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And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, say ing, Joseph's brethren are come and it pleased Pharash well, and his servants. He was a generous prince, and glad of an opportunity to express his affection for so wise and pious a 17 minister, by showing respect to his family. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your 18 beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; And take your father and your households, and come unto me and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat 19 the fat of the land, the choicest produce of it. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you waggons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your 20 father, and come. Also regard not your stuff at home; for the good of all the land of Egypt [is] yours.

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And the children of Israel did so and Joseph gave them waggons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and 22 gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment, two or three upper garments, new and handsome, that they might make a good appearance; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred [pieces] of silver, about thirty seven pounds of our money, and five changes of raiment. 23 And to his father he sent after this [manner;] money, and change of raiment, and provisions for his journey, namely, ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. 24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way, about your dealing with me; as I forgive you, so do ye to one another.

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And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of 26 Canaan unto Jacob their father, And told him, saying, Joseph [is] yet alive, and he [is] governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not; he was quite overcome between hope, and doubt, and fear, and excessive 27 joy. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them and when he saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. To see Simeon and Benjamin return, with a stock of provisions, made it a day of great joy to the good old man; especially when he heard that Joseph, whom he thought had been 28 dead twenty years, was alive and governor of Egypt. And Israel said, [It is] enough; Joseph my son [is] yet alive : I will go and see him before I die. I have lived long enough, and shall be happy enough if I live to see him but once again; I shall then be willing to die whenever God pleases.

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REFLECTIONS.

TOW amiable do generosity and forgiveness appear! Had we heard of Joseph putting any of his brethren to death, or severely upbraiding them with their conduct, it would have spoiled the pleasure which the story of his exaltation gives us but he kindly forgave them; and in this he was a type of Christ, who forgave those that betrayed and murdered him. The best way of revenging an injury, is to use the offender as well as we can, and put him out of countenance by our kindness; this is true greatness of spirit. The shame which this generosity brought upon them, was a sufficient punishment. Let us act thus, for so the gospel directs; If thine enemy hunger, feed him; overcome evil with good. Forgive men their trespasses, and you may hope that God will forgive you your trespasses.

2. How unsearchable are the dispensations of Providence, in turning evil into good, and overruling even the sins of his creatures, for the good of his people, and the benefit of the world. Thus he did in the case of Herod and Pilate, as well as in the instance before us. There is in Providence a wheel within a wheel; and, however mysterious, all is directed by infinite wisdom and goodness; all is wisely conducted to a merciful end. Who would have thought, if they had seen Joseph in the pit, that it was he who should deliver Egypt and Israel! Who, that had seen Jacob's grief when he saw the bloody coat, would have thought that it should be exchanged for transports of joy! God is indeed wonderful in council, and excellent in contrivances. Let us own and adore his wisdom and grace, when we see them thus manifested; and learn not to be rash in our judgment of things, but wait the issue. We shall often discover the wisdom and goodness of God in various instances now; and hereafter, all the mystery shall be cleared up, and we shall find, that all his ways are mercy and truth to them that fear him.

3. How careful should we be to maintain mutual peace! Joseph's advice was proper for his brethren, and for all of us: See that ye fall not out by the way. The arguments that should have influenced them, are applicable to us: we are brethren by nature, friendship, and religion; belong to the same family of God's Israel; we are going to our father's house; in our way we are exposed to many enemies and dangers; if we go in peace, we shall find the way secure and pleasant; if not, we shall bring a reproach on our profession, and become the scorn of our enemies. Beside, we are all guilty, therefore all to blame, and have no reason to accuse one another. O how pleasant a thing is it, for brethren to dwell together in unity! Let us cultivate peace, and recommend it to others. Let us avoid the beginning of contention, and labour to make up differences as soon as possible; as VOL. I.

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the brethren of Christ, against whom we have rebelled, and by and through whom we hope to be forgiven. Let us love one another, as he hath loved us; and hold the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

4. How willing should the true christian be to go to his heavenly father's house! Jacob was glad to hear that Joseph was alive, and governor of Egypt, and said, It is enough, I will surely go and see him before I die. He knew he should have a most kind reception, and all good things there. Thus let us long to be above, in that better country, where our dearest friends dwell; where every good thing is to be had. We have many attractives to draw us there; regard not the stuff that must be left behind; the good of the land is before us. While here, let us not seek great things for ourselves, and use what we have, as not abusing it. The good of all the heavenly country is ours; let us therefore sit loose to earthly things, and be willing to leave them. Did Jacob rejoice to go out of the land of promise, to a foreign strange land, for Joseph's sake? How glad then should we be, to leave this strange land, to go to the heavenly Canaan, to a glorious inheritance in that better and lightsome Goshen, which is full of all durable riches, and divine delights! To dwell with all our best friends, and Jesus, our best beloved, and be for ever with each other and the Lord! The holy soul may, with humble resignation, say, Why are the chariots, that are sent to fetch me, so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots ?

CHAP. XLVI.

The apostle says, concerning the patriarchs, that they were pilgrims and strangers; they were driven from place to place, and had no continuing city. This was remarkably the case with Jacob. We have here an account of his journey to Egypt, and his interview with his beloved son Joseph.

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ND Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, thirty two miles from Hebron, and, as it had been a place of devotion for Abraham and Isaac, there he also offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac: he was thankful for God's kindness to Isaac, and to himself, and sought his protection and blessing on his journey to see Joseph. 2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, in a dream, and said, Jacob, Jacob; repeating the name as a token 3 of affection, and a note of attention. And he said, Here [am] I. And he said, I [am] God, the God of thy father; fear not to go down into Egypt ;* for I will there make of thee a

Jacob had many fears; he was an old man, it was a long journey; Isaac was forbidden to go there in the time of famine; it was a kind of forsaking the holy land, and he was fearful of idolatry, and what the consequences might prove to his children and posterity.

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great nation; though thou hast now but seventy souls belonging to thee, thy seed shall soon become as the stars of heaven for multitude: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up [again;] that is, thy bones, or rather, in thy posterity; and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes; he shall outlive thee, and close thine eyes, as the last office of respect and friendship.

And Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and went cheerfully on his journey and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the waggons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him : bringing these things with them, that they might not be chargeable, and that none might reproach them with coming empty : 7. His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

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And these [are] the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, most of whom we afterward read of, as heads of large families or tribes; Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Ja9 cob's firstborn. And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and 10 Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. And the sons of Simeon ;

Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, of whom we never read any more, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaan11 itish woman. And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, the grandfather of Moses and Aaron, and Merari. And the sons 12 of Judah; Er and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah : but Er and Qnan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. Pharez was very young, not above fifteen, when he went into Egypt; perhaps these sons 13 were born afterward. And the sons of Issachar; Tola, who was so fruitful, that in the days of David (1 Chron. vii. 2.) twenty two thousand six hundred valiant men were descended 14 from him, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. And the sons 15 of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These [be] the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters [were] thirty and three counting Jacob himself for one, and excluding Er and Onan who were dead, as Leah herself also was. 16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ez17 bon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. And the sons of Asher ;

Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their 18 sister and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. These [are] the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, [even] sixteen souls. 19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh

and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah 21 priest, or prince, of On, bare unto him. And the sons of Benjamin [were] Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. 22 These [are] the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob; 23 all the souls [were] fourteen. And the sons of Dan; Hus24 him. And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Je25 zer, and Shillem. These [are] the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these 26 unto Jacob all the souls [were] seven. All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, beside Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls [were] threescore and six; they were so many, excluding Jacob their common parent, and Joseph and his two sons, who were there before; which 27 four being included, make up the number of seventy. And the sons of Joseph, which were borne him in Egypt, [were] two souls all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, [were] threescore and ten.*

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And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen, to meet him in a convenient place there; and 29 they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph showed great respect to his father, and honoured him before all the people, and made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him, as subjects do before a prince; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while; this filled the good old man with 30 joy and triumph. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou [art] yet alive.† Since Joseph is alive and happy, all my wishes seem accomplished at once, and I am willing to die when God pleases. Nevertheless God spared him seventeen years after this. Joseph then proceeds to direct his father and brethren, how to behave before Pharaoh.

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And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which [were] in the land of 32 Canaan, are come unto me; And the men [are] shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought 33 their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, 34 What [is] your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we [and] also our father's: that ye may dwell in the

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• Stephen, in Acts vii. says they were seventy five souls. The difference may be thus accounted for; Moses only mentions Jacob's immediate descendants, and not his son's wives, without which they were not so many; that is, eleven brethren and a sister, filty two grand children, and the eleven wives of the brethren, made seventy five.

The great Ali Bey, governor of Egypt, who died but a very few years ago, was in some respects a second Joseph. See Savery's Letters on Egypt. Vol. II. Let. 41.

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