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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XXXVII].</TITLE>
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"This site is for those friends and family members who may or may not know Our Lord Jesus Christ, and if not, they may come to know Our Lord through His Prophets."> <meta name="author" content="Brian Duncalfe">
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC01036.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC01038.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page212"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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At this chapter begins the story of Joseph, who, in every subsequent
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chapter but one to the end of this book, makes the greatest
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figure. He was Jacob's eldest son by his beloved wife Rachel,
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born, as many eminent men were, of a mother that had been
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long barren. His story is so remarkably divided between his
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humiliation and his exaltation that we cannot avoid seeing
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something of Christ in it, who was first humbled and then
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exalted, and, in many instances, so as to answer the type of
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Joseph. It also shows the lot of Christians, who must through
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many tribulations enter into the kingdom. In this chapter we
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have,
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I. The malice his brethren bore against him. They hated
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him,
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1. Because he informed his father of their wickedness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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2. Because his father loved him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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3. Because he
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dreamed of his dominion over them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:5-11">ver. 5-11</A>.
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II. The mischiefs
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his brethren designed and did to him.
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1. The kind visit
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he made them gave an opportunity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:12-17">ver. 12-17</A>.
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2. They designed
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to slay him, but determined to starve him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:18-24">ver. 18-24</A>.
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3. They changed their purpose, and sold him for a slave,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:25-28">ver. 25-28</A>.
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4. They made their father believe that he was torn in
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pieces,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:29-35">ver. 29-35</A>.
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5. He was sold into Egypt to Potiphar,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:36">ver. 36</A>.
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And all this was working together for good.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge37_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The History of Joseph.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1729.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And Jacob dwelt in the land
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wherein his father was a stranger,
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in the land of Canaan.
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2 These <I>are</I>
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the generations of Jacob. Joseph,
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<I>being</I> seventeen years old, was feeding
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the flock with his brethren; and the
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lad <I>was</I> with the sons of Bilhah, and
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with the sons of Zilpah, his father's
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wives: and Joseph brought unto his
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father their evil report.
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3 Now Israel
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loved Joseph more than all his children,
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because he <I>was</I> the son of his old
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age: and he made him a coat of <I>many</I>
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colours.
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4 And when his brethren saw
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that their father loved him more than
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all his brethren, they hated him, and
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could not speak peaceably unto him.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Moses has no more to say of the Edomites,
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unless as they happen to fall in Israel's way;
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but now applies himself closely to the story
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of Jacob's family: <I>These are the generations
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of Jacob.</I> His is not a bare barren genealogy
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as that of Esau
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+36:1"><I>ch.</I> xxxvi. 1</A>),
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but a memorable useful history. Here is,
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1. Jacob a
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sojourner with his father Isaac, who has yet
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living,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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We shall never be at home, till
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we come to heaven.
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2. Joseph, a shepherd,
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<I>feeding the flock with his brethren,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Though he was his father's darling, yet he
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was not brought up in idleness or delicacy.
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Those do not truly love their children that
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do not inure them to business, and labour,
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and mortification. The fondling of children
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is with good reason commonly called the spoiling
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of them. Those that are trained up
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to do nothing are likely to be good for nothing.
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3. Joseph beloved by his father
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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partly for his dear mother's sake that was
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dead, and partly for his own sake, because he
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was the greatest comfort of his old age; probably
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he waited on him, and was more observant
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of him than the rest of his sons; he
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was the <I>son of the ancient</I> so some; that is,
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when he was a child, he was as grave and
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discreet as if he had been an old man, a child,
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but not childish. Jacob proclaimed his affection
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to him by dressing him finer than the
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rest of his children: He <I>made him a coat of divers
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colours,</I> which probably was significant of
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further honors intended him. Note, Though
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those children are happy that have that in
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them which justly recommends them to their
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parents' particular love, yet it is the prudence
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of parents not to make a difference between
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one child and another, unless there be a great
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and manifest cause given for it by the children's
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dutifulness or undutifulness; paternal
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government must be impartial, and managed
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with a steady hand.
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4. Joseph hated by his
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brethren,
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(1.) Because his father loved him;
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when parents make a difference, children soon
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take notice of it, and it often occasions feuds
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and quarrels in families.
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(2.) Because he
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<I>brought to his father their evil report.</I> Jacob's
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sons did that, when they were from under
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his eye, which they durst not have done if
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they had been at home with him; but Joseph
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gave his father an account of their bad carriage,
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that he might reprove and restrain
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them; not as a malicious tale-bearer, to sow
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discord, but as a faithful brother, who, when
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he durst not admonish them himself, represented
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their faults to one that had authority
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to admonish them. Note,
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[1.] It is common
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for friendly monitors to be looked upon as
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enemies. Those that hate to be reformed hate
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those that would reform them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+9:8">Prov. ix. 8</A>.
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[2.] It is common for those that are beloved
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of God to be hated by the world; whom
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Heaven blesses, hell curses. To those to
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whom God speaks comfortably wicked men
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will not speak peaceably. It is said here of
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Joseph, <I>the lad was with the sons of Bilhah;</I>
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some read it, and he was <I>servant to them,</I>
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they made him their drudge.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge37_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_11"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 And Joseph dreamed a dream,
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and he told <I>it</I> his brethren: and they
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hated him yet the more.
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6 And he
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said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this
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dream which I have dreamed:
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7 For,
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behold, we <I>were</I> binding sheaves in
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the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and
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also stood upright; and, behold, your
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sheaves stood round about, and made
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obeisance to my sheaf.
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8 And his
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brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed
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reign over us? or shalt thou indeed
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have dominion over us? And
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they hated him yet the more for his
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dreams, and for his words.
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9 And he
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dreamed yet another dream, and told
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it his brethren, and said, Behold, I
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have dreamed a dream more; and, behold,
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the sun and the moon and the
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eleven stars made obeisance to me.
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10 And he told <I>it</I> to his father, and
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<A NAME="Page213"> </A>
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to his brethren: and his father rebuked
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him, and said unto him, What
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<I>is</I> this dream that thou hast dreamed?
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Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren
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indeed come to bow down ourselves
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to thee to the earth?
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11 And
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his brethren envied him; but his father
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observed the saying.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. Joseph relates the prophetical
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dreams he had,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:6,7,9,10"><I>v.</I> 6, 7, 9, 10</A>.
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Though he was now very young (about seventeen
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years old), yet he was pious and devout, and
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well-inclined, and this fitted him for God's
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gracious discoveries of himself to him. Joseph
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had a great deal of trouble before him,
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and therefore God gave him betimes this
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prospect of his advancement, to support and
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comfort him under the long and grievous
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troubles with which he was to be exercised.
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Thus Christ had a <I>joy set before him,</I> and so
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have Christians. Note, God has ways of
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preparing his people beforehand for the
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trials which they cannot foresee, but which
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he has an eye to in the comforts with which
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he furnishes them. His dreams were,
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1. That his brethren's sheaves all bowed to his,
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intimating upon what occasion they should
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be brought to do homage to him, namely, in
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seeking to him for corn; their empty sheaves
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should bow to his full one.
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2. That the sun,
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and moon, and eleven stars, did obeisance to
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him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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Joseph was more of a prophet
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than a politician, else he would have kept
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this to himself, when he could not but know
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that his brethren did already hate him and
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that this would but the more exasperate them.
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But, if he told it in his simplicity, yet God
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directed it for the mortification of his brethren.
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Observe, Joseph dreamed of his preferment,
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but he did not dream of his imprisonment.
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Thus many young people, when they are setting
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out in the world, think of nothing but prosperity
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and pleasure, and never dream of trouble.</P>
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<P>
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II. His brethren take it very ill, and are
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more and more enraged against him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>Shalt thou indeed reign over us?</I> See here,
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1. How truly they interpreted his dream,
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that he should reign over them. Those become
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the expositors of his dream who were
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enemies to the accomplishment of it, as in
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Gideon's story
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+7:13,14">Judg. vii. 13, 14</A>);
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they perceived
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that he spoke of them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+21:45">Matt. xxi. 45</A>.
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The event exactly answered to this interpretation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:6"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 6</A>,
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&c.
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2. How scornfully
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they resented it: "<I>Shalt thou,</I> who are but
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one, <I>reign over us,</I> who are many? Thou,
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who are the youngest, over us who are
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older?" Note, The reign and dominion of
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Jesus Christ, our Joseph, have been, and
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are, despised and striven against by a carnal
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and unbelieving world, who cannot endure
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to think that this man should reign over
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them. The dominion also of the upright, in
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the morning of the resurrection, is thought
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of with the utmost disdain.</P>
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<P>
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III. His father gives him a gentle rebuke
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for it, yet observes the saying,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
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Probably he checked him for it, to lessen the
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offence which his brethren would be apt to
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take at it; yet he took notice of it more than
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he seemed to do: he insinuated that it was
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but an idle dream, because his mother was
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brought in, who had been dead some time
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since; whereas <I>the sun, moon, and eleven
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stars,</I> signify no more than the whole family
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that should have a dependence upon him,
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and be glad to be beholden to him. Note,
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The faith of God's people in God's promises
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is often sorely shaken by their misunderstanding
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the promises and then suggesting
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the improbabilities that attend the performance;
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but God is doing his own work, and
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will do it, whether we understand him aright
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or no. Jacob, like Mary
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:51">Luke ii. 51</A>),
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kept
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these things in his heart, and no doubt remembered
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them long afterwards, when the
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event answered to the prediction.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge37_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_22"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>12 And his brethren went to feed
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their father's flock in Shechem.
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13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not
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||
|
thy brethren feed <I>the flock</I> in Shechem?
|
||
|
come, and I will send thee unto them.
|
||
|
And he said to him, Here <I>am I.</I>
|
||
|
14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee,
|
||
|
see whether it be well with thy brethren,
|
||
|
and well with the flocks; and
|
||
|
bring me word again. So he sent him
|
||
|
out of the vale of Hebron, and he
|
||
|
came to Shechem.
|
||
|
15 And a certain
|
||
|
man found him, and, behold, <I>he was</I>
|
||
|
wandering in the field: and the man
|
||
|
asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
|
||
|
16 And he said, I seek my brethren:
|
||
|
tell me, I pray thee, where they feed
|
||
|
<I>their flocks.</I>
|
||
|
17 And the man said,
|
||
|
They are departed hence; for I heard
|
||
|
them say, Let us go to Dothan. And
|
||
|
Joseph went after his brethren, and
|
||
|
found them in Dothan.
|
||
|
18 And when
|
||
|
they saw him afar off, even before he
|
||
|
came near unto them, they conspired
|
||
|
against him to slay him.
|
||
|
19 And they
|
||
|
said one to another, Behold, this
|
||
|
dreamer cometh.
|
||
|
20 Come now therefore,
|
||
|
and let us slay him, and cast him
|
||
|
into some pit, and we will say, Some
|
||
|
evil beast hath devoured him: and we
|
||
|
shall see what will become of his
|
||
|
dreams.
|
||
|
21 And Reuben heard <I>it,</I>
|
||
|
and he delivered him out of their
|
||
|
hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
|
||
|
22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed
|
||
|
no blood, <I>but</I> cast him into this pit
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Page214"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
that <I>is</I> in the wilderness, and lay no
|
||
|
hand upon him; that he might rid
|
||
|
him out of their hands, to deliver him
|
||
|
to his father again.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here is,
|
||
|
|
||
|
I. The kind visit which Joseph,
|
||
|
in obedience to his father's command, made
|
||
|
to his brethren, who were feeding the flock
|
||
|
at Shechem, many miles off. Some suggest
|
||
|
that they went thither on purpose, expecting
|
||
|
that Joseph would be sent to see them, and
|
||
|
that then they should have an opportunity
|
||
|
to do him a mischief. However, Joseph and
|
||
|
his father had both of them more of the innocence
|
||
|
of the dove than of the wisdom of
|
||
|
the serpent, else he had never come thus into
|
||
|
the hands of those that hated him: but God
|
||
|
designed it all for good. See in Joseph
|
||
|
an instance,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. Of dutifulness to his father.
|
||
|
Though he was his father's darling, yet he
|
||
|
was made, and was willing to be, his father's
|
||
|
servant. How readily does he wait his father's
|
||
|
orders! <I>Here I am,</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
||
|
Note, Those
|
||
|
children that are best beloved by their parents
|
||
|
should be most obedient to their parents; and
|
||
|
then their love is well-bestowed and well-returned.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. Of kindness to his brethren.
|
||
|
Though he knew they hated him and envied
|
||
|
him, yet he made no objections against his
|
||
|
father's commands, either from the distance
|
||
|
of the place or the danger of the journey, but
|
||
|
cheerfully embraced the opportunity of showing
|
||
|
his respect to his brethren. Note, It is
|
||
|
a very good lesson, though it is learnt with
|
||
|
difficulty and rarely practised, <I>to love those
|
||
|
that hate us;</I> if our relations do not their
|
||
|
duty to us, yet we must not be wanting in
|
||
|
our duty to them. This is thank-worthy.
|
||
|
Joseph was sent by his father to Shechem,
|
||
|
to see whether his brethren were well there,
|
||
|
and whether the country had not risen upon
|
||
|
them and destroyed them, in revenge of their
|
||
|
barbarous murder of the Shechemites some
|
||
|
years before. But Joseph, not finding them
|
||
|
there, went to Dothan, which showed that he
|
||
|
undertook this journey, not only in obedience
|
||
|
to his father (for then he might have returned
|
||
|
when he missed them at Shechem, having
|
||
|
done what his father told him), but out of
|
||
|
love to his brethren, and therefore he sought
|
||
|
diligently till he found them. Thus let
|
||
|
brotherly love continue, and let us give proofs
|
||
|
of it.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
II. The bloody and malicious plot of his
|
||
|
brethren against him, who rendered good for
|
||
|
evil, and, for his love, were his adversaries.
|
||
|
Observe,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. How deliberate they were in the
|
||
|
contrivance of this mischief: when they <I>saw
|
||
|
him afar off, they conspired against him,</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
||
|
It was not in a heat, or upon a sudden provocation,
|
||
|
that they thought to slay him, but
|
||
|
from malice prepense, and in cold blood.
|
||
|
Note, Whosoever hateth his brother is a
|
||
|
murderer; for he will be one if he have an
|
||
|
opportunity,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:15">1 John iii. 15</A>.
|
||
|
Malice is a
|
||
|
most mischievous thing, and is in danger of
|
||
|
making bloody work where it is harboured and
|
||
|
indulged. The more there is of a project and
|
||
|
contrivance in a sin the worse it is; it is bad
|
||
|
to do evil, but worse to devise it.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. How
|
||
|
cruel they were in their design; nothing less
|
||
|
than his blood would satisfy them: <I>Come,
|
||
|
and let us slay him,</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
||
|
Note, The old
|
||
|
enmity hunts for the precious life. It is
|
||
|
the <I>blood-thirsty</I> that <I>hate the upright</I>
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+29:10">Prov. xxix. 10</A>),
|
||
|
and it is the blood of the saints
|
||
|
that the harlot is drunk with.
|
||
|
|
||
|
3. How scornfully
|
||
|
they reproached him for his dreams
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
||
|
<I>This dreamer cometh;</I> and
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
||
|
<I>We shall see what will become of his dreams.</I>
|
||
|
This shows what it was that fretted and enraged
|
||
|
them. They could not endure to think
|
||
|
of doing homage to him; this was what they
|
||
|
were plotting to prevent by the murder of
|
||
|
him. Note, Men that fret and rage at God's
|
||
|
counsels are impiously aiming to defeat them;
|
||
|
but they imagine a vain thing,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-3">Ps. ii. 1-3</A>.
|
||
|
God's counsels will stand.
|
||
|
|
||
|
4. How they
|
||
|
agreed to keep one another's counsel, and to
|
||
|
cover the murder with a lie: <I>We will say,
|
||
|
Some evil beast hath devoured him;</I> whereas
|
||
|
in thus consulting to devour him they proved
|
||
|
themselves worse than the most evil beasts;
|
||
|
for evil beasts prey not on those of their own
|
||
|
kind, but they were tearing a piece of themselves.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
III. Reuben's project to deliver him,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
|
||
|
Note, God can raise up friends for his
|
||
|
people, even among their enemies; for he
|
||
|
has all hearts in his hands. Reuben, of all
|
||
|
the brothers, had most reason to be jealous
|
||
|
of Joseph, for he was the first-born, and so
|
||
|
entitled to those distinguishing favours which
|
||
|
Jacob was conferring on Joseph; yet he proves
|
||
|
his best friend. Reuben's temper seems to
|
||
|
have been soft and effeminate, which had betrayed
|
||
|
him to the sin of uncleanness; while
|
||
|
the temper of the next two brothers, Simeon
|
||
|
and Levi, was fierce, which betrayed them to
|
||
|
the sin of murder, a sin which Reuben startled
|
||
|
at the thought of. Note, Our natural constitution
|
||
|
should be guarded against those
|
||
|
sins to which it is most inclinable, and improved
|
||
|
(as Reuben's here) against those sins
|
||
|
to which it is most averse. Reuben made a
|
||
|
proposal which they thought would effectually
|
||
|
answer their intention of destroying Joseph,
|
||
|
and yet which he designed should
|
||
|
answer his intention of rescuing Joseph out
|
||
|
of their hands and restoring him to his father,
|
||
|
probably hoping thereby to recover his
|
||
|
father's favour, which he had lately lost; but
|
||
|
God overruled all to serve his own purpose
|
||
|
of making Joseph an instrument to save
|
||
|
much people alive. Joseph was here a type
|
||
|
of Christ. Though he was the beloved Son
|
||
|
of his Father, and hated by a wicked world,
|
||
|
yet the Father sent him out of his bosom to
|
||
|
visit us in great humility and love. He came
|
||
|
from heaven to earth, to seek and save us;
|
||
|
yet then malicious plots were laid against him.
|
||
|
He came to his own, and his own not only received
|
||
|
him not, but consulted against him: <I>This
|
||
|
is the heir, come let us kill him; Crucify him,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Page215"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
crucify him.</I> This he submitted to, in pursuance
|
||
|
of his design to redeem and save us.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_23"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_24"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_25"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_26"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_27"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_28"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_29"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_30"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 And it came to pass, when Joseph
|
||
|
was come unto his brethren, that
|
||
|
they stript Joseph out of his coat, <I>his</I>
|
||
|
coat of <I>many</I> colours that <I>was</I> on him;
|
||
|
24 And they took him, and cast him
|
||
|
into a pit: and the pit <I>was</I> empty,
|
||
|
<I>there was</I> no water in it.
|
||
|
25 And
|
||
|
they sat down to eat bread: and they
|
||
|
lifted up their eyes and looked, and,
|
||
|
behold, a company of Ishmeelites came
|
||
|
from Gilead with their camels bearing
|
||
|
spicery and balm and myrrh, going to
|
||
|
carry <I>it</I> down to Egypt.
|
||
|
26 And Judah
|
||
|
said unto his brethren, What
|
||
|
profit <I>is it</I> if we slay our brother, and
|
||
|
conceal his blood?
|
||
|
27 Come, and let
|
||
|
us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and
|
||
|
let not our hand be upon him; for he
|
||
|
<I>is</I> our brother <I>and</I> our flesh. And his
|
||
|
brethren were content.
|
||
|
28 Then there
|
||
|
passed by Midianites merchantmen;
|
||
|
and they drew and lifted up Joseph
|
||
|
out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the
|
||
|
Ishmeelites for twenty <I>pieces</I> of silver:
|
||
|
and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
|
||
|
29 And Reuben returned unto the
|
||
|
pit; and, behold, Joseph <I>was</I> not in
|
||
|
the pit; and he rent his clothes.
|
||
|
30 And he returned unto his brethren,
|
||
|
and said, The child <I>is</I> not; and I,
|
||
|
whither shall I go?
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
We have here the execution of their plot
|
||
|
against Joseph.
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. They stripped him, each
|
||
|
striving to seize the envied coat of many colours,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
||
|
Thus, in imagination, they degraded
|
||
|
him from the birthright, of which perhaps this
|
||
|
was the badge, grieving him, affronting their
|
||
|
father, and making themselves sport, while
|
||
|
they insulted over him. "Now, Joseph, where
|
||
|
is the fine coat?" Thus our Lord Jesus was
|
||
|
stripped of his seamless coat, and thus his
|
||
|
suffering saints have first been industriously
|
||
|
divested of their privileges and honours, and
|
||
|
then made the off-scouring of all things.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. They went about to starve him, throwing him
|
||
|
into a dry pit, to perish there with hunger
|
||
|
and cold, so cruel were their tender mercies,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:25"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
||
|
Note, Where envy reigns pity is
|
||
|
banished, and humanity itself is forgotten,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:4">Prov. xxvii. 4</A>.
|
||
|
So full of deadly poison is
|
||
|
malice that the more barbarous any thing is
|
||
|
the more grateful it is. Now Joseph begged
|
||
|
for his life, in <I>the anguish of his soul</I>
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:21"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 21</A>),
|
||
|
entreated, by all imaginable endearments,
|
||
|
that they would be content with his coat and
|
||
|
spare his life. He pleads innocence, relation,
|
||
|
affection, submission; he weeps and makes
|
||
|
supplication, but all in vain. Reuben alone
|
||
|
relents and intercedes for him,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:22"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 22</A>.
|
||
|
But he cannot prevail to save Joseph from
|
||
|
the horrible pit, in which they resolve he
|
||
|
shall die by degrees, and be buried alive. Is
|
||
|
this he to whom his brethren must do
|
||
|
homage? Note, God's providences often
|
||
|
seem to contradict his purposes, even when
|
||
|
they are serving them, and working at a
|
||
|
distance towards the accomplishment of
|
||
|
them.
|
||
|
|
||
|
3. They slighted him when he was
|
||
|
in distress, and were not grieved for the
|
||
|
affliction of Joseph; for when he was pining
|
||
|
away in the pit, bemoaning his own misery,
|
||
|
and with a languishing cry calling to them
|
||
|
for pity, <I>they sat down to eat bread,</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) They felt no remorse of conscience for
|
||
|
the sin; if they had, it would have spoiled
|
||
|
their appetite for their meat, and the relish
|
||
|
of it. Note, A great force put upon conscience
|
||
|
commonly stupefies it, and for the time deprives
|
||
|
it both of sense and speech. Daring
|
||
|
sinners are secure ones. But the consciences
|
||
|
of Joseph's brethren, though asleep now,
|
||
|
were roused long afterwards,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:21"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 21</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) They were now pleased to think how they
|
||
|
were freed from the fear of their brother's
|
||
|
dominion over them, and that, on the contrary,
|
||
|
they had turned the wheel upon him.
|
||
|
They made merry over him, as the persecutors
|
||
|
over the two witnesses that had tormented
|
||
|
them,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+11:10">Rev. xi. 10</A>.
|
||
|
Note, Those that
|
||
|
oppose God's counsels may possibly prevail
|
||
|
so far as to think they have gained their
|
||
|
point, and yet be deceived.
|
||
|
|
||
|
4. They sold
|
||
|
him. A caravan of merchants very opportunely
|
||
|
passed by (Providence so ordering it),
|
||
|
and Judah made the motion that they should
|
||
|
sell Joseph to them, to be carried far enough
|
||
|
off into Egypt, where, in all probability, he
|
||
|
would be lost, and never heard of more.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) Judah proposed it in compassion to Joseph
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>):
|
||
|
"<I>What profit is it if we slay our brother?</I>
|
||
|
it will be less guilt, and more gain, to
|
||
|
sell him." Note, When we are tempted to
|
||
|
sin, we should consider the unprofitableness
|
||
|
of it. It is what there is nothing to be got
|
||
|
by.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) They acquiesced in it, because
|
||
|
they thought that if he were sold for a slave
|
||
|
he would never be a lord, if sold into Egypt
|
||
|
he would never be their lord; yet all this was
|
||
|
working towards it. Note, The wrath of
|
||
|
man shall praise God, and the remainder of
|
||
|
wrath he will restrain,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:10">Ps. lxxvi. 10</A>.
|
||
|
Joseph's
|
||
|
brethren were wonderfully restrained from
|
||
|
murdering him, and their selling him was as
|
||
|
wonderfully turned to God's praise. As
|
||
|
Joseph was sold by the contrivance of Judah
|
||
|
for twenty pieces of silver, so was our Lord
|
||
|
Jesus for thirty, and by one of the same
|
||
|
name too, <I>Judas.</I> Reuben (it seems) had
|
||
|
gone away from his brethren, when they sold
|
||
|
Joseph, intending to come round some other
|
||
|
way to the pit, and to help Joseph out of it,
|
||
|
and return him safely to his father. This was
|
||
|
a kind project, but, if it had taken effect,
|
||
|
what had become of God's purpose concerning
|
||
|
his preferment in Egypt? Note, There
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Page216"> </A>
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|
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are many devices in man's heart, many devices
|
||
|
of the enemies of God's people to destroy
|
||
|
them and of their friends to help them,
|
||
|
which perhaps are both disappointed, as
|
||
|
these were; but the counsel of the Lord,
|
||
|
that shall stand. Reuben thought himself
|
||
|
undone, because the child was sold: <I>I, whither
|
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|
shall I go?</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
|
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|
He being the eldest,
|
||
|
his father would expect from him an account
|
||
|
of Joseph; but, as it proved, they would all
|
||
|
have been undone if he had not been sold.</P>
|
||
|
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|
<A NAME="Ge37_31"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_32"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_33"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge37_34"> </A>
|
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|
<A NAME="Ge37_35"> </A>
|
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<A NAME="Ge37_36"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>31 And they took Joseph's coat, and
|
||
|
killed a kid of the goats, and dipped
|
||
|
the coat in the blood;
|
||
|
32 And they
|
||
|
sent the coat of <I>many</I> colours, and they
|
||
|
brought <I>it</I> to their father; and said,
|
||
|
This have we found: know now whether
|
||
|
it <I>be</I> thy son's coat or no.
|
||
|
33 And he knew it, and said, <I>It is</I> my
|
||
|
son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured
|
||
|
him; Joseph is without doubt rent in
|
||
|
pieces.
|
||
|
34 And Jacob rent his clothes,
|
||
|
and put sackcloth upon his loins, and
|
||
|
mourned for his son many days.
|
||
|
35 And all his sons and all his daughters
|
||
|
rose up to comfort him; but he refused
|
||
|
to be comforted; and he said,
|
||
|
For I will go down into the grave
|
||
|
unto my son mourning. Thus his
|
||
|
father wept for him.
|
||
|
36 And the
|
||
|
Midianites sold him into Egypt unto
|
||
|
Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, <I>and</I>
|
||
|
captain of the guard.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
I. Joseph would soon be missed, great
|
||
|
enquiry would be made for him, and therefore
|
||
|
his brethren have a further design, to
|
||
|
make the world believe that Joseph was torn
|
||
|
in pieces by a wild beast; and this they did,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. To clear themselves, that they might not
|
||
|
be suspected to have done him any mischief.
|
||
|
Note, We have all learned of Adam to cover
|
||
|
our transgression,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:33">Job xxxi. 33</A>.
|
||
|
When the
|
||
|
devil has taught men to commit one sin, he
|
||
|
then teaches them to conceal it with another,
|
||
|
theft and murder with lying and perjury;
|
||
|
but he that covers his sin shall not prosper
|
||
|
long. Joseph's brethren kept their own and
|
||
|
one another's counsel for some time, but
|
||
|
their villany came to light at last, and it is
|
||
|
here published to the world, and the remembrance
|
||
|
of it transmitted to every age.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. To
|
||
|
grieve their good father. It seems designed
|
||
|
by them on purpose to be revenged upon him
|
||
|
for his distinguishing love of Joseph. It was
|
||
|
contrived on purpose to create the utmost
|
||
|
vexation to him. They sent him Joseph's
|
||
|
coat of many colours, with one colour more
|
||
|
than it had had, a bloody colour,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>.
|
||
|
They
|
||
|
pretended they had found it in the fields, and
|
||
|
Jacob himself must be scornfully asked, <I>Is
|
||
|
this thy son's coat?</I> Now the badge of his
|
||
|
honour is the discovery of his fate; and it is
|
||
|
rashly inferred from the bloody coat that
|
||
|
<I>Joseph, without doubt, is rent in pieces.</I> Love
|
||
|
is always apt to fear the worst concerning
|
||
|
the person beloved; there is a love that
|
||
|
casteth out fear, but that is a perfect love.
|
||
|
Now let those that know the heart of a parent
|
||
|
suppose the agonies of poor Jacob, and put
|
||
|
their souls into his soul's stead. How
|
||
|
strongly does he represent to himself the
|
||
|
direful idea of Joseph's misery! Sleeping or
|
||
|
waking, he imagines he sees the wild beast
|
||
|
setting upon Joseph, thinks he hears his
|
||
|
piteous shrieks when the lion roared against
|
||
|
him, makes himself tremble and grow chill,
|
||
|
many a time, when he fancies how the beast
|
||
|
sucked his blood, tore him limb from limb,
|
||
|
and left no remains of him, but the coat of
|
||
|
many colours, to carry the tidings. And no
|
||
|
doubt it added no little to the grief that he
|
||
|
had exposed him, by sending him, and sending
|
||
|
him all alone, on this dangerous journey,
|
||
|
which proved so fatal to him. This cuts him
|
||
|
to the heart, and he is ready to look upon
|
||
|
himself as an accessory to the death of his
|
||
|
son. Now,
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) Endeavours were used to
|
||
|
comfort him. His sons basely pretended to do
|
||
|
it
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>);
|
||
|
but miserable hypocritical comforters
|
||
|
were they all. Had they really desired
|
||
|
to comfort him, they might easily have done
|
||
|
it, by telling him the truth, "Joseph is alive,
|
||
|
he is indeed sold into Egypt, but it will be an
|
||
|
easy thing to send thither and ransom him."
|
||
|
This would have <I>loosened his sackcloth, and
|
||
|
girded him with gladness</I> presently. I wonder
|
||
|
their countenances did not betray their guilt,
|
||
|
and with what face they could pretend to
|
||
|
condole with Jacob on the death of Joseph,
|
||
|
when they knew he was alive. Note, The
|
||
|
heart is strangely hardened by the deceitfulness
|
||
|
of sin. But,
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) It was all in vain:
|
||
|
<I>Jacob refused to be comforted,</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>.
|
||
|
He was
|
||
|
an obstinate mourner, resolved to go down to
|
||
|
the grave mourning. It was not a sudden
|
||
|
transport of passion, like that of David,
|
||
|
<I>Would God I had died for thee, my son, my
|
||
|
son!</I> But, like Job, he hardened himself in
|
||
|
sorrow. Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
[1.] Great affection to any
|
||
|
creature does not prepare for so much the
|
||
|
greater affliction, when it is either removed
|
||
|
from us or embittered to us. Inordinate
|
||
|
love commonly ends in immoderate grief; as
|
||
|
much as the sway of the pendulum throws
|
||
|
one way, so much it will throw the other
|
||
|
way.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[2.] Those consult neither the comfort
|
||
|
of their souls nor the credit of their
|
||
|
religion that are determined in their sorrow
|
||
|
upon any occasion whatsoever. We must
|
||
|
never say, "We will go to our grave mourning,"
|
||
|
because we know not what joyful days
|
||
|
Providence may yet reserve for us, and it is
|
||
|
our wisdom and duty to accommodate ourselves
|
||
|
to Providence.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[3.] We often perplex
|
||
|
ourselves with imaginary troubles. We fancy
|
||
|
things worse than they are, and then afflict
|
||
|
ourselves more than we need. Sometimes
|
||
|
there needs no more to comfort us than to
|
||
|
undeceive us: it is good to hope the best.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Page217"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
II. The Ishmaelites and Midianites having
|
||
|
bought Joseph only to make their market
|
||
|
of him, here we have him sold again (with
|
||
|
gain enough to the merchants, no doubt) to
|
||
|
Potiphar,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:36"><I>v.</I> 36</A>.
|
||
|
Jacob was lamenting the
|
||
|
loss of his life; had he known all he would
|
||
|
have lamented, though not so passionately,
|
||
|
the loss of liberty. Shall Jacob's freeborn
|
||
|
son exchange the best robe of his family
|
||
|
for the livery of an Egyptian lord, and all the
|
||
|
marks of servitude? How soon was the land
|
||
|
of Egypt made a house of bondage to the
|
||
|
seed of Jacob! Note, It is the wisdom of
|
||
|
parents not to bring up their children too
|
||
|
delicately, because they know not to what
|
||
|
hardships and mortifications Providence may
|
||
|
reduce them before they die. Jacob little
|
||
|
thought that ever his beloved Joseph would
|
||
|
be thus bought and sold for a servant.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC01038.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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