--- title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible" author: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown" languages: [en] shelf: "Commentaries" section: 12 of 927 url: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/12/ cite: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, section 12. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/12/" --- # Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible *Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown* The Victorian standard commentary, critical and practical, from Genesis to Revelation. ## 12. Genesis · 12 of 21 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/12/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/12/#p-N [¶0] 23-27. And said, Whose daughter art thou?--After telling her name and family, the kind-hearted damsel hastened home to give notice of a stranger's arrival. [¶1] 28. and told them of her mother's house these things--the female apartments. This family was in an advanced stage of pastoral life, dwelling in a settled place and a fixed habitation. [¶2] 29-31. Rebekah had a brother ... Laban ran out--From what we know of his character, there is reason to believe that the sight of the dazzling presents increased both his haste and his invitation. [¶3] 32-49. the man came into the house, &c.--What a beautiful picture of piety, fidelity, and disinterestedness in a servant! He declined all attention to his own comforts till he had told his name and his errand. [¶4] 50. Then Laban and Bethuel answered--The brothers conduct all the marriage negotiations, their father being probably dead, and without consulting their sister. Their language seems to indicate they were worshippers of the true God. [¶5] 53. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and ... gold--These are the usual articles, with money, that form a woman's dowry among the pastoral tribes. Rebekah was betrothed and accompanied the servant to Canaan. [¶6] 64. she lighted off the camel--If Isaac were walking, it would have been most unmannerly for her to have continued seated; an inferior, if riding, always alights in presence of a person of rank, no exception being made for women. [¶7] 65. she took a veil, and covered herself--The veil is an essential part of female dress. In country places it is often thrown aside, but on the appearance of a stranger, it is drawn over the face, as to conceal all but the eyes. In a bride it was a token of her reverence and subjection to her husband. [¶8] 67. And Isaac brought her into his mother's ... tent--thus establishing her at once in the rights and honors of a wife before he had seen her features. Disappointments often take place, but when Isaac saw his wife, "he loved her." ### Chapter 25 ### Ge 25:1-6. Sons of Abraham [¶11] 1. Abraham took a wife--rather, "had taken"; for Keturah is called Abraham's concubine, or secondary wife ([1Ch 1:32]); and as, from her bearing six sons to him, it is improbable that he married after Sarah's death; and also as he sent them all out to seek their own independence, during his lifetime, it is clear that this marriage is related here out of its chronological order, merely to form a proper winding up of the patriarch's history. [¶12] 5-6. Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac ... unto the sons of the concubines ... Abraham gave gifts--While the chief part of the inheritance went to Isaac; the other sons (Ishmael included) migrated to "the East country," that is, Arabia, but received each a portion of the patrimony, perhaps in cattle and other things; and this settlement of Abraham's must have given satisfaction, since it is still the rule followed among the pastoral tribes. ### Ge 25:7-11. Death of Abraham [¶14] 7. these are the days of ... Abraham--His death is here related, though he lived till Jacob and Esau were fifteen years, just one hundred years after coming to Canaan; "the father of the faithful," "the friend of God" [Jas 2:23], died; and even in his death, the promises were fulfilled (compare [Ge 15:15]). We might have wished some memorials of his deathbed experience; but the Spirit of God has withheld them--nor was it necessary; for (see [Mt 7:16]) from earth he passed into heaven ([Lu 16:22]). Though dead he yet liveth ([Mt 22:32]). [¶15] 9-10. his sons ... buried him--Death often puts an end to strife, reconciles those who have been alienated, and brings rival relations, as in this instance, to mingle tears over a father's grave. ### Ge 25:12-18. Descendants of Ishmael. Before passing to the line of the promised seed, the historian gives a brief notice of Ishmael, to show that the promises respecting that son of Abraham were fulfilled--first, in the greatness of his posterity (compare Ge 17:20); and, secondly, in their independence [¶17] 18. he died--rather, "it [their lot] fell" in the presence of his brethren (compare [Ge 16:12]). ### Ge 25:19-34. History of Isaac [¶19] 19. these are the generations--account of the leading events in his life. [¶20] 21. Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife--Though tried in a similar way to his father, he did not follow the same crooked policy. Twenty years he continued unblessed with offspring, whose seed was to be "as the stars" [Ge 26:4]. But in answer to their mutual prayers ([1Pe 3:7]), Rebekah was divinely informed that she was to be the mother of twins, who should be the progenitors of two independent nations; that the descendants of the younger should be the more powerful and subdue those of the other ([Ro 9:12]; [2Ch 21:8]). [¶21] 27. the boys grew--from the first, opposite to each other in character, manners, and habits. [¶22] 28. The parents were divided in their affection; and while the grounds, at least of the father's partiality, were weak, the distinction made between the children led, as such conduct always does, to unhappy consequences. [¶23] 29. Jacob sod pottage--made of lentils or small beans, which are common in Egypt and Syria. It is probable that it was made of Egyptian beans, which Jacob had procured as a dainty; for Esau was a stranger to it. It is very palatable; and to the weary hunter, faint with hunger, its odor must have been irresistibly tempting. [¶24] 31. Jacob said, Sell me ... thy birthright--that is, the rights and privileges of the first-born, which were very important, the chief being that they were the family priests ([Ex 4:22]) and had a double portion of the inheritance ([De 21:17]). [¶25] 32. Esau said ... I am at the point to die--that is, I am running daily risk of my life; and of what use will the birthright be to me: so he despised or cared little about it, in comparison with gratifying his appetite--he threw away his religious privileges for a trifle; and thence he is styled "a profane person" ([He 12:16]; also [Job 31:7], ; ; [Php 3:19]). "There was never any meat, except the forbidden fruit, so dear bought, as this broth of Jacob" [Bishop Hall]. ### Chapter 26 ### Ge 26:1-35. Sojourn in Gerar [¶28] 1. And there was a famine in the land ... And Isaac went unto ... Gerar--The pressure of famine in Canaan forced Isaac with his family and flocks to migrate into the land of the Philistines, where he was exposed to personal danger, as his father had been on account of his wife's beauty; but through the seasonable interposition of Providence, he was preserved ([Psa 105:14], ). [¶29] 12. Then Isaac sowed in that land--During his sojourn in that district he farmed a piece of land, which, by the blessing of God on his skill and industry, was very productive ([Is 65:13]; [Psa 37:19]); and by his plentiful returns he increased so rapidly in wealth and influence that the Philistines, afraid or envious of his prosperity, obliged him to leave the place ([Pr 27:4]; [Ec 4:4]). This may receive illustration from the fact that many Syrian shepherds at this day settle for a year or two in a place, rent some ground, in the produce of which they trade with the neighboring market, till the owners, through jealousy of their growing substance, refuse to renew their lease and compel them to remove elsewhere. [¶30] 15. all the wells which his father's servants had digged ... the Philistines had stopped, &c.--The same base stratagem for annoying those against whom they have taken an umbrage is practiced still by choking the wells with sand or stones, or defiling them with putrid carcases. [¶31] 17. valley of Gerar--torrent-bed or wady, a vast undulating plain, unoccupied and affording good pasture. [¶32] 18-22. Isaac digged again the wells of water--The naming of wells by Abraham, and the hereditary right of his family to the property, the change of the names by the Philistines to obliterate the traces of their origin, the restoration of the names by Isaac, and the contests between the respective shepherds to the exclusive possession of the water, are circumstances that occur among the natives in those regions as frequently in the present day as in the time of Isaac. [¶33] 26-33. Then Abimelech went to him--As there was a lapse of ninety years between the visit of Abraham and of Isaac, the Abimelech and Phichol spoken of must have been different persons' official titles. Here is another proof of the promise ([Ge 12:2]) being fulfilled, in an overture of peace being made to him by the king of Gerar. By whatever motive the proposal was dictated--whether fear of his growing power, or regret for the bad usage they had given him, the king and two of his courtiers paid a visit to the tent of Isaac ([Pr 16:7]). His timid and passive temper had submitted to the annoyances of his rude neighbors; but now that they wish to renew the covenant, he evinces deep feeling at their conduct, and astonishment at their assurance, or artifice, in coming near him. Being, however, of a pacific disposition, Isaac forgave their offense, accepted their proposals, and treated them to the banquet by which the ratification of a covenant was usually crowned. [¶34] 34. Esau ... took to wife--If the pious feelings of Abraham recoiled from the idea of Isaac forming a matrimonial connection with a Canaanitish woman [Ge 24:3], that devout patriarch himself would be equally opposed to such a union on the part of his children; and we may easily imagine how much his pious heart was wounded, and the family peace destroyed, when his favorite but wayward son brought no less than two idolatrous wives among them--an additional proof that Esau neither desired the blessing nor dreaded the curse of God. These wives never gained the affections of his parents, and this estrangement was overruled by God for keeping the chosen family aloof from the dangers of heathen influence. ### Chapter 27 ### Ge 27:1-27. Infirmity of Isaac [¶37] 1. when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim--He was in his hundred thirty-seventh year; and apprehending death to be near, Isaac prepared to make his last will--an act of the gravest importance, especially as it included the conveyance through a prophetic spirit of the patriarchal blessing. [¶38] 4. make ... savory meat--perhaps to revive and strengthen him for the duty; or rather, "as eating and drinking" were used on all religious occasions, he could not convey the right, till he had eaten of the meat provided for the purpose by him who was to receive the blessing [Adam Clarke] (compare [Ge 18:7]). [¶39] that my soul may bless thee--It is difficult to imagine him ignorant of the divine purpose (compare [Ge 25:23]). But natural affection, prevailing through age and infirmity, prompted him to entail the honors and powers of the birthright on his elder son; and perhaps he was not aware of what Esau had done ([Ge 25:34]). [¶40] 6-10. Rebekah spake unto Jacob--She prized the blessing as invaluable; she knew that God intended it for the younger son [Ge 25:23]; and in her anxiety to secure its being conferred on the right object--on one who cared for religion--she acted in the sincerity of faith; but in crooked policy--with unenlightened zeal; on the false principle that the end would sanctify the means. [¶41] 11. Jacob said, Esau my brother is a hairy man--It is remarkable that his scruples were founded, not on the evil of the act, but on the risk and consequences of deception. [¶42] 13-17. and his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse--His conscience being soothed by his mother, preparations were hastily made for carrying out the device; consisting, first, of a kid's flesh, which, made into a ragout, spiced with salt, onions, garlic, and lemon juice, might easily be passed off on a blind old man, with blunted senses, as game; second, of pieces of goat's skin bound on his hands and neck, its soft silken hair resembling that on the cheek of a young man; third, of the long white robe--the vestment of the first-born, which, transmitted from father to son and kept in a chest among fragrant herbs and perfumed flowers used much in the East to keep away moths--his mother provided for him. [¶43] 18-27. he came unto his father--The scheme planned by the mother was to be executed by the son in the father's bedchamber; and it is painful to think of the deliberate falsehoods, as well as daring profanity, he resorted to. The disguise, though wanting in one thing, which had nearly upset the whole plot, succeeded in misleading Isaac; and while giving his paternal embrace, the old man was roused into a state of high satisfaction and delight.