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THE * TT^ 
 
 WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 GRAOE AGUILAR, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "wOMAN't; FRIENDSHIP," " MOTHEK's RECOMPENSE," 
 " VALE OF CEDAHS," ETC. 
 
 VOL I. 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 200 BROADWAV 
 
 1853. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with fundirtg from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/womenofisraelOOagu 
 
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 
 
 pvea 
 INTRtrUCTlON ......... 7 
 
 FIRST PERIOD. 
 
 WIVES OF THE PATKIARCHS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Eve . . 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Sarah 44 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Rebekah 76 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Leah and Rachel 107 
 
 SECOND PERIOD. 
 
 THE EXODUS AND THE LAW. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Egyptian Captivity, and Joehebed 134 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Tlie Exodus —Mothers of Israel 150 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 \^ fjuws for Wives in Israel ........ 158 
 
 j\ CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ^. Laws for Widows and Daughters in Israel . . . . 173 
 
 Jl CHAPTER V. 
 
 f>^ Maid Servants in Israel, and Sundry other Laws .... 190 
 
 ci 
 
Tl CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 THIRD PERIOD. 
 
 BETWEEN THE DELIVERY OF THE LAW, AND THE MONARCHY. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Miriam 203 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Tabernacle Workers. — Caleb's Daughter 211 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Deborah . . . . • 218 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Wife of Manoah 227 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Naomi 236 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Hannah 254 
 
THK 
 
 WOMEN OE ISKAEL 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Among the many valuable works relative to woman's capa 
 bilities, influence, and mission, which in the present age are so 
 continually appearing, one still seems wanting. The field has, 
 indeed, been entered ; detached notices of the women of Israel, 
 the female biography of Scripture, have often formed interesting 
 portions of those works, where woman is the subject ; but all the 
 fruit has not been gathered : much yet remains, which, thrown 
 together, would form a history as instructive as interesting, as 
 full of warning as example, and tending to lead our female 
 youth to the sacred volume, not only as their guide to duty, 
 their support in toil, their comfort in affliction, but as a true 
 and perfect mirror of themselves. 
 
 To desert the Bible for its commentators ; never to peruse its 
 pages without notes of explanation : to regard it as a work 
 which of itself is incomprehensible, is, indeed, a practice as hurtfa^ 
 as injudicious. Sent as a message of love to our own souls, 
 as written and addressed, not to nations alone, but as the voice 
 of God to individuals — whispering to each of us that which we 
 most need ; thus it is we should first regard and venerate it 
 This accomplished, works tending to elucidate its gloiious and 
 consoling truths, to make manifest its simple lessons of character, 
 as well as precept; to bring yet closer to the youthful and 
 aspiring heart, the poetry, the beauty, the eloquence, the 
 appealing tenderness of its sacred pages, may prove of essential 
 service. In this hope, to bring clearly before the women of 
 Israel all that they owe to the word of God, all that it may still 
 be to them, the present task is undertaken. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 
 
8 THE "WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 We are far from asserting that this has not been attempted, 
 and for the larger portion of the sex, accomplished before, 
 Religion is the foundation and mainspring of every work which 
 has been written for the use and improvement of woman. Female 
 biographers of scripture have, we believe, often appeared ; though 
 the characters of the Old Testament are so briefly and imperfectly 
 sketched, compared to those of the New, that but little pleasure 
 or improvement could be derived from their perusal. Yet still, 
 with the writings of Sandford, Ellis, and Hamilton before us, 
 each exhibiting its authoress so earnest, so eloquent in her cause, 
 with " woman's mission" marked so simply, yet so forcibly, in 
 the little volume of that name, has not woman of every race, and 
 every creed, all sufiBcient to teach her her duty and herself? 
 
 We would say she had ; yet for the women of Israel some- 
 thing still more is needed. The authors above mentioned are 
 Christians themselves, and write for the Christian world. Edu- 
 cation and nationality compel them to believe that " Christianity 
 is the sole source of female excellence." To Christianity alone 
 they owe their present station in the world : their influence, 
 their equality with man, their spiritual provision in this life, 
 and hopes of immortality in the next. Nay more, that the 
 (value and dignity of woman's character would never have been 
 known, but for the religion of Jesus ; that pure, loving, self-deny- 
 ing doctrines, were unknown to woman ; she knew not even her 
 relation to the Eternal ; dared not look upon Him as her Father, 
 Consoler, and Saviour, till the advent of Christianity. We grant 
 that the Gentiles knew it not, till the Bible became more 
 generally known, till the Eternal, in His infinite mercy, permitted 
 a partial knowledge of Himself to spread over the world — alike 
 to prepare the Gentile for that day, when we shall all know 
 Him as He is, and to render the trial of His people's faith and 
 constancy yet more terribly severe. We feel neither anger nor 
 .uncharitableness towards those who would thus deny to Israel 
 those very privileges which were ours, ages before they became 
 theirs ; and which, in fact, have descended from us to them. 
 Yet we cannot pass such assertion unanswered, lest from the 
 very worth and popularity of those works in which it is promul- 
 gated, the young and thoughtless daughter of Israel may 
 believe it really has foundation, and look no further than the 
 page she reads. 
 
 How or whence originated the charge that the law of Moses 
 
INTRODUCTION, 9 
 
 sank the Hebrew female to the lowest state of degradation, 
 placed her on a level with slaves or heathens, and denied her all 
 mental and spiritual enjoyment, we know not : yet certain it is 
 that this most extraordinary and unfounded idea obtains credence 
 even in this enlightened age. The word of God at once proves 
 its falsity ; for it is impossible to read the Mosaic law without 
 the true and touching conviction, that the female Hebrew was 
 even more an object of the tender and soothing care of the 
 Eternal than the male. The thanksgiving in the Israelite 
 morning prayer, on which so much stress is laid, as a proof how 
 httle woman is regarded, is but a false and foolish reasoning on 
 the subject ; almost, in truth, too trivial for regard. 
 
 The very first consequence of woman's sin was to render her 
 in physical and mental strength, inferior to man ; to expose her 
 to suffering more continued, and more acute; to prevent her 
 obtaining those honors and emoluments of which man thinks so 
 much ; to restrain her path to a more lowly and domestic, 
 though not a less hallowed sphere ; and, all this considered, 
 neither scorn towards the sex, nor too much haughtiness for 
 themselves, actuate the thanksgiving which by our opponents is 
 brought forward against us.' It was but one of those blessings 
 in which the pious Israelite thanks God for all things, demand- 
 ing neither notice nor reproof 
 
 To the Gentile assertion that the Talmud has originated the 
 above-mentioned blessing, and commanded or inculcated the 
 moral and mental degradation of woman, we reply that even if 
 it do, which we do not believe it does, its commands are wholly 
 disregarded, and its abolishment is not needed to raise the 
 Hebrew female to that station assigned her in the word of God, 
 and which through many centuries she has been permitted, 
 without reproof or question, to enjoy. The Eternal's provision 
 for her temporal and spiritual happiness is proved in His 
 unalterable word ; and therefore no Hebrew can believe that He 
 would issue another law for her degradation and abasement. If, 
 indeed, there are such laws, they must have been compiled at 
 a time when persecution had so brutalized and lowered the 
 intellect of man that he partook the savage barbarity of the 
 nations around him, and of the age in which he lived ; when 
 the law of his God had, as a natural consequence, become 
 obscured, and the Hebrew female shared the same rude and 
 savage treatment which was the lot of all the lower classes of 
 
10 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 women in the feudal ages. The protection, the glory, the 
 civilizing influence of chivalry extended, in its first establish- 
 ment, but to the baronial classes. We see no proofs of the 
 humanizing and elevating influence of Christianity, either on 
 man or woman, till the reformation opened the Bible, the whole 
 Bible, to the nations at large ; when civilization gradually 
 followed. If, then, the situation of even Christian women was 
 so uncertain, and but too often so degraded, for nearly fourteen 
 centuries after the advent of Jesus, who his followers declare was 
 the first to teach them their real position — -was it very remark- 
 able that the vilified and persecuted Hebrew should ha>e in a 
 degree forgotten his nationality, his immortal and glorious 
 heritage, and shared in the barbarity around him ? Granting 
 for the moment that such was the case (but we by no means 
 believe it was), if the degradation, mentally and morally, of the 
 Hebrew female, ever did become part of the Jewish law, it was 
 when man was equally degraded, and the blessed word of God 
 hid from him. 
 
 The situation of many of the Hebrews at the present day 
 proves this. In but too many parts of the world the Israelites 
 are still the subjects of scorn, hatred, and persecution : and 
 their condition is, in consequence, the lowest and most awfully 
 degraded in the scale of man. But it is not to woman that 
 degradation and slavery are confined ; as, were it a portion 
 of the law of Moses, would inevitably be the case. It is the 
 consequence of cruelty, of abasement in social treatment ; yet)i 
 even here, when mind, principle, honor, all seem overthrown 
 from such brutalizing influence, the affections retain their power. 
 
 Whatever of spiritual hope, of human privileges, the word of 
 God bestows on man, and to which the mind, darkened and 
 despairing from the horrors of persecution, may yet be open, 
 are shared by the Hebrew wife, and imparted by the Hebrew 
 mother. 
 
 Were it a portion of the law of Moses to enslave and degrade 
 us, how is it that we do not see this law adhered to and obeyed, 
 as well as others claiming the same divine origin ? Neither 
 Christianity nor civilization would alter or improve our condition, 
 were it indeed such as it has been represented. The Hebrew 
 ever loves, protects, and reverences his female relative ; and if, 
 indeed, he do not — if he deny her all share in immortality, and, 
 in consequence, thinks she has no need of religion now, nor hope 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 hereafter, it is because the remnants of barbarism, ignorance, 
 and superstition remain, to have blinded both his spiritual and 
 mental e3'e ; yet whatever he may be accused of believing, his 
 acts deny the belief. Why is he so anxious that his wife and 
 daughters should adhere to every law, attend to every precept 
 which he believes the law of God ? If they have no soul, no 
 portion in the world to come, it surely cannot signify how they 
 act, or what they believe in this ? Why are they blotted from 
 the minds and hearts of their relatives, if, as it may sometimes 
 happen, they intermarry with the stranger ? If they have no 
 spiritual responsibility, no claim, no part in the law of God, why 
 should they be blamed'and shunned, if they desert it for another ? 
 But it is idle to follow the argument further. The charge is 
 either altogether false, or based on such contradictory and 
 groundless report, as to render it of little consequence, save as it 
 affects us in the eyes of those who uphold, that till Christianity 
 was promulgated woman knew not her own station either 
 towards God or man. 
 
 Simply to deny this«issertion, to affirm, that instead of degrad- 
 ing and enslaving, the Jewish law exalted, protected, and pro- 
 vided for woman, teaching her to look up to God, not as a severe 
 master and awful judge, but as her Father, her Defender, her 
 Dehverer when oppressed, her Witness in times of false accusa- 
 tion, her Consoler and Protector when fatherless, widowed — aye, 
 as the tender and loving Sovereign, who spared the young bride 
 the anguish of separation from her beloved : merely to affirm, 
 that with such laws woman was equally a subject of divine love 
 as she is now, would not avail us much. The women of Israel 
 must themselves arise, and prove the truth of what we urge — 
 by their own conduct, their own behef, their own ever-acting 
 and ever-influencing religion, prove without doubt or question 
 that we need not Christianity to teach us our mission — prove 
 that our duties, our privileges, were assigned us from the very 
 beginning of the world, confirmed by that law to which we still 
 adhere, and will adhere for ever, and manifested by the whole 
 history of the Bible. 
 
 A new era is dawning for us. Persecution and intolerance 
 have in so many lands ceased to predominate, that Israel may 
 once more breathe in freedom ; the law need no longer be 
 preached in darkness, and obeyed in secret ; the voice of man 
 need no longer be the vehicle of instruction from father to son, 
 
12 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 mingling with it unconsciously human opinions, till those opi- 
 nions could scarcely be severed from the word of God, and by 
 degrees so dimmed its lustre, as to render its comprehension an 
 obscure and painful task. This need no longer be. The Bible 
 may be perused in freedom ; the law may be publicly explained 
 and preached to all who will attend. A spirit of inquiry, of 
 patriotism, of earnestness in seeking to know the Lord, and obey 
 Him according to His word, is springing up in lieu of the stag- 
 nating darkness, the appalling indifference, which had reigned 
 so long. Persecution never decreased our numbers. As the 
 bush which burned without consuming, so was Israel in those 
 blood-red ages of intolerance and butchery. In the very heart 
 of the most catholic kingdom — amongst her senate, her warriors, 
 her artisans — aye, even her monks and clergy — Judaism lurked 
 unconsumed by the fires ever burning round. The spirit was 
 ever awake and active, ready to endure martyrdom, but not to 
 forswear that God whose witnesses they were. Persecution was 
 a crisis in our History ; prosperity the reaction ; and from that 
 reaction the natural consequence was the gradual rise, growth, 
 and influence of indifference. Indifference, however, has but its 
 appointed time : and Israel is springing up once more the 
 stronger, nobler, more spiritually enlightened, from his long and 
 waveless sleep. Free to assert their right as immortal children 
 of the living God, let not the women of Israel be backward in 
 proving they, too, have a Rock of Strength, a Refuge of Love ; 
 that they, too, have a station to uphold, and a " mission " to 
 perform, not alone as daughters, wives, and mothers, but as 
 witnesses of that faith which first raised, cherished, and defended 
 them — witnesses of that God who has called them His, and who 
 has so repeatedly sanctified the emotions peculiar to their sex, by 
 graciously comparing the love he bears us, as yet deeper than a 
 mother's for her child, a wife's for her husband, having compas- 
 sion for his people, as on a " woman forsaken and grieved in 
 spirit." " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she 
 should not have compassion on the son of her travail; yea, 
 she may forget, yet will I not forget thee." "As a mother 
 comforteth her children, so will I comfort thee." 
 
 Wei'e not these relations holy and sanctified in the sight of the 
 Lord, would He use them as figurative of His long suffering love ? 
 Many terms, similar to those above quoted, prove, without a 
 shadow of doubt, the tender compassion with which He regarded 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 woman long before He used such terms to figure His compjis- 
 sionatirig love towards Israel, when sinfulness called forth His 
 long averted wrath. 
 
 Let us then endeavor to convince the nations of the high pri- 
 vileges we enjoy, in common with our fathers, brothers, and 
 husbands, as the first-born of the Lord, by the peculiar sanctity, 
 spirituality, and inexpressible consolation of ou. belief. Let us 
 not, as women of Israel, be content with the mere performance 
 of domestic, social, and individual duties, but vivify and lighten 
 them by the rays of eternal love and immortal hope, which 
 beam upon us from the pages of the Bible. A religion of love 
 is indeed necessary to woman, yet more so than to man. Even 
 in her happiest lot there must be a void in her heart, which ever- 
 acting piety alone can till ; and to her whose portion is to suflfer, 
 whose lot is lonely, O what misery must be hers, unless she can 
 lean upon her God, and draw from His word the blessed convic- 
 tion that His love. His tenderness, are hers, far beyond the feeble 
 conception of earth ; and that whatever she may endure, however 
 unknown to or scorned by man, it is known to Him who smites 
 but in love, and has mercy even while He smites. 
 
 To realize this blessed conviction, the Bible must become 
 indeed the book of life to the female descendants of that nation 
 whose earliest history it so vividly records ; and be regarded, not 
 as a merely political or religious history, but as the voice of God 
 speaking to each individual, giving strength to the weak, en- 
 couragement to the desponding, endurance to the patient, justice 
 to the wronged, and consolation unspeakable as unmeasurable 
 to the afflicted and the mourner. Do we need love ? We shall 
 find innumerable verses telling us, that the Lord Himself pro- 
 claimed His attribute as " merciful and gracious, long-suffering, 
 abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, 
 forgiving iniquity and sin ;" that " as far as the Heaven is above 
 the earth so great is His mercy, extending from everlasting to 
 everlasting." We have but to read those appeals of the Eternal 
 to Israel, alike in Jeremiah and Isaiah, and many of the minor 
 prophets — and if our hearts be not stone, they must melt before 
 such compassionating love, such appealing tenderness, and feel 
 we cannot be lonely, cannot be unloved, while such deep change- 
 less love is ours. Do we need sympathy ? Shall we not find it 
 in words similar to these, " In all their afSictions He was afflicted, 
 and the angel of His presence saved them ? In His love and in 
 
14 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 His pity He redeemed them, and He bare them, and carried 
 them all the days of old." Do we need patience and strength ? 
 Shall we not exercise it, when we have the precious promise, 
 " Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and H^ shall strengthen 
 thine heart ?" Shall we droop and grieve beneath the wrongs 
 and fiilse judgments of short-sighted man, when we are told the 
 ways of God are not those of man — that He knoweth our frame, 
 and readeth our thoughts — that not a bodily or mental pang is 
 ours which He does not know and compassionate — aye, and in 
 His own good time will heal ! 
 
 To throw together all those verses which confirm and prove 
 the loving-tenderness borne towards us by the Eternal, v/ou.'d be 
 an endless and a useless task. We can but point to that ever- 
 flowing fount of healing waters, and assure those who have once 
 really tasted, and will persevere in the heavenly draught, that it 
 will never fail them, never change its properties, but each year 
 sink deeper and deeper into their souls, till at length it becomes 
 indeed all they need ; and they themselves will cling to it, 
 despite of occasional doubt and darkness, inseparable from our 
 souls while denizens of earth. 
 
 Nor is it only the verses containing such gracious promises, 
 which will yield us comfort and assistance. We may glean the 
 glad tidings of Eternal Love from the biographies and narratives 
 with which the sacred book abounds — there may be some meek 
 and lowly spirits amongst the female youth of Israel, who would 
 gladly clasp the strength and guidance which we proffer them 
 fi )m the Bible, could they believe that God, the great, the 
 almighty, the tremendous and awful Being (as which they have 
 perhaps been accustomed to regard Him), can have love and 
 pity for themselves, or give comfort and aid to trials, which 
 appear even too trivial to ask, or to excite the sympathy of man. 
 We would lead them to look earnestly and believingly into the 
 history of every woman in the Bible, and trace there the influence 
 of God's holy and compassionating love. We are not indeed 
 placed as the women of Israel before their dispersion, or as the 
 wives of the patriarchs before the law was given ; yet their God 
 is our God. It was not to a race so perfect, so gifted, so hallowed, 
 as to be free from all the present faults and failings of the sex 
 that the Lord vouchsafed His love. No, it was to woman, even 
 as she is now. The women of the Bible are but mirrors of our- 
 selves. And if the Eternal, in His infinite mercy, extended love, ' 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 compassion, forbearance, and forgiveness unto them, we mav 
 believe He extends them equally unto us, and draw comfort, and 
 encouragement, and faith from the biographies we read. 
 
 In a work entitled " The Women of Israel," some apology, 
 perhaps, is necessary for commencing with the wives of the 
 patriarchs, who may not lay claim to such holy appellation. Yet, 
 as the chosen and beloved [tartners of those favored of God, from 
 whom Israel traces his descent, and for the sake of whose faith 
 and righteousness we were selected and chosen as a peculiar 
 people, and the law given to be our guide through earth to 
 heaven, we cannot consider our history complete without them ; 
 more particularly as their lives are so intimately blended with 
 their husbands ; and that in them, even yet more vividly than 
 at a later period, we may trace the Lord's dealings with His 
 female children, and derive from them alike warning and support. 
 
 Eve, indeed, may not have such national claim, but if we 
 believe that her history, as every other part of Genesis, was 
 penned by the same inspired law-giver — that Moses recorded 
 only that which had been — we shall find much, indeed, to repay 
 us for lingering a while on her character and life. To the 
 scepticism, the cavils, the doubts, and (but too often unhappily) 
 the direct unbehef in the Mosaic account of the first disobedience 
 of man, we give no heed whatever. We must either believe in 
 the Pentateuch or deny it. There can be no intermediate path. 
 The whole must be true or none. It is not because much may 
 appear obscure, or even contradictory in the sacred narrative, 
 that we are to pronounce it false, or mystify and poetize it as an 
 allegory. 
 
 We are simply to believe, and endeavor to act on that belief. 
 So much is there ever passing around us that we cannot solve ; 
 our thoughts, in their furthest flight, are so soon checked, can 
 penetrate so little into the wonders of man and nature, that it 
 appears extraordinary how man can doubt and deny, because he 
 cannot understand. In this case, however — the history of Eve 
 — truth is so simple and clear, that we know not how it can 
 supply such an endless fund of argument and doubt. To remove 
 this groundless disbelief, to endeavor to render the narrative 
 clear and simple to the female youth of Israel, and, even through 
 Eve's sad yet consoling history, to prove to them the deep love 
 borne towards us from the very first of our creation by our 
 gracious God, must be our apology, if apology be needed, for 
 
 2* 
 
16 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 commencing a work entitled " The "Women of Israel," with our 
 general mother. 
 
 Beginning, then, from the very beginning, some degree of 
 order is requisite in the arrangement of our subject. Our aim 
 being to evince to the nations and to our own hearts, the 
 privileges, alike temporal and eternal, which were ours from the 
 very commencement — to prove that we have no need of Christi- 
 anity, or the examples of the females in the Gospel, to raise us 
 to an equality with man — to demonstrate our duties and secure 
 us consolation here or salvation hereafter — the word of God 
 must be alike our ground-work and our guide. From the past 
 history which that unerring guide presents, our present duties 
 and responsibilities, and our future destiny, will alike be revealed. 
 In a simple biography each life is a sufficient division ; but, 
 with the exception of the wives of the patriarchs and one or two 
 more, we have scarcely sufficient notice of individuals to illus- 
 trate our design by regarding them separately. There appear, 
 therefore, seven periods in the history of the women of Israel, 
 which demand our attention. 
 
 First Period — the Wives of the Patriarchs, including Eve, 
 Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel. 
 
 Second Period — the Exodus, and the Law considered as 
 affecting the condition and estabhshing the privileges of women. 
 
 Third Period — Women of Israel between the establishment 
 of the Law and the authority of the Kings, comprising sketches 
 of Miriam, Deborah, the wife of Manoah, Naomi, and Hannah. 
 
 Fourth Period — Women of Israel during the continuation of 
 the Kingdom, comprising, amongst other sketches, Michal, Abi- 
 gail, the Shunammite, and Huldah. 
 
 Fifth Period — Babylonish Captivity, including the life of 
 Esther. 
 
 Sixth Period — the War and Dispersion, and their effects on 
 the condition and privileges of women in Israel. 
 
 Seventh Period — Women of Israel in the Present time, as 
 influenced by the history of the Past. 
 
 For five of these periods, then, we perceive the word of God 
 can be our only guide, and this at once marks our history as 
 sacred, not profane. If, therefore, there should be parts which 
 resemble more a religious essay than female biography, we 
 reply, that to inculcate religion, the vital spirit of religion, is the 
 sole intention of these pages. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 "We wish to infuse the spirit of truth and patriotism, of 
 nationality, and yet of universal love, in the hearts of the young 
 daughters of Israel ; and we know of no means more likely, 
 under the divine blessing, to accomplish this, than to bring 
 before them, as vividly and engagingly as we can, the never- 
 ending love, the compassionating tenderness, the unchanging 
 sympathy, alike in our joys and in our sorrows, manifested by 
 the Eternal so touchingly and simply in the history of our 
 female ancestors, — to lead them to know Him and love Him, 
 not only through the repeated promises, but through the narra- 
 tives of His word, and to glory in those high privileges which 
 as children, retainers and promulgators of His holy law, are 
 ours, over and above every other nation, past or present, in 
 the history of the world ! 
 
FIRST PERIOD. 
 
 THE WIYES OF THE PATRIAKCHS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EVE. 
 
 The last and mightiest work of creation was completed. Man, 
 in bis angelic and immortal beauty, stood erect and perfect, 
 fresh from the hand of his Creator ; lord and possessor of the 
 new formed world. Though formed of the dust, earth had not, 
 as in the case of the inferior animals, brought him forth. Des- 
 tined from the first to be made in the image of God, that is, to 
 possess an emanation of the spiritual essence, and so become a 
 living and immortal soul — the shrine of so glorious a possession 
 was created by God himself. " Aod God created him," He did 
 not " call him forth." 
 
 For man, the beautiful creation already wrought, was not suffi- 
 cient ; and "He planted a garden eastward in Eden, filling it 
 with ecery tree that was pleasant for the sight, and good for 
 food " — animate and inanimate creation brought together by the 
 Eternal in one beautiful and perfect whole. Nor was this all : 
 endowed with capabilities of love, happiness, and wisdom, as 
 much above the other animals as the angelic nature is to man, 
 still he needed more for the perfection of his felicity ; and God 
 in his infinite mercy provided for that want. 
 
 " It is not good for man to be alone," the Eternal said ; " I 
 will make him a help meet for him." And therefore woman 
 was created, and brought unto man, who received her as the 
 Eternal in His mercy had ordained, a being beloved above all 
 
20 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 others, ^\ hose gentler qualities and endearing sympathy should 
 soften his rougher and prouder nature, and " help " him in all 
 things " meet" for an immortal being. 
 
 The whole creation had had its origin in that Omnific Love 
 which CREATED TO ENJOY, — Called out of darkness and chaos a 
 world teeming with life and beauty, that innumerablt? sources of 
 happiness might spring forth from what had before been naught ; 
 but woman's creation was a still greater manifestation of love 
 than all which had gone before it. She was created, not only 
 to feel happiness herself, but to make it for others ; and if that 
 was the design of her existence in Eden, how deeply should we 
 feel the solemn truth, that it is equally so now, and that woman 
 has a higher and holier mission than the mere pursuit of 
 pleasure and individual enjoyment ; that to flutter through life 
 without one serious thought or aim, without a dream beyond 
 the present moment, without a feeling higher than temporal 
 gratification, or an aspiration rising beyond this world, can never 
 answer the purpose of her divine creation, or make her a help 
 meet for man. Nor is it to wives only this privilege is accorded. 
 Mother or sister, each has equally her appointed duty — to 
 endeavor so to help and influence man, that her more spiritual 
 and unselfish nature shall gradually be infused into him, and, 
 raising him above mere worldly thought and sensual pleasures, 
 compel him to feel that it is not indeed " good for man to be 
 alone," but that woman may still fulfil the office of help and 
 love for which alone she was created. 
 
 Although the Mosaic record of man's residence in Paradise is 
 mournfully brief, we have sufficient scriptural authority fjr hn- 
 gering a little while on Eve's innocent career. Placed in a 
 garden with every capability of felicity within herself, — nature, 
 meditation, commune with the Almighty in thanksgiving, or 
 with Him direct, through the Voice which revealed the invisible 
 presence, the sweet blessed intercourse of kindred spirits, spring- 
 ing from the love she bore to and received from her husband, — ■ 
 simple and imperfect as such sources of enjoyment may appear, 
 they were more exquisite, more perfect, than we can dream of 
 now. 
 
 The spirit which God had breathed within man when he 
 became a living soul, was the likeness or image of God in which 
 " made He man ;" and this spirit, or essence, enabled both 
 Adam and Eve to commune in close and beatified intercourse 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 21 
 
 with the glorified Creator whence that essence sprang. No sin 
 could fling its dark shade between the soul and his God ; and 
 so deaden spiritual joy. Naught of doubt could stagnate the 
 love which must have been excited in their hearts towards their 
 Father and their God. All around and within them bore such 
 impress of His hand, as to excite naught but gratitude and 
 devotion. If even now, when once we have realized the love of 
 God and submission to His will — when once we can so put our 
 trust in Him as to give Him '' all our heart," and come to Him 
 in sorrow and in joy, convinced that He knows and loves us 
 better than ourselves — we experience a peace, a blessedness no 
 earthly tempests can remove ; how thrice blessed must have 
 been the felicity of Eve ! 
 
 Apart from the spirit which the Eternal gave to lead man to 
 Himself, was the mind which opened to the creatures formed in 
 His image the inexhaustible resources of wisdom, imagination, 
 knowledge — all that could create that higher kind of happiness, 
 which is synonymous with mental joy. Sources of what is now 
 termed wisdom, that of books and man, were indeed unknown 
 to our first parents ; nor did they need them. In the wonders 
 of creation, the tree, the herb, the flower, the gushing rivers, 
 the breezy winds ; nay, from the mighty form of the largest 
 beast, to the structure of the tiniest leaf; the flow of the river to 
 the globule of the dew, which watered the face of the whole 
 ear^'h, there was enough to excite and satisfy their mental powers ; 
 enough to excite emotions alike of wonder and adoration. 
 Their commune with the angelic messengers of their benevolent 
 Creator, their tidings of Heaven and its hosts, must have excited 
 the highest and purest pleasure of imagination, and so diversified 
 and lightened the mental exercises of wisdom, which the palpable 
 and visible objects of creation so continually call forth. 
 
 Nor was spiritual and mental felicity the only portion of Eve 
 — the affections, the impulses of the heart, fresh from the 
 creating Hand of Love, had full play — created, as the perfecting 
 finish to man's happiness, beholding him, the lord of all on which 
 she gazed — earth formed to yield him her fruits — water and air, 
 to unite for his refreshment — every animal obeying his authority 
 — instinctively feeling, too, the mighty power of his intellect, 
 the strength of his mind and frame, the deepest reverence must 
 have mingled with, and so perfected, her love. Nor would this 
 acknowledgment tend to degrade woman in the scale of 
 
22 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 creation. Formed, like man, in the immortal likeness of the Lord 
 he was his equal in his responsibilities towards God and in the care 
 of his creatures ; endowed equally with man, but differently as 
 to the nature of those endowments. His mission was to protect 
 and guide and have dominion — hers to soothe, bless, persuade 
 to right, and " help" in all things " meet" for immortal beings. 
 
 The existence of Eve, then, in her innocence, was, in a word, 
 an existence of love — love towards God and nature and man, 
 which none of the infirmities of our present state could cloud or 
 interrupt. Do we err, then, in saying that, even in the brief record 
 of Scripture, we have sufficient authority for delineating the felicity 
 of our first parents in Eden ? And will it not demonstrate 
 appealingly to us, those pleasures which God Himself ordained, 
 and which, even now, might so be cultivated as to bring us 
 happiness, as infinitely superior to the amusements so called as 
 innocence is to sin ? 
 
 But beautiful as is this picture, we must turn from it to 
 consider feelings and events of a sadly different nature. In the 
 most conspicuous part of Paradise, the Eternal had called forth 
 two trees, differing in their magnificence, perhaps in the halo 
 with which they may have been encircled, as peculiar witnesses 
 of their Ci'eator, from every other in the garden. They were 
 the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knawledge. Of the first so 
 little is known that we are justified in supposing the intention of 
 its existence was frustrated by the disobedience of man ; a 
 conjecture founded on the solemn fact, that as the Lord created 
 not one thing in vain, that tree must also have had its use and 
 .ntention, and from the words which follow at a later period, 
 " Lest man put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, 
 and eat and live for ever," we are quite authorized to suppose it 
 possessed some qualities yet mightier than the Tree of Knowledge, 
 with which its taste would have gifted man, had he not by 
 rebellion frustrated the beneficent design of his Creator, and 
 forfeited the privileges which might have been his own. 
 
 Of the Tree of Knowledge, its intention and its uses, we have 
 sufficient information. The Eternal knew the nature of the 
 creatures He had formed ; that it was but an easy and slender 
 trial of obedience and of love, if they had no temptation to rebel 
 or disobey. Though subject to His sway, though deriving 
 existence from His hand, and enjoying life and all its varied 
 sources of fehcity from the same infinite love, yet the Eternal, in 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 23 
 
 His wisdom and His justice, had endowed them with the power 
 of free-will ; of listening to and following, or struggling with and 
 conquering, the seeds of corruption, which from their earthly- 
 shell were inherent, though as yet kept so completely under 
 iubjectiou from the divine and purifying nature of the soul, that, 
 until he was tried, man himself was scarcely sensible of their 
 existence. To have guarded him jealously from every temptation 
 — to have surrounded him with naught but sources of pleasure 
 and enjoyment, and so called forth only the grateful and adoring 
 faculties of the spirit, was not according to that divine and 
 perfect economy of love and justice which aharacterized the 
 deAlings of the Creator with his creatures. It was deeper, 
 dearer love, to permit man to win his immortality, his eternal 
 innocence, than to bestow them upon him unsought, and therefore 
 httle valued. They could be guilty of no crime in the world's 
 parlance, so termed. They were the sole possessors of the newly 
 created earth : in daily commune with their creator, and therefore 
 in neither idolatry, blasphemy. Sabbath-breaking, dishonoring of 
 parents, murder, adultery, theft, false-witness, or covetousness, 
 could they sin. God knew that all the crimes which viicjht 
 devastate the earth would spring from one alone, disobedience ; 
 and therefore was it that His infinite wisdom ordained that the 
 trial of man's love, and faith, and virtue, should simply be, 
 obedience to His will. 
 
 " And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every 
 tree of the garden thou mayst freely eat ; but of the tree of 
 the knowledge of the good and evil thou shalt not eat ; for in 
 the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." 
 Whether this threatened chastisement was robed in mystery, or 
 that Adam had beheld death in the inferior animals (for Holy 
 Writ gives us no authority for believing that even they knew 
 not death till after the fall), and so could have some idea of 
 what he would become, even as a clod of the earth if he dis- 
 obeyed, we may not here determine ; suffice it, that the Eternal 
 was too merciful, too just, to threaten His creature with a chas- 
 tisement for disobedience which he could not comprehend. 
 
 Beautiful to look upon, and exquisite in its fragrance, we may 
 imagine the Tree of Knowledge extending its rich foliage and 
 tempting fruit in the most conspicuous part of the garden, no 
 doubt frequently attracting the admiration of Adam and Eve, 
 perhaps exciting wishes, which the spirit within them had as 
 
24 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 yet power to effectually banish, or entirely subdue. Alone, un- 
 protected by the sterner, firmer qualities of her husband, Eve 
 had walked forth, secure in her own innocence, in the conscious- 
 ness of love lingering within, and all around her ; — the young 
 animals gambolling about her, calling forth her caresses and her 
 smile — the little birds springing from tree to tree in joyous 
 greeting, or nestling in her bosom without one^ touch of fear — 
 the gorgeous flowers, in all their glowing robes and exquisite 
 fragruice, clustering richly around her — the very buds seeming 
 to look up into her sweet loving fece, to reflect increase of 
 beauty from the gaze, so may our fancy picture her, as she 
 neared that tree under whose fair branches so much of misery 
 lurked. Coiled at its root, or twisted in rainbow-colored folds 
 arc und its trunk, lay the serpent, " who was more subtle than 
 any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." And 
 he said unto the woman, " Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not 
 eat of every tree in the garden ? And the woman said. We 
 may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruif 
 of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, 
 Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 
 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die, 
 for God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your 
 eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good 
 and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good 
 for food, and it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be de- 
 sired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat ;" 
 and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 
 
 Such are the brief, yet emphatic words in which the inspired 
 prophet of the Lord detailed those incidents on which the whole 
 after-history of the world is founded — the mournful detail of 
 that first sin, from which every other sprang, disobedience. 
 Of the various speculations and opinions concerning the instru- 
 mentality of the serpent we shall take no heed, save the humble ' 
 endeavor to reconcile the ways of the Lord. He 2}ermitk'd the 
 trial, but He commanded not the evil interposition of the subtlest 
 of His creatures, the serpent, any more than He commanded 
 the subtlety of Jacob in obtaining his fjither's blessing. Both 
 events were permitted to take place ; but the evil means of 
 their accomplishment were not of the Lord, and consequently 
 their agents were both subject to His displeasure, and con- 
 demned to punishment and wrath. 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 25 
 
 In one brief hour, the whole nature of Eve was changed — 
 the seeds of frailty, of whose very existence she had been 
 scarcely conscious before, sprang up into influencing poison. 
 Curiosity, presumption, the overweening trust in her own 
 strength, the desire to act alone, independent of all control — to 
 become greater, wiser, higher than the scale of being, than the 
 station in which God s love had placed her — discontent — scorn 
 of the blessings which a moment before had seemed so precious, 
 simply because imagination portrayed others more alluring — 
 attracted by novelty, beauty, those idol shrines at which woman 
 so often sacrifices her better, her immortal self — such (and 
 are they not the characteristics of woman, even as she is now ?) 
 — such were the emotions excited by the wily tempter, through 
 whose baneful influence she fell. Where, at that moment, was 
 the voice of the spirit, warning her of the God she disobeyed ? 
 Where the whisper of the mind, telling her that the sources of 
 wisdom, of knowledge, already open, were the purest and the 
 best ? Where the fond tones of the heart, urging her to seek 
 the protection, the counsel, the support, of her earthly lord ? 
 Hushed, drowned, in the wild tumult of new and terrible ex- 
 citement of feelings, whose very novelty fascinated and held her 
 chained. The voice of the tempter was in her ear. Sight and 
 smell were filled with the exquisite branch, the delicious fra- 
 grance ; and if such were revealed, what must be its taste and 
 touch, when to pluck and eat would make her as gods, knowing 
 good and evil ? Weak, frail, unguarded, for the still small voice 
 of the soul was lost in that hour's tempest, was it marvel that 
 she fell ? Could she have done otherwise ? The bulwark of 
 FAITH was shivered, her heart was open and defenceless — she 
 was alone, alone, for even the guardian within, if not fled, was 
 silent. The God of infinite love and compassion beheld, but 
 approached not ; and wherefore ? If He permitted, ordained, why 
 did He punish ? Oh, had the voice of his creature called on 
 Him in that terrible hour ; had but the faintest cry ascended for 
 help, for strength, for mercy ; had but the struggling murmur 
 arisen, " Father, thy words are truth, let me but believe" 
 strength, help, faith, would have poured their reviving rays into 
 her sinking soul, and she had been saved — saved for immor- 
 tality, saved to glorify her God ! It was not that she had not 
 the power so to pray. Free-will was her own — to obey, or disobey 
 — to adhere, or to rebel. Of herself, indeed, she could not have 
 
2^ THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 resisted ; but she had equal power to call upon the Lord, as tfi 
 listen to the tempter. According to the path she chose, would 
 have been the issue. Infinite, measureless, as is the love of the 
 Eternal, yet how dare we believe He will grant us help and 
 strength, unless they are implored? How dare we believe He 
 will come forward to our aid, if we stand forth in our own 
 strength, as if we needed naught; nay, through presumption, 
 arrogance, self-righteousness, rebel against, and defy Him ? Ho 
 had said, " Eat not of the tree of knowledge, for on the day thou 
 eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." He had not commanded 
 only, though that should have been sufficient from a loving 
 Father to his children ; but the command was enforced with a 
 warning, that love should be strengthened by reverential fear. 
 He had given the power to resist temptation, by calling upon 
 HIM : but if that power were trampled upon and utterly disre- 
 garded ; and the creature of His hand, whose whole existence, 
 felicity, strength, wisdom, had their being but in Him, so de- 
 pended upon herself, as to be satisfied with her own strength, 
 believing it was in her power to become as a god, and so defy- 
 ing Him, is it contradiction to assert, that the All-wise, All- 
 merciful, AU-JUST, permitted, and yet punished ? Surely, surely, 
 there is not one portion of this mournful history, which, on 
 mature consideration, will be found irreconcilable with the 
 attributes of the Eternal, or with His dealings with His creatures. 
 " She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat." For a brief inter- 
 val, we may suppose, the tumult within, the struggle between 
 virtue and vice, innocence and guilt, was stilled in a strange, 
 fearf.'l intoxication of sinful joy. She had broken through the 
 barrier which, at the words of the serpent, seemed suddenly of 
 iron, it so degraded her by its harshness and injustice. She was 
 INDEPENDENT, had acted by herself, had shaken off all control; 
 and the full tide of guilty pleasure so swept over her soul as to 
 permit for the moment no thought but of herself But this 
 lasted not long : the reaction came with the one thought — her 
 husband. Terror of his anger was, in all probability, the first 
 emotion — how might she evade it ? Fear, notwithstanding her 
 independence, deadened, banished, frustrated every feeling of 
 remorse; repentance, sorrow — all would avail her nothing now; 
 there was but one way to avert her husband's wrath — to make 
 him disobedient as herself The crime would appear less could 
 another share it. She recollected the influence she possessed ; 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 27 
 
 nay, that she had been created to be his help, to soften his 
 sterner and less yielding nature, and would it fail her now ? 
 There was no pause, there could be none ; guilt ever hurries on 
 its victims. On her arguments, her persuasions, holy writ is 
 silent. It was enough — " she gave also unto her husband with 
 her, and he did eat." 
 
 The crime was consummated. Love itself, the purest, noblest, 
 most influencing of those spiritual blessings vouchsafed to maa 
 by his Creator — love, deeper for the creature than the Creator, 
 deeming the gift more precious than the Giver — love it was 
 which to Adam was the tempter, and so converted the richest 
 blessing to the direst curse. The specious oft'ers, the dazzling 
 allurements of the serpent had, perhaps, to his stronger, more 
 steadfast nature, been of no avail. He had no need of ambition, 
 for he was lord over the whole created world. A glance from 
 his eye, a stern rebuke from his lips, had awed even the subtlest 
 of the beasts into silence, and banished him for ever ; but 
 strength and firmness fled before the endearing influence of the 
 being, whom, created to perfect his happiness, he loved better than 
 himself. Excuse for his weakness, indeed, there is none ; but if 
 such may be the extent of woman's influence (and it is as power- 
 ful even now), how fearful is her responsibility, and how deep 
 should be her humility, how fervent her petitions for gracs to 
 guide aright ! 
 
 Not long might the triumph of guilt last. Day declined — 
 the tour of evening came which they were wont so joyfully to 
 welcome, for it brought with it the voice of God. Remorse 
 had come with all its horrors, and now for the first time the 
 extent of their sin stood before them. Terror banished all of 
 love, as all of joy ; and when the first sound of the Eternal's 
 voice reached them, they fled in anguish to hide themselves 
 amid the trees of the gfirden. Vain hope ! but proving how all 
 of spirit and of mind was crushed and buried in this first and 
 awful sway of guilt. " And the Lord God called unto Adam, and 
 said unto him. Where art thou ? And he said, I heard thy voice 
 in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked ; and I hid 
 myself. And the Lord God said, Who told thee that thou wast 
 naked ? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded 
 thee that thou shouldst not eat ? And the man said. The 
 woman thou gavest to be with me gave me of the fruit, 
 and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman. 
 
28 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 What is this thou hast done ? And the woman said, The 
 serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." 
 
 Though to Him all was known, yet would not the beneficent, 
 the ever-loving, aye, even at that moment still, lovinr/ God 
 condemn without question, judge without permitting defence. 
 And how upbraiding, how loving the appeal, " What is this 
 that thou hast done ?" breathing a Father's sorrowing mercy in 
 the very midst of justly deserved punishment. There was no 
 consuming wrath, no terrifying anger, naught to betray that 
 mighty and awful Being at whose first word might be ajiuihila- 
 tion. 
 
 The Eternal pronounced not sentence without requiring and 
 waiting for reply : but what was that reply ? Accusation 
 of another, not self-abhorrence and lowly repentance. How 
 fearfuj! as the change wrought in the heart, as well as in the 
 spirit Ov man, by his sin ! Where now was his deep love for 
 Eve, that he could say, vainly hoping to exculpate himself, 
 " The woman thou didst give me, she gave me of the fruit, and 
 I did eat ?" She had led him by the power of his love into sin ; 
 but from that moment her power was at an end, and he cared 
 not to give her up to justice, so he excused himself. How 
 terrible a commencement of her punishment must have been 
 her husband's words to the still loving heart of Eve ! It was 
 true she had done as he had said ; but was he to be her accuser ? 
 And to her were those words of sorrowing compassion said, 
 " What is this that thou hast done ?" Hast thou indeed so used 
 the power, the beauty, the influence with which I endowed thee 
 for so dift'erent a purpose ? She denied it not : she said not one 
 word to justify her sin towards her husband; his words had 
 entered her heart with the first sharp pang which human affec- 
 tion knew, and there was no attempt at defence or evasion ; — 
 "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." If Adam had 
 stooped to lyy the blame of his own weakness upon one whom 
 he had loved, instead of bewailing his own sin, it was no wonder 
 Eve, not yet awakened to what she should have done to avert 
 the temptation, conscious but of increasing misery, thought only 
 of what might seem excuse, " The serpent beguiled me." The 
 Eternal knew she had spoken truth ; and, still guided by that 
 mercy and justice which in God alone are so perfectly united, 
 there is no need of " man's ways " to reconcile them, proceeded 
 to pronounce sentence according to the degrees of guilt. 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 29 
 
 This is not the place to enter into a dissertation on the 
 Dunishment awarded to the serpent; suffice it that there seems 
 no hidden or allegorical meaning in the inspired historian's simple 
 words. The serpent, as a beast of the tield, beguiled^ and as a 
 beast of the field was, pimiahed. Nor can an Israelite acknow- 
 ledge any allusion to, or any necessity for, a crucified and atoning 
 Saviour, in the very simple words, "I will put enmity between 
 thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed ; it sha'J 
 bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." For a Hebrew, 
 the words can only be taken in their purely literal sense. We 
 are particular on this point ; because thus early, in the perusal 
 of the sacred Scriptures, the Jewish and Gentile readings differ ; 
 and from childish readings of Bible histories by Gentile writers, 
 we may find ourselves giving credence to an assertion for which 
 we have no Mosaic authority, and which, in after years, we would 
 gladly root out from the mystical and contradictory opinions 
 with which it confuses our ideas. 
 
 Eve's chastisement was severer than her husband's, and it was 
 just that so it was, for she was the first transgressor. Death, 
 indeed, — that the dust of which theyra??ie was composed should 
 return to dust, — was the awful sentence pronounced on both ; 
 for such had been threatened from the first if they disobeyed : 
 but during their sojourn upon earth, the sharper and severer 
 trial of pain, of multiplied sorrows, of sinking comparatively in 
 the scale of strength and intellect, of becoming subject to her 
 husband, not, as before, from the sweet obedience of love, but 
 from the sterner mandate of duty ; of being exposed, as a mother, 
 to a hundred sources of anguish of which man knows nothing; 
 for his deepest, dearest love for his offspring is not like a mother's, 
 subject to the thousand petty anxieties and cares which, indepen- 
 dent of severer maternal trials, fill her heart from the moment 
 she hears the first faint cry of the new-born until death. And 
 these trials were Eve's, and they are woman's. Man had, indeed, 
 his work ; the earth was cursed through his sin, and forbidden 
 to yield her fruit without the severest labor ; he was to go 
 forth from the Paradise of innocence and love to till the ground 
 whence he was taken — banished, and for ever. 
 
 The voice of their God, tor the first time heard in reproachful 
 though still forbearing inquiry, and then in fearful condemnation, 
 removed the blackening veil of sin. The spirit burst from the 
 chains of guilt and sin, and while it bowed in agony and remorse 
 
30 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 before the Father and the Judge, and acknowledged this awful 
 sentence just, drew them once more to each other. Love was 
 not given only for the iiappy : to the sorrowing, the repentant, 
 it comes soothing while it softens, seeming, even while it deepens 
 the heavy floods of grief, to banish all of hardness, of selfishness, 
 and of despair. The justice of the Eternal marked the woman 
 as the greater sinner — Adam's further wrath was needless ; 
 remorse too told him that, as the stronger, the firmer, he should 
 have resisted her persuasions, that his disobedience was his own 
 sin, not her's ; and we may believe that, as weak, trembling, 
 bowed to the very dust, not from the thoughts of her own chas- 
 tisement so much as from the reflection of what she had hurled 
 ujjon her husband, for such still is woman, Adam once more 
 received her to his heart, the sharer of his future toils, the soother 
 of his threatened cares, even as she had before been the help- 
 meet of his joy. 
 
 And already Eve needed all of strength and comfort her earthly 
 lord might give. Still remembering mercy, the Eternal clothed 
 them for their departure, endowing them with those faculties of 
 invention, alike for their personal comfort as for the tillage of 
 the ground, for which they had no need in Eden ; but the very 
 gift betrayed the bleak and desert world they were about to seek. 
 Could they but remain in the home of their past innocence and 
 joy, the anguish of the present might be sooner healed. Who 
 that thinks a moment of what we now feel in turning from a 
 beloved home, the scene of all our early hopes and joys and love, 
 adorned with ail of nature and of art, to seek another, im- 
 poverished, and fraught with toil and danger, apart from every 
 object, animate or inanimate, which has twined round our hearte 
 and bound us there, — who, that pictures scenes like these, will 
 refuse our general mother the need of sympathy as she turned 
 from Eden. A change perhaps her sin had wrought even there. 
 The birds flew aloft, trembling to approach that gentle bosom 
 which had before been their resting-place ; the young animals 
 fled in terror from her step ; and there was that in the changed 
 tierce aspects of the beasts of the field, which caused her heart to 
 sicken with deadly fear. The very flowers hung their heads and 
 drooped when gathered ; they could not bear the touch of sin. 
 Yet to that woman's heart Eden was Eden still — her home, the 
 receiver of all those varied channels of love which could be spared 
 from her husband ; and to turn from it, never to approach it more. 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 31 
 
 and from the consequences of her own act, how deep must have 
 been her agony, how touching its remorse, and how necessary 
 the support of love ! 
 
 Though Moses, in his brief detail of past events, simply follows 
 the expulsion from Eden by the birth of Cain, we have sufficient 
 authority from the unchangeable attributes of the Eternal, to 
 believe, that the same love which provided Adam and Eve with 
 clothing, directed and blessed their wanderings ; and though no 
 longer revealing His gracious presence, as in Eden, yet still 
 inspiring the power of prayer and belief in His constant omni- 
 presence and protection. Their sin had indeed changed their 
 earthly nature, — the good had been conquered by the evil. It 
 was henceforth a difficult and weary task to subdue the evil 
 inclinations, theproneness to disobedience and self-righteousness. 
 It was a labor of toil and tears to bring the heavenly essence 
 once more even to a faint and disfigured likeness of its God ; the 
 voice of the soul, once silenced as it had been, could only be 
 heai'd after years of watching and prayer. The Eternal, in His 
 prescience, knew this would be, not so much in x\dam himself 
 (for repentance and sorrow brought him back through his 
 punishment to holiness and constant commvme with his God), but 
 in his offspring. Further and further, as the children of men 
 advanced from their first father — as the tale of creation, of the 
 Eternal's visible presence in Paradise, of all which His love had 
 formed for His favored creature, man, became fainter and fainter 
 in the distance of the past, — so would the likeness of the Lord 
 in which man was made, become more and more effaced, and 
 siu become more and more ascendant. For this reason then it 
 was, that the Eternal, alike in His wisdom and justice and mercy, 
 ordained death as the end of all, the righteous and the wicked ; 
 for Solomon himself telleth us " there is no man that sinnetli 
 not :" and we read in the narrative of Moses himself (Gen. vi. 6) 
 that every imagination of man's heart was only evil continually, 
 and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, 
 and it grieved him at his heart ; and again (Gen. viii.), " I will 
 not curse the ground any more for man's sake ; for the imagina- 
 tion of man's heart is evil from his youth." 
 
 But the Mosaic creed of love and perfect justice goes no 
 further. We utterly repudiate, deny, and hold in abhorrence, 
 the awful creed which condemns every man's soul for the sin of 
 A-dam. To use the language of our own venerable sages : — 
 
 VOL. T. 3 
 
32 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 " Although the descendants of Adam inherited the body from 
 him, and with it the maledictions attached thereto, it is not 
 because they received corporeal existence from him that the 
 souls of all mankind are condemned, for they had not existence 
 jrom Adam, but are a direct emanation from God. Therefore 
 Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the other just, 
 did not pay the sin of Adam, nor were their souls condemned." * 
 And still more convincing proof from the Word of God ; Pen- 
 tateuch, History, Psalms, Proverbs, and Prophets, almost every 
 page bears witness that each man is resjjonsible for his own 
 individual acts. — " See, I have set before you this day Life and 
 Good, Death and Evil; therefore choose life, that thou and 
 thy seed may live" (Deut. xxx. 15 and 19). " Then they that 
 feared the Lord spake often one to another ; and the Lord 
 hearkened, and heard it: and a book of remembrance was 
 written before Him for them that feared the Lord and thought 
 upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of 
 hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels ; and I will spare 
 them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then 
 shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the 
 WICKED ; between him that serveth God, and him that serveth 
 him not'''' (Mai. iii. 16, 17, 18). '■'■ Repent, smdi turn yourselves 
 from all your transgressions ; so iniquity shall not he your ruin. 
 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have 
 transgressed ; and make you a new heart and a new spirit : for 
 why wiL ye die, O house of Israel ? For I have no pleasure in 
 the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God : therefore' turn 
 yourselves, and live ye" (Eze. xviii. 30, 31, 32). "Turn ye 
 unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you" 
 (Zach. i. 3). 
 
 It wo '.Id be useless transcribing all the passages in the Bible 
 similar to the above — and teeming with the doctrine of indivi- 
 dual responsibility, and individual power to regain the favor of 
 the Eternal — which is completely oppos.ed to the Gentile creed. 
 But while we reject, wholly and utterly, all belief in the Naza- 
 rene doctrine, that we are each and all, even the new-born babe, 
 condemned to everlasting misery unless we acknowledge Jesus 
 — reject it, because it is contrary to the doctrines of Moses ; 
 
 * The Conciliator, vol. ii. page 214. Translated from the Spanish of 
 Manasseh Ben Israel, by E. H. Lindo, Esq. 
 
PERIOD I, EVE. 33 
 
 contrary to the whole spirit of the Bible ; contrary to every 
 attribute of a just and merciful God ; we equally reject the mis- 
 taken and sceptical belief that the disobedience of our first 
 parents in no way affects us now. If its effects were only con- 
 lined to them, where is the mercy, the justice of the Lord, in 
 condemning a^^ their seed to return to the dust? Who that 
 looks into himself and knows the " plague of his own heail," 
 the difficulty to realize spirituality and huhness — who that reads 
 his Bible with faith and prayer, and marks the prevalence of 
 evil even there, the failings and the weaknesses of the holiest 
 men, even those hallowed by the appellation of the " fi-ieuds of 
 God," will still refuse belief that the disobedience of our first 
 parents so far altered our nature as to give the body more pow- 
 erful dominion than the soul ; and thus, by deadening the 
 spiritual influence within us, exposing us to temptation of every 
 kind, and consequently but too often to sin ; and rendering it a 
 difficult and often desponding task to give the spiritual domi- 
 nion over the corjwreal, and to devote our whole hearts — not 
 alone in our closets, but in the duties and occupations of the 
 world still to serve and love our God. What would have been 
 the glorious nature of Adam and Eve if they had not sinned, 
 we know not ; for it is a subject far too holy for speculation or 
 conjecture : but that their transgression produced conse(|uences 
 which demanded that not only themselves but their seed should 
 return to dust, is a scnptural truth which no one who believes 
 in Moses and the Prophets can, we think, have sufficient bold- 
 ness to deny. But the soul it touched not. — An emanation 
 from God Himself, it will return to Him, untouched by any sin 
 but those of the body in whom it was breathed ; and there, at 
 the bar of God, our own acts, purified by mercy, judged by the 
 ways and thoughts of the Lord — which are not the ways and 
 thoughts of man — guided by the law his mercy gave, hallowed 
 by faith and justified by love — our own acts must be our wit- 
 ness or our condemnation. Nor is this an individual doctrine 
 lightly and carelessly entered upon or produced from one par- 
 ticular class of reading. It has been the thought and study of 
 long years, based on an earnest and prayerful study of the Holy 
 Scriptures, and on the spirit pervading the writings of every 
 Hebrew sage which are accessible to woman. We have brought 
 it strongly forward ; because, unless we know exactly what we 
 do believe and what we do not beheve from the very beginning 
 
84 THE WOMEN OFISRAEL 
 
 of the Holy Scriptures, our readings must always be attended 
 with obscurity and ]3ain, and the very attributes of the Eternal 
 difficult to be realized amid the awful scenes of wickedness 
 which the histoi'ical books present. We will now proceed with 
 the more private history of Eve. 
 
 Years must have rolled over the heads of our first parents 
 since their expulsion, ere the fearful event took place, which, 
 although it mentions not their names, must recall our attention 
 to them. Although, in comparison, they had become degraded, 
 and the recollection of their sin must ever have remained with 
 its stinging remorse, — still, repentance and real sorrow, meek 
 submission to their chastisement and acknowledgment of its 
 justice, raised them from their first abject misery, and permitted 
 them once more, through prayer and thanksgiving and sacrifice, 
 to commune with the Lord. Eve's exclamation on the birth of 
 Cain — " I have gotten a man from the Lord," proves how closely 
 and devoutly she still traced all blessings from His gracious 
 hand : — hallowing her maternal joy by gratitude to Him. His 
 love had bestowed on her a blessing unknown even in Eden — a 
 child — a possession peculiarly her own and her husband's ; -and 
 in the exultation of her grateful joy she calls his name T^p Cain, 
 from nipj^ to possess or to acquire. In his early infancy, ere he 
 became awake to right and wrong, his parents could but feel 
 enjoyment to train him up so as to know no sin, to love and 
 serve the Lord, and to give them love and reverence in return 
 for the deep, endless fondness they lavished upon him. But by 
 the name bestowed upon their second son, Abel, we may almost 
 suppose that they had already felt the vanity of these hopes and 
 wishes ; that even in his boyhood Cain manifested those evil 
 passions and that headstrong will, which led in after years to 
 Buch fearful consequences. 
 
 The effects of Eve's disobedience were now to be displayed in 
 her own offspring — the child of exultation and joy — whom 
 she had welcomed with such delight, that she almost felt as if 
 no sorrow or suffering could assail her more, was the instrument 
 m the Eternal hand to bring her back meekly and submissively 
 to Him, in prayer for that beloved one, in recognition that 
 her sin was working still. The passions and rebellion of 
 her first-born brought all the agony of remorse fresh upon 
 her heart ; and deep as was the joy with which she had hailed 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 35 
 
 his birth, was the anxiety, the suffering, his dawning cha- 
 racter called forth. 
 
 Actuated by such emotions, it was with sorrow, then, mora 
 than joy, that the birth of her second boy was hailed. She 
 had already felt the vanity, the transientness of her hopes ; and 
 mournfully she called his name b^l^ Hebel — transientness or 
 vanity, from i^n^ which signifies to follow a vain thing, to 
 cherish vain thoughts. But as is the case (how often even 
 now !) the child of tears and antic.pated sorrow, proved as dear 
 and precious a blessing as the son of exultation was of 
 grief. She saw in him the ascendency of the spiritual, the 
 deathless part of their mingled nature, that evil could still 
 be subdued, and man be still acceptable and worthy in 
 the sight of his Creator. The compassionate love of the Eter- 
 nal, while He chastised through Cain, gave hope and trust and 
 comfort through Abel. He showed through these varying 
 natures, that free will to choose the good and eschew the 
 evil was still given ; and that though the latter to the eyes 
 of the world might seem, nay was, the ascendant. He would 
 yet preserve his witnesses among mankind, to keep alive the 
 knowledge of the Lord, and prove the pre-eminence, the beauty, 
 the glor)', and the consolation of piety and virtue. 
 
 So years rolled on : the boys grew up to manhood. And 
 though it is not specifically mentioned, it is evident that 
 Eve must also have borne a daughter, who, as was abso- 
 lutely necessary in the early stages of the world, became 
 the wife of Cain. Some writers believe that Cain and Abel 
 were both born with twin sisters. It may or may not be, 
 as it must be only conjecture — though Cain's wife only is men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The words of scripture '" and he (Adam) begat sons and 
 daughters," are sufficient for our information. In all probability 
 his family was a large one, — that his seed might fulfil the 
 intention of the Eternal in peopling the world ; but how many 
 daughters he had before the death of Abel does not appear, and 
 is of little consequence. 
 
 During the growth of their elder children, the lives of 
 our first parents difter little in feeling from those of the present 
 day. Their employments, indeed, were as unlike as patriarchal 
 simplicity is from worldly interest and luxury — the peace of 
 
36 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 nature from the contention of the world. In reading the narra« 
 tives of the Bible, we often blend situation with feeling, and 
 believe that as the one is too antiquated for interest and exam- 
 ple, so is the other for sympathy and love. But the Bible tells 
 of no character above human nature ; and why not tlien, in 
 perusing the circumstances of their simple lives, try their feelings 
 by the standard of our own ? Who that is a mother, does not 
 feel anxiety, pleasure, grief, joy, despondency, and hope, almost 
 all at the same time, according to the differing dispositions of her 
 children ? Who that is a parent does not acknowledge that 
 maternal love may combine the intensest joy with the intensest 
 grief? And will they not then sympathize in the feehngs 
 of Eve ? — at one time bowed to the very dust in the anguish 
 occasioned by the sinful inclinations and rude temper of her first 
 born, in self-accusation that she, perhaps, was the original cause, 
 even as an affectionate mother very often accuses herself for the 
 faults of her offspring — at another, weeping tears of sweet joy, 
 and love, and consolation, on the gentle bosom of her Abel, 
 whose whole life and thoughts were directed to piety and virtue 
 to God and to his parents — whose very existence, as her 
 own had been in Paradise, seemed bright with reverence 
 and love ? 
 
 But even this life of mingled grief and comfort might not 
 last. Not yet had Eve sufficiently atoned for her disobedience, 
 and proved her love and faith, to pass through the awful portals 
 of death to the home prepared for her in heaven. Death, 
 as concerned herself, her husband, her children, was still 
 the dark shadow through which as yet no certain light had 
 beamed. The Eternal, in His mercy, had prepared to reveal it, 
 but through clouds of denser, more appalling blackness than had 
 yet gathered round His creatures. 
 
 Wrought up to phi'ensy bv the preference manifested towards 
 the pious offering of his younger brother — refusing to acknow- 
 ledge that it was the temper of his own mind at iiiult, and that 
 he had himself trampled on, and defied the favor he yet 
 coveted, when shown to another — still sullenly and obstinately 
 encouraging the evil, even when the Lord, in infinite mercy, 
 condescended Himself to speak with his rebellious servant, 
 and asking why he was wroth, informed him that though 
 sin was ever crouching beside him, he (Cain) had the poiver 
 to rule over and subdue it, still disregarding even this, listening 
 
PERIOO I. EVE. 37 
 
 but to the fearful instigations of his own heart, — * it came 
 to pass, when they were in the field together, that Cain rose up 
 against his brother Abel, and slew him." 
 
 The dark terror of death was mysterious no longer. In 
 its most fearful, most ap|ialling shape, it had descended upon 
 earth — the bright, the beautiful, the loving, and the holy, there 
 he lay before tlie eyes of his agonized parents, his life-blood 
 dyeing the green-sward — that face so fair, so sweet an index 
 of the pure glorious soul — those limbs, so soft and round 
 and graceful, whose every movement had brought joj to 
 his mother's heart — they gazed upon them still, beautiful as 
 if he slept, save that there was a stillness and a coldness as the 
 earth on which he lay. This, then, was death, and it had been 
 dealt by a brother''s hand. Can any woman, much less a 
 mother, reflect on Eve's immeasurable agony, and yet pass 
 lightly and heedlessly over this first narration of Holy Writ, 
 refusing sympathy, even interest, in the deep dark floods 
 of misery, with which, though her name is not mentioned, 
 those few words of a brother's hate and wrath and murder 
 teem ? Not alone a mother's anguish, deprived of both her 
 children in one fearful day — not, not alone the wild yearn- 
 ings of affection towards the guilty and the exile, strug- 
 gling with the passionate misery for her own bereavement, but 
 more crushing, more agonizing still — it was her work — she had 
 disobeyed to obtain the knowledge of good and evil, — and how 
 appallingly had that forbidden knowledge poured back its 
 stinging poison into her own heart ! Her beautiful had fallen 
 — she might never, never gaze upon him, list his sweet 
 voice more — the dust had gone to its dust — sent to his grave in 
 his youth, his sinlessness — the helpless and the innocent crushed 
 by the strong hand of the guilty — and the Eternal had looked 
 down from his awful throne and interfered not. Why had the 
 only innocent, the only righteous, being the first to pay the 
 penalty of death, when his guilty parents and yet more guilty 
 brother were permitted still to live? Nay, the doom of Cain, 
 which the hardened one himself declared " was greater than he 
 could bear," was not to die, but live as a wanderer whom none 
 might slay. Why might such things be ? Were they recon- 
 cilable with those attributes of justice and of love and long 
 suffering, which the Eternal had already proclaimed, through 
 
38 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 His conduct, to his creatures ? They were : for in the death of 
 the innocent, immortality was proclaimed ! 
 
 The disobedient looked on the death their sin had brought — 
 they felt, in their own bosoms, the deepest agony of bereave- 
 raent — they saw not the terror, only as the end of existence ; 
 but by the scythe cutting down the young in his first beautiful 
 spring, and in the full prime of holiness and good, they learned 
 what their own death, at the moment of disobedience, could not 
 have taught — that the righteous must also be cut off, as well as 
 the guilty — that death was not only chastisement for itself 
 alone, but in the deep agony it inflicted upon the living, in the 
 awful trial of separation and bereavement, and the utter loneli- 
 ness of heart when a beloved one goes ; and, this learned, the 
 world beyond death, the dwelling of the righteous, the reunion 
 of the divine essence with its parent Fount — immortality — was 
 revealed ! 
 
 That the caviller, the sceptic, the thoughtless will deny this, 
 because we can bring forward no written proof of its truth, we 
 are perfectly aware : but we write for tlie believer, for the Israel- 
 ite, who not only reads the words of his Bible, but explains 
 them by one only unerring test, the attributes of God. The 
 question is simply this — Do we believe in a God ? That He is, 
 as He proclaimed Himself, "merciful and gracious, long-suffer- 
 ing, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for 
 thousands, forgiving iniquity and sin, yet clearing not the guilty," 
 without repentance and amendment ? Do we believe in Him, 
 as in every page of His Holy Word He is revealed, or do we 
 not ? If we do not — if we deny the existence of a just and 
 merciful, though in many instances inscrutable, G>d, then 
 indeed we may deny our immortality ; but if we acknowledge 
 there is a God, aye, and one whose justice and whose love are 
 infinite and perfect as Himself, we must not only believe in our 
 own immortality, but trace its doctrine running through the Holy 
 Scriptures, alike from the death of Abel to the last verses of 
 Malachi, pervading, vivifying, spii'itualizing its every portion, 
 even as our mortal frame is pervaded, vivified, and spiritualized, 
 by the invisible, yet ever breathing soul. We do not doubt 
 and question that we have a soul, because we have nothing pal- 
 pable and evident by which to p7-ove it ; and even as the soul 
 is the essence, the spirit of our being, so is immortality the 
 essence and the spirit of the Bible. 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 39 
 
 Where was the mercy, nay, the justice of the Eternal, had he 
 punished with eternal death the only righteous of His creatures ? 
 We can scarcely even dwell upon the idea for a moment with- 
 out impiety. Abel was taken, that while death in his most 
 fearful form was revealed to manifest all the terrible evil and 
 anguish Eve's sin had brought, the hope and promise of 
 inmiortality might be given, and the agonized parents comforted. 
 He was removed " from the evil to come," to that world, where 
 " light had been sown for the righteous" from the beginning, 
 and would be for ever. 
 
 But though this revelation must have brought with it com- 
 fort unspeakable, yet the heavy trial of Eve might not even, 
 through this beneficent assurance, be entirely assuaged. She 
 could not now, as she had done in Eden, realize so blessedly the 
 pre-eminence of the spirit over the feelings of the clay. Thou'gh 
 comforted, the weakness of humanity must still have been too 
 often in the ascendant, and taught her all the bitterness of grief. 
 Even though the thought of Abel might, through the unselfish- 
 ness of woman's love, be tranquillized by the idea, that however 
 she might suffer, he was happy, as she had been in Eden, no 
 such comfort could attend the thought of Cain. It was vain to 
 measure maternal love by the worth or un worthiness of its 
 objects. It was not only that he was exiled for ever from her 
 sight, that her yearning heart might never seek to soothe him 
 more ; but she knew that he was, he must be a wretched wanderer, 
 and the mother felt his wretchedness, thougli she saw it not, in 
 addition to her own. Mercy, indeed, had tempered his chastise- 
 ment, for he had not been cut off in his sin — he had been 
 doomed to length of days on earth, that he might repent and 
 atone ; but this, to a weak and suffering parent, though she 
 might struggle to lift up her heart in gratitude, could not afford 
 consolation. 
 
 There is little more to narrate in the life of Eve ; but that 
 little, as every other incident in her life, proves forcibly the 
 Eternal's still compassionating love. To remove all of utter 
 bereavement from His first created, first beloved, when the first 
 agony of Eve's heavy trial was over, God gave her another 
 son. And she called his name nd Seth, because she said, God 
 has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Gain 
 slew." And as from Seth descended a line of venerable patri- 
 archs, one of whom was taken up to heaven, without dying, tor 
 
 3* 
 
40 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 his righteousness ; and from them came Noah, who alone was 
 saved from universal destruction ; then through him Abraham, 
 the favored servant and friend of the Eternal — Abraham, for 
 whose sake Israel was the chosen, and is still the beloved of 
 the Lord, we may quite believe that Eve was not only com- 
 forted by the gift of a son, but that even as Abel he was 
 righteous, and that he was the comforter of his parents — that 
 in beholding his opening manhood, the dawning virtue and 
 graces of his spirit, the fiery trial of their early life was soothed, 
 and they could trace the hand of the Lord bringing forth good 
 out of the very midst of evil, and rest satisfied, that however 
 the strong and the guilty might seem to prosper, He would 
 never leave Himself without witnesses upon earth. 
 
 Although there is no mention of the death of Eve, the words 
 of Holy Writ, informing us that " Adam lived eight hun- 
 dred years after he had begotten Seth, and had sons and 
 daughters," would prove that she, too, lived that period, there 
 being no mention whatever, as is often the case with the other 
 patriarchs, of Adam taking another wife. The former tempta- 
 tions, trials, and sorrows of our first parents, must have then 
 been looked back upon by them in their old age, as we should 
 look on the events which may have befallen us before the age 
 of twenty, when we have reached the venerable years of four- 
 score. That long life was evidently granted in mercy. Had 
 they been cut oft' on the instant of their transgression, it must 
 have been for eternity, or death would have been no punish- 
 ment. Had they been taken sooner, we will suppose before the 
 death of Abel, though they might have been spared that bitter 
 sorrow, still darkness, and fear for themselves, and doubt as to 
 the ways and attributes of the Eternal, must have crowded 
 round them, and filled them with despair as to the probable 
 eftects of their sin on their offspring, and their offspring's seed. 
 Long life, through the infinite mercy of the Eternal, removed 
 these evils. While they felt, in all the bitterness of remorse, 
 all the evil they had wrought, they were yet comforted by the 
 revelation of imraortjdity, and the consequent incentive for the 
 struggling after righteousness, which, without such blessed incen- 
 tive, man could never have achieved. They beheld, that 
 though the likeness of God within them had been dulled in all, 
 and in some would be almost entirely eSiiced, it might in 
 heaven be regained, if while on earth it was sought with faith 
 
PKRIODI, EVE 41 
 
 and works. They learned, that though discord, strife, and 
 oppression, and labor, and care, would reign tumultuously on 
 earth, to the extinction, in appearance^ of all that was spiritual 
 and good, there was yet in heaven an omnipresent and ever- 
 acting love, which would so over-rule the world, that even 
 from " transitory evil" would spring forth " universal good," 
 and every seemingly dark and contradictory event below, tend 
 to the glory, the extension, and the perfection of the divine 
 economy above. 
 
 To obtain this knowledge our first parents were spared, and 
 not cut otr in their sin ; and can we, their oflspring, even at this 
 length of time, peruse their eventful history, without feeling our 
 hearts glow with grateful adoration of the love which guided 
 and hallowed them throughout! The stream of time which 
 divides us is indeed so wide, that we are apt to feel that events 
 so far distant can concern us little. Yet while we trace in our 
 mortal frame, and painful infirmities, the effects of their disobedi- 
 ence^ shall we not acknowledge, with grateful and adoring faith, 
 that the same love which guided, blessed, and pardoned them, 
 is still extended unto us ? 
 
 To dwell in paradise, to be blessed with direct communings 
 with the Eternal and His heavenly messengers, are indeed not 
 ours ; but many a home — aye, many a lot is a sinless paradise 
 to a young and gentle girl ; and loving parents will so throng 
 her path with care and blessings, that of evil she knows little, 
 and temptation is afar oflP. And often, too often, like Eve, 
 these blessings are undervalued and sacrificed, not through her 
 sit and disobedience, but from woman's unfortunate desire to 
 gras'i something more than is her allotted jyortion ; — her discon- 
 tent with the lowliei station which her weaker frame and less 
 powerful mind mark imperatively as her own — her mistaken 
 notion, that humility is degradation ; and unless she compels 
 man to accede to her her rights, they will be trampled on, and 
 never acknowledged — her curiosity leading her too often to 
 covet knowledge which she needs not for the continuance 
 of her happiness. Oh ! let not woman deny that such too often 
 are her characteristics, and exclaim with scorn of Eve's weakness, 
 that had she been in Eve's place, surrounded with felicity as she 
 was, the forbidden tree might have remained for ever ere she 
 would have touched it. She who thus thinks, commits uncon- 
 sciously Eve's first sin, trusting too much in her own strength; 
 
42 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 and, iu consequence, is just as likely to fall beneath the very first 
 temptation which assails her. 
 
 Let her not quiet such fears by the thought that Eve's par- 
 ticular temptation cannot be hers. No ; but snares innume- 
 rable, and equally fearful, surround us. Each day brings its 
 own temptations, each day calls upon us to pray against them ; 
 for we know not how or in what shape they may arise, and how 
 soon, if we trust in our own strength, they may triumph and 
 lead us to perdition. Had Eve been truly humble she had not 
 sinned. And if in Eden humility was needed, if even there, 
 without such panoply of proof, woman fell, how much more 
 should we encourage it now ! Humility is to woman her truest 
 safeguard, her loveliest ornament, her noblest influence, her 
 greatest strength. Teaching her her true station in regard to 
 man, it leads her ever to the footstool of her God, thence to 
 derive firmness, devotedness, fortitude, consolation, hope, all that 
 she needs. While such privilege is hers, let her not repine 
 that God lowered Eve and made her less than man ; let her not 
 look back with anger that the sin of one woman should thus 
 punish her descendants. From the very first she was endowed 
 ditferently to man ; had she not been the weaker, the serpent 
 had not marked her as his easier prey. And, as our own 
 nature is even now as Eve's, let us rather thank God that his 
 love has granted us that lowly station where our natural quali- 
 ties may best be proved, and our weaknesses and failings have 
 less power to work us harm. Let us cultivate, with all our 
 heart and soul and might, the lovely flower of humility, which, 
 by teaching us to think lowlily of ourselves, will render us con- 
 tented and thankful for the blessings around us, the gifts 
 bestowed on us, instead of urging us to covet more ; — the 
 sweet flower on whose breath our souls are enabled more con- 
 tinually to ascend to God, and whose petals, seemingly so frail 
 and tender, have yet more power to guard us from temptation 
 and presum])tion than an unsheathed sword. Let us not pause 
 till it is found and worn ; and if it make us invisible as itself, 
 save to those who seek and value us, it will shed around us an 
 atmosphere of love and peace and joy, with which no other 
 flower can vie ; and in death, as in life, we shall bless God for 
 ts possession, as for the dearest gift He has vouchsafed. 
 
 Would I then, some may exclaim, deny all privileges to 
 Women — refuse to acknowledge their equality with man — de- 
 
PERIOD I. EVE. 43 
 
 grade them as the Jewish reHgion is falsely accused of doing ? 
 No ! for in the sight of God, in their spiritual privileges, in 
 their pecuhar gifts and endowments, the power of perfoi'uiing 
 their duties in their own sphere, in their responsibilitT/, they are 
 on a perfect equality with man. But I would conjure them to 
 seek humility, simply from its magic power of keeping woman 
 in her own beautiful sphere, without one wish, one ambitious 
 whisj)er, to exchange it for another. While tlere, while satisfied 
 and rejoicing in the infinite love and wisdom which placed us 
 there, we are not only in the privileges enumerated above, man's 
 equal, — but however in strength of frame, immense capability 
 of physical and mental exertion, in might and grasp of intellect, 
 his inferior ; yet in the depth and faithfulness of love, in the 
 capabihty of feeling and enduring, in devotedness and fortitude 
 — alike in bodily and mental trial — we are unanswerably his 
 superior. Then has not woman enough to call for gratitude ? 
 Endowed with influence over the heart of man, — oh ! let her 
 remember for what fearful end Eve used that influence, and keep 
 a constant guard of watchfulness and prayer over her heart to 
 preserve her from its similar abuse. Let her remember the 
 employments of Eve in Eden, and so cultivate her intellectual 
 faculties in the study of God and nature, both animate and 
 inanimate, that her mind may be strengthened, and in the con- 
 templation of the beauties of creation, she may learn the true 
 value of the beauty which may be hers. How small is its 
 relative proportion, and yet how blessedly it may be used, even 
 as the beauty of creation, for the glory of God, in its mild, sooth- 
 ing, and benignant influence upon His creatures ! 
 
 Above all, let the history of Eve impress this truth upon the 
 hearts of her young descendants — that however weak and faulty 
 and abased, however sorrowing and bereaved, however reaping 
 in tears the effects of indiscretion or graver error, — yet stil the 
 compassion, the long suffering, the exhaustless love of tneir 
 Father in Heaven is theirs ; that no circumstance in life can 
 deprive them of that love, can throw a barrier between woman's 
 yearning heart and the healing compassion of her God. No; 
 not even departure from Him, neglect, forgetfulness, will make 
 Him forget or cease to compassionate, if she will but return in 
 true repentance, and clinging faithfulness to his deep love once 
 more. We cannot measure that exhaustless fount — for as high 
 as the heaven from the earth, so great is its extent. We cannot 
 
-44 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL 
 
 weary that never-ceasing mercy — for as far as the East is from 
 the West, so far, when we return to Him, doth He remove our 
 transgressions from us. And will woman — whose whole exist- 
 ence still is love — neglect or despise these thrice-blessed privi- 
 leges ; will the exile, the despised, the persecuted — for such 
 has been, and is, the woman of Israel — will she not receive with 
 grateful adoration the love vouchsafed, and come and make 
 manifest the Sustainer, the Comforter, the Mainspring of her 
 being? To woman of every creed, of every race,. of every rank 
 — life, though it may seem blessed, is a fearful desert without 
 God. What then, without Him, is it to the woman of Israel, 
 the exile and the mourner, who hath no land, no hope, no com- 
 forter but Him ? 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 SARAH 
 
 So varied and so important are the incidents comprised in 
 the life of Eve, that, on a mere superficial view, Sarah's biogra- 
 phy appears somewhat deficient in interest. Yet, as the beloved 
 partner of Abraham, she ought to be a subject of reverence and 
 love to her female descendants ; and we will endeavor to bring 
 her history forward, that such she may become. Much of the 
 Eternal's love and pity towards His female children is mani- 
 fested in her simple life, and also in the life of her bondwoman, 
 Hagar, which is too closely interwoven with hers to be 
 omitted. 
 
 The real relationship between Abraham and Sarah, before 
 marriage, has never yet been clearly or satisfactorily solved ; 
 some commentators asserting she was his niece, the daughter 
 of Haran his eldei- brother ; and others, that she was, as Abra- 
 ham himself declares, his half-sister — "She is the daughter of 
 my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 45 
 
 my Avife." We believe the latter assertion much more likely 
 to be the correct one, because, in the first place, there is no 
 foundation whatever for the idea that she was Haran's dauo'hter, 
 except the supposition that Iscah means Sarah (Gen. xi. 29) ; 
 and, in the second, it is not probable that when ouestioned by 
 Abimelech, Abraham would have condescended to utter a false- 
 hood. The Bible mentions Lot only as the child of Haran ; 
 and Abraham himself says, Sarah was his half-sister. The 
 latter relationship, as preventing marriage, is no proof in favor 
 of her being his niece, as no laws of marriage had yet been 
 issued ; and in the early stages of the world, such connexions 
 were not considered sin. 
 
 Leaving this difficult decision to more curious speculators, we 
 will proceed to subjects of greater interest. The first notice we 
 have of Sarai is her accompanying her husband and Lot from 
 the home of her kindred to a strange country, among all 
 strange people, in simple obedience to the word of God. Holy 
 writ is silent on the youth of Abram ; but it is the opinion of 
 our ancient fathers, that his earnest desire after divine know- 
 ledge — his pure and holy life — his affectionate and virtuous 
 conduct, attracted towards him the blessing of the Lord, and 
 caused hira to be selected as the promulgator of the Divine 
 Revelation. That Abram was exposed to many dangers on 
 account of his loving obedience to the one sole invisible God, 
 instead of acknowledging the idols of his race, is indeed very 
 possible, and probably originated the first removal of his family 
 to Charran, where also his father accompanied him. At Char- 
 ran they seem to have dwelt in peace and prosperity, secured 
 from former persecutors, so that it must have been no little trial 
 to go forth again, more particularly without any definite cause 
 for the removal. 
 
 To Sarai the trial must have been more severe than to her 
 husband. She was to go forth with hira indeed; but it is 
 woman's peculiar nature to cling to home, home ties, and home 
 affections — to shrink from encountering a strange world, teem- 
 ing with unknown trials and dangers. Rather than the parting 
 from a husband, indeed, all other partings may seem light ; but 
 yet they are trials to a gentle woman : and the heart that can 
 leave the home and friends of a happy youth — the associations 
 of years — without regret, proves not that its affections are so 
 centred on one object as to eschew all others ; but that it is 
 
46 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 too often wrapped in a chilling indifference, which prevents 
 strong emotions on any subject whatever. We have enough 
 of Sarai in the Bible to satisfy us that such is not her charac- 
 ter. 
 
 One cause for the love of home ties and associations, in the 
 heart of a right-feeling woman, originates in the behef that 
 there she can do so much more good than elsewhere — that, 
 unfitted bv the weakness and infirmities of her frame from active 
 toil, and the pursuit of goodly service, as falls to the lot of 
 man, she can yet benefit her friends, children, and domestics, in 
 the hallowed circle of home ; and better manifest the blessings 
 of the Lord and the love she bears Him, there than amongst 
 strangers. And this was especially the case with Sarai. By 
 one of our ancient fathers it is said, that as Abram and Lot 
 were permitted to turn many of their own sex from idolatry to 
 the knowledge of the one true God, so also was Sarai granted 
 the hallowed privilege of leading many of her female friends 
 and domestics to the same blessed Fount. It was therefore, no 
 doubt, a source of questioning and wonder in her mind, why 
 the Eternal's mandate to go forth should be given. She had 
 not even experience in the Eternal's glorious attributes, as dis- 
 played in His dealings with His creatures, and through His 
 word, to comfort and be her guide. All was mental darkness 
 in the world around her, except her husband and those few 
 whom he had been enabled to teach a partial knowledge of his 
 God. They stood alone in their peculiar faith ; and how often, 
 in such a case, do doubts and fears enter the breast of woman ! 
 Yet it was enough that her husband prepared without question 
 or hesitation to obey his God — to leave his aged father, his 
 kindred, and his friends ; and, with simple and loving ftiith, she 
 went with him where the Lord should lead. Well is it for us 
 when we can do so likewise ; when, in some of those bitterest 
 trials that woman's heart can know, the change of home or 
 land, be it with our parents, or, husband, or more fearful still, 
 alone, we can yet so stay upon our God that we can realize His 
 presence. His loving mercy directing our weary way, and resting 
 with us stijl. His direct communing by voice or sign, or 
 through angelic messengers, is indeed no longer ours ; but 
 those that seek to love and serve Him may yet hear His still 
 small voice breathing in the solemn whisper of their own hearts, 
 and through the individual promises of His word. 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 47 
 
 Accompanied by Lot and their household — expressed in the 
 term, " the souls they had gotten in Charran," Avho were pro- 
 bably those whom they had instructed in the true faith — and 
 carrying with them the substance they possessed, Abrara and 
 Sarai " went forth into the land of Canaan," which was inha- 
 bited by a tierce people, and gave little hope of ever being 
 possessed by the patriarch and his family, for by their constant 
 journeyings it would seem as if they could not even obtain 
 sufficient land to fix their home. Yet, there again the Lord 
 appeared to the patriarch and renewed His promise — thus 
 proving His tender compassion for the human weakness of His 
 creatures, and encouraging their faith, when, without such 
 encouragement. He knew it must have failed. To add to their 
 numerous human discomforts and trials, a famine broke out in 
 the land, so severe and grievous that Abrara sought the land oi 
 Egypt ; and there, rendered fearful by the exceeding beauty of 
 his wife, and the supposed barbarity of the land, he bade Sars^; 
 call herself his sister, not his wife. 
 
 In this first deception, however, Abram was much more to \y* 
 excused than in the second. He had not yet had all the con 
 vincing proofs of the Eternal's tender watchfulness and care, .*»? 
 he had afterwards. He had gone to Egypt without the express 
 command of the Lord, and this very fact, to one accustomed tf 
 divine guidance, and not yet perhaps feeling himself sufficiently 
 strong spiritually to go alone, rendered him more fearful thar 
 he would otherwise have been. He might also have thought, 
 that as he was destined for a great end, it was his duty to use 
 any means to preserve the life so appointed, without sufficiently 
 considering that life and death were equally in the hands of th^ 
 Eternal, and that He would preserve His servant alive, withoui 
 the intervention of human means. Spiritual advancement 
 requires effort, perseverance, and experience, as well as every 
 other; and Abram himself, though the elect of the Eternal^ 
 could not obtain perfection and firmness in faith without some 
 human tremblings, which it is enough for us to know, were 
 overruled, compassionated, and forgiven. We perceive by the 
 sacred narrative, that his intention was frustrated, and his words 
 caused the very evil he dreaded ; — which is sufficient warning 
 for us to avoid all departure from the straight line of truth — ■ 
 while the continued care and favor of the Lord should check 
 our presumptuous condemnation, and remind us, that if His 
 
48 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 justice and mercy thought proper to overrule and forgive, and 
 continue, nay increase. His long tenderness towards Abram and 
 his family, it is our part, instead of marvelling, to thank God 
 that such weakness is recorded, that we may not feel it is human 
 perfection alone which calls down His blessing, and so shrink 
 back in terror and despair. 
 
 This part of Sarai's history gives us information generally 
 very interesting to young female readers — that she was very 
 beautiful. We are wont to imagine that the charms of sixty- 
 five could not be very remarkable ; but reckoning according to 
 the age to which mortals then lived, she was not older than a 
 woman of thirty or five-and-thirty would be now, consequently 
 in her prime ; endowed, as her history gives us authority to 
 suppose, with a quiet, retiring dignity, which greatly enhanced 
 h^r beauty, and rendered it yet more interesting than that of 
 girlhood. 
 
 Protected from this danger, his substance greatly increased by 
 Pharaoh's gifts, Abram, his wife, and household, retraced their 
 steps to where " his tent had been at first, between Bethel and 
 Hai." The altar which he had originally erected was still 
 there, and again he and his family " called on the name of the 
 Lord." The command of Pharaoh — " Go thy way," was most 
 probably regarded and acted on hy the patriarch as a warning, 
 that his safest and most hallowed home was in the land to which 
 the Lord had originally guided him. 
 
 In the events which follow — the separation of Abram and Lot 
 — the battle of the kings — the imprisonment and rescue of 
 Lot — the blessing of Melchisedek — Holy Writ makes no men- 
 lion of Sarai. She was performing those duties of an affec- 
 tionate wife and gentle mistress of her husband's immense 
 establishment, which are nothing to write about, but which 
 make up the sum of woman's life, create her dearest and purest 
 sources of happiness, and bring her acceptably before God. Her 
 home was still an unsettled one. The Lord had again appeared 
 to renew His promises to Abram — comforting him in the 
 sorrow which Lot's choice of a dwelling in the sinful Sodom had 
 occasioned him, by the assurance that all the land which he saw, 
 northward and southward, eastward and westward, would He 
 give unto him and to his seed, and his seed's seed for ever. 
 That he was to " Arise, and walk through the land, in the 
 breadth of it and in the length of it, for I will give it unto 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 49 
 
 thee," In consequence of which, the tent of the patriarch was 
 removed southward, to Mamre in Hebron, and an akar built, at 
 once to claim the hxnd in the name of the Lord, and give to 
 Abram and his household a place where to worship. The 
 extent of the patriarch's household may be imagined by the 
 fact, that at his word, no less than three hundred and eis'hteen 
 servants, born in his house and trained to arms, accompanied 
 him to the rescue of his nephew. Those who were left to 
 attend to his flocks and herds, which he possessed in great 
 numbers, must have been in equal proportion ; and over these, 
 during his absence, Sarai, assisted by the steward, had unlimited 
 dominion. 
 
 The beautiful confidence and true affection subsisting between 
 Abram and Sarai, marks unanswerably their equality ; that his 
 wife was to Abram friend as well as partner; and yet, that 
 Sarai knew perfectly her own station, and never attempted to 
 push herself forward in unseemly counsel, or use the influence 
 which she so largely possessed for any weak or sinful purpose. 
 Some, however, would have found it difficult to preserve their 
 humility and meekness, situated as was Sarai. A coarser and 
 narrower mind would have prided herself on the promises made 
 her husband, imagining there must be some superlative merit, 
 either in herself or Abram, to be so singled out by the Eternal. 
 There is no pride so dangerous and subtle as spiritual pride, no 
 sin more likely to gain dominion in the early stages of religion 
 — none so disguised, and so difficult to be discovered and 
 rooted out. But in Sarai there was none of this ; not a particle 
 of pride, even at a time when, of all others, she might have been 
 almost justified in feeling it. She was, indeed, blessed in a 
 husband whose exalted, yet domestic and affectionate character, 
 must ever have strengthened, guided, and cherished hers ; but 
 it is not always the most blessed and distinguished woman who 
 attends the most faithfully to her domestic duties, and preserves 
 unharmed and untainted that meekness and integrity which is 
 her greatest charm. 
 
 Abram's warlike expedition was the only one in which his 
 ■wife did not accompany him. With what joy she must have 
 welcomed her warrior lord ! How gratefully must her loving 
 heart have delighted to ponder on his magnanimity, in going 
 instantly to the rescue of his weak and little grateful nephew ; — 
 on his courage — his success ; and yet more on his noble refusal 
 
50 THE "WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 of af. gifts from the king of Sodom, lest the glor}"- should be taken 
 from the Lord, and any mortal should say, " I have made 
 Abram rich." We dwell with delight on the stirring records of 
 chivalry ; and it is right we should do so, for the study of all 
 honorable, unselfish, and unworldly deeds must do us good ; 
 but where shall we find, in the whole history of chivalry, an 
 instance of such perfect nobility and magnanimity, unstained by 
 one action from which mind or heart could revolt, as in the only 
 warlike expedition of Abram ? It was indeed enough for a 
 woman to glory in : and, though nothing is said, for the record 
 of Moses is too important to descend to the thoughts and feel- 
 ings of woman, we may well imagine the grateful and rejoicing 
 feelings of Sarai, as she welcomed her husband home — foro-et- 
 ting all the pangs of parting and loneliness of separation, in the 
 ti'iumph and delight of such a meeting. 
 
 It was after these things, that we have the first allusion to 
 the patriarch's being childless. And by the words it which the 
 Lord addressed him — " Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, and 
 exceeding great reward," we are led to suppose that some 
 anxious thoughts, and perhaps doubts, natural to humanity, 
 were occupying his mind. We, weak and frail as himself, 
 might exclaim. What, still doubling, still fearing, when he has 
 had so many proofs of the Eternal's providence and care ! But 
 God, whose " thoughts are not as our thoughts," instead of 
 reproving, addresses him in terms of the tenderest love and 
 encouragement, for He knew the nature of His creatures, and 
 that fciith could not be perfectly attained without years of 
 watchfulness and prayer ; that if it were, man would cease to 
 be man, and this life be no longer what it was intended — a life 
 of trial. Abram's instant reply reveals the painful thoughts 
 which had engrossed him : — " Lord God, what wilt thou give 
 me ? seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this 
 Eliezer of Damascus. Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, 
 and lo, one born in my house is mine heir." God had promised 
 that the land should be his and his seed's, but Abram in soirow 
 beheld years pass, and still he had no child. Sarai had lono- 
 passed the age when, humanly speaking, she could be a mother. 
 It was much more natural — truly pious and faithful as he was 
 — that Abram should be harassed with contradictory fears and 
 doubts, than that he should have had none. God had promised, 
 but how was that promise to be fulfilled "? — unless, indeed, not 
 
PERIOD I. SAUAH. 51 
 
 his own child, but " one born in his house" was to be his destined 
 heir. This appeared perhaps the most probable, though it was 
 painfully disappointing ; and to soothe this fear and remove it, 
 the Lord addressed him as we have said. The gracious and 
 most blessed promise directly followed — that not one born in 
 his house, but his own son should be his heir ; and, bidding him 
 look up at the stars — as countless and numberless they gemmed 
 the clear, bright heavens — promised, that "so should his seed 
 be." And then it was, that — all of doubt and mist and fear 
 dissolving in the heart of the patriarch, before the words of the 
 Lord, as snow before the sun — he believed . and that pure 
 FAITH was accounted to him as righteousness. How blessed 
 are those words !. Li every station of life, however tried, and 
 sad, and mourning, and deprived of all power to serve the Lord 
 as our hearts dictate, we may yet believe, and Faith is still 
 accounted righteousness. 
 
 On the glorious prophetic vision which followed when the sun 
 went down, we may not linger, as it will take us too far from 
 the subject of our narrative. 
 
 Great must have been Sarai's joy when this gracious promise 
 was made known to her. If to Abram the being childless was 
 a source of deep regret, it must have been still more so to her. 
 Loving and domestic, as her whole history proves she was, how 
 often may she have yearned to list the welcome cry of infancy ; 
 to feel one being look up to her for protection and love, and 
 call her by that sweet name — Mother. But this joyful antici- 
 pation could only have been of short duration. Sarai, as is 
 woman's nature, in all probability imagined the fulfilment 
 wo'ild immediately follow the jn-omise. The most difficult of 
 all our spiritual attainments is to wait for the Lord : to believe 
 still, through long months, perhaps years, of anticipation and 
 disappointment, that as He has said it, so it ivill be, so it micst be, 
 though our finite wisdom cannot pronounce the when. Did the 
 Eternal fulfil His gracious promises on the instant, where would 
 be the trial of our faith, and of our confidence and constancy in 
 prayer ? 
 
 Finding still there was no appearance of her becoming a 
 mother, we are led to sup])ose, by the events which follow, that 
 all Sarai's joyous anticipations turned into gloomy fears, not 
 merely from the belief that she herself would not be blessed 
 with a child, but that Abram might, as was and is the custom 
 
52 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 of Eastern nations, take another wife ; an idea excited, perhaps, 
 by the recollection that her name had not been mentioned as 
 the destined mother of the promised seed, but precisely the 
 most painful which could find entrance in a heart afiectionate 
 and faithful as her own. To prevent this misfortune, and yet 
 to further (as she supposed) the will of the Eternal, Sarai had 
 recourse to human means. 
 
 All women in her position, and influenced as she was by the 
 manners and customs of the East, would have both felt and 
 acted as she did, but few, we think, would have waited so long. 
 It was ten years after Abram had left Egypt to fix his residence 
 in Canaan, before Hagar became his wife. The separation 
 of himself and Lot appears to have taken ^:)lace in the first 
 year after their settlement in Canaan, the expedition against the 
 kings in the second or third year following. And we are 
 expressly told, that it was soon after these occurrences that the 
 Lord appeared unto the patriarch, and promised him an heir in 
 his own child ; the Hebrew word, in;* (after), signifying, accord- 
 ing to Rashi, that the event about to be related took place soon after 
 the pei'iod of the former narration; but when a loncj inriod has 
 intervened, the expression ^i^int* is used.* 
 
 According to this reckoning, then, full five, or at the veiy 
 least three, years must have elapsed between the promise made 
 to Abram and his taking Hagar, at Sarai's own request, to be 
 his wife ; and few women would have beheld year after year 
 pass, each year increa.sing the improbability of her becoming a 
 mother, and yet so believed as to adopt no human means for 
 the furtherance of her wishes. In perusing and _reflectmg on 
 the blessings promised, and revelations made to the favored 
 servants of the Loi'd, we are apt to suppose that their lives were 
 preserved from all trouble, all trial of delaj^ from the fearful 
 sickness of anticipation disappointed, and hope deferred; whereas, 
 a more intimate study of the holy Scriptures would convince us, 
 that though indeed most spiritually blessed, their mortal lives 
 were not more exempt from labor, and all the sorrows proceed- 
 ing from human emotions, than our own. We only see those 
 periods on which the broad light of sunshine falls. The darker . 
 
 * See " The Sacred Scriptures, Hebrew and English," translated by 
 the Rev. D. A. De Sola, &c. Note to verse 1 of chap. xvi. 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 53 
 
 shades of human doubt, the often supposed bhghting of hope, 
 the struggles and terrors of the spirit alternating with the rest 
 and contideuce which it sometimes enjoys ; these we see not, 
 and, therefore, pronounce them unknown to our forefathers ; 
 whereas, did we examine more closely, we should not find 
 severer trials in our own lives than in theirs : nor cease to 
 believe, for a single moment, that the God who guided them 
 through the dark shadows of human trials, and strengthened 
 them with the light of His jjresence, does not equally guide 
 and reveal Himself to us. 
 
 The first human evidence that Sarai's scheme would be pro- 
 ductive of vexation and sorrow, as well as of joy, was her 
 disappointment with regard to Hagar's continued humility and 
 submission. Forgetful that it was to her mistress, humanly 
 speaking, she owed the privileges now hers, the Egyptian so far 
 forgot herself, as to feel and make manifest that Sarai "was 
 despised in her eyes." Alas, how mournfully does that brief 
 sentence breathe of woman's fallen nature ! How apt are we to 
 exalt ouiselves for imaginary superiority — to look down on those 
 who have served us, when God has bestowed on us privileges 
 of which they are deprived. We forget, often through thought- 
 lessness, that those very things of which we are so proud, come 
 not from ourselves, but from Him who might equally have 
 vouchsafed them to others. We may not indeed have the same 
 imtement to pride and presumption as Hagar, but have we 
 never despised others for the want of those accomplishments, 
 those advantages, that beauty, and other gifts from God, which 
 '■we ourselves may possess ? Aye, sometimes, though we trust 
 such emotions are rare as they are sad, the parents who have 
 toiled and labored to give us advantages of dress and education 
 far above what they possessed themselves — the elder sister, who 
 is contented and rejoiced to remain in the background, that 
 younger and fairer ones, whom she loves with almost a mother's 
 love, may come forward — the homely and older-fiishioned aunt, 
 to whom, perhaps, a sister's orphan family owe their all — these 
 are the beings whom the young and thoughtless but too often 
 secretly despise, as if their superior advantages had come from 
 themselves, not from God, through loving relatives and friends. 
 
 And this was the case with Hagar. A superficial reading of 
 the Bible often causes Sarai to be most unjustly blamed for undue 
 harshness. We think only of Hagar's wanderings in the wilder- 
 
54 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 ness, and pity her as cruelly treated, and suppose, that as the 
 Most High relieved her through His angel, she had never been 
 in any way to blame. Now, though to sympathize with the 
 sorrowing and afflicted be one of our purest and best feelings, it 
 must not so blind us as to prevent our doing justice to the intlic- 
 tor of that affliction. We candidly avow, that until lately we too 
 thought Sarai harsh and unjust, and rather turned from than 
 admired her character : but we have seen the injustice of 
 this decision, and, therefore, without the smallest remaining pre- 
 judice, retract it altogether : retract it, simply because the words 
 of the angel are quite sufficient proof that Hagar had been tcrong, 
 and Sarai's chastisement /ms<, or he would not have commanded 
 her, as Sarai's bondwoman, to return and submit herself to her 
 mistress's power, without any reservation whatever. 
 
 It must indeed have been a bitterly painful disappointment to 
 Sarai, that instead of receiving increased gratitude and affection 
 from one whom she had so raised and cherished, she was despised 
 with an insolence that, unless checked, might bring discord and 
 misery in a household which had before been so blessed with 
 peace and love. Sarai's was not a character to submit tamely to 
 ingratitude. There was neither coldness nor indifference about 
 her. In no part of the Bible, either in character or precept, do 
 we perceive the necessity or the merit of that species of cold 
 inditference, which is by some well-meaning religious persons 
 supposed to be the self-control and pious forgiveness of injuries 
 most acceptable to God. The Patriarchal and Jewish history 
 alike prove, that natural feelings were not to be trampled upon. 
 The Hebrew code was formed by a God of love for the nature of 
 man, not angels — formed so as to be obeyed, not to be laid aside 
 as impracticable. The passions and feehngs of the East were 
 very different to those of the calmer and colder North ; and 
 nowhere in Holy Writ are we told that those feelings and emotions 
 must be annihilated. Subdued and guided .\ndiQe,(!i, as must be 
 the consequence of a true and strict adherence to the law of God, 
 and impartial study of His word ; but in the sight of a God of 
 love, inditference can never be, and never was, religion. 
 
 Yet even this, an affair of feeling entirely between herself and 
 Hagar, could not urge Sarai to any line of conduct unauthorized 
 by her husband. Naturally indignant, she complained to him, 
 perhaps, too, with some secret fear that Hagar, favored so much 
 above herself by the hope of her giving him a son, might be 
 
PERIOD I. — SARAH. 55 
 
 unduly justified and protected. But it was not so. Abram's 
 answer at once convinced her that Hai^ar had not taken her place ; 
 nay, that though Abram could not do otherwise than feel tender- 
 ness and kinchiess towards her, he at once recognised Sarai's 
 supremacy, both as his wife and Hagar's mistress, and bade her 
 " do with her what seeraeth good to thee." We have so many 
 proofs of Abram's just, affectionate, and forgiving character, that 
 we may fully believe he would never have said this, if he had 
 not been convinced that it was no unjust accusation on the part 
 of Sarai. He knew, too, that she was not likely to inflict moie 
 punishment than was deserved, particularly on a favorite slave ; 
 and, therefore, it was with his full consent " Sarai afflicted her, 
 and she tied from her presence." 
 
 Whatever the nature of this affliction, it could not have been 
 very severe — neither pain nor restraint — for Hagar had the 
 power to fl}^ Reproof to an irritable and disdainful mind is often 
 felt as intolerable, and given too, as it no doubt was, with 
 severity, and at a time when Hagar felt exalted and superior to 
 all around her, even to her mistress, her proud spirit urged flight 
 instead of submission, and not till addressed by the voice of the 
 angel did those rebellious feelings subside. 
 
 There was no mistaking the angelic voice, and his first words 
 destroyed the proud dreams which she had indulged. " Hagar, 
 Sarai's bondwoman !" he said, and the term told her in the sight 
 of God she was still the same, " whence earnest thou, and 
 whither art thou going ?" It was not because he knew not 
 that he thus spoke. The messengers of the Lord need no 
 enlightenment on the affairs of men, but their questions are 
 adapted to the nature of men, to awaken them to consciousness, 
 to still the tumult of human passion, and by clear and simple 
 questioning compel a clear and true reply. Had his command 
 to return been given without preparation, Hagar's obedience 
 would have been the eftect of fear, not conviction. But those 
 simple questions, " whence camest thou ? whither art thou going ?" 
 startled her from the tumultuous emotions of rebellion and pre- 
 sumption. Whence had she come ? From a happy, loving 
 home, where she had been the favorite of an indulgent and 
 gentle mistress ; a home which would speedily be to her yet 
 dearer, as the birthplace of her child ; that child who was to be 
 the supposed heir to her master and all his sainted privileges ; 
 from friends, from companions, all whom she had loved : and 
 
 VOL. I. 4 
 
66 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 she had left them ! And whither was she going ? How might 
 she answer when she knew not ? Was she about to resign all 
 of affection, privilege, joy, to wander in the wilderness, helpless 
 and alone ? How idle and impotent now seemed her previous 
 feelings. Those simple questions had flashed back light on her 
 darkened heart, and humified her at once ; and simply and 
 truthfully she answered, "I flee from the presence of my mistress 
 Sarai ;" thus meekly acknowledging that Sarai was still her 
 mistress, and that her derision had indeed been wrong. Reproof, 
 therefore, followed not ; but the angel hade her, " Return to thy 
 mistress, and submit thyself to her power." And, perceiving 
 that her repentance was sincere, and would lead to obedience, 
 he continued graciously to promise that her seed should be 
 multiplied, so that it should not be numbered for inultitude ; 
 that her son should bear a name which would ever remind her 
 that God had heard her afl3iction, with other promises concern- 
 ing that son, yet none which might lead her to the deceitful 
 belief that he would be Abram's promised seed. 
 
 Inexpressibly consoled, in the midst of her bitter self-reproach, 
 and convinced, bv his supernatural voice and disappearance, that 
 it was indeed an angel direct from the Lord with whom she had 
 spoken, it is evident from the context, although not there men- 
 tioned, that Hagar must have unhesitatingly obeyed, and returned 
 to her mistress — convinced of her error — submissive and re- 
 pentant, and been by Sarai received with returning confidence 
 and full forgiveness. 
 
 In due course of time the promise was fulfilled, and Hagar, to 
 the great joy of Abram, had a son, whom Ahrom called Ishmael, 
 thus proving that Hagar must have imparted the visit of the 
 angel, and his command as to the name of her son. 
 
 Before we proceed, we would entreat our younger readers to 
 pause one moment on the simple facts we have related ; and so 
 take it to their hearts, that the first words of the angel may 
 become theirs as well as Hagar's. We have not indeed the 
 direct communings with the messengers of the Lord, as is recorded 
 in the Bible ; but we are not left unguided and unquestioned. 
 We have still an angelic voice within us, that, would we but 
 encourage it to speak — would we but listen to it — can, even as 
 the angel's, still the wild torrent of passion, awaken us to our 
 neglected duty, and lead us, repentant and sorrowing, to those 
 whom we may have offended. God has not left us without His 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 57 
 
 witness. The voick of conscience may be to xis what angel 
 visits were to our ancestors of old. There is no period of our 
 lives in which it is wholly lost ; but in youth it is strongest and 
 most thrilHng. In youth it is, that we awake from the (often) 
 stagnant sleep of earlier years ; — we awake to a consciousness of 
 bright, glowing, beautiful existence ; — we become conscious of a 
 deep yearning after the good, and at the same time sorrowfully 
 feel, that it is not quite as easy to attain as we believed it. As 
 our emotions and feehngs spring into life, so does conscience. 
 We become aware of a peculiar thrilling sense of joy, when we 
 have accomplished good, either in conquering ourselves — in 
 giving up a selfish inclination — or in showing kindness, affection, 
 and respect to others. There is a glowing sense of joy, when 
 conscience tells us we have done well, unlike the joy proceeding 
 from any other cause ; and as it approves, with an angel voice 
 that will be heard, so does it disapprove. We may stifle it — 
 we may refuse to listen to its still small tones — yet we cannot 
 shake off the depression and the sadness which it leaves. We 
 may refuse to know wherefore we thus feel ; but it is conscience 
 still. How much better, then, to permit its having voice and 
 power, and, as it dictates, do — to encourage it at times to speak, 
 and ever keep its silent watch, for we need it, oh ! how powerfully 
 we need it. How fearful is our responsibility if we permit it to 
 lie unused ; for more strongly than aught else does it breathe 
 our approval, or our condemnation, in the sight of the Lord. Is 
 there one amongst us that has not felt, at one time or other, 
 emotions similar to those of Hagar — anger at reproof, scorn of 
 those who reprove, rebellion against their dictates ; and we would 
 fly from their presence with wrath at our hearts, and rebellion 
 on our lips ; and at such times does the voice of conscience never 
 steal over us with questions similar to these ? " Whence comest 
 thou ? Whither wouldst thou flee ? What wouldst thou do ?" 
 startling us from wrath, often and often into a burst of passionate 
 and self-reproachful, though, as yet, only half-repentant tears. 
 And when that passion in a degree is stilled — when affection and 
 reason softly and pleadingly resume their sway, does not the angel 
 voice bid us also " return" unto those whom we have offended ? 
 submit to their control ? It is wisest, best, though our wayward 
 spirits shrink from it, proud of their own will, desirous of undue 
 freedom. And at such times, oh ! well it is for us, now and here- 
 after, if, even as Hagar, we return and submit, and thus 
 
58 THE W O M E xV OF ISRAEL. 
 
 acknowledge the power of that inward voice ! Its augehc whisper 
 will come to us again ; we need not fear them, nor shrink from a 
 lonely path — we have within us the " angel of the Lord." But 
 those who hear j'et refuse to heed, drowning that heavenly 
 whisper by plunging anew into gaiety and 'pleasure, or stifling 
 it by unwonted industry, are exposing themselves to distant but 
 untold of sorrows. It will, indeed, be long ere conscience 
 becomes so silenced as not to intrude, but she will at length ; 
 and then, when, in agony of spirit, we wake from our vain dream, 
 and would give worlds, if we had them, to feel as we have feit — 
 to hear once more the voice of conscience thrilling and directing 
 as in happier years — to be awake to the consciousness of our 
 faults, that we might correct and subdue them — and feel once 
 more the glowing approval of our strivings after good, oh ! how 
 agonizing must be the conviction — it is we who have spurned, 
 neglected, and so silenced the angel of the Lord, that it must be 
 a long, long, and weary interval of pain, and toil, and watching, 
 ere we may list those sweet low spiritual tones again. Better, 
 far better, the momentary pain and humility of acknowledgment 
 and submission. Better, far better, the too tender conscience, 
 giving pain, in some cases apparently unnecessarily, than its 
 silence and stagnation ; for it must one day awake, and dreadful 
 will be that waking. To obtain this blessed influence — to feel 
 that to us is sent, as to our ancestors, " the angel of the Lord" — 
 we have but to study the word of God and ourselves. It may cost 
 us at first many sad and weary hours — many bitter tears— and 
 many a secret paug ; for it is hard so to know ourselves as to 
 see faults and failings which others see not. — It is hard to restrain 
 the too frequent indulgence of favorite pleasures, because we 
 know they will do us harm. — It is hard sometimes to perform a 
 disagreeable, nay a painful duty, only because we feel we ought, 
 though our friends see not the necessity ; — hard, when friends 
 approve, for our hearts to disapprove ; and all this we must 
 encounter, would we study ourselves and God's word, till our 
 hearts become shrines for his guiding angel. But oh ! and 
 depressing as all this raav seem, it is but a grain in the balance 
 compared to the deep thrilling joy which is its accompaniment. 
 Tho>e who have once felt the glow of approving conscience — 
 the strength, encouragement, consolation, hope, which it gives 
 when all around is desolate and dark, who feel that, hand-in-hand 
 with faith and prayer, it is leading us safely and blessedly through 
 
PERIOiJ I. SARAH. 59 
 
 the stony paths of earth, even through the dark valley of death, 
 up to the glowing and immortal light of heaven, will welcome 
 even its severest pang to call it theirs, and hail it as, indeed, the 
 angel of the Lord. 
 
 It may be that Sarai's correction of Hagar was unduly harsh, 
 although we have no warrant in Scripture for so believing ; but 
 it is evident, as there is no further mention of contention and 
 disagreement between them, that she received her submission 
 with gentleness, and restored her to favor. It is well when 
 forgiveness is thus recorded : many and many a young meek 
 spirit would obey the voice of the angel and return, in humility 
 and love, could they but be sure that submission would be gently 
 and lovingly received ; and shrink from it only because the 
 chilling reception, the uttered but noifelt reconciliation, falls upon 
 their still quivering hearts with a pang and degradation which 
 they feel that as yet they cannot bear. The spirit of that healing 
 and consoling love which has its birth in religion, must guide both 
 the offended and the offender, or reconciliation never can be 
 complete ; nor the latter be securely and convincingly led back 
 to that better path to which the angel points. The pang of 
 unrequited confidence, chilled affection, and all the bitterness of 
 unnecessary degradation, Avill be stronger at first than the 
 approving glow of conscience ; while a contrary reception, even 
 though it may heighten the pang of self-reproach, will soothe 
 and encourage, for the inward voice whispers — we have done 
 well ; and, from that moment, the heavenly messenger assumes 
 her mild dominion in the heart, never to be lured thence again. 
 
 For thirteen years Abram aud Sarai must have looked upon 
 Ishniael as the promised seed ; for though, not actually so said, 
 there was neither spiritual sign nor human hope of the patriarch 
 having any other child. At the end of that period, however, 
 the Most Iligh again appeared unto Abram, proclaiming Him- 
 self as the Almighty, — a fit introduction to the event He was 
 about to foretell ; and bidding His favored servant, " Walk 
 before me, and be thou perfect," perfect in trust, in fiith, with- 
 out any regard to human probabilities, for, as Almighty God, 
 all things were possible with Him. The name of the patriarch 
 was then changed, as a sign of the many nations over whom he 
 was appointed father — the land again promised him — and the 
 covenant appointed which was to mark his descendants as the 
 chosen of the Lord, the everlasting inheritors of Canaan ; and. 
 
60 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 bear witness, to untold-of ages, of the truth of the Lord's word, 
 and the election of His people. This proclaimed and com- 
 manded, the Eternal commenced His information of the miracle 
 He was about to perform, by desiring Abraham to call his wife 
 no longer Sarai i^ia but Sarah mb — a change which our 
 ancient fathers suppose to mean the same as from Abram to 
 Abraham. " Sarai, signifying a la^y or princess in a restricted 
 sense, imported that she was a lady, or princess, to Abram 
 only ; whereas the latter name signifies princess or lady abso- 
 lutely, indicating that she would thus be acknowledged by 
 many, even as Abraham was to become the father of many 
 nations."* A meaning perfectly reconcilable with the verse 
 which follows : "And I will bless her, and give thee a son also 
 of her : yea, I will bless her, so that she shall be a mother of 
 nations ; kings of peoj^le shall be of her." She was, therefore, 
 no longer a princess over Abraham's household, but a princess 
 in royal rank, from whom kings should descend. Joy must 
 have been the first emotion of Abraham's heart at this miracu- 
 lous announcement, mingled with a feeling of wonder and 
 astonishment how such a thing could be ; but then, in his 
 peculiarly affectionate heart, came the thought of his first-born 
 Ishmael, and with earnestness he prayed, " Oh ! that Ishmael 
 might live before thee !" And though the Eternal could not 
 grant this prayer, for the seed of Abraham, from whom His 
 chosen people would spring, must be of pure and unmixed birth, 
 He yet, with compassionating tenderness, soothed the father's 
 anxious love, by the gracious promise that, though Sarah's child 
 must be the seed with whom His covenant should be established, 
 yet Ishmael also should be blessed and multiplied exceedingly, 
 and become, even as Isaac, the father of a great nation. " And 
 for Ishmael I have also heard thee." How blessed an encou- 
 ragement for us to pour forth our prayers unto the Lord, proving, 
 how consolingly, that no prayer is ofl:ered in vain ; tor if He 
 cannot grant as our infinite wishes would dictate, He will yet 
 hear us — yet fulfil our prayer far better for our welfare, and the 
 welfare of our beloved ones, than our own wishes could have 
 accomplished, had they been granted to the full. 
 
 The acceptance of the covenant throughout Abraham's house- 
 
 * See note to Gen. xvii. 15, in the Rev. D. A. De Sola's translation of 
 the Bible. 
 
PERIOD I, SARAH. 61 
 
 hold, and the change in her own name, must, of course, have 
 been imparted by Abraham to his wife, with the addition of the 
 startling promise, that she too, e\en at her advanced age, should 
 bear a son. Yet by her behavior, when the promise was 
 repeated in the following chapter, it would appear that, though 
 informed of it, she had dismissed it from her mind as a thing 
 impossible. Accustomed to regard Ishmael as the only seed of 
 Abraham — to suppose her scheme had been blessed, more par- 
 ticularly as she had never been named before as the mother of 
 the chosen seed — the hope of being so had long since entirely 
 faded; and, not having attained the simple questionless faith 
 of her husband, she, in all probability, dismissed the the ight, as 
 recalling too painfully those ardent hopes and wishes, which she 
 had with such difficulty previously subdued. Engaged, as was 
 her wont, in her domestic duties, she was one day interrupted 
 by the hasty entrance of her husband, requiring her " quickly 
 to prepare three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make it 
 into cakes." Patriarchal hospitality was never satisfied by com- 
 mitting to hirelings only the fit preparations for a hearty wel- 
 come. We see either iSarah herself making the desired cakes, 
 or closely superintending her domestics in doing so ; and the 
 patriarch hastening, in the warmth of his hospitality, himself to 
 fetch a calf from the herd, to give it to a young man to dress it, 
 though he had abundance of servants around him to save him 
 the exertion. Yet both Abraham and Sarah were of the nobility 
 of the Eternal's creating. He had raised them above their 
 fellows, and bestowed on them the patent of an aristocracy, with 
 which not one of the nations could vie, for it came from God 
 Himself. He had changed their names to signify their royal 
 claims — to make them regarded in future ages as noble ances- 
 tors of a long line of prophets, kings, princes, and nobles ; and 
 there was a refinement, a nobleness, a magnanimity of character 
 in both the patriarch and his wife, which, breathing through 
 their very simplicity, betrayed their native aristocracy, and 
 marked them of that princely race which has its origin in the 
 favor and election of the King of kings. The primitive sim- 
 plicity of our first fathers generally impresses the mind with the 
 mistaken idea of their being simply farmers or agriculturists, 
 both of which they certainly were, but not these alone, as sup- 
 posed in the present acceptation of the term. They were 
 princes and nobles, not only in their mental superiority but in 
 
62 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 their immense possessions — in their large and well ordered house- 
 holds, in the power they possessed both in their own establish^ 
 ments and in the adjoining lands, and in the respect and sub- 
 mission ever paid them by the nations with whom they might 
 have held intercourse. Abraham was never addressed save as 
 " My Lord," either by his own domestics or other nations ; thus 
 acknowledged as superior, and of.,poble if not royal rank, by 
 those who could scarcely be supf)dfeed to undei^^tand why he 
 was so, save by the outward signs of landed possession and large 
 establishment. Those who think so much of noble descent and 
 princely connexion, would do well to remember this — that 
 'impoverished, scattered, chastised, for a " little moment,'' as we 
 are — yet, that if we are children and descendants of Abraham 
 — Israelites not only in seeming but in heart — we are 
 descended from the aristocracy of the Lord — from a higher and 
 nobler race than even Gentile kings may boast ; a privilege and 
 glory of which no circumstance, no affliction, no persecution can 
 deprive us — ours, through all and every event of life, unless 
 we cast it from us by the dark deed of forsaking, for ambition, 
 or gold, or power, the banner of our blessed faith — the religion 
 of our God. 
 
 Yet noble, even princely, as were Abraham and Sarah, it 
 was no sign of rank, with them, to be cold and restrained by 
 false artificial laws. In the Bible, nobility was nature and heart, 
 simplicity and benevolence, cordiality and warmth ; no cold- 
 ness, no indifference, no folding up the affections and the 
 impulses of feeling in the icy garment of pride and fashion, 
 which so often turns to selfishness, and so utterly prevents all 
 of benevolence and social good. Abraham knew not, at his 
 first invitation, the rank or mission of his visitors. His address 
 was one of the hearfs respect, not the mere politeness of the 
 lip ; and the warmth of his welcome would not permit of his 
 sitting idly down while hirelings prepared their meal — nay, we 
 find that, even while they sat down to partake of it, their host 
 stood, — a mark of profound respect, which a further considera- 
 tion of their majestic aspect prompted, by the supposition that 
 they were more than ordinary mortals. 
 
 Sarah joined not her husband or his guests. The modest 
 and dignified customs of the East prevented all intrusion, or 
 even the wish to intrude. Unless particularly asked for, the 
 place of the Eastern and Jewish wife was in the retirement of 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 63 
 
 home ; not from any inferiority of rank, or servitude of station, 
 but simply because their inclination so prompted. The strangers 
 might have business with Abraham, which, if needed, he would 
 impart to her ; there was no occasion for her to come forward. 
 But, while seated in the inner tent, engaged in her usual 
 avocations, she heard her own name, *' Where is Sarah, thy 
 wife ?" and her husband's reply, " She is in the tent," followed 
 by words that must indeed" -have sounded strange and improba- 
 ble, " Sarah, thy wife, shall bear a son ;" yet, improbable as 
 they might have seemed, there is no excuse for the laugh of 
 incredulity with which they were received. Already prepared 
 by the previous promise of the Lord, the words should at 
 once have revealed the heavenly nature of those who spake, 
 and been heard with faith and thankfulness ; but Saran thought 
 only of the human impossibility. Strange as it is, that such 
 unbelief should be found in the beloved partner of Abraham, 
 yet her laugh proves that even she was not exempt from the 
 natural feelings of mortality — the looking to human means and 
 human possibilities alone ; forgetting that with God all things 
 are possible. Yet, to us, the whole of this incident is consoling. 
 It proves that even Sai'ah was not utterly free from human 
 infirmities ; and yet that the Eternal, through His atigel, 
 deigned graciously to reprove, not to chastise. It proves that 
 God has compassion on the nature of His erring children ; for 
 he knows their weakness. Man would have been wroth with 
 the laugh of scorn, and withdrawn his intended favor ; but 
 " the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, 
 saying. Shall I, who am old, indeed bear a child ? Is anything 
 too mighty for the Lord ? At the time appointed I will return 
 unto thee, and Sarah shall indeed have a son." The gracious 
 mildness of the rebuke — the blessed repetition of the promise 
 — must, to one so affectionate as Sarah, have caused the bitter- 
 est reproach ; but, weakly listening to fear instead of repentance, 
 she denied her fault, seeking thus mistakenly to extenuate it. 
 But He said, " Nay, but thou didst laugh," proving that her 
 innermost thoughts were known ; and, silenced at once, left to 
 the solitude of her own tent, for Abraham accompanied his 
 guests on the road to Sodom, we know quite enough of Sarah's 
 character to rest satisfied that repentance and self-abasement 
 for unbelief, mingled with, and hallowed the burst of rejoicing 
 thankfulness with which she must have looked forward to an 
 
 4* 
 
64 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 event so full of bliss to hev individually, and so blessed a reve« 
 lation of the Lord's deep love for Abraham and herself Nearly 
 twenty years had passed since the first promise of an heir in his 
 own child bad been given. Years, long, full of incident and 
 feeling, seeming in their passing an interval long enough for the 
 utter forgetfulness of the promise, save as it was supposed 
 fulfilled in the birth of Ishmael ; but now, in the retrospect, the 
 promise flashed back with a vividness, a brightness, as if scarce 
 a single year had passed ere it had been given : and Sarah 
 must have felt self-reproached in the midst of her joy, that she 
 had not waited, had not trusted, had not believed unto the end 
 And many a one, ere hfe has closed, will feel as she did ; not 
 indeed, from the same cause— but often and often a prayer hat 
 been oSered up, a promise given from the word of God, and 
 both have been forgotten, neglected, mistrusted, through long 
 weary years — as vainly prayed and vainly answered — and 
 yet, ere life has closed, recalled as by a flash of sudden light, 
 by the divine answer to the one, and gracious fulfilment of the 
 other. 
 
 Before the birth, of Isaac, however, Abraham and his family 
 once more removed their dwelling, partly, it may be supposed, 
 to fulfil the words of the Lord previously spoken : " Arise, 
 walk through the land, in the length of it and the breadth of 
 it, for I will give it unto thee ;" and partly from the desolate 
 appearance and poisonous vapors of the once beautiful vale of 
 Sodom, and in consequence of the cessation of travellers, to 
 whom Abraham had so delighted to show hospitality. We 
 shall pass lightly over the next event in the life of Sarah, having 
 already made our remarks on a similar occurrence. The fault 
 of the patriarch in again passing his wife for his sister, was 
 indeed much greater than it had been at the first. He had 
 now no longer the excuse of not sufficiently knowing the ways 
 of the Lord to trust in Him, even in the midst of those dangers 
 incidental to mankind, yet seeming too trivial for the interference 
 of the Most High. He had had nearly thirty years' experience 
 that he was in truth the chosen servant, and the well-beloved 
 of the Lord — that there was not an event in his life which had 
 not been ordered and guided by a special providence ; and he 
 ought to have known that this danger, as every other, would 
 be overruled. Yet, while we regret that this incomprehensible 
 weakness should overshadow the beautiful character of our 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 65 
 
 great ancestor, we may not condemn : for, at this distance of 
 time, and complete change in manners and customs, it is 
 impossible for us to know the temptation he may have had to 
 act as he did, or the extent of danger to which he was exposed. 
 The most truly pious, the most experienced in religion, have 
 often to mourn their " iniquities in holy things." The painful 
 struggle is always to realize faith, to trust without one doubt, 
 and more particularly in the smaller trials of life, which they 
 deem too trivial for the notice, compassion, or interference of the 
 Eternal. Nor can even proofs of a superintending providence 
 always conquer the weakness of human nature. In this world, 
 the likeness of God 'will at times be completely hidden in the 
 earthly shell, however it may stand forth at others, as if naught 
 of clay could dull it more. And this was the case with Abra- 
 ham, who, though the beloved of the Lord, was yet human, 
 and liable to all the weaknesses and frailties of human nature. 
 We are not therefore to condemn, and so withdraw our admira- 
 tion of his great and most consolingly beautiful character, 
 because in two instances he falls short of our ideas of perfection 
 — but rather thank God that in His Word human nature is 
 recorded as it is, simply that we may not despair. It is enough 
 for us, in this part of our narrative, to notice that our gracious 
 God demands no more of His creatures than He knows they 
 can perform ; that Abraham's faulty weakness in this one 
 instance, could not blot from the recollection o^ the Lord his 
 pure and simple faith in every other ; and that he permitted 
 all that occurred in the kingdom of Gerar to make manifest, 
 alike to Abraham and the nations. His continued watchfulness 
 and miraculous interposition in favor of those whom He loves 
 — His power to protect them from all harm, and also, that 
 nothing was too wonderful for Him. Sarah had imagined she 
 was too old to enjoy the felicity of becoming a mother — too 
 old in any way to excite admiration, save to the beloved hus- 
 band of her youth ; and, ignorant that her beauty had been 
 supernaturally renewed, neglected to assume the veil, which was 
 worn by all Eastern women dwelling in towns. This explains 
 Abiraelech's present of a "covering for the eyes," and the 
 words, " thus she was reproved," or warned, that her beauty 
 subjected her to as much danger as had been the case in her 
 youth. 
 
 Miraculously protected by the Eternal, and publicly vindicated 
 
66 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 from all dishonor by the King of Gerar, Sarah and hei 
 husband continued to dwell in Abimelech's dominions, some 
 few miles to the south of Gerar; a place afterwards called 
 Beer-Shebang, or Well of the Oath, from the covenant of peace 
 there made between the patriarch and the king. Here it was 
 that at the appointed time " God visited Sarah as He had said ;" 
 and the promised seed — the child of rejoicing — Isaac was 
 born. What must have been the emotions of Sarah on behold- 
 ing him ? Not alone the bliss of a mother ; but that in 
 him the infant claimer of a love and joy which she had 
 never so felt before, she beheld a visible and palpable manifesta- 
 tion of the wonderful power and unchanging love of the 
 Most High God. Devoted, as Sarah had been, to the service 
 and love of the Lord, how inexpressibly^ must those emo- 
 tions have been heightened as she gazed upon her babe, and 
 held him to her bosom as her own, her granted child ! To 
 those who really love the Lord, joy is as dear, as bright, 
 as close a link between the heart and its God, as grief is 
 to more fallen natures. We find the hymn of rejoicing, the 
 song of thanksgiving, always the vehicle in which the favored 
 servants of the Lord poured forth their grateful adoration, 
 thus proving that the thought of the beneficent Giver ever 
 hallowed and sanctified the gift; and therefore we believe 
 with our ancient fathers, that though 7iot translated metricalli/, 
 Sarah expressed her joy in a short hymn of thanksgiving. The 
 peculiar idiom of the Hebrew text confirms this supposi- 
 tion,* and we adopt it as most natural to the occasion. 
 Her age had had no power, even before she became a mother, 
 to dull her feelings, and her song of thanksgiving well expresses 
 every emotion natural, not alone to the occasion, but to her 
 peculiar situation. As a young mother, full of life, of senti- 
 ment, of aflfection, she felt towards her babe — giving him 
 his natural food from her own bosom — tending his infant 
 years — guiding him from boyhood to youth — from youth 
 to manhood, and lavishing on him the full tide of love which 
 had been pent up so long. The very character of Isaac, as 
 is afterwards displayed — meek, yielding, affectionate almost as a 
 woman's — disinclined to enterprise — satisfied with his heritage 
 — all prove the influence which his mother had possessed, 
 
 * See the Rev. D. A. De Sola's translation, and note thereon. 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 67 
 
 and that his disposition was more the work of her hand than of 
 his father's. 
 
 " The child grew and was weaned," Holy Writ proceeds 
 to inform us; "and Abraham made a great feast the day 
 Isaac was weaned," — a feast of rejoicing that the Eternal 
 had mercifully preserved him through the first epoch of 
 his young existence. He was now three years old, if not more — 
 for the women of the East, even now, do not wean their children 
 till that age. The feast, however, which commenced in joy, 
 was, for the patriarch, dashed with sorrow ere it closed. 
 Educated with the full idea that he was his father's heir — 
 though the words of the angel before his birth gave no warrant 
 for the supposition — to Ishmael and his mother, the birth 
 of Isaac must have been a grievous disappointment. And we 
 find the son committing the same fault as his mother previously 
 had done— deriding, speaking disrespectfully of Sarah and her 
 child. The youth of Ishmael, and Sarah's request that the 
 bond-woman might also be expelled, would lead to the supposi- 
 tion that it was Hagar who had instigated the affront. The age 
 of Sarah, and the decidedly superhuman birth of Isaac, must, to 
 all but the patriarch's own household, have naturally given rise 
 to many strange and perhaps calumniating reports. In the 
 common events of life all that is incomprehensible is either 
 ridiculed, disbelieved, or made matter of scandal ; and, there- 
 fore, in a case so uncommon as this, it is more than proba- 
 ble reports very discreditable both to Sarah and Abraham were 
 promulgated all around them. Hagar, indeed, and Ishmael 
 must have known differently : — that it was the hand of God 
 which worked, and therefore all things were possible ; but 
 it was to Ishmael's interest to dispute or deny the legitimacy of 
 Isaac ; and therefore it was not in human nature to neglect the 
 opportunity. No other offence would have so worked on 
 Sarah. We are apt to think more poetically than justly 
 of this part of the Bible. Hagar and her young son, expelled 
 from their luxurious and happy home, almost perishing in 
 the desert from thirst, are infinitely more interesting objects 
 of consideration and sympathy, than the harsh and jealous 
 Sarah, who, for seemingly such trifling offence, demanded 
 and obtained such severe retribution. 
 
 We generally rest satisfied with one or two verses ; whereas, 
 did we look further and think deeper, our judgment would be 
 
68 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 different. In a mere superficial reading we acknowledge Sarah 
 does appear in rather an unfavorable light ; as if her love for 
 Isaac had suddenly narrowed and stagnated every other feeling ; 
 and, jealous of Ishmael's influence over his father, she had 
 determined on seizing the first opportunity for his expulsion. 
 That this, however, is a wrong judgment is proved by the fact, 
 that the Eternal Himself desires Abraham to hearken to the 
 voice of Sarah in all that she shall say; for in Isaac was to be 
 the promised seed, though of Ishmael al'io would He make a 
 nation, because he was Abraham's son. That Sarah's advice 
 was not to be displeasing to him, because of the lad and his 
 mother. 
 
 Now, had Sarah's advice proceeded from an undue harsh- 
 ness, a mean and jealous motive, the Most H'gh would, in His 
 divine justice, have taken other means for the fulfilment of His 
 decrees. He would not have desired His good and faithful 
 servant to be so guided by an evil and suspicious tongue. 
 There are times when we feel urged and impelled to speak that 
 which we are yet conscious will be productive of pain and 
 suffering to ourselves. All such impulses are of God ; and it 
 must have been some such feeling which actuated Sarah, and 
 compelled her to continue her solicitation for the expulsion of 
 Hagar and Ishmael, even after the moment of anger was passed. 
 We know that Hagar had ever been her favorite slave ; it was 
 impossible for one affectionate as was Sarah, to have regarded 
 Ishmael as her son for thirteen or fourteen years and yet not 
 have loved him, though of course with less intensity than his 
 father. The birth of Isaac naturally revealed yet stronger emo- 
 tions ; still Ishmael could not have been so excluded from her 
 affections as to render her separation from him void of pain. 
 And still she spoke, still urged the necessity, conscious all the 
 time she was inflicting pain not only on her husband but on 
 herself. This appears like contradiction ; but each one who has 
 attentively studied the workings of his own heart, will not only 
 feel but pronounce it truth. Anger caused the demand : 
 " Expel this bondwoman and her son ; for the son of this bond- 
 woman shall not inherit with my son, even with Isaac ;" and 
 calmer reflection continued to see the necessity. Abraham's 
 possessions were sufficient for the heritage of both his sons ; but 
 as the course of nature was changed, and the younger, not the 
 elder, was to be the heir of promise, confusion and discord 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 69 
 
 would have ensued, and the brothers continually have been at 
 war. Sarah's penetration appears to have discovered this ; and 
 as it was necessary for Ishmael to form a separate establish- 
 ment, it was an act of kindness, not of harshness, to let him 
 depart with Hagar, instead of going forth alone. From her 
 own feelings she now knew the whole extent of a mother's love ; 
 and therefore, though Ishmael had been the sole offender, and 
 the only one whose claims were likely to clash with Isaac's, she 
 would not separate the mother from the son, and so urged 
 Abraham to separate from both. 
 
 There is something touchiugly beautiful in ,he patriarch's 
 love for his elder son, and yet his instant conquest of self at 
 the word of the Lord. His deep affection had blinded him to 
 the probable discomforts which might ensue from his sons 
 remaining together. His gentle and affectionate nature shrank 
 from the pang of separation, causing even displeasure against 
 Sarah for the first time in their long and faithful intercourse. 
 Yet when God spake there was neither complaint nor murmur, 
 nor one word of supplication that the heavy trial might be 
 averted from him. It was enough that the Most High had 
 spoken ; and though all was dark before his son, to the fond 
 anxious gaze of parental afiection, he knew even from that 
 darkness God could bring forth light, and would do so, for He 
 had promised. 
 
 We are sometimes surprised at the small provision with 
 which Abraham endowed his son at his departure. The riches 
 of the patriarchs consisted of land, flocks, herds, and servants ; 
 nothing which could easily be bestowed. Besides which, 
 Ishmael was to become the ancestor of a nation, through the 
 direct agency of the Lord^ not from any provision made him by 
 his earthly father. Had Abraham endowed him, the interposi- 
 tion of the Eternal would not have been so clearly and unan- 
 swerably demonstrated. There would have been many to have 
 traced his riches and the princely rank of his descendants from 
 the gifts and power of Abraham, and denied altogether any 
 interposition of the Lord ; whereas, sent forth as he was, with 
 nothing but sufficient provision to sustain him till he reached 
 his appointed resting, it was impossible even for the greatest 
 sceptic to trace his future prosperity and wealth to any earthly 
 power alone. The bread and water must not be supposed as 
 meaning only what we now regard them. In the language of 
 
70 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 the Bible bread is used indiscriminately for every kind of food, 
 and the bottle of water signifies a skinful, such being used by 
 Eastern travellers even now, and containing much more than we 
 imagine is comprised by the term " bottle." Yet even these 
 were to fail, that the miraculous power and compassionate love 
 of the Eternal might still more startlingly be proved. It was 
 as easy for the Most High to have guided Ishmael and his 
 mother at once to their destined dwelling, as to try them as 
 He did in the ordeal of alike physical and mental suffering. 
 But He chose the latter, at once to prove His love to them, and 
 to give to future ages, through his unerring word, comfort in 
 their darkest hours ; for as He relieved Hagar, so wili He them. 
 The God of the bondwoman is ours still ; no time, no change 
 can part us from Him. 
 
 The narrative of Hagar's wanderings in the wilderness, her 
 maternal suffering and miraculous relief, is one of the most 
 beautiful and most touching amongst the many beauties of the 
 Bible. Hagar was not of Abraham's race, but one of a heathen 
 and benighted nation, a bondwoman and a wanderer, a weak 
 and lonely female, exiled from a home of love, overwhelmed 
 with anxious fears for her child, perhaps, too, with self-reproaches 
 for the unguarded words which she encouraged her boy to 
 speak, and which she regarded as the sole cause of her banish- 
 ment ; yet was this poor sufferer the peculiar care of the great 
 and mighty God. He caused the clouds of densest darkness to 
 close around her — from them to bring forth the brightest, most 
 enduring light. He deigned, by His angel, to speak comfort 
 and hojie, and even for her human wants pi-ovided the necessary 
 aid. He did not guard from sori-ow ; for it was not until " the 
 water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one 
 of the shrubs, and she went and sat down over against him, 
 a good way off, for she said. Let me not see the death of the 
 child ; and she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice 
 and wept " — not till her trial was thus at its height, that the 
 angelic voice descended from heaven in such pitying and sym- 
 pathizing accents : " What aileth thee, O Hagar ? Fear not, 
 for God hath heard the voice of the lad whence he is. Arise, 
 hft up the lad, and hold him in thine hand, for 1 will make him 
 a great nation." And the promise was fulfilled. 
 
 The whole history of Hagar is fraught with the deepest com- 
 fort. She was one of the many in individual character ; pes- 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 71 
 
 sessing alike woman's engaging and faulty characteristics : 
 feeling and aflfectionate at one time, overbearing and insolent at 
 another — loving Ishmael with impetuous and clinging love, 
 which could not bear to see his supposed heritage become the 
 property of another, though she knew it was the decree of God 
 — reverencing and loving Abraham alike as her master and the 
 father of her child, but unable always to preserve the submission 
 and respect due to Sarah as her mistress and indulgent friend ; 
 for, though the mother of Abraham's child, she was still Sarah's 
 maid ; — such was Hagar. Neither in character superior, nor in 
 station equal, to the daughters of Israel now ; yet was she the 
 peculiar charge of the Most High, and twice did He deign, in 
 closest communion, to instruct and console. Her hfe had its 
 trials, in no way inferior in severity or in deep suffering to the 
 trials of the present day. Yet God was with her in them all ; 
 and, in His own appointed time, permitted them to give place 
 to prosperity and joy. And as He worked then, so He worketh 
 now. It is no proof of His dearest love, when life passes by 
 without a cloud — when sorrow and trial are strangers to our 
 path. His word reveals that those whom He loved the best^ 
 alike male or female, endured the severest trials — that His love, 
 His guiding word, were not given to the children of joy. To 
 become His servant. His loved, His chosen, was to sutler and to 
 labor. We see this throughout His word ; and shall we, dare 
 we, expect their exemption now ? Oh ! no, no ! Would we love 
 the Lord, would we truly be loved by Him, would we pray for 
 and seek His paths, would we struggle on to the goal of immor- 
 tal love and bhss, we must nerve both heart and frame to 
 hear ; strengthen and arouse every faculty to endure and suffer ; 
 for so did His chosen. His best beloved, and so too must we. 
 We have still His word to be to us as the angelic whisper was 
 to our ancestors. Their hope is ours, and their reward. 
 
 Few other events mark the life of Sarah. The Most High 
 had brought her forth from the trials, anxieties, and doubts of 
 previous years. He had, in His infinite mercy, fulfilled His 
 word, and bestowed on her the blessed gift for which, in the 
 midst of happiness, she had pined. Continuing His loving 
 kindness. He lengthened her days much beyond the usual sum 
 of mortality, that she might rear her child to manhood, and 
 receive all the blessed fruit of her maternal care in Isaac's deep 
 love and reverence for herself. In a mere superficial perusal 
 
V2 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 of the life of Sarah, as read in our Sabbath portions, we are 
 likely to overlook much of the consoling proofs of the Eternal's 
 compassionating love for His female children, which it so power- 
 fully reveals. Sarah was ninety years of age when Isaac was 
 born. In the course of nature, ten or twelve years more would 
 either have closed her mortal career, or rendered it, from the 
 infirmities of so great an age, a burden to herself and all around 
 her. There was no need of her preservation to forward the 
 decrees of the Lord. In giving birth to the child of promise, 
 her part was fulfilled, and at the age of ten or twelve the boy 
 might have done without her. But God is love, and the 
 affections of His children are, in their strength and purity, 
 peculiarly acceptable to Him. He never bestoweth happiness 
 to withdraw it; and, therefore, to perfect the fehcity of Sarah 
 and her child. His tenderness preserved her in life and vigor 
 seven and thirty years after she had given him birth. In this 
 simple feet we trace the beneficent and tender Father, sympa- 
 thizing not alone in every grief and i^ang, but m every joy and 
 aftection of His creatures. We feel to our heart's core the truth 
 of the words of Moses, " Who hath God so near to him" as 
 Israel ? What nation can so trace, so claim the love of the 
 Eternal ? 
 
 Nor was the preservation of Sarah the only proof of our 
 Father's loving tenderness towards her, and of His condescend- 
 ing sympathy with the love she bore her child. The trial of 
 faith in the sacrifice of his son was given to the father ; but the 
 mother was spared the consuming agony which must have been 
 her portion, even had her faith continued strong. God had 
 compassion on the feebler, weaker nature of His female servant. 
 He demanded not from her that which He knew the mother 
 could not bear. He spared her, in His immeasurable love, the 
 suft'ering which it pleased Him to infiict upon the fether, — suf- 
 fering and temptation not to satisfy the Lord, for His omniscience 
 knew that His faithful servant would not fail ; but to prove to 
 future ages the mighty power of spiritual faith and love, even 
 while in the mortal clay. 
 
 In the early part of his spiritual career, even Abraham's faith 
 would in all probability have failed. He was 7iot supernaturally 
 endowed with divine grace and strength. All through his life 
 we can trace his gradual advance and improvement, till his 
 faith and love arrived at the climax which permitted even the 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 73 
 
 offered and unmurmuring sacrifice of his dearly beloved and 
 now only child. Even in this we trace the guiding and foster- 
 ing love of the Lord — demanding not more than He knew could 
 be given, and measuring the trial of faith according to the 
 advancing strength of His servant, each one more than the last. 
 But this consideration has more to do with Abraham individually 
 and Israel at large. It is His loving kindness manifested towards 
 Sarah that we, her female descendants, must take to our hearts, 
 thence to derive ahke strength and consolation. The conviction 
 of the Eternal's love for us individually is necessary for woman's 
 happiness, and peculiarly adapted to its bestowal. 
 
 It is woman's nature to yearn and droop for love — to shrink 
 in agony from a lonely path — to long for some supporting arm 
 on which to rest her weakness ; and it is woman's doom too 
 often to find on (arth no loving rest, and therefore is her lot so 
 sad. But when she can once realize that she is the subject of a 
 love as immeasurably superior in consolation, strength, and 
 changeless sympathy, to that of man, as the heaven is above the 
 earth : — when she can once feel she has a friend who will never 
 " leave her nor forsake" — in whose pitying ear she may pour 
 forth trials and griefs, either petty or great, which she would 
 not even if she might confide to man, secure not only of pity 
 but of healing — when she is conscious that she is never lonely 
 — never left to her own weakness, but in her every need will 
 have strength infused — then, then is she so blessed that she is 
 no more lonely, no more sad ! And the word of God will give 
 us this thrice blessed consolation, not in His gracious promises 
 alone, though they in themselves would be sufficient, but in His 
 dealings with his creatures. 
 
 As the ancestor of His beloved, we find Sarah's death and 
 age particularly recorded ; being the first woman of the Bible 
 whose death and burial are mentioned. The deep grief of her 
 husband and son are simply but touchingly betrayed in the 
 brief words, " And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to 
 weep for her ; " and, at a later period, not till his marriage with 
 Rebekah, " and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." 
 Words that portray the beauty and afiection of Sarah's domestic 
 character, and confirm our belief that, although , perhaps 
 possessing many of the failings of her sex, she was yet a help 
 meet for Abraham — a tender and judicious parent to her son 
 — and a kind, indulgent friend to the large household of which she 
 
74 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 was the mistress. Her noble or rather princely rank, received 
 as it had been direct from the Lord, is still more strongly 
 proved by the intercourse between Abraham and the sons of 
 Ileth, when seeking from them a place to bury his dead : 
 " Hear us, my lord,'' is tlieir reply, " thou art a mighty prince 
 of God amongst us ; in the choicest of our sepulchres bury 
 thy dead ; " aud it was with difficulty Abraham could elude the 
 oftered gift, and procure the cave as a purchase. His princely 
 rank, however, and in consequence that of his wife, we see at 
 once acknowledged, even by strangers, and the promise of the 
 Lord, expressed in changing the name of Sarai into Sarah, 
 clearly fulfilled. 
 
 The grief of Isaac appears to have la-sted yet longer than 
 that of his father, and beautifully illustrates the love between 
 the mother and son. Abraham, advanced in years and spiritual 
 experience, felt less keenly the mere emotions of humanity ; lie 
 was convinced that Sarah had only gone before him to that world 
 in which, from his gi'eat age, he would no doubt speedily join 
 her. His many duties — his close communion with the Elernal 
 — enabled him to rouse himself sooner from the grief, which 
 at first was equally severe ; but Isaac was, according to the 
 patriarchal reckoning of time, still a very young man, at the 
 age when feeling is keener, less controlled than at any other ; 
 and when, though spiritual comfort is great, human emotions 
 will have full vent. Except the three days' journey to Mount 
 Moriah with his father, Isaac does not appear to have been 
 separated a single day from his mother ; and her care, her 
 guiding and fostering love, had so entwined her round his 
 heart, that for three years after her death her son could find 
 no comfort. How exalted and lovely must have been that 
 mother's character to demand such a term of mourning from 
 her son ; whose youth and sex would, in some, have speedily 
 roused him from sorrow, or urged its forgetfulness in scenes of 
 pleasure 1 
 
 We have little more to add on the spiritual lesson and divine 
 consolation which Sarah's life presents to her female descend- 
 ants, than those hints already given. Differently situated as 
 we are, with regard to station, land, and customs, we may yet 
 imitate her faithfulness in all her household duties — her love 
 and reverence to her husband — her tenderness to her child — 
 her quiet, unpretending, domestic, yet dignified fulfilment of 
 
PERIOD I. SARAH. 76 
 
 all whicli she vv.ii c.illed upon to do. We may learn from her 
 to set no value on personal charms, save as they may enhance 
 the gratification of those who love us best ; or of rank and 
 station, save as they demand from us yet deeper gratitude 
 towards God, and more extended usefulness towards man. We 
 may learn too from her history that it is better to wait for the 
 Lord — to leave in His hands the fulfilment of our ardent wishes 
 — than to seek to compass them by human means. We may 
 trace and feel that nothing, in truth, is too wonderful for the 
 Lord ; that He will do what pleaseth Him, however we may 
 deem it hopeless and in vain. Direct revelations, as vouchsafed 
 to Sarah, indeed we have not, but God has, in His deep mercy, 
 granted us His word — the record of all He has done — that 
 we may feel He is still our God ; and though He worketh now 
 in secret — for our sins have hid from us His ways — yet He 
 worketh for us still, and hath compassion and mercy and love 
 for each of us individually, even as He had for Sarah, and her 
 bondwoman Hagar. All these to us, as women, her history 
 reveals : as women of Israel, oh ! yet more. It is of no stranger 
 in race, and clime, and faith we read. It is of our own — of 
 one from whom Israel hath descended in a direct, unshadowed 
 line — of one — -the beloved and cherished partner of that 
 chosen servant and beloved friend of the Eternal, for whose 
 sake revelation was given to mankind — Israel made not alone 
 the nation, but the first-born of the Lord ; and that law 
 bestowed, which revealed a God of " love, long-suffering and 
 gracious, plenteous in mercy and truth ; " — instructed us how 
 to tread our earthly path, so as to give happiness to ourselves 
 and fellow-creatures — to be acceptable to Him ; — and pointed 
 with an ange^ -finger to that immortal goal, where man shall 
 live for ever ! 
 
 Is it nothing to be the lineal descendants of one so favored 
 — nothing to hold in our hands and shrine in our hearts, the 
 record of her life from whom the race of promise sprang? 
 Nothing, to peruse the wonderful manifestations of the Lord's 
 love to her — to feel that from Him direct was Sarah's patent 
 of nobility, and yet possess the privilege of being her descend- 
 ant? Will the women of Israel feel this as nothing? Will 
 they disdain their princely birth, their heavenly heritage ? 
 Will they scorn to look back on Sarah as their ancestor, and 
 yet long for earthly distinctions, earthly rank ? No ! oh, no ! 
 
76 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Let us but think of these things, of those from whom we have 
 descended, and our minds will become ennobled, our hearts 
 enlarged. We shall scorn the falso shame which would descend 
 to petty meannesses to hide our faith, and so exalt us in the 
 sight of a Gentile world. Humbled, cast off for a little 
 moment as we are — liable to persecution, scorn, contumely — to 
 be " despised and rejected " of men — to bear the burden of 
 affliction from all who choose to afflict — still, still we cannot 
 lose our blessed heritage unless we cast it off ; we cannot be 
 deprived of our birthright unless, like Esau, we exchange it for 
 mere worldly pelf, and momentary (because earthly) gratifica- 
 tion. We are still Israelites — still the chosen, the beloved, the 
 ARISTOCRACY of the Lord. 
 
 CHAPTER HL 
 
 R E B E K A H, 
 
 In the same beautiful country whence, nearly seventy years 
 previous, the sou of Terah had been called by the divine com- 
 mand, still dwelt the children of his brother, Nahor. Contrary 
 to the long period of childlessness which had been the portion 
 of Abraham, eight sons were born unto Nahor. And when 
 tidings of his family again reached the patriarch, just after the 
 offered sacrifice of his son, he heard that his brother was also a 
 grandfather — Bethuel, one of his sons having married, and 
 possessing sons and one fair daughter. The many wanderings 
 of Abraham, the distance to which he had removed, and the 
 almost impossibility of obtaining reciprocal intelligence, had, of 
 course, prevented family intercourse. Yet, by the notice taken 
 of Abraham's having unexpectedly received intelligence of his 
 kindred, and also by the momentous events recorded in the xxiv. 
 chapter, it is evident that both Abraham and Nahor retained a 
 vivid recollection of, and continued affection towards each other 
 — an aflfecting illustration of the doctrine we so earnestly uohold 
 
PERIOD I. REBEKAH. 77 
 
 — that Holy Writ never fails to inculcate — alike by precept, 
 character, and narrative — the ascendency, necessity, and beauty 
 of the natural affections. Thoug-h elected to know and serve 
 the Lord, and to promulgate the knowledge of the true religion 
 throuo'hout the world, still, no forgetfulness, no contempt of the 
 less favored of his father's house, actuated Abraham. In simple, 
 questionless obedience to his God, he had departed from all the 
 haunts, the friends of his youth ; but to a disposition so strongly 
 affectionate as his own, often and often must the yearnings have 
 returned, to learn somewhat of the brother of his love. The 
 characters of the Bible are all Unman : though we are but too 
 apt to judge them by any and every other test than that of 
 humanity. Religion, instead of deadening, ever deepens and 
 strengthens mere human feelings. No one has ever yet truly 
 and devotedly loved God without feeling every natural affection 
 heightened and more precious. Indifference in any one single 
 point is utterly banished. It cannot exist with true spirituality ; 
 and therefore do we always find in the Bible, the strongest, 
 most affectionate feelings actuating the chosen servants of the 
 Lord. 
 
 From a careful consideration of this portion of Bible history, 
 and of Laban's family in the sequel, it appears probable that 
 Abraham had other reasons besides those of kindred for wishing 
 his son to choose a wife from the daughters of Mesopotamia, 
 instead of those of Canaan. Had the patriarch's kindred been 
 merely idolatrous as the other families of the earth, it is not likely 
 that the mere recital of the steward should have called forth 
 Laban and Bethuel's answering exclamation — "The thing pro- 
 ceeded from the Lord, we cannot speak unto thee bad or good !" 
 — nor many years afterwards, in Laban's intercourse with his 
 nephew, his entreaty, " Tarry with me, for I have learned by 
 experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake." It 
 would seem from these simply recorded facts, that though they 
 worshipped images, which are referred to more than once in 
 the sequel, their religion was certainly purer than that of the 
 Canaanites. It was from his father's house Abraham had been 
 elected and called by the Almighty. His firm rejection and 
 abhorrence of idols, his meek and gentle un-upbraiding conduct, 
 his departure in simple obedience to an unknown Being, — all 
 this was probably remembered and so commented upon by his 
 kindred, that his memory had more influence than his presence ; 
 
78 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 and vague notions of the religion and the God whom he had 
 followed and preached, mingled with the image-worship which 
 they still retained. These notions, very possibly strengthened 
 by the rumors of Abraham's continued communings with this 
 mysterious God, and the many manifestations of a superhuman 
 agency vouchsafed to him, which, by slow degrees, reached even 
 Mesopotamia, prepared them to acknowledge and even believe 
 in Him ; though from ignorance as to the manner of worship 
 which could be acceptable to a Being so awful and invisible, 
 they adhered to the worship of their fathers. 
 
 Abraham no doubt felt that it would be easy to impart to 
 the daughter of such a race, the true and spiritual religion of 
 which the Patriarch's own family was the only witness. There 
 would be no fear of her retaining and secretly promulgating the 
 impure and idolatrous notions which would undoubtedly have 
 been the case with the daughters of Canaan ; and this, acting 
 powerfully on the aflfecting recollections of kindred and home, 
 appears to me the real cause of Abraham's intense anxiety to 
 take a wife for his son Isaac from the daughters of his father's 
 house. 
 
 Meanwhile the daughter of Bethuel had grown into beautiful 
 womanhood, beloved and clier'shed alike by her parents and 
 brothers, and pursuing with cheerful content and affection the 
 simple routine of domestic life. There is no mention in Scrip- 
 ture of her having ever been sought in marriage before the ofler 
 of Isaac. We are rather to suppose, that she was scarcely seen 
 or known beyond the precincts of her father's establishment; 
 and as this was the case also with the daughters of Laban, 
 some years afterwards, the supposition of their superiority to the 
 other heathen nations is confirmed. 
 
 The daily employments of the young females of the East 
 appear to have been completely domestic; and in obedience to 
 these daily duties we find Rebekah one evening going as usual 
 to the well with her pitcher on her shoulder to draw water. 
 The group of strangers beside the well must have struck her as 
 something remarkable, but we do not find that she in any 
 way loitered or wavered in the steady performance of her task. 
 
 "And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin: and 
 she iverit down to the well, and filled her pitcher and came up. 
 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, 
 drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said. Drink, my 
 
PERIOD I. RKBKKAH. 79 
 
 lord : and she let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave 
 him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she 
 said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have 
 done drinking. And she hasted and emptied her pitcher into 
 the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and 
 drew for all his camels." 
 
 Among the many little exquisite touches of artless and gentle 
 nature with which the Bible abounds, none surpass this for 
 truth and beauty. The same unsophisticated nature that led 
 her quietly to pursue her duty, without turning to the right 
 hand or to the left, also prompted the active and cordial kind- 
 ness to the stranger when he addressed her, and the respectful 
 deference to his age and sex which the words " Drink, my lord," 
 imply. It was the quiet self-possession, the modest ease and 
 frankness, the total disregard of self, alike with regard to per- 
 sonal trouble as to the impression her own beautiful face and 
 form might make, which ever proceed from a proper self-esteem, 
 without which no woman, however situated, can happily or with 
 propriety pass, through life. She not only gave refreshment to 
 the steward, but filled the trough for the weary camels to drink 
 also. Many times must she have ascended and descended to 
 the well, burdened with a weighty pitcher — a fair and gentle 
 girl, while so many strong men were standing round — but 
 they were strangers and travellers, and she was in her own 
 land. 
 
 Well might Eliezer, " wondering at her, hold his peace, to 
 wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not." 
 It was difficult to believe that the prayer he had scarcely con- 
 cluded before Rebekah appeared, should so speedily be answered ; 
 and it was, no doubt, with some little trembling he asked, 
 " Whose daughter art thou ? Tell me, I pray thee, is there 
 room in thy father's* house for us to lodge in?" and how must 
 his heart have bounded with returning confidence at the artless 
 reply : " I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, which 
 she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have 
 both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in." Our 
 ancient fathers, with much justice, suppose that the splendid 
 presents of the steward followed this announcement, and were 
 not given, as we might imagine from the general translations 
 of the Bible, before he knew her name. They had been 
 intrusted to him for the bride of Isaac ; and therefore, it was 
 
 VOL. I. 5 
 
80 THE AVOMEN O*" ISRAEL. 
 
 not likely he should bestow them on any one, however beautiful 
 and hospitable, unless perfectly convinced that she was the 
 maiden destined so to be. The little conversation between 
 them, and even the steward's fervent ejaculation of thanksgiv- 
 ing, probably took place while the camels were drinking ; and 
 it was when they had done, " that the man took a golden 
 earring of half a shekel weight, and the bracelets for her hands 
 of ten shekels weight of gold." Greatly must the maiden have 
 marvelled, not only at the richness of the presents, but that 
 they should be oft'ered at all ; and, true to the almost childish 
 nature which the whole narration displays, " she ran and told 
 them of her mother's house these things." 
 
 It is by some commentators considered strange, I believe, that 
 in all which follows, Laban, not Bethuel, should be the principal 
 actor. The Bible appears to tell us, that Laban was decidedly 
 the head of his father's house ; and, as there is no mention what- 
 ever of Rebekah's father, no reference to any relation but her 
 mother and brother, it does not seem probable that she had a 
 father living, the Bethuel who is mentioned being possibly a 
 younger brother, and one of very inferior consequence. 
 
 We have already perceived that Rebekah " told them of her 
 mother's house." And now, without any notice whatever of a 
 father, we read, that " Rebekah had a brother whose name was 
 Laban." And when he saw the earring and bracelets on his 
 sister's hands, and when he heard her words, he came unto the 
 man who still stood with his camels beside the well, and accosted 
 him, net only as one who was master, with independent author- 
 ity, bu'. with an exclamation which confirms our previous 
 suggestion, that some vague notions of Abraham's God had 
 reached even Mesopotamia. The hurried narration of his sister 
 would not have been s iflBcient incentive for such greeting ; — 
 " Come in, thou blessed of the lord ; wherefore standest thou 
 ■without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the 
 camels. And the man came into the house, and he ungirded 
 his camels. And they gave straw and provender for the camels, 
 and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet who were with 
 him. And they set meat before him to eat : but he said, I will 
 not eat till I have said mine errand. And he (Laban) said, 
 Speak on." 
 
 Laban, as the generous, unsuspicious host, had performed his 
 part. And now, the s,ervant of Abraham failed not to perform 
 
PERIOD I. REBEKAII. 81 
 
 his. Earnest in his master's cause, his mission occupying alike 
 heart and mind, — convinced that he was in the Lord's lands, 
 he would not wait till hunger was appeased and weariness sub- 
 dued, but at once spoke ; his first words refusing all honor to 
 himseh' by the simple declaration ip2i^ tin-ina n3:>, " Servant 
 of Abraham am I." It was, indeed, a wondrous tale to which 
 the family of Bethuel listened. By the words of Laban, at its 
 conclusion, " Behold, Rebekah is be/ore thee," we may infer, 
 that the maiden and her mother were both present; thouo-b, by 
 no word or exclamation did the former interrupt a narrative 
 which concerned her so deeply ; yet as a woman, and a very 
 young one, how many feelings must have stirred within her, as 
 the steward spoke ! 
 
 Eliezer told how his venerable master had grown rich and 
 great by the blessing of the Lord, who had also granted him, 
 m his old age, a son, to whom Abraham had given all that he 
 had :— how anxious he was to guard his son from a connexion 
 with the Canaanites, and to take him a wife from his own 
 kindred; overruling Eliezer's objection— " Peradventure, the 
 woman will not follow me," — by the solemn assurance that 
 " the Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel before 
 thee, and prosper thy way ;" — how, in obedience, he had set 
 forth, and, arriving that day at the well, had prayed to the Lord 
 God of his master Abraham, to grant that the virgin who, when 
 he wished for a little water from her pitcher, should reply, 
 " Drink thou, and I will draw for the camels also," should be 
 the maiden whom the Lord had appointed for his master's 
 son ;— how his prayer had been heard and answered, by the 
 appearance and kindly courtesy of Rebekah ;— and he con- 
 cluded, " I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord 
 God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way, 
 to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. And now, 
 if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me ; and 
 if not, tell me ; that I may turn to the right hand, or the left." 
 
 Deeply indeed must the simple tale have afiected its hearers. 
 The rich, the princely Abraham had remembered and yearned 
 towards his father's house ; even those who, perchance, in his 
 youth had reviled and persecuted him for his rejection of their 
 idols ; seeking from them, in preference to every other, a wife 
 for his son. " The thing proceedeth from the Lord," was their 
 instant answer. " We cannot speak unto thee bad or good. 
 
82 THE AV O M E N OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let hef 
 be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken." 
 
 Blessed thus far, the richest jewels of gold and silver were 
 presented by the steward to the youthful bride, her mother and 
 brother. Surely, if her father had still been living, he would 
 here have been mentioned : but neither here, nor in the 55th 
 and 60th verses following, which are important as relating to 
 her influential kindred, is there any notice taken of his 
 existence. 
 
 One night only, the steward accepted the lavish hospitality 
 of his hosts. Anxious to report the success of his mission, he 
 entreated, " Send me away to my master." But natural ties 
 could not be so quickly severed without pain. How could they 
 so suddenly part with the cherished darling of their house — in 
 all probability never to look upon her again ? " Let the damsel 
 abide with us a few days," her mother and brother said ; " at 
 least ten, after that she shall go." But the steward entreated 
 them to "hinder him not," believing that to loiter, would be 
 " displeasing to the Lord who had prospered his way." And 
 they said, " We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. ' 
 Young and retiring as she was, her own voice was to decide the 
 matter. They would neither retain nor send her away without 
 her own consent ; thus proving that even family authority, in 
 the Bible, was an authority of love. " And calling her, they 
 said. Wilt thou go with this man ? And she said, I will go ;" 
 — a brief and simple answer, yet suited alike to her chai'acter 
 and the occasion. No doubt, there will be some to exclaim 
 against the reply as abrupt and unmaidenly ; but have they 
 quite considered all the circumstances of the case? Rebekah'a|. 
 character, at this period of her life, was a beautiful blending of|/ 
 simplicity and truth. Sought by Abraham for his son, ot 
 whom, in all probability, she had already favorably heard ; 
 selected by God himself, every natural feeling of woman was 
 satisfied and soothed. Perhaps, now, in this pc-iod of ultra 
 refinement, such simplicity will scarcely be understood. Yet, 
 then^ her meek assent was in perfect accordance with all that 
 had passed before. Is it not ordained, even by God himself — 
 that woman, even as man, should leave father, mother, and 
 home, to cleave unto her husband ? Besides, this was no 
 engagement of mere human devising. She was, unconsciously, 
 the instrument in the Eternal's hand to further His decrees 
 
PERIOD I . R E B E K A H . 83 
 
 And her brief assent was his inspiration, as certainly as all the 
 previous incidents. Nor can we doubt for a moment, even 
 while she declared her willingness to go, that natural affections 
 were busy within her. Have not our readers themselves felt, at 
 times, two completely o^iposing feelings filling their hearts at 
 once ? And oh ! how blessed would it be at such times, if we 
 could but realize that the words, fraught with a pain and 
 anxiety unknown, unthought of, when we spoke them, proceed 
 alone, as Rebekah's " I will go," from the guidance of the Lord, 
 and that therefore, spite of all the sufferings which may gather 
 round us, they will in the end be blessed. 
 
 Rebekah had accepted the presents of betrothal, and was 
 therefore already of the femily of Abraham. How then might 
 his steward go without her ? It was not her part to detain him 
 on his way. We may imagine the tears of affection with 
 which the fond blessing was pronounced by her brothers. The 
 mother, though still present, is not mentioned ; for her prayers 
 were in her heart. " And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto 
 her. Thou art our sister ; be thou the mother of thousands of 
 millions, and let thy seed possess the gates of those which hate 
 them." And Rebekah arose (probably from the detaining arms 
 of her kindred), and with her nurse, and attendant damsels, 
 sought their camels, and accompanied the steward on his home- 
 ward way. 
 
 How many thoughts must have crowded the heart and mind 
 of the young daughter of Bethuel during this journey — the home 
 she had left, and the home she was about to seek — the friends 
 of her childhood, and those unknown ; yet towards whom she 
 turned with the yearning to love and be beloved : probably 
 hearing from the lips of the steward so much of his young 
 master, as to render him in her mind no longer a stranger. 
 
 Simply and beautifully is the last touch to this portion of her 
 history given by the inspired historian. Canaan was reached ; 
 the tents of the patriarch in sight. And lifting up her eves, 
 Rebekah beheld a man walking forth in the fertile tields ; bear- 
 ing in his pensive mind and measured tread, the aspect of one 
 in holy meditation. It was eventide, that still solemn hour of 
 holy musing, sought only by those who have no thought from 
 which to shrink, who can call up sweet dreamy visions of the 
 past — sad, yet how inexpressibly soothing. That holy hour, 
 when the soul of the departed comes back to the spirit of the 
 
84 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 bereaved, holding such commune as must proclaim our unioa 
 with the invisible world, and confirm our immortality. The 
 maiden probably guessed who it was on whom she gazed. But 
 when the question was asked and answered by her guide, modesty, 
 refinement, simplicity, and that respect which ever springs from 
 the heart, all impelled her to " light oft' her camel," and " to take 
 a veil and cover herself." 
 
 This was true humility, for she knew her own dignity. She 
 demanded no more respect than she paid herself. She waited 
 no ceremonious introduction, but alighting from the camel, com- 
 pletely shrouded in her veil, she proved by the one action, the 
 respect due to the son of Abraham, her destined husband, and by 
 the other retained her own gentle dignity, by concealing every-, 
 charm, till the servant's tale was told, and Isaac claimed her as 
 his bride. Personal beauty was in this case as nothing, thoufir 
 she possessed it in no ordinary degree. Her conduct proceeded 
 from an artless, unsophisticated nature, timidly shrinking from 
 the eyes of him whom she most wished to please — a desire to 
 conceal the very beauty which she must have yet ardently hoped 
 that he might prize ; and her hope was fulfilled, for " Isaac 
 brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, 
 and she became his wife, and he loved her, and Isaac was com- 
 forted after his mother's death." How beautifully do those few 
 words illustrate the extent of his love both towards his mother 
 and wife ! Though three years had passed since the death of his 
 mother, he yet mourned for her. Not even the aftections of his 
 father could satisfy that painful yearning ; — not even religion, 
 with her host of soothing thoughts and blessed images, could 
 wholly comfort him, though she gave him strength to endure, 
 and spiritual love to bless the hand which smote. Nor is this 
 a contradictory assertion. Religion leads us to Him who alone 
 can heal, in deep and most fervid prayer ; — that prayer brings 
 us, from Him whose deep mercy hears and answers, sup])ort and 
 consolation, by the conviction that we are not lonely — that we 
 shall meet again those whom we love in His presence, who is 
 love itself; and this is comfort. The comfort here alluded to 
 was for the yearnings of the mortal ; the immortal could realize 
 consolation, the mortal could not. Though it be in very truth 
 the invlnible soul we love, yet we become so knit with the mortal 
 habitation of that soul, that we cannot feci it has perished from 
 our sight for ever, without an agony of heart that time and 
 
P K H I O D I . R E B K K A II . 85 
 
 prayer, and constant communings with the invisible Spirit alone, 
 can in any way assuage. Nor is there one portion in the Holy 
 Bible which would tell us tliat God condemns such grief. If 
 with the whole fervor of our immortal being, we can bow in 
 much submission, faith, and love, unto His will, He condemns not, 
 nay, feels compassionate, and in His own good time heals the 
 agony which our human nature feels through the human agency 
 of wife, or friend, or cliild. And so it was with Isaac. Wedded 
 as he was to the memory of his mother, no ordinary woman 
 could have so gained his love as to give him comfort, and fill up 
 the aching void which had existed three long years. He must 
 have seen in Rebekah when she first became his wife, a reflection 
 of Sarah's endearing qualities ; and united as these were to youth 
 and beauty, inspired still dee}3er and dearer emotions than he had 
 ever experienced before. 
 
 To some dispositions, this sudden elevation in a social and 
 domestic position would have been a dangerous ordeal ; but 
 neither presumption, arrogance, nor pride, appears to have marked 
 the conduct of Rebekah. The same steady performance of 
 household duty manifested in her girlhood, probably continued 
 in her higher and more responsible station ; and year after year 
 found her caUnly following the quiet routine of daily duty 
 happily to herself and to her household. And here, for a brief 
 while, we would pause to gather the sweet blossoms of instruc- 
 tion and guidance proffered by a Father's love, which Rebekuh's 
 history, thus far considered, can impart. We would linger a 
 moment on the past ere we go forward, for the picture must be 
 changed. Yet it is no marvellous or incomprehensible change — 
 it is no history of woman in an era so long past that we wonder, 
 and scarce believe — the picture is too perfect even now ; — it is 
 woman then, and woman now, as we shall see hereafter. 
 
 Although from the wide distinction between patriarchal and 
 modern times, our position and duties as daughters of Israel 
 can never resemble those of Rebecca, we have, like her, domestic 
 duties to perforin, and a station not only to fulfil but to adorn, 
 so as to excite towards us respect and love. The women of the 
 Bible are forcibly portrayed, not for us to follow them exactly, 
 for that we could not do, but from their conduct in their 
 respective spheres to guide us in ours ; from the approval or 
 reproof bestowed directly or indirectly upon them, to teach their 
 descendants what is acceptable in the sight of our heavenly 
 
86 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Father and what is not ; and of this we may rest assured there 
 is no contradiction to puzzle us in the Word of God. The pre- 
 cepts of His law are proved by the practice of His servants. 
 " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might," 
 was said centuries after by the sage monarch, who, in obedience 
 to the command of God relating to Kings, must have been 
 acquainted with the whole of His law ; and that precept was 
 exemplified in Rebecca's conduct at the well. She had every 
 temptation to turn aside a few moments in her simple task. 
 Had she ever accustomed herself to encourage wandering 
 thoughts in her difierent eraployents, to turn from them for 
 every frivolous pretence, she would never have withstood the 
 temptation of idling away her time with the goodly looking 
 strangers, and thus demonstrated a character totally unfit to be 
 the ancestress of God's chosen race. But as she went down to 
 the well and filled her pitcher, and came up, " neither turning 
 to the right nor to the left," so it behoves us to follow our daily 
 duties, would we, like her, receive the blessing of the Lord. It 
 is said to be woman's nature ever to be unsteady — to be caught 
 by the glare of every new object, every new face — to become 
 frivolous from allowing herself in youth to flutter from one 
 employment to another, seeking but sweets, and terrified at the 
 first sight of all that may seem more harsh or stern. But such 
 frivolity is incompatible with the regenerate and spiritual woman 
 whose guidance is her Bible, whose sustainer is her God. She 
 feels too deeply responsible to Him for every hour of her time 
 to squander its smallest portion needlessly away. She seeks to 
 lo"e Him too earnestly, too continually, not to associate the 
 hope of His approval with her every employment, and so asso- 
 ciated it is impossible for them to be frivolously followed or 
 lightly interrupted ; and if domestic duties were thus performed 
 by the young daughter of a house who knew not by direct reve- 
 lation the Lord, how much more devolves upon us her descend- 
 ants, to whom the Lord himself has vouchsafed, through His 
 holy Word, both guidance and example ! O ! let us then, in our 
 every pursuit, first ponder well if we may lay it before our God, 
 and upon it ask His blessing ; and if we truly can, let us pursue 
 it with all our heart, and soul, and might, if we would indeed 
 seek the loving tenderness of our God, the respect of the world, 
 and of ourselves. 
 
 Nor is her steadiness the only i)ortion of Rebecca's early 
 
PERIOD 1. REBEKAH. 8Y 
 
 character demanding our admiration. The winning ana obliging 
 gentleness with which she met the stranger's address proceeded 
 from the genuine kindness, the real politeness of an utterly- 
 unselfish heart. The request was not only granted, but granted 
 with such sweetness of manner and respectful words as threefold 
 to enhance the kindness of the deed. The beautiful laws con- 
 tained in the 32d, 3.3d, and 34th verses of the 19th chapter of 
 Leviticus had not then been issued, yet the conduct of Rebecca 
 was a practical illustration of the spi7'it which they teach. She 
 paid respect to age, and did unto the stranger even as if he had 
 been one born in the land ; and this we may all do. It is not 
 enough that we act kindly, and mean kindly, in our intercourse 
 either with friends or strangers. We must make manifest kindly 
 feeling by a kindly and conciliating manner. At a period when 
 the drift of education sometimes appears to condemn, conquer, 
 and entirely annihilate feeling, this will be difficult, for widely 
 different is the manner which is taught, however perfect may be 
 its propriety, its gentleness, its suavity, to that which springs 
 from the heart, and has its origin in overflowing and unselfish 
 feeling. But has the heart — has feeling anything to do with 
 our behavior to a perfect stranger, and acquaintance of the hour, 
 whom in the whole course of our life we may never meet again ? 
 It has, and it may be productive of good, both to ourselves and 
 others. The great, the good, the mighty and most merciful 
 Creator of heaven and earth disdained not, even in the midst of 
 this stupendous creation, to bid the earth bring forth \i&v Jlowers, 
 not to serve as food, or shelter, or absolute use in the common 
 meaning of the word, but simply to beautify, to enliven, to 
 rejoice, to fling a gladness and a sunshine on the desert waste 
 and weary wilderness, and add beauty and rejoicing even where 
 all around is joy; and as flowers to the earth, so is kindliness 
 to man. It will not remove grief, nor give him what perchance 
 he needs, but it may cause a flower to spring up in the lonely 
 recess or careworn furrow of his heart, whose memory may 
 linger long after the flower itself has perished. And shall we 
 scorn the power that will do this? Shall we think a flower of 
 half an hour's growth too worthless to be given, too trifling to 
 be gathered ? Oh 1 let us uot encourage such a thought. We 
 may know, indeed, nothing of the stranger with whom, for a 
 brief hour, we may be thrown ; but that very ignorance should 
 urge us to courtesy and kindliness. His course may have been 
 
 5* 
 
88 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 one of care, liis present lot a waste, and a gentle tone and kind 
 manner may be to him as the flower in the desert vvihng him a 
 brief while from his own sad thoughts. Or it may be his lot 
 has been and is all joy ; and yet will kindliness be sweet, even 
 as the flower in the festive hall, or in the pathway of tlie bride ; 
 its form scarce noticed at the time, yet so blending with its 
 associated images as in memory to be called up again and yet 
 again. We are not placed here to live for ourselves alone, and 
 more powerfully than aught else, if it spring from the heart, 
 and has its birth in feeling^ will a kind and gentle manner rivet 
 the links of brotherhood, bid us feel we are all cbildren of our 
 common Father, and so strengthen our love in Him, and for 
 each other. 
 
 On us more especially, aliens and exiles from our own land, is 
 manner, as the mirror of the heart, incumbent. There was a 
 time, but lately passed away, when to perform this duty was 
 impossible, and therefore supposed to be unnecessary. When 
 scorned, persecuted, condemned as the very scum of the earth, 
 hated and reproached, it was as utterly impossible for us to 
 manifest courtesy and kindness, as to receive them. Hatred 
 begets hatred, as scorn begets scorn, more especially when 
 neither emotion may be avowed. What did the cringing man- 
 ner, the abject tone of the persecuted, tortured Jew conceal ? 
 Was it marvel it should be hatred as strong, if not stronger, 
 because utterly powerless, than that of his cruel, his tyrannical 
 oppressor ? But now that in some enlightened and blessed 
 realms these fearful times are past, and the right hand of 
 fellowship extended to us, shall the exile and oppressed refuse 
 to meet in amity and confidence, the sons of the land which 
 gives them protection and home? We were commanded to 
 show kindness to a stranger, as to one born amongst us. That 
 blessed privilege is no longer ours, for we are strangers in a 
 strange land ; yet may we still obey the spirit of the law, and 
 in the cultivation of a kindly heart, and manifestation of a 
 kindly feeling, let us remember we have not only an individual, 
 but a national character to support — that a brief half hour's 
 intercourse with a stranger is endowed with j^ower to exalt or 
 to lower the cause of Israel ; and as Rebekah's kindly cordi- 
 ality was blessed to her, by making her the wife of Isaac, and 
 so revealing to her the glorious tidings of a God of love, so may 
 the kindly manner of the youngest daughter of Israel be blesaed 
 
PERIOD I. REBEKAII. 89 
 
 to her, by making her the unconscious instrument, m God's 
 hand, to exalt His holy faith, and proclaim His truth in the 
 heart and mind of the Gentiles amongst whom she dwells. 
 
 Yet, Rebekah's courtesy to the steward demonstrates neither 
 presumption nor forwai'dness incompatible with her age or sex. 
 We find her, directly her brother Laban comes forth, retiring to 
 her own modest station in her mother's tent, and claiming no 
 further notice. We see, therefore, that to act kindly demands 
 not the forsaking our natural sphere. We are not to look 
 abroad for opportunities to act as Rebekah did ; but, like her, 
 we shall find them without leaving our home, in the domestic 
 and social intercourse of daily life. Let us ponder well upon 
 these things, and, as daughters of Israel, make it our glory and 
 our pride to do our simplest duty " with all our mig-ht ;" our 
 pleasure, to scatter flowers on the path of all with whom we 
 may be thrown ; and dwelling with meek and loving content- 
 ment in our appointed sphere, remember that the cause of Israel 
 is our own, and it is in our power to exalt or degrade it. 
 
 For twenty years, the lives of Rebekah and Isaac appear to 
 have passed in all the quiet felicity of domestic love and peace. 
 Abraham was still living, happy in the happiness of his son 
 Isaac ; for to his other sons " Abraham gave gifts, and sent 
 them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward unto 
 the east country." He gave them, in all probability, a know- 
 ledge of the Lord enough to recognise and worship him; but in 
 Isaac, Abraham knew was the promised seed, and therefore by 
 him was the aged patriarch's home. Anxiously he, too, must 
 have anticipated the birth that would prolong his line, but from 
 bis personal experience in " waiting for the Lord," his feelings 
 must have been less anxious than those of Isaac. In these 
 twenty years, we hear of no temporal disturbance nor divine 
 interference, as in the earlier life of Abraham ; but that spiritual 
 communing with the Lord, and improvement in knowledge of 
 and faith in Him, in no ways slackened or diminished, we are 
 called upon to believe by the simple fact of Isaac going to 
 " entreat the Lord for his wife," and the instant answer to hia 
 prayer. Again we see divine interference, not what is called 
 natural causes, operating for the fulfilment of the Eternal's 
 promise of a chosen seed. Jacob, the fether of the twelve 
 tribes, from one or other of whom the wandering Hebrew can 
 RtiU trace descent and claim the promises vouchsafed unto hia 
 
90 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 fathers — Jacob, even as Isaac, was the child, not alone of 
 promise, but of prayer. 
 
 Those twenty years saw Rebekah as we last beheld her, only 
 matured in the graces of womanhood, and so grafted on the 
 house of Abraham, as like him to worship and know the great 
 God alone. She had had, as yet, no temptation to swerve aside 
 from the straight path of duty, A beloved and cherished wife, 
 daughter, and mistress, her life passed by so smoothly, her affec- 
 tion so devoted to one first object, and thence calmly emanating 
 on all under her influence, that she was, as every other woman 
 in a similar position must have been, still entirely io;norant of 
 the shoals and quicksands in her heart, which might lead to sin, 
 and end in sorrow. 
 
 Yet her first action, after proof was given of the Eternal's 
 gracious answer to her husband's prayer, was one of such child- 
 like simple confidence in the power and wisdom of the Lord to 
 answer all of doubt and fear, that to reconcile her conduct after- 
 wards becomes more difficult. Unusual and incomprehensible 
 suffering so oppressed her as to raise a doubt of the pro- 
 mise being then about to be fulfilled. " If it be so," she 
 thought, " why am I thus ?" — and without pause or hesitation, 
 went directly " to inquire of the Lord." She asked no advice, 
 demanded no human aid — but in heartfelt prayer — for in 
 prayer only could she so inquire — laid before Him her every 
 emotion, and from him implored reply. We would humbly ask 
 those, if indeed there can be such, who deny to woman an 
 immortal soul, refuse her the blessed privilege of individual and 
 secret commune with her Creator, and believe man's prayer 
 alone omnipotent, how they would interpret this very simple 
 narration ? They may assert, as I believe some commentators 
 do, that it was through Abraham she inquired of the Lord, and 
 received reply — but, as we have no warrant whatever in Scrip- 
 ture, by direct word or implied inference, to confirm this asser- 
 tion, we must reject it altogether. The long years which 
 Rebekah had passed in the household of Abraham, had not 
 flown by unused and spiritually unimproved. She had seen the 
 Great and Invisible Being acknowledged and adored. She had 
 been taught by example ; and we may be scripturally certain, 
 though the fact itself is not mentioned, by precept also. The 
 natural impulse of humanity, under all difficulties and suftering, 
 is to i.ray — and in the beautiful simphcity of the patriarchal 
 
PERIOD I. REBEKAH. 91 
 
 ages, no artificial coldness, no appalling scepticism, no disheart- 
 ening doubt, could have crowded round her, whispering th;it the 
 prayer was vain, that the Creator of heaven and earth was 
 a Being too far removed from woman's petty griefs to listen and 
 give reply. In the simjjle trusting confidence of a child, she 
 sought the Parent whose love was omnipotent not only to 
 understand the doubt and pain, but to give relief, and her confi- 
 dence was answered. How that gracious answer was vouch- 
 safed, whether through Abraham, or directly to herself, is, 
 I believe, an argument — but Scripture bids us believe, without 
 hesitation, the latter — " And the Lord said unto heri^'' clear 
 simple words, banishing at once all necessity for mediation, 
 either of man or angel ; words almost impossible, even wilfully 
 to be misunderstood. The how she received this answer, whe- 
 ther through the medium of the ear, or by an impression on the 
 mind — can be of very little consequence ; and is one of those 
 cavilling inquiries which we could wish banished, ere formed 
 into words ; tending as they do to till up the mind with vain 
 and idle speculations, instead of the pure simple truths of Scrip- 
 ture. It is enough, and a most blessed enough for us, that the 
 " Lord said unto her," the direct answer to her inquiring 
 prayer. The words were mysterious — that she was already the 
 mother of two opposing nations, one of whom should be stronger 
 than the other — and the elder should serve the younger." Yet, 
 mysterious as they must have been, they came from the Lord. 
 He had graciously vouchsafed to explain the cause of her 
 unusual sutierings, and Rebekah was satisfied ; for we find 
 not another word from her of either wonderment or complaint. 
 
 And oh ! what a blessed incentive have we from this simple 
 narrative, in all our griefs and suflferings, bodily or mental, 
 to inquire of the Lord — to come to Him as our ancestress, 
 in guileless faith and simple-minded prayer. He is our God as 
 He was hers — yea, ours — exiles, wanderers, womkn as we are, 
 and who, with the holy word of God within his hand, shall dare 
 to refuse to us, as women, as Israelitish women, the power, the 
 purity, the privilege of prayer ? Who shall dare assert that we 
 are powerless to pray, or need the mediation of man, to bear up 
 our petitions to the throne of grace ? Mothers, wives, daughters 
 of Israel, you alone must prove the utter falsity of this charge ! 
 Before the law, under the law, during the captivity, we shall 
 
92 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 still tiiid the Hebrew woman seeking her God in pra^'er , 
 and receiving from him direct reply. Oh ! shall we not thus prove 
 that we have a soul immortal as that of man — that the very 
 breath of our being, the light of our path, the support of 
 strength, is prayer — that prayer which brings us daily, nay 
 hourly, in commune with a loving Father, whose ttiider sympa- 
 thy is endless as His love. Let us prove we need not Chris- 
 tianity either to teach, or direct us how to pray — but, turning 
 to the blessed pages of our own Bible, make manifest that 
 to look further is not needed. That there we have indeed suffi- 
 cient for encouragement and hope ; for confidence and faith. 
 As Rebekah prayed, so too may we ; and as our Father 
 answered her, so will He us. Not indeed with word direct, but 
 with that blessed calm, and hope, and faith, which prayer 
 only can bestow ; and with that heavenly patience which 
 will enable us to "wait for the Lord," in the firm belief 
 that whatever He may will is best. It is worthy of remark that 
 Rebekah is the first recorded instance of woman's immediate 
 appeal to God, and the condescending reply. 
 
 At the appointed time Isaac and Rebekah became parents 
 of twin sons, who grew and flourished ; and in early youth dis- 
 played a contrariety of disposition and pursuits which must have 
 appeared strange, in such nearly allied relations, had it not been 
 rendered clearly intelligible, at least to their motlier by the 
 previous words of the Lord. But yet these words ao not 
 appear to me sufficient for Rebekah always to have regarded 
 Jacob as the promised seed. The promise, or rather explana- 
 tion, given in answer to her prayer, was simply, " the one 
 people shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall serve 
 the younger ;" not as was the case with Abraham, when the 
 promised se^d was specifically named. And in the very next 
 revelation which was vouchsafed to Isaac, a few years afterwards, 
 we read, " Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will 
 bless thee ; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, will I give all 
 these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto 
 Abraham thy father. And I will make thy seed to multiply as 
 the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all the coun- 
 tries ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
 blessed ;" and again, the last verse of this same xxvii. chapter — 
 the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, *'I 
 
PERIOD I . R E B K K A H . 95 
 
 am the God of Abraliam, thy fathei ; fear not, for I am 
 with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my ser- 
 vant Abraham's sake." 
 
 The Eternal expressly says " thy seed." Isaac might be jus- 
 tified in supposing that both his sons were concerned in the pro- 
 mises, until Esau's reckless disregard of his birthi'ight, and 
 other spiritual blessings, in addition to his intermarrying with 
 the daughters of Canaan, must have convinced his father 
 that not from him could spring the chosen seed. The revelation 
 that " the elder should serve the younger," must have occasioned 
 Rebekah many mental inquiries ; but even if she herse.f 
 supposed that Jacob was the destined inheritor of Abraham's 
 line, it is evident that she did not impart it to her husband. 
 
 Isaac's love for the reckless and able hunter, Esau, is one of 
 those contradictions of the heart, unaccountable indeed, but 
 very often found. He loved Esau best, because in every respect 
 he Avas completely his opposite. Isaac was meek, affectionate, 
 faithful, quietly and contentedly dwelling in one spot, moving 
 thence only at the command of the Lord ; satisfied with the 
 temporal blessings around him, and the spiritual blessings of 
 promise. Esau, bold, enterprising, ever roving in search of 
 active pursuit ; heeding naught but the present ; scorning his 
 home and home ties ; rude and rough, yet, when excited, 
 deeply and warmly affectionate to his aged father. And Isaac 
 loved him better than his younger son, who, more like himself, 
 " was a plain or upright man dwelling in tents." But Rebekah 
 loved Jacob. Sacred history does not say why — and we are 
 therefore permitted to infer, that it was sim|)ly because it is in 
 womai 's nature to love him best who is least loved by his 
 father. But Rebekah's favoritism, as we shall see in the sequel, 
 was stronger and more culpable than that of Isaac. All such 
 , emotions are stronger in woman's heart than in man's — because, 
 with the {ormQ\\ feeling is the most powerful, and with the 
 latter, reason. Pai'tiality must always occasion injustice, and 
 more particularly in a parent ; for no task demands more con- 
 trol and feeling, more complete conquest of self, than that of 
 parental affliction. The dispositions, the characters of the 
 divers members of one family are so varied, that it is impossible 
 to guide all by one and the same training. An impartial mother 
 will know every light and shadow of every disposition, and 
 guide and act accordingly. A partial mother sees but the 
 
94 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 virtues and qualities of one,, and from want of sympathy and 
 proper management of the other in early years, makes him in 
 reahty all that she believed him. Jacob was domestic, because 
 a mother's doting love made his home one of enjoyment, and 
 administered to every want. 
 
 It was not till after Sarah's death that Isaac even sought a 
 wife, and not till he was parted from his mother that Jacob 
 loved, proofs all convincing of the strength, the beauty, the 
 fulness of the love which in those simple ages united the mother 
 and the son. 
 
 To Esau this soothing and blessed love was not given as it 
 was to Jacob ; and while his hasty and inconsiderate marriage 
 with the daughters of the Hittite was a grief of mind to Isaac 
 and Rebekah, the latter's neglect might have been in part their 
 cause. Esau had no kindly woman's heart to turn to, as had 
 his brother, yet we have proof that his affections were as strong 
 — perchance, from his ruder character, yet stronger — and the 
 very want of female love at home might have first urged him to 
 seek it from the stranger. Oh ! it is sad when partiality and its 
 concomitant, injustice, obtains entrance into a mother's heart. 
 It steals in so silently, so disguised!}^, that unless every avenue 
 be guarded, its advances are utterly unknown, till it has gained 
 a strength and substance which hold us chained. Mere human 
 love, omnipotent as in a mother's breast it is, is not sufficient to 
 guard us from such weakness— no, nor former strength and 
 stability of character. Rebekah had all this, and yet as a mother 
 she fell. It can only be that close communion with the univer- 
 sal Father, who alone knows and feels every secret throbbing 
 of a n-.other's heait, and from whose hand alone can come the 
 strength, not only to c/uide aright her treasures, but to feel 
 aright herself. 
 
 During the growth of his sons, Isaac's temporal riches very 
 greatly increased. Abraham's death did not take place till his 
 grandsons were fifteen. He who had believed it next to 
 impossible in his old age to have a son, lived not only to bless 
 his son, but his son's seed. A famine had sent Isaac and his 
 family, by direction of the Eternal, to Gerar, and there he dwelt 
 until he became so rich and great that the " Philistines envied 
 him ;" and their king, Abiraelech, said unto him, " Depart from 
 us, for thou art much mightier than we." And he did so, and 
 after some wanderings, fixed his tent at Beersheba ; and there 
 
PERIOD I. ItEBEKAH. 95 
 
 acjain the Lord appeared unto him, bidding him " tear not, for 
 He was with him." Beersheba, therefore, appears to have been 
 tlie scene of all the domestic events which followed — Esau 
 selling his unvalued birthright — his subsequent marriage — the 
 vexations thence proceeding to Isaac and Rebekah — and those 
 bodily infirmities of the former, which occasioned his anxious 
 desire to " bless his son before he died." 
 
 Rebekah heard the words of her husband. She had seen 
 him call his firstborn to his couch, and bid him. seek venison, 
 and bring the savory meat that he loved, that his soul might 
 bless him before he died ; and her heart swelled tremblingly 
 within her. Esau ? Wjis Esau to have his father's blessing ? 
 He who had sold his birthright, and so spurned his privileges 
 as heir ; and if he had it, how could the Lord's word be fulfilled, 
 and the " elder serve the younger ?" Why could she not pre- 
 vent it, and secure to him whom the Lord before his birth had 
 chosen as the mightiest, the blessing of his father ? It was 
 easy to be accomplished ; and surely, as the Lord had said it, 
 she was justified in using any means to bring it to pass. Such 
 was weak, jfinite reasoning — such the baneful whisper of our 
 earthly nature, urged on by the rushing torrent of human affec- 
 tions. In that dread moment of temptation, how might she 
 realize the unquestioning faith which would bid her feel, " The 
 Lord hath spoken, and will he not do it ?" That His will 
 needed no human aid for its fulfilment; that He would do His 
 pleasure in the very face of those contradictory events, which 
 human will and finite wisdom might so weave as to render its 
 fulfilment seemingly impossible. If Rebekah had but "inquired 
 of the Lord" in this perplexity, as on a former one, the whole 
 train of deceit and its subsequent suffering would have been 
 averted. But she was still a woman, weak, wavering, a very 
 reed in her mortal nature, and liable, as every child of Adam, 
 to temptation and to sin. 
 
 Had she even waited but one brief hour, all would have been 
 well — the evil impulse would have been conquered in her pious 
 heart, by a train of thought as above, but there was no time 
 either to wait or think again ; and, acting on the impulse, she 
 called Jacob, and after informing him of his father's directions to 
 his brother, continued in a strain that would lead us to believe, 
 that even at that moment she feared Jacob's upright nature 
 would shrink from the task she imposed. " Now, therefore, my 
 
96 THK WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 son, OBEY my voice, according to that which I command thee." 
 She chiimed his unquestioning obedience, ere imparting that 
 which she desired, and then proceeded. Surely her heart must 
 have reproached her, when her own son ventured to suggest, 
 though guardedly and respectfully, that it was a fraud, and 
 might bring upon him a curse instead of a blessing. Yet still slie 
 enforces the command, " Upon me be the curse, my son, only 
 ooey my voice." And he did obey her, weakly and mistakenly ; 
 for had he resisted, had he submissively, yet firmly braved her 
 momentary wrath, the evil temptation must have been subdued, 
 and the mother saved by the unscrupulous honesty of the son. 
 
 But this was not to be. To make manifest His ways, that 
 suffering 7nust attend deceit, however for the moment it may 
 seem to succeed, the Eternal permitted the plans of finite form- 
 ing uninterruptedly to proceed, working out indeed His will 
 through them, but punishing even in success. The kid was 
 procured and dressed — the very hands and neck of Jacob dis- 
 guised, lest their smoothness should betray him ; and thus 
 attired by a mother to deceive, he approached the bed-side of 
 his blind father. How fearfully must the heart of Rebekah have 
 throbbed at every word uttered by her husband and son ! How 
 terrified at the words of the unsuspecting, yet half doubting 
 Isaac ! " Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, 
 whether thou be my very son Esau or not." And Jacob went 
 near unto Isaac his father, and he felt hira, and said, " The voice 
 is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau," And, 
 again, as doubting still, he asks, " Art thou my very son Esau ? 
 and Jacob answered, I am." The inspired historian might not 
 interrupt his brief, yet how deeply impressive detail, to dilate on 
 a woman's fe(ilings ; yet we, her descendants, are surely justified 
 in judging for a moment of Rebekah's emotions during this 
 interview, by what our own would be. She could have had no 
 sujiport, no stay, for she had wilfully banished truth, and how, 
 then, might she pray ? Her whole heart and mind must have 
 been troubled and tossed by every trifling word ; discovery and 
 shame, perhaps the very loss or estrangement of her husband's 
 love, were as likely as the longed for success. How often, 
 during that interim, must she have longed once more to tread 
 the path of truth, for Rebekah was a mere novice in deceit ! Her 
 nature, as we have seen, was guileless and open as the day ; the 
 mere temptation of the moment, and its consequent anxious and 
 
PERIOD I. REBEKAH. 97 
 
 impelling feelings, could not have so changed that nature, as to 
 make her an unmoved witness of that which followed — the very 
 falsehood repeated and insisted upon by those lips which she 
 had taught from infancy to lisp forth truth. But when the 
 blessing was obtained, when she saw her plan had in truth suc- 
 ceeded, we may suppose, judging still by human nature, that 
 these agonizing doubts and fears were for the moment calmed 
 i"l the triumph of success — conscience was hushed again, in the 
 thought that she had compassed by stratagem that which she 
 believed impossible to have been obtained else — that it must 
 have been right and good so to have acted, or it would not have 
 been permitted to succeed. Alas ! how often do we so deceive 
 ourselves ! Could we but glance a little, a very little, further on, 
 we should know, and teel (how bitterly !) that the very deceit 
 we believed innocent, because it brought success, has been our 
 fii'st step in the paths of woe. 
 
 And so it was with Rebekah, though as yet she knew it not. 
 Her feelings of triumph could not, however, have lasted long : 
 " And it carae to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of 
 blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the 
 presence of his father, that Esau, his brother, came in from 
 hunting;" and that interview followed, which, for simple and 
 touching pathos, is not surpassed by any incident in the Bible. 
 
 Rebekah was a partial, but not a weak or unkind mother. 
 She loved Jacob better than his brother, but Esau was still her 
 son, her first-born, and oh ! how painfully must her heart have 
 yearned towards him, when she beard his " great and exceeding 
 bitter cry 1" — " Hast thou but one blessing, my father — bless 
 me, even me also, O my fiither — and Esau lifted up his voice 
 and wept." Esau, the rude, the careless hunter, who had 
 seemed to care for naught but his own pleasures ; the chase, the 
 field, the wild ! He bowed down by his blind father like an 
 infant, and wept ; beseeching the blessing of which a mother 
 and a brother's subtlety had deprived him. Could Rebekah 
 have been a witness, or even hearer of this scene, without losing 
 all the triumph of success, in sympathy with the anguish of her 
 first-born ? It is impossible to ponder on her previous character, 
 without being convinced of this. It is not from one act, one 
 unresisted temptation, that we ought to pronounce judgment on 
 a fellow-creature : yet, from our unhappy proneness to con- 
 demn, we generally do so. The character of Rebekah is thus 
 
98 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 too often supposed to be evil alone, and her unfortunate decep 
 tion in favor of her best beloved son is the only part of her life 
 brought strongly forward : whereas, if we look and think on all 
 that sacred history has recorded of her, that there is also perfect 
 silence as to any other fault (which, had she comiiiitted, we may 
 be sure would have been told for our warning) — it becomes 
 evident that this guilty action proceeded, not from forethought, 
 which would have manifested a naturally evil disposition, but 
 from impulse ; the thought, the temptation of a moment, over- 
 balancing by its force the rectitude of years. As forethought, 
 we must sondemn both the sin and the sinner. As impulse, we 
 must abhor the sin — but only grief and trembling for the weak- 
 ness of human nature must attend our reflections on the sinner. 
 Nor are we justified in denying her those emotions of grief and 
 doubt, which must have succeeded the triumphant success of 
 her momentarily formed plan. 
 
 But self-accusation was not to be her only punishment. Did 
 the blessed word of the All-Just relate the deception alone, we 
 might well hesitate to aflirm that her conscience brought 
 reproach, and believe that the deed was not as guilty as it seems. 
 But we are not thus left to our own imaginations. The 
 events which followed, so prove, without doubt or question, the 
 displeasure of the Eternal against the deed, that we can have 
 no hesitation whatever in believing that conscience, " the 
 angel of the Lord," was busy within her, ere the bolt of justice 
 fell. 
 
 " And Esau hated Jacob, because of the blessing wherewith 
 his fixther blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days 
 of mourning for my father are at hand ; — then will I slay my 
 brother Jacob. And these words of Esau her elder son were 
 told to Rebekah." What fearful tidings for a mother ! How 
 must her thoughts have returned, with agonizing forebodings, 
 to the first death which had marred this beautiful world. Had 
 not that been fratricide and for envy, the same feeling 
 which now actuated Esau ? And was not she, as Eve had been, 
 the cause ? Still nearer cause ; for she it was, who, by leading 
 Jacob to deceive, had armed a brother's hand against him. 
 How Esau's intentions could have been revealed to her, when the 
 sacred historian expressly tells us that Esau but spake them in 
 his heart, must remain unsolved, unless, as apj^ears most pro- 
 bable, it was Rebekah's own fears which betrayed them ; con- 
 
PERIOD I . il E B E K A H . 99 
 
 firmed by the manner of Esau towards his brother, and by her 
 own knowledge of his character. His strong love for his father, 
 which to me is the redeeming beauty of Esau's character, might 
 restrain him awhile — but were the deatli which Isaac himself 
 appeared to anticipate, speedily to take place, the mother's 
 forebodings well imagined that the haughty Esau would never 
 submit to bow to his brother, and call him heir. Painfully she 
 must have felt, that not for her would Esau restrain his purpose, 
 though the wildest ebullition of his natural anger was subdued 
 by the deep loving reverence he bore his father. Might not she 
 too have claimed that love, had she lavished on his youthful 
 years the same affection she had given to his brother ? Was it 
 not her own fault, that in this wild wish for vengeance, the 
 death of the offender, he thought not of the sufferino- which 
 such a deed would inflict on her ? That such thoughts were 
 ascendant, and the voice of self-reproach more loud and thrilling 
 than any anger against Esau for his fearful design, is proved by 
 her counsel to Jacob — when calling him to her, she said, 
 "Behold thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort him- 
 self, purposing to kill thee. Now, therefore, my son, obey my 
 voice and arise, and flee thou to my brother Laban, in Haran. 
 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn 
 away, and he forget that which thou hast done to him ; then I 
 will send, and fetch thee from thence. Why should I also be 
 deprived of you both in one day ?" 
 
 There is not one word of invective against Esau. If she '(till 
 supp-)sed that her act was justified, inasmuch as it seemed to 
 further the designs of the Eternal, Esau's intention to slay his 
 brother must have seemed too sinful, too horrible, to be passed 
 without some comment either of anger or fear. But far 
 otherwise is the spirit of her words. They breathe but a 
 mother's anxious agony — a consciousness that Esau's wrath was 
 but too just. Jacob had no defence to plead, and so avert the 
 threatened wrath. Nothing could save him but flight, till the 
 hasty but not placable Esau was appeased ; and from her lips 
 the mandate of exile went forth : — " Why should I also be 
 deprived of you both in one day ?" How aflfectingly do those 
 simple words betray, not alone the love she bore to both her 
 sons, but that her thoughts turned to the history of the past — 
 foreboding Eve's awful trial for herself! There is no wailing, no 
 
100 THE WOMKN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 complaint, but in those brief words, what a vohime of woman's 
 deepest feeHng is revealed ! 
 
 Her real emotions having thus had vent to Jacob, Rebekah 
 was better able to control them before her husband ; and she 
 said unto him, " I am weary of my life, because of the daugh- 
 ters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, 
 such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good 
 shall my life do me ?" 
 
 It would have been the extreme of cruelty to ha , e increased 
 the grief of the infirm Isaac, by a narration of Esau's evil inten- 
 tions towards his brother — when Esau himself had controlled 
 his fierce passion for his father's sake. Nor could Rebekah's 
 confession of her feult now in any way redeem it. It would 
 but have excited against her the anger of her husband, as being 
 the primary cause of the dissensions between his sons — and have 
 occasioned him increased affliction. It was, in this instance, 
 wiser and better to hide from Isaac the sad cause of Jacob's 
 departure; and urge him to do that for his son of promise, 
 which Abraham had done for him ; and the mother's fearful 
 anxiety was calmed by the paternal command, coupled with a 
 reiterated blessing, for her younger son " to go to Padan-Arara, 
 the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take thee a wife 
 from one of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother." 
 " And Isaac sent away Jacob." 
 
 And thus was the mother parted from the son, for whose 
 beloved sake she had been temptefd to turn aside from the 
 straight line of probity and truth which in such guilelessness and 
 beauty she had trodden so changelessly before. And is it not 
 ever thus ? When we once turn from the one straight path, can 
 we say, thus far shall we go and no further? Can we set a 
 boundary to the rushing flood of pain and sorrow which, when 
 we have removed the barrier of truth, obtains dominion, dash- 
 ing our fairest dreams to earth, and bringing misery in the very 
 garments of success ? And well is it for those whom the Lord 
 so graciously compassionates as to reveal these fatal companions 
 of deception ere it be too late, and the charmed path be trodden 
 till there is no turning back. 
 
 V/ho can peruse the history of Rebekah, and yet believe she 
 was not punished for her sin ? Wherefore had she pursued 
 such fatal measures for the obtaining of the blessing for her 
 
PERIOD I. KEBEKAH. 101 
 
 favorite Jacob, save to keep him for ever by her siae, even as 
 Isaac had never quitted the tents of his father ? As a younger 
 son, his lot would in all probabihty have been to seek his own 
 fortune. As the inheritor of the blessings vouchsafed to Abra- 
 ham, there could be no need for him to leave her ; and what 
 was the issue ? Banishment from his mother's home, or expo- 
 sure to his brother's wrath, — the sword of vengeance ever 
 hanging above his head. Was this nothing to a fond mother's 
 heart ? Let a parent ponder for one moment on the i>-.ea 
 of one beloved child falling by the hand of another, and his 
 heart will give the answer. Parting itself was preferable to such 
 ever present dread, yet what agony must have been that 
 parting ! 
 
 Not then, as now, might the absent ones be united by mutual 
 intelligence. Neither post nor traveller passed between Beer- 
 sheba and Padan-Aram. Long weary wastes of country 
 stretched between, and though Rebekah's command was, 
 " Tarry there Sifew days^'' she knew it must be long months ere 
 they met again. Nor will the vague thought of the hour of 
 meeting ever lessen the pang of parting. It is the pang itself 
 which is felt, the looking in vain for the beloved form in its 
 accustomed haunts, the wild yearning to list once more the 
 voice which sounds in memory alone, to feel the fond pressure 
 of the hand, the kiss which welcomed morning and evening, 
 without which day seemed scarce begun, and night came unob- 
 served. The pictured hardships of the lonely wanderer which 
 no mother's hand may soften, the woe unsoothed, the ])ain 
 unhealed, the tired frame untended, — these, and a hundred 
 other fears, and thoughts of suffering, haunt a mother's waking 
 dreams, and nightly pillow, — felt not, dreamed not by the wan- 
 derer, yet clinging to woman's breast with a tenacity and 
 anguish time only can dispel. And because Rebekah lived so 
 many thousand years ago, shall we deny to her these feelings 
 •when the hour came, and her beloved one departed — departed 
 and alone, with no manifestation of the fruit of that blessing 
 which she had lured him to obtain ? 
 
 With the departure of Jacob, tlie history of Rebekah 
 concludes, for her name is no more mentioned. — Even on her 
 death Holy Writ is silent. We only know that she was buried 
 in the cave of Machpelah, by the words of Jacob in Gen. xlix. 
 31. And from there being no mention whatever of her on 
 
102 - THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL, 
 
 Jacob's return to Hebron, we -must infer that she died before his 
 arrival, and never had the happiness of folding him to her 
 heart again. How sad and lonely must her declining years 
 have seemed without him who had been so long her stay ; even 
 though her long dormant affection for Esau may have been 
 aroused from the injustice she had done him— and he evidently 
 sought, with a softened spirit, to gratify his parents, by a union 
 with a daughter of his uncle Ishraael, — he could never have 
 been to her as Jacob ; and painfully and sadly must she have 
 yearned for the absent, as the "few days," which she had pic- 
 tured, widened into long months and yet longer years. How 
 changed must her life have seemed, and changed from the 
 impulse of a moment ; and as death neared — as she felt it 
 might no longer be averted, and she had waited and prayed in 
 vain to behold her son on earth once more — must she not have felt 
 to the full, that, though the deception had been successful, though 
 the blessing had been given, the means of its bestowal could 
 not have been " acceptable to the Lord ?" and had she, as we are 
 privileged to do, beheld the life of trial and disappointment, and 
 retributive deception, which marked the earthly course of her 
 favorite son, this solemn truth would have been impressed still 
 more. 
 
 Yet the death of Rebekah was in all probability one of peace, 
 and calm holy reliance on the infinite mercy of her God. He 
 had chastised, but in the midst of chastisement had mercy ; 
 the fury of Esau had been turned aside, Jacob been saved, and 
 peace preserved in the household of Isaac. Her earthly idol 
 removed from her sight, we may well believe that Rebekah 
 returned to her domestic duties with that singleness of purpose 
 and uprightness of heart which had marked her earlier years. 
 The temptation to turn aside, the loving mercy of the Eternal 
 had removed, and the mother, even while her heart bled, must 
 have pronounced the mandate just. If in her youth, before the 
 knowledge of the God of Abraham had been imparted, she had 
 felt with her brother, " It is the Lord, we cannot speak unto thee 
 bad or good," would she not — now that long years had been 
 passed in his service — have felt even in her affliction " it is the 
 Lord," and, without murmur or complaint, submit herself to His 
 will? 
 
 Are we then, it may be asked, to give Rebekah the meed of 
 unmixed admiration ? to rest only on the good points of her 
 
PERIOD I. REBEKAH. 103 
 
 character ? No. Like all human nature, it was a blending of 
 the good and evil. Had Rebekah been told that, ere her life 
 closed, she should have acted as she did, she would in all 
 probability have felt it impossible ; na}', ere her children were 
 born, would have shrunk with horror from the idea of loving 
 one more tlian the other. All we would urge is simply, that 
 we are not to condemn her, as if the unfortunate propensity of 
 woman, " to compass by stratagem," were the marked fail- 
 ing of her character, and that therefore the evil not the ^ood 
 was ever the ascendant. This is the common error into which 
 superficial thinkers fall ; and from such have arisen questions as 
 to the morality of the Bible, that its holiness would be more 
 confirmed were there no such faults recorded. If indeed those, 
 of whom it so impartially writes, were thus faultless, it would be 
 destined for the use of Angels, not of man. But not such was 
 the design of the Internal. lie inspired hoi}' men to write that 
 which would comfort and sustain man, when his immediate 
 presence and guidance were veiled from mortal eyes ; and His 
 faithful servants alike, male and female, were depictured in their 
 virtues and their failures, with an impartiality and truth which 
 were to be our hope in our lowly eftbrts after virtue, and our conso- 
 lation in our weakness and our sin. Rebekah's fault was one, her 
 virtues many ; and therefore, while we abhor and pray against the 
 sin, we can only grieve and lament that human weakness which 
 triumphed in one moment of strong temptation over the 
 virtuous strength of years. We dare not condemn and scorn 
 that weakness ; for did we so, we scorn, and condemn, and pro- 
 nounce judgment on ourselves. How may we assert that, had 
 w^e been placed as Rebekah in that dread moment, we too 
 should not have done as she did ? Can we assert that the 
 promise of the Eternal would have been so strongly impressed 
 within us, that we could have left its fulfilment in His hands, 
 without one effort by our own agency to forward it ? Can we 
 say that we should have gone to Him in prayer, beseeching 
 Him to counteract the design of Isaac in favor of his firstborn, 
 and rest contented that the prayer would be heard and 
 answered ? 
 
 There may be some too, loudly and reproachfully to condemn 
 that weak partiality which was the real origin of the evil, — ^yet 
 let such take heed, lest they too should fall by the same weak- 
 
 VOL. I. 6 
 
104 THE AVOMEN OF ISRAEL, 
 
 ness, for they know not how their affections may equally be 
 tried. Oh ! not in condemnation of our meek and gentle 
 ancestress shall we reap the bene6t of her example, and turn 
 aside from her faults. If, even in her, the weakness of human 
 nature once triumphed over the immortal spirit, what may save 
 us from the same fault ? Will the purity of youth, the. piety 
 of early womanhood, the truth and virtue of long years? 
 Will these obtain such sway as always to be our safeguard and 
 our strength ? Alas ! not these : it must be the grace of God 
 alone, sought by constant prayer and utter dependence upon 
 Him,^the constant watch over ourselves, — the knowledge of 
 our own weakness, — that which most exposes us to fall beneath 
 temptation, — the consciousness that there is not a domestic 
 duty, — not a home affection, — not an hour's employmtnt, — not 
 a daily path or nightly thought, in which sin may not creep in 
 and obtain dominion, unless effectually guarded against by 
 unceasing watchfulness and prayer. And to us, yet more than 
 any other nation in the world, is this watchful care and daily 
 petition needed. To Israel is intrusted the Honor of 
 THE Lord ; His chosen. His beloved. His witnesses, the record- 
 ers of His ways unto man, the promulgators of His eternal 
 love. How may we be lukewarm in His cause, when we are 
 so called upon to exalt His glory ? We are scattered among 
 the nations as witnesses of the past and pledges of the 
 FUTURE, and shall we with indifference permit others to claim 
 the privileges which are ours, and assert that, until the epoch 
 of Christianity, God had no witnesses upon earth ? No, 
 O no! Surely, individually and nationally, we shall use our 
 every effort to proclaim our high and glorious descent amid 
 the nations ! 
 
 One point more, and we must conclude this memoir, already 
 so much longer than we intended. It has been said, that as 
 the Eternal ordained that Jacob was to receive the promised 
 blessing, and that the "elder should serve the younger," it 
 must have been obtained in some way ; and therefore the 
 means of its accomplishment were of little consequence, thus 
 endeavoring to remove all that was reprehensible in the 
 conduct of Jacob and his mother. Nay, some commentators 
 try to make her conduct proceed from a belief that her course 
 of " acting was in such conformity with the divine prediction, 
 
PERIOD 1. REBEKAH. 105 
 
 that she determined at all risks, and by any means, to secure 
 the blessing- for her younger and more worthy son." * 
 
 This species of reasoning appears as mistaken as the too 
 violent condemnation of Rebekah, and so completely at 
 variance with the simple, trusting piety of the patriarchs and 
 their families, that we cannot at all suppose it actuating the 
 mother's feelings. Besides which, to think thus, supposes a 
 pre-determination to deceive her husband, whereas the narrative 
 of the Bible clearly marks it the impulse of the moment. 
 
 Isaac, before his birth, was the child of promise to Abraham : 
 the Lord had promised he should be the father of a multitude, 
 and in him and his seed all nations should be blessed. Yet 
 that very child, Abraham was commanded to sacrifice, and 
 without hesitation he prepared to obey, feeling convinced, that 
 though to him the means of accomplishing the divine promise 
 were plunged in darkest mystery — if indeed his child must die 
 — yet still that the promise would he fulfilled without any inter- 
 vention of man ; his duty was simply to obey, and the promise 
 was fulfilled. 
 
 As the command of the Lord to slay his son was the trial of 
 Abraham's faith, so were the words of Isaac to Esau the trial 
 of Rebekah's. She ought to have known, from that very 
 incident in the early life of her husband, that whatever the 
 Lord has once said. He will perfoim, however mysterious may 
 seem the means of its accomphshment — that though Isaac 
 might intend to give the blessing to his first-born, his words 
 would have been overruled, and the blessing reserved for Jacob, 
 without any strife between the brothers or their consequent 
 separation. But her faith was not strong enough for that most 
 difficult duty — to " wait for the Lord." Woman-like, feeling 
 was her iveakness, impulse her guide, faith succumbed before 
 these, and so left her unguarded, when its invulnerable defence 
 was more needed than it had ever been before. 
 
 Rebekah had perhaps some excuse for her momentary fancy 
 that her course of acting was, from its success, acceptable to 
 the Lord ; but we have none. The idea that human means 
 are necessary to forward any intention of the Most High, 
 cannot be entertained a single moment without verging on 
 impiety, when we have the whole Word of God to prove by 
 
 • Philippson : — See Notes to Mr. De Sola's Bible. 
 
106 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 precept and example that He is as omnipotent to do as to will. 
 Man is a free agent. Rebekah had equal power to " wait for 
 the Lord" as to urge her son to deception. That she chose 
 the latter was liuman frailty, no pre-ordainment. He indeed 
 permitted tlie fraud in appearance to succeed, because He had 
 already ordained that Jacob should be the promised seed, and 
 His changeless and all-wise decree might not be turned aside 
 even to annul, and so punish the designs of sin. But that in 
 no way exculpates the fraud. Had no deceit whatever been 
 practised, the blessing would still have been Jacoo's. It 
 matters not how ; it is enough to know that the ways of the 
 Eternal are not our ways, and that His decrees require no aid 
 of man. 
 
 That human designs, however sinful, however contrary to the 
 pleasure of the Lord, are overruled to further His divine economy 
 — no one who attentively studies and believes God's Word can for 
 a single moment doubt ; but this truth in not one tittle renders us 
 less responsible beings. That the Eternal ever bringeth forth 
 and worketh universal good from partial evil, proves His loving 
 kindness, His beneficence. His all-wise, ever acting mercy alone. 
 Not that man is in any point acquitted, or that evil is a 
 necessary adjunct to the bringing forth of good. The workers 
 and the designers of evil are, individually, objects of displeasure, 
 and will suffer the burden of their guilt. The doers of evil the 
 God of Love abhors, even while His compassion overrules the 
 deeds, and turns them in His hand to the furtherance of 
 good. 
 
 We are earnestly and heartily anxious to impress this 
 important truth on the minds of our younger readers, who, in 
 their early perusal of God's Holy Word, may and will feel 
 stai'tled, that human weakness should not only be recorded, but 
 its actions be permitted to succeed. Success is not always a 
 proof of the Eternal's approbation. The history of both 
 Rebekah and Jacob proves the displeasure of the Lord toicards 
 themselves individualhf, though their action was overruled to 
 the accomplishment of His previous will. Rebekah never saw 
 her son again ; and Jacob, though sph'ituallT/ blessed, was in his 
 eartlily career more unfortunate than any of his family before 
 or after him. 
 
 This narrative alone, then, ought to bid us eschew a. 
 wandering from the one straight path of single-hearted truth 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 107 
 
 tbat we never can do so without exciting- the displeasure of our 
 Heavenly Father, even though our plans may seem crowned 
 with unmerited success. The attribute of our God is truth ; 
 how then dare we believe that He smiles upon those who 
 depart from it, or requires human deception to forward Ilis 
 almighty will ? As His children. His own. His first-born, oh ! let 
 our watchword be truth ! Let our upright, single-minded, 
 straightforward adherence to truth in every thought, word, and 
 deed, proclaim whose witn«sses we are, and compel the 
 nations to acknowledge that we are " Israelites indeed ! " 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LEAH AND RACHEL. 
 
 [t was on the same spot, in the land of the East, where nearly 
 ■a century previous Abraham's steward had bowed himself to the 
 earth in prayer, that several shepherds and their flocks were 
 assembled, grouped by the side of a well, from whose mouth, 
 the great stone covering had not yet been rolled aside. It was 
 high noon, when a stranger approached, and courteously 
 addressing the shepherds, inquired : " My brethren, whence be 
 ye? And they said. Of Haran are we. And he said unto 
 them, Knovv ye Laban, the son of Nahor ? And they said. We 
 know him. And he said unto them. Is he well ? And they 
 said, He is well, and behold Rachel his daughter cometh with 
 the sheei). And while he yet spake with them Rachel came 
 with her father's sheep, for she kept them. And it came to pass 
 when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's 
 brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob 
 went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and 
 watered the sheep ; and Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his 
 voice and wept, and Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's 
 brot.her, and that he was Rebekah's son. And she ran and tol:. 
 her father." 
 
108 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Such, in the simple yet impressive language of Holy Writ, 
 was the first meeting of Jacob and his beautiful cousin. 
 
 Lonely and sad the exiled Jacob had turned from the home 
 of his childhood and the parents of his love. The child of 
 promise and of prayer — the inheritor of God's especial blessing 
 ■ — the ancestor of kings — was compelled to make his bed on the 
 cold earth, with nothing but stones for his pillow. How must 
 his thoughts have clung to his mother and his home! That 
 his heart was once more fitted for'the reception and comprehen- 
 sion of holy things, is proved by the dream which Infinite 
 Wisdom vouchsafed, to strengthen and encourage him. The 
 promise would not have been revealed to one unworthy to receive 
 it. Though human weakness may sully and darken even the 
 choicest servants of the Lord, yet not unto the impure, the 
 unholy, the unrepentant, would the Holy One impart the bless- 
 ing of His spirit and His guidance. Acknowledgment of his 
 ffiult must have brought Jacob once more to the feet of his 
 Heavenly Father, or the confirmation of the blessed promise 
 would have still been delayed. 
 
 On the beautiful, the most consoling vision vouchsafed to 
 Jacob, consoling, not only to him but to us, we may not linger. 
 Yet, though so spiritually consoled, strengthened, and refreshed, 
 the mortal nature of the wanderer must often have obtained 
 ascendency during his journey, and have rendered it at the very 
 least dreary and sad. Jacob had never been tried till his 
 departure from his father's house ; and, therefore, though awe- 
 struck and " afraid" at the glorious revelation when its impression 
 was vividly before him, his very vow supposes a sliglit degree 
 of doubt, natural to one only just called upon to believe: " If 
 the Lord will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I 
 go, give me bread to cat and raiment to 2n^t on, so that I come 
 again to my fother's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my 
 God." " Bread to eat and raiment to put on." Even for these 
 petty cares and trials he was dependent on the Lord alone ; yet 
 that he did not possess even these — that he had literally left 
 the tent of his father with his staff for his sole possession, may 
 give us some idea of the human trials of our forefathers, even 
 of those whom the Lord most blessed. Their greatness, their 
 influence, their riches, were to come from God alone, not from 
 man; their lives were to bear witness to His providence, even as 
 their descendants are witnesses of the fulfilment of His word. 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 109 
 
 • As Jacob was subject to all the inconveniences, fatigue, and 
 suffering of travelling through a strange and often hostile 
 country, as any other wanderer — his feelings, on nearing the 
 abode of his uncle, may more easily be imagined than described. 
 In his conversation with the shepherds, and then in his actively 
 rolling aside the stone and watering the sheep, we may read 
 the manly effort to restrain emotion, which, however, spurned 
 all control when, in the simple and beautiful affection of the 
 patriarchal age, " he kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and 
 wept." Wept, that God had in His loving mercy guided 
 him thus far, and seemed to promise that newly known, yet 
 instinctively loved, relations should fill up the aching void in 
 his heart, which the sudden separation from his mother must 
 have caused. 
 
 " And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of 
 Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced 
 him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he 
 told Laban all these things. And Laban said, Surely thou 
 art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the 
 space of a month." Again is family affection vividly brought 
 before us. 
 
 If the reckoning of some commentators be true, and Jacob 
 was seventy-six when he entered the household of Laban, nearly 
 one hundred years must have elapsed since Rebekah had 
 quitted her maiden home. Yet how closely and fondly must 
 her memory have been enshrined in the heart of her brother, 
 and through him cherished by his children, that Jacob was 
 thus so warmly and delightedly welcomed, simply because he 
 was " Rebekah's son." 
 
 Youth in Laban had changed to manhood, manhood to age. 
 He had nearer and dearer calls upon his heart in his character 
 of husband and father; yet still the memory of the "hand-in- 
 hand companion of his childhood" remained pure, and beautiful, 
 and strong, as if absence had never come between them. Will 
 not this fact reveal how acceptable in the Lord's sight is the 
 encouragement of those affections which His love has given to 
 his children ? And how sad, how wrong it is to permit coldness 
 and indifference to steal in between the members of one family. 
 Would Laban have entertained such fond recollections of 
 Rebekah, had their earl}^ youth been passed in that utter want 
 of cordiality and confidence, faithfulness and affection, which 
 
110 THE WOMEN OP ISRAEL. 
 
 but too often mar the unity and beauty of modern fashionable 
 homes ? Oh ! not to be expended only on the strano-er, hath the 
 God of love stored our hearts with affection, with reverence, 
 with all that can make home an earthly heaven ! Would we 
 truly love and seek to please Him, our first duty must be, to 
 love and make those happy with whom our daily lot is cast. 
 
 Two daughters blessed the house of Laban ; the elder Leah, 
 the younger Rachel. Now " Leah was tender-eyed, and 
 Rachel beautiful and well-favored." As the sacred historian 
 disdains not to mention this, we may be permitted to pause one 
 moment upon the characteristics of the two sisters. That Leah 
 was much less beautiful than her sister is evident from the 
 words of the text, but it does not appear that she was as plain 
 and homely as some commentators declare her. The Hebrew 
 word translated " tender," " And the eyes of Leah were tender 
 (ni31 wSb "^i''Sl\" does not signify weak only, as is generally 
 supposed, but soft and delicate, and leads me to suppose that 
 the soft and tender eyes of Leah were her only good featui-e, 
 whereas her younger sister was " very beautiful and of exceed- 
 ing beauty," which is the literal meaning of the Hebrew expres- 
 sion nrii rinin bnni nt^^i^: nsii ^sim, though even such 
 
 -J t:it -tI -»- -• -' ^__ 
 
 translation is tar from possessing the force of the original. This 
 difference of appearance occasioned, as would appear by the 
 sequel, a complete difference of character. 
 
 One month Jacob abode with his uncle, evidently doing him 
 active service in return for the hospitality which he had 
 received. That he did so, tells well for the real character of the 
 wanderer ; for in his father's house Jacob had never been 
 accustomed to active service, and it must have demanded some 
 httle exertion of will over inclination, to have permitted its 
 steady and active performance. Laban, however, at this period 
 of their intimacy, felt too kindly and generously towards his 
 nephew to permit him to work without wages. " And he said 
 unto him. Because thou art my brother, shouldst thou therefore 
 serve me for naught ? Tell me what shall thy wages be ? And 
 Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve thee seven years for 
 Rachel thy younger daughter. And Laban said. It is better 
 I give her unto thee than to another man. Abide with me. 
 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel ; and they seemed unto 
 him but a few days, for the love he had to her^'' 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. Ill 
 
 We think much of those tales of chivalry where man performs 
 some great and striking deed — conquers his own passions — 
 becomes a voluntary wanderer — all to win the smile and love 
 of woman. And we do right, for the motive is pure and the 
 moral good. But such high-wrought volumes should not blind 
 our hearts and eyes to this exquisite narration, wherein the same 
 truth, the same moral is impressed, with equal force and beauty, 
 only in the simple language of the Bible. Jacob's servitude 
 was a more convincing jjroof of his love and constancy than 
 those exciting deeds of heroism which chivalry records. His 
 was no service to call upon distant lands and far-off ages to 
 admire. Nothing for fame, that brilliant meteor, which, 
 equally with love, divided the warrior's heart in the middle 
 ages. Nothing to vary the routine of seven years' domestic 
 duty, the wearisome nature of which we find in the 38th and 
 39th verses of chapter xxxi. Yet these " seven years seemed 
 but as a few days for the love he had to herP A brief yet 
 most emphatic sentence, revealing the purest, the holiest, the 
 most unselfish love, unrestrained by one fleeting thought of 
 worldly aggrandizement, or a hope beyond making that beloved 
 one his own. " Consumed by the draught by day, chilled by 
 the frost at night," still he never wavered. Love was his 
 upholder — his sustainer. And it was for this end love was so 
 mercifully given. 
 
 As the word of God disdains not to portray the extent of 
 love borne by one mortal for another, we trust we may be par- 
 doned if we linger a moment on that emotion, the very name 
 of which is generally banished from the education of young 
 females, as if to feel or excite it were a crime, forgetting that, in 
 banishing all idea of its influence, we banish also the proper 
 means of regulating that influence, and subject our young charge 
 unguarded to the very evil that we dread. 
 
 God gave not love to bind to earth, but to raise to heaven : 
 not to make us earthly idols, but, on the very love we bear each 
 other, to lift up the soul to Uim — to lighten toil and soften grief, 
 to heighten joy and bless our earthly sojourn with a bright ray 
 from that exhaustless fount of love which waits for us above. 
 Without some emotion powerful enough to draw us out of our- 
 selves for an eartldy brother, how could we ever subject our 
 selfish hearts to the will of our God ? hdw perform those self- 
 sacrifices most acceptable to Him ? Stronger than pain and 
 
112 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 toil, and even death, it is the very essence of our being, the 
 spiritual essence, which marks more powerfully than aught else 
 our immortal destiny ; and from the reflection of that destiny 
 lends a glow to earth. " Thou shalt love the Lord th}' God 
 with all thy heart, and soul, and might," is the command of the 
 Eternal — an important command — yet not given till after His 
 word had revealed to us that it was possible, nay, that it was a 
 necessary consequence, for those who served and loved Him 
 best, to love and cleave unto each other. Had not the heart 
 been created with full capacity to love, this command would 
 not have been given ; and He who has placed us in a world of 
 beauty, who has gathered around us objects to excite every 
 feeling, demands not that those feelings are to be devoted to 
 Him alone in utter neglect of our fellows. 
 
 It is not passion to which we allude, though but too often the 
 words are deemed synonymous. Nor do we mean passion when 
 we say that love is the handmaid of religion. No, it is a spirit- 
 ual, not an earthly feeling ; spii'itual even when it relates to 
 man, not God. And if, indeed, it be so, and the more we 
 reflect upon it the more we feel it is, or ought to be, why should 
 it be a subject, as it too often is, of jest, of scorn, and those under 
 its influence deemed not far removed from folly and romance ? 
 Why should education never allude to it save as a dreadful and 
 unlikely thing, and the sage lesson so often conned, that reason, 
 not affection, is to be our guide ? Were the word religion sub- 
 stituted for reason in such educational codes, the young heart 
 would be so trained as to eschew all fear of mere earthly love ; 
 it would know itself, its own impulses, its own feelings, and so 
 set a strong guard upon those most likely to lead to error, while 
 it encouraged all that would urge to good. It would feel that 
 lovt was of God, and therefore not a subject for levity or jest ; 
 — that it was sent lo lift up the spirit to Him, and therefore not 
 so to expend its force on an earthly idol as to lead to extrava- 
 gance and folly ; — that it was to last for ever, not unto death, hat 
 beyond it, and therefore not to be given to one whose future 
 was of earth, and who sought in its possession but the gi'atifica- 
 tion of a few fleeting years ; — that it was to endure through 
 sorrow and sickness, and trial and woe, not to be the mere har- 
 binger of gaiety and joy, to shine in a ball-room and glitter in 
 a bridal robe ; — but to bear with occasional irritability or even 
 with unkindness and apparent neglect • with faults which we 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 113 
 
 must never breathe ; with intervals of an utter want of sympa- 
 thy, even of depreciation, which we must endure, solace, and 
 forgive : — not to suppose that we shall ever be as when that 
 love is first called forth, our wishes granted ere told, our every 
 feeling answered, our every virtue appreciated, our very failings 
 loved. And to be prepared for this — to love thus with a 
 strength, a purity that will bear all this, aye, and more painful 
 still, the very sacrifices of self which love im[)els, unfelt, unknown, 
 uncared for, or if seen, but deemed our duty, and coldly passed 
 uncheered — will aught but that love which is spiritual sustain 
 us ? and will such emotion come to the young heart without 
 some preparatory training ? Oh ! not while love is deemed 
 romance, not while it is made a jest, or shunned as something 
 guilty or derogatory, will it, can it ever be as the God of love 
 ordained, the purest, dearest blessing earth can know, the love- 
 liest type of heaven. 
 
 Something more than Rachel's beauty, marvellous as that 
 was, must have so retained Jacob's love for her in those seven 
 years of domestic intercourse, as to make the time appear but a 
 few days. Beauty may attract and win if the time of courtship 
 be too brief to require no other charm, but it is not sufficient of 
 itself to retain aflection. Gift from God, as it is, how may it be 
 abused, and how may it be wasted in caring only for the lovely 
 shape without, and leaving the rich invisible gems within un- 
 cared for and unused 1 Oh ! if there be one among my youthful 
 readers, of beauty exceeding as that of Rachel, who holdeth in 
 her possession this rich gift of God, let her remember that He 
 will demand of her how she hath used it, — that its abuse, its 
 pntenied neglect, yet in reality proud value, will pass not un- 
 noticeo by its beneficent Giver. It has been granted for some 
 end, — for if to look on a beautiful flower will excite emotions of 
 admiration and love, and consequently enjoyment, how much, 
 more deeply would such feelings be called forth by a beautiful 
 face, could we but behold it as the hands of God had formed it, 
 unshaded by the impress of those emotions of pride, contempt, 
 or self-sufficiency, or that utter void of intellect, which are but 
 too often its concomitants, from the mistaken notion that out- 
 ward beauty is omnipotent, and needs no help within. 
 
 To hide from a young girl that she is beautiful is the extreme 
 of folly, for her mirror will tell her that she is being deceived, 
 and the influence of such informers will be lost at once No— 
 
114 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 let the real value and consequent responsibility of beauty be 
 inculcated, and there will be no fear of its abuse. 
 
 That Rachel had many most endearing qualities we may 
 quite infer from Jacob's devoted love to her even to her death. 
 The spirit most impatient under contradiction, and lovin<r its 
 own will, is often united to a manner so engaging, and qualities 
 so calculated to win regard, that trivial faults of temper and will 
 are literally engendered from the difficulty it is to reprove a 
 being so beautiful and so beloved ; and this would seem the 
 case with Rachel. Young, joyous, and loving, we may fancy 
 her the very star of her father's home, valuing her beauty as it 
 gave her power to obtain whatever she willed uncontradicted, 
 but using it only in the sphere of home. 
 
 But though Jacob's affections were devoted to ^ne alone, 
 those seven years of intimate association must have been fraught 
 with suffering and sadness to Laban's elder daughter, whose 
 strong affection for Jacob the sequel will reveal. Her compelled 
 agency in her father's fraud must have been fraught with 
 absolute horror to a heart that loved secretly and unreturned, 
 as herself, and heightened the trial of unrequited affection in no 
 ordinary degree. 
 
 We will not linger on the affairs narrated in Genesis xxix., 
 from the 21st to the 30th verse, because they belong so strictly 
 to the manners and customs of the Eastern nations, that it is 
 quite impossible to comment upon them with any justice, 
 prejudiced, as birth and education cannot fail to make us, in 
 favoi 3f the manners and customs of modern Europe. Yet the 
 customs of the East have undergone little or no change ; and 
 repeatedly we find that, which in the narratives of the Bible 
 may startle our modern European notions, as strange and 
 improbable, confirmed by events passing in the East at this very 
 day, so that those very narratives would there be scarcely 
 considered a history of the past. 
 
 Though beguiled into another seven years' servitude for his 
 much-loved Rachel, it is evident that she had become his wife 
 Jirst, Jacob honorably performing the word he had pledged, 
 after the wished-for prize had been obtained ; and not till 
 those seven years were completed, do we hear him utter one 
 word of complaint or one wish to provide for "his own house 
 also." 
 
 " And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated (lit. less 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL, 175 
 
 loved), He gave her children, but. Rachel had none. Anl she 
 called the name of her eldest son Reuben : for, she said, "Surely 
 the Lord hath looked ui)on iny affliction ; now therefore my 
 husband will love me." What a volume of woin^ia's deepest 
 feelings and the compassionating love of the Eternai do these brief 
 lines reveal ! He who had, in His inscrutable visdom, ordained 
 that Leah should be tried in the fiery ordeal a' woman's saddest 
 loneliness, unrequited affection, yet deigned to grant a compen- 
 sating blessing in all the sweet, pure feelings of a mother's love. 
 Who that reads but this one verse can uphold that woman is 
 less an object of tender love and compassion to her God than 
 man ? Who can saj- that the Mossic records are silent on this 
 head ? The words of man to point out the proper station and 
 value of woman we need not, fo? the children of Israel have the 
 WORD OF THEIR GoD. And c?o wc not still recognise the God 
 of Leah ? His ear has not become heavy that it cannot near, 
 nor His arm shortened that it cannot save. And though He 
 may not bestow on us a visible and audible manifestation of 
 His tender compassion as on Leah, yet we may be certain that 
 He will grant us some compensating blessing for every joy of 
 which he may t)imk fit to deprive us. And even for those 
 bitter griefs, which from their nature, their seeming selfishness, 
 woman shrinks in trembling from bringing before her God, and 
 buries them in her own heart till it bleeds at every pore, — Leah's 
 history proves that He will grant peace and healing. It may 
 be that a wiser and kinder will than her own has flung an insu- 
 perable barrier between woman's heart and its dearest object ; 
 and impelled her by all that is refined and delicate in her 
 character, to hide deep from every eye the anguish which is 
 her burden. How blessed then that even for such a grief there 
 is the fount of healing waters still in the word of God — that 
 she may come there and read, not only the abundance, the 
 fulness of his love, but that He has especial tenderness for those 
 by earth unloved ! And as He gave Leah children because she 
 was not loved, so will He grant such suflferers a peace, and calm, 
 and joy in the consciousness of His unfailing tenderness, far 
 surpassing even the rich and glowing, but too transient happi- 
 ness of sympathy on earth. 
 
 Leah must have known and loved the Lord long before the 
 event recorded, else she had not thus welcomed the birth of her 
 <irst child. Eight years of Jacob's sojourn in her fcither's house- 
 
lie THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 hold vv^juld scarcely have been sufficient for her to know and love 
 her cousVi's invisible God, had she not had some vague yet true 
 notions of ^.\m before. 
 
 That Jacob should often have alluded to the God of his 
 fathers, and narrated the wonderful manifestations of His provi- 
 dence, and that S'lch solemn themes should have fallen with 
 peculiar impressivei'iess on the heart of Leah, and but Hghtly on 
 the buoyant impetuoi>§ Rachel, may be inferred from .he history 
 of both. After the gods of her father, Leah has no hankering 
 whatever ; her reference, "41 both her griefs and joys, is to Jacob's 
 God alone. 
 
 By her exclamation at the birth of her second son, we may 
 suppose that the fond hope expressed the year previous, " Now 
 therefore my husband will lovi* me," was still not realized. 
 " Because the Lord hath heard that I am not loved. He hath 
 therefore given me this son also." To many the repetition of a 
 blessing renders it invaluable, and, in the imperfection of our 
 earthly nature, the continued disappointment of our dearest 
 wishes would have rendered the heart callons, perhaps repining, 
 at the very blessing which had before brought joy. But not 
 thus was it with Leah : gratefully she received a second little 
 treasure from the hand of her God ; and, bearing again the pang 
 of ever-blighted hope, she utters no wish of an eartWy kind, but 
 simply feels she has still the love of God. Another year, and 
 another son is granted ; and we ma}^ trace a ray beaming even 
 through her earthly darkness, in the new upspringing of buoy- 
 ant hope — "Now will my husband be joined unto me, for I have 
 borne him three sons." 
 
 Whether, indeed, the fond wish was realized, and Jacob's 
 heart was softened towards her, must be but conjecture ; yet it 
 would almost appear so, for, at the birth of her fourth son, her 
 pious heart is satisfied with the fervent ejaculation, " Now will I 
 praise the Lord." Drawn closer and closer unto her God, with His 
 every precious gift, she, who gave her first-born a name signifying 
 " the son of affliction," gave her fourth the beautiful appellation 
 of " praise unto the Lord." It was not only a gift of children, 
 then, His love bestowed. He had brought light from darkness, 
 He had turned her mouiiiing into praise, and returned with ten- 
 fold blessing her meek enduring confidence in Him. Shall we 
 then, who may be in the darkness of sorrow and heavy care, 
 shrink from walking in her steps, and dwell only on the ajlic- 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 117 
 
 tion which is ours ? Shall we not also look and strive for some 
 blessing which can bid us too " praise the Lord," and lead us to 
 behold li[/ht where all was heaviness ? There is no lot so deso- 
 late which, if we seek Him, the Lord will not bless: not, 
 perhaps, by the removal of our present sorrow, but by some 
 compensating mercy. We must not suppose that seeking Him 
 and loving Him will exempt us from affliction. No, for, if it did, 
 where would be that heavenly exercise which alone can fit us for 
 heaven ? Nor are we, as some enthusiasts would urge, to regard 
 trials as^oys, and welcome them with gladness. When a ten- 
 der loving parent chastises a beloved child to keep him from the 
 paths of sin, would he feel that the chastisement had done its 
 work if the little being received it with smiles and rejoicing? 
 Sui-elv the parent would be more hopeful if the child were serious, 
 and even sad. And is it not so with the afflictions sent frora 
 our eternal and most tender Father ? We may think that we 
 surely need them not ; and our lives may even be, in the sight 
 of man, as we ourselves suppose them. Nay, they may be num- 
 bered amongst those whom the Bible gives us promise shall be 
 accounted the righteous in the sight of God ; yet how know we 
 what we might have been luithout such affliction ? How know 
 we but those very sorrows, lasting but a time, are preparing us 
 to be of those whom the Lord writeth in His book for eternity, 
 who shall be His when He maketh up His jewels ? Of this only 
 are we certain, that the Lord loveth whom He correcteth. Then, 
 while like Leah we feel affliction, let us hope on, pray on, with 
 uudoubting faith, that one day we too shall cry aloud, " Now 
 will 1 praise the Lord." 
 
 Very different to the meek submissiveness and gentle disposi- 
 tion of her elder sister, is the impetuous temper and sinful 
 feeling of envy which urged Rachel angrily to exclaim, even to 
 her doting husband, " Give me children, or else I die. And 
 Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel : and he said, Am I 
 in God's stead, who hath withheld children from thee ? 
 
 We have been previously told, — " And when Rachel saw that 
 she bare .Jacob no children, she envied her sister." Envied 
 whom ? even the homely, the unloved Leah. It was not enough 
 that God had endowed her with most surpassing beauty, and 
 given her the perfect love of a husband who had proved, was still 
 proving his devoted attachment to herself alone, by fourteen 
 years' hard servitude. It signified little that Leah had but her 
 
118 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 children^ and that her own cup of blessings was filled to flowing 
 over. 
 
 In glancing over the history of the two sisters, must we not feel 
 that Kachel ought to be the happier, as she was the more bless- 
 ed ? Yet it was not so. Leah, with her heavy burden of 
 affliction, was the happier, for she neither envied nor complained, 
 but leaned upon her God — and in consequence, from Him 
 received consolation. Rachel could have had no such stay. 
 " Give me children, or else I die !" was the exclamation of a 
 querulous, self-willed spirit, looking only to man, and depending 
 upon him. Yet the knowledge of the Lord must have been 
 eijually revealed to Rachel as to her sister. Daughters of the 
 same household, cousins of the same witness of God, — Jacob's 
 religious education and experience must have been imparted to 
 her also. She may have even listened during the time for 
 Jacob's sake, banishing its recollection entirely afterwards, as a 
 theme much too solemn and grave for her present joyous days. 
 And are there not such even now, deeming religion and her rich 
 train of holy and blessed thoughts, quite incompatible with youth 
 and beauty, and who believe age is time enough to think of such 
 serious things ? 
 
 That her feeling and its expression were both wrong we per- 
 ceive by Jacob's anger and reproof Loving Rachel as he did, 
 it must have been something very blamable to call severity from 
 his lips. Ignorance may excite our pity, but not our blame. 
 Had Rachel been ignorant who had blessed her sister with chil- 
 dren, Jacob would have answered differently — but her impatient 
 words caused his " anger to be kindled against her," because he 
 felt and knew that they must have come from a spirit as impa- 
 tient as rebellious, and were therefore likely to excite the 
 displeasure of the Lord. " Am I in God's stead ?" meaning, can 
 I give you children if God hath withheld them. Words brief, 
 but impressively proving Jacob's individual dependence on and 
 trust in his God, and which ought to have subdued and 
 humbled the discontent and envy of his wife. But though they 
 checked the querulous ivords, they had no power to change the 
 \ns\ &\-i\ feelings, and determined at all risks, all sacrifices, to obtain 
 children also, she followed the example of Sarah, and forced her 
 husband, by increasing the number of his wives, to undergo all 
 the miseries of a divided household. 
 
 Yet. when Bilhah had a son, we find Rachel welcoming him 
 
PERIOD I. LKAII AND RACHEL. 119 
 
 with such a joyful thanksgiving, and as a gift from God — that 
 we might wonder at her forniiir impatience — did we not know, 
 tliat there are many who trace the hand of the Lord, and think 
 they love and serve Him, when all of hfe is smooth and smiling, 
 yet act, at the first trial, for the first cross, as if they knew Him not 
 at all, and denied His power to help and save. " God hath 
 judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a 
 son." Had she then prayed — and did she recognise in thought- 
 fulness the answer to her prayer? Or was her exclamation at 
 the birth of Dan but a presumptuous supposition from a 
 presumptuous spirit — believing without due authority that she 
 had prevailed with God ? We have not sufficient authority in 
 Scripture, to pronounce judgment one way or the other on this 
 point, and must therefore leave it to the consideration of our 
 readers. 
 
 Once only do words of sorrowing reproach escape Leah's lips 
 towards her sister. " Is it a small matter that thou hast taken 
 my husband ?" Words simply expressive of the natural pang 
 which must sometimes have entered her heart — when year after 
 year passed, and still beheld her deep affections less valued 
 than the lighter love of Rachel. 
 
 Two other sons were born unto the elder sister ; and one 
 daughter, a blessing which had never before been vouchsafed the 
 patriarchs. Then it was, " that God remembered Rachel ; and 
 God heai-kened to her and gave her children." " God remem- 
 bered Rachel." Had He forgotten ? no, neither forgutfulness 
 nor memory dwelleth with God — for He is omniscient as omni- 
 potent, knowing and perceiving all. But when speaking of Him, 
 His dealings with His children must be expressed in language, 
 and by images suite'd to their finite conception, — not according 
 to the adorable and glorious, but unfathomable infinity surround- 
 ing Him. He thought upon and hearkened to her — for such is, 
 equally with remember, the meaning of the term — pnvfij)! Cfibs 
 ^3T'^] U'^rtx Tp^t^ 'Sly6'^;\ — words, how full of consolation and 
 encouragement to Rachel's female descendants ! Man would have 
 condemned, and sentenced her to a chastisement of perpetual 
 childlessness — for the tenderest mercies of humanity are cruel 
 compared to the tender mercies of the Most High ! but He whom 
 she had offended by mistrust, forgetfulness, impatience, angry 
 emotions towards her sister, had compassion, and not only 
 
120 THE "WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 " remembered" that she was a weak and yearning woman, but 
 " hearkened" to her supplications, and gave reply. 
 
 " God liath taken away ray reproach," Rachel gratefully 
 exclaimed. "And she called his name Joseph, and said, the 
 Lord shall add unto her another son." Could she have pene- 
 trated futurity — well indeed might she have felt that God had 
 removed her reproach ; for who that reflects on the angelic 
 beauty and faultlessness of Joseph, can recall his mother without 
 bestowing on her a portion of the love and veneration we lavish 
 on her son 1 
 
 It is when oowed down by inward remorse for a conscious- 
 ness of innate sinfulness, by the impossibility of realizing that 
 perfect holiness which would guard us from approach to wrong 
 either in act and thought towards our fellow creatures, or in 
 mistrust and forgetfulness of God, that we should remember the 
 history of Rachel and take comfort. There are some, who, 
 unable to bear the sting of an awakened conscience, drown it 
 altogether, by fleeing from every holy exercise of prayer and self- 
 examination, and believe that as in this life we must be liable to 
 occasional faults, it is perfectly useless striving, much less praying 
 against them, as such prayer can be of no service, and is but a 
 mockery before God. Some minds may bear this awful state — to 
 others, the y(Hing, the deeper feeling, and more yearning hearts, 
 it is a period of absolute anguish — which, without some spiritual 
 help, is impossible to be sustained ; and so religion is cast oft" as a 
 subject of terror, of suffering, and the world and the world's pana- 
 ceas substituted in its place. To such, more especially if they be 
 women, we would say. Come but to the word of God — and even 
 for such griefs there is all we need. There the Eternal not only 
 proclaims " Himself a God full of compassion, long suffering, 
 abundant in goodness and mercy, forgiving iniquity, transgres- 
 sion, and sin," but proves these consohng and most blessed 
 attributes, not only after, but before they were proclaimed. 
 Rachel was more ffiulty than many of her sex, yet her prayers 
 were heard, her affliction compassionated, her wish fulffUed. 
 How may we then despair, or think that the infirmities of our 
 mortal frame and the sinfulness they bring, can throw a barrier 
 between us and our God ? It is not to the righteous alone He 
 awardeth mercy and love, but to the contrite and humble spirit, 
 with whom the " High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity 
 delighteth to dwell." With such proofs we may not despair, we 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 121 
 
 dare not doubt, but we are called to Him as little children sorrow- 
 ing to be forgiven, in tlie full consciousness how deeply we are 
 loved. 
 
 It was after the birth of Joseph, that Jacob's fourteen years of 
 servitude being completed, he said unto Laban, " Send me away 
 unto mjne own place, and to my country. Give me my wives 
 and children for whom I have served thee, and let me go, for 
 thou knowest the service which I have done thee. And Laban 
 said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, 
 tarry ; for I have learned by experience, that the Lord hath 
 blessed me for thy sake : and he said appoint me thy wages, and 
 I will give it. And he said unto him, thou knowest how I have 
 served thee, and how thy cattle was with me — for it was little 
 before I came, and now it is increased into a multitude, and the 
 Lord has blessed thee since my coming ; now when shall I pro- 
 vide for mine own house also. And he said, what shall I give 
 thee ? And Jacob said thou shalt not give me anything." 
 
 And that agreement followed which has most unjustly 
 exposed Jacob to the accusation of duplicity and fraud. It is 
 supposed that his plan of placing the peeled rods in the drink- 
 ing troughs occasioned the greater number of the cattle to be 
 " ring-straked, speckled, and spotted ;" and in that manner Laban 
 was defrauded, and Jacob received much more than his due. 
 That Jacob refused all gifts from Laban, appears to me to origin- 
 ate in the same feeling which actuated Abraham to refuse gifts 
 from the king of Sodom, " lest he should say, I have made 
 Abraham rich." Depending upon Him who had promised, " I 
 will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken 
 to thee of," Jacob neither could nor would accept gifts from man, 
 preferring to work himself, and leave the issue in the hands of 
 God. And this he did, and God blessed him with riches suffi- 
 cient for his need. 
 
 Can it be supposed for one moment, after mature consideration, 
 that the cattle could have become ring-straked, speckled, and 
 spotted, without the immediate agency of God, who had deter- 
 mined thus to provide ft)r His believing servant ? Can it be 
 believed that it was in the power of man, by however subtle a 
 scheme in appearance, to create a variety in the cattle, unless the 
 Lord also had so willed it ? Laban had not behaved as generously 
 or even as fairly by his nephew as his first affectionate welcome 
 might lead us to suppose. We know from the vows of Jacob 
 
122 THE "WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 himself, which Laban does not contradict, that, " except the God 
 of uij fathers had been with me, surely tjiou hadst now sent me 
 away empty." And we may, therefore, rest perfectly content, 
 that in the affair of the cattle no blame can be attached to Jacob. 
 He was but a secondary cause, whose scheme would have been 
 entirely vain had it not been blessed by the Eternal. 
 
 Increasing exceedingly in much cattle, and maid-servants and 
 men-servants, and camels, and asses, the wrath and envy of 
 Laban's sons were excited towards him. And he saw that 
 Laban's own countenance was not towards him as before — cir- 
 cumstances which must have excited much human anxiety and 
 fear. And then it was the Lord said unto him, "Return ur,to 
 the land of thy fathers and thy kindred, and I will be with 
 thee." 
 
 " And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field 
 unto his flock." And in the perfect confidence of love and 
 respect, imparted all to them. " I see your father's countenance 
 is not towards us as before ; but the God of my fethers has been 
 with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served 
 your father ; and your father has deceived me, and changed my 
 wages ten times ; but God suffered him not to hurt me. If he 
 said thus. The speckled shall be thy wages, then all the cattle 
 bare speckled ; and if he said thus, The ring-straked shall be thy 
 hire, then all the cattle bare ring-straked. llius God hath 
 taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me." 
 
 There is something to me peculiarly beautiful in this simple 
 address of Jacob, spoken as it is to his wives. Not a word of 
 reproach on their father, but the simple truth — infinitely more 
 expressive of the wrong he has suffered than any violence or 
 invective. All that has blessed him, he traces unfailingly to God. 
 The whole of his address, from the 5th to the 13th verse of Gen. 
 xxxi., demands attention from its revealing so much more con- 
 cerning Laban's real conduct to his nephew, and in what manner 
 that conduct was regarded and overruled by the Eternal, than 
 we can learn by the bare narration of the previous chapter. 
 Our present subject forbids our lingering on it, except to say, it 
 completely absolves Jacob from all fraudulent dealings with his 
 uncle, while it reveals that he himself was the victim of deceit. 
 
 The mandate of God was in Jacob's ear, and every emotion 
 of humanity was urging him to tarry not, but to flee at once. 
 He had dominion over all his household, yet he waits to impart 
 
PERIOD 1. LEAH AND RACHEL. 123 
 
 his wishes and his fears to his wives : he will make no step in 
 advance without their concurrence ; thus at once proving his 
 love and their equaHty. And, without a moment's hesitation, 
 Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, " Is there yet any 
 portion or inheritance for us in our father's house ? Are we not 
 accounted of him as strangers ? for he hath sold us, and has quite 
 devoured our money. For all the riches which God has taiien 
 from our father, that is ours and our children's. Now then, 
 whatsoever God hath said unto thee do." 
 
 Diflerent as the sisters were in disposition, and placed in a 
 situation most likely to create discord and disunion, yet when 
 the interests of a beloved husband are at stake, they act in per- 
 fect unity and love. There is no " mine and thine" — words how 
 often fraught with discord — but simply " ours and our children's." 
 Seeking even to reconcile him yet more to his flight — enriched 
 as he was — by stating the simple fact, that Laban had failed in 
 his duty towards them, by giving them neither portion nor 
 inheritance ; and by having sold them to Jacob for fourteen 
 years of labor. That which God then had marked as Jacob's 
 share of the flocks and herds, was but their right and their 
 children's. 
 
 Yet it must have been a trial to both sisters to remove so 
 hastily and unexpectedly with their young children from the 
 home of their earliest years, without even bidding farewell to the 
 parent they had loved so long, to their brothers and their 
 friends, to venture on a strange and dangerous track to a land 
 they knew not, save that it was far away from their childhood's 
 home. We already know where Leah's affliction always led her, 
 and are, therefore, justified in believing that now, as before, 
 prayer was the soother of her natural sorrows, and her confidence, 
 that even if her father pursued them, he would not be permitted 
 to work them harm. But Rachel could not thus realize the ever 
 present, ever protecting arm of the Eternal ; and, as before she 
 had sought human means to further her impatient wishes, so 
 now does she bear away with her sec -etly " the images which 
 were her father's ;" superstitiously believing, according to some 
 commentators, that by consulting them, Laban would discover 
 their route, and so be enabled to follow and arrest them. It is 
 sea. -jely possible to peruse the history of these two sisters with- 
 out being struck with the beautiful unity and harmony displayed 
 in their two characters — distinct from first to last, and each pre- 
 
124 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 serving her individual peculiarities. Thrown back upon herself,! 
 from wanting the attractions of beauty and vivacity granted tol 
 her younger sister, Leah's graces expanded inwardly and spiri- ' 
 tually ; her yearning affections always strongest from never 
 finding vent by being called for and appreciated by man. 
 Rejoicingly and gratefully acknowledging and believing the 
 blessed religion wliich told her of an unchanging Friend and 
 most tender loving Father, she found in such belief enough, and 
 could realize conti-nt in the midst of trial, happiness in the midst 
 of grief. Such a character as Leah's, from the time she is 
 revealed to us, so perfectly free from all wrong feelings in a situa- 
 tion so likely to excite them, is not natural to woman ; and we 
 may, therefore, infer that her youth had had its trials, which the 
 grace of God had blessed, in making her rise from them the 
 gentle, endurinjr, lovable being which His word reveals. 
 
 The faults of Rachel originated in the very cause which had 
 been a chastening to her sister. Her own surpassing loveliness, 
 while ever the theme of admiration to her fellows, so raised her 
 in her own estimation, that it was difficult to look beyond this 
 world, where she reigned pre-eminent, to another, where she, in 
 all her beauty, was but an atom — a creature of the dust. What 
 to her was the love and protection of an Invisible Being, when 
 she was so surrounded by the love and care of man ? What to 
 her needed the tale of future happiness ? Was she not joyous 
 and laughter-loving the livelong day ? With power in herself 
 to bend all hearts, and direct all circumstances to the furtherance 
 of her own impetuous will ? Such we must believe the youth 
 of Rachel, when we see her repining that children were granted 
 to her sister and not to her. We behold her secretly bearing 
 away the gods of her father — whether from the reason mention- 
 ed above, or from her own lingering belief in their efficacy and 
 power, still equally reprehensible in the wife of Jacob. 
 
 If, indeed, Rachel supposed that in removing the images she 
 prevented her father from discovering their route, she very 
 speedily found herself mistaken. Jacob had stolen " away 
 unawares from Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he 
 fled ; so he fled with all that he had, and he rose up, and 
 passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount 
 Gilead." And there, seven days after their hasty flight, Laban 
 overtook him with all his kindred, and sufficient followers " to 
 do them hurt," " Had not the God of your father," he said, 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 125 
 
 " spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou 
 speak not to Jacob good or bad.'' 
 
 Anxiously and fearfully, according to their diflferent charac- 
 ters, must Leah and Rachel have awaited the issue of the 
 conference. The number of followers argued ill ; yet the words 
 of Laban were at first but mild reproach. " Wherefore didst 
 thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and didst not 
 tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with 
 songs, with tabret and with harp : and hast not sufiered me to 
 kiss my sons and daughters ? Thou hast done foolishly in so 
 doing." 
 
 We may well suppose words as these, being fi'aught with 
 self-reproach to affectionate daughters, that they had indeed so 
 left their father. To Leah his next words, alluding to the 
 " God of thy father," must have been particularly and gratefully 
 soothing. He to whom she prayed was indeed ever around them, 
 turning aside the wrath of men, forbidding him to arouse wrath 
 by "speaking either bad or good." Holy writ does not indeed 
 tell us, that Leah prayed in this instance ; but she who welcomed 
 the birth of every child with prayer and thanksgiving — who in 
 no instance had recourse to her father's gods — was not likely to 
 forget her husband's God when his protection was so needed. 
 We may be permitted to believe she prayed ; and can we not 
 imagine the fervor of her grateful thanksgiving when she heard 
 such words from her father ? And we may all experience this. 
 There is not one who has addressed the Lord in prayer — the 
 daily prayer for all things, who can say he has had no answer. 
 And oh ! who would not realize the glowing of the heart — the 
 burst of thanksgiving which fills it — when we trace his hand in 
 the daily events of life, and feel that that which we have asked 
 for He has given ? But to realize this, we must come to Him 
 in all things. We must pray to Him in our hearts as well as 
 with our lips ; we must think individual prayer as well as those 
 public petitions framed for us. We must be in the constant 
 habit of tracing all things to His almighty hand, and believe that 
 his love is as deep, as pitying, for us individually, as his bounty 
 is shown throughout the world. We must so commune with 
 Him, that the hours of prayer will feel but the continuation, 
 not the commencement and end of devotion. Did we but do 
 this — bring before Him every care, and thought, and grief, and 
 joy, and doubt, and thankfulness — how many, many instances 
 
126 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 of answered prayer would the briefest life recall. Then, oh ! 
 how can we keep Him far from us, by withholding from Him 
 the wishes which He alone has power to grant, the sorrows 
 which He alone has compassion sufBcient to heal ? 
 
 On Rachel's ear, the words which filled her sister's heart with 
 deepest thankfulness must have fallen little heeded, while those 
 which followed them, utterly meaningless to Leah, must have 
 been frauo^ht to her with wildest terror, fearfully increased by 
 the instant answer of her husband : — " And now, though thou 
 wouldst needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy 
 father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods ? And 
 Jacob answered and said (in reply to Laban's previous words of 
 reproach), Because I was afraid, for I said, peradventure thou 
 wouldst take by force thy daughters from me." And then, 
 with regard to the last accusation : " With whomsoever thou 
 findest thy gods let him not live. Before our brethren discover 
 what is thine, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that 
 Rachel had stolen them." 
 
 That she had concealed the theft from her husband proves 
 at once that she knew the feelings dictating it were wrong, yet 
 had not sufficient moral courage to resist them. And now 
 what must have been her terrors ? Not only was the plan 
 which she had adopted to prevent a hostile meeting between 
 her father and husband, apparently about to be the very means 
 of dissension, but if discovered, JacoV/s own lips had pronounced 
 her death-doom. We know not if in the patriarchal times 
 death was usually the punishment awarded to criminals convicted 
 of theft ; but it is evident that Jacob fully intended the criminal 
 in his household to suffer even death for his offence, by the 
 sacred historian so expressly declaring that " Jacob knew not 
 that Rachel had stolen them." How could he suspect the wife 
 of his bosom — his best beloved — of such theft as might almost 
 convict her of idolatry ! 
 
 Little did he dream whom he was condemning, or the misery 
 he would have drawn upon himself, had not the God who had 
 promised to bring him to his father's home in peace, here inter- 
 posed, and saved both him, and for his sake, and the sake of 
 His own great name, the faulty Rachel. 
 
 Yet during the period of Laban's search for the images, till 
 the danger of discovery was quite past, how terrible must have 
 been her alarm, and how painful her emotions ! How different 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. I2l 
 
 from the meek quietude of a holy spirit, at peace with itself and 
 its God, which throughout this interview was Leah's ! Yet no 
 doubt, true to the contrarieties of imperfect humanity, when 
 discovery was averted, and Laban found not the gods, Rachel 
 only fell penetrated Avith pious gratitude, and resolved to keep 
 her fault more strictly secret from her husband than ever. 
 Some commentators, I believe, accuse her of an inclination to, 
 if not of direct, idolatry ; but we do not think that Holy Writ 
 sufficiently authorizes such a charge. Superstition, the remains 
 of childhood's tales, which urged her to the course of acting 
 with regard to the images already dilated upon, is not in the 
 least incompatible with her recognition of, and belief in, Jacob's 
 God, even though the images remained with her until Jacob 
 bade them " put away the strange gods that were amongst 
 them," nearly seven years afterwards. As his household con- 
 sisted only of those who had lived with Laban he might easily 
 have supposed the strange gods theirs, and Rachel had thus an 
 opportunity of resigning them, without causing her husband the 
 suffering it would have been, to suspect her of having either 
 stolen them at first, or harbored them so long. 
 
 There is something very beautiful in Laban's parting care of 
 his daughters, when the somewhat warm recrimination between 
 himself and Jacob was at an end. The heap of stones was 
 raised by all who had met in wrath, proving their reunion by 
 their united labor, and the feast which all shared in harmony 
 when the work was concluded. " And Laban said. This heap 
 is a witness between thee and me. Therefore was the name of 
 it called Gilead and Mizpah, for he said, the Lord watch 
 between me and thee when we are absent one from another. 
 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take wives 
 beside my daughters (though no man is with us), see God is witness 
 betwixt thee and me. This heap be my witness, and this pillar 
 be ray witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and 
 thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me for 
 harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, and the God 
 of thy father judge betwixt us. And Jacob swore by the fear 
 of his father Isaac. And Jacob offered sacrifices on the mount, 
 and called his brethren to eat bread ; and they did eat bread, 
 and tarried all night in the mount. And early in the morning 
 Laban rose up, and kissed his sons (i. e. grandsons) and daugh- 
 
 VOL. I. V 
 
128 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 ters, and blessed tliem ; and Laban departed, and returned unto 
 his place." 
 
 Thus were angry feelings calmed and soothed by a mutual 
 covenant of love. While to the wives of the one, and the 
 daughters of the other, how thrice blessed must have been the 
 reconciliation which gave them again the dear privilege of a 
 father's loving kiss and parting blessing ! We learn too, from 
 this simple narrative, that even in the East, a multiplicity of 
 wives was decidedly not lawful, and that Laban considered the 
 rights of his daughters would be infringed, and so call upon 
 him. to come forward in their defence, even to break the cove- 
 nant of peace, did Jacob take any other wives. Human nature 
 is indeed the same in all ages — for as Laban spake to Jacob 
 thousands and thousands of years ago, so would a father now. 
 As truly as the Bible reveals the truth, the beneficence, the 
 tenderness of God — so truly does it reveal and answer every 
 emotion of the human heart. 
 
 As our task is a record only of Leah the wife of Jacob, we 
 must pass lightly over the events of the xxxii. and xxxiii. chap- 
 ters of Genesis, which belong exclusively to the history of the 
 patriarch himself. The wrath of man was again turned aside, 
 and the blessing of the Lord made Jacob at peace even with 
 his brother Esau, His doubts and fears, which must have 
 extended painfully to the weaker nature of his wives, at news 
 of Esau's armed approach, were subdued by the influence of his 
 prayer, and the long separated brothers met in mutual tenderness 
 and love. They did not, however, long remain together. Jacob 
 and his family proceeded to Succoth, and then to Shechem, 
 where he " bought a parcel of a field," after erecting his tents, 
 and " built there an altar," and there remained, till commanded 
 by the Lord to " arise and go to Bethel." 
 
 The period of these sojournings between his departure from 
 Padan-Aram, to his proceeding to Bethel, must have been full 
 seven years. The then tender ages of his younger children, and 
 the number of his flocks and herds, in all probability prompted 
 him to settle his residence in the first convenient spot in the 
 land of Canaan. It appears strange that he did not pursue his 
 way without any pause to his , father's house ; but it is one of 
 those subjects on which the word of God gives us no informa- 
 tion, and therefore may be dismissed without wasting time and 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 129 
 
 thought on what can be only speculation. At Shechera, Leah 
 must have encountered indeed a fiery trial in the insult offered 
 to her daughter, and the guilty conduct of her sons — Simeon 
 and Levi. Here, as elsewhere, Jacob was punished by deception, 
 causing fear ani trouble, as he justly says : " Ye have troubled 
 me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, 
 among the Canaanites and Perizzites, and I being few in nuna- 
 bar, they shall gather themselves against me, and slay me, and 
 1 shall be destroyed, I and my household." 
 
 But though punished for the sin of his youth by mortal 
 anxieties and fears continually darkening around him — the God 
 of his father Abraham, mindful of His gracious promise to that 
 holy man, still watched over Jacob, and reHeved him from 
 threatening danger by commanding him to go to Bethel 
 and build an altar there. The patriarch without hesitation 
 obeyed — first purifying his household of all strange gods ; — and 
 when " they journeyed, the terror of God was upon the cities 
 that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the 
 sons of Jacob." Then, as now, punishment fell not at once 
 upon the sinning ones. They were preserved to work out their 
 own chastisement in furthering the will of their God. 
 
 At Bethel. God again appeared unto the patriarch, and not 
 only reiterated the promise made to his fathers and to himself, 
 but confirmed the change of name from Jacob to Israel ; that 
 holy and blessed name which was to descend through thousands 
 and thousands of ages, associated for ever with the mercy and 
 the love and the glory of the Lord — given by the Eternal ; a 
 mark of especial favor from the King of kings, expressing that 
 as a Prince our father Jacob had power with God and with 
 man, and had prevailed. Is there, can there be one amonwat 
 the descendants of this prince of God's creating, ashamed of the 
 name he bears ? Should it not be our glory, our pride — of 
 which no persecution, no injury, no wrong can rob us ? Does 
 not its very sound teem with the wondrous mercies of the past 
 — with the truth, the unanswerable truth of revelation ? What 
 scorner, what sceptic can point the finger of doubt or denial at 
 the Bible — while that name is yet heard in every corner of the 
 globe, borne by the very descendants of him, on whom by God 
 himself it was bestowed ? The watchword, the banner of our 
 cause, recognised as such in every nation, every land — the man 
 or woman who feels ashamed to call himself of Israel, flings scorn 
 
130 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL, 
 
 upon his God. Clieered and consoled by this renewed blessing 
 of God, Jacob proceeded on his journey, advancing southward 
 in the direction of Harare, where Isaac his father then was. 
 
 Ephrah was nearly reached, when the sudden illness of 
 Racing compelled the whole cavalcade to halt — and Jacob must 
 have beheld with inexpressible anguish his best beloved wife 
 torn from him, at the very moment she had increased his joy 
 and her own by giving birth to a second son. When in the 
 midst of bodily and mental anguish, she called his name Benoni, 
 son of my sorrow, did she think of her own impatient words — 
 " Give me children, or else I die !" and feel that it would have 
 been better for her to have waited for the Lord ? How may we 
 answer ? Enough for us to benefit by the record vouchsafed, 
 and feel His will is better than our own — and in impatient rest- 
 less longings for blessings granted to another, we may know, 
 that even in the very fulfilment of the wish, the punishment may 
 fall. 
 
 Rachel committed no fault in wishing for a child — her fault 
 had been envy and its subsequent discontent. Years had 
 passed, the very recollection of her restless discontent may have 
 faded from her mind, but not from His whom she had by want 
 of faith and gratitude oflFended. In His infinite mercy lie for- 
 gave. He blessed, for He called her to Himself ere the evil days 
 came, and her beloved one was sold by his brethren, and report- 
 ed for long long years as dead. He saved the mother this deep 
 sufl:ering, but, in His justice towards her and love to her descend- 
 ants. He chastised by an early and painful death, the most trying 
 separation of soul and body which human nature (so to speak) 
 may know. Her husband, her Joseph — her new-born — sud- 
 denly and fearfully the silver links of love, binding her to all of 
 these, were snapt asunder, and she might know her place on 
 earth no more. " Give me children, or else I die." Alas ! the too 
 impatient cry was heard and answered ; children zi^ere bestowed, 
 and with them death. How little knew she what she asked ! 
 In all her surpassing loveliness, in the full possession of most 
 faithful love, the destroying angel came and snatched her tVom 
 this world. Oh ! will not this teach us to be content wilh what 
 God has given, and restrain us from looking with secret envy on 
 the richer (in seeming) blessings of another ? Will it not bid us 
 beware of seeking aught of good only because it belongs to a 
 companion, or because we fancy we have equal right to its 
 
VEKIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 131 
 
 possession, by the losson that, even were it ours, we might have 
 no power to enjoy it ? Death, indeed, may not come between 
 us and its enjoyment; but that which we have coveted loses its 
 vahie the moment we possess it. Will not the warm young 
 heart shrink from the very anticipation of the sin towards God 
 and man which discontent may bring? Let us think more of 
 our sorrowing and afflicted fellow-creatures, and Ichs of those 
 n)ore blessed in outward seeming. Did we think on the 
 bereaved, the physically afflicted, the poor, how could we still 
 retain discontent of our own lot, or envy of our fellow-creatures? 
 And oh ! if no other reasoning will avail, let us remember, our 
 God is not only a merciful, tender Father, but a just and jealous 
 God, who will one day, we know not when or how, call upon us 
 to render an account of the blessings He has given ; and if we 
 know them not, how may we answer ? Long years had passed 
 since Rachel's offence, yet He who slumbereth not nor sleepeth, 
 chastised il ia the very hour that the wish which caused it was 
 fulfilled. 
 
 It may be asked (as in similar cases of bereavement it, alas ! too 
 often is). Why, granting that the lot of the departed is blessed- 
 ness, does the God of love so afflict the survivors ? Why did 
 He cause such deep grief to His favored servant Jacob ? Because 
 God loved him ; because His omniscience had seen that Rachel 
 might come between Jacob's heart and his God ; because He 
 would demonstrate to futurity that, to possess His favor. His 
 blessing, does not in any manner emancipate us from trial and 
 suffering in this world ; because He would lift up our affections 
 from the narrow limits of this world. He would make His hea- 
 ven a dearer home than our earth. He would people it with the 
 immortal spirits of those we have loved on earth, that we may 
 look upon it no longer as a strange land; but as the beautiful 
 country where our beloved are gone, and where we shall follow. 
 This is wherefore He bereaves, and therefore even in the bereave- 
 ment there is love. 
 
 There is no mention of Jacob's grief; yet in the very silence 
 of Scripture, in some points, there is eloquence, borne out, as in 
 this case it is, by the deep love he bore towards Joseph and 
 Benjamin. What can more exquisitely express the intensity of 
 that love, than when entreated by his sons to let Benjamin 
 accompany them to Egypt, he answered, " My son shall not go 
 down with you ; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone : if 
 
132 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 mischief befal him in the way which ye go, then shall ye bring 
 my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave." " He is left alone," and 
 yet he had ten brethren — alone of his mother, the patriarch felt 
 — sole record of that beloved one whom he had lost, and how 
 might he let him depart ? It is impossible to reflect on Jacob's 
 intense love for Joseph and Benjamin, without fully imagining 
 the sutFering of their mother's loss. Silent he was, for who 
 might question the decrees of the Most High ? but faith and lo\e 
 for our Father in heaven do not forbid us to mourn. We are 
 placed hei'e to love each other ; and if we love not those with 
 whom we are in daily, hourly intercourse, how may we love God ? 
 Without love, earth would be a desert and heaven a void. 
 
 The death of Leah is not recorded ; we only know that she 
 did not accompany the patriarch and his family to Egypt, and 
 that she was buried with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and 
 Rebekah, in the cave of Machpelah. Left dependent on her ten- 
 derness and love, the extent of which we know, Jacob no doubt 
 lavished warmer affection upon her, after the death of Rachel 
 than before. How gratefully her pious heart must have traced 
 this tranquil calm, which probably closed her days, to her God, 
 we may infer from the thanksgiving with which every previous 
 blessing had been received. But, as her future life can only be 
 suggestion, much as imagination may love to dwell upon it, our 
 present task must be concluded. We have dilated already at so 
 much length upon the characters of the sisters, and the instruc- 
 tion and consolation therein developed, that we need add littlo 
 further now, except to notice what has always appeared a remark- 
 able manifestation of the perfect equality of the sisters in their 
 position as mothers of that race which is to last for ever. Ten 
 tribes are lost — not to be discovered till the day which will 
 behold the glorious and stupendous miracle of our restoration. 
 The two which remain to bear witness to the mercy and justice 
 of the Eternal, and the truth of His word, are Judah, the 
 descendants of Leah, and Benjamin, the descendants of Rachel, 
 from one or other of which every Israelite (except the represen- 
 tatives of the Levites, who were accounted the priests of the 
 Lord, not of the twelve tribes) traces his descent. 
 
 Shall we then dismiss the beautiful record of Leah and Rachel, 
 which the word of God contains, as a mere relation, concerning 
 an age so long past as to appear almost febulous and obsolete ? 
 Shall we not rather take it to our hearts, and, as women of 
 
PERIOD I. LEAH AND RACHEL. 133 
 
 Israel, feel it is of onr own ancestry we read ? Shall we not 
 emulate the much enduring piety of Leah ; and in all our afflic- 
 tions — even in that of a lone and unloved heart — turn to her 
 God, and emulate her rejoicing acknowledgment of blessings at 
 His hand ? Shall we not take warning of the loved and lovely 
 Rachel, and feel that neither beauty nor love — the dearest love 
 of man — can aflbrd us hai)piness and joy, unless both are traced 
 to, and held from the grace of God ? That not in outward 
 attraction — not even in human love — can blessedness exist, unless 
 the vital spark, to give them rest and life and continuance, hath 
 dwelling within, to hft up the whole soul to God. O better — 
 far better — homeliness of form and face, with a guileless con- 
 tented heart. Better — far better — a heart desolate of earthly 
 sympathy, with the love of our Father in heaven, than beauty 
 and grace and human love, the fullest, dearest, combined with 
 every worldly blessing — if these be sufficient for our need, and 
 we pass through life without one thought of God. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST PERIOD. 
 
SECOND PERIOD 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EGYPTIAN CAPTIVITY AND JOCHEBED. 
 
 We are now to commence the second period of our history— 
 an interval, differing materially from that which went before, 
 and from that which will succeed it, yet of vital importance to 
 the women of Israel. Their station is no longer to depend upon 
 the changes of time and states. The protection, tenderness, 
 reverence, and support, which in their varied relations of life 
 they so imperatively need, no longer rest on the will of man 
 alone: the God of Abraham proclaims Himself their Guardian 
 and their Father, and, by innumerable statutes in His Holy 
 Law, provides for their temporal and eternal welfare equally 
 with that of man. 
 
 The mother, the wife, the daughter, the maid-servant, the 
 ■widow, and the fatherless — for each and all, His love and mercy 
 so provided, that every social and domestic duty became obedi- 
 ence unto Him, and woman was thus raised to that rank in the 
 scale of intellectual and imraoilal beings, by the ordinance of 
 God, from which her weakness of frame and gentle delicacy of 
 mind would, had she depended. on man's judgment alone, have 
 entirely deprived her. 
 
 For the va omen of Israel were those laws issued which were to 
 guard the innocence, purity, honor, and well-doing of woman in 
 general throughout the world ; for, however other revelations 
 may profess to be the first and purest, however the smile of 
 scorn and unbelief may attend the mention of the Jewish dis- 
 pensation in conjunction with woman, the truth remains the 
 same, that as from that law every other sprang, so from that 
 law does woman in every age, clime, rank, and race, receive her 
 guardianship on earth, and hope of heaven. 
 
PERIOD II. JOCHEBED. 135 
 
 That this assertion will meet with scorn and denial on all 
 sides, we believe — perchance even from those whom nationality 
 and duty both, should arouse to its defence. Yet firmly and 
 unhesitatingly we retain the position we have advanced, prepared 
 to defend it from the same blessed Book on which it is founded 
 — the Word of God. Much has been said of the wide distinc- 
 tion between ancient .and modern Judaism, of Talmudical per- 
 versions of Holy Writ, of Jewish degradation of woman, and a 
 melancholy list of similar accusations. With them we neither 
 have nor intend to have anything to do, save boldly to assert, 
 that IF there be this wide distinction between ancient and mo- 
 dern Judaism — if customs and laws derogatory to God's 
 changeless truth, and contrary to Plis holy Word, have crept in 
 amongst us, — the dark and bloody eras of persecution are at 
 fault, not the ancient fathers, who knew how to die for their 
 faith, but not to sully or degrade it. And it behoves us, in this 
 blessed age of peace and this land of freedom, to prove the fal- 
 sity of the charge, to awake and manifest to all men, that tb<» 
 religion of the Jew is the religion of Moses, as given by tb'j 
 Lord ; and that if laws have crept in contrary to the spirit anr* 
 the ordinances of his word, they are not Judaism, but the rero 
 nants of an age of barbarism and darkness, when that pure anft 
 holy word was almost death to read. Oh ! why has not Isra©- 
 joined heart and hand in this holy cause ? Why has he wqK 
 borne, in charity and patience, with those who differ from hioi 
 in minor points, and thought only how, by union, harmony, an<\ 
 love, he could ex;dt his nation and his faith in the sight of th*^ 
 Gentile world, and prove that, however close and binding mati 
 be the casket, the jewel it enshrines is still the revelation of thr 
 Lord, the religion of the Bible ? 
 
 But our present task has not to do with the nation and Juda 
 ism at large ; it is simply to prove to the women of Israel thei* 
 position in the sight of God, and their duties towards man 
 The intricacies of the law, as commented upon and explained by 
 our ancient fathers, are not for us. Woman needs only com 
 fort, strength, and guidance, so simply yet so clearly given, tha^ 
 a little child may read and understand them ; and these art' 
 ours, alike in the records of our female ancestors and in the pre 
 cepts of the Lord. 
 
 Hitherto we have been regarding His love, mercy, and jua 
 tice, as manifested to individuals ; deriving lessons from exam 
 
 n* 
 
1 36 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 pie, and guidance from the Eternal's dealings with His crea- 
 tures. Recorded in His book, we know that their lives are no\f 
 intended for our instruction and benefit, or they would not have 
 been written. But God knew that something yet more was 
 needed, for the religious training and well doing of His elected 
 people ; something more than the mere history of the past, 
 bright as that was with the wonderful manifestations of His 
 presence in direct communings with His saints ; — and for the 
 love He bore His faithful servant Abraham, it pleased Him to 
 bring from the deepest darkness the purest light, and vouchsafed 
 a law which was to last for ever, and through which not alone 
 His chosen but every nation should be blessed. 
 
 From the death of Joseph to a short tinie preceding the birth 
 of Moses, Holy Writ is silent as to the history of the Israelites, 
 both individually and nationally, except the important truth that 
 " they were fruitful and increased abundantly, and multiplied 
 and waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled with 
 them." Though no law had been given, they were still, it is 
 evident, a completely distinct people, retaining a pure religion in 
 the midst of barbarous idolatry. With no ordained worship — 
 no revealed ordinances — no appointed sacrifice, or priest ; still 
 they were the elect and beloved of the Lord, requiring no medi- 
 ator, either angelic or human, to bring up their prayers before 
 God, and render them acceptable. Yet God not only " heard 
 their cry, but had respect unto them." This is a point in our 
 history too important to be overlooked, though it concerns Israel 
 generally, not the women of Israel alone. It is very often 
 brought forward as a proof, that we must now be wholly re- 
 jected by the Lord, because the daily sacrifice has ceased, and 
 many parts of the law, obligatory upon us in our own land, are 
 scarcely possible to be observed in our captivity — the cessation 
 of sacrifices and atonement offerings especially are perpetually 
 insisted upon, as proving that unless we acknowledge the aton- 
 ing sacrifice of Jesus, and regard him as our High Priest, we 
 are lost temporally and eternally. 
 
 The simple fact that the Israelites in Egypt had neither sacri- 
 fice nor high priest, though the former was already ordained, 
 yet were still a distinct people, still the first-born of the Lord, 
 and had power to lift up their cry to Ilim, and be heard, com- 
 passionated, and answered, is a sufBciently convincing answer. 
 Israel is now^ and has been for eighteen hundred years, as ho 
 
PERIOD 11. JOCHEBED. 137 
 
 was in E^ypt, with the sole difference that there we were not 
 the captives of the Lord as we are now ; nor had we then a hiw 
 to guide us, and by obedience prove repentance. We are now 
 fulfilling the prophecy, that "Israel shall abide many days with- 
 out priest or sacrifice," etc. (Hosea iii. 4) : but the same blessed 
 word which foretells this, says not one word of our being utterly 
 cast off, but repeatedly enforces the divine consolation, that we 
 have but to cry unto the Lord, even from the lands of our cap- 
 tivity, to be heard and compassionated as we were in Egypt. 
 We have no need of sacrifice, when God Himself o/dained that 
 it should cease; nor can we have the head of the nation, alike 
 of its religious, civil, and even military divisions, while scattered 
 in every quarter of the globe. Were we to accept Jesus, in his 
 blended character of sacrifice, atoner, and high priest, the pro- 
 phecies would all remain wjiful filled ; as we should still possess 
 all these, instead of being, as the prophet so expressly declared, 
 deprived during our captivity of " king, prince, sacrifice, image, 
 ephod, and terephim," Hosea iii. 4. 
 
 To Israel in Egypt they were not given ; to Israel in her 
 lengthened captivity they have ceased, until she be purified and 
 chastened sufficiently to receive once again the visible manifes- 
 tation of the Lord's acceptance, their constant attendant, and 
 which was forfeited by our rebellion. Yet still, even as in 
 Egypt, we are the first-born of the Lord, and have nationally and 
 individually, equal access to His compassionating love. 
 
 A new king had arisen in Egypt; one who knew not Joseph, 
 and saw only in the Israelites, a people harmless indeed ia 
 employments and pursuits, but sufficiently mighty in numbers 
 to arouse the jealous fears of tyranny : and the commandment 
 went forth to afflict them, by weighty tasks and heavy burdens. 
 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and 
 grew ; and, in consequence, heavier and heavier grew their 
 afflictions, till at length the fatal command was given to destroy 
 every male child at its birth. Yet even this was overruled by 
 a merciful God. The hearts of the women designed for this 
 barbarous office were in His hand, and he so softened them 
 into tenderness and compassion that the innocent babes were 
 saved by the very mean> adopted for their destruction. Finding 
 this scheme unavailing, Pharaoh issued another command more 
 fiital than the first, for it seemed not in the power of man to 
 evade or counteract it. And in the power of man it was not ; 
 
138 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 God alone could bring forth delivery ; and therefore did He 
 permit the deepest darkness to close around his people, that 
 both they and tlae Egyptians might know the power to redeem, 
 and the love to accomplish it, were in Him alone. 
 
 The situation of the women of Israel, at this period, must 
 have been terrible indeed. Their infants, born in the midst of 
 sorrow, yet hailed, perhaps, as the sole blessing which they 
 could call their own, snatched from them by ruthless murderers, 
 and flung into the Nile. And where were they to look for 
 redress — for pity ? Where but to their God — and " He heard 
 their groaning ;" and from this very desolation raised up His 
 own. 
 
 The family of Amram, a son of Levi, already consisted of 
 himself, his wife, a little son of three years old, and an elder 
 daughter. The birth of Aaron must have teen attended with 
 heavy sorrow from the tyrannical oppression under which his 
 father and the other Israelites labored ; but dark as was that 
 hour, it must have been almost joyous compared with the awful 
 trial awaiting his mother now. About to add another little one 
 to their family, how agonizingly must the shriek of torture, 
 wrung from her sisters in Israel — marking every fresh assault 
 of the Egyptians within their houses, in search of their babes — 
 have sounded in her ears ? Day after day, night after night, 
 one or other dwelhng of the miserable Hebrews was searched ; 
 and ransacked, if no child were found. Voices of cursing 
 and mockery mingled with the wild entreaties for mercy — the 
 scream of agony — the wailing moan of impotent suffering — the 
 feeble wail of helpless infancy — the sullen splash, that told the 
 work of butchery done ; — such must have been the sight and 
 sounds around the home of Jochebed, as she awaited in trem- 
 bling horror that day which must expose her to the same. It 
 came at length, and a fair lovely babe was born — a boy — whose 
 first wailing cry, if it reached the ears of the Egyptian butchers, 
 would be his death-knell. But the prayers of the mother had 
 not been in vain. Her God was with her, endowing her with 
 wisdom and energy sufficiently effectual to conceal her boy three 
 months. But then, danger once more approached. Suspicions 
 had either been excited, or the increasing age and size of the 
 child rendered the task of concealment no longer possible. 
 Fearful must have been the struggle of natural terrors and ' 
 spiritual confidence, filling the mother's mind, ere the plan she 
 
PERIOD II. JOCHEBED. 130 
 
 eventually followed was matured and executed. Faith aione in 
 a God of infinite compassion could have inspired a mode of 
 proceeding a]")parently so fraught with danger, as heiself to 
 expose her babe to the deep and dangerous current of the river; 
 but even while faith impelled, and at times soothed, by the firm 
 conviction that her God would save, natural affections and 
 human fears must often have had the ascendant, breathing but 
 of danger and of death. The future was veiled in impenetrable 
 darkness. The fate of her child, even if his slender ark bore him 
 in safety on the waters, must be one of suffering, or perhaps of 
 starvation — for who would give him food ? Did she do right 
 to expose him thus ? If he were to be saved, would not the 
 Eternal equally accomplish it without this fearful venture ? 
 Such would be mere human reasoning in woman's feeble heart. 
 But prayer gave her the needful grace and strength to listen 
 only to the immortal spirit, and trust undoubtingly in God. 
 Can we not picture the anxious throbbings of maternal affection 
 as her own hand weaved the ark or basket of bulrushes, in 
 which her babe was to be exposed ? Would not merely earthly 
 natures have smiled in scorn on this feeble invention, and 
 pronounced it futile ? But the mother of Moses had not such 
 to increase the difficulty of her task. Her husband's name is 
 never mentioned in this proceeding ; for Amram, as the 
 remainder of his miserable brethren, was in all probability too 
 much weighed down and spirit-broken by their multiplied 
 afflictions, to think of the inmates of his home, save with 
 increased affliction and despondency ; nay, had perchance closed 
 his heart against all love for his new-born, believing it was des- 
 tined, as every other, for immediate death. He could have had 
 no time to watch over it, and share his wife's anxieties. To his 
 mother alone, therefore, under the especial providence of God, 
 did Moses owe his preservation. 
 
 The ark was completed. Gifted with unusual foresight and 
 wisdom for the task, Jochebed carefully daubed it with slime 
 and pitch, that no water should penetrate within ; and with 
 trembling yet still trusting spirit, placed her babe therein, and 
 laid it on the flags by the river's brink. To w-atch what would 
 be done with it — whether it would rest there till some compas- 
 sionating passer-by should behold and save him, or be indeed 
 launched on the waters and carried from her sight — was indeed 
 
140 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 a task too fearful for maternal love. We may picture, with 
 perfect truth and justice, her last lingering kiss pressed upon the 
 lips, cheek, and brow of the unconscious babe ; her waiting till 
 sleep closed those beauteous eyes, which, in their pleading gaze, 
 seemed to her fond heart beseeching her not so cruelly to aban 
 don him — waiting till slumber, light, pure, beautiful, as only 
 infancy can know, lay upon those sweet features, those rounded 
 limbs — making them seem like some folded flower, waiting but 
 .he return of day to brighten into renewed and still lovelier 
 existence. Would that day ever dawn for that sweet uncon- 
 scious slumberer on earth ? Alas ! how may she answer ? 
 Her look deepens in its silent anguish — its immeasurable love. 
 Faith seems departing in that intensity of human feeling ; she 
 will look no more, lest indeed it feil. The light lid closes softly 
 over the sleeping babe. She lays it amidst the flowering flags 
 — looks once, once more. Does the infant moan or weep? 
 How may she leave it, if it does ? No : all is silent, voiceless — 
 the boy still sleeps — and she hurries from the spot — bids Miriam 
 stand " afar off," yet near enough " to know what would be done 
 with him." And for herself? — where, where shall she find rest, 
 from the anxiety and suft'ering of that fearful hour ? Where, but 
 at the footstool of her God, in whose gracious hand she has placed 
 her babe ? What could calm that heart but prayer ? And how 
 can we doubt one moment that to the mother of Moses prayer 
 was her whole sujiport, strength, and life ? 
 
 Holy writ is silent as to the length of time which elapsed ere 
 Pharaoh's daughter " came down to wash at the river ; and her 
 maidens walked along by the river's side, and when she saw the 
 ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when 
 she had opened it, she saw the child : and, behold, the babe 
 wept. And she had compassion on him, and said. This is 
 one of the Hebrews' children." How exquisitely true and touch- 
 ing is this picture of human nature ! The simple words, "and, 
 behold, the babe wept," even in reading, seem to fill woman's 
 heart with a gush of tears. The utter helplessness, the innocence, 
 the beauty of the poor babe, seem to cling to our aff"ections, as 
 if he were entwined with them by stronger ties than mere narra- 
 tion. And is he not ? What woman of Israel can read this 
 touching narrative unmoved ? " The babe wept ;" and, true to 
 nature, Pharaoh's daughter had compassion on him. Cold, ter- 
 
PERIOD II. JOCHEBED. 141 
 
 I'ified, hunory, the poor infant might have been weeping long in 
 Lis bulrush prison ; but those tears, sad as they were to him, 
 obtained his human preservation. 
 
 The compassion of the princess emboldened Miriam to go for- 
 ward, and respectfully to ask, " Shall I go and call to thee a 
 nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for 
 thee ?" An address which would almost make us believe that 
 the compassionate and gentle character of the tyrant's daughter 
 must have been known to the Hebrews, or the young Miriam 
 would scarcely have had sufficient courage so to have spoken. 
 This, however, must be suggestion ; the inspired nariAtive only 
 enforces upon us the hand of God throughout. The same God 
 who inspired llebekah unconsciously to speak those words which 
 answered the steward's prayer, and elected her for Isaac's wife, 
 also inspired the youthful daughter of Amram to come forward 
 and speak such words to the princess of Egypt, as, at another 
 time, she would have trembled to utter even in thought. 
 
 " And Pharaoh's daughter said to her. Go. And the maid 
 went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter 
 said unto her. Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I 
 will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and 
 nursed it." 
 
 What must have been the emotions of Jochebed, thus to clasp 
 again to her heart her rescued treasure ! Not alone saved from 
 present death, but future suffering and hsbor — r. stored to her 
 maternal bosom, to receive thence not only his necessary infant 
 nourishment, but such lessons of his father's God and his breth- 
 ren's faith as would render him invulnerable to the temptations 
 and idolatry of the Egyptian court. Her emotions in paiting 
 from her child we might try to picture ; but on those which 
 must have attended his rescue, his restoration, silence is most 
 eloquent. How had not her simple trusting faith been reward- 
 ed ! How clearly, how startlingly had the hand of the Eternal 
 been dis])layed ! • And how could she prove the grateful devoted- 
 ness of her overflowing heart, save by devoting the child His 
 love had saved unto His service ? Not even povertj^ and priva- 
 tion had she to encounter. While her brethren were enduring 
 the hea\nest burdens from cruel taskmasters, she was recei\ing 
 wages from the princess of Egypt for the nurture of her own 
 child ; and well may we believe those wages were devoted to the 
 
142 THE WOMEN OF -ISRAEL. 
 
 needy and the suffering — from her who in the midst of natuial 
 sorrow must have felt herself individually so blessed. 
 
 " And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's 
 daughter, and he became her son." But it was in those years 
 he had passed with his own mother his character had been 
 formed ; his principles were fixed ; his religion obtained living 
 and breathing, and ever-actuating influence. We know not the 
 age at which he left his mother, but we must infer, from all that 
 is narrated of him, that her influence, not that of his adopted 
 parent, made him what he was. No lessons of Pharaoh's daugh- 
 ter could have endowed him with that feeling of patriotism 
 which bade him rise up against the Egyptian who was smiting 
 an Israelite, or interfere between the two Israelites, endeavoring 
 meekly to restore peace. Had his early instruction been con- 
 fined to Pharaoh's palace, his very birth and race would have 
 been unknown ; he would have imbibed only such princijiles as 
 actuated the Egyptians, and could not fail to have bowed down 
 to their idols. Some very powerful influence must have been at 
 work counteracting these evils ; and what influence is so great 
 over the susceptible age of infancy as that of mother or nurse ? 
 and Jochebed combined both these endearing relations. Even 
 after the actual task of nursing was accomplished, " and the 
 child grew, and she brought liim unto Pharaoh's daughter," it 
 appears to me more than probable that she was still retained 
 near the person of her child, tending him even after he was call- 
 ed the pi'incess's son ; and thus had frequent opportunities of 
 inculcating those divine truths which, though no law was yet 
 given, the past history of his people so vividly revealed. 
 
 That Moses makes no further mention of his parents is no 
 proof of such idea being but fancy. Of everything concerning 
 himself he writes so slightly, so evidently imagining his personal 
 history of no possible consequence, compared with the mighty 
 and solemn matters intrusted to him, that it was not likely the 
 days of his childhood should be recalled and dwelt upon. Nay, 
 he himself might have been perfectly unconscious to what influ- 
 ence he actually owed his peculiar feelings as an Israelite, his 
 gentle lovely virtues as a man. The work of a mother is silent 
 and unseen as dew upon the earth : — the seed must be jiLinted, 
 watched, watered, but unless spared to behold it springing into 
 flower, the hand of the planter may for ever rest unknown. 
 
PERIOD ir. JOCHKBED. 143 
 
 Jochebed was parted from her son, years before this blessed 
 reward could have been given ; his childhood alone was hers. 
 His youth, his manhood, when the seed she had sown might 
 have repaid her with abundant harvest, were passed, the one in 
 all the temptations, the luxuries of an Egyptian court ; the 
 other in exile — the lowly shepherd of his fatlier-in-law, a priest 
 of Midian, — apart even from his countrymen. It does not 
 appear that his parents were among those who left Egypt, or 
 their names would have been mentioned with the other relatives 
 of Moses. Jochebed had not the privilege of beholding the 
 spiritual and temporal greatness of her rescued boy ; but had 
 the seed of her sowing withered ? Were her counsels vain ] 
 Can we not trace in the peculiarly gentle, much-forgiving 
 character of our lawgiver, the moulding of a womati's hand ? 
 Is there aught to prove the minion of a court, the favorite of a 
 princess ? No, O no. The whole character of Moses displays 
 a mother's guidance. A mother's love watching over childhood, 
 and inculcating those high and glowing principles of virtue and 
 patriotism, which the blessing of the Eternal ripened into such 
 a beautiful maturity, as to render Moses a iit instrument in His 
 hand to lead His chosen people from the land of bondage, and 
 to reveal His changeless law. 
 
 And what will not this beautiful narrative teach us ? As 
 Jochebed, we too are in a land of bondage ; indeed, in free and 
 happy England, not a bondage of suffering and persecution, but 
 yet as exiles from our own land, and, alas ! too often, exiles 
 from our God. We too are in a land of strangers, whose faith 
 is not ours ; a faith which, though it be not idolatry, is fraught 
 with yet more temptation and danger. In this blessed land, no 
 cruel taskmaster afflicts us with heavy burdens ; yet there are 
 some to look upon us with scorn and hate, who would strew 
 our daily path with the thorns and briers of contempt, calumny, 
 and abuse ; and others again who, with kindly yet mistaken 
 zeal, would appal us by the vivid recital of the fearful precipice 
 on which we stand, telling us that but one escape is left us, one 
 only way, or we are temporally and eternally lost ; and that 
 way no Israelite can recognise. Yet fearful are the temptations 
 to seek it, and few, too few, his weapons of defence. Worldly 
 rank and worldly honors are closed to the believing Hebrew, 
 and wherever he turns he feels himself a stranger. 
 
 Blest in this land with peace and freedom, yet, ever and 
 
144 THE "WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 anon, the low growl of the tempest of persecution reaches him 
 from distant shores ; sometimes sinking into silence, ere more 
 than the heart's quick throbbing is aroused ; at others waxing 
 louder and more loud, till the wailings of thousands, and the 
 shrieks of torture, are borne on the heavy air, breathing that 
 Israel is afflicted still. And wherefore ? To bid us still feel 
 we are the captives of the Lord — that Jerusalem lieth desolate 
 and waste fur our sins — that the awful prophecy of the twenty- 
 eighth chapter of Deuteronomy has been, and in many lands 
 still is, in actual fulfilment — that we are now, as we were in 
 Egypt, afflicted and oppressed — " despised and rejected of men 
 — a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" — " as one that 
 gropeth at noon-day, as the blind gropeth in darkness, that 
 shall not prosper in his ways, that shall only be spoiled and 
 oppressed evermore, and whom no man shall save." 
 
 And if it be so (and who shall say it is not ?), oh ! does it not 
 devolve on the mothers of Israel to do even as Jochebed, and 
 so influence the childhood of their sons, as to render them 
 indeed faithful to their God, meek and forgiving towards man, 
 and invulnerable to every temptation held forth by the opposers 
 of their faith ? 
 
 The very safety we enjoy, the habits of friendly intimacy 
 which it is right and happy we should cultivate, all call upon 
 the Hebrew mother to instil those principles in the heart of her 
 son which shall guide him through life, and, while they raise him 
 in the estimation of the nations around him, inspire him indi- 
 vidually to glory in his own. 
 
 We have enlarged, in a former work, on the duty of mothers 
 regarding religion generally. We would here conjure them to 
 follow the example of the mother of Moses, and make their sons 
 the receivers, and in their turn the promulgators, of that holy 
 law which is their glorious inheritance. Their faith, in England, 
 may not be tried as that of Jochebed — they may not be called 
 U])on to expose their innocent babes to the dangers of the river, 
 to save them from the cruelties of man — but they are called upon 
 to provide a suit of defence for I'iper years. They must so 
 instruct, so guide, the first ten or twelve years of boyhood, that 
 even then they may leave their maternal homes as Israelites 
 rejoicing in their faith. They must infuse some balsam to heal, 
 or some invulnerable shield to eject, the arrows of contempt or 
 pity which, ere they pass through life, they must encounter. 
 
PERIOD II. JOCHEBED. 145 
 
 They must so lead, that graver years may conduct them to that 
 only study, the blessed word of God, which alone can give peace 
 to their spirits, rest to their minds, and conviction to their hearts 
 — alike in their private hours and their communings with the 
 Nazarene world. This is now the Hebrew mother's task, which 
 may be blessed to their oftspritig as Jochebed's was to Moses. 
 It is for this they must have faith, must trust that God will 
 perfect that which is imperfect, fill up every deficiency, and bring 
 the seed to flower, or vain and hopehiss will le their task. 
 They must impress upon their oflfspring their spiritual aris- 
 tocracy, and so not only remove all temptation to barter their 
 heavenly heritage for earthly rank, but infuse their minds and 
 hearts with that nobility of thought, word, and action, which 
 should be the heir-loom, the glory of every Hebrew, be he of 
 what rank, profession, or even trade, he may. Persecution and 
 barbarity in our opposers, and their consequent ignorance and 
 superstition in ourselves, have for long ages so crushed and 
 trampled on this innate nobility, that in all but a very few 
 instances, it seenjs, and has long seemed, departed from us ; its 
 banishment stigmatizing us as degraded to the lowest and vilest 
 of mankind. Can we now then, in those blessed lands where the 
 Jew may walk in freedom, with " none to molest or make him 
 afraid," permit this stigma to remain ? Shall we not rather 
 wake every energy, string every nerve, to prove that it is not 
 Judaism, but persecution at fault ; and that wherever the Hebrew 
 is FREE, he is noble ? That the princely blood of Abraham, 
 Moses, and David still flows within his veins, and incites him to 
 thoughts and deeds as far removed from ignorance and degra- 
 dation as the sun is from the earth ? 
 
 But not when arrived at manhood can this nobility be 
 infused. It must be imbibed with the mother's milk, and form 
 the very atmosphere of childhood and youth. Let every 
 mother in Israel look upon her infant treasure as direct from the 
 hand of God, and believe that He saith to her, as the princess 
 of Egypt said to Jochebed, — " Nurse this child for me, and I 
 will give thee thy wages ;" for Him, for the Lord, who in every 
 age, clime, and position, calleth Israel His Children. And let 
 her indeed so nurse him, that whenever he may be called to his 
 Father in Heaven he may be fit to go. Let her, weak and feeble 
 of herself as she is, remember that with the Lord all things aro 
 possible, and that as He blessed Jochebed in the preservation 
 
146 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 and nurture of lier child, so if we will but blend effort with 
 prayer, perseverance with faith. He will equally bless us — and 
 though it may not be ours to rear a deliverer fi'oni Egyptian 
 bondage, yet how will the mothers in Israel rejoice and glory, 
 to receive " their wages" in the elevation of their nation by their 
 sons ? 
 
 To do this, they must be noble ; and to become so, let the 
 Hebrew mother teach her boy, fi-oin his earliest years, to think 
 of his heavenly heritage, his s]iiritual election, his eternal life, 
 and leave the interests and ambition of earth till riper years, 
 when even these dull sordid cares shall become ennobled and 
 spiritualized, by the purer atmosphere which he has in his boy- 
 hood breathed. We are not, indeed, while denizens of earth, to 
 think so exclusively of heaven as to unfit us for the life of trial 
 and temptation which, in our mortal career, we are commanded 
 to tread ; but we are to infuse earth with Heaven, time with 
 Eternity, the soul with God. As Israelites, we cannot sever 
 our temporal from our eternal interests, we cannot fling off the 
 memory of, and obedience to, the Eternal, for with every single 
 relation, duty, ordinance, and habit of daily life His commands 
 are blended. We are not Israelites, if we think to live apart 
 from Him, or to do aught in which we cannot associate Him by 
 the entreaty for His blessing, and the looking to Him throughout. 
 We are not Israelites, if we do not feel our every domestic duty and 
 loving tie sanctified by Him, and bringing us nearer, closer, more 
 lovingly to Him, with every passing month. This is to be an 
 Israelite — this is to be the aristocracy of the Lord ; for did we 
 so associate our religion with our lives, we must be noble. 
 But how can we attain this, how dare we hope it, if the pursuit 
 of gold, the vain longing for wealth, the idle dream of worldly 
 aggrandizement, tbe empty rivalship with those richer and 
 higher than ourselves, be the sole end, aim, and being of the 
 Israelite ? We look with loud condemnation and scorn on the 
 worshippers of the golden calf — we contemn the worshippers, 
 more than we tremble at the awful chastisement from the hand 
 of the Lord — yet let us beware, lest our sons too bow before 
 the golden idol. It may take no form, we may not approach it 
 with forms of worship, and priests, and incense, but if it fill up 
 our hearts to the exclusion of all other and nobler thoughts, if 
 its pursuit drag us from the house of God, from our own hearths, 
 deaden us to the love of home ties, prevent the spiritual and 
 
PERIOD II. JOCHEBKD. l4» 
 
 ciilarged education of our children, what is it to us but as the 
 golden calf to the Israelites of old ? And how dar^. we hope to 
 be exempt from the chastisement of God, when it tell upon our 
 brethren ? Oh ! let us not case up our hearts, and pursue our 
 way in confident security, because it is deferred. God works 
 not now as He did then. Israel, in his redemption from Egypt, 
 needed constant, visible, and i^alpable evidences of the provi- 
 dence and the ji;<st.ice of the Lord. We have them not to guide 
 us now, but their record is ours, in which to learn our duty, and 
 the effects of its neglect or disobedience. That which was dis- 
 pleasing to Him then^ is displeasing to Him now ; but, scattered 
 as we are among the nations, deprived through our iniquities of 
 the visible manifestation of His presence. His approval, and His 
 wrath, not on earth may our judgment be known ; nor can we 
 "discern between him that serveth God, and him that serveth 
 Him not," till that day when "the Lord shall make up His 
 jewels, and spare those that love Him, as a man spareth his 
 own son that serveth him." 
 
 That the long dark ages of persecution originated that fearful 
 indifference to all ennobling pursuits, of which the Hebrew is 
 accused, we quite acknowledge. Deprived of all honorable and 
 elevating employment, of every profession, of every trade, which, 
 bringing them into friendly contact with their fellow-men, would 
 have enlarged their minds, and awakened social affections ; 
 cowed, crushed, hunted down, and often persecuted for the sake 
 of their wealth ; deadened, stupefied, to all spiritual elevation, 
 even as the Israelites in Egypt ; was it marvel they should cling 
 to gold, and seek its increase, as their sole rank and privilege ? 
 For them God had compassion, for He knew how they were 
 tried. It was natural too, that, even when in lands of compa- 
 rative freedom and peace, the habits and associations of past 
 years should cling pertinaciously to them still. But their 
 encouragement is no longer guiltless — prosperity, peace, friendly 
 intercourse with some of the nations, are granted us, that we 
 may come back with heart and soul unto our holy law, and 
 strive with all our might against every idol which comes between 
 us and our God. In England, France, Belgium, and America, it 
 is no longer persecution and intolerance that degrade and pro- 
 nounce us vile. If such feelings do find entrance, it is the 
 prejudice arising from what we were. They, as is natural, see 
 not the cause of that past degradation, but let us make it mani- 
 
148 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 fest — ^let us evince, more and more, that gold is no longer our 
 sole pursuit ; that fraud and cunning, which to the ignorant 
 Gentile are synonymous with the word Jew, are as far from us 
 as from them — that when free we too are noble, honorable, and 
 spiritual to an extent that, if we adhere to our blessed law, only 
 Israelites can be — and prejudice 7nust pass away, and Israel be 
 acknowledged the witnesses of the Lord. 
 
 It is this noble, this si)iritual feeling of independence we 
 would beseech every Hebrew mother to instil into her boy ; 
 and which we now humbly, yet earnestly, prayerfully, and 
 heartfuUy conjure every Hebrew father to aid and confirm. Let 
 not the ears of the infant Israelite be polluted by reference to 
 earthly gain and worldly rivalship, but let him hear often from 
 his father's lips those sweet lessons of heaven and God — of self- 
 denial and its blessed reward — of those purer pleasures of 
 intellect and heart, which, if not infused into his nfancy, ^an 
 never find entrance and dominion in after years. Ably and 
 delightfully would such paternal lessons assist the mother's 
 task, and lighten the blessed yet exquisitely anxious labor of 
 teaching their offspring their proper station in the sight of God 
 and man, and so ennoble, jturify, and spiritualize heart and 
 mind, as to render them fit descendants of the princes, priests, 
 and prophets from whom they spring. 
 
 And let not such parents fear for their sons' earthly welfare. 
 Such training will not unfit them for the necessary cares and 
 toils of life. It will but render them less engrossing, less 
 worldly, and annihilate every feeling which they would blush to 
 acknowledge before God and man. It will take from life its 
 dross, its stagnating care, teaching them that their duty indeed 
 is to work and persevere, alike for their families and themselves, 
 but that in the hand of the Lord is their portion, and that He 
 will order their daily lot as will be most fitted for their eternal 
 welfare. It will remove every temptation to turn aside, for 
 lucre or ambition, from their father's faith. It will open heart 
 and hand towards the suffering and the poor, and, removing 
 every selfish feeling and grovelling thought, prepare them for 
 that day when the Lord again shall call them His, and bid 
 them resume that kingly station in the sight of the nations, of 
 which for " a little moment" only they are deprived. 
 
 The suffering Israelites, under the terrible oppression of 
 Pharaoh, imagined not the rank to which they would be called 
 
PERIOD II. JOCHEBED. 149 
 
 by the word of the Lord. While groaning under their heavy 
 burdens, toiling day and night, with neither relief nor relaxa- 
 tion, could they have imagined that, in their persecuted 
 offspring, princes should arise ; — that, in a brief interval. Chiefs 
 of their tribes. Heads of families. Captains of well-appointed 
 squadrons — Priests, sacred in the sight of all the people, and 
 acknowledged by the Eternal — Workers in every elegant art, 
 which was needed in the building and embellishment of the 
 Tabernacle — Warriors, dauiitless in bravery, and skilful in the 
 art of war — Judges, gifted to decide causes, award sentences 
 and keep civil peace and order amid a disorderly multitude — 
 Princes, of such wealth and consequence as to make the splendid 
 offerings enumerated in the seventh chapter of Numbers — could 
 they have imagined that such would be ? Yet such was, and 
 such WILL BE. We know not when, we know not how — we 
 only know that the word of God has said it, and that He is a 
 God of truth. Shall we not remember this in the education of 
 our sons, and infuse such feelings as will render them indeed 
 but sojourners in the land of the captivity, watchers, as it were, 
 on the frontiers, prepared to arise, and fall into their appointed 
 stations, the moment the Lord shall call ? Let us welcome in 
 them the inclination for the liberal professions, all that will 
 enlarge the mind and ennoble the heart, and bid them prove, in 
 the sight of the whole Gentile world, that where the Hebrew is 
 FREE, he his brave, enterprising, selt-denying, gifted, wise, 
 magnanimous, as the noblest of the nations around him. Let 
 the Hebrew mother give her boy the solid foundation of his 
 glorious faith, and he may go forth in the Nazarene world 
 unharmed ; and in other professions, other lines than that of 
 merchant, in which alone till now the Jew has been known, he 
 will honor the name of Israelite. 
 
 And if such be the fruit of nursing her child for God, oh ! 
 will not every Hebrew mother feel, that she has indeed received 
 " her wages ?" 
 
150 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 THE EXODUS. LAWS FOR THE MOTHERS OF 
 
 ISRAEL. 
 
 We have seen quoted in a Jewish periodical, " that it was for 
 the sake of the righteous women the Lord dehvered our 
 ancestors from Egypt." Scriptural authority for this assertion 
 we certainly cannot find, as it is expressly said, " the Lord 
 remembered the promises which he had made to Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob." We only quote it as a proof that the ancient 
 fathers from whom' we believe it taken, could not have had the 
 low idea of women with which they are charged, to have put 
 such an opinion forth, even in suggestion ; but must have 
 imagined the righteousness of women of no little importance 
 towards the well-doing of the state. That so, in feet, it is, we 
 have direct scriptural authority to believe ; as not only a review 
 of the law will make manifest, but the consequences of the sins 
 of the women in a more distant period. Were not woman an 
 equally responsible agent in the sight of God — were He not in 
 His infinite mercy tenderly careful of her innocence, her honor, 
 her well-doing, her protection by man — no law for her in par- 
 ticular need have been issued, nor such especial care taken to 
 clej^nse her from impurity and guilt, to free her from false 
 charges and an unjust husband, to permit and sanctify her 
 singular vow, and give her every incentive for a chaste, virtuous, 
 and modest life. This need not have been — would not have 
 been — if the Eternal had not, in His compassionating love, 
 regarded His frailer, weaker children with even more tenderness 
 than He looked on man, and resolved on fixing her station and 
 her privileges, and so bringing her forward as an object at once 
 of tenderness and respect — of cherishing, as a wife and 
 daughter — of the deepest veneration, as a mother — the especial 
 object of national as well as individual love and protection, as 
 widowed and fatherless — and of the kindest, most fatherly care 
 and gentleness, as the maid-servant. Nay, even thr< female 
 
PERIOD II. MOTHERS OF ISRAEL. 151 
 
 captive was marked out for fostering and healing kindness, and 
 allowed time fur mourning, instead of, as in the case of other 
 nations, aye, even those of later days who called themselves 
 followers of Je^us, being hurried to the bed of the brutal 
 conqueror, who was often still reeking with the blood of her 
 relations. How then can it be said, that in every other religion 
 save that of the Nazarene, woman's station is "degraded, even 
 as the heathen and the slave ? 
 
 With a mighty arm the Lord had brought forth Israel from 
 the land of bondage, enriched by the spoil, which they did not 
 'borrow from the Egyptians, as the usual translation renders it, 
 but had demanded^ as their right from weary years of unpaid 
 labor, and which, terrified at the awful plagues which had be- 
 fallen them, was granted them at once. " The Lord gave the people 
 favor in the sight of the Egyptians," are words twice repeated, 
 thus doing away at once all idea of the Eternal having favored 
 fraud, even against His enemies and the enemies of His people. 
 They demanded the long arrears of payment, and they were 
 given, in jewels of silver, and jewels of gold ; and so, not by 
 deceit, but in justice, they, to use the Bible language, " spoiled 
 the Egyptians." 
 
 The powers of Nature herself succumbed before the mighty 
 will of her Creator. Fire, earth, air, and water, had departed 
 from what is called their natural course, to bring forth Israel 
 from bondage, and to falsify at once the awful denial of a God, 
 in the vain dream of necessity and nature. The sea itself — as 
 the final seal to the stupendous manifestations of Almighty 
 Power displayed in the ten plagues — divided at the word of its 
 Creator, and the host of Israel — men, women, and little children 
 — passed through on dry land, with a watery wall, seeming to 
 unite earth to heaven, on either side. And when the unbe 
 lieving scoffers followed — when, denying still the sanctity oi 
 Israel, the wonders of Israel's God, the chariots and hosts 
 of Pharaoh dashed on in vain defiance of the Lord — down tum- 
 bled the overwhelming mass of mighty waters, and the proud 
 hosts of Pharaoh lay dead before their slaves. And when the 
 song of thanksgiving, of adoration, rose from the hearts and hps 
 of the redeemed, the voice not only of man but of woman pro- 
 longed the strain. " And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of 
 Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand ; and all the women went 
 after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered 
 
 VOL. I. 8 
 
152 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 them, Sing ye to the Lord ! for He hath triumphed gloriously. 
 The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea." 
 
 Woman is not gifted with a silvery voice and an ear for har- 
 mony, to devote to the pleasure of man alone. Let her devote 
 them sometimes to the praises of the Lord, and bid the psalm 
 of thanksgiving filling the sanctuary of the Lord be answered from 
 her lips ; and the sweet sanctuary of home, at morning and 
 evening ])rayer, behold her leading infant lips to tune their first 
 song in thanksgiving to their Father ind their God, 
 
 As a general view of the beautiful laws constituting the Mo- 
 saic religion does not enter into the plan of this work, we shall' 
 throw together those portions on which, as they regard woman, 
 we shall somewhat lengthily treat, without any reference to their 
 probable dates. We know that all the laws forming our religion 
 were given between their departure from Egypt and arrival in 
 the promised land, and are contained principally in chapters 19, 
 20, 21, 22, 23, and 29 of Exodus — in the whole book of Levi- 
 ticus—in chapters 5, 6, 8, 9, 15, 16, IT, 27, 28, 29, 30, 35, and 
 36 of Numbers — and in the whole book of Deuteronomy. From 
 these we select and examine all that can give weight to, and 
 throw light upon, the six divisions of our present subject. 
 
 As the first and most beautiful relationship in which 
 woman is undeniably necessary to man — the object of his first 
 affections, to whom he owes all of cherishing, happiness, and 
 health, from infancy to boyhood, and often from boyhood to 
 youth ; and who, in consequence, must be entwined with every 
 fold remembrance of childhood, the recollection of which is often 
 the only soother, the only light, in the darker heart of man — 
 it is but just that we should examine, first, how the holy rela- 
 tionship of a Mother in Israel is guarded and noticed by our 
 law. 
 
 The very first command relative to the duties of man towards 
 man, marks out the position of children with regard to their 
 parents, male and female, the representatives of God on earth. 
 It was not enough that such position should be left to the natu- 
 ral impulses of gratitude and atfection — not enough that the love 
 and reverence of a child to his parent should be left to his own 
 heart, although in the cases of both Isaac and Jacob such had 
 been so distinctly manifested. No ; the same tremendous voice 
 which bade the very earth quake, and the fast rooted mountain 
 reel — which spoke in the midst of thunders and lightnings, 
 
P E II I O D 11. M O T 11 K R S OF I S K A K L . J 5." 
 
 " Thou slialt have no other gods but me," — also said, " Honor 
 thy father and thy Mother," and added unto its obedience a 
 promise of reward, the only command to which recompense is 
 annexed, that its obedience might indeed be an obedience of 
 love. And lest there should be some natures so stubborn and 
 obtuse that the fear of punishment only could affect, we read in 
 the repetition, and, as it were, enlargement on the ten com- 
 mandments, " And he that smiteth his Axther or his mother 
 shall surely be put to death, and he that curseth or revileth his 
 father or his mother shall surely be put to death " (Exodus 
 xxi. 15 — 17). " Ye shall fear every man his mother and 
 his father, and keep my sabbaths ; I am the Lord " (Levit. xix. 
 3). " For every one that curseth his father or his mother, shall 
 surely be put to death. He that cursed his flither or his mother, 
 his blood shall be upon him." And again, in Deuteronomy v. 16, 
 we have the repetition of the fifth commandment, the reward 
 attending its obedience still more vividly enforced : " Honor 
 thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath com- 
 manded thee, that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may 
 go well with thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth 
 thee." 
 
 With laws like these, bearing on every one of them the 
 stamp of divine truth, of a sacred solemnity which could come 
 from God alone, how can any one believe in, much less assert, 
 the Jewish degradation of woman, or call that Judaism which 
 upholds it ! 
 
 How could these solemn and often reiterated commands be 
 obeyed, if the son of Israel beheld his mother merely the igno- 
 rant bond-slave of his father ? How could he honor her ? What 
 could have such influence upon his moments of passion as to 
 restrain him, when so tempted, from smiting, reviling, or cursino- 
 her ? How could he fear her, when he beheld her tremblino- 
 before his father, not as her husband, but as her master ? But 
 such he saw not. Weaker in frame, from her position and her 
 duties ; less mighty in mental powers, yet possessing every attri- 
 bute to make home blessed, and her children holy followers of 
 God, virtuous and patriotic citizens of their land ; shrined in his 
 heart with every memory of his infancy ; — such was the Hebrew 
 mother to her son. Were the laws obeyed, there could be no 
 neglectful or sinning mother. Not even suspicion could attack 
 her. The law guarded her even from her own relatives, if they 
 
154 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 falsely wronged her, compelled her, even under the fear ofdeath4 
 to be chaste, hoi)', virtuous, and faithful in every duty of domestic 
 and public life ; and, therefore, it was a labor of love for her 
 children to obey their God in honoring her, and a crime worthy 
 of death, if indeed there could be found any sufficiently hardened 
 and rebellious as to disobey. 
 
 Again, we find in Deut. xxi. 18, " If a man have a stubborn 
 and rebellious son, wliich will not obey the voice of his father or 
 the voice of his mother, and who, when they h^ve chastened 
 him, will not hearken unto them, then shall his father and his 
 MOTHER lay hold of him, and bring him to the elders of the city, 
 and unto the gate of his place. And they shall say unto the 
 elders of the city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious ; he 
 will not obey our voice. And all the men of his city shall stone 
 hira with stones that he die. So shalt thou put away evil from 
 among you, that all Israel shall hear and fear." 
 
 We here find at length a practical commentary or example, 
 as it were, of the briefer laws on the same subject, given pre- 
 viously. To modern ears, and present notions of false refine- 
 ment, such commands seem unnaturally harsh and terrible. In 
 those times, they must have been needed, or they would not 
 have been given. And beautifully, even in their harshness, do 
 they demonstrate the reverential duty of Israelitish children to 
 their parents. Still more powerfully do they illustrate the per- 
 fect equality of father and mother in respect to their children. 
 It was not only that disobedience to the latter was equally 
 punishable as to the former, but that the voice of the mother 
 vvas also to condemn her son, or he could not be proved guilty ; 
 a peculiarly just law in a nation where more than one wife was 
 allowed. Without it, how often might the more favored work 
 upon the husband to believe false tales of the offspring of her 
 rival ! How often might innocence have been ccndenmed, in- 
 justice and cruelty permitted, in a man's own household ! Evils 
 effectually prevented by the father's witness being unavailable 
 without that of the accused's own mother — one, we must feel, 
 not at aU likely to come forward against her own child, unless 
 his crimes had been so heinous as to prevent the possibility of 
 her shielding him any longer. We have no recorded instance 
 of such a fearful evil in Israel ; but the severe law given in case 
 of such, should never be forgotten by us, marking, as it does, 
 
PKKIOD II. MOTHERS OF ISRAEL. 155 
 
 the wrath and justice of the Lord against all those of His chosen 
 people who could forg-et, neglect, or wilfully abuse, in any one 
 point, their duty to their earthly parents. 
 
 Although mothers are not indi\ idually commanded to instruct 
 their children in the knowledge of God and His Law, they are 
 certainly joined with the fathers in the performance of that 
 sacred duty. Every statute, every ordinance, given by the Lord 
 to Moses, was always introduced by the command, " Speak ye 
 to the Children of Israel ;" " Say ye to the children of Israel ;" 
 or, " Hear, Israel ;" words including the whole congregation, 
 male and female. Had man only been included, Moses would 
 have addressed them as sons, or as fathers of tribes, as we tind 
 Aaron and his sons, and the priests or Levites, in some few in- 
 stances particularly specified. That woman is intimately joined 
 with man in the religious instruction of her children, is also 
 proved by the fact that the mothers of the kings of Israel and 
 Judali are always mentioned by name, as if to them, yet more 
 than to their fathers, they owed their early impressions of good 
 or evil which their after lives displayed. The very commands 
 regarding parents are strong confirmation. A son could not 
 honor, and fear, and love his mother, if he only owed her his 
 first nourishment, and received nothing at her hand but the 
 same instinctive care as the brute creation dis])lay towards their 
 young. The immortal mind and soul of man must have some- 
 thing more to reverence and fear, even if the natural links bind- 
 ing mother and son were sufficient (which we much doubt) to 
 call for love. In conmianding reverence and obedience from 
 children, God knew that He had so gifted the Hebrew mother, 
 and so marked her duties and position, as to render such emo- 
 tions merel}^ her due. To her, then, as well as to the father, 
 are those important injunctions contained in Dent. vi. 20 — 2b, 
 empiiatically addressed ; and according to the measure of her 
 obedience to them, so will be the measure of her children's reve- 
 rence and love. 
 
 The same chapter, but a few verses previous, had solemnly 
 commanded Israel to love the Lord his God with heaii, and 
 soul, and might — to lay his words upon his own heart, and 
 teach them diligently to his children. And, after demanding 
 obedience and righteousness in other statutes, proceeds : " And 
 when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying. What mean 
 these testimonies, and statutes, and judgments which the Lord 
 
156 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 our God hath commanded you ? Then thou shalt say unto thy 
 son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt, and the Lord 
 brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand ; and the Lord 
 showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon 
 Pharaoh, and upon all his household before our eyes ; and He 
 brought us out from thence that he might bring us in, to give 
 us the land whicli He sware unto our fathers. And the Lord 
 commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our 
 God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it 
 is at this day. And it is our righteousness if we observe to do 
 all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath 
 commanded us. 
 
 On the weighty all, which to Hebrew parents is comprised in 
 these emiihatic verses, we must not at present linger, save to ob- 
 serve, that much as was required from parents, when the law 
 was given, and in Jerusalem, still more is needed now. AVe 
 have to add to the history of our bondage and redemption, that 
 of our glory and our sins — of our first captivity and our partial 
 restoration — our renewed and increased iniquities — of the long 
 suftei'ing, long forbearance of an infinitely merciful God — of His 
 averted, yet at length falling wrath — of our exile, our persecu- 
 tion, and misery — all which Moses himself foretold ; and yet 
 our never-dying hope, our incentive for constancy, even through 
 the flames of martyrdom, or the more lingering martyrdom of a 
 ci'ushed spirit and broken heart ; the imperative necessity of a 
 return unto the Lord through humility and righteousness, trust- 
 ing in Him to purify and save. 
 
 All this must now be added to the parental instruction 
 enforced by Moses : and all this is equally demanded from the 
 mother as from the father, would they receive to its fuh extent 
 the reverence ordained by God Himself. For not hj precejH 
 alone must this instruction be given. The young spirit must 
 be led by example as well as exhortation. Let him see that 
 the instructions of his parents come from the heart as well as 
 lips — influence their thoughts, words, and actions — nay, their 
 very being — and never need they despair. However long it 
 may be before the fruit they have sown appear, it will spring 
 into beautiful maturity at last, and shed its purest fragrance in 
 that hour when the faitliful mother watches the rapid approach 
 of that last struggle which shall wing her spirit to the footstool 
 of her God. 
 
PERIOD II, MOTHERS OF ISRAEL. lo7 
 
 Will, then, the Hebrew mother rest content with the station 
 assigned her by the ignorant and the prejudiced, and not strain 
 every nerve, rouse every energy, to make the command of the 
 Eternal for her children to honor and fear her, easy, and joyous 
 to obey ? 
 
 She has done, and she does this ! Not a slur, not a stigraa, 
 not a shadow can be Hung upon the conduct of Hebrew mothers 
 to their offspring. Neglect, injustice, partiality, want of affec- 
 tion, harshness, coldness flung by fashion between mother and 
 child, that littleness and jealousy which would keep back youth- 
 ful loveliness for a longer individual reign, — such things may be 
 known — may be common — among other nations, but to the 
 Hebrew they are utterly unknown. It is easy to assert that the 
 woman of Israel is degraded and a slave ; but did such false 
 accusers visit a domestic circle — did they but see a Hebrew 
 mother and her children — they would find it difficult to prove 
 it. Then let every son of Israel receive such religious training 
 from his mother, in addition, or rather closely twined, to the 
 moral and intellectual education she has so long given, that he 
 may be ready, from his very boyhood, indignantly to repudiate 
 the charge, and prove, by his whole conduct — alike in public 
 career, as well as his domestic reverence and love — that his 
 mother is as free in the sight of man, as responsible in the sight 
 of God, and as much the possessor of an immortal spirit as his 
 father and himself. 
 
 To the Mosaic religion, then, and to no other, does not only 
 Israel, but every other nation by whom the Bible is acknow- 
 ledged divine, owe the elevation, the dignity, the holiness of 
 woman as a mother, a position marked out by God Himself, 
 and proclaimed and held sacred, not only by the awful threat of 
 punishment, but by the solemn promise of divine reward. How 
 sacred then to every son and daughter of Israel must be their 
 duty to their parents ! Disobedience, neglect, ecorn, are no 
 longer capital offences according to the justice of man ; but, 
 oh ! let us not for one moment forget, that the same God who 
 commanded that such they should be, is watching over Israel 
 still, will demand from every child if His command has been 
 obeyed — from every parent if they have done their duty, and 
 taught their children from earliest years, that disobedience to 
 them is disobedience to their God, and in His eyes, and in His 
 lavj, a capital offence. Were this truth niore constantly, more 
 
158 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 impressively enforced, the reciprocal duties of parent and child 
 would be more easily and more happily fulfilled ; and the heart- 
 burnings, the anguish, occasioned to parents by neglect and 
 unkindness, and the rebellion and constant struggles of their 
 offspring to fling off an authority which has never been exerted 
 in infancy, and so nnist gall in youth, alike be at an end, and 
 Israel's homes, as well as Israel's law, proclaim the guiding spirit 
 and loving mercy of the Lord. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 LAWS FOR THE WIVES OF ISRAEL. 
 
 The laws instituted for the protection, the position, the duties, 
 of the wives of Israel, were more peculiar to the manners and 
 customs of the East only, than those relative to mothers, which 
 can be obeyed and attended to in every age and clime. Still 
 much was instituted, even with regard to wives, which marked 
 and fixed their position, and decidedly elevated woman in the 
 scale of being, and proved that, though, as was just and wise, 
 " her desires must bow to her husband, and he should rule ovei 
 her," yet that this rule was to be one of perfect confidence 
 and love. 
 
 It has always appeared a mystery, how any person, even 
 among the Gentiles, who has seriously reflected on, and studied 
 the word of God, can assert that it was only through the 
 preaching of Jesus and his apostles that woman took her proper 
 station, and those ordinances were given, which restrained the 
 passions of men, and made marriage a pure and holy tie. 
 Centuries before the advent of Christianity, those laws wee 
 given, which, regarding and prohibiting too near consanguinity 
 in marriage, are acknowledged and obeyed by the whole civi- 
 lized world. Where do we find, amid the Gentile nations, the 
 purity, the chastity, the stainless virtue of woman, to the extent 
 
PERIOD II. WIVES OF ISRAEL. 159 
 
 which is still the glory of Israel, and which owes its origin 
 simply to the laws which were issued by the Lord through 
 Moses ; seeming, indeed, most terribly severe, but blessed in 
 their very severity by the beautiful purity in Israel which they 
 wrou'j-ht? Were the law of Moses universally recei\'ed, how 
 different would be the aspect of the world ! 
 
 Polygamy was permitted in Israel, at the period of the deli- ' 
 very of the law, simply because the Eternal's mercy would not 
 interfere with an immemorial usage, which his wisdom knew, 
 from local customs and long-indulged habit, would demand 
 violence to be relinquished. The laws lie instituted in no way 
 interfered with those habits of His people which custom had 
 endeared ; His prescience leaving to time that improvement and 
 greater refinement of the human race, which demands ages to 
 accomplish, but which would at length fling aside of itself every 
 fetter that once had linked it to the customs of less enlightened 
 nations. The Eternal never works by superhuman agency, 
 when His gracious plans can be accomplished without it. " A 
 thousand years in His sight are but as yesterday when passed, 
 and as a watch in the night ;" but His infinite wisdom knew, 
 that, to finite man, that period is ever fraught with progression, 
 and His omniscience leaves to time, according to the reckoning 
 of humanity, the eflect of His law in the amelioration and im- 
 provement of the human race. Our very banishment amid the 
 nations, a banishment occasioned by Israel's sinful abuse of the 
 tender mercies of the Lord — by his retrogression instead of ad- 
 vancement, in the glorious career to which he was destined — by 
 his indulgence of every guilty passion, and utter forgetfulness of 
 his fethers' God to bow down before the idols of his idolatrous 
 wives — this very banishment will purify Israel from the grosser 
 part of his Eastern nature, and render him fitted, by increase of 
 purity and refinement, to become once more the first born of 
 the Lord, from whose beautiful land those laws shall issue once 
 a^ain, to emanate in reviviuo- light and o-ladness over the whole, 
 world. "imL 
 
 But, though permitted by the Mosaic law, polygamy was so I 
 restricted, that the protection, happiness, and well-doing of both 
 wives were provided for; no partiality could permit injustice; 
 the man that did so wixs punishable by law. " If a man have 
 two wives, the one beloved and the other hated, and they have 
 borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and if the 
 
160 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 first-born son be hers that is hated, then it shall be, when he 
 maketh his sons to inherit all that he hath, that he may not 
 make the son of the beloved first born before the son of the 
 hated, which is indeed thp first born, but he shall acknowledge 
 the son of the hated for the first born, by giving him a double 
 portion of all that he hath." 
 
 The Hebrew term translated hated here, as in the case of 
 Leah, does not signify so strong a feeling, but simply the one 
 less beloved than the other. And, as had already been practi- 
 cally illustrated in the wives of the Patriarch Jacob, this law 
 provides for, and fixes the perfect equality of both ; guarding 
 tlie less beloved from all the evil eftects of indiscriminate par- 
 tiality, and utterly preventing the father from doing injustice to 
 her otispring. The care taken of every member of a Jewish 
 family — from the strongest to the weakest — by the law of God, 
 would, had that law been obeyed, have efi'ectually prevented 
 that fearful abuse of the Lord's mercy in not interfering with 
 the ancient customs of His people, which in the time of the 
 monarchy so disgraced and desecrated Israel. But let not the 
 scoffer cast the odium of such abuse on the Jewish Law. That 
 law was pure — infused with the love, the compassion, the fos- 
 tering care, the justice, and the severity of the God from whom 
 it came. Its obedience would have wrought "the days of 
 heaven upon the earth." Its disobedience, springing from the 
 innate sinfuhiess of man, wrought evil from the good, and 
 plunged the whole nation of Israel into that fearful abyss of 
 crime, which could only be expiated by ages of misery and 
 blood. 
 
 But though allowed to exist without being considered a crime 
 at the period of the redemption from Egypt, for the reasons 
 stated above, the laws of Moses, relating to conjugal duties, pro- 
 vided for one wife alone, thus proving the superior and holier 
 purity of such unions in the sight of God, and thus forcibly 
 marking the distinction between those customs which were to 
 last for ever, through every age, and race, and clime, and those 
 which were merely nationalized from previous habit and asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 The oneness of heart and feeling, of purpose and obedience, 
 which was ordained by God Himself, from the very beginning, 
 to exist between husband and wife, and which could only spring 
 from perfect equality, is most beautifully infused throughout the 
 
PERIOD II. "WIVES OF ISRAEL. 161 
 
 law. Inferred from the simple fact, that in every recorded 
 instance of enumeration at festivals, eating- of holy meats, obedi- 
 ence to commandments, &c., the wife is not distinctly men- 
 tioned, although every other domestic relation is expressly 
 stated. As one with her husband, the wife was included in the 
 emphatic thou, to whom the command or ordinance was ad- 
 dressed. The children and servants of a household might have 
 rebelliously turned aside from the precepts of the Lord, but the 
 wife's duty and hapjjiness were one with her husband's. Her 
 will was his, when that will was guided and sanctified by the 
 will of God. That she could require the divine command indi- 
 vidually to keep holy the Sabbath day, to share the feast of the 
 offerings, &c., was a supposition too utterly at variance with her 
 duty as a daughter and wife in Israel, to demand a distinct law ; 
 being counted amongst those to whom Moses proclaimed, "When 
 all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God, in the 
 place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all 
 Israel in their hearing ; Gather the people together, men, 
 women, and children, and the stranger that is within thy gates, 
 that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord 
 your God, and observe to do all the words of this law," no He- 
 brew wife could have needed more, for she, as well as her 
 husband — one with him — was the recipient, the obeyer, and the 
 promulgator of every law in which there was no specified dis 
 tinction of individual duties. 
 
 That the omission of wife in the commandments and ordi- 
 nances which specify other members of the family, cannot be 
 taken in any other light, is proved by the fact, that wherever 
 there was a possibility of her occupying a distinct position, or 
 being engaged in anj devices or employments contrary to the 
 will of her husband, she is expressly named. 
 
 " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife,^'' is emphatically 
 commanded by the same Divine Voice which omitted her, or 
 rather included her in the " thoii''' to whom the fourth of the. 
 same precepts, whence the line we have quoted was the tenth, 
 was given. Thus guarding her safety, and prohibiting the very 
 first thought towards her which could have led to sin. 
 
 Again, " if thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, 
 or thy daughter, or the loife of thy bosom, or the friend whom' 
 thou lovest as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, ' Let 
 us go and serve other gods, whom thou hast not knowii, thou 
 
162 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 nor thy fathers,' &c., thou shalt not consent unto hira, nor 
 hearken unto him ; neither shall thine eye pity, neither shalt thou 
 spare, neither shalt thou conceal him." Here, in intimate conjunc- 
 tion with the preceding commandment, is a positive mention of 
 the wife, supposing her to be actuated by feelings and principles 
 so distinct from her husband, as to tempt him to sin. The 
 omission of wives in ordinances where every other member of 
 the household is named, is not then in any way whatever to 
 suppose her a nonentity, a mere name in Israel, but simply to 
 mark her oneness with her husband, in every duty to her God, 
 and in every command and restriction of His law addressed 
 to the CHILDREN of Israel, and, therefore, binding on them 
 
 BOTH. 
 
 " When a man has taken a wife, he shall not go out to 
 war; neither shall he be charged with any business, but he 
 shall be free at home for one year." Were this the whole law, 
 we might justly suppose that the happiness of man was alone 
 regarded ; but it is not so. Why was this year of release 
 granted him ? For his own enjoyment ? his own pleasure ? 
 No ! but to " cheer up " — or, in other words, to make happy 
 — the wife which he had taken. Words how exquisitely 
 descriptive of the Eternal's tender sympathy in the earthly 
 happiness of his children ! He condescended to enter into the 
 minute details of domestic life ; He guarded even their earthly 
 happiness from all contingencies, and proved that he demanded 
 not His love to be realized only in sorrow, but that joy, chas- 
 tened, spiritualized by gratitude and love, was equally acceptable 
 and blessed. 
 
 Man might find happiness apart from his wife, even in the 
 first year of his marriage. The exciting call of war, or the grosser 
 and more engrossing claims of business, might easily obtain 
 such dominion as to render him less careful of his home, less 
 anxious for the happiness of his wife, than were he free. 
 Woman has no such claims to share her heart with her hus- 
 band. Almost more than any other time in her young exist- 
 ence does she need the protecting care and fostering tenderness 
 of man, in the first year of her wedded life. She has left the 
 home of her youth, the fond parents who had lavished on her 
 such love and care, that it seems strange how she can possibly 
 exist without them. She has turned from her occupations, the 
 imusements of her early years, dear from long association, to 
 
PERIOD II. VflVKS OF ISRAEL. 163 
 
 eater into an entirely new scene, new feelings, new duties, new 
 responsibilities : and for guidance and support, under her God, 
 looks with justice to her husband alone. She may be called 
 upon to battle with sickness and with pain, and she has no 
 longer a mother beside her to give her the fond cares of a ten- 
 der nurse, and take from her all household duties. She has 
 turned from all for the love of One ! And how may she be 
 happy if that one be torn from her by the call to war, perhaps 
 never to return, or by civil duties, which, though the lesser evil, 
 might yet check the daily intercourse of mutual love and con- 
 fidence for which she pines ? 
 
 But, left " free for one year," how much of felicity, not only for the 
 present, but the future, would that single ordinance bring to both. 
 And must not we, the lineal descendants of those to whom such 
 a revelation of God's love was given, feel, to our heart's core, 
 that God is indeed the God of love which he proclaimed Him- 
 self to Moses ? Surely no woman of Israel can fear to approach 
 Him, deeming Him a being too awfully holy to look on such as 
 her, when that unapproachable holiness is veiled by such a flood 
 of irradiating love towards her individually, that she is more 
 than weak, is guilty, if she keep aloof, and refuse, under the mis- 
 taken plea of too great unworthiness, to clasp the mercy proffered, 
 and fold its healing balsam to her heart. God would not bid us 
 love Him, if we were too unworthy so to do. He would not in 
 His every law. His every promise, demonstrate His compassion- 
 ating care. His appealing love, His long-suffering mercy, did He 
 deem us too unworthy to receive them. Can the flower that 
 gems the grass give back the loving care that there hath placed, 
 guards, and will renew it ? Can the bird give back the foster- 
 ing Jove which guards its fragile form, teaches the construction 
 of its tiny nest, and guards its helpless young ? Can the insect 
 know and return the Father's love that guards its gossamer life, 
 blesses it with acute sensation, and endows it with such wisdom 
 in the construction of its web, nest, or cell, as to excite man's 
 envy ? Yet, has not the Eternal care for these ? and will not 
 therefore all Nature confirm His precious word, and tell us He 
 has equal care and' equal love for us ? True, we have sinned — 
 we do sin — and, alas ! will sin again, till that blessed day when 
 the " stony heart shall be replaced with a heart of flesh," which 
 will, unsullied by mortal frailties, cleave unto the Lord. Yet 
 Grod has given us power to struggle with and resist the evil, if 
 
164 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 we cannot in this world wholly conquer it. He has told us, 
 that " His ways are not our ways," and, therefore, however 
 incomprehensible to finite man, " in Him shall the Seed of 
 Israel be justified, and shall glory." He has taught us in 
 infinite compassion, what we must do, and how feel, to be 
 acceptable in His sight ; not in the law alone, for if we study 
 only that in our captivity, we shall be appalled by the ordinan- 
 ces we cannot now perform, but in His prophets and the Psalms, 
 which, as rules of conduct and of feeling, will give us all we 
 need. 
 
 As a statute of the Israelitish state, the law we have been 
 considering is no longer obeyed ; it cannot be, for w* are not 
 now in our own land ; but it is the spirit of the ordinance which, 
 so nearly concerns us, more especially as women. 
 
 To recognise to its full extent the distinction between the ways 
 of God and the ways of man, .so beautifully displayed in this our 
 law, let us think one moment on the policy actuating leaders and 
 lawgivers of more modern times, men professing to be guided 
 by the spirit of love and peace. Whei'e, in feudal times, do we 
 find provision thus made for the newly-wedded ? A stigma, 
 never to be blotted out, would have clung round the name and 
 reputation of that man who would not turn from his home and 
 young wife, even on his marriage day, at the first rude call to 
 lawless, and often most unnecessary war. Where do we find 
 lawgivers, princes, and nobles, ever taking into consideration the 
 comfort and peace, we will not even say happiness, of their 
 female follovvers ? Where were laws ever issued fur her, to 
 guard with fostering tenderness her gentle virtues, her clinging 
 affections, her domestic charms ? Where, save in the law of God ? 
 To attract attention, to win respect, to obtain protection, she was 
 vjompelled to be more great ih?^\\good, to leave her natural sphere, 
 and manifest fortitude, bravery, and devotedness, qualities indeed 
 excellent in themselves, but, as proved in the middle ages, only 
 valued for their near relation to the qualities of the warrior, and 
 departure from woman's ordinary habits and home. And by 
 what thousands of sutfering women, of all ages, must these cha- 
 racteristics have been unattainable, and in consequence how 
 manv thousands left to all the misery of deserted homes, crushed 
 afJections, and the countless nameless tortures borne by woman 
 in a lonely unprotected path ? And much later than the feudal 
 times, a period but very little ivmoved into the past, — shall we 
 
PERIOD II. — WIVES OF ISRAEL. 165 
 
 say the horrible conscription which devastated France, and every 
 conquered territory owning Buonaparte as master, manifested that 
 care of woman, tliat tender sym|>athy in her every feeling, which 
 we are told is only found with the believers in the gospel ? We 
 must judge of the divinity of laws by the spirit which, from their 
 observ.mce, emanates over those to whom they are binding. 
 The Jewish law is, on many points, during our captivity, impos- 
 sible to be observed. Yet we see the spirit of its ancient ordi- 
 nances still guiding our homesteads, impelling the gentlest and 
 most confiding spirit towards woman in every relation of life. 
 The Hebrew may scarcely be conscious what actuates his tender- 
 ness towards his wife and children, but it comes from the spirit 
 of that law, given to his fathers, in which woman was marked 
 as the especial care and protection of the Lord. The law, in form, 
 like che human frame, may die for a time, but the spirit of the 
 ordinances, like the soul of the body, is immortal, and will revive 
 again the shell from which awhile it may have flown. 
 
 The law of Vows is considered by some derogatory to the dig- 
 nity of woman, by rendering her liable to the will of her husband, 
 and subject to his approval, even in her devoting herself to her 
 God. We will endeavor to prove that the supposition is mis- 
 taken. Equally acceptable and responsible as man in the sight 
 of God, still, as we have said before, " her desires were to bow to 
 her husband." She neglected her conjugal duty if she pursued 
 any course, even under the pretence of religious motives, con- 
 trary to his will. A singular vow demanded a voluntary 
 relinquishment of domestic duties and enjoyments, to devote 
 herself in some way to Ilis service ; it is generally supposed in 
 some employments of the Tabernacle, or in the service of His 
 poor, or in the " binding oath to afflict the soul," giving herself 
 up for a certain time to individual fast and prayer. Now few 
 women in Israel, except orphaned single women, and childless 
 widows, could be so independently situated as to make and fol- 
 low up these vows without interfering with some nearer domes- 
 tic duty. Woman's sphere in the law of God, without doubt, 
 is HOME ; her noblest attraction, devotedness to those with whom 
 she is there thrown in daily intercourse. Some women there 
 are, who find not only duty, but pleasure there — not only love, 
 but safety. Others again, restless and discontented, fancy they 
 should be happier, and better, and more useful, anywhere but 
 where they are, and gladly seize the first pretence to turn aside. 
 
166 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL, 
 
 Spiritual devotedness is too often a worldly snare, and tbe 
 pride of holiness the most dangerous temptation which can 
 possibly assail us. We have often heard (amongst the Gen- 
 tiles indeed, not amongst ourselves, for we have unha[)pily too 
 few enthusiasts of any kind) of what is termed a saint (we abhor 
 the falsity of the term, but we are using now the language of 
 the world). One avowedly devoted to the cause of religion ; 
 passing hours in her closet, surrounded by religious books, all, 
 we may observe, commentaries^ but not the Word of Life 
 itself; or, with religious friends, wearing a peculiar dress, and 
 most peculiar manners ; visiting the poor, more often with tracts 
 than food; censuring every innocent amusement as profane, and 
 temptations of Satan ; bearing words of humility on the lips, 
 but of pride in heart ; outwardly condemning and abhori'ing 
 her own sins, but inwardly thanking God that she is so much 
 holier than others ; robing religion in such dark and terrible 
 colors, that the young spirit shrinks from it, and plunges in the 
 world with renewed zest, to escape from the faintest semblance 
 of its acceptance. 
 
 If there be such, mistaken they certainly are ; but their 
 judgment rests with Him whom they seek after their own 
 thoughts to serve, not with their brother man, who, without 
 sonre more true and sacred guide, might equally be led astray. 
 Wb have merely alluded to this class of religious enthusiasts, 
 more cleaily to manifest the evil which the law of vows effectu- 
 ally excluded, but which, without such law, might, from the 
 holiness pervading God's people, have been more than likely to 
 ensue. 
 
 Man did not need such restraint upon his " singular vows ;" 
 because, in the first place, he was more independent than 
 woman ; in the next, reason, not feeling, being his guide, he 
 was not likely to fall into the temptation of ill-regulated enthusi- 
 asm, even in his holiest and dearest duty. Woman's guide in 
 general is feeling : she is a creature of impulse, ever likely, 
 unless strongly yet tenderly restrained, to turn aside from the 
 safer and less excitable path of daily duty, wherever the affec- 
 tions or the enthusiasm of the moment may lead. More 
 especially is she likely to fall into this temptation when first 
 awakened to the claims, and beauty, and comfort of religion. 
 The simple duties of home then seem little worth, compared to 
 the service of heaven. Herself, her parents and brothers, bus- 
 
PERIOD II. WIVES OF ISRAEL, 167 
 
 band and children, appear of slender consequence compared to 
 the state of her aftections and feith towards God. The perfect 
 compatibility of her duties towards God and towards man is 
 unperceived. She cannot realize that the unfatiguinjr, unex- 
 citing duties of domestic usefulness, infused with thoughts of 
 God and of His word, is the path most acceptable to Him ; 
 and severing, instead of uniting, she neglects what she deems 
 the lesser, to pursue the greater duty. 
 
 Many avenues were open to the wives of Israel to tempt the 
 taking " singular vows." The birth of children, the recovery 
 from illness, escape from danger, receipt of some unexpected 
 blessing, dread of impending sorrow, or misfortune extraordi- 
 narily averted, and sin repented of, all these might, in the close 
 links which, when the law was given, bound Israel to the Lord, 
 and in the warm passionate emotions of Eastern women, have 
 impelled either the vow of service, to make manifest their 
 thanksgiving, or the vow of affliction by fasting and prayer, to 
 propitiate the Lord and turn away His wrath. And this vow 
 might be taken in a moment of strong feeling, without sufficient 
 thought as to the possibihty of its performance, without inter- 
 fering with the comforts of her husband and children, or her 
 duties to her household. Was it not, then, just and wise, that 
 the impetuous feeling of woman should be guided and tenderly 
 restrained by the calmer, stronger reason and foresight of man ? 
 
 But that this dependence on her husband in no way subjected 
 her to his caprice, is proved by the law which we will extract 
 at length. " If a woman shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and 
 bind herself by a bond And if she had at all a hus- 
 band when she vowed or uttered aught out of her hps wherewith 
 she bound her soul ; and her husband heard it, and held his 
 peace at her in the day that he heard it, then her vows shall 
 stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. 
 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard, 
 then he shall make her vows which she vowed, and that which 
 she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none 
 
 effect, and the Lord shall forgive her Every vow, and 
 
 every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish 
 it, or her husband may make it void. But if her husband hold 
 his peace at her from day to day, then he estahlisheth all her 
 vows, or all her bonds which are upon her. lie confirmeth 
 them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard 
 
168 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 them. And if he shall any ways make them void, after that he 
 hath heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity." (Num- 
 bers XXX. 3, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15.) 
 
 We here find most particular care taken to shield woman from 
 that indecision and caprice from which she is so often the 
 innocent suflerer. 
 
 The honor, respect, and deference which should characterize 
 a wife's conduct and feelings towards her husband, are first 
 enforced. For the unperformed vow, or the breaking the vows 
 of the lips, the Lord will forgive her, because they have been 
 disallowed by her husband. But they must be disallowed wAera 
 taken. If from indecision, or weakness, or unkindnes-;, in the 
 determination to thwart the wishes of his wife, he neither forbids 
 nor confirms, but remains silent, that silence, in the sight of 
 God and to his wife, is confirmation. He has no power 
 capriciously to prevent the fulfilment of her bond or vow by 
 declaring that silence is not consent, and he does not choose 
 that her vow shall be performed. He cannot do this. His very 
 caprice is effectually prevented, for, if he acts thus, the woman's 
 breach of vows will indeed be forgiven to her, but he shall 
 BEAR its iniquity, — a law whose beautiful justice marks its 
 divine origin more forcibly than almost any other guiding the 
 conduct of husband and wife. 
 
 No human legislator could have enacted it, for what lawgiver 
 of earth could have gone so deeply into the very heart of man, 
 and guarded the domestic relations of life from such petty yet 
 constant misery as caprice ? 
 
 One most consoling truth we learn by this law : it is in itself 
 a direct and positive refutation of the charge brought against 
 us, tliat Jewish women have no access to God — no right what- 
 ever to interfere with the requirements and ordinances of 
 religion. Were woman the creature of a day, passing hence to 
 be no more, with neither hope of reward nor liability to wrath, 
 beyond this world, why should she have the power of making 
 vows at all ; and so solemnly, that did man interfere with their 
 due performance, he should bear her iniquity, and woman — aye, 
 the despised and degraded woman — should be forgiven ? 
 
 The candid and unprejudiced reader of the word of life, be 
 his faith what it may, must perceive how mistaken is such a 
 charge ; and let not, then, our young sisters be tempted to quit 
 their native fold for another, where they are told greater privi- 
 
PERIOD II. WIVES OF ISUAEI, . KIO 
 
 leges await tliem, both as women and as immortal beings. Let 
 them not be terrified by the charge that, as Jewish women, they 
 are soulless slaves. But let them come to the word of God, 
 and prove that there is their shield, there \s their defence. That 
 there their God Himself has revealed a love and care for His 
 weaker childi-en, too deeply, too nearly, too blessedly for them 
 to need aught else ; that there is their hope, as there is their 
 consolation. 
 
 Yet more to protect his feebler creation from the fierce passions 
 and unjust accusations of Eastern natures, the Most High, in his 
 infinite mercy, instituted the law of jealousy, an awful and most 
 terrible law, yet one which every innocent woman must have 
 hailed with thankfulness, and which every guilty woman must 
 have died ere she could have faced. Tlie various sins prohibited 
 by the voice of God Himself, in His Ten Commandments, are all 
 in His sight of equal magnitude, and, therefore, without any 
 reservation whatever, were all punishable with death. And 
 well ha;:l it been for the purity, virtue, and happiness of man, 
 had this blessed law continued in force as it was given, and 
 thence had emanated over the whole world. It has been called 
 a law of fire and blood, given but to destroy and be destroyed. 
 But the charge is false. The Eternal knew the natures of those 
 to whom it was given — that severity was needed for the time ; 
 and had that severity been used, and the law literally and purely 
 OBEVED, even as it was intended, each generation would have 
 been purer and more spiritual than the former, till that holiness 
 was at length universally attained, which would indeed have 
 brought " the days of heaven on the earth ;" and Israel would 
 not now have been persecuted and tortured in some lands, and 
 an exile and a wanderer, houseless and piiestless, in them all ! 
 
 Adultery, even as idolatry, sabbath-breaking, murder, &c., 
 was punishable by death. In Israel, the ruthless spoiler of man's 
 dearest shrine — his home, sacrificed not only his honor (which, 
 however high sounding, to such characters must be but a name), 
 not only his standing and his wealth, but his life. Aye, and 
 not the tempter only, but the wife, the mother, who could fling 
 misery upon a tortured husband, and undying shame upon her 
 helpless babes. Yet amid a people irascible and fierce, too 
 liable to jealousy to examine calmly and justly, as we know is 
 the case at this very day with every Eastern nation, a law was 
 imperatively needed to protect the helpless and innocent, alike 
 
170 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 from false charges and a husband's unjust liate. No man could 
 take justice into his own hands, lie dared not injure the 
 reputation, or take the life of his wife, without having" her guilt 
 proved by God Himself A false accusation had no power to 
 fling shame upon her, or render her station doubtful, as it would 
 now. The Most High llimself interfered in her defence, and 
 proved, in the face of the whole people, her innocence and 
 honor ; as, were she guilty, He took into His own hands her 
 punishment, and the manifestation of her guilt. 
 
 The law of jealousy is not in general regarded by the women 
 of Israel as it ought to be. False refinement shrinks from it as 
 a thing perfectly unnecessary and antiquated now. Nay, perhaps 
 as a law so horrible, so indelicate, that they wondei that it is 
 not expunged from the Bible. By us it is welcomed as another 
 most consoling and unanswerable proof of the Eternal's tender 
 mercy towards us. The full extent of its use and justice can 
 only be realized by contrasting it with the statutes of the south- 
 ern and eastern nations, with whose quick passions and excitability, 
 Israel, when the law was given, had more in common than with 
 the cooler and more dispassioned north. 
 
 With the followers of Mahomet does not a mere thought, a 
 mere suspicion, unaided by the very shadow of proof, commit 
 the hel[>less woman to a watery grave, with none to interfere in 
 her behalf, or mourn her when at rest? None to clear her 
 name, or bring the false and cruel husband to justice and to 
 shame ? And amidst those bearing the Christian name, do not 
 tin Italian and Spaniard make as murderous use of the stiletto 
 or the drugged cup, as the Moslem of the sack ? That such 
 misery is seldom heard of in Protestant countries, coir,es not 
 from actual law, but from that greater civilization and refinement, 
 which must spring from public and private communion with the 
 Bible. This is the safeguard of Protestant women, and this 
 they owe to the spirit of that law given to us by God Himself. 
 Some among the Gentiles there are, honest and spiritual enough 
 to acknowledge this ; and from our very heart we honor such 
 honest lovers of truth. But others, and unhappily the greater 
 number, there are who fling shame and dishonor upon the 
 women of the very people for whose safety those blessed laws 
 were framed, the spirit of which is now guiding the Protestants 
 themselves. 
 
 By contrasting the law vouchsafed to us with those guiding 
 
PERIOD II. WIVES OF ISRAEL. l7l 
 
 the Gentiles of all denominations, we learn to know the true 
 value of the blessed fiiith which we possess, and are armed 
 agjainst all insidious elforts to turn us from it. But this can never 
 be whilst the women of Israel regard the laws of Moses only in 
 a national and local, not in an individual view, believing that, 
 because they are no longer in actual use, they only relate to 
 them in their several positions in Jerusalem, and do not in the 
 least concern them now. 
 
 They do concern us, most nearly and most consolingly. He 
 whose infinite mercy gave them has not cast uf from His love, 
 though, for a time, compelled for our sins to bear witness to the 
 nations of His justice and His wrath. Yet for us, as a people, 
 and each of us individually, He bears the same infinite long- 
 suftering love which he bore to our ancestors in Egypt. We 
 learn this from every prophet, who never spoke of sin without 
 holding forth forgiveness, who never prophesied dispersion and 
 banishment without comforting with the promise of restoration ; 
 and we know the extent of our Father's Love towards us, by 
 every statute of His law. 
 
 The interference of the Most High in cases similar to those 
 calling for the law of jealousy, the wives of Israel may no longer 
 need : but are there none in minor circumstances wrongfully 
 accused ? None needing a Father who knoweth every secret 
 thought and inward struggle, to whom to look when man may 
 wilfully wrong, or blindly misappreciate ? None who struggle 
 on in the petty, but how sadly wearing, trials of daily life, to do 
 what seems the best, to act the kindest, to banish every throb 
 of self, and sacrifice all of individual comfort and enjoyment to 
 further the comfort and the wishes of another, yet finds her 
 every effort turned against herself, and armed with acutest woe? 
 In such cases, and who shall say there are none such, where caa 
 woman turn, but to her God '^ Where find consolation, save in 
 the belief that her innocence, her efforts, rest with Him, and He 
 will one day make them known ? Where shall her heart, 
 bleeding and toi'n from its earthly rest, find peace, save in His 
 love ? Oh ! what woman bearing the name of Israel, can hesitate 
 one moment to pour forth her every grief to him, and feel she 
 is individually his care, and He will plead her cause ? 
 
 The express commands relating to the marriages of the priests 
 is another beautiful proof of woman's perfect equality in Israel, 
 and compatibility to be holy unto the Lord, by sharing the 
 
172 T H K WOMEN OF ISRAEL 
 
 holiness of liis elected servants ; a proof, also, that in His service 
 the Eternal demanded no sacrifice of human affections. They 
 were, indeed, to be sanctified to Him, to be infused with His 
 spirit, and so to become a blessing and a joy to His servants ; 
 but never to be annihilated, and so give temptation for the most 
 awful abuses and crimes, as in the monastic seclusions of the 
 Roman church. The sanctity, the purity, which was to attend 
 the wife of the priest, -was a further incbntive to the purity and 
 holiness of the women in Israel. Superiority of actual ranks 
 there was none, but superioiity in virtue there was, and to gain 
 that superiority was in the power of all women under the guid- 
 ance of the law. The priests were the very highest and noblest 
 in the sight of the people, being the elect of the Lord, and the 
 ministers of His will. How pure, then, and lioly, must have 
 been the ambition to become worthy of selection as the priests' 
 wives; and how beautifully is the superior holiness and sanctity 
 of the women of Israel bruuglit forward by the simple fact that 
 the priests of the Lord might only choose a wife from " their own 
 people !" 
 
 It is evident, then, from every law we have regarded, that, 
 instead of being degraded and enslaved, the wives in Israel were 
 peculiarly and especially objects of the Eternal's love. For their 
 safety, their honor, those laws were issued, now recognised by 
 the greater part of the civilized world ; and all those who deny 
 this shake the very foundations of the whole system of morality, 
 urder whatever creed it may be found. The Gentile is in very 
 truth " debtor to the Jew " for far more than he acknowledges ; 
 for every law unconsciously guiding and sanctifying his domestic 
 relations, refining his own conduct, elevating his own mind, for 
 every law blessing his home with a faithful wife, respected 
 mother, and duteous child. That, therefore, any woman can 
 fling odium on the Jewish law, can only excite our pity towards 
 her. The innocence, honor and purity, and domestic, social, 
 and religious duties of wives, being more clearly and unanswer- 
 ably developed in the sacred canon of the Mosaic law than in 
 any other, from the very simple fact that every other is founded 
 upon them. 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOK WIDOWS. 173 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 I, AWS RELATING TO THE WIDOWS AND 
 DAUGHTERS OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Before regarding the laws instituted for the widows of 
 Israel, let us pause cue moment on the full tide of anguish and 
 uniM-otected isolation comprised to woman in that one word 
 " widow," that we may comprehend our Father's love to the 
 full extent. What woman's heart, awake to kind and generous 
 feelings, can look upon a widow without sympathy — without 
 the yearning prayer that consolation may be granted her, and 
 her fatherless babes find friends to guide them through a 
 stormy world ? We know no description so thrillingly power- 
 ful of this, the heart's desolation, as the lines we subjoin. 
 
 '• Lone sharer of a widowed lot, 
 Where is the language, though a Seraph hymned 
 The poetry ot'lieaven, to picture' thee, 
 Wrec'-ed as thou art, whose life has now become 
 Affliction's martyrdom ? for such is love 
 Doomed to remain on desolation's rock, 
 And look for ever where the past lies dead 
 What is the world to thy benighted soul ? 
 A dungeon ! Save that where thy children's tones 
 Can ring with gladness its sepulchral gloom. 
 Placid and cold, and spiritually pale 
 Art thou. The lustre of thy youth is dimmed, 
 Th? verdure of thy spirit o'er. In vain 
 The beaming eloquence of day attracts 
 Thy heart's communion with creation's joy. 
 Like twilight imaged on a bank of snow 
 The smile that waneih o'er thy marble cheek." 
 
 Robert Montgomery. 
 
 Such, indeed, is the earthly sadness of the widow. One 
 with him who has departed, how may she tread the earth's 
 dark vales alone ? Where look for love to supply the place of 
 that now gone ? Where find a father for those babes, clinging 
 to her for that support, that love, which in her first bereave- 
 
1Y4 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 ment she feels utterly unable to bestow ? Where but in Him, 
 who in His law so especially provides for her and for her father- 
 less children; and, by -his prophets, reinforces the statutes 
 already given, and brings forward their neglect as one of the 
 manifold sins which called down His displeasure ? 
 
 We find in his gracious word not alone the command, but 
 the severe penalty attached to its disobedience, first in Exodus 
 xxii. 22, 23, 24 : " Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless 
 child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all 
 unto Me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath shall wax 
 hot, and I will kill you with the sword ; and your wives shall 
 be widows, your children fatherless." 
 
 Can any language more emphatically and forcibly denote the 
 tender mercy of the Eternal ? His love made their sorrows 
 His own. As a positive sin against Himself, He threatened to 
 afflict all those who dared afflict them by the infliction of simi- 
 lar suffering. He knew that, left to man's mercy, the widow 
 and the fatherless would often meet with oppression, fraud, and 
 injustice ; be defrauded of their natural rights, and afflicted by 
 hard creditors. Not only as a widow, called upon to bear 
 " affliction's martyrdom," but as a mother, to behold her chil- 
 dren a prey to suffering and want. In Israel this could not be. 
 The widow and the fatherless were God's own, for He knew 
 that not alone the wife, but the mother must be cared for. 
 
 " Leave thy fatherless children to Me," He said by His pro- 
 phet Jeremiah, at a time when misery, desolation, and destruc- 
 tion were falling on Judea and her sons for their awful iniquity. 
 " Leave them to Me, and I will keep them alive. And let thy 
 widows trust in Me." Even then, when disobedience and 
 idolatry had so cursed the land, that His wrath could no longer 
 be withheld, He reitei'ated the gracious promise given in His 
 law. Sunk into the lowest ebb of iniquity, how could the 
 widow and orphan be protected if left to the care of man ? 
 Where might they look, at such a season, but to their God, 
 who for them alone had mercy and long suffering still ? 
 
 The ruin and worldly misfortunes and trials, so often now the 
 portion of the widow, could not exist in Israel. The nation at 
 large was commanded to provide for them, and in every feast 
 of offerings or of festivals, and in the ingathering of their corn, 
 and oil, and fruits, to include the widow and the fatherless ; 
 laws not once, but several times repeated. " When thou cuttest 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOR WIDOWS. 175 
 
 down thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten the sheaf in 
 tJie field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it, but it shall be for 
 the sti'aiiger, and the fatherj.ess, and the widow, that the 
 Lord th) God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands. 
 When thou beatest thy olive tree thou shalt not go over the 
 boughs again, it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and 
 the WIDOW. When thou gatherest the grapes at thy vineyard, 
 thou shalt not glean it again, it shall be for the stranger, the 
 FATHERLESS, and the widow." 
 
 Nor was this all. The tithes of wine, corn, and oil, the first- 
 lings of herds and flocks, all of which were devoted to the 
 service of the Lord, that all worldliness and niggardliness should 
 be banished from Israel, and " they should learn to fear the 
 Lord their God always." The feast of Weeks and of the Taber- 
 nacles, when the families of Israel rejoiced before the Lord in 
 the place which He chose, the widow and the fatherless 
 were included. There was to be no affliction, no dependence, 
 no sorrow in Israel (though the poor were not to cease out of 
 the land) at these times. All were to rejoice before the Lord. 
 And yet more in addition : "At the end of three years thou 
 shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, 
 and lay it up within the gates. And the Levite, because he 
 hath no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger, and 
 the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, 
 shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, that the Lord thy 
 God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou 
 doest." And so important was obedience to this statute, that 
 its profession was necessary in the confession of him who came 
 to offer the basket of first-fruits, as a sign of his having come 
 unto the land of his inheritance. " Then shalt thou say," pro- 
 ceeded the instruction of the priest, " before the Lord thy God, 
 I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, 
 and also have given them to the Levite and the stranger, and 
 the fatherless and the widow, according to all thy command- 
 ments which thou hast commanded. I have not transgressed 
 thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them" (Deut. 
 xxvi. 12, 13). 
 
 Again, in Deut. xxiv. 17, it is not enough that we have 
 already heard, " thou shalt not afflict them," under the awful 
 penalty of similar affliction from the hand of God, but prohibi- 
 tion as to the manner of that affliction is expressly pointed out. 
 
 VOL. I. 9 
 
176 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL 
 
 "Thou slialt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of 
 the FATHERLESS, nor take a widow's raiment to pledge." Why? 
 Because they had no earthly friend to redeem the latter, or plead 
 for the former. Weak and unguarded, they were exposed to 
 all these evils, had not the Eternal, in His tender compassion, 
 taken them under His own especial care ; and, instead of com- 
 pelling them to depend on the insecure tenure of man's com- 
 passion, or even justice, instituting laws for their benefit, the 
 disobedience of which was sin unto Himself. 
 
 Had these laws been obeyed, it was impossible for the widow 
 and the fatherless, however destitute they might have been left, 
 to sutler mere worldly ills. The agony of the widowed wife 
 could not be increased by the thought of how she was to pro- 
 vide for her fatherless little ones. The Lord was their guardian, 
 and He gave her and her children the gentle care and affection 
 of their brethren in Israel; bidding her cry unto Him in sorrow 
 or affliction, for He would assuredly hear her cry, and punish 
 those who called it forth. 
 
 What nation, then, what code, however just, however perfect, 
 ever framed such laws as these ? " What nation," in truth, 
 " has God so near to them as Israel in all we call upon 
 Him for ?" Were no other laws relative to woman instituted, 
 these alone would be sufficient to mark that their very weakness 
 rendered them objects, even more than man, of compassion and 
 love ; for where has God provided for man as for woman in the 
 desolation of her widowhood ? 
 
 That modern Judaism cannot obey these laws now, as 
 when they were given, interferes not with the fact of their 
 institution itself Thi, ver r charge, reiterated, enforced as it 
 is, elevates woman, and excites towards her, not alone the 
 humanity and tenderness, but the res2')ect of man. How could 
 he feel otherwise towards those whom God Himself has pro- 
 mised to protect ? What stronger incentive could he have to 
 be forbearing and gentle towards her, and in no way to afflict 
 her, than that if he failed in kindness, his wife should be 
 widowed, his children fatherless ? Where shall we find a 
 law to disannul this, proceeding, as it does, from the mouth 
 of God ? 
 
 To the women of Israel, at the present day, how inexpressibly 
 consoling are these laws ! In form they can no longer be 
 obeyed ; but, as in the case of the statutes relating to wives, it 
 
l- E R I O D II. I. A W S 1' O U W I H () W S . l77 
 
 IS the spirit pervading them which we must take to our hearts, 
 till they swell in grateful thankfulness to Him who from Ilic 
 throne in heaven condescends to make widows His especial 
 care. And He does so now as then. God is immutable — a 
 Spirit of Truth, knowing not the shadow of a change ; and, 
 therefore, do we know and feel that the same love from which 
 issued those beautiful laws, actuates His dealings with his 
 people now. It is vain, utterly vain, to say we are cast off, 
 and, therefore, cannot claim it. The Bible teems with passages 
 relating to our banishment alone, and to the Eternal's deep love 
 borne towards us while in captivity, and, consequently, towards 
 us now. We could multiply passages on passages, from the 
 Pentateuch, Psalms, and Prophets, to prove this. But the very 
 words already quoted from Jeremiah would be almost sufficient. 
 When they were pronounced, the sins of Jerusalem were far 
 more heinous than those of Israel in her captivity. Yet even 
 then God took the fatherless and the widow under His fostering 
 care ; separating them for the innocence of the one, and the 
 unprotected weakness of the other, from the mass of iniquity 
 which desecrated Judea. 
 
 As concerns His compassion towards us now, we shall find 
 them so distinctly, so clearly enforced in Leviticus xxiv., 
 particularly from verse 40 to the end, and in the whole of 
 Deuteronomy xxx., that to doubt and keep back, from a suppo- 
 sition of our inability to approach our God, and claim His love 
 in our captivity, becomes actual guilt, and is likely not only to 
 throw a wider and wider barrier between Him and ourselves, 
 but to expose us more dangerously than any other temptation 
 to the sophisms of the Nazarene, who, in mistaken kindness, 
 would terrify us from our sole rock of refuge and strength, by insist- 
 ing that, cast out from the Lord's favor as we are, nothing can 
 save us from eternal perdition but the acceptance of* their faith. 
 The more solid sense and unimpassioned reason of man may, 
 and do, effectually guard him from such danger ; but woman's 
 quicker feehug and more easily blinded judgment need all the 
 defence and rest in a divine love which the study of her own 
 faith, and its manifold manifestations of the Eternal as a God 
 of truth and love, alone can give. No argument is more likely 
 to weigh with a strong-feeling, unguarded woman, knowing 
 little or nothing but the mere formula of her own religion, than 
 -he idea, if pressed at a right moment, that the law of Moses il 
 
lY8 T H K WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 a law of fire and blood, given only to destroy, and that the 
 religion of Jesus is one of love; that Jewish women can have 
 no comfort in adversity, but that as Christians they will find all 
 they need ; that in the one Faith they must feel themselves 
 degraded, as in the other exalted and secure. 
 
 Now, without aflFecting actual creed at all, temptations like 
 these, unless fully and faithfully convinced that we, as women 
 of Israel, have privileges still higher, must on some dispositions 
 fall with sufficient weight as so to confuse and entangle, that 
 even belief is adopted ere we are at all aware of what we are 
 about. We allude not to those whom reason only guides — 
 who, cold, unimaginative, passionless themselves, laugh at feel- 
 ing, because they know it not — who find philosophy always 
 sufficient for their need. But the larger portion of women, crea- 
 tures of mere feeling and impulse, we would beseech to come 
 to the Word of God, and derive thence, in the days of youth 
 and happiness, that peace, love, and consolation, which if 
 unknown till " the evil days come, and the years when thou 
 shalt say, I have no pleasure in them," may be sought, from 
 very blindness and wilfulness, in a stranger fold. The argu- 
 ments we have quoted would fall to the ground by the simple 
 answer, that as women of Israel, we have all we need ; that 
 God revealed His deep love to us ages before He became known 
 to our Gentile sisters ; that while we possess His blessed Word, 
 we can never feel too unworthy to claim the tenderness he so 
 proffers. He Himself has given us privileges in every relation 
 and position in life which no other nation has, except as derived 
 from us, and that, instead of fire and blood, the whole Jewish 
 law to woman teems with love. 
 
 These feelings, inculcated in childhood, felt and experienced 
 in riper years, will be sufficient for woman, and enable her to 
 realize all the blessed consolation which every law relating 
 to her so spiritually bestows. Not to widows only, but to all 
 who are in affliction, the Divine spirit infusing every law vnist 
 bring comfort, by evincing how closely, how consolingly, she is 
 drawn to God. 
 
 Can the widpw and the fatherless in Israel recall this truth, 
 yet not bless God that the record of His law is still our own, 
 granted that in times of dispersion and banishment we might 
 not despair, even though the form of the law must be, till our 
 restoration, at an end ? Oh, let the afflicted take comfort ! 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOR WIDOWS. lYS 
 
 She has but to believe and obey, and the deep compassion of 
 her God will perfect both, and render them acceptable. Let 
 her but think on the magnitude of that love which has pro- 
 vided for her both as widow and mother. That by name she is 
 singled out as especially the object of Divine solicitude, and, 
 therefore, that the Eternal knew and knows the heaviness of 
 her trial, the extent of her deep sorrow, the pressure of her cares. 
 Let her recall every law given for the widow and the fatherless, 
 and remember that He who gave them knows not the shadow 
 of a change, and, therefore, feels for her now as tenderly as He 
 did for her ancestors of old. What is time to Him ? We 
 luok back with our finite gaze, and think there is such a wide 
 distinction between past and present, that the laws given for 
 the one can in no way concern the other. Customs, manners, 
 all of earth may change, but not the nature of the immortal 
 soul, nor of the human heart. From the beginning of the 
 world, until the end, these loere^ are, and tvill be the same. 
 And so is He from whom they spring, and who guides and 
 cares for them now as when He first grafted them into man. 
 What, then, is time to Him ? Can frail finite humanity believe 
 that tijne has changed His tenderness towards His afflicted 
 children ? Oh ! who would throw such scorn, such disrespect 
 on that word which repeats and enforces in every manner of 
 expression, " I, even I, am He, that changeth not ; therefore ye 
 sons o^ Israel are not consumed ? " Let the widows of Israel 
 take to their hearts every law which manifests His love towards 
 them as widows. They are as much theirs now as at the 
 moment they were given. Let them not believe, for a single 
 moment, that the superior holiness of their ancestors gave them 
 greater favor in the sight of their God. He saith, " Not for 
 your own sakes will I do this, O Israel, for ye are a perverse 
 and rebellious generation, but for the sake of the covenant I 
 swore unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." And 
 again, in strong confirmation, " For mine own sake, even for 
 mine own sake, will 1 do it ; for how should my name be pol- 
 luted : and I will not give my glory to another." (Isaiah 
 xlviii.) With such words how may we hesitate ? Come unto 
 Him, ye widows of Israel, /or ye are His. Clasp to your 
 hearts His love.* Think not ye can weary it, for "God is not 
 man, that He should he, nor the son of man that he should 
 repent." Let no thought of unworthiness keep us back, for not 
 
180 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 in our own righteousness, but in His, must we trust. And oh. 
 believe in Him, trust in Him ; and, as the widows of old, in 
 our very affliction we shall be comforted, and to the Gentiles 
 show forth His glory. 
 
 Our next section, the Daughters of Israel, while it principally 
 relates to the duties of our younger sisters as inferred from the 
 laws concerning tliem, also brings much important matter to 
 light, regarding the equality of women. 
 
 In every command and ordinance relative to obedience to 
 parents, to the eating of holy things (Levit. xi. 14; Deut. xii. 
 and xvi.), to appearing and rejoicing at the various festivals 
 (Deut. xvi.), daughters, equally with the sons, are so emphati- 
 cally specified, that it is impossible to believe that the religious 
 as well a-s the moral duties of the law are not equally incumbent 
 on ivoman as well as man. It is useless to transcribe the verses 
 which point this out, as they will be found, in their own simple 
 force of expression, in the chapters of the Lord's own Word 
 quoted above. Were the maidens of Israel to keep aloof from 
 all religious observances, to be bound to household duties and 
 frivolous employments, become authorized to leave all the con- 
 cerns of an immortal soul and of eternity to the care of fathers, 
 husbands, or brothers, we should find no mention of such a class 
 of beings. Nay, had the Eternal even intended that their fitness 
 or unfitness for His service should depend on the judgment of 
 man, we should still find only the sons mentioned. But to 
 remove this entirely, the attendance of the maidens of Israel at 
 every rejoicing, etc., becomes an absolute command from God, 
 and its disobedience, neglect, or change, was sin against Him- 
 self. Such laws as those of Mezuzzot or Tephilim were given 
 in an indeterminate manner, requiring the aid of the priest to 
 decide who should wear the latter, and how use the former ; 
 but the obedience of the daughters of Israel, with their brothers, 
 unto every ordinance, is so clearly and simply put, that the 
 mind must indeed be perverted who would seek to deprive them 
 of such blessed privileges, and insist that religion is too deep a 
 thing for woman. 
 
 God bade woman as well as man love Him with heart, and 
 soul, and might ; knowing that to all who did so, the compre- 
 hension of His will. His attributes, was comparatively easy, and 
 obedience to His every statute a labor of rejoicing" and love. To 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOR DAUGHTERS. 181 
 
 learn and to feel this in youth, woman, equally with man, must 
 be taught to know and love tlie Lord, not left to the mere prac- 
 tice of forms ; must be taught, that to appear at His festivals, to 
 keep llis ordinances, to obey Ilis commandments, are privileges 
 of joy, granted to them in the fulness of God's love, and mark 
 the distinction between His rule and that of every other. They 
 would be led to corni>are their station and their privileges as 
 maidens of Israel, with those of the women of Greece and Rome, 
 and every contemporary nation, and, in more modern times, 
 with the women of many a Gentile land. Civilization, and a 
 study and practice of the moral laws of the Bible, are doing 
 their work, and pervading the customs and feelings of the Naza- 
 rene world ; but their guiding law breathes not the Eternal's 
 especial care for woman, in her every relation of life, more for- 
 cibly than ours does. 
 
 That the daughters of Israel must have had the power to 
 obtain influence over their fathers, even to persuade them to 
 evil, is proved by their being specially named in the law already 
 quoted, regarding the punishment of all those, be they brother, 
 son, DAUGHTER, wife, or friend, who enticed to idolatry. 
 
 Again, we are told in Deut. vii. 2, 4, alluding to the care 
 needed to preserve the Israelites a holy people, and prevent all 
 communion with the idolatrous nations around : " Thou shalt 
 make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them ; neither 
 shalt thou make marriages with them ; thy daughter thou 
 shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take 
 unto thj son. For they will turn away thy sou from following 
 me, that they may serve other Gods, etc. For thou art an holy 
 people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen 
 thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all the people 
 that are upon the face of the earth." 
 
 " Son," in the sentence " for they will turn away thy son," 
 etc., evidently signifies both son and daughter, as both are spe- 
 cifically named in the preceding verse, and<the Hebrew word 1?., 
 though always translated son, is equivalent to the English noun 
 child, for which there is no distinct Hebrew term. " Children 
 of Israel," is written in Hebrew exactly as if it were translated, 
 " sons of Israel" (^5**^''^''? '^■jr'), but it evidently and unanswer- 
 ably includes both sexes, by the words already quoted : 
 " Gather the people together, meu, women, and children," and 
 other verses of similar import. As Israel had been already 
 
182 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL, 
 
 warned against giving liis daughter in marriage to a son of 
 Canaan, she is, of course, included in the danger thence ensu- 
 ing, although only " son" is mentioned ; the plural meaning of 
 that " son" being evident from the pronoun following it being 
 they instead of he. " For they will turn aside thy child from 
 following ME, that they may serve other gods." 
 
 Now if nothing depended on women in Israel to uphold and 
 make manifest the glory of their God, in obedience to His law 
 and in serving Him, what necessity was there for this law ? If 
 her soul was of less moment than that of man, why should it 
 have been so carefully guarded from pollution ? This law of 
 itself would be sufficient to prove to the daughters of Israel their 
 solemn responsibility, not only individually, but nationalk/ ; 
 and we shall find still more. 
 
 In Numbers xxvii., we read that the daughters of Zelophehad 
 eame " before Moses, and all the princes of the congregation," 
 and, boldly stating the death of their father without sons, 
 inquired, "why should the name of our father be done away 
 from among his family because he had no sons ? Give us, 
 therefore," they continued, " a possession among the brethren 
 of our fathers. And Moses brought their cause before the 
 Lord. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters 
 of Zelophehad speak right. Thou shalt surely give them a 
 possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren, and 
 thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto 
 them. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying 
 If a man die, and have no son, then shall ye cause his inherit- 
 ance to pass unto his daughter." 
 
 Now this simple narration very clearly proves that the civil, 
 as well as religious privileges were protected and insured. Here 
 are five unmarried women, most probably young, and acting on 
 no guidance but their own sense of right and justice, as incul- 
 cated by the whole law of Moses, unhesitatingly addressing their 
 great Lawgiver, in presence of all the heads of Israel, and fear- 
 lessly stating their case. ■ Their position must have been one of 
 perfect freedom, or they could not so have sought Moses, and 
 not only been heard, but, because he did not feel himself ade- 
 quate to pronounce a decision on a case never before occurring, 
 tbeir-cause was brought by him before the Lord, and God Him- 
 self deigned to reply. They had spoken right, the Eternal said ; 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOR DAUGHTERS. 183 
 
 the inheritance should be as they said, not only to them, but 
 ever after, as a law in Israel. 
 
 We see here, not only the daughters of Israel protected and 
 established in their birthrights, but the practical illustration of 
 the Eternal's gracious promise repeated in Deut. x. 17, 18, " For 
 the Lord your God is a God of gods and Lord of lords, a mighty 
 and a terrible, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward, 
 but does execute the judgment of the fatherless and the 
 widow." The daughters of Zelophehad were fatherless ; per- 
 chance (for such is human nature), surrounded by those who 
 disputed their right, deeming that woman could have no civil 
 privileges ; compelled to do violence to their feminine nature, 
 and make an appeal ; whereupon God, not man, took their judg- 
 ment in His own hands and gave them right. The supposition 
 of their having to encounter human opposition, is further con- 
 firmed by the event of the thirty-sixth chapter of Numbers. 
 The chief fathers of the tribe of Manasseh, to which Zelephehad 
 belonged, came before Moses and the heads of Israel, stating 
 the inconvenience of female inheritance, as being likely to be lost 
 by marriage with some other tribe ; and in the jubilee, when 
 every man returned to the inheritance of his fathers, the portion 
 inherited b}' daughters would be amalgamated with the inherit- 
 ance of the tribe whereunto they were received. This difficulty, 
 to mere human reasoning, would have seemed so to interfere 
 with the statute already given, that man would have been at a 
 loss how to overcome it. But that which God has once said, 
 He altereth not; and lie bade Moses inform the children of 
 Israel, that " the tribe of the sons of Joseph had said well. This 
 is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the 
 daughters of Zeloph«bad, saying, Let them marry to whom 
 THEY THINK BEST ; ouly to the tribe of the family of their father 
 shall they irarry. And every daughter that possesseth an in- 
 heritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto 
 one of the families of the tribe of her father, that the children of 
 Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers." 
 
 Even in this law, so important for the peace and harmony of 
 the tribes of Israel, the Eternal disdained not to caij| also for 
 the temporal happiness of His weaker children, by expressly 
 stating, that their choice was to be vhom they think best ; 
 bounded, indeed, by the tribe of their father, amongst whom as 
 they principally associated it was most natural their choice 
 
 9* 
 
184 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 should fall. No arbitrary law interfered with domestic happi* 
 tiess. Neither consanguinity, fortune, nor any of the modern 
 reasons, impelling unions of convenience, of ambition, or of any 
 kind but of the lieart, interfered with woman's own choice of 
 happiness. Heiress in her own right, with none daring to in- 
 terfere with the judgment of God Himself, she might select 
 whom she thought best to share the possessions accorded to 
 her. No human judgment, no thought of man, would have so 
 cared for woman. The law, indeed, might have been given, but 
 those impressive words, "Let them marry whom they think 
 best," speak but of the omniscient care and infinite love of God. 
 
 The law of vows we have already enlarged upon in our second 
 section, the wives of Israel ; yet, as its ordinance concerns the 
 daughters of Israel also, we must briefly recur to it. The nature 
 of those vows, and in what manner they are liable to abuse, we 
 have already seen. A daughter might, perhaps, more easily 
 than a wife, devote herself by a singular vow to the service of 
 the Lord, but more easily also be led into its abuse. A young 
 woman (for it is to such the laws refer — see Numbers xxx. 16), 
 while in her father's house, performs her duty to her God, and 
 proves her zeal in His service to greatest perfection, while evinc- 
 ing her obedience to the fifth commandment, and devoting 
 herself as much as possible to the comfort and happiness of her 
 parents, and to all the unobtrusive claims of home. This, as 
 we have said before, is often neglected during the early enthu- 
 siasm of first religious impressions, and the wish to do some- 
 thing great and striking, to "evince the fervor of her professions, 
 occupies the mind to the exclusion of all else. This, in Israel, 
 is effectually guarded against, by rendering the daughter de- 
 pendent in some measure on the will of her father, and by so 
 doing increasing the veneration, love, and submission, which, 
 did she obey the fifth commandment, she could not fail to bear 
 him, at the same time guarded, like the wife in Israel, from all 
 capriciousness or indecision, and the petty trials thence pro- 
 ceeding. 
 
 That she had the power, even when in her youth in her 
 fether's kouse, of devoting herself by a vow unto the Lord, 
 clearly evmces that even young women had access to the Eter- 
 nal, and their prayers and service were graciously accepted by 
 Him, without any interference of man. 
 
 This is the spirit of the law concerning us most nearly now, 
 
PERIOD II. L A W a T. o R i: A U ij 11 1 K n s . ] 85 
 
 and which every young daughter in Israel sliould lovingly 
 remember, that young, lowly, weak as she is, and dependent as 
 she may be, she has yet the glorious privilege of devoting her- 
 self to the service of her God. No longer, indeed, by a singular 
 vow, calling upon her to depart from home duties, and aftections, 
 for outward service, nor by a binding oath to afflict the soul by 
 departure from her usual food and innocent amusements, but 
 simply by associating the love of God and hope of His approval 
 with all her thoughts, and the meek and unpretending effort to 
 make manifest spirituality and holiness in every action, every 
 trial, every blessing of her life. This will be less difficult to 
 accomplish if she do but study, heartfully and prayerfully, His 
 precious word, and read there, borne out by the whole beautiful 
 world of nature, the blessed record of God's unfaihng love ; if 
 she will but persevere in trust and prayer, and not despair if 
 many many times she turns seemingly unanswered from the 
 "Fount of living waters, and her earthly nature tempt her to put 
 her whole trust in " cisterns, broken cisterns that will hold no 
 water." This was Israel's sin, which, more powerfully than any 
 other, at length hurled on her the Eternal's long-averted wrath ; 
 and, knowing this, we shall sin threefold now if we sti'ain not 
 every nerve to resist all such specious coloring of earth, and 
 cleave under every difficulty, spite of disappointment, of despond- 
 ency, of doubt, unwaveringly to the Lord. 
 
 But let not the young daughter of Israel, rejoicing in her fond 
 enthusiasm that she is so specially designated in His law, 
 believe that to do His work is easy and all joy, as at ^'st it 
 seems. There must come a time, if she truly seek and pray to 
 love Him, that He will try that love ; not, it may be, with the 
 afflictions publicly acknowledged as such, but with the coldness, 
 deadness, utter stagnation of the spirit, as if all of religion, or 
 even inte\3st in religious things, had entirely departed. "Biis 
 is the most fearful period in the religious experience of the 
 young. They doubt every feeling of piety which had been 
 theirs before. They mentally ask, why should they be different 
 to their more worldly comjianions, who are ever happy, ever 
 gay ? Why should they voluntarily resign such pleasures for a 
 service that, instead of bringing comTort, does but make them 
 miserable ? Were they not over presumptuous to have supposed 
 for a moment that God could care for such as they, and would 
 it not be wiser and better to join the multitude, who, living but 
 
1 86 T H K WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 for earth and time, never cast a thought on heaven and eternity ; 
 for to whom can they express feelings so impossible to be 
 beheved or understood ? 
 
 Oh ! let not such periods of trial turn the daughter of Israel 
 from that better path which an earlier age has chosen. Come 
 indeed they must^ for God thus tries the extent of His children's 
 love. The truly, sincerely, spiritually religious of every creed, 
 of every class, have experienced all that they may feel. It is 
 the dread " phantom of the threshold," which must be resisted 
 by its only all-subduing foe — that faith which can ascend on 
 the wings of prayer, and trust in God to give comfort, hope, 
 and joy. It is no proof of superior holiness, of more rapid 
 advancement in the one straight path, where these emotions are 
 unknown. It is rather an unanswerable evidence that the spirit 
 yet sleeps, unawakened to its weakness, its dependence. It does 
 not yet know the workings of the Lord within ; or that its 
 fancied strength may be broken as a reed. Oh! let not the' 
 young daughter of Israel, when bowed and sorrowing beneath 
 the strange despondency of heart and thought, envy these. 
 God hath not departed from her. He doth but try the strength 
 of her faith and love. If comfort, if spiritual joy always attended 
 on religious service, where would be that necessity for faithful- 
 ness and constancy ? Where the trial of love, if ever coupled 
 with reward ? Where its strength, its durability, if the first 
 moment the object of its aspirings appear to forsake, to darken 
 His countenance towards them, it takes wing to some more 
 rewarding god ? Would we love a mortal thus ? And shall 
 we do less for God, who^e love we know to be so unending, so 
 infinite, so exhaustless, and who never in reality withdraws it, 
 though to try us He permits the human infirmities of frame to 
 produce the darkness under which we pine ? 
 
 ^ould we, in truth, follow the example of our ancestors, and 
 devote ourselves to our God, we must endure this meekly and 
 trustingly, as we would any more tangible evil, or more visible 
 affliction. And even when this is removed, through His loving 
 mercy, and again our souls spring up rejoicing, though more 
 chastened, let us still " remember the days of darkness, for they 
 shall be many." Religion in no way saves us from afflictions, 
 but it supports us under them. It gives us what nothing else 
 can give, the unvarying comfort of a Father's l^ve, and an 
 unfailing hope in heaven. 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOK DAUGHTERS. 187 
 
 As ill former ages a young woman could not devote herself 
 by a singular vow without the approval of her father, although 
 with her spiritual feelings he had no power to interfere, so now 
 let every daughter of Israel abstain from every public or pre- 
 sumptuous evidence of religious profession which can interfere 
 with the prejudices of her parents. The spirit of that beautiful 
 religion which was granted to us, and which will again be ours, 
 was " to tui'n the heart of the fathers to their children, and the 
 hearts of the children to their fathers ;" not to sow dissension 
 and disunion. Whatever a young woman may feel, however 
 grieve at what she may think is wanting in the theoretical or 
 practical religion of her parents, it is her duty to pray and wait. 
 God will answer in His own time, but it is no part of her duty 
 either to condemn or cease to love. No parent will interfere 
 with a child's religion, if, instead of being obtruded upon him, 
 it does but guide alike conduct and feeling, impel obedience 
 and cheerfulness, and strengthen to endure. The motive of these 
 superior characteristics an irreligious and unbelieving parent 
 may not, indeed, for long years perceive ; but, almost uncon- 
 sciously, he will learn to respect the prejudices of such a child ; 
 and if, indeed, it may please God to permit such earthly recom- 
 pense, she may be the blessed means of leading him to the 
 same God, the same immortal goal. 
 
 But this can never be if she obtrude religion, or in the 
 slightest degree evince a supposition of her own superior holi- 
 ness. It is indeed one of the hardest trials in life, to see any 
 one of those whom we most love perseveringly reject all we 
 feel the dearest, most important. But if we bring it before 
 God, He will give us strength to continue constant in prayer 
 for them, and lessen the evil we deplore. The case of a parent 
 refusing to let his child serve God, and make religion her first 
 object, is utterly unknown in Israel ; but should it be, in this * 
 instance only a child is imperatively called upon to disobey. 
 The commands of an earthly parent must be disregarded, if 
 they interfere with and. compel disobedience to the commands 
 of God. Leviticus xix. 29 authorizes our upholding this. 
 Although the case itself, in which there is a daughter guarded 
 from an unnatural father, be diflferent in details, yet it is equally 
 protective in the present instance ; and a child may be fully 
 assured, if the command of her father compel disobedience tc 
 her God in any one of His commandments (for all are of equal 
 
188 THfi WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 sanctity to the one alluded to in the verse quoted), her painful 
 duty must be to disobey. 
 
 But a state of things so fearful can never be in Israel, if a 
 daughter's religion be practised as we have hinted above. 
 
 There may be indifference, there may be the apparent absence 
 of all spiritual religion ; but no man who wishes to be thought 
 an Israelite, ever neglects the peculiar forms of his faith, and his 
 daughter, therefore, has no cause for dividing herself from him, 
 however more earnest, more spiritual, may be her individual 
 views. She may have to bear with the neglect or disregard of 
 some ordinances which her heart tells her are sacred, but if she 
 have the will she has the power to keep her own way undefiled ; 
 and if she be truly and sincerely a daughter of Israel, every 
 parental disregard of holy things will bring her to her God yet 
 more earnestly in prayer. 
 
 One othei" point we would urge ere we quit the subject. Let 
 not Israel's young daughters fancy, that to devote heart, mind, 
 and soul to God, demands the relinquishment of those innocent 
 pleasures and enjoyments for which God himself has framed our 
 hearts. There are many among the Gentiles who believe reli- 
 gion wholly incompatible with recreation and amusement ; that 
 all social pleasures must be resigned ; only certain books perus- 
 ed and even some accomjilishraents forbidden, as likely to lead 
 to sin. The religion of God is, on the contrary, so consistent 
 with man's capabilities and yearnings, that we never can believe 
 these things incumbent upon us. The first grand object of our 
 lives, in truth, it must be; and that gained — which, if we incul- 
 cate the immoi'tal spirit of religion as well as its more perishable 
 form unto our children, it will be — we need not fear that enjoy- 
 ment either of social intercourse or of intellectual resources will 
 turn us from it. God has framed us to give and to receive plea- 
 sure. He has stored our hearts with sweet emotions, our minds 
 with inexhaustible resources. We best make manifest our deep 
 and grateful sense of His loving-kindness by its enjoyment. 
 " God loveth a cheerful giver," we have somewhere read. And 
 in no religion is this sentiment so truly, practically illustrated as 
 in ours, coming, as it does, from God Himself. A knowledge of 
 ourselves, which, if we are accustomed in youth to examine our 
 hearts by the standard of God's word, we shall undoubtedly 
 obtain, will warn us of those weaknesses and failings most likely 
 to lead us into temptation ; and we shall guard against these, 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOR DAUGHTERS. 189 
 
 and either conquer them through His infused grace, or shun 
 them till the strength we implore is granted. "J'here is no need 
 to become different in seeming from our fellows, and tacitly con- 
 demn and chide every innocent amusement and resource by our 
 refusal to join in them. The idea that no amusement is inno- 
 cent, that nothing we do, think, or feel is free from sin, is not — 
 blessed be God ! — the creed of Israel. He hath appointed our 
 religious and moral duties ; He hath laid down our earthly path ; 
 He hath tauglit us how to look to Him, and how by faith we 
 shall be justified, and through His infinite mercy be received 
 with Him. He hath stored our souls and minds with exhaust- 
 less capabilities of happiness, even upon earth. He hath gather- 
 ed around us in His beautiful world a thousand objects to call 
 forth love, gratitude, and joy ; and He who is truth and justice 
 would not have done these things, were we so inca|)able of 
 righteousness, as from our birth to be blackened with such sin as 
 only blood can wash away. 
 
 Let me not be misunderstood, or accused of contradicting my 
 own theory, so to speak, for my theory is the theory of the Bible. 
 Liable to every weakness — more inclined to the evil than the 
 good — we are; but such is inherent from the time that our hea- 
 venly origin was changed and marred by the dominion of the 
 passions, infirmities, and weakness of earth. And it was for 
 such beings the law was given, to aid them to subdue natural 
 corruption, to give them opportunities to exercise righteousness, 
 virtue, and faith ; to awaken the immortal part of our nature ; 
 to arouse all those better, higher, and purer feelings, which, how- 
 ever dormant, cannot die, for they have been breathed into us 
 by the spirit of the Lord ; and for which, if we neglect and let 
 them ever sleep, because we fancy we either possess them not, or 
 are too closely bound to arouse them, we shall be called to a 
 fearful account. Not one single point of the Eternal's precious 
 word — the Bible which we acknowledge — authorizes a belief in 
 the Gentile creed. 
 
 The particular mention of the superior sanctity of the priests' 
 daughters, evinces that the holiness of the fathers was shared by 
 the daughters. They were to partake of the holy meats, not 
 only in their youth ; but if widows, or divorced, without child- 
 ren, had the power of returning to their father's house. A fur- 
 ther proof of the holiness incumbent ou her as the daughter of 
 the Eternal's appointed servant, and one who had power by her 
 
190 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 conduct either to exalt or " profane her father," we find, in Lc\it 
 xxi. 9, a different and more awful death appointed for her, if she 
 became sinful, than the usual mode of Hebrew executions. 
 These laws, of course, cannot concern us now (though would 
 that they could, our priests being, as they oug-ht to be, the first 
 in rank and consequence of our nafion), but the spirit oi" them, 
 as of every other relative to the women of Israel, tends to mark 
 their equality, their elevation, and their immortal responsibility, 
 so forcibly as to prevent all possible rejoinder. Were the pray- 
 ers of man sufficient for the welfare of woman — had she no 
 individual soul to render account of — there would be less neces- 
 sity to notice the wives and the daughters of the priests than any 
 other. The superior sanctity of their husbands and fathers 
 would surely be more than sufficient for them. We trust, how- 
 ever, we have said enough to convince our young sisters that, as 
 Daughters of Israel, they have higher and nobler privileges than 
 the daughters of any other race ; that their God Himself has 
 deigned to give laws and* ordinances for their especial guidance 
 and protection, which cannot be gainsaid without verging on 
 impiety. And that, therefore, much, very much, deperids on 
 them, one and all, to uphold His glory through their own reli- 
 gious and moral dignity, and give evidence, alike to their own 
 hearts, and to those nations, by word, thought, and deed, that 
 they need nothing more than their own beautiful religion to guide 
 them through earth and time, and fit them for eternity and hea- 
 ven. They can do this, and will they fail ? 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MAID SERVANTS IN ISRAEL, AND SUNDRY 
 OTHER LAWS. 
 
 Our fifth section alludes to a class which (we say it with 
 grief) no longer exists amongst us, and, therefore, can only be 
 looked upon as a still further proof of the Eternal's loving care 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOR SKRVANTS. 197 
 
 for His female children. It cannot guide us till once more we 
 have maid-servants of our own faith amongst us. How often, 
 how constantly, this subject has engrossed the thoughts and 
 wishes of the writer, that by any possible means, the daughters 
 of our poorer and dependent brethren could be received as 
 domestics in our families, and so enable us to adhere to the 
 laws framed for them, can be known but to the Searcher of all 
 hearts ; for when spoken to man, the idea is received but as 
 high-flown folly, impossible to be realized. If so considered by 
 the mass, there is no help for it, and so it must remain till it 
 please God to put His spirit once more within us, and enlighten 
 the darkness which, in some instances, has gathered around us, 
 rich and poor. 
 
 That it is only the rich and influential who can bring about 
 reform in our poorer classes we quite acknowledge. Their reli- 
 gious education must be carried on on a diflerent basis. The 
 spirit and meaning of every form must be inculcated, or they 
 can never rise from the ignorance and superstition in which, 
 through long ages of fearful persecution, they are plunged. The 
 mind and heart alike must be enlarged ; their own dignity, 
 their own responsibility inculcated ; the distinction between 
 essential and local laws ; the superior, the unchangeable sanc- 
 tity of the law of God, combined with reverence and love for 
 the fence which good, and wise, and holy men have raised 
 around it. Were these things inculcated, there would be many 
 eager to accept the offers of service in Jewish families, and find 
 their obedience to their God quite compatible with their duty 
 to their employers. Of course we allude not to those establish- 
 ments in which but one or two servants only are kept. We 
 simply mean those classes where there are upper and lower 
 domestics — where one day in the week the former may not be 
 called upon either for servile work, or to break through any of 
 the forms which hallow the Sabbath day. There are such 
 things, we have heard, as head nurses, who, even though Gen- 
 tiles, have nothing to do with the servile work of their nursery 
 kingdoms. Ladies' maids, who have nothing to do but needle- 
 work, dress hair, and attend to their mistress and young ladies. 
 Housekeepers, even housemaids, where there are upper and 
 lower. All these situations might, were they properly educated 
 for it, be filled by the maid-servants in Israel, without interfer 
 ing one tittle with their adherence and obedience to their Faith. 
 
192 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 There must, indeed, be a will on both sides, the employers 
 and the employed, but were that will found, the way would 
 be easy. 
 
 E\'ery law instituted in Israel for the safety, happiness, and 
 welfare of the man-servant, mentioned by name the maid-servant 
 also. In obedience to the fourth commandment, in the protec- 
 tion of the tentii, in every festival and fast, every ordinance 
 binding on Jewish families as well as individuals, we find the 
 maid-servant expressly named ; thus proving that, thoUa^h her 
 actual rank was subordinate, though her duties were distinct, 
 she was as carefully and tenderly provided for as the daughters 
 of a family themselves. Even in the eating of holy things, 
 which some might suppose a privilege only granted to the heirs 
 of households, she was associated. No man could rejoice before 
 the Lord by himself; sons, daughters, widows, fatherless, men- 
 servants, and maid-servants, all were included, and so distinctly 
 enumerated, that not one could be omitted without a decided 
 breach of law. The twenty-first chapter of Exodus and fifteenth 
 chapter of Deuteronomy treat powerfully on the protection and 
 kindness demanded towards male and female domestics. The 
 simple words, " they shall not go out as men-servants do," 
 reveal the loving care for their protection, that they should not 
 be exposed to all the rougher labor of the field and out-door 
 service incumbent on the males. To sell her to a strange 
 nation, which would be the natural desire of the injurer and 
 the deceiver, to conceal his sin, no man had power ; for, if he 
 did so, she could not regain her freedom at the end of seven 
 years, and be restored to her family, as was the law in Israel. 
 If he betrothed her to his son, she was to become even as a 
 daughter ; and if, as was the custom of the East, another wife 
 were taken, her food, her raiment, her duty of marriaire, he had 
 no power to diminish. If he failed in either, she was free and 
 spotless, alike in the sight of God and man. These beautiful 
 laws appear, not only pretty convincing of the equality of 
 female servants with their male brethren in the same class, but 
 rather a startling manifestation of the falsity of the charge, that 
 wives in Israel are degraded and abased. If even a female 
 slave, when raised to become the wife of her master's son, was 
 to be regarded sis a daughter, to retain her every privilege as 
 first-selected wife, however the capricious heart of her husband 
 might select another of his own rank, we rather imagine that 
 
PERIOD II. LAWS FOR SERVANTS. 193 
 
 every grade of Hebrew wives was equally protected by the 
 Lord, and that no man whatever had power to degrade them. 
 
 All injury committed on a female servant exposed her master 
 to punishment of equal severity as the injury of a male. He 
 dared do her no hurt, for if he did, whether through prede- 
 termination or momentary passion, she was his slave no longer. 
 She had power to appeal from him to the representatives of her 
 God, His priests, and she knew justice would be done her, for 
 to do it was the ordinance of God. And, even without injury, 
 the term of servitude was over in the seventh year. The 
 extremity of destitution might have compelled a parent to sell, 
 or rather to devote, his child to servitude ; or reasons less 
 imperative might urge his doing so, knowing that his children, 
 even though they worked, would be better provided for, and 
 perhaps more easily enabled to keep every ordinance of the Lord, 
 in the family of their master, than struggling on for a scanty 
 subsistence, nominally free. The poor were not to cease out of 
 the land, that the people might obey the words of their God, 
 in which He bade them, "Open thine hand wide unto thy poor 
 brother, to thy poor and to thy needy in thy land ;" and then, 
 as a practical ilkistration of how the hand is to be opened wide, 
 we are told that when our brother a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew 
 woman, has been sold, and served in a family six years, we were 
 not only to let him, or her, go free, which, did we act according 
 to the finite judgment of man, there would be many to think 
 sufficient ; but they were to be furnished liberally out of the 
 flock and the floor (i. e. barn, meaning corn), and out of the 
 wine-press ; of all wherewith the Lord had blessed us we were 
 to give unto them. And not satisfied with having already 
 mentioned the Hebrew woman, as included with the Hebrew 
 man, in these laws, the law again enforces the equal rights of 
 both, by repeating, " and also unto thy maid-servant thou shalt 
 do likewise ;" adding, with that exquisite spirit of love infused 
 through every law, " It shall not seem hard unto thee, when 
 thou sendest him away free from thee, for he has been worth a 
 double hired servant, in serving thee six years, and the Lord thy 
 God shall bless thee in all thou doest." Now, had there been 
 no other mention of woman, these beautiful laws would have 
 been sufficient to prove her equality with man in the sight of 
 the Eternal. The illustration of these laws was given before 
 the precept, in the Most High's dealings with Hagar, as we have 
 
194. THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 already seen ; as a bond-slave, and one not even of His chosen. 
 He had compassion and love for her ; and that His people 
 should endeavor as strong'y as lay in their power to follow in 
 His own paths, He laid down statutes, the obedience to which 
 would make every maid-servant as much the object of her 
 master's care, tenderness, and liberality, as Hagar had been to 
 Him. 
 
 The command relative to the maid-servants' attendance at 
 the feast of holy things, on every Sabbath festival, etc., is rather 
 convincing of religion being as incumbent on her as on man ; 
 nay, that her master himself was liable to punishment if he 
 neglected to associate her, as well as every other of his house- 
 hold, in his religious exercises. 
 
 Some over-retined natures are horrified at the idea of being 
 sold to service — of the very term slave (the Hebrew word HIS 
 by the way, signifies servant or domestic also) ; and, taking up 
 the position that the law of Moses countenanced similar traffic 
 as the slave trade in all its modern horrors, make it the grand 
 objection to regarding the religion as the revelation of God. 
 Yet no one who really studies the Word of God, can entertain 
 an idea so erroneous for a moment. Perpetual slavery — that 
 awful sacrifice of all home ati'ections, all human emotions, that 
 horrible system which permitted man to regard his bi'other man 
 as a beast of the field, to be bought and sold, live and die at his 
 will — was utterly unknown in Israel. The term " selling" a 
 son or daughter, simply signified the receiving beforehand the 
 price of six years' labor, in which six years the slave (so called) 
 was equal to his master in everything but actual labor. He 
 was to share in every feast, every rejoicing, sit at his master's 
 table, listen to the law, accept every covenant of God, be 
 clothed, fed, and cared for, and at the term of his release be so 
 liberally treated individually, as to enable him, if he pleased, to 
 quit ser 'ice, and enter into independent business for himself, or 
 remain, from j^ure affection or vohmtary relinquishment of 
 freedom, for ever with his master. This was the actual state of 
 slavery in Israel, productive of a three-fold good. It saved 
 many a parent from beholding the utter destitution of his 
 children ; gave him the means of working for himself by the 
 price received for their six years' labor, assured him of their 
 temporal and spiritual welfare and of their being cared for, on their 
 release, far better than he could for them, much as he loved 
 
PERIOD II, LAWS FOR SERVANTS. 195 
 
 them ; prevented all those horrible incentives to crime and 
 misery produced by the abject destitution of many a Gentile 
 laud ; united master and servant in the sweet and holy ties of 
 brotherhood, alike of religion, tribe, and land ; subject to one 
 hiw, worshipping one God, caring for the helpless and the weak, 
 •and making every household where the laws of God were 
 obeyed one of heavenly harmony and love. In Israel there was 
 no surplus of hands for work ; none of those fearful temptations 
 to sin in being thrown out of employ, in the inabihty to meet 
 the heavy taxes and other drains upon the poor. The law in 
 its every item spoke of God, and revealed Him as a God of 
 love. He alone could have framed statutes entering into every 
 man's household, guiding his conduct from his parents to his 
 very servants; shielding, compassionating, loving every indi- 
 vidual in Israel, from the high priest to the lowest slave. 
 
 Having now regarded all the laws instituted expressly for 
 woman, in her several positions of mother, wife, widow, daughter, 
 maid-servant, we have but to throw together all the remaining 
 statutes relating to her generally. In every otFering, be it of 
 trespass, of thanksgiving, or of purification, we find in Leviticus, 
 Numbers, and Deuteronomy, woman was so emphatically 
 included as to be the subject of laws set apart for herself. The 
 ordinances were binding on both man and vvoman, and care 
 expressly taken to mark the guiding line of obedience for both. 
 The-e was nothing left for inference, but all which was neces- 
 sary was distinctly laid down. In the very particular law for 
 lepers, woman was named as well as man. Nothing was left 
 '■o human judgment ; every item concerning its treatment, its 
 care, and its purification, precisely written down. In the laws 
 for the Nazarite (Numbers vi.), woman is specified so clearly, 
 that it is utterly impossible to retain a doubt of her service 
 being equally acceptable, or that she had not the same power 
 as man, to separate herself by a vow unto the Lord. That 
 which was to guide man in this devotion, must equally have 
 been given to guide her, or we should not see it so expressly 
 stated, " when man or woman shall separate themselves to vow 
 the vow of a Nazarite," etc. A woman wlio could wish to 
 devote herself, appears to us to have been an independent 
 single woman, and, therefore, not one of the daughters and wives 
 specified in the latter law regarding vows, which, judging from 
 
196 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 the beautiful precision of the laws of God, would, had it alluded 
 to the Nazarites, have been so expressed. The singular vow 
 mentioned in Leviticus xxvii., including, as every other ordi- 
 nance, woman as well as man, may or may not relate to the 
 same kind of vows as mentioned in Numbers xxx. But whether 
 it be or not, the law for the respective valuation of male and 
 female service, proves that woman could make a singular vow, 
 and either fulfil or redeem it with equal freedom and acceptance as 
 man. That her service was valued at a less rate, is no proof of her 
 inequality, but simply that the service she could render the Temple 
 was, from the weakness of her frame, and the retiring nature of 
 her sex, of less use and importance than man's. Compare the 
 work and capability of a man from the age of twenty to sixty, 
 to those of a woman during the same period. There would be 
 full tlie worth of " twenty shekels" difference. After the age 
 of sixty, or in early childhood, the difference of valuation was 
 much less, because the capabilities of both drew nearer each 
 other. We see, then, the real meaning of these differing esti- 
 mations. The law of God, while it elevates and spiritualizes 
 woman to an equal share of immortality and responsibility 
 before Him, in no way permits or encourages her coming unduly 
 forward or exalting herself above man. Her weaker frame, her 
 less mighty mind, her more easily excited emotions, all mark 
 the necessity of a more retiring and dependent station. She 
 may contend for equal earthly riglits, she may deem our asser- 
 tion of her inferior capabilities of frame and mind an unfounded 
 aspei-sion cast upon her, she may say she is equally independent, 
 equally strong, in reason and power, yet to prove this, we fear 
 she will not tiud quite so easy. Certainly not by the word of 
 God, her only sure test of reason and feeling. And how much 
 more just and graceful is her voluntary adherence to her own 
 allotted path, and her determination to adorn that path with all 
 the winning qualities, the devotedness, the affections, peculiar to 
 her own sex, th^n the vain struggle to be in all things as man ; 
 a struggle in which she can but make manifest her weakness, 
 and finally be so vanquished, that even her natural chnms are 
 denied her, or conceded as a favor, not as a right. 
 
 The equality which we contend for (and which we uphold is 
 so clearly demonstrated, in not only our holy law itself, but in 
 the mention of every female of the Bible), is not, in our capa- 
 bility, our station, humanly considered, but simply as immortal 
 
PERIOD II. MISCELLANEOUS LAWS. 197 
 
 children of the Most High ; having equal access to His gracious 
 ear, equal power to win his condescending reply, equal respon- 
 sibility in tlie performance of our every duty, in the just exer- 
 cise of our several faculties ; which fticullies, so peculiarly adapted 
 by our merciful Father to our wants, happiness, and duties, are 
 of equal valuation in His sight as those of man. This is woman's 
 equality, proved by the very law which, by some misguided 
 spirits, may be twisted into her abasement. What would be 
 the need of marking her human valuation, if she had not the 
 power of devoting herself by a singular vow unto the Lord, in 
 any period of her life, from a month old to above sixty ? Or, 
 if she have no access to God, save through man, what could be 
 the use of her vow ? Were she to be degraded morally and 
 mentally, where would be even her inclination for this spiritual 
 service ? Surely there need not have been any reference to her 
 in this law, if the women of Israel were to be considered slaves 
 and heathens. 
 
 By this twenty- seventh chapter of Leviticus, we see too that 
 female infants might be devoted by their parents to the Lord, 
 another beautiful and unanswerable manifestation of their per- 
 fect equality with their brothers from their very birth, and must 
 entirely do awciy with the idea that has been so idly brough* 
 forward, that the festival attending the naming of male children 
 in Israel, compared with the quiet rece]ition of the female, at 
 once proves in what an inferior light the latter is regarded. 
 The festivity which hails the entrance of the new-born son of 
 Israel into the holy covenant of his fathers, is an immemorial 
 national usage, descending to us from " the time that Abraham 
 made a great feast, the day that Isaac was weaned," and has 
 nothing whatever to do with the claims of one sex over the other. 
 To my own heart, the different reception of male and female 
 children is an exquisite illustration and type of their respective 
 paths. The world and man must be the theatre and the tellow- 
 actor of the hoy ; he must go forth armed with a religious heart 
 and unbending spirit to meet the temptations of pleasure, ambi- 
 tion, and a host of other passicms and emotions, which must 
 assail his more public path. But, to the yirl^ home is her 
 theatre, her God her only stay. Why should festivity and idle 
 revelry hail the birth of one, in whose own heart must be her 
 purest pleasures, distinct from every pleasure (so called) of the 
 world ; whose path must be one of quiet and unostentatious 
 
198 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 retirement and usefulness ? Her name is given in the house of 
 God, and by one of His elected servants. Taken to the most 
 holy place, which, in our captive and desolate state, His house 
 presents, by that ceremony to be received into the congregation 
 of His people, does the female babe need more ? Cannot the 
 Hebrew mother thus realize the devoting her child to the faith 
 and service of her God, more powerfullj', more solemnly, than 
 in even the festive circle which gathers round to hail the naming 
 of her boy ? We think, were these several rites more seriously 
 considered, the idle chai'ge we have quoted above, merely to 
 disprove it, would find little resting in the heart of our fellows. 
 
 The express prohibition relating to woman's adopting, on any 
 pretence whatever, the garments of the male, is another beauti- 
 ful ordinance marking her natural sphere, and proving that any 
 departure from it was not acceptable to the Lord. It was not 
 only the act itself which is so forcibly brought forward, that 
 Deut. xxii. 5 tells us, " All that do so are abomination unto the 
 Lord thy God," but the thoughts and feelings included in such 
 an act, the temptation to depart from the retirement, the 
 modesty, the purity of that home station which woman should 
 so quietly fulfil. Were she not an equally responsible moral 
 and religious agent as man, why need this law have been 
 given ? 
 
 Again, we find that women who have wrought wickedness, 
 women who have a familiar spirit (that is, sought to deceive by 
 pretended spells and enchantments), women who have enticed 
 to idolatry — all these, as well as similar sinners amidst the 
 males, were to be stoned to death on the evidence of two wit- 
 nesses. Now the very power to work such wickedness, supposes 
 a perfect freedom of thought and will, wholly distinct from the 
 power of man. Were woman so entirely the slave of man that 
 her very prayers must be guided by his, and could only be 
 acceptable through him, there could be no justice in condemning 
 her as a free agent ; her sins must be the sins of her father or 
 husband, not her own, if her merit were only acceptable through 
 his. She could not possibly be bound to obey the law, or 
 punished for its disobedience, if it were only given to, and incum- 
 bent on, man. If she were to be made a slave and heathen, how 
 does it happen that, wherever there can be a doubt as to both 
 Bexes being included, either in religious observances, or pro- 
 hibiting of customs which were abomination unto the Lord, 
 
PERIOD II. MISCELLANEOUS LAWS. 199 
 
 WOMAN is expressly mentioned in conjunction with man ? The 
 very wrath threatened in case of her trangression proves her 
 equaHty quite as powerfully as the rewards promised to obedi- 
 ence, and the laws instituted for her adherence. 
 
 Three times a year it was a positive enjoinment for every male 
 to appear before the Lord in the place appointed for His temple. 
 That woman was not included by name, was, instead of being a 
 proof of her lesser importance and responsibility, a beautiful 
 manifestation of that divine tenderness and justice, which, in 
 their perfection and prescience, God only could display. A 
 nameless variety of causes might intervene to prevent woman's 
 leaving her home in the distant provinces of Judea to accom- 
 pany her father and husband to Jerusalem. Many a man might 
 be enabled to obey the law himself, who would have been pre- 
 vented doing so, had he been under a positive command to 
 bring with him wife and children. 
 
 Locomotion is man's native element, and he can more often 
 indulge in it without interfering with home duties than woman. 
 It was right and just, that he who so frequently travelled for 
 pleasure should do so three times a year in obedience to the will 
 of God. But many causes, in her own physical inability or 
 maternal anxiety in the illness of some member of her family, 
 might occur to prevent woman, and therefore the law was not 
 made binding upon her, as it was on man. 
 
 That this distinct mention of " all thy males" in no way 
 degraded her, however, is clearly proved by the simple fact of 
 her being required, when it was possible, and in all her positions 
 in life, to rejoice before the Lord in his appointed festivals, to 
 listen to the reading of His law at the Feast of Tabernacles, to 
 attend to the offerings instituted expressly for her, to abstain 
 fron all wickedness and idolatry, and to come unto the Lord in 
 every event, thought, act, desire, public or private, of her life. 
 " Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God," Moses 
 exclaims, in the twenty-ninth chapter of Deuteronomy ; " your 
 captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all 
 the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the stranger 
 that is in thy camp, from the hewer of wood to the drawer of 
 water, that thou shouldst enter into covenant with the Lord thy 
 God, and into His oath, that He may establish thee to-day for 
 a people unto Himself, and that He may be unto thee a God, 
 as He hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy 
 
 VOL. I. 10 
 
200 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL, 
 
 fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither with you 
 only do I make this covenant and this oath, but with him that 
 standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and 
 also with him who is not here ivith us this day. Jest there should 
 be among you any man^ woman, family, or tribe, whose heart 
 turneth away this day to go and serve the gods of these 
 nations." 
 
 In these few verses, and yet more powerfully in the whole 
 chapter, to which we entreat our readers to turn, we have all 
 which, as woinen of Israel, we need to seal the scriptural truth 
 and basis of the position which we have adopted and set forth. 
 Every class, grade, and condition of women, as of men, must 
 have been present when Moses spoke these emphatic words — all 
 included in the terms, " little ones and wives." And they 
 heard, that Moses addressed not only thetn, but their descendants, 
 lest any man, woman, family, or tribe, should, by their idol- 
 atry, or other transgression, hurl down on the whole nation the 
 awful curses which he proceeds to enumerate. Would he, need 
 he, have been thus particular, were the women of Israel destined 
 to be but slaves to man, nonentities before God ? Alas ! what- 
 ever the falsely accusing Gentile, or mistaken Hebrew, may 
 assert, we have but fearful evidence in the monarch of Israel of 
 the influence of woman, manifesting too terribly the prophet's 
 prescience in including her, as leading herself and man to sin, 
 and so hastening the great and terrible wrath of the Lord. 
 
 We have now drawn to the conclusion of our Second Period, 
 the women of Israel's most momentous era : the delivery and 
 establishment of that law, which, in the very midst of revolu- 
 tions, changes, new creeds, and their awful persecutions, — in the 
 very midst of denial, abuse, and heavy darkness, — yet remains 
 the hope, the guide, the protection, the defence, the elevation of 
 woman, whatever her station, whatever her country, aye, and 
 whatever her creed may be ; — more especially the blessed 
 inheritance of the females of that people on whom our God Him- 
 self bestowed it, and one, therefore, which should be their glory, 
 their privilege, their delight, to render so exalted, by their indi- 
 vidual and national conduct, in the sight of a Gentile world, 
 that none dare fling odium on the female Jewish name, or seek 
 to heathenize and degrade them. 
 
 We have sought to bring together every law relative to wo- 
 mau ; but the subject is so momentous, the field so wide, we 
 
PERIOD II. MISOKLLANEOUS LAWS. 201 
 
 can scarce hope we have accomplished it as fully as we could 
 wish. We can only hope and pray, that a perusal of these pages 
 may lead our sisters in Israel to seek their foundation yet more 
 earnestly than the frail supemtructure, and find for themselves, 
 in their Bibles, all that we may have omitted, or failed to treat 
 as largely as we might. The more our beautiful law is studied, 
 the more must we feel, that, as women, we are especially 
 objects of the Eternal's loving protection and care ; that we are 
 privileged in every feeling as well as every act to come to Ilim, 
 alike in thanksgiving and prayer ; that we have no need what- 
 ever, in obtaining our eternal welfare, for the aid and interfer- 
 ence of man. The more we study, the more we must feel that 
 we have, as women of Israel, a station to uphold alike before 
 God and man ; that as the first, the only people to whom God 
 Himself deigned to provide a law, we should be the very first in 
 holiness, purity, spirituality, and divine love, amid the nations. 
 We may be captives, we may be awhile under the Eternal's 
 wrath, but that truth in no way lessens our responsibility, or 
 diminishes the necessity for our firmlj^ upholding our heavenly 
 heritage and guiding law. We may be captives, but, and oh ! 
 let the blessed truth be remembered and clasped to our hearts, 
 we are kot cast off. Our chastisement is not the sign of 
 divine wrath alone, but of that deep love which punisheth to 
 save, to amend, to bring back to the blessed paths which we 
 have deserted, not to annihilate, as in the case of so many other 
 nations. Our very existence through so many centuries of dark- 
 ness would alone prove this, even had we not the whole word of 
 God to assert that so it would be. Every prophet abounds in 
 the divine entreaty, so fraught with forbearing love, " O Israel, 
 return unto the Lord thy God ; why hast thou fallen by thine 
 iniquity ?" And shall we, as women, reject these gracious prof- 
 fers ? Oh, let us indeed ever come unto the Lord our God, 
 and make manifest to the Gentiles, to ourselves, how deeply, 
 how earnestly we feel, that alike our protection, innocence, 
 honor, purity, elevation, all that can make life dear and holy, 
 all that is provided to lighten our temporal toil, with eternal 
 hope to strengthen our weakness, to guide our daily path, and 
 bless our daily work, is of the Lord, not man. That every pure 
 throb of love, every sweet tie of life, every aspiring prayer and 
 grateful thanksgiving, comes from and is hallowed by Him, who, 
 in His deep love, entered into the heart and home of woman, 
 
202 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 and so fenced them round with just and beautiful laws, that it 
 was impossible to perform a single duty, social or domestic, 
 parental, filial, conjuoal, or fraternal, without being holy unto the 
 Lord ! Can we think on this important and most blessed truth 
 without lifting up our yearning hearts in the fervent prayer for 
 that guidance, that blessing, which will enable us to remember 
 our solemn responsibility, our heavenly heritage ; and, in ths 
 midst of captivity, and its varied ordeals of adversity, stagnation, 
 and prosperity, that we may still join heart to heart and hand 
 to hand in the persevering effort to make manifest to our God, 
 that we would indeed be once more His own, and to the 
 nations, that, cast oft' for a " little moment" as we are, we aub 
 
 STILL, and SHALL EVER BE, the CHOSEN PEOPLE of the LORD ? 
 
THIRD PERIOD 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MIRIAM, 
 
 Having now considered the law of God under all its various 
 bearings relative to woman, it only remains to prove, from the 
 female characters of Scripture, in what manner that law was 
 obeyed ; and whether it be possible to discover any trace of 
 statutes, which, in direct contradistinction to the changeless law 
 of the Eternal, tend to degrade, instead of to elevate, the fema'c 
 character ; or whether we cannot bring forward some sufficiently 
 convincing arguments in favor of our deeply studied theory, 
 that the law of the Eternal is explained, by its practical illustra- 
 tion, through the whole history of the Bible. 
 
 To the oralist, or non-oralist, this consideration ought to be 
 of equal weight. Keeping aloof entirely from the discussion 
 which has of late too painfully agitated the whole Jewish 
 nation, we would yet present to both parties the simple fact, 
 that the supposed degradation of the women of Israel can have 
 no existence whatever in the Oral Law, or we must find some 
 trace of this abasement in this and the succeeding periods of our 
 history. If both were given at the same time, the women of 
 Israel whom we are about to bring forward, must have lived 
 under the jurisdiction of both ; and as their lives, feelings, and 
 actions, are all in exact accordance with the spirit and the form 
 of the written law, it is clearly evident, that the modern 
 accusation against us can have no foundation whatever in the 
 Oral Law, or we must have discovered it in the female 
 characters of Scripture. Nor will the groundless assertion of 
 our individual inferiority and social abasement find confirmation 
 in the writings of our ancient fathers, whose beautiful parables 
 and tales all tend to illustrate alike the spirit of our law, and 
 
204 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 the axiom of our wise man, " Who can find a virtuous woman, 
 for her price is far above rubies ?" 
 
 We will proceed, then, without further introduction, to our 
 history, convinced that were the word of the Eternal more 
 deeply studied, the love and peace it breathes must infuse 
 themselves unconsciously in every human heart, and strife and 
 discord melt away before the inspired transcript of the love and 
 mercy of our God. 
 
 The character of Miriam is one of the most perfect delinea- 
 tions of woman in her mixed nature of good and evil which the 
 Bible gives. Her fii'st introduction we have already noticed — a 
 young girl, watching, at the command of her mother, the fate 
 of the ark which held her baby brother, and boldly addressing 
 the princess of Egypt in the child's behalf. 
 
 Her next mention is her sharing the holy triumph of that 
 brother, and responding, with apparently her whole heart, to 
 the song of praise bursting forth from the assembled Israehtes 
 on the shores of the Red Sea. " And Miriam the prophetess, 
 the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the 
 women went out after her, with timbrels, and with dances. 
 And Miriam answered them, Sing, sing ye to the Lord, for he 
 hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider hath he 
 thrown into the sea." 
 
 The Hebrew word, i^^r'^O, here used, and translated prophet- 
 ess, means also, a poetess, and the wife of a prophet, and is 
 applied sometimes to a singer of hymns. In this latter mean- 
 ing, and perhaps, also, as a poetess, it must be applied to 
 Miriam, as she was neither the wife of a prophet, nor, as in the 
 case of Deborah, and afterwards Huldah, endowed by the 
 Eternal with the power of prophecy itself. She appears to 
 have been one of those gifted beings, from whom the words of 
 sacred song flow spontaneously. The miracles performed in 
 their very sight were sufficient to excite enthusiasm in a 
 woman's heart, and awaken the burst of thanksgiving ; and 
 Miriam might have fancied herself at that moment as zealous 
 and earnest in the cause of God as she appeared to be. But 
 for true piety, something more is wanted than the mere 
 enthusiasm of the moment, or the high-sounding religion of 
 flowing verse. By Miriam not being permitted to enter the 
 promised land, it is evident that she " had not followed the 
 
PERIOD III. MIRIAM. 205 
 
 Lord fully," but had probably joined in the rebellions and 
 murmurings which characterized ahuost the whole body of the 
 Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness. The very 
 next mention of her after her song of praise, is her presumptu- 
 ous attack upon Moses, and daring insult to the power of the 
 Lord, contained in tlie twelfth chapter of Numbers. Some 
 chronologists believe tliis incident occurred only one year after 
 the passage of the lied Sea, a period not sufficiently long for 
 circumstances to have changed the character of Miriam so com- 
 pletely, had not jealousy and presumption been secretly inmates 
 of her heart before ; unknown, perhaps, even to herself, for how 
 few of us know our " secret sins," until they are roused into 
 action by some unlooked-for temptation in an unguarded 
 moment, and we are startled at ourselves. 
 
 The feelings of Miriam, recorded in this chapter, are &," 
 perfectly accordant with woman's nature, that surely no 
 woman of Israel will turn from it, believing the length of time 
 which has elapsed removes all the warning which it should 
 inculcate. One of the most prominent of female failings is 
 secret jealousy, quite distinct, however, from the fearful passion 
 so called. We allude simply to that species of secret and uncon- 
 fessed jealousy, which is the real origin of detraction^ so often, 
 unhappily, practised by woman upon woman. We are not now 
 writing of any class, or creed, or people in particular, but of 
 women in general. There never yet was gossip, without some 
 species of detraction spoken or implied ; and never yet has 
 detraction been probed candidly and fairly (disregarding the 
 pain of so doing) to its root, without being traced to either 
 jealousy or envy of some quality, or possession, of the more 
 favored being so unkindly judged. 
 
 Women, and single women more especially, are more liable 
 to petty failings than men, sim])Iy because they have less to 
 engross their minds, and less of consequence to employ their 
 hands. Unless taught from earliest years to find and take 
 pleasure in resources within, they must look without, and busy 
 themselves with the characters, and conduct, and concerns of 
 their neighbors. Now acknowledged merit to such characters 
 gives very little food for cosy chat ; it wants esprit, and so they 
 are never content, till something doubtful or suspicious is 
 discovered, or supposed to be, and then the lovers of gossip 
 may be found in full conclave, marvelling, and wondering, and 
 
206 THE "WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 turning, and twisting, and blaming, and pitying, till the very 
 object of such animadversion might find it difficult to trace of 
 whom they speak, and know infinitely less of her own concerns, 
 intentions, and feelings, than her reporters. 
 
 As Miriam acted, so would most women, unenlightened by 
 that pure spirit of religious love, which alone can conquer the 
 natural inclination towards detraction, and subdue secret jealousy, 
 by making us aware of its existence. " And Miriam and Aaron 
 spake against Moses, because of the Ethiopian looman whom he 
 had married.'''' The very thing to arouse jealousy and disturb- 
 ance in an unenlightened woman's mind. 
 
 Miriam had never been thrown in contact with her sister-in- 
 law till within the last few months : Moses having sent his wife 
 for safety, with his two sons, to her father Jethro, during the 
 troubles in Egypt and their subsequent redemption. From the 
 silence with regard to Zipporah, we are led to infer that she was 
 a woman of meek and retiring habits, but of course, as the wife 
 of their great leader Moses, held in higher repute by the people 
 than his sister. And this, trifling as it seems, is now, as it 
 always has been, a trial to some of our sex. Few single women 
 there are who can look upon the elevation of a brother's wife 
 ■without some secret feelings of pain, which will be subdued and 
 changed into warmest affection, or gain ascendency and violence, 
 finding vent in petty malice or half-concealed detraction, accord- 
 ino" as religion, and candor, and self-knowledge are, or are not, 
 predominant in the sister's character. Perhaps it is hard, in 
 some cases, to see one younger and fairer, and only known but 
 a few years or months, as the case may be, usurp entire posses- 
 sion of a beloved brother's heart ; wherein we, who have been 
 his hand-in-hand companions fi'om earliest infancy, must now be 
 consent with but a very secondary place ; but such is one of the 
 many trials peculiarly woman's, — permitted, that from her very 
 loneliness below, she may look above for that fulness of love and 
 tenderness for which she yearns. And thrice happy is that 
 woman who, conscious of this, can yet be content with, and 
 value as before, the love her brother has still to spare for her ; 
 •who will so subdue natural feeling as to find in very truth a 
 friend and sister in a brother's wife, and subjects of deepest inter- 
 est in her children. 
 
 Miriam, as we may infer from her punishment, was not one 
 of these. That an Ethiopian should be raised above herself, who 
 
PERIOD III. MIRIAM. 207 
 
 was a daughter of Israel, was, to one of her evidently proud 
 spirit, unendurable. Unable, however, to discover aught in 
 Zipporah herself for a publicly-avowed scorn, she sought to lessen 
 the holiness and greatness of her brother, by daring to declare 
 that the Lord had spoken through her and Aaron also. That 
 this jealousy arose because of the " Ethiopian woman whom he 
 had married," Holy Writ itself informs us ; and from Miriam's 
 name being mentioned before that of Aaron, and yet more, from 
 the wrath of the Lord being manifested towards her alone, it is 
 eviden^ that hers was the greater sin. Her individual assump- 
 tion of prophetic power, she knew, would avail her nothing , but, 
 uniting Aaron in the declai'ation, she sought to make it appear 
 that God had breathed His spirit into every member of Amram's 
 family. She had too much policy to endeavor to deprive Moses 
 of all his granted and allowed privileges. Her only wish was, 
 to decrease the value and spirituality of those privileges to him 
 individually, and elevate herself and Aaron on his descent; 
 emboldened so to do by the excessive meekness and forbearance 
 of Moses, which she knew would shield her from all human 
 reproof. She might, perhaps, have so dwelt upon her own 
 imaginary importance, as really to believe what she asserted, 
 and so feel more and more galled at the little account in which she 
 was held. 
 
 It is quite possible for woman so to feel and so to act, and for 
 all to proceed from the petty feelings of jealousy and malice, 
 first excited by the higher grade and more considered position 
 of a brother's wife. " Hath the Lord indeed spoken onlj^ by 
 Moses ? hath he not spoken also by us ?" were the words they 
 said ; brief, and perchance of little weight considered by them- 
 selves, but in a people ever ready to revolt and murmur, more 
 than likely to kindle seaition and disturbance. " And the Lord 
 heard it, and the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto 
 Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation : and they three came out, ani tht 
 Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door 
 of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam ; and they both 
 came forth." 
 
 Where now could have been the presumptuous self-import- 
 ance of Miriam, called thus by Him at whose word might be 
 annihilation ? With what fearful terror must she have heard 
 that summons, and listened to the reproving words of the Eter- 
 10* 
 
208 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Dal ? — exalting Moses above even His inspired prophets ; for to 
 them He declared He would make Himself known in a vision, 
 and speak unto them in a dream, " but my servant Moses is not 
 so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak 
 mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches ; 
 and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold : wherefore then 
 were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses ? And the 
 anger of the Lord was kindled against them ; and He departed. 
 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle ; and, behold, 
 Miriam was leprous, as snow : and Aaron looked upon Miriam, 
 and, behold, she was leprous." 
 
 It is from this awful chastisement, inflicted by the Lord Him- 
 self, that we must judge of the heinousness of her sin ; that 
 presumption and arrogancy are no small crimes in His sight, 
 and that God Himself was insulted in the insult offered to His 
 chosen servant. " My servant Moses," He ever designates him ; 
 implying the severest reproof in those simple words. Even were 
 they endowed with prophetic power, He tells them they would 
 be less than Moses ; for to Moses alone would He deign to speak 
 mouth to mouth. Had Miriam's sin been but the impulse of 
 the moment, the reproof would have been sufficient, as we see 
 in other cases in Scripture ; but, effectually to root out the sin- 
 ful presumption which probably had lain dormant for months, 
 the Eternal, in His perfect justice, inflicted such chastisement as 
 would cause her to be shunned and loathed by the very people 
 whom she had sought to impress with her individual importance. 
 Human reproof, indeed, she had not ; for Moses, " meek above 
 all the men which were on the face of the earth," had not even 
 answered the detracting words, conscious that his power was not 
 his own, and that He who gave it, would, if needed, appear in 
 his defence. Had Miriam's heart been perfect towards God, 
 neither her sin nor her punishment would have taken place. Pride 
 and presumption cannot exist with true piety ; and we are there- 
 fore justified in supposing, that the awful infliction was not only 
 a chastisement for present sin, but to awaken her to all the 
 neglectfulness and presumption dividing her from the Lord in 
 years long past. She was now not only to feel His stupendous 
 power, but the true forgiving meekness and piety of the brother 
 she had scorned and spoken against, only " because of his Ethio- 
 pian wife." 
 
 Stunned and appalled with the suddenness of the infliction. 
 
PERIOD III. MIRIAM. 209 
 
 and dumb perhaps from awakening shame, Miriam herself stood 
 silent before Moses : and Aaron therefore appealed for her. 
 
 " Alas, my Lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, 
 wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 
 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consum- 
 ed as in the moment of his birth." And Moses, without pause, 
 without one word of reproof, or just indignation at being thus 
 appealed to by the very persons who had sought to injure him, 
 lifted up his voice in earnest prayer unto the Lord, saying, 
 " Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee." And God heard the 
 prayer, and in His infinite goodness so answered it, as to temper 
 justice with mercy, promising to withdraw His hand after seven 
 days, during which time, in obedience to the already instituted 
 laws for lepers, she was to be shut out from the camp. " And 
 the people journeyed not till she was healed." 
 
 As there is no further mention of Miriam, except her death, 
 in Numbers xx., we may infer that her chastisement had its effect, 
 and that her haughty and seditious spirit was sufficiently subdued. 
 We learn, from her brief history, much to guide us as women ia 
 general, and much to support our position as women of IsraeL 
 In the former, we see in what light presumption is regarded by 
 the Lord — that would we retain His favor, we must be content 
 with our own position, and in no way interfere, or seek to depre- 
 ciate those whom, even in our own families, it may have pleased 
 Him to set above us ; that even from so small a beginning as 
 jealousy of a brother's wife, simply because she was the daughter 
 of a stranger, sin gained such powerful ascendency, as to demand 
 the most awful punishment for its subjection. We learn, that 
 according to the nature of our transgression, so will be its chas- 
 tisement. Miriam sought to raise herself not only above her 
 brothel's wife, but to an equality with that brother himself; and, 
 by the i'lifliction of a loathsome disease, she sank at once below 
 the lowest of her people. No one dared approach her ; she was 
 cut oti'even from employment, from every former object of inter- 
 est, banished from the camp ; and she would have thus remained 
 till her death, had not Moses interfered to beseech and obtain 
 forgiveness. 
 
 The direct interposition of the Lord in punishing sin, and 
 rewarding virtue, is no longer visible ; but few who study His 
 word, their own hearts, and the face of the world, both past and 
 present, will not acknowledge that He is still the same, retri- 
 
210 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 buting and rewarding as when His ways were made manifest to 
 all. By the example of Scripture characters, He reveals to us 
 now that which is still acceptable or unacceptable to Him. Pre- 
 sumption, jealousy, the scorn of individual blessings, in the 
 coveting others, may no longer be punished by leprosy, but " the 
 Lord's arm is not shortened," and He may afflict us in a variety 
 of ways, and through the very feelings which we so sinfully 
 encourage. Let us beware, then, of detraction, of jealousy, of 
 presumption ; for our Father in Heaven abhors these things. 
 Let us look only for the blessings granted us individually, in our 
 inward and outward lot, and comparing them with the sorrow- 
 ing and afflicted, bless God for what He has given us ; not insult 
 Him, by looking with an eye of envy only on those to whom His 
 wisdom has given more. There is not a thought, not a feeling, 
 unknown to Him ; and oh ! let us so guard our hearts, that we 
 may be aware of the first whispering of sin, and banish it, even 
 if it be in seeming but a thought. 
 
 As women of Israel, the history of Miriam is fraught with 
 particular interest, from its so undeniably proving that woman 
 must be quite as responsible a being as man before the Lord, or 
 He certainly would not have deigned to appear Himself as her 
 judge. Were woman unable of herself to eschew sin, Miriam's 
 punishment would have been undoubtedly unjust. Nay, were 
 she not responsible for feelings, as well as acts, God would not 
 thus have stretched forth His avenging hand. Her feelings had 
 only been formed into words, not yet into actions ; still the Lord 
 punished. And would He have done so, did he not wish to 
 make manifest, in the sight of the whole people, that both sexes 
 were alike before Him ? Were woman in a degraded position, 
 Miriam, in tie first place, would not have had sufficient power 
 for her seditious words to be of any consequence ; and, in the 
 next, it would have been incumbent on man to chastise — there 
 needed no interference of the Lord. We see, therefore, the very 
 sinfulness of Jewish women, as recorded in the Bible, is unde- 
 niable evidence of their equality, alike in their power to subdue 
 sin, and in its responsibility before God. 
 
 That the Eternal graciously pardoned at the word of Moses, is 
 no proof that Miriam needed the supplication of man to bring her 
 cause before the Lord, but simply that forgiveness and interces- 
 sion from the injured for the injiirer, are peculiarly acceptable to 
 Him, and will ever bring reply. Miriam had equal power to 
 
PERIOD III. TABERNACLE WORKERri. 211 
 
 pray and be heard, as Rebekah, Hannah, and other female cha- 
 racters of Scripture ; but her punishment was no doubt to be 
 increased by the painful feelings which, if she were not quite 
 hardened, must have been excited by the appeal of Moses in her 
 favor, and in receiving the remission of her sentence through 
 him. It at once proclaimed his power with the Lord, which she 
 had sought to depreciate, and his still contiimed aflectiuu for 
 herself. That the whole camp of Israel should halt in its march 
 seven days for her alone, — that she should suffer less than were she 
 sluit out from her fellows in the act of travelling, argues pretty 
 strongly, tliat her being a woman in no degree lessened her impor- 
 tance, or rendered the men of Israel less careful for her comfort. 
 They could not have done more, had the chastised been Aaron 
 in her sttad. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 female workers of the tabeknacl e. 
 
 Caleb's daughter. 
 
 In a history of the women of Israel, we must not forget those 
 who are mentioned as aiding the holy work of the tabernacle. 
 Proclamation was made throughout the camp, that every man 
 .and woman who had a willing heart should bring an offering 
 unto the Lord, either of gold, silver, or brass, blue, purple, and 
 scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and oil, and spices, and 
 sweet incense, and onyx stones, and stones of all kinds ; and 
 that every one who was wise-hearted among them should come 
 and make all that the Lord had commanded, which Moses pro- 
 ceeds to enumerate (see Exod. xxxv. and xxxvi.). The congre- 
 gation then departed to their several tents, but speedily came 
 every one ivhose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his 
 S2)irit made willing. " And they came, both men and women, 
 as many who were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and 
 earrings, and rings, and tablets of gold," &c. "And all the women 
 who were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought 
 
212 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and ot 
 scarlet, and of tine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred 
 them vp in wisdom., spun goats' hair. The children of Israel 
 brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, 
 whose heart made them willing." In such quantities were these 
 free offerings, that another proclamation was soon made ; for 
 " they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more 
 than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord com- 
 manded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they 
 caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying. Let 
 neither man nor ivoman make any more work for the offering of 
 the sanctuary. And the peoi)lewere restrained from bringing." 
 
 We have quoted all these verses, at the risk of being thought 
 tedious, on account of the very important truths they contain. 
 In the first place, we see that, notwithstanding the innumerable 
 rebellions, seditions, and murmurings of the Israelites, there was 
 still a vast multitude, whose hearts so stirred them up for the 
 service of the Lord, as to bring more valuable offerings than 
 could be used. In the text, by the constant allusion to the 
 willinr/ hearted, and to those whose spirits made them willing, 
 we read, that only those gifts were acceptable which were otiered 
 from the heart. No mere formal profession could here avail. 
 The spirit within was to be the prompter, not the outward 
 appearance. In the third, the frequent mention of the wise- 
 hearted, or those whose hearts stirred them up in wisdom, we 
 learn, from the context, specified more especially those whom 
 God Himself had gifted for the work ; and that all those arts of 
 engraving, of embroidery, of weaving, of cunning work, of spin- 
 ning, nay, every kind of male and female work, came originally 
 as much from His inspiration, as every other higher branch 
 usually denominated " natural gifts," " talents," or " genius." 
 Spinniiig, weaving, engraving, and embroidery, are now so com- 
 mon, that we have quite forgotten from whose inspiration they 
 originally came ; and were we told that these very resources of 
 the mind and fingers should be amongst the innumerable daily 
 blessings for which we should thank God, we might be accused of 
 enthusiasm and religious romance ; yet who can read this chap 
 ter of Exodus, without feeling the truth of our position, and 
 bidding the heart glow with thanksgiving for the innocent and 
 happy resources of daily life ? 
 
 In the fourth place, by both proclamations being addressed to 
 
PERIOD III. TABERNACLE WORKERS. 213 
 
 WOMAN as well as man, we have another unanswerable proof of 
 their equality, not only in the power and freedom to hnmr ofter- 
 ings, but in their being equally gifted by the Eternal for the 
 work. We peruse with admiration the self-devotion of the 
 women of Carthage, when bringing together all their gold and 
 silver ornaments to form arms for the defence of their city, even 
 cutting oft' their hair to make strings for bows and other wea- 
 pons ; and our admiration is just : but how much more strongly 
 should it be excited towards the women of Israel of old, who, 
 from pure love of God, and zeal in His holy service, brought all 
 their ornaments, bracelets, earrings, tablets, rings, jewels of gold 
 and silver, every article of value which they could collect, and 
 set themselves, heart and hand, to spin, weave, embroider, and 
 use all their talents in His service by whom they had been 
 bestowed. The women of Carthage were roused by a sense of 
 rapidly approaching danger, by the excitement of war, by that 
 pure love of home and land which God has implanted in every 
 breast. The women of Israel were imder no excitement ; nay, 
 they were wandering in a wilderness fraught with much to 
 exhaust and weary mere human nature, however the immortal 
 spirit might be sustained by the presence and revelation of the 
 Lord. Their goal was in perspective. The voice of murmuring, 
 of disbelief, was constantly sounding around them. " Wherefore 
 is it, that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and 
 our children ?" were words, not once nor twice, but countless 
 times repeated, with every new trial of their faith. And what 
 is so infectious in a " mixed multitude" as unbelief — ay, even in 
 the very face of miracles performed in their behalf? Yet, at the 
 first call, there were still very many wise and willing-hearted to 
 come fo.ward. The women of Carthage were actuated by the 
 mere feelings of humanity, by palpable danger, by the clearly 
 traced issue of their efforts. The women of Israel worked 
 through FAITH. Hoping for no earthly reward, seeking no 
 worldly glory, sacrificing ornaments most prized (for dress, as 
 we shall presently see, was considered rather too much than too 
 little by our ancestors), knowing that once given they could not 
 be recalled, keeping neither time nor talent back, but using both 
 perseveringly and indiscriminately, and all simply and solely out 
 of pure love to God. 
 
 There is something both beautiful and consoling in this por- 
 tion of our history. It informs us, that in the very midst of 
 
214 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 constant rebellions and constant fallings away, there were, and 
 will always be found, many to love and serve their God. That 
 He will never leave Himself without witnesses upon earth ; and 
 that, therefore, however we may mourn the lack of energy and 
 spirituality in Israel — however we ma}^ grieve and deiilore the 
 cases of infidelity or indifference, or even direct departures from 
 His most Holy Law — still God is with us to retain many an 
 unsuspected one in fidelity and zeal. Despondency, even in His 
 cause, is more than wrong ; it is sinful, for it doubts Him who 
 is so strong to save ; whose word is passed, that " Israel shall 
 never cease to be a nation before Him ;" and who, even from 
 the deepest darkness, can and will bring forth light. It causes 
 feelings towards our fellows, both of injustice and pain ; and in 
 ourselves deadens every effort after holiness and righteousness, 
 by the supposition, that the struggles of one individual must be 
 all in vain. Despondency treads so closely upon indifference, 
 that every effort should be put in force to prevent its ascendency. 
 We cannot have faith either in God or man if we despond, and 
 thus we are gradually led into sin, alike against our Father in 
 Heaven, our brother man, and ourselves. 
 
 To us as women, the particular mention of our female ances- 
 tors, as bringing offerings and working for the tabernacle, ia 
 inexpressibly consoling. It assures us that, lowly as we are, 
 retired as is our natural sphere, incapable as is our weaker 
 frame for the exertions of man in the Lord's service, still 
 we are acceptable — still He will graciously look down on our 
 " willing hearts," and the humble work of our hand, and bless 
 them with such love, as will give us peace even upon earth. It 
 tells us, that from Him comes every employment and resouice, 
 ahke of mind and hand ; and that, in consequence, all should 
 be used to His glory ; not, indeed, for the service of the taber- 
 nacle, for we are not now so called upon to work, but in the 
 happiness which His gifts should bestow upon ourselves and 
 our fellow-creatures. Had we but these two chapters in our 
 Holy Law, we should have sufficient to confirm our spiritual 
 privileges ; — that our Father asks but a willing spirit, a heart 
 that is stirred within us to do His service, whatever it may be, 
 to resign whatever He may call ; but it must be a willing 
 heart : mere lip-service is mockery and sin. Let it not be said 
 that the Jewish religion is a religion of mere form, incumbent 
 only on the males, and therefore debarring woman from all 
 
PERIOD III. — Caleb's daughter. 215 
 
 relif^ious exercises, all access to God. Bid those who throw 
 such foul wrong on Israel, come hither to the pure unadulterated 
 fount of the Living God, and then say, if the religion of the 
 Nazarene were the fird, and only one, to teach woman her 
 holy privileges, and to preach that pure spiritual piety of the 
 heart, that simple working through faith, which is revealed so 
 blessedly in our Law, and confirmed by every inspired prophet 
 of the Lord. And that religion of the heart is ours still. We 
 need no other to replace it. 
 
 The age of chivalry is generally supposed to be a powerful 
 proof of the respect and consideration with which women were 
 regarded amongst the Gentile nations during the middle ages. 
 Their position was marked ; their love, their hand, the greatest 
 reward, the most powerful incentive for the young warrioi-s to 
 distinguish themselves. Marvellous deeds were done, and dan- 
 gers dared, all for the smiles of woman ; nay, evil passions 
 were often subdued : generosity, magnanimity, kindness, and 
 many other virtues, were called into play by woman's influence, 
 without which those ages would have been dark indeed. Her 
 individual position might have been too elevated ; but still, that 
 elevation was far more often used for good than evil. Chivalry 
 did bring forth good with regard to woman's influence on man, 
 and no one assuredly will deny, but that to have been held up 
 as the rewarder of valor, the incentive of virtue, must have 
 made her a subject of consideration, respect, and love, very 
 diflferent to slavery and degradation. 
 
 Now, the very first instance of chivalry which history records, is 
 found in the Bible, and in the history of that very people to whose 
 women similar privileges are denied. " And Caleb said, he 
 that smiteth Kirjath-sepher [also called Debir], and taketh it, 
 to him will T give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel, 
 the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it : and he 
 gave hira Achsah his daughter to wife. And it came to pass, 
 as she came unto him, she moved him to ask of her father a 
 field ; and she lighted off" her ass ; and Caleb said unto her, 
 What wouldst thou ? and she said unto him. Give me a bless- 
 ing ; for thou hast given me a south land ; give me also springs 
 of water. And Caleb gave her also the upper springs and the 
 nether springs," We find all these verses, first in Joshua xv. 
 16-19, and repeated without any variation in Judges i. 12-15. 
 
216 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Calfb was a prince of the tribe of Judah (Numb. xiii. 6), so 
 high in favor with the Lord, as to be joined with Josliua in 
 beinir permitted to enter the promised land, and desio-nated by 
 the Eternal as " My servant Caleb, who hath followed me 
 fully." 
 
 Caleb seems to have been, like Joshua, a prince and warrior 
 of high repute, dauntless, and faithful before God and before 
 man. His daughter (though not an only child, for we read in 
 1 Chron. iv. 15, that he had also three sons) shared the con- 
 sideration proffered to her father. Caleb must have seen the 
 high respect and admiration in which she was held, or he 
 never would have dreamed of offering her as the reward of 
 valor. That which is of no value, lightly won, and lightly 
 held, and, when obtained, to sink merely into a household 
 slave, was not at all likely to excite young men to the arduous 
 task of smiting and taking a fortified city, defended as it was 
 by the sons of Anak, whose immense stature and extraordinary 
 prowe^s had formerly caused them to be considered as "giants," 
 in whose sight the children of Israel were but as " grass- 
 hoppers." Nor can we regard this as merely a solitary instance : 
 it is a proof of the general condition of Hebrew women at that 
 period ; and also that Othniel was not Achsah's only admirer. 
 
 " He that smitelli and taketh it, to him will I give AcLsah 
 my daughter to wife," is a general appeal, supposing her hand 
 to be a sufficient incentive to all the young men of the tribe ; 
 and that His Law, regarding the inheritance of daughters, 
 should not be transgressed, the Eternal blessed the valiant 
 efforts of Othniel, Caleb's own nephew, with success ; and the 
 coveted maiden became his wife. 
 
 That it was solely Achsah herself who was sought and won, 
 with no idea of her wealth, is clearly proved by the simple 
 words " she moved him [her husband] to ask of her father, a 
 field or piece of land ;" the wish for possession came from her, 
 not from Othniel, who was in all probability fully satisfied with 
 the recompense he had gained ; and when Caleb had granted 
 this request, as we know by the words in which she afterwards 
 addresses him, she approached him herself, ;ind lighting off her 
 ass, a token of the respect natural to Israel, Caleb asked her, 
 " What wilt thou ?" and she answered him, " Give me a bless- 
 ing :" meaning, possibly, a further token of his love for her ; 
 
PERIOD III. — Caleb's daughter. 217 
 
 " for thou hast given me a south land [alluding to that already 
 given at Othniel's request], give rae also springs of water : and 
 Caleh gave her the upper and the nether springs." 
 
 Without springs, land, in so hot a country as Judea, was of 
 little value ; and therefore is it that Achsah craves this boon in 
 addition to that already granted. The affectionate confidence 
 subsisting between the father and daughter is beautifully illus- 
 trated in this simple little incident. Though Achsah held her 
 father in such respect as not to prefer her request while sitting 
 on her ass before him, yet she feared not to make her wishes 
 known, fully conscious that, were they in his power, he would 
 grant them unhesitatingly ; and his instant reply proves how 
 much reason she had for her confidence. 
 
 We learn too from this, that woman must undoubtedly have 
 had the power of possessing landed property in her own right, 
 and in a degree exclusive of her husband ;* else Caleb would 
 have made over the portion intended for her to Othniel on his 
 marriage, instead of waiting for Achsah to ask, and granting it 
 to her alone. 
 
 The beautiful law of our God was then in full force among 
 every rank and condition of man ; and surely we can find no 
 trace in the history of Achsah to confirm the false position of 
 our being degraded. Does it not rather elevate us to a perfect 
 equality with our brother man, and prove undeniably that the 
 Israelites were the very first nation in the world to hold forth 
 the love and hand of woman as the pure and holy incentive to 
 deeds of manliness and valor ? 
 
 * And exclusive also of her brothers ; for if landed inheritance were 
 to be maa's only, she could have had no claim to any portion. The above 
 was written originally, under the impression that Achsah was Caleb's 
 only child : a further study of the genealogies in Chronicles proves that 
 she was not. 
 
218 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DEBORAH. 
 
 The promised land was gained, deeds of extraordinary valor 
 and military skill and prowess marked its conquest and subdi- 
 vision ; but God's express command was disobeyed ; and, in 
 consequence, the tribes, even after they hsd settled in their 
 respective territories, were continually " doing evil in the sight 
 of the Lord," and at war, as a chastisement, with their idola- 
 trous neighbors. God had ordained the extermination of the 
 former inhabitants of Palestine, because of their fearful state of 
 idolatry, and various abominations. He had deferred bringing 
 in the seed of Abraham to their appointed land, because " the 
 iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full." He might in His 
 wisdom have exterminated them by fire, water, or disease ; but 
 He appointed the swords of the Israelites as the instruments of 
 His wrath, simply to try their faith and obedience, and bid 
 them earn the rest, peace, spiritual and temporal glory, which 
 he had held forth as the recompense of perfect obedience. 
 
 This fact is very frequently disregarded in a mere superficial 
 reading of the history of Canaan. There are those even to 
 doubt and cavil at the ways of their God, because He com- 
 manded His people to obtain possession of the promised land 
 at the edge of the sword ; forgetting that so doing was at once 
 a punishment for those who had insulted Him by their awful 
 iniquities (having full power to subdue sin, and keep in the 
 .straight path, as did the inhabitants of Mesopotamia even with- 
 out direct revelation), and also to try the obedience of His 
 people. Disease, fire, or flood, would have accomplished the 
 first of these designs equally with the plan adopted ; but not 
 the second. Yet the former would at once have been recognised 
 as the hand of God ; no one questioning the agency of either the 
 deluge, the destruction of Sodom, or the earthquake and the 
 plague, punishing the rebellion of Korah. Why then should 
 not the sword of slaughter be traced to the same Divine ordina- 
 tion, whence alone in fact it proceeded ? 
 
PERIOD III. — DEBORAH. 219 
 
 The Israelites, however, failed in their commanded obedience. 
 Instead of exterminating, they entered into friendly leagues with 
 the enemies and insulters of their God; and the Eternal, in His 
 just anger, permitted them, in consequence, to remain as 
 " thorns, and pricks in their sides, and their false gods as a snare 
 unto them." And so it was : " They took their daughters to 
 be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and 
 served their gods ; and the children of Israel did evil in the 
 sight of God, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim 
 and the groves." And this fearful state of things occurred 
 repeatedly ; rousing the anger of the Lord each time to sell 
 them into the hands of their enemies, and yet whenever they 
 cried unto Him in returning faith and repentance. His infinite 
 mercy raised up deliverers in whom He put His spirit, and 
 saved them. 
 
 Othniel, the nephew and son-in-law of Caleb, Ehud, and 
 Sharagar, had each in his turn been thus selected by the Lord ; 
 and during their respective sways Israel was at rest and obedi- 
 ent. But between each, they had relapsed into idolatry and 
 rebellion ; and after the deaths of Ehud and Shamgar, who 
 appear contemporaries, falling anew into evil, the Eternal sold 
 them into the hands of Jabin, king of Hazor, who mightily 
 oppressed them twenty years, and caused them again to cry unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 But even in these periods of anarchy and rebellion, all were 
 not idolatrous. There must still have been many " seven 
 thousands who had not bowed the knee to Baal," else would 
 net the Lord have thus repeatedly compassionated and relieved 
 them. Amongst these faithful few, the law was of course 
 followed, and the people judged according to the statutes given 
 through Moses. Had there been the very least foundation for 
 the supposition of the degrading and heathenizing the Hebrew 
 female, we should not find the offices of prophet, judge, military 
 instructor, poet, and sacred singer, all combined and all perfected 
 in the person of a woman ; a fact clearly and almost startlingly 
 illustrative of what must have been their high and intellectual 
 training, as well as natural aptitude for guiding and enforcing 
 the statutes of their God, to which at that time woman could 
 attain. 
 
 " And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she 
 judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm 
 
220 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel, in Mount 
 Ephraira : and the children of Israel came unto her for judg- 
 ment." This simple description evinces that the greatness of 
 Deborah consisted not at all in outward state, in semblance of high 
 rank, or in any particular respect or homage outwardly paid 
 her; but simply in her vast superiority of mental and spiritual 
 acquirements which were acknowledged by her countrymen, 
 and consequently revered. The office of judge in Israel was not 
 hereditary. It only devolved on those gifted to perform it : 
 and, by the example before us, might be held by either sex: 
 rather an unsatisfactory proof of the degradation of Jewish 
 women. We are expressly told that Deborah was a prophetess, 
 and " the wife of Lapidoth." Now, by the arrangement of this 
 sentence, confirmed by the context, it is very evident that 
 Deborah was a prophetess in her own person, wholly and 
 entirely distinct from her husband, who was a mere cypher in 
 public concerns. The Eternal had inspired her, a woman and 
 a WIFE in Israel, with His spirit expressly to do His will, and 
 make manifest to her countrymen how little is He the respecter 
 of persons ; judging only by hearts perfect in His service, and 
 spirits willing for the work : heeding neither the weakness nor 
 apparent inability of one sex, compared with the greater natural 
 powers of the other. 
 
 Yet so naturally are her public position and personal gifts 
 described, that we cannot possibly believe her elevation to be 
 an exti'aordinary occurrence, or that her position as a wife for- 
 bade her rising above mere conjugal and household duties. 
 We never hear of a slave, or leper, or heathen, being intrusted 
 with the prophetic spirit of the Eternal, simply because the 
 social condition of such persons would and must prevent their 
 obtaining either the respect, obedience, or even attention of the 
 people. For the same reason, had woman really been on a 
 par with these, as she is by some declared to be, she would 
 never have been intrusted with gifts spiritual and mental, 
 which Deborah so richly possessed. She never could have been 
 a prophetess, for her words would only have been regarded as 
 idle raving. She could never have been a judge, from the want 
 of opportunities to train and perfect her intellect, and to obtain 
 the necessary experience. Now it is clear that instead of this, 
 her natural position must have been so high, that there needed 
 not even adventitious state and splendor to make it acknow- 
 
PERIOD III. DEBORAH. 221 
 
 ledged ; and lier intellect and judgment so cultivated, as not 
 only to bring tlie people flocking to her for judgment, but to 
 occasion Barak's refusal to set out on a warlike expedition 
 unless she accompanied them. 
 
 We find the Srst recorded instance of her using her pro- 
 phetic power in Judges iv. 6 : " And she sent and called Barak 
 the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said unto 
 him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go 
 and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thou- 
 sand men of the children of Naphtali and the children of 
 Zebulun ? And I will draw unto thee Sisera, the captain of 
 Jabin's army, and his chariots and his multitudes ; and 1 will 
 deliver him into thine hand. And Barak said unto her. If 
 thou wilt go with me, then I will go : but if thou wilt not go 
 with me, then will I not go. And she said, I will surely go 
 with thee : notwithstanding the journey shall not be for thine 
 honor ; for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a 
 woman." 
 
 We should be at a loss to understand the feeling in Barak, 
 which impelled his reply, might we not infer it from Deborah's 
 rejoinder. It would appear that, like many of his countrymen, 
 while he obeyed, he was still wanting in the perfect faith which 
 would have given him a glorious triumph in his own person. 
 The presence of Deborah could in no way give him greater 
 increase of safety and glory, than had he gone without her. 
 She was but the instrument of the Lord, making His will 
 known to her fellows. The words were not hers, but God's ; 
 and Barak should have acted on them without either reserva- 
 tion or doubt. Instead of which we find him making a condi- 
 tion to his obedience ; and refusing to obey, if that condition 
 were not complvrl with. What could the presence of a woman 
 avail him ? Her being a prophetess gave him no more assur- 
 ance of conquest than the word of the Lord had already done ; 
 and because he trusted more in the woman than in her God, the 
 journey would not be to his honor ; a ivomans hand should 
 accomplish that complete downfall of Sisera, which would other- 
 wise have accrued to his individual glory. It is evident that 
 this is the real rendering of this rather obscure sentence, else 
 we should not have it so expressly stated that the "journey 
 would not be for his honor." 
 
 Deborah however arose, and went with Barak, first to collect 
 
222 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 the necessary troops from Zebulun and Naphtali, and then to 
 Mount Tabor, where Sisera and his immense armament of nine 
 hundred chariots of iron, besides infantry, marched to meet 
 them. Still we find Barak but secondary, doing nothing with- 
 out the word of the Lord through Deborah. And Deborah 
 said, " Up ! for this is the day in which the Lord hath dehvered 
 Sisera into thine hand : is not the Lord gone out before thee ? 
 So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand 
 men after them ;" and the Lord gave them such complete 
 victory, that but Sisera escaped, to receive his death at the hand 
 of a woman, according to the Eternal's word. Nor was it 
 a single victory, for " the hand of the children of Israel pros- 
 pered and prevailed against Jabin, king of Canaan." 
 
 We next find Deborah exercising that glorious talent of 
 extempore poetry only found amongst the Hebrews ; and by 
 her, a woman and a wife in Israel, possessed to an almost equal 
 degree with the Psalmist and prophets, who followed at a later 
 period. Her song is considered one of the most beautiful speci- 
 mens of Hebrew poetry, whether read in the original, or in the 
 English version. We find her taking no glory whatever to 
 herself, but calling upon the princes, and governors, and people 
 of Israel, to join with her in " blessing the Lord for the aveng- 
 ing of Israel." In the fourth and fifth verses, she alludes, by a 
 most beautiful figure, to the power of the Eternal. That before 
 Him " the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, and the 
 clouds dropped water. And the mountains trembled, even 
 Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel," thus manifesting that his 
 power, not man's, had brought delivery to Israel. Then in the 
 sixth and eighth verses she describes the condition of the people 
 before she arose a mother in Israel ; that they were compelled 
 to travel in by-paths, because of the high roads all being occu- 
 pied by their foes ; and from the villages all the inhabitants 
 had ceased, from their being continually exposed -undefended 
 to the enemy. Nor was there a shield or spear seen in the 
 forty thousand of Israel. The simplicity and lowliness of the 
 prophetess's natural position, is beautifully illustrated by the 
 term she applies to herself — neither princess, nor governor, nor 
 judge, nor prophetess, though both the last offices she fulfilled 
 — " until that I, Deborah, arose, until I arose a mother in 
 Israel." She asked no greater honor or privilege for herself 
 individually, than the being recognised as the mother of the 
 
PtRlOU 111. DEBORAH. 223 
 
 people whom the Lord alone had endowed her with power to 
 judge. " My heart is towards the jyovernors of Israel," she 
 continues, " that offered themselves wilhiiyly among the people. 
 Bless ye the Lord," meaning those who, rising from the idolatry 
 and sloth which had encompassed the people, oflered themselves 
 willingly for the service of the Lord. She bills them speak, — 
 all classes of people, — from those princes who rode on white 
 asses, and those who sat in judgment, and those who walked 
 by the way, to even the drawers of water who had before been 
 harassed by the noise of the archers coming forcibly to disturb 
 their domestic employments ; and all were to rehearse the 
 righteous acts of the Lord, for to Him alone they owed their 
 preservation. "The Lord made me have dominion over the 
 mighty," she says, in verse thirteen, thus retaininjr her own 
 dignity and power in Israel, yet tracing it to the Eternal, not to 
 herself. The poetry describing the downfeU of their foes, call- 
 ing forth the imagery of nature to give it force and life ; the 
 death of Sisera, and the waiting and watching of his mother at 
 her lattice — " Why is his chariot so long in coming ? why 
 tarry the wheels of his chariots ?" and the answer, alike from 
 her ladies, and her own heart, " Have they not sped ? have 
 they not divided the prey ; to every man a damsel or two ; to 
 Sisera a ])rey of divers colors, a prey of divers colors of needle- 
 work, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil V as if to 
 fail with his mighty armament were impossible ; and thus sung 
 by the lips of the conquerors, infused with a species of satire, 
 giving indescribable poignancy to the strain ; and then the 
 glorious conclusion, " So let all thine enemies perish, Lord : 
 but let them that love thee be as the sun when he goeth forth 
 in his might ;" form altogether one of the sublimest strains of 
 spiritual fervor in the Bible ; and mark forcibly, by her conduct, 
 both as prophetess and judge, that in Deborah, even as in 
 Gideon, David, and the prophets of later years, God disdained 
 not to breathe His spirit, but made a woman His instrument to 
 judge, to prophesy, to teach, and to redeem. 
 
 " And the land had rest forty years," we are told at the con- 
 clusion of Deborah's song ; words which, as no other judge is 
 mentioned, would lead us to infer that Deborah continued 
 " a mother in Israel" all that time, retaining the people in 
 fidelity, and consequently in temporal and spiritual peace. 
 Even if she did not live herself to govern all those years, it is 
 
 VOL. I. 11 
 
224 THE AVOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 evident that her influence and instructions were remembered 
 and acted upon, for it was not till after these forty years thai 
 " Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord," and so again 
 required a redeemer, which was granted in the person of 
 Gideon. 
 
 The si)ence preserved regarding tlie subsequent life and 
 death of Deborah, is a simple confirmation of the meekness and 
 humility with which we found her judging Israel under her 
 own palm-tree, before being called to a more stirring scene. 
 The land was at peace, the power of prophecy and foresight in 
 military matters was no longer needed, and Deborah resumed 
 her personally humble station, evidently without any ambitious 
 wish, or attempt to elevate her rank or prospects. It was 
 enough that she was useful to her countrymen ; that she was a 
 lowly instrument in the Eternal's hand to work them good. 
 What, now, did she need to satisfy the woman nature^ which 
 she still so evidently retained ? Her judgments, her works, are 
 covered with the veil of silence, but we learn their eflects by 
 the simple phrase, that " the land had rest forty years" — the 
 land, the whole land, not merely that which was under her 
 direct superintendence. Virtue, holiness, and wisdom, though 
 the gifts of but one lowly individual, are not confined to one 
 place, when used, as were Deborah's, to the glory of God, and 
 the good of her people. Silently, and perhaps unperceived, 
 they spread over space and time ; and oh ! how glorious must 
 be the destinj- of that woman, who, without one moment quit- 
 ting her natural sphere, can )"et hj precept, example, and labor 
 produce such blessed effects as to give the land peace, and 
 bring a whole ]jeople unto God ! 
 
 In a practical view, perhaps, the character of Deborah cannot 
 now bo l)ruught home to the conduct of her descendants, for 
 woman caTi no longer occupy a ]>osition of such trust and wisdom 
 in Israel; but, theoretically, we may take the history of Debo- 
 rah to our hearts, both nationally and individually. With such 
 an example in the Word of our God, it is unanswerably evident 
 that neither the Written nor the Oral Law could have contained 
 one syllable to the disparagement of woman. 
 
 Men were in no condition to have permitted the influence of 
 woman, had they not been accustomed, by the constant and 
 emphatic enjoinments of the law, to look on her with respect, 
 consideration, and tenderness. Mentally and spiritually, Debo- 
 
PERIOD 111. DEBORAH. 225 
 
 rah was gifled in an extraordinary degree, leading us to infer 
 that the women of Israel must have had the power to cultivate 
 both mind and s])irit, and to delight in their resources, for we 
 have the whole Bible to prove that the Eternal never selected 
 for the instruments of His will, any but those whose hearts were 
 inclined towards Him, even before He called them — witness the 
 history of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, and others. All and 
 every talent comes from God, but will not work and intluence 
 by His sole gift alone. They are given to be improved, persever- 
 ed in, perfected, by those to whom they are intrusted, and then 
 used in the service of their Giver. It is evident, then, that 
 Deborah had the inclination and the poioer to cultivate, perfect, 
 and use the gifts of her God ; and this would have been quite 
 impossible, had her social condition been such, as the enemies of 
 scriptural and spiritual Judaism declare. With the history of 
 Deborah in their hands, the young daughters of Israel need little 
 other defence or argument, to convince their adversaries that 
 they require no other creed, nor even a denial of the Oral Law, 
 to teach them their proper position, alike to themselves and 
 their fellows, and in their relative duties towards God and man. 
 Deborah being a wife, confirms this yet more strongly. 
 There must not only have been perfect freedom o( position, but 
 of action ; even more than is found in the history of any modern 
 nation, for we do not find a single instance of a wife being elect- 
 ed to any public office requiring intellect and spirituality, 
 secular and religious knowledge, so completely distinct from her 
 husband. Yet the history of Deboi'ah in no way infers that she 
 was neglectful of her conjugal and domestic duties. There is an 
 unj)retending sim|)licity about her very greatness. The very 
 fact of those she judgi'd coming to her under her own i>alni- 
 trc'i, supposes her quiet and retired mode of living. She ne\er 
 leaves iier home, excef)t at the eartiest entreaty of Barak, which 
 urges her to sacrifice domestic retirement for public good. To 
 a really great mind, domestic and [lublic duties are so perfectly 
 com[)atible, that the first need iKner be sacriticed for the last. 
 And that Lapidoth in no manner interfered with the public 
 offices of his wife, called as she was to them by God Himself 
 through His gifts, infers a noble confidence and respectful con- 
 sideration towards her, evidently springing at once from the 
 national equality and freedom tendered to Jewish women ; and 
 from a mind great enough to appreciate and value such talents 
 
226 THE WOMKN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 even in a woman ; a greatness not very often found in modern 
 times. 
 
 To follow in the steps of our great ancestress is not possible, 
 now that the prophetic spirit is removed from Israel, and the few 
 public offices left us fall naturally to the guaidianship of man ; 
 yet many and many a Jewish woman is intrusted with one or 
 more talents direct from God ; and if she can stretch forth a 
 helping hand to the less enlightened of her people, let her not 
 hold back, from the false and unscriptural belief that woman 
 cannot aid the cause of God, or in any way attain to religious 
 knowledge. His word is open to her, as to man. In Moses' 
 command to read and explain the Law to all people, woman was 
 included by name. And now the whole Bible, Law, Historical 
 books. Psalms, and Prophets, are open to her daily commune, 
 and shall it be said that she has neither the right nor the under- 
 standing to make use of such blessed privilege ? Shame, shame 
 on those who would thus cramp the power of the Lord, in deny- 
 ing to any one of His creatures the power of addressing and 
 comprehending Him, through the inexhaustible treasure of His 
 gracious word ! 
 
 Every married woman is judge and guardian of her own 
 household. She may have to encounter the prejudices of a 
 husband, not yet thinking with her on all points ; but if she 
 have really a great mind, she will know how to influence, with- 
 out in any way interfering. She will know how to serve the Lord 
 in her household without neglecting her duty and aflection 
 towards her husband ; and by domestic conduct influence 
 society at large, secretly and unsuspectedly indeed, but more 
 powerfully than she herself can in the least degree suppose. 
 
 To unmarried women, even as to wives, some talent is intrust- 
 ed, which may be used to the glory of its Giver. Life is not 
 lent us to be frittered away in an unmeaning little satisfactory 
 run of amusements, or often in their mere fruitless search. 
 There surely is some period in a jingle woman's existence, when 
 the hopes, ambition, and even favorite amuseqieiits, of girlhood 
 mubt come to an end. Because unmarried, is" woman ^till to 
 believ^e herself a girl, hoping for, and looking-for, a change in 
 her existence, which will in reality never come ? Would it not 
 be wiser and better, aye, and incalculably happier, if woman her- 
 self withdrew from the sphere of exciting hopes and pletisures 
 which she had occupied in girlhood ? If she sought persever- 
 
PERIOL III. — WIFE OF MA NOAH. 227 
 
 ino-ly and prayerfully some new objects of interest, affection, and 
 em])loymeiit, vvliich she might justly hope would become a stay 
 and support in rapidly advancing years, and thus entirely }>re- 
 vent the ennui, and its attendants, love of gossip, friv Ally, and 
 often sourness and irritability, which are too generally believed 
 to be the sole characteristics of single (and so of course sup|)0s- 
 ed disappointed) women ? Have we not all some jjrecious 
 talent lent us by our God, and for the use of which He will 
 demand an account ? Is there not the whole human family 
 from which to select some few objects of interest, on whom to 
 expend some of our leisure time, and draw our thoughts from 
 all-engrossing self? Were there but one object on whom we 
 have lavished kindness, and tanght to look up to God and hea- 
 ven, and to walk this earth virtuously and meekly — but one or 
 two whom, had we the pecuniary means, we have clothed and 
 fed — a sick or dying bed that we have soothed — a sorrowing 
 one consoled — an erring one turned from the guilty path — the 
 repentant, or the weak, strengthened and encouraged — we shall 
 not have lived in vain ; or, when we come to die, look shudderingly 
 back on a useless life and wasted gifts ; on existence lost in the 
 vain struggle to arrest the flight of time, and still seek hope and 
 pleasure in thoughts and scenes, whose sweetness has been too 
 long extracted for aught to remain but bitterness and gall. 
 Deborahs in truth we cannot be ; but each and all have talents 
 given, and a sphere assigned them, and, like her, all have it in 
 their power, in the good performed towards man, to use the one, 
 and consecrate the other to the service of their God. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WIFE OF MANGA H, 
 
 Several years passed since the death of Deborah. Gideon, 
 Tolo, Jair, Jepthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdan, had successively 
 judged Israel, often with interregnums of rebellion, apostasy. 
 
228 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 and anarchy. After the death of the last mentioned judge, 
 "the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, 
 and He delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty 
 years." We now come to another incident in the history of the 
 women of Israel demanding our attention. In the tribe of Dan 
 was a certain man of the city of Zorah, named Manoah, vvhuse 
 ■wife had no children, always a source of grief in the families of 
 Israel ; not, as the Christians believe, from the idea of becoming 
 the mother of the promised Messiah (who is scarcely mentioned 
 till the time of the prophets, when the awfully threatened chas- 
 tisement of the Eternal needed such consolatory promises), but 
 because children were always considered proofs of the Lord's 
 love, a privilege granted from Him as the recompense of faith- 
 ful service ; as we read in the words of David, " Lo, children 
 are an heritage of the Lord : and the fruit of the womb is His 
 REWARD," Psalm cxxvii. And, again, "Thy wife shall be as a 
 fruitful vine by the sides of thine house : and thy children like 
 olive plmts around thy table. Behold, thus shall the man be 
 blessed that feareth the Lord. Tliou shalt see thy children's 
 children, and peace on Israel," Psalm cxxviii. To go down 
 childless to the grave, and so prevent the name from being 
 "built up" in Israel, was deemed a heavy affliction, inferring, for 
 some secret sin or public transgression, the anger of the Lord. 
 
 Sacred Writ is silent as to the reason of the Eternal's selec- 
 tion falling on the family of Manoah for a deliverer in ]>art from 
 the Philistines, but we are justified in inferring from the con- 
 text, that they were one of the few faithful followers of Israel, 
 by whom the Law was in all points obeyed. Be that however 
 as it may, this is certain, that it was to the woman, not to the 
 man, the Most High deigned to send His angelic messenger, 
 with not only the blessed revelation that He would grant her a 
 son ; but deigning to instruct her as to the food and drink she 
 was to refrain from taking herself, and to the devoting her babe 
 as a Nazaiite to the Lord, even from his infancy ; thus making 
 the direct commands of the Immutable agree in all points with 
 the Law which His wisdom and mercy had already given. 
 
 Naturally astonished, for such revelations were not even then 
 common in Israel, we find " the woman" following the impulse 
 of her confiding nature, hastening on the instant to her hus- 
 band, and informing him that a man of God had come unto her, 
 and his countenance was very terrible (signifying, not actually 
 
PERIOD III. WIFE OF MANOAH. .229 
 
 terrible, but grand and imposing), like the countenance of an 
 angel of the Lord ; but " I asked him not whence he was, nei- 
 ther told he me his name." From this description of the 
 heavenly messenger, it appears that the woman did not consider 
 him in reality an angel, supposing him a man of God or prophet, 
 bearing a message from the Most High, as was usual in Israel, 
 yet still struck by the imposing beauty of his countenance, and 
 feehng it possessed something beyond mortality. 
 
 Equally astonished, but helieving, Manoah lost no time in idle 
 speculation, but betook himself instantly to prayer ; thus con- 
 firming our idea of his faithfulness and piety, and proving one 
 grand and important national truth, that the Israehtes needed 
 no mediator whatever, be he man or angel, to bring up their 
 prayers before God, and obtain His gracious reply. Here was 
 Manoah, living on his own estates, in his own tribe, far removed 
 from the priests of the Lord and the tabernacle, through the 
 first of whom alone it is declared, by our opponents, that the 
 prayers of Israel could be acceptably offered up. No priest 
 near, of whom he could either ask or obtain counsel ; no wise 
 man or judge, of whom he might demand advice or explanation. 
 Yet the law was then in force all over Israel, and if it had been 
 illegal and derogatory to the dignity of the Lord to address Him 
 in prayer from any place, or at any time, we should have found 
 Manoah hastening without a moment's delay to the appointed spot, 
 and offering sacrifices to obtain the mediation of the anointed 
 priest, knowing that through him only he could obtain reply. 
 
 Instead of which, we find him, without even pause or hesita- 
 tion, believing the words of his wife so implicitly, as to offer up 
 a prayer of such simple construction that it clearly proves how 
 little the Most High regards mere formula in prayer, when 
 springing, as did Manoah's, from humility and faith. " Then 
 Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man 
 of God which thou didst send come again to us, and teach us 
 what we shall do unto the child that shall be born." Here is 
 no doubt expressed as to the reality of the blessing profi'ered : 
 " The child that shall be born," reveals how fully he believed in 
 the promise ; but, as was natural to humanity, he entreated a 
 confirmation of the instructions vouchsafed, not knowing how far 
 the imagination and the fears of his wife might have tinctured 
 her relation. 
 
 "And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah." Did we 
 
230 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 need any furtlier incentive to " entreat the Lord" in all things, 
 surely we have it here. Manoah had simply spoken the 
 thouti-hts of his heart in words, which would be their natui-al 
 vehicle of expression. He had prayed through the merits of 
 neither dead nor living, man nor angel, but in lowly trusting 
 faith, and (xod hearkened and answered. Again His messenger 
 appeared unto the woman as she sat in the field, Manoah not 
 being with her, and she ran to inform her husband, saying that 
 the man had again appeared unto her, the same who had come 
 /ireviously ; and Manoah, no doubt in secret adoring the 
 Beneficent God who had thus deigned to answer his prayer, 
 went with his wife, and demanded of the messenger, if he were 
 indeed the man who had visited them before. And being 
 answered in the affirmative, he besought a repetition of how to 
 " order the child ;" and the angel condescended a full reply, 
 reiterating all his previous instructions. Still believing him a 
 man, as himself, only gifted with the spirit of the Lord, 
 Manoah, with the hospitality ])eculiar to the Hebrew, besought 
 him to remain until " we shall have made ready a kid for thee." 
 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, " Though thou 
 detain me, I will not eat of thy bread. And if thou wilt offer a 
 burnt-offering thou must offer it unto the Lord ; for Manoah 
 hnexo not that he was an angel of the Lord. And Manoah said, 
 What is thy name ? that when thy sayings come to pass, we 
 may do thee honor. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, 
 Wherefore askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? 
 So Manoah took a kid with a meat-offering, and offered it upon 
 a rock unto the Lord. And it came to pass, when the flame 
 went up toward heaven from off" the altar, the angel of the Lord 
 ascended in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife 
 looked on it, and fell with their faces to the ground. And the 
 angel of the Lord did no more appear unto Manoah and his 
 wife : then Manoah knew he was an angel of the Lord. And 
 Manoah said, We shall surely die, for we have seen God [i. e. a 
 messenger direct from God.] But his wife said unto him. If 
 the Lord were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a 
 burnt-offering and a meat-offering at our hands, neither would 
 He have showed us all these things, nor would as at this 
 (second) time have told us such things as these." (Judges xii.) 
 We have quoted this chapter almost at length, because it 
 contains so much which it is almost imperative for us to con- 
 
PERIOD III. WIFE OF MANOAH. 231 
 
 sider in a national point of view, before we can come to regard 
 it in its bearings on our history as women. Any elucidation or 
 defence of our national belief will not, we trust, be deemed out 
 of place in a Jewish work, however little it may be pronounced 
 to have to do with the main point of its subject. In an age 
 when so much of controversy is going on, when even the inti- 
 mate association, and often friendships, between Hebrew and 
 Gentile may bring forward peculiar points of belief, to inquire 
 their differences or varying modes of interpretation — it becomes 
 imperatively necessary for the young Hebrew of either sex to be 
 provided with such defence as will, at least, satisfy his own 
 heart and conscience, and render him invulnerable to the 
 peculiar expositions proffered to his attention, however little 
 such defence may weigh with the hereditary prejudices of 
 his opponents. There is a wide difference between an argu- 
 ment seeking the conversion of another, and that merely 
 defending our own belief in the same sacred authority as 
 gives a supposed foundation for the belief of an opponent. 
 As long :,s the Christian confines his arguments and quotations 
 to the New Testament, the Israelite feels perfectly secure, from 
 his entire rejection of such authority as Divine. But when the 
 words of the Old Testament are so explained as to bear almost 
 startlingly upon the creed of our adversaries, then it is we need 
 careful, though perfectly simple, training, to provide us both 
 with reply and defence. To be kept in ignorance of the Naza- 
 rene readings of the Bible does no good whatever ; for there are 
 very few who can hope to pass through life, particularly now 
 that social intercourse is so unrestrained, without some approach 
 to the differences of belief, and their causes. Much better is it 
 to know clearly the danger we are not unlikely to encounter, 
 and how to avert it, than to come upon it wholly unprepared. 
 Not in childhood indeed, for it would be folly to perplex the 
 young mind with the tenets of two beliefs : then it is simply 
 necessary to impress and explain the essentials of their own 
 creed ; but in maturer years, when the opening mind is not only 
 capable of understanding, but feels itself restless and anxious for 
 something more than the mere education of childhood : then let 
 them compare their belief with that of others ; let them know 
 what and why their opponents so believe, through the enlarged 
 and liberal views of a spiritually Jewish instructor ; let the light 
 of reason and revelation be their guide, and we shall find both 
 
 11* 
 
232 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 male and female of the Hebrew youth so confirmed in their own 
 blessed faith, as to live and die for it, yet eschewing all of 
 illiberality, inichaiitableness, and scorn, towards those of other 
 and less enlightened creeds. 
 
 The chapter under consideration is one of those much regarded 
 by the Nazarene, and always brought forward in controversial 
 discussion. From Manoah's simple words, " We have seen 
 God," they believe, that wherever the " angel of the Lord" is 
 mentioned, it signifies the second person of the Godhead ; and 
 that as He took visible form to our ancestors of old, so we might 
 equally believe in His taking the form of Jesus to save the world. 
 
 To a mere superficial thinker this argument might prove 
 dangerous ; and we are therefore anxious to explain this chapter 
 according to the Israelite's belief. In the first place, we refuse 
 to see in this messenger anything more than the Word of God 
 declares, " an angel of the Lord," simply because the Eternal 
 said unto Moses, in answer to his earnest entreaty, " Show me 
 thy glory. Thou canst not see my face : for there shall 
 NO MAN SEE ME, AND LIVE." And we thercfoic know, that no 
 man has or ever can see His face, and hve ; for God is a God 
 of truth, and knows not the very shadow of a change. That 
 which He has once said is immutable, unwavering, changeless 
 as Himself. That there may be, even in the books of Moses, 
 one or two verses seeming to contradict this assertion, as in 
 Exodus xxiv., verses 10 and 11, and in verse 11 of chapter 
 xxxiii., is of no importance, being either a wrong translation, or 
 the mere manner of writing, to bring down the solemn appear- 
 ance of the glory of God to the comprehension of the mixed 
 multitude, and impossible to be weighed a single moment with 
 the words of the Most High Himself. Would He declare the 
 solemn truth in one part of His Holy Word, confirming it by 
 every prophet, and in another part command His people, as a 
 condition of their salvation, to believe on His appearing on 
 earth, and conversing face to face with man, first as an angel, 
 and then in human form ? The very words of Manoah confirm 
 this belief, and p^rove it was entertained as strongly by the ancient 
 as the modern Jews. The Nazarenes take only the last mem- 
 ber of this sentence, forgetting the important fact, " We shall 
 surely die, if, indeed, we have seen God," for such is the real 
 meaning of his words, and that he did not die ;■ and the simple 
 truth of his wife's suggestion convinced him, no doubt, as it 
 
PERIOD III. WIFE OF MANOAH. 233 
 
 convinces us, that it was not God wiiom lie had seen, but one 
 of those angelic messengers whom it sometimes pleased the 
 Lord to employ to deliver His missions unto man. The nature 
 of such beings it needs not now to inquire ; but the belief in the 
 existence of angels is so twined with the behef in the Bible, 
 that if we disbelieve the one, we must disbelieve the other. 
 The very word "t^at^'n, derived from the Arabic "r^Hi^, to send, or 
 employ, signifies merely a messenger, a legate, used indiscrimi- 
 nately for one employed by a king as ambassador, or by the 
 Lord as an angel, prophet, or priest; and sometimes also 
 applied to whatever is sent by the Eternal to execute His will, 
 even as winds and plagues. 
 
 The grand and imposing aspect of the angelic Eountenance, 
 as we have seen, struck Manoah's wife ; but that neither she nor 
 her husband supposed him anything more than a prophet or 
 priest, is evident by their manner of addressing him, and their 
 entreating him to tarry for refreshment. The angel's reply is 
 strong confirmation of what we have alreacUr stated concerning 
 his real office. To eat of their bread would be confirming their 
 idea that he was but a man ; to accept their burnt-offering would 
 be arrogating to himself what was due only to his Heavenly 
 Master. "If thou offer a burnt-offering thou must offer it unto 
 the Lord ;" not to him, who, though of an angelic nature, was 
 still nothing but a messt-nger. Still ignorant that he was an 
 angel, Manoah asks his name, to do him honor; and bccaitse he 
 knew how liable were even believing Israelites to turn aside from 
 the worship of the immutable God to ivorship others, and jealous 
 for the (jlory of his Master, the angel refused to tell his name, 
 declar'ng it was secret — that when his words came to pass, 
 Manoah or his wife n:ight not have even a natne to turn aside 
 their thoughts from the one sole God; still, to convince them 
 he was not a mere mortal, but came direct from the Lord, he 
 ascended, or disappeared, in the flame of the altar, as had been 
 the sign of the divine acceptance of the offering, from the sacri- 
 fice of Abel downwards. And it was knowing this, and recog- 
 nising the immediate agency of the Most High, in thus sending 
 one of His own messengers, that so overwhelmed Manoah and 
 his wife with religious awe, as to cause them to fall with their 
 faces to the ground, not daring to look even upon the semblanco 
 of His glory. 
 
 A layman, and a lowly individual of his father's tribe, it was 
 
234 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 not unnatural that Manoah should even be more awe-struck, 
 than rejoiced, at the revelation so graciously vouchsafed ; and 
 whilst the mistaken idea engrossed him, if, indeed, it ever did, 
 that he had conversed with God, he could not do otherwise than 
 fear instant death, for, like all his brethren, he knew the God of 
 Israel was a God of truth ; and, therefore, if he had seen him, 
 he must cease to live. The ready answer of his wife removed 
 these groundless fears ; and while it told him, that if it had 
 pleased the Lord to kill them. He would not have accepted 
 oflferings at their hands, or so revealed His will, it must equally 
 have convinced him, as a believer in the revelation of the Lord 
 through Moses, that it was not Ood, but his messenger whom 
 He had seen. 
 
 Such is the simple rendering of this very simple chapter ; 
 while the second commandment, and the words already quoted, 
 " No man can see me, and live," with the firm belief that God 
 is TRUTH, are all sufficient wherewith satisfactorily to explain, both 
 to our own hearts and to those of our children, every verse that 
 may seem to read slightly contradictory, and supply us with an 
 impenetrable shield, against which the reasonings of our oppo- 
 nents must fall blunted and harmless to the ground. 
 
 Regarding this narrative in its bearings on our history as 
 Women of Israel, it is confirmation strong of our always attested 
 declaration, that neither Written nor Oral Law interfered with 
 the perfect equality of man and wife. The chapter before us 
 displays a simple and natural picture of conjugal confidence and 
 equalit}', and of the respective peculiarities of man and woman. 
 It is impossible to read this chapter, without perceiving that 
 Manoah's wife was a perfectly free agent, only bound by the 
 links of love and confidence which the marriage law enjoins. 
 As the mother of the child selected to dehver Israel in part from 
 the Phihstines, she was even of more importance in the sight of 
 God than her husband, a fact inferred from the angel appearing 
 both times to her, and only addressing Manoah when addressed 
 by him. We find, too, Manoah including her alike in all he 
 said and did. " Let us detain thee, until toe have prepared a 
 kid," &c. In the religious observance of the burnt-offering, and 
 in the lowly prostration acknowledging the divine power, 
 Manoah and his wife are separately named, proving her perfect 
 equality in all religious observances, and her right to partake of 
 them. That the angel never again appeared either to Manoah 
 
PERIOD III. WIFE OF MANOAH. 235 
 
 or his wife, is the proof to them that he was a messenger from 
 the Lord. The words, " we shall surely die," included her in 
 the penalty su[)posed to have been incurred, and mark the 
 female as equally a responsible agent as the male. Still more 
 clearly demonstrative that the Hebrew wife really occupied the 
 free and equal position which the laws of God Himself as.-igned 
 her, is the fact that it was her ready wit, and quickness of intel- 
 lect, which reassured her husband. She had been awe-struck 
 like himself, but yet, perfectly in accordance with woman's 
 nature, was the first to comprehend the real intention of the 
 revelation. Maa's more solid nature and deeper thought, 
 require time for mature judgment — woman's quicker fancy, and 
 often more easily excited feeling, give her the advantage in the 
 rapidity of comprehension, and, very often, in the correctness of 
 judgment, which man's greater solidity strengthens and ma- 
 tures. 
 
 But that Manoah's wife could thus comprehend, and thus 
 correctly judge, implies a domestic and social position which 
 not only permitted, but exercised these pecuhar faculties. In an 
 enslaved and degraded position, their possession was practically 
 and theoretically impossible. 
 
 We find, then, much even in this brief chapter to interest and 
 instruct us, ahke as Hebrew women, and as women taken 
 generally. In the latter, we shall do well to reflect on the sim- 
 ple trusting confidence of Manoah's wife, seeming the more 
 tender and deferential from the greater correctness of judgment 
 manifested afterwards. And so it should always be. However 
 woman may be naturally endowed with superior attainments, 
 with, perhaps, even a greater share of strength and firmness, and 
 a quicker aptitude for intellectual acquirements, still it is her 
 bounden duty so to guide and use these gifts, that they shall 
 never in any way jar upon the feelings of the one chosen as her 
 husband ; and check mutual confidence and love by that assump- 
 tion of superiority, even granted it exist, of all things most irri- 
 tating to man's nature. It is woman's province to influence^ 
 never to dictate ; to conceal, rather than assume superiority. 
 She may find many and many an opportunity to use it for the 
 good of her husband and children, as was the case with the wife 
 of Manoah ; but never let her display it — never let her permit 
 her husband to feel his inferiority — never let her withhold con- 
 fidence, from the mistaken notion that as her judgment is as 
 
236 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 good, if not better than his, she cannot need his advice or inter- 
 ference — for if she does, she may rest assured that from that 
 instant her influence is at an end for ever. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 NAOMI. 
 
 We now come to a portion of our history as women of Israel, 
 which, from the loveliness of female character that it displays, 
 has in neither history nor romance been equalled. In the Bible 
 it is termed the book of Ruth ; but as Ruth does not properly 
 belong, by birth and ancestry, to the women of Israel, Naomi 
 must be the subject of our consideration. With her history, 
 however, Ruth is so entwined, that we cannot reflect on the one 
 without also pausing on the touching beauty of the other. 
 
 The country of Moab, situated in the north-east part of 
 Arabia Petrjea, was separated from Judea by the desolate tract 
 of the Dead Sea, and the river Arnon. It could not probably 
 be said ever to have formed part of the land of Canaan ; but was 
 one of those nations which the Eternal expressly commanded 
 His people to spare : see Deut. ii. 9. 
 
 The Dead Sea was also the boundary of the tribe of Judah ; 
 and it is rather a remarkable fact, that Judah and Simeon are 
 the only tribes of Israel who appear to have driven out all the 
 previous Canaanitish possessors. Judah was the first appointed 
 by the Most High to go up against the land ; and, accompanied 
 by his brother Simeon, evinced not only more obedience but 
 more valor and military skill. We do not read of them, as of 
 Benjamin, Manasseh, Ei^hraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and 
 Dan, who, with scarcely any fighting, entered into peaceful cove- 
 nants with the Canaanites, and permitted them to dwell with 
 them even in their cities. Nor, in consequence, do we find 
 recorded of the tribe of Judah those awful crimes and wilful 
 
PERIOD III. NAOMI. 237 
 
 idolatries practised by his brethren. In the early part of 
 Jewish history, Jiidah was undoubtedly the most faithful tribe, 
 else had he not been the chosen branch, from which, in God's 
 own time, will spring our Restorer and Messiah. 
 
 Elimelech was a man of this valiant tribe, and, in consequence 
 of a severe famine which devastated Judea (the punishment, in 
 all probability, of national sin), he removed his family, consist- 
 ing of a wife and two sons, to the country of Moab, not far dis- 
 tant from their native city, Bethlehem-Judah or Ephratah. 
 Elimelech died in Moab, not very long after he sojourned there ; and 
 his two sons, Chilion and Mahlon, took them wives of the women 
 of Moab, and dwelled there about ten years. Such unions wtre 
 contrary to the given Law of God ; and we may infer that, not- 
 withstanding the virtue and attractions of those selected, the act 
 ' itself as disobedience was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, 
 from the early deaths, without leaving children, of Elimelech's 
 two sons. This, however, is a mere suggestion which may or 
 may not be, and does not infer Divine displeasure against either 
 Orpah or Ruth ; as those not under the Law were not bound by 
 its instructions. 
 
 During the lifetime of her husband and sons, we hear nothing 
 of Naomi ; but it is by her conduct and sentiments in adversity, 
 and the strong affection borne towards her by her daughters-in- 
 law, that we may judge of her previous character. 
 
 A faithful wife, an affectionate mother — gentle, meek, trusting 
 — manifesting a simple, guileless piety in every relation, every 
 ci''cumstance of life ; such she must have been, or we should not 
 find her in affliction the character which the Word of God 
 displays. 
 
 It is not always in prosperity that we discover the true graces 
 of a spiritual character. The quiet, unostentatious discharge of 
 domestic duty — the fond, unwavering affections of domestic life 
 — these strike us not ; nay, we often pass them by, wondering 
 at the simplicity and tame-spiritedness which can rest content in 
 such unexciting scenes. But when adversity comes, and strength 
 and piety is to an extraordinary degree displayed, then it is we 
 learn that it is in unexciting scenes woman's character is best 
 matured ; and we may chance to envy those whom we had 
 before almost despised. 
 
 The heart of the Hebrew widow yearned towards that lovely 
 land, from which she had been so long a willing exile for her 
 
238 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 husband and children's sake — yearned towards it, for it was the 
 land of her brethren, where the Lord had set up His only- 
 Tabernacle ; where His law had assured her of His especial pro- 
 tection — for she was a widow in Israel ; where her full heart 
 could pour itself before Hin". in the congregation of her people 
 — could worship Him in all points according to His law. In 
 Moab she was alone of her race and faith. No wonder she 
 yearned once more to rest in her native land ; or that, lonely 
 and aged si^ she was, she should yet set forth on the weary way. 
 Another reason, also, might thus have urged her: she heard 
 that " the Lord had visited His people with bread," and, there- 
 fore, she was no longer guiltless in continuing to sojourn in a 
 heathen land. 
 
 Accompanied by her daughters, she departed from " the place 
 where she was ;" but, after going some little way together, she 
 tenderly besought them to return, each to .ner mother's house, 
 praying that the Lord might deal kindly with them, even as they 
 had dealt with the dead and \y\\h her ; and grant them each rest 
 and peace, with a husband of their own people. Then she kissed 
 them, and they lifted up their voices and wept, saying, " We will 
 surely return with thee unto thine own people." They had 
 lived with her ten years — a long period for the character and 
 conduct to have been tried — and we see what Naomi's must 
 have been, by the grief of her two daughters — unable to part 
 with her, even to return to their own parents. To Naomi, such 
 separation must also have been a heavy trial ; but she was too 
 unselfish to wish them to accompany her to a land of strangers. 
 With renewed tenderness, then, she sought to turn them from 
 their purpose, telling them she might no longer give them hus- 
 bands ; thus alluding to the law of her people, which commands 
 the brother or nearest kinsman of the deceased to take unto him- 
 self the childless wife ; and then only do we hear this meek and 
 pious mother in Israel revert to her heavy affliction. " It griev- 
 eth me much, for your sakes, that the hand of the Lord is gone 
 out against me." She recognised the hand of the Lord, and 
 met her individual sorrows not only with uncomplaining resig- 
 nation, but feeling yet more deeply for her daughters than for 
 herself, and seeking to console them — leaving her own consola- 
 tion to Ilim who had smitten and would heal. No wonder that 
 her fond words increased their grief and bade them weep again : 
 but the efl'ect on the sisters was different. Orpah was one of the 
 
PERIOD III. NAOMI. 239 
 
 many, feeling painfully at the moment, passionately desirous to 
 evince that she felt, but liable to be easily diverted from her pur- 
 pose. Penetrating no deeper than the surface, she, perhaps, 
 believed Naomi's words as neither desiring nor requiring her 
 further company ; and, therefore, repeatedly she kissed her 
 raother-in-law and wept, but at length turned back to her own 
 home. Much as she loved the aged Naomi, earnestly as she 
 wished to serve her, she had not sufficient firmness and steadi- 
 ness of character to act of herself and set at naught the persua- 
 sions of aftection. Gentle and yielding, it was easier for her to 
 grieve than to act ; and is not this the nature of many women ? 
 They fear to abide by their own judgment when two alternatives 
 are presented to them. They hesitate and linger, fearing to 
 commit themselves by decision, and so are guided by a breath. 
 Accustomed to express all their own impulses and feelings with- 
 out regarding others, such natures cannot possibly understand 
 those firmer and less selfish ones, who would do violence to their 
 own wishes, to secure what may seem the greater share of hap- 
 piness for another. That Orpah was one of these, solves her 
 conduct far more justly and agreeably than to suppose her, as 
 many do, merely professing a love and regret which she could 
 not really feel — else, she too would have followed Naomi 
 Orpah was woman in her weakness ; Ruth, woman in her, 
 strength ; and both are as beautifully true to woman's naturej 
 now as then. 
 
 Ruth's own unselfish character gave her the clue to her 
 mother-in-law's words. She could understand that Naomi 
 might persuade them to return home, and yet cling to them as 
 her last ties on earth. To Ruth action was better than passive 
 grief, deeds than the tenderest words ; and, therefore, when 
 Naomi besought her to follow her sister-in-law, and return to 
 her own people, Ruth's sole answer was couched in words 
 exquisitely illustrative of the deep tenderness, the firm devo- 
 tion, the beautiful deference of her individual character : — 
 " Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following 
 thee. Whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest, 
 I will lodge. Thy peoj'jle shall be my people, and thy God my 
 God. Where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried. 
 The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part 
 me and thee ! " 
 
 Not the most carefully studied oration could breathe more 
 
240 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 undying, changeless, self-submitting devotion, than these few 
 and simple words. Naomi was evidently poor. The riches of 
 the Hebrews did not consist then of such wealth as would pro- 
 vide for their families after their death ; land and its produce 
 constituted their possessions ; and these, where there were no 
 males to cultivate, could not prevent the female survivors from 
 being poor as well as bereaved. Naomi's return to her own 
 land would, of course, according to the law of God, secure her 
 provision ; but in the constant rebellion and disobedience of the 
 peop'e, it was precarious and- uncertain — she might not even be 
 recoo-nised by her countrymen, so long a time had elapsed since 
 she had left Ephratah. By her earnest entreaties for her 
 daughters to return, it is evident that sufficiency and comfort 
 marked their own homes. Yet Ruth unhesitatingly resigned 
 them all to share her mother-in-law's fate, whatever it might be. 
 Bidding farewell to the friends, scenes, and associations of her 
 youth, not for a time, but for a life, some cause for this pure 
 devoted love there must have been. Ruth's simple words not 
 only reveal the beauty of her own character, but that of the 
 aged Naomi. Aft'ection is ever the impulse to devotion and 
 unselfishness. The humali heart ever needs something to which, 
 so to cling as to be drawn out ftom self, and Ruth was not 
 a character to devote her affections and energies to an unworthy 
 object. We know what the character of Naomi must have 
 been in those ten or twelve years of which we hear nothing, 
 by the simple devotedness of Ruth in her adversity. 
 
 And what a comfort to that lone heart must have been the 
 soothing words and " steadfost mindedness" of the Moabitish 
 damsel. Must not she whom we shall find, under every circum- 
 stance of joy or grief, looking to the Lord alone, and tracing 
 all things from His Almighty hand, have felt this comfort came 
 from him — and that even then she had not trusted in vain. 
 In the midst of affliction He sent consolation ; in her deepest 
 loneliness, raised up an earthly friend. Here, as we have 
 already seen in the love of Isaac for Rebekah, we find the ten- 
 der compassion of the Eternal for His creatures manifested in 
 giving human comfort ; He not only pours spiritual balm into 
 the bleeding heart, but provides some being on whom its qui- 
 vering atiections may again find rest, and whose faithful love 
 shall fill the aching void. To the bereaved wife and mother, 
 left in her old age alone, a withered tree from which every leaf 
 
PERIOD III. NAOMI, 241 
 
 and flower has gone, with no hope of ever bearing more, Ruth's 
 affection must have been indeed a precious balm. Withuut 
 her, Naomi had been ulone, and oh, at all times, how fearful is 
 tlie suffering included in that word ! Yet more in the adver- 
 sity of bereavement and old age I 
 
 We do not hear how long the travellers journeyed, but Holy 
 Writ simply, yet forcibly, brings before us the wonder and sym- 
 pathy excited by the Bethlehemites on Naomi's return, " and 
 it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all 
 the city was moved about them, and they said, ' Is this 
 Naomi ? ' " Can we not fancy the whole city flocking to ook 
 upon the travellers, to discover if indeed the rumor of Naomi's 
 return could be correct — and anxious, if it were, to give her 
 kindly welcomes ? Struck by her look of years and sorrow, 
 remembering her only as the fair and pleasant-looking wife of 
 EHmelech, then in her freshest prime, marvelling one to another, 
 can this indeed be Naomi ? It is a complete picture of that 
 primitive union of family and tribe, peculiar to early Judaism. 
 Men were not then so engrossed with self, as to feel no sympa- 
 thy, no interest, out of their own confined circle. They could 
 sj)are both time and feeling to " be moved " at the return of a 
 country-woman, who had been absent so long ; and to grieve 
 with her at those heavy afflictions which caused her to reply to 
 their eager greetings, " Call me not Naomi, call me Mara, for 
 the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me ; I went out full, 
 and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. Why then 
 call ye me Naomi, seeing that the Lord hath testified against 
 me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me ? " 
 
 Again we find Naomi in meek submission referring all the 
 events of her life to her God, yet uttering no complaint ; she 
 alludes to her heavy afflictions indeed, — alludes to them as 
 afflictions, as God himself ordained — not as some enthusiasts 
 would seek to persuade us, that all bereavements are to be con- 
 sidered joys, and so received with thanksgiving and praise, that 
 pain is not to be pain, if sent by the hand of the Lord. This is not 
 the spirit of the Jewish religion, as taught and practised in the 
 Bible. Our Father demands not such violence done to the 
 heart which He hath so mercifully and so wisely stored with 
 such vast capabilities of pleasure and of pain. He demands 
 not that sorrow is to be looked on as joy, and joy to be despised 
 as leading us far from Him. When He tries us in affliction, 
 
242 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 where would be its spiritual improvement in faith and submis- 
 sion, if we are to welcome it as joy ? Where would be the 
 trial of pain, if it be not pain ? No ! God loves us too well to 
 forbid the healing and saving influence of that holy grief, 
 which, without detaching us from the sweet and lovely links of 
 earth that He Himself vouchsafed, will yet lead us lo Him, 
 convinced that He afflicts for our eternal good ; that He acts, 
 even in bereavement, through His changeless love, and that He 
 who smote, in His own time will heal. No sorrow has yet 
 been soothed by the vain philosophy which would seek to 
 lessen either its pang or its extent. The sufferer must weep 
 and mourn awhile ; but if it be in the spirit of Naomi there 
 will still be comfort found. 
 
 Naomi makes no complaint ; but how deeply she feels the 
 contrast between her return to, and her departure from, Bethle- 
 hem, we read in her shrinking from the name of her youth, 
 which, signifying pleasantness, sweetness, and grace, too pain- 
 fully recalled the days when those terms were apphcable, not 
 otily to the charms of her per-onal character, but the pleasant- 
 ness and sweetness of her dail}' life. Bitterness and sadness 
 were more applicable to her present lot, than the sweetness and 
 joyance which had characterized it heretofore ; and therefore 
 she bids them call her Mara — but it is not complaint ; it is but 
 the natural shrinking of humanity from the memory of the past, 
 contrasted with the suffering of the present. 
 
 It was at the beginning of the barley harvest Naomi and her 
 daughter-in-law arrived at Bethlehem. There, it appears from 
 the context, the former sought a retired and very humble dwell- 
 ing. Notwithstanding that she had a wealthy kinsman, of the 
 family of Elimelech, who, had she applied to him, was bound 
 by the law to give her all the relief she needed, the gentle, 
 unassuming nature of the widow preferred retirement and lowli- 
 ness, to claiming the attention of her wealthy kinsman. The 
 conti'ast between iheir resjjective positions was too great ; and 
 how beautifully does this shrinking from making herself known 
 to Boaz, or even from revealing his existence to Ruth, betray 
 her gentle dignity ! — and that self-esteem, ever proceeding from 
 true piety. The character of Naomi is consistent in all its parts, 
 forcibly marking one who, from youth to age, was found true 
 to herself and to her God. 
 
 The holy narration tells us, that " it was RutKs hap to light 
 
PERIOD III. NAOMI. 243 
 
 on a part of the field belonging to Boaz." Had she known his 
 near connexion, her refinement and delicacy of feeling would 
 have led her to any other field in preference, 'J he whole scene 
 which follows is a most beautiful illustratioii of the domestic 
 manners and customs of the early Jews, and all in exact accord- 
 ance with the given law. The kind and conciliatory manner 
 of Boaz, " the mighty man of wealth," to his dependents ; his 
 salutation, and their reply ; evince how completely the thought 
 and recollection of the God of Israel was entwined with the 
 daily work of his people. The intimate acquaintance which 
 Boaz must have had with all his household, male and female, 
 from his instant discovery of the youthful stranger, ard the 
 reply of the reapers, all breathe a refinement and civilization of 
 feeling and action, found at this period only amidst the people 
 of the Lord. 
 
 Boaz confirmed the kindness of his dependents, by address- 
 ing Ruth in words of such gentle courtesy, peculiarly adapted 
 to reassure and soothe her. He not only tells her to glean in 
 his field alone — there was no need for her to go further — but 
 to abide by his maidens, thus removing unconsciously all pain- 
 ful feelings on her being a Moabitish stranger, which would keep 
 her aloof. He told her, too, to follow close after the reapers, 
 that she should receive neither harshness nor insult, and when 
 she was athirst, to drink freely from that which the young men 
 had drawn. 
 
 With the respect ever proffered to real goodness, and 
 astonished at such unexpected kindness, Ruth replied in words, 
 the meekness and humility of which increased Boaz's preposses- 
 sion in her favor, and confirmed all which rumor had already pro- 
 claimed concerning her. " Why have I found grace in thy eyes," 
 she said, " that thou shouldst take this knowledge of me, seeing 
 I am a stranger?" And how must her heai't have throbbed 
 with natural pleasure at Boaz's rejoinder, " It hath been fully 
 showed me all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law, 
 since the death of thine husband : how thou hast left father and 
 mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a 
 people which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord recom- 
 pense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord 
 God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust." 
 Deserved approbation is sweet, however some stern Stoics may 
 say that virtue is its own reward, and if conscience approves 
 
244 THE WOMEN Of ISRAEL. 
 
 we need no more. Ruth must at once liave felt that it was not 
 the mere kindness springing from a good heart, which dictated 
 Boaz's conduct to her. but that she was known and appreciated, 
 stranger as she was. A coarser and more worldly nature than 
 that of Boaz, even while it equally benefited, would have 
 exalted itself, not the being it served ; would have manifested 
 kindness only because it would obtain personal praise, and care 
 little for the feeling of the person served. Boaz, on the con- 
 trary, removed the idea of obligation to himself by elevating 
 Ruth, and making her believe that to her own virtue, not to his 
 kindness, she owed the attention she received. " Let me still 
 find fevor in thy sight, my lord," was her grateful eply ; " for 
 thou hast comforted me, and hast spoken friendly to thy hand- 
 maid, though I be not like one of thine own handmaidens." We 
 never find Ruth forgetting her origin, nor in any way assuming 
 the piivileges which her acceptance of and belief in Naomi's 
 God might naturally have assigned her ; a lowliness which 
 secured her, unasked, the pi'ivileges which, from a contrary 
 conduct, would, no doubt, have lieen refused. 
 
 Not content with desiring her freely to share the meal pro- 
 vided for his reapers, Boaz himself reached her the " parched 
 corn," — seeing that she ate till she was sufficed ; and when she 
 rose up again to glean, he gave ordei's to let her glean amid 
 the sheaves, and reproach her not, and also " to let fall some 
 handfuls on purpose for her." His generosity, and her own 
 perseverance, enabled her to take home an ephah of barley. 
 And Naomi, eager to bring her child refreshment, not knowing 
 how she might have fared during the. day, "brought forth and 
 gave to her tlie fi)f»d which she had reserved for her ;" affection- 
 ately asking from her, at th<^ same time, where and what she 
 had gleaned, and fervently blessing him who had thus taken 
 knowledge of hei'. RuthV reply elicited a burst of th;i.nksgiving 
 from Naomi. " Blessed be the Lord, who hath not left otf his 
 kindness to the living and the dead." She felt it was no chance, 
 but her God, who had guided Ruth to the field of their kins- 
 man, and infused his heart with kindness towards her. Con- 
 vinced now that their restoration .to their rights would be 
 brouglit about by the direct agency of her God, she no longer 
 scrupled to impail to Ruth the near relationship of Boaz ; and 
 when Ruth rejieated his injunctions, to keep fast by his young 
 men until they had ended all his harvest, Naomi, still tracing 
 
PERIOD III. NAOMI. 245 
 
 divine agency, gladly replied, " It is good, my daughter, that 
 thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any 
 other tield." And Ruth, in unquestioning obedience, " kept fast 
 by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of the barley 
 and wheat harvest, and dwelt with her mother-in-law." Not 
 all that was in all probability reported of her devotion and 
 beauty, could tempt her to turn aside from her lowly path of 
 usefulness and good. Novelty and change could have had no 
 glare for her, or she might have restlessly longed to join the 
 gleaners of other fields. She was too grateful for the friendly 
 kindness of Boaz, too devoted to her mother-in-law, to wish to 
 go beyond the field of the former, or the humble house of the 
 latter. " Where thou lodgest I will lodge," she had said, and 
 her words were but the index of her actions. 
 
 But the time had now come when her earthly lot was to 
 undergo a material change. Naomi, who had, in all probability, 
 passed the intervening days in thought and prayer, determined 
 on seeking the rest and prosperity of her devoted daughter, 
 according to the dictates of the law. She therefore gave Ruth 
 the necessary directions — directions which to us may appear 
 strange, and even revolting, but which seem, in the time of 
 Naomi, to have been authorized by custom, and therefore con- 
 taining nothing whatever indelicate or forward. To Ruth, as a 
 Moabitess, the whole proceedings might have felt unusual, and 
 perhaps even painful ; but we have neither remark nor hesita- 
 tion. She asks not wherefore, but simply sa3^s, "All that thou 
 sayest unto me I will do." She had proved the affection and 
 wisdom of her mother-in-law much too Fong to doubt them now, 
 however her own feelings and judgmont might shrink from the 
 course of action proposed. Naomi's influence had ever been that 
 of looi\ nut of authority, and therefore was she ever sure of 
 unquestioning obedience. 
 
 lluman means Naomi refused not to adopt, but still she left 
 the entire end of these means to the justice and mercy of her 
 God. She knew that in His hand was the heart of Boaz, and 
 therefore she merely told Ruth how to obtain his attention, 
 leaving it to him " to tell thee what thou shalt do;"' convinced 
 that the Lord, in whom she trusted, would order the end 
 aright. 
 
 All took place as she had anticipated. 
 
 Waking in terror at midnight — a terror not a little increased 
 
246 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 by finding some one lying at his feet — Boaz demanded, " Who 
 art thou ?" and received such a reply as at once calmed his 
 affright, and roused him to a renewal of all the nobleness and 
 generosity of his character. Some of our Hebrew translators of 
 this book suppose Ruth's words, " Spread, therefore, thy skirt 
 over thine handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman," to signify, 
 " Give me thy protection as a husband ;" and, as such, was in 
 exact accordance with the law ; we rather incline towards the 
 opinion. 
 
 The reply of Boaz reassured the trembling suppliant ; for 
 steadily she had adhered to the straight path of duty, " follow- 
 ing neither young men, neither rich nor poor," so that the whole 
 city " knew that she was a virtuous woman." He proceeded to 
 inform her that he was indeed their near kinsman, but there 
 was one still nearer, whose duty it was to perform the husband's 
 part ; but that if he refused, even he, Boaz, pledged himself to 
 do so, as the Lord liveth, bidding her lie down till morning ; 
 but ere the day broke so that one could recognise another, Ruth 
 rose to depart, encouraged so to do by him with whom she had 
 so fearlessly trusted herself, and whose care for her reputation 
 was tender and thoughtful as a brother's. Nor did he send her 
 away empty. Fearful lest she and her mother-in-law might be 
 in want ere the business could be settled, he filled her veil with 
 six measures of barley, with which she returned to her home ; 
 and Naomi bid her sit calmly down until they knew how the 
 matter would fall. 
 
 There is no need to transcribe the events detailed in the 
 fourth chapter, from the 1st to the 12th verse. A reference to 
 the word of God itself is all that is needed on the part of our 
 readers, to impress them forcibly with the beautiful picture of 
 the manners and customs of our ancestors which it presents. 
 The gate of the city was always the place of public judgment, 
 that all the people might be aware of what was going on, and 
 give their suffrages, and witness for or against. Thither Boaz 
 repaired the very next morning after his interview with Ruth, 
 and sat him down, waiting the appearance of the person he had 
 named as the nearer of kin than himself He hailed him on 
 his approach, and the man willingly turned aside from his 
 intended path, and sat down by the gate. Boaz next assembled 
 ten elders, and stated his business. The field which Naomi 
 wished disposed of, the kinsman seemed willing to redeem : but 
 
PERIOU 111. NAOMI. 24^ 
 
 the remainder of his duty, to rai=;e up the name of the dead to 
 his inheritance, he refused, on the plea that to do so would 
 interfere with his own inheritance ; requiring Boaz, in conse- 
 quence, to redeem the right for himself, as he, the nearest kins- 
 man, could not ; loosening at the same time his shoe, or glove, 
 as some commentators believe, and giving it to his neighbor, as 
 confirmation of his words. Boaz then addressed the elders and 
 the people, bidding them be witness that he had purchased of 
 the hand of Naomi all that was Elimelech, Chilion, and Mah- 
 lon's, and Ruth, the wife of Itlahlon, to be his wife, that he might 
 raise up the name of the dead, and so let it not be cut off from 
 his brethren, or the gate of his place. And the elders of the 
 people bore witness joyfully, coupled with earnest aspirations 
 that the Lord might make the woman he had chosen, hke 
 Rachel and like Leah, who had built up the house of Israel ; 
 and that he himself might " do worthily in Ephratah, and be 
 famous in Bethlehem." 
 
 And so he was : for as the great-grandfather of David, the 
 name of Boaz must indeed be still famous in Judah, and dear 
 to Israel. The uncomplaining submission and lowly trust of 
 Naomi, and the filial obedience and devotion of Ruth, were 
 both alike rewarded ; for the latter not only became the wife 
 of the generous and noble-mindtd Boaz, but, in due course of 
 time, God grantt^d her a son ; and Naomi, who had believed 
 herself but a withered branch, to which neither joy nor fruitful- 
 ness might ever return, " t^iik the child, and laid it on her 
 bosom, and became nurse to it." We may read in the lively 
 greetings of the women of Bethlehem, the joy which this event 
 occasi)ned, and their affectionate sympathy in Naomi's previous 
 affliction. " Blessed be the Lord," they said, " who hath not 
 left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be 
 famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, 
 and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who 
 loveth thee, and who is better to thee than seven sons, hath 
 borne him." 
 
 How beautifully do these words express the women of Israel's 
 appreciation and love of the gentle Moabitess ! The babe 
 would be a restorer of Naomi's life, and a cherisher of her old 
 age, for he loas Ruth's son. She who had been to Naomi 
 better than seven sons (in the Hebrew the number is unhmited), 
 would not fail to rear up her child in such virtue and holiness 
 
 VOL. I. 12 
 
248 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 as would make his name indeed precious in Israel, and a bless- 
 ing to his grandmother. Nor can we doubt that the affection 
 and devotedness marking their mutual intercourse in adversity, 
 was lessened in prosperity. The love which had been so 
 mutually proved was not likely to decrease, but would rather 
 deepen with every passing year. 
 
 With the genealogy of Boaz, down to David, this most inter- 
 esting book concludes ; and before we proceed to notice the 
 beautiful lessons of domestic life which it inculcates, we would 
 endeavor to prove how mistaken is the objection, sometimes 
 brought forward, that Ruth, a Moabitess, should have been the 
 ancestress of David, the elected servant of the Lord. When 
 Ruth resigned alike home, parents, and the gods of her youth, 
 she voluntarily engrafted herself upon the children of God ; and 
 we know that such engrafting was permitted, not only from the 
 Law, but from its after-explanation by the prophets. In the 
 Law we repeatedly find the command to save the virgins alive, 
 even of those nations whom they were commanded to extermi- 
 nate, that they might be brought to the worship of the One 
 true God, and multiply Israel. In the Prophets we read, that 
 those of the stranger, whether male or female, who voluntarily 
 accepted the covenants of the Lord, and kept His sabbaths and 
 appointed feasts and ordinances, even had they been only 
 eunuchs before, were (see Isaiah, chap. Ixvi. 3-8), instead of 
 being despised, to receive a place and a name in His house, 
 better even than sons and daughters, an everlasting name 
 which shall not be cut off, to be brought to the holy mountain, 
 and made joyful in His house of prayer ; and their burnt-offer- 
 ings and sacrifices, the essential privilege of the; Holy People, 
 accepted on God's altar. In the Law, too, we find repeated 
 injunctions, — " love ye the stranger, for ye were strangers in 
 the land of Egypt ;" and by the whole history of Ruth we see 
 how precisely this lavv was obeyed. She was one of those com- 
 ing under the denomination of " the stranger," and who yet, 
 from her acceptance of the Lord's sabbaths, covenants, &c., all 
 of which is implied in her own words, " thy God shall be my 
 God," deserved and received the privileges enumerated above. 
 
 She was yet more than a daughter in His sight, because her 
 acceptance of, and obedience to the Law, were entirely voluntary ; 
 not merelj^ received from education and as heritage. That God 
 is no respecter of persons, we read throughout the whole of Ilis 
 
PERIOD III. NAOMI. 249 
 
 changeless word. Faithfulness and virtue, the heart, — V;ut 
 neither birth nor appearance — are valued by Him. And when, 
 therefore, Ruth turns from all the associations and scenes of her 
 youth, to adopt and accept the religion of Naomi, and faithfully 
 serve her God, she is in act no longer a Moabitess (and is only 
 called so to designate her as a stranger amidst Israel), but as 
 worthy, if not even more so, to be the ancestress of David, than 
 the lineal descendants of Abraham, who were Israelites, because 
 God had selected them so to be ; not for their own sakes, or 
 their own worth, but simply for the love He bore, and the pro- 
 mise He made unto His favored servants. Ruth became an 
 Israelite from voluntary adoption. Her filial devotion and 
 reverence was the most exquisite illustration of hoio she not 
 only accepted, but obeyed the Law ; and, from the character 
 of David, still more than even his selection, we may easily infer 
 how faithfully she not only obeyed the Law herself, but trans- 
 mitted it to her descendants. That the Eternal should have 
 selected a king whose great-grandmother was of Moabitish 
 descent, cannot, then, we think, with any justice be brought 
 forward as matter either of wonder or objection. If it were 
 unlawful for any stranger to be engrafted ui)on Israel we should 
 not find so many laws regarding " the strani^er" in the Mosaic 
 code itself, nor their pi-acticul commentary in Isaiah, as quoted 
 above. Her virtue and goodness gave her favor in the sight 
 ahke of God and man, and rendered her worthy of being the 
 ancestress of that holy line whence the Messiah himself will 
 spring — while her voluntary acceptance of the God, and of 
 course the faith, of Naomi, removed from her own Moabitish 
 birth all reproach, and gave her yet a dearer name in the eyes 
 of God and of His people than even that of daughter. 
 
 To us, as women of Israel, the whole book of Ruth teems 
 with unspeakable consolation and sup])ort. It is a picture so 
 vivid of the manners, customs, aye, and even feelings of Israel at 
 that period, that even Gentile writers are struck by it, and refer 
 to it with high eulogiums on its touching beauty and impressive 
 truth. Shall we then value it less, and refuse to di^aw from it 
 the strong confirmation which it contains of our contested point 
 — the refined and elevated position of the women of Israel 
 themselves, and the tender yet respectful consideration with 
 which they were regarded by their brethren ? Will any ona 
 
■2^0 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 point of Naomi's character permit us to suppose, that duritiig 
 her husband's lifetime she was merely a slave, with neither reli- 
 gious, moral, noi' intellectual trainins^ ? Had she been such in 
 Ehmelech's lifetime, such she must have remained. Instead of 
 which, from her determination to return to her own land, and 
 worship her God once more amongst her own people, we per- 
 ceive that she was a woman of strong mind and unfailing 
 energy ; while from the afiection of both her sons' wives, and 
 the devotion of one, we must equally infer that she possessed, 
 and in her domestic duties must have displayed, such winning 
 and amiable qualities, as to call such affection forth ; these 
 characteristics, and all which follow — the refined and retiring 
 dignity, the correct judgment, and also the jjatient faith in her 
 God — all were quite incompatible with a degraded position 
 either individually or socially. It is very clear, then, that not 
 in any received Law of Israel could the position of the women 
 of Israel have been that which our enemies so ignorantly report. 
 If two Laws were in action at this period, one must have been 
 an exact repetition of the other, or in a book like that of Ruth, 5^, 
 so strikingly illustrative of the national character and customs, "y 
 some difference must have been discernible. X 
 
 If, then, the charge on modern Judaism be really founded on 
 apparent truth, it must be a state of things brought about by 
 the awful horrors of persecution, and their natural effect in nar- 
 rowing and brutalizing the human mind. In all that relates to 
 Ruth too, we see the real light in which the Hebrew woman 
 was regarded, very clearly. We should not find her filial devo- 
 tion and individual goodness so appreciated by all the Bethle- 
 hemites, female as well as male, were not virtue and goodness 
 in woman subjects of admiration, of cherishing, and respect. It 
 was not only in obedience to the Law, which commanded love 
 and kindness to be shown towards the stranger, that Boaz so 
 encouraged and cherished her when first gleaning in his field. 
 He expressly states the wherefore, because of her devotion to her 
 mother-in-law, and her having given up her father's gods to 
 accept Him under whose wings she had come to trust. " A full 
 reward shall be given thee from the Lord," he says ; thus mark- 
 ing her as accepted and cherished by God as well as man. The 
 most reverential yet fatherly care marks the whole of his con- 
 duct towards her ; and here we see very strongly marked tho 
 
PERIOD III. NAOMI. 251 
 
 obedience to the law instituted for the benefit of the stranLijer; 
 he not only "showed kindness," but HterHlly left fur lier the 
 " gleanings of his field." 
 
 The tlnrd ciiapter of the sacred story most emphatically proves 
 the superiority of morality and civiHzation in Israel, over the 
 known world. In what other nation could Ruth have so trusted 
 herself, as she did to the honor and justice of Boaz ? How fully 
 must Naomi have been assured of the safety of her child, or how 
 could she have counselled such a mode of proceedmg ? and how 
 completely she was justified in her confidence, we read in Boaz's 
 anxiety to save Ruth from all insulting remarks, by letting it 
 "not be known that a woman had been to the floor." 
 
 Again, in Boaz's instant pursuance of Ruth's suit, we very 
 clearly perceive that women must have been considered of some 
 account ; and also another important point in a national view, 
 Boaz's exact obedience to the formula of the Law, in calling the 
 nearest kinsman to give his attention to the subject, and decide, 
 notwithstanding his own evident anxiety to obtain Ruth as 
 his wife, unquestionably proves, that as the Law was so strictly 
 kept in one jmint, so it would be in all ; and consequently there 
 could have been, neither practically nor theoretically, any one 
 single statute to the disparagement of woman. 
 
 The very joy of the whole people in Boaz's decision to make 
 Ruth his wife ; their hearty congratulations, and earnest wishes for 
 hii welfare, and hers, that she might be as Leah and Rachel ; the 
 delight of the women, and their joyous sympathy with Naomi 
 at the unexpected issue to all her misfortunes ; all prove the 
 beautiful unity and love marking the people of the Lord. All 
 seemed to vie with each other in making their respective tribes 
 as one affectionate family, bound by the same ties, hoping the 
 same hope, trusting the same God, weeping with those that wept, 
 and rejoicing with those that joyed. 
 
 Such a state of things could never have existed if the women 
 of Israel had not been, morally, spiritually, and intellectually, on 
 a perfect equality with man. 
 
 Regarding the book of Ruth in its final bearings — that is, as 
 it concerns women in general — we are particularly struck with 
 the exquisite lesson of maternal and filial aflfection which it 
 teaches. The beauty of Ruth's words and actions sometimes 
 occupies attention alone, to the exclusion of the tenderness charac- 
 terizing Naomi, which, to our feelings, is equally touching 
 
252 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 and impressive. Ruth's determination to quit her own land, 
 her parents, and their gods, was indeed one of beautiful self- 
 devotion ; but it was evidently love, not duty, which impelled 
 it, and that love must have been called forth l)y the tenderness 
 she had originally received. Seldom is the love of the young 
 excited to such an extent towards an elder, unless by affection 
 and appreciation from that elder, invited so to love ; and not 
 only invited but retained by unwavering kindness and regard. 
 That such feelings had always actuated Naomi towards her 
 daughter-in-law, we infer, from the caressing tenderness with 
 which, in all that passes between them, she invariably addressed 
 her. We never can read either coldness or indiffijrence, much 
 less the harsh mistrust, breathing often more in tone than actual 
 words, which sometimes characterizes the manner of an elder 
 towards a younger. All she says, either in persuasion to return, 
 or in advice or inquiry, is with the same caressing love. In her 
 bringing forth on Ruth's return the remains of the day's meal, 
 which she had been compelled to take while Ruth was absent, 
 how touchingly we read the love lingering with her absent child, 
 the thought of savino; for her the evening meal, and bringing it 
 with eager haste the moment Ruth appeared, not knowing how 
 she might have fared during the hot and weary day. 
 
 Oh ! while we would have our young sisters imitate, as they 
 cannot fail to love, the- conduct of Ruth, will not their elders do 
 well to ponder on, and imitate, the tenderness of Naomi ? 
 Youth will not, cannot love, a pure unselfish love, unless invited 
 so to do ; no, not even in the sanctuary of home, not even 
 parents, unless love, not only felt but displayed in confidence 
 and caressing kindness, marks the parental conduct. Duty done 
 on either side is not enough, for it is not according to the spirit 
 of the Lord, and of His word. There love predominates, and so 
 should it predominate in the homes of His children. We do not 
 deny that it does, but we would have it displayed as well as felt, 
 by every member of that hallowed temple, home. Brothers and 
 sisters, parents and children, twined together in that sacred 
 silvery link, unbroken even by death ; for they know it is immor- 
 tal. Love not only felt, but breathing in every tone, and 
 actuating every deed ; confidence and trust — mutually given, 
 mutually felt. How thrice blessed would such things make 
 home ! The parental heart would not then bleed in secret, at 
 what seems like neglect and unkindness, if not an utter want of 
 
PERIOD III. NAOMI. 253 
 
 love. Nor would the young spirit shrink within itself, chilled 
 and sad — yearning for aflection sjjoken as well as felt ; and 
 utterly unconscious how truly and how deeply they may still 
 be loved. How different is that home where no gentle word is 
 heard — no caress asked for, ur voluntarily bestowed — no inter- 
 change of mutual thought ; but each member walks alone, seek- 
 ing no sympathy sa\ e frum the stranger, caring not to shed one 
 flower on the parental hearth, and believing they have no [ilace 
 in the parental heart save as a child, words of which, until they 
 are parents themselves, they know not, guess not, the unutterable 
 meaning. How different is such a home to that where love is 
 visible ! Where parents and, as its natural consequence, chil- 
 dren vie with each other, as to who can prove it most ; and by 
 the words and manners of daily life, throw such a beautiful lialo 
 even over its cares and sorrows, as inexpressibly heightens its 
 sweetest joys. 
 
 There are some to doubt the love that dwells in caressing 
 words and a loving manner. Yet why should it be doubted, 
 till its absence has been proved ? Why should the gentle 
 power be despised, which will make daily life happier, and so 
 inexpressibly soothe the sickness and sorrow which ask but love 
 alone. No ! It is the icy surface we must doubt, for never yet 
 were there warm and unselfish loving hearts, who could think 
 it necessary to suppress such fond emotions in the sweet sanctu- 
 ary of home. It is the cold at heart who never give domestic 
 affections vent, and can therefore never hope so to attract the 
 young, as to rouse them to evince the love they could have feli, 
 or proffer more than the cold, dull routine of daily duty. We 
 must love to he loved — we must evince that love, would we so 
 unite y^ung hearts to our own, as, if needed, to sacrifice all of 
 self for us, or to devote life, energy, hope, all to our service. 
 Would wi have our daughters Ruths, we must be Naomis ; we 
 have no right, no pretence, to demand more than we evince, as 
 well as give. Reserve, coldness, command, may win us duty, 
 but duty in the domestic circle is a poor substitute for love. 
 Even kindness in act is often undervalued, nay, absolutely 
 imknown, if it be not hallowed by the kindness of manner and 
 of word. In the world, words and manner may be deceiving, but 
 not in the temple of home ; for the love which would there 
 dictate kindness of manner must equally incite kind deeds. 
 The latter may exist without the former, and if only one may 
 
254 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 have existence, we may grant the superiority of good deeds, 
 though there are some griefs, some trials, which kindly words 
 may soothe, where action has no power. Oh ! let us unite the 
 two as Piuth and Naomi — and however dark and troubled our 
 earthly coui'se, a light will shine within our homes, which no 
 sorrow, nor care, nor even death, will have power to darken or 
 remove. God is Love — the spirit of His word is Love ; and 
 would we indeed walk according to His dictates, Love, proved 
 ahke in word and deed, must be the Guardian Angel of our 
 homes ! 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 HANNAH, 
 
 In the history of the Jews by Josephus, the story of Hannah 
 is mentiont^d as taking place before that of Ruth. We prefer 
 following the arrangement of the Bible, although it is not 
 improbable that Ruth and Hannah lived much at the same 
 time ; for we tind the son of Hannah, when a very old man, 
 visiting the grandson of Ruth, then in his prime, to choose from 
 his household his youngest born as the anointed of the Lord. 
 The period of the existence of these two beautiful female cha- 
 racteis is in itself of little importance; but it is interesting to 
 trace the intimate connexion of their descendants, thrown 
 together as they were so closely in after life. 
 
 There was a certain man, living in the city of Rama Sophim 
 of Mount Ephraim, an Ephrathite by descent, named Elkanah, 
 who had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. It is a remarkable 
 fact, that this is the very first mention of a man having two 
 wives since the days of Jacob. Joseph, Moses, Aaron and liis 
 sons, Caleb, Othniei, Lapidoth, Manoah, Elimelech, ChiHon, and 
 Mahlon, all had but one wife; a striking confirmation of our 
 former assertion, that though polygamy was permitted, from its 
 
PfiRIOD III. HANNAH. 255 
 
 being an immemorial usage, it tvas not, in the early days of 
 Israel, considered a necessary part of their domestic policy ; and 
 that almost every great and good man selected by the Eternal 
 to work His ■will, before the monarchy, had but the one wife 
 for whom the laws were given ; and so evinced, in their own 
 persons, the incipient davvnings of that more refined and 
 elevated state of being and society, which in the natural progres- 
 sion of humanity would undoubtedly ensue. 
 
 The abuse of the permission to have more than one wife 
 without transgressing the Law, which grew to such an awful 
 height during the continuance of the monarchy, is no evidence of 
 the degrading nature of the Law, but is the literal fulfilment of 
 the threatened wrath of the Eternal, when the people insisted 
 upon having an earthly king to rule over them, like other 
 nations. That he would not only take unto himself their 
 store and their fields, and their olive-yards and vineyards, but 
 even their sons and their daughters to minister to his service 
 and his pleasures ; and, of course, the licentious conduct of the 
 sovereign would be followed by equal license in his subjects. 
 
 But before the monarchy, though the people were ever in 
 rebellion and disobedience, still no such domestic abuses had 
 existence. Even when there were two wives, as in the case we 
 are about to consider, we find the beautiful laws, instituted fur 
 domestic equity and peace, entering and guiding a man's house- 
 hold, as the Eternal had intended in their bestowal. Yet even 
 these, while they prevented all justice on the part of the 
 husband, could not entirely do away with the evils of a divided 
 household, which Sacred Writ never fails to record for our 
 warning. 
 
 " And Elkanah, with his wives and household, went up out 
 of his dty yearly to worship and sacrifice unto the Lord in 
 Shiloh," then the residence of God's holy ark, and of his priests, 
 — a practical confirmation of the law so to do, which we have 
 already noticed. At these times, " he gave to Peninnah his wife, 
 and to all her sons and daughters, portions, but unto Hannah 
 he gave a double portion ; for he loved Hannah : though the 
 Lord had not granted her any children," — loved her for herself, 
 even above Peninnah, though she had given him a goodly 
 progeny, and Hannah had but her own gentle virtues, which 
 were sufficient for her husband. 
 
 But in Israel the denial of children was considered too sad a 
 12* 
 
256 THE WOMEN OP ISRAEL. 
 
 reproach, too painfully a proof of individual unworthiness in the 
 sight of God, for the meek spirit of Hannah to endure it with- 
 out bitter grief; a grief painfully aggravated by the provoca- 
 tions of her more favored rival, whose unkind reproaches 
 increased with every year that diminished Hannah's hope. 
 Still, Holy Writ tells us of no complaint on the part of Hannah 
 against Peninnah. As the more beloved by her husband, had 
 she told him of the continual provocations she received, she 
 might have been sure of such interference as would have 
 effectually shielded her from them in future, though at the 
 expense of alienating Peninnah from her husband, and causing 
 domestic strife. But such a course of acting was not according 
 to Hannah's character. It was easier far to suffer than to com- 
 plain ; sweeter far to endure herself than seek revenge upon 
 another. 
 
 Each visit to Shiloh excited anew the reproaches of Penin- 
 nah.; and as this took place some years before Elkanah noticed 
 the deep grief of his favorite wife, we may in a degree suf)pose 
 the extent of Hannah's gentle forbearance. Hers was no trial 
 of a day, or even a month, but of years ; and can we imagine 
 anything more trying to the heart and temper, than to live 
 with one whose tongue was ever bitter with reproach ? because 
 it is not likely that it was only during their visits to Shiloh that 
 "Peninnah provoked her sore, to make her fret," and provoked 
 her for no fault ; for nothing which Hannah herself could 
 remedy, but simply for being less favored by the Lord. And 
 yet, how many are there like her ! How many love to reproach 
 instead of soothe, as if sorrow and disappointment were the 
 fault of the sufferers, not the loving sentence of the Lord ! 
 How many there are who thus make a daily life bitter to their 
 fellows, instead of, as they might do, rendering grief less sad, 
 and inexpressibly heightening joy. 
 
 Their visits to Shiloh must have been fraught with deep 
 suffering to Hannah. It was not only the signal of Peninnah's 
 aggravated unkindness ; but the very sight of all her fellow- 
 countrymen flocking to the temple of the Lord,* with their 
 goodly show of sons and daughters, must have made her pious 
 
 * Though that house of God which we are accustomed to regard aa 
 the Temple was not built till the reign of Solomou, the residence of the 
 Ark of God was always called the Temple. See 1 Sam. i. 9. 
 
PERIOD III. HANNAH. 25l 
 
 heart shrink deeper and deeper within itself in its own unspoken 
 woe : and it is shown in her spirit's sad but unmurmuring 
 inquiry, " Why had the Lord whom she loved and sought to 
 serve, so reproached and forsaken her ?" That this was really 
 the case, and her grief was never spoken, never found vent in 
 reproachful words, we know by Elkanah's gently reproving 
 address. "Hannah, why weepest thou ?" he said, " why eatest 
 thou not ? and why is thy heart grieved ? Am not I better to 
 thee than ten sons ?" Here there is no reference to anything 
 but Hannah's visible sorrow, and to Elkanah's natural supposi- 
 tion as to the cause of her grief; and in perfect accordance 
 with the meek enduring beauty of her true womanly character, 
 she makes no complaining answer. It would have been easy 
 for her to exculpate herself for too repining sorrow by invectives 
 against her happier rival ; but she who had borne so much and 
 so long, was far too spiritual for such petty revenge. Answer 
 to man, save such as affection would dictate, the struggle to 
 smile and be happy for a loved one's sake, she made none; but 
 sought relief, where alone it might be found, at the footstool of 
 her God — woman's best and surest refuge. For how may man, 
 even when most loving, most beloved, so know the secret nature 
 of a woman's heart, fis to bring the balm it seeks, and give the 
 strength it needs ? Elkanali's words reveal the extent and 
 truth of his love ; and had it not been for the daily provoca- 
 tions of Peninnali, he might indeed have been to Hannah 
 " 'C/etter than ten sons :" but she had griefs and trials of which 
 he knew nothing, — peculiarly her own, as what woman has 
 not ? — hnd these, in childlike faith and voiceless prayer, she 
 brought unto her God. 
 
 The condition of married women amongst the Jews, in the 
 time of the Judges, must have been perfectly free and unre- 
 strained. We find her rising up after they had eaten and 
 drunk in Shiloh, and without even imparting her intentions to 
 her husband, much less asking his consent, going perfectly 
 unattended and unrebuked to the temple of the Lord. There, 
 in bitterness of soul weeping, she prayed unto the Lord of 
 Hosts ; and, in perfect accordance with the Mosaic Law, which 
 expressly provided for such emergencies, she vowed a vow, that 
 if the Eternal would in His infinite mercy remember His hand- 
 maid, and grant her a male child, she would devote him unto 
 
258 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 the Lord all the days of his life, and not a razor should come 
 near his head. 
 
 But she prayed not aloud, nor in any stated formula of 
 prayer ; she prayed merely as the heart dictated : " she spoke 
 in her heart," as we have it in the touching language of Scrip- 
 ture, — only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard ; and 
 Eli, the high priest, who sat beside one of the posts of the 
 temple, marked her mouth, and hearing no word, combined 
 with the agitated figure before him, believed she was drunken, 
 and, reproaching her, bade her put her wine from her. 
 
 It must have been an aggravation of her sorrow to find her- 
 self so misunderstood by one, who, as high priest, she might 
 with some justice believe would have required no explanation 
 on her part, but, in the name of the Eternal, have proffered her 
 relief at once. Still we find notliing in her touchingly beautiful 
 reply to evince a failing in the firm faith which brought her 
 there. " No, my lord," she answered, " I am a woman of a 
 sorrowful spirit ; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, 
 but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not 
 thine handmaid for a daughter of Behal ; for out of the abun- 
 dance of my grief and complaint have I spoken hitherto. Then 
 Eli answered and said. Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant 
 thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him :" and, without 
 doubt, without question, Hannah simply answered, " Let thine 
 handmaid find grace in thy sight," — meaning, to remember her 
 in his prayers, — and then " she went her way, and did eat, and 
 her countenance was no more sad." 
 
 The exquisite lesson and consolation which these verses con- 
 tain (1 Sam. i. 9-19) we will defer to our concluding observa- 
 tions, now merely narrating the history itself. At the conclusion 
 of the festival, Elkanah and his family returned to Ramah, 
 where the Eternal in His mercy remembered His faithful 
 servant, and taking from her her reproach, in due course of 
 time granted her the son for which she had so earnestly prayed ; 
 and in joyful acknowledgment that it was in answer to her 
 prayer he had been given, she called him Samuel, or " asked 
 of the Lord." 
 
 The time again came round for Elkanah and his family to 
 make their yearly offerings in Shiloh ; and by the allusion to 
 a vow of Elkanah's (see verse 21) we may infer that Hannah 
 
PERIOD III. HANNAH. 259 
 
 had of course imparted to him her vow, and received noi only 
 his unqualified sanction, but that he was anxious, in liis next 
 visit to the temple of the Eternal, himself to confirm it. We 
 find, too, as we ought previously to have noticed, the day after 
 Hannah had been to the temple, that they (probably herself 
 and her husband) rose up in the morning early, and " worshipped 
 before the Lord ;" a worship, possibly, of thanksgiving and 
 rejoicing on the part of both ; on Elkanah's that his beloved 
 wife was no longer sad, on Hannali's that her prayer was heard ; 
 for that it was heard, it is evident she never entertained a 
 doubt, long before she could have had proof that it really was 
 so. That this early worship had to do with the vow is, how- 
 ever, of course a mere suggestion : the Word of God is open 
 to all ; we would not compel the adoption of any suggestion, 
 to which both reason and feeling cannot give reply. 
 
 Hannah, however, when the time of the yearly sacrifice 
 arrived, refused to go up, saying to her husband, " I will not 
 go up, till the cliild is weaned ; and then I will bring him, that 
 he may appear before the Lord, and there abide for ever :" a 
 resolution freely approved of by Elkanah. " Do what seeraeth 
 thee good," he replied, " tarry until thou hast weaned him." 
 This incident is a striking confirmation of all which we brought 
 forward in the Second Period of our history, regarding the 
 appearance and the non-appearance of the female part of a 
 Jewish household in the Temple at the times appointed. 
 
 The history of Elkanah and his family illustrates this law 
 exactly. That women as well as men were to appear in the house 
 of the Lord, and join in his worship, is proved by both Hannah 
 and Peninnah, with the latter's children, attending their husband 
 to Shiloh ; and that the law to go up thrice a year was only 
 binding upon males from the many causes which might prevent 
 females, particularly mothers, from so doing, we perceive by 
 Hannah's tarrying till her child was weaned, and having her 
 husband's free permission so to do. 
 
 The time at length came, when in obedience to her volun- 
 tary vow, Hannah must part from her boy, and deliver him up 
 to the service of the God whose mercy had bestowed him to her 
 prayer. Her only one, precious beyond all price 1 yet we find 
 no hesitation, no thought of delay, no idea of forgetting that 
 which she had vowed, though the nature of her vow, nay, that 
 she had vowed at all, was unknown to all, even to the high 
 
260 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 priest, who had promised that her prayer should be granted 
 without knowing what it was. Without listening to the mater- 
 nal anxieties that must have engrossed her, we find her, directly 
 the child w;is weaned, taking him with her to Shiloh, and three 
 bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, — offer- 
 ings from the store, and the field, and the vineyard, — all in 
 exact accordance with the written Law, and they came unto the 
 house of the Lord, and they slew a bullock there, and brought 
 the child to Eli. " And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liv- 
 eth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here praying 
 unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath 
 given me my petition which I asked of Him, and therefore also 
 have I lent him to the Lord : as long as he liveth be shall be 
 lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there," — rather 
 an obscure phrase, but probably signifying that Eli worshipped 
 the Lord, in acknowledgment of His divine goodness, in thus 
 permitting his words to come to pass, and giving the woman 
 that which she desired. 
 
 The prayer, or rather hymn, of thanksgiving in which Han- 
 nah poured forth her gratitude to her God in a strain of the 
 sublimest poetry and vivid conception of the power and good- 
 ness of Him whom she addressed, is a forcible illustration of the 
 intellectual as well as the spiritual piety which characterized the 
 women of Israel, and which in its very existence denies the pos- 
 sibility of degradation applying to women, either individually, 
 socially, or domestically. Their intellect must have been of a 
 very superior grade ; while the facility of throwing the aspira- 
 tions of the spirit into the sublimest poetry, evinces constant 
 practice in so doing, and proves how completely prayer and 
 thanksgiving impregnated their vital breath. It is useless quot- 
 ing this beautiful song of praise, Avhen the blessed word which 
 contains it is open to all classes and ages of readers; but we 
 would beseech our young friends not to be satisfied with this 
 uninspired notice, but to turn to the word themselves, and mark 
 the soul-felt clinging piety throughout. It is as exact a tran- 
 script of the swelling gratitude of a truly pious heart, as her 
 prayer before had breathed its bitterness of grief. Some there 
 are who gladly come to their God in sorrow, but quite forget 
 that the seasons of joy should be devoted to Him as well. Han- 
 nah was evidently not of these ; but one of the most perfectly 
 spiritually pious characters of the Bible. There was no self- 
 
PERIOD III. HANNAH. 261 
 
 exaltation in her song of praise ; no supposition that for any 
 individual worth her reproach had been removed; or even tliat 
 any peculiarly meritorious fervor in her prayer had wrouu;ht 
 reply. No; all was of the Lord. All came from His exceeding 
 mercy — His omnipotent power. It was he who had made bare 
 His holy arm, and to the barren given children. He who gave 
 strength to those that stumbled, while the arms of mighty men 
 were broken — He who maketh poor, and maketh rich — He who 
 bringeth low, and lifteth up — He who killeth, and maketh alive 
 — for " by strength no man shall prevail." 
 
 Nor was it only because she was permitted thus to rejoice, 
 and behold the power she exalted, that Hannah so magnified 
 the Lord, and believed in His wisdom and love to do all that 
 He willed. She must have known and felt all her hymn 
 expressed in her time of grief, else we should not have seen her 
 in lowly supplication, prostrate in the court of the Lord's house 
 — beseeching His relief. She must have believed, else she could 
 not thus have prayed. 
 
 Lonely and sad must have been the feeh'ngs of this true 
 Hebrew mother when she returned to her house at Ramah, 
 leaving her beautiful boy with the high priest, and knowing 
 that but three times in the year might she behold him ; and 
 then not to receive from him the service and caresses of a son, 
 but only to look on him as one devoted to his God and to His 
 service ! How must her heart have yearned for the engaging 
 prattle, the caressing playfulness, the lovely looks of clinging 
 love, which had so blessed her since his birth ! What a blank 
 in her existence must have been his absence ! and what but 
 spiritual trust and devoted love to her God, could have brought 
 her consolaticu ? The feelings alike of her human and spiritual 
 nature are so exquisitely portrayed by that beautiful delineator 
 of wo nan's spiritual character, Mrs. Hemans, that we can but 
 refer our readers to her pages, convmced that it will aid them to 
 enter into the full beauty of Hannah's character, and the extent 
 of her trial in parting from her boy.* 
 
 Licentiousness and sin had crept into the very bosom of the 
 Temple, through the conduct of the high priest's sons. Yet, in 
 the midst of impurity, under the too indulgent control of an 
 aged man, whose laxity of parental discipline exposed him to 
 
 * See Mrs. Hemans's Poems, vol. iv. p 169. 
 
262 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 the anger of the Lord, still was the child Samuel kept pure and 
 undefiled even as he left his mother's roof, and, while yet a 
 child, ministered before the Lord. Ilis so doing explains and 
 confirms the law of the Nazarite, and singular vow, to which we 
 alluded in our Second Period, as implying devotion to the 
 Lord's service, which even children might perform (see Lev. 
 xxvii. 6) by some personal service. It is thus we so repeatedly 
 find the Hagiography, or historical parts of the Bible, containing 
 the practical illustration of the theoretical statutes, exactly as 
 Moses gave them, and so rendering the Holy Scriptures in very 
 truth the verified transcript of the Eternal will. Moses' instruc- 
 tions to the elders regarding the practical obedience to the law, 
 must have been in exact accordance with that which, being 
 written, was, and is still, open to our perusal ; or we should have 
 found some traces of its difference in the manners and customs 
 of our ancestors. All, therefore, in Modern Judaism, which is 
 accused of contradicting the spirit of the eternal holy word, 
 cannot have had its origin in either of the laws, oral or written, 
 transmitted by Moses. We are anxious always to notice, as 
 forcibly as may be, those portions of the Bible containing the 
 practical confirmation of the written laws of Moses, because we 
 have heard (though we can scarcely believe it) that the written 
 word of the Eternal is pronounced by some as imperfect and 
 incomplete. The promulgators of such a fearful doctrine are 
 not perhaps aware that by so doing, and so depriving our 
 females and youth of both sexes of their only stay, and strength, 
 and consolation, they are opening a wider avenue and offering a 
 greater temptation to embrace Christianity, than was ever 
 proffered by our opponents. To guard the women of Israel from 
 such insidious danger, we are tempted to wander from our main 
 subject, whehever the opportunity offers, to give them refuge 
 and strength by the conviction that for them, at least, the Word 
 of the Most High is all-sufficient, containing, as it does, in the 
 historical books, the practical illustration^ and in the prophets 
 the spiritual explanation, of the whole Mosaic system, whether 
 imparted by word of mouth or dash of pen. Of the delivery or 
 non-delivery by the Eternal of an oral law, we write not at all, 
 as it is a subject much too learned and too weighty for a 
 Avoman; and we are ready and willing to submit our opinions 
 on all points to the wisdom and piety of our venerable sages. 
 We only affirm, what we think no Hebrew will contradict, that 
 
P K K I U D III. n A N N A H . 263 
 
 as the God of Israel is a God of changeless truth and wisdom, 
 He would not have desired Moses to ivrite that which speech 
 was to deny ; in (jther words, that each law must be so pei'fect 
 and so exact a counterpart of the other, that in our present 
 captive state, the Bible provided thrt)Ugh the eternal mercy for 
 this very emergency, must be the key to both laws, and so per- 
 fect in itself. 
 
 Though the evil conduct of the sons of Eli was well known, 
 Hannah does not appear to have entertained a fear as to the 
 effect of their example upon the tender years of her child. It 
 was not likely that she who, in all her individual joys and sor- 
 rows, came to her God in prayer, should neglect that holy duty 
 for the welfare of her boy. She had experienced too consolingly 
 the effect of faith and prayer, to doubt them now ; and as a 
 mother, a Hebrew mother — one whose whole heart was love 
 and praise to God, we may quite believe that, day and night, 
 her meek and humble orisons arose for her boy, that he might 
 become all that would make him indeed a faithful servant of his 
 God ; for in being such, he would be all her heart could wish. 
 Some mothers, indeed, there may be, who, when they send their 
 children from them, and provide them with all things needful 
 for temporal welfare, think they have done s".fficient, and only 
 remember them with mere human, and consequently perish- 
 able, affections ; rejoicing in their prosperity, anxious when ill, 
 desiror.sfor them to "get on," — an emphatic though not elegant 
 phrase for the world's success. And if they do all they can to 
 forward this "getting-on," in the way of education and lavish 
 expenditure, what more could be required of them ? Some will 
 answer, " Nothing." Others may feel, as Hannah must have 
 felt, that though their children may no longer be beneath their 
 roof — though all of human means is done, to further their 
 advancement, what will it all avail without the blessing of the 
 Lord ? And how may such blessing be attained, save with 
 faithful and unceasing prayer ? Prayer, that unites us in spirit 
 alike with our beloved ones, and our God. Oh, is there one 
 who really loves, be it as a parent, wife, child, betrothed, or 
 friend, and can yet rest secure and happy without prayer ? If 
 we have never prayed before, we must when we feel love. Can 
 we love in any single relation of life, and yet not feel the 
 craving, the desire, the absolute necessity to pour out our hearts 
 to our God for our beloved ones, and in them for ourselves ? 
 
264 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL 
 
 Can we rest quiet, incapacitated, perhaps, from active service by 
 circumstances, and not at least seek to serve by fervent prayer? 
 And if in every relation of life this must be the effect of love, 
 oh ! more than in any other must we find it in a mother for a 
 cliild ! What love can be like hers, so watchful, so cliangeless, 
 so unwearied ? And how may she still the anxious throbbings 
 of her heart, when divided from its earthly treasures, save by 
 sim]jle trust and fervid prayer ? 
 
 And when we look back on the character of Hannah, as it has 
 already been displayed, can vi^e doubt that such were her feelings, 
 that she could have supposed merely to leave her child with the 
 high priest was sufficient — that nothing more depended on her- 
 self? She who in all things had prayed ? No, prayer must 
 have sanctified her offering, not only when offered, but when 
 apart from him. She had naught but prayer for him on which 
 to rest. And might it not have been, nay, was it not, that 
 mother's prayer, which retained her boy in such pure and lowly 
 pietv, in such singleness of purpose and faithfulness of heart, in 
 the very midst of the licentiousness reigning around ? Long 
 before Samuel could have prayed for himself, must Hannah's 
 prayers have ascended for him, and in his favor, both with the 
 Lord and with men — she had her answer. 
 
 Every time of her visit to Shiloh, we find Hannah bringing a 
 little coat, or robe, for her child, the work of her own hands, 
 which had fondly lingered on the task from month to month, 
 in the periods of absence ; and Eli blessed Elkanah and his 
 wife, and said, " the Lord give thee seed of this woman, for the 
 loan which is lent to the Lord." Now, though not till several 
 verses after the narration of Hannah's address to the high priest, 
 when leaving Samuel with him, these words were most proba- 
 bly spoken when he first accepted the offering of the child ; and 
 the Lord did visit Hannah, and granted her three more sons, 
 and two daughters, thus powerfully proving, that the Eternal 
 ever returns double, and more than double, that which we 
 devote to Him ; be it the affections, the intellect, the will ; or 
 that more active service, charity and good works. Hannah 
 devoted to Him her all, her only one, caring not for the conquest 
 of self which this resignation of her treasure must have 
 demanded ; and the Eternal, in His infinite mercy, granted hei 
 five in the place of one. And what was it which had originally 
 turned aside her reproach, and inclined the Lord towards her ? 
 
PERIOD III, HANNAH. 265 
 
 No great work — no mighty sacrifice — no wealthy offering ; it 
 was none of these, but simple faith and heartfelt prayer. 
 
 With the information that she became the mother of five 
 children, Holy Writ concludes the history of Hannah; but 
 knowing the longevity of Scri])tural characters, we are justified 
 in inferring that she was spared to feel to the full, all the 
 happiness which her first-born's matured character must have 
 excited. 
 
 We hear of not one failing from his earliest childhood. We 
 read of his unvarying integrity and single-minded obedience 
 to the word of his God, from his first repetition to Eli of the 
 Eternal's awful sentence, to the conclusion of his career ; inter- 
 fering as that obedience so repeatedly did, with his own private 
 feelings, alike towards Eli, in the selection of a king, and in all 
 his conduct towards Saul. If Hannah lived until the monarchy, 
 she must indeed have been blessed in the innate goodness and 
 love, and in the popularity of her child, and have felt that 
 in nursing him for the Lord, she had indeed received " her 
 wages." 
 
 The history we have been regarding, though brief in itself, is 
 yet so fraught with importance to us as women of Israel, and 
 as women in general, that we trust we shall be pardoned for 
 dwelling upon it in all its bearings at some length. Forcibly 
 as the stories of Naomi and Deborah marked the real position 
 of the Israelitish women, and proved their powers alike of intel- 
 lect, judgment, and spirituality, as well as the deferential light 
 in which they were regarded by their countrymen, the history 
 of Hannah brings their perfect freedom and equality, even in 
 the marriage state, yet more distinctly forward. Deborah was 
 inspired to do the will of the Lord ; gifted, extraordinarily and 
 expressly, to judge and deliver her countrymen. Naomi was a 
 widow, uishackled by either conjugal or household duties, and 
 with no relation whatever to interfere with her proceedings. 
 Hannah was one of two wives, her husband living, and the head 
 of a wealthy household ; consequently, she must have had all 
 her part of the domestic economy to look after and perform ; 
 yet there could not have been the very smallest restraint upon 
 either her temporal proceedings or spiritual feelings. She does 
 not even ask her husband's acquiescence, much less depend 
 upon his consent to seek the bouse of God. Her very going to 
 pray must have excited remark, and even scandal, if such had 
 
266 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 not been the common custom of the nation. And if women 
 were not j)ern)itted to pray for themselves, Eli would have 
 rebuked her presumption, and desired her to send her husband, 
 as the only chance of her wishes being granted; instead of 
 which, wh( n once convinced she was praying with earnestness 
 and in sorrow, he bids her " go in j^eace," for God would hearken 
 to her. 
 
 Again, had slie not possessed perfect freedom of will and 
 action, she could not have vowed her child to God. Unless she 
 had been perfectly sure that her husband reposed sufficient 
 confidence in her, to abide by her decision, she could not have 
 so devoted him, without, as it were, mocking the majesty of 
 the Lord, by making a promise which she had not the power 
 to perform. 
 
 That her vow was subject to the approbation of her husband, 
 we believe, because such deference was commanded in our law. 
 But Elka.nah's full acquiescence throughout, clearly proves the 
 high esteem in which he held her. She does not ask even his 
 permission to remain at home, till her child were old enough to 
 be left with the priest. 
 
 In all relating to Samuel, Elkanah was completely secondary. 
 Even in the bullocks, flowers, and wine, provided for the oftering, 
 it was Hannah who brought and offered them ; Hannah, who 
 addressed Eli ; Hannah, who chanted the song of thanksgiving 
 to her God; and Hannah, who devoted her child. The husband 
 and father had no more to do with it, than the simple acts of 
 acquiescence and api^roval, which he would not have so unhesi- 
 tatingly bestowed, had he not possessed the most perfect crnfi- 
 dence in the judgment and actions of his wife. 
 
 That no severe restrictions as to the time, form, or words of 
 prayer, existed in the time of Hannah, is proved by her seeking 
 the Temple to pray when it was not the appointed time of 
 service, when there was no one there but the high priest and 
 herself; by her speaking in her heart the words which sorrow 
 and entreaty dictated, without any regard whatever to instituted 
 forms, which, though indispensahle for public service and 
 national interests, will not give all that is needed to individuals. 
 Eli marked the lips of Hannah move, but he heard no voice, for 
 she spake in her heart, and as her heart dictated. And in her 
 song of thanksgiving, though she prayed aloud, still it was from 
 the heart alone. 
 
PERIOD III. HANNAH. 267 
 
 That forms of prayer were not needed in the time of Hannah, 
 as they are now, we acknowledge ; and also with all our heart 
 and soul do we reverence their institution, and acknowledge 
 their full value, both nationally and individually. Many and 
 many a one, from incapacity to frame words of prayer, would 
 be fearfully and painfully bereft, did they not possess the inva- 
 luable treasure of words of prayer, framed by good and learned 
 men expressly for their use, and hallowed by long years. We 
 are no advocate for the abolishment of established forms ; for 
 fully and heartfully we feel their sanctity and value. We would 
 only beseech our young sisters to accustom themselves some- 
 times in their private hours, to pray and to praise from the 
 heart, not always to depend on printed words ; not, indeed, to 
 neglect the latter, but to hallow and add to them, by individual 
 petitions from individual hearts. Self-knowledge must be their 
 first step to such secret prayers ; for by self-knowledge alone 
 can they discover their natural sins, their greatest temptations, 
 their most secret weaknesses, their favorite faults. Self-knowledge 
 alone can teach them where they are most likely to fail, and 
 where to be unduly elevated ; and dis])lay broadly and unsof- 
 tened, the true motives of their every action. Self-knowledge 
 alone can teach them their true position with regard to eternity 
 and God, and for all these things it is, that every individual 
 needs individual prayer, wholly and utterly distinct from 
 established forms ; not, as we said above, to take the hitter's 
 place, but so to be added to them, as to give them life and 
 breath. 
 
 The history of'Hannah is all-sufficient for us to be convinced, 
 that such individual and heartfelt prayers are not only legal, 
 according to the laws, but acceptable to the Lord. No restric- 
 tions of man can alter or interfere with that which is divine ; 
 and, therefore, nothing which may be told concerning the ineffi- 
 cacy of individual prayer, unless guided by certain rules, forms, 
 and words, can do away with the consolation and example 
 afforded us by the history of our sweet and gentle ancestress, 
 alike in the manner of her prayer and its reply, and in her 
 unhesitating, unquestioning, and all-confiding faith. 
 
 We are thus particular, because we would at once reuove the 
 foul stigma flung by scoffers on our blessed faith, that her female 
 children have no power to pray, and are, consequently, soulless 
 nonentities before their God ; and bring forward, from the word 
 
268 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 of God itself, the unanswerable assurance, that woman's prayers 
 are heard, and are acceptable to Hira, needing nothing more 
 than childlike faith in His power to hear and answer, and a lov- 
 ing heart to dictate the imploring words. It is idle for us to say- 
 that we cannot pray, for we know not how appropriately to 
 address the Supreme ; His awful attributes appal us, and prevent 
 all connected words. Such may be the sentiments of those who 
 keep the Eternal far from them ; but not of Israel, His first-born, 
 first-beloved, whose very sins have no power to separate him 
 from Ilis God, if he will but repent and believe. " What nation 
 hath God so near them as Israel, in all we call upon Him for? 
 were the precious words of Moses, confirmed by the whole after- 
 records of the Bible. — Hagiography, Psalms, Proverbs, Prophets, 
 all and every one teem with the same consoling truth, proclaim 
 our God as love, the hearer and answerer of prayer, its gracious 
 receiver, whenever it comes from the heart, and is offered up in 
 faith. " Call upon me, and I will deliver thee," is the blessed 
 assurance repeated again and again, in different modes of expres- 
 sion, in every part of the Bible. It is folly, it is guilt to keep 
 away from prayer, under the misle;iding plea that God is a 
 being too pre-eminently holy to be approached. Did we but 
 really love Him as He commands, with heart, and soul, and 
 might; did we but trust in Him, as Abraham did, when "his 
 faith was accounted righteousness ;" we should find words enough 
 wherewith to pray and praise. Love would biing us to Him, 
 believing and rejoicing in that inexhaustible love which would in 
 such infinite mercy bend down its reviving rays on us, and lift 
 UP the wearied sj)irit, till it found rest on the healing sympathy 
 of its all-com])assionating God. 
 
 It was thus that Hannah came to Him, loving Him, trusting 
 Him, yet more than she loved and confided in her husband, the 
 nearest and dearest tie on earth. She did not think herself too 
 unworthy to approach and beseech Him, because she knew that 
 the Law which she obeyed, and the whole history of her people, 
 teemed with His invitations sotodo, and His promises to answ-er. 
 She came to Him, because she knew he loved her, and would 
 have compassion ; and because she so loved Him, that it was far 
 easier to pour into His gracious ears her silent sorrows than 
 breathe them unto man. She came to Hitn, because she not 
 only looed, but believed with such a pure and child-like faith, that 
 when the high priest bade her " Go in peace, and God grant 
 
PERIOD III. HANNAH. 269 
 
 thee thy petition," she returned to her own home so calmly, so 
 trustingly, that she " did eat, and her countenance was no more 
 sad :" — words that convince us how fully she must have believed 
 when she prayed, and not only then, but through her htl-time, 
 for faitli is of no instantaneous growth. It is a plant so foreign 
 to this cold, sceptical, questioning world, that it must be nursed 
 and tended into life ; it must be a habit, not a feeling ; it must 
 attend our every prayer, our every spiritual aspiration, or when 
 most needed, it will fail us, and plunge us into gloom. 
 
 But it may be asked in what need we have such perfect and 
 constant faith. Hannah's position will not bear upon us now, 
 as we have neither high priest nor Temple, nor any visible mani- 
 festations of the Eternal's interference in human afi'airs. We 
 have not, indeed ; but we have still His Word, the Bible, 
 wherein so to learn His attributes, His promises, that during our 
 captivity we need no more ; for if we disbelieve that Word, no 
 priest, no temple, no apparently visible reply, would give us the 
 faith we need, and which Hannah proved. 
 
 We need faith to believe that God is love, and our souls 
 immortal ; that every precious promise in His word is addressed 
 as emphatically to us individually as to us nationally ; to feel 
 that there is another and a brighter World, where " eye hath 
 not seen, neither hath ear heard, what He hath prepared for those 
 that love Him." Faith to know that we are individually objects 
 of His love and care, as surely as that every blade of grass and 
 invisible insect are ahke the work of His hand, and the constant 
 renewal of that power which at a word called forth creation. 
 We need faith, to discern the workings of an eternal Love and 
 infinite Goodness in the History of Man, Past and Present ; to 
 mark through the evil which is often alone visible, the fuilher- 
 ance of that Divine Will and Perfect Good, which runs as a 
 silver thread through the darkest web, and links this world with 
 heaven — man with God. 
 
 It is for all these things we need Faith : that faith which, 
 instead of banishing Reason, welcomes and rejoices in her as her 
 companion and handmaid. Faith may exist without reason ; but 
 let reason attempt to exclude faith altogether, let the materialist 
 and scoti'tr laugh and mock at all things which cannot be sub- 
 stantially proved, and on his bed of death what shall support 
 him ? Let him explain, if he can, birth and death, the begin- 
 ning and the end : and then, and not till then, may he contemn 
 
2*70 THE "WOMEN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 and deride those who, contented to be less wise and less inquir- 
 ing', walk calmly and happily through this dark valley of earth 
 wilh the angel, Faith, at their side ; sending up their lowly peti- 
 tions on his aspiring wings : and calmly sinking, when the tale 
 of life is done, secure, through faith's simple readings of the word 
 of God, of that everlasting bliss which awaits him in another 
 and purer world. 
 
 With the history of Hannah our Third Period concludes ; and 
 from the length with which we have treated each separate notice, 
 we have little further to add, save the earnest hope that an 
 impartial and unprejudiced study of all that we have brought 
 forward, will convince our readers, that no law for the degradation 
 and heathenizing the Women of Israel could have had existence 
 from the Exodus to the Monarchy ; that therefore all statutes to 
 that eflect, which may be quoted, must be Human not Divine, 
 and cannot be charged to the Law of God, or regarded as 
 characteristic of the manners and customs of His people. 
 
 To us, as women, the whole of the Third Period teems with 
 guidance and consolation, and, as Women of Israel, must satisfy 
 us with the confirmation of our equality and elevation. Shall 
 we, then, feel ashamed of the faith which provides such laws, 
 and the lineage which counts such characters as Deborah, 
 Naomi, and Hannah, amongst our ancestry ? Shall we prefer 
 listening to the mistaken zeal which would persuade us that, as 
 Hebrew females, we are lowered and degraded, and can only 
 become spiritually free by deserting the faith of our ancestors, 
 to looking through the Word of God, and, tracing our jirivileges 
 there, make it our glory to reveal them, through our faith and 
 conduct to the whole Gentile world ? Oh ! will not every woman 
 nerve heart to prove that her religion comes from that God of 
 Love and Truth, whose words once spoken will last for ever, 
 whose Law once given will know no change ; that she has in 
 that faith enough to give her strength to live, and hope to die ; 
 aye, and to glory in that blessed Law which cared for womac 
 first, and will care for her for ever ? 
 
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OF THEIK RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 
 
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