*

him to be pleased with what had happened to him, and not to suppose that his victory was a trifling one, but that he had overcome a divine angel, and to esteem the victory as a sign of great blessings that should come to him; and that his offspring should never fail, and that no man should be too hard for his power. He also commanded him to be called Israel, which in the Hebrew tongue signifies one that struggled with the divine angel. These promises were made at the prayer of Jacob; for when he perceived him to be the angel of God, he desired he would signify to him what should befal him hereafter, and when the angel had said what is before related, he disappeared. Jacob was pleased with these things, and named the place Phanuel, which signifies the face of God. But when he felt pain by this struggling upon his broad sinew, he abstained from eating that sinew himself afterward, and for his sake it is still not eaten by us.†

When Jacob understood that his brother was approaching, he ordered his wives to go before, each by herself, with the handmaids, that they might see the actions of the men as they were fighting, if Esau were so disposed. He then went and bowed down to his brother Esau, who had no evil design upon him, but saluted him, and asked him about the company of the children, and of the women; and desired, when he had understood all he wanted to know about them, that he would go along with him to their father; but Jacob pretending that the cattle were weary, Esau returned to Seir, for there was his place of habitation, which he had named roughness, from his own hairy rough

ness.

CHAP. XXI.

Of the Violation of Dina's Chastity.

FTER this interview, Jacob came to the place,

he went to Shechem, a city of the Canaanites. Now as the Shechemites were keeping a festival, Dina, who was the only daughter of Jacob, went into the city, to see the women of that country; but when Shechem, the son of Hamor the king, saw her, he

* Perhaps this may be the proper meaning of the word Israel by the present and the old Jerusalem analogy of the Hebrew tongue. But it is certain that the Hellenists of the first century, in Egypt and elsewhere, interpreted Is-ra-el, to be a man seeing God.

Gen. xxxii. 32.

Why Josephus has omitted the circumcision of these Shechemites, as the occasion of their death; and of Jacob's great grief, as in the testament of Levi, I cannot tell. § Gen xxxv. 1. Gen. xxxv. 19.

Since Benoni signifies the son of my sorrow, and Ben-
VOL. I.-NO. III.

defiled her by violence; and being greatly in love with her, he desired his father to procure the dămsel for him in marriage. To this request Hamor acceded, and came to Jacob, desiring permission that his son Shechem might, according to law, marry Dina; but Jacob, not knowing how to deny the desire of one of such great dignity, and yet not thinking it lawful to marry his daughter to a stran. ger, intreated leave to have a previous consultation. So the king went away, in hopes that Jacob would approve of this marriage; but Jacob informed his sons of the defilement of their sister, and of the address of Hamor, and desired them to give him their advice, what they should do. Upon this the greatest part said nothing, not knowing what advice to give; but Simeon and Levi, the brethren of the damsel, by the same mother, agreed between themselves upon the action following: it being now the time of a festival, when the Shechemites were employed in ease and feasting, they fell upon the watch when they were asleep, and entering into the city, slew all the males, as also the king and his son with them, but spared the women; and when they had done this, without their father's consent, they brought away their sister.

Now, while Jacob was astonished at this daring act, and was severely blaming his sons for it, God stood by him, and bid him be of good courage, but to purify his tents, and to offer those sacrifices which he had vowed to offer when he went first into Mesopotamia, and saw his vision. As he was therefore purifying his followers, he found the gods of Laban, (for he did not before know they were stolen by Rachel,) and he hid them in the earth, under an oak, in Shechem; and departing thence, he offered sacrifice at Bethel, the place where he saw his vision when he went first into Mesopotamia.

When he was gone thence, and was come over against Ephrata, he there buried Rachel, who died in childbed; she was the only one of Jacob's kindred that had not the honour of burial at Hebron ; and when he had mourned for her a great while, he called the son that was born of her Benjamin, T because of the sorrow the mother had with him. These are all the children of Jacob, twelve males, and one female; of whom eight were legitimate, viz. six of Leah, and two of Rachel; and four were

jamim the son of days, or one born in the father's old age, Gen. xliv. 20, I suspect Josephus's present copies to be here imperfect, and suppose that, in correspondence to other copies, he wrote that Rachel called her son's name Benoni, but his father called him Benjamim; Gen. xxxv. 18. As for Benjamin, as commonly explained, the son of the right hand, it makes no sense at all, and seems to be a gross modern error only. The Samaritan always writes this name truly, Benjamim, which probably is here of the same signification, only with the Chaldee termination in, instead of im, in the Hebrew.

of the handmaids, two of each, all whose names have been set down already.

CHAP. XXII.

Of Isaac's Death, and Interment at Hebron.

ROM thence Jacob went to Hebron, a city situate among the Canaanites, and the residence of Isaac; and there they lived together for a little

while; for as to Rebeka, Jacob did not find her alive. Isaac also died not long after the coming of his son, and was buried, with his wife, in Hebron, where the family had a monument belonging to them from their forefathers. Now Isaac was a man who was beloved of God, and was vouchsafed great instances of providence by God, after Abraham his father, and lived to be exceeding old; for when he had lived virtuously one hundred and eighty-five years, he then died.

CHAP. I.

Of the division of habitation by Esau and Jacob, by which the former possessed Idumea, and the latter, Canaan.

AFTER the death of Isaac, his sons divided

their habitations resspectively. Nor did they retain what they had before: but Esau departed from the city of Hebron, and left, it to his brother, and dwelt in Seir, and ruled over Idumea. He called the country by that name from himself; for he was named Adom, on the following occasion: He once returned from the toil of hunting, very hungry, when he was a child in age, and met with

five legitimate sons; Theman, Omer, Saphus, Gotham, and Kanaz; for Amalek was not legitimate, but by a concubine, whose name was Thamna. These dwelt in that part of Idumea which was called Gebalatis, and that denominated from Amalek, Amalekitis; for Idumea was a large country, and preserved the name of the whole; while in its several parts it kept the names of its peculiar inhabitants.

CHAP. II.

Of Joseph, the youngest of Jacob's sons, and the envy of his brethren.

Τ

happened that Jacob attained so great happiness

tage for his dinner; it was of a very red colour, on which account he the more earnestly longed for it, and desired some of it to eat. But Jacob took advantage of his brother's hunger, and forced him to give up his birth-right; and he being pinched with famine, resigned it up to him, under an oath. Whence it came, that, on account of the redness of this pottage, he was, in way of jest, by his contemporaries, called Adom; for the Hebrews call what is red, Adom; and this was the name given to this country. But the Greeks gave it a more agreeable pronunciation, and named it Idumea.

He became the father of five sons, of whom Jaus, Jalomus, and Coreus were by one wife, whose name was Alibama; but of the rest Aliphaz was born to him by Ada, and Raguel by Basemath; and these were the sons of Esau. Aliphaz had

was richer than the rest of the inhabitants of that country, and was at once envied and admired for such virtuous sons; for they were deficient in nothing, but were of great strength, both for laboring with their hands, and enduring of toil, and shrewd also in understanding. And God exercised such a providence over him, and such a care of his happiness, as to bring him the greatest blessings, even out of what appeared to be the most sorrowful condition; and to make him the cause of our forefathers' departure out of Egypt; him, I say, and his posterity. The occasion was this: when Jacob had this son Joseph born to him by Rachel, his father loved him above the rest of his sons, both because of the beauty of his body, and the virtues of his mind; for he excelled the rest in prudence.

、,

prudence. This affection of his father excited the envy and the hatred of his brethren, as did also his dreams which he related to his father and to them; which foretold his future happiness; it being usual with mankind to envy their very nearest relations such prosperity. Now the visions which Joseph saw in his sleep were these.

When they were in the middle of harvest, and Joseph was sent with his brethren to gather the fruits of the earth, he saw a vision in a dream, greatly exceeding the customary appearances that come when we are asleep; which when he got up he told his brethren, that they might judge what it portended. He said, he saw the last night, that his wheat-sheaf stood still, in the place where he set it; but that their sheaves ran to bow down to it, as servants bow down to their masters. * But as soon as they perceived the vision foretold that he should obtain power and great wealth; and that his power should be in opposition to them, they gave no interpretation of it to Joseph; as if the dream were not understood by them. But they prayed, that no part of what they suspected to be its meaning might come to pass; and their hatred against him was augmented on that account.

But God, in opposition to their envy, sent a second vision to Joseph, which was more wonderful than the former; for it seemed to him that the sun took with him the moon, and the rest of the stars, and came down to the earth, and bowed down to him. He told this vision to his father, and that, as suspecting nothing of ill will from his brethren, when they were there also; and desired him to interpret what it should signify. Now Jacob was pleased with the dream; for considering the prediction in his mind, and shrewdly and wisely guessing at its meaning, he rejoiced at the great things thereby signified; because it declared the future happiness of his son; and that, by the blessing of God, the time should come when he should be honoured, and thought worthy of worship by his parents and brethren; as guessing that the moon and sun were like his mother and father-the former as she that gave increase and nourishment to all things; and the latter, he that gave form and all other powers to them; and that the stars were like his brethren, since they were eleven in number, as were the stars that receive their power from the sun and moon.

And thus did Jacob make a shrewd judgment of this vision; but these interpretations caused great grief to Joseph's brethren; and they were affected

to him hereupon as if he were a stranger that was to have those good things which were signified by the dreams, and not as one that was a brother, with whom it was probable they should be joint partakers; and as they had been partners in the same parentage, so should they be of the same happiness. They also resolved to kill the lad; and having fully ratified that intention, as soon as their collection of the fruits was over, they went to Shechem, which is a country good for feeding of cattle, and for pasturage; there they fed their flocks, without acquainting their father with their removal. Jacob, therefore, had melancholy suspicions about them, as being ignorant of his sons' condition; and receiving no messenger from the flocks that could inform him of their true state, he sent Joseph to learn the circumstances his brethren were in, and to bring him word how they did..

CHAP. III.

Of Joseph's cruel treatment by his Brethren, his slavery, and subsequent greatness in Egypt.

OW these brethren rejoiced as soon as they

Now

saw their brother coming to them; not, indeed as at the presence of a near relation, or even as one sent by their father; but as at the presence of an enemy, and one that by divine providence was delivered into their hands; and they already resolved to kill him, and not let slip the opportunity that lay before them. But when Reubel, the eldest brother saw them thus disposed, and that they had agreed together to execute their purpose, he tried to restrain them; shewing them the heinous enterprise they were going about, and the horrid nature of it that this action would appear wicked in the sight of God, and impious before men; even though they should kill one not related to them; but more flagitious and detestable to appear to have slain their own brother; by which act the father must be treated unjustly in the son's slaughter, and the mother§ also be in perplexity while she laments that her son is taken away from her; and this not in a natural way. He, therefore, intreated them to have a regard to their own consciences, and wisely to consider what mischief would befal them upon the death of so good a child, and their youngest brother; that they would also fear God, who was already both a spectator, and a witness of the designs they had against their brother; that he

and bow down to him, Josephus represents her here as still alive after she was dead, for the decorum of the dream that foretold it, as the interpretation of that dream, does also in all our copies, Gen. xxxvii. 21.

would

would love them if they abstained from this act, and yielded to repentance and amendment. But in case they proceeded to do the fact, all sorts of punishments would overtake them from God; since they polluted his providence, which was every where present, and which did not overlook what was done either in deserts or in cities. For whereever a man is, there ought he to suppose that God is also. He told them farther, that their consciences would be their enemies if they attempted to go through so wicked an enterprise; which they can never avoid whether it be a good conscience, or whether it be such a one as they will have within them when once they have killed their brother. He also added, that it was not a righteous thing to kill a brother, though he had injured them; that it was a good thing to forget the actions of such near friends, even in things wherein they might seem to have offended; but that they were going to kill Joseph, who had been guilty of nothing that was ill towards them; in whose case the infirmity of his tender years should rather procure him mercy, and induce them to unite in the care of his preservation. He likewise observed, that the cause of killing him made the act itself much worse, while they determined to take him off out of envy at his future prosperity, an equal share of which they would naturally partake while he enjoyed it ; since they were to him not strangers, but the nearest relations; for they might reckon upon what God bestowed upon Joseph as their own; and that it was fit for them to believe, that the anger of God would for this cause be more severe upon them if they slew him who was judged by God to be worthy of that prosperity which was to be hoped for; and while by murdering him, they made it impossible for God to bestow it upon him.

Reubel said these, and many other things, and likewise used intreaties to divert them from the murder of their brother; but when he saw that his discourse had not mollified them at all, and that they prepared to do the fact, he advised them to alleviate the wickedness they were going about in the manner of taking Joseph off; for, as he had exhorted them first, when they were going to revenge themselves, to be dissuaded from doing it; so since the sentence for killing their brother had prevailed, he said that they would not be so grossly guilty, if they would be persuaded to follow his present advice, which would include what they were so eager about, but was not so very bad, but, in the distress they were in, of a lighter nature. He begged of them, therefore, not to kill their brother with their own hands, but to cast him into the pit that was hard by, and so to let him die, by which they

*The LXXII. have 20 pieces of gold; the testament of Gad, 30; the Heb. and Samar, 20 of silver; the vulgar 3

would gain so much, that they would not defile their own hands with his blood To this the young men readily agreed; so Reubel took the Jad, and tied him to a cord, and let him down gently into the pit, for it had no water in it; and when he had done this, he went his way to seek for such pasturage as was proper for feeding their flocks.

But Judas, being one of Jacob's sons also, seeing. some Arabians, of the posterity of Ishmael, carrying spices and Syrian wares out of the land of Gilead to the Egyptians after Reubel was gone, advised his brethren to draw Joseph out of the pit, and sell him to the Arabians, for if he should die among strangers a great way off, they should be freed from this barbarous action. This, therefore, was resolved on; so they drew Joseph up out of the pit, and sold him to the merchants for twenty pounds.* He was now seventeen years old; but Reubel coming in the night time to the pit, resolved to save Joseph, without the privity of his brethren; and when, upon his calling to him, he made no answer, he was afraid that they had destroyed him after he was gone; he accordingly complained to his brethren, but was pacified when they had told him what they had

done.

When Joseph's brethren had done thus to him, they considered how they should escape the suspi cions of their father. Now they had taken away from Joseph the coat which he had on when he came to them, at the time they let him down into the pit; so they thought proper to tear that coat to pieces, and to dip it into goat's blood, and then to carry it, and shew it to their father, that he might believe he was destroyed by wild beasts; and when they had so done, they came to the old man, but this not till what had happened to his son had already come to his knowledge. Then they said that they had not seen Joseph, nor knew what mishap had befallen him, but that they had found his coat bloody, and torn to pieces, whence they had a suspicion that he had fallen among wild beasts, and so perished, if that were the coat he had on when he came from home. Jacob had before some better hopes that his son was only made a captive, but now he laid aside that notion, and considered this coat as a sufficient proof of his death, for he well remembered that this was the coat he had on when he sent him to his brethren. He therefore lamented the lad as now dead, and as if he had been the father of no more than one, without taking any comfort in the rest; and so he was also affected with his misfortune before he met with Joseph's brethren, when he also conjectured that Joseph was destroyed. by wild beasts. He sat down also clothed in sackcloth, and in heavy affliction, insomuch that he

Latin 30. What was the true number and true sum cannot therefore now be known.

found