name Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob the Hebrew appellation Gal-ed, both meaning Pile of Witness. Here a feast was prepared, and here Laban and Jacob swore to each other friendship and peace. Leah and Rachel were to remain the only wives of the patriarch, and never was Jacob to invade the territory of the Aramæns. The proceedings were ratified by the invocation of the name of the Lord and by a sacrificial meal. ›

Early on the following morning Laban bid farewell to his children and grand-children, blessed them, and departed to return to his home. The name of Laban now disappears from the sacred narrative, and the country of Mesopotamia falls into the background, as Jacob proceeds to the land of Palestine.

Journeying along from Mizpah in Gilead, angels met him on his path. He felt that God's presence accompanied him, the place was hallowed in his eyes, and he gave to it the name of Mahanaim, or the Double Camp. The future sanctity of the spot was foreshadowed by the appearance of the angels; for in later ages Mahanaim became one of the towns set aside for the Levites.

21. JACOB AND ESAU.

[GENES. XXXII. XXXIII.]

Jacob's first thoughts on returning to the home of his youth were directed towards his brother Esau, whom he had so grievously wronged. He was near his territory; and it was not unnatural that he should be seized with misgivings and fear. Therefore he sent men into the country of Edom with this message to the great lord Esau: Thus says thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now; and I have oxen and asses, flocks and menservants and womenservants, and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy eyes.' The

messengers returned from Edom with the alarming intelligence that Esau had set out to meet Jacob at the head of four hundred men. Surely this foreboded angry strife and hatred so thought Jacob. He was trembling with consternation. But even then his prudence did not forsake him. He divided his people and his possessions into two distinct camps; so that, if Esau should smite the one half, the other might escape. And then, feeling that safety and deliverance were in the hands of the Lord alone, he prayed to God, and his prayer was full of humility and true contrition: O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who saidst to me, Return to thy country and to the land of thy birth, and I will do well to thee; I am too little for all the mercies and for all the truth, which Thou hast shown to Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, the mother with the children. And Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.' Then, anxious to propitiate Esau, he sent a present to his brother with true oriental munificence. Numerous servants were entrusted with vast droves of cattle-flocks of sheep and goats, camels with their young, herds of bulls and cows, and asses with their foals. Five hundred and fifty animals were thus separated into divisions, which under the charge of servants followed one another at intervals. Esau, advancing in his march, would thus be constantly met by the generous bounty of Jacob, and each servant was bidden to repeat, on Esau's enquiry, the same words: They are thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold he is also behind us.' Jacob himself did not quietly await the arrival of his brother, but proceeded onwards, chiefly at night, as the

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heat prevented travelling by day. He crossed the ford of the river Jabbok with his wives and children and maidservants, and then prepared to pass the remainder of the night alone in retirement and meditation. In that one night, when he felt that the next day might bring him disgrace or death, the story of the sins and misdeeds of his whole life must have passed before him. It was a night of agony, of conflicting feelings, of prayer, and humiliation.

And He said, Let Me go, And he said, I will not let And He said to him,

There an event happened which is best related in the words of the Bible itself: And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the rising of the morning dawn. And when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was brought out of the joint as He wrestled with him. for the morning-dawn rises. Thee go, unless Thou bless me. What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And He said, Thy name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast obtained the mastery with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked Him, and said, Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy name. dost thou ask after My name? And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (Face of God), for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.'

And He said, Wherefore And He blessed him there.

Israel is indeed a great and significant name: Jacob, meaning the second, was changed into Israel or the first ; the former may be understood as the deceiver, the latter implies the conqueror. Israel, sanctified and forgiven, but still the man of trials and sorrows, was to commence a new life. The children of Israel' is the name which was given to the chosen people, and Israelites' was the proudest appellation borne by the warriors who, when they walked

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in the fear of the Lord, conquered nations. As an external sign of the night's suffering, the thigh of Jacob was displaced, and he halted.

At early dawn, Jacob who had passed over the Jabbok proceeded southward on his journey. How glorious was the scene that lay before him in the morning sun! In the distance he saw the heights of Lebanon, the blue waters of Galilee, then the plains of Esdraelon, the woods of Carmel, the Mediterranean sea, and the whole range of Judah and Ephraim. It is still considered by travellers one of the finest views in the world.

anger

But a sight more heartstirring, more touching to Jacob than that glimpse of the land of Palestine, must have been the advance of Esau, as he came to meet him at the head of his four hundred men. Still trembling before the and power of his brother, he judiciously divided his household into groups: first he placed the handmaids with their children, then Leah with her children, and last of all the beloved Rachel with her son Joseph-thus trying to expose those he loved most to the least danger. He himself took his position in front, and humbly prostrated himself seven times to the ground before his brother. But Esau, his heart overflowing with affection at the sight of Jacob, forgetful of the past, seeing in him only the exiled brother, the companion of his youth, ran to meet him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. The two brothers wept for gladness. Seeing the groups of women and children standing awe-struck and trembling behind Jacob, Esau asked, 'Who are those with thee?' Jacob answered, The children whom God has graciously given to thy servant.' Then the women and children came near, and they all prostrated themselves before Esau. True to his generous nature, Esau felt unwilling to accept the magnificent presents of his brother. He asked, 'What meanest thou by all this procession which I met?' To which Jacob an

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swered, "These are to find grace in the eyes of my lord.' But Esau said, 'I have much, my brother; keep that which thou hast to thyself.' Jacob, however, insisted: 'No, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy eyes, then receive my present at my hand; for therefore I have seen thy face, as I have seen the face of God, and thou hast been gracious to me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing which is brought to thee; because God has been merciful to me, and because I have everything.' Thus urged, Esau accepted the flocks and herds, and begged of his brother to let him accompany him in his journey through the land of Seir. But Jacob, perhaps with a glance of distrust at the four hundred armed men, and clinging to his old caution, replied, My lord knows that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds are young with me; and if the men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant, and I will lead on in my usual slow pace, according to the cattle which is before me, and according to the children, until I come to my lord to Seir.' But Esau, unwilling that Jacob should pass unprotected through a dangerous country, urged again, 'Let me, I pray thee, leave with thee some of the men who are with me.' Jacob, however, was anxious to be freed from the guard of Edomites; alone as he had journeyed from Mesopotamia, he wished to proceed through the land of Palestine. So the two brothers parted in peace and good-will, Esau returning to Seir, and Jacob continuing his route in a south-western direction. Whether he ever paid the promised visit to Esau in the land of Idumea, is not related in the Bible. But the brothers' reconciliation was perfect, and we find them later meeting again in sincere friendship.

Jacob, advancing through the narrow valley of the Jabbok, arrived at the river Jordan. Here he pitched his