THE HOLY BIBLE
Douay-Rheims Version
Translated from the Latin Vulgate, the Official Bible of the
Catholic Church
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The Old Testament
The New Testament of Our Lord
The Books of the Holy Bible
===========================
The Old Testament
=================
Book of Genesis
Book of Exodus
Book of Leviticus
Book of Numbers
Book of Deuteronomy
Book of Josue
Book of Judges
Book of Ruth
First Book of Samuel, alias 1 Kings
Second Book of Samuel, alias 2 Kings
Third Book of Kings
Fourth Book of Kings
First Book of Paralipomenon
Second Book of Paralipomenon
First Book of Esdras
Book of Nehemias, alias 2 Esdras
Book of Tobias
Book of Judith
Book of Esther
Book of Job
Book of Psalms
Book of Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Solomon's Canticle of Canticles
Book of Wisdom
Ecclesiasticus
Prophecy of Isaias
Prophecy of Jeremias
Lamentations of Jeremias
Prophecy of Baruch
Prophecy of Ezechiel
Prophecy of Daniel
Prophecy of Osee
Prophecy of Joel
Prophecy of Amos
Prophecy of Abdias
Prophecy of Jonas
Prophecy of Micheas
Prophecy of Nahum
Prophecy of Habacuc
Prophecy of Sophonias
Prophecy of Aggeus
Prophecy of Zacharias
Prophecy of Malachias
First Book of Machabees
Second Book of Machabees
The New Testament
=================
Gospel According to St. Matthew
Gospel According to St. Mark
Gospel According to St. Luke
Gospel According to St. John
Acts of the Apostles
Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans
First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians
Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians
Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians
Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians
Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians
Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians
First Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians
Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians
First Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy
Second Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy
Epistle of St. Paul to Titus
Epistle of St. Paul to Philemon
Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews
Catholic Epistle of St. James the Apostle
First Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle
Second Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle
First Epistle of St. John the Apostle
Second Epistle of St. John the Apostle
Third Epistle of St. John the Apostle
Catholic Epistle of St. Jude the Apostle
Apocalypse of St. John the Apostle
THE OLD TESTAMENT
=================
*** THE BOOK OF GENESIS
This book is so called from its treating of the GENERATION, that
is, of the creation and the beginning of the world. The Hebrews
call it BERESITH, from the Word with which it begins. It
contains not only the history of the Creation of the world; but
also an account of its progress during the space of 2369 years,
that is, until the death of JOSEPH.
Chapter 1
God createth Heaven and Earth, and all things therein, in six
days.
1:1. In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.
1:2. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the
face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.
1:3. And God said: Be light made. And light was made.
1:4. And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the
light from the darkness.
1:5. And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night; and
there was evening and morning one day.
1:6. And God said: Let there be a firmament made amidst the
waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters.
A firmament. . .By this name is here understood the whole space
between the earth, and the highest stars. The lower part of
which divideth the waters that are upon the earth, from those
that are above in the clouds.
1:7. And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were
under the firmament, from those that were above the firmament,
and it was so.
1:8. And God called the firmament, Heaven; and the evening and
morning were the second day.
1:9. God also said; Let the waters that are under the heaven, be
gathered together into one place: and let the dry land appear.
And it was so done.
1:10. And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering
together of the waters, he called Seas. And God saw that it was
good.
1:11. And he said: let the earth bring forth green herb, and
such as may seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its
kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was
so done.
1:12. And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as
yieldeth seed according to its kind, and the tree that beareth
fruit, having seed each one according to its kind. And God saw
that it was good.
1:13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
1:14. And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of
heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for
signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:
1:15. To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon
the earth, and it was so done.
1:16. And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the
day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars.
Two great lights. . .God created on the first day, light, which
being moved from east to west, by its rising and setting, made
morning and evening. But on the fourth day he ordered and
distributed this light, and made the sun, moon, and stars. The
moon, though much less than the stars, is here called a great
light, from its giving a far greater light to the earth than any
of them.
1:17. And he set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon
the earth.
1:18. And to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light
and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
1:19. And the evening and morning were the fourth day.
1:20. God also said: let the waters bring forth the creeping
creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth
under the firmament of heaven.
1:21. And God created the great whales, and every living and
moving creature, which the waters brought forth, according to
their kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind. And
God saw that it was good.
1:22. And he blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and
fill the waters of the sea: and let the birds be multiplied upon
the earth.
1:23. And the evening and morning were the fifth day.
1:24. And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living
creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of
the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done.
1:25. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their
kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the earth
after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
1:26. And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness:
and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the
fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every
creeping creature that moveth upon the earth.
Let us make man to our image. . .This image of God in man, is not
in the body, but in the soul; which is a spiritual substance,
endued with understanding and free will. God speaketh here in
the plural number, to insinuate the plurality of persons in the
Deity.
1:27. And God created man to his own image: to the image of God
he created him: male and female he created them.
1:28. And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and
fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the
sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move
upon the earth.
Increase and multiply. . .This is not a precept, as some
Protestant controvertists would have it, but a blessing,
rendering them fruitful; for God had said the same words to the
fishes, and birds, (ver. 22) who were incapable of receiving a
precept.
1:29. And God said: Behold I have given you every herb bearing
seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves seed
of their own kind, to be your meat:
1:30. And to all beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the
air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein there is
life, that they may have to feed upon. And it was so done.
1:31. And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were
very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.
Genesis Chapter 2
God resteth on the seventh day and blesseth it. The earthly
paradise, in which God placeth man. He commandeth him not to eat
of the tree of knowledge. And formeth a woman of his rib.
2:1. So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the
furniture of them.
2:2. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made:
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had
done.
He rested, etc. . .That is, he ceased to make or create any new
kinds of things. Though, as our Lord tells us, John 5.17, "He
still worketh", viz., by conserving and governing all things, and
creating souls.
2:3. And he blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
2:4. These are the generations of the heaven and the earth, when
they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the heaven
and the earth:
2:5. And every plant of the field before it sprung up in the
earth, and every herb of the ground before it grew: for the Lord
God had not rained upon the earth; and there was not a man to
till the earth.
2:6. But a spring rose out of the earth, watering all the surface
of the earth.
2:7. And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and
breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a
living soul.
2:8. And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the
beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed.
2:9. And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of
trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life
also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good
and evil.
The tree of life. . .So called because it had that quality, that
by eating of the fruit of it, man would have been preserved in a
constant state of health, vigour, and strength, and would not
have died at all. The tree of knowledge. . .To which the
deceitful serpent falsely attributed the power of imparting a
superior kind of knowledge, beyond that which God was pleased to
give.
2:10. And a river went out of the place of pleasure to water
paradise, which from thence is divided into four heads.
2:11. The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth
all the land of Hevilath, where gold groweth.
2:12. And the gold of that land is very good: there is found
bdellium, and the onyx stone.
2:13. And the name of the second river is Gehon: the same is it
that compasseth all the land of Ethiopia.
2:14. And the name of the third river is Tigris: the same
passeth along by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is
Euphrates.
2:15. And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise of
pleasure, to dress it, and to keep it.
2:16. And he commanded him, saying: Of every tree of paradise
thou shalt eat:
2:17. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt
die the death.
2:18. And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone:
let us make him a help like unto himself.
2:19. And the Lord God having formed out of the ground all the
beasts of the earth, and all the fowls of the air, brought them
to Adam to see what he would call them: for whatsoever Adam
called any living creature the same is its name.
2:20. And Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the
fowls of the air, and all the cattle of the field: but for Adam
there was not found a helper like himself.
2:21. Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he
was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for
it.
2:22. And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into
a woman: and brought her to Adam.
2:23. And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of
my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of
man.
2:24. Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall
cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh.
2:25. And they were both naked: to wit, Adam and his wife: and
were not ashamed.
Genesis Chapter 3
The serpent's craft. The fall of our first parents. Their
punishment. The promise of a Redeemer.
3:1. Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of
the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman:
Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree
of paradise?
3:2. And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the
trees that are in paradise we do eat:
3:3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of
paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that
we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.
3:4. And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die
the death.
3:5. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat
thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods,
knowing good and evil.
3:6. And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to
the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband, who did eat.
3:7. And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they
perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves,
and made themselves aprons.
And the eyes, etc. . .Not that they were blind before, (for the
woman saw that the tree was fair to the eyes, ver. 6.) nor yet
that their eyes were opened to any more perfect knowledge of
good; but only to the unhappy experience of having lost the good
of original grace and innocence, and incurred the dreadful evil
of sin. From whence followed a shame of their being naked; which
they minded not before; because being now stript of original
grace, they quickly began to be subject to the shameful
rebellions of the flesh.
3:8. And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in
paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves
from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise.
3:9. And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art
thou?
3:10. And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was
afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.
3:11. And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast
naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded
thee that thou shouldst not eat?
3:12. And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my
companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
3:13. And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done
this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.
3:14. And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast
done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of
the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou
eat all the days of thy life.
3:15. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy
seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie
in wait for her heel.
She shall crush. . .Ipsa, the woman; so divers of the fathers
read this place, conformably to the Latin: others read it ipsum,
viz., the seed. The sense is the same: for it is by her seed,
Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent's head.
3:16. To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows,
and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children,
and thou shalt be under thy husband's power, and he shall have
dominion over thee.
3:17. And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the
voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I
commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth
in thy work: with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the
days of thy life.
3:18. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou
shalt eat the herbs of the earth.
3:19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou
return to the earth out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou
art, and into dust thou shalt return.
3:20. And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was
the mother of all the living.
3:21. And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of
skins, and clothed them.
3:22. And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing
good and evil: now therefore lest perhaps he put forth his hand
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.
Behold Adam, etc. . .This was spoken by way of reproaching him
with his pride, in affecting a knowledge that might make him like
to God.
3:23. And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure,
to till the earth from which he was taken.
3:24. And he cast out Adam: and placed before the paradise of
pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to
keep the way of the tree of life.
Genesis Chapter 4
The history of Cain and Abel.
4:1. And Adam knew Eve his wife; who conceived and brought forth
Cain, saying: I have gotten a man through God.
4:2. And again she brought forth his brother Abel. And Abel was
a shepherd, and Cain a husbandman.
4:3. And it came to pass after many days, that Cain offered, of
the fruits of the earth, gifts to the Lord.
4:4. Abel also offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of
their fat: and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his
offerings.
Had respect. . .That is, shewed his acceptance of his sacrifice
(as coming from a heart full of devotion): and that, as we may
suppose, by some visible token, such as sending fire from heaven
upon his offerings.
4:5. But to Cain and his offerings he had no respect: and Cain
was exceeding angry, and his countenance fell.
4:6. And the Lord said to him: Why art thou angry? and why is
thy countenance fallen?
4:7. If thou do well, shalt thou not receive? but if ill, shall
not sin forthwith be present at the door? but the lust thereof
shall be under thee, and thou shalt have dominion over it.
4:8. And Cain said to Abel his brother: Let us go forth abroad.
And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother
Abel, and slew him.
4:9. And the Lord said to Cain: Where is thy brother Abel? And
he answered: I know not: am I my brother's keeper?
4:10. And he said to him: What hast thou done? the voice of thy
brother's blood crieth to me from the earth.
4:11. Now therefore cursed shalt thou be upon the earth, which
hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at
thy hand.
4:12. When thou shalt till it, it shall not yield to thee its
fruit: a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon the earth.
4:13. And Cain said to the Lord: My iniquity is greater than
that I may deserve pardon.
4:14. Behold thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the
earth, and from thy face I shall be hid, and I shall be a
vagabond and a fugitive on the earth: every one therefore that
findeth me, shall kill me.
Every one that findeth me shall kill me. . .His guilty conscience
made him fear his own brothers and nephews; of whom, by this
time, there might be a good number upon the earth; which had now
endured near 130 years; as may be gathered from Gen. 5.3,
compared with chap. 4.25, though in the compendious account given
in the scriptures, only Cain and Abel are mentioned.
4:15. And the Lord said to him: No, it shall not so be: but
whosoever shall kill Cain, shall be punished sevenfold. And the
Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found him should not
kill him.
Set a mark, etc. . .The more common opinion of the interpreters
of holy writ supposes this mark to have been a trembling of the
body; or a horror and consternation in his countenance.
4:16. And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelt as a
fugitive on the earth at the east side of Eden.
4:17. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and brought
forth Henoch: and he built a city, and called the name thereof
by the name of his son Henoch.
His wife. . .She was a daughter of Adam, and Cain's own sister;
God dispensing with such marriages in the beginning of the world,
as mankind could not otherwise be propagated. He built a city,
viz. . .In process of time, when his race was multiplied, so as
to be numerous enough to people it. For in the many hundred
years he lived, his race might be multiplied even to millions.
4:18. And Henoch begot Irad, and Irad begot Maviael, and Maviael
begot Mathusael, and Mathusael begot Lamech,
4:19. Who took two wives: the name of the one was Ada, and the
name of the other Sella.
4:20. And Ada brought forth Jabel: who was the father of such as
dwell in tents, and of herdsmen.
4:21. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of
them that play upon the harp and the organs.
4:22. Sella also brought forth Tubalcain, who was a hammerer and
artificer in every work of brass and iron. And the sister of
Tubalcain was Noema.
4:23. And Lamech said to his wives Ada and Sella: Hear my voice,
ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech: for I have slain a man
to the wounding of myself, and a stripling to my own bruising.
I have slain a man, etc. . .It is the tradition of the Hebrews,
that Lamech in hunting slew Cain, mistaking him for a wild beast;
and that having discovered what he had done, he beat so
unmercifully the youth, by whom he was led into that mistake,
that he died of the blows.
4:24. Sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for Cain: but for
Lamech seventy times sevenfold.
4:25. Adam also knew his wife again: and she brought forth a
son, and called his name Seth, saying: God hath given me another
seed for Abel, whom Cain slew.
4:26. But to Seth also was born a son, whom he called Enos: this
man began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Began to call upon, etc. . .Not that Adam and Seth had not called
upon God, before the birth of Enos; but that Enos used more
solemnity in the worship and invocation of God.
Genesis Chapter 5
The genealogy, age, and death of the Patriarchs, from Adam to
Noe. The translation of Henoch.
5:1. This is the book of the generation of Adam. In the day that
God created man, he made him to the likeness of God.
5:2. He created them male and female; and blessed them: and
called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
5:3. And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son
to his own image and likeness, and called his name Seth.
5:4. And the days of Adam, after he begot Seth, were eight
hundred years: and he begot sons and daughters.
5:5. And all the time that Adam lived, came to nine hundred and
thirty years, and he died.
5:6. Seth also lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enos.
5:7. And Seth lived after he begot Enos, eight hundred and seven
years, and begot sons and daughters.
5:8. And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years,
and he died.
5:9. And Enos lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.
5:10. After whose birth he lived eight hundred and fifteen years,
and begot sons and daughters.
5:11. And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years,
and he died.
5:12. And Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Malaleel.
5:13. And Cainan lived after he begot Malaleel, eight hundred and
forty years, and begot sons and daughters.
5:14. And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years,
and he died.
5:15. And Malaleel lived sixty-five years and begot Jared.
5:16. And Malaleel lived after he begot Jared, eight hundred and
thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.
5:17. And all the days of Malaleel were eight hundred and ninety-
five years, and he died.
5:18. And Jared lived a hundred and sixty-two years, and begot
Henoch.
5:19. And Jared lived after he begot Henoch, eight hundred years,
and begot sons and daughters.
5:20. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two
years, and he died.
5:21. And Henoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Mathusala.
5:22. And Henoch walked with God: and lived after he begot
Mathusala, three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
5:23. And all the days of Henoch were three hundred and sixty-
five years.
5:24. And he walked with God, and was seen no more: because God
took him.
5:25. And Mathusala lived a hundred and eighty-seven years, and
begot Lamech.
5:26. And Mathlusala lived after he begot Lamech, seven hundred
and eighty-two years, and begot sons and daughters.
5:27. And all the days of Mathusala were nine hundred and sixty-
nine years, and he died.
5:28. And Lamech lived a hundred and eighty-two years, and begot
a son.
5:29. And he called his name Noe, saying: This same shall
comfort us from the works and labours of our hands on the earth,
which the Lord hath cursed.
5:30. And Lamech lived after he begot Noe, five hundred and
ninety-five years, and begot sons and daughters.
5:31. And all the days of Lamech came to seven hundred and
seventy-seven years, and he died. And Noe, when he was five
hundred years old, begot Sem, Cham, and Japheth.
Genesis Chapter 6
Man's sin is the cause of the deluge. Noe is commanded to build
the ark.
6:1. And after that men began to be multiplied upon the earth,
and daughters were born to them,
6:2. The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they were
fair, took to themselves wives of all which they chose.
The sons of God. . .The descendants of Seth and Enos are here
called sons of God from their religion and piety: whereas the
ungodly race of Cain, who by their carnal affections lay
grovelling upon the earth, are called the children of men. The
unhappy consequence of the former marrying with the latter, ought
to be a warning to Christians to be very circumspect in their
marriages; and not to suffer themselves to be determined in their
choice by their carnal passion, to the prejudice of virtue or
religion.
6:3. And God said: My spirit shall not remain in man for ever,
because he is flesh, and his days shall be a hundred and twenty
years.
His days shall be, etc. . .The meaning is, that man's days, which
before the flood were usually 900 years, should now be reduced to
120 years. Or rather, that God would allow men this term of 120
years, for their repentance and conversion, before he would send
the deluge.
6:4. Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the
sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought
forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown.
Giants. . .It is likely the generality of men before the flood
were of a gigantic stature in comparison with what men now are.
But these here spoken of are called giants, as being not only
tall in stature, but violent and savage in their dispositions,
and mere monsters of cruelty and lust.
6:5. And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the
earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil
at all times,
6:6. It repented him that he had made man on the earth. And
being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart,
It repented him, etc. . .God, who is unchangeable, is not capable
of repentance, grief, or any other passion. But these
expressions are used to declare the enormity of the sins of men,
which was so provoking as to determine their Creator to destroy
these his creatures, whom before he had so much favoured.
6:7. He said: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the
face of the earth, from man even to beasts, from the creeping
thing even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I
have made them.
6:8. But Noe found grace before the Lord.
6:9. These are the generations of Noe: Noe was a just and
perfect man in his generations, he walked with God.
6:10. And he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth.
6:11. And the earth was corrupted before God, and was filled with
iniquity.
6:12. And when God had seen that the earth was corrupted (for all
flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth),
6:13. He said to Noe: The end of all flesh is come before me,
the earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will
destroy them with the earth.
6:14. Make thee an ark of timber planks: thou shalt make little
rooms in the ark, and thou shalt pitch it within and without.
6:15. And thus shalt thou make it. The length of the ark shall
be three hundred cubits: the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the
height of it thirty cubits.
Three hundred cubits, etc. . .The ark, according to the
dimensions here set down, contained four hundred and fifty
thousand square cubits; which was more than enough to contain all
the kinds of living creatures, with all necessary provisions:
even supposing the cubits here spoken of to have been only a foot
and a half each, which was the least kind of cubits.
6:16. Thou shalt make a window in the ark, and in a cubit shalt
thou finish the top of it: and the door of the ark thou shalt
set in the side: with lower, middle chambers, and third stories
shalt thou make it.
6:17. Behold, I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the
earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life under
heaven. All things that are in the earth shall be consumed.
6:18. And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt
enter into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and the
wives of thy sons with thee.
6:19. And of every living creature of all flesh, thou shalt bring
two of a sort into the ark, that they may live with thee: of the
male sex, and the female.
6:20. Of fowls according to their kind, and of beasts in their
kind, and of every thing that creepeth on the earth according to
its kind: two of every sort shall go in with thee, that they may
live.
6:21. Thou shalt take unto thee of all food that may be eaten,
and thou shalt lay it up with thee: and it shall be food for
thee and them.
6:22. And Noe did all things which God commanded him.
Genesis Chapter 7
Noe with his family go into the ark. The deluge overflows the
earth.
7:1. And the Lord said to him: Go in, thou and all thy house,
into the ark: for thee I have seen just before me in this
generation.
7:2. Of all clean beasts take seven and seven, the male and the
female.
Of all clean. . .The distinction of clean and unclean beasts
appears to have been made before the law of Moses, which was not
promulgated till the year of the world 2514.
7:3. But of the beasts that are unclean two and two, the male and
the female. Of the fowls also of the air seven and seven, the
male and the female: that seed may be saved upon the face of the
whole earth.
7:4. For yet a while, and after seven days, I will rain upon the
earth forty days and forty nights: and I will destroy every
substance that I have made, from the face of the earth.
7:5. And Noe did all things which the Lord had commanded him.
7:6. And he was six hundred years old, when the waters of the
flood overflowed the earth.
7:7. And Noe went in and his sons, his wife and the wives of his
sons with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
7:8. And of beasts clean and unclean, and of fowls, and of every
thing that moveth upon the earth,
7:9. Two and two went in to Noe into the ark, male and female, as
the Lord had commanded Noe.
7:10. And after the seven days were passed, the waters of the
flood overflowed the earth.
7:11. In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second
month, in the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of
the great deep were broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were
opened:
7:12. And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty
nights.
7:13. In the selfsame day Noe, and Sem, and Cham, and Japheth,
his sons: his wife, and the three wives of his sons with them,
went into the ark.
7:14. They and every beast according to its kind, and all the
cattle in their kind, and every thing that moveth upon the earth,
according to its kind, and every fowl according to its kind, all
birds, and all that fly,
7:15. Went in to Noe into the ark, two and two of all flesh,
wherein was the breath of life.
7:16. And they that went in, went in male and female of all
flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in on the
outside.
7:17. And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the
waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the earth.
7:18. For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the
face of the earth: and the ark was carried upon the waters.
7:19. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the earth:
and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.
7:20. The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains
which it covered.
7:21. And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth, both
of fowl and of cattle, and of beasts, and of all creeping things
that creep upon the earth: and all men.
7:22. And all things wherein there is the breath of life on the
earth, died.
7:23. And he destroyed all the substance that was upon the earth,
from man even to beast, and the creeping things and fowls of the
air: and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noe only
remained, and they that were with him in the ark.
7:24. And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty
days.
Genesis Chapter 8
The deluge ceaseth. Noe goeth out of the ark, and offereth a
sacrifice. God's covenant to him.
8:1. And God remembered Noe, and all the living creatures, and
all the cattle which were with him in the ark, and brought a wind
upon the earth, and the waters were abated:
8:2. The fountains also of the deep, and the floodgates of
heaven, were shut up, and the rain from heaven was restrained.
8:3. And the waters returned from off the earth going and coming:
and they began to be abated after a hundred and fifty days.
8:4. And the ark rested in the seventh month, the seven and
twentieth day of the month, upon the mountains of Armenia.
8:5. And the waters were going and decreasing until the tenth
month: for in the tenth month, the first day of the month, the
tops of the mountains appeared.
8:6. And after that forty days were passed, Noe opening the
window of the ark, which he had made, sent forth a raven:
8:7. Which went forth and did not return, till the waters were
dried up upon the earth.
Did not return. . .The raven did not return into the ark; but (as
it may be gathered from the Hebrew) went to and fro; sometimes
going to the mountains, where it found carcasses to feed on: and
other times returning, to rest upon the top of the ark.
8:8. He sent forth also a dove after him, to see if the waters
had now ceased upon the face of the earth.
8:9. But she not finding where her foot might rest, returned to
him into the ark: for the waters were upon the whole earth: and
he put forth his hand, and caught her, and brought her into the
ark.
8:10. And having waited yet seven other days, he again sent forth
the dove out of the ark.
8:11. And she came to him in the evening carrying a bough of an
olive tree, with green leaves, in her mouth. Noe therefore
understood that the waters were ceased upon the earth.
8:12. And he stayed yet other seven days: and he sent forth the
dove, which returned not any more unto him.
8:13. Therefore in the six hundredth and first year, the first
month, the first day of the month, the waters were lessened upon
the earth, and Noe opening the covering of the ark, looked, and
saw that the face of the earth was dried.
8:14. In the second month, the seven and twentieth day of the
month, the earth was dried.
8:15. And God spoke to Noe, saying:
8:16. Go out of the ark, thou and thy wife, thy sons and the
wives of thy sons with thee.
8:17. All living things that are with thee of all flesh, as well
in fowls as in beasts, and all creeping things that creep upon
the earth, bring out with thee, and go ye upon the earth:
increase and multiply upon it.
8:18. So Noe went out, he and his sons: his wife, and the wives
of his sons with him.
8:19. And all living things, and cattle, and creeping things that
creep upon the earth, according to their kinds went out of the
ark.
8:20. And Noe built an altar unto the Lord: and taking of all
cattle and fowls that were clean, offered holocausts upon the
altar.
Holocausts,. . .or whole burnt offerings. In which the whole
victim was consumed by fire upon God's altar, and no part was
reserved for the use of priest or people.
8:21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour, and said: I will no
more curse the earth for the sake of man: for the imagination
and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his youth:
therefore I will no more destroy every living soul as I have
done.
Smelled, etc. . .A figurative expression, denoting that God was
well pleased with the sacrifices which his servant offered.
8:22. All the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and
heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not cease.
Genesis Chapter 9
God blesseth Noe: forbiddeth blood, and promiseth never more to
destroy the world by water. The blessing of Sem and Japheth.
9:1. And God blessed Noe and his sons. And he said to them:
Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth.
9:2. And let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts of
the earth, and upon all the fowls of the air, and all that move
upon the earth: all the fishes of the sea are delivered into
your hand.
9:3. And every thing that moveth, and liveth shall be meat for
you: even as the green herbs have I delivered them all to you:
9:4. Saving that flesh with blood you shall not eat.
9:5. For I will require the blood of your lives at the hand of
every beast, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man,
and of his brother, will I require the life of man.
9:6. Whosoever shall shed man's blood, his blood shall be shed:
for man was made to the image of God.
9:7. But increase you and multiply, and go upon the earth and
fill it.
9:8. Thus also said God to Noe, and to his sons with him:
9:9. Behold I will establish my covenant with you, and with your
seed after you:
9:10. And with every living soul that is with you, as well in all
birds, as in cattle and beasts of the earth, that are come forth
out of the ark, and in all the beasts of the earth.
9:11. I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall
be no more destroyed with the waters of a flood, neither shall
there be from henceforth a flood to waste the earth.
9:12. And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I
give between me and you, and to every living soul that is with
you, for perpetual generations.
9:13. I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign
of a covenant between me and between the earth.
9:14. And when I shall cover the sky with clouds, my bow shall
appear in the clouds:
9:15. And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every
living soul that beareth flesh: and there shall no more be
waters of a flood to destroy all flesh.
9:16. And the bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it, and
shall remember the everlasting covenant, that was made between
God and every living soul of all flesh which is upon the earth.
9:17. And God said to Noe: This shall be the sign of the
covenant, which I have established, between me and all flesh upon
the earth.
9:18. And the sons of Noe, who came out of the ark, were Sem,
Cham, and Japheth: and Cham is the father of Chanaan.
9:19. These three are the sons of Noe: and from these was all
mankind spread over the whole earth.
9:20. And Noe a husbandman began to till the ground, and planted
a vineyard.
9:21. And drinking of the wine was made drunk, and was uncovered
in his tent.
Drunk. . .Noe by the judgment of the fathers was not guilty of
sin, in being overcome by wine: because he knew not the strength
of it.
9:22. Which when Cham the father of Chanaan had seen, to wit,
that his father's nakedness was uncovered, he told it to his two
brethren without.
9:23. But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and
going backward, covered the nakedness of their father: and their
faces were turned away, and they saw not their father's
nakedness.
Covered the nakedness. . .Thus, as St. Gregory takes notice L.
35; Moral. c. 22, we ought to cover the nakedness, that is, the
sins, of our spiritual parents and superiors.
9:24. And Noe awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his
younger son had done to him,
9:25. He said: Cursed be Chanaan, a servant of servants shall he
be unto his brethren.
Cursed be Chanaan. . .The curses, as well as the blessings, of
the patriarchs, were prophetical: And this in particular is here
recorded by Moses, for the children of Israel, who were to
possess the land of Chanaan. But why should Chanaan be cursed
for his father's faults? The Hebrews answer, that he being then
a boy, was the first that saw his grandfather's nakedness, and
told his father Cham of it; and joined with him in laughing at
it: which drew upon him, rather than upon the rest of the
children of Cham, this prophetical curse.
9:26. And he said: Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, be Chanaan
his servant.
9:27. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of
Sem, and Chanaan be his servant.
9:28. And Noe lived after the flood three hundred and fifty
years.
9:29. And all his days were in the whole nine hundred and fifty
years: and he died.
Genesis Chapter 10
The genealogy of the children of Noe, by whom the world was
peopled after the flood.
10:1. These are the generations of the sons of Noe: Sem, Cham,
and Japheth: and unto them sons were born after the flood.
10:2. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and
Javan, and Thubal, and Mosoch, and Thiras.
10:3. And the sons of Gomer: Ascenez and Riphath and Thogorma.
10:4. And the sons of Javan: Elisa and Tharsis, Cetthim and
Dodanim.
10:5. By these were divided the islands of the Gentiles in their
lands, every one according to his tongue and their families in
their nations.
The islands. . .So the Hebrews called all the remote countries,
to which they went by ships from Judea, to Greece, Italy, Spain,
etc.
10:6. And the Sons of Cham: Chus, and Mesram, and Phuth, and
Chanaan.
10:7. And the sons of Chus: Saba, and Hevila, and Sabatha, and
Regma, and Sabatacha. The sons of Regma: Saba, and Dadan.
10:8. Now Chus begot Nemrod: he began to be mighty on the earth.
10:9. And he was a stout hunter before the Lord. Hence came a
proverb: Even as Nemrod the stout hunter before the Lord.
A stout hunter. . .Not of beasts but of men: whom by violence
and tyranny he brought under his dominion. And such he was, not
only in the opinion of men, but before the Lord, that is, in his
sight who cannot be deceived.
10:10. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Arach,
and Achad, and Chalanne in the land of Sennaar.
10:11. Out of that land came forth Assur, and built Ninive, and
the streets of the city, and Chale.
10:12. Resen also between Ninive and Chale: this is the great
city.
10:13. And Mesraim begot Ludim, and Anamim and Laabim, Nephthuim.
10:14. And Phetrusim, and Chasluim; of whom came forth the
Philistines, and the Capthorim.
10:15. And Chanaan begot Sidon his firstborn, the Hethite,
10:16. And the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite, and the Gergesite.
10:17. The Hevite and Aracite: the Sinite,
10:18. And the Aradian, the Samarite, and the Hamathite: and
afterwards the families of the Chanaanites were spread abroad.
10:19. And the limits of Chanaan were from Sidon as one comes to
Gerara even to Gaza, until thou enter Sodom and Gomorrha, and
Adama, and Seboim even to Lesa.
10:20. These are the children of Cham in their kindreds and
tongues, and generations, and lands, and nations.
10:21. Of Sem also the father of all the children of Heber, the
elder brother of Japheth, sons were born.
10:22. The sons of Sem: Elam and Assur, and Arphaxad, and Lud,
and Aram.
10:23. The sons of Aram: Us, and Hull, and Gether; and Mes.
10:24. But Arphaxad begot Sale, of whom was born Heber.
10:25. And to Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was
Phaleg, because in his days was the earth divided: and his
brother's name Jectan.
10:26. Which Jectan begot Elmodad, and Saleph, and Asarmoth,
Jare,
10:27. And Aduram, and Uzal, and Decla,
10:28. And Ebal, and Abimael, Saba,
10:29. And Ophir, and Hevila, and Jobab. All these were the sons
of Jectan.
10:30. And their dwelling was from Messa as we go on as far as
Sephar, a mountain in the east.
10:31. These are the children of Sem according to their kindreds
and tongues, and countries in their nations.
10:32. These are the families of Noe, according to their people
and nations. By these were the nations divided on the earth
after the flood.
Genesis Chapter 11
The tower of Babel. The confusion of tongues. The genealogy of
Sem down to Abram.
11:1. And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.
11:2. And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in
the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.
11:3. And each one said to his neighbour: Come let us make
brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of
stones, and slime instead of mortar:
11:4. And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the
top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous
before we be scattered abroad into all lands.
11:5. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which
the children of Adam were building.
11:6. And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one
tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave
off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.
11:7. Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound
their tongue, that they may not understand one another's speech.
11:8. And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all
lands, and they ceased to build the city.
11:9. And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because
there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from
thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all
countries.
Babel. . .That is, confusion.
11:10. These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years
old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood.
11:11. And Sem lived after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years,
and begot sons and daughters.
11:12. And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale.
11:13. And Arphaxad lived after he begot Sale, three hundred and
three years, and begot sons and daughters.
11:14. Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber.
11:15. And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hundred and
three years: and begot sons and daughters.
11:16. And Heber lived thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg.
11:17. And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and
thirty years: and begot sons and daughters.
11:18. Phaleg also lived thirty years, and begot Reu.
11:19. And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hundred and nine
years, and begot sons and daughters.
11:20. And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Sarug.
11:21. And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hundred and seven
years, and begot sons and daughters.
11:22. And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Nachor.
11:23. And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two hundred years,
and begot sons and daughters.
11:24. And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Thare.
11:25. And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and
nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.
11:26. And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and
Nachor, and Aran.
11:27. And these are the generations of Thare: Thare begot
Abram, Nachor, and Aran. And Aran begot Lot.
11:28. And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his
nativity in Ur of the Chaldees.
11:29. And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram's
wife was Sarai: and the name of Nachor's wife, Melcha, the
daughter of Aran, father of Melcha and father of Jescha.
11:30. And Sarai was barren, and had no children.
11:31. And Thare took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Aran, his
son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, the wife of Abram his
son, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the
land of Chanaan: and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there.
11:32. And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years, and
he died in Haran.
Genesis Chapter 12
The call of Abram, and the promise made to him. He sojourneth in
Chanaan, and then by occasion of a famine, goeth down to Egypt.
12:1. And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country,
and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come
into the land which I shall shew thee.
12:2. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed.
12:3. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that
curse thee, and IN THEE shall all the kindreds of the earth be
blessed.
12:4. So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot
went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went
forth from Haran.
12:5. And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and
all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which
they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land
of Chanaan. And when they were come into it,
12:6. Abram passed through the country unto the place of Sichem,
as far as the noble vale: now the Chanaanite was at that time in
the land.
12:7. And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy
seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the
Lord, who had appeared to him.
12:8. And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the
east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having Bethel on
the west, and Hai on the east: he built there also an altar to
the Lord, and called upon his name.
12:9. And Abram went forward, going and proceeding on to the
south.
12:10. And there came a famine in the country: and Abram went
down into Egypt, to sojourn there: for the famine was very
grievous in the land.
12:11. And when he was near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai
his wife: I know that thou art a beautiful woman:
12:12. And that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say:
She is his wife: and they will kill me, and keep thee.
12:13. Say, therefore, I pray thee, that thou art my sister:
that I may be well used for thee, and that my soul may live for
thy sake.
My sister. . .This was no lie; because she was his niece, being
daughter to his brother Aran, and therefore, in the style of the
Hebrews, she might truly be called his sister, as Lot is called
Abram's brother, Gen. 14.14. See Gen. 20.12.
12:14. And when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the
woman that she was very beautiful.
12:15. And the princes told Pharao, and praised her before him:
and the woman was taken into the house of Pharao.
12:16. And they used Abram well for her sake. And he had sheep
and oxen and he asses, and men servants, and maid servants, and
she asses, and camels.
12:17. But the Lord scourged Pharao and his house with most
grievous stripes for Sarai, Abram's wife.
12:18. And Pharao called Abram, and said to him: What is this
that thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell me that she
was thy wife?
12:19. For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I
might take her to my wife? Now therefore there is thy wife, take
her, and go thy way.
12:20. And Pharao gave his men orders concerning Abram: and they
led him away and his wife, and all that he had.
Genesis Chapter 13
Abram and Lot part from each other. God's promise to Abram.
13:1. And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all
that he had, and Lot with him into the south.
13:2. And he was very rich in possession of gold and silver.
13:3. And he returned by the way, that he came, from the south to
Bethel, to the place where before he had pitched his tent between
Bethel and Hai,
13:4. In the place of the altar which he had made before, and
there he called upon the name of the Lord.
13:5. But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and
herds of beasts, and tents.
13:6. Neither was the land able to bear them, that they might
dwell together: for their substance was great, and they could
not dwell together.
13:7. Whereupon also there arose a strife between the herdsmen of
Abram and of Lot. And at that time the Chanaanite and the
Pherezite dwelled in that country.
13:8. Abram therefore said to Lot: Let there be no quarrel, I
beseech thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and
thy herdsmen: for we are brethren.
13:9. Behold the whole land is before thee: depart from me, I
pray thee: if thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take the
right: if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left.
13:10. And Lot lifting up his eyes, saw all the country about the
Jordan, which was watered throughout, before the Lord destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrha, as the paradise of the Lord, and like Egypt
as one comes to Segor.
13:11. And Lot chose to himself the country about the Jordan, and
he departed from the east: and they were separated one brother
from the other.
13:12. Abram dwelt in the land of Chanaan: and Lot abode in the
towns, that were about the Jordan, and dwelt in Sodom.
13:13. And the men of Sodom were very wicked, and sinners before
the face of the Lord beyond measure.
13:14. And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from
him: Lift up thy eyes, and look from the place wherein thou now
art, to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west.
13:15. All the land which thou seest, I will give to thee, and to
thy seed for ever.
13:16. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: if any
man be able to number the dust of the earth, he shall be able to
number thy seed also.
13:17. Arise and walk through the land in the length, and the
breadth thereof: for I will give it to thee.
13:18. So Abram removing his tent, came, and dwelt by the vale of
Mambre, which is in Hebron: and he built there an altar to the
Lord.
Genesis Chapter 14
The expedition of the four kings; the victory of Abram; he is
blessed by Melchisedech.
14:1. And it came to pass at that time, that Amraphel, king of
Sennaar, and Arioch, king of Pontus, and Chodorlahomor, king of
the Elamites, and Thadal, king of nations,
14:2. Made war against Bara, king of Sodom, and against Bersa,
king of Gomorrha, and against Sennaab, king of Adama, and against
Semeber, king of Seboim, and against the king of Bala, which is
Segor.
14:3. All these came together into the woodland vale, which now
is the salt sea.
14:4. For they had served Chodorlahomor twelve years, and in the
thirteenth year they revolted from him.
14:5. And in the fourteenth year came Chodorlahomor, and the
kings that were with him: and they smote the Raphaim in
Astarothcarnaim, and the Zuzim with them, and the Emim in Save of
Cariathaim.
14:6. And the Chorreans in the mountains of Seir, even to the
plains of Pharan, which is in the wilderness.
14:7. And they returned, and came to the fountain of Misphat, the
same is Cades: and they smote all the country of the Amalecites,
and the Amorrhean that dwelt in Asasonthamar.
14:8. And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha, and the
king of Adama, and the king of Seboim, and the king of Bala,
which is Segor, went out: and they set themselves against them
in battle array, in the woodland vale:
14:9. To wit, against Chodorlahomor king of the Elamites, and
Thadal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Sennaar, and Arioch
king of Pontus: four kings against five.
14:10. Now the woodland vale had many pits of slime. And the
king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha turned their backs, and
were overthrown there: and they that remained, fled to the
mountain.
Of slime. Bituminis. . .This was a kind of pitch, which served
for mortar in the building of Babel, Gen. 11.3, and was used by
Noe in pitching the ark.
14:11. And they took all the substance of the Sodomites, and
Gomorrhites, and all their victuals, and went their way:
14:12. And Lot also, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in
Sodom, and his substance.
14:13. And behold one, that had escaped, told Abram the Hebrew,
who dwelt in the vale of Mambre the Amorrhite, the brother of
Escol, and the brother of Aner: for these had made a league with
Abram.
14:14. Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that his brother Lot
was taken, he numbered of the servants born in his house, three
hundred and eighteen, well appointed: and pursued them to Dan.
14:15. And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the
night, and defeated them: and pursued them as far as Hoba, which
is on the left hand of Damascus.
14:16. And he brought back all the substance, and Lot his
brother, with his substance, the women also, and the people.
14:17. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he
returned from the slaughter of Chodorlahomor, and of the kings
that were with him in the vale of Save, which is the king's vale.
14:18. But Melchisedech, the king of Salem, bringing forth bread
and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God,
14:19. Blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram by the most high
God, who created heaven and earth.
14:20. And blessed be the most high God, by whose protection, the
enemies are in thy hands. And he gave him the tithes of all.
14:21. And the king of Sodom said to Abram: Give me the persons,
and the rest take to thyself.
14:22. And he answered him: I lift up my hand to the Lord God
the most high, the possessor of heaven and earth,
14:23. That from the very woof thread unto the shoe latchet, I
will not take of any things that are thine, lest thou say: I
have enriched Abram.
14:24. Except such things as the young men have eaten, and the
shares of the men that came with me, Aner, Escol, and Mambre:
these shall take their shares.
Genesis Chapter 15
God promiseth seed to Abram. His faith, sacrifice and vision.
15:1. Now when these things were done, the word of the Lord came
to Abram by a vision, saying: Fear not, Abram, I am thy
protector, and thy reward exceeding great.
15:2. And Abram said: Lord God, what wilt thou give me? I shall
go without children: and the son of the steward of my house is
this Damascus Eliezer.
15:3. And Abram added: But to me thou hast not given seed: and
lo my servant born in my house, shall be my heir.
15:4. And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying :
He shall not be thy heir: but he that shall come out of thy
bowels, him shalt thou have for thy heir.
15:5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up
to heaven and number the stars if thou canst. And he said to
him: So shall thy seed be.
15:6. Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.
15:7. And he said to him: I am the Lord who brought thee out
from Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land, and that thou
mightest possess it.
15:8. But he said: Lord God, whereby may I know that I shall
possess it?
15:9. And the Lord answered, and said: Take me a cow of three
years old, and a she-goat of three years. and a ram of three
years, a turtle also, and a pigeon.
15:10. And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and
laid the two pieces of each one against the other: but the birds
he divided not.
15:11. And the fowls came down upon the carcasses, and Abram
drove them away.
15:12. And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon
Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him.
15:13. And it was said unto him: Know thou beforehand that thy
seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall
bring them under bondage, and afflict them four hundred years.
15:14. But I will judge the nation which they shall serve, and
after this they shall come out with great substance.
15:15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried
in a good old age.
15:16. But in the fourth generation they shall return hither:
for as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not at the full
until this present time.
15:17. And when the sun was set, there arose a dark mist, and
there appeared a smoking furnace, and a lamp of fire passing
between those divisions.
15:18. That day God made a covenant with Abram, saying: To thy
seed will I give this land, from the river to Egypt even to the
great river Euphrates.
15:19. The Cineans, and Cenezites, the Cedmonites,
15:20. And the Hethites, and the Pherezites, the Raphaim also,
15:21. And the Amorrhites, and the Chanaanites, and the
Gergesites, and the Jebusites.
Genesis Chapter 16
Abram marrieth Agar, who bringeth forth Ismael.
16:1. Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had brought forth no
children: but having a handmaid, an Egyptian, named Agar,
16:2. She said to her husband: Behold, the Lord hath restrained
me from bearing: go in unto my handmaid, it may be I may have
children of her at least. And when he agreed to her request,
16:3. She took Agar the Egyptian her handmaid, ten years after
they first dwelt in the land of Chanaan, and gave her to her
husband to wife.
To wife. . .Plurality of wives, though contrary to the primitive
institution of marriage, Gen. 2.24, was by divine dispensation
allowed to the patriarchs: which allowance seems to have
continued during the time of the law of Moses. But Christ our
Lord reduced marriage to its primitive institution. Matt. 19.
16:4. And he went in to her. But she perceiving that she was
with child, despised her mistress.
16:5. And Sarai said to Abram: Thou dost unjustly with me: I
gave my handmaid into thy bosom, and she perceiving herself to be
with child, despiseth me. The Lord judge between me and thee.
16:6. And Abram made answer, and said to her: Behold thy
handmaid is in thy own hand, use her as it pleaseth thee. And
when Sarai afflicted her, she ran away.
16:7. And the angel of the Lord having found her, by a fountain
of water in the wilderness, which is in the way to Sur in the
desert,
16:8. He said to her: Agar, handmaid of Sarai, whence comest
thou? and whither goest thou? And she answered: I flee from
the face of Sarai, my mistress.
16:9. And the angel of the Lord said to her: Return to thy
mistress, and humble thyself under her hand.
16:10. And again he said: I will multiply thy seed exceedingly,
and it shall not be numbered for multitude.
16:11. And again: Behold, said he, thou art with child, and thou
shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Ismael,
because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.
16:12. He shall be a wild man: his hand will be against all men,
and all men's hands against him: and he shall pitch his tents
over against all his brethren.
16:13. And she called the name of the Lord that spoke unto her:
Thou the God who hast seen me. For she said: Verily, here have
I seen the hinder parts of him that seeth me.
16:14. Therefore she called that well, the well of him that
liveth and seeth me. The same is between Cades and Barad.
16:15. And Agar brought forth a son to Abram: who called his
name Ismael.
16:16. Abram was four score and six years old when Agar brought
him forth Ismael.
Genesis Chapter 17
The Covenant of circumcision.
17:1. And after he began to be ninety and nine years old, the
Lord appeared to him: and said unto him: I am the Almighty God:
walk before me, and be perfect.
17:2. And I will make my covenant between me and thee: and I
will multiply thee exceedingly.
17:3. Abram fell flat on his face.
17:4. And God said to him: I am, and my covenant is with thee,
and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
17:5. Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram: but thou
shalt be called Abraham: because I have made thee a father of
many nations.
Abram. . .in the Hebrew, signifies a high father: but Abraham,
the father of the multitude; Sarai signifies my Lady, but Sara
absolutely Lady.
17:6. And I will make thee increase exceedingly, and I will make
nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
17:7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and
between thy seed after thee in their generations, by a perpetual
covenant: to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee.
17:8. And I will give to thee, and to thy seed, the land of thy
sojournment, all the land of Chanaan, for a perpetual possession,
and I will be their God.
17:9. Again God said to Abraham: And thou therefore shalt keep
my covenant, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
17:10. This is my covenant which you shall observe between me and
you, and thy seed after thee: All the male-kind of you shall be
circumcised.
17:11. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, that
it may be for a sign of the covenant between me and you.
17:12. An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among
you, every manchild in your generations: he that is born in the
house, as well as the bought servant, shall be circumcised, and
whosoever is not of your stock:
17:13. And my covenant shall be in your flesh for a perpetual
covenant.
17:14. The male whose flesh of his foreskin shall not be
circumcised, that soul shall be destroyed out of his people:
because he hath broken my covenant.
17:15. God said also to Abraham: Sarai thy wife thou shalt not
call Sarai, but Sara.
17:16. And I will bless her, and of her I will give thee a son,
whom I will bless, and he shall become nations, and kings of
people shall spring from him.
17:17. Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, saying in his
heart: Shall a son, thinkest thou, be born to him that is a
hundred years old? and shall Sara that is ninety years old bring
forth?
17:18. And he said to God: O that Ismael may live before thee.
17:19. And God said to Abraham: Sara thy wife shall bear thee a
son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will establish my
covenant with him for a perpetual covenant, and with his seed
after him.
17:20. And as for Ismael I have also heard thee. Behold, I will
bless him, and increase, and multiply him exceedingly: he shall
beget twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.
17:21. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara
shall bring forth to thee at this time in the next year.
17:22. And when he had left off speaking with him, God went up
from Abraham.
17:23. And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in
his house: and all whom he had bought, every male among the men
of his house: and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin
forthwith the very same day, as God had commanded him.
17:24. Abraham was ninety and nine years old, when he circumcised
the flesh of his foreskin.
17:25. And Ismael his son was full thirteen years old at the time
of his circumcision.
17:26. The self-same day was Abraham circumcised and Ismael his
son.
17:27. And all the men of his house, as well they that were born
in his house, as the bought servants and strangers, were
circumcised with him.
Genesis Chapter 18
Angels are entertained by Abraham. They foretell the birth of
Isaac. Abraham's prayer for the men of Sodom.
18:1. And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he
was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day.
18:2. And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him
three men standing near to him: and as soon as he saw them, he
ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to
the ground.
18:3. And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight,
pass not away from thy servant.
18:4. But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and
rest ye under the tree.
18:5. And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your
heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come
aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken.
18:6. Abraham made haste into the tent to Sara, and said to her:
Make haste, temper together three measures of flour, and make
cakes upon the hearth.
18:7. And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a
calf, very tender and very good, and gave it to a young man, who
made haste and boiled it.
18:8. He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had
boiled, and set before them: but he stood by them under the
tree.
18:9. And when they had eaten, they said to him: Where is Sara
thy wife? He answered: Lo she is in the tent.
18:10. And he said to him: I will return and come to thee at
this time, life accompanying, and Sara, thy wife, shall have a
son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the
tent.
18:11. Now they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it
had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of women.
18:12. And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old,
and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to pleasure?
18:13. And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sara laugh, saying:
Shall I, who am an old woman, bear a child indeed?
18:14. Is there any thing hard to God? According to appointment
I will return to thee at this same time, life accompanying, and
Sara shall have a son.
18:15. Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was
afraid. But the Lord said: Nay; but thou didst laugh.
18:16. And when the men rose up from thence, they turned their
eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing them
on the way.
18:17. And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am
about to do:
18:18. Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in
him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed?
18:19. For I know that he will command his children, and his
household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment
and justice: that for Abraham's sake, the Lord may bring to
effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.
18:20. And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is
multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.
18:21. I will go down and see whether they have done according to
the cry that is come to me; or whether it be not so, that I may
know.
I will go down, etc. . .The Lord here accommodates his discourse
to the way of speaking and acting amongst men; for he knoweth all
things, and needeth not to go anywhere for information. Note
here, that two of the three angels went away immediately for
Sodom; whilst the third, who represented the Lord, remained with
Abraham.
18:22. And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way
to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord.
18:23. And drawing nigh, he said: Wilt thou destroy the just
with the wicked?
18:24. If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish
withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the
fifty just, if they be therein?
18:25. Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just
with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the
wicked; this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the
earth, wilt not make this judgment.
18:26. And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just
within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.
18:27. And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun,
I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.
18:28. What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt
thou for five and forty destroy the whole city: And he said: I
will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.
18:29. And again he said to him: But if forty be found there,
what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake
of forty.
18:30. Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak:
What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do
it, if I find thirty there.
18:31. Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my
Lord: What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not
destroy it for the sake of twenty.
18:32. I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak
yet once more: What if ten shall be found there? And he said:
I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.
18:33. And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to
Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.
Genesis Chapter 19
Lot, entertaining Angels in his house, is delivered from Sodom,
which is destroyed: his wife for looking back is turned into a
statue of salt.
19:1. And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot
was sitting in the gate of the city. And seeing them, he rose up
and went to meet them: and worshipped prostrate to the ground.
19:2. And said: I beseech you, my lords, turn in to the house of
your servant, and lodge there: wash your feet, and in the
morning you shall go on your way. And they said: No, but we
will abide in the street.
19:3. He pressed them very much to turn in unto him: and when
they were come into his house, he made them a feast, and baked
unleavened bread, and they ate:
19:4. But before they went to bed, the men of the city beset the
house, both young and old, all the people together.
19:5. And they called Lot, and said to him: Where are the men
that came in to thee at night? bring them out hither, that we
may know them:
19:6. Lot went out to them, and shut the door after him, and
said:
19:7. Do not so, I beseech you, my brethren, do not commit this
evil.
19:8. I have two daughters who, as yet, have not known man; I
will bring them out to you, and abuse you them as it shall please
you, so that you do no evil to these men, because they are come
in under the shadow of my roof.
19:9. But they said: Get thee back thither. And again: Thou
camest in, said they, as a stranger, was it to be a judge?
therefore we will afflict thee more than them. And they pressed
very violently upon Lot: and they were even at the point of
breaking open the doors.
19:10. And behold the men put out their hand, and drew in Lot
unto them, and shut the door.
19:11. And them, that were without, they struck with blindness
from the least to the greatest, so that they could not find the
door.
19:12. And they said to Lot: Hast thou here any of thine? son
in law, or sons, or daughters, all that are thine bring them out
of this city:
19:13. For we will destroy this place, because their cry is grown
loud before the Lord, who hath sent us to destroy them.
19:14. So Lot went out, and spoke to his sons in law that were to
have his daughters, and said: Arise: get you out of this place,
because the Lord will destroy this city. And he seemed to them
to speak as it were in jest.
19:15. And when it was morning, the angels pressed him, saying:
Arise, take thy wife, and the two daughters that thou hast: lest
thou also perish in the wickedness of the city.
19:16. And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of
his wife, and of his two daughters, because the Lord spared him.
19:17. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city:
and there they spoke to him, saying: Save thy life: look not
back, neither stay thou in all the country about: but save thy
self in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed.
19:18. And Lot said to them: I beseech thee, my Lord,
19:19. Because thy servant hath found grace before thee, and thou
hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewn to me, in saving
my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil
seize me, and I die.
19:20. There is this city here at hand, to which I may flee, it
is a little one, and I shall be saved in it: is it not a little
one, and my soul shall live?
19:21. And he said to him: Behold also in this, I have heard thy
prayers, not to destroy the city for which thou hast spoken.
19:22. Make haste, and be saved there: because I cannot do any
thing till thou go in thither. Therefore the name of that city
was called Segor.
Segor. . .That is, a little one.
19:23. The sun was risen upon the earth, and Lot entered into
Segor.
19:24. And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and
fire from the Lord out of heaven.
19:25. And he destroyed these cities, and all the country about,
all the inhabitants of the cities, and all things that spring
from the earth.
19:26. And his wife looking behind her, was turned into a statue
of salt.
And his wife. . .As a standing memorial to the servants of God to
proceed in virtue, and not to look back to vice or its
allurements.
19:27. And Abraham got up early in the morning, and in the place
where he had stood before with the Lord:
19:28. He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha, and the whole land
of that country: and he saw the ashes rise up from the earth as
the smoke of a furnace.
19:29. Now when God destroyed the cities of that country,
remembering Abraham, he delivered Lot out of the destruction of
the cities wherein he had dwelt.
19:30. And Lot went up out of Segor, and abode in the mountain,
and his two daughters with him (for he was afraid to stay in
Segor) and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters with him.
19:31. And the elder said to the younger: Our father is old, and
there is no man left on the earth, to come in unto us after the
manner of the whole earth.
19:32. Come, let us make him drunk with wine, and let us lie with
him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
19:33. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the
elder went in, and lay with her father: but he perceived not,
neither when his daughter lay down, nor when she rose up.
19:34. And the next day the elder said to the younger: Behold I
lay last night with my father, let us make him drink wine also to
night, and thou shalt lie with him, that we may save seed of our
father.
19:35. They made their father drink wine that night also, and the
younger daughter went in, and lay with him: and neither then did
he perceive when she lay down, nor when she rose up.
19:36. So the two daughters of Lot were with child by their
father.
19:37. And the elder bore a son, and she called his name Moab:
he is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
19:38. The younger also bore a son, and she called his name
Ammon; that is, the son of my people: he is the father of the
Ammonites unto this day.
Genesis Chapter 20
Abraham sojourned in Gerara: Sara is taken into king Abimelech's
house, but by God's commandment is restored untouched.
20:1. Abraham removed from thence to the south country, and dwelt
between Cades and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.
20:2. And he said of Sara his wife: She is my sister. So
Abimelech the king of Gerara sent, and took her.
20:3. And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said
to him: Lo thou shalt die for the woman that thou hast taken:
for she hath a husband.
20:4. Now Abimelech had not touched her, and he said: Lord, wilt
thou slay a nation that is ignorant and just?
20:5. Did not he say to me: She is my sister: and she say, He
is my brother? in the simplicity of my heart, and cleanness of
my hands have I done this.
20:6. And God said to him: And I know that thou didst it with a
sincere heart: and therefore I withheld thee from sinning
against me, and I suffered thee not to touch her.
20:7. Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a
prophet: and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: but
if thou wilt not restore her, know that thou shalt surely die,
thou and all that are thine.
20:8. And Abimelech forthwith rising up in the night, called all
his servants: and spoke all these words in their hearing, and
all the men were exceedingly afraid.
20:9. And Abimelech called also for Abraham, and said to him:
What hast thou done to us? what have we offended thee in, that
thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? thou
hast done to us what thou oughtest not to do.
20:10. And again he expostulated with him, and said: What sawest
thou, that thou hast done this?
20:11. Abraham answered: I thought with myself, saying: Perhaps
there is not the fear of God in this place: and they will kill
me for the sake of my wife:
20:12. Howbeit, otherwise also she is truly my sister, the
daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother, and I
took her to wife.
20:13. And after God brought me out of my father's house, I said
to her: Thou shalt do me this kindness: In every place, to
which we shall come, thou shalt say that I am thy brother.
20:14. And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and servants and
handmaids, and gave to Abraham: and restored to him Sara his
wife,
20:15. And said: The land is before you, dwell wheresoever it
shall please thee.
20:16. And to Sara he said: Behold I have given thy brother a
thousand pieces of silver, this shall serve thee for a covering
of thy eyes to all that are with thee, and whithersoever thou
shalt go: and remember thou wast taken.
20:17. And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech and his
wife, and his handmaids, and they bore children:
20:18. For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of
Abimelech, on account of Sara, Abraham's wife.
Genesis Chapter 21
Isaac is born. Agar and Ismael are cast forth.
21:1. And the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and
fulfilled what he had spoken.
21:2. And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the
time that God had foretold her.
21:3. And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sara bore him,
Isaac.
Isaac. . .This word signifies laughter.
21:4. And he circumcised him the eighth day, as God had commanded
him,
21:5. When he was a hundred years old: for at this age of his
father, was Isaac born.
21:6. And Sara said: God hath made a laughter for me: whosoever
shall hear of it will laugh with me.
21:7. And again she said: Who would believe that Abraham should
hear that Sara gave suck to a son, whom she bore to him in his
old age?
21:8. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a
great feast on the day of his weaning.
21:9. And when Sara had seen the son of Agar, the Egyptian,
playing with Isaac, her son, she said to Abraham:
21:10. Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of the
bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.
21:11. Abraham took this grievously for his son.
21:12. And God said to him: Let it not seem grievous to thee for
the boy, and for thy bondwoman: in all that Sara hath said to
thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed be
called.
21:13. But I will make the son also of the bondwoman a great
nation, because he is thy seed.
21:14. So Abraham rose up in the morning, and taking bread and a
bottle of water, put it upon her shoulder, and delivered the boy,
and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the
wilderness of Bersabee.
21:15. And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the
boy under one of the trees that were there.
21:16. And she went her way, and sat over against him a great way
off, as far as a bow can carry, for she said: I will not see the
boy die: and sitting over against, she lifted up her voice and
wept.
21:17. And God heard the voice of the boy: and an angel of God
called to Agar from heaven, saying: What art thou doing, Agar?
fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the boy, from the place
wherein he is.
21:18. Arise, take up the boy, and hold him by the hand, for I
will make him a great nation.
21:19. And God opened her eyes: and she saw a well of water, and
went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink.
21:20. And God was with him: and he grew, and dwelt in the
wilderness, and became a young man, an archer.
21:21. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Pharan, and his mother
took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.
21:22. At the same time Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his
army, said to Abraham: God is with thee in all that thou dost.
21:23. Swear therefore by God, that thou wilt not hurt me, nor my
posterity, nor my stock: but according to the kindness that I
have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the land wherein
thou hast lived a stranger.
21:24. And Abraham said: I will swear.
21:25. And he reproved Abimelech for a well of water, which his
servants had taken away by force.
21:26. And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing:
and thou didst not tell me, and I heard not of it till today.
21:27. Then Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to
Abimelech: and both of them made a league.
21:28. And Abraham set apart seven ewelambs of the flock.
21:29. And Abimelech said to him: What mean these seven ewelambs
which thou hast set apart?
21:30. But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewelambs at my hand:
that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.
21:31. Therefore that place was called Bersabee; because there
both of them did swear.
Bersabee. . .That is, the well of oath.
21:32. And they made a league for the well of oath.
21:33. And Abimelech and Phicol, the general of his army, arose
and returned to the land of the Palestines. But Abraham planted
a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon the name of the Lord
God eternal.
21:34. And he was a sojourner in the land of the Palestines many
days.
Genesis Chapter 22
The faith and obedience of Abraham is proved in his readiness to
sacrifice his son Isaac. He is stayed from the act by an angel.
Former promises are renewed to him. His brother Nachor's issue.
22:1. After these things, God tempted Abraham, and said to him:
Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.
God tempted, etc. . .God tempteth no man to evil, James 1.13; but
by trial and experiment maketh known to the world, and to
ourselves, what we are, as here by this trial the singular faith
and obedience of Abraham was made manifest.
22:2. He said to him: Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom
thou lovest, and go into the land of vision; and there thou shalt
offer him for an holocaust upon one of the mountains which I will
shew thee.
22:3. So Abraham rising up in the night, saddled his ass, and
took with him two young men, and Isaac his son: and when he had
cut wood for the holocaust, he went his way to the place which
God had commanded him.
22:4. And on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place
afar off.
22:5. And he said to his young men: Stay you here with the ass;
I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and after we
have worshipped, will return to you.
22:6. And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon
Isaac his son; and he himself carried in his hands fire and a
sword. And as they two went on together,
22:7. Isaac said to his father: My father. And he answered:
What wilt thou, son? Behold, saith he, fire and wood: where is
the victim for the holocaust?
22:8. And Abraham said: God will provide himself a victim for an
holocaust, my son. So they went on together.
22:9. And they came to the place which God had shewn him, where
he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it; and when
he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the
pile of wood.
22:10. And he put forth his hand, and took the sword, to
sacrifice his son.
22:11. And behold, an angel of the Lord from heaven called to
him, saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.
22:12. And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy,
neither do thou any thing to him: now I know that thou fearest
God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake.
22:13. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram,
amongst the briers, sticking fast by the horns, which he took and
offered for a holocaust instead of his son.
22:14. And he called the name of that place, The Lord seeth.
Whereupon, even to this day, it is said: In the mountain the
Lord will see.
22:15. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time
from heaven, saying:
22:16. By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: because thou
hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son
for my sake:
22:17. I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the
stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore; thy
seed shall possess the gates of their enemies.
22:18. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.
22:19. Abraham returned to his young men, and they went to
Bersabee together, and he dwelt there.
22:20. After these things, it was told Abraham, that Melcha also
had borne children to Nachor his brother.
22:21. Hus, the firstborn, and Buz, his brother, and Camuel the
father of the Syrians,
22:22. And Cased, and Azau, and Pheldas, and Jedlaph,
22:23. And Bathuel, of whom was born Rebecca: these eight did
Melcha bear to Nachor, Abraham's brother.
22:24. And his concubine, named Roma, bore Tabee, and Gaham, and
Tahas, and Maacha.
Genesis Chapter 23
Sara's death and burial in the field bought of Ephron.
23:1. And Sara lived a hundred and twenty-seven years.
23:2. And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the
land of Chanaan: and Abraham came to mourn and weep for her.
23:3. And after he rose up from the funeral obsequies, he spoke
to the children of Heth, saying:
23:4. I am a stranger and sojourner among you: give me the right
of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead.
23:5. The children of Heth answered, saying:
23:6. My lord, hear us, thou art a prince of God among us: bury
thy dead in our principal sepulchres: and no man shall have
power to hinder thee from burying thy dead in his sepulchre.
23:7. Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land,
to wit, the children of Heth:
Bowed down to the people. . .Adoravit, literally adored. But
this word here, as well as in many other places in the Latin
scriptures, is used to signify only an inferior honour and
reverence paid to men, expressed by a bowing down of the body.
23:8. And said to them: If it please your soul that I should
bury my dead, hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron the son of
Seor.
23:9. That he may give me the double cave, which he hath in the
end of his field: For as much money as it is worth he shall give
it me before you, for a possession of a burying place.
23:10. Now Ephron dwelt in the midst of the children of Heth.
And Ephron made answer to Abraham in the hearing of all that went
in at the gate of the city, saying:
23:11. Let it not be so, my lord, but do thou rather hearken to
what I say: The field I deliver to thee, and the cave that is
therein; in the presence of the children of my people, bury thy
dead.
23:12. Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
23:13. And he spoke to Ephron, in the presence of the people: I
beseech thee to hear me: I will give money for the field; take
it, and so will I bury my dead in it.
23:14. And Ephron answered:
23:15. My lord, hear me. The ground which thou desirest, is
worth four hundred sicles of silver: this is the price between
me and thee: but what is this? bury thy dead.
23:16. And when Abraham had heard this, he weighed out the money
that Ephron had asked, in the hearing of the children of Heth,
four hundred sicles of silver, of common current money.
23:17. And the field that before was Ephron's, wherein was the
double cave, looking towards Mambre, both it and the cave, and
all the trees thereof, in all its limits round about,
23:18. Was made sure to Abraham for a possession, in the sight of
the children of Heth, and of all that went in at the gate of his
city.
23:19. And so Abraham buried Sara, his wife, in the double cave
of the field, that looked towards Mambre, this is Hebron in the
land of Chanaan.
23:20. And the field was made sure to Abraham, and the cave that
was in it, for a possession to bury in, by the children of Heth.
Genesis Chapter 24
Abraham's servant, sent by him into Mesopotamia, bringeth from
thence Rebecca, who is married to Isaac.
24:1. Now Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and the Lord had
blessed him in all things.
24:2. And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was
ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,
24:3. That I may make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven
and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the daughters
of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell:
24:4. But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take a
wife from thence for my son Isaac.
24:5. The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me
into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the place from
whence thou camest out?
24:6. And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back
again thither.
24:7. The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father's
house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore
to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he will send
his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for
my son.
He will send his angel before thee. . .This shows that the
Hebrews believed that God gave them guardian angels for their
protection.
24:8. But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be
bound by the oath: only bring not my son back thither again.
24:9. The servant, therefore, put his hand under the thigh of
Abraham, his lord, and swore to him upon his word.
24:10. And he took ten camels of his master's herd, and departed,
carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward
and went on to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor.
24:11. And when he had made the camels lie down without the town,
near a well of water, in the evening, at the time when women are
wont to come out to draw water, he said:
24:12. O Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, meet me today, I
beseech thee, and shew kindness to my master, Abraham.
24:13. Behold, I stand nigh the spring of water, and the
daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw
water:
24:14. Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down
thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and I
will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou
hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this, I shall
understand that thou hast shewn kindness to my master.
24:15. He had not yet ended these words within himself, and
behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha,
wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her
shoulder:
24:16. An exceeding comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and
not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled
her pitcher, and was coming back.
24:17. And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a
little water to drink of thy pitcher.
24:18. And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let
down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink.
24:19. And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for
thy camels also, till they all drink.
24:20. And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back
to the well to draw water; and having drawn, she gave to all the
camels.
24:21. But he musing, beheld her with silence, desirous to know
whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
24:22. And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out
golden earrings, weighing two sicles; and as many bracelets, of
ten sicles weight.
24:23. And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me:
is there any place in thy father's house to lodge?
24:24. And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son
of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.
24:25. And she said, moreover, to him: We have good store of
both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.
24:26. The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,
24:27. Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who
hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath
brought me the straight way into the house of my master's
brother.
24:28. Then the maid ran, and told in her mother's house all that
she had heard.
24:29. And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban, who went out in
haste to the man, to the well.
24:30. And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his
sister's hands, and had heard all that she related, saying, Thus
and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the man who stood by
the camels, and near to the spring of water,
24:31. And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; why
standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a place
for the camels.
24:32. And he brought him into his lodging; and he unharnessed
the camels, and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet,
and the feet of the men that were come with him.
24:33. And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not
eat, till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.
24:34. And he said: I am the servant of Abraham:
24:35. And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is
become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver and
gold, men servants and women servants, camels and asses.
24:36. And Sara, my master's wife, hath borne my master a son in
her old age, and he hath given him all that he had.
24:37. And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take
a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I dwell:
24:38. But thou shalt go to my father's house, and shalt take a
wife of my own kindred for my son:
24:39. But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come
with me?
24:40. The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his
angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt take a
wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father's house.
24:41. But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt
come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.
24:42. And I came today to the well of water, and said: O Lord
God of my master, Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way, wherein
I now walk,
24:43. Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that
shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a
little water to drink of thy pitcher:
24:44. And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also
draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman, whom the Lord
hath prepared for my master's son.
24:45. And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself,
Rebecca appeared, coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her
shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew water. And I
said to her: Give me a little to drink.
24:46. And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder,
and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will give
drink. I drank, and she watered the camels.
24:47. And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And
she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor,
whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her to adorn her
face, and I put bracelets on her hands.
24:48. And falling down, I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God
of my master, Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to
take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
24:49. Wherefore, if you do according to mercy and truth with my
master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that
also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left.
24:50. And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded
from the Lord: we cannot speak any other thing to thee but his
pleasure.
24:51. Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way,
and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord hath
spoken.
24:52. Which when Abraham's servant heard, falling down to the
ground, he adored the Lord.
24:53. And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and
garments, he gave them to Rebecca, for a present. He offered
gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother.
24:54. And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together,
and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose, and
said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.
24:55. And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay,
at least, ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart.
24:56. Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my
way: send me away, that I may go to my master.
24:57. And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.
Let us call the maid, and ask her will. . .Not as to her
marriage, as she had already consented, but of her quitting her
parents and going to her husband.
24:58. And they called her, and when she was come, they asked:
Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.
24:59. So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham's
servant, and his company.
24:60. Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art
our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands; and
may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.
24:61. So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed
the man: who with speed returned to his master.
24:62. At the same time, Isaac was walking along the way to the
well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he dwelt
in the south country:
24:63. And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day
being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw
camels coming afar off.
24:64. Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel,
24:65. And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh
towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man is my
master. But she quickly took her cloak, and covered herself.
24:66. And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
24:67. Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took
her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated the
sorrow which was occasioned by his mother's death.
Genesis Chapter 25
Abraham's children by Cetura; his death and that of Ismael.
Isaac hath Esau and Jacob twins. Esau selleth his first
birthright to Jacob.
25:1. And Abraham married another wife named Cetura:
25:2. Who bore him Zamram, and Jecsan, and Madan, and Madian, and
Jesboc, and Sue.
25:3. Jecsan also begot Saba, and Dadan. The children of Dadan
were Assurim, and Latusim, and Loomim.
25:4. But of Madian was born Epha, and Opher, and Henoch, and
Abida, and Eldaa: all these were the children of Cetura.
25:5. And Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac:
25:6. And to the children of the concubines he gave gifts, and
separated them from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, to the
east country.
Concubines. . .Agar and Cetura are here called concubines,
(though they were lawful wives, and in other places are so
called,) because they were of an inferior degree, and such in
scripture are usually called concubines.
25:7. And the days of Abraham's life were a hundred and seventy-
five years.
25:8. And decaying he died in a good old age, and having lived a
long time, and being full of days: and was gathered to his
people.
25:9. And Isaac and Ismael his sons buried him in the double
cave, which was situated in the field of Ephron the son of Seor
the Hethite, over against Mambre,
25:10. Which he had bought of the children of Heth: there was he
buried, and Sara his wife.
25:11. And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who dwelt
by the well named Of the living and seeing.
25:12. These are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraham,
whom Agar the Egyptian, Sara's servant, bore unto him:
25:13. And these are the names of his children according to their
calling and generations. The firstborn of Ismael was Nabajoth,
then Cedar, and Adbeel, and Mabsam,
25:14. And Masma, and Duma, and Massa,
25:15. Hadar, and Thema, and Jethur, and Naphis, and Cedma.
25:16. These are the sons of Ismael: and these are their names
by their castles and towns, twelve princes of their tribes.
25:17. And the years of Ismael's life were a hundred and thirty-
seven, and decaying he died, and was gathered unto his people.
25:18. And he dwelt from Hevila as far as Sur, which looketh
towards Egypt, to them that go towards the Assyrians. He died in
the presence of all his brethren.
25:19. These also are the generations of Isaac the son of
Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac:
25:20. Who when he was forty years old, took to wife Rebecca the
daughter of Bathuel the Syrian of Mesopotamia, sister to Laban.
25:21. And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was
barren: and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive.
25:22. But the children struggled in her womb, and she said: If
it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive? And
she went to consult the Lord.
25:23. And he answering, said: Two nations are in thy womb, and
two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb, and one people
shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.
25:24. And when her time was come to be delivered, behold twins
were found in her womb.
25:25. He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin:
and his name was called Esau. Immediately the other coming
forth, held his brother's foot in his hand: and therefore he was
called Jacob.
25:26. Isaac was threescore years old when the children were born
unto him.
25:27. And when they were grown up, Esau became a skilful hunter,
and a husbandman: but Jacob, a plain man, dwelt in tents.
25:28. Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his hunting: and
Rebecca loved Jacob.
25:29. And Jacob boiled pottage: to whom Esau, coming faint out
of the field,
25:30. Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding
faint. For which reason his name was called Edom.
25:31. And Jacob said to him: Sell me thy first birthright.
25:32. He answered: Lo I die, what will the first birthright
avail me?
25:33. Jacob said: Swear therefore to me. Esau swore to him,
and sold his first birthright.
25:34. And so taking bread and the pottage of lentils, he ate,
and drank, and went on his way; making little account of having
sold his first birthright.
Genesis Chapter 26
Isaac sojourneth in Gerara, where God reneweth to him the promise
made to Abraham. King Abimelech maketh league with him.
26:1. And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness
which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to
Abimelech, king of the Palestines, to Gerara.
26:2. And the Lord appeared to him, and said: Go not down into
Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.
26:3. And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless
thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these
countries, to fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham thy
father.
26:4. And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and
I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
26:5. Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and
commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.
26:6. So Isaac abode in Gerara.
26:7. And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning
his wife, he answered: She is my sister: for he was afraid to
confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would
kill him because of her beauty.
26:8. And when very many days were passed, and he abode there,
Abimelech, king of the Palestines, looking out through a window,
saw him playing with Rebecca, his wife.
26:9. And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy
wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered:
I feared lest I should die for her sake.
26:10. And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man
of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst
brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people,
saying:
26:11. He that shall touch this man's wife, shall surely be put
to death.
26:12. And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year
a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.
26:13. And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and
increasing, till he became exceeding great.
26:14. And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very
great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,
26:15. Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants
of his father, Abraham, had digged, filling them up with earth:
26:16. Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart
from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.
26:17. So he departed, and came to the torrent of Gerara, to
dwell there:
26:18. And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his
father, Abraham, had digged, and which, after his death, the
Philistines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the
same names, by which his father before had called them.
26:19. And they digged in the torrent, and found living water:
Torrent. . .That is, a channel where sometimes a torrent or
violent stream had run.
26:20. But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the
herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called
the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened,
Calumny.
26:21. And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled
likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.
26:22. Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for
which they contended not; therefore he called the name thereof,
Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us
to increase upon the earth.
Latitude. . .That is, wideness, or room.
26:23. And he went up from that place to Bersabee,
26:24. Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I
am the God of Abraham thy father, do not fear, for I am with
thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant
Abraham's sake.
26:25. And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of
the Lord, and pitched his tent; and commanded his servants to dig
a well.
26:26. To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend,
and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers, came from Gerara,
26:27. Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you
hate, and have thrust out from you?
26:28. And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and
therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us
make a covenant,
26:29. That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched
nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee; but with
peace have sent thee away, increased with the blessing of the
Lord.
26:30. And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and
drunk:
26:31. Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and
Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.
26:32. And behold, the same day the servants of Isaac came,
telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have
found water.
26:33. Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the
city was called Bersabee, even to this day.
26:34. And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith, the
daughter of Beeri, the Hethite, and Basemath, the daughter of
Elon, of the same place.
26:35. And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.
Genesis Chapter 27
Jacob, by him mother's counsel, obtaineth his father's blessing
instead of Esau. And by her is advised to fly to his uncle
Laban.
27:1. Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he could not
see: and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him: My son?
And he answered: Here I am.
27:2. And his father said to him, Thou seest that I am old, and
know not the day of my death.
27:3. Take thy arms, thy quiver, and bow, and go abroad; and when
thou hast taken something by hunting,
27:4. Make me a savoury meat thereof, as thou knowest I like, and
bring it that I may eat: and my soul may bless thee, before I
die.
27:5. And when Rebecca had heard this, and he was gone into the
field to fulfil his father's commandment,
27:6. She said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with
Esau, thy brother, and saying to him:
27:7. Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat,
and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die.
27:8. Now therefore, my son, follow my counsel:
27:9. And go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best,
that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly
eateth.
27:10. Which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may
bless thee before he die.
27:11. And he answered her: Thou knowest that Esau, my brother,
is a hairy man, and I am smooth:
27:12. If my father should feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest
he will think I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me
a curse instead of a blessing.
27:13. And his mother said to him: Upon me be this curse, my
son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which
I have said.
27:14. He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She
dressed meats, such as she knew his father liked.
27:15. And she put on him very good garments of Esau, which she
had at home with her:
27:16. And the little skins of the kids she put about his hands,
and covered the bare of his neck.
27:17. And she gave him the savoury meat, and delivered him bread
that she had baked.
27:18. Which when he had carried in, he said: My father? But he
answered: I hear. Who art thou, my son?
27:19. And Jacob said: I am Esau, thy firstborn: I have done as
thou didst command me: arise, sit and eat of my venison, that
thy soul may bless me.
I am Esau thy firstborn. . .St. Augustine (L. Contra mendacium,
c. 10), treating at large upon this place, excuseth Jacob from a
lie, because this whole passage was mysterious, as relating to
the preference which was afterwards to be given to the Gentiles
before the carnal Jews, which Jacob by prophetic light might
understand. So far is certain, that the first birthright, both
by divine election and by Esau's free cession belonged to Jacob:
so that if there were any lie in the case, it could be no more
than an officious and venial one.
27:20. And Isaac said to his son: How couldst thou find it so
quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God, that what
I sought came quickly in my way:
27:21. And Isaac said: Come hither, that I may feel thee, my
son, and may prove whether thou be my son Esau, or no.
27:22. He came near to his father, and when he had felt him,
Isaac said: The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob; but the
hands, are the hands of Esau.
27:23. And he knew him not, because his hairy hands made him like
to the elder. Then blessing him,
27:24. He said: Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I am.
27:25. Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son,
that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought, and he
had eaten, he offered him wine also, which after he had drunk,
27:26. He said to him: Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son.
27:27. He came near, and kissed him. And immediately as he
smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he
said: Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful
field, which the Lord hath blessed.
27:28. God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of
the earth, abundance of corn and wine.
27:29. And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be
thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother's children bow down
before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that
blesseth thee be filled with blessings.
27:30. Isaac had scarce ended his words, when, Jacob being now
gone out abroad, Esau came,
27:31. And brought in to his father meats, made of what he had
taken in hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of thy son's
venison; that thy soul may bless me.
27:32. And Isaac said to him: Why! who art thou? He answered:
I am thy firstborn son, Esau.
27:33. Isaac was struck with fear, and astonished exceedingly;
and wondering beyond what can be believed, said: Who is he then
that even now brought me venison that he had taken, and I ate of
all before thou camest? and I have blessed him, and he shall be
blessed.
27:34. Esau having heard his father's words, roared out with a
great cry; and, being in a consternation, said: Bless me also,
my father.
27:35. And he said: Thy brother came deceitfully and got thy
blessing.
27:36. But he said again: Rightly is his name called Jacob; for
he hath supplanted me lo this second time: My birthright he took
away before, and now this second time he hath stolen away my
blessing. And again he said to his father: Hast thou not
reserved me also a blessing?
Jacob. . .That is, a supplanter.
27:37. Isaac answered: I have appointed him thy lord, and have
made all his brethren his servants: I have established him with
corn and wine, and after this, what shall I do more for thee, my
son?
27:38. And Esau said to him: Hast thou only one blessing,
father? I beseech thee bless me also. And when he wept with a
loud cry,
27:39. Isaac being moved, said to him: In the fat of the earth,
and in the dew of heaven from above,
27:40. Shall thy blessing be. Thou shalt live by the sword, and
shalt serve thy brother: and the time shall come, when thou
shalt shake off and loose his yoke from thy neck.
27:41. Esau therefore always hated Jacob, for the blessing
wherewith his father had blessed him; and he said in his heart:
The days will come of the mourning for my father, and I will kill
my brother Jacob.
27:42. These things were told to Rebecca: and she sent and
called Jacob, her son, and said to him: Behold Esau, thy
brother, threateneth to kill thee.
27:43. Now therefore, my son, hear my voice, arise and flee to
Laban, my brother, to Haran:
27:44. And thou shalt dwell with him a few days, till the wrath
of thy brother be assuaged,
27:45. And his indignation cease, and he forget the things thou
hast done to him: afterwards I will send, and bring thee from
thence hither. Why shall I be deprived of both my sons in one
day?
27:46. And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of my life, because
of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the stock of
this land, I choose not to live.
Genesis Chapter 28
Jacob's journey to Mesopotamia: his vision and vow.
28:1. And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him,
saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan:
28:2. But go, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the
house of Bathuel, thy mother's father, and take thee a wife
thence of the daughters of Laban, thy uncle.
28:3. And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase and
multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.
28:4. And give the blessings of Araham to thee, and to thy seed
after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment,
which he promised to thy grandfather.
28:5. And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and
went to Mesopotamia of Syria, to Laban, the son of Bathuel, the
Syrian, brother to Rebecca, his mother.
28:6. And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had
sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and
that after the blessing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt
not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:
28:7. And that Jacob obeying his parents, was gone into Syria:
28:8. Experiencing also, that his father was not well pleased
with the daughters of Chanaan:
28:9. He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had
before, Maheleth, the daughter of Ismael, Abraham's son, the
sister of Nabajoth.
28:10. But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran.
28:11. And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in
it after sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and
putting under his head, slept in the same place.
28:12. And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth,
and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God
ascending and descending by it.
28:13. And the Lord leaning upon the ladder saying to him: I am
the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: The
land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed.
28:14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: thou
shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the
north, and to the south: and IN THEE and thy seed, all the
tribes of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED.
28:15. And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and
will bring thee back into this land: neither will I leave thee,
till I shall have accomplished all that I have said.
28:16. And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the
Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.
28:17. And trembling, he said: How terrible is this place? this
is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven.
28:18. And Jacob arising in the morning, took the stone which he
had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil
upon the top of it.
28:19. And he called the name of the city Bethel, which before
was called Luza.
Bethel. . .This name signifies the house of God.
28:20. And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and
shall keep me in the way, by which I walk, and shall give me
bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
28:21. And I shall return prosperously to my father's house: the
Lord shall be my God:
28:22. And this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall be
called the house of God: and of all things that thou shalt give
to me, I will offer tithes to thee.
Genesis Chapter 29
Jacob serveth Laban seven years for Rachel: but is deceived with
Lia: he afterwards marrieth Rachel. Lia bears him four sons.
29:1. Then Jacob went on in his journey, and came into the east
country.
29:2. And he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep
lying by it: for the beasts were watered out of it, and the
mouth thereof was closed with a great stone.
29:3. And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered
together, to roll away the stone, and after the sheep were
watered, to put it on the mouth of the well again.
29:4. And he said to the shepherds: Brethren, whence are you?
They answered: Of Haran.
29:5. And he asked them, saying: Know you Laban, the son of
Nachor? They said: We know him.
29:6. He said: Is he in health? He is in health, say they: and
behold, Rachel, his daughter, cometh with his flock.
29:7. And Jacob said: There is yet much day remaining, neither
is it time to bring the flocks into the folds again: first give
the sheep drink, and so lead them back to feed.
29:8. They answered: We cannot, till all the cattle be gathered
together, and we remove the stone from the well's mouth, that we
may water the flocks.
29:9. They were yet speaking, and behold Rachel came with her
father's sheep; for she fed the flock.
29:10. And when Jacob saw her, and knew her to be his cousin
german, and that they were the sheep of Laban, his uncle: he
removed the stone wherewith the well was closed.
29:11. And having watered the flock, he kissed her: and lifting
up his voice wept.
29:12. And he told her that he was her father's brother, and the
son of Rebecca: but she went in haste and told her father.
29:13. Who, when he heard that Jacob his sister's son was come,
ran forth to meet him: and embracing him, and heartily kissing
him, brought him into his house. And when he had heard the
causes of his journey,
29:14. He answered: Thou art my bone and my flesh. And after
the days of one month were expired,
29:15. He said to him: Because thou art my brother, shalt thou
serve me without wages? Tell me what wages thou wilt have.
29:16. Now he had two daughters, the name of the elder was Lia;
and the younger was called Rachel.
29:17. But Lia was blear-eyed: Rachel was well favoured, and of
a beautiful countenance.
29:18. And Jacob being in love with her, said: I will serve thee
seven years for Rachel, thy younger daughter.
29:19. Laban answered: It is better that I give her to thee than
to another man; stay with me.
29:20. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel: and they seemed
but a few days, because of the greatness of his love.
29:21. And he said to Laban: Give me my wife; for now the time
is fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
29:22. And he, having invited a great number of his friends to
the feast, made the marriage.
29:23. And at night he brought in Lia, his daughter, to him,
29:24. Giving his daughter a handmaid, named Zelpha. Now when
Jacob had gone in to her according to custom, when morning was
come he saw it was Lia.
29:25. And he said to his father-in-law: What is it that thou
didst mean to do? did not I serve thee for Rachel? why hast
thou deceived me?
29:26. Laban answered: It is not the custom in this place, to
give the younger in marriage first.
29:27. Make up the week of days of this match: and I will give
thee her also, for the service that thou shalt render me other
seven years.
29:28. He yielded to his pleasure: and after the week was past,
he married Rachel:
29:29. To whom her father gave Bala, for her servant.
29:30. And having at length obtained the marriage he wished for,
he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and served
with him other seven years.
29:31. And the Lord seeing that he despised Lia, opened her womb,
but her sister remained barren.
29:32. And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name
Ruben, saying: The Lord saw my affliction: now my husband will
love me.
29:33. And again she conceived and bore a son, and said: Because
the Lord heard that I was despised, he hath given this also to
me: and she called his name Simeon.
29:34. And she conceived the third time, and bore another son,
and said: Now also my husband will be joined to me, because I
have borne him three sons: and therefore she called his name
Levi.
29:35. The fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and said:
Now will I praise the Lord: and for this she called him Juda.
And she left bearing.
Genesis Chapter 30
Rachel, being barren, delivereth her handmaid to Jacob; she
beareth two sons. Lia ceasing to bear, giveth also her handmaid,
and she beareth two more. Then Lia beareth other two sons and
one daughter. Rachel beareth Joseph. Jacob, desirous to return
home, is hired to stay for a certain part of the flock's
increase, whereby he becometh exceeding rich.
30:1. And Rachel seeing herself without children, envied her
sister, and said to her husband: Give me children, otherwise I
shall die.
30:2. And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who
hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb?
30:3. But she said: I have here my servant Bala: go in unto
her, that she may bear upon my knees, and I may have children by
her.
30:4. And she gave him Bala in marriage: who,
30:5. When her husband had gone in unto her, conceived and bore a
son.
30:6. And Rachel said: The Lord hath judged for me, and hath
heard my voice, giving me a son; and therefore she called his
name Dan.
30:7. And again Bala conceived, and bore another,
30:8. For whom Rachel said: God hath compared me with my sister,
and I have prevailed: and she called him Nephthali.
30:9. Lia perceiving that she had left of bearing, gave Zelpha,
her handmaid, to her husband.
30:10. And when she had conceived, and brought forth a son,
30:11. She said: Happily. And therefore called his name Gad.
30:12. Zelpha also bore another.
30:13. And Lia said: This is for my happiness: for women will
call me blessed. Therefore she called him Aser.
30:14. And Ruben going out in the time of the wheat harvest into
the field, found mandrakes: which he brought to his mother Lia.
And Rachel said: Give me part of thy son's mandrakes.
30:15. She answered: Dost thou think it a small matter, that
thou hast taken my husband from me, unless thou take also my
son's mandrakes? Rachel said: He shall sleep with thee this
night, for thy son's mandrakes.
30:16. And when Jacob returned at even from the field, Lia went
out to meet him, and said: Thou shalt come in unto me, because I
have hired thee for my son's mandrakes. And he slept with her
that night.
30:17. And God heard her prayers; and she conceived: and bore a
fifth son:
30:18. And said: God hath given me a reward, because I gave my
handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.
30:19. And Lia conceived again, and bore the sixth son,
30:20. And said: God hath endowed me with a good dowry; this
turn also my husband will be with me, because I have borne him
six sons: and therefore she called his name Zabulon.
30:21. After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina.
30:22. The Lord also remembering Rachel, heard her, and opened
her womb.
30:23. And she conceived, and bore a son, saying: God hath taken
away my reproach.
30:24. And she called his name Joseph: saying: The Lord give me
also another son.
30:25. And when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father-in-law:
Send me away, that I may return into my country, and to my land.
30:26. Give me my wives, and my children, for whom I have served
thee, that I may depart: thou knowest the service that I have
rendered thee.
30:27. Laban said to him: Let me find favour in thy sight: I
have learned, by experience, that God hath blessed me for thy
sake.
30:28. Appoint thy wages which I shall give thee.
30:29. But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and
how great thy possession hath been in my hands.
30:30. Thou hadst but little before I came to thee, and now thou
art become rich: and the Lord hath blessed thee at my coming.
It is reasonable, therefore, that I should now provide also for
my own house.
30:31. And Laban said: What shall I give thee? But he said: I
require nothing; but if thou wilt do what I demand, I will feed
and keep thy sheep again.
30:32. Go round through all thy flocks, and separate all the
sheep of divers colours, and speckled; and all that is brown and
spotted, and of divers colours, as well among the sheep as among
the goats, shall be my wages.
30:33. And my justice shall answer for me tomorrow before thee,
when the time of the bargain shall come; and all that is not of
divers colours, and spotted, and brown, as well among the sheep
as among the goats, shall accuse me of theft.
30:34. And Laban said: I like well what thou demandest.
30:35. And he separated the same day the she-goats, and the
sheep, and the he-goats, and the rams of divers colours, and
spotted; and all the flock of one colour, that is, of white and
black fleece, he delivered into the hands of his sons.
30:36. And he set the space of three days journey betwixt himself
and his son-in-law, who fed the rest of his flock.
30:37. And Jacob took green rods of poplar, and of almond, and of
plane-trees, and pilled them in part: so when the bark was taken
off, in the parts that were pilled, there appeared whiteness:
but the parts that were whole, remained green: and by this means
the colour was divers.
30:38. And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured
out; that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have
the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might
conceive.
30:39. And it came to pass, that in the very heat of coition, the
sheep beheld the rods, and brought forth spotted, and of divers
colours, and speckled.
30:40. And Jacob separated the flock, and put the rods in the
troughs before the eyes of the rams; and all the white and the
black were Laban's, and the rest were Jacob's, when the flocks
were separated one from the other.
30:41. So when the ewes went first to ram, Jacob put the rods in
the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams, and of the
ewes, that they might conceive while they were looking upon them.
30:42. But when the later coming was, and the last conceiving, he
did not put them. And those that were lateward, became Laban's;
and they of the first time, Jacob's.
30:43. And the man was enriched exceedingly, and he had many
flocks, maid-servants and men-servants, camels and asses.
Genesis Chapter 31
Jacob's departure: he is pursued and overtaken by Laban. They
make a covenant.
31:1. But after that he had heard the words of the sons of Laban,
saying: Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's, and
being enriched by his substance is become great.
31:2. And perceiving also, that Laban's countenance was not
towards him as yesterday and the other day.
31:3. Especially the Lord saying to him: Return into the land of
thy fathers and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee.
31:4. He sent, and called Rachel and Lia into the field, where he
fed the flocks,
31:5. And said to them: I see your father's countenance is not
towards me as yesterday and the other day: but the God of my
father hath been with me.
31:6. And you know that I have served your father to the
uttermost of my power.
31:7. Yea your father hath also overreached me, and hath changed
my wages ten times: and yet God hath not suffered him to hurt
me.
31:8. If at any time, he said: The speckled shall be thy wages:
all the sheep brought forth speckled: but when he said on the
contrary: Thou shalt take all the white one for thy wages: all
the flocks brought forth white ones.
31:9. And God hath taken your father's substance, and given it to
me.
31:10. For after the time came of the ewes conceiving, I lifted
up my eyes, and saw in my sleep, that the males which leaped upon
the females were of divers colours, and spotted, and speckled.
31:11. And the angel of God said to me in my sleep: Jacob. And
I answered: Here I am.
31:12. And he said: Lift up thy eyes, and see that all the males
leaping upon the females, are of divers colours, spotted and
speckled. For I have seen all that Laban hath done to thee.
31:13. I am the God of Bethel, where thou didst anoint the stone,
and make a vow to me. Now therefore arise, and go out of this
land, and return into thy native country.
31:14. And Rachel and Lia answered: Have we any thing left among
the goods and inheritance of our father's house?
31:15. Hath he not counted us as strangers, and sold us, and
eaten up the price of us?
31:16. But God hath taken our father's riches, and delivered them
to us, and to our children: wherefore, do all that God hath
commanded thee.
31:17. Then Jacob rose up, and having set his children and wives
upon camels, went his way.
31:18. And he took all his substance, and flocks, and whatsoever
he had gotten in Mesopotamia, and went forward to Isaac, his
father, to the land of Chanaan.
31:19. At that time Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel
stole away her father's idols.
Her father's idols. . .By this it appears that Laban was an
idolater; and some of the fathers are of opinion that Rachel
stole away these idols to withdraw him from idolatry, removing
the occasion of his sin.
31:20. And Jacob would not confess to his father-in-law that he
was flying away.
31:21. And when he was gone, together with all that belonged to
him, and having passed the river, was going on towards mount
Galaad,
31:22. It was told Laban on the third day, that Jacob fled.
31:23. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him
seven days; and overtook him in the mount of Galaad.
31:24. And he saw in a dream God, saying to him: Take heed thou
speak not any thing harshly against Jacob.
31:25. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain: and when
he, with his brethren, had overtaken him, he pitched his tent in
the same mount of Galaad.
31:26. And he said to Jacob: Why hast thou done thus, to carry
away, without my knowledge, my daughters as captives taken with
the sword?
31:27. Why wouldst thou run away privately, and not acquaint me,
that I might have brought thee on the way with joy, and with
songs, and with timbrels, and with harps?
31:28. Thou hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and daughters;
thou hast done foolishly; and now indeed,
31:29. It is in my power to return thee evil; but the God of your
father said to me yesterday: Take heed thou speak not any thing
harshly against Jacob.
31:30. Suppose thou didst desire to go to thy friends, and hadst
a longing after thy father's house: why hast thou stolen away my
gods?
31:31. Jacob answered: That I departed unknown to thee, it was
for fear lest thou wouldst take away thy daughters by force.
31:32. But, whereas, thou chargest me with theft: with
whomsoever thou shalt find thy gods, let him be slain before our
brethren. Search, and if thou find any of thy things with me,
take them away. Now when he said this, he knew not that Rachel
had stolen the idols.
31:33. So Laban went into the tent of Jacob, and of Lia, and of
both the handmaids, and found them not. And when he was entered
into Rachel's tent,
31:34. She, in haste, hid the idols under the camel's furniture,
and sat upon them: and when he had searched all the tent, and
found nothing,
31:35. She said: Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up
before thee, because it has now happened to me according to the
custom of women. So his careful search was in vain.
31:36. And Jacob being angry, said in a chiding manner: For what
fault of mine, and for what offence on my part hast thou so hotly
pursued me,
31:37. And searched all my household stuff? What hast thou found
of all the substance of thy house? lay it here before my
brethren, and thy brethren, and let them judge between me and
thee.
31:38. Have I, therefore, been with thee twenty years? thy ewes
and goats were not barren, the rams of thy flocks I did not eat:
31:39. Neither did I shew thee that which the beast had torn; I
made good all the damage: whatsoever was lost by theft, thou
didst exact it of me:
31:40. Day and night was I parched with heat, and with frost, and
sleep departed from my eyes.
31:41. And in this manner have I served thee in thy house twenty
years, fourteen for thy daughters, and six for thy flocks: thou
hast changed also my wages ten times.
31:42. Unless the God of my father, Abraham, and the fear of
Isaac, had stood by me, peradventure now thou hadst sent me away
naked: God beheld my affliction and the labour of my hands, and
rebuked thee yesterday.
31:43. Laban answered him: The daughters are mine, and the
children, and thy flocks, and all things that thou seest are
mine: what can I do to my children, and grandchildren?
31:44. Come, therefore, let us enter into a league; that it may
be for a testimony between me and thee.
31:45. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a title.
31:46. And he said to his brethren: Bring hither stones. And
they, gathering stones together, made a heap, and they ate upon
it.
31:47. And Laban called it, The witness heap; and Jacob, The
hillock of testimony: each of them according to the propriety of
his language.
31:48. And Laban said: This heap shall be a witness between me
and thee this day, and therefore the name thereof was called
Galaad, that is, The witness heap.
31:49. The Lord behold and judge between us, when we shall be
gone one from the other.
31:50. If thou afflict my daughters, and if thou bring in other
wives over them: none is witness of our speech but God, who is
present and beholdeth.
31:51. And he said again to Jacob: Behold this heap, and the
stone which I have set up between me and thee,
31:52. Shall be a witness: this heap, I say, and the stone, be
they for a testimony, if either I shall pass beyond it going
towards thee, or thou shalt pass beyond it thinking harm to me.
31:53. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nachor, the God of
their father, judge between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of
his father Isaac:
31:54. And after he had offered sacrifices in the mountain, he
called his brethren to eat bread. And when they had eaten, they
lodged there:
31:55. But Laban arose in the night, and kissed his sons and
daughters, and blessed them: and returned to his place.
Genesis Chapter 32
Jacob's vision of angels; his message and presents to Esau; his
wrestling with an angel.
32:1. Jacob also went on the journey he had begun: and the
angels of God met him.
32:2. And when he saw them, he said: These are the camps of God,
and he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, Camps.
32:3. And he sent messengers before him to Esau, his brother, to
the land of Seir, to the country of Edom:
32:4. And he commanded them, saying: Thus shall ye speak to my
lord Esau: Thus saith thy brother Jacob: I have sojourned with
Laban, and have been with him until this day:
32:5. I have oxen, and asses, and sheep, and menservants, and
womenservants: and now I send a message to my lord, that I may
find favour in thy sight.
32:6. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying: We came to
Esau, thy brother, and behold he cometh with speed to meet thee
with four hundred men.
32:7. Then Jacob was greatly afraid; and in his fear divided the
people that was with him, and the flocks, and the sheep, and the
oxen, and the camels, into two companies,
32:8. Saying: If Esau come to one company, and destroy it, the
other company that is left, shall escape.
32:9. And Jacob said: O God of my father Abraham, and God of my
father Isaac: O Lord who saidst to me, Return to thy land, and
to the place of thy birth, and I will do well for thee.
32:10. I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, and of
thy truth which thou hast fulfilled to thy servant. With my
staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I return with two
companies.
32:11. Deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am
greatly afraid of him; lest perhaps he come, and kill the mother
with the children.
32:12. Thou didst say, that thou wouldst do well by me, and
multiply my seed like the sand of the sea, which cannot be
numbered for multitude.
32:13. And when he had slept there that night, he set apart, of
the things which he had, presents for his brother Esau,
32:14. Two hundred she-goats, twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes,
and twenty rams,
32:15. Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and
twenty bulls, twenty she-asses, and ten of their foals.
32:16. And he sent them by the hands of his servants, every drove
by itself, and he said to his servants: Go before me, and let
there be a space between drove and drove.
32:17. And he commanded the first, saying: If thou meet my
brother Esau, and he ask thee: Whose art thou? or whither goest
thou? or whose are these before thee?
32:18. Thou shalt answer: Thy servant Jacob's: he hath sent
them as a present to my lord Esau; and he cometh after us.
32:19. In like manner he commanded the second, and the third, and
all that followed the droves, saying: Speak ye the same words to
Esau, when ye find him.
32:20. And ye shall add: Thy servant Jacob himself also
followeth after us; for he said: I will appease him with the
presents that go before, and afterwards I will see him, perhaps
he will be gracious to me.
32:21. So the presents went before him, but himself lodged that
night in the camp.
32:22. And rising early, he took his two wives and his two
handmaids, with his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of
Jaboc.
32:23. And when all things were brought over that belonged to
him,
32:24. He remained alone; and behold, a man wrestled with him
till morning.
A man, etc. . .This was an angel in human shape, as we learn from
Osee 12.4. He is called God, ver. 28 and 30, because he
represented the person of the Son of God. This wrestling, in
which Jacob, assisted by God, was a match for an angel, was so
ordered (ver. 28,) that he might learn by this experiment of the
divine assistance, that neither Esau, nor any other man, should
have power to hurt him.--It was also spiritual, as appeareth by
his earnest prayer, urging and at last obtaining the angel's
blessing.
32:25. And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched
the sinew of his thigh, and forthwith it shrank.
32:26. And he said to him: Let me go, for it is break of day.
He answered: I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
32:27. And he said: What is thy name? He answered: Jacob.
32:28. But he said: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but
Israel; for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more
shalt thou prevail against men?
32:29. Jacob asked him: Tell me by what name art thou called?
He answered: Why dost thou ask my name? And he blessed him in
the same place.
32:30. And Jacob called the name of the place Phanuel, saying: I
have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved.
Phanuel. . .This word signifies the face of God, or the sight, or
seeing of God.
32:31. And immediately the sun rose upon him, after he was past
Phanuel; but he halted on his foot.
32:32. Therefore the children of Israel, unto this day, eat not
the sinew, that shrank in Jacob's thigh: because he touched the
sinew of his thigh and it shrank.
Genesis Chapter 33
Jacob and Esau meet: Jacob goeth to Salem, where he raiseth an
altar.
33:1. And Jacob lifting up his eyes, saw Esau coming, and with
him four hundred men: and he divided the children of Lia and of
Rachel, and of the two handmaids.
33:2. And he put both the handmaids and their children foremost:
and Lia and her children in the second place: and Rachel and
Joseph last.
33:3. And he went forward and bowed down with his face to the
ground seven times, until his brother came near.
33:4. Then Esau ran to meet his brother, and embraced him: and
clasping him fast about the neck, and kissing him, wept.
33:5. And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their
children, and said: What mean these? And do they belong to
thee? He answered: They are the children which God hath given
to me, thy servant.
33:6. Then the handmaids and their children came near and bowed
themselves.
33:7. Lia also, with her children, came near and bowed down in
like manner; and last of all, Joseph and Rachel bowed down.
33:8. And Esau said: What are the droves that I met? He
answered: That I might find favour before my lord.
33:9. But he said: I have plenty, my brother, keep what is thine
for thyself.
33:10. And Jacob said: Do not so I beseech thee, but if I have
found favour in thy eyes, receive a little present at my hands:
for I have seen thy face, as if I should have seen the
countenance of God: be gracious to me,
33:11. And take the blessing which I have brought thee, and which
God hath given me, who giveth all things. He took it with much
ado at his brother's earnest pressing him,
33:12. And said: Let us go on together, and I will accompany
thee in thy journey.
33:13. And Jacob said: My lord, thou knowest that I have with me
tender children, and sheep, and kine with young: which if I
should cause to be overdriven, in one day all the flocks will
die.
33:14. May it please my lord to go before his servant: and I
will follow softly after him, as I shall see my children to be
able, until I come to my lord in Seir.
33:15. Esau answered: I beseech thee, that some of the people,
at least, who are with me, may stay to accompany thee in the way.
And he said: There is no necessity: I want nothing else but
only to find favour, my lord, in thy sight.
33:16. So Esau returned that day, the way that he came, to Seir.
33:17. And Jacob came to Socoth: where having built a house, and
pitched tents, he called the name of the place Socoth, that is,
Tents.
33:18. And he passed over to Salem, a city of the Sichemites,
which is in the land of Chanaan, after he returned from
Mesopotamia of Syria: and he dwelt by the town.
33:19. And he bought that part of the field, in which he pitched
his tents, of the children of Hemor, the father of Sichem, for a
hundred lambs.
33:20. And raising an altar there, he invoked upon it the most
mighty God of Israel.
Genesis Chapter 34
Dina is ravished, for which the Sichemites are destroyed.
34:1. And Dina the daughter of Lia went out to see the women of
that country.
34:2. And when Sichem the son of Hemor the Hevite, the prince of
that land, saw her, he was in love with her: and took her away,
and lay with her, ravishing the virgin.
34:3. And his soul was fast knit unto her; and whereas she was
sad, he comforted her with sweet words.
34:4. And going to Hemor his father, he said: Get me this damsel
to wife.
34:5. But when Jacob had heard this, his sons being absent, and
employed in feeding the cattle, he held his peace till they came
back.
34:6. And when Hemor the father of Sichem was come out to speak
to Jacob,
34:7. Behold his sons came from the field: and hearing what had
passed, they were exceeding angry, because he had done a foul
thing in Israel, and committed an unlawful act, in ravishing
Jacob's daughter.
34:8. And Hemor spoke to them: The soul of my son Sichem has a
longing for your daughter: give her him to wife:
34:9. And let us contract marriages one with another: give us
your daughters, and take you our daughters.
34:10. And dwell with us: the land is at your command, till,
trade, and possess it.
34:11. Sichem also said to her father and to her brethren: Let
me find favour in your sight, and whatsoever you shall appoint I
will give:
34:12. Raise the dowry, and ask gifts, and I will gladly give
what you shall demand: only give me this damsel to wife.
34:13. The sons of Jacob answered Sichem and his father
deceitfully, being enraged at the deflowering of their sister:
Deceitfully. . .The sons of Jacob, on this occasion, were guilty
of a grievous sin, as well by falsely pretending religion, as by
excess of revenge: though otherwise their zeal against so foul a
crime was commendable.
34:14. We cannot do what you demand, nor give our sister to one
that is uncircumcised; which with us is unlawful and abominable.
34:15. But in this we may be allied with you, if you will be like
us, and all the male sex among you be circumcised:
34:16. Then will we mutually give and take your daughters, and
ours; and we will dwell with you, and will be one people:
34:17. But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our
daughter and depart.
34:18. Their offer pleased Hemor, and Sichem, his son:
34:19. And the young man made no delay, but forthwith fulfilled
what was required: for he loved the damsel exceedingly, and he
was the greatest man in all his father's house.
34:20. And going into the gate of the city, they spoke to the
people:
34:21. These men are peaceable, and are willing to dwell with us:
let them trade in the land, and till it, which being large and
wide wanteth men to till it: we shall take their daughters for
wives, and we will give them ours.
34:22. One thing there is for which so great a good is deferred:
We must circumcise every male among us, following the manner of
the nation.
34:23. And their substance, and cattle, and all that they
possess, shall be ours; only in this let us condescend, and by
dwelling together, we shall make one people.
34:24. And they all agreed, and circumcised all the males.
34:25. And behold the third day, when the pain of the wound was
greatest: two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the
brothers of Dina, taking their swords, entered boldly into the
city and slew all the men.
34:26. And they killed also Hemor and Sichem, and took away their
sister Dina out of Sichem's house.
34:27. And when they were gone out, the other sons of Jacob came
upon the slain; and plundered the city in revenge of the rape.
34:28. And they took their sheep, and their herds, and their
asses, wasting all they had in their houses and in their fields.
34:29. And their children and wives they took captive.
34:30. And when they had boldly perpetrated these things, Jacob
said to Simeon and Levi: You have troubled me, and made me
hateful to the Chanaanites and Pherezites, the inhabitants of
this land. We are few: they will gather themselves together and
kill me; and both I, and my house shall be destroyed.
34:31. They answered: Should they abuse our sister as a
strumpet?
Genesis Chapter 35
Jacob purgeth his family from idols: goeth by God's commandment
to Bethel, and there buildeth an altar. God appearing again to
Jacob blesseth him, and changeth his name into Israel. Rachel
dieth in childbirth. Isaac also dieth.
35:1. In the mean time God said to Jacob: Arise and go up to
Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who
appeared to thee when thou didst flee from Esau, thy brother.
35:2. And Jacob having called together all his household, said:
Cast away the strange gods that are among you, and be cleansed,
and change your garments.
35:3. Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, that we may make there
an altar to God; who heard me in the day of my affliction, and
accompained me in my journey.
35:4. So they gave him all the strange gods they had, and the
earrings which were in their ears: and he buried them under the
turpentine tree, that is behind the city of Sichem.
35:5. And when they were departed, the terror of God fell upon
all the cities round about, and they durst not pursue after them
as they went away.
35:6. And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan,
surnamed Bethel: he and all the people that were with him.
35:7. And he built there an altar, and called the name of that
place, The house of God: for there God appeared to him when he
fled from his brother.
35:8. At the same time Debora, the nurse of Rebecca, died, and
was buried at the foot of Bethel, under an oak, and the name of
that place was called, The oak of weeping.
35:9. And God appeared again to Jacob, after he returned from
Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him,
35:10. Saying: Thou shalt not be called any more Jacob, but
Israel shall be thy name. And he called him Israel.
Israel. . .This name signifieth one that prevaileth with God.
35:11. And said to him: I am God almighty, increase thou and be
multiplied. Nations and peoples of nations shall be from thee,
and kings shall come out of thy loins.
35:12. And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will
give to thee, and to thy seed after thee.
35:13. And he departed from him.
35:14. But he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God
had spoken to him: pouring drink-offerings upon it, and pouring
oil thereon:
35:15. And calling the name of that place Bethel.
35:16. And going forth from thence, he came in the spring time to
the land which leadeth to Ephrata: wherein when Rachel was in
travail,
35:17. By reason of her hard labour, she began to be in danger,
and the midwife said to her: Fear not, for thou shalt have this
son also.
35:18. And when her soul was departing for pain, and death was
now at hand, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, the
son of my pain: but his father called him Benjamin, that is, the
son of the right hand.
35:19. So Rachel died, and was buried in the highway that leadeth
to Ephrata, this is Bethlehem.
35:20. And Jacob erected a pillar over her sepulchre: this is
the pillar of Rachel's monument, to this day.
35:21. Departing thence, he pitched his tent beyond the Flock
tower.
35:22. And when he dwelt in that country, Ruben went, and slept
with Bala the concubine of his father: which he was not ignorant
of. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
The concubine. . .She was his lawful wife; but, according to the
style of the Hebrews, is called concubine, because of her servile
extraction.
35:23. The sons of Lia: Ruben the first born, and Simeon, and
Levi, and Juda, and Issachar, and Zabulon.
35:24. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
35:25. The sons of Bala, Rachel's handmaid: Dan and Nephthali.
35:26. The sons of Zelpha, Lia's handmaid: Gad and Aser: these
are the sons of Jacob, that were born to him in Mesopotamia of
Syria.
35:27. And he came to Isaac his father in Mambre, the city of
Arbee, this is Hebron: wherein Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
35:28. And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years.
35:29. And being spent with age he died, and was gathered to his
people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob
buried him.
Genesis Chapter 36
Esau with his wives and children parteth from Jacob. An account
of his descendants, and of the first kings of Edom.
36:1. And these are the generations of Esau, the same is Edom.
36:2. Esau took wives of the daughters of Chanaan: Ada the
daughter of Elon the Hethite, and Oolibama the daughter of Ana,
the daughter of Sebeon the Hevite:
Ada. . .These wives of Esau are called by other names, Gen. 26.
But it was very common amongst the ancients for the same persons
to have two names, as Esau himself was also called Edom.
36:3. And Basemath, the daughter of Ismael, sister of Nabajoth.
36:4. And Ada bore Eliphaz: Basemath bore Rahuel.
36:5. Oolibama bore Jehus, and Ihelon, and Core. These are the
sons of Esau, that were born to him in the land of Chanaan.
36:6. And Esau took his wives, and his sons and daughters, and
every soul of his house, and his substance, and cattle, and all
that he was able to acquire in the land of Chanaan: and went
into another country, and departed from his brother Jacob.
36:7. For they were exceeding rich, and could not dwell together:
neither was the land in which they sojourned able to bear them,
for the multitude of their flocks.
36:8. And Esau dwelt in mount Seir: he is Edom.
36:9. And these are the generations of Esau, the father of Edom,
in mount Seir.
36:10. And these the names of his sons: Eliphaz the son of Ada,
the wife of Esau: and Rahuel, the son of Basemath, his wife.
36:11. And Eliphaz had sons: Theman, Omar, Sepho, and Gatham and
Cenez.
36:12. And Thamna was the concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau:
and she bore him Amalech. These are the sons of Ada, the wife of
Esau.
36:13. And the sons of Rahuel were Nahath and Zara, Samma and
Meza. These were the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau.
36:14. And these were the sons of Oolibama, the daughter of Ana,
the daughter of Sebeon, the wife of Esau, whom she bore to him,
Jehus, and Ihelon, and Core.
36:15. These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of
Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: duke Theman, duke Omar, duke
Sepho, duke Cenez,
36:16. Duke Core, duke Gatham, duke Amalech: these are the sons
of Eliphaz, in the land of Edom, and these the sons of Ada.
36:17. And these were the sons of Rahuel, the son of Esau: duke
Nahath, duke Zara, duke Samma, duke Meza. And these are the
dukes of Rahuel, in the land of Edom: these the sons of
Basemath, the wife of Esau.
36:18. And these the sons of Oolibama, the wife of Esau: duke
Jehus, duke Ihelon, duke Core. These are the dukes of Oolibama,
the daughter of Ana, and wife of Esau.
36:19. These are the sons of Esau, and these the dukes of them:
the same is Edom.
36:20. These are the sons of Seir, the Horrite, the inhabitants
of the land: Lotan, and Sobal, and Sebeon, and Ana,
36:21. And Dison, and Eser, and Disan. These are dukes of the
Horrites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.
36:22. And Lotan had sons: Hori and Heman. And the sister of
Lotan was Thamna.
36:23. And these the sons of Sobal: Alvan, and Manahat, and
Ebal, and Sepho, and Onam.
36:24. And these the sons of Sebeon: Aia and Ana. This is Ana
that found the hot waters in the wilderness, when he fed the
asses of Sebeon, his father:
36:25. And he had a son Dison, and a daughter Oolibama.
36:26. And these were the sons of Dison: Hamdan, and Eseban, and
Jethram, and Charan.
36:27. These also were the sons of Eser: Balaan, and Zavan, and
Acan.
36:28. And Dison had sons: Hus and Aram.
36:29. These were dukes of the Horrites: duke Lotan, duke Sobal,
duke Sebeon, duke Ana,
36:30. Duke Dison, duke Eser, duke Disan: these were dukes of
the Horrites that ruled in the land of Seir.
36:31. And the kings that ruled in the land of Edom, before the
children of Israel had a king, were these:
36:32. Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city Denaba.
36:33. And Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zara, of Bosra,
reigned in his stead.
36:34. And when Jobab was dead, Husam, of the land of the
Themanites, reigned in his stead.
36:35. And after his death, Adad, the son of Badad, reigned in
his stead, who defeated the Madianites in the country of Boab;
and the name of his city was Avith.
36:36. And when Adad was dead, there reigned in his stead, Semla,
of Masreca.
36:37. And he being dead, Saul, of the river Rohoboth, reigned in
his stead.
36:38. And when he also was dead, Balanan, the son of Achobor,
succeeded to the kingdom.
36:39. This man also being dead, Adar reigned in his place; and
the name of his city was Phau: and his wife was called Meetabel,
the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezaab.
36:40. And these are the names of the dukes of Esau in their
kindreds, and places, and callings: duke Thamna, duke Alva, duke
Jetheth,
36:41. Duke Oolibama, duke Ela, duke Phinon,
36:42. Duke Cenez, duke Theman, duke Mabsar,
36:43. Duke Magdiel, duke Hiram: these are the dukes of Edom
dwelling in the land of their government; the same is Esau, the
father of the Edomites.
Genesis Chapter 37
Joseph's dreams: he is sold by his brethren, and carried into
Egypt.
37:1. And Jacob dwelt in the land of Chanaan, wherein his father
sojourned.
37:2. And these are his generations: Joseph, when he was sixteen
years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, being but a
boy: and he was with the sons of Bala and of Zelpha his father's
wives: and he accused his brethren to his father of a most
wicked crime.
37:3. Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had
him in his old age: and he made him a coat of divers colours.
37:4. And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father,
more than all his sons, hated hem, and could not speak peaceably
to him.
37:5. Now it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream,
that he had dreamed: which occasioned them to hate him the more.
A dream. . .These dreams of Joseph were prophetical, and sent
from God; as were also those which he interpreted, Gen. 40. and
41.; otherwise generally speaking, the observing of dreams is
condemned in the Scripture, as superstitious and sinful. See
Deut. 18.10; Eccli. 34.2,3.
37:6. And he said to them: Hear my dream which I dreamed.
37:7. I thought we were binding sheaves in the field: and my
sheaf arose as it were, and stood, and your sheaves standing
about bowed down before my sheaf.
37:8. His brethren answered: Shalt thou be our king? or shall
we be subject to thy dominion? Therefore this matter of his
dreams and words ministered nourishment to their envy and hatred.
37:9. He dreamed also another dream, which he told his brethren,
saying: I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and the moon, and
eleven stars worshipping me.
37:10. And when he had told this to his father, and brethren, his
father rebuked him and said: What meaneth this dream that thou
hast dreamed? shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren worship
thee upon the earth?
Worship. . .This word is not used here to signify divine worship,
but an inferior veneration, expressed by the bowing of the body,
and that, according to the manner of the eastern nations, down to
the ground.
37:11. His brethren therefore envied him: but his father
considered the thing with himself.
37:12. And when his brethren abode in Sechem, feeding their
father's flocks,
37:13. Israel said to him: Thy brethren feed the sheep in
Sichem: come, I will send thee to them. And when he answered:
37:14. I am ready: he said to him: Go, and see if all things be
well with thy brethren, and the cattle: and bring me word again
what is doing. So being sent from the vale of Hebron, he came to
Sichem:
37:15. And a man found him there wandering in the field, and
asked what he sought.
37:16. But he answered: I seek my brethren, tell me where they
feed the flocks.
37:17. And the man said to him: They are departed from this
place: for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothain. And Joseph
went forward after his brethren, and found them in Dothain.
37:18. And when they saw him afar off, before he came nigh them,
they thought to kill him:
37:19. And said one to another: Behold the dreamer cometh.
37:20. Come, let us kill him, and cast him into some old pit:
and we will say: Some evil beast hath devoured him: and then it
shall appear what his dreams avail him:
37:21. And Ruben hearing this, endeavoured to deliver him out of
their hands, and said:
37:22. Do not take away his life, nor shed his blood: but cast
him into this pit, that is in the wilderness, and keep your hands
harmless: now he said this, being desirous to deliver him out of
their hands and to restore him to his father.
37:23. And as soon as he came to his brethren, they forthwith
stript him of his outside coat, that was of divers colours:
37:24. And cast him into an old pit where there was not water.
37:25. And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ismaelites on
their way coming from Galaad, with their camels, carrying spices,
and balm, and myrrh to Egypt.
37:26. And Juda said to his brethren: What will it profit us to
kill our brother, and conceal his blood?
37:27. It is better that he be sold to the Ismaelites, and that
our hands be not defiled: for he is our brother and our flesh.
His brethren agreed to his words.
37:28. And when the Madianite merchants passed by, they drew him
out of the pit, and sold him to the Ismaelites, for twenty pieces
of silver: and they led him into Egypt.
37:29. And Ruben returning to the pit, found not the boy:
37:30. And rending his garments he went to his brethren, and
said: The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go?
37:31. And they took his coat, and dipped it in the blood of a
kid, which they had killed:
37:32. Sending some to carry it to their father, and to say:
This we have found: see whether it be thy son's coat, or not.
37:33. And the father acknowledging it, said: It is my son's
coat, an evil wild beast hath eaten him, a beast hath devoured
Joseph.
37:34. And tearing his garments, he put on sackcloth, mourning
for his son a long time.
37:35. And all his children being gathered together to comfort
their father in his sorrow, he would not receive comfort, but
said: I will go down to my son into hell, mourning. And whilst
he continued weeping,
Into hell. . .That is, into limbo, the place where the souls of
the just were received before the death of our Redeemer. For
allowing that the word hell sometimes is taken for the grave, it
cannot be so taken in this place; since Jacob did not believe his
son to be in the grave, (whom he supposed to be devoured by a
wild beast,) and therefore could not mean to go down to him
thither: but certainly meant the place of rest where he believed
his soul to be.
37:36. The Madianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Putiphar, an eunuch
of Pharao, captain of the soldiers.
An eunuch. . .This word sometimes signifies a chamberlain,
courtier, or officer of the king: and so it is taken in this
place.
Genesis Chapter 38
The sons of Juda: the death of Her and Onan: the birth of
Phares and Zara.
38:1. At that time Juda went down from his brethren, and turned
in to a certain Odollamite, named Hiras.
38:2. And he saw there the daughter of a man of Chanaan, called
Sue: and taking her to wife, he went in unto her.
38:3. And she conceived, and bore a son, and called his name Her.
38:4. And conceiving again, she bore a son, and called him Onan.
38:5. She bore also a third: whom she called Sela. After whose
birth, she ceased to bear any more.
38:6. And Juda took a wife for Her, his first born, whose name
was Thamar.
38:7. And Her, the first born of Juda, was wicked in the sight of
the Lord: and was slain by him.
38:8. Juda, therefore, said to Onan his son: Go in to thy
brother's wife and marry her, that thou mayst raise seed to thy
brother.
38:9. He knowing that the children should not be his, when he
went in to his brother's wife, he spilled his seed upon the
ground, lest children should be born in his brother's name.
38:10. And therefore the Lord slew him, because he did a
detestable thing:
38:11. Wherefore Juda said to Thamar his daughter-in-law: Remain
a widow in thy father's house, till Sela my son grow up: for he
was afraid lest he also might die, as his brethren did. She went
her way, and dwelt in her father's house.
38:12. And after many days were past: the daughter of Sue the
wife of Juda died: and when he had taken comfort after his
mourning, he went up to Thamnas, to the shearers of his sheep, he
and Hiras the Odollamite, the shepherd of his flock.
38:13. And it was told Thamar that her father-in-law was come up
to Thamnas to shear his sheep.
38:14. And she put off the garments of her widowhood, and took a
veil: and changing her dress, sat in the cross way, that leadeth
to Thamnas: because Sela was grown up, and she had not been
married to him.
38:15. When Juda saw her, he thought she was a harlot: for she
had covered her face, lest she should be known.
38:16. And going to her, he said: Suffer me to lie with thee:
for he knew her not to be his daughter-in-law. And she answered:
What wilt thou give me to enjoy my company?
38:17. He said: I will send thee a kid out of the flock. And
when she said again: I will suffer what thou wilt, if thou give
me a pledge, till thou send what thou promisest.
38:18. Juda said: What wilt thou have for a pledge? She
answered: Thy ring and bracelet, and the staff which thou
holdest in thy hand. The woman therefore at one copulation
conceived.
38:19. And she arose and went her way: and putting off the
apparel which she had taken, put on the garments of her
widowhood.
38:20. And Juda sent a kid by his shepherd, the Odollamite, that
he might receive the pledge again, which he had given to the
woman: but he, not finding her,
38:21. Asked the men of that place: Where is the woman that sat
in the cross way? And when they all made answer: There was no
harlot in this place,
38:22. He returned to Juda, and said to him: I have not found
her; moreover, the men of that place said to me, that there never
sat a harlot there.
38:23. Juda said: Let her take it to herself, surely she cannot
charge us with a lie, I sent the kid which I promised: and thou
didst not find her.
38:24. And behold, after three months, they told Juda, saying:
Thamar, thy daughter-in-law, hath played the harlot, and she
appeareth to have a big belly. And Juda said: Bring her out
that she may be burnt.
38:25. But when she was led to execution, she sent to her father
in law, saying: By the man, to whom these things belong, I am
with child. See whose ring, and bracelet, and staff this is.
38:26. But he acknowledging the gifts, said: She is juster than
I: because I did not give her to Sela, my son. However he knew
her no more.
38:27. And when she was ready to be brought to bed, there
appeared twins in her womb: and in the very delivery of the
infants, one put forth a hand, whereon the midwife tied a scarlet
thread, saying:
38:28. This shall come forth the first.
38:29. But he drawing back his hand, the other came forth: and
the woman said: Why is the partition divided for thee? and
therefore called his name Phares.
Phares. . .That is, a breach or division.
38:30. Afterwards his brother came out, on whose hand was the
scarlet thread: and she called his name Zara.
Genesis Chapter 39
Joseph hath charge of his master's house: rejecteth his
mistress's solicitations: is falsely accused by her, and cast
into prison, where he hath the charge of all the prisoners.
39:1. And Joseph was brought into Egypt, and Putiphar, an eunuch
of Pharao, chief captain of the army, an Egyptian, bought him of
the Ismaelites, by whom he was brought.
39:2. And the Lord was with him, and he was a prosperous man in
all things: and he dwelt in his master's house:
39:3. Who knew very well that the Lord was with him, and made all
that he did to prosper in his hand.
39:4. And Joseph found favour in the sight of his master, and
ministered to him: and being set over all by him, he governed
the house committed to him, and all things that were delivered to
him:
39:5. And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's
sake, and multiplied all his substance, both at home and in the
fields.
39:6. Neither knew he any other thing, but the bread which he
ate. And Joseph was of a beautiful countenance, and comely to
behold.
39:7. And after many days, his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph,
and said: Lie with me.
39:8. But he in no wise consenting to that wicked act said to
her: Behold, my master hath delivered all things to me, and
knoweth not what he hath in his own house:
39:9. Neither is there any thing which is not in my power, or
that he hath not delivered to me, but thee, who art his wife; how
then can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?
39:10. With such words as these day by day, both the woman was
importunate with the young man, and he refused the adultery.
39:11. Now it happened on a certain day, that Joseph went into
the house, and was doing some business, without any man with him:
39:12. And she catching the skirt of his garment, said: Lie with
me. But he leaving the garment in her hand, fled, and went out.
39:13. And when the woman saw the garment in her hands, and
herself disregarded,
39:14. She called to her the men of her house, and said to them:
See, he hath brought in a Hebrew, to abuse us: he came in to me,
to lie with me; and when I cried out,
39:15. And he heard my voice, he left the garment that I held,
and got him out.
39:16. For a proof therefore of her fidelity, she kept the
garment, and shewed it to her husband when he returned home:
A proof of her fidelity. . .or an argument to gain credit,
argumentum fidei.
39:17. And said: The Hebrew servant, whom thou hast brought,
came to me to abuse me.
39:18. And when he heard me cry, he left the garment which I
held, and fled out.
39:19. His master hearing these things, and giving too much
credit to his wife's words, was very angry,
39:20. And cast Joseph into the prison, where the king's
prisoners were kept, and he was there shut up.
39:21. But the Lord was with Joseph, and having mercy upon him
gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison:
39:22. Who delivered into his hand all the prisoners that were
kept in custody: and whatsoever was done, was under him.
39:23. Neither did he himself know any thing, having committed
all things to him: for the Lord was with him, and made all that
he did to prosper.
Genesis Chapter 40
Joseph interpreteth the dreams of two of Pharao's servants in
prison: the event declareth the interpretations to be true, but
Joseph is forgotten.
40:1. After this, it came to pass, that two eunuchs, the butler
and the baker of the king of Egypt, offended their lord.
40:2. And Pharao being angry with them, (now the one was chief
butler, the other chief baker,)
40:3. He sent them to the prison of the commander of the
soldiers, in which Joseph also was prisoner.
40:4. But the keeper of the prison delivered them to Joseph, and
he served them. Some little time passed, and they were kept in
custody.
40:5. And they both dreamed a dream the same night, according to
the interpretation agreeing to themselves:
40:6. And when Joseph was come into them in the morning, and saw
them sad,
40:7. He asked them, saying: Why is your countenance sadder
today than usual?
40:8. They answered: We have dreamed a dream, and there is
nobody to interpret it to us. And Joseph said to them: Doth not
interpretation belong to God? Tell me what you have dreamed:
Doth not interpretation belong to God?. . .When dreams are from
God, as these were, the interpretation of them is a gift of God.
But the generality of dreams are not of this sort; but either
proceed from the natural complexions and dispositions of persons,
or the roving of their imaginations in the day on such objects as
they are much affected with, or from their mind being disturbed
with cares and troubles, and oppressed with bodily infirmities:
or they are suggested by evil spirits, to flatter, or to terrify
weak minds, in order to gain belief, and so draw them into error
or superstition; or at least to trouble them in their sleep, whom
they cannot move when they are awake: so that the general rule,
with regard to dreams, is not to observe them, nor to give any
credit to them.
40:9. The chief butler first told his dream: I saw before me a
vine,
40:10. On which were three branches, which by little and little
sent out buds, and after the blossoms brought forth ripe grapes:
40:11. And the cup of Pharao was in my hand: and I took the
grapes, and pressed them into the cup which I held, and I gave
the cup to Pharao.
40:12. Joseph answered: This is the interpretation of the dream:
The three branches, are yet three days:
40:13. After which Pharao will remember thy service, and will
restore thee to thy former place: and thou shalt present him the
cup according to thy office, as before thou was wont to do.
40:14. Only remember me when it shall be well with thee, and do
me this kindness: to put Pharao in mind to take me out of this
prison:
40:15. For I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and
here without any fault was cast into the dungeon.
40:16. The chief baker seeing that he had wisely interpreted the
dream, said: I also dreamed a dream, That I had three baskets of
meal upon my head:
40:17. And that in one basket which was uppermost, I carried all
meats that are made by the art of baking, and that the birds ate
out of it.
40:18. Joseph answered: This is the interpretation of the dream:
The three baskets, are yet three days:
40:19. After which Pharao will take thy head from thee, and hang
thee on a cross, and the birds shall tear thy flesh.
40:20. The third day after this was the birthday of Pharao: and
he made a great feast for his servants, and at the banquet
remembered the chief butler, and the chief baker.
40:21. And he restored the one to his place, to present him the
cup:
40:22. The other he hanged on a gibbet, that the truth of the
interpreter might be shewn.
40:23. But the chief butler, when things prospered with him,
forgot his interpreter.
Genesis Chapter 41
Joseph interpreteth the two dreams of Pharao: he is made ruler
over all Egypt.
41:1. After two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by
the river,
41:2. Out of which came up seven kine, very beautiful and fat:
and they fed in marshy places.
41:3. Other seven also came up out of the river, ill-favoured,
and lean fleshed: and they fed on the very bank of the river, in
green places:
41:4. And they devoured them, whose bodies were very beautiful
and well conditioned. So Pharao awoke.
41:5. He slept again, and dreamed another dream: Seven ears of
corn came up upon one stalk full and fair:
41:6. Then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted,
41:7. And devoured all the beauty of the former. Pharao awaked
after his rest:
41:8. And when morning was come, being struck with fear, he sent
to all the interpreters of Egypt, and to all the wise men: and
they being called for, he told them his dream, and there was not
any one that could interpret it.
41:9. Then at length the chief butler remembering, said: I
confess my sin:
41:10. The king being angry with his servants, commanded me and
the chief baker to be cast into the prison of the captain of the
soldiers.
41:11. Where in one night both of us dreamed a dream foreboding
things to come.
41:12. There was there a young man a Hebrew, servant to the same
captain of the soldiers: to whom we told our dreams,
41:13. And we heard what afterwards the event of the thing proved
to be so. For I was restored to my office: and he was hanged
upon a gibbet.
41:14. Forthwith at the king's command Joseph was brought out of
the prison, and they shaved him: and changing his apparel
brought him in to him.
41:15. And he said to him: I have dreamed dreams, and there is
no one that can expound them: Now I have heard that thou art
very wise at interpreting them:
41:16. Joseph answered: Without me, God shall give Pharao a
prosperous answer.
41:17. So Pharao told what he had dreamed: Methought I stood
upon the bank of the river,
41:18. And seven kine came up out of the river, exceeding
beautiful and full of flesh: and they grazed on green places in
a marshy pasture.
41:19. And behold, there followed these, other seven kine, so
very ill-favoured and lean, that I never saw the like in the land
of Egypt:
41:20. And they devoured and consumed the former,
41:21. And yet gave no mark of their being full: but were as
lean and ill-favoured as before. I awoke, and then fell asleep
again,
41:22. And dreamed a dream: Seven ears of corn grew up upon one
stalk, full and very fair.
41:23. Other seven also thin and blasted, sprung of the stalk:
41:24. And they devoured the beauty of the former: I told this
dream to the conjecturers, and there is no man that can expound
it.
41:25. Joseph answered: The king's dream is one: God hath shewn
to Pharao what he is about to do.
41:26. The seven beautiful kine, and the seven full ears, are
seven years of plenty: and both contain the same meaning of the
dream.
41:27. And the seven lean and thin kine that came up after them,
and the seven thin ears that were blasted with the burning wind,
are seven years of famine to come:
41:28. Which shall be fulfilled in this order.
41:29. Behold, there shall come seven years of great plenty in
the whole land of Egypt:
41:30. After which shall follow other seven years of so great
scarcity, that all the abundance before shall be forgotten: for
the famine shall consume all the land,
41:31. And the greatness of the scarcity shall destroy the
greatness of the plenty.
41:32. And for that thou didst see the second time a dream
pertaining to the same thing: it is a token of the certainty,
and that the word of God cometh to pass, and is fulfilled
speedily.
41:33. Now therefore let the king provide a wise and industrious
man, and make him ruler over the land of Egypt:
41:34. That he may appoint overseers over all the countries: and
gather into barns the fifth part of the fruits, during the seven
fruitful years,
41:35. That shall now presently ensue: and let all the corn be
laid up, under Pharao's hands, and be reserved in the cities.
41:36. And let it be in readiness, against the famine of seven
years to come, which shall oppress Egypt, and the land shall not
be consumed with scarcity.
41:37. The counsel pleased Pharao, and all his servants.
41:38. And he said to them: Can we find such another man, that
is full of the spirit of God?
41:39. He said therefore to Joseph: Seeing God hath shewn thee
all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto
thee?
41:40. Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy
mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will
I be above thee.
41:41. And again Pharao said to Joseph: Behold, I have appointed
thee over the whole land of Egypt.
41:42. And he took his ring from his own hand, and gave it into
his hand: and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of
gold about his neck.
41:43. And he made him go up into his second chariot, the crier
proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that
they should know he was made governor over the whole land of
Egypt.
41:44. And the king said to Joseph: I am Pharao: without thy
commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of
Egypt.
41:45. And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian
tongue the saviour of the world. And he gave him to wife
Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis. Then
Joseph went out to the land of Egypt.
The saviour of the world. . .Zaphnah paaneah.
41:46. (Now he was thirty years old when he stood before king
Pharao), and he went round all the countries of Egypt.
41:47. And the fruitfulness of the seven years came: and the
corn being bound up into sheaves, was gathered together into the
barns of Egypt.
41:48. And all the abundance of grain was laid up in every city.
41:49. And there was so great abundance of wheat, that it was
equal to the sand of the sea, and the plenty exceeded measure.
41:50. And before the famine came, Joseph had two sons born:
whom Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis,
bore unto him.
41:51. And he called the name of the firstborn Manasses, saying:
God hath made me to forget all my labours, and my father's house.
Manasses. . .That is, oblivion, or forgetting.
41:52. And he named the second Ephraim, saying: God hath made me
to grow in the land of my poverty.
Ephraim. . .That is, fruitful, or growing.
41:53. Now when the seven years of plenty that had been in Egypt
were passed:
41:54. The seven years of scarcity, which Joseph had foretold,
began to come: and the famine prevailed in the whole world, but
there was bread in all the land of Egypt.
41:55. And when there also they began to be famished, the people
cried to Pharao, for food. And he said to them: Go to Joseph:
and do all that he shall say to you.
41:56. And the famine increased daily in all the land: and
Joseph opened all the barns, and sold to the Egyptians: for the
famine had oppressed them also.
41:57. And all provinces came into Egypt, to buy food, and to
seek some relief of their want.
Genesis Chapter 42
Jacob sendeth his ten sons to buy corn in Egypt. Their treatment
by Joseph.
42:1. And Jacob hearing that food was sold in Egypt, said to his
sons: Why are ye careless?
42:2. I have heard that wheat is sold in Egypt: Go ye down, and
buy us necessaries, that we may live, and not be consumed with
want.
42:3. So the ten brethren of Joseph went down, to buy corn in
Egypt:
42:4. Whilst Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his
brethren: Lest perhaps he take any harm in the journey.
42:5. And they entered into the land of Egypt with others that
went to buy. For the famine was in the land of Chanaan.
42:6. And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and corn was
sold by his direction to the people. And when his brethren had
bowed down to him,
42:7. And he knew them, he spoke as it were to strangers,
somewhat roughly, asking them: Whence came you? They answered:
From the land of Chanaan, to buy necessaries of life.
42:8. And though he knew his brethren, he was not known by them.
42:9. And remembering the dreams, which formerly he had dreamed,
he said to them: You are spies. You are come to view the weaker
parts of the land.
You are spies. . .This he said by way of examining them, to see
what they would answer.
42:10. But they said: It is not so, my lord; but thy servants
are come to buy food.
42:11. We are all the sons of one man: we are come as peaceable
men, neither do thy servants go about any evil.
42:12. And he answered them: It is otherwise: you are come to
consider the unfenced parts of this land.
42:13. But they said: We thy servants are twelve brethren, the
sons of one man in the land of Chanaan: the youngest is with our
father, the other is not living.
42:14. He saith, This is it that I said: You are spies.
42:15. I shall now presently try what you are: by the health of
Pharao, you shall not depart hence, until your youngest brother
come.
42:16. Send one of you to fetch him: and you shall be in prison,
till what you have said be proved, whether it be true or false:
or else by the health of Pharao you are spies.
Or else by the health of Pharao you are spies. . .That is, if
these things you say be proved false, you are to be held for
spies for your lying, and shall be treated as such. Joseph dealt
in this manner with his brethren, to bring them by the means of
affliction to a sense of their former sin, and a sincere
repentance for it.
42:17. So he put them in prison three days.
42:18. And the third day he brought them out of prison, and said:
Do as I have said, and you shall live: for I fear God.
42:19. If you be peaceable men, let one of your brethren be bound
in prison: and go ye your ways, and carry the corn that you have
bought, unto your houses.
42:20. And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may find
your words to be true, and you may not die. They did as he had
said.
42:21. And they talked one to another: We deserve to suffer
these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing
the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not
hear: therefore is this affliction come upon us.
42:22. And Ruben, one of them, said: Did not I say to you: Do
not sin against the boy; and you would not hear me? Behold his
blood is required.
42:23. And they knew not that Joseph understood, because he spoke
to them by an interpreter.
42:24. And he turned himself away a little while, and wept: and
returning, he spoke to them.
42:25. And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he
commanded his servants to fill their sacks with wheat, and to put
every man's money again in their sacks, and to give them besides
provisions for the way: and they did so.
42:26. But they having loaded their asses with the corn went
their way.
42:27. And one of them opening his sack, to give his beast
provender in the inn, saw the money in the sack's mouth,
42:28. And said to his brethren: My money is given me again;
behold it is in the sack. And they were astonished, and
troubled, and said to one another: What is this that God hath
done unto us?
42:29. And they came to Jacob their father in the land of
Chanaan, and they told him all things that had befallen them,
saying:
42:30. The lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us to
be spies of the country.
42:31. And we answered him: We are peaceable men, and we mean no
plot.
42:32. We are twelve brethren born of one father: one is not
living, the youngest is with our father in the land of Chanaan.
42:33. And he said to us: Hereby shall I know that you are
peaceable men: Leave one of your brethren with me, and take ye
necessary provision for your houses, and go your ways,
42:34. And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know you
are not spies: and you may receive this man again, that is kept
in prison: and afterwards may have leave to buy what you will.
42:35. When they had told this, they poured out their corn, and
every man found his money tied in the mouth of his sack: and all
being astonished together,
42:36. Their father Jacob said: You have made me to be without
children: Joseph is not living, Simeon is kept in bonds, and
Benjamin you will take away: all these evils are fallen upon me.
42:37. And Ruben answered him: Kill my two sons, if I bring him
not again to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will restore
him to thee.
42:38. But he said: My son shall not go down with you: his
brother is dead, and he is left alone: if any mischief befall
him in the land to which you go, you will bring down my grey
hairs with sorrow to hell.
To hell. . .That is, to that place, where the souls then
remained, as above, chapter 37. ver. 35.
Genesis Chapter 43
The sons of Jacob go again into Egypt with Benjamin. They are
entertained by Joseph.
43:1. In the mean time the famine was heavy upon all the land.
43:2. And when they had eaten up all the corn, which they had
brought out of Egypt, Jacob said to his sons: Go again, and buy
us a little food.
43:3. Juda answered: The man declared unto us with the
attestation of an oath, saying: You shall not see my face,
unless you bring your youngest brother with you.
43:4. If therefore thou wilt send him with us, we will set out
together, and will buy necessaries for thee.
43:5. But if thou wilt not, we will not go: for the man, as we
have often said, declared unto us, saying: You shall not see my
face without your youngest brother.
43:6. Israel said to them: You have done this for my misery, in
that you told him you had also another brother.
43:7. But they answered: The man asked us in order concerning
our kindred: if our father lived: if we had a brother: and we
answered him regularly, according to what he demanded: could we
know that he would say: Bring hither your brother with you?
43:8. And Juda said to his father: Send the boy with me, that we
may set forward, and may live: lest both we and our children
perish.
43:9. I take the boy upon me, require him at my hand: unless I
bring him again, and restore him to thee, I will be guilty of sin
against thee for ever.
43:10. If delay had not been made, we had been here again the
second time.
43:11. Then Israel said to them: If it must needs be so, do what
you will: take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels,
and carry down presents to the man, a little balm, and honey, and
storax, myrrh, turpentine, and almonds.
Balm. . .Literally rosin, resinae; but here by that name is meant
balm.
43:12. And take with you double money, and carry back what you
found in your sacks, lest perhaps it was done by mistake.
43:13. And take also your brother, and go to the man.
43:14. And may my almighty God make him favourable to you: and
send back with you your brother, whom he keepeth, and this
Benjamin: and as for me I shall be desolate without children.
43:15. So the men took the presents, and double money, and
Benjamin: and went down into Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
43:16. And when he had seen them, and Benjamin with them, he
commanded the steward of his house, saying: Bring in the men
into the house, and kill victims, and prepare a feast: because
they shall eat with me at noon.
43:17. He did as he was commanded, and brought the men into the
house.
43:18. And they being much afraid, said there one to another:
Because of the money, which we carried back the first time in our
sacks, we are brought in: that he may bring upon us a false
accusation, and by violence make slaves of us and our asses.
43:19. Wherefore, going up to the steward of the house, at the
door,
43:20. They said: Sir, we desire thee to hear us. We came down
once before to buy food:
43:21. And when we had bought, and were come to the inn, we
opened our sacks, and found our money in the mouths of the sacks:
which we have now brought again in the same weight.
43:22. And we have brought other money besides, to buy what we
want: we cannot tell who put it in our bags.
43:23. But he answered: Peace be with you, fear not: your God,
and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your
sacks. For the money, which you gave me, I have for good. And
he brought Simeon out to them.
43:24. And having brought them into the house, he fetched water,
and they washed their feet, and he gave provender to their asses.
43:25. But they made ready the presents, against Joseph came at
noon: for they had heard that they should eat bread there.
43:26. Then Joseph came in to his house, and they offered him the
presents, holding them in their hands; and they bowed down with
their face to the ground.
43:27. But he courteously saluting them again, asked them,
saying: Is the old man your father in health, of whom you told
me? Is he yet living?
43:28. And they answered: Thy servant our father, is in health;
he is yet living. And bowing themselves, they made obeisance to
him.
43:29. And Joseph lifting up his eyes, saw Benjamin, his brother
by the same mother, and said: Is this your young brother, of
whom you told me? And he said: God be gracious to thee, my son.
43:30. And he made haste, because his heart was moved upon his
brother, and tears gushed out: and going into his chamber, he
wept.
43:31. And when he had washed his face, coming out again, he
refrained himself, and said: Set bread on the table.
43:32. And when it was set on, for Joseph apart, and for his
brethren apart, for the Egyptians also that ate with him apart,
(for it is unlawful for the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews,
and they think such a feast profane):
43:33. They sat before him, the firstborn according to his
birthright, and the youngest according to his age. And they
wondered very much;
43:34. Taking the messes which they received of him: and the
greater mess came to Benjamin, so that it exceeded by five parts.
And they drank, and were merry with him.
Genesis Chapter 44
Joseph's contrivance to stop his brethren. The humble
supplication of Juda.
44:1. And Joseph commanded the steward of his house, saying:
Fill their sacks with corn, as much as they can hold: and put
the money of every one in the top of his sack.
44:2. And in the mouth of the younger's sack put my silver cup,
and the price which he gave for the wheat. And it was so done.
44:3. And when the morning arose, they were sent away with their
asses.
44:4. And when they were now departed out of the city, and had
gone forward a little way: Joseph sending for the steward of his
house, said: Arise, and pursue after the men: and when thou
hast overtaken them, say to them: Why have you returned evil for
good?
44:5. The cup which you have stolen, is that in which my lord
drinketh, and in which he is wont to divine: you have done a
very evil thing.
44:6. He did as he had commanded him. And having overtaken them,
he spoke to them the same words.
44:7. And they answered: Why doth our lord speak so, as though
thy servants had committed so heinous a fact?
44:8. The money, that we found in the top of our sacks, we
brought back to thee from the land of Chanaan: how then should
it be that we should steal out of thy lord's house, gold or
silver?
44:9. With whomsoever of thy servants shall be found that which
thou seekest, let him die, and we will be the bondmen of my lord.
44:10. And he said to them: Let it be according to your
sentence: with whomsoever it shall be found, let him be my
servant, and you shall be blameless.
44:11. Then they speedily took down their sacks to the ground,
and every man opened his sack.
44:12. Which when he had searched, beginning at the eldest, and
ending at the youngest, he found the cup in Benjamin's sack.
44:13. Then they rent their garments, and loading their asses
again, returned into the town.
44:14. And Juda at the head of his brethren went in to Joseph
(for he was not yet gone out of the place) and they all together
fell down before him on the ground.
44:15. And he said to them: Why would you do so? know you not
that there is no one like me in the science of divining.
The science of divining. . .He speaks of himself according to
what he was esteemed in that kingdom. And indeed, he being truly
a prophet, knew more without comparison than any of the Egyptian
sorcerers.
44:16. And Juda said to him: What shall we answer my lord? or
what shall we say, or be able justly to allege? God hath found
out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are all bondmen to
my lord, both we, and he with whom the cup was found.
44:17. Joseph answered: God forbid that I should do so: he that
stole the cup, he shall be my bondman: and go you away free to
your father.
44:18. Then Juda coming nearer, said boldly: I beseech thee, my
lord, let thy servant speak a word in thy ears, and be not angry
with thy servant: for after Pharao thou art.
44:19. My lord. Thou didst ask thy servants the first time:
Have you a father or a brother.
44:20. And we answered thee, my lord: We have a father an old
man, and a young boy, that was born in his old age; whose brother
by the mother is dead; and he alone is left of his mother, and
his father loveth him tenderly.
44:21. And thou saidst to thy servants: Bring him hither to me,
and I will set my eyes on him.
44:22. We suggested to my lord: The boy cannot leave his father:
for if he leave him, he will die.
44:23. And thou saidst to thy servants: Except your youngest
brother come with you, you shall see my face no more.
44:24. Therefore when we were gone up to thy servant our father,
we told him all that my lord had said.
44:25. And our father said: Go again, and buy us a little wheat.
44:26. And we said to him: We cannot go: if our youngest
brother go down with us, we will set out together: otherwise,
without him we dare not see the man's face.
44:27. Whereunto he answered: You know that my wife bore me two.
44:28. One went out, and you said: A beast devoured him; and
hitherto he appeareth not.
44:29. If you take this also, and any thing befall him in the
way, you will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow unto hell.
44:30. Therefore, if I shall go to thy servant, our father, and
the boy be wanting, (whereas his life dependeth upon the life of
him,)
44:31. And he shall see that he is not with us, he will die, and
thy servants shall bring down his grey hairs with sorrow unto
hell.
His gray hairs. . .That is, his person, now far advanced in
years.--With sorrow unto hell. . .The Hebrew word for hell is
here sheol, the Greek hades: it is not taken for the hell of the
damned; but for that place of souls below where the servants of
God were kept before the coming of Christ. Which place, both in
the Scripture and in the creed, is named hell.
44:32. Let me be thy proper servant, who took him into my trust,
and promised, saying: If I bring him not again, I will be guilty
of sin against my father for ever.
44:33. Therefore I, thy servant, will stay instead of the boy in
the service of my lord, and let the boy go up with his brethren.
44:34. For I cannot return to my father without the boy, lest I
be a witness of the calamity that will oppress my father.
Genesis Chapter 45
Joseph maketh himself known to his brethren: and sendeth for his
father.
45:1. Joseph could no longer refrain himself before many that
stood by: whereupon he commanded that all should go out, and no
stranger be present at their knowing one another.
45:2. And he lifted up his voice with weeping, which the
Egyptians, and all the house of Pharao heard.
45:3. And he said to his brethren: I am Joseph: Is my father
yet living? His brethren could not answer him, being struck with
exceeding great fear.
45:4. And he said mildly to them: Come nearer to me. And when
they were come near him, he said: I am Joseph, your brother,
whom you sold into Egypt.
45:5. Be not afraid, and let it not seem to you a hard case that
you sold me into these countries: for God sent me before you
into Egypt for your preservation.
45:6. For it is two years since the famine began to be upon the
land, and five years more remain, wherein there can be neither
ploughing nor reaping.
45:7. And God sent me before, that you may be preserved upon the
earth, and may have food to live.
45:8. Not by your counsel was I sent hither, but by the will of
God: who hath made me as it were a father to Pharao, and lord of
his whole house, and governor in all the land of Egypt.
45:9. Make haste, and go ye up to my father, and say to him:
Thus saith thy son Joseph: God hath made me lord of the whole
land of Egypt; come down to me, linger not.
45:10. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Gessen: and thou
shalt be near me, thou and thy sons, and thy sons' sons, thy
sheep, and thy herds, and all things that thou hast.
45:11. And there I will feed thee, (for there are yet five years
of famine remaining) lest both thou perish, and thy house, and
all things that thou hast.
45:12. Behold, your eyes, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin,
see that it is my mouth that speaketh to you.
45:13. You shall tell my father of all my glory, and all things
that you have seen in Egypt: make haste and bring him to me.
45:14. And falling upon the neck of his brother Benjamin, he
embraced him and wept: and Benjamin in like manner wept also on
his neck.
45:15. And Joseph kissed all his brethren, and wept upon every
one of them: after which they were emboldened to speak to him.
45:16. And it was heard, and the fame was spread abroad in the
king's court: The brethren of Joseph are come; and Pharao with
all his family was glad.
45:17. And he spoke to Joseph that he should give orders to his
brethren, saying: Load your beasts, and go into the land of
Chanaan,
45:18. And bring away from thence your father and kindred, and
come to me; and I will give you all the good things of Egypt,
that you may eat the marrow of the land.
45:19. Give orders also that they take wagons out of the land of
Egypt, for the carriage of their children and their wives; and
say: Take up your father, and make haste to come with all speed:
45:20. And leave nothing of your household stuff; for all the
riches of Egypt shall be yours.
45:21. And the sons of Israel did as they were bid. And Joseph
gave them wagons according to Pharao's commandment: and
provisions for the way.
45:22. He ordered also to be brought out for every one of them
two robes: but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of
silver, with five robes of the best:
45:23. Sending to his father as much money and raiment; adding
besides, ten he-asses, to carry off all the riches of Egypt, and
as many she-asses, carrying wheat and bread for the journey.
45:24. So he sent away his brethren, and at their departing said
to them: Be not angry in the way.
45:25. And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of
Chanaan, to their father Jacob.
45:26. And they told him, saying: Joseph, thy son, is living;
and he is ruler in all the land of Egypt. Which when Jacob
heard, he awaked as it were out of a deep sleep, yet did not
believe them.
45:27. They, on the other side, told the whole order of the
thing. And when he saw the wagons, and all that he had sent, his
spirit revived,
45:28. And he said: It is enough for me if Joseph, my son, be
yet living: I will go and see him before I die.
Genesis Chapter 46
Israel, warranted by a vision from God, goeth down into Egypt
with all his family.
46:1. And Israel taking his journey, with all that he had, came
to the well of the oath, and killing victims there to the God of
his father Isaac,
The well of the oath. . .Bersabee.
46:2. He heard him, by a vision in the night, calling him, and
saying to him: Jacob, Jacob. And he answered him: Lo, here I
am.
46:3. God said to him: I am the most mighty God of thy father;
fear not, go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of
thee there.
46:4. I will go down with thee thither, and will bring thee back
again from thence: Joseph also shall put his hands upon thy
eyes.
46:5. And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath: and his sons
took him up, with their children and wives in the wagons, which
Pharao had sent to carry the old man,
46:6. And all that he had in the land of Chanaan: and he came
into Egypt with all his seed;
46:7. His sons, and grandsons, daughters, and all his offspring
together.
46:8. And these are the names of the children of Israel, that
entered into Egypt, he and his children. His firstborn Ruben,
46:9. The sons of Ruben: Henoch and Phallu, and Hesron and
Charmi.
46:10. The sons of Simeon: Jamuel and Jamin and Ahod, and Jachin
and Sohar, and Saul, the son of a woman of Chanaan.
46:11. The sons of Levi: Gerson and Caath, and Merari.
46:12. The sons of Juda: Her and Onan, and Sela, and Phares and
Zara. And Her and Onan died in the land of Chanaan. And sons
were born to Phares: Hesron and Hamul.
46:13. The sons of Issachar: Thola and Phua, and Job and Semron.
46:14. The sons of Zabulon: Sared, and Elon, and Jahelel.
46:15. These are the sons of Lia, whom she bore in Mesopotamia of
Syria, with Dina, his daughter. All the souls of her sons and
daughters, thirty-three.
46:16. The sons of Gad: Sephion and Haggi, and Suni and Esebon,
and Heri and Arodi, and Areli.
46:17. The sons of Aser: Jamne and Jesua, and Jessuri and Beria,
and Sara their sister. The sons of Beria: Heber and Melchiel.
46:18. These are the sons of Zelpha, whom Laban gave to Lia, his
daughter. And these she bore to Jacob, sixteen souls.
46:19. The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin.
46:20. And sons were born to Joseph, in the land of Egypt, whom
Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis, bore
him: Manasses and Ephraim.
46:21. The sons of Benjamin: Bela and Bechor, and Asbel and
Gera, and Naaman and Echi, and Ross and Mophim, and Ophim and
Ared.
46:22. These are the sons of Rachel, whom she bore to Jacob: all
the souls, fourteen.
46:23. The sons of Dan: Husim.
46:24. The sons of Nephthali: Jaziel and Guni, and Jeser and
Sallem.
46:25. These are the sons of Bala, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his
daughter: and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls, seven.
46:26. All the souls that went with Jacob into Egypt, and that
came out of his thigh, besides his sons' wives, sixty-six.
46:27. And the sons of Joseph, that were born to him in the land
of Egypt, two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, that
entered into Egypt, were seventy.
46:28. And he sent Juda before him to Joseph, to tell him; and
that he should meet him in Gessen.
46:29. And when he was come thither, Joseph made ready his
chariot, and went up to meet his father in the same place: and
seeing him, he fell upon his neck, and embracing him, wept.
46:30. And the father said to Joseph: Now shall I die with joy,
because I have seen thy face, and leave thee alive.
46:31. And Joseph said to his brethren, and to all his father's
house: I will go up, and will tell Pharao, and will say to him:
My brethren, and my father's house, that were in the land of
Chanaan, are come to me:
46:32. And the men are shepherds, and their occupation is to feed
cattle; their flocks, and herds, and all they have, they have
brought with them.
46:33. And when he shall call you, and shall say: What is your
occupation?
46:34. You shall answer: We, thy servants, are shepherds, from
our infancy until now, both we and our fathers. And this you
shall say, that you may dwell in the land of Gessen, because the
Egyptians have all shepherds in abomination.
Genesis Chapter 47
Jacob and his sons are presented before Pharao: he giveth them
the land of Gessen. The famine forceth the Egyptians to sell all
their possessions to the king.
47:1. Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and
brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess,
are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the
land of Gessen.
47:2. Five men also, the last of his brethren, he presented
before the king:
The last. . .xtremos. Some interpret this word of the chiefest,
and most rightly: but Joseph seems rather to have chosen out
such as had the meanest appearance, that Pharao might not think
of employing them at court, with danger of their morals and
religion.
47:3. And he asked them: What is your occupation? They
answered: We, thy servants, are shepherds, both we and our
fathers.
47:4. We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no
grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very
grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders
that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.
47:5. The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy
brethren are come to thee.
47:6. The land of Egypt is before thee: and make them dwell in
the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou
knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them
rulers over my cattle.
47:7. After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and
presented him before him: and he blessed him.
47:8. And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years
of thy life?
47:9. He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and
thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days
of the pilgrimage of my fathers.
47:10. And blessing the king, he went out.
47:11. But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his
brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as
Pharao had commanded.
47:12. And he nourished them, and all his father's house,
allowing food to every one.
47:13. For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a
famine had oppressed the land, more especially of Egypt and
Chanaan;
47:14. Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn
which they bought, and brought it in to the king's treasure.
47:15. And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to
Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy
presence, having now no money?
47:16. And he answered them: Bring me your cattle, and for them
I will give you food, if you have no money.
47:17. And when they had brought them, he gave them food in
exchange for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and asses: and
he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle.
47:18. And they came the second year, and said to him: We will
not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our
cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have
nothing now left but our bodies and our lands.
47:19. Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be
thine, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king's servants,
and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned
into a wilderness.
47:20. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling
his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he
brought it into Pharao's hands:
47:21. And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt,
even to the other end thereof,
47:22. Except the land of the priests, which had been given them
by the king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given
out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to
sell their possessions.
47:23. Then Joseph said to the people: Behold, as you see, both
you and your lands belong to Pharao; take seed and sow the
fields,
47:24. That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to
the king; the other four you shall have for seed, and for food
for your families and children.
47:25. And they answered: our life is in thy hand; only let my
lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.
47:26. From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt,
the fifth part is paid to the kings, and it is become as a law,
except the land of the priests, which was free from this
covenant.
47:27. So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen,
and possessed it; and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.
47:28. And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of
his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.
47:29. And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he
called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour
in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me
this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt.
47:30. But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt take me
away out of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my
ancestors. And Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast
commanded.
47:31. And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing,
Israel adored God, turning to the bed's head.
To the bed's head. . .St. Paul, Heb. 11.21, following the Greek
translation of the Septuagint, reads adored the top of his rod.
Where note, that the same word in the Hebrew, according to the
different pointing of it, signifies both a bed and a rod. And to
verify both these sentences, we must understand that Jacob
leaning on Joseph's rod adored, turning towards the head of his
bed: which adoration, inasmuch as it was referred to God, was an
absolute and sovereign worship: but inasmuch as it was referred
to the rod of Joseph, as a figure of the sceptre, that is, of the
royal dignity of Christ, was only an inferior and relative
honour.
Genesis Chapter 48
Joseph visiteth his father in his sickness, who adopteth his two
sons Manasses and Ephraim, and blesseth them, preferring the
younger before the elder.
48:1. After these things, it was told Joseph that his father was
sick; and he set out to go to him, taking his two sons Manasses
and Ephraim.
48:2. And it was told the old man: Behold thy son Joseph cometh
to thee. And being strengthened, he sat on his bed.
48:3. And when Joseph was come in to him, he said: God almighty
appeared to me at Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, and he
blessed me,
48:4. And said: I will cause thee to increase and multiply, and
I will make of thee a multitude of people: and I will give this
land to thee, and to thy seed after thee for an everlasting
possession.
48:5. So thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt
before I came hither to thee, shall be mine: Ephraim and
Manasses shall be reputed to me as Ruben and Simeon.
48:6. But the rest whom thou shalt have after them, shall be
thine, and shall be called by the name of their brethren in their
possessions.
48:7. For, when I came out of Mesopotamia, Rachel died from me in
the land of Chanaan in the very journey, and it was spring time:
and I was going to Ephrata, and I buried her near the way of
Ephrata, which by another name is called Bethlehem.
48:8. Then seeing his sons, he said to him: Who are these?
48:9. He answered: They are my sons, whom God hath given me in
this place. And he said: Bring them to me, that I may bless
them.
48:10. For Israel's eyes were dim by reason of his great age, and
he could not see clearly. And when they were brought to him, he
kissed and embraced them,
48:11. And said to his son: I am not deprived of seeing thee;
moreover God hath shewn me thy seed.
48:12. And when Joseph had taken them from his father's lap, he
bowed down with his face to the ground.
48:13. And he set Ephraim on his right hand, that is, towards the
left hand of Israel; but Manasses on his left hand, to wit,
towards his father's right hand, and brought them near to him.
48:14. But he, stretching forth his right hand, put it upon the
head of Ephraim, the younger brother; and the left upon the head
of Manasses, who was the elder, changing his hands.
48:15. And Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and said: God, in
whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, God that feedeth
me from my youth until this day:
48:16. The angel that delivereth me from all evils, bless these
boys: and let my name be called upon them, and the names of my
fathers Abraham and Isaac; and may they grow into a multitude
upon the earth.
48:17. And Joseph seeing that his father had put his right hand
upon the head of Ephraim, was much displeased: and taking his
father's hand, he tried to lift it from Ephraim's head, and to
remove it to the head of Manasses.
48:18. And he said to his father: It should not be so, my
father; for this is the firstborn, put thy right hand upon his
head.
48:19. But he refusing, said: I know, my son, I know: and this
also shall become a people, and shall be multiplied; but his
younger brother shall be greater than he; and his seed shall grow
into nations.
48:20. And he blessed them at that time, saying: In thee shall
Israel be blessed, and it shall be said: God do to thee as to
Ephraim, and as to Manasses. And he set Ephraim before Manasses.
48:21. And he said to Joseph, his son: Behold I die, and God
will be with you, and will bring you back into the land of your
fathers.
48:22. I give thee a portion above thy brethren, which I took out
of the hand of the Amorrhite with my sword and bow.
Genesis Chapter 49
Jacob's prophetical blessings of his twelve sons: his death.
49:1. And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather
yourselves together, that I may tell you the things that shall
befall you in the last days.
49:2. Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob,
hearken to Israel, your father:
49:3. Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the
beginning of my sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command.
My strength, etc. . .He calls him his strength, as being born
whilst his father was in his full strength and vigour: he calls
him the beginning of his sorrow, because cares and sorrows
usually come on with the birth of children. Excelling in gifts,
etc., because the firstborn had a title to a double portion, and
to have the command over his brethren, which Ruben forfeited by
his sin; being poured out as water, that is, spilt and lost.
49:4. Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not; because thou
wentest up to thy father's bed, and didst defile his couch.
Grow thou not. . .This was not meant by way of a curse or
imprecation; but by way of a prophecy foretelling that the tribe
of Ruben should not inherit the pre-eminences usually annexed to
the first birthright, viz., the double portion, the being prince
or lord over the other brethren, and the priesthood: of which
the double portion was given to Joseph, the princely office to
Juda, and the priesthood to Levi.
49:5. Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity waging war.
49:6. Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in
their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in
their self-will they undermined a wall.
Slew a man,. . .viz., Sichem the son of Hemor, with all his
people, Gen. 34.; mystically and prophetically it alludes to
Christ, whom their posterity, viz., the priests and the scribes,
put to death.
49:7. Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their
wrath, because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and
will scatter them in Israel.
49:8. Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hand shall be on
the necks of thy enemies; the sons of thy father shall bow down
to thee.
49:9. Juda is a lion's whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone
up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who
shall rouse him?
A lion's whelp, etc. . .This blessing of Juda foretelleth the
strength of his tribe, the fertility of his inheritance; and
principally that the sceptre and legislative power should not be
utterly taken away from his race till about the time of the
coming of Christ: as in effect it never was: which is a
demonstration against the modern Jews, that the Messiah is long
since come; for the sceptre has long since been utterly taken
away from Juda.
49:10. The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler
from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be
the expectation of nations.
49:11. Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to
the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the
blood of the grape.
49:12. His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth
whiter than milk.
49:13. Zabulon shall dwell on the seashore, and in the road of
ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
49:14. Issachar shall be a strong ass, lying down between the
borders.
49:15. He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was
excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a
servant under tribute.
49:16. Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.
Dan shall judge, etc. . .This was verified in Samson, who was of
the tribe of Dan, and began to deliver Israel. Judges 13.5. But
as this deliverance was but temporal and very imperfect, the holy
patriarch (ver. 18) aspires after another kind of deliverer,
saying: I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.
49:17. Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that
biteth the horse's heels, that his rider may fall backward.
49:18. I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.
49:19. Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself
shall be girded backward.
Gad being girded, etc. . .It seems to allude to the tribe of Gad;
when after they had received for their lot the land of Galaad,
they marched in arms before the rest of the Israelites, to the
conquest of the land of Chanaan: from whence they afterwards
returned loaded with spoils. See Jos. 4. and 12.
49:20. Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties
to kings.
49:21. Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.
49:22. Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to
behold: the daughters run to and fro upon the wall;
Run to and fro, etc. . .To behold his beauty; whilst his envious
brethren turned their darts against him, etc.
49:23. But they that held darts, provoked him, and quarrelled
with him, and envied him.
49:24. His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms
and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of
Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.
His bow rested upon the strong, etc. . .That is, upon God, who
was his strength: who also loosed his bands, and brought him out
of prison to be the pastor, that is, the feeder and ruler of
Egypt, and the stone, that is, the rock and support of Israel.
49:25. The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the
Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above,
with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
49:26. The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the
blessings of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting
hills should come: may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon
the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
The blessings of thy father, etc. . .That is, thy father's
blessings are made more prevalent and effectual in thy regard, by
the additional strength they receive from his inheriting the
blessings of his progenitors Abraham and Isaac. The desire of
the everlasting hills, etc. . .These blessings all looked forward
towards Christ, called the desire of the everlasting hills, as
being longed for, as it were, by the whole creation. Mystically,
the patriarchs and prophets are called the everlasting hills, by
reason of the eminence of their wisdom and holiness. The
Nazarite. . .This word signifies one separated; and agrees to
Joseph, as being separated from, and more eminent than, his
brethren. As the ancient Nazarites were so called from their
being set aside for God, and vowed to him.
49:27. Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the
prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.
49:28. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things
their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one with their
proper blessings.
49:29. And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be
gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double
cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,
To be gathered to my people. . .That is, I am going to die, and
so to follow my ancestors that are gone before me, and to join
their company in another world.
49:30. Over against Mambre, in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham
bought together with the field, of Ephron the Hethite, for a
possession to bury in.
49:31. There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac
buried with Rebecca, his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.
49:32. And when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he
instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died:
and he was gathered to his people.
Genesis Chapter 50
The mourning for Jacob, and his interment. Joseph's kindness
towards his brethren. His death.
50:1. And when Joseph saw this, he fell upon his father's face,
weeping and kissing him.
50:2. And he commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm
his father.
50:3. And while they were fulfilling his commands, there passed
forty days: for this was the manner with bodies that were
embalmed, and Egypt mourned for him seventy days.
50:4. And the time of the mourning being expired, Joseph spoke to
the family of Pharao: If I have found favour in your sight,
speak in the ears of Pharao:
50:5. For my father made me swear to him, saying: Behold I die;
thou shalt bury me in my sepulchre which I have digged for myself
in the land of Chanaan. So I will go up and bury my father, and
return.
50:6. And Pharao said to him: Go up and bury thy father
according as he made thee swear.
50:7. So he went up, and there went with him all the ancients of
Pharao's house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt.
50:8. And the house of Joseph with his brethren, except their
children, and their flocks and herds, which they left in the land
of Gessen.
50:9. He had also in his train chariots and horsemen: and it was
a great company.
50:10. And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is
situated beyond the Jordan: where celebrating the exequies with
a great and vehement lamentation, they spent full seven days.
50:11. And when the inhabitants of Chanaan saw this, they said:
This is a great mourning to the Egyptians. And therefore the
name of that place was called, The mourning of Egypt.
50:12. So the sons of Jacob did as he had commanded them.
50:13. And carrying him into the land of Chanaan, they buried him
in the double cave, which Abraham had bought together with the
field for a possession of a burying place, of Ehpron, the
Hethite, over against Mambre.
50:14. And Joseph returned into Egypt with his brethren, and all
that were in his company, after he had buried his father.
50:15. Now he being dead, his brethren were afraid, and talked
one with another: Lest perhaps he should remember the wrong he
suffered, and requite us all the evil that we did to him.
50:16. And they sent a message to him, saying: Thy father
commanded us before he died,
50:17. That we should say thus much to thee from him: I beseech
thee to forget the wickedness of thy brethren, and the sin and
malice they practised against thee: we also pray thee, to
forgive the servants of the God of thy father this wickedness.
And when Joseph heard this, he wept.
50:18. And his brethren came to him; and worshipping prostrate on
the ground, they said: We are thy servants.
50:19. And he answered them: Fear not: can we resist the will
of God?
50:20. You thought evil against me: but God turned it into good,
that he might exalt me, as at present you see, and might save
many people.
50:21. Fear not: I will feed you and your children. And he
comforted them, and spoke gently and mildly.
50:22. And he dwelt in Egypt with all his father's house; and
lived a hundred and ten years. And he saw the children of
Ephraim to the third generation. The children also of Machir,
the sons of Manasses, were born on Joseph's knees.
50:23. After which he told his brethren: God will visit you
after my death, and will make you go up out of this land, to the
land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
50:24. And he made them swear to him, saying: God will visit
you, carry my bones with you out of this place:
50:25. And he died, being a hundred and ten years old. And being
embalmed, he was laid in a coffin in Egypt.
*** THE BOOK OF EXODUS
The Second Book of Moses is called EXODUS, from the Greek word
EXODOS, which signifies going out: because it contains the
history of the going out of the children of Israel out of Egypt.
The Hebrews, from the words with which it begins, call it VEELLE
SEMOTH: These are the names. It contains transactions for 145
years; that is, from the death of Joseph to the erecting of the
tabernacle.
Exodus Chapter 1
The Israelites are multiplied in Egypt. They are oppressed by a
new king, who commandeth all their male children to be killed.
1:1. These are the names of the children of Israel, that went
into Egypt with Jacob: they went in every man with his
household:
1:2. Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Juda,
1:3. Issachar, Zabulon, and Benjamin,
1:4. Dan, and Nephthali, Gad and Aser.
1:5. And all the souls that came out of Jacob's thigh, were
seventy: but Joseph was in Egypt.
1:6. After he was dead, and all his brethren, and all that
generation,
1:7. The children of Israel increased, and sprung up into
multitudes, and growing exceedingly strong they filled the land.
1:8. In the mean time there arose a new king over Egypt, that
knew not Joseph:
1:9. And he said to his people: Behold the people of the
children of Israel are numerous and stronger than we.
1:10. Come let us wisely oppress them, lest they multiply: and
if any war shall rise against us, join with our enemies, and
having overcome us, depart out of the land.
1:11. Therefore he set over them masters of the works, to afflict
them with burdens: and they built for Pharao cities of
tabernacles, Phithom, and Ramesses.
Of tabernacles. . .Or, of storehouses.
1:12. But the more they oppressed them, the more they were
multiplied and increased.
1:13. And the Egyptians hated the children of Israel, and
afflicted them and mocked them:
1:14. And they made their life bitter with hard works in clay and
brick, and with all manner of service, wherewith they were
overcharged in the works of the earth.
1:15. And the king of Egypt spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews:
of whom one was called Sephora, the other Phua,
1:16. Commanding them: When you shall do the office of midwives
to the Hebrew women, and the time of delivery is come: if it be
a man child, kill it: if a woman, keep it alive.
1:17. But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of
Egypt had commanded, but saved the men children.
1:18: And the king called for them and said: What is it that
you meant to do, that you would save the men children?
1:19. They answered: The Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian
women: for they themselves are skilful in the office of a
midwife; and they are delivered before we come to them.
1:20. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people
multiplied and grew exceedingly strong.
1:21. And because the midwives feared God, he built them houses.
Because the midwives feared God, etc. . .The midwives were
rewarded, not for their lie, which was a venial sin; but for
their fear of God, and their humanity: but this reward was only
temporal, in building them houses, that is, in establishing and
enriching their families.
1:22. Pharao therefore charged all his people, saying:
Whatsoever shall be born of the male sex, ye shall cast into the
river: whatsoever of the female, ye shall save alive.
Exodus Chapter 2
Moses is born and exposed on the bank of the river; where he is
taken up by the daughter of Pharao, and adopted for her son. He
killeth an Egyptian, and fleeth into Madian; where he marrieth a
wife.
2:1. After this there went a man of the house of Levi; and took a
wife of his own kindred.
2:2. And she conceived, and bore a son: and seeing him a goodly
child, hid him three months.
2:3. And when she could hide him no longer, she took a basket
made of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and pitch: and put
the little babe therein, and laid him in the sedges by the
river's brink,
2:4. His sister standing afar off, and taking notice what would
be done.
2:5. And behold the daughter of Pharao came down to wash herself
in the river: and her maids walked by the river's brink. And
when she saw the basket in the sedges she sent one of her maids
for it: and when it was brought,
2:6. She opened it, and seeing within it an infant crying, having
compassion on it, she said: This is one of the babes of the
Hebrews.
2:7. And the child's sister said to her: Shall I go, and call to
thee a Hebrew woman, to nurse the babe?
2:8. She answered: Go. The maid went and called her mother.
2:9. And Pharao's daughter said to her: Take this child, and
nurse him for me: I will give thee thy wages. The woman took
and nursed the child: and when he was grown up, she delivered
him to Pharao's daughter.
2:10. And she adopted him for a son, and called him Moses,
saying: Because I took him out of the water.
Moses. . .Or Moyses, in the Egyptian tongue, signifies one taken
or saved out of the water.
2:11. In those days, after Moses was grown up, he went out to his
brethren: and saw their affliction, and an Egyptian striking one
of the Hebrews, his brethren.
2:12. And when he had looked about this way and that way, and saw
no one there, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
He slew the Egyptian. . .This he did by a particular inspiration
of God; as a prelude to his delivering the people from their
oppression and bondage. He thought, says St. Stephen, Acts 7.25,
that his brethren understood that God by his hand would save
them. But such particular and extraordinary examples are not to
be imitated.
2:13. And going out the next day, he saw two Hebrews quarrelling:
and he said to him that did the wrong: Why strikest thou thy
neighbour?
2:14. But he answered: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge
over us? wilt thou kill me, as thou didst yesterday kill the
Egyptian? Moses feared, and said: How is this come to be known?
2:15. And Pharao heard of this word, and sought to kill Moses:
but he fled from his sight, and abode in the land of Madian, and
he sat down by a well.
Madian. . .A city and country of Arabia, which took its name from
Madian the son of Abraham, by Cetura, and was peopled by his
posterity.
2:16. And the priest of Madian had seven daughters, who came to
draw water: and when the troughs were filled, desired to water
their father's flocks.
2:17. And the shepherds came and drove them away: and Moses
arose, and defending the maids, watered their sheep.
2:18: And when they returned to Raguel their father, he said to
them: Why are ye come sooner than usual?
Raguel. . .He had two names, being also called Jethro, as appears
from the first verse of the following chapter.
2:19. They answered: A man of Egypt delivered us from the hands
of the shepherds: and he drew water also with us, and gave the
sheep to drink.
2:20. But he said: Where is he? why have you let the man go?
call him that he may eat bread.
2:21. And Moses swore that he would dwell with him. And he took
Sephora his daughter to wife:
2:22. And she bore him a son, whom he called Gersam, saying: I
have been a stranger in a foreign country. And she bore another,
whom he called Eliezer, saying: For the God of my father, my
helper, hath delivered me out of the hand of Pharao.
Gersam. . .Or Gershom. This name signifies a stranger there: as
Eliezer signifies the help of God.
2:23. Now after a long time the king of Egypt died: and the
children of Israel groaning, cried out because of the works: and
their cry went up unto God from the works.
2:24. And he heard their groaning, and remembered the covenant
which he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
2:25. And the Lord looked upon the children of Israel, and he
knew them.
Knew them. . .That is, he had respect to them, he cast a merciful
eye upon them.
Exodus Chapter 3
God appeareth to Moses in a bush, and sendeth him to deliver
Israel.
3:1. Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro, his father in law, the
priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of
the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.
3:2. And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the
midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire, and was
not burnt.
The Lord appeared. . .That is, an angel representing God, and
speaking in his name.
3:3. And Moses said: I will go, and see this great sight, why
the bush is not burnt.
3:4. And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called
to him out of the midst of the bush. and said: Moses, Moses.
And he answered: Here I am.
3:5. And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from
thy feet; for the place, whereon thou standest, is holy ground.
3:6. And he said: I am the God of thy father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his
face: for he durst not look at God.
3:7. And the Lord said to him: I have seen the affliction of my
people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigour
of them that are over the works;
3:8. And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out
of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land
into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk
and honey, to the places of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and
Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite.
3:9. For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and
I have seen their affliction, wherewith they are oppressed by the
Egyptians.
3:10. But come, and I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayst
bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.
3:11. And Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to
Pharao, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of
Egypt?
3:12. And he said to him: I will be with thee; and this thou
shalt have for a sign that I have sent thee: When thou shalt
have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice
to God upon this mountain.
3:13. Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of
Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers hath sent me to
you. If they shall say to me: What is his name? What shall I
say to them?
3:14. God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou
say to the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you.
I am who am. . .That is, I am being itself, eternal, self-
existent, independent, infinite; without beginning, end, or
change; and the source of all other beings.
3:15. And God said again to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the
children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me to
you; this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all
generations.
3:16. Go and gather together the ancients of Israel, and thou
shalt say to them: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to
me, saying: Visiting I have visited you; and I have seen all
that hath befallen you in Egypt.
3:17. And I have said the word to bring you forth out of the
affliction of Egypt, into the land of the Chanaanite, and
Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite,
to a land that floweth with milk and honey.
3:18: And they shall hear thy voice; and thou shalt go in, thou
and the ancients of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and thou shalt
say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us; we will
go three days' journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the
Lord our God.
3:19. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but
by a mighty hand.
3:20. For I will stretch forth my hand, and will strike Egypt
with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of them: after
these he will let you go.
3:21. And I will give favour to this people, in the sight of the
Egyptians: and when you go forth, you shall not depart empty:
3:22. But every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that
is in her house, vessels of silver and of gold, and raiment: and
you shall put them on your sons and daughters, and shall spoil
Egypt.
Shall spoil, etc. . .That is, you shall strip, and take away the
goods of the Egyptians. This was not authorizing theft or
injustice; but was a just disposal made by Him, who is the great
lord and master of all things, in order to pay the children of
Israel some part of what was due to them from the Egyptians for
their labours.
Exodus Chapter 4
Moses is empowered to confirm his mission with miracles: his
brother Aaron is appointed to assist him.
4:1. Moses answered, and said: They will not believe me, nor
hear my voice, but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to
thee.
4:2. Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand?
He answered: A rod.
4:3. And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast
it down, and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled
from it.
4:4. And the Lord said: Put out thy hand, and take it by the
tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was
turned into a rod.
4:5. That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, hath appeared to thee.
4:6. And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And
when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as
snow.
4:7. And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it
back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.
4:8. If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice
of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter
sign.
4:9. But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear
thy voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry
land, and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river, shall be
turned into blood.
4:10. Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from
yesterday and the day before; and since thou hast spoken to thy
servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.
4:11. The Lord said to him: Who made man's mouth? or who made
the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? did not I?
4:12. Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth; and I will teach
thee what thou shalt speak.
4:13. But he said: I beseech thee, Lord, send whom thou wilt
send.
4:14. The Lord being angry at Moses, said: Aaron the Levite is
thy brother, I know that he is eloquent: behold he cometh forth
to meet thee, and seeing thee, shall be glad at heart.
4:15. Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be
in thy mouth, and in his month, and will shew you what you must
do.
4:16. He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy
mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to
God.
4:17. And take this rod in thy hand. wherewith thou shalt do the
signs.
4:18: Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father in
law, and said to him; I will go and return to my brethren into
Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to
him: Go in peace.
4:19. And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into
Egypt; for they are all dead that sought thy life.
4:20. Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them
upon an ass; and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in
his hand.
4:21. And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt:
See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put
in thy hand: I shall harden his heart, and he will not let the
people go.
I shall harden, etc. . .Not by being the efficient cause of his
sin; but by withdrawing from him, for his just punishment, the
dew of grace that might have softened his heart; and so suffering
him to grow harder and harder.
4:22. And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is
my son, my firstborn.
4:23. I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me,
and thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy
firstborn.
4:24. And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met
him, and would have killed him.
The Lord met him, and would have killed him. . .This was an angel
representing the Lord, who treated Moses in this manner, for
having neglected the circumcision of his younger son; which his
wife understanding, circumcised her child upon the spot, upon
which the angel let Moses go.
4:25. Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and
circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and
said: A bloody spouse art thou to me.
4:26. And he let him go after she had said: A bloody spouse art
thou to me, because of the circumcision.
4:27. And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet
Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and
kissed him.
4:28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he
had sent him, and the signs that he had commanded.
4:29. And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients
of the children of Israel.
4:30. And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to
Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people.
4:31. And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had
visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their
affliction: and falling down they adored.
Exodus Chapter 5
Pharao refuseth to let the people go. They are more oppressed.
5:1. After these things, Moses and Aaron went in, and said to
Pharao: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Let my people go,
that they may sacrifice to me in the desert.
5:2. But he answered: Who is the Lord, that I should hear his
voice, and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I
let Israel go.
5:3. And they said: The God of the Hebrews hath called us, to go
three days' journey into the wilderness, and to sacrifice to the
Lord our God; lest a pestilence or the sword fall upon us.
5:4. The king of Egypt said to them: Why do you Moses and Aaron
draw off the people from their works? Get you gone to your
burdens.
5:5. And Pharao said: The people of the land are numerous; you
see that the multitude is increased; how much more if you give
them rest from their works?
5:6. Therefore he commanded the same day the overseers of the
works, and the task-masters of the people, saying:
5:7. You shall give straw no more to the people to make brick, as
before; but let them go and gather straw.
5:8. And you shall lay upon them the task of bricks, which they
did before; neither shall you diminish any thing thereof, for
they are idle, and therefore they cry. saying: Let us go and
sacrifice to our God.
5:9. Let them be oppressed with works, and let them fulfil them;
that they may not regard lying words.
5:10. And the overseers of the works, and the taskmasters, went
out and said to the people: Thus saith Pharao: I allow you no
straw;
5:11. Go, and gather it where you can find it; neither shall any
thing of your work be diminished.
5:12. And the people was scattered through all the land of Egypt
to gather straw.
5:13. And the overseers of the works pressed them, saying:
Fulfil your work every day, as before ye were wont to do, when
straw was given you.
5:14. And they that were over the works of the children of
Israel, were scourged by Pharao's taskmasters, saying: Why have
you not made up the task of bricks, both yesterday and to day, as
before?
5:15. And the officers of the children of Israel came, and cried
out to Pharao, saying: Why dealest thou so with thy servants?
5:16. Straw is not given us, and bricks are required of us as
before; behold we, thy servants, are beaten with whips, and thy
people is unjustly dealt withal.
5:17. And he said: You are idle, and therefore you say: Let us
go and sacrifice to the Lord.
5:18: Go therefore and work: straw shall not be given you, and
you shall deliver the accustomed number of bricks.
5:19. And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they
were in evil case, because it was said to them: There shall not
a whit be diminished of the bricks for every day.
5:20. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood over against them
as they came out from Pharao:
5:21. And they said to them: The Lord see and judge, because you
have, made our savour to stink before Pharao and his servants,
and you have given him a sword, to kill us.
5:22. And Moses returned to the Lord, and said: Lord, why hast
thou afflicted this people? wherefore hast thou sent me?
5:23. For since the time that I went in to Pharao to speak in thy
name, he hath afflicted thy people: and thou hast not delivered
them.
Exodus Chapter 6
God reneweth his promise. The genealogies of Ruben, Simon and
Levi, down to Moses and Aaron.
6;1. And the Lord said to Moses: Now thou shalt see what I will
do to Pharao: for by a mighty hand shall he let them go, and
with a strong hand shall he cast them out of his land.
6:2. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord
6:3. That appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the
name of God Almighty: and my name ADONAI I did not shew them.
My name Adonai. . .The name, which is in the Hebrew text, is that
most proper name of God, which signifieth his eternal, self-
existent being, Ex. 3.14, which the Jews out of reverence never
pronounce; but, instead of it, whenever it occurs in the Bible,
they read Adonai, which signifies the Lord; and, therefore, they
put the points or vowels, which belong to the name Adonai, to the
four letters of that other ineffable name Jod, He, Vau, He.
Hence some moderns have framed the name Jehovah, unknown to all
the ancients, whether Jews or Christians; for the true
pronunciation of the name, which is in the Hebrew text, by long
disuse, is now quite lost.
6:4. And I made a covenant with them, to give them the land of
Chanaan, the land of their pilgrimage wherein they were
strangers.
6:5. I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel,
wherewith the Egyptians have oppressed them: and I have
remembered my covenant.
6:6. Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord who
will bring you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians, and
will deliver you from bondage: and redeem you with a high arm,
and great judgments.
6:7. And I will take you to myself for my people, I will be your
God: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought
you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians:
6:8. And brought you into the land, concerning which I lifted up
my hand to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and I will give
it you to possess: I am the Lord.
6:9. And Moses told all this to the children of Israel: but they
did not hearken to him, for anguish of spirit, and most painful
work.
6:10. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
6:11. Go in, and speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he let the
children of Israel go out of his land.
6:12. Moses answered before the Lord: Behold the children of
Israel do not hearken to me: and how will Pharao hear me,
especially as I am of uncircumcised lips?
Uncircumcised lips. . .So he calls the defect he had in his
words, or utterance.
6:13. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and he gave them a
charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharao the king of
Egypt, that they should bring forth the children of Israel out of
the land of Egypt.
6:14. These are the heads of their houses by their families. The
sons of Ruben the firstborn of Israel: Henoch and Phallu, Hesron
and Charmi.
6:15. These are the kindreds of Ruben. The sons of Simeon,
Jamuel and Jamin, and Ahod, and Jachin, and Soar, and Saul the
son of a Chanaanitess: these are the families of Simeon.
6:16. And these are the names of the sons of Levi by their
kindreds: Gerson, and Caath, and Merari. And the years of the
life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven.
6:17. The sons of Gerson: Lobni and Semei, by their kindreds.
6:18: The sons of Caath: Amram, and Isaar, and Hebron and
Oziel. And the years of Caath's life, were a hundred and thirty-
three.
6:19. The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi. These are the
kindreds of Levi by their families.
6:20. And Amram took to wife Jochabed his aunt by the father's
side: and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of Amram's
life, were a hundred and thirty-seven.
6:21. The sons also of Isaar: Core, and Nepheg, and Zechri.
6:22. The sons also of Oziel: Mizael, and Elizaphan, and Sethri.
6:23. And Aaron took to wife Elizabeth the daughter of Aminadab,
sister of Nahason, who bore him Nadab, and Abiu, and Eleazar, and
Ithamar.
6:24. The sons also of Core: Aser, and Elcana, and Abiasaph.
These are the kindreds of the Corites.
6:25. But Eleazar the son of Aaron took a wife of the daughters
of Phutiel: and she bore him Phinees. These are the heads of
the Levitical families by their kindreds.
6:26. These are Aaron and Moses, whom the Lord commanded to bring
forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their
companies.
6:27. These are they that speak to Pharao, king of Egypt, in
order to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are
that Moses and Aaron,
6:28. In the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of
Egypt.
6:29. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord; speak
thou to Pharao, king of Egypt, all that I say to thee.
6:30. And Moses said before the Lord: Lo I am of uncircumcised
lips, how will Pharao hear me?
Exodus Chapter 7
Moses and Aaron go into Pharao: they turn the rod into a
serpent; and the waters of Egypt into blood, which was the first
plague. The magicians do the like, and Pharao's heart is
hardened.
7:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, I have appointed thee
the god of Pharao; and Aaron, thy brother, shall be thy prophet.
The god of Pharao. . .Viz., to be his judge; and to exercise a
divine power, as God's instrument, over him and his people.
7:2. Thou shalt speak to him all that I command thee; and he
shall speak to Pharao, that he let the children of Israel go out
of his land.
7:3. But I shall harden his heart, and shall multiply my signs
and wonders in the land of Egypt.
I shall harden, etc. . .not by being the efficient cause of his
hardness of heart, but by permitting it; and by withdrawing grace
from him, in punishment of his malice; which alone was the proper
cause of his being hardened.
7:4. And he will not hear you: and I will lay my hand upon
Egypt, and will bring forth my army and my people, the children
of Israel, out of the land of Egypt, by very great judgments.
7:5. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, who have
stretched forth my hand upon Egypt, and have brought forth the
children of Israel out of the midst of them.
7:6. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded; so did
they.
7:7. And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when
they spoke to Pharao.
7:8. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
7:9. When Pharao shall say to you, Shew signs; thou shalt say to
Aaron: Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao, and it shall
be turned into a serpent.
7:10. So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord
had commanded. And Aaron took the rod before Pharao and his
servants, and it was turned into a serpent.
7:11. And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians; and they
also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets, did in like
manner.
Magicians. . .Jannes, and Mambres, or Jambres, 2 Tim. 3.8.
7:12. And they every one cast down their rods, and they were
turned into serpents: but Aaron's rod devoured their rods.
7:13. And Pharao's heart was hardened, and he did not hearken to
them, as the Lord had commanded.
7:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Pharao's heart is hardened, he
will not let the people go.
7:15. Go to him in the morning, behold he will go out to the
waters: and thou shalt stand to meet him on the ' bank of the
river: and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned
into a serpent.
7:16. And thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews
sent me to thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in
the desert: and hitherto thou wouldst not hear.
7:17. Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know
that I am the Lord: behold I will strike with the rod, that is
in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned into
blood.
7:18: And the fishes that are in the river, shall die, and the
waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted
when they drink the water of the river.
7:19. The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod;
and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon
their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters,
that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the
land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.
7:20. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: and
lifting up the rod, he struck the water of the river before
Pharao and his servants: and it was turned into blood.
7:21. And the fishes that were in the river died; and the river
corrupted, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the
river, and there was blood in all the land of Egypt.
7:22. And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments
did in like manner; and Pharao's heart was hardened, neither did
he hear them, as the Lord had commanded.
7:23. And he turned himself away, and went into his house,
neither did he set his heart to it this time also.
7:24. And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water
to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
7:25. And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck
the river.
Exodus Chapter 8
The second plague is of frogs: Pharao promiseth to let the
Israelites go, but breaketh his promise. The third plague is of
sciniphs. The fourth is of flies. Pharao again promiseth to
dismiss the people, but doth it not.
8:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt
say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice
to me.
8:2. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will strike all
thy coasts with frogs.
8:3. And the river shall bring forth an abundance of frogs; which
shall come up and enter into thy house, and thy bedchamber, and
upon thy bed, and into the houses of thy servants, and to thy
people, and into thy ovens, and into the remains of thy meats:
8:4. And the frogs shall come in to thee, and to thy people, and
to all thy servants.
8:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth
thy hand upon the streams, and upon the rivers and the pools, and
bring forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.
8:6. And Aaron stretched forth his hand upon the waters of Egypt,
and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
8:7. And the magicians also, by their enchantments, did in like
manner, and they brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.
8:8. But Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Pray
ye to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people;
and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.
Pray ye to the Lord, etc. . .By this it appears, that though the
magicians, by the help of the devil, could bring frogs, yet they
could not take them away: God being pleased to abridge in this
the power of Satan. So we see they could not afterwards produce
the lesser insects; and in this restraint of the power of the
devil, were forced to acknowledge the finger of God.
8:9. And Moses said to Pharao: Set me a time when I shall pray
for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the
frogs may be driven away from thee and from thy house, and from
thy servants, and from thy people; and may remain only in the
river.
8:10. And he answered: To morrow. But he said: I will do
according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none
like to the Lord our God.
8:11. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy house,
and from thy servants, and from thy people; and shall remain only
in the river.
8:12. And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pharao: and Moses
cried to the Lord for the promise, which he had made to Pharao
concerning the frogs.
8:13. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses: and the
frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of
the fields:
8:14. And they gathered them together into immense heaps, and the
land was corrupted.
8:15. And Pharao seeing that rest was given, hardened his own
heart, and did not hear them, as the Lord had commanded.
Pharao hardened his own heart. . .By this we see that Pharao was
himself the efficient cause of his heart being hardened, and not
God.--See the same repeated in ver. 32. Pharao hardened his
heart at this time also: likewise chap. 9.7, 35, and chap. 13.15.
8:16. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth
thy rod, and strike the dust of the earth; and may there be
sciniphs in all the land of Egypt.
Sciniphs. . .Or Cinifs, Hebrew Chinnim, small flying insects,
very troublesome both to men and beast.
8:17. And they did so. And Aaron stretched forth his hand,
holding the rod; and he struck the dust of the earth, and there
came sciniphs on men and on beasts: all the dust of the earth
was turned into sciniphs through all the land of Egypt.
8:18: And the magicians with their enchantments practised in
like manner, to bring forth sciniphs, and they could not: and
there were sciniphs as well on men as on beasts.
8:19. And the magicians said to Pharao: This is the finger of
God. And Pharao's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto
them, as the Lord had commanded.
8:20. The Lord also said to Moses: Arise early, and stand before
Pharao; for he will go forth to the waters: and thou shalt say
to him: Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to
me.
8:21. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will send in
upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy houses, all kind
of flies: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with
flies of divers kinds, and the whole land wherein they shall be.
8:22. And I will make the land of Gessen wonderful in that day,
so that flies shall not be there: and thou shalt know that I am
the Lord in the midst of the earth.
8:23. And I will put a division between my people and thy people:
to morrow shall this sign be.
8:24. And the Lord did so. And there came a very grievous swarm
of flies into the houses of Pharao and of his servants, and into
all the land of Egypt: and the land was corrupted by this kind
of flies.
8:25. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go
and sacrifice to your God in this land.
8:26. And Moses said: It cannot be so: for we shall sacrifice
the abominations of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: now if we
kill those things which the Egyptians worship, in their presence,
they will stone us.
The abominations, etc. . .That is, the things they worship for
Gods: oxen, rams, etc. It is the usual style of the scriptures
to call all idols and false gods, abominations, to signify how
much the people of God ought to detest and abhor them.
8:27. We will go three days' journey into the wilderness; and we
will sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.
8:28. And Pharao said: I will let you go to sacrifice to the
Lord your God in the wilderness, but go no farther: pray for me.
8:29. And Moses said: I will go out from thee, and will pray to
the Lord: and the flies shall depart from Pharao, and from his
servants, and from his people to morrow: but do not deceive any
more, in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.
8:30. So Moses went out from Pharao, and prayed to the Lord.
8:31. And he did according to his word: and he took away the
flies from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people:
there was not left so much as one.
8:32. And Pharao's heart was hardened, so that neither this time
would he let the people go.
Exodus Chapter 9
The fifth plague is a murrain among the cattle. The sixth, of
boils in men and beasts. The seventh, of hail. Pharao promiseth
again to let the people go, and breaketh his word.
9:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and speak to
him: Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to
sacrifice to me.
9:2. But if thou refuse, and withhold them still:
9:3. Behold my hand shall be upon thy fields; and a very grievous
murrain upon thy horses, and asses, and camels, and oxen, and
sheep.
9:4. And the Lord will make a wonderful difference between the
possessions of Israel and the possessions of the Egyptians, that
nothing at all shall die of those things that belong to the
children of Israel.
9:5. And the Lord appointed a time, saying: To morrow will the
Lord do this thing in the land.
9:6. The Lord therefore did this thing the next day: and all the
beasts of the Egyptians died, but of the beasts of the children
of Israel there died not one.
All the beasts. . .That is, many of all kinds.
9:7. And Pharao sent to see; and there was not any thing dead of
that which Israel possessed. And Pharao's heart was hardened,
and he did not let the people go.
9:8. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Take to you handfuls
of ashes out of the chimney, and let Moses sprinkle it in the air
in the presence of Pharao.
9:9. And be there dust upon all the land of Egypt: for there
shall be boils and swelling blains both in men and beasts, in the
whole land of Egypt.
9:10. And they took ashes out of the chimney, and stood before
Pharao, and Moses sprinkled it in the air; and there came boils
with swelling blains in men and beasts.
9:11. Neither could the magicians stand before Moses, for the
boils that were upon them, and in all the land of Egypt.
9:12. And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, and he hearkened not
unto them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
Hardened, etc. . .See the annotations above, chap. 4.21, chap.
7.3, and chap. 8.15.
9:13. And the Lord said to Moses: Arise in the morning, and
stand before Pharao, and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the
Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to sacrifice to
me.
9:14. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart,
and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayst know
that there is none like me in all the earth.
9:15. For now I will stretch out my hand to strike thee, and thy
people, with pestilence, and thou shalt perish from the earth.
9:16. And therefore have I raised thee, that I may shew my power
in thee, and my name may be spoken of throughout all the earth.
9:17. Dost thou yet hold back my people; and wilt thou not let
them go?
9:18: Behold I will cause it to rain to morrow at this same
hour, an exceeding great hail; such as hath not been in Egypt
from the day that it was founded, until this present time.
9:19. Send therefore now presently, and gather together thy
cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for men and beasts,
and all things that shall be found abroad, and not gathered
together out of the fields which the hail shall fall upon, shall
die.
9:20. He that feared the word of the Lord among Pharao's
servants, made his servants and his cattle flee into houses:
9:21. But he that regarded not the word of the Lord, left his
servants, and his cattle in the fields.
9:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand towards
heaven, that there may be hail in the whole land of Egypt upon
men, and upon beasts, and upon every herb of the field in the
land of Egypt.
9:23. And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven, and the
Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightnings running along the
ground: and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
9:24. And the hail and fire mixt with it drove on together: and
it was of so great bigness, as never before was seen in the whole
land of Egypt since that nation was founded.
9:25. And the hail destroyed through all the land of Egypt all
things that were in the fields, both man and beast: and the hail
smote every herb of the field, and it broke every tree of the
country.
9:26. Only in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel
were, the hail fell not.
9:27. And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, saying to them:
I have sinned this time also, the Lord is just: I and my people,
are wicked.
9:28. Pray ye to the Lord that the thunderings of God and the
hail may cease: that I may let you go, and that ye may stay here
no longer.
9:29. Moses said: As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will
stretch forth my hands to the Lord, and the thunders shall cease,
and the hail shall be no more: that thou mayst know that the
earth is the Lord's:
9:30. But I know that neither thou, nor thy servants do yet fear
the Lord God.
9:31. The flax therefore, and the barley were hurt, because the
barley was green, and the flax was now bolled;
9:32. But the wheat, and other winter corn were not hurt, because
they were lateward.
9:33. And when Moses was gone from Pharao out of the city, he
stretched forth his hands to the Lord: and the thunders and the
hail ceased, neither did there drop any more rain upon the earth.
9:34. And Pharao seeing that the rain, and the hail, and the
thunders were ceased, increased his sin:
9:35. And his heart was hardened, and the heart of his servants,
and it was made exceeding hard: neither did he let the children
of Israel go, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.
Exodus Chapter 10
The eighth plague of the locusts. The ninth, of darkness:
Pharao is still hardened.
10:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao; for I have
hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants: that I may
work these my signs in him,
10:2. And thou mayst tell in the ears of thy sons, and of thy
grandsons, how often I have plagued the Egyptians, and wrought my
signs amongst them: and you may know that I am the Lord.
10:3. Therefore Moses and Aaron went in to Pharao, and said to
him: Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: How long refusest
thou to submit to me? let my people go, to sacrifice to me.
10:4. But if thou resist, and wilt not let them go, behold I will
bring in to-morrow the locusts into thy coasts;
10:5. To cover the face of the earth, that nothing thereof may
appear, but that which the hail hath left may be eaten: for they
shall feed upon all the trees that spring in the fields.
10:6. And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of thy
servants, and of all the Egyptians: such a number as thy fathers
have not seen, nor thy grandfathers, from the time they were
first upon the earth, until this present day. And he turned
himself away, and went forth from Pharao.
10:7. And Pharao's servants said to him: How long shall we
endure this scandal? Iet the men go to sacrifice to the Lord
their God. Dost thou not see that Egypt is undone?
10:8. And they called back Moses, and Aaron, to Pharao; and he
said to them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God: who are they
that shall go?
10:9. Moses said: We will go with our young and old, with our
sons and daughters, with our sheep and herds: for it is the
solemnity of the Lord our God.
10:10. And Pharao answered: So be the Lord with you, as I shall
let you and your children go: who can doubt but that you intend
some great evil?
10:11. It shall not be so. but go ye men only, and sacrifice to
the Lord: for this yourselves also desired. And immediately
they were cast out from Pharao's presence.
10:12. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand upon
the land of Egypt unto the locust, that it come upon it, and
devour every herb that is left after the hail.
10:13. And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land of Egypt:
and the Lord brought a burning wind all that day, and night; and
when it was morning, the burning wind raised the locusts.
10:14. And they came up over the whole land of Egypt; and rested
in all the coasts of the Egyptians, innumerable, the like as had
not been before that time, nor shall be hereafter.
10:15. And they covered the whole face of the earth, wasting all
things. And the grass of the earth was devoured, and what fruits
soever were on the trees, which the hail had left; and there
remained not any thing that was green on the trees, or in the
herbs of the earth, in all Egypt.
10:16. Wherefore Pharao in haste called Moses and Aaron, and said
to them: I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against
you.
10:17. But now forgive me my sin this time also, and pray to the
Lord your God, that he take away from me this death.
10:18: And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharao, prayed
to the Lord:
10:19. And he made a very strong wind to blow from the west, and
it took the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: there
remained not so much as one in all the coasts of Egypt.
10:20. And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, neither did he let
the children of Israel go.
10:21. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch out thy hand towards
heaven: and may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt so thick
that it may be felt.
Darkness upon the land of Egypt, so thick that it may be felt. .
.By means of the gross exhalations, which were to cause and
accompany the darkness.
10:22. And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven: and
there came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three
days.
10:23. No man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place
where he was: but wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt,
there was light.
10:24. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go,
sacrifice to the Lord: let your sheep only, and herds remain,
let your children go with you.
10:25. Moses said: Thou shalt give us also sacrifices and burnt-
offerings, to the Lord our God.
10:26. All the flocks shall go with us; there shall not a hoof
remain of them: for they are necessary for the service of the
Lord our God: especially as we know not what must be offered,
till we come to the very place.
10:27. And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, and he would not let
them go.
10:28. And Pharao said to Moses: Get thee from me, and beware
thou see not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt
come in my sight, thou shalt die.
10:29. Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoken, I
will not see thy face anymore.
Exodus Chapter 11
Pharao and his people are threatened with the death of their
firstborn.
11:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Yet one plague more will I
bring upon Pharao and Egypt, and after that he shall let you go,
and thrust you out.
11:2. Therefore thou shalt tell all the people, that every man
ask of his friend, and every woman of her neighbour, vessels of
silver and of gold.
11:3. And the Lord will give favour to his people in the sight of
the Egyptians. And Moses was a very great man in the land of
Egypt, in the sight of Pharao's servants, and of all the people.
11:4. And he said: Thus saith the Lord: At midnight I will
enter into Egypt:
11:5. And every firstborn in the land of the Egyptians shall die,
from the firstborn of Pharao who sitteth on his throne, even to
the firstborn of the handmaid that is at the mill, and all the
firstborn of beasts.
11:6. And there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt,
such as neither hath been before, nor shall be hereafter.
11:7. But with all the children of Israel there shall not a dog
make the least noise, from man even to beast; that you may know
how wonderful a difference the Lord maketh between the Egyptians
and Israel.
11:8. And all these thy servants shall come down to me, and shall
worship me, saying: Go forth thou, and all the people that is
under thee: after that we will go out.
11:9. And he went out from Pharao exceeding angry. But the Lord
said to Moses: Pharao will not hear you, that many signs may be
done in the land of Egypt.
11:10. And Moses and Aaron did all the wonders that are written,
before Pharao. And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, neither did
he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
The Lord hardened, etc. . .See the annotations above, chap. 4.21,
and chap. 7.3.
Exodus Chapter 12
The manner of preparing, and eating the paschal lamb: the
firstborn of Egypt are all slain: the Israelites depart.
12:1. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
12:2. This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it
shall be the first in the months of the year.
12:3. Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel,
and say to them: On the tenth day of this month let every man
take a lamb by their families and houses.
12:4. But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb,
he shall take unto him his neighbour that joineth to his house,
according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the
lamb.
12:5. And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one
year; according to which rite also you shall take a kid.
A kid. . .The phase might be performed, either with a lamb or
with a kid: and all the same rites and ceremonies were to be
used with the one as with the other.
12:6. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this
month; and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall
sacrifice it in the evening.
12:7. And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon
both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses,
wherein they shall eat it.
12:8. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the
fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce.
12:9. You shall not eat thereof any thing raw, nor boiled in
water, but only roasted at the fire; you shall eat the head with
the feet and entrails thereof.
12:10. Neither shall there remain any thing of it until morning.
If there be any thing left, you shall burn it with fire.
12:11. And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and
you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands,
and you shall eat in haste; for it is the Phase (that is the
Passage) of the Lord.
12:12. And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and
will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and
beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgments; I am the Lord.
12:13. And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses
where you shall be; and I shall see the blood, and shall pass
over you; and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you,
when I shall strike the land of Egypt.
12:14. And this day shall be for a memorial to you; and you shall
keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations, with an
everlasting observance.
12:15. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread: in the first
day there shall be no leaven in your houses; whosoever shall eat
any thing leavened, from the first day until the seventh day,
that soul shall perish out of Israel.
12:16. The first day shall be holy and solemn, and the seventh
day shall be kept with the like solemnity: you shall do no work
in them, except those things that belong to eating.
12:17. And you shall observe the feast of the unleavened bread:
for in this same day I will bring forth your army out of the land
of Egypt, and you shall keep this day in your generations by a
perpetual observance.
12:18: The first month, the fourteenth day of the month, in the
evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and
twentieth day of the same month, in the evening.
Unleavened bread. . .By this it appears, that our Saviour made
use of unleavened bread, in the institution of the blessed
sacrament, which was on the evening of the paschal solemnity, at
which time there was no leavened bread to be found in Israel.
12:19. Seven days there shall not be found any leaven in your
houses: he that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish
out of the assembly of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born
in the land.
12:20. You shall not eat any thing leavened: in all your
habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.
12:21. And Moses called all the ancients of the children of
Israel, and said to them: Go take a lamb by your families, and
sacrifice the Phase.
12:22. And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the
door, and sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both
the door cheeks: let none of you go out of the door of his house
till morning.
Sprinkle, etc. . .This sprinkling the doors of the Israelites
with the blood of the paschal lamb, in order to their being
delivered from the sword of the destroying angel, was a lively
figure of our redemption by the blood of Christ.
12:23. For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians:
and when he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the
posts, he will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer
the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you.
12:24. Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee and thy
children for ever.
12:25. And when you have entered into the land which the Lord
will give you, as he hath promised, you shall observe these
ceremonies.
12:26. And when your children shall say to you: What is the
meaning of this service?
12:27. You shall say to them: It is the victim of the passage of
the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the children of
Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and saving our houses.
And the people bowing themselves, adored.
12:28. And the children of Israel going forth, did as the Lord
had commanded Moses and Aaron.
12:29. And it came to pass at midnight, the Lord slew every
firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharao, who
sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive woman that
was in the prison, and all the firstborn of cattle.
12:30. And Pharao arose in the night, and all his servants, and
all Egypt: and there arose a great cry in Egypt; for there was
not a house wherein there lay not one dead.
12:31. And Pharao calling Moses and Aaron, in the night, said:
Arise and go forth from among my people, you and the children of
Israel: go, sacrifice to the Lord as you say.
12:32. Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you demanded,
and departing bless me.
12:33. And the Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of
the land speedily, saying: We shall all die.
12:34. The people therefore took dough before it was leavened;
and tying it in their cloaks, put it on their shoulders.
12:35. And the children of Israel did as Moses had commanded:
and they asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and gold, and
very much raiment.
12:36. And the Lord gave favour to the people in the sight of the
Egyptians, so that they lent unto them: and they stripped the
Egyptians.
12:37. And the children of Israel set forward from Ramesse to
Socoth, being about six hundred thousand men on foot, beside
children.
12:38. And a mixed multitude, without number, went up also with
them, sheep and herds, and beasts of divers kinds, exceeding
many.
12:39. And they baked the meal, which a little before they had
brought out of Egypt in dough: and they made hearth cakes
unleavened: for it could not be leavened, the Egyptians pressing
them to depart, and not suffering them to make any stay; neither
did they think of preparing any meat.
12:40. And the abode of the children of Israel that they made in
Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
12:41. Which being expired, the same day all the army of the Lord
went forth out of the land of Egypt.
12:42. This is the observable night of the Lord, when he brought
them forth out of the land of Egypt: this night all the children
of Israel must observe in their generations.
12:43. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the service
of the Phase; no foreigner shall eat of it.
12:44. But every bought servant shall be circumcised, and so
shall eat.
12:45. The stranger and the hireling shall not eat thereof.
12:46. In one house shall it be eaten, neither shall you carry
forth of the flesh thereof out of the house, neither shall you
break a bone thereof.
12:47. All the assembly of the children of Israel shall keep it.
12:48. And if any stranger be willing to dwell among you, and to
keep the Phase of the Lord, all his males shall first be
circumcised, and then shall he celebrate it according to the
manner: and he shall be as he that is born in the land: but if
any man be uncircumcised, he shall not eat thereof.
12:49. The same law shall be to him that is born in the land, and
to the proselyte that sojourneth with you.
12:50. And all the children of Israel did as the Lord had
commanded Moses and Aaron.
12:51. And the same day the Lord brought forth the children of
Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies.
Exodus Chapter 13
The paschal solemnity is to be observed; and the firstborn are to
be consecrated to God. The people are conducted through the
desert by a pillar of fire in the night, and a cloud in the day.
13:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
13:2. Sanctify unto me every firstborn that openeth the womb
among the children of Israel, as well of men as of beasts: for
they are all mine.
Sanctify unto me every firstborn. . .Sanctification in this place
means that the firstborn males of the Hebrews should be deputed
to the ministry in the divine worship; and the firstborn of
beasts to be given for a sacrifice.
13:3. And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which
you came forth out of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage, for
with a strong hand hath the Lord brought you forth out of this
place: that you eat no leavened bread.
13:4. This day you go forth in the month of new corn.
13:5. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of
the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the
Hevite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to thy fathers that he
would give thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey, thou
shalt celebrate this manner of sacred rites in this month.
13:6. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and on the
seventh day shall be the solemnity of the Lord.
13:7. Unleavened bread shall you eat seven days: there shall not
be seen any thing leavened with thee, nor in all thy coasts.
13:8. And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: This is
what the Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt.
13:9. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a memorial
before thy eyes; and that the law of the Lord be always in thy
mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord hath brought thee out of
the land of Egypt.
13:10. Thou shalt keep this observance at the set time from days
to days.
13:11. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of
the Chanaanite, as he swore to thee and thy fathers, and shall
give it thee:
13:12. Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the
Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle:
whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate
to the Lord.
13:13. The firstborn of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep:
and if thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it. And every
firstborn of men thou shalt redeem with a price.
13:14. And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What
is this? thou shalt answer him: With a strong hand did the Lord
bring us forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage.
13:15. For when Pharao was hardened, and would not let us go, the
Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the
firstborn of man to the firstborn of beasts: therefore I
sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb of the male sex,
and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.
13:16. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a thing hung
between thy eyes, for a remembrance: because the Lord hath
brought us forth out of Egypt by a strong hand.
13:17. And when Pharao had sent out the people, the Lord led them
not by the way of the land of the Philistines, which is near;
thinking lest perhaps they would repent, if they should see wars
arise against them, and would return into Egypt.
13:18: But he led them about by the way of the desert, which is
by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of
the land of Egypt.
13:19. And Moses took Joseph's bones with him: because he had
adjured the children of Israel, saying: God shall visit you,
carry out my bones from hence with you.
13:20. And marching from Socoth, they encamped in Etham, in the
utmost coasts of the wilderness.
13:21. And the Lord went before them to shew the way, by day in a
pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire; that he
might be the guide of their journey at both times.
13:22. There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the
pillar of fire by night, before the people.
Exodus Chapter 14
Pharao pursueth the children of Israel. They murmur against
Moses, but are encouraged by him, and pass through the Red Sea.
Pharao and his army following them are drowned.
14:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
14:2. Speak to the children of Israel: Let them turn and encamp
over against Phihahiroth, which is between Magdal and the sea
over against Beelsephon: you shall encamp before it upon the
sea.
14:3. And Pharao will say of the children of Israel: They are
straitened in the land, the desert hath shut them in.
14:4. And I shall harden his heart and he will pursue you: and I
shall be glorified in Pharao, and in all his army: and the
Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.
14:5. And it was told the king of the Egyptians that the people
was fled: and the heart of Pharao and of his servants was
changed with regard to the people, and they said: What meant we
to do, that we let Israel go from serving us?
14:6. So he made ready his chariot, and took all his people with
him.
14:7. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the
chariots that were in Egypt: and the captains of the whole army.
14:8. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, king of Egypt,
and he pursued the children of Israel; but they were gone forth
in a mighty hand.
14:9. And when the Egyptians followed the steps of them who were
gone before, they found them encamped at the sea side: all
Pharao's horse and chariots and the whole army were in
Phihahiroth, before Beelsephon.
14:10. And when Pharao drew near, the children of Israel lifting
up their eyes, saw the Egyptians behind them: and they feared
exceedingly, and cried to the Lord.
14:11. And they said to Moses: Perhaps there were no graves in
Egypt, therefore thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness:
why wouldst thou do this, to lead us out of Egypt?
14:12. Is not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt,
saying: Depart from us, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it
was much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness.
14:13. And Moses said to the people: Fear not: stand, and see
the great wonders of the Lord, which he will do this day; for the
Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see no more for ever.
14:14. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your
peace.
14:15. And the Lord said to Moses: Why criest thou to me? Speak
to the children of Israel to go forward.
14:16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over
the sea, and divide it: that the children of Israel may go
through the midst of the sea on dry ground.
14:17. And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians to pursue
you: and I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and
in his chariots and in his horsemen.
14:18: And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I
shall be glorified in Pharao, and in his chariots, and in his
horsemen.
14:19. And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel,
removing, went behind them: and together with him the pillar of
the cloud, leaving the forepart,
14:20. Stood behind, between the Egyptians' camp and the camp of
Israel: and it was a dark cloud, and enlightening the night, so
that they could not come at one another all the night.
A dark cloud, and enlightening the night. . .It was a dark cloud
to the Egyptians; but enlightened the night to the Israelites by
giving them a great light.
14:21. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the sea,
the Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all
the night, and turned it into dry ground: and the water was
divided.
14:22. And the children of Israel went in through the midst of
the sea dried up; for the water was as a wall on their right hand
and on their left.
14:23. And the Egyptians pursuing went in after them, and all
Pharao's horses, his chariots and horsemen, through the midst of
the sea.
14:24. And now the morning watch was come, and behold the Lord
looking upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of
the cloud, slew their host.
14:25. And overthrew the wheels of the chariots, and they were
carried into the deep. And the Egyptians said: Let us flee from
Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against us.
14:26. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand over
the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon
their chariots and horsemen.
14:27. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the
sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place:
and as the Egyptians were fleeing away, the waters came upon
them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves.
14:28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the
horsemen of all the army of Pharao, who had come into the sea
after them, neither did there so much as one of them remain.
14:29. But the children of Israel marched through the midst of
the sea upon dry land, and the waters were to them as a wall on
the right hand and on the left:
14:30. And the Lord delivered Israel in that day out of the hands
of the Egyptians.
14:31. And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and
the mighty hand that the Lord had used against them: and the
people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord, and Moses his
servant.
Exodus Chapter 15
The canticle of Moses. The bitter waters of Mara are made sweet.
15:1. Then Moses and the children of Israel sung this canticle to
the Lord, and said: Let us sing to the Lord: for he is
gloriously magnified, the horse and the rider he hath thrown into
the sea.
15:2. The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become
salvation to me: he is my God, and I will glorify him: the God
of my father, and I will exalt him.
15:3. The Lord is as a man of war, Almighty is his name.
15:4. Pharao's chariots and his army he hath cast into the sea:
his chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea.
15:5. The depths have covered them, they are sunk to the bottom
like a stone.
15:6. Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength: thy
right hand, O Lord, hath slain the enemy.
15:7. And in the multitude of thy glory thou hast put down thy
adversaries: thou hast sent thy wrath, which hath devoured them
like stubble.
15:8. And with the blast of thy anger the waters were gathered
together: the flowing water stood, the depths were gathered
together in the midst of the sea.
15:9. The enemy said: I will pursue and overtake, I will divide
the spoils, my soul shall have its fill: I will draw my sword,
my hand shall slay them.
15:10. Thy wind blew and the sea covered them: they sunk as lead
in the mighty waters.
15:11. Who is like to thee, among the strong, O Lord? who is
like to thee, glorious in holiness, terrible and praise-worthy,
doing wonders?
15:12. Thou stretchedst forth thy hand, and the earth swallowed
them.
15:13. In thy mercy thou hast been a leader to the people which
thou hast redeemed: and in thy strength thou hast carried them
to thy holy habitation.
15:14. Nations rose up, and were angry: sorrows took hold on the
inhabitants of Philisthiim.
15:15. Then were the princes of Edom troubled, trembling seized
on the stout men of Moab: all the inhabitants of Chanaan became
stiff.
15:16. Let fear and dread fall upon them, in the greatness of thy
arm: let them become immoveable as a stone, until thy people, O
Lord, pass by: until this thy people pass by, which thou hast
possessed.
15:17. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain
of thy inheritance, in thy most firm habitation, which thou hast
made, O Lord; thy sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have
established.
15:18: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
15:19. For Pharao went in on horseback with his chariots and
horsemen into the sea: and the Lord brought back upon them the
waters of the sea: but the children of Israel walked on dry
ground in the midst thereof.
15:20. So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a
timbrel in her hand: and all the women went forth after her with
timbrels and with dances.
15:21. And she began the song to them, saying: Let us sing to
the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and his rider
he hath thrown into the sea.
15:22. And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went
forth into the wilderness of Sur: and they marched three days
through the wilderness, and found no water.
15:23. And they came into Mara, and they could not drink the
waters of Mara because they were bitter: whereupon he gave a
name also agreeable to the place, calling it Mara, that is,
bitterness.
15:24. And the people murmured against Moses, saying: What shall
we drink?
15:25. But he cried to the Lord, and he shewed him a tree, which
when he had cast into the waters, they were turned into
sweetness. There he appointed him ordinances, and judgments, and
there he proved him,
15:26. Saying: If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God,
and do what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and
keep all his precepts, none of the evils that I laid upon Egypt,
will I bring upon thee: for I am the Lord thy healer.
15:27. And the children of Israel came into Elim, where there
were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees: and they
encamped by the waters.
Exodus Chapter 16
The people murmur for want of meat: God giveth them quails and
manna.
16:1. And they set forward from Elim, and all the multitude of
the children of Israel came into the desert of Sin, which is
between Elim and Sinai: the fifteenth day of the second month,
after they came out of the land of Egypt.
16:2. And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
16:3. And the children of Israel said to them: Would to God we
had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we
sat over the fleshpots, and ate bread to the full: Why have you
brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the
multitude with famine?
16:4. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I will rain bread from
heaven for you; let the people go forth, and gather what is
sufficient for every day: that I may prove them whether they
will walk in my law, or not.
16:5. But the sixth day let them provide for to bring in: and
let it be double to that they were wont to gather every day.
16:6. And Moses and Aaron said to the children of Israel In the
evening you shall know that the Lord hath brought you forth out
of the land of Egypt:
16:7. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord:
for he hath heard your murmuring against the Lord: but as for
us, what are we, that you mutter against us?
16:8. And Moses said: In the evening the Lord will give you
flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full: for he hath
heard your murmurings, with which you have murmured against him,
for what are we? your murmuring is not against us, but against
the Lord.
16:9. Moses also said to Aaron: Say to the whole congregation of
the children of Israel: Come before the Lord; for he hath heard
your murmuring.
16:10. And when Aaron spoke to all the assembly of the children
of Israel, they looked towards the wilderness; and behold the
glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.
16:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
16:12. I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, say
to them: In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning
you shall have your fill of bread; and you shall know that I am
the Lord your God.
16:13. So it came to pass in the evening, that quails coming up,
covered the camp: and in the morning a dew lay round about the
camp.
16:14. And when it had covered the face of the earth, it appeared
in the wilderness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle,
like unto the hoar frost on the ground.
16:15. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to
another: Manhu! which signifieth: What is this! for they knew
not what it was. And Moses said to them: This is the bread
which the Lord hath given you to eat.
16:16. This is the word that the Lord hath commanded: Let every
one gather of it as much as is enough to eat; a gomor for every
man, according to the number of your souls that dwell in a tent,
so shall you take of it.
16:17. And the children of Israel did so: and they gathered, one
more, another less.
16:18: And they measured by the measure of a gomor: neither had
he more that had gathered more; nor did he find less that had
provided less: but every one had gathered, according to what they
were able to eat.
16:19. And Moses said to them: Let no man leave thereof till the
morning.
16:20. And they hearkened not to him, but some of them left until
the morning, and it began to be full of worms, and it putrified,
and Moses was angry with them.
16:21. Now every one of them gathered in the morning, as much as
might suffice to eat: and after the sun grew hot, it melted.
16:22. But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, that is,
two gomors every man: and all the rulers of the multitude came,
and told Moses.
16:23. And he said to them: This is what the Lord hath spoken:
To morrow is the rest of the sabbath sanctified to the Lord.
Whatsoever work is to be done, do it; and the meats that are to
be dressed, dress them; and whatsoever shall remain, lay it up
until the morning.
16:24. And they did so as Moses had commanded, and it did not
putrify, neither was there worm found in it.
16:25. And Moses said: Eat it to day, because it is the sabbath
of the Lord: to day it shall not be found in the field.
16:26. Gather it six days; but on the seventh day is the sabbath
of the Lord, therefore it shall not be found.
16:27. And the seventh day came; and some of the people going
forth to gather, found none.
16:28. And the Lord said to Moses: How long will you refuse to
keep my commandments, and my law?
16:29. See that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, and for this
reason on the sixth day he giveth you a double provision: let
each man stay at home, and let none go forth out of his place the
seventh day.
16:30. And the people kept the sabbath on the seventh day.
16:31. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna:
and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste thereof like
to flour with honey.
16:32. And Moses said: This is the word which the Lord hath
commanded: Fill a gomor of it, and let it be kept unto
generations to come hereafter; that they may know the bread,
wherewith I fed you in the wilderness when you were brought forth
out of the land of Egypt.
16:33. And Moses said to Aaron: Take a vessel, and put manna
into it, as much as a gomor can hold; and lay it up before the
Lord, to keep unto your generations,
16:34. As the Lord commanded Moses. And Aaron put it in the
tabernacle to be kept.
16:35. And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, till
they came to a habitable land: with this meat were they fed,
until they reached the borders of the land of Chanaan.
16:36. Now a gomor is the tenth part of an ephi.
Exodus Chapter 17
The people murmur again for want of drink; the Lord giveth them
water out of a rock. Moses lifting up his hand in prayer, Amalec
is overcome.
17:1. Then all the multitude of the children of Israel setting
forward from the desert of Sin, by their mansions, according to
the word of the Lord, encamped in Raphidim, where there was no
water for the people to drink.
17:2. And they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, that
we may drink. And Moses answered them: Why chide you with me?
Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?
17:3. So the people were thirsty there for want of water, and
murmured against Moses, saying: Why didst thou make us go forth
out of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our beasts with
thirst?
17:4. And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: What shall I do to
this people? Yet a little more and they will stone me.
17:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Go before the people, and take
with thee of the ancients of Israel: and take in thy hand the
rod wherewith thou didst strike the river, and go.
17:6. Behold I will stand there before thee, upon the rock Horeb,
and thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it
that the people may drink. Moses did so before the ancients of
Israel:
17:7. And he called the name of that place Temptation, because of
the chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted
the Lord, saying: Is the Lord amongst us or not?
17:8. And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim.
17:9. And Moses said to Josue: Choose out men; and go out and
fight against Amalec: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the
hill, having the rod of God in my hand.
17:10. Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against
Amalec; but Moses, and Aaron, and Hur, went up upon the top of
the hill.
17:11. And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame; but
if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame.
17:12. And Moses's hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and
put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his
hands on both sides. And it came to pass, that his hands were
not weary until sunset.
17:13. And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge
of the sword.
17:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in
a book, and deliver it to the ears of Josue; for I will destroy
the memory of Amalec from under heaven.
17:15. And Moses built an altar; and called the name thereof, The
Lord, my exaltation, saying:
17:16. Because the hand of the throne of the Lord, and the war of
the Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation.
Exodus Chapter 18
Jethro bringeth to Moses his wife and children. His counsel.
18:1. And when Jethro the priest of Madian, the kinsman of Moses,
had heard all the things that God had done to Moses, and to
Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought forth Israel out
of Egypt:
18:2. He took Sephora, the wife of Moses, whom he had sent back:
18:3. And her two sons, of whom one was called Gersam: his
father saying, I have been a stranger in a foreign country.
18:4. And the other Eliezer: For the God of my father, said he,
is my helper, and hath delivered me from the sword of Pharao.
18:5. And Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, came with his sons, and
his wife to Moses into the desert, where he was camped by the
mountain of God.
18:6. And he sent word to Moses, saying: I Jethro, thy kinsman,
come to thee, and thy wife, and thy two sons with her.
18:7. And he went out to meet his kinsman, and worshipped and
kissed him: and they saluted one another with words of peace.
And when he was come into the tent,
18:8. Moses told his kinsman all that the Lord had done to
Pharao, and the Egyptians in favour of Israel: and all the
labour which had befallen them in the journey, and that the Lord
had delivered them.
18:9. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good things that the Lord
had done to Israel, because he had delivered them out of the
hands of the Egyptians.
18:10. And he said: Blessed is the Lord, who hath delivered his
people out of the hand of Egypt.
18:11. Now I know, that the Lord is great above all gods; because
they dealt proudly against them.
18:12. So Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, offered holocausts and
sacrifices to God: and Aaron and all the ancients of Israel
came, to eat bread with him before God.
18:13. And the next day Moses sat to judge the people, who stood
by Moses from morning until night.
18:14. And when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among
the people, he said: What is it that thou dost among the people?
Why sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till
night?
18:15. And Moses answered him: The people come to me to seek the
judgment of God?
18:16. And when any controversy falleth out among them, they come
to me to judge between them, and to shew the precepts of God, and
his laws.
18:17. But he said: The thing thou dost is not good.
18:18: Thou art spent with foolish labour, both thou, and this
people that is with thee; the business is above thy strength,
thou alone canst not bear it.
18:19. But hear my words and counsels, and God shall be with
thee. Be thou to the people in those things that pertain to God,
to bring their words to him:
18:20. And to shew the people the ceremonies, and the manner of
worshipping; and the way wherein they ought to walk, and the work
that they ought to do.
18:21. And provide out of all the people able men, such as fear
God, in whom there is truth, and that hate avarice, and appoint
of them rulers of thousands, and of hundreds, and of fifties, and
of tens,
18:22. Who may judge the people at all times: and when any great
matter soever shall fall out, let them refer it to thee, and let
them judge the lesser matters only: that so it may be lighter
for thee, the burden being shared out unto others.
18:23. If thou dost this, thou shalt fulfil the commandment of
God, and shalt be able to bear his precepts: and all this people
shall return to their places with peace.
18:24. And when Moses heard this, he did all things that he had
suggested unto him.
18:25. And choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them
rulers of the people, rulers over thousands, and over hundreds,
and over fifties, and over tens.
18:26. And they judged the people at all times: and whatsoever
was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged
the easier cases only.
18:27. And he let his kinsman depart: and he returned and went
into his own country.
Exodus Chapter 19
They come to Sinai: the people are commanded to be sanctified.
The Lord, coming in thunder and lightning, speaketh with Moses.
19:1. In the third month of the departure of Israel out of the
land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of
Sinai:
19:2. For departing out of Raphidim, and coming to the desert of
Sinai, they camped in the same place, and there Israel pitched
their tents over against the mountain.
19:3. And Moses went up to God; and the Lord called unto him from
the mountain, and said: Thus shalt thou say to the house of
Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
And Moses went up to God. . .Moses went up to mount Sinai, where
God spoke to him.
19:4. You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have
carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to
myself.
19:5. If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant,
you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all
the earth is mine.
19:6. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy
nation. These are the words thou shalt speak to the children of
Israel.
19:7. Moses came; and calling together the elders of the people,
he declared all the words which the Lord had commanded.
19:8. And all the people answered together: All that the Lord
hath spoken, we will do. And when Moses had related the people's
words to the Lord,
19:9. The Lord said to him: Lo, now will I come to thee in the
darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to
thee, and may believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of
the people to the Lord.
19:10. And he said to him: Go to the people, and sanctify them
to day, and to morrow, and let them wash their garments.
19:11. And let them be ready against the third day; for on the
third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people,
upon Mount Sinai.
19:12. And thou shalt appoint certain limits to the people round
about, and thou shalt say to them: Take heed ye go not up into
the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one
that toucheth the mount, dying he shall die.
19:13. No hands shall touch him, but he shall be stoned to death,
or he shall be shot through with arrows: whether it be beast, or
man, he shall not live. When the trumpet shall begin to sound,
then let them go up into the mount.
19:14. And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and
sanctified them. And when they had washed their garments,
19:15. He said to them: Be ready against the third day, and come
not near your wives.
19:16. And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared:
and behold thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash,
and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the
trumpet sounded exceeding loud; and the people that was in the
camp, feared.
19:17. And when Moses had brought them forth to meet God, from
the place of the camp, they stood at the bottom of the mount.
19:18. And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke: because the Lord was
come down upon it in fire, and the smoke arose from it as out of
a furnace: and all the mount was terrible.
19:19. And the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and
louder, and was drawn out to a greater length: Moses spoke, and
God answered him.
19:20. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, in the very top
of the mount, and he called Moses unto the top thereof. And when
he was gone up thither,
19:21. He said unto him: Go down, and charge the people; lest
they should have a mind to pass the limits to see the Lord, and a
very great multitude of them should perish.
19:22. The priests also that come to the Lord, let them be
sanctified, lest he strike them.
19:23. And Moses said to the Lord: The people cannot come up to
Mount Sinai: for thou didst charge, and command, saying: Set
limits about the mount, and sanctify it.
19:24. And the Lord said to him: Go, get thee down; and thou
shalt come up, thou and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests
and the people pass the limits, nor come up to the Lord, lest he
kill them.
19:25. And Moses went down to the people and told them all.
Exodus Chapter 20
The ten commandments.
20:1. And the Lord spoke all these words:
20:2. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
20:3. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
20:4. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth
beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the
earth.
A graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing, etc. . .All such
images, or likenesses, are forbidden by this commandment, as are
made to be adored and served; according to that which immediately
follows, thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them. That is, all
such as are designed for idols or image-gods, or are worshipped
with divine honour. But otherwise images, pictures, or
representations, even in the house of God, and in the very
sanctuary so far from being forbidden, are expressly authorized
by the word of God. See Ex. 25.15, and etc.; chap. 38.7; Num.
21.8, 9; 1 Chron. or Paralip. 28.18, 19; 2 Chron. or Paralip.
3.10.
20:5. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord
thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me:
20:6. And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and
keep my commandments.
20:7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain:
for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name
of the Lord his God in vain.
20:8. Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.
20:9. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.
20:10. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God:
thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter,
nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the
stranger that is within thy gates.
20:11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the
sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh
day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified
it.
20:12. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayst be
longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.
20:13. Thou shalt not kill.
20:14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
20:15. Thou shalt not steal.
20:16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
20:17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; neither shalt
thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his
ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.
20:18. And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the
sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and being terrified
and struck with fear, they stood afar off,
20:19. Saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let
not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.
20:20. And Moses said to the people: Fear not; for God is come
to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you
should not sin.
20:21. And the people stood afar off. But Moses went to the dark
cloud wherein God was.
20:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the
children of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from
heaven.
20:23. You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to
yourselves gods of gold.
20:24. You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall
offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and
oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be: I
will come to thee, and will bless thee.
20:25. And if thou make an altar of stone unto me, thou shalt not
build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up a tool upon it, it
shall be defiled.
20:26. Thou shalt not go up by steps unto my altar, lest thy
nakedness be discovered.
Exodus Chapter 21
Laws relating to Justice.
21:1. These are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
21:2. If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve
thee; in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
21:3. With what raiment he came in, with the like let him go out:
if having a wife, his wife also shall go out with him.
21:4. But if his master gave him a wife, and she hath borne sons
and daughters; the woman and her children shall be her master's:
but he himself shall go out with his raiment.
21:5. And if the servant shall say: I love my master and my wife
and children, I will not go out free:
21:6. His master shall bring him to the gods, and he shall be set
to the door and the posts, and he shall bore his ear through with
an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever.
To the gods. . .Elohim. That is, to the judges, or magistrates,
authorized by God.
21:7. If any man sell his daughter to be a servant, she shall not
go out as bondwomen are wont to go out.
21:8. If she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was
delivered, he shall let her go: but he shall have no power to
sell her to a foreign nation, if he despise her.
21:9. But if he have betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with
her after the manner of daughters.
21:10. And if he take another wife for him, he shall provide her
a marriage, and raiment, neither shall he refuse the price of her
chastity.
21:11. If he do not these three things, she shall go out free
without money.
21:12. He that striketh a man with a will to kill him, shall be
put to death.
21:13. But he that did not lie in wait for him, but God delivered
him into his hands: I will appoint thee a place to which he must
flee.
21:14. If a man kill his neighbour on set purpose, and by lying
in wait for him: thou shalt take him away from my altar that he
may die.
21:15. He that striketh his father or mother, shall be put to
death.
21:16. He that shall steal a man, and sell him, being convicted
of the guilt, shall be put to death.
21:17. He that curseth his father or mother, shall die the death.
21:18. If men quarrel, and the one strike his neighbour with a
stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
21:19. If he rise again and walk abroad upon his staff, he that
struck him shall be quit, yet so that he make restitution for his
work, and for his expenses upon the physicians.
21:20. He that striketh his bondman, or bondwoman, with a rod,
and they die under his hands, shall be guilty of the crime.
21:21. But if the party remain alive a day or two, he shall not
be subject to the punishment, because it is his money.
21:22. If men quarrel, and one strike a woman with child and she
miscarry indeed, but live herself: he shall be answerable for so
much damage as the woman's husband shall require, and as arbiters
shall award.
21:23. But if her death ensue thereupon, he shall render life for
life,
21:24. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for
foot,
21:25. Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
21:26. If any man strike the eye of his manservant or
maidservant, and leave them but one eye, he shall let them go
free for the eye which he put out.
21:27. Also if he strike out a tooth of his manservant or
maidservant, he shall in like manner make them free.
21:28. If an ox gore a man or a woman, and they die, he shall be
stoned: and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the
ox shall be quit.
21:29. But if the ox was wont to push with his horn yesterday,
and the day before, and they warned his master, and he did not
shut him up, and he shall kill a man or a woman: then the ox
shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
21:30. And if they set a price upon him, he shall give for his
life whatsoever is laid upon him.
21:31. If he have gored a son, or a daughter, he shall fall under
the like sentence.
21:32. If he assault a bondman or bondwoman, he shall give thirty
sicles of silver to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
21:33. If a man open a pit, and dig one, and cover it not, and an
ox or an ass fall into it,
21:34. The owner of the pit shall pay the price of the beasts:
and that which is dead shall be his own.
21:35. If one man's ox gore another man's ox, and he die: they
shall sell the live ox, and shall divide the price, and the
carcass of that which died they shall part between them:
21:36. But if he knew that his ox was wont to push yesterday, and
the day before, and his master did not keep him in; he shall pay
ox for ox, and shall take the whole carcass.
Exodus Chapter 22
The punishment of theft, and other trespasses. The law of
lending without usury, of taking pledges of reverences to
superiors, and of paying tithes.
22:1. If any man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill or sell it: he
shall restore five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep.
22:2. If a thief be found breaking open a house or undermining
it, and be wounded so as to die: he that slew him shall not be
guilty of blood.
22:3. But if he did this when the sun is risen, he hath committed
murder, and he shall die. If he have not wherewith to make
restitution for the theft, he shall be sold.
22:4. If that which he stole be found with him, alive, either ox,
or ass, or sheep: he shall restore double.
22:5. If any man hurt a field or a vineyard, and put in his beast
to feed upon that which is other men's: he shall restore the
best of whatsoever he hath in his own field, or in his vineyard,
according to the estimation of the damage.
22:6. If a fire breaking out light upon thorns, and catch stacks
of corn, or corn standing in the fields, he that kindled the fire
shall make good the loss.
22:7. If a man deliver money, or any vessel unto his friend to
keep, and they be stolen away from him that received them: if
the thief be found, he shall restore double:
22:8. If the thief be not known, the master of the house shall be
brought to the gods, and shall swear that he did not lay his hand
upon his neighbour's goods,
22:9. To do any fraud, either in ox, or in ass, or sheep, or
raiment, or any thing that may bring damage: the cause of both
parties shall come to the gods: and if they give judgment, he
shall restore double to his neighbour.
22:10. If a man deliver ass, ox, sheep, or any beast, to his
neighbour's custody, and it die, or be hurt, or be taken by
enemies, and no man saw it:
22:11. There shall be an oath between them, that he did not put
forth his hand to his neighbour's goods: and the owner shall
accept of the oath, and he shall not be compelled to make
restitution.
22:12. But if it were taken away by stealth, he shall make the
loss good to the owner.
22:13. If it were eaten by a beast, let him bring to him that
which was slain, and he shall not make restitution.
22:14. If a man borrow of his neighbour any of these things, and
it be hurt or die, the owner not being present, he shall be
obliged to make restitution.
22:15. But if the owner be present, he shall not make
restitution, especially if it were hired, and came for the hire
of his work.
22:16. If a man seduce a virgin not yet espoused, and lie with
her: he shall endow her, and have her to wife.
22:17. If the maid's father will not give her to him, he shall
give money according to the dowry, which virgins are wont to
receive.
22:18. Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live.
22:19. Whosoever copulateth with a beast; shall be put to death.
22:20. He that sacrificeth to gods, shall be put to death, save
only to the Lord.
22:21. Thou shalt not molest a stranger, nor afflict him: for
yourselves also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22:22. You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan.
22:23. If you hurt them, they will cry out to me, and I will hear
their cry:
22:24. And my rage shall be enkindled, and I will strike you with
the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children
fatherless.
22:25. If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor, that
dwelleth with thee, thou shalt not be hard upon them as an
extortioner, nor oppress them with usuries.
22:26. If thou take of thy neighbour a garment in pledge, thou
shalt give it him again before sunset.
22:27. For that same is the only thing, wherewith he is covered,
the clothing of his body, neither hath he any other to sleep in:
if he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.
22:28. Thou shalt not speak ill of the gods, and the prince of
thy people thou shalt not curse.
22:29. Thou shalt not delay to pay thy tithes and thy
firstfruits: thou shalt give the firstborn of thy sons to me.
22:30. Thou shalt do the same with the firstborn of thy oxen also
and sheep: seven days let it be with its dam: the eighth day
thou shalt give it to me.
22:31. You shall be holy men to me: the flesh that beasts have
tasted of before, you shall not eat, but shall cast it to the
dogs.
Exodus Chapter 23
Laws for judges; the rest of the seventh year, and day: three
principal feasts to be solemnized every year; the promise of an
angel, to conduct and protect them: idols are to be destroyed.
23:1. Thou shalt not receive the voice of a lie: neither shalt
thou join thy hand to bear false witness for a wicked person.
23:2. Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil: neither
shalt thou yield in judgment, to the opinion of the most part, to
stray from the truth.
23:3. Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in judgment.
23:4. If thou meet thy enemy's ox or ass going astray, bring it
back to him.
23:5. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lie underneath
his burden, thou shalt not pass by, but shalt lift him up with
him.
23:6. Thou shalt not go aside in the poor man's judgment.
23:7. Thou shalt fly lying. The innocent and just person thou
shalt not put to death: because I abhor the wicked.
23:8. Neither shalt thou take bribes, which even blind the wise,
and pervert the words of the just.
23:9. Thou shalt not molest a stranger, for you know the hearts
of strangers: for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
23:10. Six years thou shalt sow thy ground, and shalt gather the
corn thereof.
23:11. But the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer
it to rest, that the poor of thy people may eat, and whatsoever
shall be left, let the beasts of the field eat it: so shalt thou
do with thy vineyard and thy oliveyard.
23:12. Six days thou shalt work: the seventh day thou shalt
cease, that thy ox and thy ass may rest: and the son of thy
handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.
23:13. Keep all things that I have said to you. And by the name
of strange gods you shall not swear, neither shall it be heard
out of your mouth.
23:14. Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me.
23:15. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days
shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time
of the month of new corn, when thou didst come forth out of
Egypt: thou shalt not appear empty before me.
23:16. And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy
work, whatsoever thou hast sown in the field. The feast also in
the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in all thy corn out
of the field.
23:17. Thrice a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord
thy God.
23:18. Thou shalt not sacrifice the blood of my victim upon
leaven, neither shall the fat of my solemnity remain until the
morning.
23:19. Thou shalt carry the first-fruits of the corn of thy
ground to the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a
kid in the milk of his dam.
23:20. Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and
keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I
have prepared.
23:21. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think
him one to be contemned: for he will not forgive when thou hast
sinned, and my name is in him.
23:22. But if thou wilt hear hi voice, and do all that I speak, I
will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that
afflict thee.
23:23. And my angel shall go before thee, and shall bring thee in
unto the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherexite, and the
Chanaanite, and the Hevite, and the Jebuzite, whom I will
destroy.
23:24. Thou shalt not adore their gods, nor serve them. Thou
shalt not do their works, but shalt destroy them, and break their
statues.
23:25. And you shall serve the Lord your God, that I may bless
your bread and your waters, and may take away sickness from the
midst of thee.
23:26. There shall not be one fruitless nor barren in thy land:
I will fill the number of thy days.
23:27. I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the
people to whom thou shalt come: and will turn the backs of all
thy enemies before thee:
23:28. Sending out hornets before, that shall drive away the
Hevite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, before thou come in.
23:29. I will not cast them out from thy face in one year; lest
the land be brought into a wilderness, and the beasts multiply
against thee.
23:30. By little and little I will drive them out from before
thee, till thou be increased, and dost possess the land.
23:31. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of
the Palestines, and from the desert to the river: I will deliver
the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and will drive them
out from before you.
23:32. Thou shalt not enter into league with them, nor with their
gods.
23:33. Let them not dwell in thy land, lest perhaps they make
thee sin against me, if thou serve their gods; which,
undoubtedly, will be a scandal to thee.
Exodus Chapter 24
Moses writeth his law; and after offering sacrifices, sprinkleth
the blood of the testament upon the people: then goeth up the
mountain which God covereth with a fiery cloud.
24:1. And he said to Moses: Come up to the Lord, thou, and
Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel, and
you shall adore afar off.
24:2. And Moses alone shall come up to the Lord, but they shall
not come nigh; neither shall the people come up with him.
24:3. So Moses came and told the people all the words of the
Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with
one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath
spoken.
24:4. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord: and rising in
the morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and
twelve titles according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Titles. . .That is, pillars.
24:5. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, and they
offered holocausts, and sacrificed pacific victims of calves to
the Lord.
Holocausts. . .Whole burnt offerings, in which the whole
sacrifice was consumed with fire upon the altar.
24:6. Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it into bowls;
and the rest he poured upon the altar.
24:7. And taking the book of the covenant, he read it in the
hearing of the people: and they said: All things that the Lord
hath spoken, we will do, we will be obedient.
24:8. And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and
he said: This is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath
made with you concerning all these words.
24:9. Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the
ancients of Israel went up:
24:10. And they saw the God of Israel: and under his feet as it
were a work of sapphire stone, and as the heaven, when clear.
24:11. Neither did he lay his hand upon those of the children of
Israel, that retired afar off, and they saw God, and they did eat
and drink.
24:12. And the Lord said to Moses: Come up to me into the mount,
and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law,
and the commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach
them.
24:13. Moses rose up, and his minister Josue: and Moses going up
into the mount of God,
24:14. Said to the ancients: Wait ye here till we return to you.
You have Aaron and Hur with you: if any question shall arise,
you shall refer it to them.
24:15. And when Moses was gone up, a cloud covered the mount.
24:16. And the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai, covering it
with a cloud six days: and the seventh day he called him out of
the midst of the cloud.
24:17. And the sight of the glory of the Lord, was like a burning
fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of
Israel.
24:18. And Moses entering into the midst of the cloud, went up
into the mountain: And he was there forty days and forty nights.
Exodus Chapter 25
Offerings prescribed for making the tabernacle, the ark, the
candlestick, etc.
25:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
25:2. Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring
firstfruits to me: of every man that offereth of his own accord,
you shall take them.
Firstfruits. . .Offerings of some of the best and choicest of
their goods.
25:3. And these are the things you must take: Gold, and silver,
and brass,
25:4. Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen,
and goats' hair,
25:5. And rams' skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim wood:
Setim wood. . .The wood of a tree that grows in the wilderness,
which is said to be incorruptible.
25:6. Oil to make lights: spices for ointment, and for
sweetsmelling incense:
25:7. Onyx stones, and precious stones to adorn the ephod and the
rational.
The ephod and the rational. . .The ephod was the high priest's
upper vestment; and the rational his breastplate, in which were
twelve gems, etc.
25:8. And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the
midst of them:
25:9. According to all the likeness of the tabernacle which I
will shew thee, and of all the vessels for the service thereof:
and thus you shall make it:
25:10. Frame an ark of setim wood, the length whereof shall be of
two cubits and a half; the breadth, a cubit and a half; the
height, likewise, a cubit and a half.
25:11. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, within and
without; and over it thou shalt make a golden crown round about:
25:12. And four golden rings, which thou shalt put at the four
corners of the ark: let two rings be on the one side, and two on
the other.
25:13. Thou shalt make bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay
them with gold.
25:14. And thou shalt put them in through the rings that are in
the sides of the ark, that it may be carried on them:
25:15. And they shall be always in the rings, neither shall they
at any time be drawn out of them.
25:16. And thou shalt put in the ark the testimony which I will
give thee.
25:17. Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold:
the length thereof shall be two cubits and a half, and the
breadth a cubit and a half.
A propitiatory. . .a covering for the ark: called a
propitiatory, or mercy seat, because the Lord, who was supposed
to sit there upon the wings of the cherubims, with the ark for
his footstool, from thence shewed mercy. It is also called the
oracle, ver. 18 and 20; because from thence God gave his orders
and his answers.
25:18. Thou shalt make also two cherubims of beaten gold, on the
two sides of the oracle.
25:19. Let one cherub be on the one side, and the other on the
other.
25:20. Let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading
their wings, and covering the oracle, and let them look one
towards the other, their faces being turned towards the
propitiatory wherewith the ark is to be covered.
25:21. In which thou shalt put the testimony that I will give
thee.
25:22. Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee over the
propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubims, which
shall be upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will
command the children of Israel by thee.
25:23. Thou shalt make a table also of setim wood, of two cubits
in length, and a cubit in breadth, and a cubit and a half in
height.
A table. . .On which were to be placed the twelve loaves of
proposition: or, as they are called in the Hebrew, the face
bread, because they were always to stand before the face of the
Lord in his temple: as a figure of the eucharistic sacrifice and
sacrament, in the church of Christ.
25:24. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold: and thou
shalt make to it a golden ledge round about.
25:25. And to the ledge itself a polished crown, four inches
high; and over the same another little golden crown.
25:26. Thou shalt prepare also four golden rings, and shalt put
them in the four corners of the same table, over each foot.
25:27. Under the crown shall the golden rings be, that the bars
may be put through them, and the table may be carried.
25:28. The bars also themselves thou shalt make of setim wood,
and shalt overlay them with gold, to bear up the table.
25:29. Thou shalt prepare also dishes, and bowls, censers, and
cups, wherein the libations are to be offered, of the purest
gold.
Libations. . .That is, drink offerings.
25:30. And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of proposition in
my sight always.
25:31. Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work, of the
finest gold, the shaft thereof, and the branches, the cups, and
the bowls, and the lilies going forth from it.
A candlestick. . .This candlestick, with its seven lamps, which
was always to give light in the house of God, was a figure of the
light of the Holy Ghost, and his sevenfold grace, in the
sanctuary of the church of Christ.
25:32. Six branches shall come out of the sides, three out of one
side, and three out of the other.
25:33. Three cups as it were nuts to every branch, and a bowl
withal, and a lily: and three cups likewise of the fashion of
nuts in the other branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily. Such
shall be the work of the six branches, that are to come out from
the shaft:
25:34. And in the candlestick itself shall be four cups in the
manner of a nut, and at every one bowls and lilies.
25:35. Bowls under two branches in three places, which together
make six, coming forth out of one shaft.
25:36. And both the bowls and the branches shall be of the same
beaten work of the purest gold.
25:37. Thou shalt make also seven lamps, and shalt set them upon
the candlestick, to give light over against.
25:38. The snuffers also, and where the snuffings shall be put
out, shall be made of the purest gold.
25:39. The whole weight of the candlestick, with all the
furniture thereof, shall be a talent of the purest gold.
25:40. Look, and make it according to the pattern that was shewn
thee in the mount.
Exodus Chapter 26
The form of the tabernacle with its appurtenances.
26:1. And thou shalt make the tabernacle in this manner: Thou
shalt make ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and violet and
purple, and scarlet twice dyed, diversified with embroidery.
26:2. The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits; the
breadth shall be four cubits. All the curtains shall be of one
measure.
26:3. Five curtains shall be joined one to another, and the other
five shall be coupled together in like manner.
26:4. Thou shalt make loops of violet in the sides and tops of
the curtains, that they may be joined one to another.
26:5. Every curtain shall have fifty loops on both sides, so set
on, that one loop may be against another loop, and one may be
fitted to the other.
26:6. Thou shalt make also fifty rings of gold, wherewith the
veils of the curtains are to be joined, that it may be made one
tabernacle.
26:7. Thou shalt make also eleven curtains of goats' hair, to
cover the top of the tabernacle.
26:8. The length of one hair-curtain shall be thirty cubits; and
the breadth, four: the measure of all the curtains shall be
equal.
26:9. Five of which thou shalt couple by themselves, and the six
others thou shalt couple one to another, so as to double the
sixth curtain in the front of the roof.
26:10. Thou shalt make also fifty loops in the edge of one
curtain, that it may be joined with the other: and fifty loops
in the edge of the other curtain, that it may be coupled with its
fellow.
26:11. Thou shalt make also fifty buckles of brass, wherewith the
loops may be joined, that of all there may be made one covering.
26:12. And that which shall remain of the curtains, that are
prepared for the roof, to wit, one curtain that is over and
above, with the half thereof thou shalt cover the back parts of
the tabernacle.
26:13. And there shall hang down a cubit on the one side, and
another on the other side, which is over and above in the length
of the curtains, fencing both sides of the tabernacle.
26:14. Thou shalt make also another cover to the roof of rams'
skins dyed red: and over that again another cover of violet
coloured skins.
26:15. Thou shalt make also the boards of the tabernacle standing
upright of setim wood.
26:16. Let every one of them be ten cubits in length, and in
breadth one cubit and a half.
26:17. In the sides of the boards shall be made two mortises,
whereby one board may be joined to another board: and after this
manner shall all the boards be prepared.
26:18. Of which twenty shall be in the south side southward.
26:19. For which thou shalt cast forty sockets of silver, that
under every board may be put two sockets at the two corners.
26:20. In the second side also of the tabernacle that looketh to
the north, there shall be twenty boards,
26:21. Having forty sockets of silver, two sockets shall be put
under each board.
26:22. But on the west side of the tabernacle thou shalt make six
boards.
26:23. And again other two which shall be erected in the corners
at the back of the tabernacle.
26:24. And they shall be joined together from beneath unto the
top, and one joint shall hold them all. The like joining shall
be observed for the two boards also that are to be put in the
corners.
26:25. And they shall be in all eight boards, and their silver
sockets sixteen, reckoning two sockets for each board.
26:26. Thou shalt make also five bars of setim wood, to hold
together the boards on one side of the tabernacle.
26:27. And five others on the other side, and as many at the west
side:
26:28. And they shall be put along by the midst of the boards,
from one end to the other.
26:29. The boards also themselves thou shalt overlay with gold,
and shalt cast rings of gold to be set upon them, for places for
the bars to hold together the boardwork: which bars thou shalt
cover with plates of gold.
26:30. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the
pattern that was shewn thee in the mount.
26:31. Thou shalt make also a veil of violet, and purple, and
scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, wrought with
embroidered work and goodly variety:
26:32. And thou shalt hang it up before four pillars of setim
wood, which themselves also shall be overlaid with gold, and
shall have heads of gold, but sockets of silver.
26:33. And the veil shall be hanged on with rings, and within it
thou shalt put the ark of the testimony, and the sanctuary and
the holy of the holies shall be divided with it.
The sanctuary, etc. . .That part of the tabernacle, which was
without the veil, into which the priests daily entered, is here
called the sanctuary, or holy place; that part which was within
the veil, into which no one but the high priest ever went, and he
but once a year, is called the holy of holies, (literally, the
sanctuary of the sanctuaries,) as being the most holy of all holy
places.
26:34. And thou shalt set the propitiatory upon the ark of the
testimony, in the holy of holies.
26:35. And the table without the veil, and over against the table
the candlestick in the south side of the tabernacle: for the
table shall stand in the north side.
26:36. Thou shalt make also a hanging in the entrance of the
tabernacle of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and
fine twisted linen with embroidered work.
26:37. And thou shalt overlay with gold five pillars of setim
wood, before which the hanging shall be drawn: their heads shall
be of gold, and the sockets of brass.
Exodus Chapter 27
The altar; and the court of the tabernacle with its hangings and
pillars. Provision of oil for lamps.
27:1. Thou shalt make also an altar of setim wood, which shall be
five cubits long, and as many broad, that is four square, and
three cubits high.
27:2. And there shall be horns at the four corners of the same:
and thou shalt cover it with brass.
27:3. And thou shalt make for the uses thereof pans to receive
the ashes, and tongs and fleshhooks, and firepans: all its
vessels thou shalt make of brass.
27:4. And a grate of brass in manner of a net; at the four
corners of which, shall be four rings of brass,
27:5. Which thou shalt put under the hearth of the altar: and
the grate shall be even to the midst of the altar.
27:6. Thou shalt make also two bars for the altar, of setim wood,
which thou shalt cover with plates of brass:
27:7. And thou shalt draw them through rings, and they shall be
on both sides of the altar to carry it.
27:8. Thou shalt not make it solid, but empty and hollow in the
inside, as it was shewn thee in the mount.
27:9. Thou shalt make also the court of the tabernacle, in the
south side whereof southward there shall be hangings of fine
twisted linen of a hundred cubits long for one side.
27:10. And twenty pillars with as many sockets of brass, the
heads of which, with their engraving, shall be of silver.
27:11. In like manner also on the north side there shall be
hangings of a hundred cubits long, twenty pillars, and as many
sockets of brass, and their heads with their engraving of silver.
27:12. But in the breadth of the court, that looketh to the west,
there shall be hangings of fifty cubits, and ten pillars, and as
many sockets.
27:13. In that breadth also of the court, which looketh to the
east, there shall be fifty cubits.
27:14. In which there shall be for one side, hangings of fifteen
cubits, and three pillars, and as many sockets.
27:15. And in the other side, there shall be hangings of fifteen
cubits, with three pillars, and as many sockets.
27:16. And in the entrance of the court there shall be made a
hanging of twenty cubits of violet and purple, and scarlet twice
dyed, and fine twisted linen, with embroidered work: it shall
have four pillars, with as many sockets.
27:17. All the pillars of the court round about shall be
garnished with plates of silver, silver heads, and sockets of
brass.
27:18. In length the court shall take up a hundred cubits, in
breadth fifty, the height shall be of five cubits, and it shall
be made of fine twisted linen, and shall have sockets of brass.
27:19. All the vessels of the tabernacle for all uses and
ceremonies, and the pins both of it and of the court, thou shalt
make of brass.
27:20. Command the children of Israel that they bring thee the
purest oil of the olives, and beaten with a pestle: that a lamp
may burn always,
27:21. In the tabernacle of the testimony, without the veil that
hangs before the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall order
it, that it may give light before the Lord until the morning. It
shall be a perpetual observance throughout their successions
among the children of Israel.
Exodus Chapter 28
The holy vestments for Aaron and his sons.
28:1. Take unto thee also Aaron thy brother with his sons, from
among the children of Israel, that they may minister to me in the
priest's office: Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
28:2. And thou shalt make a holy vesture for Aaron, thy brother,
for glory and for beauty.
28:3. And thou shalt speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have
filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's
vestments, in which he being consecrated, may minister to me.
28:4. And these shall be the vestments that they shall make: A
rational and an ephod, a tunic and a strait linen garment, a
mitre and a girdle. They shall make the holy vestments for thy
brother Aaron and his sons, that they may do the office of
priesthood unto me.
28:5. And they shall take gold, and violet, and purple, and
scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen.
28:6. And they shall make the ephod of gold, and violet, and
purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen,
embroidered with divers colours.
28:7. It shall have the two edges joined in the top on both
sides, that they may be closed together.
28:8. The very workmanship also, and all the variety of the work,
shall be of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed,
and fine twisted linen.
28:9. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and shalt grave on
them the names of the children of Israel:
28:10. Six names on one stone, and the other six on the other,
according to the order of their birth.
28:11. With the work of an engraver, and the graving of a
jeweller, thou shalt engrave them with the names of the children
of Israel, set in gold and compassed about:
28:12. And thou shalt put them in both sides of the ephod, a
memorial for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their
names before the Lord upon both shoulders, for a remembrance.
28:13. Thou shalt make also hooks of gold.
28:14. And two little chains of the purest gold, linked one to
another, which thou shalt put into the hooks.
28:15. And thou shalt make the rational of judgment with
embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship
of the ephod, of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice
dyed, and fine twisted linen.
The rational of judgment. . .This part of the priest's attire,
which he wore at his breast, was called the rational of judgment;
partly because it admonished both priest and people of their duty
to God, by carrying the names of all their tribes in his
presence; and by the Urim and the Thummim, that is, doctrine and
truth, which were written upon it; and partly because it gave
divine answers and oracles, as if it were rational and endowed
with judgment.
28:16. It shall be four square and doubled: it shall be the
measure of a span both in length and in breadth.
28:17. And thou shalt set in it four rows of stones . In the
first row shall be a sardius stone, and a topaz, and an emerald:
28:18. In the second a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper:
28:19. In the third a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst:
28:20. In the fourth a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl. They
shall be set in gold by their rows.
28:21. And they shall have the names of the children of Israel:
with twelve names shall they be engraved, each stone with the
name of one according to the twelve tribes.
28:22. And thou shalt make on the rational chains, linked one to
another, of the purest gold:
28:23. And two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the two
ends at the top of the rational.
28:24. And the golden chains thou shalt join to the rings, that
are in the ends thereof.
28:25. And the ends of the chains themselves, thou shalt join
together with two hooks, on both sides of the ephod, which is
towards the rational.
28:26. Thou shalt make also two rings of gold, which thou shalt
put in the top parts of the rational, in the borders that are
over against the ephod, and look towards the back parts thereof.
28:27. Moreover also other two rings of gold, which are to be set
on each side of the ephod beneath, that looketh towards the
nether joining, that the rational may be fitted with the ephod,
28:28. And may be fastened by the rings thereof unto the rings of
the ephod with a violet fillet, that the joining artificially
wrought may continue, and the rational and the ephod may not be
loosed one from the other.
28:29. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel
in the rational of judgment upon his breast, when he shall enter
into the sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord for ever.
28:30. And thou shalt put in the rational of judgment doctrine
and truth, which shall be on Aaron's breast, when he shall go in
before the Lord: and he shall bear the judgment of the children
of Israel on his breast, in the sight of the Lord always.
Doctrine and Truth. . .Hebrew, Urim and Thummim: illuminations
and perfections. These words, written on the rational, seem to
signify the light of doctrine and the integrity of life, with
which the priests of God ought to approach him.
28:31. And thou shalt make the tunic of the ephod all of violet,
28:32. In the midst whereof above shall be a hole for the head,
and a border round about it woven, as is wont to be made in the
outmost parts of garments, that it may not easily be broken.
28:33. And beneath at the feet of the same tunic, round about,
thou shalt make as it were pomegranates, of violet, and purple,
and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between:
28:34. So that there shall be a golden bell and a pomegranate,
and again another golden bell and a pomegranate.
28:35. And Aaron shall be vested with it in the office of his
ministry, that the sound may be heard, when he goeth in and
cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and that
he may not die.
28:36. Thou shalt make also a plate of the purest gold: wherein
thou shalt grave with engraver's work, Holy to the Lord.
28:37. And thou shalt tie it with a violet fillet, and it shall
be upon the mitre,
28:38. Hanging over the forehead of the high priest. And Aaron
shall bear the iniquities of those things, which the children of
Israel have offered and sanctified, in all their gifts and
offerings. And the plate shall be always on his forehead, that
the Lord may be well pleased with them.
28:39. And thou shalt gird the tunic with fine linen, and thou
shalt make a fine linen mitre, and a girdle of embroidered work.
28:40. Moreover, for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen
tunics, and girdles and mitres for glory and beauty:
28:41. And with all these things thou shalt vest Aaron thy
brother, and his sons with him. And thou shalt consecrate the
hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the
office of priesthood unto me.
28:42. Thou shalt make also linen breeches, to cover the flesh of
their nakedness, from the reins to the thighs:
28:43. And Aaron and his sons shall use them when they shall go
into the tabernacle of the testimony, or when they approach to
the altar to minister in the sanctuary. lest being guilty of
iniquity they die. It shall be a law for ever to Aaron, and to
his seed after him.
Exodus Chapter 29
The manner of consecrating Aaron and other priests; the
institution of the daily sacrifice of two lambs, one in the
morning, the other at evening.
29:1. And thou shalt also do this, that they may be consecrated
to me in priesthood. Take a calf from the herd, and two rams
without blemish,
29:2. And unleavened bread, and a cake without leaven, tempered
with oil, wafers also unleavened, anointed with oil: thou shalt
make them all of wheaten flour.
29:3. And thou shalt put them in a basket, and offer them: and
the calf and the two rams.
29:4. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the
tabernacle of the testimony. And when thou hast washed the
father and his sons with water,
29:5. Thou shalt clothe Aaron with his vestments, that is, with
the linen garment and the tunic, and the ephod and the rational,
which thou shalt gird with the girdle.
29:6. And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and the holy
plate upon the mitre,
29:7. And thou shalt pour the oil of unction upon his head: and
by this rite shall he be consecrated.
29:8. Thou shalt bring his sons also, and shalt put on them the
linen tunics, and gird them with a girdle:
29:9. To wit, Aaron and his children, and thou shalt put mitres
upon them; and they shall be priests to me by a perpetual
ordinance. After thou shalt have consecrated their hands,
29:10. Thou shalt present also the calf before the tabernacle of
the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon
his head,
29:11. And thou shalt kill him in the sight of the Lord, beside
the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.
29:12. And taking some of the blood of the calf, thou shalt put
it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and the rest of
the blood thou shalt pour at the bottom thereof.
29:13. Thou shalt take also all the fat that covereth the
entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the
fat that is upon them, and shalt offer a burn offering upon the
altar:
29:14. But the flesh of the calf, and the hide and the dung, thou
shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin.
29:15. Thou shalt take also one ram, upon the head whereof Aaron
and his sons shall lay their hands.
29:16. And when thou hast killed him, thou shalt take of the
blood thereof, and pour round about the altar.
29:17. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and having washed
his entrails and feet, thou shalt put them upon the flesh that is
cut in pieces, and upon his head.
29:18. And thou shalt offer the whole ram for a burnt offering
upon the altar: it is an oblation to the Lord, a most sweet
savour of the victim of the Lord.
29:19. Thou shalt take also the other ram, upon whose head Aaron
and his sons shall lay their hands.
29:20. And when thou hast sacrificed him, thou shalt take of his
blood, and put upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and of his
sons, and upon the thumbs and great toes of their right hand and
foot, and thou shalt pour the blood upon the altar round about.
29:21. And when thou hast taken of the blood that is upon the
altar, and of the oil of unction, thou shalt sprinkle Aaron and
his vesture, his sons and their vestments. And after they and
their vestments are consecrated,
29:22. Thou shalt take the fat of the ram, and the rump, and the
fat that covereth the lungs, and the caul of the liver, and the
two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right
shoulder, because it is the ram of consecration:
29:23. And one roll of bread, a cake tempered with oil, a wafer
out of the basket of unleavened bread, which is set in the sight
of the Lord:
29:24. And thou shalt put all upon the hands of Aaron and of his
sons, and shalt sanctify them elevating before the Lord.
29:25. And thou shalt take all from their hands; and shalt burn
them upon the altar for a holocaust, a most sweet savour in the
sight of the Lord, because it is his oblation.
29:26. Thou shalt take also the breast of the ram, wherewith
Aaron was consecrated, and elevating it thou shalt sanctify it
before the Lord, and it shall fall to thy share.
29:27. And thou shalt sanctify both the consecrated breast, and
the shoulder that thou didst separate of the ram,
29:28. Wherewith Aaron was consecrated and his sons, and they
shall fall to Aaron's share, and his sons', by a perpetual right
from the children of Israel: because they are the choicest and
the beginnings of their peace victims which they offer to the
Lord.
29:29. And the holy vesture, which Aaron shall use, his sons
shall have after him, that they may be anointed, and their hands
consecrated in it.
29:30. He of his sons that shall be appointed high priest in his
stead, and that shall enter into the tabernacle of the testimony
to minister in the sanctuary, shall wear it seven days.
29:31. And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and shalt
boil the flesh thereof in the holy place:
29:32. And Aaron and his sons shall eat it. The loaves also,
that are in the basket, they shall eat in the entry of the
tabernacle of the testimony,
29:33. That it may be an atoning sacrifice, and the hands of the
offerers may be sanctified. A stranger shall not eat of them,
because they are holy.
29:34. And if there remain of the consecrated flesh, or of the
bread, till the morning, thou shalt burn the remainder with fire:
they shall not be eaten, because they are sanctified.
29:35. All that I have commanded thee, thou shalt do unto Aaron
and his sons. Seven days shalt thou consecrate their hands:
29:36. And thou shalt offer a calf for sin every day for
expiation. And thou shalt cleanse the altar when thou hast
offered the victim of expiation, and shalt anoint it to sanctify
it.
29:37. Seven days shalt thou expiate the altar and sanctify it,
and it shall be most holy. Every one, that shall touch it, shall
be holy.
29:38. This is what thou shalt sacrifice upon the altar: Two
lambs of a year old every day continually,
29:39. One lamb in the morning, and another in the evening.
29:40. With one lamb a tenth part of flour tempered with beaten
oil, of the fourth part of a hin, and wine for libation of the
same measure.
29:41. And the other lamb thou shalt offer in the evening,
according to the rite of the morning oblation, and according to
what we have said, for a savour of sweetness:
29:42. It is a sacrifice to the Lord, by perpetual oblation unto
your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony
before the Lord, where I will appoint to speak unto thee.
29:43. And there will I command the children of Israel, and the
altar shall be sanctified by my glory.
29:44. I will sanctify also the tabernacle of the testimony with
the altar, and Aaron with his sons, to do the office of
priesthood unto me.
29:45. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel,
and will be their God:
29:46. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who have
brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might abide among
them, I the Lord their God.
Exodus Chapter 30
The altar of incense: money to be gathered for the use of the
tabernacle: the brazen laver: the holy oil of unction, and the
composition of the perfume.
30:1. Thou shalt make also an altar to burn incense, of setim
wood.
An altar to burn incense. . .This burning of incense was an
emblem of prayer, ascending to God from an inflamed heart. See
Ps. 140.2; Apoc. 5.8, and 8.4.
30:2. It shall be a cubit in length, and another in breadth, that
is, four square, and two in height. Horns shall go out of the
same.
30:3. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, as well the
grate thereof, as the walls round about, and the horns. And thou
shalt make to it a crown of gold round about,
30:4. And two golden rings under the crown on either side, that
the bars may be put into them, and the altar be carried.
30:5. And thou shalt make the bars also of setim wood, and shalt
overlay them with gold.
30:6. And thou shalt set the altar over against the veil, that
hangeth before the ark of the testimony before the propitiatory
wherewith the testimony is covered, where I will speak to thee.
30:7. And Aaron shall burn sweet smelling incense upon it in the
morning. When he shall dress the lamps, he shall burn it:
30:8. And when he shall place them in the evening, he shall burn
an everlasting incense before the Lord throughout your
generations.
30:9. You shall not offer upon it incense of another composition,
nor oblation, and victim, neither shall you offer libations.
30:10. And Aaron shall pray upon the horns thereof once a year,
with the blood of that which was offered for sin; and shall make
atonement upon it in your generations. It shall be most holy to
the Lord.
30:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
30:12. When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel,
according to their number, every one of them shall give a price
for their souls to the Lord, and there shall be no scourge among
them, when they shall be reckoned.
30:13. And this shall every one give that passeth at the naming,
half a sicle according to the standard of the temple. A sicle
hath twenty obols. Half a sicle shall be offered to the Lord.
Half a sicle. . .A sicle or shekel of silver, (which was also
called a stater,) according to the standard or weight of the
sanctuary, which was the most just and exact, was half an ounce
of silver, that is, about half a crown of English money. The
obol, or gerah, was about three halfpence.
30:14. He that is counted in the number from twenty years and
upwards, shall give the price.
30:15. The rich man shall not add to half a sicle, and the poor
man shall diminish nothing.
30:16. And the money received, which was contributed by the
children of Israel, thou shalt deliver unto the uses of the
tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be a memorial of them
before the Lord, and he may be merciful to their souls.
30:17. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
30:18. Thou shalt make also a brazen laver with its foot to wash
in: and thou shalt set it between the tabernacle of the testimony
and the altar. And water being put into it:
30:19. Aaron and his sons shall wash thei