Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 35. The he-goats that ivere ring-streaked] D"'Tp>'n D''K'''r\n hatteyashim haakuddim, the he-goats that had rings of black or other coloured hair around their /ee/ or legs.

It is extremely difficult to find out, from the 32d and 35th verses, in what the bargain of Jacob with his father-in-law properly consisted. It appears from verse 32, that Jacob was to have for his wages all the speckled, spotted, and brown among the sheep and the goats; and of course that all those which were not party-coloured should be considered as the property of Laban. But in verse 35 it appears that Laban separated all the party-coloured cattle, and delivered them into the hands of his own sons; which seems as if he had taken these for his own property, and left the others to Jacob. It has been conjectured that Laban, for the greater security, when he had separated the party-coloured, which by the agreement belonged to Jacob, see verse 32, put them under the care of his own sons, while Jacob fed the flock of Laban, verse 36, three days' journey being between the two flocks. If therefore the flocks under the care of Laban's sons brought forth young that were all of ojie colour, these were put to the flocks of Laban under the care of Jacob; and if any of the flocks under Jacob's care brought forth parly-coloured young, they were put to the flocks belonging to Jacob under the care of Laban's sons. This conjecture is not satisfactory, and the true meaning appears to be this: Jacob had agreed to take all the parly-coloured for his wages. As he was now only beginning to act upon this agreement, consequently none of the cattle as yet belonged to him; therefore Laban separated from the flock, verse 35, all such cattle as Jacob might afterwards claim in consequence of his bargain, (for as yet he had no right;) therefore Jacob commenced his service to Laban with a flock that did not contain a single animal of the description of those to whicl^ he might be entitled; and the others were sent away ulnder the care of Laban's sons, three days' journey froni those of which Jacob had the care. The bargain, therefore, seemed to be wholly in favour of Laban; and to turn it to his own advantage, Jacob made use of the stratagems afterwards mentioned. This mode of interpretation removes all the apparent contradiction between the 32d and 35th verses, with which commentators in general have been grievously

speckled and spotted, and every one that had so7ne white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the " hand of his sons.

36 And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

37 And " Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

perplexed. From the whole account we learn that Laban acted with great prudence and caution, and Jacob with great judgment. Jacob had already served fourteen years; and had got no patrimony whatever, though he had now a family of twelve children, eleven sons and one daughter, besides his two wives, and their two maids, and several servants. See ver. 43. It was high time that he should get some property for these; and as his father-in-law was excessively parsimonious, and would scarcely allow him to live, he ^as in some sort obliged to make use of stratagem to get an equivalent for his services. But did he not push this so far as to ruin his father-in-law's flocks, leaving him nothing but the refuse 1 See ver. 42.

Verse 37. Rods of green poplar] vh DJ^S libneh lach. The libneh is generally understood to mean the white poplar; and the word lach, which is here joined to it, does not so much imply greenness of colour as being fresh, in opposition to witheredness. Had they not been fresh — just cut off, he could not have pilled the bark from them.

And of the hazel] il'? luz, the nut or filbert tree, translated by others the almond tree; which of the two is here intended is not known.

And chestnut tree] p'S'l^ armon, the plane tree, from D1^' aram, he was naked. The plane tree is properly called by this name, because of the outer bark naturally peeling off, and leaving the tree bare in various places, having smooth places where it has fallen off. A portion of this bark the plane tree loses every year. The Septuagint translate it in the same way, irlaTavog- and its name is supposed to be derived from ■jr'XaTvg, broad, on account of its broad spreading branches, for which the plane tree is remarkable. So we find the Grecian army in Homer, //. ii., ver. 307, sacrificing Ka7vri vno 'jrlaTaviaTu, under a beautiful plane tree.

Nobilis cBstivas platanus diffuderat umbras. " The noble plane had spread its summer shade."

See more in Parkhurst. Such a tree would be peculiarly acceptable in hot countries, because of its shade. a

38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks canrie to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought " forth cattle ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted.

40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstreaked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by them-

Pilled white streaks in them] Probably cutting the bark through in a spiral line, and taking it off in a certain breadth all round the rods, so that the rods would appear party-coloured, the white of the wood showing itself where the bark was stripped off.

Verse 38. And he set the rods ivhich he had pilled before the flocks] It has long been an opinion that whatever makes a strong impression on the mind of a female in the time of conception and gestation, will have a corresponding influence on the mind or bod}^ of the fetus. This opinion is not yet rationally accounted for. It is not necessary to look for a miracle here; for though the fact has not been accounted for, it is nevertheless sufficiently plain that the effect does not exceed the powers of nature; and I have no doubt that the same modes of trial used by Jacob would produce the same results in similar cases. The finger of God works in nature myriads of ways unknown to us; we see effects without end, of which no rational cause can be assigned: it has pleased God to work thus and thus, and this is all that we know; and God mercifully hides the operations of his power from man in a variety of cases, that lie may hide pride from him. Even with the little we know, how apt are we to be puffed up! We must adore God in a reverential silence on such subjects as these, confess our ignorance, and acknowledge that nature is the instrument by which he chooses to work, and that he performs all things according to the counsel of his own will, which is always infinitely wise and infinitely good.

Verse 40. Jacob did separate the lambs, <5fC.] When Jacob undertook the care of Laban's flock, according to the agreement already mentioned, there were no party-coloured sheep or goats among them, therefore the ring-streaked, &c., mentioned in this verse, must have been born since the agreement was made; and Jacob makes use of them precisely as he used the pilled rods, that, having these before their eyes during conception, the impression might be made upon their imagination which would lead to the results already mentioned.

Verse 41. Whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive] The word mik^p^ mekushsharoth, which we translate stronger, is understood by several of the ancient interpreters as signifying the earhj, first-born, or early spring cattle; and hence it is opposed to Q'3l2p atuphim, which we translate /eeJ/e, and which Symmachus properly renders devTepoyovoi, cattle of the second

4 1 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

43 And the man ^ increased exceedingly, and y had much cattle, and maid-servants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

birth, as he renders the word mekushsharoth by npu- Toyovoi, cattle of the first or earliest birth. Now this does not apply merely to ttuo births from the same female in one year, which actually did take place according to the rabbins, the first in Nisan, about our March, and the second in Tisri, about our September; but it more particularly refers to early ahd late lambs, &.C., in the same year; as those that are born just at the termination of winter, and in the very commencement of spring, are every way more, valuable than those which were born later in the same spring. Jacob therefore took good heed not to try his experiments with those late produced cattle, because he knew these would produce a degenerate breed, but with the early cattle, which were strong and vigorous, by which his breed must be improved. Hence the whole -flock of Laban must be necessarily injured, while Jacob's flock was preserved in a state of increasing perfection. All this proves a consummate knowledge in Jacob of his pastoral office. If extensive breeders in this country were to attend to the same plan, our breed would be improved in a most eminent degree. What a fund of instruction upon almost every subject is to be found in the sacred writings!

Verse 43. And the man increased exceedingly] No wonder, when he used such means as the above. And had maid-servants, and men-servants — he was obliged to increase these as his cattle multiplied. And camels and asses, to transport his tents, baggage, and family, from place to place, being obliged often to remove for the benefit of pasturage.

We have already seen many difficulties in this chapter, and strange incidents, for which we are not able to account. 1. The vicarious bearing of children; 2. The nature and properties of the mandrakes; 3. The bargain of Jacob and Laban; and 4. The business of the party-coloured flocks produced by means of the females looking at the variegated rods. These, especially the three last, may be ranked among the most difficult things in this book. Without encumbering the page with quotations and opinions, I have given the best sense I could; and think it much better and safer to confess ignorance, than, under the semblance of loisdom and learning, to multiply conjectures. Jacob certainly manifested much address in the whole of his conduct with L'aban, but though nothing can excus*« overreaching or insincerity, yet no doubt Jacob supposed himself justified in taking these advantages of a man who had greatly injured and defrauded him. Had Jacob got Rachel at first, for whom he had honestly and faithfully served seven years, there is no evidence whatever that he would have taken a second wife. Laban, by having imposed his eldest daughter upon him, and by obliging him to serve seven years for her who never was an object of his aflfection, acted a part wholly foreign to every dictate of justice and honesty; (for though it was a custom in that country not to give the younger daughter in marriage before the elder, yet, as he did not mention this to Jacob, it cannot plead in his excuse;) therefore, speaking after the manner of nen, he had reason to expect that Jacob should repay him in his own coin, and right himself by whatever means came into his power; and many think that he did not transgress the bounds of justice, even in the ousiness of the party-coloured cattle.

The talent possessed by Jacob was a most dangerous one: he was what may be truly called a scheming man; his wits were still at work, and as he devised so he executed, being as fruitful in expedients as he was in plans. This was the principal and the most prominent characteristic of his life; and whatever was excessive here was owing to his mother's tuition; she was evidently a woman who paid little respect to what is called moral principle, and sanctified all kinds of means by the goodness of the end at which she aimed; which in social, civil, and religious life, is the most dangerous principle on which a person can possibly act. In this art she appears to have instructed her son; and, unfortunately for himself, he was in some instances but too apt a proficient. Early habits are not easily rooted out, especially those of a bad kind. Next to the influence and grace of the Spirit of God is a good and religious education. Parents should teach their children to despise and abhor low cunning, to fear a lie, and tremble at an oath; and in order to be sucesssful, they should illustrate their precepts by their own regular and conscientious example. How far God approved of the whole of Jacob's conduct I shall not inquire; it is certain that he attributes his success to Divine interposition, and God himself censures La ban's conduct towards him; see chap. xxxi. 7—12. But still he appears to have proceeded farther than this interposition authorized him to go, especially in the means he used to improve his own breed, which necessarily led to the deterioration of Laban's cattle; for, after the transactions referred to above, these cattle could be of but little worth. The whole account, with all its lights and shades, I consider as another proof of the impartiality of the Divine historian, and a strong evidence of the authenticity of the Pentateuch. Neither the spirit of deceit, nor the partiality of friendship, could ever pen such an account.

Liohan and his sons envy Jacob, 1,2; on luhich he is commanded by the Lord to return to his own country, 3. Having called his wives together, he lays before them a detailed statement of his situation in reference to their father, 4—5; the services he had rendered him, 6; the various attempts made by Laban to defraud him of his hire, 7; how, by God's providence, his evil designs had been counteracted, 8—12; and then informs them that he is noiv called to return to his oivn country, 13. To the proposal of an immediate departure, Leah and Rachel agree; and strengthen the propriety of the measure by additional reasons, 14—16; on luhich Jacob collects all his family, his flocks and his goods, and prepares for his departure, 17, 18. Laban having gone to shear his sheep, Rachel secretes his images, 19. Jacob and his family, unknoivn to Laban, take their departure, 20, 21. On the third day Laban is informed of their flight, 22; and pursues them to Mount Gilead, 23. God appears to Lahan in a dream, and ivarns him not to molest Jacob, 24. He comes up with Jacob at Mount Gilead, 25; reproaches him tvith his clandestine departure, 26-29; and charges him with having stolen his gods, 30. Jacob vindicates himself, and protests his innocence in the matter of the theft, 31, 32. Laban makes a general search for his images in JacoFs, Leah's, Bilhah\i, and Zilpah''s tents; and not finding them, proceeds to examine RacheVs, 33. Rachel, having hidden thon among the cameVs furniture, sat upon them, 34; and making a delicate excuse for not rising up, Laban desists from farther search, 35. Jacob, ignorant of RacheVs theft, reproaches Laban for his suspicions, 36, 37; enumerates his long and faithful services, his fatigues, and Laban's injustice, 38-41; and shows that it was oiuing to God's goodness alone that he had any property, 42. Laban is moderated, and proposes a covenant, 43, 44. Jacob sets up a stone, and the rest bring stones and make a heap, ivhich Laban calls Jegar-Sahadutha, and Jacob Galeed, 45-47. They make a covenant, and confirm it by an oath, 48—53. Jacob offers a sacrifice; they eat together; and Laban and his companions, having lodged in the mount all night, take a friendly leave of Jacob and his family next morning, and depart, 54, 55.

Verse 1. And he heard the tvords of Laban's sons] The multiplication of Jacob's cattle, and the decrease

2 And Jacob beheld ''the countenance of

Laban, and, behold, it was not ° toward him ^ as before.

3 And. the Lord said unto Jacob, ^ Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,

5 And said unto them, ^I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father ^ hath been with me.

6 And ^ ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

7 And your father hath deceived me, and

Hath he gotten all this glory.] All these riches, this wealth, or property. The original word 12D signifies both to be rich and to be heavy; and perhaps for this simple reason, that riches ever bring with them heavy weight and burden of ca?-es and anxieties.

Verse 3. And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return — and I loill be luith thee.] I will take the same care of thee in thy return, as I took of thee on thy way to this place. The Targum reads, My Word shall be for thy help, see chap. xv. 1. A promise of this kind Was essentially necessary for the encouragement of Jacob, especially at this time; and no doubt it was a ^powerful means of support to him through the whole journey; and it was particularly so when he heard that his brother was coming to meet him, with four hundred men in his retinue, chap, xxxii. 6. At that time he went and pleaded the very words of this promise with God, chap, xxxii. 9.

Verse 4. Jacob sent and called Rachel and -Leah] He had probably been at some considerable distance with the flocks; and for the greater secrecy, he rather sends for them to the field, to consult them on this most momentous affair, than visit them in their tents, where probably some of the family of Laban might overhear their conversation, though Laban himself was at the time three days' journey off. It is possible that Jacob shore his sheep at the same time; and that he sent for his wives and household furniture to erect tents on the spot, that they might partake of the festivities usual on such occasions. Thus they might all depart without being suspected.

Verse 7. Changed my tvages ten times] There is a strange diversity among the ancient versions, and ancient and modern interpreters, on the meaning of these words. The Hebrew is CD'J'D niiyj? asereth monim, which Aquila translates 6eKa apid/j.ovg, ten numbers; SjTnmachus, dsKaKig apiOfiu, ten times in number; the Septuagint 6eKa a/xvuv, ten lambs, with which Origen appears to agree. St. Augustine thinks that by ten lambs five years' wages is meant: that Laban had with-

8 If he said thus, ^ The speckled shall ha thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled and if he said thus. The ring-streaked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ring-streaked.

9 Thus God hath '^ taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. »

10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine 6yes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the ° rams which leaped upon the cattle u'ere ring-streaked, speckled, and grisled.

1 1 And p the angel of G od spake unto me

held from him all the party-coloured lambs which had been brought forth for five years, and because the ewes brought forth lambs twice in the year, bis gravida pecudes, therefore the number ten is used, Jacob having been defrauded of his part of the produce of ten births. It is supposed that the Septuagint use lambs for years. as Virgil does aristas.

En unquam patrios longo post tempore fines, Pauperis et tuguri congestum cespite culmen. Post aliquot mea regna videns mirabor aristas 1 ViRG. Ec. i., ver. 68.

Thus inadequately translated by Dryden: —

O must the wretched exUes ever mourn; Nor, after length of rolling years, return % Are we condemn'd by Fate's unjust decree, No more our harvests and our homes to see % Or shall we mount again the rural throng. And rule the country, kingdoms once our own?

Here aristas, which signifies ears of corn, is put for harvest, harvest for autumn, and autumn for years. After all, it is most natural to suppose that Jacob uses the word ten times for an indefinite number, which we might safely translate frequently; and that it means an indefinite number in other parts of the sacred writings, is evident from Lev. xxvi. 26: Ten ivomen shall bake your bread in one oven. Eccles. vii. 19: Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men the city. Num. xiv. 22: Because all these men have tempted me now these ten times. Job xix. 3: These TEN times have ye reproached me. Zech. viii. 23: In those days — ten men shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. Rev. ii. 10: Ye shall have tribulation ten days.

Verse 11. The angel of God spake unto me in a dream] It is strange that we had not heard of this dream before; and yet it seems to have taken place before the cattle brought forth, immediately after the bargain between him and Laban. If we follow the Samaritan the difficulty is at once removed, for it gives us the whole of this dream after verse 36 of the pre ceding chapter.

1 2 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ring-streaked, speckled, and grisled: for 1 I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

13 I am the God of Beth-el, "" where thou anointedst the pillar, a7id where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now ^ arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, ' Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?

15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for "^ he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.

Verse 12. Grisled] Q^'}^2 beruddim; T13 harad signifies hail,Rnd the meaning must be, they had white spots on them similar to hail. Our word grisled comes from the old French, grcsle, hail, now written grele; hence g-re^/e, grisled, spotted with white upon a dark ground.

Verse 15. Are ive not counted of him strangers?] Rachel and Leah, who well knew the disposition of their father, gave him here his true character. He has treated us as strangers — as slaves whom he had a right to disjjose of as he pleased; in consequence, he hath sold us — disposed of us on the mere principle of gaining by the sale.

And hath quite devoured also our money.] Has applied to his own use the profits of the sale, and has allowed us neither portion nor inheritance.

Verse 19. Laban went to shear his sheep] Laban had gone; and this was a favourable time not only to take his images, but to return to Canaan without being perceived.

Rachel had stolen the images] D'iJin teraphim. What the teraphim were is utterly unknown. In ver. 30 they are termed TlSx elohai, gods; and to some it appears very likely that they were a sort of images devoted to superstitious purposes, not considered as gods, but as representatives of certain Divine attributes. Dr. Shuckford supposes them to be a sort of tiles, on which the names or figures of their ancestors were engraven. Theodorel, in his SOth question, calls them idols; and says that Rachel, who was a ti/pe of the true Church, stole them from her father that he might be delivered from idolatry. R. S. Jarchi gives nearly the same reason.

The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel gives a strange turn to the whole passage. " And Rachel stole the images of her father: for they had murdered a man, who was a first-born son; and having cut off his head, they embalmed it with salt and spices, and they wrote divinations upon a plate of gold, and put it under his tongue; and placed it against the wall, and it conversed with them, and Laban worshipped it. And Jacob stole

16 For all the riches which God

1 7 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;

18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, (the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan aram,) for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

1 9 And liaban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the ^ images ^ that were her father's.

20 And Jacob stole away, ^ unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.

If the word be derived from X31 rapha, to heal or restore, then the teraphim may be considered as a sort of talismans, kept for the purpose of averting and curing diseases; and probably were kept by Laban for the same purpose that the Romans kept their lares and penates. It is however possible that D"i3"in teraphim is the same as D'iJIK' seraphim, the n tau and ty si7i being changed, which is very frequent in the Syrian or Chaldee language; and we know that Laban was an Aramean or Syrian. Fire has been considered from the earliest ages as a symbol of the Deity; and as the word seraphim comes from ^liy saraph, to burn, it has been conjectured that the teraphim of Laban were luminous forms, prepared of burnished brass, &c., which he might imagine a proper medium of communication between God and his worshippers. Mr. Parkhurst has observed that the teraphim were in use among believers and unbelievers. Among the former, see this chapter; for he denies that Laban was an idolater. See also Judg. xvii. 5; xviii. 14, 18, 20; 1 Sam. xix. 13, 16. Among the latter, see 2 Kings xxiii. 24; Ezek. xxi. 21; Zech. x. 2. Compare 1 Sam. xv. 23, and Hos. iii. 4. These are all the places in which the original word is found.

The Persian translator seems to have considered these teraphim as tables or instruments that served for purposes of judicial astrology, and hence translates the word L^^ Jsuwt asterlabha, astrolabes. As the astrolabe was an instrument with which they took the altitude of the pole-star, the sun, &c., it might, in the notion of the Persian translator, imply tables, &c., by which the culminating of particular stars might be determined, and the whole serve foi purposes of judicial astrology. Now as many who have professed themselves to be believers in Christianity, have nevertheless addicted themselves to judicial astrology, we might suppose such a thing in this case, and still con-

A. M. 2265. 21 So he fled with all that he ' had; and he rose up, and passed

over the river, and ^ set his face toward the mount Gilead.

22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.

23 And he took '^ his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.

24 And God ^ came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou "" speak not to Jacob <= either good or bad.

25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.

26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away un-

elder Laban as no idolater. If the Persian translator has not hit on the true meaning, he has formed the most likely conjecture.

Verse 2 1. Passed over the river] The Euphrates, as the Targum properly notices. But how could he pass such a river with his flocks, &c.? This difficulty does not seem to have struck critics in general. The rabbins felt it, and assert that God wrought a miracle for Jacob on this occasion, and that he passed over dry shod. As we know not in what other way he could pass, it is prudent to refer it to the power of God, which accompanied him through the whole of his journey. There might, however, have been fords well known to both Jacob and Laban, by which they might readily pass. "

The mount Gilead.] What the ancient name of this mountain was, we know not; but it is likely that it had not the name of Gilead till after the transaction mentioned ver. 47. The mountains of Gilead were eastward of the country possessed by the tribes of Reuben and Gad; and extended from Mount Hermon to the mountains of Moab. — Calmet. It is joined to Mount Libanus, and includes the mountainous region called in the New Testament Trachonitis. — Dodd.

Verse 24. And God came to Laban] God's caution to Laban was of high importance to Jacob — Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad; or rather, as is the literal meaning of the Hebrew, J?1 ^>' DIIJO mittob ad ra, from good to evil; for had he neither spoken good nor evil to Jacob, they could have had no intercourse at all. The original is, therefore, peculiarly appropriate; for when people meet, the language at first is the language oi friendship; the command therefore implies, " Do not begin with Peace he unto thee, and then proceed to injurious language and acts of violence.^'' If this Divine direction were a

27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and ® steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? *

28 And hast not suffered me ^ to kiss my sons and my daughters? s thou hast nowdone foolishly in so doing.

29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the ''God of your father spake unto me ■ yesternight, saying. Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou ^ stolen my gods?

attended to, how many of those affairs of honour, so termed, which commence with, " I hope you are well" — " I am infinitely glad to see you" — " I am happy to see you well," &c., and end wdth small sivords and pistol bullets, would be prevented! Where God and true religion act, all is fair, kind, honest, and upright; but where these are not consulted, all is hollow, deceitful, or malicious. Beware o( unmeaning compliments, and particularly of saying what thy heart feels not. God hates a hypocrite and a deceiver.

Verse 27. / tnight have sent thee away ivith mirth] nnoiiO besimchah, with rejoicing, making a feast or entertainment on the occasion; and ivith songs, CI3'"ll^3 beshirim, odes either in the praise of God, or to commemorate the splendid acts of their ancestors; with tabret, ^n3 bethoph, the tympanum used in the east to the present day, and there called c, »a diff, a thin broad wooden hoop, with parchment extended over one end of it, to which are attached small pieces of brass, tin, &c., which make a jingling noise; it is held in the air with one hand, and beat on with the fingers of the other. It appears to have been precisely the same with that which is called the tambourine, and which is frequently to be met with in our streets. And tvith harp, 11JD:: bekinnor, a sort of stringed instrument, a lute or harp; probably the same as the Greek KLvvpa kinura, a harp; the name being evidently borrowed from the Hebrew. These four things seem to include all that was used in those primitive times, as expressive of gladness and satisfaction on the most joyous occasions.

Verse 29. 7^ is in the poioer of my hand to do you hurt] Literally, My hand is unto God to do you evil, i. e., I have vowed to God that I will punish thee for thy flight, and the stealing of my teraphim; but the God of YOUR father has prevented me from doing it.

for I said, Perad venture thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.

32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, ' let him not hve: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maid-servants' tents; but he found thein not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.

34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban ^ searched all the tent, but found the7n not.

35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot " rise up be-

It is a singular instance that the plural pronoun, when addressing an individual, should be twice used in this place — the God of your father, tZDD'DX abichem, for y2^ ahicha, thy father.

Verse 32. Let him not live] It appears that anciently theft was punished by death; and we know that the patriarchs had the power of life and death in their hands. But previously to the law, the punishment of death was scarcely ever inflicted but for murder. The rabbins consider that this was an imprecation used by Jacob, as if he had said, Let God take away the life of the person wlio has stolen them! And that this was answered shortly after in the death of Rachel, chap. XXXV.

Verse 35. The f^uiiom of ivomen is upoii me.] This one Knew must be a satisfactory reason to her father; for if the teraphim were used to any religious purpose, and they seem to have been used in this way, as Laban calls them his gods, he therefore could not suspect that a woman in such a situation, whose touch was considered as defiling, would have sat upon articles that were either the objects of his adoration, or used for any sacred purpose. The stratagem succeeded to her wish, and Laban departed without suspicion. It seems very natural to suppose that Rachel did believe that by the use of these teraphim Laban could find out their flight, and the direction they took, and therefore she stole them; and having stolen them she was afraid to acknowledge the theft, and probably might think that they might be of some use to herself. Therefore, for these reasons, she brought them away.

Verse 36. And Jacob was wroth, and chode ivith Laban] The expostulation of Jacob with Laban, and their consequent agreement, are told in this place with great spirit and dignity. Jacob was conscious that though he had made use of cunp.ing to increase his flocks, yet Laban had been on the whole a great gainer VJ2

36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?

37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy bre thren, that they may judge betwixt us both.

38 This twenty years?iave I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have T not eaten.

39 ° That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of p my hand didst thou require it, ivhether stolen by day, or stolen by night.

40 Thus I was; in the day the drought

by his services. He had served hira at least twenty years, fourteen for Rachel and Leah, and six for the cattle; and some suppose he had served him twenty years besides the above, which is not unlikely: see the remarks at the conclusion of this chapter. Forty or even twenty years of a man's life, devoted to incessant labour and constantly exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather, (see ver. 40,) deserve more than an ordinary reward. Laban's constitutional sin was coveiousness, and it was an easily besetting sm; for it appears to have governed all his conduct, and to have rendered him regardless of the interests of his children, so long as he could secure his own. That he had frequently falsified his agreement with Jacob, though the particulars are not specified, we have already had reason to conjecture from ver. 7, and with this Jacob charges his father-in-law, in the most positive manner, ver. 41. Perhaps some previous unfair transactions of this kind were the cause why Jacob was led to adopt the exTpedient of outwitting Laban in the case of the spotted, spangled, ring-streaked, and grisled cattle. This if it did take place, though it cannot justify the measure, is some palliation of it; and almost the whole of Jacob's conduct, as far as relates to Laban, can be better excused than his injuring Laban's breed, by leaving him none but the weak, unhealthy, and degenerated cattle.

Verse 39. That ivhich ivas torn — of my hand didst thou require it] This more particularly marks the covetous and rigorous disposition of Laban; for the law of God required that what had been torn by beasts the shepherd should not be obliged to make good, Exod. xxii. 10, 13. And it is very likely that this law was in force from the earliest times.

Verse 40. In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night] The being exposed to the heathy day, and frost by 7iight, is made part of the heaviest punishment of Prometheus by JEschylus.

4 1 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I '^ served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and "■ thou hast changed my wages ten times.

42 ^ Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and ^ the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. " God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and " rebuked thee yesternight.

43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?

Opposed to the sun's most fervid beam, The hue of beauty changed; till parch'd by heat The night with spangled stole shall hide its light From thee rejoicing, but again the sun Chases the hoar frost from thy harass'd form.

Verse 42. The fear of Isaac] It is strange that Jacob should say, the God o/" Abraham and the fear of Isaac, when both words are meant of the same Being. The reason perhaps was this; Abraham was long since dead, and God was his unalienable portion for ever. Isaac was yet alive in a state o? probation, living in the fear of God, not exempt from the danger of falling; therefore God is said to be his fear — not only the object of his religious worship in a general way, but that holy and just God before whom he was still working out his salvation with fear and trembling — fear lest he should fall, and trembling lest he should offend.

Verse 46. Made a heap] Sj gal, translated heap, signifies properly a round heap; and this heap was probably made for the double purpose of an altar and a table, and Jacob's stone or pillar was set on it for the purpose of a memorial.

Verse 47. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha] *1J^ Xnnn*^ yegar sahadutha, the heap or round heap of witness; but Jacob called it n^Sj galed, which signifies the same thing. The first is pure Chaldee, the

'^ and let it be for a witness between me and thee

45 And Jacob y took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made a heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.

47 And Laban called it ^ Jegar-sahadutha ' but Jacob called it ^ Galeed.

48 And Laban said, ^ This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed,

49 And " Mizpah; ^ for he said. The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, (no man is with us;) see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.

second pure Hebrew. ")JX agar signifies to collect, hence "yy yegar and IJIN ogar, a collection or heap made up of gathered stones; and hence also N11JX egora, an altar, used frequently by the Chaldee paraphrast. See 1 Kings xii. 33; Judg. vi. 31; 2 Kings xxi. 3; Jer. xvii. 1. See Casters Lexicon. From this example we may infer that the Chaldee language was nearly coeval with the Hebrew. A gloss made by St. Jerome, and which was probably only entered by him in his margin as a note, has crept into the text of the Vulgate. It is found in every copy of this version, and is as follows: Uterque juxta proprietatem lingucE sucb, Each according to the idiom of his own tongue.

Verses 48, 49. I think these two verses are badly divided, and should be read thus: —

Verse 48. And Laban said, This heap is a ivitness between me and thee this day.

Verse 49. Therefore was the name of it called Go' leedand Mizpah; for he said. The Lord ivatch between me and thee, luhen we are absent one from another.

Mizpah^ riiJifD mitspah signifies a watch-tower f and Laban supposes that in consequence of the consecration of the place, and the covenant now solemnly made and ratified, that God would take possession of this heap, and stand on it as on a watch-tower, to prevent either of them from trenching on the conditions of their covenant.

Verse 50. No man is with us] Though all were present at the sacrifice offered, yet it appears that in making the contract Jacob and Laban withdrew, and transacted the business in private, calling on God to witness it.

51 And Laban said to Jacob,

62 This heap he witness, and this pillar he witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, « judge be-

he might take others, whose children would naturally come in for a share of the inheritance to the prejudice of his daughters and grandchildren. Though the Koran allows a man to have four loives if he can maintain them, yet we learn that in many cases where a man takes a wife, the parents or relatives of the woman stipulate that the man is not to take another during the lifetime of that one whom he now espouses; and notwithstanding the permission of the Koran, he is obliged to fulfil this agreement.

Verse 51. And Laban said to Jacob — behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee] But this pillar, not cast but set up, was certainly set up by Jacob; for in ver. 45 we read. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar: it is therefore for the honour of one Hebrew and one Samaritan MS. that they have preserved the true reading in ver. 51, n"T' yaritha, THOU hast set up. — Kennicott. Instead of either of the above readings the Samaritan text has Jvh^'^ yarata,The pillar ivhich thou seest betwixt me and thee.

Verse 53. The God of their father] As Laban certainly speaks of the true God here, with what propriety can he say that this God was the God of Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor? It is certain that Terah was an idolater; of this we have the most positive proof. Josh. xxiv. 2. Because the clause is not in the Septuagint, and is besides wanting in some MSS., Dr. Kennicott consider'- it an interpolation. But there is no need of havi/,g recourse to this expedient if we adopt the reading LZ^3':l^< abichem, your father, for OTT'DX abihem, their father, which is supported by several of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and is precisely the same form made use of by Laban, ver. 29, when addressing Jacob, and appears to me to be used here in the same way; for he there most manifestly uses the plural pronoun, when speaking only to Jacob himself. It is therefore to be considered as a form of speech peculiar to Laban; at least we have two instances of his use of it in this chapter.

Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac] See on ver. 42.

Verse 54. Offered sacrifice upon the mount] It is very likely that Laban joined in this solemn religious rite, and that, having offered the blood and fat to God, they feasted upon the sacrifice.

these he calls his children, ver. 43. And blessed

54 Then Jacob ^ offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread • and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.

55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and ' blessed them: and Laban departed, and ^ re turned unto his place.

them — prayed heartily for their prosperity, though we find from ver. 29 that he came having bound himself by a vow to God to do them some injury. Thus God turned his intended curse into a blessing.

The most important topics in this chapter have already been considered in the notes, and to those the reader is referred. Jacob's character we have already seen, and hitherto have met in it little to admire; but we shall soon find a blessed change both in his mind and in his conduct. Laban's character appears in almost every instance to disadvantage; he does not seem to be what we commonly term a loicked man, but he was certainly both iveak and covetous; and covetousness extinguished in him, as it does in all its votaries, the principles of righteousness and benevolence, and the very charities of human life. Provided he could get an increase of property, he regarded not who was wronged or who suffered. In this case he hid himself even from his own bowels, and cared not that his own children should lack even the necessaries of life, provided he could increase his own store! How watchful should we be against this destructive, unnatural, and degrading vice! It is impossible for a man who loves money to love either God or man; and consequently he must be in the broad way that leads to destruction.

For the difficulties in the chronology of Jacob's sojourning in Padan-aram, I beg leave to refer to the following remarks.

Remarks upon Gen. xxxi. 38, &c., relative to the time spent by Jacob in the service of his father-inlaw Laban, in Mesopotamia; from Dr. Kennicott.

" If every reading which introduces but a single difficulty demands our attention, much greater must that demand be when several difficulties are caused by any one mistake, or any one mistranslation. Of this nature is the passage before us, which therefore shall be here considered more fully, especially as I have not already submitted to the learned any remarks upon this subject. Jacob's age, at the time of his going to Laban, has (till very lately) been fixed, perhaps universally, at seventy-seven years. But I think it has been shown by the learned Mr. Skinner, in an excellent dissertation, (4to. 1765,) that the number seventyseven cannot here be right.

" Jacob was one hundred and thirty when he went down (with sixf)/-six persons) into Egvpt. Joseph

Reasons to prove that Jacob

was with Laban forty years.

had then been governor ten years; and when made governor was thirty; therefore Jacob could not be more than ninety at the birth of Joseph. Now, upon supposition that Jacob was seventy-seven at going to Laban, and that he had no son till he was eighty-five, and that he, with eleven sons, left Laban at ninetyseven, there will follow these amongst other strange consequences which are enumerated by Mr. Skinner, page 11, &c.: I. Though Isaac and Esau married at forty, Jacob goes at seventy-seven to look for a wife, and agrees to marry her seven years after. 2. Issachar is born after the affair of the mandrakes, which Reuben finds and brings home when he (Reuben) was about four years old; that is, if Issachar was born before Joseph, agreeably to Gen. xxx. 18, 25. 3. Judah begets Er at thirteen; for in the first of the following tables Judah is born in Jacob's year eightyeight, and Er in ojie hundred and tioo. 4. Er marries at nine, and is destroyed for profligacy. Er, born one hundred and tivo, marries in one hundred and eleven. See also Gen. xxxviii. 7. 5. Onan marries at eight; for Onan, born in one hundred and three, marries in one hundred and eleven. 6. Shelah, being grown at ten, ought to be married; for Shelah, born in one hundred and four, is marriageable, but not married to Tamar in one hundred and fourteen. See Gen. xxxviii. 14. 7. Pharez kept from marrying while young, yet has a son at thirteen; for Pharez, born in one hundred and fifteen, had two sons at going to Egypt in one hundred and thirty. 8. Esau goes to Ishmael and marries his daughter, after Jacob went to Laban at seventy-seven; though Ishmael died when Jacob was sixty-three. 9. If Jacob had no son till he was eightyfive, and if Joseph was born when his father was ninety, then the eleven sons and Dinah were born in five years. Lastly, if Jacob had no son till eighty-five, and he went to Egypt at one hundred and thirty, with sixty-six persons, onXy forty-five years are allowed for his family; whereas the larger sum of sixty-five years seems necessary for the births of so many children and grandchildren. On this subject Le Clerc has pronounced, Hisce in rebus occurrunt nodi, quos nemo hactenus solvit; neque porro, ut opinor, solvet. _TAere are difficulties here which have never been explained, and in my opinion never can be explained. But upon the single principle of Mr. Skinner, that Jacob went to Laban at fifty-seven, (instead of seventy-seven,) these difficulties are solved. And it only remains to wish that some authority may be found to support this conjecture, thus strongly founded on the exigentia loci. The common opinion is formed by reckoning back from the age of Joseph, when governor of Egypt, to the time of his birth, and from the twenty years which Jacob was with Laban. This number, Mr. Skinner thinks, was originally forty; and I think that the Hebrew text as it now stands confirms the conjecture, and furnishes the very authority which is so much wanted. " After Jacob had served Laban fourteen years for his two wives, where was Jacob to reside ] Esau was still living; and Jacob might well be afraid of returning to him, till more years of absence had disarmed a

his resentment; and had the death of Esau happened, Jacob would then have been secure. But let us also remember that Isaac was still alive, and that Esau had determined to kill Jacob whenever their father should die. It would therefore be no wonder if Jacob should have desired to continue longer in Haran. And to carry this point more effectually, he might offer to take care of Laban's cattle, and to live in his neighbourhood, upon such terms of advantage to Laban as could not easily be withstood. Lastly, when th§ good effects to Laban from this connection had been experienced, without profit, nay with some losses, to Jacob, for twenty years, Jacob might naturally grow tired of thus assisting Laban without providing for his own growing family. Accordingly we find that Jacob covenants with Laban for six years of more close attendance and service in Laban's own house, for which the wages were expressly settled. Agreeable to the preceding possibilities seems to have been the fact, Jacob living in Haran forty years, and in this manner: — 14 years in Laban's house, a covenant servant for his wives.

" Now the tiventy concurrent years of neighbourly assistance, and the disjointed tiventy of covenant service, seem both of them distinguished in the history itself. For upon Laban's pursuit of Jacob he mentions twenty years twice; which two sets of tiventy, if really different, make forty. Each mention of the twenty years is introduced with the word HT zeh, which word, when repeated, is used by way of distinction; as when we say, this and that, the one or the other. Thus, Exod. xiv. 20: So that the one came not near the other. Eccles. vi. 5: This hath more rest than the other. And with the two words at a great distance, Job xxi. 23: One dieth; ver. 25; and another dieth, &c. So here, in Gen. xxxi. 38, Jacob says to Laban, "10]) OJN nJk? □''Ityy n? zeh esrim shanah anochi immach, during the one set of twenty years I was with thee, <5fc.; meaning the time in which he lived, not in Laban's house, but in his neighbourhood; not as a servant, but a friend; after he had served in Laban's house fourteen years for his daughters, and before he served six years for his cattle. But then, as to the other twenty, he tells Laban, at verse 41, varying the phrase very remarkably, ymD;? "^n'D^ r\W Dntt'jr ■'S HT zeh li esrim shanah bebeithecha abadticha, during the other twenty years {"h li) for myself (for my own benefit) in thy house; I served thee fourteen years and six years, (SfC. And during this last period, though only six years, he charges Laban with changing his wages ten times. So that Jacob insists upon having well earned his wages through the twenty years when he served for hire; but he makes a far greater merit of having, for another twenty years, assisted him without wages, and even with some losses; and therefore, with particular propriety, he reminds Laban of that set of twenty years in the first place.

Reasons to prove that Jacob

was with Laban forty years.

Tables, taken chiefly from Mr. Skinner, will greatly elucidate the true chronology of Jacob.

goes to Haran. marries Leah and Rachel Reuben born of Leah" Simeon do.

Dan born of Bilhah

Gad born of Zilpah

IssACHAR born of Leah

Zebulun and Dinah do.

Joseph born of Rachel

returns from Haran.

dwells in Succoth.

comes to Shalem, and continues there eight years.

Judah marries Shuah's daughter.

Er born, — 103 Onan, — 104 Shelah. Shechemites destroyed by Simeon and Levi. Benjamin is born, and Rachel dies. Joseph sold when seventeen..... Tamar married to Er, and immediately afterwards to Onan. Tamar's incest with Judah. Pharez and Zarah born to Judah.

Joseph is made governor of Egypt..... Gen. xli. 46.

goes into Egypt Gen. xlvii. 9.

Esau marries two wives, Hittites..... Gen. xxvi. 34. Jacob goes to Haran.

Esau goes to Ishmael, and marries his daughter.. Gen. xxviii. 9.

Ishmael dies, aged 137 Jacob marries Leah and Rachel Reuben born of Leah" Sinaeon do.

Rachel, not bearing, gives Bilhah' Dan born of Bilhah Naphtali do.

Leah, not bearing, gives Zilpah Gad born of Zilpah Asher do.

Reuben at 1 3 finds the mandrakes Issachar born of Leah Zebulun do. 82 Dinah

Judah at 18 marries Shuah's daughter.*

Er born, — 88 Onan, — 89 Shelah. Joseph born of Rachel. - years' service for cattle. Jacob comes from Haran to Succoth and Shalem.

Dinah defiled, and the Shechemites destroyed. Benjamin is born, and Rachel dies.

Beriah, fourth son of Asher, born.

* Not placed in order of time, Gen. xxxviiL

Jacob is met hy the angels

105 Tamar married to Er — 106 to Onan.

108 Joseph, at seventeen, is carried into Egypt

109 Shelah, at twenty, not given to Tamar.

110 Pharez and Zarah born of Tamar, by Judah. 130 Isaac dies, aged 180.... 121 Joseph, at thirty, governor of Egypt

130 Benjamin, at thirty-two, has ten sons. Jacob goes to Egypt.....

"Our translation now is, xxxi. 38: This twenty YEARS HAVE I BEEN WITH THEE; thy eioes and thy shegoats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy fiock have I not eaten. 39. That lohich was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require if, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. 41. Thus have I been TWENTY years IN THY HOUSE: I Served thee fourteen years for thy tivo daughters, and six years for thy cattle; and thou hast changed my ivages ten times.

" The alteration here recommended is this, chap. xxxi. 38: During the one twenty years I was with THEE; thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams, SfC, <5fC. 41. During the other twenty years for myself, in thy house, I served, 6fc. The same distinction is expressed in chap. xxx. 29: Thou knowest hoiv I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me; i. e., how I behaved during the time I was with thee as thy servant, and how thy cattle fared during the time they were with me as thy friend.

" It must not be omitted that Archbishop Usher and Bishop Lloyd ascribe sons to Jacob very soon after his coming to Laban; nay, assert that he was married almost as soon as he came to Haran, instead of waiting seven years, as he most evidently did. And Mr. Jackson allows that some of the sons of Benjamin, who are expressly numbered as going into Egypt with Jacob, might be born in Egypt! From such distresses, and such contradictions, does the distinction of two set^ of twenty years happily deliver us."

Hoc temporis intervallo nemo concipere poterit tot res contingere potuisse. Spinosa.

In such a short space of time, it is impossible that so many transactions could have taken place.

I shall leave this subject with chronologers and critics, and shall not attempt to decide on either opinion. That of Dr. Kennicott I think the most likely, and to it I have adapted the chronology in those cases to which it relates; but there are difficulties in both casesf. See the note on chap, xxxviii. 1.

Jacob, proceeding on his journey, is met by the angels of God, 1,2. Sends messengers before him to his brother Esau, requesting to be favourably received, 3—5. The messengers return ivithout an answer, but with the intelligence that Esau, with four hundred men, luas coming to meet Jacob, 6. He is greatly alarmed, and adopts prudent means for the safety of himself and family, 7, 8. His affecting prayer to God, 9—12. Prepares a present of jive droves of different cattle for his brother, 13—15. Sends them forward before him, at a certain distance from each other, and instructs the drivers what to say when met by Esau, 15—20. Sends his ivives, servants, children and baggage, over the brook Jabbok, by night, 21—23. Himself stays behind, and wrestles with an angel until the break of day, 24. He prevails and gets a new name, 25—29. Calls the name of the place Peniel, 30. Is lame in his thigh in consequence of his wrestling with the angel, 31, 32.

Verse 1. The angels of God met him^ Our word angel comes from the Greek ayyeTio^, angelos, which literally signifies a messenger; or, as translated in some of our old Bibles, a tidings-bringer. The Hebrew word 1N7D malach, from IxS laach, to send, minister to.

2 And when Jacob saw them, he A. M. 2265.

employ, is nearly of the same import; and hence we may sec the propriety of St. Augustine's remark: Nomen non natures sed officii, " It is a name, not of nature, but of office;" and hence it is applied indifferently to a human agent or messenger, 2 Sam. ii. 5; to a prophet, Hag. i. 13; to a priest, Mai.

4 And he commanded them, saying, ^ Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus: I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

"We often," says Mr. Parkhurst, "read of the ■]n"7'D mn"' malach Yehovah,or'CD^rhii'Diih'Omalakei/ Elohim, the angel of Jehovah, or the angels of God, that is, his agent, personator, mean of visibility or action, what was employed by God to render himself visible and approachable by flesh and blood." This angel was evidently a human form, surrounded or accompanied by light or glory, with or in which Jehovah was present; see Gen. xix 1, 12, 16; Judg. xiii. 6, 21; Exod. iii. 2,6. " By this vision," says Mr. Ainsworth, " God confirmed Jacob's faith in him who commanded his angels to keep his people in all their ways, Psa. xci. 1 1. Angels are here called God''s host, camp, or army, as in wars; for angels are God's soldiers, Luke ii. 13; horses and chariots of fire, 2 Kings ii. 11; fighting for God's people against their enemies, Dan. x. 20; of them there are thousand thousands, and tc7i thousand times ten thousand, Dan. vii. 10; and they are all sent forth to minister for them that shall be heirs of salvation, Heb. i. 14; and they pitch a camp about them that fear God, Psa. xxxiv. 7." One of the oldest of the Greek poets had a tolerably correct notion of the angelic ministry: —

AvTup ETTEiKEv ToVTO ysvoc KUTU yaLU KU/ivrpev Toi fiEV Aatfioveg elui, Atof /isyaXov dia jSovXag, "EadXoi, ETVLxOovioL, (pvXoKEc 6vTjTo)v avdpunuv k. t. \. Hesiod. Op. 4" Dies, 1. i., ver. 120. When in the grave this race of men was laid, Soon was a world of holy demons made, Aerial spirits, by great Jove design'd To be on earth the guardians of mankind. Invisible to mortal eyes they go, And mark our actions good or bad below; The immortal spies ivith luatchful care preside. And thrice ten thousand round their charges glide: They can reward with glory or with gold, A power they by Divine permission hold. Cooke. Verse 2. Mahanaim.] The two hosts, if read by the points, the angels forming one, and Jacob and his company forming another; or simply hosts or camps in the plural. There was a city built afterwards here, and inhabited by the priests of God, Josh. xxi. 38. For what purpose the angels of God met Jacob, does not appear from the text; probably it was intended to show him that he and his company were under the care of an especial providence, and consequently to confirm his trust and confidence in God.

The doctrine of the ministration of angels has been much abused, not only among the heathens, but also

women-servants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that ' I may find grace in thy sight.

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also ^ he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

among Jeivs and Christians, and perhaps most among the latter. Angels with feigned names, titles, and mfluences, have been and still are invoked and worshipped by a certain class of men; because they have found that God has been pleased to employ them to minister to mankind; and hence they have made supplications to them to extend their protection, to shield, defend, instruct, &c. This is perfectly absurd. 1. They are God's instruments, not self-determining agents. 2. They can only do what they are appointed to perform, for there is no evidence that they have any discretionary power. 3. God helps man by ten thousand means and instruments; some intellectual, as angels; some rational, as men; some irrational, as brutes; and some merely material, as the sun, wind, rain, food, raiment, and the various productions of the earth. He therefore helps by whom he will help, and to him alone belongs all the glory; for should he be determined to destroy, all these instruments collectively could not save. Instead therefore of worshipping them, we should take their own advice: See thou do it not — Worship God.

Verse 3. Jacob sent messengers^ XZi^D^T^malachim, the same word which is before translated angels. It is very likely that these messengers had been sent some time before he had this vision at Mahanaim, for they appear to have returned while Jacob encamped at the brook Jabbok, where he had the vision of angels; see verses 6 and 23.

The land of Scir, the country of Edo?n.] This land, which was, according to Dr. Wells, situated on the south of the Dead Sea, extending from thence to the Arabian Gulf, 1 Kings ix. 26, was formerly possessed by the Horites, Gen. xiv. 6; but Esau with his children drove them out, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead, Deut. ii. 22; and thither Elsau went from the face of his brother Jacob, chap, xxxvi. 6, 7. Thus we find he verified the prediction. By thy sivord shall thou live, chap, xxvii. 40.

Verse 4. Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau] Jacob acknowledges the superiority of his biother, for the time was not yet come in which it could be said, The elder shall serve the younger.

Verse 6. Esau — cometh — and four hundred men with him.] Jacob, conscious that he had injured his brother, was now apprehensive that he was coming with hostile intentions, and that he had every evil to fear from his displeasure. Conscience is a terrible accuser. It was a fine saying of a heathen, —

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and ^ distressed: and he divided the people that luas with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels into two bands;

8 And said. If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

9 "^ And Jacob said, ° O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord ° which saidst unto me. Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

10 P I am not worthy of the least of all the <i mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast

Be this thy brazen bulwark of defence, Still to preserve thy conscious innocence, Nor e'er turn pale with guilt. Francis.

In other words, He that has a good conscience has a brazen wall for his defence; for a guilty conscience needs no accuser; sooner or later it will tell the truth, and not only make the man turn pale who has it, but also cause him to tremble even while his guilt is known only to himself and God.

It does not appear that Esau in this meeting had any hostile intention, but was really coming with a part of his servants or tribe to do his brother honour. If he had had any contrary intention, God had removed it; and the angelic host which Jacob met with before might have inspired him with sufficient confidence in God's protection. But we find that when he needed faith most, he appears to have derived but little benefit from its influence, partly from the sense he had of the injury he had done to his brother, and partly from not attending sufficiently to the assurance which God had given him of his gracious protection.

Verse 7. He divided the people^ tfc.] His prudence and cunning wore now turned into a right channel, for he took the most effectual method to appease his brother, had he been irritated, and save at least a part of his family. This dividing and arranging of his flocks, family, and domestics, has something in it highly cha~ racteristic. To such a man as Jacob such expedients would naturally present themselves.

Verse 9. O God of fwj father Abraham, d^c] This prayer is remarkable for its simplicity and energy; and it is a model too for prayer, of which it contains the essential constituents: 1. Deep self-abasement. 2. Magnification of God's mercy. 3. Deprecation of the evil to which he was exposed. 4. Pleading the promises that God had made to him. And, 5. Taking encouragement from what God had already wrought.

1 1 ^ Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and * the mother ^ with the children.

12 And "^ thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand ■" a present for Esau his brother;

14 Two hundred she-goats, and twenty hegoats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

all the compassions, and than all the faithfulness, which thou hast showed unto thy servant. Probably St. Paul had his eye on this passage when he wrote. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints. A man who sees himself in the light of God will ever feel that he has no good but what he has received, and that he deserves nothing of all that he has. The archangels of God cannot use a different language, and even the spirits of just men consummated in their plenitude of bliss, cannot make a higher boast.

For with my staff] i. e., myself alone, without any attendants, as the Chaldee has properly rendered it.

Verse 11. And the mother loith the children.] He must have had an awful opinion of his brother when he used this expression, which implies the utmost cruelty, proceeding in the work of slaughter to total extermination. See Hos. x. 14.

Verse 12. Make thy seed as the sand] Having come to the promise by which the covenant was ratified both to Abraham and Isaac, he ceased, his faith having gained strong confirmation in a promise which he knew could not fail, and which he found was made over to him, as it had been to his father and grandfather.

Verse 13. And took of that lohich came to his hand] n'3 N^DH hahba beyado, which came under his hand, i. e., what, in the course of God's providence, came under his power.

Verse 14. Two hundred she-goats, <5j-c.] This was a princely present, and such as was sufficient to have compensated Esau for any kind of temporal loss he might have sustained in being deprived of his birthright and blessing. The thirty milch camels were particularly valuable, for milch camels among the Arabs constitute a principal part of their riches, the creature being every way so serviceable that the providence of God appears peculiarly kind and wise in providing such a beast for those countries where no other animal could be of equal service. " The she-camel gives milk continually, not ceasing till great with young; the milk of which," as Pliny has remarked, " when mixed with three parts of water, affords the most pleasant and

16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying. Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?

18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.

19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

20 And say ye moreover. Behold, thy ser-

wholesome beverage." Cameli lac habent, donee iterum gravescant, suavissimumque hoc existimatUr, ad unam mensuram tribus aqucE additis. — Hist. Nat., lib. xi., chap. 41.

Verse 15. Tenbidls] The Syriac and Vulgate have twenty; but ten is a sufficient proportion to the forty kine. By all this we see that Jacob Avas led to make restitution for the injury he had done to his brother. Restitution for injuries done to man is essentially requisite if in our power. He who can and will not make restitution for the wrongs he has done, can have no claim even on the mercy of God.

Verse 22. Passed over the ford Jabbok.] This brook or rivulet rises in the mountains of Galaad, and falls into the Jordan at the south extremity of tiie lake of Gennesaret.

Verse 24. And there wrestled a man ivith him] This was doubtless the Lord Jesus Christ, who, among the patriarchs, assumed that human form, which in the fulness of time he really took of a woman, and in which he dwelt thirty-three years among men. He is here etyled an angel, because he was fieya^Tjc jiov2.rjq Ayye'kog, (see the Septuagint, Isa. ix. 7,) the Messenger of the great counsel or design to redeem fallen man from death, and bring him to eternal glory; see chap. xvi. 7.

But it may be asked, Had he here a real human body, or only its form? The latter, doubtless. How then could he wrestle with Jacob 1 It need not be supposed that this angel must have assumed a human body, or something analagous to it, in order to render himself tangible by Jacob; for as the soul operates on the body by the order of God, so could an angel operate on the body of Jacob during a whole night, and produce in his imagination, by the effect of his power, every requisite idea of corporeity, and in his nerves

present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face: peradventure he will accept y of me.

21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two women-servants, and his eleven sons, ^ and passed over the ford Jabbok.

23 And he took them, and ^ sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone, and there ^ wrestled a man with him until the "= breaking of the day.

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh: and ^ the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

If angels, in appearing to men, borrow human bodies, as is thought, how can it be supposed that with such gross substances they can disappear in a moment? Certainly they do not take these bodies into the invisible world with them, and the established laws of matter and motion require a gradual disappearing, however swiftly it may be effected. But this is not allowed to be the case, and yet they are reported to vanish instantaneously. Then they must render themselves invisible by a cloud, and this must be of a very dense nature in order to hide a human body. But this very expedient would make their departure still more evident, as the cloud must be more dense and apparent than the body in order to hide it. This does not remove the difficulty. But if they assume a quantity of air or vapour so condensed as to become visible, and modified into the appearance of a human body, they can in a moment dilate and rarefy it, and so disappear; for when the vehicle is rarefied beyond the power of natural vision, as their own substance is invisible they can instantly vanish.

From Hos. xii. 4, we may learn that the wrestling of Jacob, mentioned in this place, was not merely a corporeal exercise, but also a spiritual one; He ivept and made supplication unto him. See the notes there.

Verse 25. The hollow of Jacob's thigh ivas out of joint] What this implies is difficult to find out; it is not likely that it was a complete luxation of the thigh bone. It may mean no more than he received a stroke on the groin, net a touch; for the Hebrew word i'JJ naga often signifies to smite ivith violence, which stroke, even if comparatively slight, would effectually disable him for a time, and cause him to halt for many hours, if not ioi several days. I might add that in this place

26 And ® he said, Let me go,

said, ^I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him. What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28 And he said, ^ Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but ^ Israel: for as a prince hast thou ' power with God and ^ with men, and hast prevailed.

— the groin, a blow might be of fatal consequence; but as the angel gave it only as a proof of his power, and to show that he could not prevail because he would not, hence the blow was only disabling, without being dangerous; and he was probably cured by the time the sun rose.

Verse 26. Let me go, for the day breaketh] Probably meaning, that as it was now morning, Jacob must rejoin his wives and children, and proceed on their journey. Though phantoms are supposed to disappear lohen the sun rises, that could be no reason in this case. Most of the angelic appearances mentioned in the Old and New Testaments took place in open day, which put their reality out of question.

Verse 28. Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel] SxTky Yisrael, from "Ity sar, a prince, or nitJ? sarah, he ruled as a prince, and Sn el, God; or rather from tS^'X ish, a man, (the N aleph being dropped,) and nXT raah, he saw, bx el, God; and this corresponds with the name which Jacob imposed on the place, calling it Sx'JS peniel, the faces of God, or of Elohim, which faces being manifested to him caused him to say, verse 30, CD'ja Sx nD'33 OTlSx ^TX"! raithi Elohim panim el panim, i. e., "7 have seen the Elohim faces to faces, {i. e., fully and completely, without any medium,) 'tyiJJ 72fOm vattinnatsel napshi, and my soul is redeemed."

We may learn from this that the redemption of the soul will be the blessed consequence of wrestling by prayer and supplication with God: "The kingdom of heaven sufFereth violence, and the violent tahe it by force." From this time Jacob became a new man; but it was not till after a severe struggle that he got his name, his heart, and his character changed. After this he was no more Jacob the supplanter, but Israel — the man who prevails with God, and sees him face to face.

And hast prevailed.] More literally. Thou hast had power with God, and with inan thou shall also prevail. D"n'7X D>' im Elohim, with the strong God; D'ti^JX D;^ im anashim, with iveak, feeble man. There is a beautiful opposition here between the two words: Seeing thou hast been powerful with the Almighty, surely thou shalt prevail over perishing mortals; as thou hast prevailed with God, thou shalt also prevail with men:

fore IS It that thou dost ask after my a. m. 2265.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place "^ Peniel: for ° I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun ° rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, p unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

God calling the things that were not as though they had already taken place, because the prevalency of this people, the Israelites, by means of the Messiah, who should proceed from them, was already determined in the Divine counsel. He has never said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye my face in vain. He who lorestles must prevail.

Verse 29. Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.] It is very likely that Jacob -wished to know the name of this angel, that he might invoke him in his necessities: but this might have led him into idolatry, for the doctrine of the incarnation could be but little understood at this time; hence, he refuses to give himself any name, yet shows himself to be the true God, and so Jacob understood him; (see verse 28;) but he wished to have heard from his own lips that name by which he desired to be invoked and worshipped.

Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name.?] Canst thou be ignorant loho I am ■? And he blessed him there — gave him the new heart and the neio nature which God alone can give to fallen man, and by the change he wrought in him, sufficiently showed who he was. After this clause the Aldine edition of the Septuagint, and several MSS., add 6 eavL -daviiaorov, or Kat. Tovro E(7Ti ^aviiaarov, which is ivonderful; but this addition seems to have been taken from Judges xiii. 18.

Verse 31. The sun rose upon him] Did the Prophet Malachi refer to this, chap. iv. 2: Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his ivings? Possibly with the rising of the sun, which may here be understood as emblematical of the Sun of righteousness — the Lord Jesus, the pain and weakness of his thigh passed away, and he felt both in soul and body that he was healed of his plagues.

Verse 32. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sineiv] What this sinew was neither Jew nor Christian can tell; and it can add nothing either to science, or to a true understanding of the text, to multiply conjectures. I have already supposed that the part which the angel touched or struck was the groin; and if this be right, the sinew, nerve, or muscle that shrank, must be sought for in that place.

1. After his reconciliation with Laban, Jacob proceeds on his way to Canaan; and as God, who was continually watching for his welfare, saw the trials to which he would shortly be exposed, therefore he provided for him the instructive vision of angels, that he might see that those who were for him were more than those who could be against him. A proper consideration of God's omniscience is of the utmost advantage to every genuine Christian. He knows whereof we are made, he remembers that we are but dust, he sees our trials and difficulties, and his eye affects his heart. Hence he is ever devising means that his banished be not expelled from him.

2. Jacob's recollection of his unkindness and injustice to his brother, when he hears that he is coming to meet him, fills his soul with fear, and obliges him to betake himself to God by prayer and supplication. How important is the office of conscience! And how necessary are times of trial and difficulty when its voice is loudest, and the heart is best prepared to receive its reproofs! In how many cases has conscience slumbered- till it pleased God to send some trial by which it has been powerfully awakened, and the salvation of the sinner was the result! Before I was afflicted 1 went astray.

3. Though salvation be the free gift of God, yet he gives it not to any who do not earnestly seek it. The deeper the conviction of guilt and helplessness is, the more earnest the application to God for mercy is likely to be. They whose salvation costs them strong crying and tears, are not likely (humanly speaking) to part with it lightly; they remember the vinegar ana the gall, and they watch and pray that they enter not into temptation.

4. In the strife and agony requisite to enter in at the strait gate, it is highly necessary that we should know that the grace and salvation of God are not purchased by our tears, &c.; for those things which are only proofs and arguments that we have sinned, can never remove the iniquity of our transgressions. A sensible and pious man observes on this subject, " That prayer and wrestling with God should be made as though no other means were to be practised, and then the best means be adopted as though no prayer or wrestling had been used." God marks even this strife, though highly pleasing in his sight, with such proofs of its own utter insufficiency, that we may carry about with us the memorial of our own weakness, worthlessness, and slowness of heart to believe. God smote the thigh of Jacob, 1. That he might know he had not prevailed by his oion strength, but by the power and mercy of his God. 2. That he might have the most sensible evidence of the reality of the Divine interposition in his behalf. 3. That he might see God's displeasure against his unbelief. And 4. That men in general might be taught that those who will be the disciples of Christ must deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and mortify their members which are upon the earth. Those who have not cut off a right hand or foot, or plucked out a right eye, for the kingdom of heaven's sake, are never likely to see God. The religion that costs us nothing, is to us worth nothing.

Esau, with four hundred men, meets Jacob, 1. He places his children under their respective mothers, passes over before them, and bows himself to his brother, 2, 3. Esau receives him loith great affection, 4. Receives the homage of the handmaids, Leah, Rachel, awe? their children, 5—7. Jacob offers him the present of cattle, which he at first refuses, but after much entreaty accepts, 8—11. Invites Jacob to accompany him to Mount Seir, 12. Jacob excuses himself because of his flocks and his children, but promises to follow him, 13, 14. Esau offers to leave him some of his attendants, which Jacob declines, 15. Esau returns to Seir, 16, and Jacob journeys to Succoth, 17, and to Shalem, in the land of Canaan, 18. Buys a parcel of ground from the children o/ Hamor, 19, and erects an altar ivhich he calls El-elohe-Israel, 20.

came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIII. Verse 1. Behold, Esau came, and loith hi7n four hundred men.] It has been generally supposed that Esau came with an intention to destroy his brother, and for that purpose brought with him four hundred armed men. But, 1. There is no kind of evidence of this pretended hostility. 2. There is no proof that the four hundred men that Esau brought with him were at all armed. 3. But there is every proof that he acted towards his brother Jacob with all openness and candour, and with such a forgelfulness of past injuries as none but a great mind could have been capable of Why

2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after,

then should the character of this man be perpetually vilified ] Here is the secret. With some people, on the most ungrounded assumption, Esau is a reprobate, and the type and figure of all reprobates, and therefore he 7nust be every thing that is bad. This serves a system; but, whether true or false in itself, it has neither countenance nor support from the character or conduct of Esau.

Verse 2. He put the handmaids and their children foremost] There is something so artificial in this arrangement of Jacob's family, that it must have had some peculiar design. Was Jacob still apprehensive

3 And he passed over before them, and ^ bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 "^ And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, ^ and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children: and said. Who are those ^ with thee? And he said, The children ^ which God hath graciously given thy servant.

6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near, and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

8 And he said, ^ What meanest thou by ^ all this drove which I met? And he said. These are ' to find grace in the sight of my lord.

9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; ^ keep that thou hast unto thyself.

10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive

of danger, and put those foremost whom he least esteemed, that if the foremost met with any evil, those who were behind might escape on their swift beasts ■? chap, xxxii. 7, 8. Or did he intend to keep his choicest treasure to the last, and exhibit his beautiful Rachel and favourite Joseph after Esau had seen all the rest, in order to make the deeper impression on his mind ]

Verse 4. Esau ran to meet hiiri] How sincere and genuine is this conduct of Esau, and at the same time how magnanimous! He had buried all his resentment, and forgotten all his injuries; and receives his brother with the strongest demonstrations, not only of forgiveness, but of fraternal affection.

And kissed hini] IDpi^l vaiyishshakehu. In the Masoretic Bibles each letter of this word is noted with a point over it to make it emphatic. And by this kind of notation the rabbins wished to draw the attention of the reader to the change that had taken place in Esau, and the sincerity with which he received his brother Jacob. A Hindoo when he meets a friend after abbence throws his arms round him, and his head across his shoulders, twice over the right shoulder and once

though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

1 1 Take, I pray thee, "* my blessing that is brouglit to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have '^ enough. ° And he urged him'; and he took it.

12 And he said. Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.

1 3 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant; and I will lead on softly, according p as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord i unto Seir.

15 And Esau said. Let me now "■ leave with thee some of the folk that are with me: and he said, ^ What needeth it? * let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

17 And Jacob journeyed to " Succoth, and

Verse 10. Receive my present at my hand] Jacob could not be certain that he had found favour with Esau, unless the present had been received; for in accepting it Esau necessarily became his friend, according to the custom of those times, and in that country. In the eastern countries, if your present be received by your superior, you may rely on his friendship; if it be not received, you have every thing to fear. It is on this ground that Jacob was so urgent with Esau to receive his present, because he knew that after this he must treat him as a friend.

Verse 14. Until I come unto my lord unto Seir.] It is very likely that Jacob was perfectly sincere in his expressed purpose of visiting Esau at Seir, but it is as likely that circumstances afterwards occurred that rendered it either improper or impracticable; and we find that Esau afterwards removed to Canaan, and he and Jacob dwelt there together for several years. See chap,

Verse 17. Journeyed to Succoth] So called from HDD succoth, the booths or tents which Jacob erected

1 8 And Jacob came to ^ Shalem, a city of * Shechem, ^ which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city.

there for the resting and convenience of his family, who in all probability continued there for some considerable time.

Verse 18. And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem] The word oScy shalem, in the Samaritan Dwiy shalom, should be translated here in peace, or in safety. After resting some time at Succoth, which was necessary for the safety of his flocks and the comfort of his family, he got safely to a city of Shechem, in health of body, without any loss of his cattle or servants, his wives and children being also in safety. Coverdale and Matthews translate this word as above, and with them agree the Chaldee and the Arabic: it is not likely to have been the name of a city, as it is nowhere else to be found. Shechem is called in Acts vii. 16, Sychem, and in John iv. 5, Sychar; in the Arabic it is called Nahlous, and to the present day Neapolis. It was near to Samaria; and the place where the wretched remains of the sect of the Samaritans were lately found, from whom Dr. Huntington received a perfect copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch.

Verse 19. For a hundred pieces of money.] The original, ni^'iyp HkSO^ bemeah kesitah, has been a matter of long and learned discussion among critics. As kesitah signifies a lamb, it may imply that Jacob gave the Hamorites one hundred lambs for the field; but if it be the same transaction that St. Stephen refers to in Acts vii. 16, it was money, ti/xtjq apyvpiov, a sum or price of silver, which was given on the occasion. It has been conjectured that the money had the figure of a lamb stamped on it, because it was on an average the value of a lamb; and hence it might be called a kesitah or latnb from the impression it bore. It is certain that in many countries the coin has had its name from the image it bore; so among our ancestors a coin was called an angel because it bore the image of an angel; hence also a Jacobus, a Carolus, a Lewis, {Louis d'' Or,) a Joe, because certain coins in England, Spain, France, and Portugal, bore on one side the image of the kings of those countries, James, Charles, Lewis, Joseph, or Johannes. The Athenians had a coin called fSovg, an ox, because it was stamped with the figure of an ox. Hence the saying in Mschylus: —

" I must be silent concerning other matters, a great ox has come upon my tongue;" to signify a person who had received a bribe for secrecy, i. e., a sum of money, on each piece of which an ox was stamped, and hence called (Sovg, an ox. The word opes, riches, is a corruption of the word oves, sheep, because these animals

1 9 And ^ he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of ^ Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred '' pieces of money.

20 And he erected there "" called it ^ El-elohe-Israel.

in ancient times constituted the principal riches of their owners; but when other cattle were added, the word pecunia, (from pecus, cattle,) which we translate money, and from which we still have our English term pecuniary, appears to have been substituted for oves, because pecus, pecoris, and pecus, pecudis, were used to signify all kinds of cattle la7-ge and small. Among our British and Saxo7i ancestors we find coins stamp ed with the figure of an ox, horse, hog, goat, <SjC., and this custom arose in all probability, both among them and other nations, from this circumstance, that in primitive times the coin was the ordinary value of the animal whose image it bore. It is, all circumstances weighed, most likely that a piece of money is here intended, and possibly marked with the image of a lamb; but as the original word nO"'typ kesitah occurs only here, and in Josh. xxiv. 32, and Job xlii. 11, this is not suflSciently evident, the word itself being of very doubtful signification. Mr. Parkhurst is of opinion that the kesitah bore the image of a lamh; and that these lamb coins of the ancient Hebrews typified the Lamb of God, who in the Divine purpose was considered as slain from the foundation of the world, and who purchased us unto God with his own blood. The conjecture is at least pious, and should lead to useful reflections. Those who wish to see more on this subject may consult the writers in the Critici Sacri, and Calmet.

Verse 20. And he erected there an altar] It appears that Jacob had a very correct notion of the providence and mercy of God; hence he says, ver. 5: The children ivhich God hath graciously given thy servant; and in ver. 1 1 he attributes all his substance to the bounty of his Maker: Take, I pray thee, my blessing— because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. Hence he viewed God as the God of all grace, and to him he erects an altar, dedicating it to God, the God of Israel, referring particularly to the change of his own name, and the mercies which he then received; and hence perhaps it would be best to translate the words. The strong God (is) the God of Israel; as by the power of his grace and goodness he had rescued, defended, blessed, and supported him from his youth up until now. The erecting altars with particular names appears in other places; so, Exod. xvii. 15, Moses calls his altar Jehovah-nissi, " the Lord is my banner."

1. When a man's ways please God, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. When Jacob had got reconciled to God, God reconciled his brother to him. The hearts of all men are in the hands of God, and he turns them howsoever he will.

2. Since the time in which Jacob wrestled with the A.ngel of the covenant, we see in him much dependence on God, accompanied with a spirit of deep humility and gratitude. God's grace alone can change the heart of man, and it is by that grace only that we get a sense of our obligations; this lays us in the dust, and the more we receive the lower we shall lie.

3. " The first thing," says good Bishop Wilson, " that pious men do, is to provide for the honour and worship of God." Jacob buys apiece of ground, and erects an altar on it in the land of a heathen, that he might acknowledge God among his enemies, and turn them to the true faith; and there is every reason to believe that this expedient would have been successful, had it not been for the base conduct of his sons How true is the saying. One sinner spoileth much good! Reader, beware, lest thy conduct should be come a stumbling block to any.

Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, going out to see the daughters of the land, is ravished hy Bhechertit the son of Hamor, 1,2. He entreats his father to get her for him to wife, 3. Jacob and his sons hear of the indignity offered to Dinah, 5—7. Hamor proposes the suit of Shechem to Jacob and his sons, and offers them a variety of advantages, 8—10. Shechem himself comes forward, begs to have Dinah to wife, and offers dowry to any extent, 11, 12. The sons of Jacob pretend scruples of conscience to give their sister to one loho ivas uncircumcised; and require, as a condition of this marriage, and of intermarriages in general, that all the Shechemites should be circumcised, 13—17. Hamor and Shechem consent, 18, 19. They lay the business before the elders of their city, dwell on the advantages of a connection with Jacob and his family, and propose to them the condition required by the sons of Jacob, 20—23. The elders consent, and all the males are circumcised, 24. While the Shechemites are incapable of defending themselves, on the third day after their circumcision, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, came upon the city, slew all the males, sacked the city, took the loomen and children captives, and seized on all the cattle belonging to the Shechemites, 25—29. Jacob is greatly displeased and alarmed at this treachery and cruelty of his sons, and lays before them the probable consequences, 30. They endeavour to vindicate their conduct, 31.

ND ^^ Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, ^ went out to see the daughters of the land.

2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, "^ saw her, he ^ took her, and lay with her, and ® defiled her.

3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob; and he loved the damsel, and spake ^ kindly unto the damsel.

4 And Shechem ^ spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wrfe.