Commentary on the Holy Bible

The two angels mentioned in the preceding chapter, come in the evening to Sodom, I. Lot, who was sitttng at the gate, invites them to enter his house, take some refreshment, and tarry all night; xvhich they at first refuse, 2; but on being pressingly solicited, they at last comply, 3. The abominable conduct of the men of Sodom, 4, 5. Lot's deep concernfor the honour and safety of his guests, ivhich leads him to make a most exceptionable proposal to those wichcd men, 6-8. The violent proceedings of the Sodomites, 9. Lot rescued from their barbarity by the angels, reho smite them with blindness, 10, 11. The angels exhort Lot and his family to fee from that wicked place, as God icas about to destroy tt, 12, 13. Lofs fruitless exhortation to his sons-in-law, 14. The angels hasten Lot and his family to depart, 15, IC. Their exhartation, 17. Lot's reyuest, 18—20. Jlc is permitted to escape to Zoar, 21-23. Fire and brimstone arc rained dozen from heaven upon all the cities of the plain, by xvhich they are entirely destroyed, 24, 25. Lot's wife, looking behind, becomes a pillar of salt, 26. Abraham, early in the morning, discovers the desolation of those iniquitous cities, 27—29. Lot, fearing to continue in Zoar, went tinth his tteo daughters to the mountain, and dwell in a cave, 30. The strange conduct of his daughters, and his unhappy deception, 31—30. Moab and Amman born, from whom sprang the Moabites and Ammonites, 37, 38.

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

NOTKS OX CHAP. XIX. Verse 1. Two angel.^] The two referred to chap,

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

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

Verse 2. Nay; but we will abide in the str-.tt] Instead of nS lo, nay, some M.SS. have l"? lo, to him: "And they said unto him, for we lodge in the street;"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

bring them out unto you, and do A.M. 2107. ye to them as is good in your ' eyes: only unto these men do nothing; ■» for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

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

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

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

12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, 1 bring them out of this place:

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

Verse 1 1. And they smote the men — with blindness] This has been understood two ways: 1. The angels, by the power which God had given them, deprived these vi'icked men of a proper and regular use of their sight, so as either totally to deprive them of it, or render it so confused that they could no longer distinguish objects; or, 3. They caused such a deep darkness to take place, that they could not find Lot's door. The author of the book of Wisdom was evidently of this latter opinion, for he says they were compassed about toith horrible great darkness, chap. xix. 17. See a similar case of Elisha and the Syrians, 2 Kings vi. 18, &c.

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

1 3 For we will destroy this place, because the ■■ cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and ^ tlic Lord hath sent us to destroy it.

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

1 5 And when the* morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, '" Arise, take thy wife, aiid thy two daughters, which =■ are here; lest thou be consumed in the ^ iniquity of the city.

16 And ^ while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; * the Lord being merciful unto him: "•and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: 0, let me escape thither, {is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

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

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

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

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

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

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

24 Then "" the Lord rained upon Sodom

The name of the city ivas called Zoar.] li^lS Tsoar, LITTLE, its former name being Bela.

Verse 21. The Lord rained — brimstone and fire from the Lord] As a!l judgment is committed to the Son of God, many of the primitive fathers and several modern divines have supposed that the words nin'l vaihovah and niH' ilX'3 meeih Ychovah imply, Jehovah the Son raining brimstone and fire from Jehovah the Father; and that this place afibrds no mean proof of the proper Divinity of our blessed Redeemer. It may be so; but though the point is sufficiently established elsewhere, it does not appear to me to be plainly indicated here. And it is always better on a subject of this kind not to have recourse to proofs which require proofs to confirm them. It must however be granted that two persons mentioned as Jehovah in one verse, is both a strange and curious circumstance; and it will appear more remarkable when we consider that the person called Jehovah, who conversed with Abraham, (see chap, xviii.,) and sent those two angels to bring IjOt and his family out of this devoted place, and seems himself after he left off talking with Abraliam to have ascended to heaven, ver. 33, does not any more appear on this occasion till we hear that Jehovah rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jeho- V.4H out of heaven. This certainly gives much countenance to the opinion referred to above, though still it may fall short of positive proof.

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

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all

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

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

The most strange and incredible tales are told by many of the ancients, and by many of the moderns, concerning the place where these cities stood. Common fame says that the waters of this sea are so thick that a stone will not sink in them, so tough and clammy that the most boisterous wind cannot ruffle them, so deadly that no fish can live in them, and that if a bird happen to fly over the lake, it is killed by the poisonous effluvia proceeding from the waters; that scarcely any verdure can grow near the place, and that in the vicinity where there are any trees they bear a most beautiful fruit, but when you come to open it you find nothing but ashes 1 and that the place was burning long after the apostles' times. These and all similar tales may be safely pronounced great exaggerations of facts, or fictions of ignorant, stupid, and superstitious monks, or impositions of unprincipled travellers, who, knowing that the common people are delighted with the marvellous, have stuffed their narratives with such accounts merely to procure a better sale for their books.

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

llie plain, and all llic inhabitants of the cities, and " that which grew

external air, burst at once, with great smoJtc and noise, hke tlie pulois fulminans of the chemi&ts, and disperse tliemselves in a thousand pieces. But this only liappens near the shore, for in greater depths the eruptions are supposed to discover themselves in such columns of smoke as are now and then observed to arise from the lake. And perhaps to such eruptions as these we may attribute that variety of pils and hollows, not unlike the traces of many of our ancient lime-kilns, which are found in the neighbourhood of this lake. The hilumcn is in all probability accompanied from the bottom with sulphur, as botli of them are found promiscuously upon the shore, and the latter is precisely the same with common native suljjhur; the other is friable, yielding upon friction, or by being put into the fire, a fcetid smell."' The bitumen, after having l)een some time exposed to the air, becomes indurated like a stone. I have some portions of it before me, brought by a friend of mine from the spot; it is very black, hard, and on friction yields a fcetid odour.

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

2C But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became " a pillar of salt.

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

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

et simul illic

In fragilcm mutala salcm, stctit ipsa sepulchrum, Ipsacjne imago sibi, formam sine corpore servans. JDurat adhuc clenim nuda statione sub ajthra, ■

Nee pluviis dilapsa situ, nee diruta ventis. ■ "

Quinetiam, si quis mutilaverit.advena formam, Protinus ex sese suggestu vulncra complet. Dicilur et vivens alio sub corpore sexus Munificos solito dispungere sanguine menses. Tertulliani 0/)(?ra, vol. ii., p. 731. Edit. Oberthdr

The sentiment in the last lines is supported by Irenajus, who assures us that, though still remaining as a pillar of salt, the statue, in form and other natural accidents, exhibits decisive proofs of its original: Jant non caro corruptibilis, sed slalua salis semper manens, et, per naturalia, ea (juib sunt consuetudinis hominis ostendcns, lib. iv., c. 51. To complete this ab.-inrdity, this father makes her an emblem of the true (Church, which, though she suffers much, and often loses whole

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

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

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

Josephus says that this pillar was standing in his time, and that himself had seen it: Eij- ori/Aj^v liAuv (i£TEj3a?.EV, laTopijaa 6' avTTjv en yap Kai vvv dia/isvei. Ant. lib. i., c. xi. 3, 4.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 31. Our father is old] And consequently not likely to re-marry; and there is not a man in the earth — none left, according to their opinion in all the land of Canaan, of their own family and kindred; and they might thiidc it unlawful to match with others, such as the inhabitants of Zoar, who they knew had been devoted to destruction as well as those of Sodom and Gomorrah, and were only sav(;d at the earnest request of their father; and probably while they lived among tliem they found them ripe enough for punishment, and therefore would have thought it both dangerous and criminal to have formed any matrimonial connections with them.

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

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

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

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

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

A'erse 33. And he perceived not tchen she lay dotcn, nor when, <^c.] That is, he did not perceive the time she came to his bed, nor the time she quitted it; consequently did not know u-ho it tvas that had lain with him. In this transaction Lot appears to me to be in many respects excusable. 1. He liad no accurate knowledge of what took place either on the first or second night, therefore he cannot be supposed to have been drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. That he must have been sensible tliat some person had been jn his bed, it would be ridiculous to deny; but he might have judged it to liave been some of his female domestics, wliich it is reasonable to suppose he might have brouglit from Zoar. 2. It is very likely that he was deceived in tlie wine, as well as in the consequences; cither he knew not the strength of the wine, or wine of a superior power had been given to liim on this occasion. As he had in general followed the simple pastoral life, it is not to be wondered at if he did not know the intoxicating power of wine, and being an old man, and unused to it, a small portion would be sufficient to overcome him; sound sleep would soon, at his time of life, be the effect of taking the liquor to whicli he was unaccustomed, and cause him to forget the effects of his intoxication. Except in this lay with him; and he perceived A. M. cit. 2i07. not when she lay down, nor when ' " ' she arose.

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

'the same is the father of the Moabites unto

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

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

^'erse 37. Called his name MoaV] This name is generally interpreted of the father, or, according to Calmet, DNID Moah, the ivaters of the father.

Verse 38. Ben-ammi] '3>? p Ben-ammi, the son oj my people. Both these names seem to justify the view taken of this subject above, viz., that it was merely to preserve the family that the daughters of Lot made use of the above expedient; and hence we do not find that they ever attempted to repeat it, which, had it been done for any other purpose, they certainly would not have failed to do. On this subject Origen, in his fifth homily on Genesis, has these remarkable words:

Vbi hie libidinis culpa, uhi incesti criminis arguitur? Qnomodo dabitur in viTio QUOD No.v iteratir in f.\cto? Vereor proloqui quod sentio, vereor, inquam, ne castiot J fucril harum inccstus, quam pudicilia mullarum. J

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abraham leaves Mamre, and, after having sojourned at Kadesh and Shur, settles in Gerar, 1. Abimeiech takes Sarah, Abraham having acknowledged her only as his sister, 2. Abimeiech is warned by God in a dream to restore Sarah, 3. He asserts his innocence, 4, 5. He is farther warned, 6, 7. Expostulates with Abraham, 8-10. Abraham vindicates his conduct, 11—13. Abimeiech restores Sarah, makes Abra ham a present of sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves, 14; offers him a residence in any part of the land, 15; and reproves Sarah, 16. At the intercession of Abraham, the curse of barrenness is removed from Abimeiech and his household, 17, 18.

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

2 And Abraham said of Sarah A. M. or. 2107.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 3. B>il God came tn Abimelech'] Thus we find that persons who were not «{ the famili/ of Abraham had the knowledge of the true God. Indeed,.-ill the Gerarites are termed p'lX 'U goi Isaddik, a righteous nation, vcr. 4.

Verse 5. In the inlegrily of my heart, (Sfc] Had Abimelech any other than honourable views in taking Sarah, he could not have justified himself thus to his Maker; and that these views wore of the most honourable kind, God himself, to whom the appeal was made, asserts in the most direct manner. Yea, I know thai thou didst this in the integrity of Ihy heart.

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

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

pray, entreat, make supplication, <SfC., and this meaning of it I have justified at large both from its application in this place, and from its pointed use in the ca.se of Saul, mentioned 1 Sam. x., and from the case of the priests of Baal, 1 Kings xviii., where prophesying most undoubtedly means making prayer and supplication. As those who were in habits of intimacy with God by prayer and faith were found the most proper persons to communicate his mind to man, both with respect to the present and the future, hence, N'33 nabi, the intercessor, became in process of time the public instructer or preacher, and also the predicter of future events, because to such faithful praying men God revealed the secret of his will. Hence St. Paul, 1 Cor. xiv. 3, seems to restrain the word wholly to the interpreting the mind of God to the people, and their instruction in Difine things, for, says he, he that prophesielh speakelh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort. See the discourse on this text referred to above. The title was also given to men eminent for eloquence and for literary abilities; hence Aaron, because he was the spokesman of Moses to the Egyptian king, was termed N'DJ nabi, prophet; Exod. iv. 16; vii. 1. And Epimenides, a heathen poet, is expressly styled npo(fi7iTTjr, a prophet, by.St. Paul, Tit. i. 12, just as poets in general were termed vales among the Romans, which properly signifies the persons who professed to interpret the will of the gods to their votaries, after prayers and sacrifices duly performed. In Arabic the word L^ naha has nearly the same meaning as in Hebrew, but in the first conjugation it has a meaning which may cast light upon the _ subject in general. It signifies to iVi'ncra^c, moi'e/rom H one place or country to another, compelled thereto either by persecution or the command of God; exivil de una rarione in aliam. — s^ migrans de loco in lo- cum. — Goi.ius. Hence Mohammed was called ^^ ^' an nabi, because of his sudden removal from Mecca to Medina, when, pretending to a Divine commission, his tow7tsmen sought to take away his life: c Mecca exiens

Medinam. unde Muhammed suis **'! ^^K),Vnii Allah diclus furl. — Goi.ii's. If this meaning belonged originally to the Hebrew word, it will apply with great force to the case of.\braham, whose migratory, itinerant kind of life, generally under the immediate direction of God, might have given him the title nabi. However this may be, the term was a title of the high-

thou that thou shall surely die, thou, "■ and all that are thine.

8 Therefore Abimelccli rose early in the morning, and called all liis servants, and told all tliese things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

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

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

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

est respectability and honour, both among the Hebrews and Arabs, and continues so to this day. And from the Hebrews the word, in all the importance and dignity of its meaning, was introduced among the heathens in the -poorjTTjr and vafcs of the Greeks and Romans. See on the word seer, Gen. xv. 1.

Verse 8. Abimelech rose early, 4'C-] God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and we find as the day broke he arose, assembled his servants, (what we would call his courtiers,) and communicated to them what he had received from God. They were all struck with astonishment, and discerned the hand of God in this business. Abraham is then called, and in a most respectful and pious manner the king expostulates with him for bringing hhn and his people under the Divine displeasure, by withholding from him the information that.Sarah was his wife; when, by taking her, he sought only an honourable alliance with his family.

Verse 11. And Abraham sairl] The best excuse he could make for his conduct, which in this instance is far from defensible.

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

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

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

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

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

15 And Abimelech said. Behold, ''my land is before thee: dwell '' where it pleaseth thee.

16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given " thy brother a thousand pieces of silver. •^ behold, he is to thee " a covering of the eyes, unto all tliat are with thee, and with z!\l other: fthus she was reproved.

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

Verse 13. When God caused me to u'ander] Here the word D"n'7i< Elohim is used with a plural verb, (U'nn hiihn, caused me to wander,) which is not very usual in the Hebrew language, as this plural noun is generally joined with ve7-bs in the singular number. Because there is a departure from the general mode in this instance, some have contended that the word Elohim signifies princes in this place, and suppose it to refer to those in Chaldea, who expelled Abraham because he would not worship the fire; but the best critics, and with them the Jews, allow that Elohim here signifies the true God. Abraham probably refers to his Jirsl call.

Verse 16. And unto Sarah he said] But what did he say 1 Here there is scarcely any agreement among interpreters: the Hebrew is exceedingly bbscnre, and every interpreter takes it in his own sense.

A thousand pieces of silver] Shekels are very probably meant here, and so the Targum understands it. The Septuagint has x'''-"^ didpaxfia, a thousand didrachma, no doubt meaning shchels; for in cliap. xxiii. 15, 16, this translation uses SiSpaxfa for the Hebrew Spi^ sheltel. As shakal signifies literally to weigh, and the shekel was a coin of such a weight, Mr. Ainsworih and others think this to be the origin of our word scale, the instrument to iveigh with.

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

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

18 For the Lord ""had fast closed up all the wombs of the

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

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

Thus she toas reproved] The original is nniJJl venochachath, but the word is probably the second person preterite, used for the imperative mood, from the root nOJ nachach, to make straight, direct, right; or to speak rightly, correctly; and may, in connection with the rest of the text, be thus paraplirased: Behold, I have given thy brother (Abraham, gently alluding to the equivocation, vor. 2, 5) a thousand sliekcls of silver; behold, IV is (that is, the silver is, or may be, or let it be) to thee a covering of the eyes (to procure a veil; see above) with regard to all those who are with thee, and to all (or and in all) speak thou the truth. Correctly translated by the Septuagint, kui Travra ahjOcvaov, and in all things speak the truth — not only tell a part of the truth, but tell the ivhole; say not merely he is my brother, but say also, he is my husband too. Thus in all things speak the truth. I believe tlic above to be the sense of this difficult passage, and shall not puzzle my readers with criticisms. See Kennicott.

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

Averse IS. For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs] Probably by means of some disease with which he had smitten them, hence it is said they were healed at Abraham's intercession; and this seems necessarily to imply tliat they had been afflicted by some disease that rendered it impossible for them to have children till it was removed. And possibly this disease, as Dr. Dodd conjectures, had afflicted Abimelech, and by this he was withheld, ver. 6, from defiling Abraham's bed.

1. 0.\ tlie prevarication of Abraham and Sarah, see the notes and concluding observations on chap. xii.; and while we pity this tveakness, let us take it as a warning.

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

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

as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah '' as he had spoken.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 8. The child grew and was loeaned] Deec cilb foplice j>eox ■] peajip jepeneb. — Anglo-Saxon Version. Now the child waxed and became weaned. We have the verb to wean from the Anglo-Saxon apenhan awendan, to convert, transfer, turn from one thing to another, which is the exact import of the Hebrew word 'lOi gamal in the text. Hence penan wenan, to wean, to turn the child from the breast to receive another kind of aliment. And hence, probably, the word wean, a young child, whicli is still in use in the northern parts nf Great Britain and Ireland, and which from its etymology seems to signify a child taken from the breast; surely not from the Scotch wee-ane, a little one, much less from the German wenig, little, as Dr. Johnson and others would derive it. At what time children were weaned among the ancients, is a disputed point. St. Jerome says there were two opinions on this subject. Some hold that children were always weaned at five years of age; others, that they were not weaned till they were twelve. From the speech

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

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

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

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

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

of the mother to her son, 2 Mac. vii. 27, it seems likely that among the Jews they were weaned when three years old: O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave Mce sl'ck THREE years, and nourished thee and brought thee up. And this is farther strengthened by 2 Chron. xxxi. 16, where Hezekiah, in making provision for the Levites and priests, includes the children from three years old and upwards; which is a presumptive proof that previously to this age they were wholly dependent on the 7nother for their nourishment. Samuel appears to have been brought to tlie sanctuary when he was just loeaned, and then he was capable of ministering before the Lord, 1 Sam. i. 22-28; and this certainly could not be before he was three years of age. The term among the Mohammedans is fi.^ed by the Koran, chap. xxxi. 14, at two years of age.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 7 And ° God heard the voice of the lad • and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

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

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

20 And God ' was with the lad; and he

chap. xvi. 16; Isaac was born when he was one hun dred years of age, chap. xxi. 6; hence Ishmael was fourteen years old at the birth of Isaac. Add to this the age of Isaac when he was tceancd, which, from ver. 8 of this chapter, (see the note,) was probably three, and we shall find that Ishmael was at the time of his leaving Abraham not less than seventeen years old; an age at which, in those primitive times, a young man was able to gain his livelihood, either by his bow in the wilderness, or by keeping flocks as Jacob did.

A'erse 15. And she cast the child] l7'n PS "] 7"«ym vattashlech eth haiyeled, and she sent the lad under one of the shrubs, viz., to screen him from the intensity of the heat. Here Ishmael appears to be utterly helpless, and this circumstance seems farther to confirm the opinion that he was now in a state of infancy; but the preceding observations do this supposition entirely away, and his present helplessness will be easily accounted for on this ground: 1. Young persons can bear much less fatigue than those who are arrived at mature age. 2. They require much more fluid from the greater quantum of heat in their bodies, strongly marked by the impetuosity of the blood; because from them a much larger quantity of the fluids is thrown off by sweat and insensible perspiration, than from grown up or aged persons. 3. Their digestion is much more rapid, and hence they cannot bear hunger and thirst as well as the others. On these grounds Ishmael must be much more exhausted with fatigue than his mother.

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

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

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

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

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

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

26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath

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

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

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

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

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

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

33 And Abraham planted a ' grove in Beer-

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

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

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

God is with thee] "T N1?D'n meimera daiya, the WORD of Jehovah; see before, chap. xv. 1. That the Chaldee paraphrasts use this term, not for a nwrd spohen, but in the same sense in which St. John uses the?.ojof Tov Qcov, the WORD of God, chap, i., must be evident to every unprejudiced reader. See on chap. XV I.

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

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

\eTse 25. Abraham reproved Abimelech'] Wells wore of great consequence in those hot countries, and especially where the flocks were numerous, because the water was scarce, and digging to find it was accompanied with much expense of time and labour.

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

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

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

Verse 31. He called that place Beer-sheba] 1N3 yw Beer-shaba, literally, the well of swearing or of the oath, because they both sware there — mutually confirmed the covenant.

Verse 33. Abraham planted a grove] The original word h'\VH eshel has been variously translated a grove, ^plantation, an orchard, a. cultivated field, and an oak. From this word, says Mr. Parkhurst, may be derived the name of the famous asylum, opened by Romulus, between two groves of oaks at Rome; {liedopiov (Svotv Spv/iav, Dionys. Hal., lib. ii. c. 16;) and as Abraham, Gen. xxi. 33, agreeably, no doubt, to the institutes of the patriarchal religion, planted an oak in Beer-sheba, and called on the name of Jehovah, the everlasting God, (compare;5en. xii. 8; xviii. I,) so we find that oaks were sacred among the idolaters also. Ye shall be ashamed of the oaks i/e have chosen, says Isaiah, chap. i. 29, to the idolatrous Israelites. And in Greece we meet in very early times with the oracle of Jupiter at the oaks of Dodona. Among the Greeks and Romans we liave sacra Juvi qucrcus, the oak sacred to Jupiter, even to a proverb. And in Gaul and Britain we find the highest religious regard paid to the same tree and lo its mislctoc, under the direction of the Druids, that is, the nak prophets or priests, from the Celtic deru, and Greek <Spt'f, an oak. Few are ignorant thtit the mishloe is indeed a very extraordinary plant, not to be cultivated in the earth, but always growing on some other tree. " The druids," says Pliny, Nat. Hist., lib. xvii., c. 44, " hold nothing more sacred than the misletoe, and the tree on which it is produced, provided it be the oak. They make choice of groves of oak on this account, nor do they perform any of their sacred rites without the leaves of those trees; so that one may suppose that they are for this reason called, by a Greek etymology, Druids. And whatever misletoe grows on the oak they think is sent from heaven, and is a sign that God himself has chosen that tree. This however is very rarely found, but when discovered is treated with great ceremony. They call it by a name which signifies m their language the curer of all ills; and having duly prepared their feasts and sacrifices under the tree, they bring to it two white bulls, whose horns are then for the first time tied; the priest, dressed in a white robe, ascends the tree, and with s. golden pruning hook cuts off the misletoe, which is received into a white sagum or sheet. Then they sacrifice the victims, praying that God would bless his own gift to those on whom he has bestowed it." It is impossible for a Christian to read this account without thinking of him who was the desire nf all nations, of the man whose name was the branch, who had indeed no father upon earth, but came down from lieaven, was given to heal all our ills, and, after being cut off through the Divine counsel, was wrapped in fine linen and laid in the sepulchre for our sakes. I cannot forbear adding that the mi.ilctoe was a sacred emblem to other Celtic nations, as, for instance, to the ancient inhabitants o( Italy. The golden branch, of which Virgil speaks so largely in the sixth book of the ^Eneis, and without which, he says, none oould return from the infernal regions, (see line 126,) seems an allusion to the misletoe, as he himself plainly intimates by comparing it to that plant, line 205, &c. See Parkhursl, under the word Sl^X eshel.

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

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

And called there on the name of the Lord] On this important passage Dr. Shuckford speaks thus: " Our English translation very erroneously renders this place, he called upon tlie name of Jehovah; but the expression OV^ Nip kara beshem never signifies to call upon the name; DB' Nip kara shem wonld signify to invoke or call upon the name, or U\0 7X Nip kara el shem would signify to cry unto the name; but DW2 Nip kara beshem signifies to invoke in the name, and seems to be used where the true worshippers of God offered their prayers in the name of the true Mediator, or where the idolaters offered their prayers in the name of false ones, I Kings xviii. 26; for as the true worshippers had but one God and one Lord, so the false worshippers had gods inany and lords many, 1 Cor. viii. 5. We have several instances of Nip kara, and a noun after it, sometimes rvilh and sometimes without the particle IK el, and then it signifies to call upon the person there mentioned; thus, Din' Nip kara Ychovah is tn call upon Meiorrf, Psa.xiv. 4; xvii. C; xxxi. 17; liii. 4; cxviii. 5, &c.; and niD' Ss Nip kara el Yehovah imports the same, 1 Sam. xii. 17; Jonah i. 6, &c.; but OB'S Nip kara beshem is either to name by the name, Gen. iv. 17; Num. xxxii. 42; Psa. xlix. 11; Isa. xliii. 7; or to invoke in the name, when it is used as an expression of religious worship." Connex. vol. i., p. 293. I believe this to be a just view of the subject, and therefore I admit it without scruple.

The everlasting God.] oS'i' SvX miT' Yehovah el olam, Jehovah, //le strong God, the eternal one. This is the first place in Scripture in which D^li' olam occurs as an attribute of God, and here it is evidently designed lo point out his eternal duration; that it can mean no limited time is self evident, because nothing of this kind can be attributed to God. The Septuagint render the words Qeof aiuvtoc, the ever-existing God i and the Vulgate has Invocavit ibi nomen Domini, Dei ttterni. There he invoked the name of the Lord, the eternal God. The.Vrabic is nearly the same. From this application of both the Hebrew and Greek words we learn that dSu' olam and aiuv aion originally signified eternal, or duration without end. ohp alam signifies he was hidden, concealed, or kepi secret; and aitjv, according to.\ristotle, {De Ctr/o, lib. i., chap. 9, and a higher authority need not be sought,) is compounded of act, always, and uv, being, aiuv eariv, an* nv aei civai. The same author informs us that God was termed Aisa, because he was always existing, /Ifyea^ai — kiaav Se, aei ovaav. De Mundo, chap, xi., tnfine. Hence we see that no words can more forcibly express the grand characteristics of eternity than these. It is that duration which is concealed, hidden, cr kept secret from all created beings; which is always existing, still running on but never running out; an interminable, incessant, and immeasurable duration; it is THAT, in the ichole of which God alone can be said to exist, and that which the eternal mind can alone comprehend.

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

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

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

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

But it is highly criminal to make such appeals to God upon trivial occasions. Only the most solemn matters should be thus determined. Legislators who regard the morals of the people should take heed not to multiply oaths in matters of commerce and revenue, if they even use them at all. Who can lake the oaths presented by the custom house or excise, and be guiltless 1 I have seen a j)cison kiss his pen or thumb nail instead of the book, thinking that he avoided the condemnation thereby of the false oath he was then taking!

The faith and obedience of Abraham put to a most extraordinart/ test, 1. He is commanded to offer his beloved son Isaac for a burnt-offering, 2. He prepares, with the utmost promptitude, to accomplish the will of God, 3-6. Affecting speech of Isaac, 7; and Abraham's ansivcr, 8. Having arrived at mount Moriah he prepares to sacrifice his son, 9, 10; and is prevented hj an angel of the Lord, 11, 12. A ram is offered in the stead of Isaac, 13; and the place is named Jehovah-jireh, II. The angel of the Lord calls to Abraham a second lime, 15; and, in the most solemn manner, he is assured of innumerable blessings in the multiplication and prosperity of his seed, 16-18. Abraham returns and dwells at Becr-sheba, 19; hears that his brother Nahor has eight children by his ivife Milcah, 20; theirnames, 21—23; and four by his concubine Reumah, 24.

NOTES ON Cir.'VP. XXII. Verse 1. God did tempt Abrnhani\ The original here is very emphatic: amnx DN n^: D'nSxni vehaclohim nissah eth Abraham, " And the Elohim he tried this Al)raham;" God brought him into such circumstances as exercised and discovered his faith, love, and obedience. Though the word tempt, from te7ito, signifies no more than to prove or try, yet as it is now generally used to imply a solicitation to evil, in which way God never tempts any man, it would be well to avoid it here. The Septuagint used the word cTrctpane, which signifies tried, pierced through; and Symmachus translates the Hebrew nD3 nissah by ti'ofn^'tr, God glorified Abraham, or rendered him illustrious, supposing the woril to he the same with DJ nas, which signifies to glister loith light, whence DJ nes, an ensign or banner displayed. Thus then, according to him, the wonls should be vmdcrstood: " God put great honour on Abraham by giving him this opportunity of showing to all successive ages the nature and efficacy of an unshaken faith in the power, goodness, and truth of God." The Targum of Jonathan ben 17- ^ici paraphrases the place thus: ".Vnd it happened that Isaac and Ishmael contended, and Ishmael said, I ought to be my father's heir, because I am his first-born; but Isaac said, It is more proper that I should be my father's heir, because I am the son of S.ar.ah his wife, and thnu art only the son of Ilagar, my mother's slave. Then Ishmael answered, I am more righteous than thou, because I was circumcised when I was thirteen years of age, and if I had cho.sen, I could have prevented my circumcision; but thou wert circumcised when thou wert but eight days old, and if thou hadst 13(>

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

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

Verse 2. Take now thy job] Bishop Warburton's observations on this passage are weighty and important. " The order in which the words are placed in the original gr.adually increases the sense, and raises the passions higher and higher; Take now thy son, (rather, take I beseech thee X3 net,) thine only son whom thou lovest, even Isaac. Jarchi imagines this minuteness was to preclude any doubt in Abraham. Abraham desired earnestly to be let into the mystery of redemption; and God, to instruct him in the infinite extent of the Divine goodness to mankind, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, let Abraham feel by experience what it was to lose a be-

3 And Abraham rose up * early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

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

5 And Abraham said unto his young men.

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

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

Verse 4. The third day] "As the number seven," says Mr. Ainsworth, " is of especial use in Scripture because of the Sabbath day, Gen. ii. 2, so three is a mystical number because of Christ's rising from the dead the third day. Matt. xvii. 23; 1 Cor. xv. 4; as he was crucified the third hour after noon, Mark xv. 25; and Isaac, as he was a figure of Christ, in being the only son of his father, and not spared but offered for a sacrifice, Rom. viii. 32, so in sundry particulars he resembled our Lord: the third day Isaac was to be offered up, so it was the third day in which Christ also was to be perfected, Luke xiii. 32; Isaac carried the wood for the burnt-o9ering, ver. 6, so Christ carried the tree whereon he died, John xix. 17; the binding of Isaac, ver. 9, was also typical, so Christ was bound. Matt, xxvii. 2.

" In the following remarkable cases this number

also occurs. Moses desired to go three days' journey

in the wilderness to sacrifice, Exod. v. 3; and they

travelled three days in it before they found water,

Abide ye here with the ass; and A. M. cir. 2132.

I and the lad will go yonder _ — '. — '

and worship, and come again to you.

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

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

Exod. XV. 22; and three days' journey the ark of the covenant went before them, to search out a resting place. Num. x. 33; by the third day the people were to be ready to receive God's law, Exod. xix. 11; and after three days to pass over Jordan into Canaan, Josh. i. 14; the third day Esther put on the apparel of the kingdom, Esth. v. 1; on the third day Hezekiah, being recovered from his illness, went up to the house of the Lord, 2 Kings xx. 5; on the third day, the prophet said, God will raise us up and we shall live before him, IIos. vi. 2; and on the third day, as well as on the seventh, the unclean person was to purify himself, Num. xix. 12: with many other memorable things which the Scripture speaks concerning the third day, and not without mystery. See Gen. xl. 12, 13; xlii. 17, 18; Jonah i. 17; Josh. ii. 16; unto which we may add a Jew's testimony in Bereshith Rabba, in a comment on this place: There are many three days mentioned in the Holy Scripture, of which one is the resurrection of the Messiah.'" — Ainsworth.