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And take up the fifth part of the fruits of the land, and keep it in meet storehouses for future use.

43. "And they cried before him, Bow the knee."]—And the heralds cried before him, that the people should bow their knees to him, &c.

44. "I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt."]-I only reserve unto myself the place and title of being king of Egypt; in the rest, I will have thee to be next me: so that no man shall attempt any thing at all in the public government of the state without thy advice and consent.

45. "And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On."]-And Pharaoh called his name, The discloser of secrets; and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of another Potipher, which was governor of Heliopolis.

XLII. 6–9. “And he it was that sold to all the people of the land."]-Ye are spies, and are come to mark what parts of the land are least defenced.

13. "Thy servants are twelve brethren, &c.; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not."]-It need not seem suspicious to thee that we come thus so many together of a company; for the cause is, that we are all so many brethren, &c. And one is dead.

16. "Or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.”]— Or else, as sure as Pharaoh liveth, ye are but spies.

36. "Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me."]-Joseph is dead, and Simeon is in danger to miscarry in prison, and now you will take Benjamin from me; all these are heavy afflictions, which you have brought upon me.

XLIII. 14. “If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."] -I am determined to put it to the hazard, relying on God for the event; if therefore I shall be robbed of my sons, let me be robbed; go you on, and do as the necessity of the business requireth.

32. "Because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews."]-Because the Egyptians held it unlawful to eat with the Hebrews; chiefly, for the differences of their religion; for the Hebrews were wont to sacrifice those creatures which the Egyptians worshipped.

XLIV. 4. "Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?"]-Up, follow after them; and when thou dost overtake them, make this merry and officious lie for my sake; ask them, in dissimulation, Why have ye, &c.

5. "Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth?"]-Is not that which you have stolen, the cup of special note and use for my master; both for his table, and, according to the manner of the Egyptian magicians, for divination and soothsaying?

15. "Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?"] -Could you think any otherwise of me, being a peer of Egypt, but that I could by divination find out your offence!

XLV. 8. "And he hath made me a father to Pharaoh."]-God hath made me not only a counsellor of state to Pharaoh, but a means of preservation of his court and kingdom, &c.

12. "That it is my mouth that speaketh unto you."]-You see and perceive by my language that I am your brother Joseph that speak unto you.

18. "And I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land."]—I will give you the most commodious and fruitful part of the land of Egypt to dwell in; and ye shall be partakers of the best profits of the country.

26. "And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not."]And Jacob swooned with sudden astonishment at this news of Joseph, and the mention of his name.

XLVI. 4. "And Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes."] -And Joseph shall close up thine eyes when thou diest.

34. "For every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians."]-For every sheep-keeper, not out of pride, but superstition, is abominable to the Egyptians.

XLVII. 6. "The land of Egypt is before thee."]-Take thee the choice of the whole land of Egypt.

Ibid. And if thou knowest any men of activity among them."] If thou knowest that there be any amongst them of skill and strength.

9. "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years."]-The whole time of my life, which to me hath been as a continued pilgrimage, both in respect of my many habitations, and of that one fixed habitation which abides for me above, &c.

31. "And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head."]—And Jacob raised himself upon his pillow to give thanks to God.

XLVIII. 5. “Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine."]-Manasseh and Ephraim shall be, not as my grandchildren, but even as my own; and shall have a portion of inheritance among their brethren, as if they had come immediately out of my own loins.

6. "And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.”]—But thy other children, if any shall be since born unto thee, shall carry thy name; and look for their portion under the title of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

12. "And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth."]-And Joseph took them away from his father's knees, to set them in that order. wherein he desired the blessing might be given them; which done, he bowed himself to the ground in a reverent and humble manner, to crave this blessing from his father.

16. "The angel which redeemed me, &c. And let my name be named on them."]-That angel of the covenant, the Son of God, which hath delivered, &c. Let them be numbered among the patriarchs of God's people as my sons, &c.

22. "I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite."]-I give thee one portion, according to the privilege of the birthright above thy brethren the city and territories of Shechem, which, after that my sons had taken from the Hivites, I maintained by strong hand against the Amorites.

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XLIX. 1. "That I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days."]—What shall come to pass in the following times, both soon upon my departure, and many ages after.

3. "Thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength."]-Thou wert both begotten in the prime of my strength, and wert the first of my sons in whom my strength consisteth: having as then all the privileges of the firstborn; preeminence over thy brethren, and a double portion above them.

4. "Thou shalt not excel."]-Thou art run abroad as water that is spilt, which cannot be gathered up; thou shalt no more be eminent above thy brethren, &c.

5. Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are

in their habitations."]-Simeon and Levi, which have too well consented together to do mischief, and were instruments of much cruelty in their agreement against the Shechemites.

6. "O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united, for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.”]—Let not my soul join with them in their consultations, neither let my reputation depend upon their meeting, which my heart abhorred; for in their wrath they slew the Shechemites, and in their selfwill brake down the walls of their city.

7. "I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel."] -They shall have no certain habitations allowed to their tribes, but shall be mingled with their other brethren.

8. "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise."]— Judah, according as thy name imports, thou shalt have praise from thy brethren, who shall acknowledge thy princedom in thy posterity over them, &c.

10. "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."]-Judah shall have a known distinct tribe amongst his brethren and governors in the kingdom, of the same line, to bear rule until the time of Messias' coming; and the people shall yield their obedience to him.

11. "Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:"]-He shall so abound with wines that he shall load his asses with grapes, and even wash his garments with the juice of them.

12. "His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk."]-His posterity shall be abundantly furnished with wine and milk, vineyards and pastures.

13. "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships."]-Zebulun shall be commodiously situated for his traffick by the sea side towards Zidon.

14. "Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens."]-Issachar shall be laborious and strong, more fit for subjection than command; and shall yield himself willingly to all impositions of labour and tributes.

16. "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.”]— Dan, though he be the son of a bondwoman, yet shall attain unto

BP. HALL, VOL. III.

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the dignity of ruling amongst the tribes of Israel; and shall afford some that shall sway the government.

17. "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels."]-His posterity shall enlarge their bounds, and prevail more by subtlety than strength; and therefore shall be like the serpent, &c.

18. "I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD."]—And though this tribe shall pass through many oppressions and grievances, yet, O Lord, I do constantly expect thy gracious deliverance of him.

19. "Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last."]-Gad shall be sore annoyed with the Ammonites, and other neighbouring nations, but shall at last prevail.

20. “Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties."]-Concerning Asher, he shall he seated in a place of great fruitfulness and delicacy.

21. "Napthali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words."]— Napthali shall be both swift to war, and yet gentle and friendly to embrace and maintain peace.

22. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:"]-Joseph shall be as a fruitful bough set beside a fountain, whose branches shall run upon the wall, and have benefit of the reflection.

23. "The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:"]-His enemies bent themselves against him as an archer doth his bow to shoot at a mark, and wrought all the mischief they could against him:

24. "But his bow abode in strength, &c. Of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel :)"]— But his strength was able to match them in their own kind, &c. The God of Jacob, of whom and by whom Joseph was appointed as a nourisher and refuge unto Israel.

26. "The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills."-The blessings of me, thy father, shall be the stronger upon thee by being added unto the blessing of Abraham and Isaac, which all do light upon thee; and shall continue as long as there are hills upon the earth.

27. "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil."]—Benjamin shall be fierce and terrible in his wars, devouring his enemies

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