&E Hi RIRI F FORHOME - s .¦¦¦ :i :¦ ;i -ji-'.izi :k-v. : y.r. •.:-.•:>] i.[- :\ ::¦¦¦¦.:>. \ ; ; : .:¦: i .' | ,:;;,.: .:.:¦¦ i. :¦..: .::; . > , 1 ,. J ,i . : :¦ ,\ :*s:i:;.c:-.:i:-.~:;i:-.:-;;:;r;:::-.riv!rv';:i:' m& GENESIS ::', ;;, YALE DIVINITY SCHOOL LIBRARY Gift of The Reverend Edward C. Dahl THE BIBLE FOR HOME AND SCHOOL SHAILER MATHEWS, General Editor PROFESSOR OF HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE THEOLOGY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO GENESIS HINCKLEY G. MITCHELL THE BIBLE FOR HOME AND SCHOOL SHAILER MA GENESIS THEWS, General Editor By Professor H. G. Mitchell ACTS By Professor George H. Gilbert HEBREWS By Professor E. J. Goodspeed VOLUMES IN PREPARATION GALATIANS By Professor B. W. Bacon I SAMUEL By Professor L. W. Batten PSALMS By Reverend J. P. Peters ISAIAH By Professor John E. McFadyen JUDGES By Professor Edward L. Curtis JOB By Professor George A. Barton AMOS, HOSEA, AND MICAH By Professor J. M. P. Smith MARK By Professor M. W. Jacobus JOHN By Professor Shailer Mathews ROMANS By Professor E. I. Bosworth EPHESIANS, COLOSSIANS, AND PHILEMON By Reverend Gross Alexander THE BIBLE FOR HOME AND SCHOOL GENESIS BY HINCKLEY G. MITCHELL, Ph.D., D.D. Nefo gorfe THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1909 All rights reserved fale Divinity Library fiftw Haven C.nan Copyright, 1909, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1909. The references in the foot-notes marked " S.V." are to the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bjble. Copyright, 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons. BY PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHERS. NortoooD ^ress J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. GENERAL INTRODUCTION The Bible for Home and School is intended to place the results of the best modern biblical scholarship at the disposal of the general reader. It does not seek to dupli cate other commentaries to which the student must turn. Its chief characteristics are (a) its rigid exclusion of all processes, both . critical and exegetical, from its. notes; (^5 its presupposition and its use of the assured results of historical investigation and criticism wherever such results throw light on the biblical text ; (c) its running analysis both in text and comment ; (d) its brief explana tory notes adapted to the rapid reader; (if) its thorough but brief Introductions ; (/) its use of the Revised Version of 1 88 1, supplemented with all important renderings in other versions. Biblical science has progressed rapidly during the past few years, but the reader still lacks a brief, comprehensive commentary that shall extend to him in usable form mate rial now at the disposition of the student. It is hoped that in this series the needs of intelligent Sunday School teachers have been met, as well as those of clergymen and lay readers, and that in scope, purpose, and loyalty to the Scriptures as a foundation of Christian thought and life, its volumes will stimulate the intelligent use of the Bible in the home and the school. SHAILER MATHEWS. CONTENTS PAGE Introduction i I. The Literary Relations of Genesis ... 2 II. The Composition of Genesis 3 1. The Judean Document (J) 5 2. The Ephraimite Document (E) . . . .11 3. The First Redactor (R or RJ) .... 16 4. The Second Redactor (RD) .... 16 5. The Priestly Document (P) 16 III. The Analysis of Genesis 20 IV. Bibliography 25 The Commentary 29 Appendix 375 Note A. Comparative Chronology of the Antediluvians . 375 Note B. The Table of the Nations 376 Note C. The Line of Shem 377 Note D. The Sons of Benjamin 378 Index 379 vi! INTRODUCTION The book of Genesis is one of the most popular in the Old Testament. The reasons for its popularity, or some of them, are easily discovered. In the first place there are parts of it that are written in a style which not only charms the simple, but fills the most cultured with admiration. Then, too, it is largely cast in the form of personal experi ence ; and there is nothing more interesting to human beings than the doings and sufferings of their kind, no method of instruction more agreeable to those who have any desire to learn than that by means of such concrete examples. Finally, the way in which God is generally presented is well calculated to impress the average reader with the reality of his presence in the world and the possibility of securing his favor. A book like Genesis naturally appeals, not only to large numbers, but to various classes of people, some of whom take little interest in religion. Thus there are those who read it only for its literary excellence, and others who search it solely for curious information about the primeval world. Few, however, of any class, even the most devout, fully appreciate its value. There are whole chapters of it that yield them nothing, and many other passages from which they get less than the full meaning. One reason for so scanty results is that the book is really not easy to master. It is like a mine some of whose wealth lies near the surface. It yields a fair profit without much expense of skill or effort, but it will not produce as it should unless it is worked in the best way and with a deal of patient labor. The writer, accepting these terms, proposes to make a fresh study of it, hoping, by the use of modern methods, to obtain for B I INTRODUCTION himself and any who do him the honor to follow him much more satisfactory results of various kinds than are now ob tained by the average reader. The success of this effort to increase the output of Genesis will depend largely on the amount of thought given to a de tailed examination of it, but, as above intimated, the method pursued is also very important. In fact, the chief hindrance to the fruitful study of the book in the past has been the use of false methods. Those who sought to understand it did not know how to approach it. But the method of reading a book depends on the method by which it was produced. It is therefore, in this case, best to follow the usual custom and, before proceeding to explain the text verse by verse, take a preliminary survey of it as a whole, with special refer ence to its origin and history. The general idea thus ob tained will throw light on the various parts and make them more easily understood and appreciated. I. The Literary Relations of Genesis The fact with reference to Genesis as a whole that first deserves mention in this connection is that it is not a separate and independent work. This becomes clear when one reads it in connection with the books that follow. Thus the very first words of Exodus presuppose an account of the migra tion of Jacob from Canaan to Egypt such as is found in Gen. 46 : 7 f ., and there are many similar references. Com pare Ex. 6 : 3 with Gen. 17 : 1, Ex. 13 : 19 with Gen. 50 : 24, etc. In all the cases cited one can see, not only that the same event is intended, but that the same author wrote both passages. Indeed, the connection between these two books, neither of which originally had a title, is about as close as it is between the different parts of either of them. In the same way it can be shown that Genesis is bound to the other three books ; in other words, that it is the intro ductory part of the Pentateuch. Moreover, since Joshua is merely a continuation of the Pentateuch, and the books of INTRODUCTION Judges, Samuel, and Kings are composed to some extent of the same elements, there is ground for regarding this work as an introduction to the series of historical books in which the Hebrews traced the history of their origin and their development as a people from the beginning to the Exile. II. The Composition of Genesis There is a second fact that will require more extended consideration; viz. that the book of Genesis, although it has a certain kind of unity, is not the work of one author, or even of a single period. This, it must be admitted, is a comparatively recent doctrine. The more ancient opinion is that the whole Pentateuch, with the possible exception of the last eight verses of Deuteronomy, was written by Moses. It is a mistake, however, to claim that this latter is taught in the Pentateuch or in any of the following books from Joshua to Kings. It is found first in the books of Chronicles. The passage bearing on it which is of most interest in the present connection is Ne. 9 : 6 ff., from which it appears that, about 300 B.C., Genesis was recognized as a part of the law of Moses. From this time onward the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch was an article of faith among the Jews. The Talmud teaches it, and so, also, do the great Jewish authorities Philo and Josephus. From the Jewish it passed as a legacy to the Christian Church, in which for centuries it was transmitted without question. Indeed, so strong, until recently, has been its hold upon believers that the Revisers did not venture to discard it, but retained the old titles, calling Genesis, for example, "The First Book of Moses." The reasons for abandoning the teaching of tradition on this subject are briefly as follows: 1. None of the books of the Pentateuch, least of all Genesis, claims to have been written by Moses. 2. There is no evidence in the earlier books outside of the Pentateuch to prove that the Jews attributed the whole of it to the lawgiver. 3. The differ- 3 INTRODUCTION ences, not only in language and composition, but of doctrine and standpoint, between different parts, even when the subject is the same, cannot be explained on the supposition that the whole, even of Genesis, is the work of one author. 4. The traces of acquaintance with events that occurred, and ideas that arose, long after the Exodus make it impos sible to believe that either of the works on which the Pen tateuch was based was written by Moses, or any person or persons of his time. For a fuller discussion of these points see Mitchell, The World before Abraham, 17 ff. ; Driver, Introduction, 8 ff. The view preferred by most modern biblical scholars to the one just described may be briefly stated as follows: The Pentateuch was compiled from four separate works, written at different periods, the last three being united one after another with the oldest by a succession of editors. Three of these works were used in Genesis. The oldest is supposed to have been written by a native of Judea as early as the reign of Jehoshaphat (878-843 B.C.) ; the second by an Ephraimite, or native of the kingdom of Israel, probably under Jeroboam II. (785-745 B.C.). These two were first united, but not until after 650 B.C., when both of them had been more or less revised and enlarged by later writers. Meanwhile, in the reign of Manasseh (686-640 B.C.), there had been produced another work, some form of Deuter onomy, which, on being made public in 621 B.C., became the program of Josiah's reformation. It was probably added to the previous compilation soon after the beginning of the Exile (586-538 B.C.). Finally a priestly writer, or school of writers, during and after the Exile, produced a fourth work, which Ezra seems to have brought with him from Babylon in 458 B.C., and, with the help of Nehemiah, persuaded the Jews to accept, either separately or as a part of the practically complete Pentateuch, in 444 B.C. This, in outline, is the more prevalent form of the so-called Documentary Hypoth esis. Applied to Genesis, it means that the book is composed of parts taken from the first two and the last of the works 4 1JN TKODUCTION mentioned, fitted together with more or less skill to make a continuous narrative covering the period from the begin ning of history to the death of Joseph. The modern scholar adopts the theory above outlined to account for Genesis as he finds it, but he does not stop there. He argues that the marks by which he detected its com posite character ought to enable him to reverse the process of the compiler, and he proceeds to separate from one an other the elements of which it is composed. The result is exceedingly interesting. He finds that, instead of one rather confusing narrative, he has three, fairly complete and consistent in themselves, whose divergences from one an other only make them in some respects more valuable. I. THE JUDEAN DOCUMENT (j) The oldest of the three, as has already been remarked, is the Judean. It is more frequently called the Jahvistic (pronounced Yahvistic), and cited by the abbreviation J, because in it the Deity is generally called Jahveh, or, more correctly, Yahweh. It contains considerable material earlier than the ninth century B.C. Thus, the so-called Blessing of Jacob (49 : 1 ff.) must have been written at least a century before the reign of Jehoshaphat, and some of the stories in the earlier chapters probably came from an even more remote period. See 6 : 1 ff.; n : 1 fi. ; etc. The character of this narrative is such as one would expect in a work of the period that produced Micaiah and Elijah.^ In the first place, it is more picturesque and poetical than either of the others. A good example of this characteristic is found in the second account of creation, 2:7, where God is pictured as "moulding" man, as a potter would fashion a dish, "breathing" into his nostrils to give him life, and "planting" a garden for his benefit; every verb suggesting a separate scene. The same gift is displayed in a larger way in the delightful description of the meeting between Jacob and Rachel, 29:23. In some instances it is combined with 5 INTRODUCTION a dramatic power that is wonderful. A simple illustration of such a combination is found in the scene in the garden (3 : 10 f.), where, in reply to Adam's excuse for hiding him self, Yahweh asks, "Who told thee that thou wast naked?" And what could be more thrillingly dramatic than the situa tion produced when Joseph, in 44 : 17, announces his de cision to send his other brethren back to Canaan without Benjamin? The Judean narrative is characterized, also, by the rich ness and originality of its content. The breadth of interest of its author, or authors, appears in the fact that it not only begins with an account of creation, and traces the early growth of the race, but that in 4 : 17 ff. and 9 : 20, for ex ample, it notes the origin of various callings, and in the later chapters introduces into the history of the chosen people interesting information with reference to related tribes and families. See 19 : 30 ff. ; 22 : 20 ff. ; 36 : 31 ff. This, however, is not so remarkable as the impartial, but always sympathetic, manner in which it presents the persons that figure most prominently in Hebrew history. Thus, there is no attempt to conceal or excuse the tradition that Noah, once at least, drank to excess, that Isaac lied about his wife, or that Jacob gained his wealth in a contest in cunning with his rascally father-in-law. On the other hand these supposed facts are related with apparent appreciation. The truth in the case is that the author, or authors, of this narrative looked upon them as illustrative of human nature and therefore legitimate literary material. He, or they, did not, however, carry this realism too far: for, although women are throughout depicted as rather inferior to men, — as one would expect in so ancient a writing, — in the case of Lot's daughters, Dinah, and Tamar, there is not a hint that there was the slightest admixture of lust in the motives for their actions; and in the story of the temptation of Joseph the Egyptian lady is but a foil for the splendid chas tity and loyalty of her Hebrew servant. It is another peculiarity of the Judean narrative that in it 6 J-INIKUDUCITON the Deity — who, as has been remarked, is generally called Yahweh, except in the story of Joseph from chapter 40 on ward — is brought into much closer relations with mankind than in the others represented. Indeed, he is sometimes hardly more than a heroic human figure. Thus he is de scribed as taking a walk in the garden in Eden (3 : 8), com ing down to see what the builders of Babel were doing (n : 7), dining with Abraham (18 : 8), and even wrestling with Jacob at the Jabbok (33 : 24). In the last two cases he is called a man, which means that he actually appeared in the human form, as in the cases where he is called the angel of Yahweh. See 16 : 7, 9. It is only on extraordinary occasions, like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, that he assumes noticeably superhuman proportions. Not that, even in such cases, there is anything surprising in his appearance. He is so much a part of the experience of men that they expect him, not only to help them in every honest endeavor, but to correct, or even destroy them, when they disregard his known wishes. Finally, and this is the reason why it is called Judean, the narrative now under examination, broad as is its scope, sometimes betrays a partiality for the kingdom of Judah and its history. Thus, it teaches that the home of Abraham, — and probably also of Jacob, — was at Hebron, where David began his reign. Note, too, that in the story of Joseph it is Judah who first rescues the lad from death and afterwards offers himself as a ransom for Benjamin. Finally, in the Blessing of Jacob, which was a part of this work, although Joseph is strongly approved, it is evidently Judah who is the favorite of his father, and therefore of the author. The Judean, or Jahvistic, narrative cannot be completely restored, some parts of it having been omitted when the other two were united with it; but a good deal of it remains, and the remnants can in most cases, by the help of the marks above described, be recognized as such. For the connected work, restored, see Bacon, Genesis of Genesis, 227 ff. The following is an outline of its contents, so far as they have 7 INTRODUCTION been preserved, arranged in what is supposed to be their original order: The first man. The garden in Eden. The first woman. The serpent and his work. The penalties of disobedience. Cain and his descendants. The fate of Canaan. The sons of God and their offspring. The dispersal of mankind. The family of Terah. Abram's migration from the East. The separation from Lot. The covenant of Yahweh. (A visit to Egypt. The flight of Hagar. The children of Keturah. The meal at Mamre. The destruction of Sodom and Gomor rah. Lot and his daughters. The birth of Isaac. The family of Nahor. Abraham's charge. At the well of Haran. The winning of Rebekah. Rebekah in Canaan. 2 : 4D-7. 2 : 8, 9*, 16 f. 2 : 18-25. 3 = !-7- 3 =8-19,21,23. 4 : 1, i6b-24. 9 : 20-27. 6 : 1 f., 4. ri : 1-9. n : 28-30. 12 : i-4a, sb-8. 13 : 2, 5, 6b-7a, 8-na, i2b-i3, 18. 15=3-4, 6, 7*. 8-11, 17 f. 12 : 10-20.) 16 : ib-2, 4-8, 11-14 . . . 25 : i-3a, 4, 18a. 18 : 1-15. 18 : 16, 20-2 2a, 33b; 19 : 1- 27a, 28. 19 : 30-38. 21 : ia, 2a, 6b-7. 22 : 20)3-24. 24 : 1-9. 24 : 10-21, 22b, 23 f., 22a, 25- 28. 24 : 29-53. 24 : 54-67; 25 : nb. INTRODUCTION Rebekah in danger. 26 : i~3a*, 6-1 1. Strife with the Gerarites. 26 : 12; 21 : 34; 26 : 13 f., 16 f., 19-33- The birth of the twins. 25 : 2i-26a. The transfer of the birthright. 25 : 27-34- Rebekah's artifice. 27 :ia, 2-10, 14 f., 17, i8b-20, 24- 29. Esau's appeal. 27 : 30a, 30C-32, 35-38. Jacob's flight. 27 : 41-44^ 45. The vision at Bethel. 28 : 10, 13-16, 19. The meeting between Jacob and Rachel. 29 : 2-14. Jacob and his wives. . . . 29 : 26 . . . Jacob's children. 29:3i-35; 3°: 3b-5. 7, 9-!6 20b,2I,22C-23a. The shepherd's wages. 30 : 25 27, 29- 40a, 40C-43. Flight from Haran. 31: 1, 3, 19a, 21. A quarrel with Laban. 31 : 22-23^ 25, 27, 31, 38-40, 43f., 46, 48, 50a, 51- 53a. 32:3|4-7|8a, 13114b The present for Esau. I4b-2l|2 2. The struggle at the Jabbok. 32:22|23a, 23|24a, 24 | 25-29 | 30, 3Jl32- The meeting between Jacob and Esau. 33 : i-4a, 4c, 4e, 6- 10, 12-17. The disappearance of Joseph. 37 : 3 f., i2-i3a, I4b-i8, 21, 23, 25-27, 28b, 32a, 9 33b, 35- INTRODUCTION *The story of Dinah. 34 : 2b-3a, 3c, 5, 7, n-i3a, 14, 19, 25b, 26, 29^31. Jacob's return to the South. ... 35 : i6-22a * Judah and his family. 38 : 1-30. Joseph a slave in Egypt. 39 : ia, ic-4a, 4c, 6b, 7b-2oa, 20c. In an Egyptian prison. 39 : 21-23; 4° : ib, 3b, 5b, 15b. Pharaoh's dreams. 41 : 9b, 14b, 31, 34-35a, 35c- Joseph the king's minister. 41 : 41, 43D-44, 46I3-48, 53-54a, 55- The brethren of Joseph in Egypt. 42 : ia, 2, 4~7a, 7c, na, 27~28a. Jacob's misgivings. 42 =38; 43 : 1-13. The reception by Joseph. 43 : i5-23a, 24- 34- The hidden cup. 44 : ia, 2-17. The plea of Judah. 44 : 18-34. The brother revealed. 45 : 1, 4~5a, 5c, 9-1 1, 13 f. Pharaoh's invitation. 45 : i9-2ia, 27a, 28. The reception of Jacob in Egypt. 46 : ia, 28-34; 47 : i-4, 6b, 12. The statesmanship of Joseph. 47 : i3~27a, 27c. Jacob's last request. 47 : 29-31. The sons of Joseph. 48 : 2b, 9b-ioa, 13 f., 17-20. The blessing of Jacob. 49 : ib-9, n-17, 19-27. The death and burial of Jacob. 49 : 33b ; 50 : 1- n. The later years of Joseph. 50 : 14, 18, 21 f. INTRODUCTION In this table the section in parentheses may, but probably does not, properly belong to the Judean narrative. The two indicated by the asterisk belong to it, but they seem to have been omitted by one editor and restored by another. An asterisk on a citation means that in the passage so marked the text is not in its original form. 2. THE EPHRAIMITE DOCUMENT (e) The Ephraimite narrative is more commonly called the Elohistic and cited by the abbreviation E, because the author, or authors, of it deliberately use the Hebrew word 'Elohim (God) of the Deity, claiming that the name Yahweh was first revealed to Moses. See Ex. 3 : 14. It, also, is a product of the best period of Hebrew literature. It ought not, therefore, to be expected to differ in a very marked degree in its literary features from the Judean. In point of fact it resembles this latter more closely than does either of the others. Still, there are differences which the linguist easily detects and the layman appreciates when his at tention is called to them. In general it may be said that the Judean narrative displays a literary genius easily reaching excellence and winning the highest appreciation, while the Ephraimite is the product of a talent that required stimula tion and management for satisfactory results. The style, therefore, is not only less fluent and brilliant than that of the former, but one now and then feels, as one reads, that the writer is striving for effect, especially sympathy with the principal figure or figures of the story. A good illustration of what is meant is found in the story of Hagar, as told in 21 : 8 ff., compared with 16 : 4 ff. In the latter (J) the Egyptian is an angry rebel whose strength and courage are unbroken, as if she were at home in the desert; in the former (E) a desperate outcast whose helplessness excites compassion. Compare, also, the impression produced with reference to Abimelech in 26 : 1 ff. (J) and 20 : 1 ff. (E) ; Jacob in 30 : 37 ff. (J) and 31:45. (E) ; and Joseph in INTRODUCTION chapter 39 (J) and 40 (E). Finally, see the pathetic story of the sacrifice of Isaac in 22 : 1 ff. The horizon in the Ephraimite narrative is not so wide as in the Judean, or the treatment of the materials employed so broad and fearless. In the first place, since there are no traces of it earlier than chapter 15, the probability is that it began, not with creation, but with the migration of Abram. Note too, that, although Ishmael and Esau appear in it as individuals, there is no indication of interest in their de scendants. A good illustration of the way in which promi nent characters are treated in this as compared with the Judean narrative is found in 20 : 1 ff., where the author attempts to excuse Abraham for misrepresenting his relation to Sarah by making him say that she really was a daughter of the same father. This variation upon tradition shows that the teaching of the prophets had begun to bear fruit in the prev alence of a higher ethical ideal than in the earlier period. There are other equally interesting passages bearing on this point; for example, 27 : n ff., where Rebekah is repre sented as relieving Jacob from all responsibility for deceiving his father, and 31:9 and 16, whence it appears that Jacob did not rob Laban, but that God himself took the ill-gotten gains of the Aramean from him and bestowed them upon his faithful and long-suffering son-in-law. The Ephraimite narrative differs, too, from the Judean in its conception of the Deity. If calls him, except in pas sages that have undergone changes, simply God, and rep resents him, not as a familiar figure in everyday life, but as one who reveals himself chiefly in the more or less im portant crises in human experience. Even then he seldom shows himself in the light of day, but makes known to men his will in dreams. There are several instances of this method of revelation. Three of them are in the life of Abraham, for although 21 : 12 and 22 : 1 are not explicit on this point, it is clear from the context (21 : 14 ; 22 : 3) that in these cases, as in that of 15 : iff., God came to him in the night. Jacob, also, had at least three visions according INTRODUCTION to 28 : 12 ; 31 : n ; 46 : 2. See also the dreams of Joseph as described in 37 : 5 ff. The method is the same with foreigners ; for example, the kings of Gerar and Egypt and the servants of the latter. See 20 : 3 ; 41 : 1 ff. ; 40 : 5 ff. When it is necessary to communicate with mortals during the day, as in the case of Hagar in her distress (21 117) and Abraham on the point of slaying his son (22 : 11), he speaks to them through his angel, and "out of heaven." Such is the conception of God that characterizes the Ephra imite narrative. There can be no doubt that it is in a sense loftier than that of the Judean, but it may fairly be questioned whether it was of so much greater religious value. Finally, the Ephraimite, like the Judean, narrative has its peculiar interests. It gives prominence to the places to which the northern tribes were especially attached : Shechem, where Jacob bought a parcel of ground in which Joseph was afterwards buried (33 : 19; Jos. 24 : 32), and Beersheba, whose shrine was one of the most sacred to Israel when this work was written (21 : 31; 46 : ib; Am. 8 : 14), as well as Bethel (28: 19; 35 : 1 ff.). Note, too, that in its version of the story of Joseph it is not Judah, but Reuben, who be friends the boy when his brothers are planning to kill him. See 37 : 22. Most important, however, is the fact that this authority mentions with apparent approval the erection of a pillar by Jacob at Bethel and thus recognizes the worship practised there as legitimate so far as it was the sincere worship of the true God. See 28 : 18 ; also 31 =45. The editor who put together the Judean and Ephraimite narratives, being himself from the South, naturally preferred the former. Consequently the latter is less completely preserved. Indeed, in some cases, whole paragraphs have apparently been omitted. For the connected narrative, restored, see Bacon, Genesis of Genesis, 283 ff. The follow ing table is an attempt to present the remains of it in the original order and supply at least some of the topics on which it is now silent : 13 INTRODUCTION Abram's migration from the East The promise of God. 15 : 1*, 2, 5. The seizure of Sarah by Abimelech. 20 : 1-17. The covenant with Abimelech. 21 : 22-3ia, 33. Hagar the Egyptian. The birth of Isaac. ... 21 : 6a. The expulsion of Ishmael. 21 : 8-21. The sacrifice of Isaac. 22 : 1-13, 19. The marriage of Isaac. The birth of the twins. ... ... Rebekah's artifice. 27 : ib, n-13, 16, 18a, 21-23. Esau's appeal. 27 : 30b, 33 f., 39 fv 44b. The vision at Bethel. 28 : n f., 17 f., 20-2 2 a. Jacob and his wives. 29 : 1, 15-23, 25, 27~28a, 30. Jacob's children. 30 : i~3a, 6, 8, 17- 20a, 20c, 22b, 23I5-24. The shepherd's wages. 30 : 26, 28. Flight from Haran. 31 : 2, 4-9, n-i2a, i3-i8a, 19D-20. A quarrel with Laban. 31 : 2311-24, 26, 28-30, 32-34^ 35-37, 41 f., 45, 50^53^55(32: 1); 32 : i|2 f. The fear of Esau. 32 : 7 [8b— 8 1 9, At Peniel. ... 32 : 22123b, 23l24b, 3QI31- The meeting between Jacob and Esau. 33 : 4b, 4d, 5, n. Arrival at Shechem. 33 : 18a, 18C-20. The disappearance of Joseph. 37 : 5a, 6-8a, 9, iob-n, 13b- 14 INTRODUCTION 14a, 19 f., 22, 24, 28a, 29-31, 32b-33a, 34, 36. The story of Dinah. 34 = i~2a, 3b, 4, 6, 8-10, 15-18, 20-22, 23b-25a, 25c, 27a, 28- 29a. The return to Bethel. 35 = i-5i 6b-8, 14- Joseph the servant of Potiphar. 40 : 1 a, 2-3 a, 4- 5a, o-isa, 16- 23- Pharaoh's dreams. 41 : i~9a, io-i4a, 14C-30, 32 f-, 35b, 36- Joseph the king's minister. 41 : 37-4o, 42-43a, 45,49-5oa,5lf-» 54b, 56a, 57. The brethren of Joseph in Egypt. 42 : ib, 3, 7b, 8- 10, nb-26, 29- 35, 28b. Jacob's misgivings. . . . 42 : 36 f.; 43 : x4- The reception by Joseph. . . . 43 : 23b . . . The brother revealed. 45 : 2a, 3, 5b, sd- 8, 12, 15. Pharaoh's invitation. 45 : 16-18, 21b- 26, 27b. The descent into Egypt. 46 : ic~5a. The sons of Joseph. 48 : i-2a, 8~9a, iob-12, 15 f., 21 f. Joseph and his brethren. 50 : 15-17, 19 f. The death of Joseph. 50 : 23-26. *s INTRODUCTION 3. THE FIRST REDACTOR (R OR Rj) When the two narratives were united the compiler, or, as he is more commonly called, the Redactor, — whence the abbreviation R or Rj, — made certain additions. The object of some of them was to connect the extracts taken from the two works with one another and smooth away the most apparent discrepancies among them. For examples, see 12 : 9; 13 : 1, 3 f.; 16 : 9 f.; 26 : 15; 18 : 39, 1 (in part), 20 (in part); 40 : 3 b, 15 b; 46 : 1 b. Of the rest the most important are those in which the promise made to Abraham is repeatedly recalled: viz. 13 : 14-17 ; 22 : 14- 19; 26 : 3 b-5; 32 : 9I10-12I13. 4. THE SECOND REDACTOR (RD) When Deuteronomy was added to JE, Genesis was so little changed by the revision then made that it is hardly worth while to dwell on the traces of it in this connection. 5. THE PRIESTLY DOCUMENT (p) It remains therefore only to discuss the Priestly narrative, which, although only about a fifth of the contents of this book were derived from it, furnished the framework on which the final compilation was constructed. This work — often cited under the abbreviation P — had so many marked peculiarities of form and diction that there is seldom any difficulty in recognizing extracts from it. Some of them, for example, chapter 5 (exc. v. 29) and 10 : 1, 3~7, 20, 22 f., 31 f., are naked genealogies in which a stere otyped pattern is repeated as often as required' without variation; and in those that are most fully descriptive the style is often as formal, literal, and repetitious as that of a legal document. A work of this kind could not, of course, be expected to prove very stimulative to the nobler emotions. 16 INTRODUCTION In point of fact there are only two examples, the first account of creation (i : i ff.) and that of the burial of Sarah (ch. 23), in which any such effect is produced; and in these instances the thoughtful reader will discover that the im pression he receives is made by the subject in spite of the method by which it is treated. The Priestly document was logical beyond all the others. It followed in some respects the Judean narrative. Nat urally, therefore, it began at the beginning and included in its historical survey, not only the Hebrews, but the rest of the family of Terah. It is only geographically, however, that the compass of the two works may be said to be the same. When the Priestly narrative was written, ethical develop ment among the Jews had gone so far beyond the point reg istered in the Elohistic that their religious leaders were obliged to abandon apologies and, whatever might be the result from the literary or historical standpoint, simply omit from their teaching concerning the patriarchs every thing that seemed to them injurious to the characters of these ancient worthies. This work, therefore, contained no ref erence to the humiliation of Noah, the falsehoods tradition ally charged to Abraham and Isaac, or anything else of the sort. There was nothing in it to indicate that Ishmael was driven from his father's house (25 =9), or that Jacob and Esau quarreled (36 : 6 f.), or, so far as can now be discovered, that the brethren of Joseph had any hand in his disappearance. The place of these stories was to some extent supplied by other material, especially attempts to trace the origin of the religious institutions of the Hebrews, the sab bath (2 : 1 ff.), circumcision (17 : 10 ff.), etc. Thus in the hands of the priests the book of the traditions of the Hebrews was finally transformed into nothing more or less than a manual of religious instruction. In the Priestly document there is also evidence of a more exalted conception of the Deity than is found in either of the others. Here, also, he is called God, as in the Ephraimite narrative, but he does not appear to men in dreams, much r. 17 INTRODUCTION less take the human form among them. In two instances (17 : i; 35 : 9) he is said to have "appeared" to one of the patriarchs, but no attempt is made to describe him. He usu ally speaks without an introduction, as if the writer thought of him as a universal, and therefore spiritual, presence in the world which he had by his invincible fiat created. See 1:28; 6 : 13; etc. Finally, this narrative, being the work of Judean priests, naturally follows the Jahvistic in giving prominence to Hebron. Indeed, it goes beyond the earlier work, making this ancient capital the home and final resting-place of all three of the patriarchs. See 23 : 2; 35 : 27; 49 : 31; 50 : 13. For the connected narrative, restored, seeBacon, Genesis of Genesis, 315 ff. The following are the passages generally attributed to it : The first account of creation. 1 : 1-2 : 4a. The first ten generations, ch. 5. The ark and its freight. 6 : 9-22. The rising water. 7=6, n, I3~i6a, 18-21, 24. The receding deluge. 8 : i-2a, 3D-5, 13a, 14. The departure from the ark. 8 : 15-19. The introduction of animal food. 9 : 1-7. The bow of promise. 9 : 8-17, 28 f. The grand divisions of the race. 10 : ia, 2-7, 20, 22 f., 31 f. The branch of Shem. n : 10-27. The family of Terah. n : 31 f. Abram's migration from the East. 12 : 5a, 4b, 5b. Separation from Lot. 13 : 6a, nb-i2a. (The raid of the Elamites. 14 : 1-17 [18-20] 21-24). Hagar the Egyptian. 16 : ia, 3, 15 f. The token of God's covenant. 17 : 1-14. The introduction of circumcision. 17 : 15-27. 18 INTRODUCTION The overthrow of Sodom and Gomor rah. The birth of Isaac. The death of Sarah. The death of Abraham. The children of Ishmael. The birth of the twins. The mission of Jacob. The wives of Jacob. The return from Paddan-aram. A revelation at Bethel. The reunion at Mamre. The migration of Esau. The chiefs of Esau. The disappearance of Joseph. At the court of Pharoah. The discovery of Joseph. The descent into Egypt. The reception in Egypt. The sons of Joseph. The death and burial of Jacob. . . . 19 : 29. 21 : ib, 2D-5. ch. 23. 25 : 7-na. 25 : 12-17. 25 : 19 f., 26 b. 26 : 34f-;27 =46; 28 : 1-9. ... 29 : 24, 28b- 29; 30 : 22a. 31 : i8b;33 : 18b. 35 : 6a, 9, n-i3a, 15- 35 : 22b-29. 36 : 6-8; 37 : 1. 36 : 1, 4Q-43- 37 : 2 . . . . . . 41 : 46a . . . 46 : 6-27. 47 = 5-6a, 7-1 1, 27b, 27d, 28. 48 : 3-6. 49 : ia, 28b-3i, 33a, 33c5 5°:i21- The Priestly document seems to have been united to JED by a priest or priests, who, as has been remarked, made it the framework of the compilation. The work was not so well done as that of Rj, but it was done in a surprisingly liberal spirit; for, perhaps owing to a revival of interest in the earlier narratives as literature, this redaction (Rp) incorporated into its collection the very stories that the author, or authors, of the latest of his sources had rejected, also the stories of Dinah and Tamar, which appear to have been omitted from the preceding compilation. Thus the 19 INTRODUCTION book of Genesis became, not a homogeneous and consistent record of facts, but a compendium of the progressive teach ings, concerning the origin of their people, of a succession of Hebrew prophets and priests from the earliest times to the end of the fifth century before the Christian era. It is easy, after having traced the origin of Genesis through its various stages, to see how it should be studied; viz. as a compilation. There are two ways of applying this method. The simpler would be, to take the three narratives first separately in the order of their antiquity, and then read them in their actual setting. In this way one would get a clearer idea of their characters and their comparative value from different standpoints. This would also be the more logical mode of procedure, but, since it would require con siderable repetition, lack of space forbids its employment in a popular commentary. A better one, for present purposes, is to follow the composite text, taking each paragraph sep arately and using the modern theory of the origin of the book as a key to the difficulties that appear in the given passage. In this way it will be possible to test the theory and prove, not only its correctness, but its usefulness. III. Analysis of Genesis I. The Primeval World; chs. 1-9. 1. The primitive state; chs. 1-3. 1. The divine handiwork; chs. 1-2. (1) The first account of creation; 1 : 1-2 : 3. (a) The first day; 1 : 2-5. (b) The second day; 1 : 6-8. (c) The third day; 1 : 9-13. (d) The fourth day; 1 : 14-19. (e) The fifth day; 1 : 20-23. (f) The sixth day; 24-31. (g) The seventh day; 2 : 1-3. (2) The second account of creation; 2 : 4-25. (a) The first man; 2 : 4b~7. 20 INTRODUCTION (b) The garden in Eden; 2 : 8-17. (c) The first woman; 2 : 18-25. 2. The entrance of evil; ch. 3. (1) The serpent and his work; 3 : 1-7. (2) The penalties of disobedience; 3 : 8-24. n. The degeneration of mankind; 4 : 1-6 : 8. 1. Cain and his descendants; 4 : 1-24. (1) The first murderer; 4 : 1-16. (2) The line of Cain; 4 : 17-24. 2. The line of Seth; 4 : 25-5 : 32. (1) A genealogical fragment; 4 : 25 f. (2) Ten generations; ch. 5. 3. The sons of God and their offspring; 6 : 1-4. m. A general retribution; 6 : 5-8 : 22. 1. The divine purpose; 6 : 5-8. 2. God's care for Noah; 6 : 9-7 : 5. (1) The ark and its freight; 6 : 9-22. (2) A second account; 7 : 1-5. 3. The Flood; 7:6-8: 14. (1) The rising water; 7 : 6-24. (2) The receding deluge; 8 : 1-14. 4. Noah's offering; 8 : 15-22. rv. The outlook for the future; ch. 9. 1. The introduction of animal food; 9 : 1-7. 2. The bow of promise; 9 : 8-17. 3. The fate of Canaan; 9 : 18-29. II. The Origin of the Hebrew People; chs. 10-50. I. The place of the Hebrews among the peoples; chs. 10 f. 1. The families of the earth; 10: 1-11 : 9. (1) The grand divisions of the race; ch. 10. (a) The children of Japheth; 10 : 2-5. (b) The children of Ham; 10 : 6-20. (c) The children of Shem; 10 : 21-32. (2) The dispersal of mankind; n : 1-9. 2. The branch of Shem; n : 19-26. INTRODUCTION 3. The family of Terah; 11 : 27-32. n. The patriarchal period; chs. 12-50. 1. Abraham and his family; 12 : 1-25 : 18. (1) First adventures in Canaan; chs. 12-14. (a) Migration from the East; 12 : 1-9. (b) A visit to Egypt; 12 : 10-20. (c) Separation from Lot; ch. 13. (d) The Elamite raid; ch. 14. (2) The promise of God; chs. 15-17. (a) The covenant of Yahweh; ch. 15. (b) The flight of Hagar; ch. 16. (c) The covenant in circumcision; ch. 17. (a) The token of the covenant; 17 : 1- 14. (6) The introduction of the rite ; 17 : 15- 27. (3) The mission of the angels; chs. 18 f. (a) The meal at Mamre; 18 : 1-15. (b) Abraham's intercession; 18 : 16-33. (c) The overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah ; 19 : 1-28. (d) Lot and his daughters; 19 : 29-38. (4) A series of trials; chs. 20-23, exc- 22 : 20-24. (a) The seizure of Sarah by Abimelech; ch. 20. (b) The rival mothers; 21 : 1-2 1. (a) The birth of Isaac; 21 : 1-7. (6) The expulsion of Ishmael ; 21 : 8-21. (c) The covenant with Abimelech; 21 : 22- 34- (d) The sacrifice of Isaac; 22 : 1-19. (e) The death of Sarah; ch. 23. (5) The close of Abraham's history; 22 : 20-24; 24 : 1-25 : 11. (a) The marriage of Isaac; 22 : 20-24; ch. 24. (a) The family of Nahor; 22 : 20-24. INTRODUCTION (b) Abraham's charge; 24 : 1-9. (c) At the well of Haran; 24 : 10-27. id) The winning of Rebekah ; 24 : 28-53. (e) Rebekah in Canaan; 24 : 54-67. (b) The children of Keturah; 25 : 1-6. (c) The death of Abraham, 25 : 7-1 1. (6) The children of Ishmael; 25 : 12-18. 2. Isaac and his family; 25 : 19-37 : I- (1) The coveted birthright; 25 : 19-34. (a) The birth of the twins; 25 : 19-26. (b) The transfer of the birthright ; 25 : 27-34. (2) The patriarch and his neighbors; 26 : 1-33. (a) Rebekah in danger; 26 : i-n. (b) Strife with the Gerarites; 26 : 12-33. (3) A struggle for supremacy; ch. 27; 26 : 34 f.; 28 : 1-9. (a) Rebekah's artifice; 27 : 1-29. (b) Esau's appeal; 27 : 30-46. (c) The departure of Jacob for the East ; 27 : 41-45; 26 : 34 f.; 27 : 46; 28 : 1-9. (a) The first account; 27 : 41-45. (6) The second account, 26 : 34 f. ; 27 : 46; 28 : 1-9. (4) The heir in exile; 28 : 10-32 : 2I3. (a) The vision at Bethel; 28 : 10-22. (b) The meeting between Jacob and Rachel; 29 : 1-14. (c) Jacob and his wives; 29 : 15-30. (d) Jacob's children; 29 : 31-30 : 24. (e) The shepherd's wages; 30 : 25-43. (f) Flight from Haran; 31 : 1-2 1. (g) A quarrel with Laban; 31 : 22-32 : 2 13. (5) Jacob's return from the East; 32 : 3] 4-3 5 : 29- (a) The present for Esau; 32 : 3I4-21I22. (b) The struggle at the Jabbok; 32 : 22I23- 32|33- 23 INTRODUCTION (c) The meeting between Jacob and Esau; .33 = i-i7- (d) The story of Dinah; 33 : 18-34 : 31. (e) The return to Bethel; 35 : 1-15. (f) A pair of misfortunes; 35 : i6-22a. (g) The reunion at Mamre; 35 : 22D-27. (6) Theendof the history of Isaac; 35 : 28-37 : 1. (a) The death of the patriarch; 35 : 28 f. (b) The records of Edom; 36 : 1-37 : 1. (a) The migration of Esau; 36 : 1-8. (6) The children of Esau; 36 : 9-19. (c) The children of Seir; 36 : 20-30. {d) The kings of Edom; 36 : 31-39. (e) The chiefs of Esau; 36 : 40-37 : 1. Jacob and his family; 37 : 2-50 : 26. (1) The disappearance of Joseph; 37 : 2-36. (2) Judah and Tamar; ch. 38. (3) The rise of Joseph; chs. 39-41. (a) A slave in Egypt; 39 : 1-20. (b) In an Egyptian prison; 39 : 21-40 : 23. (c) At the court of Pharaoh; ch. 41. (a) Pharaoh's dreams; 41 : 1-36. (b) Joseph the king's minister; 41 : 37- 57- (4) The discovery of Joseph; chs. 42-45. (a) The brothers of Joseph in Egypt; ch. 42. (b) The return with Benjamin; chs. 43-45. (a) Jacob's misgivings; 43 : 1-14. (b) The reception by Joseph ; 43 : 15-34. (c) The hidden cup; 44 : 1-17. (d) The plea of Judah; 18-34. (e) The brother revealed; 45 : 1-15. (J) Pharaoh's invitation; 45 : 16-28. (5) Egypt a refuge; 46 : 1-47 =27. (a) The descent into Egypt; 46 : 1-27. (b) The reception in Egypt; 46 : 28-47 : 12. (a) With Joseph in Goshen; 46 : 28-34. 24 INTRODUCTION (b) Before the king of Egypt ; 47 : 1-12. (c) The statesmanship of Joseph ; 47 : 13-27. (6) The last days of Jacob; 47 : 28-50 : 13. (a) A last request; 47 : 28-31. (b) The sons of Joseph; ch. 48. (c) The blessing of Jacob; 49 : i-27a. (d) The death and burial of Jacob; 49 : 28- 50 : 13- (7) The later years of Joseph; 50 : 14-26. (a) Joseph and his brethren; 50 : 14-21. (b) The death of Joseph; 50 : 22-26. IV. Bibliography In the comments the aim will be to touch upon every point in the text that seems to require explanation or illus tration, but not to say all that might be said about it. It will therefore sometimes be necessary to refer to other works in which a given subject is more fully discussed. Some of these books should be in the library of every student of the Bible. The following are recommended as helpful in the study of Genesis : Encyclopaedia Hastings, James. Dictionary of the Bible (DB.). An elaborate and comprehensive work; sometimes too conservative, but on the whole the best for general reference. 5 vols. Single volume dictionaries: Hastings and Standard. Introduction Those who Would like a fuller statement of the writer's views on the origin of the Pentateuch will find one in a work already cited, The World before Abraham. Driver, S. R. Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament. Useful especially for its detailed analysis of the text and its care ful description of the different sources. 2S INTRODUCTION Interpretation Dillmann, August. Genesis. A product of sound and varied learning, the best of the older commentaries. Driver, S. R. The Book of Genesis. A recent work, semi-popular, and frankly, but moderately, liberal. History Maspero, G. The Dawn of Civilization. A standard work. Goodspeed, G. S. History of the Babylonians and Assyrians. A manual for Bible students. Erman, Adolf. Life in Ancient Egypt. Well named. Breasted, J. H. History of Egypt. A recent work and very inter esting and instructive. — History of the Ancient Egyptians. A manual for Bible students. Pinches, T. G. The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of Assyria and Babylonia. Full of valuable information bearing on the Old Testament, especially Genesis, but not always reliable in its interpretations of the data presented. Palestine Baedeker, Karl. Palestine. Useful even to the imaginary traveller in the Holy Land. Smith, G. A. Historical Geography of the Holy Land. Unsur passed as a source of help in acquiring a knowledge of the signifi cant features in the geography of the country. Thomson, W. M. The Land and the Book. Diffuse and tiresome in its style, but valuable for the facts concerning Palestine and its people which it contains, and its numerous and excellent illustra tions. 3 vols. Geikie, Cunningham. The Holy Land and the Bible. Much more readable, but not illustrated. 2 vols. Of the works above mentioned that of Erman covers the same ground as those of Breasted, and that of Thomson the same as that of Geikie. It is therefore not necessary in either case to have more than one of those recommended. Other Works of Importance Bacon, B. W. The Genesis of Genesis. Buhl, Frants. Geographie des alten Palastina. Cheyne and Black. Encyclopaedia Biblica. 26 INTRODUCTION Delitzsch, Fried. Wo lag das Paradies? Grant, Elihu. The Peasantry of Palestine. Jastrow, Morris. The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria. Merrill, Selah. East of the Jordan. Muller, W. Max. Asien und Europa. Palmer, E. H. The Desert of the Exodus. Paton, L. B. The Early History of Syria and Palestine. Petrie, W. M. F. Egyptian Tales. — A History of Egypt. — Hyksos and Israelite Cities. Robinson, Edward. Biblical Researches in Palestine. Rogers, R. W. A History of Babylonia and Assyria. Schrader, Eberhard. Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testa ment ; English, The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testa ment. — Keilinschrif tliche Bibliothek. le Strange, Guy. Palestine under the Moslems. Tristram, H. B. The Land of Israel. Trumbull, H. C. Kadesh Barnea. van de Velde, C. W. M. Syria and Palestine. The More Important Abbreviations AV .... Authorized (King James) Version. Gr Septuagint. Heb Hebrew. m margin. Sam Samaritan Pentateuch. SV .... Standard American Version. Syr Syriac. Tar Targum. Vg Vulgate. For the letters on the margin, representing documentary analysis, see the Introduction. 27 GENESIS I. THE PRIMEVAL WORLD, Chs. 1-9 I. The Primitive State of the World and Mankind, 1:1-3: 24 1. The Divine Handiwork, 1:1-2:25 1. °In the beginning °God created °the heaven and the P 1:1 2. earth. °And °the earth was °waste and void; and In the preceding analysis the book of Genesis is divided into two main parts. This number is not uncommon, but the place where the division is made is not always the same. Thus, the first part some times includes the first eleven chapters. It seems clear, however, that the person or persons responsible for the present form of the book thought of the Flood as closing the first period of the world's history and preparing the way for a new era. If so, the first title, I. The Primeval World, should cover only chapters 1-9. The contents of these chapters naturally fall into a threefold arrangement, the first of the three describing The Primitive State of the World and Mankind. The state thus described in its origin was The Divine Handiwork, and is so viewed in both of the accounts of creation preserved in chapters 1 and 2. (1) The first account of creation, 1 : 1-2 : 3 This section, of Priestly origin (P), is one of the most interesting and impressive passages from that source. In it the works of God are arranged in a strikingly logical order and assigned to six succes sive days, the seventh being consecrated to rest to complete the first week. The whole is introduced by a general statement. 1. In the beginning. When the present order of things came into existence. God created. Not from nothing, but, as appears from v. 2, from matter already in existence. The heaven and the earth. SV the heavens and the earth. Better, heaven and earth, i.e., the visible world with its familiar features. (a) The first day, 1 : 2-5. Light is created and the alternation of day and night instituted. 2. This verse describes the condition of something that existed when God began his work. Read, therefore, not And, but Now, the earth, 29 GENESIS "darkness was upon the face of °the deep: and °the spirit of God moved1 upon the face of the °waters. 3. And °God said, Let there be light: and °there was light. 4. And God °saw the light, that it was °good: and God 5. "divided the light from the darkness. And God °called the light Day, and the darkness °he called Night. And °there was evening and there was "morning, one day. 1 m. was brooding on. etc. The term earth is here used, not in the same sense as in v. 1, but to denote the existing something from which the world was made. The author seems to have thought of it as a. mass of solid matter immersed in water. Hence, in the next sentence he calls it the deep. The surface was waste and void, an unbroken expanse of water, and covered with darkness; but over it the spirit of God moved, lit. brooded, as a bird covers and vitalizes its eggs. The figure here used suggests that, however old matter may be, it never existed without God or independent of him. The plural waters, like heavens, is a Hebrew idiom, for which, in English, the singular should be sub stituted. 3. God said. There was no effort, no process ; " he spake, and it was done." See Ps. 33 : 9. At once, by his omnipotent will, there was light. It was not only a condition of the existence of animal and vegetable life, but a prerequisite for the computation of time. It did not, observe, proceed from anything else, - — for the luminaries were not yet created, — but had a separate and independent exist ence. See vs. 14 ff.; Jb. 38 : 19. 4. Saw the light, that it was is good Hebrew, but bad English, for saw that the light -was. The light was good, not as compared with darkness, — which still had its place, — but as adapted to the pur pose for which it was created. Divided the light from the dark ness; decreed that they should thenceforth alternate with each other at certain intervals as they have ever since done. 5. Called the light Day; ordained that it should be so distin guished from the darkness, which, at the same time, he called Night. It is clear from the antithesis that day here means the sunlit interval between two nights, but it is equally clear that the term does not have the same sense in the next sentence. The statement that there was, or better, it became, evening, and afterwards morning shows that it denotes the interval between one morning and the next commonly so designated. What the author means to say is that, when the first interval of light with which time began had been succeeded by the 3° GENESIS i ; 8 6. And God said, Let there be a "firmament * in the midst P of the waters, and let it "divide the waters from the 7. waters.2 "And God made the firmament, and "divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament : °3 and it was so.3 8. And God called the firmament "Heaven.4 And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. 1 m. expanse. ' Gr. adds, and it was so. s Gr. om. * Gr. adds, and God saw that it was good. growing darkness at evening, and the darkness had again given place to the returning light on the second morning, there had passed one of the periods of time called a day. It is not called the first because, as yet, there is no second. The method of measuring the day here employed is noticeable, since the later Hebrews generally reckoned from sunset to sunset like the Athenians. See Ne. 13 : 19. (b) The second day, 1 : 6-8. The firmament is created and heaven and earth separated. 6. The mass of matter, called in v. 2 " the earth," has thus far remained unchanged. God now commands a firmament, lit. expanse, the object of which is to divide the waters from the waters, i.e., to separate the water into two portions. In other cases a command of this kind is usually followed by the statement, and it was so. See vs. 9, 15, etc. These words should therefore be transferred from the end of v. 7 and inserted at this point, as they are in the Greek Version. 7. And God made. Better, Thus God made, to indicate a corre spondence between the fiat and the result. Divided the waters . . . firmament . . . firmament, i.e., divided the water so that half of it was below, and half above, the expanse; which expanse must there fore have been pictured as a horizontal partition, forming the roof or ceiling of a lower, and the floor of an upper world. So Jb. 37:18; Pr. 8:27 f. Above it, according to 7:11, was stored a part of the water by which the Flood was produced. There, also, the Hebrews sometimes located the abode of the Deity. So Am. 9:6; Ps. 104 : 3. On and it was so, see v. 6. 8. The upper world is called Heaven; the lower, being still un finished, remains without a name. The Greek Version inserts here and God saw that it was good, which, since it is found in all the other paragraphs, is doubtless wanting in this one only by mistake. (c) The third day, 1 19-13. This day is marked by two creative acts : the lower world is finished, and the dry land is clothed with vegetation. 3i I : 9 GENESIS P 9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto "one place,1 and let "the dry land 10. appear: "and it was so.2 And God called the "dry land Earth ; and the gathering together of the waters called 11. he "Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth put forth "grass, herb yielding seed,3 and * "fruit tree bearing "fruit 5 after its kind,5 wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12. "And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and "tree " bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind 7 : and God saw that it was 13. good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. 1 Gr. mass. ' Gr. adds, Thus the water under heaven was gathered together into its mass, and the dry land appeared. 3 Gr. Syr. add, after its kind. * So Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. s Gr. after thereof. 6 Gr. fruit tree. ' Gr. adds, on the earth. 9. One place. The Hebrew word for place very much resembles the one rendered gathering together in v. 10. Hence, it is prob able that the Greek Version is correct in reading in this instance also one gathering, or mass. The collection of all the water of the lower world into one mass, allowed the dry land, i.e., the solid matter heretofore hidden from sight, to appear. The brief statement and it was so ought to be followed by one corresponding to the command given. See vs. 7, 16, etc. Such a statement is found in the Greek Version. Add, therefore, Thus the water under heaven was gathered together into its mass, and the dry land appeared. For a poetical de scription of this event, see Ps. 104 : 8 and m. 10. The terms dry land, Earth, and Seas are not happily chosen. The meaning would be clearer if the verse were rendered, And God called the dry ground Land, and the mass of water called he Sea. 11. Grass. Better, perhaps, verdure, since it seems to be a general term including the herb, especially grains and grasses, and the fruit tree. Fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof. Better, as in the next verse, fruit wherein is the seed thereof, i.e., of the tree, after its kind. 12. And the earth brought forth grass. Better, Thus the earth brought forth verdure. Tree. Better, with the Greek Version, as in v. n, fruit tree. 32 GENESIS 14- And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven 1 "to divide the day from the night; and let them be "for signs, and "for seasons, and "for days 15. and years: and let them be "for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth : and it was so. 16. "And God made "the two great lights; the greater light to "rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: 17. he made "the stars also. And God "set them in the firmament of the heaven "to give light upon the earth : 18. and "to rule over the day and "over the night, and "to divide the light from the darkness : and God saw that it 1 Sam. Gr. add, to give light upon tile earth (is). (d) The fourth day, 1 : 14-19. The luminaries, large and small, are created and assigned their places in the firmament, the work of this day supplementing that of the first. 14. To divide the day from the night: not in the sense of fixing the limits of the two divisions of the day, — that was done on the first day, — but as marks distinguishing the one from the other. See v. 16. For signs; to indicate by their position or appearance all sorts of conditions and occurrences from points of the compass to national convulsions. See Num. 21 : 11; Mt. 16 : 2 f.; Joel 3 : 31 | 3 : 4. For seasons; to control the annual variations in climate and the suc cession of civil or ecclesiastical observances. Ps. 104 : 19; Lv. 23 : 1 ff . For days and years ; to mark the passage of time. 15. For lights. The object that would first occur to a modern writer is the last to be mentioned. 16. And God. Better, Thus God. The two great lights; the sun and the moon. The classification is based on their apparent size. The author had no idea of the real magnitude of the heavenly bodies. Rule. Another way of saying distinguish. The stars. They, also, belong to the night, but, since they do not rule over it, they receive separate mention. There is no hint of their actual importance. 17. Set them; gave them their relative positions and started them on their courses. To give light. The last of the functions described in vs. 14 f. is here the first to be mentioned. 18. To rule. Here the stars seem to be associated with the moon as rulers over the night. To divide the light from the darkness. This clause must be interpreted as the equivalent of to divide, i.e., distin guish, the day from the night in v. 14. D 33 19 GENESIS 19. was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. P 20. And God said, Let the waters M bring forth abun dantly the moving creature that hath life,1 and let 0 fowl 2 fly above the earth °3 in the open firmament of 21. heaven.3 "And God created the great "sea-mon sters, and every living creature that moveth, °4 which the waters brought forth abundantly,* after their "kinds,5 and every winged fowl after its kind: and 22. God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters 1 m. SV swarm with swarms of living creatures. * SV birds. 3 m. on the face of the expanse of the heaven; Gr. adds, and it was so. « SV wherewith the waters swarmed, s SV kind. (e) The fifth day, 1 : 20-23. The creatures of the water and the air are made and blessed. 20. Bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life. This is unnecessarily clumsy. The marginal rendering, which is adopted by SV, is much preferable. Better still would be swarm abundantly with living creatures. These creatures, as appears from v. 21, are the fishes and other animals, real or imaginary, with which the Hebrews peopled the sea. See Ps. 104 : 25. Fowl. SV birds; better, flying things, without the article. In Lev. n : 20 ff. the term here used includes winged insects. The rendering of AV, and fowl that may fly, implies that these animals, also, were produced by the water ; but the original does not favor this interpretation. In the open firmament of heaven. In this rendering the modern seems to have been deliberately substituted for the ancient idea of the sky. The marginal alternative is too literal. Better, across the firmament, i.e., between it and the observer. Add, with the Greek Version, at the end of the verse, and it was so. 21. And God created. Better, Thus God created. Sea-monsters. Better, monsters. The original word is oftenest used of crocodiles. See Is. 27 : 1, etc. If the author had in mind other creatures than now exist, they were probably fabulous. For which the waters brought forth abundantly, read, with SV, wherewith the waters swarm, or, better still, wherewith the water swarms. Kinds. Better, with SV, kind. 22. Be fruitful. A special fiat bestowing the power of reproduction, 34 GENESIS 23. in "the seas, and let "fowl multiply in 1 the earth. And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth °2 the living creature * after its 3 kind, "cattle, and "creeping thing,3 and "beast 3 of the earth after its 3 kind : and it was so. 25. "And God made the beast 3 of the earth after its 3 kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the ground after its kind : and God saw 26. that it was good. And God said, "Let us make man "in our image, after our likeness: "and let them have 1 SV on. » SV living creatures. 3 SV plu. The seas. Better, although the original is plural, the sea. Fowl. SV birds; better, the flying things, with the article. (f) The sixth day, 1 : 24-31. On this, as on the third day, two acts are performed ; first the land animals are created, and then man. 24. The living creature. Better, with SV, although the original is singular, living creatures, without the article. The term includes three classes: first, cattle, or domestic animals; second, creeping thing (SV things), or reptiles and other smaller animals; third, beast (SV beasts) of the earth, or larger wild animals. 25. And God made. Better, Thus God made. In this verse the order of the classes above mentioned is changed, but the change has no apparent significance. 26. Let us make. The use of the plural in this passage has been variously interpreted, but there are only two explanations that need be considered. The first is based on the fact that the Hebrew word for God is plural, also the one for Lord when it refers to the Deity. It is argued that these plurals denote, not a number of persons, but a combination of characteristics, and that the expression here used is of the same nature. There are, however, strong reasons to the con trary. In the first place, it is by no means certain that the name God is a pluralis majeslatis; and secondly, if it is, the fact that the Hebrews used the plural in speaking to or of him is not, in the absence of any clearer examples, sufficient ground for supposing that they represented him as using the plural of himself. More satisfactory is the explanation that, since the Hebrews believed there was a heavenly court (Ps. 89: 7 1 8), and the angels who composed it were created be fore man (Jb. 38 : 7), God here associates with himself these exalted beings. See n : 7, but especially Is. 6 : 8, where the reference to them seems unmistakable. In our image, after our likeness. Any 35 I : 27 GENESIS dominion over the fish of the sea, and over "the fowl of the air,1 and over the cattle, and over "all z the earth,2 and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the 27. earth. "And God created man °3 in his own image,3 in the image of God created he him; "male and female 28. created he them. And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and "subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over 29. "every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold I have given you "every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and "every 1 SV heavens. a Syr. the beasts of the earth, s Gr. om. attempt to make a distinction between the image of God and his likeness is idle. The two words are evidently synonyms. What they mean appears from the next sentence, where the clause and let them have dominion is equivalent to, that they may have dominion. The image of God, therefore, must consist in endowments that fit the re cipient to share God's dominion over the rest of creation. See 9 : 2; Ps. 8 : 6 ff. The fowl of the air. Better, the birds of heaven, here and elsewhere. The phrase all the earth makes no sense in this con nection, but the beasts of the earth the reading of the Syriac Version, is what is wanted. Note the omission of the usual statement and it was so at the end of this verse. 27. And God created. Better, Thus God created. The phrase in his own image is wanting in the Greek Version, and it is not im possible that it should be omitted. Male and female. Thus, accord ing to this account, man and woman were created on the same day, and both of them after the creation of all the animals. Comp. 2:73. 28. The blessing bestowed upon man surpasses that pronounced upon the lower animals by the prospect that he may subdue the earth which both are to inhabit. Every living thing that moveth. An in clusive expression for the three classes of land animals. See v. 26. 29. Every herb yielding seed. All the grains, or, more exactly, the seeds they bear. Every tree. More exactly, the fruit of these trees. For meat. SV rightly substitutes, for this antiquated expression, for food. This food, it will be observed, is entirely vegetable, man, according to the author, not being permitted to kill animals for any purpose until after the Flood. See 9 : 3. 36 GENESIS tree in the 1 which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed ; to 30. you it shall be "for meat 2 : "and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to "every thing that creepeth upon the earth, "wherein there is life,3 °I have given "every green herb for meat 2 : and it was 31. so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was "very good. And there was evening and there was morning, "the sixth day. 2. "And the heaven and the earth were finished, and 1. all "the host of them. And on "the seventh * day God 1 SV om. a SV food. 3 m. a living soul. « Gr. Syr. sixth. 30. The enumeration of the animals in this verse is irregular and confusing. The easiest way to explain it is to suppose that the first item, and to every beast of the earth, has been added to the original text. When this is omitted and the absence of the fishes explained by their confinement to another element, the verse takes a form cor responding to that of v. 28. Every thing that creepeth. Better, as in v. 28, every thing that moveth, for the verb is the same, and it is clear from the added clause, wherein there is life (m. u, living soul), that all the land animals are included. The verb I have given is not in the original, but it is properly supplied. Every green herb. The animals, too, it appears, were confined to a vegetable diet. In other words, the relations among the animals, as between them and man, at the beginning was the ideal one described in Is. 11 : 6 ff., in which the creatures of God neither hurt nor destroy one another. 31. Very good. The full excellence of his work did not appear until it was completed. The satisfaction of the author seems to be indicated by the fact that he numbers this last working day the, not a, sixth day. (g) The seventh day, 2 : 1-3. God rests and sanctifies the day as a day of rest. This paragraph is as much a part of the first account of creation as any of those preceding. It ought, therefore, to have been included in the first chapter. 1. The connection would be more apparent if the first clause had been rendered, not And the heaven and the earth were finished, but Thus heaven and earth were finished. The host of them. Better, their host, the term host including, not only the heavenly bodies, but the multitude of creatures with which the lower world had been furnished. 2. The seventh day. The Greek and Syriac versions have the 37 2 : 3 GENESIS finished his work1 which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And "God blessed the seventh day and "hal lowed it: because that in it he rested from all "his work which God had created and made. < Gr. Syr. works. sixth day; but this seems an unnecessary correction, for the state ment that God finished his work may here be understood as meaning that with the beginning of the seventh day he put an end to his creative activity. This, the evident meaning of the author, might be expressed by translating the whole verse, And when, on the seventh day, God had finished his work (Gr. Syr. works), he rested on the seventh day, etc. The sense would have been clearer still if the phrase on the seventh day had been used only in the latter half of the verse. The seventh, of course, like the other six, is a literal day. The statement, there fore, that on it God rested implies that on the next he resumed his activity, but naturally as a governor rather than a creator. 3. God blessed the seventh day ; gave it its function as a day of relief from labor. Hallowed it ; consecrated it to this and no other purpose. His work which God had created and made. This rendering hardly does justice to the original. Better, his work which, as Creator, he had done, or his creative work which he had done. This is the first account of creation. It is not, as has sometimes been claimed, a poem, but a sober attempt to explain the origin of the visible world, and, when one considers its antiquity, a very successful one. There is no other so early that can be compared with it. Indeed, it teaches the unity of nature and a gradual development of the world as clearly as modern science. The ideas of God and man, also, which it suggests are lofty and inspiring, and calculated to stimulate piety and morality. It must, however, have become plain to any one who has followed the preceding discussion that this ancient cosmogony cannot be regarded as a history of the process by which the world was created. For such knowledge, so far as it has ever been revealed, one must consult the records of modern science. (2) The second account of creation, 2 : 4-25 This is mainly an extract from the Judean narrative, and bears the stamp of its origin. It deals especially with the creation of mankind, the introduction of other creatures being merely incidental. Accord ing to the author woman was not created at the same time with man, but after an interval during which the garden in Eden was planted. 38 GENESIS 2 : 5 4. s These are x the generations of the heaven and of R the earth "when they were created, | °in the day that °2 the J 5. Lord 2 "God * made °3 earth and heaven.3 And "no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up ¦ for the Lord "God * had 1 Gr. This is the book of. * SV, everywhere, Jehovah, s Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. heaven and, earth. Hence it will be convenient to divide the account into three para graphs. The whole, in its present form, is furnished with a title, 4a, which is in the style of the first account, and was probably sup plied by the compiler. The clause when they were created seems to have been added to indicate that this second account was to be re garded as a more detailed parallel to the first. (a) The creation of man; 2 : 4b-7. The barren earth is blessed with moisture, and man is created to care for it and enjoy its fruits. 4b. This clause is now simply a repetition of the first half of the verse, but originally it belonged with v. 5. In the day ; at the time, the word day here being used in a more general sense than in chapter 1. The LORD. This title, which here appears for the first time, is a substitute for a proper name for which SV has Jehovah. The latter, however, is not correct. The name in question was pronounced Yahweh. The Jews, becoming superstitious about it, adopted the practice of substituting for it, when they read their Scriptures, a word ('"dhonay) meaning Lord, or, more exactly, my Lord. To prevent any one from using it by mistake, they wrote it with the vowels of the substitute, thus producing -fhowah. They never attempted to pronounce this hybrid form, but in the sixteenth century it became a recognized name for the Deity among Christians. The use of the original Yahweh, as has been explained in the Introduction, is a peculiarity of the Judean narrative. From this point to the end of chapter 3 it is followed by God, which seems to have been inserted by the compiler to remind the reader that the Yahweh of this account and the God of the first were one and the same Creator. It will hereafter be marked by an asterisk in the text and ignored in the comments. Earth and heaven. The Samaritan and the great versions have heaven and earth, but this is probably a correction. Perhaps the original reading had simply earth. There is no further reference to the upper world. 5. In the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven, i.e., when he first made it, or when he took in hand to fit it for human occupancy, — so the story ran, — no plant of the field was yet in the earth. For plant read shrub, as in 21 : 15. No herb ; no vegetation of any sort. 39 2 : 6 GENESIS not caused it to rain upon L the earth, and "there was 6. not a man to till the ground; but there "went up "a mist 2 from the earth, and "watered "the whole face of 7. the ground. And the Lord God * "formed man 3 "of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nos trils "the breath of life ; and man a became "a living soul. 8. And the Lord God * planted "a garden "eastward, 1 Syr. upon the face of. ' Gr. Vg. Syr. spring; Tar. cloud. 3 Sam. Syr. Adam. God had not caused it to rain. According to 1 : 2, the solid portion of the earth was at first submerged in water; here it is represented as a desert for lack of moisture. The reason why Yahweh had not sup plied this lack was that there was not a man to till the ground. Com pare the first account, where the advent of man is postponed until the earth is otherwise completely furnished. 6. A mist. The versions read a spring, and some modern scholars adopt a similar rendering ; but, since it was rain that the earth needed, it must have been a mist that went up and, descending as rain, watered, saturated, the whole face of the ground. See Jb. 36 : 27, where the same Hebrew word is again used in connection with rain and trans lated vapor. Where the moisture came from, the author does not say; perhaps from the sea, although he does not mention its existence. 7. Formed man; moulded him, as a potter fashions a dish or a figure. Of the dust of the ground. Better, out of dust from the ground. The author seems to have intended to teach that man ('adham) was so called because he was taken from the ground Cadhamah). The breath of life ; the life that manifests itself in the process of breathing. A living soul. The phrase is used several times in chapter 1 ; once in the sense of life (v. 30), but elsewhere in that of living creature. See vs. 20, 21, 24. It has the latter meaning in this instance, man being simply classified as a being endowed with life, the first to be created, without reference to his rank in that order. Compare 1 : 26 ff., and the exalted position which he is there given. (b) The garden in Eden, 2 : 8-17. This passage has a twofold interpretation. In its present form it describes a garden with two remarkable trees, locating it in the well-watered plain of Babylonia; but as originally written, when it consisted only of vs. 8*, 9*, 16, 17*, it had only one such tree, and the location of the garden was in an unnamed part of the East. 8. A garden ; a park or orchard such as oriental monarchs culti vated. Eastward. The standpoint is that of the author, but there 40 GENESIS * in "Eden f ; and there he put the man whom he had 9. formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God * to grow every tree that is "pleasant to the sight, "and good for food ; °* the tree of life f also in the midst of the garden, and * "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. | 10. "And a river went out of Eden "to water the garden; J* and "from thence it was parted, and "became four heads. 11. The name of the first was "Pishon: that is it which has thus far been no indication where the story originated. This item, therefore, is not of much value. From 11 : 1, however, it appears that the earliest home of the race was westward or southwestward from Babylon, i.e., in northern Arabia ; which is at the same time eastward from Palestine. Here was the garden of the original story. Compare v. 10. Whether this region was called Eden or not is uncertain. 9. Pleasant to the sight ; beautiful on account of its form or foliage. And good for food. Better, or good for food, i.e., whose fruit was agree able. The tree of life. A tree from the fruit of which, according to 3 : 22, one might eat and live forever. From v. 17 and 3 : 3, how ever, it appears that there was only one tree in the midst of the garden, and that it was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The discrepancy can only be explained by supposing that the tree of life was borrowed from another similar story and inserted here as well as in chapter 3 by a later hand. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The nature of this tree, also, is indicated by its name and more fully explained in the sequel. It was a tree such that, if any one not endowed with moral judgment ate of its fruit, he or she would at once become competent to distinguish between right and wrong. See 3 : 7. 10. The story is here interrupted by a description of the means by which the garden was irrigated. And, better, Now, a river went out of Eden. Here Eden, which is the Hebrew form of the Assyrian Edinu, plain, is the plain of Babylonia. See Pinches, OT, 70. Com ing thence the river flowed (southward) so as to water the garden. From thence ; on leaving the garden. Became four heads ; became the source of four separate streams. 11. There is great difference of opinion with reference to the first two of these streams. It does not seem possible to identify them to the satisfaction of any large number of scholars. It is a plausible conjecture (Fried. Delitzsch) that the Pishon was a large canal, known by the name Pallukatu (Pallakopas), which, branching from the Euphrates below Babylon, passed Ur and emptied into the Persian Gulf by a separate mouth southwest of the main stream. One reason for supposing this canal to be meant is that it skirted the Arabian desert, II 2 : 12 GENESIS compasseth the whole land of "Havilah, where there is 12. "gold; and the gold of that land is "good1: there is 13. "bdellium and "the onyx 2 stone. And the name of the second river is "Gihon : the same is it that compasseth 14. the whole land of "Cush. And the name of the third river is "Hiddekel : that is it which goeth °3 in front 3 15. of Assyria. And the fourth river is "Euphrates.4 And 1 Sam. Vg. very good. a m. Syr. Tar. beryl. 3 m. toward the east. * SV the Euphrates. where, according to 10 : 29 (J2), the land of Havilah seems to have been situated. Here there was gold, says the text; also the Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser III., who received a quantity of it as tribute from one of the kings of the region. 12. Good. Better, as in the Samaritan text and the Vulgate, very good. Bdellium ; a yellowish aromatic gum known to have been found in ancient times in Arabia. The onyx stone ; more prob ably as in the margin, the beryl. See Ex. 28 : 9, 20, where it is among the symbolic ornaments of the high priest's ephod. 13. The identity of the Gihon, also, is doubtful; but, if the Pishon is one of the great canals of Babylonia, the probability is that this river is another. Such is the opinion of Fried. Delitzsch, who identifies it with the Gu'ande, now Shatt en-Nil, a canal that left the Euphrates at Babylon and, after sending a branch eastward to the Tigris, flowed southward past the ancient cities of Nippur and Uruk, rejoining the Great River in the vicinity of Ur. If this is correct, Cush is here, as in 10 : 8 ff. (J2), not Ethiopia, but Babylonia. 14. The identifications suggested are favored by the fact that the other two rivers are the Tigris and the Euphrates. The former is here called Hiddekel, Ass. Idiglat, and described as flowing in front of Assyria ; i.e., perhaps, through the eastern part of that country. The river Euphrates needed no description. It seems impossible to regard the four streams above mentioned as branches from one source ; still, as has been shown, they were really connected, and later Jews have recognized in the Euphrates the river of Paradise, saying of it, " when it divides, the others branch from it on either side, but it flows straight onward and forms in its course the fourth." If, how ever, this was the thought of the author, it is evident that he did not locate the garden in Arabia, but in Babylonia, an ancient name for which was Karduniash, The Garden of the Lord of the Lands. 15. The description of the river being complete, the reader is brought back by the repetition of the statement made in v. 8, and the ex- 42 GENESIS 2 : 1 8 the Lord God * took the man, and put him into the gar- 16. den of Eden "to dress it and to keep it. | And the Lord J God * commanded 1 the man,1 saying, "Of every tree of 17. the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of "the tree * of the knowledge of good and evil,f thou shalt not eat of it : for "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. •18. And the Lord God * said, "It is not good that the man J should be alone ; I will make him "an 2 help 3 meet for 9 1 Gr. Adam. * SV a always before h aspirated. 3 m. answering to. planation that Yahweh put the man into the garden to dress it and to keep it. 16. This verse is the proper continuation of v. 9. First Yahweh grants a general permission. Of every tree, better, of all the trees, of the garden thou mayest freely, or indeed, eat. 17. There follows immediately a restriction. In the present text the tree to which it applies is described as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ; but, since it is evident that the woman, before she was tempted, did not know what would be the effect of eating of its fruit, and that it was better for her and her husband not to know, the original reading here, as in 3 : 3, must have been, the tree which is in the midst of the garden. The change was made when the tree of life was introduced into the story. The reason for the prohibition is not given. The natural explanation is that the author regarded child hood as the ideal state, and that, therefore, he believed the first man to have been morally as immature and irresponsible as a child, and his Maker to have planned to keep him in this condition. To prevent him from thoughtlessly forfeiting his happiness Yahweh adds a pen alty, in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. He puts it, however, in such a, way that it can be interpreted otherwise, and the serpent later takes advantage of this ambiguity. See 3 : 4*. (c) The first woman, 2 : 18-25. Yahweh, finding that the hap piness of the man is incomplete, undertakes to provide him with a companion, and, after many trials, in which the lower animals are produced, succeeds and presents him with his counterpart. 18. It is not good is characteristic of this naive recital. Compare the goodness of everything created in the first account. An help meet for him ; his equal and complement. 43 2 : iq GENESIS 19. him. "And out of the ground the Lord God * formed * "every beast of the field, and "every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man "to see what he would call them : and whatsoever the man called "every * living 20. creature,! that was the name thereof. "And the man gave names to all cattle, and to 2 the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for man 8 there was not 21. found an help meet for him. And the Lord God* caused a "deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he 1 Sam. Gr. fur ther formed. ' Gr. Vg. Syr. add, all. ' m. Adam. 19. The rendering, And out of the ground the LORD formed, misses the connection and misplaces the emphasis. Read, Then the LORD formed. The idea is that Yahweh created them in an endeavor to produce something that would meet the man's need. For every beast and every fowl it would be better to say, with the Greek Version, all the beasts and all the birds. Observe that Yahweh uses the same material for the animals as for the man, and takes the same pains. The author would probably have said that he breathed into their nostrils also " the breath of life." Only two classes are mentioned. Perhaps the cattle, which appear in v. 20, have fallen out. There is no separate class of creeping things in this account; nor are the fishes mentioned. They were all brought to the man to see what he would call them, i.e., since the Hebrews thought of names as representing the things named, to see what they were, and at the same time to de cide whether any of them was suited to his need. In the next clause the phrase living creature is a gloss and the word every an addition by the translators. The remainder may be rendered, whatsoever the man called one, that was its name. 20. And the man gave. Better, Thus, the man gave. The list of animals should be rendered, all the cattle, all (Gr. Vg. Syr.) the birds of heaven, all the beasts of the field. In the last clause the original has and for Adam he found not; but Adam is certainly a mistake for the man, i.e., the same noun with the article, and it is probable that the verb should be passive as it is, not only in the English, but in the Greek, Latin, and Syriac translations. 21. The deep sleep that fell upon the man prevented him from suffering. There is nothing to indicate that it lasted beyond the length of time required for removing one of his ribs and closing the wound. 44 GENESIS 2 : 25 slept; and he took "one of his ribs, and closed up the 22. flesh instead thereof: and "the rib, which the Lord God * had taken from the man, 10 made he ' a woman, 23. and "brought her unto the man. And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh : she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out 24. of Man.2 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they s 25. shall be one flesh. And "they were both naked, the man and his wife, and "were not ashamed. 1 m. builded he into. ' Sam. Gr. Tar. her man. 3 Sam. from the two of them; Gr. Vg. Syr. they two. 22. The rib thus secured made he, lit. built into, a woman. Where the work was done, the writer does not indicate; but it was not in the man's presence, for he brought her unto the man, as he had brought all the animals. 23. The man at once recognizes his mate. This is now, lit. this time, bone of my bones, one of my bones ; and flesh of my flesh, a part of my flesh. The name given the new creature is an instance of the fondness of the Hebrew for alliteration and paronomasia ; for the words for the male and female of the human species are as nearly alike in Hebrew as in English, man being 'ish, and woman 'isshdh. The aptness of the figure in this case becomes even more noticeable if, with the Samaritans, one reads her man, Heb. 'ishah. It is, of course, taken for granted that the first pair spoke Hebrew. 24. Therefore, because she is a part of him, and he is incomplete without her, shall a man, if necessary, leave his father and his mother, break the strongest of other ties, and they shall be one flesh, that they may realize the ideal of marriage. It is difficult to decide to whom these words should be attributed, but it seems more like the author to put them into the mouth of one of his characters than to interject them as an expression of his own convictions. In the last clause the Samaritans and the Versions have the numeral two, and this is the reading recognized in the New Testament. See Mt. 19 : 5; Mk. 10 : 8; 1 Cor. 6 : 16. It is not, however, so important as some have claimed. It has no reference to the number of wives permissible, but simply defines the number of parties in any given case to the marriage relation. 25. They were both naked. Clothes were not required for comfort. and, as for propriety, — they were not ashamed. They were well 45 GENESIS 2. The Entrance of Evil, 3 : 1-24 J 3. Now "the serpent was "more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God * had made. And he J 1 Gr. Syr. the serpent. developed physically, and, as appears from the man's ability to name the animals, intellectually ; but, being without the knowledge of good and evil, they were as unconscious and innocent in their nudity as a pair of babies. The first account of creation was scientific, if one may use the term of a product of the fifth century before the Christian era. This being the case, there was some justice in testing it by modern theories of the origin of the material world. This second is poetical. The question, therefore, with reference to it is not, Does it convince? but Does it inspire? Judged by such a standard it deserves its place in Holy Writ; for although, for example, it is impossible to believe that the first woman was made from one of the first man's ribs, it cannot be denied that the ideal of marriage which this picture suggests is worthy of all admiration. The excellence of both of these accounts is most clearly seen when they are compared with the fantastic cosmogonies of other peoples. For those of the Babylonians, with which the Hebrews were evidently acquainted, see Pinches, Old Testament, 9 ff.; Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, 407 ff. How long the beauty and harmony of the newly created world re mained unmarred the book of Genesis does not disclose, but both of the narratives used in these first chapters teach that evil finally entered, bringing confusion, suffering, and disaster in its train. The Judean has an ingenious and suggestive description of the circumstances under which it made its appearance, and the immediate result to the first pair as representatives of humanity. (1) The serpent and its work, 3 : 1-7 The serpent by its cunning persuades the woman, and through her the man, to partake of the forbidden fruit; whereupon they suddenly become possessed of the power they lacked. 1. The serpent is neither Satan in disguise nor an allegorical figure. This is clear from the immediate connection, for the expression more subtil than any beast (better, all the beasts) of the field is the Hebrew way of saying more subtil than any other beast of the field. In othet 46 GENESIS 3 : 5 said unto the woman, "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not 2. eat of D1 any tree1 of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, Of 2 the fruit of 2 the trees of the 3. garden we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not 4. eat of it, "neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die: 5. for "God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and "ye shall be as God,3 ' m. all the trees. 'Or. all; Syr. the fruit of all. 3 m. Gr. Syr. gods; Tar. princes. words, the serpent is here expressly classified with the wild animals. See further vs. 14 f. This interpretation is not forbidden by the fact that it is represented as speaking. The author probably thought that all animals were originally gifted with speech. At any rate, he cred its this one with such power, and, in addition, with a shrewdness as wonderful as that of the fox in the fables. See Lk. 13 : 32. Yea, hath God said ? or Hath God really said ? denotes incredulity and condi tional disapprobation. Note that the serpent is not permitted to use the name Yahweh. The rendering any tree can hardly be correct. God said that the man and his wife might eat of all but one. To put into his mouth a denial of them all would be more reckless than cun ning; but to represent him as saying, Ye shall not eat of all the trees of the garden, i.e., to change the emphasis from the positive to the neg ative part of the divine utterance, is a shrewd device to mislead with out lying worthy of its author. See v. 4 f. 2 f. The woman restores the emphasis to the positive permission, but by adding to the prohibition neither shall ye touch it she herself accuses her Maker of severity. The fact that she describes the for bidden tree by its position, as has already been suggested, indicates that she is ignorant of its real properties. See 2:17 and comments. 4. It is not clear how one should suppose the woman to have under stood the threat of death. The serpent cunningly interprets it as meaning that death will be the direct effect of eating from the forbidden tree and boldly rejects any such idea. Ye shall not surely die; or better, Ye shall by no means die. 5. Having thus broken the force of the divine warning, the serpent describes the real effect of the forbidden fruit, but as something greatly to be desired. At the same time, by asserting that God doth know all this, it transforms his paternal anxiety into jealousy of his creatures. In the clause, ye shall be as God, the Greek and Syriac versions have 47 3 : 6 GENESIS 6. knowing good and evil. And when "the woman saw that the tree was "good for food, and that it was "a de light to the eyes, and that the tree was 1 to be desired J "to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat ; and "she gave also unto her husband with her, and 7. he did eat. And "the eyes of them both were opened, and "they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and "made themselves aprons.2 8. And they heard "the voice 3 of the Lord God * walking in the garden "in the cool of the day: and 1 m. desirable 10 look upon. 3 m. girdles. 3 m. sound. gods, and this is a possible rendering, but it does not essentially affect the sense. 6. The serpent's trick of concealing a great, but remote, evil behind a smaller, but nearer, good was successful. The woman saw only that the tree, or its fruit, was good for food, and not harmful; a delight to the eyes, tempting in appearance; and desirable to make one wise with respect to good and evil. She gave also unto her husband, who seems not to have been present during her interview with the serpent. 7. The eyes of them were opened. They suddenly found themselves possessed of the capacity for moral judgments. The first result of the operation of the new faculty was that they knew they were naked. i.e., for the first time in their lives experienced a sense of unfitness in their nude condition. If they had continued in this condition, the next phase of their experience would have been a sense of condemna tion, but they forestalled it when they made themselves aprons. Why they chose fig leaves for this purpose does not appear, unless it was because the fig tree, as one of the principal sources of their food, was more familiar to them than others. The appearance of this tree in the story has a bearing on the location of Paradise. It is not native to Babylonia. (2) The penalties of disobedience, 3 : 8—24 Yahweh appears on the scene, arraigns the offenders one after another, pronounces sentence upon them, and finally expels the man and his wife from the garden. In vs. 22 and 24 (J2) the tree of life appears again in a second conclusion. 8. The voice. Better, as in the margin, the sound, of the LORD, walking in the garden, taking his pleasure, as he was accustomed to do. In the cool, lit. wind, of the day ; toward evening, when the wind 48 GENESIS ° J the man x and his wife hid themselves from the pres ence of the Lord God * amongst the trees of the gar- 9. den. And "the Lord God * called unto the man, and 10. said unto him, 2 Where art thou ? 2 And he said, I heard thy voice 3 in the garden, and "1 4 was afraid, because 4 1 n. was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, "Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest 12. not eat? And the man said, The woman "whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did 13. eat. And the Lord God * said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done ? And the woman said, The ser- 14. pent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God * said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, 1 Sam. Adam. * Gr. Adam, where art thou? Syr. Where art thou, Adam? 3 m. sound. « Syr. saw that. began to blow. The man and his wife hid themselves. The usual explanation is that they were driven so to do by a sense of guilt. It is more probable, however, that the author here also intends to represent them as prompted by modesty. The story gains in effectiveness on this supposition. They were surprised in the midst of their efforts to provide themselves with clothing, and naturally took refuge amongst the trees of the garden. 9. The LORD called : another strongly anthropomorphic touch. 10. If the explanation given to v. 8 is correct, this one must be in terpreted as meaning that the man, forgetting for the time being that he had disobeyed Yahweh, unconsciously betrayed himself by the ex planation, I was afraid, because, or, as the Syriac Version reads, / saw that, I was naked. n. The climax is reached when Yahweh asks, Who told thee that thou wast naked? There is nothing finer, from the dramatic stand point, in the Old Testament. The second question is at the same time an accusation. 12. The man so understands it, and attempts a cowardly defence. He even, in the descriptive clause, whom thou gayest to be with me, undertakes to make his Maker a partner in her guilt. 14. Finding that the serpent was the original offender, Yahweh first E 49 3 = M 3 : 15 GENESIS cursed art thou "above s all cattle, and above s "every beast of the field; "upon thy belly shalt thou go, and 15. "dust shalt thou eat all the days of "thy life: and I will put "enmity between thee and the woman, and between "thy seed and "her seed: "it2 shall bruise3 thy head, 16. "and thou shalt bruise 3 his heel. Unto 4 the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy "sorrow 5 °* and thy conception f ; in "sorrow 5 thou shalt bring forth chil- 1 m. from among. ' SV he. 3 m. lie in wait for. * Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. And unto. J SV pain; Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. plu. pronounces sentence upon it. It is cursed above all cattle; better, all the cattle, and every beast of the field; better, all the beasts, i.e., the other beasts, of the field. In other words, it is condemned to a lot more miserable than that of any other animal. It will be transformed; for the decree, upon thy belly shalt thou go, implies that the serpent originally had a different form and less disagreeable habits. Dust shalt thou eat is a mere detail. An animal condemned to wriggle in the dust could hardly avoid swallowing more or less of it. By thy life is meant the duration, not of the individual that tempted the woman, but of the species of which it was the first representative. 15. A still more serious infliction is the enmity which Yahweh declares he will establish. Thy seed includes all serpents and her seed the whole human race. Thus, according to the author, arose the instinctive antipathy and hostility between man and snakes. He proceeds to show how this enmity will assert itself. It, better, with SV, he, meaning man, shall bruise thy head, and the heads of thy offspring; and thou, with thy offspring, shalt bruise his heel. The fact that man aims at the serpent's head, and the serpent at man's heel argues nothing as to the result of the feud. The head is simply the part where man can most effectually attack the serpent, and man's heel the place where the serpent can most easily inject its venom. 16. The sentence pronounced upon the woman is more difficult of interpretation. If, however, the phrase, and thy conception, which introduces a foreign thought, be removed, there is less difficulty. Next the rendering of the first clause must be corrected. It implies that the woman was already acquainted with sorrow. What the author really meant to make Yahweh say is, I will cause thee sore pain, which is immediately explained as referring to childbirth. It is not motherhood, then, that is here decreed, but the suffering which all mothers might have been spared had the first one not disobeyed her 5° GENESIS 3 : 19 dren; and thy "desire shall be to thy husband, and he 17. shall rule over thee. And unto "Adam* he said, "Be cause thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is "the ground for thy sake; in "toil1 shalt thou eat of it "all the days 18. of thy life; "thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth 19. to thee ; and thou shalt eat "the herb of the field ; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; "* for out of it thou wast taken f: for "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. ¦ Gr. Vg. plu. Maker. The second part of the sentence pronounced upon the woman has generally been understood as reflecting upon the continence of the sex; but the term desire here, as in Song of Sol. 7 : 10, may mean simply affection, and the whole that men will take advantage of their wives' very fondness for them to oppress them. Compare the ideal relation suggested in 2 : 24. 17. The woman's plea was ignored. That of the man, here by mistake called Adam, is noted only to be overruled. The ground of his condemnation is, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife. The evident teaching is that temptation is no excuse for transgression. For his fault the man is punished through the ground, whose fruits he has heretofore enjoyed without labor. Henceforth they will cost him toil, here painful labor, the Hebrew word being the same used of the pains of childbirth. After the words, all the days of thy life, supply in thought, and thy children after thee. 18. The ground, cursed for the man's sake, will not only become less fruitful; thorns also and thistles, hitherto unknown, shall it bring forth. Instead of plucking his food at will from the trees, he will be compelled to eat the herb of the field. Compare 1 : 29, according to which the " herb yielding seed " was a part of his food from the be ginning. 19. Now at last Yahweh introduces the penalty with which he had threatened the man in case of disobedience; at first incidentally, then in the solemn announcement, dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Thus, " through one man " death entered the world and " passed unto all men." The parenthetical clause, for out of it thou wast taken, is probably an interpolation. 5i 3 : 20 GENESIS J2 20. | And the man called his wife's name "Eve; because J 21. she was the mother of all living. | And the Lord God * made for "Adam * and for his wife "coats of skins, and J2 22. clothed them. | And the Lord God* said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also J 23. of the tree of life, and eat, and "live forever: | "there fore the Lord God * sent him forth from the garden * of Eden,| "to till the ground from whence he was taken. J2 24. | So he drove out the man; and he placed 1 at the east 1 Gr. adds, him. 20. This verse is evidently misplaced. It is inconceivable that the author of the foregoing inimitable story should have represented the first man as taking this opportunity to name his wife Eve (Heb. Hawwah, Life). The proper place for it is after 4 : 1, where she first becomes a mother, or better, after 4 : 25. 21. Here again, through the carelessness of a copyist, Adam has taken the place of the man. The coats of skins are a token of the recognition by Yahweh of an accomplished fact. Since the man and his wife have actually acquired the knowledge of good and evil, he helps them to adjust themselves to this experience. The skins from which these first garments were made must have been taken from animals slain by Yahweh's permission for the purpose. 22. In this verse the reader is suddenly transported from the garden to the court of heaven, where Yahweh is holding a council with his angels. He states the case as if it had not already been decided, and then, instead of asserting his own power over life and death, as he did in v. 19, proposes to deprive the offender of access to a tree of life, of which if he should eat he might still live forever. 23. In the story as originally written this verse immediately fol lowed v. 21 and formed the conclusion. The connection can be re stored by substituting for therefore the more correct rendering then. The final act of Yahweh is stated as simply as possible. The man, and naturally his wife with him, is sent forth, to till the ground from whence he was taken. He thus becomes the first husbandman. 24. This verse is a parallel to v. 23, but very different in tone and teaching. The impression made by v. 23 is that, when Yahweh commands, man has only to obey. Here Yahweh, after expelling man from the garden, is obliged to guard the entrance to prevent him 52 GENESIS 3 = 24 of the garden of Eden 1 "the Cherubim, and "the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 1 Gr. ins. and stationed. from returning. The Cherubim; winged figures that are sometimes represented as bearers of the Deity and sometimes, as in this instance, as guardians of sacred places. See Ex. 25 : 18 ff.; 1 Kgs. 6 : 23 ff. They seem to have symbolized the power of Yahweh as seen in storms. Hence, when they move, lightning attends them. See Ezek. 1:13; Ps. 18: 12 1 13. Here, also, there is the flame of a sword, a flaming sword, which turned every way, lit. that turned itself. See further, Hastings, DB, art. Cherubim. This chapter is often called " The Story of the Fall," but such a title does not properly describe it. The object of the author was to answer some of the questions that have always troubled humanity: Why must women suffer as they do in childbirth? Why must men labor as they do for daily bread? and, Why must all at last suc cumb to death ? He explains these experiences as penalties inflicted upon the race for the fault of its first representatives. The modern reader cannot accept this answer; but he must admire the knowledge of human nature displayed in the chapter, and subscribe to the practical lesson, "Fear God and keep his commandments," which it enforces. 53 II. The Degeneration of Mankind, 4:1-6:4 1. Cain and his Descendants, 4 : 1-24 J 4. And the man knew "Eve * his wife ; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man x with" the V 2. help of1 2the Lord.2| And againshe bare his brother Abel. 1 Gr. Vg. through; Syr. for; Tar. from. • Gr. Vg. God. The author of chapter 3 did not attempt to trace the moral effects of the first disobedience. A later writer (J2), however, whose work finally became a part of the same narrative, undertook to show that mankind grew worse from one generation to another until Yahweh was obliged to destroy them. The Priestly narrative, although it recorded no fall, taught the same doctrine. When, therefore, it was, added to the compilation, this thought became very prominent. It is first presented in connection with the story of the Cainites. In this section have been brought together materials from two sources, the story of the first murderer (J2) having been inserted into an older (J) genealogy of the Cainites and it must be read in the light of this fact. (1) The first murderer, 4 : 1-16 Cain, angry and jealous because Abel's sacrifice is accepted and his own rejected, slays his brother. Being called to account by Yahweh, he at first treats the matter lightly, but on receiving a sentence of banishment, realizes its seriousness, and receives a mitigation of his punishment. 1. The name Eve, as explained under 3: 20, could hardly be used until after this verse. Read, therefore, simply his wife, as in the pre ceding chapter. Note that it is the mother who names the child. The words put into her mouth, I have gotten a man, must not be inter preted as meaning that the name Cain is derived from the Hebrew verb Kanah, get. It is only another of the numerous instances of alliteration found in this book. See 2 : 7 ; 5 : 29. In the last phrase the translators have supplied the help of, but the Targum reads front with= from, which is preferable. Perhaps 3:20 originally followed this verse. 3, Here properly begins the story pf Cain. The fact that it calls S4 GENESIS 4 : 7 And Abel was "a keeper of sheep, but Cain was "a tiller 3. of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of "the fruit of the ground "an offer- 4. ing unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of "the firstlings of his flock * and of "the fat thereof.f And the Lord "had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5. but unto Cain and to his offering "he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and "his countenance fell. 6. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? 7. and why is thy countenance fallen? "If thou doest well, ° J shalt thou not be accepted i ? and if thou doest not well, "sin coucheth at the door, * and unto thee 7a. Gr. Iftlwu bringesl rightly, but dost not rightly divide, hast tlwu not sinned ? Be still. ¦ m. SV shall il not be lifted up ? Abel a keeper of sheep is one of the proofs that it did not belong to the original Judean narrative, since that says in v. 20 that Jabal was the first shepherd. Cain, being the elder, followed the calling of his father and became a tiller of the ground. 3. The fruit of the ground : tribute in kind. An offering unto the LORD. This is the first reference to worship or sacrifice, but it seems to imply a practice of some duration. 4. The firstlings of his flock. In later times the law required that the first-born of all domestic animals be set apart to Yahweh. See Ex. 13 : 12. When they were offered in sacrifice, however, it was only the fat thereof, as some one has been careful to add in this instance, that was consumed on the altar. The phrase should therefore be ren dered, even of their fat. To this latter offering Yahweh had respect, gave heed, and showed it in some way not mentioned. 5. To the other he had not respect. In v. 7 the Greek Version has a rendering implying that Cain had not properly presented his offering, but the whole trend of the story indicates that the reason why it was rejected was in the character of the offerer. At any rate, Cain now manifests an ugly disposition. His countenance fell; he became downcast and sullen. 6 f. Yahweh first rebukes Cain, then reasons with him. If thou doest well implies that Cain has not fulfilled this condition. Shalt thou not be accepted? SV has shall it, thy countenance, not be lifted up? A more exact rendering would be, Is there not uplifting, i.e., of the face, acceptance. See 32 : 21. Otherwise sin coucheth at 55 4 : 8 GENESIS 1 shall be his • desire, 2 and thou shalt rule over him.2 f 8. And "Cain told3 Abel his brother.4 And it came to pass, when they were in "the field, that Cain rose up against g. Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother ? And he said, "I io. know not: am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? "the voice of thy brother's blood ii. crieth unto me from the ground. . And now cursed art thou "from the ground, which hath opened her 5 mouth 7b. Gr. unto thee its return, and thou shalt rule over it; Syr. thou shalt return to him, and he shall rule aver thee. * m.is its; S V shall be its. 3 m. but thou shouldest rule over it; SV but do thou rule over it. ' m. said unto. * Gr. Vg. Syr. add, Let us go into the field. s SV its. the door. This rendering is misleading. In the first place, the sen tence should have the interrogative form. Secondly, the verb, which never means to prepare for a spring, should be translated by a less ambiguous English word. Read, therefore, Doth not sin lie at the door f The meaning seems to be the same as in Dt. 29 : 20I19, where Moses says of an offender, " Yahweh will not pardon him, but .... the curse . . . shall lie upon him." The mistaken interpretation is older than the English Version. It probably suggested the addition of the last clause. The words were taken from 3 : 16 and were ap parently intended to teach that even after being expelled from Para dise man had power to resist evil. The rendering that puts the two clauses into antithesis (m. SV), therefore is indefensible. The Syriac, Thou shalt return to him and he shall rule over thee, is by no means so objectionable. It means that he who does a wrong act puts himself in danger of becoming the slave of evil. 8. The rendering Cain told Abel is clearly wrong. The verb here used means say and must be followed by the thing said. The trans lators should therefore have followed the Versions and inserted the speech that they have preserved, Let us go into the field. The way is thus prepared for a reference to the field where Cain slew his brother. 9. The reply of Cain to Yahweh's inquiry marks an advanced stage of wickedness. His statement, I know not, was false, and his question, am I my brother's keeper ? as heartless as it was impudent. 10. The voice of thy brother's blood. An equally correct, and more impressive, rendering would be, Hark I thy brother's blood. See Ps. 29 : 4 ff. n f. The phrase from the ground has generally been interpreted as 56 GENESIS 4 = is 12. to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, "it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her 1 strength ; "a fugitive and a wanderer 13. shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, 2 My "punishment 2 is greater than 3 I can bear.3 14. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from "the face of the ground : and from thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth ; and it shall come to pass that "whosoever findeth me shall 15. slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore 4 whosoever slayeth Cain, "vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.5 And the Lord appointed "a sign "for 1 SV its. 3 m. Mine iniquity. 3 m. can be forgiven. < Gr. Vg. Syr. Not so. s Tar. unto seven generations. meaning banishment, but the close connection between the curse and the announcement, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her, bet ter its, strength, makes it probable that the latter was meant to ex plain the former. The increased niggardliness of the soil would naturally conduce to make the guilty man a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. 13. Cain's reply is not, as the margin would make it, a confession of iniquity, but a protest against the severity of the punishment inflicted. 14. The face of the ground is here the cultivated region in which the murderer was born and reared. There Yahweh had revealed himself. One who left it would be hid from the face of his God, i.e., beyond his protection. Whosoever findeth me shall slay me. The lex talionis, an immemorial institution among the Hebrews, required precisely what Cain feared. See 9 : 6; Ex. 21 : 12; Num. 35: 19. There was not at this time, however, so far as one can learn from Genesis, a human being in existence except him and his parents. There is evidently something wrong. The most reasonable explana tion is that this story not only is by a different writer from the original Jahvist, but has been inserted too early in his narrative. 15. The lex talionis is suspended in Cain's case, and any would-be avenger threatened with vengeance sevenfold ; not, as the Targum explains, to seven generations, but on seven of his family. See 2 Sam. 2r : 5 ff. A sign. The nature of this sign cannot be determined. Whatever it was, whether a word or gesture he was instructed to use, 57 4 : 1 6 GENESIS 16. Cain, lest any finding him should smite him. And Cain went out from "the presence of the Lord, and "dwelt in the land of "Nod, 1 on the east of 1 Eden. J 17. And "Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare "Enoch: and "he builded a city, and called the name of the city, "after the name of * his son,f Enoch. 1 m. in front of. or a mark on his body, it was for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him; more exactly, that any one meeting him should not smite him. 16. The presence of the LORD : the region in which he had previously lived under the protection of Yahweh. The latter half of this verse is usually attributed to the older Jahvist, the verb dwelt being sup posed to forbid its connection with the foregoing story; but the name Hod (Wandering) certainly favors such a connection. Moreover it seems proper to say of a nomad that he dwells in the land in which he wanders. There is a tendency to give to this story a broader significance than appears on the surface. Cain, say many modern scholars, is not an individual but a tribe, the Kenites of southern Canaan, and the sign appointed by Yahweh their tribal mark. In favor of this view is the fact that in Num. 24 : 22 Cain (Kain) is another name for the Kenite. There are, however, two considerations that weigh heavily against it: viz., that the Hebrews traced their own lineage from wandering an cestors, and that they and the Kenites were always on the most friendly terms. See 1 Sam. 15 : 6. (2) The line of Cain, 4 : 17-24 This extract from the Judean narrative has the form of a genealogy, but its genealogical outline is the framework of a sketch of the history of the earliest civilization. 17. Cain knew his wife. Where he got her, the writer does not say. If Cain is here the son of the first man, he must have married his sister. Perhaps, however, as some hold, he was the Kenan of 5 : 29, the great-grandson of Adam; in which case he had a larger choice. They had a son, Enoch. Having mentioned his name, the writer proceeds with the statement he builded a city, the subject of which one naturally identifies with Enoch. This interpretation is also favored by the fact that in v. 20 it is the son who is celebrated. It must there fore have been Enoch who built the first city and called it, not after the name of his son, but after his own name. 58 GENESIS 4 : 23 18. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and "Irad begat "Mehujael: and Mehujael x begat "Methushael : and 19. Methushael begat "Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was "Adah, and 20. the name of the other "Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal : he was "the father of such 2 as dwell in tents and have 21. cattle. And his brother's name was J ubal: he was "the 22. father of all such as handle the harp and pipe. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-"*cain,3 4 the forger f of every cutting instrument 4 of brass 5 and iron : and the 23. sister of Tubal-*cain f was "Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives: 1 Heb. Mehijael. ' Tar. all such. 3 Gr. om. * m. an instructor of every ar tificer; Tu. chief of those skilled in work. s m. copper. 18. The next three in the list, Irad, Mehujael or Mehijael, and Methushael, are mere names, with nothing to their credit. They are all capable of more than one interpretation. See Dillmann. La mech, or, more correctly, Lemech, is the first polygamist. The names of his wives, Adah (Morning) and Zillah, better Sillah (Shadow), perhaps represent contrasted types of female beauty.' 20. The father of such, or, with the Targum, all such, as dwell in tents and have cattle; the first to lead the wandering life of shepherds and herdsmen. Compare 3 : 2, where another author makes Abel the first shepherd. 21. The father of all such as handle the harp and pipe, better the pipe; the first musician. The instruments named are the simplest used among the Hebrews. The first was David's favorite. See 1 Sam. 16 : 16 ff. The two are mentioned together Jb. 21 : 12; 30 : 31. That Jabal and Jubal are brothers points to an intimate relation between music and the pastoral life. The Greek god Pan was a musician as well as a shepherd. 22. The first half of this verse, in its present form, is unintelligible. The name Cain should probably be omitted, as in the Greek Version, and the remainder of the clause corrected, with the help of the Tar gum, to the father of all such as work in brass, better copper, and iron. Naamah (Pleasant) is another example of the poetical char acter of Hebrew names for women. 23. The speech of Lemech furnishes a good illustration of the form 59 4 : 24 GENESIS "Adah and Zillah, "hear my voice; "Ye wives of Lamech, "hearken unto my speech : For I : have slain 1 a man 2 for wounding me,2 And a young man 3 for bruising me 3 : 24. If "Cain shall "be avenged sevenfold, Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. 2. The Line of Seth, 4 : 25-5 : 32 J2 25. And Adam knew his wife again4 *; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth 5 : For, said she, "God 1 m. will slay. a m. to my wounding. s ra. lo my hurt. + Gr. om. s m. Shelh. of Hebrew poetry. It consists of six lines, which, although they can not be scanned by the classical method, can be pronounced in ap proximately the same length of time. The most noticeable thing about them, however, is that they form pairs in which the thought of the first line is repeated or otherwise emphasized in the second. In the first couplet there is a double parallelism, Adah and Zillah cor responding to Ye wives of Lamech, and hear my voice to hearken unto my speech. The next two lines contain the gist of the poem, the boast of a savage returned from a. foray. He has slain two persons, an older and a younger, for a mere wound inflicted upon him. 24. Cain does not here seem to be the same person as in vs. 2-16, but a more heroic figure whose prowess was celebrated. Lemech is so elated by his recent achievement that he dreams of far outdoing even him. For be avenged a more suitable rendering would be avenged himself. The numerals are not to be taken literally, but as an ex pression for an extravagant ratio. The aim of the original author of the above paragraph was to present to his readers some of the traditional lore in which he and they were interested. He seems to have seen in Lemech a picturesque embodi ment of the rude vigor of early times. The compiler, however, by giving the passage its present place in his work made him an example of the growing corruption for which the race was finally destroyed. The genealogy of the Cainites was traced nearly to the time of the Flood. The narrative now returns to the beginning to follow another line, that of Seth, a third son of Adam. The subject is presented under two heads. 60 GENESIS hath appointed me another * seed * instead of Abel ; 26. for Cain slew him.f And to Seth, to him also there was born a son ; and "he called his name Enosh : ° 1 then began men 1 to call upon the name of the Lord.2 5. This is the book of the generations of "Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made 2. he him; male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam,3 in the day 1 Gr. Vg. this one began. * Gr. adds God. 3 m. Man. (1) A Genealogical Fragment, 4 : 25, 26. It contains only three names including Adam's. The more common opinion is that it is the beginning of a list by the second Jahvist, but there are those who would insert it, in a form having no reference to Cain or Abel, before 4 : 1, thus bringing the preceding genealogy into harmony with chapter 5. 25. God hath appointed. Here again the Hebrew employs alliteration, which might be reproduced by substituting for ap pointed the equivalent set. Here, perhaps, 3 : 20 can most ap propriately be inserted. 26. He called. In vs. 1 and 25 it was the mother who named her child; and this seems to have been the more ancient practice. Then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. This statement has been variously understood, but it probably means that Enosh was the first to use the divine name Yahweh. This, to be sure, does not harmonize with the fact that the name is put into the mouth of Eve in v. 1 , but the discrepancy can be explained as an indication of difference of author ship. In the Greek and Latin versions the difficulty seems to have been met by changing the Yahweh of v. 1 to God. (2) Ten generations, 5 : 1-32 This genealogy from the Priestly narrative attaches itself to 2 : 3 and spans the entire period from Adam to Noah. It is entirely barren of details, except in v. 29, where a fragment from another source has been inserted. 1 f. The connection with the first account of creation is made by a brief resume of that part relating to the creation of man. The name by which he called the first pair should be rendered, not Adam, but, as in the margin, Man. See 1 : 26. 61 5 : 3 GENESIS 3. when they were created. And "Adam lived an1 hun dred and thirty years, and begat a son "in his own like- 4. ness,z after his image ; and called his name Seth : and the days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight 3 hun- 5. dred years: and "he begat sons and daughters. And all the days that Adam lived were "nine hundred and 6. thirty years : and "he died. And Seth lived "an x hun- 7. dred and five years, and begat "Enosh : and Seth lived' after he begat Enosh eight 3 hundred and seven years, 8. and begat sons and daughters : and all the days of Seth were "nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. 9. And Enosh lived ninety 4 years, and begat "Kenan : 1 Gr. two. ' Sam. Gr. Vg. add, and. 3 Gr. seven. *¦ Gr. a hundred and ninety. 3. The statement that Adam lived an hundred and thirty years and begat a child implies that the child then begotten was his first, and this inference is confirmed by the addition of in his likeness, etc. A detail of this kind would be superfluous in the case of any later child. The author of this genealogy, therefore, ignores the line of Cain. Com pare 4 : 25 f., where both are recognized. 4. He begat sons and daughters; but none of them finds a place in this record. 5. Nine hundred and thirty years. These figures are so large that various attempts have been made to reduce them to credible dimen sions; but there is no ground for supposing that Adam represents a period, or the term year less than twelve literal months. He died; not, according to this writer, as the result of a curse pronounced upon the race, — ¦ for he ignores the Fall, also, — but in the order of nature. He teaches that from the beginning men were appointed to die, but that those who pleased God were allowed to live longer than their fellows. 7. The law just stated reveals itself in this genealogy, in which originally the deterioration of mankind was indicated by a gradual shortening of the lives of the successive generations. Naturally the first period was correspondingly shortened; as in the case of Seth, who lived only an hundred and five years before begetting his first-born Enosh. 8. The total of his years, although his second period was a little longer than Adam's, reached only nine hundred and twelve. 9. The name Kenan recalls Cain; but there would be little signifi- 62 GENESIS 5 : 17 10. and Enosh lived after he begat Kenan eight 1 hundred n. and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years : 12. and he died. And Kenan lived seventy2 years, and 13. begat Mahalalel: and Kenan lived after he begat Mahalalel eight 1 hundred and forty years, and begat 14. sons and daughters: and all the days of Kenan were 15. nine hundred and ten years : and he died. And Maha- 16. lalel lived sixty3 and five years, and begat Jared: and Mahalalel lived after he begat Jared eight 1 hundred 17. and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety 1 Gr. seven. s Gr. a hundred and seventy. 3 Gr. a hundred and sixty. cance in the resemblance if this were the only case. In point of fact, for each of the remaining names of this list there is a corresponding name, not always in the same relative position, in the Cainite geneal ogy, as appears from the following table: Cainites Sethites Cain Kenan Enoch ^^__^-Mahalalel Irad ~~~2f^=-~z^Z^~^_ Jared Mehujael ' " Enoch Methushael Methuselah Lemech Lemech The natural inference from this fact is that the genealogy of this chapter was based on that of chapter 4, and, as has been suggested, was intended to displace it. 11. In 4 : 26 Enosh is said to have been the first to use the divine name Yahweh. There is no reference to the matter here, the reason being that this author taught that the name was first revealed toMoses and carefully avoided the use of it until Ex. 6 : 2. 12. Mahalalel, who corresponds to the Mehujael of the Cainite genealogy, here takes the place of Enoch, who thus becomes " the seventh from Adam." See Jude 14. 14. Kenan lived nine hundred and ten years, being the only one of the.first nine in the list, according to the correct text, who lived longer than his father. 63 5 : 1 8 GENESIS 18. and five years: and he died. And Jared lived * an 19. hundred 1 f sixty and two years, and begat Enoch : and Jared lived after he begat Enoch °*2 eight hundred 2f 20. years and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of Jared were °*3 nine hundred sixty and two 3f years : 21. and he died. And Enoch lived 4 sixty and five 4 years, 22. and begat Methuselah: and Enoch °* walked with God f after he begat Methuselah three 5 hundred years, 23. and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of 24. Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for "God 25. took him. And Methuselah lived °*6 an hundred 26. eighty 6f and seven years, and begat Lamech : and Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech °*7 seven hun dred eighty and two 7f years, and begat sons and daugh- 27. ters: and all the days of Methuselah were °*8 nine hun- 28. dred sixty and nine 8f years : and he died. And Lamech 1 Sam. om. 3 Sam. seven hundred eighty and five. 3 Sara, eight hundred forty and seven. « Gr. a hundred sixty and five, s Gr. two. 6 Sam. sixty; Gr. a hun dred sixty. 1 Sam. six hundred fifty and three; Gr. eight hundred and two. 8 Sam. seven hundred and twenty. 18. An hundred sixty and two years. Here the received text fol lows the Greek Version, which regularly adds a hundred years to the original length of the first period. The Samaritans have the correct reading, sixty and two. 19 f. For eight hundred read, with the Samaritans, seven hundred eighty and five. The total of Jared's, more correctly Jered's, years thus becomes eight hundred forty and seven instead of nine hundred sixty and two. 22. Walked with God in this verse is probably an error for lived. 23 f. Enoch was the first of the antediluvians to finish his earthly life ; but it was because, as a reward for his exceptional piety, God took him; translated him to the divine abode. The Babylonian Noah was similarly honored. 25-27. For an hundred eighty and seven read, with the Samaritans, sixty and seven, and for seven hundred eighty and two, six hundred fifty and three. The total for Methuselah thus becomes, not nine hundred sixty and nine, but seven hundred and twenty. In this case 64 GENESIS lived °*J an hundred eighty and two xf years, and begat | 29. a son : and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall °2 comfort us 2 "for3 our work and for3 the toil of our hands, 4 because of 4 the ground which "the Lord 30. hath cursed. | And Lamech lived after he begat Noah °*5 five hundred ninety and five 5f years, and begat sons 31. and daughters: and all the days of Lamech were °*° seven hundred seventy and seven 6f years: and he 32. died. And Noah was "five hundred years old: and Noah 7 begat "Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 1 Sam. fifty 'and three ; Gr. a hundred eighty and eight. 3 Gr. give us rest. 3 SV in. « m. which cometh from ; SV which cometh because of. s Sam. six hundred; Gr. five hundred sixty and five. 6 Sam. six hundred fifty and three; Gr. seven hundred fifty and three. 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. he. the Jewish scribes have taken twenty years from the second period and added them to the first to prevent the patriarch from outliving the Flood, as, according to the Greek Version, he actually did. Ac cording to the Samaritans not only he, but Jered and Lemech also, perished in the Flood. 28. For an hundred eighty and two read, with the Samaritans, fifty and three. 29. The monotony of the genealogical style is here broken by the insertion of a brief extract from the Judean narrative. See the name Yahweh (Lord). Comfort us. This form of expression was chosen for the sake of an alliteration between the verb (Heb. naham) and the name of Noah. For our work; lit. from our work, i.e., in spite of it. The LORD hath cursed. The reference is to the curse of 3 : 17. How the child will relieve his family is not clear ; perhaps by the discovery of wine, which the Hebrews regarded as a blessing when used in mod eration. See 9 : 20; Je. 16 : 7; Ps. 104 : 15. 30 f. For five hundred ninety and five read, with the Samaritans, six hundred, making a total of six hundred fifty and three, instead of seven hundred seventy and seven. Note that Lemech was the seventh in the Cainite list and that he avenged himself seventy and sevenfold. Cf. 4 : 23- 32. Five hundred years old ; before he had any children. The idea of the author clearly is that they were denied him, lest his family should increase to such an extent that it would be unnecessarily difficult to deliver them. See also n : 10, from which it appears that the sons of Noah had no children until after the Flood. Shem, Ham, and Japheth ; one after another. r 65 5 = 32 GENESIS 3. The Sons of God and their Offspring, 6 : 1-4 6. And it came to pass, "when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born 2. unto them, that "the sons J of God 2 saw "the daughters 1 Gr. angels. a Tar. princes. In the above comments the figures of the Samaritan Version have been repeatedly quoted, and sometimes those of the Greek Version. For a tabular view of the figures of these versions as compared with those of the Hebrew original, see note A. of the Appendix. On the historicity of the genealogy there can be but one opinion. The figures for the length of the lives of the several patriarchs con tradict not only modern experience, but the testimony of ancient history, which teaches that in that remote period the average length of human lives was no greater than, if it was as great as, it is at pres ent. See Petrie, History of Egypt, i. 145; Pinches, Old Testament, 153. On the other hand, the total for the lives of these patriarchs, even according to the Greek figures, is evidently much too small for the antediluvian period, since, as is well known, both Egypt and Babylonia were populous and civilized countries before the date here given for the creation of Adam. See Breasted, History of Egypt, 14; Pinches, Old Testament, 170 f. The question of historicity, then, must be decided in the negative. This decision, however, is not so damaging as it has seemed, since the author evidently did not intend to confine himself to facts. Indeed, by ignoring the traditions of his people he as much as said that there were no facts concerning the first period of human history to record. He did, however, apparently accept the Flood as an actual occurrence. Moreover, he reasoned that so terrible a calamity must have been provoked by general cor ruption, and he constructed his genealogy to convey this idea. The sons of God, enamoured of the daughters of men, make mar riages with them from which spring the giants. The story is from the Judean narrative, with later additions. 1. When men began to multiply; had already become numerous. According to the compiler it was toward the close of the antediluvian period, and the incident here narrated marked the climax in the cor ruption of the race. 2. The sons of God. There ought to be no doubt about the meaning of these terms. The sons of God here, as elsewhere in the Old Testa ment, — e.g., in Jb. 1 : 6 and Ps. 29 : 1, — are angelic attendants of 66 GENESIS 6 : 4 of men that they were fair; and they took them wives 3. "of all that they chose. | And the Lord said, "My spirit R "shall not 1 strive with 1 man 2 forever, °3 for that he also is flesh3: yet4 shall his days be "an hundred and 4. twenty years. | "The Nephihm 5 were in the earth in J those days, °* and also after that,t when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare chil dren to them : the same were "the mighty men which * were of old, "the men of renown. « m. rule in; Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. abide in. ' Gr. these men. 3 m. in their going astray they are flesh. * m. tlierefore. 3 m. Gr. Syr. Tar. giants. » SV that. the Almighty. See, also, the Greek reading cited above, and 2 Pet. 2 : 4 ff. and Jude 6. True, the idea of such alliances seems to be for bidden by Mt. 22 : 30, but a belief in them was universal in antiquity, even among the Semites. See Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, 481 ff. The daughters of men; not the daughters of the Cainites, but women in general. Of all that they chose; whomso ever they would, and perhaps in such numbers as they desired. 3. My spirit ; the divine breath on which all life depends. See 2:7; Jb. ¦}¦} : 4. Shall not strive with, better, abide in, man. He refuses to continue in existence indefinitely a lawless race. The clause for that he also is flesh is difficult, but the idea seems to be that the union of the spirit of Yahweh with human flesh was after all an ill-assorted one. See v. 6. An hundred and twenty years. This is sometimes interpreted as the duration henceforth of human life; but, since the whole verse is probably an editorial addition, it seems best to suppose that the author of it here refers to the length of time before the oc currence of the Flood. This is the interpretation adopted by the early exegetes, Jewish and Christian, who taught that the respite was granted for the purpose of giving Noah time to win his fellows back to God. The Targum paraphrases the text as follows, A respite shall be given them a hundred and twenty years, if they will return. See, also, 1 Pet. 3 : 20 ; 2 Pet. 2:5. 4. The Nephilim, giants, were in the earth ; appeared among men. This being the sense, there is no necessity for adding, as some reader has, and also after that. The mighty men, the men of renown ; the demigods of the ancient mythologies. Thus the author, although he could not deny the existence of the gods and demigods of other peoples, stamped them with a character that would repel every worthy worshipper of the Holy One of Israel. 67 6 : 5 III. A General Retribution, 6 : 5-8' : 22 1. The Divine Purpose, 6 : 5-8 J2 5. And the Lord saw that "the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that "every imagination of the 6. thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And "it repented the Lord that he had made man on the 7. earth, and it grieved him 1 at his heart.1 And the Lord said, I will destroy man * whom I have created f from the face of the ground ; * both man, and "beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; f for it repenteth 1 Gr. om. The growing corruption depicted or indicated in 4 : 1-6 : 4 demanded a display of divine justice. The Priestly genealogy in its original (Samaritan) form contained intimations of such an outcome. There follows now an account, compiled from a later Judean source and the Priestly document, of the great catastrophe by which a degenerate race was destroyed and the character of the Deity vindicated. Yahweh, finding man thoroughly evil, determines to destroy him from the earth. The paragraph is Jahvistic, but it has been revised by a priestly hand. 5. The wickedness of man was great; his conduct was grossly evil. Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart ; his thoughts were always and wholly employed with evil devices. The heart is here the seat of the intellect ; in the next verse of the emotions. 6. It repented the LORD. The language is strongly anthropopathic, but on that account the more expressive. It means that man had not fulfilled the evident purpose of his creation. 7. The word which strictly means cattle is here rendered beast, probably because the translators supposed it included both classes. These specifications are clearly in the manner of the first account of creation. See 1 : 24 ff. They were added to bring this verse into closer harmony with v. 12, g.v. 68 GENESIS 6 : 13 8. me that I have made them. But "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 2. God's Care for Noah, 6 : 9-7 : 5 9. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and l "perfect 2 in his generations " : 10. Noah "walked with God. And Noah begat three 11. sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And the earth was "corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with 12. "violence. And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for "all flesh had corrupted his 4 way upon 13. the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of 5 all flesh 5 "is come before me ; for the earth is filled with 1 So Sam. * m. blameless. 3. Gr. sing. * SV their. 3 Gr. every man. 8. Why Hoah found grace with Yahweh will appear from 7:1. The favor shown Noah took the form of provisions for his rescue with his family and a certain number of animals. (1) The ark and its freight, 6 : 9-22 The prevalent corruption is again described and the divine decree repeated ; then Noah is instructed to build a vessel of a certain pat tern, in which to preserve his family and two of every species of animal, and furnish it with food for the whole company. 9. Perfect in his generations, better, with the Greek Version, generation; conspicuous among his fellows for his uprightness. He walked with God ; like Enoch. See 5 : 24. 11. Here the author says plainly what he intended to convey in his genealogy, that the earth was corrupt, and specifies, as the most heinous of the prevalent sins, violence. It was the object of repeated condemnation by the Hebrew prophets. See Am. 3 : 10; Jer. 6 : 7; Ezek. 7 : 23; etc. 12. All flesh here includes the lower animals, which, it may be inferred from 1 : 30, did not at first harm man or prey upon one another. See v. 17. is. Is come before me; has become a deliberate purpose. With 69 6 : 14 GENESIS violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy 14. them "with the earth. Make thee "an ark of "gopher wood; "rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt 15. pitch it within and without with "pitch. And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark "three hundred cubits, the breadth of it "fifty cubits, and the 16. height of it "thirty cubits. "A light 1 shalt thou make to the ark, and "to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward 2 ; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17. And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, "wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; every thing that is in the earth 1 m. roof. * m. from above. the earth. Since God did not intend to destroy the earth, it would be better to render this phrase freely by and devastate the earth or cor rect it to from the earth. See 7 : 23. 14. An ark ; i.e., a box. The structure in which the Babylonian Noah escaped was a ship. Perhaps the author of this passage wished to convey the idea that at this early date ships had not yet been in vented. The gopher wood of which the ark was to be made cannot be identified with any certainty, but there is a probability that it was cypress, which, on account of its durability, was much used in Egypt for coffins and in Phoenicia for ships. The Targum has cedar. The rooms, or cells, were necessary for the convenience of Noah and his family, the separation of the various species of animals, and the storage of food. In the Babylonian ship there were sixty-three of them. The pitch was bitumen, large quantities of which are found in the valleys of the Jordan and the Euphrates. 15. Three hundred cubits; about 487.2 feet. Fifty cubits; 81.2 feet. Thirty cubits ; 48.72 feet. Many modern ships are much longer than the ark, and some exceed it in capacity. 16. A light shalt thou make to the ark. Better, light shalt thou provide for the ark. To a cubit shalt thou finish it upward. Better, within a cubit shalt thou finish it from above. The ark was lighted and ventilated by an opening running round it at the top. 17. The descriptive clause wherein is the breath of life shows that all flesh in v. 12 was correctly interpreted as universal. See v. 19. 70 GENESIS 18. shall die. But I will establish "my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, 19. and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of 1 every living thing 1 of "all flesh, "two of every sort shall thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; 20. they shall be male and female. Of 2 the fowl after their kind, and of2 the cattle after their kind, of3 every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every 21. sort shall come unto i thee to keep them alive.5 And take thou unto thee of "all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee and for 22. them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. 7. And 6 the Lord 6 said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house in to the ark ; for thee have I seen righteous 1 Gr. all the cattle, and of all the creeping things, and of all the beasts. a Gr. Of all. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. and of. * Syr. with. s Gr. adds, with thee, male and fe male. 6 Sam. Syr. God; Gr. the Lord God. 18. My covenant, i.e., a covenant. 19. All flesh here includes only the lower animals, because Noah and his family have already been mentioned. Two ; and, according to the author of this paragraph, only two. He does not make the distinction between clean and unclean animals, the reason being that, according to him, animals were not eaten until after the Flood. See 9 : 3; compare 7 : 2. 20. The reading of the Greek Version, with all in each of the first two phrases and an and at the beginning of the third, is probably the original one. Perhaps, also the beast of the earth should be supplied. 21. AU food that is eaten; according to 1 : 29 f., comprises only vegetable sustenance. (2) A second account, 7 : 1-5 This is from the second Jahvist, and is given only in part, the rest having been omitted to avoid unnecessary repetition. It repeats the command with reference to the animals, but makes a distinction among them, and it furnishes an interesting statement concerning the duration of the Flood. 7i GENESIS 2. before me in this generation. Of "every clean beast thou shalt take to thee "seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two,1 the male and his female; of the fowl 2 also 3 of the air 3 3. seven and seven, *male and female f4: to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days 4. and "I will cause it to rain upon the earth "forty days and forty nights; and "every living thing that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the ground. 5. And Noah did according unto all that the Lord com manded him. 1 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. two and two. a Sam. Gr. Syr. clean birds. 3 Syr. om, * Gr. adds, and of all the birds that are not clean two and two, male and female. 2. Every clean beast. Better, all the clean cattle, those commonly eaten. Here, as in 4 : 4, the use of animal food is taken for granted. Seven and seven ; by sevens, three pairs and an extra male for the sacrifice offered by Noah after the Flood. See 8 : 20. Of the un clean animals he is instructed to take two, or better, with all the ancient authorities, by twos, only, because it was not important that they should increase rapidly. 3. The same distinction, according to 8 : 20, was made among the birds, but the reference to it here is so indefinite that its genuineness is suspected. It should read, also of the clean birds seven and seven, the male and his female, and of the birds that are not clean two and two, the male and his female. See the various readings. 4. I will cause it to rain ; a natural and familiar phenomenon. Forty days and forty nights. The thought clearly is that at the end of this period every living thing, or, more exactly, all that subsists, will be destroyed and the water will subside. 5. This verse brings the Judean account to the point marked in the other by 6 : 22. The account of the Flood consists of extracts from the sources used in the preceding section pieced together in such a way as to make a fairly continuous, but not always consistent, narrative. First it describes (1) The rising water, 7 : 6-24 This paragraph tells how, after Noah and his company entered the ark, the water poured upon the earth from above and below, and in- 72 GENESIS 7= 11 3. The Flood, 7 : 6-8 : 14 6. And Noah was "six hundred years old when the flood P 7. of waters was upon the earth. And "Noah went in, | and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with R him, | "into the ark, because of the waters "of the flood. J2 8. \ Oi1 clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, R and of fowls, and of2 every thing that creepeth upon 9. the ground, there went in "two and two unto 3 Noah into the ark, male and female, | as God i commanded J2 10. Noah.5 And it came to pass after "the seven days, 11. that "the waters of the flood were upon the earth. | In P the six hundredth year of Noah's Life, in "the second 1 Gr. Vg. And of. 3 So Sam. Gr. Syr.; Heb. om. 3 Syr. Tar. with. * Sam. Vg. Yahweh. s Gr. him. creased in depth until all that breathed outside the ark were destroyed and the earth itself was covered as completely as before it first made its appearance. 6. Six hundred years old. The date, therefore, according to the chronology of chapter 5, was 1656 A.M. For the month and the day, see v. 10. 7. The two parts of the date are now separated by an extract from the other account, which, however, has been greatly expanded. In its original form this verse simply stated, in continuation of v. 5, that Noah went into the ark, because, in anticipation, of the flood. The rest was added to make it more specific. 8 f. In these verses the editor seeks to combine the divergent state ments of his sources. He accepts the distinction between the clean and the unclean animals, also a difference in the number of the two classes, but he seems to have interpreted seven and seven in 7 : 2 as meaning seven pairs; otherwise he could hardly have described the animals generally as going into the ark two and two, i.e., by pairs. If, as there is some reason to believe, the last clause originally read, as Yahweh commanded him, it belongs at the end of v. 7. 10. The Judean account now proceeds, in continuation of v. 7, with the statement that, after the seven days allowed Noah for em barking, the waters of the flood were, began to descend as rain, upon the earth. See v. 4. 11. This verse supplements and defines v. 6. The second month, 73 12 GENESIS month, on "the seventeenth l day of the month, on the same day were all "the fountains of the great2 deep broken up, and "the windows of heaven were opened. | J2 12. And the rain was upon the earth "forty days and forty P 13. nights. | In "the selfsame day entered Noah, and 3 Shem, and 3 Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them,4 14. into the ark; they, and every beast 5 after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every 15. fowl after its kind, °" every bird of every sort.6 And 7 they went in unto 8 Noah into the ark, "two and two of 16. all flesh wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God Jz commanded him 9 : | .and the Lord shut him in. | R, J8 17. And the flood was forty days10 upon the earth; | and 1 Gr. seven and twentieth. a Gr. om. 3 Sam. om. * Gr. Syr. him. s Gr. mss. add, of the earth. 6 Gr. om. 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. om. 8 Syr. Tar. with. ° Gr, Noah. IO Gr. adds, and forty nights. beginning with Tishri, would be Marchesvan, which corresponds to parts of October and November, and the seventeenth day would fall near the first of November. The fountains of the great deep ; openings in the earth for the water under it. The windows of heaven ; outlets for the celestial reservoirs. See Am. 7 : 4; Ps. 104 : 3, 12. 12. This verse is the continuation of v. 10. It breaks the evident connection between vs. 11 and 13. It fixes the duration of the down pour at forty days and forty nights, as foretold in v. 4. Compare 8 : 1 f ., where the Priestly author puts it at a hundred and fifty days. The compiler seems to have intended that the figures here given should be understood as marking one stage in the progress of the Flood. See v. 17. This, however, was not the original sense. 13. The selfsame day is the seventeenth of the second month, as in v. 11. 14. Every bird of every sort, lit. every wing, might be rendered every bird of every feather . 15. Two and two; here, as in 6 : 19 f., two of a kind without ref erence to the distinction between clean and unclean. 17. A better rendering for the first words would be, When the flood 74 GENESIS 7 : 23 the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was 18. lift 1 up above the earth. | And the waters "prevailed, P and increased greatly upon the earth; and "the ark 19. went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth ; and "all the high mountains that were "under 2 the whole 2 heaven were 20. covered. "Fifteen cubits upward did the waters pre- 21. vail; and the mountains 3 were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cattle, and beast, and "every creeping 4 thing that creepeth 5 22. upon the earth, and every man : | "all in whose nostrils J2 was the breath of 6 * the spirit of f " life, of 7 "all that 23. was in the dry land died. And 8 every living thing was 1 SV lifted. a Gr. Syr. om. 3 Syr. high mountains. * m. swarming. s m. swarmeth. 6 Gr. om. * Gr. and. 8 m. he destroyed every living thing. had been forty days upon the earth; the meaning being that the water did not until the end of that time become deep enough to float the vessel, which, according to 8 : 3 f., drew fifteen cubits, or about 24.36 feet. 18. The next stage was reached when the water prevailed, lit. became mighty, to such an extent that the ark went, moved freely, upon the face of the waters. 19. All the high mountains ; the very highest. Under the whole heaven; anywhere on the earth. The Flood, then, was universal. To the mind of the author it was necessarily so, since otherwise all mankind would not have been destroyed. 20. Fifteen cubits upward; above the tops of the highest moun tains. Thus the ark, wherever it drifted, was free from any possible obstacle. 21. Every creeping thing that creepeth. Better, the whole swarm that swarmeth. 22. The preceding verse is from the Priestly narrative. The other, alluding to the second account of creation, said that all in whose nos trils was the breath of life died. This statment is qualified. It was only all that was in the dry land. The fishes, he means to say, sur vived. .... T . 23. The precise rendering of the first clause is in dispute. It is possible that the subject Yahweh (the Lord) should be supplied. Then 75 7 : 24 GENESIS destroyed 8 which 1 was upon the face of the ground, | R both man, and cattle, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth :| J2 And Noah only was left and they that were with him P 24. in the ark. | And the waters "prevailed upon the earth "an hundred and fifty days. P 8. And God remembered Noah, and °2 every living thing,2 and all the cattle 3 that were with him in the ark : and God made "a wind to pass over the earth, and the 2. waters assuaged ; the fountains also of the deep and the J2 windows of heaven were "stopped, | and "the rain from 1 SV that. a SV all the beasts. 3 Gr. Syr. add, and all the birds; Gr. also, and all the creeping things. it could be translated, Thus the Lord wiped out every thing that sub sisted, etc. The particulars are from the hand of the compiler. 24. An hundred and fifty days. Naturally, the water would not have prevailed, grown in volume, for this length of time unless, con trary to the teaching of the Judean account, the sources had remained open. See 8 : 2. (2) The receding deluge, 8 : 1-14 This paragraph describes the stages by which, when the outpour had ceased, the water retired from the surface of the earth, and the means by which Noah convinced himself that the ground was finally dry. 1. Every living thing. Better, with SV, all the beasts, i.e., the wild beasts. The received text mentions only two classes, but the Syriac Version adds the birds, and the Greek both them and the creeping things. A wind. On the wind as a divine agency, see Ex. 14 : 21; Num. 11 : 31 ; Is. 11 : 15. It carries off the water, apparently in the form of vapor. 2. Now, at length, after a hundred and fifty days, according to the Priestly author, the outpour is stopped. This statement is followed by a parallel one from the Judean account concerning the rain from heaven. The rain ended, however, as has been shown, after only forty days. 76 GENESIS 8 : 6 3. heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth continually: | "and after the end of an 4. hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. And the ark rested "in the seventh month, on the seventeenth x day of the month, upon "the mountains of Ararat.2 5. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: "in the tenth month, on the first day of the 6. month, were "the tops of the mountains seen. | And it came to pass at the end of "forty days, that Noah opened 1 Gr. twenty and seventh. " Syr. Tar. Kardu. 3. And after. Better, Thus after ; for the period here described is the same as that of 7 : 24. 4. In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day; i.e., just five months of thirty days each from the beginning of the Flood. In other words, as soon as the water began to recede the ark grounded on the moun tains, or one of them, of Ararat. Thus it appears that, according to the writer, the ark drew about fifteen cubits of water, that the mountains named were the highest in existence, and that God directed the one to the other and thus brought Noah's voyage to an end as soon as possible. The country in which he landed is the Arartu of the Assyrians, north and west of Lake Van. In that region is a peak, called by the Arme nians Massis, on which, they say, the ark rested. It has an altitude of 16,920 feet ; consequently its summit is always covered with ice and snow. See Allen and Sachtleben, Across Asia on a Bicycle, 43 ff. The Babylonia Noah landed on Mt. Nisir, east of the middle Tigris. Kardu, where the Jews and oriental Christians locate the landing, was south of Lake Van (Biaina). 5. In the tenth month, on the first day; after seventy-three days, more or less. The tops of the mountains ; the lesser peaks in the vicinity. 6. Here the compiler has inserted another extract from the Judean account. In so doing he has greatly confused his chronology. In fact, it is impossible to explain the forty days of this verse in any way that will make it consistent with the context. The natural interpre tation would be that they followed the date last given; but this is forbidden by v. 8, where the first dove sent forth is said to have found no place to alight, as it ought to have done if the sunounding moun tains had so long been visible. On the other hand, if the verse be con nected with the other passages referred to, there will be no difficulty. 77 ! : 7 GENESIS r 7. the window of the ark "which he had made: | and he sent forth a raven,1 and it went forth 2 to and fro,2 until J2 8. the waters were dried up from off the earth. | And he sent forth a dove from 3 him "to see if the waters 9. were abated from off the face of the ground; but "the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth : and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the 10. ark. And he stayed yet "other 4 * seven days : and n. again he sent forth "the dove out of the ark; and the dove came in to him at eventide; and, lo, in her mouth °5an olive leaf pluckt off5: so "Noah knew that the 12. waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed 1 Gr. adds, lo see if the water was abated. a Gr. Syr. and did not return. 3 Gr, after. + Many Gr. mss. om. s m. a fresh olive leaf . The forty days will then be the same as in 7 : 12, or another similar period during which the water had been subsiding; preferably the former. The relative clause, which he had made, refers, not to the ark, but to the window in it. It was probably very different from the contrivance described by the Priestly writer in 6 : 16. 7. The description of the means that Noah took to learn when to leave the ark makes a delightful picture, but it is somewhat marred by this verse. In point of fact, the raven appears to have been sent forth for no purpose, and to have accomplished none. It is probable, therefore, that it was borrowed from the Babylonia story, where it is the last of three different birds set loose by the hero. 8. The removal of the raven leaves this story with three birds, all of the same species. Moreover,when the first is released, a reason is given, to see if the waters were abated. 9. The dove found no rest. Naturally, since, according to the account to which this passage belonged, it had just ceased raining. 10. The word other seems to have been added, when the raven was introduced into the story, to indicate that it was sent out seven days before the first dove. The dove. A dove would be just as correct both here and in v. 12. 11. An olive leaf; or olive leaves. Noah knew; because the olive does not grow above a certain altitude. 78 GENESIS 8 : 14 yet other 1 seven' days: and 2 sent forth the dove; and 13. she returned not again unto him any more. | And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year,3 in the first month, the first day of the month, "the waters were dried up from off the earth : | And Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face 14. of the ground was dried. | And in "the second month, on" the seven and twentieth day of the month," was the earth dry. 1 Many Gr. mss. om. 3 Gr. adds again. 3 Gr. adds, of the life of Noah. 13. At this point the story of the birds is interrupted by another of the series of dates from the Priestly account begun in vs. 4 f., the last of which is found in v. 14. It can have no connection with the preceding verses. The waters were dried up from off the earth; had disappeared from the surface of the ground. The latter part of the verse is the parallel statement which formed the conclusion of the story of the birds. 14. According to the Priestly version it was the second month, and the seven and twentieth day, nearly two months later, when the earth was thoroughly dry. Thus, while, according to the Judean version, the Flood came to an end in fifty-four days, according to this one it lasted a. lunar year and ten or eleven days, or a. round solar year. In the course of the comments references have been made to a Babylonian story of the Flood. For the text of it, see Pinches, Old Testament, 101 ff.; Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, 495 ff. It is much older than either of the Hebrew accounts. Neither of these is historical, but they are probably alike based on an actual occurrence, a destructive inundation in the valley of the Euphrates. This event the Babylonians pictured as the result of jealousy and dis sension among their numerous deities. The Hebrews, on the other hand, saw in it a display of the righteousness of their God, and used it as an instrument in awakening moral responsibility and securing reverence for, and obedience to, his revealed will. 79 IS GENESIS 4. Noah's Offering, 8 : 15-22 P 15, 16. And God 1 spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of 2 the ark, thou, and thy "wife,3 and thy "sons,4 and thy sons' 17. wives with thee. Bring" forth with thee ° 6 every living thing that is 6 with thee of 7 all flesh, both fowl, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth ; that they may ° 8 breed abundantly in the earth, 18. and 8 be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his 19. sons' wives with him: every 9 "beast, °10 every creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever moveth 10 upon the earth, after their families, went forth out of the ark. | J2 20. And Noah builded "an altar unto the Lord ; and took 1 Gr. the Lord God. * SV from. 3 Syr. sons. + Syr. wife. s Sam. Gr. Sy. and bring. 6 Gr. all the beasts that are. i Gr. and. 8 Gr. om. i Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. and every. IO Sam. every creeping thing, and every fowl, and every creeping thing that creepeth; Gr. Syr. all the cattle, and every bird (Gr. and) every creeping thing (Gr. that moveth); Vg. cattle and reptiles that creep. Noah, having, at the divine command, left the ark, offers a sacri fice; whereupon Yahweh is pleased to reveal to him a changed purpose toward mankind. The paragraph is clearly composite, the first five verses being from the Priestly, the last three from the Judean, narrative. 16. Here, for once, Noah's wife takes precedence of his sons. See 6 : 18; 7 : 13; also v. 18. The Syriac Version, however, has thy sons and thy wife. 17. Every living thing is here used in the same sense as in 6 : 19. Here, too, the wild beasts as a, distinct class are omitted. Breed abundantly; lit. swarm. See 1 : 21 f.; 7 : 21. 19. The rendering beast is inconsistent with v. 17, where the same Hebrew word is rendered living thing. Here, as there, the term was intended to be a general one followed by particulars. Here, how ever, the text has suffered, all the cattle having fallen out, and every creeping thing, which should be preceded by and, having become separated from the descriptive clause that should follow it. Read, therefore, after the Greek and Syriac Versions, all the cattle, and all the birds, and every creeping thing that creepeth. 20. An altar; the first mentioned, although, of course, the use of one 80 GENESIS 8 : 22 of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered "burnt offerings on the altar. And "the Lord smelled the sweet savour: and the Lord said "in his heart, "I will not again curse the ground any more "for man's 1 sake, for that 1 the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, "as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and 2 cold and heat, and 2 summer and winter, and 2 3 day and night 3 shall not cease. 1 m. sake; for. * Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. om. 3 Vg. night and day. is implied in the story of Cain and Abel. See 4 : 3 f . The offerings now made differ from that of Abel, being burnt offerings, i.e., sacrifices that were wholly consumed on the altar. 21. The LORD smelled the sweet savor. This anthropomorphic expression is the more interesting because there is a striking parallel to it in the Babylonian story. Its hero also " offered an offering," and " The gods smelled the odor, The gods smelled the pleasant odor." In his heart; to himself. I will not again curse the ground; as he had done to punish the first pair. For man's sake; on man's account. The next clause is easily misunderstood. It gives Yahweh's reason, not for not cursing the earth again, but for cursing it the first time. It would be better, therefore, to render it, namely, because the imagina tion, etc. As I have done; by the Flood. See Is. 54 : 9. 22. The thought of this verse is not that henceforth Yahweh will wink at the sins of men, but that he will not again destroy them in the mass, as he has done. The same idea is found in the Babylonian story, where the god Ea is represented as pleading with Bel, " instead of causing a flood," to let the lion, etc., decimate them. 81 IV. The Outlook tor the Future, 9 : 1-29 1. The Introduction of Animal Food, 9 : 1-7 P 9. And "God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the 2. earth.1 And "the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air : with 2 all wherewith the ground teem- eth,3 and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand 4 are 3. they "delivered.4 Every 5 moving thing that liveth shall be "food for you; as the green herb have I given 4. you all. But flesh with the life thereof, which is "the 1 Gr. adds, and rule over it. 3 Gr. Syr. and upon. 3 m. creepeth. ¦* Sam. Gr. have I delivered (Sam. them). s Gr. Syr. And every. To the story of the Flood there are appended certain passages bear ing on the future of the family of Noah and their descendants. Heretofore, according to the author of this passage, men have eaten only vegetable food. They are now permitted to eat all the lower animals without distinction, but forbidden to eat their blood or to shed one another's. The whole paragraph comes from the Priestly source. i. God blessed Noah; as he did Adam. See i : 28. 2. The fear of you. The degenerate animals, having lost their respect for man, must be held in check by a sense of their own weak ness. Delivered; placed at another's disposal. 3. In the preceding verse God does not say for what purpose he has given the animals into man's hands. Now it appears that they are to be used without distinction for food. This is the more remarkable because there is no part of the Pentateuch in which the line between the clean and the unclean is more clearly drawn than in the extracts from the Priestly document. See Lev. 11 : 1 ff. The explanation is that the author, or authors, of that work held that this distinction was first made by Moses. 4. The blood, because it represents the life of the animal, belongs to the Author of all life. There are no instructions about the dis position to be made of it, but the common practice was to pour it upon the ground and cover it with dust. See Lev. 17 : 13. 82 GENESIS 9:9 5. blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely l your blood, °the blood of your lives, will I require; "at the hand of every beast will I require it : and • at the hand of man, even "at the hand of 2 every man's 6. brother,2 "will I require the life of man. Whoso shed- deth man's blood, "by man shall his blood be shed : for 7. "in the image of God made he 3 man. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply ; "bring 4 forth abundantly in the earth, and "multiply * therein. 2. The bow of promise, 9 : 8-17 8. And God spake unto Noah, and to "his sons with P 9. him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my "covenant 1 Sam. om. 3 Sam. Vg. Syr. a man and his brother. 3 Gr. /. * Sam. Gr. Vg. syr. Tar. and bring. 5. The blood of your lives; your life blood. At the hand of every beast will I require it; every beast that sheds human blood must answer therefor with its own life. See Ex. 21 : 28. At the hand of every man's brother; from the man who kills another. Will I require the life of man; he must answer with his own life for the life that he has taken. 6. The latter of the two laws of v. 5 is here made a little more definite by the addition of by man. This phrase is a warrant for the lex talionis, according to which the next of kin became the avenger of the slain. Later, according to Num. 35 : 9 ff. (P), this law was modified by God through Moses. The original practice may be traced in the history of the Hebrews. See 2 Sam. 3 : 27; 14 : 11. The reason for the severity of this law is found in man's superior rank: in the image of God made he (Gr. 7) man. 7. Bring forth abundantly; lit. swarm, as in 8 : 17. Multiply therein; a useless repetition, probably by mistake for rule over it. See 1 : 28. God proclaims a covenant with Noah and his descendants and ap points a token of his enduring promise. This paragraph, also, is of Priestly origin. , 8. His sons with him. Heretofore God has dealt only with Noah. 9. The covenant, also, is with the whole family. It is not an agree ment accompanied by a sacrifice, but a gracious assurance. 83 io GENESIS 10. with you, and with your seed after you; and with "every living creature that is with you, the x fowl, the 2 cattle and every beast of the earth with you ; "of all that go out ii. of the ark, 3 even every beast of the earth.3 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood ; neither shall there any more be a flood 4 to destroy the earth. 12. And God said,5 This is "the token of the covenant "which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13. "I do e set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a 14. token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth,7 15. that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and "I will 1 Syr. and the. 3 Sam. Gr. Syr. and the. 3 Gr. om. + Gr. adds, of water. s Gr. Syr. add, lo Noah. 6 m. have. 1 Vg. heaven. 10. The covenant also concerns every living creature, but only three of the four classes of animals are mentioned. The last clause is not clear, but it seems to be intended as a summary of the parties of the second part. This would be more evident if the literal rendering of AV, with from for of at the beginning, and to for even, had been re tained. All that go out of the ark would then mean Noah and his family as the first-mentioned survivors, every beast of the earth being the last. 11. The content of the covenant is a promise not again to permit a flood to destroy the earth. In other words, it is the Priestly version of the covenant of 8 : 21 ff. 12. The token of the covenant ; the reminder of its existence. The relative which is ambiguous. By the choice of the verb make the trans lators evidently intended that it should refer to the covenant, and not to the sign ; which is probably correct. 13. I do set my bow in the cloud. The margin suggests have for do, but the future would be still better ; for it is probable that, accord ing to the author, the rainbow had not before been seen. The Indian god Indra is described as suspending the bow from which he has shot his lightnings in the clouds. See, also, Pinches, Old Testament, 28. 15. I will remember ; as if he might otherwise forget. This is one 84 GENESIS 9: 19 remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature 1 2 of all flesh 2 ; and the waters 16. shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud ; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon 17. the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. 3. The Fate of Canaan, 9 : 18-29 18. And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, J2 were Shem, and 3 Ham, and Japheth : | and "Ham is R 19. the father of Canaan. | These three were the sons of J2 Noah : and of these "was the whole earth overspread. | 1 Sam. Syr. add, that is with you. * Vg. that eateth flesh; Syr. and between all flesh. 1 Sam. Gr, Vg. Syr. om. of the few instances in which the Priestly narrator imitates the an thropomorphisms of the earlier writers. 17. Here there can be no doubt that the relative refers to the cove nant, and not to the token. See v. 12. Noah, having made the first wine and become intoxicated, is found uncovered by one of his sons, who tells his brothers. The latter cover him. When the patriarch comes to himself, he pronounces a curse upon Canaan and a blessing upon Shem and Japheth. The incident is introduced by two verses which are of secondary origin and belong at the beginning of chapter 10. The story itself, which is from the Ju dean source, should come before the Flood, and, indeed, after 4 : 24. Perhaps, as has been suggested, it was omitted by the original com piler and inserted here by a later hand. To the end of it are attached a few words from P. 18. Ham is the father of Canaan. The object of this explanation does not at first appear, but the following verses show that it is an editorial addition for the purpose of harmonizing the story with its present setting. See further vs. 22, 24. 19. The statement that from the three sons of Noah the whole earth or its population, was overspread has the Flood for its back- 85 9 : 20 GENESIS J 20. And "Noah began to be an husbandman, and planted 21. a vineyard: and "he drank of the wine, and was 22. drunken; and he was uncovered "within his tent. And | R. J "Ham, the father of | Canaan, saw the nakedness of 23. his father, and J "told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took "a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 24. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what "his 25. youngest 2 son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be "Canaan; "A servant of servants shall he be unto "his brethren. [ Gr. adds, going forth. a m. younger. ground, and looks forward, not to the story that now follows, but to the genealogy in the next chapter. 20. Noah began to be an husbandman is incorrect, Noah not being the first husbandman, but the first vintner. Read, therefore, Noah, the husbandman, planted the first vineyard. 21. He drank of the wine, on a certain occasion, and was drunken. Within his tent ; where he was sleeping off his indulgence. 22. Ham, the father of Canaan. The original reading was simply Canaan, as is shown by the fact, otherwise inexplicable, that it is Canaan, and not his father, who is cursed. Observe, also, that in vs. 25 f. Canaan is placed on an equality with Shem and Japheth. See further v. 24. The young man is not blamed for seeing his father in the condition described, but because, instead of obeying the promptings of decency, he went and, presumably with immodest levity, told his two brethren. 23. A garment ; probably the large, full 'abayeh which serves the ori ental as a covering by night as well as by day. See Ex. 22 : 26,25. 24. His youngest son. This cannot have been Ham, who is always represented as the second of the three. See v. 18; 5 : 32. 25. It now appears who Noah's youngest son was; viz., Canaan. In other words, according to this story, the sons of Noah were Shem, Japheth, and Canaan ; and Canaan was cursed, not, as many have held, for what his father had done, but because he himself had been guilty of gross indecency. A servant of servants, the lowest of ser vants. His brethren, Shem and Japheth. Canaan here represents 86 GENESIS 9 : 29 26. And he said, Blessed be the Lord, * the God of | Shem; And let Canaan be "his ' servant. 27. "God enlarge "Japheth, And 2 let him 2 dwell in the tents of Shem ; And "let Canaan be his ' servant. | 28. And Noah lived "after the flood three hundred and fifty P 29. years. And all the days of Noah were "nine hundred and fifty years : and he died. 1 m. Syr. Tar. their. a m. he shall. the primitive tribes of Palestine. On their shamelessness, see 19 : 5; Lev. 18 : 24 f. 26. Having cursed Canaan, Noah takes occasion to bless his other two sons. The first of these blessings has been changed to a doxol- ogy. The original reading was probably, Bless, Yahweh, the tents of Shem, or, better, Blessed of Yahweh, be Shem. In either case his servant means the servant of Shem, and not of Yahweh. This bless ing was realized when the Hebrews, whom Shem here represents, sub dued the Canaanites. See Josh. 9 : 21 ff.; Jud. 1 : 28 ; 1 Kgs. 9 : 20 f. 27. God ; not, as in the preceding verse, Yahweh. See 3:2s. Japheth. The name is generally interpreted as a comprehensive term including the peoples enumerated in 10 : 2-4 ; but, if Canaan repre sents the primitive tribes of Palestine, and Shem their conquerors, the probability is that this third name is intended to designate a neigh boring people. The Philistines have been suggested ; but they can hardly be meant, since they were always hostile to the Hebrews. The only neighbors with whom the Hebrews were on lasting terms of friendship, and toward whom they had no serious reasons for jealousy, were the Phoenicians. The two peoples spoke the same language, and mingled freely one with the other ; and their royal houses were united by treaty and intermarriage. See Am. 1 : 9 f.; 2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Kgs. 5 : 1 ff.; 11 : 1 ; 16 : 31 ; 2 Kgs. 8 : 18. Let Canaan be his servant. The northern Canaanites were tributary to the merchants of Tyre and Sidon. See 1 Kgs. 9 : 10 ff. 28. After the flood ; more exactly, after the beginning of the Flood. See 7 : 6; 8 : 13. 29. Nine hundred and fifty years. Thus, according to the received text, Noah, in spite of his conspicuous piety and the evident favor of God, lived fewer years than either Jered or Methuselah. According 87 GENESIS to the Samaritans, on the other hand, — and this is a proof of the su periority of their text of chapter 5, — he lived longer then they or any other of his predecessors. See Appendix, Note A. In this paragraph the vintner Noah is identified with the hero of the Flood. The whole tenor and content of vs. 20-27, however, shows that he belongs with the Cainites of 4 : 17 ff. The story was removed from its original connection, and Canaan made a grandson of Noah, when the Judean account of the Flood was inserted, because such a person as tradition said that Canaan was must have perished in that catastrophe. 88 II. THE ORIGIN OF THE HEBREW PEOPLE, Chs. 10-50 I. The Place of the Hebrews among the Peoples 10 : 1-11 : 32 1. The Families of the Earth, 10 : 1-11 : 9 10. Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, p 10:1 1 Shem Ham L and Japheth : | and unto them were J2 sons born after the flood. 1 SV namely, Shem, Ham. The Second Part of Genesis commences with a general survey of the races sprung from Noah ; but the field rapidly contracts until there is room for but a single family, the rest of the world being ignored, except as this family comes in contact with, or is influenced by, it. The first division presents, in a genealogical form, the relations of the various peoples known to the Hebrews, and then traces the descent from Noah of the father of the Chosen People. The various families of the earth are viewed, first as branches grad ually produced by the parent stock, and then as the result of divine interference with human tendencies. (1) The grand divisions of the race, 10 : 1-32 They are taken in the reverse of the natural order, that the one to which the Hebrews belong may come last. See Appendix, Note B. The text consists of a nearly or quite complete genealogy from the Priestly document, expanded by additions from Jahvistic and other sources. 1. The latter half of this verse seems to have belonged originally to 9 : 19. (a) The children of Japheth ; 10 : 2-5. They occupy the northern zone of the Hebrew world. 89 io : 2 GENESIS P 2. The sons of Japheth; "Gomer, and "Magog, and Madai, and "Javan, and "Tubal, and "Meshech,1 and 3. "Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; "Ashkenaz, and °Ri- 4. phath, and "Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; "Elishah,2 and "Tarshish, °* Kittim, and "Dodanim.3 f 5. Of 4 these °5 were the isles 8 "of the nations divided 5 1 Sam. Gr. Vg. Mosoch. a Sam. Elish. 3 Sam. Gr, Rodanim. + Syr. And from. 3 Syr. were they spread into the isles of the nations. 6 m. coastlands. 2. Gomer represents the Kimmerians, who are supposed to have given its name to the Crimea. They appeared in Asia in the seventh century B.C. In Ezek. 38 : 6 they are mentioned among the fol lowers of Gog, or, as he is here called, Magog, the Scythians. See Is. 13 : 17 f. javan; strictly the Ioniansof southwestern Asia Minor, but in the Old Testament the Greeks in general. See Zech. 9 : 13, etc. Here, as in Ezek. 27 : 13, they are associated with Tubal and Me shech, or Moshoch, the Tibarenians and Moschians, two tribes who, about the middle of the ninth century B.C., had their homes north of Cilicia. Three centuries later they occupied the mountainous region southeast of the Black Sea. See Ezek. 38 : 3. Tiras is perhaps the Tyrsenians, the Turushu of the Egyptian inscriptions, in and about the iEgean Sea. 3. Ashkenaz ; perhaps the Ashguza, northeast of Assyria, men tioned in the cuneiform inscriptions. Riphath was probably in the region of Togarmah, or, as the Greek Version pronounces it, Thor- gama, which is plausibly identified with Armenia. 4. Elishah is sometimes identified with the Alashia of the Tell el-Amarna letters, and that with either Cyprus or some part of north ern Syria; but if, as will be shown, Javan had only two sons, it is safer to take this one as representing the Greeks of the eastern end of the Mediterranean, and Tarshish as a comprehensive name for the more remote colonies, including Tartessus in Spain, outside the Strait of Gibraltar. See Jer. 10 : 9; Ezek. 27 : 12. The last two names betray by their form, which is plural, that they are not original. The former, Kittim, from Kition, the ancient name of Larnaka, in Cyprus, though sometimes used in a larger sense, is properly the Cypriotes ; (Is. 23 : 1, 12), while Dodanim, an error for Rodanim, means the Rhodians. The addition of these names was suggested by the prominence at the time of the communities so designated. 5. This verse, in its present form, is misleading, because, as a comparison of it with vs. 20 and 31 will show, several words have been lost. Read, And from these, the two sons of Javan, were the isles, 90 GENESIS 10 "in their lands, every one after his tongue; after their families, in their nations. 6. And the sons of Ham; "Cush, and "Mizraim, and 7. "Put, and "Canaan. And the sons of Cush ; "Seba, and "Havilah, and "Sabtah, and "Raamah, and "Sabteca: and the sons of Raamah; "Sheba, and "Dedan. I coasts, of the nations divided ; then, after a full stop, add, These are the sons of Japheth in their lands, etc. The idea is that the differences in language among the peoples enumerated was the result of their separation from one another. (b) The children of Ham, 10 : 6-20. They are the peoples to the south. 6. Cush ; here the region east of the Nile, above the first cataract, called by the ancients Ethiopia. See. 2 Kgs. 19 : 9; Ezek. 29 : 10; etc. Mizraim ; Egypt in its entirety. Put ; the Punt of the Egyptian inscriptions, on the African coast about the southern end of the Red Sea. Canaan ; the country and people of Palestine. 7. In Is. 43 : 3 Seba is associated with Cush and Mizraim, and this fact gives some ground for identifying it with Saba, according to Strabo (xvi. 8, 10) a harbor on the west coast of the Red Sea near the modern town of Massaua. Still, since in Ps. 72 : 10 it is mentioned in connection with Sheba, the author may have located it, with the rest of the " sons " of Cush, in Arabia. The Havilah here named is some times identified with the Abalitas, a tribe that formerly occupied a part of the coast of Africa a, little south of the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, where there was also a Sinus Aualites. This, however, would make it a " son " of Put. It is therefore possible that the present writer, like the author of 2:11, located it in Arabia. Sabtah is supposed to represent Sabata, the capital of ancient Hadramaut, in southern Arabia. Raamah is probably a place of the same name mentioned in the Sabean inscriptions, and the Rammanita; of Strabo (xvi. 4, 24). Sabteca, also, must have been in southern Arabia, but its precise location has not been determined. Sheba is the country of the Sabe- ans, whose queen is reported to have paid Solomon a visit. See 1 Kgs. 10 : 1 ff. It was a, part of southwestern Arabia, and its capital was Marib. Comp. v. 28; 25 : 3. Dedan, according to Ezek. 25 : 13, was in northern Arabia, adjoining Edom. Comp. 25 : 3. Thus, wherever the author may have located the peoples represented by the first two names, he evidently intended to teach that Arabia was settled from Africa. On this ethnographical information and suggestion see Mitchell, The World before Abraham, and the Dictionary of the Bible under the various names. o : 8 GENESIS J2 8. And Cush begat "Nimrod : "he began to be a 1 mighty R 9. one* in the earth. | "He was a mighty hunter before the Lord : wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty J2 10. hunter "before the Lord. | And "the beginning of his kingdom was "Babel, and "Erech, and "Accad, and 11. "Calneh, in "the land of Shinar.2 Out of that land he 3 went forth into 3 Assyria, and builded "Nineveh, and 1 Gr. giant. a Tar. Babylon. 3 m. om. 8. At this point the compiler has inserted into the Priestly table the history of Nimrod, a son of Cush who is not mentioned in v. 7, and who cannot be identified with any tribe or people, but must be treated as an individual. He, also, marked a stage in the history of human development ; he began to be a mighty one, which in English means, he was the first mighty one, i.e., the first powerful ruler. 9. The explanation of the last statement is delayed by the intro duction of another item concerning Nimrod that does not seem to belong to the original story. He was a mighty hunter, like all the great Assyrian and Babylonian kings. The phrase before the LORD has the effect of a superlative. See Jn. 3 : 3, m. 10. The beginning of his kingdom ; his original kingdom. Babel ; Babylon. Erech; Gr. Orech, Ass. Uruk, now Warka, on the left bank of the Euphrates, about a hundred miles below Babylon. Accad ; a city somewhere in northern Babylonia which was of enough importance to give its name to that part of the country. The location of Calneh, also, which was identified by the Jews with Niffer (Nippur), is uncertain. The land of Shinar is here only another name for Babylonia. The fact that Nimrod is represented as the founder of these cities, or the kingdom that included them, favors the supposi tion that his name is a corruption, perhaps intentional, of that of Marduk, the tutelar deity of Babylon, to whom was ascribed by the Babylonians themselves the foundation of the first two. See Mic. 5:5; Pinches, Old Testament, 40 f. n. The same monarch is credited with the foundation of Nineveh, the ruins of which lie on the left bank of the Tigris opposite the modern town of Mosul. It was the capital of Assyria from the reign of Sen nacherib (705-681) until the empire was overthrown by the Medes and Persians. Rehoboth-Ir ; perhaps the suburb Ribit-ir, north and northwest of Nineveh. Calah was situated on the Tigris about twenty miles south of Nineveh. It became the capital of the empire in the reign of Asshurnazirpal (884-860) and so remained until the time of Sargon II. 92 GENESIS 12. "Rehoboth-Ir, and "Calah, and "Resen between Nine- 13. veh and Calah (* the same is the great city f). And Mizraim begat "Ludim, and "Anamim, and "Lehabim, 14. and "Naphtuhim, and "Pathrusim, and "Casluhim (°* whence went forth the Philistines f), and "Caph- 15. torim. And Canaan begat "Zidon1 his firstborn and 1 SV Sidon. 12. Resen is described as between Nineveh and Calah, but its exact site is unknown. The parenthetical explanation seems to refer to the entire group of cities, but it may be a marginal note (say) on Nineveh that has gotten into the text in the wrong place. See v. 14. The account here given of the rise of Assyria does not tally with the evidence of the inscriptions, according to which Asshur, now Kalat Shergat, on the right bank of the Tigris sixty miles below Nineveh, was its first capital; but it is true that the country derived its civiliza tion from Babylonia. 13. Here, again, the genealogy changes its form. The term beget is still used. The objects, however, are no longer individuals, but plainly peoples, as any one could see if the names in this verse had been properly translated the Ludites, etc. These " sons " of Mizraim must naturally be sought in or near Egypt, but they cannot all be satis factorily identified. Ludim. The singular of this name occurs several times, and usually in connection with Put; and that seems to be all that is known about it. See Jer. 46 : 9. The Anamim, or Anamites, defy identification. The Lehabim are supposed to be the Libyans west of Lower Egypt. The various conjectures with refer ence to the Naphtuhim, or Naphtuhites, are about equally unsatis factory. 14. The Pathrusim, or Pathrusites, are doubtless the people of Pathros, or Upper Egypt, whose capital was Thebes. See Jer. 44 : 1. The Casluhim, or Casluhites, cannot be definitely located. The clause whence went forth the Philistines, as appears from Am. 9 : 7, should come at the end of the verse. The Caphtorim, or Caphtorites, are commonly identified with the Cretans. See 1 Sam. 30 : 14; Ezek. 25 : 16; Zeph. 2 : 5. Compare, however, Hastings, DB. 15. To Canaan are given no fewer than eleven sons. It is easy, however, to see that only the first two, Zidon and Heth, belong to the original text. Zidon here includes not merely the inhabitants of the city of the same name, now Sidon, but, as in 1 Kgs. 11:5, all the rest of the Phoenicians. Heth is the Hittites, whose original home was in Cappadocia. They were once very powerful in northern Syria. 93 10 : 15 r> : 1 6 GENESIS R 16. "Heth; | and "the Jebusite, and "the Amorite, and "the 17. Girgashite; and "the Hivite, and "the Arkite, and "the 18. Sinite; and "the Arvadite, and "the Zemarite, and "the J2 Hamathite : | and afterward were Q1 the families 1 of 19. the Canaanite spread abroad. And "the border of 1 Sam. sing. There they defended themselves, first against the Egyptians, and then against the Assyrians, for centuries. Some of them seem to have strayed into Palestine, but there is no conclusive evidence that they ever occupied the country. Some of them were among David's warriors. 1 Sam. 26 : 6; 2 Sam. 11:3. It is only in the Priestly narrative that they appear as " the people of the land "; and the first two names in this verse may have been taken from that source. See 23 : 7; 27 : 46. 16. This is one of a number of places where lists of the tribes that originally inhabited Palestine have been added. See 15 : 21; Ex. 3:8; etc. Their form betrays them ; also the fact that together they cover more territory than is included in the limits described in v. 19. The Jebusite denotes the ancient inhabitants of Jerusalem and the surrounding country. See 2 Sam. 5 : 6 ff. The Amorite sometimes includes the entire population of Palestine, as in 15 : 6, but here, as in 14 : 7, it probably designates a tribe in the southern part of the country. The Girgashite occupied a part of western Palestine, but the precise location of it is unknown. See Josh. 24 : 11. 17. The Hivite is the name given to the inhabitants of central Palestine, including those of Shechem, Gibeon, etc. See 34 : 2 ; Josh. 9:7,17. These first four names occur several times together ; but the rest are peculiar to this passage and the parallel one in 1 Chr. 1 : 15 f. The Arkite denotes the people of ancient Arka, the site of which is twelve miles north of Tripolis. Near it was Sin, Ass. Sianu, whence the Sinite. 18. The Arvadite ; the people of Arvad, a very ancient city on an island, now called Ruad, a little north of Tripolis. The Zemarite occupied another ancient city, called Semar, near Arka. The Hamath ite ; the people of the well-known city of Hamath, now Hama, on the Orontes, and the kingdom of which it was the capital. The last clause is the proper continuation of the first of v. 15; for it was after Canaan had forgotten Zidon and Heth that the families of the Ca naanite, the families that sprang from these two " sons," were spread abroad. 19. The border of the territory occupied by the Canaanite extended 94 GENESIS 10:21 the Canaanite was "from 1 Zidon, as thou goest "toward Gerar, unto Gaza ; as thou goest "toward Sodom * and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, unto "Lasha.f 1 20. These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after p their tongues,2 in their lands, in their nations. 21. And unto Shem, the father of all "the children of J2 Eber, °3 the elder brother of Japheth,3 to him also were 1 S V Sidon, etc. ; Sam. the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates, and unto the western sea. a Vg. adds, and after their generations. 3 m. brother of Japheth the elder. from Zidon, on the northwest, along the Mediterranean, toward Gerar, unto Gaza. Gerar is by many identified with Umm el-Jerar, six miles south of Gaza ; but, according to 20 : 1, it was between Kadesh and Shur, while 26 : 22 f. indicates that it was south of Rehoboth, i.e., Ruheibeh, and therefore south, or southwest, of Beer-sheba. There is a Wady Jerur in this region, one of the smaller watercourses that feed Wady el-Arish, the " brook of Egypt." So Trumbull, who locates the city of Gerar at el-Aujeh, a considerable ruin about thirty miles southwest of Beer-sheba, and nearly as far in a northwesterly direction from Ayn Kadis. See Trumbull, Kadesh Barnea, 61 ff ., 295 f. The rest of the verse is difficult, but it seems to be the object of the writer to trace the corresponding eastern border. If so, the starting-point was probably at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Thence it ran along the western shore of the sea, toward, and beyond, Sodom, ending at Lasha, probably Laish, afterward called Dan. See Jud. 18 : 29. In the above interpretation it is taken for granted that Sodom was at the northern end of the sea, this being the view that is best sup ported by the biblical evidence. Thus, in 19 : 29 it and Gomorrah are described as " cities of the Plain," the plain being the same that in 15 : 10 f. is called " the Plain of the Jordan," and in Dt. 34 : 3 "the Plain of Jericho." Compare G. A. Smith, Hist. Geog., etc., 505 f . The remaining names, which are entirely unnecessary, seem to have been borrowed from 14 : 8 or Dt. 29 : 23. 20. This verse corresponds to v. 5, but the order is different. See v. 31. (c) The children of Shem; 10 : 21-32. They have their portion between those of Japheth and Ham. 21. The children of Eber ; the Hebrews. This fact is noted for the purpose of awakening the interest of the Jewish reader. The elder brother ; the one older than Ham. The marginal reading, an expe dient to escape the difficulty created by 9 : 24, is clearly inde fensible. 95 io : 22 GENESIS P 22. children born. | The sons of Shem; "Elam, and "As- 23. shur, and "Arpachshad, and "Lud, and "Aram. And the sons of Aram; "Uz, and "Hul, and "Gether, and js 24. "Mash.1 | And Arpachshad begat2 "Shelah: and She- 25. lah begat "Eber. And unto Eber were born two sons : the name of the one was "Peleg; for in his days "was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. 1 Gr. Mosoch. ' Gr. adds, Kenan, and Kenan begat. 22. Elam; the Elamites, who occupied the rugged country east of the Tigris at the head of the Persian Gulf. They remained a powerful people until 645 B.C., when they were finally subdued by the Assyrians, who, under the name Asshur, are here classified, not as Hamites (v. 11), but as Shemites. The name Arpachshad has not yet been satis factorily explained ; but the facts, that the lineage of Abraham, who, according to 11:31, was a Chaldean, is traced to Arpachshad, that the second half of the name comes from the same root as that for the Chaldeans, and that, unless the name includes the Chaldeans, this most important of the Shemite peoples has been ignored, make it at least probable that they are so included. Lud is the Lydians, one of the great powers during the first half of the sixth century B.C., but overthrown by Cyrus in 546 B.C. By Aram are meant the Ara- means, who at one time occupied more or less completely the vast territory extending from the northern border of Palestine to the con fines of Armenia and exerted an influence far beyond these limits. Haran was one of their centres, but the seat of their greatest political power was Damascus. Hence in the Old-Testament Aram oftenest means the country of which Damascus was the capital and its people. In other cases the general term is modified by a distinguishing addition. 23. The author first disposes of Aram, and then goes back to Ar pachshad, that the later generations which sprang from him may come last. Uz here represents a tribe or region in northwestern Arabia, apparently, according to Lam. 4 : 21, including Edom. See Jb. 1 : 3, 15. Hul and Gether, also, were probably in northern Arabia. Mash was in the Syrian desert west of the Euphrates. 24. At this point the Priestly genealogy is interrupted by an ex tract from the other, the first two verses of which anticipate 11 : 10 ff. just as 4 : 25 f. did 5 : 1 ff. The rest is a table of the Arabian tribes, which, according to v. 7, were derived from Cush. On the names Shelah and Eber see 11 : 14 ff. 25. The name Peleg is explained by a reference to the time when the earth was divided (palag); viz., when mankind were dispersed, 96 GENESIS 10 = 30 26. And "Joktan begat "Almodad, and "Sheleph, and °Ha- 27. zarmaveth, and "Jerah; and "Hadoram, and "Uzal,1 28. and "Diklah; 2 and "Obal,2 and "Abimael, and "Sheba; 29. and "Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were 30. the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling was from "Mesha, "as thou goest toward "Sephar,3 the mountain * 1 Sam. Ezal. a Sam. and Ebal; Gr. om. 3 Syr. Sepharvaim. « m. hill country.as described in> 1 1 : 1 ff . For the continuation of the line from Peleg, see 11 : 18 ff. 26. Joktan, the progenitor of the tribes of the Arabian peninsula, is credited with thirteen, or, according to the Greek Version, twelve sons. Some of them cannot be located with any precision; for ex ample, Almodad. Sheleph is perhaps another form of Sulaf or Salifi the name of a tribe in Yemen. Hazarmaveth is clearly Hadramaut, the capital of which, Sabtah, occurred in v. 7 as one of the sons of Cush. In the same region, according to Glaser, was Jerah. 27. The same traveller identifies Hadoram with Dauram, near Sana, but in neither case are his reasons convincing. Uzal, according to the Arab geographers, is Sana, the capital of Yemen. See Ezek. 27 : 19. Diklah has not been discovered. 28. The name Obal is the one omitted by the Greek Version, and, it may well be, correctly, since without it the number of Joktan's sons would be reduced to twelve, and twelve was a favorite number in the narrative to which this part of the genealogy belonged. See 25 : 2 ff., 13 ff. A similar name was found by Glaser west of Yemen, but there is no certainty about the identification. Abimael ; unknown. Sheba, as in v. 7, is the Sabeans ; but in the other passage they are derived from Cush. 29. The location of Ophir is disputed ; but since the preceding names, so far as they have been identified, are Arabian, and, according to v. 30, the entire family of Joktan occupied contiguous territory, it is fair to infer that Ophir, too, was in Arabia, probably, as Glaser concludes, on the shore of the Persian Gulf. This view is not forbidden by 1 Kgs. 9 : 26 ff., and 10 : 22 ; for, while the former of these pas sages says that the fleet fitted out by Solomon and Hiram went to Ophir, it does not give the length of the voyage, and although the latter gives the length of the voyage, it does not say that Ophir was its destination. 30. Mesha, probably the Mash of v. 23. As thou goest toward, here as far as. Sephar, a town on the southern coast, near a moun tain, the mountain of the east, in eastern Hadramaut. In other words, H 97 5:31 GENESIS P 31. of the east. These are "the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. 32. These are the families of "the sons of Noah, "after their generations,1 "in their nations ; and of these "were the nations 2 divided in the earth "after the flood. 1 Syr. adds, after their families. a Sam. isles of the nations. the sons of Joktan occupied the entire Arabian peninsula. Compare v. 7, where much, if not all, of this territory is assigned to the sons of Cush. 31. The sons of Shem ; not all that have been named in this para graph, but, since this verse is from the Priestly document, only those of vs. 22 f. This verse is a conclusion to the chapter as a whole, corresponding to the title of v. 1. 32. The sons of Noah ; not all that have been named in the chap ter, but those of the Priestly portions ; viz., vs. 1—7, 20, 22 f. After their generations ; according to their derivation. In their nations ; according to their distribution. The nations were divided ; dis seminated, and thus the earth was repeopled by the offspring of a single pair after the flood. For a tabular view of the entire scheme, see the Appendix, Note B. The chapter, it is clear, does not present a complete map of the world at the time when it was written, but only that part of it with which the Hebrews were more or less familiar, viz., the part extending north and south from the Black Sea to the Indian Ocean, and east and west fom the sixtieth parallel to the Atlantic. Secondly, it is not a homogeneous and consistent presentation of the subject which it covers, but consists of a brief outline by the Priestly writer, which has been enlarged by the addition of details from two or three other sources that cannot be harmonized with the present context. Thirdly, there are various instances in which, as has been shown, peoples of different types are represented as affiliated. In view of these facts it is plain that the chapter cannot therefore be regarded as strictly correct from the historical standpoint. Still it has its value; it is a remarkable proof of the belief of the Hebrews in the unity of the race, and of their final recognition of the fact that variations in language arise from dispersion, and not vice versa. See 11 : 1 ff. (2) The dispersal of mankind, 11 : 1-9 The first men, while still one family, come in their wanderings to Shinar, where they undertake to build a city and a great tower ; but GENESIS ii : 5 11. And the whole earth was of "one language and of "one ; 2. speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed "east,1 that they found a plain in "the land of Shinar2; and 3. they dwelt there. And they said one to another, 3 Go to,3 "let us make brick, and "burn them throughly.' And they had brick for stone, and "slime 5 had they for 4. mortar. And they said, 3 Go to,3 let us build us "a city, and "a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and "let us make us a name; "lest we be scattered abroad 5. upon the face of the whole earth. And "the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the 1 m. in the east. * Tar. Babel. 3 SV Come. ¦* SV thoroughly. 3 m. bitumen. Yahweh, seeing their presumption, confuses their speech and thus scatters them over the earth. The source is J. 1. One language ; lit. one lip, one form of speech. One speech. Better, the same words, the same vocabulary. 2. East. The form of expression is the same in the original as in 2 : 8 and 3 : 24. There is therefore little ground for preferring from the east, or the marginal alternative in the east. If, however, in mov ing eastward, they came to the land of Shinar, Babylonia, they must have started from northern Arabia, and not from Ararat. In other words, this passage, which is an extract from the same narrative as the story of Eden, had, as has already been remarked, no account of the Flood. 3. Let us make brick; this being the material most readily obtain able in that region. The bricks were of two kinds. The most com mon were simply dried in the sun ; but, when durability was desired, the custom was to burn them throughly. Slime. Better, as in the margin, bitumen. Large quantities of it are found at Hit, on the river above the site of Babylon. 4. A city ; with a, protecting wall. A tower. A tower, or, as it was called, a ziggurat, was one of the principal features of the cities of Babylonia. It was often of considerable height. The one at Agade bore the name, " The house reaching to heaven." They were erected in honor of the gods. The motive here given is simple vanity : let us make us a name. The last clause, lest we be scattered abroad, gives the motive for building the city, which is a more worthy one. 5. The LORD came down; a strongly anthropomorphic expression. See 18 : 21. • 99 ! : 6 GENESIS 6. children of men * builded. And "the Lord said, Be hold, they are one people, and they have all one lan guage; and this is "what they begin to do: and now "nothing will be withholden from them, which they 7. purpose to do. 2 Go to,2 "let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not under- 8. stand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth : 9. and they left off 3 to build 3 the city.4 Therefore was the name of it called "Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. 2. The Branch of Shem, n : 10-26 P 10. These are the generations of Shem. Shem was "an hundred years old, and begat Arpachshad °* two years 1 Vg. Adam. a SV Come. s SV building. * Sam. adds, and the tower. 6. The LORD said ; on his return, in council with his angels. What they begin to do ; their first undertaking. Nothing will be withholden from them ; be too difficult for them to undertake or accomplish. 7. Let us go down. See 1 : 26. The last clause must not be taken too literally ; the writer surely did not intend to represent Yahweh as proposing to make each individual unintelligible to every other. 8. Supply in thought, So the Lord went down, and confounded their language, at the beginning of the verse. 9. The name Babel is the Hebrew form of the Babylonian Bab-ili, Gate of God ; but it resembles in sound the Hebrew verb babal, mean ing confound. The writer saw the alliteration and noted it. The whole story, evidently a legend, was probably suggested by the great tower of the temple of Marduk at Babylon, which long lay in ruins, but was finally rebuilt in part by Nabopolassar (625-604) and completed by his son Nebuchadrezzar. It had seven receding stages, was three hundred feet square at the base and three hundred feet high, and was called "The house of the foundation of heaven." This genealogy follows the pattern of that in chapter 5, except that in the received text it has only nine generations, and omits the state- GENESIS 1 1 . after the flood f : and Shem lived after he begat Arpach shad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.1 12. And Arpachshad lived 2 five and thirty 2 years, and begat 13. Shelah 3: and Arpachshad lived after he begat Shelah 3 4 four hundred and three 4 years, and begat sons and 14. daughters.5 And Shelah lived thirty years, and begat 15. Eber: and Shelah lived after he begat Eber 8four hun dred and three 6 years, and begat sons and daughters. 16. And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: 17. and Eber lived after he begat Peleg °7 four hundred and 1 Sam. adds in each case, and all the days of . . . were . . ., and he died; Gr. in each case, and he died. a Sam. Gr. add a hundred from Arpachshad to Serug in clusive to the first period. 3 Gr. Kenan. * Sam. deducts a hundred from the second period from Arpachshad to Serug, except for Eber; Gr. four hundred and thirty. *_Gr. adds, and Kenan lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat Shelah. A nd Kenan lived after he begat Shelah three hundred and thirty years and begat sons and daughters; and he died. 6 Gr. Three hundred and thirty. ? Sam. two hundred and seventy; Gr. three hundred and seventy. ment of the total number of the years lived. The first omission is supplied by the Greek Version, and the second in the Samaritan text. 10. The natural interpretation of 5 : 32 is that Shem was born in Noah's five hundredth year. He must, then, have been an hundred years old when his father was six hundred, i.e., in the year in which the Flood took place, and not two years after. The discrepancy is explained by supposing that this phrase is a correction by some one who could not allow that children were born during the Flood. A more serious difficulty is, that Arpachshad here seems to be Shem's oldest son, while in 10 : 22 he is the third mentioned. Perhaps in the latter case the order was not intended to be the natural one. 12. On the variations of the Samaritan text and the Greek Version, see the Appendix. The received text is almost always the one to be preferred. The insertion of another generation between Arpachshad and Shelah is plainly a. correction for the purpose of making the number ten in this table as in that of chapter 5. Note also that the numbers for Kenan are the same as those for Shelah. 17. Four hundred and thirty years. This is the only case in which a son's second period, and consequently his total, is greater than that of his father. There is little doubt, therefore, that the reading here should be three hundred and seventy, as in the Greek Version. Per haps it is significant that the sixty years, which do not affect the chro nology of the period, are added to the life of the palriarch who is supposed to have given their name to the Hebrew people. 101 11 : 17 I : X8 GENESIS 1 8. thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. And Pe- 19. leg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: and Peleg lived after he begat Reu "two hundred and nine years, and 20. begat sons and daughters. And Reu lived two and 21. thirty years, and begat Serug: and Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat 22. sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and 23. begat Nahor: and Serug lived after he begat Nahor 24. two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Nahor lived "nine and twenty i years, and begat Terah : 25. and Nahor lived after he begat Terah 2 an "hundred and 26. nineteen2 years, and begat sons and daughters. And Terah lived seventy 3 years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 3. The Family of Terah, n : 27-32 p 27. Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begat "Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. | 1 Sam. Gr. seventy. a Sam. nine and sixty; Gr. a hundred nine and twenty. 3 Syr. five and seventy. 19. Two hundred and nine. In this and the next two cases the Greek Version, although it adds a hundred to the first, agrees with the received text on the length of the second period. 24. Nine and twenty years. In this case the Samaritans and the Greek Version add only fifty to the original number. 25. In this, as in previous cases, the Samaritans deduct the number added to the first period from the second, but the Greek Version adds ten to the hundred and nineteen of the received text. The divergences between the received text, the Samaritan recension, and the Greek Version have been noted in the comments or among the various readings. For a tabular view of them, see the Appendix, Note C. Haran dies in Ur, and Abram and Nahor marry; after which Terah migrates with Abram and Lot, the son of Haran, to the city of Haran. The paragraph is of mixed, Priestly and Judean, origin. 27. Abram, the name by which the eldest son of Terah is called as 102 GENESIS 28. And Haran died cl in the presence of 1 his father Terah J in "the land of his nativity, °* in Ur of the Chaldees.f And Abram and Nahor took them wives : the name of 29. Abram's wife was "Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife "Milcah, the daughter of "Haran, the father of Mil- 30. cah, and the father of "Iscah. And Sarai was "barren ; 31. she had no child. | And Terah took Abram his son, P and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai 2 his daughter 3 in law, 4 his son Abram's wife 4 ; and °5 they went forth with them 5 from "Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan ; and they came unto "Haran, 32. and dwelt there. And the days of Terah e were *7 two hundred f and five 7 years : and Terah died in Haran. 1 SV before; Syr. during the life of. a Sam. adds, and Milcah. 3 Sam. plu. » Sam. the wife of his sons Abram and Nahor. = Sam. Gr. Vg. he brought them forth; Syr. he went forth with them. « Gr. adds, in Haran. » Sam. a hundred five and forty. far as 17 : 5, being interpreted, means Exalted father. The similar name, Abiram, My father is exalted, was used in Babylonia at least two thousand years B.C. 28. In the presence of his father ; not exactly before his father died, but, as the Syriac Version puts it, while his father was yet alive. The land of his nativity would, of course, be that of Abraham's. That, however, according to the Judean writer, to whom this verse as a whole must be assigned, was Haran, or Charan, in Aram-naharaim. See 24 : 4, 10 ; 29 : 4. On the other hand, the Priestly author taught that Abram's original home was Ur. See v. 3 1 . When, therefore, the compiler put this paragraph together, he inserted here the phrase Ur of the Chaldees to bring the two into harmony. 29. Sarai. According to 20 : 12 (E), she was Abram's half sister. From 17:15 onward she is called Sarah. Milcah, the wife of Nahor, is mentioned further in 22 : 20 ff. and 24 : 15, 24, but Iscah appears only in this passage. The peculiar way in which their father Haran is here described suggests the query whether he is the same as Haran the younger brother of Abram. 30. The fact that Sarai was barren here stands unrelated, but it has important bearings in the later history of the family. See 16 : 1 ff. 31. This verse continues v. 27. They went forth with them is impossible. Read, therefore, either, with the Syriac Version, he 103 11 : 32 GENESIS went forth with them, or, with the Samaritans and the Greek Version, he brought them forth. Observe that no mention is made of Nahor. Yet, in 24 : 10 Haran is called " the city of Nahor." The explanation is the same as in the case of Abram. Chapter 25 is from the Judean, this verse from the Priestly narrative. Here Nahor is left at Ur be cause the author in 10 : 22 has made Aram, the people about Haran, the immediate offspring of Shem. See also 25 : 20 and 28 : 5, where Bethuel is not a son of Nahor, but an Aramean. Ur of the Chaldees is generally identified with the Uru of the Babylonian inscriptions, a very ancient city the ruins of which have been discovered at el- Mukayyav, on the right bank of the Euphrates, about a hundred and fifty miles southeast of Babylon. The reason for the migration is not given. For the traditional explanation, see Judith 5 : 6 ff. Haran; now Harran, on the Belik, a branch of the Euphrates, in northern Mesopotamia. It was a great commercial centre ; also, like Ur, a seat of the worship of the moon-god Sin. The date of Terah's removal is not noted, but the received text says that he died at the age of two hundred and five years. The Samaritans, however, read a hundred five and forty, thus cutting his life a little short of the length of his father's and bringing his death into the same year with the de parture of Abram from Haran ; and this is probably the original read ing. So Acts 7 : 4. The larger number was copied from the Greek Version, where sixty additional years are also given to Nahor. 104 II. The Patriarchal Period, Chs. 12-50 1. Abraham and his Family, 12 : 1-25 : 18 12. Now the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of "thy J 12:2 country, and from thy kindred, and from "thy father's \ 2. house, unto the land that I will shew thee: and "I will In the last chapter the attention of the reader was gradually with drawn from the rest of the world and focussed upon a little band of emigrants consisting, apparently, of only four persons. Finally, the aged leader was removed, and Abram, Sarai, and Lot were left waiting for divine instruction with reference to their further movements. The rest of the book is a rehearsal of the experiences of Abram and Sarai, first with and then without Lot, of their son Isaac and his family, and finally of their grandson Jacob and the great company, sprung from his loins, that followed him into Egypt. The first division of this part (12 : 1-25:18) must originally have had a title, viz., These are the generations of Abram, to correspond to 25 : 19 and 37 : 2. It consists of a variety of incidents, which may be arranged in five groups, and an appendix containing a brief account of the family of Ishmael. In the first of these groups are described Abram's (1) First adventures in Canaan, chs. 12-14 The story begins with his (a) Migration from the East, 12 : 1-9. At the command of Yahweh, Abram leaves Haran and, arrived in Canaan, halts, first at Shechem and then at Bethel, building an altar at each of these places and receiving renewed assurances of the divine favor. The text is partly from the Judean and partly from the Priestly narrative. 1. Thy country ; Haran. Thy father's house ; the family to which he belonged. It does not imply that his father was still alive. See 24 : 38, where his servant quotes him as using the same expression many years later. It does, however, imply that there were some to be left behind, viz., Nahor and his family. See 22 : 20 ff. Accord ing to the Priestly writer this would not be the case. He left Nahor at Ur. ¦z. Yahweh does not tell Abram where he is to go, but he gives him a promise that would take him anywhere : I will make of thee a great i°5 12:3 GENESIS make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and 3. make thy name great; and be thou "a blessing 1: and I will bless "them that bless thee, and °2 him that curs- eth 2 thee I will curse : and in thee 3° shall all the families 4. of the earth be blessed. So Abram went,4 as the Lord had spoken unto him ; and "Lot went with him : | and Abram was seventy and five years old when he de- 5. parted out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and 5 the souls 6 that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth "to go into the land of Canaan; | and into the land of Canaan they came. 6. And Abram passed through the land unto "the place of 1 Gr. Vg. Tar. blessed. a Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. them that curse. 3 Syr. adds, and in thy seed. « Syr. did. s Gr. all the souls. nation. This promise appears in all the sources (15 : 5 [E] ; 17 : 2 ff. [P]).;' but it is especially emphasized in various editorial additions. See 13 : 16 ; 18 : 18 ; 22 : 17 ; etc. A blessing; not in the sense of being a source of advantage to others, but in that of being a recognized example of superlative happiness. See Zech. 8 : 13. .- 3. Them that bless thee ; those who wish him and his descendants well and rejoice in their prosperity. Him that curseth. Better, with the ancient authorities, them that curse. Observe that the writer's thought is still fixed on Abram. It is most natural, therefore, to ex pect in the final clause, not, shall be blessed, but, as most modern exe- getes render, shall bless themselves. In other words, as in v. 2, Yahweh promises that all nations shall recognize the felicity of Abram and his descendants and gauge their own condition and, aspirations by it. See 48 : 20 ; Ps. 72 : 17. 4. The first part of the Judean account of the migration of Abram closes with the statement that Lot went with him. The date, which is from the Priestly narrative, seems to have been transposed. See v. 5. 5. To go into the land of Canaan. Here belongs the date now found in v. 4. _ In the last clause the rendering is misleading. There is no emphasis on the destination. It reads simply, and they came, into the land of Canaan, and, so read, it is the natural continuation of the Judean narrative from the point where it left off in v. 4. 6. The place of Shechem. The word here rendered place some times means site. If so interpreted here, it would imply that, when. 106 GENESIS 12 : 8 Shechem, unto "the oak 1 of Moreh. And "the Canaan- 7. ite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, "Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there "builded he an altar unto the Lord, 8. who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto "the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and °Ai on the east : 1 m. terebinth. Abram passed that way, the city of Shechem did not exist. The addition of the explanatory phrase, the oak of Moreh, or, the terebinth of the teacher, indicates that in this case it means a local sanctuary. See Dt. 12 : 2 f. It was not in the immediate vicinity of the city, but, according to tradition, more than half a mile east of it, where the village of Belata is now situated. Shechem, thirty miles north of Jerusalem, was one of the most important cities in ancient Palestine. Its central location between the twin mountains Ebal and Gerizim, as well as the popularity of its oracle and the sanctuary connected therewith, made it a favorite place for great meetings. There the tribes twice assembled under Joshua (Josh. 8 : 30 ff.; 24 : 1 ff.), and there, when they went to crown Rehoboam, occurred the great rupture between the northern and the southern tribes. See 1 Kgs. 12 : 1 ff. It is still, Under the name Nabulus (Flavia Neapolis), a thriving place of about 25,000 inhabitants. The Canaanite is the term used by the Judean narrative for the original inhabitants of Pal estine. See 9 : 25. The country was already occupied by them when Abram arrived. In fact, they had been there for centuries. 7. Although the land was already occupied, and there was no pros pect of its abandonment by the inhabitants, Yahweh said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. He builded an altar, thus testifying his grati tude to Yahweh and sanctifying the place for all time in the estimation of his descendants. See Josh. 20 : 7. 8. Having thus, in a sense, taken possession of one of the principal Canaanite sanctuaries, Abram proceeded southward about twenty miles and made his second halt at the mountain on the east of the place which, at that time, according to 28 : 19, was called Luz, and was first named Beth-el many years later by Jacob. The mountain in question is probably the hill to the east of the modern village of Beitin, on which are the ruins of a Christian church, and from which there is a wide prospect, including two or three sites where different authorities have sought Ai. Ai is most plausibly identified with Hayan, a little over two miles southeast of Bethel. See Is. 10 : 28. 107 12 : g GENESIS and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called R 9. upon the name of the Lord. | And Abram journeyed, going on still J toward "the South.1 J 10. And there was "a famine in the land: and Abram "went down into Egypt "to sojourn there; for the 11. famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, 1 Gr. in the desert. 9. This verse is an editorial addition, by which, with the help of 13 : 1, the story in vs. 10 ff. was attached to its present context. The South is here the comparatively waterless region south of Hebron in which Beer-sheba was situated. See 13 : 1. There is nothing incredible in the migration of Abram. Centuries before he can have lived Canaan was a dependency of one or another king in Babylonia. When the Elamites conquered the latter country they also secured dominion over the former, and when Hammurabi overthrew the Elamites he became the ruler of the West. At that time Canaan was occupied, to some extent at least, by the branch of Shemites to which this great king belonged, as is indicated by names that have been preserved. Thus, when Sanehat, an Egyptian prince, fled to that country, he found refuge with a chief whose name, Ammi- anshi, belongs to the same class as those of Ammi-ditana and Ammi- saduga, two of Hammurabi's successors. It must therefore, under ordinary circumstances, have been comparatively easy during this whole period to travel from Haran to any part of Canaan, and many must have made the journey. (b) A visit to Egypt, 12 : 10-20. Abram, on a visit to Egypt, persuades Sarai, for his safety, to represent herself as his sister ; there fore Pharaoh, hearing of her beauty, takes her for a wife, and restores her only after being plagued by Yahweh on her account. The story is from the Judean narrative, but it was hardly a part of the original work. 10. A famine in the land ; not an infrequent occurrence. See 42 : 1 ff.; 2 Sam. 21 : 1 ff.; etc. Abram, instead of sending thither for grain, as Jacob did, went down from the elevated region, from 2000 to 2500 feet above the sea, where he had lived, into Egypt. It is implied that intercourse between Canaan and Egypt was constant and not very difficult. That this was the case is shown in a picture at Beni Hasan, in which a company of thirty-seven Shemites are represented as being received by an Egyptian governor under Usertesen II. To sojourn there; temporarily. He had no thought of forfeiting the Promised Land. 108 GENESIS when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that "thou art 12. a fair woman to look upon: and it shall come to pass, "when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall l say, This is his wife : and they will kill me, but they 13. will save thee alive. "Say, I pray thee, 2 thou art my2 sister: "that it may be well with me for thy sake, and 14. that my soul may live because of thee. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, "the 15. Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. And the princes of "Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh: and "the woman was taken into Pharaoh's 1 SV will. a Gr. Syr. I am his. 11. Thou art a fair woman. Yet, from 17 : 17 it appears that she was sixty-five years of age. That passage, however, it will be found, is from another author (P), who intentionally omits incidents of the kind here given. There is therefore no necessity for believing that the writer in this passage intended to represent Sarai as an elderly woman. 12. When the Egyptians shall see thee implies that Sarai, like the women in the picture at Beni Hasan, went unveiled. Comp. 24 : 13. The obvious intent of the author in making Abram say to Sarai, Say thou art my sister, or, with the Greek and Syriac Versions, Say, I am his sister, is to convey the idea that he was asking her to mis represent her relation to him. When this was written the Hebrews seem to have regarded a falsehood under such circumstances as allow able. See 1 Kgs. 22 : 19 ff.; Jer. 38 : 24; comp. 20 : 12. This, however, is not so bad as the coolness with which Abram jeopardizes his wife's honor for the sake of his own safety. See 19 : 8. The final clause, that it may be well with me, is an appeal to Sarai's affections, and is expressed as strongly as is possible in Hebrew. See Ex. 20 : 12. 14. The Egyptians beheld that she was very fair. The nobles of Egypt under the Twelfth Dynasty were partial to Syrian women, and had many of them in their harems. 15. Pharaoh ; lit. Great House, at first the royal establishment, but finally the official title of the king of Egypt. See " Sublime Porte." The woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. The story 109 12 : 15 12 : 1 6 GENESIS 16. house. And "he l entreated Abram well 1 for her sake : and he had sheep, and oxen,2 and he-asses, and men- servants, and maidservants, * and she-asses, and 17. "camels. f And the Lord plagued Pharaoh, and his house with great3 "plagues, because of Sarai Abram's 18. wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me ? why didst thou not tell 19. me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so that "I took her to be my wife : now therefore 20. behold thy wife,4 "take her and go thy way. And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him: and "they brought him on the way, and the wife, and "all that he had.5 1 SV dealt well with Abram. a Sam. very many cattle. 3 Gr. adds, and sore. « Gr. adds, is before thee. s Gr. Syr. add, and Lot with him. of '.'The Scented Lock " in what is known as " Papyrus d'Orbiney " shows how eager the kings of Egypt were for handsome women. 16. He entreated Abram well ; bestowed upon him the favor and the presents that the brother of a woman had a right to expect of her husband ; — and Abram accepted them, thus surrendering any claim to Sarai. It is the favor of Pharaoh, therefore, according to the compiler, to which Abram owed the wealth attributed to him in 13 : 2. The last two items are probably an addition to the text. At any rate, camels seem to have been unknown in Egypt before the Greek period. 17. The plagues by which Pharaoh was forced to restore Sarai would be interpreted to him by his wise men. So Josephus, Ant., i. 8, 1, who, like the author of 20 : 1 ff., makes some interesting changes in the story. 19. I took her to be my wife. The king of Egypt could have only one legal wife. If the writer knew this, he makes Pharaoh say that he intended to make Sarai his queen. Take her and go thy way. Pharaoh's promptness in righting the wrong he has unintentionally committed puts him in a more admirable position than that of Abram. 20. They brought him on his way ; expelled him from the country. They allowed him, however, — and this weakens the moral force of the story, — to take with him all that he had. (c) Separation from Lot, chapter 13. While Abram and Lot are encamped near Bethel, — a second time according to the composite no GENESIS 13. And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, R and all that he had, and "Lot with him, into "the South. 2. | And "Abram was very rich "in cattle, in silver, and in jiS 3. gold. | And "he went on his journeys from the South R 4. even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Ai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first : and there "Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5. | And "Lot also, which 1 went with Abram, had flocks, J 6. and herds, and tents.2 | And the land was not able to Pi bear them, that they might dwell together: for '"their ' 1 SV who. a Syr. adds, a great multitude. text, — their herdsmen quarrel ; whereupon Abram suggests that they separate, giving Lot the choice of directions ; and so they do, Lot choosing the Plain of the Jordan and Abram remaining in the high lands. To get the original connection it is necessary to go back to 12 : 8 (J), and then read in this chapter vs. 2, 5, 6b-7a, 8-na, 12b- 13, 18. Vs. 6a, nb, nb— 12a, are 0, parallel account from the Priestly source, and the rest is editorial. 1. Lot with him, since the nephew is not mentioned in 12 : 9, may be an afterthought. The South ; which, however, was northeast of Egypt. 2. Abram was very rich. When this statement is connected, as it was originally, with 12 : 8, it appears that the patriarch brought his wealth with him from Haran. In cattle, etc. Compare this simple, but comprehensive, list with that of 12 : 16. Silver is here mentioned before gold, probably because, among the early Hebrews, as among the Egyptians, it was rarer and more highly valued. The Hebrew word for money is the one for silver. 3. He went on his journeys. Better, hewentby stages, astheownerof cattle necessarily travels. See 33 : 14. The distance from Beer-sheba to Bethel, by the way of Hebron and Jerusalem, is about sixty miles. 4. Abram called on the name of the LORD. Thus, by the repetition of the final clause of 12 : 8, the compiler brings the reader back to the point where Abram was before he was taken to Egypt. 5. Lot also introduces a natural reference to the nephew's wealth, which originally followed v. 2. 6. This immense wealth in cattle finally became embarrassing. The Priestly narrator, avoiding, as usual, anything that might seem discreditable to his heroes, gives as the sole reason why Abram and Lot had to separate, that their substance was great. See 36 : 7. in 13 = 6 13 ; 7 GENESIS j substance was great,1 | so that they could not dwell to- 7. gether. And there was a "strife between the herdmen of R Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle : ] and "the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. J 8. | And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herd- 9. men and thy herdmen; for "we are brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me : if thou wilt take "the 2 left hand,2 then I will go to "the right3; or if thou take the right hand, 10. then I will go to the left. And "Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld "all the Plain* of Jordan5 that "it was well watered "everywhere, before the Lord destroyed "Sodom and Gomorrah, like "the garden of the Lord, * like "the land of Egypt, I as thou goest unto °Zoar.° 1 Syr. very great. a Tar. north. 3 Tar. south. « m. Circle; Syr. land. 3 SV the Jordan. 6 Syr. Zoan. 7. Fortunately an older version, and one truer to life, has been pre served by the Judean narrator, who says frankly that the immediate cause of the separation was strife between the herdmen. The Ca naanite and the Perizzite here seem to represent the native inhabit ants in the cities and in the open villages, respectively; but if this interpretation is correct, the reference to them cannot be a part of the original story. Comp. 12 : 6. 8. We are brethren; near relatives; an appeal as flattering to Lot as it was creditable to Abram. 9. The left and the right are not here, as the Targum renders them, the north and the south, but simply any two opposite, or at least differ ent, directions. See 24 : 49. Comp. Ezek. 16 : 46. 10. Lot lifted up his eyes. He had only to do so to behold from the hill east of Bethel, where he was encamped, all the Plain of Jordan, or, more correctly, the Jordan. The Plain, lit. Circle, of the Jordan can only be the widening valley of that river toward the Dead Sea. No doubt it was well watered, either from the river or from the springs and streams on both sides of it, everywhere in those early times. Sodom and Gomorrah must have been situated somewhere in this Plain ; otherwise they would not be mentioned. See 10 : 19. It is compared to the garden of the LORD in Eden and the land of Egypt 112 GENESIS 13 : 16 n. So "Lot chose him all the Plain of Jordan1; and Lot ) journeyed east; | and they separated themselves the one P 12. from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, j and Lot dwelled in "the cities 2 of the Plain,2 | and J 13. °3 moved his tent 3 "as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Lord ex- 14. ceedingly. | And 4 the Lord 4 said unto Abram, after R that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, "north- 15. ward and southward and eastward and "westward : for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and 16. to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed "as the dust of the earth : so that if a man can number the dust 1 SV the Jordan. ' Vg. that -were about the Jordan. 3 Vg. dwell; Syr. pos sessed. * Gr. God. each of which owed its fertility to the river that passed through it. See 2 : 10; Dt. n : 10. The second of these phrases seems to have been added to the text by some one who was inclined to follow the Syriac Version, which has Zoan for Zoar. See Num. 13 : 22. The latter city is traditionally located in Wady es-Safiyeh, near the south eastern corner of the Dead Sea ; but this passage requires that it be sought near the northeast corner. See Merrill, East of the Jordan, 233 f. Perhaps, therefore, the name is preserved in that of Tell esh-Shaghur, east of the Jordan, on the road to Madeba. 11. Lot, less wise, as well as less generous, than his uncle, promptly chose him all the Plain of Jordan, and took his journey thither. The last clause is the continuation of 6a. 12. The first half of this verse is the conclusion of the Priestly writer's brief account of the separation. The cities of the Plain; a Hebraism for one of the cities of the Plain. See Jud. 12 : 7. The author (P) shrinks from connecting even Lot directly with Sodom. The statement begun in na (J) was not finished. It now appears that, when he journeyed eastward, he moved his tent, changed his camp from time to time, as far as, until he reached, Sodom. For the rest of the Judean account, see v. 18. 14. The intervening verses enlarge upon, the promise of Yahweh to Abram. The author does not seem to be as careful as the Jahvist. There is no extended outlook from Bethel northward or westward. 16, As the dust of the earth. For other similar figures, see 22 : 17. 1 "3 i3 : 17 GENESIS of the earth, then shall 1 thy seed also be numbered. 17. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in ,18. the breadth of it, for unto thee will I give it. | And "Abram 2 moved his tent,2 and came and "dwelt by °3the oaks of Mamre,3 which are "in Hebron, and built there "an altar unto the Lord. 1 SV may. ' Sam. went; Syr. came. 3 m. the terebinths, etc. ; Gr. the oak Mamre; ¦Vg. the valley of Mamre; Syr. the oak of Mamre the Amorite. 18. This verse completes v. na, the two together corresponding to v. 12 (P). Abram moved his tent ; lit. tented, moved by stages. The distance was only about thirty miles. Comp. v. 17. He finally dwelt, made a prolonged stay, by the oaks of Mamre. Better, as in the margin, the terebinths, or, since both the Greek' and the Syriac Version have the singular, the terebinth of Mamre. So Josephus, Ant., i. 11, 2. The name Mamre sometimes denotes a place, and sometimes a per son. Here and in 18 : 1 it is ambiguous. See 14 : 13 ; 35 : 27. The oaks in question are described as in Hebron, one of the most ancient cities in Palestine. See Num. 13 : 22. Its original name, according to Josh. 14 : 15 and Jud. 1 : 10, was Kiriath-arba ; which, however, was not derived from that of any person, but is equivalent to Te- trapolis, or Four-town. See 2 Sam. 2 : 3. Being the largest city in Judah, and well situated for his purpose, it became David's first capital. Its chief distinction, however, is that it was the burial-place of the patriarchs, whose tombs are still shown. See 23 : 20. It is still, under the name el-Khalil, a thriving city of about 20,000 inhabit ants, well located for trade with the Bedawin of the southern desert. It is about twenty miles from Jerusalem. An altar unto the LORD; the third erected by Abram since he entered the country. (d) The Elamite raid, chapter 14. Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam, coming to Palestine, accompanied by three subject rulers, to suppress a rebellion headed by the king of Sodom, first makes the circuit of Edom, subduing the tribes through whose countries he passes, then overthrows the allies in the vale of Siddim, and finally departs laden with plunder and having Lot among his prisoners. When Abram hears that his nephew has been taken captive he pur sues the retreating invaders, rescues Lot, and restores the captured property, after paying tithes to Melchizedek, the king of Salem. The story is from neither of the narratives from which the rest of Genesis was compiled, but is unique in form and spirit, and must be treated as an independent element. 114 GENESIS 14:1 (?) 14. And it came to pass in the days of "Amraphel king of Shinar, "Arioch king of Ellasar,1 "Chedorlaomer king 1 Vg. Pontus; Syr. Dalasar. 1 . The names of the kings who took part in the raid are not arranged in the order of their importance, but apparently according to the alphabet. The first is Amraphel king of Shinar, i.e., Babylonia. He is supposed to be the famous Hammurabi, whose name was some times written Ammurapi, although the origin of the I at the end of the Hebrew form of it has not as yet been very satisfactorily explained. There are various opinions with reference to his date. The latest researches seem to show that the dynasty to which he belonged was founded in the first half of the twenty^first century B.C. If so, the beginning of his reign of fifty-five years, which was a hundred and twelve years later, must have been toward 1950 B.C. This is con siderably later than the date of Abraham according to the chro nology of the Old Testament. The figures for the latter are as follows: Date of the destruction of Jerusalem 586 B.C. To the foundation of the Temple 430 years To the Exodus (1 Kgs. 6 : 1) 480 years To the descent into Egypt (Ex. 12 : 40) 430 years To the migration of Abram 215 years 2141 B.C. The result is more favorable if one adopts the Samaritan reading in Ex. 12 : 40, according to which it was only four hundred and thirty years from the migration of Abram to the Exodus ; in other words the date of the migration of Abram was 1926 B.C. When, however, the question of the correctness of the figures of the received text is once raised, the Egyptologist will object that the Exodus was nearer 1215 than 1496 B.C., and that, therefore, the date of Abram's migration cannot have been earlier than i860, and may have been as late as 1645 B.C.; while others will require further reductions. All which shows, not that Abram and Hammurabi were not contemporaries, but that, if they were, it cannot be proven by the chronology of the Old Testament, but must be established by some other method. If Amraphel is Hammurabi, Arioch king of Ellasar is doubtless Eri- aku, or, as he was called in Babylonian, Rim-sin, a king of Larsa, the modern Senkereh, whom Hammurabi overthrew when, in his thirty- first year, he threw off the Yoke of Elam. This Eri-aku was a son of one Kudur-mabuk, who is called " the father of Yamutbalu." The name Chedorlaomer has not as yet been identified, but the analogy of 14 : 2 GENESIS 2. of Elam, and "Tidal l king of "Goiim,2 that "they made war with "Bera 3 king of Sodom, and with "Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab 4 king of "Admah, and Shem- eber5 king of "Zeboiim, and the king of "Bela 6 (the 3. same is "Zoar). All these joined 7 together in7 °8 the 4. vale of Siddim 8 ("the same is the Salt Sea). Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth 1 Gr. Thargal. a m. nations. 3 Gr. Balla. * Gr. Sennaar. 3 Sam. Sheme- bed; Syr. Shemair. 6 Gr. Balak. ' m. themselves together against. a Gr. the salt vale, a wooded vale; Syr. the vale of the Sodomites; Tar. the vale of the fields. Kudur-mabuk and the fact that there was an Elamite deity Lagamar make it probable that it is a genuine Elamite name whose original form was Kudur-lagamar. Pinches thinks that he has found it as well as Arioch and Tidal in a couple of late inscriptions, but his claim is strongly denied by some of the best authorities. The identification of Tidal with the Tudhula of his tablets is also doubted. Goiim, which in Hebrew means nations, may, as has been suggested, be a mistake for Gutim, the Guti, a people whose home was in the hilly country northeast of Babylonia. 2. They made war. This must have been before Hammurabi's thirty-first year, when he himself successfully revolted. The names of the kings Bera and Birsha, who are not elsewhere mentioned, lend themselves to an unfavorable etymology, and have actually been inter preted by Jewish scholars as meaning respectively Son of evil and Son of a transgressor. Admah and Zeboiim are alluded to in Hos. 11 : 8 as if they had suffered severely from the wrath of God, and in Dt. 29 : 23 they are associated, as they are here, with Sodom and Gomorrah. See also 10 : 19. If they were all overthrown in the same catastrophe, they must all have been situated in the now barren plain at the head of the Dead Sea. On Zoar, here called Bela (De struction), see 13 : 10. 3. The parenthetical explanation, the same is the Salt Sea, has been taken to mean that the vale of Siddim occupied the whole or a part of the present site of the Dead Sea. If, however, this is a correct in terpretation, the idea thus expressed does not harmonize with v. 7; in other words, the clause is an interpolation. It would also conflict with the passages in which reference is made to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ; for there is nothing in any of them to indicate that the plain in which these cities were situated was afterward covered by water. On the contrary, Dt. 29 : 23 describes it as a desert. 116 GENESIS 14 : 7 5. year they rebelled. And in "the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote "the Rephaim 1 in "Ashteroth-karnaim, and °2 the Zuzim 2 3 in Ham,3 and "the Emim 4 in "Shaveh 5- 6. kiriathaim, and "the Horites in °6 their mount 6 Seir, 7. unto "El-paran, which is by "the wilderness. And "they returned, and came to En-mishpat (the same is "Ka desh 7), and smote all "the country 8 of the Amalekites, 1 Gr. Syr. Tar. giants. a Gr. strong nations; Syr. Tar. the strong. 3 Gr. Vg. Syr. with them. •* Syr. firm; Tar. terrible. 5 m. the Plain of. 6 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. the mountains of; Tar. the mountain of. i Syr. Tar. Rekam. 8 Gr. Syr. princes; Tar. fields. 5. The fourteenth year. The distance from Elam was so great that the rebellion could not be suppressed more promptly. The Rephaim; according to Dt. 2 : 11, 20; 3 : 13, the original gigantic inhabitants of the country east of the Jordan. One of their strong holds was Ashteroth-karnaim, which is most plausibly identified with Tell el-Ash'ari, near the Haj route, about twenty-one miles east of the Sea of Galilee. The Zuzim (Strong) are probably the same as the Zamzummim of Dt. 2 : 20, and therefore the giants of the region later occupied by the Ammonites. They were smitten in Ham, which, since no other stronghold of the Ammonites is ever mentioned, may well have been Rabbath Ammon, now Amman, near the source of the Jabbok. The Emim, according to Dt. 2 : 11, were the giants of the region east of the Dead Sea later occupied by theMoabites. They were defeated in Shaveh-kiriathaim. This place is mentioned several times in the Old Testament ; also in the so-called Mesha Stone. See Mitchell, Amos, 79. It is probably the modern Kuriyat, about nine miles east of the Dead Sea, and six south of Wady ZerkaMa'in. 6. The Horites ; according to Dt. 2 : 12, the original inhabitants of their mount, or better, with the Samaritans and the Versions, the mountains of, Seir, i.e., Edom. El-paran; apparently the place later known as Elath, at the head of the Gulf of Akabah. The wilderness ; the desert west of Edom now known as et-Tih. See Num. 13 : 3 ; 1 Kgs. 11 : 18. 7. They returned; turned from this, the most southerly point reached, toward the west. Kadesh, the place from which Moses sent the spies into the Promised Land (Num. 20 : 14), now Ayn Kadis, was on the edge of the south country, fifty miles from Beer-sheba. The country of the Amalekites ; the country afterward occupied by the Amalekites, who, according to 36 : 12, were descended from Esau. 117 14 : 8 GENESIS and also the Amorites, that dwelt in "Hazazon-tamar.1 8. And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar) ; and they set the battle in array against them in °2 the vale 9. of Siddim 2 ; against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and 10. Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five. Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime 3 pits, and "the kings 4 of Sodom and Gomorrah 5 fled, and they fell there, 11. and they that remained fled to "the mountain. And they took all the goods 6 of Sodom and Gomorrah, and 12. all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, °* Abram's brother's son,f who dwelt in Sodom, and 13. 7his goods,7 and departed. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the "Hebrew : now he 1 Syr. Tar. En-gedi. a See v. 3. 3 m. bitumen. + Heb. sing, s Sam. Gr. Syr. the king of Gomorrah. 6 Gr. horsemen. 'Sam. all his goods. Hazazon-tamar. Those who locate Sodom and Gomorrah at the south end of the Dead Sea are obliged to identify this place with the Tamar of Ezek. 47 : 19 and 48 : 28, which was probably in that region. In 2 Chr. 20 : 2, however, it is identified with En-gedi, now Ayn Jidi, on the western shore of the Dead Sea, and the Targum and the Syriac Version have En-gedi in the text. For a description of the place, see Tristram, Land of Israel, 278 ff.; and of the road thither, 296 ff. 8. If Hazazon-tamar is En-gedi, this assumption favors the view that the vale of Siddim was at the north end of the Sea. 10. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. The original has the singular, king; which indicates that the words and Gomorrah ought to be dropped or the king of inserted between them, as in some of the ancient authorities. The mountain. Better, the highlands, the hill country overlooking the Plain from the east. 12. The arrangement of this verse in the original, And they took Lot and his goods, Abram's brother's son, etc., is such as to indicate that the descriptive phrase, Abram's brother's son is a marginal gloss that has been inserted in the wrong place. 13. The name Hebrew is supposed to denote one from the other 118 GENESIS 14 : 16 dwelt by 1 the oaks of "Mamre 1 the "Amorite, brother of "Eshcol, and brother of "Aner 2 ; and these were confed- 14. erate with Abram. And when Abram heard that °3 his brother3 was taken captive, "he Med forth4 "his trained men, born in his house, "three hundred and 15. eighteen, and pursued5 as far as "Dan. And "he "di vided himself against 6 them by night, he and his ser vants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, 16. which is "on the 7 left hand7 of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods,8 and also brought again- 3 his brother3 Lot, and 9 his goods,9 and the women 1 See 13 : t8. 3 Sam. Anram ; Or. Aunan. 3 Syr. the son of his brother. ? Sam. mustered; Gr. Vg. numbered ; ! syr. Tar. armed. f Gr. Syr. add, after them. * Gr. fell upon. ?m. north, aGr. horsemen. °Gr. mss. all his goods. side, i.e., according to most authorities, of the Euphrates. The use of it here has led some to believe that this story originated among foreigners. Mamre, elsewhere a place, is in this chapter a person and an Amorite. According to the Priestly document, the inhabitants of Hebron and the country generally were Hittites. See 23 : 3; also 10 : 15. Eshcol, also, except in this chapter, is a locality, probably in the neighborhood of Hebron. See Num. 13 : 23 f. The strange ness of the name Aner and its similarity to Anak, one that occurs repeatedly in connection with the history of Hebron, make it more than possible that the former is a mistake for the latter. 14. His brother; strictly, as the Syriac Version reads, the son of his brother. The broader use of the term brother is common in Hebrew. See 13 : 8. He led forth. Better, with the Samaritans, he mustered. His trained men ; men loyal to him and reliable in an emergency. Three hundred and eighteen. The number of men here attributed to Abram makes him, not merely a wealthy shepherd, but a powerful chieftain, the head of a tribe of fifteen hundred or two thousand souls, to say nothing of his allies. The use of Dan for Laish, the original name of the place that marked the northern border of Canaan, shows that this chapter cannot have been written before the period of the Judges, when the name was changed. See Jud. 18 : 29. 15. He divided himself, i.e., his forces, against them ; as Gideon did his against the Midianites. See Jud. 7 : 16. On the left hand. The Hebrews, when describing the points of the compass, faced the east. The east, therefore, was in front and the west behind (Is. 9 : 11), 119 i4 : 17 GENESIS 17. also, and "the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from "the slaughter of Che dorlaomer and the kings that were with him, "at the vale 18. of Shaveh (the same is the King's Vale). And "Mel chizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine : 19. and he was "priest of God Most High. And he blessed him,1 and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, 20. "possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be God Most High, which z hath delivered thine enemies into 1 Sam. Abram. a SV who. while the right hand pointed to the south and the left to the north. See Ezek. 16 : 46. 16. The clause relating to Lot is really parenthetical, and should be so read. The people ; the rest of the people. 17. The slaughter of Chedorlaomer. Better, since the word here rendered slaughter is the same that is used in v. 15, the defeat of Che dorlaomer. At, better to, the vale of Shaveh. Where the author located this place it is difficult to decide. It ought to be in or near the valley of the Jordan, by which Abram would naturally return from his expedition ; but, if it is correctly identified with the King's Vale, it was probably in the vicinity of Jerusalem. See 2 Sam. 18 : 18 ; Josephus, Ant., vii. 10, 3. 18. The story proper is now interrupted by an unexpected inci dent, viz., an interview between Abram and Melchizedek king of Salem. Salem is here, no doubt, as in Ps. 76 : 2, Jerusalem. Of Melchizedek nothing can be said further than that his name is con structed after the analogy of that of Adonizedek, a king of Jeru salem mentioned in Josh. 10: 1 ff., and has the same meaning. The attempt to find a. parallel for him in the Abd-hiba who was a gov ernor of Jerusalem under Amenhotep IV. is mistaken and should be abandoned. He was not only a king, but also priest of God Most High, i.e., of the supreme Deity of the Canaanites. 19 f. In the blessing with which he greets Abram possessor of heaven and earth is an assertion of the universal sovereignty of this God which the Hebrew is called upon to recognize. He does so by giving to the priest a tenth of all. This statement seems inconsistent with v. 23, unless it refers only to the spoils taken from the Elamites. It is possible, however, that it should be interpreted as indicating that the interview with Melchizedek did not originally form a part of this chapter. The payment of the tithe by Abram is, of course, to be re- GENESIS 14 : 24 21. thy hand. And he gave him °a tenth of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons 22. and take the goods l to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lift up mine hand unto °2 the Lord,2 God Most High, possessor 3 of heaven and earth, 23. that I will not take "a thread nor a shoelatchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have 24. made Abram rich : save 4 only that which "the young men have eaten, and the portion of "the men which went with me; Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion. 1 Gr. horsemen. ' Sam. God; Gr. Syr. om. 3 m. maker. * m. let there be nothing for me. garded as a prophecy of the selection of Jerusalem as the religious centre of the country. Compare 28 : 32, where Bethel is similarly honored. 21. This verse connects so naturally with v. 17 that if vs. 18-20 were omitted, no one would miss them. 22. I have lift (SV lifted) up mine hand ; taken an oath. See Dt. 32 : 40. The LORD. Better, with the Samaritans, God; which would easily be overlooked, as it seems to have been by the Greek and Syrian translators. 23. A thread nor (or) a shoelatchet ; lit. from a thread to a shoe- latchet, the least thing. 24. The young men ; Abram's own followers. Since the men which went with me are evidently the three whose names follow, it is better, with SV, to ignore the Hebrew punctuation and insert the comma after me and the semicolon after Mamre. At the beginning it was remarked that this chapter was unique. In the foregoing comments it has become clear what was meant by this statement. It is especially'true in relation to the character given to Abram, who is here represented, not as a shepherd or prophet, but as a chieftain with a powerful retinue. This fact in itself suggests a comparison unfavorable to the story. There are other points to be noted. The names of the kings of the allied cities, Sodom, etc., sound as if they were fictitious. The Rephaim, etc., are certainly not historical, but legendary, inhabitants of the country east and south of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, whose names seem to have been taken from Deuteronomy. Finally, there is the number of Abram's 121 IS : I GENESIS ; 15. "After these things * the word of the Lord f came unto Abram "in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am "thy shield, and 1 °2 thy exceeding great reward.2 1 So Vg. a m. Gr. Syr. Tar. thy reward shall be exceeding great. following. The Hebrews used the letters of their alphabet for figures. If, now, the letters of the name of Eliezer, the steward of Abram, who, according to 15 : 2 f., was born in his house, like the men of v. 14, be so treated the result will be 1 + 30 + 10 + 70 + 7 + 200 = 318, the number given. These are very significant indications. Nor are they offset by the mention of the apparently historical names in v. 1. It was easy for a Jew writing in Babylonia to come by them, especially if, as Pinches admits, the three foreign ones were current in that country after the Persian period. There is therefore reason to believe that this chapter is late work designed to add to the glory of the father of the faithful. (2) The promise of God, 15 : 1-17: 27 When God summoned Abram to leave his original home for another country he promised to make him " a great nation." In the three chapters that follow, this rather vague assurance becomes a definite prediction of the most encouraging character. First, it is repeated in connection with a covenant in sacrifice (chapter 15) ; then the faith of the patriarch is permitted to nourish itself on Ishmael, the son of Hagar (chapter 16) ; and finally he is told, not only that he is again to become a father, but that Sarai is to be the mother of the future nation (chapter 17). (a) The covenant of Yahweh, 15 : 1-21. The gist of the chapter is that God appeared to Abram, when he had begun to despair of having issue, and gave him satisfactory assurance that he should yet rejoice in children, and that his descendant should inherit the land to which he had come as a stranger. In its details it is somewhat con fused, owing to the fact that in it two accounts of the same incident, one of them from the Judean narrative, and the other from the Ephraimite, which is here used for the first time, have been combined. Naturally the difficulties disappear when they are separated. 1. After these things now means after the Elamite raid, but origi nally it must have referred to the arrival of Abram in Canaan. In a vision indicates that the scene is laid in the night. On the other hand, according to vs. 14, 17, the interview began some time before dark. The discrepancy is explained by supposing, as has been suggested, that the passage is composite, and that the Ephraimite, who generally represents God as appearing in visions, is here the narrator. See 122 GENESIS 15 ; 4 And Abram said, "O Lord God,* what wilt thou give me, seeing I go 1 childless, "and 2 he that shall be pos sessor of my house z 3 is "Dammesek Eliezer 3 ? | And J Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And be hold the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. I 1 m. go hence. a Gr. the son of Masek my home-bred woman; Vg. a son of the steward of my house; Syr. a son of my house is my lieir; Tar. the son of this steward who is in my house. s SV Syr. Tar. is Eliezer of Damascus; Gr. Vg. is this Da mascene Eliezer. 20 : 3 ; 22 : 2 f. ; 28 : 12 ; 31:21; etc. ; but especially Num. 12 : 6. Thy shield ; a frequent figure. See Dt. 33 : 29 ; Ps. 3 : 3 1 4. It de notes present protection, while thy exceeding great reward, or better, thy reward shall be very great, looks to the future and the blessings in store for Abram and his posterity. 2. . In this verse and the one following an objection raised by Abram is repeated in very similar words. The repetition is explained by the composite character of the paragraph. This is generally con ceded ; but there is difference of opinion on the question to which of the sources the two versions respectively should be referred, and it seems impossible to find an unobjectionable answer. O Lord GOD. When the name Yahweh is preceded by the word Lord, the Jews do not substitute for it another Lord, but God, and the English translators have followed their practice, putting this substitute also into capitals to indicate that the Hebrew has Yahweh. In this case the Yahweh (God) seems to be an addition. He that shall be possessor of my house; my heir. The word rendered heir (meshek), used only in this passage, is a play upon the name DammeSek, Damascus. The combination Dammesek Eliezer is a literal transcription of the original, which, however, can hardly mean anything but Eliezer of Damascus or the Damascene Eliezer, and should have been so rendered. The person here named is probably the steward whom Abram sent to Mesopotamia to get a wife for Isaac. See 24 : 2 f. Lot is ignored. This seems the best that can be done with the present text. Perhaps it is corrupt, as many have maintained, the most recent suggestion (Bewer) being that the Hebrew words rendered and he . . . house originally meant and sons I have sought, that Dammesek is a gloss, and that the name Eliezer is a mistake for the Hebrew of I have no seed. 123 i5 : 5 GENESIS E 5. And he brought him fprth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and "tell l the stars, if thou be able to tell J them : and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. | j 6. And he believed in the Lord, and "he counted it to him 7. for righteousness. And he said unto him, "I am 2 the Lord 2 that brought thee out * of "Ur 3 of the Chaldees,t to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, O Lord 8. God, "whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9. And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of 4 "three years old, and a she-goat of 4 "three years old, and a ram of 4 three years old, and a "turtledove, and a 10. young "pigeon. And he took him all these, and di vided them in the midst, and laid "each half over against ¦ SV number. ' Gr. God. 3 Gr. the land. * SV om. 5. Tell the stars. It was therefore evening, as in v. 1. On the figure, see 22 : 17. 6. He counted it to him for righteousness; the condition of divine favor. See Ps. 106 : 31; Rom. 4 : 1 ff. 7. I am the LORD. This is one of the places where the substitu tion of the Lord, which is not a name, for Yahweh is especially un satisfactory. The place from which Abram migrated, according to the Judean narrative, was Mesopotamia. Hence Ur of the Chaldees must here have been substituted for the house of thy father or some thing of the sort. 8. Whereby shall I know? At first sight this question seems to imply lack of faith, and therefore to conflict with v. 6. This diffi culty is sometimes met by removing vs. 1-6 to the end of the chapter. Perhaps, however, it is sufficient to say that v. 6 is of the nature of a parenthesis, and that the idea of possessing the land of Canaan was a second and greater strain upon the patriarch's faith. See Ex. 4 : 1 ff. ; Jud. 6 ; 17 ff. ; 2 Kgs. 20 : 6 ff. 9. Three years old ; fully grown. The turtledove is very common iri Palestine. The pigeon is apparently the only bird reared for food among the Hebrews. This is a complete list of the animals custom arily offered in sacrifice. 10. Each half over against the other. The meaning would be clearer if the phrase had been rendered the parts of each the one over against the other. The birds, because they were small, divided he not, 124 GENESIS ii. the other: but the birds "divided he not. And the birds of prey came down upon "the carcases,1 and 12. "Abram drove them away. | And when the sun was R going down, a "deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, 13. a "horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be 2 a stranger 2 "in a land that is not theirs, and 3 shall serve 3 them; and they shall afflict 4 them "four hundred 14. years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out "with great 1 Gr. adds, their parts. a SV sojourners. 3 Gr. they shall afflict. * Gr. enslave them and humble. but placed them over against each other as if they were the parts of a single animal. See Lev. 1 : 17. The object of this arrangement in two rows, with a space between them, was to permit the passage of the parties to the covenant between them. See Jer. 34 : 18 f. 11. The exposure of a dead animal in Palestine, where birds of prey are found in many species and great numbers, immediately brings them together by hundreds. Hence the proverb, " Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles (vultures) be gathered together." See Mt. 24 : 28. The carcases ; or, as the Greek Version explains, the sun dered parts. Abram drove them away ; preserving the strange display undisturbed until Yahweh was pleased to reveal himself. See 2 Sam. 21 : 10. 12. The continuation of this simple, but impressive, description is found in v. 17. In v. 12 the compiler has undertaken to add to the effect ; but in his deep sleep and horror of great darkness, i.e., dense and dreadful darkness, he overshoots the mark. See Jb. 33 : 15. 13. In this verse Abram is again dreaming, but this and the next three verses seem to be merely an expansion of v. 1. In a land that is not theirs ; Egypt. Four hundred years ; apparently an error, or a round number, for the four hundred and thirty years of Ex. 12 : 40, where, however, according to the Samaritans and the Greek Version, the given number covers the whole period from the migration of Abram to the Exodus. The actual duration of the sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt, if they removed to that country while it was under the domi nation of the Hyksos (1580 +) and did not return until toward the end of the thirteenth century B.C., must have been as great as this passage makes it. 14. With great substance. See Ex. 12 : 36. "5 15 : 14 IS: 15 GENESIS 15. substance. But "thou shalt, go s to thy fathers in peace; 16. thou shalt be buried in "a good old age. And "in 2 the fourth generation they 2 shall come hither again : for the J 17. iniquity of "the Amorite is not yet full. | And it came to pass, that, "when the sun went down, 3 and it was dark,3 behold "a smoking furnace, and a "flaming torch that 18. passed between these pieces. In that day the Lord 1 Syr. Tar. be gathered. a Heb. Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. om. 3 Gr. there was a flame. 15. Thou shalt go to thy fathers. See the parallel expressions, sleep with . . . fathers (47 : 31) and be gathered to . . . people (25 : 8). These expressions do not in themselves imply a belief in existence after death, but, since they are used of persons who were not buried with their kindred, it seems fair to conclude that they refer to the assemblage of the departed in Sheol. See Dt. 31 : 16. A good old age. On the age of Abram at his death, see 25 : 7. 16. In the fourth generation they shall come ; lit. the fourth genera tion shall come. This prediction was fulfilled, according to Ex, 6 : 16 ff., where Moses is the fourth from Jacob. If, however, the author of this verse had that passage in mind, he must have ignored the details there given ; for, according to it, Levi, Kohath, and Amram, the progenitors of Moses, lived respectively only a hundred and thirty- seven, a hundred and thirty-three, and a hundred and thirty-seven years, and, if Jacob was a hundred and thirty (47 : 9), Levi must have been well along in years when the family went to Egypt. Perhaps a generation is here reckoned at a hundred years, which it would have been had Abram's successors been denied offspring as long as he was. This is not satisfactory, but it is the best that can be done with what seems an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the two passages from Exodus above cited. The Amorite here denotes the original inhabit ants of Palestine, as it regularly does in the Ephraimite narrative. See 48 : 22 ; but also 14 : 7. 17. This verse continues v. 11. When the sun went down, and the vultures had withdrawn, Abram's vigil was rewarded. He saw a smoking furnace, a portable stove full of burning fuel. The flam ing torch is not a second object, but a second attempt to describe the same object. The sense, therefore, is, as it were, a smoking furnace or a burning torch. The fire thus described represents the person Yahweh, who alone takes part in the ceremony, and who thereby makes oath to his promise. The animals, then, are not a sacrifice, but symbolical of the fate that the one who passes between them invites if he keep not his word. 126 GENESIS made a "covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the 19. great river, the river Euphrates: | "the Kenite, and R 20. "the Kenizzite, and "the Kadmonite,1 and "the Hittite, 21. and "the Perizzite, and "the Rephaim, and "the Amorite, and "the Canaanite, and "the Girgashite,2 and "the Jebusite. 1 Gr. Kelmonite. a Sam. adds, and the Hivite. 18. The covenant here described, like that of 9 : 8 ff., is, strictly speaking, a one-sided agreement; but, of course, it is understood that Abram will maintain the attitude and character in view of which Yahweh was disposed to bestow upon him the Promised Land. The southern limit of the country cannot, as one might infer from the phraseology used, be the Nile, but must be Wady el-Arish, which empties into the Mediterranean about fifty miles southwest of Gaza, and is elsewhere called " the brook of Egypt." See Josh. 15 : 4. 19. The list of names that follows recalls that of 10 : 16 ff., but only three of those there found are repeated in this passage. The following are new : the Kenite represents a tribe that had its home in southern Palestine and the desert adjoining. See 1 Sam. 27 : 10 ; 30 : 29. A branch of it, however, found its way to the northern part of the country. See Jud. 4 : 17 ff. They do not belong in this list, for, according to Jud. 1 : 16, they came into Palestine proper with the Hebrews, and, to judge from such passages as Jud. 4:178., were always friendly to the chosen people. The same seems to be true of the people to whom is given the name the Kenizzite, and from whom the heroic Caleb sprang. See Josh. 15 : 17; Jud. 1 : 13. Their original home seems to have been in Edom. See 36 : 11, 42. The Kadmonite is perhaps another name for " the sons of the east," who, in Jud. 7 : 12, are associated with the Midianites and the Amalekites. They may be located east and northeast of Edom. 20. On the Hittite, see 10 : 15 ; on the Perizzite, 13 : 7 ; and on the Rephaim, 14 : 5. 21. In 10 : 16 the Amorite is represented as a branch of the Ca naanite. Here perhaps the Canaanite is the lowlander in distinc tion from the Amorite, or highlander. See 10 : 15 f., where various branches of the Phoenicians are enumerated. On the Girgashite and the Jebusite, see 10 : 16. The absence of the Hivite is noticeable. The omission is supplied in the Samaritan text and in some manu scripts of the Greek Version. See 10 : 17. The other passages in the Pentateuch in which the various tribes of the country are more 127 15 :2i 1 6 : i GENESIS P 16. Now Sarai "Abram's wife bare him no children: | J and she had an handmaid, °an Egyptian, whose name 2. was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; "it may be that I shall obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to P 3. the voice of Sarai. | And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt "ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to or less completely enumerated are: Ex. 3:8; 9 : 17 ; 13 : 5 ; 23 : 23, 28 ; 33 : 2 ; 34 : 11 ; Dt. 7:1; 20 : 17. See also Josh. 3 : 10 ; 9:1; 11:3; 12 : 8; 24 : 11. (b) The flight of Hagar, 16 : 1-16. Sarai, being denied children, proposes to Abram to take her maid as a concubine ; but when Hagar, finding that she is to become a mother, forgets her respect for her mistress, the offended wife treats her so harshly that she flees to the desert, where the angel of Yahweh finds her and reveals to her the destiny in store for the son to whom she is to give birth. The chapter is mainly from the Judean narrative with additions from other sources. 1. Abram's wife bare him no children. Under the circumstances the law and practice of the time permitted him to take another woman, and thus satisfy his natural desire for offspring. There was only one way to prevent him from so doing. If Sarai gave him a maid, and she had children, the children would be Sarai's, and Abram, according to the code of Llammurabi (§ 144), would be estopped from taking another woman. An Egyptian. The intercourse be tween Palestine and Egypt implied in the presence of an Egyptian slave in Abram's family is a matter of history. 2. Sarai herself offers the maid to Abram, not as a wife, but as her substitute. He could not take Hagar without Sarai's consent. The words put into Sarai's mouth, it may be that I shall obtain children, lit. be built up, by her, show that she was intent on maintaining her own position as a wife. See 30 : 3, 9. 3. The parallel account from the Priestly source adds two points. First, this happened after Abram had been ten years in the land ; i.e., when he was eighty-five years of age. Observe, also, that this author, in his anxiety for the reputation of Abram, takes pains to say that Hagar was given to him to be his wife. She was not, however, his wife in the same sense as Sarai ; for she was forbidden to make herself the equal of her mistress, and, if she also failed to have children, her mistress could sell her out of hand. See the Code of Hammurabi, §§ 146 f. 128 GENESIS 16 : 7 4. Abram her husband "to be his wife. | And he went in j unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, "her mistress was despised in 5. her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, "My wrong be upon thee : I gave my handmaid into thy bosom ; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in 6. her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, "Behold, thy maid is in thy hand ; do to her that which is good in thine eyes. And Sarai "dealt hardly with her, and she "fled from her 7. face. And "the angel of the Lord found her by °a fountain of water in "the wilderness, ' by the fountain ' 1 Gr. mss. Syr. om. 4. It is evident that Hagar committed a serious offence when, in her elation over the prospect of becoming a mother, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 5. My wrong be upon thee implies that Abram had not been as careful as he might have been to recognize Sarai's position and authority. Her appeal to Yahweh shows that she regarded his con duct as, not only unkind, but unlawful. 6. Behold, thy maid is in thy hand is merely a recognition of Sarai's rights in the case. She was entirely within those rights when she dealt hardly with Hagar ; for the Code of Hammurabi, although it does not permit a mistress to sell a maid who has borne children, allows her to " put a mark " upon one who has forgotten her place, and " count her among the maidservants." See § 146. It was probably such menial service from which Hagar finally fled. 7. The angel of the LORD is here mentioned for the first time in the Old Testament. He is sometimes, as in 24 : 7, etc., clearly dis tinguished from the Deity, and sometimes, as in v. 13, identified with him. See 48 : 15 f. The angel of the Lord may therefore be described as a form, or appearance, in which the Hebrews believed the Deity to have manifested himself in his dealings with men. He represents the stage of development at which they began to shrink from the familiarity with the Deity that shows itself in chapters 2 f. The angel of God is still later. See 21 : 17, where he calls to Hagar " out of heaven." That the angel of Yahweh found her at a foun tain, shows that she was at home in the wilderness, here the desert K 129 1 6 : 8 GENESIS 8. in the way to "Shur.1 And he 2 said, "Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, whence earnest thou? and whither goest thou? And she said, I flee 3 from the face of my mis- R 9. tress Sarai. | And the angel of the Lord said unto her, "Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her 10. hands. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, "I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be J 11. numbered for multitude. | And the angel of 4 the Lord 4 said unto her, Behold, "thou art with child, and shalt bear a son; and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because "the Lord hath heard thy affliction. 12. And he shall be as "a wild-ass among men; "his hand 1 Syr. Godor; Tar. Hagra. a Gr. the angel of the Lord. 3 SV am fleeing. * Gr. mss. God. of et-Tih. Comp. 21 : 15 ff. Shur is described in 25 : 18 as " before," i.e., on the eastern border of, " Egypt." See also 1 Sam. 15 : 7 ; 27:8. The idea seems to be that the woman was on her way back to her own country. For Shur the Syriac Version has Godor, i.e., Gerar, and the Targum Hagra. 8. Hagar, Sarai's handmaid ; a form of address calculated to startle the fugitive and make her feel that it would be useless to attempt to conceal her purpose. 9. In chapter 21 there is another version of the story of Hagar, according to which she did not leave her mistress until after her boy was born. The compiler interpreted these different versions as accounts of distinct incidents and inserted this verse and the following to insure that the reader should so understand them. The significant part in this addition is the command, Return to thy mistress. It is taken for granted that the command was obeyed. 10. The promise, I will greatly multiply thy seed, betrays the author. See 12 : 14 ff.; 22 : 15 ff. 11. Thou art with child; another startling indication to Hagar that it is no ordinary person who is talking with her. He finally reveals himself as a manifestation of Yahweh by giving her a name, Ishmael, i.e., God heareth, for her boy, and with it the assurance, the LORD hath heard thy affliction. 12. The character given to Ishmael reflects the opinion of the Hebrews with reference to the Ishmaelites when the story took shape, 130 GENESIS 1 6 : 14 shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him ; and he shall dwell 01 in the presence of 1 13. all his brethren. And she called the name of "the Lord that spake unto her, 2 Thou art °a God that seeth z : for she said, °3 Have I even here looked after him 14. that seeth me?3 Wherefore the well was called Beer- "lahai-roi ; behold it is between Kadesh 4 and "Bered.5 | 1 m. over against or to the east of; SV over against. a m. Gr. Vg. Thou God seest me; Syr. Thou art God in a vision; Tar. Thou art a God that seeth all. 3 Gr. For also 1 saw face to face him who appeared lo me; Vg. Truly here I saw the back of him wlto saw me; Syr. Lo I also saw a vision after he saw me; Tar. I also saw a vision after he appeared to me. « Syr. Tar. Rekam. s Syr. Godor; Tar. Hagra. He is to be a wild-ass among men, lit. a wild ass of a man, as untamed as the beast that " Scorneth the tumult of the city, Neither heareth he the shoutings of the driver." Jb. 39 : 7. His hand against every man, and every man's hand against him ; a veritable freebooter. In the presence of, better, with the margin, over against, all his brethren; a defiant outlaw. In 25 : 18, which probably belongs in part to this chapter, the abode of Ishmael is described as extending " from Havilah unto Shur." 13. The LORD that spake unto her ; the appearance she has seen and now recognizes as a manifestation of Yahweh. The name by which she calls him is capable of several interpretations. See the readings of the versions. The translation given in the text makes excellent sense. Hagar, surprised that even Yahweh should have followed her into the desert, calls him El-roi, a God of seeing, or that seeth, an omniscient God. The phrase, a God of seeing, however, may also mean a God who reveals himself, and this thought seems to have suggested the question, also denoting surprise, Have I even here, in the desert, looked after, seen the back of, him that seeth me ? See Ex. 33 : 32. The meaning is that she did not know who was speaking with her, or take note of his appearance, until he was leaving her. 14. The writer finds in the incident here narrated an explanation for the name of a well on the road between Palestine and Egypt. _ To be sure, the names El-roi and Lahai-roi are not identical, but since Lahai, to the living one, may be used of God, he identifies them. The well so called is commonly identified with AynMuweileh, about twelve miles north of west from Ayn Kadis, i.e., Kadesh. Bered, according to tradition, is the modern Halasah, about twelve miles west of south from Beer-sheba ; but the site chosen for Beer-lahai-roi would not be 131 1 6 : 15 GENESIS p 15. And Hagar "bare Abram a son: and Abram called the name of his son,1 which 2 Hagar bare, Ishmael. 16. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Ha gar bare Ishmael to Abram. P 17. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, °* the Lord f appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am "God Almighty; walk before me, and "be 2. thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between 3. me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and "God talked with him, 4. saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of "a multitude of nations. 1 Syr. adds, who was born to him. a SV whom. between this one and Ayn Kadis. Perhaps, since both the Syriac Version and the Targum have here the same reading as in v. 7, the original in this instance also was, not Bered, but Shur. 15. At this point the Jahvist's story suddenly comes to an end. It originally told how Hagar at Beer-lahai-roi gave birth to a son, who grew up in the desert and became a freebooter, closing probably with 25 : 1-4, 18a. The compiler removed this conclusion and substi tuted for it one taken from the Priestly narrative according to which Hagar remained at Hebron and bare Abram a son. This work, more over, did not have anything corresponding to the second story con cerning Hagar, but took for granted that Ishmael grew to manhood with Isaac in his father's tent. See 25 : 9. (c) The covenant in circumcision, 17 : 1-27. The Priestly account of the covenant of God with Abram differs so widely from that of the Judean and Ephraimite narratives, as described in chapter 15, that it is treated by the compiler as a separate matter. In this case it is not a personal incident, but leaves a permanent memento in the institution of circumcision. 1. The LORD is a mistake for God. In Ex. 6 : 3 the Priestly author makes the Deity say that he appeared to Abram as God Almighty, but was not known to the patriarch under the name Yahweh. The admonition, be thou perfect, has reference to the observance of the practice of the rite now to be instituted. 3. God talked with him. Yet neither here nor in v. 1 are there any details to help one to realize the presence of the Deity. 4. A multitude of nations ; an enlargement upon the original prom- 132 GENESIS 17 : 10 5. "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be "Abraham; for the father of a 6. multitude of nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations 7. of thee, and "kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy 8. seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and "I will 9. be their God. And God said unto Abraham, And as for thee, "thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy 10. seed after thee throughout their generations. "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you * and thy seed after thee f ; "every male among you ise of 12 : 2. By the nations are doubtless meant the twelve tribes of Israel and the descendants of Abram through Ishmael and Esau. 5. Neither hardly does justice to the original. The connective has more nearly the sense of therefore. Because Abram is to be the father of a multitude (Heb. hamon) God ordains that his name, to fit his destiny, shall be changed to Abraham. Thus the name Abraham, which is probably only another form of Abram, is made to recall and commemorate the great promise here announced. For other instances of the same kind, see v. 15 ; 32 : 28 ; Num. 13 : 16. The promise of the preceding verse is repeated for the purpose of making the allitera tion between hamon and Abraham more apparent. 6. Kings shall come out of thee ; the nations in question, or some of them, will be distinct political units. 8. I will be their God comprehends not only all the blessings that have been enumerated, but any others that can be desired. 9. Thou shalt keep my covenant. The promises made are good only so long as certain conditions are observed. 10. This is my covenant ; i.e., in this case, the requirement of the covenant; every male among you shall be circumcised. In other words, the favor of God is here made to depend upon the practice of circumcision, a doctrine which acquired great prominence during the Exile, but which the prophets stoutly repudiated. See Jer. 4:4; Dt. 10 : 16. There is nothing to indicate that the author meant to 133 17 : ii GENESIS n. shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your "foreskin; and it shall be a token of a 12. covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is "eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is "born in the house, or "bought with money of any stranger, which 13. is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be cir cumcised : and "my covenant shall be in "your flesh for 14. an "everlasting covenant. And "the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin,1 1 Sam. Gr. add, on the eighth day. teach that the practice of circumcision began with Abraham. In point of fact, it was a custom among the Egyptians from the earliest times, and it prevailed among the lesser nations surrounding the Hebrews, except the Philistines. See Jer. 9 : 26. That it was a very early custom appears from the fact that the instrument used was originally made of flint. See Ex. 4 : 25. Foreskin. Better, foreskins. 12. Eight days old. This was the age at which the Hebrews usually circumcised. See 21:4; Lev. 12:3; etc. In other countries it was customary to postpone the operation. Indeed, iii most of them it was not performed until the arrival of the subject at the age of puberty. It then marked the introduction of the youth into the social organism and his preparation for marriage. Here it is a religious ceremony commemorating the reception of the newly born infant into the community of the worshippers of the true God. Slaves, also, had to be circumcised, whether born in the house of their master and native to the country, or bought with money of any stranger and foreign. This requirement made the family a unit in its devotion to the God of Abraham. A free foreigner who desired to enjoy the privileges of the Hebrew religion came under the same law. See Ex. 12 : 48. In the last two cases, of course, the rite was performed when the stranger, bond or free, entered the family or the community. 13. My covenant; i.e., the sign of the covenant. Your flesh; i.e., the flesh of Abraham and his descendants. So, also, the everlasting covenant is, strictly speaking, the sign of such a covenant. 14. The uncircumcised male, the one who, through the negligence of his parents, was not circumcised, as the Samaritans have it, on the eighth day, and since he arrived at the age of responsibility has; 134 GENESIS 17 : 18 that soul "shall be cut off from his people; "he hath broken my covenant. 15. And God said unto Abraham, As for "Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but "Sarah shall her 16. name be. And I will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her : yea, I will bless her,1 and she 2 shall be a mother of nations ; "kings a of peoples shall be 17. of her.1 Then "Abraham fell upon his face and "laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is "an hundred years old? and shall 18. Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear ? And Abraham said unto God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before thee ! • Gr. Vg. Syr. him. ' Gr. Vg. Syr. he. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. and kings. refused to submit to the rite, shall be cut off from his people. The meaning of this threat is not quite clear, but it seems to be that, if the offender is not put to death by his fellows, he will be destroyed by divine intervention. See Lev. 20 : 2 ff. He hath broken my covenant, or, which amounts to the same thing, refused to ratify it. (d) The introduction of the rite, 17 : 15-27. God next reveals to Abraham that Sarai is to be the mother of the future seed, promises to bless Ishmael as well as the coming heir, and departs ; whereupon Abraham circumcises all the males of his family, bond and free. 15. The change from Sarai to Sarah is made by the substitution of one form of the feminine ending for another. 16. It was fitting that she should be called Sarah (Princess), since kings of peoples shall be of her. The versions have the mas culine pronoun throughout the latter half of the verse, but it is Sarah, and not Isaac, whom the author here wishes to exalt. 17. Abraham fell upon his face in adoration for the promised blessing, but in his heart he laughed, half doubting the joyful tidings. Here is one of many indications of a tendency to give increased prom inence to Abraham. In the older narratives it is Sarah who laughs (sahak) and thus suggests the name Isaac (Heb. Yishak). See 18 : 12 (J); 21: 6(E). An hundred years old. The earlier narratives do not make Abraham and his wife so old as they are here represented, but old enough to cease to expect children. See 18 : 11. 18. Oh that Ishmael might live before thee. The patriarch's joy at the prospect of having a son by Sarah is tempered by the sud- 135 17 : 19 GENESIS 19. And God said,1 Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son; and "thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish "my covenant with him for "an everlasting 20. covenant 2 for his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, "I have heard thee: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceed ingly ; "twelve princes 3 shall he beget, and I will make 21. him a great nation. But my covenant will I estab lish with Isaac, which 4 Sarah shall bear unto thee at 22. "this set time in the next year. And he left off talking 23. with him, and "God went up from Abraham. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame 24. day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in 25. the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was "thir- 1 Heb. mss. Gr. Vg. Syr. add, to Abraham. a Heb. mss. Gr. Vg. Syr. add, and. 3 Gr. nations. * SV wltom. den realization of what it means to the son of Hagar, now, according to the writer, thirteen years old. 19. Thou shalt call his name Isaac. See v. 17. My covenant; not a new one, but a renewal of the one already made with Abraham. The last clause seems to be defective. The original reading, to judge from v. 7, must have been an everlasting covenant to be a God to him and to his seed after him. 20. I have heard thee. The verb heard (shama') is a play upon the name Ishmael, God heareth. See 16 : 11. Twelve princes; the twelve tribes enumerated in 25 : 12 ff. 21. This set time; this season. 22. God went up from Abraham ; one of the rare instances in which the Priestly narrator allows himself to use so anthropomorphic lan guage. See 35 : 13. 25. Thirteen years old. Comp. 21 : 14. The age at which he was circumcised harmonizes with the practice of the Arabs. 136 GENESIS 18:3 teen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of 26. his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham cir- 27. cumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, those born in the house, and those bought with money ' of the stranger,1 2 were circumcised 2 3 with him.3 18. And °4 the Lord 4 appeared unto him by "the oaks 5 of Mamre, as he sat in "the tent door in the heat of 2. the day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, "three men stood over against him : and when he saw them, "he ran to meet them from the tent door, 3. and "bowed himself to the earth, and said, "My" lord, "if now I have found favour in thy 7 sight, pass not 1 SV of the foreigner ; Vg. Syr. and also the strangers. a Gr. Syr. he circumcised. 3 Gr. them; Vg. om. < Gr. God. s xa. terebinths; Gr. Vg. Syr. sing. 6 m. O. -i Sam. plu. (3) The mission of the angels, chs. 18 f . The section consists of a series of incidents definitely located and all connected with a single mission of angels of Yahweh. (a). A meal at Mamre, 18 : 1-15. Abraham entertains three strangers from whom, as they sit at meat, he receives a promise which now amounts to a repetition of that of 17 : 15 ff. This, however, being an extract from the Judean narrative, is the original and the other is the copy. It is the Hebrew version of the story of Philemon and Baucis. See Ovid, Mel. 626 ff. 1. The LORD appeared; but in disguise. The oaks of Mamre. See 13 : 18. The tent door; the opening made by throwing back a part of the front. 2. Three men stood. There was nothing remarkable about them but the suddenness of their appearance. See 21 : 19; 22 : 13. The attitude they took indicated that they wished to be entertained. He ran to meet them ; with all the eagerness of oriental hospitality. That he bowed himself before them does not indicate that he saw in them anything but men. See 23 : 7; 33 : 3. 3. My lord. Better, with the Samaritans, My lords. It mars the story to make Abraham at this stage distinguish between his guests. If now I have found favour ; a formula required by oriental politeness. See 33 1 8 f. 137 1 8 : 4 GENESIS 4. away, I pray thee,1 from thy 1 servant : 2 let now "a little water be fetched,2 and wash 3 your feet, and rest your- 5. selves under "the tree: and 4 1 will fetch 4 °5 a morsel of5 bread, and °6 comfort ye your heart 6; after that ye shall pass on 7 : 8 forasmuch as 8 ye are come to your 6. servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly "three measures of "fine * meal, 7. knead it, and make "cakes. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched "a calf tender and good, and gave 8. it unto the servant ; and he hasted to dress it. And he took "butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and "he stood 9 by them under 1 Sam. plu. a Vg. Syr. / will fetch; Tar. Let them fetch. 3 Gr. Let one wash; Syr. / will wash. * Syr. take ye. 3 Gr. om. 6 SV strengthen ye your heart; Gr. eat. 7 Gr. adds, your way. 8 m. for therefore. ° Tar. served. 4. The first duty of a host was to provide a little water, that his guests might wash their feet on laying aside their sandals before enter ing his house. The tree. The word so rendered is often used collec tively, and should be translated trees if the plural oaks is retained in v. 1. 5. A morsel of bread. Abraham is as modest as he is generous. The rendering strengthen ye your heart (SV) is preferable to comfort, etc.; but strengthen yourselves would be better than either. See Ps. 104 : 15. 6. Three measures ; three seahs, making an ephah, which is sup posed to have been equal, at the least, to 36.44 liters, i.e., 32.07. English, or 38.5 American quarts. This is a good deal of flour, but it seems to have been the quantity used for a generous " baking." See Mt. 13:33; also Jud. 6:19; 1 Sam. 1 : 24. Fine meal. The original has meal, fine meal, the latter being probably a correction by some one who thought that angels should be served with bread from the flour used with sacrifices. The cakes were doubtless thin disks of unleavened bread, baked on hot stones, like the one that Elijah found at his head on his flight from Jezebel. See 1 Kgs. 19 : 6. 7. A calf tender and good ; the choicest meat a Hebrew knew. See 1 Sam. 28 : 24 ; Lk. 15 : 23. 8. For butter read leben, a preparation from milk, thick, like junket, which has a slightly acid taste and is highly esteemed by orientals. He stood by them, ready to serve them, as is still the custom 138 GENESIS 1 8 : 12 9. the tree, D1 and they did eat.1 And they said unto him, "Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, "Behold, in 10. the tent. And "he said, I will certainly return unto thee2 "when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard "in the 11. tent door, which3 "was behind him.4 Now "Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12. And "Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also ? 1 Gr. transposes this clause with the preceding. a Gr. Syr. add, at this season. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. for she. * Vg. it; Syr. her. in the East. And they did eat. The Greek Version inserts this clause before the one that now immediately precedes it, and this seems the natural place for it. If the present arrangement be retained, the words may be rendered, as they are in the Vulgate, And when they had eaten, and attached to v. 9. 9. Where is Sarah? Then, as now, it was not considered proper for women to show themselves to strangers. Nor would a guest ordinarily inquire for one. The question in this case was probably meant for Sarah, quita as much as for Abraham. Behold ; a fre quent Hebrew idiom for he or she is. 10. He said ; one of the three. Perhaps, however, it should read, they said, as in v. 9. When' the season cometh round; lit. at the reviving, recurring, season, i.e., as in 17 : 21, at this time next year. The stress is apparently on the return of the angel, or angels. This is due to the peculiarity of the Hebrew construction. The whole announcement really means, When I return to thee at this time next year, lo, Sarah thy wife shall surely have a son. In this way the stress is brought upon the event about which Abraham and his wife would naturally be sceptical. In the tent door ; just inside it. This being the case, she was invisible to the speaker. Moreover, according to the Samaritan text and the Greek Version, she was behind him. n. Abraham and Sarah were old; but the writer does not give definite figures. Compare 17 : 17. 12. Sarah laughed within herself. What she said, also, she said to herself. The peculiar form of the question in the original requires some such rendering as, After I am worn out and my lord is old, I am to have pleasure ? I ¦ 139 18 : 13 GENESIS 13. And "the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh,1 saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, 14. which 2 am old ? Is anything too hard 3 for the Lord ? At the4 set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah 5 shall have a son. 15. Then "Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; "for she was afraid. And he 6 said, Nay 7 ; but thou didst "laugh. J 16. And the "men rose up from thence, and looked "toward Sodom s : and Abraham went with them to 1 Gr. adds, within herself. a SV who. 3 m. wonderful. * Gr. Syr. this, s Syr. adds, thy wife. 6 Vg. the Lord. ? Sam. adds, to her. 8 Gr. adds, and Gomorrah. 13. Oneof the three now reveals himself as the LORD by askingwhy Sarah, who has thus far made no sound, laughed. 14. He resumes his disguise, however, when, in this verse, he speaks of himself in the third person. The latter half of the verse repeats and confirms the promise of v. 10. 15. Sarah denied that she had laughed — aloud. Probably she would have repudiated her inward incredulity, for she was afraid. The Lord has the last word, and that is the word laugh (sahak) the one from which the name Isaac is derived. (b) Abraham's intercession, 18 : 16-33. While the men are on their way to Sodom, the Lord reveals to Abraham, before they sepa rate, his intention to destroy that city and Gomorrah ; whereupon the patriarch intercedes for them, and so successfully as to secure a promise that neither of them shall be destroyed if ten righteous persons can be found in it. The story is from the Judean nar rative, but it is almost entirely by a comparatively late author who felt that the original Jahvist, in his account of the destruction of the cities of the Plain, had left room for a charge of injustice. 16. Abraham's visitors are still called men, although one of them, according to v. 13, has revealed himself as Yahweh. Toward, better, down upon, Sodom ; for, whether this city was at the north or the south end of the Dead Sea, it was about 4200 feet below them. Tradi tion identifies the spot from which they looked with Beni Na'im, a. site about four miles east of Hebron. The latter half of the verse gives one the impression that Abraham continued with the men be yond the point from which they had looked. This, however, is not the case. The thought of the author would be clearer if it were rendered, 140 GENESIS 18 : 22 17. bring them on the way. | And "the Lord said, Shall I j2 18. hide from Abraham1 "that which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all "the nations of the earth shall be blessed 19. in him ? For "I have known him, "to the end that he 2 may command his children and his household after him, "that they may keep the way a of the Lord, to do justice and judgement ; to the end that the Lord may bring upon 20. Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. | And the J Lord said, Because 4 "the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah 21. 5 is great,5 and because 4 "their sin is very grievous ; "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me ; and 22. if not, I will know. And "the men turned from thence, 1 Gr. Syr. add, my servant. a Sam. A braham. 3 Gr. Syr. plu. + m. Verily; Gr. Vg. Syr. om. s Syr. hath come before me. A braham going with them, etc., and clearer still if it were inserted be tween the two clauses of the first half. 17. Here begins the secondary matter. In it the author identifies one of the men with the LORD and ignores the other two. That which I do. This refers to the destruction of the cities, which, how ever, according to v. 21 (J) had not yet been decreed. The discrep ancy, of course, is due to the difference of authorship. 18. The nations of the earth shall be blessed. Better, since it is clear from the next verse that the thought of the author does not go beyond Abraham and his descendants, bless themselves, as in 12:3. 19. I have known him ; chosen him. See Am. 3 : 2. The con struction to the end that makes the thing described a prime object of desire and endeavor. See 12 : 13. That they may keep; more correctly, and they may keep. 21. This verse is the original continuation of v. 16. The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah ; the chorus of accusing voices. See 4 : 10. Their sin ; the sins of which they are accused. 21. I will go down now, and see ; before deciding to destroy them. Compare v. 17. The phraseology recalls 11 : 1 ff. 22. The men originally meant all three of Abraham's guests, and v. 33b, the proper continuation of the first half of this verse, de scribed Abraham's course after they had left him. Now, however, 141 18 : 23 GENESIS and went toward Sodom: | but "Abraham stood yet 23. before the Lord. And "Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou x consume "the righteous with the wicked ? 2 24. Peradventure there be 3 "fifty righteous within the city : wilt thou consume 4 and not spare the place for the fifty 25. righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, "to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked: that be far from thee: "shall not the Judge of all the 26. earth do right ? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom "fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the 27. place for their sake. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the 1 Syr. adds, in the same wrath. a Gr. adds, so that the righteous shall be as the wicked. 3 SV are. * Gr. adds, them; Syr. adds, in the same wrath. the context requires that the words be interpreted as referring to the attendants of Yahweh, since Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23. Abraham drew near; suddenly assuming an active part. The righteous. He takes for granted that even in Sodom there are some such; and this is the ground of objection to the original story. 24. He at first shrewdly puts the number at fifty, high enough to make it for the time being a consideration. The rendering of the latter half of the verse is confusing. Transpose and read, Wilt thou consume the place, and not spare it for the fifty righteous, etc. ? 25. To slay the righteous with the wicked. This is not the only alternative; but the protest is a fair one against the doctrine, frequently illustrated in early Hebrew literature, that peoples or families are treated as units. See Josh. 7 : 2 ff. ; 2 Sam. 24 : 10 ff.; etc. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? a bold and striking presenta tion of the thought that the Deity himself, with all his power, is not above the law to which his moral creatures are amenable. 26. Yahweh might have replied by saying that there would be as little justice in sparing those who deserved punishment as in de stroying those who had not offended, but he allows the patriarch to assume a cherished doctrine of later Judaism, that righteousness may be vicarious, and promises to spare Sodom for the sake of fifty right eous, if they can be found. 142 GENESIS 18 : 33 28. Lord,1 which2 am but dust and ashes: peradventure there shall lack "five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five ? And he said, I will 29. not destroy it, if I find there forty and five. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, "I will not 30. 3 do it 3 for the forty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak : peradventure there shall be "thirty found there. And he said, I will not 31. 3 do it,3 if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord : perad venture there shall be twenty found there. And he 32. said, I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once : peradventure "ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake. 33. And "the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: | and "Abraham returned J unto his place. ¦ Heb. mss. LORD. ' SV who. ' Sam. Gr. destroy. 28. The assumed doctrine having thus been accepted, the number of the righteous becomes a minor matter. Still, he at first reduces it by only five. 29. I will not do it, or, according to the Samaritans and the Greek Version, I will not destroy it. Better, however, because less confusing, I will refrain from destroying it. So, also, in vs. 30, 31, 32. 30. This time Abraham, emboldened by his success, makes a re duction from forty to thirty. So, also, in v. 32. 32. Why the patriarch stopped with ten is not explained. The Jewish doctors say it was because ten constitute a legal congregation (minyan), or because Lot's family consisted of so many persons, him, his wife, four daughters, and four sons-in-law. 33. The LORD went his way; whither, the author does not explain. The latter half of the verse is the proper and original continuation of 22a. That is to say, after the men, all three of them, " went toward Sodom, " Abraham returned unto his place, viz., Hebron. 143 i9 ; i GENESIS J 19. And "the * two angels f came to Sodom "at even ; and Lot sat "in the gate of Sodom : and Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them ; and he bowed himself with 2. his face to the earth ; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and "wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, Nay, but "we 3. will abide in the street all night. And "he urged them The full intent of the author of the account of Abraham's intercession will appear in the sequel. Not even ten righteous persons were found in Sodom; hence the destruction of the city, after the rescue of Lot and his family, was justified. (c) The overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, 19 : 1-28. The men who visited Abraham, on arriving at Sodom, are entertained by Lot; but before they retire to rest the house is beset by the inhabitants demand ing the persons of the strangers for impure purposes; on account of which outbreak of violence and bestiality Yahweh, after rescuing Lot and his family, destroys the corrupt cities. The story is from the Judean narrative, but it has been slightly changed to bring it into harmony with the additions made to the preceding chapter. 1. The two angels. In 18 : 22a the persons who left Abraham are called men, and the natural inference is that there were three of them. Hence, it is probable that the original reading here was the men. They reached Sodom at even, having spent the afternoon on the way. The distance from Hebron to the head of the Dead Sea, by the way of Bethlehem and Mar Saba, is about thirty-five miles. In the gate; or in the open space just inside the gate, to which orientals resort for business or companionship. See 23 : 10. 2. Wash your feet. The thought would be clearer if the preceding verb had been rendered tarry for the night, or lake lodging; then it would appear that the act here described is to be performed on reach ing the house, and not just before leaving it in the morning. The same result would be obtained by transposing and reading wash your feet, and tarry for the night. See 18 : 4. The rendering, We will abide in the street all night, does not do justice to the original. Better, We will spend the night in the street, the emphasis being on the word street. No rudeness is intended. Then, as now, it was doubtless the custom in Palestine during the dry season to sleep in the open air. Moreover, the oriental loves to be importuned. 3. He urged them greatly. The word here used is the same that is rendered pressed in v. 9, which implies a degree of violence. And 144 GENESIS i9 : 9 greatly ; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, "and did bake 4. unleavened bread, and they did eat. But 1 °2 before they lay down,2 the men of the city, * even the men of Sodom,t compassed the house round, both young and 5. old, "all the people from every quarter; and they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which 3 came in to thee this night ? bring them out unto us, "that 6. we may know them. And Lot went out unto them to 7. the door, and shut 4 the door after him. And he said, I 8. pray you, my brethren, "do not so wickedly. Behold now, "I have two daughters, which have not known man ; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes : only unto these men do nothing 5 ; forasmuch 6 as they have come under 9. the shadow of my roof. And they said, "Stand back. 1 So Vg. Syr.; Heb. om. a Gr. attaches this clause to v. 3. ^SVwho. *Sam. they shut. 3 Gr. no evil. 6 m. for therefore. did bake unleavened bread. Better, baking unleavened bread, this process being required for an extemporized feast. See 18 : 6. 4. Before they lay down illustrates the rapidity with which news can be carried in an oriental city. All the people; so corrupt was the place. 5. That we may know them. The practice of sodomy was one of the sins for which Yahweh destroyed the Canaanites before the He brews. See Lev. 20 : 23; 1 Kgs. 14 : 24. 7. Do not so wickedly. The original is milder, Do no evil. Observe that he deprecates the thing proposed, not so much because it is vile in itself, but because it is a violation of the rights of persons who are at the same time his guests and the guests of the city. 8. I have two daughters. This proposal shows how sacred among the early Hebrews were the obligations of hospitality, and how lightly in comparison they esteemed the virtue of their women. 9. The first speech, Stand back, is clearly addressed to Lot. The next, at first sight, seems to be addressed by some one in the crowd to the rest; but the fact that there follow other words to Lot makes this interpretation doubtful. It is better — and the structure of the original favors such an explanation — to treat it as a proverb aimed l i4S iq : 10 GENESIS 1 And they said,1 This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will 2 needs be a judge : now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And 3 they pressed sore upon the man, * even Lot,f and 3 drew near to break 10. thedoor. But the menputforth "their hand, and brought n. Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with "blindness, both small and great: so that they 12. wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, 4 Hast thou here any besides ? 4 °*son in law, and 5 f thy sons, and thy daughters, and "whom soever thou hast in the city ; bring "them B out of the 13. place: for "we will destroy this "place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the "Lord ; and the Lord 1 Gr. om. a Sam. adds, also. 3 Syr. Lot struggled stoutly with the men and they. * Syr. What doest thou here ? 3 Heb. mss. Sam. om. 6 Heb. Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. om. at Lot as his assailants close in upon him. So understood it may be rendered rather freely, A man came alone to sojourn, and remained to play the judge I The Greek Version has the second person through out the verse, thus getting a smooth rendering and a satisfactory sense. Thou earnest to sojourn, not also to play the judge. Similarly the Vulgate. The language used implies that Lot had more than once ventured to correct his neighbors. 10. Their hand, for their hands, is especially bad English in this connection. 11. Blindness; here, as in 2 Kgs. 6 : 18, a miraculous, but tem porary, suspension of vision. 12. The awkwardness of the connection between the term son in law and the context indicates that it was borrowed from v. 14. The sons-in-law of that verse are here included in the general term whom soever. Omit, also, the word them, which is not in the original, and read, Thy sons and thy daughters, and whomsoever thou hast in the city, bring out of the place. 13. We will destroy this place. Here for the first time the men reveal the object of their mission. Observe, however, that they all subordinate themselves to Yahweh. The rendering would be improved by inserting the semicolon after place and the comma after the first LORD, and, with the Latin versions, changing the final it to them. 146 GENESIS 19 : 17 14. hath sent us to destroy it. And "Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, "which 1 married 2 his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place ; for the Lord will destroy the city. But he seemed unto 15. his sons in law as "one that mocked. And "when the morning arose, then "the angels * hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, "which J are here 3 ; lest thou be consumed in the "iniquity 4 of 16. the city. But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him : 5 and "they brought him forth, and set him 17. without the city.5 And ° it came to pass, when they had brought "them * forth abroad, that 6° he 7* said, Escape for thy life ; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain; escape to "the mountain, lest thou be con- 1 SV who. * m. Vg. were to marry. 3 Gr. adds, and go forth. * m. punish ment; Gr. Syr. iniquities. s Gr. om. 6 Vg. om. * Gr. Vg. Syr. they. 14. Lot went out; into the city. Which (SV who) married his daughters. The original, lit., the takers of his daughters, is ambigu ous; but the margin, which follows the Vulgate, is probably correct in rendering it, who were to take his daughters. One that mocked; or, better, one that jested. Not realizing the sinfulness of their native city, they had no ground for expecting retribution. 15. When the morning arose; when the day dawned, for, according to v. 23, the sun had not yet risen. The angels. The original reading was doubtless the men, as in vs. 10, 12, and 16. Which are here; at home and as yet unmarried. The Greek Version adds, and go forth, and it is probable that this was the original reading. The He brew word here rendered iniquity also means punishment, and the latter is the preferable translation in this connection. 16. They brought him forth. The reader's attention is directed to Lot, perhaps because it was he who caused the delay. It is also pos sible that originally he alone was mentioned in the preceding sentence. 17. Here, again, the pronouns are confusing. The original read ing must have been him for them and they for he before said, unless, as some claim, vs. 17-22 are from a secondary source. The moun- 147 ig : 18 GENESIS 18. sumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, D1 my 19. lord1: behold now, "thy servant hath found grace2 in thy sight, and "thou hast magnified thy mercy, "which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; "and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil 3 overtake me, 20. and I die : behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and "it is a little one : Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a 21. little one?) and my soul shall hve. And he said unto him, See, "I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that "I will not overthrow the city of which thou 22. hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. "Therefore the 1 m. Gr. Tar. O Lord; Syr. my lords. a SV favor. 3 m. the evil. tain is not a single peak, but the highlands east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. 18. My lord. The Hebrew word so rendered, which is pronounced as if it meant Lord, is capable of being translated My lords, as it is in the Syriac Version; but the singular seems to be required by v. 19. 19. Thy servant; as if Lot now saw that one of his guests was Yah weh or the angel of Yahweh. If this is the significance of the singular, it makes against the view cited under v. 17. Thou hast magnified thy mercy; added to preceding tokens of favor. The relative clause, which thou hast shewed unto me, describes these tokens. It should therefore be followed, as well as preceded, by a comma. And I can not escape. Better, But, etc. Lot's plea is that the favor shown him in the past will have been in vain if he is forced to attempt to escape to the highlands. 20. It is a little one; lit. It is a trifle. The significance of the expression lies in the fact that the Hebrew word for trifle (mis'ar) contains the consonants of the name of Zoar (So'ar). 21. I have accepted thee; granted thy request. I will not over throw the city. These words reveal the speaker. He can be no other than the one who, in 18 : 20 f., told Abraham that he was on his way to investigate the condition of the cities of the Plain. 22. Therefore refers, not to the statement just made, but to Lot's play upon its name in v. 20. On the position of Zoar, which evidently cannot be identified, as it is by Tristram (Land of Moab, 341 ff.), with " a bald spur " overhanging the Dead Sea west of Mt. Nebo, see 13 : 10. 148 GENESIS 23. name of the city was called "Zoar. "The sun was risen 24. upon the earth when Lot came unto Zoar. "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah "brim- 25. stone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all "the inhabitants of the cities, and "that 1 which grew upon 26. the ground. But his wife looked back from behind 27. "him, and "she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning | to the place where he had R 1 Gr. mss. Vg. all that. 23. The sun was risen . . . when Lot came. Better, The sun rose . . . as Lot came. 24. The connection with the preceding verse would be closer if the first words of this one were rendered, not Then, but At the same time, the LORD rained. Brimstone and fire; burning brimstone. See Ezek. 38 : 22; Jb. 18 : 15. There is no mention of convulsions of the earth or eruptions of any sort. 25. The inhabitants of the cities; probably Sodom and Gomorrah. In Dt. 29 : 23 \ 22 Admah and Zeboim are associated with them, but in Hos. 11:8 only Admah and Zeboim are mentioned. That which grew upon the ground; the vegetation of the Plain. 26. This verse would naturally come directly after v. 23. If it were inserted there, one would not have to look for the antecedent of the pronouns his and him or consider whether the foolish woman was the victim of a special outburst of the divine anger or perished in the general overthrow. The fact that she became a pillar of salt seems to favor the former alternative; yet, see Dt. 29 : 23 | 22. Jo sephus says of this pillar (Ant. I. 11 : 4), " I have seen it; for it still exists." He probably had in mind one of the pinnacles of Jebel Usdum, a ridge at the southwestern corner of the Dead Sea, seven miles long and nearly six hundred feet high, largely composed of rock salt; for he, too, located the cities of the Plain at, or under, the southern end of the Sea. See Baedeker, 203 f. If, however, the author of this verse had Jebel Usdum in mind, he must, as Gunkel finds other rea sons for believing, be a different person from the author of the original story, who, as has been shown, in 13 : 10 clearly points to the plain at the mouth of the Jordan. 27. The removal of v. 26 would bring this verse, or the first half of it, into its proper relation to v. 25. The latter half of it is plainly an editorial reference to the story of Abraham's intercession. 149 19 127 ig : 28 GENESIS J 28. stood before the Lord : | and "he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and lo, "the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace. P 29. And it came to pass, when God destroyed x the cities 1 of the Plain, that "God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he 2 over- J 30. threw the cities in which Lot dwelt. | And "Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two 1 Gr. all the cities. a Gr. the Lord. 28. He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah. He could not see their ruins from any place near Hebron, but he could see the depres sion in which they lay and the smoke of the land about them, as one can now see the mist that rises from the Sea. The question naturally arises whether, or to what extent, the ac count of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is historical. For tunately, from the religious standpoint, it is not of fundamental importance, for it cannot be satisfactorily answered. It is probable that a catastrophe involving the destruction of one or more places actually occurred in early times in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea. On the other hand, it is possible that the whole story is a legend to account for some of the remarkable features of the region with which it is connected. In either case the purpose of the author in incor porating it into his narrative was one, and a worthy one, viz., to im press upon the minds of his readers that the God whom they worshipped was a holy God, and that he would not tolerate in them the vices for which their Canaanite neighbors were notorious. (d) Lot and his daughters, 19 : 29-38. From Zoar Lot removes to the highlands, where, by plying him with wine, his daughters, one after the other, become mothers, thus giving rise to the peoples known under the names of "Moab " and " the children of Ammon." The paragraph is from the Judean narrative, except v. 29, which is a con densed statement of Priestly origin of the substance of vs. 1-28. 29. There is really no connection between this verse and the rest of the chapter, but it furnishes a starting point for the incident to be related. God remembered Abraham. It is possible that the author here had in mind Abraham's intercession, but more probable that he attributed Lot's escape to the influence of the patriarch's virtues. He evidently did not approve of the nephew. 30. Lot went up out of Zoar; which, therefore, must have been in 15° GENESIS 1 9 : 36 daughters with him; for "he feared to dwell in Zoar: and "he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.1 31. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and "there is not a man in the earth to come in unto 32. us after the manner of all the earth : come, "let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, "that we 33. may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night : and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father 2 ; and he knew not when she 34. lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with "my 3* father : let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 35. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and "the younger arose4* and lay with him ; and he knew 36. not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus 1 Sam. Gr. Vg. add, with him. a Gr. adds, that night. 3 Gr. our. + Gr. Vg. Syr. went in. the plain or not much above it. He feared to dwell in Zoar; appar ently because it was too near the devastated cities. He dwelt in a cave; as if the territory afterward occupied by his descendants was then uninhabited. 31. There is not a man in the earth. The Hebrew word here ren dered earth is also the one for land, and the latter is the preferable meaning in this connection. 32. Let us make our father drink wine. Better, Let us give our father wine to drink. So also in vs. 33 ff. She gives her father the credit of being a man who would not wittingly be a party to the fulfilment of her purpose. That we may preserve seed of our father. She proposes to sacrifice her virtue, not to gratify her passions, but to perpetuate her family. For another instance of the same kind, see chapter 38. 34. My father. Read with the Greek Version, our father. 35. The younger arose. Better, as in v. ¦}¦}, with the versions, the younger went in. 19 : 37 GENESIS were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his 37. name Moab ' : the same is the father of the "Moabites 38. unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name "Ben-ammi 2 : the same is the father of "the children of Ammon unto this day. 1 Gr. adds, saying, From my father. ' Gr. Amman, [saying] the son of my race. 37. The Greek Version adds, as an explanation of the name here given, From my father; which is obtained by changing its pronuncia tion from Moabh to Meabh. The Moabites; the people that the He brews, on entering Palestine after the Exodus, found in possession of the country east of the Dead Sea and south of the Arnon. See Num. 21 : 13. 38. Ben-ammi. Here, again, the Greek Version has a fuller text. It gives the child's name as Amman, i.e., Amman, and renders Ben- ammi as an explanation, The son of my race. The Hebrew author probably intended it to be understood in the sense of The son of my kinsman. In other words, he made the names Moab and Ammon equivalent in meaning and found in them a reminder of the origin of the peoples that bore them. The children of Ammon; a people that, according to Jud. 11 : 13 ff., at first occupied the territory east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea from the Jabbok to the Arnon, but were forced back toward the eastern desert by the Amorites before the Exodus. This story cannot be regarded as, in the proper sense of the word, historical. It appears to be an attempt to account for the names of the two peoples whose origin it professes to describe. It is not, how ever, without value. Far from it. In the first place, it is important as reflecting the ethical condition and ideals of the Hebrews of the period in which it was written. Secondly, it is remarkable as witness ing, in spite of the almost constant hostility of both the Moabites and the Ammonites toward the Hebrews, to the fact that the three peoples came from the same stock. See Dt. 2 : 9, 19. (4) A series of trials, chs. 20-23, exc- 22 : 20-24 The next four chapters, with the exception noted, represent Abra ham in his various relations as meeting a succession of experiences, one after another, which were calculated to test and develop his character as a man of God. (a) The seizure of Sarah by Abimelech, 20 : 1-18. Abraham, on IS* GENESIS 20 : 20. And Abraham "journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh x and 2. Shur2; "and he sojourned in Gerar.2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister 3 : and "Abime- 3. lech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But "God came to Abimelech "in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, "thou art but a dead man, because of the woman which thou hast taken ; for she is a man's wife. 4. Now Abimelech had not come near her : and he said, 5. Lord, wilt thou slay even "a 4 righteous nation *? Said 1 Syr. Tar. Rekam. a Syr. Godor; Tar. Hagra. 3 Gr. adds, for he feared to say. She is my wife, lest the men of the city should slay him on her account. 4 Gr. Vg. an unwilling and. going to Gerar, repeats the mistake he made in Egypt with a similar result: the king takes Sarah and is only prevented from making her his wife by divine interference. In obedience to this warning the king restores the woman to her husband, with a royal indemnity, where upon he is relieved from the ban resting on him and his family. The whole paragraph is from the Ephraimite narrative, being an almost unmarred specimen of that work. 1. The words from thence now mean from Hebron; but, since the preceding part of the Ephraimite narrative has been almost entirely omitted, one cannot be sure that this was their original sense. From his starting-point, wherever it was, he journeyed, better removed, toward, better to, the land of the South, and dwelt in that part of it between Kadesh and Shur. On these names, see 14 : 7; 16 : 7. And he sojourned in Gerar. This clause becomes more intelligible when attached to v. 2 and rendered, And when he sojourned in Gerar, which, as has been shown under 10 : 19, was within the above limits. 2. Abimelech took Sarah; perhaps with the hope of obtaining by her the children, who, according to v. 17, had hitherto been denied him. 3. Note the name God and the method of revelation, in a dream. See 15 : 1. Thou art but a dead man; thou shalt surely die. Pha raoh, according to 12 : 17, was "plagued with great plagues" on Sarah's account. 4. The threat of v. 3 concerns the king personally. It is therefore probable that in his defence he said, not a righteous nation, but a righteous man, and that a copyist mistook the latter reading for the former. 153 20 : 6 GENESIS he not himself unto me, She is my sister? and "she, even she herself said, He is my brother: "in the integrity of my heart and the "innocency of my hands have I done 6. this. And God said unto him in the dream, Yea, I know that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I also withheld thee from "sinning against me: 7. therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now there fore restore the man's wife; for "he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live : and if thou re store her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, 8. and all that are thine. And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears : and x the men 1 were sore 9. afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, "What 2* hast thou done unto us 2f ? and wherein have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought on me 1 Sam. Gr. all the men. a Syr. have 1 done unto thee. 5. She, even she herself overdoes the original, which would be more accurately rendered she, also, herself. It appears that in this, as in the former case, there was an understanding between her and her husband. See v. 13. The king appeals to the principle that the quality of an act depends upon the intent of the actor, and argues that, because he did what he did in the integrity of his heart, with an up right intention, he did it in innocency of hands, without incurring real guilt. 6. Sinning against me; by taking another man's wife. 7. He is a prophet. The term prophet is here used for the first time in the Old Testament. In its original signification of spokesman it is used of representatives of men as well as of God. See Ex. 7 : 1. It is here applied to Abraham as a mediator through whose interces sion Abimelech may escape the threatened penalty. The bestowment of the title upon him, therefore, amounts to canonization. Note, however, that, according to the author of this story, the prophets also received their revelations in dreams. See 15:1. 9. What hast thou done unto us ? The Syriac Version has, What have I done unto thee; and this, since it forms a parallelism with the next clause, is doubtless the original reading. The present reading is 154 GENESIS and on my kingdom "a great sin? thou hast done 10. "deeds 1 unto me that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, "What sawest * thou, n. that thou hast done this thing? And Abraham said,2 Because I thought,3 Surely the fear of God is not in this 12. place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. And moreover "she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she 13. became my wife : and it came to pass, "when God caused me to wander from my father's house,4 that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me ; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, * Gr. sing. a Sam. adds, Because I was afraid. 3 Vg. adds, with myself saying. * Sam. adds, and from the land of my kindred. a reminiscence of 12 : 18. A great sin. The king does not mean that he and his people have already committed this sin, but that Abraham has misled them into taking the first step toward it. Deeds that ought not to be done; lit., deeds that are not done, that are universally condemned. The words put into the mouth of the king indicate an advanced stage of ethical development. 10. What sawest thou. The question is not as fitting under the circumstances as What didst thou fear? which in Hebrew would have the same letters a little differently arranged. 11. The correction just suggested is favored by the Samaritan text, which begins Abraham's reply with Because I was afraid. 12. She is indeed my sister. In 12 : 10 Abraham receives the re buke administered to him in silence. The explanation here put into his mouth indicates a greater sensitiveness on the subject of truth and falsehood than is shown in the other story. Observe, however, that the author represents the patriarch as defending himself by pleading a relation between himself and Sarah which in later times would have been a, bar to their union. See Dt. 27 : 22; Lev. 20 : 1. 13. When God caused me to wander; on leaving Mesopotamia. Compare 12 : 11, according to which the falsehood was concocted just before the pair entered Egypt. 14. The Samaritan text, which is followed by the Greek Version, mentions as the first of the gifts of the king to Abraham a thousand pieces of silver, but it is probable that the item was mistakenly sup plied from v. 16. It is noteworthy that, while in 12 : 16 the gifts made 155 20 : 13 20 : 14 GENESIS 14. 1 He is my x brother. And Abimelech took 2 "sheep and oxen, and menservants and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 15. And Abimelech said, Behold, "my land is before thee: 16. dwell where it pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother "a thousand pieces of silver: behold, it 3 is for thee "a covering of the eyes 4to all 4 that are with thee 5 ; and 6 in respect of s all 7 thou art righted.7 And Abraham prayed unto God: and 17. "God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid- R 18. servants; and they bare children. [ For 8the Lord8 1 Vg. that I am thy. a Sam. Gr. add, a thousand pieces of silver, and. 3 m. he. « Sam. and to all. s Syr. me. 6 m. before. ' Gr. speak truth; Vg. remember I shall delect thee; Syr. thou Itast accused me. 8 Sam. God. to Abraham were in a sense a price paid for Sarah, the sheep and oxen, etc., are here an indemnity. 15. My land is before thee. Pharaoh, according to 12 : 19 f., drove the patriarch from Egypt. 16. A thousand pieces of silver; about $664.20. A covering of the eyes to all that are with thee; an appeasement (32 : 20) offered her personally through her husband, in view of which those who are jealous for her honor will have to consider her vindicated. The last clause seems to be an enlargement upon the same idea, as if the king had added simply, or any one else. A slight change in the Hebrew would make it mean, and I have put an end to reproaches. The Jewish doctors, seeing the advantage that accrued to the patriarch in this transaction, recast Abimelech's speech and made him say, "Thou wentest to Egypt and there madest gain by Sarah, and now thou art come hither to make gain by her here also. If it is gold thou desir- est, take it and begone with thee." This, however, is not exegesis, but criticism. 17. God healed Abimelech. The disease from which he was suffer ing, if it prevented him from having offspring, cannot have been on Sarah's account, since it is clear from v. 3 that she spent but a very short time in his harem. The rest of the verse would sound better if, after a. semicolon, it were rendered, also his wife and his maidser vants, and they bare children. 18. The editor, who betrays himself by using the name Yahweh 156 GENESIS had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abime lech, "because of Sarah Abraham's wife. 21. And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, | and J, 2. °* the Lord f did unto Sarah as he had spoken. | And J Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son "in his x old age, | at "the set time of which God had spoken to P 3. him.2 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, 1 Gr. om.; Vg. her. a Vg. her. instead of God, overlooking the point just made, says that the women of Abimelech's family were denied children because of Sarah. In the above notes attention has been called to the divergences be tween this story and that of 12 : 10 ff., but without dwelling on their significance. They are so numerous and noticeable that at first sight they seem to require one to believe Abraham to have twice risked the loss of his wife for the sake of his personal safety. This is doubtless the view taken by the compiler, and the one that he expected his read ers to take. When, however, these divergences are examined, it is found that they can all be explained on the supposition that the two passages are two versions of the same incident, written at different dates and by different persons. Moreover, on this supposition Abra ham becomes a more attractive character and the reader gets an in structive glimpse into the ethical and religious history of the Chosen People. For the continuation of the Ephraimite account of the re lations of Abraham and Abimelech, see 21 : 22 ff. (b) The rival mothers, 21 : 1-21. The jealousy which, according to 16 : 4 ff., made Hagar attempt to escape from Sarah before the birth of her child is here represented as renewed on the birth of Isaac, and so intensified that the banishment of Hagar is required to keep peace in the family. (a) The birth of Isaac, 21 : 1-7. Sarah at the appointed time bears a son, whom his father calls Isaac and circumcises according to the divine command. The paragraph is mainly of Priestly origin, but there are brief extracts from both of the other narratives. 1. In the latter half of the verse the name Yahweh (the LORD) is supposed to have been substituted for God for the sake of conformity with the preceding clause. On the promise now fulfilled, see 18 : 10 (J) and 17 : 19 (P). 2. In his old age; or for his old age, a source of comfort to him in his declining years. See also v. 7. The set time was a year from the date of the promise. See 17 : 21. 157 21 :3 21 : 4 GENESIS 4. "Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was "eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5. And Abraham was "an hundred years old, when his son E 6. Isaac was born unto him. | And Sarah said, "God hath J x made me to laugh 1 ; | every one that heareth will laugh 7. "with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck? "for I have borne him 2 a son in his 3 old age. E 8. And the child grew, and was weaned : and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac * was weaned. 9. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which 10. she had borne unto Abraham, "mocking.5 Wherefore 1 m. prepared laughter for me; Syr. caused me great joy to-day. a So Sam. Vg. Syr.; Heb. om. 3 Gr. my. « Sam. Gr. add, his son. s m. playing; Gr. Vg. playing with Isaac her son. 3. Isaac. The narratives agree in teaching that the name, which' means he laughs, was suggested by the laughter of either Abraham or Sarah. See 18 : 12 (J); 21 : 6 (E); 17 : 17 (P). 4. Eight days old. See 17 : 12. 5. An hundred years old; Sarah being ninety. See 17 : 17. 6. God hath made me to laugh. Better, God hath caused laughter over me, the laughter, of course, being a sympathetic expression of joy. So, also, in the latter half of the verse concerning me would be more exact than with me. 7. In the last clause but would be stronger and better than for. (b) The expulsion of Ishmael, 21 : 8-21. On the occasion of the feast when Isaac is weaned, Sarah, offended at the conduct of Ishmael, demands that he and his mother be cast out. Abraham, much against his will, sends them forth, and they wander in the south ern desert until their supply of water is spent and the child is at the point of death. At the last moment he is rescued by the angel of God and lives to grow to manhood in that region. The entire paragraph is from the Ephraimite narrative. 8. The age at which a child was weaned among the Hebrews was about three years. See 2 Mac. 7 : 27. '9. The rendering mocking is too strong for this connection. In 19 : 14 the same Hebrew word evidently means jest. In other pas sages it is used in the sense of play or sport. It was so understood in this instance by the Greek and Latin translators, who seem to have had 158 GENESIS she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son : for "the son of this bondwoman shall not be ii. heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight "on account of his son. 12. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of "thy ] bond woman; in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto 13. her voice; for "in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the 2 bondwoman will I make °3 a nation,3 14. because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and "a bottle 4 of water, 1 Gr. the. a Sam. this. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. a great nation. 4 m. skin. a more complete text than the one preserved by the Jews. At any rate, for mocking they have playing with Isaac her son. See also v. 14, from which it will appear that Ishmael, according to the Ephraimite narrator, was still a little child. 10. The interpretation given to v. 9 harmonizes with the context; for the demand now made by Sarah does not imply that Ishmael had shown her or her child any disrespect, but rather that a sprightly and joyous nature made him a. dangerous rival for Isaac. The son of this bondwoman, she says, unable to conceal her contempt for Hagar, shall not be heir with my son. 11. On account of his son; Ishmael, who had endeared himself to the old man. 12. Thy bondwoman. In chapter 16 the maid is Sarah's property. See especially 16 : 6. In Isaac shall thy seed be called, lit., through Isaac shall a seed be called for thee, i.e., it is the children of Isaac who shall bear thy name. 13. A nation. Better, with the Samaritans and the Versions, u. great nation. See v. 18. 14. A bottle of water; a goatskin tanned whole, used not only for water, but for milk, oil, butter, etc. The verb gave has no object in Hebrew. There is therefore no reason why the translators should not have supplied them instead of leaving the reader to wonder which it it was that Hagar received. The awkwardness of the construction of the next few words indicates that something is wrong. In point of fact, this is a case in which the text has clearly been changed, and for a perfectly apparent purpose. The original reading has been pre served in some of the Greek manuscripts. It ran, and the child he 159 21 : 14 21 : 15 GENESIS and gave "it unto Hagar, D1 putting it on her shoulder, and the child,1 and sent her away: and "she departed, 15. and wandered in "the wilderness of Beer-sheba. "And the water in the bottle was spent, and "she cast the child 16. under °2 one of the shrubs.2 And she went, and sat her down over against him "a good way off, as it were a bowshot : for she said, Let me not look upon the death of the3 child. And she sat over against him, and 17. 4* lift up her 4f voice, and wept. And God heard "the voice of the lad 5 ; and "the angel of God called to Hagar "out of heaven, and said unto her, Whataileth 1 SV putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child; Gr. mss. and put the child on her shoulder. a Gr. a pine; Vg. adds, which were there. 3 Gr. my. * Gr. the boy lifted his. s Gr. adds, from the place where he was. put on her shoulder. This is what one acquainted with the Orient, where the women customarily carry their little children on their shoulders, would expect, and v. 15 confirms its correctness. The reason for the change is equally simple. When the Priestly narrative, according to which Ishmael was fourteen years older than Isaac, was incorporated with the previous compilation, the editor saw that it would be ridiculous to represent Abraham as putting him upon the shoulder of his mother, and he simply transposed the words of this clause to prevent the reader from giving it its original meaning. The English translators completed his work by inserting another it, after putting. She departed; probably from Beer-sheba, where, according to the author of this passage, Abraham was then encamped. See the wilderness of Beer-sheba; also vs. 22 ff., which should follow chapter 20. Compare 16 : 7. 15. And the water was spent. Better When, etc. She cast, better, put down, the child. The verb used implies that she had been carrying him. One of the shrubs: probably a ratam, as this species of broom abounds in that region. See 1 Kgs. 19 : 5. 16. A good way off; not only that she might not look upon the death of the child, but that she might not hear him; for the Greek Version is undoubtedly correct in saying that it was the boy who lifted up his voice and wept. 17. The change in v. 16 is required by the statement here made, that it was the voice of the lad which God heard. The angel of God; used in the Ephraimite narrative where the Judean would employ the angel of Yahweh, but not so frequently. Out of heaven; not com- 160 GENESIS 21 :2i thee, Hagar? fear not; for "God hath heard the voice 18. of the J lad where he is. Arise, "lift up the lad, and 2 hold him in thine 2 hand ; for I will make him a great 19. nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw "a well of water 3; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, 20. and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad, and he grew ; and he dwelt in "the wilderness, and be- 21. came4 "an archer.5 And he dwelt in "the wilderness of Paran : and his mother took him "a wife out of the land of Egypt. 1 Gr. thy. a Vg. take hold of his. 3 Gr. living water. * SV adds, as he grew up. 3 Syr. adds, in the desert of Paran. ing into so close communication with her as the angel of Yahweh in 16 : 7 ff. God hath heard; thus fulfilling the promise of his name Ishmael, he heareth. See 16 : 11. 18. The command, lift up the lad, does not necessarily imply anything with reference to his age. Nor does the next clause, which reads, lit., strengthen thy hand upon him, i.e., lay fast hold upon him. 19. A well of water. Compare the one in 16 : 7 ff., which receives a name commemorative of the incident narrated. 20. The wilderness; naturally the one called the wilderness of Beer- sheba in v. 14. Compare v. 21. An archer: the first mentioned in the Old Testament. The bow was not among the earliest weapons of the nomads of the desert bordering on Egypt. In later times some of the tribes whose descent is traced from Ishmael, especially the Itureans and the Kedarenes, became famous as archers. See 25 : 12 ff. 21. The wilderness of Paran; another name, perhaps from a differ ent source (P), for the region just mentioned, now the so-called Desert of et-Tih. See Num. 12 : 16; 13 : 3. A wife out of the land of Egypt. The author, it seems, could not deny a relationship between the Hebrews and the Ishmaelites, but he was disposed to make it as remote as possible. This Ephraimite story, then, agrees with its Judean parallel in tracing the descent of the Ishmaelites from Abraham; but the im pression produced is decidedly different. In chapter 16 Hagar and Ishmael are romantic, almost heroic figures; here they are outcasts whom one can only commiserate. So great was the change of opinion M l6l 21 :22 GENESIS E 22. And it came to pass "at that time, that "Abimelech ' and Phicol the captain of his host spake unto Abraham, 23. saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: "now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son,2 nor with my 3 son's son 3 : but 4 according to the "kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the 24. land "wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham 25. said, "I will swear. "And Abraham reproved Abime lech because of "the well 5 of water, which 8 Abimelech 's 1 Gr. adds, and Ahuzzath his friend. a m. offspring. 3 m. posterity. * So Gr. Vg. Syr. ; Heb. om. 3 Gr. plu. 6 Syr. adds, the servants of Abraham had digged and'. and sentiment among the Hebrews with reference to the nomadic life after they had been a few centuries in possession of Palestine. (c) The covenant with Abimelech, 21 : 22-34. Abraham, when Abimelech comes to him proposing a covenant, takes occasion to mention a well of which he has been dispossessed by the latter's servants; but, when the king denies all knowledge of the matter, he enters into the proposed covenant and by a liberal present secures undisturbed possession of a well which gives its name to Beer-sheba. The paragraph is mainly from the Ephraimite narrative, but there are extracts from other sources. It should properly follow chapter 20, just as 26 : 19 ff. follows the story of Isaac's falsehood concerning Rebekah. 22. At that time; after Abimelech had restored Sarah. See 20 : 17. Abimelech spake unto Abraham; having come from Gerar, about twenty-five miles distant, for that purpose. The Greek Version says that he was accompanied by two officials, but it is probable that the name Ahuzzath was borrowed from 26 : 26. 23. Now therefore refers, not to what the king has just said, but to some such thought as thou shall become a great nation, which is suppressed. The kindness of the king was most generously displayed when he gave Abraham the freedom of his country. See 20 : 15. The words wherein thou hast sojourned are a delicate reminder of that occasion. 24. I will swear. He takes care to assure the king of his friendliness before making his complaint. 25. The transition in thought at this point requires but for and at the beginning of the verse. For the also, it would be better to read a, well of water. Then, as now, a well was a valuable possession, and 162 GENESIS 26. servants had violently taken away. And Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing: neither didst 27. thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to-day. And "Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto 28. Abimelech; and "they two made a covenant. And Abraham set "seven ewe lambs of the flock by them- 29. selves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by 30. themselves ? And he l said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it 2 may be "a witness 31. unto me, that I have digged this well. "Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba ; | because there they sware R 32. both of them. "So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba : 1 Sam. Gr. Abraham. a Gr. Vg. they. on that account liable to become an object of strife between neigh boring tribes or families. See 26 : 19 ff. 27. Abraham took sheep and oxen. He had doubtless already received a substantial present from Abimelech. They two made a covenant. On such occasions there was usually a feast. See 26 : 30. 28. Having satisfied Abimelech's desire for a covenant, Abraham takes occasion to guard against any further trouble about water. Seven ewe lambs; a small, but significant, present. 30. The explanation given by Abraham is not so blunt in the orig inal as the translation makes it. In fact it is put with truly oriental caution and politeness. The thought is that the lambs are a genuine present, a token of esteem and good will, but the giver trusts that they may at the same time serve as a witness, a reminder, of his right, not to the well of which he has been deprived, but to one that he has just finished. 31. Wherefore, because Abraham's second present consisted of seven animals, he called, first the well, and then that place Beer-sheba, Seven-wells. This was the first of several dug at that place. Tradi tion says there have been seven. Three are still in use by the inhabit ants of the modern village of Bir es-Seba' and the Bedawin who pasture their flocks and herds in the neighborhood. The latter half of the verse, with 32a, is a second interpretation of the name, probably by the compiler, who makes it mean Well of the Oath. 32. So they made a covenant, or, and made u. covenant. The 163 21 132 21 :33 GENESIS and Abimelech rose up,1 and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of "the Philis- E 33. tines. | And ° Abraham2 planted 3a tamarisk tree3 in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of * the J 34. Lord,! "the Everlasting God. | And Abraham so journed in the land of the Philistine many days. E 22. And it came to pass "after these things, that "God did prove Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham 4; and he 1 Gr. adds, and Ahuzzath his friend. a So Sam, Gr. Vg. Syr. 3 Gr. ground; Vg. a grove; Syr. Tar. a tree. * Heb. mss. Gr. Vg. add, Abraham. name of the Philistines must also have been inserted by the compiler; according to the Ephraimite author Abimelech was king of Gerar. See 20 : 2. The name has no place in a history of Abraham, for there were no Philistines in Palestine until centuries after his day. They are first mentioned, under the name Purusati, or Pulusati, as taking part in a movement against Egypt in the reign of Rameses III. Since they were then in the north, they can hardly have reached southern Palestine before the Exodus. 33. The name Abraham has been inserted by the translators on the authority of the Samaritans and the versions. If this verse be con nected directly with v. 31, it is not needed. The Everlasting God. The thought conveyed is familiar enough, but the name is used else where only in Is. 40 : 28. See Jer. 10 : 10. 34. This verse, since it conflicts with both v. 12 and 20 : 2, is sup posed to have been borrowed from the history of Isaac, its original place being, perhaps, after 26 : 12. It was inserted here, apparently, to bridge the period that must be supposed to have elapsed between the expulsion of Ishmael and the incident narrated in the next chapter. (d) The sacrifice of Isaac, 22 : 1-19. Abraham, being commanded to sacrifice his son, promptly sets out for the place indicated, and, on reaching it, makes all the preparations for a burnt offering; but at the last moment the angel of God forbids the act. Thereupon the patriarch offers a stray ram in his son's stead, and, after renewed assurances of the divine favor, returns to Beersheba. The original story was from the Ephraimite narrative, but it has been considerably expanded. 1. After these things; and, if this story originally followed 21 : 21, a number of years, or as 21 : 34 puts it, " many days," later. God did prove Abraham. This way of putting the matter is in harmony with the earlier ideas of the Hebrews, who attributed everything, 164 GENESIS 2. said, Here am I. And he said, Take now thy son, D1 thine only ' son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into "the 2 land of Moriah 2*; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon "one of the mountains which I will tell thee 3. of. And Abraham rose "early in the morning, and "saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son ; * and he clave "the wood for the burnt offering, f and rose up, and went 3 unto the 4. place of which God had told * him. "On the third day 4 1 Gr. thy beloved. a Gr. high land; Vg. land of vision; Syr. land of the Amorite. 3 Gr. adds, and came. * Gr. him on the third day. And; Vg. Syr. him. And (but) on the third day. good or bad, that happened to them to the direct agency of the Al mighty. See 1 Sam. 16 : 14 f. ; Am. 3 : 6; etc. Did prove should be changed to proved or said to say. t. Thine only son. whom thou lovest. Each of these qualifying phrases only makes the command more cruel. Yet Abraham utters no protest. This might be explained as due to the fact that human sacrifices were by no means uncommon among the Hebrews. See Jud. 11 : 30 ff.; 2 Kgs. 23 : 10; etc. The author, however, would probably have said that he was too loyal to complain, or too confident that the one who had promised him a countless seed (15:5) would find a way to fulfil his engagement. See Heb. 11 . 17 ff. The land of Moriah can only mean the country about Jerusalem. See 2 Chr. 3:1. It is hardly probable, however, that an Ephraimite author would locate so important an incident at the capital of the southern kingdom. It is better, therefore, to adopt the Syriac reading, the land of the Amorite, which is supported by the Greek Version, and is in the char acteristic style of the writer. See 48 : 22. One of the mountains; the one among several mountains. 3. Early in the morning; the command to sacrifice his son having been received in the night. See 20 : 3; 21 : 12; etc. Saddled his ass; saddled an ass for himself, i.e., since he was an old man, for his own riding. How then did he carry the wood for the burnt offering ? The evident answer to this question is that he took none, that the ref erence to it is a gloss suggested by a misinterpretation of v. 6. The author of it did not stop to think how ridiculous it would be to carry wood from the region of Beersheba into the much better supplied highlands. 4. On the third day. This note of time was doubtless meant to iadhmoni. A play upon the name Edom is evi dently intended; but, since the name itself is not used, it is probably the second thought of a reader. The original description is found in all over like a hairy garment, the word for hair, sear, being a play; not only upon Esau, with which it has two consonants in common, but upon Se'ir, another name for Edom. 192 GENESIS 25 : 30 26. they called his name Esau. And after that came forth his brother, and "his hand had hold on Esau's heel ; and his name was called "Jacob: | and Isaac was "three- P score years old when she x bare them. 27. And the boys grew: and Esau was "a cunning2 J hunter, "a man of the field ; and Jacob was "a plain 3 28. man, "dwelling in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, be cause he did eat of his 4 venison : and Rebekah loved 29. Jacob. And "Jacob sod 5 pottage : and Esau came in 30. from the field, and he was faint: and Esau said to Jacob, "Feed me, I pray thee, with "that same red 1 Gr. Rebekah. a SV skilful. 3 m. quiet or harmless; SV quiet. * So Sam. Gr.; Heb. om. s SV boiled. 26. In like manner, says the author, the second child received the name Jacob (Heb. Ya'kaobh), which he interprets as meaning Supplanter, because his hand had hold on Esau's heel (a'kebh). The original form of this name, as appears from the Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions, was Yaa'kobh-el. Its meaning, therefore, must have been he (God) restraineth, or something similar. The Priestly writer also had an account of the birth of the twins, but it has been omitted with the exception of the statement that Isaac was now threescore years old. The natural inference is that Rebekah also was well advanced in years. (b) The transfer of the birthright, 25 : 27-34- Esau, returning hungry from the field, finds Jacob preparing a dish of lentils and asks for some of them; but Jacob denies him until Esau recklessly consents to exchange his birthright for a dinner. The source of the story is the Judean narrative. 27. When Esau and Jacob were grown they differed as much in their tastes and pursuits as in their appearance. A cunning hunter. In this respect he differed from most Hebrews, who seem not to have been very fond of the chase. A man of the field; one who loved the open country and spent much of his time afield. A plain man: lit., a complete man, a model among those dwelling in tents. 29. Jacob sod, better, with SV, boiled, pottage. It consisted, as ap pears from v. 34, of lentils, perhaps with the addition of a little meat. 30. Feed me hardly does justice to the original. The verb used is one that is employed in later Hebrew of forcing food upon animals. Stuff me, or Let me gorge myself, therefore, would be a more nearly correct, if not so elegant, rendering. That same red pottage. The o 193 25 : 31 GENESIS pottage; for I am faint : "therefore was his name called 31. Edom. And Jacob said, "Sell me this day thy birth- 32. right. And Esau said,1 Behold, "I am 2 at the point2 to die : and "what profit shall the 3 birthright do to me ? 33. And Jacob said, Swear to me °4 this day4; and he sware unto him : and he 5 sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34. And Jacob gave Esau ° bread and pottage of lentils ; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way : "so Esau despised his birthright. • Syr. adds, to himself. ' SV about. 3 Gr. this. * m. first of all; SV first. 3 Gr. Esau. ° Syr. adds, to eat. translators have put the word pottage in italics because they did not find it in the original, which reads, literally, this red red ('adhotn). The first of the words rendered red, however, is probably an error for a very similar one, 'edhom, meaning pottage, the original reading being this red pottage. Therefore, because he used this word, instead of the one employed in v. 29, was his name called Edom. 31. Sell me this day thy birthright. The proposal is not greatly to Jacob's credit, but it reveals some knowledge of values and a. will ingness to sacrifice the lower for the higher. 32. I am at the point to die, on the other hand, is the complaint of a man to whom life means the gratification of his appetites. A good meal he could appreciate, but a birthright — What profit, he asks, shall the birthright do to me? or better, Of what use is a birth right to me? See v. 34. ^3. This question denotes a willingness to renounce the birthright. Jacob, however, is not satisfied with a careless acquiescence. He demands that the bargain be sealed with an oath this day, now; and he sware unto him. 34. So Esau despised his birthright; treated with contempt all that it signified. See v. 32. (2) The patriarch and his neighbors, 26 : 1-33 Under this head belong two incidents. (a) Rebekah in danger, 26 : 1-11. Isaac, having been driven by a famine to Gerar and instructed to remain there, attempts to protect himself by representing Rebekah as his sister; but Abimelech dis covers the truth and calls Isaac to account for his conduct. Isaac confesses his weakness and Abimelech warns the people not to 194 GENESIS 26 : 5 26. And there was a famine "in the land, | "beside the j, R first famine that was in the days of Abraham. | And J "Isaac went unto Abimelech "king of the Philistines unto 2. Gerar.1 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, | "Go not down into Egypt; dwell in "the land which I R 3. shall tell thee of: | sojourn in this land, and I will be J with thee, and will bless thee ; | for unto thee, and unto R thy seed, I will give "all 2 these lands,2 and I will estab lish the 3 oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4. and I will multiply thy seed "as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all 2 these lands 2 ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth °4 be blessed 4 ; 5. because that "Abraham5 obeyed my voice, and "kept 1 Syr. Godor. a Gr. this land. 3 Gr. my. * m. bless themselves. s Sam. Gr. add, thy father. disturb him or Rebekah. The story is an extract from the Judean narrative, with editorial additions. i. In the land; the desert about Beer-lahai-roi. See 25 : n. Beside the first famine, etc., is an editorial reminder inserted here when 12 : 10 ff., another version of the story, was added to the Judean narrative. See 12 : 1. Isaac went unto Abimelech. There is no reason to doubt that the person here meant is the same as the Abime lech of chapter 20. True, he is here called king of the Philistines in stead of " king of Gerar," but the addition of unto Gerar makes the two titles one. See also v. 26, where the captain of his host is still the Phicol of 21 : 22. 2. Go not down into Egypt; as Abraham did; another editorial reference to 12 : 10. The land which I shall tell thee of implies that Isaac has not yet reached a safe refuge Compare 3a. 3. The latter part of this verse and the next two are an expansion of the promised blessing. See 13 : 14-17; 22 : 15-18. All these lands; an enlargement of the original promise. See v. 4 ; compare 12 : 7. 4. As the stars of heaven. See 22 : 18. Be blessed. Better, as in the margin, bless themselves. 5. Abraham obeyed my voice. To the simple name the Samaritans and the Greek Version add thy father. For obeyed a more exact ren dering would be hearkened. Kept my charge, etc. The type of piety I9S 26 : 6 GENESIS my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my 6, 7 laws. | And "Isaac dwelt in Gerar * : and "the men of the place asked him of 2 his wife 2 ; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, °3 My wife 3; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah : be- 8. cause she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was "sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife : "and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because "I said, Lest 10. I die for 4 her. And Abimelech said, "What is this thou 1 Syr. Godor. ' Gr. Rebekah his wife. ' Sam. Gr. Syr. She is my wife. * SV because of. here attributed to Abraham is the Deuteronomic, and inconsistent, not only with the teaching of J, but with the period to which the patriarch belongs. See Dt. 11 : 1; comp. Gen. 15 : 6; Rom. 4:3 ft 6. Isaac dwelt in Gerar; the continuation of 3a. 7. The men of the place asked him of his wife. The inference is that they were attracted by her beauty. See v. 7. Yet, according to the preceding chapter, she was the mother of grown sons who were not born until twenty years after she was married. The difficulty is re moved by inserting this whole chapter where it undoubtedly belongs, viz., before 25 : 21. It will then be possible to think of Rebekah as a young woman and possessed of all the attractions that appeal to oriental taste. My wife; more fully and correctly, with the Samari tans, She is my wife. 8. On the supposition that Rekekah was a young woman it ceases to be ridiculous that Isaac should be sporting with, fondling, Rebekah. 9. And how saidst thou ? Better, How, then, saidst thou ? Abime lech is here the same dignified and honorable character as in chapter 20. I said; here, as often in the Old Testament, in the sense of / thought. See 20 : n. 10. What is this thou hast done unto us ? The question is the same that is attributed to Abimelech in 20 : 9. Here, however, it harmo- 196 GENESIS hast done' unto us ? one of the people might lightly ' have lien2 with thy wife, and "thou shouldest3 have n. brought guiltiness upon us. And "Abimelech charged all the4 people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. 12. And "Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year "an hundredfold 5 : "and the Lord blessed him. 13. And the man waxed great, and grew more and more 14. until he became very great : and he had possessions of 1 SV easily. ' SV lain. 3 SV wouldest. * Sam. Gr. his. 3 Gr. Syr. add, of barley. nizes with the words that follow. Thou shouldest (SV wouldest) have brought guiltiness upon us; and one of those calamities by which God was supposed to punish peoples for the sins of any of their number. See Josh. 7:2s. 11. Abimelech charged all the (Sam. his) people. He had no occasion to feel that he owed Isaac or his wife anything, but he mag nanimously granted them his protection. The identity of the Abimelech of this story and the one in chapter 20 must be admitted. If, however, they are one person, it would ap pear that this wise king was twice deceived, first by Abraham, and then by his son, and in precisely the same manner. This, of course, is possible, but it is no more probable than that Abraham should him self have twice tried the same device in vain. Here, then, must be a third version of the story already twice told, and, indeed, since it is from the Judean narrative, the oldest of the three. (b) Strife with the Gerarites, 26 : 12-33. Isaac remains among the Philistines and prospers to such a degree that they become envious of him and ask him to leave them. They even dispute his rights in the open pasture and appropriate two of his wells; but finally they cease to trouble him, and, when he has fixed his camp at Beer-sheba, Abimelech comes to him proposing a covenant, which is duly made. This passage bears the same relation to 20 : 22 ff. that vs. 1-11 do to chapter 20, i.e., it is the older Judean version, with some editorial additions to adapt it to its present setting. 12. Isaac sowed in that land; combined tillage of the soil with the calling of the shepherd, as do some of the nomads of to-day. An hundredfold. The yield, even of barley, which, according to the Greek and Syriac Versions, is the grain that Isaac sowed, is now much smaller. And the Lord blessed him should be connected with v. 13'. 197 26 : 14 26 : 15 GENESIS flocks, and possessions of herds, and °a great house- R 1 5. hold x : and the Philistines envied him. | Now all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, "the Philistines had stopped J 16. them, 2 and filled them 2 with earth. | And Abimelech said unto Isaac, "Go from us; for "thou art much 17. mightier than we. And "Isaac departed thence, and encamped in "the valley of Gerar,3 and dwelt there. | R 18. And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which "they * had digged *5in the daysf of Abraham his father5; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abra ham " : and he called their names after "the names by J 19. which his father had called them. | And Isaac's servants ' Gr. tillage. ' SV om. 3 Syr. Godor. « Gr. the servants of Abraham his father; Syr. the servants of his fattier. s Gr. om. 6 Gr. adds, his father. 14. A great household; here, as in Jb. 1 : 3, a multitude of ser vants. 15. This verse is an editorial addition to explain why, although Abraham, according to 21 : 22 ff., sank wells at and about Beer sheba, Isaac also had to dig for water. It was because the Philis tines had stopped Abraham's wells. The real explanation, of course, is that there are two accounts, the older, here given, according to which they were originally dug by Isaac, and the later one in 21 : 22 ff., in which Abraham receives credit for them. 16. Go from us. Abimelech was forced by a popular sentiment that he did not share to ask Isaac to leave the country. He man aged the matter with oriental diplomacy, giving a reason, thou art much mightier than we, in which the truth was very generously mixed with flattery. 17. Isaac departed thence; because he was a peaceable man and, moreover, because the promise to his father gave him no claim upon the region in which he was sojourning. The valley of Gerar; perhaps Wady Jerur, or one of those connected with it. See 10 : 19. 18. This verse also is editorial and explanatory. For they had digged in the days of Abraham his father read, with the Greek Version, the servants of Abraham his father had digged. See v. 15. The names by which his father had called them. The writer has in mind the name Beer-sheba, which, according to 21 : 31a (E), wa; given in the days of Abraham. 198 GENESIS 26 : 24 digged in the "valley 1, and found there "a well of spring- 20. ing water. And the herdmen of Gerar 2 strove with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours : and he called the name of the well "Esek; "because they contended 21. with him. And "they 3 digged another well, and "they strove for that also : and "he called the name of it Sitnah. 22. And "he removed from thence, and digged4 another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it "Rehoboth ; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and 5 we shall be 5 fruitful in 23. the land. And he went up from thence to "Beer-sheba. 24. And the Lord appeared unto him "the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for "I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply 1 Gr. adds, of Gerar. a Syr. Godor. 3 Gr. he removed from thence and. * Sam. they digged. * Gr, Vg. Syr. made us. 19. The omission of v. 18 brings this one into proper connection with v. 17, making clear what valley is meant without the explanatory of Gerar found in the Greek Version. A well of springing water; a flowing spring. 20. Esek ; Contention. Because they contended ('asak) with him. The site of this well has not been discovered. 21. They digged another well; in the same vicinity. Therefore they strove for that also. The Greek Version substitutes for this clause the first two of v. 22, thus making the Gerarites pursue Isaac beyond his first camp. He called the name of it Sitnah (Hatred), but the explanation, because they hated him, is omitted. Palmer thinks this name is preserved in that of Wady Shutneh er-Ruheibeh, near the ruined town of Ruhaibeh. 22. When he finally removed from thence . . . they strove not. The name of the third well, Rehoboth, is supposed to have survived in that of the just mentioned Ruheibeh, about eighteen miles south of west from Beersheba. 23. The next stage was Beer-sheba, which, however, according to the Jahvist, had not yet received this name. 24. The same night; the night of his arrival. I . . . will ... multiply thy seed. If this whole chapter originally preceded 25 : 21, the promise here recorded must have been made before Esau and 199 26 : 25 GENESIS 25. thy seed for l my servant1 Abraham's sake. And "he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there : and there "Isaac's 26. servants digged a well. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar,2 and "Ahuzzath 3 his friend,4 and "Phicol 27. the captain of his host. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore are ye come unto me, "seeing ye hate me, 28. and have sent me away from you? And they said, "We saw plainly that the Lord was with thee : and we said, Let there now be "an oath betwixt us, °*5 even betwixt us 5f 29. and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; "that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee "nothing but" good, and 1 Gr. thy father. a Syr. Godor. 3 Tar. the company of. 4 Tar. plu. s Gr. Vg. Syr. om. 6 Gr. Syr. om. Jacob were born, and this fact increases its significance. See 15 = 4- 25. He builded an altar there; as Abraham had at Shechem, Bethel, and Hebron. See 12 : 7 f.; 13 : 18. Isaac's servants digged a well; the one which, in 21 : 29, is said to have been digged by Abraham. 26. The part of the story contained in the preceding verses is only implied in 21 : 22 ff., but from this point onward the two versions are more nearly parallel. Here, however, Abimelech brings with him Ahuzzath his friend, his vizier, as well as Phicol, his military ad viser. 27. Seeing ye hate me, etc. Better, after having hated me, and sent me away. Isaac, it appears, resented Abimelech's request in spite of the king's diplomacy. 28. Abimelech wisely ignores this outburst of resentment and pro ceeds to give the reason for the embassy, We saw plainly that the LORD was with thee. Note the name here used for the Deity. It is seldom that Yahweh is put into the mouth of a foreigner. See 24 : 31. An oath ; a covenant secured by an oath. Even betwixt us, which is wanting in the Versions, is apparently a scribal error. 29. That thou wilt do us no hurt. The covenant is not so much for the present as for the future, when Isaac's descendants have become a nation. Sent thee away in peace ; in spite of popular envy. Ani 200 GENESIS 26:3S have "sent thee away in peace : 1 thou art now 1 "the 30. blessed of the Lord. And he made them a feast, and 31. they did eat and drink. And "they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another : and Isaac sent 32. them away, and they departed from him in peace. And it came to pass "the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have2 found water. 33. And he called it "Shibah: "therefore the name of "the city is 3 Beer-sheba unto this day. 34. And when Esau was forty years old he took to wife "Judith 4 the daughter of Been "the Hittite, and "Base- 35. math the daughter of Elon the "Hittite5: and they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. 1 Sam. now thou art; Gr. and now thou art. a Gr. have not. 3 Gr. Syr. he called. * Gr. Ioudin or Ioudein. 3 Sam. Gr. mss. Syr. Hivite. now, they add, according to the Greek Version, as if they took to them selves a good share of the credit for Isaac's prosperity, thou art the blessed of the LORD. 31. They rose up betimes ; having a journey possibly of fifty miles before them. 32. The same day; apparently after the Philistines had taken their departure. Compare 21 : 30, where Abraham seems to have finished the well just before Abimelech's arrival. 33. Shibah, Heb., Shibh'ah, seems to be a mistake for, or a synonym of, Shebhu ah, the usual word for oath. It is here used in allusion to v. 31. This was the name of the well. Therefore, says the writer, with his customary fondness for alliteration without regard to actual meanings, the city is Beer-sheba (Seven Sam. Gr. Vg. full field. ' Syr. om. s SV grain. « SV new wine. consists of two stanzas, each having six lines, but not in the same arrangement. In RV the second and third lines of the first stanza are printed as a single line. The odor that comes from his son's clothing suggests a field ; not a small piece of ground, but a wide stretch of country. The Samaritans read a full field. It is clear from the received text that it is a fruitful region, because it is one which the LORD hath blessed, viz., with abundant moisture. See Dt. n : 11 f. 28. That his heir may possess and enjoy such a country is the fore most desire of Isaac's heart. The dew of heaven here seems to in clude, not only dew proper, which is very copious in Palestine, but rain also, as the life of vegetation. The fatness of the earth ; the part with the richest soil. Corn and wine. Better, grain and must, the latter being the freshly expressed juice of the grape as a product of the soil. The difference between it and wine as a beverage is clearly shown inMic. 6 : 15, properly translated. It says, "Thou shalt sow, but not reap ; thou shalt tread olives, but not anoint with oil ; also press out must, but not drink wine." The must was doubtless drunk to some extent during the vintage, but there is no reliable evidence that is was " a highly prized beverage"; for, in the cases which at first sight seem to prove the contrary, it is must after it has become wine that is meant. See Jud. 9 : 13 ; Is. 62 : 8 ; Zech. 9:17. A third product, oil, is usually added to the two here named. See Dt. 7 : 13 ; Ps. 104 : 15 ; etc. These three have always been the main sources of the wealth of the inhabitants of Palestine. 29. The preceding stanza confines itself to the internal condition of the future nation ; this one takes account of its relations to other peoples. Let peoples serve thee. The writer doubtless has in mind the conquest of Palestine and the later subjugation by David of the tribes and peoples on its borders. See Jud. 1 ; 2 Sam. 8. Thy brethren can only mean Esau and his descendants, the Edomites, who were subdued by David and remained subject to the kingdom 206 GENESIS 27 : 33 Be lord over "thy brethren,1 and let thy mother's2 "sons bow down to thee: Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be every one that blesseth thee. 30. And it came to pass, "as soon as Isaac had made an J end of blessing Jacob,3 | "and Jacob was yet scarce E gone out of the presence of Isaac his father, | that j 31. Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father; and he-said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, "that thy soul may bless 32. me. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau. | 33. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, "Who E 1 Gr. Tar. sing. a Gr. father's, s Gr. adds, his son. of Judah until the reign of Jehoram. See 2 Sam. 8 : 14; 2 Kgs. 8 : 20 ff. The Greek Version and the Targum have thy brother, but this is evidently a correction prompted by too narrow an interpretation of the term brethren. See the sons of the next line. On the last couplet, see 12 : 3. The blessing bestowed upon Jacob is not a prediction, but records the conviction of a later time that the rise of the Hebrew nation was divinely ordained and providentially directed. (b) Esau's appeal, 27 : 30-40. Esau, returning, finds that Jacob has forestalled him; but he makes a passionate appeal to Isaac, and the patriarch finally bestows upon him a blessing suited to his impulsive and adventurous character. The paragraph is mainly from the Judean narrative, but the Ephraimite also is represented. 30. And Jacob was yet scarce gone out. The original has and it came to pass that Jacob, etc. The restoration of the suppressed words makes it clear that the whole clause is a duplicate of the one preceding, and therefore from another source. It was inserted because the com piler gave the particle here rendered as soon as the sense of when, which would now be a better translation. 31. That thy soul may bless me. The construction is the same as in v. 19, viz., the one that politely suggests rather than directly re quests the thing desired. 33. Who then is he, etc. According to the Ephraimite version of 207 27 : 34 GENESIS then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and "I have eaten of all before thou earnest, and have blessed him ? yea, and 1 "he shall be blessed. "When 2 34. Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said 3 unto his father,3 J 35. "Bless me, even me also, O my father. | And he said, "Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away 36. thy blessing. And he said, Is not he rightly named "Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: "he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And * he said,4 "Hast 37. thou not reserved5 a blessing for me6? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants ; and with corn 7 and wine 8 have I sus- » So Sam. Syr. a Sam. Gr. And it came to pass when. 3 Gr. Vg. om. « Gr. Syr. Esau said unto his father. s Sam. saved. 6 Gr. adds, father = Heb. my father. » SV grain. 8 SV new wine. the story he did not at once suspect Jacob of having deceived him. Compare v. 35. I have eaten of all. The change of a single letter would transform the Hebrew word rendered of all into one that could be translated heartily, and this may well have been the original reading. So Kittel. He shall be blessed. A blessing, being regarded as an inspired utterance, was " without repentance." Seels. 55:11; Rom. 11 : 29. 34. For When read, with the Samaritans and the Greek Version, And it came to passwhen. Bless me, even me also. Esau's unfeigned disappointment indicates that this passage is not by the writer who describes the sale of the birthright in 25 : 29 ff. Compare v. 36. 35. Thy brother came with guile. Compare v. 33, where Isaac did not seem to know who had deceived him. 36. Jacob ; Supplanter. He took away my birthright. Esau has forgotten his own contempt for it. See 25 : 34. Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me ? A fair question, for, although the first born was entitled to precedence, the rest of the children had their portions. Isaac himself had not robbed Ishmael of a blessing. See 17 : 20. 208 GENESIS tained him : and "what then shall I do for thee, my son? 38. And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? °* bless me, even me also, O my father.xf And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. | 39. And Isaac his father answered, and said unto him, E Behold, "of2 the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, and 3 "of 2 the dew of heaven from above ; 40. And "by thy sword shalt thou live, and "thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass "when thou shalt 4 break loose,4 that °5 thou shalt shake his yoke 5 from off thy neck. 1 Gr. adds, And Isaac kept silence. a m. away from. 3 Sam. om. * Gr. Vg. cast off; Syr. return. s Syr. his yoke shall pass. 37. What then shall I do for thee ? There remains nothing but in feriority. 38. Bless me, even me also, O my father, appears to be a repetition of the same words in v. 34. In the Greek Version it is followed by and Isaac kept silence, which, with the next clause, may have been the conclusion of the Judean story. The idea of the writer, therefore, was that Esau received no blessing. 39. The phrase of the fatness of the earth is borrowed from v. 28, but the connection requires that it should here mean outside the fertile part of the earth. Of the dew of heaven must be interpreted in the same way, i.e., as meaning outside the region watered by the dew of heaven. The blessing that Esau wrings from his father, therefore, is a sorry sub stitute for the one he lost. It is sometimes objected to this interpre tation that Edom is not a dry and sterile country, but that " the wadies are full of trees and shrubs and flowers, while the eastern and higher parts are extensively cultivated and yield good crops." The discrepancy may be explained by supposing that, when this passage was written, the Edomites occupied, west of their mountains, territory a large part of which answered to the above description. 40. By the sword ; war and plunder. Thou shalt serve thy brother ; finally be subdued by the descendants of Isaac. See v. 29. When thou shalt break loose ; better, become restless. Thou shalt shake, p 209 27 140 27 : 41 GENESIS J 41. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing where with his father blessed him : and Esau said °* in his heart,f "The days of mourning for my father are at 42. hand; then I will slay my brother Jacob. And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and "called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee i 44. thou to Laban my brother to Haran; and tarry with E him ua few days, | until thy brother's 2 fury turn J 45. away; J "until thy brother's anger2 turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be bereaved of you "both in one day ? 1 Syr. go. a Gr. fury and anger. better, tear, his yoke from off thy neck. The revolt took place, as already noted, in the reign of Jehoram, about 850 B.C. See 2 Kgs. 8 : 20 ff. (c) The departure of Jacob for the East, 27 : 41-45; 26:341; 27:46; 28 : 1-9. There are two very different accounts of this event and the reason for it. (a) The first account, 27 : 41-45, represents it as a flight. Esau, angered by the loss of his birthright, plans to kill his brother; but Rebekah, hearing of his purpose, secretly sends Jacob to Laban, her brother. The source is the Judean narrative, except in 44b (E). 41. The words in his heart can hardly be original, since, if Esau had spoken only to himself of his plan, Rebekah would not have known anything about it. The days of mourning; the time when Isaac will have died. 42. Rebekah, with her usual promptness, called Jacob. See v. 6. 44. A few days. She minimizes the length of his absence, lest he should refuse to go; or, perhaps, lest she herself should be unable to part with him. 45. Until ... he forget; as impulsive persons soon do. How completely he forgot is shown by the cordiality with which he wel comed Jacob back to Canaan. See 33 : 4 ff. Both in one day ; one GENESIS 28 : 2 46. And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life P because of "the daughters of1 Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters *3 of Heth, such as these, of "the daughters 3f of the 4 land, what good shall my life do me ? 28. And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of 2. "the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go 5 to Paddan-aram, to "the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy 1 Gr. adds, the sons of. a Vg. race. 3 Gr. Vg. om. * Gr. Vg. this. 3 Gr. flee. by the hand of his brother, and the other by that of the avenger of blood. See 2 Sam. 14 : 7. (b) The second account, 26 : 34 f.; 27 : 46 ; 28 : 1-9. Esau marries two Hittite women, at which Isaac and Rebekah are so dis turbed that they send Jacob to Paddan-aram to find a wife. After his departure Esau, to please his parents, marries a daughter of Ishmael. The three passages of which this paragraph is composed are all from the Priestly source. 26 : 34 f. Judith the daughter of Beeri. See 36 : 2, where the names of both the daughter and her father are entirely different. The Hittite ; one of the people of the land, probably resident at or near Hebron, where Isaac also lived. See 23 : 7. Basemath the daughter of Elon. See 36 : 2 f., where the daughter's name is Adah, Base- math being the daughter of Ishmael and Esau's third wife. Accord ing to the Samaritans and some other authorities Elon was a Hivite; but Hittite, in the sense of Canaanite, is the better reading. It is favored by the fact that all the persons here mentioned have good Hebrew and Canaanite names. On Judith, see Jud. 8:1 ff.; on Beeri, Hos. 1:1; on Basemath, 1 Kgs. 4 : 15; on Elon, Gen. 46 : 14. 46. I am weary of my life. Here speaks the opposition to foreign marriages that characterized the time of Ezra. See Ezr. 10 : 5 ff. The interpretation above given to the term Hittite is confirmed by the parallelism between the daughters of Heth and the daughters of the land. 28 : 1. The same persons are now called the daughters of Canaan. 2. The house of Bethuel. It is possible that P, whose idea with reference to the length of the lives of the patriarchs finds its most extravagant expression in chapters 5 and 11, here intended to represent the father of Rebekah as still alive. Compare 24 : 28 ; 27 : 43. 211 28 : 3 GENESIS 3. mother's brother. And 01 God Almighty J bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou 4. mayest be "a company of peoples; and give thee "the blessing of Abraham,2 to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, 5. which God3 gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Paddan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian,4 the brother of Re- 6. bekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob 5 and sent him away to Paddan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou 1 Gr. my God. a Sam. adds, thy father; Gr. adds, my father. 3 Sam. Yahweh. « m. Aramean. s Syr. adds, his brother. 3. God Almighty bless thee. The blessing which, according to the other sources, was wrested from Esau is here given to Jacob as a matter of course. A company of peoples. See 17 : 4, 16 ; 35 : 11. 4. The blessing of Abraham ; conveying a title to the Promised Land. See 17 : 8. 9. Esau went unto Ishmael. There is not the slightest hint of strife or rivalry between the brothers, unless it be found in the endeavor of Esau thus to please his parents. Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael. In 36 : 3 she is called Basemath, which, according to 26 : 34, was the name of Esau's second Hittite wife. On the discrepancy, see 36 : 2 f. The Syriac Version inconsistently reads Basemath in all three places. The sister of Nebaioth seems to have been borrowed from 36 : 3. (4) The heir in exile, 28 : 10-32 : 2)3 In this section is included the composite record, from all the sources, of the experiences of Jacob from the time he set out on his journey to the East until he again set foot within the borders of the Promised Land. (a) The vision at Bethel, 28 : 10-22. On his way to the East Jacob spends a night at Bethel, where God appears to him and not only renews the promise made to Abraham and Isaac, but assures him of direction and protection on his present journey. In the morning, after setting up a pillar, he makes a vow that, if the promise made him is fulfilled, he will recognize Yahweh as his God and the place where 212 GENESIS 28 : 12 7. shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was 8. gone to Paddan-aram : and Esau saw that the daughters 9. of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; and "Esau went 1 unto Ishmael,1 and took unto the wives which he had "Mahalath 2 the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, "the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. 10. And Jacob went out "from Beer-sheba, 3 and went J 11. toward3 Haran. | And he lighted upon °4 a certain E place,4 and tarried there all night, because "the sun was set; and "he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to 12. sleep. And he dreamed,5 and behold "a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold "the angels of God "ascending and descending 1 Sam. om. a Syr. Basemath. 3 Sam. to go to. * m. the place. s Syr. saw in his dream. he has slept as a sanctuary. The story as thus outlined seems con sistent, but, when more closely examined, it reveals discrepancies that can only be explained by supposing it to have been compiled from parallel accounts in the Judean and Ephraimite narratives. 10. From Beer-sheba ; where, according to 25 : 23 (J), Isaac took up his abode before his sons were born. 11. A certain place; viz., the one where the things narrated oc curred. He had not sought it, nor did he at the time know that it was a sacred site ; but it seems to have been the one, east of Bethel, on which Abraham had pitched his tent and built an altar. See 12:8. The sun was set; and the twilight would be brief, as it always is in that latitude. He took one of the stones; not an uncomfortable pillow for an oriental, with- his turban for a nightcap. 12. A ladder set up is rather a primitive contrivance for communi cation between heaven and earth ; but, since the Hebrews did not rep resent the angels with wings, the writer could hardly have presented the thought he wished to convey in a more natural way. The angels of God; elsewhere only 32 : i|2. The plural of angel of Yahweh is nowhere found. Ascending and descending; thus symbolizing the instant and continuous helpfulness of God. 213 28 : 13 GENESIS J 13. on it. | And, behold, the Lord "stood1 2 above it,2 and said, I am the Lord, "the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac 3 : the land whereon thou liest, to 14. thee will I give it, and to thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as the 4 dust of the earth,4 and °5 thou shalt 5 spread abroad to the west, and to the east,8 and to the north, and to the south7: and in thee and in thy seed shall 15. all the families of the earth "be blessed. And, behold, "I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that 8 which I have 16. spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely "the Lord is in this place; and I E 17. knew it not. | And he was afraid,9 and said, How dread ful is this place 10 ! this is none other but the house of 1 Gr. Vg. leaned. a m. beside him; Gr. Vg. upon il. 3 Gr. adds, fear not. * Gr. sand of the sea. 3 Gr. it shall. 6 Gr. south. * Gr. east. 8 Gr. Vg. all that. 0 Syr. exceedingly afraid. 10 Syr. adds, to-day. 13. If, however, this is correct, it is incongruous to say that the Lord stood above it, viz., the ladder, and spoke directly to Jacob. The dif ficulty is removed by recognizing here the hand of the Judean writer, who has no hesitation about bringing God and man into the closest rela tions, and rendering the ambiguous words, as in the margin, beside him. The divine apparition announces itself as the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, this formula being used to give solemnity to the renewal of the promise of the land which follows. See 12:7; 26:24. 14. Thou shalt spread abroad. The Greek Version has it shall spread abroad, which seems to be required by the preceding clause. Be blessed. See 12 : 3. 15. In the two preceding verses the promise is for a future people ; here Yahweh gives Jacob in his wanderings the present personal as surance, I am with thee. 16. The LORD is in this place. The early Hebrews did not expect to find God everywhere, least of all among strangers and foreigners. See 4 : 14; 1 Sam. 27 : 19. 17. This verse, as it now stands, is a useless repetition of v. 16. Attach it to v. 12, and it acquires a significance of its own, being the natural continuation of the Ephraimite story. See the name God. 214 GENESIS 2Q 18. "God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for "a pillar, and 19. poured oil upon the top of it. | And he1 called the J name of that place "Beth-el: but the name of the city 20. was "Luz at the first. | And Jacob vowed a vow, say- E ing, If God 2 will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and rai- 2 1 . ment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house 22. in peace, 3 then shall °* the Lord | be my God, | and 3 this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be * God's house: | and of all that thou shalt give me I R will surely give the tenth unto thee. 29. Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the E 1 Gr. Syr. Jacob. a Gr. the Lord God. 3 m. and the Lord will be my God, then. * Gr. adds, to me; Vg. adds, called. 18. A pillar. When this passage was written the erection of pillars was legitimate, at least in the kingdom of Israel. See also 31 : 45. Moses is reported to have set up twelve at Sinai. See Ex. 24 : 4 (E). Later they became symbols of false worship and were therefore for bidden. See Dt. 12 : 2 f.; 16 : 21 f. 19. Beth-el. This is the first of three passages in which the origin of the name Bethel is explained. The other two are 35 : 7 and 15, which agree in teaching that it was given the place by Jacob as he was returning from the East. The discrepancy is due, as usual, to differ ence of authorship. On the name Luz, see 35 : 6. 20 f . The LORD. The proper subject of the clause is the God of v. 20. Read, therefore, then shall he be my God. 22. The last clause is a later addition by a priestly hand. (b) The meeting between Jacob and Rebekah, 29 : 1-14. As Jacob approaches Haran, he comes upon a well at which the sheep are gathering for water. In answer to his inquiries concerning Laban the shepherds point out to him Rachel bringing her father's flock. He removes the stone from the well and waters her sheep. Finally he makes himself known to her, whereupon she carries the news of his arrival to her father, who welcomes the young man to his home. The introductory verse is from the Ephraimite, all the rest of the para graph from the Judean, narrative. 215 29 : 2 GENESIS J 2. land of cl the children of 1 the east.2 | And he looked, and behold, a well "in the field, and, lo, three flocks of sheep lying there by it; for out of that well they wa tered the flocks : and 3 the * stone upon the well's mouth 3. was great.3 "And thither were all the flocks 4 gathered : and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the 4. well's mouth in its place. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be5 ye? And they said, Of 5. Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban "the son of Nahor? And they said, "We know 6. him. And he said unto them, "Is it well with him? 1 Gr. om. a Gr. adds, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Re bekah the mother of Jacob and Esau. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. there was a great stone on the well's mouth. «- Sam. shepherds. 3 SV are. 1. The children of the east must have comprised many tribes and peoples. According to Jb. 1 : 3 the inhabitants of Uz were among them, and since Bethuel was » brother of Uz, his family also was doubtless included. See 22 : 21. Still, it is possible that E may not have located the home of this family as far east as Haran. See 31 : 22 f. The Greek Version adds to this verse a long list of par ticulars borrowed from 28 : 5. 2. In the field; in the open country. The well, therefore, was probably not the one at which Abraham's steward met Rebekah. In this case, according to the correct reading of the Samaritans and the Versions, there was a large stone on the well's mouth, to prevent unauthorized persons from using the water. 3. And thither . . . and they rolled; i.e., And when all the flocks were gathered thither they rolled, etc. 5. The son of Nahor. Son is here used loosely for descendant. See the use of brother for relative, 14 : 14. We know him ; the Hebrew idiom requiring that the verb of the question be repeated in the answer, as in 24 : 58. 6. Is it well with him ? lit. Is there peace to him ? See 43 : 27. Compare the salutation, "Is there peace to thee?" 2 Kgs. 4 : 26; and the benediction, " Peace to thee! " Jud. 19 : 20. The appear ance of Rachel is in harmony with oriental custom. Moses met his future wife at a well where she and her sisters were watering their father's sheep. See Ex. 2 : 16 ff. 216 GENESIS 29 = 13 And they said, It is well: and, behold, Rachel his 7. daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together ' : "water ye the sheep, and go and 8. feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks2 be gathered together, and they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. 9. While he yet spake with them, Rachel 3 came with her 10. father's sheep; for she kept them.4 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 flock of 11. Laban his mother's brother. And "Jacob kissed 12. Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was "her father's brother,5 and that he was Rebekah's son : and she ran and told her father.8 13. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings 7 1 Vg. adds, unto the fold. a Sam. Gr. shepherds. 3 Gr. the daughter of Laban. + Gr. her father's sheep. s Tar. sister's son. 6 Gr. adds, according to these words. 1 Gr. name. 7. Water ye the sheep. This manifestation of interest in others' affairs is characteristically oriental. Jacob, of course, did not con sider the stone on the well, if he noticed it, a hindrance. The shep herds explain at length, glad of an opportunity to gossip. See 1 Sam. 9 : 1 1 ff. They do not mention, what may be assumed, that they came early because the rule was, " first come first served." 10. Jacob . . . rolled the stone from the well's mouth. This dis play of strength is surprising from one who has hitherto been portrayed as chiefly distinguished for cunning ; but there can be no doubt that the writer intends to represent him as extraordinarily strong. See 32 : 27 ff. 11. Jacob kissed Rachel, . . . and wept; thus giving vent to his emotions on finding himself at the end of his journey and among relatives. See 45 : 14 f.; 26 : 29. 12. Her father's brother. See v. 5. 13. The scene between Laban and Jacob is a repetition of that be- 217 29 : 14 GENESIS of Jacob his sister's son, that he "ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to 14. his house. And he "told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him "the space of a month. E 15. And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, "shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought ? 16. tell me, what shall thy wages be? "And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the 17. name of the younger was Rachel. And "Leah's eyes were tender1; but Rachel was "beautiful and well2 1 Tar. beautiful. a Gr. very well. tween Laban and Abraham's steward. See 24 : 29. Laban, with his usual effusiveness, ran . . . embraced . . . kissed. The last verb, which here has the intensive form, might be freely rendered covered with kisses. By the things that Jacob told his uncle are doubt less meant his reasons for leaving home and his adventures on the way. 14. The space of a month, a well-marked period which seems to have been the conventional limit of such visits. See 24 : 55. (c) Jacob and his wives, 29 : 15-30. At the end of the month Laban proposes to pay Jacob wages, but the latter, who has mean while become attached to Rachel, offers to serve seven years for noth ing, if at the end of that time Laban will give him the young woman in marriage. Laban accepts the offer, and Jacob performs his part of the contract; but, when the wedding occurs, Laban substitutes the older for the younger daughter, and finally gives him Rachel also only on condition that he serve seven years longer. The paragraph is mainly from the Ephraimite narrative, with brief extracts from the other two. 15. Shouldest thou serve me for nought? implies that during the month Jacob had made himself useful to Laban. 16. And Laban, etc. Better, Now Laban, etc. 17. Leah's eyes were tender. The misfortune from which she was suffering is one that has always been common in the East, where ophthalmia is epidemic and often results in total blindness. Beautiful and well favoured ; beautiful in form and feature. 218 GENESIS 29 : 25 18. favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and he said, I will serve thee "seven years for Rachel thy younger 19. daughter. And Laban said, "It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man : 20. abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel ; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for 21. the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, "Give me my wife, for 1 my days 1 are fulfilled, that I 22. may go in unto her. And Laban gathered together 23. "all the men of the place, and made a "feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he "took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him 2 ; and he 3 went in 24. unto her. | And Laban gave "Zilpah his handmaid unto p 25. his daughter Leah for "an handmaid. | And it came E 1 Tar. lite days of my service. a Gr. Jacob. 3 Sam. Jacob. 18. Seven years. Jacob's offer is explained by the oriental custom which required, and still requires, that the husband purchase his wife from her father or other relatives. The price was usually a sum of money. See 34 : 12 ; Ex. 22 : 16. Here, however, as in the case of Michal (1 Sam. 18 : 25) a certain kind and amount of service is sub stituted for it. See also Josh. 15 : 16. The term of Jacob's service indicates the value set upon comely girls. In Palestine to-day two hundred and fifty dollars is not considered an exorbitant price, and twice as much is sometimes demanded. 19. It is better, etc. One reason was that, like other orientals, he preferred a relative for a son-in-law ; and another, doubtless, that he wished to retain Jacob's services. 21. Give me my wife ; the woman who, according to agreement, is now to become my wife. 22. All the men of the place. An oriental wedding is an occasion for unrestricted hospitality. In ancient times the feast sometimes continued a week. So, according to v. 27, it did in this case. 23. There was no religious ceremony, but in the evening of the first day Laban took his daughter, and brought her veiled to Jacob in the tent provided for the young couple. 24. Zilpah is here introduced from the Priestly narrative in prepa ration for the next chapter. See 30 : 4, 9. An handmaid. Rebekah had several. See 24 : 61. 219 29 : 26 GENESIS to pass in the morning, that, behold, "it was Leah : and he 1 said to Laban, "What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore j 26. then hast thou beguiled me? | And Laban said, "It is not so done in our place, to give the younger before the E 27. firstborn. | Fulfil "the week of this one, and "we2* will give thee the other also for the service which thou 28. shalt serve with me "yet seven other years. And Jacob P did so, and fulfilled her week : | and "he 3 gave him 29. Rachel his daughter to wife. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her E 30. handmaid. | And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also * Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. 1 Gr. Jacob. a Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. J. 3 Gr. Laban. 25. It was Leah. It was so dark the night before when she un veiled that Jacob did not recognize her. What is this thou hast done unto me ? He is as indignant as if he had not played a similar trick upon his own father. 26. It is not so done. Laban appeals to a custom still in vogue in the East, which, however, he had no scruples about agreeing to vio late. The verse is assigned to the Jahvist on account of the peculiar phraseology. 27. The week of this one ; the week devoted to the celebration of Leah's marriage. We will give. Better, with the Samaritans and the Versions, I will give. Yet seven other years. This time, however, as appears from v. 28, Jacob is to receive his reward in ad vance. 28. He gave him Rachel. In early times custom allowed a man to have two wives, even when they were sisters. The idea was so little abhorrent to the Hebrews of the later prophetic period that both Jeremiah and Ezekiel introduce it into their prophecies to illustrate the relation between Yahweh and the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Finally, however, in spite of the example of the patriarch, it became unlawful to " take a woman to her sister, beside the other, in her life time." See Lev. 18 : 18. (d) The children of Jacob, 29 : 31-30 : 24. Jacob first has four children by Leah, then two by each of the maids Bilhah and Zilpah 220 GENESIS 29 : 35 31. And the Lord saw that "Leah was hated, and he J 32. "opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son,1 and she called his name "Reuben: for she said, Because the Lord "hath looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will 33. love me. And she conceived again, and bare a2 son3; and said, Because the Lord" hath heard that I am hated, he hath therefore given me this son also : and she called 34. his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time "will my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons : 35. therefore *4 was his name called4! "Levi. And she con ceived again, and bare a son: and she said, This time 1 Gr. adds, unto Jacob. a Gr. a second. s Gr. adds, to Jacob. * Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. she called his name. in order, and two more by Leah. Finally Rachel gives birth to Joseph. The paragraph was evidently compiled from the Judean and Ephraim ite sources, but the analysis is uncertain. 31. Leah was hated; not in the absolute, but in the relative sense. Jacob loved her less than he did Rachel. See v. 30; Dt. 21 : 15. To compensate her for this lack Yahweh opened her womb, gave her children. 32. The names given to the sons of Jacob are all represented as especially significant. The explanations attached to them, however, must not be taken literally. Like most of those that have preceded, they simply illustrate the fondness of the Hebrews for alliteration, and therefore have no etymological value. Thus, Reuben (Heb. Ri'ubhen), the name of Leah's firstborn, does not mean hath looked upon my affliction ; it merely rhymes to some extent with Ra'ah bheoni, the Hebrew for that sentiment. 33. In the second case the resemblance is closer, the Hebrew for hath heard being shama', and for Simeon, Shimon; but it is doubt ful if the latter is derived from the former. 34. It is equally uncertain whether there is any real connection between the verb lawah in the expression, will my husband be joined (yillaweh) unto me, and Lewi, the Hebrew form of the name Levi. In the last clause the form of the expression should be she called his name, as it is in the Samaritan text and the Versions. 221 30 : i GENESIS "will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name E 30. "Judah : and she left 1 bearing. | And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, or 2. "else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, "who hath 3. withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, "Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; "that J she may bear 2 upon my knees,2 | and I also may "ob- 4. tain children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her 5. handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And E 6. Bilhah 3 conceived, and bare Jacob a son. | And Rachel said, God "hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she J 7. his name "Dan. | And Bilhah Rachel's handmaid con- E 8. ceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. | And 1 SV adds, off. a Tar. and I may rear. 3 Gr. adds, Rachel's maid. 35. In like manner 'odheh, will I praise, may be suggested by, but it does not explain Yehudhah, the Hebrew form of Judah. See 49 : 8, where Judah, and not Yahweh, is the object of praise. The original meaning of the name is unknown. 30:1. Else I die. To be denied children was the saddest misfortune that could befall a Hebrew woman. See 1 Sam. 9 : 10 f. 2. Who hath withheld from thee, and who alone can bestow upon thee, the fruit of the womb. Compare 50 : 19. 3. Behold my maid Bilhah. She resorts to the same expedient adopted by Sarah to obtain children. See 16 : 2. That she may bear upon my knees. The act of holding a woman in childbirth on one's knees was regarded as equivalent to the adoption of the child thus brought into the world. The same form of words is used when the adoptive parent is a man. See 50 : 23. Obtain children ; lit. be built tip, as in 16 : 2. 6. The name of Rachel's first son by Bilhah, Dan, which exactly reproduces the Hebrew of hath judged, is virtually the equivalent of Daniel, the meaning of which is God is my Judge. The name, how ever, is much older than the explanation here given. 222 GENESIS 30 : 14 Rachel said, 1 With "mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with 1 my sister, and have prevailed : and she called 9. his name "Naphtali. | When Leah saw that she had left 2 bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave 10. her to Jacob to wife.3 And Zilpah Leah's handmaid 4 n. bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, "Fortunate5! and 12. she called his name "Gad. And Zilpah Leah's hand- 13. maid * bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, "Happy am I ! for "the daughters will call me happy : and 14. she called his name "Asher. And Reuben went in "the 1 Gr. God helped me and I struggled with; Vg. God matched me with; Syr. / sought of the Lord and besought. a SV adds, off. 3 Gr. adds, And Jacob went in unto her. a Gr. Vg. add, conceived and. s Gr. In fortune; Vg. happily; Syr. my fortune hath come. 6 Gr. adds, conceived and. 8. Mighty wrestlings; lit. wrestlings (naphtulim) of God. It is these struggles to which the writer, in this case, apparently, the Ephra imite, finds an allusion in the name Naphtali, the original meaning of which is unknown. 10. The Greek Version prefixes to this verse And Jacob went in unto her, and inserts after handmaid conceived and, as in v. 5 f.; but these additions may well be only corrections. 11. Fortunate. This rendering, which follows the Greek Version, is probably correct. The Jewish scribes, however, by a change of pronunciation, have transformed By good fortune I into Good fortune hath cornel which is substantially the rendering of the Syriac Ver sion. It is her good fortune (g&dh) which Leah celebrates by naming this her fifth son Gad (Heb. Gadh). The name is probably that of the Phoenician god of fortune. See Is. 65 : 11. 13. There is a precisely similar relation between the exclamation with which she greets Zilpah's second son, Happy am I ! lit. In my happiness ('osher), and the name, Asher, by which she calls him. Per haps there is a second explanation from another source in the daugh ters will call me happy (Heb. HsshSruni). See, however, 21 : 6. This name was applied to western Galilee as early as 1400 B.C. 14. The days of wheat harvest; which is early in the summer, from the middle of May or the first of June onward. The women go into the field with the men and take their children with them. See 2 Kgs. 4 : 18. Thus Leah took with her Reuben, who, while he was playing about, found a number of bright, soft balls, of an orange color and a pleasant odor, about the size of a small round tomato, which 223 30 : 15 GENESIS days of wheat harvest, and found "mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Give me, I pray thee, of 15. thy son's mandrakes. And she 1 said unto her, Is it 2a small matter 2 that "thou hast taken away my husband ? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also ? And Rachel said, "Therefore 3 he shall lie with 16. thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, "Thou must come in unto me 4; for I have surely hired thee with my son's mandrakes. E 17. And he lay with her that night. J And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth 18. son. And Leah said, "God hath given me my hire, because "I gave my handmaid to my husband: and 19. she called his name "Issachar.5 And Leah conceived 1 Gr. Syr. Leah. a Gr. Syr. not enough. 3 Gr. Not so. * Sam. Gr. add, to-night. s Gr. adds, which is hire. proved to be mandrakes. Give me of thy son's mandrakes. Rachel's eagerness is explained by the fact that then, as now, in the Orient the mandrake was believed to be a cure for barrenness. 15. Thou hast taken away my husband does not imply that Jacob had deserted Leah, but that he was treating her with comparative neglect. Therefore here, as in 4 : 15, has about the force of Well, then, conceding an objection and introducing a new proposal. 16. Thou must come in unto me. Add, with the Samaritans and the Greek Version, to-night. Observe that nowhere in this episode is there the slightest hint that either of the sisters was prompted by any other motive than the oriental woman's desire for children, and many of them. 18. God hath given me my hire. The significant word is hire (Heb. Sakhar). It is one of the components of the name Issachar, which is capable of two or three interpretations. The choice seems to be between There is hire and Man of hire. I gave my handmaid to my husband. The Judean writer would have said, perhaps did say, I gave my mandrakes to my sister. 20. There are two distinct cases of paronomasia in this verse. The 224 GENESIS 30:24 20. again, and bare a sixth son to Jacob. And Leah said, "God hath endowed me with a good dowry; | "now will my husband dwell with me, because I have J borne him six sons: | and she called his name "Zebu- E 21. lun. | And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called J 22. her name "Dinah. | And God remembered Rachel, | P and God hearkened to her, | and opened her womb. E, J 23. And she conceived, and bare1 a son: | and said, "God E 24. hath taken away my reproach: | and she called his J name Joseph, saying, °2 The Lord 2 add to me another son. ¦ Gr. adds, to Jacob. ' Gr. Syr. God. first is found in the declaration, God hath endowed (zabhadh) me with a good dowry (zebhedh); the second in the following clause, which, however, should be rendered, now will my husband honor (zabhat) me. The latter is the better, but in the first the Hebrew reader easily caught the allusion to Zebulun (Heb. zebhulun). The original mean ing of the name is doubtful. 21. No attempt is made to explain the name of Leah's seventh child and Jacob's only daughter, Dinah, the obvious meaning of which is Judgment. 22. The threefold statement of essentially the same fact indicates that here the compiler drew upon all three of the sources at his dis posal. 23. Here, again, is a double play upon the name given. One au thority makes Rachel say, God hath taken away ('asaph) my reproach, the other, The LORD add (yasaph) to me another son. The name, the original form of which, according to the testimony of Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions, was Yoseph-el, means May he (God) increase. The amount of direct information contained in this paragraph is small, but it is a. good illustration of the literary skill of the earlier Hebrew writers and furnishes interesting glimpses of the life of the period in which it originated. Note especially the prominence of the thought of God and his providence. (e) The shepherd's wages, 30 : 25-43. After the birth of Joseph Jacob proposes to return to Canaan ; but Laban urges him to remain, and he finally offers to do so if his father-in-law will give him the speckled and spotted among the goats and the black among the sheep for his services. Laban promptly accepts these terms, but Jacob con- 225 30 : 25 GENESIS j 25. And it came to pass, "when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may E 26. go unto mine own place, and to my country. | Give me my wives and my children "for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service J 27. wherewith I have served thee. | And Laban said unto him, "If now I have found favour in thine eyes, °tarry: for "I have divined that l the Lord 1 hath blessed me E 28. 2 for thy sake.2 | And he said, Appoint me thy "wages, j 29. and I will give it. | And he said unto him, Thou know- 30. est how I have served thee, and how thy cattle hath fared with me. For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee whithersoever I turned: and now "when shall I provide for mine own house also? 1 Gr. Syr. God. a Gr. through thy visit. trives to increase the number of party-colored young to such an extent that he himself has large possessions. The paragraph is largely from J, but there are fragments from E interwoven with it. 25. When Rachel had borne Joseph. At this time, according to 26 : 34, Jacob was not less than fifty-four years of age. 26. For whom I have served thee. Strictly speaking, he had not served for his children, but he could hardly have omitted to mention them. He should, however, have said, Give me my wives for whom I have served thee, and my children. 27. Here, as in 35 : 15, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, is a polite demurrer, about equal to Nay, my lord. The addition of tarry: for is therefore unnecessary. If anything is to be supplied, it should be go not : for. I have divined ; not in the sense of con jecturing, but in that of discovering by divination. Just what form of this art he used cannot be determined. Perhaps, like Joseph, he had a divining -cup. See 44 : 5; also 1 Sam. 14 : 41 f. 28. The introduction of the subject of wages at this point is un natural, which indicates that the verse is a fragment from the Ephra imite narrative. See v. 31a. 30. When shall I provide for mine own house also ? The question implies willingness to consider a, reasonable offer. 226 GENESIS 30 : 33 31. And he said, "What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, "Thou shalt not give me aught: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock * and 1 keep it.f 32. °*2 1 will f pass 2 through all thy flock to-day, removing3 from thence *4 every speckled and spotted one, and 4f "every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats : and ° of such shall be my hire. 33. "So shall my righteousness answer for me hereafter, 0 when thou shalt come concerning my hire that is 5 1 So Gr. Vg. Syr. ; Heb. om. a Gr. Let one pass; Vg.Goround. 3 Syr. adds, for me. * Gr. om. s Sam. when there cometh, etc.; Gr. that my hire is; Vg. when the proper time has come. 31. What shall I give thee? Laban is too shrewd to betray his eagerness by a definite offer. Thou shalt not give me aught. The promptness of the reply indicates that Jacob has anticipated the attempt of his father-in-law to retain his services. 32. I will pass through . . . removing. The text, which is un doubtedly corrupt, should probably read, pass through . . . and remove. Jacob must be supposed to know that Laban would not trust him to make the separation. The description of the sheep must also be corrected; for, according to v. 23, there are not three classes of sheep, speckled, and spotted, and black, but one, the black. Read, therefore, only every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and, better, or, speckled among the goats. Of such shall be my hire ; i.e., as will appear in the sequel, all the black Iambs and the speckled or spotted kids that are born after the separation. This seems a modest demand, since there would naturally be few, if any, of the colors described dropped after the current season. 33. The removal of the party-colored animals is so important that Jacob dwells on it ; but the rendering So shall my righteousness an swer for me does not do justice to his argument. What he says is, So shall my alleged or pretended righteousness (Is. 64 : 6| 5) testify against me, prove my condemnation. See Ex. 20 : 16. The next clause must be interpreted in harmony with the foregoing. Read, therefore, without any change in the original, but with the omission of the words that is, for which the Hebrew has no equivalent, when it, the said righteousness, cometh concerning my hire before thee ; i.e., when I attempt to show that I have taken no more than my due. In the latter half of the verse the same thought is put concretely. Jacob points out that, under the new arrangement, since he can claim 227 3o:34 GENESIS before thee : "every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that if 34. found "with me shall "be counted stolen. And Laban said, 1 Behold, "I would it might be s according to thy 35. word. And he removed "that day the he-goats2 that were "ringstraked 3* and spotted, and all the she-goats * that were speckled and spotted,5 "every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep,6 36. and "gave them into the hand of his sons: and °he set three days' journey betwixt himself 7* and Jacob s : 1 Sam. And behold, it shall not be. a Vg. she-goats and sheep. 3 SV ring- streaked. * Vg. he-goats and rams. s Gr. Vg. Syr. add, and. 6 Gr. transposes the clauses. ' Sam. Gr. them. 8 Syr. Laban. only the speckled and spotted kids and the black lambs, every one that is not speckled and (or) spotted among the goats, and every one that is not black among the sheep in the private flock which it will be necessary for him to form, may justly be counted stolen and seized as such when found in his possession (with me). 34. Laban, satisfied on this point, and not suspecting there was any other way of cheating him, gladly accepts Jacob's terms : I would it might be according to thy word. 35. That day; without delay, so confident was he that he had made a good bargain. Ringstraked is here probably an error for speckled. See 31 : 8. Every one; every goat. Gave them into the hand, keeping, of his sons. Thus there were left in the flock be longing to Laban, which was in charge of Jacob, only animals of the normal colors, viz., black goats and white sheep. 36. He set three days' journey betwixt himself, better, them, re ferring to his sons, and Jacob, to make sure that the two flocks should not mingle. This precaution afterward proved an advantage to Jacob. See 31 : 22. For flocks the Hebrew has flock, but the writer means sheep and goats, small cattle. The Samaritans insert here 31 : 11-13, adapted to the connection as follows: And the angel of God spake unto Jacob in a dream, and said, Jacob; and he said. Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled : for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst a pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: and now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy father, and I will do thee good. There must, of course, have been an 228 GENESIS 30 : 40 37. and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's "flocks. And Jacob took him "rods of fresh poplar,1 and of "the almond and of "the plane tree : and "peeled white strakes 2 in them,3 and "made the white appear which was in the rods. 38. And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the "gutters * in the "watering troughs where the flocks came to drink f ; and "they conceived when 39. they came to drink. *And "the flocks conceived t before the rods, and the flocks brought forth "ring- 40. straked,4* "speckled, and spotted. And Jacob sepa rated ° the "lambs,5 | "and 6 set the faces of the flocks R toward the ringstraked 6 | and °7 all the black in the J 1 m. styrax tree. a SV streaks. 3 Gr. adds, stripping off the green. •» SV ring- streaked; Gr. Vg. add, and; Syr. lambs. s Vg. the flock; Syr. om. 6 Sam. Gr. placed before the sheep a ringstraked ram; Vg. placed the rods in the gutters before the eyes of the rams; Syr. placed before tlie sheep lambs speckled and spoiled. i Gr. every spotted one among the lambs; Vg. the while and the black were both Laban's. earlier reference to Jacob's dream, but this one was evidently supplied from 31 : 11 ff. 37. The odds were clearly against Jacob ; yet he prospered. The secret of his prosperity, according to the Judean writer, was the use of rods of different woods by which he controlled the color of the young of Laban's flock. Rods of fresh poplar ; more correctly a fresh rod of poplar. The particular species, according to Tristram, was Populus euphratica. He took one also from each of two other trees, the al mond, and the plane tree. The latter, Platanus orientalis, annually sheds its outer bark. Peeled white strakes ; peeled away the bark and thus, as is explained, made the white wood of the rods appear. 38. The word rendered gutters is a rare one, but it is clear from Ex. 2 : 16 that it means watering troughs, and an obliging reader or editor has so explained it. If this gloss be omitted, it will not be neces sary to transpose the context as the translators have done. The original read, in the gutters over against the flocks. They conceived ; more correctly, they rutted. 39. Here again the flocks are the small cattle belonging to Laban in charge of Jacob. Ringstraked seems to be a gloss borrowed from 31:8. Speckled, and spotted. The writer here has in mind especially the kids. 40. In this verse he makes amends by directing especial attention to the lambs, and describing them in a following clause which should be rendered even every black one in the flock of Laban. The ancients 229 30 : 41 GENESIS flock of Laban7: and "he put his own droves apart, 41. and put them not unto Laban's flock. And x it came to pass,1 2 whensoever "the stronger of the flock did conceive,2 that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might conceive among 42. the rods; but when the flock 3 were feeble,3 he put them not in : so "the feebler 4 were Laban's and the stronger 5 43. Jacob's. And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks,6 and maidservants and menservants, and camels and asses. 1 Syr. every year. a Gr. when the sheep rutted, conceiving ; Vg. Syr. when the sheep rutted early. 3 Gr. bore; Vg. Syr. were late. « Gr. unmarked; Vg. Syr. late. 3 Gr. spotted; Vg. Syr. early. 6 Gr. adds, and herds. generally believed that variations in the young of mankind as well as animals could be produced by such means as Jacob is said to have employed. See Dillmann. The Rabbis illustrate this passage as follows: " There was once a negro who had for a wife a negress. She bore him a white son. The father took the child and went to a Rabbi and said, 'I fear this is not my son.' The Rabbi asked him, 'Have you pictures in your house? ' ' Yes.' ' Are they black or white? ' ' White.' ' That,' said the Rabbi, ' is the reason why you have a white son.' " Delitzsch is authority for the statement that similar means are still used to influence the color of the young of sheep and other animals. The clause and set . . . ringstraked is utterly inconsistent with the context and unintelligible. He (Jacob) put his own droves, better, formed droves of his own, apart, consisting of the animals that had fallen to him, and put them not unto, left them not in, Laban's flock. 41. The stronger. The Vulgate and the Syrian Versions make it the earlier of the animals before which Jacob put the rods. In either case the idea is that Jacob made the most of the device that he had adopted. 42. The feebler; according to the versions just cited, the later. This is the earliest version of the story of Jacob's rise to wealth. It doubtless greatly amused those for whom it was written. There came a time, however, when the Hebrews, or the best of them, ceased to find even successful rascality amusing. Then the story was recast. For an idea of the new version, see the next chapter. (f) Flight from Haran, 31 : 1-21. Jacob, being advised of a change in Laban's attitude toward him, and commanded by Yahweh 230 GENESIS 3i -7 31 And he * heard "the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten "all this 2. glory.2 | And Jacob beheld "the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime. | 3. And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto "the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with 4. thee. | And Jacob sent and called "Rachel and Leah to 5. the field unto his flock, and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as be foretime; but the God of my father hath been with 6. me. And ye know that "with all my power I have 7. served your father. And "your father hath deceived me, and "changed my wages ten times 3 ; but "God 4 1 Gr. Syr. Jacob. a m. wealth. 3 Gr. lambs. + Sam. the Lord. to return to his own country, calls his wives into the field, where he first reminds them of the injustice he has suffered from their father and then acquaints them with the divine command. Finding that they sympathize with him, he gathers together his family and pos sessions and takes advantage of Laban's absence from home to depart for Canaan. The paragraph is almost entirely taken from the Ephra imite narrative. 1. The words of Laban's sons; sayings reported to him. All this glory. Better, as in the margin, all this wealth. 2. The Ephraimite author gives a different reason for Jacob's uneasiness, viz., that the countenance of Laban was not toward him as beforetime; he was no longer as friendly as he had been. 3. The land of thy fathers is an appeal to Jacob's loyalty to his family. 4. Rachel and Leah. So also v. 14. In 33 : 1 (J) Leah and Rachel. 6. With all my power. Thus, according to E, Jacob is a model of faithfulness. 7. Your father hath deceived me ; when he substituted Leah for Rachel. See 29 : 23. The complaint implies that Jacob himself is guiltless of any such fault. Changed my wages ten times; i.e., many times. There is no hint of such changes in the Judean narra tive. God suffered him not to hurt me. In the preceding chapter it 231 31 : 8 GENESIS 8. suffered him not to hurt me. If he said thus, "The speckled shall be thy wages; then "all the flock bare speckled : and if he said thus, the ringstraked 1 shall be g. thy wages; then bare all the flock ringstraked.1 Thus "God 2 hath taken away 3 the cattle 3 of your father, and R io. given them to me. | And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw * in a dream,f and, behold, the he-goats 4 which leaped upon the flock 5 were "ringstraked, speckled, E n. and grisled.8 | And the angel of God said unto me "in 12. the dream, Jacob: and I said, Here am I. And he R said, | Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats 4 which leap upon the flock5 are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto E 13. thee. | I am "the God of 7 Beth-el, where thou anoint- 1 Gr. white. a Sam. the Lord. 3 Gr. all the cattle. * Gr. adds, and the rams. 3 Gr. the ewes and the she-goats. 6 SV grizzled. ' Gr. Tar. who appeared to thee in. was Laban who appealed to the reader's sympathy. Jacob neither needed nor deserved it. 8. The speckled ; the kids of this color. All the flock bare speckled ; not as the result of Jacob's cunning, but by divine agency. 9. God hath taken, better, snatched, away the cattle of your father, the wicked oppressor, and given them to me, his suffering servant. This sounds like cant only because the reader cannot forget the earlier picture. 10. This verse seems to have belonged to a third version of the story of Jacob's wealth ; for here there are not one (E) or two (J) kinds of party-colored animals, but three, ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. 11. In the dream. Better, in a dream, since, as has just been ex plained, this verse has no connection with v. 10. 12. This verse is from the same hand as v. 10. It seems to belong either before that verse or after the first clause, And . . . con ceived. 13. This verse continues v. 11, or, rather, the And he said with which v. 12 begins. The God of Beth-el; or, as the Greek Version and the Targum have it, the God who appeared to thee at Beth-el. See GENESIS 31 : 18 edst a "pillar, "where x thou vowedst a "vow unto me : "now2 arise, get thee out from this land, and return 14. unto the land of thy nativity.3 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or 15. inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not counted of him "strangers? for he hath sold us, and 16. hath also quite devoured 4 our money.4 "For all the riches0 which God hath taken away from our father, "that is ours and our children's: now then, whatso- 17. ever God " hath said unto thee, do. Then Jacob rose up, and set "his 7 sons and his wives 7 "upon the camels ; and 18. "he carried away all his cattle, | and all his substance 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. and where. a Gr. Vg. add, therefore. 3 Gr. adds, and I will be with thee. « m. the price paid for us. s Gr. adds, and honor. ° Sam. Yahweh; Syr. the Lord. i Sam. Gr. wives and his sons. 28 : 12. On the pillar, see 28 : 18, and on the vow, 28 : 20. Before the second where supply and, with the Versions ; also before now. Now arise. The last of the conditions named in Jacob's vow at Bethel was that he be brought back to his father's house. The rest have been fulfilled, and now God offers him a safe-conduct back to Canaan. 14. It was customary for the father to give a daughter at least a part of the price he received for her as a wedding present. Since Laban, as appears from v. 15, had ignored this custom, they had no reason to expect that he would ever do anything for them. 15. Strangers. In ancient times stranger was a synonym for enemy, and strangers were considered fair game for any one who chose to cheat or rob them. 16. The connective For goes back to v.13 and the question whether they should obey God's command. It implies some such thought as Why not or By all means. That is ours and our children's. They re fuse to allow their father a claim upon it or them. 17. His sons and his wives. The Samaritans and the Greek Version have his wives and his sons, or, since Dinah is included, children; and this is probably the original reading. Upon the camels ; these animals being preferred to asses for a long journey. See 24 : 61. 18. He carried away. If the verb were rendered lead or drive, which is its proper meaning, the composite character of this verse 233 31 : 19 GENESIS which he had gathered, °** the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered 1f in Paddan-aram,2 for to go j 19. to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan. | Now E Laban was gone "to shear his sheep : | and "Rachel 20. stole 3 the teraphim that were her father's. And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he J 21. 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 mountain of Gilead. 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. om. a Gr. adds, and all that he had. 3 Tar. took. would be even more apparent than it> now is. The words the cattle . . . gathered are a useless gloss. See the Versions. 19. To shear his sheep ; the party-colored animals that had been removed from the main flock and placed under his sons three days distant. See 30 : 36. The occasion was an important one, and he could not well absent himself. See 38 : 12. Rachel stole the tera phim. The word teraphim is plural, but it denotes a singular object, a sort of idol for a household shrine. See Jud. 17 : 5. It seems sometimes to have been of considerable size, as, for example, in 1 Sam. 19:13; but in this case it must have been comparatively small, else Rachel could hardly have hidden it as she did, when her father was searching her tent for it. See v. 34. The writer (E) does not scruple to make Laban and his family idolaters, — indeed in Josh. 24 : 15 he says the Hebrews served other gods before they came to Canaan, ¦ — ¦ but he is careful not to implicate Jacob either in the theft of the idol or any sort of false worship. See 35 : 2. 21. The River is " the great river "of 15 : 18, the Euphrates, which Jacob would reach when about sixty miles on his journey. From this point his course lay south-southeast toward the mountain, the high lands, of Gilead. This name is used in a narrower and a broader sense. In the narrower it denotes the country east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea between the Yarmuk on the north and the Arnon on the south (Dt. 3 : 13); in the broader the entire territory east of the same bounds claimed by the Hebrews. See Num. 32 : 29. The northern border of this larger Gilead was more than three hundred miles dis tant from the point where Jacob would cross the Euphrates. (g) A quarrel with Laban, 31 : 22-32 : 2I3. Laban, on hearing of Jacob's flight, pursues him and overtakes him in the highlands of Gilead ; but, having been warned by God against violence, he con fines himself to reproaches, complaining especially of the theft of his 234 GENESIS 31 : 23 22. And it was told Laban "on the third day that Jacob j 23. was fled. And "he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him "seven days' journey; | and he over- E 24. took him in the mountain of Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said unto him, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to 25. Jacob Q1 either good or 1 bad. | "And Laban came up j with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent "in the 1 Gr. om. teraphim. Jacob denies the charge and bids his father-in-law search his camp, which he does, but, thanks to Rachel's cunning, in vain. Then it is Jacob's turn to be indignant, but, after he has given vent to his anger, he consents to a covenant with Laban, after which the two separate with mutual good wishes. The paragraph is undoubtedly composite, the sources being the Judean and Ephraimite narratives, but in places it is difficult to decide from which of them the given passage was taken. 22. On the third day; because he was three days' journey from home. See 30 : 36. 23. He took his brethren with him. If he returned to Haran for them, he must have been at least six days behind Jacob when he started. Seven days' journey; his rate of travel being more than fifty miles a day. See v. 21. Jacob had made the same distance, encum bered as he was, in thirteen days or less, his rate being between twenty- five and thirty miles a day. 24. Either good or bad ; lit. from good to bad, anything at all. See 24 : 30. 25. And Laban came up with Jacob. Compare 23b (E). In the mountain. At first thought it seems as if the term mountain should here be interpreted as it was in v. 23, i.e., as meaning the highlands of Gilead. The occurrence of the complete expression in the next clause, however, has led some to think that an antithesis is intended, and that therefore a name has here been lost or expunged. So Dill mann. This name, according to Lagarde and others, was Mizpeh, which appears as an equivalent of Gilead in v. 49. See, however, the note on that verse. It is really not necessary to supply a name. Indeed, although the biblical writers do not always follow this rule, the place should have no name until after the memorial from which it is taken has been erected. Here, therefore, it is better to render the phrase simply in a mountain, viz., the one that Jacob had selected for 23S 3 1 : 26 GENESIS mountain : and "Laban * with his brethren f pitched in E 26. the mountain of Gilead. | And Laban said to Jacob, "What 1 hast thou 1 done, 2 that thou hast stolen away unawares to me,2 and "carried away my daughters as J 27. captives of the sword? | 3 Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and steal away from me 3; and 4 didst not tell me, that I might 4 have sent thee away with mirth and E 28. with songs, with °5 tabret and with "harp 5; | and hast not suffered me to kiss "my sons and my daughters? 29. "now hast thou done foolishly. "It is • in the power of my hand "to do you7* hurt: but the God of °8your* father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to 1 Syr. have I. ' Gr. substitutes, wherefore . . . from me of v. 27. 3 Gr. om. « Gr. if thou hadsl told me, I should have. 3 Syr. harp . . . tabret. 6 Syr. was. 1 Sam. Gr. thee. 8 Sam. Gr. thy. a camp. This mountain was north of the Jabbok and some distance from the Jordan, i.e., in the northeastern part of Gilead ; but its exact location cannot be determined. Laban with his brethren pitched is evidently a scribal mistake for Laban pitched his tent, which requires the restoration of only a single letter. 26. The Syriac reading, What have I done, for What hast thou done, is attractive. The verb here rendered carried away is the same that is used of cattle in v. 18, but it has a stronger form, for which driven off would be a better translation. The stronger the term used, the richer will be the humor. 27. In the preceding verse Laban assumes that his daughters would only have left him on compulsion ; here he poses as the affectionate parent, reproaching his son-in-law for robbing him of an opportunity to display his feelings. The tabret, or timbrel, was a kind of tam bourine with which the Hebrews accompanied their songs of rejoicing. See Ex. 18 : 20; 1 Sam. 18 : 6, etc. On the harp, see 4 : 21. 28. My sons and my daughters ; his daughters and their children. Now hast thou done foolishly is not so mild as it sounds in English. What Laban says is that Jacob has played the fool, which, according to 1 Sam. 26 : 21, is equivalent to erring exceedingly. 29. It is in the power of my hand. Laban seems to have had the larger following ; moreover, he was unhampered. To do you hurt. Better, with the Samaritans and the Greek Version, to do thee hurt. Read, also, thy father for your father on the same authority, 236 GENESIS 31 : 33 thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. 30. And now though thou wouldest needs be gone, "because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet "where- 31. fore hast thou stolen my gods? | And Jacob answered J and said to Laban, °*[ Because I was afraid 1t : for 2 I said, "Lest thou shouldest take thy daughters from me 32. by force.3 | With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he E shall not live: before our brethren discern thou what 33. is thine with me, and take it to thee.4 For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. And "Laban went into 5 Jacob's 6 tent,7 and 8 into Leah's " tent, °* and into the tent of the two maidservants f ; but he found them ¦Gr. mss. om. • Syr. and. s Gr. adds, and all I have. Ani J acob said. < Gr. adds, and he did not discern with him anything. s Sam. Gr. and searched. 6 Gr. Leah's. ' Gr. adds, and found them not. a Gr. he came out of Leah's tent, and searched in Jacob's. 30. The preceding verse is parenthetical in character. This one, therefore, should be read as the continuation of the thought of v. 28. Laban pretends to see a reason why Jacob should have left him so suddenly and secretly ; because, he says with ill-concealed irony, thou sore longedst after thy father's house ; — but he demands, wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? or, since there was but one image, my god. See also vs. 32 ff. 31. The answer that follows does not fit the question. It would be ridiculous to suppose Jacob to have practically admitted the theft and given as a reason for it, Lest thou shouldest take thy daughters from me by force. The difficulty disappears, however, when one recognizes the composite character of the story and assigns this verse to the same author as v. 27. The words quoted then become a reason and a good one, for the secrecy of Jacob's movements. The clause Because I was afraid is probably a gloss. Add, however, with the Greek Version, at the end of the verse, and all I have. 32. Here, again, the Greek Version is helpful, supplying the in troductory clause And Jacob said, with which the verse should begin. It thus becomes the fitting answer to v. 30. 33. Laban went into Jacob's tent. The Samaritans and the Greek Version as well as some Hebrew manuscripts add and searched, and this may well have been the original reading. On the other hand, the words and into the tent, better, tents, of the two maidservants are 237 31 : 34 GENESIS not. 1 And he went out of Leah's tent,1 and entered 34. "into Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the tera phim, and put them in "the camel's furniture,2 and sat upon them. *3And Laban felt about all the tent, but 35. found them not.3f And she said to her father, Let not "my lord be angry that "I cannot rise up before thee : for "the manner of women is upon me. And "he 36. searched,4 but found not the teraphim. And "Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob an swered and said to Laban, What is my trespass ? what 5 is my sin, that thou hast hotly pursued after me? 37. "Whereas 6 thou hast felt about 7 all my stuff,7 what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? Set it here 1 Gr. om. a SV saddle. 3 Gr. om. * Gr. adds, in the whole tent. s Heb. mss. Gr. Vg. Syr. and what. ° Sam. Gr. Now that. ' Gr. all my household stuff. doubtless an interpolation, as appears from the fact that in the latter half of the verse Laban is represented as passing directly from Leah's into Rachel's tent. 34. The camel's furniture. SV has saddle, but neither of these terms is very intelligible. The thing meant is a sort of palanquin, consisting of a framework four or five feet long, covered with cloth, in which women and children are still conveyed by mules or camels. Sometimes it is single, in which case it rests crosswise on the saddle ; but it oftener consists of two compartments, one on each side of the animal. It would be a natural place to hide the image, also a natural place for Rachel to sit if she were indisposed. The latter half of the verse, which disturbs the connection and anticipates 35 b, should be omitted, as it is in the Greek Version. 35. My lord is more polite than affectionate. I cannot rise; as politeness would require. See Lev. 19 : 32. The manner of women is upon me. This explanation accounts for her inability to rise, and at the same time prevents her father from disturbing her, a woman in the condition described being unclean. He searched, but found not. Thus the daughter proved herself more than a match for her wily father. 36. Jacob was wroth; as, according to the Ephraimite narrator, he had a right to be. 37. Whereas, or, as the Samaritans read, Now that. My brethren ; the menservants of 30 : 43. 238 GENESIS 31 : 41 before "my brethren and thy brethren, that they may 38. judge betwixt us two. | "This twenty years have I been with thee; "thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and "the rams of thy flocks have I not eaten. 39. That which was "torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it ; "of my hand didst thou require it, 40. whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus I was ; in the day "the drought consumed me, and "the frost 41. by night; and "my sleep fled from mine eyes. | These "twenty years have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and "six years for thy flock : and thou hast changed my wages ten times.1 1 Gr. lambs. 38. This twenty years. The rendering This is mistaken as well as ungrammatical. The word so translated often means this, but in such instances as the present it should be rendered now. In ques tions it has the force of then. Thus, in Ps. 24 : 8, the proper rendering is neither, Who is this king of glory? (AV), nor Who is the king of glory ? (RV), but Who, then, is the king of glory ? On the number twenty, see v. 41. Thy ewes . . . have not cast their young ; as they would have done under a less skilful shepherd. The rams, or, as the Old Latin reads, the lambs, . . . have I not eaten ; as a less faithful shepherd would have done. 39. In Ex. 22 : 13 it is provided that if one in charge of an animal torn of beasts brings the remains of it to its owner, he need not make it good. See also the Code of Hammurabi, § 266. Laban, however, recognized no such law. He was equally rigid with reference to a missing animal. Of my hand, says Jacob, didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night ; although in the latter case Laban himself ought to have borne the loss. See Ex. 22 : 10 f. 40. The drought. Better, since an antithesis with the frost seems to have been intended, the heat, as the Hebrew word here used is rendered in Jb. 30 : 30. The difference in temperature between day and night in that country is a serious menace to the health of its in habitants. My sleep fled from mine eyes ; so constantly must he be on the watch against the enemies of his flock. 41. Here follows the Ephraimite version of Jacob's complaint. It, also, begins with a statement of the length of Jacob's stay in Mes opotamia, twenty years, the last term being six years. 239 31 : 42 GENESIS 42. Except the God of "my father, "^the God of1 Abraham and f "the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee J 43. yesternight. | And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, and "the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and "all that thou seest is mine: and "what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children 44. which 2 they have borne ? And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and "let it* be for* a witness E 45. between me and thee.3 | And Jacob "took a stone, and J 46. set it up for a pillar. | And Jacob* said unto his 1 Gr. om. a SV whom. 3 Gr. adds, And Jacob said unto him, Behold there is no one with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee (50). 42. My father would naturally mean Isaac. Hence it is probable that the descriptive phrase the God of Abraham is an addition to the original text. The Fear of Isaac ; the divinity whom Isaac wor shipped. 43. Laban suddenly changes his tactics. The daughters here, as in 30 : 13, means the women, including Bilhah and Zilpah, just as the children embraces all whose names have been given. All that thou seest is mine. This assumption of credit for the results of Jacob's skill and thrift is a delightful bit of oriental humor. It requires only a comprehensive gesture to complete it. The rest of the verse must be interpreted in the same way. The question what can I do is not, as has been held, an expression of anxiety to do something for his daughters, but a declaration of inability, as a generous man and affectionate father, to do them or their children any injury. In other words, it is an excellent example of making a virtue of necessity. 44. Let it be for a witness can hardly be the original reading. From v. 48 it is clear that it is not the covenant, but a cairn, that Laban has in mind. Read, therefore, with the Syriac Version, Let there be a witness. 45. There is a twofold account of Jacob's response to this sugges tion. The first (E) says that he took a stone, and set it up, just as he did at Bethel. See 29 : 18. In v. 51 Laban wrongly claims to have erected this pillar. See also v. 49. 240 GENESIS brethren, "Gather stones ; and "they took '* stones, and made an heap: and "they did eat there by the heap.2 1 47. And Laban called it "Jegar-sahadutha3: but Jacob R 48. called it "Galeed. | 4 And "Laban said, This heap is J witness between me and thee this day.4 Therefore was 49. the name of it called Galeed; | and "Mizpah,5 for he R said, °6 The Lord 6 watch between me and thee, when 50. we are absent one from another. | If thou shalt afflict J my daughters, and if thou shalt take wives beside my daughters,7 1 "no man is with us; 8 see, God is witness 8 E 1 Gr. gathered. ' Gr. adds 48a. 3 SV Jegar-saha-dutha. * Gr. substitutes 51. 52a. 3 Sam. the pillar. 6 Gr. God. 1 Gr. adds, see. 8 Gr. om. 46. The second represents him as summoning his brethren to gather stones for an heap, but v. 5 1 requires that Laban should be substituted for Jacob. The probable explanation is that the original reading was he in both cases, and that some one has here sub stituted the wrong subject. They took stones. Read, rather, with the Greek Version, they gathered stones. They did eat ; celebrated the event by a feast, as was the custom. See 26 : 30. 47. The story is here interrupted by an editorial addition. Jegar- sahadutha is the Aramaic, and Galeed, more exactly, Gal'edh, the Hebrew, for Heap of testimony. Heretofore all the characters have spoken Hebrew. See especially 29 : 31 ff. 48. Laban said ; at the feast. 49. The introduction of Mizpah at this point seems to be an editorial attempt to identify the place where Laban overtook Jacob with Mizpeh of Gilead. See Jud. 11 : 29. This latter is probably the Ramath- mizpeh of Josh. 13 : 26, for which Merrill finds a suitable site at Kalat er-Rubad, just north of Wady Ajlun, about ten miles east of the Jordan. It is evident, however, that either Merrill or the author of this verse is mistaken, since, according to v. 52, the place in question was on the border of Syria. The alternative is to adopt the Greek reading, God, for the LORD, and conclude that this is another case in which the Ephraimite differs from the Judean narrative. Mizpah might then be located anywhere in Gilead. The LORD watch (saphah) ; a play upon the name Mizpah, more correctly, Mispah. 50. The latter part of this verse from no man onward does not seem to suit the connection. Most of it is wanting in the Greek Version. Perhaps, as has been suggested, the whole is editorial. If it were R 241 31 =50 31 : 51 GENESIS J 51. 1 betwixt me and thee.1 | And 2 Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, * and behold "the 3 pillar, "l which I 52. have set betwixt me and thee. This heap be witness, * and the 3 pillar be witness,! that "I will not pass over * this heap 4 to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over 53. this heap * and this pillar t unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, °*5 the God E of their father,5f judge betwixt us. | And Jacob sware 54. by "the Fear of his father Isaac. And "Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called "his brethren "to eat bread : and they did eat bread, and tarried all night Heb. 32 : 1. 55. in the mountain. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and. Laban departed and returned unto 1 Gr. om. a Gr. transfers 51, 52a to 48. 3 Gr. Syr. this. * Gr. om. s m. the gods of their father ; Sam. the God of Abraham ; Gr. om. neglected, the first part of the verse could be more closely connected with v. 49. 5 1 . This verse, which seems to have come from the Judean narrative, originally referred to the cairn only, but, when the Ephraimite nar rative was incorporated with the earlier work, it became necessary to insert a reference to the pillar. 52. A proof that the pillar is an addition to the original text of J is found in the fact that in this verse it occurs only twice, the editor having overlooked the clause I will not pass over this heap to thee, where it is just as much required as in the other two cases. Of course, if the Greek reading, without this heap, were adopted, this argument would become worthless ; but there are others. 53. If the translators had left the phrase the God of their father at the end of the sentence, where it stands in the original, it would be more easily recognized as an interpolation. It is wanting in the Greek Version. On the Fear of his father Isaac see v. 42. 54. Jacob offered a sacrifice ; acting as his own priest, as did Abra ham before him. His brethren ; not only his own men, but Laban and his followers. To eat bread ; at a feast celebrating the covenant. For the corresponding passage from the Judean narrative seev. 46, 242 GENESIS 32 : 2 32. his place. And Jacob went on his way,1 and "the 2(3- angels of God met him. And Jacob said when he saw them, "This is God's host: and he called the name of that place "Mahanaim. 1 Gr. adds, and, lifting up his eyes, he saw the host of God encamped. 1I2. The angels of God. See 2S : 12. 2I3. This is God's host (mahaneh) ; a play upon the name Mahanaim, the apparent meaning of which is Double camp. Mahanaim was an important place. At one time it was the capital of the kingdom of Israel. See 2 Sam. 2 : 8 f. Later it furnished a refuge for David in his flight before Absalom. See 2 Sam. 17 : 24. In Josh. 13 : 26 it is mentioned as on the border between the territory of Gad and that of Manasseh. It must, therefore, have been north of the Jabbok, as the present reference to it would indicate. The view that it was at or near modern Mahneh, about fifteen miles north of that river and the same distance from the Jordan, has in its favor the resemblance be tween the two names, but this site seems too far from the Jordan to suit the requirements of 2 Sam. 18 : 23. Merrill, therefore, proposes to locate it at Khurbet Suleikhat, a. site about nine miles north of the Jabbok, among the foothills, only about three hundred feet above the level of the Jordan valley. Driver locates it at Deir Alia, only four miles north of the Jabbok. This paragraph is one of the most puzzling portions of the book of Genesis. The difficulty in analyzing and interpreting it may, in part, be due to a dislocation of the text. In vs. 44-52 the Greek Ver sion has a very different order. It reads as follows : (44) Now, therefore, come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and it shall be for a witness between me and thee. (And Jacob said unto him), (50b) See, no one is with us; God is witness betwixt me and thee. (45) And Jacob took a stone and set it up for a pillar. (46) And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they gathered stones, and made a heap: and they did eat (and drink) there by the heap. (48a) And Laban said (unto him), This heap witnesseth between me and thee this day. (47) And Laban called it Heap of testimony, but Jacob called it Heap witnesseth. (51) And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap and this pillar which I have set up betwixt me and thee. (52a) This heap witnesseth, and this pillar witnesseth. (48b) Therefore was the name of it called Heap witnesseth; (49) and The Vision, as to which he said, God watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from the other. (50a) // thou shalt afflict my daughters, if thou shalt lake wives beside my daughters, see, no one is with us. (52b) If I pass 243 32 :3 GENESIS j 3I4. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto "the land of Seir, * the field of Edom.f 4I5. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye say unto "my lord Esau; Thus saith thy servant1 Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now: 5|6. and "I have oxen, and asses and2 flocks, and men- servants and maidservants: and I have sent to tell 6|7. my lord,3 that 1 4 may find grace in thy sight. And "the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, 1 Vg. brother. a So Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. 3 Gr. adds, Esau. * Gr. thy servant. not over to thee, neither shalt thou pass over this heap and this pillar unto me for harm. This arrangement is in some respects an improvement on that of the received text, but the difference would hardly warrant one in adopting it. (5) Jacob's return from the East, 32 : 3I4-35 : 29 Under this head are grouped a series of incidents in the experience of Jacob on his journey from the point iwhere Laban left him until he finally reached Hebron. The first paragraph relates to (a) The present for Esau, 32 : 3I4-21I22. FromMahanaim Jacob sends messengers to Esau, announcing his return and entreating his brother's favor. The messengers report Esau approaching with a large force; whereupon Jacob, greatly disturbed, divides his com pany, appeals to Yahweh, and despatches some of his servants with a large present in cattle, giving them careful instructions what they shall do and say when they meet him. The paragraph is mainly from the Judean narrative, but there are fragments from the Ephraimite, and the story has been expanded by the compiler. 3I4. The land of Seir; which, therefore, according to the author, is the home of Esau. The Priestly writer, however, represents him as remaining in Canaan until after the death of his father. See 36 : 6. 4]5. My lord Esau . . . thy servant Jacob; conciliatory phrases, common among orientals. 5|6. I have oxen. In 30 : 43 camels are mentioned as a part of Jacob's wealth, but no oxen. See v. 7 j8. 6I7. The messengers returned; after several days, it being not less than a hundred and twenty-five miles from the Jabbok to the ancient capital of Edom. 244 GENESIS 32 : 12 7|8. and four hundred men with him. Then "Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: | and he divided E the people that was with him, and the flocks, and the 8I9. herds, * and the camels,1 into "two companies ; and he2 said, If Esau3 come to the one company, and smite it, 9|io. then "the company which is left shall escape. | And r Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, "O Lord, which saidst unto me, "Return unto 4 thy country,4 and to thy kindred, io|n. and I will do thee good: I am not worthy of the least of all "the mercies,5 and of all "the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; "for with my staff I passed over "this Jordan; and now I am be lli 12. come two companies. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau : for I fear him, lest he come and smite me,6 "the 12I13. mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will 1 Gr. om. a Gr. Syr. Jacob. s Syr. adds, my brother. * Syr. the land of thy fathers. s SV lovingkindnesses. 6 Gr. adds, and; Vg. om. 7|8. Jacob was greatly afraid. He had given Esau good reasons for hating him, and he could see in so strong an escort nothing but hostility. Two companies. Here, again, in the word for companies, mahanoth, there seems to be an allusion to Mahanaim. 8(9. The company which is left shall escape. The expedient is as cruel as it is desperate. 91 10. The prayer that follows is just such an appeal as one who em phasized the promises of God would put into the mouth of a man in the situation described. O LORD. The multiplication of names for the Deity is a characteristic of the devotional style. Return unto thy country. See 31 : 3, 13. io|n. The mercies; the abundant mercy. The plural of an ab stract noun in Hebrew often denotes intensity rather than multitude. The truth. Better, faithfulness. For introduces an explanation, not of the speaker's unworthiness, but of Yahweh's mercy and faithfulness. This Jordan is supposed to indicate that the river was not far distant. 11I12. The mother with the children ; great and small. 245 32 : 13 GENESIS surely do thee good, and make thy seed "as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. E, J 13I14. | And "he lodged there that night; | and "took of that which he had with him a present for Esau his 14(15. brother; two hundred she-goats and twenty he- 15(16. goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and their colts, forty kine J and ten bulls, 16I17. twenty she-asses and ten foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, "every drove by itself; and said unto his servants, Pass over before 17(18. me, and put "a space betwixt drove and drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are 18I19. these before thee? then thou shalt say, They be 2 thy servant Jacob's; "it is a present sent unto my lord 19I20. Esau: and, behold, "he also is behind us. And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner • SV cows. ' SV are. 12I13. As the sand of the sea. See 22 : 17. 13 1 14. He lodged there that night seems to belong at the end of v. 8(9. Took of that which he had ; some of each kind. The Jacob of the prayer threw himself upon Yahweh ; the Jacob of this verse relies on his own cunning. i6[i7. The number of animals enumerated, five hundred and eighty head, was large enough to make an impression without special ar rangements to that end. The effect would be increased by sending forth every drove, each kind of animals, by itself, and keeping a space betwixt drove and drove. 18I19. It is a present. This announcement is a skilful preparation for the second, he also is behind us. 19I20. The second announcement is so worded as to make Esau push forward expecting to meet Jacob with the next detachment, only to find that it is another present. 246 GENESIS 32 :23 2o|2i. shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him; and ye shall say, Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is ' behind us. For he said, I will "appease him with the present 2 that goeth before me,3 and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept me. 21I22. So "the present2 passed over before him: and he himself lodged that night in "the company. 22(23. And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, J and his two handmaids, and "his eleven children, j 23(24. and "passed 4 over "the ford4 of Jabbok.5 | * And E, J ¦ Sam. Gr. cometh. • Gr. Vg. plu. 3 Gr. him. « Syr. into the desert. s SV the Jabbok. 2o|2i. The effect of four such disappointments (!) would be to appease him, if he were placable. 21I22. The present passed over. This may mean crossed the Jabbok, or only passed on. The company ; not one of the two men tioned in v. 7I8 (E), but the whole camp. (b) The struggle at the Jabbok, 32 : 22I23-32I33. In the night Jacob sends his wives and children, and his possessions, across the Jabbok, himself remaining on the northern side. There he has a pro longed struggle, in which, though partially disabled, he finally wrests from his antagonist, who proves to be God in a human form, a coveted blessing. The paragraph is from the Judean narrative, with slight additions from other sources. 22I23 f. In these verses have evidently been pieced together two statements, one from the Ephraimite, the other from the Judean narrative, with reference to the passage of the Jabbok. The former seems to have said that Jacob himself passed over, and sent over, lit. caused to pass over, all that he had ; the latter that he took his family and sent them over, but himself remained on the hither side. See ,, v. 24I25. His eleven children; Dinah being ignored. The ford of 1 Jabbok. Better, with SV, the Jabbok. The Jabbok is the stream now known as Wady Zerka (Blue), which rises in a great spring just south of Amman (Rabbath Ammon), and, after flowing some distance in a northeasterly direction, makes a wide curve and rushes down a deep gorge to join the Jordan at a point nearly in line with Jaffa and Shiloh, about twenty-two miles north of the Dead Sea. It is narrow and shallow, and, though very swift, easily fordable when not in flood. There are three points at which roads cross it, the lowest being only three miles from the Jordan. 247 32 : 24 GENESIS he took them f and sent them over the stream, | E, J 24(25. and "sent over that1 he had. | And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the 25I26. breaking of the day. And when he saw that "he prevailed not against him, "he touched the hollow of his thigh; and "the hollow of Jacob's thigh was 26(27. strained, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for "the day breaketh. And he said, I will not 27I28. let thee go, "except thou bless me. And he said unto 28(29. him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but "Israel : for "thou 2 hast striven 2 with God 3 °* and 1 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. all that. a m. hast had power; Tar. art a prince, s Syr. an angel. 24I25. The name Jabbok is probably a derivative of a verb (bakak) meaning gurgle, but the author of this story seems to have connected it with one for wrestle ('abhek) because near it Jacob wrestled with a man. 25 1 26. He prevailed not ; the subject being Jacob, who here again gives proof of his physical strength, as at the well of Haran. See 29 : 10. He, the man, touched the hollow, the socket, of his, Jacob's, thigh. The hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained. Better, dislo cated; AV out of joint. 26I27. The eagerness of Jacob's antagonist to escape is now ex plained : the day breaketh, and supernatural beings — such is the teaching of the story — must not be abroad by daylight. Compare 3 : 8. Except thou bless me. The demand is characteristic. Jacob never loses an opportunity, but the things he seeks are always of the highest value. 28I29. The new name Israel means, literally, God persisteth, or May God persist, viz., as champion and defender of his worshippers. It cannot, therefore, have been suggested by the incident here nar rated. The alternative is to suppose that the name influenced the form in which the narrative is cast ; in other words, that thou hast striven with God, like the allusion to this passage in Hos. 12 : 3 f., is another instance of paronomasia. See v. 24I25. The added phrase and with men, in which the preposition should not be italicized, is probably to be interpreted as promising the success of Jacob's 248 GENESIS 29I30. with men,f and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, "Tell me,1 I pray thee, thy name. And he said, "Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after 30I31. my name? And "he blessed him there. | And Jacob E called the name of the place "Peniel : for, said he, I have seen God2 "face to face, and my Ufe is pre- 31I32. served. | And the sun rose upon him as he "passed J 32(33. over "Penuel, and "he halted 3 upon his thigh. | There- R fore the children of Israel eat not "the sinew of the 1 So Gr. Vg. Syr. ; Heb. om. a Syr. an angel. 3 SV limped. plan for appeasing Esau. It is doubtful, however, if it was a part of the original story. 29I30. A name, it will be remembered, according to the Hebrew conception, represented the person or thing to which it was applied. The change in Jacob's, therefore, denotes a change in his character, and when he in his turn makes the request Tell me thy name, it is because he wishes to know the nature of the person with whom he is talking. The reply Wherefore, etc., like the one given toManoah under similar circumstances, implies the impossibility of putting the desired knowledge into human language. See Jud. 13 : 18. The first and foremost of Jacob's desires was granted : he blessed him. 30I31. The natural inference from the foregoing is that the divine apparition disappeared before he became distinctly visible. It is therefore probable that this verse, in which Jacob is made to say he has seen God face to face, comes from an Ephraimite version of the story, according to which the meeting took place at Peniel (Face of God). On the vision of God see 16 : 13. 31I32. The place just mentioned is here called Penuel (also Face of God). It is not now, however, the place where Jacob wrestled with God, but one that he passed when, after being blessed, he set forth to overtake his family. Nothing is known of its location except that it was above the valley of the Jordan, on a road leading into the interior of Gilead. See Jud. 8 : 8. Merrill locates it at Tulul Edh- Dhahab, on both sides of the Jabbok, four miles above the ford. He halted, SV limped, upon his thigh ; as he passed. 32I33. The paragraph closes with a comment by a priestly editor, who finds in the story here told the explanation of a custom of his day. The Jews did not eat the sinew of the hip, better, the sinew of the thigh nerve, i.e., the sciatic nerve, because it covered the hollow or socket of the thigh. 249 32 132 33 :* GENESIS hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.1 J 33. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, be hold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And "he2 divided the children unto Leah, and unto 2. Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And "he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her 3. children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And "he himself passed over before them, and "bowed him self to the ground seven times, until he came near to his E 4. brother. And "Esau ran to meet him, ( and embraced 1 Gr. adds, and it became stiff. a Gr. Jacob. (c) The meeting between Jacob and Esau, 33 : 1-17. When Esau appears Jacob arranges his wives and children, placing his favorites in the rear, and advances with the most profound obeisances to meet his brother. Esau receives him most cordially, but at first refuses to accept a present from him. He finally takes it, at the same time offering to conduct Jacob to his destination. Jacob de clines even a smaller escort, and the brothers separate, Esau return ing to Seir and Jacob proceeding to Succoth. The story is mainly from the Judean narrative, with additions from the Ephraimite work. 1 . He divided the children ; giving to each of the women those that belonged to her, thus making four divisions. In 32 : 7 he is said to have already divided his whole company into two parts, but that passage is from a different source. 2. He put the handmaids and their children foremost. The reason for this arrangement may, according to the author, have been the one given in 32 : 8 or the desire to make the introduction of his family to Esau as impressive as possible. 3. He himself passed over before them. Better, passed on before them, took the lead. Bowed himself seven times, advancing all the time, until he came near to his brother. The extreme of humility, as ap pears from the Tell el-Amarna letters, required one to prostrate one's self twice seven times. 4. Esau ran to meet him ; with characteristic impetuosity and an utter disregard for ceremony. The display of affection that follows seems extravagant, even for an oriental. It is, therefore, probable 250 GENESIS 33 : 10 him, | "and fell on his neck, | and kissed him : | and they 1 J, E, J 5. wept. | And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women E and the children ; and said, °2 Whose are these with thee ? 2 And he said, The children which 3 God hath 6. graciously given thy servant. | Then the handmaids J came near, they and their children, and they bowed 7. themselves. And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed themselves : and after came °4 Joseph near 8. and Rachel,4 and they bowed themselves. And he said, 5 What meanest thou by 5 "all ° this company 6 which I met ? And he said, To find grace 7 in the sight 9. of my lord. And Esau said, "I have enough ; °8 my 10. brother,8 let that thou hast be thine. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace 7 in thy sight, then receive my present ° at my hand : 10 forasmuch as 10 "I have seen thy face, "as one seeth the face of 1 Gr. both; Vg. he. ' Syr. Whence hast thou iliese? ' SV whom. < Gr. Ra chel . . . Joseph. 3 Syr. Whence hast thou. 6 Gr. these companies. ' SV favor. * SV Gr. Vg. Syr. attach these words to the preceding clause; Syr. adds, therefore. » Gr. plu. " SV for therefore. that the description of it is composite. If so, and fell on his neck, and they, or he, wept may be attributed to the Judean, and the rest to the Ephraimite, writer. 5. It is the latter who makes Esau ask with unconcealed surprise, Whose are these with thee ? See the name God in the answer. For the proper continuation of the Judean story see v. 6. 7. Joseph and Rachel. The Greek Version has Rachel and Joseph, the more natural, but in this case, perhaps, not the original, reading. 8. All this company ; the droves of cattle that Jacob sent in ad vance. 9. I have enough. Better, plenty (Heb. much). Nothing has hitherto been said about Esau's possessions. In 36 : 6 f. he is credited by the Priestly author with " great substance." My brother. The English Revisers have followed the punctuation of the original, but it is more natural, with AV, SV, and the Versions, to connect it with the preceding clause. See 1 Sam. 20 : 29; 2 Sam. 1 : 26. 10. I have seen thy face. Better, I saw thy face, came to meet thee. As one seeth the face of God ; with the same dread with which 251 33: n GENESIS E n. God,1 and "thou wast pleased with me. | "Take, I pray thee, my gift 2 that is 3 brought to thee ; because "God hath dealt graciously with me, and because "I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. | J 12. And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, 13. 4 and "I will go before thee.4 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds with me give suck : and "if they 5* 14. overdrive them one day, "all the flocks6 will die. "Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according to the pace of the cattle that is 7 before me and according to the pace of the 15. children, until I come unto my lord "unto Seir. And 1 Syr. an angel. a Gr. plu. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. / have. * Gr. straightfor ward, s Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. I. 6 Gr. cattle. 1 SV are. one goes to a sanctuary. See 1 Sam. 10 : 4. The phrase the face of God is a play upon Penuel, near which the scene is laid. Thou wast pleased with me. The idea is that, just as one who is favorably received at a sanctuary gladly leaves an offering there, so he, Jacob, having been so cordially welcomed by Esau, would make him a present. 11. Take, I pray thee, my gift; the Ephraimite parallel to v. 10, with a different reason: God hath dealt graciously with me. I have enough. See v. 9. 12. I will go before thee. Thus the hostile array that Jacob feared would become an escort. 13. If they overdrive them. Read, with the Samaritans and the Versions, if I overdrive them. Jacob gives only one of his reasons for declining Esau's offer. The other was, that he was still afraid of him. All the flocks ; the smaller and weaker cattle. See the Greek reading. 14. Let my lord pass over. Here, again, the rendering is mis leading. It gives the impression that Jacob was headed for the Jordan. This was not the case. If it had been, he could hardly have deceived his brother with reference to his route. He misled him by entreating him to pass on southward, promising to follow as rapidly as he could unto Seir. He could then proceed to Beer-sheba by the route round the southern end of the Dead Sea. 15. Jacob, however, does not intend to visit Seir. Therefore, 252 GENESIS 33 : 17 Esau said, Let me now leave with thee "some of the folk that are with me. And he l said, "What needeth 16. it? let me find grace2 in the sight of my lord. So 17. Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob "journeyed to Succoth, and "built him 3 an house,3 and "made booths 4 for his cattle : therefore the name of the place is called "Succoth. 1 Syr. Jacob. 'SV favor. 3 Gr. houses there. + Syr. a shelter. when Esau begs him to allow some of the folk to remain with him, he replies, What needeth it? there is no danger, adding, let me find grace in the sight of my lord, i.e., begging his pardon for declining. 17. When Esau finally returned to his own country, Jacob changed his course and journeyed to Succoth. The site of this place is in dispute, but there can be no doubt that it was situated between Penuel and the Jordan, and not far from the latter ; for, when Gideon crossed the river in pursuit of theMidianites, the first place he reached was Succoth, and he had to go up from it to Penuel. See Jud. 8 : 5, 8. The fact that Succoth was thus on the line of retreat of theMidian ites, who, as Moore (Judges, 213 f.) has shown, must have crossed the Jordan at the Damieh ford, indicates that it was on the south side of the Jabbok, and not, as Merrill (EJ, 385 ff.), following the Jerusalem Talmud, insists, at Tell Deir Alia, just north of that stream. The view here expressed is supported by 1 Kgs. 7 : 46, where the original reading was doubtless, not " in the clay ground," but " at the ford of Adamah " (Damieh), "between Succoth and Zarethan." At Succoth Jacob built him an house, discarding his tents, as a preparation for spending some time there. He also made booths, as shelters for his cattle in the winter. Hence the name Succoth (Booths). (A) The story of Dinah, 33 : 18-34 : 31. From Succoth Jacob removes to Shechem. While there Shechem seizes Dinah and seeks to make her his wife. Jacob and his sons at first pretend to be dis posed to agree to this proposal, stipulating only that Shechem and his people submit to circumcision. When, however, all the males of the place have been circumcised, the sons of Jacob take advantage of their helplessness to put them to death and carry off their wives and children and their possessions. There is difference of opinion with reference to the composition of the story, but it is agreed that it is a double narrative, one strand coming from the Judean, the 253 33 : 18 GENESIS E 18. And Jacob came cl in peace to the i city of Shechem, | P which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from E 19. Paddan-aram: | and encamped "before the city. And he bought "the parcel of ground, 2 where he had spread his tent,2 at the hand of "the children of Hamor, "She- 20. chem's father, for an hundred °3 pieces of money.3 And he "erected there an altar, and called 4 it °El-elohe-4Israel. | E 34. And "Dinah the daughter of Leah, which 5 she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 1 m. Gr. Vg. Syr. to Salem. a Syr. om. 3 Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. sheep. * Gr. on the God of; Vg. over it the mighty God of. 3 SV whom. other from a later, source. The latter is by some identified with the Ephraimite, by others with the Priestly, narrative. 18. The word rendered in peace, which AV, following the Versions, makes a proper name, may also be translated safe, unharmed. Be fore the city ; to the east of it. 19. The parcel of ground, where he had spread his tent is identified in Jn. 4 : 5 with that where Jacob's well was located, on the edge of the plain about the foot of Gerizim, a mile east of Nabulus, the modern Shechem. In the neighborhood was the oak near which Abraham encamped. See 12:6. Here, according to the Ephra imite author, and not at Succoth, Jacob made his home for some years after his return from the East. See v. 17. The children of Hamor are here the people of Shechem. See Jud. 9 : 28. He also had children in the stricter sense, one of whom was Shechem. The word rendered pieces, found elsewhere only in Josh. 24 : 32 and Jb. 42 : 11, was probably a weight, but its size is unknown. Compare Enc. Bib., art. Kesitah. Compare 48 : 22, where Jacob boasts of re quiring " a portion " by a more violent method. 20. The received text says that here, where Abraham worshipped, Jacob, also, erected an altar. The word rendered erected, however, is not elsewhere used of altars, but is employed in 35 : 14, 20 of pillars. It is therefore probable that in this case the original read ing was either, he erected there a pillar, or, he erected there a pillar and built an altar. El-elohe-Israel ; God, the God of Israel. See 35 = 7- 1. Dinah, according to 30 : 21, was Leah's seventh child. She could not, therefore, have been born long before the family left Mesopotamia. Hence the necessity of supposing the author of this verse (E) to have taught that Jacob had spent several years at Shechem 254 GENESIS 34 • 7 2. And Shechem the son of Hamor the "Hivite,1 the "prince of the land, saw her; | and "he took her, and lay with j 3. her, and humbled her; And "his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, | and he loved the damsel, | and E, J 4. "spake kindly unto the damsel. | And Shechem "spake E unto his father Hamor,2 saying, Get me this damsel to 5. wife. | Now Jacob heard that he3 had defiled Dinah J his daughter; and "his sops were with his cattle in "the 6. field : and Jacob held his peace until they came. | And E "Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob 7. to commune with him. | And "the sons of Jacob J came in from the field when they heard it: and the 1 Gr. Horite. ' Sam. om. s Gr. [Sltcchem] the son of Hamor. before the events narrated in the story of Dinah took place. The Book of Jubilees (30 : 1) says that she was twelve years old when she was kidnapped. The Judean narrative provides for an indefinite interval in the stay at Succoth. See 33 : 17. ¦t. On the Hivite, better, Hiwite, see 10 : 17. The title prince of the land belongs to Hamor, not Shechem. See ¦}¦} : 19. The author thus far cited (E) seems not to have represented Shechem as out raging the girl, but the Judean distinctly says that he took her, and humbled her. 3. The writer takes pains to explain that the young man was not prompted by mere wantonness, but that his soul clave unto Dinah, also that he spake kindly to her, by this means seeking to reconcile her to his rough, but not uncommon, method of wooing. See Jud. 21 : 23. 4. According to the Ephraimite narrative Shechem, instead of taking the matter into his own hands, spake unto his father Hamor, as he would be expected to do. The result is given in v. 6. 5. Between the two is inserted another bit from the older version. His sons were with his cattle. They were all, with the exception of Joseph, older than Dinah. The field; probably the plain now called el-Makhna, stretching away southward for seven or eight miles from the site of Jacob's camp. 6. Hamor went out, from the city, alone, unto Jacob ; a continua tion of v. 4. 7. Now follows the continuation of v. 5. Note that the sons of 255 34 : 8 GENESIS "men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in "Israel in lying with Jacob's daugh- E 8. ter; which thing ought not to be done. | And Hamor communed with them, saying, "The soul of my son She chem longeth for your daughter : I pray you give her unto 9. him to wife. And make ye marriages with us; "give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.1 10. And ye shall dwell with us : and the land shall be before 11. you; "dwell and trade ye therein and get you possessions J therein. | And "Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace 2 in your eyes, and what3 12. ye shall say4 unto me4 15 will give. "Ask me never so much dowry* and gift,f and I will give according as ye 13. shall say unto me: but give me the6 damsel to wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem °* and Hamor 7 R his fatherf with guile, and spake, | "because he had 1 Gr. your sons. a S V favor. s Syr. all that. * Gr. Vg. om. 5 Gr. we. 'Sam. Gr. Syr. this. 'Vg. om. Jacob are here called men. The name Israel, which is here used for the first time in the Old Testament of the Hebrew people, is evi dence that the story of Dinah in the older of the two versions com bined in this chapter is much later than the time of Jacob. See Jud. 20 : 6, 10. On the final clause see 20 : 9. 8. The soul of my son longeth for your daughter. The sons were present at the interview, but there is no mention of violence. 9. Give your daughters unto us. Since Jacob had but one daugh ter, and his sons, so far as known, none, the plural must be inter preted as referring to future female members of the family. 10. Dwell and trade ye therein. The word rendered trade implies freedom to go back and forth on business. See 42 : 34. 11. Shechem said unto her father ; according to the older authority pleading his own cause. 12. Ask me never so much dowry ; more exactly, lay upon me a very great price. 13. Hamor had no voice in the preceding plea. The words and Hamor his father are therefore foreign to the text, while the last clause, because he, lit. who, etc., is even more clearly an editorial addition. 256 GENESIS 34 = 20 14. defiled Dinah their sister, | and said1 °*2unto them,2-)- J We cannot do this thing, "to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised ; for that were a reproach unto us : | 15. only on this condition will we consent unto you3: if E ye will be as we be,4 "that every male of you be circum- 16. cised5; then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take 6 your daughters to us,6 and we will dwell 17. with you, and we will become one people. But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised ; then "will 18. we take our daughter, and we will be gone. And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem "Hamor's 7* son. | 19. And the young man deferred not to do "the thing, be cause he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was J 20. honoured above "all the house of his father. ( And E 1 Gr. Simeon and Levi the brethren of Dinah, the sons of I.eah, said. a Syr. om. 3 Gr. adds, and dwell among you. * SV are. s Syr. adds, as we are circumcised. 6 Gr. to us of your daughters wives. 1 Sam. Syr. his. 14. Omit, also, with the Syriac Version, unto them. The whole will then read, The sons of Jacob answered Shechem with guile, and spake and said. In the Greek Version the words that follow are at tributed to Simeon and Levi, but these names, if they belong in the text, should appear in v. 13. See v. 30. To give our sister to one that is uncircumcised. It is implied that they will give her to him if he will submit to circumcision. 15. Thus far the Judean author; the Ephraimite reports a different requirement, viz., that every male of you be circumcised. 17. Will we take our daughter, and we will be gone, does not imply force, for, according to the author of this passage, Dinah is still with the family ; but simply means that they will remove from Shechem in spite of the inducements offered, rather than give Dinah to her suitor except on the terms stated. 18. For Hamor's son read, as in vs. 20, 24, with the Samaritans, his son. 19. The thing here meant is the thing required of him in v. 14, that he be circumcised. All the house ; all the rest of the house. The sympathy of the writer is evidently with the young man, in spite of his humiliation of Dinah. 20. The Ephraimite author tells a different story. The thing he S 257 34 :2i GENESIS Hamor and Shechem his son came unto "the gate of their city, and communed with "the men of their city, 21. saying, These men are peaceable with us; "therefore1* let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for, be hold, "the land is large enough for them ; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daugh- 22. ters. Only on this condition will the men consent unto us to dwell with us, to become one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. | R 23. "Shall not their cattle and their substance and all2 E their beasts be ours ? | only 3 let us consent unto them, 24. and they will dwell with us. And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his 4 city ; and every male was circumcised, *5 all that 25. went out of the gate of his city.5f And it came to pass J on the third day, "when they were sore, [ that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took 1 Sam. Gr. Syr. om. a Gr. om. 3 Gr. adds, in this. + Gr. their. 3 Gr. Vg. om. represents the sons of Jacob as requiring of Hamor and Shechem could not be done without consultation with the men of their city, the place of assembly being the gate of their city, as usual. 21. Omit therefore (Heb. and) and read, with the Samaritans, with us let them dwell. By the land is large enough for them, of course, is meant for us and them. 23. Shall not their cattle ... be ours? This appeal to a vulgar cupidity is so unworthy of the persons into whose mouths it is put that it can hardly be attributed to the author of the preceding verses. 24. There is no emphasis on the objects Hamor and Shechem in the original. It would therefore be better to render, And all that went out of the gate of the city hearkened, etc. The last clause, which is a useless repetition, and is omitted by the Greek and Latin Ver sions, seems to be a copyist's error. 25. When they were sore ; the inflammation then being at its height. The proper continuation of this clause would be, the sons of Jacob took each man his sword, but the compiler has inserted the names of Simeon and Levi from the parallel (J) narrative, thus making it appear that these two slew all the males of the city. 258 GENESIS 34 =30 each man his sword, | and came upon the city un- E 26. awares,1 and slew all the males. | And they slew * Ha- J mor and f Shechem * his son f with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah 2 out of Shechem's house, and 27. went forth. ( The 3 sons of Jacob came upon the slain,4 E and spoiled 5 the city, | "because they had defiled ° R 28. their sister. | "They 7 took their flocks and their herds E and their asses, and that 8 which was in the city, and 29. that 8 which was in the field; and all their wealth, and all 9 their little ones and their wives, took they captive 30. | 10 and spoiled, even * all that was in the house.10 And J Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "Ye have troubled me, "to make me " to stink among " the inhabitants of the land, * among "the Canaanites and the Perizzites f : and, ¦ m. boldly. ' Syr. adds, their sister. 1 Gr. Syr. And the. < Gr. wounded, s SV plundered. « Gr. Syr. add, Dinah. * Sam. Gr. Syr. And they. ' Gr. Vg. all that. 9 Sain. Vg. om. IO SV and made a prey, etc.; Gr. And they plundered whatever was in the city and whatever was in the houses; Syr. And they plundered all that was in the city. " SV odious. 26. This is incredible, but there is nothing incredible in the state ment from the Judean narrative that they (Simeon and Levi) slew Shechem and took Dinah from his house. 27. Here, again, because they (lit. who) had defiled their sister is a gloss. Shechem alone was guilty. 28. For they read And they, thus connecting this verse with 27a. The latter half of the verse might be rendered, both those (flocks, etc.) that were in the city, and those that were in the field. 29. The latter part of the verse, which is evidently a fragment from the Judean narrative and the continuation of v. 26, should read, And they plundered all that was in the house. 30. The older version of this story, it seems, was less gruesome than the later, involving the death of but one person, and he the one that had seriously offended against his slayers. It now appears that Jacob himself had no hand in the death of Shechem. Indeed, he promptly and severely condemns the act as being unwise as well as cruel, saying to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me. The expres sion is one of deep distress. See Jud. 11 : 35. To make me to stink is a Hebrew idiom for making me odious. The Canaanites and the Periz zites do not belong here. Hamor, according to v. 2, was a Hivite. 259 34 : 31 GENESIS I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and smite me; and I shall be de- 31. stroyed, I and my house. And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot? E 35. And "God said unto Jacob, Arise, "go up to Beth-el,1 and "dwell there: and "make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the 2. face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, "Put away the strange2 gods that are among you, and "purify 3. yourselves, and "change your garments : and let us arise, and go up to Beth-el ; and 3 1 will 3 make there an altar unto God, who "answered me in the day of my distress, 1 Gr. the place Bethel. a SV foreign. 3 Gr. Vg. let us. 31. The Judean story closes with this verse; the conclusion of the other version has been omitted. (e) The return to Bethel, 35 : 1-15. Jacob in obedience to a divine command, after purging his household, goes up to Bethel, where he builds an altar to his God. While there God appears to him and, after again announcing the change in his name, bestows upon him a blessing. Jacob then sets up another pillar and re names the place Bethel. The first half of the paragraph is almost entirely from the Ephraimite, the second from the Priestly, nar rative. 1. God said unto Jacob ; not long after the affair of Dinah. Go up to Beth-el. Bethel is about a thousand feet higher than Shechem. Dwell there ; make a considerable stay. Make there an altar ; ful filling the vow recorded in 28 : 22. 2. His vow, however, required him not only to build an altar and make certain sacrifices, but to devote himself exclusively to the God of Bethel. Hence his command, Put away the strange gods, which implies that Rachel's teraphim was not the only image brought from Mesopotamia. Purify yourselves; by bathing and carefully abstain ing from everything that defiles, in anticipation of the sacred cere monies at Bethel. Change your garments. The same garments might be used if they were washed. See Ex. 19 : 10 ff. 3. Answered me ; in the theophany at Bethel, when he was fleeing 260 GENESIS 35 : 8 4. and "was with me x in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all 2 the strange 3 gods which were in their hand, and "the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under "the oak 4 which was by 5. Shechem.5 And "they6 journeyed7: and "a great 8 terror 8 was upon the cities that were round about them, and "they did not pursue after 9 the sons of 6. Jacob.9 | So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land P of Canaan (the same is Beth-el), | he and all the people E 7. that were with him. And "he built there an altar, and called 10 the place El-beth-el u : because there God was revealed unto him, when he fled from the face of 12 his 8. brother.12 And Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and 1 Gr. adds, and saved me. a Gr. om. 3 SV foreign. * m. terebinth. 3 Gr. adds, and destroyed them unto this day. 6 Gr. Israel. i Gr. adds, from Shechem. 8 SV terror of God. ° Syr. Jacob and after his sons. ro Gr. Vg. add, the name of. 11 Gr. Vg. Syr. Bethel. Ia Heb. mss. Gr. Syr. Tar. Esau his brother. from Esau. Was with me. Better, has been with me, for the way which I went must include all his experience since he left home. 4. The rings in their ears were surrendered, because, like many of the ornaments worn by modern orientals, men and women, they were regarded as amulets. The oak, or, better, as in the margin, terebinth, is the same near which Abraham encamped. See 12:6. 5. They journeyed. Better, set forth or departed. A great terror ; lit. a terror of God, as in SV. They did not pursue after the sons of Jacob ; to avenge the slaughter of the Shechemites. 6. The first half of this verse is the introduction to the extract from the Priestly narrative beginning at v. 9. 7. He called the place El-beth-el (Tlie God of Bethel). Another writer, in v. 15, says that the name given to it was Bethel, and that, according to the Versions, should be the reading in this passage. In the Judean narrative (24 : 19), also, the name is Bethel, but this authority says that it was given when Jacob visited the place the first time. It seems best to preserve the present reading and explain the discrepancy between this and the other sources as the result of variation from a common tradition. 8. In 24 : 59 Rebekah's nurse is said to have come to Canaan with Abraham's steward. That, according to the Priestly writer, was at least eighty years before Jacob's return from Mesopotamia. 261 35 : 9 GENESIS she was buried below Beth-el under "the oak: and P 9. the name of it was called "Allon-bacuth. | And God appeared unto Jacob "again,1* when he came from R 10. Paddan-aram, and 2 blessed him. | And God said unto him, 3 Thy name is Jacob 3 : thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy p 11. name : 4 and he called his name Israel.4 | And God said unto him, I am 5 God Almighty " : be fruitful and multiply ; " a nation 6 and 7 a company 7 of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 12. and the 8 land which I gave 9 unto Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee * will I 13. I give the land.j And "God went up from him in 10 the 1 Gr. adds, in Luz. a Sam. Gr. add, God. 3 Vg. Syr. om. a Gr. om. s Gr. thy God; Syr. adds, God. 6 Gr. nations. ' Gr. companies. s Gr. this. » Syr. promised. IO Gr. from. See 25 : 20, 26; 26 : 34; 31 : 38. On the basis of the composite story, therefore, she must have been considerably more than a hun dred years of age at her death. This result can be avoided by ignor ing the figures of the Priestly narrative and supposing that tradition was uncertain about the time when Deborah came to Canaan. The oak. Better, an oak, a solitary tree which thenceforward bore her name. In Jud. 4 : 5 it is called a palm, and Rebekah's nurse is confounded with the Deborah the prophetess. The same passage says it was " between Ramah and Bethel." Allon-bacuth ; Oak of weeping. 9. Thus far the Ephraimite author. There follows a parallel passage from the Priestly narrative. The word again at first sight seems to indicate that the author of this work recorded two visits, but it is more probable that it was inserted by the editor, like the reference to " the first famine " in 26 : 1. 10. The hand of the editor is seen in this verse, also. He inter rupts the story he is quoting to give his version of the change in Jacob's name and prepare the reader for the appearance of Israel for Jacob in the Judean narrative from v. 21 onward. The verse is, abbreviated in the Versions. 11 f. On the promises here given see 17 : 5 ff. 13. God went up from him. See 17 : 22. 262 GENESIS 35 : 16 14. place where he spake with him. | And Jacob set up "a E pillar * in the place where he spake with him,t a pillar of stone : and he poured out ' a drink offering 1 thereon, 15. * and poured oil thereon. f | And Jacob called the name P of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el. 16. And they 2 journeyed from Beth-el3; 4 and there was j still "some way to come to "Ephrath * : and Rachel 1 Syr. drink offerings. a Gr. Jacob. 3 Gr. adds, and pitched his lent beyond the tower of Gader. * Gr. and it came to pass when he drew near Chabralha in the land to come to Ephratha; Vg. When in the spring he came to the land that leads to Ephrata; Syr. and he went again the distance of a parasang of land to come to Ephrath. 14. This verse is full of difficulties. It certainly does not belong in its present setting, for the Priestly author would not countenance a pillar. The most plausible disposition of it seems to be to attribute it, in its original form, to the Ephraimite writer, supposing that it once followed v. 8 and described the erection of a monument to Deborah, but was removed to its present position and adjusted to the context by the compiler. See v. 20. The last clause was bor rowed from 28 : 19. It was probably added to indicate that the libation in this, as in the other case, consisted of oil. It may, how ever, have been of wine. The Jews, according to Dt. 26 : 14, some times observed the ancient custom of placing food on the graves of their dead, and it is reasonable to suppose that they also provided them with drink. 15. Here, again, the naming of Bethel is reported, this time by the Priestly author. On the significance of the repetition of the inci dent, see v. 7; also 28 : 19. (f) A pair of misfortunes, 35 : i6-22a. From Bethel Jacob removes to Ephrath. On the way Rachel gives birth to Benjamin, but dies in childbed. At Migdal-eder, the next station, Reuben dishonors his father by an intrigue with Bilhah. Both incidents are from the Judean narrative. 16. Some way; as in 2 Kgs. 5 : 19, probably a short distance. For Ephrath, according to Ruth 4:11, one should read Ephrathah. The location of this place is disputed. In v. 19 it is identified with Bethlehem, and it is clear from Ruth 4:11 and 5 : 2 that Bethlehem was sometimes called by this name. The traditional site of Rachel's grave, therefore, is on the main road southward from Jerusalem, about a mile northwest of Bethlehem. This location is favored by the Greek Version which inserts here 21b, making the first half of 263 35 :*7 GENESIS 17. travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said to her, Fear not ; for "now thou shalt have another 18. son. And it came to pass, as her soul was in 1 departing (°*for she died f), that she called his name "Ben-oni2: 19. but his father called him "Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (°* the same is 20. Beth-lehem |). And Jacob set up a pillar upon her3 grave : the same is "the pillar of 4 Rachel's grave * unto 21. this day. 5 And Israel journeyed,5 6 and spread his tent 22a. beyond the "tower of Eder.6 And it came to pass, 1 SV om. a Gr. son of my sorrow; Syr. son of my sorrows. 3 Syr. Rachel's. * Syr. Rachel. s Gr. om. 6 Gr. inserts in v. 16. this verse read, And Jacob set forth from Bethel, and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Gader. In 1 Sam. 10 : 2, however, the tomb of Rachel is located on the (presumably northern) border of Benjamin, and Jer. 31 : 15 points to the vicinity of Raman, now er-Ram, about five miles north of Jerusalem; and, since Ephraim and Benjamin were Rachel tribes, this seems the more probable site for the grave of their ancestress. 17. Now thou shalt have another son; more exactly, This one also is a son. 18. For she died. Better, when she died, a prosaic gloss to the preceding expression. Ben-oni might mean Son of my vigor (49 : 3), but Son of my sorrow is evidently the author's interpretation of it. See 1 Sam. 4 : 19 ff. Names of this kind were sometimes regarded as a handicap by their bearers. See 1 Chr. 4 : 9 f. Benjamin, which also consists of two words, means Son of the right hand, probably in the sense of Favorite. See Ps. no : 1. 19. In view of what has been said under v. 16 the same is Beth lehem must be treated as a mistaken gloss. 20. The pillar that Jacob set up over Rachel's grave was of the same form and appearance as those he had erected at Bethel. Whether he poured oil or wine on this one, as he did on those at Bethel, there is no means of discovering, but it is altogether probable that the author would have said he did. The Jews of the present day honor Rachel by burning bits of silk or paper at her supposed tomb near Bethlehem. 21. For tower of Eder read Migdal-eder (Flock-tower). The Greek translators seem to have located this place north of Bethlehem, 26 |. GENESIS 35 : 27 while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and "Israel heard of it.1 22b, 23. Now "the sons of Jacob were twelve: the sons of p Leah ; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, 24. and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun : the 2 sons of 25. Rachel; Joseph and Benjamin : and the sons of Bilhah, 26. Rachel's handmaid; Dan and Naphtali: and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, "which 3 were born to him in 27. Paddan-aram. And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba4 (the same is Hebron5), "where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. 1 Gr. adds) and it seemed evil before him. a Gr. Syr. and the. 3 SV who. * Gr. the city of the plain; Syr. the city of the giants. s Gr. adds, in the land of Canaan; Syr. which is in the land of Canaan. probably, in harmony with a Jewish tradition cited by Jerome, and, in his opinion, supported by Mic. 4 : 8, at Jerusalem. If the tomb of Rachel was near Ramah, Migdal-eder may have been anywhere between that place and Hebron; or, if, as some are inclined to be lieve, the name Hebron in 37 : 14 is a late addition, between it and Beer-sheba. In the latter case it might be the Eder mentioned in Josh. 15 : 21 ff. in connection with Beer-sheba. 22 a. Israel heard of it leads one to expect something further. Perhaps, therefore, the Greek Version is correct in adding, and it seemed evil before him, or, as the Hebrew would express it, and it was evil in his eyes. See 48 : 17. . (g) The reunion at Mamre, 35 : 22b-27. To a list of the sons of Jacob is appended a brief notice of the arrival of the family at Hebron, the whole being an extract from the Priestly narrative. 22b. The sons of Jacob were twelve; including Benjamin. On this favorite number see 25 : 2 ff., 13 ff. 23. Note the order of the names of the women. In 48 : 8 ff. it is Leah, Zilpah, Rachel, Bilhah. 26. Which (SV who) were born to him in Paddan-aram. Here, again, Benjamin is included. See, also, 48 : 7. where there is a ref erence to the death of Rachel, but none to the birth of Benjamin. Compare vs. 16 ff. . 27. Where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. The partiality of the 265 35 : 28 GENESIS p 28. 29. p 36. R 2. And the days of Isaac ' were an hundred and four score years. And Isaac 2 gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, old and full of days : and "Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.3 Now these are the generations of "Esau (the same is "Edom) . | Esau * took his wives of "the daughters * Gr. adds, which he lived. a Gr. he. 3 Syr. adds, in the grave that Abraham his father bought. * Gr. And Esau. author for Hebron is apparent. According to 25:11; 26 123; 28: 10 (J), Isaac's home since his marriage has been in the South. (6) The end of the history of Isaac, 35 : 28-37 : x The final division of the history of Isaac records his death and appends a genealogy of the Edomites. (a) The death of the patriarch, 35 : 28 f., Isaac dies and his sons bury him. The source is the Priestly. 28. The impression that one gets from this verse is that Isaac died soon after his son's return. The author could not, however, have meant anything of the kind, since, if he allowed twenty years for the sojourn in the East and ten years more for that at Succoth or Shechem, he could not make Isaac at this time more than a hundred and thirty years of age. See 25 : 26 ; 26 : 34. It is probable, therefore, that the death of Isaac is inserted here because the writer wished to close his history of Isaac and begin that of Jacob. See 25 : 7, where the death of Abraham immediately follows the marriage of Isaac, although the patriarch then had thirty-five years to live. 29. Esau and Jacob ; the former being still in Canaan and at peace with his brother. See 36 : 6 ; compare 32:3. (b) The records of Edom, 36 : 1-37 : 1. The section contains a collection of genealogical material pertaining, not only to the de scendants of Esau, but to the people that they supplanted, and a list of the early kings of the country. It is largely from Priestly sources, but the compiler drew also from the Judean narrative. The first topic is (a) The migration of Esau, 36 : 1-8. The author, after giving the names of Esau's wives and the sons they bore him in Canaan, tells how he left the land of his birth and gives the reason for his removal. 1. In 25 : 25 Esau and Edom were identified, the red one (Edom) being called Esau. 2 f. The daughters of Canaan, as the punctuation indicates, do 266 GENESIS 36:5 of Canaan ; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, "the daughter J* of 3. Zibeon the Hivite ; and "Basemath 2* Ishmael's daughter, 4. sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bare to Esau "Eliphaz; 5. and Basemath bare "Reuel; and Oholibamah bare "Jeush, and Jalam,3 and "Korah: these are the sons of Esau which * were "born unto him in Canaan. | 1 Sam. Gr. Syr. son. a Sam. Mahalath. 3 Vg. Ihelon; Syr. Jalon. *SV wlto. not include Basemath. The names and relations of the three wives of Esau, as here given, differ from those in 26 : 34 and 28 : 9. The variations will appear in the following table : 26:34 28:9 36:2f. 26:34 28:9 36:2f. Judith Adah Beeri Elon (Hittite) ^^"^ (Hittite) Basemath-^^^ Oholibamah Elon-^""^ Anah (Hittite) (Horite) Mahalath """^-Basemath Ishmael Ishmael (Sam. Mahalath) The discrepancies, except one, cannot be harmonized, but must be explained as variations in tradition. The daughter is an evident mistake for the son of Zibeon. The descriptive phrase was added to distinguish the Anah here meant from another who was a brother of Zibeon. See vs. 20 and 24 ; also the Samaritan text and the Greek and Syriac reading. Zibeon is here called a Hivite, but in v. 24 more correctly the Horite. For Basemath read, with the Samaritans, Mahalath. 4. The name Eliphaz is found in the list of Job's friends. See Jb. 2:11. There, however, he is a Temanite, i.e., a son of Teman, while here Teman is one of his sons. The appearance of the name Reuel in this connection is not surprising, since it is one of the names of Moses' father-in-law, a Midianite. See Num. 10 : 29. Compare Jud. 4:11, where Hobab is called a Kenite. 5. The names of the first and third of the sons of Oholibamah were in use among the Hebrews. On Jeush see 1 Chr. 7 : 10 ; 8:39; 23 : 10 ff.; 2 Chr. 11 : 19. On Korah see 1 Chr. 2 : 43, where it is the name of a Calebite, a son of Hebron. Neither of the three can be identified with any known Edomite place or family. The pains taken to note that these are the sons of Esau born unto him in Canaan 267 36 : 6 GENESIS P 6. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, l and his cattle,1 and all his beasts, and all his possessions, which he had gath ered in the land of Canaan ; and went °2 into a land 2 7. away from his brother Jacob. For their substance was too great for them to dwell together; and the land of their sojournings could not bear them because of 3 "their 8. cattle. And Esau dwelt in mount Seir : Esau is Edom. R 9. And these are the generations of Esau the father of 10. the Edomites in mount Seir : these 4 are the names of Esau's sons ; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, n. Reuel5 the son of Basemath 6 the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eliphaz were "Teman, °7 Omar, "Zepho,7 12. and "Gatam, and "Kenaz. * And "Timna was concu- 1 Gr. and all his cattle; Syr. om. a Sam. Gr. from the land of Canaan; Syr. to the land of Seir; Tar. into another land. 3 Gr. adds, the multitude of. * Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. and these. s Gr. Vg. Syr. and Reuel. 6 Sam. Mahalath. 1 Sam. Syr. and Omar and Zephar; Gr. Oman, Sophar; 1 Chr. 1 : 36, and Omar, Zephi. might imply that he afterward had others; but none are men tioned. 6. On the wealth of Esau see 33 : 9. For into a land read, with the Syriac Version, to the land of Seir. Compare 32:3, where Esau is represented as having already removed to Seir before Jacob's return from the East. 7. Their cattle ; more exactly, as in the Greek Version, the multitude of their cattle. See 13 : 6a. (6) The children of Esau, 36 : 9-19. The names of Esau's sons by his three wives are repeated, and the genealogy through the first and the third is carried to the third generation. The whole para graph is late, and apparently by the same hand as vs. 2-5. 11. Teman is sometimes used of a place or district in Edom, and sometimes of the whole country. See Am. 1:12; Ezek. 25 : 13. Where the place or district was it is impossible to say with confidence, but the passage from Ezekiel seems to point to the northern part. For Omar (Gr. Oman), Zepho, read, with the Samaritans and the Syriac Version, and Omar, and Zepho. Neither of these names has been identified. The same is the case with Gatam. On Kenaz see 15 : 19. 12, Timna, according to v. 22, was a daughter of Seir. She is 268 GENESIS 36 : 16 bine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek : f "these are the sons of Adah Esau's wife. 13. And these are the sons of Reuel ; "Nahath, and 1 "Zerah, "Shammah, and "Mizzah: these were the sons of Base- 14. math 2 Esau's wife. And these were the sons of Oholi bamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter 3 of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jalam,4 15. and Korah. "These are the dukes 5 of the sons of Esau : the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau ; duke Teman, 16. duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke "Kenaz, °*6duke Korah,6f duke "Gatam,7 °* duke Amalek f : these are the dukes 1 Gr. om. a Sam. Mahalath. 3 Sam. Gr. son. * Vg. Ihelom; Syr. Jalon. 3 SV chiefs, here and elsewhere. 6 Sam. om. ^ Gr. Gotha; Syr. transposes with Korah.here concubine to Eliphaz and mother of the Amalekites. This means that the Amalekites were not recognized as genuine Edomites. They were almost always a thorn in the flesh to the Hebrews. Ac cording to Ex. 17 : 8 ff., they attacked the children of Israel during the Exodus. Later they foiled the first attempt to enter Palestine. See Num. 14 : 45. They then had possession of the South. See Num. 13 : 29. There Saul found and smote them (1 Sam. 15 : 7 f.), and David finally subdued them. See 1 Sam. 30 : 1 ff. These are the sons of Adah takes no account of Amalek ; the first part of this verse is therefore probably an interpolation. 13. Hahath, Zerah, and Shammah all occur as personal names of Hebrews. Here they seem to denote Edomite families, but these families have not been identified. The same is the case with Mizzah. 14. The names of the sons of Oholibamah are merely repeated, without additions for the third generation. These, with the grand sons of Esau by the other two wives, and without the son of the con cubine of v. 12, make twelve. See 25 : 2 ff., 13 ff.; 35 : 23. 15. These, viz., the twelve just enumerated, are the dukes (SV chiefs) of the sons of Esau. In the list that follows there are two variations from the preceding. Thus, Kenaz here comes before, not after, Gatam. 16. Duke Korah, which occurs twice, should be omitted from this verse, as it is by the Samaritans. Duke Amalek, also, to judge from v. 12, is a later addition. Thus the number of the tribes that sprang from Esau becomes twelve. (c) The children of Seir, 36 : 20-30. This paragraph is constructed 269 36 : 17 GENESIS that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom ; these are the 17. sons of Adah. And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah : these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath1 Esau's 18. wife. And these are the sons of Oholibamah Esau's wife ; duke Jeush, duke Jalam,2 duke Korah : these are the dukes 3 that came of Oholibamah, the daughter of 19. Anah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, and these are their dukes: the same is Edom. r 20. These 4 are the sons of "Seir "the Horite, the inhabit ants of the land; "Lotan and "Shobal and "Zibeon 21. and "Anah, and "Dishon and "Ezer5 and "Dishan6: these are the dukes that came of the Horites, the children 7 22. of Seir in the land of Edom. And the children of Lotan 1 Sam. Mahalath. ' Vg. Ihelom; Syr. Jalon. 3 Syr. sons. * Sam. Gr. Syr. Tar. And these. s Gr. Soar. 6 Gr. Reison. i Gr. Vg. son. on the same plan as the foregoing, — first a genealogy of the family, and then an enumeration of the heads of its branches. It, also, is the work of a priestly hand. 20. Hitherto Seir has been a synonym for Edom ; here it is the name of the eponymous ancestor of the inhabitants of the country. The name, which means He-goat, is a very appropriate one for a moun taineer. He is described as the Horite, from Heb. hor, hole, because the people of Petra, the capital of Edom, many of them, lived in dwellings hewn in the cliffs surrounding a little valley in the mountain. Lotan has been compared with Lot, but it can hardly denote the same person or family. See 19 : 30 ff. Shobal is a son of Caleb in 1 Chr. 2 : 50, but in 4 : 1 a son of Judah ; which, being interpreted, means that the people so designated lived on the border between Canaan and Edom. Zibeon cannot be identified. The Anah here meant is not the same as the one mentioned in v. 2, who is described as the son (daughter) of Zibeon. He has not been identified. 21. Dishon and Ezer, also, are unknown. The Ezer of 1 Chr. 4 : 4 is a different name. For Dishan one should perhaps read, with the Greek Version, Rishon. See 10 : 4. The latter part of this verse anticipates v. 29, and is therefore probably an interpolation. It has no place in this connection. 270 GENESIS 36 : 26 were "Hori and "Hemam1; and Lotan's sister was 23 "Timna. And these are the children of Shobal ; "Alvan 2 and "Manahath and "Ebal,3 "Shepho4 and "Onam.5 24. And these are the children of Zibeon ; "Aiah 6 and "Anah 7 : this is Anah "who found the *8 hot springs 8f in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his 25. father. And these are the children of "Anah ; Dishon 26. and "Oholibamah 9 the daughter of Anah.0 And these 1 Syr. 1 Chr. 1 : 30, Homam. a 1 Chr. 1 : 40, Allan. 3 Syr. Vbal; Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. add, and. * Gr. Sophar; Syr. Shophor; 1 Chr. 1 : 40, Shephi. s Gr. Onan; Syr. Uyam. 6 So Gr. Vg. Syr.; Heb. and Ajah; Syr. Ana. ' Gr. Onan. a Sam. Emim; Tar. giants. 1 Syr. om. 22. Hori is a general term applied to a special tribe, probably the one that occupied the district in which Petra was situated. Hemam, in 1 Chr. 1 : 39 Homam, has not been identified. On Timna see v. 12. In v. 40 Timna is one of the chiefs that came of Esau. 23. Alvan, in 1 Chr. 1 : 40 Allan, is by some supposed to have been preserved in the name of an Arab tribe, the Alawin, found by Burck- hardt near the head of the Gulf of Akaba. See Alvah, v. 40. Mana hath, according to 1 Chr. 8 : 6, was a city or region, and, according to 1 Chr. 2 : 32 ff., the Manahathites were a branch of the Calebites. For Ebal the Syriac Version has here, as in 10 : 28, the equivalent of Obal. For Shepho 1 Chr. 1 : 40 reads Shephi, the Syriac Version Sho phor, and some Greek manuscripts Sophar, as in v. 11. Neither Ebal nor Shepho has been located. Onam, for which the Greek Version has Onan, and the Syriac Uyam (Unan?), is probably the same who in 1 Chr. 2 : 26 ff. is a son of Jerahmeel. 24. Aiah is unknown. Anah is distinguished from the son of Seir (v. 20) as the one who found the hot springs in the wilderness. The rendering hot springs is unsupported except by the Vulgate. The Samaritans read Emim, and the Targum has giants, which are worse. The difficulty is best met by transposing two of the letters of the original, when the word in question becomes the one for water. The discovery of water in the desert, especially if, as Buhl suggests, it was the springs at Ma'an, east of Petra, would have made any one's reputa tion. 25. Anah is here the one of v. 20. Oholibamah is here identified with the second wife of Esau (v. 2), but it is possible that the descrip tive phrase should be omitted, as it is in the Syriac Version. If this change were made, the person or tribe here meant might be the one designated by the same name in v. 41. 271 36 : 27 GENESIS are the children of Dishon1; "Hemdan2 and Eshban 27. and "Ithran and Cheran. "These3 are the children of 28. Ezer4; "Bilhan5 and °Zaavan6and "Akan.7 These8 29. are the children of Dishan 9 ; "Uz and "Aran.10* These " are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, 30. duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, duke Dishon,12 duke Ezer,13 duke Dishan ° : these are the dukes that came of the Horites, according to their dukes in the land of Seir. R 31. And these are the kings that reigned in the land of 1 So Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr.; Heb. Dishan. a 1 Chr. 1 : 41, Hamran. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. And these. * Gr. Soar. s Syr. Chalhon. 6 Gr. Zoukam, Zoukan. ' Gr. loukam and Oukam or Oukan; 1 Chr. 1 : 42, Jaakan. 8 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. And. these. » Gr. Reison. IO Heb. mss. Gr. Vg. Tar. Aram. " Gr. mss. Syr. And these. Ia So Sam. Vg. Syr.; Gr. Reison; Heb. Dishan. *3 Gr. Soar. 26. For Hemdan 1 Chr. 1 : 41 has Hamran, but even in this form the name defies identification. The other three sons of Dishon are likewise unknown. Ithran is perhaps the Jetheth of v. 40, whom the Greek Version calls Iether. 27. For these read And these, with the Samaritans and the Versions. On Bilhan see Bilhah, the name of a Simeonite city (1 Chr. 4 : 29), as well as of one of Jacob's concubines. Zaavan, for which the Samar itans read Zoan and the Greek Version has Zoukam or Zoukan, is unknown ; so also Akan, in 1 Chr. 1 : 42 Jaakan. For this last the Greek has two names, which, however, seem to be but two forms of the same original. 28. Here, also, the verse should begin with And these. On Uz see 10 : 23 ; 22 : 21. The relation between Uz and Aram was so generally recognized that those manuscripts of the original text are probably correct in which the latter name here takes the place of Aran ; especially as they are supported by the Vulgate and the Targum, and some Greek manuscripts. 29. There follows a list of the chiefs of Seir. Note that in this in stance they are the sons, and not the grandsons, of the founder, and that they are seven, and not twelve, in number. (d) The kings of Edom, 36 : 31-39. The names of the succes sive kings are given, sometimes with their parentage, and in all cases but one with the name of the city or province to which they belonged. The whole paragraph, except the introductory verse, is attributed to the Judean author. 272 GENESIS 36 : 35 Edom, before there reigned any king D1 over the children 32. of J Israel. | And "Bela2 the son of Beor reigned in 33. Edom; and the name of his city was "Dinhabah. And Bela2 died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of "Bozrah 34. reigned in his stead. And Jobab died, and Husham3 35. of the land of the "Temanites reigned in his stead. And Husham 3 died, and "Hadad the son of Bedad,4 who 1 Gr. in. a Gr. Balak. s Gr. Asom; Syr. Hashum. « Gr. Bared. 31. The latter half of the verse is not so clear in the original as in the translation. The received text, literally rendered, reads, not over, but to, the children of Israel, which might be, and has been, inter preted as meaning that the kings named reigned before a king of the children of Israel reigned over Edom, i.e., before the time of David. The more natural interpretation, however, is the one adopted by the English translators, and it is supported by the Greek and Latin Ver sions. These kings, then, are those that ruled in Edom before the establishment of the Hebrew monarchy by Saul. When the first began his reign there is no means of learning. According to Num. 20 : 14, it was before the Exodus. This passage is entirely in harmony with such an opinion, for, if these kings reigned on an average twenty- five years, the monarchy must have been established before 1215 B.C. 32. The similarity between Bela and Balaam, and the circumstance that both are sons of a Beor, led the Jews to identify them. Some modern scholars have adopted this opinion, which seems to be favored by the fact that in Num. 22 : 5, in its original (Samaritan) form, Balaam is represented as coming from " the land of the children of Ammon," and in Num. 31 : 8 it is narrated that he was slain in the expedition of the Hebrews against the Midianites. See Gray, Num bers, 314 ff. That Bela is a king and Balaam a seer, is not a serious difficulty. There was a Dinhabah in Moab, but it can hardly be the one here meant unless Moab was at that time reckoned to Edom. See v. 35. The mention of the home of the king indicates that the office was not hereditary, but elective. There is therefore no reason why it should not have existed at the same time with the chieftaincies. 33. Bozrah, the residence of Jobab, once an important city, is usually identified with el-Busaireh, a village on the road from Kerak to Petra, about fifteen miles southeast of the Dead Sea. 34. On Teman, the place from which Husham came, see v. 11. 35. Hadad is the well-known name of the Syrian storm-god. It is x 273 36:36 GENESIS smote Midian 1 in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead ¦ 36. and the name of his city was "Avith.2 And Hadad died, and Samlah of "Masrekah reigned in his stead. 37. And Samlah died, and "Shaul of "Rehoboth by the 38. River reigned in his stead. And Shaul died, and "Baal-hanan the son of Achbor 3 reigned in his stead. 39. And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor 3 died, and "Hadar 4 reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was "Pau 5; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daugh ter of Matred, °*the daughter of t Me-zahab. 1 Sam. Tar. the Midianite. a Gr. Getlhaim; Syr. Gewilh. 3 Syr. Abakur. 4 Heb. mss. Sam. Syr. Hadad; Gr. Arath, Arad, Adad. s Gr. Phogor. usually found in combination with another word, as in Ben-hadad and Hadad-ezer. The appearance of it here indicates a strong Ara- mean influence in Edom. The name seems to have been a favorite. There are no fewer than three royal persons who bore it, viz., this fourth king and the eighth, and a prince who troubled the reign of Solomon. See 1 Kgs. 11 : 14 ff. Avith is by some supposed to be the original of Ghuweite, the name of a range of hills east of Moab. 36. Masrekah is supposed to have been situated in northern Edom. 37. The name of the sixth king, Shaul, is the same that is rendered Saul when it means the first Hebrew king. Rehoboth by the River is not an exact translation. The name is formed after the analogy of Rehoboth-ir in 10 : 11, and means, literally, The streets of the river the river not being necessarily the Euphrates, as the translators sup posed, but any considerable stream, like the Arnon or the Jabbok. 38. In the name Baal-hanan there is evidence of the influence of Phcenicia, whose god Baal was the strongest rival of Yahweh. This king is the only one of the eight whose residence is not given. 39. For Hadar read, with some Hebrew, Samaritan, and Greek manuscripts, and the Syriac Version, Hadad, as in v. 35. See also 1 Chr. 1 : 50. For Pau 1 Chr. 1 : 50 has Pai, and the Greek Version, perhaps correctly, Phogor, i.e., Peor, a mountain not far from Hesh- bon, westward. Me-zahab is probably the name of a place, and, in deed, the one called in Dt. 1 : 1, by mistake, Di-zahab. Read, there fore, not the daughter of, but from, Me-zahab. (e) The chiefs of Esau, 36 : 40-37 : i. The passage contains a second list of the heads of the Edomites which differs throughout from 274 GENESIS 37 40. And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names 1 ; duke "Timnah, duke "Alvah,2 duke 41. "Jetheth3; duke "Oholibamah, duke "Elah, duke 42. "Pinon; duke "Kenaz, duke "Teman, duke "Mibzar; 43 . duke "Magdiel, duke "Iram * : these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations 5 in the land of their possession. This is Esau the father of the Edom- 37. ites. And "Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's so- journings, in the land of Canaan. 1 Gr. countries, and by their nations. a Syr. Anwa. 3 Gr. mss. Iether. * Gr. Zaphoein; Syr. Giram. s Sam. families. the one given in vs. 15-19. It is supposed to have been derived from the Priestly narrative. 40. This list is found, also, in 1 Chr. 1 : 51 ff., where it is introduced by the statement, "And Hadad died," as if the Chronicler under stood that the chiefs here enumerated were those among whom the country was divided after the death of the last king. Timnah, whose name should be spelled Timna, as it is in vs. 12 and 22, is here trans formed into a man. Alvah, in 1 Chr. 1 : 40 Aliah, is probably the Alvan of v. 25. For Jetheth some Greek manuscripts have Iether, perhaps the Ithran of vs. 26 and 41. 41. Oholibamah, also, who has hitherto appeared as a woman, here becomes a man. Elah is generally identified with Elath or Eloth, now Aila, the seaport at the head of the Gulf of Akaba whence Solomon despatched his fleets. See 1 Kgs. 9 : 26. On its later fortunes see 2 Kgs. 8 : 20 ; 14 : 22 ; 16 : 6. In the last of these passages read, "At that time the king of Edom recovered Elath for Edom, and the Edomites came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day." Pinon is the Punon of Num. 33 : 42, one of the stations on the route of the Israelites along the eastern border of Edom. 42. On Kenaz and Teman see v. n. Mibzar, later Mabsara, was a place in northern Edom. 43. Magdiel and Iram have not been identified. For the latter the Greek Version has Zaphoein. The one can hardly be a mistake for the other. Perhaps both should be retained, and the number thus increased to twelve. 37 : 1. The paragraph closes with a verse that seems originally to have followed v. 8. It records that, after the departure of Esau, Jacob dwelt in the land of Canaan. 27S 37 =2 GENESIS 3. Jacob and his Family, 37 : 2-50 : 26 2. These 1 are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being "seventeen years old, "was feeding the flock with his brethren ; * and he was 2 a lad 2| with the sons of Bil hah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and "Joseph brought the evil report of them unto 3 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. And these. a Syr. growing up. 3 Gr. adds, Israel. There is doubtless considerable historical material in chapter 36, but more time and space are required to bring it out than can be given to it in this connection. The above discussion, however, ought to have shown that the Hebrews and the Edomites were indeed closely related and that the intercourse between the two peoples was more lively and intimate than one would gather from the later books. The third and last subdivision under the general head of the Pa triarchal Period has to do with Jacob after his return to Canaan, and his sons, especially Joseph. The last at once becomes prominent, the first section being devoted to (1) The disappearance of Joseph, 35 : 2-36 The partiality of Jacob for his youngest son and the young man's own imprudence so offend the other sons that, when Jacob sends him to inquire after them and the flock, they plan to kill him ; but Reuben persuades them to throw him into an empty cistern, and finally, by the advice of Judah, they sell him to a company of merchants, who dis pose of him as a slave in Egypt. The first verse is from the Priestly source, but the rest is composed, in about equal parts, of brief extracts from the Judean and Ephraimite narratives. 4. Seventeen years old. The writer (P), reckoning from the last year of Jacob's second term of service with Laban, seems to have allowed ten years for the sojourn at Succoth or Shechem. He must have made Jacob seventy years of age at the time. The statement that Joseph was feeding the flock with his brethren can only mean that he shared with them the care of the flock. Compare 13 f. Joseph brought the evil report of them ; reported things unworthy of them, or injurious to their father, of which they had been guilty. This, ac cording to the author, was the reason for their hatred of him. Compare vs. 3 and 8. 276 GENESIS 37 : 8 3. their father. | Now Israel loved Joseph "more than all J his children, * because "he was the son of his old age f : 4. and he made him D1 a coat of many colours.1 And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all 2 his brethren 2 ; and they hated him, and could not 5 . "speak peaceably unto him. | And Joseph dreamed "a E dream, and he told it to his brethren : *3 and "they 6. hated him yet the more.3f And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7. for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright ; and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and made obeisance 8. to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? or shalt thou indeed have domin ion over us ? | And they hated him yet the more for his R ' ra. a long garment with sleeves. a Gr. Vg. his children; Syr. ofthem. 3 Gr. om. 3. More than all, i.e., all the rest, of his children. He was the son of his old age. Better, a child of old age. The clause, however, is out of place in this connection, since, according to the Judean writer, Jacob cannot have been an old man when Joseph was born. Indeed, as will appear later, he was still at this time to be blessed with another son. A coat of many colours. Better, as in the margin, a robe with long sleeves, sleeves reaching to the hands ; a, garment fit for a prince. See 2 Sam. 13 : 18. The ordinary tunic reached only to the knees, and had no sleeves. 4. Speak peaceably unto him. Better, perhaps, salute him. The neglect of the ordinary salutation would be a manifestation of the strongest displeasure. 5. The Ephraimite author has a still different explanation for the conduct of Joseph's brethren ; it was a dream. This being his first reason, he cannot have said that they hated him yet the more, which must have been added by the compiler. Note, too, how it disturbs the connection. 7. The nature of the dream indicates that, according to the Ephra imite narrator, Jacob tilled the soil as well as kept flocks and herds at this time. 8. The last clause of this verse also must be regarded as an editorial addition. The proper place for such a statement would be in v. n. 277 37 : 9 GENESIS E 9. dreams, and for his words. | And he dreamed yet an other dream, and told it x to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and "eleven stars made obeisance to 10. me. ** And he told it to his father, and to his breth ren 2 ; f and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and "thy mother and thy brethren indeed come 11. to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And "his J brethren envied him ; but "his father kept the saying in 12. mind. | And his brethren went to feed their father's 13. flock "in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do 3 not E thy brethren feed 4 the flock in Shechem ? come, and I will send thee unto them. | And he 5 said to him, Here 1 Gr. adds, to his father and. a Gr. om. 3 S V Are. * SV feeding. s Gr. Is rael; Syr. his father. 9. Eleven stars ; not, as in AV, the eleven stars. The number denotes that at this time, according to the Ephraimite version, Ben jamin had already been born. See below. 10. Joseph has already in v. 9 told his dream. It is therefore unnecessary that the fact should be repeated. Thy mother. The reference to Rachel implies that she was still alive. n. His brethren envied him; the result anticipated by the editor in vs. 5, 10. His father kept the saying, better, matter, in mind, suspecting that it might be prophetic. See Lk. 2 : 19. 12. The flock was in Shechem while, according to the same author (J) in v. 14, the camp was at Hebron. These statements are utterly inconsistent with each other and with the previous history ; for, if Jacob really had to leave Shechem on account of the affair of Dinah, he could not have left his flock behind him or sent it back to that region. Oriental animosity does not subside so rapidly as that would indicate. In v. 14, therefore, Hebron must be a substitute for Succoth ; in other words, according to the Judean narrative in its original form, the betrayal of Joseph occurred while Jacob was still en camped at the latter place. On this supposition it is not incredible that Jacob should have sent his flock to Shechem, or that he should not know that his sons had left that place for Dothan. 13. The Ephraimite version was different. Its author represents 27S GENESIS 14. am I. And he said to him, Go now, see whether it be l well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. | So he sent him out of "the J 15. vale of Hebron,* and he came to Shechem. And "a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field : and the man asked him, saying, What seekest 16. thou? And he said, I seek2 my brethren: tell me, I 17. pray thee, where they are feeding the flock. And the man said, They are departed hence : for I heard them 3 say, Let us go to "Dothan. And Joseph went after his 18. brethren, and found them in Dothan. And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, 19. they conspired against him to "slay him. | And they E said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 'SV«. a SV am seeking. 3 So Sam.; Heb. om. Jacob as calling Joseph and sending him, without preface or prepa ration, to see how it was with the flock and its keepers. This he would naturally do if the camp were at Shechem and the flock in the neighborhood. It is therefore probable that in the Ephraimite narrative both the birth of Benjamin and the disappearance of Joseph preceded the affair of Dinah. See v. 10; 35 : 26. 14. The latter half of this verse is the continuation of v. 13a. The vale of Hebron. The term vale sounds strange when applied to Hebron, but it is precisely the one to describe the district in which Succoth was situated. Read, therefore, as in Ps. 60: 6|8, the vale of Succoth. See v. 12. 15. A certain man ; or a divine messenger in human shape. 17. The place to which Joseph was directed, Dothan, now Dotan, is a beautiful stretch of comparatively level country which is reached about thirteen miles north of Shechem. Near the south end of it is a small hill on and about which the ancient city of the same name is supposed to have been situated. See 2 Kgs. 6 : 13 ff. Near it is a spring, which is traditionally, and of course mistakenly, identified with the pit into which Joseph was cast by his brethren. 18 f. The authors here represented agree that it was the intention of Joseph's brethren, from the moment they saw him, to slay him, but, as will appear, they differ in their accounts of what actually occurred when he arrived. 279 37 :*9 37 : 20 GENESIS 20. Come now therefore, and let us slay him,* and cast him into one of the pits,f and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and "we shall see what will become of J 21. his dreams. | And "Reuben* heard it, and "delivered him out of their hand; and said, Let us not take his E 22. life. | And "Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this "pit that is "in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of J 23. their hand, to "restore him to his father. | And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that "they stript Joseph of ¦ his coat,1 the coat of many colours E 24. that was on him ; | and they took him, and "cast him into the pit : and the pit was empty, there was no water 1 Gr. Syr. om. 20. We shall see implies that Joseph himself at least took his dreams seriously. 21. The first to protest against the plan proposed is said to have been Reuben, but it is probable that this verse is from the Judean narrative, and that the subject was originally Judah, as it is in v. 26. He delivered him out of their hand by preventing them from imme diately carrying their plan into execution. See v. 23. 22. It was Reuben, and not Judah, according to the Ephraimite version, who thus intervened, and with a positive alternative, to throw him into a pit, one of the rock-hewn cisterns, shaped like a bottle, which are found everywhere in the country, and which have often been used for dungeons. See Jer. 38 : 6 ff. This one was the better adapted for the purpose because it was in the wilderness, an unin habited region, where the cries of the prisoner would not be likely to be heard. Reuben's object was to deliver Joseph from the cistern secretly and restore him to his father. See further v. 24. 23. This verse continues v. 21. The brothers, in deference to Judah, spared Joseph's life, but they stript him of his obnoxious coat. 24. The Ephraimite author now proceeds to say that the brothers actually cast him into the pit, as Reuben, according to v. 22, recom mended. This, according to the Ephraimite author, was the last that the other sons of Jacob had to do with Joseph. 25. The Judean reports that, after his brothers had stripped 280 GENESIS 37 : 28 25. in it. | And "they sat down to eat bread: and they j lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, "a 1 travel ling company 1 of Ishmaelites came 2 from "Gilead, with their "camels bearing "spicery 3 and "balm * and 26. "myrrh,5 going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our 27. brother and "conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the 6 Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for "he is our brother, our 7 flesh. And his brethren 28. hearkened " unto him.8 | And there passed by "Midian- E ites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, | and sold Joseph to the "Ishmaelites J for "twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph 1 SV caravan. a SV was coming. 3 m. gum tragacanth or slorax. « m. mastic. im.ladanum. b Gr. these. ? Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. and our. 8 So Syr. Tar.; Vg.unto his words; Heb. om. Joseph of his coat, they sat down to eat, and, while eating, saw a travelling company of Ishmaelites. The writer here forgets himself and represents Ishmael, Jacob's uncle, as already a people. The train consists of camels, in the management of which the Ishmaelites were adepts. See 1 Chr. 27 : 30. They came from Gilead, having crossed the Jordan at Bethshean and reached Dothan by the route on which now lies Jenin. Spicery: according to Post, more precisely perfumes. Balm; the so-called "Mecca balsam," once produced at Jericho, but no longer found anywhere in Palestine. Myrrh ; or ladanum. All three are among the things enumerated in 43 : n as products of the country. 26. Conceal his blood; cover it with earth, and thus appease his shade. See 4 : 10; Is. 26 : 21 ; Ezek. 24 : 7 f. Judah's idea is that, if they escape detection, they will make nothing by the deed pro posed, while, if they sell him, they will be so much the gainers. 27. He is our brother; an argument only less strong against his plan than against that of his brothers. 28. The traders to whom Judah proposed to sell Joseph he called Ishmaelites. Here the passing caravan consists of Midianites, who do not buy Joseph of his brothers, but rescue him from the cistern into which he has been thrown. This is the natural interpretation, and it is confirmed by the fact that Reuben knows nothing of the removal of Joseph from the cistern. It is the Judean author who, 281 37 : 29 GENESIS E 29. into Egypt. | And "Reuben returned unto the pit ; and, behold, "Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his 30. clothes. And "he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child 1 is not x ; and I, whither shall I go ? And 31. they took "Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and j 32. dipped the coat in the blood; | and they "sent "the E coat of many colours, | and "they brought it 2 to their father; and said, "This have we found: know now 33. whether it be3 thy son's coat or not. And he knew it, and said, 4 It is * my son's coat ; an evil beast hath de- j voured him ; | Joseph 5 is "without doubt torn in pieces. | E 34. And "Jacob rent his garments, and "put sackcloth upon 1 Syr. where is he. ' So Sam. Syr.; Heb. om. 3 SV is. * So Sam. Gr. Syr.; Heb. om. s Syr. adds, my son. in the latter half of the verse, records the sale of Joseph, but to the Ishmaelites. Twenty pieces of silver; according to Lev. 27 : 2 ff., the legal value of a person between five and twenty years of age. Compare Ex. 21 : 32. 29. Reuben returned unto the pit ; as soon as he could escape from the company of his brothers. Joseph was not in the pit ; because, according to 28a, the Midianites had rescued him. 30. He returned unto his brethren ; who were as ignorant as he what had become of the boy. 31. Joseph's coat; not here, so far as can be learned, the princely robe that has been described, but an ordinary tunic. 32. It is the Judean author who calls it the coat of many colours, or, as before explained, the long robe with sleeves. Note that he says they sent it, as they would naturally do by one of their number, from Dothan. The next clause, they brought it, on the other hand, implies nearness. It is therefore referred to the Ephraimite source, according to which, as has been intimated, the scene is laid in the neighborhood of Shechem. This have we found ; the first coat. There could have been no question about the identity of the other. 33. Without doubt torn in pieces. Better, wholly torn in pieces, the emphasis being, not on the certainty, but the completeness, of the act described. See 43 : 28. 34. Jacob rent his garments; in the first passionate outburst of his grief. Put sackcloth upon his loins ; as a token of unassuaged sorrow. The sackcloth, which was probably in the shape of a 282 GENESIS 37 : 36 35. his loins, and mourned for his son "many days. | And all his sons and "all his daughters ' rose up 1 to com fort him ; but he refused to be comforted ; and he said, For I will go down to °2 the grave 2 to my son mourning. And his father wept for him. | And the Midianites 36. sold him 3 into Egypt unto "Potiphar, °an officer of Pharaoh's, the "captain of the guard. 1 Gr. assembled and came. * SV Sheol. 3 Sam. Gr. Joseph. loin-cloth, was sometimes the mourner's only covering ; so that he was practically naked. See Is. 20 : 2. Hastings, DB, art. Sackcloth. Many days. There seems to have been no fixed period of mourning among the early Hebrews. Joseph mourned for his father only seven days in Canaan, but the Israelites for both Aaron and Moses a whole month. See 50 : 10 ; Num. 20 : 29 ; Dt. 34 : 8. 35. All his daughters. If the text is correct, the term daughters must here include granddaughters. Perhaps, however, since the difference is not so great in Hebrew as it seems in English, the whole clause should read, And all his sons arose and came to comfort him. See the Greek Version. The grave. Better, with SV, Sheol, the underworld, where the Hebrews believed that the departed main tained a shadowy existence after death. See Piepenbring, TOT, 264 ff. 36. The name Potiphar is an abbreviated form of that of the priest of On, whose daughter became Joseph's wife. The fuller form is Potiphera, Eg. Pedypre or Pedephre, meaning Whom the Sun gave. See 41 : 45. It is claimed by Egyptologists that this name belongs to a comparatively late class, and that therefore the story of Joseph can not be earlier than 950 B.C. See Enc. Bib., art. Potiphera. The term rendered an officer means strictly a eunuch, but it seems to have been used in the more general sense of official. This one's duties were those of captain of the guard, or, more exactly, chief of the exe cutioners. The same name is given, 2 Kgs. 25 : 8 ff., to an officer of the Babylonian court. The results of the study of this chapter may be summed up as follows : There are two versions of the story of the disappearance of Joseph, both of which should precede chapter 34. The older (J) re counts that Joseph, being sent from Succoth by his father to visit his brothers at Shechem, found them at Dothan ; that they received him roughly and, but for Judah, would have killed him out of hand ; and that they finally, by Judah's advice, sold him to a company of 283 38 : i GENESIS 38. And it came to pass "at that time, that "Judah went down from his brethren and turned in to a certain Adui- 2. lamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose 1 name was 3. "Shua; and "he took her, and went in unto her. And 1 Syr. fem. Ishmaelite traders on their way to Egypt. The younger (E) nar rates that Joseph was sent from the camp at Shechem to a not distant pasture; that his brothers, on seeing him, proposed to kill him, but were persuaded by Reuben to throw him alive into an empty cistern, whence he intended to rescue him ; and that a company of Midianite merchants, finding him there, drew him out and took him to Egypt. There was another version in the Priestly narrative, but it was omitted, with the exception of v. 2, in favor of the earlier, and doubtless more interesting, forms of the story. (2) Judah and Tamar, 38 : 1-30 Judah marries a Canaanitess by whom he has three sons. The first and the second, one after the other, marry Tamar and die by the hand of Yahweh. Then Judah directs the woman to wait for his youngest son, but, when the boy is grown, he neglects to redeem his promise. Thereupon Tamar, disguising herself as a harlot, en traps Judah and, when she is threatened with death as an adulteress, forces him to acknowledge the paternity of her offspring. She finally gives birth to twins, who are reckoned among the children of Judah. The chapter is taken entire from the Judean narrative. 1. At that time; not, as one would infer from the present connec tion, soon after the disappearance of Joseph; but since chapter 37 must be transferred to the end of chapter 33, and chapter 36 altogether neg lected, after Jacob arrived at Migdal-eder, as described in 35 : 21 f. Judah went down ; as one has to from the highlands of Judea to Adullam, now Aid el-Ma, sixteen miles southwest of Jerusalem, and two south of Wady es-Sunt, the famous Valley of Elah. Here it was that David found a safe refuge for himself and his followers from the fury of Saul. See 1 Sam. 22 : 1 ff. 2. It is not clear from this connection whether Shua is the name of the father or the daughter, but from v. 12 it appears that it is the former who was so called. He took her ; as a wife ; at least, there is no evidence that he had any other wife. This is another instance of the freedom the Hebrews allowed themselves in the matter of 284 GENESIS she conceived, and bare a son; and "he1* called his 4. name "Er. And she conceived again, and bare a 5. son; and she2 called his name Onan. And she yet again bare a son, and 3 called his name Shelah ; and he 4* 6. was at "Chezib, when she bare him. And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was "Tamar. 7. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of 8. the Lord; and 5the Lord5 slew him. And Judah said unto Onan,8 Go in unto thy brother's wife, and perform "the duty of an husband's brother unto her, 9. and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should 7 not be his ; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. ' Sam. Gr. Vg. she. * Syr. lie. 3 Syr. adds, he. * Gr. she. s Gr. God. <• Syr. adds, his son. T SV would. intermarriage with foreigners in early as compared with later times. See 34 : 14 f.; compare Dt. 7:3; Ezr. 9 : 1 ff. Indeed, this whole story betrays a surprising lack of the pride of race for which they have always been distinguished. 3. For he read, with the Samaritans, she. It was the mother, according to the early writers, who named the children. Er. Com pare 1 Chr. 4:21, where he is the son, and not the brother, of Shelah. 5. Chezib is an abbreviated form of Achzib, a name which occurs in Mic. 1 : 14 in connection with Adullam. The place thus desig nated was probably located at the modern Ayn Kezbeh, between two and three miles north of Aid el-Ma. In 1 Chr. 4 : 21 f., where, also, it is connected with Shelah, it is called Cozeba. Here, also, the subject should evidently be feminine. Read, therefore, with the Greek Version, she was at Chezib. 6. Tamar, too, seems to have been a Canaanitess. 8. The duty of an husband's brother ; which was to take the de ceased husband's wife, if he died childless, and if there were children by this second marriage, reckon them to the first husband. For later modifications of the law, see Dt. 25 : 5 ff.; Ruth 4 : 5 f. 9. The construction of the Hebrew is such as to indicate that he repeatedly offended in the manner described. =35 38=9 38 : io GENESIS 10. And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of 1 the ii. Lord1: and he slew him also. Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow in thy father's house, "till Shelah my son be grown up: for he said, "Lest he also die, like his brethren. And 12. Tamar went and dwelt in "her father's house. And in process of time Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died ; and "Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to "Timnah, he and his friend2 Hirah 13. the Adullamite. And it was told Tamar,3 saying, Be hold, thy father in law goeth up to Timnah to shear 14. his sheep. And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and "covered herself with her veil, and "wrapped4 herself, and sat 5"in the gate of "Enaim,5 1 Gr. God. * Gr. shepherd. 3 Sam. adds, his daughter-in-law. * Gr. Syr. Tar. decked, s Vg. Syr. Tar. at the parting of the ways. 11. Till Shelah my son be grown up is a virtual promise, but Judah did not intend to keep it, for he said, to himself, thought, Lest he also die, like his brethren. He suspected it was Tamar's fault, rather than theirs, that he had already lost two sons. See Tob. 37 ff. Her father's house. See Lev. 22 : 13. From v. 14 it would appear that her home was at Enaim. 12. The notice of the death of Judah's wife at first sight seems irrelevant; but this is not the case, since this event made it his duty to marry Tamar if he did not give her to Shelah. The opportunity to remind him of this duty came after Judah was comforted, i.e., when the period of mourning for his wife was ended. He seems to have been living at Adullam, but his flock was at Timnah, now Tibneh, a place about four miles distant in a northeasterly direction. It is mentioned in Josh. 15 : 57 as one of the cities of the hill country. 14. Covered herself; threw a large piece of stuff over her head, that she might not be recognized. See 24 : 65. Wrapped herself. Better, perhaps, with some of the versions, decked herself, to attract Judah's attention. Enaim ; probably the Enam mentioned in Josh. 15 : 34 in connection with Adullam. By taking her place, dressed as she was, in the gate, she advertised herself as a harlot. Her ex cuse for this extraordinary proceeding was the same that Ruth had to offer when she, likewise veiled, lay down beside Boaz on the 286 GENESIS 38 : 20 which is by the way to Timnah ; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife. 15. When Judah saw her, "he thought her to be an harlot; 16. for she had covered her face.1 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee : for he knew not that she was his daughter in law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou 17. mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, 18. Wilt thou give me 2 °a pledge, till thou send it ? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, "Thy signet and "cord, and "thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, 19. and she conceived by him. And she arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and "put on the 20. garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid 1 Gr. adds, and he did not recognize Iter. a So Syr. ; Heb. om. threshing floor at Bethlehem, viz., that the man in the case owed it to her to provide her with a husband or make her his own wife. See Ruth 3 : 3, 7. 15. He thought her to be an harlot. From v. 21 it seems that he took her for one of the women, of whom there were many among the Canaanites, who sacrificed their virtue in the service of Astarte. See Hos. 4 : 13 f. 17. A pledge, till thou send it. Her object was to get something that she could keep as evidence against Judah. See v. 25. 18. Thy signet. The signet was a seal ring. It was sometimes worn on the right hand (Jer. 22 : 24), but Judah carried his on a cord hung about his neck. It was generally carefully guarded, be cause it represented its owner. Hence it became a symbol for any thing precious. See Hag. 2 : 23. Thy staff. The staff is as much a part of a rural oriental's outfit as any part of his dress. In ancient Egypt these staves always had something peculiar about them to mark them as the private property of certain persons. 19. She put on the garments of her widowhood. Having played her part without passion, she resumes her weeds without regret. 287 38: 21 GENESIS of the goats by the hand of his friend i the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand: but he 21. found her not. Then he asked the men of her2 place, saying, "Where is the 3 harlot,4 that was 5 at Enaim by the way side? And they said, There hath been no har- 22. lot4 here. And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found her ; and also the men of the place said, There 23. hath been no harlot4 here. And Judah said, "Let her take 6 it to her,6 7°lest we 7 be put to shame : behold, I 24. sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. And it came to pass about three months after, that "it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, "Bring her forth, and 25. "let her be burnt. "When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I 1 Gr. shepherd. a Sam, Gr. Syr. the. 3 Sam. that. «¦ SV prostitute. 3 Syr. sal. 6 Gr. them. 1 Gr. but let us not ; Syr. lest I. 21. Where is the harlot. On the word here used (SV prostitute) see v. 15. 23. Let her take it to her. In the original the object is omitted, but there can be little doubt that, as the English translators have indicated by supplying the pronoun it, the kid is the thing intended. A better rendering, however, would have been, Let her fetch it for herself. The Greek Version supplies them, referring to the pledges. Lest we be put to shame ; become the laughing-stock of the country side. The author has no intention of picturing Judah as a shameless libertine. 24. It was told Judah ; because Tamar was regarded as pledged to his son, and she had offended against him and his house. Bring her forth ; outside the place. Let her be burnt. So the Philistines burnt Samson's wife, when she deserted him. See Jud. 15 : 6. The later law in such cases is found in Dt. 22 : 23 f. 25. When she was brought forth; in the last extremity. Even then she does not openly accuse her father-in-law, but appeals to his 288 GENESIS 38 : 30 pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and the "cords,1* 26. and the staff. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, "She 2 is more righteous than I ; forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again 27. no more. And it came to pass in the time of her 28. travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out a hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand 29. a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out : and she said, "Wherefore 3 hast thou made a breach 4 for thyself ? 4 therefore °5 his name 30. was * called 5 "Perez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and 5 his name was * called 5 Zerah. 1 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. sing. a Gr. Tamar. 3 m. How. * m. a breach be upon iheel Sam. on us. s Sam. Syr. she called his name. sense of justice. Cords is clearly a copyist's mistake for cord. See the Versions. 26. She is more righteous than I. She had risked, not only her reputation, but her life, for the honor of perpetuating his family. In after ages David and his successors were proud to trace their lineage to her. This is really the end of the story, the rest of the chapter being merely another of the curious instances of parono masia with which the Judean narrative abounds. 29. Wherefore hast thou made a breach, lit. broken a breach. His name -was called. Better, with the Samaritans and the Syriac Ver sion, she called his name. So also v. 30. Perez ; Heb. peres, breach. There is difficulty with the chronology of the story of Judah and Tamar in its present setting. The inference from its position is that Judah married soon after Joseph was carried to Egypt. The latter was then, according to 37 : 1, seventeen years old. Only twenty- two years later, according to 41 : 46 and 45 : 11, when Jacob mi grated to Egypt with the rest of this family, Judah had five sons, the last two having been born after the third, Selah, had grown to man hood. Moreover, one of these two himself had two sons. See 46 : 12. This is clearly incredible. If, however, this chapter be read as a part of the Judean narrative, without reference to the chronological sys- u 289 39 : i GENESIS j 39. And 1 Joseph was brought 1 down to Egypt ; and | R "Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the J guard, | "an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. 2. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosper ous man; and he was in "the house of his master "the 3. Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper 4. in his hand. And Joseph found grace 2 in "his 3 sight, | r, j "and he 4 ministered unto 4 him : | and he made him 1 Syr. the Midianiles brought Joseph. ' SV favor. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. add, master's. ¦* Gr. pleased. tem of the Priestly source, the difficulty largely disappears, since time is then required only for the birtn of three children from one mother and the growth of the youngest to early maturity. (3) The rise of Joseph, 39: 1-4 1 : 57 The narrative now returns to the fortunes of Joseph and traces the steps by which the Hebrew slave became the prime minister of Egypt, the first paragraph picturing him as (a) A slave in Egypt, 39 : 1-20. Joseph, being bought by an Egyptian, becomes so useful that little by little his master gives him complete control of the house. Then his master's wife, becoming enamoured of him, approaches him with improper solicitations, and, when he repulses her, accuses him of being the offender ; whereupon his master throws him into prison. The story is from the Judean narrative, but it has been slightly modified to adapt it to its present context. 1. In 37 : 36 the Ephraimite author of that passage says that Joseph, when brought to Egypt, was sold to an Egyptian officer by the name of Potiphar. The Judean writer was not so specific. He said originally that Joseph's master was an Egyptian, the words Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard being clearly an editorial addition to bring this passage into harmony with the other. See v. 2. 2. The house of his master ; his private residence. The Egyptian. See v. 1. 4. His sight, i.e., as the Samaritans have it, his master's sight. And he ministered unto him is supposed to be a fragment from the Ephraim- 290 GENESIS 39 : II "overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house "for Joseph's sake ; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had, in the house and in the field. | And he left all that R he had in Joseph's hand ; | and 1 he knew not aught J that was with him,1 save the bread which he did eat. | And Joseph was "comely, and well favoured.2 And it R came to pass after these things, | that his master's wife J cast her eyes upon Joseph ; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master knoweth not 3 what is with me 3 in the 4 house, and he hath put all that he hath into my hand; °5 there is none 5 greater in this house than I ; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife : how then can I do this great 8 wicked ness, and sin "against God? And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph 7 day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie * by her, or 8 to be t with her. And it 1 m. with him he knew not. a Gr. adds, very. 3 m. with me what is. * Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. his. * m. SV he is not. 6 Gr. Vg. om. ' Syr. him. 8 Syr. and. ite source, perhaps the continuation of 37 : 36. Overseer; steward. Such an official was found in large establishments in Egypt from the earliest rimes. 5. For Joseph's sake. See 30 : 27. 6. Comely, and well favoured ; like his mother Rachel. See 29 : 17. This description is intended to explain the infatuation of his mistress. 7. Egyptian women associated freely with men, and male servants had the freedom of the house. See Erman, LA E, 305 ff . 9. There is none greater. Better, with SV, he is not greater. Against God. It would be impious as well as dishonorable. On the name God see 3:1. 10. The words marked, which should read beside her to be, only dis turb the evident meaning. 291 39 :« GENESIS came to pass about this time, that "he ** went into the house to do his work 2 ; "and there was none of the men 12. of the house there within. And she caught him by "his garment,3 saying, Lie with me : and he left his garment 3 13. in her hand, and fled, and got him out. And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her 14. hand, and was fled 4 forth, that she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us "to mock us ; he came in unto me to 5 lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice : 15. and it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment 3 °6 by me,6 and 16. fled, and got him out. And she laid up his garment 3 17. by her, until his master came home. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which 7 thou hast brought "unto us, came in unto 1 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. Joseph. a Sam. adds, in the house. 3 Sam. Gr. plu. * Heb. mss. Sam. Gr. add, and got him. s Gr. adds, saying. 6 tam. in My hand; Syr. in my hands. 7 SV whom. 11. For he went read, with the Samaritans and the Versions, Joseph went. And there was, etc. Better, none of the men of the house being there within. 12. His garment. The word here rendered garment also has the collective meaning raiment, but in this case the former is preferable. About the time when Joseph is supposed to have lived men in Egypt began to wear a kind of cape or wrap which was the first form of covering for the upper part of the body. This garment here serves the same purpose as the cup in chapter 44. 14. The transformation of a reckless love into an equally reckless hate is noticeably true to nature. To mock us ; a shrewd bid for the sympathy of Joseph's subordinates. 15. For by me the Samaritans read in my hand, and the Syriac Version in my hands; but neither of these variants can be correct, for the author would not allow so cunning a character as this Egyptian woman to betray herself by admitting that she had seized Joseph by his garment. See v. 18, where the Samaritans have by me. 17. Unto us ; a skilful turn to make the husband think that the rest 292 GENESIS 18. me to mock me x : and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment 2 3 by me,3 and 19. fled 4 out. And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, say ing, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his 20. wrath was kindled. And Joseph's master took him, and put him into "the prison, | "the place where the R king's prisoners were bound : | 5 and he was 5 there in J the prison. 1 Gr. adds, and said unto me, I will lie with thee; Syr. us. a Sam. Gr. plu. 3 Syr. in my hands. 4 Heb. mss. Gr. Syr. add, and got him. s Gr. om. of the household sympathize with her. The Greek Version adds to this verse, and said unto me, I will lie with thee ; and these words, or their equivalent, may well have been found in the original writing. 20. The place into which Joseph was thrown in this story was originally the common prison, but, when the Judean and Ephraimite narratives were combined, the descriptive clause the place where the king's prisoners were bound was added to bring this passage into accord with 40 : 3. The difficulties thus produced will appear in the next paragraph. The story here told has a striking parallel in an Egyptian romance, written toward the close of the thirteenth century B.C., called "The Tale of the Two Brothers." Briefly told, it runs as follows: There were two brothers, Anpu and Bata. Anpu, the elder, had a home and a wife, and Bata lived with him, tending his cattle and helping him in the labors of the field. Once, when they were preparing a piece of land, Anpu sent his younger brother home for some grain with which to sow it. The young man went to the house, where he found his sister-in-law at her toilet, and asked her for the needed seed. She sent him alone to get it, but, when he came back, stopped him, and, after complimenting him on his strength, assailed his virtue. He rejected her advances and returned to the field filled with indigna tion, but said nothing to his brother about the matter. When Anpu came home at night, however, his wife, who pretended to have suffered violence, declared that Bata was the offender. The enraged husband hid himself behind the stable door, intending to kill his brother when he came home, but the cattle warned the young man, and, as he fled, the sun-god created a stream between him and his pursuer. The next morning, as the two stood on opposite sides of this stream, Bata told Anpu what really took place at the house; then he departed to " the 39 =20 39:21 GENESIS J 21. But "the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed kind ness unto him, and gave him favour in the sight of the 22. keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand 1 "all the prisoners that were in the prison ; and whatsoever they did there, 2 he 23. was the doer of it.2 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was "under his hand,3 because the Lord was with him; and that 4 which he did, the Lord " Gr. adds, the prison and. a Gr. om. 3 Gr. adds, for all things were in Joseph's hand. * Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. all that. mountain of cedar," while his brother went home and put to death the guilty woman. There are those who claim that the story of Joseph and his master's wife was suggested by this one, but, should this be admitted, it would not follow that Joseph is a fictitious character. (b) In an Egyptian prison, 39:21-40:23. Joseph, having been thrown into prison, soon wins the confidence of the keeper and be comes in effect his deputy. When, therefore, Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker are imprisoned, Joseph comes into contact with them, and when they need an interpreter for dreams that seem to them ominous, he serves them in this capacity, foretelling the restoration of the former and the execution of his companion. These predictions are fulfilled, but, for the time being, Joseph is forgotten. The rest of chapter 39 is from the Judean, but chapter 40 from the Ephraimite, narrative, with the exception of a few fragments. 21. The paragraph opens with a puzzling statement. In 39 : 1 the Egyptian to whom the Ishmaelites sold Joseph was identified with Potiphar, the captain of the guard. It was therefore the captain of the guard, according to the received text, who, on complaint of his wife, threw Joseph into prison. The prison, however, according to 40 : 3 f., was in Potiphar's own house, and he himself was its warden. Thus, when the author says that the LORD gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison, it can only mean that Potiphar almost at once forgot the young Hebrew's alleged offence and gave him as responsible a position in the prison as he previously enjoved in the household. To avoid this contradictory outcome remove the added words from v. 1; then Potiphar and the Egyptian become distinct persons, and this keeper of the prison (the common prison) a hitherto unknown third whose favor Joseph was free to win by his faithfulness. 22. All the prisoners ; i.e., all the other prisoners. 1.3. Under his hand ; the hand of the keeper. The Greek Version 294 GENESIS 40 : 5 40. made it to prosper.1 | And it came to pass "after these E things, | that "the butler 2 of the king of Egypt and his J 2. baker3 offended their lord the king of Egypt. | And E Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against "the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. 3. And he put them in ward "in the house of the captain of the guard, ( °4 into the prison,4 the place where Joseph j 4. was bound. | And "the captain of the guard charged E Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them: and 5. they continued a season in ward. And "they dreamed a dream both of them, °*5 each man his dream,5 f in 1 Gr. adds, in his hands. a Gr. chief butler. s Gr. chief baker. « Syr. om. s Gr. mss. om. adds the correct comment, for all things, all the keeper's duties, were in Joseph's hands. 40 : 1. Thus far the Judean narrative, according to which, as ex plained, Joseph was himself a prisoner intrusted with the oversight of the rest of the inmates of the common prison. From this point on ward the compiler uses the Ephraimite source, according to which Joseph was a slave belonging to the captain of the guard, and warden of the royal prison, inserting here and there a few words from the Judean account of Joseph's further experience in prison. After these things; the things related in 37 : 36, where the last extract from the Ephraimite source ended. The butler . . and his baker. They were originally slaves and personal attendants of the king, but in process of time they became court officials, who exercised great in fluence in Egyptian affairs. They are both pictured or described on the monuments. 2. The chief of the butlers. Compare the terms used in v. 1 (J). 3. The offending officials were put, according to the Ephraimite version of the story, in the house of Potiphar, the captain of the guard, but, according to the Judean, into the place where Joseph was bound, imprisoned. 4. The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them; Joseph being his personal slave. They thus received special attention. 5. They dreamed a dream both of them ; a rather ambiguous expression which some one has explained by adding, each man his dream. The Egyptians courted dreams and spent much thought on their interpretation. 29S 2 40 : 6 GENESIS one night, each man according to the interpretation of j his dream, | the butler and the baker of the king of E 6. Egypt, which ' were bound in the prison. | And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, 7. behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were °* with him f in ward in his master's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly 8. to-day? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is "none that can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, "Do not interpretations 3 be- 9. long to God ? Tell it me, I pray you. And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my 10. dream, behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof 11. brought forth ripe grapes: and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand ; and "I took the grapes, and pressed them into 1 SV who. a SV sad. 3 Gr. adds, of them; Tar. adds, of dreams. 7. The phrase with him would have been in place in 5b, but it contradicts its present context, since, according to the Ephraimite writer, Joseph was a slave, but not a prisoner. 8. None that can interpret it is inexact. The original reads, there is no one interpreting it, i.e., there is no one within reach to interpret it. The insertion of a single letter would make it read even better, viz., there is no interpreter with us. They could easily have found persons in any number who made it their business to interpret dreams, if they had been at liberty. Do not interpretations belong to God? and, one must supply in thought, he can reveal them through any one. 10. The movement of the butler's description of his vine is retarded and the effect impaired by the connectives that the translators have inserted into it. A better rendering would be, hardly budded, its blossoms shot up, its clusters ripened grapes. It seemed to pass through all these stages before his eyes. The culture of grapes for wine was one of the important industries in Egypt from the earliest times. 11. I took the grapes, etc. These acts are all symbolic of the office of the butler, but they must not be interpreted as meaning that the 296 GENESIS 40 : 17 Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. 12. And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation 13. of it1: the three branches are three days; within yet three days shall Pharaoh "lift up thine2 head, and re store thee unto thine office: and thou shalt give Pha raoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when 14. thou wast his butler. But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness,3 I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto 15. Pharaoh, and bring me out of "this house4: for in deed °I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews : | and here also have I done nothing that they should J 16. put me into "the5 dungeon.6 | When "the chief baker E saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, "three 17. baskets of white bread were "on my head: and "in the uppermost basket there was of "all manner of bake- ¦ Syr. thy dream. ' SV thy. 3 Syr. adds, and truth. * Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. prison. s Gr. this. 6 Syr. Tar. prison. kings of Egypt drank only unf ermented grape juice, for such was not the case. 13. On the expression lift up thine head see 2 Kgs. 25 : 27. 14. This house. The Versions have prison; but in this case the Hebrew reading is undoubtedly correct, for Joseph is here, not a pris oner, but a slave in the house of the warden of a prison. 15. The complaint I was stolen away is in harmony with this inter pretation. The latter half of the verse, on the other hand, with its reference to chapter 39, properly calls the place the dungeon. 16. The chief baker saw that the interpretation was good; and naively gave Joseph credit for its favorable character. The baker's dream, like the butler's, illustrates the law that the dreamer gets the materials for his dream from his own experience. Three baskets of white bread. Better, perhaps, three baskets for fine bakestuff. On my head ; the usual method of carrying their wares employed by the bakers of ancient Egypt. 17. In the uppermost basket; the others being empty. See v. 16. All manner of bakemeats ; lit. of all the food of Pharaoh, work of 297 40 : 18 GENESIS meats ] for Pharaoh 2 ; and "the birds did eat them out 18. of the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof3: The 19. three baskets are three days; "within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee "on a tree ; and the birds 4 shall eat thy flesh 20. *5 from off thee.5f And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his 21. servants. And he restored6 the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's 22. hand: but "he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had 23. interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler re member Joseph, but forgat him. E 41. And it came to pass at the end of "two full years, that 1 SV baked food. a Gr. King Pharaoh. 3 Syr. of thy dream. * Gr. adds, of heaven. 3 Heb. mss. Vg. om. ° Syr. established. a (or the) baker, all kinds of bakestuff for Pharaoh. Erman cites a menu for the king of Egypt, during a journey through the country, on which there were ten sorts of bread and cake. The birds did eat them. This, also, is a scene from real life. The birds, being protected, must often have done serious damage. 19. The words with which Joseph begins his interpretation of the baker's dream are the same that were used in v. 13, but he gives them a sinister turn which might be indicated by punctuating as follows: within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head — from off thee. The last words are superfluous at the end of the verse. On a tree ; on a gibbet, exposed to the vultures. 22. He hanged the chief baker. Better, the chief baker he hanged, the object here being emphatic. (c) At the court of Pharaoh, 41:1-57. The chapter relates how Joseph finally obtained his release and the highest honors from the king of Egypt. (a) Pharaoh's dreams, 41 : 1-36. At length Pharaoh himself has dreams, and, failing to get an interpretation from his wise men, at the suggestion of his butler sends for Joseph. The young Hebrew GENESIS 41:6 2. Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by "the river. And, behold, there came up out of the river "seven kine, well favoured and fatfleshed; and "they fed in the 3. reed-grass. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, "ill favoured and leanfleshed ; and stood 1 2 by "the other kine z "upon the brink of the 4. river. And the 3 ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine.4 So 5. Pharaoh awoke. And "he "slept and5 dreamed a sec ond time : and, behold, "seven ears of corn 6 came up 6. upon one stalk, "rank and good. And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with "the east wind, sprung up 1 Gr. Vg. grazed. a Heb. Gr. Syr. Tar. by the cows; Vg. in green places. s Gr. adds, seven. < Gr. mss. add, and they did not show that they had entered into their bellies. s Gr. om. ° SV grain. explains to the king that the things he has seen foreshadow, first great abundance, and then a severe famine, and advises him to make the necessary provisions for the maintenance of his people. The para graph is mainly from the Ephraimite source, with some fragments from the Judean narrative. 1. Two full years. Better, two years' time. See 29 : 14. The river could only mean the Nile to an Egyptian, as it meant the Eu phrates to a Babylonian. See 31 : 21. 2. Seven kine. The cow was sacred to Isis, the goddess of the nourishing earth. They fed in the reed-grass ; in the marshes, where the Egyptians pastured their cattle. 3. Ill favoured and leanfleshed. In the correct Hebrew text there is a case of alliteration which might be reproduced by translating ugly and meagre. So also v. 4. In the last clause, for the other kine, read the kine already upon the brink of the river There is no equiva lent for other in the original. 5. He slept ; fell asleep again the same night. Seven ears of corn. Here, of course, as in 27 : 28, corn is grain, and the ears are what an American, to avoid further ambiguity, would call heads. Rank. Better, full, the original word being the same that is rendered fat of the cattle. 6. In the original there is an alliteration between the adjectives which might be reproduced by translating them thin and withered. The east wind; strictly the southeast wind, which blows from the 299 41:7 GENESIS 7. after them. And the ' 2 thin ears 2 swallowed up the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, 8. behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all "the magicians 3 of Egypt, and all "the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them "his dream4* ; but there was none that could interpret 9. them5 unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler j unto Pharaoh, saying, j I "do remember* "my E 10. faults this day : | Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and "put me 7* in ward in the house of the captain of 11. the guard, me and the chief baker: and we dreamed °8 a dream 8 in one night, I and he ; we dreamed each man according to 9 the interpretation of 9 his dream. 12. And there was with us there a young man, an Hebrew, "servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us 10 our dreams ; to each man ac- 1 Gr. adds, seven. a Gr. ears thin and blasted with the wind. 3 m. sacred scribes. * Sam. Syr. plu. 3 Gr. il. 6 m. will make mention of. * Sam. them; Gr. us. 8 Syr. dreams. ° Gr. om. *° Gr. mss. om. middle of February to the middle of June, often like a hurricane, filling the air and covering the vegetation with fine dust. 8. The magicians and the wise men are the so-called " writers of sacred things " and " knowers of things," two classes of the priest hood who were the confidential advisers of the king, and always within call. The most famous were those of On. A folk's tale as old as the time of Joseph relates how a magician of the reign of Kufu displayed his ability to read the future. For his dream read, with the Samaritans and the Syriac Version, his dreams. 9. My faults ; those for which he was imprisoned. See 40 : 2. 10. For put me read, with the Samaritans, put them, or, with the Greek Version, put us. 11. For a dream, which is ambiguous, the Syriac Version has the more intelligible, but not necessarily original, reading, dreams. 12. In this verse the compiler, by an oversight, has left the Ephra imite author's description of Joseph as servant to the captain of the guard undisturbed. See 39 : 21. 300 GENESIS 41 :i9 13. cording to his dream he did interpret.10 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was ; D1 me he 1 re- 14. stored unto mine office, and 2 him he 2 hanged. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, | and they brought j him hastily out of the dungeon : | and °3 he shaved E himself,3 and "changed his raiment, and came in unto 15. Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed * a dream,4 and there is none that can inter pret it 5 : and I have heard say of thee, that when thou 16. hearest 6 a dream 6 thou canst interpret it.7 And Jo seph answered Pharaoh, saying, °8 It is not in me : God 17. shall give Pharaoh 8 an answer of peace. And Pha raoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood 18. upon "the brink of the river: and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, 9 fatfleshed and well 19. favoured9; and they fed in the reed-grass: and, be hold, seven other kine came up after them,10 "poor and 1 m. I was. a m. he was. 3 Gr. Vg. they shaved him. * Vg. dreams. s Vg. them. 6 Gr. dreams. * Gr. them. 8 SV It is not in me: God will, etc.; Gr. With out God there shall not be given to Pharaoh; Vg. Without me God will give to Pha raoh; Syr. Think not that any but God can give to Pharaoh. » Gr. reverses the terms. 10 Gr. adds, from the river. 13. Me he restored. The speaker seems to give Joseph credit for ability to secure the fulfilment of his own predictions. See 40 : 16. Perhaps, however, the pronoun of the third person here refers to Pharaoh. See v. 10. 14. He shaved himself. The Greek and Latin Versions have, they shaved him, as if to indicate that the hair of his head as well as his face was removed ; but it is doubtful if any but the priests shaved their heads at this time. Changed his raiment. Absolute cleanliness was one of the first requirements at the Egyptian court. 16. Joseph parries the king's compliment with all the ease of a trained courtier: It is not in me; in modern parlance, Not at all. 17. The brink of the river. See v. 1 and note the way in which Pharaoh here and elsewhere expands the previous recital. 19. Here he adds a third adjective, poor, better, weak, and a reflec- 301 41 : 20 GENESIS very l "ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw 20. in all the land of Egypt for "badness : and the 2 lean and ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat 3 21. kine: and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still 22. ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.4 And 5 "I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven 6 ears came up 23. upon one stalk, full and good: and, behold, seven ears, "withered,7* thin, ands blasted with the east wind, 24. sprung up after them : and the 2 thin 9 ears swallowed up the seven good 10 ears : and "I told it unto the magi cians; but there was none that could declare it to me. 25. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pha raoh is one: what God is about to do he hath declared 26. unto Pharaoh. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years : the dream " 27. is one. And the seven lean and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven °12 empty ears 12 blasted with the east wind ; they shall 28. be seven years °* of famine, f "That is the thing which 1 Gr. om. a Gr. adds, seven. 3 Gr. fair and choice. « Gr. adds, and slept. s Gr. Syr. add, again. 6 Gr. adds, other. ' Gr. Vg. Syr. om. 8 So Heb. msi. Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. -> Gr. ears, thin and blasted with the wind. " Gr. adds, and. full. " Gr. adds, of Pharaoh. ia Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. ears thin and. tion upon their badness or ugliness. The contrast between the two groups of cattle is symbolical. 21. The latter half of this verse, too, is new. 22. For I saw the original reading seems to have been, as in the Syriac, I saw again, or, as in the Greek, I slept and saw again. 13. The adjective withered, which is omitted by the Versions, is probably a gloss to one of the others. 24. I told it. The dream, though double in form, is one in signifi cance. See v. 25. 27. For empty ears read with the Samaritans and the Versions ears thin and. The phrase of famine anticipates the announcement of v. 30, and should be omitted. 302 GENESIS 41 : 33 I spake unto Pharaoh : what God is about to do he hath 29. shewed unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: 30. and there shall arise after them "seven years of famine ; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt ; 31. and the famine shall "consume 1 the land1; | and the J plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth ; for it shall be very grievous. | 32. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh E twice,2 it is because the thing is established by God, and 33. God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore 3 let Pharaoh 3 look out "a man discreet and wise, and set 1 Tar. the people of the land. * SV om. 3 Gr. om. 28. That is the thing which I spake ; better, have spoken; an emphatic way of introducing the repetition of an important point, like / tell you. See 42 : 14. The purpose of God in thus showing men what he is about to do appears in the advice with which Joseph supplements his interpretation. 30. Seven years of famine. The cause of the famine is not men tioned, the one great source of such calamities being the failure of the Nile to rise high enough thoroughly to flood the country during the annual inundation. In this case there is to be a low Nile for seven successive years and a consequent dearth that shall consume the land, completely exhaust its reserve products. 31. This verse seems to be the Judean author's way of putting the same thought that was expressed in v. 30. 32. The first clause is unhappily rendered. Read, rather, And with respect to the repetition of the dream. 33. In times of famine the bitterness of the suffering was often relieved by wise and generous rulers. Thus, in a tomb at Beni Hasan a certain monarch has left this record concerning his own administration: " When years of famine came, I ploughed all the fields of the Oryx nome as far as its southern and northern boundary, preserving its people alive and furnishing its food, so that there was none hungry." Joseph here urges the exercise of similar wisdom and generosity on a more comprehensive plan. This plan, accord ing to the received text, is to select a man discreet and wise, and set him as a commissioner over the land of Egypt. 3°3 41 : 34 GENESIS J 34. him "over the land of Egypt. | 1 Let Pharaoh do °this,1 and let him appoint overseers over the land,2 and "take 3 up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plen- 35. teous years. And let them gather "all the food4 of E these 5 good years that come, | "and lay up corn under J the hand of Pharaoh for food | in the cities, and " let E 36. them keep it. | And the food shall be for "a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that 7 the land7 perish not through the famine. E 37. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and T Sam. Gr. Syr. And let; Vg. om. a Syr. adds, of Egypt. 3 Gr. let them take. * Syr. grain, s Sam. Gr. add, seven. fi Sam. Syr. om. ' Tar. the people of the land. 34. Thus far the Ephraimite author. The Judean puts the matter somewhat differently. His first words, as rendered in the English Version, are ambiguous, if not misleading. He does not mean that the king shall do something just proposed, and after having done that, do something else, but that he shall now initiate a certain policy. The word this, therefore, for which there is no equivalent in the original, should be omitted, and the actual text be rendered, Let Pharaoh take action and appoint, or take steps to appoint, overseers. Thus, it appears that while, according to the Ephraimite narrative, the plan proposed almost involved his own appointment, according to the other it apparently excluded him. The overseers, being appointed by the king and stationed in the cities, would take up, collect, the fifth part, not of the land, but of the produce of the land, under the royal supervision. 35. This verse is composite, parallel passages from the two sources being united in a more complex proposition. All the food of these good years is naturally the fifth collected by the overseers and any surplus that the people had for sale. In the clause and lay up, etc., which is supposed to be the continuation of v. 33, the subject must originally have been the commissioner. 36. A store to the land. The granary was either a number of small conical buildings in rows, surrounded by a wall, or a large covered bin, with holes in the roof, on one side of such an enclosure. (b) Joseph the king's minister, 41 : 37-57. The king adopts Joseph's advice, appoints him his minister, loads him with honors, gives him a lady of the highest rank for a wife, and commissions 3°4 GENESIS 41 142 38. in the eyes of all J his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his 2 servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in 39. whom "the spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, 40. there is none 3 so discreet and wise as 3 thou : "thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people 4 be ruled 4 : only in the throne will I be 41. greater than thou. | And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, J 42. See, I have set thee 5 over all the land of Egypt. | And E Pharaoh took off "his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of 06 fine linen,6 and put "a gold chain about his neck ; 1 Syr. om. a Gr. all his. 3 Gr. Vg. more . . . than. * m. order themselves or do homage; Heb. kiss; Gr. Vg. obey; Syr. be judged; Tar. be fed. s Gr. adds, to-day. 6 m. cotton. him to make provision for the famine as proposed. Joseph spends the next seven years in collecting grain, being meanwhile blessed with two sons, and at the end of that time opens his granaries to supply the wants, not only of the Egyptians, but of the surrounding peoples. The paragraph is taken in about equal proportions from the Judean and Ephraimite sources, with one brief extract from the Priestly source. 38. The spirit of God. The Egyptians were polytheists, but they sometimes used language which might imply that they recognized a Supreme Being of whom their various gods were but so many mani festations. Curiously enough, in the tale of " The Two Brothers " it is said that " the spirit of God was in him." Compare the language put into the mouth of Nebuchadrezzar in Dan. 4 : 8, 18. 40. Thou shalt be over my house. Joseph thus became grand vizier, and as such exercised a variety of functions. " He was grand steward of all Egypt, and there was no prime function of state which did not operate immediately or secondarily through his office ; while all others were obliged to report to it, or work more or less closely in connection with it." See Breasted, History of Egypt, 244. 41. The Judean parallel to v. 40. 42. His signet ring gave Joseph authority as his vicegerent wher ever he went. Fine linen ; the royal linen, some specimens of which are so fine that they can hardly be distinguished from silk, and that the limbs of a wearer could be discerned through the fabric. A gold X 3°5 41 : 43 GENESIS 43. and he made him to ride in "the second chariot which he had; and they 1 "cried before him, °2 Bow the knee 2 : | J 44. and he set him over all the land of Egypt. And Pha raoh 3 said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and 4 without thee shall "no man lift up his hand 5 or his foot 5 in all the E 45. land of Egypt. | And Pharaoh called Joseph's name 0 Zaphenath-paneah 6; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of "Poti-phera "priest of On. 7 And Jo- 1 Sam. Syr. one; Gr. Vg. a herald. ' Gr. om.; Syr. Father and Ruler; Tar. This is the father of the king. sVg. the king (of Egypt). * Syr. adds, / have de creed thai. 3 Gr. om. 6 Vg. in the Egyptian language Saviour of the world; Syr. adds, the one to whom secrets are revealed; Tar. the man to whom secrets are re vealed. 1 Gr. om.; Syr. And . . . over all . . . Egypt. chain. Both men and women wore ornaments about the neck in Egypt. The most common were embroidered collars, but gold necklets were among the presents bestowed by the king upon his faithful servants. See Dan. 5 : 8. 43. The second chariot. See v. 40. The Egyptians borrowed both the chariot and its name from the Hyksos. When Joseph ap peared in public, not the people, but, as the Greek and Latin Versions expressly say, a herald, cried before him. There have been many attempts to explain the word 'abhrek, which is put into the herald's mouth, but none of them is satisfactory. Meanwhile Bow the knee, if it does not reproduce the original, makes the proper impression, reverence for the royal favorite. The last clause seems to have come from the Judean narrative and to be a continuation of v. 42. 44. On no man, etc., compare v. 40. 45. The new name bestowed upon Joseph, properly pronounced Sapnetephonh (Eg. De-pnute-ef-onh), being interpreted, means The god speaks and he lives. This name, also, is said to be a compara tively late formation, not found before the end of the Twentieth Dynasty (c. 1060 B.C.), rather common under the Twenty-second (910-775), and very frequent under the Twenty-sixth (663-525). On the name Poti-phera, see 37 : 36. In this case it is appropriately given, the one who bears it being the priest, i.e., the high priest, of On, the place, about five miles northeast of the modern city of Cairo, which was the chief shrine of Re, the sun-god, and on that account later called by the Greeks Heliopolis. The rank of the high priest was such as to give Joseph a commanding position and influence among the nobles of the country. The last clause, which is wanting in the Greek Version, may be connected with v. 49. 306 GENESIS 41:51 46. sephwentoutover the land of Egypt.7 | And Joseph was P "thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. | And Joseph went out from the presence J of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47. And in the seven plenteous years "the earth 1 2 brought 48. forth by handfuls.2 And he gathered up all the food of "the seven years 3 which were 3 in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities : the food of "the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the 49. same. | And Joseph laid up corn as the sand of the E sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was 50. without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons before °4 the year * of * famine came, [ which Asenath r the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On bare unto 51. him. | And Joseph called the name of the firstborn E "Manasseh: For, said he, God "hath made me forget 1 Tar. inhabitants of the land. a Syr. Tar. collected (Tar. grain) into granaries. 3 Sam. Gr. when there was plenty; Syr. of plenty which were. * Gr. the seven years of; Vg. om. 46. In 37 : 2 the Priestly writer reported Joseph seventeen years of age. If, therefore, he was now thirty years old, he must already have been thirteen years in Egypt. His father, meanwhile, accord ing to the same authority, must have reached the age of at least eighty-three. See 26 : 34 ; 30 : 25. Compare 47 : 9. 47. The earth. Better, the land. 48. For the seven years which were, read, with v. 53 and the Syriac Version, the seven years of plenty which were. Compare the reading of the Samaritans and the Greek Version. The field ; the country. 50. The year must be a mistake for the years, or, as in the Greek Version, the seven years. 51. The original meaning of Manasseh, Heb. Menassheh, is un known. Here it is connected with nashah, forget, and the form meaning he hath made me forget, nisshani, is modified to nasshani to increase the resemblance between the two words. My toil ; the preceding years of servitude. My father's house; rather the con stant longing for home induced by unhappy conditions. 3°7 4i : 52 GENESIS 52. all1 "my toil, and all2 "my father's house. And the name of the second called he "Ephraim : For God hath j 53. made me fruitful in the land of my * affliction. | And the seven 3 years of plenty, "that was " in the land of Egypt, 54. came to an end. And the seven years of famine began E to come, according as Joseph had said: | and there was famine "in all lands 5 ; but in all the land of Egypt j 55. "there was bread.6 | And when all the land of Egypt was "famished, "the 7 people cried to Pharaoh for bread : and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Jo- E 56. seph; "what 8 he saith to you, do. | And the famine was over °* 9 all the face of 9f the earth : and Joseph opened "all 3 10 the storehouses,10 and sold unto " the Egyp- R tians ; | 12 and the famine was sore in the land of Egypt.12 1 1 Sam. om. a Vg. om. 3 Syr. om. + Heb. mss. Sam. Gr. Vg. Svr. Tar. were. 3 Gr. the earth. 6 Gr. mss. Syr. no bread. ' Gr. mss. all the. 8 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. and what. e Heb. mss. Sam. m. Syr. the face of all. IO So Gr. Vg. Syr. ; Heb. in which there; Sam. in which there was grain; Tar. the storehouses in which there was grain. " Gr. adds, all. Ia Gr. om. 52. The name Ephraim is dual in form. If therefore it is derived from parah, be fruitful, it must mean twofold fruitfulness. It is by no means certain, however, that this is the actual derivation. See Enc. Bib., art. Ephraim. 53. For that was, read, with the Samaritans and the Versions, as in v. 48, that, or which, were. 54. Thus far nothing has been said of the extent of the famine : here it is described as reigning in all lands. There was bread. The Syriac and some manuscripts of the Greek Version read, tliere was no bread, but the negative is evidently a correction. A better ex planation of the apparent contradiction between this clause and the next is to refer them to different authors. 55. The term famished is rather strong for this connection. Began to suffer hunger is more nearly the writer's meaning. The people cried to Pharaoh ; knowing that he had made provision for just such an emergency. For what read, with the Samaritans and the Versions, and what. 56. For all the face of the earth read the face of all the earth. See the variants. The phrase rendered all the storehouses is defective in the original, the literal reading being all which in them, i.e., all 308 GENESIS 42 : 2 57. And "all the countries 1 came into Egypt to Joseph for E to buy corn2; because the famine was sore in all the earth.3 42. Now "Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, | and J, E Jacob 4 said unto his sons, °5 Why do ye look one upon 2. another?5 | "And he said,6 Behold, I have heard that J 1 So Sam. Gr. Vg. ; Heb. the earth. a Heb. om. 3 Syr. land of Egypt. + Gr. Vg. he. s Gr. Vg. Why are ye idle ? Syr. Do not fear. ° Gr. Vg. Syr. om. in which there. The Samaritans supply grain, but the original read ing was probably the one the English translators, following the Christian versions, have adopted, or the fuller one, all the storehouses in which there was grain, found in the Targum. The distribution of grain was not unknown in Egypt. In a tomb at el-Kab there is an inscription in which the deceased claims that, when a famine arose, lasting many years, he distributed grain to the people of his city each year throughout its duration. 57. All the countries. Here, again, the translators follow the Versions as against the original, which has all the earth. (4) The discovery of Joseph, 42 : 1-45 : 28 This is the general theme of the next four chapters, but the inci dents of which they are composed are distributed to two visits to Egypt. (a) The brethren of Joseph in Egypt, 42 : 1-38. Jacob, hearing that there is grain in Egypt, sends ten of Joseph's brethren thither to buy for his family. Joseph recognizes them at once, but, pre tending not to know them, arrests and imprisons them as spies. He finally releases all but Simeon, whom he proposes to detain until the rest have proven their honesty by producing their youngest brother, Benjamin. On the way home one of them finds his money in his sack, and when they reach their father and report the results of their journey, they discover with consternation that their money has all been returned to them. Finally Jacob refuses to allow Benja min to return with them. The chapter is mainly from the Ephraim ite narrative, but there are some brief extracts from the Judean. 1. The Judean author should use the name Israel for Jacob, but there are passages in which the latter has been substituted for the former, and this seems to be one of them. Why do ye look one upon another? wasting time in indecision. The tone is characteristic of the Ephraimite version of this story. See vs. 7, 9, etc. 3°9 42 : 3 GENESIS there is corn in Egypt : get you down thither, and buy for us 1 2 from thence 2 ; that we may live, and not die. | E 3. And "Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn j 4. from Egypt. | But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob 3 sent not with his brethren ; for he said, Lest peradven ture evil befall him. And the sons of Israel came to 5. buy4 among those that came: for the famine was in 6. the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land; "he5 it was that sold 6 to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with "their faces to the earth. 7. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but E "made himself strange unto them | and spake roughly J with them; | and he said unto them, "Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy E 8. food. | And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew 9. not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed 2 of them,2 and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 10. And they said 7 unto him,7 Nay, my lord, but to buy J 11. food are thy servants come. | We are all one man's 1 Gr. adds, a little food. a Gr. om. 3 Gr. he. * Tar. adds, grain, s Sam. Vg. Syr. and he. 6 Vg. Tar. add, grain. » Gr. Vg. Syr. om. 3. Joseph's ten brethren. Better, ten of Joseph's brethren. So many were required to manage the animals and protect them and their freight from robbers. The distance from Gaza to the border of Egypt is about a hundred and sixty miles. Thothmes III. marched it in nine days. The journey from Beer-sheba would be about two, or from Hebron about three, days longer. 6. He sold ; presided at the sale. Their faces to the earth ; in fulfilment of Joseph's dream. See 37 : 5 ff. 7. Made himself strange ; acted the part of a stranger. See 1 Sam. 21 : 13. There is nothing unfriendly in his attitude as here de scribed, or in the question, Whence come ye ? 8, The verse is the Ephraimite parallel to 7a, 310 GENESIS 42 : 18 12. sons ; [ we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And e he ' said unto them, Nay, but 2 to see the nakedness of 13. the land ye are come. And they said, "We thy ser vants are twelve brethren, °*3 the sons of one man 3f in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is 14. 4 this day 4 with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them, "That is it that I spake unto you, saying, 15. Ye are spies: hereby ye shall be proved : "by the life of Pharaoh "ye shall not go forth hence, except your young- 16. est brother come hither. "Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you: 17. or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.5 And 18. "he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live ; * Syr. Joseph. a Syr. the report is that. 3 Gr. om. * Vg. om. 3 Sam. adds, And they said. The lad is not able to leave his father; for if he should his father, he would die. 13. We thy servants, etc. More exactly, Thy servants were twelve ; brethren were we in the land of Canaan. The phrase the sons of one man seems to have been borrowed from v. 11. 14. On That is it, etc., see 41 : 28. 15. By the life of Pharaoh. He swears by the king, like an Egyp tian, and thus only the more completely conceals his identity. Ye shall not go forth ; a messenger excepted. See v. 16. 16. Send one of you. This first proposal was calculated to produce the deepest anxiety, especially the requirement that Benjamin be brought to Egypt. It appears from 44 : 22 that the brothers did not receive it without a protest. The Samaritans felt the need of one so strongly that they inserted at this point, And they said, The lad is notable to leave his father ; for if he should leave his father, he would die. These words, however, are not original in this connection. 17. He put them into ward. Observe how the Ephraimite author dwells on Joseph's severity and his brothers' distress. 18. I fear God; lit. God I fear, without for. He modifies his proposal, not for their sake, but because a higher power has con strained him so to do. See 31 : 24. 3" 42 : iq GENESIS 19. for1 "I fear God: if ye be true men, "let one of your brethren be bound in your 2 prison house 2 ; but go ye, 20. carry corn for the famine of your houses: and bring your "youngest brother unto me ; so shall your words be verified, and 3ye shall not3 die. And "they did so. 21. And they said one to another, We are verily guilty con cerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; 22. "therefore is this4 distress come upon us. And Reuben answered 5 them, saying, "Spake 6 I not unto you, say ing, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, "his blood is required. 23. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for 24. there was an interpreter between them. And he 7 turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them, and spake to them, and "took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes. 25. Then Joseph commanded to fill "their vessels with corn, and "to restore every man's money into "his sack, 1 So Gr. Vg.; Heb. om. a Gr. om. 3 Gr. if not, ye shall. * Sam. Gr. mss. all this. 3 Gr. Syr. add, and said to. 6So Sam.; Heb. Said. * Gr. Joseph. 19. Let one of your brethren be bound is so much less cruel than Joseph's first proposal that it creates an impression of magna nimity. 20. He still insists, however, on seeing the youngest brother. They did so ; agreed to these terms, and set about their fulfilment. 21. Therefore is this distress come upon us. The ancient Hebrews saw in all their sufferings the wrath of a just God and the penalties for their sins. 22. Spake I not unto you? See 37 : 22. The words his blood is required indicate a belief that Joseph has perished. See 37 : 30. 24. He took Simeon because, next to Reuben, who was exempt, he was the oldest of the brothers. 25. Their vessels ; their sacks. The command to restore every man's money, in the present form of the story, can only be interpreted as an expression of Joseph's generosity. His sack ; or, since each of 3" GENESIS 42 : 32 and to give them provision for the way : and thus 01 was 26. it done 1 unto them. And they laded their asses with 27. their corn, and departed thence. | And as one 2 of J them 2 opened his sack to give his ass 3 provender in "the lodging place, he espied his money 4 ; and, behold, 28. it was in the mouth of his sack. And he said unto his brethren, "My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and "their heart failed them, | "and they E turned trembling one to another, saying, What is this 29. that "God hath done unto us? And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told 30. him all that had befallen them; saying, The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us, and 5 took us 31. for5 spies of the country. And we said unto him, 32. We are true men; we are no spies: "we be6 twelve 1 So Gr.; Vg. Syr. they did; Heb. one did. a So Syr.; Heb. om. 3 Gr. plu. * Gr. bundle of money. s Gr. put us into prison as. 6 SV are. the men must have had several, one of his sacks. Was it done unto them ; by the person or persons to whom Joseph gave these instruc tions. 27. This verse and a part of the one following are supposed to be an extract from the Judean narrative. According to the other version of the story the men did not find their money until they reached home. See v. 35. The lodging place ; the khan or caravansary, where the traveller found shelter and protection, but usually fed both himself and his animals. 28. My money is restored. This announcement, according to 43 : 21, was followed by a search which resulted in the discovery that "every man's money was in the mouth of his sack." Their heart failed them ; because they feared just such a trick as Joseph used to trap them. The latter part of this verse, from and they turned onward, is assigned to the Ephraimite author, but removed to a place after v. 35. It is possible, however, since God is the only name for the Deity in the story of Joseph, after chapter 39, that in this case it has not its usual significance ; in other words, that vs. 27 f. entire are from the Judean source. 31. Note that the first clause of v. 11 is not repeated. 32. We be twelve brethren. The use of be here and are in the 313 42 : 33 GENESIS brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the young est is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. 33. And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren * with me, and take 2 corn for 2 the famine of 34. your houses, and go your way ; and bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men : "so will I deliver you 35. your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land. And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, "every man's bundle of money was in 3 his sack : and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, ,36. "they were afraid. And "Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin 37. away: "all these things are* against5 me. And Reu ben spake unto his father, saying, Slay "my two sons, 1 Gr. adds, here. a So Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. ; Heb. om. 3 Syr. in the mouth of. * Syr. combine, s m. upon. preceding verse is one of the more striking inconsistencies of the Eng lish Version. Compare SV. 33. The word for corn (grain), which was used in v. 19, has dis appeared from the Hebrew text, but the Versions have preserved it. 34. So will I deliver, etc. Compare v. 20. 35. Every man's bundle of money. The author apparently knows nothing about the discovery of money in one of the sacks at the khan, as related in vs. 27 f. They were afraid. If 28b is from the Ephraim ite source, it must originally have followed this statement. See, how ever, v. 28. 36. Jacob said unto them ; in reply to the terms reported in v. 34. All these things are against me hardly does justice to the original. Here, as in his first sentence, Jacob emphasizes his own sufferings. On me, he says, are they all, viz., the losses one after another. 37. It is the complaint that he alone is required to suffer to which Reuben now responds. The words rendered my two sons may also be translated two of my sons, and the latter is the interpretation that the compiler must have given to them, since, according to 46 : 9, Reuben 3M GENESIS if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, 38. and I will bring him to thee again. | And he said, "My son shall not go down with you ; for his brother is dead, and he only is left ' : if mischief 2 befall him by the way in the 3 which ye go, then shall 4 ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to 5 the grave.5 43. "And the famine was sore in the land. And it came 2. to pass, "when they had eaten up the corn which they 1 Syr. adds, to his mother. a SV harm. 3 SV om. * SV will. s SV Sheol. at this time had four sons. He proposes to give two of his own chil dren as hostages for his father's favorite. 38. This noble plea ought to have been effectual, but, according to the received text, Jacob stubbornly replies, My son shall not go down with you. Moreover, he utterly ignores Simeon. The natural in ference from these facts is that this verse is not the continuation of v. 37. On the other hand, 43 : 14, which is out of place in its present setting, precisely fits this connection. It says that Jacob finally yielded, praying that God would move the unknown " man " in Egypt to restore the other brother as well as Benjamin. It appears, therefore, that, according to the Ephraimite version of this story, when the brothers reached home, they gave their father a complete account of their journey, and Reuben finally succeeded in persuading him to let them return at once to get more grain and procure the release of Simeon. The Judean version, however, which had no reference to the detention of Simeon, here says that at this time Jacob refused to risk his son for the sake of a second supply of grain. See further 44 : 24. (b) The return with Benjamin, 43 : 1-45 : 28. The account of the second visit of Joseph's brethren to Egypt, being much longer than that of the first and much richer in incident, can most conveniently be discussed under a series of suitable topics. (a) Jacob's misgivings, 43 : 1-14. The first supply of grain being consumed, Jacob exhorts his sons to go for a second. They remind him of the condition on which it can be obtained. He accuses them of managing the matter clumsily, but they defend themselves. Finally, when Judah offers to be responsible personally for Benjamin, he yields and sends them back with the boy and a present for the Egyptian governor. The entire paragraph, with the exception of the last verse, which has already been discussed, is from the Judean narrative. 1. For And read Now, introducing a new paragraph. 2. When they had eaten up the corn. The delay at first sight seems heartless, but when one remembers that this passage is from the 3i5 443 : 32 42 : 33 GENESIS had brought out of Egypt, •their father1 said unto 3. them, "Go2 again, buy us a little food. And "Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except 3 your 4. brother be 3 with you. "If thou wilt send our brother 5. with us, we will go down and buy thee 4 food : but if thou wilt not send him,5 "we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your 6. brother 6 be with you. And Israel 7 said, "Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had 7. yet a brother? And they said, "The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning our kindred, saying, "Is your father yet alive? "have ye another 1 Syr. Jacob their father. a Syr. Go down. 3 Gr. your youngest brother be; Vg. ye bring your youngest brother. * Syr. us. s Gr. our brother with us; Heb. om. 6 Gr. youngest brother. * Syr. adds, their father. Judean narrative, and that the author of that work did not leave Simeon in Egypt, it becomes simply natural. Jacob postpones the matter as long as possible, hoping that something will happen to make a second journey to Egypt, and the surrender of his beloved Benjamin, unnecessary. When he is finally obliged by the prospect of starvation to turn his thoughts in that direction, he ignores the condition on which alone the journey would be successful. Go again, he says, but there is not a word about sending Benjamin. 3. Here, again, as in 37 : 26 f., Judah takes the place occupied by Reuben in the Ephraimite narrative. See 41 : 22. He reminds his father of what, according to 44 : 24, he already knows, but has thus far refused to consider. 4. If thou wilt send our brother ; which he has already refused to do. See 42 : 38. 5. We will not go down ; because it will be useless. 6. Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me? This complaint would have had a certain justification in the other version of the story, since, according to 42 : 13, 32, the brothers volunteered the information given. Here it is an outburst of childish desperation. 7. The man asked straitly ; expressly, particularly. Is your father alive ? The question implies that Jacob was an old man. By com bining 41 : 45 and 45 : 11 with preceding data from the Priestly source one can make him ninety-two. The second question, Have ye a 316 GENESIS 443 : 32 brother? and "we told him according to the tenor of 1 these words 1 : "could we in any wise know that he 8. would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, "Send the lad with me,2 and we will arise and go; "that we may live, and not 9. die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him ; of my hand shalt thou require him : if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then 10. "let me bear the blame 3 forever : for "except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time. 11. And their father Israel said unto them, "If it be so now, do this; take of "the choice fruits of the land in your 1 Gr. his inquiry. * Syr. us. 3 Heb. adds, toward thee; Syr. adds, toward my father.brother? is most natural on the supposition, which has already been discussed, that Joseph was carried to Egypt before the birth of Ben jamin. See 37 : 12 ff. We told him according to the tenor of these words ; gave him the information which his questions required. Could we in any wise know? An equally good rendering would be, How should we know ? The young men are becoming impatient with their father's obstinacy. 8. Send the lad with me. Compare 42 : 37, where Reuben makes a similar proposal. The term lad is embarrassing ; for if, as one would infer from the position of 35 : 16 ff., Benjamin was born before Judah was married, he should now be a grown man. The only way out of the difficulty seems to be by the supposition, for which there are other reasons, that chapter 38 does not now occupy the position with relation to the rest of the Judean narrative that was given it by its author. Of course, the representation of Benjamin as a lad is entirely inconsistent with 46 : 21, where Benjamin is the father of ten sons. That we may live. Here, again, is proof that the Judean author did not leave Simeon in Egypt. If he had, he would have made his re lease one of the objects of this second journey. 9. Let me bear the blame forever. More exactly, let me be blame worthy with thee forever. Judah stakes, not the lives of his children, but his own honor. 10. Judah's concluding argument, except we had lingered, etc., indicates that the discussion thus briefly reported lasted some days. 11. If it be so now, or //, then, it be so; if I must yield. The choice 3^7 42 : 33 GENESIS vessels, and carry down the man 1 a present,1 2 a little 2 "balm, and 2 a little 2 honey, "spicery and "myrrh, "nuts, 12. and almonds : * and take double money in your hand f : and the money that was returned in 2the mouth of2 your sacks carry again 3 in your hand 3; peradventure it 13. was an oversight: take also your brother, and arise, go 14. again unto the man : | and 4 God Almighty 4 give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other a brother 6 and Benjamin. And I if I be bereaved of my children, "I am bereaved. 1 Gr. Vg. presents. a Gr. om. 3 Gr. with you. * Gr. my God; Vg. my God Almighty. * Sam. Gr. one; Vg. om. 6 Vg. adds, wlwrn he holds (in prison). fruits is a fanciful rendering for which produce would be a good sub stitute. Three of the articles named, balm, spicery, and myrrh, are the same that, according to 37 : 25, the Ishmaelites were carrying to Egypt when they passed through the plain of Dothan and bought Joseph of his brothers. The other three are commoner products of Palestine. The mention of honey recalls the fact that the country is repeatedly called " a land flowing with milk and honey." See Ex. 3:8; 13 : 5 ; etc. It is still produced in great quantities. It must have been a rarity in Egypt, where wild flowers were seldom found. The nuts are pistachios, now rare in Palestine, but once common throughout the country. They were a rarity in Egypt. The almond is not often mentioned in the Old Testament, but it must always have been abundant ; otherwise it would not have been used as familiarly as it was for symbolical purposes. See Ex. 25 : 33 ; Jer. 1 : 11 ff.; Ecc. 12:5. The nut, green or ripe, is still highly esteemed and largely consumed in Palestine. 12. The first clause seems to have been borrowed from v. 15. There is no reason for mentioning the money to pay for the second supply of grain in this connection. 14. On this verse see 42 : 37. It was removed from that connec tion, when the Judean and Ephraimite narratives were united, that it might not interrupt the continuity of the composite story. I am be reaved ; there is no help for it. (b) The reception by Joseph, 43 : 15-34. When the sons of Jacob reach Egypt Joseph sends them to his house, instructing his steward to make preparations for entertaining them. They suspect a plot and attempt to explain the matter of the money ; but the steward waives 3i8 GENESIS 443 : 32 15. And the men took 01 that present,1 and they took "double money in their hand, and Benjamin2; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Jo- 16. seph. And when "Joseph saw 3 Benjamin with them,3 he said to the steward of his house, Bring the men into the house, and "slay, and" make ready ; for the men 17. shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade ; and * the man 4 brought the men into Joseph's 18. house. And °5 the men were afraid, because 5 they were brought into 6 Joseph's house ; and they said, Because of "the money that 7 was returned 7 in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; "that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and 8 take us 19. for bondsmen, "and our asses. And they came near 1 Gr. these presents; Vg. the presents. a Syr. they took Benjamin with them. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. them and Benjamin; Gr. adds, his brother. * Gr Syr. he. 3 Gr. 1 he men saw that; Syr. they saw that. 6 SV lo. * So Sam. Gr. ; Heb. Syr. re turned. 8 Sam. Gr. Syr. to. them aside and proceeds with his duties, leaving them to prepare their present for Joseph. On his arrival he receives and welcomes them, inquiring for their father and showing special attention to Ben jamin. When the meal is served, he surprises them by seating them in the order of their ages, but they finally forget their fears and make the most of his hospitality. The whole paragraph, with the excep tion of a single sentence, is from the Judean narrative. 15. That present. The original has this present, referring, of course, to the articles named in v. 11. Double money; the amount returned to them and a like sum to pay for a second supply of grain. 16. Joseph saw Benjamin with them ; saw with them a boy who, he knew, must be Benjamin. Slay, and make ready. The Egyptians ate the flesh of the domestic animals and all sorts of game. The favorite national dish was roast goose. 18. For the men were afraid, because the Greek Version has the men saw that, and, since both make good sense and both can be written in Hebrew with the same letters, it is impossible to say which is the original reading. The money that was returned ; lit. the money that returned, in some mysterious way. That he may seek occasion against us ; lit. roll himself upon, surprise, us. The addition, and our asses, makes a humorous anti-climax, and perhaps was so intended, 319 42 =3 GENESIS to the steward of Joseph's house, and they spake unto 20. him at the door of the house, and said, Oh my lord, we 21. came indeed down at the first time to buy food: and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging place, that "we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in 1 the mouth of 1 his sack, our money "in full 22. weight: and we brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down 2 in our hand 2 to buy food : we know not who put our money in 3 our 23. sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: "your God, and the God of your father,4 hath given you E treasure5 in your sacks: "I had your money. ( "And j 24. he brought Simeon out unto them. | J And the man brought the men into Joseph's house,1 and gave them water, and they washed their feet ; and he gave their asses 25. provender. And "they made ready the present 5 against 1 Gr. om. ' Gr. with us, 3 Syr. adds, the mouth of. « Sam. Gr. plu. s Gr. Vg. plu. 21. We opened our sacks. In 42 : 25 f. only one of the men is reported to have found his money ; but that passage has evidently been abbreviated, if not recast. If one found his money returned, the others would naturally look to see if they were as fortunate. In full weight. It was probably, like Egyptian money, in the shape of rings. 22. Note that in their defence there is no hint of a charge of being spies. That is a feature peculiar to the Ephraimite narrative. 23. I had your money ; lit. your money came lo me. The steward could not tell them the whole truth without betraying his master's plans. Your God hath given you treasure ; lit. hidden treasure. It was, and is, the practice in the East to hide valuables in the ground instead of depositing them in vaults or intrusting them to others. The discovery of one of these hoards was regarded as the height of good fortune. See Jb. 3:21; Mt. 13 : 44. The steward suggests that the God of their father has put in the way of Joseph's brethren such an unexpected acquisition. The last clause And he brought Simeon out unto them, which is clearly foreign to the context, is a fragment from the Ephraimite narrative. See 42 : 24, 36. 25. They made ready the present ; apparently in an adjoining build ing. 320 GENESIS 1 Joseph came1 at noon : for they heard that they 2 26. should eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present 3 which was 3 in their hand "into the house, and bowed down themselves to him * to 27. the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? Is 28. he yet alive? And they said, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive.5 And they bowed the head and 29. made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, "his mother's son, and said, Is this your youngest brother, "of whom ye spake unto me6? And he said, "God be gracious unto thee, "my 30. son. And Joseph 7made haste 7; for his 8 bowels did yearn upon 8 his brother: and he sought where to weep; 31. and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and came out; and "he refrained 32. himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on "for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and 1 SV Joseph's coming. a Gr. he. 3 Gr. Vg. plu. * Gr. Vg. add, with their faces. s Sam. Gr. add, And he said, Blessed be that man with God. 6 Gr. whom ye spake to me of bringing. * Gr. was disturbed. 8 SV heart yearned over. 26. When Joseph returned they brought it into the house. 27. The first question should be preparatory to the second. Render, therefore, Is it well with your father ? 28. Here, also, the rendering could be improved by substituting, It is well with, etc. The Samaritans, followed by the Greek Version, insert after this clause another speech by Joseph (see the variants), but it does not commend itself as a genuine feature of the story. The informal cordiality of Joseph is a striking contrast to the cere monious politeness of his brothers. 29. His mother's son ; a son of the same mother, Rachel. God be gracious unto thee. Joseph could not have used the name Yahweh without betraying himself. My son indicates that Benjamin, if not a boy, was a very young man. 31. He refrained himself ; controlled his emotions. 32. For him by himself. Joseph's rank separated him, from the Y 321 43 : 32 43 =33 GENESIS for the Egyptians, which 1 did eat with him, by them selves : because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that2 is "an abomination unto the 33. Egyptians. And "they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth : and "the men marvelled one with another. 34. And °3 he took and sent "messes a unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was "five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and "were merry with him. 1 SV who. a Gr. every shepherd. 3 m. messes were taken; Gr. Syr. they bore portions. Egyptians who were present as well as from the strangers. An abomination unto the Egyptians. They would not eat from the same dishes with foreigners. See Herodotus, Hist. ii. 41. The Hebrews were especially offensive to them, because they were shepherds and herdsmen. See 46 : 34. 33. They sat before him. In the time of Joseph the Egyptians often sat on rows of chairs before a sideboard from which the food was brought to them. Here the older custom of squatting about low tables seems to have been followed. The men marvelled ; that Joseph should know their relative ages. 34. For he took a better rendering would be one, or they, bore without the words supplied. The messes, or portions, were the tid bits by which the oriental host manifests his favor. That Benjamin received five times so much as any of the others meant that he was the guest of honor. See 1 Sam. 9 : 23 f. The expression were merry hardly does justice to the original, which says that they became drunken with him. See 9 : 21. The favorite drink among the Egyp tians was beer; but they drank wine, also, in large quantities, the women as well as the men. (c) The hidden cup, 44 : 1-17. On the morrow Joseph first directs his steward to fill the sacks his brothers have brought with grain and hide in one belonging to Benjamin his silver cup. Then, after they have started, he sends the man to overtake them and accuse them of stealing the cup. The sons of Jacob protest their innocence, but finally, when the cup is found in Benjamin's sack, return to the city and declare themselves his slaves. He, however, with assumed magnanimity pronounces them all free to return to Canaan, except 322 GENESIS 44 = 7 44. And he 1 commanded the steward of his house, say ing, Fill the men's sacks "with food, as much as they can carry, * and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. i 2. And 2 put my cup, the silver cup,2 in the sack's mouth of the youngest, °* and his corn money.f And he did 3. according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they 4. and their asses. And3 when they were gone out of the city, and 4 were not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men ; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye re- 5. warded evil for good?5 Is not "this it6 in which my lord drinketh, and whereby "he indeed divineth? ye 6. have done evil in so doing. And he overtook them, 7. and he spake unto them 7 these words.7 And they said 8 unto him,8 9 Wherefore speaketh my lord 9 such words 1 Gr. Vg. Joseph. ' Syr. take my silver cup and put. 3 So Gr. Vg. ; Heb. om. 4 So Vg. Syr. ; Heb. om. s Gr. add, wherefore stole ye my silver cup ? Vg. the cup that ye stole. ' SV that. ' Gr. Vg. Syr. according to these words. s Sam. Vg. om. » Syr. Let not my lord speak. the supposed thief, Benjamin. The entire paragraph is from the Ju dean source. 1. With food ; grain for food. The second command cannot be original, since the restoration of the money serves no purpose in this part of the story. 2. The phrase and his corn money must be omitted for the same reason. 4. For the first words a more idiomatic rendering would be, They had left the city, but had not gone far, when, etc. The connection be tween this verse and the next is not as close as it should be. It is probable, therefore, that the Greek Version is correct in adding a sec ond question, Wherefore have ye stolen my silver cup ? 5. The insertion of this clause makes the pronoun this, which now wants an antecedent, easily intelligible. He indeed divineth. The form of divination which he used is called hydromancy. The process was to pour water into a cup, or drop something into a cup already filled with water, and watch the resulting movements. It has been employed in modern times in Egypt. 3^3 44 : 8 GENESIS as these ? 1 God forbid that thy servants 1 should do such 8. a thing. Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths,2 we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: "how then should we steal out of thy 9. lord's house 3 silver or gold3? With whomsoever of thy servants it4 be found, "let him die,5 and we also 10. will be "my6 lord's, bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words : "he with whom it 4 is found shall be my bondman; and ye shall be blame- 11. less. Then "they hasted and took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. 12. And "he7 searched, °and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and 8 the cup was found 8 in Benjamin's 13. sack. Then "they rent their clothes, and laded every 14. man his ass, and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to 9 Joseph's house 9 ; and he was yet 15. there: and "they fell before him on the ground. And 1 SV Far be it from thy servants that they. a Gr. om. 3 Vg. Syr. gold or silver. 4 Gr. the cup. s Sam. be killed. ° Gr. Vg. our. ' Syr. they. 8 Gr. lie found the cup. ° Gr. Vg. Syr. Joseph. 8. How then should we steal ? The reasoning is excellent, and the conclusion irresistible. 9. Let him die. They are willing to stake their lives on their integrity. My lord's bondmen. Better, our lord's bondmen. See the variants. 10. He with whom it is found. The steward, being instructed by Joseph, modifies the terms proposed to suit his master's purpose. n. They hasted and took down; made haste to take down, so confident were they that they would be vindicated. 12. He searched. The search was so conducted as to make it appear that the steward did not know where the cup was to be found. For and began, etc., a better rendering would be, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. 13. They rent their clothes ; but said nothing, their silence being more eloquent than any words that they could have uttered. 14. They fell before him on the ground; still mute with disap pointment and humiliation. 324 GENESIS 44 : 18 Joseph said unto them, "What deed is this that ye have done ? know ye not that "such a man . as I can in- 16. deed divine? And Judah said, "What shall we say unto my lord ? what 1 shall we speak ? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants : behold, we are my 2 lord's bondmen, both we, and he also 3 in whose hand 3 the cup is found. 17. And he4 said, 5 God forbid5 that I should do so: "the man 6 in whose hand 6 the cup is found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. 18. Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my J 1 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. or what. a Gr. our. 3 Gr. Vg. with whom. * Gr. Vg. Joseph. s SV Far be it from me. 6 Gr. with wlwm. 15. What deed is this? conveys, not reproach for the dishonesty and ingratitude of the act, but surprise at its foolishness. Such a man ; a man of so lofty rank, and one in so close relations with the highest sacerdotal authorities, — it was ridiculous for them to attempt to rob him. 16. What shall we say? Judah takes for granted that Benjamin stole the cup, but he has no notion of leaving him to suffer alone for his offence. 17. The above speech was not prompted entirely by generosity. Judah and his brothers had their father in mind, and much as they might dread slavery, they preferred it to the reproaches that they would have to endure if he were bereft a second time of his favorite. When, therefore, Joseph proposes to hold the man in whose hand the cup is, better, was, found, he deprives them of the hope of escape from the worst of alternatives. The dramatic interest of the story is thus brought to a climax. (d) The plea of Judah, 44 : 18-34. Judah addresses Joseph, de scribing the first visit to Egypt and the difficulty of persuading Jacob to allow them to bring Benjamin with them on the second. Then he appeals to Joseph to accept him as a slave instead of Benjamin and allow the latter to return to his father. The entire paragraph is from the Judean narrative. 18. Thou art even as Pharaoh ; having been set by Pharaoh over all the land of Egypt. See 41 : 41. 325 44 : 19 GENESIS lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word J in my lord's ears,1 and let not thine anger burn against thy 19. servant: for "thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord 2 asked his 2 servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a 20. brother? And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and 3 "a child of his old age, "a little 4 one ; and his brother is dead, and "he alone is left to his 21. mother,5 and his father loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may 22. 6 set mine eyes upon 6 him. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave "his father : for if he should leave 23. his father, 7 his father 7 would die. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come 24. down with you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant "my 8 25. father, we told him "the words of my lord. And 9 our 26. father said, Go again, buy us a little food. And we said,10 "We cannot go down : if our youngest brother be " with us, then will we go down : for we may not see the 1 Gr. before thee; Syr. before my lord. a Gr. Vg. thou didst ask thy. 3 Syr. adds, a son. * Gr. younger. s Gr. mss. father. 6 Gr. lake care of. ' Heb. he. 8 Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. our. ° Syr. adds, thy servant. IO Syr. adds, to our father. 11 Gr. Vg. Syr. go down. 20. A child of his old age ; a child born after the father had be come comparatively old. A little one ; now young in comparison with the other sons. See 43 : 8. He alone is left to his mother might be taken to imply that Rachel was still alive; but, if 35 : 16 ff. is rightly attributed to the Judean author, such an interpretation is forbidden. 22. The words his father were supplied by the translators because the reading of the original, lie would die, is ambiguous. 24. For my father read, with the Samaritans and the Versions, our father, as in v. 25. 25. The words of my lord ; including the requirement that Benja min be brought to Egypt. See 43 : 2. 26. We cannot go down implies a previous refusal on Jacob's part to allow Benjamin to be taken to Egypt, as reported in 42 : 38. 326 GENESIS 44 : 34 man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. 27. And thy servant my1 father said unto us, Ye know that 28. my wife bare me two sons: and the one went out from me, and 1 2 said, Surely he is torn in pieces ; and I have 29. not seen him since : and if ye take this one also from me, and mischief3 befall him,4 ye shall5 bring down my 30. gray hairs with sorrow to 6 the grave.6 Now therefore "when 1 7* come to thy servant my 8* father, and the lad be 9 not with us 10; seeing that "his " life is bound up in 31. the lad's life " ; it shall 5 come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not °12 with us,12 that he will die : and thy servants shall 5 bring down the gray hairs of thy ser- 32. vant our father with sorrow to 6 the grave.6 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto "my13 father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee,14 then shall I bear 33. the blame to my father forever. Now therefore, "let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bond man to my lord ; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 34. For how shall I go up to my father, and 15 the lad be not , Gr. Syr. our. a Gr. Vg. ye. 3 SV harm. 'Gr. . adds, in the way. sSV will. 6SV Sheol. 7 Syr. we. a Gr. Vg. Syr. our. oSV is. IO Sam. me. " m. . soul is knil with the lad's soul. " So Sam. Gr. Vg. , Svr. *3 Sam. his; Syr. our. »*Gr. adds, and set him before thee. *s SV if. 27. In this verse and the two following Judah seems to be enlarg ing upon 42 : 38 for the purpose of stirring Joseph's sympathies. 30. For when I come to my father the better reading seems to be when we (Syr.) come to our (Gr. Vg. Syr.) father. His life is bound up in the lad's life ; lit. his soul is bound up in his soul. The mean ing of the expression is clear from i Sam. 18 : i, where it is used of the intimate affection between David and Jonathan. 31. The phrase with us has fallen out of the Hebrew text, but is found in that of the Samaritans and in the Versions. 32. For my father the Samaritans read, perhaps correctly, his father. 33. Let thy servant abide. Compare the cruel and mercenary Judah of 37 : 26. 327 45 :i GENESIS with me ? "lest I see the evil * that shall come on my father. J 45. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried,2 "Cause 3 every man to go out from me.4 And there stood no man with him,5 while Joseph 6 made himself known unto his E 2. brethren. | And he wept aloud: and7 the Egyptians 3. heard, °* and 8 the house of Pharaoh heard. f And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph 9; "doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not an swer 10 him; for "they were troubled u at his presence." | 1 Gr. plu. a Gr. Syr. said ; Vg. commanded. 3 Sam. ms. and caused. « Sam. him. s Gr. Joseph. 6 Gr. he. 1 Gr. adds, all. 8 Vg. adds, all. » Syr. adds, your brother. IO Syr. speak a word to. " Gr. om. 34. The peculiar construction of the last clause in Hebrew makes it mean, lest I see, and suffer in seeing, the evil that shall come on my father. (e) The brother revealed, 45 : 1-15. Joseph, overcome by the simple eloquence of Judah, hastily dismisses his attendants and makes himself known to his brothers, assuring them that, so far from cherishing any resentment toward them, he regards their treat ment of him as part of a providential arrangement to save them as well as the Egyptians from starvation. Finally he urges them to return to Canaan, tell his father the story of his greatness, and bring the whole family to Egypt, that he may sustain them during the famine, at the same time overwhelming them, especially Benjamin, with manifestations of affection. In this paragraph the compiler has drawn in about equal measure from both the Judean and the Ephraimite sources. 1. For Cause every man, etc., another reading, and one that deserves consideration, is, and caused every man to go out from him. ¦4. The last clause, and the house of Pharaoh heard, seems to be a gloss suggested by v. 16, but to refer in this case to the noise of weeping. 3. Doth my father yet live? According to the Judean author, Joseph asked this question when his brothers arrived. See 43 : 27. They were troubled ; more than ever, to find that the man who had them in his power was one who had the best of reasons for doing them an ill turn. 328 GENESIS 45 : 10 4. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I j pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am 5. Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. And now "be not grieved, | nor angry with yourselves, | that E, J ye sold me hither: | for God did send me before you E 6. to preserve life. For "these two years hath the famine been in the land; and there are yet five years, in the 1 7. which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in 8. the earth, and to save you alive 2 by a great deliverance.2 So now "it was not you that sent me hither, but God : and he hath made me "a father to Pharaoh, and "lord 9. of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. | J Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me "lord of 10. all Egypt: "come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in "the land of Goshen,3 and "thou shalt be 1 SV om. a m. to be a great company that escape. 3 Gr. Gesem of Arabia. 4. This verse is the Judean parallel to v. 3. 5. To get the thought of the Judean version one must connect the exhortation, be not grieved that ye sold me hither, with v. 9, from which it appears that Joseph is disposed to forgive his brothers be cause their hatred has wrought to his advantage. The Ephraimite author in the latter half of the verse and the following context puts into his mouth a more developed doctrine of providence. 6. These two years. This, then, was the ninth year since Joseph stood before Pharaoh, and according to the Priestly chronology the thirty-ninth of his life. See 41 : 45. 8. In the clause it was not you, the last word should be changed to ye. A father; adviser, counsellor. On lord of all his house see 41 : 40. 9. On lord of all Egypt see 41 : 41. Come down unto me. In v. 18 (E) the invitation comes from Pharaoh. 10. The land of Goshen, Eg. Kesm, was originally the country along the eastern edge of the Delta, but the name here seems to be applied to the whole region of Wady Tumilat between the Delta and Lake Timsah, or possibly to the eastern portion of it. In the 329 45 :" GENESIS near unto me, thou, and thy children, and1 thy children's children,1 and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou n. hast: and there will I nourish thee2; for there are yet five years of famine; lest thou come to poverty, thou, E 12. and thy household, and all that thou hast. | And, be hold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Ben jamin, that 3it is "my mouth that speaketh 3 unto you. | J 13. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and 14. bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin E 15. wept upon his neck. | And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren "talked4 with him. 1 Syr. the children of thy house. a Syr. you. 3 Tar. in your tongue I am speak ing. * Vg. dared talk. latter case it is properly called by the Priestly writer in 46 : 28 and 47 : 11 " the land of Rameses." The centre of this latter region was Pithom (Tell el-Maskhuta), the Greek name of which, Heroopolis, is therefore twice used in 46 : 28 f. by the Greek translators where a city seems to be intended. Here they employ Gesem of Arabia, Arabia being the country east of the Delta, or any part of it. Thou shalt be near unto me implies that the royal residence was at this time within easy reach of Goshen. See also 46 : 29 ; 47 : 29. The capital of Egypt was at Bubastis (near Zagazig) about the time this passage is supposed to have been written, and had been since She- shonk I., founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty, proclaimed himself king there in 945 B.C. It is possible that the writer carried the conditions of his own time back to the days of Joseph. 12. My mouth; I myself. See the variants. 14. The scene closes, according to the Judean version, with Joseph and Benjamin in each other's arms. 15. The Ephraimite version is less dramatic. Joseph finally so far overcame the fears of his brothers that they talked with him, i.e., as the Vulgate paraphrases the passage, dared to talk with him. (/) Pharaoh's invitation, 45 : 16-28. When Pharaoh hears that Joseph's brothers are in Egypt, he gives orders that they be supplied with food and wagons and invited to bring their father and their 330 GENESIS 45 : 20 16. And" the fame 1 thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it2 pleased 17. Pharaoh "well, and his a servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye ; "lade your beasts,4 and go, 5 get you ° unto the land of Canaan ; 18. and take your father and "your households, and come unto me : and I will give you °6 the good 6 of the land 19. of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. [ "Now 7 thou art commanded,7 this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your 8 little ones, and for 20. your wives,8 and bring your father, and come. Also 1 SV report. a Syr. the thing, s Vg. all his. « Syr. adds, with grain. s Gr. om. ; Syr. bring. b Gr. all the good. ? Sam. / have commanded; Gr. Vg. command thou; Syr. adds, say to thy brethren. 8 Gr. Vg. wives . . . little ones. families to Egypt, promising to provide for them bountifully on their arrival. Joseph not only fulfils the king's instructions, but sends his brothers away laden with presents for themselves and provisions for their father. When they reach home their father at first refuses to credit their report, but, being convinced by the preparations for his removal, he consents to undertake the journey. 16. The fame thereof; not of the weeping, but of the arrival of Joseph's brothers. Compare v. 2. The word well has no equivalent in the original, which reads, literally, it was good in the eyes of Pharaoh. 17. Lade your beasts ; naturally, as the Syriac Version adds, with grain. 18. Your households ; for all the sons of Jacob but Benjamin, and he also, perhaps, according to the Ephraimite narrative, must have been married. The good ; a familiar Hebrew idiom for the best. Here, as appears from the following clause, it is the products of the land that are meant. In 47 : 6 it is the land assigned to the Hebrews, the land of Goshen. 19. The clause Now thou art commanded is so difficult to construe that it is generally regarded as either a copyist's mistake or an edi torial addition. The reading of the Greek and Latin Versions, But command thou, is preferable to the present text. Note that here it is Pharaoh who orders the wagons, while in vs. 21 and 27 (E) Joseph is credited with furnishing them. See, also, 46 : 5. The so-called wagons are the carts ordinarily used in transporting freight both in Egypt and in Syria. See Erman, LAE, 490. Two of them could be hitched together to make a proper wagon. 331 45 : 21 GENESIS regard not "your stuff ; for D1 the good of all ' the land E 21. of Egypt is yours. And "the sons of Israel did so : | and R Joseph "gave them wagons, | "according to the com- E mand 2 of Pharaoh,3 | and gave them provision for 22. the way. °4 To all of them4 he gave 5 each man5 changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave "three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. 23. And to his father he sent °6 after this manner 6; ten 7 asses laden with "the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with °s corn and bread and victual 8 24. for his father by the way. So he sent his brethren 1 Gr. Vg. all the good of. a Syr. word of the mouth. 3 Gr. adds, king (of Egypt). 4 Syr. adds these words to the preceding clause. s Gr. om. 6 Vg. as much in money and garments, and added. 1 Gr. Syr. and ten. 8 Gr. bread; Vg. grain and bread; Syr. grain and wine and provision. 20. Your stuff ; lit. your vessels. The loss would not be a serious one, the household utensils of the nomad then, as now, being few in number and of the cheapest material. The good of all ; the best of all. 21. The sons of Israel did so ; loaded their asses, and, having received the wagons ordered by Pharaoh, set forth on their return to Canaan. Thus far the Judean version. At this point the compiler has introduced another extract from the parallel narrative, accord ing to which Joseph, apparently on his own initiative, gave them wagons. To make the transition from the one to the other as easy as possible he inserted the adverbial clause according to the com mand of Pharaoh. 22. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment is intelli gible in Hebrew, but to each of them he gave a change of raiment would be better English. Three hundred pieces of silver. On the value see 20 : 16. 23. After this manner is rendered by the Versions as if it referred to the just mentioned gifts, and the items which follow were presents for Jacob. See the variants. The expression may, however, mean as follows, and, in the absence of a connective with the next clause, this seems the best way to interpret it. The good tilings; the best. Corn and bread and victual. There is evidently something wrong at this point. Perhaps the original reading was corn for bread. See the variants. 24. The author here quoted (E) has consistently represented the GENESIS 45 : 28 away, and they departed : and he said unto them, 1 See 25. that ye 1 "fall not out by the way. And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto 26. Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, Joseph 2 is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And 3 his heart fainted, for "he 3 believed them not. | 27. And they told him all "the words of Joseph, which he J had said unto them: | and when he saw the wagons E which Joseph had sent "to carry him, the spirit of Jacob 28. their father revived: | and Israel said, It is enough4; J "Joseph my son is yet alive : I will go and see him before I die. 1 Heb. om. a Gr. Thy son Joseph. 3 Gr. Jacob's mind failed, for he; Vg. Jacob, as if awaking from a heavy sleep. * Gr. Vg. add, for me if; Syr. adds, for '.ne that. brothers of Joseph as haunted by fear induced by bad consciences. See 42 : 28 ; 45 : 3. He has finally for the time being overcome this feeling. See 45 : 12, 15. There is danger, however, of its recur rence. If such a thing should happen, they would probably not return to Egypt. Hence his charge, Fall not out, or better, Be not disturbed, by the way. 26. He believed them not. The news was too good to be true. 27. The words of Joseph are doubtless those of vs. 9 ff. The latter half of the verse should be connected with v. 26. To carry him ; also the women and children of his family. 28. According to the Judean version it is the message from Joseph (27a) by which Jacob is convinced that Joseph is yet alive. (S) Egypt a refuge, 46 : 1-47 : 27 The next section describes the removal of Jacob and his family to Egypt and the measures by which Joseph preserved them as well as the Egyptians from perishing during the last five years of the famine. (a) The descent into Egypt, 46 : 1-27. Jacob, being encouraged so to do in a. vision at Beer-sheba, removes to Egypt, taking with him all his possessions and the children and grandchildren, with the exception of those already there, with which God has blessed him. The sources are the Ephraimite and the Priestly narratives, with a fragment from the Judean and some editorial additions. 333 46 : i GENESIS J 46. And "Israel took his journey with all that he had, | R, E "and came to Beer-sheba, | and offered sacrifices 1 unto 2. "the God of his father Isaac. And God "spake* unto "Israel * in * 2 the "visions 2f of the night, and said, Jacob, 3 . Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, 3 the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; 4. for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and "I will also surely4 bring thee up again : and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine R eyes. And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: | and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little 5. ones, and their wives, in "the wagons which Pharaoh s P 6. had sent "to carry him. | 6 And "they took their cattle,6 and their 7 goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed 1 Gr. a sacrifice. a Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. a vision. 3 Gr. Syr. om. ; Vg. adds, Almighty. < Syr. om. 3 Gr. Joseph. 6 Vg. om. * Heb. mss. all their; Gr. Vg. all the. 1. Israel took his journey; probably, according to the Judean narrative, from Hebron, although 37 : 21, as has been shown, cannot be cited in support of this opinion. See 38 : 1. In the Ephraimite version, on the other hand, the starting point was probably Beer sheba. When, therefore, the two were united, the clause and came to Beer-sheba is supposed to have been inserted to bring them into accord. The God of his father Isaac; who had worshipped there before him. See 26 : 25. 2. The word spake is evidently a copyist's mistake for the very similar (Hebrew) word appeared. Read also for Israel, Jacob, as at the end of the verse, and for visions, with the Versions, a vision. 4. The promise, I will surely bring thee up, is not for Jacob per sonally, but, as appears from the next clause, for his descendants. 5. On the wagons which Pharaoh had sent, see 45 : 19. To carry him; perhaps a mistake for to carry them. 6. They took their cattle. One would infer from the close con nection that the Priestly writer is here referring to the same date as well as the same event that the authors of vs. 1-4 had in mind. This, however, cannot be the case ; for, whereas in 41 : 45 Joseph, accord ing to the same author, is only thirty years of age and Jacob a little 334 GENESIS 46 : n 7. with him : his sons, and his sons' sons "*' with him/f his daughters,2 and his sons' daughters,2 "and all his 8. seed 3 brought he with him into Egypt.3 And these are the names of the children of Israel, "which 4 came into Egypt, °* Jacob and his sons:f "Reuben, Jacob's first- 9. born. And "the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Pallu, 10. and Hezron, and Carmi. And "the sons of Simeon; "Jemuel, and Jamin, and "Ohad,5 and "Jachin, and "Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. n. And "the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath,6 and Merari. 'Heb, mss. Gr, om, a Gr. and his daughters' daughters; Vg. om. 3 Gr. brought lie into Egypt; Vg. om. *, SV who. s Syr. Ohor. 6 Heb. mss. Gr. mss. Vg. Syr. Tar. and Kohath. over eighty, in 47 : 9 the latter is a. hundred and thirty ; in other words, Jacob did not remove to Egypt until nearly fifty years after Joseph became prime minister. The only way in which this gap in the chronology can be explained seems to be to suppose that the author detached the migration of Jacob from the famine and post poned it to allow time for the growth of the family to the number given in the table that follows. 7. The first with him should be omitted, as it is in some Hebrew, and most Greek, manuscripts, and the second and all his seed should be rendered even all his seed. 8. If the phrase rendered Jacob and his sons is to be retained, it should be translated Jacob and his children, so that it will include his daughter Dinah and his granddaughter Serah. The clause which came into Egypt must not be taken too strictly, Joseph and his two sons being included. 9. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. In Chronicles Judah is the head of the family, because " from him came the prince," and Reuben is reduced to the third place because " he defiled his father's couch." See 1 Chr. 5 : 1 ff. The names of the sons of Reuben are given in the same form and order in Ex. 6 : 14 ; Num. 26 : 5 f.; and 1 Chr. 10. The names of the sons of Simeon are the same in form and order in Ex. 6 : 13 ; but the name Ohad is wanting in Num. 26 : 12 f. and 1 Chr. 4 : 24, and in both of these passages Jemuel appears as Nemuel and Zohar as Zerah. Finally, in 1 Chr. 4 : 24 Jachin, ap parently by mistake, is written Jarib. 11. The names of the sons of Levi are given in Ex. 6 : 16 ; Num. 33S 46 : 12 GENESIS 12. And "the sons of Judah; "Er, and "Onan, and Shelah,1 and Perez, and Zerah : * but Er and Onan "died in the land of Canaan. f And the sons of Perez were Hezron 13. and Hamul.2 And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and 14. "Puvah, and "Iob,3* and Shimron.4 And "the sons of 15. Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These are "the sons of Leah, "which 5 she bare unto Jacob in Paddan-aram, °* with his daughter Dinah f : all the souls of his sons °* and his daughters f were "thirty and 1 Gr. Selom. a Gr. Iemouel. 3 Sam. Gr. Jashub. * Gr. Zambram. 3 SV whom. 26 : 57 ; and 1 Chr. 6 : 1 in the same form and order as in this pass age. The connective and should be supplied between the first two. See the variants. 12. Er and Onan are reckoned among the sons of Judah, although they died in the land of Canaan; and their names are needed to complete the number of the children of Leah, as given in v. 15, if Dinah's be omitted. The explanation is that originally no reference was made here to the death of these two sons of Judah, and that the one who inserted it added the name of Jacob in v. 8 and that of Dinah in v. 15 to fill their places. The names of the sons of Judah here given are repeated in the same form and order in Num. 26 : 19 ff., and 1 Chr. 2:33. In Ex. 6 neither Judah nor any of the remaining sons of Jacob appear. 13. The name Puvah (Heb. Puwwah) is only another form of the Puah of 1 Chr. 7:1. See Jud. 10 : 1, where Puah is the father, not the son, of Tola. For Iob read, with the Samaritans and other author ities, Jashub, the form found in Num. 26 : 23 and 1 Chr. 7 : 1. 14. The names of the sons of Zebulun are the same, and are given in the same order, in Num. 26 : 20. They are wanting in 1 Chron icles. 15. The sons of Leah ; not strictly, but her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Which she bare, refers, of course, to those of the first generation. The construction of the phrase with his daughter Dinah is such as to show that it was an afterthought. So, also, and his daughters. Thirty and three. The number can be obtained in two ways : 6 sons + 25 grandsons + 2 great-grandsons = 33. Jacob + 6 sons + 1 daughter + 23 grandsons + 2 great-grandsons = 33. The former evidently represents the intent of the original author. 33^ GENESIS 46:21 16. three. And the sons of Gad; "Ziphion,1 and Haggi, Shuni,2 and "Ezbon,3* "Eri,4 and Arodi, and Areli.5 17. And the sons of Asher; Imnah, and "Ishvah, and Ishvi,6 and Beriah, and Serah their sister : and the sons 18. of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, which 7 Laban gave to Leah his daughter, 19. and these she bare unto Jacob, even "sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph and Benjamin. 20. And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Ma nasseh and Ephraim, which 7 Asenath the daughter of 21. Poti-phera priest of On bare unto him. ' And the sons of "Benjamin ; Bela, and Becher,8 and Ashbel,9 Gera, and 1 Sam. Gr. Zephon. a Sam. Gr. Vg. Svr. and Shuni. 3 Sam. Syr. Ezbcon. < Gr. Vg. Syr. with and; Sam. Gr. Syr. Adi. 3 Syr. Adri. • Gr. leaul. ' SV whom. 8 Gr. Chobor; Syr. Achbor. » Gr. adds, and sons were born to Bela. 16. For Ziphion read, with the Samaritans and the Greek Version, Zephon. So Num. 26 : 15. For Ezbon read, with the Samaritans and the Syriac Version, Ezbeon, for which Num. 26 : 15 has Ozni. Eri is perhaps a. mistake for Adi. See the variants. The connective should be supplied after the second and the fourth of these names. See the variants. 17. In Num. 26 : 54 the name Ishvah is wanting, but 1 Chr. 7 : 30 f. agree with this passage. 18. Sixteen souls; 2 sons, 11 grandsons, 1 granddaughter, and 2 great-grandsons. 20. To this verse the Greek Version, which is followed by the Old Latin, adds as follows: And there were bom to Manasseh sons, whom the Syrian concubine bare ; Machir : and Machir begat Gilead. A nd the sons of Ephraim the brother of Manasseh ; Sulalaam and Taam ; and the sons of Sutalaam ; Edem. This is an adaptation of Num. 26 : 29, 35 f., making an addition of five souls which was doubtless suggested, but is not authorized, by 50 : 23. 21. Benjamin, though the youngest of Jacob's sons, here has more sons of his own than any of the others. The parallel passages, how ever, do not tell the same story. There seem to have been two dis tinct traditions, one of which, represented by 1 Chr. 7 : 6 ff. and the Greek Version, gave him only three. Their names, according to the Chronicler were Bela, Becher, and Jediael, according to the Greek, Bela, Chobor, and Ashbel. The other tradition, represented by Num. z 337 46 : 22 GENESIS Naaman, Ehi,1 and Rosh,2 Muppim,1 and Huppim, and 22. Ard.3 These are the sons of Rachel, which 4 5were 23. born to Jacob5: all the souls were "fourteen.6 And 24. the "sons of Dan; Hushim. And "the sons of Naph tali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. 25. These are the sons of Bilhah, which 7 Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob: 26. all the souls were "seven. All the souls 8 that came with Jacob8 into Egypt, which9 came out of his loins, be sides Jacob's sons' wives, * all the souls were "three- 27. score and six; and the sons of Joseph, which4 were born to him in Egypt, were "two 10 souls : all the souls 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. with and. a Syr. Orush. 3 Gr. Gera begat Ard. * SV who. s Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. Tar. she bare to Jacob. 6 Gr. eighteen. ? SV whom. 8 m. belonging to Jacob that came. 9 SV tliat. IO Gr. nine (seven). 26 : 38 ff. and 1 Chr. 8:1 ff., gave him five sons. In the former passage their names are Belah, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, and Hupham ; in the latter the last three are replaced by Ahara, Nohah, and Rapha. In the Greek Version the names here given, from the fourth to the ninth, are the names of sons of Bela, while the tenth is that of a son of Gera. Any such scheme is entirely inconsistent with the Judean or the Ephraimite version of the story of Joseph, but, as has been shown, there is plenty of room for it in the chronology of the Priestly narrative. See v. 6 and the comments. For tabular presentation of the children of Benjamin according to the various sources mentioned, see the Appendix, Note D. 22. Fourteen ; 2 sons and 1 2 grandsons. 23. Dan is credited with sons, but only one name is given, Hushim, and that, according to Num. 26 : 42, is a mistake for Shuham. See, also, 1 Chr. 7 : 12 and 8 : 8, where the former is a Benjamite name. 24. In Num. 26 : 48 f., the names of the sons of Naphtali are given in the same form and order as in this passage, but in 1 Chr. 7 : 13 the last two have the forms Jahziel and Shallum. 25. Seven ; 2 sons and 5 grandsons. 26. The number threescore and six is obtained by adding together : the sons of Leah, minus Er and Onan, but plus Dinah, 32 ; the sons of Zilpah, 16; the sons of Rachel, minus Joseph and his sons, 11; and the sons of Bilhah, 7 : total, 66. These came with Jacob, the sixty- seventh, to Egypt. 33» GENESIS 46 : 29 of the house of Jacob, which 1 came into Egypt,f were °2 threescore and ten.2 28. And he sent "Judah before him unto Joseph, °3to shew the way before him3 "unto "Goshen4; 5and they* 29. came into the land of "Goshen.5 And "Joseph made 1 SV that. a Gr. seventy and five. 3 Sam. Syr. to appear before him; Gr. to meet him ; Vg. lo give notice to him and meet him. * Gr. by Heroopolis. 3 Sam. Vg. and he came, etc. ; Gr. in the land of Rameses. 27. In Egypt there were born to Joseph, the sixty-eighth, two souls, making the round number threescore and ten. The same result is reached by simply adding together the separate groups as they are given in the list, — for 33 + 16 + 14 + 7 = 70, — and this was probably, as has already been suggested, the idea of the original author. In the Greek Version the total, of course, is seventy and five. The above list must not be regarded as a proper genealogy. In the first place, while some of the names are doubtless used to desig nate persons, there are others of a different character. Thus Hezron, Shimron, and Zephon are towns in the region where the respective tribes were settled. Arodi and Areli, and perhaps others with the same ending, are gentilic nouns, meaning the Arodite, Arelite, etc. Finally Muppim, Huppim, and Hushim are plurals, and therefore unsuited to serve to designate individuals. On the three classes see 10 : 13 ff. Note, also, that in 1 Chr. 7 : 8 Anathoth and Alemeth, well- known places, are among the sons of Becher. (b) The reception in Egypt, 46 : 28-47 : I2- This was first per sonal, from Joseph, and second, official, from the king himself. (a) With Joseph in Goshen, 46 : 28-34. Joseph, being notified of Jacob's approach, goes forth in a chariot to meet him in Goshen. After they have exchanged greetings Joseph returns to inform Pharaoh of his father's arrival, first instructing his brothers how, when they are presented at court, they should order their words to secure a suitable assignment in the country. The source is the Judean narrative. 28. The reappearance of Judah marks a change of authorship. To shew the way before him can hardly be a correct rendering in view of what follows. Better, to announce him, give notice of his approach. If Goshen were here a city, it would hardly be the Heroopolis of the Greek Version ; for, although this city was in the region called Goshen, there is no evidence that it was ever called by the same name. The city of Goshen (Eg. Kesm) was probably at the modern Saft el- Henna, on the right bank of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, east of Bubastis. In the last clause read, with the Samaritans, he, Jacob, came, etc. 339 46 : 30 GENESIS ready his chariot, and "went up to meet Israel his father, 1 to Goshen l ; and "he ** presented himself unto 2| him, and fell on his neck, and wept 3on his neck3 a good 30. while. And Israel said unto Joseph, "Now let me die, 31. since I have seen thy face,4 that thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren, °*5 and unto his father's house,5f °I wiH g° UP> and tell Pharaoh, and will say unto him, "My brethren and my father's house, which 8 32. were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me ; and the men are shepherds, °*for they have been 7 keepers of cattle 7f ; and they have brought their flocks, and their 33. herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What 1 Gr. by Heroopolis. a Vg. saw. 3 Gr. Vg. om. + Syr. adds, my son. 3 Gr. om. b S V who. ' Syr. possessors of properly. 29. Joseph made ready his chariot; on hearing from Judah that his father was approaching. He went up ; from the Nile and toward the higher regions to the eastward. He presented himself unto him is certainly not the original reading. Better, as in the Vulgate, he saw him, i.e., when he saw him, he fell, etc. There is nothing to indicate where Judah found Joseph, but it cannot have been far from the land of Goshen. If the date is that of the Hyksos, the court may have been at Avaris, their stronghold, which, according to .Petrie, was at Tell el-Yehudiyeh, on the edge of the desert, about twenty miles north of Cairo. From this point it would be easy to reach Goshen, although the eastern border of the region so called was at least seventy miles distant. 30. Now let me die is not a prayer for death, but, as the Tar gum interprets it, the equivalent of, If I should die now, I should be content. 31. The phrase and unto his father's house has no meaning in this connection. It is not strange, therefore, that it should be wanting in the Greek Version. I will go up ; to the court. My brethren, and my father's house. Here the latter expression has a meaning. It distinguishes the rest of the family from the brothers, with whom the king was already acquainted. 32. The clause for they have been keepers of cattle seems to have been borrowed from v. 34. 340 GENESIS 47- 3 47. 34. is your occupation? that ye shall say, Thy servants have been "' keepers of cattle l from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers: "that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen '; for °*3 every shepherd is3f an abomination unto the Egyptians. Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, My J father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan : and, behold, they are 4 in the land of Goshen. And from among his brethren he took 5 five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his 6 brethren, What is your occupation ? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, 1 Syr. possessors of property. a Gr. Gesem of Arabia. 3 Sam. Vg. Syr. Tar. all shepherds are. * Vg. Syr. add, slaying. s Sam. adds, with him. t Sam. Gr. Syr. Joseph's. 34. Here keepers of cattle takes the place of the narrower term shepherds. That ye may dwell in the land of Goshen. Here, again, the purpose is an indirect one. The men are advised frankly to ac knowledge their calling, not because it will be any credit to them, but because the Egyptian repugnance tc it will prompt Pharaoh to locate them in the outlying nome where there is the best pasturage. For every shepherd is, the better reading is all shepherds are, an abomina tion. The herdsmen were especially offensive because they pastured their cattle on the marshes, where they followed a filthy mode of life, and the average Egyptian made cleanliness the first of duties. (b) Before the king of Egypt, 47 : 1-12. Joseph reports the arri val of his family and presents, first, five of his brothers, who, when Pharaoh asks them about their calling, tell him that they are shepherds and ask him to allow them to settle in Goshen ; and he grants their request. Later Joseph introduces his father, and Pharaoh receives him with great interest and condescension. Finally, Joseph puts his father and brothers in possession of the land allotted to them and supplies them with food during the famine. The paragraph is com posed of extracts from the Judean and Priestly sources. 1. Joseph does what he can in his introductory speech to turn the king's thoughts in the desired direction by calling his attention to the fact that Jacob's flocks and herds are already in the land of Goshen. 34i 47 : 4 GENESIS 4. and our fathers. *And they said unto Pharaoh, f To sojourn in the land are we come; for there is no pasture for thy servants' flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan : now therefore, we pray thee, let P 5. thy servants "dwell in the land of Goshen.1 | "And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and 6. thy brethren are come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee ; "in the best of the land make thy father and J thy brethren to dwell2; | in the land of Goshen let them dwell : and if thou knowest any 3 able men 3 among them, then make them rulers over °4 my cattle.4 | P 7. And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him 8. before Pharaoh: and "Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, "How many are the days of the 1 Gr. inserts, And Pharaoh said unto Joseph; also 6b; also, And there came into Egypt lo Joseph Jacob and his sons; and Pharaoh king of Egypt heard. 3 See v. 4. 3 m. men of activity. * Syr. all my properly. 4. The brothers, having answered Pharaoh's question, abandon finesse and bluntly ask permission to dwell in the land of Goshen. 5. At this point the Greek Version diverges from the Hebrew text, beginning this verse as follows: And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Let them dwell in the land of Goshen : and if thou knowest that there are able men among them, appoint them rulers over my cattle (6b). Then follows the statement, And there came into Egypt to Joseph Jacob and his sons; and Pharaoh king of Egypt heard. Finally comes, And Pharaoh spake, etc., i.e., v. 5 as above given. Here, as in many other cases, the Greek translation seems to have preserved the original reading. 6. According to the Priestly writer, therefore, Pharaoh, on hearing of the arrival of Joseph's family, and without waiting to be asked, gave orders that they be settled in the best of the land. My cattle. The kings of Egypt had cattle in great numbers. The superintendents of the oxen, therefore, were among the important officers of the crown. The Greek Version naturally omits the latter part of the verse in this connection. 7. Jacob blessed Pharaoh ; greeted him with a benediction. See 43 : 29 ; Ruth 2:4; etc. 8. How many? The original is more polite, asking, About how many ? 342 GENESIS 47 : " 9. years of thy life? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage 1 are "an hundred and thirty years: "few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto 2 the days of 2 3 the years of 3 °4 the life of 4 my fathers 10. 5in the days of their pilgrimage.5 And "Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in "the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had 12. commanded. | And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their "families. 1 m. sojournings; Gr. life that I live. a Syr. om. 3 Sam. Vg. om. « Vg. om. s m. in lite days of their sojournings ; Gr. which they lived. 9. An hundred and thirty years. Joseph, therefore, according to the same author, must have been seventy-seven years old. Few and evil. Abraham lived to the age of a. hundred and seventy-five and Isaac five years longer. See 25 : 7; 35 : 28. The life of my fathers is another notable instance of the use of the singular, in imita tion of the Hebrew, where the English idiom requires the plural. 10. Jacob blessed Pharaoh ; gave him a parting salutation. n. The land of Rameses. The region in question cannot at the time have had the name here given to it, since it was so called for Rameses IL, and he did not begin his reign until about 1300 B.C., or some centuries after the supposed time of Joseph. In this nome was the city of Rameses, from which the children of Israel started when they left Egypt under Moses. See Ex. 12 : 37. It has been identi fied by Petrie with Tell er-Retabeh, in Wady Tumilat, nearly midway between Zagazig and Ismailiyeh. 12. The word here rendered families is elsewhere translated little ones, and there is no reason why it should not be so rendered in this case. See 43 : 8 ; 45 : 19. (c) Joseph's statesmanship, 47 : 13-27. The famine continues until all the money among the Egyptians is exhausted. Then Joseph gives them grain in exchange for their cattle and finally for their land. Thus all the land, except that of the priests, comes into the possession of the crown, and is rented to the people for a fifth of the product. The source, except in 27b (P), is the Judean. 343 47 : 13 GENESIS j 13. And "there was no bread in all the land ; for the fam ine was very sore, so that • the land of Egypt * and 1 "the 14. land of Canaan | fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, * and in the land of Canaan, f for the corn which they bought 2 : and Joseph brought 3 the 15. money into "Pharaoh's house. And when the money was "all 4 * spent in the land of Egypt, * and in the land of Canaan, f all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: 5for why should we5 die in thy 16. presence? for °our money faileth. And Joseph said, Give "your cattle ; and I will give you 6 for "your cattle, 17. "if money fail. And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for "the horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds, and for the asses : and "he fed them with bread in exchange 18. for all their cattle for that year. And when that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said 1 Tar. adds, the people of. ' Gr. adds, and he dealt grain to them. 3 Gr. adds, all. * So Gr.; Heb. om. 3 Syr. that we may live and not. 6 Sam. Gr. Vg. add, bread. 13. There was no bread ; the crops having failed at least twice in succession. See 45 : 11. The references to the land of Canaan in this and the following verses are probably all glosses, since it is only with the Egyptians that Joseph really has to do. 14. Pharaoh's house ; the so-called " White House," the treasury of the empire. 15. All spent. Better, exhausted. Our money faileth is incorrect. Better, money there is none. 16. Your cattle ; including the four kinds named in v. 17. If money fail ; if there is no money. 17. The horses. These animals were introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos, during whose dominance Joseph is supposed to have been carried to Egypt. See Breasted, HE, 222. He fed them; sustained them, the verb being the same that in Ps. 23 : 2 is rendered lead. 344 GENESIS unto him, We will not hide from my * lord, how that our money is "all2 spent; and the herds of cattle are my 3 lord's ; there is nought left in the sight of my 4 lord, 19. but our bodies, and "our lands5: wherefore should we die before thine eyes, "both we and our land 6 ? buy us and our land 7for bread, and we and our land 7 will be "servants unto Pharaoh : and "give us seed, that we may 20. live, and not die, and that the land be not desolate. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field,8 because the famine was sore upon them: and "the land became 21. Pharaoh's. And as for the people, "he 9 removed them 9 10 to the cities10 from one end of the border of Egypt even 22. to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. our. a So Syr. ; Heb. om. 3 Syr. our. * Gr. Syr. our. 3 So Syr.; Heb. Gr. Vg. sing. 6 Heb. mss. Sam. mss. Syr. plu.; Gr. adds, be wasted. ' Heb. mss. Sam. mss. plu. 8 Gr. adds, lo Pharaoh. ° Sam. Gr. Vg. made them slaves. IO m. according lo their cities; Gr. to him; Syr. Tar. from city to city. 18. All spent. See v. 15. Our lands. The original has the singular here, as in the following verses. See the variants. 19. Both we and our land. Here it would have been better to supply a second verb for the subject land, and render, e.g., and our land become desolate. So, also, for servants unto Pharaoh a better rendering would be Pharaoh's, or, the possession of Pharaoh. Give us seed. They still have faith in their wonderful soil. 20. The land became Pharaoh's. In early times the land in Egypt was largely held by a few families. After the expulsion of the Hyksos that belonging to the heads of these families was confiscated, except in the nome of el-Kab. Thus the landed property passed into the posses sion of the crown and the temples. 21. He removed them to the cities. At first sight this seems a wise measure, but if, as must be taken for granted, the people still got what they could from the soil, it was plainly impracticable. This being the case, it is a relief to know that there is another reading, he caused them to serve as slaves, which not only answers the requirements of the context, but has the support of the Samaritans and the Greek and Latin Versions. The difference between the two in Hebrew is so slight that one of them would easily be mistaken for the other. 345 47 :22 47 : 23 GENESIS bought he1 not: for "the priests had a portion from Pha raoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them ; 23. wherefore they sold not their land. Then Joseph said unto 2 the people,2 Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh : lo, here is seed for you, and 24. ye shall "sow the land. And it shall come to pass at the ingatherings, that ye shall give "a fifth unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them 3 of your households, 25. *4 and for food for your little ones.4 f And they said, Thou hast saved our lives : let us find grace 5 in the sight of my 6 lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants. 26. And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the 1 Gr. Joseph. a Gr. all the Egyptians. 3 Gr. all them; Vg. Syr. food. * Gr. om. s SV favor. 6 Gr. Vg. Syr. our. 22. The priests had a portion from Pharaoh ; an allowance over and above their own revenues. From the earliest times the kings made large gifts to the temples, but " the golden age for the temples began with the Asiatic expeditions of the Eighteenth Dynasty." 23. The people are not held in absolute bondage, but treated as tenants of the king, who provides them with seed with which to sow the land. 24. A fifth unto Pharaoh. There is no record in the annals of Egypt of the establishment of this system, but there is evidence of the existence of something of the kind from the expulsion, of the Hyksos onward. Breasted says on the subject : " Its [the country's] lands, now chiefly owned by the crown, were worked by the king's serfs, controlled by his officials, or intrusted by him as permanent and in divisible fiefs to his favorite nobles, his partisans and relatives. Di visible parcels might also be held by tenants of the untitled class. Both classes of holdings might be transferred by will or sale much in the same way as if the holder actually owned the land." He says further, " Other royal property, like cattle and asses, was held by the people of both classes, subject, like the lands, to an annual assess ment for its use." The last phrase of this verse is only a variant on the preceding, and may well be omitted, as it is by the Greek Version. 346 GENESIS 47 : 30 fifth; only "the land of the priests alone became not 27. Pharaoh's. And Israel dwelt | in the land of Egypt, | P in the land of Goshen ; | and they gat them possessions J, P therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. 28. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years : P so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were "an 29. hundred forty and seven years. | And the time drew J near that Israel must die : and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, "If now I have found grace ' in thy sight, "put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh,2 and deal kindly and "truly with me: bury me not, I pray 30. thee, in Egypt : but "when I sleep with my fathers, thou 1 SV favor. a Syr. adds, and I will cause thee to swear by tile Lord. 26. The land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh's. This exception is in harmony with the Egyptian records. " The temples had lands and other property of their own, but these estates and hold ings were not registered in the ' White House ' for taxation." This provision enabled the priests vastly to increase their wealth. In the reign of Rameses III. the temples of the country had 107,000 slaves, 750,000 acres of land, 500,000 large and small cattle, 169 towns in Egypt, Kush, and Syria, and a fleet of 88 vessels, all exempt from taxation. (6) The last days of Jacob, 47 : 28-50 : 13 Here are grouped together accounts of the patriarch's last acts and the record of his death and burial. (a) A last request, 47 : 28-31. Jacob, finding that he must soon die, calls Joseph and secures from him a promise that he will not bury him in Egypt, but in a place of his own choice. The first verse is from the Priestly, the rest from the Judean, narrative. 28. An hundred forty and seven years. Joseph himself at this time, according to the same authority, was near the end of his life, being no less than ninety-four years of age. See 50 : 26. 29. If now I have found grace in thy sight. The attitude of the old man toward his distinguished son is one of dignified humility. Put thy hand under my thigh. See 24 : 2. For truly a better ren dering would be faithfully. 30. When I sleep with my fathers. In 15 : 15 going to one's fathers might be interpreted as equivalent to being buried ; here the 347 47 : 31 GENESIS shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in o1 their * buryingplace.1 And he2 said, I will do as thou hast 31. said. And he said, Swear unto me: and he sware unto him. And "Israel bowed himself upon the bed's 3 head. E 48. And it came to pass after these "things, that one said 1 Vg. the sepulchre of my ancestors. a Vg. Syr. Joseph. 3 Gr. Syr. staff's. two are clearly distinguished and represented as occurring at dif ferent times and places. The place of burial is called their burying place, i.e., the place where the fathers were buried. It is doubtful, however, if this was the original reading, for in 50 : 5 Joseph says that his father wished to be buried in a grave that he himself had digged. This statement would require here my buryingplace, which could only be interpreted as referring to the place where he buried Rachel. Another suggestion is that this verse was once preceded by 48 : 7, and that the reading was then her (Rachel's) buryingplace. See, however, 48 : 7. The change from my (or her) was made to bring this passage into harmony with the later teaching, that all three of the patriarchs were buried at Hebron. See 49 : 29 ff. 31. In Heb. 11 : 21, where this passage is cited, Jacob is described as worshipping, " leaning upon the top of his staff," and this render ing is the one found in the Greek, Old Latin, and Syriac Versions ; but it is clearly mistaken, since in 48 : 2 and 49 : 33 the Hebrew word here used, which by a change in the pronunciation may mean either staff or bed, has the latter meaning. The explanation of the statement that Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head probably is, that, on receiving the promise just made him, he turned on the couch on which he was sitting and prostrated himself toward the head of it to give thanks, just as David did under similar circum stances. See 1 Kgs. 1 : 47; also 24 : 26, 52. (b) The sons of Joseph, 48 : 1-22. Joseph, hearing that his father is sick, pays him a visit, taking his two sons with him. Jacob re calls the promise of God at Bethel and formally adopts Ephraim and Manasseh, making them heirs with his other sons to the promised blessing. Then he embraces and blesses them, taking pains, in spite of Joseph's protest, to lay his right hand on Ephraim's head and his left on Manasseh's. The story is composite, containing an almost complete account from each of the three sources. 1. The things after which the incident here narrated is dated are probably those relating to the migration to Egypt, as given by the 348 GENESIS 48 :6 to Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick : and "he took with 2. him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.1 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: | and "Israel strengthened himself, and sat J 3. upon the bed. | And Jacob said unto Joseph, 2 God P Almighty2 appeared unto me "at Luz in the land of 4. Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me, Behold, I will 3 make thee fruitful,3 and multiply thee, and I will make, of thee * a company 4 of peoples ; and will give 5 this land 5 to thy seed after thee for an everlasting pos- 5. session. And now thy two sons, which 6 were born unto thee in 7 the land of 7 Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt,8 are mine; "Ephraim and Manasseh, 6. even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine. And "thy issue, which 9 thou begettest 10 after them, shall be thine; they shall be "called after the name of their brethren in 1 Gr. adds, and came to Jacob. a Gr. my God. 3 Syr. bless thee. * Gr. Vg. companies, s Gr. Vg. lo them this land and. 6 SV who. ' Gr. mss. om. 8 Syr. the land of Egypt. ° SV that. IO m. hast begotten. Ephraimite author, but not preserved by the compiler. He took with him his two sons; that they might receive the old man's bless ing:- See 27 : 4 ff. At the end of the verse the Greek Version adds, and came to Jacob, which is really required to complete it. 2. The Ephraimite version is here interrupted by a fragment from the Judean, in which the recovery of Israel — the name is significant — from his prostrate attitude is noted. Israel strengthened himself, and sat ; sat up with an effort in preparation for the scene with the boys, the description of which begins with 9b. 3. Before the Ephraimite author is allowed to proceed the whole incident, as given by the Priestly writer, is interjected. At Luz. See 35 : 9 ff. 5. Ephraim and Manasseh. Here, as in the parallel accounts, Ephraim is placed first, but here, since no explanation is given, the implication is that he is the elder. See, however, 46 : 18. • 6. Thy issue, which thou begettest after them. There is no men tion of any other sons of Joseph. Called after the name of their brethren • reckoned either to the tribe of Ephraim or to that of Manasseh. 349 48 : 7 GENESIS R 7. their inheritance. | And as for me, when I came from "Paddan,1 Rachel 2 died °3 by me 3 in the land of Canaan in the way, 4 when there was still some way 4 to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the E 8. way 5 to Ephrath5 (the same is Beth-lehem). | And "Israel * beheld Joseph's sons, and said, "Who are 9. these 6 ? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my J sons, whom God hath given me here. | And he 7 said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 10. Now "the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he E could not see.8 | And he brought them near unto him; n. and he kissed them and embraced them. And "Israel * said unto Joseph, °9 1 had not thought to see a thy face : 1 Sam. Gr. Syr. add, aram. a Sam. Gr. add, thy mother. 3 m. to my sorrow; Gr. Vg. om. * Gr. as I drew near by the course of Chabratha of the land; Vg. and it was spring lime; Syr. about the distance of a parasang of land. s Gr. of the course. 6 Sam. Gr. add, to thee. 1 Gr. Jacob. 8 Syr. adds, well. 0 Gr. Vg. (Lo) I was not bereaved of. 7. For Paddan read, with the Samaritans and the Greek and Syriac Versions, Paddan-aram. By me. Better, as in the margin, to my sorrow, colloquial, on me. On the remainder of the verse see 35 : 16 ff. The reference to the latter passage is obvious, but there seems to be no reason why it should have been inserted here ; unless it was in anticipation of 49 : 28 ff., which once immediately, or almost immediately, followed this passage. 8. The statement that Israel beheld Joseph's sons palpably con tradicts 10a, where the patriarch is represented as nearly, if not quite, blind. The explanation is that this passage, although it has the name Israel, is from the Ephraimite, while 10a is from the Ju dean, narrative. This verse is therefore the continuation of 2a. Who are these? or, as the Samaritan reading might be rendered, Whom hast thou here ? 9. The first part of this verse is the reply to Jacob's question ; the rest is another fragment of Judean origin, according to which Jacob did not see the boys. 10. The reason is given : the eyes of Israel were dim for age. The latter half of the verse continues 9a. 11. Here, again, the name Jacob seems to have been changed to Israel. I had not thought to see thy face. He supposed him dead. See 37 : 33a. 35° GENESIS 48 : 15 12. and, lo, God hath let me see thy seed also. And Joseph "brought them out from between his knees ; and J he 13. "bowed himself ' with his 2 face to the earth. | And Joseph took 3 them both,3 "Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and "brought them near unto 14. him. And Israel stretched out "his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand hand upon Manasseh's head, "guiding4 his hands wittingly ; °** for Manasseh was the first- 15. born.6t | "And he 6 blessed Joseph,7 and said, "The 1 Sam. Gr. Syr. they bowed themselves; Gr. adds, to him; Syr. adds, before him. aGr. Vg. the; Syr. their. 3 Gr. Syr. his two sons; Vg. om. * m. Gr. crossing; Vg. Syr. changing. s Gr. om. 6 Vg. Syr. Jacob. * Gr. them; Vg. the sons of Joseph; Syr. Joseph his son. 12. Observe that Jacob has not yet blessed the boys. Nor does he now ; because, as soon as he has finished his caresses, Joseph brought the children out from between his knees, and, taking their place, bowed himself to receive a blessing. 13. Thus far the Ephraimite version. For the continuation of it see vs. 15 f. The compiler now returns to the Judean source. In 9a Jacob asked Joseph to bring the boys that he might bless them. This verse is the continuation of that passage. Ephraim toward Israel's left hand ; because he was the younger. On the significance of the right hand, see 1 Kgs. 2 : 19; Ps. 45 : 10 ; no : 1. Joseph would give it to his firstborn. Brought them near. Compare iob (E). 14. His right hand . . . upon Ephraim's head, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head ; although Ephraim, the younger, was on his left, and Manasseh, the older, was on his right. The text represents him as guiding his hands wittingly; but the verb employed in the original seems capable of being rendered cross. Read, therefore, as in the margin, with the Versions, crossing his hands. The final clause, for Manasseh was the firstborn, which is wanting in the Greek Version, has no place in this connection. For the continua tion of the Judean story see v. 17. 15 This verse is the continuation of v. 12. It therefore properly begins, And he blessed Joseph, for it was Joseph who prostrated himself before Jacob to receive this blessing. Jacob, however, does not forget that the sons are present, and that in blessing their father 351 48 : 16 GENESIS God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, "the God which 1 hath fed "me z all my life long 2 16. unto this day, "the angel 3 which 1 hath redeemed me from all evil,4 bless "the5 lads; and "let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and "let them 6 grow into a multitude 6 in J 17. the midst of the earth. | And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him : and he held up his father's hand, "to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. 18. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his 1 SV who. ' Gr. Vg. Syr. from my youth. 3 Sam. king. ^ * Gr. Vg. plu. 3 Sam. Gr. Vg. these. 6 Gr. grow into a great multitude; Syr. increase and mul tiply. he is also blessing them. The passage consists of a threefold invo cation and a threefold benediction. See Num. 6 : 24 ff. The Deity is invoked, first, as The God before whom my fathers did walk : the unfailing Guide and Protector of past generations. Secondly, he is the God which hath fed, or, in the figurative language of the original, tended, as a shepherd tends his sheep, — the God who hath tended me all my life long; the patriarch's personal, and untiring, Benefactor. 16. Thirdly, he is the angel which hath redeemed me from all evil. The angel of God is here God manifest in a sensible form as the patriarch's Deliverer. The blessing is, first of all, general. The object of it is the lads. This is unexpected, but, as has been ex plained, it has its warrant in the relation of the lads to Joseph. They are blessed through him. The benediction now takes a more definite form. Let my name be named on them, and the name (names) of my fathers, is equivalent to the adoption of the boys and their ad mission to a share in the promises which Jacob has inherited. The meaning and effect of these promises appears in the blessing in its final form, let them grow into a multitude. See 15 : 5, etc. 17. This verse is evidently the continuation of v. 14. According to the author (J), the blessing has not yet been pronounced. In deed, Joseph has seized his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head, and thus prevent him from bestowing the proposed blessing. 352 GENESIS 48 : 22 19. head. And 1 his father 1 refused, and said, "I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become "a 20. multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, "In 2 * thee 3 shall 4 Israel bless,5f saying, "God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and "he set 21. Ephraim before Manasseh. | And Israel * said unto E Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall4 be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22. Moreover I have given to thee "one " portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite °* with my sword and with my bow.f ' Gr. Vg. lie. ' m. By. s Gr. you. » SV will. s Gr. Vg. Syr. be blessed. 6 Gr. a choice. 19. I know it. The pronoun inserted by the translators too much restricts the sense. It is not so much the fact stated by Joseph that Jacob claims to know as what he himself is doing. A multitude of nations describes Ephraim at the height of his power, when he had given his name to the kingdom of which his tribe was a part. 20. This verse is usually referred to the Ephraimite source ; but without it the Judean narrative has no blessing. See, also, the reference to v. 19 in the statement, he set Ephraim before Manasseh. For In thee shall Israel bless, read, In you shall Israel bless themselves ; the first change being supported by the Greek Version, and the second being demanded by the explanatory clause, God make thee, etc., and favored by the Versions. See 12 : 3, etc. This is the conclusion of the Judean version. 21. The remainder of the chapter is from the Ephraimite narrative. 22. One portion. The Hebrew word rendered portion is shekhem, lit. shoulder, or, when used geographically, ridge. It is here em ployed in allusion to Shechem, which was on the saddle between Ebal and Gerizim. In Josh. 24 : 32, where the last clause should read, " and gave it to his son Joseph as an inheritance," this por tion is identified with " the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor." See 33 : 19. Here, however, Jacob boasts of having taken it with my sword and with my bow. Yet this passage is believed to have come from the same source (E) as the other two. The only way out of the difficulty seems to be to suppose, either that 2 A 3S3 i GENESIS P, J 49. And Jacob called unto his sons, | and said : Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days. 2. Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob ; "And ** hearken 2 unto Israel 2 your father. 3. Reuben, thou art my firstborn, "my might, and "the beginning3 of my strength4; "The excellency5 of dignity, and the excellency5 of "power. 4. "Unstable6 as water, °7thou shalt not have the ex cellency 7 ; 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. om. a Gr. Vg. Israel, unto. 3 m. firslfruils. * Vg. sorrow. 3 SV pre-eminence. 6 m. bubbling over; SV boiling over. ' m. have not thou, etc.; SV thou . . . pre-eminence; Gr. do not boil over; Vg. thou shall not grow; Syr. thou shalt not abide. this verse represents a distinct tradition, or that these last words are an addition to, or a corruption of, the original text. Some slight changes in the Hebrew would make it mean choice and desirable. (c) The blessing of Jacob, 49 : 1-27. The patriarch calls the roll of his sons, noting their virtues and defects, and forecasting their futures. The order is somewhat irregular, Zebulun being placed before Issachar, and Dan and Naphtali, the sons of Bilhah, being separated by the two sons of Zilpah. The source, except of the first few words of the introductory statement, is the Judean narrative. 2. The and of the second line was probably borrowed from the first. It is wanting in the Versions. (a) Reuben, 3 f. The patriarch reminds him of his dignity as the firstborn and reproaches him for his unworthiness. 3. The first line, as above printed, should be divided into two, as follows : Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the beginning of my strength. The verse thus becomes a strophe of three lines corresponding to the three of v. 4. My might, i.e., as is explained, the beginning, first product, of my strength. The excellency of dignity ; abounding, or, to borrow an adjective from SV, preeminent, in dignity, as the first born and the natural head of the family. He abounded also in power to maintain this dignity, if the power had been rightly directed. 4. SV brings out the force of the figure in the epithet unstable, 354 GENESIS 49 : 5 Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed: Then defiledst thou * It: he went up to my couch.1 5. "Simeon and Levi are brethren; 2 Weapons of "violence are their "swords.2 ¦ Gr. the couch where thou wentest up; Vg. his couch; Syr. my couch, and wentest up. a m. compacts; their swords accomplish violence; Gr. they accomplished the injustice of their device; Vg. instruments of iniquity militant; Syr. vessels of wrath by nature. but a better rendering would be, Lawless as boiling water. The words rendered thou shalt not have the excellency, i.e., maintain the rank of the firstborn, might also be translated, as they are in the Syriac Version, thou shalt not abide. In the original there is an alliteration which is partially reproduced in the likeness between abound and abide. The tribe of Reuben was one of the first to be come settled after the Exodus. At first it seems to have prospered. See 1 Chr. 5 : 18 ff. In the days of Deborah (c. 1100 B.C.) it was of sufficient importance to be sorely missed at the muster against Sisera. See Jud. 5 : 15 f. About 850 B.C., however, it had become so weak that Mesha had no occasion to mention it on the Moabite Stone. There is a reference to it in the Blessing of Moses, but of a kind to indicate that it was then (c. 800 B.C.) in danger of extinction. See Dt. 33 : 6. It finally became merged in the neighboring tribe of Gad. See the Moabite Stone, 1. 10. The offence with which Reuben is charged is recorded in 35 : 22. It indicates a low state of morality among the Reubenites. For another story the scene of which is laid in the same region, see Num. 25 : 1 ff. The change of person in the last clause is disturbing. The Greek reading, then defiledst thou the couch where thou wentest up, is preferable. (b) Simeon and Levi, 5-7. These two, because they gave vent to passion and committed murder, are condemned to disintegration and absorption among the other tribes. 5. The rendering, Simeon and Levi are brethren, is rather tame. The brethren Simeon and Levi would more clearly indicate that the two were not only the sons of one mother but closely related in char acter. The meaning of the next line is disputed. It is objected to the English rendering that one could hardly expect from swords anything but violence. The Samaritans, for the noun meaning weapons, have the closely similar verb for complete or accomplish. So, also, the Greek and Old Latin Versions. The last two give a different sense to the word above rendered swords, viz., device or in vention. This word, however, is plural. The whole, therefore, should be translated, they accomplished the violence of their devices, i.e., the violence they had planned ; an allusion to the bloody plot against 3SS 49 : 6 GENESIS 6. O my soul, come not thou into "their council 1 ; Unto2 their assembly, 3my "glory,3 °4be not thou united 4 ; For in their anger they slew °5a man,5 And in their "self will they °6 houghed an ox.6 7. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; And "their wrath, for it was cruel: "I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel. 1 m. secret. a Heb. mss. Gr. Vg. Syr. And unto. 3 Gr. my liver; Syr. from my glory. * Gr. strive not; Vg. be not; Syr. have I not descended. sm. Gr. Syr. men. 6 m. houghed oxen; SV hocked an ox; Vg. Syr. Tar. overthrew a wall. Shechem for kidnapping their sister Dinah. See 34 : 26. The Tar gum substitutes praise for blame, reading the whole couplet : The brothers Simeon and Levi are mighty men; In the land of their sojourn they wrought mightily. 6. The rendering just given to 5b is in harmony with what now follows. Their council ; their secret conclave or conference. See Ps. 64 : 2I3. To the second line there should be prefixed the con nective and. See the variants. Glory is here a. synonym for the soul of the preceding line. In Ps. 16 : 9 it is used in the same way with heart. It emphasizes the superiority of the inner over the outer man. Be not united ; join not thyself. A man ; Shechem the son of Hamor. Self will; lit. pleasure; in this case reckless pleas ure, lawlessness. Houghed an ox, or oxen; a brutal method of in juring an enemy, for which Josh. 11:6 ff. (J) claims the divine ap proval. There is no reference in chapter 34 to this latter act, but it is not inconsistent with the Judean version of the story. According to the parallel account the sons of Jacob drove away all the cattle of the Shechemites. The Versions, by giving a slightly different pronun ciation to the word for ox, get overthrew a wall. 7. In 34 : 29 f. Jacob is reported to have condemned the whole affair when it occurred. He recalls it now with even stronger repre hension. Their wrath. Better, fury, uncontrolled passion. The Samaritans have a text in which, by a slight change in only three letters, Jacob is made (inconsistently) to say : Noble was their wrath, for it was strong, And their blow, for it was severe. 356 GENESIS 49 : 8 8. "Judah, "thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; The sentence, I will divide . scatter them, in which Jacob gives to his own words the force of a divine decree, was literally fulfilled. The tribe of Simeon was one of the first to attempt to establish itself in Western Palestine. The Simeonites invaded the southern part of the country with the Judahites, and the invasion was successful, Judah gaining possession of the highlands and afterward helping Simeon to conquer the South. See Jud. i : 3, 17, 19. The depen dence of Simeon on Judah was so complete that the two soon became practically one tribe. In Josh. 15 : 26 ff. and 19 : 2 ff. the same towns are located in both tribes. Indeed, in 19 : 1 it is admitted that the inheritance of Simeon is " in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah." It is not surprising, therefore, that this tribe is absent, not only, like Judah, from the Song of Deborah, but also from the Blessing of Moses. The Chronicler has preserved a con fused account of further conquest by the Simeonites, but the incident described was a mere raid without serious significance. See 1 Chr. 4 : 39 ff. The tribe of Levi never had any collective home in Pales tine. Nor is there any hint that they ever attempted to secure one, unless it be found here or in the story of Dinah. Indeed, the later books teach that from the first they were denied an inheritance such as was assigned to the other tribes, Yahweh himself being their in heritance. See Num. 18 : 20, etc. Yet, according to this passage, they were a tribe or family in as real a sense as any of the others from the beginning. Then they were scattered. When this bless ing was written they had not yet been reunited, or endowed with the functions of the priesthood, as they evidently were at the date of the Blessing of Moses. See Dt. 33 : 8 ff. It is probable that, when the Hebrews entered the country, Simeon and Levi were more closely associated with each other than with any of the other tribes, and that they settled near Shechem and for a time lived at peace with the Canaanites. Finally, however, they undertook treacherously to get possession of the neighboring city, but were foiled, and Simeon was greatly reduced in numbers, while Levi, as a tribe, was for the time being destroyed. Later Judah took Simeon under its protec tion, but the remnant of Levi was more widely dispersed. Thus there came to be Levites of Judah, Levites of Ephraim, etc. See Jud. 17:7; 19 : 1. On the revival of the tribe as a sacerdotal caste, see the Bible Dictionaries. Israel is here used in a. national, not a personal, sense. (c) Judah, 8-12. The tribe is promised the preeminence that Reuben has lost, and neither Simeon nor Levi can attain, also power 3S7 49 : 9 GENESIS Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. 9. Judah is a "lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, "thou art gone up: He stooped down, he couched as a lion, "And as a lioness ; "who J shall rouse him up ? | R 10. °2 The sceptre2 shall not depart from Judah, x Syr. and who. a Gr. Tar. a ruler. to master its enemies, lasting authority over the remaining tribes, and boundless prosperity. 8. In 29 : 35 the name Judah was explained by the outburst of Leah, " This time will I praise Yahweh." Here the Hebrew word meaning thee shall thy brethren praise, yodhukha, is another play upon this name. The key to the meaning of the second line is found in Jud. 16 : 12. The intent of the author would be more apparent if the line were translated, Thou shalt seize thy enemies by the neck; get the mastery of them and hold them in subjection. On the third line see 37 : 6 ff., where a later writer (E) transfers to Joseph the honor here conferred upon Judah. 9. The comparison of a man of extraordinary fierceness or courage with a lion is a natural one in a country where lions are known and feared. See Num. 23 : 24 ; 2 Sam. 1 : 23 ; etc. In Dt. 33 : 22 Dan is the lion's whelp. Thou art gone up. The change from the third to the second person, and back again, is a little disturbing to the Western ear, but not to the oriental in poetry. See Jud. 5 : 16 f. The lion goes up from a raid upon a flock or herd in the plain to his home in the hills. He is now in his lair. The next line, therefore, should read, He hath crouched, lain down, like a lion. Applied to Judah, this means that the tribe has attained to leader ship among the Hebrews and mastery over the neighboring peoples, as it did under David. And as a lioness. The English idiom requires or instead of and. Who shall rouse him up ? Better, Who will stir him up ? Who will beard a conqueror in his stronghold ? See 2 Sam. 7 : 1. Similar language is used of Israel as a whole in Num. 23 : 24 ; 24 : 9. 10. The sceptre ; strictly, the rod, as a sign of authority, whether royal or other. See Num. 21 : 18 ; Jud. 5 : 14. The phrase from between his feet is supposed to refer to the custom among leaders of holding their staves upright before them. The Samaritan reading standards is due to the likeness in Hebrew between r and d, which 358 GENESIS 49 : 10 Nor J the ruler's staff 1 "from 2 between his feet,2 "Until 3Shiloh come3; And unto him shall the obedience 4 of the peoples be. [ 1 m. a lawgiver; Gr. Vg. a leader; Syr. Tar. an interpreter. a Sam. between his standards; Gr. his loins; Vg. his loin. s m. he come to Shiloh; m. Gr. that which is his shall come; Vg. he who is lo be sent come; Syr. he whose it is come. « Gr. Vg. Syr. expectation. are often mistaken for each other. See 10 : 4. The third line has been variously translated and interpreted. See the variants. The rendering Until Shiloh come is unsatisfactory, since Shiloh can only be a name for the Messiah, and as such there is no explanation for it. Until he come to Shiloh, also, is meaningless. In Until that which is his, or, he whose it is, shall come, the sense is incomplete. The most natural and satisfactory solution of this long-disputed question is to suppose that the original reading was, literally, Until he come, Which to him the obedience of the peoples. Now the Hebrew for which to him is 'Usher lo, but if the first two letters of the first word were effaced, the rest would look very much like wllo, and lo him, the phrase with which the next line now begins. And to him, however, in this connection, could only mean the same as which to him, viz., to whom. It is probable, therefore, that a reader, knowing this, wrote which to him in the margin, using the later form shello, and a scribe afterward in copying the passage put this marginal gloss into the text, where, because it was unintelligible, it was easily cor rupted into something that made better sense. It is at once clear that this emendation does not destroy the Messianic character of the pas sage. It really makes this interpretation of it more evident, for he whom the peoples are to obey can be no other than he of whom Zechariah says, "He shall speak peace unto the nations." See Zech. 9 : 10. The intro duction of the passage at this point was perhaps suggested by the ap pearance of the ass in the next verse, this being the animal on which, according to Zech. 9 : 9, the Messiah, when he comes, will be mounted. If, however, this verse is Messianic, it belongs, not to the early period in which the main body of the blessing had its origin, but to the later one in which the Jews through the growing darkness that shrouded the actual kingdom saw an ideal successor of David to the increase of whose government there should be no end. See Is. 9 : 7|6. The expression Until he come, then, does not imply that, with the coming of the Messiah, the supremacy of Judah will cease, but that at that time this supremacy will be forever established. 3S9 49 :n GENESIS J n. "Binding his foal unto the vine, And xhis ass's colt1 unto "the choice vine; He hath washed "his garments in wine, And his vesture in the blood of grapes : 12. His eyes shall be 02red with2 wine, And his teeth °3 white with 3 milk. 13. Zebulun shall dwell "at the haven 4 of the sea: And he shall be for 5 an "haven of ships ; And his "border shall be "upon6* Zidon.7 14. Issachar "is "a strong ass,8 x Vg. his ass, my son. a Gr. Vg. Syr. brighter than. s Gr. Vg. Syr. whiter than. * Gr. shore; Syr. shores. s Gr. Vg. at. ° m. by; Sam. Gr. Vg. Syr. unto. 1 SV Sidon. 8 Gr. desired that which was good; Syr. is a gigantic man. 11. The blessing now proceeds with all the freshness, vigor, and picturesqueness of vs. 8 f. The picture presented is one of riotous luxuriance. So strong will be the vine that the Judahite, not the Messiah, riding his ass, as did the early Hebrews, great and small (Jud. 5 : 10 ; 1 Sam. 25 : 20 ; 2 Sam. 16 : 2 ; etc.), will have no hesi tation in binding his foal to one, and so common will be the better sort that he will not need to spare the choice vine. Moreover, so abundant will be the fruit from these vines that he may — the verb is perfect in form, but future in significance — wash his garments in wine. For similar instances of hyperbole see Am. 9:13; Jb. 29 : 6. 12. For red read dark; clouded as a result of indulgence. White with milk ; the milk that he drinks. The territory of Judah was rich in pasturage, especially toward the south. See 18 : 8 ; also Ex. 3 : 8. (d) Zebulun, 13. This tribe is located, but not characterized. 13. At the haven of the sea. Better here, on the shore of the sea, as in the Greek and Syriac Versions. The sea is the Mediterranean. See also Dt. 33 : 18. These passages show that, although, according to Josh. 19 : 10 ff., the territory of this tribe does not reach the sea, in earlier times it had an outlet on the coast north of Carmel. It was this border, strictly, further side, that was to be, not upon, but, on the authority of the Samaritans and the Versions, as far as Zidon, i.e., Phoenicia. In the second line the rendering haven is more appro priate than in the first. (e) Issachar, 14 f. This tribe is characterized as fond of peace and plenty, and devoid of political ambition. 14. A strong, lit. bony, ass ; built for labor and endurance. For sheepfolds read here, as in Jud. 5 : 16, ash-heaps, viz., of the vil lages of the tribe of Issachar. 360 GENESIS 49 : 17 Couching down between the "sheepfolds: 15. And "he saw o1 a resting place l that it was good, And "the 2 land that it was pleasant ; And "he bowed his shoulder to bear, "And became °3a servant under taskwork.3 16. Dan shall "judge "his people, As "one of the tribes of Israel. 17. Dan shall be "a serpent in the way, 1 m. rest; Syr. his abode. a Syr. his. 3 Gr. a husbandman; Syr. tributary. 15. He saw. Here, again, since the blessing is a prophecy, the time is really future, and when he sees would more nearly express the thought of the author. The rest of the verse must, of course, conform to this point of view. A resting place ; a place where he has settled. A resting place that it was good is a Hebrew idiom for which the English would here be that a resting place is good. The next line also should have the same form. The land occupied by Issachar was the hilly country east and southeast of the Plain of Esdraelon. In Dt. 33 : 18 f. Issachar and Zebulun are coupled together as profiting by the rich traffic between the East and the Mediterranean. He bowed ; will bow. And became ; will become. A servant under taskwork. Better, a toiling levy, like that which Solomon raised among the native tribes of Palestine. See 1 Kgs. 9 : 21. The terms here used do not imply that Issachar was in bondage when this passage was written, but that the author, and prob ably the Hebrews generally, regarded agriculture as a burdensome occupation. This view is best represented by the Rechabites. See Jer. 35 : 6 f. (/) Dan, 16-18. The tribe is commended for service rendered Israel ; also for its stealthy methods. 16. The verb judge (yadhin), in which there is a play upon the name Dan, is here used in the sense of avenge or vindicate. His people are the Hebrews in general. The author probably had Samson, who was a Danite, in mind. His exploits would, for the time being, make Dan as prominent as any one of the tribes of Israel. 17. The methods of Dan are adapted to its circumstances. If it were a large, strong tribe, it might meet its enemies openly. Being small and weak, it must imitate a serpent in the way. The adder, or horned snake, is the Cerastes Hasselquistii, a venomous reptile of the desert that hides in ruts and holes and attacks passers from them. The result is disastrous both to the horse and his rider. Perhaps 361 49 : 18 GENESIS JAn "adder 1 in the path, That biteth the horse's heels, So that "his rider faileth 2 backward. | R 18. I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. | J 19. Gad, °3a troop shall press upon him3: But he shall °4 press upon their heel.4 20. °*5Out of 5f Asher "his bread6 shall be "fat, And he shall "yield royal dainties. 1 m. a horned snake; Gr. lying in wait. a Syr. he throweth. 3 Vg. an armed man shall fight before him; Syr. with a multitude shall he go forth. + Vg. be pro tected behind ; Syr. cut off the heel. s Gr. Vg. Syr. om. 6 Syr. land. the writer had in mind the method by which six hundred Danites obtained possession of the city Laish, that afterward bore their name. See Jud. 18 : 11 ff. 18. The verse is an interpolation by a pious scribe who would have welcomed another Samson. (g) Gad, 19. A glimpse of border warfare. It is impossible in English to reproduce the play upon the name Gad that runs through the verse, the Hebrew being, Gadh gidhudh yeghudhennu, Wehu' yaghudh 'akebh. A troop shall press upon him ; raiders from Moab and Ammon. Press upon their heel ; follow them as they retire and punish them. In the Hebrew the letter (m) which should represent the pronoun their is wanting, because it has been transferred to the beginning of the next verse, where it now does duty as the preposition rendered out of. The tribe of Gad received its allotment east of the Jordan, where it and Reuben sustained about the same relation as that between Judah and Simeon. They are almost surrounded by enemies. See the story of Jephthah, Jud. 11 f. Still, on the testimony of Mesha, king of Moab, they had maintained their footing in the country until his day, about 850 b.c He says, "The men of Gad had dwelt in Ataroth," occupied the country as far south as the Arnon, "from of old." He himself did not make any lasting conquests within their borders, for, when Jeroboam II. came to the throne, he restored the limits of his kingdom, of which Gad was a part, in that direction. See 2 Kgs. 14 : 25 ; Am. 6 : 14. Later still they overthrew the house of Mena- hem and put Pekah on the throne of Israel. See 2 Kgs. 15 : 25. On the standing and importance of the Gadites about 800 B.C., see Dt. 33 : 20 f. It was Tiglath-pileser III., king of Assyria, says 1 Chr. 5 : 26, who finally subdued and deported them. (h) Asher, 20. The tribe is congratulated on the richness of its 362 GENESIS 49 ; 22 21. Naphtali is a "hind Uet loose: He 2 giveth 3 goodly "words.3 22. Joseph is "a 4 fruitful bough,4 A * fruitful bough4 °5by a fountain5; °6 His branches run 6 7 over the wall 7 : IGv.log; Syr. messenger. a Gr. Vg. And he. 3 Gr. in the product beauty. * Gr. Syr. grown son; Vg. growing son. 3 Gr. enviable; Vg. comely in appear ance; Syr. a fountain hath gone up. 6 Gr. my youngest son; a strong structure. ? Gr. to me; Syr. that went up in the wall. inheritance. As above stated, the words out of represent a supposed preposition which is really the suffixed pronoun, meaning their, wanting at the end of v. 19. This verse, therefore, should begin, as it does in the Versions, with the name of the tribe. His bread ; the foodstuffs of his soil. They will be fat ; rich and abundant. Yield royal dainties ; furnish products fit for the tables of kings. See 1 Kgs. 5:9, 11 ; Acts 12 : 20. The boundary of Asher cannot be traced with any confidence. According to Josh. 17 : 11 and Jud. 5 : 17, its ter ritory touched the sea on one or both sides of Carmel, but there is here no indication to that effect. .It certainly embraced western Galilee, then, as now, one of the most fruitful and attractive parts of Palestine. (i) Naphtali, 21. It is the natural beauty of the territory of this tribe that is praised. The word rendered hind can also, by a slight change in pronunciation, be translated terebinth; and this rendering is neces sary to make anything of the second line, where words should give place to tops, viz., of trees. Thus, the whole couplet becomes, Naphtali is a slender terebinth, That produceth goodly boughs (tops). The first line perhaps contains an allusion to the long, narrow shape of the territory assigned to this tribe, along the upper Jordan and the lakes through which it flows, the second to the stately trees with which much of this territory was covered. (j) Joseph, 22-26. The tribe is commended for its steadfastness and promised the richest of blessings from the Almighty. 22. A fruitful bough; a branch of a fruitful vine. See Is. 32 : 12. By a fountain ; where it never lacks moisture. His branches, lit. daughters, run over the wall ; burst all bounds in their luxuriance. This is the most that can be made of the received text. The Versions differ from it and from one another, but neither of them is as satisfactory as the above, for which there is pretty strong support in the resem blance between the Hebrew word rendered a fruitful bough (porath) and the names Ephrath and Ephraim. The most serious objection to 363 49 : 23 GENESIS 23. The archers s have sorely grieved him, And 2 shot at 2 him, and persecuted him : 24. But °*3his bow abode3f 'n strength, And the * arms 4 of 5 his hands were 6 made strong, 6f "By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (7 From thence is 7 8 the shepherd, * the "stone 8f of Israel,) 1 Syr. captains of troops. a Sam. Gr. Vg. strive with; Syr. multiplied. 3 Gr. their bows were broken; Syr. thou overthrewest his bow. « Gr. sinews of the arms; Vg. bonds of the arms. s Vg. and. 6 m. made active; Gr. Vg. loosed; Syr. scattered. ' m. From hence, from, or By the name of; Syr. And from the name. 8 Gr. the conqueror; Syr. the shepherd of the stone. it is the fact that the figure is not carried out, as one would expect, in the next verse. The transition, from one of these verses to the other, however, is not more abrupt than that from v. 9 to v. n. 23. Having pictured the fertility of territory occupied by the de scendants of Joseph in the very heart of Palestine, Jacob now de scribes the fortunes of its future inhabitants, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The translators have taken unusual liberty with the arrangement. The following is a more exact translation : And they shot at him cruelly, And the archers vented their hatred upon him: or, to give it a form more intelligible to the English reader : But they will shoot at him cruelly, Yea, the archers will vent their hatred upon him. In other words, the children of Joseph, though fortunate in their in heritance, will be beset by the bitterest of enemies. 24. His bow abode in strength ; his means of defence will be ample. This on the supposition that the text is correct ; which is doubtful, since what is required here is a statement, not about Joseph's bow, but about the bows of his enemies, as in the Greek Version, which has, their bows by might were broken. So, also, in the next line, it would be better to read, with the Syriac Version, the arms of his (their) hands were scattered, or the sinews of their hands were benumbed. The first two changes require the insertion in the first word of each line of a single, and that the same, Hebrew letter. The connection with the rest of the verse is clear, however these first two lines be trans lated. The arms of Joseph will be made strong, or those of his enemies 364 GENESIS 49 : 26 25. "Even by the God of thy father, who "shall help thee, "And *l by the Almighty,1! who shall bless thee, With "blessings 2 of heaven above, "Blessings 2 of the deep *°that coucheth t beneath, Blessings 2 of "the breasts, and of the womb. 26. The blessings of thy father a Have 4 prevailed above the "blessings of "^ my pro genitors 5 , * Sam. Syr. God Almighty; Gr. my God. a Gr. Syr. sing. 3 Sam. Gr. add and thy mother. * Gr. He hath. s Gr. the changeless mountains. broken, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. Thus far all is plain, but the last line is obscure, in fact unintelligible. It can, how ever, easily be emended, for it is evident that a Hebrew scribe has sub stituted the word rendered thence for one with the same consonants meaning name, and the one rendered stone for a very similar one meaning his father. When the original words are restored the result is By the name of the shepherd of his father Israel, a close parallel to the preceding line. It is probable, however, that the words his father, for which there is no equivalent in the Greek Version, are a gloss intended to explain the name Israel, and should be omitted. Perhaps it was suggested by 48 : 15, where Jacob calls Yahweh " the God who hath shepherded me all my life long." 25. The word Even, which has no equivalent in the Hebrew, is wanting also in the Versions. The translators are usually careful not to employ shall with the Deity for a subject, but here they seem to have made an exception or forgotten consistency. See also SV. In the second line for And by the Almighty read, with the Samaritans and the Syriac Version, And God Almighty, which requires a change in but a single Hebrew letter. The blessings of heaven, according to the Jews, are the dew and the rain, as appears from Dt. 33 : 13, where a scribe mistook from above for from the dew. The blessings of the deep are the springs and streams, which, according to the Hebrews, are supplied from vast reservoirs of water under the earth. See 7:11; Am. 7 : 4. The words that coucheth seem to have been borrowed from Dt. 33 : 13. The third class of blessings are those of the breasts, and of the womb, the young of men and animals. Two of these three classes are found in Dt. 33 : 13, but differently presented as parts of a more elaborate catalogue of good things. 26 The first line should include the first two words of the second 3^5 49 : 27 GENESIS 1 Unto "the utmost bound Jf of the everlasting hills 2 : They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was ^sep arate from 3 his brethren. 27. Benjamin is a wolf that ravineth: In the "morning he shall devour the prey, And at even he shall divide the spoil. 1 Gr. And lo the blessings; Vg. Until there come the desire. a Gr. divinities. 3 m. prince among; Gr. leader of. as they are here divided. A key to the meaning of the passage is found in Ps. 103 : 11, " As heaven is high above the earth, so great," etc. For my progenitors Unto read, with the Greek Version, the enduring mountains, as in Dt. 33 : 15. For the utmost bound read, in harmony with the same passage, the treasures, lit. the desire. These suggestions require very slight changes in the Hebrew text, but they make a great improvement in the sense. Thus emended, the lines read : The blessings of thy father have surpassed (will surpass) The blessings of the enduring mountains, The treasures of the everlasting hills. The blessings, treasures, that the writer here has in mind are the mineral wealth of the earth. See Jb. 28 : 1 ff., especially v. 9. The things promised Joseph are greater than this entire hoard. Sepa rate from. Better, consecrated among, the prince of the sons of Jacob. The last two lines are repeated almost verbatim in Dt. 33 : 16. Nothing could be more whole-hearted than this blessing. On the supposition that the whole composition, with the exception of vs. 10 and 18, is a unit, it is clear that it would not have been incor porated into the Judean narrative, unless there was a strong desire to please and win, or hold, the tribes that traced their descent from Joseph. Such a sentiment can hardly have existed after the divi sion of the kingdom, but it was precisely the means to secure the object that David had in view when he succeeded Saul as the cham pion of his people. See 2 Sam. 2:9; 3 : 12 ff., 51 ff. (k) Benjamin, 27. An insatiate spoiler. Morning . . . even; always the same in spirit and conduct. This is such a representa tion of Benjamin as one would expect after reading the account of the tribe given in Jud. 19 ff., its lawlessness, its immorality, and its desperate valor. 366 GENESIS 49 : 33 28. All these are the twelve tribes * of Israel 2 : and this R is it that their father spake unto them | "and blessed P them; every one according to his blessing he blessed 29. them. And he 3charged them, and3 said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the 30. Hittite, in the cave 4 that is in the field 4 5 of Mach pelah,5 which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought * with the field f from Ephron 31. the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace: there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there 6 1 32. buried Leah 6: | the field and the cave that is therein, R which was purchased from the children of Heth. | 33. And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, | P * Gr. sons. a Gr. Jacob. 3 Gr. om. + Gr. Vg. om. 3 Gr. Vg. Syr. double. eGr. they, etc.; Vg. Leah lies entombed. (d) The death and burial of Jacob, 49 : 28-50 : 13. Having blessed his sons, and charged them to bury him with his fathers, Jacob dies and Joseph has him embalmed after the Egyptian custom. When these ceremonies are completed, Joseph secures leave of ab sence from his sovereign, goes up to Canaan with a great company of Hebrews and Egyptians, and dutifully deposits the body of his father in the cave of Machpelah. The sources on which the com piler drew for this paragraph were first the Priestly and then the Judean narrative. 28. The first part of this verse is an editorial addition designed to connect the blessing from the Judean narrative with a new version by the Priestly writer of Jacob's charge concerning his burial. And blessed them is supposed to be the continuation of a sentence begun in 49 : 1. 29 f. On the cave of Machpelah see 23 : 17 ff. 32. This verse, which is parenthetical, should be rendered, the purchase of the field and the cave that is therein from the children of Heth. It is probably, however, a late addition, based on 23 : 20. In the Vulgate it is entirely omitted. 33. On the expression gathered up his feet see 47 : 31 and 48 : 2, 367 5» GENESIS p he "gathered up his feet into the bed, | and yielded up the J 50. ghost, and was gathered unto his people. | And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and 2. "kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians "to embalm his father: and the physi- 3. cians embalmed Israel. And "forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of embalming: and the Egyptians wept for him "threescore and ten 4. days. And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace ' in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in 5. the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father "made me swear,2 1 SV favor. a Sam. Gr. mss. add, before he died. where there are other references to the couch on which Jacob sat or lay. 50 : 1. Kissed him. There is no trace here of the dread of un- cleanness from contact with the dead which haunted the later He brews. See Lev. 19 (P). 2. To embalm his father. Long before the time of Joseph em balming had become an art in Egypt. In the reign of Pepi III., when a favorite of the king was killed in battle, there was sent " a whole company of royal embalmers," here incorrectly called physi cians, " undertakers, mourners, and mortuary priests, with a liberal supply of fine linen, that they might immediately embalm the body of the deceased noble and proceed to the interment " (Breasted, Hist. Egypt, 140 f.). Later the custom of embalming spread greatly among the middle classes, and the embalmers and these of related occupations at Thebes had a. quarter to themselves. 3. Forty here seems to be a round number. There was no fixed term, the time varying with different cases ; so also the period of mourning. In the story of "Sitna and the Magic Book" the body is laid in the good house for sixteen days (for treatment), then wrapped to the thirty-fifth day, and finally laid out (in state) until the seventieth. The forty are doubtless included in the threescore and ten days. Thus the time devoted to mourning would be thirty days, as in the cases of Moses and Aaron. See Dt. 34 : 8 ; Num. 20 : 29. See further v. 10. 5. On my grave see 47 : 30 and the comments. Made me swear. The Samaritans add, before he died, which may well have been a part of the original text. 368 GENESIS 50:11 saying, 1 Lo, I die 1 : in "my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my 6. father,2 and I will come again. And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee 7. swear. And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, "the" elders of his house, and all "the elders of the land of 8. Egypt, and all "the house of Joseph, and4 his breth ren, °5 and his father's house 5 : only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of 9. Goshen. And there went up with him both "chariots 10. and horsemen : and it was a very great company. And they came to "the threshing-floor of Atad, * which is "beyond Jordan,6! and there they lamented with a very 7 great and sore lamentation : and he made a 11. mourning for his father "seven days. And when the in- ' Gr. om. a Sam. adds, as he made me swear. 3 Gr. Syr. and the. «- Sam. om' 3 Gr. and all his father's house; Vg. om.; Syr. adds, went up with him. ° SV the Jordan. 1 Vg. Syr. om. 7. The elders of his house ; the high officials of his court. The elders of the land ; perhaps the monarchs, etc. 8. The house of Joseph ; his official train. And his father's house, if it is a genuine part of the text, can only refer to the servants of Jacob. There were probably no women in the company. 9. Chariots and horsemen. Chariots were introduced into Egypt, with horses, by the Hyksos, but thus far no evidence has been found that the Egyptians of Joseph's time had cavalry. 10. The threshing-floor of Atad is here located beyond the (SV) Jordan. This has been taken to mean that it was on the eastern side of the river. According to v. 11, however, it was in Canaan. It is therefore probable that the latter phrase is a gloss by a later writer whose standpoint, real or assumed, was on the other side. See 1 Kgs. 4 : 24 (5 : 4). The duration of the mourning at this place was seven days. See t Sam. 31 : 13. . 11. The meaning of the name Abel-mizraim is Meadow of Egypt; but, since the consonants of the word for meadow are the same as 2B 369 50 : 12 GENESIS habitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourn ing to the Egyptians : wherefore the name of it 1 was called "Abel-mizraim,2 * which is beyond Jordan. f | P 12. And his sons did unto him 3 according as he commanded 13. them3: for his sons carried him4 into the land of Canaan, and buried him in "the 5 cave of the field of Machpelah 5 which Abraham bought *6 with the field,6t for a possession of a buryingplace, of Ephron the Hittite, "before Mamre. J 14. And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his breth ren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, E 15. *6 after he had buried his father.°t | And when Jo seph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they7 1 Vg. that place. a Gr. Vg. Mourning of Egypt. 3 Gr. thus. « Syr. adds, and brought him. s Gr. Vg. double cave; cave of the double field. 6 Gr. om. i Vg. Syr. add, feared and. those of the one just used for mourning, the author finds in the name a memorial of the scene he has described. See the Greek and Latin Versions, in which the name is rendered Mourning of Egypt. 12. The fact that Joseph and his company spent a week at Atad suggests that, according to the Judean narrative, Jacob was buried there. This inference the compiler forbids by introducing here a statement from his Priestly source to the effect that his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, before, to the east of, Mamre. (7) The later years of Joseph, 50 : 14-26 The history of Jacob would naturally close with his death, but Joseph has been so prominent in it that his career, also, is followed to its end. (a) Joseph and his brethren, 50 : 14-21. When Joseph returns to Egypt his brothers expect him to avenge himself on them, but he quiets their fears and promises to continue to sustain and protect them. The main source is the Ephraimite, but there are frag ments from the Judean, narrative. 14. The last clause, which is wanting in the Greek Version, is probably a scribal addition. 15. Joseph will hate us. The word rendered hate, which means 37° GENESIS so : 20 said, It may be that "Joseph will l hate us,1 and will fully 2 requite us all the evil 3 which we did unto him. 16. And they °4 sent a message 4 unto Joseph, saying, Thy 17. father did command5 "before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, "Forgive, I pray thee now, the 6 transgression 7of thy brethren,7 and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil 3 : and now, we pray thee, for give the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. | 18. And 8 his brethren "also * went and fell down before his face"; and they said, Behold, we be9 thy servants. | 19. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not : for 10 °u am I in the 20. place of God 10 ? And as for you, "ye meant evil against me ; but "God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it 1 Vg. remember the harm he suffered. a Vg. Syr. om. 3 Gr. plu. «- Gr. Syr. drew near. s Gr. require an oath. 6 Gr. their. i Gr. om. 8 Gr. they went. 0 SV are. IO Sam. om. " Gr. / am God's; Vg. Can we resist the will of God? Syr. / am, etc. hold a grudge against, is the same that in 49 : 23 is translated perse cute. 16. For sent a message read drew near. See the variants. If there was any record of the instructions given the brothers for Joseph, before he died, it has not been preserved. 17. Forgive, I pray thee. The words are at the same time a mes sage from Jacob and a confession by the guilty brothers. The brothers adopt them, resting their plea for forgiveness, not, like Jacob, on the tie of blood between them, but on allegiance to the same God. 18. The story now receives a setback. The brothers have already presented their plea, yet here they are introduced as if they were just going to the interview. This discrepancy, like so many others, is explained by the composite character of the story. This verse is from the Judean, v. 17 from the Ephraimite, narrative. The word also is an editorial device for uniting them. 19. Am I in the place of God ? to judge and punish as he alone has the wisdom and the authority to do. 20. Ye meant evil. He cannot forget their wickedness. God meant it for good. See 45 : 5 ff. 37i 50 : 21 GENESIS J 21. is this day, to save much people alive. | JNow there fore 1 fear ye not : I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. J 22. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and 2 his father's house: and Joseph lived "an hundred and ten years. | E 23. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children "of the third gen eration: the children also of "Machir the son of Ma- 24. nasseh were born 3 upon "Joseph's knees.3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die : but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land unto the land which he sware 4 to Abraham, to 5 Isaac, and to Jacob. 25. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, say ing, "God will surely visit you, 6 and ye shall 6 carry up 1 Gr. And he said to them; Vg. om. a Gr. adds, his brethren, and; Syr. adds, all. 3 Sam. in Joseph's days; Gr. on Joseph's thighs; Tar. and Joseph reared them. * Gr. adds, unto our fathers. 3 Syr. and to. 6 Syr. om. 21. This verse is a continuation of v. 18. The connection between the two would be improved by reading, with the Greek Version, And he said unto them, Fear not. (b) The death of Joseph, 50 : 22-26. Joseph lives to a good old age, and dies, promising his brethren that they shall be restored to Canaan and pledging them to carry his body thither for burial. The first verse is from the Judean, the rest from the Ephraimite, nar rative. 22. An hundred and ten years. Joseph did not live as long as his progenitors, but he reached the age which, in Egypt, was regarded as the most perfect that could be desired. 23. Of the third generation ; his grandchildren. Machir the son of Manasseh. Manasseh had possessions on both sides of the Jor dan. Machir settled in Gilead. See Num. 32 : 40 ; Dt. 3 : 15. In Num. 26 : 29; 27 : 1; Josh. 17 : 1, 3 Gilead is the son of Machir. On the expression Joseph's knees see 30 : 3. 25. God will surely visit you, and ye shall. Better, when God visits you, as he surely will, then shall ye, etc. On the desire to be buried in Canaan, see 47 : 30 f. At the end of the verse add, with the Versions, with you. 372 GENESIS 50 : 26 26. my bones from hence.1 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a "coffin in Egypt. 1 Gr. Vg. Syr. add, with you. 26. The coffin for Joseph was the usual mummy-case into which the Egyptians put the bodies of their dead. When the Hebrews left Egypt, according to Ex. 13 : 19, the promise made to Joseph was fulfilled. Later his body is said to have been buried in the parcel of ground that Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor. See 33 : 19 ; Josh. 24 : 32. The traditional site of his tomb is marked by a little building, at the eastern entrance to the valley in which Shechem was situated, where Jews to this day burn offerings in his honor. 373 APPENDIX Note A. Comparative Chronology of the Antediluvians Samaritan Hebrew Greek Adam . . 130 800 930 930 130 800 930 930 230 700 930 930 Seth . . . 105 807 912 1042 105 807 912 1042 20S 707 912 1142 Enoch . . 90 815 905 I 140 90 815 905 1140 190 715 905 1340 Kenan . . 70 840 910 1235 70 840 910 1235 170 740 910 1535 Mahalalel . 65 830 895 1290 65 830 895 1290 165 730 895 1690 Jered . . 62 785 847 1307 162 800 962 1422 162 800 962 1922 Enoch . . 6S 3°° 365 887 6S 3°° 365 987 165 200 365 1487 Methuselah 67 653 720 1307 187 782 969 1636 167 802 969 2256 Lemech . . 53 600 653 1307 182 S9S 777 1651 188 565 753 2207 Noah . . 500 450 950 1657 500 450 950 2006 500 450 950 2392 The Flood . 1307 1656 2242 In this table the figures of chapter 11 according to the Massoretic and Samaritan texts and the Greek Version are compared. In each case are given the number of years before and after the birth of the first child, the total, and the date of the given patriarch's death. A glance is enough to show that, of the three systems, the Samaritan is the simplest and most consistent. It is also most easily interpreted. It teaches that at first mankind pretty nearly maintained their originally "good" character, but that with Jered, whose name (Descent) is ominous, there began a, period of degeneration in which Enoch and Noah were the only exceptions, and to which God put an end 1307 a.m. by the Flood. From this point of view the Hebrew system, also, becomes intelligible. The variations from the other which it con tains, it will be observed, concern only Jered, Methuselah, and Le mech, all of whom, according to the Samaritans, perished in the Flood ; and they are so managed that only one of the three dies in the year of the great catastrophe, and the exceptional length of his life forbids the reader to regard his death as a penalty. The explanation is not far to seek. These changes were made after the book of Genesis was compiled to convey the idea of their author that it was the Cainites who were responsible for the Flood, and that Noah was spared be cause he represented the pious line of Seth. The new figures were borrowed from the Greek Version in which they probably represented an Egyptian view of the duration of the antediluvian period. 375 APPENDIX Note B. The Table of the Nations Japeth Noah' Ham Shem I Ashkenaz Riphath Togarmah Elishah Tarshish Kittim . Rodanim . Tiras Seba Havilah Sabtah RaamahSabteca Nimrod "Ludim Anamim LehabimNaphtuhim PathrusimCasluhimCaphtorim "Sidon Heth Amorite Girgashite i Hivite Canaan 1^^ SiniteArvadite ZemariteHamathite Elam AsshurArpachshad — Shelah - Gomer MagogMadaiJavan Cush Mizraim • f Sheba I Dedan -Eber f Peleg I Joktan- Lud Aram ITJz Hul Gether Mash Almodad Sheleph Hazermaveth Jerah Hadoram UzalDiklah Obal Abimael ShebaOphir Havilah Jobab 376 APPENDIX Note C. The Line of Shem Hebrew Samarita> Greek Shem . . loo 500 600 500 100 500 600 500 100 500 600 500 Arpachshad 35 4°3 438 438 135 303 438 438 135 430 S65 565 Kenan 130 330 460 595 Shelah . 3° 4°3 433 468 130 303 435 568 130 330 460 725 Eber . . 34 430 464 529(469) J34 270 4°4 669 134 37° 5°4 899 Peleg . . 30 209 239 338 130 109 239 638 130 209 339 868 Reu . . 32 207 239 368 132 107 239 768 132 207 339 998 Serug . . 30 200 230 391 130 100 230 881 130 200 330 1121 Nahor 29 no 148 339 79 69 148 939 79 129 208 1129 Terah . . 7° 135 205 423 (365) 7° 75 x45 1015 70 13s 205 1205 In the first column in each division is given the length of the first period, in the second that of the second, in the third the total, and in the fourth the date of the given patriarch's death after the Flood. The figures are not so large in this as in the first table, but many of them exceed the limits of credibility. Moreover, the scheme as a whole contradicts the teachings of history as well as modern experi ence. For example, according to the received text, none of the sup posed persons in the list, or indeed Noah, died until Abraham was forty-seven years old ; while six of the nine were still living when he migrated to Canaan, and Shem survived until Jacob had reached the age of fifty. Yet there is not the slightest reference in biblical his tory to any of them except Terah, who, as will be shown, died just before Abraham took his departure from Haran. This genealogy, therefore, is not history, but, like chapter 5, a substitute for history by which the author connected his account of the Flood with what he had to say about Abraham. Where he got his names there seems to be no means of learning. 377 APPENDIX Note D. The Sons of Benjamin Hebrew Greek Num. 26:38 ff 1 Chr. ?:6ff. 1 Chr. 8: iff. 'Addar Gera } Ard Esbon Gera Abihu Naaman Uzzi rt Abishua Bela Bela Ahi RoshMuppim Be,a{&daman Bela Uzzel Jerimoth j • V Shuppim 1T%\ Huppim *4> ' NaamanAhoahGera Huppim Shephuphan •¦Hurani 'Zemirak Joash Eliezer Elioenai Becher Chobor (wanting) Becher ¦ Omri JeremothAbijah Anaihoth ^Alemeth (wanting) Ashbel Ashbel Ashbel Ashbel jcusn Benjamin 1 .e ¦ ¦a Ehud Jediaell Che- naanah I 35 ZcihanTarshish Ahishahar Gera (wanting) Naaman Ahi Rosh Ahiram (Aher— Hushim) Aharah Nohah Muppim Sbephupham Kapha HuppimArd Hupham 378 INDEX Abram, migration of, 108. Antediluvians, chronology of, 375. Ark, Noah's, 70. Chronology of the antediluvians, 375- Creation, soberness of account of, 46. Deity, names of, in J, 6; E, n, 12; P,i7. force of plural Elohim, 35. Eden, 41. rivers in, 41, 42. Elohim, in E, n, 12. force of plural, 35. Ephramite Document (E), n ff. analysis of, 14-15. Esau, wives of, 267. Fall, the motive of the account of, 53- Flood, Babylonian account of, 79. Genealogies, of descendants of Shem, 377. of descendants of Benjamin, 378. of Cainites, 60, 63. historicity of, 66, 339. Genesis, analysis of, 20-25. composite nature of, 2 ff. Hammurabi, 115. Joseph, critical estimate of account of, 283. Egyptian parallel, 293. Judean Document (J), 5 ff. analysis of, 8-10. Lord, 39. Lot's wife, 149. Machpelah, cave of, 172. Mahanaim, 243. Moses, relation to Genesis, 3 ff. Names of Jacob's sons, meaning of, 221. Nations, table of, 376. Piece of silver, value of, 156. Priestly Document (P), 16. analysis of, 18, 19. how combined with JED, 19. Redactor, first (R or RJ), 16. second (RD), 16. Serpent, 46. Shekel, value of, 178. Shiloh, 359. Ur of the Chaldees, 104. World, early conception of, 98. nations of, 376. Yahveh, name of the Deity in J, 6. 379 The Bible for Home and School SHAILER MATHEWS, General Editor HEBREWS By E. J. Goodspeed ACTS By George H. Gilbert GALATIANS By B. W. Bacon GENESIS By H. G. Mitchell I SAMUEL By L. W. Batten PSALMS By J. P. 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Introduction to the Books of the New Testament Prof. B. Wisner Bacon, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Yale University. Professor Bacon's works in the field of Old Testament criticism include " The Triple Tradition of Exodus," and " The Genesis of Genesis," a study of the docu mentary sources of the books of Moses. In the field of New Testament study he has published a number of brilliant papers, the most recent of which is " The Autobiography of Jesus," in the American Journal of Theology. The History of New Testament Times in Palestine Prof. Shailer Mathews, Professor of New Testament History and Inter pretation, The University of Chicago. The Congregationalist says of Prof. Shailer Mathews's "The Social Teaching of Jesus " : " Re-reading deepens the impression that the author is scholarly, devout, awake to all modern thought, and yet conservative and preeminently sane. If, after reading the chapters dealing with Jesus' attitude toward man, society, the family, the state, and wealth, the reader will not agree with us in this opinion, we greatly err as prophets." THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YOBK NEW TESTAMENT HANDBOOKS — Continued The Teaching of Jesus Prof. George B. Stevens, Professor of Systematic Theology, Yale University. Professor Stevens's volumes upon " The Johannine Theology," " The Pauline Theology," as well as his recent volume on " The Theology of the New Testa ment," have made him probably the most prominent writer on biblical theology in America. His new volume will be among the most important of his works. The Biblical Theology of the New Testament Prof. E. P. Gould, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Protestant Episcopal Divinity School, Philadelphia. Professor Gould's Commentaries on the Gospel of Mark (in the " International Critical Commentary ") and the Epistles to the Corinthians (in the " American Commentary") are critical and exegetical attempts to supply those elements which are lacking in existing works of the same general aim and scope. " An excellent series of scholarly, yet concise and inexpensive New Testament handbooks." — Christian Advocate, New York. " These books are remarkably well suited in language, style, and price, to all students of the New Testament." — The Congregationalist, Boston. Also by Shailer Mathews The Church and the Changing Order "A most interesting and valuable contribution to the literature of a subject that is growing in popular attention every day. While among the deeply, really religious and genuinely scientific there is no conflict or antagonism where even there is not accord, this unfortunately is not commonly the case among the masses who have only caught the forms of religious and scientific knowledge without their spirit. This book is addressed much more it seems to the religious than the scientific, possibly because the latter have the less need for repentance. Those who are troubled in any way at the seeming conflict between the demands of faith, on the one hand, and the experiences of their own reason and the problems of modern social and industrial life will find here much sage, illuminating, and practical counsel." — Evening Post. Cloth, l2mo, $i.jo net THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YOEK NEW TESTAMENT HANDBOOKS Each $1.00 net EDITED by SHAILER MATHEWS Professor of New Testament History and Interpretation, University of Chicago The History of the Textual Criticism of the New Testament Prof. Marvin R. Vincent, Professor of New Testament Exegesis, Union Theological Seminary. Professor Vincent's contributions to the study of the New Testament rank him among the first American exegetes. His most recent publication is "A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Philippians and to Philemon " (" International Critical Commentary"), which was preceded by a "Students' New Testament Handbook," " Word Studies in the New Testament," and others. The History of the Higher Criticism of the New Testament Prof. Henry S. Nash, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Cam bridge Divinity School. Of Professor Nash's " Genesis of the Social Conscience," The Outlook said : " The results of Professor Nash's ripe thought are presented in a luminous, com pact, and often epigrammatic style. The treatment is at once masterful and help ful, and the book ought to be a quickening influence of the highest kind ; it surely will establish the fame of its author as a profound thinker, one from whom we have a right to expect future inspiration of a kindred sort." Introduction to the Books of the New Testament Prof. B. Wisner Bacon, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Yale University. Professor Bacon's works in the field of Old Testament criticism include " The Triple Tradition of Exodus," and " The Genesis of Genesis," a study of the docu mentary sources of the books of Moses. In the field of New Testament study he has published a number of brilliant papers, the most recent of which is " The Autobiography of Jesus," in the American Journal of Theology. The History of New Testament Times in Palestine Prof. Shailer Mathews, Professor of New Testament History and Inter pretation, The University of Chicago. The Congregationalist says of Prof. Shailer Mathews's "The Social Teaching of Jesus " : " Re-reading deepens the impression that the author is scholarly, devout, awake to all modern thought, and yet conservative and preeminently sane. If, after reading the chapters dealing with Jesus' attitude toward man, society, the family, the state, and wealth, the reader will not agree with us in this opinion, we greatly err as prophets." THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YOKE NJiW TESTAMENT HANDBOOKS — Continued The Teaching of Jesus Prof. George B. Stevens, Professor of Systematic Theology, Yale University. Professor Stevens's volumes upon " The Johannine Theology," " The Pauline Theology," as well as his recent volume on " The Theology of the New Testa ment," have made him probably the most prominent writer on biblical theology in America. His new volume will be among the most important of his works. The Biblical Theology of the New Testament Prof. E. P. Gould, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Protestant Episcopal Divinity School, Philadelphia. Professor Gould's Commentaries on the Gospel of Mark (in the " International Critical Commentary ") and the Epistles to the Corinthians (in the " American Commentary ") are critical and exegetical attempts to supply those elements which are lacking in existing works of the same general aim and scope. " An excellent series of scholarly, yet concise and inexpensive New Testament handbooks." — Christian Advocate, New York. " These books are remarkably well suited in language, style, and price, to all students of the New Testament." — The Congregationalist, Boston. Also by Shailer Mathews The Church and the Changing Order " A most interesting and valuable contribution to the literature of a subject that is growing in popular attention every day. While among the deeply, really religious and genuinely scientific there is no conflict or antagonism where even there is not accord, this unfortunately is not commonly the case among the masses who have only caught the forms of religious and scientific knowledge without their spirit. This book is addressed much more it seems to the religious than the scientific, possibly because the latter have the less need for repentance. Those who are troubled in any way at the seeming conflict between the demands of faith, on the one hand, and the experiences of their own reason and the problems of modern social and industrial life will find here much sage, illuminating, and practical counsel." — Evening Post. Cloth, i2mo, $i.jo net THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK Complete in one volume, printed in clear type on Croxley Mills Bible paper, attractively bound in cloth or leather, with gilt top and title. THE Modern Reader's Bible The Sacred Scriptures Presented in Modern Literary Form Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Richard G. Moulton, M.A., Ph.D. Olive green cloth, gilt top, $2.00 net; by mail, $2.17. Limp morocco, round corners, full gilt, $3.00 net ; by mail, $5.17. " The ' Modern Reader's Bible ' is altogether admirable and of special value." — Henry C. Potter, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. "To the student, and to all persons who relish truth in its finest form of expression, it is a positive boon." — John F. Hurst, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. " I look for a large increase of interest in the Bible, for a much better understanding of its general spirit and teaching, and especially fur an increased appreciation of its inspirational power, from the publication of the ' Modern Reader's Bible.' " — Lyman Abbott, Editor The Outlook. PUBLISHED BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 1422 Yale Divinity Library New Haven, Connecticut