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From the Creation to the Death of Isaac - Flavius Josephus

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ody, in arms, and all such sorts <strong>of</strong> work; and should obtain glory for ever on<br />

those accounts, he and his posterity after him; but still should serve his<br />

bro<strong>the</strong>r."<br />

8. Now <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r delivered Jacob, when she was afraid that his bro<strong>the</strong>r<br />

would inflict some punishment upon him because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mistake about <strong>the</strong><br />

prayers <strong>of</strong> <strong>Isaac</strong>; for she persuaded her husband <strong>to</strong> take a wife for Jacob out<br />

<strong>of</strong> Mesopotamia, <strong>of</strong> her own kindred, Esau having married already<br />

Basemmath, <strong>the</strong> daughter <strong>of</strong> Ismael, without his fa<strong>the</strong>r's consent; for <strong>Isaac</strong><br />

did not like <strong>the</strong> Canaanites, so that he disapproved <strong>of</strong> Esau's former<br />

marriages, which made him take Basemmath <strong>to</strong> wife, in order <strong>to</strong> please him;<br />

and indeed he had a great affection for her.<br />

Footnotes:<br />

1. The birth <strong>of</strong> Jacob and Esau is here said <strong>to</strong> be after Abraham's death: it<br />

should have been after Sarah's death. The order <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> narration in<br />

Genesis, not always exactly according <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> order <strong>of</strong> time, seems <strong>to</strong><br />

have led <strong>Josephus</strong> in<strong>to</strong> this error, as Dr. Bernard observes here.<br />

2. For Seir in <strong>Josephus</strong>, <strong>the</strong> coherence requires that we read Esau or Seir,<br />

which signify <strong>the</strong> same thing.<br />

3. The supper <strong>of</strong> savory meat, as we call it, Genesis 27:4, <strong>to</strong> be caught by<br />

hunting, was intended plainly for a festival or a sacrifice; and upon <strong>the</strong><br />

prayers that were frequent at sacrifices, <strong>Isaac</strong> expected, as was <strong>the</strong>n<br />

usual in such eminent cases, that a divine impulse would come upon<br />

him, in order <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> blessing <strong>of</strong> his son <strong>the</strong>re present, and his foretelling<br />

his future behavior and fortune. Whence it must be, that when <strong>Isaac</strong> had<br />

unwittingly blessed Jacob, and was afterwards made sensible <strong>of</strong> his<br />

mistake, yet did he not attempt <strong>to</strong> alter it, how earnestly soever his<br />

affection for Esau might incline him <strong>to</strong> wish it might be altered, because<br />

he knew that this blessing came not from himself, but from God, and<br />

that an alteration was out <strong>of</strong> his power. A second afflatus <strong>the</strong>n came<br />

60

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