Fke Dishonour 0 (continued)
Parental Partiality, GENESIS XXXVII. The Dreams of Joseph.
of his descoi Klants (cf. Ezekiol 2.). 12; Obadiah 10). 3,3. Esau took Ills wives of tlie ditiighters of Canaan There weie three, iiieutioiied under ditlerent names; for thee," the usual expression of good wishes amongst friends and acquaintances. It is deemed a sacred duty to give all this form of salutation; and the withholding of it is evident that Basliemath is tliesanieas Malialath (ch.
it is an unmistakeable sign of dislike ol secret hostility. The habitual refusal of Joseph's brethren, therefore, to meet him with " the salaam," showed how ill-disposed they were towards him. It is very natural in parents to love the youngest, and feel partial to those who excel in talents or amiableness. But in a family constituted as Jacob's—many children by difl'erent mothers—he showed great and criminal indiscretion.
2H. 9), since they both stand in the relation of daugliter to Jshmael and sister to Nehajoth; and lience it may be inferred tliat Adah is the s;ime as Judith, Aholibam.ah as Bathsemath (ch. 20. 3^). It was not unusual for women, in that early age, to have two names, as Sarai was also Iscah and this is the more probable in tlie case of Esau's wives, who of course would have to take new names when they went fro)n Canaan to settle in mount Seir. <>, 7. Esnu
5-3K. The Dreams of Joseph. 5. Joseph dreamed a dream—Dreams in ancient times were much attended. . . -ivent into tlie country from tlie face of 2'..is i>>'Othrr Jacob—AiY., a country, witlionl any certain piospec-t of a to, and hence the dream of .Joseph, though but a mere boy, engaged the serious consideration of his family. But this dream was evidently symbolical. The meaning was easily discerned, and, from its being repeated under different emblems, the fullilinent was considered certain s;'tllenient. The design of this historical ski-t< h of Esau and his family is to show how the promise icli. 27. 8!l, 40) was fulfilled. In temporal prosperity he far exceeds his brother; and it is remarljal)le That, in tlie overruling providence of God, the vast increase of his worldly substance was the occasion of his leaving Canaan, and thus making way for the return of .Jacob. 8. Tlins dwelt Esaii in mount Seir—This was Divinely assigned as his possession (Joshuii 24. 4; Deuteronomy 2. .5). 15-19. dukes —The Edomites, like the Israelites, were divided into
(cf. ch. 41.32;—whence it was that "his brethren enviad him, but his father observed the saying." 13. his brethren went to feed their fatlker's flock in Shechem—The vale of Shechem was, from the earliest mention of Canaan, blest with extraordinary abundance of water. Therefore did the sons of Jacob go from Hebron to this place, tliough it must have cost them near twenty hours' travelling tribes, which took their names from his sons. The head of each tribe was called by a term which in our version is rendered duke—not of tlie high rank and wealth of a British peer, but like the sheicks or emirs of the modern East, or the chieftains of our highland clans. P'onrteen are mentioned who flourished contemporaneously. 2030. Sons of Scir, the Horite—native dukes, who were incorporated with those of the Edomite race. 34. This was that Anah that found the mules—The word i. e., at the shepherd rate, a little more than fiftj' miles. But the herbage there Is so rich and nutritious, that they thought it well worth the pains of so long a journey, to the neglect of the grazing district of Hebron. [Van De Velde.] 13-17. Israel said, . . . Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem 1—Anxious to learn how his sons were doing in their distant encampment, Jacob despatched Joseph; and the youth accepting the raissiou with alacrity, left the vale of Hebron—sought them at Shechem—heard of them from a man in " the field," the wide and richly-cultivated plain of Esdraelon—and found that they had left that neighbourhood for Dothan, probably being compelled by the detestation in whldi, from the horrid massacre, their name was held. Joseph went after Ills brethren, and found them in Dothan I{e-
mules" is, in several ancient versions, rendered " water springs;" and this discovery of some remarkable fountain was sufficient, among a wandering or pastoral people, to entitle him to sucli a distinguishing notice. 31-39. kiiks of Edom—The royal power was not built on the rnins of the dukedoms, but existed at the same time. •10-43. Recapitulation of the dukes according to their residences.
breiv, Dothaim, or "two wells," recently discovered in the modern " Dotan," situated a few •ours' distance fi-oia Shechem. 18. wlien they saw him afar off—on tlie level grass-field, where they were watcliing their cattle, they could perceive htm approaching in the distance from the side of Shechem, or ratlier Samaria. 19. Behold, tills dreamer cometh lit., "master of dreams" a bitterly ironical sneer. Dreams being considered suggestions from above, to make false pretensions to having received one was detested as a species of blasphemy, and in this light Joseph was regarded by his brethren a.s an artful pretender. They already began to form a plot for his assa.sslnatlon, from which he was rescued only by the address of Reuben, who suggested that he should rather be cast Into one of the welKs, which are, and probalily were, completely dried up In summer. 33. they stripped Josepli out of his coat ... of many colours—Imagine him advancing In all the unsuspecting openness of
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Ver. 1-1. Parental Partiality. 1. Jacob dwelt in tise land wherein his father was a stranger—£. c, sojourner: father used collectively. The patriarch was at tjiis time .at Jlamre, in the valley of Hebron (cf. ch. 35. 27); and his dwelling there was continued in the same manner, and prompted by the same motives ns that of Abraham and Isaac (Hebrews 11. 13). 3. generations—leading oi'currences, in the domestic history of Jacob, as shown in tlie narrative about to be commenced. Joseph . . . was fi rdlng the flock—;i7., Joseph being seventeen years old was a sliepherd over the flock—he a lad, with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. Oversiglit or superintendence is evidently implied. This post of cliief shepherd In the party might l>e assigned him either from his being the son of a principal wile, or from liis own superior qualities of character; and if invested with tliis office, he acted not as a gossiping tell-tale, but ns a "faitliful steward" in reporting Mie scandalous conduct of his brethren. .3. son of his old age—Benjamin being younger, Wiis more the son of his old age, and consequently on that ground might have been expected to be the favourite. Literally renderdd. It is "son of old ago to him" Hebretv phrase, for "a v ise son"—one who possessed observation and wisdom aliove his years—an old licad on young shoulders, made him a coat of many colo5«rn—formed in those early days by sewing together pat<;hes of coloured cloth, and con- ^ldeed a dress of distinction (Judges 5.30; 2 Samuel 13.
bi-othcrly affection. How astonished and terrified must ho have been at the cold reception, the ferocious aspect, the rough usage of his unnatural assailants! A vivid picture of his state of agony and despair was afterwards drawn by themselves (cf. ch. 42. 21). 3.5. they sat down to eat bread—What a view does this exhibit of those hardened profligates! Their common share In this conspiracy is not the only dismal feature in tlie story. The rapidity, the almost Instantaneous manner in which the proposal was followed by their Joint resolution, and the cool Indlfrerencc, or rather the fiendish satisfaction, with which they sat down to regale themselves Is astonishing.
It Is Impossible that mere envy at his dreams, his gaudy
IS). The passion for various colours still reigns amongst the Aralis and other people of ..ic East, who are fon<l of ((Hissing their children in this gaudy attire. But since dress, or the doating partiality of their common father, could have go.aded them on to such a pitch of frenzied resentment, or confirmed tliem In such consummate wickedness. Their hatred to Joseph must have hud a far deeper seat—must have been produced by dislike to his piety and other e.xcellenclcs, which made his chariwt«'r and conduct a constant censure upon tholrs, and u aollie art of Interweaving various patt( rns was Introduced, " the coats of colours" are difl'erent now from what they peem to have been In patriarchal times, and bear a close resemblance to the vnrhales of tartan. 4. could not peak peaceably unto lulm—<lld not say "peace bo to 38