15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? 16 And he said, I seek my brethren: ⚫ tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. A 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 17 And the man said, They are departed hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to ithy brethren indeed come to bow down our Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, selves to thee to the earth? and found them in P Dothan. 11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. 18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they con 12 And his brethren went to feed their spired against him to slay him. father's flock in Shechem. 19 13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy this 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, I see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word And they said one to another, Behold, 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 41 Sam. xix. 1; Psa. xxxi. 13; xxxvii. 12, 32; xciv. 21; Matt. xxvii. 1; Mark xiv. 1; John xi. 53; Acts xxiii. 12. Heb. master of dreams. Proverbs i. 11, 16; vi. 17; xxvii. 4. 'Chap. xlii. 22. his brethren there bowing in the most abject manner ver. 4. As Jacob's sons were now gone to feed the before him. Verse 9. He dreamed yet another dream] This is as clear as the preceding. But how could Jacob say, Shall I and thy mother, &c., when Rachel his mother was dead some time before this? Perhaps Jacob might hint, by this explanation, the impossibility of such a dream being fulfilled, because one of the persons who should be a chief actor in it was already dead. But any one wife or concubine of Jacob was quite sufficient to fulfil this part of the dream. It is possible, some think, that Joseph may have had these dreams before his mother Rachel died; but were even this the case, she certainly did not live to fulfil the part which appears to refer to herself. flock on the parcel of ground they had bought from the Shechemites, (see chap. xxxiii. 19,) and where they had committed such a horrible slaughter, their father might feel more solicitous about their welfare, lest the neighbouring tribes should rise against them, and revenge the murder of the Shechemites. As Jacob appears to have been at this time in the vale of Hebron, it is supposed that Shechem was about sixty English miles distant from it, and that Dothan was about eight miles farther. But I must again advertise my readers that all these calculations are very dubious; for we do not even know that the same place is intended, as there are many proofs that different places went by the same names, The sun and the moon and the eleven stars] Why Verse 19. Behold, this dreamer cometh.] ninn bya eleven stars? Was it merely to signify that his bro-baal hachalomoth, this master of dreams, this master thers might be represented by stars? Or does he not dreamer. A form of speech which conveys great rather there allude to the Zodiac, his eleven brethren contempt. answering to eleven of the celestial signs, and himself to the twelfth? This is certainly not an unnatural thought, as it is very likely that the heavens were thus measured in the days of Joseph; for the zodiacal constellations have been distinguished among the eastern nations from time immemorial. See the notes at the end of chap. xlix. Verse 14. Go-see whether it be well with thy brethren] Literally, Go, I beseech thee, and see the peace of thy brethren, and the peace of the flock. Go and see whether they are all in prosperity. See on Verse 20. Come now-and let us slay him] What unprincipled savages these must have been to talk thus coolly about imbruing their hands in an innocent brother's blood! How necessary is a Divine revelation, to show man what God hates and what he loves! Ferocious cruelty is the principal characteristic of the nations and tribes who receive not the law at his mouth. Verse 21. Reuben heard it] Though Reuben appears to have been a transgressor of no ordinary mag, nitude, if we take chap. xxxv. 22 according to the letter, yet his bosom was not the habitation of cruelty, Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites. B. C. 1728. B. C. 1728. our brother and were content. A. M. 2276. him out of their hands; and said, | 27 Come, and let us sell him to A.M. 2276. Let us not kill him. the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our flesh. And his brethren 28 Then there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; and they brought Joseph into Egypt. 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 stripped 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. Or, pieces.- - Prov. xxx. 20; Amos vi. 6. What con See verse 28, 36. Jer. viii. 22.—y Chap. iv. 10; ver. 20; Job xvi. 18. z 1 Sam. xviii. 17.- Chap. xlii. 21. b Chap. xxix. 14. He determined, if possible, to save his brother from death, and deliver him safely to his father, with whose fondness for him he was sufficiently acquainted. Josephus, in his usual way, puts a long flourishing speech in the mouth of Reuben on the occasion, spoken in order to dissuade his brethren from their barbarous purpose; but as it is totally unfounded, it is worthy of no regard. Verse 23. They stripped Joseph out of his coat] This probably was done that, if ever found, he might not be discerned to be a person of distinction, and consequently, no inquiry made concerning him. Verse 25. They sat down to eat bread] Every act is perfectly in character, and describes forcibly the brutish and diabolic nature of their ruthless souls. A company of Ishmaelites] We may naturally suppose that this was a caravan, composed of different tribes that, for their greater safety, were travelling together, and of which Ishmaelites and Midianites made the chief. In the Chaldee they are called Arabians, which, from arab, to mingle, was in all probability used by the Targumist as the word Arabians is used among us, which comprehends a vast number of clans, or tribes of people. The Jerusalem Targum calls them Ip Sarkin, what we term Saracens. In the Persian, کاروانی اشمعالیم عربان آيا : the clause stands thus karavanee ishmaaleem araban aya. "A caravan of Ishmaelite Arabs came." This seems to give the true sense. Verse 28. For twenty pieces of silver] In the AngloSaxon it is putigum penegum, thirty pence.. This, I think, is the first instance on record of selling a man 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 i 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. a 33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's e Heb. hearkened.- d Judg. vi. 3; ch. xlv. 4, 5.- Psa. cv. 17; Wisd. x. 13; Acts vii. 9. See Matt. xxvii. 9.— Job i. 20.——— Chap. xlii. 13, 36; Jer. xxxi. 15.—— Ver. 23. for a slave; but the practice certainly did not commence now, it had doubtless been in use long before. Instead of pieces, which our translators supply, the Persian has s miskal, which was probably intended to signify shekel; and if shekels be intended, taking them at three shillings each, Joseph was sold for about three pounds sterling. I have known a whole cargo of slaves, amounting to eight hundred and thirteen, bought by a slave captain in Bonny river, in Africa, on an average, for six pounds each; and this payment was made in guns, gunpowder, and trinkets! As there were only nine of the brethren present, and they sold Joseph for twenty shekels, each had more than two shekels as his share in this most infamous transaction. Verse 29. Reuben returned unto the pit] It appears he was absent when the caravan passed by, to whom the other brethren had sold Joseph. Verse 30. The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?] The words in the original are very plaintive, N N N N ' ' haiyeled einennu, vaani anah, ani ba! Verse 32. Sent the coat of many colours-to their father] What deliberate cruelty to torture the feelings of their aged father, and thus harrow up his soul! Verse 33. Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces!] It is likely he inferred this from the lacerated state of the coat, which, in order the better to cover their wickedness, they had not only besmeared with the blood of the goat, but it is probable reduced to tatters. what must a father's heart have felt in such a case! As this coat is rent, so is the body of my beloved son rent in pieces! and Jacob rent his clothes. And Jacob mourns for Joseph. B. C. 1728. in pieces! B. C. 1728. 4. M. 2276. coat; an evil beast hath devoured rose up to comfort him; but he A. M. 2276. him; Joseph is without doubt rent 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, unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharoah's, and 35 And all his sons and all his daughters captain of the guard." 34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. * Ver. 20; chap. xliv. 28.-Ver. 29; 2 Sam. iii. 31. 2 Sam. xii. 17. Chap. xlii. 38; xliv. 29, 31.- Chapter xxxix. 1. Heb. eunuch. But the word doth signify not only ૧ eunuchs, but also chamberlains, courtiers, and officers; Esth. i. 10. 9 Heb. chief of the slaughtermen or executioners.- Or, chief marshal. them that love him. Joseph has often been considered as a type of Christ, and this subject in the hands of different persons has assumed a great variety of colouring. The following parallels appear the most probable; but I shall not pledge myself for the pro Verse 35. All his sons and all his daughters] He had only one daughter, Dinah; but his sons' wives may be here included. But what hypocrisy in his sons to attempt to comfort him concerning the death of a son who they knew was alive; and what cruelty to put their aged father to such torture, when, properly speak-priety of any of them: "Jesus Christ, prefigured by ing, there was no ground for it! Verse 36. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's] The word D saris, translated officer, signifies a eunuch; and lest any person should imagine that because this Potiphar had a wife, therefore it is absurd to suppose him to have been a eunuch, let such persons know that it is not uncommon in the east for eunuchs to have wives, nay, some of them have even a harem or seraglio, where they keep many women, though it does not appear that they have any progeny; and probably discontent on this ground might have contributed as much to the unfaithfulness of Potiphar's wife, as that less principled motive through which it is commonly believed she acted. Captain of the guard.] non sar hattabbachim, chief of the butchers; a most appropriate name for the guards of an eastern despot. If a person offend one of the despotic eastern princes, the order to one of the life-guards is, Go and bring me his head; and this command is instantly obeyed, without judge, jury, or any form of law. Potiphar, we may therefore suppose, was captain of those guards whose business it was to take care of the royal person, and execute his sovereign will on all the objects of his displeasure. Reader, if thou hast the happiness to live under the British constitution, be thankful to God. Here, the will, the power, and utmost influence of the king, were he even so disposed, cannot deprive the meanest subject of his property, his liberty, or his life. All the solemn legal forms of justice must be consulted; the culprit, however accused, be heard by himself and his counsel; and in the end twelve honest, impartial men, chosen from among his fellows, shall decide on the validity of the evidence produced by the accuser. For the trial by jury, as well as for innumerable political blessings, may God make the inhabitants of Great Britain thankful! 1. WITH this chapter the history of Joseph commences, and sets before our eyes such a scene of wonders wrought by Divine Providence in such a variety of surprising instances, as cannot fail to confirm our faith in God, show the propriety of resignation to his will, and confidence in his dispensations, and prove that all things work together for good to Joseph, the beloved of his father, and by him sent to visit his brethren, is the innocent person whom his brethren sold for a few pieces of silver, the bargain proposed by his brother Judah, (Greek Judas,) the very namesake of that disciple and brother (for so Christ vouchsafes to call him) who sold his Lord and Master; and who by this means became their Lord and Saviour; nay, the Saviour of strangers, and of the whole world; which had not happened but for this plot of destroying him, the act of rejecting, and exposing him to sale. In both examples we find the same fortune and the same innocence: Joseph in the prison between two criminals; Jesus on the cross between two thieves. Joseph foretells deliverance to one of his companions and death to the other, from the same omens of the two thieves, one reviles Christ, and perishes in his crimes; the other believes, and is assured of a speedy entrance into paradise. Joseph requests the person that should be delivered to be mindful of him in his glory; the person saved by Jesus Christ entreats his deliverer to remember him when he came into his kingdom."-See Pascal's Thoughts. Parallels and coincidences of this kind should always be received cautiously, for where the Spirit of God has not marked a direct resemblance, and obviously referred to it as such in some other part of his word, it is bold, if not dangerous, to say "such and such things and persons are types of Christ." We have instances sufficiently numerous, legitimately attested, without having recourse to those which are of dubious import and precarious application. See the observation on chap. xl. 2. Envy has been defined, "pain felt, and malignity conceived, at the sight of excellence or happiness in another." Under this detestable passion did the brethren of Joseph labour; and had not God particularly interposed, it would have destroyed both its subjects and its object. Perhaps there is no vice which so directly filiates itself on Satan, as this does. opposition to the assertion that we cannot envy that by which we profit, it may be safely replied that we may envy our neighbour's wisdom, though he gives us good counsel; his riches, though he supplies our wants; and his greatness, though he employs it for our protection. In 3. How ruinous are family distractions! A house ·Judah marries a Canaanite, GENESIS. divided against itself cannnot stand. Parents should take good heed that their own conduct be not the first and most powerful cause of such dissensions, by exciting envy in some of their children through undue partiality to others; but it is in vain to speak to most of whom three sons are born. parents on the subject; they will give way to foolish predilections, till, in the prevailing distractions of their families, they meet with the punishment of their imprudence, when regrets are vain, and the evil past remedy. CHAPTER XXXVIII. Judah marries the daughter of a Canaanite, 1, 2; and begets of her Er, 3, Qnan, 4, and Shelah, 5. Er marries Tamar, 6; is slain for his wickedness, 7. Onan, required to raise up seed to his brother, refuses, 8, 9. He also is slain, 10. Judah promises his son Shelah to Tamar, when he should be of age; but performs not his promise, 11. Judah's wife dies, 12., Tamar in disguise receives her father-in-law, he leaves his signet, bracelets, and staff in her hand, and she conceives by him, 13-23. Judah is informed that his daughter-in-law is with child; and, not knowing that himself was the father, condemns her to be burnt, 24. She produces the signet, bracelets, and staff, and convicts Judah, 25, 26. She is delivered of twins, who are called Pharez and Zarah, 27-30. xlvi. 12; Num. xxvi. 19.- - Chapter xlvi. 12; Num. xxvi. 20. h Chap. xxi. 21. chem, chap. xxxiii. 18, before the history of Dinah, chap. xxxiv., though Moses for special cause relates it in this place." I should rather suppose that this chapter originally stood after chap. xxxiii., and that it got by accident into this place. Dr. Hales, observing that some of Jacob's sons must have married remarkably old when Jacob's family settled in Egypt. He could not therefore have been above fifteen at the birth of his eldest son Er; nor Er more than fifteen at his marriage with Tamar; nor could it have been more than two years after Er's death till the birth of Judah's twin sons by his daughter-in-law Tamar; nor could Pharez, one of them, be more than fifteen at the birth of his twin sons Hezron and Hamul, supposing they were twins, just born before the departure from Canaan. For the aggregate of these numbers, 15, 15, 2, 15, or 47 years, gives the age of Judah; compare chap. xxxviii. with chap. xlvi. 12." See the remarks of Dr. Kennicott, at the end of chap. xxxi. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXVIII. Verse 1. And it came to pass at that time] The facts mentioned here could not have happened at the times mentioned in the preceding chapter, as those times are all unquestionably too recent, for the very earliest of the transactions here recorded must have occurred long before the selling of Joseph. Mr. Ains-young, says that "Judah was about forty-seven years worth remarks "that Judah and his sons must have married when very young, else the chronology will not agree. For Joseph was born six years before Jacob left Laban and came into Canaan; chap. xxx. 25, and xxxi. 41. Joseph was seventeen years old when he was sold into Egypt, chap. xxxvii. 2, 25; he was thirty years old when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, chap. xli. 46. And nine years after, when there had been seven years of plenty and two years of famine, did Jacob with his family go down into Egypt, chap. xli. 53, 54, and xlv. 6, 11. And at their going down thither, Pharez, the son of Judah, whose birth is set down at the end of this chapter, had two sons, Hezron and Hamul, chap. xlvi. 8, 12. Seeing then from the selling of Joseph unto Israel's going down into Egypt there cannot be above twenty-three years, how is it possible that Judah should take a wife, and have by her three sons successively, and Shelah the youngest of the three be marriageable when Judah begat Pharez of Tamar, chap. xxxviii. 14, 24, and Pharez be grown up, married, and have two sons, all within so short a space? The time therefore here spoken of seems to have been soon after Jacob's coming to She Adullamite] An inhabitant of Adullam, a city of Canaan, afterwards given for a possession to the sons of Judah, Josh. xv. 1, 35. It appears as if this Adullamite had kept a kind of lodging house, for Shuah the Canaanite and his family lodged with him; and there Judah lodged also. As the woman was a Canaanitess, Judah had the example of his fathers to prove at least the impropriety of such a connection. Verse 5. And he was at Chezib when she bare him.] This town is supposed to be the same with Achzib, 9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did a displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. Judah deceived by Tamar. B. C cir. 1727. went up unto his sheep-shearers A. M. cir. 2277. t 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. 14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot: because she had covered her face. 11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter- 16 And he turned unto her by the way, and in-law, Remain a widow at thy father's said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto house, till Shelah my son be grown: (for thee; (for he knew not that she was his he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his daughter-in-law.) And she said, What wilt brethren did.) And Tamar went and dwelt thou give me, that thou mayest come in 4 in her father's house. A. M. cir. 2277. 12 And in process of time k1 Chron. ii. 3.- Deut. "The which fell to the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv. 44. Verse 7. Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord] What this wickedness consisted in we are not told; but the phrase sight of the Lord being added, proves that it was some very great evil. It is worthy of remark that the Hebrew word used to express Er's wickedness is his own name, the letters reversed. Er As if the inspired writer had said, "Er was altogether wicked, a completely abandoned character." .ra רע,wicked ; ער Verse 9. Onan knew that the seed should not be his] That is, that the child begotten of his brother's widow should be reckoned as the child of his deceased brother, and his name, though the real father of it, should not appear in the genealogical tables. Verse 10. Wherefore he slew him alsó.] The sin of Onan has generally been supposed to be self-pollution; but this is certainly a mistake; his crime was his refusal to raise up seed to his brother, and rather than do it, by the act mentioned above, he rendered himself incapable of it. We find from this history that long before the Mosaic law it was an established custom, probably founded on a Divine precept, that if a man died childless his brother was to take his wife, and the children produced by this second marriage were considered as the children of the first husband, and in consequence inherited his possessions. unto me? J 17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, a Wilt thou give me a pledge till thou send it? 2 Samuel xiii. 39. Joshua xv. 10, 57; Judges xiv. 1.. "Judith x. 3. Prov. vii. 12. Heb. the door of eyes or of Enajim.— Verse 11, 26. - Ezek. xvi. 33. Heb. a kid of the goats. La Ver. 20. Verse 12. In process of time] This phrase, which is in general use in the Bible, needs explanation; the original is ' 17 vaiyirbu haiyamim, and the days were multiplied. Though it implies an indefinite time, yet it generally embraces a pretty long period, and in this place may mean several years. Verse 15. Thought her to be a harlot] See the original of this term, chap. xxxiv. 31. The Hebrew is zonah, and signifies generally a person who prostitutes herself to the public for hire, or one who lives by the public; and hence very likely applied to a publican, a tavern-keeper, or hostess, Josh. ii. 1; translated by the Septuagint, and in the New Testament, πoрνη, from πεpvaw, to sell, which certainly may as well apply to her goods as to her person. It appears that in very ancient times there were public persons of this description; and they generally veiled themselves, sat in public places by the highway side, and received certain hire. Though adultery was reputed a very flagrant crime, yet this public prostitution was not; for persons whose characters were on the whole morally good had connections with them. But what could be expected from an age in which there was no written Divine revelation, and consequently the bounds of right and wrong were not sufficiently ascertained? This defect was supplied in a considerable measure by the law and the prophets, and now completely by the Gospel of Christ. Verse 17. Will thou give me a pledge till thou send it ?] The word pay erabon signifies an earnest of something promised, a part of the price agreed for |