all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant." This confession-from a spirit contrite and humble—was graciously regarded. And a present of several large droves of cattle which Jacob sent was kindly received by his brother. And Jacob took his wives and children, and his flocks and herds, and passed with them over the ford Jabbok, and he sent them forward before him and Jacob was left alone; and whilst enduring the utmost anxiety, from the impending interview with Esau whom he had so highly offended, his faith and hope were confirmed by a very remarkable manifestation of the Divine presence. "And there wrestled a Man with him until the breaking of the day"-and Jacob said, "I will not let thee go until thou bless me:" And the mysterious stranger replied, "Thy name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel; for as a Prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." And Jacob called the name of that place Peniel; (i. e., the face of God;) for, said he, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." And after Jacob had been kindly received by Esau, he came to

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Shechem, and pitched his tent before the city, in a field which he bought of the sons of Hamor; and there he erected an altar unto the Lord, and called it El-Elohe-Israel; (i. e. God-the God of Israel.) And God said unto Jacob, "Arise go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make there an altar unto God that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of thy brother Esau." Jacob then took all his household, and proceeded on the way as the Lord had commanded him; and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them," and they did not hinder their journeying. And Jacob came to Luz, in the land of Canaan-the place where God had appeared unto him when he went to Padanaram, and Jacob built there an altar unto the Lord, and called the place El-Bethel, and there Jehovah renewed the promised blessing to Jacob, and to his seed. And after a time the patriarch removed his tent to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem, where Rachel his wife died and was buried. And Isaac soon afterwards died, and was buried by his sons Esau and Jacob in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham and Sarah, with Rebecca, had been entombed.

CHAP. XXII.-After a time of brotherly intercourse, during which Esau and Jacob witnessed the death of their aged father, and buried him in "the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan," they separated from each other, "for their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers was not able to bear them, because of their cattle." And Esau took his wives, and his children, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his substance, and journeyed to Mount Seir. The territory surrounding this district of Arabia was, as we read in Genesis xxxvi. inhabited by a tribe called "The sons of Seir the Horite:" they had been settled there long before the immigration of Esau: for we read in the early history of the Patriarch Abram of "the Horites in their Mount Seir." The country was called Edom, but the mountain and the territory surrounding it was denominated Seir, after the father of the race. His grandson Hori appears to have become the leader or chief amongst the tribe. We are told in Genesis xxxii. 3, that "Jacob sent

messengers before him to Esau his brother, unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom." Also in chap. xxxvi. that "the sons of Seir, the Horite, who inhabited the land," were, together with the sons of Esau, styled "Dukes of Edom." In Deut. ii. 12, we read that "The Horims dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead." There is good reason to believe that the Dukes of Edom, as well as some who were called Kings, were all petty princes, or rulers over limited portions of the territory. After the settlement of Esau and his tribe that district of Arabia became much extended. We may conclude, that the high ground which formed the most striking feature of the region was called Mount Horeb, from Hori, the grandson of Seir: Mount Sinai being identical with it, or one of its peaks, probably its highest point. This is proved throughout the sacred history: for, when Jehovah appeared to Moses in the burning bush, at "Horeb the mountain of God," He said unto Moses, "When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye

shall serve God on this mountain." In the nineteenth chapter of Exodus, we have a description of the awful display of Almighty Power, when the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai in fire, and when He gave forth His holy law. "Moses alone" was permitted to 66 come near the Lord". - the people being commanded to "worship afar off."-In the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy, the same solemn scene is spoken of, and the same events narrated, as occurring in Horeb. In several chapters of the last-named book allusions are made to the covenant made "in Horeb"-to Jehovah speaking to the people there in Kings and Chronicles to the tables of stone," which Moses put in the ark at Horeb." Psalm cvi. 19, says, the Israelites "made a calf in Horeb." Malachi exhorts the Jews to remember the law that was given to Moses in Horeb· with the statutes and Of the several peaks of the ridge of mountains, that intersected the desert country through which the Israelites journeyed, we have some interesting details. in the sacred history; and they prove that the maps of Arabia and Canaan, which are

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judgments."