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• ANALYSIS

OF THE

BOOK OF GENESIS

WITH NOTES

CRITICAL, HISTORICAL, AND GEOGRAPHICAL ;

ALSO

MAPS AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS,

BY THE

Rev. T. boston JOHNSTONE,

(ST. ANDREWS' UNIVERSITY,)

Author or "Harmony of the Gospels," **Thk Gospel in Italy," Ac,

AND

Joint-Author of Analyses of the Books of Joshua, Judges, Jeremiah,

Ezra, Nehemiah, &c.

CHIEFLY intended FOR

CANDDATES PREPARING FOR THE OXFORD AND CAMBRDGE LOCAL,
AND THE COLLEGE OF PRECEPTORS' EXAMINATIONS.

JOHN HEYWOOD,

Deansoate and Ridoefield, Manchester ;

and 11, Paternoster Buildings,

LONDON.

1884.

/ •*: 1 '

PREFACE.

In studying Scripture History a difficulty is often experienced,
especially by young students^ in not being able to obtain a simple
and connected view of the whole narrative, before entering upon
the minute details. Being well aware of the existence of this
difficulty, the endeavour has been made in the following work to
give such a connected view of the narratives and incidents recorded
in the Book of Genesis as. will make the study interesting and
profitable.

The best plan of study is to read the narrative portion of this
Analysis first, and after this is done, to take the Bible and study
the book, chapter by chapter, with the aid of the Notes, &c., as
contained in the second portion of the Analysis. Clear views of
the subject will thus be obtained. If the questions at the end of
each chapter be carefully and fully answered in writing) this will be
found to be an additional help.

We hope this Analysis, like those which have preceded it, will

be reckoned useful, not only by those who are prepapng for the

Oxford and Cambridge Local Examinations and by Sunday School

Teachers and Scholars, but by all who avail themselves of its aid

in studying the earliest records of the Word of God.

• T. B. J.

GENESIS.

• ♦•

IT is scarcely possible to conceive of an introduction more
appropriate and sublime than the opening verse of the
Word of God. It speaks calmly to us as a voice out of the
depths of eternity, carrying our thoughts back to that time
when God came forth in His mighty power and called the
universe into existence.

«i

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."— Gen. i., 1.

The importance and directness of this declaration are very
impressive. It speaks to us of the existence of God, the
unity of His being, His eternity, Almighty power, and infi-
nite superiority to all the things He has created. It thus
sets aside the many errors of atheism which denies the
existence and operations of God, of polytheism which repre-
sents a number of deities to have been engaged in the
creation and government of the world, and of pantheism
which confounds God with the things He has made. And
the declaration solves problems which the highest intellects,
unenlightened by divine revelation, have in vain endeavoured
to solve. It teaches that the system of nature around us is
not eternal, it had a * beginning,* — that it did not come
forth of itself, was not produced by chance, and is not an
endless chain of finite existences, but was created by Go(L
The record of Scripture, therefore, carries us back to the
remotest antiquity, to a time prior to the existence of all

6 GENESIS.

seen objects and of all known events. It goes back to the
first step in the march of time, to the first act of God in
relation to human history. And the first aspect in which
God is presented is as the Creator of the world, the
almighty, all-wise, and benevolent Author of all things, the
God of the spirits of all flesh. To the Hebrews, surrounded
by nations who worshipped sun, moon, and stars, and even
the lower animals, this was a grand and necessary revela-
tion. There is one God, Himself the uncreated, sovereign,
and unchanging One.

The Account op Creation. — There then follows an
account of the order in which the different objects appeared.
As a historical record of the various steps of creation, it is
unparalleled for its simplicity, directness, boldness of con-
ception, and truthfulness. It is thoroughly reliable and
consistent, a bright and harmonious system of creation,
whose truth the investigations of physical philosophy and
geological science are confirming with rapidly accumulating
clearness and force. In vastness, in fulness, in exactness
of detail, in far-reaching insight, it is suoh a cosmogony,
such a history of the order of creation as God only could
have conceived and revealed. It is, indeed, as in the
circumstances we should expect, very COUCise. It was not
the intention of the writer to gratify curiosity, or to teach
science, but to communicate religious truth to men; to
furnish, not a revelation of nature, but a revelation of God.
The material universe had an important connection with
human history, and he evidently felt that he must say
something about the formation of the house before he spoke
of the tenant who was to inhabit it. He therefore gives a
sketch of God's arrangement of a dwelling place for nxan*

OENSSIS. 7

but he does sio very simply and shortly, only stating those
things which he deemed necessary to the moral and
spiritual purpose he had in view. He connects God with the
world, which is the effect of His creative fiat, and then he
assures us that there was a careful preparation of the earth
for human habitation. But though the proper purpose of
the writer was to unfold the religious history of mankind,
and though he only sketches in large and graphic outlines
the order of creation, it is astonishing how much light he
sheds upon matters of chronology, astronomy, geology,
ethnology, and other branches of science. In regard to the
order of creation, the antiquity of man, the descent of the
human race from a single pair, and other matters, he gives
us information which might not otherwise have been ob-
tained, and the tendency of scientific discovery in the
various departments of geology, physiology, ethnology, and
philology, as also of monumental and other antiquarian re-
searches in Assyria, Egypt, and Palestine, is to vindicate its
accuracy.

The Order of Creation. — The universe did not assume
its present form by a solitary and immediate exercise of
divine power. The process of creation was gradliaL The
revelation begins amid the darkness of uncreated night.
There was only a huge, shapeless, chaotic, tenantless
mass : —

"The earth was without fonn and^yoid ; and darkness was upon the face of
the deep." — Gen. i, 2.

It gave no promise of that fair world of light, life, and
beauty into which it was to be transformed. But "the
Spirit of God," the Eternal Source of all light, life, and joy,
brooded, " moved upon the face of the waters," and through

8 GENESIS.

His quickening and vitalising influences all the manifold
existences in close and connected sequence were evolved.
At the voice of God the darkness became less dense ; light,
glimmering through the gloom, issued forth with growing
fulness into the perfect day ; chaos became order, and the
world became gradually filled with plants and animals of
every form and name. The Spirit, " dove-like, sat brooding
on the vast abyss and made it pregnant." — Milton.

The various steps in the process of creation were as
follows : — On the first day God created Ught, the purest
and fairest of the creatures, ^^ holy light ! offspring of
Heaven firstborn." — Milton, " And God said, Let there be
light; and there was light." How simple, yet how sublime a
statement — " Yehi aor, va-yehi aor," as it is in the original
Hebrew ! Longinus, a Roman poet, thought this statement
as it was given in the Greek version of the Septuagint, — and
in the original it is still finer, — incomparably sublime. Light
is one of the most astonishing productions of the creative
power of God. It is the grand medium by which all His
other works are discovered. It is diffusive, free, useful, and
welcome.

On the second day the atmosphere surrounding the
earth was created, in order to *' divide the waters/' which
seem previously to have occupied a considerable portion of
space. Probably the expansive influence of heat caused the
lighter parts of the watery vapours which overspread the
earth's surface to ascend aod become clouds while the
heavier portion of the waters remained below. The separa-
tion between the waters on the earth and the clouds, which
are the bearers of moisture through the sky, was to be a
complete and permanent one.

6ENESI& 9

On the third day the waters which extended far and wide
under the whole heavens were collected into one vast body
of water and restrained within proper limits, and the dry
land was raised above the ocean's surface. When light
and air, earth and water were so prepared and adjusted

as to minister to the life of plants, vegetation commenced..

When clouds, mists, and vapours were all cleared away,
on the fourth day there were unveiled in all their glory in
the spacious sky, the heavenly bodies — the sun, the most
glorious of all objects, and the chief source of light and heat
to the earth ; the moon with its pale and silvery beams, and
the stars which gleam forth from the depths of illimitable
space. The purpose of these luminaries is to concentrate
and distribute the light already created, to afford means for
calculating time and for navigation, and to subserve other
useful and important ends in the various economy of human
life. "He made the stars also." He who created and
governs the stars, created and governs the earth. God
rules to the utmost bounds of His great universe, and all
things proclaim His divine power, wisdom and goodness.

On the fifth day of creation, the air and the waters were
filled with their respective inhabitants, the sea swarmed
with fish, and the feathered tribes winged their flight
through " the open firmament of heaven." And as soon as
life appeared provision was made for its continuance. " God
blessed them, saying. Be fruitful and multiply." There
was universal divine government and control, but there was
now also» the free and unceasing activity of living and
sentient creatures.

On the sixth day a still further advance was made by
the creation of the higher, or land animals, such as quad-
rupeds, insects, and reptiles. The creation of these living

10 GENESIS.

creatures completed the preparation of the earth for the
advent of man, the climax and consummation of the Creator's
earthly works. But God proceeds to the creation of man
with special deliberation, with feelings of expectation and
delight : —

" And God said, Let us make man in our imajfo, after our likeness : and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creep-
eth upon the earth." — Gen. 1., 2d.

" So God created man in hla own image, in the image of God created he him ;
male and female created he them." — Gen. i., 27.

Man was not made after the likeness of any inferior creature
but after God's own, in intelligence, in moral and spiritual
beius;.

Thus through successive and ever-ascending stages, man,
for whom the earth had been prepared as a habitation, was
at length reached, and fish and fowl " and every living thing
that moveth upon the earth," were given to him, to own his
dominion and to minister to his enjoyment. He received
his Creator's benediction, was invested with a title of su-
premacy over all other creatures, a title of colonization and
conquest, and was commanded to propagate and perpetuate
his species.

" And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and mu}tiply,
and replenish the earth, and subdue it ; and have dominion over the fish of the
fiea, and over the fowl of the air, and over everything that moveth upon the
earth."— Gen. i., 28.

Such is the account of the beginning of our world, of the
successive and progressive stages of creation from lower to
more highly organized forms of life, and of the creation of
man with all his wonderful capacities and powers. At each
stage of His work the Creator expressed his satisflftCtion.

GENKSIS. 11

He " saw that it was good " — good in itself, and adapted to
the purpose for which it was designed. And when He
reviewed the whole, and beheld man — the object of especial
solicitude, wisdom and power — walking with countenance
erect and manifesting resemblance to Himself, there was a
feeling of peculiar satisfaction and joy. The finished work
came up to the ideal standard, and fulfilled the design of
God.

"And Qod saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very
good.*'— Gen. i, 31.

Aud elsewhere we read that over the completed work of
creation '^ the morning stars sang together, and all the sons
of God shouted for joy" (Job xxxviii., 7). That work cul-
minated in man, the end and aim of all the preparatory
courses through which the earth had passed, the model of
animal perfection, a being of a new and superior order, who
xmited the physical creation to a moral nature, and began
the historic age of the world. Man, indeed, was created on
the same " day " as tbe higher animals, reminding us that
he was created with a body in common with them, composed
of the same constituents as theirs, though more highly
organised; but he possessed special affinity to God, and
resembled Him in moral purity, in the possession of
thought, reason, and moral sense, in immortality, and in
his lordship over the lower creation. The vegetable and
animal world seemed to be waiting for that rational and
spiritual being who was to recognise, distinguish, and govern
its different orders of being. And the truth that man was
made in the imag^e of God is the only rational basis of
revelation, of the incarnation of Jesus Christ the Son of
God, of his renewal by the power of God's Spirit, and of all
the blessed hopes set before us in the Gospel.

12 GENESIS.

The Institution op the Sabbath. — After the work of
creation was ended, God '^ rested/' not because he was
wearied or fatigued (Isaiah xL, 28), not to intimate that
He then ceased from working — for He has ever since been
preserving and governing the world, and carrying out His
purposes of providence and of grace — but to inform us that
God then ceased from the exercise of special creative power,
and that, having come forth from the secret of His pavilion
to perform the great work of creation. He now retired to
enjoy with divine complacency the contemplation of the
grandeur, beauty, harmony, and adaptation to its own end,
which characterised every part of His work. And, as He
knew that the physical and mental powers of man would
become exhausted by constant labour — that man would
need time to reflect on his relations to God, on his present
duty and future destiny — in infinite wisdom and mercy He
arranged for this necessity by ordaining that one day in
seven is to be kept free from the entanglements of business,
and devoted to purposes of holy meditation, worship,
and charity. He set the example of resting on the seventh
day ; '* He blessed and sanctified it," as the memorial of a
completed creation, as a season for special fellowship and
blessing. The first full day of man's existence upon earth
was a Sabbath day of holy meditation and delight, and the
"remembrance" to keep holy the day of sacred rest is
binding upon men of all nations and ages (Exodus xx., 11 ;
xxxi., 15-17). The religious interests of individuals and of
nations largely depend upon the observance of a seventh-
day rest from worldly toil, and the employment of the
day in the exercise of divine worship and the cultivation
of the higher desires and affections of our nature.

GENESIS. 13

The CiROUMSTANCBs IN WHICH Man at his Creation was
Plaoed. — God made ample provison for the gratification of
the sentient nature of '' the man whom he had formed."

''And the Lord Ood planted a garden eastward in Eden And out of

the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight
and good for food. .... And a river went out of Eden to water the garden.*' —
Gen. iL, 8-10.

We cannot exactly tell where Eden bloomed — ^though many
fair spots have contended for the honour of being the pri-
meyal home of the human race — but, undoubtedly, it must
have been a scene of wonderful beauty and fertility. It was
a place specially selected and prepared by God for the recep-
tion of man, where all the parts of his complex nature could
obtain full gratification. It was filled with everything that
could supply his bodily wants and minister to his enjoyment.
There were sights of beauty all around, sweet sounds of har-
mony and joy, luscious fruits, and crystal streams. It was
specially well-watered, and its rivers are referred to with
much minuteness. Hiddekel or Tigris, the Euphrates, the
Pison — probably what is now called the Kizil-Ermak which
flows into the Black Sea, — and the Gihon — probably the
Araxes which flows into the Caspian Sea, flowed through
it, parting off from one river source. The whole district was
rich in gold and precious stones. This description points us
to the highlands of Armenia in Asia Minor, and somewhere
near the sources of these four rivers, as the site of the Garden
of Eden. Here, then, man was placed. And while his
sentient desires were gratified his intellectual and moral
desires were also provided for. There was no disharmony
in nature to pain his soul : the birds sang above, and the
beasts gambolled playfully around, neither afraid of man
nor of each other. His mental powers found ample scope in

1 4 GENESIS.

studying the works of God in creation, and in close and loving
fellowship with the pure and exalted inhabitants of heaven.
God himself was accustomed to walk in the garden in the
cool of the day, and man would experience unalloyed joy in
His favour and fellowship.

Such was the age of innocence, " the golden age " which
lingers in the traditions of all nations, and which can
only again be enjoyed in the last days of universal reunion
and amity. — Isai. xi., 6-9.

The Work Adam was to Perform. — Amid the fair scenes
and delights of Eden man was not to be idle. God had
set him an example of persevering and successful work, his
powers needed exercise in useful labour, and by giving to all
his faculties their proper exercise his happiness would be
increased. In congenial manual labour, therefore, Adam
employed his time and powers, and, in doing so, obtained
stimulus and strength.

" And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to
dress it and to keep it."— Gen. ii., 15.

The work assigned to Adam involved the knowledge of many
operations and of the properties of plants. He must have
been specially endowed with skill and understanding, and
with the knowledge of the materials necessary for the satis-
factory performance of his work.

The Test of Obedience Given by God to Adam. — The
Garden of Eden, besides being an abode of innocence, of
happiness, and of genial employment, was also a place of
probation* Adam was under obligation to love and obey
God, apart from any special enactment. But to the natural
law, which was engraven upon his heart and conscience, a

GENESIS. 15

precise and definite law was added. A test of obedience,
which was clear, precise, and easy to be observed, was pre-
scribed. He was to abstain from eating of the fruit of a
particular tree in the garden. Two trees were selected by
God, one to be the sign and pledge of the life to be enjoyed
so long as the divine law was observed, and the other^ to
be the tree of whose fruit Adam was not to eat. As often
as he looked at the former, and ate of its fruit, he would
be reminded of his duty and the reward of obedience, he
would observe a sacrament which sealed to him spiritual
and eternal life. The latter tree was called " The tree of
knowledge of good and evil,'' the not eating of which
was the test of obedience, and would secure the knowledge
and experience of all blessedness, whilst the eating of it, being
an act of disobedience, would be followed by immediate and
certain death. Such wps the covenant made in Eden
between God and Adam, as the head and representative of
the human race. Life to himself and to all his posterity
would be the reward of his loyalty and obedience, and death,
spiritual and eternal, would be the just and certain punish-
ment of disobedience.

" And the Lord Ood commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden
thou mayest freely eat : but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou'
shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.'
—Gen. iL, 16, 17.

The importance of this command, and the influence it has
had upon the fortunes of humanity, cannot be over-estimated.
There was much divine wisdom and goodness in the arrange-
ment. Instead of perilling the immortality of Adam and
his posterity upon every single act of their lives, that
arrangement suspended it upon the observance of one easily
observed precept, and that for a limited period; and it

16 GENESIS.

naturally aroused the vigilance of Adam, and concentrated
his attention. The clearness, too, with which the conse-
quences of disobedience were made known, the severity of
the penalty, and the certainty of its infliction, were, doubt-
less, inducements to obedience. Thus the allegiance of the

human race was brought to a dear and simple issue.

The Naming of the Cattle. — God brought unto Adam
every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, " to see
what he would call them : and whatsoever Adam called
every living creature, that was the name thereof." It is
evident that Adam, either by the communication to him of
special knowledge, or by the enjoyment of special intuitive
perceptions, had become acquainted with the more conspicuous
qualities of the various tribes of animals by whom he was
surrounded. For him there was no past, with its rich stores
of experience, observation, and accumulated facts, and there
does not seem to have been time for long and close observa-
tion on his own part before the name was given. Evidently,
too, there was intimate alliance between man and the lower
creatures. He was the lord and not the tyrant of the
world. He was the protector and friend of all God's creatures.
For the support of his life God had assigned him " every
herb bearing seed, and every tree in which is the fruit of a
tree yielding seed ; to you it shall be for meat" — (Gen. i., 29).
As yet the animals were untouched for food.

The Institution op Marriage. — God had already recog-
nised that man required ^* an help-meet," but He delayed to
supply that need in order to enhance the value of the gift
He designed to bestow. As the animals presented them-
selves in pairs to be named, Adam would come to feel his

GENESIS. 17

isolated condition, to perceive that the existing races of
animated nature could not supply him with the companion-
ship he yearned for. Something was required to consummate
his happiness which the beauties of nature, the music of the
groves, and the caresses of the irrational tribes could not
supply. He had a soul full of afifections, but there was no
suitable earthly object upon which to place them, no rational
being to whom he could express his thoughts and who could
reciprocate his feelings. But in a remarkable and significant
way God met this necessity of his nature. Man himself had
been formed by divine power from the dust of the ground,
but in order to impress upon his mind a sense of the intimate
relationship subsisting between Inmself and his divinely
appointed partner, woman was formed from " the rib which
the Lord God had taken from man." Adam was made to
fall into a trance or " deep sleep," and when he awoke he
recognised her whom God had designed for his wife and who
was wonderfully suited by bodily frame and mental con-
stitution to fill the only want in his happy existence. Thus
was formed a union peculiarly solemn and significant. —
(Eph. v., 28-31). Thus in a way which manifested the
essential oneness of husband and wife was instituted
marriage, whose original law is opposed to polygamy,
bigamy, and impurity of every form.

" Therefore shall a man leave his fother and his mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife : and they shall be one flesh."— Gen. ii., 24.

The two institutions of the Sabbath and of Marriage

remain. They are the two chief sources of earthly comfort
and happiness. Religious progress and all true prosperity
are bound up in the observance of the one, and the continu-
ance of the race and the well being of families and com-
munities are bound up in the observance of the other. They

B

18 GENESIS.

form the divinely^ appointed foundations for the social fabric.

The first man was called Adam either as referring to the
ground — adamah — from which he was taken, or because he
was the first and the founder of the human race. His wife
was called woman — isha — "because she was taken out of
man " — ^ish. And, as showing their innocence and mutual
confidence, it is added —

" And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." —
Gen. IL, 25.

The Temptation, its Result, and Consequences. — The
transition from the second to the third chapter of the Book
of Genesis is as sudden as it is painfuL We would gladly
pause for a time over the finished picture of Paradise, and
contemplate the purity and bliss which the first parents of
our race enjoyed. But without any pause or reflection, the
inspired historian presses* on, and the feeling is instinctively
awakened in our minds by the opening words that a dark
shadow is gathering by which Eden's gloiy will soon be
eclipsed.

It is probable that a considerable time elapsed between
the events narrated in this third chapter and those narrated
in the chapter preceding. Sufficient time would doubtless
be given to our first parents to enable them to become
familiar with the conditions of life in Eden, to perform the
work for which they had been placed in the pleasant garden,
to make progress in their knowledge of God, of His works
and will, and fully to appreciate the happiness they enjoyed.

But the sad reverse came all too soon. The age of perfect
purity was very brief in view of the 930 years of Adam's own
age and of the long milleniums which have followed.

GENESIS. 19

God had sowed good seed in the field of this world, but
an enemy came and sowed tares. " The enemy that sowed
them is the devil." — Matt xiii., 39. And this chapter tells

us of the Tempter, the Act of Temptation, its sad issue,

and its fearful consequences. The narrative is very simple
and natural. Satan, in the form of a serpent, induced
our first parents to disobey the commandment of God.
He is the leader of those wicked angels who "kept
not their first estate ** (Jude vi., 2 Peter il, 4), who, full
of hatred to God, resolved to bring ruin upon the fair
world He had created, and whose actions ever since have
been malignant and mischievous (1 Pet. v., 8). God had
made aU things good and had created man holy and upright.
But Satan resolved to destroy the harmony and happiness
of the new creation, involve the human race in his own guilt
and ruin, and bring sin and sorrow and death into the world.
He carried out his purpose with wonderful malice, cunning,
and subtlety. In the guise of a serpent — as being, per-
haps, at that time more noble and fascinating, as well as
" subtle," " than any beast of the field, which the Lord God
had made," — Satan appeared in the Garden of Eden. From
the fact that " the serpent " possessed and abused the powers
of reason and speech, and that Satan receives one of his
titles from this transaction (Rev. xii., 9 ; xz., 2), we have
no difficulty in recognising his presence and agency. Our
first parents were innocent, without experieoce, habituated
only to friendship and fidelity, and not prepared for male-
volence and fraud. They knew truth only, and were ignor-
ant of falsehood. Satan, therefore, very artfully whispered
to Eve — " Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree
of the garden?" It seems probable that Eve at this time
was alone in unsuspecting security among the bowers of the

20 GENESIS.

garden, while her husband, on whose stronger judgment and
firmer will she might have leaned, was absent from her side.
It is probable, too, that she was meditating on the strange
prohibition which formed the test of obedience. And it was
when such a fitting opportunity was presented that Satan,
knowing that the woman was more open to his wiles than her
husband, would act more from impulse than cool judgment,
and would less easily repress her curiosity, insinuated words
which suggested either that they had mistaken the meaning
and intention of what God had commanded or that, if the com-
mand were rightly understood, God was unkind and jealous
when He gave it. The first utterance of the tempter dis-
played subtlety as deep as that which appears in the choice
of the victim, and in the timing of the assault. " Yea," — as
if speaking to the thought at that very moment in the mind
of Eve, — " hath God said. Ye shall not eat of every tree of
the garden 1 There must be some mistake about the terms ;
they cannot be so absolute and peremptory as you have
supposed ; and, if God gave such an order, clearly He is
unjust, unkind, and jealous to impose such a restraint on
His intelligent creatures." Note how artfully the prohibi-
tion is dwelt on and exaggerated, while the generosity of
God in permitting our first parents to eat " of every tree of
the garden," one only excepted, is entirely kept out of view.
When Eve heard this, she neither feared nor fled. Her
entire simplicity and utter unconsciousness of any evil
presence in the garden where perfect harmony and happi-
ness had reigned, probably explains her conduct. Without
thinking of the impropriety or strangeness of the suggestion
she replied, —

"We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden : But of the fruit of the
tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it,
neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."— Gen. iii, 2, S.

GENESIS. 21

Satan, however, boldly denies that such a consequence as
death would follow. The punishment cannot be so severe,
there must be some way of escape, God has more love to His
creatures than to destroy them. Death is only threatened in
order to restrain.

"For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be
opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." — Gen. iii, 5.

Thus the tempter insinuated into the woman's mind
distrust of God, and a suspicion of God's love, and then
bluntly declared that jealousy was the real ground of the
divine prohibition. God certainly knew the nature and
terrible consequences of sin. Man knew good, had personal
experience of it, but he could only know sin by experiment,
by venturing on an act of sin, and by enduring the misery
which sin entails. Man's knowledge of evil, therefore,
would be fatal to him. But the enlargement of experience
held out to Eve formed a sufficient inducement, and she
risked the consequences. To the temptations of Satan were
added the sensible attractions of the beauty of the tree and
the richness of the fruit The safeguards of innocence had
already been broken down, and when Eve looked on the tree
and the tempting fruit, she was overpowered, " took of the

fimit thereof and did eat."

"Her rash hand in evil hour
Forth-reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she ate !
Earth felt the wound ; and Nature from her seat
Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe
That all was lost"— MUUm,

Adam, moved by the example and persuasions of his wife,
ate also of the forbidden fruit, and so shared her trans-
gression (1 Tim. ii., 14). Thus sin in principle and in act
had been committed. There had been an act of deliberate

22 GENESIS.

disobedience, an act which involved the spirit of distrust,
unbelief, and ambition ; and the sin was aggravated by the
great goodness which God had shown, and by the fact, of
which we can hardly suppose our first parents to have been
ignorant, that upon their integrity depended the holiness
and happiness of their descendants, while their failure
involved not themselves alone, but all succeeding generations
in the sweep of a terrible penalty. God had given to them
the will and the power to obey or to disobey; it was possible
for them to sin, but they were strong enough to stand if
they had pleased. They had received timely warning of the
consequences of disobedience, for God's threat was not a
defiance or challenge, but a gracious revelation and warning.
They chose to disobey, and the fearful consequences of
disobedience speedily followed,

God's Examination of the Transgressors. — By listening
to the tempter, Adam and Eve became sinful in nature
and unhappy in condition. They lost both their goodness
and their happiness. Conscience told them that they
had done wrong, and ''the eyes of them both were
0p6ned" — opened in a diflferent way from what they
had hoped or expected, opened to see "that they were
naked." They felt a sense of shame, of degradation, felt
that they were unfit to be seen by each other, and they
endeavoured to cover their nakedness with Gg leaves. But
while they felt a sense of shame they also felt a sense of
gfuilt, and while they hid their nakedness from each other,
they also endeavoured to hide their moral guilt from God.
Hearing " the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden
in the cool of the day," Adam and his wife tried to hide
themselves among the trees of the garden ! Verily, on the

GENESIS. 23

day of eating they had died. The first act of sin had given
birth to conscience, and had produced alienation from God,
fear and hatred. It had separated man from God, the
source of all true life and blessedness. Adam was wont to
welcome God, but now God has to call for Adam. He was
wont to meet Him with confidence, erect, trustful, but now
he avoids Him and hides. Adam is lost. But God seeks
him. He does not at once hurl against him the thunder-
bolts of righteous wrath, but seeks him. This is merciful,
it is hopeful. With the searching, yearning question,
" Adam, where art thou V* God would arouse the conscience
of Adam, would convince him of his sin, would lead him to
confession, would open up the way for the display of His
own goodness and love. There is an expression of surprise,
of upbraiding, of infinite pity and tenderness in this seeking
voice of God. But it is the voice of inflexible justice also,
and Adam is obliged to appear. Then follows a strange
judgment scene, where the criminals are arraigned, ques-
tions are asked in order to elicit confession, and sentences
of condemnation are passed. Adam has to confess that he
felt himself naked, having eaten of the forbidden tree ; and
he was reluctant to appear on account of his nakedness. He
appears to be sulky and evasive. He does not justify but
he endeavours to excuse his sin. Each would transfer the
burden of guilt to the other, Adam to Eve and Eve to
the serpent. There is a display of deceit and guile and
selfishness, and Adam seems even so ungenerous and im-
pious as to charge God's best gift — " the woman whom thou
gavest to be with me" — as the cause of the fault. But
their apologies are after all avowals of guilt. They stand
self-condemned, and they doubtless dread the terrible
punishment which will now be inflicted.

24 GENESIS.

The Judgments Pronounced upon the Transgressors.
— The sentences of condemnation and doom follow the same
order as existed in the temptation and in the transgression.
The serpent had first sinned in tempting the woman. He
had been guilty of a base, unjust, and cruel action against
the human race. He had been envious of man, full of
resentment against God, and had displayed a spirit of pride,
revenge, and malevolence. He first is summoned. The
complaint Eve had made against the serpent is first attended
to. Flushed with victory, the enemy had probably de-
parted to congratulate the other fallen spirits on the success
he had achieved in bringing ruin upon the human family,
and introducing disharmony and sin into this fair world.
But God calls him to receive his sentence of retribution.
That sentence consists of two parts, the one having reference
to the literal serpent which had been used as the instrument
in the temptation, and the other to Satan, the real tempter.
Serpents henceforth are to be cursed above all animals, are
to creep along the ground and eat dust. Satan himself
is to suffer defeat and degradation. There is to be a personal
conflict between him and the woman who has been his dupe.
The unholy alliance into which Eve had been beguiled is to
be broken, and she is to hate, and escape from the power of
her seducer. There is also to be a general conflict between
the two seeds of Satan and the woman. The seed of Satan
refers to wicked men who do his bidding and imitate his
example (Matt, xxiii., 33 ; 1 John iii., 8.), and who are con-
stantly opposing, and, by their example and temptations,
endeavouring to effect the ruin of good men. By them
Satan endeavours to extend and perpetuate the mischief he
began. There is to be an unceasing conflict between the
righteous and the wicked. But, and this is still more

GENESIS. 25

important, there is to be a particular and special conflict
between Satan himself and one of the woman's descendants,
in which his head should be bruised. The destroyer of others
is to be himself destroyed, and that by one of the very
race he has endeavoured to ruin.

" And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."— Gen.iii.,15.

God puts enmity, for it is not entertained naturally. There
can be no peace, or comfort, or joy, for men until they are
brought to hate and forsake sin and Satan. The " putting "
of this enmity and the intimation of Satan's defeat are
the first words of the gospel of mercy. They form the
Protevangfelium, the first tidings of grace and deliverance.
How good and gracious on the part of God to cui-se the great
adversary and foretell his defeat before He pronounced upon
the other trembling criminals the sentence which their
disobedience had provoked !

Eve is next addressed. The original sentence of death is
to remain, for the law in that respect is unchangeable, and,
to remind her of her guilt and her mortality, she is hence-
forth to endure the dangers and the sufferings which now
accompany child-bearing, and is to live in a state of inferiority
and subjection to her husband. Then Adam is addressed.
The ground is cursed, and he is condemned to hard and
painful labour in wringing from it the food he needs for the
support of life, and he shall be at all times liable to the
corruption of death. " Dust thou art and unto dust slialt
thou return.'' God mercifully condescended to clothe Adam
and his wife with "coats of skin," but He expelled them
from the fair and fertile garden of Eden, placing " at the
east of the garden of Eden, cherubims and a flaming sword
which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life."

26 GENESIS.

The Importance op the account op the Fall. — Such
is the account of the Fall and its sad results. It is very
concise, but very suggestive. It is the record of the darkest
and most disastrous event that ever occurred in the history
of the world, and which is the primal source of all disaster,
sorrow, and death ; and much of the information it contains
is of transcendent importance and cannot be obtained else-
where. That this record in its essential features is strictly
historical, that the events recorded actually occurred, should
not be doubted. The style is historical, the character of the
whole book is historical, the events narrated are confirmed by
all the other statements of the Bible, are repeatedly alluded
to by Jesus and His apostles, and, as regards the present
circumstances of the human race, are consistent with the
deductions of reason, the records of history, and the facts of
everyday experience. How important then that we should
have a clear and accurate view of the events narrated.

We know that the world cannot now be as a good and holy
God created it — as it was when, bending over a freshly-
formed world and concentring His looks of complacency and
joy upon man, the reflection of Himself, God pronounced it
all very good. We see that the material world must have
undergone a change, for in many ways it seems " cursed ; "
we see that the body of man must have undergone a change,
for it is now the seat of disease and sufFering, dies and comes
to corruption ; we see that the soul of man must have under-
gone a change, for it does not bear unblurred the image of
its Creator, is alienated from God, and is full of unholy dis-
positions and desires. And when we seek for an explanation
of all this, we turn with confidence to the inspired account of
the Fall, and find there the solution of the mystery. It is

GENESIS. 27

some satisfaction to know that our earth was once the abode
of innocence and purity, that sin entered the world from
without, not springing self-evolved from the human heart,
but being introduced by Satan, the enemy of God and of
mankind ; to possess an account of the loss of our original
position and character which is consistent with the honour of
God and the principles of His moral government, and which
sufficiently explains why the history of our race has been
very much a history of war, wrong and oppression, why so
much suffering and misery abound, and why death is
universal. We have ample evidence around that we are

now in a state of sin and degradation, and we have

many memorials and frequent reminders of our guilt.

To our first parents the immediate consequences of their
sin must have been specially distressing. They had enjoyed
a state of perfect purity and happiness, where everything
that could occasion fear and trouble was absent, and every-
thing that could give complete and unalloyed happiness was
present. They would always carry with them the conscious-
ness that their own disobedience had produced the terrible
change. Angels could no longer own them as friends and
fellow-servants. Their labour had formerly been congenial,
easy and productive, but now it was unpleasant, toilsomei,
unproductive, and continuous. In order to become " as
gods knowing good and evil," they had disobeyed the divine
command, and by so doing had forfeited the divine favour
and blessing ; and now, lest in the vain hope of reversing the
sentence or of avoiding the punishment of guilt, in the vain
hope of living for ever, they should endeavour to eat "of the
tree of life," the sign and symbol of immortality, they are
sternly ejected from the garden " tO till the ground from
whence" the man was taken. And means were taken

o

8 GENESIS.

effectually to guard the entrance of the garden and prevent
return. Such is the beginning of man's tragical career upon
earth. And all men now bear the penalties of that first
transgression, being doomed to live in a world blighted by a
curse, being placed for the most part under severe conditions
of toil and discipline, subjected all of them to the law of
mortality, and inheriting a corrupt and depraved nature.
" By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sintied "
(Rom. v., 12.)

It is very important, however, to notice that the picture
is not all dark. Kays of comfort and hope illumine it, and
to some extent dispel the gloom. It concerns the honour
of God that His adversary do not secure a complete and
final triumph over the human race. The divine purposes in
creating the world are not to be frustrated. Man is to be
spared. There is to be a period of forbearance and long-
sufiering, and God will more signally take glory to Himself
by the punishment of the tempter. Though, therefore,
Adam might with justice not only have been driven from
Eden, but also hurled into an abyss of woe, banished from
all that is holy to all that is hopeless, he is spared. And he
is not sent forth to toil without alleviation, or to suffer
misery that has no end. He is sent forth cheered with the
assurance of divine mercy and compassion, with proofs of the
divine favour, and with the promise of a great deliverance.
Sin has entered the world, but the reign of grace has also
commenced. Adam's wife is now to be Chavah — Life.
She is to be the mother of living children ; the race is to be
prolonged, and the promised "seed'' is to come, the seed
that is to bruise the serpent's head.

GENESIS. 29

The Fall of mau is the tumingf point of human

history. The account given of it forms the basis of the
system of religion which follows — is the foundation of the
whole superstructure. The subsequent history of the world
takes its form from the sad catastrophe which occurred
at the beginning of that history, and Christiaoity as a
remedial system, a religion of redemption, is based upon the
historical character of the Fall.

And though perhaps our first parents may have felt the
promise of a Deliverer to be obscure in its terms, yet they
must have known that Satan's defeat would be their
deliverance. To us, looking back upon the curse pronounced
upon the great enemy, and turning upon it the light of
fuller prophecy, of Mosaic type, of actual fulfilment in the
Incarnation, life and death of Jesus Christ, there is dis-
closed in it the germ of all prophecy, the basis of revealed
religion, a clear intimation of the coming and work of Him
who "was made of a woman," who with perfect firmness and
invincible logic repelled the specious arguments of Satan
when he tried his arts upon Him (Matt, iv., 1-10), who upon
the cross " having spoiled principalities and powers, made a
show of them openly, triumphing over them in it"
(Col. ii, 15), and who, as the second Adam, the second head
and representative of the human race, has opened the way
for the removal of sin and all its consequences (1 Cor. xv.,
45-49), and for the restoration of repentant and believing
men to a better than earthly paradise. (Rev. xxii.)

We now come to the long period which elapsed between
the Pall and the Flood, a period of at least sixteen centuries,

30 GENESIS.

but which is very briefly described in the next five chapters
of Genesis. It is still apparent that the history is very
fragmentary, and alas ! much of it is very sad, exhibiting the
depravity of man, and the nature of that unceasing conflict
between good and evil, which the Fall introduced. Our first
parents had been exiled from Eden, but, as we have seen,
they entered on their experiences of the labours and sorrows
of life, cheered with the assurance of Divine forgiveness and
with the promise of a great Deliverer. And we cherish the
belief that He who had provided for their defence and com-
fort by clothing them with coats of skins, still further
soothed their grief and imparted peace to their souls. There
is good ground for the opinion that they were not driven to
a great distance from Eden, but were permitted to worship
and to serve God within sight of it, and to await the fulfil-
meat of the divine purposes and promises with steadfast faith
and hope. But only one incident in the long space of at
least one hundred and twenty years is recorded.

The Birth op Cain and Abel. — Not long after the expul-
sion of Adam and Eve from Eden, their sons Cain and Abel
were bom. It must have been with feelings of mingled
astonishment, gratitude, and joy th&,t the first child born
.into the world was seen. Eve called him Cain, which
n^eans possession or acquisition, and said " I have gotten a
man from the Lord," by the Lord's help, through the Lord's
blessing. She had now something to wean her mind from
her great sorrow, something to care for and love ; and, as she
would no doubt be eagerly anticipating the fulfilment of the
divine promise, when her seed should triumph over the
destroyer of their happiness, something which would be to
her a proof and pledge of the appearance of the Deliverer in

GENESIS. 31

due time. Shortly afterwards his brother Abel was born.
AVhen Cain and Abel grew up, the former became a farmer,
"a tiller of the ground," and the latter a shepherd, "a
keeper of sheep." Their parents trained them to habits of
active labour, and the one adopted an agricultural, the other
a pastoral occupation. Their parents also trained them to
worship God, to acknowledge and express their gratitude to
Him, and to offer sacrifice. Though men had sinned, God
had not entirely cast them off, but permitted them to pray
to Him, and taught them how to erect a heap of stones or an
altar, to put on the altar some wood and a lamb, and, bind-
ing the lamb to the altar, to kill it and burn it with fire.
It is evident that God prescribed the way in which He desired
sinful men to approach Him, a way fitted to suggest their
own sinfulness and the need of an atoning sacrifice. God
had been disobeyed, but He had not been disowned. Satan
had tempted men to disbelieve His word and to sin against
Him, but he had not yet succeeded in making them infidels
or idolaters. And it is pleasing to find that Cain and Abel
were taught to worship God, and to bring an offering when
they appeared before Hina. But though they worshipped
the same God, expressed their gratitude to God by their
offerings, and desired to enjoy his acceptance and favour,
there was a great difference in the character, in the
principles and dispositions of the two brothers.

The Offerings of Cain and Abel. — The difference in
the principles of the two brothers was manifested in their
mode of worship. On a particular occasion, when they came
to worship God, Cain " brought of the fruit of the ground an
offering unto the Lord," while "Abel brought of the firstlings
of his flock and of the fat thereof." The offerings looked

32 GENESIS.

very appropriate, each bringing the offering that seemed
to accord with his particular occupation. But Cain's was
not accepted. It might be an acknowledgment of God's
goodness and of his own gratitude, but it had no reference
to his sinful condition and the requirement of God ; it did
not express a sense of guilt or of trust in God's atoning mercy.
But Abel, believing God's word and promise, and in obedience
to God's commandment, with humility, contrition, and faith,
laid a bleeding lamb on the altar, and connecting it, perhaps,
though dimly, with the coming "seed of the WOman," who
by the sacrifice of His life would open up a way for sinful
man's acceptance with God, looked for pardon and salvation.
Cain's was only a thank-offering ; Abel's was a sin-offexing',
Cain, in the sacrifice of his property, expressed homage and
gratitude ; Abel, in the sacrifice of life as well as of property,
expressed homage and gratitude, and faith too. Cain rea-
soned when he should have believed ; he kept back from God
the sacrifice that had been enjoined, imagining that the
fruits of the ground would do as well as bleeding victims,
and so he manifested pride and self-righteousness, and
offered will-worship, a form of worship of his own devising.
It might seem cruel and unnatural to shed the blood of
innocent creatures, it might be difficult to believe that God
would delight in blood or in the fat of slain beasts, or would
transfer the sins of the sacrificer to his sacrifice ; but it is,
and always has been, the principle of God's moral govern-
ment that " without shedding of blood is no remission " of
sin (Heb. ix., 22), and Jesus Christ was " the Lamb of God
slain from the foundation of the world," animal sacrifice
having been commanded by God in order to keep in remem-
brance and to foreshadow His great atoning sacrifice. Cain
therefore should have worshipped God in His own appointed
way. Not having done so,

OBNBSIS. 33

" The Lord had respect unto Abel and to hla offering ; bat unto Cain and to hia

offering he had not respect'* — Qen. !▼., 4, 6.

Abel had fiuth and Cain had not. ^* By faith Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he
obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his
gifts." (Heb. xi. 4.) In some visible way, perhaps by fire
from heaven consuming the sacrifice on the altar, as after-
wards when Aaron ofiered in Uie tabernacle, Solomon in the
temple, and £lijah on Carmel, God testified his approval of
Abel's offering. It is important to notice, too, that Abel's
person was accepted and then his offering, that the person of
Cain was not accepted, and therefore his offering was not.
The acceptance or rejection of an offering depends upon the
spirit of the worshipper and the principles by which he is
actuated. Cain disregarded the hope as well aa the necessity
of an atonement, and he was probably of a proud, sullen
disposition, and would not be beholden to his brother for one
of his flock.

God's Expostulation with Cain. — Instead of being
humbled and ashamed oil account of God's rejection of him-
self and of his sacrifice, Cain was ^'Teiy wroth," he conceived
hard thoughts of God and vindictive feelings towards his
brother. £nvy, jealousy, and hatred of Abel took possession
of his mind. If the sacrifices were offered, as is probable, at
a solemn assembly and in presence of a large company of
worshippers, — for during the 120 or 130 years between the
births of Cain and Abel and this incident the population of
the world must have greatly increased, — Cain would reckon
the rejection of his sacrifice a public afiront, which wounded
his pride and made him discontented and revengeful. But
God condescended to reason and remonstrate with him. He
pointed out the folly of such conduct, assured him that no

34 GENESIS.

worship would be rejected that was offered in sincerity, and
pointed out to him the essential principles according to which
acceptable services could be rendered. God was not partial
in His judgment, and if the offering of Cain was not ss
acceptable as that of his brother the fault was his own.

The Murder of Abel. — Cain unfortunately did not take
warning by what God had said to him. For a time he may
have dissembled his hatred, but the jealousy and dislike at
last broke out into a flame, angry thoughts led to angry
looks, to angry words, and to murderous blows. The evil
temper had been indulged, and the natural result was " de-
bate, deceit, murder." Having invited his brother to the
field (as the Septuagint and other versions inform us) he
" talked with " him — perhaps freely and familiarly, in order
to allay suspicion, or, it may be, in angry controversy, and
then with sure though sudden aim and stroke " he rose up
against Abel his brother and slew him." Possibly he did
not premeditate or contemplate his death, the death of a
man not yet being numbered among human experiences,
though the more common opinion prevails that the murder
was not the effect of sudden wrath, but of premeditation and
design. If the latter, the treachery of Cain increased his
guilt as a fratricide. We cannot be wrong in supposing that
he was surprised and even grieved when he saw the conse-
quences of his own action. It was an awful crime, an awful
proof of the depth of depravity into which the Fall had"
brought men, and of what evil temper may lead to when in-
dulged. "We should love one another. Not as Cain who
was of that wicked one and slew his brother. And where-
fore slew he him ? Because his own works were evil and his
brother's righteous " (1 John iii. 12).

GEXESIS. 35

God's Judgment upon Cain. — Abel had worshipped God
in humility and faith, but his righteous character and accept-
able sacrifice had brought upon him scorn and hatred, and
he had suffered death from his brother's hand. Abel, whom
we might expect to be shielded from harm, in the in-
scrutable dispensation of Providence is slain while the mur-
derer lives. But Abel has his reward. He is the first of
human kind to enter God's holy kingdom, the first pardoned
sinner, who stands in His presence in heaven, the first trophy
of redeeming love and the first of the numerous and noble
army of martyrs, who have seialed their testimony with their
blood. How the angels must have wondered as they beheld
this new arrival and listened to his "new song of praise."
And Cain was punished. His sin soon found him out. God
is just, and sooner or later must punish every sin. He called
Cain to account for this foul murder, asking him, " Where
is Abel thy brother 1 " Cain, though he knew that he had
left Abel lying crushed on the ground beneath his murder-
ous blow, impiously answered the Omniscient One, " I know
not ; am I my brother's keeper ?" He forgot that^he was
bound as a man to protect his fellow man, and that Abel as
his brother had especial claims upon his care and aflfection.
He did not know that God saw the wicked deed he had
committed, and that "the voice of his brother's blood was
crying unto Him from the ground." Abel's voice had been
silenced, but the blood which had been shed cried aloud for
vengeance. And now God tells Cain that the very earth
which had drunk up the blood of his murdered brother was
become the instrument of inflicting the punishment he
merited : —

"When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her
strength : a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth."— Gen. iv., 12.

36 OENBSIS.

Cain felt that lie deseryed this punishment, but, apparently
ignorant of the divine method of forgiveness, he was over-
whelmed by its magnitude — "My punishment is greater
than I can bear/' He felt it a hardship to be banished from
the place where (rod's favour was peculiarly manifested, and
from the society of friends, and to be constantly exposed to
vengeance from his fellowman. God, however had Himself
resolved to revenge the blood of Abel, and therefore who-
soever slew Cain would be far more severely punished than
Cain had been, — " vengeance shall be taken on him, seven-
fold." And God gave Cain a special sign or token by which
the truth of the promise respecting his personal safety was
ratified. Thus the murderer was permitted to live, in order
to be a living warning to others of the direful effects of
giving way to malignant passions. He dragged out a
miserable existence, tormented by the fierce stings of a
guilty conscience, pursued by bitter recollections of the past
and filled with anxious forebodings when he looked forward

to the fature. He " went out from the presence of the

Lord," — left the place where the altar of God was erected
and visible tokens of the Divine presence and favour were
enjoyed, and where his parents lived and worshipped. It
was his desire to get as far as possible from the presence of
God. And so, accompanied by his wife who, with a true
woman's love which could not be quenched by the fearful
crime of which her husband had been guilty, clung to him
still, he journeyed eastward from Eden and dwelt in the
land of Nod, — ie. wandering, from the circumstance of Cain
dwelling there. In Nod Cain built a city or fortified settle-
ment and became the progenitor and head of a powerful and
skilful, but worldly and godless race.

GENESIS. 37

Before leaying the record of this sad and fearful crime,
our thoughts and sympathies naturally turn to the first
parents of our race. Many blessings had been showered
down upon them, and perhaps they were beginning to think
that God was not to punish sin so severely as He had
threatened, and as it deserred. But the blow came suddenly
and unexpectedly — not on themselves indeed, but on the best
and holiest of their children. The two brothers had been
seen to worship God together, and yet now one is dead and
the other is his murderer. Scripture is silent regarding
their perplexity, terror, anguish, and self-reproach, as they
bent over the corpse of AbeL Their emotions can be more
readily imagined than described. But they bad ample
experience in this event of the bitter consequences of their
sin.

The Descendants of Cain. — In Nod Cain had a son,
whom he called Enoch, i.e,, dedication, and who became the
ancestor of an illustrious family. Finding the ground
laden in their case with a double curse, which did not
encourage them to prosecute agricultural pursuits, Cain's
descendants applied themselves to arts and manufactures,
and became distinguished for their diligence and success.
The arts of civilization were cultivated and cherished.
Jabal occupied himself with those labours of husbandry
which were adapted to meet the wants of a large population,
and, moving about as he required for purposes of pasturage,
dwelling in a moveable tent, he initiated migration, com-
merce, adventure — the system of nomadic life so prevalent
in the Eastern countries. Jubal excelled in making musica
instruments, both string and wind, compelling them to
express his ideas and feelings. Tubal-Caill was a worker

38 GENESIS.

in metals, "an instructor of every artificer in brass and
metals." But if Cain's descendants were distinguished for
inventive genius and energy in worldly pursuits, they were
no less distinguished for their wickedness. Lamech's
family was eminent in art, manufacture, poetry, and music ;
but polygamy, injustice, murder, and impiety, prevailed.

The Descendants of Seth. — Probably Adam and Eve
had many other children whose names are not preserved.
But when the first pair were 1 30 years old Seth was born.
He was a like-minded successor to Abel, whom Cain slew j
one who walked by faith, felt his guilt in the sight of God,
and in his sacrifices expressed his reliance on the promised
mercy of God. The descendants of Seth — the Sethites, as
they may be called, in opposition to the Cainites — were less
ardent in worldly pursuits, but many of them were eminent
for their piety. " Then began men to call upon the name of
the Lord." They were on the side of God and of righteous-
ness. They separated themselves from tiieir ungodly
associates in the world, and instituted social and domestic
worship.

In the line of Seth was Enoch, who walked with God and
was translated without dying ; Methuselah, who lived till
he was 969 years of age — the longest life recorded; and
Noah, who, from amid abounding wickedness, was selected
to build the ark and to become the second father of mankind.
To the first-mentioned of these attention is now to be turned.

Enoch and his Times. — In surveying the page of sacred
history we find that a very large proportion of the early
race of mankind is passed over in silence, and that of those
whose names are recorded almost the only information given

GBNESIS. 39

U8 is that they lived, begat sons and daughters, and died.
The history between the Fall and the Flood is exceedingly
concise, and we know little of the greatness or of the glory of
the antediluvian world. The little that is preserved, how-
ever, is very important and suggestive. We have ample
evidence that the generations which lived immediately after
the Fall were sinful and depraved, and that the corrupt
nature which they transmitted developed with startling
rapidity into the worst and most malignant forms of crime.
And the ever-recurring burden "and he died" forcibly
reminds us of the consequences of sin, and of the fact that
death is now the destiny of our race. At the time of Enoch,
men had become depraved in mind and manners, iniquity
abounded, and though the cup of iniquity was not yet
full, and the forbearance of God not yet exhausted, the
torrent of ungodliness was spreading and deepening, and
fast rushing to that state of demoralisation which in three
generations more, in the days of his grandson Noah, brought
in the flood on the world of the ungodly.

It may seem strange that such a condition of wickedness
was possible while the world was yet young and the memory
of l^e Fall was fresh and strong; while, too, many generations
were contemporaries of Adam, the living witness of primeval
bliss and of the sad consequences of disobedience. But it
iimst be remembered that the expulsion of Cain from the
family circle involved the separation of his children from
good influences, and that they grew up an ungodly race. It
must be remembered that the two branches of the original
family did not remain strangers to each other, but inter-
married, and that the sons of Seth, instead of reclaiming
their wives, were corrupted by them. Thus degeneracy

40 QBNE8I8.

Spread ; each generation was worse than the preceding ; so
that when the flood came it swept all away, except Noah
and a few of his famUy, by whom the earth might again be
peopled.

As you read the long list of names that have been pre-
served, you here and there come upon one that is signalised
as an object of special interest, a star of the first magnitude
in the spiritual firmament, whose lustre challenges admira-
tion. Enoch is one of those names. We have only a few
expressions regarding him, but these are very felicitous and
instructive. He is singled out from the men of his day as an
illustrious exception to the prevailing ungodliness by which
he was surrounded. "Enoch walked with OocL" As
two cannot walk together except they be agreed, this phrase
teaches us that Enoch must have been reconciled to God,
and now lived under a realising sense of His presence, and
rejoiced in a sense of His favour and protection. It teaches
us that in this calm, steady, continuous, and progressive
"walk" Enoch lived a life of fellowship with God, medi-
tating on that portion of God's revealed will which he
possessed, imperfect though it was, observing His ordinances,
and by believing prayer seeking His blessing. Such being
the habitual tenour of Enoch's life, we cannot be surprised
to learn that he was a marked man, the influences of Cain's
family, principles, and practices being now predominant.

But Enoch was distinguished not only by the holiness of
his life, but also by the boldness and fidelity with which
he lifted up his voice against the ungodliness around him.
He was not only a man of piety, but also a faithful preacher
of righteousness.

QBNBSI8. 41

" And Enoch also, the seyanth from Adam, prophesied of these, inying. Be-
hold, the Lord oometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment
upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly
deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeel^es which
ungodly sinners have spoken against him " (Jude, 14, 16).

Enoch's faithful warnings, however, were neglected. His
contemporaries, unrestrained and unchecked by the thought
of future reckoning and future vengeance, went on in sin.

It is interesting, too, to note the grand principle of Enoch's
life as stated in the Epistle to tbe Hebrews. It was his
" faith '' which animated and sustained him, — ^his belief in
God's existence, presence and power, his belief in a future
life, a final judgment, and a glorious recompense to all who
love and serve God ; his belief in the promised Saviour from
sin and death. This faith was not shaken by the wickedness
around him, nor by the anxiety he would feel in rearing sons
and daughters in such untoward circumstances. It continued
firm and unmoved till the close of his earthly life.

Enoch was distinguished for the life he led in the world.
He was also distinguished for the manner of his departure
out of it His life and labours were rewarded by a testimony
and by a translation, — by the noble testimony that " he
pleased God," and that he fulfilled the great end of his being
by living to God's glory and praise, and by being removed
from earth without passing through the dark avenue of the
grave.

*' By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death ; and was not
found because God had translated him : for before his translation he had thia
testimony, that he pleased Qod."— Hebrews zi., 5.

" He was not ; for God took himu" The sentence of death
had till now been invariably executed. " By one m^n sin
entered into the world and death by sin." But the piety of
Enoch was rewarded when the ordinary law of mortality was

42 QBNESIS.

suspended, when suddenly his body was divested of all cor-
ruption to fit him for associating with the heavenly inhabi-
tants and sharing in their joys, when he was borne visibly to
glory. He was thus the first from among men to be snatched
entirely from Satan's grasp, the first to appear perfect in
soul and body before the throne of God, one of two solitary
cases (see 2 Kings ii., 11) to escape the fears and pains of
dissolution. And it is probable that God interposed to save
and reward His servant when the ungovernable fury of the
ungodly around him excited them to deeds of violence and
bloodshed. Undoubted evidence would thus be furnished
regarding a future state and future glory which was well
fitted to reprove and convince the wicked, and to remove
doubts and harassing suspicions from the minds of the godly.
The translation of Enoch was a type of the more glorious
ascension of Jesus, and an earnest of the time when in the
experience of all believers " mortality shall be swallowed up
of life."

Noah and his Times. — The next four chapters of Genesis
give us a record of the Deluge and of the events which pre-
ceded and followed. The ever increasing torrent of ungodli-
ness was not stayed by the faithful rebukes and teachings of
Enoch, and three generations afterwards "all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth," "the earth was filled
with violence," " God saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Gen. vi., 5.)
The extreme corruption which overspread the world is
here referred to in order to account for the conduct of
the Almighty in destroying mankind by the Flood.
The causes which led to this state of corruption were : —

OKNB8I8. 43

the uatural tendency to sin in human nature which increased
and spread, the neglect of the public worship of God,
especially by descendants of Cain, and intermarriages betwixt
the descendants of Cain and the descendants of Seth, Enos,
and the other pious patriarchs who were separated from the
posterity of Cain and formed the visible church. Pride,
arising from bodily strength and mental endowments,
and the extraordinary longevity which prevailed, and
which had a tendoDcy to cause men to set aside thoughts
of death and judgment, also helped to this state. When
men followed their own inclinations, without regard to
the religious character of- their wives, the worldly connec-
tion naturally led to worldly conformity, and the church
and the world became intermingled, and almobt indis-
tinguishable. And the progress of corruption increased
as the tide of population rolled on. The sin and wickedness
of the old world therefore brought on the Deluge. God's
spirit was grieved and would soon be withdrawn. But
as God does not strike without a cause, neither does He
strike without giving ample warning. This was given
through Noah.

In every age God has had a seed to serve Him, He has
not left Himself without a witness, and in the midst of this
wide spread corruption, Noah, the second son of Lamech, and
the grandson of Methuselah, "found grace in the eyes of the
Lord." Noah was " a just man and perfect in his gener-
ations, and," like Enoch, Noah "walked with God." As
God never mingles the righteous and the wicked in one
indiscriminating punishment, the same moral reasons
which moved Him to destroy the rest of mankind
moved Him to preserve Noah and his family, and so, against

44 GENESIS.

the dark background, the bright features of His mercy and
favour prominently appear in His dealings with Noah.

The events which preceded the Flood are very important.
God gave Noah minute instructions for building an ark by
which himself and his family might be preserved, and Noah
exactly complied with these instructions. But during the
long period in which Noah was building the ark be was a
"preacher of righteousness," (2 Peter iL, 5), and for 120
years he continued to warn, rebuke, and exhort his fellow-
sinners, and to entreat them to repent and make preparation
against the day of divine wrath. All this time, too, he went
on from day to day building his ark. It was a laborious,
costly and tedious work. And Noah's days of trustful toil
were embittered by the ridicule and sneers of his neighbours,
who doubtless thought him deluded and mad. But he
apprehended the truth of the coming Deluge, he believed
that earth would soon be no place of safety, but that the
fragile ark which God had ordered him to construct would
prove amid the raging elements a refuge and a stronghold
for himself and his family. In believing this, Noah overcame
a natural and deeply-rooted unbelief in menaced evil.
Experience had not known such a catastrophe before ;
unbelief would inquire by what operation of causes such
a flood could be produced, and would hint that it was
impossible. But, "by faith, Noah, being warned of God
of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark
to the saving of his house ; by the which he condemned the
world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by
faith." (Heb. xi., 7.) At length every plank in the ark is
laid, it is daubed within and without with pitch, ample
provision being made for health and comfort, and for the

GENESIS. 45

sustenance of himself and of the animals which are to he
with him. Then, in obedience to the divine command,
Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives, enter the
ark. Doubtless the mockery of their neighbours increased
as they did so. The sun was as bright in the heavens as
ever, the sea had uttered no angry word, the world had gone
on as usuaL. There were no portentous harbingers to occasion
alarm. And, even if such a deluge did come, would the
ark, so massive and unwieldy, so heavily laden, with so few
to manage it, serve its intended purpose, and ride securely
over the waters that were to overwhelm the world? But
Noah banished every suggestion of unbelief, every doubt and
difficulty from his mind, and went into the ark. He was
then 600 years old. God " shut him in," in order to secure
his safety, and to shut out all others whose time given
for repentance had been only a time of continued imgodli-
ness, whose day of grace was now ended. Seven days

afterwards all *' the fountains of the great deep were

broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened; and
the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."
Noah had looked for the last time upon many well-known
faces, and would even now think anxiously of their danger.
But the deluge increases; the dwellings become flooded;
the temples and palaces sink in ruins ; the lofty mountains
up which they toil only afford a watery grave. There are
no mockers now ; the jest and the bravery of unbelief cease ;
and amid the shrieks and groans of the inhabitants and the
dashing fury of the floods, the judgment which God had
announced is executed. All the giants united cannot stop
the current, and all the refuges to which they fled are
destroyed. The next time Noah sees the dry earth it
will be a waste and silent solitude. The inhabitants had

46 OSNBSIS.

neglected his warning voice, and went on "eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the
flood came and took them all away," (Matt, xxiv., 38.)

How important is it that we give heed to the divine
warnings and instructions, and flee for refuge from the
storms of God's righteous wrath to Jesus Christ, the Ark of
God's devising and preparing to save us from sin and death !

For 150 days the waters prevailed upon the earth, and
then they began to abate. Every living creature save those
in the ark had been drowned ; the earth had for a time, at
least, been purified from its uncleanness ; the greatness of the
divine displeasure against human sin had been signally
manifested, and the faith and patience of Noah had been
signally exercised. Then God, who had never during these
five months ceased to think of His faithful servant Noah,
"made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters
assuaged." (Gen. viii., 1.) And He gently settled the ark,
containing now the only representatives of the human race
upon earth.

The Waters Assuage. — The waters prevailed upon the
earth about five months, and then they began to abate. As
all life would be destroyed long before that time, this must
have been in order to exercise the faith and patience of Noah,
and to manifest the greatness of God's displeasure against sin.
The whole earth was to be thoroughly purified. At length
" God made a wind to pass over the earth " to drive away the
rain and dry the ground, and then the waters began to sub-
side. For about five months more — "160 days" — they
continued to abate, and at the end of the seventh month of

OENBSIS. 47

the duration of the flood the ark rested " upon the moun-
tains of Ararat." On the first day of the tenth month the
tops of the mountains became visible, but nearly four months
more elapsed before Noah received the divine command to
leave the ark. At four different times — a week intervening
between each time — Noah endeavoured to obtain the much-
desired information regarding the state of the earth. A
raven which he sent forth did not return to him. Flying
high, as it naturally does, it obtained abundance of food
upon the surface of the waters. A dove was sent forth,
which on the first occasion could find no " rest for the sole
of her foot," proving that the lower regions of the earth were
not yet clear ; on the second occasion returned with
an " olive leaf pluckt off," proving that the waters were
now very low ; and on the third occasion returned no
more, proving that the waters were gone. When the ground
was thoroughly dry, about six weeks after this, Noah was
commanded to leave the ark.

Noah Leaves the Ark, — With mingled joy and awe Noah
and his family left the ark. After twelve months of con-
finement and anxiety they would be pleased to tread again
the solid ground, and they would be filled with emotions of
deepest gratitude for their preservation. But what a scene
of solitude and desolation met their gaze ! Whether or no
the flood had been universal, in the sense of covering the
entire extent of earth^s surface, it had clearly been universal
so far as the race of man was concerned. When the mountain
peaks emerged from beneath the waters they looked out upon
a race of perished men, and the four patriarchs with their
wives alone survived. In the desolation and ruin which
abounded, explicit testimony is borne to the heinousness of
sin and the determination of God to punish it.

48 GBNBSIB.

Noah's Saorifiob and its Aoobptanoe. — Noah's first

work was to erect an altar and offer sacrifices. He

had much to do — a house to provide for himself, folds and
food for his cattle, and other important matters to attend
to — ^but if ever occasion existed for the exercise of
grateful and adoring sentiments this was one. Noah felt
this, and gave fitting expression to his deep penitence, his
faith in the propitious character of God, his gratitude and
his devotedness. It may seem strange that Noah should
slay animals so miraculously preserved and now so much
needed, but his gratitude was great, and feeling that he
required an expiatory sacrifice, his first employ was an act
of worship. Doubtless in the dying victims and flowing
blood, he saw prefigured the Lamb of God, who taketh
away the sin of the world.

The ardent faith and devout feelings of Noah which
ascended to heaven with the smoke of his sacrifice were
highly acceptable to Grod, were as the odour of incense.
" The Lord smelled a sweet savour," and resolved that so
long as the present economy of Providence existed, he would
not again arrest the course of nature, nor universally
destroy human life. Altars and burnt-offerings were
connected with the system of religious worship which pre-
vailed before the flood. God accepted from guilty man an
atoning substitute, and the victims offered in sacrifice
prefigured Him who " gave himself for us an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour." The remem-
brance of this truth helps to explain the remarkable reason
assigned in the text for the divine resolution referred to. " I
will not again curse the ground any more, for man's sake ;
for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth."

GBKfiSIS. 49

The flood had washed away the wicked inhabitants of the
earth, but it could not wash away the wickedness itself. It
might drown the sinners, but it could not drown the sin,
and the favoured and preserved family of Noah was a family
of sinners stilL The tree of humanity had been cut down
to the root, and only one family preserved, but evil was not
uprooted. For purposes of reformation the flood had failed.
And now, as perfect conduct is not to be expected, and as
clearly the world could not continue if every sin were visited
with immediate destruction, God resolves, out of respect
to that- better Sacrifice yet to be offered, and which the
sacrifice of Noah prefigured, to exercise forbearance, and,
notwithstanding human sinfulness and provocation, to
permit neither a universal flood nor a universal famine to
destroy the race during all the remainder of earth's appointed
days. A dispensation of forbearance and grace for a distinct
purpose, and for a definite period, is now to commence.

The resolution thus formed by the Lord " in his heart **
was graciously communicated to Noah. There had been a
serious break in the continuity of life and history of the
world, and men might naturally ask on what lines and laws
the new world was to move. The catastrophe which had
overwhelmed the world might again at any time occur.
But a new revelation was given to assure men of safety.
Noah held the position of a second representative father of
the human race ; God renewed to him the blessings given
to Adam, the first father, and at the same time enacted
salutary laws to preserve the world from a recurrence of
universal violence and disorder. Definite arrangements
were appointed for the preservation of life (Gen. ix., 1-7),
and Noah received in the form of a covenant a promise and
a pledge that God would not again destroy the world by a

50 0BNE8IS.

flood (Gen. ix., 8-17). If Noah feared that the ravages of
wild beasts or the violence of men towards each other
would prevent the increase of population and the enjoy-
ment of a sense of security, he was comforted by an
arrangement well fitted to mitigate his fear. There would
be protection against both animals and men.

The deliverance of the earth from the dominion of the
waters formed a kind of second creation. Noah and his
sons, accordingly, were introduced into the possession of
their new empire with a similar benediction to that bestowed
upon Adam at the beginning —

" And Qod blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them. Be fruitful and
multiply and replenish the earth" (Gen. ix., 1).

A new charter of privileges was then given which was em-
bodied in a brief but majestic code of fundamental laws.
Before the Fall of man the lower animals had been ruled by
the law of love and kindness ; in Eden universal friendship
and harmony reigned. But after the Fall the nature even
of the lower animals was altered; they became fierce,
ravenous, and intractable. Man, their natural protector,
was now their executioner, and slew them for clothing, for
sacrifice, and probably for food. It is not improbable that
the enmity to man entertained by the savage beasts of the
forest and the frequent manifestation of it, led in part to
that violence which before the flood filled the earth.
Henceforth, however, the normal condition of the irrational
creatures should be one of instinctive dread of man. Unless
under the rage of hunger, revenge, or despair, they would
quail under his eye or shrink at his approach. And the use
of the flesh of animals for human food was expressly sanc-
tioned, in order to prevent their too great increase, the only

GENESIS. 51

limitation being that it was not to be eaten alive or in a raw and
bloody state. Such an arrangement was intended to prevent
brutal ferocity and wanton cruelty, and to lead to animals
being treated with a fair measure of kindness. An arrange-
ment was alfso made for the punishment of the murderer.
Capital punishment for murder became an ordinance of God.
God resolved to make inquisition for blood, to look more
strictly after the commission of such a crime, and see that it
was more promptly punished. If even a beast slew a man
it was not to be excused. These laws were enacted to
prevent such scenes of cruelty and murder as prevailed
before the flood. They are intended to teach that all life
is sacred ; the life of man specially so, ** for in the imftg 6
of God made he man." Whoever wilfully and unwarrant-
ably sheds blood obliterates the image of the great Creator,
deserves to die. There is here foreshadowed the intro-
duction of more regular government, the organisation of
society, and the establishment of criminal law.

God's Covenant with Noah. — Having given solemn
directions regarding human life, God now condescends
to enter into a covenant with Noah and. his family. A
covenant, generally speaking, is a contract or agreement, a
promise accompanied by a condition upon whose fulfilment
the promise is suspended. The word is applied in Scripture
to the promises which God has given. Some of these
promises were conditional, others of them had no conditions
attached. Men form covenants because they cannot trust
each other's word. God here bends to the infirmities of
men. He does not ask us to rely solely on His word of
promise. He is pleased to enter into voluntary engagements,
and expects our trust as a God who is solemnly pledged and

52 GENESIS.

bound to bless. We have here a proof at- once of His
sovereignty and of His condescension and love. And as the
safety and destiny even of the lower creation is intimately
connected with that of the human race, every living creature
was embraced in the covenant. The promise God made was
a promise of security, that there would not again be a
universal deluge. There might be partial inundations in
particular regions, which might produce very desolating
results, but the judgment of a universal deluge is not to be
repeated. And it is a matter of devout admiration and
unceasing gratitude to know that, though the earth is
exposed to destruction, both from fire and water, of which
vast stores are gathered in its bowels, the safety of the world
is secured. Had God not been thus bound as it were by
His covenant, we could not feel secure that the unbelief
and wickedness of men would not lead Him again to
destroy the world. (Isai. liv., 9.)

The Sign of the Covenant. — ^God was pleased to give
a pledge, a visible seal that His promise should not fail
He pointed to the radiant bow spanning the heavens as a
memorial of His covenant through all generationa When-
ever the rainbow shines God is reminded of His covenant,
His purpose and promise. As the rainbow is the natural
effect of the sun's rays falling upon the drops of rain, the
phenomenon had doubtless been frequently witnessed before,
and holy men had, with feelings of wonder and delight,
traced in its beautiful form and colours a reflection of the
glory of the great Creator ; but the physical object is now
clothed with a moral meaning and becomes a sign of God's
holy bond, a token and memorial of His everlasting covenant.
Whenever we see a rainbow we should remember this. Men

GENESIS. 53

are apt to forget God^s mercies and promises. The bow
reminds us of His faithfulness, and should call forth anew
our gratitude and our trust Of all the objects in nature
the rainbow was peculiarly suited for the purpose to which
it was now destined. It appears on the face of a lowering
cloud when danger seems approaching, and is therefore very
seasonable. It is a very beautiful and attractive object,
and demands the attention and admiration of all men. It
encircles the world within its wide embrace. While we
trace the stability of nature and of nature's laws to
the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God, let us rejoice
to know that there is a rainbow also around the throne
^Kev. iv., 3) which assures the heavenly inhabitants that
the covenant of grace founded upon and sealed with the
blood of the Lamb, is a glorious security against the devour-
ing deluge of divine wrath which threatens to destroy a
world of sinful men, and that now all who believe in Jesus
are saved from every curse, danger, or fear.

The Sons of Noah. — Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham,
and Japheth. "And of them was the whole earth over-
spread'' There were three brothers, and the whole human
race is divided into three great families, which are descended
from them. Many persons have argued for a plurality of
original parents, and plausible reasons have been advanced
in support of this opinion. The Bible tells us distinctly
that God created man — created a male and a female, and
Jesus, the great teacher, reaffirmed this. (Matt, xix., 4.)
In the centre of Athens, surrounded by matchless monu-
ments of human skill, and confronting the learning and
pride of the world, Paul declared that " God hath made of
one blood all nations pf men for to dwell on all the face of

54 GBKB8IS.

the earth." And physiology, ethnology, and philology
corroborate this statement. Men everywhere possess the
same bodily structure, the same moral nature, and the same
spiritual requirements. The character and extent of the
Gospel scheme of salvatioa, and the parting command of the
ascending Saviour, assume the unity of the human race. It
is remarkable that traditions of the creation of man in
innocence, of the Garden of Eden, of the Temptation and
Fall, and of the Deluge, linger on in the legends of almost
every nation, while the offering of sacrifice and the septennial
division of days are almost universal. The cumulative
argument in favour of the unity of the human race, and the
truthfulness of the Scripture record, seems to be complete
when it is remembered that all the known languages upon
earth have been reduced to three general families — the
Aryan, Semitic, and Turanian. It is well to bear all this
in mind as we now proceed to contemplate the re-peopling
of the world after the flood. The inspired historian not only

tells us that there are three great families, but also how

each of these &.milies received its general characteristics,

and how its history was determined.

Noah's Sin and Disgrace. — Noah was a husbandman,
and Grod blessed his labour. The cultivation of the vine
seems specially to have occupied his attention, and the
delicious and wholesome fruits of the vintage rewarded his
toil. But unfortunately Noah, to his cost, became acquainted
with the soothing but intoxicating properties of the fermen-
ted grape-juice, and the just man, the preacher of righteous-
ness, who had borne reproach and cruel mocking for over a
century for his faithful obedience, fell into the sin of intemper-
ance, and was brought low by shameful excess in wine. No

GENESIS. 55

doubt Satan had rejoiced when he saw a wicked world given
over to death, and he thoi^ght that he should yet be able to
defeat God's purposes, ruin mankind bejond recovery, if he
could persuade the few who remained to commit some
heinous sId. He would try every art to tempt Noah from
his obedience, and in this he succeeded " Noah drank of
the wine and was drunken/' Shamelessness is frequently
an accompaniment of drunkenness, and it was so in the case
of Noah. His person was improperly exposed, and he was
found by Ham, one of his sons, in a condition of nakedness
and degradation. Ham, instead of respectfully covering his
aged parent and concealing his shame, reported it with
wicked pleasure to his brethren. They carefully and
reverently covered their father, who, on awaking and
learning what had happened, pronounced upon each appro-
priate sentences of blame and of commendation. Canaan,
the son of Ham, and all his descendants are "cursed;"
they are to suffer the penalties of the most abject servitude.
Shem and Japheth with their descendants are ** blessed."

" And he said. Blessed be the Lord God of Shem ; and Canaan shall be his
servant. Ood shall enlarge Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem ;
and Canaan shall be his servant."— <}en. ix., 26, 27.

How remarkably were these predictions fulfilled ! The
Canaanites were characterised by the coarse shamelessness
of their ancestor. They fell into a state of deep moral
degradation, and they were ultimately expelled from their
possessions in the land of Canaan by the Hebrews. They
were destroyed as a nation, and the few who survived the
exterminating wars of the Hebrews were reduced to bondage.
It is to be noticed, too, that the negro races, who are
descendants of Ham, have for ages been down trodden and
enslaved. The descendants of Shem, on the other hand,

56 OENBSIB.

have been blessed ii?ith diyine revelations and many sacred
privileges, the greatest of all being that from them Jesns
the S-iviour was descended. — (Rom. ix., 4, 5). It was their
function in the divine economy to conserve religion and
religious truth for the world. The descendants of Japheth
have been ''enlarged." Their destiny was to extend, and
they have been for over 2,000 years the colonisers and
civilisers, the dominant races of the world. Noah lived 350
years after the flood, and died at the age of 950.

HiSTOBY OP THE SoNS OP NoAH. — It is vcry interesting
to follow the fortunes of the three great families of earth so
&ir as they can be traced. Few, however, perhaps have read
with care and attention the tenth chapter of Genesis, with
its many long, hard, and unfamiliar names. Yet in this
chapter we have the fountains of history, the germs of every
nation ; we have an outline of the history of the world for
many centuries. It is impossible to exaggerate the impor-
tance of the information conveyed, whether regarded from
an ethnological, geographical, historical, or theological
point of view. The chapter describes the rise of the great
states and empires of antiquity, and when we are assured
that the descendants of GrOmer, seeking for themselves
settlements in the confines of Asia and Europe, though
disappearing for a time, yet come up long afterwards as
the ancestors of the Cimbri and Celts; that the powerful
and learned Greeks have sprung from Javan; the
Thracians, Goths, and Teutons, from Tiras ; and the
Scandinavians and Saxons from Ashkenaz, — and ethnolo-
gists profess to be able to prove this, — we feel that the breath
of the Lord has blown upon these dry statistical bones, that
we are reading about men who claim to be our anoestorsi

GENESIS. 57

our kindred according to the flesh. Besides, these tables of
genealogy proclaim the original unity of the human race,
attest its method of division and of the regular and orderly
distribution of the globe.

The descendants of Japheth are first given. " By them
were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands." Then
the descendants of Ham are given, special reference being
made to Nimrod, who was " a mighty hunter before the
Lord," who by his courage and dexterity cleared fields and
forests for the more enlarged habitation of man, who was
a powerful leader, and founded the great military empires of
Babylon and Assyria ; and to the various Canaanitish nations
who were descended from Ham. From Shem various Ara-
bian tribes sprang, but the writer was specially interested in
the fact that he was the great grandfather of Eber, the
ancestor of the Hebrew nation. (Gen. x., 21 ; xi., 16,)

It was in the time of Nimrod that the important event
occurred which is recorded in the beginning of the eleventh
chapter.

The Dispersion op the Eace. — The command of God to
Adam and to Noah had been — " Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth." But the orderly partition of the
globe was not effected by quiet and natural means. God
gave orders for the dispersion of the families of mankind,
but men refused to obey the command. They concentrated
themselves in the plain of Shinar, a large level tract, lying
between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, several hundred
miles to the south of Ararat, and here they vehemently
opposed the divine order for dispersion. But God carried
out his own plan. He compelled them to spread. The

58 GENB8I&

cause which led to the forcible dispersion of men by God
was their ambition and rebellion, and the means which He
employed to effect His purpose and to punish men was the

confasion of tongues.

Men in their joumeyings "from the east," or "towards
the east," as it may also be rendered, came to this wide plain
of Shinar, and there they made bricks and built a city —
probably Babylon. In addition to the city they resolved to
build a tower " whose top might reach unto heaven." Per-
haps they feared a recurrence of a flood and intended this
tower to be a place of security. Its chief designs, however,
were to serve as a rallying-place or centre to keep the people
together and so frustrate the designs of God, and to make a
"name'' for themselves, and so transmit to future generations
visible proofs of their wealth and power. They anticipated
that the continuous increase of the population would ulti-
mately necessitate their dispersion, and they were resolved
to maintain their unity. And they wished to leave enduring
trophies of their greatness and glory. We have here
therefore the manifestation of a spirit of strong self-wrll,
of deliberate hostility and defiance to the divine pur-
pose and command, and of lust of earthly grandeur and
dominion. By the erection of a lofty tower they supposed
they would be able to ward off invasion from without and
counteract disruption from within. The conception was
original, and they set about the execution of it with
unanimity, industry, and determination. They were united
in language, in purpose, and in enthusiasm. They would not
acquiesce in the intention of God ; and everything seemed
to be in favour of their resistance. And so the lofty tower
of hard sun-dried bricks, cemented with bitumen, was
erected^— a monument of human ambition, power, and
impiety.

GENESIS. 59>

But the Lord " came down " to inspect this wonderful
tower. He was well aware of the daring schemes and actions
of the impious and aspiring builders, and He resolved t6
interpose. They would frustrate His designs ; He very easily
and quickly frustrated theirs. "The Lord bringeth thd
counsel of the heathen to nought, and maketh the devices of
the people of none eflFect ; while His own counsel standeth
for ever." — (Ps. xxxiii., 10, 11.) So, in the present instance,
it proved. As the result of God's consideration of the state
of matters He foimd that a dangerous beginning had beea
made, a powerful combination for evil had been entered into,
which, if allowed to grow, might pass beyond control. He
resolved to terminate this, and He did so most effectually.
He confounded the plans of the builders by confounding their
tongues. He destroyed at once their tmanimity of purpose
and their unity of language. Disorder was thus introduced
into their ranks ; their ambitious and ungodly project was
disconcerted; and in spite of their reluctance and utmost
resistance, they were compelled to obey the divine decree.
The dispersion was thus produced by the judicial inter-
ference of God, in consequence of men, bold and vainglorious
in the conscious strength of their combined numbers, en-
deavouring to thwart His plans ; and by means of a confusion
of tongues, God constrained the families to separate and to
start on those lines along which He designed them to accom-
plish their respective destiny. It is vain for men to contend
against the will and purposes of God. And Babel, where
" the Lord confounded the language of all the earth," became
a monument at once of man's ambition, ingenuity, and folly,
and of God's overruling providence, resistless power and
beneficent purpose.

60 GENESIS.

With the Dispersion of the nations mentioned in the ninth
verse of the eleventh chapter, the inspired record of univer-
sal history ends. Henceforth the historian confines himself
almost entirely to the fortunes of a single person, and of the
family and nation descended from him. Having arrived,
therefore, at this important point, it may be well to recall
the events which have been sketched, and to contemplate
the length of time which has been traversed. Speaking
generally, the Book of Genesis divides itself into three

great periods— the Antediluvian, the Postdiluvian, and

the Patriarchal. Within ten brief chapters the history
of the two first of these periods is compressed. The
Antediluvian period embraces what is called the Pre-adamite
age, the long age before the creation of Adam, during which
God was preparing the earth for human habitation (Gen. i.,
1-25) ; the Adamite age, from the creation of Adam in purity
and happiness to his Temptation and Fall (Gen. i., 26 — iii., 24) ;
and the period which elapsed between the Fall and the Flood.
(Gen. iv.-vii.) The Postdiluvian period embraces the cove-
nant which God made with Noah (Gen. viil-ix., 17) ; the
settlements of Noah's sons; the register of the different
families; and the Dispersion of Babel. (Gea ix., 18 — xi., 9.)
The length of time which intervened between the Fall and
the Flood, and between the Flood and the Dispersion, cannot
be determined with certainty. According to the present
text of the Hebrew Bible, 1656 years elapsed between the
Fall and the Flood (b.o. 4004-2348), but according to the
Greek Septuagint version 2256 years (B.a 5411-3155) elapsed.
According to the former, 353 years elapsed between the
Flood and the birth of Abraham (b.o. 2349-1996), but
according to the latter, 1002 years (b.o. 3155-2153) elapsed.
Of the two chronologies, the Septuagint is probably the

GENfiSlS. 61

more correct, and according to it no less a space than 3268
years liave already been traversed. From this it will be
seen how concise and fragmentary the record must be. Yet
how important it is, giving us information which cannot
otherwise be obtained regarding the Fall of Man, which is
the only rational explanation of sacrifice, of universal
suffering and death, of the Incarnation and Death of Jesus
Christ ; regarding the gracious promise of a Deliverer from
the power of Satan ; regarding the development of human
depravity, the Deluge and the Dispersion.

The various tribes and families have now gone off to fulfil
the destiny which awaits them, and to receive the inherit-
ance which the Most High has appointed (Deut zxzii., 8 ;
Acts xvii., 26). Japheth selects the regions which border
on the Euxine, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas, and by-
and-bye from him proceed the Medes and Persians, who
erect their empire on the ruins of powerful Hamitic and
Shemitic monarchies; the Greeks, who fill the world with
their wisdom ; the Romans, who subdue it by the force of
their invincible arms; the German and Slavonian races,
who, mingling with the remnants of the Grecian and Roman
empires, give birth to the most powerful nations of modem
times. Ham finds a settlement in warmer and more
enervating climates, and though at first he seems energetic
and ambitious, and founds the great empires of Babylon,
Assyria, and Egypt, yet he soon decays and becomes subject
to the sway of more vigorous nations. Shem settles chiefly
in the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates. It is by
him religious truth is preserved for the world, and, while
all others are idolatrous and ungodly, he worships Jehovah,
the living and true God. The nations are now separated,

62 GENESIS.

sufifered for a time to walk in their own ways. But they
are not forsaken. The representatives of the great families
of the earth will yet be gathered round the cross of Jesus at
Calvary, they will surround Peter on the day of Pentecost,
the desceudants of Japheth will be admitted to share in
the peculiar heritage of Shem (Gen. ix., 27), and before
the throne of God in heaven will assemble a multitude
which no man can number, redeemed by the blood of Jesus
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation
(Rev. v., 9).

The Call op Abraham — The BBGiyNiNo op Consecutive
History. — ^When we approach the life of Abraham — to use
for the sake of convenience the name by which he is generally
known — we feel that we are coming to comparatively near
and well-authenticated history. In fact, human history may
be said to have begun with him. Already indeed the great
Chaldean and Assyrian monarchies had been established on
the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris ; the Egyptians had
displayed their energy and wealth in the erection of palaces
and temples whose ruins are still the wonder and admiration
of the world; 460 years before the time of Abraham
Memphis had been founded, and probably the foundations
of some of the Pyramids had been laid. But so much
uncertainty still surrounds those Chaldean, Assyrian, and
Egyptian records which recent research has recovered, that
we cannot feel altogether on firm ground until we reach the
Call of Abraham from the darkness and idolatry of Chaldea.
And, however important and valuable the earlier chapters of
Genesis may be, we cannot resist the feeling that they give
only glimpses into the far distant past. They relate indeed
with some minuteness two great turning points of history —

QBNE8IS. 63

the Fall and the Flood — but they give no complete biography
of any of the great characters who moulded the earlier
destinies of the world, and no one in all these misty millenniums
stands out with such prominence as does Abraham, "the
Friend of God " and the founder of the Jewish nation. Adam
after all is little more than a name for a common progenitor
who fell ; Noah escapes the Flood and becomes a second pro^
geuitor of the race ; Enoch is a pious man, and Nimrod is a
mighty hunter and founder of empires. .But a far larger
space is devoted to the single life of Abraham than to all
previous generations put together. His personal character
and domestic circumstances, his wanderings, sIds, sorrows,
and heavenly revelations, are all detailed with unusual minute-
ness. His biography is thorough and complete. Besides,

history now becomes connected and continuous.

Nations are not now disposed of in a few words, and long
centuries passed over with scarcely a reference. The line
from Abraham reaches down to the present day.

It is evident that the inspired historian is hastening on to

relate the foundation of the Hebrew nation and the

origin of the Ohurch, and that the preceding chapters
are merely introductory to the real history. He has given a
rapid and concise record of the history of the world from the
commencement of time — the order of the creation, the
original innocence and fall of man, the establishment of the
knowledge and worship of God, the propagation of mankind,
the wide-spread corruption which brought about the deluge,
the restoration of the world under a new dispensation, and
the division and peopling of the earth after the dispersion of
BabeL But he now passes from the general to the particular,
and concentrates attention on a single individual and the

64 OBKBSIS.

family and nation descended from him. The nations
descending from Shem, Ham, and Japheth were disposed of
in a general way in the tenth chapter, and sent forth on
their several ways. Henceforth they are only referred to
incidentally and as they touch and affect. the fortunes of the
patriarchs and of the nation of Israel. In the eleventh
chapter one of the lines of Shem is very particularly traced,
Arphaxad and Heber, the founder of the Hebrew nation,
being selected from Shem's descendants, while other branches
are struck off. Terah, the eighth in descent from Shem,
begins a new set of generations, and then his son Abraham,
who now becomes the exclusive subject of the narrative, is
reached. A genealogical table had bridged the interval
between the Fall and the Flood, and another such table had
bridged the interval between the Flood and the next great
landmark of history, the Call of Abraham. But this
genealogical table is more than a family register ; it is the

genealogy of Abraham. It is worthy of note, if the

dates given in our present text are correct, that Shem must
have been alive when Jacob was born, and that Heber
(or Eber) survived Abraham.

The Times of Abraham. — In order clearly to understand
the circumstances in which Abraham was placed, it is
necessary to bear in mind the character of the times in
which he lived. For nearly four centuries the new race of
mankind, saved from the Flood, had been left to multiply
and spread, and during that period, as far as we certainly
know, there was nothing better than tradition to keep alive
a pure faith or the memory of God's past dealings with man-
kind. Considering the natural depravity of the human
heart, it need scarcely surprise us to be told that in these

GENESIS. 65

circumstances corruption again preyailed, and that there
was an almost universal forgetfulness of God among the
nations of the earth. In Babylon and Nineveh and Egypt,
art and science flourished, and a highly advanced state of
civilization was reached ; men knew how to rear pyramids,
engrave inscriptions upon rocks, sink mining shafts for the
precious metals, and describe the movements 'of the stars
and constellations of Heaven, but they failed to preserve the
knowledge and worship of Grod. They changed the object
and the forms of worship from what had been revealed. They
preserved, indeed, traditions of earlier and better days, of
the chief events of previous history, but even these became
obscured and uninfluential. Rams and bulls were daily slain
in sacrifice to propitiate the gods, and the seventh day
continued to be observed as the day of rest. But the
spiritual significance and intention of these institutions were
speedily forgotten. Two things distinguished the degeneracy
which prevailed — idolatry in worship and despptism in
government. Idolatry had commenced with the worship of
the heavenly bodies, and it appears to have become more
gross as it became more prevalent (R«m. i. 21). Manifesta-
tions of God, and not God Himself, received religious
worship, and that worship gradually descended from the
shining orbs above to brute animals and senseless images.
The awful practice of human sacrifice was not unknown.
While planets and constellations received divine worship,
astrologers drew from their movements and appearances
auguries of good and evil to guide men in every detail
of life. Magic and divination ruled supreme, and great
faith was reposed in the spells and incantations of designing
priests.

Abraham grew up amidst such idolatry and superstition.

66 GENESIS.

The simple and primitive nature-worship of the Aocadianfe,
the first inhabitants on the banks of the Euphrates, had
given place to the idolatrous rites of the Cushites or Ethiopians
who disputed their territory, and ultimately overpowered
them. By these fierce conquerors an elaborate and powerful
system of idolatry had been established over all Mesopotamia.
Here and there, beneath the surface of the gross polytheism,
some glimpses of truth might be enjoyed regarding the
unity of God, human sin and the promise of divine salvation ;
but the light was too feeble to penetrate and dispel the pre-
vailing darkness. Even the best of men then living were
secretly enticed to worship " the sun when it shined, or the
moon walking in brightness" (Job xxxi., 26), and their
homes were far from pure. As Joshua said long afterwards,
" Thus said the Lord God of Israel, your fathers dwelt on
the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father
of Abraham and the father of Nachor: and they served
other gods " (Josh, xxiv., 2).

But from this idolatry Abraham was called away.

The Call op Abraham. — True religion could not continue
to exist in such an atmosphere as that described. But God
takes measures to secure its preservation. He will not again
destroy the earth for man's sake, for he has promised not to
do so. His purposes are not to be thwarted by human guilt,
so he graciously takes a step further in advance towards the
accomplishment of His great design for the redemption of
mankind. He will let the nations walk in their own ways,
allow the idolatry which is so dishonouring to Himself, and
80 degrading and ruinous to men, to ripen its fruits, allow
men to use the remedies of their own devising for the
removal of the ills of life and the satisfaction of the deep

GENESIS. 67

necessities of the soul. (Acts xiv., 15, 16). But He will
choose out a man whose family and nation may become the
repository of ancient truths and Messianic hopes, and the
receiver and guardian of fuller revelations of His will. The
God-forsaking and idolatrous nations do not care for the
truth of heaven, so He will take hold of a particular family,
seclude it, make it a peculiar people, dwelling alone and not
reckoned among the nations, and by careful discipline and
teaching fit it for the reception and belief of His truth.
Such is God's plan in history. And this explains why
the Old Testament Scriptures are almost entirely confined
to the history of Abraham, whom God chose and called, and
to the events which befel his family. There had been an

«

Adamic covenant and dispensation ; and a Noachic
covenant and dispensation ; there now follows an Abrahamic
covenant and dispensation.

It must, however, be remembered that though divine
communications are now to be made almost exclusively to
persons of a single family and nation, it was for very high
and gracious purposes towards all men. "God loved the
world," and the temporary restriction was only made in order
that the blessings of salvation might ultimately be secured
to all. The great Deliverer who had been promised was to
be, as to His human nature, of the seed of Abraham ; but
propitiation was to be made by Him not for the sins of the
Jews only, "but also for the sins of the whole world." The
glory of Israel was to be through Israel — " a light to lighten
the Gentiles " (and see Rom. viii., 15-32).

The Command and Promise to Abraham. — While Terah
and his three sons, who form a small family of wandering
shepherds or nomads, are tending their flocks and herds in

63 GENESIS.

the plains of Mesopotamia, suddenly ^ diyine voice comes to
Abraham, the youngest probably of these sons, calling upon
him to leave his country and friends, and promising rich
blessings should he obey the heavenly call.

" Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee : and
I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name
great ; and thou shalt be a blessing, and I will bless them that bless thee and
ourse him that curseth thee : and In thee shall aU families of the earth be
blessed."— Gen. zlL, 1. .

Ur of the Chaldees, where about 1996 b.c. Abraham had
been bom, is situated about 500 miles to the south of Mount
Ararat ^v.d near the mouth of the Euphrates, and is an
exceedingly pleasant and fertile district. Its overhanging
palms, luscious pomegranates, highly cultivated fields and
expansive plains, made it such a home as one would not
naturally wish to leave. It was specially adapted to the
occupation which Abraham and his relatives followed, and
their flocks and herds had rapidly increased. And doubtless
the ties of association and kindred, and the grave of his
brother Haran, who had died prematurely, would combine to
bind him with -closer attachment to the place of his birth.
But at the call of God, and under the direction of his father,
Terah, as the head of the little band, Abraham left Ur " to
go into the land of Canaan." Among nomadic tribes move-
ments from one place to another are not infrequent. But it
was not any natural desire to share the rich pasturage of the
lowlands, nor the pressure of tribes advancing from beyond,
which led to the emigration of Abraham. It was the call of
God, whom by some means he had been brought to know and
to worship. (Gal. iii., 8). How that call was given — by
dream or vision, or visible manifeatation — we are not informed,
but Abraham was persuaded it was a divine communication.

OBNBSIS. 69

fi call from God. And we are not unwarranted in believing
that the call was accompanied with fuller instructions as to
the being, character, and purposes of God. «Probablj it was
the "Angel of the Covenant " who introduced this new
dispensation. (John viii., 56). The beginnings of the

Hebrew Church and nation was supernatural

Inducements were given to Abraham to obey the call. It
was accompanied by a gracious promise. Land — fertile land
— should be given to him; he should yet become a great
nation; God would bless him, make his name great, make
him a blessing to his household, to his posterity, to the
world at large, and would bless his friends and ciu*se his
enemies.

Abraham obeys the call of God. — With singular readi-
ness and faith Abraham obeyed the call of God. He probably
wondered how he could become a great nation, seeing his
half-sister, whom he had married, was childless (Gen. xi., 30),
and other doubts as to the fulfilment of the promise might
occur to his mind. He had now reached an age when he
could not be easily imposed upon by illusion or fancy. He
felt the call was from God, was definite and clear, was
peremptory, however painful complisuice might be ; and he
responded to it and "went out, not knowing whither he
went" (Heb. xL, 8), leaving God to fulfil His promises in
His own time and way.

The company who left Ur consisted of Terah his father,
Lot his nephew, his wife Sarai, and himself. His brother
Nahor and his family remained behind. Journeying to the
north-west and along the banks of the Euphrates, they
would be brought in contact with the principal civilisations

70 GENESIS.

of the period, and would pass town after town, with their
majestic palaces and temples. But, moving slowly on with
their train of loaded camels and their multitude of herds
and flocks, they at length reached Haran, an important
town about 600 miles from Ur, on the banks of the Bilikus,
a small tributary of the Euphrates. Haran formed the
point whence diverged the principal roads which led to the
fords of the Tigris and the Euphrates, and the junction of
the caravan routes to the towns of Chaldea and Syria. It
was, therefore, a great commercial emporium. When
Abraham and his company arrived at Haran they halted for
a considerable period. The region possessed admirable
grazing land, and they decided to settle there for a while.

Abraham was now removed from the idolatrous customs
of Chaldea. It is not improbable that he felt greatly
relieved by the absence of careless and wicked neighbours.
Perhaps he had distinguished himself by his zeal for the
worship of the one living and true God, and had brought
upon himself, by his fidelity, the ridicule and persecution
of those around him. If so, by turning aside from all that
was degrading and false, and by manifesting unswerving
obedience to the will of God, he had given a noble example
of nobility of character and greatness of soul which naturally
fitted him for the lofty position that God in His providence
called him to occupy.

How long Abraham remained at Hai'an we cannot tell.
It must have been for some years, for when he left it to
continue his journey to the land of Canaan he had gathered
much substance, and had increased to a considerable number.
His old father Terah died in Haran at the advanced age of
205 years. Abraham " was seventy and five years old when
he departed out of Haran." (Gen. xii , 4).

GENESIS. 71

The Journey through Canaan. — The journey from Haran
to Canaan was long and toilsome, through an unknown and
trackless desert. It would even be a sacrifice for Abraham
now to quit Haran, where quiet and pasture in abundance
had been enjoyed, and where he had acquired sufficient pro-
perty to satisfy his wants. His slaves would doubtless
reckon his propoi^al to proceed further nothing short of folly,
and perhaps even Sarai, who was of weaker faith than her
husband, shrank from the prospect before them. But Abra-
ham was firm and resolute. He was " called to go out into
a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, and
by faith he obeyed, and went out not knowing whither he
went" (Heb. xi., 8). The decisive step was taken. The
caravan came to the brink of the great "flood," crossed
the Euphrates, and faced the dreaded inhospitable desert.
It was an act of heroic obedience, of sincere submission to the
pivine will. It was one of the great moments of history.
Abraham and his childless wife had set out upon a peculiar
journey. " They sought a land they knew not where ; they
sought a seed they knew not how ; they sought a blessing
they knew not what." But "Abraham believed God, and
it was accounted to him for righteousness " (Gal. iii., 6).
He heard the word of sovereign authority and of sovereign
grace, and, committing his way unto the Lord, rejoicing in
God's promise and power, he unhesitatingly obeyed.

Having left Haran, and crossed the upper fords of the
Euphrates, Abraham journeyed southwards through the wide
Sjrrian desert, which stretches betwixt the Euphrates and
Palestine, and at length, with his wife and orphan nephew,
his household servants, shepherds and herdsmen, and his
flocks of sheep and goats and herds of cattle of various
kinds, he reached the frontiers of the promised land. Passing

72 OBNESI&

through the orchards of Damascus he crossed the shoulder
of Mount Hermoiiy from whose heights he beheld the
fair and fertile land which God had designed as the inherit-
ance of his descendants — the range of Lebanon on his right
hand, the rich pastures of Gilead and the green forests of
Bashan on his left ; while in front gleamed the blue w^aters
of the Sea of Gralilee. Descending the rugged valley of the
Jabbok^ or passing through the plains of Jezreel, he came
to the rapid and impetuous waters of Jordan. These
being forded he arrived at Shechem, or Sichem, under the
shadow of Ebal and Gerizim. " He passed through the
land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain [or rather,
the oak] of Mc^-eh.'' His first encampment in the land in
search of which he had journeyed so far, was in a lovely
and picturesque spot in the very centre of Canaan. After
his long weary journey the shades of the oaks of Moreh, the
fresh green valleys, the. olive trees, fair gardens, and pure
springs of water around Shechem would be specially grateful
and refreshing. The land was inhabited — the wicked and
accursed descendants of Canaan the son of Ham possessed
it, but there was ample room for the flocks of Abraham
without undue pressure or invasion of the rights of others.
A crowd of tribes independent of each other had thronged
to take possession of the tempting valleys of Palestine, which
to the dwellers in the waste and thirsty regions to the
east and south seemed the paradise of the world. Still,
though the Horites or cave dwellers held Mount Seir, the
Amorites occupied the heights on both sides of Jordan, the
strong and warlike Amalekites possessed the south, the
Philistines inhabited the rich plains from the foot of the
hills of Judea to the sea, and small communities of peaceful
and industrious Hivites, Hittites, and Perizzites were scattered

0ENBSI8. 73

over the land, there was yet sufficient room for Abraham.
And he had a special right to be there. The Lord appeared

to him and said, " Unto thy seed will I give this land."

The land to which he had been divinely led was to be the
inheritance of his descendants. He had been called away
from all the sanctities and associations of his fatherland in
order to vindicate the unity of God amid almost universal
polytheism, and to receive and transmit divine revelations of
grace. And the land to which Abraham had now come was
one in keeping with the great purpose of God towards Israel
and towards the world. It was sufficiently isolated from
other countries, being hemmed in on the south and east
sides by extensive deserts, on the north side by the ranges
of Lebanon, and along the west coast by the Mediterranean
Sea. And yet it touched very closely Europe, Asia, and
Africa ; it lay in the very centre of the old world ; it formed
the link of connection between the two great empires which
for centuries contended for supremacy — the Egyptian on tlie
south and the Assyrian or Chaldean on the north. It was
therefore well fitted by its seclusion to serve as a preserve
where the true religion might be nursed and protected from
the idolatries of heathen nations, and the religious services
prescribed by God be performed. But it was sufficiently
near to other countries to be a convenient centre of light to
the world when the time should arrive. Abraham's entrance
on this territory, so divinely chosen, and yet to be linked
with sacred and imperishable associations, was sanctified
by prayer and sacrifice. It must have been a strange spec-
tacle when, in presence of Perizzite and Hittite idolaters,
the old Mesopotamian sheikh gathered his household and
herdsmen around him and, having reared with reverent
hands in the open space in front of his tent an altar of

74 GENESIS.

unhewn stones, slew a lamb chosen out of the bleating flocks
which browsed around and presented it in sacrifice upon the
altar. The heathen might mock at his religion, but Abra-
ham was neither ashamed nor afraid to '' build an altar

unto the Lord who appeared unto him." It was an

expression of gratitude to Him who promised that "this
land," occupied now by a hostile colony of Hamites, should
become the permanent possession of his posterity.

Abraham shortly afterwards transferred his caravan to a
mountain stronghold between Bethel and Ai, about twenty
miles further south. And as his first act in Canaan had
been to erect an altar and offer sacrifice, he inaugurates his
new settlement in a similar way. In his case the tent and
the altar were combined. His tent was a moving temple
and his household a pilgrim church. His faith was the
mainspring of his obedience, and that faith was strengthened
and increased by constant believing prayer. Abraham's
motto was "The Lord before whom I walk"— (Gen. xxiv., 40)
and he had his reward in being pre-eminently " the Friend
of God" — (Jas. ii., 23) — and in being esteemed alike by
Mahommedan, Jewish, and Christian Churches "The father

of the faithful"— (Rom. iv., 16).

Abraham journeyed to the south of Canaan, to the undu-
lating tract of country which separates Canaan from Egypt.
It was chiefly a journey of exploration, and seems to have
been rapidly performed.

Abraham in Egypt. — Though Abraham was a man of
genuine piety and strong faith he was not perfect, and tho
inspired historian records with impartial hand his defects
and falls as well as his virtues and triumphs. The infirmity

CHCNESIS. 75

of his faith as well as its power is disclosed. "Faithful
Abraham " fell through unbelief. But the trial of his faith
was a severe one. There was a famine, *'a grievoilS
famine" in Canaan, due probably to the failure of the
needed supply of rain. Daily bread began to fail, and desti-
tution was imminent. The land for whose sake Abraham
had forsaken the fertile plains of Mesopotamia was unable
to sustain his household or feed his flocks. The only alter-
native to him in this extremity was to transport the famished
remains of his flocks across the desert of Arabia and settle
for a time in a strange and distant country. Like his
descendants many years afterwards, he "went down into
Eg3rpt to sojourn there," Egypt even then being celebrated
as the granary of the world; the annual overflow of the Nile,
as it carried down from the great reservoirs of Central Africa
a sufficient supply of moisture for the whole country,
rendering it largely independent of rainfall and exceedingly
fertile. It was not unnatural for Abraham, in the circum-
stances in which he was then placed, to entertain doubts
and anxieties, and instead of trusting entirely in the protec-
tion and promises of God to follow his own devices. He
was afraid he should starve in Canaan, and learning that
there was com and pasturage in Egypt, without apparently
asking divine guidance and help, he went down thither.
His conduct was perhaps natiuul, but it was wrong, and it
led to unpleasant results. As Abraham approached Egypt,
which was at the time the greatest kingdom in the world,
increasing signs of civilisation, grandeur, and power met
his eye. He knew that a man of his position, with a
numerous band of retainers, and with herds of cattle, could
not. escape attention. As he looked upon Sarai, his wife,
who, though advanced in life, was yet of fair and fresh

76 GEKE8I&

complexion as compared with the dusky faces of the
Egyptian women, and as he remembered that the sensual
customs of Pharaoh and his courtiers, who were not
scrupulous as to the means they employed to add to the
number of their wives, were notorious, his faith and fortitude
gave way, and he induced his wife to be guilty of an act of
equivocation which amounted to falsehood. To preserve his
own life, which he feared would be in danger if it were
known that Sarai was his wife, he enjoined her to say that
she was his sister. This, indeed, was partly true, but the
essential fact was suppressed with the design to deceive.
Such conduct was inconsistent with Abraham's character as
a servant of God ; it showed a want of confidence in God as
his protector ; it showed a reliance on worldly policy more
than trust in the divine providence ; and while he sinned
himself he tempted Sarai to sin also.

In Egypt, Abraham found an organised and flourishing
kingdom, and an advanced civilisation already venerable
for age. He saw populous towns adorned with pyramids,
and temples, and palaces, and all united under one powerful
sceptre. He saw that the Nile valley was in a state of high
cultivation and filled with a busy commerce, and he gazed
with admiration on the means employed to bring the rising
Nile under control, to retain its superfluous waters, and
pour them through immense rivulets over the otherwise
parched and barren fields. But the opinion he had formed
of the morals and manners of the country was correct, and
his fears were in part at least justified by what occurred.
The courtiers, who were zealous in pandering to the tastes
and passions of their royal master, were dazzled by the
beauty of Sarai, who still, at the age of sixty-five, retained

GENESIS. 77

the bloom and loveliness of youth ; they reported and
commended her charms to Pharaoh, and Sarai ** was taken
into Pharaoh's house," into the royal harem where his
wives dwelt. Abraham was loaded with gifts in order to
obtain his favour and consent to the marriage, ; but it
must have been a time of intense anxiety when he was
separated in such a way from the companion of his youth
and age, of his joumeyings and perils. Perhaps Abraham
expected that some method of escape might be devised
before the necessary ceremonies preparatory to marriage
were gone through. But had it liot been for the direct
interposition of God, deliverance from the perilous position
was very unlikely. The Most High, however, had gracious
purposes towards Sarai and her husband : He interposed for
her protection, averted the threatened evil, and even made

the event turn out for good. ** The Lord plagued Pharaoh
and his house with great plagues/' the superstitious

Egyptians were led somehow to trace these plagues to the
presence of this foreign lady, the artifice of Abraham was
discovered, and Sarai was released and restored to her
husband. Pharaoh justly resented the distrust that had
been felt, and the deceit that had been practised, and by
which he had been nearly betrayed into the commission of
a great crime. But he acted generously and nobly. He
did not strip Abraham of the presents he had made to him,
or deprive him of the flocks and herds, which, during the
sojourn in the fertile grazing lands of Goshen, had greatly
multiplied. He did him no violence, though he was entirely
in his power, but simply had him and ^' all that he had ''
conducted to the frontiers of the kingdom by an Egyptian
guard and dismissed. Thus Sarai was delivered from the
serious hazard to which she was exposed, Abraham was

78 GENESIS.

rebuked by Pharaoh for his deoeption and unworthy conduct,
and the purposes and promises of God were not frustrated
by the sin of his servant (See Ps. cv., 12«14). Twenty
years afterwards, however, there was a repetition of the
same sin (Geru xx.).

Abraham separates prom Lot. — Abraham went up out
of Egypt wealthier than when he entered. He returned to
his former encampment in the south of Canaan, between
Bethel and AL But a new trial awaited him in Canaan.
So rapidly and to such an extent had the flocks of Abraham
and of his nephew Lot iifcreased, that the pastures around
Bethel became too narrow to accommodate them. The
cattle got mixed ; the wells were scenes of struggle and
angry debate between the herdmen of Abraham's cattle
and the herdmen of Lot's cattle; and the misunderstandings
and disputes of the servants were apt to extend and lead to
unpleasant feelings between the masters. Abraham felt
that such jealousies and quarrels were very unseemly in
presence of their idolatrous neighbours, and he acted in a
very disinterested and self-denying manner. He proposed
an amicable separation; and though the older man, the
leader of the expedition, and one who had acted the part of
a father to Lot since the death of his own, he offered Lot

the selection of whatever district he preferred.

From their encampment they could obtain an extensive
view of the whole country, and Lot at once chose the well-
watered plains of the Jordan, near the towns of Sodom and
Gomorrah. Abraham had been condescending and generous
towards Lot, but Lot was selfish and covetous. The " circle "
of the Jordan towards the east, where the deep cleft of the
river opened into a broad valley before its waters finally

GENESIS. 79

lost themselves in the Dead Sea, presented to Lot irresistible
attractions. It was as '* the garden of the Lord," recalled
the traditions of Paradise, whose rich verdure and well-
watered plains presented the ideal of earthly fertility, and
was as Zoan in Egypt, which they had recently left, where
the bountiful Nile, led through the thirsty soil, repaid the
care and labour by a luxuriance that was proverbial. And
the Jordan cities promised to Lot a rich market for the
produce of his herds and flocks, as well as the luxuries and
refinements of wealth. From a worldly point of view, it
was a wise choice, but the worldly advantage was gained at

a terrible price. " The men of Sodom were wicked
and sinners before the Lord exceedingly," but in the

case of Lot, increase of wealth had brought increase of
worldliness, and for the sake of gain and worldly comfort,
he heeded not the spiritual interests of himself and family.
He seems to have left Abraham without regret, and to have
approached Sodom without fear. It was a worldly choice he
had made, in which he was guided only by a regard to his
material interests ; an ungenerous choice, in which he took
advantage of his uncle's generosity and self-denial ; and an
irreligious choice, in which the interests of eternity were
disregarded. It affected his after life, and determined - the
fate of his family.

God's Promise to Abraham. — After the departure of Lot
Abraham felt solitary and unhappy. He and Lot had been
long together, and they were united by the ties of nature,
affection, religion, and suffering. But the blank made by
this separation was speedily and abundantly compensated
by renewed manifestations of divine favour. Abraham was
directed to survey the whole country in every direction, and

80 OBNB8I8.

it was promised anew to him and to his seed. The Lord
said to him —

" Lift up now fhine eyes, and look from the jdaoe where thoa art northward,
and southward, and eastward, and westward : for idl the land whidi tbou seest,
to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I wHl 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. Arise, walk througb the land in the length of it
and in the breadth of it ; for I will give it imto thee.**— (Oen. xiiL, 14-17.)

Thus Abraham's disinterestedness and sacrifices for the
sake of peace were richly rewarded. And if in connection
with the diyine promise we read the inspired commentaries
of Stephen (Acts vii., 5), and of Paul (Heb. xL, 8-16), we
obtain a clearer view of the principles by which the patriarch
was animated and of {he hopes he cherished. After all, it
was a matter of indifierence to him where he sojourned or
how he fared, during the few years of his earthly coursa He
might have ne home in Canaan but a tent, and no property
in its soil but a tomb, but the whole land was the free gift
of God to his descendants, and it was to him '* dwelling in
tabernacles," confessing that he was a stranger and pilgrim
on the earth, the type and figure of " a better country, that is,
a heavenly/' His afiections being set on things above, his
treasure and his heart being in heaven, God being his
portion, Abraham could rise above all that was selfish and
sordid, could sit loose to the possessions of the present
world, and prove himself superior to those temporal and
worldly considerations which frequently create jealousy and
•envy among brethren.

Abraham after this broke up the encampment at Bethel,
^nd pitched his tent in the plain of Mamre, ^' which is in
'Hebron." Hebron was one of the oldest cities in the
world, "seven years older than Zoan, in Egypt" (Num.
xiii., 22), and was probably first occupied by Ham's son

GBI7B8IS. 81

Mizraixn, in his migration southwards, till, learning of still
richer fields on the banks of the Nile, he directed his course
to Egypt, and laid the foundations of Zoan, its earliest capital
At present Hebron was occupied by a Hittite tribe, the sons
of Heth. But it offered freer and more abimdant pasture
and was better suited for his flocks and herds, and Abraham
journeyed thither. Bethel was now endeared to Abraham by
sacred associations, and " the place of the altar which he had
made there at the first " was probably the chief attraction
of the district when he returned from Egypt, but Hebron
and not Bethel was destined to be his longest earthly resi-
dence. Under the oaks of Mamre and amid the rich
pastures around Hebron, or at Beersheba, in its neighbour-
hood, Abraham spent the remainder of his days in peaceful
pastoral duties, the religious instructor and priest of his clan
as well as the master. At Hebron, Abraham built a third
altar to Jehovah.

Thb Battlb op the Kings and Capture op Lot. — Lot
had selected the district which he expected would prove
most advantageous to himself and his family. We do not,
however, read that like Abraham he built an altar unto the
Lord, though he had been used to religious services while in
his uncle's family; and the probability is that he was ashamed
or afraid to do so before his godless neighbours. He was a
just and righteous man (2 Peter ii., 7, 8), but his selfish and
worldly choice was the source of much misery and disaster.

A great calamity which befel him is narrated in the
fourteenth chapter. Four kings from Mesopotamia and
Persia — Chedorlaomer, the Ring of Elam, a district
beyond Chaldea on the east side of the Tigris, being the
chief of them — made an expedition into Palestine. Desirous

82 GENESI&

of possessing the important military and commercial route
betwixt the Euphrates and the Nile, or at least of gaining
supremacy over the tribes in its course, Chedorlaomer four-
teen years earlier had invaded Canaan and made its inhabit-
ants tributary. For twelve years his authority had been
acknowledged and tribute paid, but, as his power over such
a remote province of an extensive empire was precarious, in
the thirteenth year there had been a general revolt which
had resulted in the recovery of independence. It was in
order to conquer this rebellion and regain the power he had
lost that he and his three friendly or vassal allies again
. overran the country. They made a rapid circuit, going
southward beyond the Dead Sea, then westward, and, on
turning north, fell upon the cities and towns of the Jordan
valley. As yet they had carried all before them, and had
met with little opposition. But the kings or chiefs of the
five walled towns of the plain or " circle " of the Jordan
resolved to oppose the invaders, and, having rallied their
subjects, ventured to attack them in the rocky fastness of
Engedi, where they lay encamped. Being repulsed and
driven down into the vale of Siddim, where the ground was
full of pits or wells of bitumen, the five kings were utterly
overthrown; a few of the inhabitants escaped to the
mountains, but very many of them were slain. The
capture and sack of the wealthy towns of the kings followed
on the defeat of their troops, and the victorious invaders
resumed their march homewards laden with booty and in
possession of crowds of captives.

It does not appear that Lot took any active part in the
quarrel or any side in the war, but as he lived among the
enemy he shared their fate. Chedorlaomer made no distinc-
tion, and treated him and his without ceremony. Lot and

GENESIS. 83

his goods were included in the victor's spoil. He thus paid
dearly for his selfish choice, and the recMess folly which
tempted him to associate with the dissolute inhabitants of
Sodom.

Abraham Pubsues the Conquerors and Rescues Lot. —
Abraham, dwelling in the oak grove of Mamre, could not
but know the events which were happening. He must
have heard that the Elamite King with his vassals had
marched through Palestine, passing his home at a few
miles' distance, and had reduced the refractory chiefs once
more to obedience. He had not stirred. But when tidings
reached him of the capture of his nephew with all his
household and property, he at once resolved to pursue
and attempt their recovery. The ungrateful separation,
the selfish choice of the best portion of the land, the
distance and estrangement — these might have justified
Abraham in leaving him to his fate. But all past unkind-
ness is forgotten in pity for his present plight. Arming the
servants of his house who were capable of bearing arms and
could endure a forced march — 318 in number — and pro-
curing the assistance of his Amorite neighbours with
whom he was on terms of friendship, Abraham at once
crossed the hills to the Jordan, and pursued the eastern
kings up the whole course of its valley. It was a bold
thing with his small force to pursue an army flushed
with victory and headed by four valiant monarchs. But he
cherished ardent affection for his nephew, reckoned him a
part of the household of faith, and believed he had the
warrant, direction, and help of God in his heroic enterprise.
And Abraham was successful. By a sudden night attack
he surprised and defeated the allied forces at Dan ; giving

84 eBNfisis.

them no time to rally, he followed them in quick pursuit as
far north as Damascus, and compelled them to deliver up
their booty. This ended the war on the part of Abraham.
He rescued Lot and all the " goods, and the women and the
people," that had been captured. The incident presents
Abraham in a novel but admirable aspect, as a man of a
forgiving disposition and of great courage, a man of patriot-
ism, as well as of piety.

Melohisedee Blesses Abraham. — Abraham had gained
his object, the recovery of his nephew. He shows that he
had no selfish purpose to serve by the war. On his return
from the slaughter of the kings, he exhibits a beautiful
spirit of magnanimity. Being met on his way back to his
tent, laden with the spoils of victory, by one of the petty
kings he has aided, who requested only the persons recovered,
leaving the goods won by his bravery to be the reward
of the conqueror, Abraham pointedly refused all recompense.
He would retain no trophy, would appropriate not so much
as a thread or a shoe latchet, '^ lest he should say, I have
made Abraham rich." He has done his brave deed — vindi-
cated the calls of justice and equity, and he casts every
vestige of plunder away, returning to his tent as lowly and
humble as before. He is not ambitious, and he is scrupulous
to avoid the suspicion of an interested aim. The three
men who had aided him might have their share, but he
will have none of it

But while the King of Sodom is expressing to the
triumphant Abraham the gratitude of himself and others
who had survived the disaster in the vale of Siddim, another
and a still more remarkable person meets Abraham and
bestows upon him his blessing. This was Melchisodeky

QENJSSIS. 85

the king or priest of Salem — afterwards Jerusalem. He was
ime who had still amid surrounding ungodliness and
idolatry retained the knowledge and worship of God, and
who discharged the duties of priest as well as king among
his people. He met Abraham on the basis of a common
belief and worship, and provided bread and wine for the
refreshment of his victorious troops who had secured peace
for the whole country as well as for the cities of the plain.
It seems almost as if during the short interview between
Melchisedek and Abraham, the Spirit of God descended upon
the former and enabled him to unite the office of a prophet
to the other offices he filled, and that the same Spirit led
Abraham to regard the reverend and mysterious being before
him as in some respects his superior, for he selected the best
spoils which he had taken in battle and presented them to
Melchisedek as 'Hhe priest of the Most High God."
Probably Melchisedek had been chosen King of Salem on
account of his integrity, and had then adopted his charac-
teristic name, which means "king of righteousness." As
being a priest-king, as having a unique origin and position,
as being a priest prior to the Levitical economy, Melchisedek
is honoured as a type of Jesus Christ. — (Ps. ex., 4, Heb.
vii., 1-4.)

A Solemn Covenant Between God and Abraham. —
After his victory Abraham again sought the seclusion of
Hebron, while Lot and his family, though they had received
sufficient warning against abiding in the cities of the plain,
returned with the King of Sodom to their former abode.

After the excitement of the successful campaign had
passed away, a feeling of solitariness and unhappiness again
seems to have stolen over the spirit of Abraham. Perhaps

86 GENESIS.

he was anxious lest the eastern kings whom he had de-
spoiled might return with OTerwhelming forces to revenge
their defeat. But God appeared to him in his time of
depression, and said —

" Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.*'

OeneaUxv., 1.

** I will defend you against every enemy : you have mani-
fested trust and self-denial — in My favour and in fellowship
with Me you will find your truest happiness and reward."
During the interview, however, with which Abraham was
favoured, he complained of the delay that had taken place
in fulfilling the divine promise, and rather querulously
asked what blessing he was to enjoy, seeing he had no child
of his own, so that since the departure of Lot, who was
now rich in a separate establishment, his favourite servant
Eliezer had been appointed his heir. God, however, gra-
ciously assured his servant that a son should be bom of his
own body, and that his descendants should yet be as
numerous as the stars of heaven. The expression of joy,
gratitude, and faith on the face of Abraham at this reve-
lation was specially pleasing to God (Rom. iv., 2-8; Gal. iil,
5-18), who msLde the promises still more full and specific,
and by a visible sign ratified His covenant with Abraham.
Abraham ^' believed in the Lord ; and He counted it to him
for righteousness." God unveiled before his eyes the joys
and sorrows which his descendants should experience, and
their ultimate settlement in Canaan. And when, after
patiently watching through the following day the five
animals which, by God's direction, had been prepared for
sacrifice, and warding off the beasts of prey whom their
odour had attracted, Abraham beheld " a smoking furnace
and a burning lamp that passed between " the slaughtered

GENESIS. 87

and divided yictims, he had, according to a symbolism
which he understood, a visible pledge that God would be
faithful to His covenant.

Abraham and Haoar. — Though God had promised
Abraham a son of his own body and a numerous posterity,
still further delay occurred in the fulfilment of that pro-
mise. This produced doubt and impatience, which led him
to adopt a method recommended by Sarai to secure the
fulfilment of God's promise and their hopes. Sarai thought
she was too old now to have children herself; she was less
firm in faith than her husband, and more impulsive ; and she
persuaded Abraham — somewhat at the sacrifice of her own
natural rights — ^to take as a secondary wife Hagar, her
Egyptian slave, who had probably been given to her as a
personal attendant during her detention in Pharaoh's palace.
This was according to a custom which, though opposed to
the dictates of nature and the commands of Grod, was then
prevalent; and if Hagar should have a child, such child
would be Sarai's as well as Abraham's — Sarai's by the right
of legal ownership. The policy of Sarai did not coincide
with the purpose of God, but Abraham ''hearkened tO
the voice of Sarai.'' When Hagar found she was to be a
mother — the mother, as she thought, of the promised heir —
she despised her mistress and behaved with insolence.
Domestic jealousy and strife ensued. Sarai, in return for
Hagays insolence, became spiteful and severe in her treat-
ment, and at length blamed Abraham for the indignities
that had been heaped upon her by her slave. Abraham
gave his wife all authority over the girl, who thereupon had
to endure many annoyances and hardships which she was ill
able to bear. When Hagar could endure such treatment no

88 GENESIS.

longer she ran from the hoase and fled towards Egypt.
On her way to Shur, between Hebron and Egypt, she sat
down, athirst and almost in despair, at a refreshing fountain,
where " the angel of the Lord found her," bade her return
to her mistress, and promised her a numerous posterity.
Hagar, brought up to belieye in the gods of Egypt, that
hid themselves in impenetrable secrecy, and whom it was
death for mortal to see, was astonished that she should see
God and live. She called the well Beer-lahai-roi on
this account ; i.e,y the well of living of seeing. Hagar gave
birth to Ishmael, Abraham being then eighty-six years old.
In . the history of the Ishmaelites as a nomadic Arabian
tribe the prophecy of " the angel," regarding the character of
Ishmael and his descendants, has been fulfilled.

" He will be a wild man ; his hand will be against every man ; and every
man's hand against him ; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me,
for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me."— (Gen. xvi, 12, IS.)

The Covenant with Abraham Eenewed. — Thirteen years
after the birth of Ishmael, God again appeared to Abraham.
During this period, Abraham had become attached to the
son of Hagar, and was doubtless treating him as his heir.
But God appeared to him and said, " I am the Almighty

God (El Shaddai); walk before me, and be thou

perfect/' He enjoined upon Abraham sincere worship and
godly obedience, renewed the covenant both with its tem-
poral and spiritual promises, and appointed the rite of
circumcision to be performed on the eighth day after birth,
upon all the male children of himself and his descendants,
together with their bond servants, as the sign of the ratifica-
tion of the covenant on the part of Abraham. It was on
this occasion, too, that the name of Abraham was given

OENxais. 89

instead of Abram, which he had hitherto borne. Abraham
means " father of a multitude.'' Sarai also became Sarah,
i.e., princess. God promised a numerous posterity, with
many temporal blessings, to Ishmael ; but He told Abraham
that Sarah, in spite of all natural improbabilities — for she
was ninety years old — should yet have a son, who was to be
the true heir, and to whom the name Isaac, t.0., laughter,
was to be given, because Abraham laughed when, he
received such a strange promise.

Abraham obeyed the requirement of God, and by circum-
cision formally brought himself and his whole household
into covenant relations with God.

Abraham Intebobdes for Sodom. — Shortly afterwards,
there stood before Abraham, as he sat in the tent door in
the heat of the day, three travellers, to whom he furnished
hospitable entertainment Abraham did not at first recog-
nise them, but they were heavenly visitants, one especially
being of superior dignity, indeed no other than "the
Lord." The promise that Sarah should have a son was
repeated in her hearing ; she was incredulous, and laughed.
On being charged with this, she denied that she had
laughed, and her falsehood was sternly exposed and rebuked.

Nothmg is " too hard for the Lord."

On the way towards Sodom the Lord disclosed to Abraham
the purpose of His present visit. It was to destroy the
cities of the plain^ whose wickedness was great and per-
sistent. Abraham received intimation of this on account of
being the depository of divine blessing for all nations — of
blessing which these wicked cities should never enjoy — on
account of his obedience and fidelity, and in order that he

90 GENESIS.

might know the fearfiil consequences of breaking the
divine law.

*' And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do ; see-
ing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed in him ? For I know him, that he will com-
mand his chUdren and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of
the Lord, to do justice and judgment ; that the Lord may faring upon Abraham
that which he hath spoken of him."— QenesiB xvlU, 17-20.

The two angels who accompanied the Lord went toward
Sodom, and Abraham remained alone with God. In very
earnest and pathetic terms he prayed Him to spare Sodom.
He was very humble and very importunate. He had
'* taken upon him to speak unto the Lord, which am but
dust and ashes." But after God had graciously advanced
from fifty to ten — if only ten righteous persons should be
found in Sodom, God would not " destroy the city for ten's
sake " — he had to rest content with a belief in the justice
of the divine procedure.

The Destruction op Sodom. — The two angels, who had
proceeded towards Sodom while Abraham was conversing
with the Lord, were on their arrival entertained by Lot.
Lot had now been about twenty years in Sodom, during
which time his mind had been habitually vexed by the
profligate conduct and conversation of the ungodly around
him. But he clung to the place in spite of its reputation
for wickedness (Ezek. xvi. 49), in spite of its deleterious
influence upon the religious life of himself and family. His
scruples were put aside in view of his material interests and
social advancement. The warning to leave when he and
his property were carried off by Chedorlaomer had proved
ineffectual, and now a heavy stroke falls upon him, which

GENESIS. 91

is more manifestly from the hand of God, and falls with
more crushing weight He has to be forced from the place
by God's destroying angel.

The wickedness of Sodom is attested by the rude conduct
of the inhabitants towards the visitors whom Lot was enter-
taining, and by their shamelessness and fury when opposed
(Gen. xix., 4-10). Lot himself was very courageous in
defence of his guests and in opposing his infuriated
townsmen.

When comparative quietness had been obtained, "the
men at the door of the house having been smitten with
blindness, so that they wearied themselves to find the door,"
the angels divulged the purpose of their visit — that the Lord
had sent them to destroy the place, because the cry of its

inhabitants '' was wazen great before the face of the

Lord " — and urged Lot . to collect the members of his
family and flee from the doomed city. Lot's sons-in-law
despised his warning and counsel and refused to flee. They
reckoned him a disturber of their peace and pleasure, a
gloomy enthusiast, <* aS one that mocked.'' Next morn-
ing the angels hurried Lot, his wife, and two daughters out
of the city. They had delayed to leave the place, to relin-
quish their relatives and possessions, but the angels took
their hands and " set them without the city." They were
then enjoined to escape for their lives ; not to look behind
them, nor to stay in those plains which had proved such an
attraction, but to escape to the mountains where alone safety
could be found. At the request of Lot, Zoar, a "little"
city, is substituted as the place of refuge, and when they
had entered Zoar the dreadful catastrophe occurred which in
a very short time converted the wealthy, but wicked, cities
of the plain into a heap of burning ruins.

92 GBNBSIS,

" Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire
from the Lord out of heaven ; and he overthrew all those cities, and all the plain,
and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground."—
CGen. jdx., 26.)

The brief but suggestiye fact is added, that Lot's ^' wife
looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of
salt/' She was a woman who had enjoyed distinguished
religious privileges and deliyerances, who had been induced
to obey the divine command to flee from the doomed cities,
but who, having committed a great sin, suffered a sudden
and fearful punishment. Even in prospect of the overthrow
of Sodom, her heart seemed still to cling to its worldly
pursuits and pleasures; she was guilty of unbelief and
disobedience, and when the fires of wrath burst forth she too
was enveloped. She became " a pillar of salt," being covered
over and encased probably by the nitro-sulphureous matter
which was falling so copiously, and a monument of danger
of the sin of worldliness and procrastination to every age,
^' Eemember Lot's wife " (Luke xvii., 32). (And see 2 Pet.
ii., 6-9 ; Jude, 7). All Lot'9 wealth perished with the men
of Sodom, and he left the town poorer than when he entered.
When he fled from the fiery deluge which stripped him of
the labours of years, and dared not look behind on the ruin
of his hopes ; when probably he was again indebted to the
generosity of his uncle Abraham whom he had treated so
unworthily; when he saw how greatly his wife had been
infected with the worldliness of Sodom, and experienced how
deeply his daughters shared in its immorality (Gen. xix.,
30-35), he would see how foolish and sinful his choice of a
residence had been.

With sad and anxious heart Abraham watched from afar
the overthrow of Sodom and Gk)morrah. " The smJke of the
country went up as the smoke of a furnace." Lot, however,
had been spared.

GENESIS. 93

Birth op Isaao and Expulsion op Is&mabl. — ^At length
Isaac, the child of promise, was bom. Abraham was one
hundred years old, Satuh was ninety, and Ishmael was four-
teen. Isaao was circumcised when eight da} s old. Two or
three years afterwards he was weaned, and Abraham made a
great feast on the occasion. At the feast an incident
occurred which led to the expulsion of IshmaeL The
too visible pride of the aged mother, the incongruity of
maternal duties with ninety years, and the attention
bestowed upon the child, excited not unnaturally his ridicule.
Sarah was angry, and demanded that he and his mother
should be cast out. Abraham was evidently unwilling to
agree to this. The lively talk and adventurous spirit of
Ishmael, added to the fact that he was the firstborn, had
endeared him to his father. But God had said to Abraham,
" In Isaac shall thy seed be called," and it was his duty now
to concentrate his affection and hopes on the heit of the
promises. God therefore commanded him to assent to the
demand of Sarah, and so Ishmael and his mother were
expelled. In the wilderness they had a narrow escape from
death by thirst, and Hagar, in her distress, withdrew some
distance from her son, to avoid witnessing sufferings which
she cotdd not alleviate. But "the angel of God'' appeared
and directed her to a well in the neighbourhood, repeating
at the same time the promise that from Ishmael a great
nation should spring. Ishmael grew up to manhood, and
established himself with his descendants in the vast desert
track stretching between Beersheba and southern Arabia.

Trbaty bestwbbn Abraham and Abimblbob. — ^Abimelech
was the king of Gterar, a rich fertile district to the south
of Gaza, or Philistia. He seems to have been a kind and

94 GENESIS.

generous man, for when Abraham deceived him regarding
Sarah (Gen. xx.) as he had deceived Pharaoh, he acted even
more generously than Pharaoh had done, offering him any
part of his land to dwell in. Abimelech evidently felt it
would be a wise and politic thing to enter into alliance with
Abraham, whom God had so manifestly prospered. He and
Phichol, his chief captain, accordingly visited him, and
induced Abraham solemnly to promise that he would not
intrude into Abimelech's dominions, but would show kind-
ness to him and his descendants. Abraham availed himself
of the opportunity of securing his shepherds from the
encroachments of Abimelech's people. A certain well had,
unknown to Abimelech, been violently appropriated by his
servants. As the person who had succeeded in sinking a
new well, obtained a right to it and to the surrounding grazing
ground, and as a free supply of water was of supreme import-
ance for flocks, Abraham felt that he had a just cause of
complaint. But the matter was amicably arranged. As an
indication of his wish to live on terms of friendship with his
Philistine neighbours, Abraham selected seven ewe lambs,
which were accepted by Abimelech as a witness and pledge
that he would protect the claim of Abraham to the well
The place where this covenant was entered into was named

Beersheba, «>., the well of the oath, '' because there

they sware both of them." This league was renewed by the
next generation. (See Gen. xxvi., 23-33.) After the expiry
of 4,000 years, the well still retains its old name, a per-
mai;ient memorial of these mutual oaths of fidelity and
manifestations of goodwill.

After the departure of Abimelech, Abraham planted a
grove or tamarisk tree in Beersheba to be a witness of his

promises, and there he ** called OH the name of the Lord,
the everlasting Ood"

GENESIS. 95

The Trial of Abraham's Faith. — The next important
event in the life of Abraham was the most momentous crisis
in his history. Some twenty or twenty-five years had rolled
away since Isaac had been bom, and during these years things
had moved very peacefully and happily in the settlement at
Beersheba. Abraham was secure in the friendship of his
neighbours, with rights to water and pasture guaranteed by
solemn treaty, and he dwelt in peace beside his numerous
and ever-increasing flocks in a country famous alike for its
beauty and its fertility. No doubt his heart often yearned
for Ishmael, and induced him to gaze wistfully in the
direction of the wilderness, whither he and his mother had
strayed. But as year after year rolled away, and no tidings
came to him of his brave and adventurous boy, his affections
gradually gathered round Isaac, the son of his lawful wife,
the child of miracle, the special gift of a covenant God, the
heir of his possessions, and of the divine promises. During
these years the worship of God had been continued unin-
terruptedly beneath the spreading boughs of the feathery
tamaiisks that constituted the grove, and as the event next
to be mentioned testifies, the faith and piety of the patriarch
had been confirmed, and his character mellowed and matured
as the days of his long pilgrimage approached their close.

But in the very midst of unbroken rest and satisfied
desire, when he might reasonably have expected to enjoy the
repose and reward of an honoured old age, a trial befel him
sharper than any he had yet met, sharper than all the rest
together. His trials indeed had been many and severe.
Fifty years before, at the call of God, he had abandoned his
home and friends in Ur; he had forsaken his kindred in
Haran j he had separated from Lot at Ai; twice he had been
temporarily deprived — though through his own folly — of

96 OBNSSIS.

his wife Sarah ; he had been exposed to the evils of famine
and family discord ; his waiting for the promised son had
been long and disappointing; he had sent away his son
Ishmael, which was ** very grievous " to him ; and he had
been a homeless wanderer in Canaan. But " after these
things God did tempt Abraham/' put him to the test, and
led him to manifest and to exercise the sincerity and strength
of his faith and obedience.

"And He Bald, Thke now thy son, thine only eon leaae, whom thou loveet>
and get thee into the lend of Moriah ; and offer him there for a burnt offering
mpon one of the movntains which I will tell thee of."— Gen. zxit, 2.

Here surely was a trial unequalled in magnitude and
intensity among the trials of the people of God, a trial cal-
culated in every respect to wound the heart of a parent, and
to shake his confidence and trust in God. Abraham must
have strained his faculties to catch the exact terms of the
command, and it must have taken time to comprehend them.
But the voice was familiar and had frequently been welcomed,
«,nd every doubt as to the meaning of the peremptory and
explicit command was quickly dispelled. '' Qod said/' —
the trial is to be peculiarly searching and severe; it is
intended to reveal to the world the fitness of Abraham for
the honour that had been conferred upon him in being
chosen to be, in a special sense, **the friend of God," the
•depository of His will, the receiver of His promises, and to
justify the confidence reposed in him by God: God him-
self therefore undertakes the work of trying His servant

^'Take thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou

lovesf — it is fl^ once definite and pathetia Perhaps
Ahraham anticipated iliat some honour was to be conferred
upon his son, who was peculiarly dear and preoious-^-Hsome
honour whidi would «heer his 4dwa decUoing days and

GENESIS. 97

give additional proof of his fidelity. His expectations
were soon blighted. <^ Offer TT™ for a Burnt
Offering." Offer him in whom were gathered np the
most sacred memories of the past, and the most brilliant
hopes for the future ; and for a burnt offering — to be
sacrificed, and that by the father himself; to be dismem-
bered when slain, and his mangled body to be consumed
in the flames ! It was a strange command ; a command
opposed to reason, feeling, and personal interest, which
are the three great principles that actuate human conduct ;
a command which seemed repugnant to all he knew of
the nature and character of God, to the dictates of con-
science, and to the tenderest feelings of his heart ; a
command which seemed inconsistent with the special
promises God had made regarding Isaac ; a command
which, if obeyed, would appear to sanction the wickedness
of his heathen neighbours, among whom human sacrifices
prevailed, and expose him to the upbraidings of his
relatives, who would reckon him a dangerous lunatic or
an unfeeling fanatic. It was an awful crisis in Abraham's
life ; it was a most severe test of submission, of obedience
and of faith, which God had imposed. But Abraham knew
the voice, and he prepared to obey.

The obedience of Abraham was prompt, calm, and
determined. All murmuring was suppressed, natural feel-
ings restrained, doubt silenced. There was no manifestation
of rebellion, no word of remonstrance. Rising up early in
the morning he made the necessary preparations, and with
two attendants and Isaac, departed for the land of
Moriah. During the journey of forty miles from Beersheba
to Jerusalem, which he reached on the third day, he had
Q

98 GENESIS.

ample leisure for reflection and opportunity to return. But
-with steady step and unshaken resolution, though with a
sad and heavy heart, he calmly proceeded to perform the
painful duty imposed. When he descried afar oflF " the place
of which God had told him," he requested his attendants
to remain where they were, while he and Isaac would go for-
ward and worship and come again to them. He prudently
concealed the purpose of his journey from every one, and
effectually prevented his designs from being frustrated.
With Isaac alone he ascended the appointed hill. There
must have been a great conflict in the soul of Abraham
during this ascent,' a conflict made all the keener when his
wondering but trustful son artlessly put the question — a
question which would pierce more deeply than a sword the
parent's heart — " My father, behold the fire and the wood :
but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering." In the firmness
of his faith and hope Abraham had assured his attendants
that they should return, and now under the power of the
same principles he replied, ''My son, Grod Will provido-

himself a lamb for a burnt offering.^ (See Hebrews

xi., 19.) At length the summit is reached,, the altar is-
reared, the wood which had been cut and brought is laid
in order, and then, with trembling lips and affectionate
gaze, the old man communicates to his son the tidings that
God had selected him for the sacrifice. Isaac,, a vigorous-
young man, could easily have resisted and refused, but^
after the first struggles ol nature are overcome, he^
voluntarily submits and allows himself to be bound and
" laid on the altar upon the wood." Abraham, controlling
his fears and feelings, and resting in the hope that even,
from the ashes of the pile God can raise up his son and
fulfll His promise, unsheaths the knife to slay him. But

GENESIS. 99

just when his hand is about to descend, God interposes.
God has no pleasure in human sacrifice ; it is vain to give
" the fruit of the body for the sin of the soul." He will
have mercy and not sacrifice. Abraham is not behind his
heathen neighbours in showing his willingness to surrender
to the God whom he worships his most valued possession ;
he has exhibited a trustful spirit of obedience, and afforded
for all generations the brightest example of the power of
faith. And now that Abraham has been proved and the
designs of God accomplished, by a voice from heaven his
hand is stayed, and from the very altar his son is restored
to him as the trophy and reward of the triumph of that
faith which had been so severely tried.

" And He said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything
unto him : for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not with-
held thy son, thine only son, from me." — (Qen. xxii., 12).

But as there had been submission and surrender there is to
be also substitution and sacrifice. He, " whose are the cattle
upon a thousand hills," had provided a victim in room of
Isaac — " a ram caught in a thicket by his horns." God fore-
sees and provides for every emergency ; and when the ram
so provided had been " offered up for a burnt offering in
the stead of his son," Abraham very gratefully and appro-
priately called the name of the place Jehovah jireh, i.e.,
Jehovah will see to it. The incident led to the use of the
proverb — " In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen," i,e.,
God will provide for your case as He did for the case of
Abraham, " Man's extremity is God*s opportunity."

With buoyant, happy spirits Abraham and Isaac descended.
The son had, in a sense, been restored to the father " even
from the dead."

In so severely trying His servant's faith, God purposed

100 GENESIS.

glory to Himself, honour to Abraham, and an instructive
and comforting example of the power of faith for all
time. As the reward of Abraham's obedience the pro-
mises of God were unalterably confirmed. God confirms
His promises by an oath, and makes Abraham happy
in a sweet sense of implicit obedience, of divine approval
and blessing, and in the prospect of a numerous posterity
in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed.

Death and Burial of Sarah. — At the advanced age of
127, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, died, "in Kirjath-arba,
the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan." She was buried
in the cave Of Machpelah, which was before Mamre, in a
field which Abraham purchased for 400 shekels of silver
" current money with the merchant " — about £50 of our
money. She had been the companion of his wanderings,
the sharer of his plans and experiences, the mother of
Isaac ; and " Abraham mourned and wept for Sarah."
His faith, and piety, and consecration to the purposes
df God had not eradicated, but only intensified, his deep
human love. Preparation, however, must be made for
the burial of Sarah. The green earth must cover what else
would be offensive, and Abraham proceeds to purchase a
burying ground in which to " bury his dead out of his
sight." The negotiations with the sons of Heth are
minutely described. In the transaction we note the calm
submission and manly independence of Abraham ; we note
the reverential sympathy, the solemn dignity, and pathetic
gracefulness of the Hittites. The field was purchased with
all requisite formalities. It was the only spot in the pro-
mised land Abraham could call his own, but it was a pledge
of the rest. Though. Sarah had not always acted wisely —

GENESIS. 101

though, in despair of the fulfilment of God*s promise, she
had hastily given Hagar to Abraham ; had treated Hagar,
who had served her well, who had yielded to her will, and
whose son had been carefully niLrtured and counted for
many years Abraham's heir, very harshly and unjustly ;
and had, by her incredulous laughter and unblushing denial
of it, when the birth of her son was foretold, brought upon
herself well-merited condemnation; yet she had been a
faithful, obedient, and devoted wife (1 Pet iii., 1-6). It is
remarkable that Sarah is the only woman whose complete
age, death, and burial are recorded in Scripture.

The Marriage of Isaac. — Isaac was 37 years of age when
his mother died. For three years he mourned her loss.
Abraham was now old and well stricken in age, and he began
to feel anxious for the future comfort of his son and the con-
tinuance of the chosen seed. Some years previously,, gratify-
ing tidings had been received of his kindred in Mesopotamia,
and Abraham regarded the intelligence as a seasonable hint
from God by which to guide his conduct. On no pretext
whatever was Isaac to leave Canaan, and on no account was
he to marry a daughter of any of the tribes among whom he
dwelt Purity of life and religious worship must be preserved
in the family, and the heir of the promises must not be cor-
rupted by the daughters of Canaan. Abraham, therefore,
commissioned a faithful servant — probably Eliezer of Damas-
cus — to go to Mesopotamia and endeavour to procure from
among his kindred a suitable wife for Isaac. The various steps
in this matter are very simply and pathetically described —
the solemn charge given by Abraham, the not unnatural
difl&culties urged by the servant that no young woman
would leave her home and accompany a stranger, the firm

102 GENESIS.

faith of Abraham that God would provide a suitable wife for
Isaac, the scrupulous conscientiousness with which the servant
accepted the oath that had been imposed by his master, the
equipment fitted to insph^ respect and confidence which the
servant took with him. Traversing the route along which
Abraham had originally come, the servant at length reached
the district of Mesopotamia ; and the same minuteness of
description is continued. As he approaches the city of
Nahor he revolves the delicate nature of his commission,
feels his responsibility, and supplicates divine help. He is
animated by a faith akin to that of his master, is evidently
a man of deep piety, of firm belief in the overruling providence
of God, of entire devoted ness to his master^s interests. The
method he proposes for the discovery of the divinely-appointed
bride ; the delicacy of his introduction to Rebekah when
she appears, and the way in which he notes her comely
appearance, gentle and generous character, and active
habits, as, through her kindness of disposition, she performs
for him a task of trouble and fatigue ; his wonder and
expressions of piety and gratitude to " the Lord God of my
master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of
his mercy and truth ; " the production of the presents and
credentials ; the promptness and cordiality with which the
consent of all parties is obtained, as they acknowledge that

** the thing proceedeth from the Lord ; " the ready and

enterprising spirit of Rebekah as, with the blessing of her
family resting upon her, she leaves her home and accom-
panies the servant — all this is recorded with singular simplic-
ity and beauty. And the closing scene befits the auspicious
beginning. Isaac had been dwelling at the distant sheep-
folds, which were at the well Lahai-roi. From choice he pre-
ferred to live on the verge of the wilderness, where he would

GENESIS. 103

not be so disturbed by the society of men ; and the ever-
increasing flocks made it desirable to have two separate
encampments. But he was naturally eager to learn as soon
as possible the issue of the message to Mesopotamia, and was
now at his father's encampment. Going out '^ tO meditate
in the field at eventide," he chanced to see the expected
caravan approach. The girlish vivacity with which Hebekah
leapt from her camel when she saw Isaac, her modest demean-
our, and the union which was shortly afterwards consum-
mated, are referred to. Thus Isaac " was comforted after
his mother's death," and the tent of Sarah in the midst of
the encampment, which had remained untenanted since her
death, was again worthily occupied. God had provided a
wife for Isaac whose lively and ardent disposition made
her a helpmeet peculiarly suitable to him, as giving the
relief and stimulus which his slow and retiring nature
required. His self-restraint and patience had met their
fitting reward.

The Closing Years op Abraham's Life. — ^After the
settlement of Isaac Abraham again married. His second
wife was Keturah. She Ibecame the mother of six sons,
each of whom ultimately gave name to an Arabian tribe.
To these sons Abraham gave a portion of his property
during his life time, and sent them away "unto the east
country," so that Isaac still remained the recognized heir.

For forty years Abraham survived Sarah, and then, at
the age of 175, he too "was gathered to his people," and
was buried in the oave of Machpelah. It is pleasing to
notice that Ishmael, now a man of great wealth and influ-
ence, laid aside the feelings of envy and ill-will which he
might naturally have cherished against Isaac, and showed

104 GENESIS.

his respect and affection for his old father by uniting with
his brother in the last act of filial love. Thus, in a hoary
age, died Abraham, whose character is one of the finest in
all history. As a man he was shrewd, brave, self-possessed,
generous, and tender, displaying those virtues which secured
for him the affection of relations, the esteem of dependents,
and the respect of neighbours. To his natural virtues there
was added eminent piety, as evinced in his reverence, trust-
fulness and love to the Most High. God knew the natural
fitness of the man whom he had selected for the distinguished
privilege and honour of being the "Friend of God," the
" Father of the faithful," the founder of the Jewish nation,
the Patriarch of the Church of God, the ancestor of the
promised Messiah. His character and conduct justified
the choice.

Life and Character of Isaac. — The life of Abraham had
been stirring and eventful j and that of Isaac suffers by
the comparison. There is little recorded regarding him, but,
on the principle that one or two trivial acts frequently give
a tolerably accurate index to character, we are able pretty
fairly to judge what he was and did. When he was twenty
or twenty-five he was taken by his father to Mount Moriah
to be offered up for a burnt offering ; and, with all his calm-
ness, there must have been a genuine vein of reflective
devoutness which led him so submissively to acquiesce in
his father's will. He was married to Eebekah when he
was forty ; he had, like his father, to contend for twenty
years with the doubts and murmurings of being childless ;
Esau and Jacob being at length given to him after earnest
and persevering prayer. He was seventy-five when Abraham
died, and the duties and honours of the household devolved

GENESIS. 105

upon him. There follows in his career a reproduction of
some of the least worthy incidents in the life of his father.
He sojourned at Gerar, where he denied his wife. (Gen.
xxvL, 1, 11.) God, however, solemnly renewed to him the
divine covenant,, and blessed him with^immense possessions.
He seems to have been quiet, patient, and persevering, good
rather than great, reflective rather than active and in-
fluential. In his old age, when he was blind, incapable of
active duty, and in a state apparently of dreamy apathy, he
was sadly imposed upon by the clever scheming of his wife,
and the deceptions of his son Jacob. Thinking he was dying,
he solemnly handed over the blessing which carried with it
a right to all the covenant promises, to Esau, as he thought,
his elder and favourite son. Jacob, however, represented
Esau, and secured it. This caused the old man much
agitation and anxiety, and led to the flight of Jacob. Many
years afterwards, when Jacob returned from Mesopotamia,
he found Isaac still alive and dwelling at Mamre. Isaac
lived to the age of 180. (Gen. xxxv., 28).

The histories of Jacob and Joseph occupy the remaining
portion of the Book of Genesis. As the inspired narrative
now becomes more simple, minute, and graphic, this descrip-
tive sketch may be appropriately condensed.

The life of Jacob naturally divides itself into four
parts. His abode in the tents of Isaac — probably until he
was seventy-seven years of age — (Gen. xxv., 24, and xxvii.) ;
the twenty years spent in the service of Laban, his uncle,
at Padanaram (Gea xxix.-xxxi.) ; the wanderings in Canaan,
about Shechem, Bethel, and Mamre (Gen. xxxiL — xlvi.) ; and

106 GENESIS.

the seventeen years in Egypt, where his son Joseph provided
for the wants of the family. He died at the age of 147.
(Gen. xlvii., 28.)

Jacob's Deception. — Isaac was sixty years of age when
Rebekah bore twins — Esau and Jacob. When they grew
up, Esau became a bold adventurous and skilful hunter,
and Jacob became a peaceful and seemingly unambitious
shepherd. The father favoured Esau, and Rebekah favoured
Jacob. The two brothers diflfered in their appearance, in
tbeir pursuits, and in their character. Esau was rough
and ruddy, bold and active, and found a fitting sphere for
the exercise of his tastes and capacities in the excitements
of the chase and the wild sports of the field. Jacob was
quiet, and addicted to domestic pursuits. Between the two
brothers a feeling of rivalry and animosity existed, which
was excited and encouraged by the partiality of those whose
wisdom and authority should have interposed to suppress it.
A competition for precedence and the rights of primogeni-
ture brought this feieling to a crisis. As a rule, the eldest
son in Eastern families was entitled to a double portion of
his father's property, and a limited authority over the other
children. If the rule had been applicable in Isaac's family,
Esau not only enjoyed this birthright, but was also entitled
to the patriarchal blessing and to the special privileges
entailed by God on the seed of Abraham. But God in
sovereignty had ordered otherwise, and had made this
known to the parents, saying — " the elder shall serve
the younger" (and see Rom. ix., 10-13). In this arrange-
ment of God Esau should have acquiesced, the parents
should have united in giving Jacob the place God had
assigned him, and Jacob, heir already by God's decree,

GBNssia 107

should not have adopted unkind, unbrotherlj, and sinful
expedients to bring about the fulfilment of th€ divine pur-
poses. Parental partiality, domestic dissension, fraternal
feud and fraud would thus have been avoided.

On one occasion, when Esau returned from the field, tired
and hungry, and requested some red pottage from Jacob to
relieve his necessity, Jacob refused to comply with his request
except at a price which it was as culpable in the one to
require as in the other to pay. He proposed to sell V»iTn the

pottage in exchange for the birthright. Esau seems

to have esteemed the birthright, with all the spiritual
privileges it involved, very lightly ; he was afraid he should
starve, and so, for an immediate and momentary gratification,
he " sold the birthright." Many years afterwards Jacob,
with the same object in view of securing the birthright,
committed a still more unworthy action. Isaac was about
140 years of age, and imagined himself on his deathbed.
In these circumstances he determined to settle his worldly
afikirs and solemnly to dispose of the patriarchal blessing.
He still favoured Esau, notwithstanding the decree of God,
and the fact that Esau in the fortieth year of his age had
married two idolatrous wives, thus interrupting religious
harmony and introducing greater discord into the family.
Isaac set himself to oppose the divine sovereignty, and frus-
trate the divine wilL He loved Esau, and he had a special
fondness for the venison which Esau procured. He there-
fore told him to bring some venison and receive his parting
blessing. But this happened to be overheard by Rebekah,
who resolved to secure the blessing for her favourite son
Jacob. She knew the divine will, and both judgment and
feeling coincided with it. She now feared the blessing was
about to pass to Esau, and she believed that the words of

108 GENESIS.

Isaac with reference to the transfer of the birthright would
have the force of an infallible and irrevocable bequest She
aimed at a right object, but she resorted to improper means
to gain it. Instead of earnestly reminding her husband of
the divine decree, she incited Jacob to personate
Esau, using her maternal authority to overcome his scruples
and to urge him to an act of fraud upon his father and
perfidy towards his brother. Long before the uncertainty
of hunting and the dexterity of Esau could procure and pre-
pare venison, Rebekah had prepared savoury meat with
" two good kids of the goats," and Jacob, arrayed in goodly
raiment belonging to his elder brother and disguised by art
to the sense of touch, had presented himself before Isaac.
The confiding simplicity and partiality of the frail blind
father, the artifice of the mother, and the shameless effiron-
tery and repeated falsehoods of the son — even the name of
God being profanely used to assist the deception and compel
belief — ^made the trick successful. It is a melancholy
spectacle. All sinned and all ^uffered. Isaac had no
right to oppose the will of God. His object was defeated,
for Esau lost the blessing; but in aiming to effect it he
brought much sin on his family and much anguish on him-
self. The defeat of his plan, the treachery of his wife and
son, the bitter wail of Esau when he discovered the decep-
tion that had been practised, and, above all, the perception
of his folly, self-will, and rebellion against God, formed the
punishment he endured. Rebekah acted wrongly in sug-
gesting the fraud ; she should have allowed the Almighty to
carry out His purposes in His own way. She lost the son
for whom she had plotted and sinned, and had to endure at
home the distrust and anger of an injured and deceived
husband and of a resentful and unscrupulous son. Jacob

GENESIS. 109

too readily complied with his mother's suggestion in carry-
ing out the fraud ; he trifled with his conscience, deceived his
father, and betrayed his brother. He obtained the patri-
archal blessing, the Most High overruling for the furtherance
of His own gracious and all-wise designs the unworthy trans-
action, but he *' brought a curse upon himself" also. He
was exiled from home ; he was deceived by his uncle Laban,
by his wives and his own children ; blow followed blow till
his grey hairs were well-nigh brought down with sorrow to
the grave. And if we do not withhold a measure of sym-
pathy from Esau as we listen to his '^ exceeding bitter cry "
of disappointment, ''Bless me, even me also, my father,"
we are not to forget that he had' despised the birthright and
had shown no appreciation of the spiritual privileges which
it conveyed, that he had already for the momentary grati-
fication of appetite sold it to Jacob, and had now no
claim to it, and that by his unholy marriages and worldly
disposition and conduct he had proved his unfitness to
receive special spiritual privileges.

Jaoob sent to Padan-aram. — ^Esau not unnaturally was
angry with Jacob for having betrayed and overreached him.
In his disappointment he bitterly alluded to the meaning of
the name which had been given to him — Jacob, the heel-
holder or SUpplanter (Gen. XXV, 26). His resentment
led to wicked purposes. He only awaited the death of

his old father to "slay his brother Jacob." Bebekab,

having discovered the intention of Esau, took measures to
secure Jacob's safety. She would save him from falling
a victim to his brother's anger, and at the same time,
by her plan, keep him from committing his brother's sin
of contracting an improper marriage. Isaac had come

110 GENESIS.

to see more clearly the wisdom of the divine arrange-
ment and to acquiesce in it ; he perceived that his
prospects concerning Esau were blighted by his heathenish
marriages, and by his selfish and revengeful character.
When, therefore, Rebekah referred to the possibility of
Jacob contracting a marriage among the Hittites, he cor-
dially fell in with her proposal to send him to Padan-aram,
to the house of Laban, her brother, and very fervently
gave him his parting counsel and blessing, thus consti-
tuting him his heir, and the representative of Abraham.

To please his parents, and perhaps to induce his father to
alter his will and reverse the blessing, Esau married his
cousin Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael. She was more
closely allied to him by blood, but was probably as hostile
in spirit as the wives he already had. It was a miserable
and useless expedient to obtain that which he had before
despised, (Heb. xii, 16, 17).

Jacob's Vision and Vow. — Jacob had won his father's
blessing, but he lost his father's confidence, his mother's
company, and his brother's regard. V/hen he " went out
from Beersheba" he was virtually fleeing from the just re-
sentment Qf his brother, a dishonoured fugitive and exile
from home. For seventy years he had been his mother's
favourite son, and had experienced neither hunger nor
excessive toil. His position now was the reverse of comfort-
able. He was alone, a little wallet hanging over his shoulder
and his shepherd's staff his sole possessions. He had perhaps
been more sinned against than sinning, his mother's injudic-
ious partiality and sinful plot being the cause of his exile ;
but his reflections must have been very melancholy as he
recalled his falsehood, fraud, and blasphemy. He was a

GBNBSIB. Ill

timid fugitive, apprehensive of violence from Esau, and his
conscience whispered that he was guilty, and deserved his
punishment. To anxiety and trouble of mind there is soon
added weariness and fatigue of body. He has walked about
fifty miles from home, and can no longer obtain a glimpse
of the wooded and fertile plains of Beersheba. As he jour-
neys northwards he reaches steep dreary hills, a part of the
ridge which forms the backbone of Palestine. The path is
very rough, and hill seems piled above hill before him, the
jagged peaks standing boldly ont against the sky. The
town of Luz is near, but the gates are already closed, or
else he is afraid to enter. As darkness closes in he
finds himself without house or home to shelter his weary
head, and so, a stranger in a strange land, under the broad
vault of heaven and on the bare hard earth he lays himself
down, and, having arranged some stones " for his pillows,'^ is
soon asleep. His pillow is comfortless and his slumber is
very broken. In his dreams the rocky steeps up which he
had been climbing seem to be still before him, but they
resemble a staircase set upon the earth, whose top reached to
heaven, and on which the angels of God were ascending and
descending ; while on the top of it, supreme over all, over-
ruling and directing all, stood the Lord Himself. It was a
sublime vision, and it was vouchsafed to a solitary guilty
fugitive, in a time of great necessity ; it was accompanied
with animating and comforting promises, and itjwas intended
to teach very important truths. Jacob not only beheld a
vision, he also heard a voice. God confirmed to him the
covenant blessings; recognized him as the successor of
Abraham, and the representative of the chosen seed;
promised him a numerous offspring, and gave him special
assurance of protection during his wanderings, and of a
happy restoration to his native land.

112 OENBSIS.

" And, behold, I ara with thee ; and wUl keep thee in all places whither thou
goeat, and will bring thee again into thia land ; for I will not leave thee untU I
have done that which I have spoken to thee of."— Gen. xxviii, 15.

Jacob was thus reminded that in that desolate spot he
was neither alone nor uncared for; there was given to him
a lively impression of the universal presence and ever active
providence of God; he was taught the close connection
between the seen and the unseen, between earth and heaven,
and was cheered by the promise that he himself should be
greatly blessed and should be a blessing to mankind. " In
thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be
blessed." Subsequent history shows how this promise was
fulfilled. He became wealthy and influential. The naturally
timid, crafty, avaricious man was tried by sorrow, taught
by experience, and became Israel, a prince who prevailed
with God. And through him measureless blessings have
flowed to the world, which has been enriched by the labours
and writings of his descendants — the Prophets and Apostles,
and especially by the instructions, sufferings and grace of
his descendant Jesus Christ, the world's Saviour, the
sinner's Friend. When Jacob awoke he was filled with
fear, arising from a sense of the majesty, nearness,
unmerited goodness of God. He said : —

*' How dreadful is this place I this is none other but the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven." (Gen. xzviiL, 17.)

When he arose, while memory was clearest and emotion at
its height, in order to deepen and perpetuate the im-
pression of the significant scene he had witnessed,
and help him to recall the promises God had made,
he reared the stone that had been his pillow as a monu-
mental pillar, consecrated it by pouring oil upon the top of
it, and gave it the name which, during all the centuries that
have followed, has been a familiar name for the sanctuary,

0SNB8IB. 113

— ^Bethel, the House of .God. Jacob anticipated that
every inhabitant of the district, and every traveller who
visited it, would, with the name^ recall the glorious vision,
and would bear witness to the covenant into which he
entered. This was that, seeing God had promised His
gracious presence, protection, provision, and a safe return to
his father's house, he would take Jehovah to be his God ;
would observe the ordinances of religion, and would honour
the Lord with a tenth part of his possessions as evidence
and expression of the power and sincerity of his faith and
gratitude. Alas ! nearly thirty years elapsed before Jacob
fulfilled his vow. But he has now announced his resolution
to take the God of Abraham and Isaac as his God also.

Jaoob in Haran. — At length Jacob reached the land
beyond the Euphrates, opportunely met Rachel, the daughter
of Laban his mother's brother, assisted her lo water her
flocks, introduced himself to her, was kindly received by her
father Laban, narrated to him the position of affairs at Beer-
sheba, his journey and dream, and probably the cause of his
coming to Padanaram, and was engaged as Laban's servant
(Gen. xxix., 1-15). Laban, becoming convinced of the value
of Jacob's services, made a contract with him to serve seven
years for Eachel — ^which years ^* seemed unto him but a few
days for the love he had to her." But when the seven years
had expired, in a very deceitful manner Leah the elder
sister was substituted for Rachel. When Laban attempted
to justify this by appealing to the custom of the country,
which prohibited the marriage of the younger before the
elder daughter, Jacob agreed to serve other seven years for
Rachel. Thus there was a double marriage. Rachel was
naturally more loved than Leah, but the latter had four

H

114 OBNBBIS.

sons while the former had none. The twofold marriage
produced much jealousy, bitterness, and sin. Bj it, how-
ever, the house of Israel was built up. Ultimately, Jacob
had twelve children in Padan-aram — six sons by Leah, two
sons by Bilhah, Rachel's maid, two sons by Zilpah, Leah's
maid, a daughter by Leah, and a son (Joseph) by Rachel.
After the birth of Joseph, and apparently about the time
when the fourteen years' service had expired, Jacob desired
to leave, but Laban had learned the value of a faithful and
skilful servant, '*he had learned by experience that the
Lord had blessed him for Jacob's sake," so he makes a new
arrangement with him and persuades him to remain. Laban
expected that the new arrangement would turn out to his
advantage, but, by a clever device on the part of Jacob, he
was deprived of the best of his cattle. The service of Laban
was not attractive. He was a selfish, greedy, and ungrateful
master, who only desired to make as much as possible out
of Jacob's skill and labour. He was envioxts of Jacob's
wealth and prosperity, and had become reserved and
churlish. His sons, too, were making insmuations against
Jacob's fidelity, so that the position was far firom being com-
fortable. In these circumstances Jacob appears to have
asked the direction and help of that heavenly Guardian who
had conducted him to Haran, had greatly prospered him,
and had promised to bring him again into Canaan, and God
commanded him to return to the land of his fathers and to
his kindred. True to his character, however, Jacob did not
leave openly and frankly, but in a hurried and clandestine
manner. He laid his positioil and plans before his wives,
and, having secured their consent, while Laban was busy
with sheep-shearing he fled towards Canaan with all his
household and possessions. But it was difficult for him to

0BNESI8. 115

escape with large droves of sheep and cattle, and Laban,
who had pursued after him, overtook him in the Mount
Gilead. Jacob was entirely in Laban's power, but God had
appeared to Laban and warned him against interrupting
Jacob in his journey or doing him any injury. Laban
upbraided him for having left so stealthily and for having
stolen his images — ^which Rachel, unknown to Jacob, had
concealed, and which, after a strict search, she still contrived
to conceal from her father. There was a very natural
recrimination on the part of Jacob, in which he referred in
very forcible terms to the niggardly character and vexatious
exactions of his father-in-law, and to the great hardships he
had undergone during the twenty years of service in Padan-
aram. But after the pent-up feelings of the relatives had
found expression a solemn covenant was made, a heap of
stones was erected, sacrifice offered, and a feast held to
attest the alliance and cement the bond of friendship.

Jacob mbbts EsAp. — It was no great trial to Jacob to leave
Haran, and indeed he longed to return to Canaan. But he
greatly dreaded to meet Esau, whom he had cruelly wronged,
and whose just resentment he still had cause to fear. In his
hour of perplexity and dejection God encouraged him. " The
angels of God met him" at MfthanaiTyi, i.e., two hosts, the
place receiving that name in allusion to the unseen protec-
tion by the heavenly host of angels which Jacob's defenceless
host of relatives and dependants enjoyed. Though thus
encouraged, Jacob continued very anxious as to the recep-
tion which would be given him by his brother, who was now
settled in Mount Seir in the land of Edom. But he acted in
a very wise and brotherly manner. He sent messengers to
tell of his arrival, his so doing being virtually an acknow-
ledgment that he had wronged his brother, desired to be

116 0BNE8I&

reconciled to him, and was willing to make whatevor repara-
tion was in his power. And the terms of the message, while
very deferential, suggested that as Jacob was now wealthy
it might be politic and advaDtageous for Esau to be on a
fraternal footing with him. The messengers brought back

word that Esau was coming '< to meet him, — ^and 400 men

with him.'' Jacob believed that such a large retinue
boded open hostilities, and he was much agitated and
alarmed. He did not, however, lose either his presence of
mind or his trust in God. He saw the land of Canaan
stretched out before him, and he resolved to advance
and, if possible, secure it in possession. It was his
by divine promise and favour. He adopted measures
of precaution for the protection of his family and pro-
perty by dividing them into two companies, one of which
at least might be able to escape. He solemnly com-
mended himself and all he had to the divine protection in
a short earnest prayer, which acknowledged the undeserved
goodness of God towards him, and pleaded for deliverance
and for the fulfilment of the divine promises. And he
despatched a valuable present to Esau, 550 head of cattle
of various kinds, which were sent forward in detachments,
so as to be more imposing and more effectual in conciliating
his brother.

During the night he quickly formed the members of his
household into the usual line of march, and saw them
safely across the rapid waters of the Jabbok. He was then
left alone. He was doubtless desirous calmly to consider
the critical position in which he was placed. At length, in
something like good hope that his clever expedient might
succeed in propitiating his brother, he prepares to cross
also; but he encounters an unexpected assailant. If he

OENXSIS. 117

thought that Esau oj^lj had to be reckoned with in entering
Canaan and taking possession of it — if he thought that his
own talent, or craft, or prowess would secure for him a firm
footing in the land, he is soon undeceived. At first, when
he felt himself in the firm grasp of an unseen bat powerful
opponent, he may have imagined that Esau had sent for-
ward one of his soldiers to prevent him from crossing the
ford and take summary vengeance upon him. As the
struggle proceeds he becomes convinced that this is no
human antagonist. It is one against whom he finds he
cannot prevail, one whom he cannot throw though he strain
every nerve. When dawn breaks and the man with whom
he has been wrestling touches the hollow of his thigh — the
strongest sinew in his body and the muscle on which he is
most depending for victory in the contest — and the thigh
becomes dislocated, then Jacob perceives his own utter
helplessness, perceives how quickly the stranger might have
mastered him. As he is falling, with desperate persistency
he clings to the conqueror, and recommences the struggle
in order now to retain him. He recognises the glory of
the man with whom he has been wrestling as the glory
of Jehovah, the Angel of the Lord, and humbly and
believingly he entreats His blessing. All Jacob's self-
confidence is now gone; he sees the folly of his craft,
dexterity, and strength; he sees that the very God to
whom he trusted for deliverance from the effects of Esau's
resentment had determined by an uncommon exercise
of Almighty power to humble him- There is a prolonged
and persevering struggle on the part of Jacob for the
divine blessing; he is at last allowed to prevail by
Him who sought to be conquered, and he is success-
ful in obtaining not only the ^assurance of God's blessing,

118 OENKSIS.

but also a new nature and a new name. He rises
Israel, a prince of God, mighty to prevail, and, having
overcome Jehovah by his prayer, he need not now fear the
wrath of his brother. His meeting with Esau is subordinate
to the meeting with God, and success in t^e greater struggle
secures success in the less. For many a day Jacob carried
about in his shrivelled joint and lameness the effects of this
struggle, and his descendants abstained ever afterwards
from eating "of the sinew which shrank." Jacob had
learned the necessity of entire surrender, and of unwavering
trust in the power and faithfulness of God (see Hosea,
xii., 4), and he is now permitted to re-enter Canaan. He
had learned the inefficacy of physical strength and carnal
weapons and the efficacy of humble prayer Z supplication,
and he is now in a proper frame of mind to encoimter Esau.
And the spiritual earnestness and holy ardour he had
exhibited, and his success in prayer, have made him a
worthy example to all who may come after.

When Esau and Jacob met, the warmest tokens of mutual
esteem and affection were shown. If Esau set oat with
hostile intentions, he had been restrained by God from
injuring his brother, and had been influenced to manifest the
greatest kindness and cordiality towards him and towards
his family. With diflSculty Jacob prevailed upon Esau to
accept the large present which he had prepared, as he
already had enough. Jacob declined the invitation of Esau
to visit him at Mount Seir, and proceeded, after the
departure of his brother, by easy journeys to Succoth,
still on the east of Jordan, and so called on account of the
numerous tents which he pitched there for the accommoda-
tion of his cattle. Shortly afterwards he crossed the Jordan
and encamped at ShecheiQ, where he bought from the

0ENE8IS. 119

children of Hamor a piece of ground '' for an hundred pieces
of money.*' On this ground he built an altar, which he
called El-elohe-Israel, i.e., God, the God of Israel. He
remained in Shechem for several years, probably about nine,
when acts of treachery and cruelty perpetrated by his sons
Simeon and Levi upon the inhabitants of Shechem, in
revenge for the wrong done to their sister Dinah by
Shechem, the son of Hamor (Gen., xzxiv.), necessitated
removal.

Bethel Revisited. — ^Thirty years have now passed since
Jacob had solemnly vowed, on his way from Beersheba, that
if God should protect him, bless him, and bring him back in
peace, he would perform religious services, and dedicate to
Crod a portion of his substance. But he has been somewhat
dilatory in revisiting Bethel and fulfilling his vow, although
its conditions had been exactly fulfilled. It being now — after
the massacre of the Shechemites (Gen. zxziv.) — unsafe for
Jacob and his family to remain longer in Shechem, even
though they had bought land ther^, God reminded Jacob of
his unfulfilled obligations, and told him to ^ arise, go up

to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an

altar unto GrOd, that appeared unto thee when thou
fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother " (Gen. xxxv, 1)«
Jacob at once prepared to obey the divine command, but,
in order that he might enter upon his new residence with
all due care, and consecrate the altar with the utmost
ceremony and devotion, he resolved on an immediate and
thorough reformation of his household. Rachel still
retained the gods of Laban her father, the Mesopotamian
servants seem still to have been addicted to idolatrous and
superstitious practices, and Jjacob appears to have been

120 0BNI8IS.

negligent of his duty to keep his household free from heathen
corruption. Now, however, he calls for all "the strange
gods'' which were in the encampment, and the earrings
which were used for purposes of incantation and idolatry,
and he hid them at the root of a tree. He also enjoined
all the members of his household to perform those rites
which were meant to symbolize a moral and spiritual
purification of the mind and heart. Then Bethel, which
was thirty miles distant, was revisited, and the sacred vows
fulfilled, the Canaanite tribes in the neighbourhood, who
might have taken vengeance upon them and disturbed the
services, being meanwhile restrained by a supematiiral
dread, by " the terror of God."

During the time that Jacob and his household renvained
at Bethel these events occurred : — ^Deborah| the old nurse
of Rebekah, died, and was buried under an oak, which
received the name of AUon-bachuth, ue., the oak of weeping ;
and Ck)d appeared again to Jacob, and renewed the
threefold promise made to Abraham of the land of Canaan,
a numerous posterity including the chosen seed, and bless-
ing through them to the world. From Bethel Jacob, with
his fiimily, travelled southward, and they had reached
Ephrath, on the way to Mamre, when Rachel died in
child-birth, leaving a son. This was a very affecting
event, and a great blow to Jacob. The child was named
Benjamin, i.e., the son of the right hand.

After having once more halted "beyond the tower of
Edar" Jacob came to his father Isaac, who was living at
Mamre. He enjoyed the company and fellowship of the
venerable patriarch during the next sixteen years. Isaac
and Ishmael had met at the funeral of Abraham. It is again
pleasing to notice that Esau and Jacob met at Mamre to
perform the funeral rites of their common &ther.

GENBSIS. 121

But not long after Jacob had settled at Mamre, and fifteen
years before the death of Isaac, an event occurred which
plunged him into deep distress, though it was eventually
overruled by Divine Providence for the preservation of his
famOy and the discipline of his descendants. This brings
us to the history of Joseph.

The last fonrteen chapters of the Book of Genesis are
mainly occupied with the history of Joseph^ the elder son
of Rachel and the favourite son of Jacob. His life naturally
divides itself into three parts — seventeen years in his
father's household, in Haran and Canaan ; thirteen years
in the service of Potiphar, in Egypt, the last two of which
were spent in prison ; and eighty years during which he
was the governor of £gypt, a man of wealth and power.

Joseph Envied by His Brethren. — When the beautiful
and aflfecting history of Joseph begins he was a lad of seven-
teen years of age, of superior personal appearance, with open
countenance, truthful in character, who had received good
impressions from his mother's training and his father's
piety. His mother had died two years before this time
in giving birth to his younger brother Benjamin, and Jacob
could not repress a feeling of favouritism towards the
children of his favourite wife. He loved Joseph for his
own sake also. Joseph's ten half brothers were rough, cruel
men, of bad character, while he was a youth of good prin-
ciples and gentle manners. But what produced affection
and partiality in the father produced envy and hatred in
the ten brethren. They hated him on account of his
superior moral character, which constrained him to report
to their father the wicked actions practised by them at the
distant outlying stations. They hated him on account of

122 GBNESI&

their father's partiality towards him, which showed itself
in various way^ such L pr«enting to hhn a coat or tunic
beautifully embroidered, ai^L superior to that which the
others wore. And they hated him on accoiuit of two
dreams which he had, and which suggested that he would
be exalted above the rest of the family, who were all to do
him reverence. In the one dream, while he and his
brethren were binding sheaves in the field, his aheaf stood
upright and theirs did obeisance to it ; in the other the sun,
moon, and eleven stars seemed to make obeisance to himself
(Gen. xxxvii., 1-11). Joseph in narrating his dreams displayed
the nobleness and frankness of his character, and the fact

that his brethren ''hated him yet the more for his

dreams'' shows that they recognised an imdeniable and
appropriate significance in them.

Joseph sold to the Ishmablites and to Potiphar. —
Joseph's ten brethren having removed northward to Shechem,
some fifty miles from Hebron, to feed their flocks there,
Jacob requested Joseph to go north and see how Ids brethren
and the flocks were doings and bring him back word. He
perhaps feared lest the men of Shechem might stiU remember
the deeds of cruelty and robbery which Simeon and Levi, in
revenge for their sister's shame, had committed (Gen. xxxiv.),
and might rise up against them, slaying his sons and carrying
oflf the cattla Joseph readily obeyed. He little thought that
over twenty years would elapsed before he should again see
his father — twenty years of hardship and strange vicissitude!

Joseph did not find his brothers at Shechem, but a man
whom he met relieved him from disappointment and perplex-
ity, by telling him that they had removed to Dothan, about
twelve miles further to the north-west. In the rich valley

OBNE8I8. 123

of Dothan, with its two wells, as the name implies, he fouud
them. But alas ! absence from home and lapse of time had
not lessened their envy, and vhen they espied in the distance
the master of dreams, as they called him, they conspired
against him to kill him. In that distant and lonely place
the wicked deed could be committed with impunity, a story
could easily be concocted with which to deceive their old
father, and they would be rid of a mean tale-bearer and
offensive rival. Beuben, to gain time, *' to rid him out of
their hands, to deliver him to his father again," induced the
others to alter their plan, and instead of murdering him, to
let him down to the bottom of a pit and leave him there.
When Joseph came up they at once seized him, stripped off
his long many-coloured tunic, bound him, and cast him into
an empty pit. It was a xsruel wicked act;ion, but jealousy
and hatred had dried up every feeling of pity and compas-
sion. They neither heeded his bitter cries for mercy nor
considered the effect which such a terrible blow would have
upon their aged and revered father. Undisturbed by
Joseph's cries they calmly, but with heartless barbarity, " sat
down to eat bread," probably to enjoy the very dainties
Joseph had brought from their father's tent.

Again, however, their plans were altered. Happening to
look in the direction of the plain of Dothan, they beheld a
company of Ishmaelites, or Midianites — descendants of
Ishmael, Hagar's son, and of Midian, Keturah's son, who had
mingled together on the east side of the Jordan, and were
now an enterprising commercial people — who had come
from Gilead and were carrying down spices and balm, and
myrrh,. th€ various products of Arabia and India, which were
to perfume the living and embalm the dead, to the land of
Egypt. The sight of these travelling merchants suggested

124 0BNESI8.

the idea to Judah that it would be very unprofitable to elay
their brother and conceal his blood, that they could dispose
of him with equal certainty and with greater advantage if
they sold him to these merchants as a slave. Having no wish
to commit a greater crime than was necessary to effect the
desired end, the others readily approved of this proposal;
Joseph was hastily drawn up out of the dark and miry
dungeon, and sold to the merchants for the pitiful sum of
twenty pieces of silrer, about £3 of our money. As the
merchants knew they would get a ready purchaser in the
Egyptian slave-market for a handsome and intelligent youth,
and would gain at least thirty shillings by the transaction,
(see Exodus xzL, 32, from which it appears that the price
of an ordinary slave was thirty shekels, or pieces of silver,)
they were doubtless well satisfied with the bargain, but to
the brothers it was a poor speculation, the share of each, if
Eeuben also, who happened at the time to be absent,
received a share, being only six shillings. However, the
dreamer was now out of the way, and was last seen by his
brethren in all probability tied to one of the camels on his
way to the Mizraim market. A purchaser for Joseph was
soon found, no less a person than one of the leading state
functionaries of Pharaoh, into whose large and splendid house
he was introduced as a slave, but who soon came to appre-
ciate hifi worth and to bestow upon him a confidence which
few freemen enjoy.

Jacob and- his Family. — Before the history shifts from
Canaan to Egypt and proceeds to trace the fortunes of Joseph
only, it tells us how the conduct of Joseph's brethren was
concealed from their father, the effect which the supposed
death of Joseph had upon hinii and the shameful deeds com-
mitted by Judah.

GENESIS. 125

Reuben was absent when the bargain for the sale of
Joseph was made with the Midianites. It was evidently his
intention to return to the pit stealthily, rescue his brother,
and deliver him to his father. Great was his anxiety and
grief when he returned and found that the pit was empty
and his brethren were gone. He wsus relieved when he
learned that Joseph had not been slain, but only sold into
slavery. He then seems to have joined with the others in
the endeavour to deceive their father by the falsehood that
Joseph had been destroyed by a beast of prey, a story for
which they obtained ready belief by killing a kid of the
goats, tearing the much-hated tunic to pieces, dipping the
torn coat in the blood of the kid, and on their return home
presenting the tragic memorial before their father. The
hypocrisy and cruelty of these men, their affected sympathy
and heartless mockery, are astonifihing. The bitter grief of
Jacob, who refused to be comforted, and who wept, and said

''For I will go down into the grave for my son

mourning," may well have made them relent and melted
them into sincere sympathy and compassion. The cry of
Jacob has been thus pathetically paraphrased : —

**0h yes, 'tis his garment ; but where is my child ?
Is he torn, is he torn by the beasts of the wild ?
Alas ! 'tis his life's blood that crimsons it o'er ;
And these arms will encircle my darling no more.
Ah ! why did I send him unguarded away,
Where the grim tiger crouches to spring on his prey !
For help did his voice echo loud through the vale,
And his cries, all unheard, died away on the gale.
Ah, me ! there was none to receive his last breath,
Or to close his loved eyes in the slumber of death.
And now 'tis denied me, at evening's close,
To repair to the place where his ashes repose.
And there, all unseen, nurse the feelings of grief,
Which afford to the desolate soul a relief.

126 GENESIS.

Come, night) with thy shadows encircle me round,

And hide every object in darkness profound ;

For this world is a waste that I would not behold

Since the heart that could cheer me is senseless and cold.

So bring me the sackcloth and over my head

Let handf uls of ashes in silence be spread ;

For my heart is quite broken, my peace ever flown,

And my grey hairs with grief to the grave must go down."

Jacob remained for maay years ignorant of the heartless
cruelty of his ten sons, and of the fate of Joseph. He was
not ignorant, however, of their wickedness. Reuben (Gen.
xxxii., 22), Simeon, and Levi (Gen. xzxiv. 25-29) had been
guilty of heinous sin, and had forfeited the privileges of the
birthright. The pre-eminence now of right belonged to
Judah, but he also made shipwreck of his integrity.
Casting off the restraints of religion, he married into a
Canaanite family, and was many years afterwards guilty
of sin with Tamar, bis daughter-in-law. The xxxviiith
chapter brings to a sad and dishonourable close for the
present the history of Jacob and his family. It is, however,
worthy of note that the disreputable conduct of those
referred to in this chapter did not prevent Him "who
made Himself of no reputation" from coming in the line
of Judah and Tamar, and their illegitimate son Pharez
(Matt L, 3).

Joseph in Potiphab's House, — "Egypt is now to be for
centuries the scene of the inspired history — Egypt, then the
capital of civilisation, the home of art and learning, whose
sphinxes, pyramids, temples, and tombs, defying the effacing
finger of time, remain, after more than thirty centuries, to
testify to her wealth and power. As the inscriptions on
these monuments represent with fulness and accuracy

^mnsaiB. 127

various details connected with the court of the Pharaohs
and the customs of the people, we £g*e able to form a
clear conception of the manners which prevailed and the
scenes to be witnessed in the time of Joseph. To a young
lad accustomed only to rural scenery and to the duties of
pastoral life it must have been a great change to be trans-
ported from the quiet valley of Uebrqn to the busy, active
world of Egypt, with all its luxury and refinement, its
idolatry and sin, fri^m the fond caresses of an indulgent
father to the blows and chains of slavery. Joseph

entered Egypt as a slave. Amid struggles and

tears he had been borne off by strangers to a strange
land, but, though a slave, he manifested a truly noble
nature. He was serupulously conscientious and faithful,
"the Lord was with Joseph," and evidently, even among
idol-worshipperB, Joseph did not neglect the worship of the
God of his fathers. The observant eye of his master,
Potiphar, soon discovered his superior qualities, his indus-
try, prudence, and trustworthmess. He " saw that the

Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all
that he did to prosper in his hand," and he advanced

him to the position of chief or confidential servant in his
household. The speedy promotion and success of Joseph
were due to the blessing of God, who had bestowed upon
him special capacities and virtues ; but we are not to over-
look the self-denial, the devotion to his master's interests,
the honesty, and shrewdness which he, by divine help, was
enabled to display. He was elevated to a position of
influence, but it was also a position of temptation, as his
master committed all his property to his care. Joseph,
however, was strictly honest) and must have been happy in
having secured the respect and confidence of his master, in

128 OBNIBBIS.

the consciousness of doing his duty with fidelity, and in the
sense that he enjoyed the loving presence of his heavenly
Father. Potiphar found in Joseph adherence to truth, a
superiority to the disposition and vices which generally
characterised his slaves, and rare mental and moral qualities.
He came to admire and respect the religious principles which
his servant professed, and to place such unhounded confidence
in Joseph as warranted the bestowal upon him of the general
superintendence of his establishment and estate, headship
over his fajm and family. It is evident that the indulged
favourite of Jacob possessed beneath his fair exterior the
strength of religious principle and of natural endowments.
And if now and then he had a sense of isolation and recalled
the pleasant memories of bygone years, linked with vague
possibilities of the future before him, if he thought of the
loneliness of his father bereft of his service and society,
and of the crushing sorrow he must have experienced when
he learned his fate, if he indulged the vision that his
brothers would repent of their unnatural sin, make con-
fession of it, and endeavour to discover him and procure his
emancipation — if these memories and thoughts passed before
him they did not at least hinder him in the discharge of the
duties that devolved upon him. The likelihood is that the
lapse of years softened the memory of his sufferings, while
the remembrance of parental instructions and example, of
stories of Bethel, Mahanaim, and Peniel, now hallowed and
enforced by his own experience, would lead to a greater
exercise of faith and trust and to the faithful observance of
religious duties. It is likely, too, that Joseph availed him-
self of all the opportunities within his reach of becoming
acquainted with the language, literature, and customs of
Egypt j and that, being thoughtful, and observant, and

GENESIS. 129

industrious, he rapidly developed the culture of both mind
and heart. It is at least clear that he had been preserved
from morbid despondency* had thrown off vain regrets and
stifled vindictive feelings^ and had, by his own manliness
and faith in God, risen to a position of responsibility and
honour.

Joseph Tempted by Potiphab's Wife. — About ten years
had been passed by Joseph in the house of Potiphar when an
event occurred which greatly affected his destiny, and the
estimate which Potiphar formed of his piety and integrity.
Joseph was now twenty-S3ven years of age, in the prime of
life, and good looking — "a goodly person and well favoured."
His master's wife, true to the character of the women of
ancient Egypt for looseness of morals and imfaithfulness to
the nuptial bond, was struck by this picture of manly beauty,
threw herself in Joseph's way, became gradually more
familiar in manner and warm in speech, and finally, when
the hints she threw out were not taken, threw off restraint,
and with unblushing effrontery declared her wish, and tried
to compel his consent. Joseph, however, manifested much
forbearance, self-control, and adherence to principle. He
avoided her as much as he could, resisted her importunities,
endeavoured to appeal to her better nature, pointed out the
ingratitude and baseness of the sin to which she was temp-
ting him, — a sin against himself against her, against her
husband who had entrusted to him the management of his
affairs and whose confidence and kindness would be betrayed,
and, especially, a sin against the God he worshipped and

professed to serve. "How can I do this great wicked-
ness and sin against Ood?" Thus divine grace, and
religious principle, and decision of character enabled Joseph

130 GENESIS.

to resist this temptation, to ward off this attack upon his
integrity and virtue. Possibly an intrigue with his master's
wife might have helped him to greater advancement, to
liberty, and to wealth. Joseph successfully resisted every
plea of this kind, as well as those which came from the
entreaties and embraces of Potiphar's disloyal wife.

But Joseph's faithful rebukes and persistent refusals at
length aroused other feelings in the mind of the tempter —
feelings of hatred, a desire for revenge. Fondness is trans-
formed into ferocity, unhallowed passion into bitter
resentment. If she cannot corrupt him she is resolved to
ruin him, and she becomes as remorseless in her projects of
revenge as she had been shameless in her solicitations to
wrong. There is another temptation to sin; Joseph,
terrified by the suddenness of the onset, and bent only on
his personal preservation from guilt and dishonour, rushes
from the presence and touch of the tempter, losing his
outer garment in the struggle ; first to the servants of the
house, who doubtless already bear envy and dislike to the
Hebrew stranger, and envy him his elevation and success,
and then to her husband on his return home, she tells the
story that Joseph had insulted her and endeavoured to do
her wrong. By falsehood and defamation she tries to
destroy the character, blast the prospects, and embitter the
life of her master's loyal and faithful servant, while she
professes to use the language of insulted virtue, and poses
as one who is modest and loyal, and has been badly treated
even by her husband who had " brought in the Hebrew

servant unto her to mock her." She charges Joseph

with the very sin to which she had tried to allure him,
and the garment which in his flight he had left seems to
confirm the truth of her report. Potiphar is at first

GENESIS. 131

staggered by a story which brands one whom he had trusted
and esteemed on account of his high moral character as a
designing villain and consummate hypocrite, but he is
induced to believe it. He was naturally angry, " his wrath
was kindled," and without further enquiry, seeing by the
laws of Egypt he could not inflict capital punishment, he
took Joseph and put him into the prison or round house
"where the king's prisoners were bound," the prisoners who
had oflended the monarch himself, and he was there in

the prison where his ** feet were hurt with fetters,
and he was laid in iron." (Ps. cv., 18.) It shows the

true nobility of Joseph's character that he was content to
lie under the cruel suspicion of having wronged the man
whom he had faithfully served, and whose confidence and
esteem he most prized, rather than inflict upon him a deeper
wound by exposing the infidelity of his wife. He submits
to the caliminy, falsehood, and injustice, and says nothing
to criminate the guilty or justify himself, being fully con-
scious of his own innocence, and believing that God in His
own good time and way would vindicate his character, and
deliver him from the dark and loathsome dungeon. Like
One still greater, and of whom he is a remarkable type, he
" opened not his mouth," " when he was reviled, he reviled
not again ; when he suffered he threatened not ; but com-
mitted himself to Him that judgeth righteously."

Joseph in Prison. — The same qualities which had
secured advancement in the house of Potiphar, secured
advancement, and even comparative freedom, in the king's
prison. Perhaps Potiphar had some misgivings about his
wife's character — was not fully convinced of the truth of her
story, and wished to avoid public scandal Perhaps the

132 OBKEStS.

keeper of the prison doubted the innocence of Potiphar's
wife, and had previous knowledge of the high character
and trustworthiness of Joseph. At all events, considering
the greatness of the crime with which Joseph was charged,
he seems to ha.Ye been leniently treated, and the keeper
certainly reposed unusual confid^ice in him in placing all
the other prisoners under his custody, more strictness and
vigilance being expected in a state prison them in an ordinary
one. We cannot, however, fail to see that the secret of his
position and prosperity lay in his piety, and in the fact that

'* the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy,
and gave him fbronr in the sight of ike keeper of
the prison,'' and ''made all he did to prosper." Though

degraded from an honourable and important office, though
branded as an impostor and imprisoned for a crime of which
he was innocent — and to one of his age, prospects, and moral
sensibilities this must have been peculiarly overwhelming
and oppressive — Joseph was cheered by the presence and
favour of God* Though shut out from social intercourse
and the light of heaven, he was not deprived of divine
communion and celestial consolations. Placed in very un-
toward and perilous circumstances, he yet rose above gloom
and despondency, showed his willingness to be usefully
employed, displayed such aptitude and ability as com-
manded the confidence and esteem of the keeper of the
prison ; so that he came to be as much trusted in the prison
as he had been before in Potiphar's house, and by his power
to enforce prison discipline and preserve order, by his know-
ledge how to conciliate and how to command, he inspired
respect and secxired obedience.

After Joseph had obtained this position of trust in the
prison, it happened that two men of high office were

GENESIS. 133

committed to his care — viz., the chief butler and the chief
baker of the king of Egypt. Joseph discharged his painful
duty with strictness, yet with tenderness and sympathy.
. Observing one morning that these men were depressed he
kindly inquired into the cause of their sorrow, and encouraged
them to give him their confidence, that, if possible, he might
alleviate their distress. He found that two dreams w^hich
they had dreamed, and which somehow had made a peculiar
impression upon their minds, occasioned the sadness. It was
just three days till Pharaoh's birthday — a day generally
chosen for deciding the fate of political or courtly offenders
— and doubtless the associations of the day and the men's
natural anxiety contributed to form the character of their
dreams. These related to their past employments, and were
felt by them to be ominous of what was to happen. They
were exceedingly dejected because there was no one who
could interpret the dreams and predict the future. Joseph
on learning the cause of sadness said, *^ Do not interpre**
tations belong to Qod 7 '' He reproved them for desiring
to resort to the diviners and magicians of Egypt, who claimed
a prerogative which belonged to God only. When the dreams
were narrated to Joseph, under the guidance of divine inspir-
ation he expounded them. The dream of the chief butler or
cup-bearer represented him as gathering grapes and pressing
the juice as formerly into the king's cup, while that of the
chief baker or cook represented him as carrying on his head
three wicker baskets containing baked meats for the royal
table, which some birds came and devoured. Joseph
interpreted the former dream to mean speedy restoration to
office, and the latter to mean death by the hands of the
public executioner; and the events corresponded to this
interpretation. He no doubt displayed here much sagacity,

134 OBNBSIS.

candour, aud frankness, but we cannot fail to recognise the
special guidance of God's Spirit.

How affecting, too, is the appeal which Joseph made to
the butler 1 He had shown him sympathy, granted him
relief, and helped to inspire hope. It was only proper and
just that the butler should show sympathy and do him a
service in return.

" But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray
thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this
house : for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews ; and here
also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon." —
Genesis zl., 14, 15.

Joseph, though he complained of injustice, did not criminate
his brothers or point invectives against Potiphar and his
wife, and we cannot but admire his reticence and his mag-
nanimity. How base and inexcusable the ingratitude of the
butler! "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph,
but forgot him."

Joseph before Pharaoh. — The next we read of Joseph is
his being hurriedly summoned by the servants of the king
to appear at court. But this does not occur till two full
years after the release of the chief butler, who, in spite ol
the expression of his acknowledgements to Joseph and resolu-
tion not to forget his sympathy and kindness, but to use efforts
for his liberation, yet amid the congratulations of friends
and the joy of his own restoration quite neglected his former
companion and friend. It must have been very tantalizing
to Joseph, extremely disappointing and perplexing, after all
his fidelity and trust in God, to be confined for such a
lengthened period in an Egyptian prison. But it was well
fcfr him, for his family, and for the world. As weeks and

GENESIS. 135

months passed and he was forced to the conclusion that the
butler had forgotten him, that Pharaoh was indifferent, or
that there were secret influences behind the throne which
frustrated all efforts in his behalf, Joseph learned to cease
from men and to commit himself more entirely to God, who
had given him the power to interpret dreams, had mixed him
up with matters of life and death, and must surely have
some important work for him to do. There was time for
reflection, for the discipline of hope and disappointment
Joseph's character was expanding and maturing under diffi-
culties. And when the time for his liberation came, we do
not find that the suffering and injustice have left any trace
of bitterness against his fellows, but we find a self-possession,
a dignity, such power of governing self and commanding
others, such faith in God and submission to His will, as
eminently fitted him for the high position God had designed
him to fill. In the discharge of the ordinary duties of the
prison he had found the best cure for a wounded heart, and
had given ample proof of his abilities and acquirements.
When Joseph's principles had been sufficiently tested, and
his character for calmness and power consolidated, the hour
of release came.

Pharaoh had some dreams which greatly agitated him.
They were a revelation from God, a revelation which
concerned the welfare of his people, but he could not
interpret them. The whole court was in a state of confusion
and anxiety. The magicians and wise men could offer no
explanation. At length the chief butler was reminded of
Joseph, " a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of
the guard " who had interpreted, and interpreted correctly,
the dreams of himself and of his companion. The butler

136 OENBSIS.

** remembered his faults," and recalled this incident, not
to serve Joseph and secure the liberty he longed for, but to
serve the king. Joseph accordinglj is hastily brought out of
the dungeon, and, after making such arrangements as enable
him to appear with decency and due respect, be is ushered
into the royal presence. Joseph is calm and humble, dis-
claims all ability of himself to unfold the secret counsels of
heaven, but expresses his belief that ''God shall give
Pharaoh an answer of peace.'' The dreams of Pharaoh
had been thoroughly Egyptian. As he was standing on the
banks of th« Kile, on whose annual rise and overflow the
country was dependent for irrigation and richness, seven fat
kine which came up out of the river seemed to be devoured
by seven lean kine which appeared after them. He also
dreamed that seven full ears on one stalk were devoured by
seven empty or withered ears which sprang up after them.
Joseph interpreted these dreams with an air of truthfulness
and divine authority which commended the interpretations
to the mind of the king as being unquestionably correct.
He explained them as foreshadowing a single course of
events, namely, seven years of abundance, to be followed
by seven years of extreme scarcity ; and he advised the king,
in order to lessen as much as possible the miseries of
famine, to lay up a store of com in the cities during the
coming years of plenty, under the care of some discreet and
able minister.

The Honours conferred upon Joseph. — In proposing to
Pharaoh that he should appoint one to collect com during
the years of plenty, we believe Joseph acted with thorough
honesty of purpose, and had little thought that he, a
Hebrew, a slave, a prisoner, an untried young man, should be

GENESIS. 137

the person so appointed. But Pharaoh at once recognised by
the self-possession and shrewdness which Joseph had mani-
fested that he was the very man to whom, in this emergency,
the interests of the country might be safely committed, that

he was '< a man in whom the Spirit of Gk>d is;" and he

thereupon elevated him to be ruler over his house and
people, to be the highest in the land, himself only excepted,
invested him with the seals of office and the tokens of royal
favour, and caused the public crier to call before him as he
rode forth in the royal chariot, "Bow the knee." Two
additional circumstances attended Joseph's elevation. He
received a new name — " Zaphnath-Paaneah," which is
generally supposed to mean " the revealer of secrets," and

he was married to Asenath the daughter of Poti-

pherah, priest of On. His honours and enjoyments,
however, did not prevent him from undertaking the journeys
and assuming the anxieties incident to the responsible office
which he now filled. ** He went out over all the land of
Egypt." Joseph was thirty years of age at the time of his
elevation.

How strange the links in the chain of circumstances
which had brought Joseph to this position — the envy and
hatred of his brethren, the wickedness of Potiphar's wife,
the false accusation, the unjust imprisonment, the disobe-
dience of Pharaoh's servants, the anger of the king, the
dreams of these servants and of Pharaoh — ^and they all lead
up to the elevation of Joseph to the right hand of
the monarch of Egypt ! God had been laying his plans and
preparing his instruments at very different times and in
very different places. Might not Joseph now hope for the
fulfilment of his own dreams *?

138 GENESIS.

Joseph's Brethren visit Eotpt. — Eight years hare passed
since Joseph became the ruler over Egypt. These have
been busy years for him in gathering and storing com, and,
during the last year, in selling it to the people. He had
laid up in store, during the seven years of abundance, so
large a quantity of grain that when the years of scarcity
arrived he was able to sell not only to the Egyptians — all of
whom, except the priests, alienated to the sovereign,«in order
to obtain com, first their money, then their cattle, and
finally their lands and their persons — but even to the
inhabitants of neighbouring countries. In Egypt alone, by
means of the foresight and prudent administration of Joseph,
was there a sufficient supply.

During these years, too, two sons had been bom to Joseph,
the first being named ManaSSeh, *.«. forgetting, "For God,
said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's
house/' i,e., the keen longings felt for kindred and home are
now alleviated, and no painful remembrance of the past
remains, — and the second being named Ephrailll, t.^. fruitful,
" For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my
affliction," an acknowledgment of the divine goodness, and
an expression of his gratitude.

The famine which visited Egypt seems to have been
very general. Canaan also felt its efiects — and Jacob, the
heir of promise, with his numerous household, is represented
as ready to perish for lack of food. The report that there
was com in Egypt having reached him, he sent his sons,
with the exception of Benjamin, down thither to purchase
some. Having arrived in Egypt, the ten brethren appeared
before the governor and made obeisance, according to the
Oriental custom, by prostrating themselves with their faces

GENESIS. 139

to the earth — thus remarkably fulfilling the dreams of
Joseph's youth. Joseph at once knew his brothers, but
they failed to recognise him. Desirous of seeing if they
were altered in disposition, to humble them and bring them
to a due sense of the injustice and cruelty of which they
had been guilty against himself, and doubtless also to
obtain, without prematurely revealing himself, much desired
information regarding his father and Benjamin, he spoke
roughly to them and conmiitted them to prison as spies
who had come 'Ho see the nakedness of the land." Joseph
obtained the information he desired ; and his brothers felt
that the sudden calamity which had befallen them was a
just retribution for the great crime of their life. After
three days Joseph released them from the fears and
rigours of the Egyptian prison, supplied them with com,
and ordered his steward "to restore every man's money into
his sack, and to give them provision for the way." Simeon,
however, was detained in chains as a hostage, and they were
commanded to bring their youngest brother if they came
again. Their astonishment and fear when they discovered
the money in the sack's mouth of each, and the bitter wail
of Jacob when all that had befallen them was narrated —

" Me have ye bereaved of my children : Joaeph ia not, and Simeon ia not, and
ye will take Benjamin away : all these things are against me." (Gen. zlli., 86.) —

make the story exceedingly natural and touching.

Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brethren. — When the
supply of com was exhausted, Jacob's sons had to return to
Egypt. It was necessary that Benjamin should this time
go with them. At first Jacob refused to comply with this
demand, but, under the pressure of necessity, and the
urgent entreaty of Judah who undertook to be surety for

140 6ENBSIS.

Benjamin's safety, he yielded, and sent away the ten charged
with a present to the governor, and solemnly commended to
the divine protection. Contrary to their expectation, the
men received on their return to Egypt a cordial welcome ;
no apology or defence was allowed regarding the money
which they had found in their sacks' mouth, and which they
were now prepared to refund ; Simeon was restored to them
without delay, and they had the high honour of dining with
the governor, who made kind inquiries regarding their own
welfare and the health of their father. Feelings of fear,
surprise, and great astonishment were successively excited
by these attentions, by the reply of the steward that " their
God, and the God of their father had given them treasure
in their sacks," by the strangely affectionate words of the
governor to Benjamin, "God be gracious unto thee, mj
son," and, especially, by the fact that their seats at table
were arranged in the order of their ages, and that Benjamin
received as a mark of special honour a mess five times as
large as any of the others. Gradually all cause of fear was
removed, "and they drank and were merry" with the
governor. Next day they were all dismissed with a liberal
supply of corn. But a terrible trial yet awaited them.
They had only got a little way from the city on the way to
Canaan, when the governor's steward was seen to follow in
hot pursuit. On overtaking them, he charged them with
having stolen the governor's silver cup, his divining cup.
They were shocked at such an accusation, and, conscious of
innocence, readily proposed that the guilty one, if he were
found among them, should die, and the rest of them become
the governor's slaves. But the steward fixed that be with
whom the cup should be found was to be a slave, while the
rest were to be blameless. A sense of relief must have been

GENESIS. 141

experienced as brother after brother protested his innocence
and opened his sack, but what was their horror and distress
when amid the corn in Benjamin's sack the silver cup was
found ! One and all in deepest grief returned to the city.
Joseph, expecting their return, for it was by his instigation
the cup had been placed in Benjamin's sack, had not left the
house and was prepared to receive them. But when they
fell down before him with their faces to the ground, he
sternly questioned them : '^ What deed is this that ye have
done 7 '' Judah, speaking for the rest, broke out with the

acknowledgment, ''Ood hath found out the iniquity of

thy servants/' and detailed with affecting simplicity the
conversation with their father respecting Benjamin, conclud-
ing with a strong representation of the anguish which the
loss of Benjamin would inflict on him (Gen. xliv., 14-34).
When Joseph heard the touching story and witnessed the
sincere grief of his brethren, their love for his father and for
Benjamin, he fairly broke down before them. His object in
proving his brethren had been accomplished, and he found
that they were now very different men from what they were
when they heartlessly sold him into slavery; that they were
truly humbled on account of past sin, and united into a
loving and attached family. We do not need to dwell on
the scene that followed, when the doubt and hesitation on
the part of Joseph gave way before a resistless tide of long
pent up emotion, and, alone with his brethren, he informed
them that he, the governor of Egypt, was no other than their
long lost brother. He had hitherto constrained himself to
assume the appearance of severity in order to awaken within
them a due sense of the crime of which they had been guilty,
and to test their feelings, but now he puts forth efforts to
calm their fears, to comfort and gladden their hearts. He

142 GENESIS.

tells tbem that God had sent him before them to save their
lives by a great deliverance, and that they had only been
the instruments employed by God in fulfilling His purposes.
He proposes that his father and the whole family should
come down into Egypt and settle in Goshen — at least during
the five years of famine which have yet to run — and assures
them that he will make ample provision for them. By his
affectionate embraces he removes their first feelings of sur-
prise and perplexity, and convinces them that he bears no
ill-will for their past cruelty, but cherishes towards them
feelings of fraternal love. The arrangement which Joseph
had proposed for the support of the family in Egypt was
heartily confirmed by Pharaoh, who, realising his obligation
to Joseph, gladly embraced the opportunity of showing kind-
ness to the kindred of a public benefactor. Pharaoh also
sent down waggons to transport the women and children.
Joseph sent away his brethren, with many valuable presents,
and with the parting advice, ** See that ye fall not OUt by
the way " — a gentle, but as he well knew a necessary, hint
that they should lay aside all feelings of resentment and
envy, and avoid causes of quarreL

It had been a severe trial to Jacob to be left alone inthe
tent, deprived of all his twelve sons. Doubtless his prayers
on their behalf had been frequent and fervent, and often had
he gazed in the direction of Egypt in order to descry the
returning caravan. At length he is relieved. Benjamin
and Simeon, too, are there, and he is satisfied and thankful.
But there is cause for greater thankfulness than he imagines.

The brethren report that '^ Joseph is yet alive, and he is
governor over all the land of Eg]rpt." Jacob is at first

quite overcome by this sudden and startling intelligence. His

GENESIS. 143

ten sons had rather avoided mentioniDg the name of Joseph,
and for many years he had been as dead. " Jacob's heart
fainted, for he believed them not." But his unbelief is
speedily dispelled by the sight of the splendid presents which
Joseph had sent, and of the waggons of Egyptian construc-
tion sent by Pharaoh for the conveyance of the family to
Egypt. The evidence that his long lost and best-beloved
son was alive revived his spirit, and he felt that he had
nothing more to expect or desire in this world than again
to see the face of Joseph.

** And Israel said, It is enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive : I will g^ and see
him before I die."— Oen. xIt., 28.

Jacob Goes Down to Egypt./ — In making the resolution
to accept the invitation of Joseph to go down to Egypt,
Jacob manifested much vigour and and much faith. At the
age of 130, and after so many wanderings and hardships, it
must have been a trial again to change his residence.
Hebron had now been his home for many years, and it had
gathered around it hallowed associations. It contained the
sepulchre of his father and grandfather, and was sacred in
the annals of his family. And to leave Canaan, the land for
which he had endured many trials, which he hoped to
enjoy in possession, and where at last he expected to be
buried, made the change especially trying. He might
naturally ask, too, if it were safe to go down to Egypt, for
Joseph might die or the heart of the king towards him might
alter. Then there was the dark prophecy given to Abraham,
" Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs,
and shall serve them ; and they shall afflict them 400 years."
(Gen. XV., 13.) Is that prophecy now to be fulfilled? Amid
the hurried preparations for the journey these thoughts did

144 GENESIS.

not so fully take possession of his mind, but when he came
to Beersheba, in the extreme south of Canaan and on the
border of the desert which stretched towards Egypt, he felt ,
them in all their force. At Beershebja, he " offered sacrifices
unto the God of his father Isaac." God appeared to him and
authorized him to leave Canaan and go to Egypt He
promised His presence and protection, renewed the covenant
made with Abraham, assured him that his posterity would
return to Canaan, and comforted him by the declaration
that when he died his son Joseph would close his eyes in
peace.

So Jacob, reassured and refreshed by this gracious mani-
festation, resumed his journey. He had doubtless, according
to the order of Pharaoh, left much of his less valuable and
more cumbrous possessions behind, but he took with him a
great household and large herds of cattle. Jacob had
now seventy descendants, a mere handful compared with what
they afterwards became, yet sufficiently numerous to make
the journey to Egypt slow and anxious. As it was an im-
portant era in the history of the world and in the develop-
ment of the divine purposes, a census of the number of
persons and of the tribes into which they were to be distri-
buted was taken. The descent tO Egypt took place 215
yeaxs after the Call of Abraham. Joseph had no suspicion
of the destiny awaiting his family when he desired the pres-
ence of his father and brethren in Egypt, and Pharaoh was
only desirous of pleasing his faithful viceroy, but God was
carrying out His own gracious and all- wise designs for the
good of His Church and for the salvation of the world.

The Meeting of Jacob and Joseph. — In Joseph's reception
of his father there was combined the affection of a son and

GENESIS. 145

the policy of a sagacious prince. Jacob was not coming to
Egypt as a mere dependent upon the bounty of the king,
but as a great patriarchal chief, for whom a suitable residence
had been prepared and set apart. When therefore, Judah,
who had been sent forward for the purpose, announced to
Joseph the arrival of their father, the latter went out to
meet him with courtly ceremony. But all state formality
and policy were forgotten when father and son met in a
long and loving embrace. The reunion was a rich recom-
pense for the anxiety and suffering of the long separation.
The old man was still vigorous, and his mind was clear and
penetrating ; the smooth brow of Joseph was now wrinkled
with the cares of state, and the coat of many colours hp,d
been exchanged for the royal apparel of Egypt, but he was
as humble, as affectionate, and as pious as the young Hebrew
lad of seventeen had been.

Joseph very shrewdly, and with the cordial concurrence
of Pharaoh, taking advantage of the occupation of his
brethren as shepherds to provide them with a separate
residence, selected for them the rich pasturage grounds of
Goshen. Their safety lay in their isolation. Had they
remained in Palestine on the same footing as their fathers,
they must have scattered over the country in order to find
food for their cattle, and might probably have mingled with
the idolatrous inhabitants of Canaan. But now, that the
Hebrews might continue a separate people and pursue the
simple pastoral life to which they had been accustomed, that
they might not offend the Egyptians by their religious
observances, and might be prevented from learning to
worship the idols of Egypt, and that they might be ready
in due time to quit Egypt in a body when they were finally

K

146 GENESIS.

to obtain possession of Canaan, the land of Goshen is, in the
providence of God, assigned to them £ts a residence. And as
"every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians,"
this antipathy prevented absorption and matrimonial alli-
ances, and kept the seed of Jacob separate and distinct.

Jacob before Pharaoh. — Joseph felt it to be right that
before his father and brethren settled within Egyptian
territory they should be formally presented to his royal
master. He, accordingly, selected five of his brethren and .
presented them to Pharaoh, who kindly made inquiries regard-
ing their occupation, gave them permission to settle in Goshen,
and, being desirous of promoting them, offered to make those
of them who had special fitness for the position the chief of his
herdsmen. Joseph then led in his old father, now bent not
more with the weight of unusual years than with the oppres-
sion of long-continued sorrow. The interview which took
place is most interesting, whether the dignity of the parties
or the conversation which took place be considered. It is
an interview between the king of the most populous, civil-
ised, and wealthy kingdom in the world, and Jacob, the
descendant of Abraham, the prince who had power with
God, the progenitor of a long line of kings and prophets, of
a nation that was to be as numerous as the sand of the sea
shore or as the stars of heaven, the ancestor of the promised
Saviour of the world. Jacob does homage to the sovereign
of Egypt, and with feelings of earnestness and gratitude
supplicates the divine blessing to rest upon him and the
country over which he ruled. Pharaoh is specially struck
with the venerable appearance of Jacob, as, leaning on his
staff, he bends under the weight of years and infirmities, and
puts to him the kindly and natural question — "How old

GENESIS. 147

art thou 1 " Jacob's reply is very impressive and pathetic.
It is the reply of a heart not merely burdened with the
weight of years, but with the thought of the vanity, the
shortness and uncertainty, the solemnity of life ; which in
its nature is a " pilgrimage," a journey from one country to
another, and had in Jacob's own case been one of almost
constant change ; in its length a life of " few days " — few in
comparison with the eternity of God, the length of human
existence, or the 175 and 180 years during which his own
grandfather and father had lived, and in its character
" evil," full of sin and sorrow.

"And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are
an hundred and thirty years : few and evil hare the days of the years of my life
bees, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers
in the days of their pilgrimage."— Gen. xlvii., 9.

The Last Incidents in the Life op Jacob. — During
the remaining years of famine, Jacob and his family 'were
sustained by Joseph, and for seventeen years after the
descent into Egypt, which were probably the happiest years
in the history of the family, Jacob was still spared. At the
end of this period, it was found that the family of Jacob
had greatly multiplied, and that their possessions had
increased. Then "the time drew nigh that Israel must
die." Three incidents of importance took place before

his death. He had an interview with his son Joseph

in which he earnestly entreated him to see that he was
buried in the sepulchre of his fathers. He required an oath
from Joseph to that effect — ^probably that the father's dying
request fortiBed by an oath might form a powerful argument
in procuring Pharaoh's consent — and he blessed God
for all the comforts he enjoyed, and for the hopes he
was permitted to entertain regarding himself and his

148 GENESIS.

posterity. This charge to Joseph was more than the
natural wish to be buri^ed with his kindred. It expressed
his faith in the promise that his posterity should possess the
land of Canaan. The field of Ephron was more than a
family burying place. It was a pledge of Canaan, and
Canaan was a type of heaven. The same charge was
repeated by Jacob in the hearing of his other sons (Gen.
xlix., 29-32). He had full confidence that God would visit
his people and restore them to their own land.

The second interview was with Joseph and his two

sons Manasseh and Ephraim, which probably took place
shortly after the preceding. Tidings were conveyed to
Joseph that his father was apparently dying. His
prosperity had in no way impaired his filial regard,
and the engagements and honours of his exalted station,
were. not permitted to prevent the performance of an act
of filial piety which might be the last he could show.
Taking with him his two sons, that they might receive the
parting blessing of their grandfather, and witness a scene
which was calculated to make a salutary and lasting
impression upon their minds, he hastened to the chamber of
death. Jacob aroused himself to receive them. Having
referred to the Lord's appearance to him at Luz, and the
blessing there promised, he proceeded to show that Joseph's
two sons, who were bom in Egypt before his arrival, were
specially interested in that promised blessing. They were to
be adopted into his family, and give names to two tribes of
Israel. " As Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine."

In the blessing of Joseph's sons, Jacob gave a most
striking illustration of the trial and triumph of his faith.
(Heb. xi., 21.) To transfer these lads from the family of

GENESIS. 149

Joseph to his own family, did not appear to confer a privilege
upon them, but the contrary. It was to exchange the
honours and riches of the world for poverty, reproach, and
slavery. Yet Jacob rouses himself from his bed, and
solemnly makes them his heirs, and he speaks as if he were
leaving them the richest legacy they could inherit He
knew the promises of God, and the peculiar position his
posterity should occupy, and he reckons it above the
treasure and honour of Egypt to have the inheritance of
Jacob's name, and the blessing of Jacob's God, with only
the distant hope of Canaan, and the more distant promise
of a Saviour. The tenor of the blessing, and the manner
in which it was dispensed, inverting the order of the birth-
right, were also wonderful demonstrations of £eiith. The
blessing is couched in language of great beauty —

" God, before ^hom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which
fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all
evil, bless the lads ; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my
fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of
the earth."— Gen. 3dviii.« 15-16.

By adopting Joseph's two sons, Jacob gave him a double
portion. He also made over to Joseph the strip of land at
Shechem which he had bought from the children of Hamor,
and which he had retaken from "the Amorite with his
sword and with his bow." The burying place at Hebron
belonged to the family, but Jacob was free to dispose of the
other land as he pleased. Thus the ground at Shechem
afterwards belonged to the descendants of Ephraim (See
John iv., 5).

The last interview was with all his sons, whom

Jacob summoned into his presence, and whose character and
future destiny he delineated under the guidance of the

150 GENESIS.

Divine Spirit Jacob is here an inspired prophet as well as a
dying saint, and he utters before his sons, all of whom, an
unbroken family, stapd around his bed and listen with
intense interest to his words, prophecies which were worthy
of being carefully preserved for future generations, and were
intended to form a foundation of faith and hope. Jacob's
sons had given him much anxiety and trouble. He had
watched and studied the character, disposition, and habits
of each, and he had endeavoured to picture the future of
the tribes of Israel which they represented. And now that
the time has come when he must leave them and must
transmit the patriarchal blessing, the desire and hope are
quickened that some illumination from above may fall upon
his spirit to enable him clearly to foresee the things which
should " befall them in the last days," and to utter words
which may be useful and suggestive. He is not disappointed.
He is supernaturally strengthened and enlightened, and his
utterances concern not so much the destiny of his sons
personally as the destiny of the tribes which should
respectively descend from them. He gives forth in the
highest style of poetry most important predictions, which
come in a series of flitting fragmentary visions, as son after
son, and tribe after tribe, is presented. The character of
each son is sketched, and the peculiar character of the
individual is to reappear in some form in the tribe descended
from him, the retrospective thus becoming prospective.
These sketches are too specific and truthful to have been
invented by Jacob at the moment, or to have occurred to
any mere human foresight, and they are too rhythmical
and vague to have been deliberately drawn up long after
the events happened, and then passed off as Jacob's dying
prophecies. These prophecies centred in Canaan, and for

GENESIS. 151

the most part obtained fulfilment in the times of the judges
and kings of Israel, but they reached forward to a yet
more distant future, and only one whose eyes had been
divinely opened could have obtained even a shadowy
glimpse of a greater than Israelitish king, unto whom
there would be a greater gathering than of all the tribes
of Israel. Jacob, like Abraham, saw the day of Christ
afar off and was glad, and the renewed thought of Him
induces the exclamation, even when he is speaking of
the couching asses of Issachar and the biting serpents of
Dan, "I have waited for thy salvation, Lord.". The chief
interest is naturally in the fortunes of Judah and of
Joseph — especially as represented by Ephraim — but it is
instructive to notice the remarks which the aged patriarch
made on each of his sons.

When Leah had her first child, she had said with feelings
of satisfaction, Reuben, t.6. see a son, and the rightful
precedence of Reuben in the fiamily of Jacob is admitted.
But he had by sin forfeited the prerogative of birth, and he
is now deposed. He was naturally tender-hearted, but was
destitute of self control, and became the slave of appetite
and passion. He was unstable as water, impatient ahd
impetuous like boiling water or the unruly stream that
overflows its banks, and therefore he did not excel, but lost
his natural position among the posterity of Jacob. Of the
scandalous sin which Reuben had committed forty years
before he had perhaps bitterly repented (Gen. xxxy., 22) ;
but the consequences of sin are irreparable, and an indelible
stain rests on the person and family of Reuben. True to
this prediction, the tribe of Reuben, which settled east of
the Jordan, was always small and uninfluential.

152 GENESIS.

In the case of Simeon and Levi the father's blessing is
almost turned into a curse. They had been associated in
deeds of wickedness and bloodshed, and Jacob on his death-
bed shows his unabated horror of the treachery and delibe-
rate cruelty of which they had been guilty. (Genesis xxxiv.)
Having kept their wrath in their breast for three days they
then vented it forth upon their helpless victims. " Their
anger was fierce and their wrath was crueL" Their descen-
dants are, accordingly, to be divided in Jacob and scattered
in Israel. In the case of the tribe of Simeon there was no
mitigation of the patriarchal curse, but in the case of the
tribe of Levi the curse became a blessing. On account of
the zeal for the cause of God, manifested by prominent
members of that tribe on various important occasions
(Exod. xxxiL, 28; Numb, xxv., 13; Deut. xxxiii, 8), the
tribe, while having no settled inheritance of its own, was
honoured in being selected to provide the priests and
ministers of the Lord by whom the temple services were
performed

Judah, who next appears upon the field of the patriarch's
vision, had listened with awe to the stern reproof of the
crimes committed by his elder brothers ; and as he, too, had
sins upon his conscience (Gen. xxxviii.), he must have been
expecting condemnation also. But the giBntence pronounced
is one of real and permanent blessing. The address of Judah
to Joseph (Gen. xliv., 14-34) proves him to have been
a man of tenderness and genuine affection, and he now
inherits the birthright with all its accompanying privileges.
Levi obtained the priesthood ; Judah obtains the royalty.
In his seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed, and
the speech of the dying patriarch, foreseeing this, now
becomes a song of triumph and joy. Judah, «.e., Praise,

GENESIS. 153

was the name given to him at his birth. His brethren shall
praise him, he shall be the terror of his foes, the ancestor of
the Messiah, the inheritor of most fertile possessions. He
shall be powerful as a lion*s whelp, shall devour the prey
in the zenith of his strength, and even when couching in
old age shall still be formidable ; he shall be a lion in his
power and prowess. Upon the family descended from Judah
regal and legislative powers shall be conferred, and after a
long succession of ages a distinguished person shall come
who will gather up in himself and perpetuate the honours
and privileges of Judah's line, " The Lion of the tribe of
Judah," unto whom the gathering of the people shall be.

" The Boeptre shall not deimrt from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his
feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." —
(Qen. zlix., 10.)

In Judah's gradual advance to pre-eminence among the
tribes ; in the victories of David, and the glory of Solomon ;
in the unbroken line of the descendants of Judah, fallen
indeed from royal rank yet distinct and distinguished, on
to the time of Joseph of Nazareth and Mary, " Of whom as
concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God
blessed for ever ; " and especially in the glory, the triumph,
the extent, the duration of His Kingdom, in the happiness
of His subjects, and ^n the blessings they enjoy, we see the
fulfilment of this glowing prediction. The true Shiloh, the
Giver of rest and peace to men and nations, has come ; men
of all nations and countries are gathering unto Him)
attracted by His person and love ; in lion-like strength and
majesty, though terrible to His enemies. He scatters richest
blessings among His loyal and obedient friends, and His
triumphal progress shall not cease till every knee bows
before the sceptre, and every tongue confesses that Judah's
king is Lord. (Philip, il, 11.)

154 GENESIS.

In connection with this prediction it is important to
remember that when the tribes of Israel were carried captive
by the Assyrians, the tribe of Judah retained its dominion ;
that when the tribe of Judah was carried captive to Babylon,
it had still, as Ezra informs us, its own princes and rulers ;
that twelve years after the birth of Jesus Christ the tribal
region of Judah sank into the humble condition of a Roman
province, and thus the authority of its native rulers was
greatly abridged ; that when He whose name sheds the
greatest lustre upon the tribe of Judah was condemned
to death it was by the sentence of a Koman governor ; and
that forty years after the death of Christ the power and
polity of the Jews were destroyed by the Romans, and that
no legislative or judicial authority has been possessed by
them since Shiloh has come, and His spiritual sceptre has
taken the place of the temporal sceptre of David. The
spiritual influences which have gone forth from Judea con-
stitute the greatest power in history, and the mightiest
factor in the progress of the world.

The inheritance of ZebxQon is to be by the sea — a
prophecy which was exactly fulfilled by the lot of Zebulon
in Canaan. Issachar is to be distinguished, not for
commercial pursuits, but for patient devotedness to the
culture of the soil Victories in war shall be obtained by
Dan, but not so much by open bravery as by subtlety and
stratagem. Gad shall be frequently annoyed and overcome
by enemies, but shall at length prevail. Asher shall
be happy in the rich products of a fertile land and shall be
able to supply from his ample stores the luxuries of kings.
Naphtali shall be like the hind, timid but nimble, and shall
give forth words of melody and grace. Joseph has had sad
experiences of fraternal jealousy and hatred, of temptation.

GENESIS. 155

falsehood, and ingratitude, but he has been preserved and
delivered by the mighty God of Jacob ; " his bow abode in
strength," his persevering constancy and piety have made
him in the providence of God the bountiful provider and
powerful protector of his father's house. He shall enjoy the
favour of heaven, a fertile inheritance, and a numerous
posterity, and be yet more prosperous than in the past.
The united blessing of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would
rest upon his head.

As Judah had been likened to a lion, Issachar to a strong
ass, Dan to a serpent, and Naphtali to a hind let loose, so
Benjamill is to " ravin as a wolf," to be cruel and rapacious,
courageous and successful in war.

Then Jacob having repeated in the hearing of all his sons
the directions regarding his burial, exhausted with these
concluding efforts, " gathered up his feet into the bed, and
yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people."
To the last his judgment was clear and discerning, his
ii^cmory good and his affections warm. In early life he
had been selfish, avaricious, and deceitful, but by the discip-
line of Providence during an eventful life, and by the influ-
ences of the divine Spirit, he became truthful, affectionate,
religious. The early declared preference of heaven in his
behalf; the covenant, promise, and presence of the Almighty ;
the virtues and honours of Joseph ; the united, and happy,
and prosperous position *of all his sons, and the hopes he
entertained regarding himself and his family, sustained and
cheered him in the hour of death. Composed and resigned,
he withdraws from life, leaving the future to be evolved
without his guidance, and joins the society of his sainted
ancestors, with whom he now lives in the immediate presence
of God. (Matt, xxii., 32.)

156 GENESIS.

The Burial op Jacob. — Joseph gave way to a burst of
grief over the lifeless body of his father, whom he had
gieatly esteemed and loved. Having thus given expression
to his sorrow, to his sense of the loss he had sustained, he
proceeded to give directions regarding the interment. As a
naturalized Egyptian, he deemed it wise and prudent to con-
form to the practices and yield to the prejudices of the
people among whom he dwelt by having the body embalmed,
and by conducting the funeral ceremonies on a scale of
great magnificence. For many ages the Egyptians had
been celebrated for their skill in medicine, and their know-
ledge of those aromatic drugs and spices which tend to
preserve the body from corruption. And as they entertained
the idea that the fate of the soul depended to some extent
on the preservation of the body, the process of embalming
had become an art which was carried out with much skill
and expense. Joseph gave orders to the physicians and
priests who were in his service to have the usual process
carefully executed. Forty days were occupied in this work,
and during this period and the thirty days which succeeded
there was a deep and general mourning for Jacob. Joseph
then sent a messenger to Pharaoh — for, being in mourning
dress, it was deemed improper to go personally into the
presence of the king — to request permission to bujy his
father in Canaan, in accordance with his father's last desire
and the oath he himself had taken. This permission was
readily granted. Jacob had endeared himself to the Egyp-
tians during his seventeen years' sojourn among them;
much sympathy was felt for Joseph, who also was held in
high estimation. As the journey to be undertaken was
long, and through the country of hostile tribes, who
might molest and oppose the mourning relatives while

GENESIS. 157

discharging a solemn rite, a very large number of
illustrious courtiers and servants of Pharaoh accompanied
Joseph and his brethren and friends in their journey
to Canaan. The asses and camels of Goshen mingled
with the chariots and horses of the capital. Avoidini^
the direct route by Beersheba, which the patriarchs had
frequently traversed, a more circuitous route, by the south
of the Dead Sea and through the land of Moab and Ammon,
seems to have been adopted. At Atad, by the banks of the
Jordan, a halt was made, and for other seven days the air
resounded with the loud wailings of the mourners. So great
was the pomp and ceremony and lamentation that the rude
inhabitants of Canaan were deeply impressed, and called the
place Abel-mizraim, the mourning of the Egyptians. The
remains of Jacob were then deposited in the cave of
Machpelah, in Canaan, a token and pledge to his family
that in due time they should return thither and possess
the land.

JosBPH AND HIS BRETHREN. — Joscph and his brethren
had solemnly promised to Pharaoh that they would return
to Egypt as soon as they had performed the duty of burying
their father in Canaan. Though, doubtless, they had a
desire to remain in Canaan, which was endeared to them
by many hallowed associations, they faithfully kept their
pledge.

But Joseph's brethren still seem to have been haunted with
the suspicion that his forgiveness of their cruelty was
not real and lasting. He had repeatedly assured them
of forgiveness, and had treated them for years with tender
fraternal love ; but they cherished dark apprehensions, and
they imagined, now that their father was dead, that Joseph

158 GENESIS.

would take advantage of his position and demand a full
account of their sin. They therefore sent a messenger to
him, saying —

"Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say to Joseph,
Forgive, I pray thee, now, the trespass of thy brethren and their sin ; for they
did the evil : and now, we pray thee, forgive tiie trespass of the servants of the
God of thy father. "—(Gen. L, 16, 17.)

Joseph was grieved that they cherished such suspicions of
the reality of his forgiveness ; he " wept when they spake
unto him ; " and with very wise and kind words and
promises he endeavoured to remove all cause of fear. He
reminded them that God alone was the avenger of sin,
recognised the overruling providence of God in . all they
had been permitted to do to him, and promised to attend
to their future comfort and happiness. Joseph had a soul
above such feelings of resentment and retaliation as they
had imagined him to harbour.

The Death op Joseph.^ — When his father died Joseph's
age was 56. He lived after that event for fifty-four years
more, but of these years little is recorded. He saw three
generations of Ephraim's children and two of Manasseh's.
As the benefits he had conferred on Egypt were of the greatest
value and importance, there is reason to believe that he was
highly esteemed and honoured to the close of life. Joseph
had been faithful to God and faithful to Pharaoh, and he
died cheered with the divine favour and laden with the
honours of the world. When he felt that death was
approaching, he called his surviving brethren around him
and committed to them as his dying bequest the disposal of
his mortal remains. His doing so proceeded not merely

GENESIS. 159

from the natural desire of resting in death with his fathers,
but from assured confidence in the truth and faithfulness of
God.

*' And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely
visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.** — (Gen. 1., 25.)

The body of Joseph, like that of his father, was embalmed
with great care, and was preserved in Egypt in a coffin,
awaiting the time when God should visit his people and
conduct them to Canaan. When that time at length arrived
it was borne out of Egypt, and, after accompanying the
Israelites in all their distresses and wanderings, was safely
deposited in the sepulchre of his fathers when possession of
the Land of Promise was obtained. — (Exod. xiii., 19 ; Josh,
xxiv., 32.)

Thus lived and died Joseph, the son of Jacob, a man
whose experiences in every stage of life have exerted a
fascinating influence over every reader of the inspired
Word; whose inflexible constancy in the hour of tempta-
tion and adversity, whose unaffected simplicity, incorruptible
integrity, and fervent piety in his season of prosperity and
power, have marked him out as one of the greatest examples
for admiration and imitation which the Bible contains. As
a son, a brother, a servant, a father, or a ruler, he was equally
faithful, generous, and affectionate. To the sagacity of the
statesman he added the penetration of the prophet, the
firmness of the believer, and the purity of the saint.

Thus closes an important period in the history of God^s
chosen people, and in the accomplishment of God's gracious
designs in favour of the Church and the world. Abraham
furnished a signal example of faith in his devout obedience,
and in self-devotion and sacrifice ; Isaac, of faith leading to

160 GENESIS.

submission and contemplation amid the ordinary duties of
a tranquil life ; Jacob, of faith manifesting itself by prayer
and patience and firm trust in the> divine promises ; and
Joseph, of faith that kept him strong and steadfast under
the most trying circumstances of prosperity and adversity.

And as we recal the various important statements of the
Book of Genesis, we discover the intimation and develop-
ment of the great plan of redeeming mercy. That plan
existed in the Divine mind from the beginning, but it was
unfolded little by little in the course of its execution till it
culminated in the doctrines, privileges, and hopes of the
Christian church. Prophecy and type — the promise, the
shadow and outline of a glorious reality-:— run like a golden
thread through the Bible, and even each incident has an
important place to fill and adds significance to the har-
monious teaching of the whole book. At first, indeed, the
light is dim and obscure, like the speck of light which
ushers in the dawn of day, and which scarcely dispels the
mists and darkness of night, but it expands with ever-
increasing brightness to the full glory of the Sun of
Righteousness, who rises with healing in His wings, filling
earth with peace and joy, and eternity with gratitude and
praise.

In the Book of Genesis we have the dawning of the
heavenly light, the revelation, of important and necessary
truths, the proclamation of the scheme of divine mercy.
We are taught the unity of God, and the duty of trusting
and obeying Him. We are taught that man was not made
sinful and sorrowful, but holy and happy. We are taught
how sin entered our world, and we see the beginning of
the long conflict between the children of God and the
children of Satan, a conflict which continued to develop

aiBlTBBlS. 161

through the ages, and only finds its consummation in the
victories which Jesus won in the wilderness of temptation
and the' cross of shame, and in the complete triumphs
and heavenly gloiy foretold in the book of Revelation.
In Adam, our first parent and representative, we behold
a ^^ figure of Him that wa^ to come." (Rom. v., 14.) Each
sustains a public character, each is constituted a repre-
sentative of humanity, God enters into a covenant with
each, and the condition and destiny of those who come
after, are affected for good or ill, by their conduct and
obedience. ( 1 Cor. xv., 22, 45-49,) Paradise is lost by
the first Adam, but another •Paradise is regained by the
second Adam, which also has its tree of life and its rivers
of blessing. (Rev. xxiL) The lamb of Abel's sacrifice leads
on to the Paschal lamb which Moses slew, and both pre-
figure the "Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of
the world." (John I, 29 ; 1 Cor. v., 7.) The faithful warn-
ings and rebukes of Noah, the imbelief of an ungodly
world, the sudden and terrible calamity which befel, the
ark which Noah by God's command provided, the safety
of those within that ark — all forcibly remind us of the
personal character and teaching of Jesus Christ, of the
Ark which He has provided, and of the consequences of
accepting or of rejecting His offered mercy. (Matt, xxiv.,
38 ; Heb. xi., 7 ; 1 Peter iii., 20.) We see a family and
nation selected to preserve and guard the truth of God,
receive divine communications, and be a living illustration
of God's providential government. Peculiar interest is mani-
fested by God in the race of Shem, in Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, descended from Shem ; to them a revelation of
the Divine will is made and through them to the world ;
from them One is to come by whom the curse is to be

L

162 GENESIS.

removed and all nations blessed. (GaL iiL, 8, 16.) In the
dying words of Jacob we have a disclosure regarding the
manner of the blessing ; it is from Judah's stem the great
dispenser of that blessing is to come. Over twenty times
is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah referred to in
Scripture as a prominent instance of the sin of man, and
the just judgment of God.

How -exceedingly important and appropriate, then, is
the Book of Genesis, as the foreground of the Bible !
Already, according to the ordinary computation, if we ex-
clude the long ages at the beginning and the long ages
at the close, we are in point of time more than half-way
through the Bible. At the lowest computation 2,360 years
intervened between Adam in Eden, and Joseph in Egypt ;
but from the time of Moses, when next the history opens,
to John in Patmos, we have probably less than 1,500 years.
The deaths of Lamech and of Methusaleh form the events
in the middle of Genesis ; the death of Noah and the birth
of Abraham are almost mid-way between the creation of
Adam and the birth of Jesus Christ. Adam and the Fall,
Noah and the Flood, Abraham and his Call, and Joseph
in Egypt, are the natural and necessary steps leading up
to Moses and the Exodus, Joshua and the conquest, Sam-
son and the Judges, David and the monarchy, Jeremiah
and the Captivity, Nehemiah and the Restoration, Christ
and the Cross, Peter and the descent of the Spirit on
the Day of Pentecost, Paul at Athens and Borne, John
in Patmos, and the Eevelation of heavenly glory.

34

_ CHIEF PLACES
mentioned in the

HISTORYoF THE PATRIARCHS

Scai* of Sftf&fkMiks

6 10 20 30 4^ si ai fiTw

33

33 ZongitMU E. 34 g/' OvefmieA 35

THE BOOK OF GENESIS.

-♦•♦-

WHY SO CALLED?— The first word of the Book of
Genesis in the Hebrew language is Bereshith, and
the Jews used this word as the title of the whole Book. The
word GtenesiS is the Greek equivalent for Bereshith, and
was adopted by the translators of the Septuagint, or Greek
•version of the Scriptures, which was begun in the third
century B.C. Genesis signifies Begixinilijf. The name is
suitably given to the whole Book. The Book gives an
account of beginnings. It contains, we may say, the roots
of all future history, the germs of all God's revelations to
men. It tells us, especially, of nine beginnings; of the
beginning of the heaven and the earth, of the human race,
of the Sabbath day, of the ordinance of marriage, of sin
and its consequences, of sacrificial observances, of the cove-
nant of promise and blessing, of the various nations and
tongues, and of the Hebrew race to whom God gave His
revelation of mercy.

The Book of Genesis is a very appropriate introduction to
the Bible. It has been called "the stately portal to the
magnificent edifice of Scripture," the porch of the great
temple of revelation which leads gradually to a full disclosure
of God's intentions towards a sinful and perishing world. It
gives us an account of man in his original innocence, of his
fall, of the general corruption which led to the Deluge, of
the division and peopling of the earth after its restoration,
of the Call of Abraham, and the Divine covenant with him
and his family.

164 GENESIS.

Fob what Purpose Written 1 — (1) To record the history
of the world &om the commencement of time. (2) To
relate the origin of the church. The writer wished to write
the religious history of mankind, to describe man's
original relation to God, how that relation was marred by
sin, and what steps God took for man's recovery. He kept
his purpose steadily before him, and was not tempted into
other fields of historical research and description, however
inviting these might be. This explains the brevity of tho
account given to us of the lives of those men who lived
before Abraham. Long centuries are traversed in a few
chapters. The writer was hastening on to the Call of
Abraham, the father and founder of that nation among
whom the true knowledge of God was preserved during ages
of ignorance and idolatry, and " of whom as concerning the
flesh Christ came." (Rom. ix., 5.) He dwells only on those
things which bear upon the Kingdom of God upon earth.
The first eleven chapters of Genesis are prefatory, only an
introduction to the history of the Theocracy, the God-guided
and God-governed nation of IsraeL

How MAT IT BE DIVIDED 1 — luto fouT parts —

I. The origin of the world. (Gen. L ii.)

II. The Ante-diluvian Age, or the history of the world
before the Deluge (Gen. iii.-vii.), embracing the Fall of Man
and his expulsion from Paradise, the story of Cain and Abel,
the history of Noah and the Deluge.

III. The Post-diluvian Age, or the history of the world
from its restoration to the time of Abraham (Gen. viii., xi.),
embracing the sin of Noah, the peopling of the world by
Noah's descendants, and the dispersion of mankind through
the confusion of tongues.

OBNESIS. 165

IV. The Patriarohal Age, or the histories of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. (Gen. xiL-1.)

Bt whom Written ? — Moses has almost universally been
recognised as the author of the Book of Genesis. He no
doubt availed himself of documents and traditions of times
earlier than his own, and here and there the presence of
these can be easily distinguished. In Genesis we have not
the free and continuous narrative of one author, but rather
the work of a writer who is combining at least two distinct
narratives. There are two accounts of the Creation and two
narratives of the Flood. There is one account of Esau's
wives in Chap, xxvi., and another in Chap, xxxvi. The
naming of Bethel and of Beersheba is twice narrated, as also
is the altering of Jacob's name to Israel. Even the name
by which God is revealed is different in the two documents
which Moses availed himself of. In the one there is Elohim,
a name for the Divine Being simply as such ; in the other
there is Jehovah Elohim, in which In addition to
Elohim, we have also a special covenant designation.
But substantially the Book of Genesis is the work of
Moses, and we feel assured that, whether the writer is
commimicating truth specially revealed to him by God,
or is merely compiling from pre-existing fragments of
history, he is so divinely guided as to form, for all time
coming, a religious narrative of "the first things" on
which our faith may implicitly rely. The narrative is so
simple, so truthful, so consistent with itself, so sublime in
its conceptions, and so impartial in its biography, so pare
in its morality, and so benevolent in its design, that the
guidance of the Divine Spirit cannot be denied. This
guidance, however, left Moses at liberty to avail himself of

166 GENESIS.

such oral testimony or written documents as might be
accessible to him. It is extremely probable that ancestral
records were accesible to Moses, which comprised, it may be,
an autobiography of Joseph — as may be inferred from the
circumstantial minuteness of the account of him —
memoirs of the house of Abraham, and authentic memorials
in antediluvian records bequeathed by Noah and his sons.
As Amram, the father of Moses, lived shortly after the
time of Joseph — some even think he was contemporary with
him — as Shem conversed both with Noah and Abraham,
and Methusaleh lived to see both Adam and Noah — Adam
receiving the account of the Creation directly from God —
the transmission of the history was not attended with much
difficulty.

When and Where Written 1 — We have little doubt that
the Book of Genesis was written by Moses while he resided
with the priest or chieftain of Midian (Exod. iii.), and when,
an exile from Egypt, he enjoyed, in that sublime but lonely
region, that calm and meditative leisure which was denied
him at the court of Pharaoh. There probably lingered in
the home of Jethro, and in the district around, traditions of
an earlier age, by which Moses was assisted in writing his
history, but doubtless the chief facts and incidents had
already been learned by him in Egypt, having been carefully
instilled into his mind by the frequent instructions of his
godly parents. It was faith in the promises which God had
made to the ancestors of the enslaved Israelites, a firm faith
in their true dignity and future destiny, that kindled the
patriotism of Moses and led to the voluntary surrender of all
his brilliant prospects at the Egyptian court (Heb. xi., 24-27).

GENE8I& 167

There axe, however, others who hold the opinion that
Moses wrote the Book on his descent from Mount Sinai,
after the forty days spent in commiinion with God.

What abb its General Characteristics? — Herodotus
is generally called the Father of History ; but Moses lived
and wrote a thousand years before the days of Herodotus.
His writings, therefore, are the oldest which we possess,
and, as he incorporated in the Book of Genesis ancestral
records of the interesting and important revelations which
God made to the founders of the human race, it follows that
we have in that Book the very earliest literature in the world.
We have in that Book, too, much information which cannot
be obtained elsewhere. The style is simple, and for the
most part anecdotal ; the biographies of Abraham and his
descendants being especially minute and interesting. The
book professes to be strictly historical in all its parts, and,
though covering a period of two or three thousand years, it
exhibits harmony and completeness, in plan, and execution.
The selection of the ancestors of the Hebrew nation to be
the depositaries of God's will and worship, and the gradual
developement of the Divine scheme of grace, are the
thoughts which bind together all "its incidents and details in
one harmonious whole. And it was a very natural and
suitable introduction to the subsequent books.

The Book of Genesis then stands unequalled for its
antiquity, its comprehensiveness, its completeness, the
importance of the facts it narrates, the sublimity of its
thoughts, and the simplicity of its style.

Chronology of Genesis. — According to the common
computation of time, the Book of Genesis includes the

168 OBNESIS.

history of 2,369 years, from the Creation of the World to
the Death of Joseph ; according to Dr. Hales who prefers
the dates of the Septuagint translation, and the computation
of Joseph lis, 3,619 years.

The following are the dates of the chief events according

to Usher, who follows the dates of the Hebrew text, and

according to Hales : —

Usher. Hales,
aa B.a
Creation of Adam 4004 5411

Death d Adam 3074 4481

BiiihofNoah 2948 3756

Death (tf Methuselah 2S49 8160 From Creation to

.nL --^ , *^«..« ^H^^ Deluge 1666 years

The Deluge 2848 8169 or 2262 yeaii.

Confusion of Tongues 2284 2614

Call of Abraham from Chaldea 2098 From Deluge to

Abraham leaves Haran 1921 2078 ?^jt^^I!^^

427 years, or lOoo

Ishmaelbom 1911 2067 years.

(Uaber xeckoxm from
Sodom and Oomorrah destroyed ... 1897 2065 the Departure from

Hanui, Hales from

Isaac bom 1896 2064 *5«_ c»ll '^om

Chaldea, 15 yeaxs

Jacob and Esau bom 1886 1994 earlier.)

Death of Abraham 1821 1978

Joseph sold into Egypt 1728 1886

Death of Isaac 1716 1874

Jacob and family settle in Egypt... 1706 1868 From Call of Abra-

Death of Jacob 1689 1846 ^^m to Death of

Joseph 286 yean,

Death of Joseph 1686 1798 or 801 years.

aENBSIS.

169

I

Cain

Enoch

Irad

Meliujael

Methusael

Lamech

JabaL

Jubal

Tubal-Oain

Naamah

GENERAL GENEALOGICAL TABLE.

Adam.

i

Abel
(Murdered)

Noah

I
Japhet

(DeBOendants people Europe)

Shem
(Asia)

Terah

Abraham

Nahor

Ishmael, laaao, Zimran, &a J>6tnue i

I I I ^ J

Seth

EnoB

Cainan

Mahalaleel

Jared

Enoch

Methuselah

Lamech

I

Ham
(Africa)

Haran

Lot

r

The Esau, Jacob Laban Rebekah Ammon

Moab

Arabs |
The Edomites

I I

Leah Rachel

The twelve tribes of IsraeL

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Why is the Book of Genesis so called f

2. For what purpose was the Book written ?
8. Into what parts may the Book be divided t

4. By whom was it written ?

5. When and where was it written ?

6. What are the chief facts recorded in the Book of Genesis ?

7. What are the general characteristics of the Book ?

170 OEIOBSIS.

CHAPTER I.

ANALYSIS.

The Creation of heaven and earth. The separate work
of each of the Six days of the Oreation. The Creation of
man. The blessing pronounced upon man. The satisfaction
of the Creator with His work.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. "Gk)d created." — ^We have here a plural noun
accompanyiiig a singular verb, either to intimate the
majesty and power of God, or on account of the plurality of
persons in the Godhead who were engaged in the work of
creatioa (Prov. viii., 27; John L 3-10; Eph. iii., 9;
Heb. i., 2.) This first verse is a general introduction to the
Book, the details following.

V. 2. " Without form and void."— The original words
express confusion and desolation. " Moved " — ^brooded as a
bird hovering over her young.

V, 3. The creation of light before the creation of the sun,
which is the fountain of light, has been reckoned a difficulty.
Recent discoveries endorse in a surprising manner the truth-
fulness of the inspired record. A huge pre-existing mass of
nebulous matter, revolving in space on its own axis with a
sufficient velocity, and gradually condensing from a high
degree of heat, would naturally develop all the celestial orbs
of the planetary system.

V. 5. It is unnecessary here to discuss the various
opinions entertained regarding the word **day " in this verse
and in following verses. Some writers, in order to allow

GENESIS. 171

sufficient time for the periods required by astronomy,
geology, and other sciences, would let the first verse of
Genesis stand by itself, and then take the statements which
follow in their literal acceptation, each day being a day of
24 hours, during which each part of the universe received its
finishing touch, as we may say, from the hand of the great
Creator. Others reckon each "day" to be an indefinite
period of time, for with God one day is as a thousand years and
a thousand years as one day (2 Peter iii., 8). Others are of
opinion that there was vouchsafed to Adam a panoramic
view of the process of creation — the time occupied in this
display being six days. Other opinions are also held. Each
view has some good arguments in its support. But it seems
impossible to give an explanation against which some strong
objection cannot be urged. And after all, it is "through
faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of
things which do appear." (Heb. xL, 3.)

V. 6. ** Firmament ^ — expanse, a substance extended.

V. 11. The word translated "grass" means "green
vegetation," two kinds being specified, " the herb " and " the
fruit tree."

V. 12. <* Whose seed was in itself," ie. has the

power of multiplying itself by seeds, slips, &c.

V. 15. The purpose of "the lights" is threefold. Ist.
" To divide the day from the night," — to show the distinc-
tion and make it permanent. 2nd. " To be for signs " — of
important changes and occurrences, " and for seasons " — for
re^larly returning periods; and 3rd. "for lights." — to dis-
tribute the light already called into existence. (Job ix., 9;
Ps. viii.)

172 OEXESIS.

V. 21. " Great whales/' or rather, sea monsters. The
same word is used of crocodiles, of serpents, <feo.

V. 26. " Let us " — This plural pronoun may refer to the
heavenly inhabitants who are summoned to witness the
creative work; to the fulness and majesty of God himself; or
to the three persons in the Godhead who consult together
regarding the creation of man. The last is the preferable
explanation.

V. 31. "Very good " = good exceedingly. It is expres-
sive of admiration and satisfaction. The completed cosmos,
with man as its crown and glory, fulfils the Creator's expecta-
tion and desire.

It is interesting, as we read the inspired account of
the order of creation, to remember that geology attests
the truth of the Divioe record in asserting that the lower
animals preceded man in their appearance on the earth,
and that man is of comparatively recent origin. It
is interesting also to compare this account of creation
with the accounts which have been preserved among
other nations, to note the vast superiority of this in
simplicity, naturalness, and sublimity to the others, and
at the same time the close resemblance which it bears to
many of them— especially to that of the recently discovered
Assyrian tablets. It is important, too, to remember, that
though perhaps the exact age of man on the earth cannot
be ascertained, the facts of history, geology, and Scripture,
seem to warrant the conclusion that he appeared about
7,000 years ago — ^not less than 6,000 and not more than
8,000 ; that the most ancient human remains yet discovered
prove men in the earlier ages to have been essentially the
same as men living now in structure and development ; and

GENESIS. 173

that the account of Scripture regarding the origin, condition,
and destiny of man is at once adequate, sublime, and self-
consistent, is supported by the clearest evidence, and solves
the most difficult problems of science, of history, and of
human experience. The statement at the beginning of the
Bible, that God created man in His own image, satisfactorily
explains all that follows, explains the love that created and
the greater love that redeemed.

ORDER OF CREATION.
1st day — Light. 4th day — Luminaries.

2Qd day — Air and Waters. 5th day — Animals of air and water.

8rd day — Land 6th day — Land animals and man.

The 7th day — The day of (Jod's "rest," was the first complete day of
man's existence — common date before Birth of Christ, 4,004.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What is the first event recorded in sacred history ?

2. What is the meaning of the terms Atheism, Polytheism, and
Pantheism, and how does the record of Scripture oppose each of these
systems of belief ?

8. What is the exact rendering of the Hebrew words which are
translated "firmament^" "grass," "great whales " ?

4. Give the order of creation, and state how the truth of this order is
confirmed f

5. What are we specially told regarding the creation of man ?

6. What provision was made for man's support, what benediction
was pronounced, and what privileges conferred ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.

V. 1. John i, 1 ; Acts ziv., 15.

V. 26. CoL iii, 10. V. 31. 1 Tim. iv., 4.

174 GENBSIS.

CHAPTER II.

ANALYSIS.

Institntion of the Sabbath. Recapitulation of the six
days' work of Oreation. The Garden of Eden— its beauty
and fertility; the work Adam had to do in it. The Cove-
nant which God made with Adam. The naming of the
cattle. Oreation of Eve. Institntion of Marriage.

CRITICAL NOTES. .

V. 1. "Were finished " = completed, set in order, and
filled. " Host " — array, all that belongs to.

V. 3. The blessing of the " seventh day " implied (a)
That it was the special object of the Divine favour. (5)'
That it would ever afterwards be a day of blessing for the
world. (Page 12.)

" Sanctified it." — Declared it holy, set it apart for holy
purposes. The septennial division of time is almost univer-
sal, as also is the keeping- of a seventh day dififerently from
other days.

V. 4. "The generations "—their "beginnings" and
history since their historical development

" The Lord Qod "—Jehovah Elohim, and not Elohim
only. The difiference of name, the repetition of the history
of creation, and other obvious characteristics by which the
narrative in the second chapter is distinguished from that
in the first, are supposed, and probably correctly supposed,
to indicate that Moses here availed himself of a different
document in forming his history. At the same time it
should be noted that Elohim, the mighty one, as distin-
guished from Jehovah Elohim, the mighty and self-existent

GENESIS. 175

God, who manifests Himself to man and enters into a cove-
nant with him, is more appropriately used in connection
with God's creative work, while the other name is more
appropriately used in connection with His providential and
redemptive works. The historian passes now from the
account of material creation to describe the dealings of God
with man. God is the Creator of the world, but he is also
the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God, the Lord
and Eedeemer of His people. Hence, "Jehovah Elohim."
In the first chapter Nature is the great theme ; in the second
it is Man, and Nature is treated only as it is related to him.

V. 7. "Man"— the man (ha adamah), the ground.
Man is "of the earth, earthy," "a living SOUl," an animal
of life, or of lives— embracing the animal, intellectual and
spiritual In Hebrew " man " came to be also the proper
name of the first man ; in the old Babylonian legends, the
Adamites were " the white race " of Semitic descent, as con-
trasted with the black Accadians of primitive Babylonia.

V. 8. "Eastward in Eden." — To the east of the coun-
try where the history was written. The ordinary view of
scholars has been that Eden was in Armenia. However,
the cuneiform records from Assyria tell us that Eden was
the ancient name of the "field" or plain of Babylonia.
Possibly, therefore, the rivers of Eden may be found in the
rivers and canals of Babylonia. (Page 13.)

V. 12. " Bdellium" was either the ruby or topaz or other
gem, or an aromatic gum famous for its medicinal virtues.
"Onyx," probably so called from its resemblance to the
human nail — the original sense of the Greek word " onyx."
It has a white ground, and is variegated with parallel bands
of white and brown.

176 GBNESIS.

V. 23. *' Woman," — The resemblance between this word
and '^ man '' in English, answers happily to that of Isliah
and Ish in the original

That the whole human race is descended from one pair is
the teaching of this chapter, and the idea of a plurality of
origins for the human family receives from it no counte-
nance. Jesus reaffirmed the teaching of Genesis when He
said '^ But from the beginning of the creation God made
them male and female/' and Paul did so also when, in the
centre of Athens, surrounded by matchless monuments of
human skill and confronting the learning and pride of the
old world, he said, " God hath made of one blood all nations
of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." Physiology,
ethnology, and philology, confirm this teaching. Amid all
race distinctions, all men everywhere possess the same
bodily structure, the same moral nature, the same spiritual
requirements. The gospel is needed by all, all are assumed
to be capable of receiving it, and Jesus commanded it to be
proclaimed to all

In almost every land, in the legends of almost every
nation, traditions remain regarding the Creation, the origin
of the Sabbath, the Garden of Eden, the Temptation, the
Fall, and the Flood ; time is divided into weeks of seven
days ; sacrifices are offered to the gods which are worshipped.

In the languages of the most distant and dissimilar races
a remarkable similarity ha£( been traced. After a careful
analysis of about 1,000 languages, philologists have found
that these can be reduced to three great families, the Aryan,
Semitic, and Turanian, which again seem to be connected
with one original language.

OKNESIS. 177

The chapter teaches, too, that man was made perfect in
relation to bodily vigour and intellectual capacity, or at least
in a state approximate thereto. His Creator must have
taught him what to avoid and what to do in order that he
might be protected from danger. God must have
imparted to him language, a knowledge of the properties
of the objects and creatures around him to which he
gave names, a knowledge of the properties of plants and
the operations required to tend and train them, some
acquaintance with the materials necessary for making
tools, &c. It is unlikely that Adam had to learn by the
slow teaching of observation and experience. The past did
not come to him laden with stores of accumulated facts.
His Creator, with whom he enjoyed frequent and intimate
fellowship, would supply the lack. The primeval state of
man was not that of a savage, who by slow and difficult
stages attained maturity. Even the mythical traditions of
almost every nation place at the beginning of human history
a period of happiness and perfection, "a golden age," having
no features of savagery and barbarism, but many of civiliza-
tion and refinement. The Bible depicts man before the
Flood as tilling the ground, building cities, smelting metals,
and making musical instruments. Ample provision was
made by God for the development and gratification of the
sentient, the social, and the spiritual faculties of the being
whom he had created.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What two ordinances were instituted by God ?

2. In what terms does the sacred historian record the appointment
of the Sabbath ?

S. Describe the probable situation of the Garden of Eden.
M

178 GENBBIS.

4. What names were given to two trees in the midst of the garden,
and to what uses did God apply these trees ?

5. What solemn injunction was given to Adam when he was placed
in Eden ?

6. Explain the following phrases —

" The heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them."

'* It was parted and became into four heads."

** In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die."

7. What lessons and inferences are taught in this 2nd Chapter ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 2, HeK iv., 4. V. 7, 1 Cor. xv., 45. V. 8-17, Rev. xxii., 1-14.
V. 17, Rom. vi., 23. V. 24^ 1 Tim. ii, 13. V. 18, Matt, xix., 5.

CHAPTER III.

ANALYSIS.

The Serpent deceives Eve. She and Adam transgress the
Divine command and sin. The judgment of Gk>d upon each.
The promise of redemption. Adam and Eve clothed. Adam
and Eve expelled from the (harden of Eden«

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. " The serpent was more subtiL'^— The HelMrew

word for serpent, Nahash, literally means one who searches
closely, and is very naturally joined with subtil, i.e,y wise or
crafty. The inspired writer probably only relates the con-
clusion of the conversation which took place between the
serpent and Eve, that part of it in which the tempter pre-
vailed upon Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit (Page 19.)

V. 8. Eve seems to have added words which were not in
the original prohibition.

GENESIS. 179

V. 6. "As gods'' — Ke elohim — like God. Eve could
only know one God.

V. 6. The temptation was three-fold — an appeal to the
sense of taste, to the sense of sight, to the desire to know.
" The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life." 1 John ii., 16.

V. 7. The consequences of the Fall were : — Their eyes
were opened to see their folly and impiety and to under-
stand their degradation. There was a sense of guilt and
of shame. They twisted fig leaves together to make
girdles — Seh. "things to gird about" to hide their
nakedness. (Page 25.)

V. 21. Animals could only be slain for purposes of food,
of sacrifice, and of clothing. It is generally believed that
immediately after the Fall Adam was taught by God the
necessity of sacrifice as the only means of acceptable worship,
and that he used the skins of the animals which were slain
for clothing.

V. 24. " Oherubim/' probably emblematical representa-
tions of God. Ezek. i., 5, x., 20. " A flaming sword," lU,^

the flame of a sword turning itself, expressive of the glorious
and terrible appearance of the cherubim.

The narrative given in the third chapter has been treated
by us as strictly historical. The historian claims to recite
events which actually occurred. The character of the
whole book is historical. Jesus and His apostles showed by
their frequent allusions to these events, that they accepted
them as literal facts. The Fall lies at the foundation of all
God's purposes and plans, in providence, and in grace.

180 GENESIS.

The acknowledged difficulties connected with "the serpent"
do not necessarily contradict this view.

From Eve's point of view, the narrative is true to what
occurred, as the serpent alone was seen and heard and con-
demned. Had she told the story herself she would have
done so in the very terms of the text From the writer's
point of view it is true, for the serpent would have a
peculiar significance to him. He knew the ancient and
almost universal tradition which attributes to the serpent
an evil influence, and regards it as the vehicle employed in
assailing human innocence. He would use expressions in
writing which were in harmony with ideas universally pre-
valent, and which he knew his readers would correctly
interpret. It was well understood that, in speaking of the
serpent only, he referred to a supernatural power behind as
the author of evil. And from our OWn point of view the
narrative is true. The stealthiness and cunning manifested,
the consummate craft with which the temptation was con-
ducted, clearly point to the presence of an intelligent and
malignant power behind the serpent. And though in
the judgment which God pronounced, even the literal
serpent as being the medium of temptation was cursed, yet
it is not difficult to believe that the curse of God denounced
upon the guilty cause of human apostasy was not the mere
wreaking of vengeance upon an irrational creature. The
presence and manifestation of devilish malignity, skill, and
power are self-evident, and the enmity which has always
existed between the human race and the literal serpent tribe
does not exhaust the meaning of the curse. There was to be
a three-fold enmity — enmity between the serpent and Eve
personally ; between the seed of the serpent, or w^icked
men, and the seed of Eve as represented by good men ;

GENESIS. 181

and, especially, between the serpent and one illustrious
descendant of Eve, by whom it would be overcome. A triple
conflict was thus foretold. Eve would be brought to
hate her tempter and would be delivered from his power ;
there would be a bitter and prolonged struggle between those
who were under the influence of the serpent and those who
had been delivered from it ; and one belonging to the very
race whose first parents had now been deceived and ruined
would destroy the serpent's power. (John viii., 44 ; 2 Cor.
xi., 3; Eph. vL, 12; Col. ii., 15; 1 John iii, 8.)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS-

1. Relate the circumstances of the Fall of man.

2. Describe the conduct of Adam and Eve when questioned by God.

3. What punishment was to be inflicted respectively upon the serpent,
upon Eve, and upon Adam ?

4. Prove the presence of Satan in the temptation of our first parents.

5. Quote and explain the first promise and prophecy recorded in the
Bible.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 1, 2 Cor. XL, .8. V. 6, 1 Tim. ii., 14. V. 15, Rom. xvi., 20.
V. 16, 1 Tim. iL, 11. V. 19, Rom. v., 12, 1 Cor. xv., 47.

182 GENESIS.

CHAPTER IV.

ANALYSIS.

Birth, occupation, and religion of Gain and AbeL Cain
murders Abel. God judges and condemns Cain. The
promise given to Cain. The wanderings of Cain. The
descendants of Cain. The speech of Lamech. The birth
of Beth and of Enos.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 2. Keeping flocks and cultivating the ground were the
earliest occupations of man. "Abel" is supposed to mean
" vanity."

V. 3. "In process of time," lit., at the end of the

days, i.e., at the end of the week, on the day of rest from six
days' work ; or at the end of the year ; or, generally, after
some time had elapsed.

V. 6. In the worship of Abel there was manifested con-
viction of sin^ confession of sin, faith in the promise of a
divine Deliverer from sin, obedience to the revealed will of
God regarding the necessity for sacrifice as the only means
of access to God's presence, and of offering acceptable service.
Man's reason would not teach him that the blood of innocent
creatures could atone for human sin, that God would transfer
the sins of the sacrificer to his sacrifice, and it could not
discover the plan of salvation through a Divine Mediator,
whom these sacrifices typified, and apart from whose atoning
death they had no meaning. Grod must have revealed this
(Heb. xi., 4). There must be satisfaction and reconciliation
by sacrifice before there can be pardon and acceptance
(Heb. ix, 22). (Page 32.)

QBNBSIS. 183

V. 7. This verse may mean that the services of Cain
could not be accepted so long as sin lay at the door of his
heart, or it may mean that if Cain did not take care he
would be tempted to commit greater sin and bring down
upon himself fearful punishment. It may mean that a sin
offering is not far to seek, of which he can avail himself, or
it may mean that continued criminality will bring with it
immediate and just punishment It is scarcely possible to
fix the precise idea the writer intended to convey.

It is equally difficult to decide upon the exact meaning of
the last clause ; whether to consider it as meaning that if
Cain acts properly the birthright will be his, and Abel shall
serve him, or as meaning that if Cain continues in his pre-
sent course of envy and sin, does not resist temptation and
conquer sin, sin will conquer and ruin him..

V. 8. " Talked with Abel," or according to the Greek
version, "said to Abel, Let us go out into the field/' —
Some take it to mean that Cain had a religious " talk " or
dispute with Abel.

7. 10. " Brother's blood crieth," lit, « brother's

bloods are crying."

V. 11. "Cursed from the earth," t.c., cursed as far

as the earth is concerned. Even inanimate nature would be
against him for his unnatural crime.

V. 12. " Not 3rield," lit,, not add to yield.

V. 14. We have not a full account of Adam's descendants
recorded. By this time the population had increased and
scattered.

V. 16. Probably Cain received a sigfn from God that he
would be preserved. "A mark" upon him would identify
him, and prove a source of danger rather than a blessing.

184 OBNESIS.

V. 16. " The land of Nod," of exile or banishment,
though probably at no great distance from Eden.

V. 17. " Builded a city," /tV., busied himself about
building a city, probably to divert his mind from disquieting
accusations, and to provide defence against apprehended
violence.

V. 23. This rhythmical utterance may be rendered, "I
have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for hurting
me. If Cain, who slew his brother without provocation, was
to be avenged seven-fold, surely Lamech, who slew another
in self-defence, would be infinitely more avenged." His
wives therefore had no cause for fear on his account. This
is the most ancient fragment of poetry.

V. 26. '' Oall upon the name of the Lord."— Some,

referring this to the ungodly, have taken it to mean, " Pro-
fane the name of the Lord." Its connection with Seth and
Enos would rather make it mean, " Be called by the name
of the Lord," or ''Call upon the name of the Lord in the
public exercises of religion." (Page 38.)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What is the meaning of the words "Cain," "Abel," "Enos,**
" Seth ? "

2. Narrate the sin and punishment of Cain.

8. Give the names of Cain's descendants, and tell their inventions.

4. Quote the most ancient fragment of poetry, and explain it.

5. Explain the meaning and allusion of the phrases —

" The Lord had respect unto Abel's offering."
" Am I my brother's keeper ? "

6. What evidences have we of the early existence of the arts and
sciences?

7. What is recorded of the descendants of Seth ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 4, Heb. xi, 4. V. 8, 1 John iii, 10. V. 10, Heb. xa, 24.

OEKESIS. 185

CHAPTEE V.

ANALYSIS.

Becapitulation. Genealogy of the ten Antediluvian
Patriarchs. Enoch's piety and translation. Birth of Noah.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. The descendants of Adam to the 600th year of the
life of Noah are recorded m this chapter.

The descendants of Seth were Enos, Cain, Mahalaleel,
Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. When
Enoch was 365 years of age he was translated to heaven
without dying, as a reward of his piety. His son Methuselah
attained the age of 969 years, the oldest on record.

V. 29. Lamech, like his namesake, the descendant of Cain,
also gives us a fragment of poetry uttered on the birth of his
son. Noah was the tenth of the patriarchs before the
flood.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Who was the oldest man, and how long did he live ?

2. Name the ten Antediluvian patriarchs.
8. What was remarkable about Enoch ?

4. Quote the words of Lamech when his son Noah was born.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 24, Heb. xL, 6.

186 OBKBSIS.

CHAPTER VI.

ANALYSIS.

The union of the posterity of Seth and tlie posterity of
Gain. The wickedness that followed. The destruction of
every living creature threatened. Gk)d's command to Noah
and the covenant with him.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 2. The distinction between " men " and the " sons of
God " refers to the posterity of Cain and the posterity of
Seth. The intermarriage of the wicked and the righteous
led to almost universal depravity. (Page 43.)

V. 3. God graciously warns men of the consequences of
sin, and by His Spirit strives with them to induce them to
repent.

V. 8. " Orace " means mercy or favour. He " found
grace in the eyes of the Lord " because he was just, gave
every man his due ; because he was " perfect/* consistent in
principle and practice ; and because he " walked with God,"
maintained communion with God in the exercises of private
and public worship.

V. 12. The earth " was corrupt," t.^., the inhabitants
had left God's service and become idolaters.

V. 15. The ark was 547 feet long, 91 feet wide, and 54
feet high. It had three floors or storeys. It took 120 years
to prepare. It was made of " gopher," probably " cypress,"
wood.

GENESIS. 187

V, 16. Apertures for air and light were made in the ark.

V. 18. ** Covenant'' — (berith) lit., a purification — a
means of forgiveness and atonement.

V. 21. " Food that is eaten," i.e., food necessary for each
species.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Describe the ark and its dimensions.

2. How long did Noah take to build it, and while building how was
he otherwise employed ?

3. Explain the following phrases —

'* The sons of Gk>d " and ^' the daughters of men."
" There were giants."

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 5, Matt. XV., 19. V. 9, Heb. xi, 7.

CHAPTER VII.

ANALYSIS.

Entrance of Noah and Ms family into the ark. The Flood
and its effects.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 2. The distinction between clean and unclean animals,
%,e,, animals which were suitable for food and for sacrifice
and animals which were not, seems to. have existed from the
beginning. The clean animals comprised those whose hoofs
divided into two parts, and the unclean those of one hoof
and those whose feet divided into more than two parts.

188 GENESIS.

V. 11. As the Israelites before their departure from
Egypt began their year about the twenty-second of
September, the Flood would begin about the beginning of
November. " The fountains of the great abyss were vastly
enlarged, and the cataracts or sluices of heaven were
opened."

V. 17. The waters appear to have been 150 days in
attaining their greatest height, and 275 days in diminishing.
It was five months before they began to abate. The follow-
ing table will exhibit the various stages —

Age of Xoah. M. D.

600 2 17 Noah enters the ark and the Flood begins.

8 27 40 days rain — the ark floating.
7 17 110 days more — ark rests.

The mountain tops are seen.

Raven sent out.

Dove sent out, but returned.

Dove again sent out, and returned.

Dove sent out, and did not return.

601 11 Waters dried from surface.
27 Ground fully dried — Noah leaves the ark.

10

1

11

11

11

18

11

25

12

2

1

1

2

27

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Why did God threaten to destroy the world, and during how
many years were men warned f

2. Who and what were saved with Noah in the ark ?

3. During how many days was the earth covered with water ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 1. Peter ii., 5. V. 21. Matt xxiv., 39. V. 23. 1 Peter iii., 20.

GENESIS. 189

CHAPTER VIII.

ANALYSIS.

The waters begin to sulmide. The ark rests on Ararat.
The raven and dove sent forth. Noah leases the ark,
builds an altar^ and offers sacrifice.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 10. From the frequent mention of seven days, it
would appear that the seventh day had been observed as a
day of holy rest and worship, and that Noah expected a
special blessing and token of the divine remembrance on
that day.

V. 14. Noah was a year and ten days in the ark He
left it in the year 1657, from the creation of the world, and
RC. 2347.

V. 20. The first thing Noah did after he left the ark was
to offer a sacrifice of gratitude and faith. It was a " bnrnt-
OfTering,'' from Alah to ascend, because the offering, as
being wholly consumed and no part retained by the offerer,
ascended as it were to God in smoke and vapour. (Page 48.)

V. 21. God's promise to Noah, literally translated, is
**I will not add to curse the ground for men^s works,
although the fiction of men^s hearts should become as evil
as before,"

V. 22. ''While the earth remaineth/' /t^. until all

the days of the earth.

There are remarkable points of agreement as well as of
disagreement, between the Babylonian account of the deluge
and that of Genesis. The most striking difference between
the two is the polytheism of the Babylonian version, in
contrast with the monotheism of the Biblical narrative.

190 QBNESIS.

The situation of '' the mOTmtainS of Ararat/' on which
the ark rested, has not been definitely decided. It was not
until a very late period that the name of Ararat was first
applied, and then confined, to the lofty mountains in the
north east of Babylonia. As the present Mount Ararat rises
to a height of 19,000 feet above the sea, and is constantly
covered with snow, it is scarcely possible that Noah and
those in the ark could have lived so long upon the top of it,
if the conditions were the same then as now.

Probably the expression "the mountains of Ararat," refers
not to any particular peak, but generally to the lofty range
of mountains in or near the modern Armenia.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What means did Noah employ to aacertaizi the subsiding of the
waters ?

2. What was the first act of Noah upon leaving the ark f

3. Where did the ark rest ?

4. What promise did Qod make to Noah after the Flood ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 21. Mark viL, 21.

CHAPTEK IX.

ANALYSIS.

Noah and his sons blessed. Promises made to Noah,
and prohibitions imposed upon him. Sign and pledge of
the Covenant which (}od made with Noah. The sons of
Noah, and the repeopling of the earth. Noah's sin. Ham's
improper conduct. Noah's prophecies regarding his sons.

CBITICAL NOTES.
V. 6. " Your blood will I require," &a— -This verse

is obscure. It should perhaps be rendered *' jour blood for
your lives," t.e. your blood in return for the life-blood which
you have shed.

GENBSIS. ' 191

V. 6. " Whoso Sheddeth," lit, he wilfully shedding. It
excludes accidental or judicial shedding of blood.

The new arrangements for the new era included (a.) Provi-
sion for the increase of the human family by marriage,
and the Divine blessing upon it (6.) Provision for the
protection of the human family against animals by the
natural dread which God instilled, and by permission to eat
animal flesh ; and against men, by the law to inflict capital
punishment upon murderers, (c.) Provision for the sus-
tenance of the human family. The permission to eat
animal flesh, while preventing the dangerous increase of
animals fit for food, also met this requirement.

V. 13. "I do set," or "I have placed.

V. 15. "I will remember."— This form of language is
called an anthropomorphism — thoughts, feelings, or actions
applied to God which strictly can only be applied to men.

V. 16. " The everlasting covenant," lit the covenant

of eternity. The Noachic covenant was the original Adamic
covenant in a diflerent form. It ^reached from eternity to
eternity.

V. 19. "Overspread," i*e, dispersed themselves abroad.

V. 26. The exact rendering is " Blessed be Jehovah, the
appointed God of Shem," in whose line shall be the know-
ledge and worship of the true God.

V, 27. " Japheth shall make room for the one that spreads
abroad."

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What promieeB did Gk>d make to Noah, and what prohibitione did
He impose upon him after the Flood I

192

OBKSSIS«

2. Give the names of Noah'8 sons, and quote the prophecy which
Noah uttered regarding each of them. Show generally how these
prophecies were fulfilled.

3. Give the date of Noah's death, and mention his age.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 6. Matt, xxvi, 62. V. 13. Rev. iv., 3.

CHAPTER X.

ANALYSIS.

The generations of the sons of Noah, of Japheth, of
Ham, and of Shem.

Sons of Japheth.

1. Qomer

2. Magog

3. Madai

4. Javan

Nations Founded.

Cimbri

Scythians.

Macedonians

lonians & Greeks 7. Tiras

Sons of Japheth.

5. Tubal

6. Meshech

Nations Founded.
Iberians.
Muscovites or

Russians.
Thracians.

Bona of Ham. Nations Founded.

1. Gush Ethiopians, &c.

2. Mizraim Inhabitants of

Upper Egypt.

Sons of ELam. Nations Founded.

3. Phut Inhabitants of Lower

Egypt.

4. Canaan Canaanites and

Phoenicians.

Sons of Shem. Nations Founded.

1. Elam Parsians.

2. Ashur Assyrians.

3. Arphaxad Media.

Sons of Shem. Nations Founded.

4. Lud Lydians.

5. Aram Mesopotamians.

In the first five verses of the chapter, the territory occu-
pied by the descendants of Japheth, the language spoken,
and the nations founded, are referred to, but very shortly,
as the Japhetic nations lived at a great distance from the
Hebrews and were almost unknown. The immediate
descendants of Ham number thirty, of whom four

GBNBBIB. 193

were sons. Their territory generally embraced the south-
em portions of the globe. The children of Shem were
twentynsix in number, of whom five were sons.

Many of the names in the chapter are in the plural
number,, and refer to the. nations descended from their
founders.

V. 6. The Hebrews applied- the word Isles to all those
countries that were divided from them by the sea. The
inhabitants of Britain are descended frt)m Japheth.

" Aftev his tongue." — This dispersion took place after
the confusion of tongues^ but the division according to
languages is here mentioned by anticipation.

V. 9. '^ Before the Lord;" ue. presumptuously and
defiantly. Nimrod took an active part in building Babylon
and Nineveh.

V. 10. "ShinaJP" or Sumir. This is now established by
recent exploration to be the ancient name of the Tigro-
Euphrates valley. The word means ** the valley," in contra-
distinction to Akkad, '^ the high land," which the Accadians
inhabited;

V. 11. " The dty of Eehoboth," t.e. city of streets—
80 called on account of its size and regularity.

Y. 21. Shem is introduced in a particular manner as
being the great ancestor of the Hebrews — so called from

Bber.

V. 26. It was in the time of Peleg, or the fourth genera-
tioai frx>m Shem, that the divisions of the: earth took place.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What part of the earth was aBcigned/to- Japheth ?

2. What is meant by " the isles of the Gentiles ? "

8. What was thecharacterof Nimrod?' What cities did he help to
build!

4. Name the sons of Shem, and the nations descended from them.
K Where are Shmar, Assyria, Mizraim, and Babylon V

N

194 GENESIS.

CHAPTER XT.

ANALYSIS.

Building of Babel. The Dispersion, the lives and fami-
lies of the Post-diluvian Patriarchs descended from Shem.
The Birth of Abraham. Departure from Ur.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 1. The whole earth, i,e. the whole population of the
earth, was of one tongue and one kind of words. It is
generally thought that Hebrew, the language of the Jews,
was the primitive language.

V. 3. They first resolved to make bricks, there being no
stone in that district, and then they resolved to build a
lofty tower. They used slime or bitumen for mortar.
(Page 59.)

V. 9. Some take Babel to mean the House of God. We
adopt the usual meaning — confusion. Many endeavours
have been made to identify this tower. The ruins are sup-
posed to have been discovered in the Birs Nimrod near
Babel.

V. 26. Though Abram is here mentioned first as being
the most noted, it is believed that he was the youngest son.
Terah and his family appear from the Book of Joshua to
have been idolaters.

V. 28. "Land of his Xiativity," the country where he
was bom.

V. 32. We have adopted the view that the call came
to Abram in Ur, that this call led to the migration towards
Canaan, but that Terah died in Haran (Charran — Acts vii., 2,
now Harran, a small village in Padan-aram) being 205 years
old.

GENESIS. 195

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What was the design of building the Tower of Babel ?

2. In what consisted the sin of those who built it f
8. How was the design of the builders frustrated ?

4. From which of Noah's sons was Abraham descended ? Trace his
genealogy.

5. To what extent does philology countenance the statement that
originally only one language was spoken by men ?

6. Name the birthplace of Abraham, and describe his wanderings.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. a Luke i., 61. V. 31. Acts vii., 4 ; Luke iii., 34-36*

CHAPTEK XII.

ANALYSIS.

Abram leaves Haran and journeys to Canaan. Gk)d
appears to him. He goes down to Egypt, where he denies
his wife.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. This has been considered by many the second call
of Abram.

Compare Acts vii., 2. Our authorized version gives us a
pluperfect parenthetical reference, but there may have been
a repetition of the call. Heb. xi,, 8.

V. 4. Lot is generally reckoned Abram's nephew. The
question of relationship is, however, a little complicated by
Lot being called Abram's brother. And there are some
who think that Sarai, Abram's wife, was Lot's sister.

V. 5. " SubstaJlCe ** means collected goods.

V. 6. Having crossed the Euphrates, Abram probably
passed by Damascus, where he engaged Eliezer to be his
servant, then came to Shechem, then proceeded to a place
near Bethel Expelled from Palestine by famine he went
down into Egypt. (Page 63.)

I^ Qsinnis.

V. 7. ''The Lord a^ipeared unto Abram." This is

the first time this expression is used. Dirine appearances
now become numerous and frequent. It is not difficult to
believe that these manifestations were hj Jesus Christ,
who is the only medium of communication between God
anadi maa, who fromf the beginning ^^vejoioed in the habit-
able part of his earth*' (Proy. viiL, 31), and to whom
belonged the administration of the kingdom of God. The
^' Angel of the Lord/' who entered Abram's tent, spake of
Isaac's birth aiid Sodom's: doom, and arsested his hand
when it was raised to slaj his son, who a^eared to Hagar
in the wilderness, who appeared to Jacob at Bethel, at
Padanaram, and at Peniel, 'Hhe Angel which redeemed
him from all evil," and to whose care he commended the
sons of Joseph, is clearly a greater than any created being,
for the name of God is ascribed to Him, divine honours
are appropriated, and, without protest, sacrifice and homage
accepted by him.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Why did' Abtsm go down to Egypt, and what befbl' hha there V

% State precisely the moral aspect of t^e-transaetion wliidi OGcaired
in Egypt, and gire other instanceB off the saixue am.

3. How did, Ahram signalize the -various- ]^aees-at which' he took up
his abode?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. aOaLni, & V. 4» Heibi xij, &^ V. 6, Heh. xi., ft.

GENIBSIS. 197

CHAPTER XIIL

ANALYSIS.

Abram's return to BetheL The strife between the
herdsmen of Abram ^nd of Lot. The separation. The
Divine promise to Abram renewed. Abram romoives to
Hebron.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 3. They went into the region between the hill country
of Judah and the desert ^* on his journeys," ».6., by stages
towards Bethel.

V. 7. The Perizzite was a family of the Canaanites.
Strife in the circumstances was both unseemly and dan-
gerous. The presence df PerizziteB and Canaanites, too,
diminished the available room for large encampments.

7. la ^' The {dain of Joxdan," lit^ the drde of

Jordan, the lower part of the Tailey watered by the J^xdan,
which is niow called the Ghidir.

v. 17. The survey would tend to increase Abram's grati-
tude and &ith. He was to consider the whole land as his
own.

v. 18. After the separation Abram took up his abode

^*in the plain of Mamre," *.«., in the oak groves of

Mamre. Hebron was originally called Kirjath-Arba (Josh,
xiv., 15). It is now called El-Khulil, the friend — after
Abram, the friend of Ood.

EXAMmATION QUESTIONS.

1. What 'catned the teparatiofi of Abram »iid Lot ?

2. What pUce of abode did Lot sdeot ^ How iwould you characterise
hia choice ?

198 OBNBBIS.

3. Compare the promise made to Abram after the departure of Lot
with the previouB promises.

4. Where are Bethel, Hebron, and the plain of Jordan ?

5. Write a brief history of Hebron.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 15, Acts vii, 6. V. 16, Heb.xl, 12.

CHAPTER XIV.

ANALYSIS.

The battle of the Kings. Lot taken captive. Abram
rescues him. Melchisedek blesses Abram, and Abram pays
him tithes of the spoil.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. " Shinar."— This is the land of Sumir, the Tigro-
Euphrates Valley, Shinar or Sumir meaning "the valley,"
in contradistinction to Akkad, "the high land." In the
Sumerians we see the original aboriginal inhabitants of
Chaldea before the Accadian emigrants, journeying from the
east, brought with them the elements of civilization, and
founded the tetrapolis. Akkad, called after the mountain
home of the race, is now identified as the modern Aboo
Hubba. Amraphel, the Accadian, was now King of Shinar.

Arioch or Eriaku was the King of EUasar or Larsa, a
town on the east side of the Euphrates. These names have
been discovered on the cuneiform monuments from Assyria.

Chedorlaomer, i.e., son of the god Lagamar, was the King
of Elam, which embraced the rich plains to the east of the
lower course of the Tigris, together with the mountains
which bound them. Elam at this time dominated the whole
country west to the Jordan.

OBNBSIS. 199

Tidal or Turgal was probably the king of that tract of
oountiy which stretches to the north of Babylonia, from
Mesopotomia to the mountains of Kurdistan, and within
which the kingdom of Assyria afterwards arose.

The Elamite king overran Chaldea in 2280 b.o. This was
the beginning of Elamite supremacy in Babylonia.

V. 2. Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar were
the chief cities of the plain of Jordan. Their kings revolted
in the thirteenth year of servitude from Chedorlaomer.
These kings being descended from Ham, and Chedorlaomer
being descended from Shem, the prediction of Noah
(Gen. ix., 26) was already partially fulfilled.

V. 3. " The Vale of Siddim,"^ U, of cliffs, on the

shore of the Dead Sea, was connected with the land of
£dom by the Yale of Salt, so called when the valley of
Siddim, by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
became a large lake, whose waters are very bitter.

V. 6. In his journey southwards Chedorlaomer punished
the tribes to the east of the Jordan — ^the B«phaim, or giants
of Ashteroth — Kamaim, being the first to suffer ; the Zuzim
or Zamzummims ; the Emims, a people numerous and power-
ful; and the Horites, or cave-dwellers, who inhabited the
rocks around Petra until they were driven out by the
descendants of Esau, who possessed Mount Seir "in their
stead" (Deut. ii., 12).

V. 6. "El-paran," which is by the wilderness or oak
wood of Paran, in the south west — now called Et-Tih —
formed the terminus of the expedition, and, unless
Chedorlaomer and his allies intended to go on to Egypt,
it would have been useless to proceed further.

V. 7. Turning northward, they smote the country of the
Amalekites, which lay on the west of the great commercial
route from the Elanitic Gulf. (Page 82.)

200

V. 10. ''{HiXBe-]iit8."— Ghreat quftotitieB of bitmaea are
Rtill thrown up from the lake which now covers this pulley.
(Gen. xL, 3.) Probably toAy the troops of the king of
Sodom fell there, as he himself afterwaords appeared in order
to congratulate Abram on bis triumph.

V. 13. '' Abrsm tflie Hebrew/' so called, probably, from
his/anceator Eber. Hence *'!the .Hebrews," the Israelites or
Jews.

V. 14. Dan was situated near the springs of Lesser
Jordan. (Judges zviii., 7.) If this was Laish, it is erident
that a later editor, probably Ezra, must have inserted the
modem name.

V. 1& Kelchisedek was so called, as being a king of
righteousness, or righteous king. Jerusalem exactly suits
the particulars of the narrative, as it was on the way :along
whioh Abram would most likely go £rom his residence at
Mamre, to cross -the fords of Jordan, and thus intercept the
jconfederate kings. Melchtsedek was |)robably the last
ofi&dal representati^ie of ihe primitiye religion, being still
under the corenant Qod made with Noah aiter the Flood,
«nd he comes forth to welcome the new £aith in tJie person
(of Abram. He combined in iiis own person the highest
unvil and the highest sacred offices ; he was a king who loved
rigbteousnes and peace -; his appearance and position woec
singular and mysterious, for his descent is not recorded, and
both his predecessor and successor are unknown ^ be did not
obtain bis kingship from Judah, nor his priestihood from
Levi; and he was a priest -aH "through the dispensation'^
or course of the priesthood, there being, so far as known, no
other priest in the same order at aM. How like to Him
who has a royal priesthood, is a 'Spriest upon bis thron« ["
(Page 85.)

6ES1SSIS. 201

V. 20. Tbe royal iLOSpHalrty and priestly benediction of
Melchisedek are worthy of note. There was on his part, too, a
conscioosness of superiority, which Abraham acknowledged
by paying tithes, as an expression of gratitude to God who
had given him the victory, and for the support of His wor-
ship. (See Gen. xx-viiL, 22.) Melchisedek's dignity was a
present possession. Abraham might yet have the priestly
dignity in Aaron, and tihe kingly in David, and both would
be ixnited in his greatest descendant, Jesus Christ, but in
the ineantime he had only the promise of this. (Heb.
vii„ 5-11.)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Describe fihe object and the route of the invading army.

2. How was Ldt rescued 1

& Who were the leaders of tfae«ontending forces, «nd where did they
come &om ?

4. What do you know of Melchisedek, and in what respect was he .a
type of Christ ?

5. What qualities appear in Abram, in Lot, in the king of Sodom
and in Melchisedek in connection with the events narrated in this
tchaptor ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFEHENCES.
V. 17. Heb. vii., 1. V. 18. Heb. v., 6. V. 20- Heb. vii, 4.

CHAPTEK XV.

ANALYSIS;

Ck>d enters into a covenant with Abram. The sign of
tthe covenant. The nugratioii of his jiosterity revealed to
Ateam. The land of promise defined.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 2. " Of what avail will larger possessions 1)6, so long
as a son of administration inheriteth."

202 OEXBSIS.

V. 6. Abraham trusted the words of God, as certain and
constant. (Rom. iv.)

V. 9. " Take me." — Offer before me ; or, Take for me, on
my behalf. At three years old, the life of these animals is
mature, and yet fresh. The animals weve to be cut in two,
lengthwise, and the two parts of each animal were laid
opposite each other, leaving a passage between, through
which the contracting parties walked.

V. 12. Abram appears to have spent the whole day in
the solemn service ; a deep sleep, a trance. '' An horror of
great darkness," lit,j a terror, a great darkness.

V. 13. To try Abram's faith, God foretold the affliction of
his posterity in Egypt God will give even the wicked
Amorites an opportunity to repent, or to fill up the measure
of their iniquity. Long years of sorrow and disappointment
were before Abram's posterity before the promise should be
fulfilled.

V. 14. There is difficulty with regard to the length of
time the Israelites were in Egypt. Were they oppressed in
Egypt for 400 years ? Or did 400 years intervene between
the time when this promise was given and the exodus ) (See
Ex. xii., 40, 41.) If 430 years were actually spent in Egypt,
some generations must have been omitted from the genealo-
gical tables.

God judged and punished the Egyptians (Ex. vil-xil),

and the Israelites " came out with great substance." (Ex.
xii, 35, 36.)

V. 16. The promise. made to Abraham was realized when
Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the son of Amram, the son of
Kohath, came out of Egypt, and divided the land of Canaan
among the Israelites.

V; 17. *'A smoking furnace" or "oven" and a
'^ burning lamp " or " torch of fire " were the symbols

GENESIS. 203

employed by God to represent the Israelites in their
affliction and in their deliverance.

V. 18. The boundaries of the country possessed by the
Israelites never extended from the Euphrates to the Nile.
It is not, however, the purpose of the prophetical promise to
furnish data geographically correct. It was enough to
intimate that they were to be the only powerful and
independent nation between Assyria and Egypt.

V. 19. As the names of some of these tribes do not
appear in subsequent lists of the conquered nations it is
probable that they were merged into the others before
the time of the conquest.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What covenant did God make with Abram, and by what sign or
token did He condescend to ratify His promise ?

2. What do you know regarding Eliezer ?

8. What condusion does Paul gather from verse 6 ?
4. Name the tribes whose land Abram's seed was to possess and
describe the district inhabited by each tribe.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 2, Acts viL, 6. V. 6, Rom. iv., 9 : Gal. iii, 5 ; James ii., 23.

CHAPTER XVI.

ANALYSIS.

Sarai's device for procuring an heir and its results.
Hagar's flight and return at the request of the Angel of
the Lord, who appeared to her. The birth of IshmaeL

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 1. ** Handmaid^'' i,e, bondmaid or servant as opposed
to free-woman. Abram was now 85 years old. "Hagar"
means flight.

204 GENSSltS.

V. 7. She evidently intended to reitum to her native
country, for the wilderness of Shur bordered upon Egypt.
(Page 88.)

V. 9. " Submit thjFSelf ;" t.«. humble thyself.

V. 14. This well has been identified as the well which
the Arabs now call Moilahi Hagar, on the road from
Beersheba to Shur.

V. 16. " Ishmael " means ** God will hear."

EXAMINATION QtJESTIOKS.

1 . Where was the wildemeBS of Shur t

2. What led to the flight of Hagar and what te hcnr -retura 1
8. How old was Abram when Ishmael was bom ?

4. In what respects are Abram, Sand, tuid Hagar respectively blame-
worthy in the episode mentioned in Htds chapter ?

5. What is the meaning of the words Beer-laSufi-roi, Ishmad tend
Hagar?

6. Who are Ishmael's deseendants, and what m their anattaer of life }

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 15. GaL iY„ 22.

CHAPTEE XVII.

ANALYSIS.
The Covenant renewed. Abram^s name changed to
Abrabam. Circnrndsion k iBStituted. Saraffi anine
diaasged to Sarah. Isaac Ib promised.

CRITICAL J^OTES.
V. L When Abram was 99 years of Age God appeared to
him to renew His oovenant with him.
V. 6. *' Abram" means exalted father; '' Abraham,"

*' father of a multitude."

Qjssnuas, 205

V. 6. The covenant oontained a tbree-fold promise to
Abraham : —

(a.) That he should have a son by Sarai his wife.

(6.) That his seed should be numerous, and should
possess Canaan.

(c) That in his seed all the nations' of the earth should
be blessed. Ishmaelites, Israelites, and Edomites
are litwally descended from Abraham. Spirituallji
he is His father of all belieyers^

IT. 10. Circumcision is the sign of the covenant into
which God entered. It presupposes a belief in the origin of
sin, as being propagated in the world by generation, and a
desire to have sin eradicated. (Ps; IL, 5 ; Deut. zxx., 6 ;
Gal v., 3.)

V. 15. Abraham's wife was no longer to be Sarai, " she
who contends,'' but Sarah, " a princess."

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Explain in what sense drciimciBion was a seal of the ooyenant.

2. Quote the' words of God's blessing upon Ishmael ?

& What three promises were; included in the oorenant which Qod
made wildi Abraham ?

NEW TESTAMENT' REFEBENCEa
V. 4, RoHL iv., 17. V. 10, LukeL, 59. ii., 21. Gal: ▼., 9.

206 GENESIS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

ANALYSIS.

Abraham entertains Angels. Sarah's incredulity is
rebuked. The Divine purposes regarding Sodom disclosed.
Abraham intercedes for Sodom.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 4. This is exactly a picture of the way in which an
Arabian Sheik of the present day would receive travellers
arriving at his encampment As Eastern travellers either
went barefooted, or only wore sandals, the frequent washing
of the feet was as necessary as it was refreshing.

V. 6. The process required of Sarah is still common in
the East. As soon as the dough is kneaded it is made into
thin cakes, which are then baked upon the coals. Abraham's
hospitality and civility to his guests presents him in a very
pleasing aspect

V. 18. As all nations of the earth were to be blessed in
Abraham,* he was necessarily interested in all God's dealings
with them. He was specially interested in Canaan, and God
would not destroy a part of the future inheritance without
letting him know. Besides, Abraham was faithful to God
and zealous in promoting His honour. God will therefore
show him the terrible consequences of disobedience, in order
to strengthen him in his course of fidelity. (Page 90.)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What were the conditions of the covenant which God made with
Abraham as referred to in the 19 th verse ?

2. Give a short account of Abraham's intercession for the " cities of
the plain."

3. What was the origin of Isaac's name ?

4. Give other instances of importunate prayer and of intercession for
others.

GENESIS. 207

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 2. Heb. xiii, 2. V. 10. Rom. iv., 19 ; ix., 9. V. 12. 1 Peter iii.,
6. V. 18. Acts iii, 25. V. 32. Jamea v., 16.

CHAPTEK XIX.

ANALYSIS.

Lot entertains two angels* The wicked conduct of the
men of Sodom. Bescue of Lot and his two daughters. The
fate of Lot's wife. The destruction of Sodom and Gk>morrah.
The immorality of Lot's daughters.

CKITICAL NOTES.
V. 1. In Eastern cities the gate is the usual place of ren-
dezvous, social gatherings, courts of justice, markets, and
councils being held there.

V. 2. To sleep in the street is a very common practice in
warm countries. Lot, however, feared lest the strangers
should not be allowed to sleep unmolested, his fellow-citizens
being so wicked.

V. 14. Whether Lot had other daughters who were mar-
ried, or those referred to as sons-in-law were only so by
anticipation, his two daughters being betrothed to them,
cannot be determined.

V. 20. The natural selfishness and worldliness of Lot
manifest themselves even in the hurried flight from the
doomed city. ''Is it not a little one ?" This has been
taken to mean, its sins cannot be so crying that it must be
destroyed. It would not, therefore, be a great demand on
divine mercy to spare it, and, if this were done. Lot would
be saved from further exertions for his safety.

208 OBNIBIS.

V. 21. "I have aecepttd thee," lit, ''I have lifted up

thy face," a petitions natiusally irahing- hk has wben his
request Is granted.

V. 22. *'Zoar " means •* the littl&" This city has been
identified with Ziara at the northern extremity of the Dead
Sea.

V. 23. " The sun was risen," lit., " had gone forth,"

was now above the horizon.

V. 24. " Rained " » caused to ndn; The fire cities of
the Jordan " circle," or Pentapolis, were Sodom, Gomorrah,.
Admah, Zeboiim, Bela or Zoar. The last only was spared.
Whether a volcanic eruption overwhelmed the entire region,
or lightning from heaven ignited the bituminous soil — ^what
precise natural means God employed to effect His purposes of
judgment, we cannot now determine. Henceforth the land
was depressed 1,312 feet below the level of the Mediter-
ranean Sea, and became a receptacle for the waters over-
flowing the Jordan. It now forms a part of the Dead Sea.

V. 29. The paragraph beginning with this verse seems to
have originally stood in some olftier connection. Some even
have supposed that the story of the disgraceful conduct of
Lot's daughters originated in the Jewish hatred^of Mbab and
Ammon.

Y. 37. ''Moab "means ""from the father,'' alluding to
the incestuous origin. The Moabites inhabited the ootmtry
north-east of the Dead Sea, but they were afterwards driven
farther south.

V. 38. "Benammi" means '^aon of my own kindned."
The Ammonites were- an unsettled, people, who- occupied the*
territory between the Jabbok and the. Amon,. from which
they had ejected the Zamzummims (Deut. iL, 20),. They^
were very idolatrous (1 Kings xi, 7).

GENESIS. 209

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What means were used to save Lot ? Who were saved with him ?

2. Name the cities which were destroyed.

8. What occupies the sites of those cities now ?

4. Describe the character of Lot, giving illustrations to support
your opinion.

5. What was the sin and fate of Lot's wife ?

6. What is the meaning of ''Zdar," "Moab/' and "Ammon/' and
where were these towns situated?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.

V. 16. 2 Peter ii., 7. V. 24- Luke xvii., 29 ; Jude 7. V. 26- Luke
xvii., 82.

CHAPTER XX.

ANALYSIS.

Abraham in Gerar. He denies his wife. Abimelech is
reproved in a dream. Abimelech rebukes Abraham and
restores Sarah. By Abraham's prayer Abimelech and his
family are blessed.

CRITICAL NOTES,
V. 1. Abraham journeyed from Mamre to Gerar, a district
about 12 miles S.S.E. of Gaza, where there is good pasturage.

V. 2. Abraham committed the same sin at Gerar which
he had committed in Egypt twenty years earlier. He said
that Sarah was his sister. Abimelech seems to have been
a royal name like Pharaoh, in Egypt. Sarah was now 90
years old.

V. 4. The inhabitants of Gerar do not appear to have
been so wicked as the other inhabitants of Canaan.

V. 12. Abraham endeavoured to defend his conduct, but
it was very unworthy. Abimelech fully compensated for his

210 GENESIS.

offence. Besides, the generous Philistine, instead of hasten-
ing his departure from the country as the king of Egypt
had done, offered Abraham a settlement within his borders.
V. 16. It is impossible to determine whether the idea
here is that the 1,000 pieces are a satisfaction, a propitiatory
offering for what had been done ; or, that Abraham was a
protection to his wife, hiding her from the evil desires of
other men. The rebuke lay in calling Abraham her brother

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. State what occurred at Gerar. *

2. How did Abimelech propitiate Abraham and rebuke Sarah ?

CHAPTER XXI.

ANALYSIS.

Birth and Gircnmcision of Isaac. Expulsion of Hagar
and Ishmael. God appears to Hagar. Treaty between
Abraham and Abimelech.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 9. Ishmael was deriding or laughing. The Apostle
Paul calls it persecution (Gal. iv., 29). (Page 93.)

V. 20. " God was with the lad." LiteraUj, " The

Word of the Lord was a help to the lad ] "

V. 21. Ishmael became a "shooter with the bow" in the
wilderness of Paran, adjoining the desert of Sinai. It is a
very mountainous region.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Where and when was Isaac born? How old were his father,
mother, and brother at the time ?

2. Give a short history of Ishmael.

GENESIS. 211

3. Explain the references to Hagar and Ishmael in the New Testament.

4. "Who werd Abimelech and Phichol, and into what treaty did they
enter with Abraham I

6. Where are Qerar, Paran, Beersheba ? What is the connection in
which these places are mentioned ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 2. Acts va, 8 ; Heb. xi., 11. V. 9. Gal. iv., 29, V. 12. Rom.

ix., 7.

CHAPTEH XXII.

ANALYSIS.

God commands Abraham to offer Isaac. Abraham pro-
ceeds to obey this command. The An^el prevents him
from slaying Isaac. A ram offered. God renews His
covenant with Abraham. Genealogy of Bebekah.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. "Tempt."— Test or try. (Page 96.)

V. 2. "Moriah." — The high or conspicuous land. The
spot selected by Abraham for the sacrifice of Isaac is gener-
ally supposed to have been a high prominent rock now
called Es-Sakhrah, the rock,

V. 14. " JehovaJl-Jireh." — The Lord will provide.

V. 17. " Possess the gate of his enemies/' t.«.,

occupy their cities by force and conquer them.

V. 20. This genealogical table is here introduced on
account of Rebekah, who is soon to become Isaac's wife.

V. 21. See Job xxxii., 2. Elihu was a descendant of Buz.

212 GENBSIS.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Write an account of the great trial of Abraham's faith and obe-
dience.

2. Where was Mount Moriah t What important events have occurred
there?

3. How old was Isaac at this time, what part did he take in this
trial, and what bonversation passed between him and his father on the

way ?

4. What is the meaning of Jehovah- Jireh ? What place received that

name, and why ?

5. Point out special points in the event here recorded typical of the
sacrifice of Christ.

6. Quote and explain Hebrews xi., 19.

7. Qive the descent of Rebekah from Nahor.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 1. Heb. xi., 17. V. 9. James iL, 21. V. 16. Heb. vi, 13, 14.
V. la GaL iu., 8.

CHAPTER XXIII.

ANALYSIS.

Death of Saralu Purchase of Machpelah. Burial of
Sarah.

CBITICAL NOTES.

V. 3. The Hethites, Chethites or Hittites, were descended
from Cheth, the son of Canaan. Hebron, Josh, xxi., 11.

V. 8. The burial of Sarah was only the first of many
burials in Canaan, and Abraham desired a safe title to the
property. (Page 100.)

V. 9. " Machpelah " means the double cave. It lies near
Hebron. An ancient Christian church was built over it, which
is now a mosque, and is sacredly guarded by the Turks

GENESIS. 213

against any intrusion. The remains of the patriarchs and
their wives, Rachel alone excepted, were buried beneath, and,
it is believed, still lie safely in their venerable and venerated
tombs.

V. 16. " Shekel " means weight ; the first form of money
being probably rings of gold or silver, whose value was
determined by weight. If the shekel was 2s. 3d., Abral»am
paid £45 for the property.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Tell the age of Sarah at her death, mention the leading incidents
in her life, and give an estimate of her character.

2. Give an account of Abraham's purchase of Machpelah.
8. Explain in this connection Heb. xi., 13, 39.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 4. Heb. xi., 13. V. 17. Acts vii., 16.

»

CHAPTER XXIV.

ANALYSIS.

Abraham commissioas his gervant to procure a wife
for Isaac. The journey of the servant. The sign employed
for the discovery of the bride. The conversation between
the servant and Bebekah. Laban entertains the servant.
The proposed marriage approved of. The departure of
Bebekah. The meeting of Isaac and Bebekah.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. Abraham was now 140 years of age, and Isaac
was 40.

V. 10. ''Mesopotamia." — Literally, Aram of the two
rivers, between the Euphrates and Tigris.

214 GENESIS.

V. 21. "To wit," *.c., to know^. The word is now
obsolete. It occurs also in Mark ix., 6, and 2 Cor viii., 1.

V. 22. "A golden ear-ring" may have been a ring foi*
the forehead or nose, an ornament common in Eastern
countries.

V. 50. Betbuel, the father of Rebekah, is in the back-
ground throughout Labao, her brother, makes the arrange-
ments.

V. 69. The nurse of Rebekah was Deborah (Gen. ixxv., 8).

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What admirable qualities did Abraham's servant manifest in this
transaction ?

2. Quote the words of the prayers which he ofifered, as recorded in
this chapter.

3. Describe the meeting of Isaac and Rebekah.

CHAPTER XXV.

ANALYSIS.

Abraham's sons by EeturalL Tlie division of his pro-
perty. His age, death, and burial. The generations of
Ishmael. The birtli of Esau and Jacob. Esau sells his
birthright.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. Keturah appears to have been only one of the
concubines mentioned in verse 6 (1 Chron. i., 32). The sons
of Keturah were perhaps bom at an earlier period. (Rom.
iv., 19).

V. 2. Zimran is thought to be represented by the
Zamereni, a tribe in the interior of Arabia. It was the

GENESIS. 215

descendants of Midian who sold Joseph to Potiphar (Gen.
xxxvii., 36). To the tribe of Shuah, Bildad, the friend
of Job, belonged.

V. 8. " Gave up the ghost," is an old phrase for "expired,"
ceased to breathe.

V. 9. Seventy years had passed since the expulsion of
Ishmael, but friendship with the family must still have
been maintained. Isaac was now 75 years of age. Jacob
and Esau 15. (Page 104.)

V. 11. " Blessed," I. e., enriched with material and tem-
poral prosperity. Lahai-roi. See Gen. xvi., 14 ; xxiv., 62.

V. 12. Before proceeding with the main history in the
line of Isaac the fortunes of Abraham's eldest son are briefly
traced. (Gen. xvL, 15.)

V. 13. Nebajoth, "heights," was the ancestor of the
Nabathseans, in Northern Arabia. The descendants of the
others are in and around Arabia Petrsea, on to Babylon. It
is, however, difficult to distinguish the different tribes.
Ishmael died at the age of 137.

V. 18. A fulfilment of the promise made in Gen. xvi., 12.

V. 20. Padanaram, the low lands of Aram, by the Euph-
rates. Bethuel and Laban are called Syrians. So is Jacob
(Deut. xxvL, 5) because he dwelt many years with Laban.

V. 30. " Edom " means red. (Page 107.) "Esau" means
rough ; " JaCOb" a supplanter.

V. 34. Lentiles are a kind of pulse, in shape like peas.
They are very nutritious, but are chiefly used to feed cattle.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. From whom are the Midianites descended ?

2. Name all Abraham's sons.

3. Give the date of Abraham's death, his age when he died, and an
estimate of his character, with examples from his life.

216 0EN1ESI&

4. Explain the meaning of the words Keturah, Midian, Rebekah,
Edom, Esau, and Jacob.

5. For what did Esau sell his birthright? What refereace is made
to the incident by the Apostle Paul f

6. Explain Bom. ix., 10, IS, and Heb. xii, 18, 17.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 23. Rom. ix., 10-12. V, 27. Heb. xi, 9. V. 33. Heb. xii.,
16, 17.

CHAPTER XXVI.

ANALYSIS.

Isaac, driven by famine, goes to Qerar. God blesses Mm.
He denies his wife, for which he is reproved by Abimelech.
He grows rich. He digs wells. He enters into a covenant
with Abimelech. Esan's wives.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V 1. Isaac practised in Gerar the same deception towards
Abimelech with respect to Rebekah as Abraham, his father,
had done with regard to Sarah 80 years before. (Gen. zx., 2.)
It is not probable that this is the same Abimelech.

V. 2. Isaac was evidently on his way to Egypt, the
usual refuge in time of famine, when God appeared to him
and told him to remain in Gerar, renewing to him the
promises already made to his father.

V. 12. Rebekah being sufl&ciently protected by the pro-
hibition of the king, Isaac prepared to settle for a period in
Gerar. Feeling the precariousness of depending only on
cattle, he sowed seed in the land and he reaped ^'an
himdred fold ; " *.«., for each measure he sowed he received
an hundred measures.

GBNBSI8. 217

V. 17. The Philistines envied Isaac's prosperity, stopped
the wells his father had dug in order to annoy him and
force him to remove, and then the king formally requested
him to leave the country.

V. 18. Gen. xxL, 31, gives the account of an identical
incident.

V. 20. " Esek," " Sitnah," and " Rehoboth," mean

respectively strife, hate, room, significant of the opposition
of the Philistines and the conquest of t^at opposition.

V. 21. Isaac settled in Beersheha, a former residence of
Abraham (Gen. xxi., 33), between the Mediterranean and
the Salt Sea. There God appeared to him and renewed his
covenant. And there Abimelech requested him to form an
alliance with him, as their predecessors had done. (Page 94.)

V. 33. " Shebah " means the oath ; •" Beer-sheba/'

the well of the oath.

V. 34. Esau married women of Canaan. This proves
how little he regarded the peculiar blessings promised to his
family. These women could have little sympathy with the
family hopes. And see Gen. xxxvi.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Compare the conduct of Abraham in Gerar with that of Isaac.

2. What is the character of Isaac as shown in this chapter ?

3. Give the names of the wells which Isaac dug.

4. Describe Esau's conduct and character.

218 GENESIS.

CHAPTER XXVII.

ANALYSIS.
Isaac desires Esau to bring venison. Jacob personates
Esau and obtains the blessing. The fear of Isaac and the
grief of Esau when the deception is discovered. Esau
threatens Jacob. Bebekah sends him to Fadan-aram.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. Isaac was now about 140. His failing sight warned
him of approaching death, but he reached the age of 180.
(Page 107.)

V. 4. Jacob desired to have hiE[ natural energy stimulated,
and to have his affection for Esau intensified bj this venison.

V. 6. Rebekah was probably impelled to this as much by
the word which God had spoken to her before the birth of
her sons as by her own partiality for Jacob. Both the
purpose of God and his own oath deprived Esau of all claim
to it.

V. 11. Jacob's sole objection to practise the deception
upon his father arose from fear of discovery.

V. 27-29. In the patriarchal blessing were included
plenty, dominion, and pre-eminence.

V. 35. "Subtlety," guile or wisdom.

V. 39. " Thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the

earth." Some take this to mean " thy dwelling shall be
apart from the fruitful land of Palestine and among the
bare and barren rocks of Moimt Seir;" so that, pressed
by the unfruitfulness of his own country, Esau would be
driven to war and plunder for his support.

V. 40. The sword would not enable Esau to maintain his
independence. He should be subject to his brother, but not

GENESIS. 219

permanently. " When thou shakest (i.f., in thy shaking of
the yoke), thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck."
(2 Sam. yiii, 14; 1 Kings xi., 14; 2 Kings viii., 20-22;
2 Chron. xxviii., 17.) Through Antipater and Herod, the
descendants of Esau reigned over the descendants of Jacob.

V. 41. " The days of mourning, &C." Some under-
stand this to mean, " days of grief are at band for my
father, for I will slay, (fee." The more obvious meaning is
" I will nurse my revenge till the death of my father, which
cannot now be long delayed. I will then have no scruples
in slaying, &c."

V. 46* Rebekah thought that Esau's rage would soon
pass away, and that it might be convenient to utilize this
emergency for the advancement of Jacob's interests, by
getting him married to one of her nieces. But when she
prevailed on Isaac to send Jacob to Padanaram, 400 miles
off, she little expected that he would be absent for twenty
years. The probability is that Rebekah never saw Jacob
again. "Be deprived of you both," because by the law
of blood-revenge Esau, too, would be slain as a murderer.
(Gen. ix., 6.)

V. 46. See Gen. xxvi., 35.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. State the respective guilt and punishment of the parties in the
transaction recorded in this chapter.

2. niustrate the fulfilment of Isaac's blessing by passages of Scripture
describing the fertility of the land of Israel.

3. Where did Esau's descendants settle ? What was their character,
and general relation to Israel ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 38. Heb. xii., 17.

220 GENESIS.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

ANALYSIS.

Isaac sends Jacob to Padan-aram for a wife. Esan tries
to propitiate Ms parents by marrsring a daughter of Islu&ael.
The vision of Jacob's ladder. Qod's promises. Jacob's vow.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. ''Isaac blessed Jacob"— the blessing being that
he should inherit the blessing of Abraham, a numerous
offspring and the Land of Canaan. "And charged him/'
the charge being to marry a daughter of Laban.

V. 3. "Qod Almighty," lit. The All-sufficient One.
"A multitude of people," ^i^., an assembly of nations.

V. 9. " Took unto," *.«., took in addition to.

V. 11. " Lighted," = happened to come to in the provi-
dence of God. He went forty miles on his journey before
this occurred. (Page 112.)

V< 19. "Bethel" means the House of God. (Genesis
XXXV., 15.)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Describe Jacob's vision and vow at BeiheL

2. What promises did God make to him there ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 12. John L, 61.

GENESIS. 221

CHAPTER XXIX.

ANA.LYSIS.

Jacob, on arriving at Haran, meets Bachel. Laban enter-
tains him. He serves for Rachel, but is deceived by the
substitution of Leah. Laban's justification and Eachel's
marriage to Jacob on condition that he serve other seven
years. Four sons bom.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. "Went on bis journey,*' lit., lifted up his feet,

refreshed and happy, being comforted and strengthened by
the vision.

V. 8. The wells were generally covered with large slabs
of stone, having a round hole in the centre through which
the leather bucket or earthen jar could pass. But when
not required, a heavy stone was thrust into this hole to
prevent unnecessary consumption of the water, and to
protect it from the drifting sand. The shepherds had an
understanding that none should help himself before the rest
were present, so that no undue advantage might be taken.

V. 12. Jacob accosted Rachel as a cousin, according to
Eastern custom, and when introduced to her father, was at
once received as a blood relation. After Jacob had stayed
a month with Laban he agreed to serve seven years for
Rachel (Page 113.)

V. 23. The darkness, the bridal veil, and possibly the
foregoing festivities, prevented Jacob from at once detecting
the deception.

V. 36. ^'Bacher' means ewe-lamb; "Leah," wearied;

'* Reuben," see a son; "Simeon," hearing; "Levi,"

attachment ; and " Judah," praise.

222 OEXESIB.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Describe Jacob's introduction to Laban, and analyse the character
of Laban.

2. What contract did Jacob make with Laban, and how was it
fulfilled ?

3. Name the four eldest sons of Leah, and give the meaning of their
names.

CHAPTEK XXX.

ANALYSIS.

ThexsMldren of BiUiali and Zilpah. Leah, for mandrakes,
secures Jacob. Leah has other three children. Rachel
bears Joseph. The covenant Laban made with Jacob to
induce him to stay. Jacob's plan to become rich.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 3. It is to be noted that Rachers device to procure an
heir is the same as Scarab's. (Gen. xvi., 2.) Bilhah's first
son was called Dan, ie., vindicator, because in his birth God
vindicated RacheFs position as Jacob's wife ; the next was
Naphtali, my wrestling. Zilpah's children were Oad,
good fortune ; and Asher, happy.

V. 14. " Mandrakes "— Dudain, lit, love-apples, it
being believed that this fruit excited love and aided concep-
tion.

V. 18. " Issachar," hired, because Leah had hired
Jacob with the mandrakes ; " Zebulon," endowed ;
" Dinah," judgment.

V. 24. At length a son was given to Rachel — Joseph
i,e., adding. This seemed to have been about the time
when Jacob's fourteen years' service expired.

V. 32. The condition on which Jacob consented to con-
tinue in Laban's service, was that he should have the

GENESIS. 223

speckled and spotted cattle, &c. As the sheep in the East
are generally white, seldom brown, and the goats generally
black, seldom speckled, the bargain promised to be greatly
to Laban's advantage. But by the strange device of laying
peeled wands before the sheep at breeding time, Jacob con-
trived to make the number which fell to his share greater
than it would naturally have been. And then, after the first,
lambing season, he tried to produce, by the sight of the
spotted lambs, the same effect on the ewes as he had pro-
duced by the peeled wands. He also took care to allow no
infusion of pure white among the flock. Jacob thus became
exceedingly rich.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Name the twelve children of Jacob already referred to, also the
oue who was born after this period, and their respective mothers.

2. How many years did Jacob serve his uncle, and how were his
services repaid ?

3. On what conditions did Jacob agree to serve Laban during the
last part of his sojourn with him ?

4. In what did the wealth of Jacob consist, and what means did he
adopt to increase it ?

CHAPTEE XXXI.

ANALYSIS.

Jacob leaves Laban. Laban pursues after him, but
ultimately enters into a friendly and solemn covenant with
him.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 1. Laban's sons envied Jacob's prosperity, and accused
him of dishonesty, and with the Divine permission he
departed from Padanaram. (Page 114.)

224 6EK£SI&L

V. 4. ** Unto his flock," into the place where he kept
his flock, and there told them of his intended departure, in
which they cheerfully acquiesced.

V. 19. The family of Laban, though possessed of some
knowledge of the true Grod, was yet in a measure tinctured
with remains of the idolatry and superstition of the
surrounding countries. Laban bad in his house ** Teraphin/'
upon which he evidently set a high Talue. These were
images which had a certain religious significance, and which
probably Laban consulted in cases of perplexity. Kachel
coveted these images and stole theuL

V. 20. ** Laban the Syrian.'' As the Hebrew word for
Syrian means crafty, it has been suggested that the name
is here applied to Laban not only to tell the country to
which he belonged but also the character he bore. But
Jacob, the supplanter, outwitted his cunning and scheming
kinsman.

V. 21. " The river," the Euphrates, which was between
Chaldea and Canaan.

V. 26. Laban was forbidden to injure Jacob, but he
could not resist the opportunity of making him know his
power and accusing him of theft.

V. 34. "The camel's fiimiture," the cloths which

generally covered the camels, and where Laban would not
think of seeking for his images.

V. 47. '' Jegar-sahadatha,"t.e., in the Syrian language,
heap of witness. Jacob employed the Hebrew equivalent —
Galeed. It was also called Mizpah, a beacon, or watch-
tower. (Judges xii., 29.)

V. 6l. ** Cast,*' Yarithi, placed or set up.

V. 63. ^' Jacob sware by the fear of his father

Isaac," i.e., by the object of Isaac's reverential awe, the
only living and true God.

GBKBSIS. 225

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Why did Jacob leave his uncle's service and return to Canaan t

2. Contrast his position twenty years before with his position now.

3. Where did Laban overtake him, and why did he not compel him
to return ?

4. Give an account of the covenant entered into by Jacob and Laban.

6. Give the meaning of the words, "The Syrian," **Mizpah,"
'* Jegarsahadatha."

CHAPTER XXXII.

ANALYSIS.
Jacob's vision at Mahanaim. His message to Esau. His
prayer for deliverance from Esau. His present to Esau. He
^Trestles at Peniel.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 9, Jacob's prayer consists of three parts — a believing
invocation, a humble confession and thanksgiving, and an
importunate supplication. He urges four pleas — the divine
covenant, the divine command, the former mercies received,
and the divine promise.

V. 13-20. These verses relate what Jacob did on the
following day. (Page 116.)

V. 22. The Jabbok is now called the Wady-Zerka.
*^ Jabbok" means wrestling, and it received this name either
from the turbulent impetuous course by which it works its
way to the Jordan, or from the incident here narrated.

V. 28. " Israel " means a prince with God ; " Peniel,"
».«., face of God. (Page 118.)

EXAMINATIOK QUESTIONS.

1. Where did Esau dwell ?

2. Write out the prayer of Jacob.

8. What is the meaning of "Mahanaim," "Jabbok," "Peniel," and
what occurred at those places as here recorded ?

i. What special importance is to be attached to the scene at Peniel?
P

226 GSNEBI8.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

ANALYSIS.

The medting of Jacob and Esau. Jacob at Succoth and at
Bhalem, wbere he bays a field, and erects an altar.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 3. " Bowed aeven times ; " this prostration express-
ing great inferiority^ and supplicating the favour of Esau.

V. 10. "Pleased with me " = hast favourably received
me.

V. 11. "My blessing "» my bounteous gift.

V. 17. " Succoth " means booths or sheds.

V. 18. " Shalem " probably means in health or in safety
— " Jacob came in health to Shechem.''

V. 19. " An hundred jpieces of money," »'.«., an 100 lambs,
or an 100 pieces of money stamped with the figure of lambs.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Describe the meeting oi. Jacob and Esau.

2. What businesB transaction is here recorded ? Where did it occur ?
8. What is the meaning of £l-elohe — Israel ? Mention other com-
pounds of El f

:xxi

ANALYSIS.

Dinah's defilement. Circumcision imposed upim the
Bhechemites. The revenge of Simeon and Levi

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 1. Dinah would be from twelve to fifteen years of age
at this time, Simeon and Levi being about ten years older.

GENESIS. 227

The incident is introduced in order to explain why Jacob
left Shechem so hastily.

V. 26. Simeon and Levi being children of the same
mother as Dinah felt themselves called upon to revenge her
humiliation. They prevailed upon the Sheohemites to be
circumcised, in order the more easily and effectually to
accomplish their revenge. They then fell upon them, slew
every male, and spoiled the city.

V. 30. Jacob cursed them now, and he remembered this
cruel action against them on his deathbed. (Gen. xlix.,
5-7).

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What occurred at Shechem f

2. How were Simeon and Levi eventually punished for their cruelty !

CHAPTEK XXXV.

ANALYSIS.

Jacob purifies his house and builds an altar at Bethel.
Death of Deborah. God appears to Jacob at Bethel. Birth
of Benjamin and death of Bachel. Sin of Beuben. The
children of Jacob. The death of Isaac.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 4. The " earrings " were probably idolatrous jewels,
charms for protectiou against evil spirits and disease, worn
often as earrings. (Page 120.)

V. 15. The re-erection of a memorial stone at Bethel
after the lapse of between twenty and twenty-five years was
necessary. (Gen. xxviiL, 18).

228 GENESIS.

V. 21. "The tower of Edar/' i.*., of the flock, seems to
have been a place built for the protection of exposed pas-
tures. Here a register was taken of the children whom
Jacob had brought with him from Padan-aram.

V. 29. Isaac's death is related by anticipation in order
to clear the way for the history of Joseph. Joseph had been
Kome twelve years in Egypt before Isaac's death took place.
Jacob was born in Isaac's sixtieth year, and was 120 when
his father died. Joseph was born in Jacob's ninety-first
year, and must have been twenty-nine at the death of his
grandfather.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What preparation did Jacob make before revisiting Bethel ?

2. In this chapter we have the account of the death and burial of
three persons. What are their names, when and where did they die ?

CHAPTER XXXVI.

ANALYSIS.

Esau's wives and descendants. The Horites. The kings
and dukes of Edom.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. Esau had three wives — Adah, Abolibamah, and
Bashemath. In Gen. xxvL, 34, the two first are named
Judith and Bashemath, and in Gen. xxviii., 9, the third is
named Mahalath. It is impossible to say how these and
other discrepancies in this chapter have arisen.

V. 6. Esau left Canaan, taking with him all his possess-
and settled in Edom, in Mount Seir, a rough and rugged
district between the Dead Sea and the Elanitic Gulf. He
had five sons at this time.

GENESIS. 229

V. 12. Amalek, the father of the Amalekites, is the best
known of these descendants. There were three elements in
the Edomite race — Canaanite, Horite, and Ishmaelite. The
divisions are kept prominent in the chapter. Their descend-
ants were inveterate enemies of the Israelites. The latter,
however, were forbidden to hate the Edomites. (Deut. xxiii.,
7.) (See Ex. xvii., 8 ; Numb, xxiv., 20 ; 1 Sam. xv., 2.)

V. 15. '^Duke " means Sheik or chieftain. (Ex. xv., 15.)

V. 20. We have the names given of those who possessed
the land prior to the immigration of Esau's sons.

V. 3L The note of time here clearly betrays a date
subsequent to the introduction of monarchy in Israel It
may have been added by Ezra or other reviser.

V. 35. "The river," *.<?., the Euphrates.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Briefly sketch the history of the Edomites, and define the boun-
daries of their country.

2. Mention any incidents regarding the Edomites and the Israelites
subsequent to this period.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

ANALYSIS,

Joseph is liated of his brethren. He has two dreams.
He is sent to visit his brethren, who conspire against him.
He is sold to the Ishmaelites, by whom he is sold to Poti-
phar in Egypt. Jacob, deceived by the bloody coat, believes
in his death, and mourns for him.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 2. The sons of the inferior wives were naturally
jealous of Rachel's son. (Page 122.)

230 GENESIS.

V. 28. Midian and Medan were sons of Keturah. They
were cousins of Ishmael and of Isaac, and therefore related
to Joseph.

V. 36. "Into the grave," lit into Sheol, the under-
world. The wearing of sackcloth was a token of grief.
This is the first time it is mentioned in Scripture.

V. 36. "Captain of the guard," lit chief of the

executioners. He was probably charged with the defence of
the person and palace of the king.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Narrate Joseph's dreams. What was their special significance ?

2. Under what drcumstances was Joseph taken to Egypt ?

8. What parts respectively did Reuben and Judah take in the
transaction described ?

4. How was Jacob affected by the report of Joseph's death ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 41. Acts vii., 9.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

ANALYSIS.

The Bins of Judah and his sons. Judah and Shuah. Tamar
and Judah's sons, Tamar and Judah. Births of Fharez and
Zarah.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. " At that time," i.e., in the interval between Jacob's
return from Mesopotamia and the events recorded in the
preeeding chapter. This narrative is introduced chiefly in
order to complete the genealogy of our Lord.

V. 2. The tribe of Judah was afterwards composed of
three great families — the Shelanites, Pharzites, and Zarhites.

GENESIS. 231

(Num. xxvl, 20.) Judah seems to have entered into a kind
of partnership with Hirah of Adullam, a city in Canaan
which afterwards became the possession of the descendants
of Judah. He married the daughter of Shuah, and had
three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. Shelah alone survived,
the others having been cut off by special strokes of divine
judgment on account of their sin.

V. 18. Tamar obtained such pledges as easily identified
the person who had been with her.

V. 24. Tamar was the legal wife of Shelah, and therefore
her sin was specially heinous. But when Judah was con-
victed of being a party to the sin he was forced to acknowledge
that Tamar had only used legitimate means to vindicate
and enforce her claims.

V. 29. " Pharez " means breach ; " Zarah," sun-rise.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Where are Adullam and Timnath ?

2. For what purpose chiefly are the disgraceful incidents in the
chapter recorded ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 29. Matt, i., 3 ; Luke ill., 83.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

ANALYSIS.

Joseph is promoted, is tempted by Fotiphar's wife, is
imprisoned, but is blessed in the prison.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. It is now generally belieyed that the Hyksos, or
shepherd kings were ruling in Egypt at this time. (Page 128.)

232 GENESIS.

V. 20. " The prison," lit. the round house.

V. 22. "He was the doer of it." Everything was
done bj Joseph's appointment, and he only was responsible.
(Page 132.)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. How wa» Joseph treated by Potiphar ?

2. Why was he imprisoned f

8. What was the source of Joseph's prosperity and peace of mind in
Potiphar's house and in prison ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 2. Acts viL, 9.

CHAPTER XL.

ANALYSIS.

Joseph in prison has the charge of Pharaoh's officers*
who have dreams, which Joseph interprets. These inter-
pretations fiilfllled. .

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 1. The butler was the cup-bearer (Neh. i., 11.), an
office of honour and influence. The baker was the chief
cook or confectioner.

V. 3. If the captain of the guard was Potiphar, he must
have been convinced of the innocence of Joseph. He evi-
dently reposed great confidence in him.

"In ward," ».c., in prison. Joseph's intercourse with
these court officials would be of great advantage to him,
enabling him to learn the customs of the court and the
character of the king.

GENESIS. 233

V. 6. The Egyptians were accustomed to attach special
significance to dreams. The dreams of the butler and baker
were not idle and vain, but from God, and were significant
of future events. (Page 133.)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Relate the dreams of the butler and baker, and Joseph's interpre-
tation.

2. In what words did Joseph show his piety towards God and his
sympathy for his fellow-prisoners ?

3. Quote Joseph's petition to the chief butler, and tell how it was
answered.

CHAPTER XLI.

ANALYSIS.

Pharaoh's two dreams. Joseph interinrets them, and
advises him how to act. Joseph is exalted. He has two
sons. The famine begins.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 2. '' In a Meadow," lit, in the grass at the water's
edge.

V. 8. " The magicians/' lit-, sacred scribes.' They dealt
ia magic, necromancy, and astrology.

V. 14. The Egyptians only allow the hair to grow on
occasions of mourning. Joseph, though " brought hastily,"
lit,y made to run, took time to shave.

V. 37. Pharaoh must have been assured of the truthful-
ness of Joseph's interpretation, and that it was from God.
The clever guessing of a professed dream-interpreter would
have been a poor foundation for a fourteen years' policy, and

234 GENESIS.

the outlay of the money expended in purchasing so much
com. (Page 136.) It was remarkable that Joseph, without
any premeditation, should have been able at once to suggest
a policy complete and suited to the emergency. A fifth part
of the produce of the whole land was to be taken up during
each of the seven years of plenty.

V. 42. The signet ring was the symbol of authority.
The vestures of costly fine white linen cloth were worn only
by the nobles of Egypt. The gold chain was a mark of
dignity and wealth.

V. 43. "Bow the knee," abrech, i^e,, hail or adore.

V. 46. " Poti-pherah," i.e., consecrated to the sun-god.
The priests of On were the highest of the Egyptian priests.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Describe the course of Joseph's thoughts and the growth of his
character during the years spent in prison.

2. Give a short account of Egypt, its history and customs.

3. Quote Joseph's first words to Pharaoh.

4. Narrate Pharaoh's dreams and Joseph's interpretation of them.

5. Trace the providences in Joseph's career up to this point.

.6. Give the meaning of the words " Zaphnath-Paaneah," "Poti-ph«rah/'
"Manasseh" and "Ephraim," and tell who these persons were.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 37. Acts vii., 10. V. 56. Acts vii, 11.

GENESIS. 235

CHAPTER XLII.

ANALYSIS.

Jacob's ten sons come to bay com in Eg3rpt. Their
reception by Joseph. Their remorse and return, Simeon
being retained. Their report to Jacob, who reftises to send
Benjamin.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. Jacob still retained the vigour and promptitude
and resource which had characterised him during his long
life. His sons were eyidently in a condition of helplessness
and despair.

V. 7. It seems strange that for over twenty years, eight
of which were spent in freedom, honour and opulence, Joseph
should never have made known his safety to his father and
relatives, or taken means privately to satisfy himself that
his father still lived. We believe Joseph was divinely
restrained and guided in this. Earlier communications with
his father would have interfered with the divine plans, and
prevented the literal fulfilment of his dreams. He must
have felt that God had preserved him and raised him up for
some important purpose, and that reunion with his father
would come in good time. When Joseph saw his brethren
bowing before him as an act of homage, and thought of their
dependence upon him for the necessaries of life, his dreams
must have been vividly recalled. Though his natural
feelings would prompt him at once to disclose himself, he
felt that he ought first to test the character and sentiments
of his brethren. He made himself strange^ lit.y he was
alienated from them.

V. 9. As the Egyptians were notoriously jealous of foreign
intrusion, Joseph's charge was very natural and telling.

236 GENESIS.

V. 11. No man would risk so many sons on a dangerous
enterprise. Had they been spies they would have been
selected from various families.

V. 15. " By the life of Pharaoh." The use of this Egyp-
tian oath helped Joseph to preserve his disguise.

V 28. Joseph's brethren felt that they were suflfering
the just punishment of sin, and with their sense of guilt
they were ready to ascribe the immediate agency of God to
every event.

V. 35. They feared that they would be followed and con-
victed as thieves.

V. 38. Jacob would rather lose Simeon than risk Benja-
min. His partiality was natural, but it had been already
the cause of much wrongdoing and sutfering.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Why did Joseph talk to his brethren roughly and through an
interpreter ?

2. How were his dreams fulfilled ?

3. State the experiences of Joseph's brethren on their first visit to
Egypt.

4. Quote the words of Jacob when he heard the report of his sons.

CHAPTER XLIII.

ANALYSIS.

Joseph's brethren return to Egypt accompanied by Ben-
jamin. They are entertained and feasted.

CRITICAL NOTES.
V. 7. Judah seems to be giving a more detailed account
than was given in the previous chapter. It was in order to
prove their ingenuousness and sincerity.

GENESIS. 237

V. 16. In hot countries the real business of the day is
over by noon. The men, far from being encouraged by the
hospitality provided, " were afraid."

V. 32. "They set on, &c." Joseph sat apart, owing to
his rank. But no native of Egypt would eat with one of
another nation. The Hebrews ate the flesh of those animals
which the Egyptians held sacred. This probably originated
the feeling of disgust.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. What was the objection of Jacob's sons to return to Egypt ?

2. State the position occupied respectively by Reuben, Judah, and
Benjamin, in these transactions.

3. How were Joseph's brethren received on the occasion of their
second visit ?

CHAPTER XLIV.

ANALYSIS.

Joseph's policy to stay Ms brethren. The humble
address of Judah.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 6. Though Joseph had a divining cup, it does not
follow that he practised divination. This may have been
merely a part of the disguise he had assumed. Joseph had
already referred all his wisdom to the inspiration of Grod.

V. 18. The speech of Judah is probably the most tender
and affecting speech recorded in Scripture. He could not
bear to return and see his father's distress, if Benjamin were
retained.

238 GENESIS.

V. 30. ''The lad's life.''— Benjamin was the child of
his father's old age, but he was scarcely a lad at this time.
He was about thirty years of age, and the father of ten
children. (Page 141.)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. How were Joseph's brethren hindered on the return journey ?

2. Give an outline of the speech of Judah to Joseph.

CHAPTER XLV.

ANALYSIS.

Joseph reveals himself to his brethren. They are com-
forted and encouraged, requested to return with their
father and families to settle in Egypt, and abundantly
famished with all they require for the journey. Jacob is
revived with the tidings.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 2. Joseph " wept aloud," tears of excitement and joy,
not of sorrow. (Page 142.)

V. 6. " Neither be earing nor harvest," lU. neither plough-
ing nor harvest.

V. 16. It is an astonishing proof of Joseph's popularity
that the Egyptians, though their country was little able to
support auy additional population, were willing to welcome
the family of Joseph. Pharaoh's orders (vers. 17-20) were
very generous.

V. 20. "Your Stuft" your heavy fumi^-ure.

V. 22. " Changes of raimenti'' i.e. dress suits. Such a
present is still common in Eastern countries.

V. 26. "Fainted," t.<!. was agitated.

GENESIS. 239

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Why were Joseph's brethren troubled when he revealed himself to
them ? By what words did he encourage them.

2. What was the effect of the tidings upon Jacob, and what did he
say?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCE.
V. 4| &C. Acts yii., 13.

CHAPTER XLYI.

ANALYSIS.

Jacob leaves for Egypt. God comforts him at Beer-
sheba. The number of the family. The meeting of Jacob
and Joseph. Instructions given how to answer Pharaoh.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 7. The list of Jacob's descendants requires careful
consideration. We are told (v. 27) that the number was
70, but in Acts vii., 14, it is said to have been 75. There
were 64 sons and grandsons, Dinah, and a grand-daughter
Serah, making 66. Adding to this, Joseph, his wife, and
two sons, we have 70. Stephen probably added, on the
authority of 1 Chron. vii., 14-20, the five sons of Ephraim
and Manasseh, who were bom in Egypt. For 250 years
after the promise of a numerous seed was made to Abraham,
only Isaac and Jacob appeared as its fruits ; but now the
promised seed began to increase rapidly in number. Eeuben
had four children, Simeon six, Levi three, Judah seven (from
which number, however, Er and Onan, who had died, are
subtracted), Issachar four, Zebulon three. Gad seven, Asher
seven, Joseph two, Benjamin ten, Dan one, Naphtali four. *
(Page 144.)

240 OBNESIS.

V. 16. Only in the persons of their fathers can it be said
that they were all bom in Padan-Aram.

V. 34. "Every shepherd is an abomination, &c." — The
Hyksos, or shepherd kings, a nomadic and pastoral race
from North-East Central Asia, had over-run and conquered
Egypt. They are said to have held possession for 900 years,
when they were finally expelled. The invasion of these
shepherd kinga probably explained the feeling referred to.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. How many persons accompanied Jacob into Egypt ?

2. Explain any discrepancies which occur in the numbers f

8. Where were the Israelites located, and why was that place chosen ?
4. Describe the meeting of Jacob and Joseph. For how long had
they been parted ?

CHAPTER XLVII.

ANALYSIS.

Joseph presents five of his brethren and Ms father to
Pharaoh. Sis Egyptian tiolicy. Jacob's age and prepara-
tions for death.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. The land of Goshen was extensive and fertile. It
lay probably towards the North-East of Egypt, on the side
nearest to Canaan. (Page 145.)

V. 13-26. This paragraph gives us an account of Joseph s
administration. He had purchased, or obtained as a special
tax, during the years of plenty, a large quantity of com,
which he sold during the years of famine, at high prices, to
the Egyptians and inhabitants of surrounding countries.

GBKBSIS. 241

Having obtained all the money of the people, he next
obtained for com all their cattle and horses (v. 17). The
second year he bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh,
except the land of the priests, and secured the people them-
selves as servants unto Pharaoh; he removed the people
to diflerent parts of the country, probably in order to break
up some antiquated usages and dangerous associations, or in
order that they might be nearer the cities where the com
had been stored, and he made them tenants of the soil,
instead of proprietors at an easy rental — a fifth part of the
produce.

Thus the people, their money, possessions, and lands,
all belonged to the crown. It was a simple but eflfective
plan for increasing the power and stability of the throne,
for evoking the gratitude and confidence of the people, and
for reforming long established abuses.

Joseph is in many respects in his character, humiliation,
exaltation, and in the work he performed, a signal type
of Jesus Christ. He was the beloved son of his father, but
he was hated and envied by his brethren ; he carried to his
brethren a kind message from their father, but, in their
intention at least, he was murdered and buried in a pit ;
he was sold for twenty pieces of silver to the Midianites,
and he was reduced to the position of a servant ; he was
tempted, but successfully resisted ; he was falsely accused
and condemned ; he was associated in prison with two evil-
doers, of whom one was received back to favour, while the
other was hanged ; he was afterwards raised to a position
of power and honour, and received by the king's command
universal homage ; he was invested with a new name, and
married to an Egyptian bride ; he became the instrument of
saving many a life, men of all countries in their sore strait

Q

242 GENESIS.

being sent to him for the supply of necessary food; he
possessed the key of the national storehouses to open and to
shut at his pleasure ; he was the means of preserving his
brethren who had hated him, and of presenting them to the
king. In all this we see a significant resemblance to the
position, experiences, and work of our Mediator, Saviour,
and £lder Brother, and it is easy to spiritualise the points
referred to.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. In what respect was Joseph a type of Christ ?

2. Give an account of Joseph's administration, its plan and results.

3. Quote the conyersation which took place between Jacob and
Pharaoh.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 2. Acts vii., 13. V. 31. Heb. xL, 21.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

ANALYSIS.

Joseph, accompanied by his sons, visits Ms sick father.
The sons are blessed and adopted by Jacob. Jacob prophesies
the return of his descendants to Canaan.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. The two sons of Joseph were now over twenty years
of age (Gen. xlvii., 28). Jacob only saw them very dimly,
saw that there were persons present.

V. 3. Jacob's design m this address was to establish
Joseph's faith in the divine promises, and to guard him

GENESIS. 243

against the temptations of Egypt. The remarkable mani-
festation of God's favour to him at Luz, when he set out
for Padan-aram, a solitary fugitive from home, and the pro-
mises God then made to him, come forcibly to his recoUeo-
lection. In the rapid multiplication of his family he had
seen their partial fulfilment, and he had now no doubt that
the Israelites would yet form a numerous and powerful
nation. It is in this belief he adopts the sons of Joseph,
who, with such hopes, might well sit loose to the honours
of Egypt.

V. 7. The old man's mind wanders from the grandchild-
ren to the loved mother of their father.

V. 22. Joseph obtained Shechem from his father, and was
ultimately buried there. (Josh, xxiv., 32).

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Quote Jacob's request of Joseph regarding the place of burial, and
give an account of his interview with Joseph and his sons.

2. Quote the words of blessing pronounced upon Ephraim and
Manasseh.

3. To whom does the expression " The Angel " refer ? Give other
passages in which it occurs.

4. What events recorded in Scripture are connected with " the por-
tion of ground " which Jacob gave to Joseph ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
V. 20. Heb. XL, 21. V. 22. John iv., 5.

244 GENESIS.

CHAPTER XLIX.

ANALYSIS.

Jacob blesses each of his sons and charges them about his
bnrial. His death.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 1. ^' In the last days/' lit., in the sequel of days, at
a remote future period.

V. 3. Reuben had been impulsive and unprincipled;
Simeon and Levi, treacherous and cruel.

V. 5. " Instruments of cruelty are in their habitSr

tions." This might be rendered, " their swords are instru-
ments of violence."

V. 6. " Secret/' or " council ;" " digged down a wall,"

or " houghed oxen." There are various renderings of many
of the phrases in this chapter.

V. 10. The sceptre was the emblem of dominion. The
sovereign was generally the legislator or lawgiver. Judah
was to have kingly dignity and power till the great " peace-
bringer " came.

V. 16. This was probably the private ejaculation of the
exhausted dying man — a pause in his address.

V. 19. "Gad, a troop shall overcome him, <kc.," lit.,
troops shall troop against him, but he shall troop on their
retreat (Judges x. ; 1 Chron. xii., 8).

V. 21. The Septuagint version translates this " Naphtali
is a graceful terebinth which putteth forth goodly boughs."

V. 22-26. Jacob dwells with special fulness on the blessing
of Joseph, which is expressed in forcible and tender language.

OEXESis. 245

His brothers in their cruelty, and Potiphar's wife in her
temptations, may be reckoned the archers. His hands were
made strong " by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel" Others
translate this clause, "from thence is the provider, supporter,
guide and defence of Israel.''

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Quote the blessings pronounced by Jacob upon Levi, Judah, and
Joseph, atid state how the patriarch's predictions in these cases were
fulfilled.

2. Explain the meaning of '* Shiloh/' and the usual Messianic inter-
pretation of the verse in which it occurs.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
"V. 9. Rev. v., 6. V. 10. John xix., 15 ; Acts xiii., 47.

CHAPTEK L.

ANALYSIS.

The mouming for Jacob. The funeral. Joseph forgives
and comforts his brethren. Joseph's age, prophecy, and
death.

CRITICAL NOTES.

V. 10. Pompous ceremonies and imposing processions
were greatly relished by the Egyptians. On this occasion
the dignity of Joseph seemed to require special display, and
the respect which the Egyptians felt for Joseph and for
Jacob secured it.

V. 22. At the advanced age of 110, which the Egyptians
reckoned the ideal length of life, Joseph died. He was not

246 GENESIS.

ambitious of a pyramid or sculptured tomb to record his
deeds, as other great kings and governors of Egypt had been.
His parting request to his friends was to bury him in Canaan
when, in the providence of God, the nation of Israel should
return ihither.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. Deecribe the route taken by the funeral procession of Jacob.

2. What proo& were given of profound sorrow for the death of
Jacob?

3. What does Abel-Mizraim mean ?

4. Who was Machir f

5. Quote Joseph's dying prophecy.

6. When and where was Joseph buried ?

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES.
v. 13. Acts yii., 16. V. 24. Heb. xl, 22.

BIOQRAPHIGAL NOTES.

Abel, iv., "vanity/' — ^the second son of Adam. (Pages 30-35, 182.)
Abimblech, XX., 2 ; xxi., 22 ; xxvi, 1, King of Gerar, in the land of the
Philistines. (Page 94.)

Abraham, xi., 27 ; xxv., 10, called from Ur of the Chaldeans to be the

inheritor of Canaan, the founder of the Hebrew nation, and the

ancestor of the Messiah. (Pages 58-104.)
Adah, iv., 23, one of the wives of Lamech. (Pages 38, 184.) Also,

xxxvi, 2, one of the wives of Esau.
Adam, ii., 7 ; v., 5. The first man God created. (Pages 10-28, 175.)
Aholibamah, xxxvi., 2, 41, one of the wives of Esau, and the name of

one of his descendants.
Amalboe, xxxvi., 12, grandson of Esau and father of the Amalekites.
Ammon, xix., 38, the descendant of Lot's younger daughter.
Amobite, XV., 16 ; xlviii., 22, an inhabitant of Canaan ; one of the most

powerful of the nations of Canaan.
Anah, xxxvi., 24, one of the descendants of Seir, the Horite.
Aneb, xiv., 24, one of Abraham's friends and allies.
Abam, X., 22, one of the sons of Shem.

Amraphel, xiv., 1, King of Shinar, who fought in the first battle.
Abioch, xiv.. King of Ellaaar. (Page 81.)
Abphaxad, X., 22 ; xi., 10, the third son of Shem, and the ancestor of

Abraham.
AsENATH, xlL, 45, the daughter of Potipherah, and wife of Joseph.

(Page 137.)
AssHUB, X., 11, the founder of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire.
AsHEB, '* happy," xxx., 13, son of Jacob, by Zilpah.
Bashemath, xxvi,, 34 ; xxxvi, 3, one of the wives of Esau.
Beba, and Bibsha, xiv., 2. King of Sodom, and King of Gomorrah.

(Page 82.)
Benjamin, xxxv., 18, youngest son of Jacob, by Rachel.

248 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

Bethusl, xxviii., 2, Abraham's nephew and Rebekah's faiher.

Bnz, zxii, 21, Nahor*s son.

Cain, iv., eldest son of Adam, and murderer of AbeL (Pages 80-85, 182.)

Canaan, ix., 18, son of Ham, from whom the Canaanites and

Phoenicians were descended.
Chbdoblaombb, ziv., 1. King of Elam. (Page 81.)
CusH, z., 6, son of Ham, and father of many nations in Africa and Asia.
Dan, xxz., 6, fifth son of Jacob, by Bilhah.
Debobah, xzxv., 8, Rebekah's nurse.
Dinah, xxx., 21 ; xxxiv., 1, daughter of Jacob and Leah.
Elibzeb, xy., 2, Abraham's steward. He was from Damascus.
Elah, xxxyi., 41, one of Esau's descendants.

Enoch, v., 22-24, father of Methusaleh. He was translated to heaven
without dying. (Pages 40-42.)

Enos, iv., 26, the son of Seth.

Ephah, Ephbb, and Eldaah, xxt., 4, grandsons of Abraham, by

Keturah.
Efhbaim, xlL, 52 ; xlviii, 14, Joseph's second son. (Pages 138, 149.)

Ephbon, xxiii., 8, the Hittite from whom Abraham purchased a

burying-place.
Eshool, xiv„ 13, Abraham's friend and ally.
Eb, xxxviii, 3, Judah's son by Shuah.
Eve, iii., 20, the mother of all living. (Pages 10-28, 180.)
Gad, XXX., 11, seventh son of Jacob, by Zilpah.
Oebshom, xlvi., 11, one of Levi's sons.
Gk)MEB, X., 2, son of Japheth ; the father of the CymbrL
Gibgabhites, X., 16, descendants of Ham in Canaan.
Hagab, xvi., 1 ; xxi., 9, Sarah's Egyptian servant ; the mother of

Ishmael. (Pages 87, 93.)
Ham, "black," v., 32, the youngest son of NoaL His descendants

peopled Africa and some parts of Asia.
HsBEB OB Ebeb, X., 21 ; xi, 14., the descendant of Shem, and

ancestor of the Hebrews. Hence ** Abraham the Hebrew."

(xiv., 13.)

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 249

Isaac, ''laughter," xvli., 19, &c,, the son of Abraham and Sarah.
(Pages 96-105.)

IsHiCABL, zTi., 11 ; xzi., 1. Abraham's son by Hagar. The Arabians
or Ishmaelites were descended from him. (Pages 87, 98.)

Israel, xxxii., 28, the name given by God to Jacob.

IssACHAB, XXX.., 18, Jacob's fifth son by Leah.

Jabal, iv., 20, the first of those who live a nomadic life. (Page 37.)

Jacob, xxv., 26, &c.. son of Isaac, and inheritor of the blessing. (Pages
121, 144, 156.

Japheth, v., 32, son of Noah, His descendants peopled Europe, the
north of Asia, Asia Minor, and America. (Pages 56, 192.)

Joseph, xxx., 24 ; xxxvii., 2, &c., the favourite son of Jacob, by Rachel.
(Pages 121, 159.)

JuBAL, iv., 21, the inventor of musical instruments. (Page 37.)

JuDAH, xxix., 35 ; xlix., 10, Jacob's son by Leah, and the ancestor of
the promised Messiah. (Pages 124, 126, and 152.)

Judith, xxvi., 34, one of the wives of Esau.

Kedab, XXV., 13, one of the sons of IshmaeL

Ketubah, XXV., 1, wife of Abraham. (Page 103.)

KoHATH, xlvi., 11, one of Levi's sons.

Laban, xxiv., 29 ; xxx., 36, brother of Rebekah, and father of Jacob's
wives. (Pages 110, 113.)

Lamech, iv., 18 ; v., 28, descendant of Cain. Also a son of Methuselah.

Leah, xxix., 16, daughter of Laban, and wife of Jacob.

Levi, xxix., 34, son of Jacob, by Leah. (Page 152.)

Lot, XL, 27 ; xix., 1, the nephew of Abraham. (Pages 83, 90.)

LuD, X., 22, one of the sons of Shem.

Manasseh, xlL, 51, eldest son of Joseph. (Pages 138, 149.)

Melchisedbk, xiv., 18, the king and priest of Salem, who met Abraham

and blessed him. (Pages 85, 200.)
Merari, xlvi., 11, a son of Levi

Methuselah, v., 27, the oldest man. He lived 969 yeai's.
Meshech, X., 2, a son of Japheth.
MiLCAH, xi, 29, wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother.

250 BIOORAPHIOAL NOTBS.

MizRAiM, z., 6, one of the bods of Ham. The Egyptians are descended

from him.
Naamah, iy., 22, daughter of Lamech, Gain's descendant.
Nahob, zL, 22, brother of Abraham, and grandfather of Rebekah.
Naphtali, zzz., 8, sixth son of Jacob.
Nbbajoth, zzy., 18, the firstborn of Ishmael.
NiMROD, z., 8, the founder of 4;he kingdom of BabeL
Noah, v., 29 ; vii, 23, &g., the builder of the Ark and second head of

the human family. (Pages 42, 55.)

Pbleq, z., 25, a descendant of Shem at the time of the dispersion.
Phabez, zzzviii., 29, son of Judah, from David and Jesus were

descended.
Pbrizzitbs, ziii, 7, inhabitants of Canaan.
Phabaoh, ziL, 17 ; zl., 2, names of the kings of Egypt.
Phichol, zzvi., 26, the chief captain of Abimelech's army.
Philistih, z., 14, a descendant of liizraim.
PonPHAB, zzzrii, 36, the Egyptian officer who bought Joseph from

the Midianites.
PoTZPHEBAH, zli, 45, pricst of On, whose daughter Joseph married.
Baohel, zzix., 12, daughter of Liaban, and favourite wife of Jacob.
Rebekah, zxii., 23 ; zxiv., 15, daughter of Bethuel and wife of Isaac.

(Page 102.)
Reuben, zxiz., 82, Jacob's firstborn son.

Sabah, zvii, 15, wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. (Page 100.)
Seth, v., 3, third son of Adam.

Shem, v., 32, son of Noah, and ancestor of Abraham. (Pages 56, 192.)
Shelah, zzxviii, 5, son of Judah by the daughter of Shuah.
SiMEOir, zxiz., 33, Jacob's second son by Leah.
Tkbah, zi, 24, father of Abraham and Nahor.
Tidal, ziv., 1, one of the kings who fought in Siddim.
Zabah, zzxviii., 30, son of Judah by Tamar.
Zebulun, zxz., 20, son of Jacob by Leah.
ZiLLAH, iv., 19, one of the wives of Lamech, Gain's descendant.
ZiLPAH, zzz., 9, Leah's maid, by whom Jacob had sons.

QEOGRAPHIGAL NOTES.

Abkl-Mtzratm, L, 11, the place where the Egyptians mourned for
Jacob.

Admah, xiv., 2, one of the fire cities of the plain destroyed by fire.

Ababat, yiii, 4, a mountain in Armenia between the Black and Caspian

Seas. On it the Ark rested. (Pages 47, 190.)
Assyria, ii, 14 ; zxv., 18., the kingdom founded by Nimrod.
Babel, x., 10, the name of the tower that was built.
Beeb-lahai-roi, xvi., 14, "the well of Him that lives and sees" where

the Lord appeared to Hagar. (Page 88.)
Bkebsheba, zxL, 14 ; xxviii., 10, "the well of an oath." A city in the

extreme south of Canaan. (Page 94.)
Bethel, xxviii., 29 ; xxxy., 1, " House of God," where God appeared

to Jacob. (Page 112.)
Canaan, xii, 5, the country promised to Abraham. It was so named

from the son of Ham, by whom it was first peopled.
Calah, X., 11, a city built by Asshur.
Calneh, X., 10, part of Nimrod's kingdom.
Damascus, xy., 2, the ancient dty from which Eliezer came.
Dan, xiv., 14, a town in the extreme north of Canaan.
DoTHAN, xxxvii., 17, town 12 miles north of Samaria. (Page 123.)
Eden, ii., 15, the garden in which Adam was placed. (Page 13.)
Edom, xxxtL, 1, the country upon the southern borders of Moab peo-
pled by the descendants of Esau. It was afterwards called

Idumea.

Egypt, xv., 18, &c., the country in the North of Africa originally
peopled by the descendants of Mizraim. (Page 126.)

Elam, xiv., 1, the district beyond Chaldea over which Chedorlaomer
ruled. (Page 81.)

Ephbath, or Bethlehem, xxxv., 16, 19, the place where Rachel died.

Ethiopia, ii, 18, the country to the east of the Gihon.

252 OEOORAPHICAL NOTES.

Edfhbatbs, ii., 14 ; xv., 18, one of the rivers flowing through the

Oarden of Eden. It rises in the mountains of Armenia, and flows

nearly 2,000 miles.
Qebar. xz., 1, the district between Kadesh and Shur over which

Abimelech ruled.
Qalebd, xxzi, 47, the place where Jacob and Laban made a covenant.
Gomorrah, xiii., 10 ; xix., 28, one of the cities of the plain destroyed

by fire. (Page 92.)

Goshen, xlv., 10, the district in Egypt allotted to the Israelites.
Haran, XL, 31, in Mesopotamia, where Terah died.

Hebron, xxiii, 2, or Kirjath-Arba, a town a few miles south of Beth-
lehem, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived, and where they
were buried.

HiDDEKXL, ii., 14, one of the rivers of Eden.

Kadesh, xiv., 7, a town in the south of Palestine.

Mahanaim, xxxii, 2, on the northern bank of the brook of Jabbok.

Mamre, xiiL, 18. Hebron, " in the plain of Mamre," where Abraham
dwelt.

Mesopotamia, xxiv., 10, the extensive country ** between the rivers "
Euphrates and Tigris.

MizPAH, xxxL, 49, the place where Jacob and Laban made a covenant.

Moriah, xxii., 2, the mountain on which Abraham was to sacrifice
Isaac, and where afterwards Solomon's temple was built. (Page 97.)

Mount Seir, xxxvi., 8, south-east of the Dead Sea, where Esau dwelt.

Nineveh, x., 11, the chief town of Assyria, founded by Nimrod.

On, xli, 45, Heliopolis, a city east of the Kile, to which Potipherah
belonged.

Plain of Jordan, xiii., 11 ; xxxii., 10, the country watered by the
river which formed the eastern boundary of Palestine.

Padanaram, XXV., 20, &c., the country between the Tigris and the

Euphrates.
Paran, xxi., 21, the wilderness where Ishmael dwelt.
Rehoboth, X., 11, one of the cities built by Asshur.
Salem, xiv., 18, the ancient name of Jerusalem.

GENERAL QUESTIONS. 253

Shechem, xxxiii., 18 ; xxxviL, 12, a town in Central Palestine, between
the mountainB of Ebal and Gerizim, where Abraham built his first
altar in Canaan.

Shinab, X., 10 ; xiv., 1, the plain in Babylon in which the followers of
Nimrod settled.

SuccoTH, zxxiii., 17, booths, a city east of the Jordan.

Sodom, xiii., 10, the city in which Lot dwelt. It was destroyed by fire
from heaven. (Page 208.)

Ub, xi., 28, the town of Armenia in which Abraham was bom.

Vale of Siddim, xir., 3, the space now occupied by the Dead Sea.

ZiDON, xlix., 13, an important town on the west coast of Palestine.

Zeboiim, xiv., 2, one of the cities destroyed by fire from heaven.

ZOAB, xiv., 2, another name for Bela. Also, xix., 22, the name of the
town to which Lot fled after his escape from Sodom.

♦■»■♦

GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE BOOK OF GENESIS.

1. Why is this book called Genesis ? Who is generally believed to
be the author, and for what purpose was it written ?

2. Give a general outline of the Book of Genesis, and state the
period of time over which its history extends.

3. Give the "received" dates of the Creation of Adam, the Deluge,
the call of Abraham, and the death of Joseph.

4. Specify in order the works performed on each of the six days of
Creation, as described in Genesis.

5. Quote the words in which the seventh day is first spoken of.

6. Write down the names of the antediluvian patriarchs from
Adam to Noah, and of the postdiluvian patriarchs from Noah to Jacob.

7. What illustrious person was bom, according to the usually
received chronology, about midway between the Creation and the birth
of Jesus Christ ?

254 GENERAL QUESTIONS.

8. Show by the ages of the antediluvian and postdiluvian patriarchs
through how few persons the account of the Creation had to be trans-
mitted from Adam to Joseph, and from Joseph to Moses.

9. What evidences have we of the existence of art and science
before the Deluge t

10. Give a brief outline of the histories of Noah, Abraham, and
Joseph, with dates.

11. What is a type? Give illustrations. In what respects are
Adam, Noah, Melchisedek, and Joseph types of Jesus Christ ?

12. Illustrate, by events narrated in Genesis, God's willingness to
hear and answer prayer.

13. Quote the prophecies and divine promises mentioned in this
book, and tell how they were fulfilled.

14. What do you know of Enoch, Methusaleh, Nimrod, Ishmael,
Esau, Deborah, Potiphar, and Ephraim ?

15. Name the sons of Jacob in the order of their birth, and quote
the blessings which Jacob, in dying, pronounced upon each.

16. Where are Mount Seir, Mount Moriah, the Cave of Machpelah,
Salem, Beersheba, Hebron, Shechem, Dothan, Peniel, and Zoar, and in
what connection is each of them referred to in Genesis f

17. Explain the meaning of the words Abraham, Sand, Noah, Cain,
Seth, Babel, Bethel, Mizpah, and Qaleed.

18. Explain, with reference to the context, these passages: —
" I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt."
" Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right f '

" How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"
" My spirit shall not always strive with man."

19. Give all the instances you can remember in Genesis of change
in the names of persons or places, with the reasons in each case.

20. What can be gathered from the Book of Genesis regarding the
Sabbath Day, sacrifice, prayer and vows, circumcision, the customs of
marriage and burial, and the faith of the patriarchs ?

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