Genesis
From the 1599 Geneva Bible Notes
Ge 1:1
1:1 In the {a} beginning God
created the heaven and the earth.
The Argument - Moses in
effect declares three things, which are in this book chiefly to be considered:
First, that the world and all things in it were created by God, and to praise
his Name for the infinite graces, with which he had endued him, fell willingly
from God through disobedience, who yet for his own mercies sake restored him
to life, and confirmed him in the same by his promise of Christ to come, by
whom he should overcome Satan, death and hell. Secondly, that the wicked,
unmindful of God's most excellent benefits, remained still in their
wickedness, and so falling most horribly from sin to sin, provoked God (who by
his preachers called them continually to repentance) at length to destroy the
whole world. Thirdly, he assures us by the examples of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
and the rest of the patriarchs, that his mercies never fail those whom he
chooses to be his Church, and to profess his Name in earth, but in all their
afflictions and persecutions he assists them, sends comfort, and delivers
them, so that the beginning, increase, preservation and success of it might be
attributed to God only. Moses shows by the examples of Cain, Ishmael, Esau and
others, who were noble in man's judgment, that this Church depends not on the
estimation and nobility of the world: and also by the fewness of those, who
have at all times worshipped him purely according to his word that it stands
not in the multitude, but in the poor and despised, in the small flock and
little number, that man in his wisdom might be confounded, and the name of God
praised forever.
(a) First of all, and
before any creature was, God made heaven and earth out of nothing.
Ge 1:2
1:2 And the earth was {b}
without form, and void; and {c} darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And
the Spirit of God {d} moved upon the face of the waters.
(b) As an unformed lump and
without any creature in it: for the waters covered everything.
(c) Darkness covered the deep waters, for the waters covered everything.
(d) He maintained this disordered mass by his secret power.
Ge 1:3
1:3 And God said, Let there
be light: and there was {e} light.
(e) The light was made
before either Sun or Moon was created: therefore we must not attribute that
to the creatures that are God's instruments, which only belong to God.
Ge 1:7
1:7 And God made the
firmament, and divided the waters which [were] {f} under the firmament from
the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so.
(f) As the sea and rivers,
from those waters that are in the clouds, which are upheld by God's power,
least they should overwhelm the world.
Ge 1:8
1:8 And God called the
firmament {g} Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
(g) That is, the region of
the air, and all that is above us.
Ge 1:11
1:11 And God said, {h} Let
the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, [and] the fruit tree
yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed [is] in itself, upon the earth: and
it was so.
(h) So that we see it is
the only the power of God's word that makes the earth fruitful, which
naturally is barren.
Ge 1:12
1:12 And the earth brought
forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding
fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God {i} saw that [it
was] good.
(i) This sentence is often
repeated, to signify that God made all his creatures to serve for his glory
and for the profit of man: but because of sin they were cursed, yet the
elect, by Christ are restored, and serve to their wealth.
Ge 1:14
1:14 And God said, Let there
be {k} lights in the firmament of the heaven to {l} divide the day from the
night; and let them be for {m} signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
years:
(k) By the lights be means
the sun, the moon, and the stars.
(l) Which is the artificial day, from the sun rising, to the going down.
(m) Of things belonging to natural and political orders and seasons.
Ge 1:16
1:16 And God made two great
{n} lights; the greater light to {o} rule the day, and the lesser light to
rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
(n) That is, the sun and
the moon, and here he speaks as man judges by his eye: for else the moon is
less than the planet Saturn.
(o) To give it sufficient light, as instruments appointed for the same, to
serve man's purposes.
Ge 1:20
1:20 And God said, Let the
waters bring forth abundantly the {p} moving creature that hath life, and fowl
[that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
(p) As fish and worms which
slide, swim or creep.
Ge 1:21
1:21 And God created great
whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the {q} waters brought
forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and
God saw that [it was] good.
(q) The fish and fowls had
both one beginning, in which we see that nature gives place to God's will,
in that the one sort is made to fly about in the air, and the other to swim
beneath in the water.
Ge 1:22
1:22 And God {r} blessed
them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and
let fowl multiply in the earth.
(r) That is, by the virtue
of his word he gave power to his creatures to reproduce.
Ge 1:26
1:26 And God said, {s} Let us
make man in our {t} image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and
over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth.
(s) God commanded the water
and the earth to bring forth other creatures: but of man he says, "Let us
make..." signifying that God takes counsel with his wisdom and virtue
purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.
(t) This image and likeness of God in man is expounded in Eph 4:24 where it
is written that man was created after God in righteousness and true holiness
meaning by these two words, all perfection, as wisdom, truth, innocency,
power, etc.
Ge 1:28
1:28 And God {u} blessed
them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Ge 1:29
1:29 And God said, Behold, I
have given you {x} every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all
the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding
seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Ge 2:1
2:1 Thus the heavens and the
earth were finished, and all the {a} host of them.
(a) That is, the
innumerable abundance of creatures in heaven and earth.
Ge 2:2
2:2 And on the seventh day
God ended his work which he had made; and he {b} rested on the seventh day
from all his work which he had made.
(b) For he had now finished
his creation, but his providence still watches over his creatures and
governs them.
Ge 2:3
2:3 And God blessed the
seventh day, and {c} sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all
his work which God created and made.
(c) Appointed it to be kept
holy, that man might in it consider the excellency of his works and God's
goodness toward him.
Ge 2:5
2:5 And every plant of the
field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew:
for the LORD God had not caused it to {d} rain upon the earth, and [there was]
not a man to till the ground.
(d) God only opens the
heavens and shuts them, he sends drought and rain according to his good
pleasure.
Ge 2:7
2:7 And the LORD God formed
man {e} [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living soul.
(e) He shows what man's
body was created from, to the intent that man should not glory in the
excellency of his own nature.
Ge 2:8
2:8 And the LORD God planted
a garden eastward in {f} Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
(f) This was the name of a
place, as some think in Mesopotamia, most pleasant and abundant in all
things.
Ge 2:9
2:9 And out of the ground
made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good
for food; the {g} tree of life also in the midst of the garden, {h} and the
tree of knowledge of good and evil.
(g) Who was a sign of the
life received from God.
(h) That is, of miserable experience, which came by disobeying God.
Ge 2:11
2:11 The name of the first
[is] Pison: that [is] it which compasseth the whole land {i} of Havilah, where
[there is] gold;
(i) Havilah is a country
adjoining Persia to the east, and inclining towards the west.
Ge 2:15
2:15 And the LORD God took
the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to {k} dress it and to keep it.
(k) God would not have man
idle, though as yet there was no need to labour.
Ge 2:16
2:16 And the LORD God {l}
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
(l) So that man might know
there was a sovereign Lord, to whom he owed obedience.
Ge 2:17
2:17 But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely {m} die.
(m) By death he means the
separation of man from God, who is our life and chief happiness: and also
that our disobedience is the cause of it.
Ge 2:19
2:19 And out of the ground
the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and
brought [them] unto {n} Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever
Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof.
Ge 2:22
2:22 And the rib, which the
LORD God had taken from man, made he a {o} woman, and brought her unto the
man.
(o) Signifying that mankind
was perfect, when the woman was created, who before was like an imperfect
building.
Ge 2:24
2:24 Therefore shall a man
leave {p} his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they
shall be one flesh.
(p) So marriage requires a
greater duty of us toward our wives, than otherwise we are bound to show to
our parents.
Ge 2:25
2:25 And they were both
naked, the man and his wife, and were not {q} ashamed.
(q) For before sin entered,
all things were honest and comely.
Ge 3:1
3:1 Now the serpent was more
{a} subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he {b}
said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the
garden?
(a) As Satan can change
himself into an angel of light, so did he abuse the wisdom of the serpent to
deceive man.
(b) God allowed Satan to make the serpent his instrument and to speak
through him.
Ge 3:3
3:3 But of the fruit of the
tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of
it, neither shall ye touch it, {c} lest ye die.
Ge 3:4
3:4 And the serpent said unto
the woman, Ye shall not surely {d} die:
(d) This is Satan's
chiefest subtilty, to cause us not to fear God's warnings.
Ge 3:5
3:5 For God doth know that in
the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as
gods, {e} knowing good and evil.
(e) As though he said, God
forbids you to eat of the fruit, only because he knows that if you eat of
it, you will be like him.
Ge 3:6
3:6 And when the woman saw
that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and
a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and
did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he {f} did eat.
(f) Not so much to please
his wife, as moved by ambition at her persuasion.
Ge 3:7
3:7 And the eyes of them both
were opened, and they {g} knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig
leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
(g) They began to feel
their misery, but they did not seek God for a remedy.
Ge 3:8
3:8 And they heard the voice
of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his
wife {h} hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of
the garden.
Ge 3:10
3:10 And he said, I heard thy
voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] {i} naked; and I hid
myself.
(i) His hypocrisy appears
in that he hid the cause of his nakedness, which was the transgression of
God's commandment.
Ge 3:12
3:12 And the man said, The
woman whom thou {k} gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did
eat.
(k) His wickedness and lack
of true repentance appears in this that he blamed God because he had given
him a wife.
Ge 3:13
3:13 And the LORD God said
unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, {l}
The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
(l) Instead of confessing
her sin, she increases it by accusing the serpent.
Ge 3:14
3:14 And the LORD God said
unto the serpent, {m} Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all
cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and
{n} dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
(m) He asked the reason
from Adam and his wife, because he would bring them to repentance, but he
does not ask the serpent, because he would show him no mercy.
(n) As a vile and contemptible beast, Isa 65:25.
Ge 3:15
3:15 And I will put enmity
between {o} thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall
bruise thy {p} head, and thou shalt {q} bruise his heel.
(o) He chiefly means Satan,
by whose action and deceit the serpent deceived the woman.
(p) That is, the power of sin and death.
(q) Satan shall sting Christ and his members, but not overcome them.
Ge 3:16
3:16 Unto the woman he said,
I will greatly multiply thy {r} sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou
shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he
shall rule over thee.
(r) The Lord comforts Adam
by the promise of the blessed seed, and also punishes the body for the sin
which the soul should have been punished for; that the spirit having
conceived hope of forgiveness might live by faith. 1Co 14:34.
Ge 3:17
3:17 And unto Adam he said,
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the
tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: {s} cursed
[is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of
thy life;
(s) The transgression of
God's commandment was the reason that both mankind and all other creatures
were subject to the curse.
Ge 3:18
3:18 {t} Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the
field;
(t) These are not the
natural fruit of the earth, but proceed from the corruption of sin.
Ge 3:21
3:21 Unto Adam also and to
his wife did the LORD God {u} make coats of skins, and clothed them.
(u) Or, gave them knowledge
to make themselves coats.
Ge 3:22
3:22 And the LORD God said,
{x} Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now,
lest he put forth his hand, and {y} take also of the tree of life, and eat,
and live for ever:
(x) By this derision by
reproaches Adam's misery, into which he was fallen by ambition.
(y) Adam deprived of life, lost also the sign of it.
Ge 4:1
4:1 And Adam knew Eve his
wife; and she {a} conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man {b}
from the LORD.
(a) Man's nature, the
estate of marriage, and God's blessing were not utterly abolished through
sin, but the quality or condition of it was changed.
(b) That is, according to the Lord's promise, as some read Ge 3:15, "To the
Lord" rejoicing for the son she had born, whom she would offer to the Lord
as the first fruits of her birth.
Ge 4:3
4:3 And in process of time it
came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an {c} offering
unto the LORD.
(c) This declares that the
father instructed his children in the knowledge of God, and also how God
gave them sacrifices to signify their salvation, though they were destitute
of the ordinance of the tree of life.
Ge 4:7
4:7 If thou doest well, shalt
thou not be {e} accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the {f}
door. And unto thee [shall be] his {g} desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
(e) Both you and your
sacrifice shall be acceptable to me.
(f) Sin will still torment your conscience.
(g) The dignity of the first born is given to Cain over Abel.
Ge 4:9
4:9 And the LORD said unto
Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: {h} [Am] I my
brother's keeper?
(h) This is the nature of
the reprobate when they are rebuke for their hypocrisy, even to neglect God
and outrage him.
Ge 4:10
4:10 And he said, What hast
thou done? the {i} voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the
ground. {i} God avenges the wrongs against his saints, though no one
complains: for the iniquity itself cries for vengeance.
Ge 4:11
4:11 And now [art] thou
cursed {k} from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy
brother's blood from thy hand;
(k) The earth will be a
witness against you, which mercifully received the blood you most cruelly
shed.
Ge 4:12
4:12 When thou tillest the
ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a {l} fugitive
and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Ge 4:13
4:13 And Cain said unto the
LORD, {m} My punishment [is] greater than I can bear.
Ge 4:15
4:15 And the LORD said unto
him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, {n} vengeance shall be taken on him
sevenfold. And the LORD set a {o} mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should
kill him.
(n) Not for the love he had
for Cain, but to suppress murder.
(o) Which was some visible sign of God's judgment, that others should fear
by it.
Ge 4:17
4:17 And Cain knew his wife;
and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a {p} city, and called the
name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
(p) Thinking by this to be
safe, and to have less reason to fear God's judgments against him.
Ge 4:19
4:19 And Lamech took unto him
{q} two wives: the name of the one [was] Adah, and the name of the other
Zillah.
(q) The lawful institution
of marriage, which is, that two should be one flesh, was first corrupted in
the house of Cain by Lamech.
Ge 4:23
4:23 And Lamech said unto his
wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my
speech: {r} for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
(r) His wives seeing that
all men hated him for his cruelty, were afraid, therefore he brags that
there is none strong enough to resist, even though he was already wounded.
Ge 4:24
4:24 If Cain shall be avenged
sevenfold, truly Lamech {s} seventy and sevenfold.
(s) He mocked at God's
tolerance in Cain jesting as though God would allow no one to punish him and
yet give him permission to murder others.
Ge 4:26
4:26 And to Seth, to him also
there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to {t} call
upon the name of the LORD.
(t) In these days God began
to move the hearts of the godly to restore religion, which had been
suppressed by the wicked for a long time.
Ge 5:1
5:1 This [is] the book of the
generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the {a} likeness of
God made he him;
Ge 5:2
5:2 Male and female created
he them; and blessed them, and called their name {b} Adam, in the day when
they were created.
(b) By giving them both one
name, he notes the inseparable conjunction of man and wife.
Ge 5:3
5:3 And Adam lived an hundred
and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own {c} likeness, after his image;
and called his name Seth:
(c) As well, concerning his
creation, as his corruption.
Ge 5:6
5:6 And {d} Seth lived an
hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
(d) He proves Adam's
generation by those who came from Seth, to show the true Church, and also
what care God had over the same from the beginning, in that he continued his
graces toward it by a continual succession.
Ge 5:8
5:8 And all the days of Seth
were {e} nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
(e) The main reason for
long life in the first age, was the multiplication of mankind, that
according to God's commandment at the beginning the world might be filled
with people, who would universally praise him.
Ge 5:22
5:22 And Enoch {f} walked
with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and
daughters:
(f) That is, he led an
upright and godly life.
Ge 5:24
5:24 And Enoch walked with
God: and he [was] not; for {g} God took him.
(g) To show that there was
a better life prepared and to be a testimony of the immortality of souls and
bodies. To inquire where he went is mere curiosity.
Ge 5:29
5:29 And he called his name
Noah, saying, This [same] shall {h} comfort us concerning our work and toil of
our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
(h) Lamech had respect for
the promise, Ge 3:15, and desired to see the deliverer who would be sent and
yet saw but a figure of it. He spoke this by the spirit of prophecy because
Noah delivered the Church and preserved it by his obedience.
Ge 6:2
6:2 That the {a} sons of God
saw the daughters {b} of men that they [were] {c} fair; and they took them
wives of all which they chose.
(a) The children of the
godly who began to degenerate.
(b) Those that had wicked parents, as if from Cain.
(c) Having more respect for their beauty and worldly considerations than for
their manners and godliness.
Ge 6:3
6:3 And the LORD said, My
spirit shall not always {d} strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet
his days shall be an {e} hundred and twenty years.
(d) Because man could not
by won by God's leniency and patience by which he tried to win him, he would
no longer withhold his vengeance.
(e) Which time span God gave man to repent before he would destroy the
earth, 1Pe 3:20.
Ge 6:4
6:4 There were giants in the
earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto
the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became]
mighty men which [were] of old, men of {f} renown.
(f) Who usurped authority
over others, and degenerated from that simplicity, in which their father's
lived.
Ge 6:6
6:6 And it {g} repented the
LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
(g) God never repents, but
he speaks in human terms, because he destroyed him, and in a way denied him
as his creature.
Ge 6:7
6:7 And the LORD said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and {h}
beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me
that I have made them.
(h) God declares how much
he detests sin, seeing the punishment of it extends to the brute beasts.
Ge 6:8
6:8 But Noah {i} found grace
in the eyes of the LORD.
Ge 6:11
6:11 The earth also was
corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with {k} violence.
(k) Meaning, that all were
given to the contempt of God, and oppression of their neighbours.
Ge 6:16
6:16 A window shalt thou make
to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark
shalt thou set in the side thereof; [with] {1} lower, second, and third
[stories] shalt thou make it.
(1) That is, of three
heights.
Ge 6:18
6:18 But with thee will I {m}
establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons,
and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
(m) So that in this great
undertaking and mocking of the whole world, you may be confirmed so your
faith does not fail.
Ge 6:22
6:22 Thus did Noah; according
to all that God commanded him, {n} so did he.
(n) That is, he obeyed
God's commandment in all points without adding or taking away.
Ge 7:1
7:1 And the LORD said unto
Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen {a}
righteous before me in this generation.
(a) In respect to the rest
of the world, and because he had a desire to serve God and live uprightly.
Ge 7:2
7:2 Of every {b} clean beast
thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that
[are] not clean by two, the male and his female.
(b) Which might be offered
in sacrifice, of which six were for breeding and the seventh for sacrifice.
Ge 7:9
7:9 There {c} went in two and
two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded
Noah.
(c) God compelled them to
present themselves to Noah, as they did before to Adam, when he gave them
names, Ge 2:19.
Ge 7:11
7:11 In the six hundredth
year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month,
the same day were all the {e} fountains of the great deep broken up, and the
windows of heaven were opened.
Ge 7:15
7:15 And they went in unto
Noah into the ark, two and two {f} of all flesh, wherein [is] the breath of
life.
(f) Every living thing that
God would have be preserved on earth, came into the ark to Noah.
Ge 7:16
7:16 And they that went in,
went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD
{g} shut him in.
Ge 7:23
7:23 And every living
substance was destroyed {h} which was upon the face of the ground, both man,
and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were
destroyed from the earth: and Noah only {i} remained [alive], and they that
[were] with him in the ark.
(h) That is, by God.
(i) Learn what it is to obey God only, and to forsake the multitude, 1Pe
3:20.
Ge 8:1
8:1 And God {a} remembered
Noah, and {b} every living thing, and all the cattle that [was] with him in
the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
(a) Not that God forgets
his at any time, but when he sends comfort then he shows that he remembers
them.
(b) If God remembered every brute beast, that ought also to assure his
children.
Ge 8:4
8:4 And the ark rested in the
{c} seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of
Ararat.
Ge 8:5
8:5 And the waters decreased
continually until the {d} tenth month: in the tenth [month], on the first
[day] of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
Ge 8:9
8:9 But the dove found no
rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the
waters [were] on the face of the whole earth: then he {e} put forth his hand,
and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
(e) The raven flew to and
fro, resting on the ark, but did not come into it, unlike the dove that was
taken in.
Ge 8:11
8:11 And the dove came in to
him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth [was] an {f} olive leaf pluckt off:
so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
(f) Which was a sign that
the waters were much diminished: for the olives do not grow on the high
mountains.
Ge 8:13
8:13 And it came to pass in
the six hundredth and first year, in the {g} first [month], the first [day] of
the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the
covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
(g) Called in Hebrew Abib,
part of March and part of April.
Ge 8:16
8:16 {h} Go forth of the ark,
thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
(h) Noah declares his
obedience, in that he would not leave the ark without God's express
commandment, as he did not enter in without the same: the ark being a figure
of the Church, in which nothing must be done outside the word of God.
Ge 8:20
8:20 And Noah {i} builded an
altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl,
and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
(i) For sacrifices which
were as an exercise of their faith, by which they used to give thanks to God
for his benefits.
Ge 8:21
8:21 And the LORD smelled a
{k} sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the
ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart [is] evil
from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I
have done.
(k) That is, by it he
showed himself appeased and his anger at rest.
Ge 8:22
8:22 While the earth
remaineth, {l} seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter,
and day and night shall not cease.
(l) The order of nature
destroyed by the flood, is restored by God's promise.
Ge 9:1
9:1 And God {a} blessed Noah
and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth.
(a) God increased them with
fruit, and declared to them his counsel as concerning the replenishing of
the earth.
Ge 9:2
9:2 And the {b} fear of you
and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every
fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth, and upon all the
fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
(b) By the virtue of this
commandment, beasts do not rage as much against man as they would, yea and
many serve his purposes by it.
Ge 9:3
9:3 Every {c} moving thing
that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all
things.
Ge 9:4
9:4 {d} But flesh with the
life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
(d) That is, living
creatures, and the flesh of beasts that are strangled: and by this all
cruelty is forbidden.
Ge 9:5
9:5 {e} And surely your blood
of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it,
and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the
life of man.
(e) That is, I will take
vengeance for your blood.
Ge 9:6
9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's
blood, {f} by man shall his blood be shed: for in the {g} image of God made he
man.
(f) Not only by the
magistrate, but often God raises up one murderer to kill another.
(g) Therefore to kill man is to deface God's image, and so injury is not
only done to man, but also to God.
Ge 9:9
9:9 And I, behold, I
establish my {h} covenant with you, and with your {i} seed after you;
(h) To assure you that the
world will never again be destroyed by a flood.
(i) The children which are not yet born, are comprehended in God's covenant
with their fathers.
Ge 9:13
9:13 I do set my {k} bow in
the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Ge 9:15
9:15 And I will remember my
{l} covenant, which [is] between me and you and every living creature of all
flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
(l) When men see my bow in
the sky, they will know that I have not forgotten my covenant with them.
Ge 9:17
9:17 And God said unto Noah,
{m} This [is] the token of the covenant, which I have established between me
and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.
Ge 9:19
9:19 These [are] the three
sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth {n} overspread.
(n) This declares what the
virtue of God's blessing was, when he said, increase and bring forth in Ge
1:28.
Ge 9:21
9:21 And he drank of the
wine, and was {o} drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Ge 9:22
9:22 And Ham, the father of
{p} Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and {q} told his two brethren
without.
(p) Of whom came the
Canaanites that wicked nation, who were also cursed by God.
(q) In derision and contempt of his father.
Ge 9:25
9:25 And he said, {r} Cursed
[be] Canaan; a {s} servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
(r) He pronounces as a
prophet the curse of God against all those who do not honour their parents:
for Ham and his posterity were cursed.
(s) That is, a most vile slave.
Ge 9:27
9:27 God shall {t} enlarge
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his
servant.
(t) He declares that the
Gentiles, who came from Japheth, and were separated from the Church, should
be joined to the same by the persuasion of God's Spirit, and preaching of
the gospel.
Ge 10:1
10:1 {a} Now these [are] the
generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were
sons born after the flood.
(a) These generations are
here recited, partly to declare the marvellous increase, and also to set
forth their great forgetfulness of God's grace towards their fathers.
Ge 10:2
10:2 The sons of Japheth;
Gomer, and Magog, and {b} Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Ge 10:5
10:5 By these were the {c}
isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue,
after their families, in their nations.
(c) So do the Jews call all
countries which are separated from them by sea, as Greece, Italy etc, which
were given to the children of Japheth, of whom came the Gentiles.
Ge 10:6
10:6 And the sons of Ham; {d}
Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
Ge 10:8
10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod:
he began to be a {e} mighty one in the earth.
(e) Meaning, a cruel
oppressor and tyrant.
Ge 10:9
10:9 He was a mighty hunter
before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even {f} as Nimrod the mighty hunter
before the LORD.
(f) His tyranny came into a
proverb as hated both by God and man: for he did not cease to commit cruelty
even in God's presence.
Ge 10:10
10:10 And the beginning of
his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of {g}
Shinar.
(g) For there was another
city in Egypt, called Babel.
Ge 10:13
10:13 And Mizraim begat {h}
Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
Ge 10:21
10:21 Unto {i} Shem also, the
father of all the children of {k} Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even
to him were [children] born.
(i) In his stock the Church
was preserved: therefore Moses stops speaking of Japheth and Ham, and speaks
of Shem extensively.
(k) Of whom came the Hebrews or Jews.
Ge 10:25
10:25 And unto Eber were born
two sons: the name of one [was] Peleg; for in his days was the earth {l}
divided; and his brother's name [was] Joktan.
(l) This division came by
the diversity of language, as appears in Ge 11:9.
Ge 11:2
11:2 And it came to pass, {a}
as {b} they journeyed from the {c} east, that they found a plain in the land
of {d} Shinar; and they dwelt there.
(a) One hundred and thirty
years after the flood.
(b) That is, Nimrod and his company.
(c) That is, from Armenia where the ark stayed.
(d) Which was afterward called Chaldea.
Ge 11:4
11:4 And they said, Go to,
let us {e} build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and
let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole
earth.
(e) They were moved with
pride and ambition, preferring their own glory to God's honour.
Ge 11:5
11:5 And the LORD {f} came
down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
(f) Meaning, that he
declared by effect, that he knew their wicked enterprise; for God's power is
everywhere, and neither ascends nor descends.
Ge 11:6
11:6 And the LORD said, {g}
Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they
begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have
imagined to do.
(g) God speaks this in
derision, because of their foolish persuasion and enterprise.
Ge 11:7
11:7 Go to, {h} let us go
down, and {i} there confound their language, that they may not understand one
another's speech.
(h) He speaks as though he
took counsel with his own wisdom and power: that is, with the Son and holy
Spirit: signifying the greatness and certainty of the punishment.
(i) By this great plague of the confusion of tongues appears God's horrible
judgment against man's pride and vain glory.
Ge 11:10
11:10 These [are] the
generations {k} of Shem: Shem [was] an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad
two years after the flood:
(k) He returns to the
genealogy of Shem, to come to the history of Abram, in which the Church of
God is described, which is Moses' principle purpose.
Ge 11:27
11:27 Now these [are] the
generations of Terah: Terah begat {1} Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat
Lot.
(1) He makes mention first
of Abram, not because he was the first born, but for the history which
properly belongs to him. Also Abram at the confusion of tongues was 43 years
old, for in the destruction of Sodom he was 99 and it was destroyed 52 years
after the confusion of tongues.
Ge 11:29
11:29 And Abram and Nahor
took them wives: the name of Abram's wife [was] Sarai; and the name of Nahor's
wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of
{m} Iscah.
Ge 11:31
11:31 And {n} Terah took
Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter
in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the
Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto {o} Haran, and
dwelt there.
(n) Though the oracle of
God came to Abram, yet the honour is given to Terah, because he was the
father.
(o) Which was a city of Mesopotamia.
Ge 12:1
12:1 Now the LORD had said
unto Abram, {a} Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's house, unto {b} a land that I will shew thee:
(a) From the flood to this
time were four hundred and twenty-three years.
(b) In appointing him no certain place, he proves so much more his faith and
obedience.
Ge 12:2
12:2 And I will make of thee
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt
be {c} a blessing:
(c) The world shall recover
by your seed, which is Christ, the blessing which they lost in Adam.
Ge 12:5
12:5 And Abram took Sarai his
wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had
gathered, and the {d} souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth
to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Ge 12:6
12:6 And Abram {e} passed
through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the
{f} Canaanite [was] then in the land.
(e) He wandered to and fro
in the land before he could find a settling place: thus God exercises the
faith of his children.
(f) Which was a cruel and rebellious nation, by whom God kept his in
continual exercise.
Ge 12:7
12:7 And the LORD appeared
unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded
he {g} an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
(g) It was not enough for
him to worship God in his heart, but it was expedient to declare by outward
profession his faith before men, of which this altar was a sign.
Ge 12:8
12:8 And he removed from {h}
thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having]
Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an {i} altar
unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
(h) Because of the troubles
that he had among that wicked people.
(i) And so served the true God, and renounced all idolatry.
Ge 12:9
12:9 {k} And Abram journeyed,
going on still toward the south.
(k) Thus the children of
God may look for no rest in this world, but must wait for the heavenly rest
and quietness.
Ge 12:10
12:10 And there was a {l}
famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the
famine [was] grievous in the land.
(l) This was a new trial of
Abram's faith: by which we see that the end of one affliction is the
beginning of another.
Ge 12:13
12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou
[art] my {m} sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul
shall live because of thee.
(m) By this we learn not to
use unlawful means nor to put others in danger to save ourselves, Ge 12:20.
Though it may appear that Abram did not fear death, so much as dying without
children, he acts as though God's promise had not taken place; in which
appeared a weak faith.
Ge 12:15
12:15 The princes also of
Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was {n} taken
into Pharaoh's house.
Ge 12:17
12:17 And the LORD {o}
plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's
wife.
(o) The Lord took the
defence of this poor stranger against a mighty king: and as he is ever
careful over his, so did he preserve Sarai.
Ge 12:20
12:20 And Pharaoh {p}
commanded [his] men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and
all that he had.
Ge 13:1
13:1 And {a} Abram went up
out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into
the south.
(a) His great riches gotten
in Egypt, did not hinder him in following his vocation.
Ge 13:3
13:3 And he went on his
journeys from the south even to {b} Bethel, unto the place where his tent had
been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
(b) He calls the place by
the name which was later given to it, Ge 23:19.
Ge 13:6
13:6 And the land was not
able to {c} bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was
great, so that they could not dwell together.
(c) This inconvenience came
by their riches, which break friendships and the bounds of nature.
Ge 13:7
13:7 And there was a strife
between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the
{d} Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
(d) Who seeing their
contention, might blaspheme God and destroy them.
Ge 13:8
13:8 And Abram said unto Lot,
Let there be no {e} strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my
herdmen and thy herdmen; for we [be] brethren.
Ge 13:9
13:9 [Is] not the whole land
before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if [thou wilt {f} take]
the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right
hand, then I will go to the left.
Ge 13:10
13:10 And Lot lifted up his
eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered every
where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the {g} garden
of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
(g) Which was in Eden, Ge
2:10.
Ge 13:11
13:11 Then Lot chose him all
the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the
{h} one from the other.
(h) This was done by God's
providence, that only Abram and his seed might dwell in the land of Canaan.
Ge 13:13
13:13 But the men of Sodom
[were] wicked and {i} sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
(i) Lot thinking to get
paradise, found hell.
Ge 13:14
13:14 And the LORD said unto
{k} Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and
look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and
westward:
(k) The Lord comforted him,
lest he should have taken thought for the departure of his nephew.
Ge 13:15
13:15 For all the land which
thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for {l} ever.
(l) Meaning a long time,
and till the coming of Christ as in Ex 12:14,21:6, De 15:17 and spiritually
this refers to the true children of Abram born according to the promise, and
not according to the flesh, which are heirs of the true land of Canaan.
Ge 14:1
14:1 And it came to pass in
the days of Amraphel king of {a} Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer
king of Elam, and Tidal king of {b} nations;
(a) That is, of Babylon: by
kings here, meaning, them that were governors of cities.
(b) Of a people gathered from various countries.
Ge 14:3
14:3 All these were {c}
joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the {d} salt sea.
(c) Ambition is the chief
cause of wars among princes.
(d) Called also the dead sea, or the lake Asphaltite, near Sodom and
Gomorrah.
Ge 14:10
14:10 And the {e} vale of
Siddim [was full of] slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and
fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
(e) And afterward was
overwhelmed with water, and so was called the salt sea.
Ge 14:12
14:12 And they {f} took Lot,
Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Ge 14:13
14:13 And there came one that
had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the
Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these [were] {g}
confederate with Abram.
(g) God removed them to
join Abram, and preserves him from their idolatry and superstitions.
Ge 14:18
14:18 And Melchizedek king of
Salem {h} brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most
high God.
(h) For Abram and his
soldiers refreshment, not to offer sacrifice.
Ge 14:19
14:19 And he {i} blessed him,
and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and
earth:
(i) Melchizedek fed Abram,
declared himself to represent a king, and he blessed him as the high priest.
Ge 14:24
14:24 {k} Save only that
which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me,
Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
Ge 15:2
15:2 And Abram said, {a} Lord
GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my
house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus?
(a) His fear was not only
lest he should not have children, but lest the promise of the blessed seed
should not be accomplished in him.
Ge 15:8
15:8 And he said, Lord GOD,
{b} whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
(b) This is a particular
motion of God's Spirit, which is not lawful for all to follow, in asking
signs: but was permitted for some by a peculiar motion, as to Gideon and
Ezekiel.
Ge 15:10
15:10 And he took unto him
all these, and {c} divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against
another: but the birds divided he not.
(c) This was the old custom
in making covenants, Jer 39:18, to which God added these conditions, that
Abram's posterity would be as torn in pieces, but after they would be
rejoined: also that it would be assaulted, but yet delivered.
Ge 15:13
15:13 And he said unto Abram,
Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not
theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them {d} four hundred
years;
(d) Counting from the birth
of Isaac to their departure of Egypt: Which declares that God will allow his
to be afflicted in this world.
Ge 15:16
15:16 But in the fourth
generation they shall come hither again: for the {e} iniquity of the Amorites
[is] not yet full.
(e) Though God tolerates
the wicked for a time, yet his vengeance falls on them when the measure of
their wickedness is full.
Ge 16:1
16:1 Now {a} Sarai Abram's
wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name
[was] Hagar.
(a) It seems that she had
respect for God's promise, which could not be accomplished without issue.
Ge 16:2
16:2 And Sarai said unto
Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath {b} restrained me from bearing: I pray thee,
go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram
hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
(b) She fails by limiting
God's power to the common order of nature, as though God could not give her
children in her old age.
Ge 16:4
16:4 And he went in unto
Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her
mistress was {c} despised in her eyes.
Ge 16:7
16:7 And the {d} angel of the
LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in
the way to Shur.
(d) Which was Christ, as
appears in Ge 16:13,18:17.
Ge 16:9
16:9 And the angel of the
LORD said unto her, {e} Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her
hands.
(e) God rejects no estate
of people in their misery, but sends them comfort.
Ge 16:12
16:12 And he will be a wild
man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him;
and {f} he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
(f) That is, the
Ishmaelites will be a separate people by themselves and not part of another
people.
Ge 16:13
16:13 And she called the name
of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, {g} Have I
also here looked after him that seeth me?
(g) She rebukes her own
dullness and acknowledges God's graces, who was present with her everywhere.
Ge 17:4
17:4 As for me, behold, my
covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a {a} father of many nations.
(a) Not only physical
descendants, but of a far greater multitude by faith, Ro 4:17.
Ge 17:5
17:5 Neither shall thy name
any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be {b} Abraham; for a father of
many nations have I made thee.
Ge 17:10
17:10 {c} This [is] my
covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee;
Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
(c) Circumcision is called
the covenant, because it signifies the covenant and has the promise of grace
joined to it: a phrase that is common to all ordinances.
Ge 17:11
17:11 And ye shall circumcise
the flesh of your {d} foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant
betwixt me and you.
(d) That private part is
circumcised, to show that all that is begotten by man is corrupt, and must
die.
Ge 17:14
17:14 And the uncircumcised
{e} man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall
be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
(e) Though women were not
circumcised, they still partook of God's promise: for under mankind all was
consecrated. Here it is declared, that whoever condemns the sign, also
despises the promise.
Ge 17:17
17:17 Then Abraham fell upon
his face, and {f} laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a child] be born unto
him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old,
bear?
(f) Which proceeded from a
sudden joy, and not from lack of faith.
Ge 17:19
17:19 And God said, Sarah thy
wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I
will establish my covenant with him for an {g} everlasting covenant, [and]
with his seed after him.
(g) The everlasting
covenant is made with the children of the Spirit. A temporary promise is
made with the children of the flesh, as was promised to Ishmael.
Ge 17:23
17:23 And Abraham took
Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought
with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and {h}
circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said
unto him.
(h) They were well taught
if they obeyed and were circumcised without resistance. This teaches that
masters in their houses ought to be as preachers to their families, that
from the highest to the lowest they may obey the will of God.
Ge 18:2
18:2 And he lift up his eyes
and looked, and, lo, three {a} men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he
ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
(a) That is, three angels
in the shape of men.
Ge 18:3
18:3 And said, My {b} Lord,
if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy
servant:
(b) Speaking to the one who
appeared to be most majestic, for he thought they were men.
Ge 18:4
18:4 Let a little water, I
pray you, be fetched, and {c} wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the
tree:
Ge 18:5
18:5 And I will fetch a
morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for
therefore are ye {d} come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast
said.
Ge 18:8
18:8 And he took butter, and
milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he
stood by them under the tree, and {e} they did eat.
(e) For as God gave them
bodies for a time, so he gave them the abilities of them, to walk, to eat
and drink, and such like.
Ge 18:10
18:10 And he said, I will
certainly return unto thee according to the time of {f} life; and, lo, Sarah
thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard [it] in the tent door, which [was]
behind him.
(f) That is, about this
time when she shall be alive, or when the child shall come into this life.
Ge 18:12
18:12 Therefore Sarah {g}
laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my
lord being old also?
(g) For she believed the
order of nature, rather than believing the promise of God.
Ge 18:17
18:17 And the {h} LORD said,
Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
(h) Jehovah the Hebrew word
we call Lord, shows that this angel was Christ: for this word is only
applied to God.
Ge 18:19
18:19 For I know him, {i}
that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall
keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring
upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
(i) He shows that fathers
ought both to know God's judgments, and to declare them to their children.
Ge 18:21
18:21 I will {k} go down now,
and see whether they have done altogether according to the {l} cry of it,
which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
(k) God speaks after the
fashion of men: that is, I will enter into judgment with good advise.
(l) For our sins cry for vengeance, though no one accuses us.
Ge 18:26
18:26 And the LORD said, If I
find in Sodom {m} fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the
place for their sakes.
(m) God declares that his
judgments were done with great mercy, even though all were so corrupt that
not only fifty but ten righteous men could not be found there, and also that
the wicked are spared for the sake of the righteous.
Ge 18:27
18:27 And Abraham answered
and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which [am
{n} but] dust and ashes:
(n) By this we learn, that
the nearer we approach to God, the more our miserable estate appears, and
the more we are humbled.
Ge 18:32
18:32 And he said, Oh let not
the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this {o} once: Peradventure ten
shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten's sake.
(o) If God did not refuse
the prayer for the wicked Sodomites, even to the sixth request, how much
more will he grant the prayers of the godly for the afflicted Church?
Ge 19:1
19:1 And there came two {a}
angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing
[them] rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the
ground;
(a) In which we see God's
provident care in preserving his: even though he does not reveal himself to
all alike: for Lot had but two angels, and Abraham three.
Ge 19:3
19:3 And {b} he pressed upon
them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he
made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they {c} did eat.
(b) That is, he begged them
so insistently.
(c) Not because they had need, but because the time was not yet come for
them to reveal themselves.
Ge 19:4
19:4 But before they lay
down, the men of the city, [even] the men of Sodom, compassed the house round,
both old and young, {d} all the people from every quarter:
Ge 19:8
19:8 Behold now, I have two
{e} daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out
unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do
nothing; {f} for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
(e) He deserves praise for
defending his guests, but he is to be blamed for seeking unlawful means.
(f) That I should preserve them from all injury.
Ge 19:13
19:13 For {g} we will destroy
this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the
LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
(g) This proves that the
angels are ministers, both to execute God's wrath and to declare his favour.
Ge 19:16
19:16 And while he {h}
lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and
upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they
brought him forth, and set him without the city.
Ge 19:17
19:17 And it came to pass,
when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; {i}
look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the
mountain, lest thou be consumed.
(i) He willed him to flee
God's judgments and not to be sorry to leave that rich country, full of vain
pleasures.
Ge 19:20
19:20 Behold now, this city
[is] near to flee unto, and it [is] a little one: Oh, let me escape thither,
([is] it not a {k} little one?) and my soul shall live.
(k) Though it is little,
yet it is great enough to save my life: in which he errs by choosing another
place than the angel had appointed him.
Ge 19:22
19:22 Haste thee, escape
thither; for I {l} cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore
the name of the city was called {m} Zoar.
(l) Because God's
commandment was to destroy the city and to save Lot.
(m) Which before was called Belah, in Ge 14:2.
Ge 19:26
19:26 But his wife looked
back from behind him, and she became a {n} pillar of salt.
(n) Concerning the body
only: this was a notable monument of God's vengeance to all who passed that
way.
Ge 19:30
19:30 And Lot went up out of
Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he {o}
feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
(o) Having felt God's
mercy, he did not dare provoke him again by continuing among the wicked.
Ge 19:31
19:31 And the firstborn said
unto the younger, Our father [is] old, and [there is] not a man in the {p}
earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
Ge 19:32
19:32 Come, let us make our
father {q} drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of
our father.
(q) For unless he had been
drunk, he would never have done that abominable act.
Ge 19:36
19:36 Thus were {r} both the
daughters of Lot with child by their father.
(r) Thus God permitted him
to fall most horribly in the solitary mountains, whom the wickedness of
Sodom could not overcome.
Ge 19:37
19:37 And the firstborn bare
a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the {s} Moabites
unto this day.
(s) Who as they were born
in most horrible incest, so were they and their posterity vile and wicked.
Ge 19:38
19:38 And the younger, she
also bare a son, and called his name {t} Benammi: the same [is] the father of
the children of Ammon unto this day.
(t) That is, son of my
people: signifying that they rejoiced in their sin, rather than repenting of
it.
Ge 20:1
20:1 And Abraham journeyed
from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and {a} Shur,
and sojourned in Gerar.
Ge 20:2
20:2 And Abraham said of
Sarah his wife, {b} She [is] my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and
took Sarah.
Ge 20:3
20:3 But God came to
Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, {c} thou [art but] a
dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she [is] a man's wife.
Ge 20:4
20:4 But Abimelech had not
come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also {d} a righteous nation?
(d) The infidels confessed
that God would not punish but for just occasion: therefore, when he
punishes, the occasion is just.
Ge 20:5
20:5 Said he not unto me, She
[is] my sister? and she, even she herself said, He [is] my brother: in the
integrity of my {e} heart and {f} innocency of my hands have I done this.
(e) As one falling by
ignorance, and not doing evil on purpose.
(f) Not thinking to do any man harm.
Ge 20:6
20:6 And God said unto him in
a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I
also {g} withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not
to touch her.
(g) God by his holy Spirit
restrains those who offend in ignorance, that they not fall into greater
offence..
Ge 20:7
20:7 Now therefore restore
the man [his] wife; for he [is] a {h} prophet, and he {i} shall pray for thee,
and thou shalt live: and if thou restore [her] not, know thou that thou shalt
surely die, thou, and all that [are] thine.
(h) That is, one to whom
God reveals himself familiarly.
(i) For the prayer of the godly is of force towards God.
Ge 20:9
20:9 Then Abimelech called
Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I
offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my {k} kingdom a great sin?
thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
Ge 20:11
20:11 And Abraham said,
Because I thought, Surely the {l} fear of God [is] not in this place; and they
will slay me for my wife's sake.
(l) He shows that no
honesty can be hoped for, where there is no fear of God.
Ge 20:12
20:12 And yet indeed [she is]
my {m} sister; she [is] the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my
mother; and she became my wife.
(m) By sister, he means his
full cousin, and by daughter Abraham's niece, Ge 11:29 for so the Hebrews
use these words.
Ge 20:16
20:16 And unto Sarah he said,
Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand [pieces] of silver: behold, he
[is] to thee a {n} covering of the eyes, unto all that [are] with thee, and
with all [other]: {o} thus she was reproved.
(n) Such a head as with
whom you may be preserved from all dangers.
(o) God caused this heathen king to reprove her because she concealed her
identity, seeing that God had given her a husband as her veil and defence.
Ge 20:18
20:18 For the LORD {p} had
fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah
Abraham's wife.
Ge 21:2
21:2 For Sarah conceived, and
bare Abraham a son in his {a} old age, at the set time of which God had spoken
to him.
Ge 21:7
21:7 And she said, {b} Who
would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for
I have born [him] a son in his old age.
(b) She accuses herself of
ingratitude, that she did not believe the angel.
Ge 21:9
21:9 And Sarah saw the son of
Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, {c} mocking.
Ge 21:12
21:12 And God said unto
Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because
of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her
voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be {d} called.
(d) The promised seed will
be from Isaac, and not from Ishmael, Ro 9:7, He 11:18.
Ge 21:13
21:13 And also of the son of
the bondwoman will I make {e} a nation, because he [is] thy seed.
Ge 21:14
21:14 And Abraham rose up
early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave [it]
unto Hagar, putting [it] on her shoulder, and the child, and {f} sent her
away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Ge 21:17
21:17 And God {g} heard the
voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said
unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of
the lad where he [is].
(g) For his promise sake
made to Abraham; and not because the child had discretion and judgment to
pray.
Ge 21:19
21:19 And God {h} opened her
eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with
water, and gave the lad drink.
(h) Unless God opens our
eyes, we can neither see, nor use the means which are before us.
Ge 21:20
21:20 And God was {i} with
the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
Ge 21:24
21:24 And Abraham said, I
will {k} swear.
(k) So that it is a lawful
thing to take an oath in matters of importance, to justify the truth, and to
assure others of our sincerity.
Ge 21:26
21:26 And Abimelech said, {l}
I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet
heard I [of it], but to day.
Ge 21:32
21:32 Thus they made a {m}
covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain
of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
(m) Thus we see that the
godly, concerning outward things may make peace with the wicked that do not
know the true God.
Ge 21:33
21:33 And [Abraham] planted a
grove in Beersheba, and {n} called there on the name of the LORD, the
everlasting God.
(n) That is, he worshipped
God in all points of true religion.
Ge 22:2
22:2 And he said, Take now
thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land
of {a} Moriah; and {b} offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the
mountains which I will tell thee of.
(a) Signifying the fear of
God, in which place he was also honoured, Solomon later building the temple
there.
(b) This was the main point of his temptation, seeing that he was commanded
to offer up him in whom God had promised to bless all the nations of the
world.
Ge 22:5
22:5 And Abraham said unto
his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder
and worship, and {e} come again to you.
(e) He did not doubt that
God would accomplish his promise, even if he should sacrifice his son.
Ge 22:8
22:8 And Abraham said, My
son, God will provide himself a lamb for a {d} burnt offering: so they went
both of them together.
Ge 22:9
22:9 And they came to the
place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid
the wood in order, and {e} bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon
the wood.
(e) For it is likely that
his father had told him God's commandment, to which he showed himself
obedient.
Ge 22:12
22:12 And he said, Lay not
thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I {f}
know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only
[son] from me.
(f) That is, by your true
obedience you have declared your living faith.
Ge 22:14
22:14 And Abraham called the
name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of
the LORD it shall {g} be seen.
(g) The name is changed to
show that God both sees and provides secretly for his and also evidently is
seen, and felt in the right time.
Ge 22:16
22:16 And said, By {h} myself
have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast
not withheld thy son, thine only [son]:
(h) Signifying, that there
is none greater then he.
Ge 22:24
22:24 And his {i} concubine,
whose name [was] Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and
Maachah.
Ge 23:3
23:3 And Abraham {a} stood up
from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
(a) That is, when he had
mourned: so the godly may mourn if they do not pass measure, and the natural
affection is commendable.
Ge 23:6
23:6 Hear us, my lord: thou
[art] a {b} mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy
dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest
bury thy dead. {b} That is godly or excellent: for so do the Hebrews speak of
all things that are notable, because all excellency comes from God.
Ge 23:10
23:10 And Ephron dwelt among
the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience
of the children of Heth, [even] of all that {c} went in at the gate of his
city, saying,
Ge 23:12
23:12 And Abraham {d} bowed
down himself before the people of the land.
Ge 23:15
23:15 My lord, hearken unto
me: the land [is worth] four hundred {e} shekels of silver; what [is] that
betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
(e) The common shekel is
about 20 pence, so then 400 shekels is equal to 33 pounds, 6 shillings and 8
pence at 5 shilling sterling to the ounce.
Ge 23:20
23:20 And the field, and the
cave that [is] therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a
buryingplace {f} by the sons of Heth.
(f) That is, all the people
confirmed the sale.
Ge 24:2
24:2 And Abraham said unto
his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, {a} Put, I
pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
(a) Which ceremony
declared, the servants obedience towards his master, and the master's power
over the servant.
Ge 24:3
24:3 And I will make thee {b}
swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou
shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among
whom I dwell:
Ge 24:4
24:4 But thou shalt go unto
my {c} country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
(c) He did not want his son
to marry out of the godly family: for the problems that come from marrying
the ungodly are set forth in various places throughout the scriptures.
Ge 24:6
24:6 And Abraham said unto
him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son {d} thither again.
Ge 24:10
24:10 And the servant took
ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his
master [were] in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the {e}
city of Nahor.
Ge 24:12
24:12 And he said, O {f} LORD
God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew
kindness unto my master Abraham.
Ge 24:14
24:14 {g} And let it come to
pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee,
that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink
also: [let the same be] she [that] thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac;
and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
(g) The servant moved by
God's spirit sought assurance by a sign, as to whether or not God would
prosper his journey.
Ge 24:15
24:15 And it came to pass,
before he had done speaking, that, behold, {h} Rebekah came out, who was born
to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her
pitcher upon her shoulder.
(h) God gives success to
all things that are done for the glory of his name and according to his
word.
Ge 24:16
24:16 And the damsel [was]
very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she {i}
went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
(i) Here is declared that
God hears the prayers of his own, and grants their requests.
Ge 24:22
24:22 And it came to pass, as
the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden {k} earring of {l}
half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten [shekels] weight
of gold;
(k) God permitted many
things both in apparel and other things which are now forbidden especially
when they do not suit our humble estate.
(l) The golden shekel is meant here, not silver.
Ge 24:27
24:27 And he said, Blessed
[be] the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master
of his mercy {m} and his truth: I [being] in the way, the LORD led me to the
house of my master's brethren.
(m) He does not boast in
his good fortune
(as the wicked do) but acknowledges that God has dealt mercifully with this
matter in keeping his promise.
Ge 24:30
24:30 And it came to pass,
when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he
heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me;
that he came unto the man; and, behold, {n} he stood by the camels at the
well.
(n) For he waited on God's
hand, who heard his prayer.
Ge 24:32
24:32 And the man came into
the house: and {o} he ungirded his {p} camels, and gave straw and provender
for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that [were]
with him.
(o) That is, Laban.
(p) The gentle entertainment of strangers practised by the godly fathers.
Ge 24:33
24:33 And there was set
[meat] before him to eat: but he said, I {q} will not eat, until I have told
mine errand. And he said, Speak on.
(q) The faithfulness that
servants owe to their masters, causes them to prefer their masters business
before their own needs.
Ge 24:35
24:35 And the LORD hath {r}
blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him
flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants,
and camels, and asses.
(r) To bless signifies here
to enrich, or increase with substance as the text in the same verse
declares.
Ge 24:37
24:37 And my master made me
swear, saying, {s} Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of
the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
(s) The Canaanites were
cursed, and therefore the godly could not join with them in marriage.
Ge 24:38
24:38 But thou shalt go unto
my {t} father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
(t) Meaning among his
relatives, as in Ge 24:40.
Ge 24:41
24:41 Then shalt thou be
clear from [this] {u} my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they
give not thee [one], thou shalt be clear from my oath.
Ge 24:45
24:45 And before I had done
speaking in mine {x} heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her
shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew [water]: and I said unto
her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
(x) Signifying that this
prayer was not spoken by the mouth, but only in his heart.
Ge 24:48
24:48 {y} And I bowed down my
head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham,
which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto
his son.
Ge 24:49
24:49 And now if ye will deal
{z} kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may
turn to the {a} right hand, or to the left.
(z) If you will freely and
faithfully give your daughter to my master's son.
(a) That is, that I may look elsewhere.
Ge 24:50
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel
answered and said, {b} The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak
unto thee bad or good.
Ge 24:57
24:57 And they said, We will
call the damsel, and enquire at {c} her mouth.
(c) This shows that parents
do not have the authority to marry their children without the consent of
both parties.
Ge 24:60
24:60 And they blessed
Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou [art] our sister, be thou [the mother] of
thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the {d} gate of those which
hate them.
(d) That is, let them be
victorious over their enemies: a blessing that is fully accomplished through
Jesus Christ.
Ge 24:63
24:63 And Isaac went out to
{e} meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw,
and, behold, the camels [were] coming.
(e) This was the habit of
the godly fathers to meditate on God's promises, and to pray for the
accomplishment of it. The custom was that the bride was brought to her
husband, her head covered, a token of humbleness and purity.
Ge 25:1
25:1 Then again Abraham {a}
took a wife, and her name [was] Keturah.
Ge 25:6
25:6 But unto the {b} sons of
the {c} concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham {d} gave gifts, and sent them
away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
(b) For by virtue of God's
word he not only had Isaac, but begat many more.
(c) See Ge 22:24.
(d) To avoid the disputing that otherwise might have come because of the
heritage.
Ge 25:17
25:17 And these [are] the
years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he
gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his {f} people.
(f) Who dwelt among the
Arabians, and were separate from the blessed seed.
Ge 25:18
25:18 And they dwelt from
Havilah unto Shur, that [is] before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: [and]
he died {g} in the presence of all his brethren.
Ge 25:22
25:22 And the children
struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why [am] I {h}
thus? And she went {i} to enquire of the LORD.
(h) That is, with child,
seeing one shall destroy another.
(i) For that is the only refuge in all our miseries.
Ge 25:32
25:32 And Esau said, Behold,
I [am] at the point to die: and what {k} profit shall this birthright do to
me?
(k) The reprobate do not
value God's benefits unless they feel them presently, and therefore they
prefer present pleasures.
Ge 25:33
25:33 And Jacob said, Swear
to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he {l} sold his birthright unto
Jacob.
(l) Thus the wicked prefer
their worldly conveniences over God's spiritual graces: but the children of
God do the opposite.
Ge 26:1
26:1 And there was a famine
in the {a} land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And
Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
Ge 26:2
26:2 And the LORD appeared
unto him, and said, {b} Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I
shall tell thee of:
Ge 26:5
26:5 Because that Abraham {c}
obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my
laws.
(c) He commends Abraham's
obedience, because Isaac should be even more ready to follow the same: for
as God made this promise of his free mercy, so does the confirmation of it
proceed from the same fountain.
Ge 26:7
26:7 And the men of the place
asked [him] of his wife; and he said, She [is] my sister: {d} for he feared to
say, [She is] my wife; lest, [said he], the men of the place should kill me
for Rebekah; because she [was] fair to look upon.
Ge 26:8
26:8 And it came to pass,
when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines
looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] {e} sporting with
Rebekah his wife.
(e) Or showing some
familiar sign of love, by which it might be known that she was his wife.
Ge 26:10
26:10 And Abimelech said,
What [is] this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have
lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought {f} guiltiness upon us.
Ge 26:14
26:14 For he had possession
of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the
Philistines {g} envied him.
Ge 26:17
26:17 And Isaac departed
thence, and pitched his tent in the {k} valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
(k) The Hebrew word
signifies a flood, or valley, where water at any time runs.
Ge 26:24
26:24 And the LORD appeared
unto him the same night, and said, I [am] the God {i} of Abraham thy father:
fear not, for I [am] with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for
my servant Abraham's sake.
Ge 26:25
26:25 And he builded an {x}
altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there:
and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
(x) To signify that he
would serve no other God, but the God of his father Abraham.
Ge 26:29
26:29 {l} That thou wilt do
us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing
but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou [art] now the blessed of the
LORD.
(l) The Hebrews in swearing
begin commonly with "If" and understand the rest, that is, that God will
punish him who breaks the oath: here the wicked show that they are afraid
lest that happen to them which they would do to others.
Ge 27:4
27:4 And make me savoury
meat, such as I love, and bring [it] to me, that I may eat; that my {a} soul
may bless thee before I die.
Ge 27:9
27:9 {b} Go now to the flock,
and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them
savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
Ge 27:13
27:13 And his mother said
unto him, {c} Upon me [be] thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch
me [them].
Ge 27:19
27:19 And Jacob said unto his
father, {d} I [am] Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest
me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
(d) Although Jacob was
assured of this blessing by faith: yet he did evil to seek it by lies, even
more because he abuses God's name through it.
Ge 27:22
27:22 And Jacob went near
unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The {e} voice [is] Jacob's
voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.
(e) This declares that he
suspected something, yet God would not have his decree altered.
Ge 27:33
27:33 And Isaac {f} trembled
very exceedingly, and said, Who? where [is] he that hath taken venison, and
brought [it] me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed
him? yea, [and] he shall be blessed.
(f) In perceiving his
error, by appointing his heir against God's sentence pronounced before.
Ge 27:36
27:36 And he said, Is not he
rightly named {g} Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took
away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he
said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
(g) In Ge 25:26 he was so
called because he held his brother by the heel, as though he would overthrow
him: and therefore he is here called an overthrower, or deceiver.
Ge 27:37
27:37 And Isaac answered and
said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him
(h) thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with
corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
Ge 27:40
27:40 And {i} by thy sword
shalt thou live, and shalt {k} serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass
when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy
neck.
(i) Because your enemies
will be all around you.
(k) Which was fulfilled in his posterity the Idumeans: who were tributaries
for a time to Israel, and later came to freedom.
Ge 27:41
27:41 And Esau hated Jacob
because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his
heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; {l} then will I slay my
brother Jacob.
Ge 27:42
27:42 And these words of Esau
her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger
son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, {m} as touching thee, doth
comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee.
Ge 27:45
27:45 Until thy brother's
anger turn away from thee, and he forget [that] which thou hast done to him:
then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be {n} deprived
also of you both in one day?
(n) For the wicked son will
kill the godly: and the plague of God will later come on the wicked son.
Ge 27:46
27:46 And Rebekah said to
Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the {o} daughters of Heth: if Jacob
take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these [which are] of the
daughters of the land, {p} what good shall my life do me?
Ge 28:1
28:1 And Isaac called Jacob,
and {a} blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a
wife of the daughters of Canaan.
(a) This second blessing
was to confirm Jacob's faith, lest he should think that his father had given
it without God's leading.
Ge 28:4
28:4 And give thee the
blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest
inherit the land wherein thou art a {b} stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
(b) The godly fathers were
continually reminded that they were but strangers in this world: so that
they would lift up their eyes to the heavens where they have a certain
dwelling.
Ge 28:9
28:9 Then went Esau unto
Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of {c}
Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
(c) Thinking by this to
have reconciled himself to his father, but all in vain: for he does not take
away the cause of the evil.
Ge 28:12
28:12 And he dreamed, and
behold a {d} ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven:
and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
(d) Christ is the ladder by
which God and man are joined together, and by whom the angels minister to
us: all graces are given to us by him, and we ascend to heaven by him.
Ge 28:13
28:13 And, behold, the LORD
stood above it, and said, I [am] the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the
God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee {e} will I give it, and to
thy seed;
(e) He felt the force of
this promise only by faith: for all his life he was a stranger in this land.
Ge 28:17
28:17 And he was {f} afraid,
and said, How dreadful [is] this place! this [is] none other but the house of
God, and this [is] the gate of heaven.
Ge 28:18
28:18 And Jacob rose up early
in the morning, and took the stone that he had put [for] his pillows, and {g}
set it up [for] a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
Ge 28:20
28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow,
saying, If {h} God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go,
and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
(h) He does not bind God
under this condition, but acknowledges his infirmity, and promises to be
thankful.
Ge 29:1
29:1 Then Jacob {a} went on
his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
(a) Or, "lifted up his
feet".
Ge 29:2
29:2 And he looked, and
behold a well in the field, {b} and, lo, there [were] three flocks of sheep
lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone
[was] upon the well's mouth.
(b) Thus he was directed by
the providence of God, who brought him to Laban's house.
Ge 29:4
29:4 And Jacob said unto
them, My {c} brethren, whence [be] ye? And they said, Of Haran [are] we.
(c) It seems that in those
days the custom was to call even strangers, brethren.
Ge 29:6
29:6 And he said unto them,
{d} [Is] he well? And they said, [He is] well: and, behold, Rachel his
daughter cometh with the sheep.
(d) Or, "he is in peace?"
by which the Hebrews mean prosperity.
Ge 29:13
29:13 And it came to pass,
when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet
him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he
told Laban {e} all these things.
(e) That is, the reason why
he departed from his father's house, and what he saw during his journey.
Ge 29:14
29:14 And Laban said to him,
Surely thou [art] my {f} bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of
a month.
(f) That is, of my blood
and kindred.
Ge 29:20
29:20 And Jacob served seven
years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him [but] a {g} few days, for the love
he had to her.
Ge 29:23
29:23 And {h} it came to pass
in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he
went in unto her.
(h) The reason Jacob was
deceived was that in ancient times the wife was covered with a veil, when
she was brought to her husband as a sign of purity and humbleness.
Ge 29:26
29:26 And Laban said, {i} It
must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
(i) He valued the profit he
had from Jacob's service more than either his promise or the customs of the
country, though he used custom for his excuse.
Ge 29:31
29:31 And when the LORD saw
that Leah [was] hated, he {k} opened her womb: but Rachel [was] barren.
Ge 29:32
29:32 And Leah conceived, and
bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the {l} LORD
hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will {m} love me.
(l) By this it appears that
she had sought help from God in her affliction.
(m) For children are a great cause of mutual love between man and wife.
Ge 30:2
30:2 And Jacob's anger was
kindled against Rachel: and he said, [Am] I in {a} God's stead, who hath
withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
(a) It is only God who
makes one barren or fruitful, and therefore I am not at fault.
Ge 30:3
30:3 And she said, Behold my
maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my {b} knees, that I may
also have children by her.
(b) I will receive her
children on my lap, as though they were my own.
Ge 30:8
30:8 And Rachel said, With
great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, {c} and I have prevailed: and
she called his name Naphtali.
(c) The arrogancy of man's
nature appears in that she condemns her sister, after she has received this
benefit from God to bear children.
Ge 30:11
30:11 And Leah said, {d} A
troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
(d) That is, God increases
me with a multitude of children for so Jacob explains this name Gad Ge
49:19.
Ge 30:14
30:14 And Reuben went in the
days of wheat harvest, and found {e} mandrakes in the field, and brought them
unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy
son's mandrakes.
Ge 30:18
30:18 And Leah said, God hath
given me my hire, because I have given my {f} maiden to my husband: and she
called his name Issachar.
Ge 30:23
30:23 And she conceived, and
bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my {g} reproach:
(g) Because fruitfulness
came as God's blessing, who said "Increase and multiply", barrenness was
counted as a curse.
Ge 30:30
30:30 For [it was] little
which thou hadst before I [came], and it is [now] increased unto a multitude;
and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall {h} I
provide for mine own house also?
Ge 30:32
30:32 I will pass through all
thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle,
and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among
the goats: {i} and [of such] shall be my hire.
(i) That which is spotted,
from now on.
Ge 30:33
30:33 So shall my {k}
righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire
before thy face: every one that [is] not speckled and spotted among the goats,
and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
Ge 30:37
30:37 And Jacob {l} took him
rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white
strakes in them, and made the white appear which [was] in the rods.
(l) Jacob used no deceit in
this for it was God's commandment as he declares in Ge 31:9,11.
Ge 30:41
30:41 And it came to pass,
whensoever the {m} stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods
before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among
the rods.
(m) As they which took the
ram about September and brought forth about March: so the feebler in March
and lamb in September.
Ge 31:1
31:1 And he heard the {a}
words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that [was] our
father's; and of [that] which [was] our father's hath he gotten all this
glory.
(a) The children put in
words what the father disguised in his heart for the covetous think that
whatever they cannot take, is taken from them.
Ge 31:5
31:5 And said unto them, I
see your father's countenance, that it [is] not toward me as before; but the
{b} God of my father hath been with me.
Ge 31:9
31:9 Thus {c} God hath taken
away the cattle of your father, and given [them] to me.
(c) This declares that the
thing Jacob did before, was by God's commandment, and not through deceit.
Ge 31:13
31:13 {d} I [am] the God of
Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst a vow unto
me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy
kindred.
(d) This angel was Christ
who appeared to Jacob in Bethel: and by this it appears that he had taught
his wives the fear of God: for he talks as though they knew this thing.
Ge 31:15
31:15 Are we not counted of
him strangers? for he hath {e} sold us, and hath quite devoured also our
money.
(e) For they were given to
Jacob as payment for his service, which was a kind of sale.
Ge 31:19
31:19 And Laban went to shear
his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the {f} images that [were] her father's.
(f) For so the word here
signifies, because Laban calls them gods, Ge 31:30.
Ge 31:29
31:29 It is in the power of
my hand to do you hurt: but the {g} God of your father spake unto me
yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good
or bad.
Ge 31:42
31:42 Except the God of my
father, the God of Abraham, and the {h} fear of Isaac, had been with me,
surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and
the labour of my hands, and rebuked [thee] yesternight.
(h) That is, the God whom
Isaac feared and reverenced.
Ge 31:44
31:44 Now therefore {i} come
thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between
me and thee.
(i) His conscience reproved
him for his misbehaviour toward Jacob, and therefore moved him to seek
peace.
Ge 31:47
31:47 And Laban called it
Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it {k} Galeed.
(k) The one named the place
in the Syrian tongue, and the other in the Hebrew tongue.
Ge 31:49
31:49 And Mizpah; for he
said, The LORD {l} watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from
another.
Ge 31:50
31:50 If thou shalt afflict
my daughters, or if thou shalt take [other] {m} wives beside my daughters, no
man [is] with us; see, God [is] witness betwixt me and thee.
(m) Nature compels him to
condemn that vice, to which through covetousness he forced Jacob.
Ge 31:53
31:53 The God of Abraham, and
the God of {n} Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob
sware by the {o} fear of his father Isaac.
(n) Behold, how the
idolaters mingle the true God with their false gods.
(o) Meaning, by the true God whom Isaac worshipped.
Ge 31:55
31:55 And early in the
morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and {p} blessed
them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.
Ge 32:2
32:2 And when Jacob saw them,
he said, {a} This [is] God's host: and he called the name of that place
Mahanaim.
(a) He acknowledges God's
benefits: who for the preservation of his, sends hosts of angels.
Ge 32:4
32:4 And he commanded them,
saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my {b} lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith
thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
(b) He reverenced his
brother in worldly things, because he mainly looked to be preferred to the
spiritual promise.
Ge 32:7
32:7 Then Jacob was {c}
greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that [was] with him,
and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
(c) Though he was comforted
by the angels, yet the infirmity of the flesh appears.
Ge 32:10
32:10 I am not worthy of the
least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto
thy servant; for with my {d} staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am
become two bands.
(d) that is, poor and
without all provision.
Ge 32:11
32:11 Deliver me, I pray
thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest
he will come and smite me, [and] the {e} mother with the children.
(e) Meaning, he will put
all to death. This proverb comes from those who kill the bird together with
the young ones.
Ge 32:13
32:13 And he lodged there
that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a {f} present for
Esau his brother;
(f) Not distrusting God's
assistance, but using such means as God had given him.
Ge 32:20
32:20 And say ye moreover,
Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I {g} will appease him
with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face;
peradventure he will accept of me.
(g) He thought it no less
to depart with these goods with the intent that he might follow the vocation
to which God called him.
Ge 32:24
32:24 And Jacob was left
alone; and there wrestled a {h} man with him until the breaking of the day.
(h) That is, God in the
form of a man.
Ge 32:25
32:25 And when he saw that he
{i} prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the
hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
(i) For God assails his
with the one hand, and upholds them with the other.
Ge 32:28
32:28 And he said, Thy name
shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou {k} power
with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
(k) God gave Jacob both
power to overcome, and also the praise of the victory.
Ge 32:31
32:31 And as he passed over
Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he {l} halted upon his thigh.
(l) The faithful to
overcome their temptations, so that they feel the pain of it, so they would
not boast, except in their humility.
Ge 33:1
33:1 And Jacob lifted up his
eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And
he {a} divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two
handmaids.
(a) That if the one part
were assailed, the other might escape.
Ge 33:3
33:3 And he passed over
before them, and {b} bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came
near to his brother.
Ge 33:6
33:6 Then the handmaidens
came near, they and their children, and they {c} bowed themselves.
(c) Jacob and his family
are the image of the Church under the yoke of tyrants who out of fear are
brought to subjection.
Ge 33:10
33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I
pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at
my hand: for therefore {d} I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face
of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
(d) In that his brother
embraced him so lovingly, contrary to his expectation, he accepted it as a
clear sign of God's presence.
Ge 33:14
33:14 Let my lord, I pray
thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as
the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until {f}
I come unto my lord unto Seir.
Ge 33:20
33:20 And he erected there an
altar, and called {g} it Elelohe-Israel.
(g) He calls the sign, the
thing which it signifies, in token that God had mightily delivered him.
Ge 34:1
34:1 And Dinah the daughter
of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, {a} went out to see the daughters of the
land.
Ge 34:4
34:4 And Shechem spake unto
his father Hamor, saying, {b} Get me this damsel to wife.
(b) This proves that the
consent of parents is required in marriage, seeing that even the infidels
observed it as a necessary thing.
Ge 34:14
34:14 And they said unto
them, {c} We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is
uncircumcised; for that [were] a {d} reproach unto us:
(c) They used the holy
ordinance of God a means to accomplish their wicked purpose.
(d) As it is abomination for those who are baptized to be joined to
infidels.
Ge 34:15
34:15 But in this will we
consent unto you: If ye will be as we [be], that every male of you be {e}
circumcised;
Ge 34:20
34:20 And Hamor and Shechem
his son came unto the {f} gate of their city, and communed with the men of
their city, saying,
(f) For the people used to
assemble there, and justice was administered.
Ge 34:21
34:21 These men [are] {g}
peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein;
for the land, behold, [it is] large enough for them; let us take their
daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
(g) Thus many pretend to
speak for a public profit, when in reality they are only speaking for their
own private gain and convenience.
Ge 34:23
34:23 [Shall] not {h} their
cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs [be] ours? only let us
consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.
(h) Thus they do not lack
any form of perversion, who prefer their own convenience before the common
good.
Ge 34:25
34:25 And it came to pass on
the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, {i} Simeon
and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city
boldly, and slew {k} all the males.
(i) For they were the
leaders of the company.
(k) The people are punished because of their wicked princes.
Ge 35:1
35:1 And {a} God said unto
Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto
God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy
brother.
Ge 35:2
35:2 Then Jacob said unto his
household, and to all that [were] with him, Put away the strange gods that
[are] among you, and be {b} clean, and change your garments:
Ge 35:4
35:4 And they gave unto Jacob
all the strange gods which [were] in their hand, and [all their] {c} earrings
which [were] in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which [was] by
Shechem.
(e) For in this was some
sign of superstition, as in tablets and Agnus deis
(a cake of wax, stamped with a lamb bearing a cross or flag, that has been
blessed by the Pope).
Ge 35:5
35:5 And they journeyed: and
the
(d) terror of God was upon the cities that [were] round about them, and they
did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
(d) Thus, despite the
inconvenience that came before, God delivered Jacob.
Ge 35:13
35:13 And God {e} went up
from him in the place where he talked with him.
(e) As God is said to
descend, when he shows some sign of his presence: so he is said to ascend
when a vision is ended.
Ge 35:16
35:16 And they journeyed from
Bethel; and there was but a {f} little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel
travailed, and she had hard labour.
(f) The Hebrew word
signifies as much ground as one can cover from resting point to resting
point, which is taken for half a days journey.
Ge 35:20
35:20 And Jacob set a {g}
pillar upon her grave: that [is] the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
(g) The ancient fathers
used this ceremony to testify their hope of the resurrection to come, which
was not generally revealed.
Ge 35:22
35:22 And it came to pass,
when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and {h} lay with Bilhah his
father's concubine: and Israel heard [it]. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
(h) This teaches that the
fathers were not chosen for their merits, but only by God's mercies, whose
election was not changed by their faults.
Ge 36:1
36:1 Now these [are] {a} the
generations of Esau, who [is] Edom.
(a) This genealogy declares
that Esau was blessed physically and that his father's blessing took place
in worldly things.
Ge 36:2
36:2 Esau took his wives of
the {b} daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and
Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
Ge 36:6
36:6 And Esau took his wives,
and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his
cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the
land of Canaan; and {c} went into the country from the face of his brother
Jacob.
(c) In this, God's
providence appears, which causes the wicked to give place to the godly, that
Jacob might enjoy Canaan according to God's promise.
Ge 36:15
36:15 These [were] {d} dukes
of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn [son] of Esau; duke
Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,
(d) If God's promises are
so sure towards those who are not of his household, how much more will he
perform the same for us?
Ge 36:20
36:20 These [are] the sons of
Seir the Horite, who {e} inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon,
and Anah,
Ge 36:24
36:24 And these [are] the
children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this [was that] Anah that found the
{f} mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
(f) Who not contented with
those kinds of beasts, which God had created, discovered the monstrous
generation of mules between the ass and the mare.
Ge 36:31
36:31 And these [are] the {g}
kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the
children of Israel.
(g) The wicked rise up
suddenly to honour and perish as quickly: but the inheritance of the
children of God continues forever, Ps 102:28.
Ge 36:37
36:37 And Samlah died, and
Saul of {h} Rehoboth [by] the river reigned in his stead.
Ge 36:43
36:43 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram:
these [be] the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of
their possession: he [is] Esau the father of the {i} Edomites.
Ge 37:1
37:1 And Jacob dwelt in the
land wherein his father was a {a} stranger, in the land of Canaan.
(a) That is, the story of
such things as came to him and his family as in Ge 5:1
Ge 37:2
37:2 These [are] the
generations of Jacob. Joseph, [being] seventeen years old, was feeding the
flock with his brethren; and the lad [was] with the sons of Bilhah, and with
the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father
their evil {b} report.
Ge 37:5
37:5 And Joseph {c} dreamed a
dream, and he told [it] his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
Ge 37:8
37:8 And his brethren said to
him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over
us? And they {d} hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
(d) The more God shows
himself favourable to his own, the more the malice of the wicked rages
against them.
Ge 37:10
37:10 And he told [it] to his
father, and to his brethren: and his father {e} rebuked him, and said unto
him, What [is] this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and
thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
(e) Not despising the
vision, but seeking to appease his brethren.
Ge 37:11
37:11 And his brethren envied
him; but his father {f} observed the saying.
(f) He knew that God was
the author of the dream, but he did not understand the meaning.
Ge 37:18
37:18 And when they saw him
afar off, even before he came near unto them, they
(g) conspired against him to slay him.
(g) The Holy Spirit does
not cover the faults of men, as vain writers do, who make virtues out of
vices.
Ge 37:24
37:24 And they took him, and
cast {h} him into a pit: and the pit [was] empty, [there was] no water in it.
(h) Their hypocrisy appears
in this that they feared man more than God: and thought it was not murder,
if they did not shed his blood or had excuses to cover their fault.
Ge 37:28
37:28 Then there passed by
Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and
sold Joseph to the {i} Ishmeelites for twenty [pieces] of silver: and they
brought Joseph into Egypt.
(i) Moses writes according
to the opinion of those who took the Midianites and Ishmaelites to be one,
and here mixes their names: as also appears in Ge 37:36,39:1 or else he was
first offered to the Midianites, but sold to the Ishmaelites.
Ge 37:32
37:32 And they sent the coat
of [many] colours, {k} and they brought [it] to their father; and said, This
have we found: know now whether it [be] thy son's coat or no.
(k) That is, the messengers
who were sent.
Ge 37:36
37:36 And the Midianites sold
him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an {l} officer of Pharaoh's, [and] captain of
the guard.
(l) Or "eunuch", which does
not always signify a man that is gelded, but also someone that is in some
high position.
Ge 38:1
38:1 And it came to pass at
that time, that {a} Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a
certain Adullamite, whose name [was] Hirah.
(a) Moses describes the
genealogy of Judah, because the Messiah should come from him.
Ge 38:2
38:2 And Judah saw there a
daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name [was] Shuah; {b} and he took her,
and went in unto her.
Ge 38:8
38:8 And Judah said unto Onan,
Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise {c} up seed to thy
brother.
(c) This order was for the
preservation of the stock, since the child begotten by the second brother
would have the name and inheritance of the first: a practice which is
abolished in the New Testament.
Ge 38:11
38:11 Then said Judah to
Tamar his daughter in law, {d} Remain a widow at thy father's house, till
Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his
brethren [did]. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
Ge 38:16
38:16 And he turned unto her
by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee;
(for he {e} knew not that she [was] his daughter in law.) And she said, What
wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
Ge 38:20
38:20 And Judah sent the kid
by the hand of his {f} friend the Adullamite, to receive [his] pledge from the
woman's hand: but he found her not.
Ge 38:23
38:23 And Judah said, Let her
take [it] to her, lest we be {g} shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou
hast not found her.
Ge 38:24
38:24 And it came to pass
about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter
in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she [is] with child by
whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be {h} burnt.
(h) We see that the Law,
which was written in man's heart, taught them that adultery should be
punished with death, even though no law had been given yet.
Ge 38:26
38:26 And Judah acknowledged
[them], and said, She hath been {i} more righteous than I; because that I gave
her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again {k} no more.
(i) That is, she ought
rather to accuse me than I her.
(k) for the horror of the sin condemned him.
Ge 38:29
38:29 And it came to pass, as
he {l} drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said,
How {m} hast thou broken forth? [this] breach [be] upon thee: therefore his
name was called Pharez.
(l) Their heinous sin was
signified by this monstrous birth.
(m) Or the separation between you and your brother.
Ge 39:1
39:1 And Joseph was brought
down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an {a} officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard,
an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him
down thither.
Ge 39:2
39:2 And the {b} LORD was
with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his
master the Egyptian.
Ge 39:4
39:4 And Joseph found grace
in his sight, and he served him: and he made him {c} overseer over his house,
and all [that] he had he put into his hand.
Ge 39:5
39:5 And it came to pass from
the time [that] he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he
had, that the LORD {d} blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the
blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
Ge 39:6
39:6 And he left all that he
had in Joseph's hand; {e} and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which
he did eat. And Joseph was [a] goodly [person], and well favoured.
Ge 39:7
39:7 And it came to pass
after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she
said, {f} Lie with me.
Ge 39:9
39:9 [There is] none greater
in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee,
because thou [art] his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin
against {g} God?
Ge 39:14
39:14 That she called unto
the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an
Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I {h} cried
with a loud voice:
(h) This declares that in
which lack of restraint exists and to this is joined extreme impudency and
deceit.
Ge 39:20
39:20 And Joseph's master
took him, and put him into the {i} prison, a place where the king's prisoners
[were] bound: and he was there in the prison.
Ge 39:22
39:22 And the keeper of the
prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that [were] in the prison;
and {k} whatsoever they did there, he was the doer [of it].
(k) That is, nothing was
done without his commandment.
Ge 40:3
40:3 And he put them in ward
in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where {a}
Joseph [was] bound.
Ge 40:5
40:5 And they dreamed a dream
both of them, each man his dream in one night, {b} each man according to the
interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt,
which [were] bound in the prison.
(b) That is, every dream
had his interpretation, as the thing afterward declared.
Ge 40:8
40:8 And they said unto him,
We have dreamed a dream, and [there is] no interpreter of it. And Joseph said
unto them, {c} [Do] not interpretations [belong] to God? tell me [them], I
pray you.
Ge 40:12
40:12 And Joseph said unto
him, This {d} [is] the interpretation of it: The three branches [are] three
days:
(d) He was reassured by the
spirit of God, that his interpretation was true.
Ge 40:14
40:14 But think on me when it
shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and {e} make
mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
Ge 40:16
40:16 When the chief baker
saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also [was] in my
dream, and, behold, [I had] three {f} white baskets on my head:
(f) That is made of white
twigs, or as some read, baskets full of holes.
Ge 40:18
40:18 And Joseph answered and
said, {g} This [is] the interpretation thereof: The three baskets [are] three
days:
(g) He shows that the
ministers of God should not conceal that, which God reveals to them.
Ge 40:20
40:20 And it came to pass the
third day, [which was] Pharaoh's {h} birthday, that he made a feast unto all
his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief
baker among his servants.
(h) Which was an occasion
to appoint his officers, and to examine those who were in prison.
Ge 41:1
41:1 And it came to pass at
the end of two full years, that Pharaoh {a} dreamed: and, behold, he stood by
the river.
(a) This dream was not so
much for Pharaoh, as is was a means to deliver Joseph and to provide for
God's Church.
Ge 41:5
41:5 And he slept and dreamed
the {b} second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk,
rank and good.
(b) All these means God
used to deliver his servant, and to bring him into favour and authority.
Ge 41:8
41:8 And it came to pass in
the morning that his spirit was {c} troubled; and he sent and called for all
the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them
his dream; but [there was] none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
Ge 41:9
41:9 Then spake the chief
butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I {e} do remember my faults this day:
Ge 41:14
41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and
called {f} Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he
shaved [himself], and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
(f) The wicked seek the
prophets of God in their time of need, while in their prosperity they abhor
them.
Ge 41:16
41:16 And Joseph answered
Pharaoh, saying, {g} [It is] not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of
peace.
(g) As though he would say
if I interpret your dream it comes from God, and not from me.
Ge 41:25
41:25 And Joseph said unto
Pharaoh, {h} The dream of Pharaoh [is] one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he
[is] about to do.
Ge 41:33
41:33 Now therefore let
Pharaoh {i} look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of
Egypt.
(i) The office of a true
prophet is not only to show the evils to come, but also the remedies for the
same.
Ge 41:38
41:38 And Pharaoh said unto
his servants, Can we find [such a one] as this [is], a man in whom the {k}
Spirit of God [is]?
Ge 41:40
41:40 Thou shalt be over my
house, and according unto thy {l} word shall all my people be ruled: only in
the throne will I be greater than thou.
(l) Some read, "the people
will kill your mouth", that is obey you in all things.
Ge 41:43
41:43 And he made him to ride
in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, {m} Bow the
knee: and he made him [ruler] over all the land of Egypt.
(b) Or "Abrech": a sign of
honour; a word some translate, tender father or father of the king, or kneel
down.
Ge 41:46
41:46 And Joseph [was] {n}
thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went
out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
(n) His age is mentioned
both to show that his authority came from God, and also that he endured
imprisonment and exile for twelve years or more.
Ge 41:51
41:51 And Joseph called the
name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, [said he], hath made me forget all my
toil, and all my {o} father's house.
(o) Nonetheless, his
father's house was the true Church of God: yet the company of the wicked and
prosperity caused him to forget it.
Ge 42:1
42:1 Now when {a} Jacob saw
that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye {b} look one
upon another?
(a) This story shows
plainly that all things are governed by God's providence for the profit of
his Church.
(b) As men destitute of counsel.
Ge 42:7
42:7 And Joseph saw his
brethren, and he knew them, but {c} made himself strange unto them, and spake
roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From
the land of Canaan to buy food.
(c) This concealing is not
to be followed, nor any actions of the father's not approved by God's word.
Ge 42:15
42:15 Hereby ye shall be
proved: {d} By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your
youngest brother come hither.
(d) The Egyptians who were
idolaters, used to swear by their king's life: but God forbids swearing by
anyone but him: yet Joseph dwelling among the wicked was corrupted by them.
Ge 42:18
42:18 And Joseph said unto
them the third day, This do, and live; [for] I {e} fear God:
Ge 42:21
42:21 And they said one to
another, {f} We [are] verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the
anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is
this distress come upon us.
(f) Affliction makes men
acknowledge their faults, which otherwise they would conceal.
Ge 42:22
42:22 And Reuben answered
them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and
ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his {g} blood is required.
(g) God will take vengeance
on us, and measure us with our own measure.
Ge 42:24
42:24 And he turned himself
about from them, and {h} wept; and returned to them again, and communed with
them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
(h) Though he acts harshly,
yet his brotherly affection remained.
Ge 42:28
42:28 And he said unto his
brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, [it is] even in my sack: and their
heart failed [them], and they were {i} afraid, saying one to another, What
[is] this [that] God hath done unto us?
(i) Because their
conscience accused them of their sin, they thought God had brought them
trouble through the money.
Ge 42:36
42:36 And Jacob their father
said unto them, Me have ye bereaved [of my children]: Joseph [is] not, and
Simeon [is] not, and ye will take Benjamin [away]: all these things are
against {k} me.
(k) For they did not seem
to be concerned or have any love for their brother which increased his
sorrow: and partly as it appears he suspected them for Joseph.
Ge 43:1
43:1 And the {a} famine [was]
sore in the land.
(a) This was a great
temptation to Jacob to suffer such a great famine in the land where God had
promised to bless him.
Ge 43:12
43:12 And take {b} double
money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your
sacks, carry [it] again in your hand; peradventure it [was] an oversight:
(b) When we are in need or
danger, God does not forbid us to use honest means to better our estate and
condition.
Ge 43:14
43:14 And {c} God Almighty
give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and
Benjamin. If I be {d} bereaved [of my children], I am bereaved.
(c) Our main trust should
be in God, not in worldly means.
(d) He speaks these words not so much in despair, but to make his sons more
careful to return with their brother.
Ge 43:18
43:18 And the men were {e}
afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because
of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought
in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for
bondmen, and our asses.
Ge 43:23
43:23 And he said, Peace [be]
to you, fear not: {f} your God, and the God of your father, hath given you
treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
(f) Despite the corruption
of Egypt, Joseph taught his family to fear God.
Ge 43:29
43:29 And he lifted up his
eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his {g} mother's son, and said, [Is] this
your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious
unto thee, my son.
Ge 43:32
43:32 And they {h} set on for
him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did
eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with
the Hebrews; for that [is] an {i} abomination unto the Egyptians.
(h) To signify his dignity.
(i) The nature of the superstitions is to condemn all others in respect to
themselves.
Ge 43:34
43:34 And he took [and sent]
messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much
as any of theirs. And they drank, {k} and were merry with him.
(k) Sometimes this word
means "to be drunken", but here it means that they had enough, and drank of
the best wine.
Ge 44:2
44:2 And {a} put my cup, the
silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he
did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
(a) We may not use this
example to justify any unlawful practices, seeing God has commanded us to
walk in simplicity.
Ge 44:5
44:5 [Is] not this [it] in
which my lord drinketh, and {b} whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil
in so doing.
(b) Because the people
thought he could divine, he attributes to himself that knowledge: or else he
pretends that he consults with soothsayers: which deceit is worthy to be
reproved.
Ge 44:13
44:13 Then they {c} rent
their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
Ge 44:16
44:16 And Judah said, What
shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear
ourselves? {d} God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we
[are] my lord's servants, both we, and [he] also with whom the cup is found.
(d) If we see no obvious
cause for our affliction, let us look to the secret counsel of God, who
punishes us justly for our sins.
Ge 44:18
44:18 Then Judah came near
unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in
my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou
[art] even {e} as Pharaoh.
(e) Equal in authority or,
next to the king.
Ge 44:27
44:27 And thy servant my
father said unto us, Ye know that my {f} wife bare me two [sons]:
(f) Rachel bore to Jacob,
Joseph and Benjamin.
Ge 44:29
44:29 And if ye take this
also from me, and mischief befall him, {g} ye shall bring down my gray hairs
with sorrow to the grave. {g} You will cause me to die for sorrow.
Ge 44:34
44:34 For {h} how shall I go
up to my father, and the lad [be] not with me? lest peradventure I see the
evil that shall come on my father.
(h) Meaning, he would
rather remain as their prisoner, than to return and see his father in
sorrow.
Ge 45:1
45:1 Then Joseph could not
refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, {a} Cause
every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph
made himself known unto his brethren.
(a) Not because he was
ashamed of his kindred, but rather because he wanted to cover his brother's
sin.
Ge 45:5
45:5 Now therefore be not {b}
grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send
me before you to preserve life.
(b) This example teaches
that we must by all means comfort those who are truly ashamed and sorry for
their sins.
Ge 45:8
45:8 So now [it was] not you
[that] sent me hither, but {c} God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh,
and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
(c) Though God detests sin,
yet he turns man's wickedness into his glory.
Ge 45:12
45:12 And, behold, your eyes
see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that [it is] {d} my mouth that
speaketh unto you.
(d) That is, that I speak
in your own language and have no interpreter.
Ge 45:18
45:18 And take your father
and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the {e} good of the
land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the {f} fat of the land.
Ge 45:24
45:24 So he sent his brethren
away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye {g} fall not out
by the way.
(g) Seeing he had remitted
the fault done to him, he did not want them to accuse one another.
Ge 45:26
45:26 And told him, saying,
Joseph [is] yet alive, and he [is] governor over all the land of Egypt. And
Jacob's heart {h} fainted, for he believed them not.
Ge 46:1
46:1 And Israel took his
journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and {a} offered
sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
(a) By this he signified
both that he worshipped the true God, and that he kept in his heart the
possession of that land from which need drove him at that time.
Ge 46:4
46:4 I will {b} go down with
thee into Egypt; and I will also surely {c} bring thee up [again]: and Joseph
shall {d} put his hand upon thine eyes.
(b) Conducting you by my
power.
(c) In your posterity.
(d) Shall shut your eyes when you die: which belongs to him that was most
dear or chief of the kindred.
Ge 46:32
46:32 And the men [are] {e}
shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought
their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
(e) He was not ashamed of
his father and kindred, though they were of base condition.
Ge 46:34
46:34 That ye shall say, Thy
servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we,
[and] also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every
shepherd [is] an {f} abomination unto the Egyptians.
(f) God permits the world
to hate his own, so they will forsake the filth of the world, and cling to
him.
Ge 47:2
47:2 And he took some of his
brethren, [even] {a} five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
(a) That the king might be
assured that they had come, and to see what type of people they were.
Ge 47:6
47:6 The {b} land of Egypt
[is] before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to
dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest [any] men of
activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
Ge 47:11
47:11 And Joseph placed his
father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in
the best of the land, in the land of {c} Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
(c) Which was a city in the
country of Goshen, Ex 1:11.
Ge 47:12
47:12 And Joseph nourished
his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, {d}
according to [their] families.
(d) Some read that he fed
them as little babies, because they could not provide for themselves against
that famine.
Ge 47:14
47:14 And Joseph gathered up
all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan,
for the corn which they bought: and {e} Joseph brought the money into
Pharaoh's house.
(e) In which he both
declares his faithfulness to the king, and his freedom from covetousness.
Ge 47:19
47:19 Wherefore shall we die
before thine eyes, both we and our {f} land? buy us and our land for bread,
and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give [us] seed, that we
may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
(f) For unless the ground
is tilled and sown, it perishes and is as if it was dead.
Ge 47:21
47:21 And as for the people,
he {g} removed them to cities from [one] end of the borders of Egypt even to
the [other] end thereof.
(g) By this changing they
signified that they had nothing of their own, but received everything from
the king's generosity.
Ge 47:26
47:26 And Joseph made it a
law over the land of Egypt unto this day, [that] Pharaoh should have the fifth
[part]; {h} except the land of the priests only, [which] became not Pharaoh's.
(h) Pharaoh, in providing
for idolatrous priests, will be a condemnation to all those who neglect the
true ministers of God's word.
Ge 47:30
47:30 But I will {i} lie with
my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their
buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
(i) By this he demonstrated
that he died in the faith of his fathers, teaching his children to hope for
the promised land.
Ge 47:31
47:31 And he said, Swear unto
me. And he sware unto him. And Israel {k} bowed himself upon the bed's head.
(k) He rejoiced that Joseph
had promised him, and setting himself up on his pillows, praised God; 1Ch
29:10.
Ge 48:1
48:1 And it came to pass
after these things, that [one] told Joseph, Behold, thy father [is] sick: and
he took with him his {a} two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
(a) Joseph valued his
children being received into Jacob's family, which was the Church of God,
more than enjoying all the treasures of Egypt.
Ge 48:4
48:4 And said unto me,
Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee
a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee [for] an
{b} everlasting possession.
(b) Which is true in the
carnal Israel until the coming of Christ, and in the spiritual forever.
Ge 48:9
48:9 And Joseph said unto his
father, They [are] my sons, whom {c} God hath given me in this [place]. And he
said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
Ge 48:14
48:14 And Israel stretched
out his right hand, and laid [it] upon {d} Ephraim's head, who [was] the
younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly;
for Manasseh [was] the firstborn.
Ge 48:16
48:16 The {e} Angel which
redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my {f} name be named on
them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a
multitude in the midst of the earth.
(e) This angel must be
understood to be Christ, as in Ge 31:13,32:1.
(f) Let them be taken as my children.
Ge 48:17
48:17 And when Joseph saw
that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it {g}
displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's
head unto Manasseh's head.
Ge 48:20
48:20 And he blessed them
that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as {h}
Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Ge 48:21
48:21 And Israel said unto
Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the
land of {i} your fathers.
Ge 48:22
48:22 Moreover I have given
to thee one portion above thy brethren, which {k} I took out of the hand of
the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
Ge 49:1
49:1 And Jacob called unto
his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you [that]
which shall befall you in the
(a) last days.
(a) When God will bring you
out of Egypt, and because he speaks of the Messiah, he calls it the last
days.
Ge 49:3
49:3 Reuben, thou [art] my
firstborn, my {b} might, and the beginning of my strength, {c} the excellency
of dignity, and the excellency of power:
Ge 49:6
49:6 O my soul, come not thou
into their {d} secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united:
for in their anger they slew a {e} man, and in their selfwill they digged down
a wall.
(d) Or, tongue: meaning
that he neither consented to them in word or thought.
(e) The Shechemites Ge 34:26.
Ge 49:7
49:7 Cursed [be] their anger,
for [it was] fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will {f} divide them
in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
(f) For Levi had no part,
and Simeon was under Judah, Jos 19:1 till God gave them the place of the
Amalekites, 1Ch 4:43.
Ge 49:8
49:8 Judah, thou [art he]
whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand [shall be] in the neck of thine
enemies; thy father's children shall {g} bow down before thee.
Ge 49:9
49:9 Judah [is] a lion's
whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as
a lion, and as an old lion; {h} who shall rouse him up?
Ge 49:10
49:10 The sceptre shall not
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until {i} Shiloh
come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].
(i) Which is Christ the
Messiah, the giver of prosperity who will call the Gentiles to salvation.
Ge 49:11
49:11 Binding his foal unto
the {k} vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments
in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
Ge 49:14
49:14 Issachar [is] {l} a
strong ass couching down between two burdens:
(l) His force will be
great, but he will lack courage to resist his enemies.
Ge 49:16
49:16 Dan {m} shall judge his
people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Ge 49:18
49:18 {o} I have waited for
thy salvation, O LORD.
(o) Seeing the miseries
that his posterity would fall into, he bursts out in prayer to God to remedy
it.
Ge 49:20
49:20 Out of Asher his {p}
bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Ge 49:21
49:21 Naphtali [is] a hind
let loose: he giveth {q} goodly words.
Ge 49:23
49:23 {r} The archers have
sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him:
(r) As his brethren when
they were his enemies, Potiphar and others.
Ge 49:24
49:24 But his bow abode in
strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the
mighty [God] of Jacob;
(from thence [is] the shepherd, the {s} stone of Israel:)
Ge 49:26
49:26 The blessings of thy
father have {t} prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the
utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph,
and on the crown of the head of him that was {u} separate from his brethren.
(t) In as much as he was
closer to the accomplishment of the promise and it had been more often
confirmed.
(u) Either in dignity, or when he was sold from his brethren.
Ge 49:33
49:33 And when Jacob had made
an end of commanding his sons, he {x} gathered up his feet into the bed, and
yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Ge 50:2
50:2 And Joseph commanded his
servants the {a} physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed
Israel.
Ge 50:3
50:3 And forty days were
fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed:
and the Egyptians mourned for him {b} threescore and ten days.
Ge 50:6
50:6 And Pharaoh said, Go up,
and bury thy father, according {c} as he made thee swear.
Ge 50:15
50:15 And when Joseph's
brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, {d} Joseph will
peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did
unto him.
Ge 50:17
50:17 So shall ye say unto
Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin;
for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of
the servants of the {e} God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake
unto him.
(e) Meaning, that they who
have one God should be joined in most sure love.
Ge 50:19
50:19 And Joseph said unto
them, Fear not: for [am] I in the place of {s} God?
(s) Who by the good success
seems to remit it, and therefore it should not be revenged by me.
Ge 50:22
50:22 And Joseph dwelt in
Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an {g} hundred and ten
years.
(g) Who, even though he
ruled in Egypt about eighty years, yet was joined with the church of God in
faith and religion.
Ge 50:25
50:25 And Joseph took an oath
of the children of Israel, saying, {h} God will surely visit you, and ye shall
carry up my bones from hence.
(h) He speaks this by the
spirit of prophecy, exhorting his brethren to have full trust in God's
promise for their deliverance.
