III. 011' THE GLOIIIJ.IIED CHRIST 'fO BIB CHUIICR, 1. The tree of life. 2. A crown of life. 8. Hiddon manna, the white stone, and a new name. 4. Power over the nations, and the morning sto.r. 6. White raiment. 6. The distinction of being made n pillar in God's temple. 7, A eeat on Christ's throne (see Rev. ii., iii.).-W.
EXPOSITION. Ver. 6.-And Abram paSBed through- in his earthly one (Calvin); or, better, lilomlly, passed over, or travelled about as (3) an intimation of the fact that already a pilgrim (cf. Hob. xi. 9) in-the land unto the Canaanites were in possession of the land (or as far as) the place of Sichem. A pro- which bore their name (Kalisch), or perhaps le:psis for the place where tho city Shcchem simply (4) a declaration that the land was (either built by or named after the Hivito not a stretch of nnoccupied territory, but prince, eh. xxxiv. 2) was afterwards situated, a populated region (Hengstcn berg), thus viz., between Ebal and Gerizim, in the middle making the fulfilment of the ensuing promise of the land ; " the most beautiful, perhaps all the more difficult, and all the greater the only very beautiful, spot in Central Pales- a trial to the faith of the patrfr1rch (Keil, tine" (Stanley's 'Sinai and Palestine,' T. Murphy, Wordsworth, .Alford); or (5), but 234 ). The modern name of Sichem is not so good, an explanation of the previous Na.blus, a corruption of Neapolis. Unto the selection of the oak of Moreh as his habita- plain. )i,~, from ,~~ or , 11::t, to be strong, tion (Lange, Havernick, vide Introduction, § 18). - 11 strong, hardy tree: the terebinth,as opposed Ver. 7.-And the Lord appeared. The to the oak, )i~~, from '~1$ (Celsius, Michaelis, first mention of a theophany, though Acts Rosenmiiller, Keil); the oak, as distinguished vii. 2 alleges that such a Divine manifesta- from i"l~~, the turpentine tree, or terebinth tion had previously occurred in Ur of the Chaldees. Though not a direct vision of (Gesenius, Kalisch, Murphy). But it seems de- Jehovah (John i. 18), that there vrns some monstrable that these and the other cognate kind of outward appearance may be inferred terms, ,1~, i"l~~. are frequently used as syno- from the subsequent Divine manifestations nymous for o.uy large, strong tree (cf, eh. to the patriarch (eh. xviii. 2, 17, 33 ; xxii. xxxv. 5; Jndges ix. 9; xxiv. 26; Josh. rix. 11-18), to Hagar (eh. xvi 7-14; x.ri. 17, 33 with Judges iv. 11), though commonly 18), and to Jacob (eh. x=i 11-13; x:xx:ii. Ji'll~, oak, is opposed to i"l~~, terebinth, as in 24-30). On the relation of the angel of Jehovah to Jehovah vide eh. xvi 17. Unto Isa. vi. 13; Hosea iv. 13. The translation Abram. "Jam preno fatigato Abraha isto of )i'~ by plain (Targwns, A. V.) is inaccu- duro exsilio et perpetuis migrationibus " rate, though "the truth is it was both a (Luther). And said, Unto thy seed-to him- plain and set with oaks" (Willet). Of Moreh. self God gave '' none inheritance in it, no, not Like Mamre (eh. xiii. 18), the name of the so much as to set his foot on" {Acts vii. 5) ; owner of the oak-grove (Murphy, Kalisch, the land was promised to his seed " when as Alford); probably a priestly character (l\Ioreh yet he had no child "-will I give this land signifying a teacher, Judges vii. 1; 2 Kings Now occupied by the Canaanites. Undoubt- xvii. 28; Isa. ix. 15) who instituted the Divine edly a great promise, that the Canaanites cultus in the locality (Luther) ; though it has should be dispossessed, and their wuntry also been regarded as the name of the place given to the offspring of a childless old man (Calvin), which may be here given to it by anti- already over seventy-five years. The apparent cipation (Wordsworth), being derived from improbability of its ever being accomplished raah, to see, and equivalent to the place of rendered it a strong trial to the patriarch's vision (Samaritan), because God there ap- faith. And there bnilded he an altar. "Con- peared to the patriarch (Fagius), and showed stituit certum locum, in quo conveniat eccle- him the land of Canaan (Masius, Lyra). sia, auditma vcrbum Dei, facturn preces, Knobel renders " the onk of the teacher," laudatura Deum, sacrificatura Deo' (Luther). comparing it with "the oak of the witches" "Altare forma est Diviui cultu~; i.nvocatio (Judges ix. 37). The LXX. translate by nutem substantia et veritas" (Calvin). "The v,i,,,x~v, lofty, and the Vulgate by illustrem. rearing of an altar in the laud was, in fact, a And the Canaanite was then in the land. form of taking possession of it on the ground A sig11 of post-Mosaic authorship (Tuch, of a ri~t secured to the exerdso of his Bleek, Colenso); an interpolation (Aben faith" {tlush). "It is often said of Abra- Ezra; rather (1) o. proclamation of the ham and the patriarchs that they built altars miserable exile in which the pntrinrch lived to the Lord ; it is never sahl they built (Luther) ; or (2) a reminder to Ab1'll.Dl of his houses for themselv~s" (Wordsworth). Vnto heavenly country, sooing he \Ills II stronger the Lord who had appe1u·ed to him. 184 TJ:iF.: BOOi{ OF' GENESIS. [tJit. xn. 6-9.
Ver. 8. - And he removed - literally tho scene of the first lsraclitish defcnt undor oaU8ed (i. e. his tout) to be bi·oken ttp (cf. Joshuit (eh. vii. 2): its rnins still exist under eh. xxvi. 22-from thence-no cause for the name of llfedinee Gai-on the east which being assigned, the hostility of his (about five miles from Bethel): and there he neighbours (Luther, Calvin) and the com- builded an altar unto the Lord (vide supra), meneeme~t of the famine (Alford, Keil) have and called upon the name of the Lord ( vicle been eonJectured as the probable reasons- eh. iv. 26), unto a (literally, tli~) mountain east of Bethel. Here proleptic."tl!y named '' house of Vor. 9.-And Abram journeyed (litcrnlly, God," being called in the _time of Abram Luz b1:oko 'll;P, e. g., hi~ encampment), going on (eh. xxnii. 19). Its present name is Beitin. still-hte;:1:lly, go::ig _on and b1·eaking itp And pitched his tent (cf. eh. ix. 21), havin" (cf. eh. Vlll, 3); gomg and returning"- Bethel on the west-literally, sea-ward th~ towards the south. Negeb, the dry region Mediterranean being the western boun'dary from nagabh, to be dried, tho southern dis'. of Palestine (ef. eh. xxviii. 14; Exod. x. 19 • trict of Palestine (eh. xiii. 3; xx. 1; xxiv. 6~)-, _The LXX. render, ia-rparo1r1owisEv iv :imi. 22; Ezek. xlviii. 1, 2)-and H&i.-Ai rp 'P11/l'I'· ('!l; ~'-1, Neh. xi 31; n!!l, Isa. x. 28); Of this section vers. 5, 6, Ba are commonly 'll'ith the article, because signifying" the heap assigned to the Elohist : and 7, Sb, and 9 to of ruins," near which it was no doubt built; the J ehovist.