--- title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible" author: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown" languages: [en] shelf: "Commentaries" section: 8 of 927 url: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/8/ cite: "Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, section 8. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/8/" --- # 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. ## 8. Genesis · 8 of 21 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/8/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/jamieson-fausset-brown-commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/8/#p-N [¶0] 7. confound their language--literally, "their lip"; it was a failure in utterance, occasioning a difference in dialect which was intelligible only to those of the same tribe. Thus easily by God their purpose was defeated, and they were compelled to the dispersion they had combined to prevent. It is only from the Scriptures we learn the true origin of the different nations and languages of the world. By one miracle of tongues men were dispersed and gradually fell from true religion. By another, national barriers were broken down--that all men might be brought back to the family of God. [¶1] 28. Ur--now Orfa; that is, "light," or "fire." Its name probably derived from its being devoted to the rites of fire-worship. Terah and his family were equally infected with that idolatry as the rest of the inhabitants ([Jos 24:15]). [¶2] 31. Sarai his daughter-in-law--the same as Iscah [Ge 11:29], granddaughter of Terah, probably by a second wife, and by early usages considered marriageable to her uncle, Abraham. [¶3] they came unto Haran--two days' journey south-southeast from Ur, on the direct road to the ford of the Euphrates at Rakka, the nearest and most convenient route to Palestine. ### Chapter 12 ### Ge 12:1-20. Call to Abram [¶6] 1. Now the Lord had said unto Abram--It pleased God, who has often been found of them who sought Him not, to reveal Himself to Abraham perhaps by a miracle; and the conversion of Abraham is one of the most remarkable in Bible history. [¶7] Get thee out of thy country--His being brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God had probably been a considerable time before. This call included two promises: the first, showing the land of his future posterity; and the second, that in his posterity all the earth was to be blessed ([Ge 12:2]). Abraham obeyed, and it is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as a striking instance of his faith ([He 11:8]). [¶8] 5. into the land of Canaan ... they came--with his wife and an orphan nephew. Abram reached his destination in safety, and thus the first promise was made good. [¶9] 6. the place of Sichem--or Shechem, a pastoral valley then unoccupied (compare [Ge 33:18]). [¶10] plain of Moreh--rather, the "terebinth tree" of Moreh, very common in Palestine, remarkable for its wide-spreading branches and its dark green foliage. It is probable that in Moreh there was a grove of these trees, whose inviting shade led Abram to choose it for an encampment. [¶11] 7. Unto thy seed will I give this land--God was dealing with Abram not in his private and personal capacity merely, but with a view to high and important interests in future ages. That land his posterity was for centuries to inhabit as a peculiar people; the seeds of divine knowledge were to be sown there for the benefit of all mankind; and considered in its geographical situation, it was chosen in divine wisdom as the fittest of all lands to serve as the cradle of a divine revelation designed for the whole world. [¶12] and there builded he an altar unto the Lord--By this solemn act of devotion Abram made an open profession of his religion, established the worship of the true God, and declared his faith in the promise. [¶13] 10. there was a famine ... and Abram went down into Egypt--He did not go back to the place of his nativity, as regretting his pilgrimage and despising the promised land ([He 11:15]), but withdrew for a while into a neighboring country. [¶14] 11-13. Sarai's complexion, coming from a mountainous country, would be fresh and fair compared with the faces of Egyptian women which were sallow. The counsel of Abram to her was true in words, but it was a deception, intended to give an impression that she was no more than his sister. His conduct was culpable and inconsistent with his character as a servant of God: it showed a reliance on worldly policy more than a trust in the promise; and he not only sinned himself, but tempted Sarai to sin also. [¶15] 14. when Abram was come into Egypt--It appears from the monuments of that country that at the time of Abram's visit a monarchy had existed for several centuries. The seat of government was in the Delta, the most northern part of the country, the very quarter in which Abram must have arrived. They were a race of shepherd-kings, in close alliance with the people of Canaan. [¶16] 15. the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house--Eastern kings have for ages claimed the privilege of taking to their harem an unmarried woman whom they like. The father or brother may deplore the removal as a calamity, but the royal right is never resisted nor questioned. [¶17] 16. he entreated Abram well for her sake--The presents are just what one pastoral chief would give to another. [¶18] 18-20. Here is a most humiliating rebuke, and Abram deserved it. Had not God interfered, he might have been tempted to stay in Egypt and forget the promise ([Psa 105:13], ). Often still does God rebuke His people and remind them through enemies that this world is not their rest. ### Chapter 13 ### Ge 13:1-18. Return from Egypt [¶21] 1. went up ... south--Palestine being a highland country, the entrance from Egypt by its southern boundary is a continual ascent. [¶22] 2. very rich--compared with the pastoral tribes to which Abraham belonged. An Arab sheik is considered rich who has a hundred or two hundred tents, from sixty to a hundred camels, a thousand sheep and goats respectively. And Abram being very rich, must have far exceeded that amount of pastoral property. "Gold and silver" being rare among these peoples, his probably arose from the sale of his produce in Egypt. [¶23] 3. went on his journeys--His progress would be by slow marches and frequent encampments as Abram had to regulate his movements by the prospect of water and pasturage. [¶24] unto the place ... between Beth-el and Hai--"a conspicuous hill--its topmost summit resting on the rocky slopes below, and distinguished by its olive groves--offering a natural base for the altar and a fitting shade for the tent of the patriarch" [Stanley]. [¶25] 4. there Abram called on the name of the Lord--He felt a strong desire to reanimate his faith and piety on the scene of his former worship: it might be to express humility and penitence for his misconduct in Egypt or thankfulness for deliverance from perils--to embrace the first opportunity on returning to Canaan of leading his family to renew allegiance to God and offer the typical sacrifices which pointed to the blessings of the promise. [¶26] 7. And there was a strife--Abraham's character appears here in a most amiable light. Having a strong sense of religion, he was afraid of doing anything that might tend to injure its character or bring discredit on its name, and he rightly judged that such unhappy effects would be produced if two persons whom nature and grace had so closely connected should come to a rupture [Ge 13:8]. Waiving his right to dictate, he gave the freedom of choice to Lot. The conduct of Abraham was not only disinterested and peaceable, but generous and condescending in an extraordinary degree, exemplifying the Scripture precepts ([Mt 6:32]; [Ro 12:10], ; [Php 2:4]). [¶27] 10. Lot lifted up his eyes--Travellers say that from the top of this hill, a little "to the east of Beth-el" [Ge 12:8], they can see the Jordan, the broad meadows on either bank, and the waving line of verdure which marks the course of the stream. [¶28] 11. Then Lot chose him all the plain--a choice excellent from a worldly point of view, but most inexpedient for his best interests. He seems, though a good man, to have been too much under the influence of a selfish and covetous spirit: and how many, alas! imperil the good of their souls for the prospect of worldly advantage. [¶29] 14-15. Lift up now thine eyes ... all the land which thou seest--So extensive a survey of the country, in all directions, can be obtained from no other point in the neighborhood; and those plains and hills, then lying desolate before the eyes of the solitary patriarch, were to be peopled with a mighty nation "like the dust of the earth in number," as they were in Solomon's time ([1Ki 4:20]). [¶30] 18. the plain of Mamre ... built ... an altar--the renewal of the promise was acknowledged by Abram by a fresh tribute of devout gratitude. ### Chapter 14 ### Ge 14:1-24. War [¶33] 1. And it came to pass--This chapter presents Abram in the unexpected character of a warrior. The occasion was this: The king of Sodom and the kings of the adjoining cities, after having been tributaries for twelve years to the king of Elam, combined to throw off his yoke. To chastise their rebellion, as he deemed it, Chedorlaomer, with the aid of three allies, invaded the territories of the refractory princes, defeated them in a pitched battle where the nature of the ground favored his army ([Ge 14:10]), and hastened in triumph on his homeward march, with a large amount of captives and booty, though merely a stranger. [¶34] 12. they took Lot ... and his goods, and departed--How would the conscience of that young man now upbraid him for his selfish folly and ingratitude in withdrawing from his kind and pious relative! Whenever we go out of the path of duty, we put ourselves away from God's protection, and cannot expect that the choice we make will be for our lasting good. [¶35] 13. there came one that had escaped--Abram might have excused himself from taking any active concern in his "brother," that is, nephew, who little deserved that he should incur trouble or danger on his account. But Abram, far from rendering evil for evil, resolved to take immediate measures for the rescue of Lot. [¶36] 14. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants--domestic slaves, such as are common in Eastern countries still and are considered and treated as members of the family. If Abram could spare three hundred and eighteen slaves and leave a sufficient number to take care of the flocks, what a large establishment he must have had. [¶37] 15-16. he divided himself ... by night--This war between the petty princes of ancient Canaan is exactly the same as the frays and skirmishes between Arab chiefs in the present day. When a defeated party resolves to pursue the enemy, they wait till they are fast asleep; then, as they have no idea of posting sentinels, they rush upon them from different directions, strike down the tent poles--if there is any fight at all, it is the fray of a tumultuous mob--a panic commonly ensues, and the whole contest is ended with little or no loss on either side. [¶38] 18. Melchizedek--This victory conferred a public benefit on that part of the country; and Abram, on his return, was treated with high respect and consideration, particularly by the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, who seems to have been one of the few native princes, if not the only one, who knew and worshipped, "the most high God," whom Abram served. This king who was a type of the Saviour ([He 7:1]), came to bless God for the victory which had been won, and in the name of God to bless Abram, by whose arms it had been achieved--a pious acknowledgment which we should imitate on succeeding in any lawful enterprise. [¶39] 20. he gave him tithes of all--Here is an evidence of Abram's piety, as well as of his valor; for it was to a priest or official mediator between God and him that Abram gave a tenth of the spoil--a token of his gratitude and in honor of a divine ordinance ([Pr 3:9]). [¶40] 21. the king of Sodom said ... Give me the persons--According to the war customs still existing among the Arab tribes, Abram might have retained the recovered goods, and his right was acknowledged by the king of Sodom. But with honest pride, and a generosity unknown in that part of the world, he replied with strong phraseology common to the East, "I have lifted up mine hand" [that is, I have sworn] unto the Lord that I will not take from a thread even to a sandal-thong, and that that I will not take any thing that [is] thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich" [Ge 14:22, 23]. ### Chapter 15 ### Ge 15:1-21. Divine Encouragement [¶43] 1. After these things--the conquest of the invading kings. [¶44] the word of the Lord--a phrase used, when connected with a vision, to denote a prophetic message.