2. Ancient money, being uncoined, was weighed instead of being counted. Even to this day Oriental merchants weigh the silver and gold which are the medium of traffic; not only the bullion, but the coined pieces also, lest some dishonest trader might pass upon them a coin of light weight. The ancient Egyptians, and some other nations, used rings of gold and of silver for the same purposes that coins are now used.

6.-LION-WEIGHT. FROM KHORS ABAD.

These rings were weighed, the weights being in the form of oxen, lions, geese, sheep, and other animals. Some of these weights have been found; they are made of bronze, and with a ring projecting from the back for a handle.

The weighing of money is also referred to in Jer. xxxii, 9, 10, and in Zech. xi, 12.

3. The word shekel (from shakal, to weigh) indicates the original mode of reckoning money by weight rather than by count; and when coined money was introduced it was natural that the name originally applied to what was weighed should be given to what was counted. Thus we find in the Bible a shekel of weight and a shekel of money. The exact weight of the shekel is not known. It is estimated to have been between nine and ten penny weights, and is supposed to have been worth nearly sixty cents. This would make the value of the field Abraham bought of Ephron nearly two hundred and forty dollars.

4. The expression "current," seems to indicate some understood standard of value, either as to the purity of the silver or the weight, or both. "The Phenician merchants usually tried the silver themselves, and then, after dividing a bar into smaller pieces, put the mark upon them." (Michælis.) There may also have been a mark on the bar or on the ring money to indicate its weight.

27.-TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.

XXIII, 17, 18. The field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in al the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

1. All the details of the contract are here given as is still customary in an Oriental bargain. Every thing appertaining to the lot is here put down; field, cave, trees, every thing "in all the borders round about." Dr. Thom

son says, "The contract must mention every thing that belongs to it, (the lot,) and certify that fountains or wells in it, trees upon it, etc., are sold with the field. If you rent a house, not only the building itself, but every room in it, above and below, down to the kitchen, pantry, stable, and hen-coop, must be specified."-The Land and the Book, vol. ii, p. 383.

2. There is no evidence here of any written contract, and probably there was none. The bargain was made "sure" by being consummated in the presence of the crowd assembled at the gate, as bargains often are now in the same country, the number of the witnesses precluding any withdrawing from the contract on either side.

3. We may now notice the steps by which the end of this bargain was gradually reached. How much time was consumed we are not told, but that there was a great deal of talking there can be no doubt. The whole scene vividly illustrates what many modern travelers describe from their own observation. 1. Abraham asks the Hittites the privilege of buy ing a place of burial, (verse 4.) 2. They offer him the free use of any one of their own sepulchers that he may choose, (verse 6.) 3. Abraliam bows before them in acknowledgment of their courtesy, (verse 7.) 4. He asks them to use their influence with Ephron to effect a sale, (verse 8.) 5. Ephron offers to make him a present of the whole field and the cave, and calls on the people to be witnesses of his generosity and sincerity, (verse 11.) 6. Abraham bows again before them, (verse 12.) 7. He declines to take it as a gift, and offers to pay for it, (verse 13.) (See a parallel instance in 1 Chron. xxi, 22-25) 8. Ephron names his price, (three or four times what the land was worth, if the ancient usages were the same as the modern,) and intimates that such a price is a small matter for so great a prince as he is dealing with, (verse 15.) 9. Abraham, not being in a condition to insist on lower terms, accepts the offer, (verse 16.) 10. The money is weighed, and the land becomes the property of Abraham, (verse 16.)

28.-CAVE SEPULCHERS.

XXIII, 19. Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah.

Sepulchral caves are still found in many parts of the East. Sometimes a natural cave is used, with such modifications as necessity may require. The place where Abraham buried Sarah was undoubtedly a natural cave. Tombs were frequently hewn out of the rock. See note on Isa. xxii, 16.

29.-CHIEF SERVANT-MODE OF SWEARING. XXIV, 2, 3. Abraham said unto his eldest servant. Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and . . . swear, etc.

1. The most intelligent and faithful servant in the household was appointed overseer of the others. The word "eldest" is not of necessity

expressive of age, but of authority. This was the head servant, chief of all the rest, though some of them may have been over others. In a similar way we use the word "elder" in an official sense, even when applied to young men. Such head-servants or stewards may still be seen portrayed on Egyptian tombs, with their secretaries, implements of writing, stewards' account books, and articles for domestic use. This was the position which Joseph filled. Gen. xxxix, 4.

2. The mode of swearing here spoken of seems to have been peculiar to the patriarchs. Jacob required Joseph thus to swear to him. Gen. xlvii, 29. Various conjectures have been made as to the precise position of the hand or hands in taking this oath, for which, as well as for the supposed significance of the oath, commentators may be consulted.

30.-BRIDE CHOSEN BY PARENTS.

XXIV, 4. Thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

The bridegroom does not make choice of his bride; the parents negotiate this important business between themselves, and the young people are expected to acquiesce in the arrangement. In this instance Abraham sends a trusty servant hundreds of miles away to select for his son a wife whom he never saw. Hagar chose a wife for Ishmael. Gen. xxi, 21. Isaac gave command to Jacob on this important subject. Gen. xxviii, 1. Judah selected a wife for Er. Gen. xxxviii, 6. Young men who chose wives for themselves without parental mediation usually afflicted their parents in so doing. Gen. xxvi, 35; xxvii, 46. The sons, however, had sometimes the privilege of suggesting their personal preferences to their parents. Thus Shechem did (Gen. xxxiv, 4;) and also Samson. Judges xiv, 2.

31.-WELLS.

XXIV, 11. He made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

"A modern guide-book could hardly furnish a truer picture of what occurs at the close of every day in the vicinity of Eastern villages than this description, written so many thousand years ago."-HACKETT, Illustrations of Scripture, p. 89.

1. The position of a camel when at rest is kneeling. These animals are taught it when young.

2. Villages are built near wells or springs for convenience, but not near enough to be discommoded by the noise and dust and crowds which are sure to be drawn to such places.

3. The work of carrying water is done almost invariably by women,