vvhence come thoſe Springs andRivers, by vvhich the Farth is moiſt ned and made fruitful. See Gen: 1: 2: and 7: 11: and Dext: 8: 7. » Whereby both Men and Beaſts ſhall be greatly multiplied, and a- bundantly ſupplied with al] neceſfaries. __ | 26 The bleflings of thy father have prevailed above the bleflings of my progenitors « ; unto the utmoſt bound of the everlaſting hills: ; they ſhall be +on the head of Joſeph,and on the crown of the head of him that
was ſeparate from his brethren «.
s5 TheBleſlings vvinch T thy Father have conferred upon thee,are much more contiderable than thoſe which-I receiv-d from my Fa- ther Jazc,or from my Grandfather Hbraham.This was rrue, 1. inthe extent of the B'effings;Iſhm rel was excluded from Abraham's Blefling, & my Brother excluded from 1[/aacsBleffing,but both Foſeph*sChildren are comprehended in fac26* Blefling. -.In rhe diſtin&nets and clearneſs of them;For that Land of Canaan wich was tranſmitted to Iſaac and to Faceb only in the general,was now in ſome ſort par-icularly diſt= ribured ro Jeſeeh, and to the reſt of his Brethren,as afrerwards it was as - by Joſhua 3 In the nearneſs of the accompliſhment.Now there wasa more like'y proſpe& of the multiplication of their Szed, than there was to Abrahem,or 1/aac ; and in not very many years after this, they mulriplied ro aſton1ſhment, and drew nearer to the poſlcfſion of rhe promiſed Land. t Theſe words ſeem to note the duration of Joſeph's B'efſing, that it ſhou'd continue even to the bounds of the everlaſting, or lafting, or ancient hills, i, e. as long as the moſt ſalid ard ſtable Mountains ſhall laſt, 7, e. forever. Perperuity is deſcribed by the continuance of the Mountains, as 1/#. 54. 10. or of the Sun and Moon, as P/al: 72: 5, 7, 17: er of the Heavens and Earth, as Marth: 5: 18: In the foregoing words of this Verie he commends rheſe _— Bleſſings from their excellency above all former Bieflings ; and here | he commends them frem their durablereſs. f Or, let them be For this may be a Prayer to God that theſe Bleſſings may be conſtant and perpecual. « So he was, when he was ſold into Egypr,and abode there in che Court when his Brethren were in Goſhen: Or, the crown- edof, or among his Brethren. e. who though he was once ſcorned and trampled upon by his Brethren, yet now 15 high'y honoured and ad- vanced above them, Others, the Nazariteof, cr among his Brethren ; as he may be called either for his purity and ſanftity, or for his emi- nency and digniry. But we muſt remeber that the N.zarites were yer unknown, being i-ſticur:d long after this rime.
27 Benjamitf ſhall ravine as a wolf x: in the morning
he thall devour tie prey,and at night he (ball divide the
{poil y |
x He notes the warlike and fierce diſpoſition and carriage of that Tribe. Inſtances wereof we' have, Juaz. 3: 15: and 19: and 20: I Sam. 12.and 14.and 5. y This may be underſtood, either of the ſame Wolf, which in the morning b:ing more hungry and greedy; devours his Prey alone; burtin the evening, being in ſome mea» ſure ſatisfieci, 15 conrent that bis Brethren ſhould fhare with him. Or ratt:er of teveral ſorts of Wolves, wt.ereof tem:e hunt and deveur alone, orhers hunt »n couples or troops, and troſe divide the Prey among themſelves. He menriens borh morning and evening, becauſe thefe are the rwo Seaſons when the Wolves prey, and to note that. this wonld be Benjamin's carriage both in rhe firſt and laſt times of that tribe, as indeed it was. :
23 All theſe are the twelve tribes z of Iſrael ; and
this is it that their father ſpake unts them, and bleſſed them : every one according to his bleſling . he bleſſed
them | 2 (i.e ) The Heads and Parents of the twelve Tribes. A Me- ronymy of the effet. The Tribes are generally accounted Twelve, though they were Thirteen, becauſe the Land was divid-d only into Twelve parts, Levi having nv diſtin& part of his own. # ( z. e.) Ac- cording to thar Bieſſing which God in his purpoſe hat allorted to each of them, which alto he manifcited unto Jaceb by his Spirit, Obje#. There isno Blcfling here given to Reuben, Simeon and Levi, but rather a Curie, how then is he 1:id to ble:'s every one of them ? Anſw. He biefſſed chem al' implicitly and really, chough not expreſly, or in : words, becauſe he gave each of them a part in Canaan;and his tak- wa ing away from Reuben on'y the right of the Firſt-born, plainly ſup- bo
| poſerh that he left him bis ſinglePortion& Inherirance. And he might
well be {ai ro vieſs them all, becauſe helefr chem all an intereft 'n God's Covenant, one Article whereof was the giving of Canaan, or part of Cana#n, to them, and this was an earneſt of the other Branches cr Arricles of it. Though it is prebable he alſo added iome ſhort Bieſfſing or Prayer to God for his bleſſing upon theas all. ;
29 And he charged them, and ſaid unto them,T am tobe gathered unto my people : * bury me with my fa- * Chap? chers 6, in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the 47: 39: ticrite. :
b In Canaan. Whereby he deſigned to withdraw their minds fronx Egypt, and fix them upon Canaas. |
30 In the cave that is it the field of Machpelah,
which is before Mamrec: in the land of Canaan, * which Abraham bought with che field of Ephron the + cg; Hittite, for apoileflion ofa burying-place. | 23: 16;
c He deſcribes it ſo particularly,” both tor their direQtion; becauſe they had been ſome years ablent thence ; and to expreſs how much his heart was ſer upon this mafter; and thereby to oblige them to the more careful performance of bis Command.
31 (* There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried iaac and Rebekah his wife, and *Chap:55: there] buried Leah. ) | | rg: and
22 The purchaſe of the field, and of the cave that is *5'F therein, was from the children of Heths
33 And when Jacob had made an end of, command- ing his ſons 4,he gathered up his feet into the bed e,and yielded up the ghoſt, and was gathered unto his
K 4 40
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+ Heb.
in that mo ;x Ange hwy and by the Spirit ef God, he uſed as reverend
{ture as his ! , rofic marry his Bed-fide with his Fect hanging downwards:
whe
_— kimſelf roreſt, and waited for the comfortable approach of his death, which ſpeedily followed ir.
Foſeph bewails his father's
Ce ing the place of his burial. Whilft ke was far -rarn cn + at and religious work of bleſſing his |