Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 34
CHAP. XXXIV. Verſ. 1. Went out to ſee the daughters of the land.]
VVHo went abroad at this time, with timbrels, to play, ſay the Hebrews; kept a ſolemn feaſt, ſaith Ioſephus. Hence Dinah's deſire to ſee them. But what ſaith S. Bernard? Si tu otiosè ſpectas, otiosè non ſpectaris: tu curiosè ſpectas, ſed curioſiùs ſpectar…s. Dinah's wanton gadding, and gazing on others, gave occaſion to the adulterer to look and luſt after her. See the fruit of her needleſs jetting abroad, to ſee faſhions and novelties. The name of a virgin, in the Original tongues, foreign of foreign a houſe; foreign of foreign to hide: foreign of foreign to ſhadow. foreign, of foreign, to lay up. foreign, a virgin, and the apple of the eye. Mars vi…et banc, viſamqu… cupit, potiturque cupita. Ovid. Jer. 9.6. Bond. in Horat.is derived from the houſe, hiding, ſhadow, lockt treaſure, apple of the eye: to teach them to refrain ill company, and idle gadding. Young women are taught to be keepers at home, Tit. 2.2. As when they come abroad among men, they muſt be, if not vailed, (as at Venice) yet clothed, and in their right mindes, (as that Demoniack, Luk. 8.35.) And this not onelyonly in winter, that they take no cold; but in the ſummer, that others take no heat from them, (which may rather burn them, then warm them) as Shechem here did.
Verſ. 2. ſaw her, he took her, and lay with her] Ʋt vidit, periit. By thoſe windows of the eyes and ears, ſin and death often enter: thorow them, the devil throws balls of wild-fire into the ſoul, and ſets all into a combuſtion. Viſus, colloquium, contactus, oſculum, concubitus, do too oft one ſucceed another. See to the Cinqueports, if ye would keep out the enemy. Shut up the five windows, if ye would have the houſe (the heart) full of light, ſaith the Arabian proverb. Joſeph's miſtreſs caſt her eyes upon him; but when ſhe laid hands on him, ſhe was the more inflamed, and ſet agog, as it were. The viewing, touching, or familiar talking with a woman, either without neceſſary occaſion, or then, Time well ſpent, by M. Ezek. Culverwel, … pag. 53.without prayer for holy affection, is dangerous, ſaith a grave Divine. Thou maiſt not look intently upon what thou maiſt not love. Democritus the Philoſopher pulled out his eyes, that he might not look upon forbidden beauties. This was no part of his wiſdom: But it ſhall be ours, by mortification, to pluck the wanton eye out of old Adam, and to ſet it ſober into the new man: to get that oculum irretortum, that well-ordered eye, that Job had, Chap. 31.1, that Joſeph had; that Gregory Nazianzen had, who could foreign, tutor his eyes: that Charles the fifth, Emperour of Germany, had, who would ſhut the caſements, Saepé clauſit …eneſtram, …e inſpiceret formoſiores ſoeminas, &c. Parci hiſt. profan. p. 908.when at any time he ſaw fair women afar off, or heard that ſuch were to paſs by his window. It is not ſafe, to pry into the beauty of a fair woman. Circe may inchant us, the Cockatrice ſlay us with her ſight: Let her not take thee with her eyebrows, ſaith Solomon; as larks, while they gaze in a glaſs, are taken in a day-net. See the Notes on Chap. 6.2. and 26.7.
Verſ. 3. And his ſoul clave unto Dinah] He kickt her not out of doors, (as Amn…n did Tamar, far ſweeter to him in the ambition, then in the fruition;) but to make amends (as they call it) by Marriage, he ſeeks to go by the old Rule in that caſe, Et dotet, & ducat. Howbeit, Marriage (Gods ordinance) is not to be entred into thorow the devils portal.
Verſ. 4. Get me this damoſel to wife] This is praiſe-worthy in Shechem, as bad as he was, that he correcteth his baſe-born love, (or luſt rather) by ſeeking to make her his wife; not without conſent of parents on both ſides; which, in the Church of Rome, is oft-times not regarded. Children are a principal part of their parents poſſeſſions, (as Job's children were accounted by Satan) yea, a piece of themſelves, Matth. 15.22. Have mercy upon me, that is, upon my daughter. Fit it is therefore, that they ſhould by the parents be diſpoſed of in Marriage.
Verſ. 5. And Jacob heard] To his very great grief and regret: For ſhe was his onelyonly daughter; a damoſel of not above fifteen yeers of age. The Hebrews ſay, ſhe was afterwards given to Job in marriage: But that's not likely; for ſhe is reckoned among thoſe that went down to Egypt, Gen. 46. [And Jacob held his peace] He felt Gods hand upon his back; he therefore lays his own hand upon his mouth. And herein he did better in ruling his own ſpirit, then his ſons did, Prov. 16.32. Lam. 3.28. Levit. 10.3. Pſal. 39.10.that took the City, verſ. 27. He ſitteth alone, and is ſilent, ſaith the Prophet of the afflicted perſon. So was Aaron, ſo was David, ſo was the Lord Chriſt, as a ſheep dumb before the ſhearer. The Romanes placed the image of their goddeſs Angeronia, upon the altar of Volupia, with her mouth ſhut, and ſealed up: Macrob. lib. 1. in Som. Scip.to ſignifie, ſaith Macrobius, that they that bridle their grief, and ſay nothing, ſhall, by their patience, ſoon attain to greateſt pleaſure. Acts 19.35, 16.Patience in the ſoul, as the Town-clerk at Epheſus, ſends away mutinous thoughts, as he did the many-headed multitude: it quiets the boiling ſpirit, as Chriſt becalmed the raging ſea, with Peace, and be ſtill: it makes a David dumb: a dumb ſhew, but a very good one: it ſays, Cedamus: leve fit, quod benè fertur onus.
Verſ. 6. And Hamor the father of Shechem] Unruly youth put their aged parents, many times, to much travel and trouble; as Samſon, Shechem, Paris, &c. Green wood is ever ſhrinking and warping; whereas the well-ſeaſoned holds a conſtant firmneſs.
Verſ. 7. The men were grieved, Heb. exarſerit cis naſus.and very wroth] A pair of unruly paſſions, when combined, eſpecially: they ride one upon the back of another, as kine do in a ſtrait paſſage; and will make an Alexander kill his beſt friends, ſuch as he would afterwards have revived, with the beſt and warmeſt blood in his own heart.
—qui non moderabitur irae
Infectum velit eſſe, dolor quod ſuaſerit, & mens.
Horat.[Becauſe he had wrought folly in Iſrael] That is, in the Church, where fornication ſhould not be once named, much leſs committed, Eph. 5.3. Sin is odious any-where; moſt of all, among Saints. A thiſtle is unſeemly in a garden, filthineſs in a veſtal, baſeneſs in a Prince. And yet, by the malice of Satan, there are, many times, more ſcandals in the Church, then elſewhere: ſuch inceſt at Corinth, as not among Heathens; ſuch folly in Jacob's family, as not at Shechem, or Seir. Sodom thy ſiſter hath not done, ſhe nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters, Ezek. 16.48. This is lamentable.
Verſ. 8. And Hamor communed with them] A fond father ſeeks to ſatisfie the luſt of a looſe ſon, whom he ſhould ſeverely have puniſhed, Such parents are peremptores potius quàm parentes, faith Bernard; like apes, that kill their young with culling them. They ſhew their love as little, as if, by clapping their hands on their childrens mouthes, to keep the cold winde from them, they ſhould ſtrangle them to death. A fair hand, here, maketh a foul wound; when correction would be a kinde of cure. Severitas tamen non ſit tetra, ſed tetrica, ſaith Sidonius. For, Sidonius, lib. 4. Ep. 9.as a cur by tying waxeth fiercer; and as new wine breaketh weak veſſels; ſo too much ſeverity overthroweth, and quite ſpilleth a tender minde.
Verſ. 9. And make ye marriages with us] The world thinks, we may do as they; and what need we be ſo ſcrupulous and ſtraitlaced? But Saints muſt walk accurately, by line, and by rule; foreign, Eph. 5.15. foreign.not as unwiſe, but as wiſe; having their feet where other mens heads are: for the way of the wiſe is on high, ſaith Solomon; he goes a higher way to work then others: he may not buckle, and ſtoop to their baſe courſes. Singular things are conferred upon him, ſingular things are expected from him. An Iſraelite dare not yoke himſelf with any Sichemiſh heifer, that bears not the yoke of Jeſus Chriſt. Thoſe that ſtood with the Lamb, had not defiled themſelves with women, &c. Rev. 14.14. Nec aliunde noſcibiles (ſaith Tertullian of thoſe Primitive Chriſtians) quàm de emendatione vitierum pristinorum. Tertull. ad Scapulam.They were diſtinguiſhed from all others, by their holy behaviour.
Verſ. 10. And ye ſhall dwell with us, &c.] Thus the world tempts the Saints, by offer of profits, pleaſures, and preferments. Sed ſurdo cantilenam. For they anſwer the world, as here, We cannot do this thing, verſ. 14. or as the children of Iſrael beſpake the king of Edom; Let us paſs, I pray thee, thorow thy country: We will not paſs thorow the fields of profit, or vineyards of pleaſure, &c. we will go by the kings high-way, chalked unto us in the holy Scriptures: we will not turn to the right hand, or to the left, for any allurement or affrightment of thine, until we have paſſed thy borders, Num. 20.17.
Verſ. 11, 12] Ask me never ſo much dowry] Heb. Multiply ye upon me, vehemently. Gen. 38.18.Unbridled affection ſpares for no coſt, ſo it may be ſatisfied. Judah parted with his ſignet, bracelets, and ſtaff, to the harlot. Herod, that old fornicator, bids the dancing damoſel ask what ſhe will, Demoſth.to the half of his kingdom. One there was, that would not buy repentance ſo dear, as the harlot demanded. But thoſe miſcreants in Micah, will give any thing for a diſpenſation to live in ſin: they offer thouſands of rams, and ten thouſands of rivers of oil; Micah 6.7.yea, the ſons of their body, for the ſins of their ſouls.
Verſ. 13. deceitfully, and ſaid, Becauſe he had, &c.] Therefore they thought, they had reaſon to do as they did. Satan doth ſo bemiſt men, many times, that they think they have reaſon to be mad, and that there is ſome ſenſe in ſinning: whenas, indeed, our onelyonly wiſdom is, to keep God's Laws, Deut. 4.6. All which are founded upon ſo good reaſon, that, had God never made them, yet it had been beſt for us to have practiſed them.
Verſ. 14. That Were a reproach unto us] And yet the world reproached them with nothing more, then with their Circumciſion; as it is to be ſeen in Horace, Juvenal, Tacitus. Appion ſcoffs at it, and is anſwered by Ioſephus. But, as he were a fool, that would be mo…kt out of his inheritance; ſo he, much more, that would be mo…ked out of his Religion. Ye have ſhamed the counſel of the poor, ſaith David, becauſe the Lord is h…refuge; becauſe he runs to God by prayer. But, to ſhew how little he regarded their reproaches, he falls preſently a praying, O that the ſalvation of Iſrael &c. Pſal 14.6, 7. So Nazareth was a reproach caſt upon Chriſt; and he glories in it, Acts 22.8. I am Jeſus of Nazareth, Whom thou perſecutest. He ſaith not, I am the Son of God, heir of all things, King of the Church, &c. but, I am Jeſus of Nazareth. If this be to be vile, ſaid David, I Will be yet more vile.
Verſ. 15. That every male of you be circumciſed] Lo, herein was their deceit. How often is Religion pretended, made a ſtale and ſtalking-horſe to worldly and wicked aims and reſpects! A horrible profanation: as when Na…oth was put to death at a faſt; Henry the ſeventh, Emperour, poiſoned in the Sacramental bread, by a Monk. He pretends to worſhip Chriſt, intends to worry him, &c. From ſuch ſtand off, ſaith S. Paul; or, 1 Tim. 6.5. Rom. 16, 17, 18if ye come neer them, ſet a mark upon them. Foenum habet in cornu.
Verſ. 16. Then will we give our daughters] Whether Jacob were preſent at this whole conference, it is not certain. It is probable, that he was not. For ſurely, he would either have diſſwaded them from thus doing: or if he had conſented, he would have ſaid ſomething more, to the Shechemites, for their better aſſurance. It is a Maxime in Machiavel; Fidem tamdiu ſervandam eſſe, quamdiu expediat. But Jacob had not known this depth of the devil: his ſons better could skill of it. They ſeem to be ſomewhat akin to thoſe Thracians, of whom it was anciently ſaid, Eos foedera neſcire; that they knew no covenants: or the Turks at this day, whoſe Covenants, grounded upon the Law of Nations, be they with never ſo ſtrong capitulations concluded, Turk. hiſt.or ſolemnity of oath confirmed, have, with them, no longer force, then ſtandeth with their own profit; ſerving, indeed, but as ſnares, to entangle other Princes in. There is no faith, ſay they, to be kept with dogs; that is, Ibid. 755.with Chriſtians. And this, perhaps, they have learned of thoſe pſeudo Chriſtians, the Papiſts, who dealt ſo perfidiouſly with them, at the great Battel of Varna: Where Amurath, the Great Turk, ſeeing the great ſlaughter of his men, againſt the oath given him by King Ladiſlaus, (diſpenſed with by the Pope's Legat) and beholding the picture of the Crucifix in the diſplayed Enſignes of the voluntary Chriſtians; he pluckt the Writing out of his boſom, wherein the late League was compriſed; and holding it up in his hand, with his eyes caſt up to heaven, ſaid, Behold, thou crucified Christ, this is the League thy Chriſtians, in thy Name, made with me; Ibid. 297.which they have, without cauſe, violated. Now, if thou be a God, as they ſay thou art, and as we dream, revenge the wrong now done to thy Name, and me; and ſhew thy power upon thy perjurious people, who, in their deeds, deny thee their God. And it fell out accordingly: For God hates foul and faithleſs dealing, Zech. 5.4. Rom. 1.31. Heu miſer, etſi quis primò perjuriacelat, Sera tamen tacitis paena venit pedibus. Tibull.Perjurii poena divina exitium; humana, dedecus. This was one of the Laws of the twelve Tables in Rome.
Verſ. 17. But if ye will not hearken] How often have men found treaſon in truſt; and murther, under ſhew of marriage! as 1 Sam. 18.17, 25. Dan. 11.17. and in the Maſſacre of Paris.
Verſ. 18. And their words] See the force of love, and hope of profit!
Verſ. 19. And the young man deferred not, &c.] Heb. Neque diſtulit puer; The lad deferred not. He is called a lad or a childe, that is, a fool; becauſe he was carried, not by right reaſon, but blinde affection, walking in the ways of his heart, and ſight of his eyes, foreign., of foreign, of foreign.Eccleſ. 11.9. And, verſ. 10. the word uſed to ſignifie youth, ſignifieth darkneſs; to note, that youth is the dark age, hot, and headlong, indeliberate and ſlippery, ſuch as had need to cleanſe their ways, by cleaving to the Word, ſaith David, Pſal. 119.9. where the word for cleanſing, properly ſignifies the cleanſing of glaſs; which, as it is ſlick and ſlippery; ſo, though it be very clean, yet it will gather filth, even in the ſun beams, and of it ſelf: which noteth the great corruption of this age.
Verſ. 20. And Hamor and Shechem, &c.] Theſe great men eaſily perſwaded, and prevailed with the people, to have what they would. Great need have we to pray for good Governours. When Criſpus believed, who was the chief Ruler of the Synagogue, many Corinthians believed alſo, Acts 18.8. Paul was loath to loſe the Deputy; becauſe his converſion would draw on many others. As on the contrary, Jeroboam cauſed Iſrael to ſin; and generally, as the Kings were good or evil, ſo were the people; in which, as in a beaſt, the whole body follows the head.
Verſ. 21. Theſe men are peaceable, &c.] Nothing more ordinary, with Polititians, then to cover private ends and reſpects, with pretence of publike good: As Jeroboam told the people, it was too much trouble for them to go up to Jeruſalem to worſhip; they ſhould take a ſhorter cut to Dan and Bethel. So Jehu, in all his reformations, had a hawks eye to a kingdom; his main end was, to ſettle the Crown upon his own head. The Turkiſh Janizaries, Parei Hiſt. profan. Medul. 1176.deſirous to be rid of their Sultan Oſman, pretended, and perſwaded the people, that he was Jaour, that is, an Infidel; and that he endeavoured to betray the Turkiſh Empire to Chriſtian dogs, May 18. 1622.
Verſ. 23. Shall not their cattel, &c.] Profit perſwades mightily with the multitude: They all look to their own way; Iſai. 56.11.every one for his gain from his quarter. Who Will ſhew us any good? is Vox populi. And who begs not attention, or inoculates not his faithful endeavour into his friends Creed and Belief, with a tale of utile!
Verſ. 24. And every male was circumciſed] Many have loſt their blood, and ſuffered ſo much trouble for their luſts, as, had it been for Religion, they had been Martyrs. But the Cauſe, and not the Puniſhment, makes the Martyr. Samſon and the Philistims died together; ſed diverſo fine ac fato. Multum intereſt, ſaith Auguſtine, & qualia quis, & qualis quiſque patiatur.
Verſ. 25. On the third day] Which is the worſt day, to thoſe that are wounded; the critical day, as the Chirurgeons call it. Wicked men are witty, to take their opportunity to act villany.
Verſ. 26. And they ſlew Hamor and Shechem] This is commended in Apocryphal Judith, Chap. 9.2, for zeal; which the Canonical Scripture condemneth for ſelf-will; and Iacob, on his death-bed, curſed it for cruelty, and bleſſed himſelf from their aſſembly, Gen. 49.6, 7. Queſt. But why doth he not more ſharply reprove it here? Anſw. Firſt, he conſidered Gods juſt judgement on the Shechemites; who, without the knowledge and faith of God, had profaned the Sacrament of Circumciſion. A ſin that God ſuffereth not to paſs without a ſenſible check, in his deareſt children; how much leſs in ſtrangers and enemies? The Donatiſts, 1 Cor. 11.29, 30that caſt the holy clements of the Lords Supper to dogs, were devoured of dogs. He that came without his wedding-garment, was taken from the table, to the tormenter. Secondly, Iacob gave place, for preſent, to his ſons rage and fury. Diſcretion in the choice of ſeaſons for reproving, is no leſs neceſſary, then zeal and faithfulneſs in reproving. Good Phyſitians uſe not to evacuate the body, in the extremities of heat and cold. Good Mariners do not hoiſe up ſail in every winde.
Verſ. 27. Becauſe they had defiled their ſiſter] So it was juſt in God, though unjuſt in the inſtruments; who were therefore curſed by Iacob; Gen. 49.7.but yet not rejected by God. His election is of free grace, and not of foreſeen faith or works.
Verſ. 28. They took their ſheep, &c.] One onelyonly ſinned, all ſuffered. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. All the Corinthians were tackt with, 1 Cor. 5.2, 6.and taxed for the inceſtuous mans offence, becauſe they bewailed it not, repreſſed it not. He knew what he did, that prayed for pardon of his other-mens-ſins.
Verſ. 29. And all their wealth] Or, power: For, in a mans wealth, is his power; yea, it is his tower of ſtrength, Prov. 18.10, 11. and ſo much he is valued at, as he is able to disburſe. See the Notes on Chap. 31.1. [And ſpoiled even all that was in the houſe] So dealt Minerius, at Merindol; Charles the fifth, at Magdeburg; the bloody Papiſts, at the Pariſian Maſſacre. But when the Lord came to make inquiſition for blood, Pſal. 9.12.he remembred them. He drew Articles of enquiry againſt them, as ſtrict, and as critical, as ever the Spaniſh Inquiſition; and dealt with them accordingly. Cambyſes lighting off his horſe, Juſtin.after he had been ſhewing great cruelty to them of Athens, his ſword flew out of the ſeabberd, and ſlew him. If theſe brethren in iniquity ſped better, they may thank a good God, whoſe terrour fell upon the adjacent Cities. For they did enough to undo, not themſelves onelyonly, but their father, and his whole family. It was good counſel to ſuch, that Tertullian gives to bloody Scapula; Si nobis non parcis, tibi parce: ſi non tibi, Carthageni: See thou undo not thy ſelf, and thy City, by thy cruelty to Chriſtians.
Verſ. 30. Cùm in auimo, tum in rationihus. Jun.Ye have troubled me] In minde, and ſtate: and many ſuch trouble-houſes and trouble-towns there are abroad: All places are full of them, and ſo is hell too. There God will trouble them another while, as he did Achan, Joſh. 7.25. when he will ſhew mercy to ſuch Iacobs, in whoſe families that is committed, that they abhor. Methe miſpar.[I being few in number] So the Saints were ever, a little flock, a poor few, to the many: Jewels, nothing ſo much in bulk, as lumber; ſtrangers, few, in reſpect of home dwellers; ſons of God, few, to common ſubjects. When Chriſt came to his own, Joh. 1.12. Joh. 1.his own received him not: He wondered at one good Nathaneel, and ſet an ecce upon him, as a rare bird.
Verſ. 31. Should he deal with our ſiſter as an harlot?] Why no: But ſhould you therefore ſpeak ſo big to your father, and deal ſo cruelly with your Confederates; whom you firſt cozened into a Covenant, and then baſely butchered, when not able to help themſelves? But anger is outragious, and forethinks not what will follow hereafter, or becomes a man for preſent. Bridle it therefore.