7.-shall send his angel before thee, The meaning is, that God shall provide for the success of the business he goes about.

11.-made his camels to kneel down] This is the posture in which they rest themselves.

15.-Rebekah came out,] So great was the simplicity of these early days, that persons of the best rank, and of the female sex, did not disdain to be employed in such menial offices. Thus Jacob found his cousin Rachel watering her father's sheep; and several ages after, the seven daughters of Jethro, who was a Prince as well as a priest of Midian, kept their father's flocks, and used to draw water for the cattle.

21.-held his peace, &c.] Being taken up in observing every circumstance, that from thence he might be able to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous, or not; and particularly whether this was not the very woman in all probability, that God had appointed to be Isaac's wife.

49.-deal kindly and truly] In giving Rebekah for a wife to his son Isaac.

went to enquire of the Lord.] Either by prayer, or to some holy man.

23.-Two nations] That is, the heads or founders of two nations, the Edomites and Israelites.

-the elder shall serve the younger.] That is, the defendents of the elder shall serve, or be inferior to, the descendents of the younger.

29.-Sod pottage:] Boiled pottage. 30.-therefore was his name called Edom.] From his eager desire of the red pottage. "Edom" signifies red.

31.-Sell me this day thy birthright.] The birthright, or right of being the first-born, had many privileges annexed to it. The first-born was consecrated to the Lord; (Exod. xxii. 29.)

had a double portion of the estate allotted to him; (Deut. xxi. 17.) had a dignity and authority over his brethren; (Gen. xlix. 3.) and succeeded in the government of the family or kingdom; (2. Chron, xxi. 3.) He had also a right to the peculiar blessing of his dying parent; he had the covenant which God made with Abraham, that from his loins Christ should come, consigned to him: and these prerogatives were not confined to his person only, but descended to his latest posterity, unless they forfeited them by their misconduct.

33.-Swear to me this day;] Moses who records this conduct of Jacob, does not commend him for it. God indeed, before he was born, designed and promised this privilege to him: but then he should have waited, till the Divine Wisdom had found out the means of executing His promise in His own way, as David did, till God gave him possession of Saul's kingdom: and not have anticipated God, and snatched it by an irregular act of his own. In the whole affair indeed, Jacob acted with a subtilty, not at all becoming an honest man. In like manner, as to his procuring the blessing, which his father designed for his brother Esau, it is impossible to excuse him in the lying and dissimulation, for which he was certainly culpable.

CHAP. XXVI.

Verse 20.-Esek;] That is, contention. "Sitnah," Ver. 21, signifies hatred.

22.-Rehoboth;-For now the Lord hath made room]"Rehoboth" signifies room.

33.-called it Shebah:] That is, an oath. The place was called Beer-sheba, or the well of the oath, because the water was found at the time when the oath or covenant was made between Abimelech and Abraham.

35. Which were a grief of mind unto &c.] Because these Canaanitish wives which Esau married were of a wicked nation under the curse of God.

CHAP. XXVII.

Verse 1. so that he could not see,] Could not see so as to distinguish persons accurately.

In this chapter is shown, how Jacob deceived his father. He was a good man; but every thing, that good men have said or done through infirmity, must not be imitated: the Law of God being our sure and never-failing rule. As a punishment for Jacob, we see him afterwards himself imposed upon by Laban, in the case of Rachel: and in his old age by his own sons, and with the blood of a kid, with which they dyed his son's coat.

23. so he blessed him,] Jacob and his mother

G

were justly to be praised, for having a due regard for the paternal benediction, as a means appointed by God for the conveyance of His covenant. And Jacob had a sort of title to the blessing, by having purchased his brother's birthright. According to the Divine determination likewise, Isaac was bound to confer his blessing upon Jacob; and therefore his wife perceiving his erroneous intention, laid a scheme, which induced him to do ignorantly, what God had before ordained to be done. Furthermore, when her artifice had succeeded, and Jacob was blessed, Isaac was fully satisfied with what he had done: "I have blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed:" which sudden change of mind may be imputed to some Divine inspiration, opening his understanding, and convincing him that he had given the blessing to the right person. Still however, Rebekah was highly guilty in suggesting such wicked advice to her son; and Jacob also in suffering himself to be seduced by so bad a guide. Had Rebekah put her husband in mind of the Divine prophecy, and shewn how Esau had forfeited the blessing by selling his birthright, and by marrying strange wives, this had been a much more honourable proceeding. But she was left to pursue her own indiscreet method; and thus God accomplished His righteous purposes by converting, as he often does human folly to the promotion of his glory.

24. And he said, I um.] Jacob got his father's blessing by a lie: but see what followed. His brother purposed to murder him: he was in a manner banished from his father's house: his uncle dealt deceitfully with him, as he had done with his father, and treated him with great rigour: and his mother who put him upon this fraud, never saw him after.

36.-Is not he rightly named Jacob?] signifies a supplanter,

"Jacob"

39.-thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth,] Thy dwelling and that of thy posterity shall be in such a manner, as that thou and they shall partake of that plenty of the fruits of the earth, which spring from a good soil well watered. 40.-thou shal: break his yoke from off thy neck.] How this was fulfilled see 2. Kings viii. 20.

CHAP. XXVIII.

Verse 12.-behold a ladder set up on the earth,] This ladder is thought to denote God's providence, which governs and directs all things from the meanest to the highest, signified by the steps of the ladder, The angels going up and down show that they are the ministers of God, always employed in the preservation of the just: their "ascending" represents their going up to receive the Divine commands; and their "descending," their

coming down upon earth to execute them. So that God hereby signified to Jacob, now full of cares and apprehensions, that the man, who was under the protection of Providence, wanted not company in a wilderness; nor security in danger; nor direction in difficulties: since there were so many "ministering spirits" holding correspondence between earth and heaven; and continually " sent forth" from God's presence" to minister for them, who shall be heirs of salvation."

21.- then shall the Lord be my God:] He does not mean, that he would not worship God, if He did not bring him home in peace: but that if He did, he would perform some special service to Him, and worship Him with extraordinary devotion.

CHAP. XXIX.

Verse 8. And they said, We cannot, &c.] Not that they were unable to roll away the stone; but it was probably contrary to the custom and rules of the place, to water the flocks until such an hour, when all were gathered together.

11.-lifted up his voice, and wept.] Could not forbear crying for joy to see her.

12.- her father's brother,] That is, kinsman. 23.- he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him;] It was the custom of those times to bring the bride to her husband's bed veiled, and without lights: so that it was easier for Laban to impose on Jacob. This was a great fraud in Laban, and to Jacob a great affliction: but such as might remind him of the guile which he had used in procuring his father's blessing.

27. Fulfil her week,] Complete this marriage with Leah, according to custom, by a seven days feast and then, upon condition of another seven year's service, thou shalt marry Rachel also.

31.-Leah was hated,] That is, loved less than Rachel, as it is in the foregoing verse. Hating is, in the scripture phrase, sometimes put for loving less. Compare Luke, xiv. 26. with Matt. x. 37.

32. she called his name Reuben:] It was usual to take the name of the child from some circumstance of its birth. The name "Reuben" signifies see a son. In a similar manner all the sons of Jacob received an appropriate name.

32. I will pass through all thy flock to day,] The meaning was, that Laban should drive away all the brown or speckled, that were at present in the flock, and give them to his sons to keep three-day's journey off; and that Jacob should have only the white sheep and the uniformly-coloured goats of Laban's, to keep; and that he should have for his hire for keeping them, only such of the breed of that flock, as should hereafter be black of the sheep or speckled of the goats.

33. So shall my righteousness &c.] This separation being made, it would appear, that if he had any spotted, they were not taken from Laban's flock, but given to him by God as a reward of his honest diligence.

In considering this action of Jacob, we must not look to it by itself only, but remember that it was done by the direction of the Great Proprietor of the world. God determined to punish Laban for his injustice, and to reward Jacob for his fidelity. He revealed to Jacob the manner, in which He designed to bless him, and ordered him to do an action, as a token of reliance on Him for the performance of his promise: Jacob observed the orders, and the event proved accordingly.

— every one that is not speckled] And shall be found among those I claim for mine by virtue of this bargain," that shall be accounted stolen with me.'

37. And Jacob took him rods &c.] This he did by God's direction (as appears from Chap. xxxi. 11, 12. &c.) who chose to make it the means of accomplishing His end.

CHAP. XXXI.

Verse 2.— it was not toward him] That is, not pleasant or friendly towards him.

19.-the images that were her father's.] Used as objects of worship, or instruments of divination. It is supposed that Rachel stole them; either, because, having still a tincture of superstition, she feared Laban should enquire of them which way Jacob was gone; or because, having been brought off by Jacob from the false notions and bad customs of her country, she desired to convince her father of his superstition, by letting him see, that his gods (as he called them) could not preserve themselves, much less be of any service to him. 42.-the fear of Isaac,] That is, the God whom Isaac feared, or worshipped.

43.-and what can I do unto these my daughters,] That is, what harm can I do them? for they are my daughters, and cannot but have an affection for them.

I

47.-Laban called it &c.] The one is a Syriac, the other a Hebrew name; both having the same signification, the heap of witness. "Mizpah," Ver. 49. signifies a watch tower.

50.—no man is with us;] Though here be no man besides ourselves to be witness of this agreement; yet consider that God knows it, and will punish him that transgresses it.

CHAP. XXXII.

Verse 2.-Mahanaim.] That is, two hosts, or camps, the angels probably appearing in two companies: or else it may have respect to the host or camp of Jacob, and the other host of the Angels.

10.-with my staff I passed over &c.] I had nothing but this staff, when I left my father's house: and now my family and substance are greatly increased.

24.-and there wrestled a man with him] That is, an Angel in the appearance of man; called also God. See Ver. 28, 30. with Hos. xii. 3, 4. A fair representation of Christ, both God and man, and "the angel of the covenant." Mal. iii. 1,

25. And when he saw that he prevailed not] Jacob hearing of his brother Esau's power, and dreading his resentment, addresses himself, for protection in this distress, to God, with all humility and confidence. God hears his prayer, and is pleased to inform him of the happy issue of the adventure by a significative action: the following night, be has a struggle with an angel, with whom he is suffered to make his part so good, that from thence he collected God had granted his petition. This information by action, however obscure it may seem to us, was perfectly intelligible at that time. It was a common custom among Eastern nations, to convey the knowledge of things by actions, as well as words. To this purpose we find Zedekiah "making him horns of iron," thereby to portend victory to Ahab; 1. Kings, xxii. 11. And Elisha ordering Joash to "strike the ground with arrows," to signify before-hand his triumph over the Syrians. 2. Kings xiii. 18. In like manner God makes use of this expedient to cure Jacob of his dejection.

the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint,] The upper part of his thigh, or hip-bone where the joint is. Though Jacob prevailed, yet he met with difficulty and pain to keep him from vaunting his own strength, and "being exalted above measure." This bodily affliction was left to humble him, and at the same time to testify that it was not a mere man with whom he strove.

28.-Thy name shall be called no more Jacob,] Not only Jacob; or not so much Jacob as Israel. "Israel" signifies a prince with God; a name given in allusion to this transaction.

32. Therefore the children of Israel cat not of the sinew which shrank,] That sinew, which fastens the hip-bone in its socket; and the flesh connected with it. The Jews take great care to cut away the sinew of the thigh of such animals as they eat.

CHAP. XXXIII.

Verse 10.- - as though I had seen the face of God,] He regarded Esau's kind reception of him as a token of the Divine favour.

11.- my blessing] That is, my present. 15. let me find grace in the sight of my lord.] In this also be so kind as to gratify my desires. 17.-Succoth.] That is, booths.

CHAP. XXXIV.

The fatal history of Dinah is recorded to convince future ages of this truth; that the sins of impurity are so hateful to God, that they seldom go unpunished in this world; if they do, worse will be their punishment in the next.

Verse 1.-Dinah-went out to see the daughters of the land.] The occasion of this calamity, Josephus the Jewish historian, tells us, was a great festival, held at Shechem, which she ventured to go to, desirous of seeing the fine spectacles and fashions of the place.

7.-wrought folly in Israel] Or, against Israel. Committed a wickedness, highly to the disgrace and injury of Israel's family.

25.-slew all the males.] Though this was a base and wicked action, yet God permitted it, to punish the sin of Shechem and the deceit o his father.

30.-to make me to stink] That is, to render me odious to all the country, as a murderer, a robber, and a breaker of my faith, as if I had been privy to your craft and cruelty.

CHAP. XXXV.

But

Verse 2.-Put away the strange gods that are among you,] Hence it is supposed, that some of Jacob's family were addicted to idolatry. "the strange gods" probably mean the gods of the Shechemites, whom Jacob's sons had taken captive, and brought into his family.

be clean, and change your garments:] The manner in which Jacob required his domesticks to purify themselves, was by washing their bodies, and putting on fresh apparel. This was a custom

among other nations, as well as the Jews; and may be regarded as an outward sign and profession of the purity of heart, with which persons should approach God in religious offices.

4-all their ear-rings which were in their ears ;] Besides the ear-rings which were for ornament, there were others worn by way of amulets or charms, or for some other superstitious uses; having the figure of some false god, in which was fancied to be a power to preserve them from evil.

18.-cabed his name Ben-oni:] Which name signifies the son of my sorrow, because his birth

The history of Joseph sets before us such a scene of the wonders of Providence, as will confirm our faith in God. His brethren conspire to kill him: God sends a company of merchants at that very moment to buy him, and take him into Egypt. In the next place we find him run the hazard, of his life, rather than do what he knew would displease God: and God rewarded him for it, beyond what Potiphar could do for him. The very dreams of Pharaoh and his servants are all directed by God for the advancement of Joseph: nay, the very fate of the whole kingdom, both the seven years plenty, and seven years famine, were ordained, in order to bring Joseph's father and family into Egypt, according to former prophecies.

We may observe, in Joseph's brethren, how God by affliction brings men to a sense of their sins.

Joseph was designed to be a lively type or figure of Jesus Christ. He was sold by his brethren: to strangers for a few pieces of money: and after all he became the Saviour of them and of all the neighbouring nations.

Verse 2. These are the generations] Or things which happened to him.

-their evil report.] What evil lives they led. 8.-Shalt thou indeed reign over us?] Thus much his brethren understood the dream to signify. And they interpreted it right.

9.-the sun and the moon] From this time forward in all scripture, when in any dream, vision, parable, or prophecy, there is mention of sun, moon, stars darkened, falling, &c. it is generally meant of kings, emperors, or other superiors, as here of father and mother.

29-he rent his clothes.] This was a usual manner of expressing grief and uneasiness of mind in those days and countries.

30. The child is not;] That is, he is dead. A common Scripture phrase.

34.-put sackcloth upon his loins,] The usual way of mourning.

CHAP. XXXVIII.

Verse 7.-the Lord slew him.] By some extraordinary judgment.

14.-and sat in an open place,] Hoping to impose herself either on Judah himself, or on Suclab.

This wicked and unlawful proceeding of Tamar, was probably undertaken out of revenge upon Judah, for not fulfilling his promise, but retaining Shelah from her, after he was arrived at man's estate.

15.- because she had covered her face.] This is not the reason, why he took her for an harlot; (for in Eastern countries all women veiled themselves, when they went abroad) but why he did uot know her to be his daughter in law, because he could not see her face. He thought her to be an harlot, because she publickly exposed herself in the highway.

18.-Thy signet,] The ancient Hebrews wore their seals or "signets" in rings on their fingers, or in "bracelets" on their arms. The word translated bracelets," is supposed by some, to mean a handkerchief, or girdle.

23.-Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed:] Let her keep the pledge; lest by making inquiry after it, the affair be publickly known to my disgrace.

29.-this breach be upon thee:] This breach shall be the occasion of the name put upon thee in memory hereof. Therefore he was called Pharez," which signifies a breach.

CHAP. XXXIX.

Verse 2.-he was in the house of his master] One of his domestick servants.

6.-he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did ear.] He committed all to Joseph's management, taking no account of his own affairs, and seeing, as it were, nothing with his own eyes, except the food that was brought to his table.

14. he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us;] Your master, my husband, hath brought in an Hebrew to disgrace us, and abuse our family by offering me violence.

22.-whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.] Every thing was done there according to his order and direction.

CHAP. XL.

Verse 1.-the butler-and-baker] These were two distinguished officers of the crown; cupbearer and master of the household to the king.

5.-according to the interpretation] That is, such as signified the event which Joseph foretold. 13.-shall Pharaoh lift up thine head,] That is, advance thee again. When it is said, Verse 20, "he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker," it is meant that he lifted up the one by way of honour, and took off the other by way of punishment.

CHAP. XLÍ.

Verse 5.-rank] That is, strong.

8.-the magicians] Men who professed a skill in interpreting dreams; whether by natural observations, or by consulting dæmons, or by the foolish art of astrology, or by certain superstitious rites and ceremonies, is uncertain.

9.-I do remember my faults this day:] His offences against Pharaoh; or more probably his ingratitude towards Joseph.

16-It is not in me: &c.] He had before ascribed his skill in interpreting dreams to God, Chap. xl. 8. The instrument of any extraordinary action ought not to take to itself that praise, which is due only to the author of it. Even our ordinary powers proceed from God; and therefore, as we should do every thing to His glory, so when we have done it, we should ascribe our doing it to His power.

- an answer of peace.] An answer that will be to his satisfaction and the welfare of his kingdom. 25.-The dream of Pharaoh is one:] One and the same thing is represented by two several figures.

28. This is the thing which I have spoken unio Pharoah:] I have told the king in short, what God is about to effect.

30.-all the plenty shall be forgotten] It shall be as if it had not been at all, by reason of the succeeding famine.

35. gather all the food] growth, as before stated. 36.- the land perish not] of the land.

The fifth part of the

That is, the people

44.- without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot] No man shall have power to do any thing without thy leave, at least not against thy will.

45.-called Joseph's name Zaphnath-puaneah;] This name signifies a revealer of secrets, or, more probably, a prime minister. It was usual among Eastern princes, on their promotion of a favourite, to give him a new name. Thus Nebuchadnezzar did to Daniel and his companions in Babylon; and to this day the Mogul never advances a man, without giving him a new name, significant of some thing belonging to him.

-priest of On.] Priest or prince of the City On. 49.-left numbering;] Left off keeping account of the quantity.

51. Manasseh:] This name signifies forgetting; and "Ephraim" in the next verse, fruitful.

57.-all countries came into Egypt to Joseph] That is, the people of all the neighbouring countries. The history of Joseph is a strong and plain example of the circuitous providence of God: that is to say, of His bringing about the ends and pur

H