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3 And Sarai, Abram's wife, | years in the land of Canaan, and took Hagar her maid the Egyp-gave her to her husband Abram tian, after Abram had dwelt ten to be his wife.

h ch. 12. 5.

that their houses shall continue for ever; i. e. that their stock or race shall be interminably perpetuated. Ps. 113. 9, 'He maketh the barren woman to keep house;" i. e. as the ensuing ex

nature, she doubteth, and yet hides her diffidence; and, when she must believe, feareth, because she did distrust. Abraham hears and believes, and expects and rejoices; he saith not, I am old and weak; Sarah is old and bar-egetical clause explains it, 'to be a ren; where are the many nations that shall come forth from these withered loins? It is enough to him that God hath said it: he sees not the means, he sees the promise: he knew that God would rather raise him up seed from the very stones that he trod on, than himself should want a large and happy issue.' Bp. Hall. -TI pray thee go in unto my maid. That is, marry her, as is clear from the ensuing verse, on which see note. - I may obtain children by her. Heb. 2 may be builded by her. The ideal connection between the rearing of offspring and 'building' is very close in the original Scriptures. The Heb. is a derivative from build, and

ben, a son, banah, to eben, a stone, of which houses are built, probably comes from the same root. The following passages, among others, will exhibit the Scriptural usage in this respect. Deut. 25. 9, 'So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house;' i. e. who will not raise up seed to his brother. Ruth 4. 11, 'The Lord make the woman like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel;' i. c. were the founders of the nation of Israel. Ex. 1. 21, 'And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses;' i. e. he gave them children, an extended posterity. Ps. 68. 6, 'God setteth the solitary in families; Heb. 'in houses;' i. e. makes them progenitors. Ps. 49. 11, 'Their inward thought is

joyful mother of children.'- -T And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. That is, obeyed; a very common sense of the word. Thus Prov. 1. 33, 'Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely;' i. e. whoso obeyeth me. Ps. 81. 13, 'O that my people had hearkened unto me;' i. e. had obeyed my precepts. Rev. 1. 3, 'Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy;' i. e. they that give obedient heed to what is written. The period of Abraham's previous sojourning in Canaan is stated in the next verse with a view, perhaps, of displaying still more impressively his infirmity on He who had for ten

this occasion.

long years sojourned as a stranger and a pilgrim in the land of promise, and that wholly from a principle of faith, he, alas! is at length so far overcome as to yield to the carnal expedient proposed by his wife. The father of mankind sinned by hearkening to his wife, and now the father of the faithful follows his example. How necessary for those who stand in the nearest relations, to take heed of being snares, instead of helps, to one another!' Fuller. Abr ham was now 85 and Sarah 75 years of age,

3. Gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. That is, a secondary wife, or Such wives, though contrary to the one of an inferior grade. primeval institution of marriage, were customary in the patriarchal and subsequent ages, and are generally in the scriptures called 'concubines,' 'The

4 ¶ And he went in unto Ha- | My wrong be upon thee: I have gar, and she conceived: and given my maid into thy bosom : when she saw that she had con- and when she saw that she had ceived, her mistress was i de- conceived, I was despised in her spised in her eyes. eyes: the LORD judge between nie and thee.

5 And Sarai said unto Abram,

i 2 Sam. 6. 16. Prov. 30. 21, 23.

k ch. 31. 53. 1 Sam. 24. 12.

her posterity, and as a natural resul
her mistress is despised in her eyes,
thus showing herself to be one of the
three things by which the earth is dis-
quieted, Prov. 30. 23, viz. 'an hand-
maid that is heir to her mistress.'
5. And Sarai said unto Abram, My
wrong be upon thee, &c. Heb.

my wrong is (lieth) upon thee; i. e. thou art to blame in suffering her insolence; the duty of redressing the wrong which I sustain rests with thee; or she may mean to say, My injury is

Hebrew word pilgash, here translated 'wife,' is frequently in other places rendered 'concubine.' It describes a wife of a second and inferior class. Such women were considered real wives, inasmuch as the connection was legal and customary; but the absence of certain solemnities and contracts of dowry marked the condition as inferior, though not in itself degrading. The children did not inherit the property of the father; who usually provided for them in his own life-time, if he had sons by the principal wife or wives to claim the inher-thine also. Those who are the first to itance. We thus find Abraham providing for the sons of his concubines Hagar and Keturah. Things are still much the same in the East, where similar practices are legalized by the Mohammedan law. That law allows a man four wives of the first class, and does not restrict him as to slaves. But the condition of a slave is not altered as such by the manner in which she lives in the family of her master. The sweeper of his house and the partner of his bed are alike liable to be sold again if they have been purchased; but delicacy prevents this right from being often exercised. (See Malcolm's 'History of Persia.') So we see that Hagar remained a 'bondwoman' after she had become the mother of Ishmael, and Sarai is still called her mistress.' Pict. Bible.

4. When she saw that she had conceived, &c. The consequence was what might have been anticipated. The young woman, elated with the honour done her, becomes vain and insolent. She views Abraham's vast possessions, and vaster prospects, as entailed upon

give evil counsel are often the first to suffer by it. This was strikingly exemplified in the case of Sarah. Being now made to reap according to that she had sown, she begins, when it is too late, to repent of her rashness. But instead of condemning her own conduct, and confessing that her folly had recoiled upon herself, she turns the edge of her resentment against her husband. Had the good man formed a deliberate design of injuring and insulting her, she could not have employed harsher language. Indeed her conduct throughout was that of a peevish, unreasonable, and disappointed woman; and its weakness and wickedness are aggravated by her appealing to God in a case where she was clearly and consciously in the wrong. As if she had taken it for granted that her husband would not hear her, she exclaims, 'The Lord judge between me and thee!' Such hasty and passionate appeals to heaven, instead of indicating a good cause, are commonly the marks of a bad one A truly serious spirit will pause before interposing the

m

61 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt

1 Prov. 15. 1. 1 Pet. 3. 7. m. Job. 2. 6. Ps.

106. 41, 42. Jer. 38. 5.

hardly with her," she fled from her face.

7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to P Shur.

n Exod. 2. 15. o ch. 25. 18. p Exod. 15. 22. strikingly do they show into what disorder and turmoil one ill-advised measure may plunge a happy well-regulated family. Abraham's ill-judged compliance with the rash counsel of his wife has created an unpleasant state of feeling between him and her; it constrains him to connive at her cruel treatment of an unhappy woman, who is at least as much to be pitied as blamed; and renders the prospect of the promised seed a heavy affliction instead of a blessing. Sarah is betrayed by the eagerness of her spirit first into a culpable expedient; then into unkindness and undutifulness towards her lord; then into irreverence and impiety towards God; and finally, by an easy transition, into barbarity towards the hapless handmaid whom her own scheme had brought into a condition that claimed her utmost compassion and kindness. In what deep and accumulated woe, then, may one inconsiderate step involve the heedless! And if good and well-intentioned people suffer thus severely from one act of imprudence, who but must tremble to think of the fearful consequences of deliberate wickedness! A thousand volumes written against polygamy would not lead to a clearer fuller conviction of the evils of that practice, than the story

name of God on any occasion, and will shudder at the thought of employing it on a false or frivolous one. 'I will sooner believe a plain unprofessing man, in his simple words, than ten thousand common swearers, under the sanction of as many oaths.' Hunter. 6. Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. Heb. 7 that which is good in thine eyes. Abraham on this vexing occasion is meek and gentle. He had learned that a soft answer turneth away wrath, and therefore refrained from upbraiding his wife, as he might easily and reasonably have done; preferring domestic peace to the vindication of himself and the placing the blame where it ought to have laid. It is doubtful, however, whether he did not yield too much in this case; for though according to the custom of those times Hagar was mainly under the control of Sarah, yet being his lawful wife, she was entitled to protection, and should not have been given up to the will of one who manifested, on this occasion, nothing but jealousy, passion, and caprice. But he seems to have been brought into a situation where he was at a loss what to do; and thus, as Sarah is punished for tempting him, so he also is punished with a disordered house for having yielded to the temptation. Sarai 7. The angel of the Lord found her, dealt hardly with her. Heb. &c. We here see how seasonably and afflicted her; probably by some kind suitably God interposes to rectify the of personal maltreatment, as the exdisorders occasioned by the infirmities When we have weapression in the original is too strong of his servants. not to imply something more than ried ourselves with our own devices, mere verbal reproaches. and snared ourselves in the works of our own hands, Providence often takes

The more the incidents are considered, the more

under review.

8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? Anu she

up the case, subdues it to his own wise and gracious purposes, and turns evil into good. Hagar flies from the face of her unkind inistress, but happily for her she cannot flee from God. The interest which Abraham now has in her gives her an interest in the peculiar care and protection of the Almighty-and how kindly this is manifested the sequel will disclose. An 'angel' is here mentioned for the first time. The word itself is properly a name of office, and not of nature; signifying messenger or legate, one sent or employed upon any business whatever, whether human or divine. The 'angels' mentioned in the sacred volume were sometimes men, as Haggai, Hag. 1. 13, is called the Lord's messenger,' Heb. 'angel of the Lord;' as is also John the Baptist, Mal. 31. Mat. 11. 10. The appellation is given generally to the ministering servants of God, to prophets and holy men acting under divine direction, or in the service of religion. It is also extended in several instances to providential dispensations or to the impersonal agents of the divine will, as plagues, pestilences, famines, &c. A remarkable and prominent usage of the term is to designate him who is here and elsewhere denominated the 'angel of Jehovah,' a title which is evidently appropriated to an uncreated being. More frequently, however, the term is applied to a superior order of beings, of whom our Saviour says, 'They are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.' From the silence of the Scriptures respecting the creation of these spiritual intelligences, and from the remarkable language of the following passages, some have inferred that the whole angelic order was in fact composed of the spirits of glorified

said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

men. Rev. 22. 8, 'And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the fect of the angel which showed me those things. Then said he unto me; See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book.' Again, Rev. 21. 17, 'And he measured the wall thereof according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel,' or rather, 'of an angel,' as the article does not occur in the original. In some cases the word is evidently a designation of Christ, who is 'the angel of the covenant,' Mal. 3. 1; the 'angel of God's presence,' Is. 63. 9; and 'the angel in whom the name of the Lord is,' Ex. 23. 20. As the angel here mentioned is called by Hagar 'Lord' (Heb. Jehovah), v. 13, and as he addresses her in a style befitting only the Most High, v. 10, promising to perform what God alone could do, and foretelling what God alone could know, the inference would seem to be inevitable, that it was no other than a divine personage who is here presented to our view.¶ In the way to Shur. 'It appears that the term

wilderness,' or 'desert of Shur,' here and elsewhere denotes the sandy tract to the west of Stony Arabia, extending 150 road miles between Palestine and Egypt, and having the Mediterranean on the north, and the peninsula of Sinai on the south. The common caravan road between Palestine and Egypt still lies through the heart of this desert. It is evident that it was Hagar's intention to return to her own country.' Pict. Bible.

8. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence comest thou, &c. That she should thus hear her name familiarly called, and her occupation specified, by an entire stranger, would naturally

9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

q Tit. 2. 9. 1 Pet, 2. 18.

10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. r ch. 17. 20. & 21. 18. & 25. 12.

excite her wonder, and beget the im-in despising her mistress, and by her pression that it was more than a huIman being who addressed her. Of this she certainly became entirely convinced in the course of the interview. In calling her Sarai's maid instead of Abram's wife, he seems to have aimed tacitly at lowering the self-complacency which had procured her troubles, and to lead her mind back to that humble character which she had formerly sustained. The questions put to her were close. but tender, and such as were fily addressed to a person fleeing from trouble. The first might be answered, and was answered; but with respect to the last she is silent. 'We know our present grievances, and so can tell whence we came,' much better than our future lot, or whither we go.' In many cases, if the truth were spoken, the answer would be, from bad to worse.' Fuller.

exposure in endangering the fruit of her womb, and now she must be humbled for it. Hard as this might appear, it was the counsel of wisdom and mercy. A connection with the people of God, with all their faults, is preferable to the best of this world, where God is unknown. If we have done wrong, whatever temptations or provocations we have met with, the only way to peace and happiness is to retrace our footsteps, in repentance and submission. As to the fact of her return, the history leaves us to draw our own conclusions. We may safely suppose that all parties were by this time brought sufficiently to themselves to afford her ample encouragement to return. The solitude and dangers of the wilderness, and the apparition of the angel, awful, though in mercy, would of course greatly have diminished in Hagar's

9. Return to thy mistress and sub-mind the resentment occasioned by mit thyself under her hands. Heb. her mistress's treatment. With Sarah,

on afflict thyself, or suffer thyself to be afflicted; the same which occurs v. 6, and is thus rendered 'dealt hardly with.' The idea of something like penance is undoubtedly implied. It is the term usually applied to the act of self-abasement by which a penitent sinner humbles himself with prayer, and fasting, and confessions of guilt before his Maker. The Gr. renders it by Tazεwont be thou humbled, and in allusion to this expression, the Apostle says, 1 Pet. 5. 6, Humble yourselves (Tansyre) therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may lift you up.' The injunction of the angel to Hagar here was to return and submit. The reason was that she had done wrong

·

on the other hand, the sudden disappearing of her maid; the loss of her services; the just apprehension of the evil which might have befallen a desperate woman in her delicate situation; regret for her cruel behaviour; together with the soothing effect of time and serious reflection, would no doubt tend to moderate and mollify her spirit, and dispose her to welcome back the returning fugitive. While Abraham, always wise, gentle, and good, would necessarily rejoice in the restored peace of his family, accompanied as it was with a fresh demonstration of the divine tenderness toward's him and his, and with a farther enlargement and extent of the promised blessing.

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