came to the land of Goshen and Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father and presented himselfe unto him and he fell on his neck and wept and Israel said unto Joseph Now let me die since I have seene thy face And Joseph said unto his brethren and to his fathers house I will goe up unto Pharaoh and tell him my father and you are come hither and when Pharaoh shall aske you What is your occupation Ye shall say Thy servants trade hath beene about cattell that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen for every Shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians Then Joseph told Pharaoh of his fathers coming into Egypt and presented five of his brethren unto him and Pharaoh said unto his brethren What is your occupation and they said Thy servants are Shepherds both we and also our fathers and they said moreover The famine is great in Canaan now therefore we pray thee let thy servants dwel in the land of Goshen And Pharaoh spake to Joseph saying Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee in the land of Goshen let them dwell and if thou knowest any man of activity amongst them then make them rulers over my cattell And Joseph brought in Jacob his father and set him before Pharaoh and Jacob blessed Pharaoh and Pharaoh said unto Jacob How old art thou and Jacob said unto Pharaoh The yeares of my pilgrimage arâ— one hundred and thirty years few and evill have the dayes of the yeares of my life beene And Jacob went out from before Pharaoh and Joseph placed his father and his brethren in the best of the land as Pharaoh had commanded and Joseph nourished his father and his brethren and all his fathers houshold according to their families And Israel did grow and multiply exceedingly in Goshen and Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeene yeares so the whole age of Jacob was one hundred fourty and seven yeares and the time drew nigh that Israel must die and he called his sonne Joseph and said unto him If now I have found grace in thy sight put I pray thee thy hand under my thigh and deale kindly and truly with me Bury me not I pray thee in Egypt But I will lye with my fathers and thou shalt cary me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place and he said I will doe as thou hast said and he said Sweare unto me and he sware unto him and Israel bowed himselfe upon the beds head And Jacob being sick Joseph brought his two sonnes Manasseh and Ephraim with him and Jacob was told of their coming and he strengthened himselfe and fate upon the bed Israel after he had blessed Joseph called for his two sonnes to blesse them Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age so that he could not see and Joseph brought them neare unto him and he kissed them and imbraced them and Israel said unto Joseph I had not thought to see thy face and loe God hath shewed me also thy seed and Joseph brought them out from between his knees and he bowed himselfe with his face to the earth and Joseph tooke them both Ephraim in his right hand towards Israels left hand and Manasseth in his left hand towards Israels right hand and brought them neare unto him and Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraims head who was the younger and his left hand upon Manassehs head guiding his hands wittingly and he blessed Joseph and said God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walke the God which fed me all my life long unto this day the Angel which redeemed me from all evill blesse the lads and let my name be named on them and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim it displeased him and he held up his fathers hand to remove it from Ephraims head unto Manassâ—hs head and Joseph said unto his father Not so my father for this is the first borne put thy right hand upon his head and his father refused and said I know it my sonne I know it he also shall become a people and he also shall be great but truly his younger brother shall be greater then he and his seede shall become a multitude of Nations and he blessed them that day saying in thee shall Israel blesse saying God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh and Israel said unto Joseph Behold I die But God shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren which I tooke out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bowe And Jacob called all his sonnes and said gather your selves together that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last dayes gather your selves together and heare ye sons of Jacob and hearken unto Israel your father and he blessed them and he charged them and said I am to be gathered unto my people bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittit in the land of Canaan which Abraham bought for a possession of a burying place there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife there they buried Isaac and Rebeckah his wife and there I buried Leah and when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sonnes he gathered his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people And Joseph fell upon his fathers face and wept upon him and kissed him And Joseph commanded his servants the Physicians to embalme Israel and fourty dayes were fulfilled for him for so are fulfilled the dayes of those which are embalmed and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and tenne daies and when the dayes of mourning were past Pharaoh said unto Joseph Goe up and bury thy father as he made thee sweare and Joseph went up to bury his father and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh the elders of his house and all the elders of the land of Egypt and all the house of Joseph and his brethren and his fathers house onely their little ones they left in the land of Goshen and there went up with him both Charets and Horsemen and it was a very great company and they came to the threshing floore of Arad which is beyond Jordan and there they mourned with a great and sore lamentation and he made a mourning for his father seven dayes and his sons did unto him according as he commanded them and carried him into the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave as he appointed And Joseph returned into Egypt he and his brethren and all that went up with him and when Josephs brethren saw their father was dead they said Peradventure Joseph will hate us and will certainly
and he shall be a great Nation and that Sarah shall beare Isaac the next yeare Then Abraham tooke Ishmael his son with all the men-children that were borne in his house 15. and that were bought with money and circumcised them the selfe-same day God had commanded him himselfe being ninety nine years old when hee was circumcised and Ishmael thirteen Now againe the Lord appeared unto Abraham in the Plain of Mamre about the heat of the day as he sate at his Tent doore and looking loe three men stood by him whom he ran to meet bowing himselfe to the ground saying Lord if I have found favour in thy sight goe not I pray thee from thy servant but wash your feet under this tree and I will bring you some bread to comfort your hearts and after you may goe and they answered doe as thou hast said Then Abraham made hast unto Sarah and bade her make some cakes upon the Hearth as likewise hee made his servant kill a Calfe aâ—d so with some butter and milke hee set before them standing himselfe by under the tree whiles they did eate Then they asked for Sarah his Wife whom hee said was in the Tent and he said I will certainly come again unto thee according to the time of life for Sarah shall have a sonne Sarah heard this being at the Tent door and laughed within her selfe because she and Abraham being olde And the Lord said wherefore doth Sarah thus laugh shall any thing bee too hard for the Lord to doe at the time appointed will I returne unto thee even according to the time of life and Sarah shal have a sonne then Sarah was affraid So the men did rise and went towards Sodome but Abraham stood yet before the Lord and knowing of the Lords anger he pleaded for that City desiring the Righteous might not be destroyed with the wicked and desired that if fifty righteous were therein it might not be destroyed for said hee unto the Lord shall not the Judge of the world doe right but Abraham's suite continued from fifty to five and forty so from forty to thirty and so to twenty and at last to ten which not being in that City the Lord went from Abraham and Abraham returned to his place After this Abraham went toward the South and sojourned at Gerar and once more said Sarah was his sister and Abimilech the King sent for her whom God before he toucht her in a dream threatned death unto him for taking another man's Wife so with many circumstances in the feare of God very religiously hee delivered her backe to Abraham blaming him for saying she was his Sister the which he excused by saying hee thought them to have been a wicked people and was affraid of his life pretending she was his sister having both one father but not of one mother Then Abimilech gave them great store of Cattell treasure reproving of Sarah for her dissembling he gave them leave to live in his Countrey where they pleased and by the prayer of Abraham Abimilech was heal'd of his Infirmity with his Wife and women-servants who before were barren and now brought forth children before they being accused for Sarah's cause After this according to Gods promise in due season Sarah conceived and bare Isaac whom Abraham circumcised at 8. dayes old and Sarah rejoyced in the Lord and wondred at his mercies And when he was weaned they made a great feast but Sarah seeing Ishmael mocking she said unto Abraham cast out this bond-woman and her sonne for hee shall not be heire with my sonne Isaac at which Abraham was troubled but the Lord comâ—orted him by telling him the comfort he should have by Isaac so in the morning early hee sent away Hagar and Ishmael who went to the Wildernesse of Beersheba and God was mercifull to them in their journey After this there was great friendship between Abraham and Abimilech and all differences being reconciled Abraham giving him Beeves and sheep After this Abraham planted a Grove in Beersheba and called there upon the name of the Lord the everlasting God Then the Lord to prove Abraham's faith said unto him take now thine only son Isaac whom thou lovest and goe to the Land of Moreah and there offer him a burnt-offering upon one of the mountaines I shall shew thee so Abraham went early away with Isaac his sonne two servants his Asses with cloven wood for the sacrifice and the third day spying the place he commanded his servants to stay behind himselfe and Isaac going on to the mountaine to worship Isaac carrying the wood himselfe the knife and the fire Then said Isaac Father here is the fire and the wood but where is the Lamb for the burnt-offring then his father answered that God would provide it and comming to the place Abraham built there an altar and couched the wood on it and bound Isaac his son and laid him like-wise on the Altar upon the wood and Abraham stretched out his hand and tooke the knife to kill his sonne but an Angell from Heaven called unto him saying Abraham Abâ—aham who answered here am I then he said lay not thy hand upon the child nor doe any thing unto him for now I know thou fearest God seeing for my sake thou hast not spared thine onely sonne Then Abraham lifting up his eyes behold there was a Ramme behind him caught by the hornes in a bush the which hee tooke and offered him a burnt-offering in stead of his so and he called the place Jehovah Jireth as it is said this day in the Mount will the Lord be seene and upon this by an Angell from heaven the secoÌ„d time a great blessing was promised unto Abraham and his seede and that in them should all the Nations of the Earth be blessed Then turned Abraham againe to his servants and so went to Beersheba where he dwelt Now after this when Sarah was one hundred twenty and seven yeares old she dyed at Kiriartharba in the Land of Canaaâ— and Abraham mourned for her but hee arising from the sight of the Corps talked with the Hittites about a place for the burying of Sarah hee being there a Stranger and they proffered him to bury her in the chiefest of their Sepulchres but with much respect he desired them to speak for him unto Ephron to give him a Cave called Maeh Pelah at the end of a field for so much money it was worth for a burying place Then Ephroa in the hearing of all the people said No my Lord the field I give thee and the cave that is therein even in the presence of the fons of my people Then Abraham bowed himself before the people saying Seeing thou wilt give it meâ— I will give thee the price of the field and so hee gave him 400. filver sheckles for it after which Abraham buryed Sarah in that cave it being against Mamre the same is Hebron in Canaan Now Abraham being growne old tooke
care for a Wife for his sonne Isaac hee then calling for his Steward making him put his hand under his thigh and causing him to sweare by the Lord God of Heaven and Earth that his sonne should not take a Canaanitish woman to Wife but to goe into his owne Countrey and Kindred and there to take a Wife for him Then said his servant what if the Woman will not come with me into this Land shall I bring back thy sonne To whom Abraham answered beware that thou bring not back my sonne thither againe The Lord God of Heaven who tooke me from my fathers house even from the Land where I was born that spake and sware unto me saying unto thy seed will I give this Land he shal send his Angell before thee and thou shalt take a Wife unto my sonne from thence Neverthelesse if the Woman will not follow thee then shalt thou be discharged of thy oath only bring not my son thither againe and the servant swore unto Abraham so he tooke tenne of his Masters Camels who went his journey obtained Rebecka to be his wife as in the story of Isaac is more at large exprest Now after the death of Sarah Abraham took another Wife called Keturah which bare him divers children and Ahraham gave all his goods unto Isaac but unto the sonnes of his Concubines he gave them gifts and sent them away from Isaac his son this he did in his life-time And Abraham being one hundred seventy and five years old hee yeelded up his Spirit dying in a good age and was gathered to his people and his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the Cave with Sarah in the field Ephron PRAYERS upon the History of ABRAHAM GIve mee obedience O Lord to follow the steps of my Governors and to bee guided by my Parents as Abraham was by Terah his Father who brought him to Haran So likewise let mee be obedient to thy blessed Inspirations which may bring me to the heavenly Canaan And as Abraham carried with him in his journey his wife Lot his Brother with his servants and substance grant that all my nearest affections my flesh blood may cheerfully goe along with mee in this my pilgrimage to my â—eavenly happinesse with the servants substanâ—e of piety and good workes to attend me And in this progresse in Moreh and in the middle of the worldly Canaan let thy blessed grace appeare unto mee and grant that I may build an Altar of thanksgiving in my heart unto thee and call upon thy Name Preserve me in the famine necessity and miseries of this world as thou diddest Abraham But above all worldly helps keepe me from the famine of thy favour and grace that in thee my soule may be safe from the spirituall danger of faith and a good conscience By thy good guidance remove me from danger as Abraham was by his going into Aegypt Let not the feare and jealousie of worldly respects make mee to dissemble before thee O Lord who knows 't the secrets of my heart as Abraham did by his Wife for his earthly safety and deliver mee from such bad intions of fleshly desires as was in Pharaoh King of Aegypt by detaining of Sarah lest I partake of such punishments as befell unto him And for such offences against thee as wrongs and bad intentions done to any man or woman grant thaâ— I may not continue in them but timely to repent and by leaving such sinnes give satisfaction for wrongs done as Pharoah did to Abraham at his departure And still to praise thee for thy mercies O Lord as Abraham did at his return to Bethel Give unto me the like charitable love as was between Abraham Lot in their parting yea in the middle of such worldly fortunes as they had that most dangerous rocke of ambition pride and Emulation and let mee not bee too much in love with the pleasant Plains of this worldly Jordan of earthly and vaine delight with Lot in his choise for then shal I not be so neare the like dangerâ— as he was at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Good Lord give unto me continuall comforts and assurances unto my soule by thy mercies unto mee in the hope of that blessed eternity as thou diddest give unto Abraham his seede for their blessing in the earthly Canaan and in this Plain of Mamre the Hebron of this world still let me praise thee for all thy mercies with this father of the faithful Give unto me O my helper a helping hand unto my distressed Brethren and friends of this world as Abraham did to Lot in his captivity With such blessings and comforts as was given to Abraham by that King and Priest Melchisadech and not only to be humbly thankefull unto thee for the same but to pay that tithe of duty and obedience due unto thy Ministers as he did In the sadnesse of my dejected spirit and coldnesse of devotion towards thee be thou my strength and comfort as thou wast to Abraham in thy promise to his seede so shall not this my earthly Steward of vain and worldly suggestions possesse annoy and supplant my good thoughts intentions and hopes in thee but still I may be made happy by thy heavenly mercies In the barrennesse of my soule as it was in Sarah her body in such fruitfulnesse as was with Hagar let me not despair with the one nor presume with the other lest I be cast out of thy mercies but in my cries send mee thy good Inspirations to make me returne timely and humbly with Hagar and with leasure to receive thy promised blessing with Sarah So by the humiliation of Hagar and the hope of Sarah I shall by thy mercie with Abraham enjoy the Ishmael of worldly comfort here the Isaac of everlasting happinesse hereafter Grant O Lord that I may be courteous and charitable to all men as Abraham was to the three who came to his Tent doore with the like agility and alacrity to do good works as he did for their provision that aâ— hee in stead of men received Angelâ— so by thy promised mercie to wel doers shall I receive with Abraham thy comfort here and thy heavenly reward hereafter where the Angels waite at the doors of heaven to receive the righteous Take from me O Lord all distrusts of thy promises with Sarah's second doubt and with her wonder at thy mercies for by this faith and confidence in thee I shall by thy goodnesse and in good time with this hope and wel-doing enjoy the happinesse in heaven as she did after in earth in thy promise of Isaac O Lord keep me from the unrighteousnesse which was in Sodome lost by mine unworthinesse the mediations and prayers of the faithfull do not prevail for me before the Throne of mercy lest that for my sins I partake of their punishment from thy seate of justice O Lord how miserable and wretched are we even the best of us without thy continuall
and provender enough room to lodge in and the man bowed himselfe and worshipped the Lord saying blessed be the Lord God of my Master Abraham which hath not with-drawne his mercie and his truth from him for when I was in the way the Lord hath brought mee to my masters brothers house She then hearing this ran straight home and told her brother Laban therof who came presently to the man and said unto him come in thou blessed of the Lord wherefore standest thou without seeing I have prepared the roome for thy selfe and thy Camels so he unsadled the Camels giving them litter and provender Then hee and the men that came with him washed their feet and meat was set before him but he would not eate untill he had delivered his message Then hee related how hee was servant to Abraham and how God had blessed him exceedingly in goods money servants and how he had a sonne by Sarah in her old age to whom his Master had given all his estate with all such Circumstances as Abraham had commanded him as aforesaid with such passages as was between Rebecka and him at the Well and how he then gave her the Abiloments and Bracelets Then hee said further unto them if you will deale mercifully and truly with my Master tell me if not tell me that I may turn me to the right hand or to the left Then answered Laban ct Bethuel that this thing is provided of the Lord wee cannot therefore say unto thee neither evill or good Behold she is before thee take her and goe that she may be thy Masters sons wife as the Lord hath said Then hee bowed himself towards the earth unto the Lord and gave unto Rebecka jewels of gold and Raiments as likewise gifts unto her Mother and her Brother and then did eate tarrying there all night Now in the morning when he was ready to depart they desired Rebecka might stay only ten days with them but he said in regard God had prospered his journey hee desired forth-with to goe to his Master Then they desired to know Rebecka's minde and have her consent whose answer was she would goe and so when they had blessed her they let her goe and her Nurse likewise So this servant with Rebecka and her maid-servants tooke their journey riding upon the Camels Now Isaac being walking abroad in the fields to pray in the evening and looking about him see these Camels comming toward him and so soon as Rebecka see him she lighted from her Camell and asking the servant who it was that was comming toward them he said it was his Master so she tooke a vaile and covered her selfe Then the servant telling him what he had Isaac took her to his Mother Sarah's Tent and she was his Wife whom he loved After this Abraham dying Isaac and Ishmael buryed him with Sarah his wife after whose death Isaac dwelt in Beerlahai Roy and Ishmael dying at the age of one hundred thirty and seven years was gathered unto his people Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebecka who continued for a while barren but hee prayed to the Lord who heard him and she conceived and at the time of birth being with child of two they did strive in her womb and she prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto her two Nations are in thy wombe and two manner of people shall bee divided out of thy bowels one people shal be mightier then the other and the elder shall serve the younger So at the time of the delivery the first that came out was red and all over rough him they called Esau and after came the other whose hand held Esau by the heele who was called Jacob and then was Isaac threescore years old Now these two growing into yeares Esau became a cunning Hunter and lived in the fields but Jacob was a plaine man and lived in Tents And Isaac loved Esau for Venison was his meate but Rebecka loved Jacob. Now Esau comming one day very hungry weary out of the fields Jacob had made some pottage of which Esau desired to eate for which Jacob desired Esau's birth-right who answered loe I am almost dead what is then this birth-right to mee so hee sware unto Jacob to give it him and contemning of it hee sold it then gave Jacob unto him some bread and Lentill Pottage and so went away And alter it came to pass that there was a Famine in the land and by the appointment of God Isaac he went to Gerar and there the Lord appeared unto him confirming his promise to Abraham his Father and to the seede of Isaac And being at Gerar Rebecka being very beautifull the men thereabouts did much look after her insomuch as Isaac being affraid he said she was his sister And it came to passe one day Isaac being sporting with her Abimilech King of the Philistines looking out of a window did espy it and called to Isaac said to him surely she is thy Wife and why dost thou say she is thy Sister to whom hee answered that he was affraid of his life Then said the King why hast thou done this If any one of my people had lyen with her thou shouldst have brought sin upon us Then Abimilech charged all his people saying he that toucheth this man or his Wife shall dye the death After this Isaac living in this Land and sowing Corne the encrease was a hundred fold and his Cattell did encrease exceedingly So having a mighty houshold and growing so great the Philistines did envy him insomuch as they filled up the wels which were digged in his Father Abraham's time And being grown so rich and potent Abimilech bade him be gone saying Thou art mightier then wee a great deal Therefore Isaac departed and pitched his Tent in the valley at Gerar and there dwelt and opened the Wells again that the Philistines had stopped calling them by the names that Abraham his Father had given them and his servants digging in the valley found there a Well of living water for which there was strife betweene them and the Herdmen of Gerer they saying it was theirs After this they digged another Well and there was strife for that likewise After this they digged another for which there was no strife So from thence hee went to Beersheba where the Lord appeared unto him the same night and confirmed unto him the blessings and promise to Abraham his Father and his seede and there he built an Altar calling upon the name of the Lord. Then came unto him Abimilech with his friend and a Captaine of his Army to whom Isaac said why come ye to me seeing you put mee out from you who answered him wee saw the Lord was with thee and we used thee kindly and sent thee away in peace and therefore let there be now a Covenant betweene us and let it be done the blessed of the Lord doe this Then hee feasted them and they arose betimes in the