Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 25
CHAP. XXV. Verſ. 1. Then again Abraham, &c.]
AFfter Sarahs death, though Calvin thinks otherwiſe. His body dry and dead forty years before, is now, by Gods bleſſing, made lively and luſty.
Verſ. 5. Abraham gave all, &c.] So Eſa. 19.25. Aſſyria is the work of Gods hand, and Iſrael his inheritance.
Verſ. 6. foreign. Sopb. Gaſp. E…s. Panis mica quam dives pater-familias projicit canibu….Abraham gave gifts] So doth God to reprobates, but they are giftleſs gifts, better be without them. Saepe Deus dat iratus quod …egat propitius. God gives wealth to the wicked, non aliter ac ſiquis crumenam auro plenam latrinae injiciat. The Turkiſh Empire (ſaith Luther) as great as it is, is but a cruſt caſt to the dogs by the rich Houſe-holder, or as Joſephs cup, &c. [Eaſt-ward to the Eaſt-countrey] To both the Arabia's, which were Countries rough, but rich; looked rudely, but ſearched regularly, afforded great ſtore of fine gold, pretious ſtones, and pleaſant odours.
Verſ. 8. Gave up the Ghoſt] Defecit, lenitèr expiravit. Deſcribit Moſes placidam & optatam quaſi foreign, which in Abraham Gods friend, is no wonder. But how could that Apoſtate Julian ſay, trow, Vitam repoſcenti naturae, tanquam debitor bonae fidei, rediturus, exulto? Sure it was but a copy of his countenance, but not of his dying countenance; for no wicked man alive, can look death in the face, with blood in his cheeks. [Dyed in a good old age] Or with a hoar head, after a hundred years troubleſomepilgrimage, in the promiſed land. We, if for one year, we ſuffer hardſhip, think it a great buſineſs. Non quia dura, ſed quia molles patimur, ſaith Seneca. [An old man, and full of years] The godly have oft a ſatiety of life: as willing they are to leave the world, as men are wont to be, to riſe from the board, when they have eaten their fill, Cur non ut plenus vitae conviva recedis? Said the Heathen Poet: and they feign that when Tithonus might have been made immortal, he would not, becauſe of the miſeries of life. This made Plotinus the Platoniſt account mortality a mercy, Aug. de Civ. Dei, l. 4. c. 10. Siquis Deus mihi largiatur ut ex hac aetate repuraſcam, & in cunis vagiam, valdèrecuſem. Cato ap. Cic. de ſenect. Camd. Eliſabeth, fol. 325.and Cato proteſt, that if any God would grant him, of old to be made young again, he would ſeriouſly refuſe it. As for me, ſaid Queen Eliſabeth (in a certain ſpeech) I ſee no ſuch great cauſe why I ſhould be fond to live, or afraid to dye. And again, whiles I call to minde things paſt, behold things preſent, and expect things to come, I hold him happieſt, that goeth hence ſooneſt.
Verſ. 9. And his ſons Iſaac and Iſmael, &c.] It is like, that Abraham, a little afore his death, ſent for his two ſons, and reconciled them. This joyning with Iſaac in the burying of Abraham, ſome take for an argument of his repenance; whereunto alſo they adde, that his whole life time is recorded in holy Scripture (which cannot be ſhewed of any reprobate) and that he is ſaid, when he dyed, to be gathered to his fathers. [Which is beſides Mamre] Where, ſeventy ſix years before, he had entertained the Lord Chriſt, and heard from his mouth, the promiſe of the Meſſiah. Wherefore, in remembrance of that moſt amiable apparition, and for love and honour of the divine promiſe there uttered, he would there be buried, in full hope of a glorious Reſurrection; and that his poſterity might take notice that he even dyed upon the promiſe. As that brave Roman Captain told his Souldiers, Xiphilinus.that if they could not conquer Britain, yet they would get poſſeſſion of it by laying their bones in it.
Verſ. 13. Theſe are the names of the ſons of Iſhmael] When Iſaac was twenty yeers married, and had no childe; and afterwards, nothing ſo many as Iſhmael, nor ſo great in the world. This is Gods uſual way of dealing forth his favours: Saints ſuffer, wieked proſper. This made Pompey deny Divine Providence, Brutus cry out, foreign. Dio Caſſius. foreign. Thucyd. Pſal. 73.10. expounded. Exoriuntur, ſed exuruntur, Hoſ. 14.foreign: O miſerable Vertue, ſlave of Fortune, &c. The Athenians, in Thucydides, when they had loſt Nicias their good General, (who, together with his whole Army periſhed in Sicily) were at a great ſtand, and much offended; ſeeing ſo pious a perſon fare nothing better then thoſe that were far worſe. And what wonder, when Jeremiah and David ſtumbled at the ſame ſtone, ran upon the ſame rock, and were well-high ſhipwrackt? Jer. 12.1. Pſal 73.3, 4. Neither they onelyonly, but many other of Gods dear ſervants, as it is in the ſame I ſalm, verſ. 10. Therefore his people return hither; that is, are every whit as wiſe (or rather, as fooliſh) as I have been, to miſ-cenſure and miſconſtrue Gods dealings on this manner; to repent me of my repentance, and to condemn the generation of the juſt, becauſe waters of a full cup are wrung out to the wicked. When David went into Gods Sanctuary, and there conſulted his Word, he was better reſolved: Then he ſaw, that the ſunſhine of Proſperity doth but ripen the ſin of the wicked, and ſo fits them for deſtruction: as fatted ware are but fitted for the ſlaughter. What good is there in having a fine ſuit with the plague in it? Poiſon in wine works more furiouſly, then in water. Had Haman known the danger of Esthers banquet, he would not have been ſo brag of it. The proſperity of the wicked hath ever plus deceptionis, quam delectionis, ſaith One; more deceit then delight; able to entice, and ready to kill the entangled: As cunning to do that, as the ſpirit that ſeduced Ahab; and as willing to do the other, as the Ghoſt that met Brutus at the battel of Philippi. In which reſpect, David, Pſal. 17. having ſpoken of theſe men of Gods hand, that have their portion in this life, &c. wiſhes them, make them merry with it, and ſubjoyns, As for me, I will behold thy face in righteouſ…eſs; I ſhall be ſatisfied, when I awake, with thy likeneſs: As who ſhould ſay, I neither envie, nor covet their happineſs, but long after a glorious reſurrection; and have, in the mean while, that which is ſufficient to ſuſtain me, I ſhall behold thy face in righteouſ…eſs, Menach. on Levit. 10.that is, Beſhechinah, in Chriſt, as Rabbi Menachem expounds it. And one good look of God, is worth all the world. It is better to feel his favour one hour, then to ſit whole ages, as theſe Iſhmaelites did, under the worlds warmeſt ſun-ſhine.
Verſ. 14. And Miſhma, and Dumah, and Maſſah] Out of theſe three names, (which ſignifie Hearing, Silence, and Suffering) the Maſorites gather the three principal duties of man, in common converſation; viz. to hear, keep ſilence, and bear: theſe (ſay they) make a quiet and good life. Sustine & Abſtine, foreign. Epict…t. Camd. Eliſab. Pſal. 120.6.is the Philoſophers counſel: Video, Taceo, I ſee, and ſay nothing, was Queen Elizabeths Motto: and, I am for peace, was Davids; (or, as the Hebrew hath it, I am peace) He heard the ſlander of many, fear was on every ſide, Pſal. 31.13. but he as a deaf man heard not, and as a dumb man, ſo he opened not his mouth, Pſal. 38.13. Facile est in me dicere, cum non ſim reſponſurus, ſaid One once, to another that revil'd at him: Thou ſhalt fight without an adverſary; for I will hear and bear, and ſay nothing. The beſt anſwer to words of ſcorn and petulancy, (ſaith learned Hooker) is Iſaac's apologie to his brother Iſhmael, patience and ſilence, no apologie. foreign. A man would not be bound to ſuch a ſlavery, as to anſwer every calumny. Qui neſcit ferre calumnias, convitia, injurias, neſcit vivere, ſaith Chytraeus. He that cannot patiently bear reproaches and injuries, may make up his pack, and get him out of the world; for here's no being for him. Vitus Theodorus ſent to adviſe with Melancthon, what he ſhould do when Oſiander preacht againſt him: Melch. Adam.Melancthon per Deum obteſtatur, ut taceret, & ſe it a gereret quaſi non audiret: Melancthon beſought him, for Gods ſake, to ſay nothing in that caſe, but to carry himſelf ſo, as if he heard not. Vitus writes back, that this was very hard; yet he would obey. It is hard to ſwallow down Phyſical Pills: but better ſwallow them whole, then chaw them between the teeth.
Verſ. 15. Naphiſh and Kedamah] Twelve in all, Princes of their Tribes, as was promiſed, Gen. 17.20. See, ſaith One here, B. Babington.what God can do for a poor boy, ſent out with a bottle of water on his back. God ſet…eth the ſolitary in families, Pſal: 68.6. he raiſeth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the begger from the dung▪hill, to ſet them among Princes, &c. 1 Sam 2.8.
Verſ. 16. Theſe are their names by their towns] which they called after their own names, as Cain did that firſt built City Fnoch, after his ſons name; that he might be ſtiled Lord Enoch of Enoch. So, the many Alexandria's, Caeſarea's, Auguſta's, &c. See Pſal. 49.11.
Verſ. 17. And he gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered] Sc. to the Congregation-houſe of all living, (as the grave is called, Job 30.23.) and (for ought we know) to the Congregationhouſe of the first-born, foreign.(as heaven is called, Heb. 12.23.) Abraham prayed, that Iſhmael might live in Gods ſight: Iſhmael joyned with his brother Iſaac in burying their father Abraham, verſ. 9. of this Chapter. Here he hath his whole life-time recorded; (the like whereof cannot be ſhewed of any reprobate:) and at his death, he is ſaid gently to give up the ghost▪ or yeeld up the ſpirit, (as Abraham alſo did, verſ. 8.) and to be gathered to his people, as he. Theſe are probable arguments, that (however he lived) yet he died in the faith of his father Abraham. He runs far, we ſay, that never turns. Nunquam ſerò ſi ſeri….
Verſ. 18. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur] A large tract and territory; but nothing ſo large as his poſterity the Saracens, (called more rightly Hagarens, Pſal. 83.6.) proved to be; whoſe Name and Empire notwithſtanding is now ſwallowed up in the greatneſs of the Turkiſh Empire; Turk. hiſt.which laboureth with nothing more, then with the weightineſs of it ſelf.
And he died] Or, dwelt, as ſome read it. Compare Chap. 16, 12.
Verſ. 19. And theſe are the generations] That is, the affairs and occurrences.
Verſ. 20. And Iſaac was fourty yeers old] He was not overhaſty to marry in the heat of his youth: but by hard labour, ardent prayers, and pious meditations, kept under his body, and brought it into ſubjection, as Saint Paul likewiſe did, 1 Cor. 9.27. We are not debters to the fleſh, Rom. 8.12. we owe it nothing but ſtripes, nothing but the blue eye, that the Apoſtle gave it.
Verſ. 21. foreignAnd Iſaac intreated the Lord for his wife] He did it conſtantly and inſtantly, (as the word ſignifies) he multiplied prayer, which (as thoſe arrows of deliverance, 2 Kings 13.19.) muſt be often iterated, ere the mercy can be obtained.
And the Lord was intreated of him] though it were long firſt, even full twenty yeers. God knows how to commend his mercies to us, and therefore holds us long in ſuſpence. Citò data, vileſcunt. Manna, lightly come by, was as lightly ſet by.
Verſ. 22. Jitbrotſatſu.And the children ſtruggled together] Heb. They ran at tilt, (as it were) and juſtled one againſt another, even to bruiſing and hurting. Eſau (that he might loſe no time) began to ſet againſt Jacob, before he was born.
If it be ſò, why am I thus?] A paſſionate abrupt ſpeech: q. d. Better no children, then ſo troubled with them. See Chap. 27.46. compare Chap. 3.16. I will greatly multiply thy ſorrow, and thy conception. This ſhe ſhould have born more patiently: but ſhe preſently bethought her of the beſt courſe; for ſhe went to enquire of the Lord: ſhe got into a corner, and prayed, and was anſwered. She prayed down her paſſions, (as a man ſleeps out his drunkenneſs) and ſets to work luſtily, and ſo got the enſuing oracle.
Verſ. 2…. And the Lord ſaid unto her] Either by an Angel, or a Prophet, or ſome divine anſwer in her own heart.
Two nations are in thy womb] So, what can a man ſee in the Shulamite, (in every ſanctified ſoul) but as it were the company of two armies? Cant. 6.13.) Every good man is a divided man: every new man, two men.
Verſ. 24. And when her days to be delivered] Which fell out fifteen yeers before Abrahams death, to his great comfort, no doubt. God doth for his, his beſt at laſt.
There were twins in her womb] See Cant. 4.2. with Iſai. 66.8.
Verſ. 25. And the firſt came ont red] Red and rough, cruel and crafty, as that red old dragon, Rev. 12.3. who inhabited in him, and both acted and agitated him. Eph. 2.2. ab aſcenſore ſu… daemone perurgebatur, ſaith Bernard. And ſo are thoſe Romiſh Edomites, Eſauites, Jeſuites, &c.
And they called his name Eſau] Factus & perfectus pilis, a bearded man, one that had every thing more like a man then a babe; a manly childe.
Verſ. 26. And after that, came his brother out] God could have brought Jacob out firſt, (for it is he that takes us out of the womb, Pſal. 22.9.) but he ſuffereth Eſau for a time to enjoy the firſt birth-right, till his own time came to ſet things to rights. God waits to be gracious; for he is a God of judgement, Iſai. 30.18.
And his hand took hold on Jacobs heel] As if he would have turned up his heels, and got to the goal before him.
And his name was called Jacob] Calcanearius, an heel-catcher, or ſupplanter, as he afterwards proved to Eſau, who hit him alſo in teeth with it, Gen. 27.
Conveniunt rebus nomina ſaepè ſuis.
And Iſaac was threeſcore yeers old] He lived twice threeſcore yeers after this, being an hundred and eighty, when he died, Gen. 35.28. five yeers longer he lived, then his father Abraham, Gen. 27.5. being biſon for the laſt fourty, Gen. 27.
Verſ. 27. And the boys grew] Nature, Art, Grace, all proceed from leſs perfect to more perfect. Grow in grace, ſaith Peter: grow unto a perfect man, ſaith Paul, even unto the meaſure of the ſtature of the fulneſs of Christ, ſaith Paul. Eph. 4.13.
And Eſau was a cunning hunter] Like Nimrod and Iſhmael, whom he choſe to imitate, rather then Abraham, and thoſe holy Patriarchs that had lived before him,
A plain man] Sept. foreign, without welt or gard, guile or gall. Gregory hereby notes the diverſe diſpoſitions of worldly and godly men.
Verſ. 28. And Iſaac loved Eſau, &c.] Here (as likewiſe in Manoah's wife) more grace appears in the woman, then in the man; whoſe blinde and miſplaced love, for carnal ends, commends and illuſtrates the divine adoption.
Verſ. 29. And Jacob ſod pottage] Pottage of lentiles, which was a kinde of pulſe much like to Vetches or ſmall Peaſe: ſo frugal and ſparing was the diet of thoſe precious Patriarchs, to the ſhame of our Luxury. Seneca. foreign.Quicquid avium volitat, quicquid piſcium natat, quicquid ferarum diſcurrit, noſtris ſepelitur ventribus. We devour the wealth of earth, air, and ſea.
Eſau came from the field, and he was faint] Labor est etiam ipſa voluptas. Of carnal pleaſures, a man may break his neck ſooner then his faſt. Nor is it want of variety in them, but inward weakneſs, or the curſe of unſatisfyingneſs, that lies upon them. The creature is now as the husk without the grain, the ſhell without the kernel, full of nothing but emptineſs; and ſo may faint us, but not fill us.
Verſ. 30. Feed me, I pray thee, with that red, red] He doubleth it, Geminatio indicat vehementiam appetitus. Pareus.(and could not, for haſte and hunger, tell what to call it) to ſhew his greedineſs. And ſaith, Feed me, or let me ſwallow at once; as Camels are fed by caſting gobbets into their mouth. He thought he ſhould never have enough. Our proverb is, As hungry as a hunter: but this hunter hath no ho with him, and is therefore branded for a profane ſenſualiſt, Edom. The word uſed for a glutton, Jer. 15.19.Deut. 21.20, is uſed for a vile perſon, or a loſel, Jer. 15.19.
Verſ. 31. Sell me this day thy birth-right] Which he knew, by the inſtruction of his mother, to be his by Gods appointment; and therefore takes this opportunity to get it. A well-choſen ſeaſon, is the greateſt advantage of any action.
Verſ. 32. What profit ſhall this birth-right, &c.] Pluris faci… pulticulam bonam, quam titulum inanem. Senſualiſts look onelyonly at the preſent pleaſure, and ſell their ſouls for it. Earthly things are preſent and pleaſant; therefore we ſo cleave to them; ſtriving (like the toad) who ſhall fall aſleep with moſt earth in his paws.
Verſ. 33. Swear to me] With fickle men, make all firm and faſt.
Quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea nodo?Horat.
And he ſold his birth right to Jacob] And with it heaven alſo, as the Jeruſalemy Paraphraſt addeth, whereof the birth-right was a type and pledge. So his ſin was in unthankfulneſs for ſuch a dignity; in limiting it to this life; in ſelling it ſo light cheap: but eſpecially, in his profane parting with a ſpiritual bleſſing, for a temporal. Such a fooliſh bargain makes every impenitent perſon, in the ſale of his ſoul for a thing of nought: which Chriſt (who onelyonly went to the price of a ſoul) ſaith, is more worth then a world. Let there be no fornicator, (as every worlding is, Jam. 4.4.) or profane perſon amongſt us, as Eſau, Heb. 12.16. And that there may not, let not men take pleaſure in pleaſure, ſpend too much time in it, ſhoot their affections over-far into it. It is no wiſdom, to go as far as we may. It was not ſimply a ſin in Eſau to go a hunting: but yet the more he uſed it, the more profane he grew by it, and came at length to contemn his birth-right. Adrian the Emperour was a great hunter, brake his leg in hunting; called a city that he built in Myſia, by the name of Adrians huntings: Dio in vita. Adeò venandi rabie perc…us ut 7 continuis an…is, nec urbis, nec ruris tecto fit u us.but how little care he took for his poor ſoul, that Animula vagula blandula of his, abundantly teſtifieth. The maddeſt hunter that ever I read of, was Mithridates; who was ſo ſet upon it, that he came not into any houſe, either of city or country, for ſeven yeers together, To lawful delights and recreations, God allows men to ſtoop, for their bodies ſake; as the eagle to the prey▪ or as Gideons ſouldiers, to ſoop their handful, not to ſwill their belly-full. An honeſt mans heart is where his calling is: ſuch a one, when he is elſewhere, is like a fiſh in the air, whereunto if it leap for recreation or neceſſity, yet it ſoon returns to his own clement.
Verſ 23. He did eat and drink▪ and roſe up, &c.] Hac congerie, Piſcator.impoenitentia Eſaui deſcribitur. Away he went, without ſhewing the leaſt remorſe or regret, for what he had done. Lyſimachus ſoon repented him for parting with his Crown, O dii, quam brevis voluptatis gratia ex rege me feci ſervum!for a draught of cold water, in his extreme thirſt. Wine is a prohibited ware among Turks; which makes ſome drink with ſcruple, others with danger. The baſer ſort, when taken drunk, are often baſtinadoed on the bare feet. And I have ſeen ſome (ſaith mine Author) after a fit of drunkenneſs, Blounts voyage, pag. 105.lie a whole night, crying and praying to Mahomet for interceſſion, that I could not ſleep neer them: ſo ſtrong is conſcience, even where the foundation is but imaginary; to the ſhame of many profligate profeſſors, cauterized Chriſtians.