1._And God blessed Noah_. We hence infer with what great fear Noah had been dejected, because God, so often and at such length, proceeds to encourage him. For when Moses here says, that God blessed Noah and his sons, he does not simply mean that the favor of fruitfulness was restored to them; but th... [ Continue Reading ]
2._And the fear of you_. This also has chiefly respect to the restoration of the world, in order that the sovereignty over the rest of animals might remain with men. And although after the fall of man, the beasts were endued with new ferocity, yet some remains of that dominion over them, which God h... [ Continue Reading ]
3._Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you_. The Lord proceeds further, and grants animals for food to men, that they may eat their flesh. And because Moses now first relates that this right was given to men, nearly all commentators infer, that it was not lawful for man to eat flesh bef... [ Continue Reading ]
4._But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof _Some thus explain this passages ‘Ye may not eat a member cut off from a living animal,’ which is too trifling. However, since there is no copulative conjunction between the two words, _blood _and _life_, I do not doubt that Moses, speak... [ Continue Reading ]
5._And surely your blood of your lives will I require_. In these words the Lord more explicitly declares that he does not forbid the use of blood out of regard to animals themselves, but because he accounts the life of men precious: and because the sole end of his law is, to promote the exercise of... [ Continue Reading ]
6._Whoso sheddeth man’s blood _(291) The clause in man which is here added, has the force of amplification. Some expound it, ‘Before witnesses.’ Others refer it to what follows, namely, ‘that by man his blood should be shed.’ (292) But all these interpretations are forced. What I have said must be r... [ Continue Reading ]
7._And you, be ye fruitful and multiply_. He again turns his discourse to Noah and his sons, exhorting them to the propagation of offspring: as if he would say, ‘You see that I am intent upon cherishing and preserving mankind, do you therefore also attend to it.’ At the same time, in commending to t... [ Continue Reading ]
8._And God spake unto Noah_. That the memory of the deluge might not inspire them with new terrors, as often as the sky were covered with clouds, lest the earth should again be drowned; this source of anxiety is taken away. And certainly, if we consider the great propensity of the human mind to dist... [ Continue Reading ]
10._And with every living creature_. Although the favor which the Lord promises extends also to animals, yet it is not in vain that he addresses himself only to men, who, by the sense of faith, are able to perceive this benefit. We enjoy the heaven and the air in common with the beasts, and draw the... [ Continue Reading ]
12._This is the token of the covenant_. A sign is added to the promise, in which is exhibited the wonderful kindness of God; who, for the purpose of confirming our faith in his word, does not disdain to use such helps. And although we have more fully discussed the use of signs in Genesis 2:1, yet we... [ Continue Reading ]
13._I do set my bow in the cloud_. From these words certain eminent theologians have been induced to deny, that there was any rainbow before the deluge: which is frivolous. For the words of Moses do not signify, that a bow was then formed which did not previously exist; but that a mark was engraven... [ Continue Reading ]
15._And I will remember my covenant_. Moses, by introducing God so often as the speaker, teaches us that the word holds the chief place, and that signs are to be estimated by it. (294) God, however, speaks after the manner of men, when he says, that at the sight of the rainbow he will remember his c... [ Continue Reading ]
18._The sons of Noah_. Moss enumerates the sons of Noah, not only because he is about to pass on to the following history, but for the purpose of more fully illustrating the force of the promise, “Replenish the earth.” For we may hence better conceive how efficacious the blessing of God has been, be... [ Continue Reading ]
20._And Noah began to be an husbandman_. I do not so explain. the words, as if he then, for the first time, began to give his attention to the cultivation of the fields; but, (in my opinion,) Moses rather intimates, that Noah, with a collected mind, though now an old man, returned to the culture of... [ Continue Reading ]
22._And Ham, the father of Canaan_. This circumstance is added to augment the sorrow of Noah, that he is mocked by his own son. For we must ever keep in memory, that this punishment was divinely inflicted upon him; partly, because his fault was not a light one; partly that God in his person might pr... [ Continue Reading ]
23._And Shem and Japheth took a garment_. Here the piety, as well as the modesty, of the two brothers is commended; who, in order that the dignity of their father might not be lowered in their esteem, but that they might always cherish and keep entire the reverence which they owed him, turned away t... [ Continue Reading ]
24._And Noah awoke_. It might seem to some that Noah, although he had just cause of anger, still conducted himself with too little modesty and gravity; and that he ought, at least, silently to have mourned over his sin before God; and also, with shame, to have given proof of his repentance to men: b... [ Continue Reading ]
25._Cursed be Canaan _(298) It is asked in the first place, why Noah instead of pronouncing the curse upon his son, inflicts the severity of punishment, which that son had deserved, upon his innocent grandson; since it seems not consistent with the justice of God, to visit the crimes of parents upon... [ Continue Reading ]
26._Blessed be the Lord God of Shem_. Noah blesses his other children, but in a different manner. For he places Shem in the highest post of honor. And this is the reason why Noah, in blessing him, breaks forth in the praise of God, without adhering to the person of man. For the Hebrews, when they ar... [ Continue Reading ]
27._God shall enlarge Japheth_. In the Hebrew words יפת (_japhte_) and יפת (_japheth_,) there is an elegant allusion. For the root of the word is פתה (_pathah_,) which, among the Hebrews, signifies to entice with smooth words, or to allure in one direction or another. Here, however, nearly all comme... [ Continue Reading ]
28._And Noah lived_. Although Moses briefly states the age of the holy man, and does not record his annals and the memorable events of his life, yet those things which are certain, and which Scripture elsewhere commemorates, ought to recur to our minds. Within one hundred and fifty years, the offspr... [ Continue Reading ]