At the close of the eleventh chapter of Genesis a change is made in the subject of the Bible story. Thus far it has been a history of the entire race; but from this point to the close of Genesis a single family is brought into prominent notice, and the rest of the tribes of men are referred to only incidentally. The family of Abraham, of Semitic origin, deserve all their prominence in sacred history, since through them the true religion was perpetuated until the world was ready for its wider dissemination in the gospel period.

I. THE JOURNEYS OF ABRAHAM.

These extend over nearly all the lands of the Old Testament, from Chaldea to Egypt. They represent the separation of a Semitic clan from the great body of the race, which was then ruled by an Elamite dynasty; and they bring to our notice the political relations of the world about two thousand years before Christ, in the early Chaldean period of the East.

1. From Ur to Haran. (Gen. 11:27-32.) The family of Abraham (then called Abram) lived at Ur of the Chaldees, probably Mugheir, south of the Euphrates, and an early seat of empire. Thence, at God's call, they migrated, moving up the Euphrates to Haran, in Mesopotamia, probably the Roman CarrhÆ, and the modern Haran, on the river Belik, 50 miles above its entrance into the Euphrates. Here the family remained until the death of Terah, Abraham's aged father, whose traditional tomb is still shown.

2. From Haran to Canaan. (Gen. 12:1-9.) A branch of the family, the descendants of Abraham's brother Nahor, settled in Haran; but Abraham and his nephew Lot moved on southward, past Damascus, to the land of Canaan. They paused first at Shechem, and afterward at Bethel, at each place building an altar; but after a time removed further southward, impelled by the dearth of food in the land.

3. The Visit to Egypt. (Gen. 12:10-20.) The famine caused a removal of the entire clan to Egypt, where the beauty of Sarah was the occasion of Abraham's deception, of Pharaoh's wrong, and of Abraham's expulsion from the land. He returned to his former abode at Bethel. (Gen. 13:3, 4.)

4. The Removal to Hebron. (Gen. 13:5-18.) This was occasioned by the scarcity of pasture for the immense flocks and herds of Abraham and Lot. The two chieftains made a division of the land, Lot choosing the Jordan Valley, north of the Dead Sea, near the city of Sodom, and Abraham the highlands around Hebron, anciently Kirjath-arba, now known by Abraham's title, el Khalil, "The Friend," i. e., of God.

5. Pursuit of the Elamites. (Gen. 14.) At that period the early Babylonian empire, under Amraphel or Hammurabi (see p. 91), was at the height of its power. Its king governed Elam, Chaldea, Assyria, Mesopotamia, and most of Palestine. Chedorlaomer, the head of the united peoples, led his armies against the aboriginal races east of the Jordan. (See Map of Palestine Before the Conquest, and description, on page 37.) After subduing them he passed around south of the Dead Sea, smote the Amorites in the mountains near Hazezon-tamar, afterward En-gedi, and poured his host down upon the Jordan Valley. The cities on the north of the Dead Sea, Sodom and Gomorrah, with their dependent villages, being unable to stay his progress, were ravaged, and their inhabitants (including Abraham's nephew Lot) carried away captive, up the valley. News of the invasion came to Abraham, and he instantly gathered his servants and allies, and pursued the marauders. He overtook them near Laish, afterward Dan, now Tell el Kady, attacked them by night, pursued them as far as Hobah, near Damascus, and brought back the booty and the prisoners. On the return took place the remarkable interview with Melchizedek, a priest-king over the city of Salem, perhaps the place afterward Jerusalem. After the return to Hebron the following events occurred: 1. The covenant of God with Abraham. (Gen. 15.) 2. The birth of Ishmael. (Gen. 16.) 3. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Gen. 18, 19.) These cities were probably located on the plain of Jordan, north of the Dead Sea, and not on the south, as formerly supposed; but all traces of them have entirely disappeared.

6. The Settlement at Beersheba. (Gen. 20-25.) After the destruction of the cities of the plain, Abraham moved southward, and made his home at Beersheba, on the desert border, now Bir es Seba. Here he spent most of his later years, as after various journeys we find him each time encamped at Beersheba.

7. The Offering of Isaac. (Gen. 22.) From Beersheba Abraham took his son Isaac, at God's command, to offer him as a burnt offering in "the land of Moriah." Some authorities accept the Samaritan tradition, that this place was Mount Gerizim; but we see no sufficient reason to dissent from the general view, that it was Mount Moriah, at Jerusalem, ten centuries afterward the site of the Temple. After this sublime token of his faith in God, the patriarch returned to his tent at Beersheba.

8. The Burial of Sarah. (Gen. 23.) We find Abraham again at Hebron, in his old age. Here Sarah died and was buried in the cave of Machpelah. This is undoubtedly covered by the Mohammedan mosque so sacredly guarded against the intrusion of travelers. The after events of Abraham's history may have taken place at Hebron or at Beersheba, as neither place is named as his residence at the time of Isaac's marriage or his own death. He was buried in the family sepulchre at Hebron, beside the body of Sarah.

II. THE JOURNEYS OF ISAAC.

The life of Isaac, though longer than the lives of Abraham and Jacob, was spent in a comparatively small range of territory, and with comparatively few events. We have not noted upon the map the lines of his journeyings; but the localities may be seen, as far as they are identified, upon the map of Palestine, on page 58.

The homes of Isaac were as follows: 1. Beer-lahai-roi, "Well of the Life of Vision," i. e., where life remained after seeing God; an unknown locality in the south of Canaan, between Bered and Kadesh. It was so named by Hagar, after meeting an angel, before the birth of Ishmael. (Gen. 16:13.) 2. Gerar. (Gen. 26:1.) This was the chief city of the Philistines in that age; and is now called Kirbet el Gerar. The wells dug by Isaac, and seized by the Philistines, were probably in the region near this city. 3. Rehoboth (Gen. 26:22) is probably at the Wady (Valley) er Ruhaibeh, south of Beersheba. 4. Beersheba. (Gen. 26:23-35.) Here he made a treaty of peace with the Philistine king, and remained for many years. It was his home during the strife of Jacob and Esau, and from this place Jacob departed on his long visit to Haran. (Gen. 28:10.) 5. Hebron. (Gen. 35:27.) Here, beside the tomb of his parents, Isaac at last met his son Jacob, and here he died and was buried, at the age of 180 years.

III. THE JOURNEYS OF JACOB.

The life of Jacob is related with more of detail than that of any other person in Old Testament history; yet there is great uncertainty concerning the division of its periods. His first sixty years were passed near Beersheba; then twenty years in Haran, and fifty years in Canaan (though some of the best chronologers allow forty years in Haran, and thirty years in Canaan); and seventeen years in Egypt. The principal places named in Jacob's journeys are: 1. Beersheba, now Bir es Seba, a well-known place in the south of Palestine. 2. Bethel, now Beitin, 10 miles north of Jerusalem. 3. Haran, now bearing the same name. (See under Abraham's life, Journey No. 1.) 4. Mizpah, called also Jegar-sahadutha, "the heap of witness," perhaps the important place afterward known as Ramoth-gilead, now es Salt, 13 miles south of the Jabbok. But this seems too far south to represent the event, and we are inclined to place it at some unknown mountain between the Jabbok and the Hieromax. 5. Mahanaim, probably at Mahneh, 10 miles north of the Jabbok. 6. Peniel, afterward Penuel, unknown, but somewhere on the brook Jabbok. 7. Succoth, "booths," recently identified as Tell Darala, a mile north of the Jabbok, in the Jordan Valley. 8. Shalem, "peace." If this refers to a place, it is Salim, 3 miles east of Shechem. But some read the sentence, "Jacob came in peace [i. e., in safety] to Shechem." (Gen. 33:18.) 9. Ephrath, the place of Rachel's death and burial, near Bethlehem.

The Journeys of Jacob may be arranged as follows:

1. The Flight to Haran. (Gen. 28:10-29:14.) Fearing the vengeance of Esau after the stolen blessing, Jacob hastily left his home at Beersheba, and journeyed northward to Haran. At Bethel he saw the vision of the heavenly ladder, and arrived safely at Haran, distant 450 miles from Beersheba. Here he remained either 20 or 40 years, according to different views, and married his two wives.

2. The Return to Canaan. (Gen. 31-33.) At Mizpah he made a treaty with Laban; at Mahanaim was comforted by a vision of angels; at Peniel wrestled with "the angel of God," and was reconciled to his brother Esau; and at Salim (if that be the name of a place), near Shechem, he rested in the Land of Promise.

3. The Residence in Canaan. (Gen. 34-45.) The slaughter of the Shechemites by Simeon and Levi, caused Jacob to move his increasing clan further south. At Bethel he renewed the covenant with God. (Gen. 35:1-15.) Near Ephrath, or Bethlehem, his beloved wife Rachel died and was buried. (Gen. 35:10-20.) At Hebron he met once more his aged father, and remained during most of his after-life in the land. (Gen. 35:27.) While Jacob was living at Hebron, Joseph was sold a slave to the Midianites, at Dothan, on the southern slopes of Mount Gilboa, and by them taken down to Egypt. (Gen. 37.)

4. The Descent into Egypt. (Gen. 45-50.) At the invitation of Joseph, then prince in Egypt, Jacob left Hebron to go down into Egypt. At Beersheba he offered sacrifices, and received divine guidance. His home was fixed in the Land of Goshen, a small but fertile district between the eastern channel of the Nile and the desert, the modern province of es Shurkiyeh, including the Wady Tumilat. Here the family of Jacob remained until they became "a great nation," a period variously estimated at from 200 to 400 years, or even longer.

5. The Burial Procession. (Gen. 50.) After the death of Jacob, his embalmed body was borne from Egypt to Hebron. The direct route was not taken, probably on account of the hostility of the Philistine and Amorite tribes; but the procession passed around the south of the Dead Sea, through the land of Moab, and crossed the Jordan at Abel-mizraim, near Jericho, a place afterward known as Beth-hoglah; and thence to Hebron, where the last of the three fathers of the chosen people was laid to rest in the ancestral sepulchre.

I. Journeys of Abraham. 1. Ur to Haran. 2. Haran to Canaan. (Shechem, Bethel.) 3. Visit to Egypt. (Return to Bethel.) 4. Removal to Hebron. 5. Pursuit of Elamites. (Dan, Hobah, Salem.) 6. Settlement at Beersheba. 7. Offering of Isaac. (Moriah.) 8. Burial of Sarah. (Hebron.)

II. Journeys of Isaac. 1. Beer-lahai-roi. 2. Gerar. 3. Rehoboth. 4. Beersheba. 5. Hebron.

III. Journeys of Jacob. 1. Flight to Haran. (Beersheba, Bethel, Haran.) 2. Return to Canaan. (Mizpah, Mahanaim, Peniel, Shechem.) 3. Residence in Canaan. (Bethel, Bethlehem, Hebron, Dothan.) 4. Descent into Egypt. (Beersheba, Goshen.) 5. Burial Procession. (Abel-mizraim, Hebron.)