1._Then again Abraham took a wife _(15) It seems very absurd that Abraham, who is said to have been dead in his own body thirty-eight years before the decease of Sarah, should, after her death, marry another wife. such an act was, certainly, unworthy of his gravity. Besides, when Paul commends his f... [ Continue Reading ]
6._But unto the sons of the concubines_. Moses relates, that when Abraham was about to die, he formed the design of removing all cause of strife among his sons after his death, by constituting Isaac his sole heir, and dismissing the rest with suitable gifts. This dismissal was, indeed, apparently ha... [ Continue Reading ]
7._And these are the days_. Moses now brings us down to the death of Abraham; and the first thing to be noticed concerning his age is the number of years during which he lived as a pilgrim; for he deserves the praise of wonderful and incomparable patience, for having wandered through the space of a... [ Continue Reading ]
8._Then Abraham gave up the ghost _(20) They are mistaken who suppose that this expression denotes sudden death, as intimating that he had not been worn out by long disease, but expired without pain. Moses rather means to say that the father of the faithful was not exempt from the common lot of men,... [ Continue Reading ]
9._And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him_. Hence it appears, that although Ishmael had long ago been dismissed, he was not utterly alienated from his father, because he performed the office of a son in celebrating the obsequies of his deceased parent. Ishmael, rather than the other sons did this... [ Continue Reading ]
12._Now these are the generations of Ishmael_. This narration is not superfluous. In the commencement of the chapter, Moses alludes to what was done for the sons of Keturah. Here he speaks designedly more at large, for the purpose of showing that the promise of God, given in the seventeenth chapter... [ Continue Reading ]
18._He died in the presence of all his brethren _(25) The major part of commentators understand this of his _death_; as if Moses had said that the life of Ishmael was shorter than that of his brethren, who long survived him: but because the word נפל (_naphal_) is applied to a violent death, and Mose... [ Continue Reading ]
19._These are the generations of Isaac_. Because what Moses has said concerning the Ishmaelites was incidental, he now returns to the principal subject of the history, for the purpose of describing the progress of the Church. And in the first place, he repeats that Isaac’s wife was taken from Mesopo... [ Continue Reading ]
21._And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife_. Some translate the passage, Isaac entreated the _Lord in the presence of his wife_; and understand this to have been done, that she also might add her prayers, and they might jointly supplicate God. But the version here given is more simple. Moreover,... [ Continue Reading ]
22._And the children struggled together_. Here a new temptation suddenly arises, namely, that the infants struggle together in their mother’s womb. This conflict occasions the mother such grief that she wishes for death. And no wonder; for she thinks that it would be a hundred times better for her t... [ Continue Reading ]
23._Two nations_. In the first place, God answers that the contention between the twin-brothers had reference to something far beyond their own persons; for in this way he shows that there would be discord between their posterities. When he says, there are two nations, the expression is emphatical;... [ Continue Reading ]
24._And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled_. Moses shows that the intestine strife in her womb continued to the time of bringing forth; for it was not by mere accident that Jacob seized his brother by the heel and attempted to get out before him. The Lord testified by this sign that the ef... [ Continue Reading ]
27._And the boys grew_. Moses now briefly describes the manners of them both. He does not, indeed, commend Jacob on account of those rare and excellent qualities, which are especially worthy of praise and of remembrance, but only says that he was _simple_. The word תם (_tam_,) although generally tak... [ Continue Reading ]
28._And Isaac loved Esau_. That God might more clearly show his own election to be sufficiently firm, to need no assistance elsewhere, and even powerful enough to overcome any obstacle whatever, he permitted Esau to be so preferred to his brother, in the affection and good opinion of his father, tha... [ Continue Reading ]
29._And Jacob sod pottage_. This narration differs little from the sport of children. Jacob is cooking pottage; his brother returns from hunting weary and famishing, and barters his birthright for food. What kind of bargain, I pray, was this? Jacob ought of his own accord to have satisfied the hunge... [ Continue Reading ]
30._Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage _(34) Although Esau declares in these words that he by no means desires delicacies, but is content with food of any kind, (seeing that he contemptuously designates the pottage from its color only, without regard to its taste,) we may yet lawfully... [ Continue Reading ]
33._And Jacob said, Swear to me_. Jacob did not act cruelly towards his brother, for he took nothing from him, but only desired a confirmation of that right which had been divinely granted to him; and he does this with a pious intention, that he may hereby the more fully establish the certainty of h... [ Continue Reading ]
34._Then Jacob gave_. Although, at first sight, this statement seems to be cold and superfluous, it is nevertheless of great weight. For, in the first place, Moses commends the piety of holy Jacob, who in aspiring to a heavenly life, was able to bridle the appetite for food. Certainly he was not a l... [ Continue Reading ]