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XIV.

MOTHER, Will you tell me some more about Jacob's blessing the tribes of Israel? You know some weeks ago we went over the history of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. These were very interesting, and I would like to learn about the others."

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Well, my son, I am ready. Get your Bible, and we will begin at once."

This was early on Sabbath morning. It was not time for church service, nor for the Sabbath school.

They were reading by an open window. It was the latter part of August, and the day was rather warm, but a breeze from the sea rendered it comfortable. Hester Street was a quiet place, and their Sabbaths, especially at this early hour, were almost as still as they used to be in Scotland. "Zebulun is next," cried Donald. "Shall I read to you what Jacob says about him?"

"If you please."

"Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon ;" and turning to Deut. xxxiii. 18, he read: “And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy goings out."

"I don't understand this," said Donald, "because in my map (turning to a map in his little Bible) Zebulun does not reach to the Mediterranean sea at all."

"I know that," said his mother, "but don't you remember reading in your Josephus the other day, that his possessions extended to the Mediterranean, probably by a narrow strip?"

"Yes, I do," said Donald.

"And it is curious that Jacob's words should thus be fulfilled," continued Mrs Fraser, "because the division of the land was by lot, and hence there could have been no arrangement made on Joshua's part to fulfil them. He seems, from these words of Jacob, to have been the commercial tribe. The words of Moses, too, agree with this Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out.' Like some of the other patriarchs, there is not a word said about his personal character as a man, and therefore we may infer, that he was a quiet

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unobtrusive person. He is mentioned before Issachar, though the latter was the older, probably because of his superiority.

"This tribe furnished one of the Judges, Elon (Judges xii. 11, 12), who judged Israel ten years. And in 1 Chron. xii. 33, they are called 'expert in war.'

"Their border on the north-east was for some distance on the Sea of Galilee, and no doubt they were expert fishermen. This is unquestionably what is meant by Moses, when he says of them, 'They shall suck of the abundance of the seas,' the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea,― 'and of the treasures hid in the sand.' What a beautiful description of the fisherman's life! "Will you read about Issachar in the next two verses?"

"Issachar is a strong ass crouching down between two burdens: and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and become a servant unto tribute."

"This would imply," said Mrs Fraser, "an agricultural people ;-one willing to work, to bear the burden and heat of the day; a peace-loving people, fond of the land in which they dwelt, and

willing to be put to some inconvenience rather than be disturbed in its possession. Though Zebulun and Issachar are often classed together, they were very different. The one dwelling in their tents or at home, the other 'going out' in commerce. But while they were so different, they were on that account the better adapted to each other; the one was a needed ally of the other. While the one tribe made the most of their fertile inheritance, the other stretched out his arms in both directions to bring riches from afar,—the riches of commerce and the wealth of the fisherman."

"But does it not also indicate a mean people by the words, a servant unto tribute?'"

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"No, I think not," said his mother, "the nations hardest to be driven into war are often the best fighters when once they begin. show their high character, we learn from 1 Chron. xii. 32, that the children of Issachar 'were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.' Josephus says of their heritage, that it was fruitful to admiration; abounding in pastures, and nurseries of all kinds, so that it would make any man in love with husbandry.' It seems to have been the granary of Palestine.

"Now, Donald, you may read what Jacob says of Dan."

Donald read: "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse-heels, so that his rider shall fall backward."

"How was Dan a judge, mother?"

"Well, in the first place, the name Dan means judge or judging; and, in the second, Samson was of this tribe, and he judged Israel twenty years."

"I do not think we hear much about Dan in the Bible," said Donald.

"No, we do not. It is rather remarkable that a tribe numbering at Sinai sixty-two thousand seven hundred, being in numbers next to Judah, should not have been more conspicuous, both in the wilderness and in the promised land."

"But the 17th verse, mother, compares Dan to a serpent and an adder. This is rather a hard character for the tribe, is it not?"

"No, I am not sure that anything mean or contemptible is meant. It seems rather to indicate secrecy in accomplishing his purposes, or his taking his enemies by surprise. But perhaps we

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