DESTRUCTION OF SODOM--BIRTH OF ISAAC--HIS MARRIAGESODOM AND GOMORRAH

DESTRUCTION OF SODOM--BIRTH OF ISAAC--HIS MARRIAGESODOM AND GOMORRAH
The great wealth of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had introduced luxury, which, as usual, soon produced licentiousness. The fatal consequences of this were, irreverence to God, inhospitality to strangers, and the indulgence of the most abominable vices. These enormities highly offended the Almighty, who, in order to punish the people, denounced his vengeance both against them and their country. But, previous to the execution of the fatal sentence, he thought proper to intimate his intentions to his faithful servant Abraham.
ABRAHAM'S HOSPITALITY
At this time the pious patriarch resided at Mamre; and as he was sitting one day at the door of his tent, he saw at a distance three persons, whom he took for travelers. Being naturally of a hospitable disposition, when they came up to him he arose from his seat, and, in a polite manner, asked them to partake of such refreshment as his habitation afforded. His civility being accepted, an entertainment was immediately prepared for the unknown guests, which being set before them, they, to all appearance seemed to eat. While they were at table, one of them inquired after Sarah, and being told she was in the tent, he then addressed himself to Abraham, and assured him that he had still in remembrance the case of his wife Sarah, who, before the end of the year, should certainly be delivered of a son. From this circumstance Abraham was convinced that these three visitors were messengers from heaven, and that one of them was the peculiar representative of the Almighty.
SARAH TOLD SHE WOULD HAVE A SON
Sarah had listened attentively to the discourse that had passed between her husband and his guests; but, considering the advanced age both of herself and him, she regarded not their prediction, and even laughed within herself at the improbability of such an event. This disrespectful behavior being observed by the stranger, he, in an angry tone, asked her the reason of it. Struck with terror, she attempted to deny it; upon which he dismissed her with this gentle reproof: that it was exceedingly wrong in her to mistrust what he had said, since “nothing was impossible with God.”
ABRAHAM HEARS OF PENDING DESTRUCTION
This finished the conversation, immediately after which the three guests prepared themselves to depart, and Abraham, understanding they were going towards Sodom, courteously offered to attend them some part of the way. As they journeyed together, God was pleased to manifest his peculiar regard to Abraham, in foretelling the dreadful judgment he intended to inflict on Sodom and the neighboring cities, which instance of his kindness was founded upon an assurance that he would command not only his children, but his household also, to persevere in the true fear and worship of their divine Creator.
ABRAHAM PETITIONS FOR SODOM
This intelligence was communicated to Abraham by one of the angels (the immediate representative of God), the other two having gone before with great haste, to reach, as soon as possible, the place of their destiny. So melancholy a piece of news greatly afflicted Abraham, who, from an assurance of the divine favor, ventured to intercede in behalf of those wicked people. Not doubting but the supreme and equitable Judge of the earth would listen to mercy, he begged of him not to punish the innocent with the guilty. He made five petitionary propositions, lessening the supposed number of pious inhabitants in Sodom from fifty to ten, earnestly beseeching of God that, could even so small a number be found, he would, on their account, withdraw his avenging rod, and avert the impending danger. This request being granted, the angel departed, and Abraham returned home, happy in the thought of having received such peculiar manifestations of the divine love.
LOT'S HOSPITALITY
In the mean time, the two other guests, who went before (and were, indeed, the ministering angels whom God had appointed to execute his judgment on the Sodomites), pursued their journey towards the city, whither they arrived in the evening. Lot happened at this time to be sitting at the gate of the city; as soon, therefore, as he saw the angels, he arose, and, after proper salutations, invited them to his house, in order to refresh themselves. For some time the divine messengers declined the offer; but at length, from the strength of Lot's importunities, they were prevailed on to accept the invitation.
LOT THREATENED
It being soon rumored about the city that Lot had strangers with him, great numbers of the vile inhabitants assembled together, and, surrounding the house, commanded him, in a peremptory manner, to deliver them up. Lot thought at first to appease them by mild and soft words; and, therefore, stepping out of the house, and shutting the door after him, he begged of them not to offer any insult to his guests, who had committed themselves to his care and protection. This not having the desired effect, in order to appease their rage, and, if possible, to preserve the laws of hospitality inviolate, he offered to give up his two virgin daughters to their discretion. But so abandoned were these wretches to wickedness, and so deaf to every remonstrance, that they even refused this offer, and threatened Lot with very severe treatment, if he did not immediately comply with their request.
RIOTERS BLINDED
Finding Lot was resolute, and totally disregarded their threats, they determined to effect that by force which they could not obtain by any other means. Accordingly, pressing forward, they attempted to break open the door; but the divine messengers prevented their design. By an exertion of supernatural power, they forced their way out of the house, took in their host, and then, shutting the door, struck the rioters with a temporary blindness; so that, not being able to find the house, they were obliged to desist from their diabolical intentions.
All things being now quiet, the two angels acquainted Lot with the purport of their embassy. They told him they were come to execute the divine vengeance on that execrable place and its neighborhood; and therefore, if he had any friends for whose safety he was concerned, to acquaint them of their danger, that thereby they might escape the general destruction.
In the city were two young men, who had been betrothed to Lot's daughters, to whom he immediately repaired, and informed them of the approaching event, at the same time advising them, for their safety, to leave the place and go with him; but, instead of listening to his advice, they totally despised it, and profanely ridiculed the idea of the threatened destruction.
LOT COMPELLED TO LEAVE
In the morning, soon after daylight, one of the angels, observing Lot not to prepare for his departure with that expedition he knew to be necessary, rather chastised him for his conduct. The cause of this delay certainly arose from hopes that the dreadful sentence against those wretched people might be reversed; but his hopes were in vain, for, instead of ten righteous persons, that Abraham had capitulated for, more than four, and all those of Lot's family (himself included), were a appointed to escape the dreadful judgment. Knowing, therefore, the necessity of immediate departure, the angel took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hands, and conducted them out of the city. The divine messenger told him to make all the expedition possible, and, to avoid the common ruin, pursue his course to the neighboring mountains.
Lot, observing the mountains to which he was directed were at a considerable distance, began to despair of reaching them in a proper time, and therefore entreated the angel that he might be permitted to escape to a small city, not far from Sodom, then called Bela, but afterward Zoar. This request was granted, and that city, on their account, escaped the general destruction. Before the angel left them, he urged them to make all possible haste, as the divine commission could not be put in execution till they were safely arrived at the place of their destination. He likewise enjoined them not, upon any account whatever, to look behind them, but to keep their eves fixed on the place allotted for their refuge.
LOT'S WIFE BECOMES SALT
Having said this the angel departed, and Lot, with his family, pursued their journey toward Zoar. After traveling some way, Lot's wife, either from forgetfulness of the prohibition, or out of respect to the place of her habitation, indiscreetly looked back. This misconduct was attended with the most fatal consequences: she was immediately turned into a pillar of salt,[64]and became a standing monument of the vengeance of the Almighty on disobedient and obstinate offenders.
[64] She was overwhelmed and smothered in the spray of the igneous and saline matters which filled the air; and which, gathering and hardening around her, left her incrusted body with some resemblance to a mass of rock salt.
DESTRUCTION OF PLAIN
Lot and his daughters, strictly observing the divine injunction, hastened toward Zoar, whither they had no sooner arrived, than the vengeance of the Almighty began to appear in all its horrors. The angry heavens poured down showers of liquid fire[65] and in a short time the whole was reduced to a state of irreparable destruction.
[65]The examination of the agencies which it pleased God to employ in effecting this great overthrow is a subject which need not interrupt the present narrative. It suffices now to mention, that the destruction was sudden and overwhelming, and not only did it overthrow and devour the cities of the plain, and all the inhabitants, and all the growth of the ground, and every living thing, but it cut off the Jordan in its course, and absorbed the very plain itself: the surface of which, once blooming like another Eden, no man has beheld since that day; but, instead thereof, a bitter, sulfurous and fetid lake, the Lake of Death, which has from that hour to this, remained one of the wonders of the earth. The following brief description of the Dead sea (See engraving), will, we hope, be read with interest--
The celebrated lake, which occupies the site of Sodom and Gomorrah, is variously called in Scripture the Sea of the Plain (Deuteronomy 3:17), being situated in a valley with a plain lying to the south of it, where those cities once flourished, with the other cities of the plain: the Salt sea (Deuteronomy 3:1; Joshua 15:5), from the extremely saline and bitter taste of its waters; the Salt sea eastward (Numbers 34:3), and the East sea (Ezekiel 47:18; Joel 2:20), from its situation relatively to Judæa. At present it is called Bahret-Lout, or the sea of Lot. By Josephus and other writers, it was called the Lake Asphaltites, from the abundance of bitumen found in it. The most familiar name, the Dead sea, is in allusion to the ancient tradition, erroneously but generally received, that no animal can exist in its stagnant and hydro-sulphuretted waters, which, though they look remarkably clear and pure, are nauseous in the extreme. A chemical analysis of one hundred grains of the water gave the following results as to the substances, and proportions of them, which it holds in solution--
Cloride of lime, 3.920
Magnesia, 10.246
Soda, 10.360
Sulphate of lime, .054
From this analysis it will readily be concluded that such a liquid must be equally salt and water. The acrid saltness of its waters, indeed, is much greater than that of the sea: and the land which surrounds this lake, being equally impregnated with that saltness, refuses to produce any plants, except a few stunted thorns, which wear the brown garb of the desert. Bodies sink or float upon it in proportion to their specific gravity: and although the water is so dense as to be favorable to swimmers, no security is found against the common accident of drowning. This sea, when viewed from the spot where the rapid Jordan daily discharges into it 6,090,000 tons of muddy water, takes a southeasterly direction visible for ten or fifteen miles, when it disappears in a curve toward the east. The expanse of the Dead sea, at the embouchure of the Jordan, has been supposed not to exceed five or six miles: though the mountains, which skirt each side of the valley of the Dead sea, are apparently separated by a distance of eight miles. The mountains on the Judæan side are lower than the mountains of Moab, on the Arabian side. The latter chain at its southern extremity is said to consist of dark granite, and of various colors. The shores at the northern extremity are remarkably flat, and strewed with vast quantities of driftwood, white and bleached by the sun, which is brought down by the swelling of Jordan. It is not certainly known whether there has been any visible increase or decrease in the waters of the Dead sea. Some have imagined that it finds a subterraneous passage to the Mediterranean, or that there is a considerable suction in the plain which forms its western boundary; but Dr. Shaw has long since accounted for it, by the quantity which is daily evaporated.
As the Dead sea advances toward the south, it evidently increases in breadth. Its dimensions have been variously estimated by different travelers. Pliny states its total length to be one hundred miles, and its greatest breadth twenty-five: the Jewish historian Josephus, who measured this lake, found that in length it extended about five hundred and eighty stadia, and in breadth one hundred and fifty; according to our standard, somewhat more than seventy miles by nineteen. With this measurement nearly coincides the estimate of Dr. Shaw, who appears to have ascertained its dimensions with accuracy, and who computes its length to be about seventy-two English miles, and its greatest breadth about nineteen. Whoever has once seen the Dead sea, will ever after have its aspect impressed upon his memory: it is in truth a gloomy and fearful spectacle. The precipices, in general, descend abruptly into the lake, the surface of which is generally unruffled, from the hollow of the basin (in which it lies) scarcely admitting the free passage necessary for a strong breeze. It is, however, for the same reason, subject to whirlwinds or squalls of short duration A profound silence, awful as death, hangs over the lake: its shores are rarely visited by any footstep, save that of the wild Arab; and its desolate but majestic features are well suited to the tales related concerning it by the inhabitants of the country, who hold it in superstitious dread, and speak of it with terror.
We can not forbear subjoining the lively account which Mr. Stephens gives of the “water of the Dead sea:”
“From my own experience I can almost corroborate the most extravagant accounts of the ancients. 1 know, in reference to my own specific gravity, that in the Atlantic and Mediterranean I can not float without some little movement of the hands, and even then my body is almost totally submerged; but here, when I threw myself upon my back, my body was half out of the water. It was an exertion even for my lank Arabs to keep themselves under. When I struck out in swimming it was extremely awkward, for my legs were continually rising to the surface, and even above the water. I could have lain and read there with perfect ease. In fact I could have slept; and it would have been a much easier bed than the bushes at Jericho. It was ludicrous to see one of the horses: as soon as his body touched the water, he was afloat, and turned over on his side: he struggled with all his force to preserve his equilibrium; but the moment he ceased moving, he turned over on his side again, and almost on his back, kicking his feet out of water and snorting with terror. The worst of my bath was, after it was over, my skin was covered with a thick glutinous substance, which it required another ablution to get rid of; and after I had wiped myself dry, my body burnt and smarted as if it had been turned round before a roasting fire. My face and ears were encrusted with salt; my hairs stood out, each particular hair on end, and my eyes were irritated and inflamed, so that I felt the effects of it for several days. In spite of all this, however, revived and refreshed by my bath, I mounted my horse a new man.”
The Dead Sea

WICKEDNESS OF LOT'S DAUGHTERS
When Lot beheld the dreadful calamity that had befallen the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, he began to think himself not safe in Zoar; he therefore withdrew to the mountains to which he was first directed, and, for want of a proper habitation, lived for some time with his daughters in a cave. In his caverned retreat a new and unexpected evil befell Lot. His daughters, like all eastern women, and especially all women of Bedouin parentage, looked upon the possession of children as the best and brightest hope of their existence; but they saw none on earth whom they might expect to marry. They knew not that any of their father's family and connections existed, to become their husbands; and the example of their sisters, who had perished in Sodom with their husbands, made them afraid, if willing, to entertain the notion of a marriage with Canaanitish husbands. They therefore most wickedly managed, on two successive nights, to intoxicate their father with wine, and in that condition, and without his clear knowledge of what was done, to procure issue by him. A son to each daughter was the result of this transaction. The eldest daughter gave to her son the name of Moab (“from a father”), and the younger called hers Ben-Ammi (“son of my people”), which latter name, intimating the mother's satisfaction in the fact that the child was a son of her own race, corroborates the view we have taken of the motives by which the women were influenced, and which seems to us far preferable to the notion that they supposed that all the inhabitants of the earth, except their father and themselves, were destroyed in the overthrow of Sodom. We do not see how it is possible that they could have entertained any such impression. Be this as it may, the sons which were born to them were the progenitors of the Moabites and Ammonites--nations well known in a later age for their enmity to the house of Israel. Thus much of Lot, of whom the sacred history takes no further notice. We now proceed to consider the peculiar dispensation of Providence with respect to his faithful servant Abraham.
ABRAHAM MOVES TO GERAR
At the time of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the pious patriarch resided at Mamre; but as soon as he beheld that fatal catastrophe, struck with a proper sense of the Divine vengeance, and the great power he had over his creatures, he removed thence to the southward, and took up his residence in Gerar, one of the principal cities in Palestine.
On his first entering this place, he had recourse to the same policy he had before practised when in Egypt, and an agreement was made between him and his wife that they should pass for brother and sister. Abimelech,[66] the king of Gerar, supposing this to be their real affinity, and being captivated with the person of Sarah, who, though far advanced in years, possessed some distinguished charms, ordered her to be brought to his palace, with an intent of making her his concubine. But the Almighty warned him in a dream from committing the iniquitous act, by assuring him, that if he took to his bed a woman, whose husband was a prophet, his conduct should be punished with immediate death.
[66] The kings of Gerar were generally called by the title of Abimelech, in the same manner as those of Egypt were called by that of Pharaoh.
ABRAHAM REBUKED A SECOND TIME
In consequence of this, Abimelech sent for Abraham, whom he severely reprimanded for having endeavored to impose on him, by calling her his sister whom he knew to be his wife.[67] In excuse for the fiction Abraham alleged he did it for his own safety, being apprehensive that, had it been known she was his wife, he might, in order to possess her, have robbed him of his existence. He farther said, that the report he had given of her being his sister was not, in fact, a falsity, for though she was not born of the same woman, yet she was begot by the same man.
[67] Abraham's Equivocation--This was not a subject which the fertile fancies of Abraham's rabbinical descendants were likely to leave unimproved. Accordingly, we have a Talmudical story, which tells us that, on approaching Egypt, the patriarch put Sarah in a chest, which he locked up, that none might behold her dangerous beauty. “But when he was come to the place of paying custom, the collectors said, 'Pay us the custom.' And he said, 'I will pay the custom.' They said to him, 'Thou carriest clothes.' And he said, 'I will pay for the clothes.' Then they said to him, 'Thou carriest gold;' and he answered them, 'I will pay for my gold.' On this they said to him further, 'Surely then bearest the finest silk;' and then he replied, 'I will pay custom for the finest silk.' Then said they, 'Certainly it must be pearls that thou takest with thee;' and he only answered, 'I will pay for pearls.' Seeing that they could name nothing of value for which the patriarch was not willing to pay custom, they said. 'It can not be but that then open the box, and let us see what is within.' So they opened the box, and the whole land of Egypt was brightly illumined by the luster of Sarah's beauty.”
This apology pacified the king, who not only restored Abraham his wife, but also gave him many valuable presents, with full permission to settle himself in any part of his dominions.
GOD'S PROTECTION OF SARAH AGAIN
The Almighty had not only threatened the king with death should he violate the chastity of Sarah, but also afflicted him and all the women belonging to him with a kind of impotence. Abraham, therefore, in return for Abimelech's civility, prayed to God to remove these imperfections, which he being pleased to grant, the king's disability left him, and the queen, with the rest of the women belonging to him were restored to their natural fertility.
BIRTH OF ISAAC
Soon after this the Divine promise (made by the Almighty to Abraham) was fulfilled. The time appointed was now elapsed, and Sarah brought forth a son, whom Abraham, agreeably to the sacred injunction, called Isaac;[68] and on the eighth day he was circumcised.
[68] The word Isaac implies laughter, and alludes to the smile of disbelief which appeared in Sarah's countenance when the angel informed her that she should become pregnant.
HAGAR AND ISHMAEL BANISHED
Sarah having long considered Ishmael as the presumptive heir of her family, had reared and continued to treat him with the most affectionate tenderness. But on the birth of Isaac she became apprehensive with respect to his inheritance, imagining, that in case of Abraham's death, Ishmael's superiority of years would give him every advantage over her own son. Stimulated by such fears, she resolved to get rid of Ishmael, and it was not long before an opportunity offered for accomplishing her design.
Though Sarah was far advanced in life (being now upward of ninety years old) yet, by the Divine power, nature was completely perfect.[69] She was bountifully supplied with food for her infant son, whom she suckled herself, and at the usual time weaned him. On this joyful occasion Abraham made a great feast, in the height of which Sarah observed that Ishmael treated her son with derision and contempt. Enraged at this circumstance, as soon as the guests were gone, she communicated the particulars to her husband, and importuned him to turn both Ishmael and his mother from their habitation, intimating, that the son of a bond-woman had no title to that heirship which solely belonged to her son Isaac.
The good old patriarch now found himself in a very intricate situation. He loved Ishmael, and was lothe to part with him. Not knowing, therefore, in what manner to proceed on so trying an occasion, he applied himself to God, who was pleased to confirm what Sarah had requested. At the same time the Almighty promised Abraham that be would make Ishmael (because he was his son) a populous nation, though his portion and inheritance was not to be in that land which was all along designed for the descendants of Isaac.
Thus was it determined, by the Divine appointment, that Hagar should once more become a wanderer; nor could the fondness of Abraham for his son Ishmael prevent her fate: it was the Lord's command, nor durst the patriarch refuse to obey.
Early in the morning, therefore, Abraham, calling Hagar to him, told her she must leave his house, and that her son must be the partner of her banishment. Hagar was of course greatly surprised at this sudden command, but finding her master absolute, she was obliged to submit. That she might not be distressed for want of proper refreshment, he supplied her with a quantity of provisions, together with a large bottle of water, having done which he gave her a final dismission.
[69] Primitive Longevity--We need not remind the reader that the age of man before the deluge made a near approach to a thousand years, but, after that event, rapidly declined to the present standard (which it had certainly reached before the time of David), at which it has remained, unaffected but by local influences. Many reasons have been given for the antediluvian longevity, and for the subsequent abridgment of human life; but they all fail in some point or other, excepting that which, proceeding on the observation that air is the agent by which, under all circumstances, the duration of life is most affected, infers that the superior purity of the air before the deluge--or, more properly, its superior fitness for the conservation of the living principle in man--was the operating cause of the long duration of antediluvian life; and that the gradual but quick contraction of man's life, which afterward took place, was probably owing to some signal deterioration, caused by the deluge, in the wholesome properties of the primitive air. How the deluge may have produced such a change is another question, into which we need not enter.
At the time this history opens, the duration of life was about threefold that to which it ultimately fell; and, notwithstanding the gradual abridgment which took place, it remained twofold till about the time of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. Terah himself died at the age of 205, which must have seemed but a reasonable old age, as it is considerably within the age attained by any of his ancestors, except his own father Nahor, who died prematurely at 148 years of age.
But the operation of the abridging influence is best shown by figures, thus: Noah lived 950 years; Shem, 600; Arphaxad, 438; Salah, 433; Eber, 464; Peleg, 230; Reu, 239; Serug, 230; Nahor, 148; Terah, 205. Here we see that Noah, nearly two thirds of whose life had passed before the deluge, lived as long as an antediluvian; whereas his son Shem, most of whose life passed after the deluge, has one third of the average duration of antediluvian life struck off from his. His son Arphaxad was born two years after the flood, and therefore may be taken to represent the first generation of entire postdiluvians, whose term of life is made one third shorter than that of the semi-antediluvians, and (in two generations) is reduced to one half that of the pure antediluvians. A rest at this point of reduction was allowed for three generations, after which the existing term of life was again halved, reducing it to a quarter of the antediluvian term. After three more generations, another reducing process commenced, not, as before, by abrupt halving of the previous term of life, but by a gradual reduction, which in about 500 years reduced the previous term of 230-240 years to about one half, or 120 years; and in about 500 years more, we find that this term also has been nearly halved and brought down to the present standard; or at that time it is that David said: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten: and if by reason of strength they, be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow.” Psalms 90:10. The progress of the abridgment may be illustrated by a few more figures. Abraham died at the age of 175, being 40 years less than his father's age; and yet he is said to have died “in a good old age; an old man and full of years.” In like manner, Isaac, who lived to 180, is said to have been “old and full of days.” And if these expressions do not embody the ideas of a writer who, from living in a later day, when the term of man's life was much shortened, naturally considered these as extreme old ages, we should be entitled from them to concludes was probably true after all--that a man was in those days called old with reference to the age at which his contemporaries, rather than his predecessors, died. The patriarchs were very sensible that the term of life was undergoing abridgment. Thus, when Jacob stood before the Egyptian king, and was asked his age, he replied: “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and full of evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” He lived to 147 years. His son Levi lived to 137 years; and another of his sons, Joseph, only to 110 years. Amram, the son of Levi, lived to exactly the same age as his father; and Moses and Aaron, the two sons of Amran, both lived to 120. Our information of the steps by which life declined to “threescore years and ten” before the time of David, is less distinct.
But we principally wish to remind the reader of the probability--or rather the moral certainty--that the seasons of life, its childhood, youth, maturity, and age, were distributed over the whole period of life however long, in much the same proportions as at present; so that the prime and old age commenced later and ended later than under a more abridged term of life. Thus, we should not suppose, that when the term of life was 140 years, a man of seventy was constitutionally older than one of thirty-five is now. This seems so obvious as to require little argument; and we are not disposed to discuss the question even were argument needed. But we may just observe that there is not wanting much positive proof in favor of this view. Thus we see those whose ages when their eldest son was born is recorded, are only in one instance under thirty--and that one instance is in the case of a man (Terah's father) whose whole age little exceeded half the average of his time. We see, also, that none of the Hebrew patriarchs had a son before he was forty. And when we take into account the general disposition to early marriages in the East, this may show that the age of manhood was reached much later than it has been since; and the activity and vigor, mental and bodily, which these same persons evince at an age far passing the present extreme term of life, shows that constitutional old age began late in proportion. The admiration which the beauty of Sarah excited when she was nearly seventy years of age, also affords a strong corroborative Illustration. The subject is one of considerable interest, and deserves a more attentive consideration then it can here obtain.
HAGAR AND ISHMAEL WAIT TO DIE
After travelling some days in the dreary wilderness of Beersheba, her provisions grew short, and her bottle of water was quite exhausted. It unfortunately happened that Ishmael was at this time in a high fever, and Hagar not being able to get water to quench his thirst, there was little hope of his existing much longer. Thus distressed, she knew not what to do, but at length, to shelter her son in some degree from the violent heat of the weather, she placed him under a tree, and retired at some distance, that she might not be a spectator of the dying pangs of her beloved Ishmael.
A melancholy scene now took place: the feeble tongue of the child begged relief from its tender parent, whose woes were doubled by her inability to give it the least assistance; his pressing demands could only be answered by a flow of tears, and the only prospect before them was despair and death. But the ears of boundless mercy are ever open to the cries of distress, and the Lord of Omnipotence is ever ready to relieve the indigent.
HAGAR SHOWN A WELL
While Hagar was lamenting her direful situation, a Divine agent appeared before her, and, for her present relief, directed her to a well of water which she had not before perceived. Having filled the bottle, she gave some of the water to Ishmael, who was greatly refreshed with it, and, in a few days, so far recovered from his illness as to be able, with his mother, to pursue their journey. Hagar's intentions were, at first, to have gone into Egypt, but she now altered her mind, and fixed her abode in the wilderness of Paran, where Ishmael (whose health and strength were now greatly increased) in a short time became so expert an archer, that he was able to obtain a sufficiency of provisions both for himself and mother.
ISHMAEL'S DESCENDENTS
When Ishmael grew up to the years of maturity, his mother, who was an Egyptian, married him to a woman of her own country. By this woman he had twelve sons,[70] whose descendants dispersed themselves in that part of the country situated between Havilah and Shur, that is, in several parts of Arabia Petra, the western part whereof, toward Egypt, is, in scripture, called Shur, and the eastern part, toward the Persian gulf, Havilah.
[70] The names of these sons were as follow: Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: “twelve princes according to their nations” Genesis 25:13; &e.
BEERSHEBA COVENANT
In the meantime, Abraham continued to reside in the land of Palestine; and as his riches and power every day increased, Abimelech grew jealous of him, being fearful that he might, sometime or other, endeavor to supplant him in the government. To prevent this, by the advice of his general Phicol, he formed a solemn league of friendship with Abraham, and thereby removed those fears which, for some time, had given him great uneasiness. A dispute had arisen between the servants of Abimelech and those of Abraham, relative to a well, which the latter had dug; but after a proper explanation, the matter was adjusted to the satisfaction of all parties, the well being declared the property of Abraham.[71]
[71] It may perhaps, at first view, appear strange that a dispute of any consequence should have arisen on account of a well of water but it must be remembered, that, in those hot and dry countries, a well of water was an inestimable treasure, and the digging it a work of prodigious labor, which arose from the rockiness of the soil, and the great depth it was necessary to dig before they could find a spring.
The place where Abimelech and Abraham entered into this solemn covenant was, thenceforth, called Beersheba.[72] Here Abraham intending to end his days, should it be the will of Providence for him so to do, planted a grove[73] for a place of worship, and in it erected an altar, that he might not be anywise deficient in the discharge of his religious duties.
[72] The word Beer, in the Hebrew language, signifies a well, and Sheba an oath, so that the Jews called it the Well of the Oath; because of the oath that Abraham and Abimelech had made at that place.
[73] Worship in Groves (See Engraving)--The use of groves as places of primitive worship is natural and easily understood, though it could only have arisen in an early state of society, or be preserved where society remained in a primitive condition. It was the thought of a people who had not made any advances in architecture--who dwelt in tents or in huts--and who, while they did not feel that these dwellings were unsuitable or inadequate for themselves, could not but be sensible that they were so unimpressive, that it seemed revolting to associate with them, in any more formal service of worship, the idea of that God who fills all nature, and of whose grandeur they had no unworthy notions. They therefore preferred to seek intercourse with him, and to render him their service amid the vastness of his own creation, and under the shadow of those ancient woods, which insensibly inspire us with awe, and fill us with reverential feelings, which turn and vent themselves upon whatever has been customarily before the mind as the proper object of its reverence. Happy when that object is God!--as it was to the patriarchs. There is no doubt that men had this use for groves, almost universally, before any temples existed; but it is not so clear to us that, as some suppose, groves were used for religious purposes, before even altars were known. But Noah constructed an altar as soon as he left the ark; and this use of groves must, therefore, have been antediluvian, if it existed before altars: and this is certainly more than we know. It is certain, however, that, under the operation of the ideas we are tracing, altars were placed in the groves; and the next step was probably to build a hut near at hand to contain the implements of sacrifice; and when men had begun to build in their groves, the idea of a chapel or oratory for use in inclement weather, and when the trees were, in winter, bare of foliage, would naturally have been suggested. When, at last, the increased resources of constructive art, coupled with a weaker and more humanized idea of God, led men to entertain the bold idea of rearing fabrics--”temples made with hands”--which might make impressions on the mind worthy of his worship and service, the influence of old habits and old associations still operated. Most nations took care, when in their power, to plant groves around these buildings, for the most part with an enclosing ditch, hedge, or wall; and these groves were not only consecrated to the gods in whose honor the temples in the midst of them had been built, but were themselves places of sanctuary for criminals who fled to them for refuge.
As to the corruptions which became, in the end, associated with groves, and which led Moses to prohibit them very strictly, and to command that the groves which were found, in the land of Canaan, consecrated to idols, should be cut down, another opportunity will be afforded us of considering this part of the subject. Meanwhile, we only wish to call attention to the point alluded to in the text, respecting some points of analogy in this matter between the practices and the ideas of the patriarchs and those of the Celtic Druids. Among them we seem to find preserved, down to a late date, many of the ideas and practices which equally belong to the patriarchal ages, and which are doubtless to be regarded as relics of the religion which was common to all men in the first ages, and which they carried with them to the several places of their dispersion. In process of time these primitive institutions were in almost every country woefully corrupted, or, indeed lost, in various modifications of ceremony, idolatry, and unbelief. The Hebrew patriarchs doubtless exhibit in purity the religion of anterior ages, and what had been the sole religion of mankind; and thus he who studies the history of religious notions and practices is supplied with a test which enables trim to ascertain the traces of this primitive religion, which may have been preserved in different and distant nations. Now, we know not of any people who preserved, mixed with many and awful corruptions, so many traces of this ancient religion as existed in the Druidical institutions and religion of the Celtes. It is true they had idols, and that many wild notions were entertained, end many horrid rites practised by them; but, amid all, they behe ved in one supreme Being, to whom all other gods were far inferior. His symbol was the oak, and him, exclusively, they worshipped amid the groves. They never had images of him, or erected temples to him; and Tacitus, speaking of the Senones, who were a branch of the Celtes, and had the same religion, tells us that its principle consisted in the acknowledgment that the Deity whom they worshipped in the groves, the God without name, was he who governed all things, on whom all things depended, and whom all beings were bound to obey.
There are other resemblances which would render our position more clear if we could bring them into one view. But the purpose of the present note does not require this; and we need only now observe that these remarkable analogies between the patriarchal (or say the Hebrew) and Druidical religions are late discoveries of our own day; but the antiquity and wisdom of the Druidical religion, and its conformities with that of the Jews, were adduced so long ago as the time of Celsus, in opposition to what that writer was pleased to consider the novelties of the gospel.
ABRAHAM TO SACRIFICE ISAAC
The Almighty, in his wise Providence, had, in divers instances, and on many occasions, put Abraham's faith and obedience to the test; but now he resolved to try him in the tenderest point, in which every tie of parental affection bound him, and to give up which required a degree of resignation uncommon to the best of men. He is required, by his God, to sacrifice his son--to embrue[74] his hands in the blood of his darling offspring.
[74] Rare word meaning to stain, especially with blood
Ishmael was now no more to him; he had parted with him at the divine command, and had transferred his affections solely on Isaac; and this son, this only son, who had been given him by Divine promise, and in whom all his future expectations of happiness centered, must fall a victim by the unalterable decree of Heaven. Hard task to flesh and blood! Severe trial to human nature! But if the flesh shuddered, the spirit was absolute: God commands--the patriarch obeys.
Early therefore, the next morning, Abraham arose, and, without giving any notice to his family, prepared himself for the appointed business. He sat out, accompanied only by his son Isaac, and attended by two servants, who led an ass laden with provisions, together with the wood, instruments, and other things necessary for the sacrifice. After travelling three days he came within sight of the spot God had appointed for the dreadful scene, which was a particular mountain in the land of Moriah. Here he ordered his servants to stop with the ass, while he and his son went to a spot at some distance to perform their religious duties.
Abraham having laden his son with the wood and other materials for a burnt-offering, they proceeded on their journey. The harmless Isaac, ignorant of the design of his pious and affectionate parent, went cheerfully on with him, and the good old patriarch, relying on the faithfulness of the Divine promise, overcame the strugglings of a natural affection, which might have retarded his compliance with the will of God, and proceeded with a resolution worthy the father of the faithful.
As they approached near the appointed place for executing the awful injunction, Isaac recollecting that a proper victim (the most essential requisite for the sacrifice) was wanting, innocently asked his father, where was the lamb for the burnt-offering? Such a question, at such a time, was enough to have startled any heart less firm than Abraham's; but, fixed in the resolution to obey the divine command, he coolly replied, “My son, God will provide one himself.”
Being now arrived at the spot which the Almighty had directed, the first thing Abraham did was to erect an altar; after which, having prepared the instruments, and laid the wood in order, he embraced his son, and then bound him. Here the sacred historian, like a great painter, hath drawn a veil over the sorrow of Abraham, and the resignation of Isaac, that the imagination of the reader might paint to him more forcibly the struggles of the parent, and the agonies of the son, than words can possibly express.
ISAAC RESCUED
Every preparation being now made, Abraham, taking up the knife, stretched forth his hand to give the finishing stroke to the life of his son; when, behold! God is satisfied with the faith and obedience of the father, and the piety and resignation of the son. The voice of a heavenly messenger is suddenly heard, saying unto Abraham, “Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him.” The uplifted arm was now withheld, and the fatal blow happy averted. The divine sound intimated, that the Almighty neither delighted in human sacrifices, nor wished to make a father the murderer of a son whom he had bestowed on him as a peculiar favor; but that the command had been given to try if his obedience to God exceeded his feelings as a man, and if his natural affections could submit to his religious duties.
Cromlech at Plas Newydd Druidical Circle--Jersey When the divine voice ceased, the pious patriarch, turning his eyes from the dear, though intended victim, beheld a ram fastened by his horns in a thicket. Convinced in his mind that this was the gracious substitute of Providence, he immediately flew to it with raptures, and having slain it with that knife which was intended for the destruction of his son, brought it to the altar and presented it (instead of the before destined Isaac) as a burnt-offering, to his great and benevolent benefactor.
This infallible token of Abraham's obedience was so satisfactory to the Almighty, that he was pleased to renew his gracious promise to him with enlarged abundance; and even to confirm the same by a solemn oath. “By myself have I sworn, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.”
Having thus complied with the will of God, and received a most convincing testimony of the divine approbation, Abraham and Isaac returned to the servants, and they all went joyfully together to Beersheba, at that time the place of Abraham's residence. In memory of this singular transaction, the pious patriarch called the place where it happened, “Jehovah-jirah,” in allusion to the answer he gave to his son's question, “God will provide himself a lamb.”
SARAH DIES
When Abraham returned home, he received the agreeable intelligence of the increase of his family, namely, that Milcah, his brother Nahor's wife, had brought him a numerous issue.[75] But the joy he received on this account was soon damped by a circumstance which happened in his own family, namely, the loss of his wife Sarah, who died at Kirjath-arba (afterward called Hebron), in the one hundred and twenty-seventh year of her age.
[75] The names of the children of Nahor, by Milcah, were as follows: Huz, Buz, Kemuel, Cheshed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. The last of these begat Rebecca, who was afterward the wife of Isaac.
SARAH BURIED IN MACHPELAH
At the time of Sarah's death, Abraham was at Beersheba; but he no sooner heard of the melancholy event than he immediately repaired to Hebron, in order to perform the last offices due to his departed wife. As he was a stranger in the country, and had no land there of his own, he could not give her honorable interment without first obtaining the consent of the people. He therefore addressed himself to a general assembly of the principal inhabitants, entreating them to allow him the liberty of burying his wife in their country. This request being readily granted, Abraham bowed to the assembly in acknowledgment for the favor; after which he told them he should be glad to purchase a piece of ground as a sepulcher for himself and family, and begged of them to entreat Ephron, the prince of the country, to sell him the cave of Machpelah.
This request being likewise granted, and application made to Ephron, he generously offered the patriarch not only the cave, but also the whole field in which it stood, as a burying place. Abraham acknowledged the bounty of the offer; but as he had ever acted on a principle of strict justice, he desired the prince to fix a price on the field; and that, on such condition, he would take possession of it for the purposes intended.
The prince, finding the patriarch resolute, asked four hundred shekels (a sum greatly beneath its real value). The purchase was made before all the people of Hebron, and the field, together with the cave, was formally assigned over to Abraham and his heirs for ever.
This matter being adjusted, Abraham, after the usual ceremonies of mourning were over, buried his wife in the cave he had then purchased, and in which his own remains were afterward deposited.
SERVANT SENT FOR A WIFE FOR ISAAC
Abraham, being now far advanced in years, and apprehending he had not much longer to live, was desirous of seeing his own son Isaac married, and settled in the world, before his departure out of this transitory life. He therefore called to him his household steward, an old and trusty servant, to whom he related his intention of marrying his son; and obtained from him an oath,[76] that (in case he died first) he should procure a wife for him among his own kindred, and not from the daughters of the Canaanites. Having obtained this solemn oath, Abraham told his servant to go into Mesopotamia, which was the place of his nativity, and there choose a wife, out of his own kindred, for his son Isaac. On receiving these orders, the servant asked him this question: “If,” says he, “the woman refuse to follow me into the land of Canaan, must I return and fetch thy son to her?” The patriarch immediately answered in the negative, as no consideration could prevail on him to suffer his son to return to a land which he himself had left on account of the inhumanity and idolatry of its inhabitants. To encourage the servant in the prosecution of his intended expedition, Abraham assured him that a heavenly messenger would conduct him to the place whence he should bring a wife unto his son; and that if the woman pitched on should refuse to follow him, he should be free from the oath he had taken, and be considered as having properly discharged the business with which he was entrusted.
[76] The great anxiety of the patriarchs to secure the marriage of their sons to women of their own clan or family appears everywhere, and is even indicated in the precise mention which is made of marriages which took place against this regulation-as an the cases of Ishmael and Esau. Such a desire has always prevailed wherever the distinction of clans or tribes has been strongly marked, for the sake of keeping up its property, blood, and peculiar feelings, and of compacting its union and influence;; and these ordinary motives acquired increased intensity in the instance of the Hebrew patriarchs in consequence of the general idolatry or superstition into which all the surrounding nations had fallen, and which alone would have sufficed to preclude intermarriages with them. This consideration; separately from any other, has always prevented the Jew from forming matrimonial connections with any but the daughters of Israel. Their law forbade such marriages in the strictest manner; and we shall find instances of there being severely punished, and of the deep disgust which they inspired. They were neither to take the females of other nations, nor give their own females to them (Deuteronomy 7:3-4); and the reason was, “For they will turn away thy sons from following me.” While this principle inhibited marriages with other nations, there was another law which preserved the integrity of property in the respective tribes, by directing that daughters having any inheritance should not marry out of the tribe of their father, (Numbers 36). “So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe.” These principles, taken from the subsequent laws of the Hebrews, afford the best explanation of the conduct of the patriarchs with regard to the marriages of their sons. Among the Bedouin Arabs there is no regulation precluding the intermarriages of different tribes; but in practice a man seldom takes a wife from any other tribe than his own; and still more rarely although there is no national or religious difference, will a Bedouin give his daughter in marriage to the inhabitant of a town, or to a cultivator or artisan. Some tribes never do so; but others are rather less strict. So, as Ward informs us, among the Hindus, the parents who find employment at a. distance from their original homes, always marry their children in their own country and among their old acquaintance.
These matters being settled, Eliezer (for that was the name of this trusty servant) set out on his embassy, attended by a number of servants and camels, agreeably to the importance of his business, and the dignity of the person by whom he was employed.
After undergoing great fatigue, both from the badness of the roads and the want of water, this trusty servant, with his attendants, reached Mesopotamia, and repaired to Haran,[77] a city belonging to his master's brother Nahor. When he had arrived near the entrance of the city, he stopped at the public well (whither it was customary for the young women of the place to come every morning and evening for water), in order to refresh the camels.[78]
[77] “CHARRAN,” as given by St. Stephen, is the proper reading of this name, and is, therefore, different from the name of Abram's brother, which is truly spelt Haran. The site of this place is very questionable. Most writers on scriptural geography identify it with the place called Charæ by the Greeks and Romans, and renowned in history for the defeat of Crassus. But we are inclined to think that this identification is scarcely compatible with that which finds Ur in Urfah; for not only is this Charran in the same plain with Urfah, but is actually, at almost all times, visible from it, being distant not above eight hours' ride to the south; so that a removal to this distance hardly corresponds with the historical intimations which refer to it. There are three other sites to which different writers refer the Charran of our history. One is Oruros, on the Euphrates, about fifty miles below the embouchure of the Chaboras; the second is Haræ, about twenty miles to the east-northeast of Palmyra; and the third, Caræ, about thirty-eight miles northeast from Damascus. All these places would, however, be out of the way in proceeding from Urfah to the land of Canaan, excepting the one near Damascus, which, on many grounds, we should hold to offer the preferable claim, were it not that the account of Jacob's journey to the same place expressly informs us that Haran was in Mesopotamia, on which ground the site, with the mention of which we commenced this note, must still be held to have a little the preference, notwithstanding the objections which apply to it, as none of the others answer to this condition. We think it very likely that the site of Ur, and more than likely that the site of Haran, are yet to be found.
[78] Water is usually drawn in the evening, and frequently in the cool of the morning also. Fetching water is one of the heaviest of the many heavy duties which devolve upon the females in the East, and one which the most sensibly impresses us with a sense of their degraded condition. The usage varies in different counties. Among the Arabs and other nomads, and also in many parts of India, it is the exclusive employment of the women, without distinction of rank. But in Turkey and Persia the poorer women only are subject to this servile employment, respectable families being supplied daily by men who make the supplying of water a distinct business. The tents of the Bedouins are seldom pitched quite near to the well from which they obtain their water; and if the distance is not more than a mile, the men do not think is necessary that the water should be brought upon the camels: and, unless there are asses to be employed on this service, the women must go every evening, sometimes twice, and bring home at their backs long and heavy leathern bags full of water. The wells are the property of tribes or individuals, who are not always willing that caravans should take water from them; and in that case, a girl is sometimes posted at the well to exact presents from those who wish to have water. It is not likely that Abraham's servant 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 travelers, 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 circumstances in the situation or soil of the place, or quality of its water. Their water-vessel depends much upon the distance; if rather far, a skin will probably be preferred as most convenient for carrying a good quantity; but if near, an earthen jar will often be chosen. The present well seems to have been quite near the town, and we concur in the translation which renders Rebecca's vessel “a pitcher.” The word (kad) is different from that (chemitz) rendered “bottle” in the narrative of Hagar's expulsion; and is the same word used to describe the vessels in which Gideon's soldiers concealed their torches, and which they broke to produce a crashing and alarming noise. The women contrive to draw an enjoyment even out of this irksome duty, as it affords the best opportunity they have of meeting and talking together, and of displaying their finery to each other. They by no means appear to the worst advantage, as to dress, at the wells; and this circumstance shows that Abraham's servant might there, without any incongruity, invest Rebecca with the ornaments he had brought. To a traveler in the East, the best opportunities of making his observations on the females will occur in the evening at the wells. Eliezer was aware of this, and regarded the opportunity as favorable for his purpose. It appears that the unmarried females even of towns went unveiled, or only partially veiled, on ordinary occasions, in these early times. Now all go veiled; 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, without distinction of rank, in those Asiatic countries or tribes where the women are not obliged to veil their faces, as in India, and among the Arabian and other nomad tribes. We have already noticed the Arabian usage. In consequence of the modifications which we venture to think that the extended use of the veil has produced among the inhabitants of towns west of the Indus, it is perhaps in India we are to look for the most precise parallels to the patriarchal customs. Accordingly we find, that in many parts of India, women of the first distinction draw water daily from the public wells. They always fetch it in earthen jars carried upon their heads. Sometimes two or three jars are carried at once, one upon the other, forming a pillar upon the bearer's head. As this necessarily requires the most perfect steadiness, the habit gives to the females a remarkably erect and stately air. It seems that it is a distinction to carry the jar on the shoulder; and Forbes, in his “Oriental Memoirs,” relates an anecdote of an intelligent native who, when this highly interesting passage was read to him, inferred that Rebecca was of “high caste,” from her carrying the pitcher on her shoulder. The text, however, does not necessarily imply that she carried the jar erect upon her shoulder, but quite as probably means that it was carried at the back, the handle being held over the shoulder by the hand or leathern strap.
Having been properly instructed by his master in the fear of God, and being sensible of the importance of the business, as well as fearful of not executing it to his master's satisfaction, he made a mental prayer to God, beseeching him to direct him, by a certain sign, to a proper object of choice for his young master. He had no sooner solicited this divine assistance than his request was immediately complied with, and the sign given was, that she who, at his desire, permitted him to drink of her water, would be the person appointed by God for the wife of his servant Isaac.
ELEAZAR MEETS REBECCA
Soon after this, Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, came to the well, with her pitcher, for water; after she had filled it, the servant (having taken notice that she was exceedingly beautiful) accosted her in a very humble manner, begging that she would give him a draught of the water, he being exceedingly thirsty: Rebecca readily consented, and not only gave him to drink, but also went several times to the well to fetch water for the refreshment of his camels.[79]
[79] “The pastoral poetry of classical antiquity, which has been imitated more or less in all nations, has rendered us familiar with the idea of females of birth and attractions acting as shepherdesses long after the practice itself has been discontinued and the employment has sunk into contempt. When nations originally pastoral settled in towns, and adopted the refinements of life, the care of the sheep ceased to be a principal consideration, and gradually devolved upon servants or slaves, coming to be considered a mean employment, to which the proprietor or his household only gave a general and superintending attention. The respectability of the employment in these patriarchal times is not evinced by our finding the daughter of so considerable a person as Laban engaged in tending the flocks, for in the East all drudgery devolves upon the females; but by our finding the sons of such persons similarly engaged in pastoral duties, which in Homer also appears to have been considered a fitting employment for the sons of kings and powerful chiefs. We are not aware that at present, in the East, the actual care of a flock or herd is considered a dignified employment. Forbes, in his “Oriental Memoirs,” mentions, that in the Bramin villages of the Concan, women of the first distinction draw the water from wells, and tend the cattle to pasture, “like Rebecca and Rachel.” But in this instance it can not be because such employments have any dignity in them, but because the women are obliged to perform every servile office. So, among the Bedouin Arabs, and other nomad nations, the immediate care of the flocks devolves either upon the women or the servants; but most generally the latter, as the women have enough to occupy them in their multifarious domestic duties. However, among some tribes, it is the exclusive business of the young unmarried women to drive the cattle to pasture. “Among the Sinai Arabs,” says Burckhardt, “a boy would feel himself in suited were any one to say, 'Go and drive your father's sheep to pasture;' these words, in his opinion, would signify, 'You are no better than a girl.'” These young women set out before sunrise, three or four together, carrying some water and victuals with them, and they do not return until late in the evening throughout the day they continue exposed to the sun, watching the sheep with great care, for they are sure of being severely beaten by their father should any be lost. These young women are in general civil to persons who pass by, and ready enough to share with them their victuals and milk. They are fully able to protect their flocks against any ordinary depredation or danger, for their way of life makes them as hardy and vigorous as the men.
This propitious occurrence highly delighted Abraham's servant, who, after paying some general compliments to her beauty and benevolence, made inquiry concerning her family and relations. To which the lovely virgin replied, that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, and kinswoman to Abraham.
Camels This intelligence gave fresh spirits to the faithful messenger, who was now convinced that God approved of the alliance between Rebecca and Isaac. He therefore presented to her a pair of gold ear-rings, and some other female ornaments, requesting her to accept them as a token of his esteem for her virtues, and a grateful return for her distinguished condescension. As it grew late, and he had valuable property about him, he entreated permission, for that night, to reside at the house of her relations. Rebecca, is a most engaging manner, permitted him this convenience, but begged that she might previously apprize the family of so unexpected a visitor. Accordingly, having accepted the presents, she immediately hastened home, leaving Eliezer full of contemplation and acknowledgments to the divine favor for the happy incident.
As soon as Rebecca entered the house, her brother Laban, observing the bracelets on her arms, asked her by what means she had obtained such costly ornaments. Rebecca acquainted him with every particular that had happened, from her going out till her return; upon which Laban immediately went to the well, where finding Eliezer and his attendants, he brought them home with him, and ordered proper provision to be made both for him and his retinue.
As soon as Eliezer had paid the necessary compliments to Rebecca's family, he informed them of the nature of his embassy, the great success that had attended him in his journey, and the fortunate incident of his meeting Rebecca without the city. He likewise gave them an ample account of the state of his master's family; of the wealth and prosperity wherewith God had blessed him; of the son and heir which he had given him in his old age; and of the large expectances which this heir had, not only from the prerogative of his birth, but from the donation and entail of all his father's possessions. Having thus minutely related every particular relative to his embassy, he demanded an immediate answer, saying, till that was obtained, he could not, with any satisfaction, take the least refreshment.
LABAN APPROVES OF MARRIAGE PLAN
From the very singular circumstances that had occurred in the course of Eliezer's journey, Laban and Bethuel[80] were of opinion that Divine Providence was materially concerned in the whole affair. Concluding, therefore, that it would be exceedingly wrong to refuse Eliezer's request, they readily consented, and told him he might take Rebecca to her intended husband as soon as he thought proper.
[80] This Bethuel could not be the father of Rebecca, because, had that been the case, it would have been improper to have had Laban either named before him, or to have given answer to Abraham's messenger when his father was by; and, therefore, since Josephus makes the damsel tell Eliezer that her father had been dead long ago, and that she was left to the care of her brother Laban, this Bethuel (who is here named after Laban, and never more taken any notice of during the whole transaction) must have been some younger brother of the family.
This business being settled, the trusty servant presented Rebecca with jewels of silver and gold, and fine raiment, which he had brought with him for the purpose.
He likewise gave some, considerable presents[81] to her mother and the rest of the family; and the remainder of the evening was dedicated to mirth and festivity.
[81] Dr. Shaw, who resided many years in the East, tells us, that among the Arabians, the person who settles a marriage contract, first adorns the espoused person with jewels, and then makes presents to her relations, according to their rank. He adds, that, on such occasions, it is expressly stipulated what sum of money the husband shall settle on the wife; what jewels she shall wear; how many suits of raiment she shall have; and, lastly, how many slaves shall be allowed to attend her.
ELIEZAR LEAVES WITH REBECCA
Early in the morning, Eliezer, being impatient to acquaint his master with the success of his embassy, desired to be dismissed. This request greatly surprised the family, who, influenced by natural affection, desired that Rebecca might be permitted to tarry with them a few days, to take, perhaps, a last farewell. But the diligent and faithful steward would admit of no delay; upon which, the matter being referred to Rebecca herself, she agreed to go with him whenever he thought proper. Accordingly, the necessary preparations being made, and the bridal blessing bestowed, she took her leave, attended by her nurse (whose name was Deborah) and other servants appointed on the occasion.
When Eliezer came within some distance of his master's house, it happened that Isaac was then walking in the fields, meditating on the beauties of nature, and the beneficence of that Being who formed the creation. Seeing at a distance his servants and camels on the road, he hastened to meet them, anxious to know the result of Eliezer's embassy. As he approached near, Rebecca asked who he was; and being informed, she immediately alighted from her camel, threw a veil[82] over her face, and waited to receive the first compliments of her intended husband.
[82] Whether veiled before or not, she now “covered herself”--her whole person--with the ample enveloping veil with which brides are still conducted to the bridegroom. Rosenmuller, in illustration of this passage, quotes an ancient father (Tertullian) who, with an express reference to the same text, observes, as a custom still existing in his time, that the heathen brides were also conducted to their husbands covered with a veil. It is still all but universal in the East, and it will be observed that it is used, not only by the females whose faces are always concealed both before and after marriage, but by those who display part or the whole of their faces on ordinary occasions. It is in fact, the indispensable costume for the occasion. Whether the bridal veil was distinguished from other veils does not appear; but we observe that one of red silk or muslin is affected by the Persians on such an occasion, although the ordinary veils are white or blue; and Dr. Russell, in his account of a Maronite marriage, observes that the bride's veil was of the same color. Thus we see that Rebecca, by enveloping her person in a veil, put herself into the costume usual for a bride when conducted to the tent or house of her husband.
ISAAC MARRIES REBECCA
When Isaac came up to Rebecca, he addressed her with great respect, and immediately conducted her to his mother's tent, which had been previously fitted up for her reception, and designed for her future habitation. A few days after they were joined in wedlock, and Isaac grew so fond of her, that his mind was greatly relieved from that perturbation with which, for three years, it had been loaded, for the loss of his affectionate mother. Such was the pious regard children had for their parents in those days; and such was the amiable example set by Isaac for all who should follow!
ABRAHAM'S ADDITIONAL FAMILY
Some time after Isaac's marriage, his father, though far advanced in life, yet still possessing great strength of constitution, made an addition to his family, by taking another wife, whose name was Keturah, and by whom he had six sons. But, lest they should interfere with Isaac in his inheritance of Canaan, as they grew up he portioned them off, and sent them towards the east, where, settling in Arabia and Syria, they became, in time, the rulers of different nations.
ABRAHAM DIES
These are the last circumstances mentioned by the sacred historian, relative to the great patriarch Abraham, who at length, worn out with bodily infirmities, quietly gave up the ghost, in the one hundred and seventy-fifth year of his age, leaving behind him a name famous to all posterity. He was buried by his two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, in the cave of Machpelah, where, about forty years before, he had deposited the remains of his beloved Sarah.
ISHMAEL DIED
Ishmael, the eldest son of Abraham, though not his heir, lived many years after his father. He died at the age of one hundred and seven, leaving behind him twelve sons.[83]
[83] The Ishmaelites--We know, not whence the strange opinion arose that the whole Arabian nation is descended from Ishmael, and that, consequently, the names of the Ishmaelites and Arabs are co-extensive, unless from the Chaldee and Arabic paraphrasts, and from other Jewish writers, whose historical authority, at all times of the least possible value, becomes a perfect nullity when open to any obvious influence, such as the wish to represent Abraham as the father of so great and wide-spread a nation as the Arabians. The whole testimony of the oriental writers, and all the inferences deducible from the sacred narrative, are opposed to this conclusion. The Arabians have a history anterior to Ishmael; and it would be preposterous to suppose, that Arabia, even to its deserts, was not occupied before his time.
According to the Arabian writers, Arabia was occupied a few generations after the flood by the successive settlement within it of variously descended tribes, all of whom ultimately gave way to the races from which the present Arabs claim to be descended, either from being destroyed by them or lost in them. These latter proceed from two stocks, of which the most ancient is that of Kahtan, the same who in the Bible is called Joktan, a son of Eber; and the other that of Adnan, who descended in a direct line from Ishmael. To the posterity of the former is given the distinguishing title of eminence, al Arab al Araba, (equivalent to “a Hebrew of the Hebrews” among the Jews), that is, the genuine or pure Arabs: while those of Ishmael receive that of al Arab al Mostáreba, meaning naturalized or mixed Arabs. But some writers, who wish to be more precise, apply the first and most honorable title to the most ancient and lost tribes to which we have alluded, while the descendants of Kahtan obtained the name of Motáreba, which likewise signifies mixed Arabs, though in a nearer degree than Mostáreba; those who acknowledged Ishmael for their ancestor (through Adnan) being the more distant graft. Considering the origin of Ishmael, it is no wonder that those supposed to be descended from him should have no claim to be admitted as pure Arabs; but as he is alleged to have contracted an alliance with the Jorhamites (descended from Jorham, a son of Kahtan), who possessed Hejaz, by marrying the daughter of their emir Modad, whence, and by subsequent intermarriages his descendants became blended with them into one nation, their claim to be regarded as Mostáreba is beyond dispute.
There is considerable uncertainty in the descents from Ishmael to Adnan, which is the reason why the Arabs have seldom attempted to trace their genealogies higher than the latter, whom they therefore look on as the founder of their tribes. The account of this Adnan does not commence, however, till 122 B.C.; so that the uncertainties extend over a period of about 1800 years. This is a very awful circumstance at the first view, but the line of descent is not compromised by it, notwithstanding. The uncertainties refer merely to the numbers and names of the generations which fill the interval, and arise from the contracted manner in which genealogies, extending over a long series of ages, were necessarily kept. Thus they do not specify all the generations from A to Z, in this way--“Z, the son of Y; Y, the son of X; X, the son of W,” and so on up to A: but knowing it to be a matter of perfect notoriety and unquestionable truth that Z is descended from some eminent ancestor, say S, and that it is equally notorious and unquestionable that the remote ancestor of this S was M, and that M was descended from G, and G from A--they may omit the intermediate ancestors, through whom Z descended from S, and S from M, and M from G, and G from A, and state the matter thus: “Z, the son of S, the son of M, the son of G, the son of A;” and thus it may occur that not only the names but even the numbers of the generations between A and Z may, in the course of time, become involved in great uncertainty through their not being given in detail in the genealogies, while the truth yet remains certain and unquestionable that Z is descended from A through G, M, and S. Hence, it is not questioned that Adnan is descended from Ishmael, and a certain number, eight or ten, of illustrious names are mentioned to mark out the line of descent, while the names of the mass of intermediate ancestors is lost, and even the numbers of their generations may be a subject of fair dispute without the main question being touched. It is, therefore, surprising to see some able writers so much in the dark as to imagine, that, because the Arabian writers give us only some eight of ten names to mark the line of descent, they were absurd enough to suppose that that eight or ten generations sufficed to cover the long interval between Ishmael and Adman. We have dwelt on this subject the rather because this Arabian manner of proceeding suffices to clear up some difficulties which the Hebrew genealogies offer.
It must not be inferred that the Arabs undervalue the descent from Ishmael in comparison with that from Kahtan, on account of their applying to it a less honorable designation. This is by no means the case; for, on the contrary, they set a high value, like the Jews, on the privilege of being descended from Abraham; and this distinction is, in the eyes of the modern Arabs, greatly enhanced by the circumstance that Mohammed belonged to this race, and gloried in being descended from Ishmael and Abraham.
Of the personal history of Ishmael the Arabians give a highly embellished account, which it is not necessary this place to repeat. In those circumstances which seem most entitled to consideration, as not incompatible with his scriptural history, we are somewhat inclined to suspect that they apply to him actions and events which really belong, if they are at all real, to some of his descendants. For instance, that Ishmael ever was in Hejaz, or formed any important connections there, seems to us very doubtful; but there is nothing in this that might not be very probably true of one of his descendants, after the tribe had increased, and had formed alliances among the Arabs of the Kahtan races. We therefore attach little weight to the statement of his marriage to the daughter of the king of the Jorhamites, though we should not be prepared to doubt it merely on the ground that the scripture tells us that he married an Egyptian woman, since his Arabian wife might have been the second. In fact, much that the Arabians tell us about Ishmael proceeds on the grievous misconception that Abraham himself lived in Hejaz, and that there all the events of his later history took place.
The account of the descent of numerous Arabian tribes from Ishmael is not open to the same doubts of difficulty, and is, indeed, so clear in itself, and so universally acknowledged, that the object of the present note has not been to prove this, but to indicate the historical certainty that all the Arabians could not, and did not, claim to be descended from him.