know not the day of my death: 3. Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt for me some venison; 4. 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. 5. And Rebekah listened when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, in order to bring it. 6. And Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak to Esau thy brother, saying, 7. Bring me venison, and make his glory in the future; the one laughs at the imaginary worth of the birthright, the other covets it as his highest felicity; the one does not hesitate to form an alliance with the daughters of Canaan, the other allows the best part of his manhood to pass rather than follow that example. But notwithstanding all this, Isaac persevered in his preference of Esau; though grieved at his marriages, he intended to bestow upon him the blessing which made him the heir of the Divine promises, and which, pronounced immediately before death, was regarded as infallible. This conduct of Isaac, the more surprising if we consider the prophecy given to Rebekah, that the elder son was destined to serve the younger (xxv. 23), may be thus explained. Though Esau was, indeed, merely the man of nature, he was a perfect type of his class; he possessed all its heart-warming qualities; he was frank and unsophisticated; cordial and true; quick in his sentiments and in his resolutions; and though liable to ebullitions of passion and vindictiveness, yet easily soothed and generously forgiving. The character of Jacob, on the other hand, though ennobled by higher aspirations, from early youth directed to the loftiest spiritual aims, and earnestly craving to become the heir and successor of Abraham, was disfigured by many vices to which a subtle mind is peculiarly subject. His cunning, insincerity, and unmanly stratagems were abject and despicable. Isaac sympathised, therefore, more deeply with Esau; he turned to the man of nature, or, as the text expresses it, "he ate of his venison" (xxv. 28); he preferred the more perfect son: but he forgot that the perfection of Esau lay merely in the sphere of the natural, was circumscribed by narrow limits, and was, therefore, more easily attainable; while the realm of the ideal, after which Jacob strove, is so boundless that perfection, in that field, is impossible to man; but that one short flight into the region of truth and of moral beauty infinitely surpasses in value all attainments simply human and natural. Isaac did not preserve that sublimity which had fortified him for the sacrifice on Moriah; he relapsed to the level of ordinary men; he had become old, and his eyes were dim; and his mind had lost not a little in strength and elevation. It is a dexterous trait on the part of the author to express Isaac's predilection for the man of nature by his desire for venison, killed and prepared by him. Nothing could have better embodied the merely external or material relation between the father and his eldest son. The blessing is so prominently made dependent on this meal (ver. 4), that it appears almost as its reward. But, on the other hand, the venison is evidently like a sacrifice offered by the recipient of the blessing, and ratifying the proceedings; and hence Jacob killed and prepared two kids of the goats (ver. 9), whereas, for an ordinary meal, one would have been more than sufficient; it imparted to the ceremony, in certain respects, the character of a covenant; the one party showed me a palatable meal, that I may eat, and I may bless thee before the Lord before my death. 8. And now, my son, listen to my voice, according to that which I command thee. 9. Go, I pray thee, to the flock, 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 loveth: 10. And thou shalt bring it to thy father, and he may eat, that he may bless thee before his death.-11. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: ready obedience and sincere affection, while the other accepted the gift, and granted, in return, the whole store of happiness he was able to bequeath. Thus the meal which Isaac required, has a double meaning, both connected with the internal organism of the book. 5-10. Though Isaac called Esau his eldest son (ver. 1), Rebekah, after the cession of the birthright, no longer regarded him as such. She had seen the prophecy received before the birth of the twins, approaching its realisation in more than one respect. The disposition and character of the sons were, to her, sure indications of the future; Esau appeared to her judgment as little capable of becoming the depository of the religion of Abraham, as she saw Jacob eager to fulfil this mission; and every doubt was removed when she perceived the heedlessness with which Esau despised the privileges of his birth. But she had been unable to gain Isaac over to her own conviction; she could neither understand nor eradicate his partiality for Esau; when she, therefore, heard, with alarm, of the intended blessing, too well aware of its unavoidable efficacy, and anxious to avert what she believed would be a fatality and a misfortune, she took refuge in a stratagem, proving her to be the worthy mother of the cunning Jacob. She was certainly in her aims more exalted than her husband; but she was far inferior to him in uprightness of conduct; she failed in morality and honesty; though her mind was elevated, her heart lacked 12. Perhaps my father the simplicity of innocence; she acted on the baneful principle that the end sanctifies the means; and she had so deeply imbibed this doctrine, that she preserved an imperturbable composure and firmness throughout the whole of the hazardous and complicated transaction. She knew well how to interest Jacob for her plans; she had heard Isaac say to Esau, that he wished to bless him before his death (ver. 4); in repeating this to Jacob, she represented his words to have been: "that I may bless thee before the Lord before my death” (ver. 7); the addition of the name of God at once enhances the sacred character of the narrative: it is as designedly omitted by the text in the address of Isaac to the worldly Esau, as it is deliberately inserted in the words of Rebekah to her ambitious son Jacob. 11-14. The latter was not indifferent to the appeal of his mother; he prized the blessing and wished to secure it; and he had no scruples with regard to the rights of Esau. He considered the transfer of the birthright for the pottage of lentiles as perfectly valid; but he was afraid of a possible failure; he trembled at the idea that the device might be discovered by Isaac, and that it would be punished with a deserved curse; he objected that his brother Esau was a "hairy man," while he himself was a "smooth man," by which circumstance alone he was certain that the father would detect the deception. Not truthfulness, but expediency prompted his hesitation; and when, therefore, his mother, with her characteristic calmness, will feel me, and I shall be in his eyes as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. blessing. 13. And his mother said to him, Upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go fetch them for me. 14. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made a palatable meal, such as his father loved.-15. And Rebekah took the choicest garments of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and dressed with them Jacob her younger son: 16. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon his smooth neck: 17. And she gave the palatable meal and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18. And he came to his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I. Who art thou, my son? 19. And Jacob said to his father, 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. 20. And Isaac said to his son, How is it had taken upon herself all possible consequences, thus showing her perfect confidence in the success of her scheme, he no longer delayed to execute her command, but prepared himself to deceive his blind father-an unfortunate step, which implicated him in a net of untruths; a sin for which he had to atone by years of trial and of toil. 15-26. The scene of the fraud is described with a psychological skill which rivets the interest, and excites the admiration, of the reader. Jacob, carefully disguised by his shrewd mother, dressed in the festive garments of Esau, and with the hairy skins of goats on his hands and his neck, stepped before his father, offered him the meal, and demanded the blessing. The old man who, from infirmity, was reposing on his bed, sat up to receive his son. When he asked Jacob who he was, the latter answered boldly: "I am Esau thy firstborn"; but he thought he recognised the voice of Jacob; his suspicions were roused; he knew the crafty disposition of his younger son too well; and he felt the duty of extreme carefulness. He express ed his doubt first most gently, by uttering his wonder how Esau had contrived to find the venison so speedily: upon which Jacob blasphemously replied, "The Lord thy God hath brought it in my way." It might be expected, that this solemn declaration would satisfy Isaac, and that he would, without delay, proceed to the intended ceremony. But his impressions of Jacob's deceitfulness were so strong, that that formal and sacred profession excited ratherthan removed his distrust. Wishing, therefore, to obtain another and more striking proof, he said, in undisguised terms, that he desired to feel him in order to convince himself whether he were Esau or not; such a doubt would not have offended Esau, because his mind was unconscious of guile; and if it offended Jacob, it was a very inadequate punishment for his open and deliberate untruth. But even when Isaac felt the hairy hands and neck, he could not banish his suspicions; he confessed that indeed the hands were those of Esau, yet the voice was that of Jacob. Conceiving, however, that he could not expect surer and more direct proofs, that thou hast found so quickly, my son? And he said, Indeed, the Lord thy God brought it in my way. 21. And Isaac said to Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou art indeed my son Esau or not. 22. And Jacob went near to Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are Esau's hands. 23. And he did not discern him, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: and he blessed him: 24. And he said, Art thou indeed my son Esau? And he said, I am. 25. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he ate: and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26. And his father Isaac said to him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelt the odour of his garments, and blessed him, and said, he resolved to bless the son who stood before him (ver. 23). But when he was about to commence, he paused again; his scruples returned; and he asked anew calmly and affectionately: "Art thou my son Esau"?-to which Jacob was hardened enough to answer: "I am." It would have appeared an unworthy seepticism in Isaac to tarry any longer; he, therefore, without further objection, accepted the meal, like a grateful offering, regarding it as a gift of love which required a return on his part. When he, therefore, after the repast, wished to kiss his son, this was not dictated by a renewal of his doubts; it was an act of love in exchange for the affection just experienced; it sealed the alliance of the hearts of the father and the son; it expressed that both were links of the same spiritual chain; and is, in more than one respect, analogous to the imposition of the hand which later accompanied the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh (xlviii. 14). 27-29. Many parts of Arabia and Palestine exhale a most delicious odour; after a refreshing rain especially, the air is perfumed with a fragrance inexpressibly sweet; and the soil, furrowed by the plough-share, emits often the balmy treasures hidden in its depth. 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; and he began the blessing: Behold, the odour of my son is as the odour of the field which the Lord hath blessed." He then describes the land intended for Jacob's inheritance most emphatically as one distinguished by fertility; the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth unite to mature the choicest productions; the bread which nourishes, and the wine which cheers the heart of man, are there brought forth in equal profusion; the necessities of life, easily and plentifully obtained, are enhanced by its comforts. This is the first benediction pronounced upon Jacob; and who can doubt, that it fully accords with the exceeding natural fertility of the Holy Land? Let us remind the reader of a few facts. Ꮓ See, the odour of my son is like the odour of a field, which the Lord hath blessed. 28. And God may give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth, And abundance of corn and wine. Palestine is generally described in the Bible as "a good land, flowing with milk and honey;" and it fully deserves these epithets. It is distinguished by a salubrity of climate and exquisiteness of temperature scarcely to be expected from its geographical position; but the mountainous character of almost all its provinces obviates oppressive heat; the longest day in summer is only 14 hours and 12 minutes; occasional showers refresh the air; and the atmosphere is, therefore, generally pleasant and moderate. But the most remarkable feature in the climate of Palestine is the extraordinary difference between places often but a few miles distant from each other; the palmtree and fruits of the tropics grow close by the nut-tree, the oak, and other products of the northern zones; hills and valleys alternate in rapid succession; the vegetable kingdom of almost all parts of the globe is represented in a country extending not more than about 190 miles in length, about 80 in breadth in the middle, and varying between 10 to 15 in other parts; and no month of the year is without fruits and blossoms. The year is divided into two seasons: 1. The Winter. It begins in the middle of October, when the days continue to be agreeably warm; while the nights commence to be cool; the earlier rain begins, though but gradually, and in isolated showers, still permitting the operations of agriculture. The trees lose their foliage, and fires are desirable as a matter of comfort. In December the rain becomes more and more copious and continuous, and it often comes down with such violence, as materially to injure or totally to destroy the frail houses, mostly constructed with mud-tiles baked in the sun, and with palmbranches; in January and February, it sometimes alternates with snow, or, in the night, with ice, which, however, generally melts on the same day; severe frost is rare, and in all cases of short duration; while mild and sunny days occasionally surprise the inhabitants, and invite them to the public places. But the influence of the colder season on man and beast is naturally greater in the East than in our countries; languor and diseases generally follow in its train; it is often most severely felt around Jerusalem, and aggravated by fearful tempests, not unfrequently accompanied with hail-storms. Travelling is, at that period of the year, both laborious and dangerous, especially in the steep mountain-paths. In January, the cold rain continues at intervals; but in the southern parts of Palestine the sky begins to assume a more serene aspect; occasional fine days are the harbingers of the more genial season; and in February, the mild temperature of spring prevails almost throughout the country. In the month of March to the middle of April falls the latter rain; the heat increases perceptibly, though the nights remain chilly. Thunder and lightning are not unfrequent during the first three months of the year, while from the middle of April to the middle of September, it neither rains nor thunders. Showers falling within this period cause consternation, as phenomena indicating some disorder in nature. 2. The Summer. Towards the end of April, the sky becomes more clear and transparent; heat and drought increase; but in the nights very abundant and refreshing dew descends, without which the vegetation of fields and meadows would inevitably wither. The dew is hence called the "precious treasure of heaven"; and invariably forms a chief feature in the picture of blissful fertility. This is generally the time for the corn-harvest. In May, the skies are perfectly cloudless, |