(11) Departs for Bethel. Having, by the mis conduct of Hamor the Hivitc and the hardy valor of his sons, been involved in danger from the natives of Shechcm in Canaan, Jacob is divinely directed, and under the Divine protection pro ceeds to Bethel, where Ile is to 'make an altar unto God that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.' Obedient to the Divine command, he first puri fies his family from 'strange gods,' which he hid under 'the oak which is by Shechem;' after which God appeared to him again with thc important declaration, 'I am God Almighty,' and renewed the Abrahamic covenant.
(12) Death of Rachel. While journeying from Beth-el to Ephrath, his beloved Rachel lost her life in giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. At length Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, the family residence, in time to pay the last attentions tn the aged patriarch.
(13) Loss of Joseph. Not long after this be reavement Jacob was robbed of his beloved son Joseph through the jealousy and bad faith of his brothers. This loss is the occasion of showing us how strong were Jacob's paternal feelings; for on seeing what appeared to be proofs that 'some evil beast had devoured Joseph,' the old inan 'rent his clothes, and put sackcloth vpon his loins, and mourned for his son many days, and refused to be comforted.'—'l will go down into the grave unto my son mourning' (Gen. xxxvii :35).
(14) Eg3rpt. A widely extended famine in duced Jacob to send his sons down into Egypt, where he had heard there was corn, without know ing by whose instrumentality. The patriarch, however, retained his youngest son Benjamin, 'lest mischief should befall him,' as it had be fallen Joseph. The young men returned with the needed supplies of corn. They related, however, that they. had becn taken for spies, and that there was but one way in which they could disprove the charge, namely, by carrying down Benjamin to 'the lord of the land.' This Jacob vehemently refused: 'Me have ye bereaved; Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin; my son shall not go down with you; if mischief befall him, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave' (Gen. xlii:38). The pressure of the famine, however, at length forced Jacob to allow Benjamin to accompany his brothers on a second visit to Egypt ; whence in clue time they brought back to their father the pleasing intelligence. 'Joseph is yet alive. and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.' How naturally is the effect of this on Jacob told, 'and Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.'
When, however, they had gone into particulars, he added, 'Enough, Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and sec him before I die.' Encouraged 'in the visions of the night,' Jacob goes down fo Egypt. (B. C. about zoso.) 'And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while (Gen. xlii :46). And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive (Gen. xlvi:29). Joseph proceeded to con duct his father into the presence of the Egyptian monarch, when the man of God, with that self consciousness and dignity which religion gives, instead of offering slavish adulation, 'blessed Pharaoh.' Struck with the patriarch's venerable air, the king asked, 'How old art thou?' What composure and elevation is there in the reply, 'The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage ;' and Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went' out from be fore Pharaoh (Gen. xlvii :8-to).
Jacob, with his sons, now entered into posses sion of some of the best land of Egypt, where they carried on their pastoral occupations, and enjoyed a very large share of earthly prosperity. The aged patriarch, after being strangely tossed about on a very rough ocean, found af last a tranquil harbor, where all the best affections of his nature were gently exercised and largely un folded. After a lapse of time Joseph, being in formed that his father was sick, went to him, when 'Israel strengthened himself, and sat up in his bed.' He acquainted Joseph with the Divine promise of the land of Canaan which yet remained to be fulfilled, and took Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, in place of Reuben and Simeon, whom he had lost.
(15) Death. Then having convened his sons, the venerable patriarch pronounced on them also a blessing, which is full of the loftiest thought, expressed in the most poetical diction, and adorned by the most vividly descriptive and en gaging imagery, showing how deeply religious his character had become, how freshly it retained its fervor to the last, and how greatly it had in creased in strength, elevation and dignity:=And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unt'o his people' (Gen. xlix :33). (B. C. t846.) J. R. B.