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30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah' took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran' his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go 32 into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

T

Call of Abram; his journeys to Canaan and to Egypt.

12 NOW the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house,' unto a land that I will show thee: 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, "and I will bless thee, and make thy 3 name great; and thou shalt be a blessing and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: And Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the 7 plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an * altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

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8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain" on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east and there he 9 builded an altar unto the LORD, and 'called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed, "going on still toward the south,"2

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ch. 16. 1,2; 18. 11, 12. P ch. 12. 1.

9 Ne. 9.7; Ac. 7. 4. ch. 10. 19.

ch. 15. 7; Ne. 9. 7; Is 41. 2; Lk. 14. 26, 27. 33. Ac. 7. 3-6; Heb. 11. 8.

ch. 17. 5, 6: 18. 18; Deu. 26. 5: 1 Ki. 3.8. ch. 13. 16; 14. 1420: 23 5, 6; 24. 1,35. ch. 18 18. 22 17,18; 28. 4; Gal. 3. 14.

y ch. 27. 29: Ex. 23. 22: Num. 24. 9; Mt. 25. 40. 45.

ch. 18. 18: 22. 18;
26 4: Ps. 72. 17;
Ac. 3 25: Gal. 3. 8.
a Heb. 11. 8.
b ch. 14. 14, 21.
ch. 11. 31.

d Ps. 37. 23.
Heb. 11. 9.

/ Deu. 11. 30; Judg.
7.1.

8 ch. 10. 18, 19; 13. 7. h ch. 17. 1.

i ch. 13. 15: 17. 8; Ex. 33 1; Ps. 105. 9. 11, 12.

& ch. 13. 4, 18; John 8.56.

eh 13. 4: Ae. 2. 21;
Ro. 10. 12, 13.
eh. 13. 3; Heb. 11.
13, 14.
ch 26 1; Ps. 107.34.
Ps 105. 13; Heb. 11.
15. 16.

43 1.

ver. 14; ch. 26. 7.

And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt" to 11 sojourn there; for the famine was ? grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Pro. 9. 25. 12 Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see" thee, that they shall say, This is his 13 wife and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 'Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and shall live because of thee.

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ch. 20. 11: 26. 7. tch. 11. 29: 20. 2, 5, See ch. 26.

12, 13.
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And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians 15 beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh 17 saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pha16 raoh's house.18 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she-asses, and 17 camels. And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, be18 cause of Sarai Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, 'What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy 19 wife? why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to 20 wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away," and his wife, and all that he had.

1 This appears to have been in consequence of a Divine command to Abram. See Acts vii. 3.

2 Properly Charan,' as in Acts vii. 3.

3 Abram's father and other near relations had accompanied him from Chaldæa as far as Haran, and had settled there; but he was to proceed further, and to be completely separated from them.

4 That is, to others; being a pattern of faith, ancestor of God's people, and progenitor of Christ.

5 The special blessing which had been promised to our first parents, and then to the line of Shem (chap. ix. 27), is here distinctly limited to one branch of that family. This promise to Abram is repeated, chap. xviii. 18; xxii. 18. Henceforward Abram and his descendants are almost the only subjects of the sacred history.

& Or, 'Shechem,' or 'Sychar,' now Nabulus, lying between mount Gerizim and mount Ebal.

7 Rather, 'oak,' or 'terebinth.' So chap. xiii. 18; meaning a grove of these trees.

$ These nations had already taken possession of the country, having subdued the "Anakim and others who were there before. Some parts, however, appear to have been held by the family of Shem.

9 In what way we are not told. God sometimes ap

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7; Eee. 7. 20; Isa. 57. 11.

"ch, 33, 7: Mt. 5. 28.
eh. 40. 2; 1 Ki. 3. 1;
Eze. 29 2. See eh.
21. 22: 26. 26.

ych. 20. 2.
Z ch. 20. 14.

ach. 20. 18; 1 Chr. 16. 21; Ps. 106. 14, 15; Heb. 13. 4.

b ch. 20. 9; 26. 10; Ex. 32. 21.

ePro. 21. 1.

peared in human form (chap. xviii.); at other times in visions or dreams (chap. xv. 1).

10 In token of his faith in the promise, and as a pledge of the maintenance of the worship of Jehovah in his family. See chap. xviii. 19.

11 Rather, 'the mountain region.' Beth-el at this time was called Luz. These frequent removals were necessary, in order to obtain fresh pasture for the cattle.

12 When Abram had arrived in Canaan, he never made any settlement in it. See Heb. xi. 8-10.

13 Egypt is and always has been the granary of other

nations.

14 Veils were probably not then used; or, at least, they were not so large as since in the East. See chap. xx. 16.

15 Abram's dissimulation in this instance, and again in chap. xx., arose from want of faith. This narrative affords no excuse for such conduct; but it shows the impartiality of Scripture history.

16 This word is often used merely for self.

17 Pharaoh was the title of the Egyptian kings down to the Babylonian conquest; derived from Phre, 'the sun.' 18 To undergo the purification preparatory to becoming one of his wives. See Esth. ii. 12.

19 That is, in an honourable way; probably with presents.

Abram's return to Canaan, and separation from Lot. 13 AND Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and 2 Lot with him, into the south.' And Abram was very rich [very heavy] in 3 cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between 4 Beth-el and Hai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the ch. 12.7.8. first and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

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And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their 7 substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle. 8 ('And the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.) And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and 9 between my herdmen and thy herdmen; "for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left."

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And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD' destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, (even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt,) as thou comest unto 11 Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east. 12 And they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot "dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent 13 toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the

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LORD exceedingly.

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to

God's promise renewed to Abram. AND the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and 15 southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, 16 thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall 17 thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

18

Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

d ch. 12. 9.
ch. 24. 35; Ps. 112
3: Pro. 10. 22; Fec.
5. 13: Hab. 26,
Mt. 13. 22
ch. 12 8, 9.

A Ps. 116. 17.

i ch. 36. 7.
* ch. 26. 20.

ch. 12. 6; Phil. 2. 14, 15

Pro 15 1: Mt. 5. 9; 1 Cor. 6 7: Gal.5. 2 "See ch. 11. 27, 31: Ex. 2 13; Ps. 133

1; Ac. 7. 26: Ro. 12. 10; 1 Pet. 3 8 ch. 20. 15: 34. 10. P Ro. 12 18. Heb. 12. 14: Jam. 3. 17.

9 ch. 19. 17: Deu. 34.
3: P. 107, 34; 1
John 2. 15. 16.

ch. 19. 24, 5
ch. 2. 10, Is 51.3;
Eze. 28. 13

ch. 14. 2, 8; 19. 22.

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ch. 12 7; 15. 18; 17. 8: 24 7; 26. 4; Ex. 33 1; Num. 34 12: Deu. 34. 4; Ne. 2 7.8; Ac. 7. 5.

d 2 Chr. 20. 7; Ps. 37. 22, 29; 112 2.

ch. 15 5; 22. 17; 26.

4: 28. 14; 32 12: Ex. 32. 13; Num. 2. 10; Deu. 1. 10; 1 Kt. 3 8; 4. 20; 1 Chr. 27. 23: 1. 48 19; Jer. 33 22; Ro 4 16-18; Heb. 11.12. feb. 14. 13.

ch. 23. 2; 35 27;
37. 14.

A ch. 10. 10; 11. 2
i Is. 11. 11; Ac. 2. 9.

* Deu. 29. 23; Hos 11. 8.

Num. 34. 12: Den

Invasion of Canaan; capture and rescue of Lot; Melchisedec. 14 AND it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king 2 of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; that these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is 3 'Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim," which is the salt ch. 19. 22. 4 sea. Twelve years" they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they 5 rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims " in Ashteroth Karnaim; and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims' in Shaveh Kiriathaim [or, the plain of Kiriathaim], 6 and the Horites in their Mount Seir, unto El-paran [or, the plain of Paran] 7 which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is "Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar."

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And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar); 9 and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and

1 Not south of Egypt, but south of Canaan.

2 Although there was every reason for Abram's choosing first, he receded from his right, for peace' sake. Such is the condescension and generosity which earnest faith and love to God will produce in human intercourse.

3 The meaning appeared to be, that Lot saw that the plain of Jordan, as far as to Zoar, was well watered, and like Egypt in fertility.

4 Lot seems not to have considered the character of the people amongst whom he settled, who abused the fertility of their country to foster pride and idleness. See Ezek. xvi. 49. He soon paid dearly for his unwise choice. 5 Rather, 'oak,' or 'terebinth tree.' See note, chap. xii. 6. And so in subsequent passages.

3. 17: Jos. 3 16; Ps. 107. 34.

" ch. 9. 26.

ch. 15. 20; Den.3. 11. P Jos. 12. 4; 13. 12 9 Deu. 2. 20 Deu. 2: 10, 11. Den. 2. 12, 22 teh. 21. 21; Num. 12. 16; 13. 3.

Num. 20. 1. 2 Chr. 20. 2

6 This word is often applied to the ruler of a single small town, or the chieftain of a tribe. Ellasar' was probably in Media. 'Elam' is Persia. Nations' means, probably, the wandering tribes of the Hauràn.

7 These nations, whose origin is unknown, occupied the country east of Jordan, and the land of Seir, and part of Palestine, before the Amorites, Edomites, and Canaanites took possession of it. Many among them were of extraordinary stature. See Deut. ii.; iii. 11.

8 These people appear to have begun the practice, which their successors have continued, of dwelling in the caverns of their mountains.

9 Afterwards Engedi, now Ain-jidy. This route is still taken by the Arabs in similar marauding expeditions.

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a

ch. 19. 17, 30. 4 vers. 16, 21.

b ch. 12. 5
ch. 13. 12; Num.
16. 26.

d see ch. 10. 25.

ch. 13. 8.
ver. 24.

10 Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. And the vale of Siddim was full of
slimepits.' And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and ch. 11. 3
11 they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of
12 Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took
Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he
dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of
14 Aner; and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that
his brother was taken captive, he armed [or, led forth] his trained servants,
born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them 'unto
15 Dan. 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 41. 2, 3.
16 Damascus. 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

=

possessor of

eb. 13. 8 ; Pro. 17.17.

à ch. 15. 3; 17. 12, 27; Ecc. 2. 7.

i Deu. 34. 1; Judg. 18. 29.

vers. 11, 12.

Judg. 11. 34; 1 Sam. 18. 6. "Heb. 7. 1. #2 Sam. 18. 18. Pil b. 7. 1.

7 Jos. 18 28; Ps. 76. 2; 122. 3.

P. 110. 4; Heb. 5. 6; 7. 3, 11.

M. 66; Ac. 16, 17. 7. 6, 7.

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 18 Shaveh, which is the king's dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought 19 forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, "Blessed be Abram of the most high God. 20 heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the ch. 21. 27. 22 goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine 23 hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that "I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any 24 thing that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich: 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.

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God's covenant with Abram solemnly renewed.

R.3. 10; 2 Sam.2.5. ver. 22; P. 24. 1; 115 16: Mt. 11. 25. Jos. 10. 42; PR. 44. 3. ach. 28. 22; 2 Chr. 31. 5, 6; Heb. 7.4-9. 6 Ex. 6 8; Deu. 32. 41: Dan. 12. 7; Rev. 10. 5, 6.

e. 19; eh. 21. 33.

d so 2 Ki. 5. 15, 16:
Est. 9. 15, 16.
Mt. 7. 12.

f ver. 13.

1 Tim. 5. 18.

A Dan. 10. 1; Ae. 10. 10, 11.

i ch. 26 21; 46 2; Num. 12. 6; Dan. 10. 12: Lk. 1. 13, 30. * Deu. 33. 29: P. 3. 3; 5 12; 84. 11; 91. 4: 19. 114; Pro. 3). 5.

Pro. 11. 18 P. 142. 1, 2. "Ac. 7. 5.

15 AFTER these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding 'great reward.7 2 And Abram said, Lord GoD, what wilt thou give me, "seeing I go childless, 3 and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, P. 16 5; 58. 11; Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine 4 heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be 3 thine heir. 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 6 him," So shall thy seed be. 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 brought thee out of Ur of the 8 Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. Aud he said, Lord Gon, whereby 9 shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, "Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old and a ram of three years old, 10 and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another; but the 11 birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, & Abram drove them away.

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And when the sun was going down" a deep sleep 12 fell upon Abram; and, lo, Px (3) 5: II h, 2. 1. And he said unto Abram, Know of a land that is not theirs, and shall

13 an horror of great darkness fell upon him. surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a

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1 The lake which now covers this part of the valley occasionally throws up great quantities of bitumen.

2 Whether so called from his ancestor Eber, or because he was a foreigner, it is not easy to determine. 3Dan' is Laish.

4 Never was any military expedition undertaken, prosecuted, and finished, more honourably than this of Abraham.

5 Probably a Shemitish chief; certainly a worshipper and priest of Jehovah. His name, signifying King of Righteousness, and the name of his kingdom, which makes him to be King of Peace, are referred to in Heb. vii., as illustrations of the peculiar glory of that Kingly Priest of his own order whom he prefigured (see Psa. ex. 4); while, from the circumstance that his race, parentage, time of appointment to the priestly office, and death, are

A ch. 2. 21; Job 4. 13. i eh. 16 5-7; Ex. 12. 40: P. 105, 23; Ae. 7.6, 7.

unrecorded, he strikingly represents the kingship and
priesthood of our Lord Jesus.

6 He,' Abram: 'him,' Melchizedek.
7 Or, and exceeding great is thy reward.'
8 That is, 'pass away,' 'die.'

9 That is, either Eliezer or his son, according to the custom of the country.

10 These were the animals afterwards appointed to be offered in the Levitical sacrifices. Sacrifice was required by God in making a covenant, to keep men in mind of the great propitiation.

11 Abraham seems to have passed the whole day in this solemn transaction.

12 This trance, with its usually attendant awe, was experienced by others to whom Divine revelations were given. See Dan. x. 8; Job iv. 13, 14.

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* Ex. 1. 13.

Ex. 1. 11; Ps. 105.25. Ex. 12 40, 41. "Ex. 6. 6; Deu. 6. 22; Jos. 24 5-7; Ne. 9. 9-11.

Ex. 12 35, 36; Ps. 105. 37.

Ps. 37. 37; Ac. 13. 36.
ch. 25. 8.
Ex. 12. 40.

14 *serve' them; and 'they shall afflict them "four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, "will I judge: and afterward shall they come 15 out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou 16 shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall 17 come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And itch. 25. 8; Job 5. 26. came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp [a lamp of fire] that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the 19 river Euphrates; the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,' and the 21 Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

18

A

Birth of Ishmael.

1 Ki. 21. 26.
Dan. 8 23; Mr. 23.
32; 1 Thes. 2. 16.

Judg. 6 20, 21; 1
Ki. 18, 24; 2 Chr. 7.L

Jer. 31. 18, 19.

eb. 17.; 24. 7.

ch. 12. 7:13 15:26.

4; Ex. 6. 4; 23 31; Num. 34. 3; Deu. L 7, 8; 11. 24: 31 4; Jos. 1. 4:1 Ki. 4. 21; 2 Chr. 9. 26; Ne. 9.

8: Ps. 105 11; Is 27. 12.

ch. 15. 2, 3

ech. 21. 9.

d Gal. 4. 24.
ch. 30. 3.

30. 2:1 Sain. 1. 5, 6; Ps. 127. 3. so eb. 30. 3, 9. A Ru. 4. 11. i ch. 3. 17. * ch. 12. 5.

16 NOW Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, 2 an Egyptian, whose name was "Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram 'hearkened ch. 20, 18; 25 21: 3 to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to 4 her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was' despised in 5 her eyes. "And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was 6 despised in her eyes: " the LORD judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

12 Sam. 6. 16; Pro.30.
21, 23.
Pro. 27. 4.

"ch. 31. 53; 1 Sam.
24 12.
ch. 13. 8; Pro. 15. 1;
1 Pet. 3. 7.

P Job 26; Ps. 106, 41,
42; Jer. 38 5

7 Ex. 2 15

ch. 22. 14; Ex.32-6
ch. 25 18

Ex. 15 92
Tit. 29; 1 Pet. 2. 19.
ch. 17. 20; 21. 18:
25. 12.

Lk. 1. 13, 31.
ch. 41.51, 52; 1 Sam.
1. 20.

a ch. 29. 32; Ex. 3 7;
Ps. 22. 24.

5 ch. 21. 20.
ech. 27. 40.

7 And the angel' of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilder8 ness, by the fountain in the way to 'Shur." And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the 9 face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to 10 thy mistress, and "submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD. 17. 19: Mr. 1. 81; said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered 11 for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael [i. e. God shall hear]; 12 because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild" man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he 13 shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the ch.3 62. LORD that spake unto her, Thou 12 God seest me: for she said, Have I also here 14 looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called & Beer-lahai-roi | ver. 11. [i. e. the well of him that liveth and seeth me]; (behold, it is between Kadesh 15 and Bered.) And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, ch. 12. 1. 16 which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

The covenant renewed; circumcision enjoined; Isaac promised. 17 AND when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD " appeared to Abram, and said unto him, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be

1 Or, 'they (the Egyptians) shall enslave them.'

2 That is, about that time. From the birth of Isaac till the departure of the Israelites from Egypt was 405 years.

3 That is, from the going down of Jacob and his family into Egypt. Moses and Caleb were the fourth generation from Levi and Judah.

4 The Amorites being the principal nation among the Canaanites, their name is here used for the whole.

5 This word sometimes means a portable oven used for baking bread; and is often employed to represent the punishment of God's enemies (see Psa. xxi. 9; Mal. iv. 1): whilst a burning lamp is the symbol of deliverance. See Isa. lxii. 1.

6 The Nile and Euphrates represent (as in Isa. xxvii. 12; Jer. ii. 18) the two great kingdoms which were to be the opposite limits of the territories of Israe! The dominions of David and Solomon appear to have extended thus far. Some, however, suppose that this promise is to have a further fulfilment in the restoration of the Jews to Canaan.

7 Some of these tribes had probably merged into others, before the Israelites conquered the land.

4 ch. 25. 18.
Job 34. 21; P 139.
1-12; P321

25. 11.

5 ch. 24.
A Num. 13 26.
i Gal. 4. 22-25.

I see ch. 16. 16: Pv. 37. 7; Mal. 3. 6; Ro. 11. 29.

" eh. 18. 14; 28. 3: 35 11; Ex. 6 3; Dea. 10. 17; Jer. 32. 17: Mt. 19. 16: Eph. 3 20 Old translation, All-sufficient, Pa. 23. 1-4; 73 25.

ch. 5. 22; 48 15: 1 K 2 4 & 25; 2 Ki. 20. 3.

8 A practice unhappily common in that country, (see chap. xxx. 3), but wrong and mischievous. A secondary wife remained still a slave, if she had been so before.

9 This word is of frequent occurrence in the Bible; and signifies any Divine agent or messenger, whether a providential dispensation, a man, a being of a higher order, or, as here, when called the angel [of] Jehovah, God himself appearing in human form (Exod. xxiii. 20, 21).

This pro

10 That is, the nearest way to Egypt, her native land. 11 Nothing short of Divine prescience could predict the remarkable nomadic and predatory habits which Ishmael and his posterity, through successive ages, would adopt, and which were the less to be expected as his mother belonged to a civilized and settled nation. phecy has been strikingly fulfilled in the history of the various tribes of Arabs, many of whom are descended from Ishmael; and who have, even to the present day, remained a fierce, hardy, distinct, and unsubdued race, subsisting chiefly by plunder.

12 Some translate this, "Thou art the God who appeareth.' The other part of the verse is obscure, and may mean, 'Do I still live after seeing God?' or, 'Have

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ch 6. 9; Den. IR

13; Job 1. 1; Mt.
5. 48.

7 see ch. 12 2, 3; 13
16; 22. 17.
r ver. 17.

Ro. 4. 11; 12. 16, 17;
Gal. 3. 29.

ch. 32. 28; No. 9. 7.

Ro. 4. 17.

2 thou perfect [or, upright; or, sincere]. And I will make my covenant between
3 me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram' fell on his face:
4 and God talked with him, saying, As for behold, my covenant is with thee,
5 and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more
be called Abram, but 'thy name shall be Abraham [i. e. father of a great multi-
6 tude]; "for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee
exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of ch. 35. 11.
7 thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after
thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, " to be a God unto thee, and
8 to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee,
the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting
possession; and I will be their God.

9

c

a

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y ver. 16; ch. 36. 31, etc.; Mt. 1. 6, etc. see ch. 15. 18; Gal. 3. 17.

a ch. 26. 24; 28. 13; Heb. 11. 16.

b R. 9. 8.

ch. 12. 7; 13. 15-17; Ps. 105, 9, 11.

deh. 23. 4; 28. 4.

ch. 48. 4; Ps. 103. 17. / Ex. 6. 7; Le. 26. 12;

Den. 4. 37; 14. 2;
26. 18; 29. 13; 2
Cor. 6 16-18.
Deu. 10. 16; 30. 6;
Jer. 4 4; Ac. 7. 8;
Ro. 4. 9-11; Phil.
33.

A Ex. 12. 13; Ac. 7.
8; Ro. 4. 11.

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and 10 thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you 11 shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and 12 it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, *he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is 13 not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy Ex. 12. 44, 48, 49. money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an 14 everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul 'shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

15

i Le. 12. 3; Lu. 2. 21; John 7. 22, 23; Phil

3. 5.

¡Ex. 4. 24.

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her 16 name Sarai, but Sarah [i. e. princess] shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother ch. 18. 10. of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

17

"eh. 35. 11; Gal 4
31; 1 Pet. 3. 6.
ch. 18. 12; 21. 6;
Ps. 126. 2, Ro. 4.

19, 20.

18. 10-14; 21. 2,

3; Gal. 4. 28.

Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety 18 years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might lives before 19 thee! And God said, "Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thouch. shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an ever20 lasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; 'twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great 21 nation. "But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

22

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And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said Ps. 119. 60; Pro.27.1. 24 unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circum25 cised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, 26 when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was 27 Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. The promise repeated; Abraham's intercession for Sodom.

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18 AND the LORD appeared unto him " in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the
2 tent door in the heat of the day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo,
three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the
3 tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, My Lord, if now I
have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
4 let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet,' and rest yourselves
5 under the tree: and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts;
after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant.
said, So do, as thou hast said.

I also here (though away from Abram's tent) beheld Him
that appeared to me?'

1 Abram was the natural progenitor of the Israelites and Edomites, as well as of many Arabian tribes; and the spiritual father of all believers.

2 That is, irrevocable. As far as the covenant related to spiritual blessings it was properly everlasting.

3 The practice of this rite by the descendants of Abraham would remind them of God's covenant, and of their own obligations to holiness as his people. See refs.

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