8

11 And Abraham said, Be- of God is not in this place; and cause I thought, Surely the fear they will slay me for my wife's sake.

sch. 42. 18. Ps. 36. 1. Prov. 16. 6.

t ch. 12. 12. & 26. 7.

11. Because 1 thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place. Heb.

word is used frequently not only for speaking vocally, but also for speaking in the mind, or thinking. Thus Ex. 2. 14, 'Intendest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian?' Heb. Sayest thou to kill me? 1 Kings, 5. 5, ‘I purpose to build.' Heb. I say to build. Ps. 14. 1, 'The fool hath said in his

a heathen; but when we reflect how to bring sin upon me; which tended to much occasion he had given for the re-it; which exposed me and my kingproof, it was dishonourable in the ex-dom to the commission of a heinous treme. How unworthy of him was crime. See Note on Gen. 27. 21, Ex. the manner in which his wife was re- 7. 12, where this usage is fully illusstored to his hands! How must he trated. blush to be told that he who should have been her protector, had been her tempter; that, in fact, he had put a amarti, I said. The original price upon her virtue; and that instead of being willing, as he ought to have been, to die in her defence, he had in effect sacrificed her honour to his own groundless fears. It must not be forgotten that Sarah was actually given up to Abimelech, and that Abraham had forborne to claim her; so that he was answerable, not only for the con-heart, There is no God;' i. e. hath come sequences that did ensue, but for those also which, according to the common course of things, were to be expected. Moreover in what a light must he have appeared to himself and all around him, when he was informed that he had brought on Abimelech and all his household the severe chastisements which they had experienced, and had actually exposed them all to instantaneous death! What Abimelech had done, he had done 'in the integrity of his heart; and if he and all his family had died for it, would not Abraham have been obliged to look upon himself as the legitimate author of their ruin? We need add no more to the degrading picture that has been exhib-violently assaulted Lot for the purpose ited. Methinks we see him standing overwhelmed with confusion, ashamed to lift up his head, and in deep abasement of spirit inwardly acknowledging the justice of the reproof. That thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin. That is, according to a Hebrew idiom, that thou shouldest do that which was calculated

to the conclusion that there is no God;
or it may imply that he hath entertain-
ed the wish that there were none.
Most ancient languages use terms
which literally refer to oral communi-
cation, to indicate the act of thinking
though no words are uttered. So Ho-
mer frequently employs the phrase,
'He spake to his mighty heart,' i. e. he
thought within himself. For the un-
favourable opinion which Abraham
here confesses that he entertained of
the king and people of Gerar, he had
no other grounds than mere surmise.
He had indeed just heard of the horri-
ble impiety of Sodom; and he con-
cluded perhaps that if a whole city so

of gratifying their brutal inclinations with the men that were his guests, much more would some individuals be found in Gerar ready to destroy him for the sake of gaining access to a female so renowned for her beauty. But supposing him to have been actuated by such reflections, what right had he to judge so harshly of a people whom

denominate such a relative a sister.
Marriages of this kind, with persons
thus nearly related, were not at this
time prohibited by an express law,
His ex-
though they afterwards were.
cuse does indeed vindicate him from
the charge of falsehood, but it still leaves
him exposed to that of gross practical
unbelief and of a quibbling equivoca-
tion altogether unworthy of a good
man and a pattern of faith. See Note
on Gen. 12. 13.

he did not know? Could not that Godly accordant with scriptural usage to who had brought him out from an idolatrous country, and preserved Lot and Melchizedek in the midst of the most abandoned people, have some 'hidden ones' in Gerar also? Or, supposing that there were none who truly feared God, must they therefore be so impious as to murder him in order to possess his wife? There can be no doubt that many who are not truly religious, have well nigh as high a sense of honour, and as great an abhorrence of atrocious crimes as any converted man can feel; and therefore the reproach which he so unjustifiably cast on them returned deservedly on his own head.

13. When God caused me to wander, &c. Heb. 19 when they, (even) God, caused me to wander. The phraseology is peculiar, the origi12. Yet indeed she is my sister, &c. nal word nba Elohim, which is alIn what sense this was true is not per- most invariably joined with a verb sinfectly apparent from the scriptures.gular, as remarked Gen 1. 1, being here The prevailing opinion of the Jews, used as the nominative to a verb plural. which seems as probable as any, is, Some have proposed for this reason to that the term 'sister' here is to be un-render the term by 'angels,' a sense derstood in the same latitude as 'broth- preferred by Calvin, implying that in er' in other connections, viz. to denote all his wanderings he was under the a niece, and that Sarah was the grand- tutelary care and conduct of angels; daughter of Terah, the daughter of but we meet with modes of expression Haran, and consequently the sister of so very similar elsewhere, that there is Lot, being in fact no other than the perhaps no sufficient reason for departIscah mentioned Gen. 11. 29. Terah, ing from the usual signification, ‘God.' it seems, had two wives, by one of Thus Gen 35. 7, 'There God appeared whom he had Haran, the father of Lot ( 133) unto him.' Heb. and Sarah, and by the other Abraham, There they, (even) God, appeared unto so that he might truly say of his wife him.' So likewise 2 Sam. 7. 23, comp. that she was the daughter (i. e. descend- with 1 Chron. 17. 21, from which comant or grand-daughter) of his father parison it will be evident that a pluralbut not of his mother; and it is entire- lity of beings cannot be meant. The

behold, he is to thee a cover

16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy broth-ing of the eyes unto all that are

er a thousand pieces of silver:

b ver. 5.

with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

c ch, 26. 11. d ch. 24. 65.

aught I know, be suggested, that God denied Abraham and Sarah the blessing of children so long, to punish them for this sinful compact which they had made, to deny one another; if they will not own their marriage, why should God own it?

Gr. translates in the singular; 'When God (es) brought me out from my father's house.' The Chal. is in the letter quite wide from the sense given in our own and most other versions; 'And it came to pass when the peoples wandered after the works of their own hands (1. e. fell into idolatry), the Lord 16. Behold, I have given thy brother a applied me unto his fear, out of my thousand pieces of silver. Heb. father's house.' This has doubtless o a thousand (of) silver, or a thouarisen from some misconstruction of sand silverlings. The word 'pieces' does the original. The Heb. term caused to wander, is probably here em-shekels' is undoubtedly to be supplied, not occur in the original, though it or ployed from the circumstance of God's as is done by the Chal. Targum. The not directing him in the outset to go to Gr, also has xixia didpaxpa a thousand any certain place. On the contrary he didrachmas or double drachms, i. e. a was sent forth to go he knew not whither, and in allusion to this he is thousand shekels, as the Heb. said to have wandered.' But what is shekel is often rendered in the Sept. 'wandering' to us, when led by divine The original word comes from guidance, is a definite course of jour-shakal, to weigh, for which is derived neying to the omniscient eye that by transposition of letters, the English watches over and orders our steps.- 'scale,' an instrument of weighing. It The fact which Abraham here men-is so called from the fact that the value tions of an early precautionary ar- of money was anciently reckoned by rangement between him and Sarah, weight; for which reason the word would go far to set him right in Abim-'shekel' is at once the name of a weight elech's esteem, as it would prove that and of a coin. The Chal. terms a shekel he did not resort to the expedient be- salin or selang, the origin percause he thought worse of him and his people than of the other nations among whom he expected to sojourn. Neither the king nor people of Gerar were at all in his view when he proposed to adopt the artifice in question. Yet we can by no means commend this concerted plan of prevarication.ary shekel, it is not possible to deterIt was a policy that savoured too strongly of the wisdom of the flesh, and implied a distrust in the overruling providence of God altogether unworthy of their character. Indeed the remark of Henry on this subject carries with it great plausibility; 'It may, for

haps of our word shilling,' and the
value of the common shekel differed not
much from the English shilling, as the
shekel of the sanctuary was equivalent
to about two shillings, or fifty cents,
American money. Which is intended
here, whether the common or sanctu

mine, but probably the former which
would make the sum about $250 of our
currency.-
-¶ Thy brother. In cal-
ling Abraham her brother he makes use
of her own language in a sarcastic
way, and thus administers in a very
skilful and yet delicate manner a word

would have every defence which she
needed for the honour of her person,
without resorting to any kind of strat-
agent for the pursose. The following
remarks of the Editor of the Pict. Bible
are not inconsistent with the above in-
'We are not satisfied
terpretation.

with any of the illustrations of this text
that have fallen under our notice; and
a reference to existing usages seems all
that is necessary to render it quite in-
telligible. Without at present noticing
the different sorts of veils, we may
mention that it is customary for all the
women inhabiting towns to go about
closely veiled; while all the women of
the different pastoral people who live
in tents do not commonly wear veils,
or at most only so far as to cover their
foreheads and lower parts of the face,
leaving the countenance exposed from
the eyebrows to below the nose.
evident, that although the use of com-
plete coverings was known, the women
of the pastoral patriarchs did not con-
ceal their faces completely, except on
extraordinary occasions; and if we as-

It is

of fitting rebuke for the deception in which she had participated.- -T He is to thee a covering of the eyes, &c. Heb. Chal. Behold, it is to thee a covering of honour, for that I did send to take thee, and have seen thee and all that are with thee.' Gr. 'These (i. e. the thousand shekels) shall be to thee for an honour of thy face, and to all (the women) that are with thee.' The passage is very variously explained by commentators according as the original hoo, which in itself is ambiguous, is rendered by he or it. According to the latter mode, which is favoured by Chaldee, the meaning is, 'I have given thy brother that sum of money to purchase veils for thee and thine attendants that are married, that all who converse with thee here or elsewhere may know that thou art a married woman.' Veils were anciently worn in token of subjection to a husband, to which the Apostle, doubtless with this passage in view, thus distinctly alludes, 1 Cor. 11. 10, For this cause ought the woman to have power (cov-sume that the same distinction existed on authority) on her head;' i. e. a veil or covering as a token of her husband's power or authority over her. Abimelech's thus giving money for the purchase of veils was a reproof to Abraham for permitting his wife to go without one; implying that if she had worn one, it would have prevented the unpleasant consequences that actually ensued. If with others we understand the pronoun of Abraham himself, it will still leave the sense substantially the same; for in the phrase 'He is to thee a cover-in the towns which border on Arabia, ing of the eyes,' we still recognise an allusion to a veil, and take the purport to be, that he was the person in reference to whom she was to cover her eyes and face with a veil as a badge of his exclusive right to her subjection and wedded fealty. As a matter of course, she would then have a right to his protection, to his guardian care, and thus

between them and women of towns, as
we find at present, we have the eluci-
dation required. Abimelech, according
to this view, intended to give the very
her women were in or near towns, they
sensible advice, that while Sarah and
had better conform with the customs
of towns, and wear the complete veil
instead of that partial covering which
left the eyes and so much of the face
exposed. This will certainly seem the
most obvious illustration to one who,

has at the same time seen the towns-
women glide along the streets com-
pletely muffled up, while the Arab fe-
males go about with their eyes and
great part of their faces exposed to
view.' Thus she was reproved,
A clause of extreme
Heb, 17,
ambiguity, on which, if we were wri
ting merely for the learned, it would be

17 So Abraham prayed of Abimelech, because of Sarah, unto God: and God healed Abim- Abraham's wife. elech, and his wife, and his maid-servants; and they bare children.

18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house

e Job 42. 9, 10. fch. 12. 17.

CHAPTER XXI.

a

AND the LORD visited Sarah

a he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

a 1 Sam. 2. 21. b ch. 17. 19. & 18. 10, 14. Gal. 4. 23, 28.

the blessings of salvation, which will infinitely overbalance any evils that they may have suffered through our

CHAPTER XXI.

1. And the Lord visited Sarah. Heb.

easy to heap up a vast diversity of con-
flicting interpretations. But as we aim
especially at the benefit of common
readers, we shall, instead of encumber-means.
ing our pages with an array of critical
authorities, barely remark that we agree
with Buxtorf in considering the original
word a substantive instead of a verb,
and that it is connected by the copula-
tive and with 0 covering, so as
to make the purport of Abimelech's
language to be that he had given the
money as the price of a veil and also
as a means of reproof.

pakad; bestowed upon her the promised mercy. Chal. 'The Lord remembered Sarah.' 'Visiting' is attributed to God in a two-fold sense: (1.) That of showing mercy, especially in the fulfilment of promises; as, Gen. 50. 24, God will surely visit you, and 17. So Abraham prayed unto God, bring you out of this land.' Ruth 1. 6, and God healed Abimelech, &c. Abra- That the Lord had visited his people ham by his prevarication had brought in giving them bread.' Luke 1. 68, distress on Abimelech and all his house-Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, hold. Being now humbled by the re- for he hath visited and redeemed his buke he had received, he prayed to God people.' (2.) That of inflicting judgfor the removal of the judgments which ments or executing threatenings; as, he had been instrumental in procuring. Ex. 28. 5, ‘A jealous God, visiting the By this means, as far as in him lay, he iniquity of the fathers upon the chilcounteracted and reversed the mischief dren.' Ps. 89. 33, Then will I visit that he had done. It is but seldom their transgressions with a rod.' Num. that we can cancel in any degree the 16. 29, 'If these die the common death evil we have committed; but if any of all men, or if they be visited after the way whatever present itself, we should visitation of all men; then the Lord embrace it gladly and put forth our ut- hath not sent me.' As the Psalmist most endeavours to undo the injury we assures us that 'children are an herimay have wrought. At all events, the tage of the Lord, and the fruit of the course adopted by Abraham is open to womb is his reward,' i. e. an heritage us all, We may pray for those whom from him and a reward given by him, we have injured. We may beg of God it is the dictate of a pious mind always to obliterate from their minds any bad to refer such an event to the special impressions which either by word or visitation of heaven, notwithstanding it deed we may have made on them. And takes place in accordance with the opif we find in them a kind forgiving spir-eration of established physical laws, it, we should so much the more re- But in the present case there was an double our exertions to obtain for them additional reason for recognising such