Mr. Bryant, in hisHyUwIogy, vol. iii. p. 33 — 36. coneidera him aa the principal instrument of the idolatry that afterward prevailed in the bmily of Cuah; and treats him as an arcA rebel and aposlaie. Mr. Richardsu), who was the determined foe oi Hr. Bryant's v^ole systeai, asks, Dttotrtalion, p. 406.—" Where is the audionty for these aspersionsi they ore nowhere to be diseovered in the originoJs, in the vsmtms, nor in the jMiKQiftrasas of the Sacred Writings," If theyarenoftobefiiundbothinlheversHms and in uw paraphraMet 6t the Sacred Writings, the above quotatieos are all./obe. How strange that a man of Ur.: Uehardson's learning should hove committed himself so ^rc^oudy as in this inatancel Terse 10. TTu beginning tf hit kingdom wu Babil\ Babtl, signifies cotyfututn; and it seems to have been a very proper name for ibe commencement of a kingdom that af^iears to have been founded in apostesy from Ood, and to have been supported by tyranny, rapine^ and opprewwn.
In the land of Shinar; the same as is mentioned, chap, zi. 2. It appear* that as Babylon was built on the rivei Eufjiratea, and that the lower of Babel was in the lead of S&inor, CQDsaquently, Shinar itself must have been in the southern port of Mesopoiaraio.
Verse 11. Out qf that land wmi forth Aaftar.] The marginal reeding is u>be preferred here. He, Nimrod« went otU info Aisyria ana built Nineveh: and hence Assyria is called the land qf Ninrody Mic. v. 6. Thus did this mightT hunter exteiKt hie dominions in every possible way. The citv of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, is supposed to have nad its name from Ntntu, the son of Nimrod J but probably Ninus and Nimrod are the seme pereon. lltia oiqr, wni<^ made so conspicuous a figure in thehistory of the world, is now called Moanl; it is on ■nconsidenble plac^ built out of the nihw of the ancient Nineveh.
Rehoboth, Calah, &c Nothing certain is known c«»- eeming the situation of these places; conjectare is endless i and it has been amply indulged bv learned men in seeking for RAoboth, in the Birtha of Ptokniy, Caiah, in CaioeWn^ Ream, ia Lariaaa, Ac. dbc.
Veree 13. Mixraim begat Ladim] Supposed to mesa the inhabilanu of the Mareotis, a canton in ^ypl, tat the nama Lmdim is evidently the name of a people.
Anamim; according to Boduul, the people who inhabited the district ^tout the temple of Jupiter Amaum.
20 These are the boju of Hamt after their famiiiee, after their tonguefl, in their countries, and m their nations.
81 T[ Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth, the elder, even to him were children born.
24 And Arphaxad begat *Salah;* and Salafa o^at Eber. • iaS?: 25 "And onto Eber were born two
his days was the earth divided; and his brother^s name -kos Joktan.
26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sbdeph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, ac&sm 28 And ObaU and Abhnael, and
Ijekabim } die hybiana, or a people who dwelt od the west of the "niebaYd, and were called I^iio-Egyptian»,
Naphtuhim; even the oonjecturers can ecaroely fix a plorce for these people. Boehart aeems inclined to piac« them in Marmarica, or timon^ the Troglodytea.
Verse 14. Patknuim] The inhabitanta of the Ddta, in Egypt, Buording to the Chaldee paraphrase; but according to Bodiort, die people vim inhabited the 'Diebiiid, called PaHurtM m Scripture.
C^fbiAttn; the inhabitants of CdMna; for almost all audiers allow that Colchis was peopled from Egypt.
I^ttUatimt the pei^le called PhUittina, the constant plagoel and frequent oppreaoors of the Israelites, whose nistory may be seen at large in the books of Samuel, Kiflfs, &c.
Verse IS. Sidm.; who probably built the ei^of diis name, and was the bdtar o( the Stdmian*.
Verse 16. nieJdtusiU, AmorUe,&ie.} Are well known as being die ancient inhabitants a Canaaii, expelled by the children of Israel.
Verse 20. TTiete are the torn qf Ham after Vieir JSimt/ies, Ac.} No doubt all theae were well known m die time of Mose^ and for a lon^ time after; but at diis distance of time^ when it is considered that the political Mate of the world has been undergoing almost incessant revolutions through all the intemiMliate portions of time, the impossibility of fixing their residences, or marking their descendants, most be evident, as both the name» of the people, and the plants of dieir residences, have been dianged beyond the possibility of being recognised.
Verse 21. Skan, fiUhtr of aU the dtitdren qf Eber} It is geOendlT suppoaed that the Hebrews derived their name from £%«r, or HtAer, son of Shem, but it appean much more likely that they had it from the circumstance of Abraham pastinjr over (for so the word ^3J7 Aber signifies) the river uiphrates, to come into the land oT Canaan. See the history of Abraham, ehap. jiv. 13.
Verse 22. JSlam; from whom came the Blamitea, near to the Medes, and whose chief city was EtemaSt,
Asthur; who gave his name-to a vast provinee (afterward a mighty empire) called Aaayria.
Arphaxad; from whom ArrapaAitis, in AMyria, was Bftm«I, accordtiw to some; or Ariaxata, in Armenia, on the frontiers of Media, occtirding to others.
JDtttf; ihe founder of the L^tmu^ in Aaia Minor t or of die Ladim, who dwelt at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris, according to ArioM Mimtanut.
Aywnt thenither of the Aramean^ afterward called SMans. On this point there is scarcely any dififerenoe or opinion among learned men.
Verse 23. (7r; who peopled Cmlosjria, and tamppoMl to have been die founder of Damamw.
Octher; supposed by Calmet to be the founder of the Ibtrtaiu, who dwelt beyond Jordan, having Arabia Dc- ■erta an the east, and Jordan on the wesL
AfeiA; who inhabited Mount JMasins in Meaopotania, and from whom Uw river JMureoa,whteh has its aoorce ia uwt nMontatn, takes its name.
29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Jc^tan.
30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, aa thou soestunto 8pphar,a mount of the east.
31 These are the sons of 8bem, after their families, after their toogues, in their lands, after their nations.
32 f These are the iamDieB of the emu of Noah, after their generaticmB, in their oatioiia| ■■and by these were the nations divided in the earth, after the flood.
AND the wbole earth was of one IS'S'iS < language, and of one ^ speech. — — 2 And it fame to puss, as they joorneyed
Verse 24. Sabik; the fouDder of the people of iSbwfona. Eber, see verse 21. The Scptuagint add Cctinan here with one hundred «nd Hiirij/ to the cbrtwdogy. ]£oet think the addition spurious, both* here and in St. Luke.
Verse 25. PeUg^ from Aa paiag, to divide, because «b kiadavt, which is supposed to be aboat sm fcuntiraf yean aA«r ne flood, Uu mrlh wot divided anufig Ibe sons of Noah. Iliou^ some are of opinion that a fAwsieaJ division, and not AnoUUcai one, is what is iiuended Base: vix. a separation oi nntiBents and islands from the maia land; the earthy paru having bees u^led n one gnmt oontinent previowa u> the dm of Pel«e|F Ihii opaioB ai^iean to me the most lik^, far what ia aakl var. EL ia spoken bv way of antieipation.
Verse 26, Joktan bad ikirtten. sOos who had tbMr dwelling from Meaha unto Sephar, a mouat o/ its ea»t, verse 30. whidi ^aees Calmet supposes to be MouBt Mieiue on the vest, in AlMopotanua; and ihe mountains of the Sapkira oo the east in Annenia j or of dte Tofyn^ farther on in Media.. ■
In confirmatHo that all mesi have been derived froaa ods family, let it foe observed; that there are many custoua and usages, both sacred and civil, which have prerailed in all
Crts of the world, which could owe ilieir origin K> noduBg t a genera] inatitation, which could never have cxislea had not mankind faeraiM the same blood originally, and instruct^ in the same common notions before dwy w«re dispersed. Among tbeseoMiges may be reekontd — L The numbering by f«n«. 2. Theircompuiingtimebyac^cleof maoen days. 3. Tlieir setting apart die aevattk day for religious purposes. < Their use of >acri;(cc^jm)pi/Mii«rjh and etickariatieal. 6. Hie consecration of lemptea ana altara. 6. The iaatituiion of aamctuariea or plaeea pf refuge, and their privileges. 7. Their giving a tenth part of tha produce nf their fields, &e. for tm use of the altar. 8. TTie custom of worshipping the Deity bar^ooled^ 9. Abstinence of the men from all sensual gratifications previous to their offering ncrifice. 10. The older of prtaalhood and its support. 11. The notion of legal poUutioni^ defilements, Ac. 12. Ttia untveraal tradition of a geaer^ deluge. 13. The miivAsU oninion diat the rainbqwKm a divine aign or portent, Ac Ac see Dodd.
The wisdom and goodness of God are particularly displayed in repeopling the earth by means of thrtt ptreona, all of the same family, and who had witnessed that awftu display of divine juKice in the destruction of the world W the flood; while diemselves were preserved in the aik. By this very means, the true religion waa propagated over dw canfa; ftir the aona of JVoah weuU ctttauily leaeh their children not onlv the precepts dativered to their father by Ood himself; W also how, in his justioe, he bad brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; aoid by hia mercifiil providetice, preserved them from the general rtiis. It is on this ground alone, that we can aecount for the uniformity and universality of the above traditions; and for the grand outlines of religious trtiih, which are found in every quarter of the world. God baa so done hia marvellous works, that ihey may be had in everlaatiDg remembrance.
NOTES ON CHAPTER XL Vorael. TSavMt otalhvaaiif onalanguage\ 7%* mhsis tar^k—KA mankind was ^ otu Umgumgtt in all Ukalihood tba ITiwr awrf nf nnr t^trrh j aitkiUan^;
• fVona the east, that they fdnnd a plain in the land of Shinar; and ihey dwelt there.
3 IT And •> they said one to another, Oo to, let va make brick, and ' burn ihem thoroughly. And they hud brick for stone, and BUme had they for mortar.
4 And they mid, Go to, let us build a city and a tower, *• wboee top may reach, unto heaven
the Msie worda in the nxae way. Ii ii generallv supposed, that after the confuaion mentioned in this cnapter, the Bafarew lu^^Hige remaiDed in the family of Heber. The proper oamea and their ngmficeuioiu givsn in the Seriptare, «sem tneoatsitable evidence* that the Hebrew tan- MMMwaalbaori^iiwl langtiage of the earth — thelangiMge ID which God apue to man, and in which he gave the nrelabon ut hia will to HoeeB and the propheta. It waa med, aaya Mr. Ainaworth in all the worlct for ma thoUMond.MWtt kaiHdr«d andjlfly^even year& till Phalag, the son •f Hdier, waa bom, aod the tower of Babel waa in buildiag, 0)u hundred yean after the flood, Oen. z. 26. zi. 8. Aner dua, U was uaed among the Hebrews or Jewa, oalled rtierefore the JnM* language, loa. xxxvi. 11. untU they were carried captive into Babylon, where the holy tongue eaaned from being commonly used, and the mixed Hebrew (or C%Bldce) came in its place.
It cannot be maonabl^ iniBgined diat the Jewa loat die Hebrew tongue entirely in the seventy years of their cap- Initr in Buylon; y«, aa they were mixed wiA the Cbajdeana, their children would of course learn that 'dialect, and to them the pore Hebrewwoald be unintelligible; and this probably gave rise to the necessity of explaining the Htbrtte Scriptures in the Ckaldee tongue, that the children mi^t understand aa well aa their lathers. Aa we may safely presume the parents could not have forgotten the Hebrew, ao we may conclude the children in general could not have learnt it, aa they did not live in an insulated atate, but were mixed wim the Babylonians. TMa conjecture rerao\'es the difficulty with which many have beea embarnused: one party supposing that the knowted^ of ihe Hebrew Inngunge waa lost during the Bahylonirit captivity; and hence the necessity of the Chaldee Targuma to explain the Scriptures j another party insiaitng that this waa impossible in eo short a period aa seventy years.
Terse 2. At Hftey jourruytd from the east] Assyria, ■eaopotamia, and the country on the borders, and beyond the Giphrates, are called the tost in the Sacred Writings. Balaam said that the king of Moab hod broiight htm from the mtmniains of ike tost, Pfum. xxiii. 7. Now it appears, from chop. zzii. 6. that Balaam dwelt at Pethor, on the river Euphrates. And it is very probable that it was &om this country that the wise men came to adore Christ; for it issud ihey came JrvmlheeasC to Jerusalem, Malt. ii. I. Abraham is said to have come.^»i HAe eaai to Canaan, laa. xli. 2. but it is well known that he came from Meaopotamlaaxd Guildta. Isa. ch. xlvi. II. represents Cyrua as coming from the coat against Babylon. And the some prophet represenu the Syrians as dwelling eaattpard of Jerusaleni, ch. ii. 12. 7ne St/riaa before oipo mikkedm, from the eaet, the same word which Moses uses here. Daniel, ch. ix. 44. represents Antiochus as troubl»l ■t news received from the ea*t; i. e. of a revolt in the eastern provinces, beyond the EujArates.
Noah and his family landing, afer the flood, on one of the mountains ot Armenia, would doubtless descend and coltivate die vallera: aa they increased, they oppear to have poased along the banks of the Euphrates, till, at the time specified here, they came to the plains of Shinar, allowed to be the most fertile country in the east. See Catmet. That Babel was built in the land of Shinar, we have the authority of the sacred text to prove: and that AiAjrfsB was built in the same country, we have the teati- ■DRiyofEuaebiiia: Prep. Evnng. 1. iX. a. 16. and Joseptni^ Amiq. 1. i. c. 6.
Tern 3. l^et us moAe hrick} It appears they were o^uod to make use of firtcfr, as there waa an utter scarcity Of stone* in that district; and on the same account they were obligwl to use etime, that is, bitumen; (Fu?^.) m^mxr*,. {Septuagini} for mortar: ao it appears they had neither common atone, nor lime-atanai hence they bad briek for atooe, aad atphaltiu, or bitumen, instead of mortv.
Verve 4. Xef iw frufU a cttjr onil a touKrl On (his subject dure have been various conjectures. Mr, Hutchinson «7peMd that the design of the builders was to erect a ^n«Mi l» Aa hott 1^ Aemm, die tun, moon, ptooeta, Ac Vttt- I.— 9 and tet us make us a name, leet we be scattered abrotui upon the face of the whole earth.
5 •And the Lord came down to sec the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they hare all t one lan^ua^: and this they begin to do } and now nothing will be re-
and to support this interpretation, he says, tsiSBia ^Vim ve rotko baahamayim, should be translated, not vhaee top amy reach unio heaven, for there is nothii^ Ibr majf reaA in the Hebrew j but its head, or aummit, to the heavenM, i. e. to the heavenly bodies; aiid to make ihia interpretation the more prwable, he says, that previously to this time, the deacendants of Noah were all agreed in on« farm if reUgioiu worship; for so he understands nrw TV>tn v« tapah otAath, (and qf one lip) t. e. aooordin^ to him, they haid one lUany; and as Ooa conbunded theur litany, they began to disagree in their religious opinions, and branched out into aeota and portieo, eaw aaaoctating with those of his own sentiment! uid thus their tower, or temple, was left unfinished.
It Is probable that their being qf one language, and me jpeecAf implies not only a sameness of language, I^t also a ttnity of sentiment and design, as seems pretty clearly intitnated in ver. 6. Beii^ thwefore strictly united in all thinge, coming to the fertile plaina of Shinar, they proposed to settle themselves thera^ instead of spreading themaelvea over all die eountriea <» the earth, according to the design of God; and in reference to this purpose they encouraged one another to build a <My and a tower, probably a temple, to prevent their seporatioa — "Lest,** soy they, "wc be scattered abroad upon the fiice of the whole earth; " but God miraculously interposing, confounded or frustrated their rebellious design, which waa incowistent with his will. See DeuL xxxii. 8. Acts xvii. 26. And partly by confounding their language, and disturbing their counsels, they could no longer Keep in an united state; so that, agreeing in nothing but the neceesiiy of eeparating, they went off in different directions, and thus became scattered ^iroad upon the &ce of the earth. The Targiima, both of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and of Jerusalem, assert that the tower was for idolatrous worships and [hat they intended to place an image on the top of the tower with a sword in its hand, probably to act as a talisman against their enemies. Whatever ifteir design might have been, it is certain that this temple or tower was anerward devoted to idolatrous purposes. Nebuchadnezzar repaired and beautified this tower; and it was dedicated to Bel, of the sun.— See Prideaux, vol. i. part I. b. 2.
An account of this tower, and or the confusion of tongues, is given by several ancient authors. Herodotus saw the tower, ami described it A Sybil, whose oracle is yet extant, spoke both of it and of the conlusion of tongues; so did Eopolemus and Abydenus. See JSoekart, Oeogr. Socr. hb. i. c. 13. Edit. 1692. On this point Bochart obaerves that these things are token from the Chaldeans, who preserve many remains of ancient focts ^ and thohgh they often add circumstances, 3ret they are, in general, in some sort dependent on the text; 1. liiey say. Babel was builded by the giants i because Nimrod, pne of the builders, is called m the Hebrew text 'tisj gibbor, a mighty man; or, as the Scptungint, yy*t. a giant. 2. These giants, they say, sprang from the earth; because, in Gen. X. II. it ia aaidj he wtni tnm pwn p min haareta hahiv, out ^Outt earth; but thia is rather spoken of AsAur, wlio was another of the Babel-buitders. 3. 'Diese giants are said to have waged war with the gods; because it is said of Nimrod, Gen. x. 9. he was a mighty hunter before the Lord; or, as other* have rendered it, a vorrior anda rebei against the Vord. See JarAi in loco. 4. Hiese
Sants are said to have raised a tower up to heaven, as if ey had intended to have ascended thither. This appears to nave been founded on, and Us top shall reach to Mixen, which has been already explained. 6. It is said that the gods sent sirmg winds against them, which dispersed both them and their work. Tliis appears to have been taken from the Chaldean history, in which it is said their dispersion was made to the four winds tf fteoren, fWKi K>SBr be arb& ruchey Aemyia, i. e. to the four quor* tera of the world. 6. And because the verb pe phuts, or rai naphets, used by Hoees, signifies not only id scatter, but also to break to pieces; whence thunder, Isa. xzx. 30. is called 7fi3 nepAefs, a breaking to pieces; hence they supposed die whole work was frnwcM /o pieces, and overturn). It was probably from diis disguised r^>Tcsentation of die
Btraioed from them, which they have * jmaglned
7 Qo to, *> let UB iro down, and there confound thur language, that they may * not underetand
8 So <* the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all * the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9 Therefore is the name of it called ^ Babel; > because the Loan did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lgao scatter them abroad upon the face of all
KcmS: 10 H *> These are the eenerations of
Shem: Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: a c w& Shem lived after he begat Ar-
^utxad, five hundred years, and begat a^aa l^ ^nd Arji^iaxad lived five and thirty - — — ■ years, < and begat Salah: acSS 13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat
Salah, four hundred and three years, and begat eons and daughters.
tamt 13 And Salah lived after he begat
Eber, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
Bif 3?: 16 *And Kber lived four and thirty years, and begat • Peleg:
Hdmw tutthst the Oreek and Ronuui poeU took their fable (rfdwgiMila waging war with the goda and mlingmounlain apoD nKNintain in ocder to scale aeaven. see Bodtart u slove.
Verae 6. And&e Lerd coma dram] A lesaon, Miya an RQcieot Jeviah commentator, lo magiitratea to examine «niy evidenoe befim dwy decree judgment and execute Jtiatice.
Terse 6. T'&t'jKopIe u one, &c.] From this, aa before obaerved, we may infer, that as the people had the same Iftnguage. so they had a unity of design and Bentimeni. Ii ifl very likely that the oheinai lan^oge was composed of monoayllables, that each had a distmci ideal meaning, and only oyu meaning; aa different acoeptmionB of the same word would undoubtedly arise, either from compounding lerma, or when there were but few words in a language, using them by a different mode ot pronunciation, to e^- prew a variety of things. Where this simple mono^llabic language prevailed, and it must have prevailed in the first ages of the world, men wouki necessarily have 'iinpl' ideat, and a corresponding nmpliei^ of manntra. The Chinese language is exactly men as this; and the Hebrew, if stripped of its vowel points, and its prefixes, sutfixes, and postfixes, sepaialed from Uieir oombinations, so that they mifdtt sttrad by themselves, it would nearly answer to this enaiaeter. even in its present state. In order, therefore, to remove this unity of sentiment and design, which I suppose to be the necessary consequence of such a language, Ooa confounded their language — caused them to articulate the same word differently, to affix difierent ideas to the same term, and, perhaps, by transposing of syllables and interdianging of letters, fonn new terms and compounds, so that the mind of the speakm was apprehended by the heater in s ocmtiary sense to what was intended. TYiia idea is not ill expressed by an ancient French poet, Du BarlM. and not badly, thotwh rather qumntly, meta- |4u«sea by our countryman, Bb. Sylvester.
Opt vib fbr pluti; wMlaT iwrtar lack*;
Thar bar Iha bit ibtUKuw*.
Cm wiibU ban tflkit; abd Urn a tprndt Uar ^uri
ThDi ova^ cHM, ilin prnk and piM In taiat
WbU goa hih aoote Biaia acabL
Ai Sutar-Brfvln. I shall not examine how the different languages of the earth were formed. It certainly was not a work of the mtmant different climates must have a consideTable share
17 And Eber lived after he begat Pdeg, four htmdred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.
IF And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:
19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu, feg^St
two hundred and nine yean, and begat
20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat "Serug:
21 AndReu lived after hebegatSerug, ac ma two hundred and seven years, and begat
22 And Serug lived thirty years, and i^-SS bfegatNahor:
23 And Serug lived after he begat Na- taum
hor. two hundred years, imd be^i sons
24 Am Nahor lived nme and twenty years, and begat "Terah;
25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah, a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
26 And Terah livecT seventy years, tg^St
'].N'MV tlii so tti'H the generations tS'S of TcToh: Teruh bi^gat Abram, Nahor, ■ and HaiwiijUvl Htran begat LoL in the formation of Untgues, by their influence on tbo organs of speech. TY» invention of new arts and trades must give birth to a variety of lemts and expressions^ Merchandise, commerce, and the cultivation of the sciences,, would produce their share; and different forms of govenw ment, modesof life, and means of instruction, also contribuia their quota. The Arabic, Chatdee, Syriae, and EAiopiCf still bear the most striking resemblance to their parent, the Hebrew. Many others might be reduced to a common source; yet every where there is sufficient evidence of tllas confusion. The anomalies even in the most r^ulu languages sufficientlyprove this. Every language is conftninded less or more, but that of Eternal T^niiA. This is ever the same: in all countries, climates, and ages, the languags of Truth, like that God from whom it sprang, ieunclungeable and incorruptible. -It speaks in all tongues to all nations, and in all hearts: " there is one God, the Fountain of goodness, justice, and truth. — Man, thou art his crea^ ture, ignorant, weak, and dependent; but Hs is all-sufficient — hales nothing that he has mode — loves IAm — is able aod willing to save Ihee: return to and depend on ^m— take his revealed wilt for thy law, submit to his aulbority, and accept eternal life on the terms proposed in his word} and thou ahalt never perish, nor be wretched." This language of truth all the ancient and modem Babel-buildisn nave not been able to confound, notwitlistanding their repeated attempts. How have men toiled to mue this langtioge clothe their own ideas; and ihus cause God tn speak according to the pride, prejt^ice, and worst passions of men I But throush a just judgment of God, the loaguafe of all those who have attempted to do tliis, has been confounded! and the word of the Lord abideth for ever.
Verse?. GSatojAformofspeech, which, ffhateverit might have signified formerly, now means nothing. The Hebrew nan habah, signifies come, mafie preparation, as it were, for a journey, the execution of a purpose, Ac Almost all the versions understand' the word in this way: the S^tuagiuthave Sivn, the Vulgate e«nil<, both signifiring ooflu^ or come ye. Hiis makes a very good sense: GoMf let us go dotm^&c. For the meaning of these latter wonis, see chM). L 26. and xviii. 21.
Verse9. Therefore ia the nanutf it ca!UdBaiMlQ*tia baboL from bo^ to mingle, eon/bund, deetroff; henea Babel, from the mingling together, and confounding of tba projects and language of these descendants of Noah; and this confeondinR did not so much imply the produeing new languages, as giving them a different method of pronouDoing the same words, aiKl leading ihem to affix diffisnat ideas to them. See befor^ ver. S.
Besides Mr. Hutchinson's opinion, (see oo verse 4.) thee* have been various coi^jeetures concerning die purpoee for which this tower was miilt. Some suppose it was intended to prevent the efiiscta of another sood, fay aSsfding an
29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was ' Sarai: and the name •fN&hor'8wife'>Milcah, the daughter ofHara^ the &tber of MQcah, and the mther of lecah.
30 Bat * Sarai was barren; she had no child, ft cS uS 31 T And Terah ^ took Abram hia — BOD. Euld Lot the son of Haran his Boa*e son, ana Sarai his daughter-in-law, his eon Abram's wiTe: and they went forth with them from * Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
•■yiuin 10 the buildeN aod their fcmilies in caaeof wiotber genend da)a«. Other* diink that itwu designed to be a gnnd eitv, toe seat ofsoverameB^ in Mdei to prevent a Beneral dimnian. Tnis God would itot permit, aa he had pari need that men ihoold be diafteraed over the euih; and therefor* caueed the meana vbic^ they vrere uaing to prevant to becocoe the grand inatiument of ita accom-
CimeoL Humaoly nwuing, the earth eould not have •0 ipeedily people(( had it not been for this very oirwnaaMnw^ wnini the eounael of man had devised to prevent it. Some aay that theae buildera were divided into Mvesty-two nadens, with aeventy-two different lan> guagea: but (his is an idl^ unfounded tale.
I^tse to. Th*f are Oi» rauratimu of SAtjn) This mmy be eailed the Ao^^mi^ as from it sprang Jfrraham, Itaac, Jaeob, the hsefsa pofriorefts, and all the great progeniton of ibe Messiah.
We have already seen that the Scripture chronology, aa it exisu in the Hebrew text, the Samaritan, the Septua^pnt, Joeephoa, and aomeof the fuhars, is greatly embarraasedi and it ia yet much more so in the various ^sterns of learned and unlearned chronologies. For a foil and mtjawJ view of thia subjeet, into iniich the nature of theae notes forbids me furlW to enter, I must refer my reader to Dr. HaWs laborious work, "A New Analysis oi 8afmi<!broao\qgj," vol. 2d. part Ist, inwhieh he enters into the subject with a cautious but firm atep; and if he has not bees able to remove all iu difficulties, has thrown very eonsidMraUe licbt upmi most parts of it. The reader haa already been aivored with some eztiaou from this hainsd work, under chapter ix. ver. 29.
Verae 12. And Arpltaxtd Uved] Septusgint bring in hen a seeond Caiiian, with en addition m one hundrad and ihiity years. Sl Luke follows the Septnagint, and brings in the aaow person iu the same way. But the H»* brew text, both here and in 1 Cbron. i. is perfectly silent on tlus atibiecti and the best dironologisu nave agreed in ffaisetiag Aii as a vuriona noeratioa.
veraa SB. AhA Tsrofc tOMd tetaUi/ ytan, and begat Afrrom, Nakar, axd Bsran.] Haraa was certainly the aldtat SOB of Terah; and he i^>peara to liave been bom iHian Terah was about seventy years of age; and his birth was followed in sucoessive periods widi those of Nahor, \m Metnd, and Ahram, hia ytnmgeH son. Many have bean gnally puBled with the account here, aupposmg, because Abram is roentiooed Artt, that iherMbre he waa the ddmt son of Terah: bat he is only put first by wur of dfniay. An instattce of this we have already seen, ciiKp. V. 32. where Noah is represented aa baviog Shcm, Ham, and.ApAett, in this order of sncceasion: whereaa it is svideoL from other seripturei^ that Skm was the youngat soa, who for dknity ia namedjtrsf, aa Abram ia Here: and lAqmaA the Maitt named loa^, as fTaran ia here. Terah diea two hundred and five years old, ver. 32. then Abram departed from Haran when seventy-five yean old, eh. xii. 4 tfaorefore Abram was bom, not when hia fodier Terah was seventy, but wbaa he was one buodred and thirty years okL vnun any ease at dignity or pn-embieitea is to be — rbid, then even the youngett eon u set before all the rest, ihougb coBtraiy to the usage of the Scriptures in other cases. Heooe we find Skem, the youngest son of Noah, always maalioaDi firat: Mota is nwntiomd before bis elder brother Amrmi and Abram before hi* two elder brethren, Mfaran and Nahor. "nieae observations are sufficient to remove all difEeulnr fr«m (hia plaosu
Tana 2S. JUUMk As dmgMsr flbnm] Many MBssa Sarai and Jkdk ore the soma parstn under two iMnMtf BMBesi but this is improhshk, as /seoft is expnn^ Mid lobe lbs da)ighlar<^HanBi, and &ro< was
AInm, <■ fas' Mcaaiil, I4_ta Ood OUeu PbuiioE ul ha bHwbaU whk ■rimui pliciwon amnt <i SmL H. Pbuwb, on SnUui Uiai SmI nt
NOW the s Loan bad said unto Abram, Qet thee out of thy country, and from thy biodr,ed, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: 2 b And I will make of thee a great nation.
VerseSl. TTuy mtU forA /ntn Vr qf the ChaldttM] Cbaldea is sometimes undentood aa comprising the whole of Babylonia; at other times, that province towards Arabia Deacrta, called in Scripture the land the Chaidtan*. The capital of this place was Babytonf called in Scripture the beauty the Chaldeu' txcmmcy^ laa. xrii. 19.
Vr c^pears to have been a eitr ^ *oeit conaiderabla consequence at that time in Chaldea; but vhtre aituated is not well known. It probably had its name I7r, *w which ugnifiea Jirt and hght, from the tcorshi^ practised there, "nie learned are almost unanimously of t^inioi^ that the ancient inhabitanu of thia region were IgnicoiiatM, or vBorAippere ^ fire; and in that place this sort n worship probably originated: and in honour of this element, the symbol of the Supreme Being, the whole country^ or a particular city in it, might have hod the name Ur. Bochart haa observed, that there ia a place called OttrL aouth of the En^rates, in the way from Niaibia to uie riv« Tigris. The Chaldees mentioned here, had not this name in the time ^wMiA Hoses xpedis; but th^ were called so in the time in wkidi Moses vrota. Chteed was Uie son of Nahor, the son of Terah. ch. xxii. 22. From Cheaed deacendeo the Otaadim, wnoae language was the same aa that of the Amoritet, Dan. i. 4. ii. 4. Theae Quudivt, whence the Xa*.loi«<, Chaldeane, of the S^ptuagint, Vulgate, and all later veratonav afierwant settled on the lOath of the EtqArates. Ilioee who dwelt in Vr wore either priesU or astronomera, Dan. ii. 10. and also idolaters, JoA. xxiv. 2, 3, 14, 16. — And because they were mudi addicted to astronomy, and probably to judidu aatrology, hence all astrologers were, m proceaa of timc^ called CAoUean*, Dan. ii. 2—6.
The building of Babel, the confosion of tongues, abd the fint call of^braham, are three remarkable particulars in this chapter: and these led to dte aceompliahmeot of three grand and important deeigne. 1. The peopling of the whole earth. 2. The preservation of the true retwion by means of one family. And, 3. the preservation gi the line uneomipted, by which the Mesaiah diould come. When God makes s diaeov«y of himself by a particular revelatiim, it must begin in tome particular Hmt, and be g^tea to some particular person, and In some partieular place. Where, lehen, and to lekom, are comparatively matters of small importance. _ It ia God's gift, aiM tus own wiadom must determine the time, the person, and thepfoee. But if Ihia be the case, have not others cause to eomplain because not thus favoured 1 Not at all, tmless the fiivouriiwof the one,./V a Mme, should necessarily cot off tlie otbeta for ever. But this ia not the case. Abraham was first favoured — that titne, that country, and that person, were chosen by infinite wisdom; for there and then Ood chose to commence these mighV operations of divine roodnesB. Isaac and Jacob also received die mnnises; Ute twelve patriarchs through their fhther, and (he whole Jewiih people through them. Afterward, the designs of GoiFs endless mercy were more particularly unfolded i end tbe wnrd which seemed (o be confined for two Ihotuand years to the descendants of a single family, bursts fwth on all hands, salvation ia preached to the Gentiles, and thus in Abram'a seed all the nations of the earth are blessed. Hence none can find foult, and none can have cause (a complain; as the solvation, which for a time oppsarad to be restrioted to a few, ia now, on the authonty at Ood, liberally ofligred to the irtwlahaman race I
3 • And I will bless them that blese thee, and curse him that curseth thee: ** and in thee shall all families of the earth be bleBsed.
4 1[ So Abram departed^ as the Lord had qraken unto him; and Lot went with him:
Abram; some supposing he hod two distinct calls, others diat he had but one. At the conclusion of the preceding chapter, ver. 31. we fiod Terah and nJI his family leaving Ur of the Chaldeei, in order to go to Caiyuui. 'niis wa^ DO doubt, in consequence of some divine admonition, IVhile reatinr at Harao, on their road to Cancan, Terah died, ch. zi. w, and then God repeats his cail to Abnun, and orden him to proceed to Canaan, ch. zii. 1.
nroBE HI DWXLT IN Chakbar; and eaid unto him, D^xirtfrom thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land (yn*, a land) -ahieh J will sliow Ihjee. Hence, it is evident, tiuit God had called Abrah&m before he came to Hann or Chorran. " The second call is recorded Mily in this chapter: " The Lord said, not had said, unto Abnni, Depart from thy land, and froin thy kindred, and flow, thy father*! hotue, unto TirE land, ^-wti nA-areis, Septuagint thnj-h., which 1 will show thee." "The diuerence of the two calls, " says Dr. Hales, " mere carefully translated from the originals, m obvious; in the former, the land is indefinite, which was designed only for o temporary reaideoee i in the latter, it is d^niU, intimating his abode. ^ third condititm ia also annexed to the latter, that Abram ahall now separate himself from ht» faOuj'a houstfOT leave his brother Nahor's family behind at Charran. — This call Abram obeyed, still not knowing wither he was going, but trusting unplicitly to the divine guidaooe, " Hd>. xi. B.
Thj/ kindred] Nahor, and the difierentbranchesof the fninUy of Terah, Abiam and Lot excepted. That Nahor van with Terah and Abnun as fitr as Padan-Anun, in Mesopotamia, and settled there, so that it was afterward cBl\ea Nahor t oily, ia sufGciently evident from the ensuing history, sec ch. xxv. 20 xxtv. 10, 15. and that the same land was ffaran, see ch. xxviii. 2, 10. and ffure were Abrem's kindred and country here spoken of, ch. xxiv. 4.
Thy father' shouee] Temli bein^ now dead, it is very probable that the. family were determined to go no brtlier, but to settle at Charmn; and as Abram might have felt inclined to stop with them in this place, henre, the ground and necessity of the second call recorded here, and which is introduced in a very remarkable manner: lS lec leca, ao FOB THTBSLT. If none of the Ifajnily will accompany the^ yet go fbr thyself unto that lant> vhieh I will show thes.,Gm does not tell him what hind it is, that he may ■till cause htm to walk by &uth, and not by sight. T^is seemiT to be particularly alluded to by Isaiah, ch. xli. 2. IFho raieedup the righteous man {A)xam\from the east, andtt^ed htin to hie fooi; that is, XafoUow implicitly the Diviae direction. The apostle assures us, that in all this Abnm had flpirituol views; he looked for a better countiy, and considered the land of promise only as ^rpical of the heavenly inheritance. See Heb. xi. 6—10.
Verse 2. Iwill make qf thee a great nation] i. e. the Jewish people. IwiUmake thy name great— aWuding to the change of his name from Abram, a high fiuher, to Abraham, the &ther of a multitade.
Verse 3. In thee] In thy posterity, in the Mestiaht •Kba shall q>riag from ihee, shall idl families of the earth be blessed t for as he shall take on him human nature, from lha posterity of Abraham, he ahall taste deadi for every man; his Gospel shall be preached throughout Ihe world, and innumerable blessings be derived on all mankind, through his death and intercession.
Verse 4. And Abramwas aevtniy-Jiee years o/cQ As Abram was now sevens-five years old, and his mthcr Terah bad just died al the age of two hundred and five, eoosequently Terah must have been one hundred and thirty when Abnun was bom; and the seventietli year of hisoge, mawioned Gen. xi. 26. was the period at which Haran, not A^ram was bom, — See on the«receding chapter.
Verse 6. The souls that they had g<atm in Haran] "Hi is may iiiply either to the persons who were employed in the eerviee St Abnun, or to the persons he had beui the inatniBMat of oommling to the knowledge of die true Oodi and in ibia latter sense the Cbaldee paraphnuta
Abram wag seventy end five yean old yAnesa he departed out of Haran. 0 5 And Abram took SiH-ai hia wife, and Lot hia brother's son, and all their Bubetanoe that thejr had eathered,and 'the bouIb ttm,t thejr had gotten 'in Haran; andthey wentlbrthtOKomtotheland of Canaan; and into the land ofConaan they came.
understood the passage, translating it, The souls tg" Asm vAom they protelytta in Haran.
They went forth to go into the land of Canaan] A good Isnd possessed £y a bad people, who, for their uiiquities, were to be expelled, see Lev. xviii. 26. And this land was made a type of the kingdom of Qod. Profaai' bly the whole of this transaction may have a fiuiber 'meaning than that which appears in the letter. Aa Abram left his own country, lather's house and kincbetL took, at the command of God, a journey to this promiaed land, nor ceased till he arrived in it; so Aould v» east aside every weight, come out from among the wofhera ef iniquity, set out for the kingdom of God, nor ever rest till we retich the heavenly coOnGy. How muy set out fiir the kingdom of heaven, moke good progress for a time in their journey, but halt befiire the race ia finfahed t Not ao Abram: he went fMh to go into the land of CanMtnt _wadivito the land <lf Canaan heeamc—BaaMt, go duu and do likewise.
Verae6. TV CanaaniU was then in th« land] "Riis ia Choi^t to be an interpolation, because it is suppceed that these words most have been written afler the Canoanites were expelled from die land, by the Israelites under Joshua; but this by no means follows. All that Moses states is, simply, that at the time in whteh Abram passed through Siehem, the land was ioliabited by the deeoendania of Canaan.' was a perfectly possible eas^ and in- volvee neither commdietion nor alwurdtty. Tmre is no rule of criticism by which these words can be produced as an evidence of interpolation, or inoorreemesa in the statement of the sacred historian. See this mentioned again, ch. xiii. 7.
The plain of Moreh] pSM eilon, should be Iransiatsd oak, not stoin: the Sepia^nt translate it '(B* Tillv4.iiM*, ne Iqfljf oat; and it ia Iftdy tin place waa remarkable for a grove of those tree*) or for one ttl a stupendous height and bulk.
Verse 7. TTie Lord appwed] In what way this appearance was made, we know not; it was probably by the great Angel of the Covenant, Jesus the Christ. 'lha Bj>pearance, whatsoever it was, perfectly saiistied Abram, and proved itself to be supernatural and divine. It is wortliy of remtirk, that Abram is the flrit man to whom God is said to have shown himself or appeared: let- In Vr of the ChaMees, Acts vii. 2.— and 2dly. At the oak of Mor^-, as in this verse. As rrtiB J^forsft, ngnifiea a teatAer, probably this was called the oo^ o^ Mordt, or the teacher, because Ood manifested himself heres and inftrttcted Abram concerning the future possession of that land by his posterity; and the dispensation ot the mercy of Ood to all the families of the earth thraugh dwpromiaM Messiah; see on chap. xv. 7.
Verse 8. Beth-eH That is, the place which was afWward called Beth-el by Jacob; for its first name was Imx. See chap, xxviii. 19.— ffailft el, literally signifiea the hotae of God.
Tfure MpUdied hto tent— and bitilded an altar unto the Lord] Where Abram has a tent, there God must have an ALTAB, as he well knows there is no safety but uitder the Divine protection. How few who build houses, ever think on the propriety and neceenity of building an lUtar to their Maker? l^e hotise in whicn the worship of God is not established, cannot be considered as under the Divine protection. Is it not remarkabtef that few dwellings of truly religious people have ever been burnt downl
And called upon thename of Ihe'Lord] Dr. ShucJtford strongly contends, tliat Dra inp kara does not signi^ to call ON the name, but to invoke in the name. So Abram invoked jeftoroA in or Ay the name of Jehovah, who had appeared to him. He was taught, even in these early times, to approach fTod dirough a Mediator; and that Mediator, since manifested in the flesh, was known by (he nome Jehovah. Does not our Lord allude to such a.di8C0veryas this, when he aays, Abraham rtjoieedU aeemyday; and he saw it, and XDoa glad? JohaTiii.66. Hence tt is evident, that he was informed that the Christ should be bom of hia seed — ^thot Ae aatioBS t£ the-WorU ahffiild be blened throibrii him i and is it then to be wondered if he invoked God in die aame of lUs pmat Mediator?
6 T[ And Abrwn • pa seed throagh the land unto the place of Sichetn, '* unto the plain of M*reh. 'Aoa the Canaanite vas then in the land.
7 ** And the Lord appeared unto Abrara, and said, ■ Unto thy seed mil I give this land: and there buUded he an ' altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto hnn.
8 And he remored from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he boilded an altar unto the LoBD, and ' called upon the name of the Lord.
9 And Abram journeyed, ^ going ■ on still toward the south.
taS'^ 10 ^ And there was ^a famme in K- —: — ' the land; and Abram > went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was ■ grievous in the land.
11 And it came to pass when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thon art *afeir woman to look upon:
12 Therefore, it shall cotpe to pass, vhea the
Vena 10. TTure wafiaidtu in At land} Tiz. of ChMflo. nite ta the fint bniae on reeord, ioA it prevsiled in the most Entile bad then under this sun; and whjt Qod mudf. it deaolau for ibe wickednm of Ihoae who dwelt in it, PaI. cvii. 34.
Watt dotcn into Egypt] He felt- htmadf a unn^ and a pilgrim, and by his unaettled state, was kept in mind et the city that hath fonndationa, that is permanent and SMble; irhoee builder is the living Qod. See Hek xi. ^ ft
Verte 11. TTuntarta/airwmantolookon] Widely diffisring in her eompUiion from the avanhT Egyptians, wid eonseqaently more likely to be coveted oy taem. It auwara that Abram tuppoeed they would not icraple to take away the tifb of the husbniid, in order to have the tondlstartied poeseaaioD of die wife. The age of Sanii at thia time is not well asreed on by commentators; some me^ioff her mnety, while others make her ortly alxty-flve. From cbH>. xvii 17. we learn that Sarali was ten years youi^r tlian Abn^iam, for she was but ninety when he was a hundred. And from ver. 4. of cht^}. xii. we find that Abram was tevmiy-fitt when lie was called to leave Haran and go to Canoai^ at whiA time Sara! could be only tUtfy-jhe t and if the traosactiona recorded in the iveeeiling verses took place in the course of that year, iritich 1 think ftoasible; consequently Sarai was but aixty- JtM: and as, in those times, people lived much lonfi^r, and disttMM seems to have hod but a very oontracted inflneoee, women and ama would necessarily arrive more ilowlv at a atMe of perfbetion, and retain their vi«Mir and Complexion much fam^ than in later times. We may - add to these consider&uoea, that itranrtrf txA/oreignera are more coveted by the iieeotiotu than those who are na/jpei. This has teen amply iltustraied in the West Indies and in America, where the Jetty, monkey-faetd African women, are preferred to the elegant and be<wtil\il Eoropeans! To this subject a teamed British traveller aleguuly iqiplied tboae words of Vii^il, Eclt^.ILver.lS.
Verse 13. iSby, I pray fA<e, Hum art my ntter} Abram <fid itot wish his win to tell a faiMthood, but be wilted her to suppress a part of the Iruth. From chap. xx. 12. it is evidetu she was his Mep-aitier, i. t. his aister by his /oAtT, but by a different -motker. Some iuppnee Iwuah was ihe dangfater of Haran, and coiiBequem,ly the ^onddaughier of Ttrak; this epioioo seems to be fonnded on chap. zi. 29. where Iwcah is dioaght to be the same witli Sanh, but the supposilun has not a soffieteaey of pnbabiU^ to support it.
VetMU. nawomaifwaattikmitUoI^iarMKMlmiM} J*s'M* appears to have been the common appellative of the Caihita sbepberd Idnn of Eeypt, who had conquered this land, as is conjectured, aboutl^ years before this time. Tbt won} is nqipoaed to signify teimt, in (ht andent Bnptiaa kngtiagK If the meaning m aouxht in the Hsbrev. the root ink pAcinUl, signifies to ie/rse or dismgagtd, a iuum which audi /ntbtMUn as the Cuthite ■BBiiMnh^ migbt BSMrahy Mume. All the kings of ^ypt bare this name till the commeiwament of the Grecwardansiihy. after Whseb they wen «»Ued Ptolomiet.
Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say. This is his wife: and they " will kill me, but thee alive.
>ray thee, thou art my sister: that with me for thy sake; and my 60ul shall live because of thee.
14 ^ And it came to pass that, when Abram was come into £gypt, the Egyptians * beheld the woman that she was very mir.
- 15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. * 16 And he ■ entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men servants, and maid servants, and sheasses and camels.
17 And the Ijord t plagued PhoratA and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai Abram's wife.
15 And Pharaoh caHed Abram, and said, " What is this thai thou hast done unto me7 why didst tiiou not tell me that she was thy wiffe?
of the eeetem prince^ she underwent, Cor a considerable time, certain purifications before abe wo* brou^t into tha ktng^s presence. It was in this interim that God plafpud Phanu/i and ki» ktnue with phgvet, so that Sarai was restored before she could have been taken to the bed of the ErrptiaakiM\
Verw 16. Be had lAerp and oxen, &c.] As some of these terms are liable to be confounded, and as they frequently occtv, cspeeialhr in the Pantiueuch, it may ba neeeasery to consider and fix their meaning in this place.
Sheep, pa tmm, from taaan, to be pUmtiful or abuft^ dont; a proper term for the eastern slicep, which almost caostonUy bring. forth twine. Cant. iv. 2. and sometimes three and even /our at a birth. Hence their great firtiitfblneae is often alluded to in Scripture. See PsQlm Izv. 14. cicliv. 13.; but uiidcr this sorde term, which almost invariably means a,,>bxA, both sAeep and goataase included. So likewise, the Ho mans include aheep, goat; and amaU cattle in general, under the term FKcra peeorisi so they do larger cattle imder thai of vscva pecuaia.
OxBNr "ip^bamtar, from the root,toexainine,Zaoftotrt/ because of the fiill, broad, steady, unmoved look of moat animola of ibe beeve kind t and hence the naming im termed txmtar, because of the li^t sprinoing out of the east, and looking out over die miole of me eardi's suriace: See on cliap. i. 31.
Ha-Arass; B^Msn e/iamorim, from '^on chamar, to be (Haturbed, muddy, probably from the dull, stoptd anpearr ance of Ibis aoinal, as if it were always onectea with melanchtriy. S(AetuAxer thinks the landy-colaured domesde Asiatic ass, is particularly intended. The word is applied to aaaee in general, though moM frequeotiy restrained to those of the male kind.
Sna'AMCs; n>nM aionoth, from \nK aten, strengilv properly the atrong animai, as heio^ superior in muscular force to eveiy other animal of its size. Under this term both the male and the female ore sometimes understood.
Cahbls; is^Vdi gematim, from *f03 ^amal, to rteompenae, return, repay, so called from its resentment of injuries, and revengend temper, for which it is proverbial in the cotpitries «F which it is a native. On the aniaaal% and natural falsUvy in general of the Scripiuroe, I must refer to die.KsrAioieon of Sooubt, ana the PkMiea Sacra &mmiCBi*M. 'Hte former, die most kamed and accurate work, perhaps, ever produced by ooe man.
From this enumeration of the riches of Abraham, we may conclude that tliis patriarch led a pastoral and itinerant life, that his meat must have chiefly ctmsisted in the flesh oi clean aninuUs, with a sufficiency of pulse for breodf that his chief drink was their mitt; ws clothing their sMu^ and his bosata of burthen omm and camda, for as yet we read oiF na kortea t and the ordinary employmenl of his servants, to take care of ihe floeks, and to serve their master. Where the patriarchs became resident for any eonsiderable timck diey wndoubtedly eulttvaud ih* groond to pndiMe cnuD.
Vene if. TU Lord ptogtud M^haraek} What thsit plagues were we know not. In the pamUel eastk chap, XX. la all the females in die &mily of Abimeleo, who had token Sarah, in nearly the same way, were made benea | possibly this might have been the case here; yet nmeb more aaaniB to be signified by ttmnpnsiioa fTMiptojiiM'
19 Why saidst thou, She i$ my tister? bo I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and ^ tiiy way.
20 'And Pharaoh commanded hia men coneeming him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had..
had, and Lot with him, *> into the south.
2 "And Abram vas very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journeys * from the south even unto Beth-el, unto the place where hb tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-«1 and Hai;
Whatever theae plagues were, it is evident they were uaderatood by PharaoE, aa proofii of (he diat4)probatioD of God, and coiuequently, even at this time in Egypt, there w«a some knowledge of the primitive and true religion.
Verae 20. Commanded Ma men conctming him.] Gave particnlar and strict ordm to afford Abraiuun uia bis fiuiily eveiy accommodation and h«lp tar tbeir journey; for, havins received a great increase of caole and ■ervaato, ver. IS. it was necessary that he dtould have the favour of tile king, and his permission to remove from Egypt with BO lar^ a property; benee a particular cbaive ia given to the officers of PhBraob to treat him with VBspect, and to assist hiro in his intended departure.
Tki weighty and important contents of this chapter damand our most attentive consideration. Abram' is a tteond time called to leave his country, kindred, and fiuber's house, and g<;> to a place he knew not. Every Aing was apparently against him but die voice of Ooct. ^lis, to AbrahaiiL was sufficient i ha ooold tmat bis Maker, and knew he could not do wrong in foUowiw bis command. He is therefore proposed to iis in the Scriptures as a pattern of faith, patience, and loving obedience. When he received the call of Ood he spent no time in twelcss re&Mnings about the call itself his family circoAstances, die diffioilties in the WRV, Ac. &e. HewasooUsri, and he dsportsd, and this is all we bear on the subjecL Ma^UeU jQiiA in the promisa (tf Ood, and prvmpt obedimes to his oommands, become us, not onlv aa his treatura, but as nnna'9 called U> separate from evil workers and wicked ways, and travel >y that faith which worketh by love, is the way that leads to the paradise of been tried, when, coming to die very land in which he is promised >o mudt blessediiess. he fioda, instead of plenty, a grievou* /amine I Who in his arenmstanoes wouM not have gone back to his own country and kindred 1 Still he is not stumbled; prudence direeu him to turn aside and go to Egypt, till God shall choose to remove this famine. Is it to be wondered at, that in this tried state he should have serious apprdiensieas for the safety of his life? Sarai, his affectioncUe wife and faithful companion, he supposes he shall lose; her beauty he suspects will cause her to be desired by men of power, whose will he shall not be ablft to resist. If he appeared to be her hiuband, bis death he supposes to be certain: if she pus for his aitter, he may be well used oo her account. He will not <etf a lie, hit be is templed to prentrioifs \n auppreesing a part of the truth. Here is a weakness wmcb, however we may be inclined to pity and excuse, we riiould never imitate. It is recorded with its own condemnotiwu He should have risked all raiher than have prevaricated. But how could he think of lighily givinr up euch a wj/e / Surely he who would not risk his lite for the protection and safety trf a good wife, is not wonl^ of one. Here Ma faith was deficient He-sdll eredited the gmeral promiM, and acted on diat faith in reference to; but be did not use his faith in reference to inin-venSn/rxircumttaneea, to whieb it was equally applicable. Many trust God for their souls and eiemity, who do not trust m him for their hadU$ and for Hme. To him who follows God fidly io simplicity of heart, every thing must ultimately ■Mcead. Hod Abram end Saiai simpfy passed for nhat
4 Onto the * ilKe «f the altar, ^ch he had Eoade there at die first: and there Alvam 'called on the name of the Loko.
5 And Ijot also, which went with Abram, had
6 And > the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their stdi- Btance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7 ^ And there was *>a strife between the herdmen of Abram*s cattle, and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: < and the Canaanite and the Perixzite dwelled then in the land.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, ^ Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me, and thee, and between my hwdmen and. thy herdmen j fw w^ be 1 brethren.
9 " /« not the whole land before thee? separate thyself) I pray thee, from me: " if thmt wiU take the left hand, then I will goto the right: or if thou depart to the ri^ hand, then I will go to the left. ■
they ■aertf they had incurred no daneer; for God, who had obliged tbem to go to Egypt, had prepared the way before them. Neither Pbaraon nor his courtters would have noticed the woman, tiad she appeared to be the wi^ of the sfruR^er that came to soiouni.iD their land. Tim iasue auffieiouly provea thia. Every my of the)a^DA tt truth is an emanation frtm) the holiness of Goi^ and aw fiilly sacred in his eyes. Considering the-aubjeet tba^ • pious ancient spoke the following words, whidt reiocn m prevarication have deemed by much too ttrong: " 1 would not," said he, " tell a tie to save the souls of the whole world." Reader, be on thy guard: thou mayieal fall owBpaiatively small matters, wjiile resohilaly and BUcCMBlhlty reaiating ihcie vhichrequire anant's atnogtk to couotenet then. In every coocera Gm ia neceaaary i seek him for the body and ibr tlie *mU; and do not Ihtak that any thing is too nnall or inaignifleam to inmaatltin^ that couoems diy present or eternal peace.
Verae 1. Abram went upoutqf Egypt into As mttJk) Probably die aoulh of Canaan; as leaving Egypt ha is said to oome /rom the touth, ver. 3. for the, soutbtm part of the promised land lay northeast of E^fH.
Verse 2. Abram woe very riek\ So we bm that dw property ot these patriarchal timea did not consist in jtoofts only, but also in titter and gold / and in all these reqiecte Abnm wai. "mo kabad meod, ezoeeding rich. Josnihtia says, that a part of this proper^ was acquired by teoAiny the Egyptians arts and sciences. Thus did Ood fetfil btt promiaes to him, by protecting him and giving him a greal profosion of temporal blessings, which were to him signs and pledges of spiritual things.
Verse 6. TTieir eubatanee w great] As their familiea increased, it was peetaaary dmr ik»^ ahouM increaae also, at frtm those flodn they derived tbeir dothiag, food, and drink: many also were ofered in sacrifice to Ood.
TVug could not dtcdl together] 1. Because dieir flocks were great; 2. Because the Ganaanites and the Peritatea had already occupied a considerable pert of the land t and 3. Because there appears to have been envy between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. To prevent dimutea amoig them, that might have ollimately disturbed the peaeem the two famihes, it was necessary that a sqwratioa shookl take place.
TTu Canaanite and lAe PtrixxHe dwelled then in Ae land] That is, they were there at die time Abram and Lot came to fix their teats in dte land. This is no more an interpolation than diat chap. xii. 6.
VeneS. F\»- we he brethren] We are of the same family, worship the same God— in the same way^iave Ae same promises—end look for the same end. Why then shtuld there be strife? If it Kppeer to be unavoidable from our present ntiulion, let that attuadon be instantly changed i for DO aecular adYMOagea eaa oounterbalaaee the loss of peace.
Verae 9. b net 0u vhoU Uaid b^e thee?] Aa ibe patriarch or bead of the fanely, Abram, bj presonptive right, might have chosen his own portion first, and pointed Lot his: bat intent upon peaee, and feeling pure and parental affection for bis nephew, be permitted hiia to make his choice flrsL
ID If And Lot lifted op hia eyea, and beheld all » the plain of Jordan, that it -was well wtcred ©veiT wnere, before the Lord ^ deBtroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, • even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt i as thou comest unto * Zoar.
11 Then I^ot cnoee him all the plain of Jor- 4^ti; aod Lot journeyed east: and iaey separated themselves the one from the other.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot • dwelled in the citieB of the plain, and ' pHohed his tent toward Sodom.
13 Bat the men of Sodom > were wicked and ^ unners before the Lwd exceedingly.., t S 2^ iSt _14 If And the Lord said unto Abram,
him. Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, * northward, and souths ward^and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, > to thee will I give it, and " to thy seed for ever.
16 And ■> I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk throueh the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it; for I will give it nntd thee.
18 If Then Abram removed hU tent, and came and * dwelt in the ' plain of Mamre, vwluch {fin Hebron, and bain there an altar
ZoorA TikBtt ia an obaeuri^ in this verse which Baubigmt uu nmored hy the fenowing tnuulation: — Ea outem, jtriumputm Sodomam Oomorrkamtpie Dominut tUUrit, trot, quA itur Segor, tota irrigua, muui hortus Domini, et guan terra ^^gyptL " But before the LorH bad dmutyea SodtHn and Q^orroh, it va^ u thou ffxtt to Zoar, well watoed, like the gBrden of dte' Lord, and liks knd of Egypt" As ptndiee vw vatered by the fear Dcigjiboiiriw streuui utd u Egypt was watered by dwannual overnowiw of the Nile, ao were (he plaina oi Jordan, and all the tana on the way to Zoar, well watered and fertilized by the OTerflowing of Jordan.
Vene il. TfUn lot duMO all &e plain] A little civility er good breeifing ia of great importance in the concenu ■f U&; Lot either had none, or did not profit by it. Be etrtahi^ iboald have left the choice to the patriarch, and ham sought to be guided by bis counsel t but he took hia owii way, tmstin^ to his own judgment, and jtuided only by the sight of his eyes — ke beattdaU tiu tana iif Jordan, tkal ii was wit vaUred. Ac — So he cboee the land, without eoosidering the character of the inhabikmi*, or what advantages or disadvantages it might afford nim in apirit— 1 dkii^ IUb choice, as we shall see in the wa^lf bad iMftrly proved die ruin of hia body, soul, and fainily.
ViPiB 13. T^t men vf Sodom viere wicked] ts^in from jr> rod, to break in pieces, deatroy, and ersons who broke the established order of tmogs, and coofoanded the distinctions between right and wrong, and who afficted and tormented both thanselves and odiers. And nnnere, Bwm Aatayim, from iMn cftote, to miss Uu vwrk — to etcp wrong — to miscarry I the aame as a/wfTiini. in Oreek, from negative, and »a^>. to hit a mark; so a nntur is one who is ever aimiog at hai^pinesa, and constantly missing his mrk; beesuse, being wicked, radically evil within, every afiectioo and passion depraved aiia out of order, he seeks for hi^tpiness where it never can be found, in worldly honours and poaseaaiooa, and in aenaual Rratifications, the end of which la, disappointment, affliction, vexkdoiL and ruin. Such were the companions Lot must haveinthe/rut(/u//aRdAeA(kfeho«enr This, however, ■Boonta to no more than the common character of sinful BMHi; but the people of Sodom were exceedingly nnful md wiekad b^fort, or against the Lords Vbif were •innera of no common cbaracter; they excelled ia Qnri^teooaneaa, and sooD filled up the measure of their iiunittiea; see chap. xvx.
verse 11. TKe Lord eaid tinio Abraw.} It is very likely that (he Angel of the Covenant appeared to Abram ia open dm, when be could lake n distinct view of the length and breadth of this good land. The revelation mndfc dL XV. 6^ was evidently made in the nt^, for thsDbe wasesUsdto aamber Oesfor^ whiAk couM not be seen but in the ni^t aeoaon t here be ia callad on to mmmbor As du*t the earth, ver. 16. which could not beseenbut in Hie dayUgfU; aeeonch. zv. 1.
Terse 1ft. T\>thMwiUlgiveit,andioihyeedfomer.] Thai land was given to Abram, that it might lineaUy and hgslly descend to hia poateri^, and Oiough Abram himself eaaoot be aud lo have possessed it, Acta, vii. 6. yet it was die^ofGadlohimiabehalf of hiaaeed; and dtis was «lwiy» the design of Ood, not that Alnmm himself should posaeaait. bottGathis pocteri^ should, till the manifestor tioa of Cbriat in the flesh. And thisisehiefiy what ia to bo — dsralood by the words for ever, tsfr>y ip dd dlam, to as and (rf the present diapensatioa, and the oommenoe- MsatoT the new. bV>p worn, means either BTaurrrv, wkMb kaplisi lbeteiiU)MMmor«U (tew or Amilien, such as is measured by the celeBtisl hnninsriesi or ■ hidden, unkriown period, such as includes a completion or ^no! termination of a particular era, dieptnMiion, &C. therefore, ihe first ia its proper meaning; the latter its aecommodated meaning: see the note on cmlp. xvii. 7. xxi. 33.
Terse 18. Abram rematod hit tent] Contimied to travel and pitch in different {daeei, dU at last he fixed hia tent in the^lain, or dylfteoM ^ JUhmr^aeeiih.)m. 6. which t* in Mebnn; i. ^ (he diatriet in which MamtewaaaituatAl teas called Hebron. Mamre was an Amorite then living, with whom Abram made a league, ch. xiv. 13. and the oak probably went by his name, because he was the posaeaaor of the ground. Hebron is called Rrjatlf^irbaj ch. xdii. 2. but it is very likely that Hebron was iu primitive name, and that it bad the above appelktion from being the residence of four giirantic Anakim, for KiejaA-arba literally signifies, the niy <tf the four; see tM note oB ch. xxiii. 2.
Built there an aliar to the Lord] On which he offered sacrifice, aa the word natD mtz&eocA, from nai xabaA, to slay, importa.
Thh increaae of riches in the femily of Abram must, in the opinion of many, be a source of felici^ to them. If earthly possessions could produce hiqipinese. it moat be granted that they had now a considuable share of it in m^ power. But happinete must have its seat in the mind, and like that, oe of a wpiriiual nature; consequently earthly goods cannot give it: so &r are they from wlhar pro^ioing or procuring it, that they always engender care and anxie^, and often strifes and contentions. The peace of thisamieble &inily had nearly been destroyed by the largeneaa of their possessions 1 To prevent the most serious misunderstandings, Abram and his nephew were obliged to separaie-^He who has much, in genenl, wiwes to have more { for the eye is not satisfied with seeing. — LoL for the belter aeoommodation of his flocks and wnily, eboosea the uMt fertile district in that coontTT; and even aacriSces reverence and filial affection at the shrine of worldly advantage: but the issue proved, (bat a pleasant worldly prospect may not be the most advantageous, even to our secular affairs. Abram prospered eready in the comparatively barren part of the bund, while Lot lost all his posaeesions, and oeerly the lives of himself and bmily, in that land which appMred to him like Ihe garden of As Lord, like a second paradise. Rich and lertile coud tries have generally lujwiou^ effeminate, and pro^gate inhabitants [ so it was in this ease: the inhabitanU of Sodom were sinners and exeeedingb/ wicked, and their profiigacy was of that kind which luxury produces) they ml themselves without fear, and they acted wUAohI sAoms. Lot, however, wa^ through the mercy <rf Ood, preserved fi-om this contagion: be retained hia religion, and tlus supported his soul and aavod his life, when fats goodf and nia wife perished. Lei us leom from diistobolesJous over our own wills and wiAes i to distrust flattering prospects, and seek and secure a heavenly inheritanee. "Sun wants but littlet nor Mat UtUe long." A man's life, the comfint and hqipineas of it, does not conaiA in the multitude of the things he poaaMsea. " One hmse, one day's food, and tmanit of raiment," says the Ar^no proverb, "are auffident for (baet and if thou die baAm noon, thou hast one half too much." The examide of Abrfim, in constantly erecting on altar wherever he sealed, ia worthy of serious r^anf: he knew the path of doty was the way of sa&nri and that, if he acknowledged God in all his ways, he might expect him to direct all hia atepa I he felt hia dependence on Ood, he invoked him ihroogh a Uadiator, vad (rffend aaorifiees in fiuth of tfw coniBff
AND it came to paBsinthedareofAmraphei, kins ■ of Shinar, Arioch kinff of EtlaKar, Chedorlaomer king of *> Elam, ana Tidal king oi^ nations;
2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha kin? of Gomorrah, Shinab king of " Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king or Beta, which is ^ Zoar.
3 AH these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, ■ which is the salt sea.
4 Twelve j^ears 'they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kin^e that wei-e with him, and •mote B the RephamiB <>in Ashteroth Karnatm, and I the Zuzims in Ham, " and the Emims in I Sbaveh Kiriathaim.
6 "And the Horitea in their mount Seir, unto ■> El-paran, which is by the wilderness.
fiaviDur: he fovmd bleeMdneu in this vork; it was not ma empty urrice — he rejoiced to see the day (rf Chrisl— be saw it, and was glad j eee on ch. zii. R Reader, haa Ood on altar in Uty house t Dost thou aacrUiee to hiro 1 Dost thou offer up doily by fitith, in behalf of thy mhiI ■Bd the souls of thy bnuly, the Lamb of Ood who raketh Bwav the sin of the world 1 No man anmtk unto the Falker but by me, said Christ; this waa tnta, not only from the incarnation, but from the foundation of the world. And to this another truth, not less comfortable, may be •ddedi Whaaoeter cometh unto me I wiil in noieUe eagt
Tme I. In Ou days of Amraphel] Who this king was is not known; and yet, from the manner in which he im spoksn of in (he text, it wsuld seem that he was a TCTSon well known, even when Moses wrote this account. But the Vulgate givea a di&reot turn to the plaee, by leaderiBg the passage thus, Factum tat in iUo temj)ore ut Amrankel, " Ac. "It came to pass in that time, that Amraphel, " &c. The Chaldee Targum of Onkeloe makes Amraphel king of Babylon; others make him king Of AaB3ma; some make liim the same as Nimrod, and omatB one of his descendants.
Arioeh king of EUaaar] Some thkik S^ftia is meant; but ooniecture is endless where bets cannot be ascertained.
Guaoriaom&r, king qf Blam] Dr. Shuckford thinks that this was the same as Mnyos, the son of Ninua and Semiramia f and some think him to be the same widi Kaeitmraa, son of Doolaved, son of Arphaxod, sou of Shem, son of Noah; and that Elani means Persia; see ch. X. 22. The Persian historians unanimously allow that Keeumraa, whose name bears some affinity to Chedorlaomer, was the first king of the Beohdadian dynasty.
Tidal king of- nafionA] B*u ©oyim, difieratt jMoples or elana. Probably some Bdvanturoua person, wbOMsubjacU were oompoasd of refngua from dUTerent eountries.
Verse 2. Hieae made vsar iciA jSero, &c.] It wpears, from ver. 4. that these five Canaanitish kings hu been subdued by Chedorlaomer, and were obliged to pay him tribute; and that, having been enslaved by bim twelve years, wishing to recover their liber^, they revolted in the thirteenth J in CMsBqueoco of which, ClMdorlaomer, the following yanr, autnuoned to his assistanea three of hitf TBssalB, invaded Canaan, fou^t with, and duMomflted the kings of die PrntopnAix, or five cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboiim, Zoar, and Admah, which were situated in the miitfiil plain of Siddim, having previously overrun the whole land.
Verse 6. I^fahaiiMK A people of Canaan, ch. xv. 30. ' AAUnlkCK Adtyof Bann,where Of afterward reignodi Josh.:£sa. 31. AwtawJ Ncnriian else spoken o^unleeath^ wen the ilh dw ZamawmimM, Deut it 30. m aome imagine.
7 And they returned, sjid came to En-mishpat, which M Kade^, and Bmote all the country or the Amalekitei, and alao the Amorites, tlmt
8 And there went out the kine of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah^ and the kiiwof Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and (he king of Bela, (the same t« Zoarp and they joined Iwttle with them in the vale of Siddim;
9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with flve:
lu Andthevaleof Siddirovaf/u^ZQ/'Psliiiiepits; and the IdngB of Sodom and Gomorrali fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled, ^ to the mountain.
11 And they took 'all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
12 TI And they took Lot, Abram's ' brother's &on ' who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
And there cnrne one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for ■■ he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Araorite, lnY»ther<^EBhc<^, and brother of Aner: 'and these v>ere confederate with Abram.
14 TT And when Abram heard that 'his brother was taken captive, he " armed his
Bmima\ A people great and many in the dnys of Moses, and tall a» the ylnrutim they dwelt among the Moabites, by whom they were reputed giants; Deut. ii.
Shaveh Siriathaim] Rather as the margin, the plain of Kiriathaim, which was a city ailerward belonging to sHAon, king of Heshbon; Josh. xiii. 19.
Verse 6. TTu Horitea] a people that dwelt in Moont Seir, till Esau and hia sons drgve tliem thence; DeuL ii. 22.
El-paran] The plain or oak of Paran, which was a ci^ in the wildemesB of Paran; eh. xxi. 21.
Verse 7. Bn-miahpal] tht well fudgm ent; probably so called froin the nidgment pronounced by Ood on Moses and Aaron for their rebellion at that place; Num. xx. 1-10.
£la.7«.zon-famar1 Colled by the Chaldee, En-gaddi; « city in the lend of Cuiaa^ which fell to the lot (vJudui; Josh. XV. 62. see also 2 Chron. xx. 2. It appears, from Cant. i. 13. to have been a veiy fruitfitl jilace-
Verse B. Beta, the same i» Zoar] That is, it was called Zoar after the destruction of SodiDm, &c. mentioned In ch. xix.
Verse 10. Slime'pits] Places where aapiialtut or ftfftimen sprung out of the ground; this sulutance abounded in that countiy.
feit there] It either signifies they were defeated on thie spot, and many of them slain; or, that multitudes of them had perished in the bitumen pita which abounded there: that the place was Jitll <if pile, we leam from the Hebrew, which reada here nina mio beerolh, beeroih, pits, pita^ i. e. multitudes of pits. A bad place to maintain a nght on, or to be obliged to run through, in order to escape.
Verse 11. Tftey took aU the goeda, &c.} Thayna a predatory war, sut^ as the Anbs cany on to the present day; pillage a city, town, or caravan, and then eecau with the booty to the wilderness, where it would ever be unsafe, and often impossible to pursue them.
Verse 12. They took Lot, Ac.] The people being exceedingly wicked, had prov«>fced God to afflict them ty means d those marauding kings; and Lot also suffered, being found in company vitb the workers of iniijiii^- Every child rwnembers the bhle of the geeae and onaeej the former being found feeding where the latter Were destroying the grain, were idl ttiken in the same net. Let liim that readeth understand.
Verse 13. Abram the Hebrew] See on ch. x. 21. It » very likely that Abram had this appellation fi^m his com* ingyVomftsj/OTid the river Euphrates to enter CaBMn: for v^apn haabery, irtiicb we render As flbfrretis onmea fiomtayAbor, lo pa** over, or come from, beymd. Itii suppONd by many, that he got this name from Ebor «r tnined-tervants, ^born in hia own hooee, three huodred and eighteen, and pursued them unto * Dan.
15 And he divided himself against them, he and hia servants, by nisht, and 'gmote them, snd parsaed them unto Hobah, which is on the tefl hand of Damascua.
16 And he brought back * all the goods, and also brou|:ht again his brother Lot, ana his goods, and the women aI«o, and the people.
17 B And the king of Sodom ' went out to meet him ' after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the k king's date.
18 And I Melehizedek kutf of Salem.brought forth bread and wine: and ue wot ^ the priest oT >tha most high God.
19 And he blonaod bun, and said, Blessed be
Bebtr, aoa ctf Sakh, Me eh. x\. 15.; but vfay he should gjtL ft aame from Heber, rather than ftom hie own father, or xome other of hia progenitors, no person has yet been bU« to discover. We may, therefore, safely conclude, that he bears the appellatioB ik. Htbrcio or Aheritt firam the above circnmstance, and not from one of bis progenitors, of whom we know noditog bat the name, and who preeaded Abram not leM than six geoeratioiu; and during the iriiole of that time till the time marked here, none of his desceodanta were ever called BebT^ua: tfaia is a demonstration that Abram was not qtUed the Bebreic from Hi^cr; see ch. xi. 16 — 27.
That were cca^edmte vWi AbratnA It seems that a kind of omventioa was nutde between Abram and the three brothers, IHdmre, Etticot and An«r, who were prtdnbly all ehieftains in the vicinity of Abmm's dwelling; all peiO^ prince*, simjlas to the mne kinn before men* tinned.
Verse 14. He armed kU trained servants] lliese amoonted to throe hundred and eighteen in nuroDer; and bow. many were in the divisions of H&mre, Eshcol and Aner, we know not| but ther and their men accompanied him in this expeoitian; see ver. 24.
Verse 16. And he divided hinui^f againat fhem] It reooired both considerable courage and address in Abram to lead him to attack the victorious armies of these four Idna with «> small a number of troops; uid on this occa- ■ioiiboibJus skill and courage are ezarused. Hia aSection ftr XjM ^lfem to have been hi* chief motive: He cheerfidlr riaka hi* life for dnt nephew who hod lately dwsen the beat part of the land, and left his uncje to live as he might, on what he did not think worthy his own accept- •nee. But it is the property of a and generous mind iM only to forgive^ tait.to forget (nBTencea I and at all times to rcf»y evil with good.
Vene 1&. And trougiU back — the tDomen oZso] This is hPM^it io Igr the sacred historian with peculiar interest antl tenderaMi. All who read the account must be in pain for the Cue of wives and daughters folien into the hands of a ferocious^ licentious, and victorious aotdierv. Other spoils the routed confederates might have left benind, and ftl, on (heir swift asses, camels, and dromedaries, liave carried off the female captivea. However, Abram bad disposed his attack so judiciously, and so promptly execuied hia measures, that not only all the bag^ige, mit all theTsMo^s*, also, were recover&l.
Verse 17. The Idng of Sodom vent out to meel Aim] Hiis eould not have oeen Bera^ mentioned ver. 2. for it Mcrasnrel^ evident, from ver. 10, that both he and jStrafta, kiagw GonDrralL were slain at the bitumen pitt, in the vale of SUdimi but another person, in the mean time, aigbt have atioeeeded to the eovenunent.
Terse 18. And JIOtiAizedek king qf SaUm] A thoumad idla storiaB have been told about thia man: and a ihaiiiMd iiUa conjectures xpeat on the aubject of his short hilMy giv«o here, and in Heb. vii. At present, it is obIt necessary to state diat he appears to nave been as ■Ml » psraoDage as Btrot Biraha, or Shinab, thoogh wft ' hlMS BO more of Kit genaaloay than we have of theirt.
BruMghi jVrt bread ondTuiiae] Certmnly to r(/ruA Mtnm and nis men, exhausted with the late butle and ttlifim of the journey — not in the way of aaer\fice, dtc; iMs i« am idle eonjectuie.
, JSbwu lha priiat of Ika moat high Ood.} He had presarved in hia fetnily and ammig his mli)ects ttia woruip
20 And " blessed be the ipoet high Chid, iriiidi hath delivered thine enemies into Uqr hjinifi^ And he gave him tithes ' of alL
31 IT And the kmg of Sodom said nntoAhranif Give me the f persons, and take the goods to
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I 1 have lift up nf Ine hand unto the Loiu, the most high God, ' the possessor of heaven and earth,
S3 That ■ I win not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou sbooldeet Bay7i have made Abram rich:
24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men ' wideh went with me, Aner, Eshci^, and Muure j let them take their portion.
of the true God, and the primitive patriarchal instituiiona: by these, the lather of eveiy bmily was both king and priettt BO Melehizedek, being a -worshipper of the true God, waspri*«( among the people, as well as king over
Melehizedek is called here ^n^- qfSaUm, and the nuM judicious interpreters allow tiiat liy Salem Jeruaatem i» meant: that it bore this name anciently is evident from Psal. Izxvi. 1, 2. "In Judah is God known; his name ia great in JaraeL In Salxm also ia hia tabeniade, and his dwelling-place in.Zton." Prom the uae made of this part of the sacred history by David, PaaL ex. 4. mid hj Saint Paul, Heb. vii. 1~-10. we learn that there was some', thing very m3rsteriou8, and at the same time typical, in the person, name, qfflee, reaidenetj and government of this Canaanitiah prince. 1. In his permn ht was a repreeentaXive^ and type of Chriat; see the scriptures above referred to. 2. His name, "oio MaiiM Isedek, signifies mf righteous king, or king qf righteousness; this name be probably had from the pure and righteous administration of hissovenunent; and this is oite of the characters of our blessed Lmd, a character which can be applied to him only, as he alone la easentialb/ rigkteoua, aiia the onfy potentate; but a holy mian, such as Melehizedek, migfathear this name as hia type or repreaentaiive. 3. Qffltx — He was n priest of the most high God — the word ins AtA«n, which signifies both prince and priest, because the patriardis sust^ned this double office, has both iu root wkI proper signification in the Arabie i kahana, aigiiiiSea t& approadi, draw near, have tnHmata aeteaa to — and fnm hence, to qffldate as prleal before €hd, and ihos have intimate access to the divine presence: and by means of the sacrifices which he offered, he received eounset and information relative to what was yet to take place s aod hence another acceptation of the word, to /ordtl, pradiet future eventa, unfold hidden Ainga, or musliruat so the lips of the priests preserved knowledge, mm thqr weie often the interpreters of the will of God to 0ie people. Hus we find that Melehizedek^ being a priest of tlw most high Ood, represented Chriat in hia aaeerdotal chmetert the word prteat being understood as before explained. 4. His resicCmce— He was king of Satem i wv SAoiow, signifies to make vhole, eommete, or peifeet; and hcnoe it meanapeoee, which implies tne nuikingwhote,itvBbraaclu» made in the political ana domestic union of l^gdoms, stata^ families, &c. mokiiw an end of discord, ana ealabUsbinfi friendship. Christ is called the Prince qf Paaaa, becaUMt by hia incarnation, sacrifice, and mediation, he procure* and establishea pe«ce between God and man t heals ths brwhea and diasentions between. heaven sod earth, raoDOciling both— and producea glorv to God in the hig^ieati and on earth pence and good-wifi among men. His rsatdeiue ia peace and quietness, and assuraiioe for ever, in every believing uprignt heart. He rovcnw as the Pruoe and Priest of die most high Godf ruling in rii^bieoBsnean migh^ to save; and he ever livea to s»ke nTOseMSMMr for, and save to the nttormost, all who some tmu ths Fotlver by Hun. Bee on Hek vii.
VmtK. AikthebkaaedtOm] Hiiswaaapart ofthi priest's office, to Mesa in Ac name ^Oia Lvrd, far mtr f see the form of this Wesainr, Nomb. vi. 23— X6.«ldiv the meiMingof ^ word to see Gen. it. 3.
Verse «^ And he, Abram, gaae Mm, Melchittdek. fitt<a, a tenth part, ofoU the spoUs ho harf uUcsn frosa iln
AFTER these thinge the word of the Lord came unto Abram * in a vision, saying
fhott high Ood I who, beiog 2^ votsator qf kcaten and earth, aispeiises all apirituaJ ma temporal &voun; and damanda the ([ratitude, and autHniaaive, loving obedience of all hia auliiecla. Almost all naiiooa of the earth have agreed to giving; a Unih part of their property to be employed in relirtons usea. Tlw tiAes were afterward granted to the Levitea for the }iao of their aanctuary, uu mainlenanea of thenuelvea and their &miliei^ as had no other inlteritance in laisel.
Terse 22. I have lift up mine hand] T\ts primitiTe mode ofappealiag to God, and calling htm towitneaaapartiaiJar tiannetioD: lhl% no doubt, geoerally obtained among the bithfiiL till cirrunuUion, the ti^n of the eoreimnt, was eatahliahed; after this, in aweanng, the huid was placed QD the circumciaed part; aee chap. xxiv. 2. and 9.
Verae 23. fVom a thread even io a ^utt4atdttt'\ This was cenaioly a proverbial mode of ekpreanoo, the full meaning of which ia perhapa not known. Among the tabfainical writera ntn cftut or chuti, aignifiea a ^et wmbyyma^w>mm,UttUupth^r-hatTt token in thia •enae it will give a good meanmg here. Aa Abram had rescued both the ni«n and vomen carried off by the confederate kings; and the king of Sodom bad oflered him aU M« goodt, claiminz on^y ttie pereoKs i he ansvers, by proteeting Bgainet me reception of any of their property: *'I have vowed unto the Lord, the proprietor of heaven and earth, that I will not receive the emallest portion of the property either of the vwmen or men, from a giil'a fillet to a man's shoe-tie."
Verse 24. Save only that uAiA the young men have taten] His own aervants had partaken of the vi^uaU \diich the confederate kings had carried atfay, aee ver. 1 1. ^tia was unavoidable, and this is all he claims; but as he bad no ri^ to prescribe the same liberal conduct to his Maiatanta^ Aner, Bshcol, and Hamre, he left them to claim the thare that, by right qf conguest, belonged to them of the recaptured booty. Whether they were as generous oa Abram, we are not told.
Tux great variety of striking incidents in this chapter the attentive reader oaa already carefully noted. To read, wad not underaton^is the prqwrty of the fool and the inanuideraU. 1. We have already seen the danger to which Lot exposed himself in preferring a fertile regfon, duM^^ peopled with the workers of iniquity. His sorrows commenced in the captivity of himeelf and family, aad the less of all his property; though, by the good providence of God, he and tney were rescued. 2. Long <AaQrvati(m has proved, that the company a man keepa ta not an indifferent tbii^f-^ will either be the means m hia nlvation or destruction. 3. A generous man cannot be contented with mere personal safety, while others are in danger { nor with his own prosperity while others are in distress. Abram, hearing of the captivity of his nephew, dtfenuinea to attempt his rescue, puts himself at the head of bis own servants, three hundred and eighteen in number, and the few assistants with which his neighbours, Hamre, Aner, and Eahcol, could furnish him, trusting in God and the TCodneaa of l^s cause, he marches off to attack four csnwderata kings! 4. Though it is not very likely that the armies of tnoae peuy kings could have amounted to many thotuanda, vet mey were numerous enough to stibdue alnioat the whole laud of Canaan, and consequently, bomanly apeaking, Abram must know that by numbers he oould not prevail; and that in this case particularly the battle was iht Lor<^: 6, While depending on the divine hlraainr and auocour, he knew be must use the means be bad in aia power, he therefore divided bis troops skilfully, that he might atuck the enemy at d^erent poiiUa at the •omsMins; and he chooses ttenicAlaeasMi to commence bia attadL that the Mtoibics* of bia fbree might not be diworeffed. God roquirea a man to tue all the faculties ha has given him, in every lawful enterprise; and only ia the conscientious use of them, can he expect the divine Miming; when this ia dop^ the event may be safely tfuatod in the banda of -CM. 6. Here ia a war uncternhaa ^ Abnn on mothm ihi dkm bononndila and.
3 And Abram eaid. Lord God, what wOt thou give me, • seeing I go childlesB^and the steward of my houee i$ thk Elljezer erf* Damascus?
3 And Abram said. Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and lo, ' one bom in my house it mine heir.
4 TT And, behold the word of the LoBD came unto nim, saying, This shall not be thhie heir;
conscienUous — it was to repel aggression, asd to rescue the iimoccnt from the heaviest of euflerings and the worst of slavenr; not for the purpose oS plunder, nor the extension of Lis territories: tberefhre he takee no spoils, umI returna peaceably to Mr own pooteattons. How bim>y would the world be, were every eovere^ actuated by ilis same spirit I 7. We have already notiMd the appearaneey 'person, office, Ac. of Mdddxedek i and, without indulging in the wild tfaeoriea of either andent or modem vLsionariea, have considered him as the Scriptures do. « type qf Chritt; all that baa been already apoken on tnis head may be reca^tulaled in a few worus: — 1. The Bedeedier of dte world ia the King ^ righteounuMM, hs creates it, maintains it, and roles W it. 2. His empire ia the empire qf peace, this he proclaims to them wno ore afar on, and to them that are nigh; to the Jew and to the Gentile. 3. He is Prteet of the most high God, aiui haa laid down his life for the sin of the world; and throu^ this sacrifice, the Messing of God is derived on ifaem that believe. Reader, take £im Sr- Ay king aa well aa tby priest! he saves those only vho mhmit to his aaXhorily, and take his Spirit for the regulator ot their heart, ami his word for the director of their conduct How many do we find among those who would be sorry to be rated so low aa to rank only with nominal Christians, talking of Christ as their projAet priest, and king; who are not taught Ir^ hia word and Spirit; who ^ply not for redemption in hit blood; and WOO tubmit not to his au&erHyt Reader learn Aia deep and ifflportant truth, " fVhm I am, there also shall my aervani be'; and he thai oarnsth me, him shall ray Father honour."
Verse 1. T7te word qf the Lord came wUo Abrant] Hiis is the Ar«f place where God is represraied as revealing himself by nia word. Some learned men suppose that t&a mrr *Oi Debar Ydiovah, translated here vxrrdqf tie Lionjt, means the same with the Aey'f O'^" of Sl John, chap: i. ver. 1. and by the Chaldee paraphrases in the next clause, called i^a'o memree, my word, and in other places. irvD m mem.ra dayai, the woas of Jehovah, wbico ib^ appear always to consider as a persoh, and which th^ di«- tii^iuish firom KDjna pUhgama, which signifies merely a word spoken, or any part of meech. There have been various conjectures concerning Uie manner in which God revealed his will not only to the painorchs, but also to the phrophets, evangelists, and e^stles. It seems to have Deendoneindifierentways. 1. By a. perMnalappetawum of Him who was afterward mearnaled for the sanation of' mankind. 2. ByanattdiAle«(»cs,aometiiBeaaeeomp«med with emblematical appearances. 3. By vition*, which took place either in the night, in otdinary sleep, or when the persons were cast into a temporary trance, ay dayli^t, or when about their ordinary busineas. 4. By the rmnutry of angeU, appearing in human bodies, and peribmung certain miracles to accredit their mission. 6. By the powerftil agency of the Spirit o/* Ood ttpon the m^M^ grviag it a strong conception, and supemabirol peranaaifMi of die truth of ute thii^ perceived the underHanrtiiy. We shall see all these exemplified in the course of the work. It was probably in the tliird sense that the revelation in the text was given, tot it is said, Ood appeated to Abram in a vision^ nno medtaxdi, from rrn dtazak, fas taw i or according to others, to jCr, fatten, mettle i Yieaat ehoxeh, a seas, the person who tett d^tiu ihingt t whom alone they are revealed, on whose mind they are Jattenedf and in whose memory and Judgment they are fxed and aeUled. Hence the vioion. wbat waa neWtaUy perceived, and by the evidence to the soul of its divte origin, Jtxed and teitled in the mind.
Fear not] The late Dr. Dodd haa a good tbcsubt on this passage: "I would read," sayihe, "the aecondf veraa in a parenthesia, thus,.FV A&rom bad taid,Lord Ood, what wilt thou give me, teeing I go ehildleoe, Ac Abram had laid Ait in the /ear M his heart, upon which ifas hold vDuchaaftd to him this prophetical vioto, and tUs ■troogrenomiooof theeoTeaaBt. In lUs light all fbUows
Bat he that * shall come forth out of thine own boweb Bhafl, be thine heir.
5 A*y* he brou^t him forth abroad, and said, look now towardneaven. and ^ tell the " etare, if thou be able to number them: and he aaid unto him,^ So etmll thj seed be.
6 % And he * believed in the Lord; and he * counted it to him for riehteousness.
▼eiT properly. Abmn had said so and so in ver. 2. upon whien Crad appears, and says, / am Iky Mkitld, and Ihy 0xtuiBng griot reteard. Trie patriarch tnen, ver- 3^ freely opeiM die aozioua appreliensioo of hia heart: behold, to nu thou Aoatyd^en no tted, Ac upon which Qod proceeds to aaaure him of posterity."
lam thy tfa^d, Ac!) Can it be. supposed that Abram undervtood these words as promising hun temporal advantages at all corresponding to the magnificence of thesd promises? If be (ud, be was disappointed through the whole course of his Ufe; for he never enjoyed siuh a state at pTOmhw, as could justify the strong language in the texL Shall we lose sight ci Abram, ana say that bis posteri^ was intanded, uurAbram understood the promises as telaung to tbem, and not to himself or immediately to hit own family? then the <iueation recurs, Did the Israelites ever enjoy such a state of temporal amuence as seems to be intended by the above promise? To this tvery man •equainted with their history, will, without hesitation, say ]n>. What then is intended 1 just what the words state. Ooo was Alnwn'« porHcn, and the portion of every righitaua toiul; for to Abram, and the Aildren ([f hu JaUk, he gives not a portion in thia life. Nothing, says Father Celmet, proves more invincibly the immortoli^ of the soul, the tiwi ol religion, and the etemi^ of another iiSa, than to aeeAat in Ihtslifelheiig^teousaeldom receive ttw reward at dieir virtue^ and that in temporal things, ttw are often leas happy than the workers of iniquity.
Jam, says the Almighty, thy thitid, thy constant covex^ jag and protector, and thy exettdinr great reward, ^MD rcnr. SStkar-ea harabth meoa, "that superlatively wujijplied reward of thine." It is not the Canaan I pro- BUK but the Mihation tbat is to come through the promised Saad. HsDce h waa diat Abram r^oiceato tee hU day. And heoee the Chaldee Tnrgum translates this place, JlJ^ woao thall thy etrmgfft, Ac
Terse 2. And the ttcward (ff my hotue] Abram under- ■tanding die promise as relating to that person who was to spring from his family, in whom all the notions of the aaru should be blessed, expresses his surprise that there should be such a promise, and yet he is about to die childleas I How then can the promise be fulfilled, when, far from a miriiiial md, he has not even a person in his family wat has a noAtro/ right tohisproperty; and that a stranger is likely to be his heir! Iriis seems to be the tl aeoae of the paa«g^ but who this steward qf hU, thia SUcser if DmiiMeiu is, eonuoentaton are not L nietranalationofaieSeptuQgintiaatleasteurious,
J\t son qf Matek vw handmaid, thia Bliezer of Damasau, is my heir; which intimates^ tbat they supposed pVB mMtJL which we translate aleaard, to have been the name of a /tmaU slave in the family of Abram, of whom WM born diis Elieser, who, on account either tk the oountiy of fail fitdiei' or mother, was called a Damaaetne, or ODB of Damaseos. It is extremely probable, that our Lord has thia passage in view in his paraJile of -the ridi man and I^zarui^ Ltike xvi. 19. From the name Etie^er, by Icavtag out the first letter, lAaxer is formed, which makes ijcamnu in the New Testament; tbeperaoawlKsfrinnao aUeet and distreased atati^ wu ndsel to lie in tte bosom wAbiam in paradise.
Tern 6. JCioek new toward Qt* kemsna] It appears dnt this whole transaction took plaoe In the eirenfn;. See DO chap. xiii. H. and Abram had either two visioiu, diat recorded in ver. 1. and that in ver. 12, Slc. or niiat is mentioned in the beginning of this chapter is a part of the oeeorreDoea whida took place after the sacrifice mentioned, ver. 9, dbc But it is more likely that there was avision of tbat kind already described, and afterward a eeeond, in wiiicb be received the revelation mentioned in ver. I3:~16. After the first vision, he is brouglU forth abroad, to see tf be can number the Stan; and as he finds this impossible heieaaauredihatasthey are to him innumerable, so shall Uepoeieri^bet end diat all should spring from one who mam pHoaed from hja own bmnla, ons idwrimild be ha OWB lagittnua Aild.
8 And he said, Lobd Ood, ^ whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 And he said unto him, > Take mea heifer of three years old, and a sne-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10 And he took unto him all these, and
Verse 6. And he believed in the Liord, and he counted it to him Jor righteoumeM.] This I conceive to be one of the most important pasai^ies in the whole Old Testament. It propei^y contains and specifies that doctrine of Jiutykation oyyaiA, whid eiwroasea ao considerable a share of the epistles of St. Pau^end at the fbundattou of which is the aionemmt made by the Son of God And he, Abram, believed (iDKn ke-emin, he put faith) in J^tavah, ravrm vaij/a<iuhebeah lo, and he counted it, the faith be put in Jehovah, for rightimtmes; npTc ItedaktA, or justificBtimi. thouj^ there was no ocf in the caae^but that of die mind and heart; no icork of any kind. Hence the doctrine of ^tut^leation by faith, mthout any merit qf icorka; for, in this ease, there could be none — no works of Abram which could merit the aalvation of the whole human race. It was ^cpromiae of God which be credited, and in die the blessedness of which he became a partaker through faidi. See at the cIom of the chapter; see also on Rom. iv.
Verse 8. Ana he aaid, Lord God] mn< ••irttt Adonai Ythovah, my Lord Jehovah: Adonai is the word which die Jews fn reading always substitute for Jehovah, as ihCT count it impious to pronounce this name. Adonai sigmfies my director, baaia, attpporttr, prop, or atayi and scarcely a more appropriate name esn m given to that God who is die fraimer and dfr«ctor of every righteous word and action; the taaia or foundation on which every rational hope rests; the aupporter of the souls and bodieMi of men, as well as of the universe in general; the prop and atay of the weak and fainting, ana the buttreaa tint shores the building, which otherwise must necessarily fall. Hiis word often ocxurs in the Hebrew Bible^ and is rendered in our translaiiun Lord; the sane term fay whidl the word Jehovah is expressed. But to distingiuA between the two, and to ^ow the reader when the original ii n>rT< Yehatah, and when ^iiN Adonai, the first is alwaya put in capitals, LORD, the latter in plain Roman cAaroc* ttr», Lortl. For the wprd Jehovah, see on chap, ii 4. and on Exodus xxxiv. 6.
Whereby ahall I knoa] By what aign AaW I be assured that I dial) inherit ibia landf F<w it appear that he expected some aign, and that on such occasions, one was ordinarily given.
Verse 9. To*e me a he^er\ rhvf 6gdah, a the-ea^t asAe-goo/; ry ix, a goat, male or female, but dietinguiabed here by the /emmjns adjective, nv^ro wissftldMftsft, a Otra^earling; a ram, Vk a^; a turUt dure, vt tor, from which come turtur, and mriUf young pigeon, Vni gozal, a word which signifies the young both of pigeono and eaglea. See DeuL xxxii. 11. It is worthy of remark| that every animal allowed or conunanded to oe saerificed under the Mosaic law, is to be finind hi diis list. And is it not a proof diat Ood was now giving to Abram an epitome of that law and its sacrifices, which he intended non fully to reveal to Moees; the essence of which conaiatad in iu aaer^ea, which ^fied the Lamb of God diat takes away the sin of the world.
On the several animals which Ood ordered Abram to take^ JarAi remarin: "The idolatrous nations are eon* pared in the Scriptures to fruUt, ram», and goata, for it is written Psd. xxii. 13. JMbny huU» haxe eem|n«Md Me abotd. Dan. viii. 20. Tike nm wWcA Aon Am asm <* Ou king i{f Perwta. Ver. 21. Tie rvtigA Qoat ia As king qf ffreeee. But the Israelitee are canpared lo dovt», Ac. CanLii.l4. Omydoee,thatartinthed^qftk4 roek. The diviaton of the above earcasses denolte the diviaion and extermination of the idolatrous utioMt hat the birds not being divided, shows that the lecaslitBs are to abide for etar.' See Jarchi on the plaea.
Terse 10. Divided tham in tka msdrf] The aseieM mediod of making covenants, aa well as the arigiiMl word, have been already alluded to, and, in a general way, expUined. See chap. vi. 18. The wtvd aottnani from een, (ogsiher, and vmie, I come, mgnifiee ao agreemant, as«>ciaBoD, or meeting between two or more partise; far it is ia^MWibls that a covenant ceo tejnsds bsnmn an
^divided them in the midst, and laid each piece pne against another: but the birds divided he not.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove thera n.vmy.
13 \ And when the sun was going down, a deep Bleep felt upon Abrara; and, Lo, a horror
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety ■ that thy seed shall be a straneer in a land that i» not theirs, and shall serve them; and ^ they ■hail afflict them four hundred j^ears;