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and favour, that they commonly be come much attached to their masters, and devoted to their interest. They do not till the fields, or work in manufactories. Their employment is almost wholly of a domestic nature, and their labour light. This is particularly the case with those who are purchased young and brought up in the family, and still more with those who, like Abraham's, are 'born in the house.' Few Europeans would do for their hired servants what the Asiatics do for their slaves, or repose such entire confidence in them. Illustrations on this subject will occur as we proceed. Meanwhile it is obvious, that as Abraham had among the slaves 'born in his own house,' 318 men fit to bear arms, exclusive of purchased slaves, old men, women, and children, he must have been regarded as a powerful chief by the petty princes among whom he dwelt. Hence, a few chap

in the doctrines and duties of religion. | of a degraded condition. Slaves are But as these foreign kings, in their in- generally treated with such kindness discriminate abduction of the inhabitants of the conquered cities, had carried away Lot who was dwelling peaceably as a sojourner among them, having had no concern in the war or its causes, Abraham deemed the occasion such as to justify him in fitting out an expedition for his recovery, at the same time relying more upon the aid of Providence than upon the skill or numbers of his followers. Born in his own house. Heb. 13 the in-born of his house; in opposition to those acquired by purchase or otherwise from abroad. The word translated servant generally denotes what we should call a slave. In subsequent passages we shall indeed have occasion to remark on humble friends or disciples performing servile offices and therefore called 'servants;' and also on the Jewish slaves whom their own countrymen held in bondage for a limited time, and under defined restrictions. But the mass of the servants mentioned in the Scripture his-ters on, ch. 23. 6, the children of Heth tory were absolute and perpetual slaves. say to him, 'My lord, thou are a mighty Pict. Bible. They were strangers, either purchased prince among us.'' or taken prisoners in war. They and Pursued them unto Dan. 'We learn their progeny were regarded as com- from Judges, 18. 7, that this place was pletely the property of their masters, called Laish until taken by the Danwho could exchange or sell them at ites, who gave it the name by which it pleasure, could inflict what punish- is here mentioned. As this event did ments they pleased, and even, in some not occur till long after the death of cases, put them to death. Abraham's Moses, who never mentions the old. 'servants' were manifestly of this de-name, that of Dan must have been inscription. This form of slavery is still common in the East; and the facts This and other interpolawhich the book of Genesis brings under our notice show how little Asiatic usa- tions of existing for ancient names are ges have altered after the lapse of al- supposed to have been made by Ezra, when he revised the Old Testament most four thousand years. The condition of slavery in Mohammedan Asia Scriptures. Being at the northern end is, however, unattended, except in very of Palestine, as Beersheba was at the rare instances, with the revolting cir- southern, 'from Dan to Beersheba' becumstances which we usually associ- came a proverbial expression to desigate with the word. The term 'slave' nate the entire length of the kingdom. itself is not regarded as one of oppro-It was situated near the sources of the brium, nor does it convey the idea Jordan; and if that river derived its

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terpolated by another hand, that the reference might be the more clearly understood.

15 And he divided himself 16 And he brought back 2 all against them, he and his servants the goods, and also brought again ty night, and smote them, and his brother Lot, and his goods, pursued them unto Hobah, which and the women also, and the is on the left hand of Damascus. | people.

y Is. 41. 2, 3.

name from the town, the name must also be interpolated in the books of Moses, in the place of some more ancient name not preserved. This is probable enough; but to avoid this conclusion, some writers prefer to derive the name of the river from the verb Jared, to descend,' on account of the full and rapid course of the stream. The town of Dan is commonly identified with the Paneas of heathen writers, the present Banias. This identity does not seem indisputable. We may, however, state that the name was derived from the worship of Pan, to which a cavern, described by Josephus, was here consecrated. The town was greatly enlarged and embellished by the Tetrarch, Herod Philip, who changed its name to Cæsarea, in honour of the Emperor Tiberins, to which the adjunct Philippi was added, to distinguish it from the Cæsarea on the coast. Its name was afterwards changed to Neronius, in compliment to Nero. Banias is situated in a pleasant and fertile neighbourhood, at the base of a mountain called Djebel Heish. It is now merely a village, containing at most 150 houses, chiefly occupied by Turks. The river of Banias rises to the northeast of the village, on approaching which it passes under a good bridge, near which there are some remains of the ancient town. No walls remain, but great quantities of stone and architectural fragments are strewed around. About three miles east by south from the village are the remains of a strong and extensive fortress, called the 'Castle of Banias,' situated on the summit of a nicuntain; and to the south of the

z ver. 11, 12.

village there is another ruined fortress of similar construction. Some travellers attribute these castles to the Arabian caliphs, and others to the crusades and consider that one of the two (they differ in saying which) probably occupies the site, and includes some of the materials of a temple which Herod the Great erected here in honour of Augustus.' Pict. Bible.

15. And he divided himself against them--by night. Heb. perhaps more correctly rendered, 'And he came upon them by stealth in the night, he and his servants.' The verb

signifies not only to part, to divide, to distribute, but also to be smooth, or soft; and in Hiphil to polish, to sooth, or flatter. And from this sense it may naturally take another, of doing any thing covertly or by stealth. Thus in Jer. 37. 12, it signifies to remove from a place by stealth, leniter et placide se subducere. Here it may mean that Abraham came upon them in the night by stealth and surprise, probably while they were asleep, as Josephus says he did, which accounts for his putting an army that must have been numerous, to flight with so small a force. not, however, to be supposed, that the 318 men of Abraham's own household made the whole of his force. Eshcol and Aner were with him, v. 24, and in their march through the country up to Dan, where they first came up with Chedorlaomer, they probably gathered additional numbers. Still the common interpretation of the word pn may be admitted, and on this presumption the Editor of the Pictorial Bible remarks, He probably divided his forces, so

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tioned proleptically; for we find it noticed in ch. 15. 2, as the birth-place of Abraham's steward Eliezer; and it must therefore have been one of the earliest cities in the world, and is one of the very few that have maintained a flourishing existence in all ages. It is situated in east long. 36° 25', and north lat. 33° 27', in the northwest of an extensive and remarkably level plain, which is open eastward beyond the reach of vision, but is bounded in every other direction by mountains, the nearest of which-those of Salehie, to the north west--are not quite two miles from the city. These hills give rise to the river Barrady, and to various rivulets, which afford the city a most liberal supply of water, and render its district one of the most pleasant and fertile of Western Asia (see Note on

that a simultaneous rush was made upon the camp of the enemy from different quarters. Here again the usages of Arabian warfare assist us. Surprise, by sudden attacks, is their favourite mode of warfare. Some tribes consider it cowardly and disgraceful to make a night attack on a camp. But this is not the general feeling. When such an attack is resolved upon, the assailants so arrange their march that they may fall upon the camp about an hour before the first dawn, when they are tolerably certain to find the whole camp asleep. With some tribes it is then the custom to rush upon the tents, and knock down the principal tent-poles, thus enveloping the sleepers in their tent-cloths, which renders the victory easy even over superior forces. What greatly facilitates the success of such attacks is the general neglect of post-2 Kings, 5. 12). The district, within a ing night-watches and sentinels, even circumference of from twenty to twenwhen in the vicinity of an enemy. If ty-five miles, is thickly covered with an immediate attack is apprehended, well-watered gardens and orchards, in all the males of an encampment, or all the midst of which stands the town itthe soldiers of an expedition, remain self. It thus appears as in a vast wood, watching their fires throughout the and its almost innumerable public buildnight. In the present transaction, we ings, including an extensive citadel and do not read of any men killed on either a vast number of mosques, with their side. Probably none were. It is as- domes and minarets, give it a fine aptonishing how little blood is shed by pearance as viewed from the neighbourthe Arabs in their most desperate ac- ing hills; but on approaching over the tions, which more resemble frays level plain, the plantations by which it among an unorganized rabble than a is environed shroud it entirely from battle between soldiers. We may hear view. Its finest building is a grand of a battle lasting a whole day without mosque, of the Corinthian order, said a man being killed on either side. to have been built as a cathedral church Burckhardt says: 'When fifteen or six- by the Emperor Heraclius. It was teen men are killed in a skirmish, the dedicated to St. John of Damascus, circumstance is remembered as an event and is still called the mosque of St. of great importance for many years by John the Baptist by the Turks, who both parties." Pict. Bible. -T On believe that in the latter days Jesus the left hand of Damascus. Chal. 'On shall descend thereon, and from its the north of Damascus ;' probably a summit require the adhesion of all his correct interpretation, as the Scriptures followers to the Moslem faith. The suppose the face to be directed to the city is surrounded by an old wall of east, where right and left are mention- sun-dried brick, strengthened with towed, if no other point of the compass beers; but this wall has fallen to decay, specified. "The city is not here men- I and the town has so greatly extended

beyond its limits, that the number of houses without the wall greatly exceeds that within. The houses in the city have flat roofs, while those in suburbs have domes. Damascus is said to contain 500 mansions entitled to be called palaces; and the general splendour of its houses is much extolled in the East. But little of this is visible in the streets, which in general present walls of mud or sun-dried brick, which fill the narrow streets with dust in dry weather, and render them perfect quagmires when it rains. The houses themselves are built with the same materials, although stone might be easily obtained from the adjoining mountains. The streets present scarcely any windows, and only low and mean-looking doors; but these often conduct to large interior courts paved with marble, refreshed by gushing fountains, and surrounded by apartments ornamented and furnished in the best and richest oriental taste. The thirsty Arabs from the Desert regard Damascus with rapture, and are never tired of expatiating on the freshness and verdure of its orchards, the variety and richness of its fruits, and, more than all, its numerous streams, and the clearness of its rills and fountains. There is a tradition, that Mohammed, coming to the city, viewed it with great admiration from the mountain Salehie, and then turned away, refusing to approach, with the remark, that there was but one Paradise designed for man, and he was determined that his should not be in this world; but there is no historical foundation for this story. Damascus is about six miles in circumference, and its population is estimated by Mr. Buckingham at 143,000; of whom 90,000 are native Syrian Arabs, 10,000 Turks, 15,000 Jews, and 25,000 Christians. But Dr. Richardson does not estimate the Christian population at more than 12,000. Damascus is the rendezvous of many thousand pilgrims who proceed to Mecca in one

great body every year, and many of whom make a considerable stay before the caravan departs, and most of whom unite commercial with religious objects, loading their beasts with the produce of their own countries, which they dispose of on the road, bringing back in the same manner the products of India, received from Jidda, the port of Mecca. This has contributed greatly to the prosperity of Damascus, which is also the emporium of an extensive caravan trade with the ports of the Mediterranean on the west, and with Bagdad on the east. Damascus has obtained fante for some of its manufactures. The fine temper of its sword-blades has long been proverbial. This reputation has, however, of late years much declined; but the Damascenes still excel in the art of inlaying metals with gold. The manufacture of the kind of silk called 'Damask,' originated here. It would seem from 1 Kings, 11. 23, 24, that Damascus first became in the time of David or Solomon the capital of an independent kin dom whi h afterwards, as the kingdom of Syria,' was engaged in frequent wars with the Jews. It was ultimately annexed to the empire of Assyria, and afterwards, with the rest of Western Asia, passed to the Greeks, then to the Romans, and at last to the Arabians, under whom Damascus became for a time the capital of the khalifat, when Moawiyah, its governor, assumed that office, in opposition to Ali. It underwent many changes during the disorders of the middle ages, and was finally conquered, along with all Syria, by the Sultan Selim. In the late war between the Porte and the Pasha of Egypt, Damascus was taken by the troops of the latter, under his son Ibrahim Pasha, and it still remains subject to his authority, having been ceded to him by the treaty of peace in 1833. The inhabitants of Damascus have the reputation of being the most haughty and intolerant people of Tur

17

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d

And the king of Sodom | ley of Shaveh, which is the went out to meet him (after king's dale. his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him,) at the val

a Judg. 11. 34. 1 Sam. 18. 6. b Heb. 7. 1.

key, but the measures of Mehemet Ali have already tended greatly to subdue or control their former spirit.' Pict. Bible.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of f the most high God.

c 2 Sam. 18. 18. d Heb. 7. 1. e Ps. 110. 4. Heb. 5. 6. Mic. 6. 9. Acts 16. 17. Ruth 3. 10. 2 Sam. 2. 5.

turn trom the slaughter of the kings, respecting whom the bare recital of the different opinions that have been entertained would fill a volume. The prevalent hypothesis among the Jews has ever been that he was no other than Shem, the son of Noah, who was undoubtedly still alive in the days of Abraham. Thus the Targum of Jonathan, 'But Melchizedek, he is Shem, the son of Noah, king of Jerusalem.' Thus too the Jerusalem Targum, 'But Melchizedek, king of Jerusalem, he is Shem, who was the great priest of the Most High.' But to this it is reason

17. The king of Sodom went out to meet him. This expedition of Abraham and his friends would naturally excite great attention among the Canaanites. At the very time when all must have been given up for lost, lo, they are, without any efforts of their own, recovered, and the spoilers spoiled! The little victorious band, now returning in peace, are hailed by every one that meets them. The kings of the different cities go forth to congrat-ably objected, (1.) That no sufficient ulate them, and to thank them as the deliverers of their country. If Abraham had been one of those marauders whom he defeated, he would have followed up his victory, and made himself master of the whole country; which he might probably have done with ease in their present enfeebled and scattered condition. But the principles by which he was governed as a servant of God prevented him from doing this.- -T The valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. A valley near Jerusalem, supposed to be to the north of the city, the direction which would naturally be taken to meet one returning from Damascus, where Absalom afterward erected a monumental pillar, 2 Sam. 18. 18. Gr. "This is the field of the kings.' Chal.' the valley-plain of refreshing for the king.' 18. Melchizedek. Heb. 5 i. e. king of righteousness. A much more illustrious personage than the king of Sodom is here said to have come forth to meet Abraham on his re

cause can be assigned why Moses, who has all along hitherto spoken of Shem under his own proper name, should here veil his identity under a different one. (2.) It is inconsistent with what we know of Shem that he should be said to be by the Apostle, Heb. 'without father and without mother,' since his genealogy is clearly given in the Scriptures, and the line of his progenitors can be at once traced up to its fountain-head in Adam. (3.) It is in the highest degree improbable that he should be a reigning king in the land of Canaan, which was in the possession of his brother's son; nor is it easy to perceive how Abraham could be said to 'sojourn there as in a strange country,' if his distinguished ancestor Shem were at that time a co-resident with him in the same country. (4.) On this theory the priesthood of Melchizedek, i. e. of Shem, would not be of a dif ferent order from Levi's; directly contrary to the assertion of the Apostle

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