and set his face toward the mount Gilead.

(22) And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. (23) And

to bad.

Jacob's Explanation.

you

me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? (28) And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. (29) It is in hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. (30) And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my

(26) And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? (27) Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from

me.

Mount Gilead.-Gilead, the region of rock, was the mountainous frontier between the Aramean and Canaanite races. The form of the word is so remote from ordinary Hebrew that we have in it, probably, a very old appellation of this region; and Jacob apparently plays upon it in his name Galeed (verse 47).

(23) His brethren.-As Jacob, who had no relatives with him except his sons, applies this term in verse 46 to his followers, it is, probably, an honourable way of describing retainers, who were freemen and of a higher class than men-servants.

Seven days' journey.—The route chosen by Jacob was apparently the more easterly one, past Tadmor, and through the Hauran, leaving Damascus to the west. The hill, which subsequently was called Mount Gilead, lay to the south of the Ĵabbok; but as Mahanaim, reached some days after the meeting with Laban, is to the north of that river, the word Gilead was evidently applied to the whole of the region of chalk cliffs on the east of the Jordan. This is made certain by the fact that Laban overtook Jacob in seven days. But as the distance from Haran to the most northerly part of this country (afterwards assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh) was fully three hundred miles, it would require hard riding on the part of Laban and his brethren to enable them to overtake Jacob, even on the borders of this region. There is no difficulty about Jacob's movements. His flocks were pastured at so remote a distance from Haran that it would be easy for him to send them in detachments to the ford of the Euphrates, distant about sixty or seventy miles; he would make all the arrangements with his four elder sons and trusty servants, and, probably, even see them across the ford himself, and would return to Haran to fetch his wives and younger children only when all was well advanced. Finally, when Laban goes to a distance, in another direction, for his sheep-shearing, Jacob "sets his sons and his wives upon camels," and follows with the utmost speed. They would have remained quietly at Haran to the last, to avoid suspicion, and, excepting Leah's four elder sons, the rest would have been too young to be of much use. When Jacob, with his wives, overtook the cattle, they would, probably, not travel

(31) And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. (32) With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our

more than ten or twelve miles a day; but three days passed before Laban learned what had taken place, and a couple of days at least must have been spent in returning to Haran and preparing for the pursuit. Thus Jacob had reached Canaanite ground-a matter of very considerable importance-before his father-in-law overtook him.

(24) Either good or bad.-Heb., from good to bad: a proverbial expression, rightly translated in the Authorised Version, but conveying the idea of a more absolute prohibition than the phrase used in chap. xxiv. 50.

(26—30) Laban said. ..-Laban reproaches Jacob, first, for carrying away his daughters secretly, which was an affront to them (verse 26) and an injury to his own feelings (verse 28); secondly, he tells him that he should have punished him but for the Divine warning ; lastly, he accuses him of stealing his teraphim.

Captives .-Heb., captives of the sword, women carried off in war as spoil.

(28) My sons.-That is, my grandsons.

(29) It is in the power of my hand.-This is the rendering here of all the versions, and is confirmed by Deut. xxviii. 32; Neh. v. 5; Micah ii. 1; but Keil and Knobel wish to translate, "My hand is for God." This comes to the same thing in an impious way, as the sense would be," My hand is an El, a god, for me," and enables me to do what I will.

The speech of Laban is half true and half false. He would have wished not to part with Jacob at all, but to have recovered from him as much as he could of his property. But if he was to go, he would have liked outward appearances maintained; and, probably, he had an affection for his daughters and their children, though not so strong as to counterbalance his selfishness. His character, like that of all men, is a mixture of good and evil.

(31, 32) Jacob answered.-Jacob gives the true reason for his flight; after which, indignant at the charge of theft, he returns, in his anger, as rash an answer about the teraphim as Joseph's brethren subsequently did about the stolen cup (chap. xliv. 9).

Let him not live.-The Rabbins regard this as a prophecy, fulfilled in Rachel's premature death. Its

brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

(33) And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them 1 Heb., felt. not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. (34) Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban 1 searched all the tent, but found them not. (35) And

she said to her father, Let it not dis- 2 Heb., felt. please my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.

(36) And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass ? a Ex. 22. 12. what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me? (37) Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt

A Covenant between them.

it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. (40) Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. (4) Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. (42) Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.

(43) And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? (44) Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

(45) And Jacob took a stone, and set it

been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. (39) That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require

more simple meaning is, I yield him up to thee even to be put to death.

(34) The camel's furniture.-That is, the camel's saddle. It is now made of wicker-work, and is protected by curtains and a canopy. Probably Rachel's was far simpler; and as the teraphim seem to have had heads shaped like those of a man, and dwarf bodies, they would easily be crammed under it.

(36) Jacob was wroth.-Naturally he regarded the accusation about the teraphim as a mere device for searching his goods, and when nothing was found gave free vent to his indignation.

(40) The frost by night.-From September to May the nights in the East are usually cold, and the change from great heat by day to a freezing temperature as soon as the sun sets is very trying to health. (41) Thus have I been. Heb., This for me twenty years in thy house, but taken in connection with the preceding this, in verse 38, the meaning is "During the one twenty years that I was with thee, thy ewes, &c.," upon which follows "During the other twenty years that were for me in thy house, I served thee, &c.' (See Note on chap. xxix. 27, and Excursus on the Chronology of Jacob's Life.)

(42) The fear of Isaac.-That is, the object of Isaac's worship. The reason given by the Jewish Commentators for this remarkable way of describing

his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap and they did eat there upon the heap. (47) And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.

(48) And Laban said, This heap is a

the Deity whom Isaac served is that, as his father was still alive, Jacob would have been wanting in reverence, if he had spoken of God as "Isaac's God," even though Jehovah had condescended so to call Himself (chap. xxviii. 13).

(43) Laban answered Laban does not attempt any reply to Jacob's angry invectives, but answers affectionately. Why should he wish to injure Jacob, and send him away empty? All that he had was still Laban's in the best of senses; for were not Rachel and Leah his daughters? And were not their children his grandsons? How was it possible that he could wish to rob them? He proposes, therefore, that they should make a covenant, by which Jacob should bind himself to deal kindly with his daughters, and to take no other wife; while he promises for himself that he would do Jacob no wrong. Jacob therefore sets up a large stone, as a pillar and memorial; and Laban subsequently does the same; while, probably between the two hills on which they had severally encamped (verse 25), they collect a large mass of other stones, on which they feast together, in token of friendship (chap. xxvi. 30).

(47) Jegar-sahadutha.-These are two Syriac words of the same meaning as Gal-'eed, Heap of Witness. A Syriac (or Aramaic) dialect was most probably the ordinary language of the people in Mesopotamia, but it

Mizpah Set up.

Jacob at Mahanaim.

eat bread and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. (55) And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.

seems plain that Laban and his family also spoke Hebrew, not merely from his calling the place Mizpah, a Hebrew word, but from the names given by his daughters to their children.

(49) Mizpah. That is, Watchtower. There is, probably, a play in this name upon the pillar which Laban proceeds to set up, and which in Hebrew is Mazebah. In the reason given for the name Laban calls Jacob's God Jehovah, an appellation which he must have learned from Jacob, and which proves not merely that he had some knowledge of Hebrew but that he and Jacob had talked together upon religious subjects, and that he was not a mere idolater, though he did call the teraphim his gods.

(53) Judge. The verb is plural," be judges," and as Laban thus joins the name Elohim with a verb plural, it seems as if he regarded Abraham's Elohim as different from the Elohim of Nahor. We ought, therefore, to translate the gods of their father. Apparently, he thought that Abraham took one of Terah's Elohim, and Nahor another. His views were thus polytheistic; and so, generally, the ancients regarded the gods as local beings, with powers limited to certain districts. Jacob swears by the one Being who was the sole object of Isaac's worship. (See Note on chap. xx. 13.)

(54) Jacob offered sacrifice.-The meaning is, that Jacob slaughtered cattle, and made a feast: but as animals originally were killed only for sacrifice, and flesh was eaten on no other occasion, the Hebrew language has no means of distinguishing the two acts.

XXXII.

(1) Jacob went on his way.-The meeting of Jacob and Laban had been on the dividing line between the Aramean and the Canaanite lands, and consequently at a spot where Laban would have found no allies in the natives, but rather the contrary. Delivered thus from danger from behind, Jacob now takes his journey through the country that was to be the heritage of his seed, and doubtless he was harassed by nany anxious thoughts; for Esau might prove a fiercer foe than Laban. It was fit therefore that he should receive encouragement, and so after some days, probably after

Angels of God.-Numberless conjectures have been hazarded as to who were these " messengers of Elohim," and how they were seen by Jacob. Some, taking the word in its lower sense, think they were prophets; others, that it was a caravan, which gave Jacob timely information about Esau's presence in Seir; others, that it was a body of men sent by Rebekah to aid Jacob in repelling Esau. More probably, as Jacob on his road to Padan-aram had been assured of God's watchful care of him by the vision of the angels ascending and descending the stairs, so now also in a dream he sees the angels encamped on each side of him, to assure him of protection against his brother.

(2) Mahanaim.-That is, the two camps, his own and that of the angels; or, possibly, two camps of angels, one on either side of him. Mahanaim was in the tribe of Gad, and became an important town. (See 2 Sam. ii. 8, xvii. 24; 1 Kings iv. 14.)

JACOB'S RECONCILIATION WITH ESAU.
(Chap. xxxii. 3-xxxiii. 16.)

(3) Jacob sent messengers.-As Jacob travelled homewards to Hebron the news somehow reached him that Esau, at the head of a large body of retainers, was engaged in an expedition against the Horites. These, as we have seen on chap. xiv. 6, were a miserable race of cave-men, utterly unable to cope with Esau and his trained servants. We learn from chap. xxxvi. 6 that Esau's home was still with Isaac at Hebron, and probably this was a mere marauding expedition, like that against the people of Gath, which a century later cost Ephraim the lives of so many of his sons (1 Chron. vii. 21); but it revealed to Esau the weakness of the inhabitants, and also that the land was admirably adapted for his favourite pursuit of hunting. He seems also to have taken a Horite wife (chap. xxxvi. 5), and being thus connected with the country, upon Isaac's death he willingly removed into it, and it then became "the country," Heb. the field of Edom. Its other name, Seir, i.e. rough, hairy, shows that it was then covered with forests, and the term field that it

herds, and the camels, into two bands;

(8) and said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

was an uncultivated region. It was entirely in the spirit of the adventurous Esau to make this expedition, and on his father's death to prefer this wild land to the peaceful pastures at Hebron, where he was surrounded by powerful tribes of Amorites and Hittites. The land of Seir was a hundred miles distant from Mahanaim, but Esau apparently had been moving up through what were afterwards the countries of Moab and Ammon, and was probably, when Jacob sent his messengers, at no very great distance. At all events, Jacob remained at Mahanaim till his brother was near, when he crossed the brook Jabbok, and went to meet him.

(7) Jacob was greatly afraid.-Jacob's message to his brother had been very humble, for he calls Esau his lord, and himself a servant. He hopes also to "find grace in his sight," and by enumerating his wealth shows that he required no aid, nor need claim even a share of Isaac's property. But Esau had given no answer, being probably. undecided as to the manner in which he would receive his brother. The "four hundred men with him" formed probably only a part of the little army with which he had invaded the Horite territory. Some would be left with the spoil which he had gathered, but he took so many with him as to place Jacob completely in his power. And Jacob's extreme distress, in spite of the Divine encouragement repeatedly given him, shows that his faith was very feeble; but it was real, and therefore he sought refuge from his terror in prayer.

(9) Jacob said.-Jacob's prayer, the first recorded in the Bible, is remarkable for combining great earnestness with simplicity. After addressing God as the Elohim of his fathers, he draws closer to Him as the Jehovah who had personally commanded him to return to his birthplace (chap. xxxi. 13). And next, while acknowledging his own unworthiness, he shows that already he had been the recipient of the Divine favour, and prays earnestly for deliverance, using the touching words "and smite me, mother upon children." His mind does not rest upon his own death, but upon the terrible picture of the mother, trying with all a mother's love to protect her offspring, and slain upon

numbered for multitude.

(13) And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; (14) two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, (15) thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. (16) And he delivered them into the hand of his ser

their bodies. In Hosea x. 14 this is spoken of as the most cruel and pitiable of the miseries of war. But finally he feels that this sad end is impossible; for he has God's promise that his seed shall be numerous as the sand of the sea. In prayer to man it may be ungenerous to remind another of promises made and favours expected, but with God each first act of grace and mercy is the pledge of continued favour.

(13) He lodged there. That is, at Mahanaim. On the first news of Esau's approach in so hostile a manner, Jacob had divided his possessions into two main divisions, in the hope of saving at least one. He now, quieted by his prayer, makes more exact arrangements, selects a present for Esau of five hundred and fifty head of cattle, sends them forward with intervals between, that repeated impressions might soften his brother's fierce mood, sees all his followers safely across the Jabbok, and remains alone behind to pray. As he thus placed everything in Esau's power, faith seems to have regained the ascendancy over his fears, though he still takes every prudent measure for the safety of those whom he loved.

Of that which came to his hand.-Heb., of that which came in his hand. Some Jewish interpreters take the phrase literally, and suppose that it was precious stones; more truly it means what he possessed," or what he had with him. The phrase" which came to his hand" would imply that he made no selection, but took what came first in his way.

(14, 15) Goats-ewes-camels-kine-asses.— As the kinds of cattle are arranged according to their value, it is remarkable that kine should be prized above camels; for the milk of cows was regarded as of little worth. This high estimation of them, therefore, must have arisen from an increased regard for agriculture, the ploughing being done in the East by oxen.

Asses of

course come last, as being the animal used by chieftains for riding, and therefore prized as matters of luxury. (See chaps. xii. 16; Judg. v. 10.) Jacob selected "milch camels "because their milk forms a valuable part of the daily food of the Arabs.

(16) A space.-Heb., a breathing place. These paration of the droves would be a matter of course, as each

The Present to Esau.

A Man Wrestles with Jacob. afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept 1of me.

(21) So went the present over before him and himself lodged that night in the company. (22) And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. (23) And he took them, and 2 sent them

lowed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye

pass.

had.

(24) And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the 3 breaking of the day. (25) And when he saw that he prevailed not against him,

Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and

kind would travel peaceably onward only by itself. But Jacob rightly_concluded that the repeated acknowledgment of Esau as his lord, added to the great value of the gift, would fill his brother's heart with friendly feelings, and perhaps therefore he put a longer space than usual between the successive droves.

The

(20) I will appease him.-The Heb. literally is, he said I will cover his face with the offering that goeth before my face, and afterwards I will see his face; peradventure he will lift up my face. covering of the face of the offended person, so that he could no longer see the offence, became the usual legal word for making an atonement (Lev. ix. 7, &c.). For the "offering" (Heb., minchah) see Gen. iv. 3; and for "the lifting up of the face," ibid. 7. (22) The ford Jabbok. Heb., the ford of the Jabbok. This river, now called the Wady Zerba or Blue Torrent, formed afterwards the boundary between the tribes of Manasseh and Gad. It flows through a deep ravine, with so rapid a current as to make the crossing of it a matter of difficulty. Dr. Tristram (Land of Israel, p. 558) says that the water reached his horse's girths when he rode through the ford.

(23) The brook. Really, the ravine or valley; Arab., wady. Jacob, whose administrative powers were of a very high character, sees his wives, children, and cattle not only through the ford, but across the valley on to the high ground beyond. Staying himself to the very last, he is left alone on the south side of the torrent, but still in the ravine, across which the rest had

taken their way. The definite proof that Jacob re

mained on the south side lies in the fact that Peniel belonged to the tribe of Gad; but, besides this, there could be no reason why he should recross the rapid river when once he had gone through it, and probably the idea has risen from taking the word brook in verse 23 in too narrow a sense. Really it is the word translated valley in chap. xxvi. 17, but is used only of such valleys or ravines as have been formed by the action of a mountain torrent. When Jacob had seen his wives and herds safe on the top of the southern ridge, the deep valley would be the very place for this solitary struggle. This ravine, we are told, has a width of from four to six miles.

the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. (26) And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh.

(24) There wrestled.-This verb, abak, occurs only here, and without doubt it was chosen because of its resemblance to the name Jabbok. Its probable derivation is from a word signifying dust, because wrestlers were quickly involved in a cloud of dust, or because, as was the custom in Greece, they rubbed their bodies with it.

A man.-Such he seemed to be to Jacob; but Hosea (chap. xii. 4) calls him an angel; and, in verse 30, Jacob recognises in him a manifestation of the Deity, as Hagar had done before, when an angel appeared to her (chap. xvi. 13). There is no warrant for regarding the angel as an incarnation of Deity, any more than in the case of Manoah (Judges xiii. 22); but it was a manifestation of God mediately by His messenger, and was one of the many signs indicative of a more complete manifestation by the coming of the Word in the flesh. The opposite idea of many modern commentators, that the narrative is an allegory, is contradicted by the attendant circumstances, especially by the change of Jacob's name, and his subsequent lameness, to which national testimony was borne by the customs of the Jews.

(25) The hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint. The hollow is in the Hebrew the pan or socket into which the end of the thigh bone is inserted, and the verb more probably signifies that it was sprained from the over-tension of the muscles in the wrestling. But, in spite of his sprained tendons, Jacob still resisted, and could not be thrown down, and the angel, unable to gain any further advantage, at last acknowledges Jacob's superiority, and at sunrise craves permission to depart.

(26) Let me go .-Heb., send me away, for the gleam of morning has gone up. The asking of permission to depart was the acknowledgment of defeat. The struggle must end at daybreak, because Jacob must now go to do his duty; and the wrestling had been for the purpose of giving him courage, and enabling him to meet danger and difficulty in the power of faith. A curious Jewish idea is that the angel was that one whose duty it was to defend and protect Esau. By the aid of his own protecting angel Jacob, they say, had overpowered him, and had won the birthright and the precedence as "Israel, a prince with God and man."