ah's tent f, andinto the two maid-ſervants tents ; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. f The Men and Womens Tents were diſtin& and ſeparate. See Gen. 18: 2. and 24: 67. 34 Now Rachel had taken the Images, and put them
| in the camel's furniture, and ſat upon them : and La-
b.felt: ban + ſearched all the tent, but found hem not.
And ſhe ſaid to her father, Let it not difpleaſe my Lord that I cannot riſe up before theeg ; for the cuſtom of women is upon me: andhe ſcarched, bur
found not the Images. |
g Queſt. How could that occaſion hinder her from riſing up to her Father ? ſw. 1. It might be attended in her, as it was, and is, in ſome other Women, eſpecially in thoſe hor Countries, with a great flux of Blood, or with more than ordinary infirmity and ſickneſs ; and this Laban might know to be uſual with her by former obſerva- tion or information : 2. She offers this as a reaſon, not why ſhe could nor riſe upto ſhew a civility to him, but why ſhe could not riſe up from his face, or from before him, as the words in the Hebrew ſound, z.e. ſo as to give way to him that he might come and ſearch there for the Images: Becauſe menſt:-vous Women were anciently eſteemed polluted,and to pollute the things which they rouched,or far upon ; as you may ſee by L-vir. 15. 19,20,27, 22. Which Law, though it were not yet given and written,yet that, as well as divers other Ceremonial Rights, might be enjoyned by God, 8& obſerved by ſober Heathens at that time, eſpecially by ſuch as were a kin to Abraham,as Laban & his Family were, who by that means might ea- fily come tothe knowledge of ſuch matrers. Add to this, one of the ſeven Precepts given to the Sons of Noah, was that of uncovering nakedneſs ; which both Jewiſh and ChriſtianWriters take to be avery comprehenſive Expreſhion, and to incJude all ſuch things as have a natural turpitude in them,among which this is confeſſed to be one. And the words thus underſtood,contain a ſolid &fatisfaftory reaſon whyLaban ſhould not now come near her,nor ſearchthe thingswhich ſhe ſatupon, which had been an uncivil and immodeſt thing.
6 And Jacob was very wroth, and chode with La-
ban, and Jacob anſwered, and faid to Laban, What is
my treſpaſs ? what is my ſin, that thou haſt ſo hotly purſued after me þ ? |
h With ſo much fury and violence. ©
37 Whereas thou haſt Þ ſearched all my ſtuff, what haft thou found of all thy Houſhold-ſtuf? ſet it here be- fore my brethren, and thy brethren, thatthey may judge betwixt us both, wy :
33 This twenty years heave I been with thee :? thy ewes, and thy ſhe-goats have not caſt their young ;,and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
; Which thou oweſt in a great meaſure to my care and diligence in ordering them, and principally to God's bleſſing given to thee for
| my ſake, by thy own confeſſion, Ger: 30. 27. 29 That which was torn of beeffs I brought not unto thee; I bare the loſs of it : of * my handdidft thou re-.
"| *Rx00.22. quireitk, whether ftollen by day, or ſtollen by night.
* & Which was unjuſt and unreaſonable, except where it fell out through the Shepherds default, See Exod: 22.13. Queft. How could 7acob pay theſe loſſes, ſeing he came empty from his Father's Houſe & got nothing by his ſervice forthe firſt 14 years,but his Wives? 4, Either 1: he had ſome ſupplies ſent from his Father, though ir be
not mentioned in this hiſtory : Or 2. he might have ſome inconſi- |
derableAllowances or Priviledges from Laban,out of which he could eaſily defray. rheſeCharges,which becauſe of his great care & watch- falnefs did but ſeldom happen: Or 3. theſe loſſes were put to his
une,to be ſatisfied by him as ſoon as he ſhould be able to do it. | account,to | 1 y Al Out. | ces vouchſafed to him, or to beg God's bleſſing upon the preſent
40 Thus T was in the day, the drought conſumed me, and the froſt by night, and my {lcep deparced trom mine cyes Þo i]
' n E - ve "- ” 7 : 6 wks C -
LC
HS > wW
t Through my extraordinary thonghtfulneſs and care aboutthy Cattel, eſpecially in caſes of danger.
48 Thus have I been twenty years in thy houſe: T ſerved thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and ſix years for thy cattel ; and thou haft changed my wages ten times,
42 Except the Godof myfather, and the God of A. braham, and the fear of Tiaac/, had been with me: ſure- ly thou hadiſt ſent me away now empty: God hath ſecn my attlition », and the labour of mine hands, and re- buked thee yeſternight.
[ (i:e.) The God whom my Father 1aac worſhips with reverence and godly fear, as appears by comparing, ver: 53. The A is here put tor the objeR, as it frequently is.; and particularly God iscal- led our fear, 1/2. 8. 13. And fear is one of God's Names amongſt the Rabbins. He calls him not 1/aac's God, but hi- fear, becauſe Iſaac was yet alive, andin the ftate of probation, and ſerved God with fear and trembling. See Gen. 27.33- The Jews o ſerve that God isnot called the God of any particular perſon, as of Abraham, Iſaac and Faceb, till after their death. m With compaſſion and in- tention of gcod to me for it. God's ſeeing is oft uſed for his reliev- ing and helping, as Gen: 16. 13. and 29. 32. Exod. 3. 7,9. Or,hath ſhewed or proved it, to wit, that he hath ſeen, 8&c. Compare Gen: 20» 16. Either way it is an Elliptis of the Pronoun, which is uſual, as appear+ by comparing 1 Kmgs 10. 7. with 2 Chron: 9. 6. and Pſal. 41, 9g. with Joh, 3 18.
43 And Laban anſwered, andfſaid unto Jacob, Theſe daughters are my daughters, and theſe children are my children, and theſe catrel are my cattel, andall that thou ſeeſt is mine: and what can I do this day unto theſe my daughters, or untotheir children which they have
orn 02?
o He pretends thatto be an a& of his natural affeQtion and: kind« neſs, which was indeed the effe& of his fear.
' 44 Now therefore come thou, let us mzke a cove- nant, Iand thou; and let it be for a witneſs between me and thee p.
p Both to our ewn Conſciences of our mutual Obligat'ons, and to God againſt either of us who ſhall break ir,that he may ſeverely
| puniſh us for it.
45 AndJacpb took a ſtone,andſet it up fora pillar g. '9 In teſtimony of his comp!yance with Laban's Propoſal, and his entering into this Covenant, Sec Exod. 24. 4.
46 And Jacobſaid unto his brethren, Gather ſtones: and they took ſtones, and made an heap, andthey did eat 7 there upon the heap s. |