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trained servants, born in his own house, | three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

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15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the h king's dale.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be

a Or, instructed.-b Ch. 15. 3. & 17. 12, 27. Eccles. 2. 7.-c Dent. 34. 1. Judg. 18. 29-d Isai 11. 2,3-e Ver. 11, 12-Judg. 11. 31. 1 Sam. 18. 6.-g Hebr. 7. 1.-h2 Sam. 13 18-Hebr. 7. 1.- Ps. 110. Hebr. 5. 6-1 Mic. 6. 6. Acts 16, 17.

Heber, son of Salah, see ch. xi. 15.; but why he should get a name from Heber, rather than from his own father, or some other of his progenitors, no person has yet been able to discover. We may, therefore, safely conclude, that he bears the appellation of Hebrew or Aberite from the above circumstance, and not from one of his progenitors, of whom we know nothing but the name, and who preceded Abram not less than six generations; and during the whole of that time till the time marked here, none of his descendants were ever called Hebrews: this is a demonstration that Abram was not called the Hebrew from Heber; see ch. xi. 15-27.

These were confederate with Abram.] It seems that a kind of convention was made between Abram and the three brothers, Mamre, Eshcol and Aner, who were probably all chieftains in the vicinity of Abram's dwelling; all petty princes, similar to the nine kings before mentioned.

Verse 14. He armed his trained servants] These amounted to three hundred and eighteen in number; and how many were in the divisions of Mamre, Eshcol and Aner, we know not; but they and their men certainly accompanied him in this expedition; see ver. 24.

Abram of the most high God, m possessor of heaven and earth.

20 And "blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, have made Abram rich:

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24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Ruth 3. 10. 2 Sam. 2. 5.-m Ver. 22 Matt. 11. 25.-n Ch. 24. 27.-0 Hebr. 7. 4. pHeb. souls-q Exod. 6. 3. Dan. 12. 7. Rev. 10. 5, 6.-r Ver. 19. Ch. 21. 33-8 So Esther 9. 15, 16.- Ver. 13.

of the true God, and the primitive patriarchal institutions: by these, the father of every family was both king and priest; so Melchizedek, being a worshipper of the true God, was priest among the people, as well as king over them.

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Melchizedek is called here king of Salem, and the most judicious interpreters allow that by Salem Jerusalem is meant: that it bore this name anciently is evident from Psal. lxxvi. 1, 2. "In Judah is God known; his name is great in Israel. In SALEM also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place in Zion." From the use made of this part of the sacred history by David, Psal. cx. 4. and by Saint Paul, Heb. vii. 1-10. we learn that there was something very mysterious, and at the same time typical, in the person, name, office, residence, and government of this Canaanitish prince. 1. In his person he was a representative and type of Christ; see the scriptures above referred 2. His name, p Malchi tsedek, signifies my righteous king, or king of righteousness: this name he probably had from the pure and righteous administration of his government; and this is one of the characters of our blessed Lord, a character which can be applied to him only, as he alone is essentially righteous, and the only potentate; but a holy man, such as Melchizedek, might bear this name as his type or representative. 3. Office-He was a priest of the most high God—the word kohen, which signifies both prince and priest, because the patriarchs sustained this double office, has both its root and proper signification in the Arabic: 8 kahana, signifies to approach, draw near, have intimate access to and from hence, to officiate as priest before God, and thus have the sacrifices which he offered, he received counsel and information relative to what was yet to take place: and hence another acceptation of the word, to foretel, predict future events, unfold hidden things, or mysteries; 80 the lips of the priests preserved knowledge, and they were often the interpreters of the will of God to the people. Thus we find that Melchizedek, being a priest of the most high God, represented Christ in his sacerdotal character; the word priest being understood as before explained. 4. His residence-He was king of Salem: Shalam, signifies to make whole, complete, or perfect; and hence it means peace, which implies the making whole, the breaches made in the political and domestic union of kingdoms, states, families, &c. making an end of discord, and establishing friendship. Christ is called the Prince of Peace, because by his incarnation, sacrifice, and mediation, he procures and establishes peace between God and man: heals the breaches and dissentions between heaven and earth, reconciling both and produces glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace and good-will among men. His resiVerse 18. And Melchizedek king of Salem] A thou-dence is peace and quietness, and assurance for ever, in sand idle stories have been told about this man: and a thousand idle conjectures spent on the subject of his short history given here, and in Heb. vii. At present, it is only necessary to state that he appears to have been as real a personage as Bera, Birsha, or Shinab, though we have no more of his genealogy than we have of theirs. Brought forth bread and wine] Certainly to refresh Abram and his men, exhausted with the late battle and fatigues of the journey-not in the way of sacrifice, &c.: this is an idle conjecture.

Verse 15. And he divided himself against them] It required both considerable courage and address in Abram to lead him to attack the victorious armies of these four kings with so small a number of troops; and on this occasion both his skill and courage are exercised. His affection for Lot appears to have been his chief motive: He cheerfully risks his life for that nephew who had lately chosen the best part of the land, and left his uncle to live as he might, on what he did not think worthy his own accept-intimate access to the divine presence: and by means of ance. But it is the property of a great and generous mind not only to forgive, but to forget offences; and at all times to repay evil with good.

Verse 16. And brought back-the women also] This is brought in by the sacred historian with peculiar interest and tenderness. All who read the account must be in pain for the fate of wives and daughters fallen into the hands of a ferocious, licentious, and victorious soldiery. Other spoils the routed confederates might have left behind, and yet, on their swift asses, camels, and dromedaries, have carried off the female captives. However, Abram had disposed his attack so judiciously, and so promptly executed his measures, that not only all the baggage, but all the females, also, were recovered.

Verse 17. The king of Sodom went out to meet him] This could not have been Bera, mentioned ver. 2. for it seems pretty evident, from ver. 10, that both he and Birsha, king of Gomorrah, were slain at the bitumen pits, in the vale of Siddim; but another person, in the mean time, might have succeeded to the government.

He was the priest of the most high God.] He had preserved in his family and among his subjects the worship VOL. I.-10

every believing upright heart. He governs as the Prince and Priest of the most high God; ruling in righteousness, mighty to save: and he ever lives to make intercession for, and save to the uttermost, all who come unto the Father by Him. See on Heb. vii.

Verse 19. And he blessed him] This was a part of the priest's office, to bless in the name of the Lord, for ever; see the form of this blessing, Numb. vi. 23-26. and for the meaning of the word to bless, see Gen. ii. 3.

Verse 20, And he, Abram, gave him, Melchizedek, tithes, a tenth part, of all the spoils he had taken from the confederate kings. These Abram gave as a tribute to the

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CHAPTER XV.

God appears to Abram in a vision, and gives him great encouragement, 1. Abram's request and complaint, 2, 3. God promises him a son, 4; and an exceedingly numerous posterity, 5. Abram credis the promise, and his faith is counted unto

him for righteousness, 6. Jehovan proclaims himself, and renews the promise of Canaan to his posterity, 7. Abram requires a sign of its fulfilment, S. Jehovah directs him to offer a sacrifice of five different animals, 9. Which he accordingly does, 10, 11. God reveals to him the affliction of his posterity in Egypt, and the duration of that affliction, 12, 13. Promises to bring them back to the land of Canaan with great affluence, 14-16. mentions the possessions which should be given to his posterity, 18-21.

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Renews the covenant with Abram, and

FTER these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying,

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a Dan. 10. 1. Acts 10. 10, 11.-b Ch. 26. 24. Dan. 10. 12. Luke 1. 13, 30.

most high God; who, being the possessor of heaven and earth, dispenses all spiritual and temporal favours; and demands the gratitude, and submissive, loving obedience of all his subjects. Almost all nations of the earth have agreed in giving a tenth part of their property to be employed in religious uses. The tithes were afterward granted to the Levites for the use of their sanctuary, and the maintenance of themselves and their families, as they had no other inheritance in Israel.

Verse 22. Ihave lift up mine hand] The primitive mode of appealing to God, and calling him to witness a particular transaction: this, no doubt, generally obtained among the faithful, till circumcision, the sign of the covenant, was established; after this, in swearing, the hand was placed on the circumcised part; see chap. xxiv. 2. and 9.

Verse 23. From a thread even to a shoe-latchet] This was certainly a proverbial mode of expression, the full meaning of which is perhaps not known. Among the rabbinical writers on chut or chuti, signifies a fillet worn by young women, to tie up their hair; taken in this sense it will give a good meaning here. As Abram had rescued both the men and women carried off by the confederate kings; and the king of Sodom had offered him all the goods, claiming only the persons; he answers, by protesting against the reception of any of their property: "I have vowed unto the Lord, the proprietor of heaven and earth, that I will not receive the smallest portion of the property either of the women or men, from a girl's fillet to a man's shoe-tie."

Verse 24. Save only that which the young men have eaten] His own servants had partaken of the victuals which the confederate kings had carried away, see ver. 11. This was unavoidable, and this is all he claims; but as he had no right to prescribe the same liberal conduct to his assistants, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, he left them to claim the shure that, by right of conquest, belonged to them of the recaptured booty. Whether they were as generous as Abram, we are not told.

THE great variety of striking incidents in this chapter the attentive reader has already carefully noted. To read, and not understand, is the property of the fool and the inconsiderate. 1. We have already seen the danger to which Lot exposed himself in preferring a fertile region, though peopled with the workers of iniquity. His sorrows commenced in the captivity of himself and family, and the loss of all his property; though, by the good providence of God, he and they were rescued. 2. Long observation has proved, that the company a man keeps, is not an indifferent thing-it will either be the means of his salvation or destruction. 3. A generous man cannot be contented with mere personal safety, while others are in danger; nor with his own prosperity while others are in distress. Abram, hearing of the captivity of his nephew, determines to attempt his rescue, puts himself at the head of his own servants, three hundred and eighteen in number, and the few assistants with which his neighbours, Mamre, Aner, and Eshcol, could furnish him, trusting in God and the goodness of his cause, he marches off to attack four confederate kings! 4. Though it is not very likely that the armies of those petty kings could have amounted to many thousands, yet they were numerous enough to subdue almost the whole land of Canaan, and consequently, humanly speaking, Abram must know that by numbers he could not prevail; and that in this case particularly the battle was the Lord's. 5. While depending on the divine blessing and succour, he knew he must use the means he had in his power, he therefore divided his troops skilfully, that he might attack the enemy at different points at the same time; and he chooses the night season to commence his attack, that the smallness of his force might not be discovered. God requires a man to use all the faculties he has given him, in every lawful enterprise; and only in the conscientious use of them, can he expect the divine blessing: when this is done, the event may be safely trusted in the hands of God. 6. Here is a war undertaken by Abram on motives the most honourable and

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conscientious-it was to repel aggression, and to rescue the innocent from the heaviest of sufferings and the worst of slavery; not for the purpose of plunder, nor the extension of his territories: therefore he takes no spoils, and returns peaceably to his own possessions. How happy would the world be, were every sovereign actuated by the same spirit! 7. We have already noticed the appearance, person, office, &c. of Melchizedek; and, without indulging in the wild theories of either ancient or modern visionaries, have considered him as the Scriptures do, a type of Christ; all that has been already spoken on this head may be recapitulated in a few words:-1. The Redeemer of the world is the King of righteousness, he creates it, maintains it, and rules by it. 2. His empire is the empire of peace, this he proclaims to them who are afar off, and to them that are nigh; to the Jew and to the Gentile. 3. He is Priest of the most high God, and has laid down his life for the sin of the world; and through this sacrifice, the blessing of God is derived on them that believe. Reader, take him for thy king as well as thy priest: he saves those only who submit to his authority, and take his Spirit for the regulator of their heart, and his word for the director of their conduct. How many do we find among those who would be sorry to be rated so low as to rank only with nominal Christians, talking of Christ as their prophet priest, and king; who are not taught by his word and Spirit; who apply not for redemption in his blood; and who submit not to his authority! Reader learn this deep and important truth," Where I am, there also shall my servant be; and he that serveth me, him shall my Father honour."

NOTES ON CHAPTER XV. Verse 1. The word of the Lord came unto Abram] This is the first place where God is represented as revealing himself by his word. Some learned men suppose that the Debar Yehovah, translated here word of the Lord, means the same with the Ayes Tou o of St. John, chap. i. ver. 1. and by the Chaldee paraphrases in the next clause, called memree, my word, and in other places,

memra dayai, the wORD of Jehovah, which they appear always to consider as a person, and which they distinguish from Nano pithgama, which signifies merely a word spoken, or any part of speech. There have been various conjectures concerning the manner in which God revealed his will not only to the patriarchs, but also to the phrophets, evangelists, and apostles. It seems to have been done in different ways. 1. By a personal appearance of Him who was afterward incarnated for the salvation of mankind. 2. By an audible voice, sometimes accompanied with emblematical appearances. 3. By visions, which took place either in the night, in ordinary sleep, or when the persons were cast into a temporary trance, by daylight, or when about their ordinary business. 4. By the ministry of angels, appearing in human bodies, and performing certain miracles to accredit their mission. 5. By the powerful agency of the Spirit of God upon the mind, giving it a strong conception, and supernatural persuasion of the truth of the things perceived by the understanding. We shall see all these exemplified in the course of the work. It was probably in the third sense that the revelation in the text was given, for it is said, God appeared to Abram in a vision, mechazch, from n chazah, he saw; or according to others, to fix, fasten, settle; hence chozeh, a SEER, the person who sees divine things; to whom alone they are revealed, on whose mind they are fastened, and in whose memory and judgment they are fired and settled. Hence the vision, what was mentally perceived, and by the evidence to the soul of its divine origin, fired and settled in the mind.

Fear not] The late Dr. Dodd has a good thought on this passage: "I would read," says he, "the second verse in a parenthesis, thus, For Abram HAD said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, &c. Abram had said this in the fear of his heart, upon which the Lord vouchsafed to him this prophetical view, and this strong renovation of the covenant. In this light all follows

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A. M. CIR. 2093. B. C. CIR. 1911.

But he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

6 And he believed in the LORD; and he
counted it to him for righteousness.
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And he said unto him, I am the LORD that

a 2 Sam. 7. 12 & 16 11. 2 Chron. 32 21.-b Psa. 147. 4.-c Jer. 33. 22-d Ch. 22. 17. Exod. 32 13. Deut. 1. 10. & 10. 22 1 Chron. 27. 23. Rom. 4. 18. Hebr. 11. 12. See Ch. 13. 16-e Rom. 4. 3, 9, 22. Gal. 3. 6. James 2 23-f Pea. 105. 31.

very properly. Abram had said so and so in ver. 2. upon which God appears, and says, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. The patriarch then, ver. 3. freely opens the anxious apprehension of his heart: behold, to me thou hast yet given no seed, &c. upon which God proceeds to assure him of posterity."

I am thy shield, &c.] Can it be supposed that Abram understood these words as promising him temporal advantages at all corresponding to the magnificence of these promises? If he did, he was disappointed through the whole course of his life; for he never enjoyed such a state of prosperity, as could justify the strong language in the text. Shall we lose sight of Abram, and say that his posterity was intended, and Abram understood the promises as relating to them, and not to himself, or immediately to his own family? then the question recurs, Did the Israelites ever enjoy such a state of temporal affluence as seems to be intended by the above promise? To this every man acquainted with their history, will, without hesitation, say NO. What then is intended? just what the words state. GOD was Abram's portion, and the portion of every righteous soul; for to Abram, and the children of his faith, he gives not a portion in this life. Nothing, says Father Calmet, proves more invincibly the immortality of the soul, the truth of religion, and the eternity of another life, than to see that in this life the righteous seldom receive the reward of their virtue, and that in temporal things, they are often less happy than the workers of iniquity. fam, says the Almighty, thy shield, thy constant covering and protector, and thy exceeding great reward, T AND 7 Shekar-ca harebbeh meod, "THAT superlatively multiplied reward of thine." It is not the Canaan I promise, but the salvation that is to come through the promised Seed. Hence it was that Abram rejoiced to see his day. And hence the Chaldee Targum translates this place, My WORD shall be thy strength, &c.

Verse 2. And the steward of my house] Abram understanding the promise as relating to that person who was to spring from his family, in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed, expresses his surprise that there should be such a promise, and yet he is about to die childless! How then can the promise be fulfilled, when, far from a spiritual seed, he has not even a person in his family that has a natural right to his property; and that a stranger is likely to be his heir! This seems to be the general sense of the passage, but who this steward of his house, this Eliezer of Damascus is, commentators are not agreed. The translation of the Septuagint is at least curious, 081 vi05 Marix THE DIROGOROUS MOU, OUTOS Axμxoxos Exe. The son of Masek my handmaid, this Eliezer of Damascus, is my heir; which intimates, that they supposed pup meshek, which we translate steward, to have been the name of a female slave in the family of Abram, of whom was born this Eliezer, who, on account either of the country of his father or mother, was called a Damascene, or one of Damascus. It is extremely probable, that our Lord has this passage in view in his parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Luke xvi. 19. From the name Eliezer, by leaving out the first letter, Liazer is formed, which makes Lazarus in the New Testament; the person who, from an abject and distressed state, was raised to lie in the bosom of Abram in paradise.

Verse 5. Look now toward the heavens] It appears that this whole transaction took place in the evening. See on chap. xiii. 14. and Abram had either two visions, that recorded in ver. 1. and that in ver. 12, &c. or what is mentioned in the beginning of this chapter is a part of the occurrences which took place after the sacrifice mentioned, ver. 9, &c. But it is more likely that there was a vision of that kind already described, and afterward a second, in which he received the revelation mentioned in ver. 13-16. After the first vision, he is brought forth abroad, to see if he can number the stars; and as he finds this impossible, he is assured that as they are to him innumerable, so shall his posterity be; and that all should spring from one who should proceed from his own bowels, one who should be his own legitimate child.

Verse 9. Take me a heifer] by gelah, a she-calf; she-goat; y êz, a goat, male or female, but distinguished here by the femenine adjective, non meshullesheth, a three-yearling; a ram, ayil; a turtle-dove, n tor, from which come turtur, and turtle; young pigeon, Sna gozal, a word which signifies the young both of pigeons and eagles. See Deut. xxxii. 11. It is worthy of remark, that every animal allowed or commanded to be sacrificed under the Mosaic law, is to be found in this list. And is it not a proof that God was now giving to Abram an epitome of that law and its sacrifices, which he intended more fully to reveal to Moses; the essence of which consisted in its sacrifices, which typified the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

On the several animals which God ordered Abram to take, Jarchi remarks: "The idolatrous nations are compared in the Scriptures to bulls, rams, and goats, for it is written Psal. xxii. 13. Many bulls have compassed me about. Dan. viii. 20. The ram which thou hast seen is the king of Persia. Ver. 21. The rough Goat is the king of Greece. But the Israelites are compared to doves, &c. Cant. ii. 14. O my dove, that art in the cleft of the rock. The division of the above carcasses denotes the division and extermination of the idolatrous nations: but See Jarchi on the place. the birds not being divided, shows that the Israelites are to abide for ever.

Verse 10. Divided them in the midst] The ancient method of making covenants, as well as the original word, have been already alluded to, and, in a general way, explained. See chap. vi. 18. The word covenant from con, together, and venio, I come, signifies an agreement, association, or meeting between two or more parties; for it is impossible that a covenant can be made between an

divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, ba deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

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14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward, shall they come out with great substance.

23.

a Jer. 34. 18, 19. Lev. 1. 17.-b Gen. 2, 21. Job 4. 13.-c Exod. 12. 40. Psa. 105. Acts 7. 6.--d Exol. 1. 11. Psa. 105. 25. Exod. 6. 6. Deut. 6. 22 Exod. 12. 36. Psa. 105. 37.-g Job. 5. 26.-h Acts 13. 36.1 Ch. 25. 8-k Exod. 12. 40.--| 1 Kings 21. 26. Dan. 8. 23 Matt. 23. 32. 1 Thess. 2. 16.

individual and himself, whether God or man; this is a theologic absurdity into which many have run: there must be at least two parties to contract with each other. And often there was a third party, to meditate the agreement, and to witness it when made. Rabbi Solomon Jarchi says, "That it was a custom with those who entered into covenant with each other, to take a heifer, and cut it in two, and then the contracting parties passed between the pieces." See this, and the scriptures to which it refers, particularly explained, chap. vi. 18. A covenant always supposed one of these four things, 1. That the contracting parties had been hitherto unknown to each other, and were brought by the covenant into a state of acquaintance. 2. That they had been previously in a state of hostility or enmity, and were brought by the covenant into a state of pacification and friendship. 3. Or that being known to each other, they now agree to unite their counsels, strength, property, &c. for the accomplishment of a particular purpose, mutually subservient to the interests of both. Or, 4. It implies an agreement to succour and defend a third party, in cases of oppression and distress. For whatever purpose a covenant was made, it was ever ratified by a sacrifice offered to God; and the passing between the divided parts of the victim appears to have signified, that each agreed, if they broke their engagements, to submit to the punishment of being cut asunder; which we find from Matt. xxiv. 51. Luke xii. 46. was an ancient mode of punishment. This is further confirmed by Herodotus, who says, that Sabacus, King of Ethiopia, had a vision in which he was ordered, MITOUS SIXTIMIIV, to cut in two, all the Egyptian priests, Lib. ii. We find also from the same author, Lib. vii. that Xerxes ordered one of the sons of Pythius, MO SITIV, to be cut in two, and one half to be placed on each side of the way, that his army might pass through between them. That this kind of punishment was used among the Persians, we have proof from Dan. ii. 5. iii. 29. Story of Susanna, ver. 55, 59. See further, 2 Sam. xii. 31. and 1 Chron. xx. 3. These authorities may be sufficient to show that the passing between the parts of the divided victims, signified the punishment to which those exposed themselves who broke their covenant engagements. And that covenant sacrifices were thus divided, even from the remotest antiquity, we learn from Homer, II. A. v. 460.

Μέρους το εξεταμον, κατά το κνίσση εκάλυψαν, Δίπτυχα ποιησαντες, επ' αυτων δ' ωμοθετησαν. "They cut the quarters, and cover them with the fat: dividing them into two, they place the raw flesh upon them." So this place has been understood; but query? St. Cyril, in his work against Julian, shows, that passing between the divided parts of a victim was used also among the Chaldeans and other people. As the sacrifice was required to make an atonement to God, so the death of the animal was necessary to signify to the contracting parties the punishment to which they exposed themselves, should they prove unfaithful.

Livy preserves the form of the imprecation used on such occasions, in the account he gives of the league made between the Romans and Albans. When the Romans were about to enter into some solemn league or covenant, they sacrificed a hog, and, on the above occasion, the priest, or pater patratus, before he slew the animal, stood, and thus invoked Jupiter-Audi, Jupiter-Si prior defecerit publico consilio dolo malo, tum illo die, Diespiter, populum Romanum sic ferito, ut ego hunc porcum hic hodie feriam: tantoque majus ferito quanto majus potes pollesve! LIVII Hist. Lib. i. Decad. 1. chap. 24. "Hear, O Jupiter-should the Romans in public counsel, through any evil device, first transgress these laws, in that same day, O Jupiter, thou smite the Roman people, as I

15 And

thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites " is not yet full.

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the Lord P made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

n Heb. a lamp of fire-o Jer. 34. 18, 19-p Ch. 24. 7.q Ch. 12. 7. & 13. 15. & 26. 4. Exod. 23. 31. Numb. 34. 3. Deut. 1. 7. & 11. 24. & 34. 4. Josh. 1. 4. 1 Kings 4. 21. 2 Chron. 9. 26. Nei. 9. 8. Psa. 105. 11. Isai. 27. 12-r Ch. 2. 14. 2 Sam. & 3 1 Chron. 5. 9.

shall at this time smite this hog: and smite them with a severity proportioned to the greatness of thy power and might!"

But the birds divided he not.] According to the law, Lev. i. 17. fowls were not to be divided asunder, but only cloven, for the purpose of taking out the intestines.

Verse 11. And when the fouls] yn hay-âyit, birds of prey, came down upon the carcasses, to devour them; Abram, who stood by his sacrifice waiting for the manifestation of God, who had ordered him to prepare for the ratification of the covenant, drove them away, that they might neither pollute nor devour what had been thus consecrated to God.

Verse 12. A deep sleep] tardemah, the same word which is used to express the sleep into which Adam was cast, previous to the creation of Eve. Chap. ii. 21. A horror of great darkness] Which God designed to be expressive of the affliction and misery into which his posterity should be brought, during the four hundred years of their bondage in Egypt; as the next verse particularly states.

Verse 13. Four hundred years.] Which began, says Mr. Ainsworth, when Ishmael son of Hagar mocked and persecuted Isaac, Gen. xxi. 9. Gal. iv. 29. which fell out thirty years after the promise: Gen. xii. 3. which promise was four hundred and thirty years before the law, Gal. iii. 17.; and four hundred and thirty years after that promise came Israel out of Egypt, Exod. xii. 41. On this latter passage, see the note.

Verse 14. And also that nation, &c.] How remarkably was this promise fulfilled, in the redemption of Israel from its bondage, in the plagues and destruction of the Egyptians, and in the immense wealth which the Israelites brought out of Egypt! Not a more circumstantial, or literally fulfilled promise, is to be found in the Sacred Writings.

Verse 15. Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace] This verse strongly implies the immortality of the soul, and a state of separate existence. He was gathered to his fathers, introduced into the place where separate spirits are kept, waiting for the general resurrection. Two things seem to be distinctly marked here. 1. The soul of Abram should be introduced among the assembly of the first-born; Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. 2. His body should be buried after a long life, one hundred and seventy-five years, chap. xxv. 7. The body was buriedtho soul went to the spiritual world, to dwell among the fathers, the patriarchs, who had lived and died in the Lord. See the note on chap. xxv. 8.

Verse 16. In the fourth generation] In former times, most ancient people counted by generations, to each of which was assigned a term of years sometimes amounting to 20, 25, 30, 33, 100, 108, and 110; for the generation was of various lengths among various people, at different times. It is probable that the fourth generation here, means the same as the four hundred years in the preceding verse. Some think it refers to the time when Eliezar the son of Aaron, the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, came out of Egypt, and divided the land of Canaan to Israel, Josh. xiv. 1. others think the fourth generation of the Amorites is intended: because it is immediately added, the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full; but in the fourth generation they should be expelled, and the descendants of Abram established in their place. From these words we learn, that there is a certain pitch of iniquity to which nations may arrive before they are destroyed; and beyond which divine justice does not permit them to pass.

Verse 17. Smoking furnace, and burning lamp] Probably the smoking furnace might be designed as an emblem of the sore afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt;

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19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and | maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of the Kadmonites, Sarai.

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20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

2. The way of salvation by faith in the promised Saviour, which now began to be explicitly declared. God gives the promise of salvation, and by means in which it was impossible, humanly speaking, that it should take Verse 5. My wrong be upon thee] This appears to be place. Teaching us, 1. That the whole work was spiritual, supernatural and divine; and, 2. That no human intended as a reproof to Abram, containing an insinuation, power could suffice to produce it. This Abram believed that it was his fault that she herself had not been a mother; while he was yet uncircumcised, and this faith was ac- and that now he carried himself more affectionately tocounted to him for righteousness, or justification, God ward Hagar than he did to her, in consequence of which thereby teaching, that he would pardon, accept, and re- conduct the slave became petulant. To remove all susceive into favour all who should believe on the Lord Jesuspicion of this kind, Abram delivers up Hagar into her Christ. And this very case has ever since been the stand-hand, who was certainly under his protection, while his 77 ard of justification by faith; and the experience of mil- concubine or secondary wife; but this right given to him

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