Commentary on the Holy Bible

Ish ha-adamah, a man of (lie ejround; a farmer: by his beginning to be a liusbaiidiiKin, wc arc to iindcrslaml his recomniencing his agricultural operations, whirl), undoubtedly, he had carried on for six hundred years before, but this had been interrupted by the flood. And the transactions here mentioned might liave occurred many yc'ars posterior to tin; dtUitie, even after Canaan was born and grown up, for the date of it is not fixed in tiie text.

The word husband first occurs here; and scarcely appears proper, because it is always applied to man in his married state, as uj/i is to the woman. The etymology of the term wdl at once shew its propriety, when apjilicd to the head of a family. Husband, j)uyhani> is Anglo-Saxon, and.'dimply signifies the band of liie house or famili/; as by him the family is formed, united, and bound lugetlier, which on his death, is disunited and scattered. It is on this elyniologv of the word, that we can account for the farmers and pett^ lundhnlders being called, so early as the twelfth century, hushundi, as appears in a statute of David 11. king of Scotland: we may, therefore, safely derive the word from y>uy, a house and bono, from bmsen, to bind or tie; and this etymology appears plainer in the orthography which prevailed in the thirteenlh and Iburteenlh centuries, in which I have often found the word written /(OifseAonrf; so it is in a MS. bible before me, written some time in the fourteenth century. Junius disputes this etymology, but 1 thiiik on no just ground.

Verse 21. He drank of the xdne, iVc] It is very probable that this was the first time the vine was cultivated; and it is as probable that the strength or intoxicating power of the expressed juice was never before known. Noah, therefore, might have? drunk it at this tmie without the least blame; as he knew not, till this trial, the effects it would produce. I once knew a case which I believe to be perfeitly parallel: A person who had scarcely ever heard of cyder, and whose beverage through his whole life liad been only milk or 'jiater, coming v.-et and very much fatigued to a farmer's house in Somersetshire, begged for a little ivater or milk. The good woman of the house, seeing him very much exhausted, kindly said, " I will give you a little cyder, which will do ^oii more good;" the honest man, understanding no more of cyder than merely that it was the simple juice of apples, atler some hesitation, drank about half a pint of it: the consequence was, that in less than half an liour, he was perfectly intoxicated, and could neither speak jilain nor walk! This case I myself witnessed. A stranger to the circumstances, seeing this person, Mould pronounce him drunk; and, perhaps, at a third hand,

and went backward, and covered tlic " ^'- '" '''^''^- nakedness of their lather; and tlieir faces tt'ere backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

he might be represented as a drunkard, and thus his character be blasted; while, of the crime of drunkenness, he was as innocent as an infant. This I presume to have been precisely the case with Noah; and n^j person, without an absolute breach of every rule of charity and candour, can attach any blame to the character of Noah, on this ground, unless from a subsequent account they were well assured, that, knowing the power and eflects of the liquor, he had repeated the act. Some expositors seem to be glad to fix on a face like thi.s, which, by their distortion, becomes a crime; and then, in a strain of sympathetic tenderness, affect to deplore " the failings, and imperfections of the best of men;" when, from the interpretation that should be given of the place, neither failing nor imperfection can jwssibly appear.

Verses 22—24. And Ham the father of Canaan, ^c] There is no occasion to enter into any detail here, the sacred text is circumstantial enough. Ham, and, very probably, his son Canaan, had treated their father on this occasion with contempt, or reprehensible levity. Had Noah not been in^ nocent, as my exposition supposes him, God would not have endued him with the spirit of jjrophecy on this occasion, and testified such marked disapprobation of tlieir conduct. The conduct of Shem and Japheth was such as became pious antl aftectionate children, who appear to have been in the habit of treating their father with decency, reverence, and obedient respect. On the one, the spirit of prophecy, (not the incensed father) pronounces a curse: on the otliers, the same spirit, (not parental tenderness) pronounces a blessing. These things had been just as they afterwards occurred, had Noah never spoken. God had wise and powerful reasons to induce him to.sentence the one to perpetual servitude, and to allot to the others prosperity and dominion, licsides, the curse pronounced on Canaan neither fell immediately upon himself nor on his worthless father, but upon the Canaanites; and from the history we have of this people, in J.evit. xviii. xx. and Deut. ix. 4. xii. 'M. we may ask, could the curse of God fall more deservedly on any people than on these? Their profligacy was great, but it ivas not the effect of the curse; but being foreseen by the Lord, the curse was the eftect of their conduct. But even this curse docs not exclude them from the possibility of obtaining salvation: it extends not to the so!(/ and to eternity, but merely to their bodies and to time; though, if they continued to abuse their liberty, resist the Holy Gliost, and refuse to be saved on God's terms, then tlie wrath of divine justice must come upon them to the uttermost How many, even of these, rep»nted, we cannot tcU»

25 And he said, * Cursed he Canaan; '' a sen^ant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

26 And he said, ' Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be '^ his servant.

Verse 25. Curxed be Ctnwan] See on llin preceding verses. In tlie '25lh, 26th and 27th verse?, instead of Canaan simjbly, the Arabic version l)as Ham the father of Canaan; but this is acknowledged by none of the other versions, and seems to be merely a "loss.

Verse 29. The days rf Noah iiere nine hundred undjifiy t/ears] The oldest Patriarch on record, Methusaleh only excepted. This, accordin;; to the common reckoning, was A. M. 2006, but accordini,' to T>r. Hales 3505.

" H.\M," says Dr. Hales, " signifies burnt or blac/c, and this name was peculiarly significant of the regions allotted to his family. To the Ctishiies, or children of his eldest son, Cush, were allotted the hot southern regions of Asia, alons the coasts of the Persian Gulph, Siisiana or Chusistan, Arabia, ftc.; to the sons of Canaan, Palestine and Syria; to the sons of iVlisra'im, Egypt and Lybia, in Africa.

" The Hamites in general, like the Canaanites of old, were a seafaring race, and sooner arrived at civilization and the luxuries of life, than their simpler pastoral and agricultural brethren of the other two families. The first great empires of Assyria and Ei'i/pi were founded by them; and the republics of Sidon, Tyre, and Carthage were early distinguished for their commerce; but they sooner also fell to decay; and Egypt, which was one of the first, became the last and basest of the kingdoms, Lzek. xxix. 15. and has been successively in subjection to the Shemites and Japhethites; as have also the settlements of the other branches of the Hamites.

" Shem signifies nwme or renow^i; and his indeed was great in a temporal and spiritual.sense. The finest regions of Upper and Middle Asia were allotted to his family, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Media, Persia, &c. to the Indus and Ganges, arid perhaps to China eastward.

" The chief renown, however, of Shem was of a spiritual nature — he was destined to be the lineal ancestor of the blessed seed of the woman — and to this glorious privilege Noah, to whom it was probably revealed, might have alluded in that devout ejaculation, Blessed be the LORD the GOD of Shcmf The pastoral life of the Shemius is strongly marked in the prophecy, by the tents of Shem, and such it remains to the present day, throughout their midland settlements in Msia.

" J.iPHETH signifies enlargement; nnd how wonderfully did Providence entaj-ge the boundaries of Jajjheth! His posterity diverged eastward and westward throughout the whole extent t(f Asia, north of the great range of Taurus, as far as the eastern Ocean; whence they probably crossed over to America by Baring's Streights, from Kamskatska; and in the opposite

dwell In the tents of Shem; and Ca naan shall be his servant

28 % And Noah Hved after the flood hundred and fifty years.

29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

direction throughout Europe, to the 3Icdilerranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; (roni whence also they might have crossed over to America by Nexifoundland, where traces of early settlements remain in parts now desart. Thus did they gradually enlarge themselves till they literally encompassed the earth, within the precincts of the northern temperate zone; to which their ro^ ing hunter's life contributed not a little. Their progress northwards was checked by the much greater extent of the Black Sea in ancient times, and the encreasing rigour of the climates: but their hardy race, and enterprizing warlike genius, made them frequently encroach southwards on the settlements of Shem, whose pastoral and agricultural occupations rendered them more inactive, peaceable, and unwarlike; and so they dwelt in the tents of Shem, when the Scythians invaded Media, and subdued western Asia southwards, as far as Egi/pt, in the dajs of Cyaxares; when the Greeks, and afterwards the llomans, overran and subdued the Assyrians, Medes, and Persians in the east; and the Syrians and Jews in the south; as foretold by the Syrian prophet Balaam, Num. xxiv. 24.

And shall afflict the Assyrians, and afflict the Hebrews

But he (the invader) shall perish himself at last.

"And by Moses: — And the Lord shall bring thee (the Jews) into Egypt (or bondage) again with ships, &c. Deut. xxviii. 68. And by Daniel: — For the ships of Chittim shall come again.st him, viz. Antiochus, king of Syria, Dan. xi. 30. In these passages Chittim denotes the southern coasts of Europe, bounding the Mediterranean, called the Isles of the Gentiles or Nations; see Gen. x. 5. And the Isles of Chittim are mentioned by Jerem. li. 10. And in after times, the Tartars, in the east, have repeatedly invaded and subdued the Hindoos and the Chinese; while the warlike and enterprizing genius of the greatest of the Isles of the Gentiles, GREAT Britain and Ireland, have spread their colonies, their arms, their language, their arts, and in some measure their religion, from the rising to the setting sun." See Dr. Hales's Analysis of Chronology, vol. i. p. 352, &c.

Though what is lell undone, should not cause us to lose sight of ^vhat is done, yet we have reason to lament, that the inhabitants of the British isles, who of all nations under heaven, have the purest light of Divine Revelation, and the best means of diffusing it, have been much more intent on spreading their conquests and extending their commerce, than in propagating the Gospel of the Son of God.

T/ie generations of the sons ofNoaJi, 1. Japheth and his descendants, 2 — 4. The isles of the Gentiles, or Europe peopled by the Japhcthites, 5. H km and his posterity, fi — '20. 'Nimrod, one of his descendants, a migldy hunter, 8,9. Founds the first kingdom, 10. Nineveh and other cities founded, 11,12. Ttie Canaanite'i in their nim grand branches or families, 15 — 18. Their territories, 19. Suem andhis posleriti/, Ql — 31. The earth divided in the days of Peleg, 25. The territories of the Shemites, 30. The whole earth peopled by the descendants of Noah's three sons, 3'i.

OW these are the generations of the sons of Noah, JShem, Ham, and Japheth: " and unto tlicm were sons born after the flood.

Verse I. Now these are llie generations] It is extremely difficult to say wliat particular nations and peoples sprung from tlje three grand divisions of the family of Noah; becavise the names of many of those ancient people have hecnnic changed in the vast lapse of time fi'om the deluge to the Christian Jh'.vn: yet some are so very dislinttly marked, that they can be easily ascertained, while a few stili retain their original names.

Moses does not appear to give always the name of the Jirst settler in a country, but rather that of the people from whom the country nftenuards derived its name. Thus Mizraim is the plural o( Mezer, and could never be the name of an individiial, The like may be said of Kitlim, Dod/niim, Lndim, Animim, Ij:habim, Kfiplitiiliiiii, Puthrusim, Cas/uliitii, Philiitim, and Cuphtorim, which are all plurals, and evidently not the names of indiriduals, hut oi famiUes ur tribes. See verses 4, 6, 13, 14.

In the posterity of Canaan, we find whole nations reckoned in the genealogy, insieud of the individuals from which they sprang; thus the Jebti.-^itc, Auiorite, Girgasite, Haite, Arkitc, Sinite, Arvadite, Zcniarite, and liamaihite, ver. 'C — IS, were evidently whole nations or tribes which inhabited the promised land, and were called Canuanites from Canaan, the son of Ham, who settled there.

Moses also in this genealogy, seems to have introduced even the names of some places that were remarkable in the sacred history, instead of the original settlers. Such as JIazurmavetIt, rer. 2G. and probably Opliir and llaz/lalt, ver. 29. But this is not infrequent in the sacred writings, as may be seen 1 Chron. ii. 51, uhere Halina is called tlie fallier of 'hdJt-lehcm, which certainly never was the name of a man, but of a place, sufficiently celebrated in the sacred history. And jn chap. iv. 14. where Joab is called the father of the vallei/ of Chnras/iim, which no person could ever."-upjjose was intended to designate an individual, but the society vi' craftsmtn or artificers who lived tliere.

Kuscbius and others state (from vhat authority we know not) that Noah n as commanded of God to?nakt a v.-iU, iind

5 By these were ''the isles of theGen- a.m. iri?-. tiles divided in their lands; every one " C- ^^-'^7^■ after histongue,aftertheirfamilies,inthcirnations.

bequeath the v\hole of the earth to his three sons and their descendants in the following maimer: To Short, all the East; to Hum, all Africa; to Japheth, the Continent of Europe, with its files, and the northern parts of Asia. See the notes at the end of the preceding chapter.

Vei-se 2. The sons of Japheth].Japheth is supposed to be the same with the Japelus of the Greeks, from whom, in an extremely remote antiquity, that people were supposed to have derived their origin. On this point, most chronologists are pretty well agrteil.

Gomer is supposed by some to have peopled Galatia: so ■Toscphus, who says that the Galalians were anciently named Gomerites. From him the Cimmerians, or Cimbrians, are supposed to have derived their origin. Bochurt has no doubt that the Phrygians sprung from this person; and some of our principal commentators arc of the same opinion.

Magog, supposed by many to be the father of the Scythians, and Tar-tars, or Tatars, as the word sliould be written, and in great Tartary, many names are still found which bear such a striking resemblance to the Gog and Magog of the scriptures, as to leave little doubt of their identity.

31adai is generally supposed to be the progenitor of the 3Icdes; but Joseph Mede makes it probable that he was rather the founder of a jjeople in Macedonia called JTadi, and that Macedonia. was formerly called Ernathia, a name formed from Ei, an island, and 3ladai, because he and his descendants inhabited the uiarilime coast on tlie borders of the Ionian Sea, On this subject, nothing certain can be advanced.

Javan; it is almost universally agreed, that from him sprung the lonians, of Asia Minor; but this name seems to have been anciently given to the yfacedonians, Achuians, and Bccoiiuns.

Tubal; some think he was the father of the Iberians, and that a part at least of Spain was peopled by hiin and his descendants-; and that ]\leslierh, uho is generally in scripture joined with him, was the founder of the Cappudocians, from j whom proceeded the Moscctites.

i Tir.is; from this person, according <to general consent, the Thraciaris derived their origin.

A.Mdr.i67o. g ^ » And the sons of Ham; Cush, ^^•'''^^^^- and Mizralm, and Phut, and Canaan. 7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

8 And Cush begat Nimrod; he be-

9 He was a miglity ''hunter 'before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord.

Verse 3. Ashkenaz; probably gave bis name to Sacagena, ■> very excellent province of Armenia. Pliny mentions a people called Ascanitici, wlio dwelt about the Tanois and the i'alits MteolicTis; and some suppose that from Ashkenaz, the Eiuine sea derived its name; biit others suppose that from him the Germans derived tlieir origin.

Rij.hath, or Diphath, tlie founder of the Paphlagonians, jffhich were anciently called Riphalisi.

Togarma, the Sauromutes, or inhabitants of Turcomania. See the reasons in Hairnet.

Verse 4. Elishah; as Jircnn peopled a considerable part of Gretce, it is in that region that we must seek for the settlements of his descendants; Elishah probably was the fiist who settled at Elis, in Peloponnesus.

Turshiih: lie first inhabited Cilicia, whose capital anciently was the city of Tanm, ^^here Iihe Apostle Paul was born. Acts xxi..'i9.

Kittiin; we have already seen that this name was probably, rather the name of 7i people than of an individual: some think by Kittim, Cyprus is meant; others, the isle of Chios, and others the Romans, and others the H'facedonians. |

Dodunim, or Ruilanim, for in Hebrew, the ^ and 1 may be i casit)' mistaken for each other, because of their great simdarity. i Some suppose that this family settled at Dodona, in Epirus; others at the isle of Rhodes; others at the Rhone, in France, 1 the ancient name of which was Rhodanus, from the scripture Rodanim.

Verse 5. Isles of the G4;nfiles'\ EUROPE, of which this is allowed to be a i;eneral epithet. Calmet supposes that it comprehends all those countries to which the Hebrews were ' obliged to go by sea, such as Spain., Gaul, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor.

Eveiy one after his tongue] This refers t& the time posterior to the confusion of tongues and dispersion from BaheL

Verse 6. Cush; who peopled the Arabic norne, near the Bed Sea in Lowei Egypt. Some tliink the Eihioptans descendid from him.

Miziaim; this family certainly peopled Egypt; and both in the east and in the west Egypt is called Mezr and Mezraim. Phut; who first peopled an Egyptian nome, or district, bordering on. I ybia.

Canaan; he who first peopled the land so called, known also by the name of ihe Promised Ixtnd.

Verse 1. Scba; the founder of the Sabsans. There seems to be three difi'erent people of this name mentioned in this chapter, and a fourth in chap. xxv. 3.

Havilah; supposed by some to mean the inhabitants of the country included within that branch of the river Pison, which ran out of the Euphrates into the bay of i'ersia, and bounded Arabra Felix, on the east.

Sabtah; supposed by some to have first peopled an isle, or peninsula, called Saphta, in the Persian Gulph.

Raamah, or Ragmah, for the word is pronounced both ways because of the I? ain, which some make a vowel, and some a consonant. Ptolemy mentions a city called Regnia, near the Persian Gulph, it probably received its name from the person in the text.

Sabtechah; from the river called Samidochus, in Caramania, Bochart conjectures, tliat the person in the text fixed his residence in that part.

Sheba; supposed to have had his residence beyond the Euphrates, in the environs of Charran, Eden, &c,

Verse 8. Nimrod; of this person little is known, as he i* not mentioned except here and in 1 Chron. i. 10. which is evidently a copy of the text in Gene.>is. He is called a juighti/ hunter before the Lord; and from ver. 10. we learn that he founded a kingdom wliich included the cities Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calne, in the land of Shinar. Though the words are not definite, it is very likely he was a very bad man. His name Nimrod, comes from TlO 7narad, he rebelled; an<l the Targum, on 1 Chron. i. 10. says, Nimrod began to be a niighly man in sin, a murderer of innocent men, and a rebel before the Lord. The Jerusalem Targum says, " He was mighty in huntmg, (or in prey) and in sin before God; for he was a hunter of the children of men in their languages; and he said unto them. Depart from the religion of Shem; and cleave to the Institutes of Nimrod." The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel says, " From the foundation of the world none was ever found like Nimrod, powerful in hunting, and in rebellions against the Lord." The Syriac calls him, a warlike giant. The word TX tsaid, which we render hunter, signifies prey, and is applied in the scriptures to the hunting of men, by persecution, oppression, and tyranny. See Jer. xvi. 16. Lam. iii. 52. iv. 18. Prov. i. n, IS. Zeph. iii. 6. Hence it is likely, that Nimrod, having acquired power, used it in tyranny and oppression; and by rapine and violence, founded that domination, which was the first distinguished by the name of a kingdom on the face of the cartli. How many kingdoms have been founded in the same way, in various ages and nations from that time to the present year 1810! From the Nimrocls of the earth, God deliver the world!

Mr. Bryant, in his Mythology, vol. iii. p. 33 — 36. consider* Nimrod as the principal instrument of the trfo/ai)^^ that afterwards prevailed in the family of Cush; and treats him as an> arch rebel and apostate. Mr. Richardson, who was the de- j termined foe of Mr. Bryant's whole system, asks, Dissertatiovj p. 405. " WlierQ i* the authority Cos these aspersions^ i

10 ' And the bcginnins of hiskinjr-

dom was '' Babel, and Erecli, and Accad, and Calneh, in llie land of S!iinar. A..M..ri7.«. 11 Out of that land 'went forth B.c.cir aa4. ^si^m-, and biiildcd Nineveh, and * the dty Ilehobotli, and C'alah,

12 And Rescn between Nineveh, and Calah: the same is a great city.

13 And Mizra in begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lchabim, and Naplituhim,

15 ^ And Canaan begat '!Sidon his first-born, and Heth,

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the famihes of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19 ^ And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto *■ Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

'20 These are the sons of Ham, after their fiimilies, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

21 1[ Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

•Ihey are no uhere to be discovered in tlie originals, in the versions, nor in tlie purup/irases of the sacred writings." If they are not to he found both in versions and pariiphrdses of the sacred writings, tlie above quotations are all false.

Verse 10. Tite hcjinning of his kingdom vias Bahell 73D Bubel signifies confusion; and it seems to have been a very proper name for tiie commencement of a kingdom that appears to have been founded in apostua/ from God, anrl to iiave been supported by tyrunnif, rapine, and oppression. In the land of Shiniir; the.sauie as is mentioned, chap. xi. 2. It appears that as Babylon was built on the river Euphrates, and tliat the tower of Babel was in the land of S/iinar, consequently Shinar itself must have been in the southern part of Mesopotamia.

Vcise 1 1. Out of that land urni forth Asliiir] The viarginal reading is to be jireferred here. He, Nimrod, v^ent out into Assyria and built Nineveh; and hf nee Assyria is called the land of Nimrod, Mich. v. C. Thus did ihis mighty hunter extend hif donnnions in every possible way. The city of TSineveh, the capital of Assyria, is supposed to have had its name from Ninus, the son of Nimrod; but probably Ninus and Nimrod are the same person. This city, which made 60 conspicuous a figure in the history of the world, is now called HIossul; it i> an inconsiderable place, built out of the ruins of the ancient Nintveh.

Hehoboih, t\.lah, &.C. Nothing certain is known concerning the situation of these places; conjecture is endless; and it has been amply indulsed by learned men in seeking for Sehobolh, in the Jiinha of I'tolemy, Calah, in Calachine, Retcn, in Larissa, ifc. ^c.

Verse 13, Mizrtiim begat Ltidiin] Supposed to mean the inhabitants of i;ie Marrotis, a canion in Kgvpt, for the name Ludim is evidtiilly the name of a people.

Anamim; according to Bochart, the people who inhabited the district about the temple of Jupiter Aiiimon.

Lehabim; the I.yhians, or a people who dwelt on the west of the Thebaid, and were called Lybio-Ezyptians.

Naphtuhim; even the conjecturers can scarcely fix a placu for these people. Bochart seems inclined to place them in Dlarmarica, or among the Troglodytes.

Verse 14. Pathrusim] The inhabitants of the Delta, in Egypt, according to the Chahlee paraphrase; but according to Bochart, the people who inhabited the Thebaid, called Pathros in scripture.

Casluhim; the inhabitants of Co/cA/.?; for almost all aulhori allow that Colchis was peopled from Egypt.

Philistim; the people called Philisti>ies, the constant plagues and frequent oppressors of the Israelites, whose history may be seen at large in the books of Samuel, Kings, &c.

Verse 15. Sidon; who probably built the city of this name, and was the father of the Sidonians.

Verse 16. The Jebusite, Amorite, i*)C.] Are well known as being the ancient iniiabitants of Canaan, expelled by the

Veise 20. These a.re the sons of Ham after their families, tVc.} No doubt all these were well known in the days of IMoses, and for a long time afier: but at this dislducc, when it is considered that the political slate of the world has been undergoing almost incessant revolutions through all the intermediate [Kjrtions of time, the iin|X)ssibility of fixing their residence*, or marking their descendants, must be evident, as both the names of the people, and the places of their residences, have been chant;ed beyond the possibilitj' of being recognized.

22 The * children of Shem; Elam, and Asshar, and *" Arphaxad, and Lud and Aram.

23 And the children of Ai-am j Uz, and Hal, and Geither, and Mash.

24 And Axjihaxad begat ' Salah "; and Salah begat Eber.

for in his days was the earth divided; and his

passing over (for so the word Taj> Abcr signifies) the river Eluphrates, to come into the land of Canaan. See the history of Abraham, chap. xiv. 13.

Verse 2'2. Elajri; from whom came the Elamites, near to the Medes, and whose chief city was Elemais.

Assliur; who ga\e his name to a vast province (afterwards a mighty Empire) called Asxyn'a.

Arphaxad; from whom Arrupachitis, in Assyria, was named, accordmaf to some; or Artaiata, in Armenia, on the frontiers of Media, according to others.

Lud; the fomu'.cr of tVie Lydians, in Asia Minor; or of the Ludim, who dwelt at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris, according' to Arias Blontanus.

Arum: tile father of the Arameuns, afterwards called Syrians. On this point there is scarcely any difference of opinion atnonr;; learned men.

V^rse'23. Uz; who peopled Ctelosyria, «nd is supposed to have he.en the foimder of Damancuf.

Gether; supposed by (ahnet to be the founder of the Ituraius, who dw£lt beyond the Jordan, having Arabia Deserta on the eait, and the.Inrdan on the west.

Ma^h; who inhabited mount Mitshism Mesopotamia, and from whom the river Mazecu, which has its source in that mountain, takes its name.

Ver.'C 24. Salah; the founder of the people of Siminna. Eber, see vcr. 21. '1 he Scptuagint add Cuinun here with one hundred and thirty to tlie chronohiory. Most think the addition spuri<jus both here and i-n Siiint Luke.

Vrr-e 'Ih. Pelci;, from JtD pfi/at', to divide, because in his days, which is supposed to be aiiotit one hundred years after the flood, the earth was divided, amonjr the 4ions of Noah. T-hoiip;h some arc of opinion liiat a phy.\iiul division and not n political one, is wliat hs intended iiore: ti£. a separation of continents and islands from the main land; the earthy parts havinij been united into one jjrf at continent previously to liie days of Peletj. This opinion appears to inc the most likely, for what is said ver. 5. is spoken by wny of anticipation.

Verse 26, &c. Joktan had thirteen sons who liud their tlivelliiig from Meiha unto Sephar, a mount of iJte cast, verse 30.

29 And Ophir, and Kavilah, and Jobab: all these rcere the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of the east-

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their fitmilies, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 "^ These are thcfamihes of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations; ^ and by these were the nations divided in the earth,

which places Calmet supposes to be mount Masius on the west, in BTesopoUmiia; and tlie mountains of the Saphirs on tie ea^t in Armenia; or of the Tapyrs, farther on in Media.

In confirmation that all men have been derived from on,e family, let it be observed; that there are many customs and usages both sacred and civil, which have prevailed in all pacts of the world, which could owe their origin to nothing but a general institution, which could never have existed had not mankind been of the same blood originallj', and instructed in the same common notions before they were dispersed. Among these usages may be reckoned, — I. The numbering by tens. 2. Their computing time by a cycle of sercn days.

4. 7 heir use of sucn'^M, propitiatory and eucharistical. 5. The consecration of temples and altars. 6. The institution of sanctuaries or places of retiige, and their privileges. 7. Their giving a tenth part of the produce of their fields, &c. for the use of the altar. 8. The custom of worshij ping the Deity bare-footed. 9. Abstinence of the men from all sensual gratifications previously to their offering sacrifice. 10. The order of priesthood and its sujiport. 1 1. The notion of legal pollutions, defilements, &c. 12. The universal tradition of a general deluge. 13. The universal opinion that the rawftow was a divine sitrn or portent, ^c. 6;c. see Dodd.

The wisdom and goodness of God are particularly manifested in repcopling the earth by means of three persons, all of (1r- same fanuly, and who had \\ itnessed that awful display of divine justice in the destruction of the world by the flood; while themselves were prtstrved in the ark. By this very means, the true religion was propagated over the earth; for the sons of Noah would certainly teach their children, not only the precepts delivered to their father by God himsell^ but also how, in his justice, Jie had brought the flood on the word of the ungodly; and by his merciful providence, preserved than from the general ruin. It is on this ground alone, that we can account tiir the unifonnity and universality of the above traditions; and tor the grand outlines of religious truth, which are found in every quarter <if the world. God has so done his marvellous works, that they may be had i^ everlasting rcmembsiince.

All the inhabitants of the earth, speaking one language, and dwelling in one place, 1, 1. purpose to build a city and a tower to prevent their dispersion, 3, 4. God confounds their lanj^iiage, and scrtfters them over the rcliole earth, 5 — 9. Account of the lives and families of ike postdiluvian Patriarchs. Shem, 10, 11. Arphaxad, 12, IJ. Halah, 14, 15. Hcher, l6, 17- Phaleg, 18, 19. liagnu or lieu, 20, 21. Serug, 22,2,'}. Nahor, 24, 25. Terah and his three so7is, Uarau, Nac/ior and Abram, 26, 27. The death of Hariin, 28. Jbram marries Sarai, and Nachor marries Milcah, 29. Sarai is barren, 30. Terah, ylbrum, Sarai and Lot leave

Ur of the Chaldees, and go to Haran, 31. Terah dies in Haran, aged tico hundred and Jive years, 32.

AND the whole earth was of one * language, and of one ''speech. 2 xlnd it came to pass, as they journeyed 'fi-om the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

Versp 1. The v)kole eartli 'j)as of one language^ Tlie ivhole earth — All mankind tt«i o/'o?ie /aH!;'««n-e, in all likelihood tlie IIEBKEW — and of one speech; articulating- the same words in the same way. It is generally supposed, that after llie confusion mentioned in this chaj)ter, the Hebrew language remained in the family of Hcber. The proper names and their significations given in the.Scripture, seem incontestible evidences that tiie Hebrew language was the original language of the earlli — the language in which God spake to man, and in which he gave the revelation of his will to Moses and the prophets. It was used, says Mr. Amswortli, in all the world, for one thousand seven liundred and fifty-seven years, till Phaleg, the son of Heber, was born, and the tower of Babel was in building, one Imndred years after the flood. Gen. x. 25. xi. 9. After this, it was u.sed among the Hebrews or Jews, called therefore the Jcti.v' language, Isai. xxxvi. 1 1. until, they vera carried capti\e into Babylon, vhere the holy tongue ceased from being commonly used, and the mixed Hebrew (or Chaldec) came m ils place.

It cannot be reasonably imagined, that the.Tews lost the Hebrew tongue entirely in the seventy years of their captivity in Babylon; yet, as they were mixed with the Chaldeans, their children would of course learn that dialect, and to tliem the pure Hebrew would be unmtelligible: and this probably gave rise lo the necessity of explainuig the JIcl}reia iScrifitures in ihe Clinldee tongue, that the children nnght understand as •well as their fathers. As we may safely presume the parents could not have forgotten the HeDrew, so we may c nclude, the children in general could not have learnt it, as Ihcy did not live In an insulated state, but wire mixed with the Babylonians. This C(inj( cture removes the difficulty with vliich many have been embarrassed: one parly supposing that the knowledge of the Hebrew language was lost during the Babylonish captivity; and hence the necessity of the Chaldec Targums to explain the Scriptures: another party insisting that this was impossible, in so short a period as seventy years.

3 % And *" they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and "^ burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they foi' morter,

4 And they said. Go to, let us build a city

Verse 2. As they journeyed from the easti Assyria, ^lesopotamia, and the country on the borders, and beyond the Euphrates, are called the East in the Sacred Writings. Balaam said, that the king of Moab had brought him from the mountains of tlie cast, Num. xxiii. 7. Now it appears, from chap. xxii. 5. that Balaam dwelt at l^ethor, on the river Euphrates. And it is very probable, that it was from this country that the wisemen came to adore Christ; for it is said, they came /rom </(f t«s< to Jerusalem, Matt. ii. 1. Abraham is said to have come/rom tlie east to Canaan; Isai. \li. 2. but it is well known that he came from 3Iesopotainia and Chaldea. Isai. ch. xlvi. 11. represents Cyrus as coming from the east, against Babylon. And the same prophet represents the Syrians as dwelling eastward of Jeru:^d\em, ch. ix. 12. The Syrian before D^PO niikkcdem, from the east, the same word which Moses uses here. Daniel, ch. ix. 44. represents Antiocluis as troubled at news received./'rom tlie east; i. e. of a revolt in the eastern provinces, beyond the Euphrates.

! Verse 3. Let us make brick^ It appears they were obliged

I Verse 4. Let us build a city and a totter] On this subject there have been various coBJectures. Mr. Hutchinson

. unto heaven; and let us make us a

name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of tlie whole earth. 5 " And the Lord came down to see the city

and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said. Behold " the people is one, and they have all '' one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be

siipposed, that the design of the builders was to erect a temple to the host of heaven, the sun, moon, planets, &c. and to support this interpretation, he says, D'Ol^a WSil re roxlio ba-ihamayim, should be translated, not uhose top may reach unto heaven, for there is nothing for may reach in the Hebrew; but its head, or summit, to the heavens, i. e. to the heavenly bodies; and to make this interpretation the more probable, he says, that previously to thia time, the descendants of Noah -weve all agreed in one form of religioua ivorship; for so he understands nnx nCin re sapah achuth, (and of one Up) i. c. according to him, they had one litany; and as God confounded their litany, they began to disagree in their religious opinions, and branched out into sects and parties, each associating with those of his own sentiment; and thus t-lieir tower, or temple, was left unfinished.

It is probable, that their being of one language, and of one speech, implies not only a sameness of language, but aho a unity -!t)f sentiment and design, as seems pretty clearly intimated in ver. 6. Being therefore strictly united in all things, coming to the fertile plains of Shinar, they proposed to settle themselves there, fngtead of spreading themselves over all the countries of the earth, according to the design of God: and in reference to this purpose, they encouraged one another to build a city and a toxver, probably a temple, to prexent their separation — " Lest," say the}', " we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth;" but God miraculously interposing, confounded or frustrated their rebellious design, which was inconsistent with his will. See Deut..xxxii. 8. Acts xvii. 2C. And partly by confounding their language, and disturbing their counsels, they could no longer keep in an united state; so that, agreeing in nothing but the necessity of separating, they went olV in different directions, and thus became scattered abroad upon the face of the earth. The Targums both of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and of Jerusalem, assert that the toiver was for idolatrous worship; and that they intended to place an image on the top of the lower with a sword in its iiand, probably to act as a talisman against their enemies. Whatever their design might have been, it is certain that this temple or tower was afterwards devoted to i<lolatrous purpo.ses. Nebuchadnezzar repaired and beautified this tower; and it was dedicated to Bel, or the Sun. — See Prideaui, vol. 1. i)art i. b. 2.

An account of this tower, and of the confusion of tongues, is given by several ancient authors. Herodotus saw the tower, aM described it. A Syhil, whose oracle is yet extant, spoke both of it and of the confusion of tongues; so did Eupolemus and Abydenus. See Bochart Gcogr. Sacr. lilt. i. c. l.i. Edit. 1692. On this point Bochart observes, that these things are taken from the Chaldeans, who preserve many re- 4Ba«js of ancient facts; and though they often add circumstances, yet they are, in general, in some sort dependant on the text: 1. They say. Babel was builded by ttie giants; because Nimrod, one of the builders, is calkd in the Hebrew text 113J gibhor, a mighty man; or, as the Sejjtuagint, yiyaf, a giant. 2. These giants, they say, sprang (roni the earth; because in Gen. x. 1 1. it is said, he ivenl Ninn p^i^ p min haarets hahiv, out of that earthy but this is ratlier spoken of Ashiir, who was another of the Babel-builders. 3. These giants are said to have waged war with the gods; because it is said of Nimrod, Gen. x. 9. he was a mighty hunter before the Lord; or, as others have rendered it, a warrior and a rebel against the Lord. See Jarchi in loco. 4. These giants are said to have raised a tower up to heaven, as if they had intended to have ascended thither. This appears to have been founded on, and its top shall reach to heaven, which has been already explained. 5. It is said, iliat the gods sent strong winds against them, which dispersed both tlitiii and their work. This a[)pears to have been taken from the Chaldean history, in which it is said their dispersion was made to the four winds of heaven, H^Q)ir 'fm t'3iX3 he arbd riichey shemiya, i. e. to the four quarters of the world. 6. And because the verb ^15 phuts, or {'2J nuphats, used by ISIose.s, signifies not only to scatter, but also to break to pieces; whence thunder, Isa. xxx. 30. is called J'SJ nephels, a breaking to pieces: hence they supposed the whole work was broken to pieces and overturned. It was probably from this di.sguised representation of the Hebrew text that the Greek and Roman poets took their fable of the giants waging war with the gods, and piling mountain upon mountain, in order to scale heaven. — See Bochart as above.

Verse 5. And the Lord came down'] A lesson, says an ancient Jewish commentator, to magistrates to examine every evidence before they decree judgment and execute justice.

Verse 6. The people is one, Sfc] From this, as before observed, we may infer, that as the people had the same language, so they had a unity of design and sentiment. It i^ very likely that the original langu^ige was composed of monosyllables, that each h:id a distinct ideal meaning, and only one meaning; as difrcrent acxeptations of the.same word would undoubtedly arise, either from compounding terms, or when there were but few words in a language, usmg theiH by a different mode of pronunciation, to express a variety of things. Where this simple monosyllabic language prevailed, and it must have prevailed in the first ages of the world, men would necessarily have simple ideas, and a corresponding simplicity of manners. The Chinese language is exactly such as this; and the Hebrew, if stripped of it* vowel points, and its prefixes, suffixes, and postfi.xes, separated from their combinations, go that they might stand by then*.

God confounds their language^ A.M.cir.i7.i7. restrained from them, Br.dr^ have ' imagined to do. 7 Go to, ^ let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may " not understand one another's speech.

selves, it would nearly answer to this character, even in its present state. In order, therefore, to remove this unitj' of •entimenl and design, which I suppose to be the necessary consequence of such a language, God confounded their language— caused them to articulate the same word (hfferentiy, to aftix diirfient ideas to the same term, and, perhaps, by the Iwnsposing of syllables and interchanging of letters, form new terms and compounds, so that the mind of the speaker was apprelRnded by the hearer in a contrary sense to what was intended. This idea is not ill expressed by an ancient rPrench poet, Du Barius; and not badly, though radier quaintly, metaphrased by our countryman, Mr. Sylvester.

Some speak betiueen the teeth, some in the nose, Some in the throat their words do ill dispose —

One brings him up a hummer. ' Hew this brick,'

Another bids: and then they cleave a tree.

' Make fast this rope:' and then they let it fee.

One calls for plank'i; another inorter lacks:

They bear the first a stone; the last an ax.

One would have spikes: and hiin a spade they give:

I'lius crossly crost, they prate and point in vain;

What one hath 7nade, another mars again.

Thcjc masons dicn, seeing the storm arriv'd Of (3od's just wrath, all weak and heart-depriv'd. Forsake their purpose; and, like frantic Ibols, Scatter their stuft; and tumble down their tools.

I shall not examine how the different languages of the earth were fijrmed. It certainly was not a work of the momenl — diflcrent climates must have a considerable.share in the foruiatiun of tongues, by their influence on the organs oi' speech. The invention of new arts and trades, must give j birth to a variety of terms and expression.s. Menhanchse,! couinierce, and the cultivation of the sciences, would produce their share; and different forms of government, modes of life, and means of instruction, also contribute their quota. | The Arabic, Chaldee, Syriac, and Ethiopic,.still bear the | most striking resemblance to their parent, the Hebrew, ' Many olliers might be reduced to a common source; yet every where there is sutlicicnt evidence of this confusion. The ancimahes even in the most regular languages sufficiently prov" this. Every language is contoundeil less or more, but thu of Eternal Truth. This is ever the same: in all coun-

8 So "^ the Lord scattered them

9 Therefore is the name of it called ^ Babel; ^ because the Lokd did there confound the lan-

tries, climate-s, and ages, tlie language of Truth, like that God from whom it sprang, is unchangeable and incorruptible. It speaks in all tongues to all nations, and in al! hearts: " there is one GoD, the fountain of goodness, jiK^tice, and truth. — Man, thou art his creature, ignorant, weak, a.'.d dependant; but He i.s all-sulhcient — hates nothing that he has made — loves thee — is able and willing to save thee: — return to and depend on Him — take his ^e^■ealed will for thy law, submit to his authority, and accept eternal life on the terms proposed in his word; and thou sliali never perish, — nor be wretched." This language of Trudi all die ancient and modern Babel-builders liave not been able to confound, notwithstanding their repeated attempts. How have men toiled to make this language clothe their own ideas; and than cause God to speak according to the pride, prejudice, and worst pa.ssions of men! But, through a just judgment of God, the language of all those who have attempted to do this, has been confounded, and the word of the Lord abideth for ever.

Verse 7. Go <•/] A fornj of speech, which, whatever it might have signified tbrmerly, now means nothing. The Hebrew T\yn habah, signifies come, make preparation, as it were, for a journey, the execution of a purpose, &c. Almost all the versions understand the word in this way: the Septuagint have ^curs, the Vulgate cenite, both signifyin"- C07iie, or come ye. This makes a very good sense: Come, let us!^o down,?)-c. fur tb.e meaning of these latter words.

Verse!). Therefore is the name of it called Babel] baa babel, from "73 bal, to mingle, confound, destroy: hence Babel, from the mingling together, and confounding of the project and language of these descendants of Noah; and this confounding probably did not so mtich inijily the producing new languages, as giving them a diflcrent nittliod of pronoiincin"- the same words, and leading them to affix difliarent ideas to them. See betbre, ver. 6.

Besides Mr. Hutchinson's opinion, (see on verse 4.) there have been various conjectures concerning the purpose for which Uiis tower was buill. Some suppose it was intended to prevent the ctVects of another flood, by allbrding an asylum to the builders and their families in case of a second general deluge. Others think that it was designed to be a grand city, the seat of government, in order to prevent a general dispersion. This God would not pirmit, as he had purposed that men should be dispersed over the earth; and therefore cau.sed the means which they were using to prevent it, to become the grand instrument of its accomplishment. Humanly speaking, the earUi could not have been so speedily peopled, had it not been lor this \ery circumstance, which

giiage of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

10 ^ * These are the generations of Shem: Shem teas a hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

11 And Shem lived after he begat Ai-phaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

12 And Arpliaxad lived five and thirty years, ^ and begat Salah:

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah, ibur hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

l-t And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

1 5 And Salah lived after he begat Eber, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

16 ' And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat '' Pcleg:

17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg, four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19 And Peleg hved after he begat Reu, tvi^o hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

the counsel of man had devised to prevent il. Some sa}-, that these builders were divided into sevenly-two nations, With s^evcnty-two different languages: but tliis is an idle, unfounded tale.

Verse 10. These are tlie generrttions of Slieiii] This may be called tlie /ii'y fnmilij, as I'rom it sprang Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the tsek-e patriarchs, Davtd, Solomon, and all the great progenitors of tlie Messiah.

We liave already seen that the Scripture chronolog}', as it exists in the Heb^e^v text, t!ie Samaritan, the Septuagint, Josephiis, and some of the fathers, is greatly embarrassedand it is yet much more so, in the various systems of learned and nnkarned chronologists. For a full and rational view of this subject, into which the nature of these notes forbids me further to enter, I must refer my reader to Dr. Hales's laborious work, " A New Analysis of Sacred Chronology," vol. 2d. part 1st. &c. in which he enters into the subject Tvith a cautious but firm step; and if he has not been able to remove all its diflicultics, has (brown very considerable liu-ht upon most parts o!" it. The re»der has already been I'a-

21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug, two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor, two hundred years, and begat

24 And Nahor lived nme twenty years, and begat ^ Terah:

25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah, a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26 And Tcrali lived seventy years, and ^ begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 IF Now these a7~e the generations of Terah: Teraii bcijat Abram, Nahor, and Ha- a.^m.uih. ran; and Haran begat Lot. _ — 1-1,

28 And Haran died before his father Terah s in the land of his nati\'ity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was " Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, ' Milcah, the daugliter of Haran the fiither of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 But " Sarai was barren; she had no child.

voured with some extracts from this learned work, under chapter ix. ver. 29.

Verse 12. And Arphaxad lived"] The Septuagint bring in here a second Cainan, with an addition of one hundred and thirty years. St. Luke follows the Septu.igint, and brings in the same person in the same way. But the Hebrew text, botlr here and in 1 Chron. i. is perfectly silent on this subject; and the best chronologists have agreed to reject thi» as a spurious generation.

Verse 26. And Ttrah lived seventy years, and beqai Abram, Nahor, and Haran.] Haran was certainly the eldest son of Terah; and he appears to have been born when Terah was about seventy years of age; and his birth was followed in succdssive periods with those of Nahor, his second, and Abram, his yotmgest son. Many have been greatly puzzled with the account here, supposing, because Abram is mentioned _/irs<, that therefore he was the eldest son of Terili: but he is only put first by way of dignity. An instance of this we have already seen, chap. v. 32. where Noah is represented as having Shem, 11am, and Japheih, in this order of sue-

% And Tcrali ' took Abram his and Lot tiic son of Ilaran his son, and Ssirai his daughter in law, his soiv Aljiahani's wife; and tliey went forth with them ilom " Ur of tlic Chaldees, to go into

' the land of Canaan; and they came, unto Haran, and dwelt there.

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and live years; and Terah died in Haran.

cession: whereas it is evi(l(-tit, from other Scriptures, that Ham was \.\iK youns^ist son, and filiem the second is for dignity, \iauied ^r«, as Al)ram is here; tmii Jtiphcth, ihe. eldest, named Ifist, as 11 nan isliere. Terali died two hundred and fiveyear^ old, ver. 32. tlicii Abrani departed fidm Haran when seventy-five years old, ch. xii. 4. tliercfore Ai)raui was born, not when liis father Terah was seventy, hut when he was one liundred and thirty yearsold. It may lie necessary to rcmarl;, that when any case of «lignity or pre-eminence is iol)c marked, then the second, or even the youn^lst son is set before all the rest, though contrary to tlie usage of llic Scriptures in other cases. Hence we find Slicin, the second son of Noah, always menlioned first: Moses is mentioned before his eider brother Aaron; and Aliiam before his two elder brethren, llcrun and Nalior. These observations are sufficient to remove all difliculiy from this place.

Verse 29. Milaili, the daughter of Haran] Many suppose S.irai and hculi aie the -same person under two diflerent names; but lliis is improbable, as Iscah is expressly said to be the daui;liter of Haran, and Sarai was the daughter of 'I'erali, and hali'-sister of Abram. See chap. xii. 13. and XX. 12.

Verse 31. Thej/nxni forth — from Ur of the Chaldees] Chaldea' is sometimes understood as comprizing the whole of Babylonia; at other tunes, that province towards Arabia Detenu, called in Scripture the land of the Chaldeans. 1 he capital of this place was Babylon, called in Scripture the h.auty of the Clialdees' excellency, Isai. xiii. 19.

Ur ap|)cars to have been a city of some considerable consequence at that time in Chaldca; but where situated, is not Well known. It probably had its name Ur "lite, which «ignifiesyj;v and Ui^ht, from the ii'orship practised there. The learned are almost unanimously of ofiinion, that the ancient inhabitants oi' this region were L^nicolisis, or worshippers of Jire; (or in that place, this sort of worship probalily originutcd: and in honour of this element, the symbol of the Supreme Being, the whole coiintrj/, or a particidar city in it, might have had the name Ur. Buchart has observed, that there is a))lace called Ouri, south of the Euphrates, in the nay from Nisibis lo the river Tigris. The Clialdees mentioned here, had not this name in the time of which Mose^ ipeaks; but they were called so in the time in which Moses xurote. Chesed was the son of Nahor, the son of Terah, eh. xxii. 22. From Chesed descended the Cltasditn, whose language was the same as that of the Amorites, Dan. i. 4.^ ii. 4. These Chasdim, whence the XaXMici, Chaldeans, of the Septuagint, Vulgate, and all later versions, afterwards settled on the south of the Euphrates. Those who dwelt in Ur, were either priests or astronomers, Dan. ii. 10. and also idolaters. Josh. xxiv. 2, 3, 14. 15. And because they were much addicted to astronomy, and probably to judicial astrology, hence all astrologers were, in process of time, called Chaldeans, Dan. ii. 2 — 5.

The building of Babel, the confusion of tongues, and the first call of Abraham, are //(ire remarkable particulars in this chapter: and tliese kd to the accomplishment of three grand and important designs. 1. The peopling of the whole earth. 2. The preservation of the true religion, by means of one family. And, 3. the preservation of the line uncorrupted, by wiiich the Messiah should come. "When God makes a discovery of himself by a particular revelation, it must begin in somcparticular time, and be given to some particular person^ and in some particular place. Where, when, and to whom, are comparatively, matters of small importance. It is God's <Tift, and his own wisdom must determine the time, the/x)\«o,;, and the place. But if this be the case, Irave not others cause to complain because not thus favoured.' Not at all, unless the favouring of the one for a time, should necessarily cut off the others./i))- ever. But this is not the case. Abram was first fa\oured— that time, that country, and that person, were chosen by Infinite Wisdom; for there?ind then. God chose to commence these mighty operations of divine goodness. Isaac and Jacob also received die promises; the twelve patriarchs through their father, and the whole Jewish people through them. Afterwards, the designs of God's endless mercy were more i)articularly unfolded; and the word which seemed to be confined for two thousand years, to the descendants of a single family, is now becoming universally diHusvd, salvation is preached lo the Gentiles, and thus in Abram's seed all the nations of the earth are blessed. Hence none can find lank, and none can have cause to complain; as the salvation, ^vllich for a time, appeared to be restricted to a few, is now. on the authority of God, liberally oflered to the whole human race!

Cod calls Ahrnm. to leave Haran, and go into Canaan, 1; promises to Ikss Mm, and through hint all the families of the earth, 1, 3. Abram, Sarai, Lo -, and all their housltold, depart f>r Canaan, 4, 5. Abram pastei

Abram is called GENESIS. to leave Haran.' through Sichem, 6. God appears to him, and renens the promise, 7. His journei/ described, 8, Q. On. account of a famine in tlie land, he is ohliged to go into Egypt, 10. Through fear lest, on account of the beautu of his wife, the Egyptians should kill him, he desires her not to acknozdedge that she xcas his wife, but only his sister, 11, — 13. Sarai, because of her beauty, is taken into the palace of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who is very liberal to Abram on her account, 14 — 16. God afflicts Pharaoh and his household zcith grievous plagues on account of Sarai, 17. Pharaoh, on finding that Sarai tvas Abrcuns wife, restores her honourably, and dismisses the Patriarch zcith his family and their property, 18 — CO.

OW the ' Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2 '' And I will make of thee a great nation, *^and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; " and thou shalt be a blessing:

Verse 1. Gel thee out of thy com>tiy] There is cjreat dissention between commentators concerning the call of Abram; some supposing lie had tz^o distinct calls, others that he had but one. At the conclusion of the preceding chapter, ver. 31. we find Terah and all his family leaving Ur of the Chaldees, in order to go to Canaan. This was, no doubt, in consequence of some Divine admonition. While resting at Haran, on their road to Canaan, Terah died, ch. xi. 32. and then God repeats his call to Abram, and orders him to proceed to Canaan, ch. xii. 1.

Dr. Hales in bis Clironology, contends for two calls: " the first," says he, " is omitted in the Old Testament, but is particularly recorded in the New, Acts vii. 2 — 4. T/ic God qf glory appeared to our f/itlicr Abraham while he ivas (at Ur of the Chaldees) in Mesopotamia, BEFORE HE DWELT IN Chakran; and said unto him, Depart from thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the hind [yriv, a land) whieh 1 will shew thee. Hence it is evident, that God had called Abram before he came to Haran, or Charran." The SECOND CALL is recorded only in this chapter: " The Lord said, not HAD aiiid, unto Abram, Depart from thy land, and from tliy kindred, and from thy father s house, unto TIIF. LAND, J'INn UA-urets, Sepluagint THN ynv, which I will shew thee." — " The difi'erence of the two calls," says Dr. Hales, " more carefully translated from the originals, is obvious: in the former, the land is indefinite, which was designed only for a temporary residence; in the lalter, it is definite, intimating his abode. A third condition is also annexed to the latter, that Abram shall now separate himself from his fither's house, or leave his brother Nahor's family behind at Charran. This call Abram obeyed, still not knowing whither he ivas f^oing, but tnisiing implicitly to the divine guidance." Heb. xi. 8.

Tity kindred] Nahor, and the different bran< hes of the family of Terah, Abram, and Lot, excepted. That Nahor went with Terah and Abram as far as I'adan-Aram, in

3 ^ And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth _ thee: "^and in thee, shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4 % So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken imto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram K'rt.9 seventy and five years old a.h.^oss. when he departed out of Haran.

Mesopotamia, and settled there, so that it was afterwards called I\uhor's city, is sufficiently evident from the ensuing history, see ch. xxv, 20. xxiv. (0, 1.5. and that the. same land was Harun, see ch. xxviii. 2, 10. and there were Abram's kindred and country here spoken of, ch. xxiv. 4.

Thy fallier's house] Terah being now dead, it is very probable that the family were delennintd to go no flirther, but to settle at Charran; and as Abram might have felt inclined to slop with them in this place, hence the ground and necessity of the second call recorded here, and which is introduced in a very remarkable manner: "]? '^ lecleca, GO FOR THYSELF. If none of the family will accompany thee, yet go for thyself unto THAT LAND which I ivill shew thee. God does not tell him what land it is, that he may still cause him to walk by faith, and not by sight. This seems to be particularly alluded to by Isaiah, ch. xli. 2. Who raised up the righteous man (Abram) from the east, and called him to his foot; that is, to follow implicitly the Divme direction. The apostle assures u."!, that in all this, Abram had spiritual views: he looked for a better country, and considered the land of promise only as typical of the heavenly inheritance. See Heb. xi. 8— 10.

Verse 2. / will make of thee a great natior^ i. e. the Jewish jjeople. / will make thy name great — alluding to the change of his name, from Abram, a high father, to Abraham, the father of a multitude. I Verse 3. In thee] In thy posterity, in the Messiah, who I shall spring from thee, shall all families of the earth be I blessed: for as he shall take on him human nature, from the • I posterity of Abraham, be shall taste death for every man j; his gospel shall be preached throughout the world, and innu- • merable blessings be derived on all mankind, through his death and intercession.

Verse 4. And Abram was seventy andjive years old] As Abram ' was now seventy-five years old, and his father Terah had Just died at the age of two hundred and five, consequently Terah must have been one hundred and thirty when Abram

And Abram took Sarai his wife, 'i son,

their substance that they had gathered, and ' tlie souls tliat they Iiad gotten ''in Haran; and they went forth to go into tlie land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6 % And Abram 'passed through the land unto the place of Sicheni, " unto the plain of Moreh. ' And the Canaanite "isas then in the

7 ' And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and

said, ^ Unto thy seed will I give this and all land: and there builded he an '' altar

was born; and the_ seventieth year of his age, mentioned Gen. xi. 26. was the period at whicli Haran, not Abram, was born. — See on the preceding chapter.

Verse 5. The souls that tluy had 'gotten in Haran] This may apply, cither to the persons wlio were employed in the service of Abram, or to the persons he had been the instrument of converting to the knowledge of the true God, and in this latter sense the Chaldee paraphrasts understood the passage, translating it. The souls of those whom they proselyted in Haran.

They went forth to go into the land of Canaan] A good land, possessed by a bad people, who, for their iniquitie.s, were to be expelled, see Lev. 18. 25. And this land was made a type of the kingdom of God. Probably the whole of this transaction may have a farther meaning than that which appears in the letter. As Abram left his own country, father's house and kindred, took, at the command Of God, a journey to tliis promised land, nor ceased till he arrived in it: so should we cast aside every weight, come out from among the workers of iniquity, set out for the kingdom of God, nor ever rest till we reach the heavenly country. How many set out for the kingdom of heaven, make good progress for a time in their journey, but halt before the race is finished! Not so Abram; he iient forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan he came. — Reader, go thou and do likewise.

Verse 0. The plain of Moreh] T^it eilon, should be translated oak, ndt plain: the Septuagint translate it tw S^uv rw t/4'*'''*"', the lofty oak; and it is likely, tlie place was remarkable for a grove of those trees, or for one of a stupendous heiglit and bulk. i The Canaunile was then in the land.] This is thought i to be an interpolation, because it is supposed that these words must iiave been written after the ("anaanitcs were I expelled from the land, by the Israelites und<r.lo.shua: but: this by no means follows. All that Moses stales is, simply, \ that at the time in which y\brain pas.sed through Sichem, the I land was inhabited by the descendants of Canaan; which I was a perfectly possible case, and involves neither conlra- 1 diction nor ab.surdity. There is no rule of criticism by I which these words can be produced as an evidence of inter- 1 polation, or incorrectness m tlie.statement of the sacred historian. See this mentioned again ch, xiii. 7.

8 And he removed fi'oni thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and ' called upon the name of the

9 And Abram journeyed, "going' on still toward the south.

Verse 7. The Lord appeared] In what way this- appearance was made, we know not: it was probably by the great Angel of the Covenant, Jesus the Christ. The appearance, whatsoever it was, perfectly satisfied Abram, and proved itself to be supernatural and divine. It is ^vorthy of remark, tliul Abram is the first man since the fall, to whom God is said to have sheivii himself, or appeared: 1st. in t/rofthe Chaldees, Acts vii. 2. and 2dly. at the oak of Moreh, as in this verse. As rniD Moreh signifies a teacher, probably this was called the oak of Moreh, or the teacher, because God manifested himself here, and instructed Abram concerning the future possession of that land by his posterity; and the dispensation of the mercy of God to all the families of the earth through the promised' Messiah; see on ch. xv. 7.

Verse 8. Beth-el] That is, the ])lace which was afterwards called Bcth-el by Jacob; for its first name was Luz. See ch. xxviii. 19. Vx r\»3 Beith el, literally signifies the house

Pitched his tent — and there he builded an altar unto the Lord] Where Abram has a tent, there God must have an ALTAU, as he well knows there is no safety but under the Divine protection. How few who build houses, ever think on the propriety and necessity of building an altar to their Maker! The house in which the worship of God is not established, cannot be considered as under the Divine protection. Is it not remarkable, that few dwellings of truly religious people have ever been burnt down?

And called upon the name of the Lord.] Dr. Shuckford strongly contends, that Ci^l Nip kara beshem, does not signify to call on the name, but to imoke IN tlie mime. So Abram invoked Jehovah in or hy the name of Jehovah, who had appeared to him. He was taught, even in these early times, to approach God through a Mediator; and that 'Mediator, since manifested in the flesh, was known by the name, Jehovah. Does not our Lord allude to such a discovery as this, when he says, Abra/tam rejoiced to see my day; and he saiv it, and tiai glad.' John viii. 56. Hence it is evident, that lie wa* informed that the Christ should be born of his seed — liiat the nations of the world should be blessed through him; and is it then to be wondered at, if he invoked God in the name of this great Mediator.'

into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine xvas " grievous in the land.

1 1 And it came to pass when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife. Behold now, I know that thou cn-t " a fair woman to look upon:

12 Therefore, it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, Tliis is his wife: and they ^will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

Verse 10. There ums a famine in the Iand~\ Viz. of Canaan. Tins is the first famine on record, and it prevailed in the most fertile land then under the sun; and why.' God made it desolate for the wickedness of those who dwelt in it, I'sal. cvii. 34.

Went doivH into Egj/pi] He felt himself a stranger and a pilgrim, and by his unsettled stale, was kept in mind of the city that hath foundations, that is ]iermanent and stable; i ■TvJiose builder is the living God. See Heb. xi. 8. 9. |

Verse 11. Thou art a fair luoman to took upon ] Widely f'.ifterinjT in her complexion from the swarthy Egyptians, and consequently more likely to be coveted by tliem. It appears j that Abram supposed they would not scruple to take away the life of the hu«band, in order to have the undisturbed possession of the wife. The age of Sarai at this time is not | well agreed on by commentators; some making her ninety, i vhile others make her only sixti/fwe. From chap. xvii. 17. we learn that Sarah was teu years yoimgcr than Abram, for she was but ninety when he was a hundred. And from ver. 4. of chap. xii. we find that Abram was sevcnty-fii-e u hen he j ■was called to leave Haran and go to Canaan, at whicii time! Sarai could be oi\\w sixty free; and if the transactions recorded I in the preceding verses look place in the ciunse of that year, •which I (hink possible; consequently Sarai was but sixty-fte: and as, in tlio>« times, people lived much longer, and disease feems to have had but a very contracted influence, women and meii would necessarily arrive more slowly at a state of perfection, and retain their vigour and complexion much lunger than in later times. We may add to these considerations, that strant;ers and foreig)iers are more coveted by the licentious than those who;ire natiic$. This has been amply illustrated in the West Indies and in America, where ihe jettij, coane-featiircd African women are prelifrred to the elegant and beautiful Europeans! To this subject a learned British traveller elegantly applied those words of Virgil, Edog. II. ycrse 18,

Alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur. While lilies lie neglected on the plain, Vt bile dusly hyacint/ts for use remain, DRYD.

it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of

14 5F And it came to pass that when Abrai« was come into Egypt, the Egyptians ^ beheld, the woman that she wees very fair.

1.5 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended lier before Pharaoh: and the womau, was "" taken into Pharaoh's house.

1 6 And he ' entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and heasses, and men servants, and maid servants, and she-asses, and camels.

Verse 13. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister] Abram did not wish his wife to tell a falsehood, but he wished her to suppress a part of the truth. From chap. xx. 12. it is evident she was his stepsister, i. e. his sister by his father, but by a different mother. Some suppose Sarah was the daughter of Haran, and consequently the grmid-daitgliler of Tcrali; this opinion seems to be founded on chap. xi. 29. where Iscah is thought to be the same with Sandi, but the supposition has not a sufficiency of probability to support it.

Verse 15. The ivoman was taken into Pharaoh's house.l Pharaoh appears td have been the common appellative of the- Cuthite shepherd kings of Egypt, who had conquered thi*; land, as is conjectured, about 12 years before this time. ThCr word is supposed to signify king, in the ancient Egyptian language. If the meaning be sought in the Hebrew,, lhe> root l"n2 pliarad signifies to he free, or disengaged, a name, which such free- hooters as the Cuthite.shepherds, might nftlurally assume. All the kings of Egypt bare this name till the. commencement of the Grecian monarchy, alter which they were called Ptolomies.

When a woman was brought into the Seraglio, or Haraiiv of the Eastern princes, she underwent for a considerable time, certain purifications before she was brought into the king's presence. It was in tlii< interim lliat God plagued, Pharaoh and his house iviih plagues, so that Sarai was restored before she could have been taken to the bed of the Egyptian, king.

Verse 16. Jfe had fliecp, and oxen, ^c] As some of thesei terms are liable to be confounded, and as they tfqnently occur, especially in the P( ntateuch, it may be necessary t« consider and fix their meaning in this place.

SllEEl', JNS I'ion, from tsaan, to be plentiful or abundant,; a proper term for the eastern sheep, which almost constantly bring forth tiviiis. Cant. iv. 2. antl sometimes three and even./bur at a birth. Hence their great fruitl'ulness is often alluded to in.'•cripture. See Psalm Ixv. 14. cxliv. 13.; but under this same term, which almost invariably means a flock, both sheep and goats are included. So likewise, the Romans include j/iff/>> [ goats, and.wju// ta»/e in general, und.r the term I'KCUS pecoris; so they do larger cattle under that of I'ECUS }iicmiis.

and his house with great plagues, be- 1' so 1 might have taken her to me to cause of Sarai Abram's wile. ijwifc: now therefore behold thy wife, take //er,

18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, and go thy way.

'' What is this that thou hast done unto mc? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy \vite?

OXF.N; ipa baqunr, from tliC root, lo examine, lookout; because of liic full, brojd, steady^ unmoved look of most (•uiinais of the hrve kind; and hence the morning is termed boqiicr, beeause of the light springing out of the ea.st, and looking out over tlie whole of the eartii's surface. See on chap. i. 31. ' He-ASSES; Dncn chamorim, from "lOH chamur, to be disturbed, imtddy, probably from the dull 5tu])id appearance of this animal, as if it were always affected with melaticholy. Sditt'chzer thinks tlie sand^-coloiired domestic Asiatic ass, is particularly iiilended. '] lie word is aiiplied lo a.sscs in general, though most frequently restrained to those of the mule kind.

She-asses; ronx atonolh, from jnse men, strength, pro- ]>crly the strong animal, as being superior in muscular force to every other animal of its size. Under this term both the male and the female are.sometimes undei;.tood.

Camels; D'ScJ gcmulim, from 7CJ gitmal, to recompense, return, repay, so called from its resentment of injuries, and revengeful temper, fur whuh it is proverbial in the countries of which it is a native. On the animals and natural history in g< neral of the scriptures, I must refer to the Hierozoicon of 150C11ART, and the Physica Sacra of ScHEUCiiZER. The former, the most learned and accurate work, perhaps, ever produced by one man.

from this enum( ration of the riches of Abraham, we may conclude that this Palriarch kd a pa>loral and itinerant life; that his meat must have chiefly consisted in the fl( sh of clean animals, with a sufficiency of pulse for bread; that his chief drink was their milk; his clothing their skins, and his beasts of burthen asses and camels, for as yet we read of no horses; and the ordinary employment of his servants, was to take care of the flocks, and to serve their mas-tcr. Where the Patriarchs became rtsident for any considerable time, they undoubtedly cultivated the ground lo produce grain.

Verse 17. The Lord plagued l'lturaoh~\ ^\'hat these plagues were we know not: In the parallel case, chap. xx. 18. all the females in the family of Abimelec, who ha I taken Sarai, in nearly the same way, were made barrc n; po.-sibly this might have been the case here; yet much more seems to be fignified by the expression gran plagues. Whatever these plagues were, it is evident they were undei;;tootl by Pharaoh as proofs of the disapprobation of God, and consequently, jl corded with its own condemnation. He should have risked even at this time in 1' gypt, there was some knowledge of the I all rather than have prevaricated. But how could lie think

20 "^ And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

was necessary that he should have the favour of the king, and his permission to remove Iroin I'^gypt with so large a property; hence, a particular charge is given to the officers of Pharaoh lo treat him with respect, and to assist bim in his intended departure.

The weighty and important contents of this chapter demand our most attentive Ci>nsideration. Abram is a second time called to leave his country, kindred, and father's house, and go to a place he knew not. Kvery thing was app.n-ently against him but the voice of God. This to Abraham, was surficient; he could trust his iMaker, and knew he could not do wrong in following his command. He is therefore proposed to us in the scriptures as a pattern of faith, patience, and loving obedience. When he received the call of God, he.■•pent no time in useless reasonings about the call itself, his family circumstances, the difficulties in the way, &c. &c. He was called, and he departed, and this is all we hear on the subject. Implicit faith in the promise of (jod, and prompt obedience to his commands, become lis, not only as nis creatures, but as sinners called to separate from evil workers and wicked ways, and travel by that faith which workcth by love, in the way that leads to the Paradise of God.

How greatly must the faith of this blessed man have been tried, when coming to the very land in wliicli he is promised so much blessedness, he finds, instead of plenty, a grievous famine! \Vho in his circumstances would not have gone back to his own country <ind Tiindred.? still he is not stumbled; prudence directs him to turn aside and go to Egypt, till God shall chuse to remove this famine. Is it to be wondered at, that in this tried state, he should have serious apprehensions for the safety of his life.' 'Sarai, his affectionate wife and faithful companion, he supposes he shall lose; her beauty he suspects will cause her to be desired by men of power, whose will he shall not be able to resist. If he appear to be her husband, his death he supposes to be <-criain: if she pass for his sister. he may be well used on her account. He will not tell a lie, but he is tempted lo prevaricate by suppressing a part of the truth. Here is a weakness, which however we may be inclined lo pity and e.vcuse, we should never imitate. It is re-

Verse 20. Commanded bis men concotiing hini] Gave particular and strict orders to afford Abraham and his family every aecomtuodatiun and help for their journey; for, having received a of lightly giving up such a u:ifi:? surely, he who would not risk his life for the protection and safety of a good wife, is not worthy of one. Here his faith was deficient. He still credited Ihe general promise, and acted on that faith in refer- reat increase of cattle and servants, ver, 16, it jjence to i'r; but he did not use his faitli in reference lo inter:- veiling circwnstances, to which it was equally applicable.] Man}' trust God for tliejr soids and clernity, who do not trust ■ in him for their bodies and for time. To him who follows \ God fully in simplicity of heart, every thing must ultimately succeed. Had Abram and Sarai simply passed for ••uluU they, were, they had incurred no danger; for God, who bad obliged! them to go to Egypt, had prepared the way before theui. I Neither Pharaoh nor his courtiers would have noticed the woman, had she appeared to be the wife of the strans^er that came to sojourn in their land. The issue sufficiently proves this. Every ray of the light of truth, is an emanation from '.

the holiness of God, and awfully sacred in his eyes. Considering the subject thus, a pious ancient spoke the following words, which refiners in prevarication have deemed by much too strong; " I would not," said he, " tell a lie to save the souls of the whole world." Keader, be on tby guard: thou uiayest fall by comparatively sm ill matters, Jtvhile resolutely and successfully resisting those wliicli require a giant's strength to counteract theui. In every concern God is necessary; seek him for the body and for the soul; and do not think that any thing is too small or insignificant to interest hiiOj that concerns thy present or eternal peace.

Abram and his family return out of Egypt to Canaan, 1, 2; He revisits Beth-cl, and there intakes the Lord, 3; 4. In consequenfe of tlte gnat increase in the flocks of Abram and hot, their herdsmen disagree; which obliges the Patriarch and his nephew to separate, 5 — 9- hft, being permitted to make his choice of the land, chusei the pldins of Jordan, 10, 1 1, and pitches his tent near to Sodom, tehile Abram abides in Canaan, 12. Profligacy of the people of Sodom, 13. The Lord rcnezes his promise to Abram, 14 — 17- Abram removei to the plains, of Mamre, near Hebron, and builds an altar to the Lord, 18.

that he had, and Lot with him, ' into the south.

2 '' And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3 And he went on his journeys "^ fi'om the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;

4 Unto the '' place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram * called on the name of the Lord.

NOTES.ON CHAP. XUI. Verse 1. Abram went tip out of Egypt — into the soutli!] Probably the south of Canaan; as iu leavina; Et;ypt, he is said to come from the south, ver. 3, for the southern part of the promised land lay north-east of Egypt.

Verse 2. Abram was very ricii^ So we find that the properly of these patriarchal times did not consist in flocks, only, but also in silver and gold; and in;ill these respects Abram was 1X0 133 kiihcd vieod, exceeding rich. Josephus says, 'that a part of this property was ai quired l)y teaching the Egyptians, arts and sciences. Thus did God fulfil his promit^es to him, by protecting and giving him a great profusion of temporal blessings, which v/ere to him, signs and pledges of spiritual things.

Verse 6. Their substance was great] As their families cn- <£rca»ed, it was necessary their floclts should eucrease also, as

,5 And Lot also, which went with A.M.cir.Joss.

6 And ' the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell " together.

7 IF And there was ^ a strife between the herdinen of Abram's cattle and the lierdmen of Lot's cattle: •" and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

8 And Abram said unto Lot, ' Let there be

from those flocks they derived their clothing, food, and drink: many also wee ofi'ered in sacrifice to God.

They could not dwell together.'] 1. Because their flocks weregreat; 2. because the Canaanitesand the Perizziteshad already occupied a considerable part of the land; and ''. because there appears to have been envy between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. To pre-ent disputes among ihem, that might have ultimately disturbed the peace of the two families, it was necessary that a separation should take place.

Verse 7. The Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.] That i.s, they were there at the time Abram and Lot came to fix their tents in the land. This is no more an interpolation than that, ch. xii. 6.

Verse 8. For we be brethren] We are of the same family, worship the same God — in the same way— -liave the same promises — and look for the same end. Why then should there be strife.' If it appear to be unavoidable from our

A.M.cir.vosfi. jjQ strife, I pray tlice, between me B.C. cir. 1918. gj^^i \X\Qz, and between my hcrdmen and thy hcrdmen; tor we he " brethren. "9 "^ /,s not the whole huid before tliee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: " M thou mit take tlic Icll hand, then I will go to the "right; or if thvu depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left,

1© ^ And Lot hfted up his eyes, and beheld all " the plain of Jordan, that it "was well watered every where, before the Lord ' destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, ' even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comcst unto ® Zoar,

1 1 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan;

present situation, let lint situation be instantly chanued; for Tio.secular advantagf.^ can coiinterlKiI.mce the loss of peace.. Verse 9. Is not the uhole land before thee '] As the Patriacch or head of the family, Abram, by prescriptive right, might have chosen his own portion first, and appointed Lot ■his: but intent upon peace, and feeling pure and parental afTection for his nephew, he [-.crunttcd him to make his choice first.

Verse 10. Like the land of E^pt, a« thou comcst unto Zcar.^ Tiiere is an obscurity in this verse which Houbigant has removed by the following translation: — Ea autein, priusquuin Hodomum Goihorr/iumijuc Dominus delerit, erat, qua itur Seger, <ola Irri^tia, (jv.asi hortus Domini, et quasi terra JEgypti. " But befoie the Lord hi'.d destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, It was, as thou goest to Zoar, «tll watered, like the garden of the Lord, aud hke the laml of Egypt." As Paradise was watered by llie ILur neighSonring streams; and as Egypt was watered by the annual overflowing of t!:e Kde, so were the plains of ihe Jordan, and ail the land on the way to Zoar, well watered and fertilized by the overflowing of the Jordan. j

Verse 1 1. Then hot chose him all the plain] A little civilily! or good breeding is of great importance in the concerns of; life: Lot eitlif r had none, or did not profit by it. He cer-: ilainly should have left the choice to the Patriarch, and should j iiave been guided by his counsel; but he took his ovjn way, trusting to his own judgment, and guided only by the sight of Ills eyes — he beheld all the plain (f Jordan, that it was icell i^a- j fered, &c. b'o he chose the laud, without considering the cha- | racier of the inhabitants, or v\hat advantages or disadvantages! it might aflbrd him in spiritual things. This choice, as we «hall see in the sccjuel, had nearly proved the ruin of his body, soul, and family.

Verse Ti. 'I'he men of Sodom were ivickedl C^iJl rdi/iin,irom pT rad, to break in pieces, dcitroy, and tijjlict: meaning persons who broke the established order of tinng?-, destroyed and conibumled the disti\ictions between right and wrong', and who

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Ix)t " dv.'clled in the cities of the plain, and ' pitched liis tent tOAvard Sodom.

1 3 But the men of Sodom '' "were wicked and ' sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

14 ^ And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot " was separated from him. Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thoa art " northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

' 15 For all the land which thou seest, ° to thee will I give it, and '' to thy seed for CAcr.

afflicted and tormented both themselves and others. And sinners, D^HISH chatayiw, from iicn chata, to miss the viai k — ■ to step '^ironu; — to iiiiicarry; the same as cc//.af>ravii in Greek, from a negative, and ij.ap7tra, to liitamark: so a sinner is one who is ever aiming at happiness, and constantly missing his mark; because, being u/cAerf, radically evil witlun, every affection and passion depraved and out of order, he seeks for happiness where it never can be found, in v\oildly honours and possessions, and in sen:-ual gratifications, the end of which is, disappointment, affliction, ve.Kation, and ruin. fSuclj were the companions Lot must have in l\\e fruitful land he had chosen! This, however, amounts to no more than the common character of sinful man; but the people of Sodom were exceedingly sinful and VJicked before, or against the Lord; they were sinners of no comm.m character; they excelled in unrighteousness, and soon filled up the measure of their initjuities; see chap. xix.

Verse 14. The Lord said unto Jhraml It is vei-y likely that the Angel of the Covenant appeared to Abr.-'.m in open day, when he could take a distinct view of the length and the breadth of this good land. The revelation made, chap. xv. 5. was evidently made in the night, for then he was called to number the xturs, which could not be seen but in the night season: here he is called on to number the dust of the earth, ver. IC. which could not be seen but in tlie day-liglu; see on chap. XV. 1.

Verse \:i. To thee luill I give it, and to thy seed for cver.J This land was given to Abram, that it might lineally and' legally descend to his posteritj', and though Abram himself cannot be said to have possessed it. Acts vii. 5. yet it was the gift of God to hinj in behalf of his seed; and this was alwaj's the design of God, not that Abram himself should possess it, but that his posterity should, till the manifestation of Christ in the flesh. And this is chiefly what is to be understood by the words for ever, D7V "V <^d ulam, to the end of the present dispensation, and the commencement of the new. ohv olam.

16 And * I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a

man can number the dust of the shall thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length

means either ETERNITY, which implies the termination of all Htne or duration, such as is measured by the celestial luminaries; or a /lidden, urdnon'n period, such as includes a completion or,final termination of a particular ara, dispensation, &c. therefore the first is its proper meaning; the latter its accommodated meaning; see the note on chap. xvii. 7. xxi. 33.

Verse 1 S. Abrujn ranoved his tentl Continued to travel and pitch in different places, till at last he fixed his tent in the plain, or by the oak of JMamre, see chap. xii. 6. whidi. is in Hebron; i. e. the district in which Mamre was situated was called Hebron. Mamre was an Amorite then living, with whom Abram made a league, ch. xiv. 13. and the oak probably went by his name, because he was the possessor of the ground. Hebron is called Kiijuih arba, ch. xxiii. 2. but it is very likely that Hebron was its primitive name, and that it had the above appellation from being the residence of/o!ogigantic Anakim, for Kiijaih arba literally signifies, the city of the four; see the note on chap, xxiii. 2.

Built there an altar to the Lord.] On which he offered sacrifice, as the word naiO mizbeach, from HSt zabach, to slay, imports.

The increase of riches in the family of Abram must, in the opinion of many, be a source of felicity to them. If earthly possessions could produce happiness, it must be granted that they had now a considerable share of it in their power. But happiness must have its seat in the mind, and like that, be of a spiritual nature; conseqiiently earthly goods cannot give it: so far are they from either ])roducing or procuring it, that they always engender care and anxiety, and often strifes and contentions. The peace of this amiable family had nearly been destroyed by the largeness of their possessions! To prevent the most serious misunderstandings, Abram and his nephew were obliged to separate. — He who has much, in general, wishes to have more; for the eye is not satisfied with seeing. — Lot, for the better accommodation of his flocks and family, chuses the most fertile district in that country; and even sacrifices reverence and filial atlection at the shrine of worldly advantage: but the issue proved, that a pleasant

of it, and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

1 8 ^ Then Abram removed his tent, and came and '' dwelt in the "plain of Mamre, ''which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord,

worldly prospect may not be the mo.st advantageous, even to our secular affairs. Abram prospered greaily in the comparatively barren part of the land, while [.dt lo.^t all his possessions, and nearly the lives of himself and family, in that land which appeared to him like the garden of the Lord, like a second Paradise. Rich and fi rtile countries have generally luxurious, effeminate, and profligate inhabitants: so it was in this case: the inhabitants of Sodom were sinners and exceedingly wicked, and their profligacy was of that kind which luxury produces; they fed thein—elves without fear, and they acted without shame. Lot however was, through the mercy of God, preserved from this contagion: he retained his religion, and this supported his soul and saved his lite, when his goods and his wife perished. Let us learn from this to be jealous over our own wills and wishes; to distrust tlattering prospects, and seek and secure a heavenly inheritance. " Man wants but little; nor that little long." A man's life, the comfort and happiness of it, does not consist in the multitude of the things he possesses: " One house, one day's food, and one suit of raiment," says the Arabic proverb, " are sufficient for thee; and if thou die before noon, thou hast one half too much." The example of Abram, in constantly erecting an altar wherever he settled, is worthy of serious regard: he knew the path of duty was the way of safety; and, that, if he acknowledged God in all his ways, he might expect him to direct all his steps: he felt his dependance on God, he invoked him through a IMediator, and oft'ered sacrifices in faith of the coming Saviour: he found blessedness in this work; it was not an empty service — he rejoiced to see the day of Christ — he saw it, and was glad; see on ch xii. 8. Reader, has God an altar in thy house.? Dost thou sacrifice to him? Dost thou offer up daily by faith, in behalf of thy soul and the souls of thy family, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world? No man cometh unto the Father but by me, said Christ: this was true, not only from the incarnation, but from the foundation of the world. And to this another truth, not less comfortable, may be added: Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no xvise cast out.

The zcaioffour confedcmlc kings against the five kings of Canaan, 1—."). Tlie confederate kings over-run and pillage the whole ronntri/, 4 — 7: battle betzeeen them and the kings of Canaan, 8, 9: the latter are defeated, and the principal part of the armies of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah slain, 10, • on which these tico cities arc plundered, 1 1; Lot, his goods, and his family, are also taken and carried away, 12. Abram, being wformed of the disaster of his nephew, 13, arms three hundred and eighteen of his servants and pursues them, 14; oierlahcs and routs them, and recovers Lot, and his fami/i/, and their goods, 14—16; is met on his return /)i/ the kiiri- of Sodom, and />i/ Mc/rhizedek, king of Sa/em, zcith refreshments fur himself and men, 17, 18. Metchizedek blesses Abram, and receives from him, as priest of the most high God, the tenth of all the spoils, 19, 20. The kin" of Sodom offers to Abram all the goods he has taken from the enemi/, 21,• zchick Abram positivelif refuses, hating voKcd to God to receive no recompense for a victory, of which he kneie God to be the sole author, 22, 2:5; hut desirts that a proportion of the spoils be given to Aiier, Eshcol, and Manire, k'/io had accompanied him on litis expedition, 24.

A,Ar.cir.'-o9i. A ]srj) it came to pass in the days I5^cirj9^ /\ of Aim-a!)hcl king of 'Shinar,_ Arioch king of Elhisar, Chedorlaomer king of •"Elani, and Tidal king of nations;

2 TItat these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinal) king of '^Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiini, and the king of Bela, which is "Zoar.

3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, 'which is the salt sea.

4 Tweh-e years "^they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Verse 1. In the daj/s of Ainraplie(\ Wlio this king was is not known; and yet, iVom tlie uianucr in wliicli lie is spoken of in the text, it would seem that he was a person well known, even when Moses wrote this account. But the Vulgate fjives a different turn to the place, by rendering the passage thus. Factum est in illo tempore, ut Amrapltel, Iff. " It came to pasj in that lime, that Amrapliel, &c." The Chal- <ke Targiim of Onkclos makes Amrapliel, kuiij; of Babylon; others make him king of.V.s.syria; sunic make him the same as Nimrod, and others one of his descendants.

Arioch king of Ellasiii] Some think %;•«/ is meant; but conjecture is endless where facts cannot be ascertained.

Chedorlaomer, Iciiig of Elani] Dr. Shuckford tlunks that this was the same as iS'iiii/as, the.son u( Niims and Semiritmi.i; anil some tliink him to be the same with Kteumras, sou of Doolaved, son of Arphnxad, son of Shem, son of Noah; and that i7«7« means Persia; see ch. x. '2'2. The Persian historians unanimously allow that Kecumr<i.i, whose name bears some alhnity to CItedorlaomcr, was the first king of the I'eesluluilian dynasty.

Tidal L-iiig of witions] D'y Goyim, different peoples or cians. Probably some advenlurous person, whose subjects were composed of refugees from ditVerent countries.

Verse 2. These nutdc xiar nilh licru, i>'f. ] It appears, from \cr. 4, that these five C'anaanitish kings had been subdued by Chedorlaomer, and were obliged to pay him tribute; and, that, having- been enslaved by him twelve years, wishinsj

5 And in the fonrteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that ivere with him, and smote *the Rcphaims "in Ashteroth Karnaim, and 'the Zuzims in Ham, "and the Emims in 'Shaveh Kiriathaim.

6 '"And the Horites in their mount Scir, unto "El-paran, which is by the wilderness.

7 And they returned, and came to En-niishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the x^malekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt °in Hazezon-tamar.

8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of

to recover their liberty, they revolled in the thirteenth; in consequence of which, Chedorlaomer, the following year, summoned to his assistance /three of his vassals, invaded Ca- ' naan, fought with, and discnmfited the kings of the Pentapolis, or five cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboim, Zoar, and Admab, which were situated in the fiuitful plain of.Siddim, having previously overrun the whole land.

Zuzims] No \<liere else spoken of, unle.ss they were the same with the Zauizumims, Deut. ii. 20. as some imagine.

Emims] A people threat and many in the days of Moses, and tall as the Anakim; they dwelt among the l\loabites, by whom they were reputed!,'«i/;^9; Deut. ii. 10, 11.

Shuzelt Kiriathaim.] Ilather as the tiiargin, the plain of Kiriathaim, which was a city afterwards belonging to Sihon, king of Heshbon; Josh xiii. 19.

Verse 6. T/ie Horites] A people that dwelt in mount Scir. till Esau and his sons drove them thence; Deut. ii. 22.

El-paruii] The plain or oak of Paran, \vhich was a city in the Wilderness of Paran; ch. xxi 21.

Verse 7. Kn-mishpal] The nrll of judgment; probably so called from the judLiment pronounced by God on Moses and Aaron, for their rebellion at that place; Num. xx. 1 — 10.

Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela {the same is

9 With Chedorlaomcr the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Aiioch king of EUasar; four kinofs with five.

10 And the vale of Siddim xc as full of "slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled "to the mountain.

1 1 And they took " all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

13 And there came one that had A.M.cir.si(»i, escaped, and told Abram the He- -^'^^ brew; for 'he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Ancr: ^and these ivere confederate with Abram.

14 ^ And when Abram heard that "his brother was taken captive, he 'armed his "trained servants, 'born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them "unto Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and "smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back "all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his, goods, and the women also, and the people.

Hdzczon-Uimar.} Calied by the Cliaklee, En-g:ad<li; a city in the land of Canaan, which fell to the lot of Jiidah; Josli. XV. 62. see also 2 Chron. xx. 2. It appears, from Cant. i. 13. to have been a very fruitful place.