All these Joseph purchased of the people in the king's name, and for the king's use; and, to let them see that the purchase was in earnest, and that their liberties and properties were now become the king's, he removed them, from their former places of abode, into different, and very distant parts of the kingdom.

In any other person such conduct might have been considered as arising from an immoderate zeal for absolute power in the king, and an advantage unjustly taken of the necessities of the people; but so Joseph managed the matter as to gain the approbation both of prince and people. When the seventh and last year of the famine was come, he told them they might expect to have a crop the ensuing year; for that the Nile would overflow its banks, and the earth bring forth her fruits as usual. Having made this known, he distributed fresh lands, cattle, and corn to the people, that they might return to their tillage as before; but this he did on the following condition: that thenceforth the fifth part of all the produce of their lands should become the property of the king. Behold," says he, “I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that you shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your household, and for food for your little ones."

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To these conditions the people willingly consented, imputing the preservation of their lives to Joseph's care: "Thou hast saved," said they, "our lives; let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants." From this time It passed into a law, that the fifth part of the produce of the land of Egypt (except what belonged to the priests) should become the property of the crown.

While Joseph was enjoying the fruits of his great success and policy, his family at Goshen (whom he failed not frequently to visit) became not only numerous, but exceeding wealthy. The seven years of famine were succeeded by great plenty, the earth resuming its former fertility, and the whole land abounding in all the usual productions of nature. Seventeen of these years of plenty did Jacob live to see, at the expiration of which nature's lamp grew dim, and life was nearly exhausted; his decayed spirits warn him of his approaching fate, and each drooping faculty beats an alarm to death.

When Jacob found himself thus circumstanced, he sent for his son Joseph, whom he addressed in words to the following effect: "Though the desire of seeing a son so dear to me as you are raised to the height of Egyptian glory, joined to the raging famine which then visited our land, made me willingly come down into this strange country; yet Canaan being the inheritance which God promised to Abraham and his posterity, and where he lies interred with my father Isaac, and some other of our family, in the ground which he purchased of the inhabitants for that purpose; my last and dying request to you is, that you will not suffer me to be buried here, but swear to see me carried to Machpelah, and there deposited with my ancestors. Your great power with the king will easily obtain that favor, which is the last I have to ask." Joseph not only promised, but likewise swore, strictly to fulfil his father's request; upon which the good old man was so perfectly satisfied, that, after thanking his son for these fresh assurances of his fidelity, he bowed himself in acknowledgment to God, who, besides all his other mercies, had given him this last token of his protection, in assuring him, by Joseph's promise and oath, that he should be removed from Egypt into the promised land.

Joseph, having thus satisfied his father in this particular, took his leave, but not without giving a strict charge to those who attended him, that, upon the very first appearance of danger, they should immediately send for him. He had been but a short time at court, before a messenger arrived with the dismal intelligence that his father was near expiring; upon which, taking with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, he hastened with all expedition to visit him.

As soon as the feeble patriarch understood that his son Joseph had arrived, it immediately raised his sinking spirits, and he became so far revived as to be able to sit upright in his bed. Desiring his favorite Joseph to approach near him, he began probably a view to save them; for, as they had not corn for themselves, they could much less have it for their cattle; and, therefore, this was the only way to preserve the lives of both, and to prevent that waste of the corn which must have been made if they had had the keeping and feeding of the cattle themselves; and it is highly probable that he returned them their cattle after the famine, when they were fixed again in their several habitations-otherwise it would have been hardly possible for them to support their families and carry on their business.

with recapitulating all the glorious promises which God had formerly made him concerning his posterity possessing the land of Canaan; and after mentioning the death of Rachel, together with the place where her remains were deposited, he spoke to the following effect: "How tenderly I loved my dear Rachel, all my family can testify; but this farther proof I now give you of my affection to her. You have two sons born in a foreign country, and who, according to the usual order of inheritance, should have only the portion of grandchildren in the division of the promised land; but, from this day forward, they shall be esteemed my sons, and, as heads of two distinct tribes (for they shall not be called the tribe of Joseph, but the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh), receive a double portion in that allotment. But it must not be so with the other sons which you may beget after these: they must come in only for the portion of grandchildren. And to you in particular I bequeath that tract of land which, by the force of arms, I took from the Amorites."

During the time Jacob was thus talking with Joseph concerning himself and children, he had not observed that Joseph's sons were with him, but spoke of them as if they had been absent. At length, turning to Joseph, and observing (as he thought) somebody with him (though he could not discern who it was, on account of his eyes being dim with age), he asked who he had with him. To which Joseph replied, his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, and at the same time, with great reverence, bowed himself to the ground.

Jacob was greatly rejoiced at this intelligence, and immediately ordered them to be brought near, that he might bestow on them his blessing. Joseph obeyed his father's commands, and placed the children according to the order of their age, that is, Manasseh, as being the first-born, on the right, and Ephraim on the left: but Jacob, crossing his hands, laid his right (which carried with it the preference) upon the younger, and his left upon the elder of them. Joseph, observing this, and supposing it to proceed from a mistake, was going to rectify it; but his father told him that what he did was by divine direction, and therefore made Ephraim not only the first in nomination, but gave him a blessing much more extensive than that conferred on his elder brother.

This conversation was hitherto private, being only between Jacob and his favorite son Joseph. But the good old patriarch, finding his dissolution near at hand, ordered all his sons to be brought before him, that, while he had strength to speak, he might take his last farewell, and not only distribute his blessing among them, but likewise foretell what should happen to them and their posterity in future times.

Accordingly, all Jacob's sons being brought before him, he addressed them separately, beginning with Reuben, the eldest.

"Reuben," says he, "thou art my first-born, and, by right of primogeniture, entitled to many privileges and prerogatives in superiority over thy brethren; but, for the crime of incest in polluting thy father's bed, both thou and thy tribe are totally degraded from the privileges of birthright."

Having said this to Reuben, he next addressed himself to Simeon and Levi conjunctively; telling them, that for their impious massacre of Hamor and his people, their tribes should be ever separate, and dispersed among the rest. "I will divide them," says he, "in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel."

Jacob, then turning to Judah, prophesied of him to this effect: That to his tribe should the sovereignty belong, and they should be situated in a very fruitful country: that from his name should the whole nation of the Jews derive their appellation; and that the form of government which he then instituted should remain among them until the coming of the Messiah.||

It is probable that Jacob here mentioned to Joseph the place of Rachel's interment, in hopes that he might, at some convenient opportunity, remove her ashes to the cave of Machpelah.

There are many particulars in the lives of the patriarchs, and of others, which are not at all mentioned in scripture; and there are some instances of a transient reference to facts of this kind, to things which have been said and done, but are never related. Of this kind, it is reasonable to suppose, is the passage in question; at least, we have no mention in scripture of any portion of land taken from the Amorites by Jacob. All, therefore, which can be said upon the subject must be mere conjecture; of which the most probable is, that the parcel of ground near Shechem, which Jacob purchased of Hamor, is here meant, and which, probably, he took or recovered, by force of arms, from the Amorites, who, it seems, had seized on it after his removal to another part of Canaan.

This prophecy was literally fulfilled; for the Levites were scattered throughout all the other tribes, and Simeon had only a part of the land of Judah for his residence.

The words in the text run thus:-Judah, "thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from

Of Zebulun, Jacob prophesied that his tribe should be planted near the seacoasts, and have harbors convenient for shipping; and of Issachar, that his should prove a pusillanimous people, and be lovers of inglorious ease more than of liberty and renown.†

Jacob, having predicted the fate of, and bestowed his blessings on, the children descended from Leah, proceeds next to those of his two concubinary wives. He be gan with Dan, the son of Bilhah, whose posterity, he foretold (though descended from a handmaid), should have the same privileges with the other tribes, become a politic people, and greatly versed in the stratagems of war.‡ Of Gad's posterity he

between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Many commenta. tors have written largely on this remarkable prophecy related by Jacob to his son Judah.

It

From the time that our first parents ate of the forbidden fruit, we have seen that the promised seed was, one age after another, more and more circumscribed, although its salutary effects were to be the same. is first called the seed of the woman; it is next consigned over to Seth; Shem, the younger son of Noah, gets the preference; afterward Abraham is made choice of; from Isaac, the son of Abraham, it goes to his second son Jacob; and here Jacob, by the spirit of prophecy, conveys it to the posterity of Judah. There are several things to be attended to in this remarkable prophecy, and such as are of the utmost importance for us to know. First, we are told that Judah's brethren should praise him, and that his hand should be in the neck of his enemies. This was remarkably fulfilled in the focal situation of the tribe of Judah; for their being so near the Arabians, obliged them to be continually on their guard; and as they were for the most part successful, so it may be justly said that the hand of Judah was in the neck of his enemies, and that his brethren praised him for standing up in their defence. Secondly, it is here said that his father's children should bow down before him, and certainly nothing was ever more literally fulfilled. David, in whose family the royal sovereignty was placed, was of the tribe of Judah, and to him all the other tribes bowed down. But the prophecy conveys a further idea, namely, that from Judah, according to the flesh, the Messiah should come, to whom all nations should bow down; and in the book of Revelations he is called the lion of the tribe of Judah. Thirdly, "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah," &c.; by which we are to understand that there should never be one wanting to sway the regal sceptre, or exercise sovereign authority in the tribe of Judah, till that glorious and Divine Person came, whose kingdom was to have no end, and to whom the people were to be gathered; for the Messiah is, in many places of scripture, called the "desire of all nations." Such is the nature of this remarkable prophecy; and now, in order to prove the concurring authenticity of the Mosaic and Gospel history, let us see in what manner it has been fulfilled.

During the time of Joshua's wars with the Canaanites, the tribe of Judah was more distinguished for its valor than the others; and it appears, from the book of Judges, that they were always the most forward to engage with the common enemy. When it is said that "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah," it implies that it should depart from all those of the other tribes who should enjoy it. Thus it departed from the tribe of Benjamin on the death of Saul; and it is well known that the ten tribes were carried away captive, and incorporated with other nations, while that of Benjamin put itself under the protection of Judah.

From the time of David till the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Judah exercised the regal authority; and although ten of the tribes, who followed the idolatry of Jeroboam, had kings, yet they were for the most part subject to those of Judah. It is true, the Jews were also carried captive to Babylon; but during the seventy years they were in that country, they were so far from being treated as slaves, that they were allowed to build houses, and lived in such affluence, that many of them refused to return to their own country when permission was granted them. When Cyrus, the emperor, issued his orders for them to return to the land of Judea, they had rulers among them, for they were expressly mentioned in the royal proclamation. It is certain, that after returning from their captivity they were not so free as before, because they were frequently oppressed by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans; but, for all that, they lived as a distinct people, under their own laws and government. It continued to be the same under the Asmodean princes; and it is well known that Herod the Great married Mariamne, the last female of that line; and in the latter end of his reign the Messiah was born. It is true, the Romans, in some cases, deprived them of the power of judging in cases of treason; but, notwithstanding, we find, in the cases of our Saviour and the apostle Paul, that the Roman prætors or governors never proceeded to judge a criminal till he was condemned by the rulers of the people.

The learned Dr. Shaw says, the blessings given to Judah were very different from all those bestowed on the other tribes. The mountains in Judea abound with so much wine, oil, and milk, that one is surprised at the fertility of a place which, at a distance, has the appearance of barrenness. Grapes and raisins are sent annually in great quantities from Hebron to Egypt, besides several other sorts of fruit.

From these observations, will not the impartial reader declare that this prophecy has been literally fulfilled? and is not the present melancholy state of the Jews a striking proof of its authenticity? Till the Messiah came, they had a regal government; but, because they rejected him, they are now scattered up and down through all nations, without being permitted to enjoy the privileges of any nation whatever. Surely this should convince us that no human testimony can overthrow the evidence brought in support of the Mosaic and Gospel histories.

*It is remarkable that Zebulun is mentioned by Jacob before Issachar, who was the eldest; but this distinction, it is probable, arose from his great superiority and merit. Zebulun's portion of the country was likewise very preferable to Issachar's; for, besides the advantage he had in common with him, and that our Lord chiefly resided in his tribe, and was thence called a Galilean, he is here promised a seacoast, with harbors commodious for ships. If Jacob had been present at the division of the promised land, he could hardly have given a more exact description of Zebulun's lot; for it extended from the Mediterranean sea on the west to the lake of Tiberias, or sea of Galilee, on the east.

+ Of all the tribes of Israel, that of Issachar was distinguished for being the most indolent. That part of the country which fell to their share was exceeding fertile; but that fertility only served to enervate the people, so that when they were invaded by foreign enemies, they soon became an easy prey to them, and were often obliged to pay tribute.

The words in the text are, "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path; that biteth the horse's heels so that his rider shall fall backward." It is to be observed, that the part of Canaan which the descendants of Dan inhabited was noted for serpents of a particular species, who were so cunning that they used to lie in wait to bite the feet of passengers. This very justly alluded to the disposition of Dan's descendants, who, when engaged in war, frequently did more execution by craft and stratagem than by force of arms. It is the opinion of the Jews that the prophecy of Dan's destroying his enemies by cunning was more particularly fulfilled, when Sampson, who was of that tribe, pulled down the temple, which crushed himself and the Philistines to death. See Judges xvi. 30.

foretold, that they should be frequently infested with robbers, but should overcome at last.* Of Asher's, that they should be situated in a pleasant and fruitful country;† and of Naphtali's, that they should spread their branches like an oak, and multiply exceedingly.t

Jacob, having now done with those children begotten on Leah and his concubinary wives, next directs his attention to the sons of his beloved Rachel. Turning himself to Joseph, he first took some notice of his past troubles, and then set forth the future greatness of his descendants; after which he bestowed his benediction on him in words to the following effect: "The Lord," says he, "even the God of thy fathers, shall bless thee with the dew of heaven and with the fatness of the earth, with the fruit of the womb," that is, with a numerous posterity, "and with plenty of all sorts of cattle. May all the blessings promised to me and my forefathers be doubled upon Joseph's head; may they outtop and outstretch the highest mountains; and prove to him more fruitful and more lasting than they."||

The only one now remaining to receive Jacob's blessing was his youngest son Benjamin, who, no doubt, from having been a great favorite with his father, expected a suitable distinction from the rest of his brethren; but, whether Jacob foresaw that no extraordinary merit or happiness would attend this tribe, or that it should afterward be blended with that of Judah, and consequently share the blessing of that tribe, so it was that he only prophesied of him that his descendants should be of a fierce and warlike disposition; and, “like a ravenous wolf, should shed the blood of their enemies, and in the evening divide the spoil."

The good old patriarch having thus (by divine direction) foretold the fate of his descendants, he bestowed his blessing on each of his sons separately; after which he reminded them all (but more especially Joseph), that it was his most earnest request they would bury him among his ancestors, in the cave of Machpelah, which had been purchased by Abraham, and where not only the remains of him and his wife Sarah were deposited, but likewise those of Isaac and Rebecca, and where he had also buried his wife Leah.

Having given this last charge, the pious Jacob laid himself gently down in his bed, a short time after which he calmly resigned his soul into the hands of Him who gave it. He died in the one hundred and forty-seventh year of his age, during the last seventeen of which he resided in Egypt.

The loss of so good a father must undoubtedly be very afflicting to the whole family, but none of them expressed their grief with such filial affection as the pious Joseph, who could not behold his aged parent's face, though dead, without kissing and bathing it with his tears. Having thus given vent to his passions, and somewhat recovered himself, he ordered the physicians (according to the custom of the country) to embalm his father's body, and then set about making the necessary preparations for his funeral.

The time that Jacob's family mourned for their father was seventy days, during

*The tribe of Gad had their portion of land on the frontiers of the Jewish territories, so that they were continually exposed to the incursions of the bordering Arabs; but, in the course of time, they became so expert in war, that they always repulsed them.

The tribe or Asher possessed that part of the country which reached from Zidon to Mount Carmel: it was so beautiful and fertile a spot, that it not only abounded with all kinds of provisions, but also with the choicest fruits, and most luxuriant productions of the earth.

In the territories allotted to the tribe of Naphtali was the country of Genesarat; which (Josephus says) was looked upon as the utmost effort of nature in point of beauty. It was also remarkable for producing some of the best wines in all Palestine. In one part of the prophecy, as related by Moses, it is said, "Naphtali is a hind let loose" the meaning of which is, that the people should be exceeding swift in the pursuit of their enemies, which, indeed, was the case, in a very peculiar manner, with this tribe.

The fruitfulness promised to Joseph in the great increase of his posterity was exemplified in the prodigious number of his two-fold tribe, Ephraim and Manasseh. At the first numbering of the tribes, these produced 72,700 men capable of bearing arms. (See Numb. i. 33-35.) And at the second numbering, 85,200 (Numb. xxvi. 34-37), which by far exceeded the number of either of the other tribes.

& History sufficiently justifies the truth of this prediction relative to the tribe of Benjamin, for they alone maintained a war with all the other tribes, and overcame them in two battles, though they had sixteen to one. It must, however, be observed, that the comparison does not only respect mere valor and fortitude in defending themselves, but also fierceness in making wars and depredations upon others. But what is chiefly to be regarded in this prophecy is, that the tribe of Benjamin should continue till the final destruction of the Jewish polity. For since the natural morning and evening can not with the least propriety be here understood, and as the Jewish state is the subject of all Jacob's prophecy, we must consider the morning and the night as the beginning and final period of that state; and, consequently, that the tribe of Benjamin would exist till Shiloh came. And this prophecy was fully accomplished; for, upon the division of the kingdom after Solomon's death, the tribe of Benjamin adhered to that of Judah, and formed one people with it; continued to share the same fortune, and by that means existed till the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, which happened many years after the other ten tribes were no longer a people.

which Joseph never appeared at court, it being improper for him so to do on such an occasion. In consequence of this, he requested some of the officers about the king to acquaint him that his father, previous to his death, had enjoined him, upon oath, to bury him in a sepulchre belonging to their family, in the land of Canaan ; and that therefore he begged permission that he might go and fulfil his last commands; after which he would return to court with all convenient expedition.

Pharaoh not only complied with Joseph's request, but (in compliment to him and his family) gave orders that the chief officers of his household, together with some of the principal nobility of the kingdom, should attend the funeral; who, joined with his own, and his father's whole family, some in chariots and others on horseback, formed one of the most pompous processions ever seen on a similar occasion.

On their arrival in the land of Canaan they halted at a place called "the threshing-floor of Atad," where they continued seven days mourning for the deceased. The Canaanites, who inhabited that part of the country, observing the Egyptians mixing themselves in these obsequies, were astonished, and imagining them to be the principals concerned in the funeral lamentation, could not forbear exclaiming, "This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians!" whence they called the name of the place Abel-Mizraim, which signifies "the mourning of the Egyptians."

This solemnity being ended, they proceeded on their journey, and at length, arriving at the field of Machpelah, they deposited the remains of Jacob in the cave with his ancestors, after which the whole company returned in solemn procession to Egypt. During the life of Jacob, Joseph's brethren thought themselves secure; but now their aged father was no more, their former fears returned, and suggested to them the just revenge Joseph might yet take for the great injuries he had received from their hands. In consequence of this, they held a consultation together in what manner to proceed for their own security; the result of which was to form a message (purporting to have been delivered by Jacob), and send it to their brother. This was accordingly done, and the substance of the message was to the following effect: Thy father commanded, before he died, saying, Thus shall ye say to Joseph: Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren and their sin; for they did evil unto thee; but pardon them, not only for my sake, but because they are the servants of the God of thy father."

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When Joseph read this message, such was his compassionate and forgiving temper, that he could not refrain from weeping. To remove, therefore, the fears and apprehensions of his brethren, he immediately sent for them, and, receiving them with the same kind affection as when their father was alive, excused the actions they had formerly committed to his prejudice in the most obliging manner; and, in order fully to remove their ill-founded fears, dismissed them with the assurance that they should always find in him a constant friend and an affectionate brother.

Though Joseph lived fifty-four years after his father's death, yet the sacred historian does not mention any farther particulars of him except the following; namely, that he lived to see himself the happy parent of a numerous offspring in his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, even to the third generation; during which time, it is reasonable to suppose, he continued in high favor with his prince, and in a considerable employment under him.

When Joseph grew old, and found his death approaching, he sent for his brethren, and, with the like prophetic spirit that his father Jacob had done, told them that God, according to his promise, would not fail bringing their posterity out of Egypt into the land of Canaan. At the same time he made them swear, that when it should please God thus to visit them, they should not forget to carry his remains with them, that they might be deposited in the burial-place of his ancestors.

The pious Joseph, having thus bound his brethren by oath to convey his remains to his native land, soon after departed this life, in the one hundred and tenth year of his age. In compliance with the injunction laid, his brethren had the body immediately embalmed, put into a coffin, and carefully secured, till the time should come when the prediction was to be fulfilled of their leaving Egypt, and possessing the land of Canaan.

Thus have we finished the life of the great patriarch Joseph, who is certainly one of the most distinguished characters to be met with either in sacred or profane hisThis place is supposed to have been situated about two leagues from Jericho, on the other side of the 'ordan, and about fifty miles from Hebron.