Commentary on the Holy Bible

And let my name be named on them. " Let ihem be ever accounted as a part of my own family. Let them be true Israelites, jjcrsonswho shall prevail with God as I have done; and the name of Abraham, bemg partakers of his fauh, and the name of Isaac, let them be as remarkable for submissive obedience as he v\as. Let the virtues of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, be accumulated in them, and invariably displayed by them!" These are the very words of adoption; and by the imposition of hands, the invocation of the Redecntcr, and the solemn blessing |ii:oucunced, the adoption was completed. From this moment, Kphraim and Manasseh had the same rights and privileges as Jacob's sons; which, as the sotis of. Joseph, they could have never possessed.

g:^'"""- father ' laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it '' dispU-ased him: and ho held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraini's head unto -Manassch's head.

IS And Josci)h said unto his fiithcr, Xot so, my fatlier: for this is the first-born; put tiiy right hand upon his head.

19 And iiis father refused, and said, "I know it, my son, I know;/.• lie also shall beeome a people, and he also shall be <i;reat: but truly "liis younger brother shall be greater than he,

X LVI 1 1, hrolhcr. Jacob gives a portion to Joseph. I and his seed shall become a "multi- a.m.'.'3i5. j tude oi nations.

20 And he blessed them that day, saying, ' In thee shall iMael bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim bef()re Manasseh.

21 ^ And Israel said unto Jose])!), Behold, I die: but '^ God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your lathers.

22 Moreover "I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand 'of the Amorite, witii my sword and with my bow.

And let than grow into a multitude] 'Z'b IJI'i Ve-i/ideggu la-rob: Let i/iem increase like fishes into a mnltitude. FlSH are tlie most prolific of all animals; see the instances produced on chap. i. ver. 20. This prophetic blcssinjj was verified in a most remarkable manner; see Num. xxvi.,34, 37. Dtut. xxxiii. n. Josli xvii. 17. At one time the tribe of Ephraim amounted to 40,500 eflective men; and that of Manasseh to 52,700, amounting in the uhoh; to 93,200. Sec tiie notes on Num. i. 46. and xxvi, 2.

Verse i8, Joseph said — Not so,?iij/ father] Joseph supposed that his fathfr had made a mi^take in layinij his right hand on (i)e head of the younijest, because the rii^ht hand v»as con- i sidered as the most nohle, and the instrument of conveying the hiijiiest dignities; and thus it has ever been considered among all nations, though the reason of it is not particularly obvious. Even in tlie heavens, the right hand of God is the place of the most exulted dignity It has bi en very proi)erly observed, that Joseph -poke here as he was moved by natural affection; and that Jacob acted as he was influenced by the Holj/ Spirit.

Verse 20, Jn thte shall Israel bless] That is, in future generations the Isracliies shall take their form of wishing prosperity to any nation or fauuly, from the circumstance of the good vnIiIcIi it shall be known that God has done to Ephraim, and Manasseh. Rluy Uod make thee as fniiiful as Ephraim, and muliip!i/ thee as Manasseh! 8o, to their daughters, when married, tlie Jewish women are accustomed to say, God make line as Sarah and Rebecca! These forms are still in use.

Verse 2 I. Behold, J die] With v. hat composure is this most awful word expressed! Surely of Jacob it might be now said, "He turns his sight undaunted en the tomb." For though it is not said that he u-as full of days, as were A bra- ' ham and Isaac, yet he is peifcctly willing to bid adieu to i earthly lhiiig,>, and lay his body in the grave. Could any person act as the Patriarchs did in their last moments, who j had no hopes of eternal life, no belief in the immortality of the ioul? Impossible! With such a conviction of the being of God, with such proofs of his tenderness and regard, with such fsperience of his providential and miraculous interference in their behalf, could they suppose, that they were only creatures of a day; and that God Iwd wasted 80 uvucU care, attention, providence, grace and goodness, on creatures, vvhe were to be ultimately like the beasts that perish? The supposition, that they could have no correct notion of the immortality of the soul, is as dishonourable to God as to themselves. But what shall ue think of Christians who have formed this hypothesis into a system, to prove — what? Why that the Patriarchs lived and died in the dark! That either the soul has no imn:ortalily, or that God has not thought proper to reveal it. Away with such an opinion! It cannot be said to merit serious refutation.

Verse 22. Moreoier I have given to thee (Joseph) one portion'] nrtX □311' Shecem acliad, one shechem, or one shoulder. We have already seen the transactions between Jacob and his family on one part, and Shechem and the sons of Hainor on the other; see chap, xxxiii. 18, 19. and chap, xxxiv. As lie uses the word Shechem here, 1 think it likely, that he alludes to the purchase of the field or parcel of ground mentioned chap, xxxiii. 18, 19. It has been supposed that this parcel of ground which Jacob bought from Shechem, had been takes from him by the Amorites; and that he afterwards had recovered it by his sieord and by his boxu; \. e. by force of arms. Shecliein appears to have fallen to the lot of Joseph's sons; see Josh. xvii. 1. and cliajt. xx. 7. and in our Lord's time there was a parcel of ground near to Sychar, or Shechem, which was still considered as that portion which Jacob gave to his son Joseph, John iv. 5, and on the whole it was probably the same that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of money, chap, xxxiii. 18, 19. Hut how it could be said that he took this out of the hand of the Amorite ivith his staord and hiS boiu? we cannot tell. Many attempts have been made to explain this abstruse verse, but they have all hitherto been fruitless. Jacob's words were no doubt perfectly well understood by Joseph; and probably alluded to some transaction that is not now on record, and it is much better and safer for us to confess our ignorance, than to hazard conjecture after conjecture on a subject in which we are not interested, and of which we can know nothing certainly.

1. On filial respect to aged and destitute parents we have already had occasion to speak, see ver 11. The duty of children to their parents, culy ceases when the parents are laid in tbeir graves; and this duty, is the next in order and importance to the duty we owe to God. No circumstances can alter its nature or lessen its iuipoitance; Honour thy fatlier and thy viother is tlie sovereign, everlasting command of God. \V hile the relations of parent and child exist, this commandment will be in full force.

2. The Redeeming Angel, the Messenger of the covenant in his preserving and saving influence, is invoked by dying Jacob, to be the protector and saviour of Ephraim and Manasseh, ver. 16. With what advantage and elYect can a dying parent recommend the Lord Jesus to his children, who can testify with his last breath, that this Jesus has redeemed him from all evil? Reader, canst thou call Christ thy Redeemer? Hast thou, through him, recovered the forfeited inheritance? Or dost thou expect redemption from all evil, by any other means? Through him, and him alone, God will redeem thee from all thy sins; and as thou knowest not what a moment may bring forth, thou hast not a moment to lose. Thou hast sinned, and there is no name given under heaven among men, whereby thou canst be saved, hut Jesus Christ. Acquaint thyself now with him, and be at peace, and thereby good shall come unto thee.

3. We find that the Patriarchs ever held the promised land in the most sacred point of view. It was God's gift to them: it was confirmed by a covenant that spoke of, and referred to better things. We believe that this land typified the rest, which remains for the people of God; and can we be indifferent to the excellence of this rest.' A patriarch could not die in peace, however distant from this land, without an assurance that his bones should be laid in it. How can lue live, how can we die comfortably without the assurance that our lives are hid with Christ in God, and that we shall dwell in his presence for ever? There remains a rest for the people of God, and only for tlie people of God: for those alone who love, serve, reverence, and obey him, in his Sen Jesus Christ, shall ever enjoy it.

N D Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves to-

NOTES ON CHAP. XLIX. Verse 1, That ii-hich shall befal you in the last days.] It is evident from this, and inoleed from the whole complexion «f these important prophecies, that the twelve sons of Jacob had very little concern in them, personally considered; as they were to be fulfilled in the last days; i. e. in times remote from that period, and consequently to their posterity, and not to themselves, or to their immediate families. The whole of these prophetic declarations, from \er. 2. to ver. 27. inclusive, is delivered in strongly figurative language, and in the poetic form; which, in every translation, should be preserved as nearly as possible, rendering the version line for line with the original. This order I shall pursue in the succeeding notes, always proposing the verse first, in as literal a translation as possible, line for line with the Hebrew, after the hemistich form, from which, the sense will more readily appear; but to the Hebrew text, and the common ver-. sion, the reader is ultimately referred.

2. Come together and hear, O sons of Jacob.' And hearken unto Israel your father.

gether, that I may 'tell you /^ff^ which shall befal you '' in the last days.

ceived a double blessing; spiritual and temporal: the promise of being /)?o^e/jiVor of the Messiah, and the promise of the land of Canaan. The promised land he might divide among his children as he pleased; but the other, must be confined to one of his sons; he therefore assigns to each son a portion in the land of Canaan, but limits the descent of the blessed seed to the tribe of Judah. Some have put themselves to a great deal of trouble and learned labour, to shew, that it was a general opinion of the ancients, that the soul a short time previous to its departure from the body, becomes endued with a certain measure of the prophetic gift, or foresight: and that this was probably the case with Jacob. But it would be derogatory to the dignity of the prophecies delivered in this chapter, to suppose, that they came by any other means than direct inspiration, as to their main matter; though certain circumstances, appear to be left to the Patriarch himself, in which he might express his own feelings both as a fatlier, and as a judge. This is strikingly evident. I. In the case of Reuben, from whom he had received the grossest insult, however the passage relative to lllm, may be understood, and 2. in the case of Joseph, the tenderly beloved son of his most beloved ivife Rachel, in the prophecy concerning whom, he giv«s

A.M.a'ii- 2 Gather yourselves together, and "• ^- ""''•': liear, ye sons of Jacob; and ' hearken unto Israel your father. *

3 % Reuben, thou art " my firstborn, my might, 'and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4 Unstable as water, "^ thou ' shalt not excel; because thou "^wentest up to thy father's bed;

full vent to all Ihe tender and aflectionate emotions, which as i father and a hiabund do hiui endles.s credit.

3Ii/ misiht, and the prime of my strength. Excelling in eminence, and excelling in power:

4. Pouring out like the waters: — t/iou shall not excel. For thoti uentest up to the bed of thy father,— Then thou didst defile: — to my couch he went tip!

Verse 3. Reuben as the firstborn had a right to a double portion of all that tlie I'atlier had, see Deut. xxi. 17.

The eminence or dignity mentioned liere, may refer to the priesthood, tlie jioxver, to the regal government or kingdom. In this sense it has been understood by all the ancient Targumists; the Targum of Onkelos paraphrases it thus; " Thou shouldst have received three portions, the birth-right, the priesthood, and the kingdom:" and to this the Targums of Jonatlianben Uzziel, and Jeriisalem add, but because thou hast sinned, the bWlh-ri'^ht is given to.Joseph,?//e kingdom <o.ludah, and priesthood to Levi." That the birth- right was given to the sons of Joseph, we have the (lillest proof from 1 Chron. v. 1.

Verse 4. Pouring out like uatersl This is an obscure sentence, because unfinished: It evidently relates to the defilement of his father's couch, and the word jnS pachaz, here translated poj^nng- out, and in oiu' version unstable, has a bad meaning in other places of the Scripture, being applied to dissolute, debauched, and licentious conduct; see Judg. ix. 4. Zcph. iii. 4..lerem. xxiii. 14, 32. xxix. 23.

Thou shalt not excell This tribe never rose to any eminence in Israel; was not so numerous by one tiiird, as either Jud^h,.loseph, or Dan, when Moses look the sum of them in the wilderness. Num. i. 21. and was among the frst that ■was carried into captivity, I Chron. v. 26.

Then thou didst defile^ Another unfini.shed sentence similar to the former, and upon tlie same subject, passing over a transaction covertly, which delicacy forbad Jacob to enlarge on. — For the the criuie of Reuben, see the notes on chap. XXXV. 22.

6. Into their secret council my soul did not come: In tlu-ir confederacy my honour ■aas not united.

For in their anger they slew a man ('U?'N ish a noble) And in their self-will they murdered a prince.

then defiledst thou it': ^ he went up to my couch,

6 O my soul, " come not thou into their secret; " unto their assembly, ° mine honour, be not thou united: for '' in their anger they slew

1. Cursed was their an^er, for it was fierce! And their excessive wrath, for it was inflexible.' I wilt divide them out in Jacob, And I will disperse them in Israel.

Verse 5. Simeon and Levi are brethren"] Not only springing from the same parents; but they have the same kind of disposition, headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel.

They have accomplished, ^-c] Our margin has it. Their svjords are weapons of violence, i. e. Their swords which they siiould have used in defence of their persons, or the honourable protection of their families, they have employed in the base and dastardly murder of an innocent unoffending people.

The Septuagint gives a different turn to this line, from out" translation, and confirms the translation given above; atnittXii^av ci^iKiav s^ai^etrEa; auTav. They have accomplislied the iniquity of their purpose, with which the Samaritan version agrees. In the Samaritan text we read X2.ii calu, they hare accomplished, instead of the Hebrew »V3 celi, weapons, or instruments, which reading mo.st critics prefer: and as to Dn'm20 mecaroteyliem translated above, their fraudulent purposes, and which our translation, on almost no authority, renders their habitations, it must either come from the Ethiopia "130 macar, he counselled, devised stratagems,!(c. see Castel, or from the Arabic J^ macara, he deceived, practised deceit, plotted, &c. which is nearly of the same import. This gives not only a consistent, but evidently ihe true sense.

■ Verse 6. Into their secret council, ^t.] Jacob here exculpates himself from all participation in the guilt of Simeon and Levi, in the murder of the Shechemites. — He most solemnly declares that he knew nothing of the confederacy by which it was executed; nor of the secret council in which it was plotted.

If it should be said that the words N3ri tabo, and inn techad should be translated in the future tense, or in the imperative, as in our translation, I shall not contend, though it is well known that the preter is often used for the future m Hebrew, and vice versa. Taken thus, the words mark the strong detestation which this holy man's soul felt for the villany of his sons. " My soul shall not come into their secret council — My honour shall not be united to their confederacy."

And in their.iclf-ivill.] jyi retsnn, pleasure, delight. This marks the highest degree of wickedness and settled malice — they

7 Cursed he their anger, fur it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: " I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, thoji art lie whom thy amk;!,-;. brethren shall praise: " thy hand!l^'i^^: shall be in the neck of thine enemies; ''thy father's children shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah is ' a lion's whelp; fiom the prey, my

WTTc del/i^Iitcd with tlieir Jeed. A similar spirit, Saul of Tarsus pDi-sesseil, previous to his conversion; speakinji; of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, St. l.uke says, Ailsviii. I. EauXo; ^i W (TuvEuioKuv Tn avaicECEi auTou. And Smil ivas gladlj/ conscnthii^ to his death. He was, uith the others, hii^hbi delighted with it: and thus tlie prediction of our Lord was i'ulfilled, John xvi. 1. Yea, the time cometh, that whosoercr killeth you, nill think that he doth Cod service. And it is represented as the highest pitch of profligac}' and wickedness, not only to sin, but to delight in it; see Rpni. i. 32. y\s the Hebrew word jiJT retion, signifies, in general, pleasure, benevolence, delight, ^x. neither self-rjitl, nor leilfidness, as some have translated it, amounts to the full meaning of the original; delight or pleasure comes nearer, and tlie reasons appear sniiiciently obvious. — Thet/ murdered a prince — Hamor, the father of Shechcm, instead of IW shor, which wc ha\e translated a ivall, and others an ox; I read "V! sar a prince, whicii makes a consistent sense; see Kennicott's t'lrst Dissertation, p. 56, &c. — As there is no evidence v\hatever, that Simcon and Levi either dug doiun a ii-ull, or houghed the oxen, as some have translated the passage, see the margin; on the contrary, the text, chap. xxxv. 28, 29. proves that they had taken tor their own use, the sheep, oxen, asses, all the xueulth, the xi'ives, and the little ones of the Shecheniitcs.

Verse 7. Cursed v:as their anger'\ The first motions of their violence were savage — and their excessive or oreijloiving ivruth rroy aherat, for it v.-as inflexible; neither the supplications of the males, nor the entreaties, tears, cries and shrieks of the helpless females, could deter them from their murderous purpose; for this, ver. 5. they are said to have accomplished.

I will divide them out DPtTIS' achalekam, I ivill make them into lots, giving a portion of them to one tribe, and a portion to another — but they shall never attain to any political consequence. This appears to have been literally fulfilled. Ixvi bad no inheritance except forty-eight cities, scattered througli diflerent parts of the land of Canaan; and as to the tribe of Simeon, it is generally believed among the Jews, that they became school-masters to the other tribes: and when they entered Canaan, they had only a small portion, a few towns and villages in the worst j)arl of Judah's lot,.losli. xix. 1. which afterwards finding too little, they formed different colonies in districts which they conquered from the Idumeans and Amalekites, 1 Chron. iv. 39, &c. Thus these two tribes were not only separated from each other, but even divided from themselves, according to this prediction of Jacob.

S. Judah! thou! Thy brethren shall praise thee. Thy hand, in the neck of thine enemies: The sons vf thy father shall bow themselves to thee.

lie couched, lying duii'n like a stroyjg lion. And like a lioness; vAio shall arouse him f. 10. From Judah the sccpire shall not depart, Nor a teacher from his offspring. Until that Shiloh shall come, And to him shall be assembled the peoples. Binding his colt to the vine. And to the choice vine, the foles of his ass. lie ivaslied his garments in wine. His clothes in the blood of the grape. With wine shall his eyes be red. And his teeth sliull be while tvilh rnilk.

Verse 8. Thy brethren shall jiruise ihce"] As the nam« Judah signitles praise, Jacob tukes occasion i'rom its meaning, to shew that this tribe should be so eminent and glorious, that the rest of the tribes should praise it; that is, that they should acknowledge its pre-eminence and superiour dignity; as in its privileges, it should be distinguished beyond all the otlicrs. On the prophecy relative to Judah, Dr. Hales has several judicious remarks, and has left very little to be further desired on the subject. Every reader will be glad to meet with thcai here.

" The prophecy begins witli his name JuiiAU, signifying the praise of the Lord, which was given to him at his birtli by his mother Lecili, chap. xxix. 35. It then describes the warlike character of this tribe, to which, by the divine appointment, was assigned the first lot of the promised land, which was conquered accordingly hy the pious and heroic Caleb; the first who laid hands on the necks of his enemies^ and routed and subdued them. Josh. xiv. 1 1. xv. 1. Judg. i. 1, 2. and led the way for their total subjugation under i>.-;r/ii; who in allusion to this prediction, praises God, and says. Thou hast given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. Psalm viii. 40. In tlie difttient stages of its strength, this tribe is compared to a lion's w'help, to a full i^roien lion, and to a nursing lioness, the fiercest of all. Hence a lion was the standard of Judah; compare Num. ii. 3. Ezek. i. 10. The city of Uavid, where he reposed himself after his conquests, secure in the terror of his name, 1 Chron. xiv. 17. was called ylriel, the lion oj' God,- Isa. xxix. 1. And our Lord himself, his most illustrious descendant. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, Rev. v. 5.

The duration of the power of this famous tribe is next determined— " The sce])tre of douiinioii," as it is understood, F.slh. viii. 4. Isa. xiv. 5, &c. or its civil govemnient, was not to cease or depart from Judah, until the birth or coming of SlIILOH, signifying the Apostle, as Christ is stilcd, Heb. iii. I. nor was the native lawgiver, or expounder of the law, teacher or scribe, intimating their ecclesiastical polity, to cease, until Shiloh should have a congregation of peoples, or religious fol-

son, thou art gone up: ' he fitooped ' down, he couclied us a lion, and as

an old lion; who shall rouse liini

lowers, alta'Iieil lo Inni. Aiul how accuraltly wa* tlii.s fulfillod in Ixilli ihefe ri'^|Kcts!

1. Slioilly btlore the biiUi of (Mirist, a decree wa.s issued bv AiigusliH C'oesar, that all llic land of.liidea and Galilee should be enrolled; or a re;;i^try ot ])t isuns taken, in which Ciiri-< wa5 included; Luko4i. I — 1. whence Julian tlie apostate, unwittinirly olijectcd to his title of Clilils'l' or KiNG, that " he was born a suhjecl of Ca-sar!" About eleven years after, Judca was made a Roman pmvince, attached to Syria on the dejjosal and banishment of Arclicluus, tlie son of llerod the Great, for maladministration, and an assessment of properties, or laimg was carried into tllect by t'l/renius, then governor of Syria, the same, who before, as the Emperor's procurator, had made the enrollment, Lnke ii. 2. Acts v. 37. and thenceforth Judea was governed by a Roman deputy; and tlie judicial power of life and death taken away from the Jews, John xviii. 31.

2. Their ecclesiastical polity ceased with the destruction of their city and temple by the Romans, A. D. 70. At which lime the gospel had been preached through the known world by the Apostles, " his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Suiimriu, and unto the uttermost parts oiihe earth," Matt. xxiv. 14. Acts ii. 8. Rom. x. 18. And avast congregation of Christians then formed, both among Jeii's and (^entiles.

Our Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, before iiis crucifixion, " riding on an uss, even a colt, the fole of an ass;" which by his direction, his disciples brought to him for this purpose: — " Go into the village over against you, and presently ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her, loose them and bring them to me," Matt. xxi. 2 — S. remarkably fulfdliiig the prophecy of Zecliariah ix. 9. is no less a fulfilluient of this prophecy of Shilnli, " binding or lying hk fole to tlie vine, even his ass's colt to the cltoicc tine." In ancient times, to ride upon lettite asses, or ass cults was the privilege of [lersons of high rank, princes, judges, and prophets, Judg. y. 10. X. 4. Num. xxii. 22. And, as the children of Israel were symbolized by the vine, Psal. Ixxx. 8. Hos. x. 1. and the men of Judah, by " a (choice) vine of Sorck," in the original, both here and in the beautiful allegory of Isaiah, V. 1 — 7. adopted by Jeremiah ii. 21. and by our Lord, IMatt. xxi. 31. who stiled himself the true vine, John xv. 1. so, the union of both these images, signified our Lord's assutnplion, as the promised Shiloh, of the dignity of the kin-; of the Jcru'i; not in a temporal, but in a spiritual sense, as lie declaredto Pilate, John xviii. 36. as a ])rclude to his second couiing in glory, " to restore again the kingdom to Israel," Matt, xviii. C)4. Acts i. (S.

The vcn'j^eance to be then inllicted on all the enemies of his clmrch, or congregation of faithful C7^^/i<^■a(^•(, is expressed by llie symbolical imagery of " washing his garments in u>ine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes;" which, to understand literally, would be incongruoits, and unusual any where; while it aptly represents his garments crnnsoned in the blood

The strength and wholesomenc.ss of.Shiloh's doctrine arc next represented, by having '■ his eyes red with nine, and his teeth white with milk." And thus the evangelical prophet, in similar strains, invites the world to embrace the uosi't-:!,;

Ho, every one that thirsleth, come to the waters. And he that hath no money, come buy and cat: Yea, come buy wine and milk, IVtthout money and tiilhout price. Isa. Iv. I.

On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, it was customary among the Jews, for the people to bring water from the fountain of Siloah, or Siloai;i, which they poured on the altar, singing the words of Isaiah xii. 3. Withjoy shall ye Jratti water from the fountain of salvation, which the Targuin interprets, With joy shall ye receive a new doctrine from the ELECT ol' the JO.ST ONE; and the feast itself was also called Hosanna, sate, ive beseech thee. And Isaiah has also described the apostacy of the Jews from their tutelar God Im.M.\NUEL, under the corresponding imagery of their " rejecting tlve gently lowing'waters ot' Siloah," Isa. viii. 6 — 8.

Hence our Lord, on the last day of the feast, significantly invited the Jews to come unto him, as the true and living fountain of waters, Jer. ii. 13. " If any thirst let him come to ME and drink," John vii. 37. He also compared his doctrine to new ivine, which required to be put into neiu bottles, made of skins, strong enough to contain it. Matt. ix. 17. while the gospel is repeatedly represented as aflbrdinj milk for babes, or the first principles of the oracles of God for novices in the faith; as well as strong meat [and strong wine] for masters in Christ, or adepts. Matt. xiii. 11. Ileb. v. 12 — 14.

And our Lord's most significant miracle was wrought at this fountain, when he gave sight to a man of forty years old, blind from his birth, by sending him, after he had anointed!iis eyes with moistened clay, to wash in the poo\ of Siloani, which is the Greek ])ronunciation of the Hebrew ri/l? Siloah, or Siloh, Isa. viii. tj. where the Scptuat^int version reads 'LiXaaiJ.: signifying, according to the Kvangclist, amrahixcioi, sent Jorth, and consequently deri\ed trom nSc Shalach, to send, John ix. 7. Our Lord thus assuming to himself, his two leading titles of MESSI.\n, signifying anojn/frf, and Shiloh, sent forth, or delegated from God; as he had done before at the opening of his mission. " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he halh anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent vie forth [aTrtixXxi) to heal the broken-hearted," &c. Luke iv. 18.

And in the course of it he declared, I was not sent forth, {aTnraMv) but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israeli Matt. XV. 24. by a twofold reference to his character in Jacob's prophecy of SuiLOH and SaEI'HEUU OF ISR,\EL, Gen. xlix. 10 — 24. "This is lite eternal, to know thee the only true- I i 2

Shiloh promised. The prophecy

10 ' The scepter shall not depart from Judali, nor ^ a lawgiver ' tiom between his teet, ''until Shiloh come; 'and

unto him shall the gathering of the people he.

1 1 ' Binding his tble unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he wasiied his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

Goil, and Jesus Christ wliom thou sentest forth," [wTTzmT^a^) to instruct and save mankind, John xvii..'5. and he thus distinguishes liis own superior mission, from his commission to his Apostles, " As 'fHE FATHER hath sent ME aTrirahxt /ae, so I send you," in^jLTta ufiag, John xx. 21. Whence St. Paul expressly stiles " Jesus Christ the Apostle (O A'tcotoXo?) and high-priest of our profession," Heb. iii. 1. and by an elaborate argument, shews the superiority of his mission above tiiat of Moses; and of his priesthood above that of Aaron, in the sequel of the epistle. His priesthood was foretold by David to be a royal priesthood, after the order of BIdchiscdek, Psalm ex. 4. but where shall we find his mission or apostleship foretold, except in Jacob's prophecy of Shiloh.? which was evidently so understood by Moses when God offered to send him as his ambassador to Pharaoh, and he declined at first the arduous mission, O my Lord, send I pray thee by ihe band of Him ■uihom thou -wilt send, or by the promised Shiloh, Esod. iii. 10. iv. 13. by whom in his last blessnii^ to the Israelites, parallel to that of Jacob, he prayed that " God would bring back Judah to his pi-ople," from captivity, Deut. xxxiii. 1.

Here then we fr.id the true me.ining- and derivation of ihe much disputed term Shiloh in this prophecy of Jacob, which i« fortunately preserved by the Vnlsute, rendernig qui niittoidiis est. He that is to be sent, and also by a Itabbiiucal comment on Deut. xxii. T. " If you keep this precept, you hasten the coming of the Messiah, who is called Sent.

This ini;;oriarit prophecy concerning Judab, intimates: ]. The warlike character and cnnquests of this tribe. 2. The cessation of their civd and religi(>us polity at the first coming of SMoh.?•■ His meek ami lowly inauguration at that time, as spiritual king of the Jajs, riding on an tiss like the ancient judges and prophets. 4. His second coming as a warrior to trample on all his foes: And^ 5. To save and instruct his tailhlul people.' — Hides' Analysis, Vol. ii, p. 167,

Verse SO. From Judah the iceptre shall not depart] The Jews have a quibble on the word {331? shebel, M'hich we translate sceptre; ibfv say it signifies a stuff' or rod, and that the ineanin'T of it is. ibat " offiictions shall iu;t depart from the Jews till the Messiah comes;" that they are still under affliction, and therefore the Messiah isnot come. This is a miserable sh>Jt to save a lost cti'ue. Tiieir chief Targuniist, Onkelos, undersUiod and tran^laled the word nearly as we do, and the tame nieanmg is adopted by the Jemsaiem Targuin, and

13 ^ " Zcbidun shall dwell at the liaven of the sea; and he shall he for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 ^ Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens:

by all the ancient versions, the Arabic excepted, which has,_<sA>aS kazech, a rod; but in a very ancient MS. of the Pentateuch in my own possession, the word tuu*. sibt is used, which signifies a tribe. Judah shall continue a distinct tribe till the Messiah shall come; and it did so; and after his coming, it was confounded with the others, so that all distinction has been ever since lost.

Nor a teacher from his offspring."] I am sufficiently aware that the literal meaning of the original vVj"^ f'30 mi-beyn ragelaiv, is, from betiveen his feet; and 1 am as iuUy satisfied that it should ne\er be so translated; — from betiieen thefeet, and out of the thtgh, simply iwtAnprogeni/, natural offspring; for reasons, which surely need not be mentioned. The Targuin of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and the Jerusalem Targum, apply the whole of this prophecy in a variety of very miiuite particulars, to the Messiuh; and give no kind of countenance to the fic» tions of the modern Jews.

Verfe 13. Zebulun's lot or portion in the division of the promised land, extended from the Mediterrarifan Sea oa the West, 10 the lake of Genne.>.areth on the i' asl; sec his' division, Josh. xix. 10, &c. The Targum of J. ben VziieVj paraphrases the passage thus: " Zebulun shall be on the' coasts of the sea, and he shall rule over the liavens; he shall' subdue the provinces of the sea with his ships; and his border shall eitt-nd unto Sidon."

15. And he saw the resting place, that it \\>&sgood. And the land, that it xuis pleasant; And he inclined his shoulder to the load.

Verse 1 i-. Issachar is a strong ass] D"iJ "TOn chamor gtrtm is properly a strong limbed ass — Couching hetxceeit tu-o burthens; bearing paliently, as mo.st iindirstaiid it, the fatigues of agriculture, and submitting to exorbitant taxes, rather than exert themselves to drive out the old inhabitants.

\5 And he saw that rest tvas good, and the hmd that it "was pleasant; and bowed ' his.shoulder to bear, and became a servant nnto tribute.

16 f "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

Verse 1.^. He saw th^ rext] Tlie inland portion that was as.'iigjncd to him between tlie otlier tribes; Ik inclined Ids thoutdiT to the load; The Ciialicc paraplirast gives this a widely difl'erent turn to that given it by most conuntntalors. " He saw his portion that it was good, and the land that it was fruitful; and lie shall subdue the provinces of the people, and drive out their inhabitants, and those who are left shall l)e his.servants and Ins tributaries." Grotius understands it nearly m the.«ame way. The piisHtaniniity which is generally attributed to this tribe, certainly does not agree widi the light in which they are exhibited in Scrii ture. In the song of Deborah, this tribe is praised lor the powerful aasisiuncc which itthen aflorded, Judg. v. 15. And in 1 Cbron.vii. 1 — 5. they are expressly said to have been valiant men of might in alt iheir families, and in all their gcneraliona; i. e. through every period of their history. It appears they were a labor:ous, hardy, valiant tribe, patient in labour, and invincible in uar; bearnig both these burdt ns wilii great constancy, whenever it was found necessary. V\'hfn Tola of this tribe, judged Israel, the land had rest twenty-three years, Judg. x. 1.

16. Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.

1 7. Dan shall be a serpent on the le-i!/, A cerastes upon the truck. Biting the heels of the horse,

Verse 16. Dan shall judge'] Dan, whose name signifies judgment, was the eldest of Jacob's.sons by Dilhah, Kaclrel's maid; and he is here promised an equal rule, with those tribes that sprung from either Leah or Rachel, the legal wives of Jacob.

Some Jewish and some Christian v.'riters understand this prophecy of Samson, who sprang from this tribe, and judged, or as the word might be translated, avenged the people of Israel, twenty years; see Juilg. xiii. 2. xv. 20.

Verse 17. Dan shall be a serpent] The original word is ICTU naehash, and we have seen cm chap. iii. tiiat this has a great variety of signification,-. — It is probable that a serpent is here intended; but of what kind we know not — yet as the principal relerence in the text is to guile, cunning, ifc. the same creature may be intended as in chap. iii.

A cerastes in the truck] The woi d |ia'3li' shcphiphon, which is no where else to be found in tlie IJibIc, is llu;s translated by the Vulgate; and Bochart approves of the translation. The caaues has its naiue from two little horns upon its head, and

17 'Dan shall be a serpent by the way, '' an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 'I have waited for thy salvation, O

is remarkable fur the property here ascribed to the shephiphon. The word mx orach, which we translate path, signiiies the track or rut made in the ground by the wlieel of a curt, wagon, Sfc. And the description that iV(V«»rff;- gives of this serpent in his Theriacci, pcrli;ctly agrees with what is here said of the shephiphon;

It is intimated that this tribe should gain the principal part of its conquests, more by ainning and stratagem than by valour; and this is.seen particularly in their conquest of Laish, Judges xviii. and even in some of the transactions of Samson,.such as burning the corn of the Philistines, and at last pulling down their temple, and destroying three thousand at one time; see Judg. xvi. 26 — 36.

This is a remarkable ejaculation, and seems to stand perfectly unconnected with all that went before, and all that follows. Though it is probable that certain prophetic views, which Jacob now had, and which he does not explain, gave rise to it: and by this he at once expressed both his faith and hope in God. Both Jews and Christian commentators have endeavoured to find out the connection in which these words existed in the mind of the patriarch. The 'J argum of Jonathan expresses the whole thus: " \\'heD Jacob saw Gideon the son of Joasli, and Samson the son of Manoah, which were to be saviours in a future age; he said, I do not wait for the salvation of Gideon, I do not expect the salvation of Samson, because their salvation is a temporal salvation; but 1 wait for and expect thy salvation, O Lord, because thy salvation is eternal." And the Jerusalem Targum much to the same purpose. " Our father Jacob said: Wait not, my soul, for the redemption of Gideon the son of Joash which is temporal, nor the redem]>tion of Samson which is a created salvation, but for the salvation which thou hast.slid by THY WulU) should come to thy people, the children of Israel: my soul waits for this thy salvation." Indeed these Targums refer almost the whole of these))rophccies to the Messiah, and especially what is said abovt Judah; every word of which, they apply to him. Thus the ancient Jews convict the moderns of both false interpretations and vain expectations. As the tribe of Dan was the first that appears to have been seduced from the true worship of God, see Judg. xviii. 30. some have thought that Jacob refers particularly to this; and sees the end of the general apostacy only in the redemp-

19 ^ ^ Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall ' overcome at the

20 % " Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

tion,by Jesiis Christ: considering- the nnchash above as tlie fejiiccr; and the Messiah, the promised ^eed.

This is one of the most obscure prophecies in the whole chapter; and no two interpreters agree in the translation of the original words, which exhibit a most singular alliteration:

The prophecy seems to refer generally to the frequent ilisturbauccs to which this tribe should be exposed, and their hostile, warlike disposition that would always lead them to rejiel every agt;ression. It is likely that tlie prophecy had an especial fullilment, when this tribe, in conjunction with that of Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh, got a great victory over the Hagarites, taking captive one him-, dred thousand men, ttio thousand asses, ^^liftj/ thousand camels, j and t'.vo hundred and fiftij thousand sheep, see I Chron. v. 18.' — 22. Dr. Durell and others translate the last word 2,TiV akab, rear — "He shall invade their rear;" \ihich contains almost no meaning, as it only seems to state, that thou'^h the army that invaded Gad should be successful, yet the Gadites would harass their rear as they returned: but this could never be a subject of sufficient consequence for a prophecy. The word apj; ukab is frequently used as a particle, signifying in conscijuence, because of, on account of. After the Gadites had obtained the victory above mentioned, they con- i tinned to possess the land of their enemies till they were earned away captive. The Chaldce paraphrasts apply this to; the Gadites going armed over Jordan before their brethren, discomfiting Iheir enemies, and returnini^ back with much fpoil. See Josh. iv. 12, 13. and xxii. 1, 2, 8

This refers to the great fertility of the lot that fell to' Asher, and which appears to have corresponded with the name, which signifies happy, or blessed, and whose great prosperity Moses describes in this figurative way — " Let Asher be blessed with children, let him be acceptahle to his brethren, and let him dip Ids foot in oil," Deut. x.\xiii. 24.

1 his is Bochari's translation; and perhaps no man, who nnderstands the genius of the Hebrew language, will attempt to disjuite its propriety: it is as literal as it is correct. Our wvn translation scarcely gives any sense. The fruitfiilness

22 ^ Joseph is a friiitfiil bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; ivhose '' branches run over the wall:

down into Egypt, ch. xlvi. 24. in the course of two hundred

The son of a fruitful (vine) by the fountain: The daughters (branches) shoot over the tcull.

23. They.'.orely aflicted him, and contended with him; The chief archers had hint in hatred.

By tlie name of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.

25. By the God of thy father, for he helped thee. And God All- sufficient, he blessed thee.

26. The blessings of thy father have prevailed Over the blessings of the eternal mountains, And the desirable things of the everlasting hills. These shall be on the head of Joseph,

Verse 22. Tlie son of a fruitful vine] This appears to ine to refer to Jacob himself, who was blessed with such a numerous posterity, that in two hundred and fifteen years after this, his own descendants amounted to upwards of 600,000 eflPective nun; and the figures here are intended to point out the continual growth and increase of his posterity. Jacob was a fruitful ■ tree, planted by a tbuntain, which, because it was good, would y\c\A gnodfndt; and because it was planted near a /omi^ajn, from being continually watered, \\ou\d he perpetually fruitful, i The same is used and applied to Jacob, Deut. vxxiii. 28. — The FOUNTAIN of JaCOB shall be upon a land of corn and wine and oil, i)C.,

The daughters] — r>y3 benoth, put here for branches — shoot over, or run upon the wall Alluding probably to the case of t

^^ "'"^ grieved him, and shot at liini, and | who shall help thee; ^ and by the hated him: ' Almighty, ' who shall ])less thee with blessings

24 Jkit his '' bow abode in strength, and the ot" heaven al)ove, blessings of the deep that arms of his hands were niade strong by the | lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of liie hands of 'the -mighty God of Jacob; (" from vvomb: thence "is the shepherd, ' the stone of Israel:) | 26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed

llic vine, whicli requires to lit; supported liy a wall, trees, &c. Some commentators have iinderstuoil this literally, and have applied it to the Kijvptian women, who were so struek with the beauty of Joseph, as to get upon walls, the tops of houses &c. to see him as he passed by. This is agreeable to the view taken of the subject by the Koran. — See the notes on chap, xxxix. 7.

Verse 23. TIte cltU-f aix/iers] ZD'Sn hv2 baahy chatsim, tlie muslers of (tnov:s, Joseph's bretiiren, who eitiier used such wea[)ons, uhile feeding their Hocks in the desarts, lor the protection of themselves and cattle; or lor the purpose of hunting, and probably excelled in archery. It may, however, refer to the bitter spuecke.i and harsh viords that they spoke to and of him; for thty hated him, and could not speak peaccabti) to him, chap, xxxvii. 4. Thus they sorely afflicted him, and were inces.santly scoldina- or finding fault.

Verse 24. Bttt his box-j uliode in strcn<;lh~\ The more he was persecuted, either by his brethren, or in F.jypt, the more resplendent his uprightness and virtues shone; and the arms — his extended power and injluencc — of his hands, plans, designs, ar:d particular opert^tions of his prudence, judgment, discretion, iVf. Mere all rendered successful by the liand, the powerful succour and protection of the Mighfj/ One of Jacob — that God who blessed and prospered all the counsels and plans of j Jacob; and protected and increased hiin also, when he was in a strr.nge land, and often under the power of those \iho sought opportunities to oppress and defraud hiiri.

i-'rotn thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel^ Jehovah, and Et-Eluhey hrael, see chap, xxxiii. 20. This appears to me to refer to tlie subject of the xxxiind. chapter, where Jacob wrestled with God, had God's name revealed to him, and his own name changed from Jacob to Israel; in consequence of which, he bnilded an altar, which he dedicated to God, who had appeared to him under the name of Elohiy- Israel, the stronq God of Israel; which circumstance led him to use the term Rocic, which, as an emblem of poii;er and strength, is frequently given to God in the sacred writings, and which may here refer to the stojie which Jacob set up, and which was called Beth-el, see chap, xviii. 13, 19. It is very probable that the woril Shepherd is intended to apply to our blessed Lord, who is the Shepherd of Israel, the geoel J^iiepherd, John x. 11 — 17. and who, beyond all controversy, was the person with whom Jacob wrestled. — See the notes on chap. xvi. 7. and xxxii. 24.

Verse 25. The God of thy father] How frequently God is called the God of Jacob, none needs be told, who reads the Bible.

God All-sulTicienl] Instead of niy nx Et Shaday, 'llir. Almighty, or All-sufficient, I road nU' Sx I'lL Shaday, CJoii Atl-sulficient, which is the reading of the Samaritan, Sepinagint, Syriac, and Coptic, and of three reputable MSS. in the collections of Kennicott and De Rossi. The copies used by those ancient versions had evidently h^ El, (lod, in the text, and not ns* et, TilK, a mistake produced in later times. On the ^^oI•ds niy bx El Shaday, see the note on chap, xvii. 1.

Tlie blessings of the heavens from above] A generally pure, clear, serene sky, frequently dropping down fertilizing showers and dews, so as to make a very fruitful soil and salubrious atmosphere.

Blessijigs lying in the deep beneath'] Whatever riches could be gained from the sea or rivers, from mines and minerals in the bowels of the earth, and from abundant springs in diflt.-rent parts of his inheritance. Our translation of this line is excessively obscure.

Blessings of the deep that lieth under] What is it that lie* itnder the deep? — By connecting r3^3 birecoth, blessings, with nS31 robetseth, lying or couching, all ambiguity, is avoided, anel the text speaks a plain and consistent.sense.

The blessi/igs of the breans and of lite ivomb] A numerous offspring, and an abundance of catje. The progeny of Joseph, by Kphraim anil Manas.seh, amounted at the firjt census, or enumeration. Numb. 1. to 75,ytX) men, which exceeded the sum of any one tribe; Judah, the greatest of the others, amounting to no more than 74,600. Indeed, Ephraiui and Manassch had multiplied so greatly in the days of Joshua, that a common lot was not sutricienl for ihein. See their complaint. Josh. xvii. 14.

Verse 26. The blessings of thy father,!fc.] The blessings which thy lather now prays lor and pronounces, are neither temporal nor transitory — they shall exceed in tlicir duration the eternal mountains, and in their value and spiritual nature all the conveniencies, comforts, and delicacies, which the everlasting hills can produce. They shall last when the heavens and the earth are no more, and shall e:':tend throughout eternity. They are the bU.ssings wiiieh shall be communicated to the world by means of tiie IMessiah.

The Jerusaieni Targum paraphrases the place thus: " The blessings of this father shall be added unto the blessings wherewith thy fathei-s Abraham and Isaac, who are likened to mountains, have Idessed thee; and they shall exceed the blessings of the four mothers Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah, who are likened lo llie hills: all these blessings shall be a crown of uiaguilicencc on the head of Joseph, and cu

above the blessings of thy progenitors, '' unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: '' they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate fi-om his brethren.

27 ^ Benjamin shall "ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, ^ and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29 ^ And he charged them, and 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 Hittite,

the crown of the bead of him who was a prince and governor in the land of Egypt."

In the morning he shall devour the prey. And in the evening he shall divide the spoil.

This tribe is very fitly compared to a ravenous iiolf, because of the rude courage and ferocity which they have invariably displayed, particularly in their war with the other tribes, in which they killed more men than the whole of their own numbers amounled to.

" This last tribe," says Dr. Hale.s " is compared to a wolf for its ferocious and martial disposition, such as was evinced by their contests with the other tribes, in which, after two victories, they were almost exterminated," Judg. xix. 20. Its union with the tribe of Jiidah seems to be intimated in their joint conquests, expressed nearly in the same terms — " Judali went up from the prey" — " Benjamin devoured the prey." Moses, in his parallel prophecy, Deut. xxxiii. 12. confiims this, by signifying that the sanc/uaiy should be fixed in his lot, and that he should continue as long as the existence of the temple itself.

And shall dwell between his sliotilders. Deut. xxxiii. IS.

In the morning, ^'c] These expre-ssions have been viirionsly understood. The sense given above is that in which the principal interpreters agree; but Ilnubiz'int protests against the prophecy signifying the continuance of tiiis tribe, as the words, " in the morning devouring the prey," and " m the ercnw^: dividing tlie spoil," are supposed to imply; because he observes, " that after liie return from the Babylonish captivity, this tribe is no more mentioned." But this may be accounted for from the circumstance of its being associated ■with that of Judah, see 1 Kings xii. 21 — 24. after which it

30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, (which is before Mamrc, in the land of Canaan,) ''which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite> for a possession of a buryingpjace

31 ('There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; " there they biu-ied Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.)

32 The purchase of the fi^ld and of the cave that is therein, was from the children oi Heth.

33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and ' was gathered unto his people.

is scarcely ever mentioned but in that union. Being thus absorbed in the tribe of Judah, it contmued from the morning till the evening of the Jewish dispensation, and consequently till the Lion of the tribe of Judah was seen in the wilderness

In the morning, according to Mr. Ainsworth, " signifies the first times: for Ehud of Benjamin was the second judge that s.ived the Israelites from the hands of the Moabites, Judges iii. 15, &c. 8aul of Benjamin was the first king of Israel: he and his. son were great warriors, making a prey of many enemies, 1 Sam. xi. 6, 7, 11. xiv. 13, 15, 47, 48^ And the evening, the latter times; for Mordecai and Esther of Benjamin delivered the Jews from a great destruction, and slew their enemies, Fsth. viii. 1,9, 11. ix. 5, 6, 15, 16."

Verse 28. Every one according to his blessin^^ That is,- guided by the unerring spirit of prophecy,.Jacob now foretold to each of his sons all the important events which should take place during their successive generations, and the predominant characteristic of each tribe; and, at the same time,. made some comparatively obscure references to the advent of. the Messiah, and the redemption of the world by him.

Verse 29. Bury me with jny fathers, (^Y.] From this it appears, that the cave at Machpelah was a conimon buiying-placc for Hebrews of distinction; and, indeed, the first public btirying-place mentioned in history. From ver..31. we find that Abraham, Sarah, Lsaac, Rebekah, and Leah, had been already deposited there, and among them Jacob wished to have his bones laid; and he left his dying charge with his children to bury him in this place, and this tlicy conscientiously performed.— ISee chap. 1. 13. and the Note on Extid. iii. 19.

Verse 3.3. He gathered up his feet into the bedl It is very probable, that while delivering these prophetic blessings, Jacob sat upon the side of his bed, leaning upon his staff; and having finished, he lifted up his feet into the bed, stretched himself upon it, and expired:

Joseph and his brethren supposed lo CHAP. XLIX. have given rise to tlie ancient Zodiac, place bear* to the immortality of the soul, and to its existence tepurute from the body,.'•liould not. he lightly regurded. In the saivic moment, in wliieli Jacob is said to have s^atiieied up his feel into the bed and to have expired, it is added, and ivas gathered unto /ii» people. It is certain that his body was not then ^iithered to his people, nor till seven weeks ailer; and it is not likely that a circumstance, so distant in point both of time and place, would have been thus anticipated, and associated with facts that took place in that moment. I cannot help, therefore, considerinfj this an additional evidence for the immateri<ilily of the soul; ami that it was intended by the Holy Spirit to convey this grand and consolatory sentiment, that when a holy man ceases to live among his fellows, his soul becomes an inhabitant of another world, and is joined to the spirits of just men made perfect, — See the notes on chap. XXV. 8.

I. It has been conjectured, (see the note ch. xxxvii. 9.) that the eleven stars that bowed down to Joseph might probably refer to the signs of the Zodiac, which were very anciently known in Egypt, and are supposed to have had their origin in Chaldea. On this supposition, Joseph's eleven brethren answered to elaen of these signs, and himself to the twelfth. General Valiancy, well known for his curious antiquarian researches, has 'endeavoured, in his Collectanea de Reims Hibemicis, vol. vi. part ii. p. 343. to trace out the analogy between the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve signs of the Zodiac, which Dr. Hales {Amilysis, vol. ii. p. 165.) has altered a little, and placed it in a form in which it becomes more generally applicable. As this scheme is curious, many readers, who may not have the opportunity of consulting the above works, will be pleased to find it here. That there is an allusion to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and probably to their ancient asterisins or characters by which they were distii^guished, may be readily credited: but how far the peculiar characteristics of the sons of Jacob, were ex-pressed by the itnimals in the Zodiac, is a widely diilerent question.

Scorpio, the Scorpion. On the celestial sphere, the Scorpion is actually represented as bitin<^ the heel of the /ior«e of the archer, Sagittarius: and Chelce, " his claws," originally occupied the space of Libra.

SAtilTTARIUS, the archer or bow-man, eonmionly represented, even on the Asiatic Zodiacs, with his bow bent, and tile arrow drawn up to the head — the bow in full strength.

12. Ben,iamin— " A ravening wolf"— Capricorn, which on the Egyptian sphere was represented by a goat, led by Pan, with a -wolf's head.

What likelihood the reader may see in all thLs, I cannot pretend to say: but that the twelve signs of the Zodiac were even at that time known in Egypt and Chaldea; and that the twelve sons of Jacob were likened to them, in the prophetic dream already referred to, there can be little room to doubt.

2. We have now seen the life of Jacob brought to a close; and have carefully traced it through all its various fortunes, as the fiicts presented themselves in the preceding chapters. Isaac his father was what might be properly called a good man; but in strength of mind, he appears to have fallen far short of his father Abraham, and his son Jacob. Havini^ left the management of his domestic concerns to Rebekah his wife, who was an artful and comparatively irreligious woman, the education of his sons was either neglected or pen'erted. The unhappy influence which the precepts and example of this mother had on the mind of her son, we have seen and deplored. Through the mercy of God, Jacob outlived the shady part of his own character; and his last days were his brightest and his best. He had many troubles and difficulties in life, under which an inferior mind must have necessarily sunk; but beinga worker together with the providence of God, his difficulties only served in general to whet his invention, and draw out the immense resources of his own mind. He had to do with an avaricious procrastinating relative, as destitute of humanity as he was of justice.-— Let this plead something in his excuse. He certainly did outwit his father-in-law, and yet probably had no more than the just recompense of his long and faithful services, in the successful issue of all his devices. From the time in which God favoured him with that wonderful manifestation of his power and grace at Peniel, chap, xxxii. he became a new man. He had frequent discoveries of God before, to comfort and to encourage him in journies, secular affairs, &c. but none in which the lieart-chnnging power of divine grace was so abundantly revealed. Happy he whose last days are his best! We can scarcely conceive a scene more noble or dignified, than that exhibited at the death-bed of Jacob. This great man was now one hundred and fortyseven years of age: though his body, by the wastes of time, was greatly enfeebled, yet with a mind in perfect vigour, and a hope full of immortality, he calls his numerous family together, all of them in their utmost state of prosperity, and gives them his last counsels, and his dying blc.ssing. His declarations shew that the secret of the Lord was with him; and that his candle shone bright u})on his tabernacle. Having finished his work, with perfect jiossession of all his facullie!-, and being determined that while he was able to help himself, none should be called in to assist; which was one of the grand characteristics of his life, he, with that dignity which became a great man, and a man of God, stretched himself upon his bed, and ratlier appears to have conquered death than to have.■nijcrcd it. W ho, sctino; the end of this ilhistrious patriarcli, can lielp exclaimin;^, Tliere is none hke the God of Jeshurun! Let Jacob's God be my God! Let j/ie die tiie death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

] Reader, God is still the same: and though he may not make thee as great as was Jacob, yet he is ready to make thee as J good, and whatever thy past life may have been, to crown 1 thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies, that thy end I also may be peace.

JosepJi ben ails the death of his father, and commands the physicicuis to emtalm him, 1, 2. The Egyptians mourn for him seventy da^'s, 3. Joseph begs permission from Pharaoh to aceompauy his father's corpse to Canaan, 4, 5. Pharaoh consents, 6. Pharaolis domestics and elders, the elders of Egypt, Joseph and his brethren, witk chariots, horsemen, S;c. form tlie funeral procession, 7 — 9- They come to <Ae threshing floor of Atad, an4 mourn there sexen days, 10. The Canaanites call the place Ahel-Mizralm, 11. 2'hey bury Jacob in the citm o/ Machpelali, 1'2, 13. Joseph returns to Egi/pt, 14. His brethren fearing his displeasure, send messengers to him to entreat his forgiveness of past zcrongs, 15 — 17- They follon', and prostrate themselves before him, and offer to he his servants, 18. Joseph receives them affectionateli/, and assures them and theirs of his care and protection, Ifli — 21. Joseph and his brethren dzvell in Egypt, and he sees the third generation of his children, 22, 23. Being about to die, he prophesies the return of the children of Israel from Egypt, 24, and causes them to swear that they zcill carry his bones to Canaan, 25. Joseph dies, aged one hundred and ten years, is embalmed and put in a coffin in Egypt, 2(^. '

AN D Joseph ' fell upon his father's face, and "^ wept upon

Verse I. Joseph fell on his father's fiice'\ Though this act appears to be suspended, by the unnatural division of this verse from tlie preceding chapter, yet we may rest assured that it was the immediate conscqntnce of Jacob's death.

Verse 2. The physicians] D'D"1 ropldm, the healers, those vvho?e business it was lo heal or restore the body from sickness by the administration of ])roper medicines; and when death took place, to heal or pre serve it from dissolution, by emhalnnng; and thus ixive it a sort of imniortaliiy, or everlasting duration. The original word D2n chanat, wh;c!i we translate to embalm, has undoubtedly the same meaning with the Arabic tiai tianalu, which also signifies to embalm, or to preserve from putrefaction, by the application of spices, &c. and hence oUaia^ hun- tUt, an embulmer. The wotd is usid to expvess the reddening of leather; and probably tlie ideal meaning may be something analogous to our tanning, which consists in removing llie iiioi.siure, and closing up the pores, so as to render them impervious to wet. T iiis probably is the grand principle in embalming, and whate\er tlltcts this, will preserve //fiA as perfectly iis skin. W ho can doubt that a human imacle, undergoing the same proce>s of tanning as the hide of an ox, would not becon;c ccjUAlly mcorruptible. 1 have seen a part of the muscle «1 8 hui)i;ui thigh, that having come into contact with some

2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to " embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.

tamiittg matter, either in the coffin, or in the grave, was iit a state of per.tct soundness, when the rest of the body had been long reduced to earth; and it exhibited the appearance of a thick piece of uW/ tanned leather.

In the ari of embalming the Egyptians excelled all nations in the world: with them it was a common practice. Instances of the perfection to which they carried this art, may be seen in the numerous vaimmies, as they are called, which are found in diilerent European cabinets, and which have been alj brought from Egypt. This people not only embalmed men and Komen, and thus kept the bodies of their beloved relatives from the empire of corruption, but they embalmed useful animals also. I have seen the body of the Ibis thus preserved; and though the work had been done for some thousands of years, the very feathers were in complete preseivation, and the colour of the plumage discernible. The account of this curious process, the articles used, and the manner of applying them, I subjoin from Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, as also llie manner of their mournings and funeral solemnities, which are highly illustrative of the subjects in this chapter.

A\ hen any man of quality dies, says Herodotus, all the v:omen of that family besmear their heads and faces with dirt; then leaving the body at home, they go lamenting up and down the city with all their relations; their apparel being

A.M.isi:.. 3 And forty days were fulfilled Epfvptians 'mourned'' for him three- am.sjij days of those which are embalmed:) and the, 4 % And whea the days of his mpurmug girt about them, and tlieir breasts left naked. On the other '■ hand, the men, haviii"- likewise tlieir clothes girt about them, beat themselves. These things being dinfe, they carry the! dead body to be fJHiw/wfc?; for which there are certain per- i sons appointed who jrrofess this art. These, when tlie body | is brought to thent!, show to those that bring it, certain models j of dead persons in wood, according to any of vhieli the j deceased may be painted. O.te of these they say is.iccinately made hke to one, whom, in such a matter, I do not think 1 lawful to name: tow ouk oirtov rzoiiu/juii to coiofia cwt toioutu \ STfuy/iSTi ovo/j-xi'-iv (probably Osiris, one of tlie {Tiiieipnl ffods; of KgypI, is here intended,) then they shew a second inferior to it,! ^nd of an easier price; and next a tliird clit aper than the former, and of a very small value; whic!\ bf ing seen, they ask tlieni after which model the deceased siuill be represented? when they have agreed upon the price, tliey depart; and those with whotn tlie dead corpse is left, proceed to embalm it af- j ter the foirowing manner: first of all, Ihey vvitli a crooked iron draw the brain out of the head through the nostrils, next with: a sharp Elhiopic stone, they cut up that part of tiie abdomen 1 called die ilia, and that way draw out all the bowrls, whicii having iKansied and washed w itii pnhii-wiup, they again rin.-e I and wash uilh wine i)erfumed with |iounded odours; then | fiiliiiij up the belly with pure mr/rrli and cassia grossly pow-; dercd, and all other odours except frankincense, they sew it up again. Having so done, they salt it up close wiih JiiVre, feven'y dai/s; tor longer they may not salt it. Atler this: number of days are over, they wash the corpse again, and then K>\\ it op w itii fine linen, all besmeared with a sort of gum, commonly used l)y the E'j^i/piians instead of glue.

Then is the body reston^ to its relations, who prepare a wooden cofiiu for it, in the shape and likeness of a man, and then put the embalmed body into it, and thus inclosed, place it in a repository in the house, setting it upright against the wall After this mannei-, the\', with great expense, preserve their dead; whereas tlwse, who to avoid too great a charge, j desire a TKediiK-rilj/, thus embalm them: they neither cut the ' belly nor pluck out the entrails, but fill it \\ itii clysters of oil of cedar injected up the anus, and then salt it the aforesaid number of days. On the last of these they press out the cedar clyster, by the same way they had injected it, which has I such virtue and efficacy that it brings out along with it the bowels wasted, and the nitre consumes the tle^h, leaving only ' the skin and bones: having thus done, they icsUin' the dead body to the relations, doing nothing inuie. 1 he third way of embalming is for tiiose of yet meaner circuniftances; they with | lotions wash the belly, then dry it up with salt for seventy days, and afterwards deliver it to be carried away. Nevertheless, beautii'iil women and ladies of finality were not delivtrcd to be embalmed till three or four days after tlicy had been dead;" for which Herodotus as'^igns a sufiirient reason, however degradmg Itiimman nature: touto Je -jroHMcn out)) Tot/h civtHa, iva i*n

(r(pi 01 rtzfix^urai /xitryuvTai rmrt yinaiif 7Mtif6tvai yap tivj; tpain /UKTyo/xEvoi' vix^a Ti^OipaTm yuiaixof naTEiTrai Jt Ton ofiOTixvov. Ea de causa J'acientes, says he, nc cum fttminis isli Salinarii concuinbanl. Depreltensumenitn quendam aiunt coenntem cum recenti cudartre maliebri, delaliimtjiie uh ejusdcm arlificii socio. [The original should not be put into a plainer language: the abomination to which it refers being too gros-.] " Uut if any stranger or Egtiptian was either killed by a crocodile, or tlrowned in the river, the city \ihere he was cast up was to embalm and bury him honourably in the sacred inonuin<nts, wiiOm no one, no, not a relation or fiiend, but the priests of tiic A'^/e only might touch; because they buried one who was something more than a dead uian." Herod. Euterpe, p. \".0. edit Gale.

Diodorus Siculus relates the funeral ceremonies of the Egt/plians more distinctly and clearly, and with some very remarkable additional circumstances. " When any one among the Egyptians dies," says he, " all his relations and friends putting dirt upon their heads, go lamenting about the city, till such time as the body shall be buried: in the mean time, they abstain honi baths and wine, and all kinds of delicate meals, neither do they, during that time, wear any costly apparel. The Hianntr of their burials is threefold; one very costly, a second sort less chargeable, and a third very mean. In the first, they say, there is spent a talent of silver; in the second, twenty min4s; but in the last, there is very httle expense. Thoje who have the care of ordering the body, are such as have been taught that art by their ancestors. These shewing each kind of burial, ask them after what manner they will have the body piv)iared; when iht y have agreed upon the iiianiicr, they deliver the body to such as are usoalU" a|>- poiuted for this office. Firsts he who has the name of scribe, laying it upon the ground, marks about the flank on the left side, how much is to be cut away; then he who is called TTa^as'x.'i'^i paruschislcs, the cutter or dissector, w ith an Elhiopic stone, cuts aw ay as much of the flesh as the law communds, and presently runs away as fist as he can; those who are presiiii, pursuing him, cast stones at him, and curse him, hereby turning all the execrations, which they imagine due to his office, u|)on him. For whosoever oflers violence, wounds, or does any kind of injury to a body of the same nature with himself, they think him worthy of hatred; but those who are called Ta^ixcTai taricheuta:, the embalmers, they esteem worthy of honour and respect; for tiiey are familiar with their priests, and go into the temples as holy men, without any ])r')hibilion. As soon as they come to embalm the ilissccled body, one of them thrusts his hand through the wound into the abdomen, and draws tijrth all the bowels but llie heart and kidnies, which another washes and cleanses with wine, made I of palms and aromatic odours. Lastly, having washed the I body, they anoint it with oil of cedar and odier things for I about tliirlv days, and afUrwards witli inyrrh, cinuamoa, saymg. If I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 *' My father made me swear, saying, Lo, die: in my grave 'which I have me in the land of Canaan, there bury me. Now, therefore, let me and other siich like matters; which have not only a power to preserve it a long time, but also give it a sweet smell, after which they deliver it to the kindred in sucii manner, that every member remains whole and entire, and no part of it changed, but the beauty and shape of the face, seem just as they were before; and the person may be known, even the eyebrows and eyelids remaining as they were at first. By this means, many of the Egyptians, keeping the dead bodies of their ancestors in magnificent houses, so perfectly see the true visage and countenance, of those that died many ages before tliey themselves were born, that in viewing the proportions of every one of them, and the lineaments of their faces, ihey take as much delight as if ihey were still living among them. Moreover the friends and nearest relations of the deceased, for the greater pomp of the solemnity, acquaint the judges and the rest of their friends with the time prefixed for the funeral or day of sepulture, declaring that such a one (calling the dead by his name) is such a day to pass the lake, at which time above forty judges appear, and sit together in a semicircle, in a place prepared on the hither side of the lake, where a ship, provided before hand by such as have the care of the business, is haled up to the shore, and steered by a pilot whom the Egyptians in their language called Cluiron. ■ Hence they say, Orpheiis upon seeing this ceremony, while he was in Egypt, invented the fable of hell, partly imitating -therein the people of Egypt, and partly adding somewliat of his own. The ship being thus brought to the lake side, before the coffin is put on board, every one is at liberty by the law to accuse the dead of what he thinks him guilty. If any one proves he was a bad man, the judges give sentence, that the body shall be deprived of sepulture; but in case the informer be convicted of false accusation, then he is severely punished. If no accuser appear, or the information prove false, then all the kindred of the deceased leave off mourning, and begin to set forth his praises, yet say nothing of his birth, (as the custom is among the Greeks) because the Egyptians all think themselves equally noble; but they recount how the deceased was educated from his youth, and brought up to man's estate, exalting his piety towards the gods, and justice towards 7>ien, •his chastity and other virtues wherein hee)*ceHed; and lastly pray and call upon the infernal deities (touj itaru 6sou; the gods below) to receive him into the societies of the Just. The common people take this from the others, and consequently all is said in his praise by a loud shout, setting likewise forth his virtues in the higtiest strains of commendation, as one that is -to live tor ever willitlie infernal gods. Then those that have

6 And Pharaoh said. Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

7 IT 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 Egypt;

tombs of their own, inter the corpse in places appointed for that purpose, and they that have none, rear up the body in its coffin against some strong wall of their house. But such as are denied sepulture on account of some crime or debt, are laid up at home without coffins; yet when it shall afterwards happen, that any of their posterity grows rich, he [ commonly pays off the deceased person's debts, and gels his ' crimes absolved, and so buries him honourably; for the • Egyptians are wont to boast of their parents and ancestors that I were honourably buried. It is a custom likewise among thetn ( to puvm the dead bodies of their parents to their creditors, ( but then those that do not redeem them fall under the greatest disgrace imaginable, and are denied burial themselves at their deaths." Diod. Sic. Biblioth. lib. i. cap. 91 — 93. EdiL Bipont. See also the Necrokedia, or art of embalming by Greenhill, 4to. p. 241. who endeavoured in vain to recommend and restore the art. But he could not give his countrymen Egyptian manners; for a dead carcase is to the British, an object of horror; and scarcely any except a surgeon or an under' taker, cares to touch it.

Verse 3. Forty days'] The body it appears required this number of days to complete the process of embalming: afterwards it lay in natron thirty days more, making in the whole seventy days, according to the preceding accounts; during which the mourning was continued. So the Egyptiant mournedfor Jacob threescore and ten days, i. e. the whole time in which the spices and nitre were applied to the dead body.

Verse 4. Speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh] But why did not Joseph apply himself? Because he was now in his mourning habits, and could not lay them off till his father was interred, and in such, none must appear in the presence of the eastern monarchs. See Esth. iv. 2.

Ver.se 1. The elders of his house] Persons who, by reason of their age, had acquired 7nuch experience; and who on this account were deemed the best qualified to conduct the affairs of the king's household. Similar to these Mere the Galbojimen Eldermen, or Aldermen, among our Saxon ancestor^ who were senators and peers of the realm.

The funeral procession of Jacob, must have been truly grand. Jose]>h, his brethren and their descendants, the icrvants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders, all the principal men of the land of Egypt, with chariots and horsemen, must have appeared a veiy great company indeed. \\'e have seen l.OKDS, for their greater honour, buried at the public expence; and all the male branches of the royal family, as well as the most eminent men of llie nation join

8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.

10 And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which /,s- beyond Jordan, and tliere they 'mourned with a great and very sore lament-

1 1 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the

Tliis is a grievous the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called "Abel mizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

12 And his sons did unto him he commanded them:

13 For ''his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of iVIachpclah, (which Abraiiam 'bought with the field, for a possession of a biu^yingplace, of Ephron the Hittite,) before Mamre.

14 ^ And Joseph returned into Egj-jit, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to

in the floor of bury his father, after he had buried his father.

in the funeral procession, as in the case of the late Lord Nelson; but wiiat was all this, in comparison of the funeral solemnity now before us? Here, is no conqueror — no mighty man of valour — no person of proud descent — Here was only a plain man, who had dwelt almost uU his life long in tents, widiout any o\.\\e.v subjecls than his ca///e; and whose kingdom was not of this world. Behold this man honoured by a national mourning and by a national funeral! It may be said indeed, that "all this was done out of respect to Joseph;" — Be it so: wliy was Joseph thus respected? Was it because he had comjuered nations — had made his sword drunk with blood — had triumphed over the enemies of Egypt } NO! but because he had sated men alive — because he was the king's faithful servant, the rich man's counsellor, and the poor man's friend. He was a national blessing, and the nation mourns in his alQIction, and unites to do him honour.

Verse 10. 'ihe threshing floor of Alad} As IIDN atad, signifies a bramble or thorn, it has been understood by the Arabic, not as a man's name, hut as the name of a place, but all the other versions and the Targums consider it as the name of a man. Thresbmg floors were always in a field, in the open air; and Atad was probably what we would call a great farmer, or chief of some clan or tribe in that place. Jerom supposed the place to have been about two leagues from Jericho, but wc have no certain information on this point. The funeral procession stopped here, probably as affording pasturage to ihcir cattle, while they observed the seven days mourning; which termmatcd the funeral solehinities; after which, nothing remained, but the interment of the corpse. The mourning of the ancient Hebrews was usually of seven days continuance. Numb. xix. 19. Eccles. xxii. 12. 1 Sam. xxxi. 13. though on certain occasions, it was extended to thirty days. Numb. xx. 29. Deut. xxi. 13. xxxiv. 8. but never longer. The seventy days mourning mentioned above, was thai of the Egyptians, and was rendcr'd necessary by the long process of cnibabning, which obliged them to keep the body out of the giave for seventy days, as we learn both from Herodotus and Diodortts. Seven days, by the order of God, a man was to mourn for his dead; because, duiing that time he was considered as unclean; but when those were finished, he was to purify himself and consider the mourning as ended. Numb. xix. II, 19. Thus God gave seven days, in some cases thirty, to mourn in: man, ever in his own estimation wiser than the word of God. has added eleven whole months to the term, which nature itself pronounces to be absurd, because it is incapable of supporting grief for such a time, and thus mourning is now, except in the first seven, or thirty days, a mere solemn ill-conducted FARCE; a grave mimicry, a tain shew that lonvicts itself of its own hi/pocrisy. Who will rise \ up on the side of God and common sense, and restore becoming sorrow on the death of a relative, to decency of garb, j and moderation in its continuance } Suppose the near rela-: lives of thedeceased, were lobe allowed seven days of seclusion from society, for ihe purpose of meditating on death and eternity, and after this, to appear in a mourning habit for thirty days, every important end wouhl be accomplished, and hypocrisy, the too common attendant of man, be banished, especially from that part of his life, in which deep sincerity is not less becoming, than in the most solemn act of his religions intercourse with God.

In a kind of politico-religious institution, formed by his present majesty Ferdinand IV. king of Naples and the Sici lies, I find the following rational institute relative to this point. " There shall be no mournings among you but only on the death of a father, mother, husband, or wife. 1^0 render to these the last duties of aflection, children, wives, and husbands only shall be permitted to wear a sign or emblem of grief: a man may vrcar -a crape tied round h\^ right arm; a woman, a black handkerchief around her neck: and this in both cases, for only two months at the most." — Is there a purpose which religion, reason, or decency can demand, that would not be answered by such external mourning as this? Only such relatives as the above, brothers and sisters being included, can mourn: all others make only a part of the dumb hypocritical show.

Verse 1 2. And his sons did unto liini] This and the thirteenth verse have l)een sup])OKed by Mr. Ijycke and others, to belong to the conclusion of the preceding chapter, ia which

15 % And when Joseph's brethren saw tiiat their father was dead, ^they said, Joseph will peiadventuie hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

16 And they ^sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; "^ for they did unto thee evil: and now we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of "the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18 And his brethren also went and ^fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

Ver^e 15. Saw iJiat tlieir fctllier lutis decuQ This at once ara;iies both a sense of guilt in their omu con.sciences, and a v:<tnt oi Confidence in their brother. Tiicy might have su|>- posed that hitherto he had Ibrborne to punish them, merely on their lather's account; but now that lie was dead, and Joseph havino- them completely in his power, they imagined that he would take vengeance on them for tiieir former conduct towards him.

Thus conscience records ('riminality, and by giving birth to continual fear-: and doubtfnlness, destroys all peace of mind, security and confidence. On this subject an elegant poet has spoken with his usual point and discernment.

Exeiiiplo quodcumque malo comviiililiir, ipsi Displicet auctori. Friina est luce idtin, quod se Judice, nemo nocens absolvitur, improba quaiiwis Gratia fallaci Praloris vicerit unid.

He that commits a fault shall qiiickly find The pressing guilt lie hcttvy on his mind. Thdiigh brihes or favour sliall assert his cause. Pronounce him guiltless, and elude the laws; None quits himself; his own impartial thought Will damn, and con.scicnce will record the fault. This, first, the wicked feels. —

We have seen thi.s, in the preceding history, often exemplified in the case of Joseph's brethren.

Verse 16. Thy father did command] Whether he did or not, we Cannot tell; some think they had feigned this story — but that is not so likely: Jaci b might have had suspicions loo, and might have thought that the best way to prevent evil,

20 ""But as for you, ye thought evil against mej, but 'God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive..

21 Now therefore fear ye not: "I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he com-

I 22 ^ And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years.

j 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children ""of the third generation: "the children also of Machir, the son of Manasseh, "were ''brought up upon Joseph's knees.

was to humble themselves before their brother, and get a fresh assurance of his forgiveness.

Verse 1 7. The servants of the God of thy father] These words were wonderfully well chosen; and spoken at once, in ihe most fijrcihle manner, both to Joseph's /)/c(y and to his fdiul affection. No Wonder then, that he wept, whai they spake to him.

Verse 1 9. Am I in the place of God?] These words may be understood either as a question, or an affirmative proposition. How should I take any further notice of your transgression } I have passed it by; the matter lies now between God and yo j. Or, In the order of divine Providence, I am now in God's place: he has furnished me with means, and made me a distributer of his bounty; I will therefore n<Jt only nourish you, but also your little ones, ver. 21. and therefore, he spake comfortably uiito them, as m chap. xIt. 8. telling them, that he attributed the whole business to Ihe particular providence of God, rather than to any ill-will or jnalice in them; and that, in permitting him to be brought into Egypt, God had graciously saved their lives, the life of their fati;er, the lives of the people of Canaan and of the Egyptians: as therefore God had honoured him by making him vicegerent in the dispensations of his especial bounty towards so many people, it was impossible he should be displeased with the means by which this was brought about.

Verse 22. Joseph dwell in Es^ypt] Continued in Egypt after his return from Canaan, till his death, he, and his father's house all the descendants of Israel, till the Exodus or departufe under the direction of Moses and Aaron, which was one hundred and forty- four years after.