Commentary on the Holy Bible

Terse 15, Behold, Rebekah came out] How admirably had the providence of God adapted everr circumstance to the necessi^ of the case t aixl so as in the most punctual manner lo answer the prayer which his servant bad offend up I

Varae 19: I»IU draw wilsrTbr Ay camOa slae) Bad Rebekah done no more than Eliezar bad pr«yed for, wa might have supposed, that she acted not as a free agei^ but was intptUed to it by the absolutely controlling power of Ood I but as ^ ezoeeds all that was requeated, «« sas that it qnaag ttom her native benevoleno^ and sets her eooduot in iw most amiable poiot of view.

SO Ami she havted, and emptied tier pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for aU hji oamelB.

fil And the man wondering at her, held hi« peace, to wit whether * the Loid had made his jouriiiejr proeperoas or not.

SSt T And It came to paM, as the camels had done drinkinf, that the man took a golden ^ earriagr 'of halTa shekel weight, and two bracelets for oer hands of ten BhekfSg weight of gold;

23 And said, Whose daughter to^ thou 1 teU me, I pray thee: is there room m thy father'a booMi for w to lodge in?

24 And she aaid onto him, ' I on the dangfa< ter or BfMhuel the sou of Mileah, which she bare lute Nahor.

S7 And he said. ' Blessed b6 the Loan Ood of my master.MmdiaiBr^o hath not left destkute mjr master of f his mercy and his troth: I being in the way. the Lord ' led me to the bouse of my sEustu^ brethren.

lost ID wonder and mMootahment at her nmpltcity, innoeenee, utd benevolencA, that he permitted this delicate fensla lo dmir water for ten eatiuu, without ever attemptittg to affotd her any kind of Ba8i»taiic« I I know not vnicfa to adoiife axmL the MoevoleitM tutd eondeaoeiui{m irf Rebekob, or the eoU and apparetuly stupid indifierence of the •errant of Abrahaia. Surely, they are both of an mKommon caat.

VerM 22. T4« man too& a golden ear-ring] ant tsti ntMtMxahab. That thia could not be aiiMrvrui^isvery probiMe, from its beifW in the nngitlar number. Ttw nmrgin oalb it mjeuttjvr Ouforduadi but it moat likely meaue ^Jwijbr the noMo, or noM^ring, whieh i> in um- Te«l oae dirongli all parte of Ara3»a and Peraie, particularly among youDffwoiDen. Iliey are generally worn in the left nostril. 1^ word ta very properly tnuulided *••(("■**. an amamattjbr Ifu note, by Symroachue.

Jbtdhe»bnK€lA}crrm^»miuheney Uemidim. At ttewttdim eomea bma TOt Uamad, to ^tn or couple together, it may very properly mean braetltta, or whatever mi^ ela^ rmind tlw arms or legs; for rings and omameola are worn round both, by fenuiles in India and Persia. Ttw small port of the leg is generally decorated in this: and so is the whole arrn from the shoulder to the wnaL As then Uemidim were given to Rebekah./or &«* kmnda, it aofllciently distinguidiea them from a similar ornament used for tne anklet.

In different porU of the Sacred Writing there areallasiODs to oroameata of various kinds, still in use in di^rent Asiatic countries, llier ore of seven different sorts: I. WtK tbejiareluad! 2. For the nore; 3. For the ear*,- 4. For the arma; B. for the fingtrt; 6. The neci and brtaat; 7. The ankita. — See above, ver. 22. and sea ver. ft. also Ezek. xvi. 12. Pror. xi. 22. Isai. iii 21. Oen. zxxv. 4. Ezod. xxxii. % 3. JtAxlii. II. Judg. viit. 24. Ttte principal female ornaments are enumertued in die third chapter of Isoi^ which are very nearly th^ same that are in use in Persia and India to the present time.

T«ne 28. Boatd dmm Ais head, and xBwrMpped] Two acta of adofBtioQ are nentioned here: 1. Bowing the head, yUdcoA~HaiA, 2. PriMroHm upon the eailh, mn»n mymitadtu. Tht bowing of the head was to Rebekah, to return her thnnks for her kind invitation. The ^roHroHan was to Jehovah, in gratitude for the success with which he had fevonred nim.

Terse 27. / beirw In the way, the Lard ltd me\ By desire of his nwiter, na went out on this jonraey i mm! as be •doiowkdged Cnd in all Us way^ the Lorn dtneled all hb ilspa

▼eneSQL AmtoAtr'i Aoum] flonw fane oonjeetmed ft«m Aiii that her teherAAwf was deaai andthapCT-

29 If And Rebdcah had a brother, a^ his name waa i Laban: and Ijaban ran out unto the man, imto the well.

30 And it same to pass, whenhesawtke ear* ring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, aed when he heard the words ot Rebekah hia sister, saying. Thus apake the man unto me; that hs came tmto the omn: and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

31 And he said, Come m, * thou blessed the L<Hto; wherefore standest thouwithont? fori prepared Ihc house, and room for the camels.

38 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and i gave straw and prorender for the camels, and water to w^n hia feet, and the men's feet that were with him.

33 And there was set meat before him to eat: biit he sakl, ■ I will not eat, until I have toUt mme errand. And he eaid. Speak on.

35 And the Lord ■ hath blessed my master greatlr; and he is become great: amf he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men-servants, and maal-servants, and camda, andasaee.

And Sarah my master's wife " bare a son to my master when she was old, and ' tmto bha hath he given aU that be hath.

37 And my mastw « made me swear, saxii Thou sbah not tain a wifb to my son

son called Bethuel, ver. 60. was a younger brother. This is possible; but OS nother'B house m^t be mentioned, were even the fiidber alive: fiir in Asiatic countries, the women have apartments entirdy separate from those of the men, in wnich their little children and grown up dsughiers reside widi them. TMe was priAably the ease here, thouoh it is veiy likely that Betnuel wasdeed, sa the whole nistesis^psars to be oondoeted byBobekah's brotheriL

Verse 31. TTum blened qf the Lord] Probabljr a usual mode of eniressbg kindnesi^ and wi^mc prosperity; as he that is blessed ot the Lord is worthy of all respect, for» ei^ojrin^ the Divine fitvour, he ia in poesession of the sum of happineai.

Verse 32. Prownder far the earnelt] Tltese were the first objects of hia earej mr a good man u merdfld to hia

Water to teoaft hie feet, &c1 Tlius it appears that be hod servants with him i and as the fstiguee or the joumnmuat have fallen as heavily upon them as upon himself BO we Snd no dtstlnotion made, bat water is provided to waih their fe«t also.

Verse 33. / witl not Ml uTttil I have foftf] Here is a servnnt who had hts miuter*B interest more at neart than his own. He refiiKS to take even necessary refreshment, till he knows whether he is likely to accomplish dieobjeet of hie journey. Did not our blessed Lord allude to the conduct Abn^iam's servant, John tv. 34. — Mi meat it to do the will of him vho sent me, and toJtniAhie work?

has made Isaac his wle heir. Tniese things appear to be spoken to show the relatives of Rebekah, that his master's son was a proper matcli for her; for, even in those primitive times, diere was regard had to die suitability of station aul rank in lifi;, as well as of education, in order to render a match oomfort^le. Fersonsof dieBimilarlnfait8,aswell as of dissinulor religious prineiplee, are never likely to he very happy in a married life. Even ^ poor and the rfeft may better meet together in matrimonial alliances, than the religioue and the prtffane, the vieU bred and the vidgar. A person may be unequally voked in a great variety of ■mm'-— Bear yt one anoHiertburdena, is the command of Ood } but w^ere there is unsoitableness in the disposi* tions, education, mental capacity, &c. of the persons, then one eide is t^iged to bear the whole burden, and endleaa dissatisfttction is the result. See at the eiid.

Verse 42. O Lord Chd of my mosfer] As JUMaham was the friend of God, Eliezar makes use of d)i% to give weight and consequence to hie petitions.

Verse 43. Whtn the vfrgfn] no^ ha&btuk, from l«» Ham, to hide, cover, or coneeal — a pure virgin, a woman meowrwL and in this renwot etill concealed from man. The same as rfrvo M&k/oA, vw^ 16. whidi, from tbs ex- danshterB of the Canaanites, in whooe land I

38 ■ But thou shalt go unto my mthers houM, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my eon. ^

39 And I said unto my master, Feradventure the woman will not follow me.

40 ° And he said unto me, The Load, * before

41 • Then shalt thou be clear from tku my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and u they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

42 And I eune this day unto the well, and said, ' O Lord Qod of my master Abrahain, if now thou do prosper my way which I go;

43 c Behold, I stand by the well of water; und it shall come to pass, that when Ihe virgin e<»neth forth to draw voter, and I si^ to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy [»tdier to drikk;

44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I wBl also draw lor thy camels: let the same j>e the woman whom the Loan hath appointed out Ibr my master's son.

45 ^And before I had done > speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth, with her pitdier on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and 1 said unto her. Let me drink, I pray thee.

46 And she made haste, and let down her

fitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and will give thy camels drink also: bo X drank, and she made the camels drink also.

47 And I asked her, and said. Whose daughter art thou? And she said. The daughter of Bethue), Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I ' put the ear-riiw upon her iace, and the bracelets upon her hands.

shipped the Lord t and blessed the Lou Ottd«f my master Abraham, whi<^ had led me in. thtt right way, to take " my maater'a ln«ther^ daughter nnto his son.

49 And now if ye will * deal kindly and tnuy with my master, tell mei and if not, tell me: that I may tuni t» the nghl band, or to the left.

50 H Then Laban and Bctiiuel answered and said, ' The thing proeeedetfa IVom the Loan: we cannot p Bpeak unto thee bad or good.

61 Behold, R^kah « t* befture thee, take Aer, and go Mid let her be thy master's aaofu wife, as t)w Low luith qxriien.

62 And it came to pass, that, when Abfdwm'e servant heard their words, he ' worshipped the Lord, boving himself to the earth.

53 And the servant brought forth ■ jewda-oT silver, >and jewels of gold, and raimeot, and gave them, to RebdcEih: he gave also to her brother and to her mother ■ precious things.

54 And they did eat and drmk, he and the men that vere with him. and tarried all nlriit; and they arose up in the morning, and ne said, * Send me away unto my master.

56 And her toother and her mother said, Let the damsel fdiide with us * a few days, at the least ten; after that ^e shall go.

56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Loan hath prospered my way; ami me away that I may go to my master.

57 And they said. We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto he*, WUt thou go with this man? And she'aaid, I will go.

59 And they sent awav Rebekah, their siater, and * her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Tbou art our sister, be thou ' the mother of thousands of railUons, and ' let thy seed possess. the gate of thoae which hate them.

plaiistion there eiven, iooontettably meana a virgin in the proper ntiae ef Ibe word— « young voinan, not that u eovirtd, or iepi at honu, the eoaunonglosa; butv^wai not uaemared, in the delieate mue in which the Scripture ueea thia word. — See this interpretation vindicated on leai. vii. 14.

Verse 44. Before I had done ^Making in mine luart] So we find that the whole of thia prayer, ao circumetaotially retaUd ver. 12—14. and again 42—44. waa mental, nod heard only by that Qod ta whom it waa directed. It would have been improper to have used public prayer on the occanan; aa hla aervanta could have felt no particular inmeat in the accompliahmenl of hia petiUone, Vcmif they were not concerned in them, hsviag Dooeof the re- •ponaibility of thia miasion.

Verae 49. That I ittay turn to Ike right hand, or to the ^ft] Thai IB, that I may elsewhere, and aeek a pn^r Kutch for the aon of my maater. Some have iouifinetf that Elienu- intimated by theae expreasionB, that if he diu not aucceed in obtaining Rebekah, he would go and aeek for a wife either ^ons deeeradants of lahmoel, or the deicendanta of Lot. This interpretation ia bncifiil.

Terae 60. Laban and Bethuen TTieee aeem both to be brotkiTBi of whom Laban was Uie eldest and chief; for the opinion of Josephua ^pean to be very correct, viz. that Bediuel the fiuner hod been some time dead. See ver.2fl.

Bad or good] We can ndtber apesk,/br, luiragainttt it seems to be entirely the work of God; and we cordially submit — consult Rdiekah; if be willing take her sod go. See ver. 56.

Verae 63. Jeieela aibier and jetod* of gold] The word keley, whiui we here translate Jnea», signifies nniperly veateU or tnsfmnwnt*; and those msented 1^ Elienr mif^t have been of various kindiL What be bao given before, ver. 22. waa in token of respect — what he gave now, u)pean to have been tn the wur of dowry.

But it may mean gifU in general, tboogfa ntber ef an it^erior kind to those mentioned above.

Yaem 6i. And Aty did mt and drinic] When Blieshr had got a fiivourable answer, then he and his servants sat down to meat: this he hod refiised lo do till he bad told his message, ver. 33.

Verse SB. Let Hu danuel abide iDUh u£ a few day, ai leaat ten] The original is very abrupt and obecure, because we are not aoquainlad with the precise meaning of ihe^orm^spsecfiwnicbia here used — y^'Mtsm^yamin au Uor, DATS, or TBM, probably roeaniog a year, or las mamJha, as the tnaigin reads it, or a tsedfc or itn daya. This latter is the moat likely s^ise, as there would be no propriety, aAer having given their consent that ahe should go, in detaining her & a year or tm month*. In matters of simple j>hraseology, or in those whicli concern peculiar customs, the Stpittagint translation, especially in the Pentateuch, where it is most accurate ana [ure, may be considered a legitimate judge: this tranatation renders the words nfift -rtt about ten daw. Houbigant (Sontenda strongly, that instead of the vrortu "yvy w tsnr yamim au Itor, oaya, or ten, we should read mr ehodtak yamim, a month of days, u e. a full month; without whioh emendalioD, he asserts, Zocus explieari non poeni — "tha passagtecaimotbeexplainMl." lliia emendation is support ed by the Syriac version, which reads here v*>o«^ Ca» t •J yeroA yomtn, s month of days, or a full month. His reader may adopt ^e i^rtoc^ or the Scptuagint, om be judges best.

Verse 66. Wtlt thou go mtk thia Tnan] So it appears it was left ■ulHmatebf to the citoice of Rebekah, whether ahe wouM accept the {xoposals now mode to her, unless wesuppoae (hat the question meant — WUt thou go tamediat^, or <(<ttr viik va a vumih longer 7 iSAs aitid, I vriU go\ It fiilly appears to be Oia will of Ood diat it should be so, and I consent. TUs at ooee determined the whole business.

Verse 69. And her nurse] Whose namc^ we lean from ch. zxzv. 8. was Debwah, and who, as a second motbor, was deemed proper to soeompaiqrBebekah. Has

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and tiier rode upon the caroels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

^ IT And Isaac came fVora the way of the ■well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.

63 And Isaae went out ^ to meditate in the field at the eventide:' * and he lifted up his eyee, and saw, and behold^ the camela wer« comiw.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when saw Isaac, ' she lighted ofl'the camel.

Tene 60. B* Ami ihe modtar of fkotwond* itf- mO- Kmu] raan •'mM* U-atpluy ra&abaky "for thouwida ten theoMnd," or Jhr vwrtatU of l/umaanda — ftlaigeGuaily beiiiR ever eoaaiderw^ in aoaeot time^ u a proof of (he - peailier hleeeing mod &vour of Ood.

Tem 62. And Itaac conu] Concerning thii weO, tee dtspL xn. 13, Ac Aj it impMn from di&p. xxr. U. that Inec dwelt at the well Xioowwvi, it h&a toen coDjectured that he had now come on a visit to his e<ed mther at Beenheba, where he waited in expectation ofhie bride-

For ht dwdt in. Ou mmth country] Hht eoutbero part of the land of Canaan — See diap. xiL 9.

Tene 63. ivaoe woii out to nudUatt] m«6 ta-tuaeh, to bend down the body, or the miod, or both. He waa probably in deq> tbouant, with hia tft^ fixed upon the groood. What Ihe subject of his meditation was, it is uaeleaa to inquire: lie waa a pious man, and he could not be trjfUitrly employed.

Verae 66, Ske look a vetZ] irjnm ha-taaSif: Tbia ie Ihe ficat tine tbta word occur% aaa it ia of douuAil aignifiealiODi hot moat agree to render it a «mI or a dooi. Hie fcmar ia the Boat likely, as it waa seneially used by WMnen in the east, as a ngo of duuMj/, mode*i]ft and mbUctuM.

Teree 67. Sarah'M tmt\ Sarah being dead, her teat became now upropriaud to the use of Rebekah.

And k4 took Rtbticah, AiW wltst/ortR this was done, we are not toUi or whether there was any form uaedoo the oeaasioB, more than solemnly receiving her aa (be persoo vbam God had chosen tobe hia wife; Car K apposn from Tcr. 66. that dw nrvant told him all the e^eeial prorideotial eireumstanoee which had marked his jounsy. Ihe primitive fyrm. of marriage we have atraady aaeo, ch^ ii. 23^ 24. which, it is likely, as £u aa >Wm wsa sttaDded to, or juih^ necMsary, was that «4ueh was eommoolv tued in alTthe patriarobal timea.

In this dispter we nave an affiscting and edifying display «f At firesi'g wH's, by which God di^wees and governs the •flain of the uni verae, desoending to the minuleot particu- 1hi^ and managing the great uiwU by directing and ioflumcing all lU porta. This particular or taptdal providenoe, we see. is not confined to work by gmtml law ' itis wise and intelligent; for iiistheaiaa,tMwilL and energy of Ood. It stepa out of commoa ways, and takes particular direction^ as endlessly varied numao neoeasitiee may need, or the establidmient and iMini*tTfnH-ft ef godlioees ia the earth may require. What a history of prevideotial occurrancea, ooming all in answer to the ivajcr and feith of a simple^ humble individual, does this ahMMerexhifaitl

MM Ahaimaft wmwot has God's glory rnilv in view in Ae enaad on which he is going, he mi^ well expect the divine ditection. See with what simplietw and eonfidencs he pnys to Ood I Be even preaoribes toe way in which dte divine dioiee and approbation diall be nmaa known: and God hoooun the poritr of hia motive^ and lus {wt»a Mdt, by giving him precisely the aaawwliewiahad. How MaouraUein UMsightof Ood iasia^rficay It has nodung to fear, and all good to hcne wr: whereas a ^Hr^ warped by «<^^n<«rWandiDorliuy«»«iei^ is always mmemrtaui tjkd agiiatad t aa it is ever snnhing thnr frnm its own eoimMli^ jntfftett, and ecAmes, wluch should be •oo^t in Ood alone. In every place the upright man neeia with his Ood, hie heart aeknowledgea bis Maker, and his Maker acknowledgee turn; for such an one, the w4Mle eeoaony of providence and grace ia ever at wtfk.

Abraham's soUatnde to get a suitable wife for his son bwordqrof the moat serious r^ard. He was well aware, that if Isaac farmed a matrimonial allianca with the ConmmtUt*9, k miffbt be ndnoos to hia pieQr, and prevent the dimanmiatiau of the trae religirai ihernm be binds hia noatirusqraervaBt by a solrau oath, not toiakeawife fa hia Boa froaa tha danghtera of Caaasj^kutfionbiB

65 For she had said mito the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet ns? And the servant had eaid, It i» my master: therefore she took • a veil, and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother ' Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wile: and he loved her: and Isaac ' was comforted alter his mother's deaih.

own kindred, among whom the knowledge of die Inia Ood waa beat preserved. Others had different rays of the lightof truth; butAbraham'sfemilyalonehad TBSfniftf and to the descendants of this bmily were the promises made.

How eareftil should parenu bo to procure allianees for their children with those who fear God, aa so much of die peace and comfort of the children, and the harainess of their posterity, depends on this drcumstanee. But, alas I how many sacrifice the comfort and salvation of their offapring at the ahrine of Mammon I If they can procure rich htubaruia. and wiva for Iheir daugbtera and sons, dien all, in their apptehension, ia well. Harriuee of this kind may be considered as mere bargain aaataU; tat there ie scarcely ever any refemnce to God or etemi^ in them, nie divine institudmi of marriage ia left out of eight; and the persons are united, not property to eac& emer, in the love, fear, and aceor&ig to the ordinance of God, but they are wedded to so maOT ffurutand poundt sterling, and to so many Aovwa, JUbia, dkc Thus, like goea to tike, metal to nutoJ, and earth to Marth. Marriues fomud on such principles, are mere lieeiuod aduU' orUM. Let such coniractort hear these awful words of Ood — " Ve adultmre and adulteresses, know ve not that the friendship of the world is enmity to Ood? " James iv. 4. See on ver. 36.

llioudi, under the patriarchal diAensation, parents had a kind m abaolute authority over their children, and might dispose (rf them aa they pleaaed in general cases; yet it ^^eara, that in nattiminual connexfont they were under no eompolsion. Tha suitable person was pointed out and recommended; but it does not appear that children were forced against the whole tide of (heir aS^tions. to take those persona who were the objecta of the parents^ choice. WiUlhaugoviUhthieman? waa, in all likelihood, deemed eaaential to the completion of the contract; and by the answer, Iwittgo, was the contract fiilty ratified. Thuu the persons were ultimatelylef^to their own choice, Ihou^ the most prudent and proper means were no doubt used m wder to oirect and fix iL Whether this was precisely the plan followed in primitive times, we cannot abtotuttly say; they were times of great oimplieUy: and, probably, connexions on the mere principle of ({^action, indepeiidendy of al\ other considerations, seldom existed. And it must be allowed, that matches formed on the sole principle of oonwniency, mig^t as well be formed by the parents as by any others; aad in Asiatic countries it was generally BO; for dure the female seldom presumes to have a choice of her owiL

In all cases of this kind, the child ahonld invariably consult the experience and tPtadotn of the parenU; and the parenU ahould ever pay nudi reflect to the fttlxngn of the child, nor oppose an alliance which may be in ul other reapecta suitable, because there may be a lack of property on one tide of the intended match. If panmts would proceed in this way, Ood would pour his blessing on their seed, and his Spirit upon their ^^pring. ^NOTES OH CHAPTER 3CSV.

Teres 1. 7%«n ^gotn Abroham took a v\fe\ When Abraham look Ketinah, ve are not informed: it might have been in the lifetime of Sarah; and the original vafyoeaph, and Ae added dbc. seenu to give some countenance to this opinion. Indeed it is not very likely that he had the children mentioned here after the death of Sarah; and from the circumstanoes of bis age, feeblenesi^ &c at the birth of Isaac, it is atill more unprobable. Even at diat age, for^ years before dw marriage of laaac^ theUnhof his son is oonndered aa not leaa miraculous on hu part, than on the pan of Sarah; for die apostle expressly says, Rom. iv. IA. that Abraham eonaidertd no4 hit own body now oxAn, icAan A« mw about a hundred vam nor auwa>nEBm of Sarah' twovdt: hence we ham, that tb^ were both past (he procreaUon of children; inaomudi that the birth of Isaac is evu rcpresealed as MMmaliirat. ItistberBfi»everyimprobaUetbalhehad

Iht un o( NUctipaTili, a. I<L 0»l'i IiWm opun lium II. TtuHnririuaul.n-IC niiua and iWlb, 19, OTlhefiMnillamar Ituc, ■H nwiM Id bit fitrtutk jwni, K, Habgkah Ui wife t>rni|[ buna, on lUartMi — wtwltenwk I. 11irlrtaM,9-l Mdwteulifahdi.S. BMfli>« pcniooi u> ita mna of Iw eonoihiiHi. u"l itiiili than Mwud from lufi, in lU iim pmnr u> I3«d, moolvn, 21. She Inquina of Iht LonJ ooBea-ninc hw Halt, a The IxiRl'i Mnr, S. Bht h deliTnl of iwim, PMoliiDrilia!■ ItK bMoT braiM&MW^ J>i<aMiua«bisbOKrtiidUi*bauiw,3S.a. Tliaii dttamt DitiiMriif lUg, tl.SS. Ean, nKumlnc frmi the field UiH. ben PMun fevnliiBbnitlier,9,3a. laeeb n(«ia to gmni him uir. tm oneonlUiHor hit Bllirwbte hi>ti*iluUht,SL Kmui. imdf lo die, pun wkh Hu binkrtjrtu to mn hkUt-Sl iiKahawuea bun ta WInD Ibt adi wkb nnlb,afc KtMOKYm Mad and ptHtfi of kuan, Mid <>ipuu,M

THEN aj^ata ■ Abraham took a wife, and her name -was Keturah^

aay diild t&er tba biith of laaac; and therefore m may v*ll nn>po«e, that Hoses has related (bis traimetioa out i4 iu wvnplogieal order, which is not infrequent in the Samd Writings, when a varietv of important fiuts relar tivB to the accomplishment of some grand deawn are (hou^it necessaiy to be produced in a coDnectedserieB. On this account, inienemng matters of a different com- {ilexion are referred to a future time. Perhaps ve may be justified in reading \he verse — " And Abraham had added, and had taken a wife, (besides Hagar) whose mme was Kebuah," &c. Jonathan btn. Uzzia, and the Januaten Targum, both assert, that Keturah was the same as Hagar. Soma rabbins, and with them Dr. Hammond, are of tbe same opinion; but both Hagar and Eeturah are so distinguished in the Scriptures, that tlw opinion seems destitute of probability.

Terse 2. ^mron] Suphaous Byzantinus mentiotu a taXy in Arabia Felix colled Zadram^ wliitdi some suppose to have taken its name from this son of Ceturan; out it is more likely, as Calmet observes, that all these SODS of Abraham had their residence in Arabia Datrta; and Pliny, Hist. NoU 1. vi o, 28l mentions a people in that country called Zamarcaiana, who were probably the descendants of this person.

JokAan\ Several learned men have been of opinion (hat Qiis Jokdiaa was the same as JCmUsr, die father of the Arabs. The testimonies in Ikvour of this opinion see in Dr. Hunt's Oration, De Antiquitate, Ac lArigux ArabLaxj p. 4. Calmet su{q>OBes that the Cataneans, who inhabited a part of Arabia Deserto, sprang from this Jokshon.

Mtdan and Indian] Probably dtose who peopled (hot part of Arabia Petnea, contiguous to the land of Hool^ flMtwd of the Dead seaA St Jerom terms dte people of this country Midianeatui and Ptolemy moUions a people called JUadianiie*, who dwelt in the same place.

Juhbak] PVom tliis person, Calmet supposei^ the brook Jb&oA, whii^ has its source in the mountains of GUead, and ftlls into the sea of Tiberias, took its uame.

Shnah, or Skuach^ From this man the Sa^xeatu, near to Balania, at the extremity of Ambia Deserto, towards Syria, are Buppoeed to have sprung. Bildad, the ShuAUe, one of Job's Iriends, is supposed to have descended from this son of Abraham.

Verse 3. iSAe6a] From whom sprang the Sobeans, wbe robbed Job of his cattle. — See Btxhart and Calnul.

AAurim, IMushim, and £<eiimTntni1 We know not who these were; but as each name is patraL they must have been Irtba, otfamiltta, and not indiviaaaia, Onkelos inleri»ets these words of persoim dwelling in eampa, teaU, and iatand»i and Jonaman ben Vzziel calls them mmAan/s, artiJUxra, and head*, or nf people.

Terse 4. Ep/iah, and Epker, Ac.] Of these we know no more than of the preceding; and it is useless to multiply conjectures: an abundance is already furnished hj (he commentators.

Terse 6. Gaxe aU that he hadunta laaae] His principal flocks, and especially his ri^t to the land of Canaan, including a confirmation to him and his posterity of whatever was contained in the promises of God.

Terse 6. Unto the »ona of the ammbinea'\ Tiz. Hagar and l^tiirahj Atnaham gave gifts. Cattle for breed, seed to sow the land, and implemeDta (or Inudsadiy, nay bb what is here intoided.

And aent them aieay—viiSte A« yet lived^ Lest, after his dcaihj they should dispute a setQement in the land of promise with Isaac; therefore he very pnidently sent them to procnro settlements during his lifiHiroe, llmt thqr might be under no tempmtioD to dispute the settlement with Isaac in Canaan. From this circumstance arose that

4 And the aons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hasoeh, and Abidah, and Eidaah. AU these loere thadiildren of Keturah.

5 ^ And Abraham gave all that he a^SS had unto Isaae.

6 But unto the Bona of the concubinee, vtueh Abraham had, Abraham ga.ve gifts, and * meat them away from Isaac oib son, (while he yet lived) eastward, unto '' the east country.

7 If And these are the days of the aaS

law which has prevailed in almost a]] coontrles, of. the eatatet to the etdeat am by a lawfid wife: tar i concubines, or wives of the second rank, wen pc legitimate m those ancient times, yet their diildren did not inherit except in case of die uilnre of legal issne, bomI with me consent of the lawful wife; and it is very properly observed by Calmet, that it was in consequence m consent of Leah and Rodiel that die childmi of their slaves by Jacob had a common end equal lot with the rest. By a law of Soloit, all natur^ children were ezeloded from the paternal inheritance r but their fediera were permitted to give them any sum not beyond a thousand drachma, by way of preaent.

Eaatward, unto Ac east counfry^ Arrdiia Deserts, wUek was eastward of Beer-^efaa, where Abraham lived.

Verse 7. Hie days <jf the yeara, &c.] 7%ere is a beanty in this mode of expression, which is not sufficiently regarded. Chiod men do not live by miAiries^ though saaiiy such have lived seveml hundred years; nor do they coaot their lives even by yeara, but by dogw, livii^ as if 4wy were the creatures only of a bat, having no more time that they can with any propriety call iheir own; and li*rit^ that day in reference to tttmity.

Terse S. Than Abraham, goice ttf As Cftosti Hig}ity OS I value our tiansladtm \ai mieia) occuro^, wleN^ and elf^ance, I most leave to mssent from this versian. The original word yu^ vfgvvdh, from the root yu gofA, signiflea to pant for breath, to expire, to cease from hr«aOva^gy ar tobreatkaon^a lait f ana here, and wherever the MiginaJ word is used, the simple term expired, would be the proper expression. In ear translation this enrcssion occurs Oea. zzv. a 17. XXXV. 29. xlix. 33. Job iti. 11. x. M. xt 30. xiii. 19. xiv. 10. Lam. i. 19. in all of wbidt places the original is ra garni. It oeeurs also in oar trsBslaticn, Jerem. zv. B. but dura the original is n*so imma Mfifca- Aah naphAah — sAe breathed out heratnUf the vtra nw gavah, not being used. Now as our Englnh word ^»aoU from the Anglo Saxon Irayb, goat, on tnmatis inhaMmL gveai, (a easual vishaot^) uso a apirit, is bow rsstritlsa amiMir us to the bitter meaning, alvrays sienlfyiBg the mortal apiril or atml of roan, the gwat of the body; wmi as giving 1^ Oie apirlt, ghoat, orcoui, is an ootnotfro^ (o man, though eomrnien^^t^ it lo God, in our lost nommts. is both an act of faith end piety; oiid as giving vp Ae ghoat, i. e. diamioaing hia apirtt from his body, w attributed to Jesus (Thrist, to whom alone it is proper, I therefore object against its use in avtry other ease.

Every man, since the fall, has not on^ been /toils to death) hut has deeenwi it] asiUl have fnpited their Uvea because ot sin. Jesus Christ, as bom imnandaM, wd having never siimed, hod not Jinfaitad his life t and OMrefore may be considered as naturally and properly iaraortal- No man, says he, taketh it, my life, frvm me, but llaytt down of myat^: I have power to le^ it down, and lima power to mie U again; Ihtrefore doth the Fathar Itma mebeeauae Ilaydawn my life that I mi^^t take it aga^ John z. 17, 18. HMiee we rightly translate HatL nnrii. 60. «4>i,>i T« wttvMn, he gate up the ghoat, i. e. he diamimtd hie apirit, that he mtM.ate for Aa ainqf the wsrW. The evangelist St. John (ziz. 30.) mokes use of aa expression to the same import, which w« translate in the same wt^: rmftMt -r* w^vfHi, As ddbtarod m kta apit iL We translate Hark XV. 37. andLokazziii. w. AsgsMifS the ghoat, but not correctly, because the word in bom Ibaa* ][Jaees is very different — lE tirvtun, ha breoAed hia laal, or expired t though in tlie latter place, Luke xxiii. 46. ibere is an equivalent expression — O feather, into Ay Aoaufo, »fSTif)^i(iT*nt»^fu>, J oommit my apirit t i.s.lplaea my soul in diy hand: provinK that the act was kie own t dtat ao man coaM take his life sway from him ( that bs

8 TheD Abraham gave up Uie ghoet, and ' died in a good old age, an old man, and full 1^ yeara: aBd ■> was £atliered to his people.

9 And "his sons Isaac and lalmiael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zoar the Hittite, which is before Mamre:

10 ^ The field which Abraham purchased of the sous of Heth: ■ there was Abraham buried, ziXiA. Sarah hia wife.

11 % And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his Eoa Isaac; and Isaac dwelt hy the ' well Lahai-roi

did not die by the perfidy of but dia^lc^ or Ibe ■malict <rf Am Jewi, but by his men fret acL Tnui ai laid oowx hia life for A« Aiep. Of Ananias and Sapphira, Acta v. 6, 10. aitd of Heroa, Acta xii 23. our tranBiation aaya they gaw up the-gkott: but the word in both placea ioagi^Ei, which limply tneana to breath* mU, to expire, or dtts but in BO eaw, either by the Septuagint in the Old, n aoy of tb« aaeied writers in the JVetP Teatammt, ian^wit *• wmruh or w»fttMiu Ti wm^m, ke dimUtkl his V^rit, or Mivired hU mrit, apoken of any penoa but (Ariit. Ateabain, laaaix Mhinael, Jacob, Ac brea^ud their last; Ananias, Sapphira, and Herod, expired; but none, Jesua C^uiat excepted, cum tip the ghost, dismiesed, or delivered up, hia own apirxi, ukI waa eonaequently free ammg tha daad. Of the pMnardu, Ac. the Septua^m uae the wori tiULim*, fiMiag! or MTtrmnr, be eeaam, or rested.

An oid man, viz. one hundred nad seventy-five, the yomweat of all die patriaichi, and fuU of yean} llie vonryMrv ia not in the textj but aa our traiulatara saw that some word waa necena^ to fill up the text, th^ added thia in It is pronsble that the true word is wamim, dayye, aa in Gen. zxxv. 29. and this reading is found in aevertu of Kmnieo^a and />« IlotaCa M8S. in the Samaritan text, Septuapnt, Vulgaie, Syraic, Arabic, Persie, and Oialdet. On these aothoritMs it mi^t be aalbly admitted into the ten.

Being fuU if days, or fuU vf Ufe\ To be satiated with daya, or life, has been in use among different nations, to express die tenninatioo of life, and especially life ended isittwrf rehiriaws*. It seemsiobeamsliyhor taksofriMM a gost rqgaled by a plentifiil banquet, end is thus used the Roman poets.

Locretiua, ridiculing those who were unreaaonably attarbed to liie, and grievouily afflicted at the proqteet of death, addresses them in the following manner:

The poet SiatiuB osea abire paratum, plsmtm vitA — preperod to dmrt, being rtru. of Lira — in exacUy the I sense. 9y\v. 1. ii.

13 And these are the names of the Bona of

Ishmael, bv their name*, according to their ffene* rations: the first born of Ishmael, Nebajoth: and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam.

16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their ca»- tlee; ^twelve princes according to their nations.

widely different spirit from that reoommended by the abova writers— Hx left life^vith a hope full of immortality, which they could never boast j for hb sate uie dm qf Chriat, and was glad — and his hope was crowned j for here it is expreaaly said. He was gathsred to hia fathers — surely not to the bodies of bis sleeping anceston^ who were buried in Chaldea, and not in Canaan; nor with his fathers in any sense, for he was deposited in tfas cave where his wifb oione slept; but ha was gathered to the dptrtt* qfjtu^tnm made peifect, and to the AurtA qf the firstborn, xehoss names are mitten in heaven. Heb. xii. 23.

Verse 9. Sis sons Isaac and lAmael buried him], Though Ishmael and his mother had been expelled from Abrauun's fiunily on the account of laaao, yet aa he waa under the same obligations to a most loving, affectionate father, as hia Iwother Isaac, if any personal feuds remained they agreed to bury them on this oeoasion, that both might dutifully join in doing the last offices to a parent who was an honour to them and to human nature: and considering the rejection of Ishmael from the inheritance, this transaction shows his character in an amiable point of view. For though.he waa a wild man^ (see ch. xvi. 12.) yet this appears to be more eharwMerutie of bis AaMti ^ l\fe, than of his di^osiHm.

Verse 11. God blessed hit son laaae] The peculiar blessings aitd infiuenoes by wbich Abraham had been diatinguiahed, now rested upon Isaac: but bow little do we hear in him of the work ot faith, the patience of honk Mod the lid>our of love I Only one Abraham, and one Gnrist, ever an>ssred among men; there have been some succeaaful imttaiort; there ahould have been many.

Verse 12. These are the generations of Ishmael] Tlie object of the inspired writer seems to be, to show how the proraiaes of Ood were fulfilled to both branches of.Abraham's family. Jaaoc has been already referred to: God bleased him according to the pcomiae. He had also promised to multiply Ishmaeti and an acc<»mt of bis gienerations is introduced, to show how exactly the promise had also been fulfilled to him.

Verse 13. Nebajoth] From whom came the Nabatheans, whose capital was Petra, or, according to Strabo^ Nabathea. "ibtj dwelled in Arabia Petma, and extended themselves on the east toward Anbia Deserts.

Kedar] Hie fbunder of the Cedreoni^ who dwelM near to the Nabathsans. Th^ descendants of Kedar form a part of the Saracens.

Verae 14. Afiaftmo, and Dumak, and Massa] Where the first and laat of these settled is not known; but it is prt^le that Dvmak gavs his name to a place called Z>ufflaA, in Arabia. See a prophesy eonoeming this plaoe, Isai. xxi. 11. from which we find tiurt it was in the vieinity of mount Sdir.

"niese three names have passed into a proverb among the Hebrews, because of their signification, jroro mimtnA signifiea HiAauM t nrnttfumoABiLEncE; sndKVDnuisM, pATixifcx. Hence, "Hear much, say little, and bear much: tantamount to the famous maxim of ibe SImcs — Su^ain and abitatn, is suppo*^ ^ the BFMrit of the original words.

Verse 16. ifadtM-T'niisname should be read BadBd, as in 1 Chron. i. 30. This reading is supported by more than three hundred H3S, verwons, and priiued editions.— See the note on ver. 19.

Tema] Supposed to be a place in Arabia Deserta, Ifae same of whion Job speaks, <». vi. 19.

Jttur] From whom came the /fi*fs«ifc who oecupiad a small tract of oouotry bayond Jonlan, whieh was afterwaid pOMiiiBd by the half tribe of Maoaweb.

17 And theee ore the yeaia of die life of Iriimael, a hundred and thirty and seven yeara: and ' he gave up the ghost, and died } and was gathered unto bis people:

tioned 1 Chron. v. 19. who, with the ItoreftiM and the people of Nddob, usiited ihe HBgarinw agoinat the larael- Ites, but were overcome by the two tribes of Reuben and Chto. and the half tribe of Manaaseh.

JEMtanah] Probably the dMcendants of this pencm dwdt at JCtMmott, a pises mentioned DeuL ik 36. Iwiah the resder to obaervev that conosming (bose sDoent tribe* nentioned here, or elaewhers in the Pentaleudi, litde ia known; nor of theii ptacea of wtdement have we more certain inforioatioo. On this mibject many learned mea hare toiled hard, with but little fnut of their labour. Thorn

18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shv, that M before Egypt, as thou goest toward* Assyria: and he 'died 'in the preaenee of M his brethren.

who wilh to enter into diacuasiona of this natur^ consult BoeharCs Oeo^phia Sacra, Catmti, Ac

On the subiect of writing the same proper namu i <RtWy in our common BiblM, the following tables snd sb> servatfons will not be vnsesepialde lo dM resder.

I riiall odd hen from the PmbUmA, ssow propsr names, wliidi are tdsncely vatisd t bsC ttemiitkrm names expressed diArenuV in the Htbrew text itsM( aad tevenUen of them in our 'English trsnalatiOD; and ttaeo thirly-mui names expressed uniformly in the Miinm^ jst differently in the Englith-

Seth Enos Cainan Jared Enodi Methuselah Phut PhUiatim Caphtorim Emorite CH^asite

Izehv Mahli Moloch Hoshes Joshua Zered Jaazar Children of f Jaakan { J Springa of)

Terse 16. 7Vm are Aefrnsffw] By which their dt' softtdonl* were called. TlUir totm«—'Plaoes of encamp* ■MM in the wiUaraasS) sueb as Jiave been used by (be Anbs from tbs fsmotsst times. T%rim wOit, Birv« Untamt A»tr tamm% aHwtoi* tsp^^nKiM

Tene 18. TTiey daOtJhmi Haritahwito l^twr} Tlw descendants ttf bhmael poaseand all that eountiy vhidi sxteaito from Slat to v■s^ fron BmOak OB Aft BtvhniMb

19 1 And these are the ceoeraUona of Isaac, AbraEam's eon: ■ Abraham begat Isaac;

he took Rebekah to wi the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, of Padanaram, 'the Bister to Laban the Syrian. & &± uS ^ And Isaac intreated the Lobo ■ for hia wife, because she was barren:

BMT its iimetiaD wkb tbs Tigris, to ^ deaert of Sluir, «Mtwua of Bgypt; and whico «zienda along the Itthimn of Su« whica aepftratea tbe Red Sm from the MetU- Arrwuoft.

At tkou goett towardt AMyria} Theae words, aays CUnaVisv Rbr either U Sgjfft, to Sair, or to ffavi- Ul Tbe wMitof Sbm ia on the road from Egypt to Aaayria in Iraverainc Arabia Petrsa, aod in paasing by the eouniij of Uavibb. X know not, adda he, irtiether JjAktoA, in the text, mav not mark out rather the.Jmuri« descended from KenraA, than the Auyriaiu, who were the daacmdanta of AAur, the aon of Sttm.

BedttdiHtiufm»iue<tfauhi»breArm} TtHoriginat wQ) not veil bear dtia InuMlMion. In ver. 17. it ia aaid, S* gat «• tM* ifkott imd dUd, and wa» gathered to hit vevpU. liMo feHowa the account of tbe autriet occupied hy the lahmaeUtea, at the conekimon of vhidi it ia added, Mami alpentf col acAafe nap^ "It (the lot

Of diatrietl rnu, {or waa divided (o him) in Uie preaenee of alt Ua Wetfaren:" and thia waa exaetlT agreeable to-die pmniae of Ood, ^lap. zvi. 12. & aiaU dadl in tika ■raaawea^atf *i» Srattrat;.«iid to Aow that thja pcomiae had heai atrktly fuHUied, it ia here ranarfcad, that hia lot or iiAeritaoee was aaaigned him by the Divine lS«videttce, coa%aoa« to that of the ouier Ivandiea of the family. The aame word Vn nap/ial, is used, Joeh. zxiii. 4. iw to 4ttv{(la 6y iat.

Men, tAn ham read dteir Bible with oare, aaya Dr. KeaBaeoit, nnat ham temaitetL Amt dte name of the ■ana penoa ia often aipeaaul differently in diArent ptaeaai Indeed the variation ia aometimea ao Kreai, that we eaa ecaroely perauade ouraelves, that one and th* •a«M peraon ia raally meant. An uniform enireaatoa of pnwtr namoa ia dihgenlly attended to, in outer booka: nrtiua ia every other book, exeept die Old IVatamem.

aerc we tad stnuige variety in the expreeaion, and oenae<fiently great eonfiuion: ami indeed, there ia aearcely ■afvae geitnl aooree of error which ealla for more carefbl caiTeclion than the aame proper names now WTong\y •zpreaaed.

Nothing oaa be clearer, than that the than fjtf-jii^ proper naaaea (at leaat, the fiu- greater part of them)ahould be expreaaad with the very aame letters, in die places where dwr are new diffinoit. In the second lift, instances ^ It, and 13, have been corrected, and expreaaed uniformly, in me Engbah Bible printed at Oxfotd in 1709. And •orely the aame justice In the trajwlation ahould ba done to tfte mm. of theae proper names, and to all others throogh iha Biblet at leaM^irhere the original worda are now properly tbe aame. Who would aot wonder, at eeeing tbe name persoas naaed both Simon and Shimon, Ridtard mamettdt And can we then admit here both SWh and Sktlht RadtdKoA Rahd? Again) who ever could admit faa above) both Oaxa and AxiaK vidt Ratmtet and Haanua, ehouW not object to LonJon and Ondm, with AmtUrdam and Anufroiiam. In abort: in a hieloiy tar more intereeting than any other, the namea Otptraotu atod ylaeca dMmId bs disttuiddied aceuratelr, and defined with cnet nuformi^. And no trae eriue will think lightly of this adviee of Origen — Contonnentfa nm at MOtrata etrea KOmif a dilifntta et, gut votuerit pnbe ImitUigere aanctor liltma? No person who desires thorangfaty to undcratand the aaered writings, ahould tmder- «wiM a srrapaloiu attention to the proper namea. — Km- Hieotft Remarka.

Verse 19. TIum an Uu rtniratima ^ Aoor] Thia is the UsUMy of Isaac and hia fiunilr. Here the rfxtt section •f tbe law begins, called pn** ni9m toUdolh yit»Aak; as the^/lfc eatUd mr -"n dutyi Sarak, which begins with ^Hp. xziiL ends at the preceding verse.

Verse 21. /moc cnfrMled fhe/^rd/w At* tpi/V} Isaac and IMwkah had now livnj nineteen yeara t(q;emer with- MK having a chiki) for Ite wna forty years oM when he married Babekah, ver. 20. and tie was thraeteora years of ■ge when Jacob and Baan were bom, ver. 26. Heoee it ie«vident they bad lived n\nel«en years together without having a child.

na form of the original in thia fdaoe ia worthy of ■ode*! Isaac entreated Jehovah vwh nsa^ Imosodk tahto,

22 And the children struggled togetherfrS-ggwithin her; and she said, Iftf&eso.nNirain—

23 And the Lord said onto her, » Two nation* are in thy womb, and two manner of peo^e ahail be separated from thy bowek: and ^ the

directly, purpoeely, eepecially far hia wHe. Mr. Ainswortfa thinks the words imply their praying togeOur, for diia thing; and die rabbins can? it farther, far they my tha^ " Isaac and Rebekah went on purpoae to mount Hviah, where he had been bound, and prayed together there, that ther mi^t have a son." Qod was pleaaM to exerciae the biui of laaae, previous to the Mrtfa of. Jaeobi as he bad exercised that of Abraham previous to bis own Urth.

Verse 22. TTw OtUdren ttrnggUd tog^ior] tim jfiArotaaUu, theydoAadagatn^wbruioodttukothe^ there was a violent agitaaoa, io that the mother wse apprehenaiTe both of her own and her ehildren's saA^i and BU|^>oaing that this was an nneommon case, ahe weal to inquire of the Lord, as the good women in toe present day would go to consult a surgeon or physician t far iMer* course wiA God is not so common notAas it was in those times of great primitive simplicity, 'nwre are diffiirettl opitdona concerning the manner in which Reb^afa inquired Ika Lord. Some think it was by faith km pratfar simply t others^ that Ae went to Sham, or Jlfi/- cheaadtk; but Shem ia supposed to have bees dead tea years before this dme; but as Abraham was yet alive^ ahe ni^ht have gone to him, and consolted the Lord through his means. It is moat likelj that a fraphet or faiaat wna opniied to on thia occasion. It appeara ahe waa in conaiaerable perplexity, hence Aat imperfect speedi — ae, tsfty am fthua — the simple meaniag of ^ioi is prtnahlr thia: If I must suffer such ftiilig^ why did I ever win to have a child^ A speech not uncommon to mothers ia their first prwnan^.

Verse 23. T\cona^4maar»in.thywmb'\ "Wehave," aays Biahop Newton, " in tbe prophecies delivered respecting tbe sons of Imae, ample proof that tbcee propbeciee were not meant so much of atng^ jMrsons, as of ttAo/a notions descended from them; for what was predicted concerning Baaa and Jacob, was not verified tn Asm* Mlees, but in their poaterity. The Edomilet were tt» offspring of.Stou, as the JimuWs* were of Jbcob. And who but the Author and Otver of life could foreeee that tm> AUdren in the wmb, would multiply into two nation*? Jacob had twelve eona, and their descendants were all united and ioconKintled into one nation; and vrhat an overruling providence was it that two naiioiM riiould arise from ttte two eons wily of Isaac 1 And that they dMMld be two aueb difereni natioiu. The Edomitea and laraaHtaa have been from tbe beginning two such diftrent people in their maimers, customs, and reliaiffli, as to be at perpetual variance among themselves. T\ta (AUefren atruggled together tn the womb, which was an omen of their ft tore diaegreement: and whea tlKy grew up to aMnhood, they manifested very different ii>clinatK»s. Baan waa a cunning ftanfer, and delisted in the aporta of the field: Jactdt was a plain man dmOHngin lent* — mindins bis riieep and his eatde, ver- 27. The religiea of the Jews is well known; but whatever tbe Edomites were at first, in process of time they became idolaiara. When Anuc^ah kmc of Judoh overthrew them, he brougfat their cods, and set uiem up to be hia gods; see 2 Chroo. xzv. l-LU. The king of Bdom having refiised a passage to tfte larwlitee through his territories on their return fi^m Egypt, the history of the Edomites afterward, ia little more than the history of their wars with tbe Jewa. "

"nie one people sAolt be atronger than the other peopltf] The same audior continues to eSserve, that for some time^ the femity of Esau waa the more |)0werful of Oie twoi diere having been dmkea estd kinga in Edom before there waa any kntg in lend, Gen. zxzvi. 81. but David and li^ captains made an entliv eontmest of tbe Edamitea, alew several thousands of them, t Kings xi. 16. 1 Chron. xviii. 13. and eompclled the rest to become tributariea, and planled garrisona among them to secure their obedience, 2 Sam. viii. 14. In this stale of aartiluda they contimud riiout one himdrad and Mm years, wiUwut a king of their own j beii^ governed by deputies or vteero;* appointed by the kings of JudaN 1 Kings utii. 42. tmtia the days of Jdwram, ihey rervolted, reoovwed tbew Ubertica and set up a king of their own, 1 Kinga xui. 47. Afterward Antaziah king of Judah gave them * total overthrow in the valley of SiJ^ Kings xiv. T. 2 Cbtan.

one people shall be stronger than the other people: and » the elder shalTaerve the younffer.

24 If And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And the firet came out red, ^ all over like an hairy garment; and they called bis name Esau.,

26 And after that came his brother out, and ■ his hand took hold on Ksau'a heel and <> his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

27 IT And the boys grew: and Esau was *b canning hunter, a man of the field: and Jacob was <* a plain man, t dwelling in tents.

■m. 12. Attd Azsriah took Elatk. ft commodious h&rbour oa the R«d aea, from them, 2 Eingt xiv. 22. 2 Chron. xxTi. 2. Judas Maccabeus alao attacked and defeated ' them with the loaa of more than twenty thoatand at two dilbrent times, and look ttieir chief city HebTon, 1 Mace. T. 2. 2 Mace. X. At last, Hmxanua, hie nephew, took other citiea from dietn, and reduced tbem to the neoetaity ef leaving dudroouatiy or embracing the Jewiriknligioni oa which tbey mbmittad to be eireumeUed, and became proaslytes to the Jewish religion, and were ever after iDcorporated into the Jewish church and nuion. "

3Tm elder thalt eerve the youn^«r.] '"niis passage, " ■Bye Or. Dodd, "serves for a key to explain the ninth Aapter of the Epistle to the Romans, wnere the words ■re qooted; for it pro»ea to a demonstratitHk that this cannot be meant of God'a arbitnury i^«death)aiion of particular persotks to eternal b^ipioess or misery, wimout any regard to their merit or demerit; a doctrine whidi some have most impiously fathered on Qod, who is the beat of Beings, and who cannot possibly hate, far less, AttAx^elf dtram to misery, any creature that be has made; but that it means only, his bestowing greater external fiiTours, or if you plaaae, higher opportunities for knowing Mtd doing ihelr du^, inHMi some men, than he does upon others t and that mere^ according to hia own wiae purpose, without any rei^ud to their mwita or demerits, as having a right to confer greater or smaller degices of per- Csction on whom he pleases. "

'I^ doctrine of utusondittonal predestination to eternal life imd eternal death cannot be supported by the example at God'a dealinn with JEeau ana Jacobs or with the Bdomiiet and laWiiiUt. After long reprobation, the EtUmUtM were inoorporaled among the Jews, and have ever since been undistinguishahle members iii die Jewish diuroh. He Jeice, on the contrary, the tied of God, have been cut off and reprobated, and continue so to this day. If a time diould ever come when the Jews shall ail believe in ^u^et Jesus (which is a general opinion,) then the Edom^ee, whidi ara now absorbed amone them, shall also become the sleet. And even now, laaae finds MA Air children within the pale of the Jewish dnirch, equally entitled to the promises of salvation bv Christ Jesus, of whom he was tne moat expressive and Uie most illustrious type; see the account of Abraham's offering, chap. zxii.

Verse 24. Then were twine] mnn Uumim, from which eomes the name Thmtuu, properly inter}>reted, John xi. 16. by the word Didymue, which in Gieek signi- fiM a twin! so the first person who was colled Thoraaa, or Didymus, we may take for granted, had this name from the circumstance of his being a twin.

Perse 25. Bed aU over iQce an hairy garmejit] This simply means, that he was covered all over with red hair or down; and that this must be intended here is sufficiently evident from another part of his history, where Rebekah, in order to make her favourite son Jacob pass for his brother Ena, was obliged to take the skins of kids and put them upon hia hands, and on the smooth part of hia neck.

TTuy called kiename Eleau.] It is difficult to assign the proper meaning of the original ivp itau or 2eav; if we derive it from nvy Aggh, it must signifynuu^e, performed^ ■ad according 10 tome, perfected; tukii^ »>) in Arabic, ■ignifiea to makefimt^ hard; tod also to eome to man'« eSaU, to groio md. Probably he had tlus pame from his appearingto be more perfect, robaet, &c. thim hie brother.

Verse 26. Hi* name woe called Jacob] 3p])-> YaSeob, from apji a&ab, to dtfraipi, deceive, to eupplant, i. e. to overthrow a person W tripping up Ats heeU. Hence this name was given to Jaoob| bemuse it was found)» had laid hold on his brother's heel, i^rtiieh wuemUematieftl of (his suppbmtiag Esau, and defnadnig him of MabirthrighL

23 And Isaac loved Esau, because '■he did ' eat of his venison: * but Rebekah loved Jacc4).

Esau cEime from the field, and he was ^

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, "with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called " Edom.

31 AndJacob said, Sell me this daj-thy birth-

And Esau said, Behold, I am "at the point to die; and what profit shall this burth-right do

33 And Jacob said. Swear to me this day;

one who supported himaelf and bmily by Atrnffng-aad hy

Jacob was a plain man] en VM tarn, a perfect or upright man — dwelling in tenia, subsisting bv breediaK and tending cattle, which was considered in loose early times, the most peHeet employment; and in this seoas^ the word on tarn, should be hiere tmderstood i as n ila morat meaning it certainly eould not be applied to Jacob till after his name was cbuged, after which time only Ua charaeter stands fiiir and unblemisbed. See ehwpL xxxii 2fr-30.

Verse 28. Isaac heed Beau — but Rebekah loved Jacob] — This is an early prodF of unwarrantable parefUa] attachment to one child in preleienoe to aaethw. Jpooc land Beau, «nd Bebekahtoied Jacob, *bA in oonaeqnenn of thi^ the interests of the fiunily were divided, uu ths house set in iqnoaition to ilael£ The fruita of ihit unreasonable and rooUsh UBtchment wore sfterword wnBi la B long catalogue of both natural and moral evila ■mong the deacendanu of both Cunilies.

Verse 29. Sod pottage "rqi^^y Viued nocfd^ be boilad ■ boiling J and this, we are informed, ver. 34 was of tMny SetaeJUm, what the Septuagint render tusf; and yr% following them and the VtUgate lene, trazislate lenHle*, a sort of pulse. Dr. Show easts some ligjbi on das passage speaking of the inhabitanU of Barbarv. " Beana, lentile^ kidney-beans, and garvancee, " says ne, " are the chlefeat of their pulse kind; beans, when boiled and stewed with oil and garlio, are llie principal food of peisMis of all dulineiions: leotiles are dressed in the suns manner with beana, ibssolvinK easily into'a naas, and making a pouag« of a cftoBOtofe celour. ThiM we find was the red pottam$ whitAt Esau, from thence called Bdom, exchanged for Ew birtkrigkt. '' Shaw's Travels, p. 140. 4to. Edit.

Verse 30. lam. faint] It appears frbm the whole af this transaction, that Esau was so eos^>letely exhwisted by fiuigue, that he must have psridied tuKl he not td>iaiaed smne immediate refreshment. He had been either hunting or labouring in- the field, and was now returning for tha purpose of getting some food; but had been so exhausted, that his strength utterly foiled, before he had time to Bah* the neceunjy preparatiotu.

Verse 31. SeU me thie day thy birAright] What tha n-oa beeorath, or birthright was, naa greU^ divided both ancient and modem commentators. It is generally mxp' posed that the foUow-ing rights were attached to the primogeniture Authori^ and superiority over the rest of the bmily; 2. A double portion of the parental inherilonoa i 3. ITupeculiv benediction of the father; 4. The priesthood previous to its establishment in the family of Aaron. Calmet controverts most of these ri^ts, and with appareiU reason, and seems to think that me double portion of the paternal inheritance was the only incontestable rig^il which the first-bom possessed; the others were such as were rather coneecfea to the firtt-bom, than fixed by any law ia the fiunily. However this may be, it aj^Kars I. That the first-bom were peculiarly consecrated to God, £zod. xxii. 29.;— 2. Were next in honour to their parents, Gen. xlix. 3.; — 3. Had a double portion of their father's goods, £>mt. xxi. 17.; — 4. Succeeded them in the govemment of the fomily or kingdom, 2 Chron. xxi. 3.; — 6. Had (he sol* right of conducting the service of Ood, both at ihe labernacle and temple; and hence the tribe of Levi, which was taken in lieu of the firet-bom, had the sole rifht of administration in the service of God, Num. viii. 14 — 17. And hence, we may presume, had originally a right to the 'prte»tAoo(^ previous to ihegivingof thelav; buthowever this mi^t nave been, a^rwara die priesthood ia nover reekimM among the privtl^ies of the firet-bom.

HuU dia binb-ri^t was a matter of very great import- ■Boa^ thsre can be no loom to doidrt i and. tnat it waa ■ and he sware unto him: bad ■ he sold his hktiu ri|^t unto Jacob.

34 Then Jacob pave Esau bread and pottage of lentiies; and ''ne did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised Am btrth-right.

Bicr-iliata, 33. God unamto Itom roicwa ha pnniw, 9L lb bulldi m

■ tw«iiiiiMotibiHJulla,Mi M

A ND there was a fkmine in the land.! — ' -fi. besides ' the first fanUne that wa?

in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto ' Abimelech king of the Philietinee, unto Gerar.

7%u« Sman deipittd hit birn-nght\ On this account dw apoMle, Hdk ziL 16. caUa Emu a jmffane ptnon, beoauBB be had W thii act, alioiated from himBelf and funily, thOM flfnntdal ofliew eonneded with the ri^ts of primogeniture. While ve condemn Easti for this bad action, for hs ri\ould rather have perished than have alieoaud thia right; and while we consider it as a proof ttiBt fail mind was litilo afiketed with divine or spiritual tfuoKa; wtutt shall we way of his mOBtiutnatuisl brother SbbA, who reftised to let fain have a nforael of food to piMcnw him from deadi, imlen he nve him up hia birthright? Surely be who frMffU it in sudt eiroiiniBtance«, was a> bad as he who so^ii it. Thus Jacob verified his right to the name of ntpplanier; a name which in its first impoatlian appears to nave had no other object in view, dian the circumstance of hi* eattiting hU brother by the hsHt but all his subsequent conduct proved that it was Ouly descriptive of the qu^ities of his mind; aa hia whole life til] the time hia mme was changed, and tfioi he had a chants t(f nature, was a tissue of cunning and deception, the principles of whieh bad been very early instilled into him by a mother, whose regard for troth and righteousnesa appears to have been very superficial. See on chap, xxvii.

Ta« death of Abraham, recorded in this chapter, naiurally c^a to mind the virtues and excellencies of this exintwdinary man. His obedimee to the call of Ood and ^ilh in his promises, stand supereminent. No leondert, MiffTtM, or nuroeuUniM diwpbn* of the great and terrible Ood, aa Israel required m Kgrpt, were used, or were MceaMry to cause Abraham to believe and obey. He left hia own laud, not knowing uAere he was going, or for wliat purpose Ood had called him to remove. Exposed to varioua hardahipa, in daneer of losing hia life, and of witneaslQg the violation of his wife, he still obeyed and went on: courageous, humane, and disinterested, he cheerfirily risked hia liCs for the welfare of others; and conteMed with having reecued the captives and avenged the oppreaeid, he refused to accept even the spoils he had tuea from the enemy, whom his skill and valour had wtoniAed. At the same time, he considers the excellency of trie power to be of Ood; and acknowledges this wf giving to him the tenth of those spoils, of whida he would reserve nothing for his private ose. His iAedimct to God in tiering up kit ton haae, we have already seen and admired; together with the gerunmty at hia temper, and that tvapaef/u/ decency of wnduet towaids aupenora and it^Briora, for wliich he was so peculiarly remantaUei aae on «hiq>. xxiii. Widiout tUtpuiing with his Itaker, or dottbiing in bis heart, he oediied every tiling that God had apoken: hmee ht atwavM vxiUced in a plain way. "Hte autharify of Chd was alwava sufficient for Abraham^ be did iwt weary hiniaelf ta find reasons far any liiie -of eondoet which he knew Ood had prescribed: it was his duly to obey I the auoeeaa and tin event he left with God. Hia obediuMMwasaapremptaa it was onmfcto— As soon as he hear* the voice n God, hegirdsbimsdf to hisworki NttnmommtUlMtt How lue is mdi oondootl But

9 ^ And the Lord appeared unto him and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in •the land which I shall tell thee of;

3 ' Sojourn in this land, and > I will be withthee, arid will bless thee; for unto thee, aal unto thy seed, 1 1 will give all these countries] and I will perform * the oath which I eware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And > I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto tiiy seed all these countries; ^ and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 " Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and Icept my charge, my comioandmeDta, my statutes, and my laws,

6 \ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7 And the men of the place asked him of his wiffe; aiid " he said, She is my sister: for p he feared to say She ia my wife; lest, taid he. the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she <> -wom fair to look upon.

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and,

should not we do likewise t The present moment andSfi duties are ours; every past moment was once present], eveiy fiiture will be present; and, while we are UiiDk^ on uie subject, the present is paat, for life is made up M thevaatand ifaeprewnt. Are our paat momenta dw cause ofdeepregretandhumiliationl dien let us use the present ao asAof to increase this lamentable eause of our diatreases. In odier words, let us now beliets — lovc—obey. Rc^rdless <rf ail consequences let ub, like Abraham, follow the directiona of Goaa word, and the openings of his providenee, and leave all events to Him who dotK att miw* teM. ^ See to what a state of moral exoeHenee the grace <tf God can eaatlt a dumcter. When there ia simple implicit fiuth, and prompt obedience I Abraham walked b^ort Ood, and Abraham was ptrftxt. Perhaps no human being ever exhibited a fairer, niller portrait of the ptrftet mon, than Abraham. The more I consider the eharncter of itiis most amiable patriarch, the more I think the aaying of Calmet justifiable. " In the life of Abraham," says he, " we find an epitome of the whole lais ^ natwri, of the terittm law, and of the Oospd <tf CkrUi. He has maDifeeted in bis own person those virtues, for whieh reason and philosophy oould scarcely find out names, when striving to sketch tlie character of their tophiMt, wise, or perfect man. Sl Ambrose very propferly observes, that "Philosophy itself could not equal in its deecrtptions and wishes, what was sxemptified by this great man, in the whole of his eonduet." Mmgfttju pumi pir, quern voti* msU jAUoaojAia mm pctuit mgwtre; dmim* minus tat quod iUaJinxU, mam quod iUe ^eatU. Tha LAW which God gave to Hoses, and in which he has proposed the great dutiea of the law of nature, seems to be a copy of the life of Abraham. This patriarch, without being under the law, baa performed the most essential duties it requires; and aa to the OoopsL, its grand object was that on which he had fixed his eye; that Jbsob whose day he rejoiced to see: and aa to itsdptrUaad deaign, they were wondroualyexempHfied in that faith which was imputed to him for righteousness; receiving that grace which conformed his whole heart and life to the will of his Maker, and enabled him to persevere untodeath. " Abraham," says the writer of Ecclesiastieus, xliv. 20, StiC. *' was a great father of many people: in elory was there none like onto him who kept tne law of the Host High, and was in covenant with him: he est^ished the covenant in his fle^, and when he was tried he was fimnd faidiful."— See Calmet.

Aa a son, as a husband, as a father, as a neighbour, aa a sovereign, and, above alL aa a man o^ God, he elands onrivalled; so tluit under the most exalted and perfect of all" disuensaiioni, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he is proposed ana recommendisd aa the modd and pallem, according to which, the faith, obedience, and perseverance of the followers of the Messiah are to be formed. Reader, while yoo admire die man, do not forget the Ood that made him so

Eeat, so good, and so usefid— evra Abraham hod nothing t what ne had received: from the free unmerited mert^ of Ood proceeded all Us excellencies; buthewasawonbr togeihermA God^ and therefore did not raeekta AegraM qf Chd in mln. Qo ibaa, bdieve, lov^ obeyi "ad pan»- veie in like nHnmer.

behold, haac wa» qporting with Rdftekali hie wife. „

9 And Abimelech called Isaac and mSa, Behold, of a surety she t* tby wife yeaid how saidst tiioa, She u my sister T And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Le&t I die for her.

10 And Abimelech said,- What is this thou has done unto ub? one of the people miefat lightly have lien with thr wife, and ■>~thou mouldest have brought gmltinesB upon ua.

11 And Abimelech charged all hi$ peoi^le saying, He that toucheth tnis man or Iub wife shall Burely be put to death.

12 ^ Then Isaac sowed in that land, and • received in the same year ^ an hundred fold: and tiie Lord ' UeHs6d him:

13 And the man ' waxed great, and ' went forward, EUidgrew unty he became vei^ great:

14 For he EbA poeaession of flocks, and pessessioD of herds, and great store of >> aervants: and the PhiliBtines > envied him.

15. For all the wells * which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines liad stopped them, and filled them mth earth.

16 Apd Abimdech said unto Isaac, Go from uajjbr ithou art much mightier than we. ^7 And Isaac departea thence, and intched

18 If And Isaac digged again the wells of water, vdiieh they had digged in the days Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: " and he called their names after the names 1^ whidi his father had called them.

19 And Isaac's servants digg^ed in the valley, and found there a well of ' Bprmging water.

20 And the herdmen of Gerar "did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying. The water is ouTA: and he called the name of the weU >■ Ezek; because they Btrove with him.

21 And they digged another well, and strova for that alBo: and he called the name of it "Sitnah.

22 And he removed from thences and digged another well; and for that th^ strove not: and he caHed the name of it " Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall ■ be fruitful in the land.

' 23 1 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24. And the LoBn appeared untahun the same night, and said, < I am the God of Abraham thy father: " fear not, for * I aw with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for mj servant Ahndiaa's sake.

Terse 1. ITUre wu a Jamint] Whm tbis happened waeanoot lellj itsppean to have been sAar the death of JUmham.— Cweemiiig ii»jlrtijhmtnt, see ahu^ xiL 10.

AMnuUA] Am we know oot the time wfaea toe fioniiM happened, ao we cannot tell vhetber thia waa the aame Abimelech, I^ichol, &«. which are mentioned, i^ap, xx. 1, &0. or the aoas, or other deacendanta of theae peraom.

Tarae 2. Oo wit dawn itUo Egypt] Am Abraham lad taken refiige in that co^ntiy^ it ia probable that Inac vmm pnpaiing to go thither alao; and God. foreseeing that he woold there meet vith Iriala, Ac. •which might prove hial t» hia peaee^ or to hia piety, wama him not to fulfil his intention,

¥erae 3. Sqfoum in this land] In Gerar, whither he had goat, ver. I. and where we find- be lettled, vw. 6. ibouni the land qf Ctmaan in general might be here uitedoed. TYiM there were aerioua and important reascHu whylaaacahould not go to Egypt, we maj be AUly aaaured, thou^ tbey be not aasignadhere; it ie probable that eren iMae himself was not informed why tie ahould not go down to Egypt. I have alreadv supposed lliat God saw tiialc in hia way, which he might not have been able to hear. While a man acknowleagea Ood in all bis ways, ha will direet all hia aieps, tbou^ he mn not ebooae lo give him the reaaona of ttte woning of ftia providsooa. Ateaham might go safely to Egypt^-laaae might not: in firmneas and decision of character, there waa a wide difoenoc between the two men.

Terae 4. I wiU makt Oiy tttd — su Vu <fars <^ Aeaven] A promise often repeated lo Abraham, and which has been most amply fulfilled bolli in tta /tfanu and j|>irtliMZ aense.

My dtarge} ''ntovo MUkmareti, firom yDw Aomar, he kept, observed, &«. the ordinancea or aopointments <^ Chd. — Tliese were elwavs of two kinds: 1. Such as tended to promote moral improvement, the increase of jpiety, the improvement of the age, Ac And 2. Such as were typical or representative of the promised seed, and the salvation which waa to eome by htm. For commond^- mente, etattttes, &c the reader is particnlarly deaind to iV^r to Lev. zvi. 16, &e. when these ihinga are ^1 -analyzed and explained in tfie Slphabetieal (mer of iba Heltfew words.

Verse 7. He saui, She t* my eieter] It is very strange -that in the same place, and in similar curumstanees, Inae should have denied hi* wife, precisely bs his father had •tkMK before him I It is natural to ask, 1>id Abraham never mentian thia circumstance to his son 1 Probably he did mot, as tte iwaa justlv ashamed of hii weakness on the OQoasion — die only blot in his charaeier: the son, ther^ fare, not being fwewBrned, waa not armed aga^ist the temptation. It may not be well, in innenj, fbr parents to laUdieirehiUbaa« ttieir temer fiuuoga or vieea, aa this mi^ leaap OMirsnthori^or rei^i and the ehildna might make a bad use of it in extenuation of dieir own sins; bu there are certain esses wbith, from the nature <rf thmr eircumatanees, may often occur, where a candid acknowledgment, with suitable advice, may prerent tboaa ehildrea from repealing the evil; but this should be doan with great delicacy and caution, lest even the advice itaelf ahould serve aa an inceotive to the evil. J had not known lust, says St. Paul, if the law had noteaid, T^ou AaU not coveL On Abraham's cas& see the notes on chap. zii. II, &c. zx. 2. 'Isaac could not say of B^bekah, aa Abraham had done of Saralu At it my eitter i in the esaa of Abraham this waa lUeraUy friMi tt waa not ao ia the case of Isaac, for Rebekah waa onlv hiscoustn. Beaidea^ though relatives, in the Jewish forms of sneaking, Kr« often called brwure and eitttre. and the tning nuiy ha perfectly proper, when this use of the terms ia generally known and allowed, yet nothing of dua kind can bepkadaa htre, in behalf of Isaac; for he intoidsd that the GtruHUM should understand him in the pr^)er aenaeof dw termt Mid consequently have no suspicion that she waa his We have already seen that the proper definitico of a lie any word epoken with theiJUention to deceive — See cfaafk. XI. 12.

Verse B. Jeaae waa j|Mrr4jiig with Rtiekak hie wifi^ Whatever may be the preeisa meaniry <tf the woid, it evidently implies, that tbare were ItBerlias taken, and freedoms used on the occasion, which waranot lawful but between man and wife.

Verse 10. TywudumJdest have hroughi guOHnMu upas w] It is likely that Abimelech might have bad sosaa knowledge of God's intentions concerniiig the family of Abraham, and that it must be kept free from all inqwrt and alien mixtureai and that consequently, had he or aiqr of his people taken IMidmh, the divine judgments have fallen upon the land. Alamelech waa a good and holy man: and he appears to have considered ooiiltaiy sa a grievous and destnictive crime.

Verse U. He that toiuheth] He who injures Isaac, ar defiles Rebekah, shall certainly die for it; dc«di was tba punishment for aihihwy among the Cati«aniiea, Philistiiiesi and Hdaews^ — Sea ebap xxxviii. 24.

Verse 12. isooc eoueain Ikat land\ Bemg now perfectly free from the fear of evil, he betakes himself to agricut tural and pastoral pursuits, in wliich he has the especial blessing of Ood, so that Iiis pn^rty beoomea gretoly increased.

A kundred/oid] of^fv nto. Meah Shfarim, liiemUy "A hundredfold of barley:" and so the Septuagiol, ■pdiir. Perhofie such a crop of this grain was a rare occurrence in Oerar. Hie worda however may be taken, in a general way, as signifying a very creol increaee: so th^ are used by our Ixird, in the paiaue af the sower: Matt. xiii. 3, 23. Hark iv. 8, 20. viii. % 16.

25 And he ' bailded an lUtar there, aud ^'called

Sioo the name of the Loud, and pitched bie tent ere: and there Isaac's serTantBdineda well, ao TThenAbiinelech wenttohimtromCtorar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, * and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefbre come ye to me, seeing <* re hate me, and hare * sent <ne away from you?

M. Oi had patMuim qf jCmab} He who Mfwl him in the incrcMe of haJUuU, bleaeed him also ia the inoreMo ci hii Jhckt j and m be hnd extennve BoMMteaB, ao be iQiut nve many handt to nsiiam mch eoMemi tberefere it ii addei^ kt had grtat Msr« ^ MTMate— he had many doma^iee, some bom in bu.hooee, ead oAen purdused by bia aumey.

Ae»] lasMcfa coaalrieaasoodvtUwisa great aomiintioni and benoe, ia pnutoiy wars, it wa> osDai for •ttber party to fill the wella with earth or MUkd, in order 10 diMraa tbe enemy, "nw filling up the wella in tfaia CM was a meat tmprinoi^ed tfanaaotioni as they bad aledgod tbutuelvea to Afanbam,lity a solemn oath, not to huareeaoh otber in ihii or any other raepecC — See cbap.

Terae 10. Qo from vt^Jbr Aau art mucA mightUr ttoaiM] Thiaia ibe first mataaix on reeord of what waa tamed aaaoiwAeareeksoatracjeni; i e-tbebanidunem «( apetaenmn tbe alate, of wboae powei, inflnenees or ridiea, flie_peo^ were jeabns. Ibere is a remaiAable spring of Bacon on this ndiieet, which setnu to intimate diatbebsdtfaisvetyeircumataDeeimderbiseye: "PuAUc amy m aa titirmeUm that eebpeetb men what they grow tM great." On this saaM ^indpte Pbarwih oppteseed the laraelitea.

Vans la £t Ae tioyi JUiraham] Instead trf ■>!» Wlif. fai d>a dt^Sk Hoobigaat eontenda w» ibeald md mtiwjf, sanants. uaao dined again the wells irttkhaeeemwltof Abtahambfagberhadtteged. This readiag ia amnorted by dui Samtrikai, a^hiagint, Ofriae, and Vtagat*, and it is probably tbe true one.

Terse tL TVw diggad aiwAer well] Never did any man more aapUody follow the divine command — rtMiat i»a< ssit— tbaii Imaci whenever be fnmd that bis woric was bkehr to be a subjeet of strife and oontention, be gave plaee^ and rather chose to toBer wnmg than to have his own peaee of mind disturbed. T^uu he overcame evil with good.

Versa 24. Tfu Lord appeartd utUa hint] He needed wpeeial enoonraffementiroen ineohed and outraged by the Pnibetines t far having returned to the place when hia noble fiuher bad lately died, the remembmnee of his wrmgBj aad tbe remeaabrance of his ioas, could not fcil to •Kst his mM; and Ood immediately appears to comfort and support him in bis thala, by a renewal of all liia pntmisee.

Veno 26. Buiided an altar A»rA TheU be mi^rht have apbee teOod's worshipt at well as a filiM for taim- ■elf aad hmily to dwell ia.

A»d eoOarf mm Ou nam* qf tJu Lord] And invoked is the name of Jehovah.— See on ehape. xii. S. ziii. 15.

Tens 36. ^MmcteAweniAiMffl] When a man's wm plBSSS QeL be makes even bie enemies to be at peace wttb ■tiiB I so base ezperieaeed on (hie occasion. WbeUm ttns TO die sane AbinMleeh and^dtol mentioned eban.

SBi.n.W8eaaBMlall| it is posriMtbodi might have been ■pwdive^ pmidsd w« SQipMS tftem WWW' & die di^

28 And the^ said, ' We saw certainly that the LoBD > was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee:

29 ^ That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we haw not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and hare sent thee away in peace; 'thou art now the blessed of the Lkwo..

aod Phi<^l came widiaoompanyof their friends." The S^ituagint calls him Ox»C>l • nM^mymyit, Odioiaih th* paranympk, or friend or the ftHdwroom, be wbo conanets tbe Ivide to tbe brid^room's house. Could we depend on the eorreeiaess of this venion, va mi^ draw the fidlowiog curious ooncltuioDs from it: 1. Tbat dtis was the Mn of diat Alnmelech, the friend of Abrdiam. 2. That be had been lattb/ ■marritd, and on this Kmnev farius widi him his eonfidential friend, to whom be had btely intrusted the care of bis spouee.

Verae 37. Stting ye katt me] He was justified ia diinkiaK thna: ba«iise,iflji«jrdia not injurebun, they had' oonmvad at their aervante doing it.

Terse 38. Ltt than ha now on oaA batwam va} Let us make a ooveaant by «4uett we shall be mutually bound t and let it be ratified in the most solemn manner.

Verse 30. Be made Am a feati] Probably on tbe aaerifiea, that waa offered on tbe occasion of maJdag Ihia •oveaant. Tbie was a common custom.

Terse 31. Tkaunm im bttimaa] Early rising waa goiend smong tbe primitive inhabitants of the world i aod this was one cause which ooiuribated gready to tbsir haaith and loMwtly.

Verse 33. lie coiled £ft«&aA] This was prob^y the some wiU which was called £eershe6a in d>e tune of Ibiaban, which the HiiUstines had filled vps and whiek tba servants of Imae bad re-opened, lie same-uune is therafore given to ttwbieh il had before, with tbe addition olf the emfmatia letter n U, by which its signifieetion beetma txttndad, ao Ibat now it signified not merely as oath or fuU, but aaH^kuUait and aitundatie*. — See the nee made of this letter u dw naaaw o( Afarsham and Sarah, chi^ zvii. B.

S'ven to it a hnndredveara bribm this t$na) but aa dwistll >m which it had tbie name originally, waa closed up bj the Philistines, probably the name of the place waa alntiahad with tbe well: wImu, therefore Iseac re-opeoed thv well, he restored the ancimt name of tbe place.

Verse 34. Ha took to wifa~th* dowser, Ac] It m veiy likely that the wivee taken by Esau were denghten of dUf/b amow die Hittitea i and by this union be soogte to increase and strengthen his secular power and iuaenoe. >

VeraeSS. Which ttare a gri^qf mind] NotthemaT^ riaga, thou^ that was improper, but the pereone y tbsy^ by their perversa and evil ways brousfat bittemeoa mto the hearts of Isaac aad Rebefc^ TbelVgum of.AmoAon ban Uxxiil, and that of Jbmsaton, lay they were addieled to idol-wonbip, and rebelled against and Would not hearken to tbe insliiietions either of Iseac or Rebdtah. From CanaaniU* a difierent conduct could not be nasonably erpeeted: Esau was &r from bung ^frttuoj, and his wives were wholly carnal.

Tnu same reflections which were suggested by Abnham's conduct in denying his wife in E^ypt atra Genr, will apply to that of Isi^; but the case of Isaac was much less excusable than that of Abraham. Ibe latter told DO falaity; be only, dirougb (ear, et^fprsssed a part tifthatnUK.

1. A good man has a right to expect God's bleeeing oa hie honest indnstiy: Isaao sowed, end received a faunmdfob^ and be bad poeeeasions of nooks, dtc for the Lord bleHed him. WorUUy mm, if ihey pny at all, ask fintemporal tbinga: "What shall we nt, what ahall we driu, and wbnewithal ahall we be clothed 1" Most of the truly religious people go into another eztrema— they fe^ettbe6o^andaakon!^fordieeoiii/ And yet then are "things requisite and necessary as well for die bote as tbe soul" and things which are onlyatOod*s diiponL lie body lives lor die soul's sake I its ufe and eoadbn ses in main respects eeosntially requiaile lo the sahatiaa of die soul I ana therefore die things neceaaaiT for ila support, should ba earnestly asked from the Ood of all gnosi tbe Father of bounty and providence. Ta kata nil. baeauaa ye oak lut—mtj be said to nmnr poor afflialad r^ifious peoplei sod tbi7 are sfbaidtoaA, lest itdwaU

30 ■ And he made them a feast, and they did

31 And they rose up bctimcB in the morning, and Bware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and tliey departed from him in peace.

32 And it cahie to paes the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him coDcerning the well which they had digj^ed, and said unto him, we have found water.

33 And he called it " Shebah: <* therefbre the name of the city is * Beer-«heba unto this day.

34 IT ' And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. and Bashemath the daughter of Klon the Hittite:

35 Which K were ^ a grief of mind imto Isaac and to Rebekah.

appear mercenary, or that tbey lousfat dietr portion in tfai> life. They should be better tau^k. Surelr to none of the»e will God ^ve a »toM If they ask bread: he who ia ■o libend of big heavenly bleuings will not withhold earthly ones, which are of infinitely lew conBe^uence. Reader, expeet God'a bleasing on thy honeat industry; pray tor it, and believe that God doea not lova /Am leaa, who haat taken re<u<e in dM aaina b<^>e, than he loved liaac Plead not only hia promiBcs, but plead on the prec«MJenta he baa Mt before thee — Lord, thou didat bo and ao to Abraham, to lBaa& to Jacob, and to other* who truaied in thee; blesa mjf field, bleaa my flocka, prosper my labour; that I may be able to provide Oiingt kanat tn the sia^t of all men, and have ■omethlDg to oiqienK to thoae who are in wanL And will not God henr audi pn^ra l Yea,«ndanBWerdiMn a for be doea not willinRly afflict the ehiUran of men. we may raat aaaurad that there ia more afflietion ana pover^ in the world, than either the juatice or providence of God requirea. There are, however, many who owe tbeir pover^ to their want of dili^nce and economy; they •ok down mto indolence, and for^t that word, Wkaiao-. tver thy hand findctk to do, do tt tsUk Iky might: nor do they cofuider, that by idleneii, a mkn U clothed with ng& Be dilimit in businesa, and fervent in spirit, and God will witlSiold from thee no manner of thing that ia

2. From many tj^nmplea, we find (bat die wealth of the ^imitive inhabitanu of the world did not consist in gold, aiher, or preeiou* atones, but princiMlhr injloofca of^uae- W cattle, and the produce oi the field. With preeiout metals and prtcunu ttorut they were not unacquainted, and the former were aometimes used in purehaaea, aa we have already aeen in the caw of Abraham buying a field fi-om the children of Heth. But tbe bleaainga which Ood promisM are such aa apring from the 4oiL Isaac Knctd intkeUmd,andhadpo»»eaaum» of Jtoekt and herds, and great Hore tf aermuUa, ver. 12 — 14. Comant/rct, by which mlionk and mdivtdnala ao suddenly rise, and as suddenly fall, bad not been then invented: every man was obliged to aoquiie property by honeat and persevering labour, or be destitute, uaacy nits, fortimate upteutattons, and adrenturous risks, coold then have no place: tbe fieid must httHUd, tbeAerast0a/(A«rf«nd/ed,and the proper vetuons for plougMytt sowing, reofdng, and laying up, be carefiiUy rsgofwa and tnqmnwd. No man, therefore, could grow rich by aeeideni. Isaac waxed great, and went farwrd, and grew until he became very great, ver. 13. Speculation was of no uee, for it could have no object; ud eonaequently many incitements to knavery, aiid to idUnesa, that bans vi the riiysical and monJ health of the body and aou] of man, could not show themselves. Happy thneal when every man wrought with hia hands, and God paiticolarly bleassd his honest indtiatry. Aa be had no luxurtss, be had no unnatural utdJactiHmu wants, few dtaeases, and a fong-

Bot has not vbat is termed commerce, produeed tbe reverse of all this t A Jew are speculators, and the many are comparatively slaves; and slavea, not to enrich themselvea: this is impoaaible: but to enrich tbe apeculatora and adventurers, by whom they are employed, fivcn tho fitmurt become, at least partially, eommavial men; and tha soil, the fruitful parent of natuiaJ wealth, is comparatively disr^iaidsd: me consequence ia, that the misery of the many, and the htsury of the /«io increase; and irom both ibssa spring, <m tbe one band, prid& inairienos, oontsnpC of die poor, contei^ of Qoo'm boly word and

Ur Add niiJi thr m»« be hul «d« u> proi hi-, m.- iprmiu himidr b^n Ifc talia, 3D,3I- leue (bconn ilH ftaiid oCJuaili.iml aaucli kaKin],Sl.b mill JiiUMj OS biu^ thai ibt blc»lii|i hurt bnn mcind bf Bnote.M. ImAc hecua Jacati of i)m*U,3S> - i,yt rn nml piji fur a li<i»Jiig, IB oommandmoits, widi the long catalogue of crimes whiefa proceed from pampered appetites, and unsubdued passions i and im the other, murmuring, repining, discontent, And often tn«u&ordmai«on and rrvoU, the most fell and moot destructive of all the evils that can degrade and curse civil society. Hence wars, fightings, and revolutions of staieiL and jniblic calamities of all kinds.. Bod aa the world and the tunes aie^ men have mads them much worse, by dwir onnatural methods of providing for the support of life. When shall men learn, that even this is but a subordinate pursuit) and that the cultivation of the sou] in the knowledge, love, and obedience of God, is essentially necessary, not only to future glory, but to present happiness I NOTES Off CHAPTER XXVU.

Verse 1. Isaac was oW] It is conjectured, on good grounds, that Isaac was now about tme hundred and sevmteen years of age, and Jacob aboat fifty-aevea; though the commonly received opinion makes Inac one hundred and thirty-seven and Jacob seveo^-sevati but seethe notes on chon. xxxi. 38, &a.

And Ail ej/es were dim] This was probably the effect of that affliction, of what kind we know not, under which Isaac now laboured; and from which, as well as from tbe affliction, he probably recovered, aa it is certain he Uftd forty, if not tbrty -three yean sAer this time; for he lived till the return of Jac<^ from Padau Aram.— Chap, xxjct. 27—29.

VerseS. / know not Ae day^ inydcath\ From hia presentweokneas, he bad reason to stippoee that bis deaifc could not be at aiqr great distance, and dierefbre would leave no act undone, which he believed it his iiain to perform. He who lives not in refismMO to eternity, lives not at all.

Verse 3. Hty weupms] The original word kcUy, signifies vessels and instruments of any kind; and is probuly used here for akunting •spear, javtiiws, sword, Ac

QuiMfO ^faM, from r^fajii*, toAangorsiupMid. Had not the Sepluagint translated tbe word *aetT(e*, sad tbe Vulffate phareiram, a wuiver, I should have -rntber supposed some kind of sAicui meant; but either can be suspended on tlie arm or from the shoulder. Some think a sisord is meant; and because tbe original signifies to Aang or suspend; henoe, they ifaink, is derived our word hanger, ao mlled because it is generally worn in a pendant posture; but tbe word hanger did not exist in oar language previous to the crusades, and we have evidently derived it from the Fenian JSpi^ lAanJar, a pooiam or dagger, the use of whioo, not only in bottles, but ia private assassinations, was well known.

Verse 4. Savoury mea£\ vt^vo mdeSmmim, bam ajne ta&m to la^e or reliA; bow dressed, we know bM, but its name declares its nature.

That I may eat; thai my soul may Ness thee\ The blessing which Isaae was to confer on bis son woo a apecica of divine right, and must be communicated with appropriate ceremonies. As eating and drinking wef« used among the Asiatics on almost all religious oocasians, and eqieeiaJly in msking and ctmfirmine covenants, it is reasonable to suppose mt sometliing of this kind was essentially necessary on this occasion; and that Isaae could not convey the right, till he had eaten of the meat

Erovided for the purpose, \if him, who was to receive the lessing. As Isaac was now old, and in a feeble and langui^ing condition, it was necessary that tlie flesh used - on Ibis occadon should be prepared in such a way as to invite tbe app^tito, that a stuBcieneir of it night be taken to revive and reorujt his drooping strength, that be migu be the better able to go thioi^ the whole of thia r ~

4im, M that be co\^d not eee, he called Esau bia eldeat son, and- suid unlo him, My ton: and he nid unto hioi. Behold, here am I.

9 And he said. Behold now. I am old, I ■ know not the day of my death:

3 *Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the neld, and * take me tome veniaBo:

4 And moke me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that m> soul ' mar bleas thee before I die.

5 And liebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to huot^br venison, and to bring it,

6 IT And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Beh<jd, I heard thy &ther speak unto fisaa thy brother, saying,

7 Bring rae venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LoBD. before my death.

6 Now therefine, my son, 'obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thenee twro good kids of the goats j and I will make them 'saToury meax for thy iathw, such as he loveth:

10 And thon sbelt brhig ^ to thy fother. that fae may eat, and that he i may Uees thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to B«bekah his mother,

Tbia ■nimi to be the lole reoaoa why Mvoury meat u ao pwtiealarly menttwod in ibe text;— 1. When we consider thu DO covensnt waa deemed binding unlev die partieahMl taiat together: 2. Tbat to cottvey this bleaeuu; •ome rile of tbia kiM vaa neceMory i and 3. That Iioac^ strength waa now gnatJy exhauated, inaomueb tlua he supposed hunaelf te be dyiag, we atuul at once aee vrity mtai was required on toil oecaaioa, and why tint meat waa to be pr^Mjed in auch a maimer aa to deaerve the epithet of ranwry. Aa I believe thia to be the true senae « the place, I do not trouble my reoden witli inteipretotiwis, vrtiich I auppoM to be either exceptionable or wee.

Verse 6. And BdtekaK Aoanf] And vma determined, if HMidile, to fruttrale the design of laaac, and procure the nleiwng tot her fiivoorite son. Some have pretended, that abe reeeived a dfviiw nupiration, to thia purpoae; but if •he had, ebe needed not to have had recourae lo deceit to help ibrwaid the aceompliidiment of a divine purpoae. laoAC, on beiiw informed, would have had too much piety not Uipnhr ine will of (us Haksr to bta own partiality for hia eldeat aon; but Bebekab had nothing of the kind to plead, ant iberafaie had recourse to the moat exceptionable ■eaoa to aoeomplidi her omU.

Vme 12, I ahoU bring a curas upon me] For, even in thoae early time% the mirit of that law waa underatood, DeuL xxvii. 18. Curtcd U ht thai maketh the blind to wwrfaroMf ^<A<»ay; and Jacob aee ma to have posaeaaed St due lioui • more tender conacience than his mother.

Teres 13. t^tm be thy curate my *on] Onkeloa givea this a eunouB turn — H haa been rtvealea to me by prykicv. Out the curies will not com* upon Hue, my eon. Whst a dieadfiil reHkonalbilitr did ihia woman lake upon bar at ihia time! Irw aocred writer atatea the lacu aa they were, and we may depend on tfae Iniih of the atateueot: but he do where aaya, that God would have any man to copy tbia conduct. He oAen rdolea feicta and aayingB whioi he never recommenda.

Verae 16. Qoodly Taii»«r^ Mr. Ainaworlh baa a senaible note en Uiia plsoe. "Iiie prieat in the law bad holy garmento to miniaier in, Exod. xxviil. 3—4. which Ibe Septuo^nt Ibere^ and in thia place, term ^mmKir, not rooo, and rt^>.^• ■>•»*, the holy robe. Whether tlie fint-bom, before (he law, bad auch to roiniater in, ia not eertaia; but it ia probable by thia example i for lied they been eommon gormentik why did not Eaau himaelf, or hu vivea, keep ihenil But being, in all likelihood, holy robee, received from their anceatora^ the mother of the &auly kept ihem in aweet cheata, from motha and the Ifte;.whM«upon it ia aiiid, ver. 27. Xraoc amaliod the asMll ^ Am ^arsianl*." The opisioa of Auwworth ia fnlknred by raaoy critica.

Vem 19. /am £aau, (Aw Jtraf-^ent] Hefssromany pslpsHs fidadwods, and auehaa shookl neither be ioutated iwr eieiiisd. Jacob, nya Calsiet, imf"'^ 00 hia Gubei

12 My father peradventure will ' feel me, anl 1 shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I ahali bring a curse upon me, and not a bteesing.

13^ And his mother said unto him, i Upon me be thy curee, my sou: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them,

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother "made savoury meat, such as his fhther loved.

15 And Rebekah took ■> goodly raiment of her eldest son Bsau, " which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger sent

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his bands, and upon the smooUi of his neck;

17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, mto the hand of her son Jacob.

18 H And he came unto his ihther, and said, My, fother: and he said, Here am 1; who an thou, my son /

19 And Jacob said unto his father^ I am Esau thy first-bom; I have done accordmg as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, ^ that thy soul may bless me,

80 And Isaac said unto his son. How i» it that thou hast found U so quickly, my son? And he said. Because the Lobd thy Qod brought tt«to rae.

in three difierent waya. 1. By hit worde — /am ^Jbmtbont, Eeau. 2. By hia actions — be givea himUarjIaA for vaniean, and aaya he had executed hia order% SDO got it by hunting. 3. By hia Nothing — lie put on Eaau'a garmentiL and the kida' akina upon hia hands and the smooth (tf hia neck. In short, be made uae of every apecies of deceptioo that could be fwactioed on the occasion, in order to accompliafa his enda. To attempt to palliate, or find excuaes for auch conduct, instead of etrving, dieservea the cause of religion and truth. Men have laboured, not only to excuae all this conduct of Rebekah and Jacob, but ev^ to abow that it was eonoiattnt, end that tha WDOk waa according to the mind and will Godl

The cause of God and tnith ia under no obligation to such defenders; their hands are more unhallowed ihtui those of Uzzoh; and however the bearers may atumble, the ark of God requires not Oitir support. It was the desien of God, tbat the elder ahould aerve the younger t and ne would have brought it about in the way of hia own wise and juat provideiwe: but meaoa, such as those hers used, he could neither auKtion nor recotnmcod.

Terse 23. ^?i^A« titacemarf Afmnof, 6eeattaeA»s&and!a mere hairy'\ From this circumstance we may team, that Isaac's aenae tff feeling was much impaired by bia present malady. When he could not discern tlie uein ^ a kid from the fie^i qf hie aon, we see that he was, through his infirmity, in a fit state to be imposed OB by the deceit <tf hia wife, and the cimning of hia younger aon.

Veree 27. Tlu amell my aon, \a aa the amtU ^ a Jleld] The amell of these garmenta, the goodly raimatU ichien had been laid up in Suhouae, (see on ver. 15.} waa probably oecaaioned 1^ some aromatic herbs, which we may naturally euppoae were laid up with the clothes: a custom whim trevoils in many countries to the present day. T'hyme, lavender, Ac. are often deposited in ward' robes, to communicate an agreeable scent, and under the auppoaition tbat the moilu ore thereby prevenied from (retting the garmenta. I have often aeen the leaves of aromatic ulanta, and aometimea whole sprigs, put in Eoaiern MSS. to communicate a pleasant amell, and to

Sirevent tlie worms from deelroying them. Persona going rom E>jrope to the East-Iniuea, put pieces of Rusois teaiher among their clothes for the same purpose. Such asmeU would lead Isaac's recollections to thenelds. where aromatic pliuits grew in abundance; and where be bad often been regaled by the scent.

Verse 28. Gad give thee o/ the dew Aeaeen] Bp. Newton's view of these predictions is so corr<wl and appropriate, OS to leave no wish for any thing £uther on the sutnecL

"It ia here foretold, and in ver. 39. of these two brethren, that aa to situation, and other temporal sdvantagea, they 1 13

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, 1 pray thee, that I ■ may feel thee, my eon, whether thou be my very eon Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto Imac his father } and he felt him, and said. The voice t« Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not, because ^h!s hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

S4 And he said, Art thon my verjr son Esau? and he said I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, * that my soul may Mess thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought hhn wine, and he drai^

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and Messed him, and said, See, * the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LoRp hath blessed;

28 Therefore * God give thee of ' the dew of

should be much alike. It wai said to Jaoob— Cod give ttce ^ Ae dew of ktaven, and ^ thefattuMt qf tiu earth, and pUtUy ^ com atid viiu: and much the same ii sidd to Emu, ver. 39.~Bthald thy dweUing shaU b» Ou /atneeaof Ihe tarlh, and qf the dew ^htattn, from above, Tneipiritual blessiiig, or the pronuaetrf thebleued ■eed, could be given only to ome; but temporal good ^ings might be imparted to both. Mount Seir and the adjacent country, veJi at firat the possession of the EdaraitM; they afterward extended themselves farther into Arabia, and into the ■outhem parts of Judea. But whereever Ihey were situated, we find in fiict, that the Edomites fai tempmal advantages, were little imbrior to the Israelites. Esau had caiM, «id heaats, and mbttanee in abundance, and he went to dwell in Seir of his own accord; but he would hardly have removed thither with so many cattle, had it been Buch a barren and desolate country as some would reprcsunt it. Tlie Edomites hod duktt and Hng$ reirning over them, while the Israelites were slaves in ^^pt. When the l8KU>liteB, on their return, desired leave to pass through the territwiea of Edom, it appears tliat the country abounded with phuitruL FIELDS and vinetabss — LH ua past, I pray Ikce, thraagh thy country; we will not pass Ckroui^h the JiMa, or through the vinevarda, neither leill v>e drink of the •water iff the wiUm, Num. xx. 17. And the prophecy of Halochi, \riuch is generally alleged as a proof of the barrenneat of die country, is rather a proof of the contnrr—I hated Eeau, arid laid hie vwuniaiTis and hia heritage reaate for the dragons qf the wUdemeas, Mai. i. 2. for tnis implies that the country was fruitful before; and that its present unfruitful ness was rather an effect of war and devastation, tlian any natural defect in the soil. If the country is barren and unfruitful now, neither is Judea what it was formerly."

As there was but little rain in Judea, excntt what was termed the carfy rain, which fell about the b^imlng of spring, to moisten and fertilize the earth, and the latter rain, which fell about September: the lack of this was supplied by the copicma cieu», which fell both morning and evening, or rather through the whole of the night. And we may judge, says Calmet, of the abundawe Ot these dews by what fell on Gideon's fleece^Judges vL 38. Wiich lieing wrung, JUied a booL And Hushai compares an anny ready to fell upon iu enemies to o dewfaUtng on Ou ground, 2 Sam. xvii. 12. which gives us the idea that this fluid fell in great profusion, so as to saturate every thing. Travellers in tliese countries assure us, that the dewa fell there in an extraordinary abundance.