THE BURIAL OF SARAH.

SARAH died at the age of a hundred and twenty-seven years, when Abraham, anxious to show in death a respect equal to the attachment which he had felt for her in life, purchased from " Ephron the son of Zoar" of the children of Heth, a field in which was a cave, where he deposited the remains of his beloved Sarah. It was a custom of that time for families to have their sepulchres without the walls of their cities, and this practice prevailed up to a much later period of the Jewish history, as will appear from the funeral of the widow of Nain's son, which our Saviour met as the procession was on its way from the city to the place of interment. It is manifest also from the raising of Lazarus, whose grave, as is evident from the context, was without the town of Bethany; and we find further that the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, in which the Redeemer was laid, was in a garden beyond the walls of Jerusalem. Abraham purchased the cave and field of Machpelah for a hundred shekels of silver. "And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying place by the sons of Heth." The artist has imagined the sepulchre in which the remains of this distinguished woman were entombed, to have been a natural cave. The field might have formed part of a hill in the side of which a cavern had been produced by some convulsion of the earth. It is clear that Abraham refused to appropriate to Sarah's burial the sepulchres of the children of Heth, and no mention is made of his preparing a place of sepulture. The picture represents the body deposited in a natural cave, and surrounded by persons bearing funeral torches; the chief mourners of the family prostrating themselves before the dead.

JACOB'S VISION OF THE LADDER.

WHEN Jacob left his father's house, in consequence of his brother's hostile threat, he proceeded on his way to Padanaram, where dwelt Laban his maternal uncle. On entering Mesopotamia, he "went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and, behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it." In this vision the promise was renewed to Jacob, which had been already made to Abraham, "that in his seed should all the families of the earth be blessed;" and in order to commemorate so signal a visitation, Jacob "took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it," thus dedicating it to God's service. Here he was no doubt afterwards accustomed to repair, and "offer his sacrifices unto the Lord," and thus this simple stone became the mark of a sacred locality-it was in fact one of the primitive temples. This vision of Jacob has been very ingeniously expounded by the great Jewish commentator Maimonides, one of the most learned men of his age and nation. He considers the ladder to represent the providence of God which governs all things. Its being set on earth indicates the immutability of his attributes. Its top reaching to heaven denotes his ubiquity; the several steps, the various actions of his providence. The angels ascending and descending, show that they are his accredited agents and always employed in his service, ascending to receive his commands and descending to execute them. In sum, that learned man considers this vision to have been a mystical representation of the power and attributes of God.