Abraham offers a ram A. M. cir. 2132. B. C. cir. 1872. and took the knife to slay his looked, and behold, behind him A. M. cir. 2132. a ram caught in a thicket by for the purpose of a representative sacrifice, from this till the fulness of time. But without this most expressive representation of the father offering his beloved, only-begotten son, what reference can such sacrifices be considered to have to the great event of the incarnation and crucifixion of Christ? Abraham, the most dignified, the most immaculate of all the patriarchs; Isaac, the true pattern of piety to God and filial obedience, may well represent God the Father so loving the world as to give his only-begotten son, JESUS CHRIST, to die for the sin of man. But the grand circumstances necessary to prefigure these important points could not be exhibited through the means of any or of the whole brute creation. The whole sacrificial system of the Mosaic economy had a retrospective and prospective view, referring FROM the sacrifice of Isaac To the sacrifice of Christ; in the and too feeble to have made any resistance, had he been unwilling to submit? Josephus supposes that Isaac was now twenty-five (see the chronology on ver. 1); some rabbins that he was thirty-six; but it is more probable that he was now about thirty-three, the age at which his great Antitype was offered up; and on this medium I have ventured to construct the chronology, of which I think it necessary to give this notice to the reader. Allowing him to be only twenty-five, he might have easily resisted; for can it be supposed that an old man of at least one hundred and twenty-five years of age could have bound, without his consent, a young man in the very prime and vigour of life? In this case we cannot say that the superior strength of the father prevailed, but the piety, filial affection, and obedience of the son yielded. All this was most illustriously typical of Christ. In both cases the father himself offers up his only-first the dawning of the Sun of Righteousness was begotten son, and the father himself binds him on the wood or to the cross; in neither case is the son forced to yield, but yields of his own accord; in neither case is the life taken away by the hand of violence; Isaac yields himself to the knife, Jesus lays down his life for the sheep. Verse 11. The angel of the Lord] The very person who was represented by this offering; the Lord Jesus, who calls himself Jehovah, ver. 16, and on his own authority renews the promises of the covenant. He was ever the great Mediator between God and See this point proved, chap. xv. 7. man. Verse 12. Lay not thine hand upon the lad] As Isaac was to be the representative of Jesus Christ's real sacrifice, it was sufficient for this purpose that in his own will, and the will of his father, the purpose of the immolation was complete. Isaac was now fully offered both by his father and by himself. The father yields up the son, the son gives up his life; on both sides, as far as will and purpose could go, the sacrifice was complete. God simply spares the father the torture of putting the knife to his son's throat. Now was the time when it might properly be said, "Sacrifice, and offering, and burnt-offering, and sacrifice for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure in them: then said the Angel of the Covenant, Lo! I come to do thy will, O God." Lay not thy hand upon the lad; an irrational creature will serve seen; in the latter, his meridian splendour and glory. Taken in this light (and this is the only light in which it should be viewed) Abraham offering his son Isaac is one of the most important facts and most instructive historics in the whole Old Testament. See further on this subject, chap. xxiii. 2. Verse 14. Jehovah-jireh] ♫ Yehovah-yireh, literally interpreted in the margin, The Lord will see ; that is, God will take care that every thing shall be done that is necessary for the comfort and support of them who trust in him: hence the words are usually translated, The Lord will provide; so our translators, ver. 8, 7 Elohim yireh, God will provide; because his eye ever affects his heart, and the wants he sees his hand is ever ready to supply. But all this seems to have been done under a divine impulse, and the words to have been spoken prophetically; hence Houbigant and some others render the words thus: Dominus videbitur, the Lord shall be seen; and this translation the following clause seems to require, As it is said to this day, 787 17 72 behar Yehovah yeraeh, ON THIS MOUNT THE LORD SHALL BE SEEN. From this it appears that the sacrifice offered by Abraham was understood to be a representative one, and a tradition was kept up that Jehovah should be seen in a sacrificial way on this mount. And this renders the opinion stated on ver. 1 more than probable, viz., that Abraham offered Isaac on that very A. M. cir. 2132. CHAP. XXII. B. C. cir. 1872. saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed a as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; b 18 'And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up, and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. Ch. xv. 5. Jer. xxxiii. 22.— b Ch. xiii. 16. Heb. Ch. xii. 3. xviii. Gal. iii. 8, 9, Ch. xxi, 31. 18. xxvi. 4. Ecclus. xliv. 22. Acts iii. 25. 16, 18- Ver. 3, 10. Ch. xxvi. 5. mountain on which, in the fulness of time, Jesus suffered. See Bishop Warburton. Verse 16. By myself have I sworn] So we find that the person who was called the angel of the Lord is here called Jehovah; see on ver. 2. An oath or an appeal to God is, among men, an end to strife; as God could swear by no greater he sware by himself: being willing more abundantly, says the apostle, to thee unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, he confirmed it by an oath, that by two immuthe things (his PROMISE and his OATH), in which it impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong calation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us. See Heb. vi. 13-18. Verse 17. Shall possess the gate of his enemies] Insead of gate the Septuagint have woλeg, cities; but as there is a very near resemblance between woeg, eities, and wvλaç, gates, the latter might have been the original reading in the Septuagint, though none of the MSS. now acknowledge it. By the gates may be meant all the strength, whether troops, counsels, or fortified cities, of their enemies. So Matt. xvi. 18: On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it-the counsels, stratagems, and powers of darkness shall not be able to prevail against or overthrow the true church of Christ; and possibly our Lord had this promise to Abraham and his spiritual posterity in view, when he spoke these words. Verse 13. And in thy seed, &c.] We have the authority of St. Paul, Gal. iii. 8, 16, 18, to restrain this to our blessed Lord, who was THE SEED through thom alone all God's blessings of providence, mercy, grace, and glory, should be conveyed to the nations of the earth. Verse 20. Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother] This short history seems introduced solely for the purpose of preparing the reader for the transactions related, chap. xxiv., and to show that the providence of God was preparing, in one of the branches of the family of Abraham, a suitable spouse for his son Isaac. promise to Abraham. A. M. cir. 2142. 20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; 21 Huz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 And Bethuel begat" Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah. * Ch. xi 29.- -k Job i. 1.- Job xxxii. 2.- m Ch. xxiv. Rebecca. 15, 24, 47. xxv. 20. xxviii. 2-5.-" Called, Rom. ix. 10, 0 Ch. xvi. 3. xxv. 6. Verse 21. Huz] the land of Uz or country of Job. He is supposed to have peopled Ausitis, in Arabia Deserta, the Buz his brother] From this person Eliku the Buzite, one of the friends of Job, is thought to have descended. Kemuel the father of Aram] Kamouel, warepa Evpwv, the father of the Syrians, according to the Septuagint. Probably the Kamiletes, a Syrian tribe to the westward of the Euphrates, are meant; they are mentioned by Strabo. Verse 23. Bethuel begat Rebekah] Who afterwards became the wife of Isaac. Verse 24. His concubine] We borrow this word from the Latin compound concubina, from con, together, and cubo, to lie, and apply it solely to a woman cohabiting with a man without being legally married. The Hebrew word is w pilegesh, which is also a compound term, contracted, according to Parkhurst, from 5 palag, to divide or share, and wɔ nagash, to approach; because the husband, in the delicate phrase of the Hebrew tongue, approaches the concubine, and shares the bed, &c., of the real wife with her. The pilegesh or concubine (from which comes the Greek waarŋ pallake, and also the Latin pellex), in scripture, is a kind of secondary wife, not unlawful in the patriarchal times; though the progeny of such could not inherit. The word is not used in the scriptures in that disagreeable sense in which we commonly understand it. Hagar was properly the concubine or pilegesh of Abraham, and this annuente Deo, and with his wife's consent. Keturah, his second wife, is called a concubine, chap. xxvi. 15, 1 Chron. i. 32; and Bilhah and Zilhah were concubines to Jacob, chap. xxxv. 22. After the patriarchal times many eminent men had concubines, viz., Caleb, 1 Chron. ii. 46, 48; Manasses, 1 Chron. vii. 14; Gideon, Judg. viii. 31; Saul, 2 Sam. iii. 7; David, 2 Sam. v. 13; Solomon, 2 Kings xi. 3; and Rehoboam, 2 Chron. xi. 21. The pilegesh, therefore, differed widely from a prostitute; and however unlawful under the New Testament, was not so under the Old. From this chapter a pious mind may collect much useful instruction. From the trial of Abraham we again see, 1. That God may bring his followers into severe straits and difficulties, that they may have the better opportunity of both knowing and showing their own faith and obedience; and that he may seize on those occasions to show them the abundance of his mercy, and thus confirm them in righteousness all their days. There is a foolish saying among some religious people, which cannot be too severely reprobated: Untried grace is no grace. On the contrary, there may be much grace, though God, for good reasons, does not think proper for a time to put it to any severe trial or proof. But grace is certainly not fully known but in being called to trials of severe and painful obedience. But as all the gifts of God should be used (and they are increased and strengthened by exercise), it would be unjust to deny trials and exercises to grace, as this would be to preclude it from the opportunities of being strengthened and increased. 2. The offering up of Isaac is used by several religious people in a sort of metaphorical way, to signify their easily-besetting sins, beloved idols, &c. But this is a most reprehensible abuse of the death of Sarah. scripture. It is both insolent and wicked to compare some abominable lust or unholy affection to the amiable and pious youth who, for his purity and excellence, was deemed worthy to prefigure the sacrifice of the Son of God. To call our vile passions and unlawful attachments by the name of our Isaacs is unpardonable; and to talk of sacrificing such to God is downright blasphemy. Such sayings as these appear to be legitimated by long use; but we should be deeply and scrupulously careful not to use any of the words of God in any sense in which he has not spoken them. If, in the course of God's providence, a parent is called to give up to death an amiable, only son, then there is a parallel in the case; and it may be justly said, if pious resignation fill the parent's mind, such a person, like Abraham, has been called to give his Isaac back to God. Independently of the typical reference in this transaction, there are two points which seem to be recommended particularly to our notice. 1. The astonishing faith and prompt obedience of the father. 2. The innocence, filial respect, and passive submission of the son. Such a father and such a son were alone worthy of each other. CHAPTER XXIII. The age and death of Sarah, 1, 2. Abraham mourns for her, and requests a burial-place from the sons of Heth, 2-4. They freely offer him the choice of all their sepulchres, 5, 6. Abraham refuses to receive any as a free gift, and requests to buy the cave of Machpelah from Ephron, 7-9. Ephron proffers the cave and the field in which it was situated as a free gift unto Abraham, 10, 11. Abraham insists on giving its value in money, 12, 13. Ephron at last consents, and names the sum of four hundred shekels, 14, 15. Abraham weighs him the money in the presence of the people; in consequence of which the cave, the whole field, trees, &c., are made sure to him and his family for a possession, 16-18. The transaction being completed, Sarah is buried in the cave, 19. The sons of Heth ratify the bargain, 20. NOTES ON CHAP. XXIII. Verse 1. And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old] It is worthy of remark that Sarah is the only woman in the sacred writings whose age, death, and burial are distinctly noted. And she has been deemed worthy of higher honour, for St. Paul, Gal. iv. 22, 23, makes her a type of the church of Christ; and her faith in the accomplishment of God's promise, that she should have a son, when all natural probabilities were against it, is particularly celebrated in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xi. 11. Sarah was about ninety-one years old when Isaac was born, and she lived thirty-six years after, and saw him grown up to man's estate. With SARAH the promise of the incarnation of Christ commenced, though a comparatively obscure prophecy of it had been delivered to Eve, chap. iii. 15; and with MARY it terminated, having had its exact completion. Thus Ver. 19. b Ch. xiii. 18. God put more honour upon those two women than upon all the daughters of Eve besides. Sarah's conception of Isaac was supernatural; she had passed the age and circumstances in which it was possible, naturally speaking, to have a child; therefore she laughed when the promise was given, knowing that the thing was impossible, because it had ceased to be with her after the manner of women. God allows this natural impossibility, and grants that the thing must be the effect of divine interposition; and therefore asks, Is any thing too hard for God? The physical impossibility was increased in the case of Mary, she having no connexion with man; but the same power interposed as in the case of Sarah: and we find that when all aptitude for natural procreation was gone, Sarah received strength to conceive seed, and bore a son, from whom, in a direct line, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, was to descend; Abraham treats with the Hittites. A. M. 2145. B. C. 1859. CHAP. XXIII. Requests the cave of Machpelah. mourn for Sarah, and to weep 3 And Abraham stood up from before his 4 *I am a stranger and a sojourner with b A. M. 2145. 7 And Abraham stood up, and B. C. 1859. bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. 8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead you give me a possession of a burying-out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me place with you, that I may bury my dead out to Ephron the son of Zohar. of my sight. ham, saying unto him, 9 That he may give me the cave of Mach 5 And the children of Heth answered Abra-pelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a burying-place amongst you. с 6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us : in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. Ch. xvii. 8. 1 Chron. xxix. 15. Ps. cv. 12. Hebr. xi. 9, 13.- b Acts vii. 5.—— - Heb. a prince of God. 10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of f and through this same power we find a virgin con- of feeding his numerous flocks, Abraham had proceiving and bearing a son against all natural impos-bably several places of temporary residence, and sibilities. Every thing is supernatural in the births, particularly one at Beer-sheba, and another at Hebron ; both of the type and antitype; can it be wondered and it is likely that while he sojourned at Beer-sheba, at then, if the spiritual offspring of the Messiah must Sarah died at Hebron; and his coming to mourn and have a supernatural birth likewise? hence the pro-weep for her signifies his coming from the former to priety of that saying, Unless a man be born again—the latter place on the news of her death. born from above-born, not only of water, but of the Holy Ghost, he cannot see the kingdom of God. These may appear hard sayings, and those who are little in the habit of considering spiritual things may exclaim, “It is enthusiasm! Who can bear it? Such things cannot possibly be." To such persons I have only to say, God hath spoken. This is sufficient for those who credit his being and his Bible; nor is there any thing too hard for him. He, by whose almighty power Sarah had strength to conceive and bear a son in her old age, and by whose miraculous interference a virgin conceived, and the man Christ Jesus was born of her, can by the same power transform the sinful soul, and cause it to bear the image of the heavenly as it has borne the image of the earthly. Verse 3. Abraham stood up from before his dead] He had probably sat on the ground some days in token of sorrow, as the custom then was (see Tobit ii. 12, 13; Isai. xlvii. 1; and Gen. xxxvii. 35); and when this time was finished he arose and began to treat about a burying-place. Verse 2. Sarah died in Kirjath-arba] Literally, in the city of the four. Some suppose this place was called the city of the four because it was the burialplace of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; others, because according to the opinion of the rabbins Eve was buried there, with Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah. But it seems evidently to have had its name from a Canaanite, one of the Anakim, probably called Arba (for the text, Josh. xiv. 15, does not actually say this was his name), who was the chief of the four brothers who dwelt there; the names of the others being Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. See Judges i. 10. These three were destroyed by the tribe of Judah; probably the other had been previously dead. Verse 4. I am a stranger and a sojourner] It appears from Heb. xi. 13-16, 1 Pet. ii. 11, that these words refer more to the state of his mind than of his body. He felt that he had no certain dwelling-place, and was seeking by faith a city that had foundations. Give me a possession of a burying-place] It has been remarked that in different nations it was deemed ignominious to be buried in another's ground; probably this prevailed in early times in the East, and it may be in reference to a sentiment of this kind that Abraham refuses to accept the offer of the children of Heth to bury in any of their sepulchres, and earnestly requests them to sell him one, that he might bury his wife in a place that he could claim as his own. Verse 6. Thou art a mighty prince] X*W] nesi Elohim, a prince of God-a person whom we know to be divinely favoured, and whom, in consequence, we deeply respect and reverence. Verse 8. Intreat for me to Ephron] Abraham had already seen the cave and field, and finding to whom they belonged, and that they would answer his purpose, came to the gate of Hebron where the elders of the people sat to administer justice, &c., Abraham came to mourn for Sarah] From verse and where bargains and sales were made and wit19 of the preceding chapter it appears that Abraham nessed, and having addressed himself to the elders, had settled at Beer-sheba; and here we find that among whom Ephron was, though it appears he was Sarah died at Hebron, which was about twenty-four not personally known to Abraham, he begged them miles distant from Beer-sheba. For the convenience to use their influence with the owner of the cave and The cave of Machpelah A. M. 2145. a GENESIS. d is secured to Abraham. A. M. 2145. Heth, even of all that went in at and Abraham weighed to Ephron 11 Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead. 12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. 13 And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. e 17 And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure 18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying 19 And after this Abraham buried Sarah unto him, his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. 16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; sion of a burying-place by the sons of Heth. a Ch. xxxiv. 20, 24. Ruth iv. 4.- See 2 Sam. xxiv. 21-24. c Exod. xxx. 15. Ezek. xlv. 12.—d Jer. xxxii. 9.- Ch. xxv. 9. xlix. 30, 31, 32. 1. 13. Acts vii. 16. field to sell it to him, that it might serve him and his family for a place of sepulture. Verse 10. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth] And Ephron 2 yosheb, was sitting, among the children of Heth, but, as was before conjectured, was personally unknown to Abraham; he therefore answered for himself, making a free tender of the field, &c., to Abraham in the presence of all the people, which amounted to a legal conveyance of the whole property to the patriarch. Verse 13. If thou wilt give it] Instead of, If thou wilt give it, we should read, But if thou wilt sell it, I will give thee money for the field; keseph, silver, not coined money, for it is not probable that any such was then in use. Verse 15. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver] Though the words is worth are not in the text, yet they are necessarily expressed here to adapt the Hebrew to the idiom of our tongue. A shekel, according to the general opinion, was equal to two shillings and sixpence ; but according to Dr. Prideaux, whose estimate I shall follow, three shillings English, four hundred of which are equal to sixty pounds sterling; but it is evident that a certain weight is intended, and not a coin, for in verse 16 it is said, And Abraham weighed "pw vaiyishkol, the silver, and hence it appears that this weight itself passed afterwards as a current coin, for the word pw is not only used to express a coin or piece of silver, but also to weigh; see the note on chap. xx. 16. Verse 16. Current with the merchant] b ray ober lassocher, passing to or with the traveller-such as was commonly used by those who travelled about with merchandise of any sort. The word signifies the same as hawker or pedlar among us. f See Ruth iv. 7, 8, 9, 10. Jer. xxxii. 10, 11.- - Ch. 1. 13. 2 Kings xxi. 18. Verse 17. All the trees that were in the field] It is possible that all these were specified in the agreement. Verse 20. And the field, &c. were made sure] [P vaiyakom, were established, caused to stand; the whole transaction having been regulated according to all the forms of law then in use. 1. In this transaction between Abraham and the sons of Heth concerning the cave and field of Machpelah, we have the earliest account on record of the purchase of land. The simplicity, openness, and candour on both sides cannot be too much admired. 2. Sarah being dead, Abraham, being only a sojourner in that land, shifting from place to place for the mere purpose of pasturing his flocks, and having no right to any part of the land, wished to purchase a place in which he might have the continual right of sepulture. For this purpose, 1. He goes the gate of the city, the place where, in all ancient times, justice was administered, and bargains and sales concluded, and where for these purposes the elders of the people sat. 2. He there proposes to buy the cave known by the name of the Cave of Machpelah, the cave of the turning or the double cave, for a burying-place for his family. 3. To prevent him from going to any unnecessary expense, the people with one voice offer him the privilege of burying his wife in any of their sepulchres; this appearing to them to be no more than the common rights of hospitality and humanity required. 4. Abraham, intent on making a purchase, Ephron, the owner of the field and cave, values them at four hundred shekels, but at the same time wishes Abraham to receive the whole as a gift. 5. Abraham refuses the gift, and weighs down the silver specified. 6. The people who enter |