Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/128

 The Book of Genesis

110

Such a belief (|uently communicated his will lo mortals from there. was common among the Canaanites and also in ancient Israel; cf. the story in II Samuel, V, 24.

According to the ancient conception, an altar was indisV. 8 speaks of another altar which Abraham built between Bethel and Ai, and XIII, 18 tells of a third altar erected by Abraham in the grove of Mam re, where he finally took The Bible seems to imply that at every up his permanent abode. stage of his journey Abraham erected an altar unto God, in order to worship Him properly and to thank Him for His protection and P>om this the thought of the necessity of prayer and blessing. thanksgiving to God, may be developed by the teacher, and the opportunity seized to inquire what children recite at least night and morning prayers regularly, and to teach such prayers to those V.

7.

pensable for worship.

who may not recite them. V. 8. "To call upon the name of the Lord," i. e. "to worship God," cf. XIII, 4. The V. 9. "Toward the South", literally, "toward the Negeb". extreme southern portion of Palestine, which borders upon the desert, was known as the Negeb. It was in this district, in the vicinity of

children

Beer-sheba, usually of

that

the

Bible

both

Abraham and

Isaac

as

These verses tell that Abraham journeyed through the entire land Palestine, from north to south, impl} ing that thereby he estab-

lished his claim to possess

Vv.

it,

in

accordance with God's promise. versions of which

10-20 record an ancient tradition, parallel

are found in the

represents

sojourning.

Abraham

XX

and XX^I,

storv.

1-11.

It

is

not absolutely essential to