from him, he receives the covenant of circumcision, he is a warrior and goes forth to victorious battle, and the change of his name from Abram to Abraham is the substitution of a masculine for a neuter element. In Isaac's history the feminine element is equally predominant. His name is connected with the laughter of his mother (Genesis 18), and his marriage with Rebekah is the pivot round which all the events of his life centre; and again, his acquiescence in his own sacrifice marks the predominance of the passive element in his character. To him there comes no change of name; he is neither leader, warrior, nor spiritual wrestler, but the calm, contemplative man who "went out to meditate in the field at eventide"; he is typical of the purely receptive attitude of mind, and therefore the syllable "Is" is as indicative of his nature as the masculine syllable "Ra" is of his father's, or the neutral and purely mathematical conception indicated by the syllable "Yak" of his son's.

Biblical Interpretation

This affords a good instance of the way in which the deepest truths are often concealed in Bible names, and it should lead us to see that the value of the record does not turn on its literal accuracy at every point, but on its correct representation of the great principles to the knowledge of which it seeks to lead us.

It is of little moment at the present date how much of the book of Genesis is legendary and