is usually associated with the word; and it is neither regarded as opprobrious, nor does it convey any idea of degradation. On the contrary, slaves are generally treated with such kindness and favour that they become devoted fo the interests of their masters. They have often great influence in their families; they neither cultivate the fields, nor work in manufactories; and their employment is for the most part of a light and domestic nature. This is particularly the case with those who, like Eliezer of Damascus, are "born in the house" or family. They are objects of peculiar care, most attached to their master, often inherit a large share of his wealth; and it is frequently the practice of persons who have no children to adopt a favourite slave of this class as their own child and heir. This sufficiently explains the statement of the patriarch, who had destined his faithful steward Eliezer to be his principal heir. But a Divine communication assured Abraham that Eliezer was not to be his heir, and that his own direct offspring were to fulfil the gracious purposes of Omnipotence in future ages. On this occasion the promises were renewed in a more definite and decisive manner; the residence of his descendants in Egypt was intimated, the tyranny they were to encounter, the punishment of their oppressors, their return to Canaan, and their expulsion of the Canaanite idolaters. The patriarch listened in silent confidence; "he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness," Gen. xv. 6.

Abrahamn had been ten years in Canaan after his return from Egypt when Sarah, who firmly believed that she was now past becoming a mother, advised him to take her "handmaid Hagar, that she might obtain children by her." Hagar was a female slave; and as she was an Egyptian, it may be concluded that she was one of those maid-servants whom Abraham had brought with him from that country. We are told that Sarah gave Hagar to him "to be his wife," and in this she exercised a peculiar right, still prevalent in the East, where the female slaves among the Jews are, as they always have been, solely under the control of the mistress of the family. The word translated "wife" in this place, and in other passages rendered "concubine," describes a wife of a second or inferior class. Polygamy was permitted among the Hebrews in their pastoral state after the time of Abraham; but in all such cases as the present, though such women were considered wives, and the connection legal and customary, the absence of certain solemnities and contracts marked the condition as inferior. The children did not inherit the property of their father, who, if he had sons by his principal wife or wives, usually provided for the others in his lifetime. Nevertheless, the condition of such a slave was not altered by the manner in which she lived in the family of her master, and this state of affairs is still the same in oriental countries. Hagar remained a "bondwoman" or "slave" even after she had become the mother of Ishmael, and Sarah is still called

her "mistress." In the incident which follows we still perceive that she was under the sole control of Sarah. The conduct of Hagar, probably elated by the condition in which she felt herself as being preg nant, irritated Sarah, and induced her to complain to Abraham. He replied that her maid was her own property, and that she could deal with her as she pleased. As there was no appeal, the treatment which Hagar experienced from the indignant Saralı, who on this occasion exhibited the resentment of an insulted wife, so completely broke her spirit, that she chose rather to encounter the miseries of the wilderness than submit longer to her mistress. She accordingly fled, and from the direction she took, which was the common caravan road between Palestine and Egypt through the desert of Shur to the west of Arabia Petræa, it is evident that it was her intention to return to her native country of Egypt. But she was stopped in her progress by a mysterious messenger, one of those superior intelligences to whom the term "angel" was restricted. She was exhorted to return and submit herself to her mistress; the birth of a son was announced to her; and his remarkable descendants were described. From the sequel we are informed that Hagar obeyed the directions of the angel, and returned to Abraham's household, where her son Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years of age.

Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, when the patriarch was in his ninety-ninth year, Jehovah renewed his promises to him in a manner which could not be misunderstood. On this occasion we are told that Abraham "fell on his face," and "God talked with him," namely, he placed himself in a posture still known in the East, expressive of the deepest humility and profound adoration, the body resting on the hands and knees, while the head is bent down, the forehead touching the ground-a posture still used by the Mahommedans in their worship. It was now that the patriarch received a full explanation of the Divine promises; and now also that Jehovah significantly changed his name from Abram to Abraham. The original name of his wife, which was Sarai, meaning "my princess," was also changed to Sarah, "the princess," that is, "of many," no longer confined to one. On this occasion the birth of a son by Sarah was announced, his name Isaac was intimated, and the promises were to be confined to his descendants, while the patriarch was also assured that Ishmael would be blessed in proportion, and that he would be the father of a great nation. The astonished and overjoyed patriarch could only exclaim in wonder and gratitude, "Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?"

It was, moreover, on this occasion that the rite of circumcision was commanded, which was re-enforced by the law of Moses, and has been carefully observed by all Jews throughout the world to the present time. This right was to be solemnized eight

days after birth, and not only were the male infants of Hebrew parents to be circumcised, but those of their slaves, either born in their families or purchased from strangers. There has been much dispute in reference to the instituting of circumcision, some parties contending that the enjoining of it upon Abraham was the origin of the rite, whence the practice of it arose in all regions where it has ever been observed, while others contend that the rite was then a new one, but adopted from previous observance among other people, and simply constituted a sign or covenant to Abraham. But farther notice on this point will fall to be made in the article CIRCUMCISION. The Jews, it is well known, perform the rite of circumcision on their infants when eight days old, in obedience to the Divine injunction to Abraham; but if the child is then unable to bear the operation it may be deferred. As Ishmael, however, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised, the Mahommedans usually defer it to that age. It may be done either in the synagogue or at home; and even in the Mosaic law no particular directions are given as to the operator. The father may do it if he pleases, and we have one instance of it being performed by a mother, Exod. iv. 25.

The patriarch was still resident under the protecting branches of the grove, or wide-spreading trees on the property of Mamre, when shortly afterwards he descried three persons, apparently strangers, walking towards him while he was reclining at the door of his tent during the heat of the day, namely, in the afternoon, when travellers in the East usually seek for places of refreshment and repose. He ran to meet them, an action which denoted the highest degree of respect, and bowed himself to the ground to acknowledge the presence of superiors-this ceremony consisting in bowing so as to bring the upper part of the body at right angles with the lower, the hands resting on the knees, and the legs somewhat asunder. Ignorant as to who they were, he nevertheless invited them courteously into his tent, and entreated them to partake of his hospitality. The strangers complied, and while the repast was in preparation, water was brought to wash their feet-a necessary and most agreeable part of hospitality in the East, which is usually performed to travellers by domestics. In those countries, we are told, where the people wear sandals, which only protect the soles of the feet, and cannot prevent them from becoming foul and parched, the bathing of the feet and ancles is peculiarly agreeable and refreshing, and the washing of them after a journey is indeed indispensably necessary. But in the deserts of Arabia and the neighbouring countries, no covering of the feet can prevent the necessity of this duty, because the sand or dust penetrates everything, and produces an itching and feverish irritation with the natural perspiration peculiarly disagreeable. While the strangers were thus superintended by Abraham's domestics he proceeded to the tent of Sarah, and told her to take a quantity of fine meal,

to knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth, while he proceeded to his flocks, and selected a young calf, which he ordered to be dressed-a noble entertainment in those countries; and "he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had "dressed, and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree;" namely, he waited upon them in person, and attended to their wants. Some things in this event will be illustrated by our articles on BAKING and BREAD, and others may be illustrated here by a brief glance at eastern usages. The modern orientals consume only a very small quantity of animal food, and they seldom have meat ready killed except in large towns. The common food of the pastoral or nomade Arab tribes consists of flour baked into a paste and boiled with camel's milk, and this is the ordinary food even of the richest sheiks. They never indulge in animal food except on the occasion of a great festival, or when a stranger arrives; and we may consequently infer from analogy, that when the three strangers arrived at Abraham's encampment there was probably no food in it of any kind. Strangers, too, we are informed by Burckhardt, are entertained in proportion to their rank. If the guest is an ordinary person, he is served with baked bread and flour paste; if he is of some little consequence, he is treated with coffee, rice, or flour, boiled with camel's milk, or baked paste kneaded up thoroughly with butter; if he is a person of rank, a kid or lamb is killed, the flesh is boiled with boiled wheat, which had been previously dried in the sun, and camel's milk, and the melted fat of the animal is put into a wooden bowl, and pressed down in the midst of the boiled wheat, and every morsel is dipped into this melted fat before it is swallowed. A bowl of camel's milk is then frequently introduced. It is also very common to cut up the choice parts of the newly killed animal into small pieces, and broil them over the fire on skewers. This is resorted to in preparing a hasty repast for persons of distinction. The orientals often serve up at their entertainments a lamb or kid which has been roasted or baked entire in a hole in the ground heated for the purpose, covered with stones; and this was a common construction of their ovens, which illustrates the manner in which the frogs got into the Egyptian ovens when the memorable plague of these reptiles was inflicted. It may seem strange to us that newly killed meat, even before the warmth of life has scarcely departed from it, should have been and still is eaten in the East, of which we have repeated instances in the scriptures; and the only way to account for it is by assigning the heat of the climate, which prevents meat from being too long kept, and which may have introduced a custom in all seasons when the original cause does not immediately operate.

The three mysterious strangers having partaken of the patriarch's hospitality, now asked for Sarah, and were informed by him that she was in her tent; the oriental women having always their own peculiar

apartments, whether in camps or houses. A remark relative to the promise of the birth of Isaac was made; some curious conduct of Sarah on the same subject occurred; and a conversation, highly honourable to Abraham, in reference to the wickedness and the approaching destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, followed. The three strangers then rose, and went toward Sodom, accompanied some way by Abraham. Whether he discovered the condition of his mysterious guests does not appear; though some have supposed that he received certain intimations before he finally left them; and he returned to his encampment at the close of the day, probably convinced that he had entertained the commissioned messengers of Jehovah. This seems to be the meaning of that passage in the epistle to the Hebrews-"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

The whole of this incident as narrated by Moses affords us some pleasing details of patriarchal manners. There must have been many tents for the accommodation of Abraham's numerous servants and dependents, while his flocks were probably at pasture some miles distant. As it is the duty of the Arab sheikhs to entertain strangers, and as the latter must stop at the first tent they meet, the chief's tent is usually pitched in a direction to be the first at the

point at which travellers commonly arrive. We find the patriarch reclining at the door of his tent, like a modern Arab chief of dignity, to enjoy the comfortable and refreshing shade. At the sight ot strangers he hastens to welcome them; he sets before them a generous and hospitable repast; and he attends personally to their wants. Sarah, though the wife of a powerful chief, thought it no degradation to be occupied in the household service of baking bread; and even at the present day among those in the East who, like Abraham, "are dwellers in tents," the wife of the proudest chief usually superintends the preparation of bread, and even kneads and bakes it with her own hands. Other culinary duties still devolve upon the wives, even in families of the highest distinction. Dr. Richardson mentions that, when he was at Jerusalem, he was consulted as a physician about the complaints of the ladies of a Turk of high rank, of whom he gives some interesting particulars, called Omer Effendi. "I was surprised to hear," says he, "many of them [the ladies] ascribe their complaints to fatigue, which, I was informed, arose from their employment in the kitchen." The following view of Arab women grinding corn with a hand-mill, rolling out the dough, and baking the bread, is given in Layard's Nineveh and Babylon.

The patriarch now struck his tents under the tree of Mamre, and collecting his domestics, his flocks, and his whole substance, proceeded towards the south, and entered the small Philistine state of Gerar, then governed by one of a succession of kings whose royal title was Abimelech. We are nowhere informed of the cause of this migration, and we may therefore presume that it was occasioned by some local necessity, such as the want of pasturage or water. The only remarkable incident connected with it is a repetition of the same deception to Abimelech with respect to his relationship to Sarah which he had done to Pharaoh in Egypt, by simply representing her as his sister. It is likely that the same timidity influenced him, or he may have been persuaded that Sarah would be released in a manner as remarkable as she had been in Egypt. As there is a considerable

similarity between this transaction and that which occurred in Egypt. it is unnecessary to dwell upon it in this place.

At length the Divine promise was fulfilled to Abraham,-Sarah became a mother, and her only son Isaac was born. The child grew; and on the occasion of his being weaned, Abraham, we are told, held a great feast. It is worthy of notice that children are suckled in oriental countries much longer than is customary in Europe, and we find several intimations of this fact in the scriptures. In Persia male infants are often kept at the breast till they are three years of age, and never taken from it till upwards of two years, and the practice is nearly the same in all Asiatic countries; but everywhere a female child is weaned much sooner than a male. Mr. Morier tells us that when the Persian ambassa

dor, Mirza Abul Hassan Khan, was in England, he concluded that it was on account of English children being early weaned that they were so superior in mental acquirements to those of his own country. "On the day the child is to be weaned," he adds, "they carry it to the mosque (in the manner, perhaps, that Hannah took Samuel to the house of the Lord when she weaned him), and after having performed certain acts of devotion, they return home, and collecting their friends and relations, they give a feast, of which they make the child also partaker.

The birth of Isaac made a considerable change in the patriarch's household, which increased as he grew up, until it was found necessary to expatriate Ishmael and his mother. As Sarah had no confidence in the promise of a son which Abraham had received, she had probably, before Isaac was born, treated Ishmael as if he were her own son, and the hope of the patriarch's house; but the feelings of the mother now supplanted her attachment to her adopted son by her slave. Ishmael, too, now about seventeen years of age, or older according to Calmet, and who, up to the age of fourteen, had been taught to consider himself as the sole heir of his father, was naturally dissatisfied at being superseded by his younger brother. He accordingly evinced a rudeness of conduct towards Isaac which irritated Sarah against him. St. Paul, indeed, intimates that Ishmael persecuted or teased Isaac, which he might do more from a feeling of disappointed ambition than from any real dislike he entertained towards his younger brother. It may be here remarked, that the same usages still prevail in the East which are alluded to in the expatriation of Ishmael, and the son of a female slave would most certainly be superseded by the son of the wife or free woman afterwards born. In Persia, a country which affords numerous illustrations of the customs and manners noticed in the scriptures, this principle is carried much farther. Not to mention slaves, if a man has more than one wife, and he may have four, according to the Mahommedan ritual, all equally his wives in the eye of the law, the son of the wife whose family and connections happen to be of greater distinction and rank than those of the other wives, often obtains the preference, and succeeds to his father's inheri

tance.

The proposal to expel Hagar and her son from the patriarch's household came from Sarah, and Abraham listened to it with the greatest reluctance, for he appears to have cherished a sincere regard for Ishmael. Isaac was indeed the son of the promise; but many associations cherished his affection for Ishmael, and his repugnance to Sarah's entreaty. A Divine communication, however, reconciled him to the proposal, now rendered necessary to secure peace in his household. He was told that the expatriation of Ishmael was a necessary part of the Divine arrangements, and to entertain no fears for his welfare or that of his mother, who were under the special

protection of Jehovah. Thus persuaded, he dismissed Hagar and Ishmael from his household, after providing them with suitable necessaries for a journey across the desert. The particulars of this transaction are not given by Moses, who merely mentions the affair in a general manner; but it is clear that the bitterness of feeling cherished by Sarah was not entertained by Abraham, who doubtless took leave of his son in a most affectionate manner, and who would comfort Hagar by the most consolatory hopes which the Divine communication he had received relative to Ishmael enabled him to cherish.

Abraham was still in the country of Gerar, in which we are informed he "sojourned many days." His wealth and prosperity had been marked by Abimelech, who perceived in him the special object of providential care. The king, whose entire conduct, as narrated by Moses, places him in the most favourable light, resolved to form a treaty with Abraham; and the account of it is the more interesting, when we consider that it is the earliest instance on record of a treaty of peace, while, at the same time, its forms and terms indicate that even in those early ages such treaties had not been newly invented. Abimelech, attended by his chief minister Phichol, thus addressed the patriarch: "Now, therefore, swear unto me here by God, that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor unto my son, nor with my son's son, but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned." On this occasion Abraham expostulated with Abimelech on account of a well of water, dug by his own servants, of which he had been deprived by those of the latter; but the king solemnly assured him that he was utterly ignorant of the matter, and had not even heard of it till that moment. The treaty was then concluded, and Abraham secured himself in the property of the well by presenting seven ewe lambs to Abimelech, as an earnest that it had been dug by his servants. The place where this treaty was formed was called Beersheba, which means "the well of the oath." In subsequent times a considerable town was built near it, which, as it was situated on the most southern extremity of the land of Israel, is often mentioned in the well-known expression which occurs in the Sacred writings, "from Dan to Beersheba."

The nature of the transaction here recorded, of the treaty between Abimelech and Abraham, will be more fully understood by a reference to existing customs of the Arabs of the present day. Abimelech asked Abraham to "swear unto him by God." Among the Arabs the name of God is indeed heard

"There are several judicial oaths in use among the Arabs," says Burckhardt, "distinguished by different degrees of sanctity and solemnity. One of the most common in domestic life is to take hold with hand of the wasat, or middle tent pole, and to swear by the life of their tent and its owner.' A more serious oath, often taken before the kadi, is called the oath of the wood. To try the veracity of a person, a small piece of wood, or some straw, is taken up from the ground, and presented to him with these words

Take the wood, and swear by God, and the life of him who caused it to be green and dried it up.' A still more solemn oath is the oath of the cross lines,' which is used only on very important occasions. Thus, if a Bedouin accuses his neighbour of a considerable theft, and cannot prove the fact by witnesses, the plaintiff takes the defendant before the sheik or kadi, and calls him to swear in his defence whatever oath he may choose to demand from him. If he complies readily, his accuser leads him to a certain distance from the camp, because the magical nature of the oath might prove pernicious to the general body of the Arabs were it to take place in their vicinity. He then with his sekin, or crooked knife, draws on the sand a large circle, with many cross lines inside it. He obliges the defendant to place his right foot within the circle, he himself doing the same, and addressing him in the following words, which the accused is obliged to repeat-' By God, and in God, and through God, (I swear) I did not take it, and it is not in my possession.'

Abraham swore to Abimelech that he would not deal falsely "with him, nor with his son, nor with his son's son." There is an incident recorded by Bruce which illustrates this statement. He received from an Arab sheik a pledge that he would not be molested in his journey across the desert of Cosseir, and he considers it to be the same kind of oath "in use among the Arabs or shepherds" in the time of Abraham. "I told him (the sheikh) I was bound to Cosseir," says Bruce," and that if I found myself in any difficulty I hoped, upon applying to his people, they would protect me, and that he would give them the word that I was 'yagoube,' a physician, seeking no harm, but doing good; bound by a vow for a certain time to wander through deserts, from fear of God, and that they should not have it in their power to do me harm. The great people among them came, and after joining hands repeated a kind of prayer, of about two minutes long, by which they declared themselves and their children accursed if ever they lifted their hands against me in the 'tell' or field, in the desert, or on the river; or in case that I or mine should fly to them for refuge, if they did not protect us at the risk of their lives, their families, and their fortunes; or, as they emphatically expressed it, to the death of the last male child among them."

The next and most remarkable incident in the patriarch's life is connected with his readiness to

offer Isaac in sacrifice on mount Moriah. The particulars of this extraordinary transaction are wellknown, and it is one of the most distinguished examples of obedience and of faith in the Divine promises on record. The command to sacrifice Isaac did not excite any surprise in Abraham, and hence it has been stated with great probability that the custom of parents offering their children in sacrifice was followed in Canaan by the ancient inhabitants. According to Josephus, Isaac was at this time twenty-seven years of age; but whatever was his age, he had certainly attained the state of manhood, and it is not to be supposed that Abraham used, or was able to use, any coercion on this occasion. He seems to have concealed the purport of the journey from Isaac to the last moment, who readily acquiesced in the necessity of obedience. It is also apparent that Abraham entertained no other idea but that the command would be actually enforced. From the account of it given by St. Paul, the patriarch thoroughly believed that "God was able to raise up Isaac even from the dead." This is clearly indicated in the narrative. When he set out with Isaac he took no notice of the object of his journey to Sarah, and when he arrived at the appointed scene of the sacrifice he told his servant, "Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." He thus had not the smallest doubt but that he would return with Isaac alive, and restored in a remarkable manner. The act of faith, however, was sufficiently demonstrated by his being prepared to obey the Divine command to the full extent, and the deliberate manner in which he acted. A ram caught in the thicket by the horns was substituted for Isaac, and Abraham was commended in the most magnificent manner. The Mahommedans pretend that the horns of this ram were fixed upon the temple of Mecca by the ancient Arabians, and that they were taken down by Mahommed to prevent idolatry.

We now notice the death of Sarah, in the hundred and twenty-seventh year of her age. This event took place in Kirjath-Arba, afterwards called Hebron. There is a tradition that she died while Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, and that her death was caused by being informed that the sacrifice had actually been made; but this is altogether fallacious, for she lived many years after that transaction, and we have seen that neither she, nor the domestics who accompanied Abraham on the occasion, had the slightest knowledge of the nature of the expedition. It is probable, however, from the manner in which her death is announced, that Abraham was absent from Hebron at the time, and that he hastened to "mourn for Sarah and weep for her" when he received the intelligence; though some understand the narrative simply to intimate that Abraham came from his own tent to sit mourning on the ground at the door of the tent of Sarah.

But the patriarch, notwithstanding his grief, had