of Machpelah, where, about forty years though not his heir, lived many years after before, he had deposited the remains of his his father. He died at the age of one beloved Sarah. hundred and seven, leaving behind him Ishmael, the eldest son of Abraham, twelve sons.* WHEN Isaac married Rebecca, he was forty years old, and lived with her nearly twenty years before she had issue. He had been so long uneasy on this account, that he at length prayed to God to grant him an heir, who being pleased to listen to his request, bestowed that blessing he had so earnestly wished for, and the long barren Rebecca now conceived, to the great satisfaction both of herself and husband. After Rebecca had been pregnant some months, the struggles of the children (for she had twins within her) gave her such * THE ISHMAELITES. We know not whence the strange opinion arose that the whole Arabian nation is descended from Ishmael, and that, consequently, the names of the Ishmaelites and Arabs are co-extensive, unless from the Chaldee and Arabic paraphrasts, and from other Jewish writers, whose historical authority, at all times of the least possible value, becomes a perfect nullity when open to any obvious influence, such as the wish to represent Abraham as the father of so great and wide-spread a nation as the Arabians. The whole testimony of the oriental writers, and all the inferences deducible from the sacred narrative, are opposed to this conclusion. The Arabians have a history anterior to Ishmael; and it would be preposterous to suppose, that Arabia, even to its deserts, was not occupied before his time. According to the Arabian writers, Arabia was occupied a few generations after the flood by the successive settlement within it of variously descended tribes, all of whom ultimately gave way to the races from which the present Arabs claim to be descended, either from being destroyed by them or lost in them. These latter proceed from two stocks, of which the most ancient is that of Kahtan, the same who in the Bible is called Joktan, a son of Eber; and the other that of Adnan, who descended in a direct line from Ishmael. To the posterity of the former is given the distinguishing title of eminence, al Arab al Araba, (equivalent to "a Hebrew of the Hebrews" among the Jews), that is, the genuine or pain and uneasiness, that she began, in a manner, to wish herself not with child. Unable to account for the cause of her extreme pains, she went to consult the divine oracle, and received for answer, that the two children, which she then bore, should be the heads of two different nations, and that they would long contest for superiority; but that, in process of time, the glories acquired by the elder would be eclipsed by the more resplendent transactions of the younger. When the time of Rebecca's delivery arrived, the child that first entered the world pure Arabs: while those of Ishmael receive that of al Arab al Mostáreba, meaning naturalized or mixed Arabs. But some writers, who wish to be more precise, apply the first and most honorable title to the most ancient and lost tribes to which we have alluded, while the descendants of Kahtan obtained the name of Motáreba, which likewise signifies mixed Arabs, though in a nearer degree than Mostáreba; those who acknowledged Ishmael for their ancestor (through Adnan) being the more distant graft. Considering the origin of Ishmael, it is no wonder that those supposed to be descended from him should have no claim to be admitted as pure Arabs; but as he is alleged to have contracted an alliance with the Jorhamites (descended from Jorham, a son of Kahtan), who possessed Hejaz, by marrying the daughter of their emir Modad, whence, and by subsequent intermarriages his descendants became blended with them into one nation, their claim to be regarded as Mostáreba is beyond dispute. It must not be inferred that the Arabs undervalue the descent from Ishmael in comparison with that from Kahtan, on account of their applying to it a less honorable designation. This is by no means the case; for, on the contrary, they set a high value, like the Jews, on the privilege of being descended from Abraham; and this distinction is, in the eyes of the modern Arabs, greatly enhanced by the circumstance that Mohammed belonged to this race, and gloried in being de scended from Ishmael and Abraham. was covered all over with red hair,* for which reason his parents called him Esau; and the other came so close after him, that he took hold of his heel with his hand, and was therefore called Jacob, to denote (what he afterward proved) the supplanter of his brother. As these two children grew up, they became very different in their tempers, and when they arrived at the age of maturity, followed different employments. Esau, the elder, being strong and active, delighted in the chase, and thereby frequently supplying his father with venison, obtained his particular affection; while Jacob, who was of a more courteous disposition, by staying at home in the tent, and employing himself in family offices, became the favorite of his mother. Esau having one day greatly fatigued himself with hunting, returned home just at the time his brother Jacob had prepared a mess of pottage † for his own refreshment. Esau, being almost spent with hunger, was so struck with the looks of the pottage, that he anxiously begged of his brother to let * This expression, according to some commentators, is taken two ways, namely, either that Esau was, at his birth, covered with red hair, or that the color of his skin was red, like a coat of red hair. He was called Esau, from the word Eschau, which in the Hebrew language, signifies a hair-cloth; as Jacob was named from Hekel, the heel, and signifies a supplanter, or one that taketh hold of, or trippeth up another's heels. † The edom, or red pottage, was prepared, we learn from this chapter, by seething lentils (adashim) in water; and subsequently, as we may guess from a practice which prevails in many countries, adding a little manteca, or suet, to give them a flavor. The writer of these observations has often partaken of this self-same "red pottage," served up in the manner just described, and found it better food than a stranger would be apt to imagine. The mess had the redness which gained for it the name of edom; and which, through the singular circumstance of a son selling his birthright to satisfy the cravings of a pressing appetite, it imparted to the posterity of Esau in the people of Edom. The lentil (or Lens esculenta of some writers, and the Ervum lens of Linnæus) belongs to the leguminous or podded family. The stem is branched and the leaves consist of about eight pairs of smaller leaflets. The flowers are small, and with the upper division of the flower prettily veined. The pods contain about two seeds, which vary from a tawny red to a black. It delights in a dry, warm sandy soil. Three varieties are cultivated in France "small brown,' yellowish," and the "lentil of Provence." In the former country they are dressed and eaten during Lent as a haricot; in him participate of the repast. But Jacob (who was probably so instructed by his mother) refused to comply with his request, unless on the following conditions; namely, that he would immediately make over to him his birth-right. Esau reflecting on the danger to which he was daily subject, from the nature of his employment, set no great value on what Jacob required; and the latter, perceiving his disposition to comply (that he might have the right more firmly conveyed to him), proposed his doing it by way of oath. Notwithstanding the singu larity of the request, Esau complied with it, and the bargain being made, he ate very greedily of the food prepared by his brother. Thus did the unthinking Esau dispose of his birth-right, with all the privileges belonging to it, for so simple a thing as a mess of pottage. Isaac, at this time, lived at Beersheba, but a dreadful famine happening in the land of Canaan, he resolved (as his father Abraham had done on a similar occasion) to avoid its consequences by retiring to Egypt. He accordingly proceeded as far as Ge Syria they are used as food after they have undergone the simple process of being parched in a pan over the fire. It should be understood, that previously to the establishment of a priesthood under the Law of Moses, the first-born had not only a preference in the secular inheritance, but succeeded exclusively to the priestly functions which had belonged to his father, in leading the religious observances of the family, and performing the simple religious rites of these patriarchal times. The secular part of the birthright entitled the first-born to a "double portion" of the inheritance; but writers are divided in opinion as to the proportion of this double share. Some think that he had one-half, and that the rest was equally divided among the other sons; but a careful consideration of Gen. xlvii. 5-22, in which we see that Jacob transfers the privilege of the first-born to Joseph, and that this privilege consisted in his having one share more than any of his brethren, inclines us to the opinion of the Rabbins, that the firstborn had merely twice as much as any other of his brethren. It is certainly possible, but not very likely, that in the emergency, Esau bartered all his birth-right for a mess of pottage; but it seems more probable that Esau did not properly appreciate the value of the sacerdotal part of his birthright, and therefore readily transferred it to Jacob for a trifling present advantage. This view of the matter seems to be confirmed by St. Paul, who calls Esau a "profane person," for his conduct on this occasion; and it is rather for despising his spiritual than his temporal privileges, that he seems to be liable to such an imputation. rar, a city belonging to the Philistines. | ship from Abimelech, Isaac thought himself But here he was interrupted in his intended happy under his protection, and, intending journey by the interposition of the Almighty, to make Gerar his fixed place of residence, who, in a dream, charged him not to go into employed himself in husbandry, and the rearEgypt, but to tarry in the country where he ing of flocks, for the future support of himself then was; and at the same time assured him, and family. The great success that attended that he would not only secure him from his endeavors, by means of his beneficent the danger of the famine, but, in perform- Creator, soon raised the envy and indignation. ance of the oath which he had sworn to his of the Philistines. In the space of one year father Abraham, would cause his descend- only, during his residence at Gerar, so proants (to whom he would give the whole lific was the land he sowed, that, to the great land of Canaan in possession) to multiply astonishment of his neighbors, it yielded him exceedingly. a hundred fold. In conformity to the divine command, Isaac determined to fix his residence at Gerar, where he made use of the same stratagem his father had formerly done in the same place, and from the same motive. Fearful lest the charms of his wife Rebecca might attract the particular notice of some of the city, and thereby endanger his own safety, it was agreed between them, that, instead of his wife, she should pass for his sister. This deception succeeded for a time, but at length was discovered by Abimelech the king, who, from a window, observed such familiarities pass between them as convinced him they were man and wife. In consequence of this discovery, Abimelech sent for Isaac, whom he accused of dissimulation, telling him, that from the freedom he had observed between him and Rebecca, he was sure she was his wife; and that the imposition he had endeavored to lay on the people might have been attended with consequences disgraceful to himself. Isaac, conscious of the justness of the accusation, did not attempt to disprove the charge, but urged, in vindication of his conduct, that he did it to preserve that life, which, otherwise, he thought in the most imminent danger. This apology was admitted by Abimelech, who not only forgave him the offence, but immediately issued an edict, that whoever should presume to offer any injury either to him or his wife, should be punished with death. Having received these tokens of friend * This Abimelech was probably the son of him with whom Abraham had formerly made a covenant. It is reasonable to suppose that Abimelech was only a title commonly used for the kings of the Philistines, in the same manner as Cæsar was by the Roman emperors, and Pharaoh for the kings of Egypt. †The cause of these differences seems to have been, that a question arose whether wells dug by This so irritated the Philistines, that, in order to oblige him to leave the country, they filled up the wells which had been formerly dug by his father's servants; and Abimelech himself, to satisfy the resentment of the people, ordered him to quit Gerar, telling him, that as he had sufficiently improved his fortune under his protection, he might now give the like opportunity to others, by leaving the place, and retiring to a more distant part of the country. Finding to what a degree the people were incensed against him, Isaac, to preserve his property, as well as secure his person, left the place, and retired to the valley of Gerar, which was at some distance from the city, and where Abraham had formerly fed his cattle. Having settled himself here, he opened the wells (which had been dug by his father and filled up by the Philistines) and called them by their ancient names. In the course of their labors, Isaac's servants discovered a new well of fine springing water; but a dispute arising between them and some neighboring herdsmen, the latter claiming the well as found upon their ground, Isaac resolved to leave the place; and by way of perpetuating the circumstance called it Esek, which, in the Hebrew language, signifies contention. Removing some way farther, Isaac's servants dug another well, which being likewise claimed by the Philistines, he was obliged to relinquish it, and therefore, called the place Sitnah, which signifies enmity. † Abraham's and Isaac's people within the territories of Gerar, belonged to the people who digged them, or to those who enjoyed the territorial right. The real motive of the opposition of the people of Gerar, and their stopping up the wells made by Abraham, seems to have been to discourage the visits of such powerful persons to their territory; for otherwise the wells would have been suffered to remain on account of their Being quite tired out with repeated insults | powerful hereafter, thought it most prudent from the Philistines, in order to prevent the to avoid future trouble, by endeavoring like in future, he removed to the most dis- either to renew the old league which had tant part of their country. Here he dug been formerly made with his father Abraanother well; and not meeting with any ham, or to enter into a new one. Accordopposition, he called it Rehoboth, which ingly, taking with him the chief of his nosignifies enlargement, because his flocks had bility, together with the captain-general of his now room to feed and range the country in forces, he went, in great pomp, to Beersheba, search of fresh pasturage: "for now," said in order to pay honor and respect to Isaac. he, "the Lord hath made room for us, and At the first interview Isaac, to show that he we shall be fruitful in the land.” still retained a sense of the injuries he had formerly done him, received his visit very coolly, and, with apparent surprise, asked, how he came to offer respect to a person, for whom, by his conduct and behavior, he had long discovered an utter aversion? Abimelech, conscious of his error, made the best excuse the nature of the case would admit. He told him he had long been convinced that the divine favor attended him in all his undertakings, and that he might not be thought to oppose God, he was come to renew the covenant between his people and Abraham's posterity, and was ready to engage in the same conditions and obligations. After residing a short time on this spot Isaac returned to Beersheba,* where, on the very night of his arrival, the Almighty was pleased to appear to him in a vision, promising him his favor and protection, and that he would bless him, and multiply his seed, for the sake of his faithful servant Abraham. In grateful acknowledgment of this repeated instance of the divine goodness, Isaac, intending to continue here, first built an altar for religious worship, and then ordered his servants to clear out the well which had been formerly dug by his father. Isaac had not long returned to Beersheba, when Abimelech, touched with a sense of the unworthy treatment he had received, both from him and his subjects, as well as fearing his just resentment, should he become utility to the nation. Stopping up the wells is still an act of hostility in the East. The stopping of Abraham's wells by the Philistines, the re-opening of them by Isaac, and the restoration of their former names- the commemorative names given to the new wells, and the strifes about them between those who had sunk them and the people of the land— are all circumstances highly characteristic of those countries in which the want of rivers and brooks during summer renders the tribes dependent upon the wells for the very existence of the flocks and herds which form their wealth. It would seem that the Philistines did not again stop the wells while Isaac was in their country. It is probable that the wells successfully sunk by Isaac did not furnish water sufficient for both his own herds and those of Gerar, and thus the question became one of exclusive right. Such questions often lead to bitter and bloody quarrels in the East; and it was probably to avoid the last result of an appeal to arms that Isaac withdrew out of the more settled country toward the desert, where he might enjoy the use of his wells in peace. * BEERSHEBA. In the Biblical Repository for April, 1839, we have a very valuable and interesting "Report of Travels in Palestine and the Adjacent Regions, in 1838; undertaken for the illustration of Biblical Geography by the Rev. Prof E. Robinson and Rev E. Smith," in which we find a notice of the discovery of the site of Beersheba, about thirty miles to the south of Hebron. Our readers will not fail to be gratified at being Isaac, being naturally of a quiet and easy disposition, readily admitted this apology from Abimelech, whom, with his attendants, he entertained with great liberality. The artienabled to obtain the view, conveyed in the following description, of a place of such great interest in the history of the patriarchs: "After crossing another elevated plateau, the character of the scene was again changed. We came upon an open rolling country; all around were swelling hills, covered in ordinary seasons with grass and rich pasturage, though now arid and parched with drought. We now came to Wady Lebu; and on the north side of its watercourse we had the satisfaction of discovering the site of ancient Beersheba, the celebrated border city of Palestine, still bearing in Arabic the name of Bir Seba. Near the water-course are two circular wells of excellent water, nearly forty feet deep. They are both surrounded with drinking troughs of stone, for the use of camels and flocks such as doubtless were used of old for the flocks that then fed on the adjacent hills. Ascending the low hills north of the wells, we found them strewed with the ruins of former habitations the foundations of which are distinctly to be traced. These ruins extend over a space of half a mile long by a quarter of a mile broad. Here then, is the place where Abraham and Isaac and Jacob often lived! Here Samuel made his three sons judges; and from here Elijah wandered out into the southern desert, and sat down under the rethem, or shrub of broom, just as our Arabs sat down under it every day and every night. Over these swelling hills the flocks of the patriarch roved by thousands: we now only found a few camels, asses, and goats." cles for a treaty of friendship were agreed on that same evening, and the next morning confirmed by a solemn and mutual oath; after which Abimelech took his leave, and returned home. Soon after the departure of Abimelech, the servants of Isaac informed him, that, in the well they had been clearing out, and which formerly belonged to Abraham, they had found a spring of most excellent water. This event happening on the same day that the league of friendship had been confirmed between Isaac and Abimelech, he called it (as his father had done before on a similar occasion) Beersheba, the well of the oath, "i. e. the well wherein water was delivered, on the day that Abimelech and I entered into a treaty of peace, and ratified the same with the solemnity of an oath.” A circumstance now occurred, which gave great uneasiness both to Isaac and his wife. Their two sons were arrived at the age of forty, and Esau had taken two wives from among the Hittites, one of whom was Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and the other Bashemath, the daughter of Elon, both women of respectable families in Canaan. These marriages he had contracted without his parents' privity, knowing that his father had determined not to form any alliance with the idolatrous Canaanites. Rebecca was so incensed at Esau's conduct, that the little affection she before had for him, was now entirely alienated; but such was the power of natural affection in Isaac, and such his over-fondness for an obdurate and perverse son, that know * Isaac was at this time 137 years old, so that there is no wonder he should be imperfect in his sight. It appears that he was still ignorant of ing the error past repair, he made a virtue of necessity, and forgave what he could not remedy. Isaac, becoming very old,* imperfect in his eyesight, and apprehensive that his dissolution was near at hand, resolved to bestow that parental benediction on his son Esau, which he had long intended. Accordingly, calling him one day to his private apartment, he first related the occasion of his sending Esau's having sold his birth-right; for he loved him as his first-born son, and designed to bestow on him the blessing. |