PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION of COMMENTARY

by MATTHEW POOLE

The same reason which teacheth us to conclude that there is a

First Being, and must be a First Cause and Mover, (whom we call
God,)" that it is he who hath made us, and not we ourselves," and
that "we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture," will also
oblige us "to enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise," and to "be thankful unto him" by fulfilling his
will; which we cannot do without seme revelation of it to us. God
therefore having ceased to speak to men face to face, as to
Abraham, and Moses, &c., (which he never ordinarily did but to
some particular favourites,) we are by reason enforced to conclude
that there are some books in the world in which this revelation is
to be found. The church of God (the mother of us all) hath
constantly held forth the books of the Old and New Testament
(which we have in our Bibles) for this sacred revelation, which
hath justly obliged all her children to look upon them as hung out
to them for that use upon that noble pillar, the church, looking into
them upon the church's notice, (as the child does upon the
mother's telling it, That is the sun,) every reasonable man finds
them of so venerable antiquity, and discerneth in them such
stamps of divinity, in the majesty of their style, the purity of the
matter, the sublimeness and spirituality of the propositions
contained in them, the self-denial of the penmen, the heavenliness
of the scope and end of those sacred writings, the harmony of the
parts, the seal of miracles, and principally in the mighty power
and efficacy of them upon the souls and consciences of
multitudes, both for conviction, and for support and consolation,
that he easily concludes, This is the voice of God, and not of man;
and looks back upon his mother the church, (as a child upon his
nurse,) thanking her for showing him such a treasure, and saying,
as the Samaritans to their countrywomen, Joh_4:42, Now we
believe these books are the word of God, not because of thy
saying so, but because we have looked upon them ourselves, and
find them of a different style, nature and matter, to have a
different scope, end, power and efficacy of them upon the souls of
men, from what any other writings in the world have. Though the
truth is, that until a man comes to be fully persuaded of the truth
of them from the same Spirit that dictated them, every soul will be
as apt to waver in his faith, concerning their being the word of
God, as he in Tully, who only believed in the immortality of the
soul from the reading of Plato's book, which (if I remember right)
the Roman orator expresseth in words to this sense: I have read
over Plato's book again and again; but I know not how it comes to
pass, so long as I am reading I agree with it; but no sooner is the
book out of my hands but de immortalitate animae dubitare
caepi, I begin to doubt whether the soul be immortal, yea or no.
But, however, in one degree or other every Christian makes that
the principle of his religion, that the Holy Scripyures of the Old
and New Testament are the word of God. Some believe it more
faintly and uncertainly, some more fixedly and firmly; and
accordingly the faith of persons, as to them, is more or less
operative.

This revelation of the Divine will was made perfect gradually, (as
it pleased God in succeeding times to reveal what was his secret
will before, but hid from ages,) so as (if chronologers compute
right) there were more than fifteen hundred years passed betwixt
the writing of the first book of Genesis by Moses, and the
Revelation (which was the last) by John; and divines generally
judge that he sealed up the book by those words , Rev 22:18-19 .
So that, as to things to be believed or done, we are to expect no
further revelation.

When "the mighty God, even the Lord," had thus spoken, and God
had thus "shined out of Zion, the perfection of beauty," it was but
reasonable that his people should come to the knowledge of what
he had said, that they might answer the end of the revelation both
by believing and obeying.

The Old Testament being written in the Hebrew tongue, when

great numbers of the Hebrews or Jews, by their captivity in
Babylon, had much forgotten or corrupted their own language, it
was thought reasonable there should be a Chaldaic paraphrase;
and the wisdom of Divine Providence provided a Septuagint
version, as for the benefit of others, so possibly of the Jews
themselves, the most of whom, before Christ's time, were more
Grecians than Hebricians; and it is generally thought that all the
books of the New Testament were written in the Grecian
language.

When it pleased God that the gospel should be preached to all

nations, and the sound of it go to the ends of the earth, he so
ordered it also, that soon after true religion came into any place,
some were stirred up to translate those holy books into the
language of that country; and he so far assisted them, that though
in many lesser things they failed through want of a knowledge of
the just propriety of some words in Hebrew or Greek, or the use of
particle in those languages, yet they faile not in anything whereby
the reader might be led into any pernicious error touching his
salvation. And we shall observe the penmen of the New
Testament giving such a deference to the commonly received
version in their times, that although the Septuagint version which
we have appears to us more dissonant fromt he Hebrew than any
other, yet most of the quotations of the Old Testament which we
have in the New are apparently from that version; which teacheth
us, that it is not every private minister's work to make a new
version of the Scripture, but he ought to acquiesce in the version
which God hath provided for the church wherein he lives, and not
ordinarily, or upon light grounds, to enter into a dissent to it; and
if in any thing he sees it necessary to do it, yet not to do it (as to a
particular text) without great modesty, and a preface of reverence.

This translation of the Scriptures into a language understood by all

people in that country into which the church came was looked
upon so reasonable and necessary, as it was opposed by none till
the papists had patched up a religion, for the upholding of which it
was necessary for them to maintain, that ignorance was the mother
of devotion; after which it was very difficult in any places where
these spiritual tyrants had a dominion to get the Scriptures
translated into the language of that country. Not to instance in
other places, we shall give some short account of England. Our
records tell us of a translation of some part of them into the Saxon
language (which was then a great part of ours) within seven
hundred years after Christ, and of the translation of the whole into
the same language by Beda within forty years after. Beda was
himself a papist, but the mystery of iniquity grew up gradually to
its height. Soon after, bibles which the people could understand
were very scarce commodities in England, and thus it continued
for six hundred years. Wickliff, who lived in the time of Richard
II., and died in 1384, being the first we know of afterward who
translated the Scriptures into a language understood by any who
were not skilled in some or other of three learned languages. That
great man easily understood, that without the Scriptures in their
own language the people must take all for the will of God that
their priests told them was so, and that the popish priests were
generally persons of ignorance, and impudence enough to entitle
God to any of their own blasphemies and supestitions. But within
thirty years after the death of Wickliff, viz. anno 1414, the council
(of conventicle rather) of Constance decreed all Wickliff's books
to the fire; and though some were spared, yet the battle was so
hard that there were very few that escaped. This was out state till
the year 1527, (in all which year the poor people of the land of our
nativity were without a teaching Bible, (as to the common
people,) and indeed without a teaching priest,) yea, and for some
time after this, as we shall hear.

In the year 1527 God put it into the heart of Mr. Tindall to
translate the New Testament into English; as also the five books
of Moses (he bing then an exile in Germany for his religion). Be
he lost all his papers by a shipwreck in his passage to Hamburgh,
and had his work to begin again; which yet that faithful and most
unwearied servant of God did accomplish, adding some prefaces
to the several books, and some notes to the particular chapters and
verses; the publishing of which much nettled the popish bishops in
England, and all means were then used to supress it. Amongst
others, the then bishop of London advised with one Packington a
merchant of that city concerning the most accommodte mean to
that design. The merchant could think of none so probable, as with
a sum of money to buy up the whole impression. The bishop
approving it, furnished him with a round sum for that purpose;
which the merchant (being more a friend to Mr. Tindall that the
bishop knew) sent to Mr. Tindal, and had the impression sent him
(some few copies being (as we must imagine) first sold off). With
this money Mr. Tindall supported himself in his exile, and was
also enabled togo on with his translation of the other part of the
Bible, and to prepare a perfect English Bible. Sculteri Annales in
anno 1532. In the meantime, a passage happened so pleasant, that
I shall think it worth the while here to relate it: Sir Thomas More
being lord chancellor, and having several persons accused for
heresy, and ready for execution, offered to compound with one of
them for his life, upon the easy terms of his discovery to him who
they were in London that maintained Tindall beyond sea. After
that the poor man had got as good a security for his life as the
honour and truth of the chancellor could give him, he told him it
was the bishop of London maintained him, by sending him a sum
of money to buy up the impression of his Testaments. The
chancellor smiled, saying that he believed he said true. George
Constantine. Thus was the poor confessor's life saved. But to
return to our story. In the year 1536 Mr. Tindall was martyred at
Villefort in Flanders, for translating into English the New
Testament and part of the Old (saith Sir Richrd Baker). But his
great adversary, Sir Thomas More, was the year before gone to his
own place, being executed for treason. Mr. Tindall and Mr.
Coverdale, (as Mr. Fox telleth us,) before Mr. Tindall's death, had
translated the whole Bible. Baker's Chronicle, p. 282. But it came
not out till after his death, under the name of Thomas Matthews
(with the addition of the Apocrypha, translated by John Rogers).
The Lord Cromwell, with Archbishop Crammer, presented it to
the king, and obtained an order from his majesty for leave for any
of his subjects to read it; but this was not with the great regret of
the bishops.

1540 About thirteen years after this (or not so much) the Lord
Cromwell obtained letters from King Henry VIII for a subject of
his reprint at Paris the Bible in English; the king also wrote a letter
to Bonner (at that time his ambassador in France) to further it.
Frafton and Whitchurch undertook the work, upon what seeming
encouragement from Bonner may be read in Mr. Fox's 2nd vol of
his Martyrology, pref. 1641, p. 515, 516. But how it came to pass
I cannot tell, (though Bonner's treachery was suspected in the
case,) when it was upon the point finished, the copies were seized,
and ordered to be burnt, and the work had wholly ceased but for
the covetousness of the officer, who sold four great dry fats filled
with them to a haberdasher to lay caps in. By this means having
recovered some copies, they came to London, and there made a
new impression.

But after this, my Lord Cromwell being put to death, the bishops
and popish party made so great complaint to the king, (whose
warmth for the Reformation much abated in the latter part of his
life,) that the sale of the English bible was again prohibited, and
the printer imprisoned; and although the bishops promised the
king they would make a more correct translation, yet it was never
done during that king's reign.

But in the year of our Lord 1577, which was the nineteenth or
twentieth of the reign of Queen Elzabeth, some bishops published
a new translation; but till that time the bibles used in churches
were Tindall's and Coverdale's, being allowed by the public
authority of King Edward VI., 1549-1552. And to this day the
Psalms in our Service Book are according to Tindall's and
Coverdales's Bibles; which should make us wary in our censures
of that translation, though we see reason in many things to dissent
from it. Only we having a more correct translation established by
authority, why (for the avoiding the offence of the less knowing
people) we have not made use of that, but retained a tranlation not
undertaken by any public authority, and confessed to be more
imperfect, is what I cannot, nor count myself obliged to account
for. Possibly God for the honour of his martyr hath so ordered it.

After this, King James coming to the crwon, being a prince of

great learning and judgment, and observing the different usage of
some words in his age from the usage of then In King Henry VIII
or in Queen Elizabeth's time, and also the several mistakes
(though of a minute nature) in those more ancient versions, was
pleased to employ divers learned men in making a new
translation, which is that which at this day is generally used. With
what reverence to former translators, what labor, and care, and
pains they accomplished their work, the reader may see at large in
their preface prefixed to those copies that are printed in folio, and
in their epistle to King James in our Bibles of a lesser form; of
which translation (though it may not be with its more minute
error) yet I think it may be said that it is hardly exceeded by that
of any other church.

By this history (reader) thou mayst understand the mighty

workings of Divide Providence, and wonderful goodness of God
to this nation in the plenty we have of Bible, and that of a very
correct translation (though possibly not in every little thing
perfect). Mr. Fox (if we remember right) tells us a story of two
maids in Lincolnshire, that in Queen Mary's time parted with a
considerable part of their estate for a few leaves of the bible. How
good is God to us, that we for a few shillings can have the whole
revelation of the Divine will! upon which account we offer it to
the consideration of any thinking English man or woman, what he
or she will answer for his or her ignorance in the Holy Scriptures,
or for the ignorance of his or her children, if (having so much
means as we have to learn to read) and shall neglect the teaching
of their children to read it, or learning themselves, in case their
parents have neglected then; or, being able to read, shall neglect
the practice of it, in excercising himself in the law of the Lord day
and night, and living up to the rule of it. The English bible is come
to us at the price of the blood of one martyr, and the unwearied
labour of a multitude of holy and learned men, succeeding one
another for more than sixty years, before we had the translation so
perfect as now it is in all hands.

Poor Christians in popish countries either have not this pot of

spiritual food, or must cry out, "Death is in the pot." Our English
translators in their preface observe, that of late the church or
Rome would seem to bear something of a monthly affection to her
children, and allow them the Scriptures in the mother tongue, but
it is indeed a gift not worthy of its name. They must first get a
licence in writing before they use them, and, to get that, they must
approve themselves to their confessors to be such as are, if not
frozen in dregs, yet soured with the leaven, of their superstition.
Yet this seemed toom much to Clement the Eighth, who therefore
frustrated the grant of Pius the Fourth. They will allow none to be
read but the Doway bibles, and the Rhemish Testaments, (the
corruptions of which have been sufficiently manifested by many
learned men,) now will they trust their people with these without
the licence of their own bishops and inquistors. This is the liberty
they boast of giving to any of their religion to read the Scriptures
in English; what it is worth let any man judge.

In the mean time, those who are not affected with the mercy of
God to us in this particular, must declare themselves neither to
have any just valaue for God in the mighty workings of his
providence to bring this about; nor yet for the blood of holy Mr.
Tindall, who died in his testimony to this truth, that no people
ought to be deprived of so great a good; nor for the labours and
pains of those many servants of God who travailed in this great
work, and thought no labour in it too much; nor indeed for their
own souls, to the slavation ow which, if the Holy Scriptures in our
language doth not highly contribute, we must lay the blame upon
ourselves.

But although we have the Bible in a language we understand, yet

we may see reason to cry out as Bernard does with reference to
the Song of Solomon, Here is an excellent nut, but who shall
crack it? heavenly bread, but who shall break it? For though the
papists and such as have ill will to the good of souls make too
great an improvement of the difficulties in holy writ, in making
them an argument against the people's having them in a language
which they can understand; (for Augustine said true when he said,
There are fords in them wherein lambs may wade, as well as
depths in which elephants may swim;) and what others observe is
as true, that things necessary to be believed or done in order to
salvation, lied plain and obvious in holy writ: yet it is as true, that
there is much of holy writ of which the generality of people must
say as the eunuch, "How can I understand, except some man
should guide me!" Act_8:31; hard to say what book of Scripture
is so plain that every one who runneth can read it with
understanding (such a vast difference there is betwixt the
capacities of those who yet have the same honest hearts). This
hath made wise and learned men not only see a need of larger
commentaries, but also of shorter notes, annotations, and
paraphrses, &c. Nor is this a late discovery. It is upward of three
hundred years since Lyra wrote his short notes upon the whole
Bible. What Vatablus and Erasmus (though all of them papists)
have done since is sufficiently known, to say nothing of many
others of that religion. Amongst the Reformed churches, there
hath been a learned Piscator in Germany, Junius and Tremellius
elsewhere, who did the same things; but all these wrote their notes
in Latin, not in the peculiar language of any country. The
ancientest notes we have in English were those ordinarily known
by the name of the Geneva Notes, after two years labour finished
1560, by those good men who, flying from Queen Mary's
persecution, took sanctuary there. A work so acceptable to
protestants in the beginning of our Reformation, that their Bible
with with those Notes annexed was (as is observed by the authors
of our Late English Annotations) printed above thirty times over
by Queen Elizabeth's printers and their heirs and successors.
There wanted not one indeed who fifty years after boldly reflected
on that excellent work in the most public pulpit of our University
of Oxford; but how grateful his reflections were to the University
at that time may be read in the preface to the English Annotations:
he was in the same pulpit checked and confuted by the doctor of
the chair, and suspended by the governors of the University. The
labours of Erasmus in his Paraphrase on the New Testament were
so acceptable, that by public order they were to be in every church
exposed to public view and use, and (if we mistake not) ought to
be so still. After these, were published Diodate's Notes written in
Italian, since translated into English. About the year 1640 some
deliberations were taken for the composing and printing other
English notes (the old Geneva Notes not so well fitting our new
and more correct translation of the bible). These were at first
intended to be so short, that they might be printed together with
our bibles in folio or quarto. But those divines who were engaged
in it found this would not answer their end; it being not possible
by so short notes to give people any tolerable light into the whole
text; yet we cannot say it gave so general a satisfaction (by reason
of the shortness of it) as was desired and expected. So as upon the
second edition it came forth quite a new thing, making just two
just volumes. This was so acceptable to the world, that within
sixteen years it was ready for a third edition, with some further
enlargements; before which also were published the Dutch
Annotations translated into our language.

So that at this day (besides the shorter Geneva Notes) we have

three sorts of annotations in our own language; those of famous
Diodate, the Dutch Annotations, and those of our own divines
(originally so wrote). After which, new annotations may seem
superfluous. It seems therefore reasonable that we should give our
readers some short account of our undertaking. We dare say
nothing could be farther from the thoughts of our reverend brother
(now at rest with God) who at first began this work, than to reflect
any dishonour upon those eminent persons who laboured before in
works of this nature, nor is any thing further from our thoughts.
(They all of them did famously in their generations.) And if it
should appear to any of our readers that any of us have seen
further into any particular texts than those did who went before us,
yet we hope all our readers will understand there is little honour
due to us upon that account, because we had all their shoulders to
stand upon.

The pains which our reverend brother ( o makapithv ) took in his

Synopsis Critocorum is such, as not only will make his name live
in the churches of Christ, but also eminently fitted him for giving
the sense of the whole Scripture in Annotations of this nature,
which he undertook and carried on by his own hand to the 58th of
Isaiah, designing that two volumes should comprehend the whole,
and that the first should determine with his notes upon the Song of
Solomon. What occasioned his first thoughts and undertaking
himself tells us in his paper of proposals published with reference
tot hat work, in these words: "But although there are many
excellent comments upon divers parts of the Scripture, and some
entire comments, or large annotations, upon the whole, in the
English tonguel yet because of the too much brevity of some, and
the unequal composure of others, as being done by divers hands,
and the prolixity of those that have been written upon particular
books, it hath been often and earnestly wished that there were
some short and full comment, wherein all those passages which
need the help of an interpretoer might be sufficiently cleared," &c.
As the first edition of our English Annotations, after which
followed the translation of those of the learned Diodate into our
language, and then those of the Low Country divines of Holland,
(though all of them deservedly valuable,) seemed much too short
to satisfy the thirst of many pious souls after the fuller knowledge
of the Scriptures; so the larger edition of our English Annotations
seems capable of some amendments, by which they might be
made more serviceable to those that use them, especially in these
particulars.

1. The whole text is not printed in them, so as those who will use
then must make use of a Bible also for the understanding of them.
Our reverend brother (with whom also we concur) rightly judged
that it would be of more advantage to have the entire text in the
reader's eye while he is seeking the sense of any particular place,
and while he reads a chapter to have a commentary under his eyes
in which he might find the sense of any part or it, and satisfy
himself as to any difficulty occurring it it.

2. As some (very eminently learned men) had been too large in

those Annotations, (saying almost all that hath been said by any
upon the texts they handled,) so others had been as much too
short, and that expecially in the New Testament (which seems to
Christians to need the fullest explication); and others, from their
variety of learning, had mixed several quotations out of the
fathers, and critical and philogical notions, possibly not so proper
for the end for which such annotations are designed, which is to
give the unlearned Christians the true sense of the Holy
Scriptures, that those who can, might read and understand the will
of God.

That our reader may not mistake our design or undertaking, we

desire that he should know, that we do not pretend (as some have
vainly fancied) to translate Mr. Pool's Synopsis Criticorum; that
would have asked six volumes instead of two; and when it had
been done, would have signified very little, unless for thos who
(being learned men) needed no such translation: possibly in a
whole leaf of that book six lines would not serve our purpose. Nor
have we had any ambition either to say something that none had
said before us, (we have observed that those who have had such
an itch have for the most part happened to say what those who
came after then would not subscribe,) nor yet to say all that we
hinted the senses which in our judgment have seemed fairest, and
least constrained, and shortly showed the consonancy of them to
other scriptures. We have avoided all polemical discourses, as no
way proper to our design, and very rarely hinted those practical
conclusions which have arose from the text when opened (the
most we have done of that nature is in our discourses upon the
parables).

Our reverend brother (designing but two volumes, and the first to
end with the Song of Solomon, though since it hath been
determined to conclude it with the prophet Isaiah, that all which
he lived to finish might be comprehended in one volume) had a
hard task to contract his discourses so as to bring them within that
compass, and thereby was necessistated not to give the entire
sense of each verse in his notes, but only of those words or terms
in the verse which he conceived to stand in need of explication,
referring by letters in the text to the parts of the commentary. This
was not neccessary in such parts of the Scripture where the entire
sense of the whole text is given; nor indeed as to some parts is it
possible (such we mean as are opened harmonically); of which
nature are the three first evangelists. It is confessed by all, that the
evangelists make up but one entire history, though some of them
have some things which the others have not, and they seldom
agree in the phrases and circumstances of any one piece of
history. This made it reasonable that, with the interpretation of
one evangelist, should be joined what the others had with
reference to the same piece of history; which method hath been
accordingly pursued (being the same in which the most judicious
Mr. Calvin and others have gone before us); not indeed could any
other course have been taken without a needless writing the same
things over and over again; so as that in our notes upon Mark we
have only enlarged in the explication of what he hath which we
did not meet with before in Matthew; and in the explication of
Luke, we have only opened what he hath which was not in
Matthew or Mark. Where they all three concurred, or but two of
them concurred, in any story, we have opened what they all or
both say in our notes upon the first of them; and when we have
come to it again in one or both the other, we have only referred to
our former notes. John (having little which the other evangelists
have) we have considered by himself mostly, yet sometimes
taking in something from him, where we found it completory of
any thing related by the other evangelists.

In magnis voluisse sat est. We cannot say that we have left no

room for others to come after us, and add to or correct what we
have said. But this we can say in truth, that we have not willingly
balked any obvious difficulty, and have designed a just
satisfaction to all our readers; and if any knot remain yet untied,
we have told our readers what hath been most probably said for
their satisfaction in the untying of it.

If it had pleased God to have lent a little longer life to our

reverend brother, the work had very probably been done to greater
advantage, and more general satisfaction. We are but entered upon
his harvest, and have wanted his sickle; we cannot pretend to any
double portion of his spirit. His mantle dropped from him before
he was translated (we mean his Synopsis). We have taken that up;
out of that great work of his we have taken so much as we judged
proper for his design in this work, and made use of great number
of other authors, some of which he left out, or very little
considered, in his Synopsis, upon design to make a further use of
them in this English work, as thinking their labours more proper
for this than his other work.

Our design, good reader, was not to tell thee how the fathers
interpreted texts, (Aquinas, Justinianus, and others have done that
work,) nor yet to tell thee any grammatical niceties, or what
learned men have critically noted upon terms or phrases, (that is
done in the Synopsis Criticorum,) nor yet to tell thee what
conclusions of truth may be raised from the verses, (that hath been
done profitably upon many books of Scripture by Mr. Dickson,
Hutchinson, Fergusson, Guild, Durham, and some others,) much
less to handle the controversies that have risen from any portion of
Scripture. Our work hath been only to give thee the plain sense of
the Scripture, and to reconcile seeming contradictions where they
occurred, and as far as we were able to open scripture by scriptue,
which is its own best interpreter, comparing things spiritual with
spiritual, "that thy faith might not stand in the wisdom of men, but
in the wisdom and power of God." If we have reached this end, it
is all we aimed at; if thous gettest any good by what we have
done, remember thy sacrifice is due at another altar, even His who
"ministreth seed to the sower," who both watereth the furrows of
the field, and blesseth the springing of the corn; let Him have the
praise, and we only thy prayers, that we may live a useful life, and
die a happy death, and "attain to the resurrection of the dead," in
which we shall all see and understand more perfectly than we yet
do.

BC 4004

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning, to wit, of time and things, in the first place,

before things were distinguished and perfected in manner
hereafter expressed. Or the sense is this, The beginning of the
world was thus. And this phrase further informeth us, that the
world, and all things in it, had a beginning, and were not from
eternity, as some philosophers dreamed.

God created the heaven and the earth; made out of nothing,
either,

1. The heaven and earth as now they are with their inhabitants. So
this verse is a summary or brief of what is particularly declared in
the rest of this chapter. Or,

2. The substance and common matter of heaven and earth. Which

seems more probably by comparing this verse with the next,
where the earth here mentioned is declared to be without form,
and the heavens without light; as also with Gen_2:1, where the
heavens and the earth, here only said to be created, are said to be
finished or perfected. Yet I conceive the third heaven to be
included under the title of the heaven, and to have been created
and perfected the first day, together with its blessed inhabitants
the holy angels, as may be collected from Job_33:6-7. But the
Scripture being written for men, and not for angels, the Holy
Ghost thought it sufficient to comprehend them and their
dwelling-place under that general term of the heavens, and
proceedeth to give a more particular account of the visible
heavens and earth, which were created for the use of man. In the
Hebrew it is, the heavens and the earth. For there are three
heavens mentioned in Scripture: the aerial; the place of birds,
clouds, and meteors, Mat_26:64 Rev_19:17 Rev_20:9. The starry;
the region of the sun, the moon, and stars, Gen_22:17. The highest
or third heaven, 2Co_12:2; the dwelling of the blessed angels.

Genesis 1:2

The same confused mass or heap is here called both

earth, from its most solid and substantial part; and the

deep, from its vast bulk and depth; and waters, from its outward
face and covering. See Psa_104:6 2Pe_3:5.

Without form and void; without order and beauty, and without
furniture and use.

Upon the face, the surface or uppermost part of it, upon which the
light afterward shone. Thus not the earth only, but also the heaven
above it, was without light, as is manifest from the following
verses.

The Spirit of God; not the wind, which was not yet created, as is
manifest, because the air, the matter or subject of it, was not yet
produced; but the Third Person of the glorious Trinity, called the
Holy Ghost, to whom the work of creation is attributed,
Job_26:13, as it is ascribed to the Second Person, the Son, Joh_1:3
Col_1:16-17 Heb_1:3, and to the First Person, the Father, every
where.

Upon the face of the waters, i.e. upon the waters, to cherish,
quicken, and dispose them to the production of the things after
mentioned. It is a metaphor from birds hovering and fluttering
over, and sitting upon their eggs and young ones, to cherish,
warm, and quicken them.

Genesis 1:3

He commanded, not by such a word or speech as we use, which

agreeth not with the spiritual nature of God; but either by an act of
his powerful will, called the word of his power, Heb_1:3 or, by his
substantial Word, his Son, by whom he made the worlds, Heb_1:2
Psa_33:6, who is called: The Word, partly, if not principally, for
this reason,

Joh_1:1-3, Joh_1:10.

There was light; which was some bright and lucid body,
peradventure like the fiery cloud in the wilderness, giving a small
and imperfect light, successively moving over the several parts of
the earth; and afterwards condensed, increased, perfected, and
gathered together in the sun.

Genesis 1:4

He observed with approbation that it was pleasant and amiable,

agreeable to God’s purpose and man’s use; and made a distinction
or separation between them in place, time, and use, that the one
should succeed and shut out the other, and so by their vicissitudes
make the day and the night.

Genesis 1:5

It is acknowledged by all, that the evening and the morning are

not here to be understood according to our common usage, but are
put by a synecdoche each of them for one whole part of the
natural day. But because it may be doubted which part each of
them signifies, some understand by

evening, the foregoing day; and by

the morning, the foregoing night; and so the natural day begins
with the morning or the light, as it did with the ancient Chaldeans.
Others by

evening understand the first night or darkness which was upon the
face of the earth, Gen_1:2, which probably continued for the
space of about twelve hours, the beginning whereof might fitly be
called

evening; and by

morning the succeeding light or day, which may reasonably be

supposed to continue the other twelve hours, or thereabouts. And
this seems the truer opinion,

1. Because the darkness was before the light, as the

evening is put before the

morning, Gen_1:5, Gen_1:8, and afterwards.

2. Because this best agrees both with the vulgar and with the
Scripture use of the terms of

evening and morning.

3. Because the Jews, who had the best opportunity of knowing the
mind of God in this matter by Moses and other succeeding
prophets, begun both their common and sacred days with the
evening, as is confessed, and may be gathered from Lev_23:32.

Were the first day; did constitute or make up the first day; day of
being taken largely for the natural day, consisting of twenty-four
hours: these were the parts the first day; and the like is to be
understood of the succeeding days. Moreover, God, who could
have made all things at once, was pleased to divide his work into
six days, partly to give us occasion more distinctly and seriously
to consider God's works, and principally to lay the foundation for
the weekly sabbath, as is clearly intimated, Gen_2:2-3 Exo_20:9-
11.

Genesis 1:6

A firmament; or, an extension, or a space or

place extended or stretched out, and spread abroad like a tent or

curtain, between the waters, though not exactly in the middle
place; as Tyrus is said to sit, or be situated in the midst of the seas
, Eze_28:2, though it was but a little space within the sea. But of
these things see more in Gen_1:7.

Genesis 1:7

The firmament here is either,

1. The starry heaven; so called, not from its solidity, but from its
fixed, durable, and, in a sort, incorruptible and unchangeable
nature. Or,

2. The air; called here, the expansion, or extension, because it is

extended far and wide, even from the earth to the third heaven;
called also the firmament, because it is fixed in its proper place,
from whence it cannot be moved, unless by force.

The waters under the firmament are seas, rivers, lakes,

fountains, and other waters in the bowels of the earth.

The waters above the firmament, or above the heavens, as they

are called, Psa_148:4, are either,

1. A collection or sea of waters placed by God above all the

visible heavens, and there reserved for ends known to himself. Or
rather,

2. The waters in the clouds; for the clouds are called waters,
Psa_18:11 Psa_104:3, and are said to be in heaven, 2Sa_21:10
Mat_24:30, and the production thereof is mentioned as an eminent
work of God's creation, Job_35:5 Job_36:29 Psa_147:8 Pro_8:28;
which therefore it is not credible that Moses in his history of the
creation would admit, which he doth, if they be not here meant;
and these are rightly said to be above the firmament, i.e. the air,
because they are above a considerable part of it. As God
commanded and ordered it, so it was done and settled.

Genesis 1:9

The waters under the heaven; both the great abyss, or deep of
water which is shut up in the bowels of the earth, Gen_7:11
Psa_24:2 Psa_33:7 Psa_136:6; as also the sea and rivers, all which
are here said to be gathered together into one place, because of
their communication and mixture one with another.

Let the dry land appear; for hitherto it was covered with water,
Gen_1:2 2Pe_3:5.

Genesis 1:10

He called them not sea , but seas; because of the differing quantity
and nature both of several seas, and of the rivers, and other lesser
collections of waters, all which the Hebrews call seas.

The separation of the waters was begun on the second day,

Gen_1:6, &c., but not perfected till this third day; therefore God’s
approbation of that work is not mentioned there, but here only.

Genesis 1:11

Let the earth bring forth; the sense is: For the present let it
afford matter, out of which I will make grass (as man’s rib
afforded matter, out of which God made woman); and for the
future let it receive virtue or power of producing it out of that
matter which I have made, and suited to that end.

Grass; that which groweth of itself without seed or manuring, and

is the food of beasts.
The herb yielding seed, for the propagation of their several
kinds, to wit, mature and perfect herbs, which alone yield seed. So
afterwards God made man, not in the state of children, but of
grown and perfect age.

After his kind, i.e. according to the several kinds of fruits.

Whose seed is in itself; now is by my constitution, and shall be

for the future. In some part of itself, either in the root, or branch,
or leaf, or bud, or fruit. The sense is, which is sufficient of itself
for the propagation of its kind, without any conjunction of male
and female.

Genesis 1:12

This clause is so often added, to show that all the disorders, evil
and hurtful qualities, that now are in the creatures, are not to be
imputed to God, who made all of them good; but to man’s sin,
which hath corrupted their nature, and perverted their use.

Genesis 1:14

Let there be lights; to wit, more glorious lights than that created
the first day, which probably was now condensed and reduced into
these lights; which are higher for place, more illustrious for light,
and more powerful for influence, than that was. Note here, that
herbs and trees were created before the sun, whose influence now
is necessary for their production, to show that God doth not
depend upon the means or upon the help of the creatures in his
operations.

The day, i.e. the artificial day, reaching from sun-rising to

sunsetting.

Let them be for signs; for the designation and distincton of times,
as months, weeks, &c.; as also for the signification of the quality
of the weather or season, by the manner of their rising and setting,
Mat_16:2; by their eclipses, conjunctions, &c. And for the
discovery of supernatural and miraculous effects; of which see
Jos_10:13 Isa_38:8 Luk_21:25-26 Act_2:19-20.

And for seasons, and for days, and years:

1. By their motions and influences to produce and distinguish the

four seasons of the year, mentioned Gen_8:22. And to show as
well the fit times and seasons for sowing, planting, reaping,
navigation, &c., as for the observation of set and solemn feasts, or
other times for the ordering of ecclesiastical or civil affairs.

2. By their diurnal and swift motion to make the days, and by their
nearer approaches to us, or further distances from us, to make the
days or nights either longer, or shorter, or equal. He speaks here of
natural days, consisting of twenty-four hours.

3. By their annual and slower motion to make years.

Genesis 1:16

Two great lights, or, enlighteners, as the word properly signifies.

The sun, which is really and considerably greater than the moon,
or any of the stars, or the whole earth. And the moon, called here
the lesser light, is greater than any of the stars, not really, but in
appearance, and in clearness and light, in respect of which it is
called great in this place, and both are much greater in efficacy
and use than any of the stars.

To rule the day; either,

1. To influence the earth and its fruits with heat or moisture, and
to govern men’s actions and affairs, which commonly are
transacted by day; for the word day is sometimes put
metonymically for the events of the day, as Pro_27:1 1Co_3:13.
Or,

2. To regulate and manage the day; by its rise to begin it, by its
gradual progress to carry it on, even to the mid-day, and by its
declination and setting to impair and end it. Which seems most
probable, because the moon is in like manner said to rule the
night, which is meant of the time, and not of the actions or events
of the night.

Genesis 1:18

This clause was omitted in the first day’s work, but is added here,
because the light was then but glimmering and imperfect, which
now was made more clear and complete.

Genesis 1:20

The moving creature, or, creeping thing. A word which belongs

to all those living creatures who move with their bellies close to
the element they move in. Hence it is used both of birds which fly
in the air, Lev_11:20, and of things creeping upon the earth, as
Gen_1:24, and of fishes that swim in the sea, as here.

And fowl that may fly above the earth. The particle that or

which is oft wanting, and to be understood in the Hebrew

language, as Gen_39:4 Job_41:1 Isa_6:6: according to this
translation the fowl have their matter from the water as well as the
fishes; which seem most probable, as from this, so also from the
following verses, in which they are both mentioned together, as
made of the same materials, and as works of the same day, and
both are blessed together, and both are distinguished and
separated from the production of the earth, which were the works
of the sixth day, Gen_1:24, &c. And whereas it is said, Gen_2:19,
Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air; it may be answered, That the word
ground or earth may be there understood more largely, as it is
confessedly in some other places of Scripture, for the lower part
of the world, consisting of earth and water. For it is most
reasonable to expound that short and general passage from the
foregoing chapter, wherein the original both of beasts and fowls
are largely and distinctly described. Moreover, the fowl seem to
have been made of both these elements, viz. of soft and moist
earth, possibly taken from the bottom of the water, in which case
they were brought forth by the water, as is said here, and formed
out of the ground, as there. As Eve is said to be made of Adam’s
bone and rib, Gen_2:21; and of his flesh Gen_1:23. Which shows
that with the rib flesh was taken from Adam, though it be not said
so, Gen_1:21. So here, the fowl were made both of water and
earth, as their temper and constitution shows, though but one of
them be here expressed. But these words are by some translated
thus,

and let the fowl fly. But according to that translation, the mention
of the fowl, both here and in Gen_1:21, seems to be very improper
and forced. For it is preposterous, and contrary to the method
constantly used in this whole chapter, to speak of the motion of
any living creature, and the place thereof, before its original and
production be mentioned. Besides, either the original of the fowls
is described here, or it is wholly omitted in this chapter, which is
not credible.

Genesis 1:21

God created, i.e. produced out of most unfit matter, as if a man

should out of a stone make bread, which requires as great a power
as that which is properly called creation.

Great whales; those vast sea monsters known by that name,

though elsewhere this word be applied to great dragons of the
earth.

After his kind; in such manner as is declared in the first note

upon Gen_1:20. See Poole on "Gen_1:20".

Genesis 1:22

He gave them power of procreation and fruitfulness, which is

justly mentioned as a great blessing, Psa_128:3-4.

Fill the waters in the seas; and consequently in the rivers, which
come from the sea, and return into it.
Let fowl multiply in the earth, where they shall commonly have
their habitation, though they had their original from the waters; of
which see Poole on "Gen_1:20".

Genesis 1:24

1. Those living creatures hereafter mentioned, whose original is

from the earth, and whose habitation is in it.

2. Those tame beasts which are most familiar with and useful to
men for food, clothing, or other service.

3. Creeping thing; to wit, of the earth, of a differing kind from

those creeping things of the water, Gen_1:20.

4. The wild beast, as the Hebrew word commonly signifies, and as

appears further, because they are distinguished from the tame
beasts, here called cattle.

Genesis 1:26

God had now prepared all things necessary for man’s use and
comfort. The plurals us and our afford an evident proof of a
plurality of persons in the Godhead. It is plain from many other
texts, as well as from the nature and reason of the thing, that God
alone is man’s Creator: the angels rejoiced at the work of creation,
but only God wrought it, Job_38:4-7. And it is no less plain from
this text, and from divers other places, that man had more Creators
than one person: see Job_35:10 Joh_1:2-3, &c.; Heb_1:3. And as
other texts assure us that there is but one God, so this shows that
there are more persons in the Godhead; nor can that seeming
contradiction of one and more being in the Godhead be otherwise
reconciled, than by acknowledging a plurality of persons in the
unity of essence. It is pretended that God here speaks after the
manner of princes, in the plural number, who use to say: We will

and require, or, It is our pleasure. But this is only the invention
and practice of latter times, and no way agreeable to the
simplicity, either of the first ages of the world, or of the Hebrew
style. The kings of Israel used to speak of themselves in the
singular number, 2Sa_3:28, 1Ch_21:17, 1Ch_29:14, 2Ch_2:6.
And so did the eastern monarchs too, yea, even in their decrees
and orders, which now run in the plural number, as Ezr_6:8, I
(Darius) make a decree; Ezr_7:21, I, even I Artaxerxes the king,
do make a decree. Nor do I remember one example in Scripture to
the contrary. It is therefore a rash and presumptuous attempt,
without any warrant, to thrust the usages of modern style into the
sacred Scripture. Besides, the Lord doth generally speak of
himself in the singular number, some few places excepted,
wherein the plural number is used for the signification of this
mystery. Moreover, this device is utterly overthrown by
comparing this text with Gen_3:22:

The Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us.
Therefore there are more persons than one in the Godhead. How
many they are other texts plainly inform us, as we shall see in
their proper places. And whereas he saith not now as he did
before: Let the earth or waters

bring forth, but, Let us make; this change of the phrase and
manner of expression shows that man was, as the last, so the most
perfect and the chief of the ways and works of God in this lower
world.

After our likeness. Image and likeness are two words noting the
same thing, even exact likeness. For both of them are used of
Adam, Gen_5:3:

He begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and they are
separately and indifferently used in the same sense, man being
said to be made in the likeness of God, Gen_5:1, and in the image
of God, Gen_9:6.

Quest. Wherein doth the image of God in man consist?

Answ. 1. It is in the whole man, both in the blessedness of his

estate, and in his dominion over the rest of the creatures.
2. It shines forth even in the body, in the majesty of man’s
countenance, and height of his stature, which is set towards
heaven, when other creatures by their down-looks show the
lowness and meanness of their nature, as even heathens have
observed.

3. It principally consists and most eminently appears in man’s

soul.

1. In its nature and substance, as it is, like God, spiritual, invisible,

immortal, &c.

2. In its powers and faculties, reason or understanding, and

freedom in its choice and actions.

3. In the singular endowments wherewith God hath adorned it, as

knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, in which St. Paul
chiefly placeth this image, Eph_4:24 Col_3:10.

The male and female are both comprehended in the word man, as
is expressed, Gen_1:27, together with their posterity.

Over the cattle; by which he understands either,

1. Both tame and wild beasts, the same word being used here in a
differing sense from what it hath Gen_1:25, as is frequent in
Scripture. Or,

2. Tame beasts, which are particularly mentioned, because they

are more under man’s dominion than the wild beasts, and more
fitted for man’s use and benefit, though the other be not excluded,
but comprehended under the former, as the more famous kind, as
is usual in Scriptures and other authors.

Over all the earth; over all other creatures and productions of the
earth, and over the earth itself, to manage it as they see fit for their
own comfort and advantage.
Genesis 1:27

Not both together, as some of the Jews have fabled, but

successively, the woman after and out of the man, as is more
particularly related, Gen_2:21, &c., which is here mentioned by
anticipation. Albeit the woman also seems to have been made
upon the sixth day, as is here related, and as the following
blessing showeth, which is common to both of them, though the
particular history of it is brought in afterwards, Gen_2:1-25, by
way of recapitulation or repetition.

Genesis 1:28

Having blessed them with excellent natures, and heavenly gifts

and graces, he further blesseth them with a special and temporal
blessing expressed in the following words.

Replenish the earth, with inhabitants to be begotten by you.

Question. Whether this be a command obliging all men to

marriage and procreation? So the Hebrew doctors think. It may be
thus resolved:

1. It is a command obliging all men so far as not to suffer the

extinction of mankind: thus it did absolutely bind Adam and Eve,
as also Noah, and his sons and their wives, after the Flood.

2. It doth not oblige every particular person to marry, as appears

both from the example of the Lord Jesus, who lived and died in an
unmarried state, and from his commendation of those who made
themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of God, Mat_19:12; and
from St. Paul’s approbation of virginity, 1Co_7:1, 1Co_7:8,
1Co_7:26-27, 1Co_7:32, &c.

3. It is here rather a promise or benediction than a command, as

appears both from Gen_2:22, where the same words are applied to
the brute beasts, who are not subject to a command; and because if
this were a command, it would equally oblige every man to
exercise dominion over fishes and fowls, &c., which is absurd. It
is therefore a permission rather than a command, though it be
expressed in the form of a command, as other permissions
frequently are, as Gen_2:16 Deu_14:4.

Genesis 1:29

It is neither affirmed nor denied that flesh also was granted to the
first men for food, and therefore we may safely be ignorant of it. It
is sufficient for us that it was expressly allowed, Gen_9:3.

Genesis 2:1

All the creatures in heaven and earth are called their

hosts, for their multitude, variety, order, power, and subjection to

the Lord of hosts. Particularly the host of heaven in Scripture
(which is its own best interpreter) signifies both the stars, as
Deu_4:19, Deu_17:3, Isa_34:4; and the angels, as 1Ki_22:19
2Ch_18:18 Luk_2:13; who from these words appear to have been
created within the compass of the first six days, which also is
probable from Col_1:16-17. But it is no wonder that the Scripture
saith so little concerning angels, because it was written for the use
of men, not of angels; and God would hereby take us off from
curious and impertinent speculations, and teach us to employ our
thoughts about necessary and useful things.

Genesis 2:2

God ended his work, or rather had ended or

finished, for so the Hebrew word may be rendered, as all the

learned know, and so it must be rendered, else it doth not agree
with the former chapter, which expressly saith that all these works
were done within six days.

He rested, not for his own need and refreshment, for he

is never weary, Isa_40:28; but for our example and instruction,

that we might keep that day as a day of religious rest.
Genesis 2:3

God blessed the seventh day, by conferring special honours and

privileges upon it above all other days, that it should be a day of
solemn rest and rejoicing and celebration of God and his works,
and a day of God’s bestowing singular and the best blessings upon
his servants and worshippers. He separated it from common use
and worldly employments, and consecrated it to the worship of
God, that it should be accounted a holy day, and spent in holy
works and solemn exercises of religion. Some conceive that the
sabbath was not actually blessed and sanctified at and from this
time, but only in the days of Moses, which they pretend to be here
related by way of anticipation. But this opinion hath no foundation
in the text or context, but rather is confuted from them; for as soon
as the sacred penman had said that God had

ended his work and rested, & c., he adds immediately in words of
the same tense, that God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified
it. And if we compare this place with Exo_20:8-11, we shall find
that Moses there speaks of God’s blessing and sanctifying of the
sabbath, not as an action then first done, but as that which God
had done formerly upon the creation of the world, to the end that
men might celebrate the praises of God for that glorious work,
which as it was agreeable to the state of innocency, so was it no
less proper and necessary a duty for the first ages of the world
after the fall, than it was for the days of Moses, and for the
succeeding generations. Because he would have the memory of
that glorious work of creation, from which he then rested,
preserved through all generations.

Which God created and made; either,

1. Created in making, i.e. made by way of creation; or rather,

2. Created out of nothing, and afterwards out of that created

matter

made or formed divers things, as the beasts out of the earth, the
fishes out of the water. He useth these two words possibly to show
that God’s wisdom, power, and goodness was manifest, not only
in that which he brought out of mere nothing, but also in those
things which he wrought out of matter altogether unfit for so great
works.

Genesis 2:4

i.e. These things mentioned in Gen 1 are a true and full relation of
their generations, i.e. of their original or beginnings.

In the day; not strictly so called, but largely taken for the time, as
it is Gen_2:17 Rth_4:5 Luk_19:42 2Co_6:2.

Genesis 2:5

Before it was in the earth, i.e. when as yet there were no plants,
nor so much as seeds of them, there.

Before it grew, to wit, out of the earth, as afterwards they did by

God’s appointment.

The two great means of the growth of plants and herbs, viz. rain
from heaven, and the labour of man, were both lacking, to show
that they were now brought forth by God’s almighty power and
word.

Genesis 2:6

There went up, from time to time, by God’s appointment, a

vapour, or cloud, which going up into the air, was turned into rain,
and fell down again to the earth from whence it arose; whereby
the earth was softened, and disposed both to the nourishment of
those plants or trees that were created, and to the production of
new plants in a natural and ordinary way. But these words may be
otherwise understood, the copulative and , here rendered but,
being put for the disjunctive

or, as it is Exo_21:15, Exo_21:17, Job_6:22, Job_8:3, and in other

places. Or, the negative particle not may be understood out of the
foregoing clause, as it is usual in the Hebrew language, as
Psa_1:5, Psa_9:17, Psa_44:19, Psa_50:8, Isa_28:27-28. And so
these words may be joined with the foregoing, and both translated
in this manner,

There was no rain, nor a man to till the ground, or (or

nor , for both come to one thing) so much as

a mist which went up from the earth, and watered (as

afterwards was usual and natural) the whole face of the ground.

Genesis 2:7

Into his nostrils, and by that door into the head and whole man.
This is an emphatical phrase, sufficiently implying that the soul of
man was of a quite differing nature and higher extraction and
original than the souls of beasts, which together with their bodies
are said to be brought forth by the earth, Gen_1:24.

The breath of life, Heb. of lives; either to show the continuance

of this breath or soul, both in this life and in the life to come; or to
note the various degrees or kinds of life which this one breath
worketh in us; the life of plants, in growth and nourishment; the
life of beasts, in sense and motion; and the life of a man, in reason
and understanding.

Man, who before this was but a dull lump of clay, or a comely
statue,

became a living soul, i.e. a living man: the soul being oft put for
the whole man, as Gen_12:5, Gen_12:13, Gen_46:15 Gen_46:18,
1Pe_3:20, &c.

Genesis 2:8

He had planted, viz. on the third day, when he made the plants
and trees to grow out of the ground, a place of the choicest plants
and fruits, most beautiful and pleasant.
Eastward, from the place where Moses writ, and the Israelites
afterwards dwelt.

Eden here is the name of a place, not that Eden near Damascus in
Syria, of which see Amo_1:5; but another Eden in Mesopotamia
or Chaldea, of which see Gen_4:16 2Ki_19:12 Isa_37:12
Eze_27:23. There are many and tedious disputes about the place
of this Paradise; of which he that listeth may see my Latin
Synopsis. It may suffice to know that which is evident, that it was
in or near to Mesopotamia, in the confluence of Euphrates and
Tigris.

There he put the man whom he had formed, to wit, in another

place.

Genesis 2:9

The tree of life; so called, either symbolically, and sacramentally,

because it was a sign and seal of that life which man had received
from God, and of his continual enjoyment of it upon condition of
his obedience; or, effectively, because God had planted in it a
singular virtue for the support of nature, prolongation of life, and
the prevention of all diseases, infirmities, and decays through age.

In the midst of the garden, or, within the garden, as Tyrus said
to be in the midst of the seas, Eze_28:2, though it was but just
within it.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil; so called with respect,

either,

1. To God, who thereby would prove and make known man’s

good or evil, his obedience and happiness, or his rebellion and
misery; or rather,

2. To man, who by the use of it would know, to his cost, how

great and good things he did enjoy, and might have kept by his
obedience, and how evil and bitter the fruits of his disobedience
were to himself and all his posterity. So it seems to be an ironical
denomination: q.d. You thirsted after more knowledge, which also
the devil promised you; and you have got what you desired, more
knowledge, even dear-bought experience.

Genesis 2:10

A river, or, rivers, by a common enallage.

Eden, the country in which Paradise was; where those rivers

either arose from one spring, or met together in one channel.

From the garden, it was divided into four principal rivers,

concerning which there are now many disputes. But it is no
wonder if the rise and situation of these rivers be not now
certainly known, because of the great changes, which in so long
time might happen in this as well as in other rivers, partly by
earthquakes, and principally by the general deluge. And yet
Euphrates and Tigris, the chief of these rivers, whereof the other
two are branches, are discovered by some learned men to have
one and the same original or spring, and that in a most pleasant
part of Armenia, where they conceive Paradise was. See my Latin
Synopsis.

Genesis 2:11

Pison, an eminent branch of the river Tigris, probably that called

by others Pasi-tigris, or Piso-tigris.

That is it which compasseth, i.e. with many windings and

turnings passed through; as this word is used, Jos_15:3
Mat_23:15.

This whole land of Havilah; either that which is in those parts of

Arabia which is towards Mesopotamia, so called from Havilah the
issue of Cham, Gen_10:7; or that which is nigh Persia, and in the
borders of India, so called from another Havilah of the posterity of
Shem, Gen_10:29. To either of these following the description
agrees well.
Genesis 2:12

Good, i.e. better than ordinary.

Bdellium, which signifies either a precious gum, of which see

Num_11:7, or gems and pearls. Once for all observe, that many of
the Hebrew words or names of stones, trees, birds, and beasts, are
even to the Hebrew doctors and others, both ancient and modern
interpreters, of uncertain signification, and that without any
considerable inconvenience to us, who are free from the
obligations which the Jews were formerly under of procuring such
stones, and abstaining in their diet from such beasts and birds as
then were sufficiently known to them; and if any were doubtful,
they had one safe course, to abstain from them.

The onyx stone, a kind of precious stone, of which see Exo_25:7,

Exo_28:9, Exo_28:20.

Genesis 2:13

Gihon; not that river in the land of Israel, so called, 1Ki_1:33

2Ch_32:30; but another of the same name, which in Hebrew
signifies, the branch of a greater river: here it is a branch either of
Euphrates, as most think, or of Tigris, as some late writers
conceive.

Ethiopia; not that country in Africa above Egypt, commonly so

called; but either Arabia, which in Scripture is frequently called

Cush or Ethiopia; of which, see Poole on "2Ki_19:9", see Poole

on "Job_28:19", see Poole on "Eze_29:10", see Poole on
"Eze_30:8", see Poole on "Eze_30:9", see Poole on "Hab_3:7".

Or rather a country adjoining to India and Persia, with which Cush

is joined, Eze_38:5; see also Isa_11:11 Eze_27:10; and about
which place the Ethiopians are seated by Herod. 1. 7, Homer,
Hesiod, and others. Of which see my Latin Synopsis.
Genesis 2:14

Hiddekel, i.e. Tigris, or an eminent branch of it. See Dan_10:4.

Genesis 2:15

Put him, i.e. commanded and inclined him to go. To prune, dress,
and order the trees and herbs of the garden,

and to keep it from the annoyance of beasts, which being

unreasonable creatures, and allowed the use of herbs, might easily
spoil the beauty of it.

Genesis 2:16

God commanded the woman too, (as appears both from the
permission for eating herbs and fruits given to her, together with
her husband, Gen_1:28-29, and from Gen_3:1-3, and from Eve’s
punishment), and that either immediately, or by Adam, whom
God enjoined to inform her thereof.

Thou mayest freely eat; without offence to me, or hurt to thyself.

The words in Hebrew have the form of a command, but are only a
permission or indulgence, as 1Co_10:25-27.

Genesis 2:17

With a threefold death.

1. Spiritual, by the guilt and power of sin: at that instant thou shalt
be dead in trespasses and sins, Eph_2:1.

2. Temporal, or the death of the body, which shall then begin in

thee, by decays, infirmities, terrors, dangers, and other harbingers
of death.

3. Eternal, which shall immediately succeed the other.

Genesis 2:18

The Lord God said, or, had said, to wit, upon the sixth day, on
which the woman was made, Gen_1:27-28.

Not good; not convenient either for my purpose of the increase of

mankind, or for man’s personal comfort, or for the propagation of
his kind.

Meet for him; a most emphatical phrase, signifying thus much,

one correspondent to him, suitable both to his nature and
necessity, one

altogether like to him in shape and constitution, disposition and

affection; a second self; or one to be at hand and near to him, to
stand continually before him, familiarly to converse with him, to
be always ready to succour, serve, and comfort him; or one whose
eye, respect, and care, as well as desire, Gen_3:16, should be to
him, whose business it shall be to please and help him.

Genesis 2:19

Brought them unto Adam, either by winds, or angels, or by their

own secret instinct, by which storks, and cranes, and swallows
change their places with the season; partly to own their subjection
to him; partly that man, being re-created with their prospect,
might adore and praise the Maker of them, and withal be sensible
of his want of a meet companion, and so the better prepared to
receive God’s mercy therein; and partly for the reason here
following.

To see, or, make a discovery; not to God, who knew it already, but
to all future generations, who would hereby understand the deep
wisdom and knowledge of their first parent.

That was the name thereof, to wit, in the primitive or Hebrew

language. And this was done for the manifestation both of man’s
dominion over the creatures, and of the largeness of his
understanding; it being an act of authority to give names, and an
effect of vast knowledge to give convenient names to all the
creatures, which supposeth an exact acquaintance with their
natures.

Genesis 2:20

But though, in giving them names, he considered their several

natures and perfections, it was evident to himself, as well as to the
Lord, that none of them was an help meet for him.

Genesis 2:21

1. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, that he, who was
without sin, might feel no pain in the taking away of his rib. And
in this sleep some think Adam was in an ecstasy, wherein he saw
what was done, together with the reason and mystery of it.

2. He took one of his ribs, together with the flesh upon it,
Gen_2:23; or, one of his sides, for the Hebrew word signifieth a
side as well as a rib, which may be taken synecdochically, for a
part of one of his sides, viz. a rib and the flesh upon it; or, for one
part out of each of his sides; as if the two ribs clothed with flesh
were taken out of the man, because he saith, Gen_2:23,

This is bone of my bones, not, of my bone. The woman was taken

out of this part, not out of the higher or lower parts, to show that
she is neither to be her husband's mistress, to usurp authority over
him, 1Ti_2:12; nor yet to be his slave, to be abused, despised, or
trampled under his feet; but to be kindly treated, and used like a
companion, with moderation, respect, and affection.

Quest. How could a rib be taken from Adam, but it must be either
superfluous in Adam, while it was in him, or defective afterwards,
both which reflect upon the Creator?

Answ. 1. It was no superfluity, but a conveniency, if Adam had at

first one rib extraordinary put into him for this purpose.
2. If Adam lost a rib upon so glorious an occasion, it was but a
scar or badge of honour, and no disparagement either to him or to
his Creator.

3. Either God created him a new rib, or hardened the flesh to the
nature and use of a rib, and so there was no defect in him.

3. He closed up the flesh, together with another bone or rib,

instead of that rib and flesh which he took away from him, which
was easy for God to do.

Genesis 2:22

From some place at a little distance, whither he first carried her,

that for the decency of the action he might bring her thence; a
bride to a bridegroom to be married to him: the great God being
pleased to act the part of a father to give his daughter and
workmanship to him, thereby both teaching parents their duty of
providing marriages for their children, and children their duty of
expecting their parents’ consent in marriage.

Genesis 2:23

And Adam said.

Quest. How knew he this?

Answ. Either,

1. By his own observation; for though it be said that he was asleep

till the rib was taken out and restored, yet he might awake as soon
as ever that was done, the reason of his sleep ceasing, and so
might see the making of the woman. Or,

2. By the revelation of God, who put these words into Adam’s

mouth, to whom therefore these words of Adam are ascribed,
Mat_19:5.
This is now; or, for this time the woman is made of my bones,
&c.; but for the time to come the woman as well as the man shall
be produced another way, to wit, by generation. Made of my rib
and flesh; i.e. God hath provided me a meet help and wife, not out
of the brute creatures, but nearer hand, a part of my own body,
and of the same nature with myself.

Genesis 2:24

These are the words of Moses by Divine instinct, or his inference

from Adam’s words.

Shall a man leave his father and his mother; in regard of

habitation and society, but not as to natural duty and affection;
and in conjugal relation and highest affection, even above what
they owe to their parents, they two (as it is in the Samaritan,
Syriac, and Arabic translations, and Mat_19:5) shall be esteemed
by themselves and others to be as entirely and inseparably united,
and shall have as intimate and universal commmunion, as if they
were one person, one soul, one body. And this first institution
shows the sinfulness of divorces, and polygamy, however God
might upon a particular reason for a time dispense with his own
institution, or remit the punishment due to the violators of it.

Genesis 2:25

To wit, of their nakedness, as having no guilt, nor cause of shame,

no filthy or evil inclinations in their bodies, no sinful
concupiscence or impure motions in their souls, but spotless
innocency and perfection, which must needs exclude shame.

Genesis 3:1

The serpent; or rather, this or that serpent; for here is an

emphatical article, of which more by and by.

The serpent's eminent subtlety is noted both in sacred Scripture,

Gen_49:17 Psa_58:5 Mat_10:16 2Co_11:3, and by heathen
authors, whereof these instances are given; that when it is
assaulted, it secures its head; that it stops its ear at the charmer's
voice; and the like. If it be yet said that some beasts are more
subtle, and therefore this is not true; it may be replied,

1. It is no wonder if the serpent for its instrumentality in man's sin

hath lost the greatest part of its original subtlety, even as man's sin
was punished with a great decay both of the natural endowments
of his mind, wisdom, and knowledge, and of the beauty and glory
of his body, the instrument of his sin. But this text may, and seems
to be understood, not of the whole kind of serpents, but of this
individual or particular serpent; for it is in the Hebrew
Hannachash that serpent, or

this serpent, to signify that this was not only an ordinary serpent,
but was acted and assisted by the devil, who is therefore called

that old serpent, Rev_12:9. And this seems most probable, partly
from the following discourse, which is added as a proof of that
which is here said concerning the serpent's subtlety; and that
surely was not the discourse of a beast but of a devil; and partly
from 2Co_11:3, which hath a manifest reference to this place,
where the apostle affirmeth that the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety; not surely through that subtlety which is common to
all serpents, but through that subtlety which was peculiar to this,
as it was possessed and acted by the devil. There seems indeed to
be an allusion here to the natural subtlety of all serpents; and the
sense of the sacred penman may seem to be this, as if he said: The
serpent indeed in itself is a subtle creature, and thought to be more
subtle than any beast of the field; but howsoever this be in other
serpents, it is certain that this serpent was more subtle than any
beast of the field, as will appear by the following words. If it be
said, the particle this, or that, is relative to something going
before, whereas there is not a word about it in the foregoing
words; it may be replied, that relative particles are often put
without any antecedents, and the antecedents are left to be
gathered not only out of the foregoing, but sometimes also out of
the following passages, as is apparent from Exo_14:29 Num_7:19
Num_24:17 Psa_87:1, Psa_105:19, Psa_114:2, Pro_7:8,
Pro_14:26. So here, that serpent, that of which I am now to speak,
whose discourse with the woman here followeth.

Quest. How the serpent could speak, and what the woman
conceived of his speech, and why she was not affrighted, but
continued the discourse with it? There be two satisfactory answers
may be given to these questions.

1. The woman knew that there were spirits, and did freely and
frequently converse with spirits or angels, who also did appear in
some visible shape to her, which seems very credible; because in
the following ages not only the angels, but even the blessed God
himself, did in that manner converse with men. And as they
afterwards used to appear in the shape of men, why might not one
of them now appear to her, and converse with her, in the shape of
a beautiful serpent? And why might she not freely and securely
discourse with this which she thought to be one of those good
angels, to whose care and tuition both she and her husband were
committed? For I suppose the fall of the angels was yet unknown
to her; and she thought this to be a good spirit, otherwise she
would have declined all conversation with an apostate spirit.

2. A late ingenious and learned writer represents the matter thus,

in which there is nothing absurd or incredible: The serpent makes
his address to the woman with a short speech, and salutes her as
the empress of the world, &c. She is not affrighted, because there
was as yet no cause of fear, no sin, and therefore no danger, but
wonders and inquires what this meant, and whether he was not a
brute creature, and how he came to have speech and
understanding? The serpent replies, that he was no better than a
brute, and did indeed want both these gifts, but by eating of a
certain fruit in this garden he got both. She asked what fruit and
tree that was? Which when he showed her, she replied: This, no
doubt, is an excellent fruit, and likely to make the eater of it wise;
but God hath forbidden us this fruit. To which the serpent replies,
as it here follows in the text. It is true, this discourse is not in the
text; but it is confessed by Jewish and other expositors, that these
words:
Yea, hath God said, & c., are a short and abrupt sentence, and
that they were but the close of a foregoing discourse; which might
well enough be either this now mentioned, or some other of a like
nature. And that expression which follows, Gen_3:6, when the
woman saw, i.e. understood that it was a tree to be desired to
make one wise, may seem to imply, both that the serpent told her,
and that she believed, that the speech and understanding of the
serpent was the effect of the eating of that fruit; and therefore that
if it raised him from a brute beast to the degree of a reasonable
creature, it would elevate her from the human to a kind of Divine
nature or condition.

He said unto the woman, who had upon some occasion retired
from her husband for a season (an advantage which the crafty
serpent quickly espieth, and greedily embraceth, and assaulteth
her when she wanteth the help of her husband).

Yea, or, why, or, is it so, or, indeed, or, of a truth. It is scarce
credible that God, who is so bountiful, and the sovereign good,
and so abhorring from all parsimony and envy, should forbid you
the enjoyment of any part of those provisions which he hath made
for your use and comfort.

Of every tree, or, of any; for the word is ambiguous, which

therefore the cunning adversary useth to hide the snare which he
was laying for her.

Genesis 3:3

To wit, in order to the eating of it. Or the touch might be simply

forbidden, or she might reasonably understand it to be forbidden
in and by the prohibition of eating, because it was an occasion of
sin, and therefore to be avoided. For it is not probable that the
woman, being not yet corrupted, should knowingly add to God’s
word, or maliciously insinuate the harshness of the precept. Others
read, lest

peradventure ye die, as if she doubted of the truth of the

threatening; which seems not probable, the woman yet continuing
in the state of innocency, and such doubting being evidently
sinful; and the Hebrew particle

Pen doth not always imply a doubt, as appears from Psa_2:12

Isa_27:3 36:18, compared with 2Ki_18:3.

Genesis 3:4

It is not so certain as you imagine, that you shall die. God did say
so indeed for your terror, and to keep you in awe; or, he had some
mystical meaning in those words; but do not entertain such hard
and unworthy thoughts of that God who is infinitely kind and
gracious, that he will, for such a trifle as the eating of a little fruit,
undo you and all your posterity, and so suddenly destroy the most
excellent work of his own hands.

Genesis 3:5

If you would have the whole truth of the matter, and God's design
in that prohibition, it is only this, He knoweth that you shall be so
far from dying, that ye shall certainly be entered into a new and
more noble kind of life; and the eyes of your minds, which are
now shut as to the knowledge of a world of things, shall then be
opened, and see things more fully and distinctly.

Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil, or, as God, like

unto God himself in the largeness of your knowledge; the very
name that God hath put upon the tree may teach you. But this is a
privilege, of which, for divers causes best known to himself, some
of which your own reason will easily guess at, he would not have
you partake of.

Genesis 3:6

The woman saw; by curious and accurate observation, and

gazing upon it, or perceiving it by the serpent’s discourse, as was
observed on Gen_3:3.
Pleasant to the eyes, to wit, in an eminent degree; for otherwise
so were all the rest.

To make one wise, which she might know by the serpent’s

information. See Poole on "Gen_3:1".

Gave also unto her husband with her, who by this time was
returned to her, and who now was with her; or, that he might eat
with her, and take his part of that fruit.

And he did eat, by her persuasion and instigation. See 1Ti_2:14.

Genesis 3:7

The eyes of them both. The eyes of their minds and conscience,
which hitherto had been closed and blinded by the arts of the
devil, were opened, as the devil had promised them, though in a
far differing and sadder sense.

They knew that they were naked. They knew it before, when it
was their glory, but now they know it with grief and shame, from
a sense both of their guilt for the sin newly past, and of that sinful
concupiscence which they now found working in them.

They tied, twisted, or fastened, the lesser branches or twigs, upon

which were also the leaves of a fig tree, which peradventure was
then near them, and which because of its broad leaves was most fit
for that use.

Made themselves aprons, to cover their nakedness.

Genesis 3:8

The voice of the Lord God, mentioned Gen_3:9, or rather the

sound, as the word voice is often taken in Scripture, as Psa_93:3
Rev_10:3, Rev_19:6. Either God the Father, or rather God the
Son, appeared in the shape of a man, as afterwards he frequently
did, to give a foretaste of his incarnation. About evening, the time
when men use to walk abroad to recreate themselves, when there
was a cool and refreshing wind, whereby also the voice of the
Lord was more speedily and effectually conveyed to Adam and
his wife.

Adam and his wife hid themselves: being sensible of God’s

approach, and filled with shame and conscience of their own guilt,
and dread of judgment, instead of flying to God for mercy, they
foolishly attempted to run away from him, whom it was
impossible to avoid.

Genesis 3:9

The Lord God called with a loud voice: Thou whom I have so
highly obliged, whither and wherefore dost thou run away from
me, thy Friend and Father, whose presence was lately so sweet
and acceptable to thee? In what place, or rather in what condition,
art thou? What is the cause of this sudden and wonderful change?
This he asks, not that he was ignorant of it, but to make way for
the following sentence, and to set a pattern for all judges, that they
should examine the offender, and inquire into the offence, before
they proceed to punishment.

Genesis 3:10

He confesseth his nakedness, which was evident, but saith nothing

of his sin; which, if possible, he would have hid: see Job_31:33.
And is grieved for the shameful effects of his sin, but not yet
sincerely penitent for his sin.

I hid myself, out of reverence to thy glorious majesty.

Genesis 3:11

That thou wast naked; or, that thy nakedness, which lately was
thy glory, was now become matter of shame.

Whereof I commanded thee; concerning which I gave thee so

severe a charge upon pain of death.
Genesis 3:12

I have eaten, not by my own choice and inclination, but by the

persuasion of this woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, as a
meet help, a faithful friend, and constant companion, supposing
that it was not good for me to be alone, which the event shows
would have been much better for me. Thus Adam excuseth
himself, and chargeth God foolishly with his sin.

I did eat, out of complacency to her, not from any evil design
against thee.

Genesis 3:13

How heinous a crime hast thou committed! What a world of

mischief hast thou by this one act brought upon thyself and all thy
posterity? Or, why hast thou done this? What causes or motives
couldst thou have for so wicked an action? What need hadst thou
of meddling with this forbidden fruit, when I had given thee so
large and liberal an allowance?

And the woman said, The serpent, a creature which thou hast
made, and that assisted by a higher power, by an evil angel, for
such I now perceive by sad experience there are,

beguiled me, a weak and foolish woman, whose seduction calls

for thy pity, not thine anger;

and I did eat, being surprised and over-persuaded against my

own judgment and resolution.

Genesis 3:14

Unto the serpent; or rather, this or

that serpent, which, as was said before on Gen_3:1, was no

ordinary serpent, but a serpent acted and assisted by the devil; and
therefore this sentence or curse is pronounced against both of
them:
1. Against the serpent itself, which though an unreasonable
creature, and therefore not subject to a law, and consequently not
capable of guilt or sin, Rom_4:15, yet, being the instrument of the
devil’s malice, is rightly punished; as other beasts being abused by
man’s sin did suffer together with him, Exo_32:20 Lev_20:15-16,
not for their crime, but partly for the punishment, and partly for
the benefit of man, who is their lord and owner, Psa_8:6; for
whose sake seeing they were made, it is not strange if they be
punished for his use, that in their punishment man might have a
demonstration of God’s anger against sin, and a motive to
repentance. See Poole on "Gen_6:1", and following verses to
Gen_6:22. See Poole on "Gen_7:1", and following verses to
Gen_7:24.

2. Against the devil, who is here principally intended, though as

he lay hid in the body of the serpent which he possessed and used,
so his curse is here mentioned under the cover of the serpent’s
curse, and under the disguise of such terms as properly and
literally agree to the serpent, but are also mystically to be
understood concerning the devil; with whom the Lord entertaineth
no conference, as he did with Adam and Eve, whose sin was less
than his, and whom God meant to bring to repentance; but
immediately denounceth the curse against him, as one that sinned
against much greater knowledge, and from far worse principles,
not from mistake or misinformation, but from choice and
rebellion, from hatred of God, and from mere envy and
implacable malice against men.

Because thou hast done this, deceived the woman, and tempted
her to this sin, thou art cursed; or, shalt be from henceforth, both
really and in the opinion of all mankind: or, be thou.

Every beast of the field; as in other respects, so particularly in

that which here follows;

upon thy belly shalt thou go. If the serpent did so before the fall,
what then was natural, is now become painful and shameful to it,
as nakedness and some other things were to man. But it seems
more probable that this serpent before the fall either had feet, or
rather did go with its breast erect, as the basilisk at this day doth;
God peradventure so ordering it as a testimony that some other
serpents did once go so. And so the sense of the curse being
applied to this particular serpent, and to its kind, may be this:
Whereas thou hadst a privilege above other kinds of serpents,
whereby thou didst go with erected breast, and didst feed upon the
fruits of trees and other plants; now thou shalt be brought down to
the same mean and vile estate with them,

upon thy belly (or rather, breast, as the word also signifies)

shalt thou go, & c. as they do;

and dust shalt thou eat. Dust is the food, as of earthworms,

scorpions, and some other creatures, so also of some serpents, as
appears both from Isa_65:25 Mic_7:17, and from the testimony of
Nicander, Theriac, ver. 372, and Philo, an Arabic writer. Or, the
dust is the serpent’s sauce rather than his meat; whilst creeping
and grovelling upon the earth, and taking his food from thence, he
must necessarily take in dust and filth together with it. These two
clauses being applied to the devil, signify his fall from his noble
state and place to earth and hell; the baseness of his nature and of
his food, his delight being in the vilest of men and things, it being
now his meat and drink to dishonour God and destroy mankind,
and promote the esteem and love of earthly things.

Genesis 3:15

Though now ye be sworn friends, leagued together against me,

I will put enmity between thee and the woman; and the man
too, but the woman alone is mentioned, for the devil’s greater
confusion.

1. The woman, whom, as the weaker vessel, thou didst seduce,

shall be the great occasion of thy overthrow.

2. Because the Son of God, who conquered this great dragon and
old serpent , Rev_12:9, who came to destroy the works of the
devil, 1Jo_3:8, was made of a woman , Gal_4:4, without the help
of man, Isa_7:14 Luk_1:34-35.

Thy seed; literally, this serpent, and, for his sake, the whole seed
or race of serpents, which of all creatures are most loathsome and
terrible to mankind, and especially to women. Mystically, that evil
spirit which seduced her, and with him the whole society of
devils, (who are generally hated and dreaded by all men, even by
those that serve and obey them, but much more by good men), and
all wicked men; who, with regard to this text, are called devils,
and the children or

seed of the devil , Joh_6:70, Joh_8:44, Act_13:10 1Jo_3:8.

And her seed, her offspring; first and principally, the Lord Christ,
who with respect to this text and promise is called, by way of
eminency,

the seed , Gal_3:16, Gal_3:19; whose alone work it is to break the

serpent’s head, i.e. to destroy the devil, Heb_2:14. Compare
Joh_12:31 Rom_16:20.

Secondly, and by way of participation, all the members of Christ,

all believers and holy men, who are called the children of Christ,
Heb_2:13, and of the heavenly Jerusalem, Gal_4:26. All the
members whereof are the seed of this woman; and all these are the
implacable enemies of the devil, whom also by Christ’s merit and
strength they do overcome.

The head is the principal instrument both of the serpent’s fury

and mischief, and of his defence, and the principal seat of the
serpent’s life, which therefore men chiefly strike at; and which
being upon him ground, a man may conveniently tread upon, and
crush it to pieces. In the devil this notes his power and authority
over men; the strength whereof consists in death, which Christ,
the blessed Seed of the woman, overthroweth by taking away the
sting of death, which is sin , 1Co_15:55-56;
and destroying him that had the power of death , that is, the devil,
Heb_2:14.

The heel is the part which is most within the serpent’s reach, and
wherewith it was bruised, and thereby provoked to fix his
venomous teeth there; but a part remote from the head and heart,
and therefore its wounds, though painful, are not deadly, nor
dangerous, if they be observed in time. If it be applied to the Seed
of the woman, Christ, his heel may note either his humanity,
whereby he trod upon the earth, which indeed the devil, by God’s
permission, and the hands of wicked men, did bruise and kill; or
his saints and members upon the earth, whom the devil doth in
diverse manners bruise, and vex, and afflict, while he cannot reach
their Head, Christ, in heaven, nor those of his members who are or
shall be advanced thither.

Genesis 3:16

I will greatly multiply, or certainly, as the repetition of the same

word implies.

And thy conception, in diverse pains and infirmities peculiar to

thy sex; i.e. Thou shalt have many, and those ofttimes, false and
fruitless conceptions, and abortive births; and whereas thou
mightest commonly have had many children at one conception, as
some few women yet have, now thou shalt ordinarily undergo all
the troubles and pains of conception, breeding, and birth, for every
child which thou hast. Or,

thy sorrows and thy conception, by a figure called hendiaduo,

are put for thy sorrows in conception, or rather in child-bearing,
which the Hebrew word here used signifies, Gen_16:4, Jdg_13:3.
Aristotle, in his Histor. Animal. 7, 9, observes, that women bring
forth young with more pain than any other creatures.

Bring forth children, or bear, for the word notes all the pains
and troubles which women have, both in the time of child-bearing,
and in the act of bringing forth.
Sons, and daughters too, both being comprehended in the Hebrew
word Sons, as Exo_22:24 Psa_128:6.

Thy desire shall be to thy husband; thy desires shall be referred

or submitted to thy husband’s will and pleasure to grant or deny
them, as he sees fit. Which sense is confirmed from Gen_4:7,
where the same phrase is used in the same sense. And this
punishment was both very proper for her that committed so great
an error, as the eating of the forbidden fruit was, in compliance
with her own desire, without asking her husband’s advice or
consent, as in all reason she should have done in so weighty and
doubtful a matter; and very grievous to her, because women’s
affections use to be vehement, and it is irksome to them to have
them restrained or denied. Seeing, for want of thy husband’s rule
and conduct, thou wast seduced by the serpent, and didst abuse
that power I gave thee together with thy husband to draw him to
sin, thou shalt now be brought down to a lower degree, for he
shall rule thee; not with that sweet and gentle hand which he
formerly used, as a guide and counsellor only, but by a higher and
harder hand, as a lord and governor, to whom I have now given a
greater power and authority over thee than he had before, (which
through thy pride and corruption will be far more uneasy unto thee
than his former empire was), and who will usurp a further power
than I have given him, and will, by my permission, for thy
punishment, rule thee many times with rigour, tyranny, and
cruelty, which thou wilt groan under, but shalt not be able to
deliver thyself from it. See 1Co_14:34 1Ti_2:11-12 1Pe_3:6.

Genesis 3:17

Hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, i.e. obeyed the word and
counsel, contrary to my express command.

Cursed is the ground, which shall now yield both fewer and
worse fruits, and those too with more trouble of men’s minds, and
labour of their bodies;

for thy sake, i.e. because of thy sin; or, to thy use; or, as far as
concerns thee.
In sorrow; or, with toil, or, grief.

Genesis 3:18

Thorns also and thistles, and other unuseful and hurtful plants,
synecdochically contained under these, shall it bring forth to
thee, of its own accord, not to thy benefit, but to thy grief and
punishment;

and thou shalt eat the herb of the field, instead of those
generous and delicious fruits of Paradise, which because thou
didst despise, thou shalt no more taste of. See Gen_1:29.

Genesis 3:19

In the sweat of thy face, i.e. of thy body: he mentions the face,
because there the sweat appears first and most. Or, with labour of
body or brain, Ecc_1:13, and vexation of mind,

shalt thou get thy food and livelihood:

bread being put for all nourishment, as Gen_18:5, Gen_28:20.

Dust thou art, as to the constitution and original of thy body. See
Gen_18:27 Job_1:21 Psa_103:14. Though upon thy obedience I
would have preserved thy body no less than thy soul from all
mortality; yet now, having sinned, thou shalt return unto dust in
thy body, whilst the immortal spirit shall return unto God who
gave it , Ecc_12:7. Thus thy end shall be as base as thy beginning.

Genesis 3:20

The word signifies either a living, or, the giver or preserver of life.
Though for her sin justly sentenced to a present death, yet by
God’s infinite mercy, and by virtue of the promised Seed, she was
both continued in life herself, and

was made the mother of all living men and women that should be
after her upon the earth; who though in and with their mother they
were condemned to speedy death, yet shall be brought forth into
the state and land of the living, and into the hopes of a blessed and
eternal life by the Redeemer, whose mother or progenitor she was.

Genesis 3:21

The Lord God, either by his own word, or by the ministry of

angels,

made coats of skins, of beasts slain either for sacrifice to God, or

for the use of man, their lord and owner;

and clothed them, partly to defend them from excessive heats

and colds, or other injuries of the air, to which they were now
exposed; partly to mind them of their sin, which made their
nakedness, which before was innocent and honourable, now to be
an occasion of sin and shame, and therefore to need covering; and
partly to show his care even of fallen man, and to encourage his
hopes of God’s mercy through the blessed Seed, and thereby to
invite him to repentance.

Genesis 3:22

The Lord God said, either within himself, or to the other persons
of the Godhead, Adam and Eve both are become such according
to the devil’s promise, and their own expectation. This is a holy
irony, or sarcasm, like those, 1Ki_18:27 Ecc_11:9: q.d. Behold! O
all ye angels, and all the future generations of men, how the first
man hath overreached and conquered us, and got the Divinity
which he affected; and how happy he hath made himself by his
rebellion! But this bitter scorn God uttereth not to insult over
man’s misery, but to convince him of his sin, folly, danger, and
calamity, and to oblige him both to a diligent seeking after, and a
greedy embracing the remedy of the promised Seed which God
offered him, and to a greater watchfulness over himself, and
respect to all God’s commands for the time to come.

As one of us, i.e. as one of the Divine persons, of infinite wisdom

and capacity. Here is an evident proof of a plurality of persons in
the Godhead; compare Gen_1:26, and Gen_11:7. If it be said, God
speaks this of himself and the angels; besides that as yet not one
word hath been spoken concerning the angels, it is an absurd and
unreasonable conceit that the great God should level himself with
the angels, and give them a kind of equality with himself, as this
expression intimates. To know all things, both good and evil.

Lest he put forth his hand: the speech is defective, and to be

supplied thus, or some such way. But now care must be taken, or
man must be banished hence,

lest he take also of the tree of life, as he did take of the tree of
knowledge, and thereby profane that sacrament of eternal life, and
fondly persuade himself that he shall live for ever. This is another
scoff or irony, whereby God upbraideth man’s presumption, and
those vain hopes wherewith he did still feed himself.

Genesis 3:23

For prevention thereof, the Lord God sent him forth, or expelled
him with shame and violence, and so as never to restore him
thither; for it is the same word which is used concerning divorced
wives.

To till, to wit, with toil and sweat, as was threatened, Gen_3:17,

the ground without Paradise; for he was made without Paradise,
and then put into it, as was noted before.

Genesis 3:24

The east of the garden, where the entrance into it was, the other
sides of it being enclosed or secured by God to preserve it from
the entrance and annoyance of wild beasts. Or, before the garden,
i.e. near to the garden; before any man could come at the garden
any way.

Cherubims, i.e. angels, so called from their exquisite knowledge,

and therefore fitly here used for the punishment of man, who
sinned by affecting Divine knowledge.
And a flaming sword in the cherubims’ hands, as it was upon
other occasions, Num_22:23 Jos_5:13 1Ch_21:16, 1Ch_21:27.
And this was either a material sword, bright, and being
brandished, shining and glittering like a flame of fire; or flaming
fire, in the shape of a sword. Or, flaming swords, because there
were divers cherubims, and each of them had a sword; the
singular number for the plural. Or, a two-edged sword ,

which turned every way, was brandished and nimbly whirled

about by the cherubims; which posture was fittest for the present
service,

to keep the way that leads to Paradise, and so to the tree of life,
that man might be deterred and kept from coming thither.

Genesis 4:1

This modest expression is used both in Scripture and other

authors, to signify the conjugal act or carnal knowledge. So
Gen_19:8, Gen_24:16, Num_31:17 Mat_1:25 Luk_1:34.

Cain, whose name signifies a possession. A man, a male child, as

Gen_7:2, which was most welcome.

From the Lord; or, by or with the Lord, i.e. by virtue of his first
blessing, Gen_1:28, and special favour. Or, a man the Lord, as the
words properly signify: q.d. God-man, or the Messias, hoping that
this was the promised Seed.

Genesis 4:2

Abel signifies vanity, a vain, mortal, miserable man, whereas she

thought Cain to be more than an ordinary man; or this name might
prophetically design his miserable life, and untimely and
unnatural death. To till the ground was esteemed a more
honourable calling than that of a shepherd, and therefore either
chosen by the elder brother, or allotted to him by his father.
Genesis 4:3

Either,

1. In general, at the return of the set time then appointed, and used
for the solemn service of God. Or,

2. At the end of the year, when there might be now, as there was
afterward among the Jews, more solemn worship and sacrifices;
the word days being often put for a year, as Lev_25:29 1Sa_1:3,
1Sa_27:7. Or,

3. More probably at the end of the days of the week, or upon the
seventh and last day of the week, Saturday, which then was the
sabbath day, which before this time was blessed and sanctified,
Gen_2:3.

Cain brought an offering, either to the place appointed for the

solemn worship of God, or to his father, who at that time was both
king, and prophet, and priest. Or brought, i.e. offered.

Genesis 4:4

The firstlings; either,

1. The first-born, which God reserved to himself, both at this time,

and afterwards by an express law, Exo_13:2 Num_3:13. Or,

2. The choicest and most eminent of the flock; for the best of any
kind are oft called first-born, as Job_18:13 Jer_31:19 Heb_12:23.

The fat thereof was either,

1. Properly, the fat being properly now required by God, as

afterwards was expressed, Exo_29:13, Exo_29:22, Lev_3:3. Or,

2. The best of them, as the word fat is often used, as Gen_45:18,

Gen_49:20, Num_18:12 Neh_8:10 Psa_147:14.
The Lord had respect, or, looked to him with a gracious eye,
kindly accepted and owned him and his sacrifice, and testified this
{ Heb_11:4} to Cain and all there present, either by express word,
or by some visible sign; probably by consuming his sacrifice by
fire from heaven, as the fathers generally think; whereby also God
did afterwards frequently signify, his acceptance of sacrifices, as
Lev_9:24, Jdg_6:21, 1Ki_18:38 1Ch_21:26 2Ch_7:1. Unto Abel’s
person, who was a truly good man; and then to his sacrifice,
which was offered with faith in God’s mercy and in the promised
Mediator, Heb_11:4.

Genesis 4:5

Cain was very wroth; partly with God, who, had cast so public a
disgrace upon him, and given the preference to his younger
brother; and partly with Abel, because he had received more
honour from God, and therefore was likely to have more respect
and privilege from his parents than himself.

His countenance fell; whereas before it was lifted up and

cheerful, now it fell down through sense of guilt, disappointment
of his hope, shame and grief, and envy at his brother.

Genesis 4:6

The Lord spoke unto Cain, that he might bring him to

repentance, and the knowledge of his sin.

Why is thy countenance fallen? The cause of this dejectedness is

not from me, but from thyself.

Genesis 4:7

If thou doest well, or, for the future shalt do well, i.e. repent of
thy sin, amend thy life, offer thy offerings with a willing and
cheerful mind and honest heart, in faith and love, as Abel did,

shalt thou not be accepted? Or, pardoned, received into favour?

Or, exalted, and either preserved in or restored unto those rights of
the first-born, which thou art conscious to thyself that thou hast
forfeited? Or, elevated in thy looks, i.e. would not, or should not,
thy countenance have been upright and pleasant, which now is sad
and dejected?

Sin is here taken, either,

1. Properly; so the sense is: Sin will be growing upon thee; one sin
will bring in another, and that malice and purpose of revenge
against thy brother, which now lies hid in the secret chamber of
thy mind and heart, lies at the door ready to break forth into the
view of the world in open murder. Or,

2. For the punishment of sin, as it is taken Gen_19:15 Lev_5:1

Lev 20:20 Num_18:1 2Ki_7:9 Zec_14:19: so the sense is, If thou
wilt go on in sin, and execute thy wicked purpose, which I
perceive lies working in thy heart, be sure thy sin will find thee
out, as it is said Num_32:23. Thou shalt not long enjoy the fruits
of thy wickedness, but a dreadful judgment shall tread upon the
heels of thy sin, and lie like a furious mastiff dog at the very door
of thy house, to seize upon thee at thy first coming in or going out.
For that person or thing which is very near to us, or at hand, is
said to be at the doors, Mat_24:33 Jam_5:9.

Unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Those two clauses may relate either,

1. To sin, which may he here spoken of as a person, as it is

Rom_7:8-11, &c. So the place may be rendered and expounded
thus, The desire of sin is to thee, i.e. to assault, seduce, conquer,
and destroy thee; as it is said, Luk_22:31, Satan hath desired to
have you, that he may sift you, & c. Or thus, its desire, objectively,
not subjectively taken, i.e. thy desire, intention, or resolution of
sinning, that evil motion of thy heart against thy brother, shall be
against (as the Hebrew particle el oft signifies) thee, i.e.
howsoever at present it pleaseth thee, yet it is really not only
against him, but against thyself, and will certainly turn to thy own
ruin; but (for so the particle and is commonly taken) if thou be
wise, give no place to it, but resist it, do thou rule (for the future
tense is oft put imperatively, as in the ten commandments, and it
frequently signifies not what a man can or shall do, but his duty or
what he ought to do, as is evident from Gen_20:9 Mal_1:6
Luk_3:14) over it, i.e. conquer and subdue it, which is thy duty;
or, thou shalt rule over it, i.e. by my grace assisting thy
endeavours, thou shalt be enabled to subdue thy evil
concupiscences and passions, and so overrule, prevent, or remove
those punishments which otherwise sin will infallibly bring upon
thee. Or,

2. To Abel, and so the sense is, and (as for thy brother Abel, to
whose faith and piety I have given this public and honourable
testimony, which thy naughty heart makes an occasion of envy
and malice, and intention of murder, that thou mayst not by a
mistake be led to the perpetration of so horrid a crime, know that
this favour of mine concerns only his spiritual privilege, and the
happiness of the life to come, which thou despisest; but it makes
no change in civil rights, nor doth it transfer the dominion from
thee, whose it is by birth, unto him; nor doth he so understand it;
for notwithstanding this) unto thee shall be his desire, subject, i.e.
he shall and will nevertheless yield to thee as his superior, and
thou, according to thy own heart's desire,

shalt rule over him. If it be said the name of Abel is not here
mentioned, it may be answered, that this is sufficiently included in
the pronouns his and him, and it is not unusual to put those
relative pronouns alone, the antecedent being not expressed, but to
be gathered either from the foregoing or following words; of
which see Poole on "Gen_3:1".

Genesis 4:8

Cain talked with Abel, either,

1. Familiarly and friendly, as he used to do, thereby to make him

secure and careless; or by way of expostulation and contention;

in the field, into which Abel was led, either by his own
employment, or,
2. By Cain's persuasion; this being a fit place for the execution of
his wicked purpose.

Slew him, possibly with stone or club, or with some iron tool
belonging to husbandry.

Genesis 4:9

Where is Abel? Not that God was ignorant where he was, but
partly to convince him of his sin, and to lead him to repentance,
and partly to instruct judges to inquire into causes, and hear the
accused speak for themselves, before they pass sentence.

Thy brother, whom nature and near relation obliged thee to love
and preserve.

Am I my brother’s keeper? Why dost thou inquire of me

concerning him who is of age to look to himself? Is he such a
stripling that he needs a guardian? Or didst thou ever make me his
guardian?

Genesis 4:10

I hear thy words, but what say thy actions? What a hideous crime
hast thou committed! In vain dost thou endeavour to hide it or
deny it. In the Hebrew it is bloods, either to aggravate the crime,
or to show the plenty of the blood split, or to charge him with the
murder of all those that might naturally have come out of Abel’s
loins; which was a far greater crime in the nonage of the world,
when the world greatly wanted people.

From the ground, upon which it was spilt by thy bloody hands.

Genesis 4:11

As the earth was cursed for thy father’s sake, so now art thou
cursed in thy own person;
from the earth, or, in regard of the earth, which shall grudge thee
both its fruits and a certain dwelling-place, and which had more
humanity to thy brother than thou hadst; for it kindly received and
covered that blood which thou didst cruelly and unnaturally shed
upon it.

Genesis 4:12

Or, that ground, which doth or shall fall to thy share, besides the
first and general curse inflicted upon the whole earth, shall have
this peculiar curse added to it,

it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength, i.e. its
virtue and fruit, in such proportion as it hath hitherto done.

A vagabond shalt thou be, banished from thy own land and
kindred, and father’s house, and from the whole society of the
faithful, and wandering hither and thither. Others render the words
mourning and trembling; or, trembling and wandering. These two
words note both the unquietness and horror of his mind and
conscience, and the unsettledness of his habitation and condition,
and, as some add, the trembling of his body.

Genesis 4:13

Hebrew, My sin; but sin seems here to be put for punishment, as

before, Gen_4:7 Gen_19:15 Lev_5:1 Psa_69:27 Pro_12:21; for
Cain was not so sensible of his sin as of the ill effects of it, as
himself shows, Gen_4:14.

Genesis 4:14

Consider how severely thou usest me; thou hast driven me out,
with public infamy, as the word signifies,

from the face of the earth, or, this earth, my native land,

and from thy face, i.e. favour and protection, as the public enemy
of mankind, and as one devoted by thee to destruction.
Quest. Whom did Cain fear, when it appears not that there were
any but his father and mother?

Answ. So ignorant people conceive; but it is a fond conceit to

think that there were no more men than are expressed in this book,
where God never intended to give a catalogue of all men, but only
of the church, or those who had some relation to or concern with
it. Nay, that there were very many thousands of men now in being,
is very credible upon these rational grounds and suppositions.

1. That Adam and Eve did, according to God’s precept and

blessing, Gen_1:26, procreate children presently after the fall, and
God’s gracious reconcilement to them; and consequently their
children did so, when they came to competent age.

2. That those first men and women were endowed by God with
extraordinary fruitfulness, and might have two, three, four, or
more at a time, (as divers persons long after had), which was then
expedient for the replenishing of the world; and the like may be
judged of their children during the world’s infancy.

3. That this murder was committed but a little before the hundred
and thirtieth year of Adam’s age, which appears by comparing
Gen_4:25 and Gen_5:3. Before which time, how vast and
numerous an offspring might have come from Adam, none can be
ignorant that can and shall make a rational computation.

Genesis 4:15

Therefore; or, assuredly, as the word signifies, Jer_2:32, Jer_5:2,

Zec_11:17; that thou mayst see how I hate murder, and how
impartially I shall punish all murderers; and that thou mayst be
unhappily free from this fear, that thou mayst live for an example
to mankind, for a terror to thyself and others.

Sevenfold, i.e. abundantly; he shall be plagued with many and

grievous punishments, as the phrase is used, Lev_26:28 Psa_12:7,
Psa_79:12, and in many other places.
A mark upon Cain. What this was, whether a trembling of his
body, or a ghastliness of his countenance, or what other visible
token of the Divine displeasure, God hath not revealed, nor doth it
concern us to know.

Genesis 4:16

i.e. He was banished from the place of God’s special presence and
habitation, from the society of his father, and of the only church
which God had upon earth;

and dwelt in the land of Nod, in the land which was afterwards
called Nod, from Cain’s unsettled condition, because he continued
wandering hither and thither in it.

Genesis 4:17

Cain knew his wife; of which phrase see Poole on "Gen_4:1".

He built a city; partly to divert his troubled mind with business

and pleasure, and partly for his own security against the enemies
and evils which his guilty conscience made him fear,
notwithstanding the assurance which God had given him. And this
he did as soon as he was in capacity for it, either by the increase
of his own posterity, or by the accession of other degenerate sons
of Adam to him, who either being banished, or having departed
from the church, willingly associated themselves with their
brethren in iniquity.

After the name of his son, Enoch; not after his own name, which
he knew to be infamous and hateful.

Genesis 4:19

Lamech, the wicked branch of that cursed root of Cain,

took unto him two wives, against God’s first institution,

Gen_2:24 Mal_2:15, and without God’s leave.
Genesis 4:20

He taught shepherds to dwell in tents, and to remove them from

place to place, for conveniency of pasture. The first authors or
inventors of any thing are commonly called its fathers. And he
was the inventor of the art of keeping and managing cattle.

Genesis 4:21

Or, the lovely instrument; but what kind of instrument this was,
even the Jews do not understand. The meaning is, he was the
inventor of music and musical instruments.

Genesis 4:22

Tubal-cain, whom (as the learned conceive, and the agreement of

the name and function makes probable) the heathens worshipped
by the name of Vulcan, the god of smiths; and his sister Naamah,
by the name of Venus. He first taught men how to make arms, and
other instruments of iron.

Naamah; so called from her beauty, which her name signifies.

Genesis 4:23

Adah and Zillah, observing his fierceness and cruelty, feared that
the vengeance of God or men would fall upon him, and upon them
for his sake.

Be it so that I have slain a man, and that a young man, why do you
concern yourselves in it? It is

to my own

wounding and hurt, not to yours; I must suffer for it, not you.
Some take this to be a sorrowful confession of his bloody crime:
q.d. I have murdered a man, to my wounding, &c. i.e. to my utter
ruin, or to the wounding and grief of my heart and conscience. But
this seems not to agree either with the quality of Cain’s family, or
with the temper of Lamech’s person, or with the scope of the Holy
Ghost in this place; which is to describe, not the virtues, but the
crimes of that wicked race. According to the marginal translation,
the sense may be this, Fear not for me; for if any man, though in
his youth and strength, should assault me, and give me the first
wound, he should pay dearly for it; and though I were wounded
and weakened, the remainders of my strength would be sufficient
to give him his death’s wound. The words also may be otherwise
rendered; the particle chi being taken interrogatively, as it is
Isa_29:6, Isa_36:19, and elsewhere: Have I slain a man to my
wounding, and or, or a young man to my hurt? i.e. that thereby I
should deserve such a mortal wound or hurt to be inflicted upon
me by way of retaliation? You have therefore no cause of fear,
either for my sake or for your own.

Genesis 4:24

If the slaughter of Cain shall be punished in him that shall kill

him, whosoever he be, my death shall be much more certainly and
severely revenged by God upon any man that shall murder me.
These words may be either,

1. A profane scoff: q.d. Since Cain, my father and pattern in

murder, was so far from being punished by the hand of God, that
he had a special protection from him that no man should dare to
touch him, I (whose murder is not so heinous as his was) shall not
fare worse than he, and therefore have no reason to fear either
God or men. Or,

2. An argument or ground of his security: q.d. I am not only

secured by my own puissance, but by God’s providence; which
certainly will be more watchful over me, who have not committed
any such horrid crime, than over him that killed his own innocent
brother.

Genesis 4:25

She gave the name, but not without Adam's consent, Gen_5:3. She
spoke by Divine inspiration.
Note that the word

seed is used of one single person here, and Gen_21:13, Gen_38:8;

which confirms the apostle's argument, Gal_3:16.

Instead of Abel; to succeed his father Adam, as Abel should have

done in the priesthood, and administration and care of holy things
in the church of God.

Genesis 4:26

Enos properly signifies a miserable man, to note the great

wickedness and wretchedness of that generation, which the
Hebrew writers generally observe.

To call upon the name of the Lord; to pray unto God, to

worship God in a more public and solemn manner; praying being
here put for the whole worship of God, as Gen_12:8, Gen_26:25,
and in many other places. According to the marginal version, the
sense is this: Then when the world was universally corrupt, and
had forsaken God and his service, good men grew more valiant
and zealous for God, and did more publicly and avowedly own
God, and began to distinguish and separate themselves from the
ungodly world, and to call themselves and one another by the
name of God, i.e. the sons, servants, or worshippers of God as
they are expressly called; and that, as it seems, upon this occasion,
Gen_6:2. And in this sense this phrase is elsewhere taken, as
Isa_43:7, Isa_44:5, Isa_65:1. Some render the place thus, Then
began men to profane the name, i.e. the worship, of the Lord, by
idolatry or superstition. But this seems neither to agree with the
Hebrew phrase, nor to suit with this place, where he speaks of the
posterity of Seth; who were the holy seed, and the only church of
God then in the world.

Genesis 5:1

This is the book, i.e. the list or catalogue, as this word is taken,
Neh_7:5 Mat_1:1, as it is also put for any short writing, as for a
bill of divorce, as Deu_24:1-2.
The generations of Adam, i.e. his posterity begotten by him; the
word being passively used. But he doth not here give a complete
list of all Adam's children, but only of his godly seed, which
preserved true religion and the worship of God from Adam to the
Flood, and from whose loins Christ came, Luk_3:1-38.

God created man. This is here repeated to note the different way
of the production of Adam, and of his posterity; his was by
creation from God, theirs by generation from their parents. See
Gen_1:26.

Genesis 5:2

See Gen_1:26 Mat_19:4 Mar_10:6. He

blessed them with power to propagate their kind, and with other
blessings. See Gen_1:28.

Called their name Adam; which name is given both to every

man, as Gen_9:6 Psa_49:20, and to the first man, as Gen_2:23,
and to the whole kind, both the man and the woman, who are
called by one name, to show their intimate union and communion
in all things.

Genesis 5:3

Adam lived an hundred and thirty years after he was created,

in which time he begat other sons and daughters, as appears from
what was said before.

After his image; either,

1. In regard of the natural frame of his body and soul; but this was
so evident of itself, that the mention of it had been frivolous. Nor
is there any reason why that should be said of Seth, rather than of
Cain or Abel. Or,

2. In regard of his corruption, q.d. a weak, sinful, mortal man, like

himself; for Adam's image is here plainly opposed to the likeness
of God, wherein Adam is said to be created, Gen_5:1. And this is
fitly said of Seth to signify, that although he was a worthy and
good man, and, Adam excepted, the most eminent person of the
whole church of God; yet he, no less than wicked Cain, was
begotten and born in sin; and that all the difference which was
between him, and consequently between other good men, and the
wicked progeny of Cain, was not from the nature which they
received from Adam, but from the grace infused into them by
God.

Genesis 5:4

Whose names and numbers are here passed over in silence, as not
belonging to the genealogy of Christ, nor to the following history.

Genesis 5:5

The long lives of men in ancient times, here noted, are also
mentioned by heathen authors; and it was wisely so ordered by
God, both for the more plentiful increase of mankind in the first
age of the world, and for the more effectual propagation of true
religion and other useful knowledge to the world. And many
natural reasons might be given why their lives were then longer
than afterwards.

Genesis 5:21

Whose name is thought by some learned men to contain a

prophecy of the flood, which was to come a thousand years after;
for it signifies: He dies, and the dart or arrow of God’s vengeance
comes; or, He dies, and the sending forth of the waters comes.

Genesis 5:22

i.e. He lived as one whose eye was continually upon God; whose
care and constant course and business it was to please God, and to
imitate him, and to maintain acquaintance and communion with
him; as one devoted to God’s service, and wholly governed by his
will. He walked not with the men of that wicked age, or as they
walked, but being a prophet and preacher, as may be gathered
from Jud_1:14-15, with great zeal and courage he protested and
preached against their evil practices, and boldly owned God and
his ways in the midst of them. Compare Gen_6:6 Jer_12:3
Mic_6:8.

Begat sons and daughter’s; hence it is undeniably evident that

the state and use of matrimony doth very well agree with the
severest course of holiness, and with the office of a prophet or
preacher.

Genesis 5:24

i.e. He appeared not any longer upon earth, or amongst mortal

men. The same phrase is in Gen_42:36 Jer_31:15.

For God took him out of this sinful and miserable world unto
himself, and to his heavenly habitation: see Luk_23:43. And he
took either his soul, of which alone this phrase is used, Eze_24:16;
or rather both soul and body, as he took Elias, 2Ki_2:11, because
he so took him that he did not see death, Heb_11:5.

Genesis 5:27

This was the longest time that any man lived. But it is observable
that neither his nor any of the patriarch’s lives reached to a
thousand years, which number hath some shadow of perfection.

He died but a little before the flood came, being taken away from
the evil to come.

Genesis 5:28

Not that wicked Lamech mentioned Gen_4:18-24, for he was of

the family of Cain, but this was descended from Seth.

Genesis 5:29

And he called his name Noah, which signifies rest,

saying, by the Spirit of prophecy:

This same shall comfort us, concerning the hard labour and
manifold troubles to which we are sentenced, Gen_3:19.

And this he did either,

1. By the invention of instruments of husbandry, whereby tillage

was made more easy. Or,

2. By removing in some part the curse inflicted upon the earth,

and reconciling God unto mankind. Possibly he might suppose
that this was the Messias, or promised Seed, and the Saviour of
the undone world; as it was frequent with the ancient fathers,
through their earnest desire of the Messias, to expect him long
before he came, and to mistake other persons for him. Or,

3. By preserving a remnant of mankind from that deluge which he

by the Spirit foresaw would come, and repeopling the emptied
earth with a new generation of men, and by restoring and
improving the art of husbandry: see Gen_9:20.

Genesis 5:32

i.e. He began to beget; God in mercy denying him children till that
time, that he might not beget them to the destroyer, that he might
have no more than should be saved in the ark; or, having before
that time begotten others who were now dead, and having the
approaching flood in his view, he began again to beget a seminary
for the world.

Of these three sons here following, the eldest seems to be

Japheth, Gen_10:21. The second was

Shem, as appears because he was but an hundred years old two

years after the flood, Gen_11:11. The youngest
Ham, Gen_9:24. But Shem is first named in order of dignity, as
being the progenitor of the church, and of Jesus Christ; and
because he and his progeny is the principal subject of this whole
history.

Genesis 6:1

Men, i.e. wicked men, the posterity of Cain, as appears from

Gen_6:2; who are here called men, and the sons of men, by way of
contempt, and of distinction; mere men, such as had only the
natures and qualities of corrupt men, without the image of God.

Began to multiply, to wit, more than ordinarily; or more than the

sons of God, because they practised polygamy, after the example
of their predecessor, the ungodly Lamech, Gen_4:19.

Daughters were born unto them; so doubtless were sons also;

but their daughters are here mentioned as one principal occasion
of the sin noted in Gen_6:2, and of the following deluge.

Genesis 6:2

The sons of God; either,

1. Persons of greatest eminency for place and power, for such are
called gods, and children of the Most High, Psa_82:6; where also
they are opposed to men, Gen_6:7, i.e. to meaner men. And the
most eminent things in their kinds are attributed to God, as cedars
of God , all of God, & c. But it is not probable that the princes and
nobles should generally take wives or women of the meaner rank,
nor would the marriages of such persons be simply condemned, or
at least it would not be mentioned as a crying sin, and a great
cause of the deluge. Or rather,

2. The children of Seth and Enos, the professors of the true

religion. For,

1. Such, and only such, in the common use of Scripture, are called
the
sons and

children of God, as Deu_14:1, Deu_32:19, Isa_1:2, Isa_45:11,

Hos_11:1, Luk_17:27, &c.

2. This title manifestly relates to Gen_4:26, where the same

persons are said to be called by the name of the Lord, i.e. to be the
sons and servants of God.

3. They are opposed to the daughters of men, the word men being
here taken in an ill sense, for such as had nothing in them but the
nature of men, which is corrupt and abominable, and were not
sons of God, but foreigners and strangers to him, and apostates
from him.

4. These unequal matches with persons of a false religion are

every where condemned in Scripture as sinful and pernicious, as
Gen_26:35 Exo_34:16 1Ki_11:2-3, Ezra_9:12, Neh_13:23, &c.;
Mal_2:11 1Co_7:39 2Co_6:14, and therefore are fitly spoken of
here as one of the sins which brought the flood upon the ungodly
world.

Saw, i.e. gazed upon and observed curiously and lustfully, as the
sequel showeth,

the daughters of men, of that ungodly and accursed race of Cain.

They were fair, i.e. beautiful, and set off their beauty with all the
allurements of ornaments and carriage; herein using greater liberty
than the sons and daughters of God did or durst take, 1Pe_3:3; and
therefore were more enticing and prevalent with fleshly-minded
men. Either,

1. By force and violence, as the word sometimes signifies. Or

rather,

2. By consent; for the sons of God were so few, in comparison of

the wicked world, that they durst not take away their daughters by
force; which also proves that they did not take them for harlots,
but for wives.

They took them wives, possibly more than one for each of them,
after the example of those wicked families into which they were
matched; of all which they chose, i.e. loved and liked, as the word
choosing is taken, Psa_25:12, Psa_119:173, Isa_1:29, Isa_42:1,
compared with Mat_12:28. This is noted as the first error, that
they did promiscuously choose wives, without any regard to their
sobriety and religion, minding only the pleasing of their own
fancies and lusts, not the pleasing and serving of their Lord and
Maker, nor the obtaining of a godly seed, which was God’s end in
the institution of marriage, Mal_2:15, and therefore should have
been theirs too.

Genesis 6:3

The Lord said; either,

1. To the men of that age by the mouth of Noah; or,

2. Within himself; (see Psa_14:1) he determined.

Strive with man, or, contend, or, debate in or against men, as it

hath hitherto done, by inward motions and suggestions in the
minds and consciences of wicked men, or by the mouths and
ministry of that small remnant of holy men, and particularly of
Noah, who protested against and contended with the world of the
ungodly, and by their doctrines, admonitions, threatenings, and
examples, endeavoured to bring them to repentance: 1Pe_3:19; or
dispute with, or concerning, or because of men, i.e. whether I
should destroy or save him, as God disputes with or about
Ephraim, Hos_11:8.

For that he also, i.e. even the seed of Seth, or the sons of God
also, no less than the offspring of Cain; the pronoun being here
put for the foregoing noun, and the singular number put for the
plural, he, i.e. they, to wit, the sons of God. Both which figures
are frequent in the use of Scripture. Or, he, i.e. man, all mankind,
the sons of God not excepted,

is flesh; not only fleshly in part, or in some actions, but altogether,

in regard of soul as well as body, minding nothing but making
provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts, Rom_13:14.

Not having the Spirit, Jud_1:19, nor heeding its good motions, but
suppressing and resisting them.

Flesh not only in the condition of their nature, but in the baseness
and corruption of their hearts and lives; as the word flesh is
commonly used when it is opposed to the Spirit, as Joh_3:6
Rom_7:18, Rom_8:5, Rom_8:7, Gal_5:17.

Yet, though he deserve a speedy destruction,

his days, i.e. the time allowed him for repentance, and the
prevention of his ruin,

shall be an hundred and twenty years. During which time Noah

was preaching; and, to assure them of the truth of his doctrine,
preparing the ark. See 1Pe_3:20 2Pe_2:5.

Quest. How did God perform this promise, when there were but a
hundred years between this time and the flood, by comparing
Gen_5:32, with Gen_7:11?

Answ.

1. The increasing wickedness of mankind might justly hasten their

ruin, and forfeit the benefit of this indulgence.

2. This promise, though mentioned after that, Gen_5:32, yet seems

to have been made twenty years before it; for that verse is added
there out of its proper place only to complete the genealogy; and
therefore, after this narration, it is repeated here in its due order,
Gen_6:10. And such hysteron proterons are frequently noted in
Scripture.
Genesis 6:4

Giants; men so called, partly from their high stature, but

principally for their great strength and force, whereby they
oppressed and tyrannized over others: for this is mentioned as
another sin, and cause of the flood; and therefore they seem to be
here noted, not for the height of their stature, which is no crime,
but for their violence, which also is expressed beneath, Gen_6:11,
Gen_6:13.

After that time there arose a new generation or succession of that

sort of men, when the sons of God came in, were united and
incorporated with them. A modest expression of the conjugal state
and act, as Gen_16:2, Gen_35:3, Jdg_15:2.

Which were of old, which were proper to the first ages of the
world; for the succeeding generations were generally less in
stature and strength of body, and therefore not so famous for
personal exploits. Or these words may be thus joined with the
following, which were of old, i.e. among the men of that first and
wicked world,

men of renown, i.e. famous in their generations; when indeed

they should have been infamous for the abuse of their stature and
strength to tyranny and cruelty.

Genesis 6:5

To the heart the Scripture commonly ascribes all men’s actual

wickedness, as Psa_41:6 Pro_4:23, Pro_6:14, Pro_6:18, Jer_17:9,
Mat_15:19 Rom_3:10, &c.; thereby leading us from acts of sin to
the original corruption of nature, as the cause and source of them.

Evil continually, i.e. that man was perpetually either doing or

contriving wickedness; that not only his actions were vile, but his
principles also; his very soul, yea, the noblest part of it, which
might seem most free from the contagion; his mind and thoughts
were corrupt and abominable, and so there was no hope of
amendment.
Genesis 6:6

Properly God cannot repent, Num_23:19 1Sa_15:11, 1Sa_15:29,

because he is unchangeable in his nature and counsels, Mal_3:6
Jam_1:17, and perfectly wise, and constantly happy, and therefore
not liable to any grief or disappointment. But this is spoken of
God after the manner of man, by a common figure called
anthropopathia, whereby also eyes, ears, hands, nose, &c. are
ascribed to God; and it signifies an alienation of God's heart and
affections from men for their wickedness, whereby God carries
himself towards them like one that is truly penitent and grieved,
destroying the work of his own hands.

It grieved him at his heart, or, at his very soul, i.e. exceedingly.

Genesis 6:7

Both man and beast; for as the beasts were made for man’s use
and service, so they are destroyed for man’s punishment, and to
discover the malignity of sin, and God’s deep abhorrency thereof,
by destroying those innocent creatures that had been made
instrumental to it.

Genesis 6:8

i.e. Obtained mercy and favour; which is noted to show that Noah
was so far guilty of the common corruption of human nature, that
he needed God’s grace and mercy to pardon and preserve him
from the common destruction.

Genesis 6:9

The generations of Noah; either,

1. Properly the posterity of Noah, as the word is commonly used,

and as it is explained Gen_6:10. So the rest of this verse comes in
by way of parenthesis, which is frequent. Or,
2. The events or occurrences which befell Noah and his family, as
the word is taken, Gen_37:2 Pro_27:1.

A just man, and perfect. These words are to be taken either,

1. Jointly, q.d. he was righteous, not only in appearance, or in

part, but perfectly, in all respects, towards God and men; or
sincerely and truly. Or,

2. Distinctly, q.d. he was for his state and condition just before
God, which was by faith, Heb_11:7, by which every just man
lives, Rom_1:17, and perfect, i.e. upright and unblamable in the
course of his life among the men of his age, as it follows;

in his generations. This is spoken either,

1. Diminutively; he was so comparatively to the men that then

lived, who were very bad; though otherwise even Noah had many
infirmities, so that he also had not been saved but for God's grace
and mercy, Gen_6:8. Or,

2. By way of amplification and commendation; he was good in

bad times, in spite of all evil counsels or examples. He saith

generations, in the plural number, to show that as he lived in two

generations, one before the flood, and another after it, so he
continued uncorrupted in both of them.

Noah walked with God.

See Poole on "Gen_5:22".

Genesis 6:11

The earth is here put for its inhabitants, as 1Ki_10:24 Eze_14:13.

Before God, or, before the face of God; q.d. in despite and
contempt of God, and of his presence and justice. Compare
Gen_10:9, and Gen_13:13: q. d. They sinned openly and
impudently without shame, boldly and resolutely without any fear
of God.

In the latter part of the verse,

the earth is put for the place, or the inhabited parts of it. So the
same word is twice used in a differing sense in one and the same
verse. See the like Mat_8:22.

Violence, or, injustice, fraud, rapine, oppression; for all these this
word signifies. Some conceive that these two branches note the
universal corruption of mankind, in reference to all their duties.

1. Towards God and his worship, which they corrupted by

horrible superstition, and by idolatry, which is called corruption,
Exo_32:7 Deu_32:5, Jdg_2:19.

2. Towards men, in the duties of righteousness.

Genesis 6:12

All men, as the word flesh is taken, Psa_78:39 Isa_40:5, and oft
elsewhere,

had corrupted his way; either,

1. God’s way, his precepts concerning religion and righteousness;

or,

2. Their own way or manner of living.

Genesis 6:13

i.e. The time of ruin, as this word is used, Eze_7:2-3, Eze_7:6,

Amos_8:2,

of all flesh, to all men, as Gen_6:12, though the beasts also were
involved in the same destruction,
is come, i.e. is approaching, and at the very door, and shall as
certainly come as if it were actually come.

Before me, i.e. in my purpose and decree, howsoever vain men

flatter themselves with hopes of longer impunity.

Through them, i.e. By their means; so that the earth even groans
under them.

With the earth, i.e. with the fruits and beauty, though not the
substance of the earth. Or, from the earth, as Gen_6:7; the
Hebrew eth being oft put for min or meeth, as Gen_44:4 Deu_34:1
1Ki_8:43, compared with 2Ch_6:33.

Genesis 6:14

An ark; a little ship made in the form of an ark or chest, but

probably sloping at the bottom for the convenience of navigation,
as it was for another reason sloping at the top.

Gopher wood: this word is but once used in Scripture, and

therefore it is diversely rendered by the learned; by some pine, by
many cedar, but by others cypress, a tree very proper and usual
for ships, and of a firm and durable substance, and much
abounding in those parts; all which appears from ancient authors.

With pitch; or rather, with some kind of bitumen, of the same

nature and use with pitch, to cement the parts of the ark together,
and to preserve it from the injuries of the sun, and water, and
worms; but more odoriferous, to correct the unpleasant scent of
some of the creatures.

Genesis 6:15

This is the fashion, or, this is the measure, or the manner

according to

which thou shalt make it; and it was a just and regular
proportion, the length being six times more than the breadth, and
ten times more than the height. There is no need to understand this
of geometrical cubits, which are said to have contained nine
ordinary cubits; nor of sacred cubits, which were a hand’s breadth
longer than the ordinary, Eze_43:13; nor to suppose the stature of
men at that time to have been generally larger, and consequently
their cubit much longer. For the ordinary cubit consisting of a
common foot and a half, is sufficient for the containing of all the
kinds of living creatures and their provisions, which was to be put
into the ark, as hath been at large demonstrated by learned men.
Nor is there any considerable difficulty in the point, but what is
made by the ignorance of infidels, and aggravated by their malice
against the Holy Scriptures; especially if these things be
considered:

1. That the differing kinds of beasts and birds, which unlearned

men fancy to be innumerable, are observed by the learned, who
have particularly searched into them, and written of them, to be
little above three hundred, whereof the far greatest part are but
small; and many of these which now are thought to differ in kind,
in their first original were but of one sort, though now they be so
greatly altered in their shape and qualifies, which might easily
arise from the diversity of their climate and food, and other
circumstances, and from the promiscuous conjunctions of those
lawless creatures.

2. That the brute creatures, when they were enclosed in the ark,
where they were idle, and constantly under a kind of horror and
amazement, would be contented with far less provisions, and
those of another sort than they were accustomed to, and such as
might lie in less room, as hay, and the fruits of the earth. God also,
who altered their natures, and made the savage creatures mild and
gentle, might by the same powerful providence moderate their
appetites, or, if he pleased, have increased their provision whilst
they did eat it, as afterwards Christ did by the loaves. So vain and
idle are the cavils of wanton wits concerning the incapacity of the
ark for the food of so many beasts.

3. That supposing the ravenous creatures did feed upon flesh, here
is also space enough and to spare for a sufficient number of sheep,
for their food for a whole year, as upon computation will easily
appear; there being not two thousand sheep necessary for them,
and the ark containing no less than four hundred and fifty
thousand cubits in it. But of this matter more may be seen in my
Latin Synopsis.

Genesis 6:16

A window, or a light; or lights, or windows; the singular number

being put for the plural, which is most frequent: or it might be one
great light or lantern, by which light might be derived and
distributed into several rooms.

Shalt thou finish it above, i.e. either,

1. The window, which was to be a cubit square. Or rather,

2. The ark; as appears,

1. From the gender of the Hebrew affix, which is feminine, and

therefore agrees with the ark, which in the Hebrew is of the
feminine gender, not with the window, which is masculine.

2. From the nature of the thing, the ark requiring a roof, and that
sloping, that the rain might slide off from it, and not sink into it;
for which end the roof in the middle was to be higher than the ark
by a cubit. And as the other parts of the ark were made with
exquisite contrivance, so doubtless this was not defective therein.

The highest story was for men and birds; the second for provision
for the brute creatures; the lowest for the beasts, under which was
the sink of the ark, which most probably was made sloping at the
bottom, as all ships and boats are, where serpents and such like
creatures might be put, with their proper provisions.
Genesis 6:17

I, even I, which is thus emphatically repeated, to signify that this

flood did not proceed from natural causes, but from the immediate
hand and judgment of God,

do bring, i.e. will assuredly and speedily bring,

all flesh, i.e. all men, birds, and beasts.

Every thing that is in the earth. This limitation is added to

show, that the fishes are not included in the threatened
destruction, either because they did not live in the same element
wherein men lived and sinned; or because they were not so
instrumental in men’s sins as the beasts might be; or because man
had a greater command over the beasts than over the fishes, and
greater service and benefit from them; and therefore the
destruction of the former was a greater and more proper
punishment to man than the latter.

Genesis 6:18

Either,

1. My promise to preserve thee and thine, both till the flood and in
it, notwithstanding all the scoffs and threats of the wicked world
against thee all the time of thy preaching and building of the ark.
The word

covenant being here understood, not of a mutual compact or

agreement, but of a single and gracious promise, as it is also used
Num_18:19, Num_25:12, and in other places. Which promise,
though only here mentioned, was doubtless made before, as may
easily be gathered, both from these words and some foregoing
passages, and from the need which Noah had of such a support
and encouragement during all the time of his ministry. Or,
2. My covenant concerning the sending of the promised Seed, and
the redemption of mankind by the Messias, who shall come out of
thy loins, and therefore thou shalt be preserved.

Genesis 6:19

Of all flesh two; i.e. either,

1. By couples, or male and female; but this is mentioned as a

distinct thing in the close of the verse. Or rather,

2. Two at least of every sort, even of the unclean; but of the clean
more, as is noted Gen_7:2.

Genesis 6:20

After their kind, i.e. according to their several kinds. They

shall come unto thee of their own accord, by my impulse, or by

the conduct of angels, as Gen_2:19.

Genesis 6:21

See Gen_1:29-30.

Genesis 6:22

Both for the matter and the manner of it, although the work of
building the ark was laborious, costly, tedious, dangerous, and
seemingly foolish and ridiculous; especially when all things
continued in the same posture and safety for so many scores of
years together; whereby Noah, without doubt, was all that while
the song of the drunkards, and the sport of the wits of that age. So
that it is not strange that this is mentioned as an heroic act of faith
in Noah, Heb_11:7, whereby he surmounted all these difficulties.
Genesis 7:1

When the ark was finished and furnished, and the time of God's
patience expired, Gen_6:3, he

said unto Noah, Come, i.e. prepare to enter,

thou and all thy family; which consisted only of eight persons,
1Pe_3:20, to wit, Noah and his three sons, and their four wives,
Gen_6:18. Whereby it appears that each had but one wife, and
consequently it is more than probable that polygamy, as it began
in the posterity of wicked Cain, Gen_4:19, so it was confined to
them, and had not as yet got footing amongst the sons of God. For
if ever polygamy had been allowable, it must have been now, for
the repeopling of the perishing world.

For thee have I seen righteous, with the righteousness of faith,

as it is explained, Heb_11:7, evidenced by all the fruits of
righteousness and true holiness, not only before men, and
seemingly, but really, and to my all-seeing eye, in this
generation; of which expression, see Poole on "Gen_6:9".

Genesis 7:2

Obj. The distinction of clean and unclean beasts was not before
the law.

Answ. Some legal things were prescribed and used before the law,
as abstinence from the eating of blood, Gen_9:4, and, among other
things, sacrifices, as learned men have sufficiently proved; and
consequently the distinction of beasts to be sacrificed was then, in
some measure, understood, which afterwards was expressed,
Lev_1:1-17, &c. Nor is this a good argument, This was not
written before, therefore it was not commanded and practised
before, especially concerning a time when no commands of God
were written, but only delivered by tradition.

By sevens; either,
1. Seven single, as most think. Or rather,

2. Seven couples, as may be gathered,

1. From the duplication of the word in Hebrew. If it be said seven

seven signifies only seven of every kind, then it would have been
said concerning the unclean beasts two two, i.e. two of each sort:
whereas now there is an apparent difference; there it is said only
by two, but here,

by sevens, or seven seven, which difference of the phrase suggest

a difference in the things. 2. By the following words,

the male and his female, which being indifferently applied to the
clean and unclean, plainly shows that none of them entered into
the ark single, and therefore there was no odd seventh among
them, but all went in by couples, which was most convenient in all
for the propagation of their kind, and in the clean for other uses
also; as for sacrifices to God, if not for the sustentation of men in
the ark, and after they came out of it. Which gives us the reason
why God would have more of the clean than of the unclean put
into the ark, because they were more serviceable both to God and
men.

Genesis 7:3

Of clean fowls, which he leaves to be understood out of the

foregoing verse,

by sevens; and of the unclean, by two; as before of the beasts,

to keep seed alive, i.e. the issue or breed of them.

Genesis 7:4

Yet seven days, or, after seven days, the Hebrew Lamed being put
for after, as it is Exo_16:1 Psa_19:3 Jer_41:4. Or, within seven
days, which time God allowed to the world as a further space of
repentance, whereof therefore it is probable Noah gave them
notice; and it is not unlikely that many of them who slighted the
threatening when it was at one hundred and twenty years distance,
now hearing a second threatening, and considering the nearness of
their danger, might be more affected and brought to true
repentance; who though destroyed in their bodies by the flood for
their former and long impenitency, which God would not so far
pardon, yet might be saved in their spirits. See 1Pe_4:6. And as
some preserved in the ark were damned, so others drowned in the
deluge might be eternally saved.

And every living substance, all that hath in it the breath of life,
as was said Gen_6:17.

Genesis 7:5

Which was said Gen_6:22, and is here repeated, because this was
an eminent instance of his faith and obedience.

Genesis 7:7

Or, for fear of; for fear is ascribed to and commended in Noah,
Heb_11:7. Or, from the face of.

Genesis 7:9

They went by the secret impulse of their great Creator and

Governor, (see Gen_2:19 Gen_6:20)

two and two; of which see above, Gen_4:20.

Genesis 7:11

In the six hundredth year; either complete, or rather current or

begun; otherwise he had lived three hundred and fifty one years
after the flood, not three hundred and fifty only, as it is written,
Gen_9:29.

In the second month; either,

1. Of that year of Noah’s life; or,

2. Of the year. Now as the year among the Hebrews was twofold;
the one sacred, for the celebration of feasts, beginning in March,
of which see Exo_12:2; the other civil, for the better ordering of
men’s political or civil affairs, which began in September.
Accordingly this second month is thought, by some, to be part of
April and part of May, the most pleasant part of the year, when the
flood was least expected or feared; by others, part of October and
part of November, a little after Noah had gathered the fruits of the
earth, and laid them up in the ark. So the flood came in with the
winter, and was by degrees dried up by the heat of the following
summer. And this opinion seems the more probable, because the
most ancient and first beginning of the year was in September;
and the other beginning of the year in March was but a later
institution among the Jews, with respect to their feasts and sacred
affairs only, which are not at all concerned here.

The fountains of the great deep, i.e. of the sea, called the deep,
Job_38:16, Job_38:30, Job_41:31, Psa_106:9; and also of that
great abyss, or sea of waters, which is contained in the bowels of
the earth. For that there are vast quantities of waters there, is
implied both here and in other scriptures, as Psa_33:7 2Pe_3:5;
and is affirmed by Plato in his Phaedrus, and by Seneca in his
Natural Questions, 3.19, and is evident from springs and rivers
which have their rise from thence; and some of them have no
other place into which they issue themselves, as appears from the
Caspian Sea, into which divers rivers do empty themselves, and
especially that great river Volga, in such abundance, that it would
certainly drown all those parts of the earth, if there were not a vent
for them under ground; for other vent above ground out of that
great lake or sea they have none. Out of this

deep therefore, and out of the sea together, it was very easy for
God to bring such a quantity of waters, as might overwhelm the
earth without any production of new waters, which yet he with
one word could have created. So vain are the cavils of atheistical
antiscripturists in this.
The fountains are said to be broken up here, also Psa_74:15, by a
metonymy, because the earth and other obstructions were broken
up, and so a passage opened for the fountains; as bread is said to
be bruised, Isa_28:28, and meal to be ground, Isa_47:2, because
the corn, of which the meal and bread were made, was bruised and
ground.

The windows of heaven were opened; which some understand of

the waters, which, from Gen_1:7, they suppose were placed by
God above the visible heavens, and reserved and kept, as it were,
in prison for this very purpose; and now the prison-doors were
opened, and they let loose and sent down for the destruction of the
world. But others more fitly understand it of the clouds, which are
called the windows of heaven, Mal_3:10; so 2Ki_7:2, 2Ki_7:19,
Psa_78:23, Isa_24:18, which then grew thicker and bigger with
waters; nor is there any inconvenience in it, if we say that God
created a great quantity of waters for this end, which afterwards
he annihilated.

Genesis 7:12

God by this gradual proceeding both awakened to repentance, and

gave them space for it.

Genesis 7:13

In the selfsame day on which the flood began by that terrible

shower. Heb. In the body, or essence, or strength of the day, as
Gen_17:26 Lev_23:14 Jos_10:27: q. d. Not in the dark or twilight,
like one ashamed of his action, or afraid of the people, but when it
was clear day, or about noon-tide, in the public view of the world.

Genesis 7:14

Every bird. The first word signifies the greater, the second the
less sort of birds, as appears from Gen_15:9-10, Lev_14:4,
Psa_104:17.
Of every sort; Heb. Of every kind of wing, whether feathered, as
it is in most birds, or skinny and gristly, as in bats.

Genesis 7:15

See Poole on "Gen_7:9". i.e. All living creatures forementioned,

Gen_7:14.

Genesis 7:16

Or, shut the door after him, or upon him, or for him, i.e. his good
and safety, against the fury either of the waters or of the people.
This God did in some extraordinary manner.

Genesis 7:17

The flood; or, that flood of waters which was poured down in that
shower mentioned Gen_7:12; otherwise the flood was one
hundred and fifty days upon the earth, Gen_7:24.

The waters increased, by the accession of more waters from

above and beneath.

Genesis 7:18

The waters were increased greatly upon the earth;

overthrowing men, and houses, and trees, where possibly they did
or thought to secure themselves.

Genesis 7:19

Profane wits pretend this to be impossible, because of the vast

height of divers mountains. But,

1. This cannot be thought impossible by any man that believeth a

God; to whom it was as easy to bring forth a sufficiency of water,
for this end, as to speak a word. And if we acknowledge a miracle
of the Divine power and providence here, it is no more than even
heathens have confessed in other cases.
2. Peradventure this flood might not be simply universal over the
whole earth, but only over all the habitable world, where either
men or beasts lived; which was as much as either the meritorious
cause of the flood, men’s sins, or the end of it, the destruction of
all men and beasts, required. And the or that whole heaven may be
understood of that which was over all the habitable parts of it.
And whereas our modern heathens, that miscall themselves
Christians, laugh at the history of this flood upon this and the like
occasions, as if it were an idle romance; they may please to note,
that their predecessors, the ancient and wiser heathens, have
divers of them acknowledged the truth of it, though they also
mixed it with their fables, which was neither strange nor unusual
for them to do. Lactantius appeals to the heathens of his age
concerning it. Nay, there is not only mention of the flood in
general, but also of the dove sent out of the ark, in Plutarch, and
Berosus, and Abydenus. And the memory of this general flood is
preserved to this day among the poor ignorant Indians, who asked
the Christians who invaded their land, whether they ever heard of
such a thing, and whether another flood was to be expected? And
the Chinese writers relate, that but one person, whom they call
Puoncuus, with his family, were saved in the flood, and all the rest
perished.

Genesis 7:20

Fifteen cubits were sufficient for the destruction of the highest

men, or other creatures, though placed upon the highest
mountains.

Genesis 7:21

All flesh that moved, i.e. lived; for motion is a sign of life.

Genesis 7:22

Whether men or beasts, &c., all that breathed the same air with
man, all that lived in the same element which man by his sins had
infected; whereby the fishes are excepted, as living in another
element.
See Poole on "Gen_2:7".

Genesis 7:23

This is so often repeated, that it may be more deeply ingrafted into

the dull minds and hard hearts of men, to teach men that they
ought again and again to consider this dreadful instance of God’s
justice against sin and incorrigible sinners.

Genesis 7:24

The waters prevailed, i.e. either grew higher and higher, or

rather continued to prevail, and did not decrease.

An hundred and fifty days in all, whereof one part was the forty
days mentioned Gen_7:17, as appears from Gen_8:4.

Genesis 8:1

God remembered Noah, i.e. he showed by his actions that he

minded and cared for him, or pitied and succoured him. God is
said to remember his people, when after some delays or
suspensions of his favour he returns and shows kindness to them,
as Gen_19:29, Gen_30:22, Exo_32:13 Job_14:13 Psa_132:1. As
God punished the beasts for man's sin, so now he favours them for
man's sake.

God made a wind to pass; a drying or burning wind, like that of

Exo_14:21, which had a natural power to dry up the waters; but
that was heightened by the assistance of a higher and miraculous
operation of God.

Genesis 8:4

In the seventh month, from the beginning, not of the flood, but
of the year, as appears by comparing Gen_7:11, and Gen_8:13-14,

the ark rested upon one of the mountains of Ararat; by a frequent

enallage of the number, as Jud_12:7 Mat_21:5. And by Ararat is
here commonly and rightly understood Armenia, as appears both
by comparing Isa_37:38 Jer_51:27, and by the testimony of
ancient writers, produced by Josephus and others to this purpose;
and by the great height of those mountains, and by its nearness to
the place where the first men lived; this great vessel not being
fitted for sailing to remote places, but only for the receipt and
preservation of men and other creatures in it.

Genesis 8:7

He sent forth a raven; a fit messenger for that purpose, because

it smells dead carcasses at a great distance, and flies far, and then
returneth to its former habitation with something in its bill.

To and fro; Heb. going and returning; i.e. went forth hither and
thither; now forward, then backward; sometimes going from the
ark, and sometimes returning to the ark, though never entering
into it again. Not as if she returned afterwards; the phrase implies
that she never returned. And so the word until is often used, as
2Sa_6:23, Michal had no child until the day of her death, i.e.
never had a child. See also Psa_110:1 Mat_1:25.

Genesis 8:8

The dove flies lower and longer than the raven, and is more
sociable and familiar with man, and more constant to its
accustomed dwelling, and more loving and faithful to its mate,
and therefore more likely to return with some discovery.

Genesis 8:9

The dove found no rest for the sole of her foot; because the tops
of the hills which then appeared were either muddy and dirty, or
unobserved by the dove, as not soaring so high; whence the doves
are emphatically called the doves of the valleys, Eze_7:16.

He took her, and pulled her in; her former acquaintance with
Noah, and her present necessity, making her more tractable.
Genesis 8:11

The dove came in to him in the evening, as the manner of doves

is, partly for better accommodation, both for food and lodging,
than yet she could meet with abroad; and partly from her love to
her mate.

In her mouth was an olive leaf.

Quest. Whence was this leaf, when trees had been so generally
overthrown and rooted up by the deluge?

Answ.

1. Many trees might be preserved by an advantageous situation,

between the rocks or hills which broke the force of the waters.

2. It is probable that God, by his powerful providence, preserved

the plants and trees for future ages; and therefore there is no
mention of any of their roots or seeds preserved in the ark.

3. The olive-tree especially will not only stand, but live and
flourish under the waters, as Pliny, 1. 13. c. 25, and 16. 20, and
Theophrastus, 4. 8, observe. Add, that the word here rendered leaf
signifies also a tender branch.

Genesis 8:12

Finding convenient food and resting place upon the earth, and
preferring her freedom before her mate: possibly she might lose
the sight of the ark, and forget or mistake the way to it.

Genesis 8:13

The words month and day are ofttimes, for brevity sake, omitted
by the Hebrews, as being easily understood. Thus the first of the
feast, Mat_26:17, is the first day of the feast, Mar_14:12.
Genesis 8:14

Not only from water, as it was Gen_8:13, but from mud and dirt
also. So the flood continued ten days more than a year, by
comparing this with Gen_7:11.

Genesis 8:16

As Noah expected the command of God for his going into the ark,
Gen_7:1-2, so for his coming forth of it.

Genesis 8:17

Quest. How could these creatures which came out of the ark in
Asia get thence to America, or to the islands remote from the
continent?

Answ. 1. As for America, it is thought by divers learned men, that

it is either joined to this continent, or separated from it only by a
narrow sea, which divers living creatures could easily swim over.

2. Many living creatures are, and always were, transported by men

in their vessels, either for their supply, or profit, or diversion, or
other ends, and thence might easily be propagated there.

3. The same God who made all these creatures, and caused them
to come first to Adam, and afterwards to Noah, could afterwards
both incline and empower them to go whither he pleased, without
the advice of these vain men, who will believe nothing of God
which themselves either do not see or cannot do.

Genesis 8:20

This is the first altar we read of, but not the first which was built;
for the sacrifices which were offered before, Gen_4:3-4,
presuppose an altar. Therefore it is no sufficient evidence that
such things were not done because they are not said to be done in
Scripture; which will be a useful consideration for the
understanding of many passages in Scripture hereafter.
The first thing Noah doth, is to pay his debt of justice and
gratitude to that God which had so miraculously preserved him,
and restored him to his ancient and proper habitation. God expects
to be served in the first place. What beasts were clean and what
unclean, see Gen_7:2 Lev_11:2, &c.

Genesis 8:21

The Lord smelled a sweet savour, i.e. graciously accepted the

person and faith and praise offering of Noah, and was as well
pleased therewith as men use to be with a sweet smell;

and the Lord said in his heart, i.e. determined within himself,
and expressed so much to Noah. The Hebrew preposition el
sometimes signifies in, as Gen_21:6 1Sa_27:1. Others, said to his
heart, i.e. spoke to the heart of Noah, who is mentioned,
Gen_8:20.

To speak to the heart, in Scripture use, signifies to comfort.

Will not again curse the ground, i.e. the whole earth, with this
kind of curse, with another deluge. Otherwise God doth not
hereby tie his hands, that he may not either destroy a particular
land by a deluge, which hath been done since, or destroy the
world by fire when he sees fit, as he hath declared he will do.

For the imagination of man’s heart is evil. The reason contained

in these words is this: Since all men’s hearts are naturally corrupt,
and from that filthy spring wicked actions will be continually
flowing forth into the world; and consequently, if I should be
severe to punish men according to their sins, I should do nothing
but send one deluge after another. Or these words may be joined
with the former, and the sense may be this: I will not again
destroy the earth with a deluge

for man’s sake, or for man’s sin, or because of the imagination,

& c., i.e. because his heart is corrupt, and his actions are agreeable
to it, which was the cause of the last deluge. Or the particle chi
may be rendered although, as it is frequently taken, as Exo_5:11,
Exo_13:17, Exo_34:9, Jos_17:13 Psa_25:11, Psa_41:5; and so the
sense is plain, I will not again destroy the earth, although the
imagination, & c., i.e. although I have just cause to do so. Or,
from his very childhood and infancy, as the Chaldee and Greek
interpreters translate it.

Neither will I again smite, i.e. kill or destroy, as the word smiting
is taken, Exo_21:18 Num_14:12, Num_35:16, Deu_28:22,
Deu_28:27, Amos_4:9.

Genesis 8:22

While the earth remaineth, viz. in this estate; for though it

seems probable that the substance of the earth will abide for ever,
after the dissolution of the world by fire; yet that will be in
another manner, and for other purposes, and then there will be no
need of

seed-time, or

harvest, & c.

Day and night. This distinction in a manner ceased in the ark, the
heavens being covered, and all its lights eclipsed by such thick
and black clouds, as never were before nor since.

Genesis 9:1

God renewed the old blessing and grant made Gen_1:28, which
might seem to be forfeited and made void by man's sin, and by
God's judgment consequent upon it.

Genesis 9:2

Before they loved and reverenced you as lords and friends, now
they shall dread you as enemies and tyrants.
Into your hand are they delivered, for your use and service. I
restore you in part to that dominion over them which you for your
sins have forfeited.

Genesis 9:3

Every moving thing which is wholesome and fit for food, and
clean; an exception to be gathered both from the nature of the
thing, and from the distinction of clean and unclean beasts,
mentioned before and afterwards.

That liveth. This is added to exclude the use of those creatures

which either died of themselves, or were killed by wild beasts,
which is here forbidden implicitly, and afterwards expressly. See
Exo_22:31 Lev_22:8.

Shall be meat for you: it is not a command that we must, but a

permission that we may eat of them. A grant possibly given before
the flood, but now expressed, either because the former allowance
might seem to be forfeited, or because as men now grew more
infirm and needed better nourishment, so the earth was grown
more feeble by the flood, and its fruits yielded less and worse
nourishment.

I have given you all things: understand this with the limitation
above-mentioned. The green herbs were given before, Gen_1:29.

Genesis 9:4

With the life thereof, i.e. whilst it lives, or taken from the
creature before it be quite dead; which was an ancient practice,
and an effect either of luxury or cruelty.

Which is the blood thereof, i.e. which life or soul hath its seat in
and its support from the blood, and the spirits contained in it. It is
certain blood is the thing which is here principally minded and
forbidden, and so the words may be thus translated and
understood:
But flesh, i.e. the flesh of living creatures hereby allowed you,

with the life thereof, that is to say, with the blood thereof,
wherein its life consists; or, flesh whilst it hath in it its life or soul,
or, which is all one, its blood, shall you not eat. God thought fit to
forbid this, partly that by this respect shown to the blood of beasts
it might appear how sacred a thing the blood of man was, and how
much God abhorred the sin of murder; and principally because the
blood was reserved and consecrated to God, and was the means of
atonement for man, (which reason God himself gives, Lev_17:11-
12), and did in a special manner represent the blood of Christ,
which was to be shed for the redemption of mankind.

Genesis 9:5

And; or, for, as the particle is oft taken; this being the reason of
the foregoing prohibition.

Of your lives; or, of your souls, i.e. of your persons; the word
soul being oft put for person. Or, your blood, which is for your
lives, i.e. which by the spirits it generates is the great preserver
and instrument of your lives, and of all your vital actions, and the
great bond which ties your souls and bodies together. The sense of
the place is: If I am thus careful for the blood of beasts, be assured
I will be much more solicitous for the blood of men, when it shall
be shed by unjust and violent hands. I will make inquisition for
the author of such bloodshed, as I did after Cain, and consequently
punish him; for this phrase of requiring implies punishment. See
Gen_42:22 Deu_18:19, compared with Act_3:23 Psa_9:13. If
magistrates neglect this duty, I myself will avenge it by my own
hand.

At the hand of every beast will I require it; not for the
punishment of the beast, which being under no law is not capable
of sin nor punishment; but for caution to men, for whose use
seeing they were made, it is no abuse of them if they be destroyed
for man’s benefit. Compare Exo_21:28 Lev_20:15.

At the hand of every man’s brother. This is added, either,

1. As an aggravation of the crime, because the man slain was the
brother of the murderer; all men being made of one blood,
Act_17:26. And having one Father, even God, Mal_2:10, and
Adam too. Upon which account all men are frequently called one
another’s brethren, as is manifest from Gen_26:31, Gen_29:4,
Lev_19:17, Lev_25:14, Lev_26:37, and from many other places
of Scripture. Or.

2. As an assurance of the punishment of the murderer, without any

exception of the nearest relation; which, though it makes the sin
greater, yet many times is a security against punishment, the
murderer easily finding favour and pardon from his parents and
dear friends. But the former sense seems the better.

Genesis 9:6

Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, wilfully and unwarrantably. For

there is a double exception to this law:

1. Of casual murder, expressed Num_35:31 Deu_19:4.

2. Of death inflicted by the hand of the magistrate for crimes

deserving it, mentioned in the following words, and elsewhere.

By man, i.e. by the hand of man, namely, the magistrate,

Rom_13:4; who is hereby empowered and required, upon pain of
my highest displeasure, to inflict this punishment. See Exo_21:12
Lev_24:17 Mat_26:57. Or, for that man, i.e. for that man’s sake,
whose blood he hath shed, which cries for vengeance.

In the image of God made he man; so that murder is not only an

offence against man, but also an injury to God, and a contempt of
that image of God which all men are obliged to reverence and
maintain, and especially magistrates, who being my vicegerents
and servants, are therefore under a particular obligation to punish
those who deface and destroy it.
Genesis 9:7

i.e. As for you, I do not repent of that former blessing I gave to

your parents, Gen_1:28, but do hereby renew it to you, and your
seed after you.

Genesis 9:9

i.e. My promise, for the beasts included in this covenant,

Gen_9:10, are not capable of a covenant properly so called. And
the word

covenant is oft used for a simple promise, as we shall see

hereafter.

With your seed, i.e. your posterity, as that word is frequently

taken, as Gen_12:7 Exo_28:43, &c.

Genesis 9:10

To wit, which shall hereafter be in the earth. So they are

distinguished from those which were now with them.

Genesis 9:11

i.e. A universal deluge; for particular inundations there have been,

whereby towns and countries have been overwhelmed with all
their inhabitants.

Genesis 9:12

This is the token, i.e. the bow mentioned in Gen_9:13, I appoint

to you for a sensible sign and evidence, to assure you that I shall
perform this covenant or promise.

Genesis 9:13

I do set my bow; Heb. I have given, i.e. I will from time to time
give and place. God calleth it his bow, partly because it was his
workmanship, and chiefly because it was his pledge, and the seal
of his promise.

In the cloud, a proper seat for it; that they might now fetch an
argument of faith from thence, whence before they had matter of
just fear; and that which naturally was and is a sign of rain, might
by this new appointment of God be turned into an assurance that
there should be no such overflowing rain as now had been.

Genesis 9:14

Not always, but very frequently, which is sufficient for this

purpose.

Genesis 9:16

i.e. This covenant made with all succeeding generations of men

and beasts. This and the like speeches are oft ascribed to God after
the manner of men, who being forgetful, need helps for their
memory.

Genesis 9:17

The same thing is so oft repeated for the strengthening of the faith
of all men, and especially of Noah and his sons, whom the
remembrance of that dreadful deluge, which they had experience
of, had made exceeding prone to fears of the like for time to come.

Genesis 9:18

Which is here mentioned to make way for the following relation.

Genesis 9:19

A truth which the old heathens were not ignorant of, though they
changed the names, and mixed their fables with it; for they tell us
that Saturn and his three sons divided the world among
themselves. And it is apparent that their Saturn was no other than
our Noah, because they tell us he was the common parent and
prince of all mankind, also a husbandman and vinedresser, all
which Noah was. They say he was born of the sea, because Noah
came out of the waters; that he devoured all his children except
three, because Noah condemned and foretold the destruction of all
the rest of the world.

Genesis 9:20

i.e. Was a husbandman, as he had been before. The verb to begin

doth oft abound, and is applied to him that continueth or repeateth
an action begun before. Thus Christ is said to begin to cast out,
Mar_11:15, and to begin to speak, Luk_12:1; for which in the
parallel places he is said only to cast out, Mat_21:12, and to
speak, Mat_16:6.

Genesis 9:21

Either through ignorance and inexperience of the nature and

strength of that liquor, or through the infirmity of the flesh, which
was tempted by its great and, to him, new pleasantness, and by the
refreshment he found in it under the weary labours of his body,
and the sad thoughts of his mind, for the desolate condition of the
world.

He was uncovered, either to relieve himself against the heat of

the climate and season, or from his negligence and carelessness;
which might easily happen, because men’s garments at that time
were loose, as they were in the following ages, when breeches
were not in common use, and therefore were peculiarly prescribed
to the priests, Exo_28:42 Eze_44:18-19.

Genesis 9:22

The grown age of Ham was a great aggravation of this sin.

The father of Canaan: this is here added as a reason of Canaan’s

curse, Gen_9:25.
The nakedness, i.e. the secret parts, oft so called, as Lev_18:1-30,
and elsewhere,

and told his two brethren without, who were then without the
house or room where their father lay in that posture, whom he
invited to that prospect.

Genesis 9:24

Noah awoke from his wine, from his drunkenness, or from his
sleep, the effect of it,

and knew, either by the information of his sons, or by Divine

inspiration,

what his younger son had done unto him; or, his little son,
either Ham, mentioned Gen_9:22, or Canaan, mentioned in
Gen_9:25; by comparing of which places it may be gathered that
Canaan first saw it, and told his father Ham of it, and he told it to
his brethren. The latter seems here principally intended,

1. Because the curse following is appropriated to him.

2. Because of the title of younger or little son, which seems not to

be so properly added if Ham was meant; both because it doth not
appear that he was the youngest, for wheresoever these three
brethren are mentioned he is always put in the middle place, and
because that addition seems to be unnecessary and impertinent to
the present business, which if Canaan be intended, is proper and
pertinent, by way of distinction, to show that he spake of his
grandson, or his son’s son.

Object. He calleth him his son.

Answ. Grandchildren are frequently called their grandfather’s

sons in Scripture, as Gen_29:5 2Sa_19:24 1Ch_1:17.
Genesis 9:25

And he said, not from the passion of revenge, but by Divine

inspiration, and the Spirit of prophecy,

Cursed be Canaan; hateful to God, abhorred by men, miserable

in his person and posterity.

Quest. Seeing Ham committed the crime, why is the curse

inflicted upon his son Canaan?

Answ.

1. When Canaan is mentioned, Ham is not exempted from the

curse, but rather more deeply plunged into it, whilst he is
pronounced accursed, not only in his person, (which is manifestly
supposed by his commission of that sin for which the curse was
inflicted), but also in his posterity, which doubtless was a great
aggravation of his grief; as on the contrary Joseph is said to be
blessed when his children are blessed, Gen_48:15-16.

2. It seems therefore very probable from these words, and the

Hebrew doctors and others affirm it, that Canaan did partake with
his father in the sin, yea, that he was the first discoverer of his
father’s shame.

3. Canaan is particularly mentioned by the Spirit of prophecy, in

regard of the future extirpation of that people; and this is here
remembered for the encouragement of the Israelites, who were
now in their expedition against them.

4. This may be an ellipsis, or defect of the word father; for such

relative words are ofttimes omitted and understood in Scripture, as
Mat_4:21, James of Zebedee, for the son of Zebedee; Joh_19:25,
Mary of Cleopas, for the wife of Cleopas; Act_7:16, Emmor of
Sychem, for the father of Sychem, as our English translation
rightly supplies it from Gen_33:19. Thus Goliath is put for
Goliath ’s brother, as is evident by comparing 2Sa_21:19, with
1Ch_20:5. So here Canaan may be put for the father of Canaan,
as the Arabic translation hath it, that is, Ham, as the Seventy here
render it. And though Ham had more sons, yet he may be here
described by his relation to Canaan, because in him the curse was
more fixed and dreadful, reaching to his utter extirpation, whilst
the rest of Ham’s posterity in after-ages were blessed with the
saving knowledge of the gospel.

A servant of servants, i.e. the vilest and worst of servants; as

vanity of vanities is the greatest vanity, Ecc_1:2; and great
wickedness, Hos_10:15, is in the Hebrew wickedness of
wickedness; and King of kings is put for the chief of kings.

Genesis 9:26

Blessed be the Lord God of Shem.

Quest. What is this to Shem? For it is not Shem, but God who is
here blessed.

Answ.

1. Shem also is here blessed, and that in the highest degree,

because the Lord hath here declared himself to be Shem’s God.
Now for God to be said to be any man’s God, is every where
mentioned as the height of blessedness: see Gen_17:7 Psa_144:15
Jer_31:33 Mat_22:32. But the phrase is here justly varied. The
curse is fixed upon Ham, because man alone is the author of his
own sin, and the cause of his ruin; but because God is the author
and fountain of all the good that man either doth or receiveth,
therefore the blessing is emphatically given to God, who only doth
the work, and of right is to receive all the glory, yet so as it
redounds to Shem also. And Shem is here peculiarly mentioned,
not Japheth, both for the comfort of the Israelites, whose
progenitor he was, and because this blessing was first seated and
long continued in Shem’s posterity alone, Japheth’s posterity
being for a long time excluded from it; and because the Lord
Christ, who is often called the Lord and God in Scripture, did take
flesh from Shem; and so the incarnation of Christ may be here
foretold, and Shem highly honoured and blessed in this, that he
should be the father of Christ according to the flesh, Rom_9:5.

Answ. 2. This may be a short and abrupt manner of speech, which

is frequent in the Hebrew tongue; and it may signify that Shem
should be so eminently blessed, that men beholding it should be
rapt up into admiration, and break forth into the praises of that
God who gave such gifts unto men, and did so great things for
Shem.

Answ. 3. The words may be otherwise rendered, either thus,

Blessed , O Lord God, let Shem be, i.e. Do thou bless him. So it is
only the construct from Elohe, for the absolute Elohim, which is
not unusual in Scripture. Or thus, Blessed of the Lord God be
Shem, or shall Shem be. So here is only a defect of the Hebrew
particle min, which is oft wanting.

Genesis 9:27

God shall enlarge Japheth; or, enlarge to Japheth. Understand

here his place, as Gen_26:22 Psa_4:1, or his border; which was
very literally made good to him, because he had a very numerous
posterity; and by them he possessed the largest part of the world,
even all Europe, a great part of Asia, and it is probable America
also. Or, God shall persuade Japheth to do what follows, to dwell
in Shem’s tents, where God dwelleth; and so to be reunited to his
brother Shem both in affection and in religion, in both which the
Gentiles, the greatest part of whom were Japheth’s posterity, were
for a long time at an irreconcilable distance from the Jews.

He shall dwell in the tents of Shem, i.e. shall be of the same

church with Shem, i.e. of the church, which is called in Scripture
the tents or tabernacles of Judah, or of Jacob, or in general of the
saints, Zec_12:7 Mal_2:12 Rev_20:9, and here of Shem, in whose
posterity the church was first and longest settled. And to dwell
with another notes friendly association and communion with him,
as when God is said to dwell with men; and when the wolf is said
to dwell with the lamb, Isa_11:6. Possibly this may note Japheth’s
succession into Shem’s tents, or coming into their place and stead,
or the calling of the Gentiles, together with the rejection of the
Jews; as the Reubenites are said to dwell in the tabernacles of the
Hagarite, whom they subdued and expelled, 1Ch_5:10.

Canaan shall be his servant. This was eminently accomplished;

for though Shem and Japheth, in their posterity, did successively
conquer and rule one over the other, yet none of Ham’s posterity
did ever bear rule over Japheth; but Ham, though for a time he
bore sway in his son Nimrod, yet that dominion soon expired, and
the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Grecians, and Romans ruled the world
for a succession of many ages, and Ham’s people were constantly
their servants and subjects.

Genesis 9:28

Which reacheth to the fifty-eighth year of Abraham’s age, as the

Jews note. And so we have a manifest account of the propagation
of religion, from the beginning of the world to this day. Noah
received it from his parents, who had the account of it from their
first father Adam’s own mouth, and transmitted it to Abraham;
and its descent from him to the Jews, and by the Jews to others, is
sufficiently known. Within this time also Noah saw the building
of Babel’s tower, the horrid wickedness and idolatry of his
children, and the bloody wars which even then arose between
some of them.

Genesis 9:29

Here is an omission of that solemn clause used in all the preceding

generations, and he begat sons and daughters; which implies that
Noah had no more than these three sons, which also appears from
Gen_9:19.

Genesis 10:1

1. In the search of these genealogies we must avoid both

carelessness, for the reasons now mentioned, and excessive
curiosity about every particular person here named, and the people
sprung from him; which is neither necessary nor profitable, nor
indeed possible now to find out, by reason of the great changes of
names, through length of time, loss of ancient records, differences
of languages, extinction of families, conquest and destruction of
nations, and other causes. It may suffice that divers of them, and
those the most eminent, are evident and discernible at this day, as
will appear in the progress, by which we may and ought to
presume the truth of the rest, whose names are lost in the public
confusions of the world in former ages, of whom I shall therefore
be silent, and only speak of the principal persons, and that briefly.

2. The same people which were originally seated in one place did
ofttimes shift their places, or at least sent forth colonies; and that
sometimes into places far distant from their brethren, as appears
from the ancient and famous expeditions mentioned in sacred and
profane story. So you must not wonder if you meet with the same
people in divers countries.

3. In general, the world was divided into three parts, whereof the
more eastern parts were allotted to Shem and his issue, the more
southern parts to Ham, and the more northern parts of it to
Japheth.

Genesis 10:2

Japheth’s portion was at first Asia the Less, and afterwards by

degrees all Europe, and the northern parts of Asia. This is he so
much celebrated among the Greeks by the name of Japetus.

Gomer’s posterity are reckoned among the northern people,

Eze_38:6, and were seated in the northern parts of the Lesser
Asia, and afterwards about Thracia; and from him were called
Gomari, and by an easy change Cimbri, or Cimmerii.

Magog was the father of the Scythians, as may be gathered from

Eze_38:2-3, Eze_38:15, Eze_39:3, Eze_39:6.

The posterity of
Madai, wheresoever they were first placed, in Macedonia or
elsewhere, afterward were fixed in Media, and were called Medes,
and in the Hebrew by the name of their father Madai, as appears
from 2Ki_17:6 Isa_13:17 Jer_25:25, Jer_51:11, Dan_5:28,
Dan_6:8.

From

Javan came the Grecians, who are called by themselves Iaones, or

Iones, and in the Hebrew Jevanim, and their country Greece,
Javan. See Isa_66:19 Eze_27:13, Eze_27:19, Dan_8:21,
Dan_10:20.

Of

Tubal came the Iberi, anciently called Thobeli, a people of Asia,

near the Euxine Sea. See Eze_27:3, Eze_32:26, Eze_38:2-3.

Meshech was father of the Moschi, i.e. the Muscovites, or rather,

as others think, the Cappadocians, who were anciently called
Meschini, and Moschi, and their chief city Maraca.

And

Tiras was father of the Thracians; amongst whom is a river and

haven called Athyras, and who worshipped their god Mars under
the name of Thuras.

Genesis 10:3

Ashkenaz, whose seed possessed Pontus and Bithynia, and the

neighbouring parts, from whom they took the names of the lake
and haven called Ascanius, and the sea called Axenus, or Euxinus.

Riphath is called Diphath, 1Ch_1:6; the letters Daleth and Resh

being oft interchanged, as we shall see in other instances. His
posterity dwelled in or near Pontus and Bithynia, where Mela and
Pliny and Solinus place the Riphaei, or Riphaces, and the
Paphlagonians, who were anciently called Piphataei.
Togarmah, whose posterity are joined with Gomer’s; see
Eze_27:14, Eze_38:6; and were, as some think, the Phrygians and
Galatians, and of them the Gauls and Germans; or, as others, the
Armenians, and of them the Turks.

Genesis 10:4

Elishah, the father of the Grecians properly so called, who have

preserved his name and remembrance in the cities Elis and
Elissus, in a tract of ground called Elias, and in the Elysian fields.
And from these came the Æolians, a people of the Lesser Asia,
where many of the Grecian colonies were seated.

Tarshish was father of the Cilicians, from whom their chief city
Tarsus, in Hebrew Tarshish, took its name; see Eze_27:12 Jon_1:3
Act_22:3; and from whom the whole Mediterranean Sea is called
Tarshish, because the Cilicians were in a great degree masters of
that sea.

Kittim, or, Chittim, the father of the Macedonians, and Italians

too, as may be gathered from hence, because both their countries
are called by the name of Chittim; Macedonia, /APC 1Ma 1:1
/APC 1Ma 8:5, and Italy, Num_24:24 Dan_11:30. See also
Isa_23:1 Jer_2:10. Besides that there are other evidences in
profane writers that the Italians came from the Grecians.

Dodanim is called also Rodanim, 1Ch_1:7. See Riphath in.

(Gen_10:3) His posterity is uncertain. Most probably he was
seated near his brethren in some part of Greece. And the Greeks
seem to have worshipped him under the name of Jupiter
Dodonaeus, whose famous oracle was in the city Dodona.

Genesis 10:5

The isles of the Gentiles; not isles properly so called; for why
should they, having their choice, forsake the continent for islands,
and thereby cut off themselves from their brethren? And where
had they ships to transport them? But the word isles here and
elsewhere signifies all those countries that had the sea between
them and Judea, as it doth Isa_11:10-11, Isa_40:15, Jer_2:10,
Jer_25:22, Eze_27:3, Zep_2:11. And isles are here put for the
inhabitants, as the words earth and land are commonly used. This
division of the world among them being a work of great weight,
was doubtless managed with great care and consultation, and the
advice of their heads and governors, and above all by the wise and
special providence of God, which at this time did particularly
determine the bounds of their several habitations, as it is recorded
Act_17:26.

Every one after his tongue, i.e. according to their several

languages, into which they were divided at Babel. By which it
appears that this division, though mentioned before, was not
executed till after the confusion of languages at Babel.

After their families. Here observe the wise and gracious

providence of God mixed with this judgment, that God distributed
the languages according to the difference of families and nations,
that each several nation, and all the families or branches of that
nation, should have one and the same language; whereby both
union and love were preserved among themselves, and the several
nations were distinguished one from another, which was very fit
and necessary for many reasons as that the church of God, which
was confined to the Hebrew nation, might neither be mixed with
nor infected by the idolatrous nations; and that it might be evident
to the world, that the Messias was born of the seed of Abraham
according to God’s promise, &c.

Genesis 10:6

The posterity of

Ham were disposed into the parts south from Babel, both in Asia
and Africa. See 1Ch_4:40 Psa_105:27.

Cush was father both of the Ethiopians and the Arabians; who, as
it seems, sent forth a colony from themselves more eastward, even
near to India. See Gen_2:13 2Ki_19:9 Job_28:19 Jer_13:23,
Jer_46:9.
Mizraim was father of the Egyptians, who are generally known in
Scripture by that name.

Of

Phut sprung the Libyans, among whom is the river Put, and the
Moors. See Jer_46:9 Eze_27:10, Eze_30:5, Nah_3:9.

Canaan was the cursed parent of that accursed race of the

Canaanites, well known in Scripture, Gen_10:15.

Genesis 10:7

Seba; or, Saba, or Sheba, whose seed were the Sabeans in Arabia
the Desert; see Psa_72:10 Isa_43:3; and, as some think, the
Abyssines in Africa.

Havilah, the father of the inhabitants of the land of Havilah,

mentioned Gen_2:11; a land in the most eastern part of Arabia,
this being opposed to Shur, a desert near Egypt, as the two
remotest bounds of Arabia, Gen_25:18 1Sa_15:7.

Sabtah was father of those people who were seated in the lower
part of Arabia the Happy, near the Persian Gulf, who also sent
forth a colony into Persia. For in those parts we meet with the
Sabateni in Josephus, the Stabaei and Messabathi in Ptolemy and
Pliny.

Raamah, from whom descended another people dwelling in the

same Arabia. See Eze_27:22.

Sabtechah, the father of another people adjoining to them.

Sheba was father either of that people which inhabited Ethiopia,

who were known by that name; see 1Ki 10:1, 1Ki_10:4, Eze
27:22, Mat_12:42 Act_8:27; or rather of another people in Arabia.
So the several sons of Cush are conveniently seated one near
another. And those Ethiopians in Africa might be a colony either
of these, or rather of the posterity of the former Seba.
Dedan; of whose posterity see Eze_27:15, Eze_38:13.

Genesis 10:8

Whom he placeth last of all his sons, because he was to say more
of him.

Genesis 10:9

He was a mighty hunter, first of beasts, and by that occasion of

men. For when men were few, and lived dispersedly, and wild
beasts abounded, and most of all in those parts, by hunting and
destroying of those beasts he got much reputation and favour with
men, who thereby were secured in their dwellings. In confidence
hereof, and having this occasion to gather great companies of the
youngest and strongest men together to himself, by their help he
established a tyranny and absolute power over men, insnaring,
hunting after, and destroying like beasts all those men who
opposed his dominion. Tyrants and persecutors are oft in Scripture
called fowlers and hunters, as Psa_91:3 Jer_16:16 Lam_3:52,
Lam_4:18.

Before the Lord; an aggravation of his crime, that it was done in

of God's presence, impudently and in contempt both God, who
had so lately manifested his detestation of this sin, by the
destruction of the world, amongst other sins, for this very sin of
violence, Gen_6:13, and of his great-grandfather Noah, then living
and preaching, who probably did admonish him of the wickedness
and danger of this practice. Thus he showed that he neither feared
God nor reverenced man, if they withstood him in his unsurpation
of dominion. It became a proverb, when any man was haughty,
and cruel, and tyrannical, and that joined with impudence and
obstinacy, That he was another Nimrod.

Genesis 10:10

The beginning of his kingdom, i.e. either his chief and royal city,
or the place where his dominion began, and from whence it was
extended to other parts.
Babel; which being not built till the confusion of languages,
Gen_11:4, showeth that this, though here mentioned upon
occasion of the genealogy, was not executed till afterward; it
being very usual in Scripture to neglect the order of time in
historical relations.

Calneh, called Calno, Isa_10:9; and Canneh, Eze_27:23; and as it

is here, Cabneh, Amo_6:2; where it is mentioned amongst the
eminent cities.

The land of Shinar, i.e. in Mesopotamia. This clause belongs to

all the cities here named; and is added for distinction sake,
because there is a Babylon in the land of Egypt, and there might
be other cities of the same name with the rest in other countries.

Genesis 10:11

Asshur; a man so called: either,

1. Asshur the son of Shem, who forsook the land, either being
forced by or weary of Nimrod's tyranny and impiety, and erected
another kingdom. But it is not probable either that Moses would
here relate an exploit of a man whose birth is not mentioned till
Gen_10:22, or that one single son of Shem would be here
disorderly placed among the sons of Ham. Or,

2. Another Asshur of Ham's race. But it seems most likely that

Asshur is the name of a place or country, even of Assyria, which
in the Hebrew is called Asshur; and that the words should be thus
rendered, he, i.e. Nimrod, went forth out of his own land to
Asshur, to war against it, and add it to his empire; for to go forth
is commonly ascribed to those that go to war or to battle, as
Jdg_2:15, Jdg_11:3, 2Sa_11:1 Psa_60:10; and the particle to is
here understood as it is 2Sa_6:10, 2Sa_10:2, compared with
1Ch_13:13, 1Ch_19:2.

Nineveh, a famous and vast city near the river Tigris, but so
ruined by time, that the learned are not agreed about the place
where it was situate.
Of Rehoboth, see Gen_36:37 1Ch_1:48.

Genesis 10:12

Either,

1. Nineveh, which is called a

great city, Jon_3:3, Jon_4:11; and indeed was so, being sixty
miles in compass. Thus it is a trajection, and the relative is
referred to the remoter noun, as sometimes is done, though this
seems to be a little forced. Or,

2. Resen; so the meaning is, though this city be much inferior to

Nineveh, yet this also, if compared with most others, is a great
city.

Genesis 10:13

Of

Ludim and the following names here and Gen_10:14, observe

two things:

1. They are not the names of persons, but of people or nations; and
the word father is here understood; Ludim, for the father of the
people called Ludim, and so the rest.

2. That they are the several nations dwelling in Africa, springing

from the Egyptians, which, as they multiplied, went further and
further westward and southward from Egypt.

Genesis 10:14

Pathrusim, the inhabitants of Pathros; of which see Isa_11:11

Jer_44:1, Jer_44:15, Eze_29:14.

Out of whom came Philistim: the meaning is, they came out of
his loins, or were his offspring, which might be true; though
afterwards we find them seated amongst the offspring of Canaan,
having driven out the former inhabitants, as was usual in those
ancient times.

Object.

The Philistines are elsewhere said to come from Caphtorim: see

Jer_47:4.

Answ. Therefore some make a trajection here, which is not

unusual; and read the words thus, and Casluhim, and Caphtorim,
out of whom me Philistim. But this seems forced, nor is it
necessary; for the place may be thus read without any parenthesis,
and Casluhim, out of whom came the Philistim and Caphtorim,
which two latter were brethren, both the sons of Casluhim; and so
might at first dwell together, whence their names are
promiscuously used one for another; and the Caphtorims are said
to dwell in Azzah, or Gaza, the known seat of the Philistines,
Deu_2:23. Afterwards they might be divided, first in their
dwellings, then in their affections, and war one against another;
and the Caphtorims seem to have subdued and enslaved the
Philistines, and carried them into their country, whom therefore
God is said to bring and deliver from Caphtor, Amo_9:9; and the
Caphtorims either then or afterward might be destroyed and
extirpated by the hand of God or men, whence the Philistines, in
after-times, are called The remnant of the country of Caphtor,
Jer_47:4.

Genesis 10:15

Sidon his first-born, the father of the people, and builder of the
city of Sidon, Jos_11:8 Jos 19:28.

Of Heth came the Hittites, Jos_1:4 Jos 9:1, &c.

Genesis 10:16

Of these and the other people following, see Jos_18:22 Jos 18:28
2Ch_13:4 Isa_49:12 Eze_27:8 Eze_27:11 Amo 6:2 Amo 6:14,
&c.

Genesis 10:18

Dispersed in the several quarters of the land, who, before they

grew so numerous, dwelt together in the same place.

Genesis 10:19

From Sidon, i.e. the city and country of Sidon, on the north-west.

Unto Gaza, on the south-west.

Zeboim, on the south and south-east.

Lasha, on the north-east.

Genesis 10:21

Of all the children of Eber, i.e. of the Hebrews, the only church
and people of God when Moses wrote, who are called

Eber, Num_24:24, as here, the children of Eber. And he is here

called the father of them peculiarly, though he had other children,
because he was their father not only by natural generation, but
also in respect of the promise of God, which was conveyed to
them through Shem’s hands, and of that faith and holiness
wherein he was their predecessor and eminent pattern; even as
Ham, though he had other sons, is specially called the father of
Canaan, Gen_9:22, because his father’s curse rested upon him,
Gen_10:25.

Object. Eber had many other children here recorded, and

therefore in that sense Shem was not the father of all the children
of Eber.
Answ. Though Eber had other children, yet none are called in
Scripture the children of Eber, or, which is all one, the Hebrews,
but Abraham’s posterity; even as though Abraham had divers
other children, yet the Israelites are in many places peculiarly
called the children of Abraham. And the ungodly Jews, when they
degenerate from God and godliness, God takes away their name,
and denieth them to be Jews, Rom_2:28, and calls them
Sodomites, Isa_1:10. And therefore no wonder if Joktan and his
posterity, having, as it is probable, forsaken their father’s God,
and turned idolaters, be here disowned as bastards, and blotted out
of the honourable catalogue of the children of Eber: see Rom_9:8.

Japheth alone is here mentioned as his brother, and not Ham,

because he was deservedly shut out from Shem’s blessing
pronounced by Noah, and was accursed of God, whereas Japheth
was partaker with Shem, both in the piety exercised towards their
father, and the blessing thereupon pronounced; the word brother
being often applied to persons alike in condition, disposition, or
manners: see Gen_49:5.

The elder. Though the words in Hebrew may seem ambiguous,

yet other texts make it probable that Japheth was the elder. For
Noah began to beget children in his five hundredth year,
Gen_5:32. And Shem was but a hundred years old two years after
the flood, Gen_11:10. Therefore he was not the eldest. And Ham
is concluded not to be the eldest, from Gen_9:24; of which see
Poole "Gen_9:24"; if so, Japheth must be the eldest. And Shem is
generally named first, not because he was the first-born, but
because he had the privileges of the first-born, and was chief in
dignity and authority in the church of God.

Genesis 10:22

Of Elam came the Elamites or Persians: see Gen_14:9 Isa_21:2

Jer_49:34 Dan_8:2 Act_2:9.

Asshur was father of the Assyrians: see Gen_10:11.

Of Arphaxad the Chaldeans, as many conceive; or, as others, the
inhabitants of that part of Assyria, from him called Arphaxitis,
which Ptolemy corruptly calls Arrapachitis.

Lud was father of the Lydians, a well-known people in Asia the

Less.

Of Aram the Syrians, known by the name of Aramites, both in

sacred and other authors: compare with this Gen_22:21.

Genesis 10:25

In his days; either,

1. In the time of his birth, whence he was so called. Or,

2. Afterwards in the time of life. So his father gave him this name
by the Spirit of prophecy, foreseeing this great event, and the time
of it; this being no unusual thing in Scripture, as we shall hereafter
see, to give prophetical names to children. And thus there is a
longer and more convenient space left for the peopling of the
world, and ripening of things for the general dispersion and
habitation of the earth.

The earth was divided, first in language, and then in habitations.

Genesis 10:26

From

Almodad and the rest of Joktan ’s sons here mentioned, come

either,

1. The various nations of India, as most think; or rather,

2. The several people that live in the innermost parts of Arabia,

who profess themselves the posterity of Joktan, and have a city
near Mecca called Jectan. And the Homerites, one sort of them,
are deduced from him by divers writers.
Genesis 10:28

A different person from him Gen_10:7, and the father of another

people, having only the same name with him.

Genesis 10:29

Ophir; either that in India, of which see 1Ki_9:28 1Ki 10:11 1Ki
22:48; or the other in Arabia, of which see Job_22:24 Job 28:16.
See also Psa_45:9 Isa_13:12.

Havilah, a distinct person from him Gen_10:7.

Genesis 10:30

These places were either,

1. In India, where there are places called by Ptolemy and Pliny,

Maesae, and Saparum, and Sabara. Or rather,

2. In Arabia, where there was a noted port called Musa; and near
it, and eastward from it, a people called Sapharitae, and a royal
city called Saphar; from whence this famous and long mountain
doth here receive its name. If it be said Arabia is not east but south
from Judea, it may be answered,

1. That Arabia, as it is not east in respect of Egypt, where the Jews

long dwelt, and part of it is so to Judea also; so it is not seldom in
Scripture reckoned as a part of the east country, as appears from
Gen_25:6 Gen 25:18 Jdg 6:3 1Ki_4:30 Job_1:3 Isa_11:14
Jer_49:28. And Tacitus describing Judea, saith: It is bounded on
the east by Arabia.

2. That this mountain is said to be easterly, not simply, but in

respect of the city Mesha, on the east whereof Ptolemy placeth
this mountain, though he call it by another name, Climax; add to
this, that Moses speaks of these places as known to the Jews, and
therefore not so far distant from them as India, a place wholly
unknown to them, and wherewith, as yet, they had no
communication. If it be further objected, that if these people had
been so near and well known to the Jews, we should have had
more mention of them in Scripture; I answer, there is mention of
some of them; and for others, it is no wonder if by the following
wars among nations, and mixtures and confusions of people, some
of them were extirpated, and others lost their names, though not
their beings, as oft happened.

Genesis 11:1

Earth is oft put for its inhabitants, as Gen_6:21 1Ch_16:23

Psa_33:8.

Of one speech, which even heathen writers acknowledge; and that

probably was the Hebrew tongue.

Genesis 11:2

As they journeyed from the east, i.e. Nimrod and the rest of his
confederates of Ham's posterity; not from Armenia, where the ark
rested, which was north from Babel, and is called north in
Scripture, as Jer_25:9, Jer_25:26, &c.; but from Assyria, into
which they had before come from the mountains of Ararat for
more convenient habitation. It may be rendered to the east; but
that manner of translation is neither usual nor necessary here.

The land of Shinar, where Babel was, Gen_10:10.

Genesis 11:3

Let us make brick, for in that low and fat soil they had no
quarries of stones. The heathen writers agree that Babylon’s walls
were made of brick.

The slime was a kind of clay called bitumen, which, as Pliny

testifieth, is liquid and glutinous, and fit to be used in brick
buildings, as Strabo, Dion, and others note. And that Babylon was
built with this, as is here said, we have the joint and express
testimony of Berosus, Ctesias, Dion, Curtius, and many others.
Genesis 11:4

Whose top may reach unto heaven, i.e. a very high tower; a
usual hyperbole, both in Scripture, as Deu_1:28 Deu 9:1, and in
other authors. This tower and its vast height is noted by
Herodotus, Diodorus, and others.

Let us make us a name, i.e. a great name, as the phrase is

elsewhere used. Compare also 2Sa_7:9, with 1Ch_17:8. See also
Isa_63:12 Isa 63:14 Dan 9:15. They take no care for God's name,
and the defence and propagation of the true religion, as duty
bound them, but merely out of pride and vain-glory labour to erect
an everlasting monument of their wit, and wealth, and
magnificence to all posterity.

Their design was not to secure themselves against a flood, which

they well knew brick buildings were no fence against; nor would
they then have built this tower in a plain, but upon some high
mountain; but rather to prevent a total and irrecoverable
dispersion. They sought therefore to bind themselves together in
one glorious empire, and to make this glorious city the capital seat
of it, and the place of refuge and resort upon any considerable
occasion.

Genesis 11:5

Not by local descent, for he is every where; but by the

manifestation of his presence and the effects of his power in that
place.

To see the city and the tower, i.e. to know the truth of the fact,
thereby setting a pattern for judges to examine causes before they
pass sentence; otherwise God saw this in heaven; but in these
expressions he condescends to the capacity of men.

The children of men, so called emphatically,

1. For distinction of them from the sons of God, or the race of

Shem, who were not guilty of the sin, and therefore did not
partake in the curse, the confusion of their language, but retained
their ancient tongue uncorrupted for a good while.

2. To note their rashness and folly, who being but weak and silly
men, durst oppose themselves to the infinitely wise and powerful
God, who did (as they might easily gather both from his words
and works) intend to disperse and separate them, that so by
degrees they might possess the whole earth, which God had made
for that purpose.

Genesis 11:6

The Lord said this in way of holy scorn and derision. Compare
Gen_3:22.

Genesis 11:7

Let us, i.e. the blessed Trinity. See Gen_1:26.

Confound their language, by making them forget their former

language, and by putting into their minds several languages; not a
distinct language into each person, but into each family, or rather
into each nation; that thereby they may be disenabled from that
mutual commerce which was altogether necessary for the carrying
on of that work.

Genesis 11:8

Thus they brought upon themselves the very thing they feared,
and that more speedily and more mischievously to themselves; for
now they were not only divided in place, but in language too, and
so were unfitted for those confederacies and correspondences
which they mainly designed, and for the mutual comfort and help
of one another, which otherwise they might in good measure have
enjoyed.
Genesis 11:10

Not all the generations of Shem, as appears both from Gen_11:11,

and from the former chapter; but of those who were the seminary
of the church, and the progenitors of Christ.

Genesis 11:11

So that he lived almost all the time of Abraham; which was a

singular blessing, both to himself, who hereby saw his children of
the tenth generation; and to the church of God, which by this
means enjoyed the counsel and conduct of so great a patriarch.

Genesis 11:17

So that he was the longest lived of all the patriarchs which were
born after the flood.

Genesis 11:24

Nahor was the first patriarch who fell to idolatry.

Genesis 11:26

i.e. Began to beget, as Gen_5:32.

Abram, who is first named in order of dignity, (for which cause

Shem is put before Ham and Japheth, and Moses before Aaron),
not in order of time, which seems to be this: Haran probably was
the eldest, because Nahor married his daughter; Nahor the second;
and Abram certainly was the youngest, because Terah, Abram's
father, lived two hundred and five years, Gen_11:32, and Abram
after his father's death, Act_7:4, went out of Haran, when he was
seventy-five years old, Gen_12:4-5; therefore he was not begotten
in Terah's seventieth year, when Terah began to beget his sons, as
here is said, but in his one hundred and thirtieth year, and so there
remains seventy-five years precisely to Abram's departure. And
Sarai, Haran's daughter, was but ten years younger than Abram,
Gen_17:17; and therefore Haran was Abram's elder brother.

Genesis 11:28

i.e. In the presence and during the life of his father.

Genesis 11:29

Such marriages of uncles and nieces being permitted then,

Exo_6:20, (as in the beginning of the world the marriages of
brethren and sisters were), though afterwards, the church being
very much enlarged, they were severely forbidden, Lev_18:12
Lev 18:14.

Iscah is either Sarai, as the Jews and many others think, or rather
another person. For,

1. Why should Moses express Sarai thus darkly and doubtfully?

Had he meant her, he would have added after Iscah, this is Sarai,
according to his manner in like cases, Gen_14:2 Gen 14:7 Gen
35:6.

2. He elsewhere calleth her, the daughter, not of his brother, as he

should have done, had she been Iscah, but of his father, by another
mother.

Genesis 11:30

See Gen_16:1-2 Gen 18:11-12.

Genesis 11:31

See Jos_24:2 Neh_9:7 1Ch_1:26. Being informed by his son of

the command of God,

Terah did not despise it, because it came to him by the hands of
his inferior, but cheerfully obeyeth it; and therefore he is so
honourably mentioned as the head and governor of the action.
Terah and Abram went with Lot and Sarai, as their heads and
guides.

Haran is called Charran, Act_7:4, and by the Romans Carrae , a

place in in Mesopotamia strictly so called, in the way to Canaan,
and near to it, well known by Crassus' defeat there: see Gen_24:10
Gen 28:10 Gen 29:4.

Dwelt there; or, rested or abode, being detained there for a

season; peradventure by Terah's disease, which begun there, for
Gen_11:32 tells us of his death.

Genesis 12:1

The Lord had said, to wit, in Ur of the Chaldees, by comparing

Gen_11:31, with Act_7:2-4; or, did say, again, i.e. renewed the
command in Haran, whilst Abram might possibly linger there, as
afterwards Lot did in Sodom, longer than he should. But the
former interpretation is more probable, because Moses speaks
here of that command of God which came to Abram before he
was gone from his

kindred and

father's house, and therefore before he came to Haran. And this

command was given to Abram either immediately, or by Shem,
then the governor of God's church.

From thy father's house; from the family of Nachor, which was
now become idolatrous, Gen_31:30 Jos_24:2; and consequently
their society was dangerous and pernicious; and therefore God
mercifully snatcheth him as a brand out of the fire.

A land that I will show thee; which as yet he nameth not, for the
greater trial and exercise of Abram's faith and patience: compare
Isa_41:2 Heb_11:8.
Genesis 12:2

I will bless thee with all my blessings, spiritual, temporal, and

eternal; (see Deu_7:13 Deu_28:2, &c.; Eph_1:3)

and thou shalt be, both a pattern and instrument of blessedness to

others; to thy posterity, who shall be blessed for thy sake; to thy
servants and friends, who shall be blessed by thy instruction and
help; and to all the world, as it follows.

Genesis 12:3

Those that are friends or enemies to thee shall be the same to me;
a marvellous condescension and privilege.

In thee, i.e. in thy Seed, as it is explained Gen_22:18 Gen_26:4

Gen_28:14, i.e. in and through Christ, Act_3:25 Gal_3:9,
Gal_3:16, Gal_3:28-29; or, for thee, as the Chaldee hath it, i.e. for
thy sake; or, by thee, i.e. by thy means; or, with thee, by
comparing this with Gal_3:8-9, i.e. in the same way and manner
in which thou art blessed, that is, by a fruitful faith: compare
Rom_4:11-12, Rom_4:16.

All families of the earth, i.e. all nations; which is to be limited to

the believers of all nations, by the whole current of the Scriptures.
All that shall be blessed shall be blessed by this means, and no
other way.

Genesis 12:4

Abram departed, first from Ur, and after his father’s death, from
Haran.

Genesis 12:5

The souls, i.e. the persons, as the word souls is oft used, as
Gen_14:21 Gen 17:14 Exo_12:15 Lev_5:1 Num_23:10 Deu_24:7
Mar_3:4, &c.
That they had gotten; Heb. made, i.e. either.

1. Begotten; for though Abram had yet no children, Lot had, and
both their servants had children by their fellow servants born in
their house, which might well be numbered among Abram's and
Lot's persons, because they had an absolute dominion over them.
Or,

2. Instructed, i.e. turned from idolatry, and taught in the true

religion, as the Chaldee expounds it; for such were most proper
for Abram to take along with him out of his father's house in this
expedition. Or,

3. Gotten, i.e. procured either by conquest or purchase, or any

other lawful and usual way.

Genesis 12:6

Sichem; Heb. Sechem, a place afterwards so called in the

mountains of Ephraim, Jos_21:21 Jud_8:31, and here so called by
anticipation.

The Canaanite is properly so called; that cursed, cruel, impious,

and idolatrous nation: see Zec_14:21. This is added as an
aggravation of Abram’s faith and obedience, that he durst and did
profess the true religion in the midst of such a people, which could
not be without great danger both of his estate and life.

Was then in the land, as a settled inhabitant to continue there for

a long time; whereas now in Moses’s time he was forthwith to be
expelled out of it.

Genesis 12:7

The Lord appeared unto Abram, to encourage and comfort him

against his wicked neighbours: see Gen_13:15 Gen 15:18 Gen
17:8 Gen 24:7 Deu_34:4.
There built he an altar, a place for sacrifice, and other parts of
Divine worship, erected by him both to keep his family in the true
religion, and to separate himself and them from that idolatrous
neighbourhood.

Genesis 12:8

Beth-el, a known place, which afterwards was called Beth-el, but

now Luz, Gen_28:19; a usual prolepsis, or anticipation, as before,
Gen_12:6.

On the west; or, on the sea; which is all one, because the sea was
on the west part of the land: see Gen_13:14 Gen 28:14 Num_3:23
Deu_3:27.

Hai, or Ai, as it is called, Jos_7:2 Jer_49:3 Isa_10:28.

Genesis 12:9

Removing from place to place, still hoping to meet with better

neighbours, and to free himself from that perpetual vexation
which he had in beholding their wickedness.

Toward the south, i.e. the southern part of the land of Canaan
towards Egypt.

Genesis 12:10

There was a famine in the land, or,

in that land of Canaan, a land eminently fruitful, Deu_8:7-8. This

was partly to punish that people's sins, Psa_107:34, partly to try
Abram's faith.

Genesis 12:11

Quest. How could she be so fair, when she was above sixty years
old?
Answ. She was so both comparatively to the Egyptians, and
simply in herself, and that might be from divers causes:

1. From the greater vigour of nature in that age of the world.

2. Because her beauty was not diminished by child-bearing.

3. From God's singular providence, ordering it thus for Abram's

trial, and for the manifestation of his special providence watching
over him and his.

Genesis 12:12

The Egyptians were a very lustful people, which made Abram

more cautious.

Genesis 12:13

Say thou art my sister: so she was, either,

1. More generally, as his niece; for nephews and nieces are in

Scripture called brethren and sisters, as Gen_13:8. Or rather,

2. Properly, i.e. by the father’s side, Gen_20:12. So this

expression was true, but ambiguous, and intended to deceive the
Egyptians, and therefore unwarrantable. And here Abram, the
father of the faithful, elsewhere celebrated for the strength of his
faith, betrays his infirmity and distrust of God’s providence and
promise, and this fact was not without great danger both to
himself and Sarai.

Genesis 12:15

The princes also of Pharaoh, i.e. the officers and courtiers;

whose great design was to gain their prince's favour by gratifying
his lusts.

Pharaoh was a name common to all the kings of Egypt now, and
for many ages after.
The woman was taken into Pharaoh's house, i.e. taken and
brought, one word for two. So the word take is used Gen_15:9-10
Exo 18:2 Exo 27:20, &c. Not to his bed, but the house of his
women, where they were purified and prepared for the king's
presence and society, as Est_2:8-9, that in due time she might be
his concubine or wife. Thus even the ceremonies of courts serve
the providence of God, and give opportunity for working her
deliverance.

Genesis 12:16

To wit, by Pharaoh’s gift, over and above his own; else it had
been impertinent to mention it in this place.

Genesis 12:17

Most probably with some notable distemper of his body, which

did both chastise him for and hinder him in the execution of his
lust.

His house, i.e, his servants, who being some one way, some
another, partners of his sin, are justly made partners in his
plagues. And if any were innocent in this matter, they were
obnoxious to God for other sins. Besides, as they were punished
upon the occasion of Pharaoh's sin, so Pharaoh was punished in
their punishments.

Because of Sarai, i.e.

1. For the act of violence towards her; for the word taken,
Gen_12:15, implies that it was by constraint, and not with
Abram's and with her consent, which it is not probable that either
of them would give in that case.

2. For an intention of uncleanness. For God, who is the Searcher

and Judge of men's hearts, may justly, and doth often, punish men
for their evil purposes. Compare Gen_20:3-4.
Genesis 12:18

How great an injury hast thou done to me in concealing this from

me, that she was thy wife!

Ques. How knew Pharaoh this?

Answ.

1. He guessed it from the quality of his plague, which also

awakened his conscience.

2. Upon a serious inquiry into the cause of this plague, he

understood it either by Divine instinct, as Gen_20:3, or by Sarai's
confession, whom doubtless he severely examined about it. And
she, being awakened by this warning, durst no longer conceal
herself, and thought she might securely make herself known.

Genesis 12:19

I might have taken her to me to wife; though he had another

before; polygamy being then commonly practised.

Genesis 12:20

Pharaoh gave them a charge concerning him for his safe conduct
whither he pleased.

Genesis 13:1

i.e. Into the southern part of Canaan, from whence he came,

Gen_12:9, and which in Scripture is called simply the south,
Jos_10:40 Jos_11:16. Otherwise he went rather into the north: but
the Scripture being written for the Jews, doth frequently
accommodate the names of the quarters of the world to them.
Genesis 13:3

He went on his journey, or rather, according to his journeys,

which he took as he came, going in the same road, and resting in
the same place, of which he had experience.

Genesis 13:4

Unto the place of the altar, i.e. where the altar was; for the altar
itself was either fallen down, as being probably built of earth, as
afterwards, Exo_20:24, or overthrown by the wicked Canaanites.
He worshipped God by prayer, and preaching to his family,
Gen_18:19, and offering sacrifices. See Gen_4:26 Gen_12:8.

Genesis 13:7

The Canaanite, i.e. the Canaanites, as Gen_12:6, the singular

number for the plural, as Psa_78:45 Psa 105:33 Psa 105:40.

Dwelled then in the land, i.e. were the lords and owners of it;
and therefore Abram and Lot could not take what pastures they
pleased, but such as the others left them, which was not sufficient
for their conveniency. It may also be added as a reason of Abram's
following motion, because that idolatrous people were present,
and diligently observed all their contentions and other
miscarriages; and would, doubtless, take occasion thence to
disparage the true religion. And it must be remembered, that these
are the words not of Abram, but of Moses; who, knowing that the
Canaanites were then speedily to be turned out of the land,
intimates that the case was otherwise in Abram's days, when the
Canaanites were possessed, and were likely to continue the
possessors and lords of the land.

Genesis 13:8

Abram said unto Lot. The elder, and wiser, and worthier person
relinquisheth his own right to his inferior for peace sake, leaving
us a noble example for our imitation.
Between me and thee, and between; or, or between, & c., and for
or, as Exo_21:17 Psa_8:4, compared with Mat_15:14 Heb_2:6,
for there was no strife between Abram and Lot, though he feared
it might pass from the feet to the head.

For we be brethren, i.e. both by nature near kinsmen, as the

word brother is oft used, and in the faith and religion too, amongst
whom contentions are very indecent and scandalous.

Genesis 13:9

Is not the whole land before thee? i.e. open to thy view, and free
to choose which part thou pleasest, as thou canst agree with the
owners: I give thee full power to choose before me. See a like
phrase, Gen_20:15 Gen 34:10 Gen 34:21 Gen 47:6.

Thou wilt take: this and the following supplement are easily
gathered both from the words of this and Gen_13:11, and from the
nature of the thing. And the Hebrew language being a concise or
short language, such supplements are frequently necessary, and
very usual. Compare 2Ch_10:11, with 1Ki_12:11 2Sa_23:8, with
1Ch_11:11.

Genesis 13:10

The plain of Jordan, a great plain so called, because there the

pleasant river Jordan divided itself into divers little streams or
rivulets, which having no visible outlet into the sea, by degrees,
and in several places, insinuated themselves into the earth, which
made it very fruitful and excellent for Lot’s purpose. But this
lovely plain was afterwards transformed by Divine vengeance into
a filthy lake or dead sea, Gen_19:24.

Even as the garden of the Lord; i.e. either,

1. Like that famous garden of Eden which God himself planted,

Gen_2:8. The like comparison we meet with Isa_51:3 Eze_28:13
Eze_31:8. Or,
2. Like some excellent garden; for excellent things are thus
expressed, as, the host of God, 1Ch_12:22, i.e. a great host; cedars
of God, Psa_80:10.

Like the land of Egypt, a land of eminent fertility by the

influence of that great river Nilus, anciently celebrated as the
granary of other countries. See Eze_31:1-18.

Unto Zoar, i.e. to Bela, Gen_14:2, afterwards called Zoar,

Gen_19:22, and here so called by a prolepsis. But these words are
not to be joined with the words immediately going before, as if
Egypt was commended for its fertility in that part of it from which
men go to Zoar, but with the more remote words, and the sense is,
as the words of the text are transplaced and rendered by some, that
the plain of Jordan was (before the Lord destroyed it and its cities
Sodom and Gomorrah) watered every where, even to Zoar; or,
even until thou comest, i.e. till a man come, to Zoar, i.e. all the
way which leads from the place where Abram then was to Zoar.
And such transpositions are not unusual, as we shall see hereafter.

Genesis 13:11

Lot journeyed east; Heb. from the east, or eastward, as the

Hebrew particle min is sometimes used: see Gen_2:8 2Sa_2:2,
compared with 1Ch_13:6.

Genesis 13:13

Eminent, noted, and impudent sinners; see Gen_18:20 Eze_16:49;

which is here added as a secret reproof to Lot, who was either
careless in his inquiry into the dispositions and manners of those
among whom he intended to fix his abode, which for many
reasons he should have searched out; or he was willing to expose
himself to all the hazards which he might incur by their
neighbourhood and familiarity, for the sweetness and fertility of
the soil; an error which is frequently committed by men in the
choice of their habitations, and which oft costs them dear, as it did
Lot in the following story.
Genesis 13:14

The Lord said this

unto Abram, to comfort him now when he was alone, and in a

worse soil than Lot had chosen.

Genesis 13:15

Object. Abram could see but a little part of the land.

Answ.

1. He might now possibly be upon a mountain, from whence he

might have a large prospect every way.

2. He gave him all that he saw, but not only that, but also the rest
of the land, and therefore he bids him walk through and view the
whole land, Gen_13:17.

Quest. How was the land given to Abram, when it is expressly

said: He, i.e. God, gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so
much as to set his foot on, Act_7:5.

Answ.

1. God gave Abram the right to it, though not the actual
possession of it, until the time that God appointed; as God gave
the right of the kingdom to David, but not the possession till
Saul's death.

2. God explains himself, To thee and to thy seed, i.e. to thee, that
is, to thy seed, and that for thy sake; the particle and being put oft
for that is, as 1Ch_21:12, compared with 2Sa_24:13 Eph_1:3, and
in many other plaecs, as we shall see.

Quest. How was this for ever, when after some hundreds of years
they were turned out of it?
Answer.

1. This promise was made to them upon condition of their

obedience, which is oft expressed in other places, as Lev_18:26
Deu_4:25-26 Isa 48:18-19.

2. The word olam, rendered for ever, doth not always signify
eternity, but a long continuance, as is evident from Gen_17:13
Gen 48:4 Exo_21:6 Psa_132:14, and many other places of
Scripture; and in particular, when it is applied to the Jewish rites
and privileges, it commonly signifies no more than during the
standing of that commonwealth, or until the coming of the
Messias; and so it may here be understood.

Genesis 13:18

Mamre was an Amorite of great note, from whom the city

Hebron was called Mamre, Gen_23:19, a friend and confederate
of Abram, Gen_14:13, by whom it is thought he was brought to
the knowledge and worship of the true God.

In Hebron; or, near Hebron; for so the Hebrew Beth is

sometimes taken.

Genesis 14:1

i.e. Of a people which came to him out of several nations, (being

allured possibly by his fame, or by promises and privileges
granted to them), and put themselves under his government. Or
Goiim is the name of a certain place or country, so called from the
confluence of divers people or nations thither, as Tyrus is called
the mart of nations, Isa_23:3, upon the same account.

Genesis 14:2

Once for all, observe that the name of kings is here and elsewhere
given by Moses to the chief governors of cities or little provinces.
Compare Jos_12:9, &c.
Genesis 14:3

Which now is, though when this battle was fought it was not so.

Genesis 14:4

He was their lord, either,

1. By inheritance, as the issue of Elam, Shem’s son, Gen_10:22.

Or,

2. By conquest, having subdued those people in a former war,

which Josephus speaks of.

Genesis 14:5

The kings that were with him, i.e. confederate with him for the
recovery of his right, expecting the same assistance from him
upon the like occasion.

The Rephaims, a fierce and warlike people of Canaan. See

Gen_15:20. Or the giants, as this word is taken Deu_2:11.

Ashteroth Karnaim, a place in Basan called Ashteroth, Deu_1:4

Jos_9:10 Jos 13:31. It is surnamed Carnaim, q.d.

Two-horned, like a half moon, either from the situation and form
of the place, or from the goddess Diana, or the moon, which
usually was painted with two horns, whom they worshipped.

The Emims, a people in Canaan of giant-like stature, Deu_2:10-

11.

Shaveh Kiriathaim; Kiriathaim is a noted city in Gilead, and

Shaveh may be either the ancient name of that city, or the present
name of the country adjoining and belonging to it.
Genesis 14:6

The Horites, the ancient inhabitants of Seir, of whom see

Gen_36:20 Deu_2:12. El signifies a plain, and Paran is the name
of a known city and mountain. See Num_13:3 Deu_33:2
1Sa_25:1, &c.

Genesis 14:7

Which is Kadesh, i.e. which after that time was called Kadesh, of
which see Num_20:1 Num 20:14, &c.

The country of the Amalekites, i.e. which afterwards was

possessed by the Amalekites, Gen_36:12. A known figure called
prolepsis.

Genesis 14:10

The vale of Siddim was chosen by those five kings for the place
of battle, that their adversaries being ignorant of the place might
unawares fall into those pits, which they by their knowledge of it
thought to escape.

Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, i.e. their armies; a figurative

speech, frequent in Scripture and other authors; for their persons
escaped: see Gen_14:17. They either,

1. Fell into the pits which they designed for others; or rather,

2. Were slain, as this word is oft used, as Jos_8:24-25 Jdg 8:10

Jdg 12:6; and here too; for those that fell are here opposed to
those that remained.

Genesis 14:12

Lot now suffered for his cohabitation with bad neighbours.

Genesis 14:13

Abram the Hebrew; so called, either,

1. From his great and good predecessor Eber, Gen_10:24 Gen

11:14, in and by whom the primitive language and true religion
were preserved; and therefore though Abram had five other
progenitors between Eber and him, which were persons of less
note, he is rightly denominated from Eber, the Hebrew, because
he was the first that revived the memory and the work of Eber,
that kept up the same language, and eminently propagated the
same true religion. Or,

2. As others think, from his passing over the river Euphrates, from
beyond which he came into Canaan.

These were confederate with Abram, i.e. had entered into a

league for their mutual defence against common enemies. Whence
we learn that it is not simply and universally unlawful to make a
league with persons of a false religion.

Genesis 14:14

He armed his trained servants, whom he had disciplined and

instructed both in religion and in the military art too, both which
were necessary to make them good soldiers, that they might both
fight with skill and courage, and also rely upon God, and engage
his assistance; which was now especially necessary, when so
small a party were to engage against so numerous an army.

Dan is commonly thought to be a town then called Leshem,

Jos_19:47, or Laish, Jdg_18:7, and afterwards Dan; see Jdg_18:7
Jdg 18:29; so it is an anticipation. But it may be doubted whether
this was a city; or if it were, whether it were not another town
called by the same name, which was frequent in those parts. And
some think this is not a town, but the very fountain of Dan,
whence Jordan had its name.
Genesis 14:15

He divided himself, i.e. his forces into several parties, that

coming upon them from several quarters he might strike them
with greater terror, whilst they thought his army far more
numerous than it was.

Genesis 14:16

He brought back all the goods which the victorious kings had
taken from the princes and people mentioned before in this
chapter.

Genesis 14:17

So called either upon this occasion of the meeting of divers kings

here; or because king Melchizedek either had his habitation, or
was much delighted with it, and conversant in it. See 2Sa_18:18.

Genesis 14:18

Quest. Who was this?

Answ.

1. Shem, as the Jews and many others think, who probably was
alive at this time, and, no doubt, a great prince. But neither is it
probable that Shem should be a king among the cursed race of
Ham; nor will this agree with the apostle's description of
Melchizedek, Heb_7:3, without father and mother, & c. Whereas
Shem's parents, and the beginning and end of his days, are as
expressly mentioned by Moses as any other.

2. A Canaanitish king, by the Divine Providence made both a king

over men, and priest unto the true God, brought in here in this
unusual manner, without any mention of his parents, birth, or
death, for this end, that he might be an illustrious type of Christ.
Of this matter see more upon Heb_7:3.
King of Salem, i.e. of Jerusalem, called elsewhere Jebus, and
Salem, Psa_76:2.

Bread and wine; not for sacrifice to God; for then he had brought
forth beasts to be slain, which were the usual and best sacrifices:
but partly to show the respect which he bore to Abram, and
principally to refresh his weary and hungry army, according to the
manner of those times. See Deu_23:3-4 Deu 25:18 Jdg_8:5-6 Jdg
8:15 1Sa_17:17.

He was the priest of the most high God: thus in succeeding ages
the same persons were often both kings and priests, as the learned
note out of Virgil and other authors. And this clause is here added,
as the cause and reason, not for his bringing forth or offering
bread and wine, as some would have it, (for that is ascribed to him
as a king, as an act of royal munificence), but of the following
benediction and decimation. In those times God had his remnant
scattered here and there even in the worst places and nations.

Genesis 14:19

And, or therefore, ( as the particle is oft taken, i.e. because he was

a priest of God),

he (i.e. Melchizedek )

blessed him, ( Abram,) which was one act of the priestly office.
See Poole on "Heb_7:6" and "Heb_7:7". So it is a prayer for
him, that God would confirm and increase the blessing which he
had given him. Or, blessed is; so it is an acknowledgment of God's
blessing conferred upon Abram both formerly, and in this late and
great victory. Or, blessed shall be; so it is a prediction concerning
his future and further blessedness, whereof this was only an
earnest.

Genesis 14:20

Not Melchizedek gave to Abram, as some Jews foolishly

understand it; for Abram swears that he would not keep nor take
any of the recovered goods of the kings of Sodom, or his brethren,
Gen_14:23. But Abram gave to Melchizedek, as appears both from
Heb_4:7, and from the nature of the thing, for the tithes
confessedly belong to the priest, such as Melchizedek, and not
Abram, is here described to be.

All, not of all the recovered goods, but of all the spoils taken from
the enemies.

Genesis 14:22

This was the ancient manner of swearing. See Exo_6:8

Num_14:30 Deu_32:40 Eze_20:5,6.

Genesis 14:23

That I will not take; Heb. If I shall take. Understand, God do so

and so to me, which is expressed 1Sa_14:44. A defective manner
of swearing used amongst the Hebrews, either to maintain the
reverence of oaths, and the dread of perjury, seeing they were
afraid so much as to mention the curse which they meant; or to
show that they were willing to submit to any punishment which
God should inflict upon them, without exception, if they violated
their oaths.

Even to a shoe-latchet, i.e. any thing, though never so small or

mean, lest thou shouldst claim a share with God in the honour due
to him, to whose blessing alone I do and I will owe my riches. Or,
lest thou shouldst say, Abram is enriched with my spoils; and
however he pretended kindness and charity, yet indeed it was his
covetousness that put him upon this work.

Genesis 14:24

For as Abram had a right to spoils, so had they, whether they

joined with him in the battle, as it is conceived they did, or only
abode by the stuff, 1Sa_30:24; and therefore though he might and
did give away his own right, he could not give away other men’s.
Genesis 15:1

God anciently revealed himself to men two ways; either,

1. When the man was asleep, in a dream; or,

2. In a vision, Num_12:6, when he was awake: and this either,

1. When he was rapt into an ecstasy, wherein his senses are idle,
but his mind is active and elevated to the contemplation and
understanding of what God reveals. See Num_12:6-8 Num_24:4
Isa_1:1 Act_10:10-11. Or,

2. When the thing was manifested by an external representation.

So here, God seems to have appeared to Abram in the shape of a
man, as he did Gen_18:1-33, as may be gathered from Gen_15:5,
Gen_15:10.

Fear not, Abram; neither the return of those enemies whom thou
hast smitten and provoked, nor the envy of thy neighbours for this
glorious victory, nor for thy own desolate condition. Seeing thou
didst trust to my protection, I will be a shield or a protector to
thee; and seeing thou didst so honourably and for my sake reject
other rewards, taken by thyself, and offered by the king of Sodom,
thou shalt be no loser by it; I will abundantly recompense all thy
piety to me, and charity to thy afflicted kinsman Lot, and thy
liberality towards others: I will bless thee with all sorts of good
things, as well as defend thee from all evil; which two things
make a man completely happy.

Genesis 15:2

What pleasure can I take in any other gifts, so long as thou dost
withhold from me that great and promised gift of that blessed and
blessing Seed, in the giving of whom thy honour and the world's
happiness is so highly concerned? Gen_12:3.

Seeing I go childless; either,

1. I pass the time of my life, going on and growing in years, and
hastening to my long home. Or,

2. I die, i.e. am about to die, or likely to die.

Going is ofttimes put for dying, as 1Ch_17:11, compared with

2Sa_7:12 Job_10:21 Job_14:20 Mat_26:24. What good will the
world do me, if I have no heir to possess it? If God lose the glory
of his truth in making good his promise, and I lose the comfort of
my long hoped-for child, and that such a child the effect of a
Divine promise, one out of whose loins he must come, in whom
all nations shall be blessed?

The steward of my house; Heb. The son of the care, or

government, or management of my house, i.e. he who manageth
the affairs of my house. A usual Hebraism, as captives are called
children of captivity, Ezr_4:1, and afflicted persons, children of
affliction, Pro_31:5. Others read the verse thus,

And the steward of my house, this Eliezer of Damascus,

understand, shall be my heir; which words may easily be supplied
out of Gen_15:3. And such supplements of a word or short
sentence out of a member or verse either foregoing or following,
are frequent in Scripture, as Num_24:22 Zec_14:18 Neh_5:2
Hab_2:3 Eph_2:1.

Damascus may be the name either of a man, or of a place so

called.

Genesis 15:3

Of such see Gen_14:14 Ecc_2:7. And these are opposed to them

that are born of a man’s body, Job_19:17 Pro_31:2 Jer_2:14.

Mine heir; either,

1. By nearness of relation, being, as some conceive, descended

from Aram the eldest son of Shem. Or,
2. For a recompence of his fidelity: compare Pro_17:2. Or,

3. because he only had the exact knowledge and absolute power of

all his master’s estate, Gen_24:10, and therefore could easily keep
all after his master’s death. All which reasons concurring might
give occasion for this speech.

Genesis 15:4

i.e. Out of thy own body: see Gen_35:11 2Sa_7:12 2Ch_6:9.

Genesis 15:5

Quest. Seeing the sun was not yet going down, Gen_15:12, how
could he see the stars?

Answ.

1. He might see them by representation in a vision, or by a Divine

power strengthening his eyes to behold them.

2. It was not necessary he should then actually see them. He bids

him make trial when he pleased, if he could number the stars
which were now present to his mind, and would shortly be present
and visible to his bodily eye. This he was not able to do; for
though astronomers have presumed to give us the number of those
stars which are distinctly visible to the eye, wherein yet they vary
one from another, yet there are other stars innumerable, appear
confusedly to the eye, and evidently by the help of glasses.

Genesis 15:6

He believed in the Lord, i.e. he was fully persuaded that God

was able to fulfil, and would certainly fulfil, the promise made to
him concerning a child, and especially concerning the Messias,
who should come out of his loins by that child, and that both
himself and all people should be justified and blessed in and
through him.
He counted it to him, or reckoned, or imputed, as this word is
translated, Rom_4:10 Rom 4:22,

for righteousness, i.e. for a righteous and worthy action, as

Psa_106:31; and further, in respect of this action and grace of
faith, whereby he relied upon God for the promised Seed, and
upon the promised Seed too, he pronounced him a just and
righteous person notwithstanding his failings, which even this
history acquaints us with, and graciously accepted him as such;
which sense is easily gathered from St. Paul's explication and
accommodation of this passage, Rom_4:9 Rom 4:18 Rom 4:22.

Genesis 15:8

He asks a sign, not out of distrust of God's promise, for he was

strong in faith, Rom_4:20, but for further assurance and
confirmation of it. And such an asking of a sign was not an
unusual practice with good men, as Jdg_6:37 2Ki_20:8, not are
they reproved for it; but on the contrary, Ahaz was commanded to
ask a sign, and reproved for not asking it, Isa_7:1-25.

Genesis 15:9

Take and offer at my command, and for my service,

an heifer of three years old, at which time it is perfect in stature

and strength, and therefore fittest for God’s service. This and the
other creatures here following, and sacrifices, are the same which
afterwards were prescribed in the Levitical law.

Genesis 15:10

And he, i.e. Abram, who by Divine instinct and precept did all
this which here follows,

divided them in the midst, into two equal parts. This was done
for two reasons.
1. To represent the torn and distracted condition in which his seed
was to lie for a season.

2. To ratify God's covenant with Abram and his seed; for this was
a rite used in making covenants, as appears both from Scripture,
Jer_34:18, and other authors.

Laid each piece one against another, partly to encourage hope,

that God would in his time put those parts together, and unite
those dry bones, (to which the Israelites are compared, Eze_37:1-
28), and clothe them with flesh; and partly that the persons
entering into covenant might pass between those parts, and so
testify their union and conjunction in one and the same sacrifice.

The birds divided he not, either because there were two birds,
and the one was laid against the other, which answered to the
division of the larger creatures; or because they belonged not to
the ceremony of the covenant, but were for the use of sacrifice,
wherein they were to be offered whole, as afterwards was
prescribed, Lev_1:15 Lev 1:17.

Genesis 15:11

The fowls came to devour them; whereby is signified, either,

1. The disturbance and distraction which good men are exposed to

in the service of God from evil spirits and men; or rather,

2. The great peril of Abram’s posterity, who were not only torn in
pieces like these sacrifices, but even the remainder of them were
likely to be devoured by the Egyptians, whose king is compared to
an eagle, the chief of the birds of prey, Eze_17:1-24.

Abram drove them away by the blast of his mouth, as the

Hebrew word signifies; representing Abram’s conquest over all
his enemies by faith and prayer, whereby he engaged God to be
the Preserver and Deliverer of his people.
Genesis 15:12

A deep sleep fell upon Abram; partly natural, from his labour in
killing and sacrificing those creatures; and partly sent upon him
from God, to make way for the following representation. He
seemed to be covered with a dreadful darkness, which was either,

1. A token of God's special presence: compare 1Ki_8:12. Or,

2. A signification of the distressed and doleful condition of

Abram's seed; for darkness in Scripture is frequently mentioned as
an emblem or sign of great misery, as Psa_88:6 Psa 107:14, &c.

Genesis 15:13

In a land that is not theirs, i.e. in Canaan and Egypt; for though
Canaan was theirs by promise, to be fulfilled in after-times, yet it
was not theirs by actual donation and possession; but they were
strangers in it, Gen_17:8 Psa_105:11-12.

Four hundred years, exactly four hundred and five years; but a
small sum is commonly neglected in a great number, both in
sacred and profane writers. There were four hundred and thirty
years between the first promise, or between the renewing and
confirming of the promise by the gift of Isaac, and Israel's going
out of Egypt, or God's giving of the law, Exo_12:40 Gal_3:17; but
part of this time Abraham with his son Isaac lived in much honour
and comfort; but after Isaac grew up, the affliction here mentioned
began with Isaac in Canaan, and continued to him and his
posterity in Egypt till this time was expired.

Genesis 15:14

That nation whom they shall serve, i.e. Egypt, the principal seat
of their servitude, and the instrument of their sorest bondage,

will I judge, i.e. punish, as that word is used, Psa_51:4 Oba_1:21,

and elsewhere.
With great substance; the accomplishment of this, see Exo_3:22
Exo 11:2 Exo 12:35 Exo 12:37.

Genesis 15:15

To thy fathers, i.e. either,

1. Into heaven, where thy godly progenitors are gone; or,

2. Into the state of the dead, where all thy fathers are gone before
thee. This may seem more probable, at least in this place, partly,
because this or the like phrase is indifferently used concerning
good and bad men; see Gen_25:8 Psa_49:19; partly, because this
phrase is so expounded, Act_13:36, He, i.e. David, was laid to his
fathers, and (for that is ) saw corruption; partly, because some of
Abraham’s fathers, and particularly Nahor, his grandfather, who
lived and died an idolater, cannot with any warrant from Scripture
be presumed to be gone to the place of blessedness in their souls.
Free from those afflictions which shall come upon thy posterity
after thy decease.

Genesis 15:16

In the fourth generation; in the end of the four hundred years

mentioned Gen_15:13, a generation being at that time reckoned at
one hundred years, or thereabouts. Or, in the fourth generation
numbered from their going into Egypt, or from their leaving
Canaan; which may possibly be implied by these words,

they shall come hither. So Caleb was the fourth from Judah, and
Moses the fourth from Levi, and so doubtless many others.

The iniquity of the Amorites, i.e. of the people inhabiting

Canaan. And the Amorites, one of those people, Gen_15:21, are
here put for all the rest, as Gen_48:22 1Ki_21:26 2Ki_21:2
Amo_2:10, either because they were the greatest and stoutest of
all, Amo_2:9, or because Abram dwelt among that people,
Gen_13:18 Gen 14:13. All men's sins are kept by God as in a
book of remembrance, not one of them is lost; and as God exactly
observes the number and measure of men's sins, so he determines
within himself how far and how long he will bear with sinful men
or nations, and what shall be the period of his patience; and when
that comes, their measure is full, and their destruction infallibly
comes. See Jer_51:13 Mat_23:32 1Th_2:16.

Genesis 15:17

By which symbol God designed to represent, either,

1. The future state of Abram's seed; the

smoking furnace signifying Israel's misery in the iron furnace of

Egypt, as it is called, Jer_11:4; and the

burning lamp noting their deliverance, or light shining out of

darkness. Or,

2. His own presence; for God is called a consuming fire,

Heb_12:29; and both smoke and fire are elsewhere mentioned as
the signs and means of God's appearance. See Exo_3:2 Exo 19:9
Exo 19:16 Exo 19:18 Exo 20:18. And this sense seems to be
favoured by the following words, it being the custom of persons
entering into covenant to pass between such pieces as hath been
said; and because God hath no body which could visibly do so,
therefore he doth it in this type or shadow.

Genesis 15:18

Unto thy seed have I given this land, i.e. decreed and promised
in due time to give, which makes it as sure as if it were actually
given to them. Or,

I will give; words of the past time being oft put for the future,
especially in prophecies.

The river of Egypt; not Nilus, which elsewhere is so called, but a

less river, as is sufficiently implied, because this is opposed to the
great river here following; but a river called Sihor, which divides
Egypt from Canaan. See Num_34:5 Jos_13:3 1Ch_13:5. The
accomplishment hereof, see 2Sa_8:3 1Ki_4:21 9:21.

Genesis 15:19

The Kenites are supposed the same with the Midianites, by

comparing Exo_3:1, with Jdg_1:16. See also Num_24:21
1Sa_15:6.

The Kenizzites, thought to be the Idumeans, who sprung from

Kenaz of Esau's race. But this seems not to agree with Deu_2:5,
where God expressly saith to the Israelites concerning the
Idumeans,

I will give you none of their lands, & c.

The Kadmonites, i.e. the eastern people, as the word signifies,

elsewhere called the Hivites, Jos_9:1, who lived near the Mount
Hermon, Jos_11:3, which was in the east part of Canaan. See
Psa_89:12.

Genesis 16:1

Genesis 16:2

She reckons the children of her bond-woman (as Hagar was,

Gal_4:22) would be accounted her children. See Gen_30:3
Exo_21:4 2Sa_21:8 Est_2:7.

Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai; supposing that God

would accomplish his promise of a seed to come out of his loins
by this way; and knowing that Sarai was not yet mentioned in the
promise, as the person by whom he should have that seed; and not
consulting with God, which he should have done.
Genesis 16:3

i.e. His concubine, or secondary wife. Polygamy, though it was

forbidden by God's first institution, Gen_2:24, compared with
Mat_19:5, and brought into the world by wicked Lamech, yet it
was sometimes practised by the patriarchs, either by God's
permission, who could rightly dispense with his own laws when
and where he pleased; or by their mistake about the lawfulness of
it. As for the present case, it is most evident this action was not
the effect of an inordinate lust, but of an earnest desire of having
children, and especially of obtaining the blessed and promised
Seed.

Genesis 16:4

For barrenness in itself was a reproach, and especially to Sarai,

who seemed to be a person rejected by God, as one whom he
would not honour with being the mother of that Seed; and Hagar
being suddenly made Sarai’s partner in the privilege of Abram’s
bed, and superior to her in respect of that great blessing of child-
bearing, it is no wonder if she grew insolent upon it, especially
being advanced so highly from so low a condition.

Genesis 16:5

i.e. The injury done to me by Hagar, who thus wickedly requites

my kindness to her, be upon thee. i.e. is to be imputed to thee;
thou art the cause of it, because thou dost not maintain my
reputation, and repress her arrogancy.

The Lord give forth a righteous sentence between us, and deal
with each of us according to our guilt or innocency in this matter.
Compare 1Sa_24:12 1Sa 24:15.

Genesis 16:6

Thy maid is in thine hand, i.e. subject to thy power and

authority, as the phrase is taken, Gen_24:10 Gen 39:4 Gen 39:6
Gen 39:8 Num 31:49. For though she be my concubine, yet she is
thy inferior; and therefore if she exalt herself above her measure, I
give thee power to exercise thy authority over her. But whether
this was not one of Abram's infirmities, to give up his second wife
into the hands of the first, may well be questioned. Use
whatsoever power God hath given thee over her; for we must not
think that Abram gave her power of life and death over her,
especially now when she was with child. Therefore here, as often
elsewhere, the general words must be limited from the nature of
the thing, and from other texts of Scripture, which forbid cruelty
even to our servants.

And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, either by imposing

labours upon her above her strength, or by grievous stripes which
she could not bear,

she fled from her face, contrary to God's command, Ecc_10:4,

and to the laws of justice, because both her person and the fruit of
her body were not her own, but Abram's right in possession.

Genesis 16:7

The Son of God, who oft appeared in man’s shape, before he took
man’s nature, is called an Angel or Messenger, because he was the
Angel of the covenant, Mal_3:1, and was sent upon divers
messages to men in the Old Testament, and at last was to be sent
in the flesh as God’s great Ambassador, or Messenger of peace
and reconciliation.

Shur, a place near Egypt, Gen_25:18 1Sa_15:7 Exo_15:22, being

her native country.

Genesis 16:8

By this title he admonisheth her, that though she was Abram’s

wife, yet she was Sarai’s maid, to whom she owed subjection and
service, from which she could not lawfully withdraw herself.
Consider with thyself what thou art doing: what a sad exchange
thou art making. Thou forsakest not only an excellent master and
husband, but also me and my worship, which thou wilt not find in
any other family, and so castest thyself out of the true church, and
art running headlong into a place of all idolatry and impiety, to thy
utter undoing; and this merely through pride and impatience.

Genesis 16:11

Hath heard thy cry in thy affliction.

Genesis 16:12

He will be a wild man; Heb. A wild-ass man, i.e. a man like a

wild ass, fierce and untamed, and unsettled in his habitation; or as
that creature is, Job_39:5 Job 39:8 Jer 2:24 Hos_8:9, living in
deserts and mountains, warlike and violent, exercising himself
continually in hunting beasts, and oppressing men. See
Gen_21:20. He will provoke and injure all that converse with him,
and thereby will multiply his enemies; which is to be understood
not only of him, but also of his posterity.

And he shall dwell in the borders of the other sons and kindred of
Abram and Isaac, who though they shall be vexed and annoyed
with his neighbourhood, yet shall not be able to make him quit his
habitation. See Gen_25:18.

Genesis 16:13

Thou God seest me; thou hast been pleased to take notice and
care of me, and graciously to manifest thyself unto me.

After him that seeth me, i.e. after that God whose eye is upon me
for good. So she chides herself for her neglect of God, and of his
providence, and that not only in her master's house, but even here
in the wilderness, where her desolate and miserable condition
should have made her look after and call upon God for help. Or
rather, these are words of admiration: q.d. Have I also here, i.e. in
this desolate wilderness,

looked after him that seeth me, i.e. seen the face of my gracious
God! That God should appear to me in my master's house, where
he used to manifest himself, was not strange; but that I should
have such a favour here, that God should not only look upon me,
but admit me to look upon him, and visibly appear to me after I
had run away from him, and from my godly master, this was more
than I could hope or expect! Others thus, Have I here seen after
him that sees me? i.e. after the vision of him that hath appeared to
me? i.e. Do I yet see and live after I have seen God? She wonders
at it, because it was then the common opinion that an appearance
of God to any person was a forerunner of death. See Gen_32:30
Exo_33:20 Jdg_6:22 Jdg 13:22. And seeing is here put for living,
one function of life for life itself, as Exo_24:11 Ecc_11:7-8. But
the word seeing put by itself, as here it is, is neither in those
places, nor elsewhere, used for living. And had that been her
meaning, she would have expressed it plainly, as they do in the
places alleged, and not have used so dark and dubious a metaphor,
nor would have said, after him that sees me, but rather, after I
have seen him.

Genesis 16:14

This name may have respect, either,

1. To God, The well of him that liveth (i.e. of the true and living
God) and seeth me, i.e. taketh care of me. Or,

2. To Hagar, The well of her that liveth, i.e. who though she gave
up herself for dead and lost, yet now is likely to live, both in her
person and in her posterity, and seeth, or did see, namely, God
present with her.

Genesis 16:15

Hagar bare Abram a son, to wit, after her return and submission
to her mistress, which is evident from the following history.
Genesis 17:1

I am the Almighty God, who can do all that I have promised, or

shall promise to time, and whatsoever pleaseth me; and therefore
do thou firmly believe all my words.

Walk before me as becomes one in the presence of thy Lord, and

Judge, and Rewarder, being careful to please and obey me in all
things, and depending upon me for thy well-doing and well-being.
See the same phrase, Gen_48:15 1Ki_8:25 Psa_116:9.

And be thou perfect, i.e. sincere, universal, and constant in my

belief of my promises, and obedience to my commands. See
Gen_6:9.

Genesis 17:2

I am come to renew, establish, and enlarge that covenant which I

formerly made with thee.

Genesis 17:3

Abram fell on his face, partly in self-abasement, and a humble

sense of his own undeservedness of such favours; and partly in
reverence and worship to God, and a thankful acknowledgment of
his marvellous kindness. Compare Lev_9:24 Eze_43:3.

Genesis 17:4

Both literally, or after the flesh, of the Israelites, Ishmaelites,

Edomites, &c., and spiritually, of all believers of all nations, to
whom Abram hath in some sort the place of a father, Rom_4:12,
Rom_4:17. Not only as he was the great example and teacher of
that faith by which they are all saved, (as the instructors of others
are called their fathers, both in Scripture, as Gen_4:20-21, and in
profane authors,) but as he was made by God the head of the
covenant, by or through whom the covenant right was conveyed to
all his natural seed, and afterwards to the spiritual seed, all Gentile
believers.
Genesis 17:5

Abraham, i.e. the father of a multitude; Ham in the Hebrew being

put for Hamon, which signifies a multitude, by a figure called
apocope, which is usual in proper names.

Genesis 17:6

So did the kings of Israel and Judah, of Edom, of the Saracens,

and the Messias, who is King of kings, and Lord of lords.

Genesis 17:7

i.e. Whatsoever I am or have, all that shall be thine, and shall be

employed for thy protection, consolation, and salvation. This
phrase contains in it the confluence of all blessing, temporal,
spiritual, and eternal. See Lev_26:12 Psa_33:12 144:15 Jer_31:33.

Genesis 17:8

And to thy seed; unto thee, not in thy own person, but in thy
seed. See Gen_13:15,17.

For an everlasting possession; upon condition of their obedience

to God, as is oft expressed; wherein seeing they so notoriously
failed, it is no wonder if they possessed it but a little while, as the
prophet complains, Isa_63:18.

Genesis 17:9

The agreement is mutual: my part was expressed before; now

follows thy part, and the condition to which my promise and
blessing is annexed.

Genesis 17:10

Circumcision is here called the covenant by a usual metonomy,

because it is the condition, sign, and seal of the covenant, the
pledge of God’s promise and man’s duty. And upon the same
grounds the cup, i.e. the wine, is called the new testament in
Christ ’s blood , Luk_22:20; or, which is all one, Christ ’s blood
in the new testament, Mat_26:28.

It is evident that women as well as men were comprehended in

this covenant, from Gen_34:14 Exo_12:3,4 Joe 2:15,16. Yet
circumcision is given only to the males, partly, because it could
not, at least not conveniently, be administered to females; partly,
because man is the principal cause of the propagation of children,
and consequently of the propagation of that original corruption
which cleaves to them; partly, to signify that all persons begotten
by man should be polluted by sin, though not all conceived by a
woman, as Christ was; and partly, because man is the head of the
woman, and of the family, upon whom all their concerns are
devolved, and from whom the distinction of families and people
comes.

Genesis 17:11

The flesh of your foreskin, i.e. by a usual hypallage, the foreskin

of your flesh; and the word flesh is here put for the genital part, as
it is Lev_15:2,19 Eze 16:26 23:20, and elsewhere. This part God
singled out for this ordinance, because it is and was a great
instrument both in the commission of actual sins, and in the
propagation of original sin; and therefore it was very proper to
apply to it the seal of God’s gracious covenant for the remission
of sins past, and the extirpation of sin for the future.

It shall be a token of the covenant, i.e. a sign, evidence, and

assurance, both of the blessing promised by that God who
appointed this ordinance, and of man’s obligation to the duties
required, which is signified by his acceptance of and submission
to this ordinance. And here we have the nature and definition of a
sacrament, viz. that it is a figure or token of God’s covenant.

Genesis 17:12

Eight days; not before that time, because of the child’s weakness
and imperfection, and impurity too, Exo_22:30 Lev_12:3, for
which reason also beasts were not to be offered to God before the
eighth day, Exo_22:30.

Every man-child in your generations, successively, until the

Messias come, who shall circumcise your hearts, and change this
ordinance for another.

Bought with money of any stranger: these were of two sorts.

1. Children, who being entirely his possession, and having not

understanding to discern, nor will to choose or refuse, were to be
circumcised.

2. Grown persons, who were not to be compelled to be

circumcised, but if they refused it, were not to be permitted to
dwell in his family, lest they should infect others, but were to be
sold to strangers, as the Hebrew doctors teach. But as for
Abraham’s servants here, they were thoroughly instructed in
religion, Gen_18:19, and doubtless did willingly embrace it, and
submit to this sacrament.

Genesis 17:13

So it was, and is properly in regard of the thing signified to all true

believers; and for the sign, it is so called because it was to endure
through all generations till the coming of the Messias; the word
olam, here and elsewhere rendered everlasting, or for ever, being
oft used to express not only simple eternity, but any long
continuance, for many ages, yea, sometimes for a man’s life. See
Exo_21:6 Deu_15:17 1Ki_9:3.

Genesis 17:14

And the uncircumcised man-child; or rather, and as for the

uncircumcised man-child. So the nominative is put absolutely, as
is frequent in the Hebrew tongue.

Whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, or, who shall not
circumcise the flesh of his foreskin; for the Hebrew verb may be
rendered actively, which seems best here; because the punishment
seems more justly to belong to the parent, who was guilty of this
neglect; than to the child, who was not capable of this precept, and
therefore not guilty of the violation of it. And this may further
appear from Exo_4:24,25, where God seeks to kill, not the child,
but the father, Moses, for this sin. And the flesh of the child’s
foreskin is rightly called the flesh of his, i.e. the parent’s, foreskin,
because the child is a part and the possession of his parent. So that
this threatening concerns only grown persons, and of them only
such as shall wilfully and unnecessarily neglect this duty; for
otherwise it was neglected by the Israelites for forty years together
in the wilderness, Jos_5:7, without any token of God’s displeasure
for it.

That soul shall be cut off from his people. This phrase denotes
either,

1. An exclusion from fellowship with God’s people, and from all

the promises, privileges, and blessings belonging to them, either
in this life or that to come. Or rather,

2. An untimely and violent death, as may be gathered from

Exo_31:14, to be inflicted by the magistrate, to whom God
committed the execution of this as well as other laws; and in case
of his neglect and default, or the secrecy of the fact, by the
extraordinary hand of God, who sometimes ascribes this act to
himself, as Lev_17:10 20:6.

He hath broken my covenant, that sacred bond which tied him

and me together; and by his neglect and contempt of the condition
required on his part, he hath forfeited the blessing promised on my
part.

Genesis 17:15

Sarai signifies my lady, or my princess, which confines her

dominion to one family; but
Sarah signifies either a lady or princess, simply and absolutely
without restriction, or the princess of a multitude, the Hebrew
letter he being taken out of Hamon, and added to her name, as it
was to Abram’s name.

Genesis 17:17

He

laughed, through admiration and holy rejoicing at so great a

blessing, not through unbelief, as Sarah did, Gen_18:12,13, as
appears from Rom_4:19,20. And though the outward act was the
same in both, yet God discerned their differing dispositions and
intentions therein.

Genesis 17:18

Grant, O Lord, that the giving of one son may not be joined with
the taking away of another; that Ishmael may faithfully serve thee,
and may have a share in thy favour and gracious covenant. For
this seems to be the meaning of this phrase of living before God,
or in God ’s presence, by comparing a parallel phrase, of walking
before God, Gen_17:1, and elsewhere, and an opposite phrase,
from thy face shall I be hid, Gen_4:14.

Genesis 17:19

Isaac signifies laughter, not from Sarah’s laughter, which as yet

had not happened, but from Abraham’s past laughter, Gen_17:17,
and future joy in his son.

Genesis 17:20

Have heard thee, to wit, in part, or so far as is here expressed;

and probably, as to the chief blessing of the covenant, to wit, the
forgiveness of his sins, and eternal life, as the Hebrew doctors and
some others collect from Gen_25:17, and from other
considerations.
Genesis 17:21

The covenant of the promised Seed to come out of his loins, and
of life and salvation to accrue to himself and to his posterity by
virtue of that Seed; in comparison whereof God speaks slightly of
all the temporal blessings conferred upon Ishmael, though in
themselves they were great and glorious. By which it may
sufficiently appear that Abraham’s faith, whereby he is said to be
justified, Rom_4:1-25, had a further reach in it than to his own
immediate child, even to the Messias, whose day therefore
Abraham is said to have seen, Joh_8:56.

Genesis 17:22

To heaven in a visible manner, as it seems he conversed with him

in some visible shape. Compare Gen_35:13 Jud_13:20.

Genesis 17:23

Circumcised the flesh of their foreskin; partly by his own hand,

and partly by the help of others, whom he by Divine instinct
called to and directed in that work;

in the self-same day, in which God appeared to him and gave the
command. So he made haste and delayed not to execute God’s
command. And his servants also yielded a ready and cheerful
obedience to this severe and painful precept, being moved
thereunto by Abraham’s example and sovereign authority, by
God’s powerful presence some way or other manifested to them,
and by the prospect and hope of God’s blessing to accompany and
follow his own ordinance.

Genesis 18:1

Waiting for strangers which might pass that way; for whom no
public places being provided in those times and places, virtuous
persons used to entertain them in their houses. See Heb_13:2.
In the heat of the day, the time when travellers, especially in
those hot contries, used to divert and refresh themselves.

Genesis 18:2

Three men, as they seemed to be, though indeed they were angels
in men’s shape.

Bowed himself toward the ground; a respect usually paid to

persons of quality, such as these seemed to be.

Genesis 18:3

He directeth his speech to one, who, by the majesty of his

countenance, and the respect which the other two showed him,
seemed to be the chief of them.

Genesis 18:4

A practice usual in those parts, Gen_19:2 Gen_24:32 Gen_43:24

Joh_13:4-5 1Ti_5:10, because they used to travel either bare-
footed, or only with sandals to cover and secure the bottom of
their feet.

Genesis 18:5

Therefore are ye come to your servant; not that he saith or

thought that this was their design, but an effect of Divine
Providence. The meaning is, Therefore hath God directed you this
way, that I might have an occasion of performing my duty to you,
which I cheerfully embrace.

Genesis 18:6

Three measures, containing each the third part of an ephah. See

Exo_16:36.
Upon the hearth; upon the coals, or in the warm cinders, or in an
oven. He had doubtless other bread ready, but he would have new
bread for them, which he thought most grateful.

Genesis 18:8

The calf, to wit, the choicest parts of the calf.

He stood by them, to wait upon them, as the word standing is

used, Neh_12:44 Jer_52:12.

They did eat; either seemingly, as the Scripture oft speaks of

things according to appearance; or really, they received the meat
into the bodies which they assumed, where it was consumed by a
Divine power.

Genesis 18:9

They said unto him, i.e. one of them, in the name of all, said;
which he did not for his own satisfaction, for he who knew her
name knew also where she was, but to give occasion for the
following discourse.

In the tent; in her tent; for men and women had then their several
tents or apartments.

Genesis 18:10

I will certainly return unto thee, not in a visible shape, but with
my powerful and effectual presence, to fulfil my promise.

According to the time of life: this time may respect, either,

1. Abraham and Sarah, in the time of life, i.e. when you shall be
both alive and in health. But if it belonged to them, it might seem
better to understand it thus; in the time when God shall restore
life, i.e. vigour and activity to you; for till then both Abraham’s
body and Sarah’s womb are expressly said to be dead, Rom_4:19,
to which deadness this life may be opposite; and the time of
restoring this lost power of generation may well be called a time
of life, it being a kind of life from the dead, and an empowering of
him for a vital action from which he was before disenabled, and
for the conveying of life to a child, and perpetuating his own life
in him. Or,

2. To the child, according to the time of life, i.e. in the time which
is usual for the conception, quickening, and bringing forth of a
living child. Which interpretation receiveth some countenance
from 2Ki_4:16, where we have the same phrase. Or,

3. To the year, according to the time, or this time of life, or living

time, i.e. when this time or season of the year shall revive, i.e.
return or be restored; as cities and buildings are said to be revived,
when they are repaired or rebuilt, as 1Ch_11:8 Neh_4:2. And this
season might more properly be said to revive, and be called the
time of life, because it may be gathered from the heat, Gen_18:1,
and their refreshing themselves under the shadow of a tree, that it
was the spring time, when herbs and plants and trees, which seem
to be dead in the winter, recover and show forth their life and
vigour: and so the sense may be this, according to this time, which
is a time of life, or reviving, wherein as the beauty and fruits of the
earth will be renewed and revived, so thou and Sarah shall be
revived, or receive, as it were, a new life in the son that shall be
born to you. This sense seems more probable than either of the
former, because he speaks of a certain set or appointed time,
Gen_18:14 Rom_9:9 Gen_21:2, and that time was about a year
after this, as may appear by comparing Gen_17:24, and Gen_21:5.

In the tent door which was behind him, i.e. at the back of the
angel that spoke with him; which is here added, to show that he
knew her laughter, not by the sight of his eyes, but by his all-
seeing knowledge.

Genesis 18:11

As to those monthly effluviums peculiar to her sex, which are

necessary to conception, compare Gen_31:35.
Genesis 18:12

Sarah laughed within herself; not from joy and admiration, but
from distrust and contempt, as if it were incredible. Heb. In her
heart, i.e. she secretly derided it, though none but herself, as she
thought, knew it.

Shall I have pleasure? Not so much in the conception, as in the

education and fruition of a child.

Genesis 18:14

Is any thing too hard for the Lord? Heb. Hid from God? So the
sense is: Though she laughed only in her heart, it is not unknown
to me. Or rather, too wonderful for God to effect? Which best
suits with the following words.

Genesis 18:15

Sarah denied, from the sense of guilt, and the discovery of her
shame, and the expectation of a sharp rebuke, both from this
person, and from her husband.

Genesis 18:16

A civility usual then and afterwards. See Act_20:38 21:5

Rom_15:24 1Co_16:11.

Genesis 18:17

q.d. I will not, cannot hide it; it is against the laws of friendship to
conceal my secrets from him. The interrogation here is in effect a
negation, as elsewhere. Compare 2Sa_7:5, with 1Ch_17:4; and
Mat_7:16, with Luk_6:43. See also Amo_3:7.

Genesis 18:18

q.d. Seeing I have done greater things for him, how can I deny
him the less? Compare the argument, Rom_8:32. God’s ways are
not like men’s ways. Former favours to men are arguments why
they should do no more, but to God they are motives for the
adding of new ones.

Genesis 18:19

For I know him; I know him to be such a one as I am now

describing; or I know this concerning him which now follows.
Others, I love him, and therefore cannot conceal this from him.
Words of knowledge being oft put for love, as Jer_1:5 24:5
Hos_13:5 Amo_3:2.

That he will command, or instruct, as the word is used, Lev_14:5

Deu_20:18 27:4. It will not be in vain that I tell him this, and give
him occasion to pray and to taste my goodness in answering
prayers, because he will not smother these things in his own
breast, but manifest them to others, and teach them how good God
is, who so readily complies with the desires and prayers of men,
and how terrible he is to incorrigible sinners, and how evil and
bitter a thing it is to sin against God. And so I shall get the end I
aim at in all my works, which is, that they may be known for the
good of others; that they may learn by such examples.

His children and his household, who will live when he is dead.
He will so diligently imprint these things in their minds, that they
shall never forget them.

They shall keep the way of the Lord, i.e. observe and walk in
the way of God’s precepts: q.d. He shall not lose his design or
labour; for what he teacheth they shall learn and practise. See
Psa_51:15, &c.

To do justice and judgement, i.e. to do all things that are good,

and right, and just, both to God and men: compare Psa_119:121.
That Abraham and his posterity, keeping the conditions of the
covenant required on their part, God may without any blemish to
his honour or justice give all those good things which he hath
promised to them.
Genesis 18:20

Sins are said to cry when they are gross, and manifest, and
impudent, and such as highly provoke God to anger. He names
only these two cities, as being the most eminent in state, and
exemplary in wickedness; but under them he includes the rest, as
appears by the story.

Genesis 18:21

i.e. I will inquire into the truth of the thing. God here speaks after
the manner of men, and for the example and instruction of judges
to search into causes ere they pass sentence.

Whether they have done altogether; Heb.

Whether they have made a consummation or accomplishment; i.e.

whether they have filled up the measure of their sins. Compare
Gen_15:16 Mat_23:32 Jam_1:15.

Genesis 18:22

And the men, i.e. two of them; for the third staid with Abraham,
as it here follows.

Before the Lord, the third of these persons, whom now he

perceived to be the Lord himself, who had assumed a human
shape.

Genesis 18:23

i.e. He approached unto God to inquire of him, and to pray unto

him; for so the phrase of drawing near to God is used, 1Sa_14:36
Psa_73:28 Isa_29:13 Heb_10:22.

Genesis 18:24

Within the city, i.e. in the cities concerned, as appears by

Gen_18:20, and Gen_19:25; the singular number for the plural, as
is frequent, as Gen_3:22 1Ch_10:1, compared with 1Sa_31:1, and
oft elsewhere. Or the city Sodom alone is mentioned, but the rest
are comprehended under it, either because of its eminency, or
because they were subject or subordinate to it, as may seem
probable from the history, Gen_14:1-24.

Genesis 18:25

Now he clearly perceiveth that this person was no less than the
Creator, Governor, and

Judge of the world, even the second person in the blessed

Trinity, to whom that title and work is ascribed, as Joh_5:22,27
Ac 10:42 17:31. He speaks not this as if it were simply unjust for
God to involve the righteous in the same temporal destruction
with the wicked; for he knew very well, and by his own
experience, that there was not a just man upon earth, that did
good and sinned not, Ecc_7:20, and therefore no such just man
who did not for his own sin deserve that death and destruction
which is the proper wages of sin, Rom_6:23. But he speaks not
here of strict and rigorous justice, but of that moderate and
equitable way which God is pleased to use with the sons of men,
and of that right to temporal deliverances which by virtue of
God’s gracious covenant and promise did accrue to pious and
virtuous persons, especially in the times of the Old Testament,
when temporal promises were more expressly and particularly
made to good men.

Genesis 18:27

In regard of the composition of my body, which was taken out of

the dust, and shall return into it again. See Gen_3:19 Job_4:19
Ecc_12:7 1Co_15:47,48.

Genesis 18:28

Lack of five, Heb. for five, or because of five, to wit, which are
lacking or wanting. The same supplement we have also
Psa_119:24 Lam_4:9.
Genesis 18:32

Abraham in modesty could proceed no further; and being a good

man himself, he had a charitable opinion of others, and thought
there certainly were so many good men in all those cities,
especially including Lot and his family. No doubt Abraham
remembered Lot in his prayers; but that large and generous soul
could not content himself with Lot’s preservation, but aims at the
saving of the whole cities, which when he saw was doubtful and
unlikely, he prayed for his deliverance out of that common
destruction, as may be gathered from Gen_19:29.

Genesis 19:1

And there came two angels, even those two which departed from
Abraham, Gen_18:22, and now were come to Lot, the third yet
staying and communing with Abraham. Angels they truly were,
though they be called men, Gen_18:1-33.

At even of the same day on which they departed from Abraham.

In the gate of Sodom, where he sat either to observe the

administration or corruption of justice there; for the seats of
judicature were in the gates: or rather to wait for strangers, to
whom he might exercise kindness and hospitality.

Genesis 19:2

Go on your ways, and so this will be no hinderance to your

occasions.

We will abide in the street all night: this was no untruth, but
really intended by them in the present state of things, and upon
supposition that Lot should press them no further; but they also
intended, if Lot was earnest with them, to comply with him. The
first denial was but decent, and an act of civility, and in them it
was a design to discover Lot’s piety and hospitality, and to
manifest the great difference between him and the barbarous
Sodomites, and the reason and justice of Lot’s deliverance, and
their destruction.

Genesis 19:3

He did bake unleavened bread, because that was sooner

prepared, that so they might eat it, and after that go to bed in due
time.

Genesis 19:4

Before they lay down to sleep, of which this word is used,

Gen_28:13 Lev_14:47 Lev_26:6.

All the people from every quarter; some to exercise villany, and
some to please themselves with the contemplation of it, and some
out of curiosity, &c. This is added to show how universally
corrupt they were, and that there were not ten righteous men there.

Genesis 19:5

Either know who they are; or rather abuse them, as Lot’s answer
explains it, and so that word is used, Gen_4:1 Num_31:17
Jud_19:22. And for the sin here committed, see Lev_18:22 20:13
Rom_1:26,27 1Co_6:9 Jud_1:7. They openly and impudently
profess their wicked intention, for which they are branded,
Isa_3:9; and this intention of theirs is the more probable, because
of the great beauty which it is likely was in those bodies which the
angels assumed, whereby their lust was more inflamed.

Genesis 19:7

They were brethren by community of nature and habitation; see

Gen_9:5 29:4 Lev_19:17; and so he calls them, if possibly he
might sweeten and restrain them.
Genesis 19:8

Which have not known man, to wit, carnally. See Gen_24:16

Num_31:18 Jud_11:39.

Do ye to them as is good in your eyes, whatsoever your purpose

or pleasure is. See the same phrase Gen_20:15 41:37 Num_24:1,
&c. A most imprudent and sinful motion, whereby he yielded to
one sin to prevent another, contrary to Rom_3:8, and exposed his
daughters’ chastity, which he was obliged to preserve, and which
indeed he had no power to expose, especially seeing they were
betrothed to other men, Gen_19:14. But it is some extenuation of
his sin that it proceeded from his great charity and kindness to
strangers, and that he was at this time under a great perturbation
and discomposure of mind.

For therefore, that they might be preserved from such outrages.

This was the design of the thing, though not of those persons. See
Poole on "Gen_18:5".

Under the shadow of my roof, i.e. under the protection of my

house. Shadow is oft put for protection or defence, as Jud_9:15
Psa_36:7 Jer_48:45.

Genesis 19:9

Stand back, or, go further off, i.e. out of our way; stand not
between us and the door; or, come hither, that so they might seize
him, and proceed in the designed wickedness.

This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a

judge: q.d. One man, and he too but a stranger, presumeth to
oppose the whole society of the native citizens. Heb. In judging he
will judge. This busybody, if not restrained in time, will take
authority to himself to censure, reprove, and condemn us from
time to time.
Genesis 19:11

They smote the men, Heb. with blindness, i.e. with a blindness
both of body and mind. It was not a total blindness, as if they
quite lost the use of their eyes, for they saw the house, though not
the door, but it was a great dimness and confusion of their sight,
and a disturbance in their common sense, by which they were
made unable to distinguish between differing persons or places; as
it was also with the Syrians, 2Ki_6:18; as it is in some measure
with some drunkards, who, though their eyes be open, cannot
distinguish between things that differ. And this was very easy for
angels to do by a small alteration either in their sight, or in the air,
whereby either the door might appear like the solid wall, or the
several parts of the wall like so many doors.

Genesis 19:14

Which married his daughters; Heb. took, or were taking, or

about to take, to wit, either to espouse, or to marry. Compare
Gen_6:2 24:3 28:6 Deu_7:3. Anciently persons were first
espoused, and after some time the marriage was consummated.

Genesis 19:15

Which are here; Heb. which are found; i.e. which are present
with thee, as this word is used, 1Ch_29:17 2Ch_5:11 30:21 31:1.
Whence some gather that he had two other daughters married to
two Sodomitish men, who by their husbands’ persuasion and
example staid and perished in those flames. But this is not
necessary; for this phrase may be applied to the daughters by way
of distinction from their spouses or husbands: q.d. Tarry no longer
in expectation of thy sons-in-law, who are absent, and must be
given up for lost, but take thy daughters which are found and
present with thee, and go thy way.
Genesis 19:16

He lingered, either through lothness to part with all his estate, or

to lose his sons-in-law; or through astonishment and distraction of
mind, which made him both listless and impotent.

Genesis 19:17

Either one of the angels said this, or the third person, the Lord
himself, who having parted from Abraham, after some time came
to Lot, as appears both by the change of the number; for before
this he speaks of them in the plural number, but from hence in the
singular number, as Gen_19:19,21,22; and by the variation of the
phrase, for the other two speak with submission, and as servants,
Gen_19:13,

The Lord hath sent us, & c.; but this speaks with more authority,
as is evident from Gen_19:21,22.

Escape for thy life, i.e. as thou lovest thy life. See Deu_4:15
Jos_23:11 Jer_17:21. Or, escape with thy life, for the Hebrew
particle al is sometimes taken for with, as Exo_35:23 Lev_2:2
14:31 Deu_22:6. So the sense is, Stand not lingering in hopes to
save thy goods, them thou shalt lose as a punishment of thy sin
and folly in choosing to dwell with so wicked a people; and be
thankful that thou hast thy life given thee for a prey, as it is
expressed, Jer_38:2.

Look not behind thee, like one that grieves either for the loss of
thy pleasant habitation or vast estate, or for those cursed
miscreants justly devoted to this destruction. And this command,
though given to Lot alone, yet was directed also to his
companions, to whom doubtless he imparted it, as is evident both
from all the other commands, which equally concern all, and from
the following event. See Mat_24:18 Luk_9:62.

Genesis 19:18

i.e. Unto one of them, as is manifest from the following words.

Genesis 19:19

I cannot escape to the mountain, because of the infirmity of my

age, and the fainting of my spirits. Thus he showeth an unworthy
and unreasonable distrust of God’s power and goodness, which he
had now experienced and acknowledged.

Genesis 19:20

And it is a little one; therefore as its inhabitants, so its sins are

fewer, and it will not be an eminent example of thy vengeance, as
the other places will be.

Genesis 19:21

I have accepted thee; Heb. I have lift up thy countenance, i.e.

granted thy request. The manner of the expression possibly may
be taken from the custom of the eastern parts; where petitioners
used not to fall upon their knees as we do, but to prostrate
themselves with their face to the ground; and the person to whom
they addressed themselves, in token of his favourable acceptance
of their petitions, commanded them to be lifted up.

Genesis 19:22

I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither, because of

God’s decree and promise to save thee from the general
destruction.

Genesis 19:23

This phrase may note, either the time of the day when this was
done; or rather the nature and quality of the day, that the sun
appeared and shone forth that morning in great lustre and glory;
which is well noted as a very considerable circumstance of the
history, and a great aggravation of the ruin, which came when
they least expected it.
Genesis 19:24

And the neighbouring cities, Admah and Zeboim, as appears from

Deu_29:23 Jer_49:18 Hos_11:8.

Brimstone is added to the

fire, either to convey and carry down the fire, which in itself is
light and apt to ascend; or to increase it, Isa_30:33; or to represent
the noisomeness of their lusts.

From the Lord, i.e. from himself; the noun put for the pronoun,
as Gen_1:27 2Ch_7:2. But here it is emphatically so expressed,
either,

1. To signify that it proceeded not from natural causes, but from

the immediate hand of God. Or,

2. To note the plurality of persons in the Godhead, God the Son,

who now appeared upon the earth, rained from God his Father in
heaven, both concurring in this act, as indeed all outward actions
are common to all the persons of the Trinity.

Genesis 19:25

All the plain, to wit, where these cities and their territories lay,
called the plain of Jordan, Gen_13:10; all which then became, and
to this day continues, to be a filthy lake, called the Dead Sea,
because no fish lives in it.

Genesis 19:26

His wife looked back, through curiosity, or unbelief, or desire of

what she left, or from all these causes; from behind her husband,
whom she followed. Which circumstance seems to be mentioned
as the reason of this presumption, because she could do it without
her husband’s observation or reproof, to which she had a greater
regard than to the all-seeing eye of God.
And she, i.e. her body, by a very common synecdoche,

became a pillar of salt; either metaphorically, i.e. a perpetual

durable pillar, as an everlasting covenant is called a covenant of
salt, Num_18:19; or properly, for there is a kind of metallic salt
which resists the rain, and is hard enough for buildings, as Pliny,
Solinus, and others witness. And that salt was here mixed with
brimstone, may be gathered from Deu_29:23. Add to this, that
Josephus, Antiq. i. 12, affirms that this pillar remained in his time.
And the like is witnessed by others after him.

Genesis 19:29

God remembered Abraham; either,

1. The promise made to Abraham, Gen_12:3. Or,

2. The prayer made by Abraham, Gen_18:23-32, who doubtless in

his prayers for Sodom would not forget Lot, though his prayer for
him be not there mentioned. And hereby it is insinuated, that Lot,
though he was a righteous man, and should be saved eternally, yet
deserved to perish temporarily with those wicked people, to whom
he associated himself merely for worldly advantages, and should
have done so, if Abraham had not hindered it by his prayers.

Genesis 19:30

He feared to dwell in Zoar, lest he should either suffer from

them or with them; perceiving now that though it was a little city,
yet there was more wickedness in it than he imagined.

Genesis 19:31

In the earth; either,

1. In the whole earth; for they thought the same deluge of fire
which destroyed the four cities had by this time extended itself to
Zoar, and all other places, knowing that the whole world did lie in
wickedness, and having possibly heard from their father, that the
world, as it was once destroyed by water, so it should afterwards
be consumed by fire, which they might think was now executed,
and that God had secured Abraham from it by taking him to
himself. Or,

2. In that land, as the word may be rendered. And her meaning

might not be this, that there was no man at all, but not a man with
whom they might or durst marry; for though they knew they left
many men in Zoar, yet the sad expericnce of the dreadful ruin
wherein their brethren-in-law were involved, made them abhor the
thoughts of any conjunction with them.

After the manner of all the earth, i.e. of all the inhabitants of the
earth. Compare Gen_18:11.

Genesis 19:32

Wine they carried with them, amongst other necessary provisions,

either from Sodom or Zoar.

This, though an incestuous and abominable action, yet they

thought was made lawful by the supposed necessity, as in the
beginning of the world the marriage of brethren and sisters was
lawful because necessary; and when it ceased to be necessary,
because of the increase of mankind, it became incestuous.

Genesis 19:33

They made their father drink wine, to wit, in excess, so as to

deprive him of the use of his reason and grace, which was likely
to frustrate their project: this was a great sin, not only in them, but
also in Lot himself, not to be excused by ignorance of the virtue of
wine, which being known to both the daughters, certainly their
father could not be ignorant of it. Thus he who kept his integrity
in the midst of all the temptations of Sodom, falls into a grievous
sin in a place where he might seem most remote from all
temptations; God permitting this, to teach all following ages how
weak even the best men are when they are left to themselves, and
what absolute need they have of Divine assistance.
He perceived not; wherein there is nothing strange, it being usual
with drunken men to do many things in that condition, which,
when they come to themselves, they perfectly forget. And so
might Lot, when under the power of wine, forget that his wife was
turned into a pillar of salt, and might mistake his daughter for his
wife.

Genesis 19:36

Which they might possibly imagine to be an evidence of Divine

approbation of their fact; whereas, indeed, it was a design of God
to make a lasting monument of their sin and shame.

Genesis 19:37

1807

Called his name Moab, i.e. of my father, begotten upon me by

my father. So she had learned from her neighbours to declare her
sin as Sodom, Isa_3:9.

The Moabites were a mischievous and infamous people, branded,

as their brethren also the Ammonites were, with characters of
God’s displeasure.

Genesis 19:38

Called his name Ben-ammi, i.e. the son of my people, or kindred,

not of the cursed race of the Sodomites, where I was to be
married. This is something more modest than the other in the
name she gives, but both impudently glorying in their sin and
shame, of which they should have bitterly repented.

Genesis 20:1

From thence; from the plain of Mamre, Gen_18:1, where he had

long dwelt; and whence he removed, either because of its nearness
to that filthy lake, which now was in the place of that late fruitful
plain; or for other reasons and conveniences needless to be here
inquired or determined.

Towards the south country, yet more towards the southern part
of Canaan.

Genesis 20:2

Abraham said this lest they should slay him for his beautiful
wife’s sake, as himself tells us, Gen_20:11. For though Sarah was
ninety years old, yet she retained her beauty in good measure,
partly, because she had not been broken by bearing and nursing of
children; partly, because in that age of the world men and women,
as they lived longer, so they did not so soon begin to decay, as
now they do; and partly, because of God’s especial blessing upon
her.

Abimelech took Sarah, not without violence, for it is not to be

thought that either Abraham or Sarah would consent to it.

Genesis 20:3

God then used to manifest his mind in dreams, not only to his
people, but even to heathens for their sakes, or in things wherein
they were concerned.

Thou art but a dead man, thou deservest a present and untimely
death; and if thou proceedest in thy intended wickedness, it shall
be inflicted upon thee, both for thy injustice in taking her away by
force, and for thy intentions to abuse her, though not yet executed.

Genesis 20:4

Abimelech had not come near her, i.e. had not yet lain with her.
A modest expression, like that of knowing a woman, Gen_4:1, or
going in to her, Gen_6:4, or touching her, Pro_6:29 1Co_7:1, by
which we are taught to use modesty in our speeches, and not, with
the rude cynics, to express all things by their proper names. This
clause and history was necessary to be added here for Sarah’s
vindication, and especially for the demonstration of Isaac’s
original from Abraham and Sarah, according to God’s promise.

Wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? i.e. innocent as to this

matter. Compare 2Sa_4:11. He knew it was just and usual for God
to punish a nation for their king’s sins; and therefore, as became a
good prince, he is solicitous, and prays for the safety of his nation:
or else by nation he may mean his family, for some of them were
not involved in the guilt of this fact.

Genesis 20:5

Without any adulterous design in my heart, or outward actions

tending to it, being wholly ignorant of what thou now informest
me.

Genesis 20:6

I know that thou didst not this knowingly and maliciously, but
imprudently and inconsiderately, which is indeed an extenuation
of thy sin, though not a total excuse. Compare 1Ki_9:4 1Ch_29:1.

I also withheld thee, partly by my restraining grace, and partly by

my powerful providence, and the plague mentioned Gen_20:17.
Which plainly shows that ignorance is not always an excuse for
sin. See Luk_12:48. This sin, though directly committed against
Abraham and Sarah only, is said to be against God, as other such
sins are, Gen_39:9 Psa_51:4, because it was against God’s
command written in men’s minds, though not yet published by
express word or writing; and against God’s honour; and that here
in a particular manner, because it would have rendered Isaac’s
original, and thereby God’s promise, doubtful.

Genesis 20:7

He is a prophet, a person very dear to me, and familiarly

acquainted with me, and therefore the injuries done to him I take
as done to myself. See Psa_105:15.
He shall pray for thee, which is one part of a prophet’s work,
Jer_14:11 15:1.

Thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine; which was
not unjust, because they all had sins of their own, for which they
deserved death whensoever God thought fit to inflict it; and God
might take this occasion to do it, that in punishing them he might
also punish the king, whose subjects they were.

Genesis 20:8

His servants; his counsellors and principal officers, as that word

is used, 1Ki_1:2 10:13.

Genesis 20:9

What hast thou done unto us? How great a danger hast thou
exposed us to!

A great sin: even the heathens, who thought fornication harmless,

judge adultery to be a very great and heinous crime. See
Gen_38:24 Lev_20:10 Eze_16:38 23:45,47. Or, a great
punishment, as this word is oft used; which seems better to answer
to his offending Abraham now mentioned.

Genesis 20:10

What levity or miscarriage didst thou discern in us which moved

thee to deal thus with us?

Genesis 20:11

The fear of God is not in this place, i.e. true piety, or the
knowledge of the true God, which is the only effectual restraint
from the grossest wickedness.
Genesis 20:12

She is my sister, my near kinswoman; even as Lot upon the same

account is called Abraham’s brother, Gen_13:8.

She is the daughter of my father, i.e. the granddaughter; for

grandchildren are commonly called the sons and daughters of their
grandparents, as Gen_31:28 Exo_2:18. And besides, her father
Haran dying before her grandfather, she was left more
immediately under his care and education, and therefore was more
peculiarly reputed Terah’s daughter, and Abraham’s sister. See
Gen_11:29.

But not the daughter of my mother, because Haran was

Abraham’s brother only by the father’s side; for Terah had Haran
by another wife.

How could Abraham marry one so near of kin to him?

Answ. There were larger allowances for marriages in those times,

as it was convenient there should be; neither had God as yet given
those prohibitions, Lev_18:1-30. Besides, among all nations, the
mother’s side was more regarded than the father’s in all
prohibitions of marriage.

Genesis 20:13

To wander. This word he useth because God did not direct him to
any certain place, but sent him out he knew not whither,
Heb_11:8. And being to travel and sojourn amongst persons of
divers tempers and manners, and all pagans, he thought this
equivocal expression convenient for his security.

Genesis 20:15

My land is before thee, i.e. free for thy view and choice, as
Gen_13:9.
Genesis 20:16

Thy brother; a sharp rebuke and irony: q.d. he whom thou didst
miscall thy brother.

A thousand pieces of silver, to wit, shekels, which is commonly

understood when a sum of silver or gold is indefinitely mentioned,
as Num_7:13,85 2Sa_18:12 2Ki_6:25.

He is to thee a covering of the eyes, i.e. a protection to thee from

the wanton eyes and attempts of others, whilst they know thee to
be the wife of another man, and he such a one whom they
reverence and fear; and therefore thou didst take a very wrong
course to disown him, whereby thou didst expose thyself to great
danger. Or, this is to thee, & c., i.e. this I give to thee to buy thee a
veil, wherewith thou mayst cover thy face, as it is fit and usual for
married persons to do. Compare Gen_24:65 1Co_11:3,6,7,10.

Unto all that are with thee; unto all that here live with thee, or
near thee, and with all men whomsoever.

Thus she was reproved, or admonished to be more circumspect

for the future; or, and be thou admonished; for they may be the
words of Abimelech.

Genesis 20:18

This phrase elsewhere notes barrenness, as 1Sa_1:5,6, and so

many understand it here. Against which some learned men object
that that could not so soon be discovered, for all this happened
between the conception and birth of Isaac. Which objection may
seem not valid, because the evidences of women’s being with
child go so long before the birth of the child, and those evidences
not appearing in any of their women, who before that time were
generally fruitful and child bearing, they might discern God’s
hand in it, especially upon God’s admonition to their king. But
because this history seems to have been done in a far less space of
time, it not being probable either that God would suffer Sarah to
be long with Abimelech ere he warned him, or that he being
warned, and so severely threatened, and actually punished, would
delay the execution of God’s command, or that upon his
obedience to God the mercy and deliverence promised would be
delayed by God; that seems more probable which others think,
that this was an indisposition, or plague, or sore in the secret parts,
by which they were hindered from cohabitation and mutual
converse, and consequently from hopes of conception and child-
bering; upon the removal whereof, it is said that

they bare children, where, as ofttimes in Scripture, the last and

consummating act is put for all the preceding acts: q.d. and they
were restored to the conjugal use, and conception, and, in due
time, to child-bearing.

Genesis 21:1

The Lord visited Sarah, i.e. performed his gracious promise of

giving her strength to conceive and bear a child. God's visitation
of a person in Scripture use, is the manifestation and execution of
his purpose or word towards that person, and that either for evil,
and so it is an inflicting of evils threatened, as the word visiting is
used, Exo_20:5 Psa_59:5; or for good, and so it is used for the
actual giving of mercies promised, as here, and Gen_50:24
Exo_4:31 Rth_1:6.

Genesis 21:2

In his old age, or, for his old age, i.e. for the comfort of his old
age.

Genesis 21:6

Before, my own distrustful heart made me to laugh, now God

makes me laugh, not through diffidence and irreverence, as
before, Gen_18:12, but through excess of holy joy.

All that hear will laugh with me; or, at me; some through
sympathy rejoicing with me and for me, laughter being oft put for
joy, as Isa_54:1 Gal_4:27, &c.; other’s through scorn and
derision, as at a thing which well may seem incredible to them,
because it did so to me. See Gen_17:17 18:12,13,15.

Genesis 21:7

What man or woman could believe so improbable a thing? Or,

who but a God could have foreseen and foretold it? She saith

children, though she had but one child, either by a usual enallage
of the plural number for the singular, whereby the word sons or
daughters is used when there was but one, as Gen_36:25 46:23
Num_26:8; or presaging, that having received from God a new
strength, she might have more children. By her expression she
showeth all mothers what their duty is, viz. to give their children
suck when they are able to do it; and that neither greatness of
quality, nor multitude of business, nor other difficulties and
inconveniences, will be a sufficient excuse to those that neglect it.

Genesis 21:8

It doth not appear how old Isaac was, because the time for the
weaning of children is very various, according to the differing
tempers and necessities of children, or inclination of parents; and
in those times, when men’s lives were longer than now they are,
proportionably the time was longer ere children were weaned.

Genesis 21:9

Signifying either by words or gestures his contempt of Isaac, and

his derision of all that magnificence then showed towards his
younger brother. And this carriage proceeding from a most
envious and malicious disposition, and being a sufficient
indication of further mischief intended to him, if ever he should
have opportunity, it is no wonder it is called persecution,
Gal_4:29, although the Hebrew word may be rendered beating
him, as it is used 2Sa_2:14.
Genesis 21:10

1892 She was enraged by this fact, and perceived it was but a
beginning and earnest of greater evil designed by him against her
beloved Isaac; being also guided by the wise counsel and
providence of God, as appears from Gen_21:12. Though the fact
was done by Ishmael, yet Sarah plainly saw that this and other like
carriages were from his mother’s instigation and encouragement,
who being of an imperious and petulant disposition, as appears
from Gen_16:4,9, in all probability comforted herself, and
animated her son, by that right he had to his father’s inheritance as
he was his first-born, as may be gathered both from the custom of
women in such cases, and from the last words of this verse.
Besides, if the mother had been continued, she would easily have
prevailed with Abraham to fetch the child back again.

Genesis 21:11

Because of his tender affection to him, and God’s promise

concerning him. See Gen_17:18,20. He who cheerfully parted
with Isaac, was hardly brought to part with Ishmael, because the
former was done by God’s command, which he was obliged to
obey; the latter by the passion of an enraged woman, wherewith
he thought not fit to comply; and probably he had denied her
desire if God had not interposed in it. He doth not say because of
his wife; from whence may be gathered, either that Hagar was not
properly his wife, or that this was another of Abraham’s
infirmities, that he had not that affection for her which he should
have had. Whereby we may also see the excellency of God’s
institutions, who appointed but one woman for one man, that each
might have the entire interest in the other’s affections; and the
danger of men’s inventions, which brought polygamy into the
world, whereby a man’s affections are divided into several, and
sometimes contrary streams.

Genesis 21:12

Thus Abraham had better authority for his divorce from Hagar
than he had for his marriage with her, Gen_16:2.
Thy seed, to wit, the promised Seed, the heir of thy estate,
covenant, and promises, the progenitor of my church and people,
and particularly of the Messias.

Called, i.e. reputed and valued, both by me and other men. The
words may be thus rendered, by Isaac shall thy seed be; for to be
called is ofttimes put for to be, as Isa_1:26 47:1,5 Mt 5:9,19.

Genesis 21:14

He who before doubted and lingered to do it when Sarah’s passion

suggested it, when once he understands it to be God’s will, he
makes haste to execute it. An excellent example of prudence and
piety.

Bread, by which may be here understood all necessaries, as

Mal_1:7,12 Mt 6:11 14:15, compared with Mar_6:36 Luk_14:1.

Quest. How is it likely that so rich and liberal a person as

Abraham would send away such near and dear relations with so
mean accommodations?

Answ.

1. This might be done by particular command from God to

Abraham, though it be not here expressed, as many things were
said by God, and done by men, which are not mentioned in
Scripture, as is evident from Joh_20:30,31 21:25, and many other
places. And God might order it thus, partly, to chastise Abraham’s
irregular marriage with Hagar; partly, to correct and tame the
haughty and rugged temper of the bond-woman and her son, and
to prepare them for the receiving of God’s help and mercy; and
partly, that he might more eminently show his care and kindness
to Abraham, in providing for such forlorn and neglected creatures,
because they belonged to him.

2. It cannot be reasonably doubted that Abraham gave her these

provisions only for the present, and intended to send further and
better afterward to a place appointed by him, which also he did.
But she missed her way, as well she might, in the wilderness, and
thereby came into these straits designed by God for the
signification of greater mysteries, as may be gathered from
Gal_4:1-31.

Beer-sheba, a place near Gerar, so called here by a prolepsis. See

Gen_21:31.

Genesis 21:15

Not as if she carried him in her arms, or upon her shoulders, for he
was now about eighteen years old; but being weak and faint, and
no doubt much dejected in spirit upon the prospect of his desolate
and distressed condition, she was forced to support and lead him
by the hand; but now, despairing of his life, she lays him down
under a shrub.

Genesis 21:16

Who wept? Either Hagar, for the verb is of the feminine gender;
or the lad, as the words following seem to intimate. And for the
change of the genders, that is not unfrequent in Scripture use.

Genesis 21:17

God heard his cries, though not flowing from true repentance, but
extorted from him by his pressing calamity. Though he be in a
vast and desolate wilderness, yet my eye is upon him, and I will
take care of him.

Genesis 21:18

i.e. Support or sustain thy languishing child with thy hand; for I
will bless him, and thy care shall not be in vain.

Genesis 21:19

Not that her eyes were shut or blind before, but she saw not the
well before; either because it was at some distance, or because her
eyes were full of tears, and her mind distracted and heedless
through excessive grief and fear; or because God withheld her
eyes that she might not see it without his information. Compare
Num_22:31 Luk_24:16.

Genesis 21:20

i.e. A skilful hunter of beasts, and warrior with men too, according
to the prediction, Gen_16:12. For the bow was a principal
instrument in war, as well as in hunting, Gen_48:22 49:23,24.
And these two professions oft went together. See Gen_10:9.

Genesis 21:21

In the wilderness of Paran; in the borders of that wilderness, by

comparing Gen_14:6, for the innermost parts of it were
uninhabitable by men or beasts, as ancient writers note.

His mother took him a wife; by which we see both the obligation
that lies upon parents, and the right that is invested in them, to
dispose of their children in marriage in convenient time. Compare
Gen_24:4 28:2 Jud_14:2.

Out of the land of Egypt, rather than out of Canaan, concerning

whose accursed state and future destruction she had been
informed in Abraham’s house.

Genesis 21:22

We plainly see that God blesseth and prospereth thee in all thy
undertakings.

Of Abimelech, see Gen_20:2.

Genesis 21:23

That thou wilt not deal falsely with me; that thou wilt not do me
any hurt or injury; Heb. That thou wilt not lie unto me; i.e. as thou
hast formerly professed kindness and friendship to me, give me
thy oath to assure me that thou wilt be true and constant to thy
own professions.

Genesis 21:24

Quest. How could Abraham lawfully swear this, when Canaan

was given by God to him and his seed for ever?

Answ. Neither Abraham nor his seed had any present and actual
right to the possession of the land, but only the promise of a right
in it, and possession of it after some hundreds of years, and
therefore he gave away none of his right by this oath. For this oath
did only oblige Abraham, and not his posterity; and Abimelech
extended that obligation no further than to his son’s son.

Genesis 21:25

That the foundation of true friendship might be firmly laid, and

the peace inviolably observed, he removes an impediment to it, an
occasion of quarrel and just exception on Abraham’s part.

A well of water in those hot and dry countries was of great

esteem and necessity. Compare Gen_26:19-21 Jud_1:15. Besides,
a well may be put for wells, as the Greeks render it, and as may
seem probable by comparing this with Gen_26:15,18; it being an
ordinary thing to use the singular number for the plural, as hath
been showed. See Gen_3:2 4:20.

Genesis 21:26

By which he wisely and truly suggests, that Abraham should not

have smothered the grudge in his mind so long time, but should
instantly have reproved him for it, and endeavoured a speedy
redress, which hereby he intimates that he was ready to give.

Genesis 21:27

Abraham gave them unto Abimelech; partly, as an

acknowledgment to him for his former favour and friendship;
partly, as an assurance of his sincere friendship, both present and
for the future, of his acquiescence in his answer about the well;
and partly, for sacrifice, and for the usual rite in making
covenants, which was, that the persons covenanting might pass
through the parts of the slain beasts. See Gen_15:17.

Genesis 21:30

That this care of Abraham’s was not superfluous may appear from
Gen_26:15.

Genesis 21:31

Which name was communicated unto a city adjoining: of which

see Gen_26:23 Jos_15:28 2Sa_17:11 24:2.

Genesis 21:32

1891 i.e. Into their part of that land, to wit, Gerar, which was not
far from this place. It is a usual synecdoche, whereby the whole
land is put for a part of it; otherwise they were at this time in that
land.

Genesis 21:33

Abraham planted a grove, not so much for shade, which yet was
pleasant and necessary in these hot regions, as for religious use,
that he might retire thither from the noise of worldly business, and
freely converse with his Maker. Which practice of his was
afterwards abused to superstition and idolatry, for which reason
groves were commanded to be cut down. See Deu_12:3 16:21.

Called there on the name of the Lord. He thankfully

acknowledging God’s great goodness in giving him the favour and
friendship of so great and worthy a prince and neighbour.
Genesis 22:1

After the accomplishment of God's promises made to Abraham,

and especially of that promise concerning the blessed Seed, when
now he seemed to be in a most prosperous and secure condition,
he meets with a severe exercise from God,

God did tempt Abraham. The word tempt is ambiguous, and

signifies either,

1. To entice to sin, in which sense devils and wicked men are said
to tempt others, but God tempts no man, Jam_1:13. Or,

2. To prove or try, and in this sense God is said to tempt men. See
Deu_8:2 Deu_13:3 Jud_2:22. Thus God tempted Abraham, i.e. he
tried the sincerity and strength of his faith, the universality and
constancy of his obedience, and this for God's great honour, and
Abraham's great glory and comfort, and for the church's benefit in
all following ages.

Beheld, here I am; an expression signifying a man's attentive

hearing what is said to him, and his readiness to execute it, as
Gen_22:7, Gen_22:11 Gen_27:1 1Sa_3:4-6.

Genesis 22:2

Not a word here but might pierce a heart of stone, much more so
tender a father as Abraham was.

Take now, without demurring or delay, I allow thee no time for

thy consideration, own proper

son; not a beast, not an enemy, not a stranger, though that had
been very difficult to one so kind to all strangers; not a dear
servant, not a friend or familiar:

thine only son, not by birth, for so he had another, Ishmael; but
this was his only son by Sarah, his first and legitimate wife; who
only had the right of succession both to his inheritance, and to his
covenant and promises; and this only was now left to him, for
Ishmael was abandoned and gone from him: and this must be such
a son as Isaac, once matter of laughter and great joy, now cause of
inexpressible sorrow; thy Benoni; a son of the promise, of so great
hopes, and such pregnant virtue and piety as this story shows;

whom thou lovest, peculiarly and superlatively, even as thy own

soul:

and get thee into the land of Moriah; a place at a great distance,
and to which thou shalt go but leisurely, Gen_22:4, that thou
mayst have thy mind all that while fixed upon that bloody act,
which other men’s minds can scarce once think of without horror;
and so thou mayst offer him in a sort ten thousand times over
before thou givest the fatal blow;

and offer him there with thine own hands, and cruelly take away
the life which thou hast in some sort given him;

for a burnt-offering, wherein by the law of the burnt-offering

then known to Abraham, afterwards published to all Israel, his
throat was to be cut, his body dissected into quarters, his bowels
taken out, as if he had been some notorious traitor, and vile
malefactor and miscreant, and afterwards he was to be burnt to
ashes, that if possible there might be nothing left of him: and this
must be done

upon one of the mountains, which I shall tell thee of; not
secretly in a corner, as if it were a work of darkness, and thou wert
ashamed or afraid to own it; but in a public and open place, in the
view of heaven, earth, God, angels, and men. Which horrid and
stupendous act it may be easily conjectured what reproach and
blasphemy it would have occasioned against the name and
worship of God and the true religion, and what shame and torment
to Abraham, from his own self-accusing mind, from the clamours
of his wife, and all his friends and allies, and what a dangerous
and mischievous example this would have been to all future
generations. That faith that could surmount these and many more
difficulties, and could readily and cheerfully rest upon God in the
discharge of such a duty, no wonder it is so honoured by God, and
celebrated by all men, yea, even by the heathens, who have
translated this history into their fables. Moriah signifies the vision
of God, the place where God would be seen and manifested. And
so it is here called by way of anticipation, because it was so called
afterwards, Gen_22:14, in regard of God’s eminent appearance
there for Isaac’s deliverance; though it may also have a further
respect unto Christ, because in that place God was manifested in
the flesh. There were divers mountains there, as is evident from
Psa_125:2; and particularly there were two eminent hills, or rather
tops or parts of the same mountain; Sion, where David’s palace
was; and Moriah, where the temple was built, and whence the
adjoining country afterwards received its name.

Which I will tell thee of, by some visible sign, or secret

admonition which I shall give thee.

Genesis 22:3

Abraham rose up early in the morning, that he might execute

God’s command without doubt or delay;

and saddled his ass, for greater expedition, not waiting for his
servant to do it.

Genesis 22:4

Probably on the beginning of the third day. It is true, Moriah was

not three days’ journey from Beer-sheba. But it must be
considered that the ass, upon which he rode, is a dull and slow
creature, and that Abraham went no faster than the rest of his
company, who, for aught appears, were on foot; and that the
provisions which they carried along with them, both for their own
and the ass’s subsistence, and for sacrifice, must needs retard
them.
Genesis 22:5

Abraham said this, lest they should hinder him in the execution
of his design.

I and the lad will come again to you; for he knew that God both
could and would for his promise sake, either preserve Isaac from
being sacrificed, or afterward raise him from the dead, as it is
intimated, Heb_11:19.

Genesis 22:6

Isaac, though called a lad, Gen_22:5, was now a grown man, at

least five and twenty years old, and therefore well able to bear that
burden; and in this act he was an eminent type of Christ, who
carried that wood upon which he was crucified.

Genesis 22:7

My father; a compellation which might both wound Abraham’s

heart, and admonish him how unbecoming to a father that action
was which he was going about.

Here am I, my son; which expression showed that he had not put

off fatherly affection to him, and that his intention did not arise
from any unnatural and barbarous disposition, nor from any decay
of love to him, but from a higher cause, even the declared will of
God.

Genesis 22:8

God will provide himself a lamb; either,

1. Literally, though I know not how; for his wisdom and power
are infinite: or,

2. Mystically, as Christ, whose type Isaac was, is called a Lamb.

Thus Abraham prudently reveals the matter to him by degrees, not
all at once.
Genesis 22:9

Abraham built an altar, made of earth slightly put together, as

God afterwards prescribed, Exo_20:24;

and bound Isaac his son, partly, because burnt-offerings were to

be bound to the altar; of which see Poole on "Psa_118:27";
partly, to represent Christ, who was bound to the cross. And that
Isaac might be the more exact type of Christ, he was bound by his
own consent, otherwise his age and strength seem sufficient to
have made an effectual resistance. It is therefore highly reasonable
to think that Abraham, having in the whole journey prepared Isaac
for such a work by general but pertinent discourses, did upon the
mount particularly instruct him concerning the plain and
peremptory command of God, the absolute necessity of complying
with it, the glorious reward of his obedience, and the dismal
consequences of his disobedience; the power and faithfulness of
God either to prevent the fatal blow, or to restore his life lost with
infinite advantage. Upon these, and such-like reasons, doubtless
he readily laid himself down at his father’s feet, and yielded up
himself to the Divine will.

Genesis 22:11

The angel of the Lord, i.e. Christ the Angel of the covenant, as
appears from Gen_22:12,16. He repeats his name to prevent
Abraham, whom he knew to be most expeditious in God’s service,
and just ready to give the deadly blow.

Genesis 22:12

God knew the sincerity and resolvedness of Abraham’s faith and

obedience before and without this evidence, and from eternity
foresaw this fact and all its circumstances; and therefore you must
not think that God had now made any new discovery: but this is
spoken here, as in many other places, of God after the manner of
men, who is then said to know a thing, when it is notorious and
evident to a man’s self and others by some remarkable effect.
Thus David prayed that God would search and know his heart,
and his thoughts, Psa_139:23, though he had before professed that
God understood his thought afar off, Gen_22:2. This therefore is
the sense:

Now I know, i.e. Now I have what I designed and desired; now I
have made thee and others to know. As the Spirit of God and of
Christ is said to cry Abba, Father, Gal_4:6, when it makes us to
cry so, Rom_8:15.

Thou hast not withheld thy son from me, for my service and
sacrifice; or for me, i.e. for my sake; i.e. thou hast preferred mine
authority and honour before the life of thy dear son. By which
words it appears that God himself speaks these words.

Genesis 22:13

Behind him; which way he looked, either because the voice came
that way, or because he heard the noise made by the motion of the
ram in the thicket, which had gone astray from the rest of the
flock, and whose errors were directed hither by God’s wise and
powerful providence; and being young, though horned, it might be
called either lamb, as Gen_22:7, or

ram, as it is here. There needs no curious inquiry how he could

offer up that to God which was not his own, both because it was
found in a public place, and in all probability utterly lost to its
owner, and because he had no doubt a warrant and inspiration for
it from the great Lord and supreme Owner of all things.

Genesis 22:14

Jehovah-jireh. The same Hebrew letters differently pointed make

the sense either active, the Lord will see, i.e. provide or take care
of those that commit themselves and their affairs to him; or
passive, the Lord will be seen, i.e. will appear and show himself in
the behalf of all those that love him.

As it is said to this day, wherein Moses wrote this book: this is

still used as a proverb.
In the mount of the Lord, i.e. in greatest extremities and
distresses, as we say, at the pit ’s brink, it shall be seen, or, the
Lord shall be seen or manifested. And although these words are
used by way of remembrance of this great deliverance, and by
way of accommodation to such-like eminent preservations from
great dangers; yet they may have a further respect, and may
signify, that this was but an earnest of further and greater
blessings to be expected in this place, where the temple was built,
and the Lord Christ was manifested in the flesh.

Genesis 22:16

By myself have I sworn: so the Lord swears by his name,

Jer_44:26; by his soul, in the Hebrew text, Jer_51:14; by his
holiness, Amo_4:2; which is the same with by himself here. Hence
also it appears that the Angel who speaks here is Christ and God,
because this is God’s prerogative to swear by himself, as appears
from Heb_6:13.

Because thou hast done this thing; not that Abraham by this act
did properly merit or purchase the following promises, as plainly
appears, because the same things for substance had been freely
promised to Abraham long before this time and action, Gen_12:2
13:16, only what before was promised is now confirmed by an
oath, as a testimony of that singular respect which God had to
Abraham, and to this heroical instance of faith and obedience.

Genesis 22:17

i.e. The city, by a usual synecdoche, as Deu_12:15 18:6, all the

cities, and consequently the country adjacent; gate for gates. The
sense is, they shall subdue their enemies. For the gates of cities
were the places both of jurisdiction or judicature, Deu_21:19
22:15 Amo_5:12,15 Zec 8:16; and of fortification and chief
strength in war, Jud_5:8 Psa_147:13 Isa_22:7 Eze_21:22. And
this promise was fulfilled both literally in Israel’s conquest of
Canaan, in David, Solomon, &c., and spiritually in Christ,
Psa_110:1-3.
Genesis 22:20

This narration and genealogy is added for Rebekah’s sake, and to

make way for the following relation.

Genesis 22:21

From

Buz descended, as some conceive, Elihu the Buzite, Job_32:2.

Aram was so called, possibly because he dwelt among the

Syrians, as Jacob, for the same reason, was called a Syrian,
Deu_26:5. But there was another more ancient Aram, from whom
the Syrians descended, Gen_10:22.

Genesis 22:23

Rebekah was afterwards Isaac’s wife, Gen_24:1-67.

Genesis 22:24

A concubine was an inferior kind of wife, taken according to the

common practice of those times, subject to the authority of the
principal wife, and whose children had no right of inheritance, but
were endowed with gifts. See Gen_21:14 25:6.

Maachah, a name common both to man, as 2Sa_10:6, and

woman, as 1Ki_15:13.

Genesis 23:1

This is the peculiar honour of Sarah the mother of the faithful,

1Pe_3:6, to have the years of her life numbered in Scripture.

Genesis 23:2

Kirjath-arba, or, the city of Arba; so called probably from a giant

or great man called Arba, who lived and ruled in those parts. See
Jos_14:15 Jos_15:13. It is objected against this scripture, that this
city was not called Hebron till Joshua's time, Jos_14:15; but this is
a mistake, Joshua doth not say so, but only that the name of
Hebron before, ( or in old time ), as this very particle is rendered,
Deu_2:20, and elsewhere. So the sense is, the most ancient name
of it was Kirjath-arba. Nor doth Joshua there give any account or
reason of this change of the name at that time, or upon that
occasion, as the sacred writers used to do in such cases, but rather
supposeth that Hebron was the name of it before he came thither;
and how long before that time he doth not express.

Abraham came into Sarah's tent, (see Gen_18:6-9)

to weep for her, according to the laudable custom of all ages and
nations, to manifest their sense of God's hand upon them, and of
their own loss. See Gen_50:3 Deu_34:8, &c.

Genesis 23:3

To show his moderation in sorrow, and to take care for her burial,
according to his duty.

Genesis 23:4

The privilege of burial hath been always sought and prized by all
nations, whom nature and humanity teacheth to preserve the
bodies of men, which have been the temples of reasonable and
immortal souls, from contempt and violation; so especially by
Christians, as a testimony and pledge of their future resurrection.
See Num_33:4 Deu_31:23 Job_5:26. For which cause Abraham
desires a distinct burying-place separated from the pagan people.

With you, in Canaan. There he, and after him other patriarchs,
earnestly desired to be buried, upon this account, that it might
confirm their own and their children's faith in God's promise, and
animate their children in due time to take possession of the land.
See Gen_25:9 Gen_47:29-30 Gen_50:13, Gen_50:25 Exo_13:19
Heb_11:22.
That I may bury my dead out of my sight; so she that before
was the desire of his eyes, Eze_24:16, is now, being dead, become
their torment.

Genesis 23:6

Hear us, my lord: here is a conjunction of the plural and singular

number, because though but one person spake, yet he spake in the
name of the whole community.

A mighty prince; Heb. a prince of God. Great and excellent

persons or things are oft expressed by adding the name of God.
See Gen_13:10. Or, by prince of God, they understand a prince
favoured and beloved of God.

In the choice of our sepulchres; for each family had a distinct

sepulchre.

Genesis 23:7

i.e. Showed a civil respect to them in testimony of his

thankfulness. Religion allows and requires civility, and those
gestures which express it.

To the people of the land; to the governors of the people, who

managed all public affairs in the people’s name and stead, and for
their good.

The children of Heth, so called from Heth the son of Canaan,

Gen_10:15.

Genesis 23:8

Heb. If it be with, i.e. agreeable to, your soul, that is, your will, or
good pleasure; for so the soul is sometimes taken, as Deu_23:24
Psa_27:12 41:2.
Genesis 23:9

Machpelah, which seems to be the proper name of the place,

Gen_23:17,19, so called from its duplicity, because the cave was
double, either one for men, and another for women; or the one
served only for an entrance into the other, which was the burying-
place.

For as much money as it is worth; Heb. for full money,

1Ch_21:22,24; i.e. for money of full weight, answerable to its
worth.

Genesis 23:10

Ephron dwelt, Heb. did sit, to wit, at that time, as one of the chief
or rulers of the people; for so the word sitting is oft used, as we
shall see hereafter.

His city; either where he was born, or at least where he lived.

Genesis 23:13

But if thou wilt give it; it is a short speech, and something must
be supplied; either if thou wilt give or resign it to me; or, if thou
be the man of whom I speak; for though Abraham knew his name,
he might not know him by face, nor that he was then present. He
prudently chose rather to buy it than to receive it as a gift, partly
because it would be the surer to him and his, Gen_23:17,20, and
partly because he would not have too great obligations to his
pagan neighbours.

Genesis 23:15

He speaks of the common shekel, which many value at fifteen

pence of English money; but others, more probably, at two
shillings and sixpence, rightly, as I conceive, supposing that this
was of the same weight and value with the shekel of the sanctuary,
which was so called, not as if that were double to the former, but
only because all shekels were to be examined by that standard
which was kept in the sanctuary.

What is that betwixt me and thee? both friends, and rich men; it
is not worth any words or trouble between us.

Genesis 23:16

In those times silver was paid by weight, Gen_43:21 Jer_32:10.

Current money with the merchant, i.e. right for quality as well
as weight in the judgment of merchants, whose frequent dealing in
it makes them more able to judge of it.

Genesis 24:1

He was one hundred and forty years old, comparing Gen_21:5,

with Gen_25:20.

Genesis 24:2

His eldest servant of his house; viz. Eliezer, Gen_15:2. This

ceremony was used in swearing, as now, so anciently in the
eastern parts, as Gen_47:29, either as a testimony of subjection,
and promise of faithful service, for this rite was used only by
inferiors towards superiors; or, as some think, with respect to the
blessed Seed, Christ, who was to come out of Abraham’s thigh, as
the phrase is, Gen_46:26, because this rite was used only to
believers.

Genesis 24:3

i.e. Not persuade nor engage my son to take; for Isaac, though
forty years old, was not only willing to be governed by his father
in this affair, but also to hearken to the counsel of this wise and
faithful servant, of whom both his father and himself had such
long and large experience. He knew that
the Canaanites were not only gross idolaters and heinous sinners,
for so many others were; but that they were a people under God's
peculiar curse, Gen_9:25, and devoted to extirpation and utter
destruction, which was to be inflicted upon them by Abraham's
posterity; and therefore to marry his son to such persons had been
a high degree of self-murder, whereby the holy and blessed seed
had been in danger of great infection from them, and utter ruin
with them. And Abraham's practice was afterwards justified by
God, who hath oft showed his dislike of such unequal matches of
his people with those infidels and idolaters, by severe prohibitions
and sharp censures. See Exo_34:16 Deu_7:3 Jos_23:12 Ezr_9:1-3
Neh_13:23-25 2Co_6:14-15.

Genesis 24:4

My country, i.e. Mesopotomia, Gen_24:10, which being largely

taken for the country between those two famous rivers Euphrates
and Tigris, from which situation it hath that name; so Chaldea,
whence Abraham came, Gen_11:31 Gen_12:1, was a part of it.

My kindred, the family of Nahor, concerning the increase

whereof he had received information, Gen_22:20, &c., which he
justly preferred before the Canaanites, partly because though they
were idolaters, as appears from Gen_31:19, Gen_31:30-35
Jos_24:2, yet they did worship the true God together with idols, as
may be gathered from Gen_24:31, Gen_24:50, and from other
places; and therefore there was more hopes of the conversion of
one of that family; and partly because they lived at a great
distance from the place where Abraham and his posterity did and
should live, and therefore one of that stock would be more easily
disentangled from her superstition and idolatry, because she was
removed from the influences of the evil counsels and examples of
her nearest relations, and partly because they were of the race of
blessed Shem, and not of cursed Canaan.

Genesis 24:5

Note here the prudence and piety of this good man, who, before
he would take an oath, doth diligently inquire into the nature and
conditions of it, and expressly mentioneth that exception which
might seem to be of course supposed in it.

Genesis 24:6

In case she will not come hither, do not thou engage that he shall
go thither. Why so?

1. Because there was more danger of infection from his wife and
her kindred, because of their friendly, and familiar, and constant
converse with him, than from the Canaanites, who were strangers
to him, and lived separately from him, and had but little
conversation with him.

2. Because the command of God to Abraham to come out of

Chaldea, and into Canaan, did extend to his posterity also, whom
God would oblige to dwell there as long as they could, that they
might live in constant faith and expectation of the performance of
God’s promise in giving this land unto them.

Quest. How could he bring Isaac thither again, where he never

was?

Answ.

1. Isaac might be said to be there before virtually, or in the loins

of his father, as Levi is said to pay tithes to Melchziedek by
Abraham in whose loins he was.

2. This

again may be referred to the servant, that when he returned again

he would not carry Isaac along with them.

3. He might reasonably suppose that Isaac must go once thither to

fetch his wife; (for her coming so suddenly to him was an
unexpected thing); but he would not have him promise, that when
he had done so once, he should go thither again to live there with
her.
Genesis 24:7

He shall send his angel before thee, to direct and succeed thee in
this enterprise. Compare Exo_14:19 23:20.

Thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence; I doubt not of
the success. He might say so, either by rational conjecture, both
from the nature of the thing, and from the constant course of
God’s providence blessing him in all his concerns; or by particular
assurance and inspiration from God.

Genesis 24:8

Thou shalt be clear from the obligation of this oath, and from the
penalties of the violation of it.

Genesis 24:10

The goods of his master were in his hand, i.e. in his power to
take, without particular orders, what he thought fit and necessary,
either for his own use, or for the promotion of the present
business.

The city of Nahor was Haran, by comparing Gen_28:10 29:4.

Genesis 24:12

Or, mercy. He makes no mention of himself, nor of the merits of

his master, but he ascribes even temporal blessings, and much
more eternal salvation, merely to God’s mercy.

Genesis 24:14

That this was not a rash and vain fancy, but a special expectation
and confidence wrought in him by God’s Spirit, appears both by
the eminent prudence and godliness of this person, and by the
exact correspondency of the event with his prayer, and by parallel
examples, as Jud_6:36 1Sa_6:7 14:8.
She that thou hast appointed; Heb. evidently pointed out; or,
exactly searched out, as a person meet for him.

Genesis 24:15

According to the manner of the first and purest ages of the world,
wherein humility and diligence, not, as in this degeneration of the
world, pomp and idleness, were the ornaments of that sex and age.
See Gen_18:6 29:9,18,20 Exo 2:16 Pro_31:27.

Genesis 24:16

She was a virgin not only in title and show, but in truth, for no
man had known her, i.e. corrupted her.

Genesis 24:18

She said, Drink, my lord; for his retinue showed him to be a

person of more than ordinary quality.

Genesis 24:21

The man wondered at her, i.e. at the wonderful providence of

God, and the eminent answer of his prayer.

Genesis 24:22

The man took, i.e. gave to her, (as that word of taking, or
receiving, is oft used, as Gen_12:19 Exo_18:12 29:25 Psa_68:18,
compared with Eph_4:8),

a golden earring; so the word signifies, Gen_35:4 Exo_32:2,3.

Or, jewels for the forehead, which hung down from the forehead
to the nose, or between the eyes. So the word is used, Gen_24:47
Eze_16:12.
Genesis 24:23

And said, or, for he had said; for it is probable he inquired who
she was before he gave her those presents.

Genesis 24:24

So she signifies that she was Nahor’s daughter, not by his

concubine, but by his lawful and principal wife.

Genesis 24:26

Giving thanks to God for his marvellous assistance hitherto, and

begging the continuance of his presence and blessing.

Genesis 24:27

His mercy and his truth, i.e. who hath showed his mercy in
promising all manner of blessings, and his truth in performing his
promises at this day. Or, it is a figure called hendyadis, for true
mercy: q. d. he hath not only been kind to him in show, and in
words, but in real and considerable effects.

My master’s brethren, i.e. near kinsmen, as that word is

commonly used, as Gen_24:48 Gen_13:8 Mar_3:31,32.

Genesis 24:28

Not

of her father’s house; either because her father was now dead,
and Bethuel, who is hereafter mentioned, was not Laban’s father,
but his brother so called; or because the women had distinct
apartments in the houses, and she went first thither according to
her custom.
Genesis 24:31

Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, i.e. whom God hath so
eminently favoured and blessed.

Genesis 24:32

Of which custom, see Gen_18:4.

Genesis 24:36

i.e. Hath purposed and promised, and doth by me engage that he

will give. Things are oft said to be done, in Scripture language,
when they will certainly and shortly be done.

Genesis 24:40

Before whom I walk, in obedience to all his commands, and in

hearty trust in his promises and gracious providence towards me
and mine.

Genesis 24:41

Clear from this my oath; Heb. from my curse, denounced against

thee if thou shouldst violate thine oath. The words oath and curse
are ofttimes indifferently used, because they commonly go
together, and sometimes they are both expressed, as Num_5:21.

Genesis 24:42

i.e. The design or course in which I am engaged, as the word way

is frequently used.

Genesis 24:47

First he asks who she was, then he gives the gifts to her; which is
the right order, and is here observed in the repetition; which was
inverted in the first relation, Gen_24:22,23.
Genesis 24:49

If you will show true kindness and real friendship to him in giving
your daughter to his son,

tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may look out a wife for him
elsewhere. It is a proverbial expression, Num_20:17 22:26
Deu_2:27.

Genesis 24:50

Laban is put first, either because this Bethuel was not his father,
but his younger brother, as Josephus thinks; or because Laban was
the chief manager of this business, to whom his father seems to
have committed the care of his family, being himself unfit for it
through age or infirmity.

The thing proceedeth from the Lord, from God’s counsel and
special providence. Hereby it appears they had the knowledge and
worship of the true God among them, though they added idols to
him. We cannot without opposing God speak or act any thing
which may hinder thy design, or thwart thy desire. Compare
Gen_31:24,29 2Sa_13:22.

Genesis 24:51

Rebekah is before thee, i.e. in thy power and disposal; as this

phrase is taken, Gen_20:15, and elsewhere.

Genesis 24:53

The precious fruits of the land from which he came; see

Deu_33:13, &c.; or in general, other rare and excellent things. In
those days men gave portions for their wives, as now they have
portions with them.
Genesis 24:55

Others thus, a year, or at the least ten months, the word days
being put for a year, as elsewhere. But it is very improbable that
they would demand or expect such a thing from this man, whom
they saw bent so much upon expedition.

Genesis 24:57

i.e. Understand her mind by her words, not so much concerning

the marriage itself, in which she resigned up herself to the
disposal of her parents and friends, and to which she had given an
implicit consent by her acceptance of those presents which were
made to her for that end, as concerning the hastiness of her
departure.

Genesis 24:59

Her nurse was Deborah, by comparing Gen_35:8. In this corrupt

family, the mother and the nurse are two distinct persons; but in
Abraham’s pious family there was no such principle or practice.
See Gen_21:7.

Genesis 24:60

Thou art our sister, i.e. our near kinswoman; distance of place
shall not alienate our affections from thee, but we shall still own
thee as our sister, and, as far as we can, be ready to perform all the
duties of brethren to thee.

Genesis 24:62

In the southern parts of Canaan, as Gen_12:9, at Beer-sheba,

whither it seems, Abraham returned after Sarah’s death.

Genesis 24:63

To meditate; to converse with God, and with himself, by pious

and profitable thoughts and ejaculations, and fervent prayers, as
for other things, so particularly for God’s blessing upon this great
affair, and so his prayers are eminently answered. He chooseth a
solitary place, wherein he might more freely attend upon God
without any interruption or distraction,

in the field at the eventide; that as he had begun the day with
God, so he might close it with him, and commit himself to his
protection. Compare Psa_55:17.

Genesis 24:64

As a testimony of her respect to him, whom by the servant she

understood to be her lord and husband. Compare Jos_15:18
1Sa_25:23.

Genesis 24:65

In token of modesty, reverence, and subjection. See Gen_20:16

1Co_11:10.

Genesis 24:67

Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, partly to give
her possession of it, and partly to consummate the marriage.
Women then had their tents apart from men. See Gen_18:10 24:67
31:33.

Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death; a sorrowful

sense whereof he yet had retained, though she died three years
before this time.

Genesis 25:1

After Sarah's death and Isaac's marriage Abraham took a wife, (

a secondary wife, or a concubine, as she is called, Gen_25:6, and
1Ch_1:32), not from any inordinate lust, which his age and
eminent grace may sufficiently evince, but from a desire of more
children, and of accomplishing God's promise concerning the
great multiplication of his seed.
Keturah was a distinct person from Hagar, as appears from
Gen_25:6, and Gen_25:12, and, as it seems, of better quality, and
younger, for Hagar was now eighty years old, and not likely to be
a mother of six children.

Genesis 25:2

Quest. How could Abraham, being now about one hundred and
forty years old, have so many children, when his body was dead in
his hundredth year?

Answ. Because that renewed strength which was miraculously

conferred upon him, did still in a great measure remain in him,
being not a temporary action, but a durable habit or power.

These persons were the heads of several people dwelling in

Arabia and Syria, where we shall find evident footsteps of their
names amongst ancient geographers, only a little changed, which
could not be avoided in their translation into another language.

Midian, the father of those Midianites, of whom we read

Gen_36:35 Jud_6:2 Isa_10:26. From Shuah Bildad seems to be
descended, Job_2:11.

Genesis 25:4

Ephah; of whom see Isa_60:6. From Epher some think Africa

received its name.

Genesis 25:5

Which before he purposed and promised to give, Gen_24:36, and

now actually gave; except that which is excepted in Gen_25:6,
and except the use and enjoyment of his estate during his own life.

Genesis 25:6

The concubines, Hagar and Keturah. Concubines are sometimes

called wives, as Gen_16:3 Jud_19:1-3,29, but their children had
no right to the inheritance. For though the children of Jacob’s
concubines did equally partake of the inheritance with the other
children, that was done by Divine appointment, and Jacob’s
voluntary act, and upon special reason, because of the vast
inheritance promised, and afterwards given to them, which made
it no loss, but a great convenience and advantage to the children of
the chief wives to have their half-brethren, the sons of the
concubines, seated so near to them.

Sent them away from Isaac; partly, that the entire possession of
that land might be reserved to the children of Isaac; and partly,
lest nearness of relation joined with cohabitation or
neighbourhood should beget a great familiarity between them,
whereby Isaac’s seed were likely to be infected by their brethren,
whose degeneration and apostacy Abraham might easily foresee
from the evil inclinations of their own hearts, and God’s exclusion
of them from that covenant of grace and life, which was the only
effectual remedy against that powerful and universal corruption.

Eastward, unto the east country; into Arabia, and other parts of
Asia the Greater, which were situate eastward from the southern
part of Canaan where Abraham now was, whence these people are
oft called the children of the east, as Jud_6:3 7:12 Job_1:3.

Genesis 25:8

His soul was not required of him, as it was of that fool,

Luk_12:20; not forced from him by sharp and violent diseases, but
was quietly, easily, and cheerfully yielded up by him into the
hands of his merciful God and Father, as the word intimates, in a
good old age; good, both graciously, his hoary head being found
in the way of righteousness; and naturally, free from the manifold
infirmities and calamities of old age. Of which see Ecc_12:1, &c.

Full of years; in the Hebrew it is only full, or satisfied; but you

must understand, with days or years, as the phrase is fully
expressed, Gen_35:29 1Ch_23:1 29:28 Job_42:17 Jer_6:11. When
he had lived as long as he desired, being in some sort weary of
life, and desirous to be dissolved; or full of all good, as the
Chaldee renders it; satisfied, as it is said of Naphtali, Deu_33:23,
with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord upon himself,
and upon his children; he

was gathered to his people; to his godly progenitors, the former

patriarchs, the congregation of the just in heaven, Heb_12:23; in
regard of his soul: for it cannot be meant of his body, which was
not joined with them in the place of burial, as the phrase is,
Isa_14:20, but buried in a strange land, where only Sarah’s body
lay. And it is observed, that this phrase is used of none but good
men, of which the Jews were so fully persuaded, that from this
very expression used concerning Ishmael here below, Gen_25:17,
they infer his repentance and salvation. See this phrase,
Gen_15:15 49:29 Num_20:24 27:13 Jud_2:10.

Genesis 25:9

Ishmael, though banished from his father’s house, lived in a place

not very far from him; and as no doubt he received many favours
from his father after his departure, which is implied here,
Gen_25:6, though it be not mentioned elsewhere; so it is probable
that he had a true respect and affection to his father, which he here
expresseth.

Genesis 25:12

They are here recorded as an evidence of God’s faithfulness in

fulfilling his promise made to Abraham, Gen_16:10 17:20. cir.
1800

Genesis 25:13

Nebajoth; of whom see Isa_60:7. From whom part of Arabia was

called Nabathaea.

Of

Kedar, see Psa_120:5 Isa_21:16 Jer_49:28; the father of those

called Cedraei, or Cedareni, in Arabia.
Genesis 25:14

Dumah; from him Dumah, Isa_21:11, or Dumatha, a place in

Arabia, seems to have recieved its name. Others make him the
father of the Idumeans.

Genesis 25:15

Tema gave his name to the city and country of Tema, or Teman,
Job_2:11 6:19 Jer_25:23.

Jetur, the father of the Itureans, as may be gathered from

1Ch_5:19.

Genesis 25:18

Before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria, i.e. on that part or

side of Egypt which leads to Assyria.

He died in the presence of all his brethren; his brethren

surviving him, and being his neighbours, and therefore as they had
conversation with him in the time of his life, so now they did him
honour at his death. But this translation and interpretation may
seem improbable,

1. Because his death was related, Gen_25:17, and would not be so

presently repeated.

2. Because the foregoing words in this verse speak not of his

death, but of his dwelling, to which these words do very well
agree. For what we translated

and he died, is commonly rendered and he fell, or it fell, and is

most commonly used concerning a lot whereby men’s portions are
designed and divided, as Lev_16:9,10 Num 33:54 Jos_16:1; and
so the sense may be, it fell, i.e. that country fell to him or his; or
he lay, or was stretched out, or posted himself, as the Hebrew
word is used, Jud_7:12, i.e. he dwelt
in the presence of all his brethren; and so indeed his country lay
between the children of Keturah on the east, and the children of
Isaac and Israel on the west.

Genesis 25:20

Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram; either of the country of

Syria, as it is called, Hos_12:12; or rather, Padan of Syria; or, as
the Septuagint and Chaldee render it, Mesopotamia of Syria. For
that Parian is the proper name of a place, may be gathered from
Gen_48:7, and it is so called from its situation between two rivers,
for Padan signifies a pair or two.

1857

Genesis 25:21

1838

He prayed, as the Hebrew word signifies, instantly or fervently,

frequently and continually, for near twenty years together; for so
long, it was between their marriage and the first child. He was so
much concerned, because not only his comfort, but the truth of
God’s promise, depended upon this mercy; and he knew very well
that God’s purpose and promise did not exclude, but require the
use of all convenient means for their accomplishment.

For his wife; or, in the presence of his wife; signifying that,
besides their more secret devotions, they did oftentimes in a more
solemn manner, and with united force, pray for this mercy
wherein they were both equally concerned. Or, over against his
wife, noting that each of them did severally and apart entreat God
for this mercy, so that there was a concurrence, if not in place, yet
in design and action.

She was barren, as divers of those holy women that were

progenitors of Christ have long been, that it might appear that that
sacred stock was propagated more by the virtue of God’s grace
and promise than by the power of nature.
Genesis 25:22

The children struggled, in a violent and extraordinary manner,

which was likely to cause both pain and fear in her. The sense
may be either,

1. If it be

thus with me, that there be two children contending and fighting
within me, likely to destroy one the other, and both threatening
my death, why did I desire and pray for this as a great mercy? Or,
why is it thus with me? Why hath God dealt thus with me, to
continue my life till it be a burden to me, and to give me
conception which is so painful and hazardous? Or rather,

2. If God hath granted me my desire in the conception of a child,

what means this disturbance and conflict within me, which
threatens me with loss of the mercy before I enjoy it? For she
seems not so much to murmur at it, as to wonder and to inquire
about it, as it here follows.

She went to inquire of the Lord; either immediately, by ardent

prayers to God that he would reveal his mind to her herein; or
mediately, by her father Abraham, who lived fifteen years after
this time, Gen_25:7, or by some other godly patriarch yet
surviving, by whom God used to manifest his will and counsels to
others, when he thought fit.

Genesis 25:23

The Lord spoke, either by inward inspiration, in a dream or

vision; or by the ministry of an angel or prophet.

Two nations, i.e. the roots, heads, or parents of two distinct

nations, one opposite to the other; the one blessed, the other
cursed, namely, the Israelites and Edomites.

Shall be separated; not only separated from thee, but one

separated or greatly differing from the other in their frame of
body, temper of mind, course of life, profession and practice of
religion.

The elder, or, the greater, namely Esau, who was, as older, so of
a stronger constitution of body, and of greater power and dignity
in the world than Jacob; and Esau’s posterity were great princes
for a long time, when Jacob’s seed were strangers in Canaan,
slaves in Egypt, and poor afflicted wanderers in the wilderness.
But, saith he, Esau and his shall not always be stronger and
mightier than Jacob and his posterity, the tables shall be turned,
and the children of Israel shall be uppermost and subdue the
Edomites, which was literally accomplished in David’s time,
2Sa_8:14; and afterwards, 2Ch_25:11,12; and after that by the
Maccabees; but much more eminently in a spiritual sense under
the gospel, when one of Jacob’s children, even Jesus Christ, shall
obtain the dominion, and shall rule the Edomites no less than
other heathen nations with his iron rod, and make them
serviceable one way or other to his glory, and to the felicity of his
true Israel.

Genesis 25:25

Red; with red hair upon all the parts of his body. From him the
Red Sea is supposed to receive its name, it being so called, as the
heathen writers tell us, from one who reigned in those parts, and
was called Erythras, or Erythrus, which signifies red, the same
with Edom or Esau.

Esau, i.e. made or perfect; not properly a child, but rather a man
as soon as he was born, having that hair upon him which in others
was an evidence of manhood.

Genesis 25:26

1837 Jacob, i.e. supplanter, or one that taketh hold of or trippeth

up his brother’s heels. See Gen_27:36.
Isaac was threescore years old. Thus God exercised his faith and
patience twenty years, by comparing this with Gen_25:20, ere he
gave him the promised blessing.

Genesis 25:27

Esau was a hunter of wild beasts, and afterwards an oppressor of

men. Compare Gen_10:9. This course of life was most agreeable
to his complexion, fierce and violent.

A man of the field; one that delighted more in conversing abroad

than at home, whose employment it was to pursue the beasts
through fields, and woods, and mountains, who therefore chose a
habitation fit for his purpose in Mount Seir.

A plain man, a sincere, honest, and plain-hearted man; or a just

and perfect man, as the word is used, Gen_6:9;

dwelling in tents, quietly minding the management of his own

domestic affairs, his lands and cattle, and giving no disturbance
either to wild beasts or men.

Genesis 25:28

Isaac loved Esau, not simply nor chiefly because he pleased his
palate, but because this was an evidence of his son’s great respect
and affection to him, that he would take such pains and incur such
hazards to which that course of life exposed him, that he might
please and serve his father.

But Rebekah loved Jacob upon better grounds, both because of

his more pious and meek temper, and because of the oracle and
promise of God.

Genesis 25:30

Red pottage; red by the infusion of lentiles, or saffron, or some

other things of that colour. The word is doubled in the Hebrew
text, to show how vehemently he desired it.
Edom, which signifies red; as he was at first so called from the
colour of his hair, so now that name was confirmed and given to
him afresh upon this occasion: q.d. He was rightly called Edom, or
red, not only historically for his colour, but prophetically for this
accident.

Genesis 25:31

1805

i.e. Speedily, without delay. So this Hebrew word is used

1Sa_2:16 9:13,27 2Ch_18:4. The birthright then had divers
singular privileges; as,

1. Dignity and authority over his brethren, Gen_4:7 27:29,37

49:3.

2. A double portion, Deu_21:17 1Ch_5:1.

3. A special blessing from his father, Gen_27:4.

4. The priesthood and chief government of the affairs of the

church in his father’s absence, or sickness, and after his death,
Num_8:16,17, &c.

5. The first-born was a special type, both of Christ, who was to be

a first-born; and of the church, which is called God’s first-born, as
Exo_4:22; and of the great privileges of the church, particularly of
adoption and eternal life. See Heb_12:23. And therefore he is
justly called profane, Heb_12:16, for slighting so sacred and
glorious a privilege.

Quest.

1. Could the birthright be lost?

Answ. Yes. See Gen_4:7 1Ch_5:1.

Quest.
2. Did Jacob well in this matter?

Answ. No; because he tempted his brother to an act of

profaneness and folly, and so was guilty of his sin. And though
God had designed and promised this privilege to him, yet he
should have waited till God had executed his promise in his own
way, as David did till God gave him possession of Saul’s
kingdom; and not have anticipated God, and snatched it by an
irregular act of his own, as Jeroboam did the kingdom from
Rehoboam.

Genesis 25:32

I am at the point to die; not with famine, which could not consist
with Isaac’s plentiful estate and house, but by the perpetual
hazards to which his course of life exposed him in the pursuit of
wild beasts, and contending with other men.

What profit shall this birthright do to me? by which he plainly

showeth that his care and affections reached no further than the
present life.

Genesis 25:33

Jacob acted subtlely in this affair; he knew that delays were

dangerous; and Esau’s consideration, or second thoughts, might
have spoiled his bargain, and therefore he requires haste, as in the
sale, so in his oath; wherein he addeth another sin, in hurrying his
brother into an oath by precipitation, which neither his brother
should have taken, nor Jacob should have advised him to take,
without mature advice.

Genesis 25:34

Secure and impenitent, without any remorse for his ingratitude to

God, or the injury which he had done to himself and to all his
posterity,
he went his way, despising his birthright, preferring the present
and momentary satisfaction of his lust and appetite before God’s
and his father’s blessing, and all the glorious privileges of the
birthright.

Genesis 26:1

Abimelech is not he mentioned Gen_20:2, but most probably his

son and successor, called by his father's name.

Genesis 26:2

To Egypt it seems Isaac intended to go, it being a very fruitful

place, and being encouraged to do so by his father’s example upon
the same occasion. But God saw good reasons to forbid Isaac to
go thither, which it is needless to inquire, and not difficult to
conjecture.

Genesis 26:3

Unto thee, and unto thy seed; to thee to enjoy for thy present
comfort, and to them to possess as an inheritance. See Poole on
"Gen_13:15", see Poole on "Gen_15:18".

I will perform the oath, i.e. the promises confirmed by oath,

Gen_22:16, &c.

Genesis 26:5

Here was a covenant made between God and Abraham; and as, if
Abraham had broken the condition of walking before God
required on his part, God had been discharged from the promise
made on his part; so contrarily, because Abraham performed his
condition, God engageth himself to perform his promise to him,
and to his seed. But as that promise and covenant was made by
God of mere grace, as is evident and confessed; so the mercies
promised and performed to him and his are so great and vast, that
it is an idle thing to think they could be merited by so mean a
compensation as Abraham’s obedience, which was a debt that he
owed to God, had there been no such covenant or promise made
by God, and which also was an effect of God’s graces to him and
in him.

Genesis 26:8

Using more free and familiar carriage than became a brother and
sister, but such as was allowable between husband and wife. See
Deu_24:5 Pro_5:18,19. But that this was not the conjugal act, may
easily be gathered from the circumstances of the time and place;
which was open to Abimelech’s view; and therefore that was not
consistent either with Isaac’s modesty or with his prudence,
because he would not have her thought to be his wife.

Genesis 26:10

The heathens esteemed fornication either no sin, or a very little

one; but adultery was heinous and formidable even among the
heathens, and especially here, because it was fresh in memory
how sorely God had punished Abimelech, and all his family, only
for an intention of adultery, Gen_20:1-18. Note here, they take it
for granted that their ignorance had not been a sufficient excuse
for their sin.

Genesis 26:11

He that hurteth or injureth. So that word is used, Gen_26:29

Jos_9:19 Psa_105:15 Zec_2:8; and being applied to a woman, it is
used for the defiling or humbling of her, as Gen_20:6 Pro_6:29.

Genesis 26:12

Isaac sowed in that land; either in the grounds which he had

hired of the right owners, or in some grounds which lay neglected,
and therefore were free to the first occupier; which was not
strange in that age of the world, when the inhabitants of countries
were not so numerous as afterward.
An hundredfold, i.e. a hundred times as much as he sowed. The
same degree of increase is intimated Mat_13:8, and affirmed
sometimes of other places by heathen writers; but then it was in a
better soil and season than this was, for this was a time of famine
or scarcity.

Genesis 26:14

Great store of servants; or rather, of husbandry, as this word is

elsewhere used; of corn-fields, vineyards, &c.; for he is describing
his riches, which then consisted in the two things here expressed,
cattle and lands, which he diligently and successfully managed,
Gen_26:12.

Genesis 26:16

Which breeds envy, and jealousy, and fear among my subjects,

and may occasion greater mischiefs; and therefore it is better that
we should part friends, than by continuing together be turned into
enemies.

Genesis 26:18

Though there might be a brook there, probably it was but little,

and soon dried up.

And Isaac digged those rather than new ones, partly to keep up
his father’s memory, and partly because he had most right to
them, and others less cause of quarrel with him about them.

Genesis 26:20

The water is ours, because digged in our soil; which was no good
argument, because he digged it by their consent or permission at
his own charge, and for his own use.

Genesis 26:23

Where he lived before the famine drove him thence.

Genesis 26:26

Phichol may be either,

1. The title of an office; for the word signifies, the mouth of all, or
he by whom all the people were to present their addresses to the
king, and receive the king’s commands. Or,

2. The name of a man; and then this might be the son of him
mentioned Gen_21:32, called by his father’s name, as Abimelech
also was.

Genesis 26:29

We have not touched thee, to wit, so as to injure or hurt thee, as

above, Gen_26:11.

Thou art now the blessed of the Lord; or, O thou who art now
the with blessed of the Lord, whom God hath enriched great and
manifold blessings, which we did not take away from thee, as we
could easily have done, but thou dost still enjoy them; and now
art, as thou wert amongst us, the blessed of the Lord. Or, Seeing
God hath blessed thee, it will not become thee to curse us, or to
bear any grudge against us for that little unkindness which we
expressed to thee. Or it may be a wish: If thou makest this
covenant with us, be thou now the blessed of the Lord, we heartily
wish thy blessings and prosperity may increase.

Genesis 26:31

They rose up betimes; partly for the despatch of their journey

and business, and partly because then their minds were most
vigorous, and sober, and fit to perform so sacred an action as an
oath was.

Genesis 26:33

This name had been given before, either to this or a neighbouring

place, by Abraham, Gen_21:31; but was now buried in oblivion,
as his wells were; and the wells being revived, he revives and
renews the name, which proved now a lasting name,

unto this day, as here follows, which is not added Gen_21:31,

because then the name, though given by Abraham, was soon
forgotten and neglected by others.

Genesis 26:34

Both Hittites, the worst of the Canaanites, Eze_16:3; which, from

his grandfather Abraham’s severe charge, Gen_24:3, he must
needs know would be highly displeasing both to God and to his
parents. And as Esau had several names, being called also Edom
and Seir; so it seems these women and their parents had, by
comparing this with Gen_36:2, which was usual in those times
and places. Or Esau had more wives than these.

Genesis 26:35

Because to their idolatry and other wickedness they added

obstinacy and incorrigibleness, despising their persons and godly
counsels, whereby they invited them to repentance.

Genesis 27:1

Isaac was about one hundred and thirty-seven years old.

He could not see; which was ordered by God's wise providence,

not only for the exercise of Isaac's patience, but also as a means to
transfer Esau's right to Jacob.

Genesis 27:3

Thy quiver, or, as the Chaldee and Hebrew doctors render it, thy
sword; a weapon no less necessary for a hunter of beasts than a
bow.
Genesis 27:4

Quest. Why doth he require that he may eat before he bless him?

Answ.

1. That being refreshed and delighted therewith, his spirit might

be more cheerful, and so the fitter for the giving of this
prophetical benediction; for which reason also the prophet Elisha
called for a minstrel ere he could utter his prophecy, 2Ki_3:15.

2. By the special direction of Divine Providence, that Esau’s

absence might give Jacob the advantage of getting the blessing.
He speaks not here of a common and customary blessing, which
parents may bestow upon any of their children as and when they
please; but of the last, solemn, extraordinary, and prophetical
benediction, whereby these holy patriarchs did by God’s
appointment, and with his concurrence, constitute one of their
sons heir, not only of their inheritance, but of Abraham’s
covenant, and all the promises, both temporal and spiritual,
belonging to it. As for the oracle delivered to Rebekah, which
transferred this blessing upon Jacob, Gen_25:23, either Isaac
knew not of it, not being sufficiently informed thereof by
Rebekah; or he did not thoroughly understand it; or he might
apprehend that it was to be accomplished not in the persons of
Esau and Jacob, but in their posterity; or at this time it was quite
out of his mind; or he was induced to neglect it through his
passionate affection to his son Esau.

Genesis 27:7

Before the Lord; solemnly, as in God’s presence, in his name,

and by his authority, and with his leave and favour, which I shall
heartily pray for thee. So he signifies that this was more than an
ordinary blessing which he now intended to give him.
Genesis 27:9

It is observable, that as Jacob deceived his father by a kid, so his

sons deceived him by the same creature, Gen_37:31-33.

I will make them savoury meat, out of their most tender and
delicate parts; wherewith it was not difficult to deceive Isaac,
partly because of the likeness of the flesh, especially being altered
by convenient sauce; and partly because the same old age which
had dimmed Isaac’s sight had also dulled his other senses.

Genesis 27:12

I shall appear to him to be indeed a deceiver, one that abuseth his

age and blindness. The particle as sometimes signifies not the
likeness, but the truth of the thing, Joh_1:14 2Co_3:18.

I shall bring a curse upon me, which is due to every one that
deceiveth the blind, Deu_27:18, especially his father, and
especially in a religious concern, Jer_48:10 Mal_1:14, such as this
was.

Genesis 27:13

She saith so out of an assured confidence in the Divine oracle and

promise.

Genesis 27:15

Either the sacerdotal garments which the eldest son wore in the
administration of that office which belonged to him; or rather
some other suit better than ordinary.

Genesis 27:16

Upon the two naked parts of his body, which were most likely to
be discovered. As for his face, it is more than probable from his
age, which was the same with Esau’s, Gen_26:34, that nature had
given him a covering like Esau’s.
Genesis 27:19

This cannot be excused, for it was a manifest untruth, and no less

is all this following relation, though it pleased God graciously to
pardon it; and notwithstanding these failings, to confer the
blessing promised upon Jacob.

Genesis 27:23

He discerned him not, because all his senses were not only
dulled with age and infirmity, but also held by Divine Providence,
as theirs, Luk_24:16, for the bringing about his own purpose; so
that it is no wonder he was so grossly deceived in the whole
business.

Genesis 27:26

Which he did, either that he might more fully satisfy himself

concerning the person, or rather as a mark of that special favour
and affection wherewith he bestowing the blessing. Compare
Gen_48:10.

Genesis 27:27

Which is full of odoriferous herbs, and flowers, and fruits, and

spices, with some of which Esau’s garments might be perfumed in
the chest wherein they were laid, as the manner now is. These
garments smell not of the sheepcots and stables, as Jacob’s do, but
of the fields, in which Esau is conversant.

Genesis 27:28

God give thee, or, will give; for it is both a prayer and a prophecy.
He mentions the

dew rather than the rain, because it was of more constant use and
necessity in those parts than the rain, which fell considerably but
twice in a year, the first being called the former, and the other the
latter rain. And under this and the following blessings, which are
but temporal, are comprehended all manner of blessings, both
spiritual, temporal, and eternal, according to the usage of that time
and state of the church.

The fatness of the earth; a fat and fruitfill land, which Canaan
was, abounding with all sorts of precious fruits. Compare Deu_8:8
32:13,14.

Genesis 27:29

Let thy mother’s son bow down to thee. How and when this was
fulfilled, see on Gen_25:23.

Genesis 27:31

That Esau did not come to his father till the meat was dressed,
may be ascribed partly to his own choice, that he might come with
more acceptance; and partly to Rebekah, who could easily hinder
his coming sooner by specious pretences and artifices.

Genesis 27:33

Isaac was filled with astonishment and horror in consideration of

Jacob’s fraud, and the sad disappointment and great misery of his
beloved Esau, and his own rashness and folly in suffering his fond
affection towards him to carry him headlong into an opposition to
the Divine oracle, Gen_25:23, which now came to his
remembrance, as appears by his ratification of Jacob’s blessing.

Who? where is he? A short speech, proceeding from a

discomposed mind.

Yea, and he shall be blessed. This blessing, though otherwise

intended by me, and pronounced upon a mistake of the person,
shall and must rest upon the head of Jacob; and I neither can nor
dare undertake to revoke and contradict God’s appointment,
which now I more fully discern, and in which both thou and I and
all men must fully acquiesce. And now Isaac fixeth the blessing
upon Jacob by faith, as it is expressed, Heb_11:20, which before,
through misguided fancy and affection, he intended for Esau.

Genesis 27:34

He cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, not for any
sense of his former sin, in despising his birthright, but for grief at
his great loss therein, because God would not suffer him to be
perjured in keeping that birthright blessing which he had sold and
sworn away.

Bless me, even me also, O my father, i.e. Thou art my father no

less than his, and therefore, as a child, I claim a share in thy
blessing.

Genesis 27:35

Which was thine by the right of nature, and by custom of nations,

and by my hearty desire and intention, as well as by thy own
expectation and opinion.

Genesis 27:36

He puts a perverse construction upon Jacob’s name, as if it

belonged not to him so properly, because of the manner of his
birth, as because of his falseness and deceitfulness, and his
tripping up his brother’s heels.

He took away my birthright; a false accusation; Jacob did not

take it deceitfully, but Esau sold it profanely.

Genesis 27:37

The blessing of Abraham is not at my disposal, but God’s, who

hath manifested his mind and will by my error; it cannot be
divided into several hands, nor imparted to one, who, though my
son, yet hath made himself unworthy of it.
Genesis 27:38

Hast thou but one? By these words Esau manifests his profane
and worldly mind, that he esteemed this blessing but as one
among many others equal to it, and did not apprehend the true and
peculiar excellency and absolute necessity of it, and that it was
impossible for him or his posterity to be happy without an interest
in this covenant, and continuance in that church to which it was
appropriated.

Genesis 27:39

In a country competently fruitful and refreshed with convenient

dews and showers.

Object. Thus Esau seems to have the same blessing which was
before given to Jacob.

Answ. 1. Though it may seem to be the same as to the fertility of

the soil, in which divers other parts of the world did and do equal
the land of Canaan; yet there is an observable difference in the
manner of Isaac’s expression. When he speaks of Esau, he only
saith:

Thy dwelling shall be the fatness, & c. But when he speaks to

Jacob, he saith: God give thee, or shall give thee of the fatness,
&c.; which words being, as it may seem, purposely omitted
concerning Esau, and so emphatically expressed concerning
Jacob, seem to intimate, especially if compared with many other
scriptures where that phrase is applied to good men, that Esau’s
fat soil was rather taken by himself than given by God; or if given
by God to him, it was only by his general providence, by which he
giveth food to all creatures; whereas Jacob’s fat and fruitful soil
was derived to him and his by God’s special gift, as a token of his
singular kindness, and pledge of greater blessings:

2. This is but one branch of the blessing; the other part, which
concerns dignity and superiority, is expressly given to Jacob,
Gen_27:29, and denied to Esau, Gen_27:40.
Genesis 27:40

By thy sword shalt thou live; by violence and rapine, in an

unquiet and military posture, troubling others, and forced to
defend thyself. But this, as also the following clause, though
spoken to Esau, was not fulfilled in him, but in his posterity the
Edomites, whose history makes good this prophecy. Thus things
spoken and promised to Abraham were fulfilled in his posterity, as
Gen_12:3 22:18.

When thou shalt have the dominion; when thou shalt grow
potent. Some render the words thus, When thou shalt have
mourned or groaned, as the same word is used Psa_55:2; when
thou hast oppressed as long as I think fit.

Genesis 27:41

Esau hated Jacob; and this hatred was hereditary, extending to

their posterity also. See Eze_35:5 Amo_1:11 Oba_1:10.

Esau said in his heart, within himself; although he could not

contain it there, but declared his intentions to some of his
confidants, by which means it came to Rebekah’s ear.

Genesis 27:44

A few days; so she expected and intended, but was greatly

disappointed, for he tarried there twenty years.

Genesis 27:45

Of thee by Esau’s bloody hands; and of Esau, who was likely to

suffer death for his murder, either by the authority of the
magistrate, as God commanded, Gen_9:6, or by the hand of God,
who ofttimes supplies the magistrate’s defects in that particular,
and in some extraordinary manner executes this vengeance. See
Gen_4:11,16 Ac 28:4.
Genesis 27:46

The daughters of Heth, Esau’s wives, who were Hittites,

Gen_26:34. Therefore let us, after the example of Abraham, send
him to fetch a wife from his own kindred. This indeed was one
reason, but the other she conceals from Isaac; thus prudently
alleging several reasons, one to Jacob, and another, as it is
probable, to Esau, and each most suitable to the person to whom
she speaks.

Genesis 28:1

Blessed him, confirmed his former blessing, being now thoroughly

sensible both of God's purpose, and of his own duty, wishing him
also a prosperous and successful journey, as the word is used,
Jos_22:7.

Genesis 28:2

The house of Bethuel. See Gen_22:22-23 Gen_25:20

Genesis 28:5

Bethuel the Syrian.

Object. He was no Syrian, but a Mesopotamian.

Answ. Syria is sometimes largely taken, and so it comprehends

Mesopotamia, or Chaldea, yea, and Assyria, as appears from
Isa_36:11 Dan_2:4.

Genesis 28:9

1760

Esau went unto Ishmael; either to his person, or rather to his

family, called Ishmael by their father’s name, as David is
sometimes put for David’s posterity; for Ishmael seems to have
been dead before this, from Gen_25:17, though that may possibly
be a prolepsis, and then this may be Ishmael himself.
Mahalath, called also Bashemath, Gen_36:3. He thought by this
means to ingratiate himself with his father, and so to get another
and a better blessing; but he takes no care to reconcile himself to
God, nor observes his hand in the business. Besides, he mends one
fault by committing another, and taking a third wife when he had
one too many before, and her too he unwisely fetcheth out of that
stock which was begotten to bondage, and was utterly uncapable
of the inheritance.

Nebajoth was Ishmael’s eldest son, Gen_25:13, who alone is here

mentioned, either in the name of all the rest, whose sister she is by
consequence supposed to be; or because peradventure she and
Nebajoth were Ishmael’s children by the same mother, and the
rest by another.

Genesis 28:10

It is not strange that Jacob went alone, as it appears that he did

from Gen_32:10, when his grandfather’s servant was attended
with a so great retinue, Gen_24:1-67, because attendance was then
necessary to procure him reputation, and to obtain the consent of
the virgin and her parents to long a journey; but here, as it was
unnecessary, so it would have been troublesome and prejudicial,
exposing him both to the envy and snares of his brother Esau,
which by this private departure he did avoid. Besides, God in his
wise providence did so order this, and some other matters of the
like nature, for the greater illustration of his care and kindness
towards his children. Add to this the great simplicity, humility,
and innocency of those times, if compared with ours, which made
many things then usual which now would be ridiculous.

Genesis 28:12

This ladder may be considered, either,

1. Literally, and so it represented to Jacob the providence of God,

who, though he dwell in heaven, extends his care and government
to the earth, and particularly makes use of the angels as
ministering spirits for the good of his people. And these angels do
not appear idle, or standing still, but always in motion, either
ascending to God to receive his commands, or descending to earth
for the execution of them. Which was a most seasonable vision for
Jacob in his sad and sorrowful condition, that he might see that
though he was forsaken and persecuted by men, and forced to flee
away secretly for fear of his life, yet he neither was, nor should
be, neglected or forsaken by God in this whole journey. Or,

2. Mystically, and so it represents Christ, by whom heaven and

earth are united, who is called the way to heaven, which this
ladder was, who, as the Head of angels, is perpetually sending
them forth either to God or from God to minister to the heirs of
salvation, Heb_1:14; and this explication or accommodation of
this vision, is warranted by our Saviour himself, Joh_1:51.

Genesis 28:14

i.e. The nations of the earth, as that word is used.

Genesis 28:15

Nor ever after; for so the word until is frequently used, as

2Sa_6:23 Mat_1:25; not so as to exclude the time following, but
so as to include all the foregoing time, wherein the thing spoken
of might be most suspected or feared; as here the worst and most
dangerous state in which Jacob was, or was like to be, was this
time of his banishment from his country and kindred, against
which he is therefore particularly armed and comforted in these
words.

Genesis 28:16

Surely the Lord is in this place, by his special and gracious

presence, and the manifestation of his mind and will to me; and I
little expected to meet with such a revelation out of my father’s
house, much less in this desert and doleful state and place, when I
thought myself rejected by God, as well as abandoned by men.
Genesis 28:17

How dreadful is this place, or venerable, both for the majesty of

the Person present, and for the glorious manner of his discovery of
himself!

The house of God; the habitation of God and of his holy angels.

Genesis 28:18

As a monument of God’s great kindness and gracious

manifestation of himself to him, which might bring this mercy to
his remembrance in his return, Gen_31:13. This was an ancient
practice among the patriarchs, Gen_35:14; but afterwards, upon
the growing abuse of it among the heathens, it was forbidden by
God, Lev_26:1 Deu_7:5 12:3. The

oil he brought with him either for food or medicine, or for the
anointing of himself, as need required;

and poured it upon the top of the stone, as a token of his

consecration thereof to this use to be a memorial of God’s favour
to him. Oil was used in sacrifices, and in the consecration of
persons and places, Exo_30:25,26 40:9.

Genesis 28:19

Either of that city which was nearest to the field in which Jacob
lay; or of that city which afterwards was built in or near to this
place, and was known by the name of

Bethel.

Genesis 28:20

Jacob vowed a vow, i.e. bound himself by a solemn promise or

obligation. Compare Gen_14:22 Ecc_5:4.
If God will be with me. He speaks not thus as if he doubted of
the truth of God’s promises, or would, like a mercenary person,
make a bargain with God, but rather supposeth that God will do
this for him, as he had in effect promised, Gen_28:15, and
thereupon obligeth himself to a grateful return to God for this
mercy:

If God will be with me, & c., as he hath just now assured me he
will; or, Seeing God will be with me, & c., for the Hebrew im doth
not always imply a doubt, but rather a supposition, and is oft
rendered seeing that, as Exo_20:25 Num_36:4 1Sa_15:17
Amo_7:2. And so the Greek particle answering to the Hebrew im
is used, Mat_6:22 Luk_11:34.

Bread; food convenient, as it is called, Pro_30:8, which is oft

signified by the name of

bread. See Gen_3:19.

Genesis 28:21

I will publicly own him for my God and the Saviour of men, and
will establish his solemn worship, as it follows.

Genesis 28:22

God’s house, i.e. a place where I will offer prayers and sacrifices
to God; such places being commonly called God’s houses, and
God is oft said to dwell in them, in regard of his special presence
there. See Exo_20:24. Compare Gen_28:17, and Gen_35:1,3,7.

I will surely give the tenth unto thee, to be laid out in thy
service, and for sacrifices, and for the use and benefit of those
who shall attend upon sacred things; as also for the relief of the
poor and needy, whom God hath substituted in his room, and to
whom part of the tithes were to be given by a following law,
Deu_14:28,29.
Genesis 29:1

Heb. Jacob lift up his feet; which may note either the gesture of
his body, that he went on foot; or the temper of his mind, that he
went not sadly and unwillingly, drawing his legs after him, as we
use to say, but readily and cheerfully, being encouraged by God's
word.

The land of the people of the east; which lay eastward from
Canaan, as Mesopotamia did.

Genesis 29:2

They, i.e. the people belonging to that place, watered; or, the
flocks were watered; it is an impersonal speech.

A great stone was upon the well’s mouth, to preserve the water,
which was scarce in those parts, and to keep it pure.

Genesis 29:4

He calls them

my brethren, partly in token of respect and affection, and partly

because they were of the same nature and employment with
himself.

Genesis 29:6

According to the manner of those times, Exo_2:16 Son_1:7,8,

when humility, innocency, simplicity, and industry were in
fashion, both among men and women of great quality. There are
some that quarrel with the Scripture, and question the truth of
such relations, because they judge of the state of ancient times and
things by the present age, whereby they discover great folly and
deep ignorance of the state of former ages.
Genesis 29:7

Neither is it time that the cattle should be taken from their

pasture, and brought to be watered.

Genesis 29:10

The vale of Siddim was chosen by those five kings for the place
of battle, that their adversaries being ignorant of the place might
unawares fall into those pits, which they by their knowledge of it
thought to escape.

Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, i.e. their armies; a figurative

speech, frequent in Scripture and other authors; for their persons
escaped: see Gen_14:17. They either,

1. Fell into the pits which they designed for others; or rather,

2. Were slain, as this word is oft used, as Jos_8:24,25 Jud 8:10

12:6; and here too; for those that fell are here opposed to those
that remained.

Genesis 29:12

Lot now suffered for his cohabitation with bad neighbours.

Genesis 29:13

Abram the Hebrew; so called, either,

1. From his great and good predecessor Eber, Gen_10:24 11:14, in

and by whom the primitive language and true religion were
preserved; and therefore though Abram had five other progenitors
between Eber and him, which were persons of less note, he is
rightly denominated from Eber, the Hebrew, because he was the
first that revived the memory and the work of Eber, that kept up
the same language, and eminently propagated the same true
religion. Or,
2. As others think, from his passing over the river Euphrates, from
beyond which he came into Canaan.

These were confederate with Abram, i.e. had entered into a

league for their mutual defence against common enemies. Whence
we learn that it is not simply and universally unlawful to make a
league with persons of a false religion.

Genesis 29:14

He armed his trained servants, whom he had disciplined and

instructed both in religion and in the military art too, both which
were necessary to make them good soldiers, that they might both
fight with skill and courage, and also rely upon God, and engage
his assistance; which was now especially necessary, when so
small a party were to engage against so numerous an army.

Dan is commonly thought to be a town then called Leshem,

Jos_19:47, or Laish, Jud_18:7, and afterwards Dan; see
Jud_18:7,29; so it is an anticipation. But it may be doubted
whether this was a city; or if it were, whether it were not another
town called by the same name, which was frequent in those parts.
And some think this is not a town, but the very fountain of Dan,
whence Jordan had its name.

Genesis 29:15

He divided himself, i.e. his forces into several parties, that

coming upon them from several quarters he might strike them
with greater terror, whilst they thought his army far more
numerous than it was.

Genesis 29:16

He brought back all the goods which the victorious kings had
taken from the princes and people mentioned before in this
chapter.
Genesis 29:17

So called either upon this occasion of the meeting of divers kings

here; or because king Melchizedek either had his habitation, or
was much delighted with it, and conversant in it. See 2Sa_18:18.

Genesis 29:18

Quest. Who was this?

Answ.

1. Shem, as the Jews and many others think, who probably was
alive at this time, and, no doubt, a great prince. But neither is it
probable that Shem should be a king among the cursed race of
Ham; nor will this agree with the apostle’s description of
Melchizedek, Heb_7:3, without father and mother, & c. Whereas
Shem’s parents, and the beginning and end of his days, are as
expressly mentioned by Moses as any other.

2. A Canaanitish king, by the Divine Providence made both a king

over men, and priest unto the true God, brought in here in this
unusual manner, without any mention of his parents, birth, or
death, for this end, that he might be an illustrious type of Christ.
Of this matter see more upon Heb_7:3.

King of Salem, i.e. of Jerusalem, called elsewhere Jebus, and

Salem, Psa_76:2.

Bread and wine; not for sacrifice to God; for then he had brought
forth beasts to be slain, which were the usual and best sacrifices:
but partly to show the respect which he bore to Abram, and
principally to refresh his weary and hungry army, according to the
manner of those times. See Deu_23:3,4 25:18 Jud_8:5,6,15
1Sa_17:17.

He was the priest of the most high God: thus in succeeding ages
the same persons were often both kings and priests, as the learned
note out of Virgil and other authors. And this clause is here added,
as the cause and reason, not for his bringing forth or offering
bread and wine, as some would have it, (for that is ascribed to him
as a king, as an act of royal munificence), but of the following
benediction and decimation. In those times God had his remnant
scattered here and there even in the worst places and nations.

Genesis 29:19

And, or therefore, ( as the particle is oft taken, i.e. because he was

a priest of God),

he (i.e. Melchizedek )

blessed him, ( Abram,) which was one act of the priestly office.
See Poole on "Heb_7:6". See Poole on "Heb_7:7". So it is a
prayer for him, that God would confirm and increase the blessing
which he had given him. Or, blessed is; so it is an
acknowledgment of God’s blessing conferred upon Abram both
formerly, and in this late and great victory. Or, blessed shall be; so
it is a prediction concerning his future and further blessedness,
whereof this was only an earnest.

Genesis 29:20

Not Melchizedek gave to Abram, as some Jews foolishly

understand it; for Abram swears that he would not keep nor take
any of the recovered goods of the kings of Sodom, or his brethren,
Gen_14:23. But Abram gave to Melchizedek, as appears both from
Heb_4:7, and from the nature of the thing, for the tithes
confessedly belong to the priest, such as Melchizedek, and not
Abram, is here described to be.

All, not of all the recovered goods, but of all the spoils taken from
the enemies.

Genesis 29:22

This was the ancient manner of swearing. See Exo_6:8

Num_14:30 Deu_32:40 Eze_20:5,6.
Genesis 29:23

That I will not take; Heb. If I shall take. Understand, God do so

and so to me, which is expressed 1Sa_14:44. A defective manner
of swearing used amongst the Hebrews, either to maintain the
reverence of oaths, and the dread of perjury, seeing they were
afraid so much as to mention the curse which they meant; or to
show that they were willing to submit to any punishment which
God should inflict upon them, without exception, if they violated
their oaths.

Even to a shoe-latchet, i.e. any thing, though never so small or

mean, lest thou shouldst claim a share with God in the honour due
to him, to whose blessing alone I do and I will owe my riches. Or,
lest thou shouldst say, Abram is enriched with my spoils; and
however he pretended kindness and charity, yet indeed it was his
covetousness that put him upon this work.

Genesis 29:25

Though Laban could not solidly answer the question, yet Jacob
could do it, and had just cause to reflect upon his own former
action of beguiling his father; for which God had now punished
him in the same kind.

Genesis 29:26

This seems to be a false pretence; but if it had been true, custom is

to give place to justice, by which he was obliged to perform his
contract with him.

Genesis 29:27

Fulfil her week, the seven days usually devoted to the feast and
solemnity of marriage, as Jud_14:12,15,17. And this he desired,
that a week’s cohabitation with Leah might either knit his
affections to her, or at least confirm the contract and marriage
with her.
Genesis 29:28

It was not so strange that Laban should give, as that Jacob should
take, not only two wives, but two sisters to wife, which seems to
be against the law of nature, and was expressly forbidden by God
afterward, Lev_18:18; though it be also true that God might
dispense with his own institution, or permit such things in the
patriarchs upon special reasons, which are not to be drawn into
example.

Genesis 29:31

Leah was hated comparatively to Rachel, less loved, slighted. So

that word is oft used, as Deu_21:15 Mat_6:24 10:37, compared
with Luk_14:26 Joh_12:25. Thus variously doth God distribute
his favours, that all may be contented and none despised.

Genesis 29:32

The Lord hath looked upon my affliction with an eye of pity

and kindness, as that general phrase is oft understood.

Genesis 29:33

The Lord hath heard, i.e. perceived or understood; hearing

being oft put for understanding.

Genesis 29:34

This time will my husband be joined unto me in more sincere

and fervent affection.

Genesis 29:35

Now will I praise the Lord more solemnly and continually; for
otherwise she did praise and acknowledge God for the former
mercies. cir. 1749
Genesis 30:1

A speech full of impatience, and bordering upon blasphemy, and

striking at God himself through Jacob's sides; for which therefore
she afterwards smarted, dying by that very means whereby she
hoped to prevent her death, and prolong her life, Gen_35:18.

Genesis 30:2

Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel for the injury done to
himself, and especially for the sin against God, in which case
anger is not only lawful, but necessary.

Am I in God's stead? It is God's prerogative to give children. See

Gen_16:2 1Sa_2:5-6 Psa_113:9 Psa_127:3.

Genesis 30:3

She shall bear upon my knees; an ellipsis or short speech; She

shall bear a child which may be laid upon my knees, or in my lap,
which I may adopt and bring up as if it were my own. See
Gen_50:23 Isa_66:12.

That I may also have children by her; for as servants, so their

work and fruit, were not their own, but their masters’.

Genesis 30:6

God hath judged me, pleaded my cause, or given sentence for

me, as this phrase is oft taken.

Genesis 30:8

With great wrestlings, Heb. With wrestlings of God; either with

great and hard wrestlings or strivings, or by wrestling with God in
fervent prayer, and by God’s grace and strength. Cir. 1747

I have prevailed; which was not true; for her sister exceeded her
both in the number of her children, and in her propriety in them,
being the fruit of her own womb, not of her handmaid’s, as
Rachel’s were. Here is an instance how partial judges most
persons are in their own causes and concernments.

Genesis 30:11

A troop cometh, or, good luck cometh; my design hath well

succeeded; a happy star hath shone upon me; and such a star in the
opinion of astrologers is that of Jupiter, which by the Arabians is
called Gad. This may well agree to Leah and her heathenish
education, and the manners of the Chaldeans, who were much
given to the study of the stars.

Genesis 30:13

The daughters of men, i.e. women, as Pro_31:29 Son_6:9.

Genesis 30:14

cir. 1748

Mandrakes: the word is only found here and Son_7:13, whence it

appears that it is a plant or fruit of pleasant smell, such as the
mandrake is said to be by Dioscorides and Levinus Lemnius, and
by St. Austin upon his own experience. If it be said this was too
early for mandrakes to be ripe, it being now but wheat-harvest; it
may be replied, that fruits ripen much sooner in those hot
countries than elsewhere, and that they are not here said to be ripe,
but only to be gathered.

Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes; which she might
desire, either because they were pleasant to the eye or taste, or
because they were thought helpful to conception.

Genesis 30:15

Jacob either did equally divide the times between his two wives;
or rather, had more estranged himself from Leah, and cohabited
principally with Rachel, which occasioned the foregoing
expostulation.

Genesis 30:16

He ratified their agreement, that he might preserve peace and love

amongst them.

Genesis 30:17

God hearkened unto Leah, notwithstanding her many

infirmities. Hence it appears that she was moved herein not by any
inordinate lust, but by a desire of children. cir. 1747

Genesis 30:18

Thus she mistakes the answer of her prayers for a recompence of

her error.

Genesis 30:23

Barrenness was then accounted a great reproach, especially in that

race, because it was a kind of curse, whereby such persons were
excluded both from the first and general blessing of fructification
given to all mankind, Gen_1:28; and from the special blessing
given to Abraham for the multiplication of his seed; and from all
hopes of being the progenitors of the blessed Messias.

Genesis 30:25

Canaan, which he calleth his country, in regard both of his former

and long habitation in it, and of the right which he had to it by
God’s promise: see Gen_28:13.

Genesis 30:29

How carefully it was managed, and how greatly improved by my

care and industry.
Genesis 30:30

For it was little comparatively to what now it is.

Since my coming; Heb. at my foot, i.e. upon my coming; since my

feet entered into thy house: or, by my foot, i.e. by my ministry and
labour, as this phrase is used, Deu_11:10.

When shall I provide for mine own house also, according to my

duty, which also is thy interest?

Genesis 30:32

Speckled and spotted cattle, which may seem to be thus

distinguished; speckled with little spots, and spotted with greater
spots or stains, both of diverse colours from the rest of the body.
Or, the speckled may be the same with the ring-straked, by
comparing this with Gen_30:35.

All the brown cattle; or black, or dark-coloured; for the Hebrew

word signifies also great heat which produceth such a colour.

Of such shall be my hire; or, then shall be my hire; and for then,
as is frequent in Scripture. The sense is: Then, when the speckled,
and spotted, and brown are separated, and none but white
remaining, my hire shall be out of those white ones, and that in
such manner as is expressed in Gen_30:33, all the white young
ones shall be thine, and the speckled, and spotted, and brown
which shall be brought forth by those white ones shall be mine.

Genesis 30:33

When the cattle shall, contrary to their natural and usual course,
bring forth young ones of a contrary colour to their own, it will
hereby be evident that this is the work of God, who hereby pleads
my righteous cause against a cruel and unjust master. Or thus,
When thou shall accuse me of doing thee injury, I shall have this
manifest and undeniable evidence of my righteousness or
innocency, that I have no cattle but of that colour which is by
agreement appropriated to me.

When it shall come for my hire before thy face. When it, i.e. my
righteousness, shall come to, or upon my reward, i.e. when my
righteousness shall appear in the very colour of that cattle which is
allotted to me for my reward or hire;

before thy face, i.e. thou being present and diligently observing
whether I have any cattle of another colour. But the Hebrew word
tabo is also of the second person, and so the sense seems to be
this, When thou shalt come upon my hire or reward, to wit, to
observe and see whether I have any other cattle than what belongs
to me. And so these words come in by way of parenthesis; and the
following words, before my face, are to be joined to the former
words, thus, so shall righteousness answer for me in time to come
(when thou shalt come upon my hire) before thy face. This I prefer
before the other, because the phrase of coming upon his hire
seems more properly to agree to a person than to his
righteousness.

Genesis 30:34

Laban trusted to the course of nature, whereby cattle usually

bring forth their young of their own colour; and Jacob relied upon
the providence of an Almighty God, and his gracious Father.

Genesis 30:35

The he-goats that were ring-straked, which had lines or strakes

like bands about them of diverse colours from the rest of their
body.

Every one that had some white: this word some is oft
understood in other texts of Scripture, and here it is so necessarily;
as appears both from the thing itself, as it is related, and from the
phrase; for he saith not that was white, but that had white in it, to
wit, mixed with other colours.
Genesis 30:36

Three days’ journey; understand it of the journeying or

travelling of sheep, not of men. He did this lest either Jacob
should mingle and exchange the sheep, or the sheep, by the
contemplation of the diverse coloured ones, should bring forth
others like to them.

Genesis 30:37

Jacob took rods: this he did by Divine appointment, as will

appear in the sequel, which is sufficient for Jacob’s justification.

Took rods of green popular, and of the hazel and chesnut tree;
either because these trees were next at hand, or because he saw
these in the Divine vision afterwards mentioned, and would
exactly follow his pattern. He

made the white appear, by pilling off the rind which covered it.

Genesis 30:38

When by their refreshment and meeting together, they were most

likely to generate and conceive.

Genesis 30:39

The flocks conceived; Heb. were heated, i.e. inflamed or excited,

and disposed to conceive, and this in a more than ordinary manner
by the Divine disposal. The event hath some foundation in nature,
because of the great power of imagination; and there are divers
instances in many authors, both of women and of beasts, who
either by the strong fancying, or by the actual and frequent
contemplation, of some certain objects, have brought forth young
ones exactly of the same colour and complexion, as one did an
Ethiopian, &c. But the providence of God was the principal cause
of this effect, without which the productions of that kind would
neither have been so many nor so certain. This policy of Jacob’s
could scarcely be excused from deceit and injustice, if it were not
manifest that it was done by the direction and authority of the
sovereign Lord of all estates, Gen_31:9,11, &c., who may take
them from one, and give them to another, as it pleaseth him; who
also observed Laban’s injustice, and gave to Jacob no more than
he abundantly deserved from Laban.

Genesis 30:40

Jacob did separate the lambs, such as were ring-straked and

brown from the white, as it here follows. He caused

the ring-straked and all the brown to go foremost, and the white
to follow them, that by the continued beholding of them in the
time of their conjunction, they might have their colour more
imprinted upon their fancies, and thereby convey it to their young
ones. He

put them not unto Laban’s cattle; which he did upon the same
reason, lest the constant beholding of them should make them
bring forth the like, i.e. single-coloured ones.

Genesis 30:41

It is known that the cattle in those parts did conceive and bring
forth twice in a year, at spring and in autumn; and it is supposed
that the

stronger here mentioned, are such as joined in the spring, and the
feeble they that joined in autumn.

Genesis 31:1

These riches, which are called glory, Gen_45:13 Psa_49:16

Isa_66:12, compared with Isa_60:6, because their possessors use
to glory in them, and by them gain glory and esteem from others.
Genesis 31:2

And this change of his countenance argued a change in his mind,

and prosaged some evil intentions in him towards Jacob.

Genesis 31:4

Rachel is first named here, as also Rth_4:11, because she was his
chief, and, by right, his first and only designed wife. And
therefore it is observable, that in the enumeration of Jacob’s wives
and children, Gen_46:1-34,

Leah is only mentioned by her name, Gen_46:15, but Rachel is

called Jacob ’s wife, Gen_46:19, by way of eminency, and in a
peculiar manner. In the field they might more freely discourse of
their business, and without fear or interruption.

Genesis 31:5

Either,

1. Hath blessed me; hath stood constantly by me, when your father
hath failed and deceived me. Or,

2. Hath appeared unto me, as Gen_31:13.

Genesis 31:6

With all my power, both of my mind and body, as I would have

done for myself, as became a faithful servant to do.

Genesis 31:7

Ten times, i.e. ofttimes, as that certain number is commonly used,

as Lev_26:26 Num_14:22 1Sa_1:8 Job_19:3, &c.
Genesis 31:8

All the cattle. All is here, as oft elsewhere, put for the greater or
the better part, as appears from Gen_31:1,8. Or, for all that Jacob
desired to be such.

The ring-straked shall be thy hire; hence it appears that Laban

through envy and covetousness did break his agreement made
with Jacob, and altered it as he thought meet, and that Jacob
patiently yielded to all such changes.

Genesis 31:10

i.e. Were marked with spots, like hail in colour and proportion, as
the word signifieth.

Genesis 31:13

Where thou vowedst a vow unto me; of which see

Gen_28:19,20. And this God here mentions to show his
acceptance of that action of Jacob’s, his mindfulness even of the
past and forgotten services of his people, and his purpose now to
fulfil the promise there made to him.

Genesis 31:14

We can expect no further benefit from him, but deceit, and

oppression, and injury, and therefore are willing to leave him.
This was the fruit of his unnatural and unworthy carriage to them,
that it did eat out their natural affection to him.

Genesis 31:15

Are we not confuted of him strangers? as if we had no more

right to his estate than strangers? Instead of a good part of his
estate, which by the law of God and nature belongs to us,
2Co_12:14, wherewith he should have endowed us upon our
marriage, he hath made sale of us for this fourteen years’ hard
service, seeking only his own, not our advantage. He hath not only
withheld from us, but spent upon himself, that money which he
got by thy care and industry, whereof a considerable part was due
in equity to us and to our children.

Genesis 31:16

That is ours; not only by God’s special gift, but by the natural
right which children have to a share in his estate, and upon the
account of thy faitithful and laborious service.

Genesis 31:19

Quest. 1. What were those teraphim or images?

Answ. They were images made in the shape of men,

1Sa_19:13,16, which the Gentiles worshipped as subordinate
gods, Gen_31:30,32, to which they committed the protection of
their families, 1Sa_19:13, which they used to consult about secret
or future things, and from which they received answers about
them, Eze_21:21 Zec_10:2. Of these see more Jud_17:5 18:14,17,
&c.; Hos_3:4. And these idols Laban worshipped together with
the true God.

Quest. 2. Why did Rachel steal them?

Answ. Partly, lest her father by consulting them should discover

their flight, and the course which they took; and partly, because
she seemed yet to retain a superstitious conceit of them, as may be
gathered from Gen_35:2. Others, because they were pretty and
precious things, made of silver and gold, which she took as a part
of what was due to her, both as his daughter, and for her
husband’s service. Others, that she might remove so great an
occasion of her father’s idolatry, and show him the vanity of such
gods as might be stolen away.

Genesis 31:20

Heb. Stole away the heart of Laban, to wit, his daughters, his
cattle, and his gods, upon which his heart was vehemently set, as
Micah’s was, Jud_18:24. But if this had been meant, it had been
imputed to Rachel, and not to Jacob, who knew nothing of the
gods. Or rather, stole away from the heart, & c., the Hebrew eth
being put for meeth, as Gen_4:1 49:25 1Ki_8:43, compared with
2Ch_6:33 Mic_3:8, i.e. without the knowledge and consent of
Laban, which sense is confirmed by the words next following, and
by Gen_31:26,27, and by the like use of the phrase, 2Sa_19:3.
Thus he fled, because he knew Laban’s selfish, and unrighteous,
and cruel disposition, that he would always hinder him from
departing, either by fraudulent pretences or by open force, nor
suffer so great a diminution in that estate, which he thought one
time or other he might in good measure recover to himself.

Genesis 31:21

The river Euphrates, which lay between Mesopotamia and

Chaldea, Gen_15:18, which for its largeness and famousness is oft
called the river emphatically, as Exo_23:31 Jos_24:2,3, &c.

And set his face, i.e. resolutely directed his course. See Jer_50:5
Luk_9:51,53.

Mount Gilead, a very high and long mountain beyond Jordan,

adjoining to the mountain of Lebanon, at the foot of which there
was a large and fruitful country, which from the mountain
received the name of Gilead, Deu_34:1 Jer_8:22 22:6. This
mountain is here called Gilead by anticipation, as appears from
Gen_31:48.

Genesis 31:22

That he heard of it no sooner must be ascribed to the great

distance which Laban had put between his and Jacob’s flocks,
Gen_30:36, and to the care and art which Jacob used to prevent a
sooner discovery.
Genesis 31:24

Neither persuading him by flattering promises and cunning

artifices, nor compelling him by threatenings, to return. For so
these general words must be limited, as is evident from God’s
design in them, and from the following relation. So this is a
synecdochical expression.

Genesis 31:26

By force and violence. A false accusation; for they freely

consented, Gen_31:14-16.

Genesis 31:28

To kiss my sons and my daughters, as was usual at the parting of

friends. See Poole on "Gen_29:11". But indeed Jacob took the
wisest course for the security of his person and estate, especially
having the direction and protection of God in it.

Genesis 31:29

The God of your father, Isaac or Abraham, by which he disowns

him for his God, and tacitly reproacheth him with the novelty of
his religion, which was first brought in by his father. Compare
Gen_31:53.

Genesis 31:30

Laban could not be so senseless as to take those for true gods

which could be stolen away; but he called them gods, because
they were the means or representations whereby he worshipped
his gods.

Genesis 31:32

Let him not live; I give my consent that he shall die by the hands
of justice. A rash and inconsiderate sentence.
Genesis 31:33

The men and women’s tents were distinct and separate. See
Gen_18:2 24:67.

Genesis 31:35

Quest. How could that occasion hinder her from rising up to her
father?

Answ. 1. It might be attended in her, as it was and is in some

other women, especially in those hot countries, with a great flux
of blood, or with more than ordinary infirmity and sickness; and
this Laban might know to be usual with her by former observation
or information.

2. She offers this as a reason, not why she could not rise up to
show a civility to him, but why she could not rise up from his
face, or from before him, as the words in the Hebrew sound, i.e. so
as to give way to him that he might come and search there for the
images; because menstruous women were anciently esteemed
polluted, and to pollute the things which they touched or sat upon,
as you may see by Lev_15:19-22; which law, though it were not
yet given and written, yet that, as well as divers other ceremonial
rites, might be enjoined by God, and observed by sober heathens
at that time, especially by such as were akin to Abraham, as Laban
and his family were, who by that means might easily come to the
knowledge of such matters. Add to this, one of the seven precepts
given to the sons of Noah, was that of uncovering nakedness;
which both Jewish and Christian writers take to be a very
comprehensive expression, and to include all such things as have a
natural turpitude in them, among which this is confessed to be
one. And the words thus understood contain a solid and
satisfactory reason why Laban should not now come near her, nor
search the things which she sat upon, which had been an uncivil
and immodest thing.
Genesis 31:36

With so much fury and violence.

Genesis 31:38

Thy she-goats have not cast their young, which thou owest in a
great measure to my care and diligence in ordering them, and
principally to God’s blessing given to thee for my sake, by thy
own confession, Gen_30:27.

Genesis 31:39

Which was unjust and unreasonable, except where it fell out

through the shepherd’s default. See Exo_22:13.

Quest. How could Jacob pay these losses, seeing he came empty
from his father’s house, and got nothing by his service, for the
first fourteen years, but his wives?

Answ. Either, 1. He had some supplies sent from his father,

though it be not mentioned in this history. Or,

2. He might have some inconsiderable allowances or privileges

from Laban, out of which he could easily defray these charges,
which because of his great care and watchfulness did but seldom
happen. Or,

3. These losses were put to his account, to be satisfied by him as

soon as he should be able to do it.

Genesis 31:40

Through my extraordinary thoughtfulness and care about thy

cattle, especially in cases of danger.
Genesis 31:42

The fear of Isaac, i.e. the God whom my father Isaac worships
with reverence and godly fear, as appears by comparing
Gen_31:53. The act is here put for the object, as it frequently is;
and particularly God is called our fear, Isa_8:13. And fear is one
of God’s names amongst the rabbins. He calls him not Isaac ’s
God, but his fear, because Isaac was yet alive, and in the state of
probation, and served God with fear and trembling: see
Gen_27:33. The Jews observe, that God is not called the God of
any particular person, as of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, till after
their death.

God hath seen my affliction, with compassion and intention of

good to me for it. God’s seeing is oft used for his relieving and
helping, as Gen_16:13 29:32 Exo_3:7,9. Or, hath showed or
proved it, to wit, that he hath seen, & c.: compare Gen_20:16.
Either way it is an ellipsis of the pronoun, which is usual, as
appears by comparing 1Ki_10:7, with 2Ch_9:6 and Psa_41:9,
with Joh_13:18.

Genesis 31:43

He pretends that to be an act of his natural affection and kindness

which was indeed the effect of his fear.

Genesis 31:44

Both to our own consciences of our mutual obligations, and to

God against either of us who shall break it, that he may severely
punish us for it.

Genesis 31:45

In testimony of his compliance with Laban’s proposal, and his

entering into this covenant. See Exo_24:4.
Genesis 31:46

To wit, afterwards, Gen_31:54, though it be here mentioned by

anticipation.

They did eat there upon the heap, or rather by or beside the
heap, as the Hebrew particle al is oft understood, as Psa_23:2
81:7.

Genesis 31:47

Both names signify the same thing, a heap of witness; only Laban
gives the name in the Syrian language; but Jacob, though he had
been long conversant in Syria, and understood that language, yet
he chose to give it in Hebrew, which was both a secret renouncing
of the Syrian manners and religion, together with their language,
and an implicit profession of his conjunction with the Hebrews, as
in their tongue, so in their religion.

Genesis 31:50

The curse is here understood, as it commonly is, to maintain a

greater reverence for oaths, and to beget a greater dread of the
curse belonging to the violaters of it.

No man is with us, i.e. here is now no man with us, who when we
are parted can witness and judge between us, and punish the
transgressor. Or thus, Though now we have many with us, as
witnesses of this agreement, yet shortly, when we shall be parted,
no man will be with us, to observe and report our actions to the
other, or to do the injured person right.

Genesis 31:53

The God of Nahor, the God of their father. He joins idols with
the true God, and secretly chargeth the religion of Jacob and
Abraham with novelty, and prefers his own as the most ancient
religion. See Jos_24:2. Whence we may learn that antiquity of
itself is no certain argument of the true church or religion.
Genesis 31:54

Then Jacob offered sacrifice; either to give God thanks for the
great mercies and deliverances vouchsafed to him, or to beg God’s
blessing upon the present treaty, and upon their whole family. But
it is not so probable that Jacob would choose that time for the
offering of sacrifices when Laban was present, whom he could
neither honestly admit to them, nor conveniently exclude from
them. And therefore, seeing the same Hebrew word signifies
killing as well as sacrificing, as appears from Num_22:40
1Sa_28:24 1Ki_1:9 2Ch_18:2, &c., I rather understand it of his
killing of beasts, in order to a feast which he made for his
brethren, whom he called, as it here follows, to eat bread, & c.,
under which phrase all meats are usually comprehended in
Scripture, as hath been already noted, and will appear hereafter.
And this practice was usual in those times, to confirm covenants
by a feast. See Gen_26:30.

Genesis 32:1

In visible, human, and glorious shape, as they frequently appeared

to the patriarchs.

Genesis 32:2

God’s host; so the angels are justly called for their great number,
Dan_7:10 Luk_2:13, excellent order, mighty power, and for their
use and service to God, and to his church, for whose protection
they are sent. See 2Ki_6:17 Psa_34:7.

Mahanaim, i.e. two hosts; so called, either because the angels

divided themselves into two companies, and placed themselves
some before, others behind him, or some on each side of him, for
his greater comfort and security; or because the angels made one
host, and his family another.
Genesis 32:3

The land of Seir; of which see Gen_14:6 Gen_36:9 Gen_36:20-

21; whither Esau had removed his habitation from Canaan, partly
out of discontent at his parents; partly as most convenient for his
course of life; and principally by direction of Divine Providence,
that Canaan might be left free and clear for Jacob and his
posterity. The land of Seir, the country of Edom; so that Seir and
Edom either are one and the same place; or rather Seir was a part
of Edom. Some say both names are put here for distinction. For
they make two lands of Edom, the one southward from Canaan,
the other eastward, and this latter they understood here, alleging
that the other, or southern, was so remote from Mount Gilead,
whence Jacob was now descending, that Jacob need not fear Esau
at that distance, nor send to him. But as that distinction seems to
be without solid ground, so this reason seems to have but little
weight in it, both because though this history immediately follows
his descent from Mount Gilead, yet it might be done some
competent time after it, and because Jacob in his journey to those
parts where his father Isaac lived, and whither he was going, was
still drawing nearer and nearer to Esau.

Genesis 32:4

My lord Esau; which title being but a civil respect commonly

given in Scripture to such persons as have no authority nor
superiority over them who use it, as Gen_23:6 Gen_24:18, Jacob
doth not hereby renounce his right of primogeniture which was
devolved upon him, nor return it to Esau. Nor if he did hereby
acknowledge Esau his superior for the present, would this have
been injurious to that right, because Jacob was not yet in actual
possession of it, for it was not to commence till his father's death;
and indeed did more belong to his posterity than to his person; and
as to his person, did more respect his spiritual advantages than his
worldly greatness. See Gen_27:29.

I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now, as a

stranger and exile, and so a more proper object for thy pity than
for thy envy.
Genesis 32:5

Yet in my exile God hath blessed me with a competency of

worldly goods, and therefore I am not likely to be either a burden
to thee, or a disgrace to our family.

And I have sent to tell my lord, to acquaint him with my

coming, and with the state of my affairs, that I may obtain pardon
for my former errors, and thy favour and friendship for the future.

Genesis 32:6

Esau gave them but an imperfect and a doubtful answer, as

appears from Jacob’s fear, Gen_32:7. He brought

four hundred men with him; either as his usual guard, he being
then a great man in those parts; or in ostentation of his power and
greatness, in spite of all the injury which his father or brother did
him; or because at first he designed mischief to Jacob, as may
seem by his dismissing of his messengers without any testimony
of his favour, though afterwards, upon Jacob’s prayer, God
changed his mind.

Genesis 32:7

Notwithstanding the renewed promise of God, and the late

apparition of angels,

Jacob was greatly afraid; wherein he showed the weakness of

his faith, to which God left him for his trial and exercise, and to
quicken him to prayer, that so God might have more glory, and he
more comfort in the mercy.

Genesis 32:8

Either by flight, or because he supposed Esau’s revenge would be

satisfied with the first slaughter.
Genesis 32:9

It is observable, that Jacob directs his prayers to God immediately,

and not to the angels, though now, if ever, he had reason and
obligation to do so, from their visible apparition to him for his
succour and comfort.

Genesis 32:10

The truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant, in

fulfilling thy promises made to me; and much more am I
unworthy of those further mercies which I am now about to beg of
thee. Having nothing with me but my travelling staff for my
support,

I passed over this Jordan; or, that Jordan; either which I now
see, as being at this time upon a high hill; or which my mind is set
upon, as that river which I am going to repass, that I may go to my
father, and to that good land which thou hast given to me and
mine for ever;

and now I am become two bands, or two troops, or companies;

into which he had now divided his people and cattle, Gen_32:7.

Genesis 32:11

A proverbial speech, noting a total destruction. Compare

Deu_22:6 Hos_10:14.

Genesis 32:13

Either that which was in his hand and power; or rather, that which
was nearest at hand, and most ready for him, because the
approaching night, and his own great fear, gave him not leave to
make so scrupulous a choice as otherwise he would have made.
Genesis 32:16

That his gift might be represented to Esau with most advantage,

and his mind might by little and little be sweetened towards him.

Genesis 32:18

Coming to see thy face, and beg thy favour.

Genesis 32:20

I will appease him; Heb. appease or allay his anger; for the
Hebrew word panim signifies both anger, as Psa_21:9 34:16, and
face, as every where, because a man’s anger is most discernible in
his face or countenance, Pro_21:14.

He will accept of me; Heb. will lift up my face or countenance,

which now is dejected with the sense of his displeasure; compare
Gen_4:6; or, will accept of my person, as this phrase is oft used.

Genesis 32:22

His eleven sons, and Dinah, though she be not here mentioned; as
the women are oft omitted in Scripture, was being comprehended
under the men.

Passed over the ford Jabbok, which is here generally related,

but the time and manner of it is particularly described in the
following verses. Of this ford Jabbok, see Num_21:24 Deu_3:16.

Genesis 32:24

In some private place, it matters not on which side Jabbok, that he

might more freely and ardently pour out his soul unto God.

There wrestled a man with him, an angel, yea, the Angel of the
covenant, the Son of God, as it is plain from Gen_32:28,30 Ho
12:3,4, who did here, as oft elsewhere, assume the shape and body
of a man, that he might do this work; for this wrestling was real
and corporeal in its nature, though it was also mystical and
spiritual in its signfification, as we shall see, and it was
accompanied with an inward wrestling by ardent prayers joined
with tears, Hos_12:4.

Genesis 32:25

Not through impotency, but in design, the angel suffered himself

to be conquered, to encourage Jacob’s faith and hope against the
approaching danger.

The hollow of his thigh, the joint of his hip-bone, or rather the
hollow in which that joint was.

The hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, which was done
that Jacob might see that it was not his own strength, but only
God’s grace, which got him this victory, and could give him the
deliverance which he hoped for.

Genesis 32:26

And he said, Let me go: he saith this, partly to show the

prevailing power of his prayer with God, and partly to quicken
and encourage Jacob to persist in his conflict. Compare
Exo_32:10 Deu_9:14.

The day breaketh, and I am not willing that there should be any
spectators or witnesses of these things.

Except thou bless me with the blessings which thou hast

promised to Abraham and to me, among which one is protection
in this hour of my danger. For Jacob now began to think that it
was no man, nor ordinary angel, that was with him, but God
himself, as he saith, Gen_32:30.

Genesis 32:28

No more Jacob, not Jacob only. See the like manner of

expression 1Sa_8:7 Jer_23:7 Joh_7:16 1Co_1:17.
Israel signifies a prince or prevailer with God; or, a prince of
God, i.e. a great prince and conqueror. Thou hast in some sort
conquered both God in this conflict and men, Laban, Esau, &c.,

and hast prevailed; or, and shalt prevail over Esau, of whom
thou art afraid.

Genesis 32:29

Tell me, I pray thee, thy name, that I may give thee the honour
due to it. Art thou a created angel, or art thou the ever-blessed
God?

Wherefore dost thou ask after my name? A question which

carries in it both a denial of his request, as Jud_13:17,18, and a
reproof of his curiosity.

He blessed him there, in an eminent and peculiar manner, which

was a real answer to Jacob’s question, and gave him to understand
both his name and nature.

Genesis 32:30

I have seen God face to face; not in his essence, for so no man
ever saw God, Joh_1:18, nor yet in a dream or vision, but in a
most evident, sensible, familiar, and friendly manifestation of
himself.

My life is preserved; I am now well assured of my safety from

Esau, whose approach threatened my life. Or he speaks of it with
wonder, as others did, that he should see God, and not be struck
dead by the glory of his presence. Compare Gen_16:13
Exo_20:19 Jud_6:22,23 13:22.

Genesis 32:32

Not from any superstitious conceit about it, but only for a
memorial of this admirable conflict, the blessed effects whereof
even the future generations received.
Genesis 33:1

Genesis 33:2

Placing his best beloved in the last and safest place.

Genesis 33:3

He passed over before them, exposing himself to the first and

greatest hazard for the security of his wives and children.

Genesis 33:8

He knew his meaning before from the servants’ mouths; but he

asks, that he might both be more certainly informed of the truth,
and have an occasion for a civil refusal of the gift.

Genesis 33:9

I neither need it for my use, nor desire it as a compensation for thy

former injuries.

Genesis 33:10

For therefore I have seen thy face; or, for I therefore tender it
unto thee, and humbly beg thy acceptance of it, because; for thus
the Hebrew al-cen is used, Num_14:43, and elsewhere.

As though I had seen the face of God. It is in a manner as

pleasant a sight to me as the sight of God himself, because in thy
reconciled face I see the face and favour of God thus manifested
unto me.

Genesis 33:11

Take, I pray thee, my blessing; this gift, which as I received

from God’s blessing, so I heartily give it to thee with my blessing
and prayer, that God would abundantly bless it to thee. Gifts are
oft called blessings, as Jos_15:19 1Sa_25:27 30:26.
Genesis 33:12

Or rather, beside thee, so as to keep thee company, or to keep pace

with thee.

Genesis 33:13

The children are tender; the eldest of them, Reuben, not being
yet fourteen years old.

The flocks and herds with young are with me; or, upon me, i.e.
committed to my care, to be managed as their necessities require.
See Isa_40:11.

Genesis 33:14

We do not read that Jacob did according to this promise or

insinuation go to Seir; either therefore he changed his first
intentions for some weighty reasons, or upon warning from God;
or he used this only as a pretence, which we should not too easily
believe of so good a man, especially after such dangers and
deliverances; or rather he did perform this promise, though the
Scripture be silent of it, as it is of many other historical passages,
and as it is here concerning Jacob’s visiting of his father Isaac,
which is not mentioned till ten years after this time; and yet it is
utterly incredible that Jacob should be so near to his dear and
worthy father for so long a time together, and not once give him a
visit.

Genesis 33:17

Built him an house, which doubtless was some slight building,

because he intended not to stay there.

Genesis 33:18

Shalem; most take it for the proper name of a place belonging to

Shechem, as it here follows, called Salim, Joh_3:23, and Sichem
or Sychar, Joh_4:5. But others take it for an appellative noun, and
render the place thus, he came safe or whole to the city of
Shechem; to note either that he was then cured of the lameness
which the angel gave him; or rather, to note the good providence
of God that had brought him safe in his person, family, and estate
through all his dangers, first from Laban, then from Esau, till he
came to this place, where it seems he intended to make his abode
for a good while, had not the following miscarriages obliged him
to remove.

Before the city, i.e. near to it, but not in it, for the conveniency of
his cattle.

Genesis 33:19

He bought a parcel of a field for his present possession and use;

for the right which he had to it was only in reversion after the time
that God had allotted for it.

The children of Hamor, i.e. subjects, called his children to note

the duty which they owed to him, and the care and affection that
he owed to them. Compare Num_11:12.

An hundred pieces of money. The word is used only here, and

Jos_24:32 Job_42:11, and it may signify either lambs, given in
way of exchange for it, or pieces of money, which seems more
probable, both by comparing Act_7:16, and because money was
come into use in that place and time, Gen_17:12,13 23:16 47:16,
which were called lambs possibly from the fignre of a lamb
stamped upon it, as the Athenian money was called an ox for the
like reason, and as we call a piece of gold a Jacobus, because the
picture of that king is upon it.

Genesis 33:20

Or, called upon El-elohe-Israel, the particle lo being redundant,

as such pronouns oft are, as Gen_12:1 Jos_20:2.
Genesis 34:1

From her father's house into the city, out of curiosity, there being
then, as Josephus reports, a great concourse of people to a feast.
Thus she put herself out of her father's protection, and merely out
of a vain humour exposed both herself and others to temptation;
which was the worse, because it was amongst them that had no
fear of God to restrain them from the most enormous crimes. She
was now fourteen or fifteen years old.

Genesis 34:3

Perceiving her to be exceedingly enraged and perplexed at this

horrid violence, he endeavours to appease and sweeten her, and to
get her consent to marry him.

Genesis 34:4

He desires both his father’s consent and assistance herein.

Genesis 34:5

Being unable to punish the delinquent, and not knowing what to

do, he waits for his sons’ coming and advice.

Genesis 34:7

Because he had wrought folly; that is, wickedness; which

howsoever vain men many times esteem their wisdom, by the
sentence of the all-wise God is accounted and commonly in
Scripture called folly, as Deu_22:21 Jos_7:15 Jud_19:23 20:6, &c.

In Israel, or, against Israel; either,

1. Against the person, and in or against the family of Israel, a

person near and dear to God, and highly honoured by him, and in
covenant with God; who therefore esteems the injuries done to
Israel as if they were done to himself. See Gen_12:3 Exo_23:22
Zec_2:8. Or,
2. In or against the church of God, which then was in a manner
confined to that family, and which is oft called by the name of
Israel. See Deu_22:21 Jos_7:15. And Moses may here vary the
phrase from what was used in Jacob’s time to what was usual in
his time, the sense being in both the same, and therefore not
altered by such a change.

Which thing ought not to be done; Heb. shall not be done, i.e.
should not, &c. But in the Hebrew language words of the future
time oft signify duty and decency, as Mal_1:6 2:7.

Genesis 34:8

Hamor communed with them; with Jacob’s sons, to whom

Jacob committed the business, being himself oppressed with
shame and grief, and fear for his daughter.

Your daughter, the daughter of your family; or he thus speaketh

to her brothers, because they transacted all in their father’s name.

Genesis 34:10

Before you, i.e. in your power, to dwell where you please, and to
have the same rights and privileges in it which we enjoy. See
Gen_20:15.

Get you possessions therein; or, take possession in it, i.e. in any
vacant part of it; use it for pasture or tillage, as you think good,
and take the benefit to yourselves.

Genesis 34:12

Dowry to her for her portion, according to the ancient custom of

men’s buying their wives; of which see Exo_22:17; and

gift to you, either for reparation of the past injury, or in testimony

of my respect to you, and desire of her, as Gen_24:53.
Genesis 34:13

Deceitfully; pretending and promising marriages with them upon

that condition which they never intended.

Genesis 34:14

There was no such law yet in force, as the examples of Isaac and
Jacob show, who married the daughters of uncircumcised persons;
and therefore they do not here reject it as simply unlawful, but
only as dishonourable and reproachful.

Genesis 34:20

The gate of their city, the place where all public affairs were
debated and concluded. See Poole on "Gen_22:17"; see Poole on
"Gen_23:10".

Genesis 34:23

Shall not their substance be ours? Either for our use and benefit
in the way of commerce and trade; or because they will descend to
the issue of our children as well as theirs; or because we being
more numerous and potent than they, can easily overrule them,
and when we think meet, dispose all things to our own advantage.
Thus they cover their private design with the specious show of
public good.

Genesis 34:24

They yielded to circumcision, partly in compliance with their

young prince, whom they either loved or feared; and partly for the
prospect of their own advantage, for which men are frequently
willing to expose themselves to great pains and hazards.

All that went out of the gate of his city; all the citizens that went
out of the gate, & c., or came in at the gate, as they are described
Gen_23:10 Jer_17:20. For when the chief persons had consented,
they could easily persuade or overrule others to comply with
them.

Genesis 34:25

On the third day, when the pain and grief of wounds is the
greatest, as physicians note,

when they were sore, and therefore not well able to defend
themselves; for circumcision caused great pain in children, which
was the ground of that exclamation, Exo_4:25, much more in
grown men. See Jos_5:8.

Simeon and Levi: these two only are mentioned, because they
were authors of the counsel, and conductors of the rest in the
execution; but it is probable, from Gen_34:27, that most of their
brethren were confederate with them, and that they had a
considerable number of their servants with them, who would be
ready enough to revenge their masters’ quarrel, and to punish so
great a villany; but all that was done is justly ascribed to them
two, as it is common for all writers to say this or that was done by
such a captain or general, when in truth it was done by his
soldiers.

Dinah’s brethren; so they were both by the father and mother,

which made them more forward and zealous than the rest.

All the males; such of them as were grown up, by comparing

Gen_34:29, for these, or some of them, seem to have been the
abettors of the injury against their sister and family. Their sin in
this act was manifold; that they did it without sufficient authority,
and against their father’s mind, as appears from Gen_34:30, and
Gen_49:6, which they well knew; and without all bounds, rashly,
unjustly, and cruelly punished the innocent and the guilty
together, and ushered in this fact with horrible deceit and lying,
and that under pretence of friendship and show of religion.
Genesis 34:27

They, i.e. one of them, as ofttimes that which is done by one man
is imputed to the whole body. See Jos_7:1,11,12 22:20 Mat_2:20.
Or they impute Shechem’s fact to all, either invidiously and
cunningly to take off from themselves the reproach of this cruel
action; or because they made themselves guilty of it, either by not
discouraging and hindering that filthiness as far as they might, or
by their being instrumental in it, or by their approbation of it and
complacency in it.

Genesis 34:28

Thus they add to their cruelty theft and robbery, which doubtless
Jacob disowned when they brought the spoil home, and returned
back both the surviving people and their goods, though it be
passed over in silence, as many other things are. See Poole on
"Gen_33:14".

Genesis 34:29

Either in the prince’s house, or in their several houses; or within

doors, as the word signifies.

Genesis 34:30

You have not only discomposed my mind, but perplexed my

affairs, and brought me into such troubles and dangers as I am
never likely to escape. You have made me odious to

the inhabitants of the land, who will impute this perfidious and
bloody fact to my contrivance.

Few in number; Heb. men of number, i.e. few; for such can
easily be numbered. So this phrase is used Deu_4:27 33:6,
opposite to which are men without number, 2Ch_12:3.
They shall slay me: he could expect no other in human reason,
and they were hindered from so doing only by the hand of the
great God smiting them with terror, Gen_35:5.

Genesis 34:31

Shall we express no more resentment of this abominable abuse of

our sister, than if she had been some common harlot, whose abuse
no man either regardeth or revengeth? Thus they excuse one fault
by committing another, and defend themselves by accusing their
father of stupidity, and insensibleness of so great an indignity and
injury.

Genesis 35:1

This was a word in season to comfort his disquieted mind, and

convey him to a safer place. Understand, and pay thy vows there
made in the time of thy distress, but not yet paid; whether it was
Jacob's error to forget and neglect his former vows and promises;
or whether he waited for a fit time, or an admonition from God
concerning the season of paying them.

Genesis 35:2

The strange gods, the idols, which are so called here, and
Deu_31:16 Deu_32:12 Jos_24:20, because they were the gods of
strange and foreign nations, such as all were accounted who were
not Israelites.

Quest. How came these to be and to continue so long in Jacob's

house.

Answ. Either,

1. By Rachel's means, who brought them from her father's house,

which haply was not discovered till this time. Or,

2. By Leah, and by Jacob's two concubines, who might possibly

bring such with them. Or,
3. By the means of Jacob's Gentile servants, who might secretly
worship such gods; or having taken them from the She-chemites,
they might keep them for their precious matter, as gold and silver,
though not for religious use. Like a good man, and a good master
of a family, he takes care not only for himself, but for all his
family, to keep them from the exercise of a false religion, and to
engage them as far as he can in the profession and practice of the
true. Compare Gen_18:19 Jos_24:15.

Be clean; cleanse yourselves by outward and ritual washing, as

Exo_19:10 Exo_19:14, which even then was in use; and
especially by purging your hearts as well as hands from these
idols, which I perceive, to my sorrow, some of you have still
retained; and from your late detestable cruelty; that you may be fit
to approach to that God who hath now summoned me and you to
make a solemn appearance before him.

Change your garments, either by putting on new garments, as

2Sa_12:20, or by washing the old ones, as Exo_19:10 Lev_15:13.
And these, as well as other ceremonial institutions and practices,
were professions of their repentance; which consists in putting off
the old man, and putting on the new, Eph_4:22.

Genesis 35:3

He takes God’s gracious promise, and the comfortable hope and

assurance of God’s favour to him, and care of him, impressed by
God upon his mind and heart, for an answer to his prayers, though
he had then seen no success nor accomplishment of God’s word to
him.

Genesis 35:4

Either because they had been abused to idolatry and superstition at

Shechem, or elsewhere, and therefore were to be destroyed
according to God's command, now signified to Jacob, and
afterwards delivered to his posterity, Deu_7:5 Deu_12:3; or for
fear they should be so abused. For the Scripture seems to
insinuate, and other writers expressly affirm, that divers heathen
people did wear earrings for the honour of their idols, and with the
representations or ensigns of their idols engraven upon them. See
Jud_8:24. After he had melted or broken them, (which seems
probable from parallel instances, as Exo_32:20 2Ki_18:4),

Jacob hid them under a certain oak, though not known to his
family which it was. He chose that place, either as most proper to
put monuments of idolatry under those trees which were so much
and so generally abused to idolatry, as oaks especially were,
Isa_1:29; or as the safest place, where they were likely to remain
longest hid, because the heathen had a veneration for oaks, and
therefore would not cut them down, nor dig them up, nor do any
thing which had a tendency that way.

Genesis 35:5

The terror of God, i.e. a great terror sent from God, as

Exo_23:27 Jos_2:9,11 2Ch_14:14 17:10. So we read of a sleep of
God, 1Sa_26:12. Nothing less could have secured Jacob,
considering the great number, power, and rage of his enemies.

Genesis 35:6

In the land of Canaan, properly so called, or where the

Canaanites properly so called dwelt. Thus it is distingnished from
another Luz, Jud_1:26.

Genesis 35:7

El-beth-el, i.e. He confirmed the name which he had formerly

given to the place.

Genesis 35:8

She came with Rebekah into Canaan, Gen_24:59, and probably

tarried with her whilst she lived, and after her death, as it seems;
and, upon Jacob’s desire, after his return from Haran, came into
his family; where, being a person of great prudence and piety, her
presence and advice was very useful in his numerous and divided
family.

Allon-bachuth, from the great lamentation which they made there

for the loss of a person of such singular worth.

Genesis 35:10

Israel shall be thy name. I do not repent of the change which I

made of thy name, but I do again confirm it; and as then thou didst
prevail over thy brother Esau, so now thou shalt prevail over those
of whom thou art afraid.

Genesis 35:11

A company of nations, tribes, for number and power, equal to so

many nations,

shall come out of thy loins, i.e. shall be begotten by thee, as this
phrase is taken also in Gen_46:26 1Ki_8:19 Act_2:30.

Genesis 35:13

God went up from him; either locally and visibly, to wit, in that
human shape in which he appeared to him; or by withdrawing the
signs of his special presence, as Gen_17:22 Jud_13:20; as on the
contrary God is said to come down, not by change of place, but by
some signal manifestation of his presence and favour, as Exo_3:8
Num_11:17.

Genesis 35:14

Either he repaired the old pillar set up by him, Gen_28:18, which

was ruined by the injury of time, or by the neighbouring idolaters;
or rather erected a new one, more stable and durable than he could
do in that time, as a monument or witness of God’s manifold
favours, and of his own gratitude. The
drink-offering was of wine, as may be gathered by comparing
Exo_29:40 Num_28:14.

Genesis 35:18

In departing; or, in going out; namely, out of the body, as

Psa_146:4, which is an argument of the soul’s immortality,
especially if compared with Ecc_12:7. From which places, laid
together, we learn the two terms of the journey, whence it goes,
and whither it goes.

Benjamin; either as near and dear and precious to him as his right
hand, which is both more useful and more honourable than the
left; see Psa_80:17; or instead of his right hand, the staff, stay, and
comfort of his old age.

Genesis 35:19

In the way to Ephrath; not in the city, though that was near; for
in ancient times their sepulchres were not in the places of resort,
but in separated places, and out of cities. See Mat_27:60
Luk_7:12.

Genesis 35:20

Jacob set a pillar, as a monument or memorial of her life and

death, and as a testimony of her future resurrection.

Unto this day, i.e. unto the time wherein Moses writ this book,
and long after. See 1Sa_10:2 Jer_31:15.

Genesis 35:21

Or, the tower of the flock; a place where were excellent pastures.
See Mic_4:8.
Genesis 35:22

This was a horrid incest; for concubines were a sort of wives. See
Gen_22:24 25:1.

Israel heard it, and doubtless sadly resented it, both in Reuben,
as appears from Gen_49:4 1Ch_5:1,2; and in Bilhah, whose bed
without question he forsook upon it, as afterwards David did in
the like case. See 2Sa_16:22 20:3. Yet here is no mention of
Jacob’s reproof of it, nor any censure of Moses added to it;
possibly to teach us, that we are not to approve of every fact
which is mentioned in Scripture without censure, and that the
miscarriages of professors of religion are rather to be silently
bewailed than publicly reproached, lest religion should suffer by
it.

The sons of Jacob were twelve, which were heads of the twelve
tribes; therefore his daughter Dinah is not here mentioned,
because she was not the head of a tribe.

Genesis 35:26

All but Benjamin, who must in all reason be supposed to be

excepted here, because he is said to be born elsewhere, above,
Gen_35:16. But it is a usual synecdoche, whereby that is ascribed
to all in gross which belongs to the greatest part. See Gen_15:13
46:15 Exo_12:40 Jud_20:46 Joh_20:24 1Co_15:5.

Genesis 35:27

Jacob came; either with his wives, and children, and estate, to
dwell with Isaac; or rather in person, to visit his sick and dying
father; for otherwise Jacob having been ten years near his father,
no doubt he had oft visited him, and carried his wives and children
thither, though Scripture be silent in this particular: but they could
not live together because of the greatness of their estates, as it
happened with others. See Gen_13:6 36:7.
Genesis 35:29

1715

Was gathered unto his people; either to the society of the dead,
or to the congregation of the just. See Gen_15:15 25:8.

Genesis 36:1

They are here mentioned partly to show the effect of his father's
blessing, Gen_27:39; partly that the Israelites might be
admonished to treat the Edomites like brethren, and not to invade
their land. See Deu_23:7.

Genesis 36:2

If this account be compared with that Gen_26:34, we shall find

some difficulties, which yet admit of an easy reconciliation, if
these things be considered.

1. That it is very usual, and confessed by all, that the same persons
are oft called by several names.

2. That the names of some persons are in Scripture given to

others, because of a great resemblance between them. Upon which
account the parents of the Israelites are called Armorites and
Hittites, Eze_16:3; and the governors of Jerusalem are called the
rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah, Isa_1:10; and John the Baptist is
called Elias, Mat_17:12.

3. That the same men ere ofttimes denominated from several

countries, as Christ is noted to have a threefold country in
Scripture; Bethlehem by his birth, Nazareth by his education, and
Capernaum by his much residence and preaching there.

4. That the same names are sometimes common to men and

women.
5. That persons are called the children, not only of their immediate
parents, but of their grandparents, and of those who adopted them.
These things premised, the seeming contradictions objected by
infidels do vanish. She who was properly called Judith,
Gen_26:24, is here called Aholibamah, a name which seems to be
given her either by Isaac or by Moses, from her settledness in her
idolatrous courses. And Adah was also called Bashemath,
Gen_26:34; and Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter, was called
Bashemath, either because in her principles and manners she
resembled Esau’s other wife so called, or to show that Ishmael’s
marriage to a third wife was no less opprobrious to him and
displeasing to his parents than the former.

Anah, a man, and the son of Zibeon, as appears from Gen_35:24,

called here a Hivite, is called Beeri the Hittite, Gen_26:34, either
because those two people were mixed together in habitation and
by marriage, or because the one people were larger than the other,
and comprehended under their name, or because he was a Hivite
by birth, a Hittite by habitation or incorporation with them. Hence
also we may learn how Aholibamah here comes to be the daughter
both of Anah and of Zibeon; the one being either the natural or
proper father, and the other either the grandfather, or father by
adoption.

Genesis 36:4

Eliphaz, the progenitor of that Eliphaz, Job_2:11.

Reuel, the father of Jethro. See Exo_2:18 Num_10:29.

Genesis 36:5

He had also daughters, Gen_36:6, though their names be not here

mentioned.

Genesis 36:6

1740
Quest.

1. Why went he thither?

Answ. Partly by his own choice, that wild and mountainous

country being very commodious for hunting, to which he wholly
addicted himself; partly by his wives’ persuasions, who were both
utterly averse from cohabitation with Isaac or Jacob, and strongly
inclined to their own country; but principally from the secret
conduct of Divine Providence, thus accomplishing his promises.
See Jos_24:4 Mal_1:3.

Quest.

2. When went he thither?

Answ. He went thither before this time in discontent at his

parents, and dwelt in Seir before Jacob’s return to Canaan, as
appears from Gen_32:3 33:14,16; yet so as he came sometimes to
Canaan, and to his father’s house, and did not quit his interest in
his father’s estate. But when his father was dead, and Jacob and he
agreed about the partition of the estate, he did totally and finally
forsake Canaan, partly, for the reason here following; partly, for
the other reasons now alleged; and partly, to avoid all occasion
both of communication and contention with his brother.

Genesis 36:7

Which words contain the reason why that land which was large
and fruitful could not bear them, because they were not entire
possessors of it, but only sojourners in it, and therefore must take
the owners’ leavings, which were not sufficient for both of them
and their numerous families.

Genesis 36:8

This seems to be mentioned by the Holy Ghost by way of

contempt or reproach; this is he who sold his birthright for a mess
of red pottage, and therefore was called
Edom or red.

Genesis 36:15

1715 These were dukes, princes or heads of their several families

and little principalities, according to the manner of those times,
who ruled their dominions, either severally, each his own, or
jointly, by common advice, or it may be under one chief prince,
their superior either in title or in power. And in this division
Eliphaz, as he was Esau’s first-born, so he had more than a double
portion, his six sons being made dukes, as Esau’s immediate sons
were. Compare 1Ch_5:1.

Genesis 36:16

Korah is not mentioned among the sons of Eliphaz, and therefore

is thought to be his grandson. There is another Korah,
Gen_36:14,18.

Genesis 36:20

1840 The sons of Seir are here mentioned, partly because of their
alliance with Esau’s family, Gen_35:2,20,22,24,25, and partly
because the government was translated from his to Esau’s family.

Who inhabited the land, and ruled there, till Esau and his
posterity drove them out, Deu_2:12,22.

Genesis 36:24

Mules; so most understand the word Jemim, which is no where

else used, and give this sense of it, that he found out the way of
the generation of mules by the copulation of a horse and a mare.
Others render it waters, that he found out some springs of water,
which in those hot countries were rare and precious; or hot waters,
some hot and medicinal springs. But the Chaldee renders it giants,
and the Samaritan version Emims, a sort of giants mentioned
Deu_2:10,11; who also were neighbours to the Horites here
spoken of, as appears from Gen_14:5,6; and therefore might,
according to the manner of those times, make inroads one upon
another. So Jemim is put for Emim, either by an apocope of the
first letter, or by the change of the Hebrew letter Jod into Aleph,
both which are frequent among the Hebrews. And the sense is,
that Anah the Horite found out the Emims; that is, he met with
them, or came upon them suddenly, and smote them. In this sense
the word finding is oft used, as Jud_1:5 1Sa_31:3 Psa_21:8
Isa_10:10.

Genesis 36:25

The children, Heb. sons, though but one son be mentioned. Either
then he had other sons not here expressed; or the plural number is
put for the singular, as Gen_21:7.

Genesis 36:30

Among other dukes which were in that country. Or, according to

their dukedoms or principalities; the word duke being here put for
dukedom as the word king is put for kingdom, Isa_23:15
Dan_7:17.

Genesis 36:31

He speaks of the posterity of Esau, who after they had subdued the
Horites, erected a kingdom there.

Here profane wits triumph. How, say they, could Moses write this,
when as yet there was no king in Israel?

Answ.

1. The word may be taken for any chief governor, in which sense
the title of king is given to Moses, Deu_33:5; and to the judges,
Jud_17:6; and to others who were not kings, properly so called,
Psa_119:46 Luk_22:25 Act_9:15, &c.
Answ. 2. Moses might well say thus, because he did by the Spirit
of prophecy foresee, and therefore could foretell, that the Israelites
would have a king, as appears from Deu_17:14,15.

Answ. 3. This, with other clauses of the same nature, might be

inserted afterwards by some holy and inspired man of God, as it is
confessed that part of the last chapter of Deuteronomy was.

Genesis 36:32

Where he was born or dwelt, and so in the rest. The diversity of

their cities makes it probable, that these kings had not their power
by succession, but either by election, or by usurpation, according
to Isaac’s prophecy of them, Gen_27:40: By thy sword thou shalt
live.

Genesis 36:34

Of which land, see Jer_49:7,20, so called either from the city

Teman, or from Teman the son of Eliphaz, Gen_36:11. Or, of the
south country, as the ancient translations render it.

Genesis 36:37

The river; either Euphrates, or a branch of it, called Chabras, by

which there is even at this day a city called Rahabath-melic, i.e.
King’s Rahabath, as the learned observe; or some other river of
note in those times and parts.

Genesis 36:39

Either

Matred was the father, and

Mezahab the mother; or

Matred was the mother, and

Mezahab the grandmother.

Genesis 36:40

1496 The names of the dukes, of their persons, and generations,

and families. The state of Edom between the times of Esau and
Moses seems to have been this; there were first dukes, then kings,
and after them dukes again. But if it be objected, that the time was
too short for a succession of so many persons, it may be replied,
that what is confessed concerning the dukes preceding the kings,
might be true also of these succeeding dukes, and that the
Edomites either having taken some distaste at kingly government,
or differing about the choice of a new king, divided themselves
again into several petty principalities or dukedoms; and so several
of those were dukes at the same time in divers parts.

Genesis 37:1

Genesis 37:2

The generations, i.e. the events or occurrences which happened

to Jacob in his family and issue. So that word is used Gen_6:9
Num_3:1. Or the word

these may relate to what is said Gen_35:22, &c. The genealogy of

Esau being brought in by way of parenthesis, and that being
finished, Moses returns to the generations of Jacob, as his
principal business, and proceeds in the history of their concerns.

Jacob placed Joseph with

the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, rather than with
the sons of Leah, either to keep Joseph humble; or for Joseph’s
security, because the other sons retained the old grudge of their
mother, and were more like to envy, contemn, hate, and abuse
him; or as an observer of their actions, whom he most suspected,
as the following words may seem to imply.
Joseph brought unto his father their evil report, acquainted
him with their lewd and wicked courses, to the dishonour of God
and of their family, that so his father might apply such remedies as
he thought meet.

Genesis 37:3

He was the son of his old age, being born when Jacob was
ninety-one years old. Such children are commonly best beloved
by their parents, either because such are a singular blessing of
God, and a more than common testimony of his favour, and a
mercy least expected by them, and therefore most prized; or
because they have more pleasing conversation with them, and less
experience of their misbehaviour, of which the elder ofttimes are
guilty, whereby they alienate their parents’ affections from them.
The ancient translations, Chaldee, Persian, Arabic, and Samaritan,
render the words thus, a wise or prudent son; old age being oft
mentioned as a token of prudence; one born old, one wise above
his years, one that had a grey head, as we say, upon green
shoulders. This may seem the more probable, both because Joseph
was indeed such a child, and gave good evidence of it in a prudent
observation of his brethren’s trespasses, and a discreet choice of
the fittest remedy for them; and because the reason here alleged
seems proper and peculiar to Joseph; whereas in the other sense it
belongs more to Benjamin, who was younger than Joseph, and
cost his mother dearer, and therefore might upon that account
claim a greater interest in his father’s afflictions.

A coat of many colours, probably made of threads of divers

colours interwoven together. Compare 2Sa_13:18. This he gave
him as a token of his special love, and of the rights of the first-
born, which being justly taken from Reuben, he conferred upon
Joseph, 1Ch_5:1.

Genesis 37:4

Their hatred was so deep and keen, that they could not smother it,
as for their own interest they should have done, but discovered it
by their churlish words and carriages to him.
Genesis 37:5

The

dream it is probable he did not understand, for then he would

never have told it to them, who, as he knew very well, were likely
to make an evil construction and use of it.

Genesis 37:7

We were binding sheaves in the field; a secret insinuation of the

occasion of Joseph’s advancement, which was from his counsel
and care about the corn of Egypt.

Your sheaves stood round about; this was a posture of ministry

and service, as is manifest both from Scripture and from common
usage.

Genesis 37:8

For his relation of his dreams, which they imputed to his

arrogancy.

Genesis 37:9

He dreamed another dream, that the repetition of the same thing

in another shape might teach them that the thing was both certain
and very observable.

The sun and the moon were not mentioned in the first dream,
because in the event his brethren only went at first to Egypt and
there worshipped him, as afterwards his father went with them.

Object. His father did not worship him in Egypt.

Answ. 1. He did worship him mediately by his sons, who in their

father’s name and stead bowed before him, and by the presents
which he sent as testimonies of that respect which he owed to him.
2. It is probable that Jacob did, before the Egyptians, pay that
reverence to his son which all the rest did, and which was due to
the dignity of his place. As the Roman consul was commended by
his father for requiring him to alight from his horse, as the rest
did, when he met him upon the way.

Genesis 37:10

His father rebuked him; not through anger at Joseph, or

contempt of his dream, for it follows, he observed it; but partly
lest Joseph should be puffed up upon the account of his dreams,
and principally to allay the envy and hatred of his brethren.

Thy mother: either,

1. Rachel, who was now dead, and therefore must rise again and
worship thee; whence he may seem to infer the idleness of the
dream, because the fulfilling it was impossible. Or rather,

2. Leah, his stepmother, one that filled his mother’s place, being
now Jacob’s only wife, and the mother of the family.

Genesis 37:11

The words of Joseph; or the thing, the dream which he told; well
knowing that God did frequently at that time signify his mind by
dreams, and perceiving something singular and extraordinary in
this dream, and especially in the doubling of it.

Genesis 37:12

In the parts adjoining to Shechem, in the lands which he had

purchased there, Gen_33:19. Let none think strange that he should
send his sheep so far from him, both because that land was his
own, and because his sheep being exceeding numerous, and he but
a stranger in the land, was likely to be exposed to many such
inconveniences. Compare Gen_30:36. One may rather wonder
that he durst venture his sons and his cattle there, where that
barbarous massacre had been committed, Gen_34:25. But those
pastures being his own, and convenient for his use, he did commit
himself and them to that same good Providence which watched
over him then and ever since, and still kept up that terror which
then he sent upon them. Besides Jacob’s sons and servants made a
considerable company, and the men of Shechem being universally
slain, others were not very forward to revenge their quarrel, where
there was any hazard to themselves in such an enterprise.

Genesis 37:13

1729 Having kept him for some time at home, and supposing that
length of time had cooled their heats, and worn out their hatred, he
now sends him to them.

Genesis 37:17

Dothan a place not very far from Shechem, where afterwards a

city was built. See 2Ki_6:13.

Genesis 37:19

Heb.

This master of dreams, this crafty dreamer, that covers his own
ambitious designs and desires with pretences or fictions of
dreams.

Genesis 37:20

Cast him into some pit; partly, as unworthy of burial; partly, to

cover their villanous action; and partly, that they might quickly
put him out of their sight and minds.

Some evil beast hath devoured him, there being great store of
such creatures in those parts. See 1Ki_13:24 2Ki_2:24.

Genesis 37:21

He
delivered him, as to the violent and certain despatch of his life
which was intended. Or the act is here put for the purpose and
endeavour of doing it, in which sense Balak is said to fight against
Israel, Jos_24:9, and Abraham to offer up Isaac, Heb_11:17. So
here, he delivered him, i.e. used his utmost power to deliver him,
that so he might recover his father’s favour lost by his incestuous
action.

Genesis 37:25

They sat down to eat bread, to refresh themselves, their

consciences being stupified, and their hearts hardened against
their brother, notwithstanding all his most passionate entreaties to
them, Gen_42:21.

Ishmeelites; the posterity of Ishmael. See Gen_25:18.

Gilead, a famous place for balm, and other excellent

commodities, and for the confluence of merchants. See Jer_8:22
22:6.

Balm, or rosin, as the ancient and divers other translators render

it.

Genesis 37:26

If we suffer him to perish in the pit, when we may sell him with
advantage,

and conceal his blood, i.e. his death, as the word blood is often
used. See Deu_17:8 2Sa_1:16 3:28.

Genesis 37:28

This story seems a little involved, and the persons to whom he

was sold doubtful. Here seem to be two, if not three, sorts of
merchants mentioned,

Ishmeelites and
Midianites here, and Medanites, as it is in the Hebrew,
Gen_37:36, which were a distinct people from the Midianites, as
descended from Medan, when the Midianites descended from
Midian, both Abraham’s sons, Gen_25:2. The business may be
accommodated divers ways; either,

1. The same persons or people are promiscuously called both

Ishmeelites and Midianites, as they also are Jud_8:1,24,28; either
because they were mixed together in their dwellings, and by
marriages; or because they were here joined together, and made
one caravan or company of merchants. And the text may be read
thus, And the Midianite merchantmen (either the same who were
called Ishmeelites, Gen_37:27, or others being in the same
company with them) passed by, and they (i.e. not the
merchantmen, but Joseph’s brethren, spoken of Gen_37:27; the
relative being referred to the remoter antecedent, as it is frequently
in the Scripture)

lift up Joseph, and sold him to the Ishmeelites or Midianites,

&c. Or,

2. The persons may be distinguished, and the story may very well
be conceived thus: The Ishmeelites are going to Egypt, and are
discerned at some distance by Joseph’s brethren, while they were
discoursing about their brother. In the time of their discourse, the
Midianites, who seem to be coming from Egypt, coming by the
pit, and hearing Joseph’s cries there, pull him out of the pit, and
sell him to the Ishmeelites, who carry him with them into Egypt.
There they sell him to the Medanites, though that, as many other
historical passages, be omitted in the sacred story. And the
Medanites, or Midianites, if you please, only supposing them to be
other persons than those mentioned Gen_37:28, which is but a fair
and reasonable supposition, sell him to Potiphar.

Genesis 37:29

Reuben returned unto the pit, that, according to his brethren’s

order, Gen_37:27, he might take him thence and sell him.
He rent his clothes, as the manner was upon doleful occurrences.
See below, Gen_37:34 Num_14:6 Ezr_9:3 Job_1:20 2:12.

Genesis 37:30

He calls him

the child comparatively to his brethren, though he was seventeen

years old, Gen_37:2.

The child is not, i.e. is not in the land of the living, or is dead, as
that phrase is commonly used, as Gen_42:13,36, compared with
Gen_44:20 Job_7:21 Jer_31:15 Lam_5:7 Mat_2:18.

I, whither shall I go, either to find the child, or to flee from our
father? He is more solicitous than the rest, because he being the
eldest brother, his father would require Joseph at his hand; and
being so highly incensed against him for his former crime, would
be the more apt to suspect him, and deal more severely with him.

Genesis 37:32

They

brought it by a messenger whom they sent: men are commonly

said to do what they cause others to do.

Genesis 37:34

Sackcloth, i.e. a coarse and mournful habit. This is the first

example of that kind, but afterwards was in common use upon
these occasions. See 2Sa_3:31 1Ki_20:31 21:27, &c.

Genesis 37:35

All his daughters; Dinah, and his daughters-in-law, and his sons’
daughters.
The grave; this Hebrew word sheol is taken sometimes for hell,
as Job_11:8 Pro_15:11, but most commonly for the grave, or the
place or state of the dead, as Gen_42:38 44:29,31 Psa 6:5 16:10,
&c. And whether of those it signifies, must be determined by the
subject and the circumstances of the place. Here it cannot be
meant of hell, for Jacob neither could believe that good Joseph
was there, nor would have resolved to go thither; but the sense is,
I will kill myself with grief, or I will never leave mourning till I
die.

Unto my son; or, for my son: so the preposition el is oft used for
al, as 1Sa_1:27 4:19,21,22 2Sa_21:2.

Genesis 37:36

Whose office it was to apprehend and punish criminal persons.

See Gen_40:3 Jer_39:9 Mar_6:27.

Genesis 38:1

This story is not without difficulty, if we consider how little time

is allowed for all the events of this chapter, there being not above
twenty-three years between Judah's marriage and the birth of
Pharez, yea, and the birth of his sons too, Hezron and Hamul, who
are said to go into Egypt with Jacob, Gen_46:12. But there are
two ways proposed for the resolution of it, as the phrase, at that
time, may be understood two ways; either,

1. More largely, for the time since Jacob's return from Padan to
Canaan, and so the history may be conceived thus, Judah was
married some years before the selling of Joseph, though it be here
mentioned after it, and so out of its place, as being the foundation
of all the following events, which are here placed together,
because they followed the selling of Joseph. Judah, and Er, and
Onan, and afterwards Pharez, are supposed each to marry and
have a child at fourteen years old, which, though unusual, wants
not examples both in sacred and profane writers. And they that
will quarrel with the Scripture, and question its authority for some
such uncustomary occurrences which it relates, show more of
impiety than wisdom in it, and shall do well to consider, that God
might so order things by his providence, and record such things in
his word, upon the same account on which he hath put several
other difficult passages in Scripture, partly to try and exercise
men's faith, humility, and modesty; and partly to punish the evil
minds of ungodly men, and for their sins to lay an occasion of
stumbling and cavilling at the Scriptures before them that greedily
seek and gladly catch at all such occasions. Or,

2. More strictly, for the time following the sale of Joseph, which
seems the more probable way, and so the story lies thus, Judah
was now about twenty years old when he married, and the three
first years he hath three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. The two first
marry each when they were about seventeen years old. Three
years after both their deaths, and when Shelah had been
marriageable a year or two, and was not given to Tamar, Judah
lies with Tamar and begets upon her Pharez. But as for Hezron
and Hamul, they are said to go into Egypt with Jacob, as also
Benjamin's ten sons are said to go with him thither, to wit, in their
father's loins, because they were begotten by their father in Egypt,
whilst Jacob lived there, of which more in its proper place.

Judah went down from his brethren; probably in discontent,

upon occasion of quarrels arisen among them about the selling of
Joseph, whereof Judah was a great promoter, if not the first
mover.

A certain Adullamite, of the city of Adullam; of which see

Jos_12:15 Jos_15:35.

Genesis 38:2

He married her against the counsel and example of his parents.

But when Judah had committed so great a crime as the selling of
his brother, and God had forsaken him, no wonder he adds one sin
to another.

Shuah was the name, not of the daughter, but of her father,
Gen_38:12.
Genesis 38:5

Chezib; a place near Adullam, called also Achzib, Jos_19:29

Mic_1:14.

Genesis 38:7

Wicked in the sight of the Lord, i.e. notoriously wicked.

Compare Gen_10:9 13:13.

The Lord slew him, in some extraordinary and remarkable

manner, as Gen_38:10.

Genesis 38:8

This, as also divers other things, was now instituted and observed
amongst God’s people, and afterwards was expressed in a written
law, Deu_25:5,6. See also Num_36:6,7 Rth 1:11 Mat_22:24.

Raise up seed to thy brother; beget a child which may have thy
brother’s name and inheritance, and may be reputed as his child.
So it was with the first child, but the rest were reputed his own.

Genesis 38:9

Two things are here noted:

1. The sin itself, which is here particularly described by the Holy

Ghost, that men might be instructed concerning the nature and the
great evil of this sin of self-pollution, which is such that it brought
upon the actor of it the extraordinary vengeance of God, and
which is condemned not only by Scripture, but even by the light
of nature, and the judgment of heathens, who have expressly
censured it as a great sin, and as a kind of murder. Of which see
my Latin Synopsis. Whereby we may sufficiently understand how
wicked and abominable a practice this is amongst Christians, and
in the light of the gospel, which lays greater and stricter
obligations upon us to purity, and severely forbids all pollution
both of flesh and spirit.
2. The cause of this wickedness; which seems to have been either
hatred of his brother, or envy at his brother’s name and honour,
springing from the pride of his own heart.

Genesis 38:10

Displeased the Lord; an expression noting a more than ordinary

offence against God, as 2Sa_11:27. This just but dreadful severity
of God is noted both for the terror of such-like transgressors, and
to provoke love and thankfulness to God in those whom he useth
more indulgently.

Genesis 38:11

At thy father’s house, whither he sent her from his house, that
Shelah might not be insnared by her presence and conversation.
So he dismissed her with a pretence of kindness, and a tacit
promise of marriage to her, which he never intended to keep, as
the following words imply; for he said; or rather, but he said; for
the Hebrew chi oft signifies but, as Gen_45:8 Psa_37:20 Ecc_2:10
6:2. So here is an opposition between what he said to Tamar, and
what he said to himself, or in his own heart, as that word said is
oft used: he intimated to her that he would give Shelah to her, but
he meant otherwise, and said in himself, I will not do it,

lest peradventure he die also as his brethren did; imputing the

death of his two sons either to her fault, or to her unluckiness,
rather than to his own or his son’s miscarriages.

Genesis 38:12

In process of time, when many days had passed, and Shelah,

though grown, was not given to Tamar,

Judah went up unto his sheep-shearers, to feast and rejoice with

them at that time, as the manner was then and afterwards. See
1Sa_25:36.

Timnath; a place not far from Adullam; of which see Jos_15:57.

Genesis 38:14

Covered her with a vail, as harlots used to do in those modester

ages of the world, when they had not learnt to outface the sun, nor
to glory in their villanies.

In an open place, where she night be soonest discovered by

passengers. This is noted as the practice of harlots, Pro_7:12 9:14
Jer_3:2 Eze_16:24,25.

Genesis 38:15

And was doubtless careful not to discover herself by her voice.

Genesis 38:18

Thy bracelets, or handkerchief, or girdle, or any other ornament

made of twisted thread, which the Hebrew word signifies. God so
ordering things by his providence, that his sin might be
discovered. And this and other such horrid crimes committed
sometimes by the patriarchs, and other eminent persons, it hath
pleased God for divers wise and holy reasons to leave upon
record, partly, to discover how great and deep the corruption of
man’s nature is, and that even in the best; partly, to oblige all men
to a humble sense of their own infirmity, and to a diligent
application of themselves to God for his gracious succours, and to
a greater circumspection and watchfulness to prevent those evils
in themselves; partly, to encourage even the greatest sinners to
repentance and the hope of pardon; and partly, for the just
punishment and obduration of incorrigible sinners, who make
such sad examples matter of their delight and imitation.

Genesis 38:23

Note, that fornication was esteemed sinful and shameful amongst

the heathens.
Genesis 38:24

Bring her forth to the magistrate, from whom she may receive
her sentence and deserved punishment. Judah had not the power
of life and death, at least not over her, who was a Canaanite, and
who was not in his, but in her own father’s house. But he being a
person of great estate and authority, and, as it seems, of obliging
conversation, could do very much to persuade those who then had
the power of the sword, either to draw it forth, at least in a just
cause, on his behalf, or to sheath it upon his desire and
satisfaction.

Let her be burnt, as guilty of adultery, which was punished with

death by the laws of God, Deu_22:23,24, and of nations too,
Jer_29:22,23. He chargeth her with adultery, because she was
betrothed to Shelah. See Deu_22:23. This eagerness of Judah
proceeded not from zeal of justice, for then he would not have
endeavoured to destroy the innocent child with the guilty mother,
against God’s law, Deu_24:16 Eze_18:20, but from worldly
policy, that he might take her out of the way, which he esteemed a
burden and a blot to his family.

Genesis 38:26

His guilty conscience, and the horror of so foul a fact, together

with his sudden surprisal, forced him to an ingenuous confession,
whereas he might have used many pretences and evasions, which
would easily have prevailed with such partial judges.

She hath been more righteous than I. She was more unchaste,
because she knowingly committed adultery and incest, when he
designed neither; but he was more unjust, because he was the
cause of her sin, both by withholding Shelah from her, who was
hers both by right and by Judah’s promise, and by whom her
chastity should have been preserved; and by his solicitation and
encouragement of her to the sin.

He knew her again no more; showing the sincerity of his

confession by his forsaking of the sin confessed. See Job_34:32.
And it may be probably concluded, that he neither knew her nor
any other woman afterward, because there is no mention of any
child which he had after this time.

Genesis 38:28

The midwife bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, in token of

his being the first-born, which she confidently expected he would
be.

This breach be upon thee, be imputed to thee, as the same phrase

is taken Gen_16:5.

Genesis 39:1

The Lord was with Joseph, with his gracious presence and
blessing, as this phrase is taken here, Gen_39:21 Gen_21:22
Gen_26:24.

He was in the house of his master: he doth not endeavour to

make an escape to his father, but demeaned himself patiently and
faithfully in the station into which God's providence had brought
him.

Genesis 39:3

The heathens owned a supreme God, and his overruling

providence in affairs, though they did not glorify him as God, but
worshipped the creature with and more than the Creator,
Rom_1:25.

In his hand, i.e. under his ministry, as this phrase is used,

Exo_4:13 Lev_8:36 Pro_26:6, and oft elsewhere.

Genesis 39:4

He served him, not now as a slave, but in a higher degree.

All that he had he put into his hand, i.e. committed to his care
and management, as Gen_16:6.

Object. How could this be, when Joseph understood not the
Egyptian tongue?

Answ. Joseph doubtless when he came thither did as much as

possibly he could endeavour to get the knowledge of that
language, and being a person of excellent parts, would soon obtain
it, especially because of the great affinity between that language
and his own. Nor must we think that Joseph was thus highly
advanced in an instant, but by degrees, step by step, and after
some considerable time.

Genesis 39:6

He took care for nothing, but that he might eat, and drink, and fare
deliciously. Nor did he indeed take any care for that, it being
provided for him by other hands. Others thus, He took care for
nothing, but committed all to Joseph, except his bread, which he
would not have provided by a Hebrew hand,

because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews,
Gen_43:32. But that was no impediment, for neither did Joseph
eat with his master, nor was he the cook to dress it for him. But he
might provide food for him, as afterwards he did for all the
Egyptians without any scruple on their side.

Genesis 39:7

She

cast her eyes upon Joseph, in a lascivious and unchaste manner.

See Job_31:1 Mat_5:28 2Pe_2:14.
Genesis 39:10

He avoided her company and familiar conversation, as evil in

itself, the present circumstances considered, and as an occasion of
further evil. See Pro_1:15 5:8 1Co_15:33 1Th_5:22 1Ti_5:14.

Genesis 39:11

About this time, or, upon a certain day, which she thought
convenient for the reason following.

To do his business, that which belonged to his charge; to cast up

his accounts, as the Chaldee renders it, which requiring privacy,
gave her this opportunity.

There was none of the men within, to wit, in that part of the
house where Joseph was.

Genesis 39:12

He left his garment in her hand, which he would not strive to get
from her, partly, for reverence to his mistress; partly, in
detestation of her wickedness, whereby even his garment might
seem to be infected; and partly, to put himself and her out of the
danger of further temptation.

Genesis 39:14

Unto the men of her house; to such as were in other parts of the
house, whom she called in as witnesses for her husband’s
satisfaction.

He, i.e. my husband, whom she would not name, as it were out of
disdain and high displeasure for being the occasion of this horrid
affront. Thus the pronouns he and they are oft used by way of
contempt, as Luk_4:24 19:27 Joh_7:11 8:10.

An Hebrew; so she calls him, to render him hateful and

contemptible to the Egyptians.
To mock us; to abuse me; or to vitiate and defile me; for that
word is oft used in an obscene sense. She insinuates, that this was
not only an indignity to her, but an injury to all the family, which
therefore they were obliged to revenge.

Genesis 39:17

So she makes her husband accessory to the crime, that she might
provoke him to the sharper revenge.

Genesis 39:18

An improbable story, and an evidence that the violence was on her

side; otherwise, if he had attempted violence upon her person, he
would not have forborne violence to the recovery of his garment,
which he very well knew might be made a pretence against him.

Genesis 39:20

Quest. Why did he not kill him, the crime being capital, and he
having so undoubted a power in his hand to do it?

Answ. It is probable he was a little moderated by Joseph’s

apology, which doubtless he made for himself, though it be not
here recorded.

2. This is to be ascribed to the good providence of God, which

restrains the waves of the sea, and the passions of men, and sets
them their bounds which they shall not pass, which watched over
Joseph in a peculiar manner.

The king’s prisoners; traitors, or great offenders against the king,

whose prison doubtless was none of the easiest and therefore it is
called a dungeon, Gen_40:15 41:14; and he endured great
hardship in it. See Psa_105:18.
Genesis 39:21

The gaoler, who under Potiphar was the keeper of that particular
person.

Genesis 39:22

They did nothing but by Joseph’s command or permission.

Genesis 40:1

Genesis 40:2

Genesis 40:3

The captain of the guard, to wit, Potiphar, Gen_37:36, who

being informed by his underkeeper of Joseph’s great care and
faithfulness, began to have a better opinion of him, though for his
own quiet, and his wife’s reputation, he left him still in the prison.

Where Joseph was bound; was a prisoner, as that word is used,

Isa_22:3; for Joseph being now made governor of the prisoners,
was doubtless freed from his bonds: or had been bound, and that
with irons in a cruel manner, Psa_105:18.

Genesis 40:4

A season, Heb. days, i.e. either many days, or a year, as that word
sometimes signifies. See Gen_24:55.

Genesis 40:5

1718 i.e. Not a vain and idle dream, but one that had in it a
signification of future things, and needed interpretation; and the
several dreams were proper and agreeable to the several events
which befell them, and to the several interpretations which Joseph
put upon them: the dream and interpretation did fitly answer one
to the other.
Genesis 40:6

Perplexed and terrified both, because they perceived the dream

was extraordinary and sent from God; compare Gen_41:8
Dan_2:1 Mat_27:19; and because they understood not the
meaning of it.

Genesis 40:8

There is no interpreter of it, to wit, with us, or to whom we can

now resort; for otherwise there were many in Egypt of that
profession, Gen_41:8.

Do not interpretations belong to God? In vain do you expect

such things from your wise men, for it is only that God who sends
these dreams that can interpret them, and to him you should seek
for it.

Tell me, who am the servant of the true God, who useth to
communicate his secrets to his people, and who, I doubt not, will
hear my prayers for this mercy. This he spoke by special direction
and instinct from God, who had given this gift to him.

Genesis 40:12

i.e. Signify

three days. So that word is oft used, as Gen_40:18 41:26,27 Da

2:38 4:22 Mat_13:19,38 26:26,28 Lu 8:11 1Co_10:4. And indeed
there is no proper Hebrew word which answers to signify.

Genesis 40:13

Lift up thine head, i.e. advance thee to thy former dignity. So

that phrase is used 2Ki_25:27 Psa_110:7. Or, reckon thy head, i.e.
thy name or thy person, to wit, among his servants, which is
added, Gen_40:20. According to the custom, which was this: at
set times governors of families used to take an account of their
servants, and to have the names of their servants read to them, and
they either left them in the catalogue, or put any of them out, as
they saw fit, and inflicted such further punishments upon any of
them as they deserved. This seems the truer interpretation,
because it is said that Pharaoh lifted up the head of his butler, and
of his baker, Gen_40:20, and therefore the phrase must be so
expounded, as to agree equally to both.

Genesis 40:14

Though he patiently endures his prison, yet he prudently useth all

lawful means to get his freedom.

Genesis 40:15

I was stolen away, taken away by force and fraud, without my

own or father’s consent, out of the land of Canaan, which he
might call the land of the Hebrews, either because they now dwelt
in it, or by way of protestation of their right and claim to it by
God’s gift. Or rather thus, out of that part of Canaan where the
Hebrews dwell; for the word land is not only spoken of whole
countries, as of the whole land of Canaan, but of any parts or
parcels thereof, as Gen_13:6 22:2 23:15 34:1. Observe, that
Joseph doth not accuse either his brethren or his mistress, but only
asserts his own innocency, which was necessary for his
deliverance.

Genesis 40:16

White baskets; so called from the colour, either of the baskets,

which were made of pilled, and so white twigs, or of the things
contained in them, as white bread, &c.

Genesis 40:19

From off thee. This clause is industriously added here to the

former phrase, to show that it was now meant in another sense. He
shall indeed lift up thy head, as well as the chief butler’s, but in
another manner, not for time, but
from thee, or so as to take away thy head or thy life (which
eminently consists and appears in the head) from thee.

Genesis 40:20

Pharaoh’s birthday. Birth-days by persons of eminency then

were, and since have usually been, celebrated with feasting and
rejoicing.

Genesis 40:23

i.e. Neglected him and his desire; as men in Scripture are oft said
to forget God, when they do not remember him so as to love and
obey him, as Psa_106:13,21 Ho 2:13.

Genesis 41:1

Two full years, after the butler's restitution to his place. Heb.
Years of days, for full years, as 2Sa_14:28 Jer_28:3; as a month of
days is put for a full month, Gen_29:14, which is complete to a
day. Nilus is called the river simply, because of its eminency, as
Homer or Virgil are called the poet.

Genesis 41:2

This suits well with the nature of the thing, for both the
fruitfulness and the barrenness of Egypt depended, under God,
upon the increase or diminution of the waters of that river.

Kine, when they appeared in dreams, did portend, in the opinion

of the learned Egyptians, the years or times to come, and them
either good or bad, according to their quality.

Genesis 41:3

Which shows how sparingly the river overflowed the lands.

Genesis 41:5

Ears of corn are fit and proper resemblances of the thing here
intended, both because the fertility of a land doth mainly consist
in the abundance and goodness of these; and because ears of corn
appearing to any in a dream, did, in the judgment of the Egyptian
wise men, signify years, as Josephus notes.

Genesis 41:6

A boisterous wind, and in those parts of the world very pernicious

to the fruits of the earth, Eze_17:10 19:12 Hos_13:15.

Genesis 41:7

Not a real thing, as Pharaoh in his sleep imagined it to be. Heb.

Behold the dream, i.e. the dream did not vanish, as dreams
commonly do, but was fixed in his mind, and he could not shake it
off; by which he saw that it was no common or natural, but a
Divine and significant dream.

Genesis 41:8

His spirit was troubled, because he understood not the meaning

of it, and dreaded the consequences of it. Compare Gen_40:6
Dan_2:1,3 Mt 27:19.

The magicians, whose profession it was to discover secret and

future things; which they did either by the observation of the stars,
or by other superstitious practices, and the help of evil spirits. See
Exo_7:11 8:19 Dan_2:2,10.

The wise men, who were conversant in the study of nature; and
by reason of their great sagacity, did ofttimes make happy
conjectures.

Pharoah calls them both one dream, either because they seemed
to portend the same thing, or because they were the product of one
night, and were divided only by a very little interruption.
Genesis 41:9

Not against Joseph by ingratitude, but against the king; by which

expression he both acknowledgeth the king’s justice in
imprisoning him, and his clemency in pardoning him.

Genesis 41:11

Of which phrase see Poole on "Gen_40:5".

Genesis 41:13

Me he restored; either,

1. Pharaoh. But then he would have mentioned either his name or

title, and not have spoken so slightly and indecently of him. Or
rather,

2. Joseph, of whom he spake last, and who is here said to restore

the one, and to hang the other, because he foretold those events, as
Jeremiah is said to pull down and destroy those nations, Jer_1:10,
whose destruction he did only foretell.

Genesis 41:14

The dungeon, or prison, by a synecdoche of the part for the

whole. For it is not probable that Joseph, who was now so much
employed, and intrusted with all the affairs of the prison and
prisoners, Gen_39:21-23, should still be kept in the dungeon
properly so called.

He shaved himself; for till then he suffered his hair to grow, as

the manner was for persons in prison, or under great sorrow,
2Sa_19:24. But to appear in a mournful dress before the king was
not convenient, nor usual. Compare Est_4:4.
Genesis 41:16

I cannot do this by any power, or virtue, or art of my own, for I

am but a man, as your magicians are, but only by inspiration from
the great God. Thus he gives the honour from himself unto God,
and leads Pharaoh to the knowledge of the true God. For the
phrase compare Mat_10:20 1Co_15:10.

God shall give; or, may God give, & c. It is my desire that God
would vouchsafe to Pharaoh a comfortable and happy answer.

Genesis 41:21

They seemed to be neither fatter in the flesh, nor fuller in their

bodies. As many times in famine men eat much, but are not
satisfied, because God withdraws his blessing from it, by which
alone it is that meat nourisheth us.

Genesis 41:25

The dream of Pharaoh is one, to wit, in its design and

signification; both dreams portend the same thing.

Genesis 41:30

There shall be no relics of it to keep it in men’s minds, which will

be so taken up with the contemplation of their present misery and
future danger, that they will have neither heart nor leisure to
reflect upon their former plenty, the remembrance whereof will
but aggravate the present calamity.

Genesis 41:34

Not by force or violence, for Joseph would never be the author of

such unrighteous counsels; but by purchase at the common price,
which was like to be very low in that case, and therefore might
easily be compassed by that rich and mighty prince.

Quest. Why
the fifth part, and not half, seeing the years of famine were as
many as the years of plenty?

Answ. Because,

1. Men would and should live more sparingly in times of famine.

2. It was likely that very many men would lay up great quantities
of corn in those years, partly because they could not spend it all,
and partly in expectation of a scarcer and dearer time, when they
might either use it themselves, or sell it to their advantage.

3. The fifth part of those years of great plenty might be more than
the half, yea, equal to the whole crop of ordinary years.

Genesis 41:38

Or, of the gods, in his heathen language. One whom God hath
endowed with such admirable knowledge and wisdom.

Genesis 41:39

God hath showed thee all this, i.e. hath given thee this
extraordinary gift of foreseeing and foretelling things to come,
and of giving such sage advice for the future.

Genesis 41:40

According unto thy word, i.e. direction and command, Heb.

mouth, which is oft put for command, {as Exo_17:1 38:21
Num_3:16,39 , &c.,} shall all my poeple be ruled, or, be fed; they
shall receive their provisions from thy hand, and according to thy
disposal. Others, shall kiss, viz. the hand, as inferiors used to do,
upon their address to or conference with great persons. See
Job_31:27 Hos_13:2. But it was frivolous for Joseph to command
them to do that which by the custom of the place they were
obliged and wont to do. Some render the word thus, and that
agreeable to the Hebrew, at thy mouth shall the people kiss; which
may be understood either properly, as inferiors did sometimes kiss
their superiors in token of their homage; see 1Sa_10:1; or rather
metaphorically, as the same phrase is used Psa_2:12 Pro_24:26,
receive all thy commands with reverence and submission.

In the throne, i.e. in sovereign power and dignity.

Genesis 41:42

His ring was both a token of highest dignity, and an instrument of

greatest power, by which he had authority to make and sign what
decrees he thought fit in the king’s name. See Est_3:10 8:2. With

fine linen the greatest potentates were arrayed. See Pro_31:22,24

Eze 16:10 Luk_16:19 Rev_19:8.

A gold chain was another badge of great honour. See Pro_1:9

Eze_16:11 Dan_5:7,16,29.

Genesis 41:43

In the second chariot; in the king’s second chariot, that he might

be known and owned to be the next person to the king in power
and dignity. Compare 2Ch_35:24 Est_6:8 10:3 Dan_5:29.

Bow the knee: they commanded all that passed by him, or came
to him, to show their reverent respect to him in this manner:
compare Est_3:2. Others, tender father, to signify that he was to
be owned as the father of the country, because by his prudence
and care he had provided for them all, and saved them from utter
ruin.

Genesis 41:44

I am Pharaoh, i.e. I only am the king, I reserve to myself the

sovereign power over thee, and over all. As the name of Caesar
among the Romans was commonly used for the emperor, so the
name of Pharaoh for the king. Or thus, I have the supreme power,
and therefore as I have authority to give thee the following power,
so I will make it good to thee, and oblige all my people to observe
and obey thee. No man shall do any thing in the public affairs of
the kingdom concerning matters of war or peace without thy
commission or licence.

Genesis 41:45

Zaphnath-paaneah, i.e. The revealer of secrets, as the Hebrews

generally understand it, and with them most others.

Poti-pherah, not that Potiphar, Gen_39:1; both because he had

another title, and dwelt in another place; and because it is not
probable Joseph would have married the daughter of so unchaste a
mother; but another and a greater person. It is the observation of a
late ingenious and learned writer, that among the Egyptians there
were three words, or endings of words, near akin, but differing in
signification, and in the degree of dignity and authority, to which
those names were annexed: Phar, which belonged to inferior
officers; and Pherah, which was given to those of greater dignity
and power; and Pharaoh, which was appropriated to the king.

Priest, or prince, as the word signifies, Exo_18:1 2Sa_8:18 20:26,

and elsewhere. This sense is the more probable, both from
Joseph’s high quality, and from his holy disposition, whereby he
hated idolatry, and would never have married the daughter of an
idolatrous priest.

On was a famous city of Egypt, called also Aven, Eze_30:17, and

afterwards, as some think, Heliopolis, now Damiata. See
Jer_43:13.

Joseph went out over all the land, upon his employment, and to
execute the king’s command, and his own counsel.

Genesis 41:46

Joseph’s age is here noted to teach us,

1. That Joseph’s short affliction was recompensed with a much

longer prosperity, even for eighty years.
2. That Joseph’s excellent wisdom did not proceed from his large
and long experience, but from the singular gift of God.

He stood before Pharaoh, as his chief minister: to stand before

another is the posture and designation of a servant, as 1Sa_16:21
Dan_1:19.

Went throughout all the land, to provide places for his stores,
and to constitute officers for the management of them.

Genesis 41:47

Or, unto handfuls, to wit, growing upon one stalk; or, unto heaps;
or, as the ancients render it, for the barns or storehouses; i.e. in
such plenty, that all their storehouses were filled with heaps of
corn.

Genesis 41:48

All the food; that is, either all sorts of grain which was proper for
food; or all which he intended to gather, to wit, the fifth part,
Gen_41:34.

Genesis 41:51

i.e. Hath expelled all sorrowful remembrance of it by my present

comfort and glory.

All my toil, and all my father’s house, i.e. the toil of my father’s
house, or the toil and misery which for many years I have endured
by means of my father’s family, and my own brethren, who sold
me hither; a figure called hendyadis.

Genesis 41:52

1711 In the land which hitherto hath been to me a land of

affliction.
Genesis 41:54

In all lands; in all the neighbouring countries, appears by

comparing this with Gen_42:1.

Genesis 41:55

The people cried to Pharaoh, as to their king and common

father. Compare 2Ki_6:26.

Genesis 42:1

When Jacob saw, i.e. heard, as the word is used, Exo_20:18; as

seeing is put for smelling, Exo_5:21; and for tasting, Psa_34:8;
and for touching, Joh_20:29.

Why do ye look one upon another; like lazy, careless, and

helpless persons, each one expecting relief from the other, but
none offering either counsel or help for all our subsistence?

Genesis 42:2

I have heard: this word explains the word saw, Gen_42:1.

Get you down; for Egypt was lower than Canaan; whence, on the
contrary, they are said to go up to Canaan, Gen_45:9.

That we may live, and not die; an emphatical repetition of the

same thing, used here to make them more sensible of their danger.

Genesis 42:4

Because he was very young, and now his best beloved son.

Genesis 42:6

He sold to the people; either,

1. By his ministers and commissioners appointed to that end, as
men in Scripture and in all authors are said to do that which others
do by their authority and command. Or,

2. He himself immediately contracted with the buyers, or at least

with such as were foreigners; which he did upon prudential
reasons; both because he would not have them to pry into the state
of Egypt, Gen_42:12, and because he would by that opportunity
understand the state of other lands, and improve that knowledge
for his master’s service.

Joseph’s brethren bowed down themselves before him; thus

unwittingly fulfilling Joseph’s dream, Gen_37:7.

Genesis 42:7

He spake roughly unto them; partly, to bring their sin to

remembrance; partly, to get the knowledge of the true state of his
father and family; and partly, to further the following design, and
make way for his and their greater happiness.

Genesis 42:8

Because his visage was much altered by his beard, and by other
things, it being about twenty years since they saw him; and his
Egyptian language, and habit, and carriage, together with the great
dignity of his place, prevented all suspicions concerninging their
brother.

Genesis 42:9

This he saith, not because they were so, or he thought them to be

so, but that he might search out the truth of their affair, speaking
too much like a courtier or politician.

The nakedness of the land, i.e. the weak parts of it, and where it
may be best assaulted or surprised.
Genesis 42:11

We are all one man’s sons, and therefore not spies; for it is not
likely either that a father would venture so many sons upon so
hazardous an employment, or that such a work would have been
trusted in the hands of one family only.

We are true men, who honestly and truly mean what we pretend,
and have no other design in our coming hither.

Genesis 42:13

i.e. Is dead, as that phrase often signifies both in Scripture, as

Gen_37:30 44:20 Jer_31:15 Mat_2:17,18, and in other authors, as
Homer, Euripides, &c. They concluded with great probability that
he was dead, Gen_44:20, because for twenty years together they
had heard nothing, either of him or from him; which may seem
strange, considering the nearness of Egypt and Canaan: but this
came to pass partly from his own long imprisonment, and
afterwards from his great and high employment; partly, from his
lothness to bring so much mischief to his father and brethren, as
the discovery of his case might have produced; and principally,
from the overruling providence of God, which for its own glorious
design disposed of Joseph’s mind and affairs, so that he either did
not send to his father’s house, or that the messages were
intercepted, there being not then those conveniencies for mutual
correspondencies which now there are. And it is not improbable
that Joseph might be further acquainted with the mind of God in
this matter by dreams, which may seem to have been familiarly
afforded to him, together with the interpretation of them. See
Gen_40:8 41:16.

Genesis 42:14

This justifies my accusation; for it is not probable that one man

should have so many sons, all grown up and living together in one
family, and that he should expose them all to the perils of such a
journey.
Genesis 42:15

By the life of Pharaoh, as sure as Pharaoh lives. It seems to be

the form of an oath in use among the Egyptians, as afterwards the
Romans used to swear by the name, genius, health, and life of
their emperors. Compare 1Sa_1:26 17:55 2Ki_2:2 Eze_33:11.
And it is not strange that Joseph through human infirmity was
carried by the stream of the general practice of the court,
especially when the law of God was not yet delivered concerning
the appropriation of oaths unto God.

Genesis 42:18

I will spare your lives, and not punish you with death as spies, and
you shall carry provisions, that your family also may live;

for I fear God, and therefore will not be cruel to you, nor to your
brother whom you shall leave with me. This might have raised
some suspicion concerning Joseph, but that they knew there were
divers among the heathens who did own the true God, though they
worshipped idols with him.

Genesis 42:19

Your prison, in which you are now imprisoned, and are still like
to be so, if you accept not this condition.

Genesis 42:20

i.e. Resolved and promised to do so. Those things are oft said to
be done in Scripture which were sincerely resolved upon, as hath
been noted before.

Genesis 42:21

This is the just punishment of that great wickedness, which though

we could cover from men, yet we now see and feel was known to
God, who is now reckoning with us for it. Thus Divine vengeance
overtakes them, and conscience tortures them for a sin committed
above twenty years before, and their affliction brings them to
repentance.

When he besought us: compare Gen_49:23. Yet this passage is

not mentioned in that history, Gen_37:1-36. Learn hence, that the
silence of the Scripture is no good argument that such or such a
thing was not said or done, except in some special cases.

Therefore is this distress come upon us; he is inexorable to us,

as we were to him.

Genesis 42:22

i.e. The punishment of his blood or death occasioned by us.

Genesis 42:24

He turned himself and wept tears, partly of natural affection and

compassion towards his brethren, now in great distress and
anguish; and partly of joy, to see the happy success of his design
and rigorous carriage, in bringing them to the sight of their sins.

He chooseth to punish

Simeon, partly, because next to Reuben he was the eldest, and, as

it may be probably gathered from his bloody disposition,
Gen_34:25 49:6, the most fierce and forward against Joseph,
when Reuben was for milder counsels, as we see here, Gen_42:22
38:29; and partly, because the detainment of one of so perverse
and furious a temper would least afflict his father, and most secure
Benjamin, who was to come with his brethren. He

bound him before their eyes, that it might make deeper

impression upon their hard hearts, and make their repentance
more effectual.
Genesis 42:27

And after him the rest by his example and information did so, as is
affirmed Gen_43:21, and it is not denied here.

Genesis 42:28

They were afraid, lest this should be a design to entrap, and so

destroy them. Whoever were the instruments, they knew that God
was the chief author of this occurrent, and wisely reflect upon his
providence in it, and their own guilt which provoked him against
them.

Genesis 42:35

i.e. Their fear returned upon them with more violence, having now
more leisure to consider things, and their wise and experienced
father suggesting new matters to them, which might more deeply
affect them.

Genesis 42:36

Simeon is not; he gave him up for lost, as being, as he thought, in

the power of a cruel enemy.

All these things are against me; I am the great sufferer in all
these things: you carry yourselves as if you were neither
concerned nor affected with them.

Genesis 42:37

Slay my two sons, two of the four mentioned Gen_46:9. An

absurd proposition, neither fit for him to make, nor for Jacob to
accept.

Genesis 42:38

He is left alone, to wit of his mother, my dear Rachel.

Genesis 43:1

Genesis 43:2

He saith a

little, either to show that he took no thought to satisfy his or their

curiosity or luxury, but only their necessity, for which a little
would suffice, and that they must all moderate their appetites,
especially in a time of such scarcity; or to encourage them to the
journey, by suggesting to them that they needed not bring great
stores, but only what was sufficient for that year, and that God
would provide better for them hereafter, so as they should not
need to go so far for corn any more.

Genesis 43:3

Ye shall not see my face. See the same expression, 2Sa_14:24

2Sa_14:32 Act_20:25 Act_20:38. Ye shall not be admitted into
my presence, nor to the purchasing of any corn here.

Genesis 43:5

We will not go down, because we shall both lose the end of our
journey, viz. the getting of corn, and run the utmost hazard of all
our lives.

Genesis 43:7

We told him according to the tenor of these words; we gave

answers suitable to his questions, or such as his words required.

Genesis 43:8

Judah, for his age and prudence, and penitent carriage for his
youthful follies, was most beloved and regarded by his father.
The lad; so he calls him, because he was the youngest of all,
though he was now thirty years old, and a father of divers
children. See Gen_30:22 35:18 41:46 46:21.

Genesis 43:9

Let me bear the blame; Heb. be an offender to thee. Let me bear

the guilt, and shame, and punishment due to so great an offence.

Genesis 43:10

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:11

Of all which see Gen_37:25. The

nuts were of that kind which we call pistaches, as some Hebrew

and other expositors render the word; for that was both an
excellent fruit, and peculiar to Judea and Syria, and well agreeing
with the

almonds which here follow.

Genesis 43:12

Take double money, double to what you carried last, either to

procure more corn, which may prevent the frequency of such
perilous journeys; or because the continuance and increase of the
scarcity had advanced the price.

Carry it again, for it is their money, not ours, and therefore must
be restored.

Peradventure it was an oversight, either in you, or in the

receiver of your money, who through multitude of buyers, and
haste in his business, might easily be mistaken.
Genesis 43:13

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:14

An expression whereby he submits himself and children to God’s

will and providence, whatever the issue shall be. Compare
Est_4:16. Or thus, As I have been already

bereaved of some of my dearest children, so I shall be bereaved

of the rest, and I shall be left solitary; and if this be my portion,
God’s will be done.

Genesis 43:15

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:16

The usual time for the more solemn meal in the east countries, as
the evening was the time, and the supper the great meal, among
the Romans.

Genesis 43:17

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:18

Take us for bondmen, the proper punishment for thieves.

Genesis 43:19

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:20

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:21

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:22

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:23

Peace be to you; no harm shall come to you for that matter.

Your God, and the God of your father: thus he speaks, because
Joseph had instructed him, as well as others of his family, in the
true religion.

Hath given you treasure, by his power and providence secretly

putting it there.

Genesis 43:24

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:25

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:26

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:27

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:28

Thy servant; by which expression delivered in Jacob’s name, and

by his order, Jacob himself made obeisance to him, as was
foretold, Gen_37:9.

Genesis 43:29

Saw his brother, i.e. more narrowly observed him, having now
more leisure than he seems to have had when he saw him first,
Gen_43:16.

My son; so he calls him, not from special affection, which he

intended not yet to discover; but because this compellation is
commonly used when a man speaks to another who is his inferior
in age or dignity.

Genesis 43:30

His bowels did yearn; his heart and inward parts were
vehemently moved, as they commonly are upon occasion of any
excessive passion, of love, pity, grief, or joy, &c.

Genesis 43:31

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 43:32

They set on for him by himself; partly because the dignity of his
place, and the custom of princes, required this state; and partly for
the reason here following.

That is an abomination unto the Egyptians; not so much from

their pride and disdain of other people, as from their superstition
and idolatry; partly because they worshipped the creatures which
the Hebrews and others did commonly eat; and partly because of
some peculiar rites and customs which they had in the dressing
and ordering of their diet. Whence Herodotus affirms, that the
Egyptians would not use the pots nor knives of the Grecians about
their food. Compare Gen_46:34. See there, Exo_8:26.

Genesis 43:33

The youngest according to his youth; being so placed either by

Joseph’s appointment; or rather by their own choice, and
according to their custom; by which the elder, though the
handmaidens’ children, took place of the younger, who by that
order were taught what veneration they owe to the aged, and how
great a sin it is, though very customary, in young men to despise
those whom they should reverence.

The men, not the Egyptians, but the Hebrews, the men last
spoken of,

marvelled; either at the matter and manner of the feasts and

entertainments of the Egyptians; or rather, at the singular honour
which Joseph did to them above all others, the reason whereof
they could not conceive, and therefore marvelled at it.

Genesis 43:34

It was the ancient custom of Egypt and other countries in their

feasts, that either all the meat, or at least some eminent parts and
parcels of it, were not promiscuously set before all the guests, but
peculiarly distributed by the master of the feast to the several
guests, and that differently, according to his respect and affection
to them, or to their several qualities. See 1Sa_1:5 9:22-24.

Five times so much as any of theirs; partly, because of his nearer

relation and dearer affection to him; and partly, to observe
whether this would raise that envy in them towards him, which
was the occasion of their malicious enterprise against himself, that
he might accordingly provide for his security.

Were merry: the Hebrew word oft signifies to be drunk, but

ofttimes it is only to drink liberally, though not to drunkenness, as
may appear from Son_5:1 Hag_1:6 Joh_2:10.
Genesis 44:1

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:2

It seems to have been a large cup, and of great price, and much
used by Joseph.

In the sack’s mouth of the youngest, with design to discover

their intentions and affections towards Benjamin, whether they did
envy him, and would desert him in his danger, as they did Joseph;
or would cleave to him; that hence he might take his measures
how to deal with him and them.

Genesis 44:3

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:4

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:5

Amongst the several kinds of divination in use among the

Egyptians and other heathens, this was one, to do it by a cup or
bason, which they filled with water, and put in them plates of
silver, or precious stones, in which certain characters were
engraven, by which, and some words they used, they called upon
the devil, who gave them answer. Joseph did not use this course,
nor was a diviner, but the people thought him such a one, and the
steward might represent him as such, for the better covering or
carrying on his design. But this sense agrees not with Gen_44:15,
Wot you not, & c. Which words show that he speaks of something
which they all might easily know; but they did not know that
Joseph was a diviner, much less that he divined by that cup,
whereas that kind of divination was generally performed by a
glass, not by a cup. Others observe, that the Hebrew word ofttimes
signifies not to divine, but only to observe and discover a thing, as
Gen_30:27 1Ki_20:33, and render the place thus, whereby he will
certainly observe or discover, to wit, what you are and do. But this
also seems not to consist with Gen_44:15, and the supplement is
too large and remote. The true sense then is this, the Hebrew bo is
not to be rendered by which, but concerning which, as the particle
beth is oft used, and it notes not the instrument whereby, but the
object about which, he did divine, and the words must be
rendered, concerning which he can or would certainly divine. And
this agrees well with Gen_44:15: q.d. Did you think you could
deceive my master? Did not you and all others know that he could
divine, and discover secret things, whence he had both his name
and preferment? And this cup being much prized and used by him,
you might easily judge that he would use his art to recover it.

Ye have done evil, i.e. very evil, unjustly, unthankfully, and

foolishly.

Genesis 44:6

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:7

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:8

It is not probable that we who restored that which was in our

power to keep, and to conceal without any danger, should steal
that which was likely to be discovered with so much shame and
hazard to ourselves.

Genesis 44:9

This overdaring offer proceeded from hence, that they were all
conscious of their own innocency, and did not suspect any fraud
or artifice in the matter.
Genesis 44:10

Thus he moderates the conditions which they proposed,

exempting the innocent, and exchanging the deserved and offered
death of the nocent into slavery.

Genesis 44:11

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:12

Began at the eldest, to take off all their suspicion of his fraud.

The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. He found doubtless the

money there, but he accused them not about that matter, both
because they had an answer ready to that charge from his own
mouth, Gen_43:23, and because the greater crime, the stealing of
the cup which Joseph so much prized and used, might seem to
extinguish the less, or at least cause him to neglect it.

Genesis 44:13

Being afraid and ashamed to go to their father without Benjamin,

concerning whom they had received so severe a charge, and made
such solemn promises and imprecations.

Genesis 44:14

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:15

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:16

Judah speaks in the cause, as being one of the eldest, and a

person of most gravity and discretion, and readiness of speech,
and most eminently concerned for his brother.

God hath found out the iniquity, viz. this iniquity, of which it
seems some of us are guilty, and God hath discovered it. Or
iniquity may be put for iniquities; whether we are guilty of this
fact or not, we are certainly guilty of many other sins, for which
God is now punishing us, to whose providence we therefore
willingly submit.

Genesis 44:17

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:18

Judah made a little nearer approach to him, that he might present

his humble petition to him.

In my lord’s ears, in thy hearing; for this phrase doth not

necessarily imply that he whispered in his ears; as appears from
Num_14:28 Deu_32:44 Jud_17:2.

Thou art even as Pharaoh; as thou representest his person, so

thou art invested with his majesty and authority, and therefore thy
word is a law; thou canst do with us what thou pleasest, either
spare or punish us, and therefore we do justly deprecate thine
anger, and most humbly entreat thy favourable audience and
princely compassion to us.

Genesis 44:19

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:20

A little one; so they call him comparatively to themselves, who

were much elder; and withal, to signify the reason why he came,
not with them, because he was young and tender, and unfit for
such a journey.

Genesis 44:21

i.e. See him with my own eyes, and thereby be satisfied of the
truth of what you say. Compare Gen_42:15,16. Elsewhere this
phrase signifies to show favour to a person, as Jer_39:12 40:4. But
though that was Joseph’s intention, as yet he was minded to
conceal it from them.

Genesis 44:22

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:23

Quest.

Why would Joseph expose his father to the hazard of his life, in
parting with his dear child?

Answ. Joseph supposed that to be but a pretence, and might fear

lest his brethren had disposed of Benjamin as they did of him, and
therefore could not bring him forth. And as for his father, the
experience which he had of his continuance in life and health after
the supposed untimely death of Joseph, gave him good assurance
that his parting with Benjamin for a season, and that under the
care and charge of his brethren, was not likely to make any
dangerous impression upon him.

Genesis 44:24

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:25

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:26

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:27

He calleth her

my wife, by way of eminency, as Gen_46:19, because she only

was his wife by design and choice, whereas Leah was put upon
him by fraud, and might have been refused by him, if he had so
pleased; and the other two were given to him by Rachel and Leah.

Genesis 44:28

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:29

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:30

The death of the child, which upon this occasion he will firmly
believe, will unavoidably procure his death also.

Genesis 44:31

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:32

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 44:33

Partly in compassion to our aged father, and partly for thy own
advantage; because I can be more serviceable to thee than he,
because of my greater strength and experience.

Genesis 44:34

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:1

Cause every man to go out from me; remove all the Egyptians
out of my presence and chamber. Which he did, partly that he
might maintain the honour of his place, and not make himself
cheap and contemptible to the Egyptians, by his excessive tears
and passions, and by his free, and familiar, and affectionate
converse with his brethren; and partly to preserve the reputation of
his brethren, by concealing their fault from the Egyptians.

Genesis 45:2

His tears and voice which had been hitherto kept in by main force,
now breaking forth with greater violence.

The Egyptians, and the house of Pharaoh; some who were near,
with their own ears, and others by report.

Genesis 45:3

He repeats his former question, Gen_43:27, either because he

questioned the truth of their former relation, or would be further
satisfied in it, it being usual with men to ask over and over again
what they long to know; or because he now desired a more
particular relation of his father’s condition, and how he did bear
up under all his calamities.
They were troubled at his presence, from a sudden and deep
sense of their horrid guilt, and their just fear of some dreadful
punishment.

Genesis 45:4

Come near to me; be not afraid of me, but come nearer to me

with cheerfulness and confidence, that you may be assured that I
am he, and that we may more freely and privately discourse
together, so as none others may hear. It is probable that Joseph sat
in state, and that they hitherto kept a due distance from him.

Sold into Egypt, i.e. sold unto them that brought me into Egypt,
and sold me there: see Gen_37:28 Gen_39:1. So they sold him
into Egypt occasionally and eventually.

Genesis 45:5

1706 Be not grieved, to wit, immoderately, and for the injury

which you did to me, or for the danger which you have brought
upon yourselves. Otherwise he doth not dissuade them from a
godly sorrow for their offence against God, for the procurement of
which he dcsigned and used that strange and rough carriage
towards them.

Nor angry with yourselves; neither excessively torment

yourselves with the remembrance of the fact, neither break forth
into contentions and wrath, and upbraidings of one another; for
God by his wise, powerful, and gracious providence overruled
your evil intentions to a happy end,

to preserve life; not only your lives, for the expression is here
indefinite and general, but the lives of all the people in this and
the neighbouring countries; which though it doth not lessen your
sin, yet ought to qualify your sorrow.
Genesis 45:6

Neither sowing nor reaping, except in a few places near Nilus,

because the people could not spare seed-corn, and would not lose
it; understanding from Joseph that their cost and labour would be
lost, and that the famine would be of long continuance.

Genesis 45:7

That you and your children might be sustained and preserved in

this time of famine, and afterwards abundantly multiplied, as God
hath promised.

By a great deliverance, or, for a great remnant, or escaping, i.e.

that you who are now but a handful, escaping this danger, may
grow into a vast multitude. The word evasion, or escaping, is here
put for the persons that do escape, as it is 2Ch_30:6 Isa_10:20;
and as captivity is oft put for the captives, as it is Num_21:1
Deu_21:10. And so what was said in the former clause is repeated
in this with all emphatical addition.

Genesis 45:8

That I came to this place, and pitch of honour and power, is not to
be imputed to your design, which was of another nature, but to
God’s overruling providence, which ordered the circumstances of
your action, so as I should be brought to this place and state.
Compare Gen_50:20.

A father to Pharaoh; to advise him, and to provide for him, as

fathers do for their children, and to have the authority, respect,
and power of a father with him.

Genesis 45:9

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:10

Goshen, a part of Egypt bordering upon Canaan, well watered and

fit for cattle, and therefore most proper for the Israelites, not only
for present use, and to keep them at some distance from the
inward parts of Egypt, and from the court, but also that they might
have Canaan always in their eye and mind, and in God’s time
might with least disadvantage march thither. Joseph promiseth this
place, either because it was least inhabited, being in the borders of
the land, or because he justly presumed upon the king’s favour,
and knew that the growing famine would give him opportunity to
dispose of the people as he pleased.

Genesis 45:11

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:12

Because I speak to you not by an interpreter, as hitherto I have

done, but immediately, and in the Hebrew language.

Genesis 45:13

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:14

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:15

To wit, freely and familiarly, being encouraged by his kindness.

Genesis 45:16

Because they all owed their lives unto Joseph, and his favour was
now fresh and present, and therefore he had more influence upon
them, and they more kindness for him.
Genesis 45:17

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:18

The choicest fruits of the land.

Fat oft is put for the best of my sort, as Num_18:12,29 Deu 32:14
Psa_63:5 147:14.

Genesis 45:19

Besides that absolute power which I have given thee to dispose of

all things as thou pleasest, I do particularly and especially
command thee to do this thing.

Genesis 45:20

Regard not your stuff; Heb. let not your eye pity or spare any
part of your stuff, as loth to leave it behind you, or afraid to lose it.
Sparing or pitying is an act of the mind, but it is ascribed to the
eye here, as also Eze_7:4,9 16:5; partly, because there it discovers
itself by tears, or otherwise; and partly, because the sight of the
eye doth oft affect the heart, and move pity.

Genesis 45:21

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:22

Changes of raiment; new and handsome garments, which upon

their coming into Pharaoh’s presence, and on other occasions,
they might wear instead of those more old and homely ones,
which they brought with them from Canaan. Compare
Jud_14:12,19 2Ki_5:5.
Genesis 45:23

After this manner; Heb. according to this. What? Either what

went before, changes of raiment, or what follows, ten asses, & c.

Or, contend, one with another, each vindicating himself, and

laying the blame upon his brother.

Genesis 45:24

Or contend one with another, each vindicating himself, and laying

the blame upon his brother.

Genesis 45:25

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:26

Jacob’s heart fainted, or, was weakened, or failed, he fell into a

swoon, as it is ordinary, because of the greatness and suddenness
of the news, and the conflict of contrary and violent passions,
raised hereby; grief at the remembrance of his former loss, and
excessive joy for Joseph’s recovery and felicity; hope that this
might be true, and fear lest it should be but a fiction of theirs: any
one of these passions are able to cause a fainting of the spirits, but
much more when all meet together, especially in an aged person.

He believed them not; partly because of the greatness, and

strangeness, and desirableness of the thing; compare Psa_126:1;
and partly because they were by this very relation convicted of
one lie about Joseph, in saying that he was dead, and therefore
might easily be thought guilty of another.

Genesis 45:27

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 45:28

I desire no more, no greater happiness in this world, than to see

him; which when I have done, I am willing to die.

Genesis 46:1

Both in thankfulness to God for former favours, and especially for

Joseph's preservation and happiness; and by way of supplication
to God for his direction in this great case, whether he might leave
the promised land of Canaan, and go into the idolatrous and
impious land of Egypt; and for his protection and blessing, as well
in his journey as in Egypt.

The God of his father Isaac; whom Isaac honoured and served,
and who had constantly protected and provided for Isaac, and
confirmed his covenant with him. He mentions Isaac rather than
Abraham, partly for Isaac's honour, to show that though Isaac was
much inferior to Abraham in gifts and graces, yet God was no less
Isaac's than Abraham's God, and therefore would be his God also,
notwithstanding his unworthiness; and partly for his own comfort,
because Isaac was Jacob's immediate parent, and had transferred
the blessing of the covenant from Esau to Jacob, and the validity
of that translation depended upon Isaac's interest in God.

Genesis 46:2

In the visions of the night, i.e. in that way or manner of visions

which God affordeth to men by night, and in their sleep. See
Gen_20:3 Job_33:15-16 Mat_1:20 Mat_2:13 Mat_2:19 Act_16:9
Act_18:9, &c.

Jacob, Jacob; he doubles the name both in token of his friendship

and familiarity with him, and to raise Jacob's attention. Compare
Gen_22:11 1Sa_3:10.
Genesis 46:3

Here were many causes of fear; lest he should do evil in forsaking

the promised and blessed land, and going to a place which had
been incommodious to his grandfather, Gen_12:15, and forbidden
to his father, Gen_26:2; lest he should expose his children to
manifold perils, as of being infected with the vices, and
particularly the idolatry, which reigned there above all other
countries, and of being inveigled by the pleasantness and eminent
fruitfulness of that soil, to give up themselves to all manner of
pleasures, and to settle themselves there, and give over all
thoughts of returning to Canaan, and of being brought into that
grievous bondage and affliction which was spoken of Gen_15:13;
and lest some mischief should befall him or his in so long and
dangerous a journey.

Genesis 46:4

I will bring thee up again, though not in thy person, yet in thy
body, Gen_47:29-30 Gen_50:5 Gen_50:13; and in thy posterity,
which are a part of thyself, or thyself multiplied.

Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes; shall close thy eyes;
which office was usually performed by the nearest and dearest
relations of the dying party among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans.
Hereby Jacob is assured that he should die in peace, and that
Joseph both now was alive, and should survive his father.

Genesis 46:5

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:6

In the land of Canaan, and in Mesopotamia. But Canaan only is

here mentioned, because here they got the far greatest part of
them, which by a synecdoche is put for the whole.
Genesis 46:7

His daughters; either his daughter Dinah, the plural number for
the singular, as Gen_46:23 21:7 Num_26:8, or Dinah and her
daughters; for grandchildren are commonly called their
grandfather’s children, or sons or daughters; or his daughters-in-
law, his son’s wives.

Genesis 46:8

This genealogy is both here and elsewhere described exactly and

particularly, as well to show the faithfulness of God in the
performance of his promise concerning the vast multiplication of
Abraham’s seed, and that in so short a time, as to distinguish the
tribes; which was of great importance, and necessary for the
disposal of the kingdom and priesthood, and above all, for the
discovery of the true Messias. Compare this following catalogue
with that Num_26:1-65 1Ch_6:1-8:40.

Genesis 46:9

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:10

Ohad is not mentioned in those parallel places, because he was

then dead, and that without issue.

The son of a Canaanitish woman; which is here mentioned as a

brand upon him, and as an intimation that the rest of them, except
Judah, married to persons of a better race.

Genesis 46:11

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:12

Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan, and therefore are not
contained in the following number, Gen_46:15.

Hezron and Hamul, though they seem to have been born in

Egypt, yet are here set down amongst those who came into Egypt,
because they came thither in their father’s loins, as Levi is said to
pay tithes in Abraham, Heb_7:9. And the children may as well be
said to come thither in their parents, as their father Jacob is said to
return from thence, Gen_46:4, in his children.

Object. If this be the sense, why should these two be mentioned

rather than the grandchildren of the other brethren, who came into
Egypt in the same manner?

Answ. This may be done either,

1. From some special excellency or eminency in them above the

rest, as Hezron was eminent for being the progenitor of the
Messiah, and Hamul might be so for some other cause, though
unknown to us. Or,

2. Because they were the first grandchildren that were born in

Egypt, and it may be all that were born whilst Jacob lived there,
and therefore are not unfitly named with Jacob, and allotted to
him; as Joseph’s two eldest sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were by
Jacob appropriated to himself, and reckoned as his immediate
sons, when all the rest of Joseph’s sons were excluded from that
privilege, Gen_48:5,6. And the like may be said of the other two
grandchildren mentioned Gen_46:17.

Genesis 46:13

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:14

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:15

Which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram: this is true properly

and immediately of the sons, who were indeed born there, but
improperly and mediately of the grandchildren, which are as truly
said to be born of Leah in Padan as to be born of her at all,
because they were indeed born of them which were born of her,
and that in Padan.

All the souls of his sons and his daughters, to wit, which came
into Egypt as before; so that Er and Onan are excluded, as dying
before this journey into Egypt, Gen_46:12.

Daughters is here put for daughter, as Gen_46:7, because Dinah

was all the daughters which Jacob had. Heb. all the souls, sons
and daughters being reckoned together with their father.

Genesis 46:16

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:17

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:18

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:19

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:20

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:21

Whereof part seem to be born before his coming to Egypt, and

part in Egypt, Benjamin being now but twenty and four years old.

Genesis 46:22

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:23

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:24

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:25

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:26

Loins, Heb. thigh, which is here put for the secret parts between
the thighs, which are called sometimes the feet, as Gen_49:10
Deu_28:57 Eze_16:25, for the like reason, because they are
between the feet. From this eastern manner of speech came that
passage in the Greek fables, concerning Bacchus being born out of
Jupiter’s thigh.

Threescore and six; so many they are, excluding Jacob, as the

common parent, and Joseph and his two sons, as being in Egypt
before Jacob’s coming thither; which four being included they
make up seventy, as it is Gen_46:27.

Genesis 46:27

He doth not say,

which came with Jacob into Egypt, because some of them came
thither before him, and others with him, some in their persons, and
some in their parents. As for the difficulty arising from comparing
this place with Act_7:14, it will be more fit to speak of it when we
come to that place.

Genesis 46:28

To direct his face unto Goshen; Heb. to prepare, or to teach

him, the way before his face, i.e. before his coming to Goshen; i.e.
to show him where it was, and into what part of it he should come
and settle himself; or to give notice unto Joseph of his approach,
before his face or coming into Goshen.

Genesis 46:29

Doubtless Joseph fell down before him with all that reverence
which children owe to their parents, and in this posture Jacob falls
upon his neck, &c. Of which posture see Gen_33:4 45:14
Luk_15:20 Act_20:37.

Genesis 46:30

Now I expect no greater happiness upon earth, and therefore am

content to die. Compare Luk_2:29.

Genesis 46:31

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:32

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:33

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 46:34

In this design and choice Joseph shows both his prudence and
piety. He brings them not to court, where it had been easy for him
to have put them all into the best places and offices of the court;
and as he is not ashamed to own himself a brother to shepherds,
which were contemptible among the Egyptians, so he seeks not to
advance them higher, but continues them in their employment,
and placeth them in Goshen: whereby,

1. He kept them together, which was very convenient for them in

many respects.

2. He secured them both from envy, and, as far as he could, from

the corruption of their religion and manners, which was likely to
follow their mixture with the Egyptians, and especially their being
at the court.

3. He put them into a capacity of returning to Canaan, when God

gave them opportunity.

Every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians; either,

1. Because they did both kill and eat those creatures which the
Egyptians adored. Or,

2. Because of the fresh remembrance of the horrid cruelties lately

committed there by the Phoenician shepherds, who, as some very
ancient writers affirm, were seated in Egypt in great numbers, and
had arrived to great power, and waged a cruel war with other
Egyptians, wherein they wasted divers cities, and burned their
temples, and barbarously murdered a multitude of people. And
therefore it is no wonder if the calling of shepherds was grown out
of use and credit among them. True it is, the Egyptians had some
sheep, and other cattle, Gen_47:6,17 Exo 8:26 9:3, which they
kept for delight or profit by their milk, wool, &c., or for sale to
others, but they did not use them, as other shepherds generally
did, kill and eat them. And it is probable that they committed even
the keeping of their sheep and cattle to those strangers which were
dispersed among them, and looked upon the employment as too
vile and mean for any Egyptian. And though Pharaoh offered it to
Joseph’s brethren as a favour to be

rulers over his cattle, Gen_47:6, that might proceed only from
hence, because he saw them firmly resolved upon that course of
life, and therefore could not bestow any higher preferment upon
them.

Genesis 47:1

Either to abide there, or to remove thence to any other place which

thou shalt appoint for them.

Genesis 47:2

Some of his brethren, or part, as this Hebrew word is used,

Dan_1:2; or the extremity, or end, or tail of them, i.e. the meanest
of them for person and presence, as the word is taken 1Ki_12:31,
lest if he, had presented the goodliest of them, Pharaoh might have
required their attendance upon him, either at court or camp. And
for the same reason for which he did industriously represent them
to Pharaoh as contemptible in their employment, he might also
present those to him who were so in their persons.

Genesis 47:3

This employment is not pretended nor taken up by us in design, or

in contempt of thee or thy people, but was handed to us by our
fathers, and hath been our business to this day.

Genesis 47:4

To sojourn in the land are we come; not to defraud thy people

of their lands and habitations, but only to be here for a season, as
strangers and sojourners, till we can conveniently return to our
own land.
Canaan being a higher ground than Egypt, and watered in a
manner only by rain from heaven, must needs sooner and sorer
feel the effects of a drought and scarcity than Egypt, which had
relief from Nilus in that kind.

Genesis 47:5

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 47:6

The land of Egypt is before thee, to view it, and take thy choice
where thou pleasest, it is in thy power. See Gen_13:9.

Any man of activity, or, of strength, or vigour of body and mind,

fit for the employment. By which expression it seems probable
that those five presented to Pharaoh were of the meanest sort of
them. See Poole on "Gen_47:2".

Genesis 47:7

Not in an authoritative way, as the greater blesseth the less, but in

a general manner, i.e. he saluted him, thanked him for all his
favours to him and his, and prayed to God to bless and
recompense him for it. Thus blessing is put for saluting,
1Sa_13:10 2Ki_4:29; for praying, Num_6:23,24; for thanksgiving,
Mat_26:26, compare with Luk_22:19.

Genesis 47:8

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 47:9

My pilgrimage, i.e. my unstable or unsettled life, in which I have

been flitting from place to place. See Gen_17:8 Psa_119:19
Heb_11:9,13. And though I seem old in comparison of thy people,
yet I fall much short of my progenitors, Isaac, and Abraham, and
Terah.
Genesis 47:10

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 47:11

The land of Rameses; a part of the land of Goshen, possibly that

part where afterwards the city Rameses was built by the Israelites,
Exo_1:11 12:37, whence it is so called here by anticipation; for
the Israelites were not now numerous enough to possess the whole
land of Goshen, which was given to them, but contented
themselves with a part of it, leaving the rest to the management of
the Egyptians; and therefore when they increased greatly, they
were forced to spread their habitations amongst the Egyptians. See
Exo_12:7,23,35,37.

Genesis 47:12

Or, according to the mouth of the family; mouth being put for their
will or desire, as it is Gen_24:57 Isa_30:2, as much as every one
desired, without any restraint; or, according to the manner of a
little child, he put their meat into their very months; it was brought
to them without any more care or pains of theirs than an infant
takes for its food.

Genesis 47:13

Quest. Whence came it that the people in this extremity did not
take the corn by force out of the several store-houses?

Answ. Besides that singular providence of God which watcheth

over kings and rulers, and stilleth the tumults of the people,
Joseph had no doubt foreseen this difficulty, and took due care to
prevent it, partly, by disposing the stores in strong and well-
guarded places; partly, by adding wealth and strength to the king,
whereby he might more easily suppress any seditious risings; and
principally, by not permitting the people to despair, or come to the
utmost extremity, but giving them relief in all their exigences.
Genesis 47:14

Wherein he did no more than any of the subjects might have done;
he bought great store of corn in the plentiful years with the king’s
money, and kept it till a time of famine, and sold it at a rate which
was agreeable to the Season.

Genesis 47:15

1702 Why shouldst thou see and suffer us to perish for our want
of money, when thou canst relieve us?

Genesis 47:16

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 47:17

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 47:18

The second year; not the second from the beginning of the
famine, but from their great extremity, the second year after that
last mentioned, wherein they had sold their cattle; but this seems
to have been the last year of the famine, because he now gives
them corn for food and for seed too, Gen_47:23, whereas in the
first six years there was no sowing nor reaping, Gen_45:6.

Genesis 47:19

Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, i.e. whilst thou

lookest upon us like an idle spectator, not pitying and relieving
us? The land is said to die improperly, when it is desolate and
barren, and when the fruits of it die, or, which is equivalent to it,
do not live.
We and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh; Pharaoh shall
be the sole proprietor, and we are content to be his tenants, to
manage it for his use.

Give us seed, because this was the last year of famine, as Joseph
informed them, and therefore they tilled and sowed the ground for
the following year.

That the land be not desolate, without inhabitants, as it will be if

thou sufferest us to die for want of bread.

Genesis 47:20

1701 No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 47:21

Under the cities are here comprehended the villages and lands
belonging to the territory and government of each city; for the
seed which he gave them was not to be sown in cities, but in the
country: but the

cities only are here mentioned, because they were sent thither
first, either for the conveniency of nourishing them during this
famine out of the public storehouses which were there; or that
they might all profess their subjection to the governments of the
several cities, which was convenient for the management of that
numerous and tumultuous people; or that the cities might be first
and most replenished with inhabitants, as being the principal
honour, and strength, and security of a kingdom, and that arts, and
trades, and merchandise might flourish, without which the
commodities of the country would have been of less price and use.
But the cities being first supplied, the residue, which doubtless
was vast, were dispersed in the country.

From one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end
thereof; far from their native soil and ancient patrimonies, that
none of them might plead prescription, but that all might be forced
to acknowledge that they owed their estates not to their own wit
and industry, nor to their parents’ gift, but wholly to the king’s
favour; and that the remembrance of their patrimonial lands might
be worn out, and therewith the grief which would arise from their
resentment of their loss of them, which probably would be matter
of tumults and seditions, to which that people were very prone.
And it is probable that he so disposed of this affair, that those who
were apt, and likely, and used to unite together in seditious
insurrections, whether kindred or others, should be separated one
from another as far as might be. If any think that Joseph dealt
hardly with them, and made an ill use of their necessity, he will
see how moderately and mercifully he deals with them,
Gen_47:24.

Genesis 47:22

The priests: under this name he understands chiefly those who

administered the worship of the gods or idols of Egypt, and withal
those who applied themselves to the study of the arts and virtues,
called their wise men and magicians; though some understand it
of the princes (as that word sometimes signifies) or officers of
Pharaoh, who were nourished out of the king’s treasures. And
possibly the same Hebrew word may here comprehend both, viz.
the ministers of the king, and of their idols too, for both enjoyed
the same privileges, as Diodorus Siculus relates. And that the
priests are included, if not mainly intended here, will be evident
enough to any one that considers the state of Egypt, how mad that
people universally were upon their idols, how numerous their
priests were, and in how great honour and veneration both with
prince and people: besides, reason of state obliged Pharaoh to
engage and secure to himself that sort of men, which bore so great
sway with the old inhabitants of their several places, and were
likely to have the same authority with the new inhabitants, to quiet
and satisfy them at their first change, which must needs be very
ungrateful to them.

Of this immunity of the priests, that ancient writer Diodorus

Siculus makes mention. But this is not to be ascribed to Joseph’s
will or choice; for he who abhorred their idolatry, could not have a
kindness for, nor would have given encouragement to, the great
upholders and promoters of it; but in this he was overruled either
by Pharaoh’s express command, (it being not probable that so
great an interest as that of the priests should not have friends at
court, or that their friends should not plead for them, or that their
pleas and desires should not be granted by an idolatrous king,) or
by the laws of Egypt, or by their customs and usages in things of a
like nature, which would have the force of a law among them.

Genesis 47:23

For this was the last year of the famine, as was noted before.

Genesis 47:24

Whereas he might have reserved four parts to Pharaoh, and have

allowed them only the fifth. Herein he showed both his humanity
and kindness, in mitigating that hard bargain which themselves
had made, and were necessitated to make, and his prudence in
composing, sweetening, and winning the hearts of the people to
the king, and making them pay their tribute for the future with
more cheerfulness.

Genesis 47:25

Without thy care and providence we had all been dead men; and
therefore if thou hadst kept us to the first bargain, thou hadst done
us more kindness than wrong, much more when thou hast used us
with so much equity and clemency. Be thou our friend with
Pharaoh in this and upon all other occasions.

We will be Pharaoh’s servants, to manage his land for him upon

the terms which thou hast proposed.

Genesis 47:26

That Pharaoh should have the fifth part; that the propriety of
the land should be Pharaoh’s; and that in token thereof the people
should pay the fifth part of the products of it to Pharaoh.
Genesis 47:27

They had possessions, i.e. lands, not for the dominion or

propriety of them, for that rested in Pharaoh, but for the use and
profit of them for their present subsistence.

Genesis 47:28

1689 No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 47:29

Put thy hand under my thigh, i.e. swear to me, as Gen_47:31,

that thou wilt do what I am now desiring of thee; see Poole on
"Gen_24:2". He requires this, not out of any distrust of Joseph’s
promise, but partly, as a more solemn protestation of his right to
and affection for that promised land; partly, us a motive to all his
children to have their minds and hearts there, even when their
bodies were in Egypt; and partly, to give Joseph an argument and
excuse to Pharaoh, that he might more willingly permit Joseph to
fulfil his father’s desire, because of his own oath.

And deal kindly and truly, or, that thou wilt deal; as the Hebrew
vau joined with the future tense is elsewhere used, as Psa_24:7
35:24 51:15. Kindly in promising, and truly in performing thy
promise.

Genesis 47:30

I will lie with my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, in Canaan. See

Gen_23:19 25:9 35:29. Which he desired not so much for himself,
as knowing that wherever he was buried he should rise to glory; as
for his children, to show his own, and confirm their faith in God’s
promise of Canaan; to discover his high valuation of that land, not
only for itself, but as it was a type and pledge of the heavenly
inheritance; to keep his children’s minds and hearts loose from
Egypt, a place of so much sin and danger, and fixed upon Canaan,
that they might be more willing to go thither when God called
them, by virtue of that inclination which is in most persons to be
buried with their fathers; and in the mean time to declare his
detestation of idolaters, with whom he would have no communion
either in life, as far as he could avoid it, or in the place of burial;
and on the contrary, to profess his communion with his godly
ancestors, by his desire to be joined with them in burial. And for
the same reasons Joseph desired the translation of his bones
thither, Gen_50:25.

Genesis 47:31

Israel bowed himself, not to Joseph, who being now not upon his
throne, nor amongst the Egyptians, but in his father’s house, was
doubtless more ready to pay that reverence (as he did Gen_48:12)
than to receive veneration from him, which he owed to his father;
but to God, who is here to be understood, as he is in the same
phrase, 1Ki_1:47, whom with this gesture he worshipped and
praised, as for the promise of Canaan, and the assurance which he
had now received from Joseph of his being buried there, so for all
his favours to him and to Joseph, and by him to all his family.

Jacob at this time was bedrid, through age and infirmity; but being
now to give God solemn thanks, though the words and manner of
it be not here expressed, he raised himself and sat upon the head
or uppermost part of his bed, as he did also Gen_48:2, that he
might express his reverence to God as much as he could by
bowing, when he could not do it as much as he would, being
unable to do it kneeling. Others for bed read staff the discussion
whereof I refer unto its proper place, Heb_11:21.

Genesis 48:1

To obtain his venerable and religious father's blessing for them.

Genesis 48:2

He got new strength, his spirits being quickened and refreshed by

the tidings of Joseph’s approach, and he put forth all the strength
which he had.
Genesis 48:3

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 48:4

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 48:5

Thy two sons are mine, by adoption: I shall own them as if they
were my immediate children, and each of them shall have equal
share, both in my present estate, and future inheritance of Canaan,
with the rest of my children. Thus Jacob transfers the double
portion, which was the right of the first-born, from which Reuben
by his transgression fell, Gen_49:4, upon Joseph, 1Ch_5:1. He
names the two eldest, who, if any, might seem to claim a greater
privilege than the rest.

Genesis 48:6

Shall be reputed as thy children, and my grandchildren, and shall

not have any distinct share in my present or future inheritance, but
shall have a part of their brethren’s lot, in such manner and
proportion as thou shalt think fit, or as their succeeding parents or
governors shall determine. But it doth not appear, nor doth
Scripture any where mention, that Joseph had any other sons but
these, and therefore it is probable he had no more; only Jacob
speaks this upon supposition, in case he should have any other.

Shall be called after the name of their brethren; either

Ephraimites or Manassites.

Genesis 48:7

Rachel died by me; or, beside me; near me, before mine eyes, I
seeing, but not being able to help her in her extremity; which
makes the remembrance of it more grievous to me. This story he
here mentions, partly because the sight of Joseph and his children
brought his beloved Rachel to his remembrance; partly to give the
reason of this action of his to the rest of his children, which was
not only because Rachel was his first rightful wife by designation
and contract, and therefore the right of the first-born was truly
Joseph’s; but because by her early death he was cut off from all
hopes of having more children by her, and therefore it was but fit
he should supply that defect by adopting Joseph’s children.

I buried her there, not out of disrespect to her, whose person

was, and memory yet is, precious and honourable to me, but either
because dying in childbed they could not keep her till they came
to the burying-place of the patriarchs at Hebron, Gen_23:19,
especially when they were tied to the slow motion of the flocks
and herds; or because I would not bury her in the common
burying-place with heathens and idolaters, in the city of Ephrath.
By which he tacitly implies, that he would not have Joseph joined
with the Egyptians in burial.

Genesis 48:8

For Jacob’s eyes were dim through age and infirmity, as is

observed Gen_48:10, and therefore he could not distinctly discern
them.

Genesis 48:9

Or,

that I may bless them, not with a common, but with a paternal,
and patriarchal, and prophetical blessing, in the name and by the
Spirit of God, praying for and foretelling those blessings which
God will confer upon them.

Genesis 48:10

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 48:11

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 48:12

From between his knees; not his own knees, from which they
had been taken before, but Jacob’s knees, between which they
stood whilst Jacob kissed and embraced them; from which Joseph
removed them, partly that they might not be burdensome to their
aged and weak grandfather, and principally that he might place
them in fit order and reverent posture to receive the blessing for
which he longed.

He bowed himself, testifying thereby his reverence to his father,

his thankfulness for the favour which he had now showed to him
and his, and his humble and earnest request for his blessing upon
them.

Genesis 48:13

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 48:14

The

right hand was more honourable both in Scripture account, and

amongst the Gentiles.

Laid it upon Ephraim’s head; which was a rite used often, and
in divers cases, as in the conferring of offices either sacred or
civil, as Num_8:10 Deu_34:9 Act_6:6 13:3; and among other
things, in giving benedictions, as Mat_19:13.

Guiding his hands wittingly; this proceeded not from chance, or

the mistake and weakness of his eyes, but from design, and the
wisdom of his hands. Heb. He disposed his hands prudently, or,
he dealt wisely with his hands. Here was a double wisdom
showed.

1. Human, by which he gathered that Manasseh was the eldest,

because Joseph placed him towards his right hand.

2. Divine and prophetical, by which he foresaw Ephraim’s

advantage above Manasseh, and wisely suited the ceremony to the
substance, giving the greater sign of honour to him, to whom God
designed the thing.

Genesis 48:15

He blessed Joseph, not now in his person, but in his children,

which yet is called here a blessing of Joseph, because they were a
part of himself. In which sense, and upon the same ground, the
land of Canaan is ofttimes said to be not only promised, but given
to Abraham and Isaac, & c., not as if they were in person to
possess it, but because it should be given to their children. Thus
Ham is said to be cursed when his son is cursed, Gen_9:25.

Which fed me, i.e. protected, sustained, and directed me.

Genesis 48:16

The Angel; not surely a created angel, but Christ Jesus, who is
called an Angel, Exo_23:20, and the Angel of the covenant,
Mal_3:1, who was the conductor of the Israelites in the
wilderness, as plainly appears by comparing of Exo_23:20,21,
with 1Co_10:4,9. Add hereunto, that this Angel is called Jacob’s
Redeemer, which is the title appropriated by God to himself,
Isa_43:14 47:4, and that from all evil, and therefore from sin,
from which no created angel can deliver us, but Christ only,
Mat_1:21; and that Jacob worshippeth and prayeth to this Angel
no less than to God for the blessing, and that without any note of
distinction, the word bless being in the singular number, and
equally relating to God and to the Angel; and that the Angel to
whom he here ascribes his deliverances from all evil, must in all
reason be the same to whom he prayed for these very deliverances
which he here commemorates, and that was no other than the very
God of Abraham, as is evident from Gen_28:15,20,21 32:9-11
35:3.

Let my name be named on them, i.e. let them be called by my

name, owned for my immediate children, and invested with the
same privileges with my other children, be the heads of distinct
tribes, and as such receive distinct inheritances. And hence they
are called the children of Jacob or Israel, no less than the children
of Joseph. For the phrase, see Deu_28:10 2Ch_7:14 Isa_4:1
Jer_14:9.

And the name of my fathers; let them be called their children;

let them not only have my blessing, but the blessings of Abraham
and Isaac; let all meet together upon their heads; and let that
gracious covenant of God made with Abraham, and confirmed
with Isaac and me, be ratified and made good unto them.

Genesis 48:17

It displeased him, because of that affection which parents

generally have for their first-born. See Gen_21:11.

Genesis 48:18

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 48:19

Greater than he; so the tribe of Ephraim was both in number,

Num_1:32,33,35 2:19,21 Deu 33:17, and in power and privileges;
for that tribe was the seat first of the tabernacle, and afterwards of
the kingdom. Whence the name of Ephraim is sometimes put for
all the ten tribes, as Isa_7:2, and sometimes for Joseph himself, as
Num_1:32 Rev_7:8, which Manasseh never is.

A multitude of nations, i.e. equal to many nations in number and

strength; or, from them shall proceed many nations, i.e. many
numerous; potent, and flourishing families, whereof each is
equivalent to an ordinary nation. For as

nations are sometimes called families, as Zec_14:18, so the tribes

and families of Israel are called nations or people, as Eze_2:3
Act_4:27.

Genesis 48:20

In thee, i.e. in thy seed, as appears both from the relative

them here, and from Gen_48:15, where his blessing of them is

called the blessing of Joseph; and from the following words,
where this is interpreted of

Ephraim and

Manasseh. And

in thee, or in thy seed, i.e. using their names in the form or words
of blessing, as eminent examples of blessedness.

Genesis 48:21

Behold, I die, i.e. I am about to die; the present time for that
which will shortly and certainly be, as Gen_19:13 20:3 Joh_14:2.

The land of your fathers, i.e. Canaan; their land,

1. By habitation, as Nazareth is called Christ’s country because he

dwelt in it.

2. By the donation of God, who had promised, and would in his

time give the actual possession of it to them, i.e. to their seed.

Genesis 48:22

i.e. I do now give to thee the right, and I do prophetically give,

and God will really and actually give unto thy son Ephraim, or his
and posterity, who shall possess this part over above that portion
which shall fall to him by lot. This was all the land which Jacob
had in Canaan, which he here gives to Joseph, partly, in testimony
of his great affection and obligation to him; partly, as a sign that
he did confirm the right of the first-born upon him; and partly, for
the confirmation of the faith of Joseph and his brethren, and to
oblige them to set up their rest no where but in Canaan.

One portion: the Hebrew word is Shechem, which word indeed

signifies a shoulder, as Gen_9:23, and is here put for a part of land
which is choice and good, as the shoulder is among the parts of
the body. See 1Sa_9:24. And he useth this word, that by allusion
he might signify what place he speaks of, even Shechem, as may
further appear by comparing Jos_24:32 Joh_4:5. Yea, some would
have Shechem here to be the proper name of the place, which
might be if the word one were not added to it.

This place is understood, either,

1. Of the future conquest of the land of the Amorites or

Canaanities by his posterity, which he here ascribes to himself,
and speaks of it in the past time, as of a thing already done, as the
manner of the prophets is. But Jacob would not attribute that to his
sword, which his posterity deny to be done by their sword,
Psa_44:3. And it is manifest that Jacob here speaks of that which
was his by a special title, and which in a peculiar manner he gave
to Joseph. Or,

2. Of the city and territory of Shechem, whose inhabitants were

rooted out by Simeon and Levi, and whose land being void was
possessed by Jacob. And this is said to be got by Jacob’s sword
and bow, because it was got with the sword and bow of his sons
Simeon and Levi, and a great number of his family, who doubtless
were associated with them in this expedition. But it is not likely
that he would take to himself that which he declares his utter
abhorrence of, Gen_34:30 49:5,6, or that he should call that

his sword and his bow here which he calls instruments of cruelty
in Simeon’s and Levi’s hands, Gen_49:5. Or,
3. Which seems the truest, of that land in the territory of Shechem,
which Jacob bought of Hamor, Gen_33:19, which is said to be got
by his sword and bow, either,

1. Properly, because he did by force of arms expel those Amorites,

who upon his retirement from those parts, after the slaughter of
the Shechemites, had invaded his lands, though this story be not
elsewhere recorded; as many things are mentioned by the by in
some one place of Scripture, without any particular account of the
circumstances of them, either there or elsewhere, as Gen_36:24
Deu_2:9-11 Jos_24:11. And though Jacob was a man of peace, yet
his sons were warriors; and they by his permission might drive
out, by their arms, those straggling Canaanites which had taken
possession of his purchase, Jacob being the more willing to
recover his right herein, because it was an earnest of his future
possession of the whole land. And the neighbouring Canaanites
would not concern themselves in the defence of the invaders, both
because they were convinced of the right of Jacob’s cause, and
because they were overruled by Divine Providence, in which
Jacob trusted, and of which he had ample experience. Or,

2. Metaphorically, i.e. by his money, which he calls his sword and

his bow, not only because money is answerable to the sword and
the bow, and all other things, Ecc_10:19, and is a defence,
Ecc_7:12, and therefore may well be so called, even as prayers
and tears are called the arms of the church, because they serve for
the same purpose that arms do against their enemies; but also and
principally by way of opposition to the sword and bow of his cruel
sons. So the sense may be this, I have given to thee one portion, or
one Shechem, not the city of Shechem, which Simeon and Levi
took from the hand of the Amorite with their sword and their bow,
but a part of the territory of Shechem which I took or received
from the hand of the Amorite by my sword and my bow, i.e. by
my money, whereby I purchased it.

Genesis 49:1

Or, in the following times, or latter days, when you shall enter into
and be settled in the Land of Promise. Hereby he signifies, that he
speaks here of things which concern not so much their persons as
their posterity.

Genesis 49:2

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 49:3

The beginning of my strength; the first instance or evidence of

my might or strength, or of that masculine rigour whereby God
enabled me to beget a child. Compare Deu_21:17 Psa_105:36. Or
the first of my children, which are the strength, the stays, and
supports of a father, and of his family; thence called his arrows, as
Psa_127:4, and by other authors, the pillars of the house.

The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. As first-

born thou hadst the right of precedency before all thy brethren in
point of dignity and power or privilege; the double portion, the
priesthood, the dominion over thy brethren were thine.

Genesis 49:4

Unstable as water: this may concern either,

1. Something past, or Reuben's fault; and so he is said to have

been

unstable, or light, and vain, as the word is used, Jud_9:4 Zep_3:4;

like water, moved with every little wind of temptation, and
unbounded in thy lust; as water of itself hath no bounds, but will
scatter itself every way, if it be not kept within banks, or in a
vessel: or, hasty, violent, impetuous in thy lust, like water, which
either overflows or breaks its banks. Or,

2. Something to come, or Reuben's punishment; and so the

meaning is, Thou, i.e. thy posterity, shall be
unstable, or unsettled, flitting and vanishing, coming to nothing,
or poured forth like water, useless, contemptible, and weak. Such
indeed was the state of that tribe, of which we read nothing
eminent in Scripture. See Jud_5:15-16. This I prefer before the
former,

1. Because it is not probable that his fault should be described

here in such general and ambiguous and dark terms, which is
described so plainly and particularly in the following words.

2. Because this makes the coherence most plain. Here is a

description,

(1.) Of Reuben's excellent state to which he was born, Gen_49:3.

(2.) Of his fall from that state, in these words, and the immediately
following, thou shalt not excel .

(3.) Of the reason of this fall, his great sin.

3. Because the similitude of water applied to men in this manner,

notes rather their impotency and calamity than their sin, as
Jos_7:5 Psa_22:14.

Thou shalt not excel, or, be the most eminent amongst thy
brethren; thou hast lost thy pre-eminency due to thee by birthright,
both for thyself and for thy posterity, and it shall be given to
others; the priesthood to Levi, the dominion to Judah, and the
double portion to Joseph.

Then defiledst thou it, by committing incest with Bilhah. He

repeats the same thing, and that in an emphatical manner, turning
his speech and face from Reuben to his brethren, in a posture of
indignation and detestation; which you must not impute to Jacob's
passion, he being now a dying man, and this being forty years
after the crime committed, but to the Spirit of God guiding his
tongue to utter this, not only nor chiefly for the punishment of
Reuben, who, as many think, had repented of his sin; but for
terror, instruction, and caution to all others, and to assure them
that sin, though it may be long dissembled and borne with, yet it
will one time or other be sorely punished. But these and the next
foregoing words may be thus rendered, Then defiledst thou my
bed: he went up to it, or rather, he is gone up, i.e. he is vanished,
or perished, or lost; for so this word is oft used, as Job_5:26
Isa_5:24 Jer_48:15. And so here is an elegant figure, called
antanaclasis, whereby the same word is repeated in the same
verse in a different sense, as Psa_18:26 Mat_8:22. So here,

He went up wickedly to his father's bed to commit a great sin;

therefore now he is gone up penally, to receive condign
punishment; his excellency is gone up like smoke, which
ascendeth and is dispersed in the air. And this may seem to be the
truest translation and interpretation, because it keeps close to the
Hebrew words and their order; whereas, in our translation, there is
both a transplacing of the Hebrew words, and a supplement added
unnecessarily.

Genesis 49:5

Simeon and Levi are brethren; not only by nature, but in

iniquity; of like cruel and bloody disposition, confederate in the
same wicked design, Gen_34:25. So the word brother is
elsewhere used, for him that agrees much with another in his
temper, or employment, or designs, as Job_30:29 Pro_18:9, &c.

Their bloody swords are yet in their dwellings, to bear witness

against them for their barbarous cruelty. But these words may be,
and are by some both ancient and later interpreters, rendered
otherwise. For the Hebrew word mecheroth, here rendered
habitations, is never so used, nor indeed is found elsewhere in
Scripture. Nor doth that signification agree with the Hebrew root
from whence this comes, which is machar, and signifies to
bargain, or sell, or exchange. And accordingly this word is by the
Samaritan translator, and by other learned interpreters, rendered,
their conventions, or compacts, or civil contracts, or agreements.
And, which is more, the Chaldee verb mechar, from whence this
word may very well be deduced, signifies to espouse; and the
noun mechirah, derived from it, signifies a spouse. And so the
words may be rendered thus, their contracts, or agreements, ( or
their nuptial contracts, ) were instruments of cruelty. Which
translation seems better than the other,

1. Because it keeps closest to the words of the text, and leaves out
that particle in, which is not in the Hebrew text, but was added by
our translators to complete the sense.

2. Because this best agrees with the history recorded, Gen_34:1-

31, where we read that they did cover their bloody design with a
pretence of an agreement and nuptial contract with the
Shechemites, which was a great aggravation of their villany, that
those things which to others are bonds of love and peace, were
made by them instruments of cruelty.

Genesis 49:6

Their secret; or, counsel, or company, as the word is used,

Psa_64:2 Jer_15:17; i.e. do not partake with them in their secret
and wicked designs. Hereby he signifies to all posterity, that that
bloody enterprise was undertaken without his consent or
approbation, and that he could not think of it without detestation,
nor let it pass without a severe censure. Or, O my soul, thou wast
not in their secret, as the Chaldee, Syriae, and Arabic take it, by a
common enallage of the future tense for the past.

Mine honour; either,

1. Properly so called. So the sense is, Let not my honour or good

name be bound up with theirs; they gloried in this wickedness,
which I abominate, and which indeed is their shame. Or,

2. Improperly; so he understands either,

1. His soul, which is indeed the glory of a man, though I do not

remember any place of Scripture where that word must
necessarily be so understood. So this is a repetition of the same
thing in other words, which is usual in Scripture. Or rather,
2. His tongue, for which the word honour or glory is commonly
put, as Psa_16:9, compared with Act_2:26 Psa_30:12 57:8 108:1,
because the tongue or speech is the glory of a man, by which he is
distinguished from unreasonable creatures, and, if well used, it
brings much honour to God, and to the man that speaks with it. So
the sense is, As my soul did not approve of that wicked action, so
my tongue never gave consent to it, nor shall it now by silence
seem to own it, but shall publicly witness my abhorrence of it.

In their anger they slew a man, i.e. men, the Shechemites,

Gen_34:25,26, the singular number for the plural, as Gen_3:2
32:5 1Ch_10:1, compared with 1Sa_31:1. He saith man rather
then men, either with respect unto the prince, whose slaughter was
principally designed, or to show that they slew them all to a man.

In their self-will: it may note, that this cruelty of theirs was

committed,

1. By their own will and choice, not by Jacob’s will or consent,

which they never asked nor obtained.

2. Without any necessity or sufficient provocation, but merely by

their own will and proper motion.

3. Not rashly and hastily, but wilfully and resolvedly, after mature
deliberation.

4. Not unwillingly, but cheerfully, and with delight and good will,
as that word commonly signifies.

They digged down a wall; not the walls of the city, but of private
houses; it may be only of the prince’s house, who upon the first
noise of the tumult might, and probably did, retire and secure
himself in some strong room of the house, whose wall they brake
down that they might come at him. For neither were the walls of
houses or cities so strong then as now many are; nor were Simeon
and Levi destitute of fit instruments to break down a wall, which
doubtless they brought with them, as easily foreseeing that
difficulty in their enterprise. But because the Hebrew word is not
shur, a wall, but schor, an ox, others translate the words thus, they
houghed, or killed an ox, or bull, meaning Shechem, so called
either from his lust, or from his strength and power, from which
princes are oft so called, as Deu_33:17 Psa_22:12 68:30. Or rather
thus, they rooted out, or drove away an ox, i.e. the oxen, the
singular number for the plural, as before; and under them are
comprehended the other cattle of the Shechemites, which they
drove away, as we read they did, Gen_34:28. For as the words
may bear this sense, so it seems more reasonable to understand
them of that which certainly was done by them, than of their
breaking a wall, of which we do not read any thing in the history.

Genesis 49:7

Cursed be their anger, or, cursed was. It was execrable and

abominable both before God and men; such as deserved and
brought the curse of God upon themselves, which I, as God’s
instrument, am now to pronounce against them.

I do here declare, in the name of God, that they shall be divided

and dispersed

in Jacob, & c.; that is, among the children or tribes of Jacob or
Israel. Prophets are said to do what they foretell that God will do,
as Jeremiah is said to root out and pull down kingdoms, Jer_1:10,
and Ezekiel to destroy the city, Eze_43:3. Add Hos_6:5. Note here
how suitable their punishment was to their crime. They sinned by
conspiracy and confederation in the counsel and action, and they
are punished with division or separation, not only of the two
brethren and their tribes, but of the children and families of the
several tribes, one from another. This was eminently fulfilled in
the tribe of Levi, which had no proper portion or inheritance, but
was scattered among all the tribes, Jos_18:7, though afterwards
God turned this curse into a blessing. And for Simeon, he had no
part of his own in the division of the land; but the portion of Judah
being too large for that tribe, he was taken into that lot, and was as
an inmate to them, Jos_19:1,2,9, and afterwards part of them were
forced to seek new seats, and so were divided from the rest of
their brethren, 1Ch_4:27,39,42. And moreover, the Jewish doctors
write, that that tribe was so straitened in their habitations and
conveniences, that a very great number of them were forced to
scatter themselves amongst the other tribes to get a subsistence by
teaching their children.

Genesis 49:8

Or rather,

Thou art

Judah, thy brethren shall praise or celebrate thee. So the

expression is like that 1Sa_25:25.

As his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him,
or in him. So here the sense is, As thy name signifies praise,
Gen_29:35, so shalt thou have praise or honour from thy brethren.
He alludes to his name, and to the occasion of it, but with an
elegant variation. Thou art deservedly called Judah, not only
because thy mother praised God for thee, but also because thy
brethren shall praise and bless thee for the reasons here following.
But this, as also the other blessings or predictions, do not so much
declare the state of Judah or the rest in their own persons, as in
their posterity.

Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies, i.e. thou shalt
overthrow and subdue them. This was fulfilled in part, Jud_1:1,2,4
3:9,10; but more fully in David, 2Sa_8:1, and Solomon,
1Ch_12:9; and most eminently, though spiritually, in Christ. The
phrase is taken either,

1. From the practice of warriors, who use to assault their enemies

in that part, that they may throw them down at their feet; of which
see Job_15:26 16:12. Or,

2. from the custom of conquerors, who are said to put the yokes
upon the necks of the conquered. See Gen_27:40 Deu_28:48
Isa_10:27 Jer_27:8 28:14.
Thy father’s children, i.e. all thy brethren, and my posterity; he
saith not thy mother ’s children, for his sons had divers mothers;

shall bow down before thee, i.e. shall own thee as their superior
and lord, upon whom I have devolved this part of the right of the
first-born. By this and the following words we plainly see that
these blessings and predictions were not distributed according to
Jacob’s affections and inclinations, (for then Judah should never
have been advanced above his worthily beloved Joseph,) but by
the direction of God’s Spirit.

Genesis 49:9

Judah is as

a lion’s whelp, or as a young lion, for courage, and strength, and

terror to his enemies. The particle as is here wanting, as also
Gen_49:14,17,21,22, and in many other places, as Psa_11:1 12:6
22:6, &c. And he is rightly compared first to a lion’s whelp, then
to an old lion, to signify the growth of that tribe in strength and
interest; and that from small beginnings, and a precedency of
order only, Jud_1:1,2, it should ascend to the height of honour,
and power, and happiness in David, and especially in the Messiah,
who should conquer all nations.

From the prey... thou art gone up. Having taken the prey, i.e.
conquered thine enemies, thou art

gone up in triumph; or gone up, i.e. grown greater and higher

after thy victories, as the manner is. Or he alludes to the lions,
which usually dwell in mountains, as divers writers observe, and
come down to prey in the valleys, and when they have got their
prey, they go up to their habitations, and so shall Judah do.

He stooped; a change of the person very frequent in prophetical

writings, as we shall oft have occasion to note hereafter.

He couched. When he hath taken the prey, he doth not convey it

away to his den with haste and speed for fear the enemy should
return and overtake him, but like a lion he stoops down to feed
upon his prey, and coucheth or lieth down securely to rest himself
after he hath eaten it, without the least fear of any enemy, as it is
observed of him, Isa_31:4. Judah’s conquests shall not be
interrupted or followed with ill successes and defeats or
overthrows afterward, as it frequently happens in the course of
war, but he quietly possess his spoils, and after the bloody wars, to
which he will be forced, shall enjoy a sweet peace and tranquillity,
which his posterity did, 1Ki_4:25.

As an old lion, or rather a grown lion, not a decrepit and impotent

lion, but one come to his full strength; who shall presume or dare
to disturb or provoke him? All shall fear him, and seek peace with
him.

Genesis 49:10

The secptre, i.e. the dominion or government, which is oft

expressed by this word, as Num_24:17 Psa_45:6 Isa_14:5
Eze_19:11,14 Am 1:5,8 Zec 10:11, because it is an ensign of
government, Est_4:11. So it is a figure called a metonomy of the
sign, than which nothing more frequent. The sense is, That
superiority or dominion over his brethren, which I said he should
obtain Gen_49:8 he shall keep; it shall not depart from him.
Others, the tribe, as the word shebet signifies, 1Sa_10:19-21
1Ki_11:32, &c. So the sense is this, Whereas the other tribes shall
be captivated, dispersed, and confounded, the tribe of Judah shall
be kept entire and distinct until Christ come. This is a great and
important truth, and a singular demonstration of the all-disposing
providence of God, and of the truth and Divine authority of the
Scriptures; but it seems not to be the meaning of this place,

1. Because both the foregoing and following words do evidently

speak of Judah’s power and greatness, and particularly this shebet,
or sceptre, is explained and restrained by the following lawgiver.

2. Because this renders the phrase improper and absurd; for the
tribe had not departed from Judah, nor had they ceased to be a
tribe, if the other tribes had been mixed with them in their land, as
indeed they were sometimes. See 2Ch_11:16.

3. Because this is not peculiar to the tribe of Judah; for in this

sense the tribe did not depart from Levi, nay, that tribe was kept
more distinct than that of Judah; thus also the tribe did not depart
from Benjamin, as appears from Ezr_1:5 10:9 Neh_11:4. Nay, it
is questionable whether in this sense the tribe departed from any
of the other tribes, not only because there is a distinct mention of
the several tribes, Eze_48:1-35, which was written after the
dispersion and supposed confusion of the other tribes, and which
speaks of the times after the coming of the Messiah, but also
because of the great care which the Israelites generally took in
distinguishing, not only their tribes, but their several families, in
exact genealogies, of which we have many proofs and instances,
as 1Ch_4:33 5:1,7,17 7:7,9,40 9:1,22 Ezr 2:62 8:1,3 Ne 7:5,64.
The Jews indeed have another device to avoid the force of this
text. They say shebet signifies a rod, to wit, a rod of correction, as
the word is taken Pro_22:15. And so they say the sense is, The
tyrannical sceptre, or the rod of the oppressor, shall not cease or
depart from Israel till the Messiah come, who shall save them
from all their oppressors and enemies. But this is a vain and
frivolous conceit; for,

1. The following sentence, which expounds the former, as it is

usual in Scripture, plainly shows that this shebet, or rod, is such as
is proper to the lawgiver, and therefore is a rod of authority, or a
sceptre, which is called also a rod, Eze_19:14, and not a rod of
affliction.

2. This is contrary to the whole context, wherein there is nothing

prophesied of Judah, but honour, and dominion, and victory, and
safety.

3. There was no reason why the rod of affliction should be

appropriated to Judah, which was common to all the tribes, and
came sooner, and fell heavier, and abode longer upon the other
tribes than upon Judah.
4. This interpretation is confuted by the event or history, both
because the rod of correction did depart from Judah, and from
them more than from the other tribes, for many generations before
the coming of the Messiah; and because that rod is not removed
from them, but hath continued longer and more dreadfully upon
them since the coming of the Messias than ever before; which one
consideration hath been the occasion of the conversion of many
Jews.

5. Howsoever the modern Jews pervert this word and text out of
enmity to Christ and Christians, it is certain that the ancient Jews,
the LXX., and the Chaldee Paraphrast, with many others, take the
word as we do, as the learned have proved out of their own
writings. See my Latin Synopsis.

A lawgiver; so the Hebrew word signifies, as here, so also

Num_21:18 Deu_33:21 Psa_60:7 108:8 Isa_33:22. And the verb
from whence this word comes signifies to make laws, as Pro_8:15,
&c.; and the Hebrew word chok, which comes from the same root,
constantly signifies a law or statute. Some render it the scribe, and
that either the civil scribe, who belongs to the ruler; or the
ecclesiastical scribe, the interpreter of the law; and so it signifies,
that both the civil and the ecclesiastical power should continue in
Judah till Christ came, and then should be taken away, both which
the event did verify. But indeed the Hebrew word for scribe is
sopher, not mechokek, which never is so used in Scripture, but
always for a lawgiver, as I have showed; and so Kimchi and Aben
Ezra, two late and learned Jews, with others, expound it.

From between his feet; from his posterity, or from those that
come from between his feet, i.e. that are begotten and born of that
tribe. And thus Kimchi, and the Chaldee Paraphrast, and other
ancient Jews, understand this place. And the truth of this
interpretation may appear, by comparing this with other texts of
Scripture, as Deu_28:57, where

the young one is described to be one that cometh from between

her (the woman’s) feet; and Eze_16:25, and with those places
where the word feet is used for the secret parts, as Isa_7:20, the
hair of the feet, not properly so called, for hair seldom grows
there; and 2Ki_18:27 Isa_36:12, where the water which comes
from the secret parts is called the water of the feet. And possibly
that phrase of covering the feet, applied to them that eased their
bellies, may note so much, because the Jews in that action were
not to hide their feet properly so called, but their secret parts,
which without due care might be discovered upon that occasion.

Shiloh, i.e. the Messias; which we need not stand to prove,

because it is so expounded by all the three Chaldee Paraphrasts,
and by the Jewish Talmud, and by divers of the latter Jews
themselves. And the word signifies, either a peace-maker, or
saviour; or, as others, her son, or one that came out of the
woman’s womb, or out of that skin in which the child in the
womb is wrapped, which this word, or one near akin to it,
signifies. So it notes that the Messias should be born of a woman,
though without the help of man. Or, as others, the sent, he who
was oft promised and to be sent. And this signification may seem
to be warranted by comparing Joh_9:7, with those places of the
New Testament in which the Messias is described by that
periphrasis of one sent, or to be sent, as Joh_3:34, &c. And the
phrase here used is remarkable, till the Shiloh come, for the
Shiloh, or Messiah, oft goeth under the name of him that was to
come, as Mat_21:9 Luk_7:20 13:35. And hence the kingdom of
the Messiah is called the world or kingdom to come, i.e. of him
who was to come, Heb_2:5 6:5.

Unto him shall the gathering of the people be; they shall be
gathered together, or united both among themselves, and with the
Jews, under him as their Head. Others, the reverence, obedience,
or worship; which comes to the same thing, for they that are
gathered to him, do also reverence, obey, and worship him. The
Hebrew word is used only here and Pro_30:17.

The people, i.e. the Gentiles, as the Jews themselves understand

it. And so it is a plain prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles
by and under the Messiah; signifying, that whereas the ordinances
of God, and means of worship and salvation, were confined to the
Jews before Christ’s coming, Psa_147:19,20, when the Messiah
should come, the pale of the church should be enlarged, the
partition-wall between Jews and Gentiles taken down, and the
Gentiles should worship the true God and the Messias. And this is
no more than is foretold and promised in other prophecies, as we
shall see hereafter. The sum of this verse is, The sceptre or
dominion shall be seated in the tribe of Judah, though he doth not
determine when it shall come thither; but when once it shall come,
it shall not depart from thence till the Messiah come; and then
Judah shall lose this sceptre and other privileges, and the Gentiles
shall come into the stead of the Jews, and shall embrace that
Messiah whom they shall reject. So now here is an undeniable
argument to prove against the Jews that the Messiah is already
come, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is he, because he was to
come during the time wherein the sceptre was in the hands of
Judah; and about that time when Jesus Christ came the sceptre
was taken away from Judah and the Jews, and hath now been lost
for sixteen hundred years together. The Jews are mightily
perplexed and confounded with this argument; one evidence
whereof is their various and contradictory expositions of the
place, whilst some of them affirm this Shiloh to be Moses, others
Saul, others Jeroboam, others Nebuchadnezzar, which neither
need nor deserve confutation; others David; which, though some
of the acutest of the Jewish doctors assert, is as contemptible as
any of the rest, it being ridiculous to say the sceptre departed from
Judah under him by whom it first came into that tribe, having been
till David’s time in other tribes. But the great difficulty is, how
this was accomplished; for if the event fully agrees with this
prophecy, the cause of the Jews is lost, and Christ must be owned
as the true Messias. The sceptre was for a time in other tribes; as
in Moses of the tribe of Levi; in divers of the judges, who were of
several tribes; and lastly in the tribe of Benjamin under Saul; but
the sceptre departed from all these. But this is prophesied as
Judah’s privilege, that when once the sceptre or government came
into that tribe, which it did in David’s time, it should not depart
from it till Christ came, and then it should depart. And thus it
came to pass. Concerning the time from David unto the captivity
of Babylon there is no dispute, there being a constant succession
of kings in that tribe all that time. For the time of the Babylonish
captivity, wherein there may seem to be more difficulty, it is to be
considered,

1. That the sceptre or government was not lost or departed from

Judah, but only interrupted, and that but for seventy years at most,
which in so long a space of time as above a thousand years is little
to be regarded. As none will say the kingdom was departed from
the house of David, because of those interreigns or interruptions
which sometimes fell out in that family. Add to this, that God hath
given them an absolute promise and assured hope of the
restoration of Judah’s sceptre; so that this was rather a sleep than
the death of that government.

2. That within these seventy years there were some remainders

and beams of Judah’s sovereignty in Jehoiachin, 2Ki_25:27; in
Daniel, who was of that tribe, Dan_2:25 5:13, and of the king’s
seed, Dan_1:3; and in the successive heads or governors of the
exiles, of whom the Jewish writers say so much; and they affirm
that they were always of the house of David, and were more
honourable than the governors of the Jews which were left in the
land of Israel.

3. All that was then left of the sceptre of the Jews was in the tribe
of Judah; nor was the sceptre departed from Judah to any other
tribe; and that is the thing which seems especially to be respected
in this prophecy: for Judah is here compared with the rest of the
tribes; and it is here signified, that the power and dominion which
was in Judah, when once it came thither, should not shift from
tribe to tribe, as it had done, but whilst there was any sceptre or
supreme government among the Jews, it should be in that tribe,
even till the coming of the Messias. But if there should happen
any total, but temporary intercision or cessation of the government
among all the tribes, which now was the case, that was no
prejudice to the truth of this promise, nor to the privilege granted
to Judah above the rest of the tribes. After the captivity, the state
of the Jews was very various. Sometimes they had governors put
in by the Persian king, as Zorobabel, who was also of the tribe of
Judah, and, as it is supposed, nephew of Jehoiachin; and
Nehemiah, whom Eusebius affirms to have been of the tribe of
Judah. And though he may seem to be numbered among the
priests, Neh_10:8, yet a diligent reader will find that he is even
there distinguished from them by his title the Tirshatha,
Gen_49:1, and the word priests, Gen_49:8, relateth only to the
rest there mentioned besides him; especially if this be compared
with Neh_9:38, where the princes (among whom surely Nehemiah
was the chief) are distinguished from the priests. And sometimes
the people chose governors, or captain-generals, as the
Maccabees, and others. But under all their vicissitudes, after their
return from Babylon, the chief government was evidently and
unquestionably seated in the great council called Sanhedrim or
Synedrium, wherein, though some of the tribe of Levi were mixed
with those of the tribe of Judah, yet because they, together with
other members of that council, had their power both from that
tribe by which they were chosen, and in it, and for it, the sceptre
did truly remain in the tribe of Judah; even as it was rightly called
the Roman empire, when Trajan a Spaniard, or other foreigners,
administered it; or as we call it the kingdom of Poland, when they
choose a king of another nation. How great and venerable the
authority of this council was among the Jews, may easily be
gathered,

1. From the Divine institution of it, Num_11:16, whereby indeed

it was at first to consist of persons indifferently chosen out of all
the tribes; but now the other tribes being banished and dispersed
in unknown places, and Benjamin and Levi being as it were
accessions to the tribe of Judah, and in a sort incorporated with it,
it now becomes as it were appropriated to the tribe of Judah, as
acting in its name, and by its authority; and the whole land is
called Judea, and all the people Jews, from the predominancy of
that tribe above the rest.

2. From the great power and privileges anciently granted to it,

Deu_17:8, &c.; 2Ch_19:8,11 Psa 122:5.

3. From the testimony of Josephus, and other Jewish writers,

which is most considerable in this argument, who largely describe
and magnify the power and authority of it; who tell us that the
power of their king was subject to that of this council; and
therefore one of them addressing his speech to that council, where
also the king himself was present, first salutes the senators, and
after them the king. They affirm also that the power of making
war or peace was vested in that council, and that Herod was tried
for his life by it. If it be said that the power of this council was in
a great measure taken away, which the Jews confess, Joh_18:31,
and that the sceptre of Judea was in the hand of the Romans, and
by them given to Herod, who was no Jew, but an Idumean, and
this before the coming of the Messias, which is the only remaining
difficulty; to this many things may be said:

1. That this happened but a few years before the coming of Christ,
when Christ was even at the doors, and about to come, and
therefore might well be said to be come; especially in the
prophetical style, whereby things are oft said to be done which are
near doing.

2. That the Jewish senators did long struggle with Herod about the
government, and did not yield it up to him till his last year, when
they took an oath of fealty to him, which was after Christ was
born. Nor indeed was the sceptre quite gone from them then, for
that council still had the power, though not of life and death, yet
of civil and ecclesiastical matters. See Joh_18:31. So that if the
sceptre was gone, the

lawgiver remained there still. Nor was their government and

commonwealth quite destroyed until the destruction of Jerusalem
by Titus. And therefore some translate the place thus, and that
with great probability, The sceptre shall not depart —until the
Shiloh come, and until (which word is repeated out of the former
member, as it is most usual in the Scripture)

the gathering of the people be to him, i.e. until the Gentiles be

converted and brought in to Christ. And this interpretation
receiveth countenance from Mat_24:14, The gospel shall be
preached in all the world, —and then shall the end come; not the
end of the whole world, as it is evident, but the end of the
commonwealth and government of the Jews, when the sceptre and
lawgiver should be wholly taken away from that tribe and people.
Genesis 49:11

He signifies the plenty of vines in Judah’s portion, that they shall

be planted every where, even in the commons and highways
where men travel, and where upon occasion they use to tie the
beasts on which they ride to any tree which is near them. Such
shall be the plenty of it, that if it were convenient, men might use
wine instead of water to wash their garments.

The blood of grapes; so the wine is called also in Deu_32:14;

/APC 1Ma 6:34; and by Pliny, Hesiod, and others. As oil is called
the blood of the olive.

Genesis 49:12

Which shows not only the plenty of wine, but also the excellency
and strength of it, which, though not drunk in great quantity, or to
excess, will make the eyes red. See Pro_23:29.

Genesis 49:13

Acknowledge here and adore the Divine Providence, which

directed Jacob thus exactly to foretell the portion of Zebulun,
which fell to them two hundred years after this, and that not by
choice, or any design of men, but merely by lot. His portion was
extended from the sea of Galilee to the great Mediterranean Sea,
and to such parts of it where there were convenient havens.

His border shall be unto Zidon; or, his side or coast, to wit, that
which is upon the Mediterranean Sea, in near Zidon,
understanding not the city, but the territory belonging to it, unto
which that tribe reached upon the sea-coast; for though Asher
might seem to intercept them, yet he did not reach to the sea. Or,
his coast looks towards Zidon, hath it in view, and lies
commodiously for commerce with that great city, which then was
the mart of the nations.
Genesis 49:14

A strong ass, Heb. an ass of bone, i.e. of great bulk and bones,
and strength of body, but of little spirit and courage,

couching down between two burdens, which are laid upon his
back, and which he is contented to bear. Or, lying down, i.e.
enjoying his ease and rest, between the borders, to wit, of the
other tribes, with which he was encompassed and secured from
foreign enemies, which made him more secure and slothful. Or,
between the borders or folds of cattle; as a word very near akin to
it, and proceeding from the same root, signifies, Jud_5:16, to the
feeding and minding whereof he wholly gave himself, neglecting
more generous things.

Genesis 49:15

Rest, or rather, his resting-place, as this very word signifies,

Gen_8:9 Psa_116:7 132:8 Isa_11:10, i.e. his portion or habitation,
as the Chaldee and Syriac translate it. So this agrees with the
following member, where, after the manner of the Hebrews, the
same thing is repeated in other words. And if it be objected
against this version, that it is not said his rest, but

rest in the general, it may be replied, that so it is in the following

branch,

the land, though it be apparently meant of his land, or portion of

land allotted to him. Besides, the pronouns are often omitted, and
to be understood in Hebrew text; as may appear by comparing
1Ki_10:7, with 2Ch_9:6; and Psa_41:9, with Joh_13:18; and
Mat_3:12, with Luk_3:17.

Became a servant unto tribute; willingly paying whatsoever

tributes were imposed upon him, either by the neighbouring tribes,
or by foreign powers, rather than to forfeit his pleasant and fruitful
country, and his sweet repose.
Genesis 49:16

i.e. Rule and govern them. Though he be the son of my concubine,

yet he shall not be subject to any other tribe, but shall have an
absolute power within himself. What is said of him is to be
understood of the rest of the sons of the concubines, and hereby
all difference between the sons of the wives and concubines is
taken away. It is said of

Dan, because he is the first mentioned of that sort. As the rest of

the tribes do, having distinct governments and governors amongst
them. See Num_1:4,16.

Genesis 49:17

An adder in the path, which covereth and hideth itself in the

sand or dust of the highway, watching for men or beasts that pass
that way. He notes the subtlety of that tribe, which should conquer
their enemies more by craft and cmlning, than by strength or force
of arms.

Genesis 49:18

I do earnestly wait, and hope, and pray for thy helping hand to
save me and my posterity from the manifold temporal calamities
which I foresee will come upon them, and especially from
spiritual and eternal mischiefs, by that Messiah which thou hast
promised. Jacob in the midst of his great work doth take a little
breathing, and finding himself weakened by his speech to his
children, and drawing nearer death, he opens his arms to receive
it, as the thing for which he had long waited, as the only effectual
remedy and mean of salvation or deliverance from all his pains
and miseries, and particularly from his present horrors, upon the
contemplation of the future state of his children. And this
pathetical exclamation may look either,

1. Backward, to the state of the tribe of Dan, which he foresaw

would be deplorable, both for its great straits and pressures, of
which see Jos_19:47 Jud_1:34, and especially for that idolatry
which that tribe would introduce and promote, Jud_18:30
1Ki_12:29, whereby they would ruin themselves, and most of the
other tribes with them. Or,

2. Forward, to the doubtful and miserable condition of Gad.

Genesis 49:19

i.e. Troops of enemies shall frequently invade his country, and for
a time conquer and spoil it. And so it came to pass, because the
inheritance of that tribe lay beyond Jordan, near to the Ammonites
and Moabites, two inveterate enemies of Israel, and to other
hostile nations on the east.

But he shall overcome at the last, or, afterward. This was

fulfilled, 1Ch_5:18, &c. He shows that the events of the wars
should be various, but Gad should one time or other spoil his
spoilers. See Deu_33:20.

Genesis 49:20

i.e. Out of the land of

Asher. Or, As for or concerning Asher, his bread-corn shall be

fuller and sweeter and better than ordinary; and he shall yield
royal dainties; not only oil for ointments, but also delicious and
excellent fruits, fit to be presented to a king. See Deu_33:24,25.

Genesis 49:21

A hind let loose; not pursued by hunters, nor shut up in some

little enclosure, but wholly left to its own freedom, to feed upon
the best pastures: see Deu_33:23. Or, free from the yoke which
they, together with the other tribes, did bear in Egypt; free from its
former restraints, which make it run away more swiftly. So it may
note their nimbleness and expedition, either in encountering
enemies, or in avoiding dangers. See Jud_4:6,10 5:18. Or, like a
tame hind left to its liberty, in which the owner takes delight, as
Pro_5:19; for he seems to be commended rather for arts of peace
than war. And this may note, that his temper and Conversation
was civil, obliging, and amiable; which sense the next words
favour. His speeches and discourses with others are fair, and
friendly, and winning. It is not strange that this tribe was generally
of a sweeter disposition than others, seeing it is commonly
observed that there is a great difference in the tempers of people
of divers provinces or cities bordering one upon another. But this
verse may be otherwise rendered according to the opinion of a late
learned writer:

Naphtali is a tree (so the Hebrew word signifies, only jod is

inserted here, as it is in the same word, Isa_1:29 61:3) shot forth,
or spread forth, ( into many branches; for the Hebrew verb
shalach is oft used concerning trees, and their shooting forth of
branches, as Psa_80:11 Eze_17:6 31:5) sending forth goodly
branches; the word imre, which is by others rendered words, here
signifying branches, as either the same word, or one coming from
the same root, and consisting of the same radical letters, is taken
Isa_17:6,9. And it is usual in the Hebrew language for two words
coming from the same root to exchange their significations. And
this interpretation is favoured by the ancient interpreters, the
LXX., and one of the Arabic manuscripts, which make Naphtali
here to be compared to a goodly tree bringing forth excellent fruit.

Genesis 49:22

A fruitful bough, in regard of those two numerous tribes which

proceeded from his two sons.

By a well, or fountain, or water-course, which situation doth much

further the growth of trees. See Psa_1:3 Eze_19:10.

Whose branches run over the wall, i. e: which is planted by a

wall, whose heat furthers its growth no less than the moisture of
the water doth.
Genesis 49:23

i.e. His adversaries, as well his own brethren as his master and
mistress; with their scoffs, and slanders, and injuries, which in the
Scripture are oft compared to arrows.

Genesis 49:24

His bow, wherewith he opposed his enemies; which was no

military bow, but that which he opposed to all their injuries, to
wit, his own virtue, his innocence, his patience, his temperance,
his faith and hope in God, whereby he resisted and vanquished all
the temptations and difficulties which he met with, so that all his
enemies could neither defile nor destroy him.

The mighty God of Jacob, i.e. my God; the noun for the
pronoun, which is frequent. When men forsook and persecuted
him, my God and his God stood by him. He showed that it was
not Joseph’s wisdom or courage, but God’s gracious assistance,
that made him conqueror.

From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel; either,

1. From that great deliverance vouchsafed by God to Joseph it is

that Israel or Jacob hath a shepherd to feed him, a stone to lay his
head upon, as once he did, Gen_28:11, or a rock of refuge to fly to
in his great distresses, or a foundation-stone, or corner-stone, or
pillar, to sustain or preserve Jacob’s house. Or rather,

2. From the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, last mentioned. Or

from the God of his father, as it follows Gen_49:25. So the sense
is this, Though Joseph was a blessed instrument in this wonderful
work, yet the God of Jacob was the chief author of it, by whose
wise and merciful providence it was so ordered that Joseph should
be first sold, and afterwards advanced, and all in order to this end,
that his Israel, with whom he hath been pleased to make a
gracious and everlasting covenant, should have a shepherd to feed
him in the time of famine, and a stone or rock to support him.
Here he explains and determines that doubtful expression from
thence, by adding, even by (or rather from, as this particle mem
properly signifies, and was just now used) the God of thy father,
i.e. who hath chosen and loved thy father, and made a league with
him, and blessed him with all manner of blessings.

Blessings of heaven above, i.e. the sweet and powerful influences

of the heavenly bodies, and the dews and rains which fall from
heaven, whereby the fruits of the earth are produced in great
plenty. See Lev_26:4 Deu_28:12 33:14.

Blessings of the deep, i.e. of that great sea of waters both about the
earth, and in the earth, whence come those springs and rivers by
which the earth is moistened and made fruitful. See Gen_1:2 7:11
Deu_8:7.

Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb, whereby both men and
beasts shall be greatly multiplied, and abundantly supplied with
all necessaries.

Genesis 49:25

Here he explains and determines that doubtful expression from

these , by adding even by (or rather from as this particle mem
properly signifies, and was just now used)

the God of thy Father, i.e. who hath chosen and loved they
father, and made a league with him, and blessed him with all
manner of blessings.

Blessings of heaven above, i.e. the sweet and powerful influences

of the heavenly bodies, and the dews and rains which fall from
heaven, whereby the fruits of the earth are produced in great
plenty. See Lev_26:4 Deu_28:12, Deu_33:14.

blessing of the deep, i.e. of the great sea of waters both above the
earth, and in the earth, whence come those springs and rivers by
which the earth is moistened and made fruitful. See Gen_1:2 7:11,
Deu_8:7.
Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb whereby both men
and beasts shall be greatly multiplied, and abundantly supplied
with all necessaries.

Genesis 49:26

The blessings which I

thy father have conferred upon thee, are much more considerable
than those which I received from my father Isaac, or from my
grandfather Abraham This was true,

1. In the extent of the blessings; Ishmael was excluded from

Abraham’s blessing, and my brother excluded from Isaac’s
blessing, but both Joseph’s children are comprehended in Jacob’s
blessing.

2. In the distinctness and clearness of them; for that land of

Canaan which was transmitted to Isaac and to Jacob only in the
general, was now in some sort particularly distributed to Joseph,
and to the rest of his brethren, as afterwards it was by Joshua.

3. In the nearness of the accomplishment. Now there was a more

likely prospect of the multiplication of their seed, than there was
to Abraham or Isaac; and in not very many years after this they
multiplied to astonishment, and drew nearer to the possession of
the promised land.

Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: these words

seem to note the duration of Joseph’s blessing, that it should
continue even to the bounds of the everlasting, or lasting, or
ancient hills, i.e. as long as the most solid and stable mountains
shall last, i.e. for ever. Perpetuity is described by the continuance
of the mountains, as Isa_54:10; or of the sun and moon, as
Psa_72:5,7,17; or of the heavens and earth, as Mat_5:18. In the
foregoing words of this verse he commends these blessings from
their excellency above all former blessings; and here he
commends them from their durableness.
They shall be; or, let them be; for this may be a prayer to God
that these blessings may be constant and perpetual.

Him that was separate from his brethren; so he was, when he

was sold into Egypt, and abode there in the court when his
brethren were in Goshen. Or, the crowned of, or among his
brethren, i.e. who though he was once scorned and trampled upon
by his brethren, yet now is highly honoured and advanced above
them. Others, the Nazarite of, or among his brethren; as he may
be called either for his purity and sanctity, or for his eminency and
dignity. But we must remember that the Nazarites were as yet
unknown, being instituted long after this time.

Genesis 49:27

He notes the warlike and fierce disposition and carriage of that

tribe. Instances whereof we have Jud_3:15 19:1-20:48 1Sa_13:1-
15:35. This may be understood, either of the same wolf, which in
the morning, being more hungry and greedy, devours his prey
alone; but in the evening, being in some measure satisfied, is
content that his brethren should share with him. Or rather of
several sorts of wolves, whereof some hunt and devour alone,
others hunt in couples or troops, and those divide the prey among
themselves. He mentions both

morning and

evening, because these are the two seasons when the wolves prey,
and to note that this would be Benjamin’s carriage both in the first
and last times of that tribe, as indeed it was.

Genesis 49:28

The twelve tribes, i.e. the heads and parents of the twelve tribes.
A metonomy of the effect. The tribes are generally accounted
twelve, though they were thirteen, because the land was divided
only into twelve parts, Levi having no distinct part of his own.
Every one according to his blessing, i.e. according to that
blessing which God in his purpose had allotted to each of them,
which also he manifested unto Jacob by his Spirit.

Object. There is no blessing here given to Reuben, Simeon, and

Levi, but rather a curse; how then is he said to bless every one of
them?

Answ. He blessed them all implicitly and really, though not

expressly, or in words, because he gave each of them a part in
Canaan; and his taking away from Reuben only the right of the
first-born, plainly supposeth that he left him his single portion and
inheritance. And he might well be said to bless them all, because
he left them all an interest in God’s covenant, one article whereof
was the giving of Canaan, or part of Canaan, to them, and this was
an earnest of the other branches or articles of it; though it is
probable he also added some short blessing, or prayer to God for
his blessing, upon them all.

Genesis 49:29

In Canaan. Whereby he designed to withdraw their minds from

Egypt, and fix them upon Canaan.

Genesis 49:30

He describes it so particularly, both for their direction, because

they had been some years absent thence; and to express how much
his heart was set upon this matter; and thereby to oblige them to
the more careful performance of his command.

Genesis 49:31

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 49:32

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 49:33

Commanding his sons, to wit, concerning the place of his burial.

Whilst he was employed in that most solemn and religious work
of blessing his children in the name and by the Spirit of God, he
used as reverent a posture as his infirm body would permit, and
therefore is supposed to sit upon his bedside with his feet hanging
downwards. And when he had finished that great work, and
wearied himself with so long speech delivered with a most raised
and affected mind, he composed himself to rest, and waited for the
comfortable approach of his death, which speedily followed it.

Genesis 50:1

And doubtless closed his eyes, as God had promised, Gen_46:4,

which may be implied in this general phrase.

Genesis 50:2

The dead corpse of his father with spices, and ointments, and
other things necessary for the preservation of the body from
putrefaction as long as might be. This Joseph did, partly, because
he would comply as far as he could with the Egyptians, whose
custom this was, from whom also the Jews took it, 2Ch_16:14
Joh_19:39-40; partly, to do honour and show his affections to his
worthy father; and partly, because this was necessary for the
keeping of the body so long as the times of mourning and the
journey to Canaan required.

Genesis 50:3

For him, i.e. for his embalming; that so the drugs or spices which
were applied might more effectually reach to all the parts of the
dead body, and keep it from corruption. And the effect of their
diligence and so long continuance in this work was, that bodies
have been preserved uncorrupt for some thousand of years.

Threescore and ten days, i.e. thirty days, (according to the

custom of the Hebrews, Num_20:29 Deu_34:8, to which
doubtless the Egyptians in this case did accommodate
themselves,) besides the forty days spent in embalming him,
which also was a time of mourning. And thus I suppose the
Egyptians reckoned those seventy-two days which Diodorus
Siculus saith they spent in mourning for their deceased kings.

Genesis 50:4

The house of Pharaoh; the household or family, namely, those of

them which were chief in place and favour with the king. Joseph
makes use of their intercession, either,

1. Lest he might seem to despise them, or to presume too much

upon his own single interest. Or,

2. By engaging them in this matter to stop their mouths, who

otherwise might have been ready enough to censure this action,
which they would have a fair opportunity to do in Joseph’s
absence. Or,

3. Because it was the custom here, as it was elsewhere, Est_4:2,

that persons in mourning habit might not come into the king’s
presence, partly because they would not give them any occasion
of sadness, and partly because, according to their superstitions
conceits, the sight of such a person was judged ominous.

Genesis 50:5

Here is a triple obligation upon Joseph:

1. His duty to fulfil the will of the dead.

2. The obedience which he owed to his father’s command.

3. The the of a solemn oath: all which had weight even with the
heathens, and were so many arguments to Pharaoh and his
courtiers.
In my grave which I have digged for me, according to the
manner of those ancient and succeeding times. See 2Ch_16:14
Isa_22:16 Mat_27:60. In that large cave which Abraham bought
for a burying-place for his family, Jacob had digged a particular
and small cell or repository for himself, as others did after him
upon the like occasion. And this reason is prudently added, to
show that this desire proceeded not from any contempt of Pharaoh
or his land, but from that common and customary desire of
persons of all ages and nations to be buried in their fathers’
sepulchres.

Genesis 50:6

The heathens by the light of nature discovered the sacredness of

an oath, and the wickedness of perjury.

Genesis 50:7

All the servants, i.e. a great number of them, as that word is

understood, Mat_3:5, and oft elsewhere. For many of them were
aged and infirm, and many could not be spared from their
attendance at court, or upon their employments, &c.

The servants of Pharaoh were courtiers of an inferior rank;

the elders of his house, the chief officers, and under him
governors of his family and councils, who used to reside at or near
the court;

and the elders of the land, the great officers civil and military,
whose places of habitation and command were dispersed in the
several parts of the land.

Genesis 50:8

And such as were necessary to take care of them, which must

needs be understood.
Chariots and horsemen, for their defence, in case of any
opposition.

Genesis 50:9

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 50:10

Atad, a man so called; or, of thorn, or thorns, as the word

signifies, Jud_9:14 Psa_58:9. So it might be a place either
abounding or encompassed with thorns.

Beyond, or on this side; for the word signifies both, and it may be
taken either way here; the one in respect of Egypt, the other in
regard of the place in which Moses wrote. It is certain they
fetched a great compass, whether for the commodiousness of the
way for their chariots, and for conveniences for so great a
company, or to prevent all jealousies in the people, as if they came
thither with ill design, is not material.

There they mourned, because there was the entrance into that
country or territory where he was to be buried. Though the
Egyptians were not much grieved nor concerned for Jacob’s
death, yet they used bitter cries and lamentations, which possibly
were made or aggravated by persons hired and used upon such
occasions. See Jer_9:17.

Seven days, according to the custom. See 1Sa_31:13.

Genesis 50:11

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 50:12

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 50:13

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 50:14

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 50:15

No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 50:16

This looks like a lie; for Jacob either did not know this fact, or
rather, was so well assured of Joseph’s clemency and goodness,
that he never feared his revenge. But guilt doth so awaken fear,
that it makes a man never to think himself secure.

Genesis 50:17

The God of thy father, for whose sake pardon those that join
with thee in his worship.

Joseph wept; partly in compassion to their fear and trouble; and

partly because they still retained a diffidence in his kindness, after
all his great and real demonstrations of it.

Genesis 50:18

Ready and willing to undergo that servitude into which we so

wickedly sold thee.

Genesis 50:19

It is God’s prerogative to take vengeance, which I dare not usurp.

See Deu_32:35. Or, can I do what I please with you without
God’s leave? Therefore fear him rather than me, and upon your
experience of his wonderful care and kindness to you, believe that
God will not, and therefore that I neither can nor will do you any
hurt. But it is not unusual to put the Hebrew he for halo, as it is
Gen_27:36 1Sa_2:28 2Sa_23:19 1Ki_16:31, &c.; and so the
words may be very well rendered, Am not I under God, i.e. subject
to his will, a minister of his providence? Dare I destroy those
whom God so eminently designed to save? Dare I punish those
whom God hath pardoned.

Genesis 50:20

Ye thought evil against me, therefore I do not excuse your guilt,

though I comfort you against despondency.

Genesis 50:21

I will nourish you; expect not only a free pardon from me, but all
the kindness of a loving brother.

Genesis 50:22

1625 No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 50:23

Of the third generation, reckoning from and after Ephraim, i.e.,

Ephraim’s grandchildren’s children. So early did Ephraim’s
privilege above Manasseh appear, and Jacob’s blessing {
Gen_48:19} take place.

The children of Machir, Heb. sons. For though he had but one
son, viz. Gilead, by his first wife, yet he married a second wife,
and by her had two other sons, 1Ch_7:16, which Joseph lived long
enough to see. Or under the name of children his grandchildren
also might be comprehended. So there is no need of that enallage
of sons for one son which we meet with in other places.

Were brought up upon Joseph’s knees; laid upon Joseph’s lap

or knees, where parents use ofttimes to take up and repose their
infants, to express their love to them, and delight in them. And
some observe, that it was an ancient custom in divers nations, that
the infant, as soon as it was born, was laid upon the grandfather’s
knees. So it is an ellipsis, whereby one word is put for two, or
under one verb. See more of this phrase on Gen_30:3 48:12.

Genesis 50:24

God will surely visit you, i.e. deliver you out of this place, where
I foresee you will be hardly used after my decease; or, fulfil his
promised kindness to you, as that word is used, Gen_21:1
Exo_4:31. There is a double visitation oft mentioned in Scripture;
the one of grace and mercy, which is here meant; the other of
justice and anger, as elsewhere.

Genesis 50:25

Joseph took an oath, for the same reason which moved Jacob to
require an oath from him, Gen_47:30,31,

of the children of Israel: he saith not, of his brethren, but of

Israel ’s children; under which his grandchildren are
comprehended, and seem principally intended here; either because
his brethren were most of them dead, or rather because he knew
that they were not to go out of Egypt in his brethren’s time, but in
their second or third generation.

My bones, i.e. my dead body: but he mentions only his bones,

because part of his body was corrupted, and the other part, though
preserved from corruption by the embalming, yet was so changed
and adulterated with the spices, and other materials which they
used, that it looked like another thing: only his bones remained
entire and unchanged.

Quest. Why did he not desire to be presently carried thither, and

buried there, as his father did?

Answ. 1. Lest he should disoblige the Egyptians, and provoke

them against his brethren and children. The removal of his father
thither was necessary, and forced from him by an oath, but the
order for the removal of himself would have been voluntary and
designed, and therefore could not have escaped the censure of an
ungrateful contempt of the land of Egypt, which as it was thought
good enough for him and his to live in, should have been judged
so too for his burial.

2. That by these his remains his memory might be the longer and
better preserved, both with the Egyptians, who for his sake might
show kindness to his near relations; and with the Israelites, to
whom this was a visible pledge of their deliverance, and a help to
their faith, and all obligation to them to persist in the true religion.

Genesis 50:26

So for about thirteen years of affliction he enjoyed eighty years of

honour, and as much happiness as earth could afford him.