THE UNITY OF GENESIS. 



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author of Genesis himself wrote how the covenant was made 

 with Abraham. This is the confirmation of the selection of 

 Abraham, and perhaps the most solemn moment in his life. 

 It" Moses describes this covenant, lie certainly also describes 

 the occasion on which Lt was concluded. 



Iii chapter xxv we have an example of the author going out 

 of the chronological order. The chapter begins with these 

 words: "And Abraham took another wife and her name was 

 Keturah," and the text goes on giving the list of all Abraham's 

 sons whose mother was Keturah. This tablet gave Abraham's 

 posterity exclusive of Isaac s and [shmael's descendants. We 

 must picture to ourselves Abraham as one of those nomad 

 chieftains, what we should now call a sheikh. With those men 

 polygamy was the rule, as it still is. Ons of their wives was 

 the predominant one ; she had special rights, and her sons were 

 the heirs. But a powerful and rich man might, have slaves and 

 concubines, wives of a lower rank, whose children would receive 

 gifts like the children of Keturah, while to Isaac was given all 

 that Abraham had. 



We must not think, therefore, that Keturah became Abraham's 

 wife only after Sarah's death. She is mentioned at the begin- 

 ning of the tablet which relates the patriarch's end, and which 

 gives the list of his posterity and the distribution of his wealth. 

 We must remember that we have here not two chapters but 

 two tablets; they are not the continuation of each other. Here 

 the author recalls something in the past; the true meaning 

 would be better rendered if we translated: "Abraham had 

 taken another w T ife." 



I cannot quote all the instances in which the hand of Moses 

 is recognizable. I should like to mention one which shows what 

 I may call his spirit, his faith, and especially his familiar inter- 

 course with God. It is said of Moses that the Lord knew him 

 face to face (Deuteronomy xxxiv, 10), that He spoke mouth to 

 mouth to him (Numbers xii, 8). Is it not the same with 

 Abraham ? Certainly it is the same man who wrote the mar- 

 vellous sort of discussion between Abram and God about the 

 destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, when Abraham dared not 

 plead for more than ten men, and Moses' own prayer when on 

 the border of Canaan he besought the Lord, saying (Deuteronomy 

 iii, 25) : " Let me go over, I pray thee, and see the good land 

 that is beyond Jordan," and received the answer : " Let it suffice 

 thee, speak no more unto Me of this matter." Or is it more 

 likely that, while Abram's request is the work of the Jahvist 

 who wrote in the ninth century, the prayer of Moses is that 



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