ulations and
temptations, to which he was there exposed.-The ancient Rabbins
understood this literally, affirming that Abram was cast into the fire
by the idolaters, and brought out by a miracle without any hurt.

9:8. And thou didst find his heart faithful before thee: and thou madest
a covenant with him, to give him the land of the Chanaanite, of the
Hethite, and of the Amorrhite, and of the Pherezite, and of the
Jebusite, and of the Gergezite, to give it to his seed: and thou hast
fulfilled thy words, because thou art just.

9:9. And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt: and thou
didst hear their cry by the Red Sea.

9:10. And thou shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharao, and upon all his
servants, and upon the people of his land: for thou knewest that they
dealt proudly against them: and thou madest thyself a name, as it is at
this day.

9:11. And thou didst divide the sea before them, and they passed through
the midst of the sea on dry land: but their persecutors thou threwest
into the depth, as a stone into mighty waters.

9:12. And in a pillar of a cloud thou wast their leader by day, and in a
pillar of fire by night, that they might see the way by which they went.

9:13. Thou camest down also to mount Sinai, and didst speak with them
from heaven, and thou gavest them right judgments, and the law of truth,
ceremonies, and good precepts.

9:14. Thou madest known to them thy holy sabbath, and didst prescribe to
them commandments, and ceremonies, and the law by the hand of Moses thy
servant.

9:15. And thou gavest them bread from heaven in their hunger, and
broughtest forth water for them out of the rock in their thirst, and
thou saidst to them that they should go in, and possess the land, upon
which thou hadst lifted up thy hand to give it them.

9:16. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks
and hearkened not to thy commandments.

9:17. And they would not hear, and they remembered not thy wonders which
thou hadst done for them. And they hardened their necks, and gave the
head to return to their bondage, as it were by contention. But thou, a
forgiving God, gracious, and merciful, longsuffering, and full of
compassion, didst not forsake them.

And gave the head... That is, they set their head, or were bent to
return to Egypt.

9:18. Yea when they had made also to themselves a molten calf, and had
said: This is thy God, that brought thee out of Egypt: and had commit