A. M. 2148. A. C. 1856; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3418. A. C. 1993. GEN. CH. xxv. 20-xxviii. 8. or to plead the lawfulness of rental reservations, in order to excuse him in the lying and dissimulation, wherein he was certainly culpable. The best way is, upon this occasion, to lament the infirmity of human nature, which cannot always stand upright, and to admire the impartiality of the sacred writings, in which the very blemishes and transgressions of such as are designed to make the top-figure therein are not forgotten to be recorded. It cannot be denied indeed, but that both Jacob and his mother were justly to be praised for having a due esteem of the paternal benediction, and for their endeavouring to attain it; since this could proceed from no other motive than a full persuasion of the truth of God's promises and covenant with Abraham. For as the paternal blessing was thought to be a means instituted by God for the conveyance of this covenant, it could not but deserve their care and assiduity. It cannot be denied farther, but that, if this blessing was, as some imagine, an appendage to the birthright, Jacob, in purchasing the one, had acquired a lawful title to the other, a title established not only upon the express designation of God, but by a deed of sale likewise, executed and ratified by a most solemn and sacred oath. It cannot be denied likewise, but that, pursuant to this divine designation, Isaac was obliged to have conferred his blessing upon Jacob; and therefore his wife, perceiving that he was going to promise the blessing of Abraham where his affection led him to wish it, and not where she knew that God had designed to bestow it, laid a scheme which induced her husband to do that unwittingly which God had pre-ordained was to be done, but what she knew her husband would not do willingly without some uneasiness. Nay, it cannot be denied, once more, but that when her artifice had succeeded, and Jacob was accordingly blessed, Isaac was so far from being displeased with his wife, or angry with Jacob for imposing upon him, that we find him fully satisfied in what he had J Heidegger's Hist. Patriar, vol. 2. Essay 14. had been, his first-born Esau, since Esau was reduced to the done: 3 I have blessed him,' says he, 'yea, and he shall be blessed.' Which sudden change of mind can be imputed to nothing else but some divine inspiration, which at that time opened his understanding, and convinced him that he had given the blessing to the right | person. Thus, from the consideration of Jacob's right and Isaac's duty, the goodness of the end, the pre-ordination of God, and his approbation of the thing when done, may be drawn some arguments to alleviate their crime; but still we must ingenuously own, 4 that Rebecca was guilty of a fault, in suggesting such dangerous advice to her son; that Jacob committed another, in suffering himself to be seduced by so bad a guide; and that both of them presumed to limit the power of God, by thinking that a complication of frauds was necessary for the accomplishment of a divine prophecy. Had Rebecca, indeed, put her husband in remembrance of this prophecy, and shown how Esau had forfeited the blessing by selling his birthright, and by marrying strange wives, this had been a much more honourable proceeding; but therefore she was left to pursue her own indiscreet method, that God might have the honour of serving his own purposes by the follies of men. But how culpable soever Rebecca may be thought, in this instance, yet there is not the like imputation upon her in hiding from her husband the true reason of her sending away Jacob. It is certainly a point of great prudence to conceal truth, when the discovery of it will occasion more harm than good; and therefore, that she might not afflict her husband's old age with the unwelcome news of his son Esau's wicked intent against his brother, and thereby provoke his indignation against him, she covered the dismission of Jacob with a reason that was true indeed, but not that chief and latent one which gave her the most uneasiness; and which, if communicated to her husband, might have been a means of bringing his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave.' So that, in the whole, and according to the proverbs of the wise man, she acted the part both of a careful and a prudent woman; for the tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright; and she that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.' When Abraham sent his servant into Mesopotamia to negotiate a marriage for his son Isaac, he had an equipage appointed him suitable to the dignity of his master, that God might be more honoured by so fine an appearance, and his veracity publicly justified in the advancement of that Abraham who had quitted all to follow him; but we shall soon perceive, that there was not the like reason for Isaac's sending away his son Jacob with such an honourable retinue, if we do but consider, that the family of Nahor was already sufficiently apprized of the divine blessing which had attended Abraham and his family; that as Rebecca was sister to Laban, the head of the family, there was no need of any farther recommendation than that of a letter to her brother; that in this affair it was prudence to make Jacob appear as 6 Gen. xxvii. 33. 4 Saurin's Dissertation 25. Bibliotheca Biblica, in Gen. xxviii. 5. A. M. 2148. A. C. 1856; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3418. A. C. 1993. GEN. CH, xxv. 20—xxviii. 8. little as might be, in order to give the less umbrage to his brother, and if possible to appease his resentment; that it was highly expedient for Jacob to tread in the steps of his grandfather Abraham, whose heir he was now become, and should therefore depart from his father's house, and cast himself entirely upon the providence of God for his subsistence, even as he had done; and that it was necessary for him to give a demonstration that it was not merely, as some suppose, an earthly inheritance which he had purchased, or a secular blessing which he had acquired, but that there was something far greater, though not discernible by every common eye, which he had in view in this acquisition: for 1his confessing in this manner, that he was a stranger and pilgrim on earth,' notwithstanding the right of primogeniture in him, declared plainly that, as heir of the promise with Abraham and Isaac, he was seeking a better country than either that from which he departed, or that whereunto he was sent, that is, an heavenly. pray, is Isaac to be blamed, for loving a son who took such pains, and exposed himself to such dangers, that he might show his respect to his aged father, and procure him now and then some little thing to please his palate, and humour his sickly appetite? Those who think proper to blame the patriarch's kind resentment of such assiduity, seem to have forgot the workings of human nature, and how apt the very wisest of parents are to have their affections won every day more and more, by the sedulity and officiousness of their children. The dressing of this venison is represented indeed as a province which Esau himself took upon him; and to have the eldest son and heir of a family stand cook, as we call it, seems to portend no great wealth or magnificence in it; but when we urge this, we forget the simplicity of the times wherein Moses wrote, and wherein it was customary for men of the first rank to submit to offices much meaner than this. Herein then do the truth and authority of the sacred history most eminently appear, that all its accounts and descriptions of things agree with the sense of the most ancient writers, and are found vailed. a well or fountain of living water was a possession of inestimable value; and for this reason we find Moses, in magnifying the divine bounty to the children of Israel, among other parts of the inventory, reckoning up, not only great and goodly cities which they built not, but wells likewise digged which they digged not.' 76 From these, and such like considerations, and not from any family poverty, it was, that Jacob was sent into Mesopotamia all alone, and without any attend-conformable to the manners and customs that then preance. And, in like manner, when Esau, upon his return from hunting, complains of his extreme hunger, we can And in like manner, we may say, that it is our ignoscarcely suppose that he found nothing at home to eat, rance of the patriarchal manner of living which makes except the pottage which his brother had made. Fru- us think it unaccountable to hear, in those early days, of gality, indeed, was a virtue of much more esteem among so many contests about wells. For were we to take a the ancients than it is among us; but it is hard to ima- nearer inspection into the thing, we should soon find, that gine how Isaac, who was a man confessedly of a plen-in those hot countries, where water was so very scarce, tiful estate, and had doubtless a large family to maintain, should keep a house utterly destitute of all manner of eatables. Provision there was, no doubt, enough; but Esau's fancy ran upon something else. He longed, greedily longed, for the soup, and the soup he would have, whatever it cost. Its flavour and colour had enticed him, and every thing he resolved to part with, rather than not gratify the present cravings of an intemperate appetite. And accordingly we may observe, that his reasoning upon this occasion was not, that he was ready to die for famine, and therefore would part with his birthright; but that, according to his course of life, and the perils which he every day ran in hunting, in all probability he would not survive his father, and his birthright of consequence would avail him nothing; and therefore, having but a slender opinion of what was to come hereafter, he made his conclusion much in the same form with the epicurean in the prophet, Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.' 3 Whoever considers the chronology of that transaction, will find that Isaac lived about forty years after his parting with his prophetical blessing; and consequently, that it was not old age, but some sickness and indisposition of body, that at this time had seized him, and made him apprehensive of his approaching death. In this condition it is no uncommon thing, we know, for men's thoughts to run upon one kind of meat rather than another, and when the stomach is depraved, or anywise out of order, generally to long for such things as are of a savoury taste and if venison in those countries was more particularly adapted to that purpose, wherein, I 8 Nor was it only for the benefit of the water that these wells were held in so high esteem, but for the memory of the events and transactions likewise which were known to have happened near them. For at these wells angels had appeared, miracles had been wrought, religious assemblies held, treaties transacted, marriages celebrated, and towns and cities built; and therefore no wonder that the ancients, looking upon them as sacred, as well as profitable places, should be so ready to contest their right to them, or that frequent notice should be taken of them in so compendious an history as that of the patriarchs. The truth is, these, and perhaps some other occurrences in the life of this patriarch, though to us they may seem strange and incongruous, do not argue any want or poverty, but are exactly agreeable to that temperance and simplicity of living, which, in his days, were in vogue. He was in a manner sole heir of his father Abraham, (who was a a king in the opinion of some, but in all accounts a person of great affluence of fortune,) and who himself had made additions to it, enough to be Bibliotheca Biblica, Occasional Annotations. 7 Deut. vi. 11. Shuckford's Connection, vol. 2. b. 7. a The words of Nicholaus Damascenus, (as they are quoted by Josephus) are these, Abraham reigned in Damascus, being a stranger, who came out of the land of Chaldea, beyond BabyHis name is at this day famous about the country ef Damascus, and they show us the town, which from him is called Abraham's dwelling."-Grotius de Verit, b. 1. sect. 16, lon. A. M. 2148. A. C. 1865; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3418. A. C. 1993. GEN. CH. xxv. 20- xxviii. 8. envied even by neighbouring princes, could not possibly want any necessary accommodation of life, nor would he concern himself with things of a trifling consideration. But what we call trifles, might, in those times, be matter of the last importance; and what we account indications of poverty, might proceed from no other cause but that of frugality and parsimony, a which, in the primitive ages, were in high repute, before they came to be discountenanced by the present schemes of expense and studied luxury. And therefore, when we find, in ancient history, the Arcadians feeding upon acorns; the Argives upon apples; the Athenians upon figs, &c.; when we find a set of the most renowned heroes in the Grecian army, even in the great Achilles' tent, dining upon a loin of mutton, and an hock of bacon; and the godlike man Patroclus lighting the fire, while the master of the feast was spitting the meat; our wonder may cease, if, in ages before this, we meet with such an homely dish as lentil pottage in a patriarch's house, and the two sons of the family condescending to cook their own victuals. This we must own is not the practice among us; but it is a much more consistent and credible account of things than if Moses had represented Isaac's tent like a royal palace, and every thing served up there in the same splendid manner as when the king and his family dine in public. CHAP. III.-Of Isaac's Blessing to Jacob. THE HISTORY, FROM the time that God made the covenant with Abraham, and promised blessings extraordinary to his seed, it was customary for the father of each family, some time before he died, to call together his children, and to inform them, according to the knowledge which it pleased God then to give him, how, and in what manner the blessing of Abraham was to descend among them. Whence this custom had its original, whether from the inmediate appointment of God, or from some secret impulse, wherewith the patriarchs, upon the approach of their departure, found themselves affected, the silence of Scripture will not suffer us to determine; but this we may safely infer, 2 that this benediction was different from those private blessings which the patriarchs gave their children upon sundry occasions, and different likewise from those public blessings which the priests, and others in authority, were wont to distribute among 'Elian de Varia Historia, b. 3. a The manner of living in the early ages of the world seems to be very well expressed by the Roman satirist. "When Saturn was king, I believe that chastity dwelt on earth, and was seen for a long time; when the cold grotto gave to men a home, a hearth and place for their household god; when one common shade enclosed both the cattle and their owners, and when the unsophisticated wife strewed for her husband, a woodland couch of leaves and straw and skins of wild beasts.”—Juvenal, Sat, 6. When the Grecians sent an embassy to Achilles, desiring him to be reconciled to Agamemnon, and to return to the camp, the deputies appointed for this purpose were Phoenix, Ajax, and Ulysses; and the simple entertainment which Achilles upon this occasion gave them, is by Homer beautifully described. the people. It proceeded from an extraordinary illumination, and had the prospect of futurity (so far as was necessary for its purpose) submitted to its inspection. The persons upon whom it came had for that time the spirit of divination, and what they uttered under its influence was deemed a prophetic oracle, denoting infallible events, and extending to the utmost period of time. The Jews indeed have a proverbial saying, that the spirit of prophecy does not fall upon the melancholic; and thence they suppose, that as good eating and drinking are known to exhilarate the spirits, the patriarch, by sending his son to take venison, was minded to make use of that expedient, that he might be the better disposed to receive the divine inspiration, and to pronounce the prophetical benediction with cheerfulness, and with a warmth and emotion sufficient to excite that attention which the prophecy he was about to deliver did require. 3 But as no one in his senses can imagine, that a person when perfectly sober, is not as capable of the spirit of prophecy as he that has plentifully dined; others, from the phrase, that I may bless thee before the Lord,' suppose that Isaac's eating, in order to receive the spirit of benediction, was by him designed to be sacramental, and accompanied with some religious rites and solemn invocations, though they happen not to be here mentioned. But this supposition being as precarious as the other, the safest way is to resolve the whole matter into the providence of God, who put Isaac into the head of sending out Esau for venison, neither to refresh his spirits by eating, nor to perform any religious act, but merely, by his absence, to give Jacob an advantageous opportunity of appropriating the blessing to himself. 6 Isaac, indeed, meant not this, neither was it in his heart to bless Jacob; and therefore, if we suppose that Rebecca had acquainted him with the prophecy which directed him to transfer the blessing upon Jacob, we must suppose withal, that he had now forgot it, or never rightly understood it, or apprehended that it was to be accomplished, not in the persons of Esau and Jacob, but in their posterity, for it is much better to charge the patriarch with want of attention or understanding, than with disobedience and prevarication. 8 However this be, the blessing which he pronounces over Jacob by mistake, is conceived in these words :God give thee of the dew of heaven,' (because, in hot countries, where showers were less frequent, the morning and evening dews were a great refreshment to the earth, and productive of much plenty,) and the fatness of the earth,' (because Canaan, the lot of his inheritance, was a fruitful, and therefore by the prophet called 'a fat land,') and plenty of corn and wine,' (abundance of every product of the earth.) Let people serve thee,' (that is, the Idumeans, who shall descend from thy brother Esau, as they did in the days of David,) and nations bow down unto thee,' (the kingdoms of Arabia and Syria, who are sprung from Hagar and Keturah :) 'be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's son bow down unto thee,' (have thou the dominion and prerogative in thine own family.) • Cursed be every one that A. M. 2148. A. C. 1856; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3418. A. C. 1993. GEN. CH. xxv. 20-xxviii. 8. curseth thee, and blessed be every one that blesseth | beloved wife, and the supposed untimely death of his thee;' for God shall so far interest himself in thy cause, son Joseph; to say nothing of his being compelled by as to esteem those his friends or foes, who shall behave famine to go down into Egypt, and there die: these, and themselves as such to thee. So that the blessing con- many more instances, are proofs sufficient, that his sists properly of three branches: in the first is contained father's blessing was of a different nature. For supposworldly plenty and prosperity; in the second, domi-ing it to relate to temporal prosperity and dominion only, nion and empire; and in the third, family pre-eminence, as well as the divine protection: but then the question is, in what sense is all this to be understood, and to what branch may the peculiar blessing of Abraham, which | is doubtless comprised herein, be supposed to belong? If we look back to the call of Abraham, and the promises which attended it, there we shall find, that after enumerating the temporal blessings which were to descend from Abraham to his posterity, one blessing is added, in which all the world has an interest, and which was conveyed to them through Abraham and his seed. In thee,' says God,' shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' 2 If we proceed to the blessing which he was pleased to give to his son Isaac, we shall find a recital of the same kinds of temporal prosperity; a numerous progeny promised; the grant of the land of Canaan renewed; the oath given unto Abraham confirmed; and then follows the great and distinguishing promise, 3 in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.' And in like manner we cannot but imagine, that in this great and solemn blessing which Isaac is giving his son Jacob, there must be something of a spiritual nature comprised, though couched under terms which seem to denote worldly felicity only. 6 wherein can we say that Jacob had the pre-eminence above his brother ? If Jacob was blessed with the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth,' Esau's blessing (at least according to our translation) in this respect, is not inferior: Thy dwelling,' says his father, shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.' If nations were to bow down to Jacob,' Esau likewise was to live and prevail by his sword.' If Jacob's brethren were to bow down to him;' yet the time would come, when Esau should have dominion, and break even this yoke from off his neck.' Thus, if we interpret the whole blessing of temporal prosperity only, the two brothers seem to stand upon an equality; and yet it is evident, from the whole story, that the chief blessing which their father had to bestow, was fallen upon Jacob; and therefore he tells Esau, when he pressed him for a blessing upon himself likewise, 'Behold I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given unto him for servants, and with corn and wine have I sustained him, and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?' And when Esau still urges his father, and his father thereupon blesses him, we may observe, that of corn and wine, and temporal power, he gives him a full and an equal share; but then there is this limitation in the blessing, Thou shalt serve thy brother:' so that whatever was peculiarly The author of the Hebrews tells us, that by faith given to Jacob, was contained in the grant of being Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to lord over his brethren;' and yet the history of the two come; and what we are to understand by faith,' he brothers will not allow us to expound it of any temporal instructs us in the conclusion of his discourse; and dominion; for if we should, see how the case will stand. these all' (meaning the patriarchs he had mentioned Jacob is to rule over Esau ;' and yet no sooner is the before) having obtained a good report through faith, blessing given, but he flies his country for fear of Esau; received not the promise, God having provided some he lives abroad for many years; and when he returns, better things for us, that they, without us, should not be the fear and dread of his brother returns with him; so made perfect.' So that this faith did chiefly relate to that his only refuge, in this his distress, was to God; the blessed seed which was promised in the beginning, and from continued tradition and divine revelation, in every succeeding age, embraced by the faithful; and therefore we can hardly suppose, but that, in this great prophetical benediction, there must be something concerning this seed implied at least, if not expressed. Whoever takes but a cursory view of some of the chief passages of Jacob's life, will soon perceive that had his father's blessing consisted of worldly advantages only, it was in a manner quite lost upon him, since few men enjoyed a less share of that than he, who was forced from his home, into a far country, for fear of his brother; deceived and oppressed by his uncle; and after a servitude of above twenty years, compelled to flee from him; while, at the same time, he was in imminent danger, either of being pursued and brought back by Laban, or fallen upon, and murdered by Esau. These fears were no sooner over, but the baseness of his eldest son, in defiling his couch; the treachery and cruelty of the two next in relation to the Shechemites; the loss of his 94 to Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.' When he sends a message him, he styles himself, Thy servant Jacob:' when he meets him, 10 he bows himself to the ground seven times, until he comes near to Esau;' when he speaks to him, he calls him lord;' and when he is kindly received by him, he says, 11 I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wert pleased with me.' What is there in all this that shows any rule and dominion given to Jacob over his brother Esau? And, in like manner, if we imagine the prophecy relates to temporal dominion only, and yet was fulfilled in the posterity of these two brothers, the question will be, how the case, upon this supposition, stands? The family of Esau was settled in power and dominion many years before Jacob's family had any certain dwellingplace. The dukes and kings of Esau's house are reckoned up; and the historian tells us, that these are Bishop Sherlock's Use and Intent of Prophecy, Discourse 5. 7 Ibid. Gen. xxxii. 11. 9 Gen. xxxii. 20. Gen. xxxiii. 10. 10 Gen. xxxiii. 3. 12 Bishop Sherlock's Use and Intent of Prophecy, Discourse 5. 13 Gen. xxxvi. 31. 26 46 3 76 A. M. 2149. A. C. 1855; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 3495. A. C. 1916. GEN. CH. xxviii, 10-xxxvii. the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before there | why, though it was certainly obtained by guile, it was reigned any king over the children of Israel.' When not afterwards revoked, but ratified rather and confirmed, the appointed time was come for establishing the house even when his father came to understand the imposture. of Israel, and giving them the land and possessions of For if prophecy came not in old time by the will their enemies, the family of Esau were, by a particular of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved decree, exempted from the dominion of Israel; for so by the Holy Ghost,' then is Isaac, in this action the Lord commanded Moses, 1 Ye are to pass through to be considered only as the instrumental, and God the coast of your brethren, the children of Esau. Take as the principal cause; the efficacy of the blessing ye good heed unto yourselves therefore; meddle not with therefore must be supposed to depend, not on his will them; for I will not give you of their land; no, not so and intention, but on God's ordination and appointment; much as a foot-breadth.' In the time of David, indeed, and consequently Isaac could have no right or authority they of Edom became his servants' but in the to disannul the blessing, had he been minded so to do. days of Jehoram they recovered again, ' and made a "But it is much more likely, that the remembrance of king over themselves; and in the time of Ahaz they the prophecy concerning the two children, which Rebecca revenged the affront, by smiting Judah, and leading had vouchsafed her, before they were born, might at this them away captives.' So that this variety of fortune, time come to strike him; and seeing he had in his blessbetween the children of Jacob and Esau, could never be ing, though not designedly, confirmed the same, he the thing intended or meant to be described, when the might very well impute it to an overruling providence, promise was given to Jacob, that his mother's children and so be concluded by the divine determination; in should bow down unto him.' which sense that passage relating to Esau, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, is most proper to be applied: 10 We know, how that afterwards, when he would have inherited a blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.' But how was 'Esau rejected from inheriting a blessing,' when we find, that upon his importunity with his father, he obtained one? He obtained a blessing indeed, but not that which, by hereditary right, belonged to the firstborn, and abounded with blessings both spiritual and temporal. This his brother Jacob had supplanted him of; and yet he could not prevail with his father to revoke it. He could not bring him to change his mind, (as it is in the margin,) and repent of the blessing he had given to Jacob, (for," it is Isaac's repentance, not Esau's, that is here under consideration,) although he sought it with tears; and the reason is,—because his father knew, both by the conduct of providence in this whole affair, and by a particular inspiration at that time, that the peculiar blessings promised to Abraham and his seed, did not belong to him, but, by the divine appointment, were now consigned to his brother and his posterity; and therefore, to silence all further clamour, he tells him with a more than ordinary emphasis and inflexibility, 12 I have blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed,' What then is the hidden purpose of the words, and in what sense are they to be taken? Why it seems pretty evident, that the blessing given to Jacob, and expressed in words implying a rule over his brethren, was a conveyance of his birthright to him, in the family of Abraham; that the birthright in Abraham's family, besides the promise of the land of Canaan, respected the special blessing given to Abraham by God, and that this special blessing denoted no other than that person in whom all families of the earth were to be blessed, and that is Christ. For that the regard of all nations to the seed, in which they were all to be blessed, should be expressed by their bowing down to him,' is no hard figure of speech; and that the superiority of Jacob's family should one day be broken (as the promise to Esau sets forth) when Jews and Gentiles should equally become the people of God, and all nations be equally blessed, is no more than what the original covenant contains. Upon the whole, then, we may observe, that this prediction had its full accomplishment, neither in the person of Jacob, nor in his posterity in general, but only in one, who, as to his human nature, in the fulness of time, descended from him, and who being in the form of God,' as the apostle acquaints us with both his natures, and thinking it no robbery to be equal with God, made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name, which is as a man, 66 SECT. III. Mesopotamia, to his return. above every name, that at the name of Jesus ever knee CHAP. I.-of the Life of Jacob, from his going into should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue shall confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' Since this part of the blessing, then, which Isaac bestowed upon Jacob, was of such high import, as to refer ultimately to the person of our blessed Saviour, and his exaltation into glory; this may suggest a reason to us, THE HISTORY. As soon as Jacob had received his father's charge and blessing, he departed privately from Beersheba, and a made the best of his way to Haran; but after his first |