God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
KJV
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Commentary
Commentary
Both the world and the church were now again reduced to a family,
the family of Noah, of the affairs of which this chapter gives us
an account, of which we are the more concerned to take cognizance
because from this family we are all descendants. Here
is,
I. The covenant of providence settled with Noah and his sons, ver. 1-11 .
In this covenant,
1. God promises them to take care
of their lives, so that,
(1.) They should replenish the earth, ver. 1, 7 .
(2.) They should be safe from the insults of the brute-creatures,
which should stand in awe of them, ver. 2 .
(3.) They
should be allowed to eat flesh for the support of their lives; only
they must not eat blood, ver. 3, 4 .
(4.) The world should never
be drowned again, ver. 8-11 .
2. God requires of them to take
care of one another's lives, and of their own, ver. 5, 6 .
II. The
seal of that covenant, namely, the rainbow, ver. 12-17 .
III. A particular passage of story concerning Noah and his sons,
which occasioned some prophecies that related to after-times,
1. Noah's sin and shame, ver. 20, 21 .
2. Ham's impudence and
impiety, ver. 22 .
3. The pious modesty of Shem and Japheth, ver. 23 .
4. The curse of Canaan, and the blessing of Shem and
Japheth, ver. 21-27 .
IV. The age and death of Noah, ver. 28, 29 .
1 And God blessed Noah and his
sons, and said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth.
2 And the fear of you
and the dread of you shall be upon
every beast of the earth, and upon
every fowl of the air, upon all that
moveth upon the earth, and upon all
the fishes of the sea; into your hand
are they delivered.
3 Every moving
thing that liveth shall be meat for
you; even as the green herb have I
given you all things.
4 But flesh
with the life thereof, which is the
blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
5 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.
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by
man shall his blood be shed: for in
the image of God made he man.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply;
bring forth abundantly in the earth,
and multiply therein.
We read, in the close of the foregoing
chapter, the very kind things which God said
in his heart, concerning the remnant of mankind
which was now left to be the seed of a
new world. Now here we have these kind
things spoken to them. In general, God
blessed Noah and his sons ( v. 1 ),
that is, he
assured them of his good-will to them and
his gracious intentions concerning them.
This follows from what he said in his heart.
Note, All God's promises of good flow from
his purposes of love and the counsels of his
own will. See Eph. i. 11; iii. 11 .
and compare Jer. xxix. 11 . I know the thoughts that
I think towards you. We read
( ch. viii. 20 )
how Noah blessed God, by his altar and sacrifice.
Now here we find God blessing Noah.
Note, God will graciously bless (that is, do
well for) those who sincerely bless (that is,
speak well of) him. Those that are truly
thankful for the mercies they have received
take the readiest way to have them confirmed
and continued to them.
Now here we have the Magna Charta--the
great charter of this new kingdom of
nature which was now to be erected, and incorporated,
the former charter having been
forfeited and seized.
I. The grants of this charter are kind and
gracious to men. Here is,
1. A grant of lands of vast extent, and a
promise of a great increase of men to occupy
and enjoy them. The first blessing is here
renewed: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth ( v. 1 ),
and repeated
( v. 7 ),
for the race of mankind was, as it were, to
begin again. Now,
(1.) God sets the whole
earth before them, tells them it is all their
own, while it remains, to them and their
heirs. Note, The earth God has given to the
children of men, for a possession and habitation, Ps. cxv. 16 .
Though it is not a paradise,
but a wilderness rather; yet it is better
than we deserve. Blessed be God, it is not
hell.
(2.) He gives them a blessing, by the
force and virtue of which mankind should be
both multiplied and perpetuated upon earth,
so that in a little time all the habitable parts
of the earth should be more or less inhabited;
and, though one generation should pass
away, yet another generation should come,
while the world stands, so that the stream of
the human race should be supplied with a
constant succession, and run parallel with
the current of time, till both should be delivered
up together into the ocean of eternity.
Though death should still reign, and the
Lord would still be known by his judgments,
yet the earth should never again be dispeopled
as now it was, but still replenished, Acts xvii. 24-26 .
2. A grant of power over the inferior creatures, v. 2 .
He grants,
(1.) A title to them: Into your hands they are delivered, for your
use and benefit.
(2.) A dominion over them,
without which the title would avail little: The fear of you and the dread of you shall be
upon every beast. This revives a former
grant
( ch. i. 28 ),
only with this difference,
that man in innocence ruled by love, fallen
man rules by fear. Now this grant remains
in force, and thus far we have still the benefit
of it,
[1.] That those creatures which are
any way useful to us are reclaimed, and we
use them either for service or food, or both,
as they are capable. The horse and ox patiently
submit to the bridle and yoke, and
the sheep is dumb both before the shearer
and before the butcher; for the fear and
dread of man are upon them.
[2.] Those
creatures that are any way hurtful to us are
restrained, so that, though now and then man
may be hurt by some of them, they do not
combine together to rise up in rebellion
against man, else God could by these destroy
the world as effectually as he did by a deluge;
it is one of God's sore judgments, Ezek. xiv. 21 .
What is it that keeps wolves out of our
towns, and lions out of our streets, and confines
them to the wilderness, but this fear and
dread? Nay, some have been tamed, Jas. iii. 7 .
3. A grant of maintenance and subsistence: Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat
for you, v. 3 .
Hitherto, most think, man had
been confined to feed only upon the products
of the earth, fruits, herbs, and roots,
and all sorts of corn and milk; so was the
first grant, ch. i. 29 .
But the flood having
perhaps washed away much of the virtue of
the earth, and so rendered its fruits less pleasing and less nourishing, God now enlarged
the grant, and allowed man to eat flesh, which
perhaps man himself never thought of, till
now that God directed him to it, nor had any
more desire to than a sheep has to suck blood
like a wolf. But now man is allowed to feed
upon flesh, as freely and safely as upon the
green herb. Now here see,
(1.) That God is
a good master, and provides, not only that
we may live, but that we may live comfortably,
in his service; not for necessity only,
but for delight.
(2.) That every creature of
God is good, and nothing to be refused, 1 Tim. iv. 4 .
Afterwards some meats that were
proper enough for food were prohibited by
the ceremonial law; but from the beginning,
it seems, it was not so, and therefore is not
so under the gospel.
II. The precepts and provisos of this character
are no less kind and gracious, and instances
of God's good-will to man. The
Jewish doctors speak so often of the seven
precepts of Noah, or of the sons of Noah,
which they say were to be observed by all
nations, that it may not be amiss to set them
down. The first against the worship of idols.
The second against blasphemy, and requiring
to bless the name of God. The third against
murder. The fourth against incest and all
uncleanness. The fifth against theft and
rapine. The sixth requiring the administration
of justice. The seventh against eating
of flesh with the life. These the Jews required
the observance of from the proselytes
of the gate. But the precepts here given all
concern the life of man.
1. Man must not prejudice his own life by
eating that food which is unwholesome and
prejudicial to his health
( v. 4 ):
" Flesh with
the life thereof, which is the blood thereof (that is, raw flesh), shall you not eat, as the
beasts of prey do." It was necessary to add
this limitation to the grant of liberty to eat flesh,
lest, instead of nourishing their bodies by it,
they should destroy them. God would hereby
show,
(1.) That though they were lords of
the creatures, yet they were subjects to the
Creator, and under the restraints of his law.
(2.) That they must not be greedy and hasty
in taking their food, but stay the preparing
of it; not like Saul's soldiers
( 1 Sam. xiv. 32 ),
nor riotous eaters of flesh, Prov. xxiii. 20 .
(3.) That they must not be barbarous and
cruel to the inferior creatures. They must
be lords, but not tyrants; they might kill
them for their profit, but not torment them
for their pleasure, nor tear away the member
of a creature while it was yet alive, and eat
that.
(4.) That during the continuance of
the law of sacrifices, in which the blood made atonement for the soul ( Lev. xvii. 11 ),
signifying that the life of the sacrifice was accepted
for the life of the sinner, blood must not be
looked upon as a common thing, but must
be poured out before the Lord ( 2 Sam. xxiii. 16 ),
either upon his altar or upon his earth.
But, now that the great and true sacrifice has
been offered, the obligation of the law ceases
with the reason of it.
2. Man must not take away his own life: Your blood of your lives will I require, v. 5 .
Our lives are not so our own as that we may
quit them at our own pleasure, but they are
God's and we must resign them at his pleasure;
if we in any way hasten our own
deaths, we are accountable to God for it.
3. The beasts must not be suffered to hurt
the life of man: At the hand of every beast
will I require it. To show how tender God
was of the life of man, though he had lately
made such destruction of lives, he will
have the beast put to death that kills a man. This
was confirmed by the law of Moses
( Exod. xxi. 28 ),
and I think it would not be unsafe
to observe it still. Thus God showed his
hatred of the sin of murder, that men might
hate it the more, and not only punish, but
prevent it. And see Job v. 23 .
4. Wilful murderers must be put to death.
This is the sin which is here designed to be
restrained by the terror of punishment
(1.) God will punish murderers: At the hand of
every man's brother will I require the life of
man, that is, "I will avenge the blood of the
murdered upon the murderer." 2 Chron. xxiv. 22 .
When God requires the life of a
man at the hand of him that took it away
unjustly, the murderer cannot render that,
and therefore must render his own in lieu of
it, which is the only way left of making restitution.
Note, The righteous God will certainly
make inquisition for blood, though
men cannot or do not. One time or other,
in this world or in the next, he will both discover
concealed murders, which are hidden
from man's eye, and punish avowed and justified
murders, which are too great for man's
hand.
(2.) The magistrate must punish
murderers
( v. 6 ): Whoso sheddeth man's blood, whether upon a sudden provocation or having
premeditated it (for rash anger is heart-murder
as well as malice prepense, Matt. v. 21, 22 ), by man shall his blood be shed, that is, by
the magistrate, or whoever is appointed or
allowed to be the avenger of blood. There
are those who are ministers of God for this
purpose, to be a protection to the innocent,
by being a terror to the malicious and evildoers,
and they must not bear the sword in
vain, Rom. xiii. 4 .
Before the flood, as it
should seem by the story of Cain, God took
the punishment of murder into his own
hands; but now he committed this judgment
to men, to masters of families at first, and
afterwards to the heads of countries, who
ought to be faithful to the trust reposed in
them. Note, Wilful murder ought always to
be punished with death. It is a sin which
the Lord would not pardon in a prince
( 2 Kings xxiv. 3, 4 ),
and which therefore a
prince should not pardon in a subject. To
this law there is a reason annexed: For in the
image of God made he man at first. Man is
a creature dear to his Creator, and therefore ought to be so to us. God put honour upon
him, let not us then put contempt upon him.
Such remains of God's image are still even
upon fallen man as that he who unjustly kills
a man defaces the image of God and does
dishonour to him. When God allowed men
to kill their beasts, yet he forbade them to
kill their slaves; for these are of a much
more noble and excellent nature, not only
God's creatures, but his image, Jam. iii. 9 .
All men have something of the image of God
upon them; but magistrates have, besides,
the image of his power, and the saints the
image of his holiness, and therefore those who
shed the blood of princes or saints incur a
double guilt.
8 And God spake unto Noah, and
to his sons with him, saying,
9 And
I, behold, I establish my covenant
with you, and with your seed after
you;
10 And with every living
creature that is with you, of the fowl,
of the cattle, and of every beast of the
earth with you; from all that go out of the
ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant
with you; neither shall all flesh be
cut off any more by the waters of a
flood; neither shall there any more
be a flood to destroy the earth.
Here is,
I. The general establishment of
God's covenant with this new world, and the
extent of that covenant, v. 9, 10 .
Here observe,
1. That God is graciously pleased
to deal with man in the way of a covenant,
wherein God greatly magnifies his condescending
favour, and greatly encourages
man's duty and obedience, as a reasonable
and gainful service.
2. That all God's covenants
with man are of his own making: I,
behold, I. It is thus expressed both to raise
our admiration--"Behold, and wonder, that
though God be high yet he has this respect
to man," and to confirm our assurances of
the validity of the covenant--"Behold and
see, I make it; I that am faithful and able
to make it good."
3. That God's covenants
are established more firmly than the pillars
of heaven or the foundations of the earth,
and cannot be disannulled.
4. That God's
covenants are made with the covenanters and
with their seed; the promise is to them and
their children.
5. That those may be taken
into covenant with God, and receive the
benefits of it, who yet are not capable of restipulating,
or giving their own consent.
For this covenant is made with every living
creature, every beast of the earth.
II. The particular intention of this covenant.
It was designed to secure the world
from another deluge: There shall not any
more be a flood. God had drowned the world
once, and still it was as filthy and provoking
as ever, and God foresaw the wickedness of
it, and yet promised he would never drown
it any more; for he deals not with us according
to our sins. It is owing to God's goodness
and faithfulness, not to any reformation
of the world, that it has not often been
deluged and that it is not deluged now. As
the old world was ruined to be a monument
of justice, so this world remains to this day,
a monument of mercy, according to the oath
of God, that the waters of Noah should no
more return to cover the earth, Isa. liv. 9 .
This promise of God keeps the sea and clouds
in their decreed place, and sets them gates and
bars; hitherto they shall come, Job xxxviii. 10, 11 .
If the sea should flow but for a few
days, as it does twice every day for a few
hours, what desolation would it make! And
how destructive would the clouds be, if such
showers as we have sometimes seen were continued
long! But God, by flowing seas and
sweeping rains, shows what he could do in
wrath; and yet, by preserving the earth from
being deluged between both, shows what he
can do in mercy and will do in truth. Let
us give him the glory of his mercy in promising
and of his truth in performing. This
promise does not hinder,
1. But that God
may bring other wasting judgments upon
mankind; for, though he has here bound
himself not to use this arrow any more, yet
he has other arrows in his quiver.
2. Nor
but that he may destroy particular places and
countries by the inundations of the sea or
rivers.
3. Nor will the destruction of the
world at the last day by fire be any breach of
his promise. Sin which drowned the old
world will burn this.
12 And God said, This is the
token of the covenant which I make
between me and you and every living
creature that is with you, for perpetual
generations:
13 I do set my
bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a
token of a covenant between me and
the earth.
14 And it shall come to
pass, when I bring a cloud over the
earth, that the bow shall be seen in
the cloud:
15 And I will remember
my 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.
16 And the bow shall be in
the cloud; and I will look upon it,
that I may remember the everlasting
covenant between God and every
living creature of all flesh that is upon
the earth.
17 And God said unto
Noah, This is the token of the covenant,
which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon
the earth.
Articles of agreement among men are
usually sealed, that the covenants may be
the more solemn, and the performances of
the covenants the more sure, to mutual satisfaction.
God therefore, being willing more
abundantly to show to the heirs of promise
the immutability of his councils, has confirmed
his covenant by a seal
( Heb. vi. 17 ),
which makes the foundations we build on
stand sure, 2 Tim. ii. 19 .
The seal of this
covenant of nature was natural enough; it
was the rainbow, which, it is likely, was seen
in the clouds before, when second causes
concurred, but was never a seal of the covenant
till now that it was made so by a divine
institution. Now, concerning this seal of
the covenant, observe,
1. This seal is affixed
with repeated assurances of the truth of that
promise of which it was designed to be the
ratification: I do set my bow in the cloud ( v. 13 );
it shall be seen in the cloud ( v. 14 ),
that the eye may affect the heart and confirm
the faith; and it shall be the token of
the covenant ( v. 12, 13 ), and I will remember
my covenant, that the waters shall no more
become a flood, v. 15 .
Nay, as if the Eternal
Mind needed a memorandum, I will look
upon it, that I may remember the everlasting
covenant, v. 16 .
Thus here is line upon
line, that we might have sure and strong
consolation who have laid hold of this hope.
2. The rainbow appears when the clouds
are most disposed to wet, and returns after
the rain; when we have most reason to fear
the rain prevailing, then God shows this
seal of the promise that it shall not prevail.
Thus God obviates our fears with such
encouragements as are both suitable and
seasonable.
3. The thicker the cloud the
brighter the bow in the cloud. Thus, as
threatening afflictions abound, encouraging
consolations much more abound, 2 Cor. i. 5 .
4. The rainbow appears when one part of
the sky is clear, which intimates mercy remembered
in the midst of wrath; and the
clouds are hemmed as it were with the rainbow,
that they may not overspread the heavens,
for the bow is coloured rain or the
edges of a cloud gilded.
5. The rainbow is
the reflection of the beams of the sun, which
intimates that all the glory and significancy
of the seals of the covenant are derived from
Christ the Sun of righteousness, who is also
described with a rainbow about his throne ( Rev. iv. 3 ),
and a rainbow upon his head ( Rev. x. 1 ),
which intimates, not only his
majesty, but his mediatorship.
6. The rainbow
has fiery colours in it, to signify that
though God will not again drown the world,
yet, when the mystery of God shall be
finished, the world shall be consumed by
fire.
7. A bow bespeaks terror, but this
bow has neither string nor arrow, as the bow
ordained against the persecutors has
( Ps. vii. 12, 13 ),
and a bow alone will do little
execution. It is a bow, but it is directed
upwards, not towards the earth; for the seals
of the covenant were intended to comfort,
not to terrify.
8. As God looks upon the
bow, that he may remember the covenant,
so should we, that we also may be ever
mindful of the covenant, with faith and
thankfulness.
18 And the sons of Noah, that
went forth of the ark, were Shem,
and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them
was the whole earth overspread.
20 And Noah began to be a husbandman,
and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was
drunken; and he was uncovered
within his tent.
22 And Ham, the
father of Canaan, saw the nakedness
of his father, and told his two brethren
without.
23 And Shem and
Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went
backward, and covered the nakedness
of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their
father's nakedness.
Here is,
I. Noah's family and employment.
The names of his sons are again
mentioned
( v. 18, 19 )
as those from whom
the whole earth was overspread, by which it
appears that Noah, after the flood, had no
more children: all the world came from
these three. Note, God, when he pleases,
can make a little one to become a thousand, and greatly increase the latter end of those
whose beginning was small. Such are the
power and efficacy of a divine blessing. The
business Noah applied himself to was that
of a husbandman, Heb. a man of the earth, that is, a man dealing in the earth, that kept
ground in his hand, and occupied it. We
are all naturally men of the earth, made of
it, living on it, and hastening to it: many
are sinfully so, addicted to earthly things.
Noah was by his calling led to trade in the
fruits of the earth. He began to be a husbandman, that is, some time after his departure
out of the ark, he returned to his
old employment, from which he had been
diverted by the building of the ark first, and
probably afterwards by the building of a
house on dry land for himself and family.
For this good while he had been a carpenter,
but now he began again to be a husbandman.
Observe, Though Noah was a great
man and a good man, an old man and a rich
man, a man greatly favoured by heaven and
honoured on earth, yet he would not live an
idle life, nor think the husbandman's calling below him. Note, Though God by his providence
may take us off from our callings
for a time, yet when the occasion is over we
ought with humility and industry to apply
ourselves to them again, and, in the calling
wherein we are called, faithfully to abide with
God, 1 Cor. vii. 24 .
II. Noah's sin and shame: He planted a
vineyard; and, when he had gathered his
vintage, probably he appointed a day of
mirth and feasting in his family, and had
his sons and their children with him, to
rejoice with him in the increase of his house
as well as in the increase of his vineyard;
and we may suppose he prefaced his feast
with a sacrifice to the honour of God. If
this was omitted, it was just with God to
leave him to himself, that he who did not
begin with God might end with the beasts;
but we charitably hope that it was not: and
perhaps he appointed this feast with a design,
at the close of it, to bless his sons, as Isaac, ch. xxvii. 3, 4 , That I may eat, and
that my soul may bless thee. At this feast he drank of the wine; for who planteth a vineyard
and eateth not of the fruit of it? But
he drank too liberally, more than his head at
this age would bear, for he was drunk. We
have reason to think he was never drunk
before nor after; observe how he came now
to be overtaken in this fault. It was his sin,
and a great sin, so much the worse for its
being so soon after a great deliverance; but
God left him to himself, as he did Hezekiah
( 2 Chron. xxxii. 31 ),
and has left this miscarriage
of his upon record, to teach us,
1. That
the fairest copy that ever mere man wrote
since the fall had its blots and false strokes.
It was said of Noah that he was perfect in
his generations ( ch. vi. 9 ),
but this shows that
it is meant of sincerity, not a sinless perfection.
2. That sometimes those who, with
watchfulness and resolution, have, by the
grace of God, kept their integrity in the
midst of temptation, have, through security,
and carelessness, and neglect of the grace of
God, been surprised into sin, when the hour
of temptation has been over. Noah, who
had kept sober in drunken company, is now
drunk in sober company. Let him that thinks
he stands take heed. 3. That we have need
to be very careful, when we use God's good
creatures plentifully, lest we use them to
excess. Christ's disciples must take heed
lest at any time their hearts be overcharged, Luke xxi. 34 .
Now the consequence of
Noah's sin was shame. He was uncovered
within his tent, made naked to his shame, as
Adam when he had eaten forbidden fruit.
Yet Adam sought concealment; Noah is so
destitute of thought and reason that he seeks
no covering. This was a fruit of the vine
that Noah did not think of. Observe here
the great evil of the sin of drunkenness.
(1.) It discovers men. What infirmities they
have, they betray when they are drunk, and
what secrets they are entrusted with are then
easily got out of them. Drunken porters
keep open gates.
(2.) It disgraces men,
and exposes them to contempt. As it shows
them, so it shames them. Men say and do
that when drunk which when they are sober
they would blush at the thoughts of, Hab. ii. 15, 16 .
III. Ham's impudence and impiety: He saw the nakedness of his father, and told his
two brethren, v. 22 .
To see it accidentally
and involuntarily would not have been a
crime; but,
1. He pleased himself with the
sight, as the Edomites looked up on the day of
their brother ( Obad. 12 ),
pleased, and insulting.
Perhaps Ham had sometimes been
himself drunk, and reproved for it by his
good father, whom he was therefore pleased
to see thus overcome. Note, It is common
for those who walk in false ways themselves
to rejoice at the false steps which they sometimes
see others make. But charity rejoices
not in iniquity, nor can true penitents that
are sorry for their own sins rejoice in the
sins of others.
2. He told his two brethren
without ( in the street, as the word is), in a
scornful deriding manner, that his father
might seem vile unto them. It is very
wrong,
(1.) To make a jest of sin
( Prov. xiv. 9 ),
and to be puffed up with that for which
we should rather mourn, 1 Cor. v. 2 .
And,
(2.) To publish the faults of any, especially
of parents, whom it is our duty to
honour. Noah was not only a good man,
but had been a good father to him; and this
was a most base disingenuous requital to
him for his tenderness. Ham is here called
the father of Canaan, which intimates that
he who was himself a father should have been
more respectful to him that was his father.
IV. The pious care of Shem and Japheth
to cover their poor father's shame, v. 23 .
They not only would not see it themselves,
but provided that no one else might see it,
herein setting us an example of charity with
reference to other men's sin and shame; we
must not only not say, A confederacy, with
those that proclaim it, but we must be careful
to conceal it, or at least to make the best
of it, so doing as we would be done by.
1. There is a mantle of love to be thrown over
the faults of all, 1 Pet. iv. 8 .
2. Besides
this, there is a robe of reverence to be thrown
over the faults of parents and other superiors.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine,
and knew what his younger son had
done unto him.
25 And he said,
Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants
shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the L ORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be
his servant.
27 God shall enlarge
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the
tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be
his servant.
Here,
I. Noah comes to himself: He awoke from his wine. Sleep cured him, and,
we may suppose, so cured him that he never
relapsed into that sin afterwards. Those
that sleep as Noah did should awake as he
did, and not as that drunkard
( Prov. xxiii. 35 )
who says when he awakes, I will seek it
yet again.
II. The spirit of prophecy comes upon
him, and, like dying Jacob, he tells his sons
what shall befal them, ch. xlix. 1 .
1. He pronounces a curse on Canaan the
son of Ham
( v. 25 ),
in whom Ham is himself
cursed, either because this son of his
was now more guilty than the rest, or because
the posterity of this son was afterwards
to be rooted out of their land, to make room
for Israel. And Moses here records it for
the animating of Israel in the wars of Canaan;
though the Canaanites were a formidable
people, yet they were of old an accursed
people, and doomed to ruin. The particular
curse is, A servant of servants (that is, the
meanest and most despicable servant) shall
he be, even to his brethren. Those who by
birth were his equals shall by conquest be
his lords. This certainly points at the victories
obtained by Israel over the Canaanites,
by which they were all either put to the
sword or put under tribute
( Josh. ix. 23; Judg. i. 28, 30, 33, 35 ),
which happened not
till about 800 years after this. Note,
(1.) God often visits the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children, especially when the children
inherit the fathers' wicked dispositions,
and imitate the fathers' wicked practices,
and do nothing to cut off the entail of the
curse.
(2.) Disgrace is justly put upon those
that put disgrace upon others, especially that
dishonour and grieve their own parents. An
undutiful child that mocks at his parents is no more worthy to be called a son, but deserves
to be made as a hired servant, nay, as a servant of servants, among his brethren.
(3.) Though divine curses operate slowly,
yet, first or last, they will take effect. The
Canaanites were under a curse of slavery,
and yet, for a great while, had the dominion;
for a family, a people, a person, may lie
under the curse of God, and yet may long
prosper in the world, till the measure of
their iniquity, like that of the Canaanites, be
full. Many are marked for ruin that are not
yet ripe for ruin. Therefore, Let not thy
heart envy sinners.
(1.) He blesses Shem, or rather blesses
God for him, yet so that it entitles him to
the greatest honour and happiness imaginable, v. 26 .
Observe,
[1.] He calls the Lord the god of Shem; and happy, thrice happy, is that people whose God is the L ORD , Ps. cxliv. 15 .
All blessings are included in this.
This was the blessing conferred on Abraham
and his seed; the God of heaven was not ashamed to be called their God, Heb. xi. 16 .
Shem is sufficiently recompensed for
his respect to his father by this, that the
Lord himself puts this honour upon him, to
be his God, which is a sufficient recompence
for all our services and all our sufferings for
his name.
[2.] He gives to God the glory
of that good work which Shem had done,
and, instead of blessing and praising him
that was the instrument, he blesses and
praises God that was the author. Note, The
glory of all that is at any time well done, by
ourselves or others, must be humbly and
thankfully transmitted to God, who works
all our good works in us and for us. When
we see men's good works we should glorify,
not them, but our Father, Matt. v. 16 .
Thus David, in effect, blessed Abigail, when he blessed God that sent her
( 1 Sam. xxv. 32, 33 ),
for it is an honour and a favour to be
employed for God and used by him in doing
good.
[3.] He foresees and foretels that
God's gracious dealings with Shem and his
family would be such as would evidence to all
the world that he was the God of Shem, on
which behalf thanksgivings would by many
be rendered to him: Blessed be the Lord
God of Shem. [4.] It is intimated that the
church should be built up and continued in
the posterity of Shem; for of him came the
Jews, who were, for a great while, the only
professing people God had in the world.
[5.] Some think reference is here had to
Christ, who was the Lord God that, in his
human nature, should descend from the
loins of Shem; for of him, as concerning
the flesh, Christ came.
[6.] Canaan is particularly
enslaved to him: He shall be his
servant. Note, Those that have the Lord for
their God shall have as much of the honour
and power of this world as he sees good for
them.
(2.) He blesses Japheth, and, in him, the
isles of the Gentiles, which were peopled by
his seed: God shall enlarge Japheth, and he
shall dwell in the tents of Shem, v. 27 .
Now,
[1.] Some make this to belong wholly to
Japheth, and to denote either, First, His
outward prosperity, that his seed should be
so numerous and so victorious that they
should be masters of the tents of Shem,
which was fulfilled when the people of the
Jews, the most eminent of Shem's race, were
tributaries to the Grecians first and afterwards
to the Romans, both of Japheth's
seed. Note, Outward prosperity is no infallible
mark of the true church: the tents
of Shem are not always the tents of the
conqueror. Or, Secondly, It denotes the
conversion of the Gentiles, and the bringing
of them into the church; and then we should
read it, God shall persuade Japheth (for so
the word signifies), and then, being so persuaded, he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, that is, Jews and Gentiles shall be united together
in the gospel fold. After many of the
Gentiles shall have been proselyted to the Jewish
religion, both shall be one in Christ
( Eph. ii. 14, 15 ), and the Christian church, mostly
made up of the Gentiles, shall succeed the
Jews in the privileges of church-membership;
the latter having first cast themselves
out by their unbelief, the Gentiles shall
dwell in their tents, Rom. xi. 11 ,
&c. Note,
It is God only that can bring those again
into the church who have separated themselves
from it. It is the power of God that
makes the gospel of Christ effectual to salvation, Rom. i. 16 .
And again, Souls are
brought into the church, not by force, but
by persuasion, Ps. cx. 3 .
They are drawn
by the cords of a man, and persuaded by
reason to be religious.
[2.] Others divide
this between Japheth and Shem, Shem having
not been directly blessed, v. 26 . First, Japheth has the blessing of the earth beneath: God shall enlarge Japheth, enlarge
his seed, enlarge his border. Japheth's
prosperity peopled all Europe, a great part of
Asia, and perhaps America. Note, God is
to be acknowledged in all our enlargements.
It is he that enlarges the coast and enlarges
the heart. And again, many dwell in large
tents that do not dwell in God's tents, as
Japheth did. Secondly, Shem has the blessing
of heaven above: He shall (that is,
God shall) dwell in the tents of Shem, that is
"From his loins Christ shall come, and in
his seed the church shall be continued. " The
birth-right was now to be divided between
Shem and Japheth, Ham being utterly discarded. In
the principality which they
equally share Canaan shall be servant to
both. The double portion is given to Japheth,
whom God shall enlarge; but the
priesthood is given to Shem, for God shall
dwell in the tents of Shem: and certainly we
are more happy if we have God dwelling in
our tents than if we had there all the silver
and gold in the world. It is better to dwell
in tents with God than in palaces without
him. In Salem, where is God's tabernacle,
there is more satisfaction than in all the isles
of the Gentiles. Thirdly, They both have dominion
over Canaan: Canaan shall be servant
to them; so some read it. When Japheth
joins with Shem, Canaan falls before them
both. When strangers become friends,
enemies become servants.
28 And Noah lived after the flood
three hundred and fifty years.
29 And all the days of Noah were nine
hundred and fifty years: and he died.
Here see,
1. How God prolonged the life of
Noah; he lived 950 years, twenty more than
Adam and but nineteen less than Methuselah:
this long life was a further reward of
his signal piety, and a great blessing to the
world, to which no doubt he continued a preacher of righteousness, with this advantage,
that now all he preached to were his
own children.
2. How God put a period to
his life at last. Though he lived long, yet
he died, having probably first seen many
that descended from him dead before him.
Noah lived to see two worlds, but, being an heir
of the righteousness which is by faith, when
he died he went to see a better than either.
INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 9
In this chapter we have an account of God's blessing Noah and his sons, being just come out of the ark, with a renewal of the blessing of propagating their species, and replenishing the earth, the dominion over the creatures, and a freedom from the fear of them; with liberty to eat flesh, only it must not be eaten with blood; with a providential care and preservation of their lives from men and beasts, by making a law that that man or beast should die that shed man's blood, Ge 9:1 and after repeating the blessing of procreation, Ge 9:7 mention is made of a covenant God made with Noah, his sons, and all the creatures, that he would drown the world no more, the token of which should be the rainbow in the cloud, Ge 9:8 the names of the sons of Noah are observed, by whom the earth was repeopled, Ge 9:18 and seem to be observed for the sake of an event after recorded; Noah having planted a vineyard, and drank too freely of the wine of it, lay down uncovered in his tent, which Ham seeing, told his two brothers of it, who in a very modest manner covered him, Ge 9:20 of all which Noah being sensible when he awoke, cursed Canaan the son of Ham, and blessed Shem and Japheth, Ge 9:24 and the chapter is concluded with the age and death of Noah, Ge 9:28.
Ver. 1. And God blessed Noah and his sons,.... With temporal blessings, not spiritual ones; for though some of them were blessed with such, yet not all, particularly Ham:
and said unto them, be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth; depopulated by the flood: this is a renewal of the blessing on Adam, a power and faculty of propagating his species, which was as necessary now as then, since there were so few of the human race left in the world; and the renewal of this grant was the rather necessary, if, as has been observed, Noah and his sons were restrained from cohabiting with their wives while in the ark: but though these words are not an express command for the propagation of their species, yet more than a bare permission, at least they are a direction and instruction to it, and even carry in them a promise of fruitfulness, that they should multiply and increase, which was very needful at this time.
Genesis 9:2
Ver. 2. And the fear or you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth,.... This is a renewal, at least in part, of the grant of dominion to Adam over all the creatures; these obeyed him cheerfully, and from love, but sinning, he in a good measure lost his power over them, they rebelled against him; but now though the charter of power over them is renewed, they do not serve man freely, but are in dread of him, and flee from him; some are more easily brought into subjection to him, and even the fiercest and wildest of them may be tamed by him; and this power over them was the more easily retrieved in all probability by Noah and his sons, from the inhabitation of the creatures with them for so long a time in the ark:
and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; as appears by fowls flying away, by beasts and creeping things getting off as fast as they can, and by fishes swimming away at the sight of men:
into your hand are they delivered; as the lords and proprietors of them, for their use and service, and particularly for what follows, see Ps 8:6 where there is an enumeration of the creatures subject to men.
Genesis 9:3
Ver. 3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you,.... That is, every beast, fowl, and fish, without exception; for though there was a difference at this time of clean and unclean creatures with respect to sacrifice, yet not with respect to food; every creature of God was good then, as it is now, and it was left to man's reason and judgment what to make use of, as would be most conducive to his health, and agreeable to his taste: and though there was a distinction afterwards made under the Levitical dispensation among the Jews, who were forbid the use of some creatures; yet they themselves say {k}, that all unclean beasts will be clean in the world to come, in the times of the Messiah, as they were to the sons of Noah, and refer to this text in proof of it; the only exception in the text is, that they must be living creatures which are taken, and used for food; not such as die of themselves, or are torn to pieces by wild beasts, but such as are taken alive, and killed in a proper manner:
even as the green herb have I given you all things; as every green herb was given for meat to Adam originally, without any exception, Ge 1:29 so every living creature, without exception, was given to Noah and his sons for food. Some think, and it is a general opinion, that this was a new grant, that man had no right before to eat flesh, nor did he; and it is certain it is not before expressed, but it may be included in the general grant of power and dominion over the creatures made to Adam; and since what is before observed is only a renewal of former grants, this may be considered in the same light; or otherwise the dominion over the creatures first granted to Adam will be reduced to a small matter, if he had no right nor power to kill and eat them; besides, in so large a space of time as 1600 years and upwards, the world must have been overstocked with creatures, if they were not used for such a purpose; nor will Abel's offering the firstling and fattest of his flock appear so praiseworthy, when it made no difference with him, if he ate not of them, whether they were fat or lean; and who will deny that there were peace offerings before the flood, which the offerer always ate of? to which may be added the luxury of men before the flood, who thereby were given to impure and carnal lusts; and our Lord expressly says of the men of that age, that they were "eating and drinking", living in a voluptuous manner, which can hardly be accounted for, if they lived only on herbs, see Lu 17:22 though it must be owned, that it was a common notion of poets and philosophers {l}, that men in the golden age, as they call it, did not eat flesh, but lived on herbs and fruit.
{k} In Bereshit Rabba, apud Ainsworth in loc. {l} Pythagoras, apud Ovid. Metamorph. l. 15. Fab. 2. Porphyr. de abstinentia, l. 4. sect. 2.
Genesis 9:4
Ver. 4. But flesh with the life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall you not eat. This is the only exception to the eating of flesh; it was not to be eaten with the blood in it, which is said to be its life; not that the blood is of itself the life, but because it is a means of life, and that being exhausted, the creature must die, and because the animal and vital spirits appear to us most vigorous in it; yea, it is the ailment and support of them, and which furnishes out the greatest quantity of them: or rather it may be rendered, "the flesh with its life in its blood" {m}; while there is life in the blood, or while the creature is living; the meaning is, that a creature designed for food should be properly killed, and its blood let out; that it should not be devoured alive, as by a beast of prey; that raw flesh should not be eaten, as since by cannibals, and might be by riotous flesh eaters, before the flood; for notwithstanding this law, as flesh without the blood might be eaten, so blood properly let out, and dressed, or mixed with other things, might be eaten, for aught this says to the contrary; but was not to be eaten with the flesh, though it might separately, which was afterwards forbid by another law. The design of this was to restrain cruelty in men, and particularly to prevent the shedding of human blood, which men might be led into, were they suffered to tear living creatures in pieces, and feed upon their raw flesh, and the blood in it. The Targum of Jonathan is,
"but the flesh which is torn from a living beast at the time that its life is in it, or which is torn from a beast while it is slain, before all its breath is gone out, ye shall not eat.''
And the Jewish writers generally interpret this of the flesh of a creature taken from it alive, which, they say, is the seventh precept given to the sons of Noah, over and above the six which the sons of Adam were bound to observe, and they are these;
1. Idolatry is forbidden. 2. Blasphemy is forbidden. 3. The shedding of blood, or murder is forbidden. 4. Uncleanness, or unjust carnal copulations is forbidden. 5. Rapine or robbery is forbidden. 6. The administration of justice to malefactors is required. 7. The eating of any member or flesh of a creature while alive {n} is forbidden.
Such of the Heathens who conformed to those precepts were admitted to dwell among the Israelites, and were called proselytes of the gate.
{m} wmd wvpnb rvb Kaw "carnem cum anima, "seu" vita ejus, sanguine ejus", Cartwright. {n} Maimon. Hilchot Melachim, c. 9. sect. 1.
Genesis 9:5
Ver. 5. And surely your blood of your lives will I require,.... Or "for surely your blood", &c. {o}; and so is a reason of the preceding law, to teach men not to shed human blood; or though, "surely your blood", as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; though God had given them liberty to slay the creatures, and shed their blood, and eat them, yet he did not allow them to shed their own blood, or the blood of their fellow creatures; should they do this, he would surely make inquisition, and punish them for it:
at the hand of every beast will I require it; should a beast kill a man, or be the instrument of shedding his blood, it should be slain for it; not by means of another beast, God so ordering it, as Aben Ezra suggests, but by the hands or order of the civil magistrate; which was to be done partly to show the great regard God has to the life of man, and partly to punish men for not taking more care of their beasts, as well as to be an example to others to be more careful, and to lessen, the number of mischievous creatures:
and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man; which may be reasonably supposed; for if it is required of a beast, and that is punished for the slaughter of a man, then much more a man himself, that is wilfully guilty of murder; and the rather, since he is by general relation a brother to the person he has murdered, which is an aggravation of his crime: or it may signify, that though he is a brother in the nearest relation, as his crime is the greater, he shall not go unpunished.
{o} kai gar, Sept. "enim", V. L.
Genesis 9:6
Ver. 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed,.... That is, he that is guilty of wilful murder shall surely be put to death by the order of the civil magistrate; so the Targum of Jonathan,
"by witnesses the judges shall condemn him to death,''
that is, the fact being clearly proved by witnesses, the judges shall condemn
"him to death,''
that is, the fact being clearly proved by witnesses, the judges shall pass the sentence of death upon him, and execute it; for this is but the law of retaliation, a just and equitable one, blood for blood, or life for life; though it seems to be the first law of this kind that empowered the civil magistrate to take away life; God, as it is thought, reserving the right and power to himself before, and which, for some reasons, he thought fit not to make use of in the case of Cain, whom he only banished, and suffered not others to take away his life, but now enacts a law, requiring judges to punish murder with death: and which, according to this law, ought never to go unpunished, or have a lesser punishment inflicted for it: the reason follows,
for in the image of God made he man; which, though sadly defaced and obliterated by sin, yet there are such remains of it, as render him more especially the object of the care and providence of God, and give him a superiority to other creatures; and particularly this image, among others, consists in immortality, which the taking away of his life may seem to contradict; however, it is what no man has a right to do.
Genesis 9:7
Ver. 7. And you, be ye fruitful and multiply,.... Instead of taking away the lives of men, the great concern should be to multiply them; and this indeed is one reason of the above law, to prevent the decrease and ruin of mankind; and which was peculiarly needful, when there were so few men in the world as only four, and therefore it is repeated in stronger terms:
bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein; that the whole earth might be overspread with men, and repeopled sufficiently, as it was by the sons of Noah, see Ge 9:19.
Genesis 9:8
Ver. 8. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him,.... Not only what is contained in the preceding verses, but in the subsequent ones:
saying; as follows.
Genesis 9:9
Ver. 9. And [I], behold, [I] establish my covenant with you,.... Not the covenant of grace in Christ, but of the preservation of the creatures in common, a promise that they should not be destroyed any more by a flood; to which promise it seems an oath was annexed, as appears from Isa 54:9 which passage refers to this covenant, as Aben Ezra on the place observes; and both to raise attention to what is here affirmed, and to show the certainty of it, the word "behold" is prefixed to it; nor is it amiss what Jarchi observes, that this follows upon the direction and exhortation to procreation of children, and is an encouragement to it; since it is assured that posterity should be no more cut off in the manner it had been; for this covenant was made and established not only with Noah, and his sons, but with all their succeeding offspring, as follows:
and with your seed after you; with all their posterity to the end of the world; so that this covenant was made with all the world, and all the individuals in it, from Noah's time to the end of it; for from him and his sons sprung the whole race of men that peopled the world, and still continue to inhabit it; hence here is nothing in it peculiar to the seed of believers.
Genesis 9:10
Ver. 10. And with every living creature that is with you,.... This is a further proof that this was not the covenant of grace, but of conservation, since it is made with irrational as well as rational creatures:
of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; the birds of the air, the tame cattle, and the wild beasts:
from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth; which take in the creeping things not mentioned, for these were in the ark, and came out of the ark with Noah; and this covenant not only included all the several kinds of creatures that came out of the ark with Noah, but it reached to all that should spring from them in future ages, to the end of the world.
Genesis 9:11
Ver. 11. And I will establish my covenant with you,.... This is repeated to denote the certainty of it, as well as to lead on to the particulars of it:
neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither man nor beast, at least not all of them, and especially by water:
neither shall there be any more a flood to destroy the earth; not a general deluge, otherwise notwithstanding this promise there might be, as there have been, particular inundations, which have overflowed particular countries and places, but not the whole earth; and this hinders not but that the whole earth may be destroyed by fire, as it will be at the last day, only not by water any more; and this is the sum and substance of the covenant with Noah, his sons, and all the creatures that have been, or shall be.
Genesis 9:12
Ver. 12. And God said, this is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you,.... Meaning the bow in the cloud, and which might be formed in the cloud at this time, that Noah might see it, and know it when he saw it again, and seems to be pointed unto: "this is the token"; or sign of the covenant made between God and Noah, and his sons:
and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations; which more clearly shows and proves, that this covenant reaches to all creatures that then were, or should be in all ages, to the end of the world.
Genesis 9:13
Ver. 13. I do set my bow in the cloud,.... Or "I have given", or "have set it" {p}; which seems as if it was at that instant set; this is the same we call the "rainbow": and so Horace {q} calls it "arcus pluvius": it is called a "bow", because of its form, being a semicircle, and a "rainbow", because it is seen in a day of rain, and is a sign of it, or of its being quickly over, Eze 1:28 and this appears in a moist dewy cloud, neither very thick nor very thin, and is occasioned by the rays of the sun opposite to it, refracted on it: and this God calls "his bow", not only because made by him, for, notwithstanding the natural causes of it, the cloud and sun, the disposition of these to produce it, such a phenomenon is of God; but also because he appointed it to be a sign and token of his covenant with his creatures; so the Heathen poets {r} call the rainbow the messenger of Juno. It is a question whether there was a rainbow before the flood, and it is not easily answered; both Jews and Christians are divided about it; Saadiah thought there was one; but Aben Ezra disapproves of his opinion, and thinks it was first now made. The greater part of Christian interpreters are of the mind of Saadiah, that it was from the beginning, the natural causes of it, the sun and cloud, being before the flood; and that it was now after it only appointed to be a sign and token of the covenant; but though the natural causes of it did exist before, it does not follow, nor is it to be proved, that there was such a disposition of them to produce such an effect; and it might be so ordered in Providence, that there should not be any, that this might be entirely a new thing, and so a wonderful one, as the word for "token" {s} signifies; and the Greeks calls the rainbow the "daughter of Thaumas" or "Wonder" {t}; and be the more fit to be a sign and token of the covenant, that God would no more destroy the earth with water; for otherwise, if this had been what Noah and his sons had been used to see, it can hardly be thought sufficient to take off their fears of a future inundation, which was the end and use it was to serve, as follows:
it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth; that is, between God and the creatures of the earth; or of a promise that God would no more destroy the earth, and cut off the creatures in it by a flood; for though it is a bow, yet without arrows, and is not turned downwards towards the earth, but upwards towards heaven, and so is a token of mercy and kindness, and not of wrath and anger.
{p} yttn "dedi", Montanus; so Ainsworth; "posui", Pisator, Drusius, Buxtorf. {q} De Arte Poetica, ver. 18. {r} Nuntia Junonis varios induta colores Concipit Iris aquas--------- Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. Fab. 7. {s} twa "signum, tam nudum, quam prodigiosum", Buxtorf. {t} Plato in Theaeeteto, Plutarch. de Placit, Philosoph. 3, 4. Apollodor. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 5.
Genesis 9:14
Ver. 14. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth,.... Or "cloud a cloud" {u}, cause the clouds to gather thick in the heavens, and to hang over the earth ready to pour down great quantities of water; by reason of which the inhabitants might dread another flood coming upon them: wherefore, in order to dissipate such fears, it shall be so ordered,
that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; after it has pretty much discharged itself; for the rainbow is always in a thin, not a thick cloud; after the heavy showers are fallen from the thick clouds, and a small thin one remains, then the rainbow is seen in it; not always, but very frequently, and when the sun and clouds are in a proper position: and this is often so ordered, to put men in mind of this covenant, and to divest them of, or prevent their fears of the world being drowned by a flood; for when they see this, it is a sure sign the rain is going off, since the cloud is thinned, or otherwise the rainbow could not appear: and a most glorious and beautiful sight it is, having such a variety of colours in it, and in such a position and form. Some think that it serves both to put in mind of the destruction of the old world by water, through its watery colours, and of the present world by fire, through its fiery ones. Others make the three predominant colours to denote the three dispensations before the law, under the law, and under the Gospel: rather they may signify the various providences of God, which all work together for the good of his people; however, whenever this bow is seen, it puts in mind of the covenant of preservation made with all the creatures, and the firmness, stability, and duration of it; and is by some considered as an emblem of the covenant of grace, from Isa 54:9 which is of God's making, as this bow is; is a reverberation of Christ the sun of righteousness, the sum and substance of the covenant; consists of various blessings and promises of grace; is expressive of mercy and peace, and is a security from everlasting destruction: or rather it may be thought to be an emblem of Christ himself, who was seen by John clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow on his head, Re 10:1 this being a wonderful thing, as Christ is wonderful in his person, office, and grace; and as it has in it a variety of beautiful colours, it may represent Christ, who is full of grace and truth, and fairer than the children of men; and may be considered as a symbol of peace and reconciliation by him, whom God looks unto, and remembers the covenant of his grace he has made with him and his chosen ones in him; and who is the rainbow round about the throne of God, and the way of access unto it; Re 4:3 the Jews have a saying,
"till ye see the bow in its luminous colours, do not look for the feet of the Messiah, or his coming {w}.''
{u} Nne ynneb "cum obnubilavero nubem", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Schmidt. {w} Tikkune Zohar, correct. 18. fol. 32. 2. correct. 37. fol. 81. 1.
Genesis 9:15
Ver. 15. And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you, and every living creature of all flesh,.... See Ge 9:11
and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh; this is repeated to remove those fears which would naturally arise, upon the gathering of the clouds in the heavens; but as God would remember his covenant, which he can never forget; and is always mindful of, so men, when they see the bow in the cloud, may be assured, that whatever waters are in the heavens, they shall never be suffered to fall in such quantity as to destroy all creatures as they have done.
Genesis 9:16
Ver. 16. And the bow shall be in the cloud,.... Not whenever there is a cloud, but at some certain times, when that and the sun are in a proper position to form one, and when divine wisdom sees right there should be one; then it appears and continues for a time, and as the cloud becomes thinner and thinner, it disappears:
and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth; not that forgetfulness, or remembrance, properly speaking, belong to God, but this is said after the manner of men; who by this token may be assured, whenever they see the bow in the cloud, that God is not unmindful of the covenant he has made with all creatures, and which is to continue to the end of the world.
Genesis 9:17
Ver. 17. And God said to Noah, this is the token of the covenant,.... Which is repeated for the greater confirmation and certainty of it, since the fears of men would be apt to run very high, especially while the flood was fresh in memory;
which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth: see Ge 9:9, it is highly probable, that from the rainbow being the token of the covenant between God and Noah, and the creatures, sprung the fable of the Chinese concerning their first emperor, Fohi, who seems to be the same with Noah, and whom they call the son of heaven, and say he had no father; which is this, that his mother, walking on the bank of a lake near Lanthien, in the province of Xensi, trod upon a large footstep of a man impressed upon the sand, and from thence, being surrounded with the rainbow, conceived and brought forth Fohi {x}.
{x} Martin. Sinic. Hist. p. 11.
Genesis 9:18
Ver. 18. And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth,.... These were born before the flood, and went into the ark with Noah, and came out with him; see Ge 5:32
and Ham [is the] father of Canaan; this is observed for the sake of the following history, concerning the behaviour of the one to Noah, and of the curse of the other by him, which would not have been so well understood if this remark had not been made: the father and the son, as they were, related in nature, they were much alike in manners and behaviour. Cush, the firstborn of Ham, is not mentioned, but Canaan, his youngest son, because he was cursed, as Aben Ezra observes; and who remarks that the paragraph is written to show that the Canaanites were accursed, the father of whom this Canaan was; and who is the same Sanchoniatho {y} calls Cna, and says he was the first that was called a Phoenician.
{y} Apud. Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 1. p. 39.
Genesis 9:19
Ver. 19. These are the three sons of Noah,.... And his only ones; and if he had any more, they left no posterity behind them, since it follows,
and of them was the whole earth overspread, with inhabitants, by them and their posterity only: Berozus {z} indeed says, that Noah, after the flood, begat more sons, and giants; and his commentator, Annius, talks of seventeen of them, among whom was Tuiscon, the father of the Germans; and the author of Juchasin {a} ascribes a fourth son to Noah, whose name he calls Joniko, who taught astronomy in the world, and taught Nimrod the art of war; but these are fabulous stories, and contrary to the sacred Scriptures, which speak of three sons of Noah, and no more, and say that by these the earth was replenished after the flood: hence, among the Heathen writers, we read of Saturn and his three children, who by many circumstances appears to be the same with Noah, as Bochart {b} hath proved at large.
{z} Antiqu. l. 2. fol. 13. 2. {a} Fol. 135. 1. {b} Phaleg. l. 1. c. 1.
Genesis 9:20
Ver. 20. And Noah began to be an husbandman,.... Or "a man of the earth" {c}, not lord of it, as Jarchi, though he was, but a tiller of the earth, as he had been before the flood, and now began to be again; he returned to his old employment, and which perhaps he improved, having invented, as the Jews {d} say, instruments of husbandry; it may be, the use of the plough, which made the tillage of the ground more easy; he was expert in husbandry, as Aben Ezra observes, and which, as he remarks, is great wisdom; and though he was so great a man, yet he employed himself in this way:
and he planted a vineyard; not vines, but a vineyard; there were vines before scattered up and down, here one and there another, but he planted a number of them together, and set them in order, as the Jewish writers say {e}; and some of them {f} will have it that he found a vine which the flood brought out of the garden of Eden, and planted it; but this is mere fable: where this plantation was cannot be said with certainty; the Armenians have a tradition that Noah, after quitting the ark, went and settled at Erivan, about twelve leagues from Ararat, a city full of vineyards; and that it was there he planted the vineyard, in a place where they still make excellent wine, and that their vines are of the same sort he planted there {g}; which contradicts what Strabo {h} says of the country of Armenia, its hills and plains, that a vine will not easily grow there.
{c} hmdah vya "vir terrie", Montanus. {d} Zohar, apud Hottinger, Smegma Oriental. p. 253. {e} Ben Melech in loc. so Abarbinel & Bechai, apud Muis, in loc. {f} Targum Jon. in loc. Pirke Eliezer, c. 23. {g} See Tournefort's Voyage to the , vol. 3. p. 178. Universal History, vol. 1. p. 261. {h} Geograph. l. 11. p. 363.
Genesis 9:21
Ver. 21. And he drank of the wine, and was drunken,.... Either not being acquainted with the strength of it, as is thought by many; or having been used to weaker liquor, as water; or through the infirmity of his age; however, he was overtaken with it, and which is recorded, not to disgrace him, but to caution men against the evil of intemperance, as well as to encourage repenting sinners to expect pardon: and this shows that the best of men are not exempted from sin, nor secure from falling; and that though Noah was a perfect man, yet not as to be without sin; and that whereas he was a righteous man, he was not so by the righteousness of works, but by the righteousness of faith:
and he was uncovered within his tent; being in liquor when he laid down, he was either negligent of his long and loose garments, such as the eastern people wore without breeches, and did not take care to wrap them about him; or in his sleep, through the heat of the weather, or of the wine, or both, threw them off.
Genesis 9:22
Ver. 22. And Ham, the father of , saw the nakedness of his father,.... Which, had it been through surprise, and at an unawares, would not have been thought criminal; but be went into his father's tent, where he ought not to have entered; he looked with pleasure and delight on his father's nakedness: Ham is represented by many writers as a very wicked, immodest, and profligate creature: Berosus {i} makes him a magician, and to be the same with Zoroast or Zoroastres, and speaks of him as the public corrupter of mankind; and says that he taught men to live as before the flood, to lie with mothers, sisters, daughters, males and brutes, and creatures of all sorts; and that he actually did so himself, and therefore was cast out by his father Janus, or Noah, and got the name of "Chem", the infamous and immodest:
and told his two brethren without; he went out of the tent after he had pleased himself with the sight; see Hab 2:15 and in a wanton, ludicrous, and scoffing manner, related what he had seen: some of the Jewish Rabbins {k}, as Jarchi relates, say that Canaan first saw it, and told his father of it; and some say {l}, that he or Ham committed an unnatural crime with him; and others {m}, that he castrated him; and hence, it is supposed, came the stories of Jupiter castrating his father Saturn, and Chronus his father Uranus: and Berosus {n} says, that Ham taking hold of his father's genitals, and muttering some words, by a magic charm rendered him impotent: and some {o} will have it that he committed incest with his father's wife; but these things are said without foundation: what Noah's younger son did unto him, besides looking on him, we are not told, yet it was such as brought a curse on Canaan; and one would think it would be more than bare sight, nay, it is expressly said there was something done, but what is not said, Ge 9:24.
{i} Antiqu. l. 3. fol. 25. 1. {k} In Bereshit Rabba, sect. 36. fol. 32. 1. {l} Some in Jarchi. {m} Pirke Eliezer, c. 23. Some Rabbins in Ben Gersom & Jarchi in loc. {n} Antiqu. l. 3. fol. 25. 1. {o} Vander Hart, apud Bayle Dict. vol. 10. Art. "Ham", p. 588.
Genesis 9:23
Ver. 23. And Shem and Japheth took a garment,.... Who were the two brothers Ham told what he had seen, and who, no doubt, reproved him for his ill behaviour, and then took a garment, a coat of their own, very probably, some large garment fit for the purpose;
and laid it upon both their shoulders; one part of it on the right shoulder of the one, and the other on the left shoulder of the other:
and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; going backward when they came into the tent, and to the place where their father lay, they threw the garment off from their shoulders over him, and so covered him:
and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness: which they purposely shunned, for which reason they went backwards, and their faces were backwards to their father; which showed their modesty, and their filial piety and duty, and thus by their actions reproved Ham, as well as doubtless they did by words.
Genesis 9:24
Ver. 24. And Noah awoke from his wine,.... From his sleep, which his wine brought on him; when the force and strength of that was gone, and when not only he awaked, but came to himself, and was sober;
and knew what his younger son had done to him; either by revelation, as some, or prophecy, as Ben Gersom, or by the relation of his two sons, whom, when finding himself covered with another's garment, he might question how it came about, and they told him the whole affair: some, as Aben Ezra, Ben Gersom, and Abendana, think that this was not Ham, the younger son of Noah, and whom some also will have not to be the youngest, being always placed middlemost, but Canaan, the fourth and youngest son of Ham; and whom Noah indeed might call his younger, or "his son, the little one" {p}; as it was usual for grandchildren to be called the sons of their grandfather; see Ge 29:5 and Noah might be informed how his little son, or rather grandson Canaan, had been in his tent, and seeing him in the posture he was, went very merrily, and told his father Ham of it, who made a jest of it also; and this seems the more reasonable, since Canaan was immediately cursed by Noah, as in the following verse; See Gill on "Ge 9:22" this affair must happen many years after Noah's coming out of the ark, since then his sons had no children; whereas Ham had at this time four sons, and Canaan was the youngest of them; and he was grown up to an age sufficient to be concerned in this matter, of treating his grandfather in an ill way, so as to bring his curse upon him: Jarchi interprets "little" by abominable and contemptible, supposing it refers not to age, but character, and which was bad both in Ham and Canaan:
See Gill on "Ge 9:22".
{p} Njqh wnb "filius suus parvus", Montanus; "filius ejus parvus", Cartwright.
Genesis 9:25
Ver. 25. And he said,.... Not in a drunken fit, as some profane persons would suggest, for he was awaked from his wine; nor in the heat of passion, but by inspiration, under a spirit of prophecy:
cursed [be] Canaan; or, "O cursed Canaan", or rather, "Canaan is", or "shall be cursed" {q}; for the words are either a declaration of what was his case, or a prediction of what it should be. It may seem strange that Canaan should be cursed, and not Ham, who seems to he the only aggressor, by what is said in the context; hence one copy of the Septuagint, as Ainsworth observes, reads Ham, and the Arabic writers the father of Canaan; and so Saadiah Gaon supplies it, as Aben Ezra relates; and the same supplement is made by others {r}: but as both were guilty, as appears from what has been observed on the former verses, and Canaan particularly was first in the transgression; it seems most wise and just that he should be expressly named, since hereby Ham is not excluded a share in the punishment of the crime he had a concern in, being punished in his son, his youngest son, who perhaps was his darling and favourite, and which must be very afflicting to him to hear of; and since Canaan only, and not any of the other sons of Ham were guilty, he, and not Ham by name, is cursed, lest it should be thought that the curse would fall upon Ham and all his posterity; whereas the curse descends on him, and very justly proceeds in the line of Canaan; and who is the rather mentioned, because he was the father of the accursed race of the Canaanites, whom God abhorred, and, for their wickedness, was about to drive out of their land, and give it to his people for an inheritance; and in order to which the Israelites were now upon the expedition, when Moses wrote this account, and which must animate them to it; for by this prediction they would see that they were an accursed people, and that they were to be their servants:
a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren; the posterities of Shem and Japheth, who stood in the relation of brethren to Canaan and his posterity; and to those he and his offspring were to become the most mean abject servants, as the phrase implies: this character agrees with the name of Canaan, which may be derived from enk, "to depress", "humble", and "make mean and abject".
{q} Nenk rwra "maledictus erit Cenahan", Junius & Tremellius. {r} So some in Vatablus.
Genesis 9:26
Ver. 26. And he said, blessed be the Lord God of Shem,.... Shem was blessed before Japheth, because he was the first and principal in advising and conducting the affair before ascribed to them, as Jarchi on Ge 9:23 suggests; and though the words are in the form of an ascription of blessedness to God, the fountain of all good, and by whose grace Shem was influenced and enabled to do the good he did, for which the Lord's name was to be praised and blessed; yet it includes the blessing of Shem, and indeed the greatest blessing he could possibly enjoy; for what greater blessing is there, than for a man to have God to be his God? this includes everything, all blessings temporal and spiritual; see Ps 144:15 some interpret the God of Shem of Christ, who, according to the human nature, was a descendant of Shem; and according to the divine nature the God of Shem, God over all, blessed for ever, Ro 9:4.
And Canaan shall be his servant; the posterity of Canaan be servants to the posterity of Shem: this was fulfilled in the times of Joshua, when the Israelites, who sprung from Shem, conquered the land of Canaan, slew thirty of their kings, and took their cities and possessed them, and made the Gibeonites, one of the states of Canaan, hewers of wood and drawers of water to them, or the most mean and abject servants.
Genesis 9:27
Ver. 27. God shall enlarge Japheth,.... Or give him a large part of the earth, and large dominions in it, as his posterity have had; for, as Bochart {r} observes, to them belonged all Europe, and lesser Asia, Media, Iberia, Albania, part of Armenia, and all those vast countries to the north, which formerly the Scythians, and now the Tartars inhabit; not to say anything of the new world (America), into which the Scythians might pass through the straights of Anian;
and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; inhabit the countries belonging to the posterity of Shem: this was verified by the Medes, who were the descendants of Japheth, together with the Babylonians seizing upon the Assyrian empire and overthrowing that, for Ashur was of Shem; and in the Greeks and Romans, who sprung from Japheth, when they made conquests in Asia, in which were the tents of Shem's posterity; and who, according to the prophecy in Nu 24:24 that ships from the coast of Chittim, Greece, or Italy, or both, should afflict Ashur and Eber, the Assyrians and the Hebrews, or those beyond the river Euphrates, who all belonged to Shem; and particularly this was fulfilled when the Romans, who are of Japheth, seized Judea, which had long been the seat of the children of Shem, the Jews; and at this day the Turks {s}, who are also Japheth's sons, literally dwell in the tents of Shem, or inhabit Judea: the Targums understand this in a mystical sense. Onkelos thus:
"God shall cause his Shechinah or glorious Majesty to dwell in the tents of Shem;''
which was remarkably true, when Christ, the brightness of his Father's glory, the Word, was made flesh, and tabernacled in Judea: Jonathan Ben Uzziel thus;
"and his children shall be proselytes, and dwell in the school of Shem;''
and many Christian writers interpret them of the conversion of the Gentiles, and of their union and communion with the believing Jews in one Gospel church state, which was very evidently fulfilled in the first times of the Gospel: and they read these words in connection with the former clause thus, "God shall persuade Japheth {t}, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem"; that is, God shall persuade the Gentiles, the posterity of Japheth, by the sweet alluring voice of his Gospel, and through the power of his grace accompanying it, to embrace and profess Christ and his Gospel, and join with his churches, and walk with them in all the commandments and ordinances of Christ; and at this day all the posterity of Japheth, excepting Magog, or the Turks, bear the name of Christians: the Talmudists {u} interpret the passage of the language of Japheth being spoken in the tents of Shem; which had its accomplishment when the apostles of Christ spoke and wrote in Greek, one of the languages of Japheth's sons. Some understand this of God himself, he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, or in Israel, as Jarchi, and was verified remarkably in the incarnation of the Son of God;
and Canaan shall be his servant; the posterity of Canaan servants to the posterity of Japheth; as they were when Tyre, which was built by the Sidonians, and Sidon, which had its name from the eldest son of Canaan, fell into the hands of Alexander the Grecian, who sprung from Japheth; and when Carthage, a colony of the Phoenicians of Canaan's race, was taken and demolished by the Romans of the line of Japheth, which made Hannibal, a child of Canaan, say, "agnoscere se fortunam Carthaginis" {w}, that he owned the fate of Carthage; and in which some have thought that he refers to this prophecy.
{r} Phaleg. l. 3. c. 1. col. 149. {s} This was written about 1750. Ed. {t} tpy "alliciet", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "persuadebit", Cocceius; so Ainsworth. {u} T. Hieros. Megillah, fol. 71. 2. T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 9. 2. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 36. fol. 32. 1. {w} Liv. Hist. l. 27. c. 51.
Genesis 9:28
Ver. 28. And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. So that he not only saw the old world, and the wickedness of that, and the destruction of it for it, but an increase of wickedness again, the building of the tower of Babel, the confusion of languages, the dispersion of his offspring, and the wars among them in the times of Nimrod, and others: however, it was a blessing to mankind that he lived so long after the flood in the new world, to transmit to posterity, by tradition, the affairs of the old world; and to give a particular account of the destruction of it, and to instruct them in the doctrines and duties of religion. By this it appears, that he lived within thirty two years of the birth of Abraham. The Jews conclude from hence, that he lived to the fifty eighth year of Abraham's life: it may be remarked, that it is not added here as usual to the account of the years of the patriarchs, "and he begat sons and daughters"; from whence it may be concluded, that he had no more children than the three before mentioned, as well as from the silence of the Scriptures elsewhere, and from the old age of himself and his wife, and especially from what is said, See Gill on "Ge 9:19".
Genesis 9:29
Ver. 29. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years,.... He lived twenty years more than Adam did, and within nineteen of Methuselah, and his age must be called a good old age; but what is said of all the patriarchs is also said or him,
and he died: the Arabic writers say {w}, when the time of his death drew nigh, he ordered his son Shem by his will to take the body of Adam, and lay it in the middle of the earth, and appoint Melchizedek, the son of Peleg, minister at his grave; and one of them is very particular as to the time of his death; they say {x} he died on the second day of the month Ijar, on the fourth day (of the week), at two o'clock in the morning.
{w} Elmacinus, p. 12. Patricides, p. 11. apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 254. {x} Patricides, ib. p. 256.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
The blessing of God is the cause of our doing well.
On him we depend, to him we should be thankful. Let us not forget
the advantage and pleasure we have from the labour of beasts, and
which their flesh affords. Nor ought we to be less thankful for the
security we enjoy from the savage and hurtful beasts, through the
fear of man which God has fixed deep in them. We see the
fulfilment of this promise every day, and on every side. This grant of
the animals for food fully warrants the use of them, but not the
abuse of them by gluttony, still less by cruelty. We ought not to pain
them needlessly whilst they live, nor when we take away their
lives.
The blessing of God is the cause of our doing well. On him we depend, to him we should be thankful.
This grant of
the animals for food fully warrants the use of them, but not the
abuse of them by gluttony, still less by cruelty. We ought not to pain
them needlessly whilst they live, nor when we take away their
lives.
Sources: Matthew Henry; Gill's Exposition; Matthew Henry Concise
Commentary
Commentary