Beer-sheba, because there they sware both of them. Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba': then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines." Chap. xxviii. 1019." And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Ha ran. ed upon a certain place, and tarried And he light there all night, be cause the sun was set: and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, 'I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad Genesis. Chap. xxxv. 1-8. "And God said un to Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there; and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.' Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, 'Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments and let us arise, and go up to Beth-el: and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.' And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their ear-rings which were in their ears: and Jacob hid them under the oak which when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty; be fruitful, and multiply: a nation, and a company of nations, shall be of thee; and kings shall come out of thy loins: and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.' And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink to the west, and to | And they journeyed: | offering thereon, and and the terror of God he poured oil there the east, and to the north, and to the south and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land: for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.' "And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.' And he was afraid, and said, 'How dreadful is this place this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.' And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first." was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, (that is, Beth-el,) he, and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el; because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-ba chuth." on. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el." Exodus ii. 18. ["And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, 'How is it that ye are come so soon today?"" Exodus iii. 1. "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb." Ex. iv. 18, and xviii. 1, sqq.] Compare, also, Ex. vi. 2-8 with all the corresponding Jehovistic passages in Genesis; but especially compare the following: Exodus vi. 2-8. "And Elohim spake unto Genesis iv. 26. "Then men began to call upon Moses, and said unto him, 'I am the name of Jehovah." Jehovah. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as Elshaddai; but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Ægyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, "I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Ægyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage; and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments. And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be Ps. xxxiv. cxlv. Prov. xxxi. 10, sqq. Lam. i. ii. iv. Sometimes two or more verses are connected in greater strophes; for example, Ps. xxxvii. cxix. 2. Strophes occur distinguished by the refain, (or "burden,") or something similar. to you Elohim, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah, your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Ægyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it you for a heritage; I am Jehovah.”'” Compare, also, Ex. iv. 21-23, with Gen. v.-xi. ; Num. xxii.-xxiv., where Elohim and Jehovah are both used, with Gen. xxxi. 9, 16, and others, where the latter is used exclusively." § 149. THE ACCOUNTS PRETENDED TO BE CONTEMPORARY WITH THE EVENTS, OR VERY ANCIENT. Some historical marks, which betray a certain acquaintance with Egypt, have been looked upon as proofs that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch; as if the Hebrews could not, at a later time, have ac a See below, § 154, 156. See Ewald, Genesis, p. 176, sqq., 191, sqq. The following are some of the passages: In Gen. xiii. 10, Ægypt is said to be well watered. Deut. xi. 10, it is implied that Egypt is a level country, its fields are watered artificially, and that it never is refreshed by rain. Num. xiii. 22, Hebron was built seven years before Zoar in Ægypt. In Gen. xl. 11, 16, an acquaintance with the customs of the Ægyptian court is apparent. Gen. xlii. 9, the unprotected state of Ægypt is alluded to. Gen. xliii. 32, mention is made that the Egyptians would not sit at table with the Hebrews. Gen. xlvii. 20—26, “And Joseph bought all the land of Ægypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Ægypt even to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they sold not their lands. Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.' And they said, 'Thou b quired such an acquaintance by their political and commercial connection with the Egyptians." With still less probability can the accounts of the original inhabitants of Canaan and the neighboring countries be looked upon as proofs of a Mosaic origin; for these accounts are very defective and contradictory." [Some critics have contended that the antiquity of these books was established by the peculiarities of some narratives they contain. Thus, in Gen. xxxvi. 31, sqq., there is a list of eight kings of Edom, all of whom are said to have died, excepting the last, whose death is not mentioned. An easy inference is, that he was not dead at the time of writing the account. But since the title of this list is, 66 Kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel," it is more natural to suppose the last one mentioned was not dead when the first king of Israel came to the throne.] Such catalogues as those in Num. i. iii. vii. xxvi. and elsewhere, are by no means incontestable con hast saved our lives; let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.' And Joseph made it a law over the land of Ægypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's." [This probably contains an erroneous explanation of a real fact. See Von Bohlen, Alt. Ind. vol. ii. p. 45.] In xlvi. 34, shepherds are said to be an abomination to the Egyptians. Ex. vii. 19, ix. 27. See Michaelis, Einleit. in d. A. T. p. 189. Eichhorn, § 439, 435, a. De Ægypti Anno mirabili Comment. Reg. Soc. Gott. recent. vol. iv. p. 35. Class. Hist. and Philol. . Vater, vol. iii. p. 605. On the intercourse between Palestine and Ægypt, see Hartmann, Die Hebräerin am Putztische, vol. i. pp. 212, 460, vol. iii. p. 159, and his Hist. Krit. Forschungen, p. 726. Compare, likewise, Isa. xix. Ezek. xxix. 30. Ex. x. 13, is an untrue account. Comp. Hasselquist, Reise, p. 254. See Michaelis, 1. c. p. 183. Vater, on the other hand, l. c. 600. For the verification of such accounts, compare Gen. xiv. 7, with xxxvi. 12—16, (concerning the Amalekites;) Gen. xxiii. 3, with Num. xiii. 22; Jos. xv. 13, Judges i. 20, and Gen. xiv. 13, (on the inhabitants of Hebron ;) Gen. xv. 19, with Num. xxxii. 12, (on the Kenezites.) Vater, vol. i. p. 136. |