have sorely grieved
last. him, and shot at him, and hated
2o IT Out of Asher his bread shall him:
be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. 24 But his bow abode in strength,
2I e Naphtali is a hind let loose: and the arms of his hands were made
he giveth goodly words. strong by the hands of the mighty
22 1q Joseph is a fruitful bough, God of Jacob; (from thence is the
t Heb even a fruitful bough by a well; whose shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
dau{l;ters. branches run over the wall: 25 Even by the God of thy father,
-by the Spirit of God to speak of the serpent beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
biting the heel, may have had his thoughts him -that bringeth good tidings."
called back to the primal promise made to Bochart, after whom Michaelis, Schulz,
Eve, the Protevangelium, where the sentence Dathe, Ewald and others, follow the LXX.
that the serpent should bruise the heel was. altering the vowel points, and render, " Naphsucceeded by the promise that the serpent's tali is a spreading tree, which puts forth
head should be crushed by the coming Seed? goodly branches."
This combination of thoughts may easily have 22. Joseph is a fruitful bough] Perelicited the exclamation of this verse. haps "Joseph is the son," or branch, "of a
19. Gad, a troop shall overcome him: fruitful tree, the son of a fruitful tree by a
but he shall overcome at the last] Perhaps well, as for the branches" (lit. the daughters)
" Gad, troops shall press on him, but he Ieach one of them runneth over the wall"
shall press upon their rear" (so Gesen. p. (see Ges. 2I8, 220). The construction is
27I; Ros., Schum.); the allusion being to the difficult and the difference of translations very
Arab tribes in the neighbourhood of Gad, considerable; but so, or nearly so, Gesen.,
who would invade him, and then retire, Gad Tuch, Knobel, Delitzsch, &c. The profollowing them and harassing their retreat. phecy probably refers to the general prosEvery word but two in the verse is some perity of the house of Joseph. The fruitful
form of the same root, there being a play tree is by some supposed to be Rachel. The
of words on the name Gad and Gedud, i. e. a.luxuriance of the tendrils running over the
troop; we might express it,. "Gad, troops wall may point to Joseph's growing into two
shall troop against him, but he shall troop on tribes, whilst none of his brethren formed
their retreat." (See on ch. xxx. I.) more than one: so Onkelos.
20. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, 23. The archers have sorely grieved
and he shall yield royal dainties] The trans- hirm] Though the Targums and others have
lation may be a little doubtful; but the sense referred this to Joseph's trials in Egypt, the
is probably that expressed by the Authorised prophetic character of the whole chapter
Version. The allusion is to the fertility of.shows that they point rather to the future
the territory of Asher extending from Mount wars of his tribes and the strength which he
Carmel along the coast of Sidonia nearly to received from the hands of the mighty God
Mount Lebanon. It was specially rich in of Jacob.
corn, wine and oil (Heidegger), containing 24. from thence is the shepherd. the stone
some of the most fertile land in Palestine Of Israe] "Fron thence," referring to "the
(Stanley,' S. and P.' p. 265). mighty one of Jacob " in the last clause. Some
21. Naph-tali is a hind let loose: he giv- understand here that Joseph, having been
eth goodly wvords] The Targg. Pseudo-Jon. defended from the malice of his enemies,
and Jerus. explain this that "Naphtali is a was raised up. by God to be a Shepherd or
swift messenger, like a hind that runneth on Guardian both to the Egyptians and to his
the mountains, bringing good tidings." So own family, and a stone or rock of support
virtually the Syr. and Sam. Versions. The to the house of Israel. Others see in this
allusion is obscure, as we know so little of a prophecy of Joshua, the great captain
the history of Naphtali. The Targums of his people, who came of the tribe of
above cited say that Naphtali first declared Ephraim, and led the Israelites to the proto Jacob that Joseph was yet alive. As the mised land. Others again have thought that,
tribe of Naphtali occupied part of that re- when Jacob was speaking of the sufferings
gion which afterwards became Galilee, some and subsequent exaltation of his son Joseph,
have supposed that there was contained in his visions were directed forward to tha~;
these words a prophecy of the Apostles (in greater Son, of whom Joseph was a type,
Hebrew Sheluchim, the same word with She- whom the archers vexed, but who was vic.
lucha here rendered "let loose"), who were torious over all enemies, and that of Him he
Galileans and of whom it was said, " How says I" From GOD cometh the Shepherd, the
v. 26-33.] GENESIS. XLIX. 231
who shall help thee; and by the Al- unto them, I am to be gathered unto
mighty, who shall bless thee with my people: bbury me with my fathers chap. 4
blessings of heaven above, blessings in the cave that is in the field of Eph- 30.
of the deep that lieth under, blessings ron the Hittite,
of the breasts, and of the womb: 30 In the cave that is in the field of
26 The blessings of thy father have Machpelah, which is before Mamre,
prevailed above the blessings of my in the land of Canaan, c which Abra- Cchap. 2
progenitors unto the utmost bound ham bought with the field of Eph-6.
of the everlasting hills: they shall be ron the Hittite for a possession of a
on the head of Joseph, and on the buryingplace.
crown of the head of him that was 31 There they buried Abraham
separate from his brethren. and Sarah his wife; there they buried
27 It Benjamin shall ravin as a Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there
wolf: in the morning he shall devour I buried Leah.
the prey, and at night he shall divide 32 The purchase of the field and
the spoil. of the cave that is therein was from
28 eT All these are the twelve tribes the children or Heth.
of Israel: and this is it that their father 33 And when Jacob had made an
spake unto them, and blessed them; end of commanding his sons, he gaevery one according to his blessing he thered up his feet into the bed, and
blessed them. yielded up the ghost, and was gather29 And he charged them, and said ed unto his people.
Rock of Israel." As both Joseph and Joshua clauses is preserved, and the violence done to
were eminent shadows and forerunners of the the two words translated in Authorised VerSaviour, it is quite possible that all these sion "progenitors" and "utmost bounds"
senses, more or less, belong to the words, is avoided.
though perhaps with special reference to the
last. The translation advocated by many separate from iJs brethren] So Onkelos.
recent commentators, "From thence-from The Vulg. and Saad. have "the Nazarite
thle Shepherd —the Rock of Israel" is against among his brethren." Either of these translathe original and the Versions. tions would allude to the separation of Joseph
25. Ev3en by the God of thy father, cwho from his family, first by his captivity and
shall help thee, &c.] Rather " From the God afterwards by his elevation. The word for
of thy father and He shall help thee, and with " separate" means "one set apart," " conse(the aid of) the Almighty even He shall bless crated," especialliy used of a Nazarite like
thee." Samson (Judg. xiii., xvi. 7), and of the Nazarite under the law (Num. vi. z). It is possi26. The blessings of thy father have ble that this consecration may apply also to
prevailed above the blessings. of my progenitors princes who are separated to higher rank in
unto the utmost bound of the everlarting hills] dignity, just as the word nezer, " consecraIf this be the right rendering of a very obscure tion," signifies a royal or high-priestly diadem.
passage in the original, the meaning obviously Accordingly, the LXX., Syr., Targg. Jerus.,
is, that the blessings of Jacob on the head of Pseudo-Jon. and many recent interpreters, renJoseph and his offspring are greater than those der "a prince or leader of his brethren" (see
which Abraham had pronounced on Isaac Ges. p. 871).
and Isaac on Jacob, and that they should
last as long as the everlasting hills. This is 27. Benjamin shall ravin as a cwolf,
more or less the interpretation of all the &c.] The reference is, no doubt, to the warJewish commentators following the Targums like character of the tribe of Benjamin. Exand the Vulg. The LXX (with which amples of this may be seen Judg. v. I4, xx.
agrees the reading of the Samaritan Penta- I6; I Chron. vii. 7, xii. 17; X Chron. xiv. 8,
teuch) has a rendering which is adopted by xvii. 17. Also Ehud the Judge (Judg. iii. Is)
Michaelis, Dathe, Vater, Tuch, Winer, and Saul the king, with his son Jonathan, were
Maurer, Schumann, Knobel, and Gesen. Benjamites. The fathers (Tertul., Ambrose,
(see Ges. pp. 38, 39 ), 1" The blessings of thy August., Jerom.) think that there is a referfather prevail over the blessings of the eternal ence also to St Paul, who before his convermountains, even the glory of the everlasting sion devastated the Church and in later life
hills." By this the parallelism of the two brought home the spoils of the Gentiles.
232 GENESIS. XLIX.
NOTE A on CHAP. XLIX. V. Io. SHILOH.
i. Different renderings of word. I. "He who shall be sent." 2. "' His son." 3. "Until he
come to Shiloh." 4. "The Peace-Maker." 5. "He, whose right it is." ii. Choice
of renderings, either 4 or 5. iii. Messianic, by consent of Jewish and Christian
antiquity. iv. Answer to objections.
Shiloh. A word of acknowledged difficulty. 4. Far more probable is the rendering
x. The Vulgate renders "He, who shall be which makes Shiloh a proper name, and the
sent" (comp. Shiloah, Isai. viii. 6; John ix. 7 subject of the verb, signifying " Peace," or
-xI). This would correspond with a title of rather, "the Peace-maker," the "Prince of
the Messiah, "Hethat should come" (Matt.xi. peace." So, with slight variations, Luther,
3). Such a translation is unsupported from Vater, Gesenius, Rosenmuller, Hengstenberg,
other sources and rests on a different reading Knobel, Keil and others of the highest authoriof the original, the letter n (cheth) being sub- ty. The title is one most appropriate to Messiah
stituted for in (he) of the received text. (see Isai. ix. 6). The word is legitimately
2. The Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan and formed from the verb Shalah, to rest, to be at
some rabbins render " his son." So Kimchi, peace; and if the received reading be the true
Pagninus, Calvin and others: but it requires reading, there need be little doubt that this is
proof that the word shil, "a son," has any its meaning. It has been thought by some
existence in Hebrew. that Solomon received his name Shelomo, the
3. The Rabbi Lipmann, in his book called " peaceful," with an express reference to this
" Nizzachon,"' suggests that it was the name of prophecy of Shiloh, and it may be said that in
the city Shiloh, and that we should render Solomon was a partial fulfilment of the pro"until he (Judah) shall come to Shiloh." A mise. Solomon was very markedly a type of
similar construction occurs I S. iv. I2 (he the Messiah, himself the son of David, whose
" came to Shiloh"), and it is said that Judah, dominion was from sea to sea, who established
in the march to the encampments in the wil- a reign of peace in the land and who built the
derness, always took the first place (Num. ii. temple of the Lord; but Solomon was not
3-9, x. I4), but that, when the Israelites came the true Shiloh, any more than he was the
to Shiloh, they pitched the tabernacle there true "Son of David."
(Josh. xviii. I —i), and, the other tribes de- 5. The authority of the Ancient Versions
parting from Judah, his principality closed. is all but overwhelming in favour of the
It seems fatal to this theory, that every sense, "He, to whom it belongs," or "He,
ancient Version, paraphrase and commentator whose right it is." So, more or less,
make Shiloh, not the objective case after the LXX., Aq., Symm., Syr., Saad., Onk.,
verb, but the subject or nominative case before Targ. Jer., all, in fact, except Vulg. and
the verb. Moreover, whether it were a pro- Pseudo-Jonathan.
phecy by Jacob, or, as many who adopt this The objections to this are:
theory will have it, a forgery of after date, (r) That if the letteryod (expressed by the
nothing could be less pertinent than the sense i in Shiloh) be genuine, the translation is into be elicited from the words, "till he come to admissible: but it is replied that very many
Shiloh." Probably the town of Shiloh did Hebrew MSS. and all Samaritan MSS. are
not exist in Jacob's time, and Judah neither without theyod, and that the evidence is much
lost nor acquired the pre-eminence at Shiloh. in favour of the belief that the yod did not
He was not markedly the leader in the wilder- appear till the I oth century (see Prof. Lee,' Lex.'
ness, for the people were led by Moses and in voc.). It may be added that, as the reading
Aaron; nor did he cease to have whatever without the yod is the harder and apparently
pre-eminence he may have had when they the less probable, the copyists were more likecame to Shiloh. This has induced some to ly to have inserted it by mistake than to have
vary the words, by translating, ",when he omitted it by mistake.
comes to Shiloh," a translation utterly inad- (2) It is said, that by this reading so intermissible; but it will give no help to the solu- preted, a form is introduced unknown to the
tion of the passage, for Judah did not acquire Pentateuch, Aramrean and of later date. To
any fresh authority at Shiloh. It was the this it is replied, that the form occurs in the
place of the rest of the tabernacle and there- Song of Deborah (Judg. v. 7), which is very
fore perhaps was named Shiloh, " Rest:" but ancient; that Aramuaan forms were either very
it was no turning point in the history of ancient or decidedly modern, to be met with
Judah. Notwithstanding therefore the autho- in Hebrew when the patriarchs were in conrity of Teller, Eichhorn, Bleek, Hitzig, Tuch, tact with the Chaldeans (and Jacob had been
Ewald, Delitzsch, Kalisch, &c., we may pro- forty years in Mesopotamia), or not again
nounce with Hofmann, that the rendering is till the Jews were in captivity at Babylon.
utterly impossible. An Aramaism or Chaldaism therefore was na.
V.,2.] GENESIS. L. 233
tural in the mouth of Jacob, though not in I. The patriarchal age had no anticipation
the mouth of David or Solomon. of a personal Messiah, though there may have
This rendering of the Vss. is supported by been some dim hope of a future deliverance.
the early Christian writers, as Justin M.. This is simply a gratuitous assertion. Ad(' Dial.'~ Izo) and many others. It is thought mitting even that the promise to Adam may
that Ezekiel (xxi. 27) actually quotes the have been vaguely understood, we cannot tell
words, " Until he come whose right it is," how much the rite of sacrifice, the prophecies
expanding them a little, and St Paul (in Gal. of men like Enoch and Noah, and the proiii. 19) is supposed to refer to them. mises to Abraham and Isaac, had taught the
On the whole, rejecting confidently the faith of the fathers. There is the highest of
senses i, 2, 3, we may safely adopt either 4 or all authority for saying that " Abraham re5; 4, if the reading be correct; 5, if the read- joiced to see the day of Christ; he saw it, and
ing without the yod be accepted. was glad" (Joh. viii. 56). It was not indeed
All Jewish antiquity referred the prophecy to to be expected, that much beyond general inMessiah. Thus the Targum of Onkelos has timations should be given in very early times,
"until the Messiah come, whose is the king- the light gradually increasing as the Sun-rise
dom;" the Jerusalem Targum, "until the time was drawing near: but there seems no more
that the king Messiah shall come, whose is the likely time for a special teaching on this vital
kingdom." TheTargum ofPseudo-Jonathan, point than the time of Jacob's death. He
"till the king the Messiah shall come, the was the last of the three patriarchs to whom
youngest of his sons." So the Babylonian the promises were given. He was leaving his
Talmud ('Sanhedrim,' cap. ii. fol. 982), family in a foreign land, where they were to
"' Vhat is Messiah's name? His name is pass some generations surrounded by idolatry
Shiloh, for it is written, Until Shiloh come." and error. He was foretelling their future
So likewise the Bereshith Rabba, Kimchi, fortunes on their promised return to Canaan.
Aben-ezra, Rashi, and other ancient Rabbins. What more natural than that he should be
The more modern Jews, pressed by the argu- moved to point their hopes yet farther forward
ment, that the time appointed must have to that, of which the deliverance from Egypt
passed, refer to David, Saul, Nebuchadnezzar was to be an emblem and type?
and others (see Schcettgen,'Hor. Heb.' p. I264). 2. The New Testament does not cite this
There can be no doubt that this prophecy was as a prediction of Christ.
one important link in the long chain of predic- Bishop Patrick has well observed, that the
tions which produced that general expectation fulfilment of the prophecy was not till the
of a Messiah universally prevalent in Judea at destruction of Jerusalem, when. not only the
the period of the Christian era, and which Sceptre of Royalty, but even the tribal authoSuetonius, in the well-known passage in his rity, and the Sanhedrim or council of elders
life of Vespasian, tells us had long and (" the lawgiver") wholly passed from Judah.
constantly pervaded the whole of the East. Then, and not till then, had the foretold forWith the Jewish interpreters agreed the whole tunes of Judah's house been worked out.
body of Christian fathers, e.g. Justin M. The sceptre and the lawgiver had departed,' Apol.' I. ~~ 32, 54;' Dial.' ~~ 52, 2o; Iren. and " He, whose right it was," had taken the
Jv. 23; Origen,' C. Cels.' I. p. 4I,' Hom.' kingdom. The "Prince of peace" had come,
in Gen. i7; Cyprian,' C. Jud.' I. 2o; Cyril. and nations were coming into His obedience.
Hieros.'Cat.' xII.; Euseb.'H. E.' I. 6; But it would have been no argument to the
Chrys.'Hom. 67, in Gen.'; Augustine, De Jew to cite this prophecy, whilst the Jewish
Civ. D.' XVl. 4I; Theodoret,' GQ1St. ii Gen.' nation was still standing and still struggling
IIo; Hieron.' Quest. in Gen.', &c, for its freedom, still possessing at least a
The only arguments of any weight against shadow of royal authority and judicial
the Messianic character of the prophecy, ex- power. There is therefore abundant reason
cept of course a denial that prophecy is possi- why the New Testament should not refer
ble at all, seem to be the following. to it.
return. 25 He taketh an oati of t/iem for
CHAPTER L. his bones. 26 He dieth, andis ch/ested.
I Thie mournwin, for 7atob. 4 7osepi getteth AND Joseph fell upon his father's
leave of Pharaoho to g-o to bury hium. 7 Thface, ad wept upon him, and
funeral. I5 yose5/h comforteth his brethren, kissed him.
who craved his ardon. 22 His age. 2 And Joseph commanded his serHe seet/ the t/hird g-'ne'taion of htis sons.
24 He p-rophesieth unto his brethren of their vants the physicians to embalm his
CHAP. L. 2. his servants the physi- all places were crowded with physicians for
cians] Herod. (II. 84) tells us, that in Egypt every different kind of disease. The physi
234 GENESIS. L. [v. 3 —I.
father: and the physicians embalmed 7 q1 And Joseph went up to bury
Israel. his father: and with him went up all
3 And forty days were fulfilled for the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of
him; for so are fulfilled the days of his house, and all the elders of the
those which are embalmed: and the land of Egypt,,ileb. Egyptians mourned for him three- 8 And all the house of Joseph,
uwept. score and ten days. and his brethren, and his father's
4 And when the days of his mourn- house: only their little ones, and
ing were past, Joseph spake unto the their flocks, and their herds, they left
house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I in the land of Goshen.
have found grace in your eyes, speak, 9 And there went up with him
I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, both chariots and horsemen: and it
saying, was a very great company.
chap. t7. 5 a My father made me swear, say- Io And they came to the threshing59. ing, Lo, I die: in my grave which floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan,
I have digged for me in the land and there they mourned with a great
of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. and very sore lamentation: and he made
Now therefore let me go up, I pray a mourning for his father seven days.
thee, and bury my father, and I will i i And when the inhabitants of
come again, the land, the Canaanites, saw the
6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and mourning in the floor of Atad, they
bury thy father, according as he made said, This is a grievous mourning to
thee swear. the Egyptians: wherefore the name
cians of Egypt were famous in other lands as meaning the same as the Scriptural account
also (Herod. IIi. I, Iz9). It is not wonder- and that of Diodorus. His words are,
ful therefore that Joseph, with all his state, "Having done this they embalm in natron,
should have had several physicians attached to covering it up for 70 days. Longer than this
his establishment. Physicians, however, were it is not lawful to embalm." (See Sir G. Wilnot ordinarily employed to embalm, which kinson in Rawlinson,'Herod.' II. 86; Hengwas the work of a special class of persons stenb.' Egypt,' &c. p. 68.)
(Herod. ii. 85; Diodor. I. 9g); and the custom of embalming and the occupation of the r Joseph spake unto the house of Phaembalmer were probably anterior to Moses raoh] He probably did not go himself to
and to Joseph. Very probably the physicians Pharaoh, because in mourning for his father
embalmed Jacob because he was not an he had let his hair and beard grow long, which
embalmed Jacob because he was not an
Egyptian, and so could not be subjected to was the custom in Egypt at the death of relathe ordinary treatment of the Egyptians, or tions (Herod. II. 36): and it would have been
ermlbalmed by their embalmers. disrespectful to go into the presence of Pharaoh without cutting the hair and shaving the
3. And forty days were fulfilled for beard. (See on ch. xli. I4, and Hengstenb.
bhim] The account given by Diodorus (I. 9I)' Egypt,' p. 7I.)
is that the embalming lasted more than 30
days, and that when a king died they mourned 7. with him,went up all the servants of
for him 72 days. This very nearly corre- Pharaoh] Such large funeral processions are
sponds with the number in this verse. The often seen on the Egyptian monuments (Romourning of 70 days probably included the sellini, ii. p. 395; Hengstenb. p. 7I; Wilkin40 days of embalming. Herodotus (iI. 86), son,'A. E.' Vol. v. ch. xvi. and plates
who describes at length three processes of em- there).
balming, seems to speak of a subsequent steeping in natron (i.e. subcarbonate of soda) for 10. threthingfoor of Atad] or o GorenAtad," or II"the threshingfloor of thorns."
70 days. He probably expresses himself with
some inaccuracy, as both the account in beyond Jordan] i.e. to the West of JorGenesis, which is very much earlier, and the dan. Moses wrote before the Israelites had
account in Diodorus which is later, give a taken possession of the land of Israel, and
much shorter time for the whole embalming, therefore whilst they were on the East of Jori.e. either 30 or 4o days, and seem to make dan. This accords with what we hear of the
the whole mourning last but 70 days. It is site of Goren-Atad and Abel-Mizraim; for
possible, however, to understand Herodotus Jerome ('Onom.' s. v. Area-Ataid) identi
v. 12-25.1 GENESIS. L. 235
lThat is, of it was called nAbel-mizraim, which I8 And his brethren also went
the moum~.,toJ.~ f is beyond Jordan. and fell down before his face; and
Eifyt. I2 And his sons did unto him ac- they said, Behold, we be thy sercording as he commanded them: vants.
Acts 7. I3 For b his sons carried him into 19 And Joseph said unto them,
26. the land of Canaan, and buried him dFear not: for am I in the place Ofdchap. 0
in the cave of the field of Machpe- God? 5'
chap. 23. lah, which Abraham cbought with 20 But as for you, ye thought evil
the field for a possession of a bury- against me; but God meant it unto
ingplace of Ephron the Hittite, be- good, to bring to pass, as it is this
fore Mamre. day, to save much people alive.
I4 e And Joseph returned into 2I Now therefore fear ye not: I
Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all will nourish you, and your little ones.
that went up with him to bury And he comforted them, and spake
his father, after he had buried his t kindly unto them. t Heb.
father. 22 qT And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, toeats.
15 IT And when Joseph's brethren he, and his father's house: and Joseph
saw that their father was dead, they lived an hundred and ten years.
said, Joseph will peradventure hate 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's
us, and will. certainly requite us all children of the third generation: ethe e Numbo
the evil which we did unto him. children also of Machir the son of 32 39.
tHeb. I6 And they sent a messenger Manasseh were tbrought up upon Jo- t Heb.
Ceaged. unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did seph's knees.
command before he died, saying, 24 And Joseph said unto his bre17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, thren, I die: and fGod will surelyf Heb.,I.
Forgive, I pray thee now;, the tres- visit you, and bring you out of this 22'
pass of thy brethren, and their sin; land unto the land which he sware
for they did unto thee evil: and now, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
we pray thee, forgive the trespass of 25 And -Joseph took an oath of.xEoad.x.
the servants of the God of thy father. the children of Israel, saying, God'.
And Joseph wept when they spake will surely visit you, and ye shall
unto him. carry up my bones from hence.
fies it with Beth-Hoglah, which lay between of "the ark of the covenant."; Herodotus,
the Jordan and Jericho, the ruins of which after describing the embalming, says, "The
are probably still to be seen (Rob. i. 544 see relatives inclose the body in a wooden image
Smith's' Dict. of Bible,' I. p. 200.) which they have made in the shape of a man.
T11 Means either Then fastening the case, they place it in a
11. Abel-mizrair] Means either " the sepulchral chamber, upright against the wall.
field of Egypt," or " the mourning of Egypt, This is the most costly way of embalming the
according to the vowel-points. The violence dead" (Ii. 86). The description is of that
of the Egyptian lamentations is described by which we commonly call a mummy-case.
Herodotus (ii. 85). See also Wilkinson, Such coffins, made of wood, chiefly of syca-'A. E.' ch. xvI. more wood, were the commonest in Egypt;
19. Am I in the place of God?] i.e. it and though some very rich people were buried
is God's place to avenge, not mine. See Rom. in basaltic coffins, yet, both from Herodotus'
xii. I 9. description above and fiom other sources, we
23. Were brought up upon Joseph's knees] know that wooden coffins were frequent,
Lit. I" were born on Joseph's knees." Comp. for great men, even for kings. The coffin
the phrase ch. xxx. 3. It seems as if they of king Mycerinls, discovered A.D. 1837 in
were adopted by Joseph as his own children the third Pyramid of Memphis, is of syca1from the time of Itheir birth. more wood. The command of Joseph and
the promise of the Israelites, that his bones
26.. They embalmed him, and he uwas put in should be carried back into Canaan, were
a coffin] The word for coffin is literally reason enough for preferring a wooden to
"'airk" or "chest;" a word used alwa-ys of a stone coffin. (See Hengstenb.'Egypt,' pp.
a wooden chest, elsewhere almost exclusively 7x, 72z. Various coffins of wood, stone, and
236 GENESIS. L. [v. a6.
26 So Joseph died, being' an hun- embalmed him, and he was put in
dred and ten years old: and they a coffin in Egypt.
earthenware are described and engraved in remembrance to his children and his people,
Wilkinson's'A. E.' Vol. v. p. 479.) The that Egypt was not to be their home. His
coffin was, no doubt, deposited in some se- coffin laid up by them, ready to be carried
pulchral building (see Herod. above) and away according to his dying request whenever
guarded by his own immediate descendants God should restore them to the promised land,
till the time of the Exodus, when it was car- would have taught them to keep apart from
ried up out of Egypt and finally deposited in Egypt and its idolatries, looking for a better
Shechem (Josh. xxiv. 32). The faith of Jo- country, which God -had promised to their
seph (Heb. xi. az) must have been a constant fathers.
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GENESIS................... author of Exposit;on of the Thirt3-nine Articles, Sermons
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JOSHUA.................... Rev. T. E. ESPIN, B.D.
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Rev. W. KAY, D.D., late Principal of Bishop's College, (C.ISAIAH..................... cutta, author of The Psalms translatedfrom the Hebrew,
Essays on the Promise of Christianity.
Rev. R. PAYNE SMITH, D.D., Regius Professor of Divinity,
JEREMIAH................ Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, author of Bampton Lee.
tures for I869, Authenticity of Isaiah, d&c.
EZEKIEL................... Rev. G. CURREY, D.D., author of Hulsean Lectures, 1851.
Ven. H. J. Rosz, B.D., Archdeacon of Bedford, author of
DAlqNIEL. Sermons on the Duty of the Clergy, The Gospel an Abid
ins System.
SOLD BY
SCRIBNSER, AVIRMSTIRONG & CO.,
654 Broadway, New York.
Section V.-The Twelve Minor Prophets.
Right Rev. CONNOP THIRLWALL, D.D., Lord Bishop of St. David's, author of History of GraW,
Translation of' Niebuler's Rome, &-c., d&c.
HOSEA and JONAH........ Rev. E. HXTABLE, M.A., author of Sacred Record of Cr
tion Vindicated, Ministry of St. 7ohn the Baptist, &c.
AMOS & other PROPHETS.. Rev. R. GANDELL, M.A., Professor of Arabic, Oxford.
JOEL and OBADIAH........ Rev. F. MEYRICK, M.A., author of Theology of the ChuetA
of Rome, Ecclesice Anglicanoe Religio, &'c.
ZE3 CH1ARI^AHR & NMALACHI. I Rev. W. DRAKE, M.A., Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen,
author of Sermons on yonah, Amos, and Hosea, &c.
Section Vi.-The Cospels and Acts.
Most Rev. W. THOMSON, D.D., Lord Archbishop of York,
author of Limits of Philosophical Inquiry, Life in the
Light of God's Word, &'c.
Very Rev. H. L. IMANSEL, B.D., Dean of St. Paul's, author
of'Metaphysics, Philosophy of the Conditioned, Limits of
Religious Thought, &'C.
~ST. LUKE ~................... Ven. WM. BASIL JONES, M.A., Archdeacon and Prebendary
4 of York, author of Peace of God (Sermons), &c.
Rev. B. F. WESTCOTT, M.A., Canon of Peterborough, author
ST. JOIN.................. of History of the English Bible, Elements of the Gospel
Harmony, Sermons on Gospel Miracles, &'c.
THE ACTS i Right Rev. W. JACOBSON, D.D., Lord Bishop of Chester,
author of Patres Apostolici, Sermons, O&c.
Section VII.-The Epistles of St. Paul.
ROMANS................... Rev. E. H. GIFFORD, D.D., Honorary Canon of Worcester.
Rev. T. EVANS, M.A., Professor of Greek in Durham Univer
I. and II. CORINTHIANS.. sity. I
Rev. J. WAITE, M.A., Master of University College, Durham.
Very Rev. J. S. HowsoN, D.D., Dean of Chester, author of
GAATIAN............... Life and Epistles of St. Paul, Metaphors of St. Paul.
J. A. JEREMIE, Very Rev. Dean of Lincoln, Regius Professor
PHILIPPIANS............. of Divinity, Cambridge, author of History of the Scenes
in the Life of St. Paul, &'c.
Rev. J. B. LIGHTFOOT, D.D., Hulsean Professor of Divinity,
Cambridge, Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen, author of
E: P H E S I A N S, COLOS- Commentary on St. Paul's Epistles to the Galatians and
S I A N S, THESSALO- Phi lippians.
NIANS, & PHILEMON, Rev. B. F. W.ESTCOTT, B.D., author of History of the Eng.
Rev. E. W. BENSON, D.D., Head Master of Wellington College.
PASTOR AL 9EPISTLES..., Right Rev. JOHN JACKSON, D.D., Lord Bishop of London,...PASTORAL EPI. L e 1 author of God's kWord and Man's Heart.
Rev. W. KAY, D.D., author of The Psalms translatedfrom
HEBREWS................ t -he H ebrew.
Section Viill.-The Catholic Epistles and Revelations.
EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN.... Right Rev. W. ALEXANDER, D.D., Lord Bishop of Derry.
EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES... Rev. R. SCOTT, D.D., Master of Balliol College, Oxford.
ST. PETER and ST. JUDE.. THE EDITOR.
Ven. W. LEE, D.D., Archdeacon of Dublin, author of Ins/i./
REVELATION of ST.JOHN ration of the Holy Scriptures, Lectures on Ecclesiastical
History, &.c.
T7ie volumes of the BIBLE COMMENTAR Y will be sent, post-paid, to any address, upon reepip
of the r-ice ($5.oo per volume), by the publishers,
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BY THE CLE-RGY AND THE PRESS
From Rt. Rev. HORnATIO POTTEr, Bishop of New York. The treatment of the great subject of sacrifices, in the
There can be no manner of doubt of its great value, or of introduction to Leviticus, " The Bearings of Egyptian Iie -
its eminent success. We have long felt the want of just such tory upon the Pentateuch," and other elaborate articles,
a comprehensive and complete Commentary on the Holy will amply repay the reading. And, judging from tHis
Scriptures for our Students of Divinity, our Clergy, and for volume, we cordially recommend this work, more than rillen
a large class of general readers. The Editor, the Rev. Canon years ago projected by dignitaries and scholars of the EngCook, has for many years been one of my most highly lish Church, as well representing the present status of Bibvalued friends. He is an able man; and most of the dis- lical science. M. W. JACOBus,
tinguished contributors are well known to me personally or Professor Exegesis, &c.
by reputation.
eutt.HoRATIo POTTER. From Rt. Rev. THOMAS M. CLARE, Bishop ofRhode Island.
I have examined "The Bible Commentary," which you
From Rev. Prof. W. G. T. SHEDD, D.D. are now republishing, with sufficient care to satisfy me that
I have examined the first volume of The Bible Com-. it will probably be the most valuable work of the kind for
mentary, and find it a superior work. While it would be general use which has ever been produced in the English
premature to pronounce a judgment respecting the manner tongue. The common reader will derive a vast amount of
Ain which the exposition of passages relating to disputed information from its pages, and the most accomplished
doctrinal points will be made, there can be no doubt that scholar can read it to advantage.
the Commentary, as a whole, will be firmly evangelical, and THoMAs M. C(LARI.
that the whole influenct of the work will be to strengthen
From Prof. CHARLES A. AIKEN, D. D., LL.D., ofPrincetolz.
the reader's confidence in Divine Revelation, and put him
As a compendium it will be prized by many who have
in a way to popularize it either in the Sabbath-school or the
access to more exhaustive Commentaries, and will flurnish
W. G. T. SHEDD. helps fresh, solid, and sound to many who have no access
to, or leisure for using the more extensive storehouses of
iFrom Rt. Rev. ARTHUR CLEVELAND CoxE, Bishop of Biblical learning. CHARLES A. AmxEN.
Western;e/sw York.
"The Speaker's Commentary" is a feature of the age in From Rev. Dr. GEO. L. PRENTISS.
which we live. It cannot fail to mark an era in the Scien- It is evidently the work of thought hl, devout, and earnest
tific Exposition of Scripture for popular ends. Christian scholars. Its tone and spirit are excellent; and
A. CLEVELAND COXE. if the whole Commentary is executed in the manner of this
-- first volume, the result will be a most desirable and imporFron Right Rev. F. ). DIU.NTr~GDON, Bi,8hop of Central
From Right Rev.. D. N Bisop of Central taut addition to our exegetical literature of the Holy Scrip.
New York.
The chief merits of this first volume seem to me to be: tares. GEO. L. PRENTIss
I. A reverential, believing spirit; 2. Thorough learning,, From the Church Journal.
not ostentatiously displayed, but always present and indi- Certainly,-this first volume is marked by soundness of incated in the results of scholarly investigation; 3. nemark- terpretation, by sufficient fulness of exposition, by fairly
able condensation of matter,,. Clearness and simplicity of grappling with heretical and wicked perversions of truth,
style; 5. A judiciouss selection of the oi-nts of exposition and by confuting errors of all kinds rife at the present day.
made pronsinent; 6. Moderate and fair views of the alleged
issues between Faith and Modern Science, with a wise Fros' the PacfN7c Churchmanz (San Francisco).
handling of objections; 7. A felicitous use of comparative We hope our clergy will all be able to bsey it-or what will
exegesis; 8. A good balance of the critical faculty with be btter, let their parishioners buy it for them and n0make
spiritual insight. them a present of it; they will be amsply repaid frosm the
F. D TIUNTrNeTON. petlpit.
From Rev. HOWAaD CROSBY, D.D., Pastor of the Fourth From the Christian Union.
Aventte P2resbyter7ian ChuZ6r7ch.
Avenue Presbyterian hurch Thank God for this glorious constellation of talent, learnThe Speakcr's Comnsentary fully realizes the expecta- oing, and piety, combined to elucidate the Word of God for
Zion of its most hopefll friends. It is pithy and clear, and
tion of its most hcopefs friends. It is pithy and clears, and the use of those great masses of the people who are not and
exhibits the condensed results of the best and latest scholar- cannot be scholars.
cannot be scholars.
ship. It will do much to put illto possession of all, that
which hitherto has been the exclusive property of a few From the Association Monthly.
erudite investigators. I devoutly thank God for this pub- It is emphatically a Commentary for the times, treating oj
Plation, and expect great things from it for the cause of what is latest in Biblical criticismn ancd research. TLee esideLt
trutn. EowvARD CRosBY. effort to compress the work into the snmallest possible comnpass, cosoistent with the object proposed, will make the book
From Rev.'. W. JACOBUS, D.D., of the Allegheny Theo- attractive and popular.
logical Seminary.
The notes themselves are brief, often meagre, and corn- From the Arew York Tribsune.
monly too cursory for the popular need, and seem to be put The execuction of the o7rk appears to have been successat a disadvantage by the fuller treatises. But this work fully accomlplished in cosnfornmtty with the original plan.
will fill a pldce ntot wholly occupied by any that has pre- It exhibits ample lear-ning, remarkable power of illustra
ceded it, and will add to the sc/holarly facilities placed tion, and ant earnest desire to support the prevalectt concep.
aifthi reach of Bible students in ostr day, for thorough tioes o' the Bible amid the sceptical sueggestions of cterresn
Iacdrstanding of the word of God. science.
Numerotus other equally important and valuabk notices are omitted for want of space.
PROSPECTUS
OF A
EDITED BY
HENRY B. SMITH, D.D. AND PHILIP SC-AFF, D.D.
PROFESSORS IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK.
TVm undersigned propose to publish a select and compact Library of Text-Books upon all the main departments of
Theology and Philosophy, adapted to the wants especially of ministers and students in all denominations.
Some of the works will be translated from the German and other languages; others will be based upon treatises by
various authors; some will be written for the Library by English or American scholars. The aim will be to furnish at
least one condensed standard work on each of the scientific divisions of Theology and Philosophy, giving the resfults of
the best critical investigations, excluding, however, such histories and commentaries as extend through many volumes.
BIBLICAL THEOLOGY. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY.
Introductions to the Old and New Testaments; a Critical Encyclopsedia of Theology; Apologetis; a Collecticn of
Edition of the Greek New Testament; the Canon; Biblical the Creeds and Symbols of the Church; a Collecuon of
Theology; Biblical Psychology; and perhaps a Grammar Theological Definitions of Doctrine, il the varioas schools
and Dictionary of the New Testament Greek. of Theology, on the basis of HASE:, LUTHARDT. HEPPE, and
SCHwEIZEn; Symbolics, or the Comparative Theology of
PRACTICAL THEOLOGY. Confessions of Faith; Polemics. with parLicular reference
History of Church Government; Canon Law; Homile- to the Roman Carilolic Controveliy; Doctrinal Theology;
tics; Catechetics; Liturgies, including Hymnology: Pas- Christian Ethics; Collections of Essays on particular Doo
torial Theology. trines.
PHILOSOPHY. HISTOICAL THEOLOGY.
Compends of Church History, and of the History of Doe
History of Philosophy; Logic and Metaphysics; the Phil- trines; Patristics; Ecclesiastical Statistics; Jewish and
osophy of Nature; Psychology; Ethics; Esthetics; the Christian Archooology: Monographs on the History of Spe
Philosophy of Religion; the Philosophy of History. cial Doctrines or of Signal Epochs.
This scheme is not presented as final, but as indicating the aim of the editors. If sufficient encouragement be given,
no pains will be spared to make the project.complete, and thus to meet a great anr acknowledged desideratum in the
apparatus for study. On all these topics every student needs, at least, one good work. To supply this will be the aim
of our Library.
The various volumes will be published in the best style, on reasonable terms, and as rapidly as the nature of the work
and the encouragement of the public will allow.
The editors will be assisted by eminenf scholars of various denominations, who will respectively assume the literary
responsibility for the volumes prepared by themselves within the general plan and aim of the Library.
NOW READY, THE INITIAL VOLUME
IN
aidS, wu$sologifalfn ~t 10isopa fra l ran, WO~
UEBERWEG'S HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY.
Vol. I.-History of the Ancient and Mediaeval Philosophy.
By Dr. FRIEDRICH UEBERWEG. Translated from the fourth German edition, by GEO. S. MORRIS, A.M., with addi
dons by NOAH PORTER, D.D., LL.D., President of Yale College, and a general Introduction by the Editor of the Philo
tophical Library. One vol. 8vo, cloth. $3.50.
2 ws works sent, post-paid, on receipt of tAe price by the Putblisher.
SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG & CO.,
654 Broadway, Nezw York,
PUBLISHERS
Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical.
TRAN SLATED, ENLARGED, AND EDITED
PHILIP SCHAFF, D. D.,
Professor in the Union T/2eological Seminary, New ror'k.
654 BROADWAY, New York, January, x873.
THIS great work is rapidly approaching completion. The New Testament Part
is finished, with the exception of the volume on Revelation and an Index, which are
now in the hands of the printer. The Old Testament Part is more than half done.
The German work, on which the English edition is based, is the product of
about twenty distinguished Biblical scholars, of Germany, Holland, and Switzerland,
and enjoys a high reputation and popularity wherever German theology is studied.
The American edition is not a mere translation (although embracing the whole
of the German), but to a large extent, an origzzzal work; about one-third of the
matter being added, and the whole adapted to the wants of the English and American student.
The press has been almost unanimous in its commendation of LANGE'S COMMENTARY. It is generally regarded as being, on the whole, the most useful Comnmentary, especially for ministers and theological students-in which they are more likely
to find what they desire than in any other. It is a complete treasure of Biblical
knowledge, brought down to the latest date. It gives the results of careful, scholarly
research; yet in a form sufficiently popular for the use of intelligent laymen. The
Hoomiletical department contains the best thoughts of the great divines and pulpit
orators of all ages on the texts explained, and supplies rich suggestions for sermons
and Bible lectures.
The following are some of the chief merits of this Commentary:
1. It is orthodox and sound, without being sectarian or denominational. It
fairly represents the exegetical and doctrinal coiserzsus of evangelical divines of the
present age, and yet ignores none of the just claims of liberal scientific criticism.
2. It is comprehensive and complete-giving in beautiful order the authorized
English version with emendations, a digest of the Critical Apparatus, Exegetical
Explanations, Doctrinal and Ethical Inferences and Reflections, and Homiletical
and Practical Hints and Applications.
3. It is the product of about forty American (and a few Britisb) Biblical
Scholars, from all the leading denominations and Theological and Literary institutions
of the United States. Professors in the Theological Seminaries of New York,
Princeton, Andover, New Haven, Hartford, Cambridge, Rochester, Philadelphia,
Cincinnati, Alleghany, Chicago, Madison, and other places, representing the Presbyterian, Episcopal, Congregational, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, and Reformed
Churches, have contributed or are engaged now in contributing to this Commentary.
It may, therefore, claim a national character more than any other work of the kind
ever published in this country.
For Names of Co.ntribuStors, oluoies issuedt, etc., see next page,
LIST OF AMERICAN CONTRIBUTORS TO
LANGE'S COMMENTARY.
Prof. PHILIP SCHAFF, D. D., GEIVERAL EDITTO/, nion Theo'l Sero'y, N. Y.
Prof. CHARLES A. AIKEN, D. D.,.. Presbyterian,.,. Theo'l Seminary, Princeton, N. J.
Rev. S. R. ASBURY,.........Episcopalian, Moorestown, N. Jo
Prof. GEORGE BLISS, D. D.,....... Baptist,......Leisburg University, Pa.
Rev. CHARLES A. BRIGGS,.......Presbyterian......................Roselle, N. J.
Prof. JOHN A. BROADUS, D. D.,..Bapt.,.. Greenville Theo'l Sem'y, South Carolina.
Rev. T. W. CHAMBERS, D. D.,...]Reformed.,...............,New York.
Rev. THOS. C. CONANT, D. D.,....Baptist.........................Brooklyn, L. I.
Rev. E. R. CRAVEN, D. D.,....... Presbyterian,.................... Newark, N. J.
Prof. GEORGE E. DAY, D. D.,....Congregational,...Yale College, New Haven, Ct.
Prof. CHAS. ELLIOTT,. D.,....Presb.,........N. VW. Theo'l Sem'y, Chicago, Ills.
Prof. L. J. EVANS, D. D..........Presb.,...Lane Theo'l Seminary, Cincinnati, O.
Prof. PATRICK FAIRBAIRN, D. D.,.Presb..... Prin. Free College, Glasgow, Scotland
Prof. JOHN FORSYTH, D. D........ Reformed, Chapl'n Mil'y Acad., WMest Point, N.Y.
Prof. FRED. GARDINER, D. D.,...Epis.,.. Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Ct.
Rev. A. GOSMAN, D. D.,...........Presbyterian,........ Lawrenceville, N. J.
Prof. W. H. GREEN, D. D...........Presbyterian,,..Theo'l Seminary, Princeton, N. J.
Prof. H. B. HACKETT, D. D.,......Baptist,..............Rochester University, N. Y.
Rev. E. HARWOOD, D. D.,........ Episcopal........................ New Haven, Ct.
Prof. W. H. HORNBLOWVER. D. D., Presbyterian,.......Theo'l Sem'y, Alleghany, Pa.
Prof. J. F. HURST, D. D............. Methodist,....Drew Theo'l Sem'y, Madison, N. J.
Prof. A. C. KENDRICK, D. De,.....Baptist,.......Rochester University, N. Y.
Rev. JOHN LILLIE, D. D.,.........Presbyterian.........................(Deceased.)
Rev. J. FRED. McCURDY,.......... Presbyterian,.................... Princeton, N. J.
Prof. C. M. MEAD, D. D.,.....Congregational,....Theo'l Sem'y Andover, Mass.
Rev. J. ISIDOR I MOMBERT, D.D., Episcopal,.................Dresden, Germany,
Miss EVELINE MOORE,...........resbyterian,.....................Newark, N.J.
Prof. MURPHY, D. D.,............... Presbyterian,...Queen's College, Belfast, Ireland.
Prof. J. PACKARD, D. D.,...........Episcopal,.......... Theo'l Sem'y, Alexandria, Va.
Prof. D. W. POOR, D. D............Presbyterian,...............S..an Francisco, Cal.
Prof. M. B. RIDDLE, D. D.,........ Reformed,... Theological Seminary, Hartford, Ct.
Prof. CH. F. SCHAEFFER, D. D.,.. Luth.,.. Lutheran Seminary, Philadelphia, Pa.
Prof. W. G. T. SHEDD, D. D.,.....Presbyterian,....Union Theo'l Sem'y, New York.
Rev. C. C. STARBUCK,.............. Congregational................Berea College, Ky.
Prof. P. H. STEENSTRA...........Episcopal,...Divinity School, Cambridge, Mass.
Prof. CALVIN E. STOWE, D. D.,..Congregational,.......formerly of Andover, Mass.
Prof. JAS. STRONG, D. D.........M..ethodist,.......Drew Seminary, Madison, N. J.
Prof. W. G. SUMNER............... Episcopal,......... Yale College, New Haven, Ct.
Prof. TAYLER LEWIS, LL.D.,......Reformed,....Union College, Schenectady, N. Y.
Prof. C. H. TOY, D. D.,............Baptist,..... G..reenville Sem'y, South Carolina.
Rev. IE. A. WASHBURN, D. D.,....Episcopal,. Rector Calvary Church, New York.
Prof. WILLIAM WELLS,.......... Methodist,...Union College, Schenectady, N. Y.
Rev. C. P. WING, D. D.,.....P.......resbyterian,.,.........Carlisle, Pa.
Rev. E. D. YEOMANS, D. D.,...... Presbyterian,.(Deceased.)
There are now issued of LANGE'S COMMENTARY six volumes of the OLD TESTAMENT and
zinze of the NEw TESTAMENT, as follows:
OLD TESTA7IfE~NT:
I. GENESIS. V. PROVERBS, SONG OF SOLOMON, ECCLESIII. JOSIUA, JUD)GES, and RUTH. ASTES.
III. FIRST and SECOND KINGS. VI. JEREMIAH and LAMENTATIONS.
IV. PSALMS.
JZ Ireyartiionz: MINOR PROPHETS (I vol.), JOB (I vol.), EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUILBERS, DEUTERONOMY (I vol.),
ISAIAH (I vol.), DANIEL and EZEKIEL (I vol.)
NVLE WV TE'STA.IEINIV'.'
I. MATTHEW. VII. GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS,
II. MARK and LUKE. COLOSSIANS.
III. JOHN. VIII. THESSALONIANS, TIMOTHY, TITUS, PHIIV. ACTS. LEMON, and IHEBREWS.
V. ROMANS. IX. JAMES, PETER, JOHN, and JUDE.
VT. CORINTIIIANS.
Cemjfe/iznfg this sec/ionz of /le Scritlures, excebtiog FteveZafi'on, odUich, /ogefther viz/s an Iarde.r to W5N. 7., zoill be
fiub/ished s/ioratly.
Each one vol. 8vo. Price plr vol. in half calf, $7.50; in sheep, $6.50; in cloth, $5.00.
Any or all the volumes of LANGE'S COMMENTARY sent, post or express charges paid, to any address on receipt of the price.
SCRIBNEBR, ARESTRONG & CO., 654 Broadway, N. Y.
THE
AND FIFTY DOLLARS' WORTHI OF BOOKS
FOR THiIRTlSY DOLLARS.
A RARE CHANCE FOR CLERGYMEN AND
STUDENTS.
Isc order to bring within the reach of Clergymen and Students of the most moderate means
some of their leading standard works, Messrs. SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG & Co. announce the issue
of
THE MINISTER'S LIBRARY.
As will be seen from the list below, this Library includes a number of the most valuable works
ever published in this country, in the various departments of Religious Literature, Exegesis, Homilectics, Sacred History, descriptions of the Holy Land, the Life of Christ and of St. Paul, with a
choice selection of Sermons by some of the most famous American divines; and by a special
arrangement, the series is placed at so low a price that every student and minister can afford to
purchase it. The volumes, if bought singly, would cost FIFTY DOLLARS, while the set is furnished
at THIRTY DOLLARS. THE MINISTER'S LIBRARY includes:
No. of VolY
ALEXANDER'S (Dr. J. W.)........... CONSOLATION.......................... I
ALEXANDER'S (Dr. J. A.).........ISAIAH................................ 2
do do........... PSALMS............................ 2
do do.......... SERMONS............................. I
ADAMS (Dr. Wm.)................ THANKSGIVING SERMONS............... I
ANDREWS (Rev. S. J.)............... LIFE OF OUR LORD.................... I
BUSHNELL'S...................N....NATURE AND THE SUPERNATURAL...... I
CONYBEARE & HOWSON'S........ ST. PAUL............................. 2
FISHER'S (Prof. Geo. P.).............. SUPERNATURAL ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY. I
HURST'S (Prof. J. F.)................. HISTORY OF RATIONALISM.............. I
LILLIE'S (Dr. John)..................LECTURES ON PETER................ I
SHEDD (Dr. W. G. T.).............. SERMONS TO THE NATURAL MAN........ I
STANLEY'S (Dean).................. HISTORY OF THE JEWISH CHURCH....... 2
do do..................HISTORY OF THE EASTERN CHURCH...... 2
THOMPSON'S (Dr. J. P.)............. THEOLOGY OF CHRIST.................. I
WOOLSEY (Dr. T. D.)................ RELIGION OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE.. I
The volumes are handsomely and substantially bound in cloth.
SPECIAL NOTICE.,
THE MINISTER'S LIBRARY will be sold only in sets.'1 he volumes comprised in it nlay be had in
the styles in which they were formerly issued at the old prices; but under no circumstances will the
works, as printed for this Library, be sold separately.
THE MINISTER'S LIBRARY zmay be had of all booksellers, or it will be sent, express charges paid, by
te publishers on receipt of the price, $30.
SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG & Co.,
654 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.