i 4 h But thou shalt go unto my this land: must I needs bring thy country, and to my kindred, and son again unto the land from take a wife unto my son Isaac. whence thou camest? 5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman w 1 not be willing to follow me unto h ch. 28. 2. i ch. 12. 1. 6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou, that thou bring not my son thither again. 7 The LORD God of heaven, piously, than wealthily or splendidly. every occupation chosen, every place In his estimate, no consideration could of residence selected, every connecoutweigh that of the religious character tion formed, express our firm and unof the person sought as a companion for varying conviction of the reality, the imhis son. How admirable a pattern is this portance, the preciousness of those infor parents, in reference to the forming terests which infinitely transcend all of matrimonial connections for their others. children! Unhappily great numbers, 4. Thou shalt go unto my country, &c even among the professors of godliness, That is, into Mesopotamia, v. 10, where bring nothing but worldly considerations he had lived for some time after leaving to this all-important subject. The out-Ur of the Chaldees, and where Nahor ward advantages of fortune, rank, or per- and his family still remained after Abrasonal attractions, are the only things re- ham had departed for Canaan. It was garded. But what comparison can these not therefore the land of his nativity, bear to the internal qualities of sound but the land of his former temporary principle, good sense, amiable temper, sojourning, which he here calls his, and and meek devoted piety? What per- to which the servant was commanded manent happiness can we promise our- to go. See Note on Gen. 11. 23, 31. selves in connection with one who can- From the narrative contained in ch. 31, not understand our views or enter into respecting Laban, it appears that some our feelings?-to whom we cannot vestiges of idolatry still lingered even speak of religion so as to be sympathiz-among the kindred of Abraham, but ed with, advised, or comforted?-with doubtless it was far less prevalent than whom we cannot take sweet counsel on in Canaan. 5, 6. Peradventure the woman will not his mouth,' and engage in more than he is able to perform. His conduct in this matter is much to be praised. The obligation of an oath should not be assumed without a full understanding of its import, and the imposers of oaths ought always to be ready to satisfy the rea the things of all others most interesting and absorbing to our souls? No won-be willing, &c. As was very natural, der that in such unions, comfort and se- the servant being about to bind himself renity of spirit are banished from our by an oath, is tenderly concerned lest abodes. No wonder that there arise es- he should be 'snared by the words of trangement of affection, diversity of pursuits, contrariety of will, domestic jangling, mutual accusations and retorts, and all that embitters or poisons the springs of love and peace. Whether, therefore, we are choosing for ourselves in this matter, or sanctioning the choice of others, let the example of this holysonable scruples of those who take them. man have its due weight in governing But the answer of Abraham is equally our conduct. Let us learn from him to worthy of our attention. Whatever subordinate every thing to the one great were his anxiety that his son should concern the interests of the soul. Let take a wife from among his own kindred, every plan and purpose entertained, he here evinces an equally strong re which took me from my fath-thee, and thou shalt take a wife uner's house, and from the land of my to my son from thence. kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, 1 Unto thy seed will I give this land: m he shall send his angel before k ch. 12. 1, 7. 1 c. 12. 7. & 13. 15. & 15. 18. & 17. 8. Ex d. 32. 13. Deut. 1.8. & 34. 4. Acts. 7. 5. m Exod. 23. 20, 23. & 33. 2. Heb. 1. 14. 8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then " thou shalt be clear from this mine oath; only bring not my son thither again. n Josh. 2. 17, 20. conviction in his mind, wrought by the experience of the past, rather than by any communication to that effect expressly received from God. Every former favor is a pledge of a future. Thou hast thou wilt' is a scripture demonstration. See in Ps. 86. 1-4, six thou hasts,' whereupon he infers and enforceth his 'Turn us, O God of our sal So the patriarch's language here is the expression of a firm, unshaken confidence in the prosperous issue of the expedition. He had been prompted by the most sincere regard to the will of God in having it undertaken, and he could not but infer pugnance to his returning and settling 2) Gr. Kuptos o esos, the Lord, the in the country out of which he had God, &c. The assurance which Abrabeen called. He had had a promise ham here gives his servant of the digiven him that the land into which he vine presence and guidance on his jourhad been brought, should be his and his | ney appears to be the result of a strong seed's; and he lived and acted upon that promise all his life long. Against present appearances and human probabilities, he maintained an unshaken confidence in the fulfilment of the promise, and took all his measures accordingly. As he had buried Sarah in it under this assured expectation, so he would not allow Isaac on any account to remove out of it; and thus do what tended di-vation.'--Trupp, rectly to frustrate the promise. It was perhaps owing in a great measure to his extreme solicitude on this head, that, instead of sending Isaac, who was now forty years of age, and abundantly capable of managing the negotiation himself, he despatched his aged servant to from all that had been before done for conduct the affair in his behalf- Thim, and said to him, that he would put Bring again. Isaac, it is true, had never the seal of his approbation upon the been in that land in person, but in the step proposed. And how pleasant is loins of his father he had: and it is a it to enter upon our work with such common usage of the sacred writers to an inward assurance!—to be able unhesispeak of a family or line of descendants tatingly to promise ourselves or others, as one continued person. Upon this the presence, protection and blessing of idiom the use of the word again in this the God of heaven in our enterprises! place is no doubt founded. In like If governed in the main by the pious manner, it is said Gen. 15. 16, 'In the spirit of Abraham, this confidence may fourth generation they shall come be freely entertained. God will regard it hither again,' although that generation as an acceptable exercise of faith, and had of course never been in that land not as the promptings of an unhallowed before. presumption.- Will send his angel 7. The LORD God of heaven, &c. before thee. Nothing, we think, is more Rather according to the Heh. The susceptible of proof, than that the term Lord, the God of heaven (angel' in scriptural usage is employed 9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. 10 T And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; (for all the goods, of his master were in his hand;) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. 。 ver.2. P ch. 27. 43. 10. Took ten camels, &c. Although we are not expressly told that this was done by Abraham's direction, yet there can be little doubt that the whole business of the preparation and outfit was conducted under his eye, and ordered with his approbation. The brevity of the scripture narrative often requires us not only to denote those personal agents whom the Most High may see fit to make the executors of his will, but also in an impersonal sense, implying in many cases merely a dispensation of providence, whether in a way of mercy or of judgment. The phraseology, indeed, but rarely occurs in respect to the ordinary incidents of life, but extraordinary to supply from the character of the paroperations of providence, or events fraught with momentous consequences, and as such, having a peculiarly noticeable character, though accomplished by natural means, are in Scripture spoken of as 'angels.' Thus the destruction of the first-born in Egypt is attributed to an angel, because such an event was extraordinary and memorable in the highest degree. In like manner, the destruction of Sennacherib's army is ascribed to angelic agency for the same reason. In both cases we cannot doubt that the judgment was executed directly and immediately by the hand of God. Thus, too, as to the present declaration. We suppose the angel to be the personification of a special providence. God would send his angel before the servant in the sense of preparing his way, of removing difficulties and objections, and fully reconciling the minds of his kindred to the step. See Note on Ex. 12. 23, for fuller confirmation of this idea. 9. Abraham his master. Heb. 1 adonav, his lord. So also in the next verse.—————¶ Sware to him. Heb. yish-sha-ba, was sworn to him. The Heb. verb for swearing, is always used in the passive voice, as if it were an act which no one was supposed to engage in voluntarily, but only as he was adjured by another ties or the circumstances of the case 11. And he made his camels to evening, even the time that wokneel down without the city by a men go out to draw water: well of water, at the time of the ↑ Exod. 2. 16. obtain the same credence for his asser-precious things of all kinds. So the tions on the subject. The measure, term is elsewhere repeatedly used in therefore, was in every view politic and an emphatic sense to denote that which wise, although we cannot question that is peculiarly choice and valuable. Comp. both Abraham and his servant, as ha- | Gen. 45. 18, 20. Is. 1. 19. Deut. 6. 11. bitually pious men, placed more depend- On the whole, we cannot but deem this ence on a secret divine interposition, than the most correct interpretation of the upon any devices, however well chosen, two; and we suppose, moreover, that of their own. For all the goods of the articles mentioned vv. 22, 52, were his master were in his hand. More lite- a part of the goods, here said to rally 'And all the goods,' &c. The ori- have been in the hand of the servant ginal term toob, here rendered goods, when he departed.- ¶ Went to Mesois the proper Heb. word for goodness or potamia. Heb. D Aram nahaexcellency of any kind, whether moral rayim, that is, Syria of the two rivers; or physical. In such connections as the denoting the region lying between the present, it evidently has a secondary or rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The same accommodated import, being applied to country is elsewhere called b 175 riches or substance, because these are padan Aram, or, the plain of Aram, or what men usually esteem good, and in- Syria. Mesopotamia' is a Greek word dustriously pursue as such. The exact signifying the country between the rivers. purport of this parenthetic clause is a The 'city of Nahor,' i. e. the city of matter of some doubt. Calvin, and per- Nahor's residence, was no doubt Haran haps most commentators, understand it (Charran), of which, see Note on Gen. as rendering a reason for the servant's 11. 31. large and sumptuous preparations for 11. Made the camels to kneel down. As the journey Having all his master's this immediately precedes an act of goods at his disposal, he might exercise prayer on the part of the servant, it a discretionary power in making might possibly be thought that he inprovision for the expedition. But per- tended in some sort to make his haps the rendering of the Gr., adopt- camels participators in that act. But ed also by Jerome in the Vulgate, is to kneeling is not peculiarly an attitude of be preferred. In both these versions devotion in the East; and Eliezer himthe construction is, And (he took and self did not kneel; for even in his prayer, carried) of all his master's goods (some- he describes himself as standing by the thing) with him.' According to this the well. He merely intended to give the idea is that the servant took with him wearied camels a little rest, kneeling be'in his hand' a portion of the choicest, ing the posture in which camels always the best, the most precious of his master's repose.- T The time that women go out effects, of which to make presents to to draw water. Heb. nasun nay n53 the lady elect and her family. Thus it leaith_tzeth hash-sho-aboth, at the time of is said of the present brought by Ha- the going forth of the women-drawers (of zael from Ben-hadad to Elisha, 2 Kings, water.) Water is usually drawn in the 8. 9, that he 'took a present with him, evening and frequently in the cool of the even of every good thing ( 5 kol morning also. Fetching water is one of toob) of Damascus ;' i. e. of the most the heaviest of the many heavy duties له نیم ry which devolve upon the females in the The present well seems to have been East, and one which most sensibly im- quite near the town, and we concur ir presses us with a sense of their degraded the translation which renders Rebekah's condition. The usage varies in differ- vessel' a pitcher.' The word ¬ kad is ent countries. Among the Arabs and different from that (chemath) ren other nomades, and also in many parts dered 'bottle`in the narrative of Hagar's of India, it is the exclusive employment expulsion; and is the same word used of the women, without distinction of to describe the vessels in which Gideon's rank. But in Turkey and Persia, the soldiers concealed their torches, and poorer women only are subject to this which they broke to produce a crashing servile employment, respectable fami- and alarming noise. The women conlies being supplied daily by men who trive to draw an enjoyment even out of make the supplying of water a distinct this irksome duty, as it affords the best business. The tents of the Bedouins opportunity they have of meeting and are seldom pitched quite near to the talking together, and of displaying their well from which they obtain their wa-finery to each other. They by no ter; and if the distance is not more than means appear to the worst advantage, a mile, the men do not think it necessa- as to dress, at the wells; and this cirthat the water should be brought up-cumstance shows that Abraham's seron the camels; and, unless there are vant might there, without any incongruiasses to be employed on this service, ty, invest Rebekah with the ornaments the women must go every evening, he had brought. To a traveller in the sometimes twice, and bring home at East, the best opportunities of making their backs long and heavy bags full of his observations on the females will ocwater. The wells are the property of cur in the evening at the wells. Eliezer tribes or individuals, who are not al- was aware of this, and regarded the opways willing that caravans should take portunity as favorable for his purpose. water from them; and in that case, a It appears that the unmarried females girl is sometimes posted at the well to even of towns went unveiled, or only exact presents from those who wish to partially veiled, on ordinary occasions in have water. It is not likely that Abra- | these early times. Now all go veiled; ham's servant travelled travelled without a leathern bucket to draw water, and it is therefore probable that he abstained from watering his ten camels until he should have obtained permission. The women, when they are at the wells in the evening, are generally obliging to travellers, and ready to supply such water as they may require for themselves or their beasts. The women of towns in Turkey and Persia have seldom far to go, except under peculiar circum-out distinction of rank, in those Asiatic stances in the situation or soil of the countries or tribes where the women place, or quality of its water. Their are not obliged to veil their faces, as in water-vessel depends much upon the India, and among the Arabian and othe distance; if rather far, a skin will pro-nomade tribes. We have already no bably be preferred as most convenient ticed the Arabian usage. In consequence for carrying a good quantity; but if near, of the modifications which we venture an earthen jar will often be chosen. to think that the extended use of the and the more extended use of the veil in modern times has probably, in one respect, operated favorably for the women, by exonerating those in families decently circumstanced, from the very heavy duty of fetching water, the proper management of the veil being scarcely compatible with the performance of this laborious office. Accordingly we find that this duty devolves more exclusively on the females, with |