CHAPTER 15. How The Nation Of The Troglodytes Were Derived From Abraham By Keturah.
Abraham after this married Keturah, by whom six sons were born to him, men of courage, and of sagacious minds: Zambran, and Jazar, and Madan, and Madian, and Josabak, and Sous. Now the sons of Sous were Sabathan and Dadan. The sons of Dadan were Latusim, and Assur, and Luom. The sons of Madiau were Ephas, and Ophren, and Anoch, and Ebidas, and Eldas. Now, for all these sons and grandsons, Abraham contrived to settle them in colonies; and they took possession of Troglodytis, and the country of Arabia the Happy, as far as it reaches to the Red Sea. It is related of this Ophren, that he made war against Libya, and took it, and that his grandchildren, when they inhabited it, called it [from his name] Africa. And indeed Alexander Polyhistor gives his attestation to what I here say; who speaks thus: "Cleodemus the prophet, who was also called Malchus, who wrote a History of the Jews, in agreement with the History of Moses, their legislator, relates, that there were many sons born to Abraham by Keturah: nay, he names three of them, Apher, and Surim, and Japhran. That from Surim was the land of Assyria denominated; and that from the other two [Apher and Japbran] the country of Africa took its name, because these men were auxiliaries to Hercules, when he fought against Libya and Antaeus; and that Hercules married Aphra's daughter, and of her he begat a son, Diodorus; and that Sophon was his son, from whom that barbarous people called Sophacians were denominated."
CHAPTER 16. How Isaac Took Rebeka To Wife.
1. Now when Abraham, the father of Isaac, had resolved to take Rebeka, who was grand-daughter to his brother Nahor, for a wife to his son Isaac, who was then about forty years old, he sent the ancientest of his servants to betroth her, after he had obliged him to give him the strongest assurances of his fidelity; which assurances were given after the manner following:—They put each other's hands under each other's thighs; then they called upon God as the witness of what was to be done. He also sent such presents to those that were there as were in esteem, on account that that they either rarely or never were seen in that country, The servant got thither not under a considerable time; for it requires much time to pass through Meopotamia, in which it is tedious traveling, both in the winter for the depth of the clay, and in summer for want of water; and, besides this, for the robberies there committed, which are not to be avoided by travelers but by caution beforehand. However, the servant came to Haran; and when he was in the suburbs, he met a considerable number of maidens going to the water; he therefore prayed to God that Rebeka might be found among them, or her whom Abraham sent him as his servant to espouse to his son, in case his will were that this marriage should be consummated, and that she might be made known to him by the sign, That while others denied him water to drink, she might give it him.
2. With this intention he went to the well, and desired the maidens to give him some water to drink: but while the others refused, on pretense that they wanted it all at home, and could spare none for him, one only of the company rebuked them for their peevish behavior towards the stranger; and said, What is there that you will ever communicate to anybody, who have not so much as given the man some water? She then offered him water in an obliging manner. And now he began to hope that his grand affair would succeed; but desiring still to know the truth, he commended her for her generosity and good nature, that she did not scruple to afford a sufficiency of water to those that wanted it, though it cost her some pains to draw it; and asked who were her parents, and wished them joy of such a daughter. "And mayst thou be espoused," said he, "to their satisfaction, into the family of an agreeable husband, and bring him legitimate children." Nor did she disdain to satisfy his inquiries, but told him her family. "They," says she, "call me Rebeka; my father was Bethuel, but he is dead; and Laban is my brother; and, together with my mother, takes care of all our family affairs, and is the guardian of my virginity." When the servant heard this, he was very glad at what had happened, and at what was told him, as perceiving that God had thus plainly directed his journey; and producing his bracelets, and some other ornaments which it was esteemed decent for virgins to wear, he gave them to the damsel, by way of acknowledgment, and as a reward for her kindness in giving him water to drink; saying, it was but just that she should have them, because she was so much more obliging than any of the rest. She desired also that he would come and lodge with them, since the approach of the night gave him not time to proceed farther. And producing his precious ornaments for women, he said he desired to trust them to none more safely than to such as she had shown herself to be; and that he believed he might guess at the humanity of her mother and brother, that they would not be displeased, from the virtue he found in her; for he would not be burdensome, but would pay the hire for his entertainment, and spend his own money. To which she replied, that he guessed right as to the humanity of her parents; but complained that he should think them so parsimonious as to take money, for that he should have all on free cost. But she said she would first inform her brother Laban, and, if he gave her leave, she would conduct him in.
3. As soon then as this was over, she introduced the stranger; and for the camels, the servants of Laban brought them in, and took care of them; and he was himself brought in to supper by Laban. And, after supper, he says to him, and to the mother of the damsel, addressing himself to her, "Abraham is the son of Terah, and a kinsman of yours; for Nahor, the grandfather of these children, was the brother of Abraham, by both father and mother; upon which account he hath sent me to you, being desirous to take this damsel for his son to wife. He is his legitimate son, and is brought up as his only heir. He could indeed have had the most happy of all the women in that country for him, but he would not have his son marry any of them; but, out of regard to his own relations, he desired him to match here, whose affection and inclination I would not have you despise; for it was by the good pleasure of God that other accidents fell out in my journey, and that thereby I lighted upon your daughter and your house; for when I was near to the city, I saw a great many maidens coming to a well, and I prayed that I might meet with this damsel, which has come to pass accordingly. Do you therefore confirm that marriage, whose espousals have been already made by a Divine appearance; and show the respect you have for Abraham, who hath sent me with so much solicitude, in giving your consent to the marriage of this damsel." Upon this they understood it to be the will of God, and greatly approved of the offer, and sent their daughter, as was desired. Accordingly Isaac married her, the inheritance being now come to him; for the children by Keturah were gone to their own remote habitations.
CHAPTER 17. Concerning The Death Of Abraham.
A Little while after this Abraham died. He was a man of incomparable virtue, and honored by God in a manner agreeable to his piety towards him. The whole time of his life was one hundred seventy and five years, and he was buried in Hebron, with his wife Sarah, by their sons Isaac and Ismael.
CHAPTER 18. Concerning The Sons Of Isaac, Esau And Jacob; Of Their Nativity And Education.
1. Now Isaac's wife proved with child, after the death of Abraham; 30 and when her belly was greatly burdened, Isaac was very anxious, and inquired of God; who answered, that Rebeka should bear twins; and that two nations should take the names of those sons; and that he who appeared the second should excel the elder. Accordingly she, in a little time, as God had foretold, bare twins; the elder of whom, from his head to his feet, was very rough and hairy; but the younger took hold of his heel as they were in the birth. Now the father loved the elder, who was called Esau, a name agreeable to his roughness, for the Hebrews call such a hairy roughness [Esau, 31 or] Seir; but Jacob the younger was best beloved by his mother.
2. When there was a famine in the land, Isaac resolved to go into Egypt, the land there being good; but he went to Gerar, as God commanded him. Here Abimelech the king received him, because Abraham had formerly lived with him, and had been his friend. And as in the beginning he treated him exceeding kindly, so he was hindered from continuing in the same disposition to the end, by his envy at him; for when he saw that God was with Isaac, and took such great care of him, he drove him away from him. But Isaac, when he saw how envy had changed the temper of Abimelech retired to a place called the Valley, not far from Gerar: and as he was digging a well, the shepherds fell upon him, and began to fight, in order to hinder the work; and because he did not desire to contend, the shepherds seemed to get the him, so he still retired, and dug another and when certain other shepherds of Abimelech began to offer him violence, he left that also, still retired, thus purchasing security to himself a rational and prudent conduct. At length they gave him leave to dig a well without disturbance. He named this well Rehoboth, which denotes a large space; but of the former wells, one was called Escon, which denotes strife, the other Sitenna, name signifies enmity.
3. It was now that Isaac's affairs increased, and in a flourishing condition; and this his great riches. But Abimelech, thinking in opposition to him, while their living made them suspicious of each other, and retiring showing a secret enmity also, he afraid that his former friendship with Isaac would not secure him, if Isaac should endeavor the injuries he had formerly offered him; he therefore renewed his friendship with him, Philoc, one of his generals. And when he had obtained every thing he desired, by reason of Isaac's good nature, who preferred the earlier friendship Abimelech had shown to himself and his father to his later wrath against him, he returned home.
4. Now when Esau, one of the sons of Isaac, whom the father principally loved, was now come to the age of forty years, he married Adah, the daughter of Helon, and Aholibamah, the daughter of Esebeon; which Helon and Esebeon were great lords among the Canaanites: thereby taking upon himself the authority, and pretending to have dominion over his own marriages, without so much as asking the advice of his father; for had Isaac been the arbitrator, he had not given him leave to marry thus, for he was not pleased with contracting any alliance with the people of that country; but not caring to be uneasy to his son by commanding him to put away these wives, he resolved to be silent.
5. But when he was old, and could not see at all, he called Esau to him, and told him, that besides his blindness, and the disorder of his eyes, his very old age hindered him from his worship of God [by sacrifice]; he bid him therefore to go out a hunting, and when he had caught as much venison as he could, to prepare him a supper 32 that after this he might make supplication to God, to be to him a supporter and an assister during the whole time of his life; saying, that it was uncertain when he should die, and that he was desirous, by prayers for him, to procure, beforehand, God to be merciful to him.
6. Accordingly, Esau went out a hunting. But Rebeka 33 thinking it proper to have the supplication made for obtaining the favor of God to Jacob, and that without the consent of Isaac, bid him kill kids of the goats, and prepare a supper. So Jacob obeyed his mother, according to all her instructions. Now when the supper was got ready, he took a goat's skin, and put it about his arm, that by reason of its hairy roughness, he might by his father be believed to be Esau; for they being twins, and in all things else alike, differed only in this thing. This was done out of his fear, that before his father had made his supplications, he should be caught in his evil practice, and lest he should, on the contrary, provoke his father to curse him. So he brought in the supper to his father. Isaac perceivest to be Esau. So suspecting no deceit, he ate the supper, and betook himself to his prayers and intercessions with God; and said, "O Lord of all ages, and Creator of all substance; for it was thou that didst propose to my father great plenty of good things, and hast vouchsafed to bestow on me what I have; and hast promised to my posterity to be their kind supporter, and to bestow on them still greater blessings; do thou therefore confirm these thy promises, and do not overlook me, because of my present weak condition, on account of which I most earnestly pray to thee. Be gracious to this my son; and preserve him and keep him from every thing that is evil. Give him a happy life, and the possession of as many good things as thy power is able to bestow. Make him terrible to his enemies, and honorable and beloved among his friends."
7. Thus did Isaac pray to God, thinking his prayers had been made for Esau. He had but just finished them, when Esau came in from hunting. And when Isaac perceived his mistake, he was silent: but Esau required that he might be made partaker of the like blessing from his father that his brother had partook of; but his father refused it, because all his prayers had been spent upon Jacob: so Esau lamented the mistake. However, his father being grieved at his weeping, said, that "he should excel in hunting and strength of body, in arms, and all such sorts of work; and should obtain glory for ever on those accounts, he and his posterity after him; but still should serve his brother."
8. Now the mother delivered Jacob, when she was afraid that his brother would inflict some punishment upon him because of the mistake about the prayers of Isaac; for she persuaded her husband to take a wife for Jacob out of Mesopotamia, of her own kindred, Esau having married already Basemmath, the daughter of Ismael, without his father's consent; for Isaac did not like the Canaanites, so that he disapproved of Esau's former marriages, which made him take Basemmath to wife, in order to please him; and indeed he had a great affection for her.
CHAPTER 19. Concerning Jacob's Flight Into Mesopotamia, By Reason Of The Fear He Was In Of His Brother.
1. Now Jacob was sent by his mother to Mesopotamia, in order to marry Laban her brother's daughter [which marriage was permitted by Isaac, on account of his obsequiousness to the desires of his wife]; and he accordingly journeyed through the land of Canaan; and because he hated the people of that country, he would not lodge with any of them, but took up his lodging in the open air, and laid his head on a heap of stones that he had gathered together. At which time he saw in his sleep such a vision standing by him:—he seemed to see a ladder that reached from the earth unto heaven, and persons descending upon the ladder that seemed more excellent than human; and at last God himself stood above it, and was plainly visible to him, who, calling him by his name, spake to him in these words:—
2. "O Jacob, it is not fit for thee, who art the son of a good father, and grandson of one who had obtained a great reputation for his eminent virtue, to be dejected at thy present circumstances, but to hope for better times, for thou shalt have great abundance of all good things, by my assistance: for I brought Abraham hither, out of Mesopotamia, when he was driven away by his kinsmen, and I made thy father a happy man, nor will I bestow a lesser degree of happiness on thyself: be of good courage, therefore, and under my conduct proceed on this thy journey, for the marriage thou goest so zealously about shall be consummated. And thou shalt have children of good characters, but their multitude shall be innumerable; and they shall leave what they have to a still more numerous posterity, to whom, and to whose posterity, I give the dominion of all the land, and their posterity shall fill the entire earth and sea, so far as the sun beholds them: but do not thou fear any danger, nor be afraid of the many labors thou must undergo, for by my providence I will direct thee what thou art to do in the time present, and still much more in the time to come."
3. Such were the predictions which God made to Jacob; whereupon he became very joyful at what he had seen and heard; and he poured oil on the stones, because on them the prediction of such great benefits was made. He also vowed a vow, that he would offer sacrifices upon them, if he lived and returned safe; and if he came again in such a condition, he would give the tithe of what he had gotten to God. He also judged the place to be honorable and gave it the name of Bethel, which, in the Greek, is interpreted, The House of God.
4. So he proceeded on his journey to Mesopotamia, and at length came to Haran; and meeting with shepherds in the suburbs, with boys grown up, and maidens sitting about a certain well, he staid with them, as wanting water to drink; and beginning to discourse with them, he asked them whether they knew such a one as Laban, and whether he was still alive. Now they all said they knew him, for he was not so inconsiderable a person as to be unknown to any of them; and that his daughter fed her father's flock together with them; and that indeed they wondered that she was not yet come, for by her means thou mightest learn more exactly whatever thou desirest to know about that family. While they were saying this the damsel came, and the other shepherds that came down along with her. Then they showed her Jacob, and told her that he was a stranger, who came to inquire about her father's affairs. But she, as pleased, after the custom of children, with Jacob's coming, asked him who he was, and whence he came to them, and what it was he lacked that he came thither. She also wished it might be in their power to supply the wants he came about.
5. But Jacob was quite overcome, not so much by their kindred, nor by that affection which might arise thence, as by his love to the damsel, and his surprise at her beauty, which was so flourishing, as few of the women of that age could vie with. He said then, "There is a relation between thee and me, elder than either thy or my birth, if thou be the daughter of Laban; for Abraham was the son of Terah, as well as Haran and Nahor. Of the last of whom [Nahor] Bethuel thy grandfather was the son. Isaac my father was the son of Abraham and of Sarah, who was the daughter of Haran. But there is a nearer and later cement of mutual kindred which we bear to one another, for my mother Rebeka was sister to Laban thy father, both by the same father and mother; I therefore and thou are cousin-germans. And I am now come to salute you, and to renew that affinity which is proper between us." Upon this the damsel, at the mention of Rebeka, as usually happens to young persons, wept, and that out of the kindness she had for her father, and embraced Jacob, she having learned an account of Rebeka from her father, and knew that her parents loved to hear her named; and when she had saluted him, she said that "he brought the most desirable and greatest pleasures to her father, with all their family, who was always mentioning his mother, and always thinking of her, and her alone; and that this will make thee equal in his eyes to any advantageous circumstances whatsoever." Then she bid him go to her father, and follow her while she conducted him to him; and not to deprive him of such a pleasure, by staying any longer away from him.
6. When she had said thus, she brought him to Laban; and being owned by his uncle, he was secure himself, as being among his friends; and he brought a great deal of pleasure to them by his unexpected coning. But a little while afterward, Laban told him that he could not express in words the joy he had at his coming; but still he inquired of him the occasion of his coming, and why he left his aged mother and father, when they wanted to be taken care of by him; and that he would afford him all the assistance he wanted. Then Jacob gave him an account of the whole occasion of his journey, and told him, "that Isaac had two sons that were twins, himself and Esau; who, because he failed of his father's prayers, which by his mother's wisdom were put up for him, sought to kill him, as deprived of the kingdom 34 which was to be given him of God, and of the blessings for which their father prayed; and that this was the occasion of his coming hither, as his mother had commanded him to do: for we are all [says he] brethren one to another; but our mother esteems an alliance with your family more than she does one with the families of the country; so I look upon yourself and God to be the supporters of my travels, and think myself safe in my present circumstances."
7. Now Laban promised to treat him with great humanity, both on account of his ancestors, and particularly for the sake of his mother, towards whom, he said, he would show his kindness, even though she were absent, by taking care of him; for he assured him he would make him the head shepherd of his flock, and give him authority sufficient for that purpose; and when he should have a mind to return to his parents, he would send him back with presents, and this in as honorable a manner as the nearness of their relation should require. This Jacob heard gladly; and said he would willingly, and with pleasure, undergo any sort of pains while he tarried with him, but desired Rachel to wife, as the reward of those pains, who was not only on other accounts esteemed by him, but also because she was the means of his coming to him; for he said he was forced by the love of the damsel to make this proposal. Laban was well pleased with this agreement, and consented to give the damsel to him, as not desirous to meet with any better son-in-law; and said he would do this, if he would stay with him some time, for he was not willing to send his daughter to be among the Canaanites, for he repented of the alliance he had made already by marrying his sister there. And when Jacob had given his consent to this, he agreed to stay seven years; for so many years he had resolved to serve his father-in-law, that, having given a specimen of his virtue, it might be better known what sort of a man he was. And Jacob, accepting of his terms, after the time was over, he made the wedding-feast; and when it was night, without Jacob's perceiving it, he put his other daughter into bed to him, who was both elder than Rachel, and of no comely countenance: Jacob lay with her that night, as being both in drink and in the dark. However, when it was day, he knew what had been done to him; and he reproached Laban for his unfair proceeding with him; who asked pardon for that necessity which forced him to do what he did; for he did not give him Lea out of any ill design, but as overcome by another greater necessity: that, notwithstanding this, nothing should hinder him from marrying Rachel; but that when he had served another seven years, he would give him her whom he loved. Jacob submitted to this condition, for his love to the damsel did not permit him to do otherwise; and when another seven years were gone, he took Rachel to wife.
8. Now each of these had handmaids, by their father's donation. Zilpha was handmaid to Lea, and Bilha to Rachel; by no means slaves, 35 but however subject to their mistresses. Now Lea was sorely troubled at her husband's love to her sister; and she expected she should be better esteemed if she bare him children: so she entreated God perpetually; and when she had borne a son, and her husband was on that account better reconciled to her, she named her son Reubel, because God had had mercy upon her, in giving her a son, for that is the signification of this name. After some time she bare three more sons; Simeon, which name signifies that God had hearkened to her prayer. Then she bare Levi, the confirmer of their friendship. After him was born Judah, which denotes thanksgiving. But Rachel, fearing lest the fruitfulness of her sister should make herself enjoy a lesser share of Jacob's affections, put to bed to him her handmaid Bilha; by whom Jacob had Dan: one may interpret that name into the Greek tongue, a divine judgment. And after him Nephthalim, as it were, unconquerable in stratagems, since Rachel tried to conquer the fruitfulness of her sister by this stratagem. Accordingly, Lea took the same method, and used a counter-stratagem to that of her sister; for she put to bed to him her own handmaid. Jacob therefore had by Zilpha a son, whose name was Gad, which may be interpreted fortune; and after him Asher, which may be called a happy man, because he added glory to Lea. Now Reubel, the eldest son of Lea, brought apples of mandrakes 36 to his mother. When Rachel saw them, she desired that she would give her the apples, for she longed to eat them; but when she refused, and bid her be content that she had deprived her of the benevolence she ought to have had from her husband, Rachel, in order to mitigate her sister's anger, said she would yield her husband to her; and he should lie with her that evening. She accepted of the favor, and Jacob slept with Lea, by the favor of Rachel. She bare then these sons: Issachar, denoting one born by hire: and Zabulon, one born as a pledge of benevolence towards her; and a daughter, Dina. After some time Rachel had a son, named Joseph, which signified there should be another added to him.
9. Now Jacob fed the flocks of Laban his father-in-law all this time, being twenty years, after which he desired leave of his father-in-law to take his wives and go home; but when his father-in-law would not give him leave, he contrived to do it secretly. He made trial therefore of the disposition of his wives what they thought of this journey;—when they appeared glad, and approved of it. Rachel took along with her the images of the gods, which, according to their laws, they used to worship in their own country, and ran away together with her sister. The children also of them both, and the handmaids, and what possessions they had, went along with them. Jacob also drove away half the cattle, without letting Laban know of it beforehand But the reason why Rachel took the images of the gods, although Jacob had taught her to despise such worship of those gods, was this, That in case they were pursued, and taken by her father, she might have recourse to these images, in order to obtain his pardon.
10. But Laban, after one day's time, being acquainted with Jacob's and his daughters' departure, was much troubled, and pursued after them, leading a band of men with him; and on the seventh day overtook them, and found them resting on a certain hill; and then indeed he did not meddle with them, for it was even-tide; but God stood by him in a dream, and warned him to receive his son-in-law and his daughters in a peaceable manner; and not to venture upon any thing rashly, or in wrath to but to make a league with Jacob. And he told him, that if he despised their small number, attacked them in a hostile manner, he would assist them. When Laban had been thus forewarned by God, he called Jacob to him the next day, in order to treat with him, and showed him what dream he had; in dependence whereupon he came confidently to him, and began to accuse him, alleging that he had entertained him when he was poor, and in want of all things, and had given him plenty of all things which he had. "For," said he, "I have joined my daughters to thee in marriage, and supposed that thy kindness to me be greater than before; but thou hast had no regard to either thy mother's relations to me, nor to the affinity now newly contracted between us; nor to those wives whom thou hast married; nor to those children, of whom I am the grandfather. Thou hast treated me as an enemy, driving away my cattle, and by persuading my daughters to run away from their father; and by carrying home those sacred paternal images which were worshipped by my forefathers, and have been honored with the like worship which they paid them by myself. In short, thou hast done this whilst thou art my kinsman, and my sister's son, and the husband of my daughters, and was hospitably treated by me, and didst eat at my table." When Laban had said this, Jacob made his defense—That he was not the only person in whom God had implanted the love of his native country, but that he had made it natural to all men; and that therefore it was but reasonable that, after so long time, he should go back to it. "But as to the prey, of whose driving away thou accusest me, if any other person were the arbitrator, thou wouldst be found in the wrong; for instead of those thanks I ought to have had from thee, for both keeping thy cattle, and increasing them, how is it that thou art unjustly angry at me because I have taken, and have with me, a small portion of them? But then, as to thy daughters, take notice, that it is not through any evil practices of mine that they follow me in my return home, but from that just affection which wives naturally have to their husbands. They follow therefore not so properly myself as their own children." And thus far of his apology was made, in order to clear himself of having acted unjustly. To which he added his own complaint and accusation of Laban; saying, "While I was thy sister's son, and thou hadst given me thy daughters in marriage, thou hast worn me out with thy harsh commands, and detained me twenty years under them. That indeed which was required in order to my marrying thy daughters, hard as it was, I own to have been tolerable; but as to those that were put upon me after those marriages, they were worse, and such indeed as an enemy would have avoided." For certainly Laban had used Jacob very ill; for when he saw that God was assisting to Jacob in all that he desired, he promised him, that of the young cattle which should be born, he should have sometimes what was of a white color, and sometimes what should be of a black color; but when those that came to Jacob's share proved numerous, he did not keep his faith with him, but said he would give them to him the next year, because of his envying him the multitude of his possessions. He promised him as before, because he thought such an increase was not to be expected; but when it appeared to be fact, he deceived him.
11. But then, as to the sacred images, he bid him search for them; and when Laban accepted of the offer, Rachel, being informed of it, put those images into that camel's saddle on which she rode, and sat upon it; and said, that her natural purgation hindered her rising up: so Laban left off searching any further, not supposing that his daughter in such circumstances would approach to those images. So he made a league with Jacob, and bound it by oaths, that he would not bear him any malice on account of what had happened; and Jacob made the like league, and promised to love Laban's daughters. And these leagues they confirmed with oaths also, which the made upon certain as whereon they erected a pillar, in the form of an altar: whence that hill is called Gilead; and from thence they call that land the Land of Gilead at this day. Now when they had feasted, after the making of the league, Laban returned home.
CHAPTER 20. Concerning The Meeting Of Jacob And Esau.
1. Now as Jacob was proceeding on his journey to the land of Canaan, angels appeared to him, and suggested to him good hope of his future condition; and that place he named the Camp of God. And being desirous of knowing what his brother's intentions were to him, he sent messengers, to give him an exact account of every thing, as being afraid, on account of the enmities between them. He charged those that were sent, to say to Esau, "Jacob had thought it wrong to live together with him while he was in anger against him, and so had gone out of the country; and that he now, thinking the length of time of his absence must have made up their differences, was returning; that he brought with him his wives, and his children, with what possessions he had gotten; and delivered himself, with what was most dear to him, into his hands; and should think it his greatest happiness to partake together with his brother of what God had bestowed upon him." So these messengers told him this message. Upon which Esau was very glad, and met his brother with four hundred men. And Jacob, when he heard that he was coming to meet him with such a number of men, was greatly afraid: however, he committed his hope of deliverance to God; and considered how, in his present circumstances, he might preserve himself and those that were with him, and overcome his enemies if they attacked him injuriously. He therefore distributed his company into parts; some he sent before the rest, and the others he ordered to come close behind, that so, if the first were overpowered when his brother attacked them, they might have those that followed as a refuge to fly unto. And when he had put his company in this order, he sent some of them to carry presents to his brother. The presents were made up of cattle, and a great number of four-footed beasts, of many kinds, such as would be very acceptable to those that received them, on account of their rarity. Those who were sent went at certain intervals of space asunder, that, by following thick, one after another, they might appear to be more numerous, that Esau might remit of his anger on account of these presents, if he were still in a passion. Instructions were also given to those that were sent to speak gently to him.
2. When Jacob had made these appointments all the day, and night came on, he moved on with his company; and, as they were gone over a certain river called Jabboc, Jacob was left behind; and meeting with an angel, he wrestled with him, the angel beginning the struggle: but he prevailed over the angel, who used a voice, and spake to him in words, exhorting him to be pleased with what had happened to him, and not to suppose that his victory was a small one, but that he had overcome a divine angel, and to esteem the victory as a sign of great blessings that should come to him, and that his offspring should never fall, and that no man should be too hard for his power. He also commanded him to be called Israel, which in the Hebrew tongue signifies one that struggled with the divine angel. 37 These promises were made at the prayer of Jacob; for when he perceived him to be the angel of God, he desired he would signify to him what should befall him hereafter. And when the angel had said what is before related, he disappeared; but Jacob was pleased with these things, and named the place Phanuel, which signifies, the face of God. Now when he felt pain, by this struggling, upon his broad sinew, he abstained from eating that sinew himself afterward; and for his sake it is still not eaten by us.
3. When Jacob understood that his brother was near, he ordered his wives to go before, each by herself, with the handmaids, that they might see the actions of the men as they were fighting, if Esau were so disposed. He then went up to his brother Esau, and bowed down to him, who had no evil design upon him, but saluted him; and asked him about the company of the children and of the women; and desired, when he had understood all he wanted to know about them, that he would go along with him to their father; but Jacob pretending that the cattle were weary, Esau returned to Seir, for there was his place of habitation, he having named the place Roughness, from his own hairy roughness.
CHAPTER 21. Concerning The Violation Of Dina's Chastity.
1. Hereupon Jacob came to the place, till this day called Tents [Succoth]; from whence he went to Shechem, which is a city of the Canaanites. Now as the Shechemites were keeping a festival Dina, who was the only daughter of Jacob, went into the city to see the finery of the women of that country. But when Shechem, the son of Hamor the king, saw her, he defiled her by violence; and being greatly in love with her, desired of his father that he would procure the damsel to him for a wife. To which desire he condescended, and came to Jacob, desiring him to give leave that his son Shechem might, according to law, marry Dina. But Jacob, not knowing how to deny the desire of one of such great dignity, and yet not thinking it lawful to marry his daughter to a stranger, entreated him to give him leave to have a consultation about what he desired him to do. So the king went away, in hopes that Jacob would grant him this marriage. But Jacob informed his sons of the defilement of their sister, and of the address of Hamor; and desired them to give their advice what they should do. Upon thiss, the greatest part said nothing, not knowing what advice to give. But Simeon and Levi, the brethren of the damsel by the same mother, agreed between themselves upon the action following: It being now the time of a festival, when the Shechemites were employed in ease and feasting, they fell upon the watch when they were asleep, and, coming into the city, slew all the males 38 as also the king, and his son, with them; but spared the women. And when they had done this without their father's consent, they brought away their sister.
2. Now while Jacob was astonished at the greatness of this act, and was severely blaming his sons for it, God stood by him, and bid him be of good courage; but to purify his tents, and to offer those sacrifices which he had vowed to offer when he went first into Mesopotamia, and saw his vision. As he was therefore purifying his followers, he lighted upon the gods of Laban; [for he did not before know they were stolen by Rachel;] and he hid them in the earth, under an oak, in Shechem. And departing thence, he offered sacrifice at Bethel, the place where he saw his dream, when he went first into Mesopotamia.
3. And when he was gone thence, and was come over against Ephrata, he there buried Rachel, who died in child-bed: she was the only one of Jacob's kindred that had not the honor of burial at Hebron. And when he had mourned for her a great while, he called the son that was born of her Benjamin, 39 because of the sorrow the mother had with him. These are all the children of Jacob, twelve males and one female.--Of them eight were legitimate,--viz. six of Lea, and two of Rachel; and four were of the handmaids, two of each; all whose names have been set down already.
CHAPTER 22. How Isaac Died, And Was Buried In Hebron.
From thence Jacob came to Hebron, a city situate among the Canaanites; and there it was that Isaac lived: and so they lived together for a little while; for as to Rebeka, Jacob did not find her alive. Isaac also died not long after the coming of his son; and was buried by his sons, with his wife, in Hebron, where they had a monument belonging to them from their forefathers. Now Isaac was a man who was beloved of God, and was vouchsafed great instances of providence by God, after Abraham his father, and lived to be exceeding old; for when he had lived virtuously one hundred and eighty-five years, he then died.
FOOTNOTES:
1 (return)
[ Since Josephus, in his
Preface, sect. 4, says that Moses wrote some things enigmatically, some
allegorically, and the rest in plain words, since in his account of the
first chapter of Genesis, and the first three verses of the second, he
gives us no hints of any mystery at all; but when he here comes to ver. 4,
etc., he says that Moses, after the seventh day was over, began to talk
philosophically; it is not very improbable that he understood the rest of
the second and the third chapters in some enigmatical, or allegorical, or
philosophical sense. The change of the name of God just at this place,
from Elohim to Jehovah Elohim, from God to Lord God, in the Hebrew,
Samaritan, and Septuagint, does also not a little favor some such change
in the narration or construction.]
2 (return)
[ We may observe here, that
Josephus supposed man to be compounded of spirit, soul, and body, with St.
Paul, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, and the rest of the ancients: he elsewhere
says also, that the blood of animals was forbidden to be eaten, as having
in it soul and spirit, Antiq. B. III. ch. 11. sect. 2.]
3 (return)
[ Whence this strange notion
came, which yet is not peculiar to Joseph, but, as Dr. Hudson says here,
is derived from older authors, as if four of the greatest rivers in the
world, running two of them at vast distances from the other two, by some
means or other watered paradise, is hard to say. Only since Josephus has
already appeared to allegorize this history, and take notice that these
four names had a particular signification; Phison for Ganges, a multitude;
Phrath for Euphrates, either a dispersion or a flower; Diglath for Tigris,
what is swift, with narrowness; and Geon for Nile, what arises from the
east,—we perhaps mistake him when we suppose he literally means
those four rivers; especially as to Geon or Nile, which arises from the
east, while he very well knew the literal Nile arises from the south;
though what further allegorical sense he had in view, is now, I fear,
impossible to be determined.]
4 (return)
[ By the Red Sea is not here
meant the Arabian Gulf, which alone we now call by that name, but all that
South Sea, which included the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, as far as the
East Indies; as Reland and Hudson here truly note, from the old
geographers.]
5 (return)
[ Hence it appears, that
Josephus thought several, at least, of the brute animals, particularly the
serpent, could speak before the fall. And I think few of the more perfect
kinds of those animals want the organs of speech at this day. Many
inducements there are also to a notion, that the present state they are
in, is not their original state; and that their capacities have been once
much greater than we now see them, and are capable of being restored to
their former condition. But as to this most ancient, and authentic, and
probably allegorical account of that grand affair of the fall of our first
parents, I have somewhat more to say in way of conjecture, but being only
a conjecture, I omit it: only thus far, that the imputation of the sin of
our first parents to their posterity, any further than as some way the
cause or occasion of man's mortality, seems almost entirely groundless;
and that both man, and the other subordinate creatures, are hereafter to
be delivered from the curse then brought upon them, and at last to be
delivered from that bondage of corruption, Romans 8:19-22.]
6 (return)
[ St. John's account of the
reason why God accepted the sacrifice of Abel, and rejected that of Cain;
as also why Cain slew Abel, on account of that his acceptance with God, is
much better than this of Josephus: I mean, because "Cain was of the evil
one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own
works were evil, and his brother's righteous," 1 John 3:12. Josephus's
reason seems to be no better than a pharisaical notion or tradition.]
7 (return)
[ From this Jubal, not
improbably, came Jobel, the trumpet of jobel or jubilee; that large and
loud musical instrument, used in proclaiming the liberty at the year of
jubilee.]
8 (return)
[ The number of Adam's
children, as says the old tradition was thirty-three sons, and
twenty-three daughters.]
9 (return)
[ What is here said of Seth
and his posterity, that they were very good and virtuous, and at the same
time very happy, without any considerable misfortunes, for seven
generations, [see ch. 2. sect. 1, before; and ch. 3. sect. 1, hereafter,]
is exactly agreeable to the state of the world and the conduct of
Providence in all the first ages.]
10 (return)
[ Of Josephus's mistake
here, when he took Seth the son of Adam, for Seth or Sesostris, king of
Egypt, the erector of this pillar in the land of Siriad, see Essay on the
Old Testament, Appendix, p. 159, 160. Although the main of this relation
might be true, and Adam might foretell a conflagration and a deluge, which
all antiquity witnesses to be an ancient tradition; nay, Seth's posterity
might engrave their inventions in astronomy on two such pillars; yet it is
no way credible that they could survive the deluge, which has buried all
such pillars and edifices far under ground in the sediment of its waters,
especially since the like pillars of the Egyptian Seth or Sesostris were
extant after the flood, in the land of Siriad, and perhaps in the days of
Josephus also, as is shown in the place here referred to.]
11 (return)
[ This notion, that the
fallen angels were, in some sense, the fathers of the old giants, was the
constant opinion of antiquity.]
12 (return)
[ Josephus here supposes
that the life of these giants, for of them only do I understand him, was
now reduced to 120 years; which is confirmed by the fragment of Enoch,
sect. 10, in Authent. Rec. Part I. p. 268. For as to the rest of mankind,
Josephus himself confesses their lives were much longer than 120 years,
for many generations after the flood, as we shall see presently; and he
says they were gradually shortened till the days of Moses, and then fixed
[for some time] at 120, ch. 6. sect. 5. Nor indeed need we suppose that
either Enoch or Josephus meant to interpret these 120 years for the life
of men before the flood, to be different from the 120 years of God's
patience [perhaps while the ark was preparing] till the deluge; which I
take to be the meaning of God when he threatened this wicked world, that
if they so long continued impenitent, their days should be no more than
120 years.]
13 (return)
[ A cubit is about 21
English inches.]
14 (return)
[ Josephus here truly
determines, that the year at the Flood began about the autumnal equinox.
As to what day of the month the Flood began, our Hebrew and Samaritan, and
perhaps Josephus's own copy, more rightly placed it on the 17th day,
instead of the 27th, as here; for Josephus agrees with them, as to the
distance of 150 days to the 17th day of the 7th month, as Genesis 7. ult.
with 8:3.]
15 (return)
[ Josephus here takes
notice, that these ancient genealogies were first set down by those that
then lived, and from them were transmitted down to posterity; which I
suppose to be the true account of that matter. For there is no reason to
imagine that men were not taught to read and write soon after they were
taught to speak; and perhaps all by the Messiah himself, who, under the
Father, was the Creator or Governor of mankind, and who frequently in
those early days appeared to them.]
16 (return)
[ This [GREEK], or Place of
Descent, is the proper rendering of the Armenian name of this very city.
It is called in Ptolemy Naxuana, and by Moses Chorenensis, the Armenian
historian, Idsheuan; but at the place itself Nachidsheuan, which signifies
The first place of descent, and is a lasting monument of the preservation
of Noah in the ark, upon the top of that mountain, at whose foot it was
built, as the first city or town after the flood. See Antiq. B. XX. ch. 2.
sect. 3; and Moses Chorenensis, who also says elsewhere, that another town
was related by tradition to have been called Seron, or, The Place of
Dispersion, on account of the dispersion of Xisuthrus's or Noah's sons,
from thence first made. Whether any remains of this ark be still
preserved, as the people of the country suppose, I cannot certainly tell.
Mons. Tournefort had, not very long since, a mind to see the place
himself, but met with too great dangers and difficulties to venture
through them.]
17 (return)
[ One observation ought not
here to be neglected, with regard to that Ethiopic war which Moses, as
general of the Egyptians, put an end to, Antiq. B. II. ch. 10., and about
which our late writers seem very much unconcerned; viz. that it was a war
of that consequence, as to occasion the removal or destruction of six or
seven nations of the posterity of Mitzraim, with their cities; which
Josephus would not have said, if he had not had ancient records to justify
those his assertions, though those records be now all lost.]
18 (return)
[ That the Jews were called
Hebrews from this their progenitor Heber, our author Josephus here rightly
affirms; and not from Abram the Hebrew, or passenger over Euphrates, as
many of the moderns suppose. Shem is also called the father of all the
children of Heber, or of all the Hebrews, in a history long before Abram
passed over Euphrates, Genesis 10:21, though it must be confessed that,
Genesis 14:13, where the original says they told Abram the Hebrew, the
Septuagint renders it the passenger, [GREEK]: but this is spoken only of
Abram himself, who had then lately passed over Euphrates, and is another
signification of the Hebrew word, taken as an appellative, and not as a
proper name.]
19 (return)
[ It is worth noting here,
that God required no other sacrifices under the law of Moses, than what
were taken from these five kinds of animals which he here required of
Abram. Nor did the Jews feed upon any other domestic animals than the
three here named, as Reland observes on Antiq. B. IV. ch. 4. sect. 4.]
20 (return)
[ As to this affliction of
Abram's posterity for 400 years, see Antiq. B. II. ch. 9. sect. 1.]
21 (return)
[ These sons-in-law to Lot,
as they are called, Genesis 19:12-14, might be so styled, because they
were betrothed to Lot's daughters, though not yet married to them. See the
note on Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 13. sect. 1.]
22 (return)
[ Of the War, B. IV. ch. 8.
sect. 4.]
23 (return)
[ This pillar of salt was,
we see here, standing in the days of Josephus, and he had seen it. That it
was standing then is also attested by Clement of Rome, contemporary with
Josephus; as also that it was so in the next century, is attested by
Irenaeus, with the addition of an hypothesis, how it came to last so long,
with all its members entire.—Whether the account that some modern
travelers give be true, that it is still standing, I do not know. Its
remote situation, at the most southern point of the Sea of Sodom, in the
wild and dangerous deserts of Arabia, makes it exceeding difficult for
inquisitive travelers to examine the place; and for common reports of
country people, at a distance, they are not very satisfactory. In the mean
time, I have no opinion of Le Clerc's dissertation or hypothesis about
this question, which can only be determined by eye-witnesses. When
Christian princes, so called, lay aside their foolish and unchristian wars
and quarrels, and send a body of fit persons to travel over the east, and
bring us faithful accounts of all ancient monuments, and procure us copies
of all ancient records, at present lost among us, we may hope for full
satisfaction in such inquiries; but hardly before.]
24 (return)
[ I see no proper wicked
intention in these daughters of Lot, when in a case which appeared to them
of unavoidable necessity, they procured themselves to be with child by
their father. Without such an unavoidable necessity, incest is a horrid
crime; but whether in such a case of necessity, as they apprehended this
to be, according to Josephus, it was any such crime, I am not satisfied.
In the mean time, their making their father drunk, and their solicitous
concealment of what they did from him, shows that they despaired of
persuading him to an action which, at the best, could not but be very
suspicious and shocking to so good a man.]
25 (return)
[ It is well worth
observation, that Josephus here calls that principal Angel, who appeared
to Abraham and foretold the birth of Isaac, directly God; which language
of Josephus here, prepares us to believe those other expressions of his,
that Jesus was a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, Antiq. B.
XVIII. ch. 3. sect. 3, and of God the Word, in his homily concerning
Hades, may be both genuine. Nor is the other expression of Divine Angel,
used presently, and before, also of any other signification.]
26 (return)
[ Josephus here calls
Ismael a young child or infant, though he was about 13 years of age; as
Judas calls himself and his brethren young men, when he was 47, and had
two children, Antiq. B. II. ch. 6. sect. 8, and they were of much the same
age; as is a damsel of 12 years old called a little child, Mark 5:39-42,
five several times. Herod is also said by Josephus to be a very young man
at 25. See the note on Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 9. sect 2, and of the War, B. I.
ch. 10. And Aristobulus is styled a very little child at 16 years of age,
Antiq. B. XV. ch. 2. sect. 6, 7. Domitian also is called by him a very
young child, when he went on his German expedition at about 18 years of
age, of the War, B. VII. ch. 4. sect. 2. Samson's wife, and Ruth, when
they were widows, are called children, Antiq. B. V. ch. 8. sect. 6, and
ch. 9. sect. 2 3.]
27 (return)
[ Note, that both here and
Hebrews 11:17, Isaac is called Abraham's only begotten son, though he at
the same time had another son, Ismael. The Septuagint expresses the true
meaning, by rendering the text the beloved son.]
28 (return)
[ Here is a plain error in
the copies which say that king David afterwards built the temple on this
Mount Moriah, while it was certainly no other than king Solomon who built
that temple, as indeed Procopius cites it from Josephus. For it was for
certain David, and not Solomon, who built the first altar there, as we
learn, 2 Samuel 24:18, etc.; 1 Chronicles 21:22, etc.; and Antiq. B. VII.
ch. 13. sect. 4.]
29 (return)
[ It seems both here, and
in God's parallel blessing to Jacob, ch. 19. sect. 1, that Josephus had
yet no notion of the hidden meaning of that most important and most
eminent promise, "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be
blessed. He saith not, and of seeds, as of many, but as of one; and to thy
seed, which is Christ," Galatians 3:16. Nor is it any wonder, he being, I
think, as yet not a Christian. And had he been a Christian, yet since he
was, to be sure, till the latter part of his life, no more than an
Ebionite Christian, who, above all the apostles, rejected and despised St.
Paul, it would be no great wonder if he did not now follow his
interpretation. In the mean time, we have in effect St. Paul's exposition
in the Testament of Reuben, sect. 6, in Authent. Rec. Part I. p. 302, who
charges his sons "to worship the seed of Judah, who should die for them in
visible and invisible wars; and should be among them an eternal king." Nor
is that observation of a learned foreigner of my acquaintance to be
despised, who takes notice, that as seeds in the plural, must signify
posterity, so seed in the singular may signify either posterity, or a
single person; and that in this promise of all nations being happy in the
seed of Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob, etc., it is always used in the
singular. To which I shall add, that it is sometimes, as it were,
paraphrased by the son of Abraham, the son of David, etc., which is
capable of no such ambiguity.]
30 (return)
[ The birth of Jacob and
Esau is here said to be after Abraham's death: it should have been after
Sarah's death. The order of the narration in Genesis, not always exactly
according to the order of time, seems to have led Josephus into this
error, as Dr. Bernard observes here.]
31 (return)
[ For Seir in Josephus, the
coherence requires that we read Esau or Seir, which signify the same
thing.]
32 (return)
[ The supper of savory
meat, as we call it, Genesis 27:4, to be caught by hunting, was intended
plainly for a festival or a sacrifice; and upon the prayers that were
frequent at sacrifices, Isaac expected, as was then usual in such eminent
cases, that a divine impulse would come upon him, in order to the blessing
of his son there present, and his foretelling his future behavior and
fortune. Whence it must be, that when Isaac had unwittingly blessed Jacob,
and was afterwards made sensible of his mistake, yet did he not attempt to
alter it, how earnestly soever his affection for Esau might incline him to
wish it might be altered, because he knew that this blessing came not from
himself, but from God, and that an alteration was out of his power. A
second afflatus then came upon him, and enabled him to foretell Esau's
future behavior and foretell Esau's future behavior and fortune also.]
33 (return)
[ Whether Jacob or his
mother Rebeka were most blameable in this imposition upon Isaac in his old
age, I cannot determine. However the blessing being delivered as a
prediction of future events, by a Divine impulse, and foretelling things
to befall to the posterity of Jacob and Esau in future ages, was for
certain providential; and according to what Rebeka knew to be the purpose
of God, when he answered her inquiry, "before the children were born,"
Genesis 25:23, "that one people should be stronger than the other people;
and the elder, Esau, should serve the younger, Jacob." Whether Isaac knew
or remembered this old oracle, delivered in our copies only to Rebeka; or
whether, if he knew and remembered it, he did not endeavor to alter the
Divine determination, out of his fondness for his elder and worser son
Esau, to the damage of his younger and better son Jacob, as Josephus
elsewhere supposes, Antiq. B. II. ch. 7. sect. 3; I cannot certainly say.
If so, this might tempt Rebeka to contrive, and Jacob to put this
imposition upon him. However, Josephus says here, that it was Isaac, and
not Rebeka, who inquired of God at first, and received the forementioned
oracle, sect. 1; which, if it be the true reading, renders Isaac's
procedure more inexcusable. Nor was it probably any thing else that so
much encouraged Esau formerly to marry two Canaanitish wives, without his
parents' consent, as Isaac's unhappy fondness for him.]
34 (return)
[ By this "deprivation of
the kingdom that was to be given Esau of God," as the first-born, it
appears that Josephus thought that a "kingdom to be derived from God" was
due to him whom Isaac should bless as his first-born, which I take to be
that kingdom which was expected under the Messiah, who therefore was to be
born of his posterity whom Isaac should so bless. Jacob therefore by
obtaining this blessing of the first-born, became the genuine heir of that
kingdom, in opposition to Esau.]
35 (return)
[ Here we have the
difference between slaves for life and servants, such as we now hire for a
time agreed upon on both sides, and dismiss again after he time contracted
for is over, which are no slaves, but free men and free women.
Accordingly, when the Apostolical Constitutions forbid a clergyman to
marry perpetual servants or slaves, B. VI. ch. 17., it is meant only of
the former sort; as we learn elsewhere from the same Constitutions, ch.
47. Can. LXXXII. But concerning these twelve sons of Jacob, the reasons of
their several names, and the times of their several births in the
intervals here assigned, their several excellent characters, their several
faults and repentance, the several accidents of their lives, with their
several prophecies at their deaths, see the Testaments of these twelve
patriarchs, still preserved at large in the Authent. Rec. Part I. p.
294-443.]
36 (return)
[ I formerly explained
these mandrakes, as we, with the Septuagint, and Josephus, render the
Hebrew word Dudaim, of the Syrian Maux, with Ludolphus, Antbent. Rec. Part
I. p. 420; but have since seen such a very probable account in M. S. of my
learned friend Mr. Samuel Barker, of what we still call mandrakes, and
their description by the ancient naturalists and physicians, as inclines
me to think these here mentioned were really mandrakes, and no other.]
37 (return)
[ Perhaps this may be the
proper meaning of the word Israel, by the present and the old Jerusalem
analogy of the Hebrew tongue. In the mean time, it is certain that the
Hellenists of the first century, in Egypt and elsewhere, interpreted
Israel to be a man seeing God, as is evident from the argument
fore-cited.]
38 (return)
[ Of this slaughter of the
Shechemites by Simeon and Levi, see Authent. Rec. Part I. p. 309, 418,
432-439. But why Josephus has omitted the circumcision of these
Shechemites, as the occasion of their death; and of Jacob's great grief,
as in the Testament of Levi, sect. 5; I cannot tell.]
39 (return)
[ Since Benoni signifies
the son of my sorrow, and Benjamin the son of days, or one born in the
father's old age, Genesis 44:20, I suspect Josephus's present copies to be
here imperfect, and suppose that, in correspondence to other copies, he
wrote that Rachel called her son's name Benoni, but his father called him
Benjamin, Genesis 35:18. As for Benjamin, as commonly explained, the son
of the right hand, it makes no sense at all, and seems to be a gross
modern error only. The Samaritan always writes this name truly Benjamin,
which probably is here of the same signification, only with the Chaldee
termination in, instead of im in the Hebrew; as we pronounce cherubin or
cherubim indifferently. Accordingly, both the Testament of Benjamin, sect.
2, p. 401, and Philo de Nominum Mutatione, p. 1059, write the name
Benjamin, but explain it not the son of the right hand, but the son of
days.]