Genesis
From the 1599 Geneva Bible Notes
Ge 1:1
1:1 In the {a} beginning God
created the heaven and the earth.
The Argument - Moses in
effect declares three things, which are in this book chiefly to be considered:
First, that the world and all things in it were created by God, and to praise
his Name for the infinite graces, with which he had endued him, fell willingly
from God through disobedience, who yet for his own mercies sake restored him
to life, and confirmed him in the same by his promise of Christ to come, by
whom he should overcome Satan, death and hell. Secondly, that the wicked,
unmindful of God's most excellent benefits, remained still in their
wickedness, and so falling most horribly from sin to sin, provoked God (who by
his preachers called them continually to repentance) at length to destroy the
whole world. Thirdly, he assures us by the examples of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
and the rest of the patriarchs, that his mercies never fail those whom he
chooses to be his Church, and to profess his Name in earth, but in all their
afflictions and persecutions he assists them, sends comfort, and delivers
them, so that the beginning, increase, preservation and success of it might be
attributed to God only. Moses shows by the examples of Cain, Ishmael, Esau and
others, who were noble in man's judgment, that this Church depends not on the
estimation and nobility of the world: and also by the fewness of those, who
have at all times worshipped him purely according to his word that it stands
not in the multitude, but in the poor and despised, in the small flock and
little number, that man in his wisdom might be confounded, and the name of God
praised forever.
(a) First of all, and
before any creature was, God made heaven and earth out of nothing.
Ge 1:2
1:2 And the earth was {b}
without form, and void; and {c} darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And
the Spirit of God {d} moved upon the face of the waters.
(b) As an unformed lump and
without any creature in it: for the waters covered everything.
(c) Darkness covered the deep waters, for the waters covered everything.
(d) He maintained this disordered mass by his secret power.
Ge 1:3
1:3 And God said, Let there
be light: and there was {e} light.
(e) The light was made
before either Sun or Moon was created: therefore we must not attribute that
to the creatures that are God's instruments, which only belong to God.
Ge 1:7
1:7 And God made the
firmament, and divided the waters which [were] {f} under the firmament from
the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so.
(f) As the sea and rivers,
from those waters that are in the clouds, which are upheld by God's power,
least they should overwhelm the world.
Ge 1:8
1:8 And God called the
firmament {g} Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
(g) That is, the region of
the air, and all that is above us.
Ge 1:11
1:11 And God said, {h} Let
the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, [and] the fruit tree
yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed [is] in itself, upon the earth: and
it was so.
(h) So that we see it is
the only the power of God's word that makes the earth fruitful, which
naturally is barren.
Ge 1:12
1:12 And the earth brought
forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding
fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God {i} saw that [it
was] good.
(i) This sentence is often
repeated, to signify that God made all his creatures to serve for his glory
and for the profit of man: but because of sin they were cursed, yet the
elect, by Christ are restored, and serve to their wealth.
Ge 1:14
1:14 And God said, Let there
be {k} lights in the firmament of the heaven to {l} divide the day from the
night; and let them be for {m} signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
years:
(k) By the lights be means
the sun, the moon, and the stars.
(l) Which is the artificial day, from the sun rising, to the going down.
(m) Of things belonging to natural and political orders and seasons.
Ge 1:16
1:16 And God made two great
{n} lights; the greater light to {o} rule the day, and the lesser light to
rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
(n) That is, the sun and
the moon, and here he speaks as man judges by his eye: for else the moon is
less than the planet Saturn.
(o) To give it sufficient light, as instruments appointed for the same, to
serve man's purposes.
Ge 1:20
1:20 And God said, Let the
waters bring forth abundantly the {p} moving creature that hath life, and fowl
[that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
(p) As fish and worms which
slide, swim or creep.
Ge 1:21
1:21 And God created great
whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the {q} waters brought
forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and
God saw that [it was] good.
(q) The fish and fowls had
both one beginning, in which we see that nature gives place to God's will,
in that the one sort is made to fly about in the air, and the other to swim
beneath in the water.
Ge 1:22
1:22 And God {r} blessed
them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and
let fowl multiply in the earth.
(r) That is, by the virtue
of his word he gave power to his creatures to reproduce.
Ge 1:26
1:26 And God said, {s} Let us
make man in our {t} image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and
over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth.
(s) God commanded the water
and the earth to bring forth other creatures: but of man he says, "Let us
make..." signifying that God takes counsel with his wisdom and virtue
purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.
(t) This image and likeness of God in man is expounded in Eph 4:24 where it
is written that man was created after God in righteousness and true holiness
meaning by these two words, all perfection, as wisdom, truth, innocency,
power, etc.
Ge 1:28
1:28 And God {u} blessed
them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Ge 1:29
1:29 And God said, Behold, I
have given you {x} every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all
the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding
seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Ge 2:1
2:1 Thus the heavens and the
earth were finished, and all the {a} host of them.
(a) That is, the
innumerable abundance of creatures in heaven and earth.
Ge 2:2
2:2 And on the seventh day
God ended his work which he had made; and he {b} rested on the seventh day
from all his work which he had made.
(b) For he had now finished
his creation, but his providence still watches over his creatures and
governs them.
Ge 2:3
2:3 And God blessed the
seventh day, and {c} sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all
his work which God created and made.
(c) Appointed it to be kept
holy, that man might in it consider the excellency of his works and God's
goodness toward him.
Ge 2:5
2:5 And every plant of the
field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew:
for the LORD God had not caused it to {d} rain upon the earth, and [there was]
not a man to till the ground.
(d) God only opens the
heavens and shuts them, he sends drought and rain according to his good
pleasure.
Ge 2:7
2:7 And the LORD God formed
man {e} [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living soul.
(e) He shows what man's
body was created from, to the intent that man should not glory in the
excellency of his own nature.
Ge 2:8
2:8 And the LORD God planted
a garden eastward in {f} Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
(f) This was the name of a
place, as some think in Mesopotamia, most pleasant and abundant in all
things.
Ge 2:9
2:9 And out of the ground
made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good
for food; the {g} tree of life also in the midst of the garden, {h} and the
tree of knowledge of good and evil.
(g) Who was a sign of the
life received from God.
(h) That is, of miserable experience, which came by disobeying God.
Ge 2:11
2:11 The name of the first
[is] Pison: that [is] it which compasseth the whole land {i} of Havilah, where
[there is] gold;
(i) Havilah is a country
adjoining Persia to the east, and inclining towards the west.
Ge 2:15
2:15 And the LORD God took
the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to {k} dress it and to keep it.
(k) God would not have man
idle, though as yet there was no need to labour.
Ge 2:16
2:16 And the LORD God {l}
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
(l) So that man might know
there was a sovereign Lord, to whom he owed obedience.
Ge 2:17
2:17 But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely {m} die.
(m) By death he means the
separation of man from God, who is our life and chief happiness: and also
that our disobedience is the cause of it.
Ge 2:19
2:19 And out of the ground
the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and
brought [them] unto {n} Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever
Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof.
Ge 2:22
2:22 And the rib, which the
LORD God had taken from man, made he a {o} woman, and brought her unto the
man.
(o) Signifying that mankind
was perfect, when the woman was created, who before was like an imperfect
building.
Ge 2:24
2:24 Therefore shall a man
leave {p} his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they
shall be one flesh.
(p) So marriage requires a
greater duty of us toward our wives, than otherwise we are bound to show to
our parents.
Ge 2:25
2:25 And they were both
naked, the man and his wife, and were not {q} ashamed.
(q) For before sin entered,
all things were honest and comely.
Ge 3:1
3:1 Now the serpent was more
{a} subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he {b}
said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the
garden?
(a) As Satan can change
himself into an angel of light, so did he abuse the wisdom of the serpent to
deceive man.
(b) God allowed Satan to make the serpent his instrument and to speak
through him.
Ge 3:3
3:3 But of the fruit of the
tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of
it, neither shall ye touch it, {c} lest ye die.
Ge 3:4
3:4 And the serpent said unto
the woman, Ye shall not surely {d} die:
(d) This is Satan's
chiefest subtilty, to cause us not to fear God's warnings.
Ge 3:5
3:5 For God doth know that in
the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as
gods, {e} knowing good and evil.
(e) As though he said, God
forbids you to eat of the fruit, only because he knows that if you eat of
it, you will be like him.
Ge 3:6
3:6 And when the woman saw
that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and
a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and
did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he {f} did eat.
(f) Not so much to please
his wife, as moved by ambition at her persuasion.
Ge 3:7
3:7 And the eyes of them both
were opened, and they {g} knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig
leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
(g) They began to feel
their misery, but they did not seek God for a remedy.
Ge 3:8
3:8 And they heard the voice
of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his
wife {h} hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of
the garden.
Ge 3:10
3:10 And he said, I heard thy
voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] {i} naked; and I hid
myself.
(i) His hypocrisy appears
in that he hid the cause of his nakedness, which was the transgression of
God's commandment.
Ge 3:12
3:12 And the man said, The
woman whom thou {k} gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did
eat.
(k) His wickedness and lack
of true repentance appears in this that he blamed God because he had given
him a wife.
Ge 3:13
3:13 And the LORD God said
unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, {l}
The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
(l) Instead of confessing
her sin, she increases it by accusing the serpent.
Ge 3:14
3:14 And the LORD God said
unto the serpent, {m} Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all
cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and
{n} dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
(m) He asked the reason
from Adam and his wife, because he would bring them to repentance, but he
does not ask the serpent, because he would show him no mercy.
(n) As a vile and contemptible beast, Isa 65:25.
Ge 3:15
3:15 And I will put enmity
between {o} thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall
bruise thy {p} head, and thou shalt {q} bruise his heel.
(o) He chiefly means Satan,
by whose action and deceit the serpent deceived the woman.
(p) That is, the power of sin and death.
(q) Satan shall sting Christ and his members, but not overcome them.
Ge 3:16
3:16 Unto the woman he said,
I will greatly multiply thy {r} sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou
shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he
shall rule over thee.
(r) The Lord comforts Adam
by the promise of the blessed seed, and also punishes the body for the sin
which the soul should have been punished for; that the spirit having
conceived hope of forgiveness might live by faith. 1Co 14:34.
Ge 3:17
3:17 And unto Adam he said,
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the
tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: {s} cursed
[is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of
thy life;
(s) The transgression of
God's commandment was the reason that both mankind and all other creatures
were subject to the curse.
Ge 3:18
3:18 {t} Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the
field;
(t) These are not the
natural fruit of the earth, but proceed from the corruption of sin.
Ge 3:21
3:21 Unto Adam also and to
his wife did the LORD God {u} make coats of skins, and clothed them.
(u) Or, gave them knowledge
to make themselves coats.
Ge 3:22
3:22 And the LORD God said,
{x} Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now,
lest he put forth his hand, and {y} take also of the tree of life, and eat,
and live for ever:
(x) By this derision by
reproaches Adam's misery, into which he was fallen by ambition.
(y) Adam deprived of life, lost also the sign of it.
Ge 4:1
4:1 And Adam knew Eve his
wife; and she {a} conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man {b}
from the LORD.
(a) Man's nature, the
estate of marriage, and God's blessing were not utterly abolished through
sin, but the quality or condition of it was changed.
(b) That is, according to the Lord's promise, as some read Ge 3:15, "To the
Lord" rejoicing for the son she had born, whom she would offer to the Lord
as the first fruits of her birth.
Ge 4:3
4:3 And in process of time it
came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an {c} offering
unto the LORD.
(c) This declares that the
father instructed his children in the knowledge of God, and also how God
gave them sacrifices to signify their salvation, though they were destitute
of the ordinance of the tree of life.
Ge 4:7
4:7 If thou doest well, shalt
thou not be {e} accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the {f}
door. And unto thee [shall be] his {g} desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
(e) Both you and your
sacrifice shall be acceptable to me.
(f) Sin will still torment your conscience.
(g) The dignity of the first born is given to Cain over Abel.
Ge 4:9
4:9 And the LORD said unto
Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: {h} [Am] I my
brother's keeper?
(h) This is the nature of
the reprobate when they are rebuke for their hypocrisy, even to neglect God
and outrage him.
Ge 4:10
4:10 And he said, What hast
thou done? the {i} voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the
ground. {i} God avenges the wrongs against his saints, though no one
complains: for the iniquity itself cries for vengeance.
Ge 4:11
4:11 And now [art] thou
cursed {k} from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy
brother's blood from thy hand;
(k) The earth will be a
witness against you, which mercifully received the blood you most cruelly
shed.
Ge 4:12
4:12 When thou tillest the
ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a {l} fugitive
and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Ge 4:13
4:13 And Cain said unto the
LORD, {m} My punishment [is] greater than I can bear.
Ge 4:15
4:15 And the LORD said unto
him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, {n} vengeance shall be taken on him
sevenfold. And the LORD set a {o} mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should
kill him.
(n) Not for the love he had
for Cain, but to suppress murder.
(o) Which was some visible sign of God's judgment, that others should fear
by it.
Ge 4:17
4:17 And Cain knew his wife;
and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a {p} city, and called the
name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
(p) Thinking by this to be
safe, and to have less reason to fear God's judgments against him.
Ge 4:19
4:19 And Lamech took unto him
{q} two wives: the name of the one [was] Adah, and the name of the other
Zillah.
(q) The lawful institution
of marriage, which is, that two should be one flesh, was first corrupted in
the house of Cain by Lamech.
Ge 4:23
4:23 And Lamech said unto his
wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my
speech: {r} for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
(r) His wives seeing that
all men hated him for his cruelty, were afraid, therefore he brags that
there is none strong enough to resist, even though he was already wounded.
Ge 4:24
4:24 If Cain shall be avenged
sevenfold, truly Lamech {s} seventy and sevenfold.
(s) He mocked at God's
tolerance in Cain jesting as though God would allow no one to punish him and
yet give him permission to murder others.
Ge 4:26
4:26 And to Seth, to him also
there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to {t} call
upon the name of the LORD.
(t) In these days God began
to move the hearts of the godly to restore religion, which had been
suppressed by the wicked for a long time.
Ge 5:1
5:1 This [is] the book of the
generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the {a} likeness of
God made he him;
Ge 5:2
5:2 Male and female created
he them; and blessed them, and called their name {b} Adam, in the day when
they were created.
(b) By giving them both one
name, he notes the inseparable conjunction of man and wife.
Ge 5:3
5:3 And Adam lived an hundred
and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own {c} likeness, after his image;
and called his name Seth:
(c) As well, concerning his
creation, as his corruption.
Ge 5:6
5:6 And {d} Seth lived an
hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
(d) He proves Adam's
generation by those who came from Seth, to show the true Church, and also
what care God had over the same from the beginning, in that he continued his
graces toward it by a continual succession.
Ge 5:8
5:8 And all the days of Seth
were {e} nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
(e) The main reason for
long life in the first age, was the multiplication of mankind, that
according to God's commandment at the beginning the world might be filled
with people, who would universally praise him.
Ge 5:22
5:22 And Enoch {f} walked
with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and
daughters:
(f) That is, he led an
upright and godly life.
Ge 5:24
5:24 And Enoch walked with
God: and he [was] not; for {g} God took him.
(g) To show that there was
a better life prepared and to be a testimony of the immortality of souls and
bodies. To inquire where he went is mere curiosity.
Ge 5:29
5:29 And he called his name
Noah, saying, This [same] shall {h} comfort us concerning our work and toil of
our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
(h) Lamech had respect for
the promise, Ge 3:15, and desired to see the deliverer who would be sent and
yet saw but a figure of it. He spoke this by the spirit of prophecy because
Noah delivered the Church and preserved it by his obedience.
Ge 6:2
6:2 That the {a} sons of God
saw the daughters {b} of men that they [were] {c} fair; and they took them
wives of all which they chose.
(a) The children of the
godly who began to degenerate.
(b) Those that had wicked parents, as if from Cain.
(c) Having more respect for their beauty and worldly considerations than for
their manners and godliness.
Ge 6:3
6:3 And the LORD said, My
spirit shall not always {d} strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet
his days shall be an {e} hundred and twenty years.
(d) Because man could not
by won by God's leniency and patience by which he tried to win him, he would
no longer withhold his vengeance.
(e) Which time span God gave man to repent before he would destroy the
earth, 1Pe 3:20.
Ge 6:4
6:4 There were giants in the
earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto
the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became]
mighty men which [were] of old, men of {f} renown.
(f) Who usurped authority
over others, and degenerated from that simplicity, in which their father's
lived.
Ge 6:6
6:6 And it {g} repented the
LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
(g) God never repents, but
he speaks in human terms, because he destroyed him, and in a way denied him
as his creature.
Ge 6:7
6:7 And the LORD said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and {h}
beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me
that I have made them.
(h) God declares how much
he detests sin, seeing the punishment of it extends to the brute beasts.
Ge 6:8
6:8 But Noah {i} found grace
in the eyes of the LORD.
Ge 6:11
6:11 The earth also was
corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with {k} violence.
(k) Meaning, that all were
given to the contempt of God, and oppression of their neighbours.
Ge 6:16
6:16 A window shalt thou make
to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark
shalt thou set in the side thereof; [with] {1} lower, second, and third
[stories] shalt thou make it.
(1) That is, of three
heights.
Ge 6:18
6:18 But with thee will I {m}
establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons,
and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
(m) So that in this great
undertaking and mocking of the whole world, you may be confirmed so your
faith does not fail.
Ge 6:22
6:22 Thus did Noah; according
to all that God commanded him, {n} so did he.
(n) That is, he obeyed
God's commandment in all points without adding or taking away.
Ge 7:1
7:1 And the LORD said unto
Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen {a}
righteous before me in this generation.
(a) In respect to the rest
of the world, and because he had a desire to serve God and live uprightly.
Ge 7:2
7:2 Of every {b} clean beast
thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that
[are] not clean by two, the male and his female.
(b) Which might be offered
in sacrifice, of which six were for breeding and the seventh for sacrifice.
Ge 7:9
7:9 There {c} went in two and
two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded
Noah.
(c) God compelled them to
present themselves to Noah, as they did before to Adam, when he gave them
names, Ge 2:19.
Ge 7:11
7:11 In the six hundredth
year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month,
the same day were all the {e} fountains of the great deep broken up, and the
windows of heaven were opened.
Ge 7:15
7:15 And they went in unto
Noah into the ark, two and two {f} of all flesh, wherein [is] the breath of
life.
(f) Every living thing that
God would have be preserved on earth, came into the ark to Noah.
Ge 7:16
7:16 And they that went in,
went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD
{g} shut him in.
Ge 7:23
7:23 And every living
substance was destroyed {h} which was upon the face of the ground, both man,
and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were
destroyed from the earth: and Noah only {i} remained [alive], and they that
[were] with him in the ark.
(h) That is, by God.
(i) Learn what it is to obey God only, and to forsake the multitude, 1Pe
3:20.
Ge 8:1
8:1 And God {a} remembered
Noah, and {b} every living thing, and all the cattle that [was] with him in
the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
(a) Not that God forgets
his at any time, but when he sends comfort then he shows that he remembers
them.
(b) If God remembered every brute beast, that ought also to assure his
children.
Ge 8:4
8:4 And the ark rested in the
{c} seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of
Ararat.
Ge 8:5
8:5 And the waters decreased
continually until the {d} tenth month: in the tenth [month], on the first
[day] of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
Ge 8:9
8:9 But the dove found no
rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the
waters [were] on the face of the whole earth: then he {e} put forth his hand,
and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
(e) The raven flew to and
fro, resting on the ark, but did not come into it, unlike the dove that was
taken in.
Ge 8:11
8:11 And the dove came in to
him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth [was] an {f} olive leaf pluckt off:
so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
(f) Which was a sign that
the waters were much diminished: for the olives do not grow on the high
mountains.
Ge 8:13
8:13 And it came to pass in
the six hundredth and first year, in the {g} first [month], the first [day] of
the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the
covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
(g) Called in Hebrew Abib,
part of March and part of April.
Ge 8:16
8:16 {h} Go forth of the ark,
thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
(h) Noah declares his
obedience, in that he would not leave the ark without God's express
commandment, as he did not enter in without the same: the ark being a figure
of the Church, in which nothing must be done outside the word of God.
Ge 8:20
8:20 And Noah {i} builded an
altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl,
and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
(i) For sacrifices which
were as an exercise of their faith, by which they used to give thanks to God
for his benefits.
Ge 8:21
8:21 And the LORD smelled a
{k} sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the
ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart [is] evil
from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I
have done.
(k) That is, by it he
showed himself appeased and his anger at rest.
Ge 8:22
8:22 While the earth
remaineth, {l} seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter,
and day and night shall not cease.
(l) The order of nature
destroyed by the flood, is restored by God's promise.
Ge 9:1
9:1 And God {a} blessed Noah
and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth.
(a) God increased them with
fruit, and declared to them his counsel as concerning the replenishing of
the earth.
Ge 9:2
9:2 And the {b} fear of you
and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every
fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth, and upon all the
fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
(b) By the virtue of this
commandment, beasts do not rage as much against man as they would, yea and
many serve his purposes by it.
Ge 9:3
9:3 Every {c} moving thing
that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all
things.
Ge 9:4
9:4 {d} But flesh with the
life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
(d) That is, living
creatures, and the flesh of beasts that are strangled: and by this all
cruelty is forbidden.
Ge 9:5
9:5 {e} And surely your blood
of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it,
and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the
life of man.
(e) That is, I will take
vengeance for your blood.
Ge 9:6
9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's
blood, {f} by man shall his blood be shed: for in the {g} image of God made he
man.
(f) Not only by the
magistrate, but often God raises up one murderer to kill another.
(g) Therefore to kill man is to deface God's image, and so injury is not
only done to man, but also to God.
Ge 9:9
9:9 And I, behold, I
establish my {h} covenant with you, and with your {i} seed after you;
(h) To assure you that the
world will never again be destroyed by a flood.
(i) The children which are not yet born, are comprehended in God's covenant
with their fathers.
Ge 9:13
9:13 I do set my {k} bow in
the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Ge 9:15
9:15 And I will remember my
{l} covenant, which [is] between me and you and every living creature of all
flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
(l) When men see my bow in
the sky, they will know that I have not forgotten my covenant with them.
Ge 9:17
9:17 And God said unto Noah,
{m} This [is] the token of the covenant, which I have established between me
and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.
Ge 9:19
9:19 These [are] the three
sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth {n} overspread.
(n) This declares what the
virtue of God's blessing was, when he said, increase and bring forth in Ge
1:28.
Ge 9:21
9:21 And he drank of the
wine, and was {o} drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Ge 9:22
9:22 And Ham, the father of
{p} Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and {q} told his two brethren
without.
(p) Of whom came the
Canaanites that wicked nation, who were also cursed by God.
(q) In derision and contempt of his father.
Ge 9:25
9:25 And he said, {r} Cursed
[be] Canaan; a {s} servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
(r) He pronounces as a
prophet the curse of God against all those who do not honour their parents:
for Ham and his posterity were cursed.
(s) That is, a most vile slave.
Ge 9:27
9:27 God shall {t} enlarge
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his
servant.
(t) He declares that the
Gentiles, who came from Japheth, and were separated from the Church, should
be joined to the same by the persuasion of God's Spirit, and preaching of
the gospel.
Ge 10:1
10:1 {a} Now these [are] the
generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were
sons born after the flood.
(a) These generations are
here recited, partly to declare the marvellous increase, and also to set
forth their great forgetfulness of God's grace towards their fathers.
Ge 10:2
10:2 The sons of Japheth;
Gomer, and Magog, and {b} Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Ge 10:5
10:5 By these were the {c}
isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue,
after their families, in their nations.
(c) So do the Jews call all
countries which are separated from them by sea, as Greece, Italy etc, which
were given to the children of Japheth, of whom came the Gentiles.
Ge 10:6
10:6 And the sons of Ham; {d}
Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
Ge 10:8
10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod:
he began to be a {e} mighty one in the earth.
(e) Meaning, a cruel
oppressor and tyrant.
Ge 10:9
10:9 He was a mighty hunter
before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even {f} as Nimrod the mighty hunter
before the LORD.
(f) His tyranny came into a
proverb as hated both by God and man: for he did not cease to commit cruelty
even in God's presence.
Ge 10:10
10:10 And the beginning of
his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of {g}
Shinar.
(g) For there was another
city in Egypt, called Babel.
Ge 10:13
10:13 And Mizraim begat {h}
Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
Ge 10:21
10:21 Unto {i} Shem also, the
father of all the children of {k} Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even
to him were [children] born.
(i) In his stock the Church
was preserved: therefore Moses stops speaking of Japheth and Ham, and speaks
of Shem extensively.
(k) Of whom came the Hebrews or Jews.
Ge 10:25
10:25 And unto Eber were born
two sons: the name of one [was] Peleg; for in his days was the earth {l}
divided; and his brother's name [was] Joktan.
(l) This division came by
the diversity of language, as appears in Ge 11:9.
Ge 11:2
11:2 And it came to pass, {a}
as {b} they journeyed from the {c} east, that they found a plain in the land
of {d} Shinar; and they dwelt there.
(a) One hundred and thirty
years after the flood.
(b) That is, Nimrod and his company.
(c) That is, from Armenia where the ark stayed.
(d) Which was afterward called Chaldea.
Ge 11:4
11:4 And they said, Go to,
let us {e} build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and
let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole
earth.
(e) They were moved with
pride and ambition, preferring their own glory to God's honour.
Ge 11:5
11:5 And the LORD {f} came
down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
(f) Meaning, that he
declared by effect, that he knew their wicked enterprise; for God's power is
everywhere, and neither ascends nor descends.
Ge 11:6
11:6 And the LORD said, {g}
Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they
begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have
imagined to do.
(g) God speaks this in
derision, because of their foolish persuasion and enterprise.
Ge 11:7
11:7 Go to, {h} let us go
down, and {i} there confound their language, that they may not understand one
another's speech.
(h) He speaks as though he
took counsel with his own wisdom and power: that is, with the Son and holy
Spirit: signifying the greatness and certainty of the punishment.
(i) By this great plague of the confusion of tongues appears God's horrible
judgment against man's pride and vain glory.
Ge 11:10
11:10 These [are] the
generations {k} of Shem: Shem [was] an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad
two years after the flood:
(k) He returns to the
genealogy of Shem, to come to the history of Abram, in which the Church of
God is described, which is Moses' principle purpose.
Ge 11:27
11:27 Now these [are] the
generations of Terah: Terah begat {1} Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat
Lot.
(1) He makes mention first
of Abram, not because he was the first born, but for the history which
properly belongs to him. Also Abram at the confusion of tongues was 43 years
old, for in the destruction of Sodom he was 99 and it was destroyed 52 years
after the confusion of tongues.
Ge 11:29
11:29 And Abram and Nahor
took them wives: the name of Abram's wife [was] Sarai; and the name of Nahor's
wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of
{m} Iscah.
Ge 11:31
11:31 And {n} Terah took
Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter
in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the
Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto {o} Haran, and
dwelt there.
(n) Though the oracle of
God came to Abram, yet the honour is given to Terah, because he was the
father.
(o) Which was a city of Mesopotamia.
Ge 12:1
12:1 Now the LORD had said
unto Abram, {a} Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's house, unto {b} a land that I will shew thee:
(a) From the flood to this
time were four hundred and twenty-three years.
(b) In appointing him no certain place, he proves so much more his faith and
obedience.
Ge 12:2
12:2 And I will make of thee
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt
be {c} a blessing:
(c) The world shall recover
by your seed, which is Christ, the blessing which they lost in Adam.
Ge 12:5
12:5 And Abram took Sarai his
wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had
gathered, and the {d} souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth
to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Ge 12:6
12:6 And Abram {e} passed
through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the
{f} Canaanite [was] then in the land.
(e) He wandered to and fro
in the land before he could find a settling place: thus God exercises the
faith of his children.
(f) Which was a cruel and rebellious nation, by whom God kept his in
continual exercise.
Ge 12:7
12:7 And the LORD appeared
unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded
he {g} an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
(g) It was not enough for
him to worship God in his heart, but it was expedient to declare by outward
profession his faith before men, of which this altar was a sign.
Ge 12:8
12:8 And he removed from {h}
thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having]
Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an {i} altar
unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
(h) Because of the troubles
that he had among that wicked people.
(i) And so served the true God, and renounced all idolatry.
Ge 12:9
12:9 {k} And Abram journeyed,
going on still toward the south.
(k) Thus the children of
God may look for no rest in this world, but must wait for the heavenly rest
and quietness.
Ge 12:10
12:10 And there was a {l}
famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the
famine [was] grievous in the land.
(l) This was a new trial of
Abram's faith: by which we see that the end of one affliction is the
beginning of another.
Ge 12:13
12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou
[art] my {m} sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul
shall live because of thee.
(m) By this we learn not to
use unlawful means nor to put others in danger to save ourselves, Ge 12:20.
Though it may appear that Abram did not fear death, so much as dying without
children, he acts as though God's promise had not taken place; in which
appeared a weak faith.
Ge 12:15
12:15 The princes also of
Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was {n} taken
into Pharaoh's house.
Ge 12:17
12:17 And the LORD {o}
plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's
wife.
(o) The Lord took the
defence of this poor stranger against a mighty king: and as he is ever
careful over his, so did he preserve Sarai.
Ge 12:20
12:20 And Pharaoh {p}
commanded [his] men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and
all that he had.
Ge 13:1
13:1 And {a} Abram went up
out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into
the south.
(a) His great riches gotten
in Egypt, did not hinder him in following his vocation.
Ge 13:3
13:3 And he went on his
journeys from the south even to {b} Bethel, unto the place where his tent had
been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
(b) He calls the place by
the name which was later given to it, Ge 23:19.
Ge 13:6
13:6 And the land was not
able to {c} bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was
great, so that they could not dwell together.
(c) This inconvenience came
by their riches, which break friendships and the bounds of nature.
Ge 13:7
13:7 And there was a strife
between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the
{d} Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
(d) Who seeing their
contention, might blaspheme God and destroy them.
Ge 13:8
13:8 And Abram said unto Lot,
Let there be no {e} strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my
herdmen and thy herdmen; for we [be] brethren.
Ge 13:9
13:9 [Is] not the whole land
before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if [thou wilt {f} take]
the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right
hand, then I will go to the left.
Ge 13:10
13:10 And Lot lifted up his
eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered every
where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the {g} garden
of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
(g) Which was in Eden, Ge
2:10.
Ge 13:11
13:11 Then Lot chose him all
the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the
{h} one from the other.
(h) This was done by God's
providence, that only Abram and his seed might dwell in the land of Canaan.
Ge 13:13
13:13 But the men of Sodom
[were] wicked and {i} sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
(i) Lot thinking to get
paradise, found hell.
Ge 13:14
13:14 And the LORD said unto
{k} Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and
look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and
westward:
(k) The Lord comforted him,
lest he should have taken thought for the departure of his nephew.
Ge 13:15
13:15 For all the land which
thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for {l} ever.
(l) Meaning a long time,
and till the coming of Christ as in Ex 12:14,21:6, De 15:17 and spiritually
this refers to the true children of Abram born according to the promise, and
not according to the flesh, which are heirs of the true land of Canaan.
Ge 14:1
14:1 And it came to pass in
the days of Amraphel king of {a} Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer
king of Elam, and Tidal king of {b} nations;
(a) That is, of Babylon: by
kings here, meaning, them that were governors of cities.
(b) Of a people gathered from various countries.
Ge 14:3
14:3 All these were {c}
joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the {d} salt sea.
(c) Ambition is the chief
cause of wars among princes.
(d) Called also the dead sea, or the lake Asphaltite, near Sodom and
Gomorrah.
Ge 14:10
14:10 And the {e} vale of
Siddim [was full of] slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and
fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
(e) And afterward was
overwhelmed with water, and so was called the salt sea.
Ge 14:12
14:12 And they {f} took Lot,
Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Ge 14:13
14:13 And there came one that
had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the
Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these [were] {g}
confederate with Abram.
(g) God removed them to
join Abram, and preserves him from their idolatry and superstitions.
Ge 14:18
14:18 And Melchizedek king of
Salem {h} brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most
high God.
(h) For Abram and his
soldiers refreshment, not to offer sacrifice.
Ge 14:19
14:19 And he {i} blessed him,
and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and
earth:
(i) Melchizedek fed Abram,
declared himself to represent a king, and he blessed him as the high priest.
Ge 14:24
14:24 {k} Save only that
which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me,
Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
Ge 15:2
15:2 And Abram said, {a} Lord
GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my
house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus?
(a) His fear was not only
lest he should not have children, but lest the promise of the blessed seed
should not be accomplished in him.
Ge 15:8
15:8 And he said, Lord GOD,
{b} whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
(b) This is a particular
motion of God's Spirit, which is not lawful for all to follow, in asking
signs: but was permitted for some by a peculiar motion, as to Gideon and
Ezekiel.
Ge 15:10
15:10 And he took unto him
all these, and {c} divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against
another: but the birds divided he not.
(c) This was the old custom
in making covenants, Jer 39:18, to which God added these conditions, that
Abram's posterity would be as torn in pieces, but after they would be
rejoined: also that it would be assaulted, but yet delivered.
Ge 15:13
15:13 And he said unto Abram,
Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not
theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them {d} four hundred
years;
(d) Counting from the birth
of Isaac to their departure of Egypt: Which declares that God will allow his
to be afflicted in this world.
Ge 15:16
15:16 But in the fourth
generation they shall come hither again: for the {e} iniquity of the Amorites
[is] not yet full.
(e) Though God tolerates
the wicked for a time, yet his vengeance falls on them when the measure of
their wickedness is full.
Ge 16:1
16:1 Now {a} Sarai Abram's
wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name
[was] Hagar.
(a) It seems that she had
respect for God's promise, which could not be accomplished without issue.
Ge 16:2
16:2 And Sarai said unto
Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath {b} restrained me from bearing: I pray thee,
go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram
hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
(b) She fails by limiting
God's power to the common order of nature, as though God could not give her
children in her old age.
Ge 16:4
16:4 And he went in unto
Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her
mistress was {c} despised in her eyes.
Ge 16:7
16:7 And the {d} angel of the
LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in
the way to Shur.
(d) Which was Christ, as
appears in Ge 16:13,18:17.
Ge 16:9
16:9 And the angel of the
LORD said unto her, {e} Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her
hands.
(e) God rejects no estate
of people in their misery, but sends them comfort.
Ge 16:12
16:12 And he will be a wild
man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him;
and {f} he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
(f) That is, the
Ishmaelites will be a separate people by themselves and not part of another
people.
Ge 16:13
16:13 And she called the name
of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, {g} Have I
also here looked after him that seeth me?
(g) She rebukes her own
dullness and acknowledges God's graces, who was present with her everywhere.
Ge 17:4
17:4 As for me, behold, my
covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a {a} father of many nations.
(a) Not only physical
descendants, but of a far greater multitude by faith, Ro 4:17.
Ge 17:5
17:5 Neither shall thy name
any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be {b} Abraham; for a father of
many nations have I made thee.
Ge 17:10
17:10 {c} This [is] my
covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee;
Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
(c) Circumcision is called
the covenant, because it signifies the covenant and has the promise of grace
joined to it: a phrase that is common to all ordinances.
Ge 17:11
17:11 And ye shall circumcise
the flesh of your {d} foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant
betwixt me and you.
(d) That private part is
circumcised, to show that all that is begotten by man is corrupt, and must
die.
Ge 17:14
17:14 And the uncircumcised
{e} man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall
be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
(e) Though women were not
circumcised, they still partook of God's promise: for under mankind all was
consecrated. Here it is declared, that whoever condemns the sign, also
despises the promise.
Ge 17:17
17:17 Then Abraham fell upon
his face, and {f} laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a child] be born unto
him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old,
bear?
(f) Which proceeded from a
sudden joy, and not from lack of faith.
Ge 17:19
17:19 And God said, Sarah thy
wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I
will establish my covenant with him for an {g} everlasting covenant, [and]
with his seed after him.
(g) The everlasting
covenant is made with the children of the Spirit. A temporary promise is
made with the children of the flesh, as was promised to Ishmael.
Ge 17:23
17:23 And Abraham took
Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought
with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and {h}
circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said
unto him.
(h) They were well taught
if they obeyed and were circumcised without resistance. This teaches that
masters in their houses ought to be as preachers to their families, that
from the highest to the lowest they may obey the will of God.
Ge 18:2
18:2 And he lift up his eyes
and looked, and, lo, three {a} men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he
ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
(a) That is, three angels
in the shape of men.
Ge 18:3
18:3 And said, My {b} Lord,
if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy
servant:
(b) Speaking to the one who
appeared to be most majestic, for he thought they were men.
Ge 18:4
18:4 Let a little water, I
pray you, be fetched, and {c} wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the
tree:
Ge 18:5
18:5 And I will fetch a
morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for
therefore are ye {d} come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast
said.
Ge 18:8
18:8 And he took butter, and
milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he
stood by them under the tree, and {e} they did eat.
(e) For as God gave them
bodies for a time, so he gave them the abilities of them, to walk, to eat
and drink, and such like.
Ge 18:10
18:10 And he said, I will
certainly return unto thee according to the time of {f} life; and, lo, Sarah
thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard [it] in the tent door, which [was]
behind him.
(f) That is, about this
time when she shall be alive, or when the child shall come into this life.
Ge 18:12
18:12 Therefore Sarah {g}
laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my
lord being old also?
(g) For she believed the
order of nature, rather than believing the promise of God.
Ge 18:17
18:17 And the {h} LORD said,
Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
(h) Jehovah the Hebrew word
we call Lord, shows that this angel was Christ: for this word is only
applied to God.
Ge 18:19
18:19 For I know him, {i}
that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall
keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring
upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
(i) He shows that fathers
ought both to know God's judgments, and to declare them to their children.
Ge 18:21
18:21 I will {k} go down now,
and see whether they have done altogether according to the {l} cry of it,
which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
(k) God speaks after the
fashion of men: that is, I will enter into judgment with good advise.
(l) For our sins cry for vengeance, though no one accuses us.
Ge 18:26
18:26 And the LORD said, If I
find in Sodom {m} fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the
place for their sakes.
(m) God declares that his
judgments were done with great mercy, even though all were so corrupt that
not only fifty but ten righteous men could not be found there, and also that
the wicked are spared for the sake of the righteous.
Ge 18:27
18:27 And Abraham answered
and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which [am
{n} but] dust and ashes:
(n) By this we learn, that
the nearer we approach to God, the more our miserable estate appears, and
the more we are humbled.
Ge 18:32
18:32 And he said, Oh let not
the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this {o} once: Peradventure ten
shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten's sake.
(o) If God did not refuse
the prayer for the wicked Sodomites, even to the sixth request, how much
more will he grant the prayers of the godly for the afflicted Church?
Ge 19:1
19:1 And there came two {a}
angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing
[them] rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the
ground;
(a) In which we see God's
provident care in preserving his: even though he does not reveal himself to
all alike: for Lot had but two angels, and Abraham three.
Ge 19:3
19:3 And {b} he pressed upon
them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he
made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they {c} did eat.
(b) That is, he begged them
so insistently.
(c) Not because they had need, but because the time was not yet come for
them to reveal themselves.
Ge 19:4
19:4 But before they lay
down, the men of the city, [even] the men of Sodom, compassed the house round,
both old and young, {d} all the people from every quarter:
Ge 19:8
19:8 Behold now, I have two
{e} daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out
unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do
nothing; {f} for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
(e) He deserves praise for
defending his guests, but he is to be blamed for seeking unlawful means.
(f) That I should preserve them from all injury.
Ge 19:13
19:13 For {g} we will destroy
this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the
LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
(g) This proves that the
angels are ministers, both to execute God's wrath and to declare his favour.
Ge 19:16
19:16 And while he {h}
lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and
upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they
brought him forth, and set him without the city.
Ge 19:17
19:17 And it came to pass,
when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; {i}
look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the
mountain, lest thou be consumed.
(i) He willed him to flee
God's judgments and not to be sorry to leave that rich country, full of vain
pleasures.
Ge 19:20
19:20 Behold now, this city
[is] near to flee unto, and it [is] a little one: Oh, let me escape thither,
([is] it not a {k} little one?) and my soul shall live.
(k) Though it is little,
yet it is great enough to save my life: in which he errs by choosing another
place than the angel had appointed him.
Ge 19:22
19:22 Haste thee, escape
thither; for I {l} cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore
the name of the city was called {m} Zoar.
(l) Because God's
commandment was to destroy the city and to save Lot.
(m) Which before was called Belah, in Ge 14:2.
Ge 19:26
19:26 But his wife looked
back from behind him, and she became a {n} pillar of salt.
(n) Concerning the body
only: this was a notable monument of God's vengeance to all who passed that
way.
Ge 19:30
19:30 And Lot went up out of
Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he {o}
feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
(o) Having felt God's
mercy, he did not dare provoke him again by continuing among the wicked.
Ge 19:31
19:31 And the firstborn said
unto the younger, Our father [is] old, and [there is] not a man in the {p}
earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
Ge 19:32
19:32 Come, let us make our
father {q} drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of
our father.
(q) For unless he had been
drunk, he would never have done that abominable act.
Ge 19:36
19:36 Thus were {r} both the
daughters of Lot with child by their father.
(r) Thus God permitted him
to fall most horribly in the solitary mountains, whom the wickedness of
Sodom could not overcome.
Ge 19:37
19:37 And the firstborn bare
a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the {s} Moabites
unto this day.
(s) Who as they were born
in most horrible incest, so were they and their posterity vile and wicked.
Ge 19:38
19:38 And the younger, she
also bare a son, and called his name {t} Benammi: the same [is] the father of
the children of Ammon unto this day.
(t) That is, son of my
people: signifying that they rejoiced in their sin, rather than repenting of
it.
Ge 20:1
20:1 And Abraham journeyed
from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and {a} Shur,
and sojourned in Gerar.
Ge 20:2
20:2 And Abraham said of
Sarah his wife, {b} She [is] my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and
took Sarah.
Ge 20:3
20:3 But God came to
Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, {c} thou [art but] a
dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she [is] a man's wife.
Ge 20:4
20:4 But Abimelech had not
come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also {d} a righteous nation?
(d) The infidels confessed
that God would not punish but for just occasion: therefore, when he
punishes, the occasion is just.
Ge 20:5
20:5 Said he not unto me, She
[is] my sister? and she, even she herself said, He [is] my brother: in the
integrity of my {e} heart and {f} innocency of my hands have I done this.
(e) As one falling by
ignorance, and not doing evil on purpose.
(f) Not thinking to do any man harm.
Ge 20:6
20:6 And God said unto him in
a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I
also {g} withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not
to touch her.
(g) God by his holy Spirit
restrains those who offend in ignorance, that they not fall into greater
offence..
Ge 20:7
20:7 Now therefore restore
the man [his] wife; for he [is] a {h} prophet, and he {i} shall pray for thee,
and thou shalt live: and if thou restore [her] not, know thou that thou shalt
surely die, thou, and all that [are] thine.
(h) That is, one to whom
God reveals himself familiarly.
(i) For the prayer of the godly is of force towards God.
Ge 20:9
20:9 Then Abimelech called
Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I
offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my {k} kingdom a great sin?
thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
Ge 20:11
20:11 And Abraham said,
Because I thought, Surely the {l} fear of God [is] not in this place; and they
will slay me for my wife's sake.
(l) He shows that no
honesty can be hoped for, where there is no fear of God.
Ge 20:12
20:12 And yet indeed [she is]
my {m} sister; she [is] the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my
mother; and she became my wife.
(m) By sister, he means his
full cousin, and by daughter Abraham's niece, Ge 11:29 for so the Hebrews
use these words.
Ge 20:16
20:16 And unto Sarah he said,
Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand [pieces] of silver: behold, he
[is] to thee a {n} covering of the eyes, unto all that [are] with thee, and
with all [other]: {o} thus she was reproved.
(n) Such a head as with
whom you may be preserved from all dangers.
(o) God caused this heathen king to reprove her because she concealed her
identity, seeing that God had given her a husband as her veil and defence.
Ge 20:18
20:18 For the LORD {p} had
fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah
Abraham's wife.
Ge 21:2
21:2 For Sarah conceived, and
bare Abraham a son in his {a} old age, at the set time of which God had spoken
to him.
Ge 21:7
21:7 And she said, {b} Who
would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for
I have born [him] a son in his old age.
(b) She accuses herself of
ingratitude, that she did not believe the angel.
Ge 21:9
21:9 And Sarah saw the son of
Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, {c} mocking.
Ge 21:12
21:12 And God said unto
Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because
of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her
voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be {d} called.
(d) The promised seed will
be from Isaac, and not from Ishmael, Ro 9:7, He 11:18.
Ge 21:13
21:13 And also of the son of
the bondwoman will I make {e} a nation, because he [is] thy seed.
Ge 21:14
21:14 And Abraham rose up
early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave [it]
unto Hagar, putting [it] on her shoulder, and the child, and {f} sent her
away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Ge 21:17
21:17 And God {g} heard the
voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said
unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of
the lad where he [is].
(g) For his promise sake
made to Abraham; and not because the child had discretion and judgment to
pray.
Ge 21:19
21:19 And God {h} opened her
eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with
water, and gave the lad drink.
(h) Unless God opens our
eyes, we can neither see, nor use the means which are before us.
Ge 21:20
21:20 And God was {i} with
the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
Ge 21:24
21:24 And Abraham said, I
will {k} swear.
(k) So that it is a lawful
thing to take an oath in matters of importance, to justify the truth, and to
assure others of our sincerity.
Ge 21:26
21:26 And Abimelech said, {l}
I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet
heard I [of it], but to day.
Ge 21:32
21:32 Thus they made a {m}
covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain
of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
(m) Thus we see that the
godly, concerning outward things may make peace with the wicked that do not
know the true God.
Ge 21:33
21:33 And [Abraham] planted a
grove in Beersheba, and {n} called there on the name of the LORD, the
everlasting God.
(n) That is, he worshipped
God in all points of true religion.
Ge 22:2
22:2 And he said, Take now
thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land
of {a} Moriah; and {b} offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the
mountains which I will tell thee of.
(a) Signifying the fear of
God, in which place he was also honoured, Solomon later building the temple
there.
(b) This was the main point of his temptation, seeing that he was commanded
to offer up him in whom God had promised to bless all the nations of the
world.
Ge 22:5
22:5 And Abraham said unto
his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder
and worship, and {e} come again to you.
(e) He did not doubt that
God would accomplish his promise, even if he should sacrifice his son.
Ge 22:8
22:8 And Abraham said, My
son, God will provide himself a lamb for a {d} burnt offering: so they went
both of them together.
Ge 22:9
22:9 And they came to the
place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid
the wood in order, and {e} bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon
the wood.
(e) For it is likely that
his father had told him God's commandment, to which he showed himself
obedient.
Ge 22:12
22:12 And he said, Lay not
thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I {f}
know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only
[son] from me.
(f) That is, by your true
obedience you have declared your living faith.
Ge 22:14
22:14 And Abraham called the
name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of
the LORD it shall {g} be seen.
(g) The name is changed to
show that God both sees and provides secretly for his and also evidently is
seen, and felt in the right time.
Ge 22:16
22:16 And said, By {h} myself
have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast
not withheld thy son, thine only [son]:
(h) Signifying, that there
is none greater then he.
Ge 22:24
22:24 And his {i} concubine,
whose name [was] Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and
Maachah.
Ge 23:3
23:3 And Abraham {a} stood up
from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
(a) That is, when he had
mourned: so the godly may mourn if they do not pass measure, and the natural
affection is commendable.
Ge 23:6
23:6 Hear us, my lord: thou
[art] a {b} mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy
dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest
bury thy dead. {b} That is godly or excellent: for so do the Hebrews speak of
all things that are notable, because all excellency comes from God.
Ge 23:10
23:10 And Ephron dwelt among
the children
