Esau sells his birthright for A. M. cir. 2199. B. C. cir. 1805. B. C. cir. 1805. and he sware unto him: and he | of lentiles; and she did eat and A. M. cir. 2199. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage power to be of God, and acknowledges this by giving to him the tenth of those spoils of which he would reserve nothing for his private use. His obedience to God, in offering up his son Isaac, we have already seen and admired; together with the generosity of his temper, and that respectful decency of conduct towards honour to their parents, Gen. xlix. 3. 3. Had a double refused to accept even the spoils he had taken from portion of their father's goods, Deut. xxi. 17. 4. Suc- the enemy whom his skill and valour had vanquished. ceeded him in the government of the family or king-At the same time he considers the excellency of the dom, 2 Chron. xxi. 3. 5. Had the sole right of conducting the service of God, both at the tabernacle and temple; and hence the tribe of Levi, which was taken in lieu of the first-born, had the sole right of administration in the service of God, Num. viii. 14–18; and hence we may presume, had originally a right to the priesthood previous to the giving of the law; but how-superiors and inferiors for which he was so peculiarly ever this might have been, afterwards the priesthood is never reckoned among the privileges of the first-born. That the birthright was a matter of very great importance, there can be no room to doubt; and that it was a transferable property, the transaction here sufficiently proves. Verse 34. Pottage of lentiles] See on ver. 29. Thus Esau despised his birthright.] On this account the apostle, Heb. xii. 16, calls Esau a profane person, because he had, by this act, alienated from himself and family those spiritual offices connected with the rights of primogeniture. While we condemn Esau for this bad action, (for he should rather have perished than have alienated this right,) and while we consider it as a proof that his mind was little affected with Divine or spiritual things, what shall we say of his most unnatural brother Jacob, who refused to let him have a morsel of food to preserve him from death, unless he gave him up his birthright? Surely he who bought it, in such circumstances, was as bad as he who sold it. Thus Jacob verified his right to the name of supplanter, a name which in its first imposition appears to have had no other object in view than the circumstance of his catching his brother by the heel; but all his subsequent conduct proved that it was truly descriptive of the qualities of his mind, as his whole life, till the time his name was changed, (and then he had a change of nature,) was a tissue of cunning and deception, the principles of which had been very early instilled into him by a mother whose regard for truth and righteousness appears to have been very superficial. See on chap. xxvii. THE death of Abraham, recorded in this chapter, naturally calls to mind the virtues and excellences of this extraordinary man. His obedience to the call of God, and faith in his promises, stand supereminent. No wonders, signs, or miraculous displays of the great and terrible God, as Israel required in Egypt, were used or were necessary to cause Abraham to believe and obey. He left his own land, not knowing where he was going, or for what purpose God had called him to remove. Exposed to various hardships, in danger of losing his life, and of witnessing the violation of his wife, he still obeyed and went on; courageous, humane, and disinterested, he cheerfully risked his life for the welfare of others; and, contented with having rescued the captives and avenged the oppressed, he remarkable; see on chap. xxiii. Without disputing with his Maker, or doubting in his heart, he credited every thing that God had spoken; hence he always walked in a plain way. The authority of God was always sufficient for Abraham; he did not weary himself to find reasons for any line of conduct which he knew God had prescribed; it was his duty to obey; the success and the event he left with God. His obedience was as prompt as it was complete. As soon as he hears the voice of God, he girds himself to his work! Not a moment is lost! How rare is such conduct! But should not we do likewise? The present moment and its duties are ours; every past moment was once present; every future will be present; and, while we are thinking on the subject, the present is past, for life is made up of the past and the present. Are our past moments the cause of deep regret and humiliation? Then let us use the present so as not to increase this lamentable cause of our distresses. In other words, let us now believe-love-obey. Regardless of all consequences, let us, like Abraham, follow the directions of God's word, and the openings of his providence, and leave all events to Him who doth all things well. See to what a state of moral excellence the grace of God can exalt a character, when there is simple, implicit faith, and prompt obedience! Abraham walked before God, and Abraham was perfect. Perhaps no human being ever exhibited a fairer, fuller portrait of the perfect man than Abraham. The more I consider the character of this most amiable patriarch, the more I think the saying of Calmet justifiable: "In the life of Abraham," says he, "we find an epitome of the whole law of nature, of the written law, and of the Gospel of Christ. He has manifested in his own person those virtues, for which reason and philosophy could scarcely find out names, when striving to sketch the character of their sophist-wise or perfect man. St. Ambrose very properly observes that 'philosophy itself could not equal, in its descriptions and wishes, what was exemplified by this great man in the whole of his conduct.' Magnus plane vir, quem votis suis philosophia non potuit æquare; denique minus est quod illa finxit quam quod ille gessit. The LAW which God gave to Moses, and in which he has proposed the great duties of the law of nature, seems to be a copy of the life of Abraham. This patriarch, without being under the law, has performed the most essential duties it Isaac sojourns in Gerar. GENESIS. requires; and as to the GOSPEL, its grand object was that on which he had fixed his eye-that JESUS whose day he rejoiced to see; and as to its spirit and design, they were wondrously exemplified in that faith which was imputed to him for righteousness, receiving that grace which conformed his whole heart and life to the will of his Maker, and enabled him to persevere unto death. Abraham,' says the writer of Ecclesiasticus, xliv. 20, &c., was a great father of many people in glory was there none like unto him, who kept the law of the Most High, and was in, covenant with him. He established the covenant in his flesh, and when he was tried he was found faithful."" See Calmet. 6 God renews the promise to him. as a sovereign, and above all as a man of God, he stands unrivalled; so that under the most exalted and perfect of all dispensations, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he is proposed and recommended as the model and pattern according to which the faith, obedience, and perseverance of the followers of the Messiah are to be formed. Reader, while you admire the man, do not forget the God that made him so great, so good, and so useful. : Even Abraham had nothing but what he had received; from the free unmerited mercy of God proceeded all his excellences; but he was a worker together with God, and therefore did not receive the grace of God in vain. Go thou, believe, love, obey, and persevere in like manner. As a son, as a husband, as a father, as a neighbour, CHAPTER XXVI. A famine in the land obliges Isaac to leave Beer-sheba and go to Gerar, 1. God appears to him, and warns him not to go to Egypt, 2. Renews the promises to him which he had made to his father Abraham, 3–5. Isaac dwells at Gerar, 6. Being questioned concerning Rebekah, and fearing to lose his life on her account, he calls her his sister, 7. Abimelech the king, discovers by certain familiarities which he had noticed between Isaac and Rebekah, that she was his wife, 8. Calls Isaac and reproaches him for his insincerity, 9, 10. He gives a strict command to all his people not to molest either Isaac or his wife, 11. Isaac applies himself to husbandry and breeding of cattle, and has a great increase, 12-14. Is envied by the Philistines, who stop up the wells he had digged, 15. Is desired by Abimelech to remove, 16. He obeys, and fixes his tent in the valley of Gerar, 17. Opens the wells dug in the days of Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up, 18. Digs the well, Ezek. 19, 20; and the well Sitnah, 21; and the well Rehoboth, 22. Returns to Beer-sheba, 23. God appears to him, and renews his promises, 24. He builds an altar there, pitches his tent, and digs a well, 25. Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phichol, visit him, 26. Isaac accuses them of unkindness, 27. They beg him to make a covenant with them, 28, 29. He makes them a feast, and they bind themselves to each other by an oath, 30, 31. The well dug by Isaac's servants (ver. 25) called Shebah, 33. Esau, at forty years of age, marries two wives of the Hittites, 34; at which Isaac and Rebekah are grieved, 35. A. M. cir. 2200. AN ND there was a famine in the land which I shall tell A. M. cir. 2200. B. C. cir. 1804. the land, beside the first thee off: famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. NOTES ON CHAP. XXVI. Verse 1. There was a famine] When this happened we cannot tell; it appears to have been after the death of Abraham. Concerning the first famine, see chap. xii. 10. Abimelech] As we know not the time when the famine happened, so we cannot tell whether this was the same Abimelech, Phichol, &c., which are mentioned chap. xx. 1, &c., or the sons or other descendants of these persons. Verse 2. Go not down into Egypt] As Abraham had taken refuge in that country, it is probable that Isaac was preparing to go thither also; and God, foreseeing that he would there meet with trials, &c., which might prove fatal to his peace or to his piety, warns him not to fulfil his intention. 3d Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and f will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries; and I will perform h the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father: Verse 3. Sojourn in this land] In Gerar, whither he had gone, ver. 1, and where we find he settled, ver. 6, though the land of Canaan in general might be here intended. That there were serious and important reasons why Isaac should not go to Egypt, we may be fully assured, though they be not assigned here; it is probable that even Isaac himself was not informed why he should not go down to Egypt. I have already supposed that God saw trials in his way which he might not have been able to bear. While a man acknowledges God in all his ways, he will direct all his steps, though he may not choose to give him the reasons of the workings of his providence. Abraham might go safely to Egypt, Isaae might not; in firmness and decision of character there was a wide difference between the two men. Isaac is questioned B. C. cir. 1804.1 B. C. cir. 1804. A. M. dir. 2200. 4 And I will make thy seed to and behold, Isaac was sporting A. M. cir. 2200. multiply as the stars of heaven, with Rebekah his wife. and will give unto thy seed all these countries; kand in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 51 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge; my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. 6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.... 7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. 8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, Chap. xv. 5; xxii. 17. Chap. xii. 3; xxii. 18. Chap. xxii. 16, 18.- m Chap.. xii. 13; xx. 2, 13. Proverbs xxix. 25. Verse 4. I will make thy seed—as the stars of heaven] A promise often repeated to Abraham, and which has been most amply fulfilled both in its literal and spiritual sense. Verse 5. Abraham obeyed my voice] my WORD. See chap. xv. 1. My charge] mishmarti, from 1 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people. might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. ` Verse 8. Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.} Whatever may be the precise meaning of the word, it evidently implies that there were liberties taken and freedoms used on the occasion, which were not lawful but between man and wife. it was not so in the case of Isaac, for Rebekah was only his cousin. Besides, though relatives, in the Jewish forms of speaking, are often called brothers and sisters, and the thing may be perfectly proper when meimeri, this use of the terms is generally known and allowed, yet nothing of this kind can be pleaded here in behalf shamar, of Isaac; for he intended that the Gerarites should he kept, observed, &c., the ordinances or appointments understand him in the proper sense of the term, and of God. These were always of two kinds: 1. Such consequently have no suspicion that she was his wife. as tended to promote moral improvement, the increase We have already seen that the proper definition of a of piety, the improvement of the age, &c. And 2. Such lie is any word spoken with the intention to deceive. as were typical of the promised seed, and the salva-See chap. xx. 12. tion which was to come by him. For commandments, statutes, &c., the reader is particularly desired to refer to Lev. xvi. 15, &c., where these things are all explained in the alphabetical order of the Hebrew words. Verse 7. He said, She is my sister] It is very strange that in the same place, and in similar circum stances, Isaac should have denied his wife, precisely as his father had done before him! It is natural to ask, Did Abraham never mention this circumstance to his son? Probably he did not, as he was justly ashamed of his weakness on the occasion-the only blot in his character; the son, therefore, not being forewarned, was not armed against the temptation. It may not be well in general for parents to tell their children of their former failings or vices, as this might lessen their authority or respect, and the children might make a bad use of it in extenuation of their own sins. But there are certain cases, which, from the nature of their circumstances, may often occur, where a candid acknowledgment, with suitable advice, may prevent those children from repeating the evil; but this should be done with great delicacy and caution, lest even the advice itself should serve as an incentive to the evil. I had not known lust, says St. Paul, if the law had not said, Thou shalt not covet. Isaac could not say of Rebekah, as Abraham had done of Sarah, She is my sister; in the case of Abraham this was literally true; VOL. I. ( 12 ) Verse 10. Thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. It is likely that Abimelech might have had some knowledge of God's intentions concerning the family of Abraham, and that it must be kept free from all impure and alien mixtures; and that consequently, had he or any of his people taken Rebekah, the Divine judgments might have fallen upon the land. Abimelech was a good and holy man; and he appears to have considered adultery as a grievous and destructive crime. Verse 11. He that toucheth] He who injures Isaac or defiles Rebekah shall certainly die for it. Death was the punishment for adultery among the Canaanites, Philistines, and Hebrews. See chap. xxxviii. 24. Verse 12. Isaac sowed in that land]. Being now perfectly free from the fear of evil, he betakes himself to agricultural and pastoral pursuits, in which he has the especial blessing of God, so that his property becomes greatly increased. A hundred-fold] meah shearim, literally, "A hundred-fold of barley ;" and so the Septuagint, ékȧTOσTEVOVOAV KPIŮNY., Perhaps such a crop of this grain was a rare occurrence in Gerar. The words, 161 a Isaac acquires much property, A. M. cir. 2200. 13 And the man "waxed great, by which his father had called A. M. cir. 2200. went. forward, and grew them... and until he became very great; B. C. cir. 1804." 19 And Isaac's servants digged in the 14 For he had possession of flocks, and valley, and found there a well of springing possession of herds, and great store of ser- water. vants and the Philistines envied him. W 15 For all the wells which his father's servants 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. 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: a and he called their names after the names however, may be taken in a general way, as signifying a very great increase; so they are used by our Lord in the parable of the sower. 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 Esek; because they strove with him.? d samé principle Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites.. The Philistines appear to have been jealous of Isaac's growing prosperity, and to have considered it, not as a due Verse 13. The man waxed great] There is a strange reward of his industry and holiness, but as their indiand observable recurrence of the same term in the ori-vidual loss, as, though his gain was at their expense; vainig- | therefore they resolved to drive him out, and take his ויגדל האיש וילך הלוך וגדל עד כי גדל מאד :ginal dal haish vaiyelech haloch vegadel ad ki gadal meod, well-cultivated ground, &c., to themselves, and comAnd the man was GREAT; and he went, going on, and pelled Abimelech to dismiss him, who gave this reason was GREAT, until that he was exceeding GREAT. How for it, 10 ny atsamta mimmennu, Thou hast obsimple is this language, and yet how forcible! tained much wealth among us, and my people are envious of thee. Is not this the better translation? for it can hardly be supposed that Isaac was "mightier" than the king of whole tribes. Verse 14. He had possession of flocks]. He who blessed him in the increase of his fields blessed him also in the increase of his flocks; and as he had extensive possessions, so he must have many hands to manage such concerns: therefore it is added, he had great store of servants-he had many domestics, some born in his house, and others purchased by his money. Verse 18. In the days of Abraham] Instead of bimey, in the days, Houbigant contends we should read y abdey, servants. Isaac digged again the wells which the servants of Abraham his father had digged. This reading is supported by the Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate ;. and it is probably the true one. Verse 15. For all the wells the Philistines had stopped them] In such countries a good well was a great acquisition; and hence in predatory wars it was Verse 19. A well of springing water.] "n O'D W usual for either party to fill the wells with earth or beer mayim chaiyim, A well of living waters. This is sand, in order to distress the enemy. The filling up the oriental phrase. for a spring, and this is its meanthe wells in this case was a most unprincipled trans-ing both in the Old and New Testaments: Lev. xiv. action, as they had pledged themselves to Abraham, 5, 50; xv. 30; Num. xix. 17;- Cant. iv. 15. See by a solemn oath, not to injure each other in this or also John iv. 10-14; vii. 38; Rev. xxi. 6.; xxii. 1. any other respect. See chap. xxi. 25–31. And by these scriptures we find that an unfailing spring was an emblem of the graces and influences of the Spirit of God. Verse 16. Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.] This is the first instance on record of what was termed among the Greeks ostracism; i. e., the banishment of a person from the state, of whose power, influence, or riches, the people were jealous. There is a remarkable saying of Bacon on this subject, which seems to intimate that he had this very circumstance under his eye: "Public envy is an ostracism that eclipseth men when, they grow too great." On this Verse 21. They digged another well] Never did any man more implicitly follow the Divine command, Resist not evil, than Isaac; whenever he found that his work was likely to be a subject of strife and contention, he gave place, and rather chose to suffer wrong than to have his own peace of mind disturbed. he overcame evil with good. ( 12* ) Thus Isaac is visited by Abimelech, A. M. cir. 2200. CHAP. XXVI. B. C. cir. 1804. They make a covenant. 24 And the LORD appeared 29. That thou wilt do us no A. M. cir. 2200. unto him the same night, and hurt, as we have not touched said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing i fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless but good, and have sent thee away in thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant peace: thou art now the blessed of the Abraham's sake. LORD. 30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31 And they rose up betimes in the morn ing, and sware 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. W 33 And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day. 34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the T Chap. xxi. 22, 23. Heb. if thou shalt, &c,- - Chapter xxiv. 31; Psa. cxv. 15. Chap. xix. 3.- Chap. xxi. 31. That is, an oath. - Chap. xxi. 31. That is, the well of the oath.- - Chap. xxxvi. 2. he had been lately married, and on this journey brings with him his confidential friend, to whom he had lately intrusted the care of his spouse. Verse 24. The Lord appeared unto him] He needed especial encouragement when insulted and outraged by the Philistines; for having returned to the place where his noble father had lately died, the remembrance of Verse 27; Seeing ye hate me] He was justified in his wrongs, and the remembrance of his loss, could thinking thus, because if they did not injure him, they not fail to affliet his mind; and God immediately-ap-had connived at their servants doing it. pears to comfort and support him in his trials, by a renewal of all his promises. Verse 25. Builded an altar there] That he might have a place for God's worship, as well as a place for himself and family to dwell in. And called upon the name of the Lord] And invoked in the name of Jehovah. See on chap. xii. 8; xiii. 15. Verse 26. Abimelech went to him] When a man's ways please God, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him; so Isaac experienced on this occasion. Whether this was the same Abimelech and Phichol mentioned chap. xxi. 22, we cannot tell; it is possible both might have been now alive, provided we suppose them young in the days of Abraham; but it is more likely that Abimelech was a general name of the Gerarite kings, and that Phichol was a name of office. Verse 28. Let there be now an oath betwixt us] Let us make a covenant by which we shall be mutually bound, and let it be ratified in the most solemn manner. Verse 30. He made them a feast] Probably on the sacrifice that was offered on the occasion of making this covenant. This was a common custom. Verse 31. They rose up betimes] Early rising was general among the primitive inhabitants of the world, and this was one cause which contributed greatly to their health and longevity. Verse 33. He called it. Shebah] This was probably the same well which was called Beer-sheba in the time of Abraham, which the Philistines had filled up, and which the servants of Isaac had reopened. The same name is therefore given to it which it had before, with the addition of the emphatic letter he, by which its signification became extended, so that now it signified not merely an oath or full, but satisfaction and abun Ahuzzath] The Targum translates this word a com-dance. · pany, not considering it as a proper name; "Abime- The name of the city is Beer-sheba] This name lech and Phichol came with a company of their friends." was given to it a hundred years before this time; but The Septuagint calls him Oxo5a0 & vvμpaywyos, Ocho- as the well from which it had this name originally was zath, the paranymph, he who conducts the bride to the closed up by the Philistines, probably the name of the bridegroom's house. Could we depend on the correct-place was abolished with the well; when therefore ness of this version, we might draw the following cu-Isaac reopened the well, he restored the ancient name rious conclusions from it: 1. That this was the son of the place. of that Abimelech the friend of Abraham. 2. That Verse 34. He took to wife—the daughter, &c.] It |