Imatges de pàgina
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B. I. Year of after brought to bed of two fons, of whom the first, viz. Efau, the flood was all over hairy, and the fecond came into the world hold510. ing him by the heel, and was therefore named Jacob (R). Bef. Chr. Efau became a great lover of hunting, and confequently the 1838. darling of Ifaac, who was very fond of his venison; but Jacob was the mother's favourite, who knew that he was to inherit the bleffings, and could not, perhaps, forbear intrusting him with the fecret, though the feems all along to have concealed it from her husband. The two brothers Efau fells were not above twenty years old, when Jacob gave proof bis birth of his being acquainted with it, by making Efau, purfuant to his mother's directions, fwear away his birthright, as we have related elfe where 1.

Efau and Jacob born.

right.

Year of A FAMINE, which happened fome years after, obliging the flood Ifaac to feek for another habitation, he refolved to go 543. into Egypt; when GOD appeared to him, and diverted Bef. Chr. him from it, bidding him go to Abimelech king of Gerar, 1805. where Abraham had heretofore been fo friendly entertained; promifing, that he would protect and bless him; as he Ifaac goes did accordingly in a wonderful manner, as we have seen to Gerar. in a former volume, till their repeated troubles and vexations he met with there obliged him to remove farther ".

A covenant be

AT length he was fued to by Abimelech in perfon", either to revive the old covenant, or to make a new one. tween A- Ifaac expoftulated with him, and thofe that attendbimelech ed him, upon the ill ufage he had met with in their and Ifaac, land; but nevertheless prepared a fumptuous banquet for them, and on the morrow entered into the covenant they requefted. On the fame day word was brought to Ifaac, that his fervants had found water • ;

1 See vol. ii. p. 162. m See before, vol. ii. p. 228, & feq. " See before, ibid. 230. • Genef. xxvi. 32, & feqq.

1

Efau came out all hairy, and, as it were, perfect; whereas other children are born with hair only on their heads. He is alfo fuppofed to have been called Sheir or Sehir, from "y, shahar, which fignifies hey, hair; and lastly, Edom, from his felling his primogeniture for a mess of red pottage; as we have seen elsewhere.

(R) From the Hebrew word apy, bekeb, which fignifies the -heel, is formed the verb apy, to fupplant; and by the addition of the jod, one of the formatives of nouns, Jaacob, a fupplanter; which name he in time made good. As for the name Efau, the meaning is fomewhat obfcure, unless we derive it, with fome (142), from wy, bajah, to make, because

(142) Rab. Sal. Mercer, & al.

upon

upon which account he called the place Beersheba (S). Year of The tranquillity which this new alliance procured him, was the flood foon after difturbed by Efau marrying two wives, Judith 589. the daughter of Beeri, and Bafhemath the daughter of Bef. Chr. Elon, both Hittites 9.

HOWEVER Ifaac, who beheld him ftill as heir, was foon reconciled to him; and, if he knew any thing of his felling his birth-right, he only looked upon it as a youthful trick, and the effect of hunger and weariness. Finding himself, therefore, grow old and feeble, and his eyes quite dim with age, and apprehending his death to be nearer than it really was, he being then an hundred and thirty-feven years old, refolved to blefs him before he died. He therefore called him to him one day, and bad him get fome fresh venison, and drefs it to his palate, and told him he defigned to confer his bleffing on him that day. Rebecca, who overheard their difcourfe, knowing the importance of the paternal bleffing, laid hold on that favourable opportunity to procure it for her favourite fon in the absence of Efau.

1759

By what ftratagem fhe accomplished it, notwithstand-Jacob gets ing Jacob's great reluctance, and fear of fuch a discovery his broas would have brought a curse instead of a bleffing fromther's blefthe good old father, we have seen in a former volume :fing from but, whilft the mother and fon were congratulating him. each other, Efau came to his father with the venifon he had prepared for him. He invited him in the fame dutiful manner that his brother had done, and wondered to observe such tokens of furprize and concern in his father's face. Not to repeat what we have already expatited ons, Efau found he had been circumvented in his abfence; and a mournful fcene enfued between the father and the fon; which was clofed up by Ifaac's ftrenuously infifting, that his bleffing fhould remain with Jacob. I

Vid.

1 Gen. xxvi. p. tot. See alfo vol. ii. p. 163, & feqq. r See Gen. xxvii. paff. See alfo vol. ii. p. 164, & feqq. fup. ibid. & feqq.

(S) This name is rather revived than given to the place, fince we have lately feen on what account Abraham called it fo; though it is not improbable but the discovery of this new well might lead Ifaac into an allufion to a third meaning

of the word ya, habah, which
fignifies not only to fear, and
feven, but likewife to fatisfy
or fatiate; whereby he might
intimate, that he had wells
enough, and would reft fatif
fied with them.

T 2

have

have bleffed him, fays he, yea, and he fhall be bleffed (T). Nevertheless, to affwage Efau's exceffive grief, he bleffed him

t Gen. xxvii. 33.

(T) Whofoever narrowly obferves Jacob's life after he had obtained his father's blef fing, will own, that it confifted in nothing less than worldly felicity, of which he enjoyed as little as any man whatever. Forced from his home into a far country, for fear of his brother; deceived and oppreffed by his own uncle, and forced to fly from him, after a fervitude of twenty-one years; in imminent danger, either of being purfued and brought back by Laban, or murdered by an enraged brother. Thefe fears are no fooner over, but the bafenefs of his eldest fon, in defiling his couch; the treachery and cruelty of the two next to the Sichemites (145); and laftly, the lofs of his beloved wife, and fuppofed untimely end of his fon Joseph; all these overwhelmed him with fresh fucceffions of grief: and, to complete all, his being forced by famine to defcend into Egypt, and to die in a strange land; thefe, and many more, are fufficient proofs, that his father's bleffing was of a quite different nature, and confifted chiefly in these two particulars, viz. the poffeffion of the land of Canaan, in right of primogeniture, which his brother had fold him, and which rather belonged to his pofte

(145) See before, vol. ii. p. 200. (H).

in

rity than to himself; the other and more glorious one was, that of the MESSIAH'S being born of his race, and not of that of Efau. As to the ftratagem by which this bleffing was obtained, though it appears fomewhat harsh and unjuft at first fight; yet if we confider, that these two brothers were defigned by providence as types, viz. Efau of the Jews (who were afterwards to be rejected for preferring a carnal and imaginary kingdom and MESSIAH to a fpiritual one, which is, in fact, preferring a mefs of pottage to the nobleft birth-right), and Jacob of the Gentiles, who were to be admitted into that kingdom, which the former had rejected; if we confider further, that this alienation from one brother to another had nothing to do with a fu ture ftate, as hath been formerly fhewn ; but was confined wholly to the prefent (146); if we confider these things, we fhall not want the fubtilies of the schools, to justify an action which was determined and conducted by a divine hand, unlefs men will affirm, that GOD could not in juftice make fuch an alienation; an affertion fo bold and abfurd, that we don't think any man of fenfe and common modefty would venture to maintain it ;

(146) See before, vol. ii. pag. 266,

or

in these words, Thy dwelling fhall be the fatness of the earth, Efau is aland of the dew of heaven from above. By thy fword and fo blessed. thy bow fhalt thou live, and fhalt ferve thy brother; and it fhall come to pass, that when thou shalt have the dominion, thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. This bleffing was inferior to Jacob's in the following particulars: 1. It omits plenty of corn and wine; from which fome have inferred, that Efau's lot fhould not be fo fertile as his brother's. 2. Here is no mention of GOD, as there is in the first, GOD give thee, &c. 3. There is a fpiritual bleffing promised to Jacob, that they should be bleffed that bleffed him, &c. but no fuch thing is faid to his brother. Jacob was for a while in danger of his brother's heaviest indignation; which Rebecca dreading, the found out a pretence for conveying him out of his reach as far as Padan-aram, where he might marry one of her kindred (U).

JACOB, in his way thither, was overtaken by the night near Luz, and forced to lie in the open fields with only a Jacob is ftone for his pillow. Here he faw in a dream a ladder Sent to Pareaching from earth to heaven, and angels afcending and dan-Aram defcending, whilft GOD, who stood on the top, was pleafed to encourage him, by promifing, that he would blefs and multiply him beyond measure u. Jacob, awaking from his dream furprised and frighted, cried out, Surely GOD was in this place, and I knew it not! Rifing therefore from his hard bed, he took the ftone which had ferved him for a bolfter, and, pouring oil thereon, erected it into a pillar; and in memory of this vifion called the place Bethel (the house of GoD); for it was called Luz before that time. Here he likewife made a vow unto God, that if he would

See before, vol. ii. p. 165, & note. 12, & feqq.

ų Gen. xxviii.

or would deferve an answer, if unless it were done to conceal he did.

(U) It is very probable, that Ifaac had likewife fome fufpicion of Efau's ill defign; elfe it is not likely, that he would have fent Jacob away alone, and with only his staff in his hand, when his father Abraham had fent thither a fervant in fo noble a manner,

his flight. However that be,
the other reafon which the
mother alleged, was thought
highly reasonable; and Jacob
was privately fent for, to take
his leave of his father, and to
receive his commands, and his
farther bleffing; which done,
he fet out for Padan-aram,

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grant him his protection, feed, cloath, and bring him back fafe to his father's houfe, the LORD fhould be his GOD; that he would pay the tythes of all he had unto him, and that the ftone which he had reared should be GOD's houfe. Having finished his prayer, he went on chearfully the rest of his way, till he came to his journey's end w.

His uncle Laban received him with joy ; and, after a month's stay with him, Jacob falling in love with his youngest daughter Rachel, a beautiful virgin, they agreed Serves 7 that he should ferve him seven years for her; at the end years for of which the should become his wife. Jacob, pleased with this promife, fpared no pains to make his service acceptable to his uncle Laban, who liked him fo well for a fervant, that he resolved to continue him in the same capacity seven years more. For when the time was come for his being put in poffeffion of the wife he had fo dearly earned, he conveyed his new fon-in-law into his eldest daughter Leah's apartment. Jacob did not difcover the deceit till the next morning; when finding, instead of his beloved Rachel, her homely fifter, he could not forbear expreffing his refentment in the strongest terms. Laban, who Is cheated had his answer ready, told him, that it was an unprecedented by Laban. thing in that country to marry the youngest daughter before the eldeft, and that it would have been a great injustice to Leah to have preferred a younger fifter to her: But, continued he, in a milder tone, if you will fulfil the nuptial week with your wife, and consent to serve me seven years more for her fifter, I am content to take your word for it, and to give Rachel to you as foon as the feven days are ended. Jacob could not but be troubled at such an unMarries fair procedure; but he loved Rachel too well not to obRachel. tain her at any price; he therefore consented to those hard terms, and at the week's end enjoyed the fruits of his fervitude and conftancy. What betel his brother Efau during that time, hath been already mentioned, and needs not be repeated here; only with refpect to his wives, we beg leave to remove a difficulty, for which we refer the reader to the following note (X).

Gen. xxviii. * See before, vol. ii. p. 166, & feqq.

(X) It will be proper to obferve here, that Mofes gives

IN

these three wives of Efau quite other names, when he comes

to

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