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Verse 18. And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of She-money, and from which we still have our English term chem] The word □ shalem, in the Samaritan D shalom, should be translated here in peace, or in safety. After resting some time at Succoth, which was necessary for the safety of his flocks and the comfort of his family, he got safely to a city of Shechem, in health of body, without any loss of his cattle or servants, his wives and children being also in safety. Coverdale and Matthews translate this word as above, and with them agree the Chaldee and the Arabic: it is not likely to have been the name of a city, as it is nowhere else to be found. Shechem is called in Acts vii. 16, Sychem, and in John iv. 5, Sychar; in the Arabic it is called Nablous, and to the present day Neapolis. It was near to Samaria; and the place where the wretched remains of the sect of the Samaritans were lately found, from whom Dr. Huntington received a perfect copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch.

pecuniary, appears to have been substituted for oves, because pecus, pecoris, and pecus, pecudis, were used to signify all kinds of cattle large and small. Among our British and Saxon ancestors we find coins stamped with the figure of an ox, horse, hog, goat, &c., and this custom arose in all probability, both among them and other nations, from this circumstance, that in primitive times the coin was the ordinary value of the animal whose image it bore. It is, all circumstances weighed, most likely that a piece of money is here intended, and possibly marked with the image of a lamb ; but as the original word op kesitah occurs only here, and in Josh. xxiv. 32, and Job xlii. 11, this is not sufficiently evident, the word itself being of very doubtful signification. Mr. Parkhurst is of opinion that the kesitah bore the image of a lamb; and that these lamb coins of the ancient Hebrews typified the Lamb of God, who in the Divine purpose was considered as slain from the foundation of the world, and who purchased us unto God with his own blood. The conjecture is at least pious, and should lead to useful reflections. Those who wish to see more on this subject may con

Verse 19. For a hundred pieces of money.] The original, bemeah kesitah, has been a matter of long and learned discussion among critics. As kesitah signifies a lamb, it may imply that Jacob gave the Hamorites one hundred lambs for the field; but if it be the same transaction that St. Stephen refers to insult the writers in the Critici Sacri, and Calmet. Acts vii. 16, it was money, Tiμng apyvpiov, a sum or price of silver, which was given on the occasion. It has been conjectured that the money had the figure of a lamb stamped on it, because it was on an average the value of a lamb; and hence, it might be called a kesitah or lamb from the impression it bore. It is certain that in many countries the coin has had its name from the image it bore; so among our ancestors a coin was called an angel because it bore the image of an angel; hence also a Jacobus, a Carolus, a Lewis, (Louis ď. Or,) a Joe, because certain coins in England, Spain, France, and Portugal, bore on one side the image of the kings of those countries, James, Charles, Lewis, Joseph, or Johannes. The Athenians had a coin called Bovc, an or, because it was stamped with the figure of an ox, Hence the saying in Eschylus :—

AGAM. V. 36.

Verse 20. And he erected there an altar] It appears that Jacob had a very correct notion of the providence and mercy of God; hence he says, ver. 5: The children which God hath GRACIOUSLY given thy servant; and in ver. 11 he attributes all his substance to the bounty of his Maker: Take, I pray thee, my blessing-because God hath dealt GRACIOUSLY with me, and because I have enough. Hence he viewed God as the God of all grace, and to him he erects an altar, dedicating it to God, the God of Israel, referring particularly to the change of his own name, and the mercies which he then received; and hence perhaps it would be best to translate the words, The strong God (is) the God of Israel; as by the power of his grace and goodness he had rescued, defended, blessed, and supported him from his youth up until now. The erecting altars with particular names appears in other places; so, Exod. xvii. 15, Moses calls his altar Jehovah-nissi, “ the Lord is my banner."

Τα δ' αλλα σιγω, βους επι γλωττης μέγας Βεβηκεν. "I must be silent concerning other matters, a great ox has come upon my tongue;" to signify a person who 1. WHEN a man's ways please God, he maketh even had received a bribe for secrecy, i. e., a sum of money, his enemies to be at peace with him. When Jacob had on each piece of which an ox was stamped, and hence got reconciled to God, God reconciled his brother to called βους, an ox. The word opes, riches, is a cor- him. The hearts of all men are in the hands of God, ruption of the word oves, sheep, because these animals and he turns them howsoever he will.

Dinah is violated by Shechem,

CHAP. XXXIV.

2. Since the time in which Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the covenant, we see in him much dependence on God, accompanied with a spirit of deep humility and gratitude. God's grace alone can change the heart of man, and it is by that grace only that we get a sense of our obligations; this lays us in the dust, and the more we receive the lower we shall lie.

3. "The first thing," says good Bishop Wilson, "that pious men do, is to provide for the honour and

which displeases Jacob's sons.

worship of God." Jacob buys a piece of ground, and erects an altar on it in the land of a heathen, that he might acknowledge God among his enemies, and turn them to the true faith; and there is every reason to believe that this expedient would have been successful, had it not been for the base conduct of his sons How true is the saying, One sinner spoileth much good! Reader, beware, lest thy conduct should become a stumbling block to any.

CHAPTER. XXXIV.

Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, going out to see the daughters of the land, is ravished by Shechem, the son of Hamor, 1, 2. He entreats his father to get her for him to wife, 3. Jacob and his sons hear of the indignity offered to Dinah, 5–7. Hamor proposes the suit of Shechem to Jacob and his sons, and offers them a variety of advantages, 8-10. Shechem himself comes forward, begs to have Dinah to wife, and offers dowry to any extent, 11, 12. The sons of Jacob pretend scruples of conscience to give their sister to one who was uncircumcised; and require, as a condition of this marriage, and of intermarriages in general, that all the Shechemites should be circumcised, 13-17. Hamor and Shechem consent, 18, 19. They lay the business before the elders of their city, dwell on the advantages of a connection with Jacob and his family, and propose to them the condition required by the sons of Jacob, 20–23. The elders con

sent, and all the males are circumcised, 24. While the Shechemites are incapable of defending themselves, on the third day after their circumcision, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, came upon the city, slew all the males, sacked the city, took the women and children captives, and seized on all the cattle belonging to the Shechemites, 25-29. Jacob is greatly displeased and alarmed at this treachery and cruelty of his sons, and lays before them the probable consequences, 30. They endeavour to vindicate their conduct, 31.

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2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. 3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob; and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.

4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.

Chap. xxx. 21. Tit. ii. 5. Chap. vi. 2; Judg. xiv. 1. Chap. xx. 2.-e - Heb., humbled her; Deut. xxii. 29.- Heb. to the heart of the damsel; see Isa. xl. 2; Hos. ii. 14.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIV. Verse 1. And Dinah-went out to see the daughters of the land.] It is supposed that Jacob had been now about seven or eight years in the land, and that Dinah, who was about seven years of age when Jacob came to Canaan, was now about fourteen or fifteen. Why or on what occasion she went out we know not, but the reason given by Josephus is very probable, viz., that it was on one of their festivals.

Verse 2. Prince of the country] i. e., Hamor was prince; Shechem was the son of the prince or chief. Our version appears to represent Shechem as prince, but his father was the chief of the country. See verses 6, 8, &c.

Verse 3. Spake kindly unto the damsel.] Literally, he spake to the heart of the damsel-endeavoured to gain her affections, and to reconcile her to her dis

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Chap.

Judg. xiv. 2. h1 Sam. x. 27; 2 Sam. xiii. 22.xlix. 7; 2 Sam. xiii. 21.—k Josh. viì. 15; Judg. xx. 6.- Deut. xxiii. 17; 2 Sam. xiii. 12.

grace. It appears sufficiently evident from this and the preceding verse that there had been no consent on the part of Dinah, that the whole was an act of violence, and that she was now detained by force in the house of Shechem. Here she was found when Simeon and Levi sacked the city, verse 26.

Verse 7. He had wrought folly in Israel] The land, afterwards generally called Israel, was not as yet so named; and the sons of Jacob were neither called Israel, Israelites nor Jews, till long after this. How then can it be said that Shechem had wrought folly in Israel? The words are capable of a more literal translation: beyisrael, may be translated, against Israel. The angel had said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob-not only Jacob, but Israel. It was this that aggravated the offence of Shechem; he wrought folly against Israel, the prince of God,

Jacob's sons propose that all

A. M. cir. 2266. B. C. cir. 1738.

GENESIS.

8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you giye her him to wife.

9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

10 And ye shall dwell with us and m the land shall be before you; dwell and a trade ye therein, and get you possession therein.

11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

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in lying with the daughter of Jacob. Here both the names are given; Jacob, whose daughter was defiled, and Israel, the prince of God, against whom the offence was committed.

Verse 12. Ask me never so much dowry] See on chap. xxix. 20, &c. See the law relative to this, Exod. xxii. 16, 17.

Verse 13. Answered-deceitfully] Which nothing could excuse; yet, to show that they had had much provocation, it is immediately subjoined 1777 vaidabberu, they spoke thus because he had defiled Dinah their sister; for so this parenthesis should be read.

Verse 14. That were a reproach unto us] Because the uncircumcised were not in the covenant of God; and to have given an heiress of the promise to one 'who had no kind of right to its spiritual blessings, from whom might spring children who would naturally walk in the way of their father, would have been absurd, reproachful, and wicked. Thus far they were perfectly right; but to make this holy principle a cloak for their deceitful and murderous purposes, was the full sum of all wickedness.

Verse 17. Then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.] It is natural to suppose that the tribe

the Shechemites be circumcised.

and we will dwell with you, and A. M. cir. 2266. we will become one people.

B. C. cir. 1738.

17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.

18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.

19 And the young man deferred not to do the, thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. 24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate

9 See 2 Sam. xiii. 24, &c.15; 2 Chron. iv. 9; Isa. iii. 3-5.6; Rom. ii. 28, 29.

r Josh. v. 9Num. xxii. Chap. xxiii. 10; Matt. vii.

of Hamor was very inconsiderable, else they would not have sought an alliance with the family of Jacob, and have come so readily into a painful, disgraceful measure, without having either the sanction of Divine authority or reason; for it does not appear that the sons of Jacob urged either. And they are threatened here that if they do not agree to be circumcised, Dinah shall be taken from them, and restored to her family; and this is probably what the Shechemites saw they had not power at present to prevent..

Verse 23. Shall not their cattle and their substance -be ours?] This was a bait held out for the poor unsuspecting people of Hamor by their prince and his son, who were not much less deceived than the people themselves.

Verse 24. Every male was circumcised] These simple people must have had very great affection for their chief and his son, or have been under the influence of the most passive obedience, to have come so readily into this measure, and to have submitted to this rite. But the petty princes in Asiatic countries have ever been absolute and despotic, their subjects paying them the most prompt and blind obedience. I shall give a few examples from Mr. Richardson's Dissertations :

The Shechemites consent, and

CHAP. XXXIV.

are treacherously murdered. A. M. cir. 2266. of his city: and every male was | and their asses, and that which A. M. cir. 2266. circumcised, all that went out of was in the city, and that which was in the field,

B. C. cir. 1738.

the gate of his city.

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B. C..cir. 1738.

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28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, sister as with a harlot ?

Chapter xlix. 5, 6, 7.—— Hebrew, mouth;. Deut. xxxii. 42; 2 Sam. ii. 26; Isa. xxxi. 8.

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"Abu Thaher, chief of the Carmathians, about the year nine hundred and thirty, ravaged the territory of Mecca, defiled the temple, and destroyed nearly 40,000 people. With only 500 horse he went to lay siege to Bagdad: the caliph's general, at the head of 30,000 men, marched out to seize him, but before he attacked him he sent an officer to summon him to surrender. How many men has the caliph's general?' said Abu Thaher. Thirty thousand,' replied the offiAmong them all,' says the Carmathian chief, 'has he got three like mine?' Then, ordering his followers to approach, he commanded one to stab himself, another to throw himself from a precipice, and a third to plunge into the Tigris; all three instantly obeyed, and perished. Then turning to the officer, he said, He who has such troops needs not value the number of his enemies!"

cer

6

w Chap. xlix. 6.——

sons, the
the city.

xiii. 4.

Josh. vii. 25.—y Exod. v. 21; 1 Samuel
Deut. iv. 27; Psa. cv. 12..

remaining brothers of Simeon and Levi, spoiled Though the others could slay the defenceless males, it was not likely that they could have carried away all the booty, with the women, children, and cattle; it is therefore most natural to suppose that the rest of the sons of Jacob assisted at last in the business.

Verse 30. Ye have troubled me] Brought my mind into great distress, and endangered my personal safety; to make me to stink—to render me odious to the surrounding tribes, so that there is every reason to suspect that when this deed is come abroad they will join in a confederacy against me, and extirpate my whole family. And had he not been under the peculiar protection of God, this in all human probability would have been the case; but he had prevailed with God, and he was also to prevail with men. That Jacob's resentment was not dissembled we have the fullest proof in his depriving these two sons of the birthright, which otherwise they had doubtless enjoyed. See chap. xlix. 5, 7, where some additional circumstances are related.

"Hassan Sabat, one of those petty princes formerly known in Asia and Europe by the title Sheekh-ul-jibel, or old man of the mountain, being required by an ambassador to do homage to his master, the Sultan Malekshah Jelaleddin, without giving any answer, ordered one of his attendants to poniard himself, and another to leap from the battlements of the tower; and he was instantly obeyed! Then turning to the ambassador, he said, Seventy thousand are thus at-cubine, (see its explanation chap. xxii. 24,) but tentive to my commands. Let this be my answer.' On a principle of this kind we may account for the prompt obedience of the people of Hamor.

Verse 31. Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot ?] On this outrage alone they vindicated their flagitious conduct. The word harlot first occurs here: the original is not w pilegesh, which we render con

zonah, which ordinarily signifies one who prostitutes herself to any person for hire. Our word harlot is said to have been derived from a very odd circumstance: Robert, duke of Normandy, seeing a fine-looking country girl dancing with her companions on the green, took her to his bed. She was the daughter of a skinner, and her name was Arlotta; and of her William, surnamed The Conqueror, was born. Hence it is said all such women were from her called harlots, as William himself was usually termed the Bastard. But horelet, the diminutive of whore, is not a less likely derivation.

Verse 25. On the third day, when they were sore] When the inflammation was at the height, and a fever ensued which rendered the person utterly helpless, and his state critical, Simeon and Levi, the half brothers of Dinah, took each man his sword, probably assisted by that portion of the servants which helped them to take care of the flock, came on the city boldly, betach, securely-without being suspected, and being in no danger of meeting with resistance, and slew all the males. Great as the provocation was, and it certainly was very great, this was an act of un-into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of paralleled treachery and cruelty. evil men; avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and Verse 27. The sons of Jacob] The rest of Jacob's pass away, Prov. iv. 14, 15. Had not Dinah gone

SOLOMON has very properly said, My son, enter not

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out to see the daughters of the land, and very possibly at one of their idolatrous festivals, she had not suffered the foul disgrace mentioned in this chapter. Not only prudence dictates that young women should keep at home, but God expressly commands it, Tit. ii. 5. Dinah got among idolaters, and thus partook of their iniquities; and this led to the most base and cruel transaction upon record. How true is the saying, Those who wander out of the way of understanding shall abide in the congregation of the dead! In the case before us blame seems to attach to all parties.

1. It was wrong in Jacob to suffer his daughter, alone and unprotected, to visit the daughters of the land.

Bethel and build an altar.

of the most base and infamous designs. The simple, unsuspecting Shechemites agreed to the proposal; and when rendered by this religious rite incapable of defending themselves, they were basely murdered by Simeon and Levi, and their city destroyed. Jacob, to his great honour, remonstrated against this barbarous and bloody act, committed apparently under the sanction of religion; and God showed his abhorrence of it by directing the patriarch, in his dying moments, to proscribe them from the blessings of the covenant, so that they barely retained a name among the tribes of Israel, being in general small, and ever disreputable, except merely in the service of the sanctuary, in which 2. It was excessively wicked in Shechem to take Levi was employed. How often since, notwithstandthis advantage of the daughter of a respectable stran- ing this solemn warning, has the pure and benevolent ger, who had sought his friendship, and came to sojourn religion of God been made, by wicked and designing among his people, and whose righteous dealing they men, a political stalking-horse to serve the basest pur must have witnessed for at least seven years past. In poses, and a covert to the worst of crimes! But shall his behalf we may say, and it would be unjust not to we find fault with the holy religion of the blessed God say it, that having done the mischief, and sinned deeply because wicked men have abused it? God forbid ! against the laws of hospitality, he wished to make all Were it not so good as it really is, it would be incathe reparation in his power; and therefore in the most pable of such abuse. An evil cannot be abused, a frank and liberal manner he not only offered, but most good may; and the greater and the more acknowledged pressingly entreated, permission to take Dinah to wife. the good, the more liable to abuse. As every good is This was the utmost he could do in such a case. And so capable of being abused, does he act wisely who in this he is a saint of the first order when compared argues against the use of the thing on this account? with the noble and ignoble profligates who, while blas- Shall we say that various kinds of grain, fruits, and pheming the Christian name by continuing to assume aliments are a curse, because wicked men abuse them it, commit all kinds of breaches on the virtue of simple to the purposes of drunkenness and gluttony? females, and the peace of respectable families, and not would argue an utter perversion of all reason: and is only make no reparation, but glory in their shame. it not on such a pretext as this that many persons have ventured to call in question even the truths of Christianity?

3. It was diabolical in Jacob's sons to slay a whole tribe for the offence of one man, and especially as that one had offered to make all the restitution in his power. They required that Hamor, Shechem, and all their sub'ects should be circumcised before they could conscienously consent to give their sister to Shechem in marriage. This required conformity was made the cloak

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CHAPTER XXXV.

Jacob is commanded of God to go to Beth-el, and to build an altar there, 1. His exhortation to his family to put away all strange gods, &c., 2, 3. They deliver them all up, and Jacob hides them in the earth, 4, They commence their journey, 5; come to Luz, 6; build there the altar El-beth-el, 7. Burial place of Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, 8. God appears again unto Jacob, 9.

10-13.

Blesses him and renews the promises,

To commemorate this manifestation of God, Jacob sets up a pillar, and calls the place Beth-el, 14, 15. They journey to Ephrath, where Rachel, after hard labour, is delivered of Benjamin, and dies, 16-19. Jacob sets up a pillar on her grave, 20. They journey to Edar, 21. While at this place, Reuben defiles his father's bed, 22. Account of the children of Jacob, according to the mothers, 23-26. Jacob comes to Mamre to his father Isaac, who was probably then in the one hundred and fifty-eighth year of his age, 27. Isaac dies, and is buried by his sons Esau and Jacob, 29.

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