ing of it I have justified at large, both from its application in this place, and from its pointed use in the case of Saul, mentioned 1 Sam. x., and from the case of the priests of Baal, 1 Kings xviii., where prophesying most undoubtedly means making prayer and supplication. As those who were in habits of intimacy with God by prayer and faith were found the most proper persons to communicate his mind to man, both with respect to the present and the future, hence nabi, the intercessor, became in process of time the public instructor or preacher, and also the predicter of future events, because to such faithful praying men God revealed the secret of his will. Hence St. Paul, 1 Cor. xiv. 3, seems to restrain the word wholly to the interpreting the mind of God to the people, and their instruction in divine things, for, says he, he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort. Sce the discourse on this text referred to above. The title was also given to men eminent for eloquence and for literary abilities; hence Aaron, because he was the spokesman of Moses to the Egyptian king, was termed x nabi, prophet; Exod. iv. 16, vii. 1. And Epimenides, a heathen poet, is expressly styled πроoητηs, a prophet, by St. Paul, Tit. i. 12, just as poets in general were termed vates among the Romans, which properly signifies the persons who professed to interpret the will of the gods to their votaries, after prayers and sacrifices duly performed. In Arabic the word naba has nearly the same meaning as in Hebrew, but in the first conjugation it has a meaning which may cast light upon the subject in general. It signifies to itinerate, move from one place or country to another, compelled thereto either by persecution or the command of God; exivit de una regione in aliam.— migrans de loco in locum.-GOLIUS. Hence Mohammed was called an nabi, because of his sudden removal from Mecca to Medina, when, pretending to a divine commission, his townsmen sought to take away his life: e Mecca exiens Medinam, unde MuNabi Allah dictus fuit.— GOLIUS. If this meaning belonged originally to the Hebrew word, it will apply with great force to the case of Abraham, whose migratory, itinerant kind الله hamned suis 10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? e d Abraham. A. M. cir. 2107. B. C. cir. 1897. 11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely, the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. 12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I xxxvi. 1. xi. 29. Prov. xvi. 6.- Le Ch. xii. 12. xxvi.7.- See ch. -5 Ch. xii. 1, 9, 11, &c. Hebr. xi. 8. of life, generally under the immediate direction of God, might have given him the title nabi. However this may be, the term was a title of the highest respectability and honour, both among the Hebrews and Arabs, and continues so to this day. And from the Hebrews the word, in all the importance and dignity of its meaning, was introduced among the heathens in the popηrns and vates of the Greeks and Romans. See on the word seer, Gen. xv. 1. Verse 8. Abimelech rose early, &c.] God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and we find as the day broke he arose, assembled his servants (what we would call his courtiers), and communicated to them what he had received from God. They were all struck with astonishment, and discerned the hand of God in this business. Abraham is then called, and in a most respectful and pious manner the king expostulates with him for bringing him and his people under the divine displeasure, by withholding from him the information that Sarah was his wife; when, by taking her, he sought only an honourable alliance with his family. Verse 11. And Abraham said] The best excuse he could make for his conduct, which in this instance is far from defensible. Verse 12. She is my sister] I have not told a lie; I have suppressed only a part of the truth. In this place it may be proper to ask, What is a lie? It is any action done or word spoken, whether true or observer or hearer to take in a contrary sense to that false in itself, which the doer or speaker wishes the which he knows to be true. It is, in a word, any action done or speech delivered with the intention to deceive, though both may be absolutely true and right in themselves. See the note on chap. xii. 13. The daughter of my father, but not—of my mother] Ebn Batrick, in his annals, among other ancient traditions has preserved the following: "Terah first married Yona, by whom he had Abraham; afterwards he married Tehevita, by whom he had Sarah." Thus she was the sister of Abraham, being the daughter of the same father by a different mother. Verse 13. When God caused me to wander] Here the word Elohim is used with a plural verb (y hithu, caused me to wander), which is not very usual in the Hebrew language, as this plural noun is Sarah reproved. A. M. cir. 2107. CHAP. XX. e Abimelech's family healed. A. M. cir. 2107. B. C. cir. 1897. said unto her, This is thy kind- | given thy brother a thousand ness which thou shalt shew pieces of silver: behold, he is anto me; at every place whither we shall come, to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that 'say of me, He is my brother. are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. b 14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and women-servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. 16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have Ch. xii. 13. d Heb. Ch. xii. 16.- — Ch. xiii. 9.- as is good in thine Verse 16. And unto Sarah he said] But what did he say? Here there is scarcely any agreement among interpreters; the Hebrew is exceedingly obscure, and every interpreter takes it in his own sense. A thousand pieces of silver] SHEKELS are very probably meant here, and so the Targum understands it The Septuagint has xiria didpaxpa, a thousand drehma, no doubt meaning shekels; for in chap. 15, 16, this translation uses didpaxua for the Hebrew shekel. As shakal signifies literally to gh, and the shekel was a coin of such a weight, Mr. Ainsworth and others think this to be the origin our word scale, the instrument to weigh with. of The shekel of the sanctuary weighed twenty gerahs, Exod. xxx. 13. And according to the Jews, the gerch weighed sixteen grains of barley. R. Maimon cbserves, that after the captivity the shekel was increased to three hundred and eighty-four grains or barley-corns. On the subject of ancient weights and easures, very little that is satisfactory is known. Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes] It-the me thousand shekels (not he-Abraham), is to thee for Sortering-to procure thee a veil to conceal thy beauty to all that are with thee, and with all other) from thy own kindred and acquaintance, and from all gers, that none, seeing thou art another man's may covet thee on account of thy comeliness. Thus she was reproved.] The original is ♫ vechath, but the word is probably the second person preterite, used for the imperative mood, from the root hach, to make straight, direct, right; or to speak rightly, correctly; and may, in connexion with the rest of the text, be thus paraphrased: Behold, I have given thy BROTHER (Abraham, gently alluding to the equivocation, ver. 2, 5) a thousand shekels of silver; hold, IT is (that is, the silver is, or may be, or let it be) to thee a covering of the eyes (to procure a veil; h see above) with regard to all those who are with thee, and to all (or and in all) speak thou the truth. Correctly translated by the Septuagint, ka navтa aλη@evσov, and in all things speak the truth—not only tell a part of the truth, but tell the whole; say not merely he is my brother, but say also, he is my husband too. Thus in ALL things speak the truth. I believe the above to be the sense of this difficult passage, and shall not puzzle my readers with criticisms. See Kennicott. Verse 17. So Abraham prayed] This was the prime office of the nabi; see ver 7. Verse 18. For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs] Probably by means of some disease with which he had smitten them, hence it is said they were healed at Abraham's intercession; and this seems necessarily to imply that they had been afflicted by some disease that rendered it impossible for them to have children till it was removed. And possibly this disease, as Dr. Dodd conjectures, had afflicted Abimelech, and by this he was withheld, ver. 6, from defiling Abraham's bed. 1. On the prevarication of Abraham and Sarah, see the notes and concluding observations on chap. xii. ; and while we pity this weakness, let us take it as a warning. 2. The cause why the patriarch did not acknowledge Sarah as his wife, was a fear lest he should lose his life on her account, for he said, Surely the fear, i. e. the true worship, of the true God is not in this place. Such is the natural bigotry and narrowness of the human heart, that we can scarcely allow that any besides ourselves possess the true religion. To indulge a disposition of this kind is highly blameable. The true religion is neither confined to one spot nor to one people; it is spread in various forms over the whole earth. He who fills immensity has left a record of himself in every nation and among every people under heaven Beware of the spirit of intolerance! for bigotry produces uncharitableness; and uncharitableness, harsh judging; and in such a spirit a man may think he does God service when he tortures, or makes a burnt-offering of the person whom his narrow mind and hard heart have dishonoured with the name of heretic. Such a spirit is not confined to any one community, though it has pre Isaac is born GENESIS. dominated in some more than in others. But these things are highly displeasing in the sight of God. HE, as the Father of the spirits of all flesh, loves every branch of his vastly extended family; and as far as we love one another, no matter of what sect or party, so far we resemble HIM. Had Abraham pos grows up and is weaned. sessed more charity for man and confidence in God at this time, he had not fallen into that snare from which he barely escaped. A hasty judgment is generally both erroneous and harsh; and those who are the most apt to form it are generally the most difficult to be convinced of the truth. CHAPTER XXI. Isaac is born according to the promise, 1-3; and is circumcised when eight days old, 4. Abraham's age, and Sarah's exultation at the birth of their son, 5-7. Isaac is weaned, 8. Ishmael mocking on the occasion, Sarah requires that both he and his mother Hagar shall be dismissed, 9, 10. Abraham, distressed on the account, is ordered by the Lord to comply, 11, 12. The promise renewed to Ishmael, 13. Abraham dismisses Hagar and her son, who go to the wilderness of Beer-sheba, 14. They are greatly distressed for want of water, 15, 16. An angel of God appears to and relieves them, 17-19. Ishmael prospers and is married, 20, 21. Abimelech, and Phichol his chief captain, make a covenant with Abraham, and surrender the well of Beer-sheba for seven ewe lambs, 22-32. Abraham plants a grove, and invokes the name of the everlasting God, 33. A. M. 2108. AND the LORD "visited Sarah h 5 And Abraham was an hunas he had said, and the LORD dred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. did unto Sarah bas he had spoken. A. M. 2108. 6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. 8 And the child grew and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. h Ch. xviii. 1, 17. Gal. iv. 27.- k Luke i. 58. Ch. 10, 12.-8 Ch. xvii. NOTES ON CHAP. XXI. Verse 1. The Lord visited Sarah] That is, God fulfilled his promise to Sarah by giving her, at the advanced age of ninety, power to conceive and bring forth a son, Ps. cxxxi. 2. Isai. liv. 1. awendan, to convert, transfer, turn from one thing to another, which is the exact import of the Hebrew word gamal in the text. Hence penan wenan, to wean, to turn a child from the breast to receive another kind of aliment. And hence, probably, the Verse 3. Isaac.] See the reason and interpreta-word wEAN, a young child, which is still in use in the tion of this name in the note on chap. xvii. 17. Verse 4. And Abraham circumcised his son] on chap. xvii. 10, &c. northern parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and See which from its etymology seems to signify a child taken from the breast; surely not from the Scotch wee-ane, a little one, much less from the German wenig, little, as Dr. Johnson and others would derive it. At what time children were weaned among the ancients, is a disputed point. St. Jerome says there were two opinions on this subject. Some hold that children were always weaned at five years of age; others, that they were not weaned till they were twelve. From the speech of the mother to her son, 2 Mac. vii. 27, it seems likely that among the Jews they were weaned when three years old: O my son have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee SUCK THREE YEARS, and nourished thee, and brought thee up. And this is farther strengthened by 2 Chron. xxxi. 16, where Hezekiah, Verse 6. God hath made me to laugh] Sarah alludes here to the circumstance mentioned, chap. xviii. 12; and as she seems to use the word to laugh in this place, not in the sense of being incredulous, but to express such pleasure or happiness as almost suspends the reasoning faculty for a time, it justifies the observation on the above-named verse. See a similar case in Luke xxiv. 41, where the disciples were so overcome with the good news of our Lord's resurrection, that it is said, They believed not for joy. Verse 8. The child grew and was weaned] Ɖær cild roplice peox pearp gepened.-Anglo-Saxon VER SION. Now the child waxed and became weaned. We have the verb to wean from the Anglo-Saxon apendan 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abra- shoulder,) and the child, and sent her away: ham's sight, because of his son. 12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bond-woman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her Ch. xvi. 1. b Ch. xvi. 15.- e Gal. iv. 22.- d Gal. iv. 30. See ch. xxv. 6. xxxvi. 6, 7.- Le Ch. xvii. 18. in making provision for the Levites and priests, ineludes the children from three years old and upwards; which is a presumptive proof that previously to this age they were wholly dependant on the mother for their tourishment. Samuel appears to have been brought to the sanctuary when he was just weaned, and then be was capable of ministering before the Lord, 1 Sam. 22-28; and this certainly could not be before he was three years of age. The term among the Mohammedans is fixed by the Koran, chap. xxxi. 14, at two years of age. and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 And she went, and sat her down over Rom. ix. 7, 8. Hebr. xi. 18.- - Ver. 18. Ch. xvi, 10. xvii. 20.- h John viii. 35. thing was grievous, should feel distressed on the occasion, God renews his promises to Ishmael and his posterity. Verse 14. Took bread, and a bottle] By the word bread we are to understand the food or provisions which were necessary for her and Ishmael, till they should come to the place of their destination; which, no doubt, Abraham particularly pointed out. The bottle, which was made of skin, ordinarily a goat's skin, contained water sufficient to last them till they should come to the next well; which, it is likely, Verse 9. Mocking.] What was implied in this Abraham particularly specified also. This well, it mocking is not known. St. Paul, Gal. iv. 29, calls it appears, Hagar missed, and therefore wandered about percuting; but it is likely he meant no more than in the wilderness seeking more water, till all she had Se species of ridicule used by Ishmael on the occa- brought with her was expended. We may therefore , and probably with respect to the age of Sarah safely presume that she and her son were sufficiently at Iste's birth, and her previous barrenness. Jona- provided for their journey, had they not missed their the ben Uzziel and the Jerusalem Targum repre- way. Travellers in those countries take only, to sen: Ishmael as performing some idolatrous rite on the present day, provisions sufficient to carry them to the occasion, and that this had given the offence to the next village or encampment; and water to supply Sarah. Conjectures are as useless as they are endless. them till they shall meet with the next well. What Whatever it was, it became the occasion of the ex-adds to the appearance of cruelty in this case is, that pulsion of himself and mother. Several authors are our translation seems to represent Ishmael as being a of opinion that the Egyptian bondage of four hundred young child; and that Hagar was obliged to carry years, mentioned chap. xv. 13, commenced with this him, the bread, and the bottle of water, on her back persecution of the righteous seed by the son of an or shoulder at the same time. But that Ishmacl Egyptian woman. could not be carried on his mother's shoulder will Verse 10. Cast out this bond-woman and her son] Both Sarah and Abraham have been accused of cruelty in this transaction, because every word reads harsh to Cast out; garash signifies not only to thrust fat, drive away, and expel, but also to divorce (see Lev. 7); and it is in this latter sense the word should be understood here. The child of Abraham by Hagar might be considered as having a right at least to a part of the inheritance; and as it was sufficiently known to Sarah that God had designed that the succession should be established in the line of Isaac, she wished Abraham to divorce Hagar, or to perform some Sort of legal act by which Ishmael might be excluded from all claim on the inheritance. Verse 12. In Isaac shall thy seed be called.] Here God shows the propriety of attending to the counsel of Sarah; and lest Abraham, in whose eyes the be sufficiently evident when his age is considered; Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years of age, chap. xvi. 16; Isaac was born when he was one hundred years of age, chap. xxi. 5; hence Ishmael was fourteen years old at the birth of Isaac. Add to this the age of Isaac when he was weaned, which, from ver. 8 of this chapter (see the note), was probably three, and we shall find that Ishmael was at the time of his leaving Abraham not less than seventeen years old; an age at which, in those primitive times, a young man was able to gain his livelihood, either by his bow in the wilderness, or by keeping flocks as Jacob did. Verse 15. And she cast the child] __ox Two vattashlech eth haiyeled, and she sent the lad, under one of the shrubs, viz., to screen him from the in tensity of the heat. Here Ishmael appears to be a 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. 20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. a covenant at Beer-sheba. A. M. cir. 2118. 22 And it came to pass at that time, that & Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, "God is with thee in all that thou doest: k 23 Now therefore i swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. 24 And Abraham said, I will swear. 25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. 26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me; neither yet heard I of it, but to-day. 27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them m made a covenant. xx. 2. xxvi. 26. b Ch. xxvi. 28.- Josh. ii. 12. 1 Sam. xxiv. 21.- k Heb. if thou shalt lie unto me. — -See ch xxvi. 15, 18, 20, 21, 22.- m Ch. xxvi. 31. Verse 22. At that time] This may either refer to the transactions recorded in the preceding chapter, or to the time of Ishmael's marriage, but most probably to the former. meimera daiya, the מימרא דיי utterly helpless, and this circumstance seems farther God is with thee] Verse 20. Became an archer.] And by his skill in this art, under the continual superintendance of the Divine Providence (for God was with the lad), he was undoubtedly enabled to procure a sufficient supply for his own wants and those of his parent. Verse 21. He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran] This is generally allowed to have been a part of the desert belonging to Arabia Petræa, in the vicinity of Mount Sinai; and this seems to be its uniform meaning in the sacred writings. Verse 23. Now therefore swear unto me] The oath on such occasions probably meant no more than the mutual promise of both the parties, when they slew an animal, poured out the blood as a sacrifice to God, and then passed between the pieces. See this cere According to the kindness that I have done] The simple claims of justice were alone set up among virtuous people in those ancient times, which constitute the basis of the famous lex talionis, or law of like for like, kind office for kind office, and breach for breach. Verse 25. Abraham reproved Abimelech] Wells were of great consequence in those hot countries, and especially where the flocks were numerous, because the water was scarce, and digging to find it was accompanied with much expense of time and labour. Verse 26. I wot not who hath done this thing] The servants of Abimelech had committed these depredations on Abraham without any authority from their master, who appears to have been a very amiable man, possessing the fear of God, and ever regulating the whole of his conduct by the principles of rightcousness and strict justice. |