1. That it does not apply to a time anterior to Saul; for it contains unequivocal allusions to the royal dignity in the words, "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet." 2. It does not refer to Saul's reign, since the tribe of Benjamin, from which the monarch had sprung, is but very briefly and almost passingly noticed. 6 3. It cannot relate to the reigns of David and Solomon, since the tribe of Joseph is so delineated as to appear the powerful rival of Judah, and is, besides, also called "the crowned of his brethren." 4. It can therefore only apply to the time of the divided empire, with the earlier period of which the whole spirit and every single trait completely agree. It portrays a time when the tribes had individually ceased to possess a prominent history, or individually to achieve memorable deeds, such as they doubtless performed at the period of the conquest and the subsequent wars; Judah and Joseph alone, ruling over, if not absorbing, the other clans of Israel, were then still playing active and conspicuous parts; and hence they are alone treated with greater copiousness and almost ardent interest, while the others are introduced very briefly, and in some instances obscurely and almost abruptly.'1 28. DEATH AND BURIAL OF JACOB, AND [GENES. XLIX. 29-L. 26.] Jacob, shrinking from the idea of being buried in unhallowed Egyptian soil, said to his sons: 'I am to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite; in the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought 1 Kalisch, Commentary on Genesis, pp. 722-724. with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place (there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah), as a purchase of the field and of the cave which is therein, from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had finished charging his sons, he gathered his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered to his people.' The last sad office was now all that remained for Joseph to perform for his father. In accordance with Egyptian customs, to which Joseph invariably conformed, he caused Jacob's body to be embalmed, and mourned for him during seventy days together with his household. Then, eager to fulfil his father's last request, he asked Pharaoh for permission to go to Hebron for that purpose. Pharaoh of course readily complied, and Joseph set out immediately. His caravan was that of a mighty prince; for he was accompanied not only by his whole household, and his brothers and their dependents, but by all the servants or elders of Pharaoh's house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt; and there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and the procession was very great.' They halted once at the threshing-place of Atad, in the west of the Jordan, within the territory of the Canaanites, and here another seven days' mourning was held. Then they journeyed on, till they came to the field of Machpelah, where Jacob was buried. Thus Joseph beheld once more the country of his ancestors and his descendants; but he knew that he must end his life in the home of his adoption, far away from the sacred boundaries of Palestine. He returned to the king, to whom he was indispensable as friend and counsellor. But his brothers, still mindful of their crime and cruelty, trembled to think that his goodwill toward them might cease with Jacob's life. They were afraid, and sent messengers to their powerful brother, with these words: Thy father commanded before he died, saying, So shall you say to Joseph, O forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy brothers, and their sin; for they did to thee evil and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.' In order to strengthen their prayer, they came themselves, and fell down before him, saying, 'Behold, we are thy servants.' Joseph's reply was plain and humble, and yet embraced, with religious depth, the whole chain of events of his long careerFear not; for am I in God's stead? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to preserve much people. Now, therefore, fear not; I will nourish you and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.' So they lived together in true brotherly friendship. Joseph was happy in his family; he saw his descendants grow up to the third generation, and died in peace, one hundred and ten years old. But before his death, he exacted from his kinsmen an oath, by which they pledged themselves to take his body with them, and to bury it in Canaan, whenever, by the mercy of God, they would be allowed to settle in the land of promise. They made the vow; and in order to enable their descendants to redeem it, they embalmed the body, and carefully preserved it in a chest. Thus ended the life of Joseph, gently, peacefully, meekly; he died beloved by a great king, revered by the most learned nation of the ancient world, cherished by his own family, whose pride and support he had been, and who in Egypt were to increase and become a numerous people, to return, in due time, as conquerors, into the land of Canaan. III. THE HISTORY OF MOSES. [EXOP. I.—DEUTERON. XXXIV.] 29. OPPRESSION OF THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT. [EXOD. I.] THE early generations of sturdy shepherd chiefs soon passed away. Indeed the whole scene changes, and the brilliant and prosperous days of the strangers, hospitably received in the strange land, become darkened and saddened by slavery and oppression. The generous king who had honoured and exalted Joseph, had been gathered to his fathers, and was succeeded by another Pharaoh, who had never known Joseph, the benefactor of his country. He felt no gratitude or goodwill towards the children of Israel, who had settled in one of the most fertile provinces of Egypt, and were growing alarmingly in number and power. God's blessing rested indeed upon the Hebrews, for from one family they rapidly increased into a nation. 6 Pharaoh looked with anxiety upon this foreign people, striking out their roots into the very heart of the country, and he summoned his counsellors to impart to them his apprehensions. Behold,' said he, the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we: come then, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that when there happens any war, they join also with our enemies, and fight against us, and go up out of the land.' And so they did 'deal wisely' with them, as they thought; for they converted a free people into slaves, and they set severe task-masters over them, who afflicted and weighed them down with burdens. Instead of tending their flocks and herds in the fragrant pastures, the children of Israel were compelled to toil and drudge under a burning sun, building for Pharaoh vast towns and stupendous monuments. Pithom and Raamses, two store cities of Egypt, and probably situated in the north of Goshen, were built by the labour of the Israelites. The Pharaohs had an inordinate love for grand works of architecture. Colossal size was as essential to the Egyptians as beauty to the Greeks. Their cities, their temples, their palaces, their tombs, were all on a gigantic scale, and the huge gods of the Egyptians towering high above their temple gates, struck awe into the minds of the worshippers. Vast numbers of workmen were necessary to carry out such immense structures. By forcing the Hebrews into hard service, Pharaoh gained the double end of founding large cities or erecting magnificent monuments, and of crushing that healthful spirit of independence and freedom which was so dangerously active among the foreign shepherd race. But the God of Abraham had not forsaken His people; for the more they were afflicted, the more they multiplied and spread, until they became a terror to the Egyptians. Then Pharaoh resorted to severer measures. He increased their labour, and made them work in the brick-kilns and the fields, under the tyranny of pitiless task-masters. He employed them for cutting canals, fortifying the cities with walls, raising dykes, and erecting pyramids.' 6 But still Pharaoh deemed the slaves too powerful for his safety, and he was resolved upon exterminating them. So he rigorously commanded the midwives to kill all the |