Verae6. h 0u beat itf the land mai^ IhyJkaUr ami brethren la dtffelt; tn Uu land of Goehen lei Ihemdwdl] So it appears that dwiand of Godien wae die frai< 4^ ffte land of Egypt.
Men qf aelivUy] Vn ^»»t atuhey thmil, etout ornHmM TRCH— such as were capable of bearing mdgue, and of rtnderiiig their authority respectable.
Rulers over my eatUe] nipo miknAy aigniftea not eotr cattle, but possession or property of any kind, diougn most usually etdtle are intended; because, in ancietA times, they constituted die prindnal part of a man's pnparty. Hie word may be taken nere in a more extensiva sense, and the circumstanfles of the case seem obviously to rei)(iire K. If every sAepAerd waa an abomination to lha Egyptians, however we may understand or qunlifr tbe expreeaion, is it to be supposed that Pharaoh should dew re that the brethren of bit prime mtnistor, of his dd^ fatourite, should be einployed in some of the very menneflt offices in the land? We may therefore nfely nndersmnd Pharai^ aa expressing hie will, that the bre^ren of Joseph ahoukt be appointed as overseere and euperinUHdi^ oThis dsiMetie codords, while Joseph niperiBlsiided thowof the atafa. j Vsrss 7. Jbes6 UmMd Marw*] SiMed Ite M
8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, i How old art thou7
9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, » The Aaye of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: ■ few and evil have the daye of the vears of my life been, and ° have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers, io the daye of tneir pilgrimage.
10 And Jacob p bleesed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11 IT And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and ^ve them a possession in the land of Ef^pt, m the best m the land, in the land of <■ Rameses, ' as Pharaoh had com- ■landed.
12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his
feethreo, and all his father's household, with ead, ■ according to their families.^
13 1 Aod there «a* do bread in all the land; Gbr the fasuDe vuu very sore, < so that the land of Egypt, and tUl the lajid of Cumao, faioiedbgr reason <A the famine.
Enrpt, and in the land of Canaan, ibr the corn which tbey bought: and Joseph brought the mooev into Pharaoh's house, a ant 1^ And when money fitiled in the land
the Elgyptiaos came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for * why should we die in thy presence? for the money fiifleth.
Mirsnee with— Peace At tmto Ace, or aome such exprea- ■ioa of remet ami good will. For the guMnine « (Im term u bleu, mm B{q>lied to God and man, aes on ehap. ii.3.
Ytrso 9. Ttu dat/a <if the y4ar» qf nv pUgrimag*} ""KO megurai, of my tajouming or mmaering. Jacob bad sivaya lived a inisraUMy or vanderine life, in different pSTta of Canaan, Heaopotamia, and Egypt, acanelT ever at iwt; and in the places where be lima longeet, always exposed to the fotiguM of the field end the desert. Our woftl ^Irrim oomea from the French pelerin and jMbfrfn, which are corru|ited from tbs Latin pmtgritnut an alMii, atroHger, at/orngner, frwn d>e adveib fmtgri, a^nadf not at home. The: pilgrim was a person who uttk A journey, long, or ihoit, on wme re^wiotu aoanuU, submitting, during the tim^ to many hanubipe and privnlioas. k more wpropriate tenn could doi be eoneaved, to «xpre« the l^e ^ Jacob, sad the motite irtiich ioduoed biin to Ut« ueb a liie. His joumiy to Padanacan, or Maaopoiaiaia, eieqMed, ihs prineipsl part of bis jovmieyB were properly ptf^mo^ca, undertaken, in tbe coims ol Ck>d'a provideoce, on a rtUgimu aetoutU.
Have not attained— to the life qf my Jathere] Jacob lived in the whole mu Kundred latd Jortv-teven years t Isaac, hia fuber, lived me hundred and eighty; and Abnoam, bis grandfather, one hundred and eeemljfjbu. These were qf yean, in oomportaon of the lives of the preceding patriwchi, sous oi whom lived nsarly
Verse 14. Oaihered up all the sumay] L e. by aelliBr com out of the public atorei to the people) and this he did till the money &iled, ver. 16. till all the money was exchanged for com, and brought into I^amoh's treaaury. Beaidea the Aflh pun of tbe produce of the aeven plentiful jomiM, Joseph had bought additional com, with Pharaoh'e OMn^toIayupagamattba fiuBine that was to prevail in the seven years of dtarthi sod it ia very likely that Ibis was aotd out at the price for which it wu bought, and lhe./l/2h part, which telongad to Pharaoh, aold out at tba same price. And as money at di&t time could not be plen^, the cash of the whole nation was dius ezhauatet^ aa far as that had circulated among the common people.
V«ne 16. Qite me ycnr eatUe\ Thia was (he wisest mensure that oould be adopts^ both for tlte iR«serv«ion oi tbe people, and of tbe catUe alao. Aa the people had not niun for their own sustenajice, cooaequently they oouM have noiw fiv their esule; hence the cattle were in tbe tnoet iniininsnt danger of starving, and lbs people sJao were in eqiisl danfnr, as (bqr muat have dlvslea a of dMl bou^Jbr Ibemselvs^ with, the cattle,
16 And Joseph said, Qire;rotu- cattle ^ and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
17 And they brought their cattle imto Joseph; and Joseph save them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for tbe cattle of the herds, and for the aseen: and he " fed them with bread for alt their cattle for that year.
13 When that year was ended, they ^.^^St. etune unto him the second year, and said —; — unto htm, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our moiwy is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle: there is not aught letl in the sif ht of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19 Wherefore shall we die before thine ^es. both we and our land '/ buv us and our land fw bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give tis seed, that we may hve, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
30 And Joseph boittttt all tbe land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man hie field, because the famme prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
31 (And M lor the peopte, he removed them Io citwfl, from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof)
32 ' Only the land of the ' priests bought hf not: for the priests had a portion oasi^e^ them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23 J Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I tuive bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here t» seed for you, and ye shall BOW the land.
which, for the aake ot tillage, Ac they wislied of course to preserve till the seven years famine ahould end. Tub caule bt^ng bought by Joseph, were eupported at the royal expenae, and very likely returned to the people at the end of the bmine; for how else oould th^ cultivate their ground, tranqmt their ntwchaodisi^ Ac Ac. 1 For fliis part of Joa^di'a eopduet, he cerlsinly desBfvsabi^ piaisl^ and no eenaure.
Verae la When that year w eoulf d] The aixlh year of tbe famine, they came unto him the eeeond year, whicb was tbe laet or eeoenth year of tbe famine, in which it was neceaaary to aow the land, that (here be a crop the auceeeding vear; for ioeroh, on whoae prediction they rtUed, had foretold that the famine ahould continue mly earn yeare; and oonsequently tbc^ expected the year to be a fruitful year, provided tbs land was eomd, widiout which, though the iiiBdstiop of the land Yrj the Nile mi^t amoust to the aixleeil roquiaite cubila^ there eouM be no crop.
Verse 21. And aa/or the people, he rewuoed&emU eiOee] It is very lik^y that JiMcfih was influenced by no paHtieal motive ui remonng the people to the citiea; but merely by a motive of humanity and prudenee. Am the com was laid up in the eities, bs found it more coovanient to bring tbem to the place where they mif^t be convenientlylcd; each being within the reach of an easv distribution. lituB *h<m the ceunlry, wbieh could snbrd do auBtenance, was absadnnwl for the lime being, that the people might be Cod io iboes plscea where tbe pKmsjon was depoaited.
Verae 22. The land qf the prieaU bought he noi\ From this vene it ia nawral to infer, that whatever the religion of Egypt was, it im« tatabti^ied by law, sad Bui»OTted by £e etate. Heiwe when Joaeph bought all die lands of the Bgyptiana for Phsrsob, he bought not tbe land of tbe priests, for that was a oerfioa ssngned them by Pharaoh; and Ouy did tat, did live on llwt ^>or<wm. Tkve ia the earliest account we have of uu eetabixefud re- Itfion, nupported by the elate.
verae 23. Ikave bought you thie day, and your land Jor Pharaoh] It fully appoon ihat ilia kingdom of S^ypt waa, previoua to the Ume of Joaeph, a very limited mooarchy. The king bad his eatalca; tbe pnesta had their lands; and the eommon people their paSriiDaqr. independently of both. The land m Baraesei^ M GtMis^ appears to have been the kiiw'a land, verse II. Tfa| prieaU had their huuk, which they did not sell lo Joaeplk vet. 22, % and that the people had lands indepeodent of dMorowiL ia evident from the punhsses Josqib madst ver. 19^ 2ft sad ws msr eonchide frna ihosa purcbsaam
S4 And it shall come to pass in the increaBe, that re shall ^ve the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25 And they said, Thou hast-saved our lives: * let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servanta.
26 And Joseph mEide it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth par/; • except the land of the <• priests only, -which became not Pharaoh's.
27 1T And Israel 'dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen j and they had possessions therein, and 'grew, and multiphed exceedingly.
89 And the tune ^ drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto
that Phanoh bad do power to levy taxes upon hia «ubwOa, U) increase hia own revenue until he had bought the original ririit which e«ch iodividual had in bis pos- ■SHions. Anirvhen Jom{4i bought ifaia for the king, be railed the crown an ample revenue, (thou|^ he restored the lends) by obliging en«b to pay one-Aflh of the product to ttu king, ver. 24. And it is woruiv of remark, that the people of Egypt well understood the diatiDction between mbjeeta unid tervanU; for when tbey came to sell their land, they ottered to sell HuaudM lusoi and said, buy ut and our land, and we onif our londwUIfrs servant to Phar<uih, ver. 19.
Diodonu Sicuhu^ lib. 1. gives the same account of the ancient constitution of £gypt. The land, says he, was divided into lAres parts: i. One belonsed to the mnrs, widi which may provided all BBcnfloe% ud maintained all the ministers of religicni. 2. A —amd part was the wxtta'a, to support his court and fiimily; and to supply expenses for wars, if they should hrapen. Henee there were no foxes, the king having so ample an •state. 3. The reynainder of the land b^on^ to the who wpear, from the accounts of Diodorus, to have been all soldiers, a kind of standing militia, liable, at As king^s e^iens&to serve in all wars for the pieurvation of the state, lliis was a constitution someming like tlu Brituh! the government appears to have been -Mi^tad, and the monarchy properly limiUd, til) Joseph, by buying the land of the people, made the king in some sort despotic. But it doss not ^ipear diat any improper usa was made of this, as in much later tinwf^ wemdit atill a oomparativelv limited monanhy,
Yerse 26. And Jbs^A made it a taw\ Thu the peo- {rie shooM hold their land from the kin^ and give him a part of the produce, as a yearly tax. Beyond diis it appears the king had no farther demands. The whole of tfats conduct in Joseph has been as strongly cmmred by some, as applaudtd by others. It is natural for men to run into extremes in atta<AinK or defending any position. Sober and judicious men wilt consider unof Joseph did by dioiru aopohtimmt, as a prophet of God; ana what he did merely as a ttatmman. from the cirououtanoes of the case, the complexion of tne times, and the character of the people over whom be presided. When this is dispassionately done, we ihall see much reason to adore Ocd, applaud the man, and perhaps, in some oases, censure the mtnirisr. Joseph is never held up to our view as on «nmring prophet of God. He was an honoured inatrument in the hanoa of God of saving two nations from utt«r ruin, and especially of preserving that fiunily from which the hbfiah was to spring; ana of perpetuUing the true religion among them. In this character he is represented in the sacred pages. His conduct, as the primt minister of Rtarac^, was powerftilly indicative oCaderaand consummate politician, who had high nations tn pmogative, which led bim to use every prudent mean to aggrandiza bis master; and at the same time to do what fie jo^^isd httt on the vkoU, for the people be governed.
shalt carry me out of Enrpt, and ■ bury me in their burying-place. Ana ne said, I will do as thou t^t said.
31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him, And 'Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
AND it came to pass after these thin^, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy faUier wrick: and he took with him his two snu, Manassdi and Ephraim.
2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold thy son Joseph Cometh unto thee: and Israd strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3 1[ And Jacob said unto Joseph, Qod Almighty l^)peB^ed unto me at i>Luz in the land of Canaaiv
4 And said onto me, B^old, I will make fliee
Terse 30. iviUUavUhmyfa^uni As God bad promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his posterity, Jacob considered it as a consecrated place, imder tbeparticular superintendence and blessing of God; and as SoisJt, Abraham, and Isaac, were interr^ itear to Hebron, be, in all probability, wished to lie not only in the same pteeei but in the same grave: and it is not likely that he wouM have been soliatoos about this, bad be not considered that promised land as being a typt qf Uu rest thai rtmaina far tJupwpU Iff Ood: ani & pudge of ^mheritanceuaoag the saiou in licht
Terse 31. And Israel bowad Hmat^f vpo* the bs^c hcad\ Jacob was now both old and <mle, and we nmy suppose him leelined on his couch when Jose^ eame^ ttai ha afterward sat up erect (see chap. xlviiL 2.) while cosversing with his son, and receivii^ his oath Mid promise; and that, when this was finished, be bowed ktnuotf ott tk* b«ft head: exhausted with the conversauM^ be again noliited himself on his bed as before, litis ssems to be the simple meaning, which the text, unconneoted with any religious system or prejudice^ naturally proposes. Ba% because rvw tkatoA, sisnifieo not only to oow but u wor- »/iip, because acts of retigioits wmrabip were performed hr botring or prottralum: and because neo vutiah, a hta. by the diai^ of the pointt only, becomes nuitelt, a sta^ in which sense the Septuagint took it, translating the original words thus,
(itU** BiiT**, and Israel worshljved upon the top of his staff; which the writer of the Epistle to the Hctirew^ cfa^. xi. 21, quotes lUmUtm, thmfore some hare supposed that Jacob ceolainly had a earcetf image on the head w t(^ of his staff, to which he paid a species of adoiatioo; or that he bowed himself to the staff or sceptre of JaBept^ thtu fiilfUlinK theprophetic import of his son's dnamal 1^ sense of the Hebrew text is ^ven above: if the reader
Sefer the sense of the Septuagtnt, and the Epistle to tlis ebrews. the meanii^ is, that Jacob through feebleness supported himself with a staff; and that when he had gat the reauisite assurance from Joseph that bis dead bady shmJd oe carried to Canaan, leaning on his ataff, he bowea his bead in adoration to God, who had supported him aO his life Img, and hitherto fulfilled all bis promiseK ROTES ON CHAPTER XLTIH. Terse I. One told Jonph, BAM thy father *» sidb) He was ill before, and Joseph knew it: but it appears that a messenger had been now despatched to infcvm Joseph that his father was iqiparently at the point of death.
Verse 2. Mrrael etrengtkened Mmaeif and eat upon tt« bed.] He had been confined to his bed before, see cha|>. xlvii. 31. And now hearing that Joseph was come to mB him, he made what efforts his little remaining stnavdi would adroit, to sit up in bed to receive his son. This verse proves that a bed, not a et^ff, is intendedin the pswceding chapter, ver. Si- Terse 3. Ood Almi^iy] -"nr in El Shad^. 'Om.
firuitital, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this Imd to thy Med after thee, *Jbr an everlasting poseeseion.
5 And now thy * two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born uiito thee in the land of Bgf pt. before I came unto thee into Bgypt, are mme; as Reuben and Simeon, they shul m mine.
6 And ihy issue, which thou bcffettest after them, shall oe thine, and shall be caUed after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.'
7 And aa for me, when I came from Padan, ' Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there uou but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said. Who are these?
9 And Joseidi said unto his father, ■ They are
VcTK B. And now thy two ttnu, Ephraim and ManasttJt are mine] I now adopt them into my own family, sod they shall have their place among my twelve eoan, and be treated in every retpectaa those, and hare an equal imereat in all the q>trituaJ and tempcval blessings of the MienaoL
Vene 7. Rarfid dUd by me, Ac.] Rachel wae the wife of Jacob's dtoioe, and the object of his unvarying aflRiction; he loved her in life: he loves her in death; many waters cannot quench lovci neitlur can die floods drown it. A match of a man^s own making, when guided by reason andreligioii,willneeowarilybeaha[)pyone. Wben&thers and mothers make matches for iheir children, whidi are dkteted by motives, not <rf affection, but merely of convenience, worldly gain, Ac &c. such matches are generally wretched. It is I^ah in the place of Hachtl to 'Jie end of the mortal Btory.
Verse 8. Who are these?] At Ver. 10. it is said, thai Jacob's eyes were dim for age, that he could not see; could not discern any object unless it were near him; dierefore, tbm^ he saw Ej^iraim and Manasaeh, yet he cauld not tUolmguUh Ihem tilt they were brought nigh to him.
Verse U. / had not thaughi to see thy jaee] There is much delicacy and much tenderness in these ezpreulons. He feels himself now amply recompensed for his long grief and Iroubte, on account of the supposed death of JoBei^, in seeing not only himself, but his two sons, whom Goa tfr an especial act of &vour is about to add to the number Of hia own. Hjus we find, that as Reuben and Simeon were faeada of two distinct tribes in Israel, so were Ephraim and Hanasieh: because Jacob, in a sort of sacramenuil way, had adopted them with equal privileges with his own sons.
Vcrae 12. Joseph bowed himself with his face to the sartk] Thia act of Joseph has been extravarantly extotlea by Dr. Delattey and other: " When 1 consider him on his knees to Qod," save Dr. Delanev, I "regard him as a poor mortal in the aischarge of ms duty to his CstAToa. When I behold him bowing before Pharaoh,' I consider him in the dutiful potture of a subject to his prince. Biit when I see him bending to the earth before a poor, old, blind, decreed faUur, I uchold liim with admiration anil delight. How doth that humiliation exalt hiral" — Siuffl insu^rablel So then, it is a wondrous eond'tsceonon in a young man, who in the course of God's providence, with scarcely anyeffiHts of hia own, was raised to affluence and worldly grondeui^ to show respect to his yaiherl And that respect was the more graiuitaus and condescending, because that father was pioor, old, blind, mxA deerepial The maxim of this most insolent rhodononude is, that "a child who has riaen to affluence, is not oblif^ to reverence his parents when reduced in their cireumatances, and brought down by the weight of vears and infirm'itiea to the sides of the grave; ana should ihey ac- Ixnowlcdge and reverence them, it would be a mark of ain* ^lar goodness, and be highly meritorious." Should posiuons of this kind pasi without execration? I trow not. By the law of Qod and nature, Joseph was as much bound to his dying father this jUial respect, as hs was to T€9stmos Ills Ictng, or aor^p hia God. As to m^elt I must frflsly eonCsM that I see nodiing pmiiiariy amiabU in this part of JosetAi'seonduet: ha simply seqittttsdhim- VOL. I. -28 my eons, whom Qod hath given me in this place. And he said, Brine them, I pray ihee, tmto me, and ' I will bless them.
10 (Now s the eves of Israel were >■ dim for eige, so that he could not see.) And he brought them near unto him; and < he kissed them, and embraced them.
11 And Israel said nnto Joseph, ^ I had not thought to see thy face: and lo, Uod hath showed me also thy seed.
12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to
13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's Icfl: hand, and Manasseb in his left hand toward iBraePs right handi and brought them near unki him.
U And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid U upon E^aim's head, who vaa the younger, aiui hu left hand upon MamosB^'e self of a daly which Ood. nature, decency, and common sense, imperiously demanaed him, and all such in his circumstances, to discharge. To the present day, children in the East, next to God, pay the deepest reverence to their parents. Besides, before whom was Joseph bowing 1 not merely his father, but a most eminent patsiabch; ona highly distinguished by the Lcvd; and oik of the three of whom the Supreme Being speaks in the most bvourabls and affectionate manner; the who received and tiansmitt«l the true faiih, and kept unbroken the divine covenant: 1 AM the God of Asrahasi, the Ooo of Isaac, and the Qod tf Jacob. He has never said, I am the Qod of Joseph. And if we compare the father and the son, as men, we shall find that the latter was exceeded by the former in almost endless degrees. Joseph owed his advancement and his emine^ice to what some would call good fortune, and what we know to have been the especial providence (f Gorf.'working in his behalf, wholly independmt of his own industir, &>c. every event of that providence turning up in his favour. Jacob owed his own support and preservation, and the support and preservalion of his numerous family, under God, to the continual exercise of the vast powers of a strong and vigorous mint^ to which the providence of God seemed ever in opposition t because God chose to try to the uttermost the great gifts which he had bestowed. If, dierefore, the most humble and abject in/iiT-ior, should reverence dignity and eminenea raised to no common height — so shoulaJwcpft bow down hi> face to the earth before JACOB.
Besides, Joseph in ihua reverencing his iaiher, only followed tlie custom of the Egyptians among whom he lived, who, according to Herodotus, {Ettterpe, c 80.) were par» ticularlv remarkable for ihe reverence they paid to old age. " For if a young person meet his senior, he Instantly turns aside to moke way for him; if an aged person enter an apartment, the youth always rise from tneir aeats," and Mr. Savory observet^ that the reverence mentioned bj Herodotus, is yet paid to old age, on every occasion, in EgypL In Mohammedan countries, llie chudren rit as if dumb, in the presence of their parents, never attempting to spe^ik, unless spoken to. Among the ancient Romans, it was considered a crime worthy of death, not to rise up in the presence of an aged person; and acttng a contrary port, was deemed an awfvil mark of the deep degsners^ of the times. Thus the satirist:
Indeed, though Dr. Delaney is so much struck widi what he thinks to be great and meritorious condescension and humility on the part of Joseph, yet we find the thing itself, the deepest reverence to pareots and old age, practiaed by all uie civilized nations in die world, not as a matter of meritorious courtesy, but as a point of rational and absolute du^.
Versa 14. Itrad stretAed out fUt right hand, Ac.] Laying hands on the head was always used among the Jews in giving blessingt, designating men to any office, and in the coneeoration of solemn sacrifices. This is the first time we find it mentioned j but we often read of it eAerward. See Numb, xxvii. IS, 23. Deut. zxziv. 9. Matt. xiz. 13, 16. Aeu vi 6. t Tim. 14. Jacob lud his right faiM on the head of the younger, which ws ai«'
15 And " he blesBed Joseph, and said. God, ■before whom mv fethers ADrabam and Isaac did walk, the Ood which fed me aU my life long unto this d^,
16 The aneel ' which redeemed me from all evil, blese the lads; and let i> my name be named on them, and the name of my latfaere Abraham and Isaac; and let them 'growintoamultitude, in the midst of the earth.
17 AndwhenJoBephaawtbathififather 'laid bis right hand upon the head of Ephradm, it idisnleased him: and he held up hts father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh'e head.
18 And Joseph said unto his father. Not eo,
told hs did wUtinglv, (wdl knowing what he was about) for, or alUvmgh MamumA Wat t/ia Jlrst-bom, knowinK by the ipirit of proohecy that Ephraim's posterity would M more powerml tnan that of Manaueh. It ii observable how Ck>a from the be^innioo; hu preferred the youneer to the elder, aa Abel betore Cain: Shem before Jafiutk; Jsaae bejfore Ishtnaei: Jacob before Etau: Judah and Jbfepfc before Heubem JSphraim before ManamA: Moau before Aarmi: and David before hii brttkren.
"Hill is to be resolved Mitirely into the wise and secret eounsel of Clod, so far as it regards teroixHul blessing and Dfttkmitl privileges, as die apostle tells ua, Bom. uc. II. see the notes on chu>. xxv. 23. But this preforencc has no concera with God's eonferring « greater measure of hia love and (^probation oo one person more than another: for this we ore assured can arise from nothing but meA's moral ehurscten} it is the determination of truth, that iBxth God there is no respect of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketb rig^ieouaocsa, is acc^ted with him. Acts x. 34, 3S. Compare Oen. iv. 7. widi Heb. xi. 4. and you will see that this difierenca in moral char- •eter vaa the agle cause why God preferred Abel to CwiU."—Dodd.
Terse IS. He bletted JoaaK[ The &ther first, and then the aons afterward. And tKia is an ■ddiUonal uroof to what baa been adduced under ytx, 12. of Jacob ■ superiority: for the Usa ia always blessed of the artater.
TVu God who Jed me aU my life Um^] Jacob is now ■tandina; on die verge of eternity, and his faith strong in Ood. Be lees his life to be a series of mercies: oikI as be had been affectionately attentive provident, and kind to his most helpless child, so baa God been unto him; he baa fed htm all his life Ion?; he plainly perceives that he owes every morsel of foocT which be baa recnved to the mere merrr and kindness of Ood.
Terse lu. The angel which redeemed rm from all eeiX\ '?M]n ^K^on hamalak hagoel. The messeneer, ibe Beaeemer, or kiruman, for so eoel signifies: Tor this term, in die law of Moses, is appliM to that person whose right it is, from his being nearest akin, to redeem or purdisae bock a forfeited inheritance. But of whom does Jacob spesJcl We have often seen in die preceding eha.pten, an angel of God appearing to the patriarchs, see particularly chap. xvi. 7. uul the note there; and we have ftUl proof dial this was no created ansel, but the messenger of the Divine Counsel, the Lord Jesun Christ. Who dien was die angel that redeemed Jacob, and whom he invoked to bless EjAraim and Manataeh? Is it not JESUS 1 He alone con be called God, the redeeming kimman, for he alone took pitrt of our flesh and bloo^ that the right tif redemptum might be Aw. And that the forfeited possession of the fovour and im^e of Ood miriit be redeewudj brought back, and rettored to all those who believe in his name. To have invoked anv other angel or meteenger in such a business, would have been impietif. Angels bless not; to Qoa alone diis prer(^;ative belongs. WHli what confidence may a truly religious lather use these words in behalf of his children: Jbsub, the Chkist, who hath redeemed me, bless the lads, redeem them also, and save them unto eternal life I
And let my nanu be named on lhem\ " Let them be ever accounted as a part of my bmily. Let them be true leraeliiee, persons who shall prevail with God as I have done; and the name qf Abraham, being portaktfa of his ftith; and the name <if Itaac, let them be as renuukabte for submusive obedience as be was. Let tbe virtues of Abcahuo, Isaae, and Jaoob, be acoaimulated in them* and inrariiUrdiipla^br tbemi" ntesaarefbsvaywudi
19 And bis father refused, and said, "I knoV it, my son, I know it: be also shall beoome a people, and he also shall be great: but truly * his younger brother shall be greater than he, and bis seed sbaU beoome a * mcdtitDde of nations.
20 And he blessed them that day, saying, * In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God mabe tbee as Epbraim and as Monasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
^1 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but ' Giod shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
22 Moreover ■ I have given to thee ooit par* tion above thy brethren, wbkh I tout out of
die adoption was completed. Prom this moment, Gpfaraim and Monasseh had tbe mae rigbts and jMivilegsa as Jacob's sons; which, at the sons Joe^ih, they ooidd have never possessed.
And let them grow iiUoa multitude.'] irf^vm F»«i> d^guta-robi Ljti ihemineretue like jUke* itito a muaitiaU. Fish an dw most iwolifio of all Baimals; see lbs instuaees produced on thip. i. ver. 20. l%is prophetie blessing was verified in- a most remarkable manner; ses Num. xxvi. 34, 37. Deut. xzziii. 17. Josh. zviL 17. Ai one time the irUie of Ephnim amounted to 40^500 ^botiva men; and diat of Manaas^ to 52,700, amountmg in the whols to 93,200. See the notes on Num. i. 46. and xzri. 2.
Verse IQ. Joeepk sauf, to, my /atlur] Jose^ su^ posed that his fiuher had made a mistake in laying his right hand on the bead of the youngest, because the hand was considered as the most niAb, and the instmment of conveying the highest dignities; and thus it has ever been considered among all nations, though tbe reason of it is not particularly obvious. Even in ibe neavens, (bs righthanditf God iadie place of AsmMf erattstf dignUy, It has been very l»operly observed, ibat Josepa spolce here as he was moved \f naturai ofiectiou; and thai Jacob acted as be was influenced by the Bohf &ririt.
Verse 20. In thee shall Israel Uecs] IW iS, in mttfte generations the Israelites shall take their form of wishmg prosperity to any nation or fiunily from the circumstance of the good which it shall be known that Ood has dma to Ephraim and Manasseh. May God make thee as frttiffiil at Ephraim, and multiply tkae at Msnattrki Bo to their daughters, when married, the Jewidi wssaea are accustomea to say, God make thee a# Sarak and Rebekah I T^ese forms are still in use.
Verse 21. Behold, I die] With what eomposore is this most awful word exprcsaea I Surely of Jacob it mi^it now be said, "He turns his eight unoaunted on die tomb.'* For though it is not said that he wu/ul'o^ days, as were Abraham aad Isaac, yet be is perfect^ willing to Isd adira to eanhly dungs, and lay his body in die grave. Could any person act as the patriarchs did.in their last moraeCttH who had no hopes of etenud life, no belief in the immortality of the amd? Impossible! WiUi such a convietioa of tbe being of God, with such proofs of hia lendemess and regard, with such experience of his providential and miraculous interference in dieir behnl^ could they simase^ that theywere only n-eateresQ/'a<fayf and that Goa fasa wasted so much care, attenuon, providrace, mec, and goodness, on creatures, who were to be nltimaidy Hu beatlt that perish? The supposition that they ooold ban no correct notion of the immoriali^ of the soul, is as dtshonourable to God as to themselves. But what diall ve think of Christiana who have formed this liypotheaia into a tyatem, to prove what1 Why, that the patriarchs liwd ana died in the dark 1 'Riat eithn the soul has no imnMC^ tality, or that God has not thou^t proper to rsTCsl it, Away with such an ofrinion I It cannot m skid to merit serious refotation.
Verse 22. Mn-eover. 1 have given to thet (^XwepA) «H« portio%\\ ^HK nsttr iSneeem achad, one Shechem, or ms dundd^. We have already seen the transactions between Jacob and bis &mily on one part, and Shechem and (h« sons of Samor on the other; see chtm. xzziii. IG^ 19. mad tbup. xxxiv. As he uses the word Shediem hut, I Aank it likely, thathe alludes to the purobasa of dte isU or pSToel of gnond mentioned chop. xzxiiL 18^ IA Itbaa seen luppwed Ihit this pved <rf gmmd ~
thfi hand ' of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
AND Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, tliat I may
bought from ShaAem, had beea taken from him by the AmoriM; and that he aTterward had recovered it 6y kit wwoni and Ay hU bote; i. g. byjaree qfarmt. Sbechem •ppean to bav» fallen to the lot of Joaeph'a miu; see Josh, xvii 1. and chap. xx. 7. and in our Lord'i time there was mjnrcel of ground near to Sj/dw, or Shcekem, which was niU considered as thai portton v^ieh Jacob gave to llis aoa Joseph, John iv. 6. and on the whole it was probably the asnts that Jacob bought for a hundred pitces qf «wnuu. chap. xxxi. 18, 19. But how could it be said that - he toeat Qaa out qf the hand qf the AmoriU vUh hU 9wrd and hi* bow? we cannot tell. Many attempts have been made to explain this abstruse verse, ihejr ba%-e all hitherto been fruitless. Jacob's words were no doubt perfectly well understood by JfatfAi; and probably alluded to aome tnuHsetion that ia not now on record, and it is much baiter and aafiu- for us to eonfess our ignorance, than to hazard conjecture after conjecture on a subject in which we are not interested, and m which we can know nftthing certainly.
1. CKt filial raped to aged and deatitute parenU we bavo already bod oceasion to apeak, see ver. U. The duty o( d^Uren to dieir parents onjv ceases when the parentB are laid in their graves j and tois duty ia the next In order and importanee to the duty we owe to Qod. No circumstances can alter its nature or lessen its importance; Honour Ihtfjathar and thy mother, ia the sovereign, everlasting conunuMi of God. While the relations M parent sod eniid exisL this eommandmeikt will be in full force.
2. The Redcemmg Anget, the Menenger qf Ou covenant, in hit preserving ana savinj^ influence, ia invoked by dyin? Jacob, to be tlie protector and saviour of Ephraim and Manntteh, ver. lo. With what advantage and effect can a dying parent recommend the Lord Jems to his ehildren, who can testify with his last breath, that thia Jefus has redeemed Aim from all evil? Reader, canst tliou call Christ thy Redeemer 7 Hast thou, through faim, recovered the forfeited inheritance? Or dost thou •xpeet redemption aU cett, by any olher means 1 Through Aiwi, and him alone, God will redeem thee from all thy sins; and as thou knowest not what a momeni may bring forth, thou hast not a moinenl to lose. Thou hast sinned, an I there is no name ^von under heaven among men, whereby ihmi canst be saved, but Jetut ChrUl, Acquaint tltysclf with liim, and be at peace, and diaiebr good shall eome unto thee.
3l We find that the patriarchs ever held tbe promised land in the moat sacred point of view. It was Ood'tgifl to them; it woe confirmed by a eorenant that spoke of, and referred lo, better things. We believe that this land QrpiSed the re»( which r«muna for the people of God; and caa we be indifferent to the excellence of this rest? A patriarch eotild not die in peace, however distant from thu land, widiout an amianee that hia hemes shoold be laid in it. How can we liv^ hov can we die combrubly, viibont the assurance that our lives are hid with Chnst ia Ood, and that we shall dwell in his presence for ever 7 There remains a rest for the people of God, and only for tfce pei^Ie of Qod; for those alone who love, serve, reveret»ee, and obey hiro, in his Son Jesus Christ, shall ever ottfoy iL
NOTES ON CHAPTER XLIX. Verse 1. Utat «AhA thall btfall ym in the latt doyt] t% Is evident from diia, and iTkdecd from the whole com* plezion of these important prophecies, that the twelve monm of Jaeob had very Utile concern in them personally eofuidered; as they were to be fiilfilled in the last days; i. e. in times remote from that period, uid conaemienEly to tbeir poflerity, and not to thantelvta, or to thar immetUai* fawtiUea. The whole of these prophetic decfauar tfanis from ver. 2. to ver. 27. inclusive la delivned in a«roiwly JlguraUve language, and in 8ie poOie Arm; wHic^ in every translation, MBEIUbe preaerved as nearly mm vasubl«,rendering the version Hoe for line with the •rIglMd. This oitlcr I aball puraue in tbe saoceeding
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Tl Reuben, thou ar/*my first-born, mymight, ' and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 Unstable as water, " thou ^ shall not excel; because thou > wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou i<.* * he went up to my couch.
notea^ always propositig the verse first, in as literal a tnuulatioD as possible, line for line with ihe Hebrew, after the hmutituA. ibrm, from which the sense will be tbe more elsu^ apprehended.
Bishop Newton has justly observed, that Jacob had received a double blessing; tpiritual and temporal.- the promiae of being progenitor qf the Mettiah, and the promise of the land tff" Canaan. The promised land he might divide among his childmi as he pleased; but the other must be confined to one of his sons; he therefore assigna to eoeh son a portion in the land of Canaan, but limits the descent of the Blessed Seed to die tribe of. Judah. Some have put themselves to a great deal ot trooUe and leaned labour, to show, that it waa a general OfNDion of the ancient^ Aat the aoul a abort time prearioua to its departure from the body, becomes endued with a certain meiuure of the prophetic gijl, or Jhreaight: and that this vras probably the case with Jacob. But it would bo derogatory to tlie dignity of the prophecies delivered in this chapter, to suppose, that thv^ came by any other means than direct mepiratiom, as to their main matter | thoush certain circumstances appear to be left to the patriami bimaelf, in which he mi^t express his own flsetitvs, both as a Jather and aa ^ Judge. This is strikingly evident 1. In th» ease of Reuben, from whom he had reeeived the grossest msult, however Ihe pasaage relative to him may be nnderatooiL and 2. In the ease of JboqiA, the tenderly beloved of his most beloved vife Ramd, in the prophecy eODceming whom, he givea fiiU vent to all the tender and affeenonau emctiona irtucb, as a falker and a Aus^rtd, do him endleaa oreoit.
Verse 3. Reuben, as the irsi-borvj had a ri|^ to a double portion of alldiat diemth er had, see DeuL xxii. 17.
The eminence or dignity mcntionea here, may refer to the priaihood; the power, to the regal govtmment or kingdom. In this sense it has been unoerslood by all the ancient Targumistaj the Targum of Onkelos pnraphraaee it thus: "ThCTi ehouldel hare received three portion; the birthri^t,fAeprieathood, ancf ^Ae kingdom:** and to ihia the Tarenma of.hnatkan ben Uxxiel sad Jertuelem add, "btuheemue thou ha*t atnnct^ ike birthright is given to Joaepl^ the kingdom to Judah, and priesthood to Levi." Hiat the birthright was given to the sons of Joteph, we have the fiillest proof from 1 Chron. v. I.
Terse 4. Pouring out like tenters^ This is an obectirs sentence, because unfinished; It evidently relaiea to the defilement of hia flither'a couch, and the word tna paekas, here translated pouring out, and in our version, unaiable, haa a bad meaning in other places of the Scripture, being applied to diaaobde^ d^auehed, KTv\ licentiaui conduct i see Judg. ix. 4. Zeph. iii. 4. Jerm. xxiii. H. 32. xxtx. 23.
Thou riuUt not excet\ Tliis tribe never roac to (uiy eminence in Israel: wns not so numerous by one-thirt^ as either Judoh, Joseph, or Dan. when Mows look the sum of them in ue wildemesa, Numb. i. 21. and was amonf the^rri that was carried into captiviiy, I Chron. v. 26.
xiien Otott didtt dejlte} Another unfinished seotenoe, similar to the former, ondupon the some subject, passing over a transaction co\*erlly, which delicacy forbad Jacob to enlarge on. — For the crime of Reuben, see lha notes on chap. XXXV. 22.
5 If ' SimeoQ and Levi are " brethren; " inetraments «of cruelty are in their habite.- tiona.
6 O my Boiri, p come not thoti into their secret; « unto their aseembly, ' mine honour, be not thou united: for 'in their anger they ■lew a man. and in their self-wiU they *■ digged down a waJl.
7 Cursed be their ang^r, fbr if wa« fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: " I wiE divide them in Jacob, and Bcatter them in
8 U ' Judah, thou art he whom thy bretfar^ shall praise: ' thy hand ahail be in the neck of thine enemies: 'thy father's children aludl bow down before thee.
Terae 5. Simeon and Leai w« AreUren] Not only springios from the mnfl parents; but they have ih« aame Innd of oi^fKMiioi^ haiumrongt deceitfiU, viniiieUva, tad cruet
TViet/ Kavt a/:r:omf^iAed, &c.] Our marfpD hu it, Tfuir swords are weapons iff vioUnce, i. e. Their awords, whidt they dboufd have vued in defence ai their person^ or the honouraUe protection at their fiunitie^ diey have emplogred in the ban and daatardly murder of an innocent unoffending parale.
The S^tuagint gives a diHwent turn to this line firom our traoeluioB, and oonfimu the tnnalation given above;
jtUalud the iniquity qf their purpose i with which the SiTnartton version agrees. In me Samaritan text we read %2iS c"*^ </tey haw aoeompUdud, instead of the '^brew eeUy mapona or tnefrumnU«, which reading, ntost orities prefer: and as to tsrr<n-t3o meearoteyhem tnuMlated above, their Jraudxiienl purpose; uid vhidi our tnudation, on almoat no authority, renders their AoAitaUans, it must either come from the Ethiopie 'oo maear, be counstUed, deoised siraiagems, &c see Caatel, or from the Arabic tnaeara^ be decfived, promised daedt, victud, Ac. which is nearly of the same import Ttam gives oot only a oMldMen^ out evidently As true MAM.
Twee 6. Into Aeir secret eounal, Jacob here exculpates himself from all participation in (he guilt oi Simeon and Levi in the murder of the- Shechemites. — He most solemnly declares that he knew nothing of the con- Jederaey by which it was executed; nor of the secret eouneii in which it was plotted.
If it should be said that the words K3n tabo, and mn testtadj should be translated in iht future tense^ or in the imperative, as in our translation, I shall not cont«td, though it is well known that the jtreter is often used for the piUure in Hebrew, and vice versa. Taken thus, die words mark the strong detestation which this holy man's tool ft\X tot the villany of his ions. " My soul uuUl not come into their secret couocU— Hy honour thalt not be united to their confederacy."
Ji^tr in Aetr anger (A«v slete a man, v*n Ish, a noble, an honourabU man, viz. Shedum, ■ And in their pleasure. — ^Iliis marks the highest degree of wiekedoeas and eeUled moiice— they were delighted with their deed. A similar spirit, Soul of Tarsus pouess- •d, previous to his converaion; speaking of the martyrdtnn of St. Stephen, St. Luke s^ AcU viii. 1. £«>.•( Xi V r»tur».> Tt mrmi. And Saut was gladly tonteniing to his death. He was, with the others, highlif tUlighied with it: and thus the prediction of our Lord was fulfilled, John xvi. 1. yea, the time cometh, that vhomtever kiUeA you, wiU think that he doeth God servtee. And it is represented as the highest pitch of ^flioaey and widisdness, not only to sin, out to delight in it; see Bom. i. 32. As the original word pr^ reteon, signifies, in genera], pleasure, ienero/ence, delighi, &e. it Aould neither be tranilated se^-wUl, nor teufulness, as some have done, but simply as above; and the reasons wpear auffictently obvious. — They murdered a prince, — &mor, the Itther of ^utAom; instead of ftif Aor. which we have translated a walit mA otheA an or; I read "W tar, a prince, whidi makes a consistent eense; see Eennicott*s first Diasertation, p. S6. dkc.— As tli%re is no evidence whatever, that Simeon ana Levi either dug dovm a VKiU, or houghed the oxen, as some have translated the passage, se6 tKe margin ■* on the contrary, the text, chap, xxzv. is, 29. proves that they had taken for their own ose, the akeep, oxen, asses, all Metr wealth, their loives, and their tittle one*.
Verso 7. ■ Cursed was Aeir anger'] The ft*t modons of their violence locre eavage-~ana their exeessivB or oper- ^owing wrath, n-oy aberat, for iiioaeitifiexiblei neither the supplications of the males, nor (he entreaties, tears, cries, (utd shrieks of the helpless females, cOuld deter Ibem from their murderous purpose, for this, ver. they •M HiA to have MOtHopliahad.
I will divide Aem out, Otf>*vt adiaUfeam^ Iwillmak* them into Iota, civioe a portion of them to one tribe, and a portion to umtnei^-liut diey shall never attain to any politiefd conse^ence. This appears to have been literally fulfilled. Uevi had nt> inheritance except forty^iight cities, scattered through different parts of the land of Canaan; and as to the tribe of Simeon, it is generally believed among the Jews, chat they l)ecame smoofmiMtsr* to the other iribea; and when they entered Canaan, they had Only a small portion, a few towns and villages in the worst i^rt of Judah's lot. Josh. xiz. I. which afterward finding too little, they formed different colonies in districts which they conquered from the Idumeans and AmaltkUes, I Chron. iv. 39, &C Thus these two tribes were not only separatedfrom eocft other, but even dividod Jnm tiumselves, according to this prediction of Jacob.
Verse 8. Thy brethren shall praise thee\ As the name Judah signifies praise, Jacob takes occasion from its meaning to show that this tribe should be so eminent and glorious, that the rest of the tribes should praise it; that IS, that they should acknowledge its pre-emmenee and superior dignity; as In its privileges, it should he distin^ guisbed ^yond all the others. On the prophecy relative to Judah, Dr. Hales has several judicious renuuks, and has left very little to be further desired on the subject. Everr reader will be glad to meet with them here.
" The prophecy begins with his name Jvdah, sigoifyin^ the praise <^ the iMird, which was given to bim at his birth hy his mother Lteah, chap, xxiz. 35. It dten describes the warlike character of this tribe, to which, the divine ^)nointment, was assigned the Jtrst lot of Itu promised land, which was conquered accOTdingly by the pious and heroic Caleb; the first who laid hands on the necks qf lus enemies, and routed and subdued ihem, Joih. xiv. 11. zv. 1. Judg. i. Ij 2. and led tlie way for thdr total subjugation under David; who in allusion ts this prediction, praije* God, and says. Thou hast given me die necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me, Psalm viii. 40. In the different stages of its strength, this tribe is compared to a lion's ahetp, to a /iiU-
S-otun lion, and to a nursing lioness, the fiercest of alL ence a lion was the standard of Judah } coihpare Numb, ii. 3. Ezek. i. 10. The cl^ of David, where he reposed himself after his eonqueatB, Mcure in die terror of his name, 1 Chron. xiv. 17. was called Ariel^ the Iton tif God, Isa. xxix. 1. And our Lord himself, his most illustnous descendant, TTie Ldm qf the tribe qf Judah, Rev. v. 6.
The duration of the power of this famous tribe is next determined — "The sceptre of dominion," aa it is unde^ stood, Esth. viii. 4. Jan. xiv.'S, &c. or its civU government, wis not to eease or depart from Judah, until the birth or coming of Shiloh, signifying the Apostle, as Christ is styled, Heb. lit. 1. nor was the native lawgiver, or cxpounder qf the law, tea<Aer, or scribe, intimating their ecclesioBlicat polity, to cease, until Shiloh should lia\'e a congregation of people, or religious followers, attached to him. And how accurately was this fiil&tled in both these respects I
I. Shortly before the birth of Christ, a decree was issued by Augustus Cesar, that all the land of Judea and Galilee should be enrolled; or a registry of persons taken, in which Clirist was ■> • Luke ii. 1 — 7. whence Julian, the apostate, unwittingly objected to his title of Chust or Kiira, that " he was bom a subject of Ceeai T'. Aboiu ctoveo ywn after, Judea was made a Romaa pcOT-
9 Judah t« ' a lion's whdp: from the jvey, my son, thou art gone up: 'he stooped aown, he couched as a Don, and as an old lion; who ■hall rouse him up?
inc6, aUached to Syria on ihe depoaal and bBniahment of Ar^xttauM, the wn of Herod the Great, for maladiniiustntioiL mmi an Mwment of property, or taxing, vu earriw inio efiect by Cyrentus, then govCToor of Syria, the MZDC, who before, u ihe emperor^s procurator, had tpmt* the enrolnKnt, Luke ii. 2. Acta v. 37. and thencefw-tfa Jttdea ma sovemed by a Roman deputy; and the judicial power of life and deadi takeo away from the JewvJotiii xviii. 31.
2. Inuir ecclesiastical polity ceaaed with the deatructioa of their city and temple by the Romany A. D. 70. At which time the Gospel bad be«D preached through the known world by the apoetlea, " his vitneaaea in Jeruaa- Um, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the utfemuwt parts of the earth," MatL xjtiv, U. Ac's ii. 8. Rom. X. Id. And a vaat congregation of Chriatiana then formed, both among Jew and GentUet.
Our und'a triitmphant entry into Jenualem, before bia orucifizion, " riding on an am. even a coU, ihe Jbal of an aaa j" whioi, by hii direction, nia diadplea brought to him im thia purpoae. — " Go into the village over againat you, and presently ye ahall find an asi tied, and a coU with tier, looee them and bring them to me." Matt. zxi. 2 — 5. remarkably fiilfilling the proj^ecy of Zechariah, ix. 9. is no leas a fulfilment of thia propbecv of Skiiok, " binding or tying bia Jbai to the vine, even nia da*'* eoU to the duriee ■AmT' In aocient tiuea, to ride upon lAUt OMea, or om CoUa, waa the privilege of persona of high mok, prtncea, judge; and profhtU, Judg. v. 10. x. 4. Numb. xxii. 22. And, aa the children of loiael were aymbolized by the vine, Paal. Ixxx. 8. Hoa. x. 1. and the men of Judah, by "« (pboice) Vina ^ Sortk," in the original, both here Mtd in the beautibil allegory oi Isaiah, v. 1 — 7, adopted by Jaramiah ii. 21. and our Lord, Malt. xxi. 31. who fltylad himaelf the tnu vine, Jdm xv. I. ao, the union of both iheae images, signified pur Lord's assumption, aa the promised Shilon, of iiie dignity of tlu king ihe Jem; Dot in a temporal, but in a spiritual sense, aa he declared lo Pilaler John xviiL 36. aa a prelude to hia aecond coming in glorr. " to restore again the kingdom to laraU," Matt, xvui. 64. Acu i. 6.
The vengeance to be then inflicted on ell the enemlea of his church, or congregation of &ithfiil Chrietiane. ia expreaaed fhe symbolical imagenr of " washing nia garaenu in ietn<, and hia clothes in the 6{ood ^ grape*: Wbicfa, to uaderstaod literally, would be incongruotia, and tiiHinwl any where; while it aptiv repraaenta hia garments crimsoned in the blood of nia foes, and their imnensa alau^Uer; on imagery frequently adopted in the profWidieacripturea see Isa. IxiL U. Ixiii. 1 — 6. Rev. xziL 12. and vL 2. six. 11— xiv. 20.
The strength and vholesomeneu of Shiloh'a docirioe ■re next represented, by lutving " hia eyes red with vine, and hia teeth urtiite wiui mMk7' And thus the evangelical prophet, in aimilar straioa, invites the world to emfaraee the oosfki.
Tguf »n Im wtiij aL
On the last dav of the ieaat of (oAemaelaa, it wu cuatomarv among tne Jews, for the people to bring water from tne fountain of SHotA, or Siloam, which iIiot poured on the altar, singing the words of Isaiah zii. 3. With Joy ekail ye drdw iMterfivm thefmntain ^ M^votion, which the Taigum mteiprets, Wiut joy ahall ye receive a DOW doctrine from the -elect of the just omb \ and the.Cm itnlf was also called Hosanna, Savt, we AeseetA tt«e. And Isaiah has also described the apostasy of the Jews from tlteir tutelar Qod ImtAinmi. under the conesponding imagetT of their " rejecting the gently flowing waUrt of SWoaA," Isa. viii. 6—8.
Hence our Lord, on the last day of the feast, dgnlfieaotly invited the Jews to eome unto him, aa the true and IMng ftmutMO of watery Jer. ii. 13. "If my thint, let bim coma to n and drink," Ji^ vji. 37. He also compared bis doctrine to nets tsfne, which required to be put into itetv ftoUlea, made of skim, strong enough to contain % Matt. ix. 17. while the Oospel is re|watedly represented M affioedbur mitt,/tfr boftea, or the first principles of the vnKlea of Ood for noetou in the foith i as well aa nrmg mm (and atrong winel for maHm in Ckritt, or adspU, MUL siiL IL Bob. r.\%-li,
10 • The sceptre shall not depart fhim Judah. nor ^ a lawyer ' from between his feet, ' antu Shilohcome; * and unto him f/iol/ the gathering
of the people be.
And our Lord's most aignificant miracle waa wrought at this fountain, when he gave sight to a man of forty years old, blind from hia birth, by sending him, a^r he hod anointed hia eyea with moiatened clay, towaah in tlie pool of SHoam, which ia the Greek prouuncioiion of the Hebrew rfjif SUoah, or SHok, laa. viii. 6i where lite SqOuagint version reads x,>.Man: aigni^ng, accudtng to the evaneelist, «->rii(>./t»g<, aeni ybrlA. and conseiiuently derived from n'70 akalachj to send, John ix. 7. Our Lord thus assuming u> himself his two leading titles of Messiah, signifying, anointed, and Shiloh, seatjbrlh, otdelegatM from God: aa he had done before at ttie <^>ening oif bia mission. The Spirit of the Lord is upon tne, bemuse he hath anointed me to preach the Goepel (o the poor; he hath emt me/ortk {amnuiju) to heal the broken-hearted," Ac. Luke iv. 18.
And in the course of it he declared, I was not »ent forth, (■9rimtX(t) but unto the lost dteep of the house of In-ad, Matt XV. 24. by a twofold reference to his character in JaeoVs prophe^ of SbtiLOn and Shsphxrd or Issasl, Gen. xliz. 10 — 24. " 'Hiis is life eternal, to know thee the only true Qod; and Jesus Chnat whom thou eenteatjbrth," {■a-imikx) to instruct and aave mankind, JcAn xvii. 3. and he thus diatingniahes his own superior miseian, from hiscommisMon to his tmietles, "As TU PATHxa hath
sentin anrTMJuii fii, SO IsCOd TOU," wifttrm Joho XX.
21. Whence 3c Paul expressly stiles "Jesus Christ the ApoMe (o Anmxtf) and Ajgft priest of our profession," Heb. iii. I. and on elaborate argument, riiowa the superionty of his mission above that of Moses; and of priesthood above that of Aaron, in the sequel of the epistle. His priesthood waa foretold by David to be a royal prtea^- Aooti, after the mder of Jlfe/cAwede^ Psalm ex. 4. but where shall we find bis mission or apoatle^ip foretold, except in Jacob's propheqr of Shiloh7 which was evidently so understood by Moses wlien Qod offered to Mend him as his ambassador to Pharaoh, and he declined at first the arduous miasion, O m^ Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of i/im tnhom uwnt Wilt send, or by the promised SI'ii/aA, Ezod. iii. 10. iv. 13. by whom in his last blesaing to the laraelitea^ pamllel to that of Jacob, he prayed itiat God would bring back Judah to bis people," from captivity, Deut. xzxiii. T.
Here then we find the true meaning and derivation of the much-disputed term ^Uoh in thia prophecy of Jacob, which ia forUmately preserved by the Vulgate, rendering millendus est; he that is to be sent; and also by a rabbinical comment on Deut. xxii. 6. " If you keep mis precept, you hasten the coming of the Messiah, wQO is called S«»T."
Hue important prophecy concerning Judah intimates i
1. The warlike cnaiaclw and conquests of this trUw.
2. The oQsntion of iheir civil and religious polity at the first coming of SttUA. 3. Hia meek and fowly inauguration at that time, as spiritual king t^f the Jetes; riding on an ass like the ancient Judges and propAela. 4. His second coming as a warrior to trample on all his foes: And 6. To save utd instruct his faithful people." — BdUs analysis, vol. it. ^167, Ac
Terse 10. iFVem Judoft A* aeepire AaU not depart] The Jews have a quibUa on the word cw.ehefrd; whidi we translate acepire,• they say it aignifiee a sttif or rod; and that the meaning of it is, that ' ' afflictions ahidl not depart from the Jewa till the Messiah comes;" thu they are still under afflictions, and therefore the Messiah is not come. This ia a misemble ahj/I to save a tost cause. Vheii chief "ntfgumist, Onkehs, understood and translated the word nearlv aa we do, and the same meaning is adopted by the Jerusalem l^rgum, and by all the ancient versiona, m AmMe excepted, which haa t-xucu kaxeeh, a rod; but in a very ancient HS. of the Pentateuch in my own possession, the word Jo^ui tebet ia used, which signifies a lrU>«. Judah shall continue a distinct tribe till the Messiah shall come; and it did ao 1 and after hia coming, it waa confounded with die others^ ao that all distinction has been ever sinee lost
Nor a ttaefur from He ffftpring. — I am mffieiently aware that the lUeraX meaning of the original rhr^ pao »n beyn rardaiv. vafrom beiveen hie feet; and I am as fiilly satisfiea that it mould never be ao translated from be- j tween the feet, and out qf the thigh, simply mean progeny, natural qjfepring; for reasons, which surely need not be nentumed. Hie Targum of Jonathan hen UsiM, and
11 ' BiEkdioff hu fbal onto the vine, and his ass's colt onto the choice vise: he washed hie carmeDts ia wine, and his d^wtes in the blood of sraDes:
12 His t eyea shall be red with winm, and his teeth white with milk.
13 If ■> Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea \ and he shall be for an haven of riiips; and his oorder shall be unto Zidon.
14 ir Issachar is a strong ass conchiOff down between two burdens:
in a varied of very minute partieulare, to the JlfttnoA/ and give no Idnd oi eountenonee to (he ftetioiM of ihe modern Jewi.
Terse 13. Zabulun's lot or portiMi in the drrinon of tlie womited land, extended from the MeditemoeaD aes on the west, to the lake of Oenneiareth on the east; see his diviaiOR, Josh. xix. 10, Ac The T\irgum of Jf. ben Uzxiel paraphrases the passage thus: "Zebulun shall be on the coasts of the sea, and he shall rule over the kaaeiut be ahail subdue ilie provinces of the sea with hli abips; and bia border shaJl extend unto SidoiL"
Terse 14. Isaadtar ia a atrmr aaa] on •\en thamor gtram is properli^ a Hrong-lin^M an, — couching between Ivo bHrauju; bearing padeotlr, as most underatimd it, the fatigues of agricwaart, aaa nibmitting to exorbitant taxet, rather thim exert (henuel'vea to dnvs oat the old inhabitants.
The f wo frurAcR* Uterslly mean the Iwo socft* or pannUn, one on each side of the animal's body, and eouaiing doim between these, refers to the xrell-known propeiuity of the aes, whenever wearied or overloaded, to lie down even with iu burthen on its bock.
Terse 15. He tan the real} The inland portion was assigned to him between tne other tribes t he tneKned Ms eAouraer to the load. The ChaMee paraphrast gives thia a widely different turn to that given it of most comiDentatora. "He aaw his portion that it was good, and the land that it was fruitful; and he shall subdue the provinces of the people, and drive out their inhabitants, and ^OM who are left ebaU be bis servants and his tributarieB." Omtius underalands it nearly in the same way. llie purillanimity vrhieh is generally attributed to this tribe, certainly does not agree with Uie view in which Oiey are exhibited in Scripture. In the song of Deborah, this tribe ia praised for the pov>erful ataialance which it then afforded, Jodg. V. 15. And in I Chron. vii. I — 6. they are expresslv said to have been valiani men ^ might in ail Iheir yamiiiea, and in all their generations I i. e. through every period or their histtny. It appears they were a Inborioui^ nardy, valiant tribe, patient in tabour, and invincible in war; bearing both uiese burdens with great constancy whenever it was necessary. When Two <rf this tribe ju^ed Israel, the land bad rest twenty-three y«ar^
Terse 16. Dan Aall Judge] Dan, whose none Mgnifies judgment^ was the eldest of Jacob's sons by BilKah, Racnel'a maid; and be is here promised an equal rule with Ibooe tribes, that sprung from either Ledt or Rathely ihe legal wives of Jacob.
Some Jewish and some Chiiatian writers underatand this prophecy of >Shm«on, who aprang from thia tribe, and judged, or as the word might be tranalatet^ avenged the people of Israel, twenty yean; see Judg. xiiL 2. xv. 20.
Verse 17. ^on sAau M a mttmiU] llie origiaal word is nu noAaah, and we have seen on chap. iii. mot tbia has a great variety of a^iuficaiiona. It ia probable tbsi a aerfent ia liere mtenoed i but of iriiat land we know not — yet OS the principal reference in the text ia to guile, canatng, i&c the same crefitnre nu^be intend^ as in chap. iiL
A ceraatea in the trade] Tbe word ps^ss' ahephiphon, urttich ia nowhere else to be found in the Bible, ia thua tnastaied by the Vulgate, and Bodtart asprovea of the toaaslatiaa. Ibe etraatas baa its name from two little htrm uroa it* bss^ si^b nnwAsbls fcr the Ffopar^
15 And hfl Mtwthftt rest wosgood, and tiie
land that it loas pleasant; and bowed > his sbool* der to bear, and became a servant unto tr^ta.
16 ^ k Dan shall judge his people, as one oT the tribes of IsraeL
17 1 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, ■ an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, eo that his rider shall tall backward.
19 1[ "Giad, a troop shall overcome Um: bat he shall overcome at the last.
here aaerUted to die A^iphom. The word rrm oradt, which we tranalate path, signifies tbe track, er rat maafc in the ground by the wheel of a cart, wagon, Ac. And the description mat Nieander gives of thw serpent in his TTteriaea, perfectly agrees with what ia neie aaid of tha ah^Aiphoni
It ia intimated that thia tribe should gain die prindpal part of its conquests more by running and sfrotognn, Insa by valour; and this ia seen particularly in their conqueM mLaith, Judges xviii. and even in some of the transacticm of SamaoTi, such as burning the com of llie PhUiatina, and at last pulling down their temple, and destroying tkna thousand at one tune; see Judg. xvi. 26 — 36<
ta At Oy MiMtiaH ktm Iwmiui, O Lordt
This ia a remarkable ejaculation, and seema to stand perfeetly uneoimecled with all that went before and all that follows. Though it ia probable that certain jvopheda views, whid) Jacob now nod, and which he doea not explain, garve rise to it: and by this he at mee expressed both Kis /atA and hope in Qoa. Both Jewidi and (SmstiaB commentaton have endeavoiired to find out die eoonezin in which these words existed io (be mind of die potriaidL The l^mim of Jonathan expreaaee the \idioIe tbua; "When Jkcoh saw Gideon the son of Jeuh, and Sanwon the son of Manoah, which were to he saviours lo a funim agei he aaid, I do not wait for the ealvatioB of OideeI^ I do not expMt tbe aalvation of Samson, because their aeivation ia a temporal aalvation; but I wait for, and c^eat thy aalvation, O Lord, beeause thy aalvaiieo ia etaind." And tbe Jeruaalem Taivum much to die aame {Kirposa. "Our fhdier Jacob aaid; Wait not, my soul, for llw redemption of Gideon the son of Joaeh, which ia tetnpond, Dor me redemption of Samaon which is a created aalvatiof^ but for die sahration which thou boat said by m woiD sbould come to thy people, the children of Israel, my aonl waits for thia thy saJvatitm." Indeed these fVmima uoderatond almoat die 'whole of tbeaa propheriea of ite Heaaiab, and espeetally what ia said about Jiidah i every word of irtridi (hey refer to Him. "niua the ancient Jewa ooavict tbe mocicma of both ialse interpretations and vain expectations. As the tribe of Dan was the first that pears to have been seduced from the true worship of GA, see Judg. xviii. 30. some have dioaeht that Jacob refer* particularly to thia; and aeea the end of (be gencaal mfmtaay only in the redemption by Jeaoa Chriat: conaideniig the noAath above sa the amtemrt and the Mboaiaht die promiaed oetd.
'niiaiaoneofthemoatobaeurepropheeiea intbewbde cbniter; and no two interpretera a^ve in tbe trsnalaticM of the original word^ whkn exhibit a most singolir M-
2py un mm v*i rv* •*»»■ Tba propbeqr aeeau to fefer genemlly to the freqoaM dieturbwicea to which tbia tribe ahould be exnoeed, and their hostile, warlike dispoaitiOD, that would alwan lead them to repel every aggreasion. It ia likely that tbe prophecy had an especial mifilmeut, when this trib& in eeajunoiion with that of Reuben and the half irjbe of Wanafl^ got a great victcwy over tbe Hagaritea, taking cutive en* llundredthouoimdniin,tieolhouaandamea,J^au*i»omi cmmela, »nd»teoktt$idr«d and Jiffy OooMmdlboeft aes I Chron. V. 18—22, Dr. Durel and others tranalals th* last word hpv Sieab, rear — "He shall invade their rear;" which contoina almoat no neaning, oa it only neein* to Btate^ that tkoagh the army that invaded Gad Aould b* auooeaabil, yet the Gaditea would haraas their nor a* (bey mumedi but diia oould never be a aulgeet of auflkiiast Maseqaence ftraproptey; Ths wokI apr is to-
21 < Nuihtali i« a hind let loose: he glreth goodlV words.
22 If Jowph U a fraitTal boodi. mm a fruitful bouch by a; wAove ' braiKhes run over the wau:
23 The archers have * sorely griered him, and shot at kim, and hated him:
24 But hie ^bow abode in strength, and the wn» of his hands were made strong by the
xfoaatly vmd aa a partieU, ligmfyinK in coruf^iwncA, vmuM VK aecatint ^ After the GadiUa h&d obtained the vict<n7 mentioned, they coatioued to poueu the of dieir CDemies liJl they were eturied away captive. Hie Cttaldee paJn^^l^&au apply this to the GadUea go'inf armed over Jordan before their Dretbrea, diecomfiting their enemies, and returaiTtg backmHiaaiekapoiL 8m Joth. hr.i:^13.aiidxxii.
TUs reiers to the great fertUity of the lot diat fell to Aiiier, and which oppean to have oorreaponded with the mam»t ■wi^ mgiaata happjfj or Uewet^ and wtwM neat j/rttpm-itf HoBH dasailwi in this flguniive vw—^hM AdwrbeafsMet/with ehiUreo, let him lie aoMfitooIe to hie taMhiw^ and bt him diphiafoot in oil," Dmiu zxziii. 24.
Ttaa ia BoAarfa tnuulatioo; and perbapa no maiL who undentandi the genitu of the Hebrev language, will •nampt to diapute iu propriety; it is aa literal aa it is correct Our own traoaUtion HArcely gives any senae. The fruitfiilaeaa of this IriJt^ in children, mav be here intended; firsm hia fcur aooa, Jahsed, Ounf, Jez«r. and SBuiUm, which ha toch down into Egypt, ch. xlvi 24. in the course of two hundred and fifieen ^ears, there sprung of effective men 63,400; but, aa great increase in this way was not an tttuommon ease in the deacandanU of JacMi, thir may refer porticuJarly to ^ Jruiffulnet* <^ OuAt »oiL and the «|wcial provideotiaJ care and blaaaing of the AlmiKh^ i a> i^kh, indeed. Hoaea aeems paiticularlv to refer, DeuL xzziiL 23. — O NajJtiali, uoHyUdviiAjaxow, andJuU wttt At bie—ins the Lord. So that he may be repre- ■Kited under the nation of a tru planted in a rtcfi toil, growing to a prodigious sixe, extendii^ its numerous MDcbea in all directions, and becoming a sAode Sat nun and caM^ and a harbour &» die /owto ^Asavffi. n Tb fwi nvitrw u j.
Terae 22. 7%e son o^ a y^vit/iii vine) l^ia appenrs IS IBS 10 lafer ii» Jacob htmaelfl who «u Uessea with ■nch a nuMNOi psrtarityitfaat in two faundnd and fifteen years aflo- this bta own descendants amAinted to upward of SX^OOO effeetiva men; and the figures here an intended to paint out the oontiuual growth and increase of his posterity. Jacob was a fruUful tree, planted bv a fotmtaiik whidt, Incause it was good, would yield rooa/ruit; ana because it was planted near a foumain, from being contiomlhr watered, would be perpttuaO^ fruitful He aMBB M and and ^qilied to JacMH Dent, zxxiii. 28. The rooMTAnr ^ J^ooa Aall be t^xm a bmd <^ cvm, and «ra& and mL Ac.
7n« daugtUere — m» benoth, put here for brandua — sAoot oveTf or run upon Ihe aaU] Alhidii^ probably to ihe ease of^lhe vinv^i^Hch requires to be supported by a wall, tieea Ac Some commentators have undefstood this lilemliy, aitd have ^^ilied it to the Ecyptiaa wemeo, eAo were so Mvwk with Ae beau^ of Joseph, as to get t^on walli^ the tope of houses Ac to see him ashe insaed bv. niis IS agreeshle to the view taken of the subiect by toe, Airda. See the notes on eh. xxdx. 7.
25 > Even by the God of thy l&ther, who shall help thee; " and by the Almighty, ■ who diaU bless thee with bleasinge of heaven abf>ve, Uea^ ings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26 The bleBsinga of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of thy progenitors, ' tmto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: f they shall be on the head of Joseph, aiuTon the crowD
such weapons, while feeding their flodis in the deeert% for the protectimi of themselves end eattle, w for the ptnv poae 01 hunting, and pn^iahlv excelled in archery. It may, however, refer to the bitter epeeehea and AarsA worda that tbey spoke to and of him: for tikty haitd Amu, and could nirf apeak paaeaabfy le JUtn, xxxvii, 4. Thus they sorely afflicM hinii aod were insMnnlly soeddiag or fiiKUtig lault.
Teree 2A. £ut hia bow remained in airengih] fRts more be was persecuted, either by his brethieo, or ^ Egypt, the more vespleatlent his uprightness and virtues shone; andfAsarms — iuM extended poaertudin/ltteme — ilf hit handa, plana, deaigna, and particular operations nhispnufefiee, judrnieat, diocretum, Slc. were all readared sucoessful oy ue Aand, the powerful succour uid protection of the A^*ty One /owft— that Ood who Dlessed atw ptospeiad all ute counMls and pfauia of Jaeob \ and proieeted and indeased him also, men be was in a strange load, and often under the power of those wb* sought opportunities to oppresa and defraud him.
By the name of the Stepherd, the Rock qf larael] Jehoeak and El-Elohey Israel, see chap, xxxiii. 20. IVia appears to me to refer to the subject of the xxziid. chapter, where Jacob wrestled with Ood, hod God's name revealed to him, and his own name dtanged from Jacob to Araelt in consequence of which he builded tm altar, which he dedicated to Ood, who had appeared to him under the name of Elchey- Israel^ the elrong God of Itrael; which circumstance led him to use the term Rock, which, as an emblem of poiMr and strength, is frequently given to God in the Sacied Writings, ana which may here refer to the atone which Jacob set up, and which was called Btth-eL see ch. xviii. 18, 19. It is very probable that the won! Sht^terd is intended to apply to our bleated Ijord, who is the Shepherd oflsrael, the good Shepherd, John x. 11 — 17. and who, beyond all controversy, was the person with whwn Jacob vrrestled. — See the notes on ch. Jtvi. 7. and xxxii;24.
Terse 26. The Ood qf tty Tatter] How frequently God is eaUed tba Ood Jacob, none needs be told, who reads the Bible.
Ood AU-at{glcieni] loatttd of -nv rnK Efr Shadm/, tbu Almighiy, or All-aujlcient, I read -nw ^ El S^aday, Ood AU-euglcient, which is the reading of the Samaritan^ Septuagin*, Sj/riac, and CooIk, ami of three reputahla M8S. m the collections of JEennfoott and De Jiosm. The oopies used by those ancient veraions had evidently Im El, dod, in the text, end not nM c^ tb^ a mistake produced in later times. On the wntl «w!?m £t Bhaaa^ see the note on chap. xvii. 1.
T!U iisastngs v the htaxenafrom abore] A osnerally jns% elear, aeiene Ay, frequenilv dropping down fertiliKing showers, and dews, so as to make a very fruitful ami and salubrioua atmosphere.
BUaainga lytnr in the deep beneaA] Whatever ridws could bo gained from the sea or rivers, from Mtnes and minerala, in die bowels of the earth, and from abundant apringa in different pans of hia inheritance. Our translation of this line is excessively obscure.
Bleaaing ilf the deep that Heth under] What is it that lies under <&iife<p'~'^"<"'">^^"^ KrecoA, bUa»- inge, widi mm ni6e£sem, ^ring) airambigaity is avoided and the text speaks a pbun ana constaient sense.
71u bUaainga ^ the breaata and qf the iMMnft] A numerous nflspring, and an abundance of cattle. The progeny of Josejdi, by Ephraim and Hanasseh, amounted at Uw first ecnsHS, or enumeration, Nundx i. to 76,900 men, whieh exceeded the sum of any one tribe; Judah, tha gieatest of the other^ anMmtiBg to no more than 74,fi00. Indeed, ^ihraim and Ufanntrth had multiplied so KHmHy in the days of Joduta, that a common let was not 111001801 for them. See their compbunt. Josh. xvii. 14.
Verse 26. The bleanr^e qf thy father, Ac] The Uesnna whidi thy feiber now prays ior and pniisiuoe% ar*Miasr tmifoiml mar iranstory dwy Aall raaeed in
27 ^ Beojamin shall *> ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, ' and at night he stmir divide the spoil.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this i3 it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them: every one according to his bleasin? he blessed them.
29 K And he char^ them, and said unto them, I * am to be gathered unto my peojde: » bury me with my fathers " in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
their duration the Uemai mountain*, and in their value and spiritual nature sll the eimvenicncea, comforts, and delicacies, whii^ the eterla^ing hills can produce. They abaXi last when the heavena uu the earth are no more, and ahall extend throu^oat eternity. They are the blessnm which Aail be communicated to the world by means orthe Hetnah.
The Jenualem T^u-gum naraphraaes the place thus: "The blessing* of this fauier shaJl be added unto the blesainga whenwith thy fathers Abr^iam and Isaao, who Hie likened to mountains, have bleased thee; and they shall exceed the blessings of the four mothsrs, Sarah, Rebekah, Radiel, and Leah, who are likened to the hilts: all iheae bleasinga ahall be a crown of magnificence on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was a prince and governor in the land of Egypt"
lUs tribe' is very fitly compared to a ravenous wo{/| because of the rude courage and ferocity which they have invaiiablv displayed, particularly iu their war with the other thbes, m which they killed more men tlwn the whole of their own numbers amounted to,
'"Hiis last tribe," says Dr. Hales, "is compared to a m^, for its ferocious and martial dii^sition, such as was evinced by their contests with the other tribes, in which, afier two victories, they were almost exterminaled," Juds. xix. 20. Its union with the tribe of Judah seems to Be intimUed in their ioint coni^uest, expressed nearly in the aame terms — "Judah went up from the prey" — Benjamin devoured the prey." Mobm, in bis parallel prophecy, Deut. xxxiii 12. confirms this, by ngnifvins that the sanctuary ^ould be fixed in hi* lot, and uiat ne should bODtioue as long as the existence of the temple itself.
In the morning, &cj l^ese expresaiona have been variously understood. The sense given above, is that in irtiidi me principal interpreters afree; but Houbigant proteals against the proplwcy sifnitying the amtinuaTtee at this tribe, as the words, "m the momtnf devouring the prey," and " in the evening dividing the spoil," are aupposed to imply; because, he obaeryea, " thatafter the return from the Bcmylonudi captivity, this tribe is no more mentioned." But this may M accounted for from the circumstance of iu being (UMciafed with (hat of Judak, >ee 1 Kin^ xii. 21 — 24. after which it is scarcely ever mentioned but in that union. Beiiu; thus absorbed in the tribe of Judah, it continued firom uie mm-ning till the etming of the Jewish dispensation, and consequmtly till the Lion of tfie tribe of 'Judah was seen in the wilderness of Israel.
h. tKe morning, according to Mr. Ainsworth, " signifies the Jlrtt times: for Ehud of Benjamin was the stamd judge that saved the Israelites from the hands of the Monbites, Judges iii. 16, dte. Saul of Benjamin was the Jlrtt king of Israel; he atid his son were ^reat warriors, noucing aprey of many enemies, 1 Sam. xi. 6, 7, 11. xiv. 1^ 1^ 47, 48. And Ihe evening, the latter times; for Mardecai and father of Benjamin delivered the Jews from a great destruction, and slew their enemies, EsCh. viii. 7, 9, II. ix. 6, & 15, 16." ^
Venn 29. Every one according to his bUssiTig] That is, guided by the unerring spirit of prophecy, Jacob now foretold to eat^ of hia sons all the important events which rilould take place during their succeasive Esnerations, atid dia predominant characteristic of each trioe; and^ at the same ttme^ made some comparatively obacnre references to the advent of the Messiah, and the redemption of the world by him.
TwN 29. Bury me ioith my fathers, 4bo.] From this it anieari^ diat tha cava at MaehpelA ma a MiitMon
lah, (which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan,) * which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, for a possession of a
31 There they buried Abraham uid Sarah hie- wife; ' there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.)
32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein, vets from the children of Heth.
33 And when Jacob had made an end of ctmtmanding his sons, he gathered up Ids feet into the bed, and yielded up the g^rast, and 'was gathered unto his people.
burying-place for Hebrews qf dtsttTiction; and, indeed, the first public burying-ptaee mentioned in history. From ver. 31. we find that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, a^ Leah, had been already deposited there^ and among them Jacob wished to have his bones laid; nod he left his dyioj^ charge with his children to bury him in this place, ana this they conscientiously performed. — See ch. L 13.
Terse 33. He gathered up Am feet in/o the be«f} It is very probable, that while delivering these prc^hetic blessiitgs^ Jacob sat upon the side of his bed, leaning unoir hia Stan; and having finished, he Ufted up his feel into tne Ml| stretched himseir upon it, and expiredl
And was gatheredunta his people] The testimony that this ^lacs beers to the immwtality of the soul, and to iu existence separate from the body, should not be li^dy regarded. In the same moment in which Jacob is ud to have gathered up his feet into the bed, and to have expired, it is added, ana tecw gathered unto his people. It is certain that his body was not then gathered to hispetyile, nor till seven weeks after; and it is not likely that a circumstance, so distant in point both <^ time and place, woidd have been thus anHc^toted, sod asaociated with fitfU thatto<»k plaee inttof nunnenf. I eannot help, theiefbre, considering this an additional evidence for the immateriality qf the soul! and tliat it was intended 1^ the Holy Spirit to convey this ^rand and consolatory senQment, that wnen a holy man ceases to live among his fellow^ his soul becomes an inhabitant of another world, and is joined to the spiriU of just men made perfeet. See (he notes on dtap. XXV. S.
1. It has been eonjectuied, (see note, on ch. xxxvii. 9.) that the eleven stars that bowed down to Joseph might probablv refer lo the Signs qf the Zodiac, which were vciy anciently known in ECTpt, and are supposed to have haia their origin in Chah^M. On this suppoaition, Joae|di'a eleven brethren answered to eleven of these aigns^ and himself lo the iw^lh. General Valiancy, welT known for his curious antitpiBrian researches, has endeavoured, in his CoUectonea de Rtbus BSbvmieis, voL vi. port ii. p. 343. to trace out the analogy between the.twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve signs of the Zodiac, which Dr. Hale% {Analysia, vol. ii. p. \w>.) has altered a little, and placed it in a form in which it becomes more generally applicable As this scheme is curious, many readers, who may not have the opportunity consulting the above work^ will be pleased to find it here. That there is an alluaion to the twelve signs of die Zodiac, and probably lo tbeir atwieM aslerism*, or characters bv which they were distinguished, may be readily credited; but how br the peculiar i^iaiae. tanstics of the sons of Jacob were expressed by die onimala in the Zodiac, ia a widdy difierent question.
fl. 7. Dan—" A serpent bliiiis the horse'* heeW—Scerfis, the Scarpivn. Oil the celfstial sphere, tbe Scorftnn is aciuallf rppreienied a* biting tlU tssi if the tsm of ths archer Sagiluruu: snd Ciei*. " bit claws," arifinaWf occupied the spoee ot LUrm.
8. Jvtcpk—— His hnv remained tn siren glh'*-M be einn Segittantu, tbe srtkir, or kne-Mdn, cammonly represented, even on the Ji*iaJie Zodiac*, with his low htnS, and llM arrow dravn mp t» ike head— tbe bow in fttU strtmgtk.
«lT«bdimlum,iuiJa&iw<ickbBrnai«,IS. 'mrrh m-riritihiiin ■Wtrrininmlr, aol MBw Own uid ilxln d Mi cm and nrouciliin, It-VI. Janh uid Si. bwtoa dwril in JiOT>> ud bt m ihi <mA nKcuioa of bU diiUrcii, 1:1,33. BentalMiMiadiSilKfin^kBislbiBtaniaf ifceSuUrtn of Ind fram Egjrpuai, uideauiiilmiomu Auili>T*f>lcaiTrUtbsnnIoCteuB,3l. Jiiai)A dlii, •(Kl »« knatnd ami tat tmn, b M^iihiiid aal pui in ■ conn in KfTpi, 91.
What Iftelihood the RBder may see in sit thu, I cannot preteDd to lay; but that die timlve eigna ot the Zodiac were even at that time ^own in E>ypt and Chaldea; and diat the twtlsc »0M of Jacob were fikened to Aero in the prophetic dream already referred to, there can be little room to daabL'
2. We have now seen the life of Jacob brought to a close: and have carefully traced it through all its varioua fiirtunea, aa the &ct8 presented themselvei in the preceding •d)Ap{era. Isaac Kia father vaa what m^ht be properly called tigood matti but in strength of miik^ he appcara tohavenlleo far dioK of hii &ther AbnhanL and bit son Jaecik H&vinff hift the management of hia domealic conccma to Bebekui hia nile, who waa an ortfii] and comparatively irreligioua woman, the education of his aonS was either neglected or perverted. The unhappy influence which the {x^cepta and example of this mother had on the niDd of her son, wa have seen and deplored, llirough tbe mercy of Ood, Jacob outlived the ehady pan of nia owq character t and hia last daya were hia bnghest and his beat. He had many troubles and diffieultiea in life, under whidi an inferior mind muat have necessarily suati: but being a worker together with the providence of Ood, his diSculties only served in general to whet his invention, and draw out the inuneiiBe resources of his own mind. He had (0 do widi an avaricious, procrastinating relative, oa Seatilute of kumaniiyaE he was of justice. Let this plead ■Mnethingin his excuse. He certainly did outwit hia fatherin-law, and yet probably had no more than the just recompense of his lo£^ and faithful services, in the Buccesaful issue of all his clevices. From tlie lime in whipb Ood fiivoured him with that wonderful roanifeatatioa of his power and grace at Penitlj chap, xzxii. he became a new man. He nad frequent diacoveriea of God btforej to comfort and to eneoarage him in journeys, secular affairs, Ac but none io which the fuarl-changing power of divine grace was so abundantly revealed. Happy he whose last days are hia beat 1 We can acorcely conceive a scene more Doole Of dignified, than that exhibited' at tlie death-bed of Jaecdi. Tms great man was now one hundred andfortyteven yeus ofage: though hia body, by the >vaste of time, was neatly enlerided, yet, with a mind in perfect vigour, flhd ahope full of immortality, he calls his numerous bmily together, all of them in uicir utmost slate of proapenty, and Rivea them his last counsels, and hia dying bleasmg. fiia declarations show that the secret oi the I/Ord was with him; and tliat hia candle shone bright upon hie tabernacle. Having finished hia work, with penect possesston of all his feculties, and being detennineid that while he was able to htlp himaelf, none should be called in to asaiatj which woa one of the grand characteristics of hia lifis, be, with that dignity which became a grea*. mail and a man of God, stretched himself upon his bed, and ntlwr appears to have conquered death than to have nifftred it 'Who, seeing the end of this illuslriouspotriarch, can help exclaiming, Tlie re is none like the God of Jedhnrun I Let Jacob's God be my Gkid I Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his 1 Keader, God is still the tame: and though he may not make thee as great as was Jacob, yet he ia ready to make Akee aa good, and what^er thy past life may nave been, to crown tbee with loving Viniif>w>« and teooer mereie^ that tbj end also soay be peaea.
NOTES ON CHAPTER L. Verse 1. Joaafh fell on hi* /other' t/cuM.] Though this •a appMn to be suqieodedt by the tuinalural oivisioa of this
2 And Joseph commanded bis servants the
phj'sicians to <= embalm his father: and the j^i^ stcians embalmed IsraeL
3 And forty days were ftilfilled for him; (for so are fiUfiUed the days of those which are embalmed:) and the Egyptians '■mourned 'for him threescore and ten uaye.
4 T[ And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake tmto ' the house of Pharaoh, saying. If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
verse from the preceding chapter, yet we may rest assured titat it' was the vmmediaie consequence of Jacob's death.
Verse 2. The ^yncians\ Cftri ropkimt the kealert, those whose buaineas it -vftm to heal or restore die boidy from sickness the administration of proper medi^nes; and when death took place, to AeoZ or preserve it from diasolution, by embalmtng; and thus g^ve it a sort of tnimortality or everlasting duration. The original word ojn ekanal, which we tronalate to embalm, hae undoubtedly the same meaning with the Arabic p. I-^ hanaia, which also sigiiifies to embalm, or to preserve from pulrefiictioo, by the application of apicttu Ac and Itence £iUi^, kanUtt, an emhalmer. The word ie used to express the reddening of leather; and probably the ideal meaning may be aomc Ihing analogous to our tanning, which consista in removing the moteture, and dosing up the pores, so aa to rend^ them impervious to wet. Thia probably is the gnuid prutciple in embalming, and whatever effecta this, will preserve jCcsh as per^ctly as akin. Who can doubt that a human mnedc undergoing the same process of tanning aa the hide of an o.r, would not become equally incorrupt' ibU. I have seen a part of the muscle of the human tliigh, that having come into contact with some 'annin^ matter, either in the cofGn or in llie grave, wrb in a state of perfect soundness, when the rest of the body had been long reduced to eartli; and it exhibited tlie appearance of a thiek piece of iceU-lanned leather.
In the art of embalming, the Egyptians excelled all nations in the world: with ihcm it was a common pnu> tice, Insloncea of ihc perfection to which they carried thia art, may be aeea by the numerous mummiet, as Uiey are called, which are found in different European cabinets, and whi<m have been all brought from Egypt. lUs people not only embalmed men and iromm, uid thus kept the bodies of their beloved relatives from the empire of corruption, but they embalmed usefiil animaU also. I have seen the body of the Ibia thus preserved; and though the work had been done for lome thouaanda nf years, me veryfeathera were in completepreservatioD,aad the colour of the plumage diseeroible. Ttm aeeoont of this curious process, die articles used, and the manner of applying ihem, I subjoin from Herwotua and Diodorua SiaUua, aa also the manner of their mournings and funeral solemnities, which are highly illustrative of the ai^jecla in tlds
When any man of ouality dies, says Herodotus, all die tcomsn of that bmiiv oesmear their oeads wad fooes with dirt] then, leaving the bodv at home^ they go lamenting up and down the with all Iheir relations j theirapparel being girt about them, and their breasts left naked. On the other hand, the ni«n, having likewise their clothes
Sirt about them, beat themselves. These things beiitt one, ihey carry the dead body to be embalmed; lor whi<5 there are certain persons apptrinted who profess diia art. Theae, when the oody ia brought to them, show to those that bring it certain models of dead persons id wood, according to any of which the deceased may be painted. One of dieso they say is accurately made like to one, whom, in such a matter, I do not tiiiok lawful to name:
(probably Orirts, one of the prfocipal ^ids of Eg^ is htn intukled,) then thev show iatcond, inferhMr to it, and of an easier price: ana next a third, cheaper than tha former, and of a verr small value; which bemg seen, they ask, diem after which model the deceased shall be represented 1 when ihejr have agreed upon the price, they dapart; and those widi whom the dead corpse is left, pn^ ceed to embalm it oAer the following manner; &st of alL diey with a crooked iron draw die brain out of the haad through die nostrils, next with a sharp EtMppic atone. they cut up that part of the abdomen colled the ilia, and that way draw out all die bowds, which having cleansed and washed widi pnlm-viDe, Umv a^ai&.iinfe and wash ta the land of Canaan, there vhalt thou barf me. Now, therefore, let me go up, I pra^ thee, and bury my father, and [ will come again.
with vine perfumed with pounded odoun; tben filling up the telly with pure myrrk and coraio, grossly powdered, and all odier odours txca^ifrankincensty they sew it up s^^n. Having so done, they talt it up close widi mfre eevmty daya: for longer tliey may not salt iL After this number of days are over, they wan die corpse acaii^ and then roll it up with fine linen, all besmeared with a sort of jgumy oommoniy used Inr the Egyptians instead of glue.
Tlien is die body restorol to its relations, who prepare a wooden coffin for it, in the shape and likeness of a man, and then put thi embalmed body into it, and thus enclosed, place it m a repository in the house, setting it t^irigfat l^ainstihe widL After diia nwaner, they mth grnU expens^ preserve their dead; whereas thos^ who to avoid too great a charge^ desire a mtdioerUy, dius embalm them; they neither rut the belly, nor pfuok out the en-.trails, but fill it with clyetera of oil of c«i2ar injected up the anus, and then saH it die aforesaid immber of days. On the lost of these tliey press out the cedar clyster Dy the same way (bey bod injected iL which has such virtue and efficacy, thnt it brings mi. along with it the bowels wa^ed, and the nitre consumes the ush, leaving only the sldn and bones; having thus done, they restore the dead body to the relations, doing nothing more. Ihe Odrd way of embalming is for those of yet meaner circum- ■tances: th^ with lotions wash the oellv, ttien Ary it up with salt kit KverUy days, and afterward deliver it lo be oanied away. Nevertheless, beauti&il women and la-' die* of i]uah^ wore not dehvered to be embalmed till duee or four days afW ihey had been dead; for whieh Herodotus assignx a sufficient reason, however d^prading
*tuTixrtr. Ba de oauaa Xocienie4, aavm iie, ne cum JeevUnia itti SulinarU atncumhatU. ' Dqtrtfietuun enim gueiutam aiunt coeurUem cum reeenUeadavtremuHebri. delalumque ab ^uadem arti/Uii aoeio. [He original should not be put into a plainer language: the abomination to which it relers being too gross.] "But if any stranger or Egyptian was either killed by a crocodile, or drowned in the river, the city where he was cast up was to embalm and bury him honoimibly in the sacred monuments, whom no one, no, not a relation or friend, but tlie priesu of the NiU only, might touch, because ihey buried one wl)o was something more than a dead man." Hekod. Euterpe, p. 120. edit. GaU.
Diodonu Siculua relates the funeral ceremonies of the EgypHant more distinctlr and cleariy, and with some Twyremarinble additional drcumstaucea. "When any Me among die Egyptians dies," says he, "all his relations and friends, puttin? dirt upon their brads, go lamenting about the city, till such time as ilie body shall be btmed: in the mean time Ihey abstain from baths and wine, and all kinds of delicate meats^ neither do they, during that time, wear any costly appareL Hie manner of their burial is three/o/d: one very coetlVt a second sort less obargeable, and a third v^y mean, bi the (ini, Aey soy, there is spent a talent of sihrer; in the second, twenty mxnte; but in the last, there is very little expense. Those who have the care of ordering the body, ore such as have been taught that art by their ancestors. Hiese, ahowiiur each kind of burial, ask them after what manner they will have die body prepared; when they have agreed upon die manner, they deliver the body to such as are usoolly appointed for thb office. First, he who has the name of weribt, lering it upon the ground, maite about the flank on, the left side, how mut^ is to be cut away; then he who is called w««in-x'""(, paratcKiMtet, the cutter or diaaecier, widi an EtMapie atone, cuts away as much of die deih as the law oommands, and presently runs away aa fest as he tan; those who are present pursuing him, cast stones ■1 him, and enne hi% oereW turning all the execrations jvhieh 'imj imagine 'duo to his office, upon liim. For Vbowerer offers violence, wounds, or does any kind of hmuT to a body of die same nature with himself, they dunk bim worthy of hatred; but those who ore called ^afltxtvTtL,,Hariwutit, the tn^atmen, they esteem worthy of honour and reapeot^ for they are familiar widi dieir priests, and go into die temples as holy men, without anv pmhibidon. As soon as they come to embalm the dissected Body, one of them thrusts his hand through the wound into the abdomen, and draws fbrtfa all ths bowels, but the heart and kidneys, which another washes and cleanses Vrith wine, made of palms and aromatic odours. Lastly, having washed dw body, dM7 anoint it with oil of ce^.178.
6 And Pharadh «aid, Go tq), and bury &ther, accordmf as he made toee nrear.
mjrrrh, cinnamon, and other such like matters: wfaidi have not only a power to preserve it a long time, but tim five it a sweet smell, after which they <£liver it to du indred in such a manner, dtat every member remains whole and entire, and no part of it dianged, but the beoan. and shape of the faix seem just as diey wem belbn: aw the pMson may be known, even the eyebmn and eyeRds remaining as ihey were at firrt. By uaa masoi anny sf the EgypHana, keeping the dead bodies of their anoesten in magmfioent houses, so perfeedy see the true vinge ani countenance of those that died many ages befbn tbnr themselves were bon, that in viewing the propaetiam «C evary one 61 them, and the lineaments of their faces, di^ take as auoh del^t as if dwy w«re etUI living amoag them. MoreovN', the friends and neareat relations of the deceased, for the greater pon^ of the solemnly, acqusini the judges and the rest of their friends with the time prefixed for the hmeral or day of aepultnre, declarii^ ite such a one (calling the dead 1^ name) is such a day to pass the lake, at which time above Ibr^ judges appest^ and sit together in a semicircle, in a place prraoied ea 'tbs hither sit» of the lake, where a ship provided bcfcmfasad by such as have the can of the busineas, ia haled up to the dhore, and ste»ed by a pilot, whom the EgypHmt, in their language, called'^ Charon. Henee they liw. Orpheua uDon seeine diis ceremony, while bs was in Egj/A invented the fable of hell, partly imitatii^ dierein ths people of and partly adding MMnewnatfifhiaima.
"nie ship bemg thus brought to tne lake.sii]e bdbn Ae coffin is put on board, everv one is at liber^ tw the law Is accuse the dead of what he thinks him guilty^ If say one proves he was a bad man, the judges give senteace, that die body shall be dcMived of sepulture; bat in case die informer be convicted of false aeeusation, then be is severely punished. If no accuser appear, or tne infcrmation prove false, then all the kindred of the deceaeed leave off mourning, and begin to set forth his praise^ yet aat nothing of his birth, (as the custom is amoi^ the (rreeit) because the Egyptians all think themselves equally aoble; but they recount how die deceased was educated rrosa his youth, and brought up to man's estate, exalting his pwff towards the goos, and justice towards men. his duutOg and other virtues wherein he excelled: and lastly prw and call upon the infernal deities (r«u( ■■m tieuc. Me mat bdoa) to receive him into the society of the Just, llie common people take this from the others, and conaeancDtly oil ia said in his praise by a loud shout, setting likewisA forth his virtues in the hi^iest strains of ccmmeudaitoi^ aa onejhat ia to live fbr ever with die infernal goda. Ika thoee that have tombs of their own, inter (he corpse ia places aptxHuted for that purpoBCj and th^ diat hare none, rear up the bodv in its coffin against some strong wall of their house. Bat aucdi as are denied sepulture on aecooal of some (Time or debt, are laid up at home wiiAoufe^^lM; yet when it ahall afterward happei^ that anr of ihetr posterior grows rich, he eommooiy pays oft the deceassJ neracHra debt^ ami gets hw crimes abmved, and so bnriM him hoAourably i for the Egyptiana are wont to bonat ef their parents and ancestors that were honourably bnriedL It ia a custom likewise among diem to vasm the dead bodies of their parents to their creditors, out then ftws that do not redeem them fall under the greatest disgnee imaginable, and ore denied burial themselves at dnr deadia." Diod. Sic Bibliodi. lib. i. cap. 91—93- edit. pom. Sea also the Nelerokedia, or art qf ewtafcifafc by QTtelihiXL^ 4to. p. 241. who endeavoured in «^ » recommend and restore the art. But he could not give bia countrymen Egyptian manTura; tot a dead eareaaa is to the British an object of horror; and scarcely any except a aurgeon or an undertaker, cares to loach iU
Terse 3. FWty daya] The body, it.appears reaaired this number of dava to complete the imtcess of embnlm* ing: afterward It lay in natron thirty days more, m^iag in the whole seventy days, according to Die preceding aecouutB; during which the moummg was contintied. 8a the Egyptians mtmmed/or Jacob three score and Cos dayt, 1. e. the whole time in which die spices and ntr* were applied to the dead body.
Verae 4. fi^xajt / proy you, in fha ears PHuarrtdQ But why did not Jo«4>h apply himself? Beranse be now in nis mourning habiia, and could not lay them tm till his fctber was interred, and in auch, none must ameer in the presence of the eaatem monarrha. See Esth. n. 1.
Verse 7. TTu eldera qf kia htntae] Penona who, by reason of their agis bad ooqoired/fiMM cnartaaM; av Digitized by VjOOv IC ud wiUi hun went up all the servants or Pha^ raoh, the Mders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt;.,. ^.
S And all the house of Joseph, and bts brethrea, and hia father's house: onljr their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they lef^ in tt^ land of GoBhen.
0 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10 And they came to the threshinjt floor of Atad. which u beyond Jordan, and there they > mourned with a yreat and very sore lamentation: * and he made 4 mourning for his father seven days.
11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said. This is a grievous mouriUDg to the Bryptians: wherefore the name of it was called ' Aiiel-mizr^im, which is beyond Jordan.
wtao on 'Hum accoimt were deemed the beat ^jalified to •OTMhut dte Rftun of (he idof^B bouaehold. SiiDiltr to diMB were ihe — |bo|w—ii ddarmm, or aUemua, uooog •of Sura noamn^ irtw wars MMitor* Mid pttnottba mlm.
Ute flmen] pwasuifln of Juab mint have been truly pud. Jou^ hia itrttkrm, and Aeir daetndanU, die mtmamtM ^ Pharaoh, dte ewer* qf his hoiu^ md all ihe Man, all the priocipal mea «/' tha land qf Egypt, mlk duirioU and horaemtn, mmt have appeared a verj/ great ■ fiowtpany indeed. We have Heii u>em, for their greater honaw, buried at the public expense; and all the male branchea of the royo/ family, as well aa ihe moat emioent wiea of ilie natioiL join to the funeral procession, as io die eaae of the lata hard Ntiaon; but what was all this in eomporiMQB of tha foneral solemnity now before us? Here ia no eotifturor—no mighty man ^ valmir — do person of prmtd d^aeant.-^Sim was only a plain man, who had awolt almoat all hia life long in tenia, without any odter mUdeeta than bis ealtU; ancT whose kkigdom was not sf thia icorld. Behold this man honoured by a naHonal mtaarning and bv a national Juneral I li may be said imfaed, that " all tbis wsa done out re^>ect to Joseph." B* it ao; vhy was Joaa^ thtta reapeeied? Was it bec&use he had conquered noiiona — had made his sword drunk widi Wood— had triumphed over the enemies of B^rptl MOI batbeewwebehatlsatwfnMnaZive— beesusehewas As king'a fatUifkl aaroant, the rith man'a eatmaatlor, mad the poor man'afriand. Ma waa-a national blesrinr, •■Ml the natioa mwms is his afflietios, and unites to do kim hoDOor.