19 If AadJared lived an hundred sixty and two yeara. and he be^t 'Enoch:
t. o'w 21 T And Enoch lived sixty tuid five ■ ■ years, and begat ^ Methuselah: 23 And Enoch ' walked with God after he vonebera vid defieDder>. The Ibtlowing tabid of the genealogiea of the patriareht b(for« and ^/tsr tb« flood,
23 And all the days of Enoch were g; three hundred sixty and five years: '•
24 And ^ Enoch walked with Qod: and he was not; Tor God took him.
26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lo-
according to lb* Hebrev, SamartMO, and Septoagii^ will at once exhibit the discoidanees.
Id diia first period, the ram ic Joaephut ii 2266, which i« also adopted by Dr. Hales, iu bis Nt» Analjria ^ Chronology.
And Adam begat a son in his men Ukeness, qfter iUs image, — words nearly the some with those, i. 26. Jitt u* make man in our imaiTA, after our Hkeneee. What thia image and likeneee of God were, we hare already seen: and we may rest assiired, thai the <a>ne image and likeness are not meant here. The body of Adain was •realed provisionally immortid: i. e. while be continued ebedient, he could not die; but his obedienee was voluntary, and bia state a probaUonary one. The mul of Adam was created in the moral image of God, in knmeledge, right- CDUsness, and true hotinete. He hnd now sinned, and conseauently hod ioti this moral resemblance to his Maker; he haa also Wome mortal, through his breach ot the law. His ima^ and likeness were therefore iridelv diiler'ent at Aie lime from what they wen before; and bis b^jetting flhildien in this image and liloness, plainly implies that thmr were imperfect like himself; mortal like himself - sinml and corrupt likn himself. For it is impossible that he, being impure, falleo from the Divine image, could beget a pure u>d holy offspring, unless we could suppose it possible tltot a bitter fountain could send forth eteeei waters; m thai a cause could produce effect* totally dissimilar from itself. Wlial is said here of Selh, mif^ht have been said of 1^1 the other children of Adam, as tlicy were all begotten after his &1I; but tlie sacred writer has thougtit proper to mark it only in dijii instance.
Verse 22. Aruf Enoch walked with Qod— Arte Atmdred gear*] 'Rtere are si^veml things worthy of our most
Eieular notice in this account: — 1. The name of this iaroh: Enoch, traia lin cftanor, which signifies to met, to tnitlate, to dedicate. From his subsequent conduct we are authorized to believe he was early inttrueted ix the things of God, initiated in the worship of his Maker, and dedicate to his service. By these means, under the infhience of the Divine Spirit, which will ever attend pioiw parental iiutnietion% hiemind got that sacred Ka^ wbiA nd him (o act a pan so iMngvuhad Ibrui^ (he eowae of a hmg life.
2. His religious conducL He walked -with God; f^nm yiihhalech, he tet Mmtelf to walk, be was fixedly purpoatd, and determined to live to God. Thom who on acquainted with the original, will at once see that it has this force. A veib in the conjugation called hilhp&el signifies a reciprocal act, that which a man does npoa himself: here we may consider Enoch receiving a pioua education, and the divine influence through it) in consequence of which he determines to be a worker with God, and therefore lakes up tha reaolutioD to walk with faia Hakovthat he miriit not reeeive the gnee of Ghsd in vain.
3. Trie eireumstaneee in fi^iidi bo was placed. He was a patriarch, the king, the priest, and the prophet of a mmierous &mily; to whom he wna to (tdminister justice, among whom he was to perform all the ritM and ceremontefl of religion, and teach, both by precept and example, the way lu truth and righteouoess. Add to tbis^ he was a named man, be had a numerous fitmily of hi* own, independently of the collateral branches ovmwhich he was obliged, as patriarch, to mvside; A< walked three hundred yeara vnlh God, and begat tone and daughters; therefore, marriage is no hinueiance even to the perfection of piety, much less inconsistent with it, at some have injudiciously taiwht.
4. The astonialiing AstgU of piety to which he had arrived: being cleansed from all nllhiness of the flesh and of ttie spirit, and having perfected holiness in the fear of God, we find not only his soul but his body refined, so that without being ebliged to visit the empire of death, he was capable of immediate translation to the paradise of God. ThfUe are few coses of this kind on record; but probably there might be mor& many more, were the followers of God mora faithfiil to the grace the^ receive.
6. Enoch attained this state ot religious and spiritual excellence in a time, when comparatively speaking there were few helps, and no written reoelatton. Here, the^ we cannot but see and admire how mighty the grace of God ii^ and what wonders it works in the behalf of those who are fiuthbl { who eel themseltea to walk toith God. It ia not lbs want of grace, nor of the means of graoe, ^ot is dto cause irf the decay of this primitive pie^ t but
t c »w. ^9 ir And Lantech lived an hundred —. — eighty and two years, and begat a son:
39 Ana he called his name * Noah, *^ saying, This same shall comfort us coocerninff our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground * which the Lord hath cursed.
30 And Lantech lived after he begat Noah, five hundred ninety aod five years, and begat sons and daughters:
ftaflm: 31 And all the days of Lantech were
the vult of &iihfa1neM in thoee who have the light, and yet will not walk ai cbiMmi of the lighL
6L Ifthegiaeeof Godcouldwoikamiatni^t^cliBiige in thoM primitivs timea, when life and inuncwiality were Dot brought to li^t by the GoBoel, what may we not expect in theae u'mca in which the Son of God tabemaclea among men: in which be eivei his Holy Siurit to them who aek him; Id whidt all (hioga an poaeible to him wbo btJieveal No man can ppvve that Enoch had greater ■pirituai advantagea than any of the other patnarcha, tnou^ it aeems pnttj evident, tliat he made a belter uae of thow that were common to all, than any of the real did: and it would be ^murd to aay, that lu had greater iQHritu^ helpa and advantages than Christiana can now expect { for he lived under a ^apeniation much leas perfect than that of the uw, and yet me law itself was only the ahadou of the glorious moalmee of Qospel blessings and Oospe] privileges.
7. It ia said that Enoch not only tDalked with God, setting him always before hia eyea, beginning, contimiinr, and endi^ e^'erv work to his glory, but also that he pUastd God, ana had the tutimony that he did pleast ^7(K^HdkZL6. Hence we learn, that it was (A«ii possible ViUfn so as not to offend God; oonsequeiuly, so as not to.commit flin against him; and to have the continual evidence or teetimony that alt that a man did and purposed was pleasing in the sight of Him who searclies the heart, •nd by whom devices are weighed: and if it was possible Oien, It is siirely, through the same grace, possible now, for God, and Christ, ami /aiih, are still the tame.
Verse 27. The day* ^ Metkuadah were nine hundred and aixty-nine years] This is the longest life mentioned in Scripture, aitd probably the longest ever lived; but we have not authority to say positively, that it was the longest Before the flood, ajKi before artificial refinements were much known and cultivated, the life of man was greatly protraeiedi aod yet* of him who lived within thirty-<Hie ywrs of a thtmmma, it ia said, he died: and the longest lite is but as a moment when it is post. Though life is uneertain, preoarioiu, and fiill of natural evils, yet it is a blessing in all its periods, if devoted to the glory of God, and the IntareaU of the soul: for ^ile it lasts, we may acquaint ourselves with God, and be at peaoe, and thereby good shall come unto us Job zxii. 21.
Vent 29. Thta aamt tkaU em^n* u»\ ^us is analhi- ■km, as some diink, to the name of Noah, v4iidi they derive from am naatam, to oorofort t but it is much more Kkely that it comes from ni nncA, or mi nuath, to rest, to settle, dlc«. And what is more comforiable than rest, a&a toil ignA labour? 'Hieae words seem to have been spoken prophetieaUy concerning Noah, who built the ark m the preaervation of the human race, and who soems to hftvc been a ^ical person t for when he ofiered his saJriflee after the dryiiir up of the waters, it is said, " Ood smelted a savour of ust, and aiud he would not curse the ground any more for man's sake." Gen. viii. 21. And from that time the earth seems to have hod, upon an average, the sanie degree of fertility: and the life of man, in a few generations after, was aettled in the mean, at threeaeoreyeara and ten. See chap. ix. 3.
Verse 32. JVooA begai iSum, Ham, and Japheth] Prom ch. x. 21. 1 Chron. i. B, Ac. we learn that Jafriieth vaa the eldest son of Noah, but S3um is mentioned first, because it was from him, in a direct line, that the Heasidt came. Ham was certainly the youngest of Nodi's sons, and from what w« read, dk Iz. 22. the worst of them; and how he comes to w mentioned out of his natuial order, is not ea^ to be accounted tor. When the Scripturoa design to mark preixdeney, though the iqlgeot be a
32 % And Noah was fly« hundred yeura old: and Noah begat *Shem, Ham. 'and Japheth.
. IvUilhNi cuopHkiia an) tbib eiiaM|nN&r»ria Ike oMte*- mmca </ tin old U one boiidnil nd tawiiT jtm, 3. The im ttitm
AND it come to pass, 'whehmen fccSiSS began to multiply on the fhce
of the earth, and daughters were born unto
younger son, or brother, he is always mentioned Jlrat: 80 Jacob is named before Emu, his ehlu' brother; and Jfpfcrasm beliwB Jtonasses^ Seeehap.xzviiL6.xlviiL20i.
Amoiri many important Uiinci presented to our view in this ehi^rter, scvenu of whidi nave been already noticed, we may observe, that of all the antediluvian patriarchs, Enoch, who was probaUy the best man, was the shortest time upon earth { nia years were exacity as the days in a aeAax revolution, viz. nrea hundred and tixty-Jlcet aiid, like the sun, he folfilled a glorioua courae, shining more and more unto the perfect day, and was taken when in hia meridian splendour, to shine like tbe sun in the kingdom of his Painer for ever.
From computation it aiqiears — 1, That Adam liTed to see Lamech, the ninth generation, in tbe fifty-sixth year of whose life he died: and as he was the fijrst wbo hved. and the first that sinned, so be was tbe first wbo taatea death in a natural way: Abel'a was not a natural, but a violent death. 2. That Enoch waa taken away next after Adam; aevsn patriorclis remaining witnesses of hia translation. 3. l%at all the nine first panriarcbs were taken away before the flood came, which hiqipeiied in tbe six faimdredth year of Noah's life. 4. That MetbiMeUi Irmd till the very ye&r in wbieb to flood came^ <tf whichJiiB name ia supposed to have been prophetical, wa mtthu, "he dielh:'* and n^P sAo^ocA, "ne sendtth oui:" as if God bad designed to teach men, tiiat as soon as Hethuselab died, tlw flood should be sent forth to drown an ungodly world. If this were then so understood, evco die name of this patriarch contained in it a graiiotu waminr. See tbe gentatoeieal plate tSxt chan. xi,
Verse 1. When mm began to mnttiply\ It was not at lime that men began to multiply, but tbe insnired penman speaks note of a fact which hod taken place long Defore. As tbere is a distinction made here between men and those called the tone <^ God, it is eeneratly supposed that ilie immediate posterity of Cain ana that of Setb are intended. The first wer* mere men, such aa fallen nature may produce, degenerate sons of a degenerate &ther, governed by the desire of the flesh, the ttesire of the eye, and the pnde of life. The others were aona qf Ood, not angele, as some have dreamed; but such as were, according to our Lord's doctrine, bom again, bom from above, J<mn iii. 3, 6, 6, &c, and made cbildren of Ood by dia inftience of tbe Holy Spirit, Golat. v. 6. The formar were apostates from the tt^ religion; the latter were those among whom it was preserved and cultivated.
Dr. Wall supposes the first verseaof this chapter shouM be paraj^uased thus. " Wlien men btann to multiply on tlie earih7 die chief men took wives of all tbe baiwsoma poor icNmwntb^ chose. There were tyrants in the earth va those days; and also after tbe antediluvian daya powerful men had unlawful connexions with the inferior womno, and the children which sprang from this illicit commerce were the renowned beroea of antiquity, of whom the heathens made their soda." '
Verse 3. My Spint shaU not ahemu sln'rel It waa only by the influence of tbe Spirit of CJod that tbe carnal mind could be subdued and destroyed: btit diose who wilfully resisted and grieved that Spirit, must be ultimately left to tbe hardness uul blindness of their own hearts, if they did not r«peot and turn to God. God delights In mer^, and tberefore a gracious warning is g^ven: even at tills time, the earth was ripe fi« desinietioD, but Ood promises tlwm one bundred and twenty years reepite^^ they repeated in that iatarim, well: if not, they ^ould ba detfroyed by a flood. Ssaoover. 6.
2 That the booi of God saw the oaugfaters of meii that they were fair; and they ■ took them wivea of all viiiieh they chose. laM 3 And the Losoeaid, xMySpiritshatt
■one of God came in unto the daughtereof men, and they bare children to them, the same became miff hty men wfaieh were of old^ men of renown.
5 Ajid God saw that the wickedness of man woe great in the earth, and that * evary * imagination of the thonghta of hia heart was only evil ' continually.
6 And it (repented the Loan that he had t;*^ jS; made man on the earth, and it ^grieved him at his heart.
Varw 4. TTun wtr* gianU in tk4 •orlA] o^> nefiaHm, from naphaL h« fell" Those Wno had t^iottaUxed or JaUtn from libe true religion. The Septuagint tnuulaie um origiiuU irord bjr yfir^'s, which liierall; n^nifiea tarik-bom, and which we, following them, term panU, without liaving any refereoce to the mriming of m word, which we gcBerally conceive to mean pnune of eiMrmMW elater& But Ibe wmd, profWrly im> demood, makea & mr nut dietinction between- ine eonc of men and the eona 0( Ood i tboae were the nef^ialim, the JbUm earih-bom men, with the animal and devilish mind. These were the eons -Ood, who were bom firom •btm, chiMren of the kingdom, becooee duldmn of Ood. Hence, we may aappoee, originated the diflhrent names given to •iimcr* and mimU; the former were termed yywtTMt. ta*A ftom, the kiter ■yui, pmoiu net or etparmlaiijTvm At mrA.
it /pibar, " ne prevailed, was vieloriouB;" and BVnww anMsyiia-aAmt, "men of the Buwi" •'■fWTM.ScpbiBgint: eame as we render men ^ renown, renOmtniui, tttiet namsd^ as the word innities, having oim name wliich they derived from tfaeir funera, and another which they acquired by their daring exploita and enterpriiee.
Ii may be neceaaary to remark here, (bat our translators have tendervd seven difleient Hebrew words hy ihc one tern gionfl^ vik. wfiliiUin,gMoH,m, mathSn, r^ayim, emiin, and xamxnam^ by wliieb upellMiTea «r« prontbly mesnt in general,perB(»uofgreBt knowledge pietf,coar- ■ge, wickednesa, Ac and not men of enormous stature, as ia aeoeralfy conjectured.
Vena ft. TiCe viekeditm of man «as greo/] What an awful dumcier does God give of the inhabitants of the utedihivian world 1 1. They were jCesA, (verae 3.) wholly ■eosiia^ the desiree of the mind overwhelmed and lost in the deairea of the flesli, their souls no lonim- discerning their hi^ destiny, bat ever minding earthly thim, so that they were aeosuolized, bnitalixed, and become »ab; ineamated, >o as not to retain God in their knowledge,and they lived, leekins their portion in this life. 2. Tbey were in a s^c of wickedness. All was oornipt widiin, and all unrighteous without: neither the eoience nor pmetice of religion existed. Piety was goiK i and every form of sound words had disappeared. 3. 'Hiis wickedness was great, vest rabbah, " wns multiplied; " it was continually mereaaing, and multiplying increase by increase, so that the uhale tarth was corrupt before Qod, and was lUled with violence, (verse II.) profiigary among the low, and cruelty and oppreasion aniong nie higher cinsscs, bemg only nredominant. 4. AU 0is iTHarinatimu of Qu\r tiumgnia toere evU — the very first emoryo of every ideiL the foment of every thou^t — the very maitriaU out of which percqition, conception, uid ideas were formed, were ■Jl atU — the fountain which produced them, with every Oiought, purpose, wish, desir^ and motive, was incurably poisobed. h. All these were evil, vUhovt any mixture Hfgood — the Bpirit of Ood which strove with then was CflolinuBlly resisted, so that evil had its sovereign sway. Q. IWy were evil eOnHnuaUy — there was no interval of fMd, no moment allowed for serioua r^ectkm, fw ho^ pdrpoae, no rightcou ast. What a fiaiihed pietm of a falMMUll Sodt a pfcnue H God elonek mo asudus
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth! 'both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 Tf But Noah >■ found grace in the eyes of the
9 These ore the generations of Noah: 'Noah was a just man arwi " perfect in his generations, and Noah "walked with God.
11 The earth also was corrupt ""be- J;Jf-g;iSSi fore God, and the earth was « filled with — '■ — — violence.
12 And God 'looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had comipted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, ■ The end of all
the heart, and tries the spirit, could possibly give. 7. To complete the whole, Ood represents himself as repenting beewise he had mode them, and as gritved at the heart because of their inkiuitiee I Had not these been voluniaru transereannta, crimes which they mi^l bane avoided, had th^ not grieved and quenched the Spirit of God, could he spew of %em in the manner he does here? 6. So ineeiMed ia the most holy and the most uerciliil God, that he is determined to destroy the work of his hands — And tiu Lord eaid, Iwill deetroy man vhom 1 have crtalad, (verse 7.) how great must the evil have been, and how provoking the transgression^ which obliged the moat com- •tonata God, for the vinaieatioii of Cib own glory, to. jn this Kwfiil purpose I Fools make a mock at sin-4ut none, exeeptfooU.
Verse 8. Noah found grace in his aighi] Why 7 because he was, I. A ju»t man, P^is tsh Isadik, a man who gave to all thexr due, for this is the ideal meaning of the original word. 2. He was perfect in hia generation^ he was in all things a consistent character, never departing from the trudi in principle nor practice. 3. He watked vtih Ood, be was not only righUaue in Itis conduct, but he was pious, and had ctotintud eonuminion with God. The same word is used here as before in the cue of Enoch. See eh^. v. 22. Verse It. The earth «mu corrttpt] See on verse 6. Verse 13. /iriU tfssfrvy them intt the earth) Not tnly the human race was to be destroyed, but aU lerrestfial animals^ L e. those which could not ufe in the waters. These most neceasorilr be deatnmd when the whole but* face of the earth was (frowned. But destroying the earth may probably mean the alteratioo of its constitution. Dr. Woooward, in his natural histon of the earth, has rendered it esoeedingly probable that the whole terrestrial substance was amalsamated with the waters, after which the di^rent materials of iu composition settled in beds or strata according to their respective gimvitiea. This theory, however, is disputed by others.
VeraeU. Make thee an ark] raritebalh, awordwhich is nsed only to express Ihie vessel, and that, in which Hoses was preserved, Exod. ii. 3, 5. It signifies no more than our word wet in its common acceptation — a hollow place, capable of containing persons, g^Kids, &e. without any particular reference lo Aapeoxfarm.
Ot^iher wood] Some think the cedar is meant, others die eypreee. Bochart renders this probable, 1. Prom the appellation, supposing ihe Greek word xo^-frtt, cypress, was formed from the Hebrew tu gojAer, for take away the termination '"u, and then gopar and ■bvip will have a near resemblance. 2. Because the cypress is not liable to rot, nor to be injured by worm*. 3. The cypress wna anciently used for ship^building, 4. Tliis wood abounded in Assyria, where it is probable Noah buiided the ark. — After aJ], the word is of doubtful unufication, and occvirs no where else in the Scriptures. The Septuagim render the place •>< i^Km' TtTfuy-im*, of etjuare limber, and the Vulgate de lignie lav^atie "ot planed timber," ao it is evi^nt thu these trandators knew not whM kind of wood was intended hj the original, "nie Syriac and Anbie trifle with the passage, rendering it wicker work, as it iho ark bad been a great I^eff Both (he Tvgnms render it cedar, and the Persian, puw turjir.
fleah is come before me; for the earth i> filled with violence through them; and bebokl, I will destrojr them '■with the earth, l&c m IF Make thee an ark of eopher
15 And thia u the faahion which thou ehalt make it of: The length of the ark shxUi be three hundred cubits, * the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
16 A wiimow ' shalc thou mate to tiie ark, ' and in a cubit ehalt thou finish it above; and the
Atlowine the cubit, wbich ia tho leogth IrDm the elbow to the top « tbo middle finger, to be Hgktecn inehee, itie ark inuat have beea Jbw hwubvd ana My feet to length, ttvmiy-Jbte, in teeadth, and foriy-Jb* in hn^L But that the anoieot eubit mu more than «^rAten iochea, haa been demonstrated by Mr. Oreayea, wno travelled into Oretetf Palettine,.and Egypt, in order to be able to aacertain the vagfUa, money*, and mauura of antiqui^. Be meaaored the pyramida in Egypt, and comparing the accounts which HerodoCua, Stmio, and otbera give of their aiza, he found the lengUt of a cubit to be twaUy-en* iaehea and hundred and tigkiy'^ight daplmalparta out of a dwuMMl, or nearly twenfy-tvo incbea. Hence the cube of a cubit ia evidently ten thotuand/our hundred and eighty-six inchea. And from thia it will appear that the three hundred cubits of the ark's length, make Jive hundred and Jbrty-seeen feet. The J^fly for its brendth, ninety-one feet ttM inchea; and the thirty for its height fifty-Jrmr feet ejgA/ inches. When these dimensions are examined, the uk will be found to be a vessel whose e^Mcitf was more than sufficient to contain all persons *ai ammals aaid to have been in it, with sufficient food for each for more than tweice months. In the above calculation the decimaJe are omitted, which if received into the account, would have increased the capacity considers bly. TtiiB vessel Dr. Arbuttmot computes to have been tighiy-one thousand and tixly-ttoo tone in burthen.
As many have supposed the capacity of the arit to have been much htoemaU for the things which were contained in it, it will be necessary to examine this *^|}ect thorlOu^ty, that every difficulty may be removed, llie things contained in the ark, besiaea the pertona Ol Noah's &mily, were one pair ot all unclean animals, and seven pair of all dean animals, with provisions for all, sufficient obr twtve months.
At the first view, the number of animals may appear so immense, that no space but the forest, could be thoi^sht Mifficient to contain them. If however, we come to a •calculation, the number of the different kinds of animals will be found much leas than is genenlly imafrinsd. It is a question, wbetho- in dUs aeeount aoyliut Biedidferent
5 mem of animala neoeaaary to be bitught into the ark, lould be included. Naturalists have divided the whole system of zoology into classbs and oaoKsa, contaimng genera and epeeiee. There are six classes thus denomi- Tiaied. 1; Mammalia. 2. Avea. 3. AmMbia. 4. Piseea. 6. biaectas and 6. Verme*. Wim the three last of these, viz. JIAea, inatcta, and vorma, the question «anhavB little to 00.
The Jlrai class, MimmaHa, or animals with teaia, contains aeven, orders, and <m\yjbrty-lkree genera, if we «x(x»t the aevenlh order eete, i. e. all the whala kind, whioi certaialy need not come into thia account. The difierent apeeiea in this class amouB^ the cele excluded, to Cm hundred aitd JbrtyATea.
The ateond class, Avn, birds, contains aix orders, and only Hteniy-Jmtr genera, if we exclude the third order, emaarea, or web-footed fowls, all of which could very well live in the water. TTw different apeoiea in thia elts^ the anaerea excepted, amount to too lAouMnrf dkrea l!umdred and aewenty-liDO.
Hie tidrd CLASS, AifPHiBu, oonlains only two orders; raplilea and aerpenta; these comprehend tm genara, and Area hundred and aixty-aix apaeiea; but of the reptiles, many could live in the water, such as the torloiae,frog, <tc Of the former, there are Airty-threa apeeiea, of the latteT) aeventeen, which excluded, reduce the number to Area hundred titid tixteen. The whole of these would ooeupy but little room in the ark, for a small portion of aarih, Ac ia Am hold, would be sufficient fi« Ash- accommodatioB.
Bidiop Wilkina who has written largely, and with his usual accuracy, on this subject, auppoeea, inat quadrupeds do not amount to one kandrta dif^ent kinds, nor birda.
door c of the ark shalt thoa aet in the rids thereof; mtil lower, aecmd, and third 9torie» shalt thou make it.
17 ■> And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, wherein t* the breath of life, i from an^r heaven; and every thing that it in the earth shall die.
18 But with thee will I ^ establish mr covenant: and ithou shalt come into the arlt, thoa and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy ioub* wivea with thee.
which could not live ia the water, to Iteo hundred. Of quadrupeds he shows that only aeBenty-tm species needed a place in the ark i and the birda be divides into nina classes, including in the whole one hundred and Handy Jite kinds, from which all the web-fpotid rinuM bo deducted, as these could live in the water.
He computes all the eamivoroua animals equivaJeot, as to the bulk of their E>odies and food, to ^Denty-aeaaR wolves! and all thereat to oiuftundrea and c^A/y oxen. For the former, be allows one thouaand eight hundred and twaniy-fiw abeep, for their annual consumption; and for the latter, oMtenorsrf and nhuSmaaandJbehmired cubits of hay I these animals and Ibairfood, will be easUy contained in the tvo firat atoriea, and much room (o spare; as to the third story, no person can doubt of its being sufficient for the fim^ with Noah and his famiiu.
One sheep each day, he judges will be suffieieni tat atx wolves; and a square cubit ot hay, which containsybrfvone pounds, as ordinarily pressed in our rteka, will be amply sufficient for one ox in die day. When the quantum of room which these animala and th^ ppoveader required for one year, is compared with the capacity of the ark, we shall be led to conclude widi the learaod bisb(^ "that of the two it is more difficult to assigQ a humbu- and bulk of necessaiy things to answer to the capacity of the ark, than to find siSBeient room for tbt several apecies of animals and their food already known to have been ^>ere." This he attributes to the imperfectioa of our lists of animals, eqiecially those of the unknown parts of theearth; and adds, "that the moat expert mMbfrraaticians at thia day, " and he was one of the first in Europe, " could not assign the proportion of a vessel better aeeonHnodaied to the purpose than is here dona." And concludes dins: *' "Hw dpuaty of the ark, which has been made an ot^tion against Scripture, cnight to fas esteemed a confinualion of its divine aulhori^; since, in those ruder ages, men being less versed in arts and nbilesc^y, were more obnoxious to vulgar prejudices Uksn now t BO that had it been a human uiveolion, it would have been contrived aoeotding to those wild aiqirehensioa^ which arise from a eooAiseaand genanl view at tbinn as much too Mg as it has been represented too titUe. " Sm Bp. WiHdn'a Eaaay toteard a Philoaophieal CharacUr and Language.
Verse 16. A window ihall thou make] What this was cannot be absolutely ascertained. The original word mi taahar j signifies cUar or bright; the Setttuagint traoslate it by t^mrmymr, "eoUatimg, tbou nalt make die ark, " wfiich plwnly shows tbnr did not uiMlerstaod the word as signifying any kind of^ wtndm or light. Symmachua tranalatea it timp»r$s a traiuparency; and Acquila ^r«^£(»g*, &e noon. Jonathan b^ Uzziel supposes that it was a precious luminous stone^ which Nosh by divine command brought bom the river Pison. k is probably a word which should be taken in a collective sans^ signifying aperturea for air and U^it.
In a eubit ehalt thou ^nuh it (ihe aik) aftmw] Probably meaning that the roof should be left a cubit broad at the apex or top, and that it should not terminate in a tharp ndge. But this place is variouely understood.
Verse 17. Do bring a,fiood\ Viao mabul, a word which is used only to designate ute genera/ detuga, being never applied to signify any odier kind of iEKindanon; ana doea not tlK Holy Spirit intend to ahow by tbia^ ihai no otberj(oo(< was ever like this; and that it ahould oontiQue to be the aole one of the kind? There have been many partial inundations in various countries, but never mora than OHB general deluge: and we have God's promiBek ch. ix. 16. that diere shall nevN- be another.
Terse 18. I will eatabliah my coeenantl Hie word nna beriA, from bar, " to punfy, " or " cleanse, " s^ nifies properly a purificxtiion, or punfler t (see on Qen- XV.) because, in all covenants made between Ood and ma^ stn and siii/Unsfs wen ever su^osad lo be on nai^s
19 And of every living tfainf <^ alt flesh, ■ two of every sort shalt thou brins into the ark, to keen (A«fn fdive with thee; they shall be male ana female.
SO Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth ailer his kind, two of every sort ^ ehcdl come unto thee, to keep ikem alive.
21 And t^e thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it ■bail be for ibod for thee, and for them.
2 Of every 'clean beast thou shalt take to thee by ' sevens, the male and his female:) and
sid^ sod tbst Ood eoald not enter into any covenant or engagnnent with him without a vurilUr i hence in all covenanta, a aacrifice was offered Tor the removal of offences, and the reconciliation of Ood to the sinner; and hence the word n*^3 berilk, not only signitiea a eaeenatit, hat a]oo the aacryie* oflered on the occasion, Ezod. xziv. 8. PaaL L 6. and Jesus Chri^ the Kreat atonement and purifier, baa the nme word for his tiu^ Isai. xlii. 6. xliz. 6. and Zedi. is. II.
AlMoat sU Mtioiw in forming aUianeea, Ac made their eovsnanta or contracts id the same ws^. A sacrifice was provided, its throat was cut, and its blood poured out oefore Ood t then the whole carcass was divided through the spinal marrow from the bead to the rump, so as to make exactly two equal parts; these were plaeed opposite to eseh odier, and ins oontractiiw parties passed between fliena, or entoing at qiporite eras, met in die centre, and Am look the eovenaut oaih. niia is porticukrly referred to by Jeremiah, ch. xxiv. 18, 19, 20. "I will nve the men (into the hands of their enemies, ver. 20.) that have IraiugTessed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the oovcnant, which they made benre me, when Ouj/ cat the ta^f in twain, arid pasted beiwem A$ part* Mmqf, " &«. See also DeuL zxix. 12.
A covenant, mya Mr. Ainaworth, is a di^wsition of eood things hitlimlly declared, which Ood hm calls h&, as arismg from his grace towards Noah (ver. 8.) and all men; out implying also condilione on man's part, and tfacrefore is caUea our covenant, Zech. ix. II. The apostles call itAish-v, a ttatametU or dupofitwn; ma it is nixed of the propenies both of covenant and lestament, sa the apostle shows, Heb. iz. 16. &c and of both, may be nsmed a teatamaiJal eovmani, whereby the disposing trf God's bvoura and jMwd things to us v declared. The covenant made with noah signified, on Oot^t part, that be sbaatd save Noah and his fiunily from death 1^ the ark. On Noah's part, that he should in fiudi and obedience make and enter into the ark — TTum eftott coma into tht ark, Ac so committing himself to Qcd's preservation, Heh. XI- 7. And under this the covenant or testament of eternal salvation by Christ Was also implied, the apostle testifying, 1 Pet. iti. 21. that the antitype, baptism, doth also now save us; for baptism is a seal of our solvation, Mark xvi. 16. To Drom^fe a Saviotir, and the means of Bslvation, Is GOD'S pari— to accept this Saviour, laying hold on the hope set before na, is ours. Tliose who rduss ttie way and means of salvation, must perish: those who accept of [he great Covenant Sacrifice, cannot perish, but disu have eternal life.— See on chap. xv. 10, Ac.
TeiselS. Th keep them alive] Ood might have destroyed all die animal creation, and created others to occupy the new world ( but he chose rather to preaerve those already cr^ed. Hw CrealM sud Preserver of the umverae does BodiiaK Int whu is essentially DeesMSiy to be done.
3 Oi' fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all tlie earth.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth * forty days and forty nights: and every living subBtance that I have made will 1 1 destroy from off the face of the earth.
5 And Noah did according unto all that the Loan commanded him.
6 And Noah was six. hundred years old, when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 f " And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into tiie ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 1 And it came to pass *after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
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 Ptbe fountains of the great deep broken up, and the ^wmdows of heaven were opened.'
Nothing should be wantonly wasted) nor should power or Mil be lavished where no necessity extsis; and yet it required more means and economy to preserve the old, than to have created new ones. Sudi respect has Ood to the vork of his hands, that nothing but what is cssentied to the credit of his justice and holiness, shall ever induoa him to destroy any thing he has made.
Verae2t. aU food tluO. i* eaten] That i% of the food proper for every speauea of animala.
Terse 22. T%tis tfitf Noah] He prepared the ark) and during one hundred and twentv years preached rij^teousnesa to that sinfiil generation, 2 PeU ii. 6. And this we are informed, 1 PeL iji. 18, 1% &c he did by the iSptrif «/* CTtrtsf.- finr it was oidy through Atm, that the doctrine a£ repentance eould ever be successfully preached. TbB pM)ple in Noah's time are represefUedassftulttpinprisoiif arrested and ccndemned Iqr Ood's justiee, but gnfeiously sjlowed the space of one hundred and twenty years to repent in. This respite was an act of Kfeat mercy; and no doubt thousands wlio died in the interim, availed themselves of it, and believed, to the saving of their souls. But tlie great majority of the people did not, else the jfood had never come. N&TBS ON CHAPTER VU.
Terse 2. Qf every dianbeaHi So we find the distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long before the Mosaic law. This distinction eeems to have been originally designed to mark those animals which were proper for sacrifice and food, from llwoe that were noL See Lev. xi.
Terse 4. /Vr yet teeen daye] God spoke these words prob^ly on the seventh or saUiath day, and llie days of the ensuing week were emfrioyed in enioing (he an, in embarking the mighty troop, ur whose reception ample provision nad been already made.
Forty days] 'This period became afterward ncred, and was considered a proper space for humiliation. Motea fasted for^ days, Deut. iz. 9, 11. w did Elijah, 1 Kings xiz.8.sodKlourXior(2,Hatt. iv.2. Fortydays respite were given to the Ninevites that they might repent, Jonah iii. 3. Aadlhrice _/br^(one hundred and twenty)3rearsweregivea to the old world for the same gracious purpose. Oen. vi. 3. The forty days of lent, in commemoration of our Lord's fasting, have a reCerenoe to tlie same thing; as each ot ifaese seems to be deduced from this primitive iudement
Terse 11. In the tit hundredth year, Ac] This must hava been in the b^^nning of the six hundredth year of hie life; for he was a year in the ark, ch. viii. 13. and lived three hundred and fifty years ai^ the flood, and died nine hundred and fifty years old, ch. iz. 29. so it is evident, that when the flood comauoced, he had just entered on lui six hundredth year.
SecoHd month) The first month was TW^ which snswen to the latter half of Siflember, and first half of
13 ■ And the rain waa upon the earth forty davs and forty nights.
13 In the self-same day " entered NcMih, njid Sheni,and Ham, and Japneth.the sons of Noah, and Noah'a wife^ and the three wives or hU Bone with them, into the ark;
U « They, and every beaat after hia kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth alter his kinoT and every fowl luler his kind, every bird of every * sort
15 And they • went in unto Noah Into die ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the invath of life.
16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all fleah, ' as God had commaMed him: and the Lord shut him in.
17 in' s And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the waters increased and oa.te up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth.^
October; utd Ibe Mcond «u MarhtAvaUt which uuwers to part of Octobtr and paii of A'oiwmfrep. After the deliv* ennce from Egypt, the begiDnii^ of the year waa changed firom Jt&rfcu/won to Niran, which aiuwen to a part of our lUdreh and ApriL But it ia not likely that thia reckoning (Atained btfore tfao flood. Dr. Lightbot very probably conjecturea that Methuaelah was alive in the first month of this year. And it appears, aays he, how clearly the spirit of propnecv foretold of things to come, when it directed his other Enoch, ahnoai a thousand years before, to name him Methuattah, which signifies, tkey dU fry a dart; or, ho 4uth, and then it the dari; or, ht dUth, and then ii u *ent. And thua Adara and Methuaelah had measured the whole time between the creaium and the Jlood, and lived above two hundred and forty years together. — See chap. V. at the end.
TTufouniainM ^ the great deep vera brtken «p, and Ae mndom qf heaem were opened.) It ^pewra Iwt an immense quantity of waters occupied the centre of the antediluvian earth; and as these burst forth the order of Ood, the circunambient strata must sink, in order to fiU up the vacuum occasioned by the elevated waten. This is probably what is meant by breakinff up the Jimntaitu <ff the great deep. Them waters, with the seas on tlte earth's surface, might be deemed sufficiem to drown the wfool«globe,u the watwsnowoo it* atufiua are ne«-ly Aree-fourtfu of the whole, as baa been aoeuniely aseertainod by Dr. Long.~See note on ch. i. verse 10.
By the opening ^ the window qf heaven, is probably meant the precipitating all the aqueous vapours which were Miqiendea in the whole atmosphere, so that, as Moses expresses it, oh. i. 7. lft« mUers that mre above the firnuimmt, were again united w (he wnUn vAiek were bdow the firmament; from whidi, on the second day of creation, they had been eeparaied. Tbta» two causes eoncurriog, were amply sufficient, not only to overflow the earth, mit probably to distotve the whole terrene fabric, as some jiididoui naturaliBts have supposed: indeed, this ■eems determined by the word Viao mabuL tranalated Jlood, which is derived from bal, or Vj3 balat, to mix, mingt^ cottfmind, eoT\fiue, because the aqueoua and terrene parta of the globe were then mixed and confounded together) and when the supernatural cauae that produced this mighty change suspended its operations, the different particles of matter would settle according to their specific gravities, and thus form the various strata <x bade of which toe earlb appears to be iniemal ly constructed. Some naturalists have controverted this sentiment, because, in some cases, the internal structura of the earth does not i^pear to iuBtif|r t|]e opinion that the various portions of matter bad settled according to their specific gravities; but these anomalies may easily be accounted for, from tlie great changes that have taken place in different pans or the earth since tlie fiood, by volcanic eniptions, earthquakes, &c. — Some very eminent philosophers are at the opinion, "that by the breaking up qf Ae Jbuntaina vf &» great deep, we are to understand on truption qf toatert from Ou Southern ocean." Mr. Eirwan supposes, that "this ia pretty evident from such animals as the elephant and rhinoceros being found in great masses in Siberia, mixed with different marine ettbetaneet; whereas no animals, or Other substaaess belonglDg to the northern regione, hsv« bees ever found in souM^m climates. Had these animals creased greatly upon the earth; ^ and the ark went ilpon the face of the waters.
19 A nd the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; ■ and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
20 Fifteen cubits u{>ward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
21 II >■ And all fleeh died that moved upoa the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
23 AH, in > whose nostrils was *■ the Inreath of lif^, of all that tcaa in the dry land, died.
23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, lx>th man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destro/ed from the earth: and ■ Noah only remained oJive, and they that irere with him in the arlu
24 If °And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifly days.
died natural deaths in thur proper climatcu their bodies would not have been found in such masses. But that they were carried no farther northward than Siberia, ia evident from there being no remaina of any animaJs, besides those of whales, found hi the mouniaku of Greenland. That this great rush of water* was frtnn the sotcA or souihtaeL, is farther evident, he^hinks, from the sou^ and southeast sides of almost all great mountains being much steeper than their north or northwest sides, as they necessarily would be, if the force of a great body of water fell upon them in that direction." — On a subject like this, men may innocently differ. Many think the first opinion accords beat with the Hebrew text, and with the phenomena of naliirer for mountains do not always present the above appearance.
Verse 12. The rain ico* upon the earth] Dr. Lightfoot nipposes that the rain began on the 19th day of the second month, or JMbrftasAson, and that it eeaacd on the 28ih of the third month CieUu,
Verse 16. And they went in, It waa physically impossible for Nooh to have collected such a vast numbnof tame and ferocious animals; nor could they have been retained in their wards by mere natural meana. How then were thev brought from various distances to the ark, and preserved there 1 Only Iqr the power of Ood. He who first miraculously brought diem to Adiun, thU lie might give them thnr names, now brings them to Noah, that he may preserve their lives. And now we moy reasonably suppose, that their natural enmity vas so far removed or suspended, tliat the lion might dwell with the lamb, and the wolC lie down with the kid, though each might still require his peculiar aliment, Tliis can be no difficulty to the power of God, without the imumltats interposition of which, neither the deluge nor the ctn- GOmitont circumstances could have taken place.
Verse 16. TTu Lord thut him iri] This seems to imply that Ciod took him under his especial protection; and as he shut HiH tn, so he shut the others oat. Ood had wailed one hundred and twenty years upcmtliat generation: they did not repent; they filled up the mtasure of their iniquities, and tlien wroth come upon tliem to the uttermost.
Verse 20. Fifteen cvhitt and uvward\ ShouU oriy person object to the unitertaUty oS die deluge, because m may imaeioe there is not water sufiicient to drown the whole guibe in the manner here related, he may find a moat satisfactory answer to all the objections be con raise on this ground, in Mr. Ray's Phyt'uo-thcologieal Di*- courtet, seoond edition, 8vo. 1693.
Verse Zt. Of all that was tn the dry land] From thia we may conclude, that such animals only as cmUd not Uta in the tcater, were weserved in the ark.
mountains: after ^whidf forty dava, it appearv to oav* continued at this height for one hundred and fifty days more. " So," says Dr. Ligiitfoot, " these two sums ar« to be reckoned distinct, and not the forty days included in the one hundred and fifty; so that when the one hundred and fifty dajrs were ended, there were six months and ten dan OS the flood past." For an improvement of this awfiil judpnsD^ see the eoncluiion of the following chapter.
~Ib Ibcflnt of lla Knth lannth Uk iDfia sf the Mb ap- Hiddi*T«nna>aiii,l,1. 'niedonm fcriluud ■ woavl iliiia, ud raumis wltk an oHrt Imf, 10, Ibh, add rH<m as Ban, Ut Oa ihr iwmrmUi
AND God 'remembered Noah, and every Uviotf' thing, and all the cattle that was widi him m the ark: and Qod made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters aeeuaxed;
8 ■ The fbuntaine also of the deep, and the wiodows of heaven were stopped, and <'the rain from heaven was restrained i
3 And the waters returned from off the earth * eootinually: and after the end '' of the hundred ^nA fifty days, the waters were abated.
4 If And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month upon the mountaina of Ararat.
5 Aod the waters ( decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth monik, on the fir>t day of the month, were the tops of the raoontauM seen.
6 T And it came to pass at the end of Ibrty 4a]^, that Noah opened ^ the window of the ark wnicn he bad made:
. 7 And hs sent forth a raven, whidi wfent forth ■ to and flra. until the waters were dried up fi-om off the earth.
8 Also he sent fhrth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated Irom f>ff the lace of the sTouiidi
9 Bat the dove (bund no rest for the sole of her fimt, and she returned unto him into the ark,
Vermh AndOodmodtoitinitopanoverAttarth] SdA b wind m produced a atronf tad audden evaporation. The effects of theK winds, which are frequent in the east, •re tnily astonishing. A friend of mine, who bad been bsAiiiR in *e Tif^ not far from the ancient citjr of CtotpAon, and withm Ave dayi^ journey of Baghdad, having OD a pair of Turknli drawers, one of these hot winda, called by the natives tatnid, passing mptdly across the river, just as he had get out of the water, so effectually dried hfm in a truym^ni, that not one particle of moisture WM left either on his body, or in his bathing dress I With sneh an eketrtfied wind as this, how soon could Ood dry Ae whtOe of the eertft's mrfaeel And probably this was the agent that restored to the atmosphere the (piantity of water which it bod contributed to this vast inundation. The other portion of waters, which had proceeded from the breakinK up of the fountains of the greiu deep, would, of course, substde more slowly, as op«>ings were made for them to run off from the higher laods^ ana form scaa. By the first cMue, the hot wi«t, the wUra were aantaged, ami dw «tmoq>heie hsviog its.due proportioa of vanoiira reelond, the quanti^ below must be greatly lessened. By the eeeoDd, the earth waa gradadly dried, the waters, as tbev fimnd Mutage, lessening by degrees, till the seas and gun were nnned, and the earth completely drained, "nifs appears lo be what ia intended in the third and fifth verses, I? like wafer* dserewfnf conffntuttfy, or, according to the B•rgiI^ thnriMre in gmng and tker«aa^g. Ver. 6.
Tirm 4. Tlu mounUtiiu qf Ararat,] That Ararat was a moon tain of ilrmenfa, ia almost universally ^reed. What ia oottmooJy thought to be the Ararat of the Scriptures, has been visited by many travellers, and on it there are aeveral monasteries. For a long time the world has been saFHed with reports that the rematiw of the art were atUl visible there t but Mr. Tntmtfort, a fcmous French sannlist, who was on the spot, assnres ua that iwthing of the kind is there to be seen. As there is a great chain of mountains which are called by ttlis name, it is imposaible to determine on wiiat part of them the ark rested: bat the hiriyst part, called by some the Fittger^mmtntnin, has been fixed oa ae the aiost Hkely plaee. These diinga we BMMt lean; and they are certainly of very Utue MDBe9uenoc.
From the drcaiastanee of the resting of the ark on the ITth of tbe sevendt month, Dr. Lightfeot draws this curious eonelosios i That ih» arte drew exactly efeMn euMte of water. On dte first dqr of the mondi Ab. the mmmtain l^pe vera tnt eesiL sod ihn the waters had fitllen JfAem VouL-« for the wafers -were on the iaee of the whole earth; then he iiut forth his hand, and took heri and ^ nulled her in unto him into the ^k.
10 And he stayed yet other seven days} and again he sent forth the dove out of tbe ark;
1 1 And the dove came in tt> him in the eveningj and lo, in her mouth uas an olive-leaf pLuckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
13 ^ And it came to pass in the six hun- BiclMl
the first day of the month, the waters werA dried up from off the earth: and Noah removea the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth-day of the month, was tbe earth dried.
16 Go forth of the ark, ■* thou and thy wife, and thy eons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
17 Bring forth with thee * every living thing that t« with thee, of all fledi, both of fowl, taa of cattle, and ofevery creeping thing that eree[>- eth upon the earth; that they may Dre»l abundantly in the earth, and * be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
13 And Noah went forth, and hla sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fow^ and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their 'kiada, went forth oat of th« ark.
cubita; fiwaohijKfa had thty pravailed above the tops of the mountains, fnii* decrease 'm die waters took up aixtjf days: namely, from the first of iStean, so that they ^ipeaf to nave abated in the proportion of one mbii in four days. On the Ifith of iSV'van, they had abated but fmir mbiU i and yet on the next day tlie ark rested on one of the hill^ when the waters must have been as yet tieteti cubUt abovo it. 'Hius it appears that the ark drew eleven cubiU of water.
Verse 7. He tent Jbrth a raven, idAkA went to andjn\ It ia c^nerally supposed that the raven Jlew off", and was seen no more; but this meaning the Hebrew text will not bear, aicn HT^ vaiyetse yalsava^ab; and it went fbrtl^ goinr fbrth md retarninfc- — Prom which it ia evident that did return, but was not taken into the ark. She made frequent excursions, and continued on the wiug as kmg as site could, having picked up such aliment as she fbond floatins on the waters; and then, to rest tmeel^ regained the ark, where she might perch, though she was not admitted. Indeed, this must tie allowed^ ea it is impoanble she could have etrntiimed <Mwnfy-oite days upon tfn wingt which she must have done, hsoihe not Ktanwd. But toe text itself ia sufficient d^mninate.
Verse 8. Be teni Jorih a tfrae] He dove was sent fordk thriee i the firtt time she speedUy returned, having, in all probability, gone bat a little way from the ark, as she mus^ naturally be terrified at the appearance of the waters. After seven days, being sent out a second tine, she returned with an tUtt Uqf plucked ^ ver. 11. an emblem of the restoration of peaee betweea God and tibe earth } and from this eireumstaoee the oKm has beeo the emblem peace among all civilited oatioas. At tbe end of other eeren days, the dove facing aent otu the tkird time, returned no more, from which Noah coiaeaBiled that the earth was tM>w eolficiently grained, and therefore removed the covering of the ark, which probUdy gave liberty to many of the fowls to fly off, which oiroumslanee would afford nim the greater facility in making arrange* ments for disembarking the beasts arid reptiles, UM heavy* bodied domestic fowls which might yet remain. See verse 17.
Verse K And in the teamd numik, on the leten and twtnttM (fay] From this it appears that Noah was in the arte a cvmpleie oolar year, or three hundred and tirtyfive dmya; for he entered the ark the 17th day of the second * month, in the eix kundredthyas othiM eh. vii, 11, 13. and coDtimied in it till the 2nh day <rf the second month, in the «i* hundredA. and Jh-tt year of his Ufe, as we aee abm. 'Stie months of the aneient HAmfn were lunar •
26 T And Noah bnilded an altar unto the Lord; and took of ■ every clean beast, and of. every clean ibwl. and oifered burnt-otleringB on the altar.
21 And the Lord smelled * a ' Bweet savour; and the Lord said in bis heart, I will not again ' curse the ground any more, for man's sake;
the first rix consiateil of thirty dayi each, the letter six of twenty-nine; tlie whole twelve inonthB nuiking three hundred and ^^fty/our days; add to Uiii eleten days, (for thoogfa he entered tbe ark the preceding year on the secenieenih day of the Hcond mtmtl^ he did not come out till the tTemty-MrmOi of the eame month in the foHowing year) which moke exaclJy Aree hundred and »irly-J!ve days, the period of a complete eolar revolution; the odd houTH and minutes, as being fractionfi of time, not computed, though very likely all Included in the account. l%i« year, according to the Hebrew computation, waa the one thoxuand Hx hundred aadJ^fty-ieeetUh year from the fscalion! hu^aecwdingtotheRckffliingof the Septuagint, it was the two thtm§aad tea kandrtd and forty-teemd, and according lo Dr. EteleB(JV'e».Ana^y>Mo/ Chronology) the two thousand ttoo hundred and j^ty-nxtki — See the note on ehap. xi. 12.
Veree 20. Noah buUdtd an aUar] Aa we have already Been that Adam, Coin, and Abel, onwed sacrifices, there can be no doubt that tliey liod altars on which they offered them: but this, builded by Noah, la certainly the Srti on record. It is worthy of remark, that as the old world began with eacriiicc, so also did the new. J{eligion,OT Uie proper mode of worshipping the Divine Being, is the invention or inatitution of God himself; and sacrihce in the ad and design is the essence of religion. Without ■acrifice actually offered, or iinplied, 'there never was, there never can be, any religion. Even in the keatens, a Lamb ia represented t>efore the throne of Ciod, ae newly slain, Rev. v. 6, 12, 13. The design of sacrificing is two-fold: the sluing and burning of the victim point out, 1st. That the lifeol the sinner is forfeited to Divine justice) 2d^, Thai his ooui deserves the^re of perditim.
The Jews have a tradition that the ytaee whm Noah botlt Ilia altar was the same in wbich the altar stood which was built by Adam, and used by Cain and Abel; and the same spot on which Abraham, •fterwort^ offered op his son Isaac.
The word raw mixbeoA, which we render attar, ngniSes iwoperly a place for sacrifice, aa the root nar zabaA,
Xnes simply to slay. AUar comes from the Latin hi^ or elevated, because places for sacrifice were eenerallr either raised very high, or built on the tops <^ hills tammounUMu: benee th^ are called JUgA slooes in the Scriptures! but such vers ehie^uaed fiviaolatrous purposea.
Swnt-tiff'ering] See the meaning of every kind of offering and sacrifice largely uplamed on Levit vii. in alphabetical order.
Verse 2 i. The Lord smelled a »met savour] That is, be was well pleased with this religious act, performed in obedience to his own appointment, and in faith of the promised Saviour. That this sacn&ce prefigured that \riiich was offi»«d by oor blessed Redeemer in behalf of the world, is suffictenUv evident from die words of St. Paul, Ephes. v. 2. ChtiH hath loved us, and given himseif for ua an tiering and a sacrifice to God for a
/ leiU not again curse the grotmd — t\an tfy lo oaiph, I vili not add lo eurse dw ground— there shall not be another deluge to destroy the whole canh—for the imaeinatitm vf man's he9rt]» ki, altbouoh the ipaagination of man*s heart slumld be ceil; i. e. sboidd they oecome ofterwanl 'as evil as they liave been before, I will not destroy the earth by a flooo. God has other means of destroction; and the next time he visits iy a general judgment, iiax is to betlie agent, 2 Pet. tii. 7.
Verse 22. While the earth rcmaineth, seedntime and harvest, dtc.] There is something very expressive in the original, fum 'js iy Sd col yemey ha-arets, until all the DATS of the earth; for God does not reckon its duration by centuries; and the words themselves aflbrd a Strong prcaumptioi that the earth shall not have an eiufleas auratioD.
Sesd-time and Aorresf] It is very probable that the aeoHmo, wbich were distioetly marked immedialely after Ihediliige, we mentioned inniiia place: but it iBdiOieult
' for the '' imagrination of man^a heart evfl from hifi youth^ ' neither will! agftin $aiutemax more every thing livinr, a* I have done.
23 While the earlS remaineth, i seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and snrnmer and winter, and *day and night ehaU not cease.
to ascertain them. Most European nations divide the year ^nto four distinct parts, called guarlert or season*/ bat there are six divisions in the text, and probably ail intended to describe the seasons in one of these postdiluvian years s parliculBrly in that part of the gtobe, Armenia, where Noah was when God gave bim, and mankind ihrouf^ him, Ais gracious promise. From the T\trgum of Jonathan on this verse, we learn, that in Palesttne their seed-time was in September, at the antnmnal equinox i their harvest m Bfarcn, at tlie vernal equinoxj that dieir winter began in December, at the solstice, end di^ mmm«rat the solstice, in Jnne.
The Copfa b^n their autumn on tlie 16th ef September, and extend n to the ISth of December.- Then vinUr on the 16th of December, and extend it to the Ifith ef March, l^eir spring on the ISA of March, and extend it to the l&th of June. Their siinuR«r on the 16lb of June, and extend it to the lEth of September, assigmng 1ft each season three complete months. Calmet.
There are certainly regionfl of the earth, to wLidi neither this nor our mode of division can apply: there are. some where summer qtnd tcinler appear to divide the whole year; and otbefti' where, besides summer, winter, autumrt, and spring, there are distinct seasons that may be denominated the not season, the cold season, the rotiqr seaoon, &c. Ac
This is a very merciAil promise to die iidiBbitaalB Dt the earth. Tliere may be a variety in the seasons, but no season, essentially necessaiy lo vegetation, shall uttet^ fail. The times which are of greatest consequence to the preservation of man. are distinctly noted: there shall be Doth seed-time and harvest^-a. proper time to deposit the difierent grain in the certh; and a prc^ time fa reap tbe produce M the seed.
Thus Olds the account of the geiterml deluge, its cause, circumstances, and consequences. An account that seem* to say to us. Behold the goodness and severity of God! Both his justice and long-suffering are particularly marked jo this astonishing event aa justice, in Ihia punishment of the incorrigibly wicked; and his marc^ in giving them so &ir and nill a vamin^ and in waiting* so long to extend his grace to all who mig^at seek him. Such a convincing proof has the destruction of the world by water, given of the Divine Justice, such convincing testimony of the truth of the Socrod Writinxs, that not only every part of the earth gives testimony oi thiaextraordinaiy revolution, but also every nation oS the universe has preserved records or tradidoiiB (tf tbi« Kwful di^iUy of tlie justice God.
A multitude of testimonies collected from llie most authentic sources in tite beadien world, I had intended for insertion ia this place; but want of room obliges me to lay them aside. But the state o'f the earth itself is a sufficient
5 root Every part of it bean unequivocal evidence of tsruplion and vtoleoee. jPrmn the band of the God oC order, it never could have proceeded in its ptesent stitfe. In every part we see marks of the crimes of men, and of the justice of God. And sliall not the living lay this to heorti Surely God ia not mocked: that which a man Boweth he shall reap. He who soweth to the flesh, shall of it reap destruction: end though the plague of watera shall no more deMnqr the eartlk yet an equal, if not aoier pimiahment, awaits the wwki of the ni^odly, in tho tlveatened destruction by^re.
In ancient times, almost every thing was tjrpical, or representative of ihingB which were to come; and no doubt, the ark among the rest; but q/" viiat, and in wAoi way, larthsr than revelation guidra, it is both difi^ult and unsafe to say. It has be^ considered a tvpe of our blessed Lord; and nence it has been observed, " tint as all Aom who were out tf the ark perished by the flood, so those who take not refuge in the meriloriwie atonement of Christ Jesus, must perish everlastingly." Of all those, who, having the opportunity of hearing the Gospel, reflue toocc^t of the Sacriflce it offers them, this saying is true: but thepartUIel is not good. Myriads oi those who perished during the flood, probably repented, implored men^, and found torgiveneas: for God ever delists to nvei and Jmus was ue Lamb alain froa die foundaliw fikltklwN«dinrihIaHiH,l. Tha bnte cmika la benMwI to Oian IhraoiA ter.C 1^ tan an* of uOiml fand, a KuJa(<<' Mood IsticUn,!. Umniir »i ■iiiiwii futifcliliii * Aku^tv id rntftit Mi life, C The ooitnam of lad iB^ilMart bdvantliai ud Nata.ud iht vbote Inu (MbMi.S—ll. Tlw nMinr Rlnii u tb* udpta^ of ild> omul, B — 17. Tbe ihrn Bn of
AND God blessed Noah and his eons, and said unto them, * be frnitrul, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
2 * And the fear of yon, and the dread of yoo ■hall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon
of the vorld. And Aougfi, geaenUy, Ibepeople eontinued is cwnal Mtehty and Momui grauficauoiu till the flocxi came, tboe ia much raaaoD to bcfliBva, that tboM who, doting ihc^n^ da rain, would natumlly fly to the bieb Undi and topa of trie higMat mountains, would eamesUy implore that mercy wliich has never been denied, even to the moat praAigete. when onder deep iKiniltation of heart, tb^ hare returned to God. And who can aay that this iraa not done by mulUtadea, vMle tb^ beh^ ne inereaain^ flood, or that God, in this Iwtvxlcemi^, had rendered it impoanble?
St. Peter, 1 Epist. iii 21^ makes &e ark a figure of be{>tiain, and intimates, that we are saved by ibiB, as the eight BCuls were saved the ark. But let us not mtstue the apostle, by mippDsing that tlie mere ceranony itself savca any peraoa: he tells us, that the salvation emmmi mrough this sacred rile, i« not tKt putting aieaj/ OuJtWt Iff AeJUdi, but the atmeer qf a good eoatctenec towartU Ood: Lt. lemiauon of suu^ and r^eneration W the Holy S^t, whidi are ngnified by this faaptism. A good eonaeUnee never existed where remission of sins hwl not taikett place; and every person knows, that it is CkMPs prerogative to forsive siiu: and that no ordinance can confer it. though ordmancea may be the meant, when sioualy and telievingly used, to convey it.
NOTES ON CHAPrmi IX. Terse 1. Clod bU»»ed Noah] Even the increase of fiunilies, which appears to depend on merely natural means^ and sometimes fortuitous circumstances, is all of God. It is by bis power and wisdom that tliB human being is formed; ana it is by his prO^dence alone, that uan ia ainipoTtad and pieaerved.
Vene 2. T^efear ^ won, and Ou dreid qf you, dt,c.] Prior to the fidi, man nued the inferior ammais by lovt and Jttndnm; for then, gentleneat and docUiiy were Aetr principal cbaracieristics. After the &J1, untracta.- bleness, widt savage ferocity prevails! among almost all orders of the brute CTeation; enmity to man seems particularly to |)revaili and had not Qod, in hia mercy, impreaaed ibeir nunds with the/ear and terror of man, so tb&t some nihmit to Ma will, while othera jCee from his randenee, the human race would lonr ere this have been totally destroyed by the beasts of the field. Did the horse kaowjiis own strmgth and the weaknesa of the miserable wretch who unmerciAilly rides, drivea, vhipt, goada, and oppreaaet him, would he not. with one stroke of his hoof oestroy his tyrant poaaessorl Bui, while God hides these things from him, ne impresses his mind with the ftaroi hia owner, so tlial either by ^eer/u/ OTsallen subiiM«s£oR lie is trained up for, and emjiloyed iu, ilie most uaefiil Aid important purposes; and even willingly submits, when tortured for the aujqMrt and amusement of his more biutidi opiwessor. Tigers, wolves, lions, and hyenas, the determinate foes of man, incapable of being tamed or domesticated, flee^ through the principle of terror, from tbe dwelling of man, and thus he is provideniialty safe. Benc^ by J^nr and by dread, man rules every bejist of tbe earth, every fowl of the air, and ev#nr fish of the sea. How wise ana graeiooa is thtM order of the Divine Provt' deoeel and with what thaoUblnesa ahouM it be eoiuidered every human beii^.
Tene 3L Bvmy mooing thing akall be meat] There is 00 positive evidence that emmal food was ever used before the flood: Noah had the first gmnl of thia kind, and it has been continued to ell his posterity ever since. It is not likely that thia grant would have been now made, if eome extraordinary alteration bad not taken place in tbe vi^MiMe worH as to render its produetioiie less nutritive Uiaattinr were before 1 andprotoblyeudiaehangeinlbe winrtamon of aMM,ai to render a gnwier and higher diet
the earth, and upon all the fishes of Uw sea; into yotir hand are they delivered.
3 ' Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for yon; even as the * green herb have I given you 'all things.
4 ' But flesh with the life thereof, wikvBA ia the blood thereof, ehatl ye not eat
5 And surcly-your blood of your lives will I require; * at the hand of every beast will I rfr' quire it, and ^ at the hand of man j at the hand of every i man's brother will I require the life of man.
6 k Whoso eheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: ' for in the image of God made he man.
necessary. We may tberefwe safely infisr, that the earth was less productive after tbe flood than it was before; and that the human constitution was greatly impaired, by the alterations which had taken place through the whole economy of nature. BforUd debility, induced by an often unfriendly atate of ibe atmosphere, with aore and longcontiDueo labour, would necessarily require a hi^r nutritnent than veiretablea could supply. Ibat this was [be case appeara sufficiently clear from uw grant at asamal food whicn, had it not been indispeosably necessary, hod not been made, l^at the constitution of man was then much altered, appearain tbe greatly contracted Uvea of tbe postdiluvians; yet, from the deluge to the days of Abraham, the lives of several of tlie patriarchs amounted to some hundreds of years,buithiawaBdieeffeclof apeciJiar providatea, that the new world might be the more apeedily repeopled; but even fi'om the denjge their lives became gradwdly shorter, till from upwarda of nine hundred yean uiey became tettled in tbe average term of threetcon yean anu /en.
Verae 4. But JteA wUh the l\fe thereof, vhich i$ th* blood] Though animal food was granted, yet the blood waa moat solemnly forbidden, because it was the Ufe of the beast; and this life was to be ofi'ered to God as an atonement for siiL Hence the blood was ever held sacred, because it was the grand instrument of expiation; and because it was typical of that blood by which we enter into theholiest. 1. Se/trre the deluge, it was not eaten, because animal food was not in use: T. After the deluge, it was prohibited, as we find above, and heinp one of the eerm Noabic precepts, it was not eaten previous to the publication of the Mosaic law; 3. At Ibe givioE of the law, and at aeveral times, during tbe ministry of JSoses, the prohibition was moat solemnly and widi awfiil penalties renewed. Hence we may rest assured that no blood waa eaten previous to tlie Christian sra; nor, indeed ever since, 1^ the Jewish people. 4. That the prohibition has been renewed under tbe Christian dispensation, can admit of little doubt W any man who dimasnonately reads Acts xv. 2D, 29. xzi. % where even the GentUe amvcrU are cbanpd to abetain from it, on the authority, not only of tbe apoaite*, but of the Holy Ohosl, who save them there, and then, especial direction concerning this point: see Acts zv. 28. noijbr fear of siumbliag the eoiiTcrted Jews " (he gloss of theologianti, " but because it wna one t«» i-ram^nif T«uT>v, of /Aoas necuwary p&in/s, from the bvriiaHiatu) of obedience to which, tliey could not be excused. 6. lliis command is still scrupulously obeyed \ty tbe oriental Christians, and by the whole Greek church: and why % because the reasons Btill aubsiet. No blood was eaten under the law, because it pointed out the blood that was to beshed for (be sin of the world; and under the GoapA, it should not be eaten, because it Aoiild ever be considered as representing the blood «Aie& haa been liud for the remission of sine. If the eaters of blood, in general knew, that it afibrds a very crude, almost indigesiiDle, and unwholesome aliment, they certainly would not, on these physical reasons, leaving moral considerations out of the question, lie so much attached to the consumption of that from which they could expect no wholesome nutriment j and which, to render it even pleasing lo iJie palate, requires all the skill of the cook. «,.
Verse 6. Surely yottr blood will J require at the Aona qf every beast] Tiiia is very obscure; but, if takea literaUy, it seems to be an awfiil warning against cruetty to tlie brute creation; and from it we way eonchidc, that korae-racara, hara-huntera, buU-baitera, and eock-fig^era, shall be (Aliged to give an account to God for every creature tbey have wontoify destn^ed. Instead of n>n cftofyoA, "bout," fbe SemarltannadsnrftcAaf, "hviDgi"
7 Aad you, • be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abuDdemtly in ttie earth, and multiply thereiii.
9 And I, * bebsld, 1 eBtablish • my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 ""And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beut of the earth with you: from all ttiat go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And "I will eBtablish my covenant with Tou t neither afaaU ail flesh be eat off any more
the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
13 And God said, ' This is the token of the covenant which I make between roe and. you, and every living creature that if with you, for perpeti^ generations:
13 I do set « my bow In the cloud, and It drnll be for a token of a eoreoant between me and the
14 ^And it shall come to pass, when I bring a
cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be in the rloud:
15 And 1 1 will remember my covenant, whicb i» between me and you and every living creature of all fleeh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember ^tbe everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all fleah that is upon the eardi.
17 And God said unto Noah, This t« the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earUi.
18 11 And the sods of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: I and Ham is the father of " Canaan.
19 ■ These are the three sons crf'Noah: * and of them was the whole earth overwread.
■iqr "living ereatore,** orperton: diia mates a very good •eOH^ sod ecjually mbida cruelty either to men or brutes.
Verw 6. Who»o $heddtlh man** blood, by man ^tatl Mm bJood] Hence it spears that whoever Kills a man imleM umriitineh/, as me Scripture ezpreiaefl it, shall finieithis own life.
A man im accused of the crime of murder; of this crime Im is guil^, or he is not — if he be guilty of murder be dunld die; if not, let him be punialied according to the demerit of his crime; but fin- no offence but murder, lAould he lose his life. Taking away the life of another is the highest off6nee ^t ean be committed against the individuiu, and against society: and the highest punishmait that a man can suffer for such a crime, is the loss of his own life. As punishment should "he ever propoTtioned 10 crimes, so the higlUat jmniAment due to the kight^ erime, should not be inflicted for a minor tfffence. The law of Clod, and the eternal dictates of reason, say, that if a man kill another, the loss of his own life is at onoe the hifi^wst pendty be ean pay, and an equivalent ibr his offence, as fiu* as civil socienr is concerned. If the dealh of the morderer be the higheai penalty he can pay tor the murder he has committed, then the infliction of this puoishment for any minor o^mee is injmtiee and cruelly; and serves only to cori/bumiTheclhimsor justice, the ditlerem d^rees pfmoral turpitude and vice, aaa to render the profligate desperate: hence the adage so frequent among almost every order of delinquents, "It is as good t»K hanged for a »A«p as a Iamb.-" which at once marks their despsmtion, and the injtistice of those penal laws whicii iiulict tbe highest paniidwient for almost every wpttin at eriows. When shall a wise and judicious legislature see the ebsoidity and injustice of inflicting the pimidunent of death for stealing a duep, or horse, forging a twenty MlUnga note, and xdbdebjnq a hak; when Uie latter, in its moral turpitude and ruinous consequences^ infinitely exceeds the othersl
Terse 13. Ido aet my bow in the ctaitd] On the origin and nature of the ninbow there have been a great variety of conjectures, till Anthony de Dominu, bishop of Spalairo, in a treatise of his, published by Barthotua, in 1611, partly suggested the true cause of this phenomenon, whidi was afterward Ailly ezidained and demonstrated by Sir haae Newton. To enter into diU subfeet here in d^I. wouM be improper; and, therefore the less informed reader must nave recourse to treatises on optica, for its fall explanation. To readers in general it may be sufficient to say, that the rainbow is a mere natural effect of a natural cause; 1. It is never seen but in showery weather. 2. Nor tfken unless the son diines. 3. It never appears in anypartofthebeat>«iubutinthatiiwMeifatotheBiln. 4. It never upears greater than a semidrele, but often much MMB. 6. It is alww^ double, there being what is called nie avpsHor and w\ferior, or primary and secoruiary, rainbow. 6. These bows exhiUt the teven prismatic 2?^ wwy^ yeUow, grem, Hue, indigo, and noUL 7. Tht whole of this phenomenon d^)^s on Jte lays of die sua blling on ^Herical drops of wider,
The (brmatioa of the primary and seooDdanrraiidKiM depends on the ttoo followmg propontion* t 1. When die sun shines on the dropsof nilnasthey are &lUng, the xtju that come fitom these drops to d>e eye of the spectatm-, alter OHS reflectitm and two rtjrae^ona, produce the prtniary rainbow. 2. When the nin diinea on die drops of rain aa they are felling, die ravs that come from ihoae drops to the eye of the spectator, after two r^fletHon* and two r^fraetums, produce the secondary rainbow. The ilhistratioa of these propositions must be sou^t in treatises on opfjcs, assisted by ptaiea.
From the weD-known cause of this phenomenon, U cannot be rationally supposed that there was no mnbow in the heavens be/ore tlie lime mentioned in the text; fbr OS the rainbow is the natural efl^t of dte sun's rays felltK on drops of water, arid of their being refracted ana reflected by them, it must have appeared at difinent times from the creation of the sun and tne atmosphere. Nor does'the text intimate that the bow was Jiflw created for a-ngTi to Noah and his posterity; but, that what vnE/ormcrly created, or jratfaer, thai wnt(^ wap the necessary eflfect, in certain case^ of the creation of die sun and atmospnere, dtould now be considered fay dtem as an onfluling token ot tbar continual preservation fiwn the waters of a deluge; thenfore, the text speaks of what Aod already been dme, and not of what was now done: "iwu *nwp kaA& nataH, " My bow I have giveiu or put in the cloud; " as if he nid, aa surely as the rainbow is a necessary effect of sunshine in rain, and must condmie suck as knig as the sun and atmosphere endure; so surely lAiaH this earth be pressrad from destruction water t and its preserTati<m snail be as iiecessaiy an effiect of my promise, as the rainbow is of die sliinmir of the sun during a shower of rain.
Verse 17. This is the toften] rm Oth, the divine sign or portent; theboa^aUbeinOudoud; for the reasons above specified, it mtul be there, when the eircumstancea already mentioned occur; if, therefore, it cannot fiul. because of the reasons before assigned, no more shall my promise; and the bow shall be the proof of its pMpetuity.
Both the Greeks and Latina, as well as the Hebrew*, have ever considered the rainbow as a divine token or portent; and both of these nations have even deified i^ and made it a messenger of the gods.
Homer, II. a. v. 28. speaking of ttie fignres on Agamemnon's breastplate, says there were three dragons, whose colours were
"like to the rainbow which Saturn, (die father of Time)' has placed in the cloud as a eieir to mankind, or to men of Mrtotu tanguagea," aa some have tmdentood the ^(0T«< mvSt^rmt of the poet'; st^posing that the ancient Qreek writers gave this epithet to man, from some tradition of the connision of tongues at Babel; hence, in this place (he words may be considered as implying mankind at large, the whole Auman race t Ood having givHi the raii^w for a aign to all the sons of Noah, by whom the
S3 Aal Huii» the feUwr of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his fathert and tokl his two brethren without.
23 > And Shen^ and Japheth took a ^ment, and laid it upon both their ehonlders, and went backward, ukl covered the nakedness of their father; aod their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his vounger son had done nnto htm.
whole esnh wm peoided sfter the Sood. A«eo«ling to dm view of the aubjeet, the rainbow apeakB a vnivenai Imguage, anderMood bf nil die aom and dangfaten of Adain. Virgil, firom aome disguited Uaditionary Sran of tte tnnb, couidera the ninbow meMeagw oT the godi; JB^ v. Tsr. 800.
biswordiyttfreBarbthatbodidien poets imdenFtood the taiabow to be a *tgn, warning, or portent from beaven.
Ae I beKere the rainbow to have been intended solely for the purpoM mentioned in die text, I forbear to make rauitual uaea and illnstratioiu of iL Main have done oiia, and their otwervalionB may be Tery edifying but they certaiuly have no {auDdadon in the terL
YeneSO. JVooA bo^on to be afttwAandmanlnDiKn M ha^adamah, a man of the ground; a fermer: by hia beginning to be a hoabandman, we are to understand ina rerarmmencinK hia aenculiural operatiooa, which, andouUedly, he Gad earned on for six bundnd yeara before, but thii had been iaierniptcd by the flood. And the owusetions hen mendtmed nnght have ocenrred many yeara posterior to die deluge, even after Canaan waa born and grown u;^ for die date of it is not fixed in the text.
"Hw word hu»hand first occurs here; and acareely nppeora proper, bccauae it ia always applied to man in hia mam^ ttaUy aa vj/it is to woman. The etymology of the term will at once ahow its propriety, when applira to the hmd of a Guidly. Au&ont^ Imjtianb ia Anglo- Saxon, and simply aisnifiea the bond of the houae or jmnhit u hy hmi the fcmily ia formed, vnited, and Muna together, wfaidi, on hia death, ia aifunttta and tcaitered. It ii on this etyaaology of die word, diat we can account for OieTarsurw and petty Ivntlholaera being called, so early aa the twelfth centurv, hjubandi, as pears at a statute David II. king of Scotland: we may. dierefore, safely derive the word from Imr, a Aotue, ana bomb, from bmben, to Alnd, or tie; and ulia et3rmology appeara nluner in the ortbogr^hy which prevailed in the tnuleenih and fimrteendt centuries, in wfaleb I have often bund the word written kmudxmd; so it ia inaMS. Bible before me, written some time in th« foorteemh emtory. Jttnhu pretends to diipute this etymology, but evidently on no juat ground.
Verse 21. Re drank of the mne. &c.1 It is veiT prober ble thai diia was the nrat time the vine waa cultivated i and it ia as probable that die strength or intoxicating ^wer of the exprened jiuee was never before known. aoA, dtersfer^ might have dnmk it at this time widiout ths least blame; ss be knew not, till this trial, the edecta it woold produce. I once knew a case which I believe to be perfectly iwrallcls— A peraon who had acareely ever Iwaid' of eider, and whoae beverage through hia whole life had been oiiy mitt or water, coming wet and very much feligwdtoafermer^shouae in Someraetehire, b^ed for a little water or milk. TYie good woman of the houae, seemg him very much exhaiiated, kindly aaid, "I will
S're youalitije cider, which will do you more good;" e honest man, understanding no more of eider than merely that -t was the timnle Juice of 9j^e», (dter aome hesitation, drank about halt a pint of it: the consequence waa, that m less duui half an hour, he was perfeotWintoxicats^ and could neidier apeak plain dot walk I "litis case I mvself witoesaed, A stranger to the eircnmstances, this Berson. would pronounce him drunk; and, pernu^ at a thira hand, be might be represented aa a drunkard, and dios bis character be blasted; while, of me crime of dmkenness he wns ss innocent as an iaaat Tub I prsaome to hm been preeuely ths eass widi
26 And he said, <' Bleased be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan riiaU be * hie servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, « and he shall dwell in the teats of Shem; and' Canaan shall be his servant.
28 11 And Noah lived alter the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29 And all the days ofNoah were nine uanil hundred and fifty years: and he died.
Noah; and no person without an absolute breach of every rule of charity and candour, can adadi any ■ blame to the character of l4oah on this ground, anlesa from a suieeguenf account they were well aasured that, knowing die power and effects of the liquor, he bad repeated the act. 8pm« espoaitOTsseemtobegbdtofixona&et, litelhia, wUdi, hy ttuir distortion, beeowm A crime t sad then, in a strain of sympathetic tandemees, affect to deplore " the finlinn and impeHectiona of the btat nuni" wbea, from the interpreiaiion that t/wuld be given of the place, neither faiHng not imperfeeHan can poaaibly appear.
There is no oecukm to ealsr into any detail here; lbs sacred text is drcumstaniial enough. Ham, and, vsnr probsbly, his son Canaan, bad treated their failier on ihia oceaaion widi contempt or reprehensible levity. Had Neah not been innocent, as my expoaititMi auppoaes him, GodwouMnothaveeodued himwiw the spirit of prophe^ on Ihia oecssion, and testified auch mariiea diaapproMlioii of Omt conduct The conduct of Sbem and J^heth waa such aa became pioua and affectionate children, who i^ipMr to have been in the habit of treating their fitibor with deoeItcJ^ reverence, and obedient respecL On the <Hte, iba BfHrit of prophet?, (not the incenaed bdter) pronounces a curae: on die othera, the aame spirit, (not parental tenderneaa) pronounoea a UeasiiK. Theae tninga had been just aa they afterward oeeurrsc^ had Noah never ^xdun. God had wiae and powerful reasons to induce him to sentSMO the one to penietual servitude, and to allot to the othera prosperity ana dominion. Besides, the curae pronounced on Canaan neither felt immediately upon himself nor on his worthleaa father, but upon the Cenasitites: and frosa the history we hove ot thia people, in Levit. xviii. -ix. and Deut. ix. 4. xii. 31. we may a^ eould the curse of Ood fell more deservedly on any petals than on theae t Their profligacy waa great, but ilwoanstlfte ^tetoftke evnet but being foreaeen by the Lord, the curae was the effect oiF their conduct. But even thia ourae doea not exclude them from the poaaibility of obtiuning aalvation: it extenda not to the eaul and to eternity, but merely to their bodiea and to time t thouxh, if they eontinued to abuse thnr libertr^ resist the Holy Ghost, and reftiae lo be saved on GhKf a terma, then the wradi of divine justice must come upon them to the uttermosL How many, even of dieae, repented, we cannot tell.
Verse 2S. Cursed be Conaoh] See on die preceding verses. In the %d), 26ih, and 27lh verses, instead iK Canaan nmphr, dis AnUe version hss JBoiii, tk»JbA«r qf Canaan; bat this is acknowledged by none of ths odier veraions^end aeema to be merely a gloea..
Verse 29. TJie daye of Noah wre nine hundred and Jtfly yearaVTba oMeat patriot on record, Methuselah only exoeiMd. Tliia^ according to the common reckoning, was A. M. 2006, but according to Dr. Halea
" Ham," says Dr. HaleiL ncniflea burnt, or Uadt, snd this name was neealiarly signiMsnt of the rq^ona allotted to hia femily. To the Cuthiiu, or children of bis eldest aon, Cask, were allotted the hot smthem regiona of Atia, slong the coasts of the Perwian gu^, SuMana or Chuaittan, Arabia, Ac.; to the sons of Canaan, Paleaiine, and Syria; to the aons of Misraim, Egypt and Lybia, itx Africa.
" llie Hamit** in general, like the Canaanites of old, were a seafkrir^ ntce, and sooner arrived at civilization and the luxuries of life, than their simpler pastoral snd agrictdlural brethren of the other two fiunilies. "nte flrat great empires of Atrtria and Bgy^ were fonnded by them t nnd the republics of Sidtm, Tyre and Carthage were early diatingniahed for their oommeree; but they sooner also fell to dnay t and Egypt, which was one of the first, became die test and baseet of the kingdowu, Bzek. xxix. 16. and has been suceeesively in sutneetion to die SftcmUea snd Japhethitu: as have also the settle* ments of the odier bnuiehea of the Anniles.
"Sbbm signifies ftaswOTrsnoinir aod his indeed wss paat inatsmpotal sad mrinud sansi ' ■gili^lby'
NOW these are the generaticms of the Bons of Noah, 3hem, Ham, and Japheth: 'aiul unto them were sons born afler the flood, a&^ JS 2 \ " The sons of Japheth; Oomer, and Tubal, and It^wech, aiid Tiras.
of Upper and Middle AtiA -wm allotted to his fiUDily, ArmeDia, Mcaopotamia, AMyria, Media, Penia, Ac. to the Jnda» and Gange», aod perhaps to Guna eastward.
" The chief renown, however, of Sbem wat of a spiritual mature — he waa deatined to be the lineal ancestor of the Ueaaed Seed of the woman— and to thia glorious privilege Nanh, to whom it was probably revealed, might have •llixUd in diat devoutejaiMlation, Blessed be the LORD the GOD of SIkcm/ The pastoral life of the SlumUet is ■troBgly mariced in the prophecy, by the tenia of l^sm, and iuch it remains to the present d^, Ihroue^oot their midland settlements in Atia.
"JAFmtraeigmfitatnlargtmaU! how wonderfully did providence enlarge bmmdarie» of Jdpktth! His Iposterity diverged eastward and westward throu^out the whole extent oT Asia, north of the great ranee of Taurus, as fiu- as the eastern ocean; whence they probably crossed •ver to AmeHea, by Berin^a straits, from Kamtkatka i •ad in the opposite direction throughout Europe, to the Mediterranean sea and the AUanHe ocean [ f^m whence also tbey might have crossed over to America by New- ^imndlandt where traces of early aettlementfl remain in parts now desert. Thus did they gradually enlarge thero-, selves till they literally encompassed the earth, within the precincts of the northern temperate zone; to which their roving hunter'* life contributed not a little. T^ir progress northward was checked by the much greater •ztsnt of the Black sea in ancient times, and the increasing rigour of the climates: but their bardy nee, and enterprising warlike genius, mada them frequenUy encroach •oathward on tlie settlements of Shem, whose pastoral and agrieultuml occupations rendered them more inactive, peaceable, and unwarlike; and so they dwelt in the tente af Shem, whva the Scjrthians invaded Media, and subdued western Atia southward, as for as Bgypt, in the days of Cjforart*; when the Greeks, and afterward the Romans, AfemuQ aod subifawd die AMTrians, Medea, and Persians indwHM: and the Syrians and Jewsinihe south; as fMPatoId hj the Syrian prophet Balaam, Kum. xziv. 24.
"And by Moses: — And the Lord shall bring. thee (ihe Jews) iMo Egypt (or boodace) again widi shim, dtc. DeuL xzviii.68. And by Danief.*— fortbe Aips of ChiUim ■hall come wiinst him, viz. Antiochiis, king of Syria, Dan. xi. 30. In these Bassaees ChiUim denotes the southern coasts of Eur<^, bounding the Medilerraneaix, called the isles ^ the Gentiiea or Nationt; see Qen. x. 6. And the Mm ^ (AiUim are mentioned by Jerem. ii 10. And in ailer times, the Tartart, in the east, Imve repeatedly invaded and subdued the Hindao»B.oA the Chineae; while the warlike and enterprising genius of the ffreatest of clie isles of the Geotifes, Gbkat Britain and Irsland, have spread their colonies, their arms, their language, tlieir arts, and in some measure tlieir religion, from the rising to the setting sua." See Dr. Halea's Anu/ysts of^ Chronology,
Hiough wbat.is left wadont should not cause us to lose sight of what i* done, yet we have reason to lament, that the mbobitants of the British isles, who of all luttions under heaven, have the purest light of Divine Revelation, •ad the best means of Affiising it, have been much more inianton spreading their conquests and extending their comnerea, than in propantiiUF the Gospel of theSon of God. NOTES ON CHAPl^R X.
Terse 1. A'«wtiUssfiFeift«£'enera<Mms] Itisextremely difficult to say what particular nations and people sprung from the three grand divisions of the bmily of Noah; because tlie names of many of those ancient p^le have bsemne i^iaaged in the vast hqwe of time from (he deluge to Ihe Cairistian sra] yet some ao very distioeUy nwrkad that they can be easily awwrttiacd, white a taw Wl ntun their flrinnal naaei.
3 And the sohh of Gomerj A.Meesoax, and
5 By these were ^ the isles of the Gen-
tUea divided in &eir lands; every one — alter his tongue, aller their families, in their nations.
7 And the sons of Cuah; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah^^and Raamah, and Sabtediah: and the sons of Kaomah; Sfaeba, anl Dedan.
Moses does not appear to give al ways the name of the Artt aettUr in a country, but raiher that of the pea^ from whom the.country (^fleriMaTd derived its name. Thus Mixroim is the plural of Mizer, and could never be the name of an indivtduaL The like may be said of Kittim,Dodanimj lAidim, AnahiTn, I^ehavim, Ntmhiuhim, Pai^n^Mt Caalukim, PhUufin, and CspMorfm, which are all pluralt, and evidently not the names of inditidualt, but of /amtKe* or tribe*. See verses 4, 6, 13, 14.
In the posterity of Canaan we find whole nations redioned in the genealogy, instead of the individuals from which they sprang; thus the Jelnuite, Amoriie, Qirrante, Bivite, Arkiie, Sinite, ArTadite, Zemanie, am B»- mathite, ver. 16—18. were evidently whole nations, or tribes which inhabited the promised land, and were adled Canaanitea, from Canaan, (be son of ICxm who settled
Moses also in this genealogy seems to have introduced even the names of some place* that were remarkidile in the Saoed Histwy, instead of the original atftler*. Sudt as Hazarmaveth, ver. 26. and probably Ophir and £b«i* lah, ver. 29. But diia is not uofrequent in the Sacnd Writing, as may be seen, 1 Chron. ii. H. where Salma is called the/other of Belhldtem, which certaioly never was the name of a man, but of a place, sufficientfy celebrated in the Sacred Hiatoiy. And in chi^i. iv. 14. where Joab is called the foAer qf the valley of Ckara^m, which no person coiud ever suppose was iDtended to destgnale an individual, but the sooiety of crq/bmsn or anifioers who Uved there.
EusebiuB And others state (from what authority we know no^ that Noah was commanded of God to make a vilL and bequeath the whole of the earth to his three sons and their descendants in the fbllowing-manuer: to S/iem, all the ea^: to Bamj all Africa: to Japheih, the eontinmt of Europe, with its isfcs, and the notihem partaiif Aaio. Seo the notes at die end of (he neoeding Sumter.
TerseZ. lyumm* qf Jmheth] ^T^edi is soppwed to be the same with the Japetus of the Greek^ from whom, in an extremely remote antiquity, that people were supposea to have derived their origin. On tliis point nuMt chnmoltK gists ore pretty well forced.
GoTiter is supposea by some to have peopled Galatia; 80 JosephuB, who says that the Galatiaua were anciently named Gomeriles. Prom him the Cimmerifins, or dmbrians, are supposed to have derived their (nrigin. Boehart has no doubt that the i^ry^n* sprung from this perscni ^d some of our principal commentators are of the same opinion.
Migog, supposed \if many to be tfie fitdter tii Qie ^:ytkMna and Tarttm^ or Taiara, as the word should be written; and in great Tortary many names are still fouud whi<di bear si^ a striking reseutblanre to the Gog and Magog of the Scriptures as to leave little doubt cl their iileoty.
Madai is generally snppoeed to be t]ie pro^nitor of the Medea; but Jaaeph Meae makes it probable that he was rather the {Minder of tbe people in Macedonia ealled JMnf^ and that Macedonia was fonnerlr called Emathia, a name formed from Ei, an ialand, ana Madai, because he and his descendants inhabited the moraiimc coa^t on tlie borders ot the Ionian sea. On this subject nothing certain can be advanced.
Javan; it is almost universally agreed that from him sprung the Ionian*, of Asia Minw: out this name seema to have been anciently given to tha MacedoniaTi*, Adtaian*, and Baotiaji*.
T^ubal; some think he woe the father of the fberiana. and that a part at least oi Spain was peopled by him and his descenaantst and that Meduchj who is generally in Scripture Joined with him, was die nunder of the Cappadoeum*, from whom proceeded the Jfcsetwilas.
Tirati from this persw, aconrdia^ to geneml consut^ (be 7%radant derived thetiorigio.
8 And Cuah Nimrod: he began to be a
miffhtr one in the earth.
He was a mi^ty ■ hunter ^ before the Lord: wherefore it is8ajd,Evena8]>Kmrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord.
A. iLetr. i«. \Q t. And the beginning of his kingdom was BabeC and Erech, and
Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
liS: 1' Outoftbatlatid*weiitlbrthABhiir
: — and boilded Nineveh, and the city
12 And Resen between Nineveh, and Calah the same is a great <»ty.
13 And Mizratm berat Lndim, and Anamim ud Lehabim, and Najuitaihini,
TwaeS. AMeenax; probably gave his name to Saeoffenttt a very Kxcelleat provioce of Armenia. Pliny mentjoDS & Mo|iMealted.HKan»tfn; who dwelt aboat lbs Tanai* ftod the Pabu JHisotieu#; and that from Aih- kooac, (he Suxiru aea dwived iu namet bgt otiiers •oppose diat from him the Genuoni derived their origin. JnpAoA, or D^ihaihy the founder of the PapUegoniwbich Tere aneiently called RiTitataL "^—nrnak, the SauaimaiMt or ubabianta of ISiroo- See the reaaoaa in CUawf. Tens 4. SUAaht ai Jaem peopled « conaidenble part of CfrMH^ Uiainihatr^ioB that we must seek for dwsettleaMntaor iitsdeaoeadaata: £K*AaA probably waa the first who aetlled at KH», in Peloponneaiu.
T^thith; he first inhabited CiHcim, whose capital aneiently was the ^*jOi Tarmu, where the apostle Paul waa ban, Acta zzi. 39.
MGMm,; we have already seen thatthis name was, probably, rather the aame of a ptopU than of an iruUvidual: ■oiBetbinkbySttim,Cypnuismeantt others, the isle of CMos, aid eliten the AMion^ and others the Micdc£(niian«.
DodaniTa. or RodarUm, for in Hebrew the i and i may be easify mistaken for eaeh other, because of their creat similarity; Some aiv>poee that this fiuuihraettled at Dodtma, in Epirus; oAersat die iale of Bheaeat otheia at the Rkmt, in France, the ancient name <^ «4defa was Skadanu; from the Scripture RodaniTn.
Verse 6. hU» qf Ou QentiUa] Eubop*, of which this ieallewed to be a general epitheL Calmet sopposea that it eomprehendw all those oouatriea, to which the Hrimwi were obliged to go by wbi, aaeh as Spain, Gaul, Italy, Oreeee, and Asia Minor.
Svuy ens <04rkUlMgva\ 'Ruarefers to the time posterior to the eoofbsion of tongosa and dispersion from
TeraeS. CWk; who pa^ed the Anbionom^ near the J?«rf eeo, in Lower EgfpL — Some diink the Etkiaplan* deaoended from him.
Mtxratvut tlua fiunily otrtainly peopled Sgvpti and both in the eaat and in t& west Egjrpt ia called Awtr asd
Cajtaan; he who first peopled the land so called, known also by the name of the prmki*^ land.
Verse 7. Stba; the founder of the Sabteans. Thtn aeems to be three (H&erent people of this name mentioaed in this charter, and a fourth in chap. xxv. 3.
Ebvilah.; supposed by some to mean the inhabitante of ioefuded within the Winch of the river Pison, which ran out ot the Euphrates into the bay of Pwaia, mt bounded Arabia Felix on the east.
Sabtah; supposed by some to have first peopled an isle, w peninsula, ouled S^Ata in the Persiaa golL ttaamakt or AtunsoA, for die wwd is prtnounced both wm because of the y Mn, whioh aone aiaka a voweL ana eome a consonant. — Ptolemy mentions a ei^ called ftegma, near the Persian gulf: it pntiably received iu name from tlie person in the text
Sabtedtak; from the river mIM SamldeAttt, inCaramsnia, Bochart conjectures that the person in the teat fixed his residence in that part.
Sktbai supposed (o-have had his resideoee beyond the Ba^miteB, in the enrhmu of CAarran, Bden, <tc.
Verse 8. JVthrotf; of this penwin little is known, as he is Dot mentioned except here and in 1 Chron. i. 10. which ■ evidently a copy of the text in Oenena. He is called a ftightm kmUer btfort the Lord; and fntm ver. 10. we Jearo that he founded a kingdom, which included the oitiea /BaM,Bndt,Aecad, andXWiu^ laJ&slandQ/' ^JUaor.
14 And Pathmsim, and Caaluhim, ((out of whom came PhiliBtim,) and Caphtorim.
16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
17 And the Hhrite, and Uie Arkite, and the
18 And the Arvadite, and the Ze- g:5SJS^
19 'And the border aS the Caoaanites wa« from Sidon, as tbnu comest to Genv, unto ^XJazB; aa tbou goest unto Sodom; and Gfi-
TTiough the words are not definite, it is very hkelv he was a very bad man. Bis name Nimrod, comes from i-id maradf ht rabttled; and the I^ivum, on 1 Chron. i. 10. •ays, Nimrod began lob«a mighly man in win, a murderer of innocent mm, and a rebel btfort Um Lord. Tba Jenisalem Targum s»s, "He was mighty in hunting, (or in prey) and in sin belore God j for be woe a hunter of ute childreQ of men in their languages; and he said unto tlien^ Depart from the rtlirion qf Shem.; and cUave to the inolituiM iif Nimrod." The Targum of Jooaihan bn Uoiel eayi^ " From the foundation of the world none was ever found like Nimrod. powerfiil in huntinsj and in rebelliana against the Lord." The Syriac caUenim a varUk* giant. The word m t»aid, which we render hunter, signifies prt^, and is applied in the Scriptures to the hnntitig of men, by persecution, oppression, and tyranny. See Jer. xvi. 16. Lam. iii. 62. iv. 18. Prov. i. 17, 18: Zeph. iii. 6. Heitce it is likely, that Niinrod, having acquired power, used it in lyraiuiy and oppression; and by r^ine am violence founded that domination which was the first distinguished by the name <rf a kingdom on the>face of the ear^ How many kingdonn have oeen founded in the same way, in various ages and nations from that time to tho preseat year 18101 From the Nimrods of the earth, God deliver the world I