Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/398

of Israel (¹⁹).—19a. Comp. the language with 16¹¹, and observe that the naming of the child is assigned to the father.—20. (Hebrew characters)] a remote allusion to the popular explanation of (Hebrew characters), 'May God hear' (cf. 16¹¹ 21¹⁷). Ishmael is to be endowed for Abraham's sake with every kind of blessing, except the religious privileges of the covenant.—twelve princes] (cf. 25¹⁶) as contrasted with the 'kings' of ^{6. 16}.—22. The close of the theophany.—(Hebrew characters)—(Hebrew characters) as 35¹³.

23-27. Circumcision of Abraham's household.—23. on that very day (cf. 7¹³)] repeated in v.²⁶. Throughout the section, P excels himself in pedantic and redundant circumstantiality of narration. The circumcision of Ishmael, however, is inconsistent with the theory that the rite is a sign of the covenant, from which Ishmael is excluded (Ho. Gu.).—25. thirteen years old] This was the age of circumcision among the ancient Arabs, according to Jos. Ant. i. 214. Origen (Eus. Præp. Ev. vi. 11:^[1] cf. We. Heid.² 175³); and Ambrose (de Abrah. ii. 348) give a similar age (14 years) for the Egyptians. It is possible that the notice here is based on a knowledge of this custom. Among the modern Arabs there is no fixed rule, the age varying from three to fifteen years: see Di. 264; Dri. in DB, ii. 504^b.

Circumcision is a widely diffused rite of primitive religion, of whose introduction among the Hebrews there is no authentic tradition. One account (Ex. 4^24f.) suggests a Midianite origin, another (Jos. 5^2ff.) an Egyptian: the mention of flint knives in both these passages is a proof of the extreme antiquity of the custom (the Stone Age).^[2] The anthro-

19. (Hebrew characters)] 'Nay, but,'—a rare asseverative (42²¹, 2 Sa. 14⁵, 2 Ki. 4¹⁴, 1 Ki. 1⁴³) and adversative (Dn. 10^{7. 21}, Ezr. 10¹³, 2 Ch. 1⁴ 19³ 33¹⁷) particle. See the interesting note in Burney, Notes on Kings, p. 11; and cf. König, ii. 265.—(Hebrew characters)] G (Greek characters) appears to imply a preceding clause (Greek characters), which is found in many cursives. This is probably the correct reading.—20. (Hebrew characters)] G (Greek characters).—24. (Hebrew characters)] [E] (Hebrew characters).—(Hebrew characters)] The Niph. is here either refl. or pass.; in ²⁵ it is pass.—26 (Hebrew characters)] irreg. pf. Niph.; G-K. § 72 ee. S takes it as act. ([root] (Hebrew characters)?) with Ishmael as obj.; and so G in v.²⁷ ((Greek characters)).

1. Ed. Heinichen, p. 310 f.
2. In a tomb of the Old Empire at Sakkara there are wall-pictures of the operation, where the surgeon uses a flint knife: see G. Elliot Smith in British Medical Journal, 1908, 732 (quoted by Matthes); and the illustration in Texte u. Bilder, ii. p. 126.