Isaac acquires much property,

B. C. cir. 1804.

and

B. C. cir. 1804.

19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

A. M. cir. 2200. 13 And the man waxed great, | by which his father had called A. M. cir. 2200. went forward, and grew them. until he became very great; 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants and the Philistines envied him. 15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

however, may be taken in a general way, as signifying a very great increase; so they are used by our Lord in the parable of the sower.

Verse 13. The man waxed great] There is a strange and observable recurrence of the same term in the ori

d

20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it e Sitnah.

22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it-f Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

same principle Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites. Philistines appear to have been jealous of Isaac's growing prosperity, and to have considered it, not as a due reward of his industry and holiness, but as their individual loss, as though his gain was at their expense;

therefore they resolved to drive him out, and take his ויגדל האיש וילך הלוך וגדל עד כי גדל מאד : ginal

dal haish vaiyelech haloch vegadel ad ki gadal meod, And the man was GREAT; and he went, going on, and was GREAT, until that he was exceeding GREAT. How simple is this language, and yet how forcible!

well-cultivated ground, &c., to themselves, and compelled Abimelech to dismiss him, who gave this reason for it, 13 pxy atsamta mimmennu, Thou hast obtained much wealth among us, and my people are envious of thee. Is not this the better translation ? for it can hardly be supposed that Isaac was "mightier" than the king of whole tribes.

Verse 14. He had possession of flocks] He who blessed him in the increase of his fields blessed him also in the increase of his flocks; and as he had extensive possessions, so he must have many hands to Verse 18. In the days of Abraham] Instead of manage such concerns: therefore it is added, hep bimey, in the days, Houbigant contends we should had great store of servants-he had many domestics, some born in his house, and others purchased by his money.

Verse 15. For all the wells-the Philistines had stopped them] In such countries a good well was a great acquisition; and hence in predatory wars it was usual for either party to fill the wells with earth or sand, in order to distress the enemy. The filling up the wells in this case was a most unprincipled-transaction, as they had pledged themselves to Abraham, by a solemn oath, not to injure each other in this or any other respect. See chap. xxi. 25-31.

Verse 16. Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.] This is the first instance on record of what was termed among the Greeks ostracism; i. e., the banishment of a person from the state, of whose power, influence, or riches, the people were jealous. There is a remarkable saying of Bacon on this subject, which seems to intimate that he had this very circumstance under his eye: "Public envy is an ostracism that eclipseth men when they grow loo great.

a

162

read "ay abdey, servants. Isaac digged again the wells which the servants of Abraham his father had digged. This reading is supported by the Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate; and it is probably the true one.

See

Verse 19. A well of springing water.] D'N D'D NI beer mayim chaiyim, A well of living waters. This is the oriental phrase for a spring, and this is its meaning both in the Old and New Testaments: Lev. xiv. 5, 50; xv. 30; Num. xix. 17; Cant. iv. 15. also John iv. 10-14; vii. 38; Rev. xxi. 6; xxii. 1. And by these scriptures we find that an unfailing spring was an emblem of the graces and influences of the Spirit of God.

Verse 21. They digged another well] Never did any man more implicitly follow the Divine command, Resist not evil, than Isaac; whenever he found that his work was likely to be a subject of strife and contention, he gave place, and rather chose to suffer wrong than to have his own peace of mind disturbed. On this he overcame evil with good.

( 12* )

Thus

CHAP. XXVI.

They make a covenant. 24 And the LORD appeared 29 That thou wilt do us no A. M. cir. 2200. unto him the same night, and hurt, as we have not touched said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing i fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless but good, and have sent thee away in thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant peace: thou art now the blessed of the Abraham's sake. LORD.

Ahuzzath] The Targum translates this word a company, not considering it as a proper name: "Abime- The name of the city is Beer-sheba] This name lech and Phichol came with a company of their friends." was given to it a hundred years before this time; but The Septuagint calls him Oxofa & vuμpaywyos;. Ocho- as the well from which it had this name originally was zath, the paranymph, he who conducts the bride to the closed up by the Philistines, probably the name of the bridegroom's house. Could we depend on the correct-place was abolished with the well; when therefore ness of this version, we might draw the following cu- Isaac reopened the well, he restored the ancient name rious conclusions from it: 1. That this was the son of the place. of that Abimelech the friend of Abraham. 2. That

is very likely that the wives taken by Esau were daughters of chiefs among the Hittites, and by this union he sought to increase and strengthen his secular power and influence.

Verse 35. Which were a grief of mind] Not the marriage, though that was improper, but the persons; they, by their perverse and evil ways, brought bitterness into the hearts of Isaac and Rebekah. The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and that of Jerusalem, say they were addicted to idol worship, and rebelled against and would not hearken to the instructions either of Isaac or Rebekah. From Canaanites a different conduct could not be reasonably expected. Esau was far from being spiritual, and his wives were wholly carnal.

THE same reflections which were suggested by Abraham's conduct in ́denying his wife in Egypt and Gerar, will apply to that of Isaac; but the case of Isaac was much less excusable than that of Abraham. The latter told no falsity; he only through fear suppressed a part of the truth.

which are a grief to his parents.

B. C. cir. 1804.

35 Which were b a grief of A. M. cir. 2200. mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. d Heb. bitterness of spirit.

tice or providence of God requires. There are, however, many who owe their poverty to their want of diligence and economy; they sink down into indolence, and forget that word, Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; nor do they consider that by idleness a man is clothed with rags. Be diligent in business and fervent in spirit, and God will withhold from thee no manner of thing that is good.

2. From many examples we find that the wealth of the primitive inhabitants of the world did not consist in gold, silver, or precious stones, but principally in flocks of useful cattle, and the produce of the field. With precious metals and precious stones they were not unacquainted, and the former were sometimes used in purchases, as we have already seen in the case of Abraham buying a field from the children of Heth. But the blessings which God, promises are such as .spring from the soil. Isaac sowed in the land, and had possessions of flocks and herds, and great store of servants, ver. 12-14. Commerce, by which nations and individuals so suddenly rise and as suddenly fall, had not been then invented; every man was obliged to acquire property by honest and persevering labour, or be destitute. Lucky hits, fortunate speculations, and adventurous risks, could then have no place; the field must be tilled, the herds watched and fed, and the proper seasons for ploughing, sowing, reaping, and laying up, be carefully regarded and improved. No man, therefore, could grow rich by accident. Isaac waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great, ver. 13. Speculation was of no use, for it could have no object; and consequently many incitements to knavery and to idleness, that bane of the

could not show themselves. Happy times! when every
man wrought with his hands, and God particularly
blessed his honest industry. As he had no luxuries,
he had no unnatural and factitious wants, few diseases,
and a long life.

O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint,
·Agricolas !-

1. A good man has a right to expect God's blessing on his honest industry. Isaac sowed, and received a hundred-fold, and he had possession of flocks, &c., for the Lord blessed him. Worldly men, if they pray at all, ask for temporal things: "What shall we eat? what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be clothed ?" Most of the truly religious people go into another extreme; they forget the body, and ask only for the soul! and yet there are "things requisite and necessary as well for the body as the soul," and things which are only at God's disposal. The body lives for the soul's sake; its life and comfort are in many re-physical and moral health of the body and soul of man, spects essentially requisite to the salvation of the soul; and therefore the things necessary for its support should be earnestly asked from the God of all grace, 'the Father of bounty and providence. Ye have not because ye ask not, may be said to many poor, afflicted religious people; and they are afraid to ask lest it should appear mercenary, or that they sought their portion-in this life. They should be better taught. Surely to none of these will God give a stone if they ask bread: he who is so liberal of his heavenly blessings will not withhold earthly ones, which are of infinitely less consequence. Reader, expect God's blessing on thy honest industry; pray for it, and believe that God does not love thee less, who hast taken refuge in the same hope, than he loved Isaac. Plead not only his promises, but plead on the precedents he has set before thee." Lord, thou didst so and so to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and to others who trusted in thee; bless my field, bless my flocks, prosper my labour, that I may be able to provide things honest in the sight of all men, and have something to dispense to those who are in want." And will not God hear such prayers? Yea, and answer them too, for he does not willingly afflict the children And we may rest assured that there is more affliction and poverty in the world than either the jus

of men.

thrice happy husbandmen! did they but know their

own mercies.

But has not what is termed commerce produced the reverse of all this? A few are speculators, and the many are comparatively slaves; and slaves, not to enrich themselves, (this is impossible,) but to enrich the speculators and adventurers by whom they are employed. Even the farmers become, at least partially, commercial men; and the soil, the fruitful parent of natural wealth, is comparatively disregarded: the consequence is, that the misery of the many, and the luxury, of the few, increase; and from both these spring, on the one hand, pride, insolence, contempt of the poor, contempt of God's holy word and commandments, with the long catalogue of crimes which proceed from pampered appetites and unsubdued passions: and on the other, murmuring, repining, discon

Isaac desires his son Esau

CHAP. XXVII.

tent, and often insubordination and revolt, the most fell and most destructive of all the evils that can degrade and curse civil society. Hence wars, fightings, and revolutions of states, and public calamities of all kinds. Bad as the world and the times are, men have made them much worse by their unnatural methods

to prepare him savoury meat.

of providing for the support, of life. When shall men learn that even this is but a subordinate pursuit; and that the cultivation of the soul in the knowledge, love, and obedience of God, is essentially necessary, not only to future glory, but to present happiness?

CHAPTER XXVII.

Isaac, grown old and feeble, and apprehending the approach of death, desires his son Esau to provide some savoury meat for him, that having eaten of it he might convey to him the blessing connected with the right of primogeniture, 1-4. Rebekah hearing of it, relates the matter to Jacob, and directs him how to personate his brother, and by deceiving his father, obtain the blessing, 5-10. Jacob hesitates, 11, 12; but being counselled and encouraged by his mother, he at last consents to use the means she prescribes, 13, 14. Rebekah disguises Jacob, and sends him to personate his brother, 15-17. Jacob comes to his father, and professes himself, to be Esau, 18, 19. Isaac doubts, questions, and examines him closely, but does not discover the deception, 20-24. He eats of the savoury meat, and confers the blessing upon Jacob, 25-27. In what the blessing consisted, 28, 29. Esau arrives from the field with the meat he had gone to provide, and presents himself before his father, 30, 31, Isaac discovers the fraud of Jacob, and is much affected, 32, 33. Esau is greatly distressed on hearing 'that the blessing had been received by another, 34. accuses Jacob of deceit, 35. Esau expostulates, and prays for a blessing, 36. ing which he has already conveyed, 37. Esau weeps, and earnestly implores a nounces a blessing on Esau, and prophecies that his posterity should, in process tary to the posterity of Jacob, 39, 40. Esau purposes.to kill his brother, 41. counsels Jacob to take refuge with her brother Laban in Padan-aram, 42-45. alarmed, lest Jacob should take any of the Canaanites to wife, 46.

Isaac

Isaac describes the blessblessing, 38. Isaac pro

of time, cease to be tribuRebekah hears of it, and She professes to be greatly

M. cir. 2225.

A. M. cir. 2225. AND it came to pass, that know not the day of my B. C. cir. 1779.

B. C. cir. 1779.
Kennicott.

when Isaac was old, and

a his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

death:

3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4 And make me savoury meat, such as I 2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I love, and bring it to me, that Lmay eat; that Chap. xlviii. 10; 1 Sam. iii. 2.- b Prov. xxvii. 1; James iv. 14.- - Chap. xxv: 27, NOTES ON CHAP. XXVII.

Verse 1. Isaac was old] It is conjectured, on good grounds, that Isaac was now about one hundred and seventeen years of age, and Jacob about fifty-seven; though the commonly received opinion makes Isaac one hundred and thirty-seven, and Jacob seventy-seven; but see the notes on chap. xxxi. 38, &c..

And his eyes were dim] This was probably the effect of that affliction, of what kind we know not, under which Isaac now laboured; and from which, as well as from the affliction, he probably recovered, as it is certain he lived forty if not forty-three years after this time, for he lived till the return of Jacob from Padan-aram; chap. xxxv. 27-29.

Verse 2. I know not the day of my death] From his present weakness he had reason to suppose that his death could not be at any great distance, and therefore would leave no act undone which he believed it his duty to perform. He who lives not in reference to eternity, lives not at all.

Verse 3. Thy weapons] The original word keley signifies vessels and instruments of any kind; and is probably used here for a hunting spear, javelin, sword, &c. Quiver] teli, from nn talah, to hang or sus

28.

d Heb. hunt.

pend. Had not the Septuagint translated the word paperpav, and the Vulgate pharetram, a quiver, I should rather have supposed some kind of shield was meant ; but either can be suspended on the arm or from the shoulder. Some think a sword is meant; and because the original signifies to hang or suspend, hence they think is derived our word hanger, so called because it is generally worn in a pendent posture; but the word hanger did not exist in our language previously to the Crusades, and we have evidently derived it from the Persian khanjar, a poniard or dagger, the use of which,' not only in battles, but in private assas sinations, was well known.

Verse 4. Savoury meat] D'oyoD matammim, from Dyo taam, to taste or relish; how dressed we know not, but its name declares its nature.

That I may eat] The blessing which Isaac was to confer on his son was a species of Divine right, and must be communicated with appropriate ceremonies. As eating and drinking were used among the Asiatics on almost all religious occasions, and especially in making and confirming covenants, it is reasonable to suppose that something of this kind was essentially necessary on this occasion, and that Isaac could not