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 she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master."

Before he had quite finished his prayer a young girl had approached the well and had descended and filled her pitcher. The servant's eyes lighted up with a double joy; for not only was she there seemingly in immediate answer to his prayer, but she was also very beautiful, and with a countenance expressive of the gentleness and kindness of her heart. He doubtless felt that he could scarcely have chosen better if there had been the whole world to choose from. But still, was she the right person? He did not know.

He asked of her a drink, which she gave him; and she then added, "I will draw water also for thy camels until they have done drinking." The man had chosen his test skilfully; for such an offer would not only indicate the right individual, but must also indicate on her part compassion for the beasts and a true kindness of feeling even at the cost of some labor to herself; for the ten camels would require a large supply. The man, full of joy, inquired about her parentage; and learning that she was Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, his master's nephew, he "bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord." She was immediately presented with rich ornaments for her ears and arms. Having quickly returned home, she informed her brother Laban of what had occurred; and the servant, his attendants and the camels. were immediately taken to be sharers in the Oriental hospitality. Food was placed before him; but, before partaking of it, he explained his errand, the circumstances of his arrival, his prayer by the well, and the practical answer to it by the unconscious girl herself. He added, "And now,

if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand or to the left." The answer was in the true Eastern fashion; not a full reference to the heart of the girl herself for a decision, but, "The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee; take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken."

Even Isaac himself, in all this commission by the servant, seems to have been a secondary personage; certainly was not a principal actor in Canaan, any more than Rebekah was here at Haran. It was all according to Eastern usage, not only in those ancient but also in modern times.

Further presents were made to Rebekah: gifts also, or rather what, according to the Eastern usages, may be called purchase-money, were received by Laban and Bethuel, the latter seemingly a brother named after their father Bethuel; and without any delay-for the servant, knowing his master's anxiety, and how joyful this success would make him, was impatient to be gone-they started for Canaan, Rebekah being accompanied by her nurse and handmaids.

Abraham appears to have been staying at this time at Beersheba, while Isaac was attending to a portion of their large possessions of herds and flocks by the wells of Lahairoi, in the region immediately adjoining this on the southeast. But now he was on a visit to his father, probably in expectation of the arrival of the messenger sent to Haran. It was an anxious time among all.

"And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said to the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us; and the servant had said, It is my master; therefore she took a veil and covered herself. And the ser

vant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."

CHAPTER XIII.

DEATH OF ABRAHAM.

HERE is now, on the outskirts of Hebron at its northern side, a quadrangular enclosure, formed by a massive wall two hundred feet by one hundred and fifty, and sixty feet in height. The large stones composing it are of the white limestone (Josephus calls it marble) of that country, and have on their fronts the raised panel or rebated style of ornament belonging to the Jewish and Phoenician architecture of the ancient times. We see the same style in what remains of the wall supporting the temple enclosure erected by Herod the Great at Mount Moriah, and also of the tower Hippicus built by that king, which now adjoins the Jaffa gate at Jerusalem. This wall at Hebron must certainly date back as far as the time of Herod, and may, not improbably, have been built by Solomon; for Josephus speaks of the structure there as ancient in his time.' The place has been so well guarded from remotest antiquity, and the traditions are so uniform and fixed respecting it, that there can be no doubt of its enclosing within its bounds the cave of Machpelah, Abraham's final resting-place.

The aged patriarch died at Hebron, thirty-five years after the marriage of Isaac. Subsequently to this latter event, or, as some commentators believe, previous to it, another wife,

1 De Bell., iv. 9. § 7.

Keturah by name, had been taken; and by her he had six sons, whom he lived long enough to see grow up, and whom he sent to the regions south and east from Beersheba, so as to prevent any rivalship with Isaac after his own death.

The following curtailed table of genealogies, and of the origin and relationship of nations will be useful now, and in the future progress of this work :

Moabites Ammonites

Esau
Edomites

Jacob

Israelites Ishmaelites Medanites Midianites

The record of the death of the patriarch, as given in the Bible, is very simple: "Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old age [one hundred and seventyfive years], an old man and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; the field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth; there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife." It appears thus that, at the last, Ishmael came back and helped to lay his father's body in its final resting-place.

Thus terminated the life of one who, though a man of mixed character, yet stands before us, and has ever stood before the world, in vast proportions, looked to, studied, quoted and applauded. He is spoken of in the New Testament as "The friend of God." Jehovah himself, speaking

'James ii. 23.

through Isaiah, calls him "Abraham, my friend;" Hebron now takes its name from such circumstance, and is called by its Mohammedan owners El-Khalîl, "the friend."

The friend! That was all; and yet what affection, what fulness of trust, what nearness, what joy in intercourse, are comprised in the word! There are no multiplied encomiums upon him in the Scriptures. His faults-even the meanness of his aberration from truth in Egypt and at Gerar

-are not covered over, but are told with the same simplicity of record as are his acts of faith. We have seen him in these sketches,-where we have endeavored to view him as a man with human feelings and engaged in every-day human life,— we have seen him as the simple nomadic chief, in person and manners and wants and public rule and domestic action, very similar to the nomadic chiefs of the present day. An Arab sheikh of our time gives us an exhibition of what Abraham was in outward bearing and appearance, probably in intelligence also, as well as in habits of life; for both individuals, the ancient and modern, may be regarded as not largely gifted with what the world calls learning.

But Abraham was the friend of God. The word is put before us prominently in the Scriptures, as if for our guidance; and it is indeed a guide. No large endowments had he, mentally, or morally, or physically. His very courage had a flaw in it; his mind had little treasure laid up; the giants at Hebron probably scorned his strength; he fell into weaknesses and sins; but yet he came out high above all, strong above all, wise above all,-because he was "the FRIEND," THE FRIEND OF GOD. It is something in which he can be imitated by all.

The friend he was, on the plains at Ur, where, amid a nation of idolaters, he was true, and looked with clear eye up to Jehovah, and obeyed when called. The friend he was in

1 Isa. xli. 8.