stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their gene

rations.

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you, and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be 'a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

9

12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and 10 she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years

6 Acts 7. 8.

old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

19 And God said, "Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exccedingly; "twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

23 ¶ And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the self-same day, as God had said unto him.

24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

8 Heb. a son of eight days.

7 Acts 7. 8. Rom. 4. 11.
10 Heb. she shall become nations. 11 Chap. 18. 10, and 21. 2.

9 Levit. 12. 3. Luke 2. 21. John 7. 22.
12 Chap. 25. 16.

Verse 3. "Abram fell on his face."-The posture assumed by Abram on this occasion probably resembled one of the several postures used by the Mohammedans in their worship. It consists in placing the body on the hands and kneeson all fours, as we should say-while the head is bent down, the forehead touching the ground. This posture is highly expressive of the deepest humility and the most profound adoration. It also resembles the kotow usually performed before the Emperor of China; and which is so well known to us in consequence of the refusal of Lords Macartney and

Amherst to submit to it.

5. "Abram-Abraham."-The change is greater in sense than in sound. Abram means "exalted father," or "the father of elevation;" while Abraham is considered to signify "the father of a great multitude," being, according to a Hebrew usage, an abridgment of the three Hebrew words ab rab hamon. It was a custom, of which we have frequent instances, for a prince or other superior to bestow a new name, commonly taken from some remarkable point in the life of the person who receives it. Thus Pharaoh changed the name of Joseph; another Egyptian king that of Eliakim, when he made him king of Judah; Nebuchadnezzar those of Daniel and his companions; and our Saviour that of Simon, who has ever since been better known as Peter. It seems that the new name sometimes, as in the case of Abraham, superseded the old one altogether, and that in others it is taken as an addition to the former name, becoming a sort of sirname. Thus Peter, after receiving his new name, is still, on some occasions, called by his previous name of Simon, even by Christ himself, and sometimes by both-"Simon Peter." This is still the case in the East. Sometimes express changes of name are made, and at other times characterizing additions are bestowed or assumed, which often in the end become superseding denominations, as in the case of Peter. In Persia, frequent examples of this kind occur. One of the most striking is that of the Persian king Shah Solyman, whose reign commenced in 1667 under his proper name of Suffee. But its first years being marked by public and private calamities, he was persuaded that there was a fatality in the name he bore, and that a change of it was necessary to turn the tide of misfortune. He accordingly assumed, with great solemnity, the name of Solyman. He was crowned anew under that name, and all the seals and coins which bore that of Suffee were broken, as if one king had died and another succeeded. Chardin, who was present,

has given a particular account of this coronation. The constant change of name by the popes on their election to the pontificate is perhaps quite as good an illustration. A formal change of the name given in infancy does not now often take place, except on a change of religion, probably because the common names have in a great degree ceased to be signficant and characterizing, being mostly taken from those borne by eminent men, as Ibrahim, Ishmael, Mohammed, Ali, &c. But changes are frequent in the characterizing or fanciful epithets given or taken in addition, and which, in the absence of a system of sirnames like our own, serve better to distinguish individuals than the proper name, and often acquire greater prominence in practical use. It will be useful to understand this distinction, which we have never seen clearly stated. One example will illustrate this point. Saoud, the famous Wahabee chief, had a magnificent pair of mustachios, whence he was commonly called Abou Schowáreb, the "Father of Mustachios," by which he was as often addressed personally as by his proper name, and which therefore operated in some degree as a change of name. If he had lost his mustachios, some other characteristic would doubtless have been found to distinguish him from other persons of the name of Saoud. Oriental history affords instances in which the added epithet has completely superseded the proper name,

10. “Every man child among you shall be circumcised."-This command was re-enforced by the law of Moses, and has been carefully observed by the Jews to the present time. It is impossible to ascertain whether such a rite existed in the world before this command. But Herodotus speaks of it as a custom ancient even in his time, and which existed in several nations, particularly the Egyptians and Ethiopians. It does not appear, however, that it was general among the Egyptians, but that it was confined to the priesthood and to particular professions. Much controversy has turned upon the point whether the Egyptians or Hebrews first observed the rite; but we cannot enter into it here. Bochart and others think that the Egyptians got it from the Arabians, who certainly practised circumcision, doubtless deriving the custom from Ishmael. But, even among the Arabians, the observance of the rite does not seem to have been considered essential and obligatory until it was made so by the law of Mohammed, since which time its diffusion has been coextensive with that of the Mohammedan_faith, and is a practice scarcely less rigidly enforced by Moslems than by Jews. It is, however, a custom not confined to oriental nations. As Burder notes in his Oriental Literature,' the Spaniards found a sort of circumcision prevalent in Mexico; it has also been practised in the Australian islands and continent, and was found by Captain Cook to exist in the Friendly Islands. According to the direction in verse 12, the Jews perform the ceremony on the eighth day from the birth of the child; but as Ishmael was thirteen years old when circumcised (verse 25), the Mohammedans usually postpone it to that age. To the Jews it stands much in the same relation as baptism to Christians, and the child then receives its name. According to Calmet, a godfather and godmother are appointed for the occasion, the former of whom holds the infant during the ceremony, and the latter carries it to the synagogue and home again. It may, however, be done at home if the parents like. The law gives no particular directions as to the operator: the father may do it if he pleases; we see a mother performing it in Exodus iv. 25. But the operation is usually performed by some experienced person; and it is considered a great honour to be a circumciser (mohel). If the child seems unable to bear the operation on the eighth day, it may be deferred; and if the child happens to die before that day, it seems that the operation is sometimes performed after death. The circumcision of a child is an occasion of rejoicing both among Jews and Mohammedans.

CHAPTER XVIII.

1 Abraham entertaineth three angels. 9 Sarah is reproved for laughing at the strange promise. 17 The destruction of Sodom is revealed to Abraham: 23 Abraham maketh intercession for the men thereof.

AND the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tentdoor in the heat of the day;

2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and ' comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, 'Make ready quickly 3 Heb, you have passed.

1 Heb. 13. 2.

Heb. stay.

three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

8 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, and they did eat.

9¶And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? and he said, Behold, in the

tent.

5

10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD?

4 Heb. hasten. 5 Chap. 17. 19, and 21. 2.

61 Pet. 3. 6.

7 Chap. 12, 3, and 22. 18. Acts 3. 25. Galat. 3. 8.

31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.

32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham : and Abraham returned unto his place.

Verse 1. "He sat in the tent-door in the heat of the day."—It is pleasing to follow out the details of the interesting picture of patriarchal manners which this chapter offers. The annotators on this chapter seem to have had in view the single tent of Abraham, with flocks and herds feeding around. But there must have been many tents for his numerous dependents and servants; while the bulk of his cattle were probably at pasture many miles distant. Among the Bedouin tribes it is the duty of the chief or sheikh to entertain strangers, and as the custom requires them to stop at the first tent they reach, the sheikh's tent is usually pitched so as to be the first in that direction from which strangers most commonly arrive. This custom would account for Abraham's being the first to perceive the strangers as he sat in the shade of his tent-door to enjoy any air that might be stirring, while the heat of the day rendered the interior of the tent too close and sultry to be conveniently occupied. In the heat of the day the external shade of the tent is much more cool and pleasant than the interior.

2. "Ran to meet them."-This and other passages in the Bible may be illustrated by the gradations of Persian etiquette. When a Persian is visited by a very superior person he crosses the open court of his house, and receives him at the street-door; if decidedly superior, but not greatly so, he rises hastily and advances to receive his visiter at the entrance of the room; if the visiter be an equal, he simply rises from his seat on his entrance; and if an inferior, he only makes the motion of rising.

"Bowed himself toward the ground."-This posture is frequently mentioned as being used in the presence of superiors, and is no doubt the same as that of David, who "stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself" before Saul (1 Sam. xxiv. 8). Mr. Morier is probably right in supposing that this form of obeisance is the same which the Persians of the present day use in approaching their king. It consists 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.

4. "Wash your feet."-Water for the feet is a necessary and most grateful part of hospitality in the East. Where the people wear sandals, which are intended only to protect the soles, the feet soon become foul and parched; and to have the feet and ancles bathed is the most gratifying of refreshments after that of quenching thirst. The office is usually performed by servants. Mr. Roberts mentions, that in passing through Hindoo villages it is common to see this office performed for the weary traveller. In the sandy deserts of Arabia and the bordering countries no covering for the feet can prevent the necessity for this refreshment at the end of a day's journey. The fine impalpable sand or dust penetrates all things, and, with the perspiration, produces an itching and feverish irritation, which, next to the quenching of his thirst, it is the first wish of a traveller to allay; and to uncover his feet, and to get water to wash them, is a prime object of attention. If sandals only are used, or the feet are entirely without defence, it becomes still more necessary to wash them after a journey.

6. "Knead it and make cakes upon the hearth."-It seems very strange to us that in such an establishment as that of the patriarch there was not ready baked bread for the strangers. But the fact is, that in the East, to this day, so much bread and no more than will suffice for the household is baked daily, as the common bread will not keep good longer than a day in a warm climate. They also prefer bread when it is new. In the East, it is only in large towns that there are bakers by trade. In villages and camps every family bakes its own bread; and while journeying in the East we always found that, except in towns, the women of the families which entertained us always went to work immediately after our arrival, kneading the dough and baking "cakes," generally in spacious round or oblong plates of thin and soft bread, which were ready in an astonishingly short time. We have often watched the various processes with great interest, and traced the analogies they afforded to the usages recorded in the Bible. As we shall have occasion to describe these processes in notes to the various passages which refer to them, we shall only now notice that which is supposed to be here intended, and which is still in use among the Arabs and other people of the East. It is done by kindling a fire upon the ground or hearth: when the ground is sufficiently heated the fire is removed and the dough placed, and being covered with the hot ashes and embers is soon baked, although not so rapidly as by some other processes, the cakes being thicker and not so wide as those in most common use. Another process resembles this, except that, instead of the bare hearth, a circle of small stones is arranged, and these being heated, the paste is spread over them, and then overlaid with hot cinders. This is thinner than the former, and is only used by the Arabs for their morning meal. Sarah's process was probably the first mentioned. It may seem extraordinary to see a lady of such distinction as Sarah, the wife of a powerful chief, occupied in this menial service. But even now this duty devolves on the women of every household; and among those who dwell in tents, the wife of the proudest chief is not above superintending the preparation of the bread, or even kneading and baking it with her own hands. Tamar, the daughter of a king, seems to have acquired distinction as a good baker of bread (see 2 Sam. xiii. 5—10); and there are few of the heavy duties which fall upon the women of the East which they are more anxious to do well, and get credit for, than this. It is among the very first of an eastern female's accomplishments. The other duties of the kitchen still often devolve upon the wives, even in families of distinction. When Dr. Richardson was at Jerusalem he was, as a physician, consulted about the complaints of the ladies of a Turk of high consideration, called Omar Effendi. "I was surprised," says the doctor," to hear many of them ascribe their complaints to fatigue, which, I was informed, arose from their employment in the kitchen."

7. "A calf tender and good.”—Here again the European"reader is struck no less at the want of preparation than by the apparent rapidity with which the materials of a good feast were supplied. The dough was to be kneaded and the bread baked; and the meat had not only to be dressed but killed. The fact is, the Orientals consume a very small quantity of animal food; and the nomades, with their ample flocks and herds, less than other Orientals. In our own journeys meat was never to be found ready killed, except in large towns, and then only in the mornings. There was probably not a morsel of meat in Abraham's camp, in any shape whatever. The usages of the Aeneze Arabs, as stated by Burckhardt, in his Notes on the Bedouins,' strikingly illustrate this entertainment prepared by Abraham for his visitants; and we know that, with some unimportant differences, the statement applies generally to other Arab tribes. Their usual fare (called ayesh) consists of flour made into a paste, and boiled with sour camel's milk. This is their daily and universal dish; and the richest sheikh would think it disgraceful to order his wife to prepare any other dish merely to please his own palate. The Arabs never indulge in animal food and other luxuries but on the occasion of some great festival, or on the arrival of a stranger. If the guest is a common person, bread is baked and served up with the ayesh; if the guest is a person of some small consequence, coffee is prepared for him, and also the dish called behatta (rice or flour boiled with sweet camel's milk), or that called ftéta (baked paste, kneaded up thoroughly with butter); but for a man of some rank, a kid or lamb is killed. When this happens, the lamb is boiled with bourgoul (wheat dried in the sun after having been boiled) and camel's milk; and served up in a large wooden dish, around the edge of which the meat is placed. A wooden bowl, containing the melted fat of the animal, is put 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 frequently handed round after a meal. Now in this account of the Arab mode of entertaining a stranger we have all the circumstances of Abraham's entertainment, if we change his "calf" for a sheep, lamb, or kid. Here are the bread newly baked, the butter and the milk. If we should suppose that the process of boiling the choice parts of the calf was too long for the present occasion, we may conclude that the choice parts were cut up into small bits, and, being run upon small spits or skewers, broiled over the fire: this being a mode very common in the East of preparing a hasty meal of animal food. We have not supposed that the animal was dressed and served up entire, as that would have required more time than the haste of preparing a meal for merely passing strangers would allow. But amongst the Arabs, and indeed other eastern people, it is not unusual at their entertainments to serve up a lamb or kid that has been roasted or baked whole in a hole in the ground, which, after being heated and having received the carcase, is covered over with stones. It is less usual now in the East to kill a calf than it seems to have been in the times of the Bible. The Arabs, Turks, and others think it monstrous extravagance to kill an animal which becomes so large and valuable when full grown. This consideration seems to magnify Abraham's liberality in being so ready to kill a calf for the strangers. It seems to us rather revolting that the meat should be dressed and eaten so immediately after being killed. But it is still the custom in the East to dress meat very soon after the animal has been killed, and very often before the warmth of life has departed from it: and in a journey we have ourselves often eaten boiled mutton in less than two hours after the sheep had been killed; and broiled mutton in a much shorter time. The custom doubtless originated in the heat of the climate, which precluded meat from being kept long; and, as a custom, came to be applied in seasons and regions where the originating cause did not immediately operate. Mr. Roberts, in a remark on 1 Sam. xxviii. 24, 25, observes, that in India the natives affect to be disgusted with the English for keeping fowls six or eight hours before they are cooked, and say we are fond of eating chettareyche, i. e. dead flesh. He adds, "There are some Englishmen who become so accustomed to these things, that they have the chicken grilled, and on their table, which a quarter of an hour before was playing in the yard."

8. "Butter."-The continual mention of butter as an independent dish, and as a proverbial sign of plenty, is calculated to astonish an European reader. The word, as used in the Bible, implies butter and cream in various states of consistence. Annotators have discussed whether, in the present instance, the meat was dished up with butter, or that the latter formed an independent dish. It might well be both, or either, if we judge from present Arab usages, which furnish ample illustrations of the extraordinary use of butter among the Hebrews. The butter is usually made with the milk of sheep or goats, and is used to an excess which it seems amazing that the human stomach can bear. All Arab food, considered well prepared, swims in butter, and large quantities are swallowed independently in a solid or liquid state. Burckhardt mentions that those who can afford such a luxury swallow every morning a large cup full of butter before breakfast; and even snuff a good quantity up their nostrils. Some tribes welcome a guest by pouring a cup of melted butter on his head. Our way of spreading butter thinly on bread seems the height of absurdity to them, and indeed to other Asiatics. When they do eat it with bread at all, it is in the way which was taught us by a Bedouin, who observing us sitting on the ground and refreshing ourselves with buttered bread and dates, looked compassionately on our ignorance of the true use of butter, and to give us a valuable lesson on the subject, commenced breaking off a thin bit of bread, about the size of a crown piece, and heaping thereon as large a lump of butter as it would support, threw it into his mouth with great satisfaction. He pursued this instruction until his rapid progress towards the bottom of our butter skin obliged us to declare ourselves sufficiently instructed. Burckhardt, in allusion to the extraordinary use of butter among the Arabs, observes," the continual motion and exercise in which they employ themselves, strengthen their powers of digestion, and for the same reason an Arab will live for months together on the smallest allowance; and then, if an opportunity should offer, he will devour at one sitting the flesh of half a lamb, without any injury to his health." This in some degree accounts for the extraordinary quantity of food which here and elsewhere we find prepared for a very few persons; or a better reason perhaps is found in the existing practice throughout Western Asia of producing at entertainments from five to ten times the quantity of food which the invited guests can consume, the residue going to feast the women and the host of servants and dependents which men of consideration support. It is the same in camps, where a great number of hungry Arabs or Tartars get some benefit from the feast which their sheikh or some wealthy person provides for a stranger. "Milk."-Milk, in its various forms, constitutes a principal article of diet among the Arabs and other pastoral tribes; and also enters largely as an ingredient into the composition of their prepared dishes. Many tribes live almost exclusively on dates and milk meals. Butter has been mentioned, and cheese will claim a future notice. When pasturage is good, sweet milk is handed round after an Arab meal. They also make much use of butter-milk; and coagulated sour milk, diluted with water, is in very general use both among the Arabs and other inhabitants of Western Asia. Although unpleasant at first to strangers, the natives swallow it with avidity, and it is really famed to be very refreshing in a warm climate. Either this or sweet milk is probably intended in the text. They make cream by the usual process, and it is scarcely inferior to that of Devonshire. From the frequent mention which is made of milk, milk meals must have been very common among the Hebrews, who seem to have been always, even in their settled state, more a pastoral than an agricultural people. In Proverbs xxvii. 27, goats' milk, of course understood in its prepara