BOOK X.

_Kingdoms of Judah and Israel._

PART I.

_Period of Mutual Hostility._

CHAP. I. The Revolt of the Ten Tribes

CHAP. II. Rehoboam and Abijah, Jeroboam and Nadab

CHAP. III. Asa and Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri

PART II.

_Period of Mutual Alliance, and Hostility to Syria._

CHAP. I. Accession of Ahab――Era of Elijah

CHAP. II. Wars of Ahab and Benhadad

CHAP. III. Murder of Naboth――Battle of Ramoth Gilead

CHAP. IV. Wars of Jehoshaphat. Translation of Elijah

CHAP. V. Jehoshaphat and Jehoram――Era of Elisha

CHAP. VI. Elisha and Naaman――Siege of Samaria

PART III.

_Renewal of Hostilities; Decline of both Kingdoms

before the power of the Assyrian Empire._

CHAP. I. Accession of Jehu

CHAP. II. Athaliah and Joash; Death of Elisha

CHAP. III. Amaziah and Jeroboam II.; Era of Jonah

CHAP. IV. Decline and Captivity of the Kingdom of Israel

CHAP. V. Reign of Hezekiah

CHAP. VI. Reign of Manasseh――Reforms of Josiah

CHAP. VII. Death of Josiah――Captivity of Judah

NOTE. _Duration, Relation, Contrasts of the Two Kingdoms_[441]

BOOK XI.

_From the Captivity to the Close of the Canon._

CHAP. I. Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar

CHAP. II. Reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius

CHAP. III. Rebuilding of the Temple――Esther and Ahasuerus

CHAP. IV. Times of Ezra and Nehemiah――Close of Canon

APPENDIX AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES

INDEX

MAPS.

1. The Dispersion of Noah’s Descendants (Genesis x.)

2. A Map of Canaan, Egypt, and Sinai, to illustrate the Patriarchal

History and the Exodus. With Mount Sinai enlarged

3. The Holy Land divided among the Twelve Tribes

4. Solomon’s Dominions, The Kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and the

Lands of the Captivities

BOOK I.

FROM THE CREATION TO THE DISPERSION OF MANKIND.

CHAPTER I.

_THE CREATION._

GEN. I. II. B.C. 4004.

_IN the beginning God created the heavens and the earth._ With these

simple but sublime words commences the History contained in the

Scriptures of the Old Testament, teaching us that the Universe did

not exist from all eternity, but owed its origin to the creative act

of God. To us this truth appears so elementary and self-evident that

we can hardly appreciate the dim and uncertain notions on this point,

which the best and wisest of the heathen possessed. Certain it is,

however, they were very much in the dark respecting the origin of the

world. Some philosophers held that it existed from all eternity: others

taught that there are two independent Causes, the one Light, and the

other Darkness, and that out of the unending struggle between them

the Universe had its origin; others imagined that all the marvellous

order and harmony we see around us was the result of Chance; others,

again, conceived that the world was an emanation from Deity, and a

part of Deity. Distinct from all these guesses and conceptions is the

_declaration_ of the Scripture Narrative. It affirms that the world is

not eternal; that it had its origin with time and in time; that it owed

its beginning neither to Chance, nor Necessity, but the Creative will

of a Personal God, infinitely exalted above it, the Maker and Sustainer

of all things. (Comp. Joh. i. 1–3, Rom. xi. 36, 1 Cor. viii. 6, Col.

i. 15, 16, Heb. i. 2, 3).

The creation, however, of the present order of things was not

instantaneous, but progressive, and took place in six Days, or vast

Periods of time. On the _first_ day light was created, and divided from

the darkness; on the _second_, the firmament, or atmosphere encircling

the globe; on the _third_, a separation was made between the water and

the land, and the surface of the earth was covered with vegetation,

with _the herb yielding seed, and the tree yielding fruit after its

kind_. On the _fourth_, the sun, moon and stars were bidden _to give

light upon the earth, and to be for signs and for seasons, and for days

and years_. On the _fifth_, animal life appeared in its lowest forms,

the waters brought forth the various marine tribes after their kind,

and this was succeeded by the creation of every _winged fowl_. The

_sixth_ day was marked by the production of land animals, _cattle, and

creeping thing, and beast of the earth_, which, like all the preceding

products of Creative Power, received the Divine approval, and were

pronounced to be _very good_.

But the work of Creation was not yet complete. A being higher than

any yet created was to be called into existence. Accordingly _God said,

Let |us| make MAN in |our| image, after |our| likeness, and let them

have dominion over every living thing, and over all the earth; and the

Lord God formed Man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his

nostrils the breath of life, and Man became a living soul_. Then having

seen that all things He had made were _very good_ God ended His work,

and _rested on the seventh day_, sanctifying it as a day of Rest for

man. (Gen. i. 2–26).

The language here employed in reference to the creation of man deserves

attention. It teaches us that man did not, as some have taught, slowly

emerge by his own efforts from a brutish state. Unlike other created

objects, he was originally made in the _image_ and _after the likeness_

of God. Endowed not only with a body, but also with an immortal soul,

he was to combine intellectual power with liberty of will, and the

faculty of conscience. And as he was great himself, so also was the

work to which he was called. His was to be universal dominion _over

the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every

living thing that moveth upon the earth_. As God’s vicegerent, he was

to exercise lordship over nature, and guide it towards its destined

perfection (Gen. i. 26).

But though the first man ADAM, was endued with those high prerogatives,

he was not destined to attain immediately to the end for which he

was created. His activity was to commence in a particular spot, and

thence to extend in all directions, until all the earth was subdued and

moulded to the will of its Creator. The Almighty, therefore, planted

a garden in a region of the East, corresponding probably to the high

table-land of the modern Armenia, and watered by four streams. Of two

of these, Pison and Gihon, the situation is absolutely unknown, the

others were the Tigris and Euphrates. Here, then, in a spot endued with

everything pleasant to the sight and good for food, man’s work was to

commence. Action and not contemplation only was essential to his nature,

hence a charge was given to him to _dress_ and _keep_ the garden. Nor

amidst everything to gratify his senses and supply material for his

understanding and reflection was he left alone. A responsible being,

_bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh_, was created a _help-meet

for him_. The Lord _caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam_, and taking

one of his ribs, He made thereof a woman, and brought her unto him,

and EVE, _the mother of all flesh_, one with himself in nature and in

origin, was united to him in holy bonds, which HE, Who thus instituted

them in Paradise, afterwards adorned and hallowed with His own presence

and first miracle at Cana of Galilee (Joh. ii. 1; Eph. v. 23–33).

CHAPTER II.

_THE FALL._

GEN. III. B.C. 4004.

OF the life of the first human pair in Paradise we are told but

little. We know, however, that it was not only a state of innocence,

and therefore of happiness, but also, like all human life since, of

_probation_. Besides the charge to dress and keep the fair enclosure

in which they had been placed, our first parents received but one

additional command. It was couched in negative terms, and forbade in

the most distinct and solemn manner possible the eating of the fruit

of a mysterious tree growing in the midst of the Garden, and called the

_tree of knowledge of Good and Evil_. Of the fruit of every other tree

they might eat freely, of the fruit of this tree the Almighty said to

them, _Ye shall not eat, for in the day ye eat thereof ye shall surely

die_. In this single prohibition lay the test of their loyal obedience

to their Creator, on it depended their innocence and their happiness

temporal and eternal. How long they were faithful and obedient we are

not told. But whether the period was long or short, certain it is that

it came to a close.

The Tree of _the Knowledge of Good and Evil_, implies that Evil was

already present in God’s world, and therefore in part prepares us for

the dark shadow that now gathers round the sacred page. The creation

of man had been watched by a supernatural Being of infinite subtilty

and malignity, the Enemy of God and of all goodness. Respecting this

mysterious Being, though the Sacred Narrative does not gratify our

curiosity with any lengthened details, yet to his existence and his

unceasing hostility to man, it bears direct and explicit testimony.

The name under which the supernatural Tempter appears in the earliest

and latest portions of the Bible is the same (comp. Gen. iii. 1, with

2 Cor. xi. 3; Rev. xii. 9, xx. 2), and though but seldom mentioned in

the Old Testament (Job i., ii.; 1 Chron. xxi. 1; Zech. iii. 1, 2), the

same attributes are uniformly ascribed to him. Created originally good,

like all the works of God, he _abode not in the truth_ (Jn. viii. 44),

but rebelled against his Maker and fell from his high estate (1 Tim.

iii. 6), and henceforth, at the head of numerous other spirits (Matt.

xxv. 41), whom he had dragged down with him in his fall (2 Pet. ii. 4;

Jude 6), he arrayed himself in conscious hostility to the Supreme.

This Being, then, here called the Serpent, in other places Satan, i.e.

the _Enemy_, and the Devil, i.e. the _Slanderer_, approached the woman,

as being the weaker vessel, for the purpose of seducing her, and so

her husband, from their allegiance to their Creator. With affected

solicitude he began by enquiring, _Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat

of every tree of the garden?_ To this the woman replied by repeating

the Divine prohibition respecting the fruit of one particular tree.

Thereupon the Tempter proceeded to declare that the penalty of death

would not follow the eating of this fruit, nay that the Almighty knew

that in the day they ate thereof, her eyes and those of her husband

would be opened, and they would _become as gods_, knowing good and

evil. A more subtle scheme for shaking her allegiance to the Almighty,

and her confidence in His goodness and His love, could not have been

devised. A prohibition hitherto regarded as a solemn but merciful

warning was now invested with an arbitrary character, and a selfish

motive. In mere envy, so the Tempter affirmed, the Almighty had

denounced an impossible penalty; what she had been taught to observe

as the condition of innocence and happiness was nothing more than the

expedient of One, who grudged His creatures their rightful advancement,

lest they should approach too nearly to Himself[2]. The idea of an

envious God, of a _hard taskmaster_, was thus instilled into the

mind of Eve, sapping the foundations of all real faith and trust, and

rendering the more irresistible the temptation to disobey the command

of Him, who had thus enviously set these bounds to her freewill. In an

evil hour she believed the Tempter’s words, and seeing that the _tree

was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be

desired to make one wise_, she took of the fruit, and did eat, and gave

also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. Thus the fell counsels

of the Tempter were accomplished. Through want of faith in God’s word,

through a longing for independence, through a vain desire to become

gods unto themselves, our first parents were beguiled into sin, and

when _their eyes were opened_, instead of greater happiness they now

experienced the strange and hitherto unknown consciousness of shame,

and degradation, and unmeetness for God’s presence (Gen. iii. 1–7).

Brief and summary as is the information here given us respecting

the enigma of enigmas, the origin of Evil, it is yet of unspeakable

importance. For it teaches us that Sin is not a part of man’s nature,

but _the fault and corruption_[3] of it, that it did not spring from

his nature by any inevitable necessity, but in consequence of his

yielding to the seductions of a powerful and malignant Foe. He did

not, like his Tempter, choose sin for its own sake, but was _beguiled_

into it. Hence, though he became liable to all the penal consequences

of his disobedience, though his being was _poisoned_ with sin, yet it

was not _converted_ into sin. He did not lose all remembrance of his

former state of purity and innocence; the shame which overwhelmed him

and made him hide himself from the presence of God, testified to his

consciousness of transgression, and in this sense of guilt lay the

possibility of his restoration[4].

For now the Sacred Narrative, while it refuses to gratify our curiosity

respecting a subject which doubtless passes our understanding, proceeds

to do what is for us of far greater practical importance, namely,

to place the inroad of sin in immediate connection with the Divine

Counsels of Redemption. We learn that God in infinite mercy now

intervened between His creatures and their Tempter. For them, indeed,

it remained to taste the bitter fruits of their disobedience and

mistrust. Eve was informed that sorrow and pain must henceforth be the

condition of her existence; _in sorrow should she bring forth children,

her desire should be to her husband, and he should rule over her_ (Gen.

iii. 16). Adam learnt that with himself henceforth nature too must

undergo a change; _thorns and thistles_ must grow upon the face of the

earth, toil must be the price of his existence, and his end the silence

of the grave, for _dust he was, and unto dust he must return_. Even

thus, however, Justice was tempered with sweet Mercy, and Love mingled

blessings with the bitterness of man’s cup. If pain and multiplied

sorrow was to be woman’s lot, yet through pain she was to know a

mysterious joy, and her anguish should be no more remembered, when

she knew that _a man was born into the world_. And if grievous toil

and irksome labour were to be the conditions of man’s existence, yet in

the provision of these effectual antidotes to idleness and many other

sins was truest mercy. But these gracious purposes extended only to

man, they tempered not the judgment denounced on his Seducer. Utterly

_cursed was he above all cattle, and above every beast of the field_.

The very creature, over whom he had seemed to triumph, should prove

his ultimate Conqueror. _I will put enmity_, said the Almighty to the

Tempter, _between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her

seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel_. In

these words we trace the _first_ distinct _Promise_ of man’s ultimate

Redemption. The state of degradation, into which he had suffered

himself to be seduced, was not to last for ever. “In conformity with

the Divine Equity, the deceiver was to be judged by the deceived, the

Conqueror was to be overcome by the conquered[5].” Man need not give

himself up to despair; there was still room for hope; in infinite mercy

the Almighty had espoused his cause, and He would Himself provide a

remedy for his fall.

We need not venture on any profitless speculations touching the precise

amount of hope the early generations of the human family were likely to

have derived from this first Gospel, this “first Promise” of a Saviour.

In terms it was undoubtedly indefinite. Neither the time, nor the

method, nor the precise mediating cause of man’s deliverance was made

known. It was not revealed whether the promised “Seed” should be one

or many, the collective Race, or a single Deliverer. On these points

greater light was to be shed as time rolled on, and many things were

to be revealed, which now man could not comprehend. But of the final

_Victory_, and of its _certainty_, direct and explicit assurance was

given. “Since religion cannot so much as exist without _hope_, the

earliest intimation of Prophecy was adapted to the support of that

essential feeling in the heart of man. It was clearly a promise of

relief, an antidote to perfect despair. It contained the prediction

that some one should be born of the Seed of the Woman, who ‘should

bruise the head of the Tempter,’ by whom, therefore, the penal effect

of man’s transgression should be in some way reversed. With all its

uncertainty as to the mode in which this End should be effected, the

Promise had within it a principle of _Hope_ and _Encouragement_, and

the materials of a religious trust fitted to keep man still looking to

his Maker[6].”

In the encouraging assurance thus given to Adam, in this first Promise

of a Saviour, Sacred History finds its definite starting-point, and

the Old Testament becomes a true introduction to the New, because it

reveals the several steps whereby the Divine Wisdom provided for its

fulfilment. From first to last Sacred History is “instinct with life

and hope;” it ever points onward to the future; its key-note is ever

preparation for the Coming of HIM, who was to be the true “Seed of

the Woman,” in whom the Father counselled before the worlds to _gather

together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on

earth_ (Eph. i. 10; Phil. ii. 9, 10).

CHAPTER III.

_THE FLOOD._

GEN. IV.–IX. B.C. 4004–2348.

THOUGH thus assured of ultimate restoration, the first man, as a fallen

being, could not be permitted to remain in the region, which had been

the scene of his trial and his failure. He might take of the fruit of

another Tree, that grew in the midst of the Garden, the _Tree of Life_,

and eat, and live for ever, and thus prevent the possibility of his

recovery. Accordingly he was sent forth from the Garden, at the east of

which were stationed Cherubim, a particular order, in all probability,

of Angels (Comp. Ex. xxv. 17–22; Ezek. i. 5, Rev. iv. 6), while a

_flaming Sword which turned every way_ guarded the approach to the Tree

of Life.

Thus driven forth from Eden, and re-commencing under new and altered

circumstances their course of probation, Adam and Eve in due time

became the parents of two sons, CAIN (_gotten_, or _acquired_), and

ABEL (_breath_, _transitoriness_). From their earliest years the most

opposite tendencies distinguished the brothers. The mysterious rite

of sacrifice, which meets us at the very threshold of Sacred History,

and which, it is supposed, not without probability, the Almighty

Himself instituted, when He made for the first pair _coats of skins,

and clothed them_ (Gen. iii. 21), became the occasion of a fatal

quarrel between them. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, Abel of

the firstlings of his flock, an offering unto the Lord. The offering

of Abel was accepted, that of Cain rejected. The reason for this

distinction cannot be pronounced with absolute certainty. Either the

offering of Abel was a free and bounteous presentation of the best

that he had, while that of Cain was merely commonplace and perfunctory,

or Abel brought his offering in a spirit of faith, and trustful

acquiescence in a divinely-instituted though mysterious command

(Heb. xi. 4), a motive which the offering of his elder brother lacked.

Whatever was the precise reason of the distinction, it roused all

Cain’s latent jealousy, and he became his brother’s murderer (1 Joh.

iii. 12). For thus shedding _righteous blood_ (Matt. xxiii. 35) he

was condemned by the Almighty to perpetual banishment from the region

of Eden. Fearful of vengeance from the other children of Adam, whose

family we may infer from the mention of Cain’s wife had largely

increased, he feared to depart before he received from the Almighty a

special sign or pledge of security in the land of his banishment[7].

This having been granted, he removed into the region of Nod (_exile_),

and there became the ancestor of numerous descendants, the heads of

whom are enumerated to the sixth generation, under the names of Enoch,

Irad, Mehu-jael, Methu-sael, and Lamech. In this region, too, he

built the earliest city of which we have any record, and called it

_Enoch_, after the name of his eldest son. The Cainite families were

distinguished for their attention to the development of the arts and

pleasures of life. As Cain built the first city, so Lamech instituted

polygamy, while of his three sons JABAL introduced the nomadic life,

JUBAL the use of musical instruments, and TUBAL-CAIN the art of working

in metals (Gen. iv. 16–24).

Meanwhile with another son SETH (_substituted_), who had been given

to Adam in place of Abel, commenced a line distinct in its social

and religious tendencies from that of Cain. The heads of this family

are enumerated to the tenth generation under the names of Seth, Enos,

Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah. While the

descendants of Cain advanced indeed in civilization, but were addicted

to luxury and violence, the descendants of Seth were distinguished for

pastoral simplicity. They _called upon the name of the Lord_ (Gen. iv.

26); they were the chosen repositories of the Promise of Redemption,

and the witnesses for a God of Righteousness in the midst of a

generation which already began to become corrupt, and in the seen

to forget the unseen. An eminent type of the characteristic virtues

of this line was ENOCH, the son of Jared, _the seventh from Adam_

(Jude 14). All his life long he walked in closest communion with the

Most High and the spiritual world. Faith (Heb. xi. 5), implicit trust

in a Righteous Ruler of the Universe, was the principle of his life,

and the secret spring of his holiness. One day he vanished from the

society of his fellowmen. _He was not_, for the God whom he served

_took him_ to Himself, and translated him to the unseen world, without

undergoing the penalty of death (Gen. v. 21–24).

A peculiar feature of this period was the great length to which human

life was prolonged. Adam attained to the age of 930 years, Methuselah

to that of 969, the others nearly as long. From this accrued many

advantages to the race. It tended to promote its speedy increase, it

preserved uninterrupted such knowledge as men were able to acquire, and

pre-eminently the original revelation respecting the one true God, the

remembrance of Paradise, and the hope of ultimate Redemption. But the

great longevity of the men of this period did not tend to hinder their

increasing alienation from the paths of righteousness, and obedience

to the Supreme. Amidst the extreme brevity of the sacred narrative it

is clear that the wickedness of men reached a desperate pitch, _the

earth was filled with violence_, and _all men corrupted their way_

upon it. At length this alienation from God reached its culminating

point in a catastrophe, to which the Sacred Record attaches a peculiar

and mysterious importance. _When men began to multiply on the face

of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, the sons of God saw

the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of

all that they chose._ Whatever be the true meaning of the expression

_sons of God_, whether it refers to the Angels, as some have thought,

or the descendants of Seth, certain it is that a superhuman spirit

of wickedness broke out at this period. From these mixed marriages

sprang men remarkable for strength and power, for violence and arrogant

wickedness, through whom both races speedily became hopelessly corrupt.

The salt even in the line of Seth lost its savour, and _the wickedness

of man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of

his heart was only evil continually_ (Gen. vi. 1–5).

In this awful crisis one man only found favour with God, NOAH, the

son of Lamech, in whom at his birth, with prophetic glance his father

beheld a pledge of that _rest_ and _comfort_, which the men of faith

felt they so sorely needed from the burden of weary and irksome labour

on _the ground which Jehovah had cursed_ (Gen. v. 29). When Noah

was 500 years old, he became the father of three sons, SHEM, HAM,

and JAPHETH. Like Enoch he was a _righteous and perfect man in his

generation_, and in this age of universal apostasy maintained an

unflinching trust in the Righteous Ruler of the Universe, and at

length, when the cup of man’s iniquity was full, he received intimation

from the Almighty of His intention to bring an awful judgment upon the

world. _Behold I, even I_, said God, _do bring a flood of waters upon

the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from

under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die_. From

the general catastrophe Noah and his family alone were to be preserved,

and he was directed to construct an Ark, a huge vessel of enormous

dimensions, into which, when completed, he was to repair with his wife,

his three sons and their wives, and also two of every species of beasts

and birds accounted “unclean” or unfit for sacrifice, and seven of

every species accounted “clean.” The vessel thus ordered was to be

constructed of gopher-wood, probably cypress, and was to be overlaid

within and without with pitch or bitumen; in length it was to be

300 cubits, in breadth 50, in depth 30. But though the impending

Judgment was thus announced, and a visible pledge of it directed to

be constructed, the Doom itself was not to be as yet. He who afterwards

waited 400 years till the _cup of the iniquity of the Amorites_ was

full, who gave the Ninevites forty days for repentance, now _waited_

(1 Pet. iii. 20), _with much long-suffering_, for a space of 120 years.

During this period _according to all that God commanded Noah, so did

he_. Though the things, of which he was warned, _were not yet seen_

(Heb. xi. 7), nay, must have seemed to the men of his generation in

the extremest degree improbable, _moved with fear_ he yet persevered in

his awful task, and by this act of faith, as well as by his own works,

continued to warn his fellowmen of what was to come. But his warnings

fell on unheeding ears. The men of his generation set at naught all

his counsel and mocked at his reproofs: they _did eat, they drank, they

married wives, they were given in marriage_ (Matt. xxiv. 38; Lk. xvii.

26, 27), until the day of Doom arrived. On the seventeenth day of the

second month of the 600th year of Noah’s life he and his family entered

into the Ark, and _the Lord shut them in_. Then, after a solemn pause

of seven days, the elements of destruction were bidden to do their

work. _The fountains of the great deep were broken up, the windows of

heaven were opened_, and the rain descended, till the waters covered

the highest hills, _and all flesh wherein was the breath of life died,

of fowl, of cattle, of wild beast, and of every creeping thing which

creepeth upon the earth, and every man_.

In these simple but impressive words the Sacred Narrative describes

the appalling catastrophe. Written for a far higher purpose, it paints

no scenes as a human writer would have done. “We see nothing of the

death-struggle; we hear not the cry of despair; we are not called upon

to witness the frantic agony of husband and wife, of parent and child,

as they fled in terror before the rising waters. Not a word is said

of the sadness of the one righteous man who, safe himself, looked upon

the destruction, which he could not avert. But one impression is left

upon the mind with peculiar vividness, from the very simplicity of the

narrative, and it is that of utter desolation[8].” All flesh died, Noah

only was left, and they that were with him in the ark. For 150 days

the waters prevailed, till at length on the 17th day of the 7th month

the Ark rested on one of the peaks of Ararat. From this time the waters

gradually decreased till the first day of the 10th month, when the tops

of the mountains having begun to appear, Noah sent forth a raven, which

returned not to the Ark. A week afterwards he sent forth a dove, to see

if the waters were abated from the lower and more level country. But

the dove finding _no rest for the sole of her foot_ returned unto the

Ark. Again he waited seven days, and once more sent her forth, when

she returned with a fresh olive-leaf _pluckt off in her mouth_, a sign

that the waters had still further subsided. Yet again, after a similar

interval, Noah sent her forth. This time, however, she did not return,

having found on the earth _a rest for the sole of her foot_, and then

he knew that the awful Judgment had indeed come to a close, and at

the Divine command left the Ark, and set foot on the dry land[9] (Gen.

viii. 1–19).

CHAPTER IV.

_THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES._

GEN. X.–XI. B.C. 2347–2233.

THE first act of Noah on leaving the Ark was to build an altar, and

offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord _of every clean beast, and of every

clean fowl_. His sacrifice was accepted, and now for the first time a

solemn Covenant was ratified between the Almighty and the Patriarch,

to which definite promises were annexed, and “an outward and visible

sign.” From its baptism of water the Earth had risen once more to be

the habitation of man, and Noah and his sons were solemnly assured that

all flesh should never again be cut off by the waters of a Flood, but

that _while the earth remained, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter and day and night should not cease_. Again too the

blessing of Paradise was bestowed, sovereignty and dominion over the

animal creation were assured, and once more men were bidden to _be

fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth_. At the same time

animal food was expressly allowed, while the sanctity of human life was

as solemnly enforced, _whoso shed man’s blood, by man should his blood

be shed_. Of this covenant the Rainbow was the visible pledge, assuring

man that he might enter afresh on his course of probation, nor dread

its interruption by any catastrophe like that with which the earth had

been so lately visited (Gen. ix. 8–17).

The elevation of the Armenian plateau, in the neighbourhood of which

the Ark had rested, being equidistant between the Black and Caspian

Seas on the north, the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea on the south,

being also the region in which all the great rivers of Western Asia,

the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Araxes, and the Halys take their rise,

formed a natural and convenient centre whence the descendants of Noah

might overspread the whole earth. But on this migration they did not

set out, before an unseemly incident revealed the natural character of

his sons, prophetic of their future destinies. Noah began to practise

agriculture, and planted a vineyard, and through ignorance, as it has

been supposed, of its properties, drank of the wine in excess, and

lay exposed in his tent. Ham, his youngest son, mocked him while he

lay in this condition, but Shem and Japheth, with more filial feeling,

averting their eyes covered their father with a garment. Awaking from

his slumbers Noah became conscious of what his youngest son had done,

and justly angry at the irreverence he had displayed, brake forth into

prophetic utterances of blessing and cursing, foreshadowing the diverse

destinies of the descendants of his family. Upon CANAAN, the fourth

son of Ham, and probably a partaker in his father’s transgression, he

pronounced the doom of perpetual servitude to his brethren[10]. Shem

he declared to be _the chosen one of Jehovah_, from whom the promised

Salvation should proceed, while Japheth, _multiplied_ and _enlarged_

should _dwell in his tents_[11], and be received as a partaker in his

spiritual privileges.

With their future destinies thus foretold, the sons of Noah went forth,

and took up their abode for some time on the rich alluvial plain of

Shinar between the Tigris and Euphrates. Here their descendants began

to form a great fraternal community, which it was the more easy to

do, seeing that they all proceeded from the same parental home, and

_had all one language_. But here, in defiance of the Divine command,

which bade them disperse themselves abroad and _replenish the whole

earth_, they resolved to make a City and a huge Tower _whose top might

reach unto heaven_, to serve as a central point of union, and a great

World-Metropolis. But their design was counteracted. The Almighty

interposed, and by confounding their language, so that they could

not understand one another’s speech, rent the closest bond of human

society. Unable to continue the erection of their City and Tower, which

was henceforth called Babel or _Confusion_, they were scattered abroad

over the face of the earth, and thus constrained to fulfil the eternal

designs of Him, who has _determined the times before appointed, and the

bounds of the habitations_ of the sons of men (Acts xvii. 26)[12].

Before, however, it leaves them to pursue their own ways, the Sacred

Narrative presents to us a Genealogical Table, in which the names

of the several nations descended from Noah, and their geographical

distribution, have been preserved. With this Table antiquity has handed

down nothing that can be compared for accuracy or comprehensiveness.

“It exposes the fallacies of the mythical genealogies of pagans,

contradicts their fables respecting gods, heroes, and periods

of millions of years, and also affords a firm foundation for

investigations concerning the origin and the traditions of nations.”

From this Table, then, it appears that

(i) The descendants of JAPHETH (_enlargement_) after leaving the

original cradle of the human race, occupied chiefly _the isles of the

Gentiles_, or the coast-lands of the Mediterranean Sea in Asia Minor

and Europe, and thence spread chiefly in a northerly direction over the

entire European Continent, and a great portion of Asia. Thus GOMER was

the ancestor of the Cymmerians or Cimbri, MAGOG of the Scythians, MADAI

of the Medes, JAVAN of the Ionians and Greek race, TUBAL and MESECH

of the Tibareni and Moschi, two Colchian tribes, and TIRAS of the

Thracians.

(ii) The descendants of HAM (“_heat_”) proceeded in a southerly

direction, and occupied the whole of Africa, and the Southern

peninsulas of Asia, India, and Arabia. Of his four sons CUSH extended

his settlements from Babylonia to Ethiopia, MIZRAIM colonized Egypt,

PHUT Libya, and CANAAN the land called by his name.

(iii) The descendants of SHEM established themselves in Central Asia,

and thence extended in an easterly and westerly direction, ARAM

colonising the country afterwards known as Syria, LUD Lydia, ARPHAXAD

Chaldæa, ASSHUR part of Assyria, ELAM Persia, JOKTAN a portion of the

Arabian peninsula (Gen. x. 1–26).

Thus He, _who hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell

on all the face of the earth_ (Acts xvii. 26), directed the repeopling

of the world by the descendants of Noah. Like prodigal sons they were

to go into far countries, and learn by bitter experience that neither

human strength nor human wisdom can work out _the righteousness of

God_, or win back for man his lost inheritance. But the preservation

of their names in this Table of Nations is a proof that no one of

them was forgotten by a God of Love; that though they might forget Him

He yet guided their destinies, and overruled their counsels only to

the accomplishment of His gracious purposes of Redemption. The Day of

Pentecost in the New Testament corresponds to the Confusion of Tongues

in the Old. Then, not till then, did men hear, each in their tongue

wherein they were born, the Glad Tidings of ONE, very God and very

Man, in whom _there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither bond nor free,

neither male nor female_ (Gal. iii. 28).

Illustration: THE DISPERSION OF NOAH’S DESCENDANTS

CHAPTER V.

_RISE OF IDOLATRY――THE PATRIARCH JOB._

GEN. X. 6–12. JOB.

SACRED History does not record many facts connected with the immediate

descendants of Noah. The scene of the Confusion of Tongues continued to

attract around it a large number of the early inhabitants of the world,

and here was established one of the earliest of the great empires

of the earth by NIMROD, a son of Cush, and grandson of Ham. Of great

powers and gigantic stature, he first obtained wide-spread renown by

his exploits as _a mighty hunter_, and the services he rendered the

surrounding populations by ridding them of the terror of noxious and

terrible animals. In process of time, however, he combined with his

exploits as a hunter the conquest of men, and founded a great empire

on the plains of Shinar, the chief towns of which were Babel, Erech

(_Edessa_), Accad (_Nisibis_), and Calneh (_Ctesiphon_). Thence (for

such seems to be the meaning of Gen. x. 11) he extended his dominions

along the course of the Tigris into Assyria, amongst the descendants

of Shem, where he founded a second group of cities, Nineveh, Rehoboth,

Calah, and Resen. At a period when men’s lives were prolonged so far

beyond the period now allotted them, it is probable that this great

conqueror may have carried on his successful invasions for nearly 200

years, and after death was worshipped under the title of Belus, or Bel,

_the Lord_. Certainly the vast ruins that overspread the site of the

ancient Babylonian empire seem to tell of the days when there were

great heroes in the earth; and to Nimrod the modern Arabs ascribe all

the great works of ancient times, the _Birs-Nimrûd_, near Babylon,

_Tel Nimrûd_, near Baghdad, and the _Mount of Nimrûd_, near Mosul[13].

Whether the practice of idolatrous worship was introduced, as some have

supposed, by this great hero of the ancient world, or not, certain it

is that mankind became more and more addicted to idolatry. Though the

knowledge of the one true God, and the promise of salvation, had been

handed down by tradition, and though His invisible attributes, _even

His eternal power and Godhead_, were clearly to be discerned in the

works of creation (Rom. i. 19, 20), yet mankind _glorified Him not

as God, neither were they thankful_. They began _to worship and serve

the creature rather than the Creator_. The sun, moon, and stars, the

principle of fire, even the inferior animals and departed heroes, came

to be regarded with veneration, and usurped the worship due only to

the Supreme. With idolatry came its usual consequences, a deep moral

degeneracy, cruelty, tyranny, and licentiousness.

One of the earliest allusions to the worship of the heavenly bodies

occurs in the Book of Job (xxxi. 26–28). The age and writer of this

book are alike unknown; by some it is ascribed to Job himself, by

others to Moses, by others to some writer who lived at a still later

period. As, however, the scenes therein described had with great

probability been referred to a period very little removed from that

at which we have now arrived, it may be well to speak of them here.

JOB was an eminent Eastern chief, dwelling in very early times in the

land of Uz (Job i. 1), probably Arabia Deserta, or, as some suppose,

Mesopotamia. Greatest among “the sons of the East,” endowed with

all the riches of his age, he ruled piously and wisely over a happy

and numerous household, having seven sons and three daughters. To

considerable mental attainments he added a moral uprightness, which

preserved him blameless in all the relations of life, and was declared

by the Lord Himself to be _without his like in all the earth, a perfect

and an upright man, one that feared God, and eschewed evil_ (Job i. 8).

With large and liberal hand he distributed to the necessities of the

poor, so that whenever _the ear heard him then it blessed him, when the

eye saw him it gave witness to him; the blessing of him that was ready

to perish came upon him, and he caused the widow’s heart to sing for

joy_. But in the midst of this almost perfect temporal happiness he was

suddenly overwhelmed with the heaviest misfortunes that can befall the

sons of men. He who slandered God to Eve slandered Job before God, and

affirmed that he did not fear Him for naught; that if he were stripped

of all his possessions he would be as other men, and curse the Lord to

His face (i. 11). To put, therefore, the patriarch’s faith to the most

certain test, the Accuser of mankind received mysterious permission

to cast him down, and try him with the most grievous afflictions. Blow

after blow descended upon him. From being the lord of a numerous and

attached household he suddenly became childless, for the storm of the

desert swept over the house where his sons and daughters were assembled,

and crushed them all beneath its ruins. From being the richest of the

sons of the East he suddenly became a beggar, for the thunderbolt, “the

fire of God,” fell and struck down all his sheep, as they were grazing

quietly with their shepherds, while his camels were carried off by a

band of Chaldean robbers, and his oxen and asses by a horde of Sabeans.

And not only did he become a childless, beggared, ruined man, but upon

his own body the black leprosy of the East set its awful mark, making

him an object hateful and loathsome to look upon. Smitten with sores

_from the sole of his foot even unto his crown_, he sat apart, forsaken

by his friends and even by his wife. But amidst these awful trials his

faith was not prostrated. When the terrible tidings reached him of the

fate of his household he said, in words of sublime resignation, _The

Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be the name of

the Lord_; when his wife, utterly unable to bear up, bade him curse his

Maker and die, he replied, _What? shall we receive good at the hand of

God, and shall we not receive evil?_ (Job i. 21, ii. 10).

Before long the news of his terrible affliction was noised abroad,

and three of his old friends, Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah,

and Zophar of Naamath, came _to mourn with him and to comfort him_.

In their presence Job at length brake forth into desperate words,

and _cursed the day of his birth_ (Job iii. 1). The storm of his soul

was not calmed by the sympathy of his friends. Instead of pouring in

the oil of comfort, they only heightened his griefs by ascribing his

calamities to some great sin, some secret guilt, if not committed by

himself at least by his children, for which he was now punished. A

distinct question was thus propounded, Is great suffering a proof of

great guilt? Job’s friends affirmed it was, and exhorted him to repent

and confess. Job denied, and at great length laboured to refute this

(Job iv. 5–xxxii). At the close of their dialogue, Elihu, another

and younger friend of the patriarch, intervened, to moderate between

the disputants. Unable to solve the problem of Job’s calamities, he

declared that afflictions, even when not the direct consequences of

sin, were intended for good, and he reproved his friend for justifying

himself rather than the Almighty, and speaking unadvisedly of His

works (Job xxxii–xxxvii). At length the Lord Himself condescended to

interpose in the controversy. From the midst of a whirlwind, in words

of incomparable grandeur and sublimity, he silenced the murmurs of

his servant, bidding him reflect on the glory of creation, and learn

from the marvels of the animal kingdom the stupendous power and wisdom

of Him with whom it is useless for a created being to contend (Job

xxxviii–xli). Thereupon, in deep contrition, Job acknowledged his error

and supplicated the Divine pardon for the bitterness and arrogance of

his complaints. This penitent acknowledgment was accepted, and Job’s

three friends were severely reproved for their uncharitable surmises

respecting the origin of his misfortunes. On the intercession, however,

of the patriarch they were pardoned; and He who had suffered him

to be thus sorely tried, when his trials had served the purpose for

which they had been sent, once more showered down upon him the riches

of His goodness, restoring him to still greater prosperity than he had

even enjoyed before, and made him the father of seven sons and three

daughters[14], celebrated for their beauty above all the maidens of the

East. Job survived his altered fortunes upwards of 140 years, and then,

having seen his children to the fourth generation, died in a good old

age, an instructive example of integrity (Ezek. xiv. 14, 20), and of

patience under the most trying calamities (Jas. v. 11).

BOOK II.

THE PATRIARCHAL AGE.

CHAPTER I.

_THE CALL OF ABRAHAM._

GEN. XI. B.C. 1921.

THERE will always, perhaps, be a doubt as to the exact period after

the Flood when Job lived, but there can be no doubt that neither

his constancy nor his faithfulness to the one true God, were the

characteristics of the age succeeding the Flood. Within ten generations

after that event mankind had again become forgetful of their Maker,

and corrupted their way, threatening a fresh outbreak of violence

and irreligion. Now, however, it was not the purpose of the Almighty

to visit the earth with any universal judgment. In the counsels of

Redemption it was His will to select a man, and through him, a nation,

to be His witness upon earth, to withdraw this nation from contact

with the surrounding world, to place it under a special and peculiar

constitution, to entrust to it the guardianship of ancient truths

and of future hopes, and out of it to bring, _in the fulness of time_

(Gal. iv. 4), the promised Saviour of the human race.

At this point, then, Sacred History becomes more full, and its stream

hitherto slender widens into a broad river. Mighty empires and great

nations seem for a while to be forgotten, but only because we are now

to be more especially concerned with the history of that particular

nation, in and through which _all nations of the earth were to be

blessed_ (Gen. xii. 3).

The man selected by the Almighty to be the ancestor of a people

destined to exert so momentous an influence on the salvation of the

world was ABRAHAM, or, as he was first called, _Abram_, the son of

Terah, who lived in the eighth generation from Shem, in Ur of the

Chaldees. Besides Abram, Terah had two other sons, Nahor and Haran,

but Abram, though mentioned first, was in all probability the youngest

of the three. From Ur, which may perhaps be identified with the modern

_Orfah_[15], in upper Mesopotamia, where his family had become tainted

with the generally prevailing idolatry (Josh. xxiv. 2, 14), Terah

removed, and travelling in a southerly direction arrived at Haran or

Charran[16], where he stayed. In this journey he was accompanied by

his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot, and

seems to have intended to go into the land of Canaan (Gen. xi. 31),

but this was prevented by his death at Haran, when he had reached the

age of 205. After this event, a still more distinct intimation of the

Divine Will was made to his son Abram, bidding him leave his country,

his kindred, and his father’s house, and go to a land which God would

shew him. _There_, said the Almighty, _I will make of thee a great

nation, and make thy name great, and in thee shall all the families

of the earth be blessed_. Severe as were the hardships which this call

involved, painful as it must have been to flesh and blood to sever

the ties which bound him to his family and his people, Abram did not

refuse to follow the Hand which promised him guidance, protection,

and a mighty future. At the age of 75, with his wife Sarai, his nephew

Lot, and all that he possessed, he left Haran, crossed the Euphrates,

and commenced his journey southward and westward towards the _Land of

Promise_ (Acts vii. 4, 5).

This country, the future home of the great nation destined to spring

from his loins, was in many respects eminently adapted for its special

mission in the history of the World. In extent, indeed, it was but

a narrow strip of country, but a little larger than the six northern

counties of England, being nearly 180 miles in length[17], and 75 miles

in breadth, and having an area of about 13,600 English square miles.

Bounded on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, on the north by the

mountains of Lebanon, on the east by the Syrian desert, on the south

by the wilderness of Arabia, it was situated at the meeting-point

of the two continents of Asia and Africa, “on the very outpost, on

the extremest western edge of the East.” It was a secluded land. A

wilderness encompassed it on the east and south, mountains shut it in

on the north, and the “Great Sea” which washed its western shore was

the terror rather than the thoroughfare of ancient nations. “Unlike

the coast of Europe, and especially of Greece, it had no indentations,

no winding creeks, no deep havens[18],” but one small port――that of

Joppa――with which to tempt the mariner from the west. But while thus

eminently adapted to be the “silent and retired nursery of the Kingdom

of God[19],” it was in the very centre of the activity of the ancient

world, _in the midst of the nations, and the countries that were round

about it_ (Ezek. v. 5). On the South was the great empire of Egypt,

on the North-east the rising kingdom of Assyria. Neither of these

great nations could communicate with the other without passing through

Palestine, and so learning something of its peculiar institutions and

religion; and when the _fulness of time was come_ no country was better

suited, from its position at the extremest verge of the Eastern World,

to be the starting-point whence the glad tidings of Redemption might

be proclaimed to all nations[20]. Moreover, narrow as were its limits,

and secluded as was its position, it yet presented a greater variety of

surface, scenery and temperature than is to be found in any other part

of the world, and needed not to depend on other countries for anything

that either the luxuries or actual wants of its inhabitants required.

Four broadly marked longitudinal regions divided its surface. (i) First,

there was the _low plain_ of the western sea-coast, broad towards

the south, and gradually narrowing towards the north, famous for the

Shephelah (_the low country_) with its waving corn-fields, and the vale

of Sharon (_level country_), the garden of Palestine. From this was an

ascent to (ii) _a strip of table-land_, every part of which was more or

less undulating, but increasing in elevation from north to south[21],

and broken only by the plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon. To this succeeded

a rapid descent into (iii) _a deep fissure or valley_, through which

the Jordan (_the descender_), the only river of importance in the

country, rushes from its source at the base of Hermon into the Dead

Sea, the surface of which is no less than 1316 feet below that of

the Mediterranean[22]. Hence was a second ascent to (iv) a _strip of

table-land_ on the east similar to that on the west, and seeming with

its range of purple-tinted mountains to overhang Jerusalem itself.

Crowned by the forests and upland pastures of Gilead and Bashan,

this eastern table-land gradually melted into the desert which rolled

between it and the valley of Mesopotamia. Thus within a very small

space were crowded the most diverse features of natural scenery, and

the most varied products. It was _a good land, a land of brooks of

water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills, a

land flowing with milk and honey_ (Deut. viii. 7–9; xi. 10–12). The low

plains yielded luxuriant crops of wheat and barley, of rye and maize;

on the table-lands with their equable and moderate climate grew the

vine, the olive, the fig, the almond, the pomegranate; in the tropical

neighbourhood of Jericho flourished the palm-tree and the balsam; while

the noble cedar waved on the mountains of Lebanon.

Such was the Land, secluded and yet central, narrow and yet wonderfully

diversified alike in its natural features and its products, whither

the Almighty now bade Abram direct his steps. Striking across the

great Syrian desert, the patriarch kept on his southward course, and

having crossed the Jordan, _passed through the land_, till he came

to Shechem[23], situated between the mountains Ebal and Gerizim. This

spot, destined afterwards to be so celebrated, was then only marked

by the majestic oak of Moreh, probably a Canaanitish chief, but its

many fountains, rills, and water-courses[24] made it then, as it ever

has been since, a natural pasture-ground for flocks and herds; and

here Abram halted, and learnt that he had reached the goal of his long

journey. _This land_, said God, _I will give unto thy seed_; and at

Shechem the patriarch built his first altar to the Lord in the “Land

of Promise[25]” (Gen. xii. 6, 7).

Thence he afterwards removed southward a distance of about twenty

miles, to the strong mountain country east of Bethel, or as it was then

called Luz; one of the finest tracts of the land for pasturage, and

here he erected his second altar unto the Lord. During his sojourn in

this neighbourhood he learnt that, though the heir of mighty promises,

he was not to be exempt from his share of trials and disappointments.

The first that befell him was a grievous famine, caused probably by a

failure of the usual rains; in consequence of which, finding himself

unable to support his numerous dependents, he resolved, though without

direct Divine suggestion, to go down into Egypt, then, as always, the

fertile granary of the neighbouring nations. As he drew near the land

of the mighty Pharaohs, he reflected that the beauty of his wife might

expose her to danger from the sensual, voluptuous Egyptians, and under

the influence of these apprehensions persuaded her to stoop to an

unworthy equivocation, and give herself out as his sister. What he

anticipated came to pass. The princes of Egypt _beheld the woman that

she was fair_, and recommended her to their monarch, by whom she was

taken into his palace, while numerous presents of cattle and sheep were

sent to her supposed brother. But the monarch found that the coming

of the stranger into his palace involved him in serious troubles, _the

Lord plagued Pharaoh with great plagues_, till, having ascertained the

true relation between her and Abram, he sent her back to her husband,

with a strong rebuke to the latter for the deception he had practised.

How long after this Abram stayed in Egypt we are not told. But at

length his wealth in cattle, and gold and silver, having materially

increased, he quitted the country, and once more took up his abode on

his former camping-ground between Bethel and Ai. Hitherto his nephew

Lot had accompanied him in all his wanderings, but now the increasing

numbers of their flocks and herds generated a quarrel between their

respective herdsmen, and it was plainly necessary that they should

separate. With characteristic generosity Abram bade his nephew take

the first choice, and select for himself, whether on the left hand or

the right, a place for his new abode. From the high mountain-range[26]

to the east of Bethel, where they were then encamped, Lot _lifted up

his eyes_ and looked down upon the wide and well-watered plain south

of the Jordan, then a very _garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt_

(Gen. xiii. 10) they had so lately left. As yet no terrible convulsion

had effaced the site of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities of the

plain. Fair and fertile the coveted possession stretched onwards unto

Zoar, and in spite of the notorious wickedness of the inhabitants Lot

chose it for his abode, and the two _separated themselves the one from

the other_. Though Abram was thus left to wait alone for the fulfilment

of the Promise, he was not forgotten by the God in whom he trusted. A

more full and more definite promise was now vouchsafed to him. _Lift

up thine eyes_, said the Almighty, _and look from place to place where

thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; all the

land which thou seest to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever;

and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man

can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered_

(Gen. xiii. 14–17).

Thus encouraged, _the Friend of God_ (Jas. ii. 23) removed his

tent, and travelling southward took up his abode under the spreading

terebinth[27] of Mamre, an Amorite prince (Gen. xiv. 13, 24), near

Hebron, or as it was then called Kirjath-Arba, _the City of Arba_

the father of Anak and the progenitor of the giant Anakim (Gen.

xxiii. 2; xxxv. 27; Josh. xiv. 15). While dwelling peacefully in this

neighbourhood, which like all other places he hallowed with an altar to

Jehovah, he received one day unexpected tidings of his nephew Lot. The

chiefs of the five cities in the tropical valley of the Jordan, SODOM,

GOMORRAH, ADMAH, ZEBOIM, and BELAH, had for twelve years been subject

to CHEDORLAOMER, a powerful king of Elam or Mesopotamia. But they had

lately united together to throw off his yoke. Thereupon the King of

Elam, aided by three other confederate chiefs, proceeded to make war

against the southern kings. Sweeping down on a sudden foray, he smote

the countries on the eastern uplands of the Jordan and the southern

region of Mount Seir. Returning thence he ravaged all the country

of the Amalekites, and with his allied chiefs met the kings of Sodom

and Gomorrah in pitched battle in the Vale of Siddim, probably at

the north-west corner of the Dead Sea. The five southern kings were

utterly routed, and with much spoil and many captives the Assyrian

invader commenced his return northwards. It was the news of this

sudden invasion which now reached the ears of Abram. Without losing

a moment he instantly armed his 318 trained servants, and, aided by

the confederate chief Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner, arose

and pursued the Assyrians by night. The latter had in the meantime

reached the neighbourhood of the Sidonian Laish, far up in the northern

mountains. Thither, however, Abram pursued them, and falling upon

them suddenly, while all unconscious of coming danger, he smote them

and chased them to Hobah, on the left of Damascus. Thence, with the

recovered captives, amongst whom was Lot, he returned, and at the

_King’s Dale_, not far from Hebron, was met by the King of Sodom,

accompanied by a mysterious personage, who now meets us for the first

and only time, named MELCHISEDEC, a king of Salem and priest of the

Most High God. The sudden appearance of one thus uniting the kingly

and priestly functions, of whose origin and family we know nothing,

has led to much speculation. Putting aside more improbable conjectures,

we may perhaps conclude that he was an eminent Canaanitish prince in

the line of Ham, who had maintained the pure worship of the One true

God, and who, according to a custom not uncommon in patriarchal times,

was at once king and priest[28]. A sufficient proof of his high dignity

is afforded by the fact that to him the patriarch Abram reverently

gave tithes of all that he had taken in his late successful expedition,

and received his solemn blessing (Heb. vii. 2, 6). Before they parted

the King of Sodom pressed Abram to take a portion of the spoil as his

reward. This, however, the latter with his usual generosity firmly

declined; he would take nothing, _from a thread even to a shoelatchet_

(Gen. xiv. 23), save only a portion for his allies, the chiefs Aner,

Eshcol, and Mamre, and then returned to the shade of the oak or

terebinth near Hebron.

CHAPTER II.

_LIFE OF ABRAHAM CONTINUED._

GEN. XV.–XXV. B.C. 1913–1822.

WE now enter on another and a different scene in the history of Abram.

He had been victorious over the Assyrian kings; he had gotten him

honour as the prompt avenger of injustice and oppression before the

chiefs of the land in which he was a pilgrim and a sojourner; he had

been solemnly blessed by the _King of Righteousness_; but where was

the fulfilment of the promise for which he had so long been waiting?

He had no son, no single pledge of the mighty nation destined to spring

from his loins. When, therefore, his all-merciful Guide appeared to

him again in vision, to assure him of safety and protection, he could

not restrain the deep sorrow of his heart, and mournfully complained

that in place of a son, _one born in his house_, probably Eliezer of

Damascus, _would be his heir_. On this occasion the Almighty not only

solemnly assured His desponding servant that a son should be born to

him, an earnest of a seed as numerous as the stars of heaven, and that

the land on which he walked should undoubtedly be their inheritance,

but, as in the case of Noah after the Flood, he vouchsafed to him _an

outward and visible sign_ to strengthen and support his faith. He bade

the patriarch take a heifer, a ram, and a she-goat, each three years

old, together with a turtle-dove and a young pigeon, and after dividing

them all, except the birds, to lay them piece by piece over against

the other. Familiar, doubtless, with this ancient method of ratifying

a covenant, Abram did as the Lord had told him, slew the victims, and

laid the divided portions in order. Then from morning until evening

he watched them, and from time to time drove away the birds of prey

which hovered over them. At length the sun went down, and a deep sleep

fell upon him, and a horror of great darkness gathered around him.

Amidst the deepening gloom there appeared to him a Smoking Furnace and

a Burning Lamp passing along the space between the divided victims.

Presently a Voice came to him telling him that _his seed should be a

stranger in a land that was not theirs, that there they should suffer

affliction 400 years; that afterwards, in the fourth generation, when

the cup of the Amorites was full, they should come out with great

substance, return to the spot where the patriarch now was, and enter

on their promised inheritance_. Thus, amidst mingled light and gloom,

the ancestor of the elect nation was warned of the chequered fortunes

which awaited his progeny, while at the same time he was assured of the

ultimate fulfilment of the Promise, and the actual boundaries of the

lands of his inheritance were marked out from the river of Egypt to the

distant Euphrates; and in this confidence Abram was content to _possess

his soul in patience_ (Lk. xxi. 19).

As yet, it will be observed, it had not been expressly said that his

wife Sarai was the destined mother of the long-promised son. As the

prospect, therefore, of her contributing to the fulfilment of the

Promise became more and more remote, she seems to have concluded that

this honour was not reserved for her, and accordingly persuaded her

husband to take her handmaid, HAGAR, an Egyptian, as a secondary wife,

that by her he might obtain what was denied herself. Abram complied

with her suggestion, and Hagar conceived; but the consequences did

not tend to increase the patriarch’s happiness. In a moment of elation

Hagar mocked her mistress, and Sarai dealt hardly with her, till she

fled from her into the southern wilderness, on the way that led to her

native land. There, as she halted near a fountain of water, an angel

of the Lord met her, and bade her return and submit herself to her

mistress, assuring her at the same time that she should give birth

to a son, whom she was to call ISHMAEL (_whom God hears_). Though the

_son of a bondwoman_ (Gal. iv. 22, 23), no mean future lay before him;

he should become the ancestor of a numerous seed, who, like himself,

would be true roving sons of the desert, _their hand against every man,

and every man’s hand against them_. In remembrance of this incident

Hagar named the fountain _Beer-lahai-roi_, (_the well of the God that

appeareth_), and returned to the tents of Sarah, where, in process of

time she gave birth to Ishmael, when Abram was 86 years old.

Again thirteen years rolled away, and still the Promise was not

fulfilled. But when hope might almost have ceased to hope, God

appeared once more to Abram, recapitulated the main outline of the

Covenant-Promise, changed his name from Abram (_a high father_), to

ABRAHAM (_the father of a multitude_), and assured him that at length

the long-expected time was well-nigh come. But in prospect of the

peculiar blessing about to be bestowed upon him, he himself, and all

his seed after him, must carry about with them a perpetual pledge of

their covenant relation to Jehovah. The rite of Circumcision must now

be adopted by him, and instead of being the badge of any favoured class

amongst the nation destined to spring from his loins, was, on pain

of excommunication, to be open to the lowliest member of the Hebrew

commonwealth, even to the bond-servant and the stranger. At the same

time it was intimated to the patriarch that his wife Sarai, whose name

also was now changed to SARAH (_princess_), and no other, was to be

the mother of the promised child, that it would be born during the next

year, and be called Isaac (_Laughter_); while Ishmael also, for whom

Abraham had prayed, would not be forgotten, but be a partaker in the

Divine blessing, and become the father of twelve princes, the ancestors

of a great nation. Thereupon Abraham complied with the Divine command,

and was circumcised, together with Ishmael, now thirteen years of age,

and all the male members of his household.

Shortly after this, as the patriarch sat, in the heat of the day, under

the oak of Mamre, he received a visit from three mysterious Strangers,

whom he entertained with becoming hospitality. The meal over which he

had hastily prepared, one of them inquired for his wife, and formally

announced that within the year she would be the mother of a son. His

words were overheard by Sarah, and she laughed incredulously at the

possibility of such an event, but was thereupon reproved by the Speaker,

and assured in a still more confident manner of the fulfilment of His

word. Then the Three left the tent and turned their steps eastward

towards Sodom. Abraham accompanied them, and on the way one of them, in

whom he recognised no other than the _Angel of the Covenant_, informed

him of the real purport of this visit to the cities where his nephew

Lot had taken up his abode. The sin of these cities was very great, and

their cup was now full; their inhabitants had wearied themselves with

wickedness, and their licentiousness and iniquity called to Heaven for

a visible revelation of Divine wrath, and judgment was now _even at the

door_. Informed of the impending doom the _Friend of God_ drew near,

and with marvellous boldness blended with the deepest humility pleaded

with the Almighty for the guilty cities. Peradventure there might be

found therein at least fifty, or forty-five, or forty, or thirty, or

twenty, or even ten righteous souls, would the _Lord of all the earth

spare_ them for ten’s sake? Thereupon he was assured that if only ten

righteous souls could be found the cities should be spared. While he

was thus pleading with God, the two other angels entered Sodom, and

were hospitably entertained by Lot. But their celestial beauty only

served to excite the wickedness of the inhabitants, who surrounded

Lot’s house, and, in spite of his earnest expostulations, would have

offered them personal violence had they not been suddenly stricken

with blindness. As the night wore on, his visitors assured Lot of the

certain destruction of the city, and warned him to gather together with

all speed every member of his family if he would save them from the

impending judgment. Lot did as he was advised; but his warning was

lost upon his sons-in-law and his daughters-in-law, and he seemed unto

them _as one that mocked_. When the day dawned, the angels broke off

any further delay by laying hold on him, and his wife, and his two

daughters, and having dragged them forth beyond the city, bade them

flee to the neighbouring mountain range if they would not be consumed.

But thither Lot was afraid to flee, and in compliance with his urgent

entreaty was permitted to betake himself to the town of Bela, or Zoar

(_Little_), on the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. The sun rose

as he entered this city of refuge, and then _the Lord rained upon

Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire out of heaven_, and utterly swept

away by an awful convulsion every trace of the guilty cities and their

inhabitants, the site of which became henceforth a perpetual desolation.

Few as were the remnants of this fearful overthrow, yet one of these

few failed to reach the little city of refuge. In spite of the Angel’s

reiterated warning, Lot’s wife lingered, looked back, and, caught by

the advancing sulphurous tide, was smothered as she stood, and became

a _pillar of salt_ (Gen. xix. 26; Lk. xvii. 32). As for Lot himself,

afraid to dwell even in Zoar, he fled with his two daughters to the

eastern mountains, and became the father of two sons, Moab and Ben-Ammi,

the ancestors of two powerful nations――the Moabites and Ammonites.

Shortly after this terrible judgment, Abraham left the oak of Mamre,

where he had so long encamped, and journeyed in a southerly direction

towards Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur, at that time the principal seat

of the Philistines, whose chief was known by the hereditary title of

Abimelech, or _Father-King_[29]. Under the same apprehensions which he

had felt when drawing nigh to Egypt, Abraham wished that Sarah should

pass for his sister, and again exposed her to imminent risk. But,

as before, the Lord mercifully intervened, and the Philistine chief

restored his wife to the patriarch, together with ample presents (Gen.

xx. 14–16). At length the time had come for which Abraham, now upwards

of 100 years of age, had so long waited. Either at Gerar or Beersheba,

Sarah gave birth to the _child of promise_, who was duly circumcised

on the eighth day, and named ISAAC (_Laughter_) according to the Divine

command. At the feast given on the occasion of his weaning, Ishmael

mocked, or in some way insulted the child. This act, observed by Sarah,

roused all her animosity, and she demanded the instant dismissal of the

boy and his mother. Though sorely against his will, Abraham, advised

by God, yielded to his wife, and early on the following morning Hagar

and her son were sent away to wander in the wilderness of Beersheba.

In a short time the water in her skin-bottle was spent, and the boy

tormented with thirst seemed at the point of death. Unable to endure

the sight of his sufferings, Hagar laid him under the shade of the

desert shrubs, and sat down about a bowshot off. But the boy was not

thus to die; God heard his cry, and the angel of the Lord called to

Hagar out of heaven, and bade her not despair. At the same time her

eyes were opened to discern a well of water, with which she filled

her bottle and gave the lad drink. Thus his life was preserved, and he

grew and prospered, and dwelt in the wild desert of Paran, near Mount

Sinai, and was renowned for his skill in the use of the bow. Marrying

an Egyptian he became the father of twelve sons and one daughter (Gen.

xxv. 13–15; xxviii. 9; xxxvi. 3), the ancestors of the chief portion of

the wild Arab tribes, living by warlike forays and plunder, _their hand

against every man, and every man’s hand against them_.

Meanwhile Abraham was living in peace and security, feared and

respected by his Philistine neighbours in the south country, near

Beersheba, when a far keener trial befell him than any he had yet

experienced. The call from his own country, the famine that drove him

into Egypt, the desertion of Lot, the long deferring of the promised

seed, the separation from Ishmael, all these had been sore trials to

flesh and blood. But now, when the hope of his life seemed at length

to have been gained, he was commanded to take _his son, his only

son Isaac_ a three days’ journey into the land of Moriah, and offer

him up as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that should be

shown him. Utterly inexplicable as this command must have seemed, and

indescribably painful to his feelings, the patriarch’s trust in God did

not falter. Assured that He who had called him into being could, if it

pleased Him, _raise up_ his son _even from the dead_ (Heb. xi. 19), he

rose up early in the morning, clave the wood for the sacrifice, saddled

his ass, and with two young men and Isaac commenced his journey. On

the third day he lifted up his eyes, and beheld the spot afar off;

thereupon leaving the young men behind, he laid the wood upon his

son, and with the fire in his hand, and a knife, ascended the mountain

to the spot[30] of which God had told him. Marvelling that no victim

had been brought, but assured that _a lamb would be provided for a

burnt-offering_, Isaac accompanied his father to the summit, and when

the altar had been built and the wood laid thereon, submitted without a

murmur to be bound and placed upon it. Another moment and the father’s

hand was actually outstretched to slay his son, when a voice from

heaven arrested him, and bade him forbear to proceed further, seeing

that the end for which this mysterious trial had been sent was now

gained, for Abraham had not withheld his only son, but given proof of

his willingness to surrender even him to the Divine call. At the same

moment the patriarch looked, and beheld behind him a ram caught in a

thicket by its horns, which he took and offered as a burnt-offering

instead of his son. In memory of this eventful day he named the place

_Jehovah-Jireh_, i.e. _Jehovah will see_ or _provide_, and again

received the assurance of the Divine blessing upon himself and his

future descendants, who should be _multiplied as the stars of heaven,

and as the sand upon the seashore_, and become the channel of blessings

to _all the nations of the earth_.

This is the culminating point in Abraham’s life. Implicit trust

in the Most High, unfaltering obedience to His will, had never

been more signally displayed, and his faith _was counted to him for

righteousness_ (Rom. iv. 3, 9). From this time his course was calm

and peaceful. Leaving Beersheba he turned northwards, and once more

abode under the oak of Mamre. Here he lost the partner of his long

and eventful career. At the age of 127 (the only instance in which

the age of a woman is recorded in Scripture) Sarah died, and was laid

in the _cave of the field of Machpelah_, a spot now covered by the

Mosque of Hebron, which Abraham bought for 400 shekels of silver, _for

a possession of a burying-place_, of Ephron the Hittite. So deep was

the respect of the children of Heth for _the mighty prince_ who had so

long lived among them, that in spite of the usual Oriental jealousy on

this point they would willingly have permitted him to bury his dead in

the choicest of their own sepulchres. But this Abraham declined, and

the Cave of Machpelah with the surrounding field was made over to him

for a possession for ever[31].

Three years afterwards, anxious to prevent an alliance between his son

and any of the Canaanitish nations, he sent the eldest servant of his

house, probably Eliezer of Damascus, into Mesopotamia, to the city of

Nahor his brother, to procure from thence a wife for him. His servant

faithfully discharged his commission, and the piety he displayed

reflecting the goodness of the patriarch himself was rewarded. At

a well outside the city of Haran he met REBEKAH, the daughter of

Bethuel[32] the son of Nahor, going forth with her pitcher on her

shoulder to draw water. In answer to his inquiries she told him who

she was, and conducted him to the house of her brother Laban. There

he recounted all that had befallen his master in the land of his

pilgrimage, and made known the purpose of his errand. Rebekah, when

asked by her brother and mother, announced her readiness to accompany

the servant to the tents of Abraham, and in the course of time became

Isaac’s wife (Gen. xxiv.).

Before long Abraham himself also married again, and by KETURAH his

second wife, became the father of six children, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,

Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah (Gen. xxv. 2), the ancestors of Arabian and

Midianitish tribes. Lest they should dispute the inheritance with Isaac,

the prudent patriarch, while he yet lived, presented them with gifts,

and sent them away into the south-east country (Gen. xxv. 6) where

their descendants settled along the borders of the Elanitic Gulf in

considerable numbers. And then the _Father of the Faithful, the Friend

of God_, being 175 years old, had reached the term of life allotted to

him. In _a good old age, and full of years_, he was gathered unto his

people, and was laid by Isaac and Ishmael also, who had come up from

the wild desert of Paran to assist in these last sad offices, by the

side of his beloved Sarah, in the cave of Machpelah[33].

CHAPTER III.

_THE HISTORY OF ISAAC._

GEN. XXV.–XXVII. B.C. 1822–1760.

FOR nineteen years after their marriage Isaac and Rebekah were

childless. But at length, in answer to earnest prayer, Rebekah became

the mother of twin sons, ESAU (_hairy, rough_) and JACOB (_he that

holds by the heel_, or _supplanter_). The bitter enmity afterwards to

exist between the brothers was foreshadowed even before their birth,

and as they grew the difference in their characters became still more

prominent. Esau became a _cunning hunter_, wild and daring, even as

his rough and robust frame betokened, revelling like a true son of the

desert in the excitement of the chase. Jacob, on the other hand, was a

quiet domestic youth, _dwelling in tents_, the favourite of his mother,

while Esau, by a not uncommon caprice of affection, was the favourite

of the gentle retiring Isaac, whose keen relish for savoury food was

gratified by his success in the hunting-field (Gen. xxv. 24–28).

It is in connection with his favourite pursuit that Esau first attracts

our notice. As the eldest son he had several important privileges.

He held superior rank in the family (Gen. xlix. 3), and would succeed

to a double portion of his father’s property (Gen. xlviii. 22; Deut.

xxi. 17); his also was, in all probability, the priestly office (Num.

viii. 17–19), and the Covenant-Blessing (Heb. xii. 16, 17; Gen. xxvii.

28, 29, 36). These were the privileges of his birthright, and by an

Oriental patriarch were held as dear as life itself. On one occasion

Esau returned faint and weary from the chase, and saw his brother Jacob

preparing some dark red pottage of lentiles[34]. Famished and exhausted,

he longed for the fragrant mess, and implored his brother to let him

have it. Seeing his distress, Jacob determined to avail himself of

it for his own ends, and agreed to give his brother the pottage on

condition that he sold him his birthright. Unable to control the pangs

of hunger, bent on the immediate gratification of his appetite, Esau

was willing to barter all his privileges for a single meal. But words

were not sufficient for his artful brother. He must have an oath

solemnly attesting the exchange. _Swear unto me_, said he, and Esau

swore, and sold his birthright _for one morsel of meat_ (Heb. xii. 16),

and ate and drank, and rose up and went his way[35].

At a subsequent period, in consequence of a grievous famine, Isaac

left Lahai-roi, and journeyed southward to Gerar, within the fertile

coast-line of Philistia. While here he received a warning from

the Almighty against going down into Egypt, and was assured of the

continuance of the same blessing which his father had enjoyed (Gen.

xxvi. 1–5). Thus encouraged he continued to dwell at Gerar, but, like

his father, was not always proof against temptations to distrust his

Almighty Protector. He persuaded Rebekah to represent herself as his

sister, and subjected himself to a cutting rebuke from Abimelech for

this unworthy equivocation. At Gerar his wealth increased exceedingly,

and he made the first advance beyond the purely pastoral life. He

_sowed in that land_, and reaped within the year an hundred fold (Gen.

xxvi. 12). But his wealth and prosperity in time provoked the jealousy

of the Philistines, and they stopped up the wells which his father had

dug; nor did the patriarch feel himself secure till he had moved still

further southward to Beersheba. Here, like Abraham before him, he built

an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon His Name, and was rewarded by

a second confirmation of the covenant Promise, while his contentions

with the Philistines were brought to a close, and a mutual compact

ratified between them (Gen. xxvi. 26–31). But his domestic happiness

was not equally secured. To the great grief of both his parents, Esau,

now 40 years of age, contracted an alliance with Judith the daughter

of Beeri, and Bashemath, the daughter of Elon, both of the race of the

Hittites, to whom he afterwards added Mahalath, a daughter of Ishmael

(Gen. xxvi. 34; xxviii. 9).

Of the greater portion of Isaac’s life at Beersheba the Scripture

narrative tells nothing, nor is any incident recorded till we hear that

_he waxed old and his eyes grew dim so that he could not see_. Then

reminded of the uncertain tenure of life, he resolved by a solemn act

to bestow the patriarchal blessing upon his eldest son. Summoning Esau

before him, he bade him go forth to the hunt and bring him venison

such as he loved, promising the blessing as his reward. His words did

not escape the quick ears of Rebekah. Eager to obtain this important

privilege for her favourite Jacob, she bade him, during the absence

of his brother, slay two kids, with which she prepared savoury meat

such as Isaac loved. Then arraying him in garments belonging to his

brother, and placing the skins upon his hands and neck, she directed

him to go into the presence of his father, and pass himself off as his

wild, rough brother Esau. After some hesitation, Jacob fell in with

her plan, and in the disguise she had prepared presented himself before

his father. But Isaac, though old and dimsighted, was not free from

his suspicions. To Jacob’s assurance that he had been to the chase and

brought of the prey, he replied by enquiring how he had found it so

quickly. Nor did the ready but untruthful answer that the Lord had

brought it to him relieve his mind. _Come near_, said he, _that I may

feel thee, whether thou be my very son Esau or not_. And Jacob went

near, and his father felt him. Another question, and another falsehood

followed; and at length Jacob was bidden to present the venison that he

had taken, and the old man ate and drank, and then bestowed upon him in

all its fulness the Covenant Blessing. He prayed that God would _give

his son of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty

of corn and wine; that He would make people to serve him, and nations

to bow down to him, so that he might be lord over his brethren, and see

his mother’s sons bow down to him, a blessing to all that blessed him,

a curse to all that cursed him_ (Gen. xxvii. 28, 29).

Thus successful in his shameful artifice, Jacob had scarcely gone forth

from his father’s presence, when the true Esau returned from the chase.

With savoury meat he too presented himself before Isaac, and besought

his blessing. The old man trembled very exceedingly when he heard the

voice of his eldest son, but told him that he had come too late. His

brother, _the Supplanter_, had been before him, and the irrevocable

words had been spoken. With _a great and exceeding bitter cry_ Esau

implored his father for one blessing which perchance might be left; and

at length Isaac assured him that _his dwelling would be of the fatness

of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; but he must live

by his sword and serve his brother, till the day when he too should

gain the dominion, and should shake his brother’s yoke from off his

neck_[36] (Gen. xxvii. 39, 40).

Enraged at the deception which had been practised upon him, Esau

did not conceal his design of revenging himself by putting Jacob to

death, and only deferred it till the days of mourning for his father

were ended, whose death he deemed to be near at hand. But his dark

threat became known to Rebekah. Anxious to save her favourite son, she

persuaded him to undertake a journey to his uncle Laban at Padan-Aram,

promising, when a few days were over, and his brother’s wrath was

appeased, to send for him again. Without communicating her real motive

in urging this journey, she at the same time secured the acquiescence

of Isaac, by pretending anxiety that Jacob should marry one of the

daughters of Laban, rather than follow his brother’s example, and

contract an alliance among the Hittites. Accordingly Isaac sent for

his son, and bade him go to Padan-Aram, urging him to take thence a

wife from amongst his own kindred, and then consciously and purposely

transferred to him and his seed after him the blessing of Abraham

(Gen. xxviii. 1–5).

CHAPTER IV.

_LIFE OF JACOB._

GEN. XXVIII.–XXXV. B.C. 1760–1716.

THUS solemnly assured of the Covenant Blessing, JACOB bade farewell

to his mother, whom he was never to see again, and set out a solitary

traveller for the Eastern uplands of Aram, where in place of a few

days he was destined to spend many weary years, and amidst many trials

and vicissitudes to find the same measure that he had measured to

his brother measured also to himself. As the sun went down on the

first evening of his journey, he reached the site of one of Abraham’s

encampments, the stony soil[37] near the Canaanite town of Luz. Taking

of the stones that lay around, he put them for his pillow, and lay down

to sleep. As he slept, there appeared to him a vision of the night. A

ladder seemed to rise up from the bare ground on which he lay, and the

top of it reached even unto heaven, and on it he saw angels ascending

and descending. Moreover from above there came the Voice of God

assuring the wanderer of His protection, renewing to him the promise

of Abraham, and encouraging him with the hope of return from exile.

Jacob awoke trembling and afraid, _Surely_, said he, _the Lord is in

this place, and I knew it not; how dreadful is this place! This is

none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven._ Then

rising early, he took the stone that had formed his pillow, poured oil

upon it, and set it up for a memorial, calling the spot BETHEL, the

_House of God_. At the same time he made a solemn vow that, if Jehovah

would indeed sustain him in all his ways, and bring him back as He had

promised, he would not only dedicate the spot as His House, but would

give Him the tenth of all that he possessed (Gen. xxviii. 18–22).

Then he continued his journey, and striking in a north-easterly

direction, at length reached a well in Padan-Aram, round which were

gathered three flocks with shepherds from Haran. As he was conversing

with them, RACHEL, the daughter of his uncle Laban, approached, and

with true courtesy Jacob went near, rolled the stone from the well’s

mouth, and watered the flocks. He then kissed the maiden, and told

her he was Rebekah’s son, whereupon she ran and told her father, who

welcomed Jacob to the tents of Haran. After a stay of one month, Laban

proposed that the wanderer should serve him as a shepherd, to which

Jacob assented, and promised to serve him seven years on condition

of receiving the hand of Rachel. The seven years passed away, and he

who had _supplanted_ his brother twice, now learnt what it was to be

_supplanted_ himself. On the evening of his marriage Laban substituted

her sister LEAH in place of Rachel; nor was the deceit discovered

till the following morning, when, in answer to Jacob’s reproaches, he

informed him that it was not customary to give the younger before the

elder daughter, and that if he would have Rachel he must serve seven

more years for her. To these hard conditions Jacob assented, and in the

course of time became the father of a numerous family, eleven sons and

one daughter. Of these, REUBEN, SIMEON, LEVI, JUDAH, ISSACHAR, ZEBULUN,

and a daughter DINAH, were born to Leah; DAN and NAPHTALI to Bilhah

Rachel’s maid, whom the latter, finding she had no children, gave to

Jacob as a secondary wife; GAD and ASHER to Zilpah, Leah’s maid; and

JOSEPH to Rachel.

Shortly after the birth of this last son, Jacob having completed his

time of service, proposed to Laban that he should return into his

own country. But the latter, who had found by experience that his

son-in-law had brought a blessing to his house, prevailed upon him to

continue in his service, on condition of receiving a certain portion

of the flocks as his hire. Six years longer, therefore, Jacob staid

with his father-in-law, and prospered, and became himself the owner

of numerous herds. But on Laban’s side the covenant was not strictly

kept. Again and again he changed the wages of his faithful servant,

till at length finding any longer stay rendered impossible by the

envy and jealousy of his father-in-law and his sons, and encouraged by

the Word of Jehovah, Jacob determined to set out for his native land.

Accordingly, availing himself of Laban’s absence at a sheep-shearing,

he gathered together all his goods, and with his wives and family

crossed the river, the great river Euphrates (Gen. xxxi. 21), and set

his face towards the uplands of Gilead, on the east of Jordan. Three

days after his departure, news of his flight reached the ears of Laban,

who forthwith pursued after him a seven days’ journey, and overtook

him as he was encamped in the range of Gilead. Warned by God in a dream

against using any violence towards his son-in-law, Laban contented

himself with reproaching him for his secret flight, hypocritically

complaining that he had not given him time to send him away with

due formality, and accusing him of stealing his household gods, the

_teraphim_ or images, which Rachel had taken and concealed in the

camel’s furniture. After some altercation it was resolved to come to

terms. Stones were gathered together, and set up as a Pillar of Witness,

in token of their agreement that neither party to injure the other

would cross over what was henceforth to be the boundary between their

respective territories; after which Laban returned to his home in the

distant East (Gen. xxxi. 43–55).

Thus relieved from pressing danger, Jacob continued his journey

westward. The twenty years of exile was over, and he was bound for his

native land. As if to welcome him thither, and to remind him of the

fulfilment of God’s Promise, the angels, whom he had seen twenty years

before in vision at Bethel, now met him in two hosts, to commemorate

which event he named the spot Mahanaim (_two hosts_). He was now on the

brink of the river which divided him from his father’s home, and the

remembrance of his brother Esau and the uncertainty of the reception he

might meet with from him caused the deepest anxiety. Sending messengers

into the land of Seir, he informed his _lord_ Esau of his return

from the land of exile, and of the success that had attended him. The

messengers went, and returned with the alarming intelligence that Esau

was coming to meet him with four hundred men. Jacob’s distress was

extreme, and he poured forth his whole soul in fervent prayer to God

for protection. Then selecting a valuable present from his flocks and

herds, he sent them to meet and propitiate his approaching brother,

and at midnight dispatched his wives and sons, and all that he had,

across the ford Jabbok, but staid himself behind to renew his earnest

supplications for the Divine protection. Through the night, even to the

breaking of the day, there wrestled with him One (Hos. xii. 3, 4), whom

he knew not, and whose Name he could not prevail upon Him to reveal,

but who left upon him a palpable mark of their mysterious conflict,

for He _touched the hollow of his thigh so that it was out of joint_.

But in memory of this same crisis in his life another sign was given

him. His name was changed. No more was he to be called Jacob, the

_Supplanter_. During the long years of his weary exile old things had

passed away, and all things were becoming new. Henceforth he was to

be known as ISRAEL, _the Prince of God_, for _as a Prince had he power

with God and with man, and had prevailed_ (Gen. xxxii. 28). The site

of this memorable conflict Jacob named Peniel (_the face of God_). When

the day broke he looked up, and saw Esau approaching with his retinue.

Thereupon in long procession he went forth to meet him; first advanced

the handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah with their children, then followed

Leah and her children, last of all Rachel and Joseph. Jacob himself

led the way, bowing to the ground seven times until he came near to his

brother, who ran to meet him, and fell upon his neck and kissed him.

The reconciliation was complete. After mutual converse, Esau agreed to

leave to Jacob the land of his inheritance, and retired himself to the

rugged mountains of Seir[38], whence he and his descendants expelled

the aboriginal tribes, and dwelt in their stead in the land henceforth

known as Edom or Idumæa, a race of hunters living by the sword.

Meanwhile Jacob continued his journey towards the valley of the

Jordan, and for a while settled at Succoth, where he puts up booths

(_Succoth_) for his cattle, as well as a house for himself. Thence

he moved westwards, and crossing the Jordan, advanced into the very

heart of Palestine, and pitched his tent before the city of Shechem.

Of Hamor its chief he subsequently bought a portion of the rich plain,

east of the city, and here he settled down, and, like Abraham before

him, erected an altar to Jehovah. During his stay at this place, which

appears to have been somewhat protracted, an unfortunate occurrence

caused him for a time the greatest anxiety, and eventually drove him

from the neighbourhood. One day, on the occasion, it is not improbable,

of some local festival, Dinah the daughter of Leah, at this time from

thirteen to fifteen years of age, went out _to see the daughters of

the land_, and was dishonoured by Shechem, the Hivite chieftain, in

whose territory the patriarch had settled. His father Hamor thereupon

proposed that his son should pay a certain sum, by way of reparation,

to her father and mother for the injury he had done to the maiden and

marry her, and that this should be followed by a general intermarriage

between the two peoples. To this proposition the brothers of Dinah

assented, but demanded, as the single condition of the treaty, that the

people of Shechem should consent to be circumcised. These terms were

unwittingly accepted by the Shechemites, and three days afterwards,

Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s own brothers, at the head of their households,

attacked the city, slew the chiefs and all the males in the place,

spoiled it of every article of value it contained, and took captive

even the women and little children. This bloody and treacherous act

excited Jacob’s deepest indignation, and shortly afterwards, fearful

lest the neighbouring tribes should gather together and slay him and

all his house, in accordance with a Divine warning, he determined to

repair to Bethel and dwell there and perform the vow, which till now

he seems almost to have forgotten. The journey partook somewhat of a

religious pilgrimage, and was preceded by a general purification on the

part of the patriarch’s followers, and a collection of the _teraphim_

or strange gods, which had been brought from Mesopotamia, and were now

hidden under an oak at Shechem. Arrived once more at the scene of his

wondrous Vision, Jacob erected an altar, which he called El-Bethel,

and here he was again visited by the Almighty, who renewed to him his

name of Israel, and assured him of his share in the blessings of the

Covenant (Gen. xxxv. 9–15). During his stay at Bethel his intimacy with

his father Isaac, who was still alive, appears to have been renewed;

for we are told that Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and was buried under

an oak, henceforth known as Allon-Bachuth, the _Oak of Tears_. But his

departure from the same place a day’s journey southwards was saddened

by a grievous trial. As he drew near to Ephrath, the Canaanitish name

of Bethlehem, Rachel his favourite wife died in giving birth to a son,

whom she called Ben-oni, _the son of sorrow_, but whom his father named

BENJAMIN, _the son of my right hand_. Over her grave the sorrowing

husband erected a pillar, and moving southward pitched his tent beside

Edar, or _the watch-tower of the flocks_, and subsequently beneath

the oak of Mamre before Hebron, where Isaac died, in the 180th year

of his age, and was committed to the tomb by Jacob and Esau (Gen.

xxxvi. 27–29).

CHAPTER V.

_HISTORY OF JOSEPH._

GEN. XXXVII.–XLII. B.C. 1727–1707.

IT was while he was sojourning in the neighbourhood of Hebron, where,

like his father, he united agricultural with pastoral occupations (Gen.

xxxvii. 7) that the saddest trial of his life befell Jacob. Of all

his sons none was dearer to him than Joseph, the child of his beloved

Rachel. In token of his affection he bestowed upon him _a coat of many

colours_, probably a tunic furnished with sleeves and reaching down

to the ankles, worn by youths of the richer class[39]. By some this

is supposed to indicate his intention of transferring to him, as being

the _eldest son of the favourite Rachel_, the right of primogeniture.

Whether this was so or not, it roused much jealousy and ill-feeling

amongst Joseph’s brothers, already incensed by the circumstance of his

bearing to his father, when seventeen years of age, an evil report of

the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah, with whom he kept the flocks. Another

incident fanned the flame of ill-feeling. Joseph unwittingly told his

brethren of two dreams he had dreamt, in one of which he had seemed to

see them binding sheaves in the field, and lo! his sheaf rose and stood

upright, while their sheaves stood round about and made obeisance

to his sheaf; in the other he beheld the sun, moon, and the eleven

stars making obeisance to him. Even Jacob rebuked his favourite son

for his seeming self-exaltation, _though he observed the saying_ (Gen.

xxxvii. 11).

After a time an opportunity was presented to the brothers of taking

a cruel revenge. Though Jacob was settled in the vale of Hebron, a

portion of his numerous flocks and herds were kept by his sons on the

rich pasture-grounds near Shechem. Thither on one occasion Jacob sent

his favourite son to see how his brethren fared, and bring him word

again. Joseph set out, and being directed by a man whom he met, to

Dothan[40], or “_the Two Wells_,” a place about twelve miles north of

Shechem, famous for its pasturage, he went thither in quest of them.

From the rising ground, where they were keeping their flocks, the

brothers descried the _Dreamer_ approaching, and straightway resolved

to slay him and cast him into a pit, and then report to his father that

he had been devoured by wild beasts. From actually putting him to death

they were, however, dissuaded by Reuben, and contented themselves with

stripping him of his coat of many colours, and casting him into an

empty cistern, intending probably to let him die by hunger. But when

they had done this, and had sat down to eat, a company of Ishmaelite

or Midianite merchants (for the two names are used interchangeably)

approached, mounted on camels, and bearing spicery and balm, going down

the high road[41] which passed near from Gilead to Egypt. Thereupon

Judah proposed that they should sell him to these traders, and he was

taken up from the pit, and sold to the Ishmaelites, who paid for him

twenty pieces of silver, the usual price of a male slave from five to

twenty years of age. Reuben was not present when the cruel bargain was

struck, and was greatly distressed when, on his return, he found that

his brother was gone. But the others killed a kid, dipped Joseph’s

coat of many colours in its blood, and brought it to Jacob, with the

hypocritical enquiry whether it was his son’s coat or no, and informing

him that they had found it thus smeared with blood. Even Reuben did

not reveal the true state of the case, and Jacob, supposing that his

favourite son had been slain by wild beasts, put sackcloth upon his

loins, and refusing every proffered consolation, mourned for him many

days (Gen. xxxvii. 29–35).

Meanwhile the Midianitish caravan kept on its southward course, and

eventually reaching Egypt, sold Joseph to POTIPHAR[42], an officer of

Pharaoh, and _Captain of the Executioners_ (Gen. xxxviii. 36 _margin_).

In his house, Joseph though a foreigner and a slave, gradually won the

confidence of his master, who appears to have been a wealthy man, and

possessed of property in the field as well as in the house, so that

before long, in the capacity of overseer, he was entrusted with the

entire possessions of the Egyptian, and the Divine blessing rested upon

his house for Joseph’s sake.

But this period of happiness and prosperity was destined to come to an

abrupt termination. With the profligacy for which the Egyptian women

were notorious, the wife of Potiphar on one occasion tempted Joseph

to commit adultery with her, and when he resisted all her seductions,

charged him to her husband with the very crime she had ineffectually

tempted him to commit. Thereupon Potiphar, fully believing her story,

without bringing his faithful steward before any public tribunal, cast

him into the prison in his own house. But amidst this grievous trial

Joseph was not forsaken. _The Lord was with him, and gave him favour in

the sight of the keeper of the prison_, who, convinced of his fidelity

and uprightness, entrusted him with the care of all the prisoners there

confined. Amongst these there soon appeared the _Chief of Pharaoh’s

Cupbearers_, and the _Chief of his Bakers_, two high officers of the

Egyptian court, on whom Joseph was specially directed to wait. During

their imprisonment each of them dreamt a dream. The Chief of the

Cupbearers dreamt that _a vine was before him, on which were three

branches; that it was as though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth,

and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes, that of these he took and

pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup which was in his hand, and gave it to

that monarch_. The Chief of the Bakers dreamt that _he had three white

baskets on his head, the uppermost full of all manner of bakemeats for

Pharaoh, which the birds ate out of the baskets on his head_. Convinced

that these dreams portended events of great importance in their lives,

and unable to interpret them, these high officers were filled with

sadness. But Joseph, being informed of the cause, by virtue of his

prophetic gifts interpreted the dreams, and announced to the _Chief of

the Butlers_ that within three days, on the anniversary of Pharaoh’s

birthday, he should be restored to his office, while, within the same

period, his fellow-prisoner would be hanged upon a tree, where _the

birds would eat his flesh from off him_. As he had predicted, so it

came to pass. Within the specified period, the one of these grandees

was executed, and the other restored to his former high position. But

though the Hebrew Captive had told the _Chief of the Butlers_ his own

sad story, in the hour of prosperity the restored grandee forgat his

benefactor, and his touching request that he would intercede with

Pharaoh on his behalf (Gen. xl. 12–23).

Two more years, therefore, of tedious imprisonment passed over Joseph’s

head, when one night Pharaoh himself was troubled with two mysterious

dreams. In the first he seemed _to stand by the banks of the Nile, and

behold out of it there came seven well-favoured kine and fatfleshed,

and fed in the marsh grass that lined the banks. And behold after them

there came up seven poor, ill-favoured, leanfleshed kine, and they ate

up the seven well-favoured and fat kine, and when they had done so,

it could not be known that they had eaten them, for they were still

as ill-favoured as at the beginning._ In his second dream, the monarch

beheld _seven ears of corn growing upon one stalk, full, fat, and good,

and after them seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind, which

devoured the seven full and fat ears_. Troubled with these visions of

the night he awoke, and sent for all the magicians of Egypt and all

the wise men thereof, and told them his dream, but they were unable

to give him any interpretation. In this difficulty the _Chief of the

Butlers_ bethought him of his youthful benefactor in the prison, and

told Pharaoh what had befallen him there, and how a young man, a Hebrew,

servant to the Captain of the Executioners, had interpreted his dream.

Upon this the monarch sent for Joseph, who was brought into the royal

presence, and having been told the nature of the dreams, informed

Pharaoh that they were sent by the great God to forewarn him of what

He was about to do. The seven good kine and the seven good ears denoted

_seven years of plenty_; the seven thin ill-favoured kine and the seven

empty ears of corn denoted _seven years of very grievous famine_, about

to befall the entire land of Egypt. The doubling of the dreams denoted

that the event was certain and imminent. He advised, therefore, that

without delay the monarch should set over the land a man _discreet and

wise_, with overseers under him, to take up the fifth part of the land

during the seven years of plenty, and lay up corn and food in various

cities against the seven years of famine, which were assuredly to come

(Gen. xli. 14–36).

This advice found favour in the eyes of Pharaoh, and deeming no other

so well fitted for the post as the interpreter of his dreams, he

appointed him to fill it, and, in token of his freedom, placed on his

hand his own signet ring and a gold collar about his neck, and arraying

him in vestures of fine linen, he caused him to ride in the second

chariot that he had, preceded by heralds crying _Bow the knee_. Joseph

was thus invested with the dignity of an Oriental Vizier, and could act

in the name of the king. Besides these marks of honour, Pharaoh changed

his name to Zaphnath-paaneah[43], or _the Revealer of Secrets_, and

united him in marriage with ASENATH[44], the daughter of Poti-pherah

(_devoted to Ra_, or _the Sun_), priest or prince (Gen. xli. 45

_margin_) of ON, the later Heliopolis, and the religious capital of

the country.

Thus at the age of thirty, after thirteen years of painful vicissitudes,

the son of Jacob was elevated to the highest position next to the

sovereign himself in the great kingdom of Egypt. In accordance with

the plan he himself had indicated, he straightway commenced a tour

throughout the land, and during the seven years of plenty bought up a

fifth part of the corn in the country, and laid it up in granaries in

the various cities. During the same period he became the father of two

sons, to whom, though born of an Egyptian wife, he gave Hebrew names,

calling the first-born MANASSEH, “_a Forgetter_;” _for God_, said he,

_hath made me |forget| all my toil and all my father’s house_. The

second he named EPHRAIM, “_Fruitful_;” _for God hath caused me to be

|fruitful| in the land of my affliction_. At the close of the seven

years of plenty, the seven years of dearth drew on, and its effects

were felt not only in Egypt, but in all the neighbouring lands. During

the first part of this period, the wants of the people were relieved

by the abundance which the foresight of the Vizier had stored up. He

opened all his granaries and sold unto the Egyptians, delivering over

the money into Pharaoh’s exchequer. When money failed, barter was

resorted to, and the Egyptians obtained bread in exchange for their

horses, cattle, and flocks. When at length these means were exhausted,

they sold him their land, except that of the priests, who, being

provided from the royal treasury, did not feel the horrors of the

famine. Thus possessed of the entire country, Joseph improved the

opportunity to place the relations between the Egyptian monarch and his

people on a settled and legal footing. He made them, indeed, vassals

of their sovereign, but in place of allowing them to be taxed according

to royal caprice, he disposed of the land to them, on the understanding

that four parts were to be their own, for seed of the field, and for

food for them and their families, while a fifth part was to be paid

annually to the king in place of ground-rent; an arrangement by no

means oppressive, when it is considered that the soil sometimes yielded

thirty-fold, or even a greater increase (Gen. xli. 46–57).

At an early period during the seven years of famine, ten of Joseph’s

brethren went down into Egypt at the suggestion of their father, and

presented themselves before him with the petition to be allowed to

buy corn. In the Viceroy, second only to the great Pharaoh, they did

not for a moment recognize the boy whom twenty years before they had

lowered into the dry pit at Dothan. But though Joseph knew _them_,

and recognized the fulfilment of his early dreams, he did not reveal

himself to them. Through an interpreter he spake roughly unto them,

pronounced them to be spies who had come down to see the nakedness of

the land, and when they denied the charge, declared they should be

imprisoned till one of them had brought down their youngest brother.

For three days he actually kept them in ward, and finally, on condition

that one remained behind as a hostage, permitted them to return with

corn for their families. Stricken with remorse, and not imagining that

the Viceroy could understand their language, they acknowledged that

their sin had found them out, and recalled the day when they saw the

anguish of their brother, and turned a deaf ear to his beseeching

entreaties that they would not deal hardly with him. Then Simeon

was bound before their eyes, and sad and sorrowful they commenced

their return. But on the road they had fresh cause for alarm and

confusion. On opening their sacks they discovered not only that corn

had been supplied them, but that their money had been restored to

them. Marvelling at this strange circumstance, they reached home, and

recounted to their father all that had befallen them, and how he could

not hope to see Simeon again till they returned with their youngest

brother Benjamin into the presence of the Viceroy of Egypt. On hearing

this hard condition, Jacob burst forth into bitter complaints, and

though Reuben offered the life of his two children as a pledge for

Benjamin’s safe return, absolutely refused to allow him to accompany

them; _his brother_, said he, _is dead, and he is left alone; if

mischief befall him by the way, then shall ye bring down my grey

hairs with sorrow to the grave_ (Gen. xlii. 38).

CHAPTER VI.

_JACOB’S DESCENT INTO EGYPT――DEATH OF JOSEPH._

GEN. XLIII.–L. B.C. 1707–1635.

BUT as time went on, and the corn the Brothers had brought from Egypt

was consumed, it became absolutely necessary to go thither a second

time, if they would live and not die. Without Benjamin, however, they

knew the journey would be useless, and Benjamin their father would

not send. At length Judah stood forward as spokesman for the rest,

and offered to bear for ever in his own person the blame, if any evil

befell him, till after a struggle Jacob consented. With a present

of such things as the land afforded, a _little balm, a little honey,

spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds_, with double money also in their

hand, the brothers took Benjamin from his sorrowing father, and once

more commenced their journey to Egypt. Arrived there they were again

presented to the Viceroy, who perceiving that Benjamin was with them,

ordered the steward of his house to conduct them home, and to slay and

make ready, that they might dine with him at noon. Full of fear, the

brothers followed the steward, and on the way informed him of their

surprise, when on their return from their previous visit, they found

their money in their sacks. The steward, however, answered them kindly,

restored Simeon to them, and brought them water to wash their feet.

At noon Joseph returned, and the brothers spread out the present their

father had sent, bowing themselves before him to the earth. After some

questions touching the welfare of the _old man_ they had left in the

land of Canaan, he _lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin,

his mother’s son_, and his whole soul yearned towards him, and he

entered into his chamber and wept there. Thence having washed his face

he returned, commanded the attendants to set on bread, and the brothers

sat down ranged each according to his age. Joseph sat at a table by

himself, and the Egyptians in his retinue by themselves; for to eat

bread with the Hebrews was regarded by them as an abomination. Then

from Joseph’s table portions were sent to his brethren, but Benjamin’s

portion was five times as great as any of theirs, and _they drank and

were merry with him_ (Gen. xliii. 34).

The next morning, as soon as it was light, with sacks replenished, and

rejoicing at the successful termination of their journey, the sons of

Jacob commenced their return to Canaan. But they had proceeded only a

little way from the city, when the Steward of Joseph overtook them, and

charged them with returning evil for all the good they had received,

and stealing the silver _divining cup_[45] (Gen. xliv. 5) belonging to

his master. In the full assurance of their innocence, the brothers not

only denied the charge, but declared their willingness that the guilty

one should die, and the rest become bondmen to the Viceroy. The sacks

were, therefore, taken from the asses, and lo! in Benjamin’s sack,

where it had been purposely placed by Joseph’s command, the cup was

found. Horror-struck at the discovery, the brothers returned to the

house, and flinging themselves on the ground before Joseph, expressed

their resolution to become slaves with Benjamin rather than return

without him to his heart-broken father. In the dialogue that ensued

Judah was again the chief speaker. _God_, he owned, _had found out

their iniquity, and they and he with whom the cup had been found would

become Joseph’s bondmen_. To this, however, Joseph would not consent;

he with whom the cup had been found, he alone need remain behind in

servitude, the rest might return in peace to their father. Then Judah

went near to him, _who was even as Pharaoh_ (Gen. xliv. 18), and in

words of utmost pathos related how in obedience to his command, their

father had with great difficulty been prevailed on to suffer the child

of his old age to accompany them, and how, if he failed to return,

he would certainly die, for his life was bound up in the life of his

favourite son. Nay, more, he continued, he himself had become surety

for the lad, and was now ready, rather than _bring down_ the old man’s

_grey hairs with sorrow to the grave_, to remain alone in the land of

Egypt a bondman unto his lord, if only Benjamin and the rest might

return into the land of Canaan (Gen. xliv. 18–34).

As Judah proceeded with his moving tale, Joseph could restrain himself

no longer. He desired every man to leave the chamber, and he and his

brethren were left alone. Then, amidst many tears, he at length broke

forth with the astounding words _I am Joseph_, coupling the revelation

with the enquiry _Doth my father yet live?_ But the brothers were too

terrified to answer him a word. Thereupon he bade them come near unto

him, and again assured them that he was _Joseph, their brother_, whom

they had sold to the Midianitish caravan. Let them not, he said, be

grieved that they had sold him into Egypt. God, who orders all things,

had sent him thither before them to preserve their lives, and had made

him _a father unto Pharaoh, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt_.

Instead of repining for the past, let them return to the _old man,

their father_, and tell him of all his glory in Egypt, and bring him

down, and settle, they and their children, their flocks and their herds,

and all that they had, in the goodly country of Goshen, _frontier_.

Having thus at length poured forth his pent up feelings, Joseph fell

upon Benjamin’s neck, and wept, and kissed him, and likewise all his

brethren. Tidings of what had occurred soon reached the ears of Pharaoh,

who readily assented to Joseph’s wish that his father should be

suffered to settle in the land. Waggons were then made ready to bring

him and all that he had; ample provisions were supplied for the journey,

and rich presents bestowed upon all the brothers, but especially on

Benjamin. Then with a parting charge to see that they _fell not out by

the way_ (Gen. xlv. 24), the sons of Jacob returned to their father,

and recounted to him all the strange events that had befallen them.

The long lost Joseph, the son of the beloved Rachel, was _alive_, nay,

_he was governor over all the land of Egypt_. At the first announcement

Jacob’s heart failed him, nor could he believe their words. But when

the waggons that Joseph had provided came in sight, then at length his

spirit revived, and he exclaimed, _It is enough, Joseph my son is yet

alive, I will go and see him before I die_ (Gen. xlv. 28).

To forsake, however, the familiar pasture grounds of Hebron, to leave

the soil promised to him and to his seed for ever, required of the

patriarch no little resolution. Abraham had gone down to Egypt, but

only to involve himself in great difficulties; Isaac had been on the

point of going thither, when he was restrained by the hand of God

(Gen. xxvi. 2). Did the Divine Blessing rest on that journey, which an

imperious necessity now induced him to essay? Jacob was not long left

in doubt. On reaching Beersheba the Almighty appeared to him in vision,

and bade him lay aside all apprehensions. In Egypt, in the land of the

mighty Pharaohs, He would not fail to protect him, there He would make

him a great nation, and thence in the fulness of time He would bring

his seed back to the _Land of Promise_. Thus encouraged Jacob arose

from Beersheba, and with his sons, their wives, and their little ones,

their herds, their flocks, and all the goods they had gotten in the

land of Canaan, commenced his journey. Judah led the way, and on the

frontier of Egypt the patriarch met his long lost son, and _fell upon

his neck, and wept on his neck a good while_. Arrived in the land

of the Pharaohs, five of Joseph’s brethren were introduced to the

reigning monarch. They told him that they were shepherds, that they

had come down into Egypt in consequence of the severity of the famine,

and requested permission to settle as strangers and foreigners in

Goshen, the most easterly frontier-land of Egypt, and offered to become

guardians of the royal herds. Permission was granted, and Jacob himself

was introduced to Pharaoh, and bestowed his blessing upon the monarch

(Gen. xlvii. 1–10).

The period of Jacob’s own sojourning in the _land of Ham_ (Ps. cv. 23)

was limited to seventeen years, at the close of which he had reached

the age of 147, and perceived that his end was nigh. Informed that his

father was sickening, Joseph brought his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh

and placed them before his bedside. _Guiding his hands wittingly_, the

aged patriarch stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s

head, though he was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head,

though he was the firstborn. At this Joseph was displeased, and would

have altered the disposition of his father’s hands. But Jacob refused,

and with his hands as they were, bestowed upon the young men and their

father his solemn and abiding blessing. Though born in Egypt, Ephraim

and Manasseh were to be reckoned as his own sons, and would both grow

into great tribes. But as it had been in Jacob’s own case, so would it

be with them; _the younger brother would be greater than the elder, and

his seed should become a multitude of nations_. Then turning to Joseph

the Patriarch bestowed on him a special mark of affection, even _one

portion above his brethren_, a piece of land which with _his sword and

his bow_ he had conquered from the Amorites, probably outside the green

vale of Shechem (Gen. xlviii. 22, Josh. xvii. 14, &c.).

And now the day drew nigh when the Patriarch’s eventful life must close.

Wishing by virtue of the gift of prophecy, which gained greater power

the nearer he approached the borders of the eternal world, to tell

them that _which should befall them in the last days_, he desired that

his sons might be summoned to his bedside. Obedient to his word, they

gathered round him, and then in prophetic trance “but having his eyes

open,” he beheld the mighty vision of the future, and predicted their

several fortunes in the land, through which he himself had wandered

as a pilgrim for more than one hundred years. First, before him

stood Reuben, over whom in the tents of Laban he had rejoiced as _his

firstborn, his might_, and _the beginning of his strength_. To him

by the law of primogeniture belonged the headship of the family, and

the double inheritance. But he had proved unworthy of his vocation.

_Unstable as water, he should not excel._ Next in order of their

birth came Simeon and Levi. Brethren of one mother, they had been

also brethren in cruelty and deceit. In their conduct towards the

Shechemites they had proved the fierceness of their anger, and the

cruelty of their disposition. Unworthy were they to be the head of a

nation which was to be a blessing and not a curse to all peoples of

the earth, therefore were they to be _divided in Jacob, and scattered

in Israel_. Next came Judah, and to him the patriarch could assign a

portion at least of the blessing of the firstborn. His should be the

pre-eminence in power and dignity, him should _his brethren praise_,

before him should _his father’s children bow down_; his should be the

_Sceptre and the Lawgiver_, nor _from beneath his feet should they ever

depart, till_ SHILOH, _the Peaceable_ or _Peace-maker came_[46] (Gen.

xlix. 1–10).

Having thus transferred the privileges of the firstborn to Judah and

predicted the fortunes of his other sons, the dying Patriarch once more

solemnly adjured them, as he had already adjured Joseph, not to leave

his bones in Egypt, but to carry them into the land of Hope and Promise,

and lay them in the cave of Machpelah, in the family-grave of his

fathers, and then he _gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded

up the ghost_. Obedient to such reiterated commands, Joseph caused his

father’s body to be embalmed in the Egyptian fashion by the physicians,

and obtained permission from Pharaoh to accompany his remains to the

burial-place he had marked out for them. Then at the head of a numerous

retinue, composed not only of the members of his own family, but also

of the court-officers of Pharaoh, and the grandees of the empire, and

accompanied by chariots and horsemen, he set out. The nearest road

would have been by Gaza, and through the territory of the Philistines.

Instead of this, the funeral procession took a long circuitous route

round Mount Seir[47] and the eastern side of the Dead Sea, and halted

at the threshing-floor of Atad, on the east side of the Jordan,

opposite Jericho. Here seven days were spent in solemn mourning, and so

grievous was the lamentation that the Canaanites of the Jordan valley

called the spot Abel-Mizraim, _the Meadow_, or _the Mourning of the

Egyptians_. Further than this point the Egyptian retinue do not seem

to have proceeded. The sons of Jacob alone crossed the Jordan, into the

land of Canaan, and laid their father in the cave of Machpelah, by the

side of Abram, Isaac, and Sarah (Gen. l. 1–13).

The funeral over, Joseph and his brethren returned to Egypt. Fearful

now their father was dead that the Viceroy would requite them for all

the evil they had done towards him, the sons of Jacob sent a messenger

to intercede in their behalf. But Joseph calmed their fears, and

assured them of safety and protection. Together, then, they dwelt in

peace and security in the land of Goshen; and Joseph _saw Ephraim’s

children of the third generation, and the children of Machir the son

of Manasseh brought up upon his knees_. At length, when he had reached

the age of 110, perceiving that his end was near, he sent for his

brethren, and having assured them that God would certainly visit them,

and bring them up out of Egypt into the land which He had promised to

their forefathers, and taken an oath of them that they would remove his

bones into the same Good Land, he died, and was embalmed, and laid in

a coffin in Egypt (Gen. l. 26).

NOTE.

SURVEY OF THE PATRIARCHAL AGE.

WITH the death of Joseph the Patriarchal Age of Israel’s history

may be said to close. The _Family_ had now thrown out many

branches, and was on the point of merging into the _Nation_.

At this juncture, then, it may be well to look back, and review

some of the chief features of Patriarchal Life.

i. And the first of these that claims attention is its _Nomadic

character_. Unlike the founders of Egypt, of Babylon, of Nineveh,

the Patriarchs were not the builders of cities and towns, but

_pilgrims and sojourners, dwellers in tents_ (Heb. xi. 9). But

they were very different from rude hordes, like the Amalekites

and other “sons of the desert,” abhorring any higher mode

of life. Abraham was no stranger to the highest form of

civilization that his age afforded. He was acquainted with Ur,

with Nineveh, with Damascus, with Egypt; he had left his home in

one of the chief cities of Mesopotamia, not from choice, but in

consequence of a direct personal call from God. Moreover, so far

from regarding his present mode of life as an ultimate end, he

and Isaac and Jacob, were ever looking forward to a time when it

would close, when their descendants should be _settled_ in the

Land of Promise, and become a great _nation_, when the portable

_tent_ should give way to the _city that had foundations_ (Heb.

xi. 10, 13–16; comp. Gen. xxiv. 7; xxviii. 4; xlix. 1–27; l. 24).

Hence, from time to time, as opportunity offered, we see the

wandering life freely and willingly laid aside. Lot settled

in Sodom (Gen. xiii. 10–12); Abraham in Egypt went direct to

Pharaoh’s court (Gen. xii. 14); at Hebron he settled and became

a “prince of God” in the midst of the Hittites (Gen. xxiii. 6);

Isaac not only lived near the Philistines, but occupied a

_house_ opposite the palace (Gen. xxvi. 8), and practised

_agriculture_ (Gen. xxvi. 12); and Joseph’s _dream of the

sheaves_ points out that this was also continued in the time

of Jacob (Gen. xxxvii. 7)[48].

ii. The _Family_ was the centre of the Patriarchal commonwealth.

Its head was the source of authority and jurisdiction; he

possessed the power of life and death (Gen. xxxviii. 24); he

united in himself the functions of chief and priest; he offered

the burnt-offering; he had his armed retainers (Gen. xiv. 14;

xlviii. 22; xxxiv. 25; xxxiii. 20); his intercourse with his

wives (for polygamy was not forbidden) was free and unrestrained;

the wife’s consent was asked before wedlock (Gen. xxiv. 57, 58);

love hallowed the relations of Abraham with Sarah, of Isaac with

Rebekah, of Jacob with Leah and Rachel; woman, indeed, did not

occupy the position since conceded to her, but her position

was far from degraded, and the sanctity of the marriage-bond

was defended by severe laws, which made death the punishment

for adultery (Gen. xxxviii. 24). Slavery, it is true, existed,

but in the tents of Abraham the slave was ever treated with

consideration, and not excluded from, but made a partaker

of religious privileges (Gen. xvii. 13). The fidelity and

attachment of Eliezer the steward of Abraham’s house, the

mourning for Deborah Rebekah’s nurse (Gen. xxxv. 8), are

pleasing proofs of the peace that reigned in the Patriarchal

household.

iii. _Civilization._ The life of the Patriarchs was chiefly

that of the shepherd, and their wealth mainly consisted in

their flocks and their herds. But besides practising agriculture

they were not unacquainted with money and the precious metals.

Abraham paid for the field of Machpelah with coin (Gen. xxiii.

9–20), and the sons of Jacob took money with them into Egypt

(Gen. xlii. 25, 35); while the gold ring and armlets presented

to Rebekah by Eliezer (Gen. xxiv. 22), the bracelet and signet

ring of Judah (Gen. xxxviii. 18), the ear-rings of Rachel

(Gen. xxxv. 4), the many-coloured coat of Joseph, indicate an

acquaintance with the luxuries of life.