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They return to Canaan

B. C. 1707.

CHAP. XLV. ·

15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

laden with rich presents

. B. C. 1707.

A. M. 2297. neck, and wept; and Benjamin | Joseph gave them wagons, accord- A. M. 2297.
wept upon his neck.
ing to the commandment of Pha-
raoh, 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.

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.

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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.

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.

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 yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed

20 Also P regard not your stuff; for the them not. good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

21 And the children of Israel did so: and

Heb. was good in the eyes of Pharaoh; chap. xli. 37. •Chap. xxvii. 28; Num. xyiii. 12, 29.- -P Heb. let not your eyes spare, &c.

falling on the neck signifies no more than kissing the neck or shoulders, with the arms around.

Verse 20. Regard not your stuff] Literally, Let not 'your eye spare your instruments or vessels. keleychem, a general term, in which may be included household furniture, agricultural utensils, or implements of any description. They were not to delay nor encumber themselves with articles which could be readily found in Egypt, and were not worth so long a carriage. Verse 21. Joseph gave them wagons] hayagaloth, from ay agal, which, though not used as a verb in the Hebrew Bible, evidently means to turn round, roll round, be circular, &c.; and hence very properly applied to wheel carriages. It appears from this that such vehicles were very early in use, and that the road from Egypt to Canaan must have been very open and much frequented, else such carriages could not have passed by it.

Verse 22. Changes of raiment] It is a common custom with all the Asiatic sovereigns to give both garments and money to ambassadors and persons of distinction, whom they particularly wish to honour. Hence they keep in their wardrobes several hundred changes of raiment, ready made up for presents of this kind. That such were given by way of reward and honour, see Judges xiv. 12, 19; Rev. vi. 11. At the close of a feast the Hindoos, among other presents to the guests, commonly give new garments. A Hindoo garment is merely a piece of cloth, requiring no work of the tailor.-Ward.

Verse 23. Meat for his father by the way.] mazon, from ji zan, to prepare, provide, &c. Hence

27. And they told him all the words "of Joseph, which he had said unto them and

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9 Heb. mouth; Num. iii. 16. Chap. xliii. 34.- Heb: carrying. Job xxix. 24; Psa. cxxvi. I; Luke xxiv. 11, 41. u Heb. his.

prepared meat, some made-up dish, delicacies, confec tionaries, &c. As the word is used, 2 Chron. xvi. 14, for aromatic preparations, it may be restrained in its meaning to something of that kind here. In Asiatic countries they have several curious methods of preserving flesh by potting, by which it may be kept for any reasonable length of time sweet and wholesome. Some delicacy, similar to the savoury food which Isaac loved, may be here intended; and this was sent to Jacob in consideration of his age, and to testify the respect of his son. Of other kinds of meat he could need none, as he had large herds, and could kill a lamb, kid, sheep, or goat, whenever he pleased.

Verse 24. See that ye fall not out by the way.] This prudent caution was given by Joseph, to prevent his brethren from accusing each other for having sold him ; and to prevent them from envying Benjamin, for the superior favour shown him by his brother. It is strange, but so it is, that children of the same parents are apt to envy each other, fall out, and contend; and therefore the exhortation in this verse must be always seasonable in a large family. But a rational, religious education will, under God, prevent every thing of this sort.

Verse 26. Jacob's heart fainted] Probably the good news so overpowered him as to cast him into a swoon. He believed them not-he thought it was too good news to be true; and though it occasioned his swooning, yet on his recovery he could not fully credit it. See a similar case, Luke xxiv. 41. Verse 27. When he saw the wagons—the spirit of Jacob-revived] The wagons were additional evi

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28 And Israel said, It is enough; A. M. 2297 Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

desolate father, in whose affection he himself had long lived, is the most difficult to be satisfactorily accounted for. Unless the Spirit of prophecy had assured him that this experiment would terminate in the most favourable manner, his conduct in making it cannot well

dences of the truth of what he had heard from his sons; and the consequence was, that he was restored to fresh vigour, he seemed as if he had gained new life, vattechi, and he lived; revixit, says the Vulgate, he lived afresh. The Septuagint translate the original word by ave(wπupnoe, which signifies the blow-be vindicated. To such prophetic intimation this coning and stirring up of almost extinguished embers that had been buried under the ashes, which word St. Paul uses, 2 Tim. i. 6, for stirring up the gift of God. The passage at once shows the debilitated state of the venerable patriarch, and the wonderful effect the news of Joseph's preservation and glory had upon his mind.

Verse 28. It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive] It was not the state of dignity to which Joseph had arisen that particularly affected Jacob, it was the consideration that he was still alive. It was this that caused him to exclaim rab; “much! ́multiplied! my son is yet alive! I will go and see him before I die." None can realize this scene; the words, the circumstances, all refer to indescribable feelings.

1. IN Joseph's conduct to his brethren there are several things for which it is difficult to account. It is strange, knowing how much his father loved him, that he never took an opportunity, many of which must have offered, to acquaint him that he was alive; and that self-interest did not dictate the propriety of this to him is at first view surprising, as his father would undoubtedly have paid his ransom, and restored him to liberty: but a little reflection will show that prudence dictated secrecy. His brethren, jealous and envious in the extreme, would soon have found out other methods of destroying his life, had they again got him into their power. Therefore for his personal safety, he chose rather to be a bond-slave in Egypt than to risk his life by returning home. On this ground it is evident that he could not with any safety have discovered the place of his residence.

2. His carriage to his brethren, previously to his making himself known, appears inexcusably harsh, if not vindictive; but when the men are considered, it will appear sufficiently evident that no other means would have been adequate to awaken their torpid consciences, and bring them to a due sense of their guilt. A desperate disease requires a desperate remedy. The event justified all that he did, and God appears to have been the director of the whole.

3. His conduct in requiring Benjamin to be as it were torn away from the bleeding heart of an aged,

duct has been attributed by learned men; and we may say that this consideration, if it does not untie the knot, at least cuts it. Perhaps it is best to say that in all these things Joseph acted as he was directed by a providence, under the influence of which he might have been led to do many things which he had not previously designed. The issue proves that the hand of God's wisdom and goodness directed, regulated, and governed every circumstance, and the result was glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and good will among men.

4. This chapter, which contains the unravelling of the plot, and wonderfully illustrates the mysteries of these particular providences, is one of the most interesting in the whole account: the speech of Joseph to his brethren, ver. 1-13, is inferior only to that of Judah in the preceding chapter. He saw that his brethren were confounded at his presence, that they were struck with his present power, and that they keenly remembered and deeply deplored their own guilt. It was necessary to comfort them, lest their hearts should have been overwhelmed with overmuch sorrow. How delicate and finely wrought is the apology he makes for them! the whole heart of the affectionate brother is at once seen in it-art is confounded and swallowed up by nature" Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves-it was not you that sent me hither, but God.” What he says also concerning his father shows the warmest feelings of a benevolent and filial heart. Indeed, the whole chapter is a master-piece of composition; and it is the more impressive because it is evi-, dently a simple relation of facts just as they occurred; for no attempt is made to heighten the effect by rhetorical colouring or philosophical reflections; it is all simple, sheer nature, from beginning to end. It is a history that has no fellow, crowded with incidents as probable as they are true; where every passion is called into action, where every one acts up to his own character, and where nothing is outre in time, or extravagant in degree. Had not the history of Joseph formed a part of the sacred Scriptures, it would have been published in all the living languages of man, and read throughout the universe! But it contains the things of God; and to all such the carnal mind is enmity,

CHAPTER XLVI.

Jacob begins his journey to Egypt, comes to Beer-sheba, and offers sacrifices to God, 1. God appears to him in a vision, gives him gracious promises, and assures him of his protection, 2-4. He proceeds, with his family and their cattle, on his journey towards Egypt, 5-7. A genealogical enumeration of the seventy persons who went down to Egypt, 8, &c. The posterity of Jacob by LEAH. Reuben and his sons, 9, Simeon and his sons, 10. Levi and his sons, 11. Judah and his sons, 12. Issachar and his sons, 13.

Jacob and his family

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CHAP. XLVI.

go into Egypt. And Zebulun and his sons, 14. All the posterity of Jacob by LEAH, thirty and three, 15. The posterity of Jacob by Zilpah. Gad and his sons, 16. Asher and his sons, 17., All the posterity of Jacob by ZILPAH, Sixteer, 18. The posterity of Jacob by RACHEL. Joseph and his sons, 19, 20, Benjamin and his sons, 21. All the posterity of Jacob by RACHEL, fourteen, 22. The posterity of Jacob by BILHAH. Dan and his sons, 23. Naphtali and his sons, 24. All the posterity of Jacob by BILHAH, seven, 25. All the immediate descendants of Jacob by his four wives, threescore and six, 26; and all the descendants of the house of Jacob, seventy.souls, 27. Judah is sent before to inform Joseph of his father's coming, 28. Joseph goes to Goshen to meet Jacob, 29. Their affecting interview, 30. Joseph proposes to return to Pharaoh, and inform him of the arrival of his family, 31, and of their occupation, as keepers of cattle, 32, Instructs them what to say when called before Pharaoh, and questioned by him, that they might be permitted to dwell unmolested in the land of Goshen, 33, 34.

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A. M. 2298. AND Israel took his journey and their little ones, and their wives, A. M. 2298. with all that he had, and came in the wagons. which Pharaoh had k to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto sent to carry him. the God of his father Isaac.'

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2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

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NOTES ON CHAP. XLVI. Verse 1, And came to Beer-sheba] This place appears to be mentioned, not only because it was the way from Hebron, where Jacob resided, to Egypt, whither he was going, but because it was a consecrated place, a place where God had appeared to Abraham, chap. xxi. 33, and to Isaac, chap. xxvi. 23, and where Jacob is encouraged to expect a manifestation of the same goodness: he chooses therefore to begin his journey with a visit to God's house; and as he was going into a strange land, he feels it right to renew his covenant with God by sacrifice, There is an old proverb which applies strongly to this case: Prayers and provender never hinder any man's journey." He who would travel safely must take God with him.

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6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with 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. 8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's first-born.

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9 And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.

Chap. xv. 16; 1. 13, 24, 25; Exod. iii. 8,- Chap. 1. 1: Acts vii. 16. Chap. xlv. 19, 21 Deut. xxvi. 5; Josh. xxiv. 4; Psa. cv. 23; Isa. lii. 4. Exod. i. 1; vi. 14. " Num. xxvi. 5; 1 Chron. v. }.

upon thine eyes. It is not likely that Jacob would have at all attempted to go down to Egypt, had he not received these assurances from God; and it is very likely that he offered his sacrifice merely to obtain this information. It was now a time of famine in Egypt, and God had forbidden his father Isaac to go down to Egypt when there was a famine there, chap. xxvi. 1-3; besides, he may have had some general intimation of the prophecy delivered to his grandfather Abraham, that his seed should be afflicted in Egypt, chap. xv. 13, 14; and he also knew that Canaan, not Egypt, was to be the inheritance of his family, chap. xii., &c. On all these accounts it was necessary to have the most explicit directions from God, before he should take such a journey.

Verse 7. All his seed brought he with him into Egypt.] When Jacob went down into Egypt he was in the one hundred and thirtieth year of his age, two hundred and fifteen years after the promise was made to Abraham, chap. xii. 1-4, in the year of the world 2298, and before Christ 1706.

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Verse 3. Fear not to go down into Egypt]. It appears that there had been some doubts in the patriarch's mind relative to the propriety of this journey; he found, from the confession of his own sons, how little they were to be trusted. But every doubt is dispelled by this Divine manifestation.. 1. He may go down confidently, no evil shall befall him. 2. Even in Egypt Verse 8. These are the names of the children of the covenant shall be fulfilled, God will make of him Israel] It may be necessary to observe here, First, there a great nation. 3. God himself will acompany that several of these names are expressed differently him on his journey, be with him in the strange land, elsewhere, Jemuel for Nemuel, Jachin for Jarib, Gerand even bring back his bones to rest with those of his shon for Gershom, &c.,; compare Num. xxvi. 12; 1 fathers. 4. He shall see Joseph, and this same be- Chron. iv. 24. But it is no uncommon case for the loved son shall be with him in his last hours, and do same person to have different names, or the same the last kind office for him. Joseph shall put his hand | name to be differently pronounced; see chap. xxv. 15,

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Enumeration of the seventy

GENESIS.

persons who went into Egypt. A. M. 2298. 10 And the sons of Simeon; his daughters were thirty and A. M. 2298. Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad,

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three.

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16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and a Ezbon, Eri, and ↳ Arodi,

and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of
a Canaanitish woman.
11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Ko- and Areli.
hath, and Merari.

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12 And the sons of " Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but ▾ Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

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17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.

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18 These are the sons of Zilpah, * whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter; and these 13 And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. 19 The sons of Rachel

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14 And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Joseph and Benjamin. Elon, and Jahleel.

15 These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and

Exod. vi. 15; 1 Chron: iv. 24.-P Or, Nemuel. Or, Jarib Or, Zerak; 1 Chron. iv. 24.1 Chron. vi. 1, 16. 'Or, Gershom." Chron. ii. 3; iv. 2L- Chap. xxxviii. 3, 7, 10. Chap. xxxviii. 29; 1 Chron. ii. 5. .

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Secondly, that it is probable that some names in this list are brought in by prolepsis or anticipation, as the persons were born (probably) during the seventeen years which Jacob sojourned in Egypt, see ver. 12. Thirdly, that the families of some are entered more at large than others because of their peculiar respectability, as in the case-of Judah, Joseph, and Benjamin; but see the tables under-verse 20.

Verse 12. The sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul] It is not likely that Pharez was more than ten years of age when he came into Egypt, and if so he could not have had children; therefore it is necessary to consider Hezron and Hamul as being born during the seventeen years that Jacob sojourned in Egypt, see on ver. 8: and it appears necessary, for several reasons, to take these seventeen years into the account, as it is very probable that what is called the going down into Egypt includes the seventeen years which Jacob

spent there.

Verse 20. Unto Joseph-were born Manasseh and Ephraim] There is a remarkable addition here in the Septuagint, which must be noticed: Eyevovro de vio Μανασση, ούς ετεκεν αὐτῷ ἡ παλλακη ἡ Σύρα, τον Μαχιρ Μαχιρ δε εγεννησε τον Γαλααδ. Υίοι δε Εφραιμ αδελφού Υίοι δε Σουταλααμ, Μανασση, Σουταλααμ και Τααμ. Εδεμ These were the sons of Manasseh whom his Syrian concubine bore unto him: Machir; and Machir begat Galaad. The sons of Ephraim, Manasseh's brother, were Sutalaam and Taam; and the sons of Sutalaam, Edem. These add five per-sons to the list, and make out the number given by Stephen, Acts vii. 14, which it seems he had taken from the text of the Septuagint, unless we could suppose that the text of Stephen had been altered to make it correspond to the Septuagint, of which there is not the slightest evidence from ancient MSS. or versions, The addition in the Septuagint is not

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found in either the Hebrew or the Samaritan at present ; and some suppose that it was taken either from Num. xxvi. 29, 35, or 1 Chron. vii. 14-20, but in none of these places does the addition appear as it stands in the Septuagint, though some of the names are found interspersed. Various means have been proposed to find the seventy persons in the text, and to reconcile the Hebrew with the Septuagint and the New Testament.

A table given by Scheuchzer, extracted from the Memoires de Trevoux, gives the following general view; . The twelve sons of JACOB with their children and grandchildren.

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Enumeration of the seventy.

B. C. 1706.

CHAP. XLVI.

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persons who went into Egypt.

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A. M. 2298. 21 And the sons of Benjamin 26 All the souls that came with A. M: 2298. were Bela, and Becher, and Ash-Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

bel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, 1Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.

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22 These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen. 23 And the sons of Dan; Hushim. 24 And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.

27-And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

28 And he sent Judah before him unto Jo

25 These are the sons of Bilhah, which seph, to direct his face unto Goshen, and Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and they came into the land of Goshen. she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were

seven.

il Chron. vii. 6; viii. 1.- Num. xxvi. 38; Ahiram. Numbers xxvi. 39; Shupham; 1 Chron. vii. 12; Shuppim. Hupham, Num. xxvi. 39.1 Chron. vii. 12.- - Or, Shu

29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen,

ham; Num. xxvi. 42.-P1 Chron. vii. 13.
Ch. xxix. 29.— Exod. i. 5.

" Deut. x. 22; see Acts vii. 14.

Heb. thigh;
Ch. xxxi. 21.

Chap. xxx. 5, 7. chap. xxxv. 11. Ch. xlvii. 1.

supposed to be as yet unmarried, and the wife of Jo-turah. Thus does the New Testament furnish an admiseph being already in Egypt, and therefore out of the case the number will amount to seventy-five, which is that found in the Acts."-Universal History.

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"If to these sixty-six children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren, we add Jacob himself, Joseph and his two sons, the amount is seventy, the whole amount of Jacob's family which settled in Egypt.

rable comment on the Old.”—Analysis, vol., ii. p. 159. It is necessary to observe that this statement, which appears on the whole the most consistent, supposes that Judah was married when about fourteen years of age, his son Er at the same age, Pharez at the same, Asher and his fourth son Beriah under twenty, Benjamin about fifteen, and Joseph's sons and grandsons about twenty. But this is not improbable, as the children of Israel must all have married at a very early age, to have produced in about two hundred and fifteen years no less than six hundred thousand persons above twenty years old, besides women and children.

Verse 28. He sent Judah before him unto Joseph] Judah was certainly a man of sense, and also an eloquent man; and of him Joseph must have had a very favourable opinion from the speech he delivered before him, chap. xliv. 18, &c.; he was therefore chosen as the most proper person to go before and announce Jacob's arrival to his son Joseph.

To direct his face unto Goshen] The land of Goshen is the same, according to the Septuagint, as the land of Rameses, and Goshen itself the same as Heroopolis, 'Hpwwv noλis Heroon-polis, the city of heroes, a name by which it went in the days of the Septuagint, and which it still retained in the time of Josephus, for he makes use of the same term in speaking of this place. See on ver. 34.

Verse 29. And Joseph made ready his chariot] mercabto. In chap. xli. 43, we have the first mention of a chariot, and if the translation be correct, it is a proof that the arts were not in a rude state in Egypt even at this early time. When we find wagons used to transport goods from place to place, we need not wonder that these suggested the idea of forming

"In this statement the wives of Jacob's sons, who formed part of the household, are omitted; but they amounted to nine, for of the twelve wives of the twelve sons of Jacob, Judah's wife was dead, chap. xxxviii. 12, and Simeon's also, as we may collect from his youngest son Shaul by a Canaanitess, ver. 10, and Joseph's wife was already in Egypt. These nine wives, therefore, added to the sixty-six, give seventy- | chariots for carrying persons, and especially those of five souls, the whole amount of Jacob's household that went down with him to Egypt; critically corresponding with the statement in the New Testament, that 'Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his kindred, amounting to seventy-five souls.' The expression all his kindred, including the wives which were Joseph's kindred, not only by affinity, but also by consanguinity, being probably of the families of Esau, Ishmael, or Ke

high rank and authority. Necessity produces arts, and arts and science produce not only an increase of the conveniences but also of the refinements and luxuries of life. It has been supposed that a chariot is not intended here; for as the word mercabah, which we and most of the ancient versions translate chariot, comes from rachab, he rode, saddling his horse may be all that is intended. But it is more

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