over again. This repetition is firstly unavoidable because the principles themselves are few in number; next it is necessary as a process of hammering-in and fixing it in our minds; and lastly it is not a bare repetition, but there is a progressive expansion of the statement so as to conduct us step by step to a further comprehension of its meaning. Now this is done in a variety of ways, and one of frequent occurrence is through the use of Names. Sacred Nomenclature is as large a study as Sacred Numeration, and indeed the two so shade off into one another that they may be regarded as forming a single study, and I will therefore no more attempt in the present book to elucidate the one system than the other, for they require a volume to themselves; but this need not prevent us considering occasional instances of both, and the names of the Patriarchs are too important to be passed over without notice. The frequency with which God is called in Scripture the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob shows that something more must be referred to than the mere fact that the ancestors of the Jews worshipped Him, and the consideration of some of the prominent points in the history of these allegorical personages will throw a light on the subject which will be very helpful in our further investigation.

Jacob and Personal Struggle

If we realise the truth of St Paul's statement that