Deity, was by no means exercised in favour of Jacob. The consequence was, that though Jacob had doubtless heard something of Jehovah, and of his predilection for the family of which he was a member, he had not, at the period of his emigration, been accustomed to think of him as the supreme Governor of heaven and earth; but probably regarded him as a God, equal in power, though not superior, to the tutelary deities worshipped by the tribes among whom they dwelt. Hence his stipulation, that if Jehovah desired to be his God, he should guide him in safety; for the vow clearly implies that in the event of Jacob not being protected, Jehovah should not be his God. Now we really see nothing in all this at variance with our notions of God's goodness, or his gracious purposes; on the contrary, we perceive distinctly that the coming of the Messiah was deferred, because as yet, and for many ages after, mankind were not in a condition to benefit by the pure and spiritual religion, which it was one object of his coming to inculcate.

Whatever objection might be offered to the wrestling-match between Jacob and the angel, and to the readiness with which Jacob's wives advanced their handmaids to the dignity of his bed, have, we think, been met, in previous discussions. The scene between the angel and Jacob, was a mere repetition of that mode of conveying information, which we have stated to have been in common use in former times; a system in which action supplied the place of words, whilst the reasons which guided Jacob's wives, were very just and simple. Their handmaids being their slaves, and so, in the strictest sense of the term, their property, they naturally concluded, that whatever children they might have, would become their property also; whilst the reluctance which women experience in the western regions, to share the beds of their husbands with others, has not, and never appears to have had, any existence in the east.

We have only to add, that the general truth of the Mosaic history receives ample confirmation from the account of those times, given by all heathen writers who have treated of them. Sanchoniathon, Berosus, Hecatæus, Eupolmus, and others, as they are quoted by Eusebius, in his Præposatio Evangelica, all bear us out in our assertion. The same thing may be said of many of the ancient books of the Hindoos, which have been examined by Sir William Jones, and other members of the Asiatic Society. The fable of Jupiter's chain, which,

according to Homer, reached from heaven to earth, has clearly been borrowed, as far as it has reference to divine Providence, from Jacob's vision of the ladder. Jacob's residence with his uncle Laban, in the capacity of a servant, is the groundwork of that beautiful tale, which introduces Apollo to our notice as the shepherd of Admetus; whilst the whole of the patriarch's adventures at Shechem, the rape of Dinah, and its consequences, are related by Alexander Polyhistor, almost in the same order which has been preserved by Moses. In a word, there is nothing told in the preceding chapter, which falls not perfectly in with our notions of the state of society in those early days, modified and overruled as that was, from time to time, in a family taken, for particular purposes, under the guidance of an especial Providence.

CHAPTER IX.

History of Jacob continued.-Joseph sold into Egypt.-His fortunes there.-Objections stated and answered.

A. M. 3526 to 3548.-B. C. 1885 to 1863.

FROM this time forward, the sacred historian limits his details to the family of Jacob, the destined heir of the promises. He tells us, indeed, where Esau settled, as well as the fortunes which attended most of his descendants; some of whom, the Idumæans, were in after times called upon strictly to fulfil the letter of Isaac's blessing-but it is to Jacob, and his proceedings, that our attention is now mainly confined; and these are in themselves abundantly interesting.

It would appear that Esau, either partial to the territory which he had acquired with his own hand, or directed by his father's will so to do, no sooner saw Isaac's body committed to the ground, than he abandoned Canaan, and retired without strife or contention to his home in Mount Seir. By this means Jacob entered at once into possession of his father's settlement, where for some time he spent a quiet and easy life; though his want of judgment exhibited in managing his

family affairs, had already sown the seeds of disunion and trouble. Nor did any great while elapse ere these evils showed themselves; of which the following may be accounted at least the proximate cause:

Jacob had all along retained his partiality for Rachel, whom alone, of his four wives, he seems ever truly to have loved. It was not, perhaps, unnatural, that the partiality which he experienced for the mother, should be extended to her offspring; but it was, to say the least of it, exceedingly impolitic to exhibit that partiality so glaringly. Once before, it is to be observed, he evinced his disposition to preserve Rachel and her children, should all the rest perish, by placing them in the rear of his entire band, when he supposed himself to be threatened by Esau; and he now took every opportunity of showing, that the rest of his children were in his eyes as nothing, when compared with those which Rachel had brought him. Joseph, in particular, her firstborn, was his especial favourite; a feeling for which the naturally amiable qualities of the youth, seem sufficiently to account; and he took so little pains to disguise the preference, that the lad became, as in a state of society so rude it might be expected that he would, an object of jealousy and abhorrence to his brothers. Among other marks of favour, Jacob caused a coat of many colours to be made for Joseph; a matter of itself of small moment, but which acquired adventitious importance, on account of the feeling which produced it. This was scarcely done, when the youth, very unintentionally inflamed the anger of his brothers, by repeating two remarkable dreams with which he had been favoured. The substance of these was, first, that he and his brothers were binding sheaves together, in the field, and that his brother's sheaves made obeisance to his; and next, that the sun, the moon, and eleven stars, did him homage. His brothers, ready, as envious men ever are, to catch at straws, considered these words as an intimation that he intended at some time to aim at usurping the mastery over them; and though his father openly discountenanced Joseph in his endeavours to obtain an interpretation of the dreams, they resolved to put it effectually out of his power to bring about their accomplishment.

It happened on a certain occasion, that Jacob sent Joseph to inquire into the welfare of his brothers, who kept their flocks at a considerable distance from home, and in the vicinity of Shechem. As he approached that place, he met a man

who informed him that his relatives had removed to a pasturage about twenty miles north, called Dothan; and thither, in obedience to his father's instructions, he followed them. But his brothers no sooner beheld him afar off than they began to lay plans for his murder; one suggesting to the other, that the crime might easily be concealed, and the blame of his death laid upon a wild beast of the forest. In this instance, Reuben, who had previously behaved so ill, acted with great kindness, if not with courage. He dissuaded them from, imbruing their hands in innocent blood, advised that they should rather cast him into a pit to perish, and determined, as soon as his brothers should quit the spot, privately to draw him out and restore him to his father. So much of Reuben's plan was acted upon, that they cast the boy into a pit; but before the opportunity for which he waited occurred, certain Ishmaelite merchants happened to pass, to whom Judah suggested that it would be a prudent measure to sell their brother as a slave. The hint was immediately taken; Joseph was drawn up out of the pit, and his coat being stripped off, torn. and smeared with blood, he was disposed of at a price to these travelling Arabs. By them he was forthwith transported into Egypt, for the purpose of being resold, and he was finally purchased by a person of high rank-Potiphar, the captain of the guard to king Pharaoh.

When his son's coat, in its torn and bloody state, was conveyed to Jacob, he mourned over him as believing that he had fallen a victim to some savage animal, and for a considerable while would receive no comfort from his wives, or the remainder of his children. Nor, to say the truth, was the conduct of his sons such, as to reconcile him to the loss of Joseph. Crimes were committed, in the family of Judah in particular, which could not fail to grieve one, rendered, as Jacob now was, sincerely pious by calamity; whilst the rest daily harassed him by their petulance towards him, and their disunion among themselves. But the career of Joseph, though not unattended with difficulties, was upon the whole an exceedingly prosperous one, and he who had been sold as a slave by his envious brethern, proved in the end, the preserver and benefactor of all his race.

We have said that immediately on his arrival in Egypt, Joseph was sold by the Ishmaelitish merchants to Potiphar, the captain of the guard of king Pharaoh. In the family of this man he lived for some time, both happily and respecta

bly, gaining, by the probity of his conduct, the entire conf dence of his master; who at length advanced him to the honourable and responsible station of steward of his household and regulator of his domestic affairs. He was thus circumstanced when his master's wife conceived for him a violent and sinful passion. She made repeated advances to him, all of which he repelled; and at last on occasion of some solemn festival, when her husband with the rest of the servants had gone abroad, she proceeded so far, that Joseph could escape from her importunities only by flight, and by leaving his upper garment in her hand. It is said that love rejected becomes, especially in women, the bitterest and most rancorous hate, and whatever truth there may be in the observation generally, in this particular instance it was fully verified. The lady, mortified at his behaviour, and fearful of discovery, determined to prevent him in a disclosure, and accordingly, at her husband's return, told such a tale as excited his utmost indignation against Joseph. The ungrateful slave, as he esteemed him, was not so much as allowed an opportunity of speaking in his own defence; but, being loaded with chains, was conveyed without delay to a dungeon in the common prison. But the same Providence which had guided him into the family of Potiphar, befriended Joseph even in bonds. Whether a suspicion of the truth entered into the governor's mind, or whether he was actuated merely by compassion for the stranger, we are not told, only we learn that Joseph found favour in his eyes, and the upright and intelligent manner in which he discharged the duties that were intrusted to him speedily confirmed the Egyptian in the favourable opinion which he had formed," and the keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did the Lord made it to prosper."

Such was Joseph's condition when an event befell, productive in the end of great and important consequences. There were two of Pharaoh's servants confined in this prison, the one his chief baker, the other his chief butler, for what crime, or on what charge arrested, we have no information. Each of these, on a particular occasion, dreamed a very remarkable dream; so remarkable, indeed, as to leave a vivid and painful impression on their minds; and Joseph, at their request, gave to their dreams an interpretation. The butler dreamed that

* Joseph became a sort of inferior functionary