Biblical history for Israelitish schools

Front matter

U9T .H3C

UlBRARY OF CONGRESS.

f UNITED STATES OF AM!

II. The Pateiaechs

§ 7 Abraham, The Progenitor of thk Israelttish Nation [Genesis xu] 2000 A.M

TeraJi, one of Shem's descendants, lived in TJr of the Clialdee%, and had three sons, Ahram, Nahor, and Haran. After the death of Haran, Terah took his sons, JSTahor and Ahram, 'Sarai, the wife of the latter, and Lot, the son of Haran, and moved to the city of Haran, in the land of Mesopotamia, and made it his dwelling-place. Terah and his family, like all their countrymen, did not know the true God; instead of worshipping Him, theyworshipped the sun, moon and stars, images and animals. But Abram knew how foolish and wrong it was to pay that adoration to created beings, which we owe to God alone. He therefore placed his entire confidence in God alone, and naanifested true piety, while all his fellow-men, in his time, were more or le&s wicked. On this account, God looked with special favor upon him, and cared for him with true paternal kindness ; nay. He even conversed with him very often to make known His holy will to him. Once God said.to Abram: ''Get thee out of thy country, and from ti.v father's house, and from thy kindred, unto a land which I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great and distinguished nation, a7id through thee shall all the generatio7is of the earth he hlessecV At first, this promise did not appear to be followed by its fulfilment ; for Abram had no children. Yet Abram knew that whatever God premised would be fulfilled. Therefore, he firmly believed in the word of God, left all those that were dear and near to him, and went with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot lo the land of Canaan. When he reached the city of iSichem^ the Lord appeared to him and promised that his descendants should possess this land, Abram continued his pastoral life, moved about in the country, built altars unto the Lord in various places, and proclaimed, wherever he sojom-ned, the name of the Almighty.

§ 8. Abram showing his Peaceful Disposition and his Generosity. [Genesis xiii. xiv.]

Abram grew very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. They themselves lived in peace, as it becomes relatives, but their herdmen began to quarrel. Abram therefore said to Lot: '' Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen, for we are brethren! Let us rather separate ; choOse thou whither thou wishesl to move, and I will be satisfied. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right , or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." Lot chose the region of Sodom, and removed there : but Abram remained in the land of Canaan. It is true, the country which Lot chose for himself was beautiful and fertile, but its inhabitants were very wicked ; therefore, his selection was not a good one. Besides, a war soon broke out in that countr3^ Chadorlaomer, king of Elam, together with some other kings, with whom he had concluded an alliance, defeated the king of Sodom, plundered the city and the country around, and took men, and beasts, and all their substance with them, as booty. They took also Lot, and his goods, and departed. When Abram heard this, he armed his servants, three hundred and eighteen in number, pursued the conquerors, took them by surprise by night, defeated them, delivered Lot, the women, and the people from the hands ^. of the enemy, and brought back all the goods. On his ^^ return, Melchizedek (who was a priest of the Most High), went forth to meet him, and brought bread and wine, and said : " Blessed be thou, Abram, of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be the most high God, who has delivered thy enemies into thy hands.'* Abram.gave him tithes of all. Also the king of Sodom came, and said to Abram : " Give me only the persons, and the goods take to thyself." Then answered Abram: ^'I have lifted up my hand (for an oath) unto the Eternal, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take even a thread or a shoe-latchet, of all that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich. Only that which the servants have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, let them take their portion." Thus acts a generous man.

§ 9 Abraham, the M.ajt of Faith. [Genesis x v. xvi.]

Abram was still without children, when God appeared to him and said: "Fear not, Abram, 1 am thy shield, and exceedingly great shall be thy reward." And Abram answered; ^'Lord! for what purpose wilt thou give me, seeing that I have no children, and that strangers shall be my heirs 1" Hereupon God brought him forth abroad, and said : " Look toward heaven ; numberless as the stars shall be thy posterity." And Abram believed God, and He counted it to him for righteousness.

On the same day, God made a covenant with Abram, that his posterity should inherit the land of Canaan.

Shortly afterwards, Hager bore a child unto Abram, when he was eighty-six years of age; and Abram called his son Ishmael,

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared again unto him, and said : '• I am God, the Almighty ; walk before me, and be thou pious." When Abram heard these words he fell on his face, and God continued, saying : " Behold ! thou shalt be the father of many nations, and kings shall be among thy descendants. Therefore, thy name shall no longer be called Abram, but it shall henceforth be Abraham, (that is, father of a great multitude,)

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Sard shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt no longer caH her Sarai, but Sakah shall her name be. Then Abiaham fell ifpon his face, and laughed for jov, and said withm his heart : " Shall a child be born unto him that is a bundled years old? and shall Sarah, who is nmety years old, beail Oh! thatlshmael might live before Thee!" And God said : " Surely thy wiie Sarah shall bear thee a son indeed ; and thou Shalt call his name Isaac, (son of joy,) and with him and his posterity I shall establish ™y ^^^^f "*•, ^J"; concerning Ishmael also, I have heard thee; I shall bless him and make him a great nation."

§ 10. Abraham, the Hospitable and Compassionatb Patriarch. [Genesis xviii.]

One day, Abraham sat in the tent-door, in the heat of th. day, and saw three btrangers in the street. As «oon as he observed them, he ran to meet them bowed before them to the ground, and addressed one of them, saymg: '•Mv Lord, if I have found favor in thy sight, pass no» away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Let a little water, I i.mv you, be brought, and wash your feet, ihen ye may rest undei- yonder tree, until I shall bring a morsel of bread; and when ye shall have refreshed yourselves, ye may pass on your way." The strangers consented, and Abraham hastened into his tent, and said to Sarah : "Quickly bake some cakes." Then he ran to the herd, selected the finest calf, gave it to a young man that he mioht dress it, took butter and milk, set the dishes betore h's^uests, and remained with them under the tree while they were eating. One of the strangers asked him: "Where is Sarah thy wife? • Abraham answered: She is in the tent." And the stranger continued, saymg: "One year hence, at this time, I shall return, and Sarah, thy wife, shall then have a son." Sarah, overhearing these words, doubted their truth, and smiled secretly, but the stranger said: "Is anything impossible for God « ihou Shalt indeed have a son." When the three men had finished their meal, they rose, and weuded theu- way towaada

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Sodom ; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

Then God said in His heart: '' How could I hide aught from Abraham that I shall do? For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him, to do what is right and good." '• Know then," said God to Abraham, " that I shall destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, on account of their great and manifold sins." This information caused profound grief in the bosom of the kind-hearted and compassionate Abraham. He could not forbear to plead the cause of the condemned cities before God. ''Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" he asked God. " Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city : wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein ? Oh ! be it far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked in Thine eyes. Thou canst not judge thus, who art the Jud^e of all the earth." God answered: "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the place for their sakes." Abraham continued to plead for the doomed cities, and said : "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. Perhaps there shall lack five of the fifty righteous." And God said: "If I find there forty and five, the place shall not be destroyed." Abraham continued, saying: "Perhaps there are but forty righteous in the city." Whereupon God answered: "I will not destroy it for the forty's sake." Abraham then said : '*0h! be not angry my Lord, that I still continue to speak : perad venture there shall thirty be found there." And God answered : " I will spare tlie city, if I find thirty there." Abraham continued: " Peradventure there shall be twentv found there." And God said : "T will not destroy it for twenty's sake." Abraham answered once more; "O Lord! be not angry, and I will speak yet but this once. Perad venture ten shall be found there." And God said: "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake." Now Abraham continued no longer, but retui*ned to liis dwelling-place.

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§ 11. The Destruction of Soi>om and Gomorrah,

[Genesis xix.]

Lot sat in the gate of the city, when, towards evening, the strangers arrived at Sodom. As soon as he saw them, he went to meet them, greeted tliem, and addressed them with the following words : '^ Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night." After many urgent requests on his part, they yielded and went into his house, where he made them a feast. No sooner had the inhabitants of the city heard that strangers had arrived, than they gathered together to insult them. Lot remonstrated with them, but in vain. Already they were about to break the door, when they were struck with blindness, so that they could not even find the door. Hereupon the strangers said to Lot: " Hasten to save thyself with all thy kindred, for we have been sent by .God to destroy this wicked city.'' When tho morning arose, and Lot still lingered, the strangers laid hold upon his hand, upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, and carried them out of the city. Here they left them, addressing Lot in these words: "Escape for thy life; do not stay to look behind thee, but flee into the mountain, lest thou perish. '' Now, an awful storm rose above tho cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; they were destroyed and all their inhabitants perished. Lot's wife, who, led by curiosity, had looked behind her, against the orders of the strangers, was changed into a pillar of salt. On the following day, Abraham got up early in the morning to learn what had become of the doomed cities, when the rising clouds of smoke showed him only tho place where they had stood. The Dead Sea now occupies the site which the desti'oyed cities once occupied.

§ 12. Abraham's Obedience. [Genesis xxii.]

God fulfilled his promise, and gave Abraham a son. And Abraham named him Isaac. When Isaac had grown older, he was often mocked by his brother Ishmael. Fof

this reason, Snrah could not tolerate the latter, and requested Abraliam to send him away with his mother. Abraham was unwilling to comply, but God commanded him to liearken unto Sarah ; whereupon he provided Ishmael and Hager with bread and water, and sent them away. Hager wandered into the wilderness, and went astiTty. The water in the bottle was exhausted before she could find another supply. Ishmacl was seized by the most burning thirst, and yet she could find no fountain whence to satisfy and thus to "feave her son. She then placed him under one of the shrubs, and said: '^I can not see the child die." She wept and prayed to God, and God heard her. An angel appeared, and showed her a well of water, from which she filled her bottle, and gave her child to drink. God was also in future with Ishmael, and made him the progenitor of a great nation, which numbers twelve tiibes, cailed the Ishmaelites.

After some time, God tried Abraham, and said to Wm : "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, go with him into the land of Moriah, and oflTer him there for a sacrifice upon one of the mountains which I will teUthee of" Abraham obeyed. He rose up early m the morning, took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him, went unto the mountain of which God had told him, built an altar, laid the wood on it, and then his son, and took the knife to slay him. But an angel of the Lord called from heaven: "Abraham! lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only f?on, from me. By myself have I sworn, saith the Eternal, for because thou hast done this thing: that in blessing I will bless thee, and thy posterity shall be multiplied as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand upon the sea-shore ; and thy posterity shall possess the gate of their enemies: and through thy posterity sJiall all the nations of the earthhe blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice." Full of joy, Abraham returned with Isaac to Beersheba, and dwelt there. Afterwards he moved to Hebron, where Sarah died in her one hundred and twentyseventh year. He wept and mourned for her, and tlien bm-ied her near the city of Hebron^ in the eave of Mach*

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pelah^ which he had bought from the Hethites for four hundred pieces (Shekel) of silver, to make it the burying-place for his family. This cave cau be seen even to this day.

§ 13. Abraham's Paternal Solicitude for his Son Isaac. [Genesis xxiv.-xxvi.]

When Abraham had ' grown old and well stricken in Rge, he sent his faithful servant Eliezer to Haran^ to dioose from his relatives who lived there, a wife for his fon Isaac. Eliezer took ten camels, loaded them with various goods, started upon his journey, and arrived at .^laran towards evening. It was just the time when the vomen came out to draw water from the well where lie r^topped. Eliezer, who knew that no undertaking could Mucceed without the help of God, offered up his prayer, raying : *' Lord, God of Abraham ! I pray Thee, let me find favor before Thee this day. Behold! I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say. Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also, let it be a token unto me that thou, O God ! hast appointed her for Thy servant Isaac, and thereby shovvest mercy unto my master." No sooner had Eliezer ended his prayer, than Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel^ and granddaughter of ' JSTahor^ Abraham's brother, came with her pitcher upon her shoulder to draw water. Eliezer ran to meet her, and said: *'Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher." And she answered: "Drink, my krd, and I will give thy camels drink also." Eliezer wondered at the generosity and obliging mannei's of the maiden, gave her precious rings, and asked her whose daughter she was, and whether there was no room in her father's house for him to lodge in that night. Kebekah said : " I am the daughter of Bethuel and granddaughter of Nahor ; we have both straw and provender enough for thy camels, and room for thee to lodge in for the night." Eliezer thanked

God that He had shown him the right way to the house of his master. In the meanwliile, Rebekah ran home, and there related all that had happened. When Laban^ the brother of Rebekah. saw the beautifid gifts which his sister had received, he hastened to meet Eliezer, and said to liim : "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord." Eliezer went with him to his home, where viands were placed before him. But he would not sit down to eat, until he had ascertained that Rebekah could go with him. She, as well as her parents and brother, consented to the proposal of marriage ; and on the following morning, Rebekah and her maidens mounted the camels to follow Eliezer to Canaan, where she became the wife of Isaac.

At that time, Abraham was 140 years old. He liv^ed to a quiet old age of 175 years, when he died, and was buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael, in the cave of Mach« pelahj by the side of his wife Sarah.

§ 14. IsAAa

Isaac was, like his father Abraham, a God-fearing, kind-hearted, just, and peaceful man. He lived in Canaan, but afterwards, a famine visiting the land, he removed to Gerar^ a city belonging to the land of the Philistines. Here (jroA repeated to him the promise given to Abraham, that ''in his posterity all the nations of the earth should he blessed^'' and crowned all his undertakings with success; his herds multiplied greatlv, and he had many man-servants and maid-servants. He learned also agriculture, with which his father had not been acquainted, sowed all kinds of grain, and made an exceedingly rich harvest. But his "wealth roused the envy of his neighbors, who caused him many and bitter annoyances. They stopped all the wells which Abraham had digged, and Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, at last said to him: "Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we." Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. But as soon as he had there also opened the wells

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of water which his father had digged, the herdsmen of Gerar began to strive with his herdsmen, saying: *'Tho water is ours." Isaac yielded, and digged another well: but they forced him again to give it up. He then digged a third well, for which they would no longer contend.

When Isaac, some time after, moved to Beersheba, Abimelech, with several of his high officers, went to see him. And Isaac said to them: " Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from youf Hereupon they answered : " We saw certainly that the Eternal was with thee ; therefore, we desire to make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace.'* Then Isaac made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes in the morning, and swore one another concerning their covenant, and Isaac accompanied them upon their departure, and they departed from him in peace.

§ 15. Jacob and Esau. [Genesis xxv. xxvi.]

Isaac and Rebekah had been married twenty years, when God gave them twin sons, whom they called Esau and Jacob. Esau, the elder-born, was of a wild and rough disposition, but Jacob was of a quiet and mild temper. Esau who delighted in hunting, was the favorite of Isaac, while Rebekah loved Jacob more than her elder son, because the former preferred the quiet seclusion of home to the wild sports of tlie field. These brothers did not continue for a long time to live in peace with each other. One day when Esau returned home from hunting, very much fatigued, he found Jacob wnth a mess of pottage just p'-epared by him, and, longing for it, he requested his brother to give it to him. But Jacob said: ''First sell me thy birthright." Esau answered: ^'Behold! I am at the point to die, and what profit can this birthright do to meV Plereupon he sold it to Jacob, did eat and drink, and went away. And thus he desinsed the privileges of his birthright

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Isaa^, who did not know any thing of this transaction, at another time said to Esau: "i3ehold I ara old, and the day of my death cannot be for distant. Now, therefore, take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and get me some venison. And prepare it well for rae, in a manner as I love it, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and then I will bless thee before I die." Rebekah, who heard this, and wished that JTacoh should receive the last and very important blessing of his father, prepared a kid of the goat's, and persuaded Jacob to carry it in to his father, and present himself as his brother Esau. After some hesitation, Jacob yielded. Isaac, who did not recognize him, as he was almost blind, pronounced his blessing over him. But no sooner had Jacob left his father, than Esau entered with the venison and asked for his fathers's benediction. Now the deception was discovered. Esau wept for anger, and exclaimed : *'The supplanter hath deceived me these two times ; he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my fatlier's blessing!" From that time Esau entertained deep hatred against his brother, and even resolved to kill him after the death of their father. Rebekah heard of Esau's intention, and said therefore to Jacob: "Flee to Laban, my brother, to Haran, and stay with him until thy brother's anger turn away. Why should I be deprived of you both in one day ?" She prevailed also upon Isaac to let him go, who sent him away with his blessing and with the admonition not to take a wife from the Canaanites around them, but go to the birth-place and family of his mother Rebekah. Thus Jacob fled from his home and started upon his journey to his uncle Laban^ who lived in

'§16. Jacob's Journey to Haran. [Gen. xxviii. xxix.]

Jacob left Beer-shoba and went toward Haran. On his way he was overtaken by the night, before he had reached an inhabited place. He took a stone for a pillow under his head, and fell asleep. While be was asleep, he had a

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beautiful dreara. He beheld a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And God stood above it, and said : "^ I am the Eternal, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy posterity. I will multiply thee to be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and thou stialt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south, and through thee and through thy 2'>osterUy shall all the families of the earth he blessed. Behold l I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land ; and I \yill not leave thee until I have done that of which I have spoken to thee." When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said : " Surely the Eternal is in this place ; and I knew it not. How awful is this place ; it is nothing but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." He rose early in the morning, took the stone which had served him for a pillow, set it up for a pillar of memorial, poured oil upon it, and called the name of the place Bethel^ which signifies the House of God. He made, at the same time, avow, saying; ''If God will be with me, and will keep uie in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, and I come again to my father's house in peace, then this pillar of memorial shall become a house of God, and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee." Hereupon Jacob continaei his way towards the east, and came to a well in the field, by which he found three flocks of sheep lying. He asked the herdsmen: ''My brethren, whence are yef And they answered: "of Haran are we." And he continued, asking: "Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahorf To which they answered: "We know him well ; ^nd behold , Rachel his daughter, cometh with thesheep." When Jacob saw Rachel, he rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered her flock, and wept aloud for joy. He told her, at the same time, that he was the son of Rebekah, the sister of her fxther. Rachel ran home and told her father. Laban immediately came to the well, embraced and kissed Jacob, brought him to liis house, and made him overseer of Ms flocks.

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§ 17. Jacob's Sojourn with Laban. [Genesis xxix. xxx.]

After the expiration of a month, Laban said to Jacob ; ''Wilt thou serve me for nothing; tell me, what shall thy wacres bef Jacob answered: "I will serve thee seven years if thou wilt give me thy younger daughter Rachel for my wife." Laban consented; and Jacob served seven years for Rachel; but they seemed to him only a few days for the ardent love which he entertained for her. But Laban deceived him, and gave him his elder daughter Leah, instead of Rachel to be his wife. Jacob called him to account for his deception, and said: "Why hast thou done this unto me^? Did I not serve thee for Rachel^ Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me giving me Leah instead of Rachel t" Laban answered : " It is not the custom in our country to give the younger before the first-born. Serve me seven more years and then I will give thee also Rachel for thy wife." Jacob did so, and Laban gave him Rachel his daughter to his wife. Jacob liad the following twelve sons with Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Billah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, JSTaphtali, Gael Asher, Issachar, Zehalun, Joseph, and Benjamin. He had but one daughter, called Dinah.

After the birth of his eleventh son, Joseph, Jacob desired to return to his own country, but was induced by Laban to stay longer. Thus he served Laban most faithfully, fourteen years for his wives and six more years for wages, working hard, both by day and by night, for his avai'icious father-in-law, Avho often attempted to defraud him of his wages. But God blessed him the more abundantly, so that he had a multitude of servants, cattle, camels and asses.

When Laban saw that Jacob's wealth increased, he showed him no longer the same friendly countenance as before, while his sons, on then- part, would use slanderous language against him. It was then that God said to Jacob :'^'' Return unto the land of thy fathers, and I will be with thee." Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to him into the field, and said to them: I see that your father's countenance is no more towards me as before.

But you know that with all mj^ power I have served your father. And he has deceived me, and chano-ed my wa^es ten times ; but God suffered him not to hurt me. A^nd now the Eternal has said to me : ' Arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.' Are ye also willing to follow God's admonition ?" And Leah and Rachel answered: ''Whatever God has said unto thee do." One day, when Laban had gone to shear hrs sheep Jacob secretly departed with his wives, children, and goods, to return to his father Isaac, to Canaan.