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OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY
i
FROM THE CREATION TO THE
CROSSING OF THE RED SEA
OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY
SERIES
Each Volume is intended to provide material for one term’s
work. The following are some of the chief features of the
series :—
i. The Narrative is given for the most part in the words of
the Authorised Version.
ii. Brief Historical explanations and general commentary
are inserted in their proper place.
iii. The chronological order of events has been followed.
iv. Each period is illustrated by reference to contemporary
literature ( e.g . Prophets and Psalms) and monuments.
v. Footnotes are added, but only where difficulties of thought
or language seem to demand explanation.
Crown 8vo. 2 s. each Volume.
Vol.
I.
Vol.
II.
Vol.
III.
Vol.
IV.
Vol.
V.
From the Creation to the Crossing of the
Red Sea.
From the Crossing of the Red Sea to Ruth.
From the Birth of Samuel to the Death of
David.
From the Accession of Solomon to the Fall
of the Northern Kingdom.
From Hezekiah to the End of the Canon.
OLD TESTAMENT
HISTORY
FROM THE CREATION TO THE
CROSSING OF THE RED SEA
BY THE REV.
J. M. HARDWICH, M.A.
LATE SCHOLAR OF ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
AND BELL UNIVERSITY SCHOLAR
ASSISTANT MASTER AT RUGBY SCHOOL
AND THE REV.
H. COSTLEY-WHITE, M.A.
LATE SCHOLAR OF BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD
AND ASSISTANT MASTER AT RUGBY SCHOOL
HEAD MASTER OF BRADFIELD COLLEGE
PERIOD I.
(second impression)
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W
' 9'3
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PREFACE
'~p'HE aim of this series may be stated briefly: it is an
- attempt to combine the advantages of a general
history with those of the ordinary commentary. The
former is open to the charge that it does not make the
reader familiar with the language of the Bible, while the
latter is too often overloaded with notes and does not
cover sufficient ground.
Practical experience has shown that the Old Testament
may conveniently be divided into five periods, each con¬
taining enough matter to occupy one school term. With¬
out laying claim to any credit for originality, the editors
have tried to keep certain definite aims in view: the
chronological sequence of events, the historical setting of
the narrative, the use of the words of the Bible wherever
possible, and, in the later volumes, illustration from the
Prophets and other portions of the Scriptures. Footnotes
have been added where it seemed necessary, many of them
being merely verbal explanations drawn from the Revised
Version.
In the preparation of this volume the first two of the
Westminster Commentaries, Genesis by Professor Driver,
and Exodus by Mr. McNeile, have been in constant use,
and the first duty of the editors is gratefully to acknow-
VI
PREFACE
ledge their debt to these works. Dr. Hastings’ Dictionary
of the Bible and Mr. Murray’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary ,
representing as they do two different schools of thought
have been consulted on numberless details.
The modern literature of the subject is large, but much
of it is necessarily of a critical and almost controversial
nature ; so reference here will be made only to Dr. Geikie’s
Hours with the Bible, vol. i., which gives an interesting
survey of the greater part of the period.
The attention of the reader is drawn to two points :
geographical information is confined for the most part to
Index I. ; and it is most essential to use throughout some
good map : Murray's Handy Classical Maps, Palestine,
etc., contain everything that is required. But, for imme¬
diate reference, a sketch-map has been added at the
end of the volume; and for the preparation of this the
editors are indebted to their pupil, S. F. Gooden.
The student is also urged to avail himself of two com¬
monly neglected things, viz. references (which are few),
and the General Index, by means of which the repetition
of footnotes is avoided.
Finally, the editors wish to thank Mr. IT. H. Symonds
for much help and advice, and the Rev. C. Mayne for most
kindly reading through the proof-sheets.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction
The Bible . xi
The Old Testament....... xi
Versions. xii
Pentateuch .... . xiii
Inspiration.xiv
PART I. THE ORIGIN OF LIFE AND
Cl VI LIS A TION
Genesis : name and contents
Genesis and modern science .
Genesis and religion
Two Stories of the Creation .
The Creation : First Story (Gen. i. i-ii. 3)
The Creation : Second Story (Gen. ii. 4—iii. 24)
Story of Cain and Abel .
Cain and Abel (Gen. iv. 1-16) .
Origin of Civilisation (Gen. iv. 17-26)
From Adam to Noah
Story of the Flood ....
Noah and the Flood (Gen. vi.-ix.)
Sons of Noah .....
Babel (Gen. xi. 1-9)
vii
• 3
3
4
6
9
• 13
19
. 20
. 22
• 23
. 24
. 26
• 34
• 35
ft
CONTENTS
vm
PART II. THE ORIGIN OF ISRAEL : STORIES
OF THE PATRIARCHS
Abraham .
Stories of Abraham (Gen. xi. 27-xxiii.) .
The Four Kings against the Five Kings
Isaac
Stories of Isaac (Gen. xxiv.-xxvi.) .
Tacob .
Stories of Jacob (Gen. xxvii.-xxxv.)
Joseph .
Stories of Joseph (Gen. xxxvii.-l.)
PAGE
• 39
• 41
• 45
• 6 7
• 67
. 78
. 80
. 100
. 102
PART III. ISRAEL IN EGYPT ; AND THE
EXODUS
Book of Exodus
•
•
•
•
• I 43
Moses.
•
•
•
•
• 143
Israel in Egypt (Exod. i.-vi.)
•
»
•
•
. 144
Revelation on Horeb
•
•
•
•
. 149
The Plagues .
•
•
•
•
• 159
The Ten Plagues (Exod. vii.
-xi.)
•
•
•
. 160
Passover ....
•
•
•
•
• r 73
Institution of the Passover
AND
THE
Exodus
(Exod.
xii.-xv. 21) . . . ,
•
•
•
•
. 174
Crossing of the Red Sea .
•
*
•
•
• i8 3
CONTENTS
ix
APPENDIXES
PAGE
I. The Formation of the Old Testament Canon . 191
II. Some References to Contemporary Mesopo¬
tamian and Egyptian History and Traditions 195
III. References to Bible Illustrations . . . 197
IV. Some New Testament References . . . 197
V. The Calendar. 198
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
199
GENERAL INDEX
203
Sketch-map of Canaan and the Surrounding Nations
At end of volume
INTRODUCTION
r J^HE BIBLE .—The word Bible has an interesting
history. The original in Greek ( ra /fySA/a) is plural,
and means “ the books ” ; adopted as a Latin word, Biblia,
it was at first plural, but later was treated as singular;
and hence it is that the English came to regard “ the Bible ”
as a single book, whereas in reality it is a collection of
volumes, a “ Divine Library,” written by different hands
at many different times. For an account of the way in
which what is called the Old Testament Canon grew up—
that is to say, how the first of the two great divisions of the
Bible came to be what it is—the reader is referred to the
Appendix on the subject. At present we need only dwell
on the fact that the Bible is not a single work, but represents
the whole literature of a nation.
Old Testament .—The larger half of the Bible is called
the Old Testament—a curious and most misleading name,
due to mistranslation. The Greek word SiaOrjKrj means
(i) will, or testament, (2) covenant. The use of the word
in the first sense is found nowhere in the Greek New Testa¬
ment, except possibly in one passage (Heb. ix. 16 seq.),
and even there a consistent and clear sense is obtained
only by translating 81a OrjKrj “ covenant ”; but in the
xj
INTRODUCTION
• •
xu
Latin Version, the Vulgate, testamentum was chosen to
translate the Greek word in every instance.
We ought undoubtedly to speak of the Old and the
New Covenants, for it is important that we should be
reminded that the former collection of books contains an
account of God’s first covenant with His people, while
the latter, in Gospels and Epistles, is a record of the New
Covenant. A covenant is an agreement between two parties
or persons, and in Ex. xxiv. 7 seq. we read : “ And he
[Moses] took the book of the covenant, and read in the
audience of the people : and they said, all that the Lord
hath spoken will we do, and be obedient. And Moses
took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said,
Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath
made with you concerning all these words.”
Corresponding to, and doing away with, this old agree¬
ment, confirmed by the blood of a sacrificed victim, was
the New Covenant, confirmed by the sacrifice of Christ
upon the cross, 1 and revealing to the world a new idea of
the kinship between God and man.
Versions of the Old Testament. —1. Hebrew and Aramaic :
the original languages.
2. Greek : the Septuagint.
(For 1 and 2 see Appendix I.)
3. Latin : the Vulgate, translated from the Septuagint
between a.d. 383 and 405 by Eusebius Hieronymus [Eng.
Jerome), at the request of Pope Damasus.
4. English : (a) the Authorised Version (A.V.), a.d. 1611,
produced in the reign of James I. as the result of the
Hampton Court Conference: ( b ) the Revised Version
(R.V.), a.d. 1885 (N.T., 1881 ; Apocrypha, 1895).
1 See Heb. ix. 18, 19.
INTRODUCTION
xm
The Pentateuch .—The first five books of the Old Testa¬
ment have been called the Pentateuch [i.e. five books),
which for long, but without convincing proof, were sup¬
posed to be the work of Moses, and were called, by Jews
and Christians alike, “ The books of the law of Moses.”
Modern scholars who apply the methods of the Higher
[i.e. historical) Criticism have added the book of Joshua,
and speak of the Hexateuch {i.e. six books), a term by
which they imply that these six books were probably
edited and revised together as a single volume.
There is little doubt now that, as was the case with
many other books of the Old Testament, the Hexateuch
was not originally written by one man. Judging from
evidence of language, structure, and contents, scholars
are for the most part agreed in distinguishing between
various sources. The book probably grew up into its
present form in something of the following manner. At
first stories of the dim past were handed down from genera¬
tion to generation, together with such songs as the Song
of the Sword (Gen. iv. 23). Between 850 and 750 b.c.
the “ schools of the prophets ” produced two collections of
these, quite possibly from earlier written sources of which
we have no knowledge, one in the Southern and one in the
Northern Kingdom. The earlier, or Jehovistic narrative,
is so called because in it the name Jehovah (English
Versions, “ the Lord ”) is prominent, whereas in the later
collection that name is avoided, and Elohim (or “ God ”)
is used instead. Each has other very clearly marked
characteristics of its own.
In Manasseh’s reign, i.e. about 690 B.C., the two were
combined into one whole, now known as the Prophetical
narrative.
XIV
INTRODUCTION
In Josiah’s reign, 621 B.C., the “ Book of the Law ” was
found in the Temple : this in all probability had been
written in Manasseh’s reign, and was identical with
Deuteronomy, with the exception of some chapters at the
beginning and the end, added later.
Later still, a further and final work was composed, which
bears very strongly the impress of a different kind of
mind : it was due to the influence of the priests and the
entirely altered aspect which the long years of exile had
given to J ewish history : this is known as the Priestly
narrative, and is marked by the frequent occurrence of
formulae and statistics, and by the great importance it
attaches to ceremonial law.
The Hexateuch, as we have it, is a combination of these
various collections and editions, and dates from the period
of Ezra and Nehemiah, or perhaps rather later, towards
the end of the fifth century b.c.
For a restatement of the older view of the authorship
and composition of the Pentateuch, the reader is referred
to Murray's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1908: art.
“ The Pentateuch ”) : and for further detail see also
vol. ii. of this series.
Inspiration of the Old Testament .—It is impossible to
discuss at length this important subject ; but it is at least
advisable to state the position adopted in this volume. It
is briefly this. It has been the Divine purpose to single
out a small Eastern people to be the chief, though not the
only, instrument for the religious education of the world.
This people is the Israelites, who are unique in character,
history, and literature, the first two being for the most
part seen in and expounded by the third. To the study
of this literature we have to bring all that we possess of
INTRODUCTION
xv
historical and scientific knowledge, and we must do so
fearlessly, on the principle that the truth is great and
will prevail. When we do so, we find that in many respects
it is similar to the literature of other peoples, and we can
trace the records of the nation back into the dim ages when
historical fact cannot be distinguished from legend and
myth. Starting from a very early period of recorded
history we can learn what ideas prevailed then about the
times when no records were kept, times when primitive
man expressed his beliefs about the great mysteries of
existence in the form of simple but beautiful stories, some
of which survived and were written down centuries after¬
wards.
In the Book of Genesis, then, we start with these early
notions of the Hebrews, about the origin of the world,
about life and death, labour and sin, about the beginning
of social and political life, about the origin of the Hebrews
themselves. Insensibly as we proceed, we find more and
more of true history. From religious truth and teaching,
which we see in the first verse, we pass to historical
truth, at first sketched in broad outline, but afterwards
painted in detail. But from end to end of the Canon,
Genesis to Malachi, the dominant characteristic is religious
teaching, a progressive revelation leading up to the final
revelation in Christ. Consequently, as Christians, we
arrive at our belief in the inspiration of the Old Testament.
We believe in Christ, who appeared to the Jews, and is
in Himself the climax and fulfilment of the Old Testament
Scriptures ; and these Scriptures are the most important
of the means divinely appointed as the preparation of the
world for the Gospel. Therefore we speak of them as
“ inspired.” (For a more detailed statement see vol. ii.)
ADDENDUM
Note on The Garden of Eden (Gen. ii. 8-14)
An inu ing note on this subject conies from Sir W. Will-
cocks, wiio is engaged in works of irrigation in Mesopotamia.
He identifies Eden as the land west of Bagdad. According
to his theory, not only Eden, but all the four rivers, together
with the land of Havilah and the land of Cush, can be located
fairly accurately : the whole forms a district subject to annual
floods, with the exception of a small part of the plain towards
Bagdad, where the Arabs of to-day take refuge with their
flocks when the floods are out : this spot Sir William Willcocks
considers to be the actual Garden, the scene of the story
of Adam and Eve and the Fall.
It may be noticed that in Gen. ii. 6 (“ there went up a mist
from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground”)
some scholars prefer to translate “ flood ” instead of “ mist,”
an interpretation which increases the probability of a theory
already sufficiently attractive.
xvi
PART I
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE AND CIVILISATION
GENESIS
ATAME and contents .—The name of the first book of
the Bible is a Greek word taken from the Septuagint,
or Greek version, and means “ origin ” (yeVco-is).
A short analysis of the contents of Genesis will show
most clearly how suitable the name is:
(1) Primeval: Genesis i.-xi.—These narratives give us
the primitive notions of the Hebrews about the beginnings
of things—life and death, the universe and the earth, sin
and labour, the making of music and the diversity of
languages, and so forth.
(2) Patriarchal: Genesis xii.-l.—In the lives of the
Patriarchs, from Abraham to Joseph, we have the origin
of the Hebrew nation, ending with the migration of the
family of Jacob to Egypt.
Genesis and modern science .—The whole teaching of
modern science combines to prove the immense age of the
planet on which we live, and the great, though lesser,
antiquity of the race of man. The three sciences which
bear directly on this subject are astronomy, geology, and
ethnology. “ A recent work on astronomy places the
time at which the moon was flung off from the then
liquid earth at about 57,000,000 years ago ” (Driver).
Geologists give us no less than twelve periods, during
which the gradual development of life, both animal and
3
4
THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN
vegetable, may be traced, up to the first appearance
of man. The teaching of ethnology, the science of the
growth of nations, shows how infinitely slow is the growth
and development of the different types of the human
race, with their many and widely scattered branches.
That the history of civilised man goes back to an earlier
date than would be implied by the chronology of Genesis
has been demonstrated by historians and archaeologists,
mainly in consequence of the success of recent excavations.
Not only can it be stated now “ that the existence of man
in the Valley of the Nile may be traced back even to the
Palaeolithic Period in Egypt,” far back, that is, before the
dawn of actual Egyptian history, but it is believed that
the first Egyptian Dynasty may be dated 4483 b.c., i.e
half-way through the fifth millennium before our era.
(Budge, History of Egypt.) It is without astonishment,
therefore, that we hear of terra-cotta “ play-things,”
exhibited in the Louvre in 1905, of which it is stated
that they are “ identifiable, without the slightest chance of
error, as the objects pulled about the streets of the old
town (Susa) by the Chaldaean children of 5,000 years ago.” 1
Genesis and religion .—We shall be justified, then, in
refusing to look for scientific truth in Genesis, and for
only as much historical truth as the trained observer
expects to find in the earliest literature of any country.
It is not necessary to pronounce a verdict against any
character and say “ he did not exist,” but insensibly, as
_ ,r^
we advance, we are conscious that we are stepping out
of the mists of legend and myth : Abraham and Joseph,
1 It follows from what has been said that the figures of Archbishop
Ussher’s chronology (pub. a.d. 1650), often printed in the margin of
the A.V. me not to be relied upon as authoritative throughout.
RELIGIOUS VALUE OF GENESIS
5
for example, by their well-defined personalities, impress
us as being historical characters ; while only a few extreme
critics dispute the existence of Moses as a single individual.
What none, however, dispute is the great religious
value of Genesis. This appeals to us both as students
of the history of religion and as seekers ourselves after
religious truth and instruction.
i. Importance to the student of religions .—Though com¬
piled comparatively late, the sources of Genesis go back
very far into antiquity, and we may notice briefly the
following points :
{a) The idea, or revelation, of God is progressive : there
is a vast difference between the thought of Jehovah as
He walked in the Garden of Eden, or the Divine Being
who wrestled with Jacob, and the same Jehovah who
imposed upon Moses the task of announcing Him to the
Israelites in Egypt. The former is spoken of as a glorified
man ; the language used to describe Him is pre-eminently
anthropomorphic 1 : the latter is a finer conception of Deity;
there is more of the mysterious and the spiritual about
Him.—[N.B. All language about God, being written
by man to suit the understanding of man, must to some
extent be anthropomorphic.]
(, b ) When compared with the religions of other countries
the Hebrew religion is seen at once to be, from the stait,
immeasurably purer. It is not improbable that the story
of the Creation in Genesis is to some extent influenced
by early Babylonian legend ; but whether this is so or
not (see below, p. 8), the contrast between the two
is complete : the Babylonian myth tells of a crowd of
1 From fodpuiros and fxopcpri = representing God as possessing the
form, or attributes, of man.
6
MORAL VALUE OF GENESIS
deities, themselves produced out of chaos ; the Hebrew
narrative begins simply, “ In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth.” In spite of some difficulties,
such as the plural word for God (Elohim), the use of
the first person plural, and the three men who visited
Abraham, the religion of Genesis is clearly monotheistic.
Throughout the Old Testament Hebrew religion is, broadly
speaking, simple, pure, and moral, entirely free from the
degrading elements that are found in the polytheistic
religions of other countries.
2. Moral importance .—The value of Genesis to Chris¬
tians of to-day is so obvious as to require little more
than the mere statement. At the same time This statement
should be emphasised at every stage of the narrative, for
as an elementary moral handbook Genesis is unsurpassed.
It purposes to represent the thought of the world in its
infancy, and both the child and the adult can still profit
by its lessons and illustrations, which are unmistakable
and striking.
There are many other points of view which combine
to make the book perhaps the most fascinating study
in all literature, for it appeals to the student of folk-lore
and archaeology, to the philosopher and the lover of
literature alike. But a complete appreciation of its great¬
ness is only possible after the reader has worked through
it in detail with the aid of a good commentary, and has
compared with it the primitive beliefs of other peoples.
THE TWO STORIES OF THE CREATION
The division of the Creation narrative into two distinct
accounts, of which the former is attributed to the
THE CREATION: PRIESTLY NARRATIVE 7
“ Priestly” recension, and the latter to the Jehovistic
or earliest collection, is accepted by scholars of both the
advanced and the conservative schools.
I. The Priestly narrative .—Though it is interesting to
compare the account of Creation with the conclusions of
modern science, it may be repeated that it is quite un¬
necessary to expect to find, in what is really a prose-
poem with a religious tendency, accurate scientific know¬
ledge. The probability is that we have here primitive
notions, recast and purified at a comparatively late date,
intended to teach the people what were regarded as great
truths about the origin of the world. It is a matter
of indifference whether we regard the six days of Creation
as six indefinite periods of time, or as meaning to those
who originally told the story six literal days of twenty-
four hours each.
Amongst the moral elements of the story may be men¬
tioned the following, (i) It begins with God, who is the
Author and Master-mind throughout ; He has no rival,
and He is from eternity ; the creative power is His Spirit,
(ii) The evidence of the working of the Master-mind
is the orderliness of His work, (iii) The work itself is
progressive, leading up to man : for man is the climax
of creation, he is made in God’s image, and everything
exists for him. (iv) Everything created is good, according
to the Divine purpose, (v) The Sabbath “ rest is a
Divinely appointed institution.
When we compare the Babylonian epic of Creation, 1
1 There is a second and quite distinct Babylonian account of
the Creation, which is to be compared with the “ Prophetic ” Hebrew
story in Gen. ii. In both of these the creation of man is placed first,
before that of any other form of life.
8 THE CREATION: JEHOVISTIC NARRATIVE
which is earlier in date, we find some obvious parallels
and many still more obvious differences.
The Babylonian version traces everything back to
Apsu (ocean) and Tiamat (“ mother of them all ”). First
there was “ a time when of the gods none had come forth ” ;
ages later arose a host of gods ; civil war began, and
Marduk, “ the God of light and order,” overcomes Tiamat.
Marduk then carries out the work of creation. Professor
Whitehouse mentions eight points of similarity with the
Genesis story ; but they have to be looked for, whereas
the contrast between the two is apparent. It has been
supposed that the Babylonian myth reached Palestine
in the middle of the second millennium b.c., and in course
of time reached the Israelites, whose religious genius recast
it entirely.
2. The Jehovistic narrative .—The second narrative is
the earlier, and has a “ prophetic ” tendency. God is re¬
presented less as a Spirit than as an immortal being such
as Zeus was to the Greeks; that is to say, he is described
in language which is more suitable to man (see p. 5, note);
e.g. iii. 8, “ They heard the voice of the Lord God
walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”
The creation of man is given greater importance, and
the cosmogony ( i.e . account of the origin of the cosmos ,
or universe) is shorter than that of the preceding chapter,
and cannot be entirely reconciled with it. The other
features are the story of the Garden of Eden, the creation
of woman, the Fall, and the consequent doom pronounced
against Adam and Eve.
Here again, besides the merely intellectual interest
aroused in almost every verse, there is a very definite
religious value in the story. Even though the Fall may
GENESIS I
9
not be an historical fact, yet the account represents
vividly great spiritual truths, namely, (i) that man’s
nature is tainted, contains degrading elements ; (2) man
is to be purified of these elements (sin) ; (3) hence labour
and the idea of death as the penalty of sin become the
means of purification ; (4) the final atonement (at-one-
ment) is the goal of man and the purpose of God. (See
Gore’s The New Theology and the Old Religion, pp. 76, 77,
233 -)
The Creation : First Story
Genesis i. 1 —ii. 3
First Day. Light: Day and Night. —1. In the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth
was without form, and void ; and darkness was upon
the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon
1. According to the narrative, the order of creation was as follows:
1st day .—Light (day and night).
2nd day .—The “ firmament ” of heaven, separating the waters
below ( i.e. the sea) from the waters above ( i.e. the rain).
3 yd day .—Division of continent and ocean; creation of vegetable
life.
4th day. —Sun, moon, and stars.
5th day .—Fish and bird life.
6th day .—Beasts and reptiles ; man, male and female. Man is
given authority. The vegetable world is given for food to man
and beast.
1. God. Heb. Elohim, a plural word, commonly used with a
singular verb.
created. The Hebrew word signifies a Divine act: it is used
in Is. xl. 25, 26, which is worth quoting (R.V.) : “ To whom then
will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him ? saith the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that
bringeth out their hosts by number : he calleth them all by name ;
by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power,
not one is lacking.”
2. moved. R.V. marg., “was brooding.” Cp. Milton, Paradise
Lost, I. 19 :
Thou from the first
Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread
Dove-like, sat’st brooding on the vast abyss,
And mad’st it pregnant.
10
THE CREATION
the face of the waters. 3. And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light. 4. And God saw the light,
that it was good : and God divided the light from the
darkness. 5. And God called the light Day, and the
darkness he called Night. And the evening and the
morning were the first day.
Second Day: “Heaven.” —6. And God said, Let there
be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide
the waters from the waters. 7. And God made the
firmament, and divided the waters which were under the
firmament from the waters which were above the firma¬
ment : and it was so. 8. And God called the firmament
Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the
second day.
Third Day : Earth and vegetable life. —9. And God said,
Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together
unto one place, and let the dry land appear : and it was
so. 10. And God called the dry land Earth ; and the
gathering together of the waters called he Seas : and
God saw that it was good. 11. And God said, Let the
earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the
fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in
itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12. And the
earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after
his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in
itself, after his kind : and God saw that it was good.
5. day. To be taken either literally, as a period of twenty-four
hours, or poetically, as an indefinite period of time.
6. Armament. The earth’s atmosphere, which appears to the
eye to be limited by the blue sky above, as by a solid vault, was
imagined by the writer as an actual vault supporting the water
which supplies us with rain; cp. vii. u, “ the windows of heaven
were opened,” when the Flood came.
9- Cp. Ps. civ. 6-8.
11. whose seed, etc. R.V. ‘‘wherein is the seed thereof ”
GENESIS I
ii
13. And the evening and the morning were the third
day.
Fourth Day: sun, moon, and stars. —14. And God said,
Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to
divide the day from the night ; and let them be for signs,
and for seasons, and for days, and years : 15. and let
them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to
give light upon the earth : and it was so. 16. And God
made two great lights ; the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night : he made the stars
also. 17. And God set them in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth, 18. and to rule
over the day and over the night, and to divide the light
from the darkness : and God saw that it was good.
19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth
day.
Fifth Day: bird and fish life. —20. And God said,
Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature
that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in
the open firmament of heaven. 21. And God created
great whales, and every living creature that moveth,
which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their
kind, and every winged fowl after his kind : and God
saw that it was good. 22. And God blessed them, saying,
Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas,
and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23. And the evening
and the' morning were the fifth day.
Sixth Day: beasts and reptiles. —24. And God said,
Let the earth bring forth the living creature after
his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the
earth after his kind : and it was so. 25. And God
21. whales, means sea-monsters of all kinds.
12
CREATION OF MAN
made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle
after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon
the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was
good.
Man, male and female. —26. And God said, Let us make
man in our image, 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 creepeth upon the earth.
27. So God created man in his own image, in the image
of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue
it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth
upon the earth.
29. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb
bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and
every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed ;
to you it shall be for meat. 30. And to every beast of the
earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that
creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given
every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31. And God
26. Let us make. There are three theories to account for the
plural ( cp . xi. 7 ; iii. 22 ; Is. vi. 8.) : (1) it reTers to Jehovah and “ all
the host of heaven ” ; (2) some see in it an allusion to the doctrine
of the Trinity ; (3) it is simply the “ royal " plural.
in our image, etc. “ Both words [image and likeness] refer here
evidently to spiritual resemblance alone. ... It can be nothing but
the gift of self-conscious reason, which is possessed by man, but by
no other animal ” (Driver).
29, 30. These verses seem to suppose that man and the animal
world were originally vegetarian, whereas palaeontology, the science
which deals with fossils, teaches us that before man appeared carni¬
vorous animals existed. See ix. 2 seq. and note.
30. life. Heb. “ a living soul."
GENESIS I, II
13
saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was
very good. And the evening and the morning were the
sixth day.
Seventh Day : the Sabbath .—ii. 1. Thus the heavens
and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he
had made ; and he rested on the seventh day from all his
work which he had made. 3. And God blessed the seventh
day, and sanctified it : because that in it he had rested
from all his work which God created and made.
The Creation : Second Story
Genesis ii. 4 —iii. 24
The earth and man. —4. These are the generations of
the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in
the day that the Lord God made the earth and the
heavens, 5. and every plant of the field before it was
in the earth, and every herb of the field before it
grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain
upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the
ground. 6. But there went up a mist from the earth,
and watered the whole face of the ground. 7. And the
3. rested. The Hebrew word recalls the “ Sabbath," which was
not instituted till later (Ex. xx. 8 seq.).
4. These are the generations, a formula which elsewhere comes
at the beginning of the passage to which it refers ; and so Dr. Driver,
who places it at the end of the First Creation story, suggests that
either “ these ” refers back to the work of the Six Days, or the
formula has been transposed from the beginning of i. 1.
the LORD. This expression, when printed in capitals, always
represents the Hebrew name, Jehovah. (See Introd., p. xiii.)
5. Read with the R.V. (after a full stop) : “ And no plant of the
field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung
up."
14
PARADISE
Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man
became a living soul.
The Garden of Eden. —8. And the Lord God planted a
garden eastward in Eden ; and there he put the man whom
he had formed. 9. And out of the ground made the Lord
God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and
good for food ; the tree of life also in the midst of the
garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10.
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden ; and
from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
11. The name of the first is Pison : that is it which com-
passeth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold ;
12. and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium
and the onyx stone. 13. And the name of the second river
is Gihon : the same is it that compasseth the whole land
7. ground. The Hebrew word here is connected with the form
Adam, “ man.”
a living soul, i.e. a living creature, the idea emphasised being
that of life, not spirituality; cp. 1 Cor. xv. 45 : “ So also it is written,
‘ The first man Adam became a living soul.’ The last Adam became
a life-giving spirit.”
8 . garden eastward in Eden. Greek, 7 rapddticros, park ; English
Paradise; Eden, the basin of the Tigris and Euphrates. The
description of the site of the garden contains the most primitive
notions that the Hebrews possessed of the eastern land from which
they had sprung, and, like all early maps of the ancients, combines
geographical fact with imagination. Canals for irrigation existed
in Babylonia as far back as the time of Hammurabi ( c . 2250 b.c.).
10. The Rivers of the Garden. Various theories have been in¬
vented to explain these. Two of them, viz. Hiddekel (=Tigris)
and Euphrates, the rivers which enclose Mesopotamia, we know ;
but of Pishon (R.V.) “ which compasseth Havilah,” and Gihon
“that compasseth Ethiopia” (R.V. “Cush”), nothing is known.
Havilah, “ where there is gold,” was perhaps part of Arabia. Bdel¬
lium is probably a gum, used for medicine and perfumery ; and
onyx, in the Hebrew, is a word of doubtful meaning, and has been
rendered by the names of various precious stones. The garden lay
in the midst of the wealth and mystery of the dimly remembered
lands eastward of Palestine.
GENESIS II
*5
of Ethiopia. 14. And the name of the third river is
Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of
Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15. And the
Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden
of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16. And the Lord
God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the
garden thou mayest freely eat : 17. 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.
Man, and his dominion over the animal world. —18. And
the Lord God said. It is not good that the man should be
alone ; I will make him an help meet for him. 19. And
out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of
the field, and every fowl of the air ; and brought them
unto Adam to see what he would call them ; and what¬
soever Adam called every living creature, that was the
name thereof. 20. And Adam gave names to all cattle,
and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field ;
but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
Woman. — 21. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep
to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his
ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof ; 22. and
the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made
he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23. And
Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh
17. This prohibition points to the necessity, from the beginning,
of temptation, a process of testing, whereby man’s moral nature
is perfected. Though to fall implies sin, and sin degrades, yet the
innocence of ignorance does not exalt the soul like the innocence of
conscious and faithful obedience. Thus we see that everything we
consider evil ( e.g. temptation, sin, suffering) was used by the Creator
in the working out of His scheme for the education of man.
18. an help meet for him, i.e. a helper suited for him : the ex¬
pression “ help-meet,” taken from this sentence, is therefore incorrect.
i6
THE FALL
of my flesh ; she shall be called Woman, because she
was taken out of Man. 24. Therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife : and they shall be one flesh. 25. And they
were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not
ashamed.
The temptation and the Fall. —iii. 1. Now the serpent was
more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord
God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath
God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ?
2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of
the fruit of the trees of the garden : 3. 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. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall
not surely die : 5. 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. 6. And when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it
was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and
gave also unto her husband with her ; and he did eat.
7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew
23. Woman . . . Man, representing in English the play on words
of which the Hebrews were so fond. The Hebrew here is Isshah and
Ish.
1. the serpent, to the primitive mind, was typical of evil and
craftiness : not till very late times was the serpent of this story
identified with the devil.
It is interesting, in this connection, to recall the Gnostic
heresy of the Ophites. They regarded the temptation by the serpent
as the act of a beneficent power, who against the will of the Demiurge,
an inferior deity, the creator of the world, enlightened man and thus
made him capable of intellectual progress.
Yea, etc. Ironical : “ has God really said . . . ? '*
5. as gods, or (R.V.), “ as^ God."
GENESIS II, III
that they were naked ; and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons. 8. And they heard the
voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool
of the day : and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the
garden. 9. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and
said unto him, Where art thou ? 10. And he said, I heard
thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was
naked ; and I hid myself. 11. And he said, Who told
thee that thou wast naked ? Hast thou eaten of the
tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest
not eat ? 12. And the man said, The woman whom
thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat. 13. And the Lord God said unto
the woman, What is this that thou hast done ?
And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and
I did eat.
The sentence . —14. And the Lord God said unto the
serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed
above all cattle, and above every beast of the field ; upon
thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the
days of thy life : 15. 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.
16. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy
15. This verse has been called the Protevangelium, or First
Gospel ; and though originally no doubt it expressed no more than
perpetual enmity between man and the serpent race, yet in course
of time it was natural for the Hebrews to read more into it, and to
regard it as a prophecy of the struggle between mankind and the
Evil One ; and still more naturally did the early Christians see in
it the first reference to the redemptive work of Christ. Cp. Rom.
xvi. 20 ; “ The God of peace shall bruise Satan undei your feet
shortly.”
I—2
18 CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL
sorrow and thy conception ; in sorrow thou shalt bring
forth children ; and thy desire shall be to thy husband,
and he shall rule over thee. 17. And unto Adam he said,
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,
and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,
saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground
for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days
of thy life ; 18. thorns also and thistles shall it bring
forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field ;
19. in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till
thou return unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou
taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
20. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve ; because she
was the mother of all living. 21. Unto Adam also and
to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and
clothed them.
Man driven from Eden .—22. And the Lord God said,
Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good
and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take
also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever : 23.
therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden
of Eden, to til] the ground from whence he was taken.
24. So he drove out the man ; and he placed at the east
of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword
17. Hitherto the fruits of the earth had grown of their own accord
for man’s use ; now agriculture became necessary. For a similar
belief amongst Greeks and Romans, cp. Hes., Works and Days,
117 seq. ] Ovid, Met., i. 103 seq. ; Virg., Georg., i. 127 seq.
20. Eve. Heb. Hawaii, i.e. Living.
22. one of us, i.e. like one of the Heavenly Host, amongst which
were the Cherubim.
24. Cherubims emblematic figures of the cherubim formed the
Mercy seat, or covering to the Ark, in the Holy of Holies. A de¬
tailed description is to be found in Ezek. i. 5 seq., where they are
represented as men with wings and four heads: the head of a man,
a lion, an ox, and an eagle respectively.
GENESIS III 19
which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of
life.
THE STORY OF CAIN AND ABEL
The original object of this story was to explain the
development of sin amongst mankind and the origin of
homicide, which in this first instance was actual murder.
There are difficulties in the story which do not admit of
satisfactory explanation: it may be asked, Why did
Jehovah not accept Cain's offering? How was His
displeasure shown ? What was the sign appointed
for Cain ? Whom did he marry ? The best reply
to such questions is to admit that we do not know \
but we may add that these early stories are only a
selection which do not necessarily form a consistent
and complete whole, and that in this very case there
are signs that the original story has been cut down
and edited.
Among the lessons taught are the following : (i) God
judges man’s motives rather than his acts ; the service
of the heart is worth more than any ceremonial. (2) It
is not the sin of murder that is condemned so much as
the sin of jealousy and malice (cf. Sermon on the Mount
Matt. v. 21-6). (3) The great doctrine of the Brotherhood
of Man, that each man i3 his brother’s keeper, and has
his share of responsibility for the conditions of the lives
of others. (4) Sin inevitably brings its own punishment.
(5) God remonstrates with man before the climax of the
sin is reached.
20
CAIN AND ABEL
The Story of Cain and Abel
Genesis iv. 1-16
Birth of Cain and Abel. —iv. i. And Adam knew Eve
his wife ; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I
have gotten a man from the Lord. 2. And she again
bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep,
but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
The first murder. —3. And in process of time it came to
pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering
unto the Lord. 4. And Abel, he also brought of the
firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the
Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering : 5. but
unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6. And
the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth ? and why
is thy countenance fallen ? 7. If thou doest well, shalt
thou not be accepted ? and if thou doest not well, sin
lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and
thou shalt rule over him. 8. And Cain talked with Abel
1. gotten. The name Cain is not connected etymologically with
the Hebrew verb used here, but there is a resemblance between the
two, and the writer is using the figure of speech called paronomasia,
a play on words.
7. R.V. marg.: “ If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up ? and
if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee is its
desire, but thou shouldest rule over it” {i.e. “if thou doest well,
thy countenance will be bright and cheerful : if thou doest wrong,
be sure that sin is waiting to spring on thee, eager to make thee
its prey; but it is thy duty to overcome sin”). Cain’s offering
was merely formal; his life was marred by sin, and he was not
repentant.
8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother. R.V. marg.: “ Heb.
s aid unto. Many ancient authorities have, said unto Abel his
brother, Let us go into the field." Bishop Ryle supposes that the
writer, in selecting passages from the original narrative, simpiy
omitted Cain’s words to his brother, and that the words “ Let us
GENESIS IV
21
his brother : and it came to pass, when they were in the
field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew
him.
The punishment of Cain. —9. And the Lord said unto
Cain, Where is Abel thy brother ? And he said, I know
not: am I my brother’s keeper ? 10. And he said, What
hast thou done ? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth
unto me from the ground. 11. And now art thou cursed
from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive
thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 12. 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. 13. And Cain said unto the Lord, My
punishment is greater than I can bear. 14. Behold,
thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the
earth ; and from thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be
a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth ; and it shall
come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay
me. 15. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore who¬
soever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him
sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any
finding him should kill him.
16. And Cain went out from the presence of the
Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of
Eden.
go into'the field” represent an attempt to repaii the omission.
See above, on the story of Cain and Abel.
15. set a mark upon. R.V. “ appointed a sign for . . . .’’There
is nothing to show what this was, but the A.V. “ set a mark
upon ” is incorrect. The sign, so far from being intended as a
brand, was to be his protection.
16. Nod, i.e. Wandering.
Eden. Cain had been in Eden, though his parents had been
driven from the Garden.
22
LAMECH, METHUSALEH, ENOCH
The Origin of Civilisation
Genesis iv. 17-26
17. And Cain knew his wife ; and she conceived, and
bare Enoch : and he budded a city, and called the name
of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18. And
unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and
Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
19. And Lamech took unto him two wives : the name
of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
20 And Adah bare J abal: he was the father of such as
dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21. And his
brother’s name was J ubal: he was the father of all
such as handle the harp and organ. 22. And Zillah, she
also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in
brass and iron : and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23. And Lamech said unto his wives,
Adah and Zillah, hear my voice ;
Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech:
For I have slain a man for wounding me,
And a young man for bruising me :
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
25. And Adam knew his wife again ; and she bare a
17-26. In these verses is narrated the origin of civilisation
according to Hebrew tradition : they deal with (i) city life, (2)
nomad life, (3) music, (4) the use of metals, (5) the beginning of
war, and (6) the origin of religious worship.
19. two wives. The first instance, in the Hebrew narrative,
of polygamy.
20. father, metaphorical.
22. an instructer of every artificer in. R.V. “ the forger of every
cutting instrument of . . ."
23, 24. Adah, etc. The Song of the Sword (printed from the R.V.)
celebrates the value and power of the newly found weapon of war.
The sword would be a greater protection to Lamech than the “ mark "
was for Cain. (See verse 15.)
GENESIS IV, V
23
son, and called his name Seth : For God, said she, hath
appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain
slew. 26. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son ;
and he called his name Enos : then began men to call
upon the name of the Lord.
FROM ADAM TO NOAH
Genesis v
The progress of the human race from Adam to Noah—
that is, before the Flood—is represented in chap. v. in
the form of a genealogy, which is introduced thus :
1. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the
day that God created man, in the likeness of God made
he him ; 2. male and female created he them ; and blessed
them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they
were created.
In the genealogy itself we may notice three points :
1. The great length of life attributed to primitive
man : Methusaleh is said to have lived for 969 years.
2. Of Enoch 1 a remarkable statement is made, verse 24:
2. their name Adam. See, Light from the East, by Rev. C. J. Ball,
p. 20: “The Sumerian [i.e. pre-Babylonian. — Ed.] Adam is
literally ‘ side-spouse,’ and seems, therefore, to denote all creatures
which exist in pairs, or as male and female; so that it may be used of
the entire animal creation, both brute and human. The meaning
of the Sumerian term thus explains the story of the origin of woman
(Gen. ii. 21 seq.), and accounts for the curious expression * called
their name Adam ’ (Gen. v. 2).’’
1 Enoch. All that is told us of Enoch is that he was the son of
Jared (see Gen. iv. 17 and Driver p. 8o), and that he was “ trans¬
lated ” ( cp . Elijah). According to St. Luke he was one of our
Lord’s ancestors. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews quotes
him as an example of faith (Heb. xi. 5). In Jude 14 is a quotation
from the Book of Enoch, written c. 100 b . c ., a work which, though
not found in O.T. or Apocrypha, had considerable influence on
New Testament writers. No less than four of the titles of our Lord
are found in this book applied, for the first time, to the Messiah.
24
THE FLOOD
“ And Enoch walked with God : and he was not; for
God took him.”
3. Lamech (verse 29) called his son’s name Noah (i.e.
Rest), “ saying, This same shall comfort us concerning
our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground
which the Lord hath cursed.” Noah was to found a
new race.
STORY OF THE FLOOD
The story. —Here, again, is to be found a combination of
two narratives, Priestly and Prophetic, no longer written
consecutively, as is the case of the two Creation stories,
but closely interwoven: these two accounts bear the
usual characteristics (e.g. in respect of the Name of God,
see p. xiii), and differ in important details, such as the
numbers of the animals that entered the ark and the
duration of the Flood.
Difficulties of the story .—The question which every one
must face is, Does the story represent an historical fact ?
The older view is that it does ; that is to say, even though
there may have been no world-wide deluge, yet there
must have been a vast local inundation in which the
waters reached a great height and swept away human
and animal life over an immense area. (See Murray’s
Illustrated Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Noah.”) The general
opinion of the modern critics is that there was neither a
universal flood nor a local flood on such a scale as is de¬
scribed in Genesis, even after allowance is made for natural
exaggeration. They hold that the evidence of geology
and ethnology alike is totally opposed to such a theory.
There is no warrant for believing that so great a mass of
THE FLOOD
25
water could have been produced during the period in
which man and mammals have existed on the earth; or
that, once having been produced, it could have disappeared
so rapidly, or that life once more could have been so
completely and quickly distributed and increased. In
other words, the sum of human knowledge tends to show,
without the possibility of contradiction, that the progress
of life is infinitely slow and gradual, and the existence of
the Genesis story and the parallel stories of other peoples
is not sufficient to overthrow this conclusion.
Solution .—If the modern view is adopted, a solution
is to be found in the fact just referred to, that many
countries have independently their own Flood-stories.
These are common, but not universal; and it is reason¬
able to suppose that they all arose from the memory
of some specially big flood which in each separate locality
was attended with great loss of life. The Babylonian
Flood-story 1 should be read carefully, chiefly because of
the extraordinary parallels it contains to the story of
Noah: perhaps the most striking of these are the
description of the ship, the selection of representative
animals, and the sending out of the dove and the raven.
Probably the Babylonian version is older than that of
Genesis ; but the opposite view is stoutly maintained.
However this may be—even if the Hebrew story is not
in any way the descendant of the Babylonian—we may
reasonably conclude that both are descended from a
common ancestor, that both reach back to a time when
the Semitic people in Mesopotamia were afflicted by
an inundation more destructive than the ordinary floods
to which their country was liable.
1 See App. II.
26
THE FLOOD
Value of the story. —As always, the Hebrew narrative
is religious in tone. Emphasis is laid upon (i) the curse
of sin, which, once committed, rapidly spreads ; (2) the
salvation which can be found in righteousness alone ;
(3) God’s mercy in giving man another chance (cf.
Rom. vi. 23: “The wages of sin is death; but the free
gift of God is eternal life ”).
The Story of Noah and the Flood
Genesis vi.-ix
j Che antediluvian giants. — vi. 1. And it came to pass,
when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and
daughters were born unto them, 2. that the sons of God
saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and they
took them wives of all which they chose. 3. And the
Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,
for that he also is flesh : yet his days shall be an hundred
and twenty years. 4. There were giants in the earth in
those days ; and also after that, when the sons of God
came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children
to them, the same became mighty men which were of old,
men of renown.
Cause of the Flood. —5. And 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.
6. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on
2. the sons of God. A much-debated phrase and passage. The
obvious interpretation is this : angelic beings took human wives
and from the union there sprang a race of giants, an idea common
also in Greek mythology.
3. My spirit, etc. An obscure passage, of which no satisfactory
explanation has been found : perhaps it means, “ My spirit shall not
abide in man so long : he is a weak creature, and so his span of life
shall be shortened.”
4. There were giants. R.V. “the Nephlllm were.” Cp. Num. xiii. 33.
GENESIS VI
2 7
the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7. And the
Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from
the face of the earth ; both man, and beast, and the creeping
thing, and the fowls of the air ; for it repenteth me that
I have made them. 8. But Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord.
9. These are the generations of Noah : Noah was a
just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked
with God. 10. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham,
and Japheth. 11. The earth also was corrupt before God,
and the earth was filled with violence. 12. And God
looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt ; for
all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13. And
God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come
before me ; for the earth is filled with violence through
them ; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Instructions to Noah. —14. Make thee an ark of gopher
wood ; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch
it within and without with pitch. 15. And this is the
fashion which thou shalt make it of : The length of the
ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty
cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16. A window
shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou
finish it above ; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in
the side thereof ; with lower, second, and third stories
shalt thou make it. 17. And, behold, I, even I, do bring
a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh,
9. walked witli God. Vide v. 22, 24.
13. is come before me: i.e. I have determined upon it.
14. gopher. An unknown tree.
15. cubits, a cubit was about 18 in.
16. a window, etc. R.V. “ A light shalt thou make to the ark,
and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward.” This perhaps means
that little windows, 18 in. high, were to be left under the eaves of
the roof, between the projecting beams.
28
NOAH’S ARK
wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven ; and
every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18. But with
thee will I establish my covenant ; and thou shalt come
into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy
sons’ wives with thee. 19. And of every living thing of
all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark,
to keep them alive with thee ; they shall be male and
female. 20. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after
their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his
kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep
them alive. 21. And take thou unto thee of all food
that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee ; and it
shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22. Thus did
Noah ; according to all that God commanded him, so
did he.
vii. 1. And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and
all thy house into the ark ; for thee have I seen righteous
before me in this generation. 2. Of every clean beast
thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female :
and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his
female. 3. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male
and the female ; to keep seed alive upon the face of all
the earth. 4. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to
rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights ; and
every living substance that I have made will I destroy
from off the face of the earth. 5. And Noah did according
unto all that the Lord commanded him. 6. And Noah
was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was
upon the earth.
2. clean. Here we have a distinction drawn between clean and
unclean animals. See Lev. xi.
3. by sevens, Cp. vi. 19, where only one pa,ir is required.
GENESIS VI, VII
29
The Flood. —7. And Noah went in, and his sons, and
his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because
of the waters of the flood. 8. Of clean beasts, and of
beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing
that creepeth upon the earth, 9. there went in two and
two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female,
as God had commanded Noah. 10. And it came to pass
after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon
the earth.
11. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the
second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the
same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken
up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12. And
the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
13. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and
Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife,
and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark ;
14. they, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle
after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his
kind, every bird of every sort. 15. And they went in
unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein
is the breath of life. 16. And they that went in, went
in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded
him : and the Lord shut him in. 17. And the flood was
forty days upon the earth ; and the waters increased,
and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
18. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly
upon the earth ; and the ark went upon the face of the
11. Cp. on i. 6. The waters supposed to lie under the earth, and
the waters stored above the hrmament, were both let loose upon
the earth.
30
THE FLOOD ASSUAGED
waters. 19. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon
the earth ; and all the high hills, that were under the
whole heaven, were covered. 20. Fifteen cubits upward
did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
21. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both
of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man : 22. all
in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was
in the dry land, died. 23. And every living substance
was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground,
both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the
fowl of the heaven ; and they were destroyed from the
earth : and Noah only remained alive, and they that
were with him in the ark. 24. And the waters prevailed
upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
viii. 1. And God remembered Noah, and every living
thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark :
and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the
waters ass waged ; 2. the fountains also of the deep and
the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from
heaven was restrained ; 3. and the waters returned from
off the earth continually : and after the end of the hundred
and fifty days the waters were abated. 4. And the ark
rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of
the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 5. And the
waters decreased continually until the tenth month : in
the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the
tops of the mountains seen.
6. And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that
20. i.e. above the top of the highest mountain, reaching half-way
up the side of the ark.
4. Ararat. A mountain about 17,000 ft. high, in the north of
Armenia, is now called Ararat ; but here the name is used of the
whole surrounding country.
GENESIS VII, VIII
3i
Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
7. and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and
fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters
were abated from off the face of the ground ; 9. but the
dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned
unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face
of the whole earth : then he put forth his hand, and took
her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. 10. And
he stayed yet other seven days ; and again he sent forth
the dove out of the ark ; 11. and the dove came in to
him in the evening ; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive
leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated
from off the earth. 12. And he stayed yet other seven
days ; and sent forth the dove ; which returned not again
unto him any more.
13. And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first
year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the
waters were dried up from off the earth : and Noah removed
the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face
of the ground was dry. 14. And in the second month,
on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the
earth dried.
Jehovah's decrees about the earth and man. —15. And
God spake unto Noah, saying, 16. Go forth of the ark,
thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives
with thee. 17. Bring forth with thee every living thing
that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle,
and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth ;
that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be
fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18. And Noah
11. pluckt off, i.e. fresh.
32
GOD’S PROMISE TO MAN
went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives
with him : 19. every beast, every creeping thing, and
every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth,
after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
20. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord ; and
took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and
offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21. And the Lord
smelled a sweet savour ; and the Lord said in his heart.
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 ; neither will I again smite any more every thing
living, as I have done. 22. While the earth remaineth,
seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer
and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
ix. 1. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said
unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth. 2. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall
be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl
of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon
all the fishes of the sea ; into your hand are they delivered.
3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you ;
even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4. But
flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall
21. This verse may be interpreted in two ways: (1) I will not
curse the ground any more as a punishment for man’s innate sinful¬
ness ; or, better, (2) I will not curse it any more, for I recognise man’s
sinfulness, and I will forbear.
2, 3. See on i. 29, 30. Man, hitherto vegetarian, is now allowed
to eat flesh.
4. life . . . blood. Cp. Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites,
p. 40 : “ The unity of the family or clan is viewed as a physical
unity, for the blood is the life—an idea familiar to us from the O.T.—
and it is the same blood and therefore the same life that is shared
by every descendant of the common ancestor.” The belief is a
fundamental one, on which the whole meaning of the sacrificial system
depends.
GENESIS VIII, IX
33
ye not eat. 5. And surely your blood of your lives will I
require ; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at
the hand of man ; at the hand of every man’s brother will
I require the life of man. 6. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood,
by man shall his blood be shed : for in the image of God
made he man. 7. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply ;
bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
The Covenant and the Rainbow. —8. And God spake unto
Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9. And I, behold,
I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after
you ; 10. and with every living creature that is with you,
of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth
with you ; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast
of the earth. 11. And I will establish my covenant with
you ; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the
waters of a flood ; neither shall there any more be a flood
to destroy the earth. 12. And God said, This is the token
of the covenant which I make between me and you and
every living creature that is with you, for perpetual genera¬
tions : 13. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall
be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over
the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15. and
I will remember my covenant, which is between me and
you and every living creature of all flesh ; and the waters
shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16. And
the bow shall be in the cloud ; and I will look upon it,
5, 6, declare the sanctity of human life, the taking of which by
man or beast will be followed by the punishment of the offender.
13. bow. Probably the earliest narrator of the story believed
this to be the explanation of the rainbow as a physical fact. It
teaches us, at any rate, that even in those times men saw the hand
of God in the natural world.
1—3
34
THE PEOPLING OF THE EARTH
that I may remember the everlasting covenant between
God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the
earth. 17. And God said unto Noah, This is the token
of the covenant, which I have established between me
and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Noah : his family, occupation, and death. —18. And the
sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and
Ham, and Japheth : and Ham is the father of Canaan.
19. These are the three sons of Noah : and of them was
the whole earth overspread. 20. And Noah began to be
an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.
28. And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and
fifty years. 29. And all the days of Noah were nine
hundred and fifty years : and he died.
CHAPTER X: THE SONS OF NOAH
In ch. x. the descent of the nations of the world, except
those unknown to the writer and those whose origin is
explained later, is traced from the three sons of Noah,
Shem, Ham, and J apheth. The division cannot be shown
to be in any way scientific : according to Prof. Driver,
it is mainly geographical. Then, after the multiplication
of languages has been accounted for in the story of Babel,
the writer confines himself to the descendants of Shem,
the Semitic stock, and more particularly the branch from
which the Israelites sprang.
A few notes are added on some points in ch. x. which
are worth special attention.
6 . Cush, i.e. the land south of Egypt, or Ethiopia.
Mizraim, i.e. Egypt proper.
8 . And Cush begat Nimrod : he began to be a mighty one in the
GENESIS IX, X, XI
35
earth, 9. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord : wherefore it is
said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord.
10. Shinar, i.e. Babylonia.
11. Asshur was the name of the original capital of Assyria. In
this verse Asshur is said to be the founder of Nineveh.
15. Heth. The Hittites were at one time an important power
in the country north and north-east of Palestine. Ramses II.
(c. 1300-1234 b.c.) made a treaty with them. But the expressions
Canaanites, Amorites, and Hittites are all used to denote generally
the inhabitants of Canaan occupying the country before the arrival
of the Hebrews.
For a full discussion of the whole chapter and its difficulties, see
Driver, ad loc.
THE STORY OF BABEL, AND THE ORIGIN OF
THE LANGUAGES OF THE EARTH
Genesis xi. 1-9
xi. 1. And the whole earth was of one language, and
of one speech. 2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed
from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar ;
and they dwelt there. 3. And they said one to another.
Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And
they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
4. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower,
whose top may reach unto heaven ; and let us make us
a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the
whole earth. 5. And the Lord came down to see the
city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and
they have all one language ; and this they begin to do :
and now nothing will be restrained from them, which
they h4,ve imagined to do. 7. Go to, let us go down, and
there confound their language, that they may not under¬
stand one another’s speech. 8. So the Lord scattered
2. Shinar = Babylonia. .
3. In Babylonia brick cemented with bitumen (A.V. “slime )
was the regular material for building.
7. us. See on i. 26.
36
THE STORY OF BABEL
them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth :
and they left off to build the city. 9. Therefore is the
name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there con¬
found the language of all the earth : and from thence did
the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the
earth.
9. Babel = Babylon. As so often with Hebrew names, a false
derivation is given, due to the resemblance of two words. Babel,
which properly means “ gate of God,” is here connected with a verb
meaning “ to confound.”
PART II
THE ORIGIN OF ISRAEL: STORIES OF
THE PATRIARCHS
ABRAHAM
His life. —The life of Abraham as told in Genesis is
not complete; particular episodes have been selected
from different sources. But a short analysis is useful as
an aid to the memory.
I. Abram and Sarai.
(i) Ur of the Chaldees ; Abram marries Sarai.
(ii) Haran.
(iii) Palestine; Shechem and Beth-el.
(iv) Egypt.
(v) Hebron (after separation from Lot).
(vi) Rescue of Lot; episode of Melchizedek.
(vii) Birth of Ishmael.
II. Abraham and Sarah.
(i) Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
(ii) Gerar.
(iii) Birth of Isaac ; expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael.
(iv) “ Sacrifice ” of Isaac.
(v) Death of Sarah.
'(vi) Marriage of Isaac to Rebekah.
(vii) Death of Abraham.
It will be seen that the first division is mainly based
on place-names, and the second on events in Abraham’s
family history.
39
40
ABRAM MIGRATES TO CANAAN
Features of the story. —i. On no less than eight occasions
was a promise made by God to Abraham: and the Hebrews,
“ the seed of Abraham,” attached the greatest importance
to these as the foundation of their hopes as a nation.
2. The sacrifice of Isaac “ fulfils the twofold object of
giving the crowning proof of Abraham’s absolute faith
in Jehovah, and, further, of demonstrating the moral
superiority of faith in Jehovah over the religious customs
of other Semitic races.” (Hastings’ Dictionary of the
Bille, s.v. “Abraham”). 3. Abraham is regarded as the
ancestor, not only of the Hebrews, but also, through
Ishmael, of some wandering tribes to the south of
Palestine.
The character of Abraham .—In spite of obvious difficulties
in the story of Abraham, such as repetitions or “ duplica¬
tions” of episodes, and the probability that some passages
in his life should be explained as “ tribal ” legends (i.e.
intended to account for the connection between the
Hebrews and some other tribe), yet we are convinced that
he is a real character of history. He is not colourless like
so many of the Greek heroes ; his personality is striking
and many-sided. He is the founder of the Hebrew race,
the “ friend ” of Jehovah, to whom God gave His promise
and with whom God made His covenant; he has all the
qualities of a leader of men, and “ he was called the Friend
of God ” (James ii. 23). The writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews emphasises his chief virtue, faith, in a passage
which should be read at length (Heb. xi. 8-19). A sum¬
mary of his life and character may be found in Ecclesiasticus
(xliv. 19, 20), in words which deserve quotation as a most
fitting epitaph: “ Abraham was a great father of a
multitude of nations ; and there was none found like him
GENESIS XI, XII
4i
in glory; who kept the law of the Most High, and was
taken into covenant with him. In his flesh he established
the covenant ; and when he was proved, he was found
faithful.” [R.V.]
Stories of the Life of Abraham
Genesis xi. 27 —xxiii
The Family of Abram : migration from Ur of the Chaldees
to Haran. —xi. 27. Now these are the generations of
Ter ah : Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran ; and
Haran begat Lot. 28. And Haran died before his father
Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
29. And Abram and Nahor took them wives : the name
of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife
Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and
the father of Iscah. 30. But Sarai was barren ; she had
no child. 31. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot
the son of Llaran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in
law, his son Abram’s wife ; and they went forth with them
from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan;
and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32.
And the days of Terah were two hundred and five
years : and Terah died in Llaran.
Second migration : to Canaan. —xii. 1. 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: 2. and I will make of thee a great
nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ;
and thou shalt be a blessing : 3. and I will bless them
29. See genealogical tree, p. 69.
31. Haran = Carrhae. Here Crassus was defeated and killed
by the Parthians in 53 b.c. The narrative appears to combine two
traditions about the origin of Abram’s family.
42
ABRAM IN EGYPT
that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee : and in
thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4. So
Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him ; and
Lot went with him : and Abram was seventy and five
years old when he departed out of Haran. 5. And Abram
took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their
substance that they had gathered, and the souls that
they had gotten in Haran ; and they went forth to go
into the land of Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan
they came.
6. And Abram passed through the land unto the place
of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite
was then in the land. 7. And the Lord appeared unto
Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land : and
there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared
unto him. 8. And he removed from thence unto a moun¬
tain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having
Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he
builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name
of the Lord. 9. And Abram journeyed, going on still
toward the south.
Abram's visit to Egypt. —xo. And there was a famine
in the land : and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn
6. Sichem, etc. R.V. “ Shechem, unto the oak " ; R.V. marg.,
“ terebinth.” The terebinth is the turpentine-tree, and is like the
oak. A.V. “ plain ” should be “ oak ” in xiii. 18, xiv. 13, xviii. 1.
the Canaanite. i.e. all the various peoples who occupied Palestine
before the arrival of the Hebrews.
7. altar. The whole of Palestine was covered with such sacred
spots, connected by the Hebrews with the times of the Patriarchs,
hbt many of them, no doubt, taken over from the earlier inhabitants
uwom they superseded. (See Index, s.v. “Altar.”)
8. Hai = Ai.
10-20. A similar story is told in ch. xx. of Abraham, and in ch. xxvi.
of Isaac. It is characteristic of oriental duplicity, and is related
by the writer without comment, but without approval.
GENESIS XII, XIII
43
there ; for the famine was grievous in the land. n. And
it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into
Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I
know that thou art a fair woman to look upon : 12. there¬
fore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see
thee, that they shall say, This is his wife : and they will
kill me, but they will save thee alive. 13. Say, I pray
thee, thou art my sister : that it may be well with me
for thy sake ; and my soul shall live because of thee.
14. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come
into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she
was very fair. 15. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her,
and commended her before Pharaoh ; and the woman
was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16. And he entreated
Abram well for her sake : and he had sheep, and oxen, and
he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she
asses, and camels. 17. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh
and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s
wife. 18. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is
this that thou hast done unto me ? why didst thou not
tell me that she was thy wife ? 19. Why saidst thou,
She is my sister ? so I might have taken her to me to wife :
now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him :
and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that
he had.
Return to Canaan. —xiii. 1. And Abram went up out of
Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with
him, into the south. 2. And Abram was very rich in cattle,
in silver, and in gold. 3. And he went on his journeys
from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his
tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai;
44
SEPARATION FROM LOT
4. unto the place of the altar, which he had made there
at the first : and there Abram called on the name of the
Lord.
Lot's choice of land. —5. And Lot also, which went with
Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6. And the land
was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together :
for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell
together. 7. And there was a strife between the herdmen
of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle : and
the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
8. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray
thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and
thy herdmen ; for we be brethren. 9. Is not the whole
land before thee ? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me :
if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right ;
or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the
left. 10. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the
plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where,
before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even
as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou
comest unto Zoar. 11. Then Lot chose him all the plain
of Jordan ; and Lot journeyed east : and they separated
themselves the one from the other. 12. Abram dwelled
in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the
plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13. But the
men of Sodom Were wicked and sinners before the Lord
exceedingly.
God’s promise to Abram. —14. And the Lord said
6, 7. Two reasons are given why Abraham and Lot should
separate.
10. plain of Jordan, i.e. the basin containing the lower reaches of
the Jordan and the Dead Sea.
the garden of the LORD, i.e. the Garden of Eden.
GENESIS XIII
45
unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift
up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art
northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward :
15. for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give
it, and to thy seed for ever. 16. And I will make thy seed
as the dust of the earth : so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and
in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. 18. Then
Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain
of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar
unto the Lord.
The War of the Four Kings against the Five
Kings
Chapter xiv. contains the story of the revolt ot five
“ Kings of the Plain ” against the King of Elam and his
vassals. Elam, with its capital Susa, lies beyond Babylonia,
north-east of the Persian gulf.
There are two points of special interest: one is the
probable identification of Amraphel, King of Shinar, with
Hammurabi, sixth king in the first dynasty of Babylon,
whose reign is placed, roughly speaking, in the last quarter
of the third millennium b.c. (c. 2250). He conquered Elam
and was a great king, but his importance for us lies chiefly
in the fact that the Code of Hammurabi, an elaborate legal
system indicative of a very advanced civilisation, was
discovered 1901-2, engraved upon a huge block of stone
containing, in cuneiform characters, 8,000 words. The
18. in the plain of Mamre = “ by the oaks of Mamre.’ In xiv.
13, 24, Mamre is the name of a person; in xxiii. 17 and other
passages, the name of a place.
46
MELCHIZEDEK: ELAMITE WAR
events related in this chapter must refer to an early
period of his career.
The second point of interest is the meeting of Abram
with Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem. Nothing is
known from other sources about this man : but Psalm cx. 4
says :
The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent,
Thou \i.e. the king] art a priest for ever
After the manner of Melchizedek:
and this verse is applied by the writer of the Epistle to
the Hebrews (v. 6, 10 : vi. 20: vii.) to Christ, of whom the
mysterious king of the narrative is taken to be a type.
Further, in the offerings of bread and wine brought forth
by Melchizedek the Fathers of the early Church saw pre¬
figured the Bread and Wine of the Holy Communion.
The war of the four kings against the five kings. —xiv. 1.
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar,
Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and
Tidal king of nations ; 2. that these made war with Bera
king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab
king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the
king of Bela, which is Zoar. 3. All these were joined
together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
4. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the
1. Arioch, a prince who ruled in the south of Babylonia, first the
vassal of Chedorlaomer of Elam, afterwards overthrown by Ham¬
murabi (Amraphel) of Babylon.
Tidal king; 0 f nations. R.V. “ king of Goiim ” (which means “ na¬
tions ”)• Nothing is known of him, or of the sense in which Goiim
is used here.
2, 3. The position of the five towns in the vale of Siddim is
doubtful ; perhaps they occupied the ground now covered by the
shallow lagoon at the extreme south of the Dead Sea. All were
destroyed except Zoar.
GENESIS XIV
47
thirteenth year they rebelled. 5. And in the fourteenth
year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with
him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and
the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
6. and the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran,
which is by the wilderness. 7. And they returned, and
came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the
country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that
dwelt in Hazezon-tamar. 8. And there went out the king
of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of
Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the
same is Zoar ;) and they joined battle with them in the
vale of Siddim ; 9. with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam,
and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of
Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar ; four kings with five.
10. And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and
the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there;
and they that remained fled to the mountain. XI. And
they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all
their victuals, and went their way.
Capture of Lot, and his rescue by Abram. —12. And
they took Lot, Abram's brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom,
and his goods, and departed. 13. And there came one
that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew ; for he
dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of
Eshcol, and brother of Aner : and these were confederate
with Abram. 14. And when Abram heard that his
brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants,
born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and
10. slimepits = bitumen pits. The Dead Sea is called Lacus
A sphaltites.
13. plain = “by the oaks.”
14. brother, i.e. relation (actually, nephew).
48
MELCHIZEDEK AND ABRAM
pursued them unto Dan. 15. And he divided himself
against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote
them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the
left hand of Damascus. 16. And he brought back all
the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and
his goods, and the women also, and the people.
Meeting of Abram and Melchizedek. —17. And the king
of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the
slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were
with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
18. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread
and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of
the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth : 20.
and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered
thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes
of all. 21. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give
me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22. And
Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine
hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of
heaven and earth, 23. that I will not take from a thread
even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing
that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram
rich : 24. save only that which the young men have eaten,
and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner,
Eshcol, and Mamre ; let them take their portion.
Abram's vision, and the promise. —xv. x. After these
things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision,
15. left hand, i.e. north, according to Hebrew reckoning, as you
face the east.
17. the king’s dale. Here was erected Absalom’s monument
(2 Sam. xviii. 18).
18. Salem = Jerusalem ; cp. Ps. lxxvi. 2.
20. he gave him, i.e. Abram gave Melchizedek tithes of the spoil.
GENESIS XIV, XV
49
saying, Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, and thy exceed¬
ing great reward. 2. And Abram said, Lord God, what
wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward
of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus ? 3. And Abram
said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed : and, lo, one
born in my house is mine heir. 4. And, behold, the word
of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine
heir ; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels
shall be thine heir. 5. And he brought him forth abroad,
and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars,
if thou be able to number them : and he said unto
him, So shall thy seed be. 6. And he believed in
the Lord ; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7. And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought
thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to
inherit it.
The token. —8. And he said. Lord God, whereby shall
I know that I shall inherit it ? 9. And he said unto him,
Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of
three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle¬
dove, and a young pigeon. 10. And he took unto him all
these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one
against another : but the birds divided he not. 11. And
when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram
drove them away. 12. And when the sun was going
down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram ; and, lo, an horror
of great darkness fell upon him. 13. And he said unto
2. and the steward, etc. R.V. “ and he that shall be possessor of
my house is Dammesek Eliezer ? ” The text is uncertain, and the
meaning obscure ; clearly, however, Abram’s steward, a servant,
(verse 3) would be his heir if he died childless.
5. tell . . . number, the same words in the Hebrew.
9. This passage describes the ceremonial of a covenant : the
victims are divided, and the covenanters pass between.
1—4
50
THE PROMISE: HAGAR
Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger
in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; and
they shall afflict them four hundred years ; 14. and also
that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge : and
afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 .
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace ; thou shalt be
buried in a good old age. 16 . But in the fourth generation
they shall come hither again : for the iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet full. 17. And it came to pass, that,
when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking
furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those
pieces.
The covenant .— 18 . In the same day the Lord made a
covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given
this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river,
the river Euphrates : 19. the Kenites, and the Kenizzites,
and the Kadmonites, 20. and the Hittites, and the
Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21. and the Amorites, and
the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
The story of Hagar ; Abram takes Hagar ; Hagar's -flight .
xvi. 1. Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children:
and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was
Hagar. 2. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now,
the Lord hath restrained me from bearing : I pray thee,
go in unto my maid ; it may be that I may obtain children
by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the
Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land
of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be
his wife.
13, 14. Refer to Egypt and the Exodus.
16. Amorites = inhabitants of Canaan.
17. burning lamp. R.V. “flaming torch.”
GENESIS XV, XVI
51
4. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived : and
when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was
despised in her eyes. 5. And Sarai said unto Abram,
My wrong be upon thee : I have given my maid into thy
bosom ; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was
despised in her eyes : the Lord judge between me and
thee. 6. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid
is in thy hand ; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when
Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
Hagar's vision in the wilderness. —7. And the angel of
the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness,
by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8. And he said,
Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence earnest thou ? and whither
wilt thou go ? And she said, I flee from the face of my
mistress Sarai. 9. And the angel of the Lord said unto
her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her
hands. 10. And the angel of the Lord said unto her,
I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be
numbered for multitude, ix. And the angel of the Lord
said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear
a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the
Lord hath heard thy affliction. 12. And 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. 13. 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 ?
11. Ishmael, i.e. “God heareth.” Ishmael (verse 12) is a type
of the wandering Arab tribes, of whom he was thought to be the
ancestor.
12. a wild man. R.V. “ as a wild ass among men.”
in the presence, etc., i.e. to the east of Israel.
13. Thou God seest me. This is the meaning implied in the correct
R.V., “ Thou art a God that seeth.”
52 THE NAMES ABRAHAM AND SARAH
14. Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold,
it is between Kadesh and Bered.
Hagar returns ; birth of Ishmael. —15. And Hagar bare
Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which
Hagar bare, Ishmael. 16. And Abram was fourscore
and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
The name Abraham. —xvii. 1. And when Abram was
ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram,
and said unto him, I am the Almighty God ; walk before
me, and be thou perfect. 2. And I will make my covenant
between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3. And Abram fell on his face : and God talked with him,
saying, 4. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee,
and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5. Neither
shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name
shall be Abraham ; for a father of many nations have I
made thee. 6. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful,
and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out
of thee. 7. And I will establish my covenant between
me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations
for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and
to thy seed after thee. 8. And I will give unto thee, and
to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger,
all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ;
and I will be their God.
The rite of circumcision. —9. And God said unto Abra¬
ham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and
14. Eeer-lahai-roi. i.e. “ the well of the living one who seeth me.”
1. the Almighty God. Heb. “ El Shaddai.” This is the name
of God which is found in the Priestly narrative as the name until
the revelation of Jehovah to Moses on Mount Horeb.
5. Abram (= Abiram) means “ the lofty one is father.” Abraham
is connected by resemblance of sound, but not bv derivation, with
a word meaning “ multitude.”
GENESIS XVI, XVII
53
thy seed after thee in their generations, io. This is my
covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and
thy seed after thee ; Every man child among you shall
be circumcised, n. And ye shall circumcise the flesh;
and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and
you. 12. And he that is eight days old shall be circum¬
cised among you, every man child in your generations,
he that is born in the house, or bought with money of
any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13. He that is
bom in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money,
must needs be circumcised : and my covenant shall be
in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14. And the
uncircumcised man child who is not circumcised, that
soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my
covenant.
The name Sarah. —15. And God said unto Abraham,
As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai,
but Sarah shall her name be. 16. And I will bless her,
and give thee a son also of her : yea, I will bless her, and
she shall be a mother of nations ; kings of people shall
be of her. 17. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and
laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto
Note on the Rite of Circumcision
The rite of circumcision was not peculiar to the Hebrews : it
was practised by almost all the Semitic races, and by the Egyptians
before the time of Abraham. The original purpose of the rite is
thought to have been an initiation into manhood. The Hebrews
differed from their neighbours in performing it early, and in regarding
it as the, sign and seal of a sacred covenant with the God of the
people whom He had promised to bless.
The outward sign was seen to possess an inner meaning by Jere¬
miah. St. Paul insisted strongly on the purification of the heart;
and in the history of the early Church it was soon decided that
circumcision was not to be demanded from Gentile converts to
Christianity. (See Jer. ix. 25, Rom. ii. 28, Acts xv.)
15. Sarai: the meaning is unknown.
Sarah, i.e. “ Princess.”
54
THE THREE AT HEBRON
him that is an hundred years old ? and shall Sarah, that
is ninety years old, bear ? 18. And Abraham said unto
God, O that Ishmael might live before thee ! 19. And
God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed ;
and thou shalt call his name Isaac : and I will establish
my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and
with his seed after him. 20. And as for Ishmael, I have
heard thee : Behold, I have blessed him, and will make
him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly ; twelve
princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which
Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next
year. 22. And he left off talking with him, and God
went up from Abraham.
The “ Three Men ” at Hebron. — xviii. 1. And the Lord
appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat
in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2. and he lift up
his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him :
and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the
tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3. and
said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight,
pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4. let
a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet,
and rest yourselves under the tree : 5. and I will fetch
a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts ; after
that ye shall pass on : for therefore are ye come to your
servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6.
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and
said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal,
knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7. And
19. Isaac, meaning “ he laughs.” Cp. verse 17.
5. for therefore. R.V. "forasmuch as.” So too xix. 8.
GENESIS XVII, XVIII
55
Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender
and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he
hastened to dress it. 8. And he took butter, and milk,
and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before
them ; and he stood by them under the tree, and they
did eat.
Promise of a son to Sarah. —9. And they said unto him,
Where is Sarah thy wife ? And he said, Behold, in the
tent. 10. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee
according to the time of life ; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall
have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which
was behind him. 11. Now Abraham and Sarah were
old and well stricken in age ; and it ceased to be with
Sarah after the manner of women. 12. Therefore Sarah
laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall
I have pleasure, my lord being old also ? 13. And the
Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh,
saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old ?
14. Is any thing too hard for the Lord ? At the time
appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time
of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15. Then Sarah denied,
saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said.
Nay ; but thou didst laugh.
The doom pronounced on Sodom and Gomorrah. —16.
And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward
Sodom : and Abraham went with them to bring them
on the way. 17. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from
Abraham that thing which I do ; 18. seeing that Abraham
shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all
the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him ? 19. For
10. according to the time of life. R.V. “ when the season cometh
round,” i.e. in a year’s time. So also in verse 14.
5^
SODOM AND GOMORRAH
I know him, that he will command his children and
his household after him, and they shall keep the way of
the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord
may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken
of him. 20. And the Lord said, Because the cry of
Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is
very grievous ; 21. I will go down now, and see whether
they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which
is come unto me ; and if not, I will know. 22. And the
men turned their faces from thence, and went toward
Sodom : but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
Abraham's intercession. —23. And Abraham drew near,
and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the
wicked ? 24. Peradventure there be fifty righteous within
the city : wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place
for the fifty righteous that are therein ? 25. That be
far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous
with the wicked : and that the righteous should be as
the wicked, that be far from thee : shall not the J udge
of all the earth do right ? 26. And the Lord said, If I
find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will
spare all the place for their sakes. 27. And Abraham
answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me
to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes :
28. peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous :
wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five ? And he
said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Perad-
19. I know him, that he will. R.V. " I have known him, to the
end that he may . . .", i.e. Jehovah singled out Abraham, and after¬
wards Israel, for a special purpose.
22. I.e. one of the three, who had spoken before, stayed behind^
Cp. xix. 1, “ and the two angels came " (R.V.).
GENESIS XVIII, XIX
57
venture there shall be forty found there. And he said,
I will not do it for forty’s sake. 30. And he said unto him,
Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak : Perad-
venture there shall thirty be found there. And he said,
I will not do it, -if I find thirty there. 31. And he said.
Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the
Lord : Peradventure there shall be twenty found there.
And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.
32. And he said. Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will
speak yet but this once : Peradventure ten shall be found
there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
33. And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left
communing with Abraham : and Abraham returned unto
his place.
Lot receives the two angels at Sodom. —xix. 1. And there
came two angels to Sodom at even ; and Lot sat in the
gate of Sodom : and Lot seeing them rose up to meet
them ; and he bowed himself with his face toward the
ground ; 2. and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in,
I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night,
and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go
on your ways. And they said, Nay ; but we will abide
in the street all night. 3. And he pressed upon them
greatly ; and they turned in unto him, and entered into
his house ; and he made them a feast, and did bake un¬
leavened bread, and they did eat.
Violence of the men of the city. —4. But before they lay
down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, com¬
passed the house round, both old and young, all the people
from every quarter : 5 * an( ^ they called unto Lot, and
said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee
this night ? bring them out unto us. 6. And Lot went
58
LOT
out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7. and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8. Behold now, unto these men do nothing ; for therefore
came they under the shadow of my roof. 9. And they
said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow
came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge : now
will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they
pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to
break the door. 10. But the men put forth their hand,
and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the
door. 11. And they smote the men that were at the
door of the house with blindness, both small and great:
so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Escape of Lot from Sodom. —12. And the men said unto
Lot, Hast thou here any besides ? son in law, and thy
sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the
city, bring them out of this place: 13. for we will destroy
this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before
the face of the Lord ; and the Lord hath sent us to
destroy it. 14. And Lot went out, and spake unto his
sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up,
get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this
city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons
in law.
15. And when the morning arose, then the angels
hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two
daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the
iniquity of the city. 16. And while he lingered, the men
laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife,
and upon the hand of his two daughters ; the Lord being
merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and
set him without the city.
GENESIS XIX
59
17. And it came to pass, when they had brought them
forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life ; look not
behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain ; escape
to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 18. And Lot
said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord : 19. behold now,
thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast
magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me
in saving my life ; and I cannot escape to the mountain,
lest some evil take me, and I die : 20. behold now, this
city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one : Oh, let me
escape thither, (is it not a little one ?) and my soul shall
live. 21. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted
thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow
this city, for the which thou hast spoken. 22. Haste
thee, escape thither ; for I cannot do any thing till thou
be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was
called Zoar.
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. —23. The sun was
risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24.
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven ; 25. and
he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the
inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the
ground.
26. But his wife looked back from behind him, and
she became a pillar of salt.
22. Zoar, i.e. "Little” (verse 20). See ch. xiv. 8.
24. brimstone and fire. Brimstone is sulphur, and hot sulphur
springs are found on the shores of the Dead Sea. The destruction
of the cities has been explained as caused by an eruption of petroleum
after an earthquake. There is no reason why the story should not
represent an historical occurrence.
26. pillar of salt. " To the south of the Dead Sea are the salt hills
known as Jebel Usdum, the Mountain of Sodom, the Salt Mountain ”
6o
BIRTH OF ISAAC: HAGAR
27. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the
place where he stood before the Lord : 28. and he looked
toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land
of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country
went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities
of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent
Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew
the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
The birth of Isaac. — xxi. 1. And the Lord visited Sarah
as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had
spoken. 2. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a
son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken
to him. 3. And Abraham called the name of his son
that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
4. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight
days old, as God had commanded him. 5. And Abraham
was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born
unto him.
6. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that
all that hear will laugh with me. 7. And she said, Who
would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have
given children suck ? for I have born him a son in his
old age. 8. And the child grew, and was weaned : and
Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac
was weaned.
The casting out of Hagar and Ishmael. —9. And Sarah
saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born
unto Abraham, mocking. 10. Wherefore she said unto
(Murray’s Illust.Bible Diet.: “ Salt Sea ”). The resemblance to human
faces and figures is often to be seen where, as here, the outlines of
rocks are much broken. For an account of the whole district, see
G. A. Smith, Hist. Geogr. of the Holy Land, ch. xxiii.
9. mocking: better, “playing.”
GENESIS XIX, XXI
61
Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son : for
the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son,
even with Isaac, n. And the thing was very grievous
in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12. And God said
unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because
of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman ; in all that
Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice ; for
in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13. And also of the son
of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy
seed. 14. And Abraham rose up early in the morning,
and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto
Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and
sent her away : and she departed, and wandered in the
wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15. And the water was spent
in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the
shrubs. 16. And she went, and sat her down over
against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for
she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she
sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
17. And God heard the voice of the lad ; and the angel
of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her,
What aileth thee, Hagar ? fear not; for God hath heard
the voice of the lad where he is. 18. Arise, lift up the
lad, and hold him in thine hand ; for I will make him a
great nation. 19. And God opened her eyes, and she
saw a well of water ; and she went, and filled the bottle
with water, and gave the lad drink. 20. And God was
with the lad ; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness,
12. in Isaac shall thy seed be called, i.e. not Ishmael, but Isaac
and his descendants, should be the true “ seed of Abraham." See
Rom. ix. 7 seq.
14. bottle, i.e. a skin, or leather bottle.
17. God heard. See on xvi. n.
62
ABIMELECH: SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
and became an archer. 21. And he dwelt in the wilderness
of Paran : and his mother took him a wife out of the
land of Egypt.
The Covenant at Beersheba between Abraham and Abime-
lech the Philistine. —22. And it came to pass at that time,
that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host
spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all
that thou doest: 23. now therefore swear unto me here
by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with
my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the
kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do
unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
24. And Abraham said, I will swear. 25. And Abraham
reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which
Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. 26. And
Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing :
neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but
to-day. 27. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and
gave them unto Abimelech ; and both of them made a
covenant. 28. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the
flock by themselves. 29. And Abimelech said unto
Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou
hast set by themselves ? 30. And he said, For these
seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they
may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
31. Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because
Note on the Story of Ishmael
The historical purpose of the story is to show the origin of the
“ Ishmaelite ” tribes, and their connection with Israel. St. Paul
gives it a religious interpretation in Gal. iv. 21 seq., which see.
25. well. For the importance of wells in the Holy Land see
G. A. Smith, Hist. Geography, p. 76 seq.
31. Beer-sheba. For another version of the origin of the name,
see xxvi. 23-33.
GENESIS XXI, XXII
63
there they sware both of them. 32. Thus they made a
covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and
Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned
into the land of the Philistines. 33. And Abraham planted
a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the
Lord, the everlasting God. 34. And Abraham sojourned
in the Philistines’ land many days.
The sacrifice of Isaac. —xxii. 1. And it came to pass
after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said
unto him, Abraham : and he said, Behold, here I am.
2. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah ;
and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the
mountains which I will tell thee of. 3. And Abraham
rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and
took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son,
and^clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up,
and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes,
and saw the place afar off. 5. And Abraham said unto
his young men, Abide ye here with the ass ; and I
and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again
32. Philistines. In xxvi. 1 Abimelech is called “ King of the
Philistines.” But it is probable that the Philistines had not entered
Canaan yet; and, if so, the writer has committed an anachronism.
33. grove. R.V. ‘‘tamarisk tree.” See on xii. 7.
1 seq. Human sacrifice prevailed amongst many of the peoples
with whom the Israelites came into contact ; but at no period, as
far as we know, was it considered legal by those Israelites who
kept to their ancestral faith. The supreme test of the character
of Abraham was his willingness, in obedience to what he held to be
a Divine command, to devote to his God not only what he himself
considered most dear, but the son through whom he was to become
the father of a great nation. The object of such an offering was
in future achieved by the sacrifice of an ordinary victim. See also
vol. ii., App. iv., “ jephthah’s Daughter.”
1. tempt. R.V. “ prove.”
64 SACRIFICE OF ISAAC: MACHPELAH
to you. 6. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt
offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son ; and he took
the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both
of them together. 7. And Isaac spake unto Abraham
his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am
I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood:
but where is the lamb for a burnt offering ? 8. And
Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb
for a burnt offering : so they went both of them together.
9. And they came to the place which God had told him
of ; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood
in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the
altar upon the wood. 10. And Abraham stretched forth
his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11. And
the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven,
and said, Abraham, Abraham : and he said, Here am I.
12. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither
do thou any thing unto him : for now I know that thou
fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine
only son from me. 13. And Abraham lifted up his eyes,
and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a
thicket by his horns : and Abraham went and took the
ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead
of his son. 14. And Abraham called the name of that
place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
15. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham
out of heaven the second time, 16. and said, By myself
14. Jeliovali-jireh, i.e. “the Lord will see, or, will provide." The
episode seems to have given rise to a proverbial saying connected
with Mount Zion, the meaning of which is made somewhat obscure
by the change from the active voice “ will see ” to the passive “ he
shall be seen " (R.V. marg.).
GENESIS XXII, XXIII
65
have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done
this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son :
x7. that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying
I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as
the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall
possess the gate of his enemies ; 18. and in thy seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed ; because thou hast
obeyed my voice. 19. So Abraham returned unto his
young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-
sheba ; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
Death of Sarah. —xxiii. 1. And Sarah was an hundred
and seven and twenty years old ; these were the years of
the life of Sarah. 2. And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba ;
the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan : and Abraham
came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
The purchase of the Cave of Machpelah. —3. And Abraham
stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of
Heth, saying, 4. I am a stranger and a sojourner with you :
give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, +hat I
may bury my dead out of my sight. 5. And the children
of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, 6. Hear
us, my lord : thou art a mighty prince among us : in the
choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead ; none of us shall
withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest
bury thy dead. 7. And Abraham stood up, and bowed
himself to the people of the land, even to the children of
Heth. 8. And he communed with them, saying, If it
be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight;
hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
9. that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which
he hath, which is in the end of his field ; for as much money
3. sous of He til = Hittites : see Geographical Index.
i—5
66
MACHPELAH: ISAAC
as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a burying-
place amongst you. io. And Ephron dwelt among the
children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered
Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even
of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, n. Nay,
my lord, hear me : the field give I thee, and the cave that
is therein, I give it thee ; in the presence of the sons of my
people give I it thee : bury thy dead. 12. And Abraham
bowed down himself before the people of the land. 13. And
he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people
of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee,
hear me : I will give thee money for the field ; take it of
me, and I will bury my dead there. 14. And Ephron
answered Abraham, saying unto him, 15. My lord,
hearken unto me : the land is worth four hundred shekels
of silver ; what is that betwixt me and thee ? bury there¬
fore thy dead. 16. And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron ;
and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had
named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred
shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
17. And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah,
which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which
was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that
were in all the borders round about, were made sure
18. unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the
children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his
city. 19. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife
in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre : the
same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. 20. And the field,
15. four hundred shekels of silver: not in coined money, but
weighed out. The value of silver in a silver shekel was 2 s. 9 d.,
but “ the purchasing power was many times greater.”
GENESIS XXIII, XXIV
67
and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abra¬
ham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
ISAAC
Isaac, unlike Abraham and Jacob, was not a wanderer.
The most important episodes in his life were those in which
he himself played a secondary part, e.g. the trial of
Abraham’s faith at Jehovah-jireh (xxii.) and the blessing
of Jacob instead of Esau (xxvii). There is nothing
particularly striking about his personality ; his career was
an eminently peaceful one.
Stories of the Life of Isaac
Genesis xxiv.—xxvi
The mission of Abraham's servant to Mesopotamia .—
xxiv. 1. And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age :
and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2. And
Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that
ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand
under my thigh : 3. and I will make thee swear by the
Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that
thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters
of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: 4. but thou
shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take '
a wife unto my son Isaac. 5 - And the servant said unto 1
him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow
me unto this land : must I needs bring thy son again unto
the land from whence thou earnest ? 6. And Abraham
said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son <
2. Put . . . thy hand under my thigh. Prof. Driver quotes a
similar form of oath obtaining among the natives of Australia.
68
ISAACS WIFE
thither again. 7. The Lord God of heaven, which took
me from my father’s house, and from the land of my
kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto
me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he
shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a
wife unto my son from thence. 8. And if the woman
will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear
from this my oath : only bring not my son thither again.
9. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of
Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that
matter.
He reaches Haran. —10. And the servant took ten camels
of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the
goods of his master were in his hand : and he arose, and
went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. 11. And
he made his camels to kneel down without the city by
a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time
that women go out to draw water. 12. And he said, O
Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me
good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master
Abraham. 13. Behold, I stand here by the well of water ;
and the daughters of the men of the city come out to
draw water : 14. and let it come to pass, that the damsel
to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee,
that I may drink ; and she shall say, Drink, and I will
give thy camels drink also : let the same be she that
thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac ; and thereby
shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my
master.
10. for all the goods, etc., i.e. he took choice gifts for the bride
and her parents.
city of Nahor = Haran.
GENESIS XXIV
69
His meeting with Rebekah at the well. —15. And it came
to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah
came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the
wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon
her shoulder. 16. And the damsel was very fair to look
upon, a virgin : and she went down to the well, and
filled her pitcher, and came up. 17. And the servant
ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a
little water of thy pitcher. 18. And she said, Drink, my
lord : and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her
hand, and gave him drink. 19. And when she had done
giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels
also, until they have done drinking. 20. And she hasted,
and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again
unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
21. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit
whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking,
that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight,
and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of
gold ; 23. and said, Whose daughter art thou ? tell me,
15. Rebekah: the relationship can be clearly shown thus:
Ter ah
Abram Nahor Haran
m. Sarai m . Milcah
_ 1 I i l
Bethuel l Q t Milcah Iscah
Isaac m . Rebekah Laban
22. earring. R.V. “ring.” So too in vv. 30 and 47. See note on
verse 47.
shekel. The present value of a shekel of gold is about £2 ;
but see on xxiii. 15 -
70
REBEKAH
I pray thee : is there room in thy father’s house for us
to lodge in ? 24. And she said unto him, I am the daughter
of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
25. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw
and provender enough, and room to lodge in. 26. And
the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.
27. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master
Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his
mercy and his truth : I being in the way, the Lord led
me to the house of my master’s brethren. 28. And the
damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these
things.
His reception by Laban and Bethuel .—29. And Rebekah
had a brother, and his name was Laban : and Laban ran
out unto the man, unto the well. 30. And it came to pass,
when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s
hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister,
saying, Thus spake the man unto me ; that he came unto
the man ; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
31. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord ;
wherefore standest thou without ? for I have prepared
the house, and room for the camels. 32. And the man
came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave
straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash
his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him. 33. And
there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will
not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said,
Speak on.
He tells his errand. —34. And he said, I am Abraham’s
servant. 35. And the Lord hath blessed my master
greatly ; and he is become great: and he hath given him
flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants,
GENESIS XXIV
7 r
and maidservants, and camels, and asses. 36. And
Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when
she was old : and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
37. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt
not take a wife to.my son of the daughters of the Canaanites,
in whose land I dwell : 38. but thou shalt go unto my
father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto
my son. 39. And I said unto my master, Peradventure
the woman will not follow me. 40. And he said unto me,
The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with
thee, and prosper thy way ; and thou shalt take a wife
for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house :
41. then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou
comest to my kindred ; and if they give not thee one,
thou shalt be clear from my oath. 42. And I came this
day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master
Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go :
43. behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come
to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water,
and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy
pitcher to drink ; 44. and she say to me, Both drink thou,
and I will also draw for thy camels : let the same be the
woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master’s
son. 45. And before I had done speaking in mine heart,
behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her
shoulder ; and she went down unto the well, and drew
water : and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
46. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from
her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels
drink also : so I drank, and she made the camels drink
also. 47. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter
art thou ? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s
72
REBEKAH
son, whom Milcah bare unto him : and I put the earring
upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. 48. And
I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord,
and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which
had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s
daughter unto his son. 49. And now if ye will deal kindly
and truly with my master, tell me : and if not, tell me ;
that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.
Rebekah is given into his charge. —50. Then Laban and
Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the
Lord : we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. 51. Behold,
Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her
be thy master’s son’s wife, as the Lord hath spoken.
52. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant
heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing him¬
self to the earth. 53. And the servant brought forth
jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave
them to Rebekah : he gave also to her brother and to her
mother precious things. 54. And they did eat and drink,
he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night ;
and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me
away unto my master. 55. And her brother and her
mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days,
at the least ten ; after that she shall go. 56. And he said
unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered
my way ; send me away that I may go to my master.
57. And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire
at her mouth. 58. And they called Rebekah, and said
47. earring upon her face. R.V. “ ring upon her nose.” Cp. “the
nose jewels ” of Is. iii. 21.
49. turn, etc., i.e. that I may know what to do.
50. we cannot speak, etc., i.e. it is God’s doing, and it is not for
us to make any comment.
GENESIS XXIV, XXV
73
unto her, Wilt thou go with this man ? And she said,
I will go. 59. And they sent away Rebekah their sister,
and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.
60. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou
art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions,
and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
The meeting and marriage of Isaac and Rebekah. —61.
And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon
the camels, and followed the man : and the servant took
Rebekah, and went his way. 62. And Isaac came from
the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south
country. 63. And Isaac went out to meditate in the
field at the eventide : and he lifted up his eyes, and saw,
and, behold, the camels were coming. 64. And Rebekah
lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off
the camel. 65. For she had said unto the servant, What
man is this that walketh in the field to meet us ? And
the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took
a vail, and covered herself. 66. And the servant told
Isaac all things that he had done. 67. And Isaac brought
her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and
she became his wife ; and he loved her : and Isaac was
comforted after his mother’s death.
The death of Abraham. —xxv. 7. And these are the
days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an
hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8. Then Abraham
gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old
man, and full of years ; and was gathered to his people.
60. possess t le gate of = be victorious over.
62. me voil Lahai-roi. R.V. “ Beer-lahai-roi.” The reading of
the LXX, “ through the wilderness over against the well of the
vision,” makes better sense. Cp. Gen. xvi. 14.
8. his people. See xxxvii. 35, and note.
74
THE SALE OF THE BIRTHRIGHT
g. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave
of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar
the Hittite, which is before Mamre ; io. the field which
Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was
Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. u. And it
came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God
blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well
Lahai-roi.
Esau and Jacob ; Esau sells his birthright. —19. And
these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son : Abra¬
ham begat Isaac: 20. and Isaac was forty years old
when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel
the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21. And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because
she was barren : and the Lord was intreated of him,
and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22. And the children
struggled together within her ; and she said, If it be so,
why am I thus ? And she went to enquire of the Lord.
23. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy
womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from
thy bowels ; and the one people shall be stronger than
the other people ; and the elder shall serve the younger.
24. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled,
behold, there were twins in her womb. 25. And the first
came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they
called his name Esau. 26. And after that came his brother
out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name
20. Syrian = Aramcean.
22. enquire of the LORD, i.e. at some holy place, just as the
ancient Greeks consulted an oracle.
23. The four sentences of the Divine response form a four-line
stanza. The two sons of Isaac and Rebekah were to be the ancestors
of two nations, Esau of Edom, and Jacob of Israel, and Edom
was to serve Israel.
GENESIS XXV, XXVI
75
was called Jacob : and Isaac was threescore years old
when she bare them. 27. And the boys grew: and
Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field ; and J acob
was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28. And Isaac loved
Esau, because he did eat of his venison : but Rebekah
loved Jacob.
29. And Jacob sod pottage : and Esau came from the
field, and he was faint: 30. and Esau said to Jacob, Feed
me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage ; for I am
faint : therefore was his name called Edom. 31. And
Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32. And
Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die : and what
profit shall this birthright do to me ? 33. And Jacob
said, Swear to me this day ; and he sware unto him : and
he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34. Then Jacob gave
Esau bread and pottage of lentiles ; and he did eat and
drink, and rose up, and went his way : thus Esau despised
his birthright.
Isaac goes to Gerar .—xxvi. 1. And there was a famine
in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days
of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of
the Philistines unto Gerar. 2. And the Lord appeared
unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in
26. Jacob, i . e . “one that takes by the heel or supplants.”
27. plain, i.e. content with a quiet pastoral life—a contrast to
Esau, who was a nomad hunter.
29. sod : past tense of seethe, to boil.
30. Edom, i . e . Red. As usual, the writer draws attention to a
similarity-in the Hebrew words. There is always a picturesque
suggestion in this “ playing upon words,” even if it is not supported
by etymology. It has been pointed out that the cliffs of Edom
are red.
31. birthright. Apparently the right of the first-born to the
usual double portion ( cp . Deut. xxi. 17, 2 Kings ii. 9) might be sold.
34. lentiles. The seeds of the lentil are brown ; flour is made ot
them in Egypt, and they are eaten stewed with other ingredients,
such as onions.
76
ISAAC
the land which I shall tell thee of : 3. sojourn in this land,
and I will be with thee, and will bless thee ; for unto thee,
and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I
will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy
father ; 4. and I will make thy seed to multiply as the
stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these
countries ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed ; 5. because that Abraham obeyed my
voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my
statutes, and my laws.
His prosperity there excites envy. —12. Then Isaac sowed
in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold :
and the Lord blessed him. 13. And the man waxed
great, and went forward, and grew until he became very
great: 14. for he had possession of flocks, and possession
of herds, and great store of servants : and the Philistines
envied him. 15. For all the wells which his father’s ser¬
vants had digged in the days of Abraham his father,
the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with
earth. 16. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from
us ; for thou art much mightier than we.
He leaves Gerar, and moves to Beer-sheba. —17. And Isaac
departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of
Gerar, and dwelt there. 18. And Isaac digged again
the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of
Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped
them after the death of Abraham : and he called their
names after the names by which his father had called
them. 19. And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley,
and found there a well of springing water. 20. And the
herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying,
The water is ours : and he called the name of the well
GENESIS XXVI
77
Esek; because they strove with him. 21. And they
digged another well, and strove for that also : and he
called the name of it Sitnah. 22. And he removed from
thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove
not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth ; and he
said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and
we shall be fruitful in the land. 23. And he went up
from thence to Beer-sheba. 24. And the Lord ap¬
peared unto him the same night, and said, I am the
God of Abraham thy father : fear not, for I am with
thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my
servant Abraham’s sake. 25. And he builded an altar
there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and
pitched his tent there : and there Isaac’s servants digged
a well.
Covenant at Beer-sheba between Isaac and Abimelech of
Gerar. —26. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and
Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain
of his army. 27. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore
come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away
from you ? 28. And they said, We saw certainly that
the Lord was with thee : and we said, Let there be now
an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let
us make a covenant with thee ; 29. that thou wilt do
us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have
done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away
in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord. 30.
And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
31. And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware
20. Esek, i.e. “ Contention."
21. Sitnah, i . e . “Enmity.”
22. Rehoboth, i.e. “ Broad places,” or, “ Room.”
78
JACOB
one to another : and Isaac sent them away, and they
departed from him in peace. 32. And it came to pass
the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him
concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto
him, We have found water. 33. And he called it Shebah :
therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.
JACOB
His life .—The story of Jacob may be analysed thus :
A. Early years.
1. Birth.
2. Shepherd life.
3. Supplants Esau in birthright and blessing.
4. Two motives for visit to Mesopotamia.
(a) Fear of Esau ; (b) to get a wife.
5. Bethel: vision.
B. Service under Laban : 20 years.
x. Wins (a) Leah ; ( b ) Rachel.
2. Returns rich, the father of a large family (oldest,
Reuben; youngest, Joseph).
C. Return to Canaan.
1. Covenant with Laban in Gilead.
2. Mahanaim.
3. Penuel; wrestles for the blessing : “ Israel.”
4. Meets Esau : reconciliation.
5. Shechem.
6. Bethel; sacred pillar.
33. Shebah. R.V. “ Shibah ” (— swearing): see chap. xxi. 31,
The two stories appear to be duplicates of one another.
JACOB
79
7. Birth of Benjamin.
8. Hebron ; death of Isaac.
D. Migration to Egypt, where he dies. (This division
practically belongs to the Life of Joseph.)
1. Story of Joseph and his brethren.
2. Jacob and his family settle in Egypt, in Goshen.
3. Jacob blesses (a) Manasseh and Ephraim, ( b )
his own sons.
4. Dies : buried in cave of Machpelah.
His character. —The character of Jacob is two-sided,
and corresponds to the two names, Jacob “the sup-
planter,” and Israel “ the perseverer with God ” (Hast.,
D.B ., s.v. “ J acob ”). His rivalry with Esau (cf . the historical
hostility between the Israelites and the Edomites) ; the
underhand way in which he obtained both birthright and
blessing, which ought to have belonged to his elder brother;
his cunning, which he showed in many ways in dealing
with Esau and Laban ; his love of wealth ; and, finally,
his weakness in dealing with his sons,—all these faults
are fully emphasised in the narrative, so that we are inclined
to despise him and depreciate his character unduly. A
man’s faults are almost always more obvious than his
virtues, and it was so with Jacob. As “ Israel,” he was
a perseverer, a striver, with God ; he had a strain of
moral earnestness in him, which was totally lacking in
Esau, “ that profane person ” (Heb. xii. 16); this is most
conspicuous in the scenes at Bethel, Mahanaim, and Penuel;
but it can be read between the lines of all his later life
down to the moment of his pathetic words to Pharaoh,
“ few and evil have been the days of the years of my
life ” (Gen. xlvii. 9).
8o
JACOB AND THE BLESSING
Stories of the Life of Jacob
Genesis xxvii.—xxxv
Rebekah's cunning scheme to obtain Isaac's blessing for the
younger son. —xxvii. i. And it came to pass, that when
Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not
see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My
son : and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 2. And he
said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
3. now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy
quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me
some venison ; 4. and make me savoury meat, such as I
love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul
may bless thee before I die. 5. And Rebekah heard
when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to
the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying.
Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother,
saying, 7. Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat,
that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before
my death. 8. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice
according to that which I command thee. 9. Go now
to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of
the goats ; and I will make them savoury meat for thy
father, such as he loveth : 10. and thou shalt bring it
to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee
before his death. 11. And Jacob said to Rebekah his
mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I
am a smooth man : 12. my father peradventure will feel
me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver ; and I shall
bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13. And his
mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son:
GENESIS XXVII
81
only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14. And
he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother :
and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father
loved. 15. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her
eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and
put them upon J acob her younger son: 16. and she put
the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon
the smooth of his neck : 17. and she gave the savoury
meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the
hand of her son J acob.
Jacob obtains the blessing. —18. And he came unto his
father, and said, My father : and he said, Etere am I ;
who art thou, my son ? 19. And Jacob said unto his
father, I am Esau thy firstborn ; I have done according
as thou badest me : arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my
venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20. And Isaac
said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so
quickly, my son ? And he said, Because the Lord thy
God brought it to me. 21. And Isaac said unto Jacob,
Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son,
whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22. And
Jacob went near unto Isaac his father ; and he felt him,
and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are
the hands of Esau. 23. And he discerned him not, because
his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands : so he
blessed him. 24. And he said, Art thou my very son
Esau ? And he said, I am. 25. And he said, Bring it
near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my
soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him,
and he did eat : and he brought him wine, and he drank.
26. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now,
and kiss me, my son. 27. And he came near, and kissed
1—6
82
JACOB AND ESAU
him : and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed
him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell
of a field which the Lord hath blessed : 28. therefore
God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of
the earth, and plenty of corn and wine : 29. let people
serve thee, and nations bow down to thee : be lord over
thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee :
cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he
that blesseth thee.
The grief of Esau , who has been supplanted. —30. And
it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of
blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from
the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother
came in from his hunting. 31. And he also had made
savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said
'unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s
venison, that thy soul may bless me. 32. And Isaac
his father said unto him, Who art thou ? And he said,
I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. 33. And Isaac trembled
very exceedingly, and said, Who ? where is he that hath
taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of
all before thou earnest, and have blessed him ? yea, and
he shall be blessed. 34. And when Esau heard the words
of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter
cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O
my father. 35. And he said, Thy brother came with
subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. 36. And
he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob ? for he hath
supplanted me these two times : he took away my birth¬
right ; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing.
27. See, etc., Isaac’s blessing of Jacob is in the form of a poem*
36. Jacob. See chap. xxv. 26, note.
GENESIS XXVII
83
And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me ?
37. And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I
have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given
to him for servants ; and with corn and wine have I
sustained him : and what shall I do now unto thee, my
son ? 38. And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but
1
one blessing, my father ? bless me, even me also, O my
father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. 39. And
Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold,
thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the
dew of heaven from above ; 40. and by thy sword shalt
thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come
to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou
shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
Reasons for sending Jacob to Mesopotamia. —41. And
Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his
father blessed him : and Esau said in his heart, The days
of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay
my brother Jacob. 42. And these words of Esau her
elder son were told to Rebekah : and she sent and called
Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy
brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself,
purposing to kill thee. 43. Now therefore, my son, obey
my voice ; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to
Haran ; 44. and tarry with him a few days, until thy
brother’s fury turn away ; 45. until thy brother’s anger
39. Behold, etc. These words of Isaac form a verse. For “ of
the fatness ” “of the dew ” the correct rendering of the Hebrew
may be “ away from : so that the sense of the passage is doubtful.
40. thou shall break, etc. Cp. 2 Kings viii. 20 : Edom revolted
from Jehoram of Judah c. 849 b.c.
43. to Laban. The motive for Jacob’s visit to Haran is, accord¬
ing to this chapter, his fear of Esau. In xxviii. he is instructed
to go there by Isaac, who wishes him to choose a wife from the original
home of the family.
8 4
JACOB: BETH-EL
turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast
done to him : then I will send, and fetch thee from thence :
why should I be deprived also of you both in one day ?
46. And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life
because of the daughters of Heth : if Jacob take a wife
of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the
daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me ?
Jacob starts for Haran. —xxviii. 1. And Isaac called
Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto
him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
2. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy
mother’s father ; and take thee a wife from thence of
the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. 3. And
God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and
multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people ;
4. and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and
to thy seed with thee ; that thou mayest inherit the
land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto
Abraham. 5. And Isaac sent away Jacob : and he went
to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian,
the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
Marriage of Esau. —6. When Esau saw that Isaac
had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram,
to take him a wife from thence ; and that as he blessed
him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a
wife of the daughters of Canaan ; 7. and that Jacob
obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-
aram ; 8. and Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan
pleased not Isaac his father; 9. then went Esau unto
Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath
46. daughters of Heth. i.e. Hittites ; see on x. 15.
3. God Almighty, Heb. El Shaddai; see on xvii. 1.
GENESIS XXVII, XXVIII 85
the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of
Nebajoth, to be his wife.
Jacob's vision at Beth-el. —10. And Jacob went out
from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11. And he
lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night,
because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of
that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down
in that place to sleep. 12. And he dreamed, and behold
a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached
to heaven : and behold the angels of God ascending and
descending on it. 13. And, behold, the Lord stood above
it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father,
and the God of Isaac : the land whereon thou best, to
thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14. and thy seed
shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread
abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north,
and to the south : and in thee and in thy seed shall all
the families of the earth be blessed. 15. And, behold, I
am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither
thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for
I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have
spoken to thee of.
16. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said,
Surely the Lord is in this place ; and I knew it not.
17. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this
place ! this is none other but the house of God, and this is
the gate of heaven. 18. And Jacob rose up early in the
morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows,
and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of
it. 19. And he called the name of that place Beth-el:
19. Beth-el. i.e. “ the house of God.” The Hebrew word for pillar,
mazzebah, means a sacred stone in which the deity was thought to
be present.
86
JACOB AND RACHEL
but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
20. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with
me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give
me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21. so that I
come again to my father’s house in peace ; then shall
the Lord be my God : 22. and this stone, which I have
set for a pillar, shall be God’s house : and of all that
thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
Jacob arrives at Haran. —xxix. 1. Then Jacob went
on his journey, and came into the land of the people of
the east. 2. And he looked, and behold a well in the
field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by
it ; for out of that well they watered the flocks : and a
great stone was upon the well’s mouth. 3. And thither
were all the flocks gathered : and they rolled the stone
from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the
stone again upon the well’s mouth in his place. 4. And
Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye ?
And they said, Of Haran are we. 5. And he said unto
them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor ? And they
said, We know him. 6. And he said unto them, Is he
well ? And they said, He is well : and, behold, Rachel
his daughter cometh with the sheep. 7. And he said,
Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle
should be gathered together : water ye the sheep, and
go and feed them. 8. And they said, We cannot, until
all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the
stone from the well’s mouth ; then we water the sheep.
He meets Rachel at the Well. —9. And while he yet spake
Note the anointing of the stone and the promise of tithes. The
episode is interesting in its bearing on the religious development of
Jacob’s character, and also because it shows the primitive nature
of religious ideas at the time,
GENESIS XXVIII, XXIX 87
with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep : for
she kept them. 10. And it came to pass, when Jacob
saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother,
and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob
went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth,
and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.
11. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice,
and wept. 12. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her
father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son : and she
ran and told her father. 13. And it came to pass, when
Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that
he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him,
and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all
these things. 14. And Laban said to him, Surely thou
art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the
space of a month.
He marries Leah and Rachel. —15. And Laban said unto
Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou
therefore serve me for nought ? tell me, what shall thy
wages be ? 16. And Laban had two daughters: the
name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger
was Rachel. 17. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel
was beautiful and well favoured. 18. And Jacob loved
Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel
thy younger daughter. 19. And Laban said, It is better
that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to
another, man : abide with me. 20. And Jacob served
seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but
a few days, for the love he had to her. 21. And Jacob
said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are
fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. 22. And Laban
17. tender eyed, i.e. weak-eyed.
88
JACOB AND LABAN
gathered together all the men of the place, and made
a feast. 23. And it came to pass in the evening, that
he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him;
and he went in unto her. 24. And Laban gave unto his
daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. 25. And
it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was
Leah : and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done
unto me ? did not I serve with thee for Rachel ? wherefore
then hast thou beguiled me ? 26. And Laban said, It
must not be so done in our country, to give the } 7 ounger
before the firstborn. 27. Fulfil her week, and we will
give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve
with me yet seven other years. 28. And Jacob did so,
and fulfilled her week : and he gave him Rachel his daugh¬
ter to wife also. 29. And Laban gave to Rachel his
daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. 30. And
he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more
than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
Jacob decides to leave Laban’s service. —xxxi. 1. And he
heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying Jacob hath taken
away all that was our father’s ; and of that which was
our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. 2. And Jacob
beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not
toward him as before. 3. And the Lord said unto Jacob,
Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred ;
and I will be with thee. 4. And Jacob sent and called
Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, 5. and said
unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not
toward me as before ; but the God of mv father hath been
with me. 6. And ye know that with all my power I have
served your father. 7. And your father hath deceived
1 glory, i.e. wealth.
GENESIS XXIX, XXXI
89
me, and changed my wages ten times ; but God suffered
him not to hurt me. 11. And the angel of God spake
unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob : And I said, Here am I.
12. And he said, 13. I am the God of Beth-el, where thou
anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto
me : now arise, get thee out from this land, and return
unto the land of thy kindred. 14. And Rachel and Leah
answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or
inheritance for us in our father’s house ? 15. Are we not
counted of him strangers ? for he hath sold us, and hath
quite devoured also our money. 16. For all the riches
which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and
our children’s : now then, whatsoever God hath said
unto thee, do.
He makes his escape. —17. Then Jacob rose up, and set
his sons and his wives upon camels ; 18. and he carried
away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten,
the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-
aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
19. And Laban went to shear his sheep : and Rachel had
stolen the images that were her father’s. 20. And Jacob
stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told
him not that he fled. 21. So he fled with all that he had ;
and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face
toward the mount Gilead.
Laban pursues and overtakes him in Gilead: the meeting.
—22. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob
19. images. Heb. teraphim; see verses 30, 34, Judg. xvii. 5,
1 Sam. xix. 13, and Hos. iii. 4. These images were household
gods, and their use survived among the Israelites long after they had
passed through the more primitive stages of belief. (See reff. given
above.)
2i. the river. The Euphrates.
go
JACOB AND LABAN
was fled. 23. And he took his brethren with him, and
pursued after him seven days’ journey ; and they over¬
took him in the mount Gilead. 24. And God came to
Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him,
Take heed that thou speak not to J acob either good or bad.
25. Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had
pitched his tent in the mount : and Laban with his
brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead. 26. And Laban
said to J acob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen
away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters,
as captives taken with the sword ? 27. Wherefore didst
thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me ; and
didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away
with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp ?
28. and hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my
daughters ? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.
29. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the
God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying,
Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good
or bad. 30. And now, though thou wouldest needs be
gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house,
yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods ? 31. And Jacob
answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid : for I
said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy
daughters from me. 32. With whomsoever thou findest
thy gods, let him not live : before our brethren discern
thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For
Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. 33. And
Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and
into the two maidservants’ tents ; but he found them
31, 32. Verse 31 answers Laban’s first accusation, verse 32 his
second.
GENESIS XXXI
9 i
not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into
Rachel’s tent. 34. Now Rachel had taken the images,
and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them.
And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
35. And she said to her father, Let it not displease my
lord that I cannot rise up before thee ; for the custom
of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not
the images.
Jacob reproaches Laban. —36. And Jacob was wroth,
and chode with Laban : and Jacob answered and said
to Laban, What is my trespass ? what is my sin, that
thou hast so hotly pursued after me ? 37. Whereas thou
hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all
thy household stuff ? set it here before my brethren and
thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both. 38.
This twenty years have I been with thee ; thy ewes and
thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams
of thy flock have I not eaten. 39. That which was torn
of beasts I brought not unto thee ; I bare the loss of it;
of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day,
or stolen by night. 40. Thus I was ; in the day the
drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my
sleep departed from mine eyes. 41. Thus have I been
twenty years in thy house ; I served thee fourteen years
for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle : and
thou hast changed my wages ten times. 42. Except
the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the
fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst
sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine
affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee
yesternight.
The covenant between Laban and Jacob. —43. And Laban
92
JACOB: MAH AN AIM
answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my
daughters, and these children are my children, and these
cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine : and
what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto
their children which they have born ? 44. Now therefore
come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou ; and let
it be for a witness between me and thee. 45. And Jacob
took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. 46. And Jacob
said unto his brethren, Gather stones ; and they took
stones, and made an heap : and they did eat there upon
the heap. 47. And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha:
but Jacob called it Galeed. 48. And Laban said, This
heap is a witness between me and thee this day. There¬
fore was the name of it called Galeed ; 49. and Mizpah ;
for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when
we are absent one from another. 50. If thou shalt afflict
my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside
my daughters, no man is with us ; see, God is witness
betwixt me and thee. 51. And Laban said to Jacob,
Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast
betwixt me and thee ; 52. this heap be witness, and
this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap
to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this
pillar unto me, for harm. 53. The God of Abraham, and
the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt
43. Laban’s words seem to mean : “ All you have is really mine ;
if we part, I must at least have a guarantee that you will treat my
daughters better than you have treated me.”
47. Jegar-sahadutha . . . Galeed. Both words mean “ the heap
of witness,” the former in Aramaic, the latter in Hebrew.
49. Mizpah, i.e. “ the watch-tower.” The word must refer to
some height in the hill-country, or Mount, of Gilead. The saying
“ The Lord watch,” etc., expresses the mutual suspicion of two
enemies, not the regret of two friends at their approaching separation.
53. the God of their father. R.V. marg.„ “ or, gods.” The altei;-
GENESIS XXXI, XXXII
93
us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
54. Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and
called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread,
and tarried all night in the mount. 55. And early in
the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his
daughters, and blessed them : and Laban departed, and
returned unto his place.
Jacob at Mahanaim. —xxxii. 1. And Jacob went on his
way, and the angels of God met him. 2. And when
Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he
called the name of that place Mahanaim.
His scheme to appease Esau. —3. And Jacob sent
messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land
of Seir, the country of Edom. 4. And he commanded
them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau ;
Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with
Laban, and stayed there until now : 5. and I have oxen,
and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants :
and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find giace in
thy sight. 6. And the messengers returned to Jacob,
saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he
cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7. Then J acob was greatly afraid and distressed : and
he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks,
and herds, and the camels, into two bands ; 8. and said,
If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the
other company which is left shall escape. 9. And
Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God
of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me,
native reading “ gods,” together with the use of the plural verb
“ judge,” may suggest that the God of each branch of the family
of Terah was distinct—another characteristic of primitive religion.
2. Mahanaim. i.e. “ two hosts or companies.”
94
JACOB AND PENUEL
Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will
deal well with thee : xo. I am not worthy of the least of
all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast
shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed
over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
11. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my
brother, from the hand of Esau : for I fear him, lest he will
come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
12. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make
thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be
numbered for multitude.
13. And he lodged there that same night ; and took
of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his
brother: 14. two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats,
two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 15. thirty milch
camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty
she asses, and ten foals. 16. And he delivered them into
the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves ; and
said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a
space betwixt drove and drove. 17. And he commanded
the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth
thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou ? and whither
goest thou ? and whose are these before thee ? 18. then
thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s ; it is a
present sent unto my lord Esau : and, behold, also he
is behind us. 19. And so commanded he the second,
and the third, and all that followed the droves,
saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when
ye find him. 20. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy
servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease
10. with my staff, etc., i.e. “ I left Canaan with nothing but my
staff : I return powerful and wealthy."
GENESIS XXXII
95
him with the present that goeth before me. and afterward
I will see his face ; peradventure he will accept of me.
21. So went the present over before him : and himself
lodged that night in the company.
Jacob at Penuel. —22. And he rose up that night, and
took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his
eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. 23. And
he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent
over that he had. 24. And Jacob was left alone; and
there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the
day. 25. And when he saw that he prevailed not against
him, he touched the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow
of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with
him. 26. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh.
And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27. And he said unto him, What is thy name ? And he
said, Jacob. 28. And he said, Thy name shall be called
no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou
power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray
thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou
dost ask after my name ? And he blessed him there.
30. And J acob called the name of the place Peniel:
for I have seen God face to face, and my life is pre¬
served. 31. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose
20. accept of me. R.V. “ accept me."
24. wrestled. The struggle of Jacob with his Divine adversary
unmistakably represents the striving of the lower and higher sides
of man’s nature.
25. touched, etc., i.e. the opponent of Jacob, to end the struggle,
crippled him with a touch.
28. Israel =“ He who striveth with God"; or, “God striveth.'
See p. 79 for the change of name.
30. Peniel =“ the face of God.”
g 6
JACOB MEETS ESAU
upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. 32. Therefore
the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank,
which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day :
because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the
sinew that shrank.
His meeting with Esau. —xxxiii. 1. And Jacob lifted
up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with
him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto
Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
2. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost,
and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph
hindermost. 3. And he passed over before them, and
bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came
near to his brother. 4. And Esau ran to meet him, and
embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him : and
they wept. 5. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the
women and the children ; and said, Who are those with
thee ? And he said, The children which God hath graci¬
ously given thy servant. 6. Then the handmaidens came
near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed
themselves : and after came Joseph near and Rachel,
and they bowed themselves. 8. And he said, What mean¬
est thou by all this drove which I met ? And he said.
These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. 9. And
Esau said, I have enough, my brother ; keep that thou
hast unto thyself. 10. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee,
if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my
present at my hand : for therefore I have seen thy face,
32. sinew that shrank. R.V. "sinew of the hip," i.e. the sciatic
muscle.
10. for therefore = "forasmuch as.”
GENESIS XXXII, XXXIII
97
as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased
with me. 11. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is
brought to thee ; because God hath dealt graciously with
me, and because I have enough. And he urged him,
and he took it. 12. And he said, Let us take our journey,
and let us go, and I will go before thee. 13. And he said
unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender,
and the flocks and herds with young are with me : and if
men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
14. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant:
and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth
before me and the children be able to endure, until I come
unto my lord unto Seir. 15. And Esau said, Let me now
leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And
he said, What needeth it ? let me find grace in the sight
of my lord.
16. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
He arrives at Shechem. —17. And Jacob journeyed to
Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for
his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called
Succoth.
18. And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem,
which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-
aram ; and pitched his tent before the city. 19. And he
bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent,
at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father,
for an hundred, pieces of money. 20. And he erected
there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.
17. Succoth, i.e. “Booths.”
18. to Shalem, a city of Shechem, R.V. “in peace to the city of
Shechem.”
19. pieces of money. Heb. kesitah. The value is not known.
20. El-elohe-Israel, i.e. “God, the God of Israel.”
1—7
98
SHECHEM: ISRAEL: RACHEL
Jacob comes to Beth-el. —xxxv. i. And God said unto
Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there : and
make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee
when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
4
2. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that
were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among
you, and be clean, and change your garments : 3. and
let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make
there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of
my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which
were in their hand, and all their earrings which w r ere in
their ears ; and J acob hid them under the oak which was
by Shechem. 5. And they journeyed : and the terror of
God was upon the cities that were round about them,
and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
6. So J acob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan,
that is, Beth-el, he and all the people that were with him.
7. And he built there an altar, and called the place El-
beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, when he
fled from the face of his brother. 8. But Deborah Re-
bekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el
under an oak : and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth.
He is given the name Israel. —9. And God appeared unto
J acob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed
him. 10. And God said unto him, Thy name is J acob :
thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel
shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel, ix. And
4. oak. Or terebinth. See on xii. 6.
7. El-beth-el, i.e. “ the God of Beth-el.”
8. Allon-bachuth, i.e. “ the oak of weeping.”
9 seq. gives the Priestly explanation of the name Israel. Notice
in verse 11 the title El Shaddai : see on xvii. 1,
GENESIS XXXV
99
God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful
and multiply ; a nation and a company of nations shall
be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins ; 12. and
the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will
give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
13. And God went up from him in the place where he
talked with him. 14. And Jacob set up a pillar in the
place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone :
and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil
thereon. 15. And Jacob called the name of the place
where God spake with him, Beth-el.
Birth of Benjamin and death of Rachel at Bethlehem .—
16. And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was
but a little way to come to Ephrath ; and Rachel travailed,
and she had hard labour. 17. And it came to pass, when
she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her,
Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. 18. And it
came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died)
that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called
him Benjamin. 19. And Rachel died, and was buried
in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem. 20. And
J acob set a pillar upon her grave : that is the pillar of
Rachel’s grave unto this day. 21. And Israel journeyed,
and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
Jacob's family. —22. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve :
23. the sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and
Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun :
24. the sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin : 25. and
the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naph-
tali : 26. and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid ; Gad,
18. Ben-oni . . . Benjamin, i.e. “ the son of my sorrow,” and,
“ the son of the right hand.” The right hand was the lucky one.
100 JOSEPH
and Asher: these are the sons of J acob, which were born
to him in Padan-aram.
The death of Isaac. — 27. And Jacob came unto Isaac
his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is
Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. 28. And
the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
29. And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was
gathered unto his people, being old and full of days : and
his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
JOSEPH
Life :
A. Early years in Palestine.
1. At Hebron. His father’s favourite; jealousy
of his elder brothers.
2. His dreams of future greatness.
3. Visit to his brothers at Dothan.
4. Two accounts of their plot against him :
(i) Saved from death at their hands by Judah,
he is sold to some Ishmaelites.
(ii) Saved by Reuben, he is put into a pit,
whence he is drawn by Midianites.
5. Taken to Egypt.
B. In Egypt: promotion to high office.
1. Given charge of the house of Potiphar.
2. Resists the temptation of Potiphar’s wife.
3. Thrown into prison : interprets the dreams of
the Chief Butler and Baker, and thus is
4. Brought to the notice of Pharaoh. He interprets
the king’s dreams, and foretells the famine.
5. Pharaoh approves of his schemes, and gives
him power to carry them out.
JOSEPH
IOI
C. His administration in Egypt.
1. Seven years’ plenty ; a fifth of the corn stored
every year.
2. Seven years of famine, during which the whole
of the land, except that of the priescs, becomes
the property of the king.
D. The migration to Egypt of Jacob’s family.
1. Owing to famine in Palestine, the sons of Jacob
visit Egypt to buy corn. Then follow the
stories of the meeting of Joseph and his brothers,
the negotiations, and the final disclosure of
Joseph’s identity, leading to
2. The settlement of his brethren as a shepherd
community in Goshen. After Jacob’s death
they are finally assured of their forgiveness
by Joseph.
E. Death of Joseph. His bones brought out of Egypt
at the Exodus, and ultimately buried at
Shechem.
Date .—The administration of Joseph in Egypt has
been thought to have occurred in the reign of Apepa II.,
one of the Hyksos (or “ shepherd ”) kings. The Hyksos
were foreign invaders, perhaps either Semitic or Hittite ;
they ruled Egypt for five hundred years, c. 2098-1587 b.c.
(Cf. however, Driver, Gen., p. 347.)
While as yet no confirmation of the story of Joseph
has been afforded by the monuments, the probability of
it finds great support in the fact that in many details
it agrees with what is known of Egyptian life and customs.
(See Murray’s Illust. Bible Diet., s.v. “Joseph,” p. 430.)
Character .—The character of Joseph is simple and
102
JOSEPH: DOTHAN
natural, and is unfolded in the ordinary course of the
story. Though a “ dreamer ” and an interpreter of
dreams, he was a man of action and a statesman : he
was unspoilt by prosperity, and bore no grudge even when
time and circumstances combined to give him the amplest
opportunity for revenge.
While faithful to his Egyptian master, he never lost
his affection for his kinsmen and his country.
His Egyptian policy may be condemned as unscrupulous ;
but it must be admitted that it was effective, and it
may be excused as being consistent with the standard of
morality prevailing at the time.
Stories of the Life of Joseph
Genesis xxxvii.—1
His youth, and the jealousy of his brothers. —xxxvii. i.
And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a
stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2. These are the genera¬
tions of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was
feeding the flock with his brethren ; and the lad was with
the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s
wives : and J oseph brought unto his father their evil
report. 3. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his
children, because he was the son of his old age : and he
made him a coat of many colours. 4. And when his
brethren saw that their father loved him more than all
2. These . . . Jacob. This formula should begin an account of
Jacob’s history after Isaac’s death : but the compiler here intro¬
duces the story of Joseph from his other (i.e. the Prophetical)
source.
sons of Bilhah ... of Zilpah, i.e. Dan and Naphtali; Gad and
Asher.
3. a coat of many colours, or,
“ a long garment with sleeves.”
GENESIS XXXVII
103
his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peace¬
ably unto him.
5. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his
brethren : and they hated him yet the more. 6. And
he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which
I have dreamed : 7. for, behold, we were binding sheaves
in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright;
and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made
obeisance to my sheaf. 8. And his brethren said to him,
Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? or shalt thou indeed
have dominion over us ? And they hated him yet the
more for his dreams, and for his words.
Joseph visits his brethren at Dothan. —9. And he dreamed
yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Be¬
hold, I have dreamed a dream more ; and, behold, the
sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance
to me. 10. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren :
and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is
this dream that thou hast dreamed ? Shall I and thy
mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down our¬
selves to thee to the earth ? 11. And his brethren envied
him ; but his father observed the saying.
12. And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock
in Shechem. 13. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not
thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem ? come, and I
will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it
be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks ; and
bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of
Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was
wandering in the field : and the man asked him, saying,
104
JOSEPH AT DOTHAN
What seekest thou ? 16. And he said, I seek my brethren :
tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. 17. And
the man said, They are departed hence ; for I heard them
say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his
brethren, and found them in Dothan.
Their successful plotting against him. —18. And when
they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto
them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19. And
they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast
him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath
devoured him : and we shall see what will become of his
dreams. 21. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him
out of their hands ; and said, Let us not kill him. 22. And
Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him
into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand
upon him ; that he might rid him out of their hands, to
deliver him to his father again. 23. And it came to
pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that
they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many
colours that was on him : 24. and they took him, and
cast him into a pit : and the pit was empty, there
was no water in it. 25. And they sat down to eat
bread : and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and,
20. some pit. R.V. “ one of the pits,” i.e. one of the cisterns used
for water or corn.
21. For Reuben read Judah. There is little doubt that two
narratives are interwoven, one Jehovistic, the other Elohistic (see
p. xiii).
J.: 21, 25 b. ("and they lifted up their eyes”), 26, 27, 28 b.
(" and sold .... silver ”).
E.: 22, 23, 24, 25 a. (“ to eat bread ”), 28 a. (" and there passed
. . . the pit”), 28 c. ("and they brought Joseph into
Egypt ”,) 29, 30.
In J. Judah intercedes, and Joseph is sold to Ishmaelites ; in E.
Reuben intercedes, and Joseph is drawn out by Midianites.
GENESIS XXXVII
105
behold., a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with
their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going
to carry it down to Egypt. 26. And Judah said unto his
brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and
conceal his blood ? 27. Come, and let us sell him to the
Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for he
is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were con¬
tent. 28. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen ;
and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold
Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver : and
they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Jacob's grief at the loss of Joseph , who is sold as a slave
in Egypt .—29. And Reuben returned unto the pit; and,
behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
30. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The
child is not; and I, whither shall I go ? 31. And they
took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped
the coat in the blood : 32. and they sent the coat of many
colours, and they brought it to their father ; and said,
This have we found : know now whether it be thy son’s
coat or no. 33. And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s
coat; an evil beast hath devoured him ; Joseph is without
doubt rent in pieces. 34. And Jacob rent his clothes,
and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his
son many days. 35. And all his sons and all his
daughters rose up to comfort him ; but he refused to
be comforted ; and he said, For I will go down into the
grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept
for him. 36. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt
25. spicery and balm and myrrh, i.e. resinous substances found
in the country of Gilead.
35. the grave. Heb. Sheol, the name of the abode of the dead,
answering to the Greek Hades (Acts ii. 27).
io6 JOSEPH SERVES POTIPHAR
unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of
the guard.
Joseph with Potiphar; he prospers. —xxxix. I. And
Joseph was brought down to Egypt : and Potiphar, an
officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian,
bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had
brought him down thither. 2. And the Lord was with
Joseph, and he was a prosperous man ; and he was in the
house of his master the Egyptian. 3. And his master
saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made
all that he did to prosper in his hand. 4. And Joseph
found grace in his sight, and he served him : and he made
him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put
into his hand. 5. And it came to pass from the time that
he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that
he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for
Joseph’s sake ; and the blessing of the Lord was upon
all that he had in the house, and in the field. 6. And he
left all that he had in Joseph’s hand ; and he knew not
ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And
Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
Potiphar's wife tempts him in vain : her revenge. —7. And
it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife
cast her eyes upon Joseph ; and she said, Lie with me.
8. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold,
my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and
he hath committed all that he hath to my hand ; 9. there
6. he knew not ought he had, i.e. having Joseph as his steward, he
left everything to him except the food. The Egyptians would not
eat with a foreigner : cp. xliii. 32.
7. A similar story is told in “ The Tale of the two Brothers ”
(Petrie’s Egyptian Tales, ii. p. 36), written in the reign of Seti II.,
C. I2I4-I209 B.C.
GENESIS XXXIX
107
is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept
back anything from me but thee, because thou art his
wife : how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin
against God ? 10. And it came to pass, as she spake to
Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to
lie by her, or to be with her. 11. And it came to pass
about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his
business ; and there was none of the men of the house
there within. 12. And she caught him by his garment,
saying. Lie with me : and he left his garment in her hand,
and fled, and got him out. 13. And it came to pass, when
she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and
was fled forth, 14. that she called unto the men of her
house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought
in an Hebrew unto us to mock us ; he came in unto me to
lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice : 15. and it came
to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried,
that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
16. And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came
home. 17. And she spake unto him according to these
words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast
brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me : 18. and
it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he
left his garment with me, and fled out. 19. And it came
to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which
she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy
servant'to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20. And
Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison,
a place where the king’s prisoners were bound : and he was
there in the prison.
Joseph in prison .—21. But the Lord was with Joseph,
and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight
io8
JOSEPH IN PRISON
of the keeper of the prison. 22. And the keeper of the
prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that
were in the prison ; and whatsoever they did there, he was
the doer of it. 23. The keeper of the prison looked not to any
thing that was under his hand ; because the Lord was with
him, and that which he did the Lord made it to prosper
The imprisonment of the king's butler and baker. —xl. I.
And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of
the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord
the king of Egypt. 2. And Pharaoh was wroth against
two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and
against the chief of the bakers. 3. And he put them in
ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the
prison, the place where Joseph was bound. 4. And the
captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he
served them : and they continued a season in ward.
Joseph interprets the chief butler's dream. —5. And they
dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in
one night, each man according to the interpretation of his
dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt,
which were bound in the prison. 6. And Joseph came
in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and,
behold, they were sad. 7. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers
that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying,
Wherefore look ye so sadly to day ? 8. And they said
unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no inter¬
preter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not inter¬
pretations belong to God ? tell me them, I pray you. 9.
And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to
1. butler = cup-bearer.
5. each man according, etc., i.e. each dream having its own
special significance.
GENESIS XXXIX, XL
109
him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me ; 10. and
in the vine were three branches : and it was as though it
budded, and her blossoms shot forth ; and the clusters
thereof brought forth ripe grapes : 11. and Pharaoh’s cup
was in my hand and I took the grapes, and pressed them
into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s
hand. 12. And Joseph said unto him, This is the inter¬
pretation of it : The three branches are three days : 13. yet
within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and
restore thee unto thy place : and thou shalt deliver
Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when
thou wast his butler. 14. But think on me when it shall
be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto
me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me
out of this house : 15. 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.
He interprets the chief baker's dream. —16. When the chief
baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto
Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three
white baskets on my head : 17. and in the uppermost
basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh ;
and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my
head. 18. And Joseph answered and said, This is the
interpretation thereof : The three baskets are three days :
19. yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head
from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree ; and the
birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
The ftdfUment of the dreams. —20. And it came to pass
the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he
13. lift up thine head. Cp. 2 Kings xxv. 27, and note the play
on words in verse 19.
no
PHARAOH’S DREAM
made a feast unto all his servants : and he lifted up the
head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his
servants. 21. And he restored the chief butler unto his
butlership again ; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s
hand : 22. but he hanged the chief baker : as Joseph had
interpreted to them. 23. Yet did not the chief butler
remember Joseph, but forgat him.
The dream of Pharaoh. —xli. 1. And it came to pass at
the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed : and,
behold, he stood by the river. 2. And, behold, there came
up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fat-
fleshed ; and they fed in a meadow. 3. And, behold,
seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill
favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine
upon the brink of the river. 4. And the ill favoured and
leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and
fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5. And he slept and dreamed
the second time : and, behold, seven ears of corn came
up upon one stalk, rank and good. 6. And, behold, seven
thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after
them. 7. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven
rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it
was a dream. 8. And it came to pass in the morning that
his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the
magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof : and
Pharaoh told them his dream ; but there was none that
could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
1. the river, i.e. the Nile. The prosperity of Egypt has always
depended on the regularity of the inundations of the Nile. The
cow was a sacred animal.
2. a meadow. R.V. *' the reed-grass.”
6 . the east wind, i.e. the Sirocco, a hot wind blowing from the
south-east: cp. Ex. x. 13, xiv. 21.
8 . magicians . . wise men, i.e. two of the priestly classes.
GENESIS XL, XU
hi
Joseph is summoned , and asked to interpret it .—9. Then
spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember
my faults this day: 10. Pharaoh was wroth with his
servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s
house, both me and the chief baker : 11. and we dreamed
a dream in one night, I and he ; we dreamed each man
according to the interpretation of his dream. 12. And
there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant
to the captain of the guard ; and we told him, and he
interpreted to us our dreams ; to each man according to
his dream he did interpret. 13. And it came to pass,
as he interpreted to us, so it was ; me he restored unto
mine office, and him he hanged.
14. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they
brought him hastily out of the dungeon : and he shaved
himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto
Pharaoh. 15. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have
dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret
it : and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst under¬
stand a dream to interpret it. 16. And Joseph answered
Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me : God shall give Pharaoh
an answer of peace. 17. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river ;
18. and, behold, there came up out of the river seven
kine, fatfleshed and well favoured ; and they fed in a
meadow : 19. and, behold, seven other kine came up
after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed,
such ak I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness :
20. and the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the
first seven fat kine : 21. and when they had eaten them
up, it could not be known that they had eaten them ;
but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So
112
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN
I awoke. 22. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven
ears came up in one stalk, full and good : 23. and, behold,
seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind,
sprung up after them : 24. and the thin ears devoured the
seven good ears : and I told this unto the magicians ; but
there was none that could declare it to me.
His interpretation of Pharaoh's dream. —25. And Joseph
said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one : God
hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26. The
seven good kine are seven years ; and the seven good
ears are seven years : the dream is one. 27. And the
seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them
are seven years ; and the seven empty ears blasted with
the east wind shall be seven years of famine. 28. This
is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh : What
God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh. 29. Behold,
there come seven years of great plenty throughout all
the land of Egypt : 30. and there shall arise after them
seven years of famine ; and all the plenty shall be forgotten
in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume
the land ; 31. and the plenty shall not be known in the
land by reason of that famine following ; for it shall be very
grievous. 32. And for that the dream was doubled unto
Pharaoh twice ; it is because the thing is established
by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 33. Now
therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise,
and set him over the land of Egypt. 34. Let Pharaoh
do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and
take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven
plenteous years. 35. And let them gather all the food
of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the
34. take up the fifth part, i.e. store up a fifth of the produce.
GENESIS XLI
113
hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
36. And that food shall be for store to the land against
the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of
Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
Joseph's promotion. —37. And the thing was good in the
eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find
such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is ?
39. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God
hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise
as thou art : 40. thou shalt be over my house, and accord¬
ing unto thy word shall all my people be ruled : only in
the throne will I be greater than thou. 41. And Pharaoh
said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land
of Egypt. 42. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his
hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him
in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his
neck ; 43. and he made him to ride in the second chariot
which he had ; and they cried before him, Bow the knee :
and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. 44.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without
thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land
of Egypt. 45. And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaph-
nath-paaneah ; and he gave him to wife Asenath the
daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went
out over all the land of Egypt.
His prosperity , and his measures for dealing with the
famine. —46. And Joseph was thirty years old when
43. Bow the knee. “ Abrech,” probably an Egyptian word, similar
in sound to the Hebrew word meaning to kneel.
45. Zaphenath-paneah (R.V.) probably means “ the god speaks
and he lives.”—On = Heliopolis, a town near Cairo, where Ra.
the sun-god, was worshipped.
1—8
ii4 THE FAMINE: JOSEPH’S BRETHREN
he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph
went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through¬
out all the land of Egypt. 47. And in the seven plenteous
years the earth brought forth by handfuls. 48. And
he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which
were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the
cities : the food of the held, which was round about every
city, laid he up in the same. 49. And Joseph gathered
corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left number¬
ing ; for it was without number. 50. And unto Joseph
were born two sons before the years of famine came, which
Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare
unto him. 51. And Joseph called the name of the first¬
born Manasseh : For God, said he, hath, made me forget
all my toil, and all my father’s house. 52. And the name
of the second called he Ephraim : For God hath caused
me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
53. And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in
the land of Egypt, were ended. 54. And the seven years
of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said :
and the dearth was in all lands ; but in all the land of
Egypt there was bread. 55. And when all the land of
Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for
bread : and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto
Joseph ; what he saith to you, do. 56. And the famine
was over all the face of the earth : and Joseph opened
all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians ; and
the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. 57. And
all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn ;
because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
51. Manasseh, i.e. “making to forget.”
52. Ephraim, i.e. ” fruitful.”
GENESIS XLI, XLII
Ii 5
The visit of his brethren to Egypt; their rough reception
by Joseph. —xlii. 1. Now when Jacob saw that there
was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye
look one upon another ? 2. And he said, Behold, I have
heard that there is corn in Egypt : get you down thither,
and buy for us from thence ; that we may live, and not
die. 3. And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy
corn in Egypt. 4. But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob
sent not with his brethren ; for he said. Lest peradventure
mischief befall him. 5. And the sons of Israel came to
buy corn among those that came : for the famine was
in the land of Canaan. 6. And Joseph was the governor
over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people
of the land : and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed
down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but
made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto
them ; and he said unto them, Whence come ye ? And
they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. 8. And
Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. 9.
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed
of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies ; to see the
nakedness of the land ye are come. 10. And they said
unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants
come. 11. We are all one man’s sons ; we are true men,
thy servants are no spies. 12. And he said unto them,
Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
Joseph demands the presence of Benjamin. —13. And
they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons
of one man in the land of Canaan ; and, behold, the
youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. 14.
And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN
116
you, saying, Ye are spies : 15. herebj 7 ye shall be proved :
by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except
your youngest brother come hither. 16. Send one of
you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept
in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there
be any truth in you : or else by the life of Pharaoh surely
ye are spies. 17. And he put them all together into ward
three days. 18. And Joseph said unto them the third
day, This do, and live ; for I fear God : 19. if ye be true
men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of
your prison : go ye, carry corn lor the famine of your
houses : 20. but bring your youngest brother unto me ;
so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And
they did so.
They leave Simeon as a hostage , and return conscience-
stricken. —21. And they said one to another, We are verily
guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish
of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear ;
therefore is this distress come upon us. 22. And Reuben
answered them, saying, Spake 1 not unto you, saying,
Do not sin against the child ; and ye would not hear ?
therefore, behold, also his blood is required. 23. And
they knew not that Joseph understood them ; for he
spake unto them by an interpreter. 24. And he turned
himself about from them, and wept ; and returned to
them again, and communed with them, and took from
them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. 25. Then
Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and
to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to
give them provision for the way : and thus did he unto
22. his blood is required, i.e. vengeance is demanded for Joseph’s
death.
GENESIS XLII
117
them. 26. And they laded their asses with the corn,
and departed thence. 27. And as one of them opened
his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied
his money; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth.
28. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored ;
and, lo, it is even in my sack : and their heart failed them,
and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this
that God hath done unto us ?
They return to Canaan ; Jacob's grief. —29. And they
came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan,
and told him all that befell unto them ; saying, 30. The
man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughty to us, and
took us for spies of the country. 31. And we said unto
him, We are true men ; we are no spies : 32. we be
twelve brethren, sons of our father ; one is not, and the
3 7 oungest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33. And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us,
Hereby shall I know that ye are true men ; leave one of
your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine
of your households, and be gone : 34. and bring your
youngest brother unto me : then shall I know that ye
are no spies, but that ye are true men : so will I deliver
} 7 ou your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.
35. And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks,
that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his
sack : and when both they and their father saw the bundles
of money, they were afraid. 36. And Jacob their fatner
said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children :
Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin
away : all these things are against me. 37. And Reuben
spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring
him not to thee : deliver him into my hand, and I will
n8
JOSEPH AND BENJAMIN
bring him to thee again. 38. And he said, My son shall
not go down with you ; for his brother is dead, and he is
left alone : if mischief befall him by the way in the which
ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow
to the grave.
Jacob consents to let Benjamin go. —xliii. 1. And the
famine was sore in the land. 2. And it came to pass,
when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought
out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy
us a little food. 3. And Judah spake unto him, saying,
The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall
not see my face, except your brother be with you. 4. If
thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and
buy thee food : 5. but if thou wilt not send him, we will
not go down : for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see
my face, except your brother be with you. 6. And Israel
said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man
whether ye had yet a brother ? 7. And they said, The
man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred,
saying, Is your father yet alive ? have ye another brother ?
and we told him according to the tenor of these words :
could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your
brother down ? 8. And Judah said unto Israel his father,
Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go ; that we
may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our
little ones. 9. I will be surety for him ; of my hand
shalt thou require him : if I bring him not unto thee, and
set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever :
10. for except we had lingered, surely now we had returned
this second time. 11. And their father Israel said unto
them, If it must be so now, do this ; take of the best fruits
in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a
GENESIS XLII, XLIII
119
present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh,
nuts, and almonds : 12. and take double money in your
hand ; and the money that was brought again in the
mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand ; per-
adventure it was an oversight : 13. take also your brother,
and arise, go again unto the man : 14. and God Almighty
give you mercy before the man, that he may send away
your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of
my children, I am bereaved.
Second visit of the sons of Jacob to Egypt. —15. And the
men took that present, and they took double money in
their hand, and Benjamin ; and rose up, and went down
to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 16. And when Joseph
saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house,
Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready ; for
these men shall dine with me at noon. 17. And the man
did as Joseph bade ; and the man brought the men into
Joseph’s house. 18. And the men were afraid, because
they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said,
Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at
the first time are we brought in ; that he may seek occasion
against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen,
and our asses. 19. And they came near to the steward of
Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door
of the house, 20. and said, O sir, we came indeed down
at the first time to buy food : 21. and it came to pass,
when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and,
behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack,
our money in full weight: and we have brought it again
in our hand. 22. And other money have we brought
down in our hands to buy food : we cannot tell who put
21. weight The Egyptians weighed out rings of gold.
120
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN
our money in our sacks. 23. And he said, Peace be to
you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath
given you treasure in your sacks : I had your money.
And he brought Simeon out unto them. 24. And the
man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them
water, and they washed their feet ; and he gave their asses
provender. 25. And they made ready the present against
Joseph came at noon : for they heard that they should
eat bread there.
Their reception by Joseph. —26. And when Joseph came
home, they brought him the present which was in their
hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the
earth. 27. And he asked them of their welfare, and said,
Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? Is
he yet alive ? 28. And they answered, Thy servant our
father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed
down their heads, and made obeisance. 29. And he
lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his
mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of
whom ye spake unto me ? And he said, God be gracious
unto thee, my son. 30. And Joseph made haste; for
his bowels did yearn upon his brother : and he sought
where to weep ; and he entered into his chamber, and
wept there. 31. And he washed his face, and went out,
and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. 32. And
they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves,
and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by them¬
selves : because the Egyptians might not eat bread with
the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the
Egyptians. 33. And they sat before him, the firstborn
according to his birthright, and the youngest according
to his youth : and the men marvelled one at another.
GENESIS XLIII, XLIV
121
34. And he took and sent messes unto them from before
him : but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any
of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
His scheme to test them. —xliv. 1. And he commanded
the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with
food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s
money in his sack’s mouth. 2. And put my cup, the
silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his
corn money. And he did according to the word that
Joseph had spoken. 3. As soon as the morning was light,
the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4. And
when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off,
Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men ;
and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Where¬
fore have ye rewarded evil for good ? 5. Is not this it
in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he
divineth ? ye have done evil in so doing. 6. And he over¬
took them, and he spake unto them these same words.
7. And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord
these words ? God forbid that thy servants should do
according to this thing: 8. behold, the money, which
we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto
thee out of the land of Canaan : how then should we
steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold ? 9. With
whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him
die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen. 10. And
he said, Now also let it be according unto your words :
he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye
34. messes, i.e. special helpings.
5. divineth. The method of divination by a cup was to throw
precious things into the cup and observe the water. Other means
of divination in the Old Testament are dreams, Urim, the lot, tera*
phim—all used by the Israelites to forecast the future.
122
JOSEPH AND JUDAH
shall be blameless, n. Then they speedily took down
every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man
his sack. 12. And he searched, and began at the eldest,
and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in
Benjamin’s sack. 13. Then they rent their clothes, and
laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
Judah pleads with Joseph. —14. And Judah and his
brethren came to Joseph’s house ; for he was yet there :
and they fell before him on the ground. 15. And Joseph
said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done ?
wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine ?
16. And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord ?
what shall we speak ? or how shall we clear ourselves ?
God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants : behold,
we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom
the cup is found. 17. And he said, God forbid that I
should do so : but the man in whose hand the cup is found,
he shall be my servant ; and as for you, get you up in
peace unto your father. 18. Then Judah came near
unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray
thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine
anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as
Pharaoh. 19. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have
ye a father, or a brother ? 20. And we said unto my lord,
We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age,
a little one ; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left
of his mother, and his father loveth him. 21. And thou
saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that
I may set mine eyes upon him. 22. And we said unto my
lord, The lad cannot leave his father : for if he should leave
his father, his father would die. 23. And thou saidst
unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come
GENESIS XLIV, XLV
123
down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24. And
it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my
father, we told him the words of my lord. 25. And our
father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26. And
we said, We cannot go down : if our youngest brother be
with us, then will we go down : for we may not see the man’s
face, except our youngest brother be with us. 27. And
thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my
wife bare me two sons : 28. and the one went out from
me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces ; and I saw
him not since : 29. and if ye take this also from me, and
mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs
with sorrow to the grave. 30. Now therefore when I
come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with
us ; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life ; 31.
it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not
with us, that he will die : and thy servants shall bring
down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow
to the grave. 32. For thy servant became surety for the
lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee,
then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. 33.
Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead
of the lad a bondman to my lord ; and let the lad go up
with his brethren. 34. For how shall I go up to my
father, and the lad be not with me ? lest peradventure I
see the evil that shall come on my father.
Joseph discovers himself to his brethren. —xlv. 1. Then
Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood
by him ; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from
me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph
30. his life, etc. R.V. marg., “ his soul is knit with the lad’s
soul.” See 1 Sam. xviii. 1.
124
JOSEPH REVEALS HIMSELF
made himself known unto his brethren. 2. And he wept
aloud : and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth
my father yet live ? And his brethren could not answer
him ; for they were troubled at his presence. 4. And
Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray
you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph
your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5. Now there¬
fore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye
sold me hither : for God did send me before you to preserve
life. 6. For these two years hath the famine been in the
land : and yet there are five years, in the which there
shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7. And God sent
me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth,
and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8. So
now it was not you that sent me hither, but God : and he
hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house,
and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. 9. Haste
ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith
thy son J oseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt:
come down unto me, tarry not: 10. and thou shalt dwell
in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me,
thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy
flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: 11. and
there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years
of famine ; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou
hast, come to poverty. 12. And, behold, your eyes see,
and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth
that speaketh unto you. 13. And ye shall tell my father
of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen ; and
10. Goshen, a division or nome of lower Egypt, forty miles north¬
east of Cairo.
GENESIS XLV
125
ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. 14. And
he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept ; and
Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15. Moreover he kissed
all his brethren, and wept upon them : and after that his
brethren talked with him.
Pharaoh invites the family of Jacob to settle in Egypt. —16.
And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying,
Joseph’s brethren are come : and it pleased Pharaoh well,
and his servants. 17. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
Say unto thy brethren, This do ye ; lade your beasts, and
go, get you unto the land of Canaan ; 18. and take your
father and your households, and come unto me : and I
will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall
eat the fat of the land. 19. Now thou art commanded,
this do ye ; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt
for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your
father, and come. 20. Also regard not your stuff; for
the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. 21. And the
children of Israel did so : and Joseph gave them wagons,
according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave
them provision for the way. 22. To all of them he gave
each man changes of raiment ; but to Benjamin he gave
three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
23. And to his father he sent after this manner ; ten asses
laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses
laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the
way. 24. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed :
and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
Jacob and his house leave Canaan. —25. And they went
up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto
Jacob their father. 26. And told him, saying, Joseph is
22. pieces = shekels.
126
JACOB MIGRATES TO EGYPT
yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.
And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he
had said unto them : and when he saw the wagons which
Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their
father revived : 28. and Israel said, It is enough ; Joseph
my son is yet alive : I will go and see him before I die.
Renewal of the Promise to Jacob at Beer-sheba. —xlvi. 1.
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came
to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his
father Isaac. 2. And God spake unto Israel in the visions
of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said. Here
am I. 3. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father :
fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of
thee a great nation : 4. I will go down with thee into Egypt;
and I will also surely bring thee up again : and Joseph
shall put his hand upon thine eyes. 5. And Jacob rose
up from Beer-sheba : and the sons of Israel carried J acob
their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the
wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6. And
they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had
gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, J acob,
and all his seed w T ith him : 7. his sons, and his sons’ sons
with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all
his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
Meeting of Jacob and Joseph in Goshen. —26. All the
souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, besides Jacob’s
sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six ; 27. and
the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were
two souls : all the souls of the house of J acob, which came
1. Isaac, cp. xxvi. 25.
4. put his hand, etc., i.e. close thine eyes in death.
GENESIS XLV, XLVI, XLVII
127
into Egypt, were threescore and ten. 28. And he sent
Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto
Goshen ; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29.
And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up
to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented
himself unto him ; and he fell on his neck, and wept on
his neck a good while. 30. And Israel said unto Joseph,
Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou
art yet alive. 31. And Joseph said unto his brethren, and
unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh,
and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house,
which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me ;
32. and the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been
to feed cattle ; and they have brought their flocks, and
their herds, and all that they have. 33. And it shall come
to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What
is your occupation ? 34. that ye shall say, Thy servants’
trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until
now, both we, and also our fathers : that ye may dwell
in the land of Goshen ; for every shepherd is an abomination
unto the Egyptians.
They settle in Goshen. —xlvii. 1. Then Joseph came and
told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and
their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are
come out of the land of Canaan ; and, behold, they are in
the land of Goshen. 2. And he took some of his brethren,
even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. 3. And
Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occu¬
pation ? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are
shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. 4. They said
34. sheplierd. Herodotus tells us that the Egyptians also despised
swine-herds (Herod. II. 47).
128
GOSHEN: EGYPT
moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we
come ; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks ;
for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan : now therefore,
we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father
and thy brethren are come unto thee : 6. the land of Egypt
is before thee ; in the best of the land make thy father
and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them
dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among
them, then make them rulers over my cattle. 7. And
Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before
Pharaoh : and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8. And Pharaoh
said unto Jacob, How old art thou ? 9. And Jacob said
unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are
an hundred and thirty years : few and evil have the days
of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto
the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days
of their pilgrimage. 10. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh,
and went out from before Pharaoh. 11. And Joseph
placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a
possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land,
in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren,
and all his father’s household, with bread, according to
their families.
Joseph's administration of Egypt. —13. And there was
no bread in all the land ; for the famine was very sore, so
that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted
by reason of the famine. 14. And Joseph gathered up
11. Rameses. This is an anachronism: Ramses II. was the
Pharaoh of the Oppression “ which knew not Joseph,” and according
to Ex. i. 11, it was for him that the Israelites built Pithom and
Raamses.
GENESIS XLVII
129
all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and
in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought:
and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.
15. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in
the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph,
and said, Give us bread : for why should we die in thy
presence ? for the money faileth. 16. And Joseph said,
Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if
money fail. 17. And they brought their cattle unto
J oseph : and J oseph gave them bread in exchange for
horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds,
and for the asses : and he fed them with bread for all
their cattle for that year. 18. When that year was ended,
they came unto him the second year, and said unto him.
We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is
spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle ; there is
not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and
our lands. 19. Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes,
both we and our land ? buy us and our land for bread,
and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh : and
give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land
be not desolate. 20. And Joseph bought all the land of
Egypt for Pharaoh ; for the Egyptians sold every man
his field, because the famine prevailed over them : so the
land became Pharaoh’s. 21. And as for the people, he
removed them to cities from one end of the borders of
Egypt even to the other end thereof. 22. Only the land
21. he removed them. The reading of the Septuagint and the
Vulgate is, “ he made bondmen of them, from,” etc. The stages in the
economic change in Egypt were as follows : (1) the people gave all
their money, (2) their cattle, (3) themselves and their land, for corn ;
(4) they were allowed to retain the land on payment of one-fifth, or
20 per cent. This applied to all but the priests.
1—9
130
JACOB
of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion
assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which
Pharaoh gave them : wherefore they sold not their lands.
23. Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have
bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here
is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. 24. And it
shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the
fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own,
for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your
households, and for food for your little ones. 25. And
they said, Thou hast saved our lives : let us find grace
in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.
26. And J oseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto
this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except
the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.
Jacob grows old in Egypt. —27. And Israel dwelt in the
land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen ; and they had
possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
28. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years :
so the whole age of J acob was an hundred forty and seven
years. 29. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die :
and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now
I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand
under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me ; bury
me not, I pray thee, in Egypt : 30. but I will lie with my
fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury
me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou
hast said. 31. And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware
unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.
Jacob blesses the house of Joseph. —xlviii. 1. And it came
29. thigh. See on xxiv. 2.
30. their buryingplace, i.e. Machpelah.
GENESIS XLVII, XLVIII
131
to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold,
thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim. 2. And one told Jacob, and said,
Behold, thy son J oseph cometh unto thee : and Israel
strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3. And Jacob
said unto J oseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz
in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4. and said unto
me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee,
and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will
give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting
possession. 5. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and
Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of
Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine ; as
Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6. And thy
issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine,
and shall be called after the name of their brethren in
their inheritance. 7. And as for me, when I came from
Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the
way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto
Ephrath : and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath ;
the same is Beth-lehem. 8. And Israel beheld Joseph’s
sons, and said, Who are these ? 9. And Joseph said unto-
his father. They are my sons, whom God hath given me
in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee,
unto me, and I will bless them. 10. Now the eyes oi
Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And
he brought them near unto him ; and he kissed them, and
embraced them. 11. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had
not thought to see thy face : and lo, God hath shewed
5. are mine, i.e . he adopted them as his own sons.
6. shall be called, etc., i.e. they shall be looked upon as part of
Ephraim and Manasseh.
7. by me. Better, “ to my sorrow.”
132
THE BLESSING OF JACOB
me also thy seed. 12. And Joseph brought them out
from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his
face to the earth. 13. And Joseph took them both,
Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and
Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and
brought them near unto him. 14. And Israel stretched
out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head,
who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s
head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was
the firstborn.
15. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom
my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which
fed me all my life long unto this day, 16. 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. 17. And when Joseph saw that
his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim,
it displeased him : and he held up his father’s hand, to
remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.
18. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father :
for this is the firstborn ; put thy right hand upon his
head. 19. And his father refused, and said, I know it,
my son, I know it : he also shall become a people, and
he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother
shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a
multitude of nations. 30. And he blessed them that day,
14. guiding 1 , or “ crossing.”
19. his younger brother. The pre-eminence of the tribe of
Ephraim was one of the chief obstacles in the way of national
unity, cp. Judg. viii., xii., and it was the jealousy between Ephraim
and Judah that caused the disruption of the kingdom after Solomon's
death.
GENESIS XLVIII, XLIX
133
saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee
as Ephraim and as Manasseh : and he set Ephraim before
Manasseh. 21. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I
die : but God shall be with you, and bring you again
unto the land of your fathers. 22. Moreover I have
given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I
took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and
with my bow.
Jacob blesses his sons. —xlix. r. And Jacob called unto
his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I
may tell you that which shall befall you in the last
days.
2. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of
Jacob ; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3. Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the
beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and
the excellency of power :
22. portion. R.V. marg., " mountain slope, Heb. shechem,
shoulder.” This is a play on the word Shechem, which lay between
Ebal and Gerizim, thus occupying a commanding position in the
country.
1. the last days, i.e. in the far future ; the actual reference is
to a time when the tribes of Israel were settled in Palestine, each
with its well-defined character.
2-27. The following are the cl
R.V.:
A.V.
5. instruments of cruelty are
in their habitations
6. secret
digged down a wall
9. old lion-
10. a lawgiver
the gathering of the people be
14. two burdens
15. that rest was good
tribute
19. overcome
overcome at the last
23. hated
differences of rendering in
R.V.
weapons of violence are their
swords,
council.
houghed an ox.
lioness.
the ruler’s staff.
the obedience of the peoples be.
the sheepfolds.
a resting-place that it was good.
taskwork.
press upon.
press upon their heel.
persecuted.
134
THE BLESSING OF JACOB
4. Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel.
5. Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of
cruelty are in their habitations.
6. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto
their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united : for in
their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they
digged down a wall.
7. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce ; and their
wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and
scatter them in Israel.
8. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise :
thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies ; thy father’s
children shall bow down before thee.
9. Judah is a lion’s whelp : from the prey, my
son, thou art gone up : he stooped down, he couched
as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse
him up ?
10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come ; and
unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt
unto the choice vine ; he washed his garments in wine,
and his clothes in the blood of grapes :
12. His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white
with milk.
7. divide. Simeon practically disappeared very early : Levi
was scattered amongst various cities.
10. Both the text and the meaning of this verse are very doubt¬
ful. (1) The A.V. translation interprets Shiloh as a title of the
future Messiah. This is certainly wrong. (2) The Septuagint
reads, “ till the things reserved for him come," or “ until he come
whose it is." (See Driver, p. 385, and Hastings’ D.B. iv. p. 500.)
11, 12. These two verses are a picture of the peaceful land of
Judah, a land of vineyards and rich pasturage.
GENESIS XLIX
135
13. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea ; and
he shall be for an haven of ships ; and his border shall be
unto Zidon.
14. Issachar is a strong ass couching down between
two burdens :
15. And he saw that rest was good, and the land that
it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and
became a servant unto tribute.
16. Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of
Israel.
17. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the
path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall
fall backward.
18. I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.
19. Gad, a troop shall overcome him : but he shall
overcome at the last.
20. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall
yield royal dainties.
21. Naphtali is a hind let loose : he giveth goodly words.
22. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough
by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at
him, and hated him :
24. But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of
his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty
13. Zebulun may have touched the sea at one time near Mount
Carmel, but, as far as we know it, it was entirely surrounded by
Asher, Manasseh, Issachar, and Naphtali.
15. Issachar became subject to the Canaanites.
17. This is not a reproach ; it is a wish.
adder, or “ horned snake.” The Cerastes cornutus is poisonous,
and this verse accurately describes its habits.
19. troop = “ a marauding band.”
21. goodly words. See Judg. v. 1 ; Barak was of the tribe of
Naphtali.
136 DEATH OF JACOB
God of Jacob ; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone
of Israel :)
25. Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee;
and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings
of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under,
blessings of the breasts, and of the womb :
26. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above
the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound
of the everlasting hills : they shall be on the head of
Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was
separate from his brethren.
27. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf : in the morning he
shah devour the prey, and at night he shah divide the spoil.
The death of Jacob. —28. All these are the twelve tribes
of Israel : and this is it that their father spake unto them,
and blessed them ; every one according to his blessing
he blessed them. 29. And he charged them, and said
unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people : bury
me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron
24. from thence . . . Israel, an obscure passage : as it stands it
seems to mean either (1) " from God comes Joseph, Israel’s shepherd,
Israel’s rock : ” or (2), omitting brackets, “ his arms were made
strong from thence, i.e. the heavens, even by the Shepherd, the
Rock of Israel.”
26. The blessings . . . hills. Rather, " the blessings of thy father
[Jacob] exceed the blessings of the ancient mountains, the desirable
things of the everlasting hills.” This rendering means that the
inherited blessings of the house of Joseph transcend all earthly
advantages.
was separate from. Better, “ is prince among.”
Notes on Jacob’s blessing upon his Family
i. The blessing of Jacob upon Ephraim and Manasseh in ch.
xlviii. is in prose : it predicts the superiority of the descendants
of Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph, over those of Manasseh, the
elder. Joseph was to be represented among the tribes by his two sons.
ii. The blessing upon the sons of Jacob in ch. xlix. is a poem,
clearly written by one who knew the character of the tribes at a
later day, and only pictorially ascribed to Jacob. ( Cp . Deut. xxxiii.
GENESIS XLIX, L
137
the Hittite, 30. in the cave that is in the field of Mach-
pelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan,
which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the
Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. 31. There
they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife ; there they
buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried
Leah. 32. The purchase of the field and of the cave
that is therein was from the children of Heth. 33. And
when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons,
he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the
ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
1 . 1. And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept
upon him, and kissed him. 2. And Joseph commanded
his servants the physicians to embalm his father : and
the physicians embalmed Israel. 3. And forty days
were fulfilled for him ; for so are fulfilled the days of
those which are embalmed : and the Egyptians mourned
for him threescore and ten days.
The burial of Jacob in Canaan. —4. And when the days
of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house
of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your
eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
and Judg. v.) The following points in this historical characterisa¬
tion are to be noted :
1. Reuben : moral instability.
2, 3. Simeon and Levi: lawless violence.
4. Judah : power.
5. Zebulun : geographical position.
6. Issachar : slothfulness and lack of spirit.
7. Dan : cunning (regarded with approval).
8. Gad : warlike spirit.
9. Asher : fruitfulness of the land.
10. Naphtali: vigour, inspiration (?).
11. Joseph: fruitfulness, prosperity and power (= Ephraim and
Manasseh).
12. Benjamin : warlike spirit.
138 JACOB’S BURIAL: JOSEPH’S DEATH
5. My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die : in my
grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan,
there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up,
I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come
again. 6. And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father,
according as he made thee swear. 7. And Joseph went
up to bury his father : and with him went up all the
servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the
elders of the land of Egypt, 8. and all the house of
Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house : only
their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they
left in the land of Goshen. 9. And there went up with
him both chariots and horsemen : and it was a very
great company. 10. And they came to the threshingfioor
of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned
with a great and very sore lamentation : and he made
a mourning for his father seven days. 11. And when
the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the
mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a
grievous mourning to the Egyptians : wherefore the
name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond
Jordan. 12. And his sons did unto him according as
he commanded them: 13. for his sons carried him
into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave
of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with
the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron
the Hittite, before Mamre. 14. And Joseph returned
into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went
up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his
father.
11. mourning, Heb. ebel. Abel-mizraim, contains the usual play
on words : abel means “ meadow," mizraim “ of Egypt."
GENESIS L
139
The complete reconciliation oj Joseph and his brethren .—
15. And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father
was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us,
and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did
unto him. 16. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph,
saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17. So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee
now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin ; for they
did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the
trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And
Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18. And his
brethren also went and fell down before his face ; and
they said, Behold, we be thy servants. 19. And Joseph
said unto them, Fear not : for am I in the place of God ?
20. But as for you, ye thought evil against me ; but God
meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day,
to save much people alive. 21. Now therefore fear ye
not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he
comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
The death of Joseph in Egypt. —22. And Joseph dwelt
in Egypt, he, and his father’s house : and Joseph lived
an hundred and ten years. 23. And Joseph saw Ephraim’s
children of the third generation : the children also of
Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s
knees. 24. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die :
and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this
land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob. 25. 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. 26. So Joseph died,
being an hundred and ten years old : and they embalmed
him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
PART III
ISRAEL IN EGYPT; AND THE EXODUS
141
EXODUS
A JAME .—The name of the second book of the Penta¬
teuch signifies “ going out ” (Greek, e£oSo?), and
refers to the departure of the Israelites from Egypt.
Contents .—It may be analysed briefly as follows :
I. Israel in Egypt.
II. The Exodus.
III. Israel on Sinai.
(a) The Decalogue and the book of the Covenant.
(b) The ratifying of the Covenant.
(c) The Tabernacle.
Chronology .—The Pharaoh of the Oppression was prob¬
ably Ramses II. (c. 1300-1234 b.c., Petrie : cp. Ex.
i. 8). He was succeeded by Merenptah (or, Menephtah),
in whose reign the Exodus occurred, about 1214 b.c.
In Ex. i. 11 it is mentioned that the Israelites built by
forced labour two store cities, Pithom and Raamses : of
these the former has been identified with Pi-Tum ; ex¬
cavation has shown the existence of store chambers, and
inscriptions prove that Ramses II. was the founder of the
city.
MOSES
Life .—The greater part of the life of Moses belongs to
the second volume of this series. The following is an
outline of his life up to the crossing of the Red Sea.
M3
144
THE OPPRESSION
A. First period : in Egypt.
1. Birth and exposure.
2. Rescue by Pharaoh’s daughter, who brings
him up.
3. When grown up, slays the Egyptian taskmaster
and flees to Midian.
B. Second period : in Midian.
1. Marries Zipporah, daughter of Jethro.
2. The revelation on Horeb : Moses has his mission
imposed on him.
C. Third period : the Ten Plagues and the Exodus.
Comments on the narrative .—The sources of the narrative
are threefold, corresponding to the Jehovistic, Elohistic,
and Priestly collections to which reference has already been
made (see p. xiii). The only serious result of a division
on these lines is to throw some doubt upon Aaron and the
part he played in the events related. The figure of Moses
himself is eminently historical.
In the earlier part of his life with which we are now
dealing, the three chief features are (1) the revelation on
Mount Horeb ; (2) the Ten Plagues ; (3) the Passover.
Separate notes on these three subjects will be found in
their proper place in the Biblical narrative.
Israel in Egypt
Exodus i—vi.
The family of Jacob. —i. 1. Now these are the names
of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt ; every
man and his household came with Jacob. 2. Reuben,
Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3. Issachar, Zebulun, and Ben¬
jamin, 4. Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5. And
EXODUS I
145
all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were
seventy souls : for J oseph was in Egypt already. 6. And
Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
The oppression of Israel. —7. And the children of Israel
were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied,
and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled
with them. 8. Now there arose up a new king over
Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9. And he said unto
his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel
are more and mightier than we : 10. come on, let us deal
wisely with them ; lest they multiply, and it come to pass
that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto
our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up
out of the land. 11. Therefore they did set over them
taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And
they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12. But the more they afflicted them, the more they
multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because
of the children of Israel. 13. And the Egyptians made
the children of Israel to serve with rigour : 14. and they
made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and
in brick, and in all manner of service in the field : all their
service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
The order to destroy the male children at birth. —15* And
the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of
which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name
of the other Puah : 16. and he said. When ye do the
*
8. a new king 1 . Ramses II., c. 1300-1234 b.c.
11. taskmasters. Forced labour has always been the curse of
Egypt down to the most modern times: see Modern Egypt, by Lord
Cromer, ch. 1 . It was the forced labour in Solomon's reign that
was largely the cause of the disruption of the kingdom.
treasure cities. R.V. “store cities." See above, p. 143.
146
THE BIRTH OF MOSES
office of a midwife to the Hebrew women ; if it be a son,
then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she
shall live. 17. But the midwives feared God, and did
not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the
men children alive. 18. And the king of Egypt called for
the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done
this thing, and have saved the men children alive ? 19.
And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew
women are not as the Egyptian women ; for they are de¬
livered ere the midwives come in unto them. 20. There¬
fore God dealt well with the midwives : and the people
multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21. And it came
to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made
them houses. 22. And Pharaoh charged all his people,
saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river,
and every daughter ye shall save alive.
The birth and saving of Moses. —ii. 1. And there went
a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter
21. he made them houses, i.e. God granted that they should
themselves become mothers and founders of families.
22. the river, i.e. the Nile.
1. According to Num. xxvi. 59, the father of Moses was
Amram, son of Kohath the Levite, and his mother was Jochebed,
also a Levite. The family consisted of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.
This may be shown clearly thus :
[Levi]
Kohath
I
Amram m. Jochebed
Aaron Moses m. Zipporah Miriam
1 I
Gershom
(1) Nadab, (2) Abihu
(3) Eleazar, (4) Ithamar.
EXODUS I, II
147
of Levi. 2. And the woman conceived, and bare a son :
and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid
him three months. 3. And when she could not longer
hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed
it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein ;
and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. 4. And
his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
5. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash
herself at the river ; and her maidens walked along by
the river’s side ; and when she saw the ark among the
flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. 6. And when she had
opened it, she saw the child : and, behold, the babe wept.
And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one
of the Hebrews’ children. 7. Then said his sister to
Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of
the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for
thee ? 8. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the
maid went and called the child’s mother, 9. and Pharaoh’s
daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse
it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman
took the child, and nursed it. 10. And the child grew,
and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he
became her son. And she called his name Moses : and
she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
2. a goodly child. Cp. Acts vii. 20, Heb. xi. 23.
3. ark, The same word in Hebrew is used for Noah’s ark, a
different word for the Ark carried by the Israelites in their wander-
ings.
bulrushes, i.e. papyrus, a reed used for making paper, boats, cloth,
and many other things.
slime, i.e. bitumen, a kind of pitch.
flags, i.e. reeds.
10. Moses . . . drew. Heb. mosheh . . . mashah, to draw out.
There is the usual play on words ; the correct etymological derivation
is uncertain.
148
MIDIAN : HOREB
Moses flies to Midian: he marries Zipporah. —11. And
it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown,
that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their
burdens : and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew,
one of his brethren. 12. And he looked this way and
that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he
slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13. And
when he went out the second day, behold, two men of
the Hebrews strove together : and he said to him that did
the wrong. Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow ? 14. And
he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us ?
intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian ?
And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to
slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and
dwelt in the land of Midian : and he sat down by a well.
16. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters : and
they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water
their father’s flock. 17. And the shepherds came and
drove them away : but Moses stood up and helped them,
and watered their flock. 18. And when they came to
Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come
so soon to-day ? 19. And they said, An Egyptian de¬
livered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew
water enough for us, and watered the flock. 20. And he
said unto his daughters, And where is he ? why is it that
ye have left the man ? call him, that he may eat bread.
21. And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and
he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22. And she bare
18. Reuel. Probably their grandfather. The father of Zippdrah
is elsewhere called either Jethro or Hobab : in Num. x. 29 Hobab
is the son of Reuel (A.V. " Raguel ”) ; probably a mistake has been
made in the present passage.
EXODUS
149
him a son, and he called his name Gershom : for he said,
I have been a stranger in a strange land.
God hears the cries of Israel. —23. And it came to pass
in process of time, that the king of Egypt died : and
the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage,
and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by
reason of the bondage. 24. And God heard their groan¬
ing, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham,
with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25. And God looked upon
the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
The Revelation on Mount Horeb
The scene .—The traditional view has been that Mount
Sinai lay in the south of the Sinaitic peninsula, between
the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Akaba, and Horeb and
Sinai have been treated as alternative names for the same
district. But, according to the latest theory Sinai, was
a mountain near Kadesh Barnea, about 70 miles north¬
west of the Gulf of Akaba; and Mount Horeb, in Midian,
was in the Arabian peninsula, east of the Red Sea, some¬
where south-east of the Gulf of Akaba. There is no doubt,
however, that the two names are confused in the Biblical
narrative: the prophecy in Ex. iii. 12, “ Ye shall serve God
upon this mountain,” which refers to Horeb (verse 1), must
be fulfilled by the encampment at Mt. Sinai (ch. xix. seq ).
The revelation .—The purpose of the Divine communica¬
tion was twofold: (1) to impose on Moses his mission, viz.
the deliverance of Israel; (2) to reveal God more fully
to the understanding of men. Thus the passage about
“ the Bush ” has a double importance—as a crisis in the
history both of Israel and the whole world.
22. Gershom, the first syllable, ger,= a sojourner.
CALL OF MOSES
150
The name Jehovah, or Yahweh, if not actually new,
became henceforth quickened with a new significance.
The actual derivative meaning of the word is obscure,
but scholars agree in supposing that it suggests future
development and progressive revelation by God of Himself
to man: “ I will be what I will be ”
Moses on Mount Horeb : the Burning Bush—Hi. 1. Now
Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest
of Midian : and he led the flock to the backside of the
desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush : and he looked,
and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was
not consumed. 3. And Moses said, I will now turn aside,
and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4. And
when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God
called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said,
Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5. And he said,
Draw not nigh hither : put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 . Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
And Moses hid his face ; for he was afraid to look upon
God.
God reveals His purpose and imposes on Moses his mission .
—7. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction
of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their
cry by reason of their taskmasters ; for I know their
1. the backside of the desert, i.e. west: see on Gen. xiv. 15.
This would mean near the coast, east of the Gulf of Akaba, according
to the view which distinguishes Horeb from Sinai: but see p. 149.
5. shoes, i.e. sandals.
6. Cp. Mark xii. 26, Luke xx. 37.
EXODUS III
151
sorrows ; 8. and I am come down to deliver them out
of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out
of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land
flowing with milk and honey ; unto the place of the
Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the
Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9. Now
therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come
unto me : and I have also seen the oppression wherewith
the Egyptians oppress them. 10. Come now therefore, and
I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring
forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Revelation of the Name Jehovah. —11. And Moses said
unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh,
and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out
of Egypt ? 12. And he said, Certainly I will be with
thee ; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have
sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people
out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto
the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God
of your fathers hath sent me unto you ; and they shall
say to me, What is his name ? what shall I say unto them ?
14. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and
he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you. 15. And God said more¬
over unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,
12. ye shall serve, etc. See ch. xix seq., and remarks on p. 149.
Horeb here obviously is equivalent to Sinai.
14. I am, etc. Best translated, 1 will be that i will be.
I AM hath sent me. Better, 1 will be : He'b. Ehyeh.
15. The LORD God. R.V. “the Lord, the God." The Heb.
Jehovah comes from the same root as Ehyeh. See verses 14, 18.
152
THE REVELATION ON HOREB
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me
unto you : this is my name for ever, and this is my memo¬
rial unto all generations. 16. Go, and gather the elders
of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of
your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob,
appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and
seen that' which is done to you in Egypt: 17. and I have
said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt
unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the
Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the
Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. 18.
And they shall hearken to thy voice : and thou shalt
come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of
Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the
Hebrews hath met with us : and now let us go, we beseech
thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we
may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 19. And I am sure
that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a
mighty hand. 20. And I will stretch out my hand, and
smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the
midst thereof : and after that he will let you go. 21.
And I will give this people favour in the sight of the
Egyptians : and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go,
ye shall not go empty : 22. but every woman shall borrow
of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her
house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
18. The Lord, the God of the Hebrews (R.V.). The popular con¬
ception of Jehovah at first was as a national God : that He was
the only and universal God was revealed to the great teachers and
prophets from Moses onwards, but did not meet with complete
acceptance till as late as the Captivity. Belief in a national deity
is known as monolatry, or henotheism, as opposed to monotheism.
19. not by a mighty hand, seems to mean “in spite of great acts
which ought to convince him.”
EXODUS III, IV
T 53
and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your
daughters ; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
Moses ’ faith strengthened by signs. —iv. i. And Moses
answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me,
nor hearken unto my voice : for they will say, The Lord
hath not appeared unto thee. 2. And the Lord said
unto him, What is that in thine hand ? And he said, A
rod. 3. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he
cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses
fled from before it. 4. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he
put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in
his hand : 5. That they may believe that the Lord God
of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. 6. And
the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand
into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom : and
when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as
snow. 7. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom
again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and
plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned
again as his other flesh. 8. And it shall come to pass, if
they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of
the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter
sign. 9. And it shall come to pass, if they will not be¬
lieve also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice,
that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it
upon the dry land : and the water which thou takest out
of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
Aaron appointed to help him. —10. And Moses said unto
4. And he put forth, etc. in parenthesis : so too, in verse 7, “ and
he put forth his hand," etc.
154
AARON
the Lord. O nw Lord, I am not eloquent, neither hereto¬
fore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but
I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue, n. And the
Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth ? or
who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing., or the blind ?
have not I the Lord ? 12. Now therefore go, and I will
be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
13. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the
hand of him whom thou wilt send. 14. And the anger of
the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not
Aaron the Levite thy brother ? I know that he can speak
well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee :
and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 15.
And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his
mouth : and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth,
and will teach you what ye shall do. 16. And he shall
be thy spokesman unto the people : and he shall be, even
he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be
to him instead of God. 17. And thou shalt take this rod
in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
Moses returns to Egypt. —18. And Moses went and
returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him,
Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which
are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And
Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. 19. And the Lord
said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all
the men are dead which sought thy life. 20. And Moses
10. 0 Lord (R.V.). The names of God used in this volume
correspond to the following Hebrew words : (1) Elohim, cp. Gen. i. 1 ;
(2) El Shaddai, God Almighty, cp. Gen. xvii. 1 ; (3) Jehovah, or
Yahweh (English Versions, the Lord), the national title from the
time of Moses ; (4) Adhonai (Lord), used also of men (Gen. xliii. 20).
13. send, I pray thee, etc., i.e. send some other messenger.
EXODUS IV, V
155
took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and
he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod
of God in his hand. 21. And the Lord said unto Moses,
When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do
all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine
hand : but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let
the people go. 22. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh.
Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn :
23. and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve
me : and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay
thy son, even thy firstborn.
With Aaron he approaches the elders of Israel .—27. And
the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet
Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God,
and kissed him. 28. And Moses told Aaron all the words
of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he
had commanded him. 29. And Moses and Aaron went
and gathered together all the elders of the children of
Israel: 30. and Aaron spake all the words which the
Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the
sight of the people. 31. And the people believed : and
when they heard that the Lord had visited the children
of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction,
then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
He urges Pharaoh in vain to let the people go. —v. 1. And
afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh,
Thus Saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that
they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 2. And
Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his
voice to let Israel go ? I know not the Lord, neither will
I let Israel go. 3. And they said, The God of the Hebrews
hath met with us : let us go, we pray thee, three days 1
156 COMPLAINTS OF THE ISRAELITES
journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our
God : lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the
sword. 4. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Where¬
fore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their
works ? get you unto your burdens. 5. And Pharaoh
said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye
make them rest from their burdens. 6. And Pharaoh
commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people,
and their officers, saying, 7. Ye shall no more give the
people straw to make brick, as heretofore : let them go
and gather straw for themselves. 8. And the tale of the
bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon
them ; ye shall not diminish ought thereof : for they be
idle ; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice
to our God. 9. Let there more work be laid upon the
men, that they may labour therein ; and let them not
regard vain words.
The oppression of the Israelites becomes more cruel ; their
murmnrings. —10. And the taskmasters of the people
went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people,
saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
11. Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not
ought of your works shall be diminished. 12. So the
people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of
Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. 13. And the
taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your
daily tasks, as when there was straw. 14. And the officers
of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters
had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore
4. let = hinder, stop.
7. brick. Unbaked bricks were made of Nile mud, mixed with
chopped straw to act as a “ binder.”
8 . tale = full number.
EXODUS V, VI
157
have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yester¬
day and to day, as heretofore ? 15. Then the officers
of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh,
saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants ?
16. There is no straw given unto thy servants, and
they say to us, Make brick : and, behold, thy servants
are beaten ; but the fault is in thine own people. 17.
But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle : therefore ye say,
Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. 18. Go therefore
now, and work ; for there shall no straw be given you,
yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. 19. And the
officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in
evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought
from your bricks of your daily task.
20. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the
way, as they came forth from Pharaoh : 21. and they
said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge ;
because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the
eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a
sword in their hand to slay us. 22. And Moses returned
unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so
evil entreated this people ? why is it that thou hast sent
me ? 23. For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy
name, he hath done evil to this people ; neither hast thou
delivered thy people at all.
God renews His promise .—vi. 1. Then the Lord said
A
unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh :
for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a
strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. 2. And
God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord :
1. with a strong hand, i.e. in consequence of the strong hand of
Jehovah, as seen in the Ten Plagues.
158
THE PLAGUES
3. and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto
Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name
JEHOVAH was I not known to them. 4. And I have also
established my covenant with them, to give them the
land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they
were strangers. 5. And I have also heard the groaning of
the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bond¬
age ; and I have remembered my covenant. 6. Where¬
fore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord,
and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and
I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with
great judgments : 7. and I will take you to me for a
people, and I will be to you a God : and ye shall know
that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out
from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8. And I will
bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did
swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to J acob ; and
I will give it you for an heritage : I am the Lord.
9. And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but
they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and
for cruel bondage. 10. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, 11. Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt,
that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
12. And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold,
3. JEHOVAH. Vv. 2-12 are ascribed to the Priestly source.
This supplies us with a simple explanation of the statement that the
name Jehovah was not known in patriarchal times, viz. that the
different narratives woven together in the Pentateuch, as we have
it, do not agree on all points, because they are derived from different
and independent sources.
6. redeem. Cp. xv. 13. The idea of “ redemption ” pervades
all Biblical thought, from Gen. xlviii. 16, where Jacob speaks of
* the angel which hath redeemed me from all evil," to Rev. v. 9,
“ thou hast redeemed us by thy blood."
EXODUS VI
159
the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me ; how
then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised
lips ? 13. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and
unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel
out of the land of Egypt.
THE TEN PLAGUES
In the account of the Ten Plagues we may observe
(a) the freedom from plague of the land of Goshen; ( 5 ) the
impression produced on the minds of the Egyptians,
who were forced to fear the power of Jehovah because
Moses proved more than a match for their own magicians;
(c) the nature of the plagues themselves : in these the
miraculous element seems to have been the use by God of
His own laws—the laws of nature—for a special purpose,
namely, to terrify the Egyptians, and at the same time
to convince and strengthen the people of Israel. Parallels
to every plague can be quoted, and they are all closely
connected with the natural condition of the country, e.g.
local winds, Nile mud, and so forth.
1. Changing of the water into blood. The redness of
the Nile water at certain times is due to the presence of
minute organisms washed down the river after a great inun¬
dation. The Egyptians largely depended on fish for food.
2. Frogs. This plague can be illustrated by experience
both in Egypt and in other parts of the world.
3 and 4. Lice and flies. The word “lice” seems to
mean stinging fly or gnat. “ Flies ” represents a word of
12. of uncircumcised lips, i.e. who would be regarded by Pharaoh
as unclean.
i6o
THE PLAGUES
uncertain meaning ; perhaps it should be simply “ swarms
of insects/'
5 and 6. Murrain and boils. “ In view of the recently
discovered capacity of mosquitos and gnats to carry
contagion, it is striking to note that disease of man and
beast so quickly followed the swarms of flies." (Hastings,
D.B. : “Plagues of Egypt.")
7. Hail.
8. Locusts. The plague of locusts is one familiar in
Africa and other parts of the world to-day ; for a descrip¬
tion see Joel i., ii.
9. Darkness. This was probably caused by a south¬
west wind called hamsin, which fills the atmosphere with
a fine dust, and lasts about three days : see The Wisdom
of Solomon, xvii.
10. Death of the firstborn : the coincidence of plague
and the hamsin has been noticed by man}/ authorities.
The Ten Plagues
Exodus vii.—xi
Preparations for the contest .—vii. 1. And the Lord said
unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh : and
Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 2. Thou shalt
speak all that I command thee : and Aaron thy brother
shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of
Israel out of his land. 3. And I will harden Pharaoh’s
heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land
of Egypt. 4. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you,
that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine
armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the
1. prophet, in the sense of “ spokesman” : so, in ^Esch. Eum. 19,
Apollo is called the “ prophet,” i.e. interpreter of the will, of Zeus.
EXODUS VII
161
land of Egypt by great judgments. 5. And the Egyptians
shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine
hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel
from among them. 6. And Moses and Aaron did as the
Lord commanded them, so did they. 7. And Moses was
fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years
old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. 8. And the Lord
spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 9. When
Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle
for you : then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod,
and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
10. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and
they did so as the Lord had commanded : and Aaron cast
down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and
it became a serpent. 11. Then Pharaoh also called the
wise men and the sorcerers : now the magicians of Egypt,
they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12. For they cast down every man his rod, and they be¬
came serpents : but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
13. And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened
not unto them ; as the Lord had said.
(1) The river turned into blood. —14. And the Lord said
unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to
let the people go. 15. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morn¬
ing ; lo, he goeth out unto the water ; and thou shalt
stand by the river’s brink against he come ; and the rod
which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine
hand. 16. And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God
of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my
11. magicians. See Gen. xli. 8 ; cp. 2 Tim. iii. 8. “ The power
possessed by a man who was skilled in the knowledge and working
of magic was believed to be almost boundless” (Budge’s Egyptian
Magic, p. x).
I—II
i 62
FIRST AND SECOND PLAGUES
people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness : and,
behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. 17. Thus saith
the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord :
behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon
the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned
to blood. 18. And the fish that is in the river shall die,
and the river shall stink ; and the Egyptians shall lothe
to drink of the water of the river. 19. And the Lord
spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and
stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon
their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds,
and upon all their pools of water, that they may become
blood ; and that there may be blood throughout all the
land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels
of stone. 20. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord
commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the
waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh,
and in the sight of his servants ; and all the waters that
were in the river were turned to blood. 21. And the fish
that was in the river died ; and the river stank, and the
Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and
there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22. And
the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments :
and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken
unto them; as the Lord had said. 23. And Pharaoh
turned and went into his house, neither did he set his
heart to this also. 24. And all the Egyptians digged
round about the river for water to drink ; for they could
22. And the magicians, etc. This sentence may have been inserted
from verse 11 ; for, according to the story, there was no water in
Egypt unpolluted. Possibly the similar statement in viii. 7 may be
explained in the same way.
23. set his heart to this = lay this to heart.
EXODUS VII, VIII
163
not drink of the water of the river. 25. And seven days
were fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river.
(2) The Frogs. —viii. 1. And the Lord spake unto
Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the
Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2. And
if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all
thy borders with frogs : 3. and the river shall bring forth
frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine
house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and
into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and
into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs : 4. and
the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people,
and upon all thy servants. 5. And the Lord spake unto
Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with
thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the
ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of
Egypt. 6. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the
waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the
land of Egypt. 7. And the magicians did so with their
enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of
Egypt. 8. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron,
and said, Intreat the Lord, that he may take away the
frogs from me, and from my people ; and I will let the
people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.
9. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me : when
shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy
people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses,
that they may remain in the river only ? 10. And he
said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy
3. ovens = jars about 3 feet high, heated inside by burning wood
or dried grass. (Matt. vi. 30.)
9. Glory over me seems to mean, Command me to this extent.
164 THIRD AND FOURTH PLAGUES
word : that thou mayest know that there is none like
unto the Lord our God. n. And the frogs shall depart
from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants,
and from thy people ; they shall remain in the river only.
12. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh : and
Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which
he had brought against Pharaoh. 13. And the Lord did
according to the word of Moses ; and the frogs died out
of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.
14. And they gathered them together upon heaps : and
the land stank. 15. But when Pharaoh saw that there
was a respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not
unto them ; as the Lord had said.
(3) The Lice. —16. And the Lord said unto Moses, Say
unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of
the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land
of Egypt. 17. And they did so ; for Aaron stretched out
his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth,
and it became lice in man, and in beast ; all the dust of
the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 18.
And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring
forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man,
and upon beast. 19. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh,
This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened,
and he hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had said.
(4) The Flies. —20. And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise
up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh ; lo,
he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus
saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve
me. 21. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold,
I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants,
and upon thy people, and into thy houses : and the houses
EXODUS VIII
165
of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also
the ground whereon they are. 22. And I will sever in
that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell,
that no swarms of flies shall be there ; to the end thou
mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
23. And I will put a division between my people and thy
people : to morrow shall this sign be. 24. And the Lord
did so ; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the
house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and
into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by
reason of the swarm of flies.
25. And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and
said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 26. And
Moses said, It is not meet so to do ; for we shall sacrifice
the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God:
lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians
before their eyes, and will they not stone us ? 27. We
will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice
to the Lord our God, as he shall command us. 28. And
Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to
the Lord your God in the wilderness ; only ye shall not
go very far away : intreat for me. 29. And Moses said.
Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the Lord
that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from
his servants, and from his people, to morrow : but let not
Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people
go to sacrifice to the Lord. 30. And Moses went out
*
from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. 31. And the Lord
did according to the word of Moses ; and he removed the
swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from
26. we shall, etc. The meaning is: “Our sacrifices to Jehovah,
requiring as they do the slaughter of animals held sacred in this
country, will be an abomination to the Egyptians.”
i66
FIFTH AND SIXTH PLAGUES
his people ; there remained not one. 32. And Pharaoh
hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let
the people go.
(5) The murrain on beasts. — ix. 1. Then the Lord said
unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith
the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they
may serve me. 2. For if thou refuse to let them go, and
wilt hold them still, 3. behold, the hand of the Lord is
upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses,
upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon
the sheep : there shall be a very grievous murrain. 4. And
the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the
cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that
is the children’s of Israel. 5. And the Lord appointed
a set time, saying, To morrow the Lord shall do this
thing in the land. 6. And the Lord did that thing on the
morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died : but of the cattle
of the children of Israel died not one. 7. And Pharaoh
sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the
Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened,
and he did not let the people go.
(6) The Boils. —8. And the Lord said unto Moses and
unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace,
and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight
of Pharaoh. 9. And it shall become small dust in all the
land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with
blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land
of Egypt. 10. And they took ashes of the furnace, and
stood before Pharaoh ; and Moses sprinkled it up toward
heaven ; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains
upon man, and upon beast. 11. And the magicians could
not stand before Moses because of the boils ; for the boil
EXODUS IX
167
was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
12. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he
hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken unto
Moses. 13. And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early
in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto
him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my
people go, that they may serve me. 14. For I will at
this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon
thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest
know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15. For
now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite
thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt
be cut off from the earth. 16. And in very deed for
this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my
power; and that my name may be declared throughout all
the earth. 17. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my
people, that thou wilt not let them go ? 18. Behold, to
morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very
grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the
foundation thereof even until now. 19. Send therefore
now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the
field; for upon every man and beast which shall be
found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the
hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
20. He that feared the word of the Lord among the
servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee
into the houses : 21. and he that regarded not the word
of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.
(7) The Hail .— 22. And the Lord said unto Moses,
16. raised thee up. R.V. “made thee to stand,” i.e. to survive.
The A.V. corresponds more closely to the form of the words quoted
in Rom. ix. 17, which see.
168 SEVENTH AND EIGHTH PLAGUES
Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may
be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon
beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the
land of Egypt. 23. And Moses stretched forth his rod
toward heaven : and the Lord sent thunder and hail,
and the fire ran along upon the ground ; and the Lord
rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24. So there was
hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such
as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since
it became a nation. 25. And the hail smote throughout
all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man
and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field,
and brake every tree of the field. 26. Only in the land of
Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
27. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron,
and said unto them, I have sinned this time : the Lord
is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 28. Intreat
the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty
thun derings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall
stay no longer. 29. And Moses said unto him, As soon
as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands
unto the Lord ; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall
there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how
that the earth is the Lord’s. 30. But as for thee and
thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord
God. 31. And the flax and the barley was smitten :
for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was boiled.
32. But the wheat and the rie were not smitten : for they
24. mingled. R.V. marg., “ flashing continually amidst.”
31, 32. The time of year would be February—March.
31. boiled means, had reached the pod stage, “was in bloom.”
32. rie. R.V. “ spelt.” Described as “ a hard, coarse, bearded
wheat, much cultivated formerly for fodder.” (Murray’s III. B.D.).
EXODUS IX, X
169
were not grown tip. 33. And Moses went out of the city
from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the
Lord : and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain
was not poured upon the earth. 34. And when Pharaoh
saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were
ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he
and his servants. 35. And the heart of Pharaoh was
hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go ;
as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
(8) The Locusts. —x. 1. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Go in unto Pharaoh : for I have hardened his heart, and
the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my
signs before him : 2. and that thou mayest tell in the
ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I
have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done
among them ; that ye may know how that I am the Lord.
3. And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said
unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How
long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me ? let
my people go, that they may serve me. 4. Else, if thou
refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring
the locusts into thy coast : 5. and they shall cover the
face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth :
and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped,
which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat
every tree which groweth for you out of the field : 6. and
they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants,
and the houses of all the Egyptians ; which neither thy
fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day
that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he
2. what . . . Egypt: better, “how I have made a toy of the Egyp¬
tians ” (McNeile).
170 EIGHTH AND NINTH PLAGUES
turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh. 7. And
Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this
man be a snare unto us ? let the men go, that they may
serve the Lord their God : knowest thou not yet that
Egypt is destroyed ? 8. And Moses and Aaron were
brought again unto Pharaoh : and he said unto them,
Go, serve the Lord your God : but who are they that
shall go ? 9. And Moses said, We will go with our young
and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters,
with our flocks and with our herds will we go ; for we
must hold a feast unto the Lord. 10. And he said unto
them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go,
and your little ones : look to it; for evil is before you.
11. Not so : go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord ;
for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from
Pharaoh’s presence.
12. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine
hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they
may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every
herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.
13. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of
Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the
land all that day, and all that night; and when it was
morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14. And
the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and
rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were
they; before them there were no such locusts as they,
neither after them shall be such. 15. For they covered
the face of the whole earth, so that the land was
darkened ; and they did eat every herb of the land, and
10. Paraphrase: “Your purpose is evil; look to your God for
help, not to me : may He be as willing to help you as I am ! ”
EXODUS X
171
all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and
there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the
herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16. Then
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste ; and he
said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and
against you. 17. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my
sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that
he may take away from me this death only. 18. And
he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord.
19. And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind,
which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red
sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of
Egypt. 20. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so
that he would not let the children of Israel go.
(9) The Darkness. —21. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may
be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which
may be felt. 22. And Moses stretched forth his hand
toward heaven ; and there was a thick darkness in all
the land of Egypt three days : 23. they saw not one
another, neither rose any from his place for three days :
but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24. And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye,
serve the Lord ; only let your flocks and your herds be
stayed : let your little ones also go with you. 25. And
Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt
offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God.
26. Our cattle also shall go with us ; there shall not an
hoof be left behind ; for thereof must we take to serve
the Lord our God ; and we know not with what we must
serve the Lord, until we come thither.
27. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he
172 TENTH PLAGUE: THE PASSOVER
would not let them go. 28. And Pharaoh said unto him,
Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no
more ; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.
29. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy
face again no more.
(10 a) The Death of the Firstborn (see xii. 29, 30, p. 177).—
xi. 1. And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one
plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards
he will let you go hence : when he shall let you go, he shall
surely thrust you out hence altogether. 2. Speak now in the
ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neigh¬
bour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver,
and jewels of gold. 3. And the Lord gave the people
favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man
Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of
Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people. 4. And
Moses said. Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I
go out into the midst of Egypt : 5. and all the first¬
born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn
of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the
firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and
all the firstborn of beasts. 6. And there shall be a great
cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was
none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 7. But against
any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his
tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how
that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians
and Israel. 8. And all these thy servants shall come
down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying,
Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee : and
after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh
in a great anger. 9. And the Lord said unto Moses,
EXODUS X, XI
173
Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you ; that my wonders
may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. 10. And Moses
and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh : and
the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not
let the children of Israel go out of his land.
THE PASSOVER
Two points in connection with the institution of the
Passover seem to be clear : first, according to the writers
of the books of the Old Testament, its historical origin
was the occasion of the deliverance of Israel out of
Egypt, when the firstborn of the Egyptians were slain,
and the angel of death passed over the houses of the
Israelites in Goshen ; secondly , its celebration took place
at a time of year which brought it into connection with
a previously existing festival: thus it came to contain other
ideas besides the commemoration of the redemption from
Egypt. Its significance was many-sided, and may be
summed up thus :
1. Historical: the Passover, or “ passing over ” of the
angel.
2. Harvest festival: the Feast of Unleavened Bread
(which was an alternative name of the Passover) was
marked- by the eating of mazzoth , or unleavened cakes,
for seven days. These mazzoth recalled the bread made
with the new corn at the beginning of the harvest. This
was the earliest harvest festival of the year, and was
older in origin than the Exodus.
3. Sacrifice of the firstborn, (cf. Gen. iv. 2-4; Exod.
xiii. 12.)
4. Piacular ; i.e. to make atonement.
I 74
THE PASSOVER
5. A blood covenant with the Deity, chiefly as a means
of averting disease.
The chief details of the Passover are these :
Time : Abib 14-21 (later called Nisan), i.e. April.
Abib 14 : eating of the Paschal 1 meal.
Ritual: Choice of the lamb without blemish.
Killing of the lamb.
Smearing the door with hyssop dipped in the blood.
Eating of the lamb with mazzoth and bitter herbs.
All to be prepared for a journey.
No stranger (i.e. uncircumcised person) present.
Only unleavened bread eaten for seven days.
To Christians the chief interest of the Passover is its
connection with the institution of the Lord’s Supper.
This opens up the difficult question of reconciling the
different accounts of the Supper contained in the Gospels;
but here it is sufficient to say that “ in the highest act
of Christian worship all the main features in the Passover
are taken up and receive their full and eternal significance ”
(McNeile, Exodus).
Institution of the Passover, and the Exodus
Exodus xii.—xv. 21
Regulations for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened
Bread .—xii. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses and
Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2. This month shall
be unto you the beginning of months : it shall be the first
month of the year to you.
1 The word Paschal is derived, through the Greek, from the
Hebrew pasah, to pass over.
2. month. The month Abib was regarded as the first month,
because it was the season of the first ripe corn.
EXODUS XII
175
3. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying,
In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them
every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers,
a lamb for an house : 4. and if the household be too little
for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his
house take it according to the number of the souls ; every
man according to his eating shall make your count for
the lamb. 5. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a
male of the first year : ye shall take it out from the sheep,
or from the goats : 6. and ye shall keep it up until the
fourteenth day of the same month : and the whole assembly
of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the
two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses,
wherein they shall eat it. 8. And they shall eat the
flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread ;
and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9. Eat not of it
raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire ;
his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
10. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning ;
and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall
burn with fire.
11. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded,
your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand ;
and ye shall eat it in haste : it is the Lord’s passover.
12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night,
and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both
man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will
execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13. And the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are :
8 . bitter herbs, e.g. wild lettuce and endive.
9. sodden, i.e. boiled.
THE PASSOVER
176
and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the
plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I
smite the land of Egypt. 14. And this day shall be
unto vou for a memorial; and 5^ shall keep it a feast
•
to the Lord throughout your generations ; ye shall keep
it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 15. Seven days shall
ye eat unleavened bread ; even the first day ye shall
put away leaven out of your houses : for whosoever
eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh
day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 16. And in
the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in
the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to
you ; no manner of work shall be done in them, save
that which every man must eat, that only may be done
of you. 17. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened
bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your
armies out of the land of Egypt : therefore shall ye observe
this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the
month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the
one and twentieth day of the month at even. 19. Seven
days shall there be no leaven found in your houses : for
whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul
shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether
he be a stranger, or born in the land. 20. Ye shall eat
nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat
unleavened bread.
21. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and
said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according
19. leaven, which causes fermentation, was therefore associated
with the thought of corruption, of which it is commonly used as a
symbol. (C/>. Matt. xvi. 6 seq., and contrast Matt. xjii. 33.)
EXODUS XII
177
to your families, and kill the passover. 22. And ye shall
take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is
in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts
with the blood that is in the bason ; and none of you
shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians ;
and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the
two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will
not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to
smite you. 24. And ye shall observe this thing for an
ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25. And it
shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which
the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised,
that ye shall keep this service. 26. And it shall come
to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What
mean ye by this service ? 27. that ye shall say, It is
the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over
the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he
smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And
the people bowed the head and worshipped. 28. And
the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord
had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
(10 b) Death of the Firstborn (see chap, xi., p. 172).—
29. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote
all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of
Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the
captive that was in the dungeon ; and all the firstborn
of cattle. 30. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and
all his servants, and all the Egyptians ; and there was
22. hyssop = marjoram (Origanum syriacum) : "It grows between
stones of ruined wall, and is sold in bunches for sprinkling purposes.”
{Murray’s III. B.D.)
I—12
THE EXODUS
178
a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where
there was not one dead.
Preparations for the Exodus. —31. And he called for
Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get
you forth from among my people, both ye and the chil¬
dren of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
32. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said,
and be gone ; and bless me also. 33. And the Egyptians
were urgent upon the people, that they might send them
out of the land in haste ; for they said, We be all dead
men. 34. And the people took their dough before it
was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in
their clothes upon their shoulders. 35. And the children
of Israel did according to the word of Moses ; and they
borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels
of gold, and raiment: 36. and the Lord gave the people
favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent
unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled
the Egyptians.
The Exodus. —37. And the children of Israel journeyed
from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand
on foot that were men, beside children. 38. And a mixed
multitude went up also with them ; and flocks, and herds,
even very much cattle. 39. And they baked unleavened
cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt,
for it was not leavened ; because they were thrust out
37. Six hundred thousand is an almost impossible number ; in
xxxviii. 26 the number given is even larger ; and it does not include
women and children. They are supposed to have descended from
70 persons (i. 5), who entered Goshen 430 years before. After all, it
would be unreasonable to expect statistical accuracy in these early
records, edited and compiled, so long after the events described,
by men who had a natural tendency to magnify the achievements
of the past.
EXODUS XII
179
of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared
for themselves any victual.
40. Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who
dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 41.
And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and
thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that
all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for
bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that
night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of
Israel in their generations.
The Passover and “ strangers —43. And the Lord
said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the
passover : There shall no stranger eat thereof : 44. but
every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou
hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 45. A
foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46. In one house shall it be eaten ; thou shalt not carry
forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house ; neither
shall ye break a bone thereof. 47. All the congregation of
Israel shall keep it. 48. And when a stranger shall so¬
journ with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord,
let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come
near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in
the land : for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
49. One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto
the stranger that sojourneth among you. 50. Thus did
all the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses
and Aaron, so did they. 51. And it came to pass the
46. break a bone. Cp. John xix. 36.
48. come near. Vv. 43-50 are from the Priestly source:
and this expression probably means “ come to the Temple.”
i8o
THE EXODUS
selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of
Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
The importance of the sanctification of the Firstborn .—
xiii. i. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Sanctify
unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb
among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast :
it is mine.
3. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this
day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house
of bondage ; for by strength of hand the Lord brought
you out from this place : there shall no leavened bread
be eaten. 4. This day came ye out in the month Abib.
5. And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into
the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the
Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he
sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with
milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this
month. 6. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and
in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. 7. Un¬
leavened bread shall be eaten seven days ; and there
shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall
there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
8. And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying,
This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me
when I came forth out of Egypt. 9. And it shall be
for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial
between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy
mouth : for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought
thee out of Egypt. 10. Thou shalt therefore keep this
ordinance in his season from year to year. 11. And it
shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the
9. For an explanation of this verse, see on verse 16.
EXODUS XIII
181
land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to
thy fathers, and shall give it thee, 12. that thou shalt
set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the womb,
and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast;
the males shall be the Lord’s. 13. And every firstling of
an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb ; and if thou wilt
not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck : and all the
firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
14. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time
to come, saying, What is this ? that thou shalt say unto
him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from
Egypt, from the house of bondage : 15. and it came to
pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the
Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both
the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore
I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb, being
males ; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
16. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for
frontlets between thine eyes : for by strength of hand
the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.
The route chosen : and the presence of Jehovah. —17. And
it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that
God led them not through the way of the land of the
Philistines, although that was near ; for God said, Lest
13. redeem, i.e. buy back (so to speak) from Jehovah by the
sacrifice of an inferior creature : otherwise it was to be considered
devoted, and so had to be destroyed.
16. frontlets. The language here seems to be metaphorical :
“ it will be a reminder to you ” ; but parallel passages in Deuter¬
onomy were taken literally, and the Jews wore phylacteries, or
frontlets, on the left arm and the forehead : these frontlets were
leather boxes containing pieces of parchment on which were written
the special passages, e.g. Ex. xiii. 1-10.
17. Philistines, i.e. by the quickest route to Palestine, due north¬
east, to the land occupied by the Philistines soon after the Exodus.
See on Gen. xxi, 32.
i 82
PURSUIT BY PHARAOH
peradventure the people repent when they see war, and
they return to Egypt : 18. but God led the people about,
through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea : and
the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land
of Egypt. 19. And Moses took the bones of Joseph
with him : for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel,
saying, God will surely visit you ; and ye shall carry up
my bones away hence with you.
20. And they took their journey from Succoth, and en¬
camped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. 21. And
the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud,
to lead them the way ; and by night in a pillar of fire,
to give them light; to go by day and night: 22. he
took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the
pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
The pursuit by Pharaoh .— xiv. 1. And the Lord spake
unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak unto the children of Israel,
that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between
Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon : before it
shall ye encamp by the sea. 3. For Pharaoh will say of
the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the
wilderness hath shut them in. 4. And I will harden
Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them ; and I
will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host ;
that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And
they did so.
5. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people
fled : and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was
turned against the people, and they said, Why have we
done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us ?
6. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people
with him : 7. and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and
EXODUS XIII, XIV
183
all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of
them. 8 . And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh
king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel:
and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses
and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army,
and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-
hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
Murmurings of the Israelites .—10. And when Pharaoh
drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and,
behold, the Egyptians marched after them ; and they
were sore afraid : and the children of Israel cried out unto
the Lord. ii. And they said unto Moses, Because there
were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die
in the wilderness ? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with
us, to carry us forth out of Egypt ? 12. Is not this the
word that we did tell thee in Egypt, sajdng, Let us alone,
that we may serve the Egyptians ? For it had been better
for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die
in the wilderness.
13. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand
still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew
to you to day : for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to
day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14. The
Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
, THE CROSSING OF THE RED SEA
The sites of the three places, Pi-hahiroth, Migdol, and
Baal-zephon, are unknown. The Israelites started from
8 . with an high hand may mean either (1) proudly, or (2) through
the act of Jehovah.
184 THE CROSSING OF THE RED SEA
Raamses, and reached Succoth, identified with Pithom
(Pi-Tum ), the position of which we know. The exact spot
at which the crossing took place is impossible to decide.
The chief alternatives are the northernmost point of the
Gulf of Suez, and the southernmost point of the Bitter
Lakes east of Goshen. The deliverance of Israel was
effected by the providential occurrence of a wind, de¬
scribed in the narrative as east. If the route chosen was
across the head of the lake it must have been an exception¬
ally strong south-east wind, the Sirocco, which would
drive the waters of the lake towards the north-west, and
allow the Israelites to march safely across. Then, when
the wind changed to the north-west, the waters would
return at a great speed and overwhelm the pursuing army.
xiv. 15. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest
thou unto me ? speak unto the children of Israel, that
they go forward : 16. but lift thou up thy rod, and stretch
out thine hand over the sea, and divide it : and the children
of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the
sea. 17. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the
Egyptians, and they shall follow them : and I will get
me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his
chariots, and upon his horsemen. 18. And the Egyptians
shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me
honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his
horsemen.
The crossing of the Red Sea , and destruction of the Egyptian
army. —19. And the angel of God, which went before the
camp of Israel, removed and went behind them ; and the
pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood
behind them : 20. and it came between the camp of the
EXODUS XIV
185
Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud
and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these :
so that the one came not near the other all the night.
21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea ; and
the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind
all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters
were divided. 22. And the children of Israel went into
the midst of the sea upon the dry ground : and the waters
were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their
left. 23. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after
them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses,
his chariots, and his horsemen. 24. And it came to pass,
that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host
of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud,
and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25. and took off
their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily : so
that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel;
for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
26. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine
hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon
the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horse¬
men. 27. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the
sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning
appeared ; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the
Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots,
20. and it was a cloud... to tiiese. R.V. “ and there was the cloud
and the darkness, yet gave it light by night.” The A.V. represents
an attempt to make sense of a difficult passage, of which no certain
solution has been found.
24. morning - watch. The night, from sunset to sunrise, was
divided into three equal watches : the Romans divided it into four.
Both systems were used by Jews in N.T. times.
25. took off. R.V. marg., “Some ancient versions read, bound”
This gives a more natural sense, referring to the heavy ground.
i86
SONG OF MOSES
and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came
into the sea after them ; there remained not so much as
one of them. 29. But the children of Israel walked upon
dry land in the midst of the sea ; and the waters were
a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
30. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand
of the Egyptians ; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon
the sea shore. 31. And Israel saw that great work which
the Lord did upon the Egyptians : and the people feared
the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.
The song of Moses. —xv. 1. Then sang Moses and the
children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake,
saying,
I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed
gloriously : the horse and his rider hath he thrown into
the sea.
2. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become
my salvation : he is my God, and I will prepare him an
habitation ; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3. The Lord is a man of war : the Lord is his name.
4. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the
sea : his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
1. rider, i.e. chanoteer.
1-18. “ In beauty of style, forceful and nervous language, and
poetic skill, this song is unsurpassed. It stands as one of the finest
specimens of Hebrew lyric poetry ” (McNeile, Exodus, p. 88).
The principal differences in the R
A.V.
2. prepare him an habitation.
14. The people shall hear, and
be afraid : sorrow shall take
hold on the inhabitants of
Palestina.
15. shall be . . . shall take hold
. . . shall melt.
16. shall fall . . . shall be.
V. are as follows :
R.V.
praise him.
The peoples have heard, they
tremble : pangs have taken hold
on the inhabitants of Philistia.
were . . . taketh hold . . . are
melted.
falletli . . . they are.
EXODUS XV 187
5. The depths have covered them : they sank into the
bottom as a stone.
6. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in
power : thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces
the enemy.
7. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast
overthrown them that rose up against thee : thou sentest
forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
8. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were
gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap,
and the depths were congealed in the heart of the
sea.
9. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will
divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them ;
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
10. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered
them : they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
11. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods ?
who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises,
doing wonders ?
12. Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth
swallowed them.
13. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which
thou hast redeemed : thou hast guided them in thy strength
unto thy holy habitation.
14. The people shall hear, and be afraid : sorrow shall
take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
15. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed ; the
13-18. This song is almost certainly of later date than Moses : this
is shown most clearly in these verses, which imply a knowledge of
the entrance into Canaan and the centralisation of national worship
at Jerusalem.
15. dukes = chieftains.
188
SONGS OF MOSES AND MIRIAM
mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon
them ; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
16. Fear and dread shall fall upon them ; by the great¬
ness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone ; till
thy people pass over, 0 Lord, till the people pass over,
which thou hast purchased.
17. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them m the
mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which
thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O
Lord, which thy hands have established.
18. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
19. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots
and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought
again the waters of the sea upon them ; but the children
of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
The song of Miriam. —20. And Miriam the prophetess,
the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand ; and all
the women went out after her with timbrels and with
dances. 21. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the
Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and
his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
18. The song of Moses ends with this verse : verse 19 is a com¬
piler’s “ gloss,” summarising the historical facts.
19. horse. Read “ horses.”
Pharaoh. It is not stated, either here or in xiv. 28, that
Pharaoh himself was drowned. The mummy of Merenptah has
been identified with practical certainty. However, both here
and in Psalm cxxxvi. 5, the death of Pharaoh is distinctly implied ;
and it must be remembered that there is no absolute proof of the
identification of Merenptah with the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
20. the prophetess. The title here, as in the case of DebSrah,
signifies poetic inspiration. Probably the “ song of Miriam ” is
simply the Elohistic version of the “ Song of Moses,” which belongs
to the Jehovistic source.
APPENDIXES
APPENDIX I
THE FORMATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
CANON
i. Canon primarily means the “ standard ” to which
a book, or portion of a book, must attain in respect of its
historical, moral, and religious value, in order to be ranked
among the authoritative sacred Scriptures. Hence the
term, from being used of the standard by which a book
was judged, has come to be applied to the body of books
themselves, which have satisfied the requirements of this
standard. Thus the “ Old Testament Canon ” means
those sacred books of Hebrew literature which were judged
by the Hebrews to satisfy these requirements, just as the
“ New Testament Canon ” means that body of sacred
books which were judged by the early Christian Church
to satisfy the requirements of the Christian standard.
These two bodies of sacred literature, the one translated
from the original Hebrew and Aramaic, the other translated
from the original Greek, together form our Bible.
Besides those books which are included in the Old
Testament and the New Testament, there existed many,
and exist some, which, though valuable in their religious
and moral teaching, were yet not considered sufficiently
valuable to be admitted respectively into the Old Testa¬
ment and New Testament Canons. Such books are called
192
THE CANON
Apocryphal ; that is, obscure, unrecognised, or spurious.
Some of these are comprised in the “ Apocrypha,” which
is often bound up with our modern Bibles, being placed
after the end of the Old Testament. Parts of this are read
in the English Church services, since they afford a good
“ example of life and instruction of manners.”
There is, derived from the other two, yet a third meaning
of the term “ Canon.” Since the sacred writings which
are admitted into the Bible conform to a given standard,
so in their turn they form the standard by which religious
doctrines are judged. A doctrine, or belief, is canonical
if it can be justified by the authority of the. canonical
books of the Bible ; it is uncanonical, though not neces¬
sarily wrong, if it cannot thus be proved.
2. How and when was it decided which of the books
of Hebrew sacred literature were worthy to be accounted
canonical, and which should be relegated to the lower
sphere of uncanonical works ? In other words, when
did the Hebrews decide what was, and what was not,
part of their “ Bible ” ? The answer is this. The Canon
was not suddenly fixed by any one body of men, by any
council, nor at any one time. It was the gradual result
of criticism, appreciation, use, and experience. If any
part of their sacred writings was felt by the Jews to be
valuable and useful and helpful and true, and was there¬
fore continuously used by them as a source of their
knowledge of God, and recognised as being part of His
message by which He gradually, and more and more clearly
as time went on, revealed Himself to them and showed
them what He would have them be, and what His purpose
was towards them, then this part would be accepted by
them as authoritative or canonical. Thus part of the
THE CANON
*93
Canon would have become fixed. Later on, another part
would, by a similar critical process, be added to their
Canon ; and eventually, by about the time of our Lord,
the entire Canon of the Old Testament, as we have it,
would have been completed. We can, as a matter of
fact, trace, though not with perfect clearness, this process.
In quite early days the Decalogue was accepted in this
way. It had been delivered to the Israelites by Moses,
of whose personality only the most extreme critics of
the Bible have ever had any doubt. To this were added
in course of time the other different and more highly
developed injunctions of the Hebrew law ; until, after
the specific promulgation of the Deuteronomic law by
King Josiah in 621 b.c., and the careful collection of
all their legislative documents by the scholars of the
Exile, the first great part of the Canon, the Law (Torah),
which we call the Pentateiich, was completed (445 b.c.).
By degrees, and by the same tests—the value, truth,
and inspiration of the books—there was added to the
Canon its second great volume, the Prophets (Nebhiim),
as the Jews called it. This volume consisted of the
following books : Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets, from
Hosea to Malachi. This part of the Canon was defined
before the end of the third century b.c.
The third volume of the Canon, which was called the
Sacred Writings (Kethubhim, or in Greek, Hagiographa),
embraced the Psalms, the Song of Solomon, Lamentations,
Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, the prophet
Daniel, and the Sapiential Literature, i.e. Proverbs, Job,
and Ecclesiastes. It was probably accepted into the
Canon by about the Christian era, though the date is not
I—13
194 The canon
certain. Daniel, which was the last book of the Old
Testament to be composed (165 b.c.), is quoted by our
Lord, who refers by name, too, to the other two volumes,
the Law and the Prophets ; but some books in this last
volume are not mentioned by our Lord or the apostles,
and it is therefore argued by some that this volume was
not entirely complete in their day. But this negative
argument from silence is not conclusive evidence ; and
it is certain that the Jewish Bible in our Lord’s time was
practically, if not completely, identical with the Old
Testament Canon as we have it. Thus the Old Testament
Canon rests upon the highest possible authority, no less
than that of Christ Himself. 1
3. A word remains to be said upon the earliest version
of the Hebrew Bible in a foreign language—that called
the Septuagint, in Greek. This translation was rendered
necessary owing to the spread of the Greek tongue as a
familiar vehicle of speech, side by side with the vernacular
Aramaic, throughout Syria and Palestine in the third
and second centuries before Christ. Tradition has it that
the work of translation was begun in the third century b.c.,
at Alexandria, under the auspices of Ptolemy Philadelphus,
King of Egypt from 285 to 247 b.c. Of this we cannot be
certain. But it is known with certainty that the work
was only achieved slowly. The “ Law ” was the first
part to be translated, and then the work was continued
at different times and by different hands. Some portions
of the version are far inferior to others, both in accuracy
and style. At some date before the end of the pre-
Christian era the translation of the whole Canon was
1 See G. Adam Smith, Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the
Old Testament, Lecture I.
CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
199
eventually completed; and the result was, and is, most
valuable as an assistance to the correction and inter¬
pretation of the Hebrew text as it has come down to us.
APPENDIX II
SOME REFERENCES TO CONTEMPORARY MESO¬
POTAMIAN AND EGYPTIAN HISTORY AND
TRADITIONS
To the date of the Crossing of the Red Sea
References.—“ D. G.” are to pages in Genesis, Driver (Westminster
Commentaries).
,, “ B. L. E.” are to pages in Light from the East, Ball.
„ “ McN.” ,, ,, Exodus , McNeile (West¬
minster Commentaries).
I. Mesopotamia
1. Creation Narratives.
D. G. 26-31 and 51-4.
For the second Bible narrative, see also B. L. E.
18-21.
2. Paradise (“ Edinu,” Sacred Tree and Cherubim)
D. G. 51-4 ; B. L. E. 28-33.
3. “ Adam.”
D. G. note on Gen. ii., verse 20. B. L. E. 20-21.
4. Flood Narratives.
D. G. 80, 103-8.
5. Nimrod (Gen. x. 8-12).
D. G. 122-3.
6. Tower of Babel .
D. G. 136-7. B. L. E. 69.
196 CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
7. Ur of the Chaldees.
D. G. xlviii., xlix., 142 footnote.
8. Amraphel ( — Hammurabi), etc., Gen. xiv.
D. G. 156-8, 171-3. B. L. E. 65-70. McN.
xxxix., xlvii. seq.
II. Egypt
XVth—XVIIth Dynasties ( Hyksos Kings).
D. G. 347.
McN. 12.
D, G. 346 (Baba).
XVIIIth Dyn. ( Thothmes III.).
D. G. li., lii. (name Yacob-el in Palestine).
Amenhotep III. and IV. (Tel-el-Amarna Letters).
D. G. xxix., 125, 167-8.
B. L. E. 86-94.
XIXth Dyn. ( Ramses II.).
McN. Addenda (Raamses).
McN. xciii., xciv. (Pithom).
B. L. E. 109-13 (Slave-labour in Egypt).
D. G. lii. (Mt. of Asher).
Merenptah.
McN. 13 (The Pharaoh of the Exodus).
McN. cix. and note, andB. L. E. 129 ( <f Israel is
desolated ”).
McN. cx. and note (Frontier Policy).
N.B.—See also Authority and Archeology, ed. by D. G.
Plogarth, Part First.
N.T. REFERENCES
197
APPENDIX III
References to Bible Illustrations, Appendix to “Helps to
the Study of the Bible ” : Oxford University Press, 1896.
Plate Iv. . . .
,, lviii. . . .
,, lix. . . .
,, Ixvii.-lxix. .
,, lxx. . . .
„ lxxi. . . .
„ lxxii., lxxiii.
Ra, the Sun-god.
Embalming in Egypt.
Ramses II.
Ramses II.
Strangers coming into Egypt.
Egyptian granaries.
Brick-making in Egypt.
APPENDIX IV
SOME NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES
Gen. i. 27.
ii. 24.
ii. 2. The Sabbath rest .
ii. 7. The first man, Adam
Summary of history from time
of Abraham .
xxii. 18. rThe blessing on the seed of ^
xii. 3.1 Abraham J
The faith of Abraham .
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and
Moses, as examples of faith,
xxi. 1-21. Children of promise, as op¬
posed to children of bond¬
age .....
| Creation of man and woman .
Matt. xix. 3-6.
Heb. iv. 4.
1 Cor. xv. 45.
Acts vii.
Acts iii. 25.
Gal. iii. 8.
Rom. iv.
Heb. xi.
Gal. iv. 21-v. 1,
198 JEWISH CALENDAR
Ex. iii. 6.
ix. 16.
xii. 46.
xiii. 2.
The God of the living . . Matt. xxii. 32.
God’s divine purpose . . Rom. ix. 17.
“ A bone of him shall not be
broken . . . . John xix. 36.
The sanctification of the
firstborn . Luke ii. 23.
APPENDIX V
THE CALENDAR OF THE JEWISH YEAR
Order in the
Month.
English Equivalent,
Approximately.
Civil
Year.*
Sacred
Year.*
7
i.
Nisan or Abib.
April.
8
ii.
Ziv or Xyyar.
May.
9
iii.
Sivan
June.
10
iv. ,
Tammuz.
July.
11
V.
Ab.
August.
12
vi.
Elul.
September.
1
vii.
Tishri or Ethanim.
October.
2
viii.
Marcheshvan or Bui.
November.
3
ix.
Chisleu.
December.
4
X.
Tebeth.
J anuary.
5
xi.
Shebat.
February.
6
xii.
Adar.
March.
* The “ civil ” year is the older Hebrew year, which began in
autumn. But in early days, before the Exile, the Babylonian
calendar, by which the year began in spring, was also in use in
Palestine. This latter calendar was adopted for ritual purposes,
and the festivals were arranged according to it. Therefore the year
according to this computation is called the “ sacred ” year.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
Abel-mizvaim (G. 1 . n), some¬
where E. of Jordan.
A dmah (G. xiv. 2), S. of Dead Sea.
Akaba, Gulf of, right-hand fork
of Red Sea, E. of Sinaitic
Peninsula.
Allon-bachuth (G. xxxv. 8), near
Bethel.
Amalekites (G. xiv. 7), dwelt
round* Kadesh, half-way be¬
tween Judah and the G. of
Akaba.
Amorites (G. xiv. 7, xv. 21 ;
E. iii. 8), (1) people in N.E.
Canaan, (2) general name for
Canaanites.
Ararat (G. viii. 4), country S.
of Caucasus, in Armenia.
Ashteroth Karnaim (G. xiv. 5), in
Bashan, E. of Sea of Galilee.
Assyria (G. ii. 14), capital
Nineveh, on the Tigris.
Baal-zephon (E. xiv. 2, 9),
somewhere near Suez, N. of
Red Sea.
Babel (G. xi. 9) = Babylon, on
the Euphrates.
Beer-lahai-roi (G. xvi. 14), near
Kadesh, in desert 50 m. S.
of Beer-sheba.
Beer-sheba (G. xxi. 31 seq. t xx ii.
19, xxvi. 23 seq., xlvi. 1 seq.),
S. limit of Palestine, 25 m.
S.W. of Hebron.
Beer-sheba, Wilderness of (G.
xxi. 14. See Beer-sheba.
Bela (G. xiv. 2), somewhere S.
of Dead Sea.
Bered (G. xvi. 14), unknown.
Beth-el (G. xii. 8, xiii. 3, xxviii.
11 seq., xxxv. 1 seq.), about
10 m. N. of Jerusalem.
Bethlehem (G. xxxv. 19), 6 m.
S. of Jerusalem.
Canaan {passim ), old name of
Palestine.
Cush (G. x. 6) = S. Egypt, or
Ethiopia.
Damascus (G. xiv. 15), capital
of Syria, N.E. of Mt. Hermon.
Dothan (G. xxxvii. 17), N. of
Samaria, on the plain between
the plains of Sharon and
Esdraelon.
Edar, Tower of (G. xxxv. 21),
somewhere between Hebron
and Bethlehem.
Eden (G. ii. 8 seq.), between
R. Tigris and R. Euphrates.
Edom (G. xxxii. 3), S.E. of
Palestine.
Egypt {passim), N.E. Africa,
Valley of the Nile.
199
200
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
Elam (G. xiv. i), N.E. of Persian
Gulf.
El-bethel (G. xxxv. 7), at Beth-el.
El-elohe-Israel (G. xxxiii. 20),
at Shechem.
Ellasar (G. xiv. i), S.E. of Baby¬
lon.
El-paran (G. xiv. 6) = Elath,
at N. point of G. of Akaba.
Emims (G. xiv. 5), a Moabite
giant race E. of Dead Sea.
En-mishpat (G. xiv. 7) =Kadesh.
Enoch, City of (G. iv. 17), un¬
known.
Ephrath (G. xxxv. 16). See
Bethlehem.
Etham (E. xiii. 20), E. of Succoth
in Egypt, N.W. of Suez.
Ethiopia (G. ii. 13), S. of Egypt.
See Cush.
Euphrates (G. ii. 14, xv. 18),
flows S.E. into Persian Gulf.
Galeed (G. xxxi. 47). See
Gilead.
Gerar (G. xx. 1, xxvi. 1 seq.),
near Kadesh.
Gihon (G. ii. 13), unknown.
Gilead (G. xxxi. 21 seq.), country
E. of Jordan, S.E. of Sea of
Galilee.
Girgashites (G. xv. 21), un¬
known ; a Canaanite people.
Gomorrah (G. xiii. 10, xiv. 2,
xviii. 20 seq.), S. of Dead
Sea.
Goshen (G. xiv. 10, xlvi. 28 seq.,
xlvii. 27 : E. ix. 26), a district
whose capital was 40 m. N.E.
of Cairo.
Hat (G. xii. 8) == Ai, 2| m.
S.E. of Beth-el,
Ham (G. xiv. 5) = Rabbath
Ammon, N.E. of Dead Sea.
Haran (G. xi. 31) = Carrhae, in
N.W. of Mesopotamia.
Havllah (G. ii. 11), N.E. of
Arabia.
Hazezon-tamar (G. xiv. 7) =
Engedi, in the centre of W.
of Dead Sea.
Hebron (G. xiii. 18, xxiii. 2,
xxxv. 27, xxxvii. 14), about
20 m. S.W. of Jerusalem.
Hiddekel (G. ii. 14) = R. Tigris :
flows into Persian Gulf.
Hittites (G. x. 15, xv. 20 : E.
iii. 8), a people to the far
north of Palestine, with off¬
shoots in Palestine.
Hivites (E. iii. 8), a Canaanite
tribe.
Hobah (G. xiv. 15), 50 m. N. of
Damascus.
Horeb (E. iii. 1 seq.). See p. 149.
Horites (G. xiv. 6), a people
S.E. of Dead Sea.
Ishmaelites (G. xxxvii. 25),
nomad tribes S. of Palestine.
Jebusites (G. xv. 21, E. iii. 8),
pre-Israelite inhabitants of
Jerusalem.
Jegar-sahadutha (G. xxxi. 47)
— Gilead.
Jehovah-jireh (G. xxii. 14), in
the ‘ land of Moriah,' which
see.
Jordan (G. xiii. 10), river flowing
down centre of Palestine.
Kadesh (G. xiv. 7, xvi. 14, xx. 1),
in desert between Judah and
G. of Akaba, half-way be¬
tween Beer-sheba and Elath.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
201
Kadmonites (G. xv. 19), a tribe
E. of Canaan.
Kenites (G. xv. 19), a tribe in S.
Canaan.
Kenizzites (G. xv. 19), a tribe in
S. Canaan.
Kirfath-arba (G. xxiii. 2) —
Hebron.
Lahai-roi (G. xxiv. 62, xxv.
u) = Beer-lahai-roi.
Luz (G. xxviii. 19, xxxv. 6) =
Beth-el.
Machpelah, cave of (G. xxiii. 9,
xxv. 9, 1 . 13), near Hebron.
Mahanaim (G. xxxii. 2), in
Gilead, near R. Jordan.
Mamre (G. xxiii. 1 7) — Hebron.
Mesopotamia (G. xxiv. 10),
country between R. Tigris and
R. Euphrates.
Midian (E. ii. 15 seq.), S.E. of
Canaan, E. of G. of Akaba.
Midianites (G. xxxvii. 28),
people of Midian.
Migdol (E. xiv. 2), somewhere
E. of Delta of R. Nile.
Mizpah (G. xxxi. 49), a height
in Gilead.
Mizraim (G. x. 6) Egypt.
Moriah, Land of (G. xxii. 2),
unknown.
Nineveh (G. x. 11), capital of
Assyria, on R. Tigris.
Nod (G. iv. 16), unknown ;
‘ east of Eden.’
On (G. xli. 45) = Heliopolis,
N.E. of Cairo.
Pad an-ar am (G. xxv. 20, xxviii.
2 seq.), district round Haran,
in Mesopotamia.
Paran, Wilderness of (G. xxi. 21),
due N. of G. of Akaba.
Peniel, Penuel (G. xxxii. 30, 31),
E. of Jordan, S. of R. Jabbok.
Perizzites (G. xiii. 7, xv. 20,
E. iii. 8), a Canaanite tribe.
Philistines (G. xxi. 32, xxvi. 1),
S.W. of Palestine, W. of
Judah.
Pi-hahiroth (E. xiv. 2, 9), some¬
where to N.W. of Suez.
Pison (G. ii. 11), unknown ?' a
river of Eden.
Pithom (E. i. 11), practically
identical with Succoth ; due
W. of the Bitter Lakes, N.W.
of G. of Suez.
Raamses (E. i. 11), 8 m. S.W. of
Pithom, E. of the Nile Delta.
Rameses (E. xii. 37) = Raamses.
; Rameses, Land of (G. xlvii. 11),
district E. of Nile Delta.
Rephaims (G. xiv. 5, xv. 20), a
giant people of S.W. Canaan.
Salem (G. xiv. 18) = Jerusalem.
Seir (G. xiv. 6, xxxii. 3, xxxiii.
14 seq.), country of the Edom
ites, S.E. of Palestine.
Shalem (G. xxxiii. 18), close to
Shechem.
Shaveh, Valley of (G. xiv. 17),
near Jerusalem.
Shaveh Kiviathaim (G. xiv. 5)*
N. of R. Arnon, E. of Dead
Sea.
Shechem (G. xxxiii. 18, xxxv. 4,
xxxvii. 12-14), centre of hill
country E. of Plain of Sharon,
202
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
between Mts. Ebal and
Gerizim.
Shinar (G. x. io, xi. 2) = Baby¬
lonia.
Shur (G. xvi. 7, xx. 1, xxv. 18),
district beyond the E. borders
of Egypt.
Sichem (G. xii. 6) = Shechem.
Siddim, Vale of (G. xiv. 3, 10),
S. of Dead Sea.
Sodom (G. xiii. 10 seq., xiv. 2,
xviii. 20 seq.), S. of Dead
Sea.
Succoth (1) (G. xxxiii. 17), E. of
R. Jordan, near R. Jabbok.
(2) (E. xii. 37, xiii. 20) = Pi-
thom, in Egypt.
Ur of the Chaldees (G. xi. 28),
half-way between Babylon
and Persian Gulf.
Zeboiim (G. xiv. 2), S. of Dead
Sea.
Zoav (G. xiii. 10, xix. 22), S. of
Dead Sea.
Zuzims (G. xiv. 5), giant'people
N.E. of Dead Sea.
GENERAL INDEX
Aaron, 154-88
Abel, 19-21
Abimelech, 62, 63, 75-8
Abraham, 39-68, 73, 74
— family of, 69
Abram, 41-52
Adam, 14-18, 23
Adhonai, 119, 154
age of earth, 3, 4
agriculture, 18, 20
altar of Noah, 32
-Abraham at Shechem, 42 ;
at Beth-el, 42 ; at Hebron, 45 ;
-Isaac at Beer-sheba, 77
-Jacob at El-elohe-Israel,
97 ; at El-beth-el, 98
Amraphel, 45-7
anachronism, 128
angel, 57, 68, 93, 132
anthropomorphism, 5, 8
antiquity of man, 4
Apepa II., 101
ark of Noah, 27-32
-Moses, 147
Ark, The, 147
Asenath, 113
Asshur, 35
atonement, 173
Babel, Tower of, 35, 36
Babylonian myths, 5, 8, 25
baker, Pharaoh’s, 108-111
bdellium, 14
Benjamin, 99, 115-25, 136
Ben^oni, 99
Bible, The, xi
birthright, 75
bitter herbs, 175
blessing: by Isaac, of Jacob,
80-82 ; of Esau, 83 ; by Jacob,
of Joseph’s sons, 131-3 ; of
his own sons, 133-6
blood = life, 32
" boiled,” 168
booths, 97
bottle, 61
brick, 156, 157
brimstone, 59
brotherhood of man, 19
Bush, The Burning, 150
butler, Pharaoh’s, 108-11
Cain, 19-23
Canon of O.T., 189-93
cave of Machpelah, 65, 74, 138
Chedorlaomer, 46, 47
Cherubim, 18
Circumcision, 52, 53
civilisation, origin of, 22
” clean ” animals, 28
coat, Joseph’s, 102
Covenant, The old, xi, xii
covenant of God with Noah, 33,
34 ; with Abraham, 49, 50 ; of
Abimelech with Abraham, 62 ;
with Isaac, 77
“ created,” 9
Creation, The, 6-16
crossing of Red Sea, 184-8
cubit,- 27
cup, divining, 121, 122
curse on : man, 18 ; woman, 17,
203
204
GENERAL INDEX
18 ; serpent, 17 ; ground, 18,
32
Deborah, 98
Deuteronomy, xiv, 191
Devil, The, 16
divination, 121
dove, 31
dreams : of Jacob, 85 ; Joseph,
103 ; Pharaoh’s butler and
baker, 108-110; Pharaoh,
110-13
earring, 69, 72
Eden, Garden of, xvi, 8, 14-19
Egyptian administration, 128-30
Eliezer, 49, 67-73
Elohim, xiii., 6, 9
Elohistic source, xiii, 104, 188
El Shaddai, 52, 84, 98
embalming, 139
Enoch, 22-4
— Book of, 23
Ephraim, 114, 131-3
Ephron, 65, 66
Esau, 74, ,75, 79-84, 93-7
Eve, 18
Exodus, The, 178
— numbers of, 178
— route of, 181-4
Exodus, Book of, 143
Fall, The, 16-18
famine in Egypt, 112-30
festival: see Passover, Un¬
leavened Bread
firmament, 10
firstborn, death of, 172, 177, 178;
sacrifice of, 173 ; sanctifica¬
tion of, 180
Flood, The, 24-34
forced labour, 145, 156
" fountains of the deep,” 29, 30
frontlets, 181
Garden of Eden : see Eden
Genesis, Book of, 3-6
geography, primitive, 14, 48,
150
Gershom, 149
giants, 26
God, in Genesis, 5, 6, 7
— Name of, xiii, 9, 52, 154
gods = teraphim, 89, 98
grave = Sheol, 105
“ grove,” 63
Hagar, 50-2, 60-2
Ham, 27, 34
Hammurabi, 14. See Am-
raphel
hamsin, 160
harvest festival, 173
“ help meet,” 15
Heth, 35
Hexateuch, xiii, xiv
Hobab, 148
Hyksos (“ Shepherd ”) kings, 101
hyssop, 177
I AM, 150, 151
“ image, in our,” 12
images, 89-91
inspiration, xiv, xv
Isaac, 60, 63, 64, 67-78, 100
Ishmael, 51, 52, 54, 61, 62
Ishmaelites, 104, 105
Israel, 79, 95, 98
Jabal, 22
Jacob, 74, 75, 78-100, 102, 105,
117-19, 126-8, 130-8
Jacob’s sons, 99, 100, 133-6,
144 . I 45
Japheth, 27, 34
Jehovah, xiii, 150, 151, 158
Jehovistic source, xiii., 8,104,188
Jethro, 148
Joseph, 100-39
GENERAL INDEX
Judah, 104, 105, 118, 122, 123,
134
“ Kings of the Plain,” 45-7
Laban, 70, 87-93
lamb, the Paschal, 174-7
Lamech, 22
languages, origin of, 35
Leah, 87, 88, 96
leaven, 176
left — north, 48
lentil, 75
“ life,” 12
Lord, The, xiii, 13
Lord’s Supper, The, 174
Lot, 41, 43-5, 47, 48, 57-9
Lot’s wife, 59
man, creation of, 12-14
magicians, no, 161 •
Manasseh, 114, 131-3
Marduk, 8
“ mark of Cain,” 21
Melchizedek, 46, 48
Merenptah, 143, 145-88
Messianic references, 17, 134
metal work, origin of, 22
Methusaleh, 23
Midianites, 104, 105
miracles, 159
Miriam, 146, 147, 188
money, by weight, 119 : see
shekel
monotheism, 6, 152
Moses, 143-88
— family of, 146
murder, the first, 19, 21
music, origin of, 22
Nephilim, 26
Nimrod, 34, 35
Noah, 24, 26-35
nomad life, 22
oath, 67
Old Testament, xi
onyx, 14
Ophites, 16
ovens, 163
papyrus, 147
Paradise, 14
paschal, 174
Passover, 173-9
pastoral life, 20
Pentateuch, xiii, xiv, 191
Pharaoh : see Apepa, Ramses,
Merenptah
Pharaoh’s daughter, 147
phylacteries, 181
pieces of silver = shekels, 125
pillar of the cloud, 184, 185
— of salt, 59
— of witness, 92
— sacred, 85, 89, 99
— sepulchral, 99
plagues of Egypt, 159-178
plain — oak, 42
play on words, 14, 20, 36, 52,
75 , i33> 138, 147
plural, use of, with reference to
God, 12, 35
poetry, Hebrew : see Song
Potiphar, 106, 107
“ Priestly ” source, xiii., 7, 24,
179
priests in Egypt, 130
promises of God to : man, 17 ;
Noah, 32-4 ; Abraham, 41,
42, 45, 48, 50, 52, 55, 65 ;
Isaac, 76, 77 ; Jacob, 82, 84,
85, 99, 126 ; Judah, 134;
Moses, 152, 158
prophet, 160
prophetess, 188
“ Prophetic ” source, xiii, 8, •
24
206
GENERAL INDEX
Protevangelium , 17
Puah, 145, 146
Rachel, 87-91, 96, 99
rainbow, 33
Ramses (= Rameses) II., 143
Rebekah, 69-75, 80, 81, 83, 84
redemption, 17, 158
Reuben, 104, 105, 116, 117, 133
Reuel, 148
revelation, progressive, 5
revelation on Horeb, 149-54
rie, 168
“ river, The,” = Euphrates, 89 ;
-Nile, no, 146
rod, 153, 154, 161-4, 184
Sabbath, 7, 13
sacrifice, 32, 63
— of firstborn : see Firstborn
Sarah, 53, 55, 60, 65, 66
Sarai, 41, 43, 50, 51
Septuagint, 3, 192, 193
serpent, 16
shekel, 66, 69
Shem, 27, 34
shepherds in Egypt, 127
“ Shiloh,” 134
Shiphrah, 145, 146
Simeon, 116, 120, 134
sin, 15, 19
“ sinew that shrank,” 96
Sirocco, 184
slime, 35, 47, 147
“ sod,” 75, 175
Song of the Sword, 22
Song of Moses, 186-8
— of Miriam, 188
“ sons of God,” 26
Sources of Hexateuch, xiii, xiv,
I 44
stone, sacred, 85: see Pillar
store-cities, 143, 145
Sumerian “ Adam,” 23
“ tempt ” = prove, 63
Terah, family of, 69
teraphim, 89-91
Testament: see Covenant
Three Men, The, 54-6
“ translation ” of Enoch, 23
treasure-cities : see Store-cities
“ tree of knowledge,” 15
Tubal-cain, 22
Unleavened Bread, Feast of,
1 73 > 176
vegetarianism, 32
versions of O.T., xii, 192
watches, night, 185
well at Beer-sheba, 62, 77 ; Esek,
77 ; Sitnah, 77 ; Rehoboth,
77
whales, 11
wind, east, 170; west, 171 ;
see also Hamsin, Sirocco
“ windows of heaven,” 29, 30
woman, 15-18
Zaphnath-paaneah, 113
Zipporah, 148
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