The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 416

CHAPTER XXIX. flocks waiting nround" (Robinson, iii. p. 21). And they rolled the stone from the Ver. 1.-Then J'acob went on his journey wall's mouth, and we.tered the sheep, and (literally, lifted up h-is feet-a w,i.phic de- put the stone age.in upon. the well's mouth scription of travelling. Inspired by ne,v in his place. From the middle of ver. 2 the l1opes, and conscious of loftier aims than wortls are parenthetical, the watering of the when he fled from Beersheba, tho louely flocks not having taken place till Rachel had fugitive departed from Bethel), and came arri,ed (ver. 9) and Jacob had uncovered the in to the land of the people of the east- well (ver. 10). literally, the land of the sons of the east, i. e. Ver. 4.-A.nd J'acob said unto them (tho Mesopotamia., about 450 miles distant from shepherds of the three flocks), My brethren. Beersheba. (a friendly salutation from one who was him- Ver. 2.-A.nd he looked (either to discover self e.shephertl), whence be ye 1 Anticipating where he was, or in search of water), and that their reply woultl reveal his whereabouts. behold a well in the field,-not the well at And they said, Of Haran are we. This could which Eliezcr's caravan halted, which was a scarcely fail to remiud Jacob of God's promise well for the village maidens, situated in front to guide him in his journey. of the town, and approached by steps (vide Ver. 5.-And he said unto them (with the eh. xx:iv.), but a ;well in the open fieltl for view of discovering his kinsmen), Know ye the use of flocks, and covered at the time of Laban the son of Nahor '1-i. e. the grantl- Jacob'e arri,al with a huge stone-and, lo, son, La ban's father having been Bethuel, who, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it. however, here, as in eh. xxiv., retires into A frequent Oriental scene (cf. eh. x:xiv. 11 ; the background. And they said, We know Exod. ii. 16 ). " Who that has tra veiled him. The language of the shepherds being much in this country has not often arrived Chaldman (vide eh. xxxi 47), Jacob, who at a well in the heat of the day which was spoke Hebrew, was ablo to converso with surrounded with numerous flocks of sheep them either because he had learnt Chaldee waiting to be watered ! I once saw such a from his mother (Clericus), or, as is more scene iu the burning plains of N orthem Syria, probable, because the dialects were not then Half-naked, fierce-looking men were drawing greatly dissimilar (Gosman in Lange). up water in leather buckets; flock after flock was brought np, watered, and sent away; autl Ver. 6.-An.d he said unto them, Is he after all the men had ended their work, then well 1 Literally, is there peace to him ? several women and girls brought up their meaning not simply bodily health, but all flocks, and drew water for them. 'l'hus it manner of felicity; iry,aivu (LXX.); sanusne was mth Jethro's daughters; and thus, no est f (Vulgate). Cf. the Christian se.lutation, doubt, it would have been with Rachel if Pa.t: vob-iscum. And they said, He is well Jacob had not rolled away the stone and (litera1I1, peace): and, behold, Rachel- watered her sheep" (' Land and Book,' p. " Ewe' (Gesenius)-his daughter cometh 589). For out of that well they watered the with the sheep. :flocks: and a in-eat ston.e was upon the Ver. 7.-A.nd he se.id, Lo, it is yet high well's mouth. T, Most of the cisterns are day (literally, the day is yet great, i. e. covered with a large thick, flat stone, in the much of it still remains), neither is it time centre of which n hole is cut, which forms that the cattle should be gathered together the mouth of the cistern. This hole, in (i. e. to shut them up for the night): water , nany instances, we found covered with a ye the sheep, and go and feed them-being heavy stone, to the removal of which two or desirous to get the shepherds a.way from the three men were requisite" (Robinson, ii. p. well that he might meet Rachel alone (Keil, 180). Lange, Murphy), though perhaps his worda Ver. 8. -And thither were all the 11.ocks with as much correctness may be traced to gr.thered. "Fifteen minutes later we came that prudent and industrious ho.bit of mind to a large well in a valley among the swells, which afterwards shone forth so conspicuously fitted up with troughs and reservoirs, with in himself, antl which instinctivrly caused en. XXIX. 1- H .J 'l'HE HOOK OF GENESIS. 357