variety and excellent order Ver. 2. And on the seventh Day God ended his Work Or rather had ended as it may be translated for he did not work on the Seventh Day But rested from all his Work which he had made haing so compleatly finished it that there remained no more to be done An Emblem of the Rest that we shall have when we have done our Work faithfully and left none undone as Origen's words are L. VI. contra Celsum Ver. 3. And God blessed the seventh Day and sanctified it As God sanctified Jeremiah in after-times from his Mother's Womb Jer. I. 5. by ordaining him to be a Prophet So he now determined and appointed the Seventh Day from the very beginning of the World to be observed in Memory of its Creation And this setting it apart and consecrating it to that Holy Use was his blessing it or recommending it to be observed as a Day of blessing and praising him in all his Works of Wonder And I know not why I should not add of his bestowing Blessings upon all his pious Worshippers There is no mention indeed made of Adam's or Abel's c. observing this Day which hath inclined many to conclude these words to have been written by way of anticipation This Day being set apart in after-times by the Law of Moses for God's Service but in their Opinion not till then To which I cannot agree because it seems to me far more reasonable to think That God took Care to preserve the Memory of the Creation in the Minds of Mankind and the Worship of Him the One Only God by whom it was created Which could not be done by any means more effectually than by setting apart this Day for that purpose Which if he had not appointed yet Men being made Religious Creatures I cannot but think they would have agreed upon some set time for the Exercise of their Religion as well as some set Place though that be not mentioned neither where to meet for Divine Service And what time more proper wherein to Honour their Creator with their Sacrifices Praises and Thanksgivings than this Day Which Philo well stiles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the birth-day of the World Which was so much observed all the World over though they forgot the reason that the Seventh Day he observes may be truly called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Vniversal Festival kept by all People Josephus speaks to the same purpose and there is a great deal more said by Aristobulus a Peripatetick Philosopher out of Hesiod Homer and others in Eusebius his Praepar Evang. L. XIII c. 12. concerning the Sacredness of the Seventh Day Which though Mr. Selden L. III. de Jure N. G. cap. 17 c. endeavours to prove is meant of the Seventh Day of the Month not of the Seventh Day of the Week yet we may look upon that as a Remain of this ancient Tradition Which in time Men forgot as they did the most Natural Duties having so corrupted their ways as we read Gen. VI. 10 11. that there was nothing good among the generality of them And therefore no wonder if they did not regard the Service of God every Seventh Day To which I shall show in due place Noah the only righteous Man among them had some regard Which continued in the Family of Abraham after the Flood Moses speaking of it not long after their coming out of Egypt where it is likely they were not suffered to observe it having no time free from their intolerable Labours as a Day known to them before the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai Exod. XVI 23 25 26. Which is not to be understood as if the Patriarchs before and after the Flood kept such a Rest as God enjoyned the Israelites by Moses For that was proper to them for a peculiar reason because they had been Slaves in Egypt and therefore were commanded to keep the Sabbath without doing any manner of work upon that Day Deut. V. 15. Which is all the Christian Fathers mean when they say the Patriarchs did not Sabbatizare keep the Sabbath as the Jews did See Tertullian adv Judaeos cap. 2 4. Irenaeus and others For in Religious Offices I doubt not they observed the Seventh Day as a proper time for that Sacred Hymn which Galen himself L. III. de usu Partium says we should all sing to the Creator of all if we our selves first know and then tell others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. how wonderful he is in Wisdom how great in Power and how rich in Goodness Because that in it he had rested from all his work This is the reason why this Day was distinguished from the other Six That a remembrance of God's resting from all his Works on this Day might be preserved by Mens laying aside their other Employments so long as to praise him Solemnly by whom this great World was made Which God created and made Or as the Hebrew phrase is created to make i. e. rested from all the Six Day 's Work For he created something at the first out of which to make all the rest in six Day 's space and now he ceased from all Ver. 4. These are the generations c. That is this is a faithful Account of the Original of the World Which Moses here repeats more deeply to imprint on the Peoples Minds that the World was not a God but the Work of God Which they were to acknowledge every Seventh Day In the Day i. e. At that time so Day often signifies when the LORD God made the Earth and the Heavens It is observed by Tertullian That exinde Dominus qui retro Deus tantum c. from henceforward verse 7 8 9 15 c. he is called LORD who hitherto was called only God Of which he endeavours to give a reason L. adv Hermog cap. 3. The Hebrew Doctors observe that Jehovah Elohim LORD God joyned together is the full and perfect Name of God And therefore fitly reserved till this place when the Works of God were perfected and not before Ver. 5. And every Plant in the Field before it was in the Earth c. That is before there was any Seed to produce them God made them to spring up with their Seed in them as was said before in the first Chapter And Moses here mentions these alone because they were the first Productions out of the Earth without which there had been no Food for living Creatures For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the Earth and there was not a Man to till the Ground Here are two reasons to confirm that Plants were not produced in the way they are now For there had been no showers of Rain nor was there any Man to prepare the Earth to receive the Seed if there had been any both which are necessary in the ordinary Method of Divine Providence ever since the World was made From hence some collect there were no Praedamites People before Adam for then
c. though the copula be omitted which is usual in Scripture Particularly in Habak III. 11. the Sun Moon i. e. the Sun and Moon Moses having shown how the first Matter ver 2. and then the Elements of things as we call them ver 3 6 9 10. were produced he proceeds to the Production of more compounded Bodies And here an account is given of all sorts of Vegetables which are ranged under three Heads Grass which comes up every Year without sowing Herbs bearing a Seed which comprehends as Abarbinel here notes all sort of Corn and whatsoever is sown and Trees which also bear Fruit. There are several kinds of all these which some have cast into Eighteen others into Six and thirty Classes none of which could at the first spring out of the Earth of it self by the power of external and internal Heat and of the Water mixed with it no not so much as one single Pile of Grass without the Almighty Power and Wisdom of God who brought together those Parts of Matter which were fitted to produce them and then formed every one of them and determined their several Species and also provided for their continuance by bringing forth Seed to propagate their Species to the end of all things And here it is very remarkable how God hath secured the Seeds of all Plants with singular Care Some of them being defended by a double nay a treble inclosure Ver. 12. And the Earth brought forth Grass and the Herb c. These things did not grow up out of Seed by such a long process as is now required to bring them to maturity but they sprung up in their Perfection in the space of a Day with their Seeds in them compleatly formed to produce the like throughout all Generations Thus Moses gives a plain Account of the first Production of things according to the natural Method For supposing they had a Beginning the Herb and the Tree must naturally be before the Seed they bear As the Hen is before the Egg she lays And to make a Question which was first as some of the Philosophers did is very frivolous because that Power which alone could produce the Seeds of all things could as easily make the things themselves with a power to propage their kind by Seed It is therefore most judiciously noted by Abarbinel a learned Jew That the Production of Plants in the beginning differed from their Production ever since in these two things First That they have sprung ever since out of Seed either sown by us or falling from the Plants themselves but at the beginning were brought out of the Earth with their Seed in them to propage them ever after And Secondly They need now as they have done since the first Creation the influence of the Sun to make them sprout But then they came forth by the Power of God before there was any Sun which was not formed till the next Day Of this last Theophilus Antiochenus long before Abarbinel took notice L. II. ad Autolycum where he says God produced things in this order foreseeing the Vanity of Philosophers who saying nothing of him made all things to be produced by the Sun 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of the Elements Porphyry himself also L. II. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 could observe out of Theophrastus That the Earth brought forth Trees and Herbs before Beasts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Which Eusebius remembers in his Praepar Evang. L. I. c. 9. p. 28. Ver. 14. Let there be Lights This is a different word from what we had verse 3. signifying as Paulus Fagius observes that which is made out of Light luminous Bodies whereby Light is communicated to us The Hebrew Particle Mem before a word being used to express the Instrument of an Action And so now we are to conceive that the Light produced at first having for three Days circulated about the Earth and that near unto it to further the Production of the things before-mentioned was on this fourth Day distributed into several Luminaries at a great distance from the Earth So it follows In the firmament of Heaven in the upper Region which we call the Aether or Sky where the Sun and the Planets are placed To divide the Day from the Night By a continued circular Motion finished in four and twenty Hours in one part of which by the presence of the Sun the Day is made and in the other part by the Sun's absence Night is made in a constant succession And let them be for Signs and for Seasons That is for Signs of the Times or Seasons as Ger. Vossius expounds it by the Figure of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And by Times are meant the Spring Summer Autumn and Winter And by consequence the Seasons for Ploughing Sowing Planting Pruning Reaping Vintage Sailing c. L. de Scientiis Mathemat c. 38. And for Days and Years By a speedy swift Motion round in twenty-four Hours to make Days and by a slower longer Motion to make Years and a grateful variety of Seasons in the several Parts of the Earth which by this annual Motion are all visited with the Sun's Beams Ver. 15. And let them be for Light c. i. e. Let them there continue to give constant Light and Warmth to the Earth And so they do immovably Ver. 16. And God made two great Lights It is observable that nothing is said to have been created since the first Matter out of which all things were made or formed And the two great Lights or Luminaries Inlightners as the word signifies are the Sun which inlightens us by Day and the Moon which inlightens us by Night The Moon indeed is not so great as the rest of the Planets for it is the least of all except Mercury but it affords the greatest Light to us by reflecting the Beams of the Sun to us in its absence and thereby very much abating the disconsolate darkness of the Night He made the Stars also That is the rest of the Planets and their attendants Ver. 17. And God set them in the Firmament of Heaven c. By the repetition of this so often Moses intended to fix in the Peoples Mind this Notion That though the heavenly Bodies be very Glorious yet they are but Creatures made by God and set or appointed by his Order to give us Light And therefore he alone is to be worshipped not they It is commonly taken notice of that there is no mention of the Creation of Angels in all this History nor was there any need of it For the ancient Idolatry consisting in the worship of the Sun Moon and Stars as appears from the very Names of the most ancient Idols in the Old Testament such as Moloch Ashtaroth and the like which they believed to be eternal Beings The great Design of Moses was to confute this Opinion by representing them over and over as the Work of the Eternal God which struck at the very Root of Idolatry The worship of
his Son Lamech the Name of one of Cain's Grand-Children IV. 18. Ver. 12. Begat Mahalaleel This Name imports as much as a Praiser of God Which Cainan imposed upon this Son of his as Jacobus Capellus fansies because he was born after he had lived ten Weeks of Years i. e. when he was Seventy Years old in the beginning of the Sabbatick Year Which was the Eighth Jubilee from the Creation For as there were Sacrifices and a distinction of clean Beasts and unclean so he conceives there might be a distribution of Years by Sevens or Weeks as they spake in after-times from the very beginning of the World But there is no certainty of this Nor of what the fore-named Arabian Writers say of this Mahalaleel that he made his Children swear by the Blood of Abel so Patricides not to come down from the Mountainous Country where they dwelt to converse with the Children of Cain He is mentioned also by the Mahometans as Hottinger observes in his Histor Orient p. 20. Ver. 15. Begat Jared The same Arabian Writers make him also a strictly Pious Man and an excellent Governor But say That in his Days some of Seth's Posterity about an hundred in number notwithstanding all his Persuasions to the contrary would go down and converse with the Children of Cain by whom they were corrupted And thence they fansie he was called Jared which signifies descending either because they went down from the Holy Mountain as they call it where Seth's Posterity dwelt or Piety in his time began very much to decline See Hottinger's Smegma Orient L. I. cap. 8. p. 235 c. Ver. 18. Begat Enoch Whom the Arabians call Edris and represent him as a very learned Man as well as a Prophet And especially skilled in Astronomy See Hottinger Histor Orient L. I. c. 3. and Smegma Orient p. 240. The Greeks anciently had the same Notion of him as appears by a Discourse of Eupolemus which Eusebius quotes out of Alexand. Polyhistor L. IX Praepar Evang. c. 17. where he says Enoch was the first who taught the knowledge of the Stars and that he himself was taught 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Angels of God and was the same Person whom the Greeks call Atlas Certain it is his Story was not altogether unknown to the ancient Greeks as appears in what they say of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the same with Enoch whose Name in Hebrew is Chanoch For Stephanus in his Book De Vrbibus says that this Annacus lived above Three hundred Years and the Oracle told the People that when he died they should all perish as they did in the Flood of Deucalion In which he confounds the History of Enoch and Methuselah as Bochart well observe L. II. Phaleg c. 13. Ver. 21. Begat Methuselah Enoch being a Prophet as we learn from St. Jude and foreseeing the destruction that was coming upon the Earth by a Deluge immediately after the death of this Son of his gave him this Name of Methusela which imports as much For the first part of it Methu evidently carries in it the Name of Death being as much as he dies And sela signifies the sending forth of Water in Job V. 10. And therefore Methusela is as much as when he is dead shall ensue an emission or inundation of Waters to the destruction of the whole Earth Which ingenious Conjecture of Bochartus in his Phaleg L. II. c. 13. is far more probable than any other Account of his Name Ver. 22. Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah Of all the rest Moses only says they lived after they begat those Sons here mentioned but of this Man that he walked with God i. e. Was not only sincerely Obedient to God as we suppose his Fore-fathers to have been but of an extraordinary Sanctity beyond the rate of other Holy Men and held on also in a long course of such singular Piety notwithstanding the wickedness of the Age wherein he lived And the very same Character being given of Noah VI. 9. it may incline us to believe That as Noah was a Preacher of Righteousness so Enoch being a Prophet was not only Exemplary in his Life but also severely reproved the Wickedness of that Age by his Word Ver. 24. And Enoch walked with God Persevered in that Course before-mentioned to the end of his Days And was not He doth not say that he died as he doth of the rest in this Chapter both before and after but that he was not any longer among Men in this World For God took him Translated him to another place Which plainly signifies the different manner of his leaving this World in so much that the Apostle faith he did not see death Heb. XI 5. Which confutes the Conceit of Aben Ezra and R. Solomon and others who would have this word took to signifie that he was snatcht away by an untimely death Contrary to the Opinion of their other better Authors particularly Menachem who in his Commentary on this place saith that God took from Enoch his Bodily Cloaths and gave him Spiritual Raiment But whither he was translated we are not told The Author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus Chap. XLIV according to the vulgar Translation saith into Paradise And upon this Supposition the Aethiopick Interpreter hath added these words to the Text God translated him into Paradise as Ludolphus observes L. III. Commentar in Aethiop Hist Cap. V. n. 40. And accordingly we find in the Calendar of that Church a Festival upon July XXV called The Ascension of Enoch into Heaven for they were not so foolish as to understand by Paradise a place upon Earth but a Heavenly Mansion unto which he was advanced 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Eusebius speaks L. VII Praepar Evang. cap. 8. because of his consummate Vertue And it is no unreasonable Conjecture That God was graciously pleased to take him unto himself at this time to support and comfort Mankind in their State of Mortality Adam the Father of them all being dead not above fifty-seven Years before with the hope of a better Life in the other World For which reason it is not improbable that he was translated in some such visible manner as Elijah afterward was by a glorious Appearance of the SCHECHINAH from whence some heavenly Ministers were sent to carry him up above Ver. 25. Begat Lamech The same Name with one of Cain's Posterity IV. 18. But as he was of another Race so he was the Grand-Child and the Father of the best Men in those Days viz. Enoch and Noah Ver. 27. All the Days of Methuselah c. What was wanting in the Days of his Father God in some sort made up in his Age Which was extended to the longest term of all other Men. He died in the very Year of the Deluge according to the import of his Name See Verse 21. Ver. 29. He called his Name Noah Which signifies Rest or Refreshment which proceeds from
Moses Ararat as by Pliny they are called Taurus And that Author thinks the Ark setled in some of the Eastern Parts of Taurus because Noah planted himself in the East after the Flood and it is likely did not travel far from the place where the Ark rested as appears he thinks from Gen. XI 2. where we read his Posterity when they began to spread went Westward and built Babel The common Opinion is That the Ark rested in some of the Mountains of Armenia as the vulgar Latin translates the word Ararat i. e. saith St. Hierom upon the highest part of Taurus But Epiphanius who was before him saith upon the Gordiaean Mountains and so Jonathan and Onkelos and the Nubiensian Geographer and many others mentioned by Bochartus Who is of this Opinion as having the most Authority Many of which say That some Relicks of the Ark were remaining upon those Mountains Which as Theodoret observes upon Isa XIV 13. were accounted the highest in the whole World V. Phaleg L. II. c. 3. and L. IV. c. 38. There were such Remainders of this History among the ancient Scythians that in their dispute with the Egyptians about their Antiquity they argue it partly from hence that if the Earth had ever been drown'd their Country must needs be first inhabited again because it was first clear'd from the Water being the highest of all other Countries in the World Thus their Argument runs in Justin L. II. c. 1. where he hath given us a brief relation of it if we had Trogus whom he Epitomizes it 's likely we should have understood their Tradition more perfectly in this manner If all Countries were anciently drown'd in the Deep profectò editissimam quamque partem we must needs grant the highest parts of the Earth were first uncovered of the Waters that ran down from them And the sooner any part was dry the sooner were Animals there generated Now Scythia is so much raised above all other Countries that all the Rivers which rise there run down into the Moeotis and so into the Pontick and Egyptian Sea c. Ver. 5. And the Waters decreased continually until the tenth Month. For the Summer's heat must needs very much dry them up when there was no Rain In the tenth Month were the tops of the Mountains seen This shows the Mountain on which the Ark rested was the highest at least in those Parts Because it setled there above two Months before the tops of other Mountains were seen And perhaps the Ark by its weight might settle there while the top of that Mountain was covered with Water Which it 's possible might not appear much before the rest Ver. 6. At the end of forty Days Forty Days after the tops of the Mountains appeared i. e. on the eleventh Day of the eleventh Month which was about the end of our July Ver. 7. He sent forth a Raven For the same End no doubt that the Dove was sent forth To make discovery whether the Earth were dry For if it were the smell of the dead Carcases he knew would allure it to fly far from the Ark Which it did not but only hover'd about it as it follows in the next Words Went forth to and fro In the Hebrew more plainly going forth and returning That is it often went from the Ark and as often returned to it For after many flights finding nothing but Water it still betook it self unto the Ark either entring into it or sitting upon it 'till at last the Waters being dried up it returned no more That is Fifty Days after its first going forth Verse 13. All which time it spent in going out and coming back Bochart indeed approves of the Greek Version which makes the Raven not to have returned For which he gives some specious Reasons L. II. c. 12. P. 2. Hierozoic and hath such of the Hebrews to countenance him as R. Elieser who saith Pirke c. 23. That the Raven found a Carcase of a Man upon a Mountain and so would return no more But the next words which in the Greek and Hebrew are both alike confute this Translation Vntil the Waters were dried up from the Earth Which make this plain and easie Sence in connexion with the foregoing as they run in the Hebrew that while the Earth continued covered with Water the Raven often flew from the Ark but finding no convenient place to rest in returned thither again Till the Ground was dry Whereas according to the Greek we must suppose the Raven to have returned to the Ark when the Waters were dried up from the Ground Which is very absurd For if it had some time sat upon a Carcase floating in the Waters before they were dried up or upon the top of some Mountain which already appeared what should make it return when all the Waters were gone every where and not rather while they remained upon the Ground Ver. 8. Also he sent forth a Dove As a proper Creature to make further Discoveries Being of a strong flight loving to seed upon the Ground and pick up Seeds and constantly returning to its rest from the remotest places These two Birds the Raven and the Dove some imagine were sent forth upon one and the same Day or but a Day between as Bochartus conjectures But this doth not agree with Verse 10. where it is said Noah stayed yet other seven Days and then sent out the Dove again Which relates to seven Days preceding which seem to have passed between the sending out of the Raven and of the Dove Ver. 9. The Dove found no rest c. For though the tops of the Mountains appeared yet they continued muddy as some conceive or they were so far off that the Dove could not easily reach them Ver. 10. And he staid yet other seven Days It appears by this that on the seventh Day Noah expected a Blessing rather than on another Day It being the Day devoted from the beginning to Religious Services Which he having it is likely performed thereupon sent out the Dove upon this Day as he had done before with hope of good Tidings Ver. 11. And lo in her Mouth was an Olive-Leaf or Branch the word signifies pluckt off Bochart thinks the Dove brought this out of Assyria which abounds with Olive-Trees and lay South of Ararat the Wind then blowing towards that Country from the North. See Hierozoic L. I. c. 6. p. 2. where he shows out of many Authors that not only Olive-Trees but some other also will live and be green under Water All the difficulty is how the Dove could break off a Branch as the Vulgar translates it from the Tree But it is easily solved if we allow as I have said before that now it was Summer-time which brought new Shoots out of the Trees that were easily cropt So he knew the Waters were abated The tops of Mountains were seen before verse 5. but now he understood the Waters had left the lower Grounds Yet not so left them that
the Mountain which was on the East of Bethel where he pitched his Tent before he went into Egypt XII 8. and returned to it when he came from thence Verse 3 4. of this Chapter which gave him the advantage of a fair and long prospect of the Country every way Ver. 15. For all the Land thou seest c. That whole Country some Parts of which he saw a great way in every Quarter of it and all the rest contiguous to them were hereby assured to him For ever It doth not signifie strictly Time without end But a very long Period The Jews indeed say that this word Olam when it is written full as they speak that is with Vau denotes Eternity though without Vau they confess it signifies only a long time But this small Observation is quite overthrown by many Examples to the contrary For Exod. XV. 18. where the Lord is said to reign for ever this word Olam is without a Vau and yet denotes Eternity And Deut. XV. 17. where it is said he shall be thy Servant for ever it is written with a Vau and yet denotes only a term of fifty Years at the most Ver. 16. I will make thy Seed as the Dust of the Earth c. More than could be contained in that Land Ver. 17. Arise walk through the Land c. He would have him for his satisfaction go and view it all more nearly in every part of it Or he gives him leave if he desired to understand more fully both the Quality and Quantity of the Inheritance he bestowed on him to go and survey it Promising he would protect and preserve him in his perambulation Nay some look upon this as giving him a Warrant to take possession of the Country though he should not yet enjoy it Ver. 18. Then Abram removed his Tent. To a place about twenty four Miles from Bethel where he was before And dwelt in the Plain Here the word we had before XII 6 is in the Plural Number and is taken by many for Oaks i. e. for an Oaken Grove So the Arabick Interpreter The LXX translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Oak in the Singular Number for there seems to have been one Oak more eminent than the rest Under which Abram pitched his Tent and built an Altar unto the LORD This is confirmed by XVIII 1. compared with Verse 8. And indeed the Ancients very much reverenced an Oak and therefore planted this Tree very frequently Jacob buried the Idolatrous Trumpery of his Family under an Oak XXXV 4. which was by Schechem where the place of Publick Worship seems to have been fix'd in Joshua's time Josh XXIV 1 26. The Angel of the LORD also appeared to Gideon under an Oak Judg. VI. 11 19 25. IX 6. And of all other Trees an Oak was held most Sacred by the Heathen particularly by the Druids See Pliny L. XVI c. 44. Max. Tyrius Dissert 34. And Pausanias in his Account of Arcadia says the Ancients made the Images of their Gods of Oak being the most durable Wood. This Oak some fansie was in being in the time of Constantine and there was great resort to it See Sozomen L. II. cap. 4. Here Abram dwelt a long time and many great things passed here before he removed to any other place Mamre Was the Name of a Man among the Amorites as appears from the next Chapter verse 13. Which is in Hebron Or rather by or near Hebron for so the Particle Beth is often used which was a very ancient City built seven Years before Zoar i. e. the famous City of Tanis in Egypt Numb XIII 22. It was called Arba or Kirjath-Arba at the first XXIII 2. but in Moses his time Hebron There are those indeed who say it was not called Hebron till the time of Joshua who gave it to Caleb for his Portion Josh XV. 13 15. And thence conclude this Passage was not wrote by Moses but put in by some other Hand after his time But I see not the least proof of this Assertion that Caleb was the first who gave it this Name His Grand-Son mentioned 1 Chron. II. 42 43. may rather be thought to have taken his Name from this Place than to have given a Name to it Besides there have been two Occasions of giving one and the same Name as appears by what is said of Beersheba XXI 31. XXVI 33. And therefore this City might have the Name of Hebron in Moses his time and it might be confirmed in Joshua's CHAP. XIV Ver. 1. AND it came to pass c. It is very easie to give an Account of this War which the Kings of the East made upon the King of Sodom and Gomorrha c. if what was said before XII 6. be admitted that the Canaanites had invaded the Rights of the Children of Shem and gotten Possession of a Country belonging to them which they now endeavoured to recover as they had attempted before verse 4. For Elam of which Chedorlaomer was King descended from Shem Gen. X. 22. Amraphel king of Shinar i. e. King of Babylon as it is commonly understood But it cannot well be thought that so Potent a King as he is supposed to have been in those days should need any Associates in a War against such petty Princes as those mentioned verse 2. Or that the King of Elam whose Quarrel this was as appears from verse 4. should not be able of himself to grapple with them Or that the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrha c. durst have adventured with a handful of People in comparison to rebel against him after he had brought them under his subjection Therefore we must either take Amraphel to have been some small Prince in the Country of Shinar i. e. Assyria Or if he were King of Babylon that Monarchy was not very great in the days of Abram And we must also look upon the rest as Names of some particular Places like Sodom and Gomorrha over which Arioch and Chedorlaomer reigned Who were such Kings as those in Canaan when Joshua conquered it Or else Commanders of Colonies which they had led out of Assyria and Persia and setling thereabouts endeavoured to inlarge their Plantations As the manner was in those and in succeeding Times when the Captains of a Troop and Leaders of a small Body of Men were called Princes or Kings Arioch king of Ellasar There was a City mentioned by Stephanus De urbibus called Ellas in Coelo-Syria on the Borders of Arabia where Arioch perhaps commanded Chedorlaomer king of Elam Concerning this Country see X. 22. where Chedorlaomer was either Governor of some little Province or City or a Commander of some Troop of that Nation Tidal king of Nations Some take Gojim in this place which we translate Nations for a Country or City But it is more agreeable to the common use of the word in Scripture to take it to signifie a People Who either wanted a fixed Habitation or were gathered out of sundry Regions
Head but all over his Body Like an hairy Garment As rough as Hair-Cloth Just as the Poets describe Satyrs He was hirsutus not only hairy all over but those Hairs as stiff as Bristles arguing great strength of Body And a rough fierce Temper They called his Name Esau Which signifying made in Hebrew this is commonly taken for the reason of his Name that he was as full of Hairs when he was born as others are at Man's estate But I think it may as well denote his active Genius which they thought this presaged Ver. 26. Jacob. He certainly had his Name from his taking his Brother by the Heel at his birth As if he would supplant him as he afterwards did Was threescore Years old God exercised Isaac's Faith and Patience just as he had done Abraham's for the space of twenty Years before he gave him a Child For he was forty Years old when he married verse 20. and now sixty Ver. 27. A cunning Hunter Had great skill in Hunting in which his active genius delighted A Man of the Field That took pleasure to be abroad pursuing wild Beasts in Woods and Mountains Where afterwards he had his habitation A plain Man dwelling in Tents He loved not violent Exercise but kept at home or lookt after the Flocks of Sheep and the breed of Cattle Ver. 28. And Isaac loved Esau c. Not only because he was his First-born and because his love of Hunting argued him to be a Man of great Activity and Valour who was likely to prove a great Person But because he also took care frequently to entertain his Father with Venison which was of divers sorts and afforded him such variety at his Table as gave his Father frequent occasion to commend him But Rebekah loved Jacob. Being a Man of a more meek and quiet Temper suitable to her own Disposition and more at home also with her than Esau was and designed by God to inherit the Promise verse 23. It is likely Esau made great court as we speak to his Father and Jacob to his Mother Whereby they won their Affection Ver. 29. He was faint With too violent and long pursuit of his Sports Ver. 30 Feed me I pray thee with that same red c. It was made of Lentiles as we learn from the last Verse of this Chapter And St. Austin upon Psalm XLVI saith they were Egyptian Lentiles which were in great esteem and much commended by Athenaeus and A. Gellius And gave the Pottage it is probable a red tincture Some think Esau did not know what it was and therefore calls it only by its colour asking for that red that same red as it is in the Hebrew Therefore was his Name called Edom. This repeated eager desire of he knew not what for which he sold his Birth-right gave him the Name of Edom Which signifies red Whence the City which he built and the whole Country his Posterity inhabited was called by the same Name and by the Greeks Idumaea bordering toward the South upon Judaea Arabia and Egypt Ver. 31. Sell me this day thy Birth-right The eldest Son had several Privileges belonging to him above the rest The chief of which was to have a double Portion of his Father's Estate As for the right of Priesthood there are many reasons to prove it did not belong thereunto But whatsoever they were Jacob cunningly made an Advantage of Esau's Necessity to purchase them all for a small matter In which some think he did not amiss About which I shall not dispute Ver. 32. What profit shall this Birth-right do to me He speaks very slightly if not contemptuously of it Preferring the present satisfaction of his Appetite before his future Dignity and Greatness For some are of Opinion he pretended to be fainter than really he was out of a vehement longing for the Pottage which perhaps was a rarety Ver. 33. Swear to me this day That I shall peaceably enjoy the Prerogative of the Birth-right Esau seems to have been very violent in all things and to have pursued this as eagerly as he did his Sports Jacob on the contrary very sedate and crafty to make the best use of the Opportunities he met with to promote his Ends. Ver. 34. Rose up and went his way Well satisfied and without any trouble for what he had done Which the Apostle censures as a piece of Prophaneness Parents being wont to give a special Blessing to their First-born Despised his Birth-right He thought perhaps he could recover that by Force which he had lost by his Brother's Craft CHAP. XXVI Ver. 1. AND there was a famine in the Land c. Such a scarcity of Provisions as were in Abraham's days XII 10. when he was newly come into Canaan hapned again in the days of Isaac And Isaac went It is not said from whence he went But it is probable after the death of Abraham he went and dwelt where his Father had often done at Mamre near Hebron For he was not now at Beersheba or the Well Lahai-roi which was the last place of his habitation that we read of XXV 11. for that was in this very Country of Gerar to which he now went Vnto Abimelech The Son it is most likely of him to whom Abraham went For he is not to be thought the same it being an hundred Years since that time And all the Kings of that Country were for many Ages called by the Name of Abimelech as appears from the Story of David Who fled to one of that Name called Achish in 1 Sam. XXI 10. but Abimelech in the Title of the XXXIV Psalm See Gen. XX. 2. Ver. 2. And or for the LORD appeared to him He intended to have gone into Egypt as Abraham his Father had done in the like Case XII 10. But God forbad him appearing to him either in a Vision or a Dream or as the Glory of the LORD appeared afterward to Moses and the Congregation of Israel upon several occasions and directed him to stay in this Country which was in the way to Egypt Where he promises to provide for him Though Egypt was a most plentiful Country yet the King of it at this time was not so good a Man perhaps as him that reigned in the Days of Abraham Ver. 3. Sojourn in this Land c. He not only promises to take care of him at present during the Famine But renews the Promises made to Abraham his Father at sundry times and in divers places XII 3. XV. 5. XVII 2 8. and at last confirmed by an Oath XXII 16 17. I will be with thee and bless thee These and such like words Maimonides shows express a special Providence over those to whom they are spoken and over all belonging to them More Nevoch Par. III. cap. 18. Vnto thy Seed will I give all these Countries Which he repeats again in the next Verse having mentioned the vast multiplication of his Seed Ver. 4. In thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be
respect to the Cattle and Children More Nevoch P. I. cap. 28. Or because of the Cattle c. that they may not be over-driven Vntil I come to my Lord unto Seir. Moses omits this Journey to Seir as he doth his Visit to his Father Which one cannot think he deferred for so many Years as were between his return to Canaan and the mention of his coming to Mamre XXXV 27. Or Jacob was hindred perhaps by something which he could not foresee from performing this Promise to his Brother Of which no doubt he gave him an account that he might not be thought to break his word Ver. 15. Let me now leave with thee c. He would have left some of his Followers with Jacob to show him the way and to be a Guard to him or honourably attend him Let me find grace in the sight of my Lord. In this also be so kind as to gratifie my desire XXXIV 11. Ver. 16. Esau returned that day The same Day they met together because he would not be a burden to Jacob. Ver. 17. Journeyed to Succoth After he had been with his Brother in Seir if he did follow him thither as it is likely he did though not here mentioned No more than the Entertainment he gave him and such like things which one cannot think were wanting at this meeting Built him an House Intending to make some stay in this place Ver. 18. And Jacob came to Shalem a City of Schechem Or he came safe and sound so the Hebrews generally understand the word Shalem to that City called Schechem And it may referr either to the soundness of his Leg which was perfectly well so that he halted no longer Or to the safety of his Person in that he was not at all hurt by Esau Or rather to the safety of every thing he had no evil accident having befallen him of any sort since he left Laban Which is the rather now mentioned because in the next Chapter Moses gives a relation of a very sad misfortune which befel his Family When he came from Padan-Aram Some think this needed not to have been added Whereas it expresses more fully what was said before that he came safe all the way from thence hither And pitched his Tent before the City Because it was the sabbath-Sabbath-Day saith Menasseh ben Israel out of the Hebrew Doctors Probl. VIII de Creatione which made him stop and rest here and not enter the City till it was ended But this is a mere fancy for the Rest from all Labours on this Day was not commanded to be observed till they came out of Egypt And the true reason of pitching his Tent here was for the convenience of Pasturage Ver. 19. And he bought a parcel of a Field He made a small Purchace that he might be the less imposed upon by the Inhabitants of that Country Who had disturbed Abraham and Isaac about the Wells they digged in the Ground they hired of them For an hundred pieces of Money The Margin hath an hundred Lambs But this is the right Translation it appears from Act. VII 16. And Bochart hath taken a great deal of Pains to show that Resita doth not signifie a Lamb but some sort of Money Though of what value is uncertain P. I. Hierozoic Lib. I. cap. 2. and Lib. II. cap. 43. For a great while before this time money was in use with which they trafficked and not by exchanging one Commodity for another See XXIII 16. Ver. 20. Called it El-Elohe-Israel This Altar is dedicated to God the God of Israel who had delivered him from Laban and Esau and lately honoured him with a new Name importing his great Power with him CHAP. XXXIV Ver. 1. WEnt out From her Mother's Tent which was without the City XXXIII 18. To see the Daughters of the Land Into the City of Shechem to look about her with the young Women as the Hebrew word imports who as Josephus relates celebrated a Festival at this time where some fine Spectacles were presented Ver. 2. And when Shechem From whom the City perhaps had its Name Prince of the Country Or one of the Prime Nobility of the Country verse 19. Took her c. By force as both the Targum's and many others understand it and ravished her From whence we learn that this was done some Years after Jacob's return into Canaan For then Dinah was not much older than Joseph and now we must suppose her at least fifteen And indeed the bloody Fact of her Brethren shows as much who must be grown up to be Men Which they were not when Jacob returned to Canaan the eldest of them being then scarce a stripling of fourteen Years old Ver. 3. His Soul clave unto Dinah He could think of nothing else but her For he loved her extreamly as it follows in the next words Spake kindly to the Damsel Courted her to marry him with such professions of sincere Affection as might gain her Heart notwithstanding the Injury he had done her Ver. 4. Get me this Damsel to Wife Treat with her Father about our Marriage Ver. 5. And Jacob heard c. By some of Dinah's Servants or Companions for it is not to be thought that she went out alone Now his Sons were with the Cattle in the Field Which he had lately purchased XXXIII 19. or in some hired Ground remote from the City Held his peace c. Took no notice of what he heard till he could have their Advice and Assistance Ver. 6. And Hamor went out Of the City to treat with Jacob in his Tent XXXIII 18. Ver. 7. And the Sons of Jacob c. As they were treating in came Jacob's Sons Who hearing how their Sister had been abused were very much afflicted and no less angry Wrought folly in Israel Or against Israel Committed a Wickedness highly to the disgrace and injury of Israel's Family Which thing ought not to be done Contrary to the Law of Nations That a Virgin should be violated without Punishment So Rasi Ver. 8. Hamor communed with them With the whole Family Jacob Leah and Dinah's Brethren Longeth Is extreamly in Love For your Daughter The Daughter of Jacob and Leah unto whom he speaks in the presence of her Brethren Ver. 9. And make ye marriages with us c. Become one People with us verse 16. Ver. 10. And ye shall dwell with us Settle your selves among us And the Land shall be before you In any part of our Country Dwell ye He repeats it again to beget in them a confidence of a Settlement among them in the injoyment of all their Rights and Privileges as much as if they had been Natives And trade ye Exercise what Traffick you please up and down the Country without any lett or impediment And get you possessions therein Purchace Land Ver. 11. Let me find grace in your Eyes Grant this Petition which my Father makes in my behalf XXXIII 15. And what ye shall say unto me c. Make your own Terms
Company c. Ver. 11. About this time The Phrase in the Hebrew where there are again two He 's of the same kind with the former signifies some remarkable Day R. Solomon and Josephus think it was some Festival when the Master and the rest of the Family were gone to the Temples and she staid at home feigning her self not well But the Vulgar translates it simply upon a certain Day Or it may signifie having the like opportunity as formerly and Joseph being about his business in the House she caught him c. To do his business To cast up his Accounts saith the Chaldee Interpreters None of the Men of the House were within In that part of the House where he was Ver. 12. Left the Garment in her Hand If he had struggled to get the Garment away from her the Accusation might have been more specious that he went about to ravish her Epiphanius hath made a good Reflection upon this Example 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. vid. Haeres LXXIX n. 9. He left his Garment that he might not lose his Body And shunn'd the Place that he might not fall into the Snare And indeed it was dangerous to adventure himself in her Company much more to touch her lest he should fall into temptation Ver. 14. She called unto the Men of her House Cried to them who were in her Apartment to come and help her He hath brought in In her Rage she reflects upon her Husband as accessory to her danger that she might the more incense him against Joseph There is something like this in Apuleius his Story L. X. Metamorph of the Step-Mother's Love to her Son-in-law which was turned into hatred and made her contrive just such a Lye as this when he would not yield to her To mock us To abuse our Family I cried with a loud Voice An improbable Story for no Body heard it but was easily believed against a Servant whom they all perhaps envied If she pretended it was done in Joseph's Apartment the Question might have been askt her What she did there Ver. 17. Came in unto me to mock me To offer Violence to me as the Hebrew Phrase signifies and rob me of my Chastity Ver. 18. He left his Garment with me Philo observes that this was an Argument rather that she laid Hands on him For he could have easily taken his Garment from her if he had not fled hastily from her Importunity But her Husband's Jealousie made him credulous Ver. 20. Joseph's Master took him c. Caused him to be apprehended and carried to Prison During his Anger he would not hearken to the Apology which we cannot but think he offered to make for himself Unless we suppose which is not unlikely that his Master would not so much as see him but ordered him immediately to be hurried to the Gaol A place where the King's Prisoners were bound Where the King himself caused those who had offended him to be committed This shows Potiphar was a great Man see XL. 3. and that he lookt upon the Crime as very great For this Prison we must think was most strictly guarded that they who were thrown into it might not escape Punishment And it appears by what the Psalmist says CV 18. that the Prisoners were hardly used And that Joseph XL. 15. was thrust into the lowest part of the Prison Which was the most dismal as well as of greatest difficulty to make an escape out of it And he was there in the Prison His Master proceeded no further against him But there he left him Perhaps Joseph found means to let him know the truth which made him not form any Process to take away his Life or inflict any other Punishment on him And yet to save his Wife's Credit he let him lie in the Prison Ver. 21. The LORD was with Joseph The same Wisdom and Vertue appeared in him now he was in Prison That his Master discerned when he came first into his House verse 2. Gave him favour So that he had more Liberty than the rest after some short Confinement Keeper of the Prison The Under-Keeper it appears from XL. 4. Ver. 22. Committed to Joseph's Hand c. His Favour increased so much as it had done in his Master's House verse 4. that he in effect was the Keeper of the Prison not a Prisoner CHAP. XL. Ver. 1. HAD offended their Lord. In the Hebrew is a word of the Plural Number for Lord viz. Adonim ratione dignitatis saith Bochartus because of his high Authority And so it is used not only when he speaks of the King but of great Men particularly of Joseph's Master XXXIX 2. Interpreters do but guess at their Offence Which might as well be an attempt upon his Life by Poison or other ways as any thing else Ver. 2. Wroth against two of his Officers They are called by the same Name of Dignity viz. Saris which we met withal before XXXVII 36. For in all Courts such Officers had a principal Place See verse 4. Chief Butler Or Cup-bearer to the King verse 13. He simply named the Butler and Baker in the foregoing Verse But now the Schar as the Hebrew word is which in the next Verse we translate Captain i. e. the Principal Officer of those kinds Which would incline one to think that some Under-Butler and Baker were accused of a great Fault for which the Head-Butler and Baker were to answer Who perhaps were discovered to have ordered them to do what they did Chief Baker Who took care of all baked Meats and Confections c. verse 17. Ver. 3. He put them in Ward c. To be kept close Prisoners In the House of the Captain of the Guard c. In that Prison of which Potiphar had the chief Custody Who by this appears to have been such an Officer as we call Leiutenant of the Tower Into the Prison where Joseph was bound Into that very place where Joseph had been bound For now he was at liberty in the Prison Ver. 4. And the Captain of the Guard charged Joseph c. By this it appears Potiphar's Anger was mitigated towards him having heard the Truth it is likely before this time and was of the same Mind with the Under-Keeper of the Prison Who intrusted all in Joseph's Hand And he served them Attended upon them which shows they were great Persons to provide them what they wanted c. And they continued a season The Hebrew word is Jamim i. e. Days Which frequently signifies a Year as hath been observed before XXIV 55. Ver. 5. Each Man according to the interpretation of his Dream Suitable to the Office which he had held and to the Events which were shortly to befal them Ver. 6. Joseph came unto them in the morning To see that they were safe and to know what they wanted And behold they were sad It was very extraordinary that they should both of them dream in the same Night such Dreams as had a great resemblance one to
Families as it was in Israel to that of Aaron and held in such Veneration that they were all not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 free from paying Tributes and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 next to the King in Honour and in Power but received a third of the Royal Revenues Out of which they maintained the Publick Sacrifices and their Servants and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 provided for their own Necessities Thus Diodorus Siculus L. I. as I find him alledged by Jac. Capellus in his Hist Sacra Exot. ad A. M. 2294. Constantine the Great in part imitated this Constitution in that Law of his which made even all the Professors of Learning free from all Publick Charges of any sort besides the Salary he allowed them that they might the more chearfully follow their several Studies Ver. 23. Behold I have bought you this day and your Land c. The Bargain could not be denied but he would not be so rigid as to tye them strictly to it For in the next Verse he requires only a fifth part of the increase of their Ground for the King and tells them the rest should be their own An act of great Humanity and Equity Wherein he show'd himself both a good Man and a wise States-Man in taking away all matter of complaint from the People For a tenth part of the increase was due in all likelihood to the King before XXVIII 22. which he now only doubles When he might have taken all or given them but one or two parts and kept all the rest for the King Ver. 25. Thou hast saved our lives c. We owe our very Lives to thee and therefore let us but have thy Favour and we shall willingly be Pharaoh's Servants This is an high Expression of their Thankfulness for such good Terms as he offered them which they readily accepted With professions of their Obligation to be Pharaoh's Bond-men Ver. 26. Joseph made it a Law By his Advice this Law was enacted whereby the Power of the Egyptian Kings was mightily increased for we read not of the like Constitution in any other Nation Thucydides indeed relates that the People of Attica paid to Pisistratus the twentieth part of their Corn and Appianus Alexandr says the old Romans paid the tenth of their Corn and the fifth of their Fruit But it was the peculiar Prerogative of the Egyptian Kings to have the fifth of all the increase of the Field Which Joseph procured them by his admirable Management Ver. 27. And Israel dwelt in the Land c. See Verse 11. And they had possessions therein They could have no Land of their own for all the Country was become Pharaoh's but the meaning is they farmed as we speak Land of the King to whom they became Tenants And grew and multiplied exceedingly And consequently inlarged their Habitation beyond the Territory of Rameses where they were first placed into other Parts of Goshen Which we must not fansie to have been a Country now empty of People For though perhaps about Rameses there might be some vacant Ground sufficient for Jacob's Family when they came first to plant there Yet when they increased very much no doubt they lived among the Egyptians where they could find admission This plainly appears at their going from thence Exod. XII 22 23. where God Commands them to sprinkle their Door-Posts with the Blood of the Paschal Lamb to secure them from the destruction which was coming upon their Neighbours who wanted this Mark of Safety 29. If I have now found grace in thy sight This is a Phrase used a little before verse 25. in a little different Sence For there it signifies the Favour shown to another But here is as much as if thou lovest me Put thy Hand under my Thigh i. e. Swear to me as it is explain'd in verse 31. See XXIV 2. Deal kindly and truly with me Show me true Kindness in promising and performing what I desire See XXIV 27 49. Ver. 30. I will lie with my Fathers c. So all Men naturally desire to do But he had a peculiar reason for it Which was his belief that the Country where their Bodies lay was his in Reversion and that God in due time would put his Children into possession of it For which time they could not but the more earnestly long because the Bodies of their Ancestors were there buried See L. 5. which explains the reason why Jacob exacts an Oath of Joseph not because he doubted he might not otherwise fulfil his Desire but that Pharaoh might be willing to let him carry his Body thither when he found he lay under so Sacred an Obligation to do it Ver. 31. And Israel bowed himself upon the Bed's head Raised up his Head from his Pillow and bowed Either to Joseph in Thankfulness for his Promise or to God for the Assurance he had received that he should be buried with his Pious Fore-fathers Or else this bowing was the usual Ceremony wherewith an Oath was attended The Chaldee Paraphrast thinks the Divine Glory now appeared which Jacob devoutly worshipped But if the Author to the Hebrews had not understood his bowing to be an act of Worship the Interpretation of some modern Writers might perhaps have been thought reasonable Who translate these words thus He laid himself down upon his Pillow As weak Men are wont to do after they have sat up a while to dispatch some business For the Hebrew word Schacah which signifies to bow the Body signifies also to fall down upon the Earth And therefore might be here translated lie down But the Apostle as I said hath over-ruled all such Conceits if we suppose him to translate this Passage Hebr. XI 21. Which to me indeed doth not seem evident For the Apostle is there speaking of another thing not of what Jacob did now when Joseph sware to him but of what he did after these things XLVIII 1. when he blessed Joseph's Sons Then the Apostle says he worshipped upon the top of his Staff Which is not the translation of Moses his words in this place But words of his own whereby he explains the following Story and shows how strong his Faith was when his Body was so weak that he was not able to bow himself and worship without the help of his Staff This clearly removes all the difficulty which Interpreters have made about reconciling the words of Moses here in this Verse to the Apostle's words in that But however this be Jacob's bowing here I doubt not signifies worshipping as the Vulgar Latin takes it Where the word God is added which is not in the Hebrew and these words thus translated Israel worshipped God turning himself to the Bed's head CHAP. XLVIII Ver. 1. AFter these things Sometime after though not long for Jacob was nigh his end when he sent for Joseph to make him swear he would bury him with his Fathers he grew so weak that he concluded he could not live long One told Joseph A Messenger was