Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 33. Abraham planied-a grove] The original word V^X eshel has been variously translated a grove, a, plantation, an orchard, a cultivated field, and an oak. From this word, says Mr. Parkhurst, may be derived the name of the famous asylum, opened by Romulus, between two groves of oaks at Rome; {fiedopiov dvotv Spvfzuv, Dionys. Hal, lib. ii. c. 16;) and as Abraham, Gen. xxi. 33, agreeably, no doubt, to the institutes of the patriarchal religion, planted an oak in Beer-sheba, and called on the name of Jehovah, the everlasting God, (compare Gen. xii. 8; xviii. 1,) so we find that oaks were sacred among the idolaters also. Ye shall be ashamed of the oaks ye have chosen, says Isaiah, chap. i. 29, to the idolatrous Israelites. And in Greece we meet in very early times with the oracle of Jupiter at the oaks of Dodona. Among the Greeks and Romans we have sacra Jovi quercus, the oak sacred to Jupiter, even to a proverb. And in Gaul and Britain we find the highest religious regard paid to the same tree and to its misletoe, under the direction of the Druids, that is, the oak prophets or priests, from the Celtic deru, and Greek 6pvc, an oak. Few are ignorant that the misletoe is indeed a very extraordinary plant, not to he cultivated in the earth, but always growing on some other tree. " The druids," says Pliny, Nat. Hist., lib. xvii., c. 44, " hold nothing more sacred than the misletoe, and the tree on which it is produced, provided it be the oak. They make choice of groves of oak on this account, nor do they perform any of their sacred rites without the leaves of those trees; so that one may suppose that they are for this reason called, by a Greek etymology, Druids. And whatever misletoe grows on the oak they think is sent from heaven, and is a sign that God himself has chosen that tree. This however is very rarely found, but when discovered is treated with great ceremony. They call it by a name which signifies m their language the curer of all ills; and having duly prepared their feasts and sacrifices under the tree, they bring to it two white bulls, whose horns are then for the first time tied; the priest, dressed in a white robe, ascends the tree, and with a. golden pruning hook cuts off the misletoe, which is received into a white sagum or sheet. Then they sacrifice the victims, praying that God would bless his own gift to those on whom he has bestowed it." It is impossible for a Christian to read this account without thinking of him who was the desire of all nations, of the man whose name was the branch, who had indeed no father upon earth, but came down from heaven, was given to heal all our ills, and, after being cut off through the Divine counsel, was wrapped in^ne linen and laid in the sepulchre for our sakes. I cannot forbear adding that the misletoe was a sacred emblem to other Celtic nations, as, for instance, to the ancient inhabitants of Italy. The golden branch, of which Virgil speaks so largely in the sixth book of the ^neis, and without which, he says, none could return from the infernal regions, (see line 126,) seems an allusion to the misletoe, as he himself plainly intimates by comparing it to that plant, line 205, &c. See Parkhurst, under the word S'^N eshel.

In the first ages of the world the worship of God was exceedingly simple; there were no temples nor covered edifices of any kind; an altar, sometimes a single stone, sometimes consisting of several, and at other tiriies merely of turf, was all that was necessary;

on this the fire was lighted and the sacrifice offered. Any j^lace was equally proper, as they knew that the object of their worship filled the heavens and the earth. In process of time when families increased, and many sacrifices were to be offered, groves or shady places were chosen, where the worshippers might enjoy the protection of the shade, as a considerable time must be employed in offering many sacrifices. These groves became afterwards abused to impure and idolatrous purposes, and were therefore strictly forbidden. See Exod. xxxiv. 13; Deut. xii. 3; xvi. 21.

And called there on the name of the Lord] On this important passage Dr. Shuckford speaks thus: " Our English translation very erroneously renders this place, he called upon the name of Jehovah; but the expression DM Nip kara beshem never signifies to call upon the name; DB? X'lp kara shem would signify to invoke or call upon the name, or Diy Sx Nip kara el shem would signify to cry unto the name; but Dti;2 Nip ka7-a beshem signifies to invoke in the name, and seems to be used where the true worshippers of God offered their prayers in the name of the true Mediator, or where the idolaters offered their prayers in the name of false ones, 1 Kings xviii. 26; for as the true worshippei-s had but one God and one Lord, so the false worshippers had gods many and lords many, 1 Cor. viii. 5. We have several instances of Nip kara, and a noun after it, sometimes with and sometimes loithout the particle Sx el, and then it signifies to call upon the person there mentioned; thus, niH'' Nip kara Yehovah is to call upon ^AeZorrf, Psa. xiv. 4; xvii. 6; xxxi. 17; liii. 4; cxviii. 5, &c.; and mri"' Sn Nip kara el Yehovah imports the same, 1 Sam. xii. 17; Jonah i. 6, &c.; but Di^J Nip kara beshem is either to name by the name. Gen. iv. 17; Num. xxxii. 42; Psa. xlix. 11; Isa. xliii. 7; or to invoke in the name, when it is used as an expression of religious worship." Connex. vol. i., p. 293. I believe this to be a just view of the subject, and therefore I admit it without scruple.

The everlasting God.] xhy Sn mri'' Yehovah el olam, Jehovah, the strong God, the eternal one. This is the first place in Scripture in which d'?1>' olam occurs as an attribute of God, and here it is evidently designed to point out his eternal duration; that it can mean no limited time is self-evident, because nothing of this kind can be attributed to God. The Septuagint render the w'ords Geof aLuvLog, the ever-existing God; and the Vulgate has Invocavit ibi nomen Domini, Dei (Bterni, There he invoked the name of the Lord, the eternal God. The Arabic is nearly the same. From this application of both the Hebrew and Greek words we learn that uhvj olam and aiuv aion originally signified eternal, or duration ivithout end. D7>* alam signifies he was hidden, concealed, or kept secret; and audv, according to Aristotle, {^De Ceelo, lib. i., chap. 9, and a higher authority need not be sought,) is compounded of aei, always, and uv, being, aicjv eariv, aire

Tov aet ecvai. The same author informs us that God was termed Aisa, because he was always existing, AeyecnJat — Aiaau 6e, asi ovaav. De Mundo, chap, xi., in fine. Hence we see that no words can more forcibly express the grand characteristics of eternity than these. It is that duration which is concealed, hidden, or kept secret from all created beings; which is always existing, still running on but never running out; an intermiiiable, incessant, and immeasurable duration; it is THAT, in the tvhole of which God alone can be said to exist, and that which the eternal mind can alone comprehend.

In all languages words have, in process of time, deviated from their original acceptations, and have become accommodated to particular purposes, and limited to particular meanings. This has happened both to the Hebrew uh)? ala?n, and the Greek aiuv; they have been both used to express a limited time, but in general a time the limits of which are unknoivn; and thus a pointed reference to the original ideal meaning is still kept up. Those who bring any of these terms in an accommodated sense to favour a particular doctrine, &c., must depend on the good graces of their opponents for permission to use them in this way. For as the real grammatical meaning of both words is eternal, and all other meanings are only accommodated ones, sound criticism, in all matters of dispute concerning the import of a word or term, must have recourse to the grammatical meaning, and its use among the earliest and most correct writers in the language, and will determine all accommodated meanings by this alone. Now the first and best writers in both these languages apply olam and aiuv to express eternal, in the proper meaning of that word; and this is their proper meaning in the Old and New Testaments when applied to God, his attributes, his operations taken in connection with the ends for which he performs them, for whatsoever he doth, it shall he for ever — dSi>'S riTl' yihyeh leolam, it shall le for eternity, Eccl. iii. 14; forms and appearances of created things may change, but the counsels and purposes of God relative to them are permanent and eternal, and none of them can be frustrated; hence the words, when applied to things which from their nature must have a limited duration, are properly to be understood in this sense, because those things, though temporal in themselves, shadow forth things that are eternal. Thus the JcAvish dispensation, which in the whole and in its parts is frequently said to be D7lJ?7 leolam, for ever, and which has terminated in the Christian dispensation, has the word properly applied to it, because it typified and introduced that dispensation which is to continue not only lohile time shall last, but is to have its incessant accumulating consummation throughout eternity. The word is, with the same strict propriety, applied to the duration of the rewards and punishments in a future state. And the argument that pretends to prove (and it is only pretension) that in the future punishment of the wicked " the worm shall die," and " the fire shall he quenched," will apply as forcibly to the state of happy spirits, and as fully prove that a point in eternity shall arrive when the repose of the righteous shall be interrupted, and the glorification of the children of God have an eternal end! See the notes on chap. xvii. 7, 8.

1. Faithfulness is one of the attributes of God, and none of his promises can fail. According to the promise to Abraham, Isaac is born; but according to the course of nature it fully appears that both Abraham and Sarah had passed that term of life in which it was possible for them to have children. Isaac is the child of the promise, and the promise is supernatural. Ishmael is born according to the ordinary course of nature, and cannot inherit, because the inheritance is spiritual, and cannot come by natural hirlh; hence we see that no man can expect to enter into the kingdom of God by birth, education, profession of the true fgith, &c., &c. Those alone who are horn from ahove, and are made partakers of the Divine nature, can be admitted into the family of God in heaven, and everlastingly enjoy that glorious inheritance. Reader, art thou born again 1 Hath God changed thy heart and thy life? If not, canst thou suppose that in thy present state thou canst possibly enter into the paradise of God T I leave thy conscience to answer.

2. The actions of good men may be misrepresented, and their motives suspected, because those motives are not known; and those who are prone to think evil are the last to take any trouble to inform their minds, so that they may judge righteous judgment. Abraham, in the dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael, has been accused of cruelty. Though objections of this kind have been answered already, yet it may not be amiss farther to observe that what he did he did in conformity to a Divine command, and a command so unequivocally given that he could not doubt its Divine origin; and this very command was accompanied with a promise that both the child and his mother should he taken under the Divine protection. And it was so; nor does it appear that they lacked any thing but water, and that only for a short time, after which it was miraculously supplied. God will work a miracle when necessary, and never till then; and at such a time the Divine interposition can be easily ascertained, and man is under no temptation to attribute to second causes what has so evidently flowed from the first. Thus, while he is promoting his creatures' good, he is securing his own glory; and he brings men into straits and difficulties, that he may have the fuller opportunity to convince his followers of his providential care, and to prove how much he loves them.

3. Did we acknowledge God in all our ways, he would direct our steps. Abimelech, king of Gerar, and Phichol, captain of his host, seeing Abraham a worshipper of the true God, made him swear by the object of his worship that there should be a lasting peace between them and him; for as they saw that God was with Abraham, they well knew that he could not expect the Divine blessing any longer than he walked in integrity before God; they therefore require him to swear by God that he would not deal falsely with them or their posterity. From this very circumstance we may see the original purpose, design, and spirit of an oath, viz.. Let God prosper or curse me in all that I do, as I prove true or false to my engagements! This is still the.■spirit of all oaths where God is called to witness, whether the form be by the water of the Ganges, the sign of the cross, kissing the Bible, or lifting up the hand to heaven. Hence we may learn that he who falsifies an oath or promise, made in the presence and name of God, thereby forfeits all right and title to the approbation and blessing of his Maker.

But it is highly criminal to make such appeals to God upon trivial occasions. Only the most solemn matters should be thus determined. Legislators who regard the morals of the people should take heed not to multiply oaths in matters of commerce and revenue, if they even use them at all. Who can take the oaths presented by the custom house or excise, and be guiltless ■? I have seen a person kiss his pen or thumb nail instead of the book, thinking that he avoided the condemnation thereby of the false oath he was then taking!

The faith and obedience of Abraham put to a most extraordinary test, 1. He is commanded to offer his beloved son Isaac for a burnt-offering, 2. He prepares, with the utmost promptitude, to accomplish the will of God, 3-6. Affecting speech of Isaac, 7; and Abraham's answer, 8. Having arrived at mount Moriah he prepares to sacrifice his son, 9, 10; and is prevented by an angel of the Lord, 11, 12. A ram is offered in the stead of Isaac, 13; and the place is named Jehovah-jireh, 14. The angel of the Lord calls to Abraham a second time, 1 5; and, in the most solemn manner, he is assured of innumerable blessings in the multiplication and prosperity of his seed, 16-18. Abraham returns and dwells at Beer-sheba, 19; hears that his brother Nahor has eight children by his wife Milcah, 20; their names, 21-23; and four by his concubine Reumah, 24.

2 And he said, Take now thy son, <= thine

Verse 1. God did tempt Abraham] The original here is very emphatic: Dm^N nx HDJ D'nbxm vehaelohim nissah eth Abraham, " And the Elohim he tried this Abraham;" God brought him into such circumstances as exercised and discovered his faith, love, and obedience. Though the word tempt, from tento, signifies no more than to prove or try, yet as it is now generally used to imply a solicitation to evil, in which way God never tempts any man, it would be well to avoid it here. The Septuagint used the word ewetpaae, which signifies tried, pierced through; and Symmachus translates the Hebrew DDJ Jiissah by edofafev, God glorified Abraham, or rendered him illustrious, supposing the word to be the same with DJ nas, which signifies to glister -loith light, whence DJ nes, an ensign or banner displayed. Thus then, according to him, the words should be understood: " God put great honour on Abraham by giving him this opportunity of showing to all successive ages the nature and efficacy of an unshaken faith in the power, goodness, and truth of God." The Targumo? Jonathan ben t/i^je/ paraphrases the place thus: " And it happened that Isaac and Ishmael contended, and Ishmael said, I ought to be my father's heir, because I am his first-born; but Isaac said, It is more proper that I should be my father's heir, because I am the son of Sarah his wife, and thou art only the son of Hagar, my mother's slave. Then Ishmael answered, I am more righteous than thou, because I was circumcised when I was thirteen years of age, and if I had chosen, I could have prevented my circumcision; but thou wert circumcised when thou wert but eight days old, and if thou hadst

only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, a. and get thee "^into the land of —

Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering, upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

had knowledge, thou wouldst probably not have suffered thyself to be circumcised. Then Isaac answered and said. Behold, I am now thirty-six years old, and if the holy and blessed God should require all my members, I would freely surrender them. These words were immediately heard before the Lord of the universe, and "T {<"Tj''0 meimera daiya, the WORD of the LORD, did try Abraham." I wish once for all to remark, though the subject has been referred to before, that the Chaldee term NIO'D meimera, which we translate loord, is taken personally in some hundreds of places in the Targums. When the author, Jonathan, speaks of the Divine Being as doing or saying any thing, he generally represents him as performing the whole by his meimera, which he appears to consider, not as a speech or loord spoken, but as a person quite distinct from the Most High. St. John uses the word "Aoyo^ in precisely the same sense with the Targumists, chap. i. 1; see the notes there, and see before or chap. xxi. 22, and xv. 1.

Verse 2. Take now thy sori\ Bishop Warburton's observations on this passage are weighty and important, " The order in which the words are placed in the original gradually increases the sense, and raises the passions higher and higher: Take now thy son, (rather, take I beseech thee NJ na,) thine only son whom thou lovest, even Isaac. Jarchi imagines this minuteness was to preclude any doubt in Abraham. Abraham desired earnestly to be let into the mystery of redemption; and God, to instruct him in the infinite extent of the Divine goodness to mankind, tvho spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, let Abraham feel by experience what it was to lose a be-

A. M. cir. 2132. 3 And Abraham rose up ® early - — l!1Ii_!_: in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men.

loved son, the son born miraculously when Sarah was past child-bearing, as Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin. The duration, too, of the action, ver. 4, was the same as that between Christ's death and resurrection, both which are designed to be represented in it; and still farther not only the final archetypical sacrifice of the Son of God was figured in the command to offer Isaac, but the intermediate typical sacrifice in the Mosaic economy was represented by the permitted sacrifice of the ram offered up, ver. 13, instead of Isaac." See Dodd.

The land of Moriah] This is supposed to mean all the mountains of Jerusalem, comprehending Mount Gihon or Calvary, the mount of Sion and of Acra. As Mount Calvary is the highest ground to the west, and the mount of the temple is the lowest of the mounts, Mr. Mann conjectures that it was upon this mount Abraham offered up Isaac, which is well known to be the same mount on which our blessed Lord was crucified. Beer-sheba, where Abraham dwelt, is about forty-two miles distant from Jerusalem, and it is not to be wondered at that Abraham, Isaac, the two servants, and the ass laden with wood for the burnt offering, did not reach this place till the third day; see ver. 4.

Clave the tvood] Small wood, Jig and palm, proper for a burnt-offering. — Targum.

Verse 4. The third day] "As the number seven," says Mr. Ainsworth, " is of especial use in Scripture because of the Sabbath day, Gen. ii. 2, so three is a mystical number because of Christ's rising from the dead the third day, Matt. xvii. 23; 1 Cor. xv. 4; as he was crucified the third hour after noon, Mark xv. 25: and Isaac, as he was a figure of Christ, in being the only son of his father, and not spared but offered for a sacrifice, Rom. viii. 32, so in sundry particulars he resembled our Lord: the third day Isaac was to be ofiered up, so it was the third day in which Christ also was to be perfected, Luke xiii. 32; Isaac carried the wood for the burnt-offering, ver. 6, so Christ carried the tree whereon he died, John xix. 17; the binding of Isaac, ver. 9, was also typical, so Christ was bound. Matt, xxvii. 2.

" In the following remarkable cases this number also occurs. Moses desired to go th7-ee days' journey in the wilderness to sacrifice, Exod. v. 3; and they travelled three days in it before they found water.

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burntoffering, and ^ laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife: and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, ^ Here am

Exod. XV. 22; and three days' journey the ark of the covenant went before them, to search out a resting place, Num. x. 33; by the third day the people were to be ready to receive God's law, Exod. xix. 11; and after three days to pass over Jordan into Canaan, Josh, i. 1 4; the third day Esther put on the apparel of the kingdom, Esth. v. 1; on the third day Hezekiah, being recovered from his illness, went up to the house of the Lord, 2 Kings xx. 5; on the third day, the prophet said, God will raise us up and we shall live before him, Hos. vi. 2; and on the third day, as well as on the seventh, the unclean person was to purify himself, Num. xix. 12: with many other memorable things which the Scripture speaks concerning the third day, and not without mystery. See Gen. xl. 12, 13; xlii. 17, 18; Jonah i. 17; Josh. ii. 16; unto which we may add a Jew's testimony in Bereshith Rabba, in a comment on this place: There are many three days mentioned in the Holy Scripture, of which one is the resurrection of the Messiah.''^ — Ainsworth.

Saw the place afar off.] He knew the place by seeing the cloud of glory smoking on the top of the mountain. — Targum.

Verse 5. I and the lad will go — and come again] How could Abraham consistently with truth say this, when he knew he was going to make his son a burntoffering 1 The apostle answers for him: By faith Abraham, when he loas tried, offered up Isaac — accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from lohence also he received him in a figure, Heb. xi. 17, 19. He knew that previously to the birth of Isaac both he and his wife were dead to all the purposes of procreation; that his birth was a kind of life from the dead; that the promise of God was most positive. In Isaac shall thy seed be called, chap, xxi. 12; that this promise could not fail; that it was his duty to obey the command of his Maker; and that it was as easy for God to restore him to life after he had been a burnt-offering, as it was for him to give him life in the beginning. Therefore he went fully purposed to offer his son, and yet confidently expecting to have him restored to life again. We ivill go yonder and worship — perform a solemn act of devotion which God requires, a7id come again to you.

Verse 6. Took the wood — and laid it upon Isaac] Probably the mountain-top to which they were going was too diflicult to be ascended by the ass; therefore either the father or the son must carry the wood, and it was most becoming in the latter.

where is the ^ lamb for a burnt-offering?

8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb ' for a burnt-offering: so they went both of them together.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and ^ laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Verse 7. Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb] Nothing can be conceived more tender, affectionate, and affecting, than the question of the son and the reply of the father on this occasion. A paraphrase would spoil it; nothing can be added without injuring those expressions of affectionate submission on the one hand, and dignified tenderness and simplicity on the other.

A''erse 8. My son, God ivill provide himself a lamb] Here we find the same obedient unshaken faith for which this pattern of practical piety was ever remarkable. But we must not suppose that this was the language merely of faith and obedience; the patriarch spoke prophetically, and referred to that Lamb of God which HE had provided for himself, who in the fulness of time should take away the sin of the world, and of whom Isaac was a most expressive type. All the other lambs which had been offered from the foundation of the world had been such as men chose and MEN offered; but this was the Lamb which GOD had provided — emphatically, the Lamb of God.

Verse 9. And bound Isaac his son] If the patriarch had not been upheld by the conviction that he was doing the ivlll of God, and had he not felt the most perfect confidence that his son should be restored even from the dead, what agony must his heart have felt at every step of the journey, and through all the circumstances of this extraordinary business 1 What must his affectionate heart have felt at the questions asked by his innocent and amiable son ■? What must he have suffered while building the altar, laying on the wood, binding his lovely son, placing him on the wood, taking the knife, and stretching out his hand to slay the child of his hopes 1 Every view we take of the subject interests the heart, and exalts the character of this father of the faithful. But has the character of Isaac been duly considered 1 Is not the consideration of his excellence lost in the supposition that he was too youmr to enter particularly into a sense of his danger, and too feeble to have made any resistance, had he been unwilling to submit ■? Josephus supposes that Isaac was now twenty-five, (see the chronology on ver. 1;) some rabbins that he was thirty-six; but it is more probable that he was now about ihirty-thrce, the age at which his great Antitype was offered up; and on this medium I have ventured to construct the chronology, of which I think it necessary to give this notice to the reader.

1 1 And the angel of the.Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham! and he said. Here am 1.

1 2 And he said, ^ Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for ""now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.

Allowing him to be only twenty-five, he might have easily resisted; for can it be supposed that an old man of at least one hundred and twenty-five years of age could have bound, without his consent, a young man in the very prime and vigour of life? In this case we cannot say that the superior strength of the father prevailed, but the piety, filial affection, and obedience of the son yielded. All this was most illustriously typical of Christ. In both cases the father himself offers up his only-begotten son, and the father himself binds him on the wood or to the cross; in neither case is the son forced to yield, but yields of his own accord; in neither case is the life taken away by the hand of violence; Isaac yields himself to the knife, Jesus lays down his life for the sheep.

Averse 11. The angel of the Lord] The very person who was represented by this offering; the Lord Jesus, who calls himself Jehovah, ver. 16, and on his own authority renews the promises of the covenant. He was ever the great Mediator between God and man. See this point proved, chap. xv. 7.

Verse 12. Lay not thine hand upon the lad] As Isaac was to be the representative of Jesus Christ's real sacrifice, it was sufficient for this purpose that in his own ivill, and the loill of his father, the purpose of the immolation was complete. Isaac was now fully offered both by his father and by himself The father yields up the son, the son gives up his life; on both sides, as far as will and purpose could go, the sacrifice was complete. God simply spares the father the torture of putting the knife to his son's throat. Now was the time when it might properly be said, " Sacrifice, and offering, and burnt-offering, and sacrifice for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure in them: then said the Angel of the Covenant, Lo! I come to do thy will, 0 God." Lay not thy hand upon the lad; an irrational creature will serve for the purpose of a representative sacrifice, from this till the fulness of time. But without this most expressive representation of the father offering his beloved, only-begotten son, what reference can such sacrifices be considered to have to the great event of the incarnation and crucifixion of Christ] Abraham, the most dignified, the most immaculate of all the patriarchs; Isaac, the true pattern of piety to God and filial obedience, may well represent God the Father so loving the world as to give his only-begotten Son, Jesl's Christ, to die for the sin of man. But

behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham railed the name of that place ^ Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

1 6 And said, ° By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son;

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed p as the

stars of the heaven, '^ and as the A. M. cir. 2132: sand which is upon the sea- ' ^' '^""' '^^^^ shore;' and ^ thy seed shall possess * the gate of his enemies;

18" And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; ^because thou hast obeyed my voice.

19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up, and went together to ^ Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at £eersheba.

20 And it came to pass after a. m. cir. 2142.

Abraham, saying. Behold, ^ Milcah, she hath also borne children unto thy brother Nahor;

2 1 y Huz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father '^ of Aram, the grand circumstances necessary to prefigure these important points could not be exhibited through the means of any or of the ivhole hrute creation. The whole sacrificial system of the Mosaic economy had a retrospective and prospective view, referring from the sacrifice of Isaac to the sacrifice of Christ; in the first the dawning of the Sun of righteousness was seen; in the latter, his meridian splendour and glory. Taken in this light (and this is the only light in which it should be viewed) Abraham offering his son Isaac is one of the mo.st important facts and most instructive histories in the whole Old Testament. See farther on this subject, chap, xxiii. 2.

Verse 14. Jehovah-jireh] nxT niri'' Yehovah-yireh, literally interpreted in the margin. The Lo7-d will see; that is, God will take care that every thing shall be done that is necessary for the comfort and support of them who trust in him: hence the words are usually translated, The Lord will provide; so our translators, ver. 8, nXT D'nbx Elohim yireh, God will provide; because his eye ever affects his heart, and the wants he sees his hand is ever ready to supply. But all this seems to have been done under a Divine impulse, and the words to have been spoken prophetically; hence Houbigant and some others render the words thus: Dominus videbitur, the Lord shall be seen; and this translation the following clause seems to require, As it is said to this day, HN'T' nin" "IDD behar Yehovah yeraeh, on this mount the Lord shall be seen. From this it appears that the sacrifice offered by Abraham was understood to be a representative one, and a tradition was kept up that Jehovah should be seen in a sacrificial way on this mount. And thi:: renders the opinion stated on ver. 1 more than probable, viz., ihat Abraham offered Isaac on that very mountain on which, in the fulness of time, Jesus suffered. See Bishop Warburtoft.

that the person who was called the angel of the Lord is here called Jehovah; see on ver. 2. An oath or an appeal to God is, among men, an end to strife; as God could swear by no greater, he sivare by himself: being ivilling more abundantly, says the apostle, to shoiv unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, he confirmed it by an oath, that by tivo immutable things^ (his PROMISE and his oath,) in ivhich it was impossible for God to lie, ive might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before ns. See Heb.'vi. 13-18.

Verse 17. Shall possess the gate of his enemies] Instead o? gale the Septuagint have noleic, cities; but as there is a very near resemblance between TcoXsig, cities, and TruAaf, gates, the latter might have been the original reading in the Septuagint, though none of the MSS. now acknowledge it. By the gates may be meant all the strength, whether troops, counsels, or for tified cities of their enemies. So Matt. xvi. 18: On this rock I ivill build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it — the counsels, stratagems, and powers of darkness shall not be able to prevail against or overthrow the true Church of Christ; and possibly our Lord had this promise to Abraham and his spiritual posterity in view, when he spoke these words.

Verse 18. And in thy seed, <^'C.] We have the authority of St. Paul, Gal. iii. 8, 16, 18, to restrain this to our blessed Lord, who was the seed through whom alone all God's blessings of providence, mercy, grace, and glory, should be conveyed to the nations of the earth.

Verse 20. Behold, Milcah, she hath also borne children unto thy brother] This short history seems introduced solely for the purpose of preparing the reader for the transactions related chap, xxiv., and to show that the providence of God was preparing, in one of the branches of the family of Abraham, a suitable spouse for his son Isaac.

22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 And ^Bethuel begat ''Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

Buz his brother] From this person Elihu the Buzite, one of the friends of Job, is thought to have descended.

Kemuel the father of Ararri] Kamouel, iraTepa l,vouv, the father of the Syrians, according to the Septuagint. Probably the Kamiletes, a Syrian tribe to the westward of the Euphrates are meant; they are mentioned by Slrabo.

Verse 24. His concubine] We borrow this word Trom^the - Latin compound concubina, from, con, together, and cubo, to lie, and apply it solely to a woman cohabiting with a man without being legally married. The Hebrew word is '^1t2 pilegesh, which is also a compound term, contracted, according to Parkhurst, from j'7£3 palag, to divide or share, and E/JJ nagash, to approach; because the husband, in the delicate phrase of the Hebrew tongue, approaches the concubine, and shares the bed, &c., of the real wife with her. The pilegesh or concubine, (from which comes the Greek iraXXaKTi pallake, and also the Latin pellex,) in Scripture, is a kind of secondary wife, not unlawful in the patriarchal times; though the progeny of such could not inherit. The word is not used in the Scriptures in that disagreeable sense in which we commonly understand it. Hagar was properly the concubine or pilegesh of Abraham, and this annuente Deo, and with his wife's consent. Keturah, his second wife, is called a concubine, chap. xxvi. 15; 1 Chron. i. 32; and Bilhah and Ziihah were concubines to Jacob, chap. xxxv. 22. After the patriarchal times many eminent men had concubines, viz., Caleb, 1 Chron. ii. 46, 48; Manasses, 1 Chron. vii. 14; Gideon, Judg. viii. 31; Saul, 2 Sam. iii. 7; David, 2 Sam. v. 13; Solomon, 2 Kings xi. 3; and Rehoboam, 2 Chron. xi. 21. The pilegesh, therefore, differed widely from a prostitute; and however unlawful under the New Testament, was not so under the Old.

From this chapter a pious mind may collect much iseful instruction. From the trial of Abraham we again see, 1. That God may bring his followers into

also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

severe straits and difficulties, that they may have the better opportunity of both knowing and showing their own faith and obedience; and that he may seize on those occasions to show them the abundance of his mercy, and thus confirm them in righteousness all their days. There is a foolish saying among some religious people, which cannot be too severely reprobated: Un tried grace is no grace. On the contrary, there mav be much grace, though God, for good reasons, does no/ think proper for a time to put it to any severe trial oj proof. But grace is certainly not fully known but in being called to trials of severe and painful obedience But as all the gifts of God should be used, (and they are increased and strengthened by exercise,) it would be unjust to deny trials and exercises to grace, as this would be to preclude it from the opportunities of being strengthened and increased. 2. The offering up of Isaac is used by several religious people in a sort of metaphorical way, to signify their easily -besetting sins, beloved idols, <Sfc. But this is a most reprehensible abuse of the Scripture. It is both insolent and wicked to compare some abominable lust or unholy affection to the amiable and pious youth who, for his purity and excellence, was deemed worthy to prefigure the sacrifice of the Son of God. To call our vile passions and unlawful attachments by the name of our Isaacs is unpardonable; and to talk of sacrificing such to God is downright blasphemy. Such sayings as these appear to be legitimated by long use; but we should be deeply and scrupulously careful not to use any of the words of God in any sense in which he has not spoken them. If, in the course of God's providence, a parent is called to give up to death an amiable, oiily son, then there is a parallel in the case; and it may be justly said, if pious resignation fill the parent's mind, such a person, like Abraham, has been called to give his Isaac back to God. Independently of the typical reference to this transaction, there are two points which seem to be recommended particularly to our notice. 1. The astonishing faith and prompt obedience of the father. 2. The innocence, filial respect, and passive submission of the son. Such a father and such a son were alone worthy of each other.

The age and death of Sarah, 1,2. Abraham mourns for her, and requests a burial-place from the sons of Heth, 2—4. They freely offer him the choice of all their sepulchres, 5, 6. Abraham refuses to receive any as a free gift, and requests to buy the cave of Machpelah from Ephron, 7—9. Ephron proffers the cave and the field in lohich it ivas situated as a free gift unto Abraham, 10, II. Abraham insists on giving its value in money, 12, 13. Ephron at last consents, and names the sum of four hundred shekels, 14, 15 Abraham tveighs him the money in the presence of the people; in consequence of which the cave, the whole field, trees, (Sfc, arc made sure to him and his family for a possession, 16-18. The transaction being completed, Sarah is buried in the cave, 19. The sons of Heth ratify the bargain, 20. 140 a

A ND Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in ^ Kirjath-arba; the

Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to

3 And Abraham stood up from before his

Verse 1. And Sarah luas a hundred and seven and twenty years old^ It is worthy of remark that Sarah is the only woman in the sacred writings whose age, death, and burial are distinctly noted. And she has been deemed worthy of higher honour, for St. Paul, Gal. iv. 22, 23, makes her a type of the Church of Christ; and her faith in the accomplishment of God's promise, that she should have a son, when all natural probabilities were against it, is particularly celebrated in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xi. 11. Sarah was about ninety-one years old when Isaac was born, and she lived thirty-six years after, and saw him grown up to man's estate. With Sarah the promise of the incarnation of Christ commenced, though a comparatively obscure prophecy of it had been delivered to Eve, chap. iii. 15; and with Mary it terminated, having had its exact completion. Thus God put more honour upon these two women than upon all the daughters of Eve besides. Sarah's conception of Isaac was supernatural; she had passed the age and circumstances in which it was possible, naturally speaking, to have a child; therefore she laughed when the promise was given, knowing that the thing was impossible, because it had ceased to be with her after the manner of women. God allows this natural impossibility, and grants that the thing must be the effect of Divine interposition; and therefore asks, Is any thing too hard for God? The physical impossibility was increased in the case of Mary, she having no connection with man; but the same power interposed as in the case of Sarah: and we find that when all aptitude for natural procreation was gone, Sarahreceived strength to conceive seedr^'^i^ bore a son, from whom, in a direct line, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, was to descend; and through this same power we find a virgin conceiving and bearing a son against all natural impossibilities. Every thing is supernatural in the births both of the type and antitype; can it be wondered at then, if the spiritual offspring of the Messiah must have a supernatural birth likewise 1 hence the propriety of that saying, Unless a man be born again — born from above- — born, not only of water, but of the Holy Ghost, he cannot see the kingdom.of God. These may appear hard sayings, and those who are little in the habit of considering spiritual things may exclaim, " It is enthusiasm! Who can bear it? Such things cannot possibly be." To such persons I have only to say, God hath spoken. This is sufficient for those who credit his being and his Bible; nor is there any thing too hard for him. He, by whose almighty power, Sarah had str/ngth to conceive and

4 *= I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: ^ give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

5 And the children of Heth answered Abra ham, saying unto him.

bear a son in her old age, and by whose miraculous interference a virgin conceived, and the man Christ Jesus was born of her, can by the same power transform the sinful soul, and cause it to bear the image of the heavenly as it has borne the image of the earthly.

Verse 2. Sarah died in Kirjath-arba^ Literally in the city of the four. Some suppose this place was called the city of the four because it was the burial place of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; others, because according to the opinion of the rabbins. Eve was buried there, with Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah. But it seems evidently to have had its name from a Canaanite, one of the Anakim, probably called Arba, (for the text. Josh. xiv. 14, does not actually say this was his name,) who was the chief of the four brothers who dwelt there; the names of the others being Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. See Judges i. 10. These three were destroyed by the tribe of Judah; probably the other had been previously dead.

Abraham came to mourn for Sarah] From verse 19 of the preceding chapter it appears that Abrahani had settled at Beer-sheba; and here we find that Sarah died at Hebron, which was about twenty-four miles distant from Beer-sheba. For the convenience of feeding his numerous flocks, Abraham had probably several places of temporary residence, and particularly one at Beer-sheba, and another at Hebron; and it is likely that while he sojourned at Beer-sheba, Sarah died at Hebron; and his coming to mourn and iveep for her signifies his coming from the former to the latter place on the news of her death.

Verse 3. Abraham stood up from before his dead] He had probably sat on the ground some da)'s in token of sorrow, as the custom then was, (see Tobit ii. 12, 13; Isa. xlvii. 1; and Gen. xxxvii. 35;) and when this time was finished he arose and began to treat about a burying place.

Verse 4. I am a stranger and a sojourner] It appears from Heb. xi. 13-16; 1 Pet. ii. 11, that these words refer more to the state of his mind than of his body. He felt that he had no certain dwelling place, and was seeking by faith a city that had foundations.

Give me a possession of a burying place] It has been remarked that in different nations it was deemed ignominious to be buried in another's ground; probably this prevailed in early times in the east, and it may be in reference to a sentiment of this kind that Abraham refuses to accept the offer of the children of Heth to bury in any of their sepulchres, and earnestly requests them to sell him one, that he might bury his wife in a place that he could claim as his own. Ml

choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none

of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre,

7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 That he may give me the ca\^e of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of Lis field; for ^ as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a burying place amongst you.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the ^ audience of the children of Heth, even of all that ' went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11^ Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

Verse 6. Thou art a mighty prince] □'n7X t^'iyj nesi Elohim, a prince of God — a person whom we know to be Divinely favoured, and whom, in consequence, we deeply respect and reverence.

Verse 8. Entreat for me to Ephron'] Abraham had already seen the cave and field, and finding to whom they belonged, and that they would answer his purpose, came to the gate of Hebron, where the elders of the people sat to administer justice, &c., and where bargains and sales were made and witnessed, and having addressed himself to the elders, among whom Ephron was, though it appears he was not personally known to Abraham, he begged them to use their influence with the owner of the cave and field to sell it to him, that it might serve him and his family for a place of sepulture.

Verse 10. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth] And Ephron 2\S^ yosheb, was sitting among the children of Heth, but, as was before conjectured, was personally unknown to Abraham; he therefore answered for himself, making a free tender of the field, &c., to Abraham, in the presence of all the people, which amounted to a legal conveyance of the whole property to the patriarch.

Verse 13. If thou wilt give it] Instead of, If thou wilt give it, we should read, But if thou wilt sell it T

1 3 And he spake unto Ephron in a. m. 2145

land, saying, But d thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

1 5 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred ^ shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

1 6 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham ^ weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

17 And "^ the field of Ephron, Avhich was in Machpelah, which ivas before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that we7-e in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

19 And after this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

IV ill give thee money for the field; '^^D keseph, silver, not coined money, for it is not probable that any such was then in use.

Verse 15. The land is worth /our hundred shekels of silver] Though the words is worth are not in the text, yet they are necessarily expressed here to adapt the Hebrew to the idiom of our tongue. A shekel, according to the general opinion, was equal to two shillings and sixpence; but according to Dr. Prideaux, whose estimate I shall follow, three shillings English, four hundred of which are equal to sixty pounds sterling; but it is evident that a certain iveight is intended, and not a. coin, for in verse 16 it is said. And Abraham weighed 7pK''1 vaiyishkol, the silver, and hence it appears that this iveight itself passed afterwards as a current coin, for the word '7p'ki' is not only used to express a coin or piece of silver, but also to weigh; see the note on chap. xx. 16.

Verse 16. Current with the merchant.] inDS 12^^ ober lassocher, passing to or ivith the traveller — such as was commonly used by those who travelled about with merchandise of any sort. The word signifies the same as hawker or pedlar among us.

Verse 17. All the trees that were in the field] It is possible that all these were specified in the agreement

Verse 20. And the field, d^c. were made sure] Dp"1 vaiyakom, were established, caused to stand; the whole transaction having been regulated according to all the forms of law then in use.

1. In this transaction between Abraham and the sons of Heth concerning the cave and field of Machpelah, we have the earliest account on record of the purchase of land. The simplicity, openness, andeandour on both sides cannot be too much admired.

2. Sarah being dead, Abraham being only a sojourner in that land, shifting from place to place for the mere purpose of pasturing his flocks, and having no right to any part of the land, wished to purchase a place in which he might have the continual right of sepulture. For this purpose, 1. He goes to the gate of the city, the place where, in all ancient times, justice was administered, and bargains and sales concluded, and where for these purposes the elders of the people sat. 2. He there proposes to buy the cave known by the name of the Cave of Machpelah, the cave of the turning or the double cave, for a burying place for his family. 3. To prevent him from going to any unnecessary expense, the people with one voice offer him the privilege of burying his wife in any of their sepulchres; this appearing to them to be no more than the common rights of hospitality and humanity required. 4. Abraham, intent on making a purchase, Ephron, the owner of the field and cave, values them at four hundred shekels, but at the same time wishes Abraham to receive the whole as a gift. 5. Abraham refuses the gift and weighs down the silver specified. 6. The people who enter in at the gate, i. e., the inhabitants coming from or going to their ordinary occupations in the country, witness the transaction, and thus the conveyance to Abraham is made sure without the intervention of those puzzlers of civil affairs by whose tricks and chicanery property often becomes insecure, and right and succession precarious and uncertain. But this censure does not fall on lawyers properly so called, who are men of honour, and whose office, in every well-regulated state, is as useful as it is resp"ectable. But the accumulation and complex nature of almost all modern systems of law puzzle even justice herself, and often induce decisions by which truth falls in the streets and equity goes backwards In the first ages of mankind, suspicion, deceit, and guile seem to have had a very limited influence. Happy days of primitive simplicity! When shall they return ^

3. We often hear of the rudeness and barbarity of the primitive ages, but on what evidence? Every rule of politeness that could be acted upon in such a case as that mentioned here, is brought into full practice. Is it possible to read the simple narration in this place without admiring the amiable, decent, and polite con duct displayed on both sides '{ Had even Lord Chesterfield read this account, his good sense would have led him to propose it as a model in all transactions between man and his fellows. There is neither awkward, stiff formality on the one hand, nor frippery or affectation on the other. Decent respect, good sense, good nature, and good breeding, are all prominently displayed. And how highly laudable and useful is all this! A pedant or a boor on either side might have destroyed the simplicity of the whole transaction; the one by engendering caution and suspicion, and the other by exciting disgust. In all such transactions the beaic and the boor are equally to be avoided. From the Jirst no sincerity can be expected, and the manners of the latter render him intolerable. The religion of the Bible recommends and inculcates orderly behaviour, as well as purity of heart and life. They who, under the sane tion of religion, trample under foot the decent forms of civil respect, supposing that because they are reli— gious they have a right to be rude, totally mistake the spirit of Christianity, for love or charity (the soul and essence of that religion) hehaveth not itself unseemly. Every attentive reader of the thirteenth chapter of St. Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, will clearly discern that the description of true religion given in that place applies as forcibly to good breeding as to inward and outward holiness. What lessons of honesty, decent respect, and good manners could a sensible man derive from Abraham treating with the sons of Heth for the cave of Machpelah, and William Pen7i treating with the American Indians for the tract of land now called Pennsylvania! I leave others to draw the parallel, and to show how exactly the conduct and spirit of patriarch the first were exemplified in the conduct and spirit of patriarch the second. Let the righteous be had in everlasting remembrance!

Abraham, being solicitous to get his son Isaac properly married, calls his confidential servant, probably Eliezer, arid makes him swear that he will not take a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanites, 1—3, but from among his own kindred, 4. The servant proposes certain difficulties, 5, ivhich Abraham removes by giving him the strongest assurances of God\^ direction in the business, 6, 7, and then specifies the conditions of the oath, 8. The form of the oath itself, 9. The servant makes preparations for his journey, and sets out for Mesopotamia, the residence of Abraham'' s kindred, 10. Arrives at a well near to the place, 11. His prayer to God, 12-14. Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, comes to the ivell to draw water, 15. She is described, 16. Conversation between her and Abraham's servant, in a 143 ivhich every thino- took place according to his prayer to God, 17-21. He makes her presents, and learns whose dauehter she is, 22—24. She invites him to her father''s house, 25. He returns thanks to God for havino- thus far o-iven him a prosperous journey, 26, 27. Rebekah runs home and informs her family, 28; on which her brother Laban comes out, and invites the servant home, 29-31. His reception, 32, 33. Tells his errand, 34, and how he had proceeded in executing the trust reposed in him, 35-48. Requests an ansiver, 49. The family of Rebekah consent that she should become the wife of Isaac, 50, 51. The servant worships God, 52, and gives presents to Milcah, Laban, and Rebekah, 53. He requests to be dismissed, 54-56. Rebekah, being consulted, consents to go, 57, 58. She is accompanied by her nurse, 59; and having received the blessing of her parents and relatives, 60, she departs with the servant of Abraham, 61. They are met by Isaac, who ivas on an evening walk for the purpose of meditation, 62-65. The servant relates to Isaac all that he had done, 66. Isaac and Rebekah are married, 67.

A ND Abraham "" was old and ^ well stricken in age: and the Lord "= had blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said ^ unto his eldest servant cf his house, that ^ ruled over all that he had, ^Put, I pray thee, thy hand under ray thigh:

3 And I will make thee ^ swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that ^ thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

4 ' But thou shalt go ^ unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow

Verse 1. And Abraham was old] He was now about one hundred and forty years of age, and consequently Isaac was forty, being born when his father was one hundred years old. See chap. xxi. 5; xxv. 20.

Verse 2. Eldest servant] As this eldest servant is stated to have been the ruler over all that he had, it is very likely that Eliezer is meant. See chap. xv. 2,3.

Of the Canaanites] Because these had already been devoted to slavery, &c., and it would have been utterly inconsistent as well with prudence as with the design of God to have united the child and heir of the promise with one who was under a curse, though that curse might be considered to be only of a political nature. See the curse of Canaan, chap. ix. 25.

Verse 4. My country] Mesopotamia, called here Abraham's country, because it was the place where the family of Haran, his brother, had settled; and where kimself had remained a considerable time with his father Terah. In this family, as well as in that of Nahor, the true religion had been in some sort preserved, though afterwards considerably corrupted; see chap. xxxi. 19. And take a wife unto my son] A young man in Bengal is precisely in the same circumstances as Isaac;

6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

7 The Lord God of heaven, which ^ took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, ™ Unto thy seed will I give this land; " he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then ° thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

9 And the servant put his hand under the

he has nothing to do in the choice of a wife; parents employ others to seek wives for their sons. Those who leave their homes in search of employment always marry their children in their own country, and among their acquaintance at home; never among the people with whom they reside. In Asiatic countries this custom has prevailed from the infancy of the human race. See Ward's Hindoo Customs.

Verse 5. Peradventure the tvoman will not be loilling] We may see, says Calmet, by this and other passages of Scripture, Josh. ix. 18, what the sentiments of the ancients were relative to an oath. They believed they were bound precisely by ivhat was spoken, and had no liberty to interpret the intentions of those to whom the oath was made.

Verse 7. The Lord God, dfc] He expresses the strongest confidence in God, that the great designs for which he had brought him from his own kindred to propagate the true religion in the earth would be accomplished; and that therefore, when earthly instruments failed, heavenly ones should be employed. He shall send his angel, probably meaning the Angel of the Covenant, of whom see chap. xv. 7.

Verse 9. Put his hand under the thigh of Abraham] This form of swearing has greatly puzzled the commentators; but it is useless to detail opinions which

10 And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; (p for ^ all the goods of his master were in his hand:) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto '^ the city of Nahor.

I neither believe myself, nor would wish my readers to credit. I believe the true sense is given in the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and that called the Jerusalem Targum. In the former it is said, Put noiv thy hand TlviriD r\T'IJ3 bigzirath mehulathi, in sectione circumcisionis me<B; in the latter ''Q"'p "^T' mnr\ techoth yerech key ami, sub femore fcederis mei. When we put the circumstances mentioned in this and the third verse together, we shall find that they fully express the ancient method of binding by oath in such transactions as had a religious tendency. 1. The rite or ceremony used on the occasion: the person binding himself put his hand under the thigh of the person to whom he was to be bound; i. e., he put his hand on the part that bore the mark of circumcision, the sign of God's covenant, which is tantamount to our kissing the book, or laying the hand upon the New Testament or covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2. The/onn of the oath itself: the person swore by Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of the earth. Three essential attributes of God are here mentioned: 1. His self-existence and eternity in the name Jehovah. 2. His dominion oi glory and blessedness in the kingdom of heaven. 3. His providence and bounty in the earth. The meaning of the oath seems to be this: " As God is unchangeable in his nature and purposes, so shall I be in this engagement, under the penahy of forfeiting all expectation of temporal prosperity, the benefits of the mystical covenant, and future glory." An oath of this kind, taken at such a time, and on such an occasion, can never be deemed irreligious or profane. Thou shalt swear by his name — shall acknowledge and^bind thyself unto the true God, as the just Judge of thy motives and actions, is a command of the Most High; and such an oath as the above is at once (on such an occasion) both proper and rational. The person binding himself proposes for a pattern the unchangeable and just God; and as He is the avenger of wrong, and the punisher of falsehood, and has all power in the heavens and in the earth, so he can punish perjury by privation of spiritual and temporal blessings, by the loss of life, and by inflicting the perdition due to ungodly men, among whom liars and perjured persons occupy the most distinguished rank. Our ideas of delicacy may revolt from the rite used on this occasion; but when the nature of the covenant is considered, of which circumcision was the sign, we shall at once perceive that this rite could not be used without producing sentiments of reverence and godly fear, as the contracting party must know that the God of this covenant was a consuming fire. Vol. I. (11)

1 1 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time ^ that women go out to draw water.

12 And he said, ™ O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, ^ send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.

Verse 10. Took ten camels'] It appears that Abraham had left the whole management of this business to the discretion of his servant, to take with him what retinue and what dowry he pleased; for it is added, All the goods of his master were in his hand; and in those times it was customary to give a dowry /or a wife, and not to receive one with her.

Verse 11. He made his camels to kneel down\ To rest themselves, or lie down, as the Septuagint has very properly expressed it, Kat EKOLjxiae rac Ka/i-rjXovg. The time that women go out to draw water.] In Bengal it is the universal practice for the women to go to pools and rivers to fetch water. Companies of four, six, ten, or more, may be seen in every town daily going to fetch water, with the pitchers resting upon their sides; and, on their return from bathing, women frequently bring water home. — Ward.

Verse 12. And he said, O Lord God, cj-c] " The conduct of this servant," says Dr. Dodd, " appears no less pious than rational. By supplicating for a sign, he aclcnowledges God to be the great superintendent and director of the universe, and of that event in particular; and at the same time, by asking a natural sign, such as betokened humanity, condescension, and other qualities vv^hich promised a discreet and virtuous wife, he puts his prayer upon such a discreet, rational footing, as to be a proper example for all to imitate who would not tempt the providence of God, by expecting extraordinary signs to be given them for the determination of cases which they are capable of deciding by a proper use of their rational faculties." This is all very good; but certainly the case referred to here is such a one as required especial direction from God; a case which no use of the rational faculties, without Divine influence, could be sufficient to determine. It is easy to run into extremes, and it is very natural so to do. In all things the assistance and blessing of God are necessary, even where human strength and wisdom have the fullest and freest sphere of action; but there are numberless cases, of infinite consequence to man, where his strength and prudence can be of little or no avail, and where the God of all grace must work all things according to the counsel of his own will. To expect the accomplishment of any good end, without a proper use of the means, is the most reprehensible enthusiasm; and to suppose that any good can be done or procured without the blessing and mercy of God, merely because proper means are used, is not less reprehensible. Plan, scheme, and labour like Eliezer, and then, by earnest faith and prayer, commit the whole to the direction and blessing of God. 145 a

of the men of the city come out to draw water:

14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say. Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac: and ^ thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.

15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of ^ Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

1 6 And the damsel ^ was ^ very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

1 8 •= And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

Verse 15. Behold, Rebekah came out] How admirably had the providence of God adapted every circumstance to the necessity of the case, and so as in the most punctual manner to answer the prayer which his servant had offered up!

Verse 19. I will draw water for thy camels also] Had Rebekah done no more than Eliezer had prayed for, we might have supposed that she acted not as a free agent, but was impelled to it by the absolutely controlling power of God; but as she exceeds all that was requested, we see that it sprang from her native benevolence, and sets her conduct in the most amiable point of view.

Verse 21. The man, ivondering at her] And he was so lost in wonder and astonishment at her simplicity, innocence, and benevolence, that he permitted this delicate female to draw water for ten camels, without ever attempting to afford her any kind of assistance! J know not which to admire most, the benevolence and condescension of Rebekah, or the cold and apparently stupid indifference of the servant of Abraham. Surely they are both of an uncommon cast.

Verse 22. The man took a golden ear-ring] 3711 D?J nezem zahah. That this could not be an ear-ring is very probable from its being in the singular number. The margin calls it a jeivel for the forehead; but it most likely means a jewel for the nose, or nose-rmg, a 146

1 9 And when she had done giving a. m. 2148. him drink, she said, I will draw ' 1

water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

2 1 And the man, wondering at her, held his peace, to wit, whether ^ the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ® ear-ring ^of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

23 And said. Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?

24 And she said unto him, ^ I a7n the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.

25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

26 And the man ^' bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.

which is in universal use through all parts of Arabia and Persia, particularly among young women. They are generally worn in the left nostril. The word is very properly translated em.p()U'iov, an ornament for tht nose, by Symmachus.

And tivo bracelets] D''T'D2f Ti^l usheney tsemidim. As tsemidim comes from TOX tsamad, to join or couple together, it may very properly mean bracelets, or whatever may clasp round the arms or legs; for rings and ornaments are worn round both by females in India and Persia. The small part of the leg is generally decorated in this way, and so is the whole arm from the shoulder to the wrist. As these tsemidim vi'ere given to Rebekah /w her hands, it sufficiently distinguishes them from a similar ornament used for the ankles.

In different parts of the sacred writings there are allusions to ornaments of various kinds still in use in different Asiatic countries. They are of seven different sorts: 1. iox i\ie forehead; 2. for the nose; 3. for the ears; 4. for the arms; 5. for ihe fingers; 6. for the neck and breast; 7. for the ankles. See ver. 22, 47; also Ezek. xvi. 12; Prov. xi. 22; Isa. iii. 21; Gen. XXXV. 4; Exod. xxxii. 2, 3;.Job xlii. 1 1; Judg. viii. 24. The principal female ornaments are enumerated in the third chapter of Isaiah, which are very nearly

who hath not left destitute my master of ^ his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord ^ led me to the house of my master's brethren.

28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was ™ Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the ear-ring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me, that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

3 1 And he said, Come in, ° thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and ° gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.

33 And there was set meat before him to

Verse 26. Bowed down his head, and tvorshipped] Two acts of adoration are mentioned here; 1. Bowintr the head, Ip'' i/ik/iod; and, 2. Prostration upon the earth, iriiTiyi vaiyishtachu. The bowing of the head was to Rebekah, to return her thanks for her kind invitation. The prostration was to Jehovah, in gratitude for the success with which he had favoured him.

Verse 27. The Lord led me] By desire of his master he went out on this journey; and as he acknowledged God in all his ways, the Lord directed all his steps.

Verse 28. Her mothcr''s house] Some have conjectured from this that her father Bethuel was dead; and the person called Bethuel, verse 50, was a younger brother. This is possible, but the mother's house might be mentioned were even the father alive; for in Asiatic countries the women have apartments entirely separate from those of the men, in which their little children and grown-up daughters reside with them. This was probably the case here, though it is very likely that Bethuel was dead, as the whole business appears to be conducted by Rebekah's brothers.

Verse 3 1. Thou blessed of the Lord] Probably a usual mode of wishing prosperity, as he that is blessed of the Lord is worthy of all respect; for, enjoying the Divine favour, he is in possession of the sum of happiness, a

3 5 And the Lord 1 hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses.

36 And Sarah my master's wife ''bare a son to my master when she was old, and * unto him hath he given all that he hath.

37 And my master *made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 " But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.

39 ^ And I said unto my master, Peradven ture the woman will not follow me.

40 "^ And he said unto me, The Lord, * before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house.

Verse 32. Provender for the camels] These werei the first objects of his care; for a good man is merciful to his beast.

Water to ivash his feet] Thus it thus appears that he had servants with him; and as the fatigues of the journey must have fallen as heavily upon them as upon himself, so we find no distinction made, but water is provided to wash their feet also.

Verse 33. / ivill not eat until I have told] In Hindoostan it is not unusual for a Brahmin to enter a house and sit down, and when meat is offered, refuse to eat till he has obtained the object of his errand. Here is a servant who had his master's interest more at heart than his own. He refuses to take even necessary refreshment till he knows whether he is likely to accomplish the object of his journey. Did not our blessed Lord allude to the conduct of Abraham's servant, John iv. 34: My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work?

Verse 36. Unto him hath he given all that he hath.] He has made Isaac his sole heir. These things appear to be spoken to show the relatives of Rebekah that his master's son was a proper match for her; for even in those primitive times there was regard had to the suitableness of station and rank in life, as well as of education, in order to render a match

comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, ^ O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go;

43 ^Behold, I standby the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin Cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;

44 And she say to me. Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels; let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master's son.

45 ''And before I had done '^ speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth, with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said. Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

47 And I asked her, and said. Whose daughter art thou? And she said. The daughter of

comfortable. Persons of dissimilar habits, as well as of dissimilar religious principles, are never likely to be very happy in a married life. Even the poor and the rich may better meet together in matrimonial alliances than the religious and the profane, the well-hred and the vulgar. A person may be unequally yoked in a great variety of ways: Bear ye one another''s burdens is the command of God; but where there is unsuitableness in the dispositions, education, mental capacity, &c., of the persons, then one side is obliged to bear the whole burden, and endless dissatisfaction is the result. See at the end.

Verse 42. O Lord God of my master^ As Abraham was the friend of God, Eliezer makes use of this to give weight and consequence to his petitions.

Verse 43. Wh^ the virgin] r\~h];!r\ haalmah, ixom ul^ alam, to hide, ^over, or conceal; a pure virgin, a woman not uncoveri\l, and in this respect still concealed from man. The tkme as nSinn bethulah, ver. 16, which, from the exf lanation there given, incontestably means a virgin in the proper sense of the word — a young woman, not that is covered or kept at home, the common gloss, but who was not uncovered in the delicate sense in which the Scripture uses this word. See this interpretation vindicated on Isa. vii. 14.

Verse 45. Before I had done speaking in mine heart] So we find that the whole of this prayer, so

ring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands,

48 ^ And I bowed down my head, and wor shipped the Lord; and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way, to take ''my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

4 9 And now if ye will ^ deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, ^ The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot ' speak unto thee bad or good.

5 1 Behold, Rebekah ^ is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken.

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he ^ worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the

53 And the servant brought forth ™ jewels of silver, " and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother ° precious things.

circumstantially related verses 12—14, and again 42—44, was mental, and heard only by that God to whom it was directed. It would have been improper to have used public prayer on the occasion, as his servants could have felt no particular interest in the accomplishment of his petitions, because they were not concerned in them, having none of the responsibility of this mission.

Verse 49. That I may turn to the right hand or to the left.] That is, That I may go elsewhere and seek a proper match for the son of my master. Some have imagined that Eliezer intimated by these expressions that if he did not succeed in obtaining Rebekah, he would go and seek for a wife either among the descendants of Ishmael or the descendants of Lot. This interpretation is fanciful.

Verse 50. Laban and Bethuel] These seem both to be brothers, of whom Laban was the eldest and chief; for the opinion of Josephus appears to be very correct, viz., that Bethuel, the father, had been some time dead. See ver. 28.

Bad or good.] We can neither speak for noi against; it seems to be entirely the work of God, and we cordially submit: consult Rebekah; if she be willing, take her and go. See ver. 58.

Verse 53. Jewels of silver, and jewels of gold] The word ""Sd keley, which we here translate jewels

and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, p Send me away unto my master.

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us i a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.

57 And they said. We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and "■ her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.

signifies properly vessels or instruments; and those presented by Eliezer might have been of various kinds. What he had given before, ver. 22, was in token of respect, what he gave now appears to have been in the way of dowry.

Precious things.] nJTJ?0 migdanoth. This word is used to express exquisite fruits or delicacies, Deut. xxxiii. 13—16; precious plants or flowers, Cant. iv. 16; vii. 13. But it may mean gifts in general, though rather of an inferior kind to those mentioned above.

Verse 54. And they did eat and drink] When Eliezer had got a favourable answer, then he and his servants sat down to meat; this he had refused to do till he had told his message, ver. 33.

Verse 55. Let the damsel abide ivith us a few days, at the least ten] The original is very abrupt and obscure, because we are not acquainted with the precise meaning of the form of speech which is here used; "^WJ IX D'O'' yamim or asor days or ten, probably meaning a year or ten months, as the margin reads it, or a loeek or ten days. This latter is the most likely sense, as there would be no propriety after having given their consent that she should go, in detaining her for a year or ten months. In matters of simple phraseology, or in those which concern peculiar customs, the Septuagint translation, especially in the Pentateuch, where it is most accurate and pure, may be considered a legitimate judge; this translation renders the words 7//iepac iiaei 6eKa, about ten days. Houbigant contends strongly that instead of the words ■^Ity;; IX D'O' yamim o asor, days or ten, we should read O^O' lynn chodesh yamim, a month of days, i. e., a full month; without which emendation he asserts, locus explicari non possit, " the passage cannot be explained." This emendation is supported by the Syriac version, which reads here \*JOQ;-» CKj'pji yerach yomm, a month of days, or a full month. The reader

sister, be thou ^the mother of thousands of millions, and * let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

62 And Isaac came from the way* of the " well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.

63 And Isaac went out 'to meditate in the field at the ^ eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, "^ she hghted off the camel.

Verse 58. Wilt thou go with this man?] So it appears it was left ultimately to the choice of Rebekah whether she would accept the proposals now made to her, unless we suppose that the question meant. Wilt thou go immediately, or stay ivith us a month longer?

She said, I loill go.] It fully appears to be the will of God that it should be so, and I consent.. This at once determined the whole business.

Verse 59. And her nurse] Whose name, we learn from chap. xxxv. 8, was Deborah, and who, as a second mother, was deemed proper to accompany Rebekah. This was a measure dictated by good sense and prudence. Rebekah had other female attendants. See ver. 61.

Verse 60. Be thou the mother of thousands of millions] HD^I '37X7 lealphey rehabah, for thousands ten thousand, or for myriads of thousands, a large family being ever considered, in ancient times, as a proof of the peculiar blessing and favour of God. Similar addresses to a daughter, when she is going from her father's house to live with her husband, are very common among the Hindoos; such as, " Be thou the mother of a son," " Be thou the wife of a king," &c. See Wai-d.

Verse 62. And Isaac came] Concerning this well see chap. xvi. 13, &c. As it appears from chap. xxv. 11, that Isaac dwelt at the weW Lahai-roi, it has been conjectured that he had now come on a visit to his aged father at Beer-sheba, where he waited in expectation of his bride.

For he divelt in the south country.] The southern part of the land of Canaan. See chap. xii. 9.

Verse 63. Isaac went out to meditate] niB?7 lasuach, to bend down the body, or the mind, or both. He was probably in deep thought, vrith his eyes fixed upon

65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took ^ a veil, and covered herself.

the ground. What the subject of his meditation was it is useless to inquire; he was a pious man, and could not be trijlingly employed.

Verse 65. She took a veil] f|';^:(n hatstsaaif. This is the first time this word occurs, and it is of doubtful signification; but most agree to render it a veil or a cloak. The former is the most likely, as it was generally used by women in the east as a sign of chastity, modesty, and subjection.

Verse 67. Sarah''s tent] Sarah being dead, her tent became now appropriated to the use of Rebekah.

And took Rebekah, 6fc.] After what/orw this was done we are not told; or whether there was any form used on the occasion, more than solemnly receiving her as the person whom God had chosen to be his wife; for it appears from ver. 66 that the servant told him all the especial providential circumstances which had marked his journey. The primitive form of marriage we have already seen, chap. ii. 23, 24, which, it is likely, as far as form was attended to, was that which was commonly used in all the patriarchal times.

In this chapter we have an affecting and edifying display of that providence by which God disposes and governs the affairs of the universe, descending to the minutest particulars, and managing the great whole by directing and influencing all its parts. This particular or especial providence we see is not confined to work by general laws; it is wise and intelligent, for it is the mind, the will, and energy of Gcd; it steps out of common ways, and takes particuUr directions, as endlessly varied human necessities may need, or the establishment and maintenance of godliness in the earth may require. What a history of providential occurrences, coming all in answer to the prayer and faith of a simple, humble individual, does this chapter exhibit!

As Abraham's servant has God's glory only in view in the errand on which he is going, he may well expect the Divine direction. See with what simplicity and confidence he prays to God! He even prescribes the way in which the Divine choice and approbation shall be made known; and God honours the purity of his motives and his pious faith, by giving him precisely the answer he wished. How honourable in the sight of God is simplicity of heart! It has nothing to fear, and all good to hope for; whereas a spirit warped by telf-interest and worldly views is always uncertain and agitated, as it is ever seeking that from its own counsels, projects, and schemes^ which should be sought in God alone. In every place the upright man meets with his God; his heart acknowledges his Maker, ftnd his Maker acknowledges him; for such a one the

66 And the servant told all things that he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother ^ Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac ^ was comforted after his mother's death.

Abraham's solicitude to get a suitable wife for his son is worthy of the most serious regard. He was well aware that if Isaac formed a matrimonial alliance with the Canaanites it might be ruinous to his piety, and prevent the dissemination of the true religion; therefore he binds his most trusty servant by a solemn oath not to take a wife for his son from the daughters of Canaan, but from his own kindred, among whom the knowledge of the true God was best preserved. Others had different rays of the light of truth, but Abraham's family alone had the truth; and to the descendants of this family were the promises made.

How careful should parents be to procure alliances for their children with those who fear God, as so much of the peace and comfort of the children, and the happiness of their posterity, depend on this circumstance! But alas! how many sacrifice the comfort and salvation of their offspring at the shrine of Mammon! If they can procure rich husbands and wives for their daughters and sons, then all, in their apprehension, is well. Marriages of this kind may be considered as mere bargain and sale; for there is scarcely ever any reference to God or eternity in them. The Divine institution of marriage is left out of sight; and the persons are united, not properly to each other, in the love, fear, and according to the ordinance of God, but they are wedded to so many thousand pounds sterling, and to so many houses, fields, &c. Thus like goes to like, metal to metal, earth to earth. Marriages formed on such principles are mere licensed adulteries. Let such contractors hear these awful words of God " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not tliat the friendship of the world is enmity with God 1" James iv. 4. See on ver. 36.

Although under the patriarchal dispensation parents had a kind of absolute authority over their children, and might dispose of them as they pleased in general cases, yet it appears that in matrimonial connections they were under no compulsion. The suitable person was pointed out and recommended; but it does not appear that children were forced, against the whole tide of their affections, to take those persons who were the objects of the parent's choice. Wilt thou go ivith this man? was, in all likelihood, deemed essential to the completion of the contract; and by the answer, I will go, was the contract fully ratified. Thus the persons were ultimately left to their own choice, though the most prudent and proper means were no doubt used in order to direct and fix it. Whether this was precisely the plan followed in primitive times we cannot absolutely say: they were times of great simplicity; and probably connections on the mere principle of affection, independently of all other considerations, seldom existed. And it must be allowed that matches formed on the sole principle of conveniency might as well be formed by the parents as by any others; And in Asiatic countries it was generally so, for there the female seldom presumes to have a choice of her own.

consult the experience and wisdom of the parents; and the parents should ever pay much respect to the feelings of the child, nor oppose an alliance which may be in all other respects suitable, because there may be a lack of property on one side of the intended match. If parents would proceed in this way, God would pour his blessing on their seed, and his Spirit upon their offspring.

Aoraham marries Keturah, 1. Their issue, 2-4. Makes Isaac his heir, 5; but gives portions to the' sons of his concubines, and sends them eastivard from Isaac, to find settlements, 6. Abraham's age, 7, and death, 8. Is buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael in the cave of Machpelah, 9, 10. God''s blessing upon Isaac, 11. The generations of Ishmael, 12-16. His age, 17, and death, 18. Of the generations of Isaac, 19, who was married in his fortieth year, 20. Rebekah hisivife being barren, on his prayer to God she conceives, 21. She inquires of the Lord concerning her state, 22. The Lord^s answer, 23. She is delivered of tioins, 24. Peculiarities in the birth of her sons Esau and Jacob, from which they had their names, 25, 26. Their different manner of life, 27, 28. Esau, returning from the field faint, begs pottage from his brother, 29, 30 Jacob refuses to grant him any but on condition of his selling him his birthright, 31. Esau, ready to die, parts luith his birthright to save his life, 32. Jacob causes him to confirm the sale loith an oath, 33. He receives bread and pottage of lentiles, and departs, 34.

Sarah, A. M. 2145. Jonathan ben Uzziel and the Jerusalem Targum both assert that Keturah was the same as Hagar. Some rabbins, and with them Dr. Hammond, are of the same opinion; but both Hagar and Keturah are so distinguished in the Scriptures, that the opinion seems destitute of probability.

Verse 2. Zimran^ Stephanus Byzantinus mentions a city in Arabia Felix called Zadram, which some suppose to have been named from this son of Keturah; but it is more likely, as Calmet observes, that all these sons of Abraham resided in Arabia Dese7-ta; and Pliny, Hist. Nat., lib. vi., c. 28, mentions a people in that country called Zamarenians, who were probably the descendants of this person.

Jokshan] Several learned men have been of opinion that this Jokshan was the same as Kachtan, the father of the Arabs. The testimonies in favour of this opinion see in Dr. Hunt's Oration, De Antiquitate, &c., Linguce Arabicce, p. 4. Calmet supposes that the Cataneans, who inhabited a part of Arabia Deserta, sprang from this Jokshan.

Medan, and Midian] Probably those who peopled that part of Arabia Petrasa contiguous to the land of Moab eastward of the Dead Sea. St. Jerome terms the people of this country Madin(eans; and Ptolemy mentions a people called Madianites, who dwelt in the same place.

Ishbak] From this person Calmet supposes the brook Jabbok, which has its source in the mountains of Gilead, and falls into the sea of Tiberias, took its name.

Shuah.] Or Shuach. From this man the Sacceans, near to Batania, at the extremity of Arabia Deserta,

Verse 1. Then again Abraham took a wife] When Abraham took Keturah we are not informed; it might have been in the lifetime of Sarah; and the original •^D'l vaiyoseph, and he added, dfc, seems to give some countenance to this opinion. Indeed it is not very likely that he had the children mentioned here after the death of Sarah; and from the circumstances of his age, feebleness, &c., at the birth of Isaac, it is still more improbable. Even at that age, forty years before the marriage of Isaac, the birth of his son is considered as not less miraculous on his part than on the part of Sarah; for the apostle expressly says, Rom..V. 19, that Abraham considered not his own body now DEAD, when he ivas about a hundred years old, nor the DEADNESS of SaraWs loomb; hence we learn that they were both past the procreation of children, insomuch that the birth of Isaac is ever represented as supernatural. It is therefore very improbable that he had any child after the birth of Isaac; and therefore we may well suppose that Moses had related this transaction out of its chronological order, which is not unfrequent in the sacred writings, when a variety of important facts relative to the accomplishment of some grand design are thought necessary to be produced in a connected series. On this account intervening matters of a different complexion are referred to a future time. Perhaps we may be justified in reading the verse: " And Abraham had added, and had taken a wife (besides Hagar) whose name was Keturah," &c. The chronology in the margin dates this marriage with Keturah A. M. 2154, nine years after the death of

4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which

towards Syria, are supposed to have sprung. Bildad the Shuhite, one of Job's friends, is supposed to have def tended from this son of Abraham.

Verses. Sheba] From whom sprang the Sabeans, who robbed Job of his cattle. See Bochart and Calmet.

Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. ] We know not who these were, but as each name is plural they must have been tribes ot families, and not individuals. Onkelos interprets these words of persons dwelling in camps, tents,zxiA. islands; and Jonathan ben Uzziel calls i\iem.merchants, artificers, and heads or chiefs of people.

Verse 4. Ephah, and Epher, (^c] Of these we know no more than of the preceding; an abundance of conjectures is already furnished by the commentators.

Verse 5. Gave all that he had unto Isaac.] His principal flocks, and especially his right to the land of Canaan, including a confirmation to him and his posterity of whatever was contained in the promises of God.

Verse G. Unto the sons of the concubines] Viz., Hagar and Keturah, Abraham gave gifts. Cattle for breed, seed to sow the land, and implements for husbandry, may be what is here intended.

And sent them away — while he yet lived] Lest after his death they should dispute a settlement in the Land of Promise with Isaac; therefore he very prudently sent them to procure settlements during his lifetime, that they might be under no temptation to dispute the settlement with Isaac in Canaan. From this circumstance arose that law which has prevailed in almost all countries, of giving the estates to the eldest son by a lawful wife; for though concubines, or wives of the second rank, were perfectly legitimate in those ancient times, yet their children did not inherit, except in case of the failure of legal issue, and with the consent of the lawful wife; and it is very properly observed by Calmet, that it was in consequence of the consent of Leah and Rachel that the children of their slaves by Jacob had a common and equal lot with the rest. By a law of Solon all natural children were excluded from the paternal inheritance, but their fathers were permitted to give them any sum not beyond a thousand drachma by way oi present.

Eastward, unto the east country.] Arabia Deserta, which was eastward of Beer-sheba, where Abraham lived.

Verse 7. The days of the years, ^c] There is a Deauty in this expression which is not sufficiently regarded. Good men do not live by centuries, though many such have lived several hundred years, nor do

Abraham had, Abraham gave a. m. eir. 2175. gifts, and ^ sent them away from " '^"" Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto ^ the east country.

7 And these are the days of a. m. cir. 2183.

which he lived, a hundred threescore and fifteen years.

8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and ^died in a good old age, an old man, and full

they count their lives even by years, but by days, living as if they were the creatures only of a day; having no more time than they can with any propriety call their own, and living that day in reference to eternity.

Verse 8. Then Abraham gave up the ghost] Highly as I value our translation for general accuracy, fidelity, and elegance, I must beg leave to dissent from this version. The original word;;U'' yigva, from the root J^U gava, signifies to pant for breath, to expire, to cease from breathing, or to breathe one^s last; and here, and wherever the original word is used, the simple term expired would be the proper expression. In our translation this expression occurs Gen. xxv. 8, 17; XXXV. 29; xlix. 33;.Tob iii. 11; x. 18; xi. 20; xiii. 19; xiv. 10; Lam. i. 19; in all of which places the original is _inj gava. It occurs also in our translation, Jer. XV. 9, but there the original is HB'DJ nni33 naphecah naphshah, she breathed out her soul; the verb ^U gava not being used. Now as our English word ghost, from the Anglo-Saxon gars gast, an inmate, inhabitant, guest, (a casual visitant,) also a spirit, is now restricted among us to the latter meaning, always signifying the immortal spirit or soul of man, the guest of the body; and as giving up the spirit, ghost, or soul, is an act not proper to man, though commending it to God, in our last moments, is both an act of faith and piety; and ^s giving up the ghost, i. e., dismissing his spirit from his body, is attributed to Jesus Christ, to whom alone it is proper, I therefore object against its use in every other case.

Every man since the fall has not only been liable to death, but has deserved it, as all have forfeited their lives because of sin. Jesus Christ, as born immaculate, and having never sinned, had not forfeited his life, and therefore may be considered as naturally and properly immortal. No man, says he, taketh it — my life, from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again: therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it agai7i, John x. 17, 18. Hence we rightly translate Matt, xxvii. 50, a<j>7}Ke to nvevfia, he gave up the ghost; i. e., he dismissed his spirit that he might die for the sin of the ivorld. The Evangelist St. John, xix. 30, makes use of an expression to the same import, which we translate in the same way, TcapeduKE to nvevfia, he delivered up his spirit. We translate Mark xv. 37, and Luke xxiii. 46, he gave up the ghost, but not correctly, because the word in both these places is very different, e^envevae, h»