marriage amongst the daughters of the land of Canaan, and, at her instigation, his father peremptorily forbids any such marriage, but recommends him to take for a wife one of the daughters of Laban, the idolator of Ur of the Chaldees, who was his mother's brother. The second patriarch, therefore, has no repugnance in recommending Polytheism to be brought to the hearth of the third patriarch, and the sequel will show that his recommendation succeeded. Jacob's 1st & 5th verses. Isaac once more blesses Jacob, and sends him on his journey. We again witness the evil consequences attending Rebekah's misplaced preference for Jacob, in instigating her husband to renew his blessing previously to his departure on his journey, and to depreciate the women of the land, with whom Esau had intermarried. Esau becomes cognizant of the repetition of the indiscreet blessing, and he overhears the dislike which his mother entertained for the women of Canaan; and, as it were by way of opposition to his mother's prejudices, he immediately contracted a marriage with Mahabath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom he added to the number of his wives. 6th to 9th verse. 10th verse. Jacob sallied forth from Beer-sheba, and journeyed towards Haran; and being overtaken by the shades of the evening, he took up his night's lodging in a certain place, in which he dreamed his celebrated dream, wherein he saw the angels of God ascending to, and descending from, heaven by means of a 11th verse. 12th verse. 13th verse. ladder. And the Lord stood above the ladder, from which position he conferred on the base, deceitful, and profane Jacob (the man who had lyingly assumed his omnipotent aid, in imposing on his father, and in injuring his brother), a series of blessings, equalling, if not surpassing, those which the biblical authority had conferred on his grandfather. 14th & 15th verses. The Lord pronounced, "that he was the God of Abraham his father, and the God of Isaac; that the land whereon he lay was given to him and to his seed; that his seed should be as the dust of the earth; and that he should spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and that in him and in his seed should all the families of the earth be blessed. That God was with him, and would keep him in all places whithersoever he went, and would bring him again to this land, for that God would not leave him. until he had done all that he had spoken to him of." Jacob awoke under the double influence of terror and of superstition. Surely, he says, the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 16th verse. 17th verse. In this narrative we have exhibited one of the poetical modes of writing peculiar to the East. It is an hyperbole, a figure in rhetoric, which represents things through a deceitful medium, greater or less, better or worse, than they deserve to be. The character of this" plain man" was deserving of reproba tion, and he dreams of all manner of blessings. He awakes horrified, and he calls the place dreadful! for he knows he can lay no claim whatsoever to the favour of God. With that peculiar superstition, natural to minds of a low moral caste, he becomes suddenly penitent, and hopes to propitiate his deity by an act of instrumentalism. He selects one of the stones which had served him for a pillow; and having set it up for a pillar," he poured oil upon the top of it." 18th verse. History informs us that pillars and statues were consecrated by the pagans by pouring oil upon them, by which they became sacred objects for worship; and this poor deluded man believes he shall find favour with God, and remove his sin, by pouring oil upon the top of a stone; and we shall find, many years afterwards, that Jacob recurs to this pillar, which he had anointed with oil, as to an object of veneration and holiness. 19th verse. 20th verse. The name which he gives to this "dreadful place" is Bethel. He vows a vow, and makes a conditional compromise with God; for he says, if God will be with me, and 21st & 22nd will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God. verses. He does not precisely say what the consequence will be if his God does not so favour him, but this vacillating and contemptible person permits us to infer from his language, that in such a case, he will be at liberty to adopt some other god. By an act of liberality, he also promises to bestow on God one-tenth of all that he should confer on him. Jacob's so journ with La 1st to 13th verses. Jacob proceeded on his journey eastban, and mar- ward, and in due time came into the land riage with his in which Laban dwelt, and he encountered daughters. Rachel, Laban's daughter, at a well, to which she came for the purpose of watering her father's flock. And having kissed Rachel and wept," he told her he was Rebekah's son. And she ran and told her father, and "Laban came to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house." 66 14th to 20th verses. And after a month's residence with him, they came to terms respecting the nature of Jacob's wages, which are comprised in his servitude to his uncle for seven years, in return for which, the hand of his cousin Rachel, with whom he was enamoured, was to be bestowed upon him. 21st to 25th verses. Laban had two daughters, Leah and Rachel; Leah, the elder, was tender eyed, but Rachel, the younger, was "beautiful, and well favoured." The seven years of servitude being fulfilled, Jacob demanded the hand of his betrothed wife, and on this occasion is practised by his uncle one of those deceptive arts, to which Jacob was no stranger, for in lieu of Rachel, her sister Leah was introduced into the bridal chamber, and on the following morning Jacob became cognizant of the manner in which he had been duped. We may take for granted that this "plain man ” was not an attractive lover, or Rachel herself would have rebelled against the fraud; on the contrary, it must fairly be inferred that Rachel was a party to the plot. Jacob remonstrated with his father-in-law, and Laban parried his reproaches by asserting it would be 25th & 27th verses. a breach of the laws of the country to give the younger before the firstborn, but that if he will fulfil his work, that is, serve him another week of years for Rachel, then he will give him her also to wife. Jacob complied with the compact, and in due time he espoused Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he continued to serve Laban other seven years after his marriage. 28th to 30th verses. The sisters had two handmaids. The name of Leah's handmaid was Zilpah, and that of Rachel was Bilhah. Leah, whom Jacob hated, was fertile, but Rachel was barren. Leah had 32nd to 35th four sons, Reuben, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah. 31st verse. verses. Jacob's dis honesty to And Rachel envied her sister, and, as a wards Laban. consequence of polygamy, had a serious expostulation with Jacob, about his bind 1st & 2nd verses. 3rd & 4th verses. 5th to 8th verses. 9th verse. ing himself to her. Finally it was agreed, that Jacob should take her maid Bilhah, in order that Rachel may have at least the comfort of adopted children, and Bilhah bare two sons to Jacob, to whom Rachel gave the names of Dan and Napthali. When Leah saw she ceased to have children, (for from the sequel it is to be presumed she was no longer visited by her husband by Rachel's command,) she also imitated Rachel, and gave to Jacob her maid Zilpah to wife, who bare him two sons, whom Leah named Gad, and Asher. 10th to 13th verses. The incident which now follows is involved in ob |