24 And Enoch walked with God: and he This same shall comfort us concerning our
was not; for God took him.
work and toil of our hands, because of the

32 And Noah was five hundred A. M. 1556. years old and Noah begat "Shem, 28 And Lamech lived a hundred eighty Ham, and Japheth.

The multiplication and

GENESIS.

wickedness of man.

to see Lamech, the ninth generation, in the fifty-sixth | life. 4. That Methuselah lived till the very year in year of whose life he died; and as he was the first which the flood came, of which his name is supposed who lived, and the first that sinned, so he was the first to have been prophetical; in methu, “he dieth,” and who tasted death in a natural way. Abel's was not nhw shalach," he sendeth out;" as if God had dea natural but a violent death. 2. That Enoch was signed to teach men that as soon as Methuselah died taken away next after Adam, seven patriarchs remain- the flood should be sent forth to drown an ungodly ing witness of his translation. 3. That all the nine world. If this were then so understood, even the first patriarchs were taken away before the flood came, name of this patriarch contained in it a gracious warnwhich happened in the sixth hundredth year of Noah's ing. See the genealogical plate after chap. xi.

CHAPTER VI.

The children of God, among whom the true religion was at first preserved, corrupt it by forming matrimonial connections with irreligious women, 1, 2. God, displeased with these connections and their consequences, limits the continuance of the old world to one hundred and twenty years, 3. The issue of those improper connections termed giants, 4. An affecting description of the depravity of the world, 5, 6. God threatens the destruction of every living creature, 7. Noah and his family find grace in his sight, 8. The character and family of Noah, 9, 10. And a farther description of the corruption of man, 11, 12. Noah is forewarned of the approaching destruction of the human race, 13; and is ordered to build an ark for the safety of himself and household, the form and dimensions of which are particularly described, 14–16. The deluge threatened, 17. The covenant of God's mercy is to be established between him and the family of Noah, 18. A male and female of all kinds of animals that could not live in the waters to be brought into the ark, 19, 20. Noah is commanded to provide food for their sustenance, 21; and punctually follows all these

directions, 22.

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it came to pass, a when | always strive with man, d for that 2469. AND men began to multiply on the he also is flesh: yet his days shall face of the earth, and daughters were born be a hundred and twenty years. unto them,

b

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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 My Spirit shall not mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the LORD said,

с

a Chap. i. 28; 2 Esdr. iii. 7.- b Deut. vii. 3, 4.

NOTES ON CHAP. VI.

c Gal. v. 16, 17; 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20.-d Psa. lxxviii. 39. nections with the inferior women, and the children which sprang from this illicit commerce were the renowned heroes of antiquity, of whom the heathens made their gods."

Verse 1. When men began to multiply] It was not at this time that men began to multiply, but the inspired penman speaks now of a fact which had taken place long before. As there is a distinction made here be- Verse 3. My spirit shall not always strive] It is tween men and those called the sons of God, it is only by the influence of the Spirit of God that the generally supposed that the immediate posterity of carnal mind can be subdued and destroyed; but those Cain and that of Seth are intended. The first were who wilfully resist and grieve that Spirit must be ultimere men, such as fallen nature may produce, degene-mately left to the hardness and blindness of their own rate sons of a degenerate father, governed by the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life. The others were sons of God, not angels, as some have dreamed, but such as were, according to our Lord's doctrine, born again, born from above, John iii. 3, 5, 6, &c., and made children of God by the influence of the Holy Spirit, Gal. v. 6. The former were apostates from the true religion, the latter were those among whom it was preserved and cultivated.

Dr. Wall supposes the first verses of this chapter should be paraphrased thus: "When men began to inultiply on the earth, the chief men took wives of all the handsome poor women they chose. There were tyrants in the earth in those days; and also after the antediluvian days powerful men had unlawful con

hearts, if they do not repent and turn to God. God delights in mercy, and therefore a gracious warning is given. Even at this time the earth was ripe for destruction; but God promised them one hundred and twenty years' respite: if they repented in that interim, well; if not, they should be destroyed by a flood. See on ver. 5.

Verse 4. There were giants in the earth] nephilim, from naphal," he fell." Those who had apostatized or fallen from the true religion. The Septuagint translate the original word by yyavтes, which literally signifies earth-born, and which we, following them, term giants, without having any reference to the meaning of the word, which we generally conceive to signify persons of enormous stature. But the word

God purposes to

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5 And God saw that the wicked-penteth me that I have made A. M. 1536. ness of man was great in the earth, them. and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil & continually.

e

h

f

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

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it re

Or, the whole imagination. The Hebrew word signifieth, not only the imagination, but also the purposes and desires. Chap. viii. 21; Deut. xxix. 19; Prov. vi. 18; 2 Esdr. iii. 8; Matt. xv. 19. Heb. every day. h See Num. xxiii. 19; 1 Sam. xv. 11, 29; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16; Mal. iii. 6; James i. 17.- i Isa. lxiii. 10; Eph. iv. 30.- k Heb. from man unto beast.- Chap. xix.

when properly understood makes a very just distinction between the sons of men and the sons of God; those were the nephilim, the fallen earth-born men, with the animal and devilish mind. These were the sons of God, who were born from above; children of the kingdom, because children of God. Hence we may suppose originated the different appellatives given to sinners and saints; the former were termed yyavres, earth-born, and the latter, ayiot, i. e. saints, persons not of the earth, or separated from the earth.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

r

19; Exod. xxxiii. 12, 13, 16, 17; Luke i. 30; Acts vii. 46. m Chap. vii. 1; Ezek. xiv. 14, 20; Ecclus. xliv. 17; Rom. i. 17, Heb. xi. 7; 2 Pet. ii. 5.- Or, upright.- - Chap. v. 22. P Chap. v. 32.- - Chap. vii. 1; x. 9; xiii. 13; 2 Chron. xxxiv 27; Luke i. 6; Rom. ii. 13; iii. 19.- Ezek. viii. 17; xxviii 16; Hab. ii. 8, 17.

and cruelty and oppression among the higher classes, being only predominant. 4. All the imaginations of their thoughts were evil-the very first embryo of every idea, the figment of every thought, the very materials out of which perception, conception, and ideas were formed, were all evil; the fountain which produced them, with every thought, purpose, wish, desire, and motive, was incurably poisoned. 5. All these were evil without any mixture of good-the Spirit of God which strove with them was continually resisted, so that evil had its sovereign sway. 6. They were evil continually-there was no interval of good, no moment allowed for serious reflection, no holy purpose, no righteous act. What a finished picture of a fallen soul! Such a picture as God alone, who searches the heart and tries the spirit, could possibly give. 7. To complete the whole, God represents himself as repenting because he had made them, and as grieved at the heart because of their iniquities! Had not these been voluntary transgressions, crimes which they might have avoided, had they not grieved and quenched the Spirit of God, could he speak of them in the manner he does here? 8. So incensed is the most holy and the most merciful God, that he is determined to destroy the work of his hands: And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created; ver. 7. How great must the evil have been, and how provoking the transgressions, which obliged the most compassionate God, for the vindication of his own glory, to form this awful purpose! Fools make a mock at sin, but none except fools.

The same became mighty men-men of renown.] D' gibborim, which we render mighty men, signifies properly conquerors, heroes, from 11 gabar, "he prevailed, was victorious," and Den Nanshey hashshem, "men of the name," av@pwño оvоμаσтоι, Septuagint; the same as we render men of renown, renominati, twice named, as the word implies, having one name which they derived from their fathers, and another which they acquired by their daring exploits and enterprises. It may be necessary to remark here that our translators have rendered seven different Hebrew words by the one term giants, viz., nephilim, gibborim, enachim, rephaim, emim, and zamzummim; by which appellatives are probably meant in general persons of great knowledge, piety, courage, wickedness, &c., and not men of enormous stature, as is generally conjectured. Verse 5. The wickedness of man was great] What an awful character does God give of the inhabitants of the antediluvian world! 1. They were flesh, (ver. 3,) wholly sensual, the desires of the mind overwhelmed and lost in the desires of the flesh, their souls no longer discerning their high destiny, but ever minding earthly Verse 8. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.] things, so that they were sensualized, brutalized, and Why? Because he was, 1. A just man, pry wish become flesh; incarnated so as not to retain God in tsaddik, a man who gave to all their due; for this is 2. He was their knowledge, and they lived, seeking their portion the ideal meaning of the original word. in this life. 2. They were in a state of wickedness. perfect in his generation-he was in all things a conAll was corrupt within, and all unrighteous without; sistent character, never departing from the truth in neither the science nor practice of religion existed. principle or practice. 3. He walked with God-he Piety was gone, and every form of sound words had was not only righteous in his conduct, but he was disappeared. 3. This wickedness was great napious, and had continual communion with God. rabbah, "was multiplied;" it was continually increas- same word is used here as before in the case of Enoch. ing, and multiplying increase by increase, so that the See chap. v. 22. whole earth was corrupt before God, and was filled Verse 11. The earth also was corrupt] See on with violence, (ver. 11;) profligacy among the lower, verse 5.

The

God instructs Noah

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GENESIS.

W

how to make the ark

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A. M. cir. 1556. 12 And God looked upon 14 Make thee an ark of gopher A. M. 1536. the earth, and, behold, it was wood; rooms shalt thou make in corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way the ark, and shalt pitch it upon the earth. out with pitch.

within and with

Verse 13. I will destroy them with the earth.] Not measured the pyramids in Egypt, and comparing the only the human race was to be destroyed, but all ter- accounts which Herodotus, Strabo, and others, give of restrial animals, i. e. those which could not live in the their size, he found the length of a cubit to be twentywaters. These must necessarily be destroyed when one inches and eight hundred and eighty-eight decimal the whole surface of the earth was drowned. But de-parts out of a thousand, or nearly twenty-two inches. stroying the earth may probably mean the alteration Hence the cube of a cubit is evidently ten thousand of its constitution. Dr. Woodward, in his natural his- four hundred and eighty-six inches. And from this tory of the earth, has rendered it exceedingly probable it will appear that the three hundred cubits of the ark's that the whole terrestrial substance was amalgamated length make five hundred and forty-seven feet; the with the waters, after which the different materials of fifty for its breadth, ninety-one feet two inches; and its composition settled in beds or strata according to the thirty for its height, fifty-four feet eight inches their respective gravities. This theory, however, is When these dimensions are examined, the ark will be disputed by others. found to be a vessel whose capacity was more than sufficient to contain all persons and animals said to have been in it, with sufficient food for each for more than twelve months. This vessel Dr. Arbuthnot computes to have been eighty-one thousand and sixty-two tons in burden.

Verse 14. Make thee an ark] nan tebath, a word which is used only to express this vessel, and that in which Moses was preserved, Exod. ii. 3, 5. It signifies no more than our word vessel in its common acceptation a hollow place capable of containing persons, goods, &c., without any particular reference to shape or form.

As many have supposed the capacity of the ark to have been much too small for the things which were contained in it, it will be necessary to examine this subject thoroughly, that every difficulty may be removed. The things contained in the ark, besides the eight persons of Noah's family, were one pair of all unclean animals, and seven pairs of all clean animals, with provisions for all sufficient for twelve months.

At the first view the number of animals may appear so immense that no space but the forest could be thought sufficient to contain them. If, however, we come to a calculation, the number of the different

Gopher wood] Some think the cedar is meant; others, the cypress. Bochart renders this probable, 1. From the appellation, supposing the Greek word Kνпaρισσos, cypress, was formed from the Hebrew gopher; for take away the termination looos, and then gopher and xvжар will have a near resemblance. 2. Because the cypress is not liable to rot, nor to be injured by worms. 3. The cypress was anciently used for ship-building. 4. This wood abounded in Assyria, where it is probable Noah built the ark. After all, the word is of doubtful signification, and occurs no-genera or kinds of animals will be found much less where else in the Scriptures. The Septuagint render the place, εκ ξυλων τετραγώνων, "of square timber;" and the Vulgate, de lignis lævigatis, "of planed timber;" so it is evident that these translators knew not what kind of wood was intended by the original. The Syriac and Arabic trifle with the passage, rendering it wicker work, as if the ark had been a great basket! Both the Targums render it cedar; and the Persian, pine or fir.

Verse 15. Thou shalt make the length of the ark —three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits] Allowing the cubit, which is the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, to be eighteen inches, the ark must have been four hundred and fifty feet in length, seventy-five in breadth, and forty-five in height. But that the ancient cubit was more than eighteen inches has been demonstrated by Mr. Greaves, who travelled in Greece, Palestine, and Egypt, in order to be able to ascertain the weights, moneys, and measures of antiquity.

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than is generally imagined. It is a question whether in this account any but the different genera of animals necessary to be brought into the ark should be included. Naturalists have divided the whole system of zoology into CLASSES and ORDERS, containing genera and species. There are six classes thus denominated: 1. Mammalia; 2. Aves; 3. Amphibia; 4. Pisces; 5. Insecta; and 6. Vermes. With the three last of these, viz., fishes, insects, and worms, the question can have little to do.

The first CLASS, Mammalia, or animals with teats. contains seven orders, and only forty-three genera if we except the seventh order, cete, i. e. all the whale kind, which certainly need not come into this account. The different species in this class amount, the cete excluded, to five hundred and forty-three.

The second CLASS, Aves, birds, contains six orders, and only seventy-four genera, if we exclude the third order, anseres, or web-footed fowls, all of which could He very well live in the water. The different species in