Genesis 25:22 - Exposition

And the children struggled together within her . The verb is expressive of a violent internal commotion, as if the unborn children had been dashing against one another in her womb. Cf. the story of Acrisius and Praetus, who quarreled before birth about their subsequent dominion (Apollod; II . 2. 1). Vide Rosenmüller, Scholia, in loco . And she said, If it be so, why am I thus? Literally, If so , why thus (am) I ? Of obscure import, but probably meaning, "If so," i . e . flit is the case that I have conceived, "for what am I thus?" what is the reason of these unwonted sensations that accompany my pregnancy? Aben Ezra, Calvin, Lange, Murphy); rather than, "If such be the sufferings of pregnancy, why did I seek to conceive?" (Rashi, Rosenmüller), or, why have I conceived? (Vulgate, Onkelos, Bush, Ainsworth), or, why do I yet live? (Syriac, Keil, Kalisch, Delitzsch). And she went to inquire of the Lord . Not by Urim (Bohlen), since this method of inquiring at the Deity did not then exist ( Numbers 27:21 ); but either through a prophet,—Shem (Luther), Melchisedeck (Jewish interpreters), Heber (Lyra); more likely Abraham (Grotius, Ainsworth, Wordsworth, Kalisch, 'Speaker's Commentary'), or Isaac, the prophet nearest her (Lange),—or through herself by prayer, as in Psalms 34:5 (Calvin, Rosenmüller, Lange, Murphy, Inglis). The language seems to imply that by this time there was a regularly-appointed place for the worship of God by prayer and sacrifice—Theodoret suggests the family altar; Delitzsch, Hagar's well.