Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 24. And God came to Laban] God's caution to Laban was of high importance to Jacob — Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad; or rather, as is the literal meaning of the Hebrew, y\ V 3133 mittob ad ra, from good to evil; for had he neither spoken good nor evil to Jacob, they could have had no intercourse at all. The original is, therefore, peculiarly appropriate; for when people meet, the language at first is the language o{ friendship; the command therefore implies, " Do not begin with Peace be unto thee, and then proceed to injurious language ana acts of violence." If this Divine direction were

27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and " steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabrct, and with liarp?

28 And hast not suffered me '' to kiss my sons and my daughters? « thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.

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

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

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

Verse 27. / might have sent thee away with mirth] nn'Dll'Il besimchah, with rejoicing, making a feast or entertainment on the occasion; and U'ith songs, □'IK'J beshirim, odes either in the praise of God, or to commemorate the splendid acts of their ancestors; with tabret, nr\3 helhoph, the tympanum used in the east to the present day, and there called c y\ diff, a thin broad wooden hoop, with parchment extended over one end of it, to which are attached small pieces of brass, tin, &c., which make a jingling noise; it is held in the air with one hand, and beat on with the fingers of the other. It appears to have been precisely the same with that which is called the tambourine, and which is frequently to be met with in our streets. And tvith harp, '\^i22 bekinnor, a sort of stringed instrument, a lute or harp; probably the same as the Greek Kivvpa kinura, a harp; the name being evidently borrowed from the Hebrew. These four things seem to include all that was used in those primitive times, as expressive of gladness and satisfaction on the moat joyous occasions.

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

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

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

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

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

It is a singular instance that the plural pronoun, when addressing an individual., should be twice used in this place — the God of ijnur father, il^U'^N abichcm, for 1'3N abicha, thtj father.

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

Verse 35. The custom of u'omen is upon me.^ This she knew must be a satisfactory reason to her father; for if llie terapliim were used to any religious purpose, and they seem lo liave been used m this way, as Laban calls llicm his gods, he therefore could not suspect that a woman in such a situation, whose touch was considered as defiling, would have sat upon articles that were either the objects of his adoration, or used for any sacred purpose. The stratagem succeeded to her wish, and Labau departed without susjiicion. It seems very natural to suppose that Rachel did believe that by the use of these tcraphim Laban could find out theit flight, and the llirection they took, and therefore she stole them; and having stolen them she was afraid to acknowledge the theft, an<l probably might think that they might be of some use to herself. Therefore, for these reasons, she brought them away.

Verse 30. And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban] The expostulation of Jacob with Laban, and their consequent agreement, are told in this place with great spirit and dignity. Jacob was conscious that though he had made use of cunning to increase his flocks, yet Laban had been on the whole a great gainer

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

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

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

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

40 Thus I was; in the day the drought

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

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

Verse 40. In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night] The being exposed lo the heat by day, and frost by nighl, is made part of the heaviest punishment of Prometheus by JEschylus.

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

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

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

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

Verse 41. Twenty years] See the remarks at the end. Verse 42. The fear nf Isaac] It is strange that Jacob should say, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, when both words are meant of the same Being. The reason perhaps was this; Abraham was long since dead, and God was his unalienaUe portion for ever. Isaac was yet alive in a state oi probation, \\\- ing in the fear of God, not exempt from the danger of falling; therefore God is said to be his fear — not only the object of his religious worship in a general way, but that holy and just God before whom he was still working out his salvation with fear and trembling — fear lest he should fall, and trembling lest he should offend. Verse 46. Made a heap] hi gal, translated heap, signifies properly a round heap; and this heap was probably made for the double purpose of an aUar and a table, and.lacob's stone or pillar was set on it for the purpose of a memorial.

Verse 47. Laban called it Jegar-sahaduiha] IJ' Xnnniy yegar sahadutha, the heap or round heap of witness; but Jacob called it l^'Sj gated, which signifies the same thing. The first is pure Chaldee, the Vol. J. { 14)

' and let it be for a witness between me and thee 4 5 And Jacob ^ took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

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

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

4S And Laban said, *> Tliis heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed,

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

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

second pure Hebrew. IjS agar signifies to collect, hence '\r yegar and "U1N ogar, a collection or heap made up of gathered stones; and hence also N1UN egora, an altar, used frequently by the Chaldee paraphrast. See 1 Kings xii. 33; Judg. vi. 31; 2 Kings.vxi. 3; Jer. xvii, 1. See Castefs Lexicon. From this example we may infer that the Chaldee language was nearly coeval with the Hebrew. A gloss made by St. Jerome, and which was probably only entered by him in his margin as a note, has crept into the text of the Vulgate. It is found in every copy of this version, and is as follows: Uterquc juxta proprietatem linguce sua, Each according to the idiom of his own tongue.

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

A''erse 48. And Laban said. This heap is a xoitness between me and thee this day.

Verse 49. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed and Mizpah; for he said. The Lord watch betxveen me and thee, xi-hen tee are absent one from another.

Mi~pah] Ti'^'i":! mitspah signifies a watch-tower; and Laban supposes that in consequence of the consecration of the place, and the covenant now solemnly made and ratified, that God would take possession of this heap, and stand on it as on a watch-tower, to provent either of them from trenching on the conditions of their covenant.

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

Jacob had already four wives; but Laban feared ttiat

51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this licap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt mc and thee;

52 Tliis heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to ihee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of tlieir father, " judge be-

twixt us. And Jacob 'sware by

? the fear of his father Isaac.

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

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

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

Verse 51. And Laban said to Jacob — behold this pillar, u'hich I hare cast betwixt me and thee^ But this jjillar, not cast hut set up, was certainly set up by ■Jacob; for in ver. 45 we read, And Jacob took a stone, and set it up fur a pillar: it is therefore for the honour of one Hebrew and one Samaritan M.S. that they have preserved the true reading in ver. 51, n""!" yaritha, THOU hast set vp. — Kennicott. Instead of either of the above readings the Samaritan text has /fW^nr iiarata,Thc pillar ichich thou seest betwixt me and thee.

A''erse 53. The God of their father'] As Laban certainly speaks of the true God here, with what propriety can ht say that this God was the God of Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor? It is certain that Terah was an idolater; of this we have the most positive ])roof, Josh, x.Mv. 2. Because the clause is not in the.Septuagint, and is besides wanting in some MSS., Dr. Kennicott consider" it an interpolation. But there is no need of havl;.^ recourse to this expedient if we adopt tlie reading iZJD'^K abichem, your father, for EUn'^S abihem, their father, which is supported bv several of Kennicott's and Do Rossi's MS.S., and is precisely the same form made use of by Laban, ver.:29, wlien addressing Jacob, and appears to me to be used here in the same way; for he there most manifestly uses the plural prononn, when speaking onlv to Jacob himself. It is therefore to be considered as a j'orm of speech peculiar to Laban; at least we have two instances of his use of it in this chapter.

Jacob sware by the fear nf his father Isaac] See

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

is, his grandchildren, Jacob's eleven sons with Dinah their sister, and their mothers Leah and Rachel. All these ho calls his children, ver. 43. And blessed them — prayed heartily for their prosperity, though we find from ver. 39 that he came having bound himself by a vow to God to do them sf>me injury. Thus God turned his intended curse into a blessii^g.

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

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

Remarks upon Gen. x.xxi. 39, &c., relative to the time spent by Jacob in the service of his father-inlaw Laban, in Mesopotamia; from Dr. Kennicott.

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

" Jacob was ont hundred and thirty when he went down (with sixty-stx persons) into Egypt. Joseph ( 14')

.Reasons to prove that Jacob

was tviik Laban forty years.

had then been governor ten years; and when made governor was thirty; therefore Jacob could not be more than ninety at the birth of Joseph. Now, upon supposition that Jacob was seventy-seven at goincr to Laban, and that he had no son till he was eighty-five, and that he, with eleven sons, left Laban at ninetyseven, there will follow these amongst other strange consequences which are enumerated by Mr. Skinner, page 11, &c.: 1. Though Isaac and Esau married at forty, Jacob goes at seventy-seven to look for a wife, and agrees to marry her seven years after. 2. Issachar is born after the affair of the mandrakes, which Reuben finds and brings home when he (Reuben) was about four years old; that is, if Issachar was born before Joseph, agreeably to Gen. xxx. 18, 25. 3. Ju- <lah begets Er at thirteen; for in the first of the following tables Judah is born in Jacob's year eightyeight, and Er in one hundred and tico. 4. Er marries at nine, and is destroyed for profligacy. Er, born one hundred and two, marries in one hundred and eleven. See also Gen. xxxviii. 7. 5. Onan marries at eight; for Onan, born in one hundred and three, marries in one hundred and eleven. 6. Shelah, being grown at ten, ought to be married; for Shelah, born in one hundred and four, is marriageable, but not married to Tamar in one hundred and fourteen. See Gen. xx.xviii. 14. 7. Pharez kept from marrying while young, yet has a son at thirteen; for Pharez, born in one hundred and fifteen, had two sons at going to Egypt in one hundred and thirty. 8. Esau goes to Ishmael and marries his daughter, after Jacob went to Laban at seventy-seven; though Ishmael died when Jacob was sixty-three. 9. If Jacob had no son till he was eighti - five, and if Joseph was born when his father was jiinety, then the eleven sons and Dinah were born in five years. Lastly, if Jacob had no son till eighty-five, and he went to Egypt at one hundred and thirty, with sixty-six persons, only /or/y^ue years are allowed for his family; whereas the larger sum q( sixty-five years seems necessary for the births of so many children and grandchildren. On this subject Le Clere has pronounced, Hisce in rebus occurrunt nodi, quos nemo hactenus solvit; neque porro, ut opinor, solvet. There are difficulties here which have never been explained, and in my opinion never can be explained. But upon the single principle of Mr. Skinner, that Jacob went to Laban at fifty-seven, (instead of seventy-seven,) these difficulties are solved. And it only remains to wish that some authority may be found to support this conjecture, thus strongly founded on the exigentia loci. The common opinion is formed by reckoning back from the age of Joseph, when governor of Egypt, to the time of his birth, and from the twenty years which Jacob was with Laban. This number, Mr. Skinner thinks, was originally /or/y; and I think that the Hebrew text as it now stands confirms the conjecture, and furni.shes the very authority which is so much wanted. " After Jacob had served Laban fourteen years for his two wives, where was Jacob to reside? Esau was still living; and Jacob might well be afraid of returning to him, till more years of absence had disarmed a

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

" Now the twenty concurrent years of neighbourly assistance, and the disjointed twenty of covenant service, seem both of them distinguished in the history itself. For upon Laban's pursuit of Jacob he mentions twenty years twice; which two sets of tivenli/, if really different, make forty. Each mention of the tiventy years is introduced with the word Di leA, which word, when repeated, is used by way of distinction; as when we say, this and that, the one or the other. Thus, Exod. xiv. 20; So that the one came not near the other. Eccles. vi. 5: This hath more rest than the other. And with the two words at a great distance. Job x.xi. 23: One dieth; ver. 25; and another dieth, &c. So here, in Gen. xxxi. 38, Jacob says to Laban, "lo;' 'DJN njiy iID""iiy>' n; ~eh esrim shanah anochi iinmach, during the one set of twenty years I was tvith thee, (Sfc.; meaning the time in which he lived, not in Laban's house, but in his neighbourhood; not as a servant, but a friend; after ho had served in Laban's house fourteen years for his daughters, and before he served six years for his cattle. But then, as to the other twenty, he tells Laban, at verse 11, varying the phrase very remarkably, ym^i' ']r\'22 TIXJ D'lll'i' '^ ili ^eA /(' esrim shanah bebeithecha abaJlicha, during the other twenty years ("S //) for mvself (for my own benefit) in thy hoi'se; / served thee fourteen years and six years, tj-c. And during this last period, though only six years, he charges Laban with changing his wages ten times. So that Jacob insists upon having well earned his wages through the twenty years when he served for hire; but he makes a far greater merit of having, for another ttcenty years, assisted him without wages, and even with some losses; and therefore, with particular propriety, he reminds Laban of that set of twenty years in the first place.

Reasons to prove that Jacob

ivas with Laban forty yean.

The following Tables, taken chiefly from Mr. Skinner, will greatly elucidate the true chronology o( Jacobt.

TABLE I. — On Jacob's being at Haran only tmenXy years

(and Esau) born.

Esau marries two wives, Hittitea

Ishmael dies, aged 137

goes to Haran.

marries Leah and Rachel

Reuben born of Leah"

Dan born of Bilhah

Gad born of Zilpah

IssACHAR born of Leah

Zebulun and Dinah do.

Joseph born of Raclicl

returns from Haran.

dwells in Succoth.

comes to Shalem, and continues there eight years.

Judah marries Shuah's daughter.

Tamar married to Er, and immediately afterwards to Ooaa.

Tamar's incest with Judah.

Pharez and Zarah born to Judah.

Joseph is made governor of Egypt....,

goes into Egypt........

Gen. xxxvH. 3.

TABLE n. — On Jacob's being at Haran /orty years.

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

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

Reuben born of Leah"

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

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

Reuben at 13 finds the mandrakes Issachar born of Leah Zebulun do. 82 Dinah

Judah at 18 marries Shuah's daughter.*

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

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

* Not placed in order of time, Gen. «iviii,

^acob is met by the angels

105 Tamar married to Er — 106 to Onan.

108 Joseph, at seventeen, is carried into Egypt

109 Shelah, at twenty, not given to Tamar.

110 Pharez and Zarah born of Tamar, by Judah.

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

of God at Mahanaim.

" Our translation now is, xxxi. 38: This twenty VEARs HAVE I BEEN WITH THEE; ihi/ ewes and thy shegoats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy fiock have I not eaten. 39. That whichivas torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; cf my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost ly night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. 4 1. Thus have I been TWENTY YEARS IN THY HOUSE: I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle; and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

" The alteration here recommended is this, chap. xxxi. 38: During the one twenty years I was with THEE; thy ewes and thy she-goats have 7wt cast their young, and the rams, t^c-, cj-c. 41. During the other

The same distinction is expressed in chap. xxx. 29: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and hoio thy cattle was with me; i. e., how I behaved during the time I was with thee as thy servant, and how thy cattle fared during the time they were with me as thy friend.

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

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

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

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

Jacob, proceeding on Ms journey, if met by the angels of God, 1, 2. Sends messengers before him to his brother Esau, requesting to be favourably received, 3-5. The messengers return without an answer, but with the intelligence that Esau, with four hundred men, laas coming to meet Jacob, 6. He is greatly alarmed, and adopts prudent means for the safety of himself and family, 7, 8. His affecting prayer to God, 9-12. Prepares a present of five droves of different cattle for his brother, 13—15. Sends them forioard before him, at a certain distance from each other, and instructs the drivers what to say when met by Esau, 15-20. Sends his ivives, servants, children and baggage, over the brook Jabbok, by night, 21-23. Himself stays behind, and wrestles with an angel until the break of day, 24. He prevails and gets a new name, 25—29. Calls the name of the place Peniel, 30. Is lame in his thigh in consequence of his wrestling with the angel, 31, 32.

A ND Jacob went on his way, and ^ the angels of God

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXII. Verse 1. The angels of God met him.] Our word angel comes from the Greek ayycTio;, angelos, which literally signifies a messenger^ or, as translated in some of our old Bibles, a tidings-bringcr. The Hebrew word •]n'70 malach, from l.sS laach, to send, minister to,

2 And when Jacob saw them, he a.m. 2265.

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

"■ unto the huid of Seir, ' the ' country of Edom.

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

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

Avrap eireiKev tovto yevoc Kara yata Kalvfev Tot /ucv Aai/iopff tiai, &io; /leya^ov 6ia ISovXac, Ea62.oi, eTTi;i^doi'iot, (pv?iaK£^ Ovj/ruv atfdpuTruv K. r. Ti. Hesiod. Op. cj- Dies, I. i., ver. 120. When in the grave this race of men was laid. Soon was a world of holy demons made, Aerial spirits, by great Jove design'd To be on earth the guardians of mankind. Invisible to mortal eyes they go, And mark our actions good or bad below; The immorlal spies n-ilh watchful care preside, And thrice ten thousand round their charges glide: They can reward with glory or with gold, A power they by Divine permission hold. Cooke. Verse 2. Mahanaim.] The two hosts, if read by ine points, the angels forming one, and Jacob and his company forming another; or simply hosts or camps in the plural. There was a city built afterwards here, and inhabited hy the priests of God, Josh. xxi. 38. For what purpose the angels of God met Jacob, docs not appear from the text; probably it was intended to show him that he and his company were under the care of an especial providence, and consequently to confirm his trust and confidence in God.

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

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brollicr Esan, and also '' he comcth to meet thee, and foui hundred men with him.

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

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

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

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

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

the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels into two bands;

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

9 "" And Jacob said, "" 0 God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord ° which saidst unto me. Return unto tliy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

10 P I am not worthy of the least of all the 1 mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast

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

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

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

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

Verse 9. 0 God of my father Abraham, <!fe.'\ This prayer is remarkable for its simplicity and energy; and it is a model too for prayer, of which it contains the essential constituents: 1. Deep self-abasement. 2. Magnification of God's mercy. 3. Deprecation of the evil to which he was e.xposed. 4. Pleading the promises that God had made to him. And, 5. Taking encouragement from what God had already wrought.

Verse iO. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies'] The marginal reading is more consistent with the original: nnxn '7Dni Q-nonn Vdo 'nJBp ka- Ipnti miccol hachasadim umiccol hameth, lam less than

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 13. And took of that which came to his hand] n"3 NUn habha beyado, which came under his hand, i. e., what, in the course of God's providence, came under his pouter.

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

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

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

18 Then thou.shalt say, T/iei/ be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.

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

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

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

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

Verse 24. And there wrestled a man with him] This was doubtless the Lord Jesus Christ, who, among the patriarchs, assumed that human form, which in the fulness of time he really took of a woman, and in which he dwelt thirty-three years among men. He is here styled an angel, because he was /leya/.tic /JowXijf AjytXof, (see the Siptuagint, Isa. ix. 7,) the Messenger of the great counsel or design to redeem fallen man from death, and bring him to eternal glory; see chap. xvi. 7.

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

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

2 1 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company

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

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

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

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

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

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

Verse 25. The holloiv of Jncob\i thigh was out of joint] What this implies is difficult to find out; it is not likely that it was a complete luxation of the thigh bone. It may mean no more than he received a stroke on the groin, not a touch; for the Hebrew word i'JJ naga often signifies to,wii7<? »iM fio/cncir, which stroke, even if comparatively slight, would efiectually disable him for a time, and cause him to halt for many hours, if not for several days. I might add that in this placw

26 And ' he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh: And he said, ^I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

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

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

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

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

Verse 28. Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel] SxiB'' Yisrael, from li!> sar, a prince, or mt!' sarah, he ruled as a prince, and Ss el, God; or rather from tS'''!< ish, a man, (the N aleph being dropped,) and nsi 7'aah, he saw, 7X el, God; and this corresponds with the name which Jacob imposed on the place, calling it 7X'JD peniel, the faces of God, or of Elohim, which faces being manifested to him caused him to say, verse 30, □':3 Sx a-JS □'PlSs 'jTNl raithi Elohim panim el panim, i. e.,, " / have seen the Elohim faces to faces, (i. e., fully and completely, without any medinm,) 'tyflJ 7X3ni vattinnatsel napshi, and my soul is redeemed."

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

And hast prevailed.] More literally, Thou hast had power with God, and with man thou shall also prevail. DTI7N D>' im Elohim, with the strong God; D'lyJS DJ? im anashim, with weak, feeble man. There is a beautiful opposition here between the two words: Seeing thou hast been powerful with the Almighty, surely thou shah prevail over perishing mortals; as thou hast prevailed with God, thou shall also prevail with men: a

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

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

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

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

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

Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?] Canst thou be ignorant ivho I am 1 And he blessed him there — gave him the neia heart and the neio nature which God alone can give to fallen man, and by the change he wrought in him, sufficiently showed who he was. After this clause the Aldine edition of the Septuagint, and several MSS., add b can ^av/iaaTov, or nai -ovTo caTi. ^avfiacrov, which is wonderful; but this addition seems to have been taken from Judges xiii. 18. Verse 31. The sun rose upon hi?n] Did the Prophet Malachi refer to this, chap. iv. 2: Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings? Possibly with the rising of the sun, which may here be understood as emblematical of the Sun of righteousness — the Lord Jesus, the pain and weakness of his thigh passed away, and he felt both in soul and body that he was healed of his plagues.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXHI. Verse 1. Behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men.] It has been generally supposed that Esau came with an intention to destroy his brother, and for that purpose brought with him four hundred armed men. Rut, 1. There is no kind of evidence of this pretended hostility. 2. There is no proof that the <oar hundred men that l',sau brought with him were at all armed. 3. But there is every proof that he acted towards his brother Jacob with all openness and candbor, and with such a forgctfulness of past injuries as none but a great miud could have been capable of. Why M9

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

then should the character of this man be perpetually vilified 1 Here is the secret. With some people, on the most ungrounded assumption, Esau is a reprobate, and the type and figure of all reprobates, and therefore he must be every thing that is bad. This serves a system; but, whether true or false in itself, it has neither countenance nor support from the character or conduct of Esau.

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

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

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

5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and tlie children: and said, Who are those " with thee 1 And he said, The children ^ wjiich God hath graciously given thy servant.

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

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

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

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

1 0 And Jacob said. Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive

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

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

A7ul kissed him] inpsy'l vaiyishshakehu. In the Masoretic Bibles each letter of this word is noted with a point over it to make it etnphatic. And by this kind of notation the rabbins wished to draw the attention of the reader to the change that had taken place in Esau, and the sincerity with which he received his brother Jacob. A Hindoo when he meets a friend after aboence throws his arms round him, and his head across his shoulders, twice over the tight shoulder and once

my present at my hand; for there- A. M. 2265. fore I ^ have seen thy face, as ' though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

17 And Jacob journeyed to '^ Succoth, and

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

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

Verse 17. Journeyed to Succoth] So called from n3D succoth, the booths or tents which Jacob erected

18 And Jacob came to ^ Slialem, a city of " Shechcm, ^ which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city.

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

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

A'erse 19. For a hundred pieces of money.] The original, rvj'm 71X03 bcmeah kesitah, has been a matter of long and learned discussion among critics. As kesitah signifies a lamb, it may imply that Jacob gave the Hamorites one hundred lambs for the field; but if it be the same transaction that St. Stephen refers to in Acts vii. 16, it was money, Tifirj^ ap-}fptov, a sum or price of silver, which was given on the occasion. It has been conjectured that the money had the figure of a lamb stamped on it, bi^cause it was on an average the value of a lamb; and hence it might be called a kesitah or lamb from the impression it bore. It is certain that in many countries the coin has had its name from the image it bore; so among our ancestors a coin was called an angel because it bore the image of an angel; hence also a Jacobus, a Carolus, a Lewis, (Louis <f Or,) a Joe, because certain coins in England, Spain, France, and Portugal, bore on one side the image of the kings of those countries, James, Charles, Lewis, Joseph, or Johannes. The Athenians had a coin called /3ovf, an ox, because it was stamped with the figure of an ox, Hence the saying in JEschylus: —

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

19 And 'he bought a parcel A.M. 2265. of a field, where he had spread '

his tent, at the hand of the children of " Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred •' pieces of money.

20 And he erected there an altar; and ' called it '^ El-elohe-Israel.

in ancient times constituted the principal riches of their owners; but when other cattle were added, the word pecunia, (from pccus, cattle,) which we translate money, and from which we still have our English term pecuniary, appears to have been substituted for oves, because pecus, pecoris, and pecus, pecudis, were used to signify all kinds of cattle large and small. Among our British and Saxon ancestors we find coins stamp ed with the figure of an ox, horse, hog, goat, i!^c., ana this custom arose in all probability, both among them and other nations, from this circumstance, that in primitive times the coin was the ordinary value of the animal whose image it bore. It is, all circumstances weighed, most likely that a piece of money is here intended, and possibly marked with the image of a lamb; but as the original word 7\'0"iS'p kesitah occurs only here, and in Josh. xxiv..3-2, and Job xlii. 11, this is not sufiiciently evident, the word itself being of very doubtful signification. Mr. Parkhurst is of opinion that the kesitah bore the image of a lamb; and that these lamb coins of the ancient Hebrews typified the Lamb of God, who in the Divine purpose was considered as slain from the foundation of the world, and who purchased us unto God with his own blood. The conjecture is at least pious, and should lead to useful reflections. Those who wish to see more on this subject may consult the writers in the Critici Sacri, and Calmet.

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

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

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

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

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

Jacob, '' went out to see the daughters of the land.

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

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

4 And Shechem s spake unto his father Hamor, saying. Get me this darnsel to wife.

Verse 1. And Dinah — went out to see the daughters of the land.'] It is supposed that Jacob had been now about seven or eight years in the land, and that Dinah, who was about seven years of age when Jacob came to Canaan, was now about fourteen or fifteen. Why or on what occasion she went out we know not, but the reason given by Josephus is very probable, viz., that it was on one of their festivals.

Verse 2. Prince of the country] i. e., Hamor was prince; Shechem was the sou of the prince or chief. Our version appears to represent Shechem as prince, but his fatlier was the chief of the country. See veises ti, 8, &c.

Verse 3. Spake kindly unto the damsel.] Literally, he spake to the heart of the damsel — endeavoured to gain her affections, and to reconcile her to her dis-

5 And Jacob heard that he had A. M. cir. 2266.

his sons were with his cattle in the field; and Jacob ^ held his peace until they were come.

6 And Hamor the fAther of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.

7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they ' were very wroth, because he '' had wrought folly in Israel, in lying with Jacob's daughter; • which thing ought not to be done.

grace. It appears sufficiently evident from this and the preceding verse that there had been no consent on the part of Dinah, that the whole was an act of violence, and that she was now detained by force in the house of Shechem. Here she was found when Simeon and Levi sacked the city, verse 26.

Verse 7. He had wrought folly in Israel] The land, afterwards generally called Israel, was not as yet so named; and the sons of Jacob were neither called Israel, Israelites nor Jews, till long after this. How then can it be said that Shechem had wrought folly in Israel? The words are capable of a more literal translation: SsTiV':] beyisrael, may be translated, against Israel. The angel had said. Thy name shall he called no more Jacob — not only Jacob, hit Israel. It was this that aggravated the offence of Shechem; he wrought folly against /.?rae/, the prince of God,

Shecliem longcth for vour daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.

9 And iiKike yc marriages witli us, ancZgive your daughters unto us, and take our daughters

1 0 And ye shall dwell with us: and " the land shall be before you; dwell and " trade ye therein, and " get you possession therein.

1 1 And Shechcin said unto her father and unto her brethren. Let mc find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

12 Ask mc never so much '' dowiy and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me; but give me the damsel to wife.

1 3 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father •> deceitfully, (and said, Because he had defiled Dinah their sister:)

14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for "'that wei'e a reproach unto us:

1 5 But in this will we consent unto j-ou: If ye will be as we be, that every male of vou be circumcised;

16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us;

in lying with the daughter of Jacob. Here both the names are given; Jacob, whose daughter was defiled, and Israel, the prince of God, against whom the offence was committed.

Verse 12. Ask me never so much dowry} Sec on chap. xxix. 20, &c. See the law relative to this, Exod. xxii. 10, 17.

Verse 13. Answered — dcceit/ullij] Which nothing could excuse; yet, to show that they had had much provocation, it is immediately subjoined n3Tl vaidabbcru, theij spoke thus because he had defiled Dinah their sister; for so this parenthesis should be read.

Verse 14. That were a reproach unto us] Because the uncircumcised were not in the covenant of God; and to have given an heiress of the promise to one who had no kind of right to its spiritual blessings, from whom might spring children who would naturally w.alk in the way of their father, would have been absurd, reproachful, and wicked. Tlius far they were perfectly right; but to make this holy principle a cloak for their deceitful and murderous purposes, was the full sum of all wickedness.

Verse 17. Then icitt we take our dauahlcr, and tec wUl be gone.] It is natural to suppose that the tribe

17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.

18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.

19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was ' more honourable than all the house of his father.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

2 1 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

2.3 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us

24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that ' went out of the gate

of Hamor was very inconsiderable, else they would not have sought an alliance with the family of Jacob, and have come so readily into a painful, disgraceful measure, without having either the sanction of Divine authority or reason; for it does not appear that the sons of Jacob urged either. And they are threatened here that if they do not agree to be circumcised, Dinah shall be taken from them, and restored to her family; and this is probably what the Shechemite" saw they had not power at present to prevent.

Verse 23. Shall not their cattle and their substance — be ours?] This was a bait held out for the poor unsuspecting people of Hamor by their prince and his son, who were not much less deceived than the people themselves.

Verse 24. Every male was circumcised] These simple people must have had very great affection for their chief and his son, or have been under the influence of the most passive obedience, to have come so readily into this measure, and to have submitted to this rite. But the petty princes in Asiatic countries h.ive ever been absolute and despotic, their subjects paying them the most prompt and blind obedience. I shall give, a few examples from Mr. Richardson'.s Dissertations. —

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, " Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.

26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the " edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.

27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28 They took their sheep, and their oxen,

" Abu Thaher, chief of the Carmathians, about the year nine hundred and thirty, ravaged the territory of Mecca, defiled the temple, and destroyed nearly 40,000 people. With only 500 horse he went to lay siege to Bagdad: the caliph's general, at the head of 30,000 men, marched out to seize him, but before he attacked him he sent an officer to summon him to surrender. ' How many men has the caliph's general!' said Abu Thaher. ' Thirty thousand,' replied the officer ' Among them all,' says the Carmathian chief, ' has he got three like mine V Then, ordering his followers to approach, he commanded one to stab himself, another to throw himself from a precipice, and a third to plunge into the Tigris; all three instantly obeyed, and perished. Then turning to the officer, he said, ' He who has such troops needs not value the number of his enemies '.'

" Hassan Sabat, one of those petty princes formerly known in Asia and Europe by the title Sheekh-ul-jibel, or old man of the mountain, being required by an ambassador to do homage to his master, the Sultan Malcksliah Jelaleddin, without giving any answer, ordered one of his attendants to poniard himself, and another to leap from the battlements of the tower; and he was instantly obeyed! Then turning to the ambassador, he said, ' Seventy thousand are thus attentive to my commands. Let this be my answer.'" On a principle of this kind we may account for the prompt obedience of the people of Hamor.

Verse 25. On the third day, when they were sore\ When the inflammation was at the height, and a fever ensued which rendered the person utterly helpless, and his state critical, Simeon and Levi, the half brothers of Dinah, took each man his sword, probably assisted by that portion of the servants which helped them to take care of the flock, came on the city boldly, ni3D betach, securely — without being inspected, and being in no danger of meeting with resistance, and slew all the males. Great as the provocation was, and it certainly was very great, this was an act of unparalleled treachery and cruelty.

29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive; and spoiled even all that luas in the house.

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, '" Ye have '^ troubled me ^ to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: ^ and I being few in number, thejr shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

3 1 And they said. Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?

sons, the remaining brothers of Simeon and Levi, spoiled the city. Though the others could slay the defenceless males, it was not likely that they could have carried away all the booty, with the women, children, and cattle; it is therefore most natural to suppose that the rest of the sons of Jacob assisted at last in the business.

Verse 30. Ye have troubled me] Brought my mind into great distress, and endangered my personal safety; to make me to stink — to render me odious to the surroundmg tribes, so that there is every reason to suspect that when this deed is come abroad they will join in a confederacy against me, and extirpate my whole family. And had he not been under the peculiar protection of God, this in all human probability would have been the case; but he had prevailed with God, and he was also to prevail with men. That Jacob's resentment was not dissembled we have the fullest proof in his depriving these two sons of the birthright, which otherwise they had doubtless enjoyed. See chap. xlix. 5, 7, where some additional circumstances are related.

Verse 31. Should he deal ivith our sister as loith a harlot?] On this outrage alone they vindicated their flagitious conduct. The word harlot first occurs here: the original is not Wjh'D pilegesh, which we render concubine, (see its explanation chap..xxii. 24,) but njll zonah, which ordinarily si'gnifies one icho prostitutes herself to any person for hire. Our word harlot is said to have been derived from a very odd circumstance: Robert, duke of Normandy, seeing a fine-looking country girl dancing with her companions on the green, took her to his bed. She was the daughter of a skinner, and her name was Arlotta; and of her William, surnamed The Conqueror, was born. Hence it is said all such women were from her called harlots, as William himself was usually termed the Bastard. But horelet, the diminutive of whore, is not a less likely derivation.

Solomon has very properly said. My son, enter not into the path of the loicked, and go not in the way of evil men; avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, ana pass aivay, Prov. iv. 14, 15. Had not Dinah gone out to see the daughters of the land, and very possibly at one of their idolatrous festivals, she had not suffered the foul disgrace mentioned in this chapter. Not only prudence dictates that young women should keep at home, but God expressly commands it, Tit. ii. 5. Dinah got among idolaters, and thus partook of their iniquities; and this led to the most base and cruel transaction upon record. How true is the saying. Those who wander out of the way of understanding shall abide in the congregation of the dead! In the case before us blame seems to attach to all parlies.

1. It was wrong in Jacob to suffer his daughter, alone and unprotected, to visit the daughters of the land.

2. It was excessively wicked in Shcchcm to take this advantage of the daughter of a respectable stranger, who had sought his friendship, and came to sojourn among his people, and whose righteous dealing they must have witnessed for at least seven years past. In his behalf we may say, and it would be unjust not to say it, that having done the mischief, and sinned deeply against the laws of hospitality, he wished to make all the reparation in his power; and therefore in the most frank and liberal manner he not only offered, but most pressingly entreated, permission to take Dinah to wife. This was the utmost he could do in such a case. And in this he is a saint of the first order when compared with the noble and ignoble profligates who, while blaspheming the Christian name by continuing to assume it, commit all kinds of breaches on the virtue of simple females, and the peace of respectable families, and not only make no reparation, but glory in their shame.

3. It was diabolical in Jacofs sons to slay a whole tribe for the offence of one man, and especially as that one had offered to make all the restitution in his power. They required that Hamor, Shechem, and all their sub- 'ects should be circumcised before they could conscien- of the most base and infamous designs. The simple unsuspecting Shechemites agreed to the proposal; and when rendered by this religious rite incapable of defending themselves, they were basely murdered by Siineon and Levi, and their city destroyed. Jacob, to his great honour, remonstrated against this barbarous and bloody act, committed apparently under the sanction of religion; and God showed his abhorrence of it by directing the patriarch, in his dying moments, to proscribe them from the blessings of the covenant, so that they barely retained a name among the tribes of Israel, being in general small, and ever disreputable, except merely in the service of the sanctuary, in which Levi was employed. How often since, notwithstanding this solemn warning, has the pure and benevolent religion of God been made, by wicked and designing men, a political stalking-horse to serve the basest purposes, and a covert to the worst of crimes! But shall we find fault with the holy religion of the blessed God because wicked men have abused it 1 God forbid! Were it not so good as it really is, it would be incapable of such abuse. An evil cannot be abused, a good may; and the greater and the more acknowledged the good, the more liable to abuse. As every good is so capable of being abused, does he act wisely who argues against the use of the thing on this account T Shall we say that various kinds of grain, fruits, and aliments are a curse, because wicked men abuse them to the purposes of drunkenness and gluttony? This would argue an utter perversion of all reason: and is it not on such a pretext as this that many persons have ventured to call in question even the truths of Christianity?

Whatever such men may be determined to thmk on the subject of this chapter, with the unprejudiced reader the ample and detailed relation which we have here of this barbarous transaction will appear an additional proof riage. This required conformity was made the cloak, of the veracity and impartiality of the sacred historian facob ts commanded of God to go to Beth-el, and to build an altar there, 1. Hu exhortation to his famtly;

to put away all strange gods, JfC, 2, 3. They deliver them all up, and Jacob hides them in the earth, 4. They commence their journey, 5; come to Luz, 6; build there the altar El-beth-el, 7. Burial place of Deborah, RebekaK's nurse, 8. God appears again unto Jacob, 9. Blesses him and renews the promises, 10—13. To commemorate this manifestation of God, Jacob sets up a pillar, and calls the place Beth-el, 14, 15. They journey to Ephrath, where Rachel, after hard labour, is delivered nf Benjamin, and dies, 16-19. Jacob sets up a pillar on her grave, 20. They journey to Edar, 21. While at this place, Reuben defiles his father\i bed, 22. Account of the children of Jacob, according to the mothers. 23-26. Jacob comes to Mamre to his father Isaac, who was probably then in the one hundred and fifty-eighth year of his age, 27. Isaac dies, and is buried by his sons Esau and Jacob, 29.

A ND God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to ° Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto

seems that while he was reflecting on the horrible act of Simeon and Levi, and not knowing what to do, God graciously appeared to him, and commanded him to go up to Beth-el, build an altar there, and

with him, Put away ' the strange gods that are among you, and '^be clean, and change your garments:

3 And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, ^ who answered me in the day of my distress, ^ and was with me in the way which I went.

4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their ' ear-rings which tuere in their ears; and Jacob hid them under '' the oak which was by Shechem.

Verse 2. Put away the strange gods] ^DiT\ 'nbs elohey hanncchar, the gods of the foreigners, which were among them. Jacob's servants were all Syrians, and no doubt were addicted less or more to idolatry and superstition. These gods might belong to them, or, as some have conjectured, they were the teraphim which Rachel stole; but these have already been supposed to be astrological tables, or something of this kind, called by Laban his gods, because by them he supposed he could predict future events, and that they referred to certain astral and planetary intelligences, by whose influences sublunary things were regulated. But it is more natural to suppose that these gods found now in Jacob's family were images of silver, gold, or curious workmanship, which were found among the spoils of the city of Shechera. Lest these should become incitements to idolatry, Jacob orders them to be put away.

Be clean, and change your garments] Personal or outward purification, as emblematical of the sanctification of the soul, has been in use among all the true worshippers of God from the beginning of the world. In many cases the law of Moses more solemnly enjoined rites and ceremonies which had been in use from the earliest ages. " A Hindoo considers those clothes defiled in which he has been employed in business, and always changes them before eating and worship."'^ — •

Verse 3. Answered me in the day of my distress] Not only when he fled from the face of his brother, but more particularly when he was in liis greatest strait at the brook of Jabbok.

Verse 4. And — ear-rings which were in their cars] \ATiether these rings were in the ears of the gods, or in those of Jacob's family, we may rest assured that they were not mere ornaments, but served for superstitious purposes. Ear-rings were certainly worn as amulets and charms, first consecrated to some god, or formed under some constellation, on which magical characters and images were drawn. A very ancient »nd beautiful one of this kind brought from Egypt, cut

cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

6 So Jacob came to "" Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, (that is, Beth-el,) he and al. the people that loere with him.

7 And he " built there an altar, and called the place ° El-beth-el: because " there God appeared unto him, when he fled from thf face of his brother.

8 But 'i Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, anc she was buried beneath Beth-el, under an oak and the name of it was called " AUon-bachutli

out of a solid piece of cornelian, now lies before me It was evidently intended for the ear, as the opening is too small for any human finger; and it is engraved all over with strange characters and images, whici prove that it was intended for a talisman or amulei It seems to be such a one as St. Augustine describes Epist. 73, which was suspended from the tip of thfc ears both of men and women, not for the purpose o{ ornament, but through an execrable superstition, foi the service of demons. " Execranda superstitio ligaturarum, in quibus etiam inaures virorum in summis ex una parte auriculis suspense deputantur, non ad placendum hominibus. sed ad serviendum daemonibus." See the notes on chap. xxiv. 22.

Verse 5. The terror of God] A supernatural awe sent by the Almighty, was upon the cities that were round about, so that they were not molested in their departure. This could be owing to nothing less than the especial providence of God.

Verse 7. El-beth-cT] '7K n'2 bs, the strong God, the house of the strong God. But the first ^7,^ el is wanting in one ofDe Rossi's MSS., as it is also in the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, and some copies of the Arabic. The sentence reads much better without it, and much more consistent with the parallel passages.

A''erse 8. But Deborah, Rebe/iah^s nurse, died] She was sent with Rebckah when taken by Abraham's servant to be wife to Isaac, chap. xxiv. 59. How she came to be in Jacob's family, expositors are greatly puzzled to find out; but the text does not state that she ivas in JacoV s family. Her death is mentioned merely because Jacob and his family had now arrived at the place where she was buried, and the name ol that place was called Allon-bachuth, " the oak of weeping," as it is likely her death had been greatly regretted, and a general and extraordinary mourning had taken place on the occasion. Of Rebekah's death we know nothing. After her counsel to her son, chap, xxvii., we hear no more of her history from the sacred writings, except of her burial in chap. xHx. 31. Her name is written in the dust. And is not this designed as a mark of the disapprobation of God 1 It

10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: ' thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, " but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

1 1 And God said unto him, ' I am God Almighty: be fmitful and multiply; " a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings siiall come out of thy loins:

12 And the land ^ whicli I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

1 3 And God ^ went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

14 And Jacob '^ set up a pillar in the place

seems strange that siiuli an inconsiderable person as a nurse sliould be mentioned, when even the person she brought up IS passed by unnoticed! It lias been observed that the nurse of ^Eneas is mentioned nearly in the same way by the poet Virgil; and in the circumstances, in both cases, there is a striking resemblance.

" Tu quoque littoribus nostris,.lEneia nutrix,.iEternam morions famam, Caieta, dedisti: Et nunc sorvat honos scdem tunus; ossaque nomen, Hesperia in magna, (si qua est ea gloria,) signal. At plus exequiis ^Eneas rite solutis, Aggere composite tumuli, postquam alta qnierunt..^quora, tendit iter vclis, portuniquc relinquit."..En., lib. vii., ver. 1, &c.

'' Thou too, Cajeta, whose indulgent cares Nursed the great chief, and form'd his tender years, Expiring here (an ever-honour'd name!) Adorn Hesperia with immortal fame: Thy name survives, to please thy pensive ghost; Thy sayred relics grace the Latian coast. Soon as her funeral rites the prince had paid, And raised a tomb in honour of the dead; The sea subsiding, and the tempests o'er. He spreads the flying sails, and leaves the shore."

Verse 9. God appeared unto Jacob again] He appeared to him (irst at Shechcm, when he commanded liiin to go to Bcth-cl, and now that ho is arrived at the place, God appears to him the second time,.and reconfirms to him the Abrahamic blessing. To Isaac and Jacob these frequent appearances of God were necessary, but they were not so to Abraham; for to liim one word was sufficient — Abraham believed God.

drink-offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, ^ Beth-el.

16 And they journeyed from Bcth-el; and there was but '' a little way to come to Ephrath and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her. Fear not; "^ thou shalt have this son also.

18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died,) that she called his name '' Ben-oni: but his father called him ' Benjamin.

19 And 'Rachel died, and was buried in the way to s Ephrath, which is Belh-lehem.

heaven. This was no donbt the future Saviour, the Angel of the covenant. See chap. xvi. 7.

^'erse 14. ^ drink-offering] "p^ nesech, a libation These were afterwards very common in all countries. At first they consisted probably of water only, afterwards icine was used; see on Lev. vii. 1, &c. The pillar which Jacob set up was to commemorate the appearance of God to him; the drink-offering and the oil were intended to express his gratitude and devotion to his preserver. It was probably the same pillar which he had set up before, which had since been thrown down, and which he had consecrated afresh to

Verse 16. There was but a little way to come to Ephrath] The word niDD kibrath, translated here a little way, has greatly perplexed commentators. It occurs only here, in chap, xlviii. 7, and 2 Kings v. 19; I and it seems to have been some sort of measure applied to land, as we say a mile, an acre, a rood, a perch; but what the exact quantity of the kibrath was cannot be ascertained. Ephrath, called also Bethlehem, and Bethlehem Ephrata, was the birth])lace of our blessed Redeemer. See its meaning Matt. ii. 6.

Verse 18. As her soul was in departing] Is not < this a proof that there is an immortal spirit in man, which can exist separate from and independent of the body? Of Rachel's death it is said, nU'Dl rsV2 betseth naphshah, in the going away of her soul; her body did not go away, therefore her soul and body must have been distinct. If her breath only had been intended, n"3>yj neshamah or nn ruach woulcf have rather been used, as the first means breath, the latter breath or spirit indifiereutly.

She called his name Ben-oni] 'JIX p the son oj my sorroio or o^ir^on, because of the hard /aftour she had in bringing him into the world; but his father called htm Benjamin, |"D'J2, the son of my right hand, i. e., the son peculiarly dear to me. So man of the right

20 And Jacob sel a pillar upon her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel's grave ^ unto this day.

21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his lent beyond ' the tower of Edar.

22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and '^ lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

hand, Psa. Ixxx. 17, signifies one much loved and re garded of God. The Samaritan has Benyamin, the son of days; i. e., the son of kis old age, as Judah calls him, chap. xliv. 20; and Houbigant contends that this is the true reading, and that the Chaldee termination in for im is a corruption. If it be a corruption, it is as old as the days of St. Jerome, who translates the place Benjamin, id est, filius dextrs; Benjamin, that is, the sun of the right hand.

Verse 20. Jacob set a pillar upon her grave] Was not this the origin of funeral monuments? In ancient times, and among rude nations, a heap of stones designated the burial place of the chief; many of these still remain in diiferent countries. Afterwards a rude stone, with a simple inscription, was used, containing only the name of the deceased, and that of his father. But where arts and sciences flourished, superb monuments were erected higlily decorated, and pompously inscribed. It is very likely from the circumstances of Jacob that a single stone constituted the pillar in this case, on which, if writing did then exist, the name, or rather some hieroglyphical device, was probably inscribed. That which is now called RachePs pillar is allowed, by those who have examined it, to be a comparatively modern structure.

Verse 2 1. Tower of Edar.] Literally, the lower of (he flock, and so translated Mic. iv. 8. It is supposed that this tower was about a mile from Bethlehem, and to have been the place where the angels appeared to the shepherds. The Targum of Jonathan expressly says: " It is the place in which the King Messiah shall be manifested in the end of days." By the toiver of the jlock we may understand a place built by the shepherds near to some well, for the convenience of watering their flocks, and keeping watch over them by night.

Verse 22. Keuben loent and lai/ with Bilhah his fathers cnncubine] Jonathan, in his Targum, says that Reuben only overthrew the bed of Bilhah, which was set up opposite to the bed of his mother Leah, and that this was reputed to him as if he had lain with her. The colouring given to the passage by the Targumist is, that Reuben was incensed, because he found Bilhah preferred after the death of Rachel to his own mother Leah; and therefore in his anger he overthrew her couch. The same sentiment is repeat-

''■G And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, ^ad, and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.

27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto ■» Mamre, unto the ° city of Arbah, (which is Hebron,) where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

ed by Jonathan, and glanced at by the Jerusalem Targum, chap. xlix. 4. Could this view of the subject be proved to be correct, both piety and candour would rejoice.

And Israel heard it.] Not one word is added farther in the Hebrew text; but a break is left in the verse, opposite to which there is a Masoretic note, which simply states that there is a hiatus in the verse. This hiatus the Septuagint has thus supplied: nai ttoviipod e<j>av7] evavTiov avTov, and it appeared evil in his sight.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve] Called afterwards the twelve patriarchs, because they became heads or chiefs of numerous families or tribes, Acts vii. 8; and the people that descended from them are called the twelve tribes, Acts xxvi. 7; James i. 1. Twelve princes came from Ishmacl, chap. xxv. 16, who were heads of families and tribes. And in reference to the twelve patriarchs, our Lord chose twelve apostles. Strictly speaking, there were thirteen tribes among the Hebrews, as Ephraim and Manasses were counted for tribes, chap, xlviii. 5, 6; but the.Scripture in naming them, says Mr. Ainsworth, usually sets down but twelve, omitting the name now of one, then of another, as may in sundry places be observed, Deut. xxxiii.; Ezek. -xlviii.; Rev. vii., &c.

Verse 23. The sons of Leah] The children are arranged under their respective motiiers, and not in order of their birth.

Averse 26. Born to him in Padan-aram.] i. e., all but Benjamin was bom in Canaan, ver. 16, 17.

It is well known that Padan-aram is the same as Mesopotamia, and hence the Septuagint translate Jl£- ao-ora/ua rrji Ivpiac, Mesopotamia of Syria. The word signifies between the two rivers, i'rom ficaor, the midst, and nora/ior, a river. It is situated between the Euphrates and Tigris, having Assyria on the east, Arabia Deserta, with Babylonia, on the south, Syria on the ivest, and Armenia on the north. It is now the province of Diarbek, in Asiatic Turkey, and is sometimes called Mavcrannahar, the country beyond the river; and Aram Naharaim, Aram or Syria of the two rivers.

Verse 27. The city of Arbah, (which is Hebron)^ See chap, xxiii. 2. It has been conjectural that Jacob must have paid a visit to his father before this time, as previously to this he had been some years in

28 And the days of Isaac w-re a hundred and fourscore years. 29 And Isaac gave up the ghost and died,

Canaan; but now, a8 ho was approachingf to his end, Jacob is supposed to have gone to live with and comfort him in liis declining days.

Verso iO. Isaac t^avc up the ghost — and was gathered unto his people] See on chap. xxv. 8.

£saH and Jacob buried him.] See chap. xxv. 9. Esau, as we have seen cliap. xxxiii., was thoroughly reconciled to his brother Jacob, and now they both join in fraternal and filial affection to do the last kind office to their amiable father. It is generally allowed that the death of Isaac is mentioned here out of its clironological order, as several of the transactions mentioned in the succeeding chapters, especially xxxvii. and ixxviii., must have happened during his life; but that the hislonj of Joseph might not be disturbed, his death is anticipated in this place. It is supposed that he lived at least twelve years after Joseph was sold into Egypt.