(21) and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. (22) And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. (23) Ánd the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. (24) And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. (25) And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. (26) And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. (27) The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan. (28) The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran. (29) These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, (30) duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.

(31) And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before

but chiefly because the Horites were in time fused with the descendants of Esau, and together formed the Edomites.

(22) Timna.-Not the Timna mentioned in verse 12; for she is here described as sister of Lotan the brother of Zibeon, who was grandfather of Aholibamah, Esau's wife. But the Timna mentioned there was the concubine of Esau's grandson, and junior by four generations.

(24) Anah that found the mules.-Mules is the traditional rendering of the Jews; but as horses were at this date unknown in Palestine, Anah could not have discovered the art of crossing them with asses, and so producing mules. Jerome, moreover, says that "the word in Punic, a language allied to Hebrew, means hot springs; "and this translation is now generally adopted. Lange gives a list of hot springs in the Edomite region, of which those of Calirrhoe, "the stream of beauty," in the Wady Zerka Maion, are probably those found by Anah.

(31) The kings.-In the triumphal song of Moses on the Red Sea we still read of "dukes of Edom" (Exod. xv. 15; but when Israel had reached the borders of their land, we find that Edom had then a king (Num. xx. 14). But in the list given here, no king succeeds his father, and probably these were petty monarchs, who sprang up in various parts of the country during a long period of civil war, in which the Horites were finally as completely conquered as were the Canaanites in Palestine under the heavy hands of Saul and Solomon. In the time of the dukes, there were also Horite dukes of the race of Seir, ruling districts mixed up apparently with those governed by the descendants of Esau. But all these now disappear.

Kings of Edom.

there reigned any king over the children of Israel. (32) And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. (33) And Bela died,

and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. (34) And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead. (35) And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. (56) And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. (37) And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. (38) And Saul died, and Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. (39) And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

(40) And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, Timnah, duke

Alvah, duke Jetheth, (41) duke Aholi

(33) Jobab.-The LXX. identify him with Job, but on no probable grounds.

(35) Who smote Midian . .-All memory of this exploit has passed away, and the complete silence of the Bible regarding every one of these kings, makes it probable that they belonged to an early date prior to the time in Israel when historical events were carefully recorded.

(37) Rehoboth by the river.-Heb., Rehoboth hannahar, Rehoboth-of-the-river, so called, perhaps, to distinguish it from Rehoboth-ir (chap. x. 11). If the river is the Euphrates, this city was not on Edomite ground, and Saul probably reigned in Idumea by right of conquest.

(39) Ĥadar.-He is more correctly called Hadad in the Samaritan text here, and in the Hebrew also in 1 Chron. i. 50. The two letters r and d are in Hebrew so much alike, that they are repeatedly confused with one another. As we have already observed (see Note on verse 1) he was probably alive when this catalogue of kings was drawn up.

(40) According to their families, after their places. The final list of the dukes is said, both here and in verse 43, to be territorial, by which is meant, not that the persons mentioned were not real men, but that Edom finally settled down into eleven "thousands" named after these chieftains. So in Canaan the names. of the sons of Jacob became those also of territorial divisions, two of which, however, were given to Joseph and his sons, while no district was called after Levi. What is remarkable here is the vast amount of change. No Horite duke gives his name to any of these divisions of the land of Edom. Omitting Korah from verse 16, there were originally thirteen of these tribal princes,.

B. C. cir. 1496.

CHAPTER XXXVII.—(1) And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

(2) These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was

:

Joseph's Coat.

each with his own territory, but with no central government; just as the children of Israel dwelt for centuries in Canaan, each tribe independently in its own district, and with nothing to bind them together except their religion. In verses 40-43 we find eleven tribes, of which only two, those of Teman and Kenaz, retain the names of the sons of Esau, while of the rest we know nothing. We may, however, safely conclude that these nine persons, who gave their names to districts of Edom, were all men who rose to power during the troubled times when king after king seized the crown only to be displaced by some one else. Probably many such men arose, but these were all who consolidated their power sufficiently to leave their names behind them. Amidst this anarchy, the two districts of Teman and Kenaz alone remained unbroken, and continued to be ruled by princes of the same family. This word "family" has in Hebrew a meaning different from that which it has with us; for it signifies one of the larger divisions of a tribe, of which the subdivisions are called "fathers' houses," which again are subdivided into households (Num. i. 2, &c.). In verse 43 "habitations" would be better rendered settlements.

XXXVII.

(1) And Jacob . . .-This verse is not the begin. ning of a new section, but the conclusion of the Toldoth Esau. In chap. xxxvi. 6, we read that Esau went into a land away from Jacob. Upon this follows in verse 8, " And Esau dwelt in Mount Seir;" and now the necessary information concerning the other brother is given to us," And Jacob dwelt in the land . . . of Canaan." In the Hebrew the conjunctions are the same.

THE TOLDÔTH JACOB.

JOSEPH IS SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN INTO EGYPT.

(2) The generations of Jacob.-This Toldôth, according to the undeviating rule, is the history of Jacob's descendants, and specially of Joseph. So the Tôldôth of the heaven and earth (chap. ii. 4) gives the history of the creation and fall of man. So the Toldôth Adam was the history of the flood; and, not to multiply instances, that of Terah was the history of Abraham. (See Note on chap. xxviii. 10.) This Toldôth, therefore, extends to the end of Genesis, and is the history of the removal, through Joseph's instrumentality, of the family of Jacob from Canaan into Egypt, as a step preparatory to its growth into a nation.

Joseph being seventeen years old. He was born about seven years before Jacob left Haran, and as the journey home probably occupied two full years, he

would have dwelt in Isaac's neighbourhood for seven or eight years. Isaac's life, as we have seen, was prolonged for about twelve years after the sale of Joseph by his brethren.

And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah.-Heb., And he was lad with the sons of Bilhah, &c. The probable meaning of this is, that as the youngest son it was his duty to wait upon his brothers, just as David had to look after the sheep, while his brothers went to the festival; and was also sent to the camp to attend to them (1 Sam. xvi. 11, xvii. 17, 18). The sons of Jacob were dispersed in detachments over the large extent of country occupied by Jacob's cattle, and Joseph probably after his mother's death, when he was about nine years' old, would be brought up in the tent of Bilhah, his mother's handmaid. He would naturally, therefore, go with her sons, with whom were also the sons of the other handmaid. They do not seem to have taken any special part in Joseph's sale.

Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.-Heb., Joseph brought an evil report of them unto their father.

(3) He was the son of his old age.-Jacob was ninety-one when Joseph was born; but at Benjamin's birth he was eight or nine years older; and according to the common belief that Jacob was only twenty years in Padan-aram, the four sons of the handmaids must have been about Joseph's age, and Leah's last two sons even younger. But the epithet is intelligible if Jacob had waited twenty-seven years after his marriage with Rachel, before Joseph was born. There would then be a considerable interval between him and the other sons; and though Rachel had a second son some years afterwards, yet Joseph would continue to be the son long looked for, whose birth had given him so great happiness; whereas his joy at Benjamin's coming was bought at the terrible price of the mother's death.

A coat of many colours.—Two explanations are given of this phrase; the first, that it was a long garment with sleeves or fringes; the other, that it was composed of patchwork of various colours. The latter is the more probable interpretation; for from the tomb at Beni-Hassan we learn that such dresses were worn in Palestine, as a train of captive Jebusites is represented upon it clad in rich robes, the patterns of which seem to have been produced by sewing together small pieces of different colours. So also in India beautiful dresses are made by sewing together strips of crimson, purple, and other colours. (Roberts' Oriental Illustrations, p. 43.) Some have thought that Jacob by this

(5) And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. (6) And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: (7) for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. (8) And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over

He is Sent to his Brethren.

I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? (11) And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

(12) And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. (13) And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. (14) And

over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. (9) And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. (10) And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall

dress marked out Joseph as the future head of the family, in the place of Reuben, supposing it to indicate the priestly office borne by the firstborn; but this is doubtful, and it was Judah to whom Jacob gave the right of primogeniture.

(5) Joseph dreamed a dream.—Though dreams as a rule do but arise from the mind being wearied with overmuch business (Eccles. v. 3), or other trivial causes; yet as being from time to time used by God for providential purposes, they are occasionally described as a lower kind of prophecy (Num. xii. 6—8; Deut. xiii. 1; 1 Sam. xxviii. 15). In the life of Joseph they form the turning point in his history, and it is to be noticed that while revelations were frequently made to Jacob, we have henceforward no record of any such direct communication from God to man until the time of Moses. The utmost granted to Joseph was to dream dreams; and after this the children of Israel in Egypt were left entirely to natural laws and influences. (Comp. Note on chap. xxvi. 2.)

(7) Stood upright.-Heb., took its station. It is the verb used in chap. xxiv. 13, where see Note. It implies that the sheaf took the position of chief. We gather from this dream that Jacob practised agriculture, not occasionally, as had been the case with Isaac (chap. xxvi. 12), but regularly, as seems to have been usual also at Haran (chap. xxx. 14).

whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

(15) And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? (16) And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. (17) And the man said, They are departed hence;

bow down before him; for she died at Hebron (chap. xlix. 31). The enumeration of "sun, moon, and stars," means Jacob, his wives, and his children, that is, the whole family, elders and juniors, were to make obeisance to Joseph. It is a general phrase, like that in chap. xxxv, 26, and is not to be too literally interpreted. But as the handmaids were both of them younger than either Rachel or Leah, they may have gone down with Jacob into Egypt; and probably Bilhah had done a mother's part by Joseph after Rachel's death.

(12) Shechem.-Jacob's sons seem to have retained Shechem, by right of their high-handed proceedings related in chap. xxxiv. 27–29. By seizing the "tafs of the Shechemites, Simeon and Levi must have added large numbers of grown men to the roll of their retainers; and after accustoming them to their service, they would have become powerful enough to resist any attacks of the natives. (See chap. xxxiv. 29, and Note on chap. xvii. 13). But it gives us a great idea of Jacob's wealth and power, that while dwelling a little to the north of Hebron, he should send part of his cattle so far away as to Shechem, a distance of sixty miles.

(14) Whether it be well with thy brethren.Jacob might well fear lest the natives should form a confederacy against his sons, and take vengeance upon them for their cruelty. They were too fierce themselves to have any such alarm, but Jacob was of a far more timid disposition.

The vale of Hebron.-The flocks and herds which formed the portion of Jacob's cattle which pastured nearest home, occupied the country immediately to the north of Hebron as far as the tower of Eder; but he would no doubt pitch his own tent as near as possible to that of his father

(17) Dothan.—This town was twelve miles north of Shechem, and is famous as being the place where Elisha struck the Syrian army with blindness (2 Kings vi. 13-23) It is situated in a small but fertile valley, and

They Conspire against him.

Reuben tries to Save him.

Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. (18) And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. (19) And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. (20) Come

dreams.

Jacob's sons, having exhausted the produce of the larger plain round Shechem, had moved northward thither. Not having found them at Shechem, Joseph did not know where to go, but wandered about "in the field"-the open downs-till he met some one who could give him information. Had he been a practised hunter, like Esau, he would have followed them by the tracks of the cattle.

(19) This dreamer.-Heb., this lord of dreams, a phrase expressive of contempt.

(20) Into some pit.-Heb., into one of the pits, that is, cisterns dug to catch and preserve the rain water. In summer they are dry, and a man thrown into one of them would have very little chance of escape, as they are not only deep, but narrow at the top. The Jewish interpreters accuse Simeon of being the prime mover in the plot, and say that this was the reason why Joseph cast him into prison (chap. xlii. 24).

(22) Into this pit that is in the wilderness.— Reuben apparently pointed to some cistern in the desolate region which girds the little valley of Dothan around. We learn from chap. xlii. 21 that Joseph begged hard for mercy, and to be spared so painful a death, but that his brothers would not hear.

Though never represented in the Scriptures as a type of Christ, yet the whole of the Old Testament is so full of events and histories, which reappear in the Gospel narrative, that the Fathers have never hesitated in regarding Joseph, the innocent delivered to death, but raised thence to glory, as especially typifying to us our Lord. Pascal (Pensées, ii. 9. 2) sums up the points of resemblance-in his father's love for him, his being sent to see after the peace of his brethren, their conspiring against him, his being sold for twenty pieces of silver, his rising from his humiliation to be the lord and saviour of those who had wronged him; and with them the saviour also of the world. As too, he was in prison with two malefactors, so was our Lord crucified between two thieves; and as one of these was saved and one left to his condemnation, so Joseph gave deliverance to the chief butler, but to the chief baker punishment. It would be easy to point out other resemblances, but, leaving these, it is important also to notice that Joseph's history is likewise a vindication of God's providential dealings with men. He is innocent, and pure in life, but wronged again and again; yet every wrong was

of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

(23) And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; (24) and they took him, and cast him into a pit and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. (25) And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. (26) And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his

but a step in the pathway of his exaltation. And like the histories of all great lives, Joseph's adventures do not begin and end in himself. Upon him depended a great future. Noble minds care little for personal suffering, if from their pain springs amelioration for the world. Now Joseph's descent into Egypt was not only for the good and preservation of the people there, but was also an essential condition for the formation of the Jewish Church. In Egypt alone could Israel have multiplied into a nation fit to be the depositaries of God's law, and to grow into a church of prophets.

(25) A company of Ishmeelites.-Dothan was situated on the great caravan line by which the products of India and Western Asia were brought to Egypt. As the eastern side of Canaan is covered by the great Arabian desert, the caravans had to travel in a north-westernly direction until, having forded the Euphrates, they could strike across from Tadmor to Gilead. The route thence led them over the Jordan at Beisân, and so southward to Egypt. For "Ishmeelites," we have 'Midianites," Heb., Medyanim, in verse 28, and Medanites, Heb., Medanim, in verse 36; but the Targum and the Syriac, instead of Ishmeelites, read Arabs. Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah, and Ishmael was his son by Hagar. But probably these merchants were descended from neither by blood, but belonged to some branch of the Canaanites, who were the great traders of ancient times, and which Ishmael and Midian had compelled to submit to their sway. (But see Note on chap. xxv. 2.) The Jewish interpreters are reduced to great straits in reconciling these names, and even assert that Joseph was sold three times. Really Ishmeelites, Midianites, and Medanites are all one and the same, if we regard them as bearing the names only politically.

It is remarkable that the Egyptians never took part in the carrying trade. Even the navigation of the Red Sea they left to the Phoenicians, Israelites, and Syrians, though Psammetichus, Pharaoh-Necho, and Apries tried to induce the Egyptians to take to maritime pursuits. Their products were corn, stuffs of byssus and other materials, and carpets; but the exportation of these goods they left to foreign traders.

Spicery, and balm, and myrrh.-The first was probably gum tragacanth, though some think that it was storax, the gum of the styrax tree (see chap. xxx. 37).

Jacob's Grief for his Son.

(29) And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. (30) And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

(31) And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; (32) and they sent

"Balm," that is, balsam, was probably the resin of the balsamodendron Gileadense, a tree which grows abundantly in Gilead, and of which the gum was greatly in use for healing wounds. "Myrrh was certainly ladanum, the gum of the cistus rose (cistus creticus). As all these were products of Palestine valued in Egypt, Jacob included them in his present to the governor there (chap. xliii. 11).

(28) Twenty pieces of silver.-Twenty shekels of silver were computed, in Lev. xxvii. 5, as the average worth of a male slave under twenty. It would be about £2 10s. of our money, but silver was of far greater value then than it is now.

(29) Reuben returned. - Evidently he was not present when Joseph was sold to the Midianites. This has been made into a difficulty, but really it confirms the truth of the narrative. For the difficulty arises solely from the supposition that Joseph's brethren immediately after casting him into the pit "sat down to eat bread,' an act well described as most cold-blooded. But they were not actually guilty of it; for what the narrative says is that they were having their evening meal when the caravan came in sight. Reuben, between the casting of Joseph into the pit and the evening meal, had apparently gone a long round to fetch in the more distant cattle, and probably had remained away as long as possible, in order to feel sure that his brethren would on his return be at their dinner. He hoped thus to be able to go alone to the cistern, and rescue Joseph, and send him away home before the rest could interfere. Thus rightly understood, it is a proof of the trustworthiness of the history.

(31) A kid of the goats.-Heb., a full grown he-goat. Maimonides thinks that the reason why he-goats were so often used as sin-offerings under the Levitical law was to remind the Israelites of this great sin committed by their patriarchs.

(32) They brought it.-Heb., they caused it to go, that is, sent it by the hand of a messenger. They were unwilling to see the first burst of their father's agony.

And said.-These were the words that were to be spoken by the messenger who was charged to bear the coat to Jacob.

(34) Many days.-Jacob mourned for Joseph not

(36) And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and 34 captain of the guard.

merely during the usual period, but so long as to move even the hearts of those who had wronged him. For not only his daughters, but "all his sons rose up to comfort him." Probably he had several daughters by Leah and the two handmaidens, Dinah alone having been mentioned by name, because two of her brothers forfeited the birthright by the cruelty with which they avenged her wrong. We learn how long and intense Jacob's sorrow was from chap. xlv. 26-28. His daughters are mentioned also in chap. xlvi. 7.

(35) Into the grave.-Heb., Sheol, which, like Hades in Greek, means the place of departed spirits. Jacob supposed that Joseph had been devoured by wild beasts, and as he was not buried, the father could not have "gone down into the grave unto his son." (Comp. Note on chap. xv. 15.)

(36) Midianites.-Heb., Medanites. (See Note on verse 25.)

Potiphar.-Three chief interpretations are given of this name. The first explains it by two Coptic words, according to which it would signify "father of the king." This would make it an official name equivalent to prime minister or vizier. Gesenius considers it to be the same name as Potipherah (chap. xli. 50), and explains it as meaning "consecrated to Ra," that is, the sun-god. Thirdly, Canon Cook, in the "Excursus on Egyptian Words," at the end of Vol. I. of The Speaker's Commentary, argues with much cogency, that it means "father of the palace." This again would be an official

name.

An officer.-Though this word literally in Hebrew signifies an eunuch, yet either, as seems probable from other places, it had come to mean any officer of the palace, or Potiphar was chief of the eunuchs, and therefore is himself numbered among them.

Captain of the guard. - Heb., chief of the slaughterers, by which the LXX. understand the slaughterers of animals for food, and translate "chief cook." The other versions understand by it the commander of the king's body-guard, whose business it would be to execute condemned criminals. A comparison with 2 Kings xxv. 8, where the same title is given to Nebuzar-adan, proves that this interpretation is

correct.