Commentary on the Holy Bible

there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

7 And God sent me before you ^ to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me ' a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not.

1 0 And ^ thou shall dwell in the land of

they might not suffer distress on the account; and with deep piety he attributes the whole to the providence of God; for, says he, God did send me before you to preserve life. On every word here a strong emphasis may be laid. It is not you, but God; it is not you that sold me, but God who sent me; Egypt and Canaan must both have perished, had not a merciful provision been made; you were to come down hither, and God sent me before you; death must have been the consequence of this famine, had not God sent me here to preserve life.

Verse 6. There shall neither he earing nor harvest.] Earing has been supposed to mean collecting the ears of corn, which would confound it with harvest: the word, however, mea,ns ploughing or seed-time, from the Anglo-Saxon ejuan erian, probably borrowed from the Latin aro, io plough, and plainly means that there should be no seed-time, and consequently no harvest; and why? Because there should be a total want of rain in other countries, and the Nile should not rise above twelve cubits in Egypt; see on chap. xli. 31. But the expressions here must be qualified a little, as we find from chap, xlvii. 19, that the Egyptians came to Joseph to buy seed; and it is probable that even during this famine they sowed some of the ground, particularly on the borders of the river, from which a crop, though not an abundant one, might be produced. The passage, however, in the above chapter may refer to the last year of the famine, when they came to procure seed

^for the ensuing year. Verse 8. He hath made me a father to Pharaoh] It has already been conjectured that father was a name 9i^ office in Egypt, and th^it father of Pharaoh might among them signify the same as prime minister or the king''sSiiinister does among us. Calmet has remarked that among the Phoenicians, Persians, Arabians, and Romans, the title o( father was given to certain oflicers of state. The Roman emperors gave the name of father to the prefects of the Praetorium, as appears by the letters of Constantine to Ablavius. The caliphs gave the same name to their prime ministers. In Judges xvii. 10, Micahsaysto the young Levite, Divfll

and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

1 1 And there will I nourish thee; (for yet there are five years of famine;) lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast» come to poverty.

1 2 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is ^ my mouth that speaketh unto you.

13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and *" bring down my father hither.

14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's

with me, and be unto me a father and a priest. And Diodorus Siculus remarks that the teachers and counsellors of the kings of Egypt were chosen out of the priesthood.

Verse 10. Thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen] Probably this district had been allotted to Joseph by the king of Egypt, else we can scarcely think he could have promised it so positively, without first obtaining Pharaoh's consent. Goshen was the most easterly province of Lower Egypt, not far from the Arabian Gulf, lying next to Canaan, (for Jacob went directly thither when he came into Egypt,) from whence it is supposed to have been about fourscore miles distant, though Hebron was distant from the Egyptian capital about three hundred miles. At Goshen Jacob stayed till Joseph visited him, chap. xlvi. 28. It is also called the land of Rameses, chap, xlvii. 11, from a city of that name, which was the metropolis of the country. Josephus, Antiq., 1. ii., c. 4, makes Heliopolis, the city of Joseph's father-in-law, the place of the Israelites' residence. As Dt^J geshem signifies rain in Hebrew, St. Jerome and some others have supposed that "ilOl GosheJi comes from the same root, and that the land in question was called thus because it had rain, which was not the case with Egypt in general; and as it was on the confines of the Arabian Gulf, it is very probable that it was watered from heaven, and it might be owing to this circumstance that it was peculiarly fertile, for it is stated to be the best of the land of Egypt. See chap, xlvii. 6, 11. See also Calmet and Dodd

Verse 12. That it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.] The Targum of Jonathan ben TJzziel renders the place thus: — " Your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my own mouth that speaketh with you, in the language of the house of the sanctuary." Undoubtedly Joseph laid considerable stress on his speaking with them in the Hcbreiv tongue, without the assistance of an interpreter, as in the case mentioned chap. xlii. 23.

Verse 14. He fell tipon his brother Benjamin's neck] Among the Asiatics kissing the beard, the 7teck, and the shoulders, is in use to the present day: and probably

15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it ° pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye: lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

18 And take your father, and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat ° the fat of the land.

19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

20 Also P regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

21 And the children of Israel did so: and

"Heb. was good in the eyes of Pharaoh; chap. xli. 37.

falling on the neck signifies no more than kissing the neck or shoulders, with the arms around.

Verse 20. Regard not your stuff] Literally, Let not your eye spare your instruments or vessels. 03^73 heleychem, a general term, in which may be included household furniture, agricultural utensils, or implements of any description. They were not to delay nor encumber themselves with articles which could be readily found in Egypt, and were not worth so long a carriage.

Verse 2 1. Joseph gave them wagons] mSji? agaloth, from 7J>' agal, which, though not used as a verb in the Hebrew Bible, evidently means to turn round, roll round, be circular, &c., and hence very properly applied to wheel carriages. It appears from this that such vehicles were very early in use, and that the road from Egypt to Canaan must have been very open and much frequented, else such carriages could not have passed by it.

Verse 22. Changes of raiment] It is a common custom with all the Asiatic sovereigns to give both garments and money to ambassadors and persons of distinction, whom they particularly wish to honour. Hence they keep in their wardrobes several hundred changes of raiment, ready made up for presents of this kind That such were given by way of reward and honour, see Judges xiv. 12, 19; Rev. vi. 11. At the close of a feast the Hindoos, among other presents to the guests, commonly give new garments. A Hindoo garment is merely a piece of cloth, requiring no work of the tailor. — Ward.

Verse 23. Meat for his father by the way.] piD mazon, from |t zan, to prepare, provide, &c. Hpnce a

22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and ^ five changes of raiment.

23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses ^ laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way

24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them. See that ye fall not out by the way.

25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. * And " Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.

27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and

prepared meat, some made-up dish, delicacies, confectionaries, &c. As the word is used, 2 Chron. xvi. 14, for aromatic preparations, it may be restrained in its meaning to something of that kind here. Jn Asiatic countries they have several curious methods of preserving flesh by potting, by which it may be kept for any reasonable length of timo sweet and wholesome. Some delicacy, similar to the savoury food which Isaac loved, may be here intended; and this was sent to Jacob in consideration of his age, and to testify the re spect of his son. Of other kinds of meat he could need none, as he had large herds, and could kill a lamb, kid, sheep, or goat, whenever he pleased.

Verse 24. See that ye fall not out by the \vay.] This prudent caution was given by Joseph, to prevent his brethren from accusing each other for having sold him; and to prevent them from envying Benjamin, for the superior favour shown him by his brother. It is strange, but so it is, that children of the same parents are apt to envy each other, fall out, and contend; and therefore the exhortation in this verse must be always seasonable in a large family. But a rational, religious education will, under God, prevent every thing of this sort.

Verse 26. JacoVs heart fainted] Probably the good news so overpowered him as to cast him into a swoon. He believed them not — he thought it was too good news to be true; and though it occasioned his swooning, yet on his recovery he could not fully credit it. See a similar case, Luke xxiv. 41.

Verse 27. When he saw the loagons — the spirit of Jacnh— revived] The wagons were additional '^v?

when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the

dences of the truth of what he had heard from his sons; and the consequence was, that he was restored to fresh vigour, he seemed as if he had gained new life, Tim vattechi, and he lived; revixit, says the Vulgate, he lived afresh. The Septuagint translate the original word by avei^uTzvprjae, which signifies the bloiving and stirring up of almost extinguished embers that had been buried under the ashes, which word St. Paul uses, 2 Tim. i. 6, for stirring up the gift of God. The passage at once shows the debilitated state of the venerable patriarch, and the wonderful effect the news of Joseph's preservation and glory had upon his mind.

Verse 28. It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive] It was not the state of dignity to which Joseph had arisen that particularly affected Jacob, it was the consideration that he was still alive. It was this that caused him to exclaim 31 rab; " much! multiplied! my son is yet alive! I will go and see him before I die." None can realize this scene; the words, the circumstances, all refer to indescribable feelings.

1. In Joseph's conduct to his brethren there are several things for which it is difficult to account. It is strange, knowing how much his father loved him, that he never took an opportunity, many of which must have offered, to acquaint him that he was alive; and that self-interest did not dictate the propriety of this to him is at first view surprising, as his father would undoubtedly have paid his ransom, and restored him to liberty: but a little reflection will show that prudence dictated secrecy. His brethren, jealous and envious in the extreme, would soon have found out other methods of destroying his life, had they again got him into their power. Therefore for his personal safety, he chose rather to be a bond-slave in Egypt than to risk his life by returning home. On this ground it is evident that he could not with any safety have discovered the place of his residence.

2. His carriage to his brethren, previously to his making himself known, appears inexcusably harsh, if not vindictive; but when the men are considered, it will appear sufficiently evident that no other means would have been adequate to awaken their torpid consciences, and bring them to a due sense of their guilt. A desperate disease requires a desperate remedy. The event ju.stificd all that he did, and God appears to have been the director of the whole.

3. His conduct in requiring Benjamin to be as it were torn away from the bleeding heart of an aged, desolate father, in whose affection he himself had long lived, is the most difficult to be satisfactorily accounted for. Unless the Spirit of prophecy had assured him that this experiment would terminate in the most favourable manner, his conduct in making it cannot well be vindicated. To such prophetic intimation this conduct has been attributed by learned men; and we may say that this consideration, if it does not untie the knot, at least cuts it. Perhaps it is best to say that in all these things Joseph acted as he was directed by a providence, under the influence of which he might have been led to do many things which he had not previously designed. The issue proves that the hand of God's wisdom and goodness directed, regulated, and governed every circumstance, and the result was glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and good will among men. 4. This chapter, which contains the unravelling of the plot, and wonderfully illustrates the mysteries of these particular providences, is one of the most interesting in the whole account: the speech of Joseph to his brethren, ver. 1—13, is inferior only to that of Judah in the preceding chapter. He saw that his brethren were confounded at his presence, that they were struck with his present power, and that they keenly remembered and deeply deplored their o\vn guilt. It was necessary to comfort them, lest their hearts should have been overwhelmed with overmuch sorrow. How delicate and finely wrought is the apology he makes for them! the whole heart of the affectionate brother is at once seen in it — art is confounded and swallowed up by nature — " Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves— it \\2iS not you that sent me hither, but God." What he says also concerning his father shows the warmest feelings of a benevolent and filial heart. Indeed, the whole chapter is a master-piece of composition; and it is the more impressive because it is evidently a simple relation of facts just as they occurred; for no attempt is made to heighten the eflfect by rhetorical colouring or philosophical reflections; it is all simple, sheer nature, from beginning to end. It is a history that has no fellow, crowded with incidents as probable as they are true; where every passion is called into action, where every one acts up to his own character, and where nothing is outre in time, or extravagant in degree. Had not the history of Joseph formed a part of the sacred Scriptures, it would have been published in all the living languages of man, and read throughout the universe! But it contains the things of God, and to all such the carnal mind is enmity.

Jacob begins his journey to Egypt, comes to Beer-sheba, and offers sacrifices to God, I. God appears to him in a vision, gives him gracious promises, and assures him of his protection, 2-4. He proceeds, loith his family and their cattle, on his journey toioards Egypt, 5-7. A genealogical enumeration of the seventy persons who went down to Egypt, 8, dj-c. The posterity of Jacob by Lkah. Reuben and his sons, 9, Simeon ajid hissui,!!, 10. TiPvi and bis sons, 11..liulah and his sons, 12. lssach;ir and his sons, 13. J.')0 a

And Zebulun and his sons, 14. All the posterity 0/ Jacob by Leah, thirty and three, 15. The posterity of Jacob by Zilpah. Gad and his sons, 16. Asher and his sons, 17. All the posterity of Jacob by ZiLPAH, sixteer, 18. The posterity o/" Jacob by Rachel. Joseph an^ his sons, 19, 20. Benjamin and his S071S, 21. All the posterity of Jacob by Rachel, fourteen, 22. The posterity 0/ Jacob by Bilhah. Dan and his sons, 23. Naphtali a7id his sons, 24. All the posterity of Jacob by Bilhah, seven, 25. All the immediate descendants of Jacob by his four loives, threescore and six, 26; and all the descendants of the house of Jacob, seventy souls, 27. Judah is sent before to inform Joseph of his father's coming, 28. Joseph goes to Goshen to meet Jacob, 29. Their affecting intervieiv, 30. Joseph proposes to return to Pharaoh, and inform him of the arrival of his family, 31, and of their occupation, as keepers of cattle, 32. Instructs them what to say when called before Pharaoh, and questioned by him, that they might he permitted to dtvell unmolested in the land of Goshen, 33, 34.

to ^ Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices ^ unto the God of his father Isaac.

2 And God spake unto Israel "^ in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am 1.

3 And he said, I am God, ^ the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there ^ make of thee a great nation:

4^1 will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely ^ bring thee up again: and ^ Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

6 And ' Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father,

Verse 1. And came to Beer-sheba] This place appears to be mentioned, not only because it was the way from Hebron, where Jacob resided, to Egypt, whither he was going, but because it was a consecrated place, a place where God had appeared to Abraham, chap, xxi. 33, and to Isaac, chap. xxvi. 23, and where Jacob is encouraged to expect a manifestation of the same goodness: he chooses therefore to begin his journey with a visit to God''s house; and as he was going into a strange land, he feels it right to renew his^ovenant with God by sacrifice. There is an old proverb which applies strongly to this case: " Prayers and provender never hinder any man's journey." He who would travel safely must take God with him.

Verse 3. Fear not to go down into Egypt] It appears that there had been some doubts in the patriarch's mind relative to the propriety of this journey; he found, from the confession of his own sons, how little they were to be trusted. But every doubt is dispelled by this Divine manifestation. 1. He may go down confidently, no evil shall befall him. 2. Even in Egypt the covenant shall be fulfilled, God will make of him there a great nation. 3. God himself will acompany him on his journey, be with him in the strange land, and even bring back his bones to rest with those of his fathers. 4. He shall see Joseph, and this same beloved son shall be with him in his last hours, and do the last kind office for him. Joseph shall put his hand

6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, ^ Jacob, and all his seed with him:

7 His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

8 And ^ these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: ^ Reuben, Jacob's first-born.

9 And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.

upon thine eyes. It is not likely that Jacob would have at all attempted to go down to Egypt, had he not received these assurances from God; and it is very likely that he offered his sacrifice merely to obtain this information. It was now a time of famine in Egypt, and God had forbidden his father Isaac to go down to Egypt when there was a famine there, chap. xxvi. 1—3; besides, he may have had some general intimation of the prophecy delivered to his grandfather Abraham, that his seed should be afflicted in Egypt, chap. XV. 13, 14; and he also knew that Canaan, not Egypt, was to be the inheritance of his family, chap, xii., &c. On all these accounts it was necessary to have the most explicit directions from God, before he should take such a journey.

Verse 7. All his seed brought he ivilh him into Egypt.] When Jacob went down into Egypt he was in the one hundred and thirtieth year of his age, tioo hundred and fifteen years after the promise was made to Abraham, chap. xii. 1-4, in the year of the world 2298, and before Christ 1706.

Verse 8. These are the names of the children of Israel] It may be necessary to observe here, First, that several of these names are expressed differently elsewhere, Jemuel for Nemuel, Jachin for Jarib, Gershon for Gershom, &c.; compare Num. xxvi. 12; 1 Chron. iv. 24. But it is no uncommon case for the same person to have different names, or the same name to be differently pronounced; see chap. xxv. 15.

1 0 And ° the sons of Simeon; pJemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and 1 Jachin, and "" Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.

1 2 And the sons of " Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but ' Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And ^ the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

M And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel,

15 These he the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and

Secondlj/, that it is probable that some names in this list are brought in by prolepsis or anticipation, as the persons were born (probably) during the seventeen years which Jacob sojourned in Egypt, see ver. 12. Thirdly, that the families of some are entered more at large than others because of their peculiar respectability, as in the case of Judah, Joseph, and Benjamin; but see the tables under verse 20.

Verse 12. The sons of Pharez ivere Hezron and Hamuli] It is not likely that Pharez was more than ten years of age when he came into Egypt, and if so he could not have had children; therefore it is necessary to consider Hezron and Hamul as being born during the seventeen years that Jacob sojourned in Egypt, see on ver. 8: and it appears necessary, for several reasons, to take these seventeen years into the account, as it is very probable that what is called the going down into Egypt includes the seventeen years which Jacob spent there.

Verse 20. Unto Joseph — were born Manasseh and Ephraini] There is a remarkable addition here in the Septuagint, which must be noticed: Eyevovro 6e vloi ^avaaoT], ovc ereKsv avru?/ naT^Mnr) rj "Lvpa, tov Maxip' '^axip Se Eyevvrjcre tov Ta?.aad. TIol 6e Eippatfi adeTiijiov Mavaafffi, 'Lovralaafi Kai Taa/i. Tloi 6e Iiovralaa/n, ESefi- These loere the sons of Manasseh ivhom his Syrian concubine bore unto him: Machir; and Machir begat Galaad. The sons of Ephraim, ManasscVs brother, were Sutalaam and Taam; and the.tons of Sutalaam, Edcm. These add five persons to the list, and make out the number given by Stephen, Acts vii. H, which it seems he had taken from the text of the Septuagint, unless we could suppose that the text of Stephen had been altered to make it correspond to the Septuagint, of which there is not the slightest evidence from ancient MSS. or vprsinns. The addition in the Septuagint is not

1 7 " And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.

18'^ These are the sons of Zilpah, ^ whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter; and these she bare lintc Jacob, even sixteen souls.

19 The sons of Rachel ''Jacob's wife; Joseph and Benjamin.

20 ^And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah ^ priest of On bare unto him.

found in either the Hebrew or the Samaritan at present; and some suppose that it was taken either from Num. xxvi. 29, 35, or 1 Chron. vii. 14-20, but in none of these places does the addition appear as it stands in the Septuagint, though some of the names are found interspersed. Various means have been proposed to find the seventy persons in the text, and to reconcile the Hebrew with the Septuagint and the New Testament.

A table given by Scheuchzer, extracted from the Memoires de Trevoux, gives the following general view:

Total sons of Jacob and his four tvives 70

" To harmonize this with the Septuagint and St. Stephen, Acts vii. 14, to the number sixty-six (all the souls that came out of Jacob's loins, ver. 26) add nine of the patriarchs' wives, Judah's wife being already dead in Canaan, (chap, xxxviii. 12.) Benjamin being

Enumeration of the seventy

22 These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.

24 P And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillera.

25 1 These aj-e the sons of Bilhah, ^ which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.

26 ^ All the souls that came with a.m. 2298. Jacob into Egypt, which came out " ^^^' of his * loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: ^ all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, ^ to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came ^ into the land of Goshen.

29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen,

supposed to be as yet unmarried, and the wife of Joseph being already in Egypt, and therefore out of the case: the number will amount to seventy-Jive, which is that found in the Acts." — Universal History.

Dr. Hales' method is more simple, and I think more satisfactory: " Moses states that all the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, ivhich issued frorn his loins, (except his sons' wives,) were sixty-six souls. Gen. xlvi. 26; and this number is thus collected: —

" If to these sixty-six children, and grandehildren, and great grandchildren, we add Jacob himself, Joseph and his two sons, the amount is seventy, the whole amount of Jacob's family which settled in Egypt.

" In this statement the wives of Jacob's sons, who formed part of the household, are omitted; but they amounted to nine, for of the twelve wives of the twelve sons of Jacob, Judah's wife was dead, chap, xxxviii. 12, and Simeon's also, as we may collect from his youngest son Shaul by a Canaanitess, ver. 10, and Joseph's wife was already in Egypt. These nine wives, therefore, added to the sixty-six, give seventyfive souls, the whole amount of Jacob's household that went down with him to Egypt; critically corresponding with the statement in the New Testament, that ' Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his kindred, amounting to seventy-five souls.' The expression all his kindred, including the wives which were Joseph's kindred, not only by affinity, but also by consanguinity, being probably of the families of Esau, Ishmael, or.£"6- turah. Thus does the New Testament furnish an admirable comment on the Old." — Analysis, vol., ii. p. 159.

It is necessary to observe that this statement, which appears on the whole the most consistent, supposes that Judah was married when about ybwr^eew years of age, his son Er at the same age, Pharez at the same, Asher and his fourth son Beriah under twenty, Benjamin ^ovX fifteen, and Joseph's sons and grandsons about twenty. But this is not improbable, as the children of Israel must all have married at a very early age, to have produced in about two hundred and fifteen years no less than six hundred thousand persons above tiventy years old, besides women and children.

Verse 28. He sent Judah before him unto Joseph] Judah was certainly a man of sense, and also an eloquent man; and of him Joseph must have had a very favourable opinion from the speech he delivered before him, chap. xliv. 18, &c.; he was therefore chosen as the most proper person to go before and announce Jacob's arrival to his son Joseph.

To direct his face unto Goshen] The land of Goshen is the same, according to the Septuagint, as the land of Rameses, and Goshen itself the same as Heroopolis, 'Hpuuv 'HO?.ig Heroon-polis, the city of heroes, a name by which it went in the days of the Septuagint, and which it still retained in the time of Josephus, for he makes use of the same term in speaking of this place. See on ver. 34.

Verse 29. And Joseph made ready his chariot] in3D")0 mercabto. In chap. xli. 43, we have the first mention of a chariot, and if the translation be correct, it is a proof that the arts were not in a rude state in Egypt even at this early time. When we find wagons used to transport goods from place to place, we need not wonder that these suggested the idea of forming chariots for carrying persons, and especially those of high rank and authority. Necessity produces arts, and arts and science produce not only an increase of the conveniences but also of the refinements and luxuries of life. It has been supposed that a chariot is not intended here; for as the word n^DIO mercabah, which we and most of the ancient versions translate chariot, comes from 221 rachab, he rode, saddling his horse may be all that is intended. But it is more

Joseph meets his father, and tells his GENESIS. brethren what to sai/ to Pharaoh.

33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, ^ What is your occupation?

34 That ye shall say. Thy servants' *= trade hath been about cattle ^ from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers; that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is ® an abomination unto the Egyptians.

A.M. 2298. and presented himself unto him; " and he ^ fell on his neck, and wept

30 And Israel said unto Joseph, ^ Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because

3 1 And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, ^ I will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him. My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me.

32 And the men arc shepherds, for ^ their

likely to signify a chariot, as the verb "IDX asar, which signifies to bi7id, tie, or yoAe, is used; and not lyjn chabash, which signifies to saddle.

Fell on his neck] See chap. xlv. 14.

Verse 30. Noiv let me die, since I have seen thy face'] Perhaps old Simeon had this place in view when, seeing the salvation of Israel, he said. Lord, now lettest thou thy servayit depart in peace, d^-c, Luke ii. 29.

Verse 3 4. Thy servants'' trade hath been about cattle] "The land of Goshen, called also the land of Rameses, lay east of the Nile, by which it was never overflowed, and was bounded by the mountains of the Thebaid on the south, by the Nile and Mediterranean on the west and north, and by the Red Sea and desert of Arabia on the east. It was the Heliopolitan nome or district, and its capital was called ON. Its proper name was Geshen, the country of grass or pasturage, or of the shepherds, in opposition to the rest of the land which was sown after having been overflowed by the Nile." — Bruce. As this land was both fruitful and pleasant, Joseph wished to fix his family in that part of Egypt; hence he advises them to tell Pharaoh that their trade had been in cattle from their youth: and because every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians, hence he concluded that there would be less difficulty to get them quiet settlement in Goshen, as they w^ould then be separated from the Egyptians, and consequently have the free use of all their religious customs. This scheme succeeded, and the consequence was the preservation both of tlieir religion and their lives, though some of their posterity did afterwards corrupt themselves; see Ezek. XX. 8; Amos v. 26. As it is well known that the (Egyptians had cattle and Jloc/cs themselves, and that Xharaoh even requested that some of Joseph's brethreVi should be made rulers over his cattle, how could it L1^ said, as in ver. 34, Every shepherd is an ^omin^if^ unto the Egyptians? Three reasons may be'^^s^gnedV"'^ ^^'^ • 1- Shepherds and feeders of cattle were usua\"y ^ ^°^' °f lawless, freebooting banditti, frequently maiii"S inroads on villages, &c., carrying off cattle, and whatever spoils they could find. This might probably h^^^ been the case formerly, for it is well known it has J^en been the case since. On this account such persot? must have been universally detested. 2. They musi'iave abhorred shepherds if Manetho's account of the ^'Jcsos or king-shepherds can be credited. Hordes of marauders under this name, from Arabia, Syria, and Ethiopia, (whose chief occupation, like the Bedouin Arabs of the present day, was to keep flocks,) made a powerful irruption into Egypt, which they subdued and ruled with great tyranny for 259 years. Now, though they had been expelled from that land some considerable time before this, yet their name, and all persons of a similar occupation, were execrated by the Egyptians, on account of the depredations and long-continued ravages they had committed in the country. 3. The last and probably the best reason why the Egyptians abhorred such shepherds as the Israelites were, was, they sacrificed those very animals, the ox particularly, and the sheep, which the Egyptians held sacred. Hence the Roman historian Tacitus, speaking of the Jews, says: " Caeso ariete velut in contumelia Ammonis; Bos quoque immolatur, quem ^gyptii Apim colunt." " They sacrifice the ram in order to insult Jupiter Ammon, and they sacrifice the ox, which the Egyptians worship under the name of Apis.'''' Though some contend that this idolatry was not as yet established in Egypt, and that the king-shepherds were either after the time of Joseph, or that Manetho by them intends the Israelites themselves; yet, as the arguments by w-hich these conjectures are supported are not suflScient to overthrow those which are brought for the support of the contrary opinions, and as there was evidently an established religion and priesthood in Egypt before Joseph's time, (for we find the priests had a certain portion of the land of Egypt which was held so sacred that Joseph did not attempt to buy it in the time of the famine, when he bought all the land which belonged to the people, chap, xlvii. 20-22,) and as that established priesthood was in all likelihood idolatrous, and as the worship of Apis under the form of an ox was one of the most ancient forms of worship in Egypt, we may rest tolerably certain that it was chiefly on this account that the shepherds, or those who fed on and sacrificed these objects of their worship, were an abomination to the Egyptians. Calmet has entered into this subject at large, and to his notes I must refer those readers who wish for farther information. See on chap, xliii. 32.

On the principal subject of this chapter, the going down of Jacob and his family into Egypt, Bishop War- burton, in his Divine Legation of Moses, makes the following judicious reflections: "The promise God made to Abraham, to give his posterity the land of Canaan, could not be performed till that family was grown strong enough to take and keep possession of it. In the meantime, therefore, they were necessitated to reside among idolaters, and to reside unmixed; but whoever examines their history will see that the Israelites had ever a violent propensity to join themselves to Gentile nations, and practise their manners. God therefore, in his infinite wisdom, brought them into Egypt, and kept them there during this period, the only place where they could remain for so long a time safe and unconfounded with the natives, the ancient Egyptians being by numerous institutions forbidden all fellowship with strangers, and bearing besides a particular aversion to the profession of the Israelites, who were shepherds. Thus the natural dispositions of the Is raelites, which in Egypt occasioned their superstitions, and in consequence the necessity of a burdensome ritual, would in any other country have absorbed them into Gentilism, and confounded them with idolaters. From the Israelites going into Egypt arises a new occasion to adore the footsteps of Eternal Wisdom in his dispensations to his chosen people."

toseph informs Pharaoh that his father and brethren are arrived in Goshen, 1. He presents five of his brethren before the king, 2, who questions them concerning their occupation; they inform him that they are shepherds, and request permission to dwell in the land o/ Goshen, 3, 4. Pharaoh consents, and desires that some of the most active of them should be made rulers over his cattle, 5,6. Joseph presents his father to Pharaoh, 7, who questions him concerning his age, 8, to ivhich Jacob returns an affecting answer, and blesses Pharaoh, 9, 10. Joseph places his father and family in the land o/ Ranieses, {Goshen,) and furnishes them ivith provisions, 11, 12. The famine prevailing in the land, the Egyptians deliver up all their money to Joseph to get food, 13-15. The next year they bring their cattle, 16, 17. The third, their lands and their persons, 18-21. The land of the priests Joseph does not buy, as it was a royal grant to them from Pharaoh, 22. The people receive seed to sow the land on condition that they shall give a fifth part of the produce to the king, 23, 24. The people agree, and Joseph makes it a law all over Egypt, 25, 26. The Israelites multiply exceedingly, 27. Jacob, having lived seventeen years in Goshen, and being one hundred and forty-seven years old, 28, inakes Joseph promise not to bury him m Egypt, but in Canaan, 29, 30. Joseph promises and confirms it loith an oath, 31.

'T^HEN Joseph ^ came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in ^ the land of Goshen.

2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and ° presented them unto Pharaoh.

3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, ^ What is your occupation? And they said

Verse 2. He took some of his brethren^ There is something very strange in the original; literally translated it signifies " from the end or extremity (Hi'pO miktseh) of his brethren he took five men." This has been understood six different ways. 1. Joseph took five of his brethren that came first to hand — at random, without design or choice. 2. Joseph took five of the 7neanest-looking of his brethren to present before Pharaoh, fearing if he had taken the sightliest that Pharaoh would detain them for his service, whereby their religion and morals might be corrupted. 3. Joseph took five of the best made and finest-looking of his brethren, and presented them before Pharaoh, wishing to impress his mind with a favourable opinion of the

unto Pharaoh, ® Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our

4 (They said moreover unto Pharaoh,) ^ For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; ^ for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants '' dwell in the land of Goshen.

5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying,

family which he had just now brought into Egypt, and to do himself honour. 4. Joseph took five of the youngest of his brethren. 5. He took five of the eldest of his brethren. 6. He took five from the extremity or end of his brethren, i. e., some of the eldest and some of the youngest, viz., Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar,. and Benjamin. — Rab. Solomon, It is certain that in Judges xviii. 2, the word may be understood as implying dignity, valour, excellence, and pre-eminence: And the children of Dan sent of their family FIVE men Dnii'M miktsotham, not from their coasts, but of the most eminent or excellent they had; and it is probable they might have had their eye on what Joseph did here when they made their choice, choosing the same number, five, and of their principal men, as

6 ^ The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; ^ in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, ^ How old art thou 1

9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, ™ The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred

— -and thirty years: '^ few and evil have the days of tlie~year3 -of my life been, and ° have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrimage.

did Joseph, because the mission was important, to go and search out the land. But the word may be understood simply as signifying some; out of the lohole of his brethren he took only five men, &c.

Verse 6. In the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell] So it appears that the land of Goshen was the best of the land of Egypt.

Men of activity] i^T\ 'lyJN anshey chayil, stout or robust men — such as were capable of bearing fatigue, and of rendering their authority respectable.

Rulers over my cattle.] nJpO mikneh signifies not only cattle, but possessions or property of any kind; though most usually cattle are intended, because in ancient times they constituted the principal part of a man's property. The word may be taken here in a more extensive sense, and the circumstances of the case seem obviously to require it. If every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians, however we may understand or qualify the expression, is it to be supposed that Pharaoh should desire that the brethren of his prime minister, of his chief favourite, should be employed in some of the very meanest offices in the land ] We may therefore safely understand Pharaoh as expressing his will, that the brethren of Joseph should be appointed as overseers or superintendents of his domestic concerns, while Joseph superintended those of the state.

Verse 7. Jacob blessed Pharaoh.] Saluted him on his entrance with Peace be unto thee, or some such expression of respect and good will. For the meaning of the term to bless, as applied to God and man, see on chap. ii. 3.

Verse 9. The days of the years of my pilgrimage] '*^1JD megurai, of my sojourning or wandering. Jacob

11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of 1 Rameses, ^ as Pharaoh had com-

1 2 And Joseph nourished his father, and hw brethren, and all his father's household, witli bread, ^according to their families.*

1 3 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, ^ so that the land of Egypt, and all the land of Canaan, fainted by reason of the famine.

the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.

had always lived a migratory or wandering life, in different parts of Canaan, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, scarcely ever at rest; and in the places where he lived longest, always exposed to the fatigues of the field and the desert. Our word pilgrim comes from the French pelerin and pelegrin, which are corrupted from the Latin peregrinus, an alien, stranger, or foreigner, from the adverb peregre, abroad, not at home. The pilgrim was a person who took a journey, long or short, on some religious account, submitting during the time to many hardships and privations. A more appropriate term could not be conceived to express the life of Jacob, and the motive which induced him to live such a life. His journey to Padan-aram or Mesopotamia excepted, the principal part of his journeys were properly piU grimages, undertaken in the course of God's providence on a religious account.

Have not attained unto the — life of my fathers] Jacob lived in the whole one hundred and forty-seven years; Isaac his father lived one hundred and eighty; and Abraham his grandfather, one hundred and seventy- Jive. These were days of years in comparison of the lives of the preceding patriarchs, some of whom lived nearly ten centuries!

A''erse 14. Gathered up all the money] i. e., by selling corn out of the public stores to the people; and this he did till the money failed, ver. 15, till all the money was exchanged for corn, and brought into Pharaoh's treasury. Besides the fifth part of the produce of the seven plentiful years, Joseph had bought additional com with Pharaoh's money to lay up against the famine that was to prevail in the seven years of dearth; and it is very likely that this was sold out at the price for which it was bought, and the fifth part, which belonged to Pharaoh, sold out at the same price. And as money

15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for ^ why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.

1 6 And Joseph said. Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.

17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses; and he "^ fed them with bread for all their cattle, for that year.

year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our b'^odies and our lands: 1 9 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes.

this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here IS seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.

at that time could not be plentiful, the cash of the whole nation was thus exhausted, as far as that had circulated among the common people.

Verse 16. Give your cattle] This was the wisest measure that could be adopted, both for the preservation of the people and of the cattle also. As the people had not grain for their own sustenance, consequently they could have none for their cattle; hence the cattle were in the most imminent danger of starving; and the people also were in equal danger, as they must have divided a portion of that bought for themselves with the cattle, which for the sake of tillage, &c., they wished of course to preserve till the seven years of famine should end. The cattle being bought by Joseph were supported at the royal expense, and very likely returned to the people at the end of the famine; for how else could they cultivate their ground, transport their merchandise, &c., &c. ] For this part of Joseph's conduct he certainly deserves high praise and no censure,

Verse 18. When that year was ended] The sixth year of the famine, they came unto him the second year, which was the last or seventh year of the famine, in which it was necessary to sow the land that there might be a crop the succeeding year; for Joseph, on whose prediction they relied, had foretold that the famine should continue only seven years, and consequently they expected the eighth year to be a fruitful year provided the land was sowed, without which, though the inundation of the land by the Nile might amount to the sixteen requisite cubits, there could be no crop.

Verse 19. Buy us and our land for bread] In times of famine in Hindostan, thousands of children have been sold to prevent their perishing. In the Burman empire the sale of whole families to discharge debts is very common.- -Ward'' s Customs.

both we and our land? buy us and a. m. 2302.

our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give Its seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.

20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.

2 1 (And as for the people, he removed theiiti to cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.)

22 y Only the land of the ^ priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them, of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.

23 Then Joseph said unto the a.m. 2203. people. Behold, I have bought you

Verse 2 1. And as for the people, he removed them to cities] It is very likely that Joseph was influenced by no political motive in removing the people to the cities, but merely by a motive of humanity and prudence. As the corn was laid up in the cities he found it more convenient to bring them to the place where they might be conveniently fed; each being within the reach of an easy distribution. Thus then the country which could afford no sustenance was abandoned for the time being, that the people might be fed in those places where the provision was deposited.

Verse 22. The land of the priests bought he noi\ From this verse it is natural to infer that whatever the religion of Egypt was, it ivas established by law and supported by the state. Hence when Joseph bought all the lands of the Egyptians for Pharaoh, he bought not the land of the priests, for that was a portion assigned them by Pharaoh; and they did eat — did live on, that portion. This is the earliest account we have of an established religion supported by the state.

Verse 33. / have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh] It fully appears that the kingdom of Egypt was previously to the time of Joseph a very limited monarchy. The king had his estates; the priests had their lands; and the common people their partrimony independently of both. The land of Rameses or Goshen appears to have been the king's land, ver. 1 1. The priests had their lands, which they did not sell to Joseph, ver. 22, 26; and that the people had lands independent of the crown, is evident from the purchases Joseph made, ver. 19, 20; and we may conclude from those purchases that Pharaoh had no power to levy taxes upon his subjects to increase his own revenue until he had bought the original right which each individual had in his possessions. And when Joseph bought this for the king he raised tha 257 a

The Israelites are multiplied.

JacoVs death draws r.ear.

24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones,

25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: * let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.

26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; ^ except the land of the ^ priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.

27 And Israel ^ dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and ^ grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

dvi. 3. ' Heb. the days of the years of crown an ample revenue, though he restored the lands, by obliging each to pay one fifth of the product to the king, ver. 24. And it Is worthy of remark that the people of Egypt well understood the distinction between subjects and servants; for when they came to sell their land, they offered to sell themselves also, and said: But/ us and our land, and we and our land will he servants unto Pharaoh, ver. 19.

Diodoms Siculus, lib. i., gives the same account of the ancient constitution of Egypt. " The land," says he, " was divided into three parts: 1. One belonged to the PRIESTS, with which they provided all sacrifices, and maintained all the ministers of religion. 2. A second part was the king's, to support his court and family, and to supply expenses for wars if they should happen. Hence there were no taxes, the king having so ample an estate. 3. The remainder of the land belonged to the subjects, who appear (from the account of Diodorus) to have been all soldiers, a kind of standing rnilitia, liable, at the king's expense, to serve in all wars for the preservation of the state." This was a constitution something like the British; the government appears to have been mixed, and the monarchy properly limited, till Joseph, by buying the land of the people, made the king in some sort despotic. But it does not appear that any improper u.se was made of this, as in much later times we find it still a comparatively limited monarchy.

Verse 24. Ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh] This is precisely the case m Hindostan; the king has the fifth part of all the crops.

^''erse 26. And Joseph made it a lavj] That the people should hold their land from the king, and give him the fifth part of the produce as a yearly tax. Beyond this it appears the king had no farther demands. The whole of this conduct of Joseph has been as strongly censured by some as applauded by others. It is natural for men to run into extremes in tttacking or defending any position. Sober and judia 258

28 And Jacob lived in the land a. M. 2315.

29 And the time ^ drew nigh that Israel must die; and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him. If now I have foimd grace in thy sight, ^ put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and ' deal kindly and truly with me; '' bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt.

.30 But ^ I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and ^ bury me in their burj'ing-place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

3 1 And he said. Swear unto me; and he sware unto him. And "Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

cious men will consider what Joseph did by Divine appointment as a prophet of God, and what he did merely as a statesman from the circumstances of the case, the complexion of the times, and the character of the people over whom he presided. When this is dispassionately done, we shall see much reason to adore God, applaud the man, and perhaps in some cases censure the minister. Joseph is never held up to our view as an unerring prophet of God. He was an honoured instrument in the hands of God of saving two nations from utter ruin, and especially of preserving that family from which the Messiah was to spring, and of perpetuating the true religion among them. In this character he is represented in the sacred pages. His conduct as the prime minister of Pharaoh was powerfully indicative of a deep and consummate politician, who had high notions of prerogative, which led him to use every prudent means to aggrandize his master, and at the same time to do what he judged best on the whole for the people he governed. See the conclusion of the 50th chapter.

Verse 30. I will lie with my fathers] As God had prorni-sed the land of Canaan to Abraham and his posterity, Jacob considered it as a consecrated place, under the particular superintendence and blessing of God: and as Sarah, Abraham, and Isaac were interred near to Hebron, he in all probability wished to lie, not only in the same place, but in the same grave; and it is not likely that he would have been solicitous about this, had he not considered that promised land as being a tifpe of the rest that remains for the people of God, and a pledge of the inheritance among the saints in light.

xlviii. 2) while conversing with his son, and receiving his oath and promise; and that when this was finished \\c. bowed himself upon the bed's head — exhausted with tiie conversation, he again reclined himself on his bed as before. This seems to be the simple meaning, which the text, unconnected with any religious system or prejudice, naturally proposes. But because nnC' shachah, signifies not only to how but to tcorship, because acts of religious worship were performed by bowing or prostration, and because HO'^ mittah, a bed, by the change of the points, only becomes matteh, a staff, in which sense the Septuagint took it, translating the original words thus: Kat -pcasKWjjaev lapari?. e-l TO anpov T7JC l)aj36ov avrov, and Israel worshipped upon the top of his staff, which the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xi. Ql, quotes literatim; therefore some have supposed that Jacob certainly had a carved im a^e on the head or top of his staff, to which he paid a species of adoration; or that he bowed himself to the staff or sceptre of Joseph, thus fulfilling the prophetic import of his son's dreams! The sense of the Hebrew text is given above. If the reader prefers the sense of the Septuagint and the Epistle to the Hebrews, the meaning is, that Jacob, through feebleness, supported himself with a staff, and that, when he got the requisite assurance from Joseph that his dead body should be carried to Canaan, leaning on his staff he bowed his head in adoration to God, who had supported him all his life long, and hitherto fol filled all his promises.

Joseph, hearing that his father teas near death, took his ttco sons Ephraim and Manasseb, and went to Goshen, to visit him, 1. Jacob strengthens himself to receive them. 2. Gives Joseph an account of God's appearing to him at Luz, and repeating the promise, 3, 4. Adopts Ephraim a«rf Manasseh as his own sons, 5, 6. Mentions the death of Rachel at Ephrath, 7. He blesses Ephraim and Manasseh, preferring the former, who was the younger, to his elder brother, 8—17. Joseph, supposing his father had mistaken in giving the right of primogeniture to the youngest, endeavours to correct him, 18. Jacob shows that he did it designedly, prophecies much good concerning both; but sets Ephraim the youngest before Manasseh, 19, 20. Jacob speaks of his death, and predicts the return of his posterity from Egypt, 21. And gives Joseph a portion above his brethren, which he had taken from the Amorites, 22.

Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh imto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

3 And Jacob said vinto Joseph, God almighty appeared unto ine at * Luz in tlie land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4 And said unto me. Behold, I will make ihee fruitful, and multiply thee, and -i will make of thee a multitude of people; and will

Verse 1. One told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick] He was ill before, and Joseph knew it; but it appears that a messenger had been now despatched to inform Joseph that his father was apparently at the point of death.

Verse 2. Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed] He had been confined to his bed before, (see chap, xlvii. 31,) and now, hearing that Joseph was come to see him, he made what efforts his little remaining strength would admit, to sit up in bed to receive his son. This verse proves that a bed, not a staff, is intended in the preceding chapter, ver. 31.

Verse 3. God Almighty] 'T^y Sx El Shaddai, the allsufficient God,\he Outpourer and Dispenser of mercies.

5 And now thv "^ two sons, Ephraim and ^lanasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of £g}-pt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, thev shall be mine.

6 And thy issue, which tliou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, "^ Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan

Verse 5. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh— are mine] I now adopt them into ray own family, and they shall have their place among my twelve sons, and be treated in every respect as those, and have an equal interest in all the spiritual and temporal blessings of the covenant.

Verse 7. Rachel died by me, J^-c.] Rachel was the wife of Jacob's choice, and the object of his unvarying affection; he loved her in life — he loves her in death: many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods diovra it. A match of a man's own making, when guided by reason and religion, will necessarily be a happy one. When fathers and mothers make

Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Beth-lehem.

8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

9 And Joseph said unto his father, ^ They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said. Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and ^ I will bless them.

10 (Now ^ the eyes of Israel were ^ dim for age, so that he could not see.) And he

matches for their children, which are dictated by motives, not of affection, but merely of convenience, worldly gain, &c., &c., such matches are generally wretched; it is Leah in the place of Rachel to the end of life's pilgrimage.

Verse 8. Who are these 'f'\ At verse 10 it is said, that Jacob's eyes were dim for age, that he could not see — could not discern any object unless it were near him; therefore, though he saw Ephraim and Manasseh, yet he could not distinguish them till they were brought nigh unto him.

Verse 11.7 had not thought to see thy face] There is much delicacy and much tenderness in these expressions. He feels himself now amply recompensed for his long grief and trouble on account of the supposed death of Joseph, in seeing not only himself but his two sons, whom God, by an especial act of favour, is about to add to the number of his own. Thus we find that as Reuben and Simeon were heads of two distinct tribes in Israel, so were Ephraim and Manasseh; because Jacob, in a sort of sacramental way, had adopted them with equal privileges to those of his own sons.

Verse 12. Joseph — bowed himself with his face to the earth.] This act of Joseph has been extravagantly extolled by Dr. Delaney and others. " When I consider him on his knees to God," says Dr. Deianey, " I regard him as a poor mortal in the discharge of his duty to his Ceeator. When I behold him bowing before Pharaoh, I consider him in the dutiful posture of a suhject to his prince. But when I see him bending to the earth before a poor, old, blind, decrepit father, I behold him with admiration and delight. How doth that humiliation exalt him!" This is insufferable! for it in effect says that it is a wondrous condescension in a young man, who, in the course of God's providence, with scarcely any efforts of his own, was raised to affluence and worldly grandeur, to show respect to his father! And that respect was the more gratuitous and condescending, because that father was poor, old, blind, and decrepit! The maxim of this most exceptionable flight of admiration is, that " children who have risen to affluence are not obliged to reverence their parents when reduced in their circumstances, and Drought down by the weight of years and infirmities to the sides of the grave; and should they acknowledge and reverence them, it would be a mark of sin-

brought them near unto him; and he 'kissed them, and en.braced them.

1 1 And Israel said unto Joseph, ^ 1 had not thought to see thy face: and lo, God hath showed me also thy seed.

12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth,

13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.

gular goodness, and be highly meritorious." Should positions of this kind pass without reprehension? 1 trow not. By the law of God and nature Joseph was as much bound to pay his dying father this filial respect, as he was to reverence his king, or to worship his God. As to myself, 1 must freely confess that I see nothing peculiarly amiable in this part of Joseph's conduct; he simply acquitted himself of a duty which God, nature, decency, and common sense, imperiously demanded of him, and all such in his circumstances, to discharge. To the present day children in the east, next to God, pay the deepest reverence to their parents. Besides, before whom was Joseph bowing? Not merely his father, but a most eminent patriarch; one highly distinguished by the Lord, and one of the three of whom the Supreme Being speaks in the most favourable and affectionate manner; the three who received and transmitted the true faith, and kept unbroken the Divine covenant; I am the God o/ Abraham, the God o/" Isaac, and the God o/ Jacob. He has never said, I am the God of Joseph. And if we compare the father and the son as men, we shall find that the latter was exceeded by the former in almost endless degrees. Joseph owed his advancement and his eminence to what some would call good foi'tune, and what loe know to have been the especial providence of God working in his behalf, wholly independent of his own industry, &c., every event of that providence issuing in his favour. Jacob owed his own support and preservation, and the support and preservation of his numerous family, under God, to the continual exercise of the vast powers of a strong and vigorous mind, to which the providence of God seemed ever in opposition; because God chose to try to the uttermost the great gifts which he had bestowed. If therefore the most humble and abject inferior should reverence dignity and eminence raised to no common height, so should Joseph bow down his face to the earth before JACOB.

Besides, Joseph, in thus reverencing his father, only followed the customs of the Egyptians among whom he lived, who, according to Herodotus, (Euterpe, c. 80,) were particularly remarkable for the reverence they paid to old age. " For if a young person meet his senior, he instantly turns aside to make way for him; if an aged person enter an apartment, the youth alwa.vs a

14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, ^ guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born.

1 5 And ^ he blessed Joseph, and said, God, ° before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac

rise from their seats;" and Mr. Savary observes that the reverence mentioned by Herodotus is yet paid to old age on every occasion in Egypt. In Mohammedan countries the children sit as if dumb in the presence of their parents, never attempting to speak unless spoken to. Among the ancient Romans it was considered a crime worthy of death not to rise up in the presence of an aged person, and acting a contrary part was deemed an awful mark of the deep degeneracy of the times. Thus the satirist: —

Credehant hoc grande nefas, et morte piandum, Si Juvenis vetulo non assurrexerat; et si Barbato cuicumque puer. Jut. Sat. xiii., v. 54.

And had not men the hoary heads revered, Or boys paid reverence when a man appear'd, Both must have died. Dryden.

Indeed, though Dr. Delaney is much struck with what he thinks to be great and meritorious condescension and humility on the part of Joseph; yet we find the thing itself, the deepest reverence to parents and old age, practised by all the civilized nations in the world, not as a matter of meritorious courtesy, but as a point of rational and absolute duty.

Verse 14. Israel stretched out his right hand, c^c.] Laying hands on the head was always used among the Jews in giving blessings, designating men to any office, and in the consecration of solemn sacrifices. This is the first time we find it mentioned; but we often read of it afterwards. See Num. xxvii. 18, 23; Deut. xxxiv. 9; Matt. xix. 13, 15; Acts vi. 6; 1 Tim. iv. 14. Jacob laid his right hand on the head of the younger, which we are told he did tvittingly — well knowing what he was about, for (or although) Manasseh was the first-horn, knowing by the Spirit of prophecy that Ephraim's posterity would be more powerful than that of Manasseh. It is observable how God from the beginning has preferred the younger to the elder, as Abel before Cain; Shem before Japheth; Isaac before Ishmael; Jacob before Esau; Judah and Joseph before Reuben; Ephraim before Manasseh; Moses before Aar-on; and David before his brethren. " This is to be resolved entirely into the wise and secret counsel of God, so far as it regards temporal blessings and national privileges, as the apostle tells us, Rom. ix. 11; see the notes on chap. xxv. 23. But this preference has no concern with God's conferring a greater measure of his love and approbation on one person more than another; compare Gen. iv. 7, with Heb xi. 4, and you will see that a difference in moral character was the sole cause why God preferred Abel to Cain." — Dodd. The grace that converts the soul I

did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

1 6 The Angel ° which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let p my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them i grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

certainly comes from the mere mercy of God, without any merit on man's part; and a sufficiency of this is offered to every man, Tit. ii. 11, 12. But it is not less certain that God loves those best who are most faithful to this grace.

Verse 15. He blessed Joseph] The father first, and then the sons afterwards. And this is an additional proof to what has been adduced under ver. 12, of Jacob's superiority; for the less is always blessed of the greater.

The God which fed me all my life long] Jacob is now standing on the verge of eternity, with his faith strong in God. He sees his life to be a series of mercies; and as he had been affectionately attentive, provident, and kind to his most helpless child, so has God been unto him; he has fed him all his life long; he plainly perceives that he owes every morsel of food which he has received to the mere mercy and kindness

Verse 16. The Angel ivhich redeemed me from all evil] hii.lT\ 1>?Son hammalac haggoel. The Messenger, the Redeemer or Kinsman; for so 7XJ goel signifies; for this term, in the law of Moses, is applied to that person whose right it is, from his being nearest akin, to redeem or purchase back a forfeited inheritance. But of whom does Jacob speak T We have often seen, in the preceding chapters, an angel of God appearing to the patriarchs; (see particularly chap. xvi. 7, and the note there;) and we have full proof that this was no created angel, but the Messenger of the Divine Council, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who then was the angel that redeemed Jacob, and whom he invoked to bless Ephraim and Manasseh? Is it not JESUS ■? He alone can be called Goel, the redeeming Kinsman; for he alone took part of our flesh and blood that the right of redemption might be his; and that the forfeited possession of the favour and image of God might be redeemed, brought back, and restored to all those who believe in his name. To have invoked any other angel or messenger in such a business would have been impiety. Angels bless not; to God alone this prerogative belongs. With what confidence may a truly religious father use these words in behalf of his children: " Jesus, the Christ, who hath redeemed me, bless the lads, redeem them also, and save them unto eternal life!"

Let my name be named on them] " Let them be ever accounted as a part of my own family; let them be true Israelites — persons who shall prevail with God as I have done; and the name of Abraham — being partakers of his faith; and the name of Isaac — let them be as remarkable for submissive obedience as he

17 And when Joseph saw that his father ""laid his right hand the head of Ephraim, it ^ displeased

him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

1 8 And Joseph said unto his father. Not so, my father: for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head.

1 9 And his father refused, and said, ' I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and- he also shall be great: but truly " h's younger brother shall be greater than

was. Let the virtues of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be accumulated in them, and invariably displayed by them!" These are the very words of adoption; and by the imposition of hands, the invocation of the Redeemer, and the solemn blessing pronounced, the adoption was completed. From this moment Ephraim and Manasseh had the same rights and privileges as Jacob's sons, which as the sons of Joseph they could never have possessed.

And let them grow into a multitude^ 317 UT1 veyidgu larob; Let them increase like fishes into a multitude. Fish are the most prolific of all animals; see the instances produced on chap. i. 20. This prophetic blessing was verified in a most remarkable manner; see Num. xxvi. 34, 37; Deut. xxxiii. 17; Josh. xvii. 17. At one tim.e the tribe of Ephraim amounted to 40,500 effective men, and that of Manasseh to 52,700, amounting in the whole to 93,200.

Verse 18. Joseph said — Not so, 7ny father"] Joseph supposed that his father had made a mistake in laying his right hand on the head of the youngest, because the right hand was considered as the most noble, and the instrument of conveying the highest dignities, and thus it has ever been considered among all nations, though the reason of it is not particularly obvious. Even in the heavens the right hand of God is the place of the most exalted dignity. It has been observed that Joseph spoke here as he was moved by natural affection, and that Jacob acted as he was influenced by the Holy Spirit.

Verse 20. In thee shall Israel bless] That is, In future generations the Israelites shall take their form of wishing prosperity to any nation or family from the circumstance of the good which it shall be known that God has done to Ephraim and Manasseh: May God make thee as fruitful as Ephraim, and multiply thee as Manasseh! So, to their daughters when married, the Jewish women are accustomed to say, God make thee as Sarah and Rebekah! The forms are still in use.

Verse 21. Behold, I die] With what composure is this most awful word expressed! Surely of Jacob it might be now said, " He turns his sight undaunted on the tomb;" for though it is not said that he teas full of days, as were Abraham and Isaac, yet he is per-

he, and his seed shall become a " multitude of nations,

20 And he blessed them that day, saying, "^ In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but '^ God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

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

fectly willing to bid adieu to earthly things, and lay his body in the grave. Could any person act as the patriarchs did in their last moments, who had no hopes of eternal life, no belief in the immortality of the soul? Impossible! With such a conviction of the being of God, with such proofs of his tenderness and regard, with such experience of his providential and miraculous interference in their behalf, could they suppose that they were only creatures of a day, and that God had wasted so much care, attention, providence, grace, and goodness, on creatures who were to be ultimately like the beasts that perish 1 The supposition that they could have no correct notion of the immortality of the soul is as dishonourable to God as to themselves. But what shall we think of Christians who have formed this hypothesis into a system to prove — what '\ Why, that the patriarchs lived and died in the dark! That either the soul has no immortality, or that God has not thought proper to reveal it. Away with such an opinion! It cannot be said to merit serious refutation. Verse 22. Moreover I have given to thee one portion] inx DDE' shechem achad, one shecheni or one shoulder. We have already seen the transactions between Jacob and his family on one part, and Shechem and the sons of Hamor on the other. See chap, xxxiii. 18, 19, and chap, xxxiv. As he uses the word shechem here, I think it likely that he alludes to the purchase of the field or parcel of ground mentioned chap, xxxiii. 18, 19. It has been supposed that this parcel of ground, which Jacob bought from Shechem, had been taken from him by the Amorites, and that he afterwards had recovered it by his sivord and by his boio, i. e., by force of arms. Shechem appears to have fallen to the lot of Joseph's sons; (see Josh. xvii. 1, and XX. 7;) and in our Lord's time there was a parcel of ground near to Sychar or Shechem which was still considered as that portion which Jacob gave to his son Joseph, John iv. 5; and on the whole it was probably the same that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of money, chap, xxxiii. 18, 19. But how it could be said that he took this out of the hand of the Amorite icith his sword and his bow, we cannot tell. Many attempts have been made to explain this abstruse verse, but they have all hitherto been fruitles.*;. Jacob's words were no doubt perfectly well understood by Joseph, and probably alluded to some transaction that is not now on record; and it is much safer for us to confess our ignorance, than to hazard conjecture after conjecture on a subject of which we can know nothing certainly.

1. Gn filial respect to aged and destitute parents we have already had occasion to speak; seever. 11. The duty of children to their parents only ceases when the parents are laid in their graves, and this duty is the next in order and importance to the duty we owe to God. No circumstances can alter its nature or lessen its importance; Honour thy father and thy mother is the sovereign, everlasting command of God. While the relations oi parent and child exist, this commandment will be in full force.

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

3. We find that the patriarchs ever held the promised land in the most sacred point of view. It was God''s gift to them; it was confirmed by a covenant that spoke of and referred to better things. We believe that this land typified the rest which remains for the people of God, and can we be indifferent to the excellence of this rest! A patriarch could not die in peace, however distant from this land, without an assurance that his bones should be laid in it. How can ive live, how can we die comfortably, without the assurance that our lives are hid with Christ in God, and that we shall dwell in his presence for ever 1 There remains a rest for the people of God, and only for the people of God; for those alone who love, serve, reverence, and obey him, in his Son Jesus Christ, shall ever enjoy it.

Jntob, about to die, calls his sons together that he may bless them, or give prophetic declarations concerning ^Aej'r posterity, 1, 2. Prophetic declaration concerning, Reuben, 3, 4. Concerning Simeon and Levi, 5—7; concerning Judah, 8-12; concerning Zebulun, 13; concerning Issachar, 14, 15; concerning DdJa, 16—18; concerning Gad, 19; concerning Asher, 20; concerning Naphtali, 21; concerning Joseph, 22-26; concerning Benjamin, 27. Summary concerning the ttvelve tribes, 28. Jacob gives directions concerning his being buried in the cave of Machpelah, 29—32. Jacob dies, 33.

M. 2315. A ND Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves

together, that I may ^ tell you that which shall Defall you "" in the last days.

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

2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and ° hearken unto Israel your father.

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

Bishop Newton has justly observed that Jacob had received a double blessing, spiritual and temporal; the promise of being progenitor of the Messiah, and the promise of the land of Canaan. The promised land he might divide among his children as he pleased, but the other must be confined to one of his sons; he therefore assigns to each son a portion in the land of Canaan, but limits the descent of the blessed seed to the tribe of Judah. Some have put themselves to a great deal of trouble and learned labour to show that it was a general opinion of the ancients that the soul, a short time previous to its departure from the body, becomes endued with a certain measure of th«

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

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

5 '' Simeon and Levi are ' brethren; "" in struments "" of cruelty are in their habitations.

6 O my soul, "come not thou into then

prophetic gift ox foresight; and that this was probably the case with Jacob. But it would be derogatory to the dignity of the prophecies delivered in this chapter, to suppose that they came by any other means than direct inspiration, as to their main matter, though certain circumstances appear to be left to the patriarch himself, in which he might express his own feelings both as a father and as a judge. This is strikingly evident, 1. In the case of Reuben, from whom he had received the grossest insult, however the passage relative to him may be understood; and, 2. In the case of Joseph, the tenderly beloved son of his most beloved loife Rachel, in the prophecy concerning whom he gives full vent to all those tender and affectionate emotions which, as 2i father and a husband, do him endless credit.

My might, and the prime of my strength, Excelling in eminence, and excelling in power:

4. Pouring out like the waters: — thou shalt not excel, For thou wentest up to the bed of thy father, — Then thou didst defile: to my couch he went up!

Verse 3. Reuben as the first-born had a right to a double portion of all that the father had; see Deut. xxi. 17.

The eminence or dignity mentioned here may refer to the priesthood; the poiver, to the r-tgal government or kingdom. In this sense it ha^, been understood by all the ancient Targumists. The Targum of Onkelos paraphrases it thus: " Tnou shouldst have received three portions, the birthright, the priesthood, and the kingdom:" and to this the Targums of Jonathan ben JJzziel and Jerusalem add: " But because thou hast sinned, the birthright is given to Joseph, the kingdom to Judah, and the priesthood to Levi." That the birthright was given to the sons of Joseph we have the fullest proof from 1 Chron. v. 1.

Verse 4. Pouring out like the ivaters'] This is an obscure sentence because unfinished. It evidently relates to the defilement of his father's couch; and the word mS pachaz, here translated pouring out, and in our Version unstable, has a bad meaning in other places of the Scripture, being applied to dissolute, debauched, and licentious conduct. See Judg. ix. 4 • Zeph. iii. 4; Jer. xxiii. 14, 32; xxix. 23.

Thou shalt not excel] This tribe never rose to any eminence in Israel; was not so numerous by one third as either Judah, Joseph, or Dan, when Moses took the sum of them in the wilderness. Num. i. 21 • and was among the first that were carried into captivity, 1 Chron. v. 26.

Then thou didst defile] Another unfinished sentence, similar to the former, and upon the same subject, passing over a transaction covertly, which delicacy forbade Jacob to enlarge on. For the crime of Reuben, see the notes on chap. xxxv. 22.

6. Into their secret council my soul did not come; In their confederacy my honour was not united: For in their anger they slew a man,(B'"N ish, a noble,) And in their pleasure they murdered a prince.

7. Cursed was their anger, for it was fierce! And their excessive wrath, for it was inflexible! I will divide them out in Jacob,

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

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

The Septuagint gives a different turn to this line from our translation, and confirms the translation given above: I,vveTe?.Ecav adiKiav e^atpeaeuc avruv They have accomplished the iniquity of their purpose; with which the Samaritan Version agrees. In the Samaritan text we read "^^iU calu, they have accomplished, instead of the Hebrew '•^2 keley, loeapons or instruments, which reading most critics prefer: and as to Dri'mDO mecher othey hem, ixdi,ns\d,te([ above their fraudulent purposes, and which our translation on almost no authority renders their habitations, it must either come from the Mthiopic 1D0 macar, he counselled, devised stratagems, SfC, (see Castel,) or from the Arabic jjy^macara, he deceived, practised deceit, plotted, &,c., which is nearly of the same import. This gives not only a consistent but evidently the true sense.

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

If it should be said that the words N3n tabo and *inr\ techad should be translated in the future tense or in the imperative, as in our translation, I shall not contend; though it is well known that the preterite is often used for the future in Hebrew, and vice versa. Taken thus, the words mark the strong detestation which this holy man's soul felt for the villany of his sons: " My soul shall not come into their secret

for ^ in their anger they slew a man, and in

And in their pleasure] This marks the highest degree of wickedness and settled malice, they were delighted with their deed. A similar spirit Saul of Tarsus possessed previously to his conversion; speaking of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, St. Luke says. Acts viii, 1: 1,av?iOg 6s rjv awsvdoKuv ttj avaipeuei avTov And Saul ivas gladly consenting to his death. He was with the others highly delighted with it; and thus the prediction of our Lord was fulfilled, John xvi. 2: Yea, the time cometh, that ivhosoever killeth you loill think that he doeth God service. And it is represented as the highest pitch of profligacy and wickedness, not only to sin, but to delight in it; see Rom. i. 32. As the original word |i:f"i ratson signifies, in general, pleasure, benevolence, delight, &c., it should neither be translated self-ivill nor wilfulness, as some have done, but simply as above; and the reasons appear sufficiently obvious. They murdered a prince — r Hamor, the father of Shechem. Instead of "W^i) shor, which we have translated a wall, and others an ox, I read Ti? sar, a prince, which makes a consistent sense; (see Kennicott's first Dissertation, p. 56, &c.;) as there is no evidence whatever that Simeon and Levi either dug down a wall or houghed the oxen, as some have translated the passage; (see the margin;) on the contrary, the text, chap. xxxv. 28, 29, proves that they had taken for their own use the sheep, oxen, asses, all their wealth, their ivives, and their little ones.

Verse 7. Cursed luas their anger] The first motions of their violence tvere savage; and their excessive or overflowing tvrath, ni3J.' ebrah, for it ivas inflexible — 'neither the supplications of the males, nor the entreaties, tears, cries, and shrieks of the helpless females, could deter them from their murderous purpose; for this, ver. 5, they are said to have accomplished.

Iivill divide them out, UpiTMi achallekem, Iivill make them into lots, giving a portion of them to one tribe, and a portion to another; but they shall never attain to any political consequence. This appears to have been literally fulfilled. Levi had no inheritance except forty-eight cities, scattered through different parts of the land of Canaan: and as to the tribe of Simeon, it is generally believed among the Jews that they became schoolmasters to the other tribes; and when they entered Canaan they had only a small portion, a few towns and villages in the worst part of Judah's lot. Josh. xix. 1, which afterwards finding too little, they formed different colonies in districts which they conquered from the Idumeans and Amaiekttes, 1 Chron. iv. 39, &c. Thus these two tribes

and their wrath, for it was cruel: * I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

8 " Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; " thy hand shall be in the neck

were not only separated from each trther, but even divided from themselves, according to this prediction of Jacob.

8. Judah! thou! Thy brethren shall praise thee. Thy hand, in the neck of thine enemies:

From the prey, my son, thou hast ascended. He couched, lying down like a strong lion, And like a lioness; who shall arouse him?

10. From Judah the sceptre shall not depart, Nor a teacher from his offspring,

And to the choice vine the foals of his ass, He washed his garments in wine, His clothes in the blood of the grape.

Verse 8. Thy brethren shall praise thee.] As the name Judah signifies praise, Jacob takes occasion from its meaning to show that this tribe should be so eminent and glorious, that the rest of the tribes should praise it; that is, they should acknowledge its superior dignity, as in its privileges it should be distinguished beyond all the others. On the prophecy relative to Judah, Dr. Hales has several judicious remarks, and has left very little to be farther desired on the subject. Every reader will be glad to meet with them here.

" The prophecy begins with his name Judah, signifying the praise of the Lord, which was given to him at his birth by his mother Leah, chap. xxix. 35. It then describes the warlike character of this tribe, to which, by the Divine appointment, was assigned the first lot of the promised land, which was conquered accordingly by the pious and heroic Caleb; the first who laid hands on the necks of his enemies, and routed and subdued them. Josh. xiv. 11; xv. 1; Judg. i. 1, 2; and Jed the way for their total subjugation under David; who, in allusion to this prediction, praises God, and says: Thou hast given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me, Psa. xviii. 40. In the- different stages of its strength, this tribe is compared to a lion''s ivhelp, to a full groivn lion, and to a nursing lioness, the fiercest of all. Hence a lion was the standard of Judah; compare Num. ii. 3, Ezek. i. 10. The city of David, where he reposed himself after his conquests, secure in the terror of his name, 1 Chron. xiv. 17, was called Ariel, the lion of God, Isa. xxix. 1; and our Lord himself, his most illustrious descendant, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Rev. v. 5.

— — '■ '- dren shall bow down before thee.

" The duration of the power of this famous tribe is next determined: ' the sceptre of dominion,' as it is understood Esth. viii. 4; Isa. xiv. 5, &c., or its civil government, was not to cease or depart from Judah until the birth or coming of Shiloh, signifying the Apostle, as Christ is stj'^led, Heb. iii. 1; nor was the native lawgiver, or expounder of the law, teacher, or scribe, intimating their ecclesiastical polity, to cease, until Shiloh should have a congregation of peoples, or religious followers, attached to him. And how accurately was this fulfilled in both these respects!

" 1. Shortly before the birth of Christ a decree was issued by Augustus Caesar that all the land of Judea and Galilee should be e?iro//e6?, or a registry of persons taken, in which Christ was included, Luke ii. 1-7; whence Julian the apostate unwittingly objected to his title of Christ or King, that ' he was born a subject of Cssar I' About eleven years after Judea was made a Roman province, attached to Syria on the deposal and banishment of Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great, for maladministration; and an assessment of properties or taxing was carried into effect by Cyrenius, then governor of Syria, the same who before, as the emperor's procurator, had made the enrolment, Luke ii. 2; Acts v. 37; and thenceforth Judea was governed by a Roman deputy, and the judicial power of life and death taken away from the Jews, John

" 2. Their ecclesiastical polity ceased with the destruction of their city and temple by the Romans, A. D. 70; at which time the Gospel had been preached through the known world by the apostles, ' his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth;' Acts ii. 8; Rom. X. 18.

" Our Lord'.s triiimpliant entry into Jerusalem, be- /ore^his crucifixion, 'riding on an ass, even a colt the Joal of an ass,' which by his direction his disciples brought to him for this purpose, — ' Go into the village over against you, and presently ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them to me,' Matt. xxi. 2-5, remarkably fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, ix. 9, is no less a fulfilment of this prophecy of Shiloh. ' binding or tying his foal to the vine, even his ass\'; colt to the choice vine.'' In ancient times to ride upon ivhite asses or ass-colts was the privilege of persons of high rank, princes, judges, and prophets, Judg. v. 10; x. 4; Num. xxii. 22. And as the children of Israel were symbolized by the vine, Psa. Ixxx. 8, Hos. x. 1, and the men of Judah by ' a (choice) vine of Sorek,'' in the original, both here and in the beautiful allegory of Isaiah, v. 1—7, adopted by Jeremiah, ii. 21, and by our Lord, Matt, xxi. 3 1, who styled himself the true vine, John xv. 1; so the union of both these images signified our Lord's assumption, as the promised Shiloh, of the dignity of the king of the Jews, not in a temporal but in a spiritual sense, as he declared to Pilate, John xviii.

my son, thou art gone up: y he A. M. 2315. stooped down, he couched as a ^' ^' ^^^^' lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

36, as a prelude to his second coming in glory *to restore again the kingdom to Israel.''

" The iiengeance to be then inflicted on all the enemies of his Church, or congregation of faithful Christians, is expressed by the symbolical imagery of ' washing his garments in ivine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes;'' which to understand literally, would be incongruous and unusual any where, while it aptly represents his garments crimsoned in the blood of his foes, and their immense slaughter; an imagery frequently adopted in the prophetic scriptures.

" The strength and wholesomeness of Shiloh's doctrine are next represented by having ' his eyes red with ivine, and his teeth white with milk.'' And thus the evangelical prophet, in similar strains, invites the world to embrace the Gospel: —

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come to the waters. And he that hath no money; come, buy and eat: Yea, come, buy wine a7id milk. Without money and ivithout price. Isa. Iv. 1.

" On the last day of the feast of tabernacles it was customary among the Jews for the people to bring water from the fountain of Siloah or Siloam, which they poured on the altar, singing the words of Isaiah, xii. 3: With joy shall ye draw loater from the fountain of salvation; which the Targum interprets, ' With joy shall ye receive a new doctrine from the elect of the JUST ONE;' and the feast itself was also called Hosannah, Save, ive beseech thee. And Isaiah has also described the apostasy of the Jews from their tutelar God Immanuel, under the corresponding imagery of their ' rejecting the gently-flowing waters of Siloah,'' Isa. viii. 6-8.

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

" And our Lord's most significant miracle v/as wrought at this fountain, when he gave sight to a man forty years old, who had been blind from his birth, by sending him, after he had anointed his eyes with moistened clay, to wash in the pool of Siloam, which is the Greek pronunciation of the Hebrew rh'tif Siloah or Siloh, Isa. viii. 6, where the Septuagint version reads "Liluan, signifying, according to the evangelist, a-eara'AHEvo^, sent forth, and consequently derived from nSiV shalach, to send, John ix. 7. Our Lord thus assuming to himself his two leading titles of Messiah, signifying anointed, and Shiloh, sent forth a

Shiloh's coming foretold.

10 ^ The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor * a lawgiver ^ from between his feet, " until Shiloh come; ^ and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 11' Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

or delegated from God; as he had done before at the opening of his mission: ' The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me forth (anEaTalKs) to heal the broken-hearted,' &c.; Luke iv. 18.

" And in the course of it he declared, I was not sent forth {anearalriv) but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Matt. xv. 24, by a twofold reference to his character in Jacofs prophecy of Shiloh and Shepherd of Israel, Gen. xlix. 10—24. 'This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou sentest forth,'' {aneareiTiac,) to instruct and save mankind, John xvii. 3; and he thus distinguishes his own superior mission from his commission to his apostles: ' As the F.4.ther hath sent ME, {aTTEOTokKE fie,) so I send you,' Trsfiivo) vfxag, John XX. 21. Whence St. Paul expressly styles Jesus Christ ' the Apostle ('O ATroa-olog) and High Priest of our profession,' Heb. iii. 1; and by an elaborate argument shows the superiority of his mission above that of Moses, and of his priesthood above that of Aaron, in the sequel of the epistle. His priesthood was foretold by David to be a royal priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, Psa. ex. 4. But where shall we find his mission or apostleship foretold, except in Jacob's prophecy of Shiloh 1 which was evidently so understood by Moses when God offered to send him as his ambassador to Pharaoh, and he declined at first the arduous mission: ' O my Lord, send I pray thee by the hand of Him whom thou loilt send,'' or by the promised Shiloh, Exod. iii. 10; iv. 13; by whom in his last blessing to the Israelites, parallel to that of Jacob, he prayed that ' God would bring back Judah to his people' from captivity, Deut. xxxiii. 7.

" Here then we find the true meaning and derivation of the much disputed term Shiloh in this prophecy of Jacob, which is fortunately preserved by the Vulgate, rendering qui mittendus est, he that is to be sent, and also by a rabbinical comment on Deut. xxii. 7: ' If you keep this precept, you hasten the coming of the Messiah, who is called Sent.'

" This important prophecy concerning Judah intimates, 1. The warlike character and conquests of this tribe; 2. The cessation of their civil and religious polity at the first coming of Shiloh; 3. His meek and owly inauguration at that time, as spiritual King of the Jews, riding on an ass like the ancient judges and "prophets; 4. His second coming as a warrior to trample on all his foes; and, 5. To save and instruct his faithful people." — Hales' Anal., vol. ii.. p. 167, &c.