less than this story. Nothing can bear more indisputable signs of truth than its details. But the circumstance, on which I now rest, is another that is mentioned. The brothers having achieved their evil purpose, sat down to eat bread-possibly some household present which Jacob had sent them, and Joseph had just conveyed, such as on a somewhat similar occasion, in after-times, Jesse sent and David conveyed to his elder brethren in the camp-though on this as on a thousand touches of truth of the like kind, the reader of Moses is left to make his own speculations. And now "they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels, bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt."* Now this, though by no means an obvious incident to have sugGenesis, xxxvii. 25.

gested itself, does seem to me a very natural one to have occurred; and what is more, is an incident which tallies remarkably well with what we read elsewhere, in a passage however having no reference whatever to the one in question. For have we not reason to know, that at this very early period in the history of the world, this first of caravans upon record was charged with a cargo for Egypt singularly adapted to the wants of the Egyptians at that time? Expunge the 2nd and 3rd verses of the 50th chapter of Genesis, and the symptoms of veracity in the narrative which I here detect, or think I detect, would never have been discoverable. But in those verses I am told that "Joseph commanded the Physicians to embalm his father-and the Physicians embalmed Israel ----and forty days were fulfilled to him; for

so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed, and the Egyptians mourned threescore and ten days." I conclude, therefore, from this, that in these very ancient times it was the practice of the Egyptians (for Joseph was here doing that which was the custom of the country where he lived,) to embalm their deadand we know from the case of our Lord that an hundred pounds' weight of myrrh and aloes was not more than enough for a single body.* Hence, then, the camelloads of spices which the Ishmaelites were bringing from Gilead, would naturally enough find an ample market in Egypt. Now is it easy to come to any other conclusion when trifles of this kind drop out, fitted one to another like the corresponding parts of a cloven tally, than that

* John, xix. 39.

both are true?-that the historian, however he obtained his intelligence, is speaking of particulars which fell within his own knowledge, and is speaking of them faithfully? Surely nothing can be more incidental than the mention of the lading of these camels of the Ishmaelites-it has nothing to do with the main fact, which is merely this, that the party, whoever they were, and whatever they were bent upon, were ready to buy Joseph, and that his brethren were ready to sell him. On the other hand no one can suspect, that when Moses relates Joseph to have caused his father's body to be embalmed, he had an eye to corroborating his account of the adventure which he had already told concerning the Ishmaelitish merchants, who might thus seem occupied in a traffic that was appropriate. I think that this single

coincidence would induce an unprejudiced person to believe, that the ordinary parts of this story are matters of fact fully known to the historian, and accurately reported by him. Yet it is an integral portion of this same story, uttered by the same historian, that Joseph had visions of his future destinies, which were strictly fulfilled that the whole proceeding with regard to him had been under God's controlling influence from beginning to end -that though his brethren "thought evil against him, God meant it unto good," to bring to pass, as he did at a future day, "to save much people alive."*

X.

Nor is this all with regard to Egypt wherein is seen the image and superscription of *Genesis, 1. 20.