Gen 25:8, 17, 35:29, 44:33 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 8. Then Abraham gave up the ghost ] Highly as I value our translation for general accuracy, fidelity, and elegance, I must beg leave to dissent from this version. The original word yigva , from the root gava , signifies to pant for breath, to expire, to cease from breathing , or to breathe one's last ; and here, and wherever the original word is used, the simple term expired would be the proper expression. In our translation this expression occurs ; ; in all of which places the original is gava . It occurs also in our translation, , but there the original is naphecah naphshah , she breathed out her soul ; the verb gava not being used. Now as our English word ghost , from the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.] gast , an inmate, inhabitant , guest , (a casual visitant,) also a spirit , is now restricted among us to the latter meaning, always signifying the immortal spirit or soul of man, the guest of the body; and as giving up the spirit , ghost , or soul, is an act not proper to man, though commending it to God , in our last moments, is both an act of faith and piety; and as giving up the ghost , i.e., dismissing his spirit from his body, is attributed to Jesus Christ, to whom alone it is proper, I therefore object against its use in every other case . Every man since the fall has not only been liable to death, but has deserved it, as all have forfeited their lives because of sin. Jesus Christ, as born immaculate, and having never sinned, had not forfeited his life, and therefore may be considered as naturally and properly immortal. No man , says he, taketh it -my life, from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again: therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again , . Hence we rightly translate , αφηκετο πνευμα, he gave up the ghost ; i.e., he dismissed his spirit that he might die for the sin of the world . The Evangelist St. , makes use of an expression to the same import, which we translate in the same way, παρεδωκετοπνευμα, he delivered up his spirit . We translate , and , he gave up the ghost , but not correctly, because the word in both these places is very different, εξεπνευσε, he breathed his last , or expired , though in the latter place ( ) there is an equivalent expression, O Father, into thy hands παρατιθεμαιτο πνευμαμου, I commit my spirit , i.e., I place my soul in thy hand; proving that the act was his own , that no man could take his life away from him, that he did not die by the perfidy of his disciple, or the malice of the Jews, but by his own free act . Thus HE LAID DOWN his life for the sheep . Of Ananias and Sapphira, , and of Herod, , our translation says they gave up the ghost ; but the word in both places is εξεψυξε, which simply means to breathe out , to expire , or die ; but in no case, either by the Septuagint in the Old or any of the sacred writers in the New Testament , is αφηκετομνευμα or παρεδωκετοπνευμα, he dismissed his spirit or delivered up his spirit , spoken of any person but Christ. Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, &c., breathed their last ; Ananias, Sapphira, and Herod expired ; but none, Jesus Christ excepted, gave up the ghost , dismissed , or delivered up his own spirit , and was consequently free among the dead . Of the patriarchs, &c., the Septuagint uses the word εκλειπων, failing , or κατεπαυσε, he ceased or rested . An old man ] Viz., one hundred and seventy-five, the youngest of all the patriarchs; and full of years. The word years is not in the text; but as our translators saw that some word was necessary to fill up the text, they added this in italics . It is probable that the true word is yamim, days , as in ; and this reading is found in several of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., in the Samaritan text, Septuagint , Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, Persic , and Chaldee . On these authorities it might be safely admitted into the text. Being full of days , or full of years. -To be satiated with days or life, has been in use among different nations to express the termination of life, and especially life ended without reluctance . It seems to be a metaphor taken from a guest regaled by a plentiful banquet, and is thus used by the Roman poets. Lucretius, lib. iii., ver. 947, ridiculing those who were unreasonably attached to life, and grievously afflicted at the prospect of death, addresses them in the following manner:- ��Quid mortem congemis, ac fies? Nam si grata fuit tibi vita anteacta, priorque, Et non omnia pertusum congesta quasi in vas Commoda perfluxere, atque ingrata interiere: Cur non, ut PLENUS VITAE CONVIVA, RECEDIS? Fond mortal, what's the matter, thou dost sigh? Why all these fears because thou once must die? For if the race thou hast already run Was pleasant, if with joy thou saw'st the sun, If all thy pleasures did not pass thy mind As through a sieve, but left some sweets behind, Why dost thou not then, like a THANKFUL GUEST, Rise cheerfully from life's ABUNDANT FEAST? CREECH. Et nec opinanti mors ad caput astitit ante, Quam SATUR, ac PLENUS possis discedere rerum. Ib . ver. 972. And unexpected hasty death destroys, Before thy greedy mind is FULL of JOYS. Idem. Horace makes use of the same figure:- Inde fit, ut raro, qui se vixisse beatum Dicat, et exacto CONTENTUS tempore vitae Cedat, ut CONVIVA SATUR, reperire queamus. Sat . l. i. Sat . i. ver. 117. From hence how few, like SATED GUESTS, depart From life's FULL BANQUET with a cheerful heart? FRANCIS. The same image is expressed with strong ridicule in his last EPISTLE- Lusisti satis, edisti satis, atque bibisti; Tempus ABIRE tibi est. Epist. l. ii., ver. 216. Thou hast eaten, drunk, and play'd ENOUGH; then why So stark reluctant to leave off, and DIE? The poet Statius uses abire paratum PLENUM vita, "prepared to depart, being FULL of LIFE," in exactly the same sense:- ��Dubio quem non in turbine rerum Deprendet suprema dies; sed abire paratum, Ac PLENUM VITA. Sylv . l. ii., Villa Surrentina , ver. 128. The man whose mighty soul is not immersed in dubious whirl of secular concerns, His final hour ne'er takes him by surprise, But, FULL of LIFE, he stands PREPARED to DIE. It was the opinion of Aristotle that a man should depart from life as he should rise from a banquet . Thus Abraham died FULL of days , and SATISFIED with life , but in a widely different spirit from that recommended by the above writers-HE left life with a hope full of immortality , which they could never boast; for HE saw the day of Christ, and was glad ; and his hope was crowned, for here it is expressly said, He was gathered to his fathers ; surely not to the bodies of his sleeping ancestors, who were buried in Chaldea and not in Canaan, nor with his fathers in any sense, for he was deposited in the cave where his WIFE alone slept; but he was gathered to the spirits of just men made perfect , and to the Church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven ; .

‏ Genesis 25:8

Verse 8. Then Abraham gave up the ghost] Highly as I value our translation for general accuracy, fidelity, and elegance, I must beg leave to dissent from this version. The original word yigva, from the root gava, signifies to pant for breath, to expire, to cease from breathing, or to breathe one's last; and here, and wherever the original word is used, the simple term expired would be the proper expression. In our translation this expression occurs Ge 25:8,17; 35:29; 44:33; Job 3:11; 10:18; 11:20; 13:19; 14:10; La 1:19; in all of which places the original is gava. It occurs also in our translation, Jer 15:9, but there the original is naphecah naphshah, she breathed out her soul; the verb gava not being used. Now as our English word ghost, from the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.] gast, an inmate, inhabitant, guest, (a casual visitant,) also a spirit, is now restricted among us to the latter meaning, always signifying the immortal spirit or soul of man, the guest of the body; and as giving up the spirit, ghost, or soul, is an act not proper to man, though commending it to God, in our last moments, is both an act of faith and piety; and as giving up the ghost, i.e., dismissing his spirit from his body, is attributed to Jesus Christ, to whom alone it is proper, I therefore object against its use in every other case.

Every man since the fall has not only been liable to death, but has deserved it, as all have forfeited their lives because of sin. Jesus Christ, as born immaculate, and having never sinned, had not forfeited his life, and therefore may be considered as naturally and properly immortal. No man, says he, taketh it-my life, from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again: therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again, Joh 10:17,18. Hence we rightly translate Mt 27:50, αφηκετο πνευμα, he gave up the ghost; i.e., he dismissed his spirit that he might die for the sin of the world. The Evangelist St. Joh 19:30, makes use of an expression to the same import, which we translate in the same way, παρεδωκετοπνευμα, he delivered up his spirit. We translate Mr 15:37, and Lu 23:46, he gave up the ghost, but not correctly, because the word in both these places is very different, εξεπνευσε, he breathed his last, or expired, though in the latter place (Lu 23:46) there is an equivalent expression, O Father, into thy hands παρατιθεμαιτο πνευμαμου, I commit my spirit, i.e., I place my soul in thy hand; proving that the act was his own, that no man could take his life away from him, that he did not die by the perfidy of his disciple, or the malice of the Jews, but by his own free act. Thus HE LAID DOWN his life for the sheep. Of Ananias and Sapphira, Ac 5:5,10, and of Herod, Ac 12:23, our translation says they gave up the ghost; but the word in both places is εξεψυξε, which simply means to breathe out, to expire, or die; but in no case, either by the Septuagint in the Old or any of the sacred writers in the New Testament, is αφηκετομνευμα or παρεδωκετοπνευμα, he dismissed his spirit or delivered up his spirit, spoken of any person but Christ. Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, &c., breathed their last; Ananias, Sapphira, and Herod expired; but none, Jesus Christ excepted, gave up the ghost, dismissed, or delivered up his own spirit, and was consequently free among the dead. Of the patriarchs, &c., the Septuagint uses the word εκλειπων, failing, or κατεπαυσε, he ceased or rested.

An old man] Viz., one hundred and seventy-five, the youngest of all the patriarchs; and full of years. The word years is not in the text; but as our translators saw that some word was necessary to fill up the text, they added this in italics. It is probable that the true word is yamim, days, as in Ge 35:29; and this reading is found in several of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., in the Samaritan text, Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Chaldee. On these authorities it might be safely admitted into the text.

Being full of days, or full of years.-To be satiated with days or life, has been in use among different nations to express the termination of life, and especially life ended without reluctance. It seems to be a metaphor taken from a guest regaled by a plentiful banquet, and is thus used by the Roman poets.

Lucretius, lib. iii., ver. 947, ridiculing those who were unreasonably attached to life, and grievously afflicted at the prospect of death, addresses them in the following manner:-

��Quid mortem congemis, ac fies? Nam si grata fuit tibi vita anteacta, priorque, Et non omnia pertusum congesta quasi in vas Commoda perfluxere, atque ingrata interiere: Cur non, ut PLENUS VITAE CONVIVA, RECEDIS?

Fond mortal, what's the matter, thou dost sigh? Why all these fears because thou once must die? For if the race thou hast already run Was pleasant, if with joy thou saw'st the sun, If all thy pleasures did not pass thy mind As through a sieve, but left some sweets behind,

Why dost thou not then, like a THANKFUL GUEST, Rise cheerfully from life's ABUNDANT FEAST?

CREECH.

Et nec opinanti mors ad caput astitit ante, Quam SATUR, ac PLENUS possis discedere rerum.

Ib. ver. 972.

And unexpected hasty death destroys, Before thy greedy mind is FULL of JOYS. Idem.

Horace makes use of the same figure:-

Inde fit, ut raro, qui se vixisse beatum Dicat, et exacto CONTENTUS tempore vitae Cedat, ut CONVIVA SATUR, reperire queamus.

Sat. l. i. Sat. i. ver. 117.

From hence how few, like SATED GUESTS, depart From life's FULL BANQUET with a cheerful heart?

FRANCIS.

The same image is expressed with strong ridicule in his last EPISTLE-

Lusisti satis, edisti satis, atque bibisti; Tempus ABIRE tibi est. Epist. l. ii., ver. 216.

Thou hast eaten, drunk, and play'd ENOUGH;

then why So stark reluctant to leave off, and DIE?

The poet Statius uses abire paratum PLENUM vita, "prepared to depart, being FULL of LIFE," in exactly the same sense:-

��Dubio quem non in turbine rerum Deprendet suprema dies; sed abire paratum, Ac PLENUM VITA.

Sylv. l. ii., Villa Surrentina, ver. 128.

The man whose mighty soul is not immersed in dubious whirl of secular concerns, His final hour ne'er takes him by surprise, But, FULL of LIFE, he stands PREPARED to DIE.

It was the opinion of Aristotle that a man should depart from life as he should rise from a banquet. Thus Abraham died FULL of days, and SATISFIED with life, but in a widely different spirit from that recommended by the above writers-HE left life with a hope full of immortality, which they could never boast; for HE saw the day of Christ, and was glad; and his hope was crowned, for here it is expressly said, He was gathered to his fathers; surely not to the bodies of his sleeping ancestors, who were buried in Chaldea and not in Canaan, nor with his fathers in any sense, for he was deposited in the cave where his WIFE alone slept; but he was gathered to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to the Church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven; Heb 12:23.

‏ Genesis 25:17

‏ Genesis 35:29

Verse 29. Isaac gave up the ghost-and was gathered unto his people] See Clarke on Ge 25:8.

Esau and Jacob buried him.] See Ge 25:9. Esau, as we have seen chap. xxxiii., was thoroughly reconciled to his brother Jacob, and now they both join in fraternal and filial affection to do the last kind office to their amiable father. It is generally allowed that the death of Isaac is mentioned here out of its chronological order, as several of the transactions mentioned in the succeeding chapters, especially xxxvii. and xxxviii., must have happened during his life; but that the history of Joseph might not be disturbed, his death is anticipated in this place. It is supposed that he lived at least twelve years after Joseph was sold into Egypt.

THIS chapter contains several subjects which are well worthy of the reader's most serious attention.

1. That such a family as that of Jacob should have had false gods in it, is a matter not less astonishing than real: and suppose that we allow, as is very probable, that their images and rings were got from strangers, the Syrians and the Shechemites, yet their being tolerated in the family, though it is probable this was for a very short time, cannot be easily accounted for. It is true the LAW was not then given, and the unity of God not so particularly taught as it was afterwards. Besides, we have already seen that certain superstitions were compatible in those early times with general sincerity and attachment to the truth; those times and acts of ignorance were winked at, till superior light shone upon the world. Between many of the practices of Laban's family and those of the surrounding heathenish tribes, there might have been but little difference; and this was probably the reason why Dinah could so readily mix with the daughters of the land, Ge 34:1, which led to the fatal consequences already reviewed. Sin is like the letting out of water-when once a breach is made in the dyke, the stream becomes determined to a wrong course, and its progress is soon irresistible. Had not Jacob put away these strange gods, the whole family might have been infected with idolatry. This saying of one of the ancients is good, Vitia transmittit ad posteros, qui praesentibus culpis ignoscit.-SENECA. "He who is indulgent to present offences, transmits sin to posterity." The first motions of it should be firmly resisted; after struggles are too often fruitless.

2. The doctrine of a particular and especial providence has another proof in this chapter. After the sanguinary conduct of Jacob's sons, is it not surprising that the neighbouring tribes did not join together and extirpate the whole family? And so they certainly would, had not the terror of God fallen upon them, Ge 35:5. Jacob and the major part of his family were innocent of this great transgression; and on the preservation of their lives, the accomplishment of great events depended: therefore God watches over them, and shields them from the hands of their enemies.

3. The impatience and fate of the amiable Rachel, who can read of without deploring? Give me children, said she, or else I die, Ge 30:1. Her desire was granted, and her death was the consequence! God's way is ever best. We know not what we ask, nor what we ought to ask, and therefore often ask amiss when we petition for such secular things as belong to the dispensations of God's providence. For things of this kind we have no revealed directory; and when we ask for them, it should be with the deepest submission to the Divine will, as God alone knows what is best for us. With respect to the soul, every thing is clearly revealed, so that we may ask and receive, and have a fulness of joy; but as to our bodies, there is much reason to fear that the answer of our petitions would be, in numerous cases, our inevitable destruction. How many prayers does God in mercy shut out!

4. The transgression of Reuben, of whatsoever kind, was marked, not only by the displeasure of his father, but by that of God also; see Ge 49:4. It brought a curse upon him, and he forfeited thereby the right of primogeniture and the priesthood: the first was given to Judah, the second to Levi. Is it not in reference to this that our Lord addresses these solemn words to the angel of the Church of Philadelphia: Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that NO MAN TAKE THY CROWN? A man, by sowing a grain of forbidden sweets, may reap an abundant harvest of eternal wretchedness. Reader, let not sin rob thee of the kingdom of God.

5. Here we have the death of Isaac recorded: most that can be said of his character has been already anticipated, see chap. xxii., &c. He appears to have been generally pious, deeply submissive and obedient. He was rather an amiable and good, than a great and useful, man. If compared with his son Jacob, in the early part of their lives, he appears to great advantage, as possessing more sincerity and more personal piety. But if compared with his father Abraham, O, what a falling off is here! Abraham is the most perfect character under the Old Testament, and even under the New he has no parallel but St. Paul. Isaac, though falling far short of his father's excellences, will ever remain a pattern of piety and filial obedience.

‏ Genesis 25:8

‏ Genesis 25:17

‏ Genesis 35:29

‏ Genesis 44:33