Commentary on the Holy Bible

Sat in the tent door] For the purpose of enjoying the refreshing air in the heat of the day, when the sun had most power. A custom still frequent among the Asiatics.

Verse 2. Three men stood by him] vh^ W^'Z'il nitstsabim alaiv, were standing over against him; for if they had been standing by him, as our translation says, he needed not to have " run from the tent door to meet them." To Abraham these appeared at first as men; but he entertained angels unawares, see Heb. xiii. 2.

Verse 3. And said. My Lord, 4"C.] The word is 'JIN Adonai, not TWTV Yehovah, for as yet Abraham did not know the quality of his guests. For an explanation of this word, see on chap. xv. 8.

Verse 4. Let a little water — be fetched, and ivash your feet, 6fc.] In these verses we find a delightful picture of primitive hospitality. In those ancient times shoes such as ours were not in use; and the foot was protected only by sandals or soles, which fastened round the foot with straps. It was therefore a great refreshment in so hot a country to get the feet washed at the end of a day's journey; and this is the first thing that Abraham proposes.

Rest yourselves under the tree] We have already heard of the oak grove of Mamre, chap. xii. 6, and this was the second requisite for the refreshment of a weary traveller, viz., rest in the shade.

Verse 5. I ivillfetch a morsel of bread] This was the third requisite, and is introduced in its proper order; as eating immediately after exertion or fatigue is very unwholesome. The strong action of the lungs and heart should have time to diminish before any food is received into the stomach, as otherwise concoction is prevented, and fever in a less or greater degree produced.

For therefore are ye come] In those ancient days every traveller conceived he had a right to refreshment, when he needed it, at the first tent he met with on his journey.

So do as thou hast said.] How exceedingly simple was all this! On neither side is there any compliment but such as a generous heart and sound sense dictate.

Verse 6. Three measures of fine meoT] The DND seah, which is here translated measure, contained, a

7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and /fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it I unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

8 And 1 he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before 'them; and he stood by them under the tree, /and they did eat.

9 And they said unto him. Where is Sarah ithy wife? and he said. Behold, "^ in the 'tent.

according to Bishop Cumberland, about two gallons and a half; and Mr. Ainsworfh translates the word peck. On this circumstance the following observations of the judicious and pious Abbe Fleury cannot fail to be acceptable to the reader. Speaking of the frugality of the patriarchs he says: " We have an instance of a /■splendid entertainment in that which Abraham made for the three angels. He set a whole calf before them, neio bread, but baked on the hearth, together with butter and milk. Three measures of meal were baked into bread on this occasion, which come to more than two of our bushels, and nearly to fifty-six pounds of our weight; hence we may conclude that men were great eaters in those days, used much exercise, were probably of a much larger stature as well as longer lives than we. Homer (Odyss. lib. xiv., ver. 74, &c.) makes his heroes great eaters. When EumcBus entertained Ulysses, he dressed two pigs for himself and his guest.

' So saying, he girded quick his tunic close. And issuing sought the styes; thence bringing two, Of the imprisoned herd, he slaughtered both, Singed them and slash'd and spitted them, and placed The ivhole well roasted, banquets, spits, and-all, Reeking before Ulysses.' Cowper.

On another occasion a hog of Jive years old was slaughtered and served up for Jive persons: —

time of life; and, lo, p Sarah thy wife shall' have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent/ door, which was behind him.

1 1 Now 1 Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with! Sarah ^ after the manner of women.

13 And the Lord said unto Abraham,/ Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I\ of a surety bear a child, which am old?

Homer's heroes wait upon themselves and guests in the common occasions of life; the patriarchs do the same. Abraham, who had so many servants, and was nearly a hundred years old, brought the water himself to wash the feet of his guests, ordered his wife to make the bread quickly, went himself to choose the calf from the herd, and came again to serve them standing. 1 will allow that he was animated on this a occasion with a desire of showing hospitality, but the lives of all the rest of the patriarchs were similar to this."

Make cakes upon the hearth.] Or under the ashes. This mode is used in the east to the present day. When the hearth is strongly heated with the fire that has been kindled on it, they remove the coals, sweep off the ashes, lay on the bread, and then cover it with the hot cinders.

Verse 8. And he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.] Nothing is more common in Hindostan than to see travellers and guests eating under the shade of trees. Feasts are scarcely ever held in houses. The house of a Hindoo serves for sleeping and cooking, and for shutting up the women; but is never considered as a sitting or dining room. — Ward.

Verse 10. I ivill certainly return] Abraham was now ninety-nine years of age, and this promise was fulfilled when hfe was a hundred; so that the phrase according to the time of life must mean either a complete year, or nine months from the present time, the ordinary time of pregnancy. Taken in this latter sense, Abraham was now in the ninety-ninth year of his age, and Isaac was born when he was in his hundredth year.

Verse II. It ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of ivomen.] And consequently, naturally speaking, conception could not take place; therefore if she have a son it must be in a supernatural or miraculous way.

Verse 12. Sarah laughed] Partly through pleasure at the bare idea of the possibility of the thing, and partly from a conviction that it was extremely improbable. She appears to have been in the same spirit, and to have had the same feelings of those who, unexpectedly hearing of something of great consequence to themselves, smile and say, " The news is too good to be true;" see chap. xxi. 6. There is a case very similar to this mentioned Psa. cxxvi. 1,2 On Abraham's laughing, see the note on chap. xvii. 17.

Verse 13. And the Lord (Jehovah) said, <fc.] So it appears that one of those three persons was Jehovah, and as this name is never given to any created

14 t Is any thing too hard for the Lord? ^ At the time appointed 1 1 will return unto thee, according to the time /of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed^ not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay j but thou didst laugh.

16 And the men rose up from thence, and ■looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them ^ to bring them on the way.

17 And the Lord said, y Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely bejcone a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be ^ blessed in him?

1 9 For I know him, ^ that he will command (his children and his household after him, and \they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do

being, consequently the ever-blessed God is intended; and as he was never seen in any boJily shape, consequently the great Angel of the covenant, Jesus Christ, must be meant. See on chap. xvi. 7.

Verse 14. Is any thing too hard for the LordT\ *13T mn^O xSiJ^n hayippale meihovah dabar, shall a word (or thing) be wonderful from the Lord 1 i. e., Can any thing be too great a miracle for him to eflFecf? The Septuagint translate the passage, Mr; adwarTjaet napa tg) Qecj ^rifxa; which St. Luke adopts almost literatim, only making it an affirmative position instead of a question: Ovk adwuTrjaei Trapa r&> Gew nav l)7ifia, which we translate, " With God nothing shall be impossible," Luke i. 37. Many copies of the Septuagint insert the word nav before pr/fza, as in St. Luke; but it makes little difference in the sense. It was to correct Sarah's unbelief, and to strengthen her faith, that God spoke these most important words; words which state that where human wisdom, prudence, and energy fail, and where nature herself ceases to be an agent, through lack of energy to act, or laws to direct and regulate energy, there also God hs,s full sivay, and by his own omnific power works all things after the counsel of his own will. Is there an effect to be produced T God can produce it as well ivithout as ivith means. He produced nature, the whole system of causes and effects, when in the whole compass of his own eternity there was neither means nor being. He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. How great and wonderful is God!

Verse 16. Abraham went loith them to bring them on the way.'\ This was another piece of primitive hospitality — to direct strangers in the way. Public roads did not then exist, and guides were essentially necessary in countries where villages were seldom

20 And the Lord said. Because ^ the cryi, of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because' their sin is very grievous;

21 "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; /^nd if not, ^ I will know)

22 And the men turned their faces from thence, « and went toward Sodom; but Abra-i ham ^ stood yet before the Lord.

23 And Abraham ^ drew near, and said, ^ Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the' wicked?

24 ' Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous ihat are therein?

Verse 17. Shall I hide from Abraham] That is, I will not hide. A common mode of speech in Scripture— a question asked when an affirmative is designed. Do men gather grapes of thorns? Men do not gather grapes of thorns, &c.

Verse 18. Shall surely become a great and mighty nation] The revelation that I make to him shall be preserved among his posterity; and the exact fulfilment of my promises, made so long before, shall lead them to believe in my name and trust in my goodness.

Verse 19. And they shall keep the iv ay of the Lord] The true religion; God's way; that in which God walks himself, and in which, of course, his folloivers walk also; to do justice and judgment; not only to preserve the truth in their creed, but maintain it in their practice.

Verse 20. Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah] See the notes on chap. xiii. 13.

Verse 21. / luill go down now, Sfc] A lesson to magistrates, teaching them not to judge according to report, but accurately to inquire into the facts themselves.— Jarchi.

Verse 22. And the men turned their faces] That is, the two angels who accompanied Jehovah were now sent towards Sodom; while the third, who is called the Lord or Jehovah, remained with Abraham for the purpose of teaching him the great usefulness and importance of faith and prayer.

Verse 23. Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the loickedl] A form of speech similar to that in verse 17, an invariable principle of justice, that the righteous shall not be punished for the crimes of the impious. And this Abraham lays down as the/oww-

alter this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and ^ that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee:

26 And the Lord said, "* If 1 find in Sodom 'fifty righteous within the city, then I will 'spare all the place for their sakes;

27 And Abraham answered and said, ° Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak

28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said. If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

29 And he spake unto him yet again, and

dation of his supplications. Who can pray with any hope of success who cannot assign a reason to God and his conscience for the petitions he offers 1 The great sacrifice offered by Christ is an infinite reason why a penitent sinner should expect to find the mercy for which he pleads.

Verse 25. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right.?] God alone is the Judge of all men. Abraham, in thus addressing himself to the person in the text, considers him either as the Supreme Being or his representative.

Verse 27. Which am but dust and ashes] 13X1 "lijy aphar vaepher, words very similar in sound, as they refer to matters which so much resemble each other. Dust — the lightest particles of earth. Ashes — the residuum of consumed substances. By these expressions he shows how deeply his soul was humbled in the presence of God. He who has high thoughts of liimself must have loiu thoughts of the dignity of the Divine nature, of the majesty of God, and the sTnfulness of sin.

Verse 32. Peradventure ten shall be found there] Knowing that in the family of his nephew the true religion was professed and practised, he could not suppose there could be less than ten righteous persons in the city, he did not think it necessary to urge his supplication farther; he therefore left off his entreaties, and the Lord departed from him. It is highly worthy of observation, that while he continued to pray the presence of God was continued; and when Abraham ended, " the glory of the Lord was lifted up," as the Targum expresses it.

This chapter, though containing only the preliminaries to the awful catastrophe detailed in the next, affords us several lessons of useful and important information.

said, Peradventure there shall be A. m. 2107. forty found there. And he said, I — __li!!L will not do it for forty's sake.

30 And he said unto him, O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradven ture there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there.

31 And he said. Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twrenty found there-. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake'.

32 And he said, p O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. ^ Andy he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake^

33 And the Lord went his way, as soon asj he had left communing with Abraham: and/ Abraham returned unto his place.

worthy, not only of our most serious regard, but also of our imitation. He sat in the door of his tent in the heat of the day, not only to enjoy the current of refreshing air, but that if he saw any weary and exhausted travellers he might invite them to rest and refresh themselves. Hospitality is ever becoming in one human being towards another; for every destitute man is a brother in distress, and demands our most prompt and affectionate assistance, according to that heavenly precept, " What ye would that men, should do unto you, do even so unto them." From this conduct of Abraham a Divine precept is formed: " Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Heb. xiii. 2.

2. Whatever is given on the ground of humanity and mercy is given unto God, and is sure to meet with his approbation and a suitable reward. While Abraham entertained his guests God discovers himself, and reveals to him the counsels of his will, and renews the promise of a numerous posterity. Sarah, though natu rally speaking past child-bearing, shall have a son; natural obstacles cannot hinder the purpose of God: nature is his instrument; and as it works not only by general laws, but also by any particular will of God, so it may accomplish that will in any way he may choose to direct. It is always difficult to credit God's promises when they relate to supernatural things, and still more so when they have for their object events that are contrary to the course of nature; but as nothing is too hard for God, so " all things are possible to him that believeth." It is that faith alone which is of the operation of God's Spirit, that is capable of crediting supernatural things; he who does not pray to be enabled to believe, or, if he do, uses not the power when received, can never believe to the saving of the soul.

3. Abraham trusts much in God, and God reposes much confidence in Abraham. He knows that God is faithful, and will fulfil his promises; and God knows that Abraham is faithful, and will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment; ver. 19. No man lives unto himself; and God gives us neither spiritual nor temporal blessings for ourselves alone; our bread we are to divide with the hungry, and to help the stranger in distress. He who understands the way of God should carefully instruct his household in that way; and he who is the father of a family should pray to God to teach him, that he may teach his household. His ignorance of God and salvation can be no excuse for his neglecting his family: it is his indispensable duty to teach them; and God wUl teach him, if he earnestly seek it, that he may be able to discharge this duty to his family. Reader, if thy children or servants perish through thy neglect, God will judge thee for it in the great day.

4. The sin of Sodom and the cities of the plain was great and grievous; the measure of their iniquity was full, and God determined to destroy them. Judgment is God's strange ivork, but though rarely done it must be done sometimes, lest men should suppose that right and wrong, vice and virtue, are alike in the eye of God. And these judgments must be dispensed in such a way as to show they are not the results of natural causes, but come immediately from the incensed justice of the Most High.

5. Every man who loves God loves his neighbour also; and he who loves his neighbour will do all in his power to promote the well-being both of his sod and his body. Abraham cannot prevent the men of Sodom from sinning against God; but he can make prayer and intercession for their souls, and plead, if not in arrest, yet in mitigation, of judgment. He therefore intercedes for the transgressors, and God is well pleased with his intercessions. These are the offspring of God's own love in the heart of his servant.

6. How true is that word. The energetic faithful prayer of a righteous man availeth much! Abraham draws near to God by affection and faith, and in the most devout and humble manner makes prayer and supplication; and every petition is answered on the spot. Nor does God cease to promise to show mercy till Abraham ceases to intercede! What encouragement does this hold out to them that fear God, to make prayer and intercession for their sinful neighbours and ungodly relatives! Faith in the Lord Jesus endues prayer with a species of omnipotence; whatsoever a man asks of the Father in his name, he will do it. Prayer has been termed the gate of heaven, but without faith that gate cannot be opened. He who prays as he should, and believes as he ought, shall have the fulness of the blessings of the Gospel of peace.

The two angels mentioned in the preceding chapter, come in the evening to Sodom, 1. Lot, who was sitting at the gate, invites them to enter his house, take some refreshment, and tarry all night; ivhich they at first refuse, 2; but on being pressingly solicited, they at last comply, 3. The abominable conduct of the men of Sodom, 4, 5. Lot''s deep concern for the honour and safety of his guests, ivhich leads him to make a most exceptionable proposal to those wicked men, 6-8. The violent proceedings of the Sodomites, 9. Lot rescued from their barbarity by the angels, who smite them ivith blindness, 10, 11. The angels exhort Lot and his family to flee from that ivicked place, as God ivas about to destroy it, 12, 13. Lot''s fruitless exhortation to his sons-in-laio, 14. The ayigels hasten Lot and his family to depart, 15, 16. Their exhortation, 17. Lot's request, 18-20. He is permitted to escape to Zoar, 21-23. Fire and brimstone are rained down from heaven upon all the cities of the plain, by which they are entirely destroyed, 24, 25. LoVs wife, looking behind, becomes a pillar of salt, 26. Abraham, early in the morning, discovers the desolation of those iniquitous cities, 27—29. Lot, fearing to continue in Zoar, ivent with his two daughters to the mountain, and dwell in a cave, 30. The strange conduct of his daughters, and his unhappy deception, 31—36. Moab and Amman born, from whom sprang the Moabites and Am7nonites, 37, 38.

to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot '' seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed

Verse 1. Two angels] The two referred to chap,

Sat in the gate] Probably, in order to prevent unwary travellers from being entrapped by his wicked ownsmen, he waited at the gate of the city to bring the strangers he might meet with to his own house, as well as to transact his own business. Or, as the gate was the place of judgment, he might have been

Bowed himself] Not through religious reverence, for he did not know the quality of his guests; but through the customary form of civility. See on verses 3-5 of the preceding chapter.

Verse 2. Nay; but ive loill abide in the street] Instead of xS lo, nay, some MSS. have iS lo, to him: "And they said unto him, for we lodge in the street;" a

L and ye shall rise up early, and go

on your ways. And they said, * Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; ^and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

5 s And they called unto Lot, and said unto him. Where are the men which came in to thee this night? ^ bring them out unto us that we ' may know them.

6 And ^ Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

8 1 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you,

where, nevertheless, the negation is understood. Knowing the disposition of the inhabitants, and appearing in the mere character of travellers, they preferred the open street to any house; but as Lot pressed them vehemently, and they knew him to be a righteous man, not yet willing to make themselves known, they consented to take shelter under his hospitable roof. Our Lord, willing for the time being to conceal his person from the knowledge of the disciples going to Emmaus, made as though he would go farther, Luke xxiv. 13; but at last, like the angels here, yielded to the importunity of his disciples, and went into their lodgings.

Verse 5. Where are the men which came in to thee, 4"c.] This account justifies the character giv6h of this depraved people in the preceding chapter, ver. 20, and in chap. xiii. 13. As their crime was the deepest disgrace to human nature, so it is too bad to be described; in the sacred text it is sufficiently marked; and the iniquity which, from these most abominable wretches, has been called Sodomy, is punished in our country with death.

Verse 8. Behold now, I have two daughters] Nothing but that sacred light in which the rights of hospitality were regarded among the eastern nations, could either justify or palliate this proposal of Lot. A man who had taken a stranger under his care and protection, was bound to defend him even at the expense of his own life. In this light the rights of hospitality are still regarded in Asiatic countries; and on these high notions only, the influence of which an Asiatic mind alone can properly appreciate, Lot's conduct on this occasion can be at all excused: but even then, it was

eyes: only unto these men do nothing; "* for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow " came in to sojourn, ° and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man^^ even Lot, and came near to break the door.

10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

1 1 And they smote the men p that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, ^ bring them out of this place:

Verse 9. And he loill needs he a judge] So hts sitting in the gate is perhaps a farther proof, of his being there in a magisterial capacity, as some have supposed.

Verse 11. And they smote the men — with blindness] This has been understood two ways: 1. The angels, by the power which God had given them, deprived these wicked men of a proper and regular use of their sight, so as either totally to deprive them of it, or render it so confused that they could no longer distinguish objects; or, 2. They caused such a deep darkness to take place, that they could not find Lot's door. The author of the book of Wisdom was evidently of this latter opinion, for he says they ivere compassed about with horrible great darkness, chap. xix. 17. See a similar case of Elisha and the Syrians, 2 Kings vi. 18, &c.

Verse 12. Hast thou here any besides! son-in-law] Here there appears to be but one meant, as the word tnn chathan is in the singular nwmhex; but in ver. 14 the word is plural, Vjnn chathanaiv, his sons-in-law. There were only two in numberr; as we do not hear that Lot had more than two daughters: and these seem not to have been actually married to those daughters, but only betrothed, as is evident from what Lot says, ver. 8; for they had not known man, but were the spouses elect of those who are here called his sonsin-law. But though these might be reputed as a part of Lot's family, and entitled on this account to God's protection, yet it is sufficiently plain that they did not

great before the face of the Lord; and ^ the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.

14 And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, * which married his daughters, and said, ^ Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. ^But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-inlaw.

15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, ^ Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which "" are here; Ipst thou be consumed in the ^ iniquity of the city.

16 And '^ while he hngered, 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: ^ and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, " Es-

escape the perdition of these wicked men; and the reason is given, ver. 14, they received the solemn warning as a ridiculous tale, the creature of Lot's invention, or the offspring of his fear. Therefore they made no provision for their escape, and doubtless perished, notwithstanding the sincerely offered grace, in the perdition that fell on this ungodly city.

Verse 16. While he linge^-ed] Probably in affectionate though useless entreaties to prevail on the remaining parts of his family to escape from the destruction that was now descending; laid hold upon his hand — pulled them away by mere force, the Lord being merciful; else they had been left to perish in their lingering, as the others were in their gainsaying.

Verse 17. When thei/ had brought them forth, <^-c.] Every word here is emphatic, Escape for thy life; thou art in the most imminent ('anger of perishing; thy life and thy soul are both at stake. Look not behind thee — thou hast but baruiy time enough to escape from the judgment that is now descending; no lingering, or thou art lost! one look back may prove fatal to thee, and God commands thee to avoid it. Neither stay thou in all the plain, because God will destroy that as well as the city. Escape to the mountain, on which these judgments shall not light, and which God has appointed thee for a place of refuge; lest thou be consumed. It is not an ordinary judgment that is coming; a fire from heaven shall burn up the cities, the plain, and all that remain in the cities and in the plain. Both the beginning and end

plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die.

20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: O, let me escape thither, {is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

2 1 And he said unto him. See, ^ I have accepted ^ thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

22 Haste thee, escape thither; for ^ I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore * the name of the city was called ^ Zoar.

of this exhortation are addressed to his personal feelings. " Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life;" and self-preservation is the first law of nature, to which every other consideration is minor and unimportant.

Verse 19. I cannot escape to the mountain] He saw the destruction so near, that he imagined he should not have time sufficient to reach the mountain before it arrived. He did not consider that God could give no command to his creatures that it would be impossible for them to fulfil; but the hurry and perturbation of his mind will at once account for and excuse this gross oversight.

Verse 20. It is a little one] Probably Lot wished to have it for an inheritance, and therefore pleaded its being a little one, that his request might be the more readily granted. Or he might suppose, that being a little city, it was less depraved than Sodom and Gomorrah, and therefore not so ripe for punishment; which was probably the case.

Verse 2 1. See, I have accepted thee] How prevalent is prayer with God! Far from refusing to grant a reasonable petition, he shows himself as if under embarrassment to deny any.

Verse 22. / cannot do any thing till thou be come thither.] So these heavenly messengers had the strictest commission to take care of Lot and his family; and even the purposes of Divine justice could not be accomplished on the rebellious, till this righteous man and his family had escaped from the place. A proof

23 The sun was ^ risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24 Then ™ the Lord rained upon Sodom

The name of the city ivas called Zoar.] l;?1]f Tsoar, LITTLE, its former name being Bela.

Verse 24. The Lord rained — brimstone and fire from the Lord] As all judgment is committed to the Son of God, many of the primitive fathers and several modern divines have supposed that the words mri'l vaihovah and mn' ilN'i meeth Yehovah imT^lj, Jehovah the Son raining brimstone and fire from Jehovah the Father; and that this place affords no mean proof of the proper Divinity of our blessed Redeemer. It may be so; but though the point is sufficiently established elsewhere, it does not appear to me to be plainly indicated here. And it is always better on a subject of this kind not to have recourse to proofs which require proofs to confirm them. It must however be granted that two persons mentioned as Jehovah in one verse, is both a strange and curious circumstance; and it will appear more remarkable when we consider that the person called Jehovah, who conversed with Abraham, (see chap, xviii.,) and sent those two angels to bring TiOt and his family out of this devoted place, and seems himself after he left off talking with Abraham to have ascended to heaven, ver. 33, does not any more appear on this occasion till we hear that Jehovah rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven. This certainly gives much countenance to the opinion referred to above, though still it may fall short of positive proof.

Brimstone and fire. — The word r\''"l3Jl gophrith, which we translate brimstone, is of very uncertain derivation. It is evidently used metaphorically, to point out the utmost degrees of punishment executed on the most flagitious criminals, in Deut. xxix. 23; Job xviii. 15; Psa. xi. 6; Isa. xxxiv. 9; Ezek. XXX* iii. 22. And as hell, or an everlasting separation from God and the glory of his power, is the utmost punishment that can be inflicted on sinners, helTce brimstone and fire are used in Scripture to signify the torments in that place of punishment. See Isa. xxx. 33; Rev. xiv. 10; xix. 20; xx. 10; xxi. 8. We may safely suppose that it was quite possible that a shower of nitrous particles might have been precipitated from the atmosphere, here, as in many other places, called heaven, which, by the action oi fire or the electric fluid, would be immediately ignited, and so consume the cities; and, as we have already seen that the plains about Sodom and Gomorrah abounded with asphaltus or bitumen pits, (see chap. xiv. 10,) that what is particularly meant here in reference to the plain is the setting fire to this vast store of inflammable matter by the agency of lightning or the electric fluid; and this, in the most natural and literal manner, accounts for the whole plain being burnt up, as that plain abounded with this bituminous substance; End thus we find three agents employed in the total a

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all

ruin of these cities, and all the circumjacent plain: 1. Innumerable nitrous particles precipitated from the atmosphere. 2. The vast quantity of asphaltus or bitumen which abounded in that country: and, 3. Lightning or the electric spark, which ignited the nitre and bitumen, and thus consumed both the cities and the plain or champaign country in which they were situated.

Verse 25. And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain] This forms what is called the lake Asphaltites, Dead Sea, or Salt Sea, which, according to the most authentic accounts, is about seventy miles in length, and eighteen in breadth.

The most strange and incredible tales are told by many of the ancients, and by many of the moderns, concerning the place where these cities stood. Common fame says that the waters of this sea are so thick that a stone will not sink in them, so tough and clammy that the most boisterous wind cannot ruffle them, so deadly that no fish can live in them, and that if a bird happen to fly over the lake, it is killed by the poisonous effluvia proceeding from the waters; that scarcely any verdure can grow near the place, and that in the vicinity where there are any trees they bear a most beautiful fruit, but when you come to open it you find nothing but ashes! and that the place was burning long after the apostles' times. These and all similar tales may be safely pronounced great exaggerations of facts, or fictions of ignorant, stupid, and superstitious monks, or impositions of unprincipled travellers, who, knowing that the common people are delighted with the marvellous, have stuffed their narratives with such accounts merely to procure a better sale for their books.

The truth is, the waters are exceedingly salt, far beyond the usual saltness of the sea, and hence it is called the Salt Sea. In consequence of this circumstance bodies will float in it that would sink in common salt water, and probably it is on this account that few fish can live in it. But the monks of St. Saba affirmed to Dr. Shaw, that they had seen fish caught in it; and as to the reports of any noxious quality in the air, or in the evaporations from its surface, the simple fact is, lumps of bitumen often rise from the bottom to its surface, and exhale a foetid odour which does not appear to have any thing poisonous in it. Dr. Pococke swam in it for nearly a quarter of an hour, and felt no kind of inconvenience; the water, he says, is very clear, and having brought avi'ay a bottle of it, he " had it analyzed, and found it to contain no substances besides salt and a Utile alum.'''' As there are frequent eruptions of a bituminous matter from the bottom of this lake, which seem to argue a subterraneous fire, hence the accounts that this place was burning even after the days of the apostles. And this phenomenon still continues, for " masses of bitumen, says Dr. Shaw, " in large hemispheres, are raised at certain times from the bottom, which, as soon as they touch the surface, and are thereby acted upon by the

A.M. 2107. the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and ^ that which grew external air, burst at once, with great smoke and noise, like the pulvis fulminans of the chemists, and disperse themselves in a thousand pieces. But this only happens near the shore, for in greater depths the eruptions are supposed to discover themselves in such columns of smoke as are now and then observed to arise from the lake. And perhaps to such eruptions as these we may attribute that variety of pits and hollows, not unlike the traces of many of our ancient lime-kilns, which are found in the neighbourhood of this lake. The bitumen is in all probability accompanied from the bottom with sulphur, as both of them are found promiscuously upon the shore, and the latter is precisely the same with common native sulphur; the other is friable, yielding upon friction, or by being put into the fire, a foetid smell." The bitumen, after having been some time exposed to the air, becomes indurated like a stone. I have some portions of it before me, brought by a friend of mine from the spot; it is very black, hard, and on friction yields a foetid odour.

Verse 26. She became a pillar of sali] The vast variety of opinions, both ancient and modern, on the crime of Lot's wife, her change, and the manner in which that change was effected, are in many cases as unsatisfactory as they are ridiculous. On this point the sacred Scripture says little. God had commanded Lot and his family not to look behind them; the wife of Lot disobeyed this command; she looked back from behind him — Lot, her husband, and she became a pillar of salt. This is all the information the inspired historian has thought proper to give us on this subject; it is true the account is short, but commentators and critics have made it long enough by their laborious glosses. The opinions which are the most probable are the following: 1. " Lot's wife, by the miraculous power of God, was changed into a mass of rock salt, probably retaining the human figure." 2. " Tarrying too long in the plain, she was struck with lightning and enveloped in the Hiuminous and sulphuric matter which abounded ir. that country, and which, not being exposed afterwards to the action of the fire, resisted the air and the wet, and was thus rendered permanent." 3. " She was struck dead and consumed in the burning up of the plain; and this judgment on her disobedience being recorded, is an imperishable memorial of the fact itself, and an everlasting warning to sinners in general, and to backsliders or apostates in particular." On these opinions it may be only necessary to state that the two first understand the text literally, and that the last considers it metaphorically. That God might in a moment convert this disobedient woman into a pillar or mass of salt, or any other sub- Jance, there can be no doubt. Or that, by continuing n the plain till the brimstone and fire descended from

26 But his wife looked back a. m. 2107. from behind him, and she became — — '■ -

heaven, she might be struck dead ivith lightning, and indurated or petrified on the spot, is as possible. And that the account of her becoming a pillar of salt may be designed to be understood metaphorically, is also highly probable. It is certain that salt is frequently used in the Scriptures as an emblem of incorruption, durability, &c. Hence a covenant of salt. Num. xviii. 19, is a perpetual covenant, one that is ever to be in full force, and never broken; on this ground a pillar of salt may signify no more in this case than an everlasting monument against criminal curiosity, unbelief, and disobedience.

Could we depend upon the various accounts given by different persons who pretend to have seen the wife of Lot standing in her complete human form, with all her distinctive marks about her, the difficulty would be at an end. But we cannot depend on these accounts; they are discordant, improbable, ridiculous, and often grossly absurd. Some profess to have seen her as a heap of salt; others, as a rock of salt; others, as a complete human being as to shape, proportion of parts, &c., &c., but only petrified. This human form, according to others, has still resident in it a miraculous continual energy; break off a finger, a toe, an arm, &c., it is inmiediately reproduced, so that though multitudes of curious persons have gone to see this woman, and every one has brought away a part of her, yet still she is found by the next comer a complete human form! To crown this absurd description, the author of the poem De Sodoma, usually attributed to Tertullian, and annexed to his works, represents her as yet instinct with a portion of animal life, which is unequivocally designated by certain signs lohich every month produces. I shall transcribe the whole passage and refer to my author; and as I have given above the sense of the whole, my readers must excuse me from giving a more literal translation: —

et simul illic

In fragilem mutata salem, stetit ipsa sepulchrum, Ipsaque imago sibi, formam sine corpore servans. Durat adhuc etenim nuda statione sub a;thra, Nee pluviis dilapsa situ, nee diruta ventis. Quinetiam, si quis mutilaverit advena formam, Protinus ex sese suggestu vulnera complet. Dicitur et vivens alio sub corpore sexus Munificos solito dispungere sanguine menses. Tertulliani 0;;e/-a, vol. ii., p. 731. Edit. Obebthur

The sentiment in the last lines is supported by Irenaeus, who assures us that, though still remaining as a pillar of salt, the statue, in form and other natural accidents, exhibits decisive proofs of its original: Ja?n non caro corruptibilis, sed statua salis semper manens, et, per naturalia, ea quee sunt consuetudinis hominia ostendens, lib. iv., c. 51. To complete this absurdity, this father makes her an emblem of the true Church, which, though she suffers much, and often loses whole

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, ''the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God ^ remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

members, yet preserves the pillar of salt, that is, the foundation of the true faith, 6fc. See Calmet.

Josephus says that this pillar was standing in his time, and that himself had seen it: Eif arrfkriv oKuv fiETe^aTisv, laTopTjua 6' avTrjv en yap Kac vvv diafiEvsi. Ant. lib. i., c. xi. 3, 4.

St. Clement, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, chap, ii., foUows Josephus, and asserts that Lot's wife was remaining even at that time as a pillar of salt.

Authors of respectability and credit who have since travelled into the Holy Land, and made it their business to inquire into this subject in the most particular and careful manner, have not been able to meet with any remains of this pillar; and all accounts begin now to be confounded in the pretty general concession, both of Jews and Gentiles, that either the statue does not now remain, or that some of the heaps of salt or blocks of salt rock which are to be met with in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, may be the remains of Lot's wife! AU speculations on this subject are perfectly idle; and if the general prejudice in favour of the continued existence of this monument of God's justice had not been very strong, I should not have deemed myself justified in entering so much at length into the subject. Those who profess to have seen it, have in general sufficiently invalidated their own testimony by the monstrous absurdities with which they have^ encumbered their relations. Had Lot's wife been changed in the way that many have supposed, and had she been still preserved somewhere in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea, surely we might expect some account of it in after parts of the Scripture history; but it is never more mentioned in the Bible, and occurs nowhere in the New Testament but in the simple reference of our Lord to the judgment itself, as a warning to the disobedient and backsliding, Luke xvii. 32: Remember Lofs wife!

Verse 27. Abraham gat up early in the morning] Anxious to know what was the effect of the prayers which he had offered to God the preceding day; what must have been his astonishment when he found that all these cities, with the plain which resembled the garden of the Lord, chap. xiii. 10, burnt up, and the smoke ascending like the smoke of a furnace, and was thereby assured that even God himself could not discover ten righteous persons in four whole cities! a

Zoar, and * dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

3 1 And the first-born said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth " to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

32 Come, let us make our father jirink wine, and we will lie with him, that we "^ may preserve seed of our father.

Verse 29. God remembered Abraham] Though he did not descend lower than ten righteous persons, (see chap, xviii. 32,) yet the Lord had respect to the spirit of his petitions, and spared all those who could be called righteous, and for Abraham's sake offered salvation to all the family of Lot, though neither his sons-in-law elect nor his own wife ultimately profited by it. The former ridiculed the warning; and the latter, though led out by the hands of the angel, yet by breaking the command of God perished with the other gainsayers.

Verse 30. Lotiuentup out of Zoar] From seeing the universal desolation that had fallen upon the land, and that the fire was still continuing its depredations, he feared to dwell in Zoar, lest that also should be consumed, and then went to those very mountains to which God had ordered him at first to make his escape. Foolish man is ever preferring his own wisdom to that of his Maker. It was wrong at first not to betake himself to the mountain; it was wrong in the next place to go to it when God had given him the assurance that Zoar should be spared for his sake. Both these cases argue a strange want of faith, not only in the truth, but also in the providence, of God. Had he still dwelt at Zoar, the shameful transaction afterwards recorded had in all probability not taken place.

Verse 3 1. Our father is old] And consequently not likely to re-marry; and there is not a man in the earth — none left, according to their opinion in all the land of Canaan, of their own family and kindred; and they might think it unlawful to match with others, such as the inhabitants of Zoar, who they knew had been devoted to destruction as well as those of Sodom and Gomorrah, and were only saved at the earnest request of their father; and probably while they lived among them they found them ripe enough for punishment, and therefore would have thought it both dangerous and criminal to have formed any matrimonial connections with them.

Verse 32. Come, let us make our father dnnk wine] On their flight from Zoar it is probable they had brought with them certain provisions to serve them for the time being, and the wine here mentioned among the rest.

first-bom went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the first-born said unto the younger. Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou m, and lie with him, that we may preserve seea of our father.

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and

generally put on it. 1. It does not appear that it was through any base or sensual desires that the daughters of Lot wished to deceive their father. 2. They might have thought that it would have been criminal to have married into any other family, and they knew that their husbands elect, who were probably of the same kindred, had perished in the overthrow of Sodom. 3. They might have supposed that there was no other way left to preserve the family, and consequently that righteousness for which it had been remarkable, but the way which they now took. 4. They appear to have supposed that their father would not come into the measure, because he would have considered it as profane; yet, judging the measure to be expedient and necessary, they endeavoured to sanctify the improper means used, by the goodness of the end at which they aimed; a doctrine which, though resorted to by many, should be reprobated by all. Acting on this bad principle they caused their father to drink wine. See on

Verse 33. And he perceived not lohen she lay down, nor ivhen, dfc] That is, he did not perceive the time she came to his bed, nor the time she quitted it; consequently did not know ivho it was that had lain with him. In this transaction Lot appears to me to be in many respects excusable. 1. He had no accurate knowledge of what took place either on the first or second night, therefore he cannot be supposed to have been drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. That he must have been sensible that some person had been in his bed, it would be ridiculous to deny; but he might have judged it to have been some of his female domestics, which it is reasonable to suppose he might have brought from Zoar. 2. It is very likely that he was deceived in the wine, as well as in the consequences; either he knew not the strength of the wine, or wine of a superior power had been given to him on this occasion. As he had in general followed the simple pastoral life, it is not to be wondered at if he did not know the intoxicating power of wine, and being an old man, and unused to it, a small portion would be sufficient to overcome him; sound sleep would soon, at his time of life, be the effect of taking the liquor to which he was unaccustomed, and cause him to forget the effects of his intoxication. Except in this

36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

^the same is the father of the Moabites unto

38 And the younger, she also bare a son> and called his name Ben-ammi: ^ the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto

case, his moral conduct stands unblemished in the sacred writings; and as the Avhole transaction, especially as it relates to him, is capable of an interpretation not wholly injurious to his piety, both reason and religion conjoin to recommend that explanation. As to his daughters, let their ignorance of the real state of the case plead for them, as far as that can go; and let it be remembered that their sin was of that very peculiar nature as never to be capable of becoming a precedent. For it is scarcely possible that any should ever be able to plead similar circumstances in vindication of a similar line of conduct.

Verse 37. Called his name Moah^ This name is generally interpreted of the father, or, according to Calmet, 3X10 Moab, the waters of the father.

Verse 38. Ben-ammi] '•DJ? \2 Ben-ammi, the son oj my people. Both these names seem to justify the view taken of this subject above, viz., that it was merely to preserve the fa?nily that the daughters of Lot made use of the above expedient; and hence we do not find that they ever attempted to repeat it, which, had it been done for any other purpose, they certainly would not have failed to do. On this subject Origen, in his fifth homily on Genesis, has these remarkable words:

TJbi hie libidinis culpa, ubi incesti criminis arguilur? Quomodo dabitur inviTio quod non iteratur in facto'? Vereor proloqui quod sentio, vereor, inquam, ne castior fuerit harum incestus, quani pudicitia multarum.

" Where, in all this transaction, can the crime of lusl or of incest be proved 1 How can this be proved to be a vice when the fact was never repeated? I am afraid to speak my whole mind on the subject, lest the incest of these should appear more laudable than the chastity of multitudes." There is a distinction made here by Origen which is worthy of notice; a single bad act, though a sin, doss not necessarily argue a vicious heart, as in order to be vicious a man must be habituated to sinful acts.

The generation which proceeded from this incestuous connection, whatever may be said in extenuation of the transaction, (its peculiar circumstances being considered,) was certainly a bad one. The Moabites soon fell from the faith of God, and became idolaters, the people of Chemosh, and of Baal-peor, Num. xxi 29; XXV. 1-3; and were enereies to the children of a

Abraham sojourns in Gerar.

Sarah taken by Abimeiech.

Abraham. See Num. xxii.; Judg. iii. 14, &c. And the Ammonites, who dwelt near to the Moabites, united with them in idolatry, and were also enemies to Israel. See Judg. xi. 4, 24; Deut. xxiii. 3,4. As both these people made afterwards a considerable figure in the sacred history, the impartial inspired writer takes care to introduce at this early period an account of their origin. See what has been said on the case of Noah's drunkenness, Gen. ix. 20, &c.

This is an awful history, and the circumstances detailed in it are as distressing to piety as to humanity. It may, however, be profitable to review the particulars.

1. From the commencement of the chapter we find that the example and precepts of Abraham had not been lost on his nephew Lot. He also, like his uncle, watches for opportunities to call in the weary traveller. This Abraham had taught his household, and we see the effect of his blessed teaching. Lot was both hospitable and pious, though living in the midst of a crooked and perverse race. It must be granted that ftom several circumstances in his history he appears to have been a iveak man, but his weakness was such as was not inconsistent with general uprightness and sincerity. He and his family were not forgetful to entertain strangers, and they alone were free from the pollutions of this accursed people. How powerful are the effects of a religious education, enforced by pious example! It is one of God's especial means of grace. Let a man only do justice to his family, by bringing them up in the fear of God, and he will crown it with his blessing. How many excuse the profligacy of their family, which is often entirely owing to their own neglect, by saying, " 0, we cannot give them grace!" No, you cannot; but you can afford them the means of grace. This is your work, that is the Lord's. If, through your neglect of precept and example, they perish, what an awful account must you give to the

Judge of quick and dead! It was the sentiment of a great man, that should the worst of times arrive, and magistracy and ministry were both to fail, yet, if parents would but be faithful to their trust, pure religion would be handed down to posterity, both in its form and in its power.

2. We have already heard of the wickedness of the inhabitants of the cities of the plain; the cup of their iniquity was full; their sin was of no common magnitude, and what a terrible judgment fell upon them! Brimstone and fire are rained down from heaven upon these traders in iniquity; and what a correspondence between the crime and the punishment? They burned • in lust towards each other, and God burned them up with fire and brimstone. Their sin was unnatural, and God punished it by supernatural means. Divine justice not only observes a proportion between the crime and the degree of punishment, but also between the species of crime and the kind of punishment inflicted.

3. Disobedience to the command of God must ever meet with severe reprehension, especially in those who have already partaken of his grace, because these know his salvation, and are justly supposed to possess, by his grace, the power of resisting all solicitations to sin. The servant who knew his lord's will and did it not, was to be beaten with many stripes; see Luke xii. 47. Lot's wife stands as an everlasting monument of admonition and caution to all backsliders. She ran well, she permitted Satan to hinder, and she died in her provocation! While we lament her fate, we should profit by her example. To begin in the good way is well; to continue in the path is better; and to persevere unto the end, best of all. The exhortation of our blessed Lord on this subject should awaken our caution, and strongly excite our diligence: Remember LoCs wife! On the conduct of Lot and his daughters, see the notes on ver. 31.

Abraham leaves Mamre, and, after having.sojourned at Kadesh and Shur, settles in Gerar, 1. Ahmeiech takes Sarah, Abraham having acknowledged her only as his sister, 2. Abimeiech is warned by God in a dream to restore Sarah, 3. He asserts his innocence, 4, 5. He is farther warned, 6, 7. Expostulates with Abraham, 8—10. Abraham vindicates his conduct, 11—13. Abimeiech restores Sarah, makes Abraham a present of sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves, 1 4; offers him a residence in any part of tha land, 15; and reproves Sarah, 16. At the intercession of Abraham, the curse of barrenness is removed from Abimeiech and his household, 17, 18.

country, and dwelled between ^ Kadesh and Shur, and •= sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "^ She is my sister: and Abimeiech king of Gerar sent, and ^ took Sarah.

family, that he could no longer bear to dwell within sight of the place. Having, therefore, struck his tents, and sojourned for a short time at Kadesh an. Shur, he fixed his habitation in Gerar, which was a citv of Arabia Petrjea, under a king of the Philistines

to him, ^ Behold, thou art hut a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is ' a man's wife.

4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, ''wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

5 Said he not unto me. She is my sister? and she, even she herself said. He is my

called Abimelech, my father king, who appears to have been not only the father of his people, but also a righteous man.

Verse 2. She is mi/ sister] See the parallel account, chap, xii., and the notes there. Sarah was now about ninet}'^ years of age, and probably pregnant with Isaac. Her beauty, therefore, must have been considerably impaired since the time she was taken in a similar manner by Pharaoh, king of Egypt; but she was probably now chosen by Abimelech more on the account of forming an alliance with Abraham, who was very rich, than on account of any personal accomplishments. A petty king, such as Abimelech, would naturally be glad to form an alliance with such a powerful chief as Abraham was: we cannot but recollect his late defeat of the four confederate Canaanitish kings. See on chap. xiv. 14, &c. This circumstance was sufficient to establish his credit, and cause his friendship to be courted; and what more effectual means could Abimelech use in reference to this than the taking of Sarah, who he understood was Abraham's sister, to be his concubine or second wife, which in those times had no kind of disgrace attached to it 1

Verse 3. But God came to Abimelech] Thus we find that persons who were not o( the family of Abraham had the knowledge of the true God. Indeed, all the Gerarites are termed pnif MJ goi tsaddik, a righteous nation, ver. 4.

Verse 5. In the integrity of my heart, cj-c] Had Abimelech any other than honourable views in taking Sarah, he could not have justified himself thus to his Maker; and that these views were of the most honourable kind, God himself, to whom the appeal was made, asserts in the most direct manner. Yea, I knoio that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart.

Verse 7. He is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee] The word prophet, which we have from the Greek ni-)0(p7jTrjr, and which is compounded of npo, before, and 0??/if, / speak, means, in its general accep- Htion, one who speaks of things before they happen, i. e., one who foretells future events. But that this was not tlie original notion of the word, its use in this place sufficiently proves. Abraham certainly was not a prophet in the present general acceptation of the term, and for the Hebrew X'3J nabi, we must seek some other meaning. I have, in a discourse entitled ' The Christian Prophet and his Work," proved that he proper ideal meaning of the original word is to

6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for ° I also withheld thee from sinning ° against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; pfor he is a prophet, and he shall pray for

pray, entreat, make supplication, SfC, and this meaning of it I have justified at large both from its application in this place, and from its pointed use in the case of Saul, mentioned 1 Sam. x., and from the case of the priests of Baal, 1 Kings xviii., where prophesying most undoubtedly means making prayer and supplication. As those who were in habits of intimacy with God by prayer and faith were found the most proper persons to communicate his mind to man, both with respect to the present and the future, hence, N'JJ nabi, the intercessor, became in process of time the public instructer or preacher, and also the predicter of future events, because to such faithful praying men God revealed the secret of his will. Hence St. Paul, 1 Cor. xiv. 3, seems to restrain the word wholly to the interpreting the mind of God to the people, and their instruction in Di?ine things, for, says he, he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort. See the discourse on this text referred to above. The title was also given to men eminent for eloquence and for literary abilities; hence Aaron, because he was the spokesman of Moses to the Egyptian king, was termed N'DJ nabi, prophet; Exod. iv. 16; vii. 1. And Epimenides, a heathen poet, is expressly styled npo(pr]Tr]^, a prophet, by St. Paul, Tit. i. 12, just as poets in general were termed vates among the Romans, which properly signifies the persons who professed to interpret the ivill of the gods to their votaries, after prayers and sacrifices duly performed. In Arabic the word L»j naba has nearly the same meaning as in Hebrew, but in the first conjugation it has a meaning which may cast light upon the subject in general. It signifies to itinerate, move from one place or country to another, compelled thereto either by persecution or the command of God; exivit de una regione in aliam. — sh^ migrans de loco in lo- cum. — GoLius. Hence Mohammed was called ^r Jr an nabi, because of his sudden removal from Mecca to Medina, when, pretending to a Divine commission, his toiunsmen sought to take away his life: c Mecca exiens Medinam, wide Muhammed suis **J? ^yAj Nabi Allah dictus fuit. — GoLius. If this meaning belonged originally to the Hebrew word, it will apply with great force to the case of Abraham, whose migratory, itinerant kind of life, generally under the immediate direction of God, might have given him the title nabi. However this may be, the term was a title of the higha

thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, "" and all that are thine.

8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, ^ that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me ' that ought not to be done.

10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this ';hing?

1 1 And Abraham said, Because I thought. Surely, ^the fear of God is not in this place; and ^ they will slay me for my wife's sake.

est respectability and honour, both among the Hebrews and Arabs, and continues so to this day. And from the Hebrews the word, in all the importance and dignity of its meaning, was introduced among the heathens in the npo^r]Ti]g and vates of the Greeks and Romans. See on the word seer. Gen. xv. 1.

Verse 8. Abimelech rose early, dfC.'\ God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and vve find as the day broke he arose, assembled his servants, (what we would call his courtiers,) and communicated to them what he had received from God. They were all struck with astonishment, and discerned the hand of God in this business. Abraham is then called, and in a most respectful and pious manner the king expostulates with him for bringing him and his people under the Irvine displeasure, by withholding from him the information that Sarah was his wife; when, by taking her, he sought only an honourable alliance with his family.

Verse 1 1. And Abraham said] The best excuse he could make for his conduct, which in this instance is far from defensible.

Verse 12. She is my sister] I have not told a lie; I have suppressed only a part of the truth. In this place it may be proper to ask. What is a lie? It is any action done or word spoken, whether true or false in itself, which the doer or speaker wishes the observer or hearer to take in a contrary sense to that which he knows to be true. It is, in a word, any action done or speech delivered with the intention to deceive, though both may be absolutely true and right in themselves. See the note on chap. xii. 13.

The daughter of my father, but not — of my mother] Kbn Batrick, in his annals, among other ancient tradi-

my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

13 And it came to pass, when ^ God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her. This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, ^ say of me, He is my brother. ^

1 4 And Abimelech ^ took sheep, and oxeri, and men-servants, and women-servants,, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

1 5 And Abimelech said, Behold, * my land is before thee: dwell ^ where it pleaseth thee.

16 And unto Sarah he said. Behold, I have given ° thy brother a thousand pieces of silver. ^ behold, he is to thee ® a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all oi/ier; ^thus she was reproved.

tions has preserved the following: " Terah first married Yona, by whom he had Abraham; afterwards he married Tehevita, by whom he had Sarah." Thus she was the sister of Abraham, being the daughter of the same father by a different mother.

Verse 1 3. When God caused me to wander] Here the word DTlSx Elohim is used with a plural verb, (i;^nn Mthu, caused me to wander,) which is not very usual in the Hebrew language, as this plural noun is generally joined with verbs in the singular number. Because there is a departure from the general mode in this instance, some have contended that the word Elohim signifies princes in this place, and suppose it to refer to those in Chaldea, who expelled Abraham because he would not worship the fire; but the best critics, and with them the Jeios, allow that Elohim here signifies the true God. Abraham probably refers to his first call.

Verse 16. And unto Sarah he said] Hut what did he say ■? Here there is scarcely any agreement among interpreters; the Hebrew is exceedingly obscure, and every interpreter takes it in his own sense.

A thousand pieces of silver] Shekels are very probably meant here, and so the Targum understands it. The Septuagint has;^;<Afa SiSpaxfJ-a, a thousand didrachma, no doubt meaning shekels; for in chap, xxiii. 15, 16, this translation uses SiSpaxfia for the Hebrew hp'iif shekel. As shakal signifies literally to weigh, and the shekel was a coin of such a weight, Mr." Ainsworth and others think this to be the origin of our word scale, the instrument to iveigh with.

The shekel of the sanctuary weighed twenty gerahs, Exod. XXX. 13. And according to the Jews, the 129 a

17 So Abraham Sprayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants; and they bare children.

gerah weighed sixteen grains of barley. R. Maimon observes, that after the captivity the shekel was increased to three hundred and eighty-four grains or barley-corns. On the subject of ancient weights and measures, very little that is satisfactory is known.

Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes] It — the one thousand shekels, (not he — Abraham,) is to thee for a covering — to procure thee a veil to conceal thy beauty (unto all that are loith thee, and ivith all other) from all thy own kindred and acquaintance, and from all strangers, that none, seeing thou art another man's wife, may covet thee on account of thy comeliness.

Thus she was reproved] The original is nn^JI vcnochachath, but the word is probably the second person preterite, used for the imperative mood, from the root nDJ nachach, to make straight, direct, right; or to speak rightly, correctly; and may, iu connection with the rest of the text, be thus paraphrased: Behold, I have given thy brother (Abraham, gently alluding to the equivocation, ver. 2, 5) a thousand shekels of silver; behold, IT is (that is, the silver is, or may be, or let it be) to thee a covering of the eyes (to procure a veil; see above) with regard to all those who are ivith thee, and to all (or and in all) speak thou the truth. Correctly translated by the Septuagint, /cat Tcavra a'krjdevaov, and in all things speak the truth — not only tell a part of the truth, but tell the whole; say not merely he is my brother, but say also, he is my husband too. Thus in all things speak the truth. I believe the above to be the sense of this difficult passage, and shall not puzzle my readers with criticisms. See Kcnnicott.

Verse 17. So Abraham prayed] This was the prime office of the N'3J nabi; see ver. 7.

Averse 18. For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs] Probably by means of some disease with which he had smitten them, hence it is said they ivere healed at Abraham's intercession; and this seems necessarily to imply that they had been afflicted by some disease that rendered it impossible for them to have

1 8 For the Lord ^ had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because Abraham's wife.

children till it was removed. And possibly this disease, as Dr. Dodd conjectures, had afflicted Abimelech, and by this he was withheld, ver. 6, from defiling Abraham's bed.

1. On the prevarication of Abraham and Sarah, see the notes and concluding observations on chap. xii.; and while we pity this iveakness, let us take it as a tvarning.

2. The cause why the patriarch did not acknowledge Sarah as his wife, was a fear lest he should lose his life on her account, for he said, Surely the fear, i. e., the true worship, of the true God is not in this place. Such is the natural bigotry and narrowness of the human heart, that we can scarcely allow that any besides ourselves possess the true religion. To indulge a disposition of this kind is highly blamable. The true religion is neither confined to one spot nor to one people; it is spread in various forms over the whole earth. He who fills immensity has left a record of himself in every nation and among every people under heaven. Beware of the spirit of intolerance! for bigotry produces uncharitableness; and uncharitableness, harsh judging; and in such a spirit a man may think he does God service when he tortures, or makes a burnt-offering of the person whom his narrow mind and hard heart have dishonoured with the name of heretic. Such a spirit is not confined to any one community, though it has predominated in some more than in others. But these things are highly displeasing in the sight of God. HE, as the Father of the spirits of all flesh, loves every branch of his vastly extended family; and as far as we love one another, no matter of what sect or party, so far we resemble him. Had Abraham possessed more charity for man and confidence in God at this time, he had not fallen into that snare from which he barely escaped. A hasty judgment is generally both erroneous and harsh; and those who are the most apt to form it are generally the most difficult to be convinced of the truth.

Isaac IS born according to the promise, 1—3; and is circumcised when eight days old, 4. Abraham's age, and Sarah's exultation at the birth of their son, 5—7. Isaac is weaned, 8. Ishmael mocking on the occasion, Sarah requires that both he and his mother Hagar shall be dismissed, 9, 10. Abraham, distressed on the account, is ordered by the Lord to comply, 11, 12. The promise renewed to Ishmael, 13. Abraham dismisses Hagar and her son, ivho go to the wilderness of Beer-sheba, 14. They are greatly distressed for ivant of loater, 15, 16. An angel of God appears to and relieves them, 17—19. Ishmael prospers and is married, 20, 21. Abimelech, and Phichol his chief captain, make a covenant with Abraham, and surrender the well of Beer-sheba for seven ewe lambs, 22-32. Abraham plants a grove, and invokes the name of the everlasting God, 33.

A ND tlie Lord '' visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah ^ as he had spoken.

2 For Sarah " conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, "^ at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, ® Isaac.

4 And Abraham ^ circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, ^ as God had commanded him.

5 And ^Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

6 And Sarah said, * God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear ^ will laugh with me.

Verse 1. The Lord visited Sarah] That is, God fulfilled his promise to Sarah by giving her, at the advanced age of ninety, power to conceive and bring forth a son.

Verse 3. Isaac] See the reason and interpretation of this name in the note on chap. xvii. 7.

Verse 6. God hath made me to laugh] Sarah alludes here to the circumstance mentioned chap, xviii. 12; and as she seems to use the word to laugh in this place, not in the sense of being incredulous, but to express such pleasure or happiness as almost suspends the reasoning faculty for a time, it justifies the observation on the above-named verse. See a similar case in Luke xxiv. 41, where the disciples were so overcome with the good news of our Lord's resurrection, that it is said. They believed not for joy.

Verse 8. The child grew and was iveaned] Daet cilb foplice peox •] peajip jepeneb. — Anglo- Saxo7i Version. Now the child ivaxed and became weaned. We have the verb to ivean from the Anglo-Saxon apenban aivendan, to convert, transfer, turn from one thing to another, which is the exact import of the Hebrew word '7DJ gamal in the text. Hence penan ivenan, to wean, to turn the child from the breast to receive another kind of aliment. And hence, probably, the word wean, a young child, which is still in use in the northern parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and which from its etymology seems to signify a child taken from the breast; surely not from the Scotch ivee-ane, a little one, much less from the German ivenig, little, as Dr. Johnson and others would derive it. At what time children were weaned among the ancients, is a disputed point. St. Jerome says there were two opinions on this subject. Some hold that children were always weaned at Jive years of age; others, that they were not weaned till they were twelve. From the speech a

7 And she said, Who would have a. m. 2108. said unto Abraham, that Sarah

should have given children suck? ^ for I have borne him a son in his old age.

8 And the child grew and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

9 And Sarah saw the son of A. M. cir. 2110.

10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, ^ Cast out this bond-woman and her son: fOr the son of this bond-woman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

1 1 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight, i because of his son.

of the mother to her son, 2 Mac. vii. 27, it seems likely that among the Jews they were weaned when three years old: O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee suck THREE YEARS, and nourished thee and brought thee up. And this is farther strengthened by 2 Chron. xxxi. 16, where Hezekiah, in making provision for the Levites and priests, includes the children from three years old and upwards; which is a presumptive proof that pre^ viously to this age they were wholly dependent on the mother for their nourishment. Samuel appears to have been brought to the sanctuary when he was just iveaned, and then he was capable of ministering before the Lord, 1 Sam. i. 22-28; and this certainly could not be before he was three years of age. The term among the Mohammedans is fixed by the Koran, chap. xxxi. 14, at two years of age.

Verse 9. Mocking.] What was implied in this mocking is not known. St. Paul, Gal. iv. 29, calls it persecuting; but it is likely he meant no more than some species of ridicule used by Ishmael on the occasion, and probably with respect to the age of Sarah at Isaac's birth, and her previous barrenness. Jonathan ben Uzziel and the Jerusalem Targum represent Ishmael as performing some idolatrous rite on the occasion, and that this had given the offence to Sarah. Conjectures are as useless as they are endless. Whatever it was, it became the occasion of the expulsion of himself and mother. Several authors are of opinion that the Egyptian bondage oi four hundred years, mentioned chap. xv. 13, commented with this persecution of the righteous seed by the son of an Egyptian woman.

Verse 10. Cast out this bond-ivoman and her son' Both Sarah and Abraham have been accused of cm. elty in this transaction, because every word reads harsh to us. Cast out; tyiJ garash signifies not only to thrust out, drive away, and expel, but also to divorce; (see Lev. xxi. 7;) and it is in this latter sense the

thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bond-woman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for ^ in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

13 And also of the son of the bond-vsroman will I make ^ a nation, because he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, (putting it on her shoulder,) and the child, and ' sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

word should be understood here. The child of Abraham by Hagar might be considered as having a right at least to a part of the inheritance; and as it was sufficiently known to Sarah that God had designed that the succession should be established in the line of Isaac, she wished Abraham to divorce Hagar, or to perform some sort of legal act by which Ishmael might be excluded from all claim on the inheritance.

Verse 12. In Isaac shall thy seed be called.'] Here God shows the propriety of attending to the counsel of Sarah; and lest Abraham, in whose eyes the thing was grievous, should feel distressed on the occasion, God renews his promises to Ishmael and his posterity.

Verse 14. Took bread, and a bottle] By the word bread we are to understand the food or provisions which were necessary for her and Ishmael, till they should come to the place of their destination; which, no doubt, Abraham particularly pointed out. The bottle, which was made of skin, ordinarily a goat's skin, contained water sufficient to last them till they should come to the next well; which, it is likely, Abraham particularly specified also. This well, it appears, Hagar missed, and therefore wandered about in the ivilderness seeking more water, till all she had brought with her was expended. We may therefore safely presume that she and her son were sufficiently provided for their journey, had they not missed their way. Travellers in those countries take only, to the present day, provisions sufficient to carry them to the next village or encampment; and water to supply them till they shall meet with the next well. What adds to the appearance of cruelty in this case is, that our translation seems to represent Ishmael as being a young child; and that Hagar was obliged to carry him, the bread, and the bottle of water on her back or shoulder at the same time. But that Ishmael could not be carried on his mother's shoulder will be sufficiently evident when his age is considered; Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years of age,

way off, as it were a bow-shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

17 And "God heard the voice of the ladand the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her. What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for "" I will make him a great nation.

1 9 And ^ God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

20 And God ^ was with the lad; and he

chap. xvi. 1 6; Isaac was born when he was one hun dred years of age, chap. xxi. 5; hence Ishmael was fourteen years old at the birth of Isaac. Add to this the age of Isaac when he was weaned, which, from ver. 8 of this chapter, (see the note,) was probably three, and we shall find that Ishmael was at the time of his leaving Abraham not less than seventeen years old; an age at which, in those primitive times, a young man was able to gain his livelihood, either by his bow in the wilderness, or by keeping flocks as Jacob did.

Verse 15. And she cast the child] nVn HN "jViyni vattashlech eth haiyeled, and she sent the lad under one of the shrubs, viz., to screen him from the intensity of the heat. Here Ishmael appears to be utterly helpless, and this circumstance seems farther to confirm the opinion that he was now in a state of infancy; but the preceding observations do this supposition entirely away, and his present helplessness will be easily accounted for on this ground: 1. Young persons can bear much less fatigue than those who are arrived at mature age. 2. They require much more fluid from the greater quantum of heat in their bodies, strongly marked by the impetuosity of the blood; because from them a much larger quantity of the fluids is thrown off by sweat and insensible perspiration, than from grown up or aged persons. 3. Their digestion is much more rapid, and hence they cannot bear hunger and thirst as well as the others. On these grounds Ishmael must be much more exhausted with fatigue than his mother.

Verse 19. God opened her eyes] These words appear to me to mean no more than that God directed her to a well, which probably was at no great distance from the place in which she then was; and therefore she is commanded, ver. 18, to support the lad, literally, to make her hand strong in his behalf — namely, that he might reach the well and quench his thirst.

Verse 20. Became an archer.] And by his skill in this art, under the continual superintendence of the

2 1 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother ^ took him a wife out of the

chol the chief captain of his host, spake unto Abraham, saying, ^ God is with thee in all that thou doest:

23 Now therefore "^ swear unto me here by God ^ that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: hut according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants * had violently taken away.

26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath

Divine Providence, (for God ivas with the lad,) he was undoubtedly enabled to procure a sufficient supply for his own wants and those of his parent.

Verse 21. He dwelt in the ivilderness of Paran] This is generally allowed to have been a part of the desert belonging to Arabia Petraea, in the vicinity of Mount Sinai; and this seems to be its uniform meaning in the sacred writings.

Verse 22. At that time} This may either refer to the transactions recorded in the preceding chapter, or to the time of Ishmael's marriage, but most probably to the former.

God is with thee] '"T XI'D'D meimera daiya, the WORD of Jehovah; see before, chap. xv. 1. That the Chaldee paraphrasts use this term, not for-a word spoken, but in the same sense in which St. John uses the Xoyog tov Qeov, the WORD of God, chap, i., must be evident to every unprejudiced reader. See on chap. XV 1.

Verst 23. Noiv therefore swear unto me] The oath on such occasions probably meant no more than the mutual promise of both the parties, when they slew an animal, poured out the blood as a sacrifice to God, and then passed between the pieces. See this ceremony, chap. V. 18, and on chap. xv.

According to the kindness that I have done] The simple claims of justice were alone set up among virtuous people in those ancient times, which constitute the basis of the famous lex talionis, or law of like for like, kind office for kind office, and breach for breach.

Verse 25. Ahrahan), reproved Abimelech] Wells wore of great consequence in those hot countries, and

27 And x4.braham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them ^ made a covenant.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 And Abimelech said imto Abraham, ^ What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?

30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that ^ they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

3 1 Wherefore he ' called that place ^ Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.

32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 And Abraham planted a ^ grove in Beer-

especially where the flocks were numerous, because the water was scarce, and digging to find it was- accompanied with much expense of time and labour.

Verse 26. / loot not who hath done this thing] The servants of Abimelech had committed these depredations on Abraham without any authority from their master, who appears to have been a very amiable man, possessing the fear of God, and ever regulating the whole of his conduct by the principles of righteousness and strict justice.

Verse 27. Took sheep and oxen] Some think that these were the sacrifices which were offered on the occasion, and which Abraham furnished at his own cost, and, in order to do Abimelech the greater honour, gave them to him to offer before the Lord.

Verse 28. Seven ewe lambs] These were either given as a present, or they were intended as the price of the well; and being accepted by Abimelech, they served as a witness that he had acknowledged Abraham's right to the ivell in question.

Verse 31. He called that place Beer-sheba] "1X3 ^2\D Beer-shaba, literally, the ivell of sweari^ig or of the oath, because they both sware there — mutually confirmed the covenant.