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In the mean time Jacob behaved very differently to- Year of wards his two wives. Rachel had his heart and affection, the flood whilft Leah was forced to content herself with a formal 596. civility; but GOD made quite another difference between Bef. Chr. them, by making the latter mother of many children, 1752. whilft her fifter continued barren for a long time. Leab was foon brought to bed of a fon, and it being then the cuftom of thofe times for mothers to give names to their children, not without fome particular reafon or meaning, fhe called him Reuben, intimating that God had feen her affliction, and had given her a fon, which would probably engage her husband's affection to her. She had another Simeon, foon after him, whom fhe called Simeon; becaufe, fhe Levi, and faid, the LORD had heard her complaint. Her third fhe Judah called Levi, hoping her husband would be now cordially born. joined to her; and the fourth fhe called Judah, thinking herfelf bound to praise GOD for her fruitfulness; after which the left off bearing for a while.

RACHEL by this time was fo extremely mortified at her Year of fifter's happiness, that the came one day in a fit of envy, flood 599: and told her husband, that, unless he gave her children Bef. Chr. 1749.

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to fpeak of the pofterity he had by them (147); which might lead an unwary reader to think, that he had more than three, especially, becaufe the fathers of the two former are likewife called by different names. Thus his first wife, Judith of Beeri, is afterwards called Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; the fecond, viz. Bafhemah, the daughter of Elon, is again called Abolibamah, the daughter of Anab, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; the laft, called at first Mahalah, is now called Bath fhemath; but what fhews, that these two latter names mean the fame perfon, and that the fame thing may be fup

(147) Compare Gen. xxvi. 34. (148) 1 Kings xv. 2.

pofed of the other two (efpe-
cially confidering, that Efau
is recorded to have had but
three wives) is, that he is
called in both places, the
daughter of Ishmael, and fifter
of Nebaioth. All the account
that can be given for this dif-
ference is, that they had two
names, and that it was usual
to call them fometimes by one,
fometimes by the other. Thus
the mother of Abijam, king of
Judah, who is called in one
place Maachah, the daughter
of Abishalom (148), is in ano-
ther nam'd Michaiah,thedaugh-
ter of Uriel of Gibeah (149)..
Other parallel places might be
brought in great numbers,
wore it needful.

xxviii. 9. with xxxvi. 2, & feqq »
(149) 2 Ebron. xiii. 2.
Ꭲ 4
alfo

alfo, she should inevitably die of grief. Jacob, who could not forbear being provoked at fuch a fpeech, which feemed to lay the blame of her fterility upon him, answered her in a paffion, that it was out of his power to do miracles; and that GOD, who had fhut up her womb, was alone able to open it; but that her behaviour was more apt to prevent, than to gain fuch a bleffing. This mortifying anfwer made her bethink herself of the ufual way, at that time, for women in her cafe to give their maids to their husbands; fhe therefore defired him to take Bilhah, and try to make her a mother by her means; to which he confented, and foon after had a fon by her, which Dan and Rachel called Dan, meaning that God had judged in her Naphthali favour. She called the other fon, which Bilhab bore, Naphtali, to express the violent struggles fhe had had with her fifter: after which Leah, thinking the had quite left off bearing, gave her maid Zilpah alfo to Jacob, whose Gad and firft fon fhe called Gad (a troop) expecting more to come, Afher born and the next fhe called Afher, to exprefs the happiness The now enjoyed.

born.

By this time Reuben being about fix years of age, brought home one evening fome mandrakes (Y), which

(Y) What these mandrakes were, is not eafy to guess: but they could not certainly be what we understand by that name; 1. Because they had nothing inviting, either in fmell, tafte, or colour, to induce a child of his age to gather them; much lefs could he choose them for any particular virtue or quality they had. 2. The text fays, it was then wheat-harveft, which in thofe hot countries is about May, when the apples of that root are far from being ripe. 3. The mandrake has a very ftrong ftupefying smell, and is therefore called by the Arabians jabrokim; whereas the

(150) Cant. vii. 13.
(153) Jun. in loc.
Gen. cap. xxx. V, II,

he

dudaim, or mandrakes, are commended for their fragrancy, in the only place of Scripture, where they are mentioned befides (150). For this reason fome have fanfied them violets (151); others lilies (152); others jeffamin; others have rendered the word defirable flowers (153), agreeable to the word dudaim, which fignifies loves in the dual, or, the breafts of a woman. Others again, and perhaps more probably, have gueffed them to be citrons (154). That which has induced fo many interpret

ers

to fuppofe them to be mandrakes, is the virtue attributed to them of helping con

(151) Onkel. in loc.
(154) Bochart. Brown's vulg, err.

(152) Oleaft. Calmet comm. in

ception,

he had been gathering in the fields in the time of the wheat-harveft. Rachel no fooner faw them, but fhe de- Year of fired to have fome part of them, Leah hereupon anfwer- the flood ed, not over-complaifantly, that it was a little too much 603. for her to take her husband and her fon's mandrakes too: Bef. Chr. wherefore, to pacify her, and purchase the fruit, fhe 1745. agreed, that Jacob fhould lie with her that night (Z); and Jacob no fooner came home, but Leah challenged him to confirm the bargain, which he accordingly did; the confequence of which was, that he bore him a fifth fon, Iffachar. whom the called Iffachar (the man of reward), alleging that he was a reward to her for giving her maid to Jacob. After which fhe bore her fixth and laft fon, and Zebulun called him Zebulun (dwelling), in hopes that fo many fons and Dinah would make her husband dwell with her. She had like-born. wife a daughter, whom fhe called Dinah, which is the

ception (155), which made Rachel willing to try the effects of them; but, befides that they were plentiful enough to have been bought at a cheaper rate, it is plain, that she did not conceive after them. Neither is it probable, that Leab would have parted with them, if they had been known to have had fuch a virtue, which perhaps was not difcovered till a long time after; when it became known among the Greeks and Romans, by the name of the apple of love, and of the juice of which the emperor Julian tells his friend (156), that he had taken a dofe to excite him to it. A modern author, in his hiftory of Ethiopia, has confuted the notion of dudaim fignifying mandrakes (157); and affirms, that it fignifies a certain fruit, which the Syri

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ans call mauz, not unlike the banana, or Indian fig-tree, in fhape and tafte, and about the bignefs of a cucumber, thirty or forty of which often hang upon one ftem: but, whatever thefe dudaim were, whether a fruit or flower, it is certain, they must have had fomething pleafant and inviting to a child, either in fmell or taste.

(Z) The cuftom of those countries, where polygamy was allowed, was in those days for the hufband to take his wives by turns (158); the kings of Perfia, if we may believe Herodotus (159), were not exempt from that rule. This makes it more probable, that fhe fold her turn for that night to her fifter, than that the directed her husband which of the four he fhould lie with.

(155) Epipb. ap. Villet. (156) Ludolph. hift. Ethiop. I. i. cap. 72. (157) Vid. Calm. in Gen, xxx. 16. Dict. fub voc. Mandrag. Aug. 1. xxi. cont. Fauft. cap. 29. (158) Villet. Munft. & al. (159) Herodot, I. iii. sap. 69.

feminine

As

feminine of Dan; after which fhe bore no more. for Rachel, her prayers at length being heard, fhe was happily brought to bed of a fon, whom the called Jofeph, in hopes that GOD would add another to him. By this time, Jacob, having finished his fourteen years fervitude, and being defirous to revifit his old parents, defired his uncle to difmifs him and his family. But Laban, who had found no fmall advantage in having such a faithful fervant, begged him to ftay a little longer, promifing, upon that condition, to give him what wages he should name. They foon came to an agreement about that; but Laban's avarice put him on fo many ftratagems to defraud him of Jacob's it, as obliged Jacob to ufe others in his own defence, and ftratagem which the reader may fee in the xxxth chapter underof the fpee-quoted, and which fucceeded fo well to him, that his flocks kled flicks. throve greatly, whilft Laban's dwindled vifibly away.

LABAN, vexed at his heart to fee fuch a great difference between the two flocks, and perhaps fufpecting some trick, obliged him to invert the bargain. This arbitrary change was renewed more than once or twice, as he complained to him afterwards a; in fpite of all which, Jacob grew exceeding rich; and with the money which he got by his fleeces, &c. bought men and women fervants, camels, oxen, and affes; which raised fuch envy in Laban and his fons against him, that they began to look upon him with an evil eye; and this made him contrive the means Jacob of getting off with all he had. He acquainted his wives Steals with his defign, and finding them of the fame mind, he away from fet them and their little ones upon camels, and, having Laban. got all his fervants and fubftance together, began his jourYear of ney towards the land of Canaan, whilft his father-in-Law, the flood who was at a pretty diftance from him, was bufy fhearing 609. his fheep; which gave Rachel an opportunity of stealing Bef. Chr. her father's gods (B). Laban, who did not hear of his

1739.

a Gen. xxxi. 41.
(B) The word which we
tranflate gods, in the Hebrew
is teraphim, which all
the Jewish rabbies own to be
a word of no Hebrew ety-
mology. The LXX tranflate
it fometimes an oracle, and

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fometimes vain idols, and A quila idols. Some think it to be an Egyptian word, and the fame with Serapis; introduced by Ham, or his son Mizraim, who filled that country with idols (159). As to their shape,

(159) Kircker. Oedip. Ægypt. synt, iv. c. 3. Cunaus rep. Hebr.

the

flight till the third day after, was full feven days before he could overtake him; by which time Jacob had already

the most received and probable opinion is, that it was human, or fomething resembling a human form, as a bufto, terminus, &c. though the Jews pretend, that it was the head of a first-born fon, plucked off from the neck, and embalmed; under the tongue of which was faftened a golden plate, with the name of fome falfe deity engraved upon it; which head, being placed in a nich, or upon a fhelf, gave vocal anfwers (160): but these are rather to be looked on as fables not worth confuting; and the figure which Michol put in David's bed (161), which the original calls by the name of teraphim, fhews, that it muft have had an human shape. JoJephus indeed, who might think it a reflection on David, that there should be found an image or teraphim in his houfe, has attributed a more fubtle ftratagem to Michol, though lefs credible (162). But, waving the improbability of this ftory, we shall meet with fo many inftances in the fequel of this hiftory, wherein this author doth depart, from the Scriptures, and from truth, whenever the honour of his nation is concerned, that his authority will be of little weight in all fuch cafes.

These teraphims were after-.

paffed

wards univerfally known by the name of talismen, as they are to this day all over India. The Perfians called them telephim, a name not unlike tera phim. They were made of different metals and fizes, caft under certain conftellations, with the figures of fome planets, and magic characters, enWhat graven upon them. metal thofe of Laban were, or how big, or how many, is not eafy to guefs; only this the text tells us, that the hid them in the ftraw, and fat upon them. As for their use, it was chiefly to give anfwers, to foretel what was to come, to difcover what was hid or loft, and the like. Befides this, they were alfo addreffed to for temporal bleffings, and to avert evils.

They were to be confulted and prayed to at certain times, under particular afpects of the planets, from which, according to the Jews, they partly received that power, and partly from the characters engraven on them (163). Another rabbi goes further, and pretends that they gave their anfwers viva voce (164), and proves it from the words of the prophet, The teraphims have spoken vain things (165). However, we muft not fuppofe, that all the teraphims were of the fame

(16) Jonat, targ. in Gen. xxxi. R.Tanbuma Eleaz, & al. (161) 1 Sam.

xix. 16.

fub vos. Teraph.

(162) Ant. lib. vi. c. 14.

(164) R. Eleaz. cap. 36.

(163) D. Kimchi (165) Zecbar. x. 2.

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