Philistines envied him and that they might oblige him to leave the country, they filled up all the wells that Abraham's servants had digged when he lived there. As the king, too, was jealous of his increasing wealth and power, he desired Isaac to remove to some other place.

9. Isaac, in compliance with the wish of Abimelech, removed to the valley of Gerar, where, however, his peace was so often disturbed by the quarrels of the native shepherds with his own, that he at length determined to go to Beersheba. On the night of his arrival, God appeared to him again, and said, "I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake." Isaac being thus encouraged and comforted, pitched his tent there, and built an altar for the worship and service of God.

10. Abimelech now began to reflect upon the unkind treatment he had shewn to Isaac, and the harsh conduct of his servants: and fearing Isaac's resentment, he resolved to pay him a visit and assure him of his desire to live in peace and amity with him. When he arrived in company with one of his friends, and his chief captain, Isaac gave them at first but a cold reception, demanding to know

why they had come, seeing that they hated him, and had sent him away from them. To this they replied, "We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee; and we said, Let there be now an oath between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and have done nothing unto thee but good, and have sent thee away in peace, Thou art now the blessed of the Lord." Isaac, being of a quiet and peaceable temper, at once entertained their proposal and prepared a feast that they might refresh themselves after their journey. The next morning they rose up early, and made a covenant with each other, confirming it with an oath, and then separated in peace and good will.

11. Esau was now forty years old, and still continued to shew the wilfulness of his disposition, and how little he valued the privileges which God had bestowed upon his family. He had already despised his birthright; and now he set at nought the example of his grandfather Abraham, who would not take a wife for Isaac from amongst the daughters of an idolatrous people. For he married two wives, named Judith and Bashemath, both daughters of Hittite men; and by so doing, exceedingly grieved

the hearts of Isaac and Rebekah.

12. Yet the affection of Isaac was still strong towards his erring child; and he still desired that he might be the heir to the great blessing which had been given to Abraham, though he had sold his birthright to his brother. Being now old, and his eyes dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau, and said to him, "My son, I am now old, and I know not the day of my death take now, I pray thee, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt me some venison; and make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat: that I may bless thee before the Lord before I die."

Rebekah overheard what Isaac said, and as soon as Esau was gone to the field, she called her son Jacob, and after telling him what she had heard his father say to his brother, and enjoining obedience to all her directions, she told him to go to the flock and fetch two kids of the goats; and with them she said, "I will make savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death."

Jacob had obtained the birthright already, and knew that the paternal blessing belonged to him on that account: but he was fearful that if he

obtained it by such indirect means, he should lose the blessing, and get a curse instead of it. He considered, too, the difference between his complexion and that of his brother; for Esau's skin was hairy, and his was smooth so that if his father should feel his skin, he might easily discover the deception. This he told his mother, who remembering the words which had been spoken,-that the elder should serve the younger-said, "Upon me be the curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go, fetch me the kids."

Jacob immediately obeyed his mother, and fetched the kids; of which she made such savoury meat as she knew her husband loved. Then, dressing Jacob in Esau's best clothes, and covering his hands and neck with the hairy skins of the kids, she gave him the meat to carry to his father. On entering the room, his father enquired who he was; to which Jacob replied, "I am Esau, thy firstborn; I have done according as thou didst bid me: arise, I pray thee, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me." Isaac was surprised that he had come so soon, and asked him how it was that he had taken the venison so quickly. "Because," said Jacob, "the Lord brought it to me." Isaac, unwilling

to trust his hearing only, desired Jacob to come near to him, that he might feel him, whether he was indeed his very son Esau or not. When the good old man had felt his hands, he said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." Having now nothing but his son's veracity to depend upon, he asked him pointedly, "Art thou my very son Esau ?” To which Jacob more readily than truly answered, "I The old man then desired him to bring the meat, that he might eat of it and bless him.

am.'

Having partaken of the venison and drank wine, he called his son to come near and kiss him, which Jacob did; when his father, smelling the perfume of his raiment, blessed him, saying, "See; the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed: therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee."

13. As soon as Jacob was gone from his father, Esau came in, bringing the venison he had dressed

to his father, and saying, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me." Isaac, in surprise, asked, "Who art thou?" To which Esau answered, "I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau." On hearing this, Isaac trembled very exceedingly and exclaimed, "Who? Where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed." When Esau heard these words, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father." His father then assured him that his brother had deceived him, and by so doing had taken away the blessing; to which Esau replied, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? (that is, a supplanter) for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing." He then with great earnestness said to his father, "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?" Isaac replied, "Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?" This seemed to Esau, the shutting

out of the last ray of hope that he should yet have his father's blessing. What more can he do? Against hope he still urges his request. "Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And at length, overcome by the bitterness of his anguish, he lifted up his voice and wept. Isaac, moved with compassion, then said to him, "Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above: and by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother: and it shall come to pass that when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck."

14. Esau now hated his brother, for depriving him of his father's blessing; and thinking that his father would not live long, he resolved as soon as he was dead, to murder Jacob. His mother, being informed of Esau's design, advised him to go to Haran, and stay there with her brother Laban for a time, till Esau's rage was appeased; promising that when he had forgotten what Jacob had done to him, to send for him home again. Jacob was very willing to go, that he might escape from his brother's wrathful temper, but desired to have his father's consent. This, Rebekah easily obtained, by complaining to

Isaac of her uneasiness of mind lest Jacob should follow the example of his brother, and take a Hittite woman for his wife. Upon which he called Jacob and gave him a strict charge not to take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, but to go to Padan-aram, to the house of his mother's father Bethuel, and take a wife of the daughters of Laban, his mother's brother. And he blessed him, saying, "God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham." With this blessing Jacob took leave of his parents and departed.

15. Esau, knowing that his father had confirmed the blessing to his brother, and sent him to Padan-aram to take a wife there, with a strict charge not to marry a Canaanitish woman; and being conscious that he had displeased his father greatly, by taking two Hittite wives, thought now to obtain his approbation by taking Mahalath, the daughter of his uncle Ishmael, to be his wife. This, however, as it was done without his father's advice and counsel, was as much walking in his own ways, as

his former conduct, and as little to be commended.

16. Jacob, on taking his departure, proceeded on his journey towards Haran, till the sun was set. He was then obliged to take up his lodging in the open air, with the starry heavens for his canopy, and a hard stone for his pillow. While he slept, he dreamed that he saw a ladder set upon the earth, the top of which reached to heaven, and upon it were the angels of God ascending and descending. Above it stood the Lord, and said to him, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed: and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." This dream made so great an impression on the mind of Jacob, that when he awoke he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." It was probably the first time that

God had so immediately appeared to him; and so great was the religious fear with which he was filled, that in a holy rapture he exclaimed, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

17. Early in the morning Jacob arose and taking the stone which had served for a pillow he set it up for a memorial of God's goodness, and poured oil upon the top of it. He then, in commemoration of the heavenly vision which he had seen, called the name of the place Bethel; (that is, The house of God) and vowed this solemn vow to Him; saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on; so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

18. He then pursued his journey till he came near to Haran, where he saw, in a field, a well of water and three flocks of sheep lying near it, in charge of some shepherds. When they told him that they belonged to Haran, he asked them whether they knew Laban, the son of Nahor. They