city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

2. By whom was Abram accompanied ?

A. By Lot, son of Haran.

Q. Where did he first sojourn after leaving Ur?
A. At Haran, where Terah died.

Q. Whither did he then proceed?

A. To Palestine; then in the possession of the Canaanites.

A. M. 2082.

Q. How old was the patriarch at this

B. C. 1922. period?

A. Seventy-five years of age. *

Q. What circumstance induced him to take a journey into Egypt?

*The discrepance of the Hebrew, Septuagint, and Samaritan Chronology in the epocha between the Deluge and Calling of Abraham, will be seen by the following table, from STACKHOUSE'S History of the Bible, Vol. i. Book 2.

A. A severe famine, which afflicted Canaan.
Q. In what state was Egypt at this time?

A. It was consolidated under a regular government. Q. What befel him there?

A. His wife was taken from him and conducted to the harem of the king.

Q. How was she rescued thence ?

A. By the interposition of God, who inflicted plagues on Pharaoh's household.

Q. What became of Abram after this?

A. He returned with his wife and nephew to Canaan. Q. Did Lot continue with him?

A. No: their herdsmen quarrelled, and Abram, to prevent further strife, gave Lot his choice of the country for pasturage: Lot therefore chose the plain of Jordan, and pitched his tent near Sodom.

Q. What befel him there?

A. The king of Persia or Elam, with his allies, warring against the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela, defeated them, and captured Sodom and Gomorrah, which they plundered; and among other captives carried away Lot and all his sub

stance.

Q. Where was Abram at this time?

A. In the plain of Mamre.

Q. What did he do on hearing of Lot's misfortune?

A. He assembled his trained servants, and, with his confederates, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, pursued the enemy. Falling upon them, in the night, he defeated

them with great slaughter, and recovered all the captives and the spoil.*

Q. To whom did he give tithes on his return?

A. To Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God.†

Q. What remarkable vision had Abram after this? A. The Lord appeared to him, and promised him a son; and Abram believed God, and his faith was counted to him for righteousness.

Q. Why is this recorded?

A. Not for his sake alone-" but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."

Q. Was any other promise made to the patriarch? A. Yes; the land of Canaan was promised to his posterity.

Q. How was he assured of this?

A. By Divine command, he offered for sacrifice an heifer, a she-goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon; dividing all the animals, the birds excepted, in the midst. At the going down of the sun, the Lord said to Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed

• Abram's servants were three hundred and eighteen in number, and it is very probable each of the emirs, his allies, had as many; and these falling suddenly by night on a numerous army, might defeat them without much difficulty. Sur. prises of a similar kind have often happened in war. But after all, this victory must be ascribed to the providence of Abram's God.

+ This prince was an eminent type of the Lord Jesus Christ. See Heb. vii. 1-22. Psalm cx. 4.

shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace ; thou shalt be buried in a good old age: But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”—“ In that same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."*

Q. What did Abram see on the occasion ?

A. When it was dark, "behold a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, that passed between those pieces."† A. M. 2093. Q. What happened in his eighty-sixth B. C. 1911. year?

A. Sarah gave him Hagar her handmaid to wife.
Q. What was the consequence?

A. Hagar, despising her mistress, incurred her dis

* This promise was completed in the reign of Solomon.

In fæderal sacrifices, the animals being divided in the midst, Gen. xv. 10. Jerem. xxxiv. 18, 19. the contracting parties, by passing between the pieces, imprecated on themselves the fate of the victims if they proved false to the

covenant.

E

pleasure; and being unable to bear her severe treatment, she fled to the wilderness of Shur.

Q. What befel her there?

A. The Angel of the Lord appeared to her, and commanded her to return and submit herself to Sarah. He also told her that the child she should bear to Abram would be a wild man, whose hand would be against every man, and every man's hand against him; but that nevertheless he should dwell in the presence of all his brethren.*

A. M. 2094. Q. What was this child called?

B. C. 1910. A. Ishmael.

Q. Had Abram any other wives besides Sarah and Hagar?

A. Yes he had a wife called Keturah, by whom he had several children.

A. M. 2106.

Q. What happened in Abram's ninety

B. C. 1898. ninth year?

A. The Lord again appeared to him, and promised him a son by Sarah. On this occasion his name was changed to Abraham.

Q. Of what persons did his household consist at this time?

A. Of his wives, his steward, his hired servants, servants born in his house, and slaves bought with money.

The history of the Bedonin Arabs, to the present day, strikingly demonstrates the truth of this prophecy.-See Bp. NEWTON On the Prophecies, Dissert. II.