Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Ccdl to Abram. GENESIS XII. XIII. Return from Eyyyt.
tion. lest wc he scattered—To build a city and a town was no crime; but to do tliis, to defeat llie counsels of heaven by attempting to prevent emigration, was foolisii, wicked, and justly offensive to God. 7. coiifouiid their language lit., their lip; it was a failure in utterance, occasioning a difference in dialect which was intelligible only to those of the same tribe. Thus easily by God their purpose was defeated, and they were compelled to the dispersion they had combined to prevent. It is only from the Scriptures we learn the true origin of tlie different nations and languages of the world. By one miracle of tongues men were dispersed, and gradually fell from true religion. By another, national barriers were broken down—that all men might be brought back to ihe family of God. 38. XJr (now Orfa)—i. e., light, or fire. Its name probably derived from its being devoted to the rites of fire-worship. Terah and his family were equ.ally infected with that idolatry as tlie rest of the inhabitants (Joshua from the monuments of that country that at the tij.ie of Abram's visit a monarchy had existed for several centuries. The seat of government was in the Delta, the most nortliern part of the country, the very quarter in which Abram must have arrived. They were a race of shepherd kings, in close alliance with the people of Canaan. 15. tlie woman was taken into Pliaraoh's hoxise—Eastern kings have for ages claimed the privilege of taking to their harem an unmarried woman whom they like. The father or brotlier may deplore the removal as a calamity, but the roya7 rlgnt is m-ver resisted nor questioned. 16. he entreattxl Abram well for her sake—The presents are jr.st what one pastoral chief would give t<» another. 18-20. He.e is a most humiliating rebuke, and Abram deser\cd it. Had not God interfered he might have been (.empted to stay in Egypt, and forget the promise (Psalm 105. 1:5, lo). Often still does God rebuke His people and remind them through enemies that this world is not th .Ir rest.
24. 15). 31. Sarai Uls daugliter-in-law—the same as Iscah, grand-daughter of Terah, probably by a second wife, and by early usages considered marriageable to her uncle Abralram. and tliey came unto Haran—two days' journey South-South-East from Ur, in the direct road to the ford of the Euphrates at Rakka, the nearest and most convenient route to Palestine.
CHAPTER XIII.
Ver. 1-18. Retckn fkom Egypt. 1. went up . . . soutJi —Palestine being a highland country, the entrance from Egypt by its southern boundary is a continual ascent. 3. T-ery rich—compared witli the pivstoral tribes to which Abraham belonged. An Arab slieick is considered rich who has a liundred or two hundred tents, from sixty to a hundred camels, a thousand sheep and goats respectively. And Abraham being very rich, must have far exceeded that amount of pastoral property. "Gold and silver" being rare among these people, his probably arose from the sale of his produce in Egypt. 3. went on hia journeys—his pro^'ess would be by slow marches and frequent encampments, as he had to regul.ate his movements by the prospect of water and pasturage, unto tlie place
CHAPTER XII.
Ver. 1-20. Call to Abkam. 1. Now tlie Lord lind said unto Abram—It pleased God, who has often been found of them who sought him not, to reveal himself to Abraham perhaps by a miracle; and the conversion of Abraham is one of the. most remarkable in Bible history. Get tUee out of tliy country—His being brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God had probably been a considerable time before. Tliis call included two promises: the lirst, showing the land of his future posterity; and the second, tliat in his posterity all the earth was to be blessed. Abraham obeyed, and it is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as a striking instance of his faitli (Hebrews 11. 8). 5. into the land of Canaan. . . between Beth-el and Hal—"a conspicuous liill—its topmost summit resting on the rocky slopes below, and distinguished by its olive groves—ollcriiig a natural base for the altar and a fitting shade for the tent of the patriarch." [Stanley.] 4. there Abram called on tJ»e name of the liord—he felt a strong desire to re-animate liis. . . tliey came—with his wife and an orphan nepliew. Abram reached his destination in safety, ,an<l thus tlie faiih and piety on the scene of his former worship: It might be to express humility and penitence for his misconduct in Egypt, or thankfulness for deliverance from perils—to embrace the first opporluiiity on returning to Canaan of leading his family to renew allegiance to God, and offer the typical sacritices which pointed to the blessings of the promise. 7. And there was a strife—Abraham's cliaracler appears here in a most amiable light. Having a st rong sense of religion, lie was afraid of doing anything tliat might tend to injure Its character or bring discredit on Its name, and he riglitly judged that such unhappy efl'ects would he produced if two persons whom nature and grace had so closel.v connoted should come to a rupture. Waiving his right to dictate, he gave the freedom of choice to Lot. The conduct of Abraham was not only disintercste<l and peaceable, but generous and condi'- first promise was made good. 6. tUe place of Sicliem or Shechem, a pastoral valley then unoccupied (cf. ch,
33. IS), plain of Moreh—rather, the "terebinth tree" of Moreh, very common in Palestine, remarliable for its wide-spreading brandies and its dark green foliage. It is probable that in Moreh tliere was a grove of these trees, whose inviting shade led Abram to clioose it for an encampment. 7. Unto thy seed will I give this land— God was dealing with Abram not in his private and personal capacity merely, but with a view to liigh and important interests in future ages. Tliat land liis posterity was for centuries to inhaliit as a peculiar people; the seeds of Divine knowledge were to be sown tlierc for the benefit of all mankind; and considered in its geograpliical situation,.it was chosen in Divine wisdom the lUtest of all lands to serve as the cradle of a Divine revelation scciidiiig In an extraoidiiiary degree, cxemplijying the
precepts, Matthew 0. 3'2; Homans 12. 10, 11 ; Pliilippians 2.4. 10. Lot lifted up his eyes—Travellers describe that from the top of this hlH, a little "to the cast of Bethel," tlu-y can see the Jordan, the broad meadows on either bank, and the waving line of verdure which marks the course of the stream. 11. Tlieu Lot chose lilm all tlie plain—a choice excellent in a worldly point of view, but most iiu-xpedlent for his best Interests. Ho seems, though a good man, to have been too much under the inlluence of a selfish and covetous spirit : and how man.v, alas! Imperil the good of their souls lor ti.e i.rospecl of worldly advantage. 1*, l.'i. I-itt up now thine eyes . . . all the land which thou seest—so extensive a survey of the country, in <M liircctioiix, can be obtained from no other point in the neighbourhood; and those plains and hills, then lying desolate before theoyes of the designed for the whole world, and there bullded he an altar unto the I>ord—By this solemn act of devotion lie made an open profession of his religion, establislied tlie worship of the true God, and declared his faith in tlie pi'oniise. 10. there was a famine . . . antl Abram went tlown into Egypt—flid not go back to the place of his n.-itivity, as regretting his pilgrimage an<l despising tlie promised land (Hebrews 11. iri), but witl'idrew for a while into a neighbouring country. H-13. Saral's complexion, coming from a mountainous country, would be fresh and fair compared witli tlie faces of Egyptian women whicli were sallow. Tlie counsel of Abram to her was true in words, but it was a deception. Intended lo give an impression that she was no more tlian iiis bister. His conduct was culpalile and Inconsistent with his character as a servant of fjoil : it sliowe<l a reliance on woildly policy more th.'in ii trust In the promise; and he not only sinned himself, but tempted .Sarai to sin also.
solitary iiatriarch, were to be peopled with a mighty nation " like the dust of the earth in number," as they were
II, when Abram wag come Into Kgypt.—It appears 24 in Holo:non's time (1 Kings 4. 20). 18. plain of Olamrc