of the oath, the well dug at that spot was called Shibah, harmonising with Beer-sheba, the name of the city.--The two sons of Isaac, who had evidently lived with their father in the land of the Philistines, are not mentioned in all these transactions; but Esau must have dwelt much among strangers, for he took two wives, Judith and Basemath, both Hittite maidens, daughters of idolaters. He thus estranged himself more than ever from the chosen family, and brought by his unhappy marriage grief and sorrow upon Isaac and Rebekah.

17. THE BLESSING OF ISAAC.

[GENES. XXVII.]

The Bible, although it is the story of the chosen people, although it tells us of the wonderful blessings conferred by God upon the patriarchs, upon those men who handed. down the worship of the true and everlasting God from generation to generation, never omits recording the errors and the failings of the favoured race or of the founders of its glory it does not seek to extol that which deserves condemnation; nor does it try to excuse what is open to censure or scorn. Jacob was called the righteous man; he possessed the superior refinement of soul and the elevation of mind necessary for the heir of his father's great spiritual treasures; he was, like Isaac and Abraham, to be the elected of the Lord, guided by Him, blessed, strengthened, taught by Him. But Jacob was not graced by the purity of heart, the grand and simple faith which distinguished Abraham, nor by the gentle and pious selfdenying spirit of Isaac. The story of the pottage by which he purchased the birth-right, is followed by another incident more painful still for those who would fain love and venerate the grandchild of Abraham, the father of Joseph.

Isaac had become an old man stricken with years. His eyes were dim so that he could not see, and he felt that his life was waning. So he wished to give to his firstborn Esau his blessing before he died. It was and still is the custom among eastern nations to ratify compacts and covenants by a meal; and hence, when a parent is about to bestow upon his child his final blessing, which in some respects partakes of the character of a covenant, the same means of ratification is not unusually adopted. Therefore, the aged patriarch called his son and said: 'Behold, I pray thee, I am old, I know not the day of my death: and therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and hunt for me some venison; and make me a palatable meal, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die.' Away sped the hunter Esau to do his father's bidding. But Rebekah had listened in the seclusion of the tent when Isaac spoke, and in a moment her resolve was taken. Esau should not receive the blessing, which, as she believed, belonged even from his birth to her younger and dearer son. She went to Jacob, and hastily related to him what she had heard, and then she continued: Listen to my voice, according to that which I command thee. Go, I pray thee, to the flocks, and fetch me from there two good kids of the goats, and I will make them a palatable meal for thy father, such as he loves. And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.' Jacob heard this wily scheme, not with indignation or repugnance, but only with fear that it might not be successful. Esau was a hairy man, and Jacob a smooth man: would not the blind father, when stretching forth his hands towards his child, discover the deception, and would not then the blessing be changed into a curse? Rebekah was the bolder and more resolute spirit; she replied to Jacob's

hesitating doubt, 'Upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go and fetch the kids for me.' She was prepared for any emergency. The animals were killed, and a palatable meal, such as Isaac loved, was soon ready. Then she dressed her younger son in the festive garments of Esau, and to render the resemblance perfect, she covered his smooth neck and hands with the skins of the kids. She then put the meal into his hands, and sent him to his father.

The patriarch, aged and infirm, was reposing on his bed when Jacob appeared before him. Who art thou, my son?' asked the blind man. I am Esau, thy firstborn, I have done as thou badest me: rise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.' At that voice, so unlike the voice he had anticipated, Isaac's suspicions were aroused, and he asked. How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son?' Surprised by this unexpected question, Jacob in trembling haste added blasphemy to deceit, for he answered: "Indeed the Lord thy God brought it in my way.' But Isaac was far from satisfied. 'Come near,' he said, 'I pray thee, that I may feel thee whether thou art indeed my son Esau or not.' Then he touched him with his hand, and with a feeling of distrust still lingering in his mind, he exclaimed, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are Esau's hands.' How touching, how sad are the words of the poor blind father, as he put the last searching question to his treacherous child, 'Art thou indeed my son Esau ?' And Jacob, unmoved and unabashed, answered firmly, I am.' Isaac could no longer cling to his suspicions and anxious forebodings; he ate of the meat and drank of the wine. Then he embraced Jacob, and bending over him, smelt the perfume of his garments, of the garments of his hunter son. Many parts of Arabia and Palestine exhale a most delicious odour; after a refreshing rain especially, the air is perfumed with

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a fragrance inexpressibly sweet; and the soil furrowed by the plough-share emits the balmy treasures hidden in its depths.' Thus the garments of Esau, the man of the field, who roamed through hill and valley, were redolent of the scent of aromatic herbs; they called up in Isaac's mind the pictures of freshness, health, and abundance: his spirit, moved and struck, assumed a prophetic elevation as he began the blessing, 'See, the odour of my son is like the odour of a field which the Lord has blessed.' And he continued:

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And may God give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine. Nations will serve thee and peoples will prostrate themselves before thee.

'Be lord over thy brothers and let thy mother's sons prostrate themselves before thee.

'Cursed be those who curse thee, and blessed those who bless thee.'

It was the spirit of the Lord that put these words into the mouth of the patriarch, words that were literally fulfilled; for he promised to his son's descendants a land rich and beautiful, waving with cornfields and covered with vineyards, the holy land, the land of Palestine; he moreover gave him the pledge of complete dominion over the stranger, the Canaanite, and over the children of Esau, the Edomites. Jacob received this blessing and departed.

He had hardly gone out from his father's presence, when Esau appeared within the tent. He carried a dish of venison in his hand, and bringing it to Isaac, said: 'Let my father rise and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.' Who art thou?' exclaimed Isaac, with a sad misgiving of evil. I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.' Then the unfortunate father was overwhelmed with grief, for he knew that the precious benefits he had bestowed could not be revoked; the voice of God had spoken within

him. I have blessed Jacob,' he said, and he shall certainly be blessed!' Esau, at these words of his father, burst into a cry of anguish, and he said: Bless me also, O my father.' His brother Jacob had twice deceived him; he had taken away his birth-right and his blessing; and had not Isaac reserved words of comfort for him also? Esau urged his request upon his father with all the vehement passion of his nature; he could not bear to think that those aged hands should not rest upon his head, that those revered lips should not open to bless him, the eldest child. Isaac answered and said: 'Behold, I have made Jacob thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and wine have I supported him, and what then shall I do to thee, my son?' Without envy, without animosity to his brother, but full of disappointment and genuine affection, Esau exclaimed in a burst of tears, Hast thou but one blessing, my father?' Then Isaac spoke again, spoke as the prophetic spirit urged him:

'Behold, without the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, and without the dew of heaven from above. And by thy sword shalt thou live; yet shalt thou serve thy brother.

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But when thou truly desirest it, thou shalt break his yoke from thy neck.'

These words clearly revealed Esau's future history. In striking contrast with the fair and fruitful land of promise, is the tract of country near mount Seir, which was to belong to the descendants of Esau, the Edomites. It is a rocky and barren region, one of the most desolate and sterile parts of the globe. Those valleys alone which are on the frontiers of Palestine are capable of tolerable cultivation. As the Ishmaelite was to live by his bow, so the Edomite was to subsist by his sword. The people of Edom, fierce and warlike, kept up a bitter and constant