Notes on Genesis
From the 1599 Geneva Bible Notes

Ge 1:1

1:1 In the {a} beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The Argument - Moses in effect declares three things, which are in this book chiefly to be considered: First, that the world and all things in it were created by God, and to praise his Name for the infinite graces, with which he had endued him, fell willingly from God through disobedience, who yet for his own mercies sake restored him to life, and confirmed him in the same by his promise of Christ to come, by whom he should overcome Satan, death and hell. Secondly, that the wicked, unmindful of God's most excellent benefits, remained still in their wickedness, and so falling most horribly from sin to sin, provoked God
(who by his preachers called them continually to repentance) at length to destroy the whole world. Thirdly, he assures us by the examples of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the rest of the patriarchs, that his mercies never fail those whom he chooses to be his Church, and to profess his Name in earth, but in all their afflictions and persecutions he assists them, sends comfort, and delivers them, so that the beginning, increase, preservation and success of it might be attributed to God only. Moses shows by the examples of Cain, Ishmael, Esau and others, who were noble in man's judgment, that this Church depends not on the estimation and nobility of the world: and also by the fewness of those, who have at all times worshipped him purely according to his word that it stands not in the multitude, but in the poor and despised, in the small flock and little number, that man in his wisdom might be confounded, and the name of God praised forever.

(a) First of all, and before any creature was, God made heaven and earth out of nothing.

Ge 1:2

1:2 And the earth was {b} without form, and void; and {c} darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God {d} moved upon the face of the waters.

(b) As an unformed lump and without any creature in it: for the waters covered everything.
(c) Darkness covered the deep waters, for the waters covered everything.
(d) He maintained this disordered mass by his secret power.

Ge 1:3

1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was {e} light.

(e) The light was made before either Sun or Moon was created: therefore we must not attribute that to the creatures that are God's instruments, which only belong to God.

Ge 1:7

1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] {f} under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so.

(f) As the sea and rivers, from those waters that are in the clouds, which are upheld by God's power, least they should overwhelm the world.

Ge 1:8

1:8 And God called the firmament {g} Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

(g) That is, the region of the air, and all that is above us.

Ge 1:11

1:11 And God said, {h} Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, [and] the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed [is] in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

(h) So that we see it is the only the power of God's word that makes the earth fruitful, which naturally is barren.

Ge 1:12

1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God {i} saw that [it was] good.

(i) This sentence is often repeated, to signify that God made all his creatures to serve for his glory and for the profit of man: but because of sin they were cursed, yet the elect, by Christ are restored, and serve to their wealth.

Ge 1:14

1:14 And God said, Let there be {k} lights in the firmament of the heaven to {l} divide the day from the night; and let them be for {m} signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

(k) By the lights be means the sun, the moon, and the stars.
(l) Which is the artificial day, from the sun rising, to the going down.
(m) Of things belonging to natural and political orders and seasons.

Ge 1:16

1:16 And God made two great {n} lights; the greater light to {o} rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.

(n) That is, the sun and the moon, and here he speaks as man judges by his eye: for else the moon is less than the planet Saturn.
(o) To give it sufficient light, as instruments appointed for the same, to serve man's purposes.

Ge 1:20

1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the {p} moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

(p) As fish and worms which slide, swim or creep.

Ge 1:21

1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the {q} waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.

(q) The fish and fowls had both one beginning, in which we see that nature gives place to God's will, in that the one sort is made to fly about in the air, and the other to swim beneath in the water.

Ge 1:22

1:22 And God {r} blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

(r) That is, by the virtue of his word he gave power to his creatures to reproduce.

Ge 1:26

1:26 And God said, {s} Let us make man in our {t} image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

(s) God commanded the water and the earth to bring forth other creatures: but of man he says, "Let us make..." signifying that God takes counsel with his wisdom and virtue purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.
(t) This image and likeness of God in man is expounded in Eph 4:24 where it is written that man was created after God in righteousness and true holiness meaning by these two words, all perfection, as wisdom, truth, innocency, power, etc.

Ge 1:28

1:28 And God {u} blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

(u) The propagation.

Ge 1:29

1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you {x} every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

(x) God's great.

Ge 2:1

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the {a} host of them.

(a) That is, the innumerable abundance of creatures in heaven and earth.

Ge 2:2

2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he {b} rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

(b) For he had now finished his creation, but his providence still watches over his creatures and governs them.

Ge 2:3

2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and {c} sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

(c) Appointed it to be kept holy, that man might in it consider the excellency of his works and God's goodness toward him.

Ge 2:5

2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to {d} rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground.

(d) God only opens the heavens and shuts them, he sends drought and rain according to his good pleasure.

Ge 2:7

2:7 And the LORD God formed man {e} [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

(e) He shows what man's body was created from, to the intent that man should not glory in the excellency of his own nature.

Ge 2:8

2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in {f} Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

(f) This was the name of a place, as some think in Mesopotamia, most pleasant and abundant in all things.

Ge 2:9

2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the {g} tree of life also in the midst of the garden, {h} and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

(g) Who was a sign of the life received from God.
(h) That is, of miserable experience, which came by disobeying God.

Ge 2:11

2:11 The name of the first [is] Pison: that [is] it which compasseth the whole land {i} of Havilah, where [there is] gold;

(i) Havilah is a country adjoining Persia to the east, and inclining towards the west.

Ge 2:15

2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to {k} dress it and to keep it.

(k) God would not have man idle, though as yet there was no need to labour.

Ge 2:16

2:16 And the LORD God {l} commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

(l) So that man might know there was a sovereign Lord, to whom he owed obedience.

Ge 2:17

2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely {m} die.

(m) By death he means the separation of man from God, who is our life and chief happiness: and also that our disobedience is the cause of it.

Ge 2:19

2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto {n} Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof.

(n) By moving them to come and submit themselves to Adam.

Ge 2:22

2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a {o} woman, and brought her unto the man.

(o) Signifying that mankind was perfect, when the woman was created, who before was like an imperfect building.

Ge 2:24

2:24 Therefore shall a man leave {p} his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

(p) So marriage requires a greater duty of us toward our wives, than otherwise we are bound to show to our parents.

Ge 2:25

2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not {q} ashamed.

(q) For before sin entered, all things were honest and comely.

Ge 3:1

3:1 Now the serpent was more {a} subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he {b} said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

(a) As Satan can change himself into an angel of light, so did he abuse the wisdom of the serpent to deceive man.
(b) God allowed Satan to make the serpent his instrument and to speak through him.

Ge 3:3

3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, {c} lest ye die.

(c) In doubting God's warnings she yielded to Satan.

Ge 3:4

3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely {d} die:

(d) This is Satan's chiefest subtilty, to cause us not to fear God's warnings.

Ge 3:5

3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, {e} knowing good and evil.

(e) As though he said, God forbids you to eat of the fruit, only because he knows that if you eat of it, you will be like him.

Ge 3:6

3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he {f} did eat.

(f) Not so much to please his wife, as moved by ambition at her persuasion.

Ge 3:7

3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they {g} knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

(g) They began to feel their misery, but they did not seek God for a remedy.

Ge 3:8

3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife {h} hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

(h) The sinful conscience flees God's presence.

Ge 3:10

3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] {i} naked; and I hid myself.

(i) His hypocrisy appears in that he hid the cause of his nakedness, which was the transgression of God's commandment.

Ge 3:12

3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou {k} gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

(k) His wickedness and lack of true repentance appears in this that he blamed God because he had given him a wife.

Ge 3:13

3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, {l} The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

(l) Instead of confessing her sin, she increases it by accusing the serpent.

Ge 3:14

3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, {m} Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and {n} dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

(m) He asked the reason from Adam and his wife, because he would bring them to repentance, but he does not ask the serpent, because he would show him no mercy.
(n) As a vile and contemptible beast, Isa 65:25.

Ge 3:15

3:15 And I will put enmity between {o} thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy {p} head, and thou shalt {q} bruise his heel.

(o) He chiefly means Satan, by whose action and deceit the serpent deceived the woman.
(p) That is, the power of sin and death.
(q) Satan shall sting Christ and his members, but not overcome them.

Ge 3:16

3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy {r} sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

(r) The Lord comforts Adam by the promise of the blessed seed, and also punishes the body for the sin which the soul should have been punished for; that the spirit having conceived hope of forgiveness might live by faith. 1Co 14:34.

Ge 3:17

3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: {s} cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life;

(s) The transgression of God's commandment was the reason that both mankind and all other creatures were subject to the curse.

Ge 3:18

3:18 {t} Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

(t) These are not the natural fruit of the earth, but proceed from the corruption of sin.

Ge 3:21

3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God {u} make coats of skins, and clothed them.

(u) Or, gave them knowledge to make themselves coats.

Ge 3:22

3:22 And the LORD God said, {x} Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and {y} take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

(x) By this derision by reproaches Adam's misery, into which he was fallen by ambition.
(y) Adam deprived of life, lost also the sign of it.

Ge 4:1

4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she {a} conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man {b} from the LORD.

(a) Man's nature, the estate of marriage, and God's blessing were not utterly abolished through sin, but the quality or condition of it was changed.
(b) That is, according to the Lord's promise, as some read Ge 3:15, "To the Lord" rejoicing for the son she had born, whom she would offer to the Lord as the first fruits of her birth.

Ge 4:3

4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an {c} offering unto the LORD.

(c) This declares that the father instructed his children in the knowledge of God, and also how God gave them sacrifices to signify their salvation, though they were destitute of the ordinance of the tree of life.

Ge 4:7

4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be {e} accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the {f} door. And unto thee [shall be] his {g} desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

(e) Both you and your sacrifice shall be acceptable to me.
(f) Sin will still torment your conscience.
(g) The dignity of the first born is given to Cain over Abel.

Ge 4:9

4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: {h} [Am] I my brother's keeper?

(h) This is the nature of the reprobate when they are rebuke for their hypocrisy, even to neglect God and outrage him.

Ge 4:10

4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the {i} voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. {i} God avenges the wrongs against his saints, though no one complains: for the iniquity itself cries for vengeance.

Ge 4:11

4:11 And now [art] thou cursed {k} from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

(k) The earth will be a witness against you, which mercifully received the blood you most cruelly shed.

Ge 4:12

4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a {l} fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

(l) You will never have rest for your heart will be in continual fear and worry.

Ge 4:13

4:13 And Cain said unto the LORD, {m} My punishment [is] greater than I can bear.

(m) He burdens God as a cruel judge because he punished him so severely.

Ge 4:15

4:15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, {n} vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a {o} mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

(n) Not for the love he had for Cain, but to suppress murder.
(o) Which was some visible sign of God's judgment, that others should fear by it.

Ge 4:17

4:17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a {p} city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

(p) Thinking by this to be safe, and to have less reason to fear God's judgments against him.

Ge 4:19

4:19 And Lamech took unto him {q} two wives: the name of the one [was] Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

(q) The lawful institution of marriage, which is, that two should be one flesh, was first corrupted in the house of Cain by Lamech.

Ge 4:23

4:23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: {r} for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

(r) His wives seeing that all men hated him for his cruelty, were afraid, therefore he brags that there is none strong enough to resist, even though he was already wounded.

Ge 4:24

4:24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech {s} seventy and sevenfold.

(s) He mocked at God's tolerance in Cain jesting as though God would allow no one to punish him and yet give him permission to murder others.

Ge 4:26

4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to {t} call upon the name of the LORD.

(t) In these days God began to move the hearts of the godly to restore religion, which had been suppressed by the wicked for a long time.

Ge 5:1

5:1 This [is] the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the {a} likeness of God made he him;

(a) Read Ge 1:26.

Ge 5:2

5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name {b} Adam, in the day when they were created.

(b) By giving them both one name, he notes the inseparable conjunction of man and wife.

Ge 5:3

5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own {c} likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

(c) As well, concerning his creation, as his corruption.

Ge 5:6

5:6 And {d} Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:

(d) He proves Adam's generation by those who came from Seth, to show the true Church, and also what care God had over the same from the beginning, in that he continued his graces toward it by a continual succession.

Ge 5:8

5:8 And all the days of Seth were {e} nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.

(e) The main reason for long life in the first age, was the multiplication of mankind, that according to God's commandment at the beginning the world might be filled with people, who would universally praise him.

Ge 5:22

5:22 And Enoch {f} walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

(f) That is, he led an upright and godly life.

Ge 5:24

5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for {g} God took him.

(g) To show that there was a better life prepared and to be a testimony of the immortality of souls and bodies. To inquire where he went is mere curiosity.

Ge 5:29

5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall {h} comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

(h) Lamech had respect for the promise, Ge 3:15, and desired to see the deliverer who would be sent and yet saw but a figure of it. He spoke this by the spirit of prophecy because Noah delivered the Church and preserved it by his obedience.

Ge 6:2

6:2 That the {a} sons of God saw the daughters {b} of men that they [were] {c} fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

(a) The children of the godly who began to degenerate.
(b) Those that had wicked parents, as if from Cain.
(c) Having more respect for their beauty and worldly considerations than for their manners and godliness.

Ge 6:3

6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always {d} strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an {e} hundred and twenty years.

(d) Because man could not by won by God's leniency and patience by which he tried to win him, he would no longer withhold his vengeance.
(e) Which time span God gave man to repent before he would destroy the earth, 1Pe 3:20.

Ge 6:4

6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men of {f} renown.

(f) Who usurped authority over others, and degenerated from that simplicity, in which their father's lived.

Ge 6:6

6:6 And it {g} repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

(g) God never repents, but he speaks in human terms, because he destroyed him, and in a way denied him as his creature.

Ge 6:7

6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and {h} beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

(h) God declares how much he detests sin, seeing the punishment of it extends to the brute beasts.

Ge 6:8

6:8 But Noah {i} found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

(i) God was merciful to him.

Ge 6:11

6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with {k} violence.

(k) Meaning, that all were given to the contempt of God, and oppression of their neighbours.

Ge 6:16

6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; [with] {1} lower, second, and third [stories] shalt thou make it.

(1) That is, of three heights.

Ge 6:18

6:18 But with thee will I {m} establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

(m) So that in this great undertaking and mocking of the whole world, you may be confirmed so your faith does not fail.

Ge 6:22

6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, {n} so did he.

(n) That is, he obeyed God's commandment in all points without adding or taking away.

Ge 7:1

7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen {a} righteous before me in this generation.

(a) In respect to the rest of the world, and because he had a desire to serve God and live uprightly.

Ge 7:2

7:2 Of every {b} clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that [are] not clean by two, the male and his female.

(b) Which might be offered in sacrifice, of which six were for breeding and the seventh for sacrifice.

Ge 7:9

7:9 There {c} went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

(c) God compelled them to present themselves to Noah, as they did before to Adam, when he gave them names, Ge 2:19.

Ge 7:11

7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the {e} fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

(e) Both the waters in the earth overflowed and also the clouds poured down.

Ge 7:15

7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two {f} of all flesh, wherein [is] the breath of life.

(f) Every living thing that God would have be preserved on earth, came into the ark to Noah.

Ge 7:16

7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD {g} shut him in.

(g) So that God's secret power defended him against the rage of the mighty waters.

Ge 7:23

7:23 And every living substance was destroyed {h} which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only {i} remained [alive], and they that [were] with him in the ark.

(h) That is, by God.
(i) Learn what it is to obey God only, and to forsake the multitude, 1Pe 3:20.

Ge 8:1

8:1 And God {a} remembered Noah, and {b} every living thing, and all the cattle that [was] with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

(a) Not that God forgets his at any time, but when he sends comfort then he shows that he remembers them.
(b) If God remembered every brute beast, that ought also to assure his children.

Ge 8:4

8:4 And the ark rested in the {c} seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

(c) Part of September and part of October.

Ge 8:5

8:5 And the waters decreased continually until the {d} tenth month: in the tenth [month], on the first [day] of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

(d) Which was the month of December.

Ge 8:9

8:9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters [were] on the face of the whole earth: then he {e} put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

(e) The raven flew to and fro, resting on the ark, but did not come into it, unlike the dove that was taken in.

Ge 8:11

8:11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth [was] an {f} olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

(f) Which was a sign that the waters were much diminished: for the olives do not grow on the high mountains.

Ge 8:13

8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the {g} first [month], the first [day] of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

(g) Called in Hebrew Abib, part of March and part of April.

Ge 8:16

8:16 {h} Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.

(h) Noah declares his obedience, in that he would not leave the ark without God's express commandment, as he did not enter in without the same: the ark being a figure of the Church, in which nothing must be done outside the word of God.

Ge 8:20

8:20 And Noah {i} builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

(i) For sacrifices which were as an exercise of their faith, by which they used to give thanks to God for his benefits.

Ge 8:21

8:21 And the LORD smelled a {k} sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart [is] evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

(k) That is, by it he showed himself appeased and his anger at rest.

Ge 8:22

8:22 While the earth remaineth, {l} seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

(l) The order of nature destroyed by the flood, is restored by God's promise.

Ge 9:1

9:1 And God {a} blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

(a) God increased them with fruit, and declared to them his counsel as concerning the replenishing of the earth.

Ge 9:2

9:2 And the {b} fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

(b) By the virtue of this commandment, beasts do not rage as much against man as they would, yea and many serve his purposes by it.

Ge 9:3

9:3 Every {c} moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

(c) By this permission man may with a good conscience use the creatures of God for his needs.

Ge 9:4

9:4 {d} But flesh with the life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

(d) That is, living creatures, and the flesh of beasts that are strangled: and by this all cruelty is forbidden.

Ge 9:5

9:5 {e} And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

(e) That is, I will take vengeance for your blood.

Ge 9:6

9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, {f} by man shall his blood be shed: for in the {g} image of God made he man.

(f) Not only by the magistrate, but often God raises up one murderer to kill another.
(g) Therefore to kill man is to deface God's image, and so injury is not only done to man, but also to God.

Ge 9:9

9:9 And I, behold, I establish my {h} covenant with you, and with your {i} seed after you;

(h) To assure you that the world will never again be destroyed by a flood.
(i) The children which are not yet born, are comprehended in God's covenant with their fathers.

Ge 9:13

9:13 I do set my {k} bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

(k) By this we see that signs or ordinances should not be separate from the word.

Ge 9:15

9:15 And I will remember my {l} covenant, which [is] between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

(l) When men see my bow in the sky, they will know that I have not forgotten my covenant with them.

Ge 9:17

9:17 And God said unto Noah, {m} This [is] the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.

(m) God repeats this often to confirm Noah's faith even more.

Ge 9:19

9:19 These [are] the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth {n} overspread.

(n) This declares what the virtue of God's blessing was, when he said, increase and bring forth in Ge 1:28.

Ge 9:21

9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was {o} drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

(o) This is set before us to show what a horrible thing drunkenness is.

Ge 9:22

9:22 And Ham, the father of {p} Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and {q} told his two brethren without.

(p) Of whom came the Canaanites that wicked nation, who were also cursed by God.
(q) In derision and contempt of his father.

Ge 9:25

9:25 And he said, {r} Cursed [be] Canaan; a {s} servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

(r) He pronounces as a prophet the curse of God against all those who do not honour their parents: for Ham and his posterity were cursed.
(s) That is, a most vile slave.

Ge 9:27

9:27 God shall {t} enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

(t) He declares that the Gentiles, who came from Japheth, and were separated from the Church, should be joined to the same by the persuasion of God's Spirit, and preaching of the gospel.

Ge 10:1

10:1 {a} Now these [are] the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

(a) These generations are here recited, partly to declare the marvellous increase, and also to set forth their great forgetfulness of God's grace towards their fathers.

Ge 10:2

10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and {b} Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

(b) Of Madai and Javan came the Medes and Greeks.

Ge 10:5

10:5 By these were the {c} isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

(c) So do the Jews call all countries which are separated from them by sea, as Greece, Italy etc, which were given to the children of Japheth, of whom came the Gentiles.

Ge 10:6

10:6 And the sons of Ham; {d} Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

(d) Of Cush and Mizraim came the Ethiopians and Egyptians.

Ge 10:8

10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a {e} mighty one in the earth.

(e) Meaning, a cruel oppressor and tyrant.

Ge 10:9

10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even {f} as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

(f) His tyranny came into a proverb as hated both by God and man: for he did not cease to commit cruelty even in God's presence.

Ge 10:10

10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of {g} Shinar.

(g) For there was another city in Egypt, called Babel.

Ge 10:13

10:13 And Mizraim begat {h} Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

(h) Of Lud came the Lydians.

Ge 10:21

10:21 Unto {i} Shem also, the father of all the children of {k} Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were [children] born.

(i) In his stock the Church was preserved: therefore Moses stops speaking of Japheth and Ham, and speaks of Shem extensively.
(k) Of whom came the Hebrews or Jews.

Ge 10:25

10:25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one [was] Peleg; for in his days was the earth {l} divided; and his brother's name [was] Joktan.

(l) This division came by the diversity of language, as appears in Ge 11:9.

Ge 11:2

11:2 And it came to pass, {a} as {b} they journeyed from the {c} east, that they found a plain in the land of {d} Shinar; and they dwelt there.

(a) One hundred and thirty years after the flood.
(b) That is, Nimrod and his company.
(c) That is, from Armenia where the ark stayed.
(d) Which was afterward called Chaldea.

Ge 11:4

11:4 And they said, Go to, let us {e} build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

(e) They were moved with pride and ambition, preferring their own glory to God's honour.

Ge 11:5

11:5 And the LORD {f} came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

(f) Meaning, that he declared by effect, that he knew their wicked enterprise; for God's power is everywhere, and neither ascends nor descends.

Ge 11:6

11:6 And the LORD said, {g} Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

(g) God speaks this in derision, because of their foolish persuasion and enterprise.

Ge 11:7

11:7 Go to, {h} let us go down, and {i} there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

(h) He speaks as though he took counsel with his own wisdom and power: that is, with the Son and holy Spirit: signifying the greatness and certainty of the punishment.
(i) By this great plague of the confusion of tongues appears God's horrible judgment against man's pride and vain glory.

Ge 11:10

11:10 These [are] the generations {k} of Shem: Shem [was] an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

(k) He returns to the genealogy of Shem, to come to the history of Abram, in which the Church of God is described, which is Moses' principle purpose.

Ge 11:27

11:27 Now these [are] the generations of Terah: Terah begat {1} Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

(1) He makes mention first of Abram, not because he was the first born, but for the history which properly belongs to him. Also Abram at the confusion of tongues was 43 years old, for in the destruction of Sodom he was 99 and it was destroyed 52 years after the confusion of tongues.

Ge 11:29

11:29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife [was] Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of {m} Iscah.

(m) Some think that this Iscah was Sarai.

Ge 11:31

11:31 And {n} Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto {o} Haran, and dwelt there.

(n) Though the oracle of God came to Abram, yet the honour is given to Terah, because he was the father.
(o) Which was a city of Mesopotamia.

Ge 12:1

12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, {a} Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto {b} a land that I will shew thee:

(a) From the flood to this time were four hundred and twenty-three years.
(b) In appointing him no certain place, he proves so much more his faith and obedience.

Ge 12:2

12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be {c} a blessing:

(c) The world shall recover by your seed, which is Christ, the blessing which they lost in Adam.

Ge 12:5

12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the {d} souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

(d) Meaning servants as well as cattle.

Ge 12:6

12:6 And Abram {e} passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the {f} Canaanite [was] then in the land.

(e) He wandered to and fro in the land before he could find a settling place: thus God exercises the faith of his children.
(f) Which was a cruel and rebellious nation, by whom God kept his in continual exercise.

Ge 12:7

12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he {g} an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

(g) It was not enough for him to worship God in his heart, but it was expedient to declare by outward profession his faith before men, of which this altar was a sign.

Ge 12:8

12:8 And he removed from {h} thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an {i} altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

(h) Because of the troubles that he had among that wicked people.
(i) And so served the true God, and renounced all idolatry.

Ge 12:9

12:9 {k} And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

(k) Thus the children of God may look for no rest in this world, but must wait for the heavenly rest and quietness.

Ge 12:10

12:10 And there was a {l} famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine [was] grievous in the land.

(l) This was a new trial of Abram's faith: by which we see that the end of one affliction is the beginning of another.

Ge 12:13

12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou [art] my {m} sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

(m) By this we learn not to use unlawful means nor to put others in danger to save ourselves, Ge 12:20. Though it may appear that Abram did not fear death, so much as dying without children, he acts as though God's promise had not taken place; in which appeared a weak faith.

Ge 12:15

12:15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was {n} taken into Pharaoh's house.

(n) To be his wife.

Ge 12:17

12:17 And the LORD {o} plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

(o) The Lord took the defence of this poor stranger against a mighty king: and as he is ever careful over his, so did he preserve Sarai.

Ge 12:20

12:20 And Pharaoh {p} commanded [his] men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

(p) To the intent that none should hurt him either in his person or goods.

Ge 13:1

13:1 And {a} Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

(a) His great riches gotten in Egypt, did not hinder him in following his vocation.

Ge 13:3

13:3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to {b} Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;

(b) He calls the place by the name which was later given to it, Ge 23:19.

Ge 13:6

13:6 And the land was not able to {c} bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

(c) This inconvenience came by their riches, which break friendships and the bounds of nature.

Ge 13:7

13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the {d} Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

(d) Who seeing their contention, might blaspheme God and destroy them.

Ge 13:8

13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no {e} strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we [be] brethren.

(e) He cuts off the opportunity for contention: therefore the evil ceases.

Ge 13:9

13:9 [Is] not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if [thou wilt {f} take] the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

(f) Abram resigns his own right to buy peace.

Ge 13:10

13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the {g} garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

(g) Which was in Eden, Ge 2:10.

Ge 13:11

13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the {h} one from the other.

(h) This was done by God's providence, that only Abram and his seed might dwell in the land of Canaan.

Ge 13:13

13:13 But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and {i} sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

(i) Lot thinking to get paradise, found hell.

Ge 13:14

13:14 And the LORD said unto {k} Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

(k) The Lord comforted him, lest he should have taken thought for the departure of his nephew.

Ge 13:15

13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for {l} ever.

(l) Meaning a long time, and till the coming of Christ as in Ex 12:14,21:6, De 15:17 and spiritually this refers to the true children of Abram born according to the promise, and not according to the flesh, which are heirs of the true land of Canaan.

Ge 14:1

14:1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of {a} Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of {b} nations;

(a) That is, of Babylon: by kings here, meaning, them that were governors of cities.
(b) Of a people gathered from various countries.

Ge 14:3

14:3 All these were {c} joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the {d} salt sea.

(c) Ambition is the chief cause of wars among princes.
(d) Called also the dead sea, or the lake Asphaltite, near Sodom and Gomorrah.

Ge 14:10

14:10 And the {e} vale of Siddim [was full of] slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

(e) And afterward was overwhelmed with water, and so was called the salt sea.

Ge 14:12

14:12 And they {f} took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

(f) The godly are plagued many times with the wicked: therefore their company is dangerous.

Ge 14:13

14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these [were] {g} confederate with Abram.

(g) God removed them to join Abram, and preserves him from their idolatry and superstitions.

Ge 14:18

14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem {h} brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God.

(h) For Abram and his soldiers refreshment, not to offer sacrifice.

Ge 14:19

14:19 And he {i} blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

(i) Melchizedek fed Abram, declared himself to represent a king, and he blessed him as the high priest.

Ge 14:24

14:24 {k} Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

(k) He did not want his liberality to be hurtful to others.

Ge 15:2

15:2 And Abram said, {a} Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus?

(a) His fear was not only lest he should not have children, but lest the promise of the blessed seed should not be accomplished in him.

Ge 15:8

15:8 And he said, Lord GOD, {b} whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

(b) This is a particular motion of God's Spirit, which is not lawful for all to follow, in asking signs: but was permitted for some by a peculiar motion, as to Gideon and Ezekiel.

Ge 15:10

15:10 And he took unto him all these, and {c} divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

(c) This was the old custom in making covenants, Jer 39:18, to which God added these conditions, that Abram's posterity would be as torn in pieces, but after they would be rejoined: also that it would be assaulted, but yet delivered.

Ge 15:13

15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them {d} four hundred years;

(d) Counting from the birth of Isaac to their departure of Egypt: Which declares that God will allow his to be afflicted in this world.

Ge 15:16

15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the {e} iniquity of the Amorites [is] not yet full.

(e) Though God tolerates the wicked for a time, yet his vengeance falls on them when the measure of their wickedness is full.

Ge 16:1

16:1 Now {a} Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name [was] Hagar.

(a) It seems that she had respect for God's promise, which could not be accomplished without issue.

Ge 16:2

16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath {b} restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

(b) She fails by limiting God's power to the common order of nature, as though God could not give her children in her old age.

Ge 16:4

16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was {c} despised in her eyes.

(c) This punishment declares what they gain if they attempt any thing against the word of God.

Ge 16:7

16:7 And the {d} angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

(d) Which was Christ, as appears in Ge 16:13,18:17.

Ge 16:9

16:9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, {e} Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

(e) God rejects no estate of people in their misery, but sends them comfort.

Ge 16:12

16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and {f} he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

(f) That is, the Ishmaelites will be a separate people by themselves and not part of another people.

Ge 16:13

16:13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, {g} Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

(g) She rebukes her own dullness and acknowledges God's graces, who was present with her everywhere.

Ge 17:4

17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a {a} father of many nations.

(a) Not only physical descendants, but of a far greater multitude by faith, Ro 4:17.

Ge 17:5

17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be {b} Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

(b) The changing of his name is a seal to confirm God's promise to him.

Ge 17:10

17:10 {c} This [is] my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

(c) Circumcision is called the covenant, because it signifies the covenant and has the promise of grace joined to it: a phrase that is common to all ordinances.

Ge 17:11

17:11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your {d} foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

(d) That private part is circumcised, to show that all that is begotten by man is corrupt, and must die.

Ge 17:14

17:14 And the uncircumcised {e} man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

(e) Though women were not circumcised, they still partook of God's promise: for under mankind all was consecrated. Here it is declared, that whoever condemns the sign, also despises the promise.

Ge 17:17

17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and {f} laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a child] be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

(f) Which proceeded from a sudden joy, and not from lack of faith.

Ge 17:19

17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an {g} everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.

(g) The everlasting covenant is made with the children of the Spirit. A temporary promise is made with the children of the flesh, as was promised to Ishmael.

Ge 17:23

17:23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and {h} circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

(h) They were well taught if they obeyed and were circumcised without resistance. This teaches that masters in their houses ought to be as preachers to their families, that from the highest to the lowest they may obey the will of God.

Ge 18:2

18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three {a} men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

(a) That is, three angels in the shape of men.

Ge 18:3

18:3 And said, My {b} Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

(b) Speaking to the one who appeared to be most majestic, for he thought they were men.

Ge 18:4

18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and {c} wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

(c) For men used to go bare footed in those parts because of the heat.

Ge 18:5

18:5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye {d} come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

(d) As sent by God that I should do my duty to you.

Ge 18:8

18:8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and {e} they did eat.

(e) For as God gave them bodies for a time, so he gave them the abilities of them, to walk, to eat and drink, and such like.

Ge 18:10

18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of {f} life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard [it] in the tent door, which [was] behind him.

(f) That is, about this time when she shall be alive, or when the child shall come into this life.

Ge 18:12

18:12 Therefore Sarah {g} laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

(g) For she believed the order of nature, rather than believing the promise of God.

Ge 18:17

18:17 And the {h} LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

(h) Jehovah the Hebrew word we call Lord, shows that this angel was Christ: for this word is only applied to God.

Ge 18:19

18:19 For I know him, {i} that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

(i) He shows that fathers ought both to know God's judgments, and to declare them to their children.

Ge 18:21

18:21 I will {k} go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the {l} cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

(k) God speaks after the fashion of men: that is, I will enter into judgment with good advise.
(l) For our sins cry for vengeance, though no one accuses us.

Ge 18:26

18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom {m} fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

(m) God declares that his judgments were done with great mercy, even though all were so corrupt that not only fifty but ten righteous men could not be found there, and also that the wicked are spared for the sake of the righteous.

Ge 18:27

18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which [am {n} but] dust and ashes:

(n) By this we learn, that the nearer we approach to God, the more our miserable estate appears, and the more we are humbled.

Ge 18:32

18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this {o} once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten's sake.

(o) If God did not refuse the prayer for the wicked Sodomites, even to the sixth request, how much more will he grant the prayers of the godly for the afflicted Church?

Ge 19:1

19:1 And there came two {a} angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing [them] rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

(a) In which we see God's provident care in preserving his: even though he does not reveal himself to all alike: for Lot had but two angels, and Abraham three.

Ge 19:3

19:3 And {b} he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they {c} did eat.

(b) That is, he begged them so insistently.
(c) Not because they had need, but because the time was not yet come for them to reveal themselves.

Ge 19:4

19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, [even] the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, {d} all the people from every quarter:

(d) Nothing is more dangerous than to live where sin reigns: for it corrupts all.

Ge 19:8

19:8 Behold now, I have two {e} daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; {f} for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

(e) He deserves praise for defending his guests, but he is to be blamed for seeking unlawful means.
(f) That I should preserve them from all injury.

Ge 19:13

19:13 For {g} we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

(g) This proves that the angels are ministers, both to execute God's wrath and to declare his favour.

Ge 19:16

19:16 And while he {h} lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

(h) The mercy of God strives to overcome man's slowness in following God's calling.

Ge 19:17

19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; {i} look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

(i) He willed him to flee God's judgments and not to be sorry to leave that rich country, full of vain pleasures.

Ge 19:20

19:20 Behold now, this city [is] near to flee unto, and it [is] a little one: Oh, let me escape thither,
([is] it not a {k} little one?) and my soul shall live.

(k) Though it is little, yet it is great enough to save my life: in which he errs by choosing another place than the angel had appointed him.

Ge 19:22

19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I {l} cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called {m} Zoar.

(l) Because God's commandment was to destroy the city and to save Lot.
(m) Which before was called Belah, in Ge 14:2.

Ge 19:26

19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a {n} pillar of salt.

(n) Concerning the body only: this was a notable monument of God's vengeance to all who passed that way.

Ge 19:30

19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he {o} feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

(o) Having felt God's mercy, he did not dare provoke him again by continuing among the wicked.

Ge 19:31

19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father [is] old, and [there is] not a man in the {p} earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

(p) Meaning in the country which the Lord had now destroyed.

Ge 19:32

19:32 Come, let us make our father {q} drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

(q) For unless he had been drunk, he would never have done that abominable act.

Ge 19:36

19:36 Thus were {r} both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

(r) Thus God permitted him to fall most horribly in the solitary mountains, whom the wickedness of Sodom could not overcome.

Ge 19:37

19:37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the {s} Moabites unto this day.

(s) Who as they were born in most horrible incest, so were they and their posterity vile and wicked.

Ge 19:38

19:38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name {t} Benammi: the same [is] the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

(t) That is, son of my people: signifying that they rejoiced in their sin, rather than repenting of it.

Ge 20:1

20:1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and {a} Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

(a) Which was toward Egypt.

Ge 20:2

20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, {b} She [is] my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

(b) Abraham had now twice fallen into this sin: such is man's frailty.

Ge 20:3

20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, {c} thou [art but] a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she [is] a man's wife.

(c) So greatly God detests the breach of marriage.

Ge 20:4

20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also {d} a righteous nation?

(d) The infidels confessed that God would not punish but for just occasion: therefore, when he punishes, the occasion is just.

Ge 20:5

20:5 Said he not unto me, She [is] my sister? and she, even she herself said, He [is] my brother: in the integrity of my {e} heart and {f} innocency of my hands have I done this.

(e) As one falling by ignorance, and not doing evil on purpose.
(f) Not thinking to do any man harm.

Ge 20:6

20:6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also {g} withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

(g) God by his holy Spirit restrains those who offend in ignorance, that they not fall into greater offence..

Ge 20:7

20:7 Now therefore restore the man [his] wife; for he [is] a {h} prophet, and he {i} shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore [her] not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that [are] thine.

(h) That is, one to whom God reveals himself familiarly.
(i) For the prayer of the godly is of force towards God.

Ge 20:9

20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my {k} kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

(k) The wickedness of the king brings God's wrath on the whole realm.

Ge 20:11

20:11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the {l} fear of God [is] not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

(l) He shows that no honesty can be hoped for, where there is no fear of God.

Ge 20:12

20:12 And yet indeed [she is] my {m} sister; she [is] the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

(m) By sister, he means his full cousin, and by daughter Abraham's niece, Ge 11:29 for so the Hebrews use these words.

Ge 20:16

20:16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand [pieces] of silver: behold, he [is] to thee a {n} covering of the eyes, unto all that [are] with thee, and with all [other]: {o} thus she was reproved.

(n) Such a head as with whom you may be preserved from all dangers.
(o) God caused this heathen king to reprove her because she concealed her identity, seeing that God had given her a husband as her veil and defence.

Ge 20:18

20:18 For the LORD {p} had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

(p) Had taken away from them the gift of conceiving.

Ge 21:2

21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his {a} old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

(a) Therefore the miracle was greater.

Ge 21:7

21:7 And she said, {b} Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born [him] a son in his old age.

(b) She accuses herself of ingratitude, that she did not believe the angel.

Ge 21:9

21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, {c} mocking.

(c) He derided God's promise made to Isaac which the apostle calls persecution Ga 4:29.

Ge 21:12

21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be {d} called.

(d) The promised seed will be from Isaac, and not from Ishmael, Ro 9:7, He 11:18.

Ge 21:13

21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make {e} a nation, because he [is] thy seed.

(e) The Ishmaelites will come from him.

Ge 21:14

21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave [it] unto Hagar, putting [it] on her shoulder, and the child, and {f} sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

(f) True faith renounces all natural affections to obey God's commandment.

Ge 21:17

21:17 And God {g} heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he [is].

(g) For his promise sake made to Abraham; and not because the child had discretion and judgment to pray.

Ge 21:19

21:19 And God {h} opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

(h) Unless God opens our eyes, we can neither see, nor use the means which are before us.

Ge 21:20

21:20 And God was {i} with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

(i) Concerning outward things God caused him to prosper.

Ge 21:24

21:24 And Abraham said, I will {k} swear.

(k) So that it is a lawful thing to take an oath in matters of importance, to justify the truth, and to assure others of our sincerity.

Ge 21:26

21:26 And Abimelech said, {l} I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I [of it], but to day.

(l) Wicked servants do many evils unknown to their masters.

Ge 21:32

21:32 Thus they made a {m} covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

(m) Thus we see that the godly, concerning outward things may make peace with the wicked that do not know the true God.

Ge 21:33

21:33 And [Abraham] planted a grove in Beersheba, and {n} called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.

(n) That is, he worshipped God in all points of true religion.

Ge 22:2

22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of {a} Moriah; and {b} offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

(a) Signifying the fear of God, in which place he was also honoured, Solomon later building the temple there.
(b) This was the main point of his temptation, seeing that he was commanded to offer up him in whom God had promised to bless all the nations of the world.

Ge 22:5

22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and {e} come again to you.

(e) He did not doubt that God would accomplish his promise, even if he should sacrifice his son.

Ge 22:8

22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a {d} burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

(d) The only way to overcome all temptation is to rest on God's providence.

Ge 22:9

22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and {e} bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

(e) For it is likely that his father had told him God's commandment, to which he showed himself obedient.

Ge 22:12

22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I {f} know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.

(f) That is, by your true obedience you have declared your living faith.

Ge 22:14

22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall {g} be seen.

(g) The name is changed to show that God both sees and provides secretly for his and also evidently is seen, and felt in the right time.

Ge 22:16

22:16 And said, By {h} myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son]:

(h) Signifying, that there is none greater then he.

Ge 22:24

22:24 And his {i} concubine, whose name [was] Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

(i) Concubine is often used to refer to those women who were inferior to the wives.

Ge 23:3

23:3 And Abraham {a} stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

(a) That is, when he had mourned: so the godly may mourn if they do not pass measure, and the natural affection is commendable.

Ge 23:6

23:6 Hear us, my lord: thou [art] a {b} mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. {b} That is godly or excellent: for so do the Hebrews speak of all things that are notable, because all excellency comes from God.

Ge 23:10

23:10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, [even] of all that {c} went in at the gate of his city, saying,

(c) Meaning all the citizens and inhabitants.

Ge 23:12

23:12 And Abraham {d} bowed down himself before the people of the land.

(d) To show that he had them in good estimation and reverence.

Ge 23:15

23:15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land [is worth] four hundred {e} shekels of silver; what [is] that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

(e) The common shekel is about 20 pence, so then 400 shekels is equal to 33 pounds, 6 shillings and 8 pence at 5 shilling sterling to the ounce.

Ge 23:20

23:20 And the field, and the cave that [is] therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace {f} by the sons of Heth.

(f) That is, all the people confirmed the sale.

Ge 24:2

24:2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, {a} Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

(a) Which ceremony declared, the servants obedience towards his master, and the master's power over the servant.

Ge 24:3

24:3 And I will make thee {b} swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

(b) This shows that an oath may be required in a lawful cause.

Ge 24:4

24:4 But thou shalt go unto my {c} country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

(c) He did not want his son to marry out of the godly family: for the problems that come from marrying the ungodly are set forth in various places throughout the scriptures.

Ge 24:6

24:6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son {d} thither again.

(d) Lest he should love the inheritance promised.

Ge 24:10

24:10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master [were] in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the {e} city of Nahor.

(e) That is, to Charran.

Ge 24:12

24:12 And he said, O {f} LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

(f) He grounds his prayer on God's promise made to his master.

Ge 24:14

24:14 {g} And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: [let the same be] she [that] thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

(g) The servant moved by God's spirit sought assurance by a sign, as to whether or not God would prosper his journey.

Ge 24:15

24:15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, {h} Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

(h) God gives success to all things that are done for the glory of his name and according to his word.

Ge 24:16

24:16 And the damsel [was] very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she {i} went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

(i) Here is declared that God hears the prayers of his own, and grants their requests.

Ge 24:22

24:22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden {k} earring of {l} half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten [shekels] weight of gold;

(k) God permitted many things both in apparel and other things which are now forbidden especially when they do not suit our humble estate.
(l) The golden shekel is meant here, not silver.

Ge 24:27

24:27 And he said, Blessed [be] the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy {m} and his truth: I [being] in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.

(m) He does not boast in his good fortune
(as the wicked do) but acknowledges that God has dealt mercifully with this matter in keeping his promise.

Ge 24:30

24:30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, {n} he stood by the camels at the well.

(n) For he waited on God's hand, who heard his prayer.

Ge 24:32

24:32 And the man came into the house: and {o} he ungirded his {p} camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that [were] with him.

(o) That is, Laban.
(p) The gentle entertainment of strangers practised by the godly fathers.

Ge 24:33

24:33 And there was set [meat] before him to eat: but he said, I {q} will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

(q) The faithfulness that servants owe to their masters, causes them to prefer their masters business before their own needs.

Ge 24:35

24:35 And the LORD hath {r} blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

(r) To bless signifies here to enrich, or increase with substance as the text in the same verse declares.

Ge 24:37

24:37 And my master made me swear, saying, {s} Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

(s) The Canaanites were cursed, and therefore the godly could not join with them in marriage.

Ge 24:38

24:38 But thou shalt go unto my {t} father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.

(t) Meaning among his relatives, as in Ge 24:40.

Ge 24:41

24:41 Then shalt thou be clear from [this] {u} my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee [one], thou shalt be clear from my oath.

(u) Which by my authority I caused you to make.

Ge 24:45

24:45 And before I had done speaking in mine {x} heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew [water]: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

(x) Signifying that this prayer was not spoken by the mouth, but only in his heart.

Ge 24:48

24:48 {y} And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

(y) He shows our duty when we have received any benefit from the Lord.

Ge 24:49

24:49 And now if ye will deal {z} kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the {a} right hand, or to the left.

(z) If you will freely and faithfully give your daughter to my master's son.
(a) That is, that I may look elsewhere.

Ge 24:50

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, {b} The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

(b) As soon as they perceived that it was God's ordinance they yielded.

Ge 24:57

24:57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at {c} her mouth.

(c) This shows that parents do not have the authority to marry their children without the consent of both parties.

Ge 24:60

24:60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou [art] our sister, be thou [the mother] of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the {d} gate of those which hate them.

(d) That is, let them be victorious over their enemies: a blessing that is fully accomplished through Jesus Christ.

Ge 24:63

24:63 And Isaac went out to {e} meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels [were] coming.

(e) This was the habit of the godly fathers to meditate on God's promises, and to pray for the accomplishment of it. The custom was that the bride was brought to her husband, her head covered, a token of humbleness and purity.

Ge 25:1

25:1 Then again Abraham {a} took a wife, and her name [was] Keturah.

(a) While Sarah was yet alive.

Ge 25:6

25:6 But unto the {b} sons of the {c} concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham {d} gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

(b) For by virtue of God's word he not only had Isaac, but begat many more.
(c) See Ge 22:24.
(d) To avoid the disputing that otherwise might have come because of the heritage.

Ge 25:17

25:17 And these [are] the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his {f} people.

(f) Who dwelt among the Arabians, and were separate from the blessed seed.

Ge 25:18

25:18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that [is] before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: [and] he died {g} in the presence of all his brethren.

(g) He means that his lot fell to dwell among his brethren as the angel promised.

Ge 25:22

25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why [am] I {h} thus? And she went {i} to enquire of the LORD.

(h) That is, with child, seeing one shall destroy another.
(i) For that is the only refuge in all our miseries.

Ge 25:32

25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I [am] at the point to die: and what {k} profit shall this birthright do to me?

(k) The reprobate do not value God's benefits unless they feel them presently, and therefore they prefer present pleasures.

Ge 25:33

25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he {l} sold his birthright unto Jacob.

(l) Thus the wicked prefer their worldly conveniences over God's spiritual graces: but the children of God do the opposite.

Ge 26:1

26:1 And there was a famine in the {a} land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

(a) In the land of Canaan.

Ge 26:2

26:2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, {b} Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

(b) God's providence always watches to direct the ways of his children.

Ge 26:5

26:5 Because that Abraham {c} obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

(c) He commends Abraham's obedience, because Isaac should be even more ready to follow the same: for as God made this promise of his free mercy, so does the confirmation of it proceed from the same fountain.

Ge 26:7

26:7 And the men of the place asked [him] of his wife; and he said, She [is] my sister: {d} for he feared to say, [She is] my wife; lest, [said he], the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she [was] fair to look upon.

(d) By which we see that fear and distrust is found in the most faithful.

Ge 26:8

26:8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] {e} sporting with Rebekah his wife.

(e) Or showing some familiar sign of love, by which it might be known that she was his wife.

Ge 26:10

26:10 And Abimelech said, What [is] this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought {f} guiltiness upon us.

(f) In all ages men were persuaded that God's vengeance would come on adulterers.

Ge 26:14

26:14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines {g} envied him.

(g) The malicious always envy the graces of God in others.

Ge 26:17

26:17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the {k} valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

(k) The Hebrew word signifies a flood, or valley, where water at any time runs.

Ge 26:24

26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I [am] the God {i} of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I [am] with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

(i) God assures Isaac against all fear by rehearsing the promise made to Abraham.

Ge 26:25

26:25 And he builded an {x} altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

(x) To signify that he would serve no other God, but the God of his father Abraham.

Ge 26:29

26:29 {l} That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou [art] now the blessed of the LORD.

(l) The Hebrews in swearing begin commonly with "If" and understand the rest, that is, that God will punish him who breaks the oath: here the wicked show that they are afraid lest that happen to them which they would do to others.

Ge 27:4

27:4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring [it] to me, that I may eat; that my {a} soul may bless thee before I die.

(a) The carnal affection he had for his son made him forget what God spoke to his wife. Ge 25:23.

Ge 27:9

27:9 {b} Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

(b) This trickery is worthy of blame because she should have waited for God to perform his promise.

Ge 27:13

27:13 And his mother said unto him, {c} Upon me [be] thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me [them].

(c) The assurance of God's decree made her bold.

Ge 27:19

27:19 And Jacob said unto his father, {d} I [am] Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

(d) Although Jacob was assured of this blessing by faith: yet he did evil to seek it by lies, even more because he abuses God's name through it.

Ge 27:22

27:22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The {e} voice [is] Jacob's voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.

(e) This declares that he suspected something, yet God would not have his decree altered.

Ge 27:33

27:33 And Isaac {f} trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where [is] he that hath taken venison, and brought [it] me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, [and] he shall be blessed.

(f) In perceiving his error, by appointing his heir against God's sentence pronounced before.

Ge 27:36

27:36 And he said, Is not he rightly named {g} Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

(g) In Ge 25:26 he was so called because he held his brother by the heel, as though he would overthrow him: and therefore he is here called an overthrower, or deceiver.

Ge 27:37

27:37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him
(h) thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

(h) For Isaac did this as he was the minister and prophet of God.

Ge 27:40

27:40 And {i} by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt {k} serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

(i) Because your enemies will be all around you.
(k) Which was fulfilled in his posterity the Idumeans: who were tributaries for a time to Israel, and later came to freedom.

Ge 27:41

27:41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; {l} then will I slay my brother Jacob.

(l) Hypocrites only abstain from doing evil for fear of men.

Ge 27:42

27:42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, {m} as touching thee, doth comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee.

(m) He hopes to recover his birthright by killing you.

Ge 27:45

27:45 Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget [that] which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be {n} deprived also of you both in one day?

(n) For the wicked son will kill the godly: and the plague of God will later come on the wicked son.

Ge 27:46

27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the {o} daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land, {p} what good shall my life do me?

(o) Who were Esau's wives.
(p) By this she persuaded Isaac to agree to Jacob's leaving.

Ge 28:1

28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and {a} blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

(a) This second blessing was to confirm Jacob's faith, lest he should think that his father had given it without God's leading.

Ge 28:4

28:4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a {b} stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

(b) The godly fathers were continually reminded that they were but strangers in this world: so that they would lift up their eyes to the heavens where they have a certain dwelling.

Ge 28:9

28:9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of {c} Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

(c) Thinking by this to have reconciled himself to his father, but all in vain: for he does not take away the cause of the evil.

Ge 28:12

28:12 And he dreamed, and behold a {d} ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

(d) Christ is the ladder by which God and man are joined together, and by whom the angels minister to us: all graces are given to us by him, and we ascend to heaven by him.

Ge 28:13

28:13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I [am] the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee {e} will I give it, and to thy seed;

(e) He felt the force of this promise only by faith: for all his life he was a stranger in this land.

Ge 28:17

28:17 And he was {f} afraid, and said, How dreadful [is] this place! this [is] none other but the house of God, and this [is] the gate of heaven.

(f) He was touched with a godly fear and reverence.

Ge 28:18

28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put [for] his pillows, and {g} set it up [for] a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

(g) To be a reminder of the vision shown to him.

Ge 28:20

28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If {h} God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

(h) He does not bind God under this condition, but acknowledges his infirmity, and promises to be thankful.

Ge 29:1

29:1 Then Jacob {a} went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.

(a) Or, "lifted up his feet".

Ge 29:2

29:2 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, {b} and, lo, there [were] three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone [was] upon the well's mouth.

(b) Thus he was directed by the providence of God, who brought him to Laban's house.

Ge 29:4

29:4 And Jacob said unto them, My {c} brethren, whence [be] ye? And they said, Of Haran [are] we.

(c) It seems that in those days the custom was to call even strangers, brethren.

Ge 29:6

29:6 And he said unto them, {d} [Is] he well? And they said, [He is] well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.

(d) Or, "he is in peace?" by which the Hebrews mean prosperity.

Ge 29:13

29:13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban {e} all these things.

(e) That is, the reason why he departed from his father's house, and what he saw during his journey.

Ge 29:14

29:14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou [art] my {f} bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.

(f) That is, of my blood and kindred.

Ge 29:20

29:20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him [but] a {g} few days, for the love he had to her.

(g) Meaning after the years were accomplished.

Ge 29:23

29:23 And {h} it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.

(h) The reason Jacob was deceived was that in ancient times the wife was covered with a veil, when she was brought to her husband as a sign of purity and humbleness.

Ge 29:26

29:26 And Laban said, {i} It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

(i) He valued the profit he had from Jacob's service more than either his promise or the customs of the country, though he used custom for his excuse.

Ge 29:31

29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah [was] hated, he {k} opened her womb: but Rachel [was] barren.

(k) This declares that often they who are despised by men are favoured by God.

Ge 29:32

29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the {l} LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will {m} love me.

(l) By this it appears that she had sought help from God in her affliction.
(m) For children are a great cause of mutual love between man and wife.

Ge 30:2

30:2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, [Am] I in {a} God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

(a) It is only God who makes one barren or fruitful, and therefore I am not at fault.

Ge 30:3

30:3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my {b} knees, that I may also have children by her.

(b) I will receive her children on my lap, as though they were my own.

Ge 30:8

30:8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, {c} and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

(c) The arrogancy of man's nature appears in that she condemns her sister, after she has received this benefit from God to bear children.

Ge 30:11

30:11 And Leah said, {d} A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

(d) That is, God increases me with a multitude of children for so Jacob explains this name Gad Ge 49:19.

Ge 30:14

30:14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found {e} mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.

(e) Which is a kind of herb whose root has a likeness to the figure of a man.

Ge 30:18

30:18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my {f} maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

(f) Instead of acknowledging her fault she boasts as if God had rewarded her for it.

Ge 30:23

30:23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my {g} reproach:

(g) Because fruitfulness came as God's blessing, who said "Increase and multiply", barrenness was counted as a curse.

Ge 30:30

30:30 For [it was] little which thou hadst before I [came], and it is [now] increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall {h} I provide for mine own house also?

(h) The order of nature requires that every one provide for his own family.

Ge 30:32

30:32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: {i} and [of such] shall be my hire.

(i) That which is spotted, from now on.

Ge 30:33

30:33 So shall my {k} righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that [is] not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

(k) God shall attest to my righteous dealing by rewarding my labours.

Ge 30:37

30:37 And Jacob {l} took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which [was] in the rods.

(l) Jacob used no deceit in this for it was God's commandment as he declares in Ge 31:9,11.

Ge 30:41

30:41 And it came to pass, whensoever the {m} stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

(m) As they which took the ram about September and brought forth about March: so the feebler in March and lamb in September.

Ge 31:1

31:1 And he heard the {a} words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that [was] our father's; and of [that] which [was] our father's hath he gotten all this glory.

(a) The children put in words what the father disguised in his heart for the covetous think that whatever they cannot take, is taken from them.

Ge 31:5

31:5 And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it [is] not toward me as before; but the {b} God of my father hath been with me.

(b) The God whom my fathers worshipped.

Ge 31:9

31:9 Thus {c} God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given [them] to me.

(c) This declares that the thing Jacob did before, was by God's commandment, and not through deceit.

Ge 31:13

31:13 {d} I [am] the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

(d) This angel was Christ who appeared to Jacob in Bethel: and by this it appears that he had taught his wives the fear of God: for he talks as though they knew this thing.

Ge 31:15

31:15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath {e} sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.

(e) For they were given to Jacob as payment for his service, which was a kind of sale.

Ge 31:19

31:19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the {f} images that [were] her father's.

(f) For so the word here signifies, because Laban calls them gods, Ge 31:30.

Ge 31:29

31:29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the {g} God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

(g) He was an idolater and therefore would not acknowledge the God of Jacob for his God.

Ge 31:42

31:42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the {h} fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked [thee] yesternight.

(h) That is, the God whom Isaac feared and reverenced.

Ge 31:44

31:44 Now therefore {i} come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

(i) His conscience reproved him for his misbehaviour toward Jacob, and therefore moved him to seek peace.

Ge 31:47

31:47 And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it {k} Galeed.

(k) The one named the place in the Syrian tongue, and the other in the Hebrew tongue.

Ge 31:49

31:49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD {l} watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

(l) To punish the trespasser.

Ge 31:50

31:50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take [other] {m} wives beside my daughters, no man [is] with us; see, God [is] witness betwixt me and thee.

(m) Nature compels him to condemn that vice, to which through covetousness he forced Jacob.

Ge 31:53

31:53 The God of Abraham, and the God of {n} Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the {o} fear of his father Isaac.

(n) Behold, how the idolaters mingle the true God with their false gods.
(o) Meaning, by the true God whom Isaac worshipped.

Ge 31:55

31:55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and {p} blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.

(p) We see that there is always some seed of the knowledge of God in the hearts of the wicked.

Ge 32:2

32:2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, {a} This [is] God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

(a) He acknowledges God's benefits: who for the preservation of his, sends hosts of angels.

Ge 32:4

32:4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my {b} lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

(b) He reverenced his brother in worldly things, because he mainly looked to be preferred to the spiritual promise.

Ge 32:7

32:7 Then Jacob was {c} greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that [was] with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

(c) Though he was comforted by the angels, yet the infirmity of the flesh appears.

Ge 32:10

32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my {d} staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

(d) that is, poor and without all provision.

Ge 32:11

32:11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, [and] the {e} mother with the children.

(e) Meaning, he will put all to death. This proverb comes from those who kill the bird together with the young ones.

Ge 32:13

32:13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a {f} present for Esau his brother;

(f) Not distrusting God's assistance, but using such means as God had given him.

Ge 32:20

32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I {g} will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

(g) He thought it no less to depart with these goods with the intent that he might follow the vocation to which God called him.

Ge 32:24

32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a {h} man with him until the breaking of the day.

(h) That is, God in the form of a man.

Ge 32:25

32:25 And when he saw that he {i} prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

(i) For God assails his with the one hand, and upholds them with the other.

Ge 32:28

32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou {k} power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

(k) God gave Jacob both power to overcome, and also the praise of the victory.

Ge 32:31

32:31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he {l} halted upon his thigh.

(l) The faithful to overcome their temptations, so that they feel the pain of it, so they would not boast, except in their humility.

Ge 33:1

33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he {a} divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

(a) That if the one part were assailed, the other might escape.

Ge 33:3

33:3 And he passed over before them, and {b} bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

(b) By this gesture he partly revered his brother and partly prayed to God to appease Esau's wrath.

Ge 33:6

33:6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they {c} bowed themselves.

(c) Jacob and his family are the image of the Church under the yoke of tyrants who out of fear are brought to subjection.

Ge 33:10

33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore {d} I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

(d) In that his brother embraced him so lovingly, contrary to his expectation, he accepted it as a clear sign of God's presence.

Ge 33:14

33:14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until {f} I come unto my lord unto Seir.

(f) He promised that which
(as it would seem) he did not plan to do.

Ge 33:20

33:20 And he erected there an altar, and called {g} it Elelohe-Israel.

(g) He calls the sign, the thing which it signifies, in token that God had mightily delivered him.

Ge 34:1

34:1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, {a} went out to see the daughters of the land.

(a) This example teaches us that too much liberty is not to be given to youth.

Ge 34:4

34:4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, {b} Get me this damsel to wife.

(b) This proves that the consent of parents is required in marriage, seeing that even the infidels observed it as a necessary thing.

Ge 34:14

34:14 And they said unto them, {c} We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that [were] a {d} reproach unto us:

(c) They used the holy ordinance of God a means to accomplish their wicked purpose.
(d) As it is abomination for those who are baptized to be joined to infidels.

Ge 34:15

34:15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we [be], that every male of you be {e} circumcised;

(e) Their fault is even greater since they made religion a disguise for their deceit.

Ge 34:20

34:20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the {f} gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

(f) For the people used to assemble there, and justice was administered.

Ge 34:21

34:21 These men [are] {g} peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, [it is] large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

(g) Thus many pretend to speak for a public profit, when in reality they are only speaking for their own private gain and convenience.

Ge 34:23

34:23 [Shall] not {h} their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs [be] ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.

(h) Thus they do not lack any form of perversion, who prefer their own convenience before the common good.

Ge 34:25

34:25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, {i} Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew {k} all the males.

(i) For they were the leaders of the company.
(k) The people are punished because of their wicked princes.

Ge 35:1

35:1 And {a} God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

(a) God is ever at hand to comfort his people in their troubles.

Ge 35:2

35:2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that [were] with him, Put away the strange gods that [are] among you, and be {b} clean, and change your garments:

(b) That by this outward act they should show their inward repentance.

Ge 35:4

35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which [were] in their hand, and [all their] {c} earrings which [were] in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which [was] by Shechem.

(e) For in this was some sign of superstition, as in tablets and Agnus deis
(a cake of wax, stamped with a lamb bearing a cross or flag, that has been blessed by the Pope).

Ge 35:5

35:5 And they journeyed: and the
(d) terror of God was upon the cities that [were] round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

(d) Thus, despite the inconvenience that came before, God delivered Jacob.

Ge 35:13

35:13 And God {e} went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

(e) As God is said to descend, when he shows some sign of his presence: so he is said to ascend when a vision is ended.

Ge 35:16

35:16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a {f} little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

(f) The Hebrew word signifies as much ground as one can cover from resting point to resting point, which is taken for half a days journey.

Ge 35:20

35:20 And Jacob set a {g} pillar upon her grave: that [is] the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.

(g) The ancient fathers used this ceremony to testify their hope of the resurrection to come, which was not generally revealed.

Ge 35:22

35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and {h} lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard [it]. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

(h) This teaches that the fathers were not chosen for their merits, but only by God's mercies, whose election was not changed by their faults.

Ge 36:1

36:1 Now these [are] {a} the generations of Esau, who [is] Edom.

(a) This genealogy declares that Esau was blessed physically and that his father's blessing took place in worldly things.

Ge 36:2

36:2 Esau took his wives of the {b} daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

(b) Besides those wives spoken of in Ge 26:34.

Ge 36:6

36:6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and {c} went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.

(c) In this, God's providence appears, which causes the wicked to give place to the godly, that Jacob might enjoy Canaan according to God's promise.

Ge 36:15

36:15 These [were] {d} dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn [son] of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,

(d) If God's promises are so sure towards those who are not of his household, how much more will he perform the same for us?

Ge 36:20

36:20 These [are] the sons of Seir the Horite, who {e} inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,

(e) Esau lived there before that.

Ge 36:24

36:24 And these [are] the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this [was that] Anah that found the {f} mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.

(f) Who not contented with those kinds of beasts, which God had created, discovered the monstrous generation of mules between the ass and the mare.

Ge 36:31

36:31 And these [are] the {g} kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.

(g) The wicked rise up suddenly to honour and perish as quickly: but the inheritance of the children of God continues forever, Ps 102:28.

Ge 36:37

36:37 And Samlah died, and Saul of {h} Rehoboth [by] the river reigned in his stead.

(h) Which is by the river Euphrates.

Ge 36:43

36:43 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these [be] the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he [is] Esau the father of the {i} Edomites.

(i) Of Edom came the Idumeans.

Ge 37:1

37:1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a {a} stranger, in the land of Canaan.

(a) That is, the story of such things as came to him and his family as in Ge 5:1

Ge 37:2

37:2 These [are] the generations of Jacob. Joseph, [being] seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad [was] with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil {b} report.

(b) He complained of the evil words and injuries which they spoke and did to him.

Ge 37:5

37:5 And Joseph {c} dreamed a dream, and he told [it] his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

(c) God revealed to him by a dream what should come to pass.

Ge 37:8

37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they {d} hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

(d) The more God shows himself favourable to his own, the more the malice of the wicked rages against them.

Ge 37:10

37:10 And he told [it] to his father, and to his brethren: and his father {e} rebuked him, and said unto him, What [is] this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

(e) Not despising the vision, but seeking to appease his brethren.

Ge 37:11

37:11 And his brethren envied him; but his father {f} observed the saying.

(f) He knew that God was the author of the dream, but he did not understand the meaning.

Ge 37:18

37:18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they
(g) conspired against him to slay him.

(g) The Holy Spirit does not cover the faults of men, as vain writers do, who make virtues out of vices.

Ge 37:24

37:24 And they took him, and cast {h} him into a pit: and the pit [was] empty, [there was] no water in it.

(h) Their hypocrisy appears in this that they feared man more than God: and thought it was not murder, if they did not shed his blood or had excuses to cover their fault.

Ge 37:28

37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the {i} Ishmeelites for twenty [pieces] of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

(i) Moses writes according to the opinion of those who took the Midianites and Ishmaelites to be one, and here mixes their names: as also appears in Ge 37:36,39:1 or else he was first offered to the Midianites, but sold to the Ishmaelites.

Ge 37:32

37:32 And they sent the coat of [many] colours, {k} and they brought [it] to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it [be] thy son's coat or no.

(k) That is, the messengers who were sent.

Ge 37:36

37:36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an {l} officer of Pharaoh's, [and] captain of the guard.

(l) Or "eunuch", which does not always signify a man that is gelded, but also someone that is in some high position.

Ge 38:1

38:1 And it came to pass at that time, that {a} Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name [was] Hirah.

(a) Moses describes the genealogy of Judah, because the Messiah should come from him.

Ge 38:2

38:2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name [was] Shuah; {b} and he took her, and went in unto her.

(b) A relationship which nonetheless was condemned by God.

Ge 38:8

38:8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise {c} up seed to thy brother.

(c) This order was for the preservation of the stock, since the child begotten by the second brother would have the name and inheritance of the first: a practice which is abolished in the New Testament.

Ge 38:11

38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, {d} Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren [did]. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

(d) For she could not marry in any other family so long as Judah would retain her in his.

Ge 38:16

38:16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee;
(for he {e} knew not that she [was] his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

(e) God miraculously blinded him so that he could not know her by her voice.

Ge 38:20

38:20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his {f} friend the Adullamite, to receive [his] pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.

(f) That his wickedness might not be known to others.

Ge 38:23

38:23 And Judah said, Let her take [it] to her, lest we be {g} shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

(g) He fears man more than God.

Ge 38:24

38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she [is] with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be {h} burnt.

(h) We see that the Law, which was written in man's heart, taught them that adultery should be punished with death, even though no law had been given yet.

Ge 38:26

38:26 And Judah acknowledged [them], and said, She hath been {i} more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again {k} no more.

(i) That is, she ought rather to accuse me than I her.
(k) for the horror of the sin condemned him.

Ge 38:29

38:29 And it came to pass, as he {l} drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How {m} hast thou broken forth? [this] breach [be] upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.

(l) Their heinous sin was signified by this monstrous birth.
(m) Or the separation between you and your brother.

Ge 39:1

39:1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an {a} officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.

(a) See Ge 37:36.

Ge 39:2

39:2 And the {b} LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

(b) The favour of God is the fountain of all prosperity.

Ge 39:4

39:4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him {c} overseer over his house, and all [that] he had he put into his hand.

(c) Because God prospered him: and so he made religion serve his profit.

Ge 39:5

39:5 And it came to pass from the time [that] he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD {d} blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

(d) The wicked are blessed by the company of the godly.

Ge 39:6

39:6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; {e} and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was [a] goodly [person], and well favoured.

(e) For he was sure that everything would prosper: therefore he ate and drank and did not worry.

Ge 39:7

39:7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, {f} Lie with me.

(f) In this word he declares the purpose she was working towards.

Ge 39:9

39:9 [There is] none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou [art] his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against {g} God?

(g) The fear of God preserved him against her continual temptations.

Ge 39:14

39:14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I {h} cried with a loud voice:

(h) This declares that in which lack of restraint exists and to this is joined extreme impudency and deceit.

Ge 39:20

39:20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the {i} prison, a place where the king's prisoners [were] bound: and he was there in the prison.

(i) His bad treatment in the prison may be gathered from Ps 105:18.

Ge 39:22

39:22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that [were] in the prison; and {k} whatsoever they did there, he was the doer [of it].

(k) That is, nothing was done without his commandment.

Ge 40:3

40:3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where {a} Joseph [was] bound.

(a) God works in many wonderful ways to deliver his own.

Ge 40:5

40:5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, {b} each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which [were] bound in the prison.

(b) That is, every dream had his interpretation, as the thing afterward declared.

Ge 40:8

40:8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and [there is] no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, {c} [Do] not interpretations [belong] to God? tell me [them], I pray you.

(c) Cannot God raise up such as shall interpret such things.

Ge 40:12

40:12 And Joseph said unto him, This {d} [is] the interpretation of it: The three branches [are] three days:

(d) He was reassured by the spirit of God, that his interpretation was true.

Ge 40:14

40:14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and {e} make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:

(e) He does not refuse the method of deliverance which he thought God had appointed.

Ge 40:16

40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also [was] in my dream, and, behold, [I had] three {f} white baskets on my head:

(f) That is made of white twigs, or as some read, baskets full of holes.

Ge 40:18

40:18 And Joseph answered and said, {g} This [is] the interpretation thereof: The three baskets [are] three days:

(g) He shows that the ministers of God should not conceal that, which God reveals to them.

Ge 40:20

40:20 And it came to pass the third day, [which was] Pharaoh's {h} birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.

(h) Which was an occasion to appoint his officers, and to examine those who were in prison.

Ge 41:1

41:1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh {a} dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.

(a) This dream was not so much for Pharaoh, as is was a means to deliver Joseph and to provide for God's Church.

Ge 41:5

41:5 And he slept and dreamed the {b} second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.

(b) All these means God used to deliver his servant, and to bring him into favour and authority.

Ge 41:8

41:8 And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was {c} troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but [there was] none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

(c) This fear was enough to teach him that this vision was sent by God.

Ge 41:9

41:9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I {e} do remember my faults this day:

(e) He confesses his fault against the king before he speaks of Joseph.

Ge 41:14

41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called {f} Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved [himself], and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.

(f) The wicked seek the prophets of God in their time of need, while in their prosperity they abhor them.

Ge 41:16

41:16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, {g} [It is] not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

(g) As though he would say if I interpret your dream it comes from God, and not from me.

Ge 41:25

41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, {h} The dream of Pharaoh [is] one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he [is] about to do.

(h) Both his dreams have the same message.

Ge 41:33

41:33 Now therefore let Pharaoh {i} look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

(i) The office of a true prophet is not only to show the evils to come, but also the remedies for the same.

Ge 41:38

41:38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find [such a one] as this [is], a man in whom the {k} Spirit of God [is]?

(k) No one should be honoured who does not have gifts from God fitting for the same.

Ge 41:40

41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy {l} word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

(l) Some read, "the people will kill your mouth", that is obey you in all things.

Ge 41:43

41:43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, {m} Bow the knee: and he made him [ruler] over all the land of Egypt.

(b) Or "Abrech": a sign of honour; a word some translate, tender father or father of the king, or kneel down.

Ge 41:46

41:46 And Joseph [was] {n} thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

(n) His age is mentioned both to show that his authority came from God, and also that he endured imprisonment and exile for twelve years or more.

Ge 41:51

41:51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, [said he], hath made me forget all my toil, and all my {o} father's house.

(o) Nonetheless, his father's house was the true Church of God: yet the company of the wicked and prosperity caused him to forget it.

Ge 42:1

42:1 Now when {a} Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye {b} look one upon another?

(a) This story shows plainly that all things are governed by God's providence for the profit of his Church.
(b) As men destitute of counsel.

Ge 42:7

42:7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but {c} made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

(c) This concealing is not to be followed, nor any actions of the father's not approved by God's word.

Ge 42:15

42:15 Hereby ye shall be proved: {d} By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

(d) The Egyptians who were idolaters, used to swear by their king's life: but God forbids swearing by anyone but him: yet Joseph dwelling among the wicked was corrupted by them.

Ge 42:18

42:18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; [for] I {e} fear God:

(e) And therefore am true and just.

Ge 42:21

42:21 And they said one to another, {f} We [are] verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

(f) Affliction makes men acknowledge their faults, which otherwise they would conceal.

Ge 42:22

42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his {g} blood is required.

(g) God will take vengeance on us, and measure us with our own measure.

Ge 42:24

42:24 And he turned himself about from them, and {h} wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

(h) Though he acts harshly, yet his brotherly affection remained.

Ge 42:28

42:28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, [it is] even in my sack: and their heart failed [them], and they were {i} afraid, saying one to another, What [is] this [that] God hath done unto us?

(i) Because their conscience accused them of their sin, they thought God had brought them trouble through the money.

Ge 42:36

42:36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved [of my children]: Joseph [is] not, and Simeon [is] not, and ye will take Benjamin [away]: all these things are against {k} me.

(k) For they did not seem to be concerned or have any love for their brother which increased his sorrow: and partly as it appears he suspected them for Joseph.

Ge 43:1

43:1 And the {a} famine [was] sore in the land.

(a) This was a great temptation to Jacob to suffer such a great famine in the land where God had promised to bless him.

Ge 43:12

43:12 And take {b} double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry [it] again in your hand; peradventure it [was] an oversight:

(b) When we are in need or danger, God does not forbid us to use honest means to better our estate and condition.

Ge 43:14

43:14 And {c} God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be {d} bereaved [of my children], I am bereaved.

(c) Our main trust should be in God, not in worldly means.
(d) He speaks these words not so much in despair, but to make his sons more careful to return with their brother.

Ge 43:18

43:18 And the men were {e} afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.

(e) So the judgment of God weighed on their consciences.

Ge 43:23

43:23 And he said, Peace [be] to you, fear not: {f} your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

(f) Despite the corruption of Egypt, Joseph taught his family to fear God.

Ge 43:29

43:29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his {g} mother's son, and said, [Is] this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

(g) For only these two were born of Rachel.

Ge 43:32

43:32 And they {h} set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that [is] an {i} abomination unto the Egyptians.

(h) To signify his dignity.
(i) The nature of the superstitions is to condemn all others in respect to themselves.

Ge 43:34

43:34 And he took [and sent] messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, {k} and were merry with him.

(k) Sometimes this word means "to be drunken", but here it means that they had enough, and drank of the best wine.

Ge 44:2

44:2 And {a} put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

(a) We may not use this example to justify any unlawful practices, seeing God has commanded us to walk in simplicity.

Ge 44:5

44:5 [Is] not this [it] in which my lord drinketh, and {b} whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.

(b) Because the people thought he could divine, he attributes to himself that knowledge: or else he pretends that he consults with soothsayers: which deceit is worthy to be reproved.

Ge 44:13

44:13 Then they {c} rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.

(c) To show how greatly the thing displeased them and how sorry they were for it.

Ge 44:16

44:16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? {d} God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we [are] my lord's servants, both we, and [he] also with whom the cup is found.

(d) If we see no obvious cause for our affliction, let us look to the secret counsel of God, who punishes us justly for our sins.

Ge 44:18

44:18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou [art] even {e} as Pharaoh.

(e) Equal in authority or, next to the king.

Ge 44:27

44:27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my {f} wife bare me two [sons]:

(f) Rachel bore to Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin.

Ge 44:29

44:29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, {g} ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. {g} You will cause me to die for sorrow.

Ge 44:34

44:34 For {h} how shall I go up to my father, and the lad [be] not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

(h) Meaning, he would rather remain as their prisoner, than to return and see his father in sorrow.

Ge 45:1

45:1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, {a} Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

(a) Not because he was ashamed of his kindred, but rather because he wanted to cover his brother's sin.

Ge 45:5

45:5 Now therefore be not {b} grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

(b) This example teaches that we must by all means comfort those who are truly ashamed and sorry for their sins.

Ge 45:8

45:8 So now [it was] not you [that] sent me hither, but {c} God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

(c) Though God detests sin, yet he turns man's wickedness into his glory.

Ge 45:12

45:12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that [it is] {d} my mouth that speaketh unto you.

(d) That is, that I speak in your own language and have no interpreter.

Ge 45:18

45:18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the {e} good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the {f} fat of the land.

(e) The most plentiful ground.
(f) The main fruits and conveniences.

Ge 45:24

45:24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye {g} fall not out by the way.

(g) Seeing he had remitted the fault done to him, he did not want them to accuse one another.

Ge 45:26

45:26 And told him, saying, Joseph [is] yet alive, and he [is] governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart {h} fainted, for he believed them not.

(h) As one between hope and fear.

Ge 46:1

46:1 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and {a} offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

(a) By this he signified both that he worshipped the true God, and that he kept in his heart the possession of that land from which need drove him at that time.

Ge 46:4

46:4 I will {b} go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely {c} bring thee up [again]: and Joseph shall {d} put his hand upon thine eyes.

(b) Conducting you by my power.
(c) In your posterity.
(d) Shall shut your eyes when you die: which belongs to him that was most dear or chief of the kindred.

Ge 46:32

46:32 And the men [are] {e} shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

(e) He was not ashamed of his father and kindred, though they were of base condition.

Ge 46:34

46:34 That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, [and] also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd [is] an {f} abomination unto the Egyptians.

(f) God permits the world to hate his own, so they will forsake the filth of the world, and cling to him.

Ge 47:2

47:2 And he took some of his brethren, [even] {a} five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

(a) That the king might be assured that they had come, and to see what type of people they were.

Ge 47:6

47:6 The {b} land of Egypt [is] before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest [any] men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

(b) Joseph's great modesty appears in that he would attempt nothing without the king's commandment.

Ge 47:11

47:11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of {c} Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

(c) Which was a city in the country of Goshen, Ex 1:11.

Ge 47:12

47:12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, {d} according to [their] families.

(d) Some read that he fed them as little babies, because they could not provide for themselves against that famine.

Ge 47:14

47:14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and {e} Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.

(e) In which he both declares his faithfulness to the king, and his freedom from covetousness.

Ge 47:19

47:19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our {f} land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give [us] seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.

(f) For unless the ground is tilled and sown, it perishes and is as if it was dead.

Ge 47:21

47:21 And as for the people, he {g} removed them to cities from [one] end of the borders of Egypt even to the [other] end thereof.

(g) By this changing they signified that they had nothing of their own, but received everything from the king's generosity.

Ge 47:26

47:26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, [that] Pharaoh should have the fifth [part]; {h} except the land of the priests only, [which] became not Pharaoh's.

(h) Pharaoh, in providing for idolatrous priests, will be a condemnation to all those who neglect the true ministers of God's word.

Ge 47:30

47:30 But I will {i} lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

(i) By this he demonstrated that he died in the faith of his fathers, teaching his children to hope for the promised land.

Ge 47:31

47:31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel {k} bowed himself upon the bed's head.

(k) He rejoiced that Joseph had promised him, and setting himself up on his pillows, praised God; 1Ch 29:10.

Ge 48:1

48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that [one] told Joseph, Behold, thy father [is] sick: and he took with him his {a} two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

(a) Joseph valued his children being received into Jacob's family, which was the Church of God, more than enjoying all the treasures of Egypt.

Ge 48:4

48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee [for] an {b} everlasting possession.

(b) Which is true in the carnal Israel until the coming of Christ, and in the spiritual forever.

Ge 48:9

48:9 And Joseph said unto his father, They [are] my sons, whom {c} God hath given me in this [place]. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

(c) The faithful acknowledge all benefits come from God's free mercy.

Ge 48:14

48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid [it] upon {d} Ephraim's head, who [was] the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh [was] the firstborn.

(d) God's judgments are often contrary to man's and he prefers what man despises.

Ge 48:16

48:16 The {e} Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my {f} name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

(e) This angel must be understood to be Christ, as in Ge 31:13,32:1.
(f) Let them be taken as my children.

Ge 48:17

48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it {g} displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

(g) Joseph fails by binding God's grace to the order of nature.

Ge 48:20

48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as {h} Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

(h) In whom God's graces should manifestly appear.

Ge 48:21

48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of {i} your fathers.

(i) Which they had by faith in the promise.

Ge 48:22

48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which {k} I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

(k) By my children whom God spared for my sake.

Ge 49:1

49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you [that] which shall befall you in the
(a) last days.

(a) When God will bring you out of Egypt, and because he speaks of the Messiah, he calls it the last days.

Ge 49:3

49:3 Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn, my {b} might, and the beginning of my strength, {c} the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

(b) Begotten in my youth.
(c) If you have not left your birthright by your offence.

Ge 49:6

49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their {d} secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a {e} man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

(d) Or, tongue: meaning that he neither consented to them in word or thought.
(e) The Shechemites Ge 34:26.

Ge 49:7

49:7 Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was] fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will {f} divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

(f) For Levi had no part, and Simeon was under Judah, Jos 19:1 till God gave them the place of the Amalekites, 1Ch 4:43.

Ge 49:8

49:8 Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand [shall be] in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall {g} bow down before thee.

(g) As was verified in David and Christ.

Ge 49:9

49:9 Judah [is] a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; {h} who shall rouse him up?

(h) His enemies will so fear him.

Ge 49:10

49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until {i} Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].

(i) Which is Christ the Messiah, the giver of prosperity who will call the Gentiles to salvation.

Ge 49:11

49:11 Binding his foal unto the {k} vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

(k) A country most abundant with vines and pastures is promised to him.

Ge 49:14

49:14 Issachar [is] {l} a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

(l) His force will be great, but he will lack courage to resist his enemies.

Ge 49:16

49:16 Dan {m} shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

(m) Shall have the honour of a tribe.

Ge 49:18

49:18 {o} I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

(o) Seeing the miseries that his posterity would fall into, he bursts out in prayer to God to remedy it.

Ge 49:20

49:20 Out of Asher his {p} bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

(p) He will abound in corn and pleasant fruits.

Ge 49:21

49:21 Naphtali [is] a hind let loose: he giveth {q} goodly words.

(q) Overcoming more by fair words than by force.

Ge 49:23

49:23 {r} The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him:

(r) As his brethren when they were his enemies, Potiphar and others.

Ge 49:24

49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of Jacob;
(from thence [is] the shepherd, the {s} stone of Israel:)

(s) That is God.

Ge 49:26

49:26 The blessings of thy father have {t} prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was {u} separate from his brethren.

(t) In as much as he was closer to the accomplishment of the promise and it had been more often confirmed.
(u) Either in dignity, or when he was sold from his brethren.

Ge 49:33

49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he {x} gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

(x) By which is signified how quietly he died.

Ge 50:2

50:2 And Joseph commanded his servants the {a} physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.

(a) He means those who embalmed the dead and buried them.

Ge 50:3

50:3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him {b} threescore and ten days.

(b) They were more excessive in lamenting than the faithful.

Ge 50:6

50:6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according {c} as he made thee swear.

(c) Even the infidels would have oaths carried out.

Ge 50:15

50:15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, {d} Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

(d) An evil conscience is never fully at rest.

Ge 50:17

50:17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the {e} God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

(e) Meaning, that they who have one God should be joined in most sure love.

Ge 50:19

50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for [am] I in the place of {s} God?

(s) Who by the good success seems to remit it, and therefore it should not be revenged by me.

Ge 50:22

50:22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an {g} hundred and ten years.

(g) Who, even though he ruled in Egypt about eighty years, yet was joined with the church of God in faith and religion.

Ge 50:25

50:25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, {h} God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

(h) He speaks this by the spirit of prophecy, exhorting his brethren to have full trust in God's promise for their deliverance.

Return to the Documents page