son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. And

Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.-Genesis XXIX. 1-20.

JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN.

JACOB lived in Haran twenty years, and when he came back to the land of Canaan he brought with him his family

and flocks of sheep and goats, and cows and camels and asses. From this time, Jacob is often called Israel, for the Lord gave him this name, which means "soldier of God," or perhaps, "he that striveth with God." Another son was born after Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, and now there were twelve. Joseph and Benjamin were the youngest, and

their father loved them best. At the time of our story, Jacob was living in Hebron with Isaac, who was now a very old man, and Joseph was seventeen years old.

As a sign of his love, Joseph's father gave him a coat nicer than the others wore. It was pretty, with many bright colors. Most shepherd boys wore a sleeveless frock, but this was probably long and with long sleeves. Joseph's brethren "hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." They could not speak the usual greeting, which in those days, as now, was "Peace be unto you." Joseph had two dreams. which he told to his brethren, and they hated him the more. His father "observed the saying," kept it in mind.

Joseph's brothers went from Hebron to feed their father's flock in Shechem. There is a beautiful meadow opening eastward from the two mountains Ebal and Geri

zim. It was the place of Abraham's first camp in the land of Canaan. Jacob had bought the ground when he came back from Haran, and had dug a well there, so that he would have water all his own, and have no quarrels with the people of the land about the springs near by. It was a deep well dug in the rock. It was still there in the Gospel days, and travellers can see it now, although it is half filled with stones.

Jacob sent Joseph to bring him word of his brethren and the flock. So he came to Shechem and looked for them in the field. They had gone to Dothan. He went through the

(Copyright, 1903, by C. H, Graves, Phila.) Shepherds of Palestine.

valley of Shechem between Ebal and Gerizim and turned northward, and found his brethren in the green meadows around the little hill on which the town of Dothan stood.

The story tells of a "pit" that was in the field, with no water in it. Places for grain and for water were often cut in the rock in that country. Sometimes the opening was small and the cistern grew larger downward like a great

flask. Water was collected in such pits in the rainy winter for use in the dry summer.

As the brethren were sitting by the pit, they looked up and saw what one might see passing the same way to-day, a long line of camels in single file, each loaded with a pair of swinging bales. They belonged to traders who were carrying spices to market in Egypt. The men are called both Midianites and Ishmaelites. Both were wandering people and descendants of Abraham. The name Ishmaelites is perhaps used in a general way to include both tribes. These traders had come from the country east of Jordan, travelling up the valley between the mountains Little Hermon and Gilboa, across the plain of Esdraelon, and were taking the usual road to the seashore plain, which they would follow the rest of the way to Egypt. "Spicery and balm and myrrh" mean gums of three different kinds. The load

would bring a high price in Egypt, where gums and spices were much used for embalming and for incense.

I will not tell you the story; we must read it together.

And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were

binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

(Copyright, 1903, by William H. Rau, Phila.)

Plain of Dothan: cattle at Joseph's well.

And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh: and his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew