PARTI. Whence the city, built here in succeeding times, took the name of Beersheba, as we are expressly told, Gen. xxvi. 33. The sacred Historian having just taken notice of Esau's taking two of the daughters of Heth, or Hittite women, to be his wives, acquaints us next with the circumstances of Jacob's getting the blessing of his father Isaac away from Esau, and with Jacob's being sent hereupon to Padan-Aram, to Bethuel his mother's brother, then dwelling at Haran; and with his staying there fourteen years and upwards, and then returning to his father Isaac, who at that time sojourned at Mamre near Hebron, where Abraham had formerly sojourned. After which Moses presently shuts up the history of Isaac, with an account of his age, and death, and burial by his two sons, Esau and Jacob, Gen. xxvii-xxxv. ver. 29. So that there being no places mentioned in the history properly relating to the sojourning of Isaac, but what has been mentioned before, and that chiefly in the history of Abraham, there is no occasion to say any more of them here.

1.

The situation of the

Ishmaelites.

CHAPTER X.

Of the Dwellings of the Ishmaelites.

HAVING spoken of the sojourning of Isaac, the only son of Abraham by Sarah, and the heir not only of his temporal estate, but also of (what was infinitely better) the spiritual or evangelical blessing, promised by God to Abraham and his seed; I judge it convenient to speak next of the dwellings of the other sons of Abraham, and so

begin with Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, as being the eldest. Now he himself dwelt in the wil derness of Paran, as we are told, Gen. xxi. 21. where taking a wife out of the land of Egypt, he became the father of twelve sons; whose posterity (as we are expressly informed, Gen. xxv. 18.) dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest towards Assyria, that is, in several parts of Arabia Petræa; whereof the western part towards Egypt is in Scripture called Shur; the eastern part toward the Persian gulf, Havilah, as has been above observed. Accordingly of the twelve sons of Ishmael, here reckoned up by Moses, some of them are expressly mentioned in Sctipture, as inhabiting these parts; and plain footsteps of their names are to be found in Heathen writers, among the inhabitants of this tract.

first-born of

Ishmael.

Thus the descendants of the first-born of Ish- 2. mael, called Nebaioth, are mentioned together with Of Nebaithe descendants of his second son Kedar, by the oth, the prophet Isaiah, ch. lx. ver. 7. The descendants of Nebaioth are the people called Nabathæi by Heathen writers; and they seem to have been of better note among the Greeks and Latins, than the rest; forasmuch as they are more frequently mentioned by their writers, whether historians or poets.

3.

But among the sacred writers, there is more frequent mention made of Kedar. The prophet Of Kedar, Isaiah, speaking of the burden of Arabia, expresses it among other things, by the fall of the glory of Kedar, Isaiah xxi. 16. These people are also mentioned by Pliny, under the name of Cedreni or Cedareni, and are placed by him next to the Nabatheans.

4.

In the place of Isaiah last cited, under the burden of Arabia, there is also mention made of the Of Tema. inhabitants of the land of Tema; which Tema is reckoned also by Moses among the sons of Ishmael. It is thought by some, that Eliphaz the Temanite, mentioned in the book of Job, was prince of this country; but it seems more probable, that he was a descendant of Esau, by Teman,

PART I. of whom hereafter. There is a city of this name, mentioned by Ptolemy; and likely the same, which is called Tamna by Strabo.

5.

Again, in the same chapter of Isaiah, ver. 11. Of Dumah. we have the burden of Dumah; whereby is probably denoted the nation or family of Dumah, another of Ishmael's sons, mentioned by Moses. Stephanus the geographer mentions a city in Arabia, called Dumatha, from this Duma, as is likely.

6.

Of Jetur.

7.

Of the other sons of Ishmael.

8.

The Ishmaelites, otherwise

garens.

As for Jetur and Nephish, two other sons of Ishmael, we read, 1 Chron. v. 19, that the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, made war with them, and overcame them, and dwelt in their stead (i. e. in their country) until the captivity, ver. 22. Whereby is confirmed the opinion of Iturea, a country mentioned by St. Luke, being so called from Jetur, the son of Ishmael.

The remaining sons of Ishmael we have po mention of, as to their particular habitation, in the Scripture; unless we will suppose, the city and wilderness of Kedemoth (Deut. ii. 26.) to have taken its name from Kedemah, the last of the twelve sons mentioned by Moses.

It remains only to observe, that as these people were from their father denominated by the common name of Ishmaelites; so from the mother of Ishcalled Ha- mael, Hagar, they were also denominated Hagarens or Hagarites. And under this last name they are mentioned even by Heathen writers, some calling them Agræi, others Agareni. But though these names may be used promiscuously, yet there seems to have been sometimes a distinction made between them. Thus in Psalm lxxxiii. 6. among the ene mies of the Israelites, there are reckoned in the former part of the verse, the Edomites and Ishmaelites; and in the latter part of the same verse, the Moabites and Hagarens. Now had the Ishmaelites and Hagarens always denoted exactly the same, there would have been no occasion to have mentioned both words. And therefore it seems probable, that by the Hagarens were sometimes

XI.

denoted, some particular Ishmaelites. One might CHAP. suppose them to be those that dwelt about mount Sina, otherwise called Hagar, this word in the Arabian language signifying a rock; and being by the Arabs peculiarly applied to mount Sina, as a proper name. But the Ishmaelites being joined by the Psalmist to the Edomites, and the Hagarens to the Moabites, thwarts the fore-mentioned opinion, and requires us rather to look on the Hagarens to be such of the Ishmaelites as were seated nearest to Moab; especially if we add hereunto what is said 1 Chron. v. 18, 19. The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites-made war with the Hagarites, &c. To conclude with the Ishmaelites: Certain it is, that the Arabians do to this. very day value themselves upon their being descended from Ishmael.

CHAPTER XI.

Of the Dwellings of Abraham's Children, by
Keturah.

The east

country,

PROCEED We now to the children of Abraham by 1. Keturah, reckoned up, Gen. xxv. 1-4. And as to their first settlement in general, the sacred his- Gen. xxv. tory tells us, that Abraham giving them gifts, sent 6. what. them away (while he yet lived) eastward, into the east country, i. e. into the parts of Arabia lying eastward. And accordingly here we shall find them, that are mentioned in the sequel of the sacred history, or by Heathen writers.

2.

Among the sons of Abraham by Keturah, the principal in the Scripture-history, are the descen- Of Midian. dants of Midian, or the Midianites. It is agreed,

PART I. that these (at least chiefly) settled themselves to the south-east of the Salt Sea, adjoining to the Moabites. Hence, whilst the Israelites lay encamped at Shittim, we read, Num. xxv. 1-6. that they committed whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and also one of them with a Midianitish woman. Hence also we find Moab and Midian mentioned together as neighbouring people, Num. xxii. 4. We do indeed read of the land of Midian, lying in the neighbourhood of mount Sinai; where. in Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, lived, Exod. ii. 15, &c. And accordingly we find a city called Madana, placed in these parts by Heathen writers, near the Red Sea. But this is not to be understood of the first settlement of Midian; but that in process of time, as his descendants increased, so they spread themselves further and further in the adjacent parts, where they found room; and so at length spread themselves as far as to that tract by the Red Sea, where Jethro lived. And indeed it is probable, that the land of Midian, wherein Jethro lived, was not distinct or quite separated from the first settlement of Midian; but lay so as to be contiguous, and so to be properly denoted, together with the other, under the one common name of the land of Midian; which may be better conceived by the map hereunto be longing, than by words.

3.

Of Sheba, the son of Abraham, by Ketu

rah.

Another of the sons of Abraham by Keturah, was Jokshan; who had two sons, Sheba and Dedan. Now among the descendants of Cush, mentioned Gen. x. 7. we find two exactly of the same names. The not observing hereof has occasioned some confusion in writers, as to the assigning of the first settlements of these people. We have above observed, that Sheba and Dedan, the descendants of Cush, settled themselves in the eastern part of Arabia Felix, near to their father Raamah. And indeed it is easy to suppose that these, having all Arabia then before them, would choose the most fruitful and pleasant parts thereof to dwell in. But Sheba and Dedan, the descendants of Abraham,