CHAP. XXIX. 1. Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. 2. And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. 3. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. 4. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. 6. And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. 7. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. 8. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered to gether, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. 9. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. 10. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. 11. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. 12. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father. 13. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. 14. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. 548. It does not appear that Isaac was informed as to the intention of Esau, to slay his brother. Rebekah does not seem to have desired to make known this circumstance to him. Hence the reason given him by Rebekah, for sending away Jacob, was her extreme unwillingness that he should marry among the people of Canaan. "Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me." Isaac acted according to her wishes he called his son Jacob to him, renews his blessing upon him, admonishes him not to take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, and sends him to Padan-aram, to select a wife from among his mother's relations. The reference made by Rebekah to the daughters of Heth, rather than to any other tribe of the land of Canaan, was suggested, and is explained by the fact, that Esau had married into that tribe, and taken two of his wives therefrom. xxvi. 34. 549. The blessing pronounced on Jacob, on the occasion of his leaving, xxviii. 3, 4, contains a reference to the promise that had been made to Abraham. It was quite natural that a promise, so important, and coming from such a source, should be made known to Abraham's posterity, and should be regarded with special satisfaction by those who reckoned themselves as the subjects of its blessings. 550. A tribute is paid to the character of Esau, when it is said that, having discovered that Isaac was not pleased with his having married among the people of Canaan, he went and took another wife from the family of Ishmael. Indeed we shall find many things in the conduct of Esau, to admire, though he was not chosen to represent the family of Abraham. 551. It is worthy of being observed, that what Isaac had craved in his blessing upon Jacob, is now announced to Jacob himself by the divine Being; and the blessing of Abraham is declared to be his. xxviii. 10-15. 552. "Surely the Lord was in this place and I knew it not. That was truly an honest confession. The same mistake was common among the patriarchs. Abram had made that mistake, when he went down into Egypt; and from the apprehension that there was no God there, had felt himself called upon to guard against wrong and outrage by deception and fraud. Isaac had made the same mistake while he sojourned with the Philistines; and now Jacob labors under the impression, that, since he is far away from the sacred altar at Beersheba, he is therefore out of the reach of the divine presence. There was however a God in Egypt; and there was a God in the land of the Philistines; and the same was true of the country where Jacob reposed his head, for the night, upon a heap of stones, not daring, it may be, to ask the hospitality of the people of that (so regarded) godless land. 553. "This is none other but the house of God." The idea here conveyed, is, that this ladder reached up into The the house of God, or the residence of the Almighty. remark was probably a part of the dream; and it gave name to the place, for the meaning of Bethel is "house of God." It is quite probable that what is here called a city, was not such at the time when Jacob lodged there, but became a city at a later day. It was at first called Luz. 554. The promise of Jacob to give God the tenth of all he had, was suggested, perhaps, by the conduct of Abraham on a former occasion; xiv. 20; and may be the ground on which the system of tithes was instituted, at a subsequent period, among the children of Israel. 555. The meeting at the well, the friendly kiss, the hospitable reception, and all the circumstances recorded in the same connection, are the characteristics of that primitive age; and one is half inclined, while reading this narrative to wish himself away from what are called the refinements of civilized society, and among the honest and simple hearted people of those early days. SECTION II. -JACOB'S MARRIAGE. CHAP. XXIX. 15. And Laban said unto Jacob, | Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? 16. And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17. Leah was tender-eyed; but Rachel was beautifnl and well-favored. 18. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 19. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. 20. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. 21. T And Jacob said unto Laban. Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. 22. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her, 24. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah, Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. 25. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel ? wherefore then hast thou beguilded me? 26. And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born. 27. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also, for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. 23. And Jacob did so, and ful- | filled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. 29. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, Bilhah his handmaid, to be her maid. 30. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. 556. The deception practiced upon Jacob by Laban, as a moral transaction, cannot be justified and we are not called upon to justify it. The same remark applies to the deceptive practices of others alluded to in the book. If it be said that these things are not condemned in the narrative, we reply that the writer is a historian, and as such it was his business to give us facts, and not to moralize upon the transactions he records. The social customs brought to view in this passage are treated of in the chapter on Archæology. 557. Jacob had four classes of children; and the passages that relate to their birth, may be arranged with reference to this circumstance. CHAP. XXIX. CHILDREN OF LEAH. 31. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. 32. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. 33. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. 34. And she conceived again, and bare a son, and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. CHAP. XXX. CHILDREN OF RACHEL. 22. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 23. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: 24. And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son. CHILDREN OF LEAH. 35. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing. CHAP. XXX. 14. And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field; and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. 15. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes. 16. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. 17. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. 18. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. 19. And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. 20. And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulon. 21. And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. CHAP. XXXV. CHILDREN OF RACHEL. 16. And they journeyed from Bethel, and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath; and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. 17. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. 18. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. 558. That the Lord intended the fruitfulness of Leah to offset against the beauty of Rachel, as the writer repone of his inferences; resents, may be set down as though the principle from which it is derived, is one of general application, so that the advantages of individuals are more evenly balanced than is commonly supposed. The conclusion of Leah that she bore children because |