Commentary on the Holy Bible

1. ^VE see here the va^t importance of worshipping God according to his own mind: no sincerity, no uprightness of intention can atone for the neglect of positive commands ilelivered in divine Revelation when this Revelation is known. He who will bring an eucliaristic od'ering iiHtead of a sacrifice, v\hile a sin-olfering licth at the door, as he copies Cain's conduct, he may expect to be treated in the same manner. Reader, remember that thou bast an entrance unto llic Holiest through the veil, that is to say his flesh; and tho.-e who come in this way, God will in no wise cast out.

2. We see the horrible nature of envy, its eye is evil, merely because God is good; it easily begets hatred; hatred, deep settled malice; and malice, murder! Watch against the first appearance of this most destructive passion, the prime characteristic of which is to seek the destruction of the object of its malevolence, iiul finally to ruin its possessor.

3. Be thankful to God that, as weakness increased and wants became multiplied, God enabled man to find out u.-eful inventions, so as to lessen excessive labour, and provide every thing indispensably necefsary for the support of life. He who carefully attends to the dictates of honest.sober industry, is never likely to perish for lack of the necessaries of life.

4. As the followers of God, at this early period, found it indispensably necessary to separate themselves from all those who were irreligious and profane, and to make a public profession of their attachment to the truth; so it should be now. There are still men of profane minds, whose spirit and conduct are destructive to godliness; and in reference to such, the permanent order of God is, come out from uinonz them, touch not the unclean thing, and I u-ill i-ectize you. He who is not determined to be a Christian, at all events, is not far from being an Infidel. Those only who confess Christ a;nong men, shall be acknowledged before his Father, and the angels of God.

J recapitulation of the account of tlie creation of man, 1, 2; and of the t/irlh of Set/i, 3. Gcncalogi/ of the ten Anlediluvian Patriarchs, 3 — 3 1. Enoch's e.vtraordinari/ pietif, CC; ///,s translation to heaven uifhout seein<r death, 24. The birth of Noah, and the reason of his name, VJ; his age al the l)irlh of Japheth, 32.

rr^HIS is the " book of the gene- '( tliat God created man, in ''the like- X rations of Adam. In the day

Verse I. The hook of the generations] -i£D sepher in Hebrew, which we generally translate l)oof;, signifies a register, an uccounl, any kind of writing, even a. letter such as the bill of divorce. Here it means, the account or ren-/.s^T of the generations of Adam, or his descendants, to the five hundredth year of (he life of Noah.

again introduced, to keep man in remembrance of the heights of glory whence he had fallen; and to prove to him that the iniscrics and death consequent on his present state, were produced by bis transgression, and did not flow from his orio-inal state. For, as he was created in the image of God, he was created fiee from natural and moral evil. As the deaths of the Patriarchs are now to be mentioned, it was necessary to introduce them by tUis observation, in order to justify the \\ii\i of God to man.

2 ' Male and female created lie them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they M-ere created.

A. iM. 130. 3 And Adam li\'ed an hundred and ^'"^'f '*'.'. thirty years, and begat a so?i in his owii likeness, after his image; and "^ called his name Scth:

4 " And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth, were eight hundred years: " and he bcsat sons and daughters:

^■■^- 5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years:

Verse 3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, ^•c.~\ The Scripture Chronology, especially in the ag;es of some of the ante and post diluvian Patriarchs, has exceedingly puzzled •chroiiologists, critics, and divines. The printed Hebrew text, the Samaritan, the Septuagint, and Josephus, are all

7 And Scth lived after he begat Enos eiglit hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:

8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve yc-ars: aiid he died.

9 % And Enos lived ninety years, and begat ^ Cainan:

10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:

different, and have their respective vouchers and defenders. The following tables of the genealogies of tiie I'atriarchs before and after the flood, according to the Hebrew, Samaritan, and Septuagint, will at once exhibit the discordances.

111 this first period, the sum in Josephus is 2256, which is also adopted by Dr. Hales in his New Analysis of C/tronology.

* The Septuagint account of the ages of the antediluvian and postdiluvian Patriarchs in the above tables, is taken from the V.ATICAN copy: but if we follow the Alex.ANDRIAN MS. we shall have, in ihe first period, the whole sum of 22(i2 instead of 2242: and, in the second period, 1072 instead of 1172. On this subject the diflerent MSS. of the Septuagint abound with various readin"s. ■ "

B^jro^ Mahalaleel, ciglit luimlrcd and Ibrty years, and begat sons and dangliter>: A.M. i.'j.i. 14 Ami all the days oCC'ainan were B. c.?76!>. j^jij^ hundred and ten years: und he

15 if And Mahalaleel lived sixty and live years, and begat " Jarcd: 16 And Mahalaleel lived aller he begat Jared, eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

A.M. 'JO. 17 And all the days of Mahalaleel i'!!ll: were eight hundred ninety and li\e years: and he died.

18 % And.Tared lived an hundred sixty and two years.

And Adum liC'^at a son in his own likeness, after his iintige, words nearly li)e same witli those, ch. i. 26. Lft us make niitn in our imt'^c, ifler our likeness. Wliat tliis i.inas;e and likenesi of God were, we have already seen; and we may rest assund, that the same imag'e and likeness are not meant here. The body of Adam was created provisionally immortal: i. e. while he continued obedient, he could not die; but his obedience was voluntary, and his state, a probationary one. The j soul of Adam was created in the moral ima^e of God, in knuut- I ledse, righieousness, and true holiness. He had now sinned,! and consequently had lost this moral rtscinblance to his Maker; I lie had also become h(o;-m/, through his breach of the law. His t iraagie and likeness were therefore widely dillLrent at this time [ from what they were before; and his be^rettin^ children in this image and likeness, jjlainly implies that they were imperfect like himself, mortal like himself, sinful and corrupt like himself. For it is impossilile, that he, beinfj impure, fallen from the Divine iiiia;ie, could l)e>4et a pure and holy otlspriny. unless we could suppose it possible that a bitter fountain could send forth siveet waters; tir that a cause could produce ejf'ects totally dissLinilar from itself. What is said here of Seth, might Ivave been said of all the other children of Adam, as they were all beijotten after his fall; but the sacred writer has thought proper to mark it only in this instance.

Verse 22. And Enoch walked ivith (iod — three hundred yetirs] There are several things wordiy of our most particular notice in tills account: — I. The name of this patriarch: Enoch, tiv.m "pn chanac, which signifies to instruct, to initiate, to dedicate. irom his siibsiquent conduct we are authorized to believe he was early instructed in the things of God, initiated in tlip worship of his Maker, and dedicated to his service. ]>v these means, under the influence of the divine Spirit, whicii will ever attend pious parental instructions, his mind gut that sacred bias, which Ud him to act a pajt so distinguished tlirounh the course of a loiig life.

20 And;dl the days of.Tared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.

21 51" And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat ' Methuselah:

22 And Enoch " walked with God after he be. gat jMetiuiselah, three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

i/ifhhalec, he set himself to walk, he was fixedly purposed, and determined to live to God. Those who are acquainted with the original, will at once see that it has this force. A verb in the. conjugation called hithpdel signifies a reciprocal act, that which a man does upon himself: lure we may consider Enoch receiving a pious education, and llie divine influence throupjh it; in consequence of which he determines to be a worker with God, and therefore takes up the resolution to walk with his Maker, that he might not receive the grace of God in vain.

3. The circumstances in \vhich he was placed. He was a patriarch, the king, the priest, and the prophet of a numerous fanuly; to whom he was to administer justice, among whom he was to perforin all the rites and ceremonies of religion, and leach, both by precept and example, the way of truth and righteousness. Add to this, he was a marrtedmun, he had a numerous family of his own, independently of the collateral branches over which he was obliged, as patriarch, to preside; he xualkcd three hundred years with God, and begat sonti and daughters: therefore, marriage is no hindrance even to the perfection of piety, much less inconsistent with it, as some have injudiciously taught.

4. The astonishing height of piety to which he had arrived: being cleansed from all Hlthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, and having perfected holiness in the fear of God, we find not only his.soul but hi* body |)urified, so that without being obliged to visit the empire of death, he was cajiable of immediate translation to the paradise of God. There are few cases of this kind on record; but probably there might be more, many more, were the followers of God more faithful to the grace tliey receive.

,5. Enoch attained this state of religious and spiritual excellence in a time when, comparatively speaking, there were few helps, and no ■.■jritten revelation. Here then, we cannot but see and admire how mighty the grace of God is, and what wonders it works in the behalf of those who are faithful; who set themselves to walk with God. It is not the want of grace, noi of the means of grace, that is the cau.se of the decay of this primitive piety; but the want of faithfulness in those who have the light, and yet will not walk as children of the light.

23 And all the clays of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five year.s: 24 And * Enoch walked with God: and he "was not; for God took him.

25 % And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begat '' Lamech:

26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech, seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: A. AIA656. 27 And all the days of Methuselah ^•^•^^"^" were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. A. M. 1(1.56. 2g ^ ^„(| Lamech lived a hundred

6. If the grace of God coulii work such a mighty change in those primitive times, when life and immortahty were not brought to hght by the gospel; what may we not expect in tlicse times in which the Son of God tabernacles among men; in which he gives his holy Spirit to them who ask him; in which all things are possible lo hiai who believes? No man can prove that Enoch had greater spiritual advantages than any of the other Patriarchs, though it seems pretty evident, that he made a belter use of those that were common to all, than any of the rest did: and it would be absurd to say, that lie had greater spiritual h.elps and advantages than Christians can now expect; for he lived under a dispensation much less perfect than that of the Law, and yet the Law itself was only the sliachw of the glorious substance of gospel blessings and gospel privileges.

7. It is said that Enoch not only vcalkedwith God, setting him always before his eyes, beginning, continuing, and ending every work to his glory, but also, that he pleased God, and had the testimony that he did please God, Heb. xi. 5. Hence we learn, that it was then possible to live so as not to ollend God; consequently so as not to commit sin against him; and to have the continual evidence or testimony that all that a man did and purposed was pleasing in the sigiit of Him who searches the heart, and by whom devices are weighed; and if it was possible then, it is surely, through the same grace, possible now, for God, and Christ, and faith are still the satne.

Verse 21. Th; days of Methuselah ivere nine hundred sixty and nine years\ This is the longest lil'e mentioned in Scripture, and probably the longest ever lived; but we have not authority to say positively, that it was the longest. Before the flood, and before artificial nfniements were much known and cultivated, the life of man was greatly protracted; and yet, of him who lived within ihirly-one years of a thousand, it is said, he died: and the longest life is but as a moment when it is past. Though life is uncertain, precarious, and full of natural evils, yet it is a blessing in ail its periods, if devoted to the glory of God, and the interests of the soul: for, while it lasts,

29 And he called his name " Noah ", ^ m- "assaying, This sarne shall comfort us ^' ^' ^^*^' concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground " which the Lord hath cursed.

30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:

31 And all the days of Lamech A.M.ieei. were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.

32 % And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat ' Shem, Ham, * and Japheth.

we may acquaint ourselves with God, and be at peace, and thereby good shall come unto us. Job xxii. 21.

Verse '29. This same shall comfort us] This is an allusion, as some think, to the name of Noah, which they derive from Oru nucham, to comfort: but it is much more likely that it comes from MJ nuch, or ITU nuach, to rest, to settle, &c. And what is more comfortable than rest, after toil &nA labour f These words seem to have been spoken prophetically concerning Noah, who built tiie ark for the preservation of the human race, and who seems to have been a typical person; for when he offered his sacrifice after the drying up of the waters, it is said, " God smelled a savour of REST, and said he would not curse the ground any more for man's sake." Gen. viii. 21. And from that time, the earth seems to have had, upon an average, the same degree of fertility; and the life of man, in a few generations after, was settled in the mean, at threescore years and ten. See chap. ix. 3.

Verse 32. Noah begat Sheni, Ham, and Japheth."] From ch. X. 21. 1 Chron. i. 5, &c. we learn that Japheth was the eldest son of Noah, but Shem is mentioned first, because it was from him, in a direct line, that the Messiah came. Ham was certainly ihe youngest of Noah's sons, and, from what we read, ch. ix. 22. the worst of them; and how he comes to be mentioned out of his natural order, is not easy to be accounted for. When the Scriptures design to mark precedency, though the subject be a younger son, or brother, he is always mentioned/rsi; so Jacob is named before Esau, his elder brother; and Ephruim before Manasses. See ch. xxviii. 5. xlviii. 20.

Among many important things presented to our view in this chapter, several of which have been already noticed, we may oliserve, that of all tlie antediluvian Patriarchs, Enoch, who was probably tlie best man, was the shortest time upon earth: his years were exactly as the days in a solar revolution, viz. three hundred and sixty-Jive; and, like the sun, he fulfilled a glorious course, shining more.-nd more unto the perfect day, and was taken when in his meridian splendor, to shine like the sun in the kingdom of his father for ever.

From computation it appears — 1. Tliat Adam lived to see I.aiiieili the ninlli generation, in the filty-sixtli year of who<e life he died: and as he was the first who lived, and the first tliat sinned, so he was the first who twisted death in a natural \vay: Abel's was not a ratiiral but a violent death 2. Thaf Enoch was taken wvay next after Adam; seven Patriarchs rcmainin;;- witnesses of his translation. 3. That all the nine first Palriarchs were taken away betbre the flood came, which happened in the six liundrtdth year of Noah's life. 4. That Metiuiselah lived till the very year in which the flood came, of whi< h his name is supposed to have been prophetical, ino mcdiu, " he dieth;" and vh^S sliahcli, "hescndefU Old:" as if God had designed to teach men, that as soon as Methuselah died, the flood should be sent forth to drown an ungodly world. If this were then so understood, even the nami: of this Patriarch contained in it -d gracious xvarning. — See the Genealogical Plate alter chap. xi.

The children of God, among zchom the true religion Jcas at first preserved, corrupt it bi/ forming matrimonial connexions tiith irreligious women, 1, 2. God, displeased zcith these connexions and their consequences, limits the continuance of the old zcorld to one hundred and ttcenti/ years, J. The issue of those improper connexions termed giants, 4. Jn affecting description of the depraviti/ of the zcorld, 5, G. God threatens the destruction of every living creature, 7- Noah and his family Jind grace in his sight, 8. The character and famili/ of Noah, g, 10. Jnd a further description of the corruption of man, 11, 12. Noah is forersarned of the approaching destruction of the human race, \3; and is ordered to build an ark for the safetr/ of himself and household, the form and dimensions of i.hiek are particularly described, 14 — 16. The de- /we threatened, 17, The covenant of God's mercy is to be established between Him and the family of Noah, 18. J male and female of all kinds of animals that could not live in the waters, to be brdught into the ark, 19, 20. Noah is commanded to provide food for their sustenance, 21; and punctually follons all these directions, 22.

AND it came to pass, ^ when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they tcerc fair; and they " took them ■wives of all which they chose.

Verse 1. When men began to multiph/] It was not at iliis time that men began to niuitiply, but the inspired penman speaks ttow of a fact which had taken place loii" before. As there is a distinction made here between 3Ien and those called the Sons nf God, it is generally supposed that the inmiediate posterity of Cain and that of Scth are intended. The first were mere Men, such as fallen nature may produce; degenerate sons of a degenerate father, governed by the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride ol' life. The othfrs were.Sons of God, not angels, as some have dreamed; but such as were, according to our Lord's doctrine, born again, born from above, John iii. 3, 5, 6, &:c. and made children of God by the influence of the Holy Sjjirit, Galal. v, 6. The former were apostates from the true religion; the latter were those among whom it was ju'eserved and cultivated.

Dr. Wall supposes the first ver.scs of this chapter should be paraphrased thus, " When men began to multiply on the earth, the chief vien took wives of all the handscuie poor women ihcy chose. There were tyrants in the eartii in those flays; and also after the antediluvian days pouerfiU men had unlawful connexions with the inferior wonien, and the children

3 And the Lord said, "^ My Spirit shall not always stri\c with man, " for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons

which sprang from this illicit oommerce were the renowned heroes of antiquity, of whom the heathens made their gods."

Verse 3. My Spirit shall not aliiays strive] It was only by the influence of the.Spirit of God that the carnal mind could be subdued and destroyed: but those who wilfully resisted and grieved that Spirit, must be ultimately left to the hardness and blindness of their own hi-arts, if they did not repent and turn to God. God deliglits in mercy, and therefore a gracious warning is given: e\en at this time, the earth was ripe for destruction, but God promises them one iiundrtd and twenty years respite— if they reijented in tliat interim, well: if not, they should be destroyed by a flood. See on ver. 5.

Verse 4. There x:'i-ie giants in the earth] D'VSJ Ncphalim, from Sai naphat, " he fell." Those who had apostatized or fallen from the true religion. The.'^eptuagint translate the original word by yiyavTEf, which literally signifies earth-born, and which we, tbllowing them, term giants, without having any reference to the meaning of the word, which we generally conceive to mean persons of enormous stature. Put the word,;when properly under^loud, makes a very just distinction between the Sons of Men and the Sons of God: those were the Nepludini, the fallen earth-born Men, with the animal ai\d

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man ^iCas great in the earth, and tlial " nvQiy " imagination of the thoughts of his heart 'was only evil * conliniially.

6 And it ^ repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it " grieved him at his heart.

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 5 for it repenteth me that I have made them.

devilish mind. These were the Sons of God who were born from above, children of the kingdom, becau.se children of God. Hence, we may suppose originated the different appellatives given to sinners and saints: the former were termed yiyavrsf. Earth-born, and the latter ayiot saints, i. e. persons jiot of the Earth, or separated from the Earth.

The same became migiilv men — men of renownl] D'13J Gihboriin, which we render mightj/ men, signifies pnjperly conquerors, heroes, from "134 gahur, " he prevailed, was victorious;" and CliTl 'I^JX anshey ha-shem, " men of the name;" aii^aTTOi CK)|«arc(,.Septuagint; tlic same as we render men of renoxvn, renominati, fj:ice named as the word implies, having one name which tlicy derived from their fathers, and another which they acquired by their daring exploits and enterprizes.

It may be necessary to remark here, that our translators have rendered seven different Hebrew words by the one term giants, viz. nephilim, e,ibborim, enachim, rephai/im, emitn, and zamzuzim, by which appellatives are probably meant in general, persons of great knowledge, piety, courage, wickedness &c. and not men of enormous stature as is generally conjectured.

Verse 5. The zvickedncss of man was greati What an awful character does God give of the inhabitants of the antediluvian world! 1. They were /?«/(, (verse 3.) wholly sensual, the desires of the mind overwhelmed and lost in the desires of the flesh, their souls no longer discerning their high destiny, but ever minding earthly things, so that they were sensualized, V)rutaliztd, and liccome flesh; incarnated, so as not to retain God in their knowledge, and they lived, seeking their portion in tliis life. 2. They were in a state of wickedness. All was corrupt within, and all unrighteous without: neither the science nor practice of religion existed. Piety was gone; and every form of sound words had disappeared. 3. This wickedness was great, n3T fabbah, " was multiplied;" it was continually increasing, and multiplying increase by increase, »o that the xvhok tank was corrujtt before God, and was iilkd

8 f But Noah ^ found grace in the am. 1536. eyes of the Lord.?:^^

9 These are the generations of Noah: " Noah was a just man, and ' perfect in his generations; and Noah ^ walked with God.

10 And Noah begat three sons.

1 1 The earth also was corrupt " before God, and the earth was " filled with violence.

12 And God "looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, " The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; '' and, behold I will destroy them ' with the earth.

with violence, (verse 11.) profligacy among the low, and cruelty and oppression among the higher classes being only ])redorainant. 4. All the iinaginations of their thoughts were evil — the very first embryo of every idea, the fi'yment of every thought — the very materials out of which perception, conception and ideas were formed, were all evil — the fountain which produced them, with every thought, purpose, wish, desire and motive was incurably poisoned. 5. All these were evil luilhout any mixture of good — the Spirit of God which strove with them was continually resisted, so that evil.had its sovereign sway. 6. They were evil continually — therer wa.t no interval of good, no moment allowed for serious reflection, no holy purpose, no righteous act. What a finished picture of a iallen soul! Such a pictm-e as God alone, who searclies the heart and tries the spirit, could possibly give. 1. To complete the whole, God represents himself as repenting because he had made them, and as griexed at the heart because of their iniquities! Had not these been voluntary transgressions, crimes which they might have avoided, had they not grieved and quenched the Spirit of God, could he speak of them in the manner he does here.? 8. So incensed is the most holy and the most merciful God, ihat he is determined to destroy the work of his hands — And the Lord said, I luitl destroy man v^hom I have created, (verse 7.) how great must the evil have been, and how provoking llie transgressions, which obliged the most compassionate God, for the vindication of his own glory, to form this av^ful purpose! Fools make a mock at sin — but none, except fools.

Verse 8. Noali found grace in the eyes rf the Lord"] Why? because he was, I. A Just man p'TS B^»x ish tsadik, a man who gave to all their due, for this is ihe ideal meaning of tlw original worth 2. He was perfect in his generation, he was in all things a consistent charactei', never departing IVom the truth in principle or practice. 3. He ■walked ivilh God, he was not only righlcout in his conduct, but he wss pious, and had cojv- j *p '5^^' 14 ^ Make thee an ark of gopher.;. """'^'" wood; ' rooms slialt tliou make in the

j ark, and shalt pitch it '' within and without with pitch.

hundred cubits, "^ the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16 A window'' shalt thou make to tlie ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the

make it (>]': The length of the ark shall be three door ' of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof;

tiniial commimion with God. The same word is used liere as before in the case of Enoch. See ciiap. v. 22.

Veife 1!. The e.irl/t also was corrupt'^ See on verse 5.

Verse 13. / iviU de.^lroj/ them XL-itli the earlh.] Not only the liunian ra;-c was to be destroyed, Imt all terrestrial animals i. e. thoje whicli could not live in the waters. These must necessarily be destroyed when the whole surface of the earth was drowned. But destroying the earth may probably mean the alteration of its constitution. Dr. Woodward, in his Natural History of the Earth, has rendered it exceedingly probable that the whole terrestrial substance was amalsjumated with the waters, after which, the diflerent materials of its composition settled in beds or strata according to their respective gravities. This tlieorj', however, is disputed by others.

Verse 1 4. M(ike thee an urk] nsn tebath, a word which is used only to express this vessel, and that, in which Moses was preserved, Exod. ii. 3, 5. It signifies no more than our word vessel in its common acceptation — a hollow place, capable of containing persons, goods &c. without any particular reference to shape or form.

Gopher ivooil] Some think the cedar is meant, others the cj/press. Bochart renders this probable, 1. from the appellation, supposing tlie Greek word xvTrapia-a-o; cypress, was formed from the Hebrew -\3J gopher, for take away the termination ht-cto;, and then gopar and kuttcio will have a near resemblance. 2. Because the cypress is not liable to rot, nor to be injur. d by worms. 3. The cypress was anciently used for ship-bnildiiig. 4. This wood abounded in Assyria, where it is probable Noah budded the Ark. — After all, tlie word is of doubtful signification, and occurs no where else in the Scriptures. The Septuagint render the place f« iuT^-jiv tetfaymnv of square timber, and the Vulgate de lignis hcvigatis " of planed timber," so it is evident that these translators knew not what kind of wood was intended by the orio-inal. The Syriac and Arabic trifle witii the passage, rendering it tvickcr work, as if the ark had been a great has/cel! Both the Targums render it cedar, and the Persian, pine or fir.

Verse 15. Thou shalt make the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, axxA the height thirty.'] Allowing the cubit, which is the length from the elbow to the top of the middle finger, to be eighteen inches, the ark mu.st iiavc been four hundred and fifty feet in length, sevmly-fite in breadth, and forty-five in height. But that the ancient cubit was more than eighteen inches, has been demonstrated by Mr. Greaves, who travelled into Greece, Palestine, and Ei:ypt, in order to be able to ascertain the weights, monies and measures of antiquity. He measured the pyramids in Egypt, and comparing the accounts which Herodotus, Strabo and olhers give of their size, he found the length of a cubit to be txucnty- 4>iK inches and eight hundred and eighty-eight decimal parts o\it of a thousand, or nearly iwenty-tiuo inches. Hence the cube of a cubit is evidently ten thousand four hundred and eighty-siv inches. And from this it will appear that the three hundred cubits of the ark's lengtli, make./ir>e hundred s^nA forty-seven feet; The fifty for its breadth, ninety-one feet two inciies; and the, thirty for its height, fifty-four feet eight inches. When these dimensions arc examined, the ark will be found to be a vessel whose capacity was more than sufficient to contain ail persons and aiiinials said to have been in it, with sufficient food lor each for more tlian twelve monlhs. In the abo\e calculation the decimals arc omitted, which, if received into the account, would have increased the capacity considerably. Tins vessel Dr. Arbuthnot computes to have been eighty-one thousand and sixty-two tons in burthen.

As many have supposed the capacity of the ark to have been much too small for tlie things which were contained in it, it will be necessary to examine th:.^ subject thoiou'-hiv, that every dilhculty may be removed. The tilings contained in the ark, besides the eight persons of Noah's family, were one pair of all unclean animals, and seven pair of all cleait animals, with provisions for all, sufficient for twelze months.

At the first View, the number of animals may appear so immense, that no space but ihe forest, could be thought sufficient to contain them. If, however, we come to a calculation, the number of the diflerent kinds of animals will be found much less than is generally imagined. It is a question, whether ill this account any but the different ^e«fra of animals necessary to be brought into the aik, should be included. Naturalists have divided the whole system of zoologjr into CLASSES and OKDKRS, Containing genera and species: There are six classes thus denominated. 1. Mmnmuli.u 2. Aces. 3. Amphibia. 4. Pisces. 5. Insecta; and, 6. Vermes. \\"iiU the three last of these, viz, fishes, insects and worms, the oucstion can have little to do.

The first CI^\ss Mammalia, or animals with teals, contains seven orders, and only forty-three genera, if we except the seventh order cete, i. e. all the whale kind, which certiiiily need not come into this account. The diflerent species in this class amount, the cete excluded, lo/:c hundred and forty-three.

The second Cl..\ss, avk.S, birds, contains six orders, and only seventy four genera, if we exclude the third order anseres or web-footed fiiwls, all of which could very well live in the water, Tlie dillLrent species in this class, the anseres excepted, amount to two thousand three hundred and seventi/.two.

The third CLASS AMI>fIIBIA, contains only two orders; rep. tiles and sci-pents; these comprehend toj ^'entra, and three hundred and sixty-six species; but of the reptiles, many could live in the water, such as the tortoise, frog, Sfc. Of the former till re are thirty-three species, of the VAltev seventeen, which excluded, reduce the number to three hundred and sixteen. The

shalt thou make it. 17 * And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, '' from under heaven;

whole of these would occupy but little room in the ark, for, a small portion of earth, Sjx: in the hold, would be sufficient for iheir accommodation.

Bishop ^V'llkin3, who has written largely, and with his usual accuracy on this subject, supposes, that quadrupeds do not amount to one hundred diderent kinds, nor birds, which could not live in the water, to two hundred. Of quadrupeds he shews that only seventy-two species needed a place in the ark: and the birds he divides into nine classes, inciudins^ in the ^'hole one hundred and ninely-five kinds, fiom which all the web-fooled should be deducted, as these could live in the water.

He computes all the carnivorous auunals equivalent, as to the bulk of their bodies and food, to tuienly-seven wolves; and all tlie rest to one hundred and eighty oxen. For the former, he allows otie thousand eight hundred and twenty-five sheep, for their annual consumption; and for the latter, one hundred and nini thousand Jive hundred cubits of hay; these animals and their food, will be easily contained in the two first stories, and much room to spare: as to the third stonj, no person can doubt of its beinn- sufficient for the fowls, with Noah and \\\s family.

One sheep each day, he judi^es will be sufficient for six wolves; and a square cubit of haj', which contains forty-one pounds, as ordinarily pressed in our ricks, will be amply sufficient for one ox in the day. When the quantum o\ room which these animals and their provender required for one year, is compared with the capacity of the ark, we sliall be led to conclude with the learned bishop, " that of the two it is more dilHcult to assign a number and bulk of necessary things to answer to the capacity of the ark, than to find sufficient room for the several species of annuals and their food already known to hjve been there." This he attributes to the imperfection of our lists of animals, especially those of the unknown parts of the earth; and adds, " that the most expert mathematicians at this day," and he was one of the first in: Europe, " could not assiqjn the pniportion of a ve.'sel better; accommodated to the purpose than is here done." And con- I chides thus: " The capacity of the ark, which has been made an objection against Scripture, ought to be esteemed a confirmation of its divine authority: since, in those ruder ages, men, being less versed in arls and philosophy, were more obnoxious to vultiar prejudices than now; so that had it been a human invention, it would have been contrived according to those wild apprehension.s, which arise from a confused and general view of things, as much too big as it has been represented too tittle." See lip. VVilkins's Essay towards a Philoiophicul CJturacler and Language.

Verse 16. A window slialt t/iou make] What this was cannot be absolutely ascertained. The original word inS tsuhar, signifies clear or bright: the Septuagint tianslate it by iTTtJuvayuv, " collecting, thou shalt make the aik," which

and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

18 But with thee will I "^ establish my covenant; and ■* thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons wives with thee,

plainly shews they did not understand the word as signifying any kind of window or light. Symmachus translates it SiapjifEj, a transparency; and Acquila fji,etrti//.0^ivov, the noon. Jonathan ben Uzzitl supposes that it was a precious luminous atone, which Noah, by divine command, brouuht from the river Pison. It is probably a word, which should be taken in a collective sense, signifying apertures for air and light.

In a cubit shalt thou finish it (the ark) above] Probably meaning, that the roof should be left a cubit broad at the apex or top, and that it should not terminate in a «/«»•/>, ridge. But this place is variously understood.

Verse 1 7. Do bring a flood] 7130 mabul, a word which is used only to designate ihe general deluge, being never applied to signify any other kind of inundation: and does not the Holy Spirit intend to shew by this, that no other^ooci was ever like this; and that it should continue to be the sole one of the kind? There have been many partial inundations in various countries, but never more than ONE gen.ral deluge; and we have God's promise, ch. ix. 15. that there shall never be another.

Verse 1 8. Will I establish my covenant} The word IV\2 beriih, from 13 bar, " to purify," or " cleanse," signifies properly a purification, or purifier; (see on Gen. 15.) because, in all covenants made between God and man, sin and sinfulness were ever supposed to be on man's side, and that God could not enter into any covenant or engagement with him without a purifier: hence in all covenants, a sacrifice was offered for the removal of oflences, and the reconciliation of God to the sinner; and hence the word n'13 beriih not only signifies a covenant, but also the sacrifice ofiered on the occasion, Exod. xxiv. 8. Psal. 1. 5. and Jesus Christ, the great atonement and purifier, has the same word for his title, Isai. xlii. 6. xlix. 8. and Zech. ix. II.

their enemies, ver. 20.) that have transgressed my covenant,

which have not performed the words of the covenant which they

made bei<)re me, zuhen they cut the calf in twain, and passed

between the parts thereof," Sfc. See also Deut. xxix, 12.

arising from his grace towards Noah (ver. 8.) and all men;

A.J1.15-.6. 19 And of every living thing of all '• ^- "'^'^' flesh, ' two of every sort shalt thou

after their kind, of every creeping thing of

tlie earth after his kind, two of every sort

called our covenant, Zech. ix. 11. The Apostles call it AiaSwu, a testament or disposition; and it is niixtd ot" the properties botli of covenant and testament, as tlic Apostle shews, Iltb. ix. 16, &c. and of both, may be named a iismmeutal covenant, whereby the disposing of God's favours and good things to us is declai'ed. The covenant made with Noah signified, on God's part, that he should save Noah and his family from death by the ark. On Noah's part, that * he should in faith and obedience make and enter into the ark — TItou shalt co?ne into the ark, Ifc. so committing- himself: to God's preservation, Heb. xi. 7. And under this the ^ covenant or testament of eternal salvation by Christ was also i implied, the Apostle testifying, 1 Pet. iii. 21. that the anti- ' tvpe, baptism, doth also now save us; for baptism is a seal of our salvation, Mark xvl. 16. To /))Oi<(/e a Saviour, and the means of salvation, is GOD's part — to accept this Saviour, laying hold on the hope set before us, is ours. Those who refuse the way and means of salvation, must perish; those who accept of the great Covenant Sacrifice, caimot pensh, but shall have eternal life. — See on ch. xv. 10, &c.

Verse 19. To keep them alive] God might have destroyed all the animal creation, and created others to occupy tlie new world; but he chose rather to presene those already

|i " shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.,

i 21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is

^ eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and fc^r them. 22 'Thus did Noah; " according to all that

created. The Creator and Preserver of the universe does nothing but what is essentially necessary to be done. No^ thing should be wantonly wasted: nor should poii-er or skill be lavished where no necessity exists; and yet it required more means and oecononiy to preserve the old, than to have created new ones. Such respect has God to the work of his hands, that nothing but what is essential to the credit of his justice and holiness, shall ever induce him to destroy any thing he has made.

Verse 21. Of all food that is eaten] That is, of the food proper for every species of animals.

Verse 22. Thus did ^oah] He prepared the ark; and during one hundred and twenty years preached righteousness to that sinful generation, 2 Pet. ii. 5. And this we are informed, 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19, &c. he did by the Spirit of Christ: for it was only through him, that the doctrine of repentance could ever be successfully preached. Tlie people in Noah's time are represented as shut up in prison, arrested and condemned by God's justice, but graciously alloweil the space of one hundred and twenty years to repent in. This respite was an act of great mercy; and no doubt tiiousands who died in the interim, availed themselves of it, and believed, to the saving of their souls. But the great majority of the people did not, else the/oo(/ had never come.

God informs Noah, iJiat rcithin seven dai/s he sliall send a rain upon the earth ihat shall continue for forti/ dai/s and nights, 4. And therefore commands him to take his famili/, with the different clean and unclean animals, and enter the ark, 1 — 3. This command is punctually oheijed, 5 — 9. ' In the seventeenth dttt/ of the second month, in the six hundredth year ofNouIis life, the naters, from the opened zcindozcs of heaven, and the broken up fountains of the great deep, icere poured out upon the earth, 10 — 12. The different quadrupeds, foirts, and reptiles, come unto Noah, and tlie Lord shuts him and them in, l.^ — Hi. The zcaters increase, and tlie ark floats, 17. Tlie Zi/iole earth is covered zcith icater fifteen cubits above tite highest mountains, 18 — 20. Jll terrestrial animals die, 2 1 — 23. Jnd the zcaters prevail one hundred and fiftij days, 24.

A.M.ifi36. A ]sjj) the Lord said unto Noah, I ous before me in this o-pjip.-). a.i\i.i656.

ome thou and all thy house into the ark j for '' thee have I seen righte-

NOTES ON CHAP. VII. Verse I. Thee have I seen righteous] — See on ch. vl. 9. Verse 2. Of every clean beast] So we find the distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long before the

Mosaic law. This distinction seems to have been originally designed to mark those animals which were proper for sacrifice and food, 'from those that were not. — See Lev. xi.

are not clean by two, the male and his female.

3 Ol" fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

sevens, the male and i | when the flood of waters was upon the ''and of beasts that eartli.

7 % ' And Noah v/cnt in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons wives' with him, into the ark, because of the waters of tlie flood.

8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that arc not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creep-

4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to:eth upon the earth.

rain upon the earth " tbrty days and forty nights; and e\ery living substance that I have made will I " destroy from off" the face of the earth.

And Noah did according unto all that the

Verse 4. For yet seven d'i)/.s] God spoke these words probably on the seventh or sabbath day, and the days of the ensuing week were employed in entering the ark, in embarkinij the mii,'hty troop, for whose reception ample provision bad been ahtady made.

For/)/ days] This period became afterwards sacred, and was considered a proper space for humiliation. Moses fasted forty days, Dent. \\. 0, 11. so did Elijali, 1 Kings xix. 8. so did our Lord, Matt iv. '2. Forty days' respite were given to the Ninevites that tliey might repent, Jonah iii. 3. And ihrice. forty (one hundred and twenty) years were given to the old world for the same gracious purpose. Gen. vi. 'i. Tiie forty days of Lent, in commemoration of our Lord's fasting, have a reference to the same thing; as each of these seems to be deduced from this primitive judgment.

Verse 11. In i he six hundredih year, ^•c.'\ Tliis must have been in the beginning of the six hundredth year of his life; lor he was a year in the ark, cli. viii. 13. and lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, and died nine hundred and lifty years old, cb. ix. 20. so it is evident, that wiien the flood conunenced, he bad just entered on his six hundredih year.

Second month] The first monthi was Tisri, vhicli answers to the latter half of S^plemher, and first half of October; and the second «as JMurliesJivan, which answers to part of October and part of November. After the delnerance from Egypt, the beginning of the year was changed from Markeslivan to Nisan, which answers to a part of our DIarck and April. But it is not liktly that this reckoning obtained before the flood. Di\ Lighifo.'t very probably conjectures that Mc£hu.sflali was alive in the first montii of this year. And it apptavK, says hcj^iow clearly the spirit ot' pro|)hecy foretold of ihJngs Ur'conie, when u directed his father Enoch, almost a thousand years before, to name him Methuselah, which signifies, they die by a dart; or, /i<; dieth, and tlieii is th6 dan; or, he dieth, and then it is ssnt. And thus Adam and -Methuselah had measured the whole time between the creation and the flood, and lived above two hundred and forty yeais together. — See chap. v.. at the end.

The fountains of the great deep vxre broken up, and the;./«-

9 There went in tAvo and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

TlO ^ And it came to pass ^ after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

1 1 In the six lumdredth year of Noah's life, in the secoiad month, the seventeenth day of the

dows of heaven were opened.] It appears that an immense quantity of waters occupied the centre of the antediluvian earth; and as these burst forth by the order of God, the circumambient strata must sink, in order to fill up the vacuum occasioned by the elevated waters. This is probably what is meant by breaking vp thefoun'ains of the great deep. These waters, with the seas on the earth's surface, might be deemed suflicient to drown the whole globe, as the waters now on its surface are nearly three-fourths of the whole, as has been accurately ascertained by Dr. I-ong. — See note on cb. i. verse 10.

By the opening of ihe tvindoios of heaven, is probably meant the iJiecipilating all the aqueous vapours which were suspended in the whole atmosphere, so that, as Moses expresses it, ch. i. 1. the waters that were above the firmament, were again united to the waters which were below the firmament; titim which, on the second day of creation, l\iey had been separated. A miillitiide of facts have proved that water itself is composed of tvo airs, oxygene and hydrogene; and that 85 parts of the first, and 15 of the last, making 100 in the whole, will produce exactly 100 parts of water. And thus it is found that these two airs ibrni the constituent parts of water in the above proportions. The electric spark, which is the same as lightning, passing through these airs, decomposes them, and converts thein to water. And to this cause we may probably attribute the rain which immediately follows the flash of lightning and peal of thunder. God therefore, by the means of lightning, might have converted the whole atmosphere into water, for the purpose of drowning the globe, had there not been a sufficiency of merely aqueous vapours, suspended in the atmosphere on the second day of croaiion. And il' the electric flu d were used on this occasion f >r the production of water, the incessant ilare of lightnings, and the eoniinuous peals of thunder, must liave added indescribable horrors to this sceae. —.See the note on ch. viii. ver. 1. These two causes concurring, were amply sufficient, not only to overflow the earth, but probably to dissolve the whole terrene fabric, as some judiei'ous naturalists have supposed; mdecil, this seems determined by the word Sl30 malnd, translated f^od, which is derived from '73 bal, or ^'73 buUd, to mtx, vanj^le, cuifound, confuse, because the

A.M. ir.io. nionth, the s:imc day were all *the[ female of all flesh, fountains of the great deep broken

17 IF " And the flood \va.s forty days upon die cailji; and the waters increased, and bare up

12 ''And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 In the selfsame day 'entered Noah, and | tiie ark, and it was lift up aI)ove the earth. Shcm, and Ham, and. Japheth, the sons of Noah, |i 18 And the waters prevailed, and were inand Noah's wife, and the three wives of his j; creased greatly upon the earth; 'and the ark sons with them, into tlie ark; went upon the face of the waters.

14 ^ They, and every beast after his kind, and jl 19 And the waters pre\ ailed exceedingly upon all the cattle after (heir kind, and every creeping j the earth; ""and all the high hills, that a-e/r thing that creejieth njion the earth after his kind, I under the wliole heaven, were covered

and ev<:ry fowl after his kind, every bird of every ^ sort.

1.5 And they "went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

16 And they that went in, went in male and

aqueous and terrene parts of the globe were then mixed and confuunclod together; and when the supernatural cause that produced thi.s mighty change, sus|)ended its operations, the diiltrent particles nf matter would settle according to their spt'cific gravities, and thus form the various t/rura or ico's of which the earth appcarsto be internally constructed. Some naturalists have controverted this sentiment, because, in some cases, the internal stincture of the earth does not appear to justify the opinion that the various portions of matter had settled accord- •ing to their specific gravities: but these anomalies may easily be accounted for, from the great changes that have taken ]>lace in diflerent parts of the earth since ihejlood, by volcanic eruj)- tion.s, earthquake.s &c. — Some very eminent philosophers are of the opinion. " that by the hrtukina up of the fountains of the pent deep, we are to understand an eruption of uaters from the Southern Octtin." Mr. Kirw an supposes, that " this is ])retty evifleni from such animals as the elephant and rhinoceros being found in (jreat masses in.Siberia, mixed with diflerent mririiit ■substances; wl)trea.s, no animals, or other.«ubslances belonffing to tlie northern rr-j/oni, have been ever found in southern climalen. Had these animals died natural deaths in their proper climatr, their iKtdies would not have been found in such masses. But that they were carried no farther northward than Siberia, is evident from there being no remains of any animals, besides tho.se of whales, found m the mountains of Greenland. That this great rmh of waters was from the south, or scuth-aist, is farther evident, he thinks, from the south and south-east sides of aliimst all great mountains being inueh steeper than their north or north-west 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 (lifter. Many think the first opinion accords best with the Hebrew text, and witli the phenomena of

20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and tlie mountains were covered.

21^° And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every crecjiing thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

' nature, for mountains do not always present the above appearance. I N'erse 12. The rain \:/as vpcn the earthi J)r. I.ightfoot sup- I poses that the rain began on the 18th day of the second month, or Miirheslnun, and that it ceased on the 28th of the third montli Ci«leu.

^^erse 1 j. And ihey ivenl in, &<-.] It was physically impo.*- sible for Noah to have collected such a vast number of tainc and ferocious animals; nor could they have been retained in their wards by mere natural means. How then were they brought from various distances to the ark, and prcscr\ ed there.'' Only by the power of God. He who first miraeulou.'ily brought them to Adam, that he might give them their names, now brings them to Noah, that he may preserve their lives. And now we may reasonably suppose, that thpir natural enmity was so far removed or.suspended, that the lion might dwtll with the lamb, and the wolf lie down with the kid, though eai'h might.still require his peculiar alini< nt. This can b« no difficulty to the power of (ind, willmiU tlie immediate interposition of which, neither the deluge nor the concomitant circumstances could ha\ » taken place.

Vrnc I<j. The Lord t,httt him in.] This seems to imply that God took him under his especial protection; and as he shut KIM in, so he shut the OIJIFRS out. God had waited one hundred and twenty years upon thaPt^eiieration: they did not repent; they tilled up the measure o^llcir iniquities, and then wrath came upon tluni to the utlermost.

Vtrse 20. Fifteen onhits npxi-urd] Should any person object to the imizersaliti/ of the deluge, because he may imagine there is not water sufTicient to drown the whole globe in the manner here rtlated, he may find a most satisfactory answer to all the objections he can raise on this ground, in ^Ir. Kav's I'hysico-tlieQlogical Discourses, second edition, 8v«, 1693.

23 And every living substance was destroyed Ayliich was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and tlie creeping things, and

Verse 22. Of all that vias in the dry land] From this we vnay conclu»!e, that such animals only as could not live in the xvaler, were preserved in the ark.

Verse 24. And the leulers prevailed upon the earth a hundred tndfify days.'] Tije breaking up of the tountains of the great deep, and the raining forty days and nights, had raised tile waters fifteen cubits above the highest mountains; after which

" Noah only remained alive, and they that ivere

24 ^ "^ And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and titty days.

flirty daj's, it appears to have continued at this height for one hundred and fifty days more. " So," says Dr. Lighlfoot, " these t^vo sums are to be reckoned distinct, and not tlie forty days included in the one hundred and fifty; so that when the one hundred and filly days were ended, there were six inonthj and ten days of the tlood past." For an improvement of this awful judgment, see the conclusion of the following chapter.

jit the end of me hundred end fifty days the renters begin to subside, 1 — 3. The ark rests on mount Ararat, 4. On the fust nf the tenth mouth the tops of the hills appear, 5. The xoindow opened, and the raven sent out, 6, 7. The dove sentfwth, and returns, 8, 9- The dove sent forth a second time, and returns with an olive leaf, 10, 1 1. The dove sent out the third time, and returns no more, I'i. On the twentieth day of the second month the earth is fompletely dried, 13,14. God orders Noah, his family, a7id all the creatures, to come out of the ark, 15 — 19. Noah builds an altar, and offers sacrifices to the Lord, 'iO. They are accepted, and God promises that the earth shall not be cnrsrd thvs am/ more, notaithstanding the iniquity of man, 21, 22.

ND God ' remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that wa^s with him in the ark: " and God made a wind to pass over tha earth, and the 'Waters asswaged;

NOTES ON CHAP. VIII. Verse 1. And (iod made a xuind to pass over the earth] Such a wind as produced a strong and sudden evaporation. Tlie efiects of these winds, which are frequent in the East, are trtily astonishing. A friend of mine, who had been bathing in tlie Tigris, not far from the ancient city of Ctesiphon, and within five days' journey of Baghdad, having on a pair of 'J'lirkisli drawers, one of these hot winds, called by the natives Samielr passing rapidly across the river, just as he had got out of till.- Mater, so eflectually dried him in a moment, that not one particle of moisture was left either on his body, or in his bathing dress! With such an electrified wind as this, how soon could God dry the whole of the earth's surface! An operation sometliing similar to the conversion of water into its two coT^stituent airs, Oiygcn and Hydrogen, by means of the gah-anif fluid, as these airs themselves, may be reccnvertcd to

2 'The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and '' the rain from heaven was restrained;

3 And the waters returned from off the earth

water, by means of the electric spark. See (he note on chap. vii. ver. 1 1. And probably this was the agent that restored to the atmosphere the quantity of water which it had contributed to this vast inundation. The other portion of waters, which had proceeded liom tlte breaking up of the fountains of the great deep, would, of course, subside more slowly, as opening.s were made fof them to run off from the higher lands, and form seas. By the first cause, the hot wind, the waters Here assuaged, and the atiiio.=;]jhtre having it.i due proportion of vapours restored, the quantity below, must he greatly lessened. By the second, the earth was gradually dried, the waters, as they found passage, lessening by degrees, till the seas and gulphs were formed, an<l the earth completely drained: This appears to be what is intended in the third and fifth verses, liy the ivaters dea-ea.^ing continually, or, according to thg margin, they u-erc in going and decreasing, Ver, 6.

AM. ifs-;. ^ contimially: and after the end '' of "• ''• "•^''^"^' tlie iiundied and riity days, tlie waters were abated.

4 % And the ark rested in the seventh niontli, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

5 And the waters " decreased continually until the tcntli month: in the tenth month, on the tirst daif of the montli, were tlic tops of the mountains seen.

6 % And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened ''the window of the ark which he had made:

7 And he sent i()rth a raven, which went forth ' to and Ito, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of fhe ground;

9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of ^^cr foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole

Verse 4. Tht mountains of Araral.'] That Ararat was a mountain of Armenia, is almost universally agreed. What is commonly thought to be the Ararat of the Scriptures, has been Tisiled by many travellers, and on it there are several monas- Icrics. For a long time, the world has been amused with reports that the ixmains of the ark were still visible there; but I\lr. Tounufort, a famous French naturalist, who was on the spot, assures us that nothino; of the kind is there to he."seen. As there is a great chain of mountains which are called by this name, it is impossible lo determine on what part of them the ark rested: but the highest part, called by some the Fin;^tr- 7iiountain, has been fixed on as the most likely place. These things we must leave; and they are certainly of very httle consequence.

From the circumstance of the resting of the ark on the ITtli of the seventh month, Dr. Lighlfoot draws this curious conclusion: That the ark drew cxik tl y eleven cuhils of water. On the fir>t day of the month Ali, the mountain tops were first seen, and then the waters had iallen fifteen cubits; for so liigh had ihey prevailed above the tops of the mountains. This decrease Jii the waters took up sirly days; namely, from the first of Sivan, so that ihey appear to have abated in the proportion of one cubit in four days. On the 16th of Sivan they had abated but /our cubits; and yet on the next dav the ark rested on one of the hilU, when the waters must have been as yet | <kven cubits above it. Thus it appears that the ark drew: eleven cubits of water.

Verse 7. He sent forth a raren, rvhiclitvent forth to and fro] It is generally supposed that the raven ^«v ojf, and was seeii no

earth; then he put forth his hand, ^•"- "^="'- and took her, and ' pulled her in un- "' ^' ''^^: to him into tlie ark.

10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

1 1 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth loas 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 retained not again unto him any more.

13 % And it came to pass in the six -'i- w.issr. hundredth ^ and first year, in the first li^i^-f^ monih, the first dai/ of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

more; but this meaning the Hebrew text will not bear, SWI NIS' Nifl vaiyetie yatso tcsliob; and it went forth, going forth and returning. — From which it is evident that she did return, but was not taken into the ark. She made frequent excursions, and continued on the wing as long as she coulii, having picked up such aliment as she found floating on the waters; and then, to rest herself, regained the aik, where she might perch, though she was not admitted. Indeed, this must be allowed, as it is impossible she could have continued twentyone days upon the wing, which she must have done, had she not returned. But the text itself is sufficiently deieriiiinate.

Verse 8. Jh sent forth a dove] The dove was sent forth thrice: the first time she speedily returned, having, in all probability, gone but a little way from the ark, as she must naturally be terrified at the appearance of the waters. After seven days, being sent out a second time, she returned with an o.'/re leaf plucked off, ver. 1 1. an emblem of the restoration of peace between God and the earth: and tiom this circumstance, the oZ/re has been the emblem of peace among all civilized nations. y\t the end of other seven days, the dove being sent out the third time, returned no more, from which Noah conjectured that the earth was now sufficiently drained, and therefore removed the covering of the ark, which probably gave liberty to many of the fowls to fly otl" which circumstance would all'ord him the greater lacilily in making arrangements lor disembarking the beasts and reptiles, and heavy-bodied domestic Ibwls, which might yet remain. — See verse 17.

Verse 1 4. And in the second month, tm the setYn and twentieth ^"yl From tliis it appears, that Noah was in the ark a <o;«/)/f.'c

AM.!(,57. 16 Ct) forth of the ark, 'thou, and ^■^- '■'■'"■ thy wife, and thy soiu.s., and thy sons' wives with thee.

17 Bring forth with thee " every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, hofJi of ihwi, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that crccpeth upon the earth; tliat they may breed abundantly in the earth, and ""be fruittid, and nuiltiply upon the earth.

18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:

19 Every beast, every creeping tiling, and every fowl, a?id whatsoever creepetli upon the earth, after their " kinds, went forth out of the ark.

solar year, or three hundred and si.vli/-fire days; for he entered tJie ark the ITth day of the second month, in the six hundredth year of his life, cb. vii. 11, 13. and contiBued in it till the 21th day of tlie second month, in the six hundredth ar.d first year of his life, as we see above. Tiie montlis of the ancient Hebrews were lunar; the first six consisted of thirti/ days each, the latter six of txirnfy-niiie: the whole twelve months making three hundred and fifti/-four days: add to this eleven days, (for though he entered the ark tlie preceding year on tlie seventeenth day of tlie second month, lie did not couie out till tlie twenty-seventh of the same month in the following; year) ivhich make exactly tlirec hmtdred and sixty-five days, the period of a complete iolar revolution; tiie odd hours and minutes, as Ixing fractions of time, not computed, lhou'j:h very likely all included in tlie account. Tiiis year, according to the Hebrew computation, was the one thou.mnd six hundred iiitd fifty-.ievenlh year from the creation: but, according to the reckoning of the Septuagint, it was the tiso thousand two hundred and forty-second, and according to Dr. Hales, (New Analysis of Chronolo;^) the tiL-o thousand Cu:o hundred and fiftysixth. — See the note on ch. xi. 12.

Verse 20. A'oa/i huilded an altar] As we have already seen tliftt Adam, Cain, and Alul, offered sacrifices, there can be no <loubt that they had altars on which they oft'ered them: but tliis, builded by Noali, is certainly the first on record. It is vorthy of remark, that as the old world began with sacrifice, so also did the new. Relit^ion, or the proper mode of worshipping the Divine Being, is the invention or institution of God himself; and sacrifice, in thence and design, is the essence of religion. Without sacrifice actually offered, or implied, there never was, there never can be, any religion. Even in the /tcaie7is, a Lamt* is represented before the throne of God, as newly slain. Rev. v. 6, 12, 13. The design of sacrificing is twofold: the slaying and burning of the victim point out, 1st. that the life of the sinner is forfeited to Divine justice; 2dly. tiiat his soul deserves the_^re of perdition.

The Jews have a tradition, that the place where Noah built his altar, was the same in which the altar stood which was built by Adam, and used by Cain and Abel; and the same spot, on which, Abraham afterwards, ofiered up liis son Isaac.

Tlie word nsiC ynizbeach, which we render altar, signifies properly a /)/ra'e /or 5acri/5ce, as the root nSi zabach, signifies simply to slay. Altar comes from the Latin altus, high, or elevated, because places for sacrifice were generally cither, raised very high, or built on the tops of hiUs and mountains; hence tliey are called high places in the Scriptures; but such were chiefly used for idolatrou*. purposes.

Bitrnt-ojlL-ri)igsJ< See the meaning of every kind of offerinii and.sacrifice largely explained on Levit. vii. in alphabetical order.

^'^erse21. T.'ie Lord smelled a sweet wrour]. That is, ho was well pleased with this religiovis act, perforined in obedience tO' his own appointittent, and in faith of tlie promise^ Saviour. Tiiat this sacrifice prefigured that which w -.is offered' by ouc blessed, lledeemer in behalf of the world, i» sutliciently evident from the words of St. Paul, Eplics. v. 2. Christ hath laved us, and given himself for us an ofiering and a sacrilice to God for a SWEET S.MELLING S.AVOUR; where the words oa-fiw £uii$ta(, of tlie Apojtle, are the very words used by the Septuagint in this place.

/ xlhU not agiun- curse tite grniDid] t^DSJ {f7 lo osiph, I will not add to curse the ground — there shall not be another deluge to destroy the whole earth. [for the imagination of man's hearti 'i ki, ALTHOtiUIl the imagination of man's heart should be evil; i. e. should they become afterwards as evil as they have been before, I will not destroy the earth by a FLOOD. God has other means of destruction!; and tlie next time he visits by a general judgment, riRE is to be the agent. 2 Pet. iii. 7.

Verse 22. IFhile the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, ^■c] There is something very expressive in the original, pxn »0» Sa iy dd col yemey ha-ajrets, until all the DAYS of the earth; for God does not reckon its duration by centuries; and the words themselves afford a strong presumption that thf earth shall net have as endless duration.

20 f Aral Noah builded an' aitiar -'^'■"'l- "5;^- unto the Lord; and took of ' every ^c.^347. cJcan beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt oflerings on the altar.

21 And the Lord smelled *^a ^ sweet savoury and the Loud said in his heart, I will not again- '' curse the ground any more, for man's sake; 'tor the ''iinagination of man'M heart is evil from his youth; ' neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

22 ° While the eitrth remaineth % seedtime and harvest, aiwl cold and heat, and sinnmer and winter, and " day and night shall not cease.

Seedtime aiid lmrTest\ It is very probiirile that the nefiMim, whuh «eie distinctly iiiarixtil icnmediiitcly after the tlfhi^e, are nicntioncif in this plaie: but it is tliflicult to ascntain thciii. Most Kiirojican natiuns divide the year into four iiistinct parti, called qunvtcri or feasom; but there are j/.i clivisioiis ill tlie text, and probably all irilendtid to describe the seasons in one of these po»t-dihivian years; partictdariy in that part of the globe, Aimniiu, whtri' Noah was wliin Goil gave him and niunkind lliiouj^h hiin, this gracious promise. I'roin the 'Inri^nm of Joiiatli.in on this verse, we liani, that ill I'uksline their sccd-tiine w;is in.September, at tlic aiitonmat equinox: their han-cst in IVIarcb, at the vernal equinox; that their v:iiiter befjan in December, at tiie solstice, and their summer at the solstice, in June.

The C()/"s begin their «»/H«in on the 15th of September, and extend it to the 15th of December. Their vjinser on the IJtb of December, and extend it to the 15th of!\Iarcli. Their.lyjj/Hj on llic 15lli of March, and extend it to the 15th of June. Tlieir siniwur on the I5th of.lune, and extend it to the 15lii of September, assigning to each season, three complete months. Gnlmet.

'I'liere are certai.ily regions of the earth, to which neither lliis nor our own mode of division can apply: there are some where summei au'i viintcr appear to divide the whole year; and oth'as \\tK:\, bca'ides stiminer, xuinter, aiilimiii, and sprint;, there are distin l seasons that may be denominated i\it: hoi season, I he cold seasmi, lUe rain^ season, ^'c. Se.

Tliis is a very merciful ].iomise to the inhabitants of the earth. There may be a \ariety w the seasons, but no season, essentially necessary to vegetation, shaU/ utterly fail. Tile times which are of greatest consequence to the preservation of man, are distinctly twted: (here shaH. be both seed-time and hanesl — a proper time to deposit tlie dill'erent grain in the earth; and a proper time to Kup the pruilucc of this sewl.

Thus ends t]ie account of the general deluge, its cause, circumstances, and consequences. An acconnt that seems to say to us Keliold the goodness and severity of God! Both h\s justice and loii'^-sulferini; are particularly niarke<l in this astonisiiing event. His juuice, in the i)-.inishment of the incorrigibly wicked: ami hi> vtercy, in giving them so fair and full a warning, and in waiting so loui; to extend his grace to all who might seek. him. Such a cnnvincing pniof has the destruction of the world by water, given of the Divine Justice, such convincing testimony of the truth of the Sacred Writings, that not only every part of the earth gives ■ testimony of this extraordinary revolution, but also every nation of the uni>erse has preserved records or traditions of this awful display of the justice of God.

tic sources in iho hoallion world, I hal intended for insertion in tins place; but want of room obliges mo to lay them aside. But the slate of the earth itself i;- m sullieient proof. Kvery part of it bears unequivocal evidence of elisruplion and violence. Fioui the hind of the (iod of order, it never could have proceeded in its present state. In every part we sec marks of the crimes of men, and of the justice of God. And shall not the living lay this to heart.' Surely God is not mocked; that wliicli a man soweth iie sliall reap. He who soweth to tlie ilcsli, shall of it reap d( structioii; and though the plague of water sliall no more elcstioj- the earth, yet an equal, if not sorer ptinishment, awaits the world of tiic ungodly, in the thrcateneil destruction Vty fire.

In ancient times, almost every thing was typical or representative of things which were to come; and no doubt the (iiL; among the rest: but o/"tt/i«/, and in ii:/ial ii:ai/, farther than Revelation guides, it is both dilficult and unsafe to say. It has been considered a type of our blessed Lord; and hence it has been observeel, " that as all those who were out <if the ark perished by the flood, so those who take not refuge in the meritorious atonement of Christ Jesus, untst perii>!j everlastingly." Of ail those v/lio, having the opportunity of hearing the Gospel, refuse to accept of the sacrifice it oilers them, this sayinij is true: but the parallel is not good..Myriads of those who perished during the flood, prol.'abl)' rc))eiited, implored mercy, and found lurijiveness: for God ever delights to save; and Jesus was the Lamb slam from the foundation of the world. And though, generally, the people continued m carnal security and sensual gratifications till the flood came, there is much reason to believe, that those who, du.nng \.\\e forty dayti rain, would naturally fly to the high lands and tops of the highest mountains, wotild earnestly implore thai mercy wiiicti has never been denied, even to tlie most profligate, when under deep luuiiiiiation of heart, they bme returned to God. And wiio can. say that this wus not done by multitudes, while fiiey beheld the increasing- flood, or that God, in this last extremity, had renitered. it impossible.'

St. Peter, I Kpist. lii. 21. makes the ark a figure of bap^ tism, and ■ntimates, that we are saveil by this, as the eight souls wero saved by tlie ark. But let us not mistake the Apostle, by supposing that tlie mere ccrenio/ij/ itself saves any person: I he tells us, that the salvation conveyed throngli, this sacred rite, is not the putting; a\i;uy tlie Jittk of the flcsit, but lite- ansiver of a good conscience towards God: i. e. remission of sins, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit, which are signified by this baptism. A good conscience never existed wlicre remission of sins had not taken place; and every peiv-on know.s, that it is God's prerogative to forgive sins; and that no ordinance can contier it, iliough ordinances may be llie means to convey it, when piously and believingly used.

God blesses Noah (uid his soti^, 1. The brute creation to be subject to them through fear, '2. The first grant of animal food, 3. Ealing nf blood foylndden, 4. Cruelty to animals forbidden, 5. A manslaijer to foifeit his life, 0". The covenant of Cod established bctaeen Him and Noah, and the zihole bmle creation, 8—11, The rainbow giieit. as the sign and pledge of this covenant, 12 — 17. The three sons of Nuuh people (he uhole earthy 18,19. 'Noah plants a vineyard, drinks of the wine^ is inttjxicaled, and lies exposed in his tent, 20,21

The reprehensible ccmduct of Ham, 22. The laudable carriage of Shorn aiid Japketb, 23. Noah propheticallj/ dec/ares the servitude of the postei-iti/ of Hum, 24, 25; and the dignity and increase of Shem and Japhelh, 26, 27. The age and death if Noah, <2S, 0.9.

ND God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto. them, ^ Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 '' And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes

Verse 1. God blessed Norili] Even the increase of families %vliich appears to depend on merely natural means, and sometimes foituitous circumstances, is all of God. It is by his power and wisdom that the human being is formed; and it is by his providence alone, that man is supported and preserved.

Verse 2. Tliefear of you, and the dread of you, iSfc] Prior to the fall, man ruled the inferior animals by love and kindness; for then, i^cntkness and docility were their principal characteristics. After tlie fall, untractableness, with savage ferocity, prevailed among almost all orders of the brute creation:.enmity to man seems particularly to prevail; and had not God, in his mercy, impressed their minds with the fear and terror of man, so that some submit to his will, while others Jise from his residence, the human race woidd, long ere this, have been totally destroyed by the beasts of the field. Did the horse know his own strength and the weakness of the miserable wretch wljo unmercifully rides, drives, whips, goads, and oppresses him, would he not, with one stroke of his hoof, destroy his tyrant possessor? But, while God hides these things from him, he impresses his mind with the fear of his owner, so that either by cheerful or sullen submission he is trained up for, and employed in, the most useful and important purposes; and even willingly submits, when tortured for the sport and amusement of his more brutish oppressor. Tygers, wolves, lions, and hyenas, the determinate foes of man, incapable of being tamed or domesticated, flee, through the principle of terror, from the dwelhng of man, and thus lie is providentially safe. Hence, by fear and by dread, man rules every beast of the earth, every fowl of the air, and every fish of the sea. How wise and gracious is this order of the Divine Providence! and with what thankfulness should it be considered by every human being!

Verse 3. Every moving thing — shall be meat"] There is no positive evidence that animal food was ever used before the flood: Noah had the first grant of this kind, and it has been continued to all his posterity ever since. It is not likely that this grant wuuld have been now made, if some extraordinary alteration had not taken place in the vegetable world, as to render its productions less nutritive than they wire before; and probably such a change in the constitution of man, as to jTiBiider a grosser and hiyher diet necessary. We may

of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

3 " Every moving thing that Jiveth shall be meat for you; even as the " green herb have I given you 'all things.

4 ' But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

therefore safely infer, that the earth was less productive after the flood than it was before; and that the human constitution was greatly impaired, by the alterations which had taken place through the whole oeconomy of nature. Morbid debility, induced by an often unfriendly slate of the atmosphere, with sore and long continued labour, would necessarily require a higher nutrunent than vegetables could supply. That this was the case, appears sufficiently clear from the grant of animal food, which, had it not been indispensably necessary, had not been made. That the constitution of man was then much altered, appears in the greatly contracted lives of (he postdiluvians; yet from the deluge to the days of Abraham, the lives of several of the Patriarchs amounted to some hundreds of years, but this was the effect of a peculiar providence, that the new world might be the more speedily repeopled; but even from the deluge their lives became gradually shorter, till from upwards of nine hundred years they became settled in the average term of threescore years and ten.

Verse 4. Butjiesh xcith the life thereof, which is the blood] Though animal food was granted, yet the blood was most solemnly forbidden, because it was the life of the beast; and this life was to be offered to God as an atonement for sin. 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 the holiest. J. Before the deluge, it was not eaten, because animal food was not in use; 2. After the deluge, it was prohibited, as we find above, and, being one of the seven Noahic precepts, it was not eaten previously to the publication of the Mosaic law; 3. At the giving of the law, and at several times, during the ministry of Moses, the prohibition was most solemnly, and with awful penaltiei), renewed. Hence we may rest assured tliat no blood was eaten previously to the Christian JEva.; nor indeed ever since by the Jev.'ish people. 4. That the prohibition has been renewed under the Christian dispensation, can admit of little doubt by any man who dispassionately reads Acts xv. 20, 29. xxi. 25. where even the gentile conz-erls are charged to abstain from it, on the authority, not only of the Apostles, but of the Holy Ghost, who gave them there, and then, especial direction concerning this point: see Acts xv. 28 t\o\.for fear of stumbling the converted Jexvs, " the gloss of Theologians," but because it was one tuv iwxmynii rauzuv, of those netessary points, CroHi

I A.M.iesr. 5 And surely your blood of your 10 'And with every living creature -A.M.iaw.

'- lives will I require; "at the hand that /.; with you, of the fowl, of the cat- __,

1 of every beast will I ro(iuire it, and '' at i tic, and of every beast of the earih with you: the hand of man; at the hand of every ifi'om all that go out of the ark,. to every beast of

1 1 And "^ I will establish my covenant with

you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more

his blood be shed: " for in the image of God i by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any

"■ man's brother will I require the life of man. 6 " Whoso shcddcth man's blood, by man shall

made he man j 7 And you, ' be ye fruitful, and nudtiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8 % And God spake imto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, * behold, I establish " my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

tlie burden (fapof) of obedience to which, they could not be excu.>ieJ..5. This coiiimaiid i.s still.scrupulously obeyed by the oriental Christians, and by the whole Greek church: and why? because the reasons still subsist. No blood was eaten! under (lie law, because it pointed out the blood that xvas to be sited for the sin of the world; and under the gospel, it should i not be eaten, because it should ever be considered as repre- < senting the blood wlticli has been shed for the remission of sins. If ihe eaters of blood in general knew, that it affords a very crude, almost indigestible, and unwholesome aliment, they certainly would not, on these physical reasons, leaving moral considerations out of the question, be so much attached to the consumption of that from wliich they could expect no wholesome nutriment; and which, to render it even pleasing to the palate, requires all the skill of the cook.

Verse 5. Surely your blood — ivill I require; at the hand of every beast] This is very obscure; but, if taken literally, it seems to be an awful wamini; a<^inst cruelty to the brute creation; and from it we may conclude, that horse- racers, hare-hunlcrs, bull- bailers, and cock-fi;^htcrs shall be obliged to give an account to God, for every creature they have wantonly destroyed. Instead of rrn chaiyah, " beast," the Samaritan reads (Tf^g c/;«/, " livins^-," any " living creature," or person: this makes a very pood sense, and equally forbids cruelty either to men or brutes

Verse 6. IVhom sheJdcth vi/in's blood, by man shall his blood] Hence it appears that whoever kills a man, unless umLHtiingly, as the.Scripture expresses it, shall forfeit his own life.. A man is accused of the crime of murder; of this crime he is guilty, or he is not — if he he Ljuilty of murder, he should die: if not, let him be tuinished accuidin^ to the demerit of his crime, but for no offence but minder, should lie lose his life. I'aking away the life olaiinihtr is the highest offence that can be committed against the iiidnidual, and against society; and the highest punisbmetrt lliit a man can softer for such a crime, is the loss of his own life. As punishment should be

more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, ' Tliis is the token of tlje covenant which I make between me and you and e\'ery living creature that is with you, lor perpetual generations:

13 I do set "' my bow in the cloud, and it.shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

ever proportioned to crimes, so the highest punishment, due to the highest crime, should not be indicted for a minor offence. The law of God and the eternal dictates of reason say, that if a man kill another, the loss of his own life is at once the highest penally he can pay, and an equivalent for his oflcnce, as far as civil society is concerned. If the death of the murderer be the highest penalty lie can pay for the murder he has committed, iiie:i the infliction of this punishment for any minor offence is injustice and cruelty: and serves only to coti- found the claims of justice, the luderent degrees of moral turpitude and vice, and to render the profligate desperate: hence the adage so frequent among almost every order of delinquents, " It is as good to be hanged for a sheep, as alamb;" which at once marks their desperation, and the injustice of those penal laws which inflict the highest punishment for almost every species of crimes When shall a wise and judicious leoi,lature see the absurdity and iniustice of inflictin"-

! the punishment of death for stealing a sheen or a hnrsc. for" in<'- a txLenty shillings note, and ML'iiDiRLNG a M.^N; when the

! latter, in its moral turpitude and ruinous consequences, infinitely exceeds the others!

' Verse 9. Behold, I establish my conenant xvith you] See

I Verse 13. / do set my bow in the cloud] On the origin

^ and nature of the rainbow, there have been a great variety of conjectures, till Anihony de Uomiius, Bisbop of Spalatro, in a treatise of his published hy Bartholus \n 1611, partly suggested the true cause of this phenomenon, which was afterwards (ully explained and demonstrated by ^V? haac Newton. To enter into this subject lure, in detail, would be improper; and therefore the less informed reader must have recourse to Tr<ati.ses on Optics, for its lull explanation; To readers in general it may he sufficient to say, that the rainbow is a mere natural effect of a natural cause: V. It is never seen but in showery weather 2. Nor then unless the sun shines. 3. It never appears in any part of the heavens but in lliat opposite

A. m.i6d7. 14 ^ \nd it shall cotiie to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that

15 And " I will remoiTibcr my covenant, which /*• between me and you and every living creature of all flesh'; and the\vaters.shtill no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 And the bow sliail be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember ' the everlastiiip: co\enant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the eartli.

] 7 And God said unto Noah, This is the tokf n of the covenant, which I have established between me and ail flesh that is upon the ^carth.

18 ^ And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: ■* and Ham is the fether of ' Canaan.

19 "^ These are the three sons of Noah: ^ and of them was tiie whole earth overspread.

■20 ^ And Noah began to he 'a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard; i

to the sun. 4. It never appears "jreater tlian a semicircle, but often much less. 5. k is always dotible, there being what is called the superior- and inferior, or primury and secondary, rainbow. Li. These bows exhibit the seven prismatic colours, red, oran-^e, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. 1. The whole of tiiis plia'uomenon depends on the rays of the 5un falling on spherical drops of water, and 'being, in their passage through them, refracted and refected. \

The fonn.-.tion of tlie primary and secondary rainbow dejiends on the /uo kWow'm^ propofitiom: I. 'SV hen the sun.sliines on the drops of rain as they are falling-, the ra3-s that come from those drops to the eye of the spectator, after ON F. reflection and TWO refractions, produce the, f^MHn;^ rambow. 2. When tlie sun.shines on the drops -of rain as tliey are falling, the rays that come from those drops to tlie eye of tlie spectator, after TWO rcfiections and TWO refractions, produce tlie *r-.condaiy rainbow. The ilhistration of these propositions must 'be sought in Treatises on Optics, assisted by plates.

From the well known cau>e of this phainomenon, it canrwt'be rationally supposed that there was no rainbow in the heavens before the time ajentioneid in the text; for, as the rainbow is the natural eflect of the.sun's rays falling on drops of water, and of their being refracted and reflected by them, it must have appeared at different tmies from tlie creation of the sun 1 and the atmosphere. Nor does the test intimate that the bow was now created for a si^n to Noah and hi<s posterity; but, that, what was formerly created, or ratlier, tlrat which was the necessary effect, in rertaiti cases, of the creation of the sun and atmosphere, khould now be considered by the-m as an unfailin"- token of their continual presen'ation from tlic waters «f a deluge; therefore the text speaks of wJiat had already been done, antl not of what was now done: •'>nn3 'nU'p kashli naluti. "■' My how I have given, or put in the cloud;" as if he said, as surely as the rambow is a ntces.sary effect (£ sunshine i« rain, and fliust continue such as long as the sun and atmosphere cnduce; so surely shall this earth be preserved from de.stniction by water; ainl its preservation, shall be as.necessary an effect of my proniiw, as the rainbow is of the shining of the sun during a shower of rain.

Verse \1. This is the tnkeii] niK Oth, the divine sign or portent; the bow shall he in the cloud; for the reasons ahove specified, it vmsi be ihetc, when the circumstances already mentioned, occur: if, therefore, it cannot fail, because of the reasons before assigned; no more shall my promise; and the bow shall lie the proof of its pcrpetiiity.

Roth the Greeks and Latins, as well as the Hebrews have ever considered the rainbow as a divine token or portent: and both of these nations have even deified it, and made it a messenger of the gods.

Homer. II. A. v. 28. speaking of the figures on Agamemnon'i lireast-plate, saj'j, there were tliree dragons,, whose colours were.

" like to the rainbow which Saturn (the father of Time) h:\< placed in the cloud as a SIGN to mankind; or, to mm of various languages,'" for so the /n^onuv av&^awav of the Poet has been understood. Some have thought that the ancient Greek writers give this epithetto man, from some tradition of the confusion and multiplication of tongues at Babel: Hence in thi» place, the words may be understood as implying mankind at large, the whole Iniman race; God having given the rainbow for a sign to all the descendants of Noah, by whom the whole earth was peopled after the flood. Thus, tlie celestial bow, speaks a universal language, understood by all tJie sons and daughters of Adam. Virgil, from some disguised traditionary figure of the truth, considers the rainljow as a messenger of the gods; ]Exi. v. ver. 60r..

" Juno, the daughter of Saturn, sent down the rainbow from heaven." And again Mn. ix, 803.

•It is worthy of remai'k that both these jwets understood tlie rainbow to be a sign, warning, ov portent (roin heaven.

As I believe the rainbow to have been intended solely for tlx: purpose mentione<l in the text, I forbear to make spiritual uses and illustrations of it. Many have done this, and their observations may be very edifying, but they certainly have no foundation in the text.

22 And Hani, the father of Canaan, saw the nakcchiess of his father, and told his two bretiircn without.

23 '' And Shem and Japhcth took a garment.