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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter V].</TITLE>
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"This site is for those friends and family members who may or may not know Our Lord Jesus Christ, and if not, they may come to know Our Lord through His Prophets."> <meta name="author" content="Brian Duncalfe">
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<body background="../sueback.jpg" bgproperties="fixed" >
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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<TR>
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<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC01004.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC01006.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page46"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. V.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter is the only authentic history extant of the first age
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of the world from the creation to the flood, containing (according
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to the verity of the Hebrew text) 1656 years, as may easily be
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computed by the ages of the patriarchs, before they begat that son
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through whom the line went down to Noah. This is one of
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those which the apostle calls "endless genealogies"
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+1:4">1 Tim. i. 4</A>),
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for Christ, who was the end of the Old-Testament law, was
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also the end of the Old-Testament genealogies; towards him
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they looked, and in him they centered. The genealogy here recorded
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is inserted briefly in the pedigree of our Saviour
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+3:36-38">Luke iii. 36-38</A>),
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and is of great use to show that Christ was the
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"seed of the woman" that was promised. We have here an account,
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I. Concerning Adam,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. Seth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:6-8">ver. 6-8</A>.
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III. Enos,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:9-11">ver. 9-11</A>.
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IV. Cainan,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:12-14">ver. 12-14</A>.
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V. Mahalaleel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:15-17">ver. 15-17</A>.
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VI. Jared,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:18-20">ver. 18-20</A>.
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VII. Enoch,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:21-24">ver. 21-24</A>.
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VIII. Methuselah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:25-27">ver. 25-27</A>.
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IX. Lamech and his son Noah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:28-32">ver. 28-32</A>.
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All scripture, being given by inspiration of God, is
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profitable, though not all alike profitable.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge5_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Genealogies.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 3852.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 This <I>is</I> the book of the generations
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of Adam. In the day
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that God created man, in the likeness
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of God made he him;
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2 Male and
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female created he them; and blessed
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them, and called their name Adam,
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in the day when they were created.
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3 And Adam lived a hundred and
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thirty years, and begat <I>a son</I> in his
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own likeness, after his image; and
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called his name Seth:
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4 And the
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days of Adam after he had begotten
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Seth were eight hundred years: and
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he begat sons and daughters:
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5 And
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all the days that Adam lived were
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nine hundred and thirty
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years: and he died.
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</FONT></P>
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<A NAME="Page47"> </A>
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<P>
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The first words of the chapter are the title
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or argument of the whole chapter: it is <I>the
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book of the generations of Adam;</I> it is the list
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or catalogue of the posterity of Adam, not of
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all, but only of the <I>holy seed who were the
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substance thereof</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:13">Isa. vi. 13</A>),
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and <I>of whom,
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as concerning the flesh, Christ came</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:5">Rom. ix. 5</A>),
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the names, ages, and deaths, of those
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that were the successors of the first Adam in
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the custody of the promise, and the ancestors
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of the second Adam. The genealogy begins
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with Adam himself. Here is,</P>
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<P>
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I. His creation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>,
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where we have a
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brief rehearsal of what was before at large
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related concerning the creation of man. This
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is what we have need frequently to hear of
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and carefully to acquaint ourselves with.
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Observe here,
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1. That <I>God created man.</I> Man
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is not his own maker, therefore he must not
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be his own master; but the Author of his
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being must be the director of his motions
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and the centre of them.
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2. That there was
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a day in which God created man. He was
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not from eternity, but of yesterday; he was
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not the first-born, but the junior of the creation.
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3. That God made him in his own
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likeness, righteous and holy, and therefore,
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undoubtedly, happy. Man's nature resembled
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the divine nature more than that of any
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of the creatures of this lower world.
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4. That God
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created them male and female
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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for their mutual comfort as well as for the preservation
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and increase of their kind. Adam
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and Eve were both made immediately by the
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hand of God, both made in God's likeness;
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and therefore between the sexes there is not
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that great distance and inequality which
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some imagine.
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5. That God blessed them.
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It is usual for parents to bless their children;
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so God, the common Father, blessed his.
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But earthly parents can only beg a blessing;
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it is God's prerogative to command it. It
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refers chiefly to the blessing of increase, not
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excluding other blessings.
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6. That he <I>called
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their name Adam. Adam</I> signifies <I>earth, red
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earth.</I> Now,
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(1.) God gave him this name.
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Adam had himself named the rest of the
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creatures, but he must not choose his own
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name, lest he should assume some glorious
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pompous title. But God gave him a name
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which would be a continual memorandum to
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him of the meanness of his original, and
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oblige him to <I>look unto the rock whence he
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was hewn and the hole of the pit whence he
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was digged,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:1">Isa. li. 1</A>.
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Those have little reason
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to be proud who are so near akin to dust.
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(2.) He gave this name both to the man and
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to the woman. Being at first one by nature,
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and afterwards one by marriage, it was fit
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they should both have the same name, in
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token of their union. The woman is <I>of the
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earth earthy</I> as well as the man.</P>
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<P>
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II. The birth of his son <I>Seth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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He was born in the hundred and thirtieth year
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of Adam's life; and probably the murder of
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Abel was not long before. Many other sons
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and daughters were born to Adam, besides
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Cain and Abel, before this; but no notice is
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taken of them, because an honourable mention
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must be made of his name only in whose
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loins Christ and the church were. But that
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which is most observable here concerning
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Seth is that Adam begat him <I>in his own likeness,
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after his image.</I> Adam was made in the
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image of God; but, when he was fallen and
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corrupt, he begat a son in his own image,
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sinful and defiled, frail, mortal, and miserable,
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like himself; not only a <I>man</I> like himself,
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consisting of body and soul, but a <I>sinner</I>
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like himself, guilty and obnoxious, degenerate
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and corrupt. Even the man after God's own
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heart owns himself <I>conceived and born in sin,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:5">Ps. li. 5</A>.
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This was Adam's own likeness,
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the reverse of that divine likeness in which
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Adam was made; but, having lost it himself,
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he could not convey it to his seed. Note,
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Grace does not run in the blood, but corruption
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does. A sinner begets a sinner, but a
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saint does not beget a saint.</P>
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<P>
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III. His age and death. He lived, in all,
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nine hundred and thirty years, and then he
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died, according to the sentence passed upon
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him, <I>To dust thou shalt return.</I> Though he
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did not die in the day he ate forbidden fruit,
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yet in that very day he became mortal.
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Then he began to die; his whole life afterwards
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was but a reprieve, a forfeited condemned
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life; nay, it was a wasting dying life:
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he was not only like a criminal sentenced, but
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as one already crucified, that dies slowly and
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by degrees.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge5_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_20"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 And Seth lived a hundred and
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five years, and begat Enos:
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7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight
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hundred and seven years, and begat
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sons and daughters:
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8 And all the
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days of Seth were nine hundred
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and twelve years: and he died.
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9 And Enos lived ninety years, and
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begat Cainan:
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10 And Enos lived
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after he begat Cainan eight hundred
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and fifteen years, and begat sons and
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daughters:
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11 And all the days of
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Enos were nine hundred and five
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years: and he died.
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12 And Cainan
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lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
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13 And Cainan lived after
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he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred
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and forty years, and begat sons and
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daughters:
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14 And all the days of
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Cainan were nine hundred and ten
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years: and he died.
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15 And Mahalaleel
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lived sixty and five years,
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and begat Jared:
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16 And Mahalaleel
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lived after he begat Jared eight hundred
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and thirty years, and begat sons
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and daughters:
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17 And all the days
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of Mahalaleel were eight hundred
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<A NAME="Page48"> </A>
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ninety and five years: and he died.
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18 And Jared lived a hundred
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sixty and two years, and he begat
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Enoch:
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19 And Jared lived after
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he begat Enoch eight hundred years,
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and begat sons and daughters:
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20 And all the days of Jared were nine
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hundred sixty and two years: and
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he died.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here all that the Holy Ghost
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thought fit to leave upon record concerning
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five of the patriarchs before the flood, Seth,
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Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, and Jared. There
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is nothing observable concerning any of these
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particularly, though we have reason to think
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they were men of eminence, both for prudence
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and piety, in their day: but in general,</P>
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<P>
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I. Observe how largely and expressly their
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generations are recorded. This matter, one
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would think, might have been delivered in
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fewer words; but it is certain that there is
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not one idle word in God's books, whatever
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there is in men's. It is thus plainly set down,
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1. To make it easy and intelligible to the
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meanest capacity. When we are informed
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how old they were when they begat such a
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son, and how many years they lived afterwards,
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a very little skill in arithmetic will
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enable a man to tell how long they lived in
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all; yet the Holy Ghost sets down the sum
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total, for the sake of those that have not even
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so much skill as this.
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2. To show the pleasure
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God takes in the names of his people.
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We found Cain's generation numbered in
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haste
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+4:18"><I>ch.</I> iv. 18</A>),
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but this account of the holy
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seed is enlarged upon, and given in words at
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length, and not in figures; we are told how
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long those lived that lived in God's fear, and
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when those died that died in his favour; but
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as for others it is no matter. <I>The memory of
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the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked
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shall rot.</I></P>
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<P>
|
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II. Their life is reckoned by days
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>All the days of Seth,</I> and so of the rest, which
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intimates the shortness of the life of man
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when it is at the longest, and the quick revolution
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of our times on earth. If they
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reckoned by days, surely we must reckon by
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hours, or rather make that our frequent
|
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|
prayer
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+90:12">Ps. xc. 12</A>),
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<I>Teach us to number our days.</I></P>
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<P>
|
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III. Concerning each of them, except
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Enoch, it is said, <I>and he died.</I> It is implied
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in the numbering of the years of their life
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|
that their life, when those years were numbered
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|
and finished, came to an end; and yet
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||
|
it is still repeated, <I>and he died,</I> to show that
|
||
|
death passed upon all men without exception,
|
||
|
and that it is good for us particularly to observe
|
||
|
and improve the deaths of others for
|
||
|
our own edification. Such a one was a strong
|
||
|
healthful man, but he died; such a one was
|
||
|
a great and rich man, but he died; such a
|
||
|
one was a wise politic man, but he died; such
|
||
|
a one was a very good man, perhaps a very
|
||
|
useful man, but he died, &c.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
IV. That which is especially observable is
|
||
|
that they all lived very long; not one of them
|
||
|
died till he had seen the revolution of almost
|
||
|
eight hundred years, and some of them lived
|
||
|
much longer, a great while for an immortal
|
||
|
soul to be imprisoned in a house of clay.
|
||
|
The present life surely was not to them such
|
||
|
a burden as commonly it is now, else they
|
||
|
would have been weary of it; nor was the
|
||
|
future life so clearly revealed then as it is
|
||
|
now under the gospel, else they would have
|
||
|
been impatient to remove to it: long life to
|
||
|
the pious patriarchs was a blessing and made
|
||
|
them blessings.
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. Some natural causes may
|
||
|
be assigned for their long life in those first
|
||
|
ages of the world. It is very probable that
|
||
|
the earth was more fruitful, that the productions
|
||
|
of it were more strengthening, that the
|
||
|
air was more healthful, and that the influences
|
||
|
of the heavenly bodies were more benign,
|
||
|
before the flood, than afterwards. Though
|
||
|
man was driven out of paradise, yet the earth
|
||
|
itself was then paradisiacal--a garden in
|
||
|
comparison with its present wilderness-state:
|
||
|
and some think that their great knowledge
|
||
|
of the creatures, and of their usefulness both
|
||
|
for food and medicine, together with their
|
||
|
sobriety and temperance, contributed much
|
||
|
to it; yet we do not find that those who were
|
||
|
intemperate, as many were
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+17:27">Luke xvii. 27</A>),
|
||
|
were as short-lived as intemperate men generally
|
||
|
are now.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. It must chiefly be resolved
|
||
|
into the power and providence of God. He
|
||
|
prolonged their lives, both for the more
|
||
|
speedy replenishing of the earth and for the
|
||
|
more effectual preservation of the knowledge
|
||
|
of God and religion, then, when there was
|
||
|
no written word, but tradition was the channel
|
||
|
of its conveyance. All the patriarchs
|
||
|
here, except Noah, were born before Adam
|
||
|
died; so that from him they might receive a
|
||
|
full and satisfactory account of the creation,
|
||
|
paradise, the fall, the promise, and those divine
|
||
|
precepts which concerned religious worship
|
||
|
and a religious life: and, if any mistake
|
||
|
arose, they might have recourse to him while
|
||
|
he lived, as to an oracle, for the rectifying of
|
||
|
it, and after his death to Methuselah, and
|
||
|
others, that had conversed with him: so great
|
||
|
was the care of Almighty God to preserve in
|
||
|
his church the knowledge of his will and the
|
||
|
purity of his worship.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_21"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_22"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_23"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_24"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
||
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
||
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Translation of Enoch.</I></FONT></TD>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 3017.</TD></TR>
|
||
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
||
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>21 And Enoch lived sixty and five
|
||
|
years, and begat Methuselah:
|
||
|
22 And Enoch walked with God after
|
||
|
he begat Methuselah three hundred
|
||
|
years, and begat sons and daughters:
|
||
|
23 And all the days of Enoch were
|
||
|
three hundred sixty and five years:
|
||
|
24 And Enoch walked with God:
|
||
|
and he <I>was</I> not; for God took him.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
The accounts here run on for several generations
|
||
|
without any thing remarkable, or any
|
||
|
variation but of the names and numbers; but
|
||
|
at length there comes in one that must not
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Page49"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
be passed over so, of whom special notice
|
||
|
must be taken, and that is <I>Enoch,</I> the seventh
|
||
|
from Adam: the rest, we may suppose, did
|
||
|
virtuously, but he excelled them all, and was
|
||
|
the brightest star of the patriarchal age. It
|
||
|
is but little that is recorded concerning him;
|
||
|
but this little is enough to make his name
|
||
|
great, greater than the name of the other
|
||
|
Enoch, who had a city called by his name.
|
||
|
Here are two things concerning him:--</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
I. His gracious conversation in this world,
|
||
|
which is twice spoken of: <I>Enoch walked with
|
||
|
God after he begat Methuselah</I>
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
||
|
and again, <I>Enoch walked with God,</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
||
|
Observe,</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The nature of his religion and the scope
|
||
|
and tenour of his conversation: he <I>walked
|
||
|
with God,</I> which denotes,
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) True religion;
|
||
|
what is godliness, but walking with God?
|
||
|
The ungodly and profane are without God in
|
||
|
the world, they walk contrary to him: but
|
||
|
the godly walk with God, which presupposes
|
||
|
reconciliation to God, for two cannot <I>walk
|
||
|
together except they be agreed</I>
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+3:3">Amos iii. 3</A>),
|
||
|
and includes all the parts and instances of a
|
||
|
godly, righteous, and sober life. To walk
|
||
|
with God is to set God always before us, and
|
||
|
to act as those that are always under his eye.
|
||
|
It is to live a life of communion with God
|
||
|
both in ordinances and providences. It is to
|
||
|
make God's word our rule and his glory our
|
||
|
end in all our actions. It is to make it our
|
||
|
constant care and endeavour in every thing
|
||
|
to please God, and nothing to offend him.
|
||
|
It is to comply with his will, to concur with
|
||
|
his designs, and to be workers together with
|
||
|
him. It is to be <I>followers of him as dear
|
||
|
children.</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) Eminent religion. He was
|
||
|
entirely dead to this world, and did not only
|
||
|
walk after God, as all good men do, but he
|
||
|
walked with God, as if he were in heaven already.
|
||
|
He lived above the rate, not only of
|
||
|
other men, but of other saints: not only good
|
||
|
in bad times, but the best in good times.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(3.) Activity in promoting religion among
|
||
|
others. Executing the priest's office is called
|
||
|
<I>walking before God,</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+2:30,35">1 Sam. ii. 30, 35</A>,
|
||
|
and see
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+3:7">Zech. iii. 7</A>.
|
||
|
Enoch, it should seem, was
|
||
|
a priest of the most high God, and like Noah,
|
||
|
who is likewise said to walk with God, he
|
||
|
was a preacher of righteousness, and prophesied
|
||
|
of Christ's second coming.
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:14">Jude 14</A>,
|
||
|
<I>Behold, the Lord cometh with his holy myriads.</I>
|
||
|
Now the Holy Spirit, instead of saying, Enoch
|
||
|
<I>lived,</I> says, Enoch <I>walked with God;</I> for it is
|
||
|
the life of a good man to walk with God.
|
||
|
This was,
|
||
|
|
||
|
[1.] The business of Enoch's life,
|
||
|
his constant care and work; while others
|
||
|
lived to themselves and the world, he lived to
|
||
|
God.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[2.] It was the joy and support of
|
||
|
his life. Communion with God was to him
|
||
|
better than life itself. <I>To me to live is Christ,</I>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+1:21">Phil. i. 21</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The date of his religion. It is said
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
||
|
<I>he lived sixty-five years, and begat
|
||
|
Methuselah;</I> but
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>)
|
||
|
<I>he walked with God
|
||
|
after he begat Methuselah,</I> which intimates
|
||
|
that he did not begin to be eminent for piety
|
||
|
till about that time; at first he walked but
|
||
|
as other men. Great saints arrive at their
|
||
|
eminence by degrees.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
3. The continuance of his religion: he
|
||
|
walked with God <I>three hundred years,</I> as long
|
||
|
as he continued in this world. The hypocrite
|
||
|
will not pray always; but the real saint that
|
||
|
acts from a principle, and makes religion his
|
||
|
choice, will persevere to the end, and walk
|
||
|
with God while he lives, as one that hopes to
|
||
|
live for ever with him,
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+104:33">Ps. civ. 33</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
II. His glorious removal to a better world.
|
||
|
As he did not live like the rest, so he did not
|
||
|
die like the rest
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
||
|
<I>He was not, for God
|
||
|
took him;</I> that is, as it is explained
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:5">Heb. xi. 5</A>),
|
||
|
<I>He was translated that he should not
|
||
|
see death, and was not found, because God had
|
||
|
translated him.</I> Observe,</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. When he was thus translated.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) What time of his life. It was when he had
|
||
|
lived but three hundred and sixty-five years
|
||
|
(a year of years), which, as men's ages went
|
||
|
then, was in the midst of his days; for there
|
||
|
was none of the patriarchs before the flood
|
||
|
that did not more than double that age. But
|
||
|
why did God take him so soon? Surely, because
|
||
|
the world, which had now grown corrupt,
|
||
|
was not worthy of him, or because he
|
||
|
was so much above the world, and so weary
|
||
|
of it, as to desire a speedy removal out of it,
|
||
|
or because his work was done, and done the
|
||
|
sooner for his minding it so closely. Note,
|
||
|
God often takes those soonest whom he loves
|
||
|
best, and the time they lose on earth is gained
|
||
|
in heaven, to their unspeakable advantage.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) What time of the world. It was when
|
||
|
all the patriarchs mentioned in this chapter
|
||
|
were living, except Adam, who died fifty-seven
|
||
|
years before, and Noah, who was born sixty-nine
|
||
|
years after; those two had sensible confirmations
|
||
|
to their faith other ways, but to
|
||
|
all the rest, who were or might have been
|
||
|
witnesses of Enoch's translation, it was a
|
||
|
sensible encouragement to their faith and
|
||
|
hope concerning a future state.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. How his removal is expressed: <I>He was
|
||
|
not, for God took him.</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) He was not any
|
||
|
longer in this world; it was not the period of
|
||
|
his being, but of his being here: he was <I>not
|
||
|
found,</I> so the apostle explains it from the
|
||
|
LXX.; not found by his friends, who sought
|
||
|
him as the sons of the prophets sought Elijah
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+2:17">2 Kings ii. 17</A>);
|
||
|
not found by his enemies,
|
||
|
who, some think, were in quest of him, to
|
||
|
put him to death in their rage against him
|
||
|
for his eminent piety. It appears by his
|
||
|
prophecy that there were then many ungodly
|
||
|
sinners, who spoke hard speeches, and probably
|
||
|
did hard things too, against God's
|
||
|
people
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:15">Jude 15</A>),
|
||
|
but God hid Enoch from
|
||
|
them, not under heaven, but in heaven.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) God took him body and soul to himself in
|
||
|
the heavenly paradise, by the ministry of
|
||
|
angels, as afterwards he took Elijah. He
|
||
|
was changed, as those saints will be that shall
|
||
|
be found alive at Christ's second coming.
|
||
|
Whenever a good man dies God takes him,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Page50"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
fetches him hence, and receives him to himself.
|
||
|
The apostle adds concerning Enoch
|
||
|
that, <I>before his translation, he had this testimony,
|
||
|
that he pleased God,</I> and this was the
|
||
|
good report he obtained. Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
[1.] Walking
|
||
|
with God pleases God.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[2.] We cannot
|
||
|
walk with God so as to please him, but by
|
||
|
faith.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[3.] God himself will put an honour
|
||
|
upon those that by faith walk with him so as
|
||
|
to please him. He will own them now, and
|
||
|
witness for them before angels and men at
|
||
|
the great day. Those that have not this
|
||
|
testimony before the translation, yet shall
|
||
|
have it afterwards.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[4.] Those whose conversation
|
||
|
in the world is truly holy shall find
|
||
|
their removal out of it truly happy. Enoch's
|
||
|
translation was not only an evidence to faith
|
||
|
of the reality of a future state, and of the possibility
|
||
|
of the body's existing in glory in that
|
||
|
state; but it was an encouragement to the
|
||
|
hope of all that walk with God that they
|
||
|
shall be for ever with him: signal piety shall
|
||
|
be crowned with signal honours.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_25"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_26"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_27"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>25 And Methuselah lived a hundred
|
||
|
eighty and seven years, and
|
||
|
begat Lamech:
|
||
|
26 And Methuselah
|
||
|
lived after he begat Lamech seven
|
||
|
hundred eighty and two years, and
|
||
|
begat sons and daughters:
|
||
|
27 And
|
||
|
all the days of Methuselah were nine
|
||
|
hundred sixty and nine years: and
|
||
|
he died.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Concerning Methuselah observe,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The
|
||
|
signification of his name, which some think
|
||
|
was prophetical, his father Enoch being a
|
||
|
prophet. <I>Methuselah</I> signifies, <I>he dies,</I> or
|
||
|
<I>there is a dart,</I> or, <I>a sending forth,</I> namely,
|
||
|
of the deluge, which came the very year that
|
||
|
Methuselah died. If indeed his name was
|
||
|
so intended and so explained, it was fair
|
||
|
warning to a careless world, a long time before
|
||
|
the judgment came. However, this is
|
||
|
observable, that the longest liver that ever
|
||
|
was carried death in his name, that he might
|
||
|
be reminded of its coming surely, though it
|
||
|
came slowly.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. His age: he lived nine
|
||
|
hundred and sixty-nine years, the longest we
|
||
|
read of that ever any man lived on earth;
|
||
|
and yet he died. The longest liver must die
|
||
|
at last. Neither youth nor age will discharge
|
||
|
from that war, for that is the end of all men:
|
||
|
none can challenge life by long prescription,
|
||
|
nor make that a plea against the arrests of
|
||
|
death. It is commonly supposed that Methuselah
|
||
|
died a little before the flood; the
|
||
|
Jewish writers say, "seven days before," referring
|
||
|
to
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+7:10"><I>ch.</I> vii. 10</A>,
|
||
|
and that he was taken
|
||
|
away from the evil to come, which goes upon
|
||
|
this presumption, which is generally received,
|
||
|
that all the patriarchs mentioned in this
|
||
|
chapter were holy good men. I am loth to
|
||
|
offer any surmise to the contrary; and yet I
|
||
|
see not that this can be any more inferred
|
||
|
from their enrollment here among the ancestors
|
||
|
of Christ than that all those kings of
|
||
|
Judah were so whose names are recorded in
|
||
|
his genealogy, many of whom, we are sure,
|
||
|
were much otherwise: and, if this be questioned,
|
||
|
it may be suggested as probable that
|
||
|
Methuselah was himself drowned with the
|
||
|
rest of the world; for it is certain that he
|
||
|
died that year.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_28"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_29"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_30"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Ge5_31"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge5_32"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Account of Noah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 2448.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>28 And Lamech lived a hundred
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eighty and two years, and begat a
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son:
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29 And he called his name
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Noah, saying, This <I>same</I> shall comfort
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us concerning our work and toil of
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our hands, because of the ground
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which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath cursed.
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30 And Lamech lived after he begat
|
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Noah five hundred ninety and five
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years, and begat sons and daughters:
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31 And all the days of Lamech were
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seven hundred seventy and seven
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years: and he died.
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32 And Noah
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was five hundred years old: and Noah
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begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we have the first mention of Noah, of
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whom we shall read much in the following
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chapters. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. His name, with the reason of it: <I>Noah</I>
|
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signifies <I>rest;</I> his parents gave him that
|
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name, with a prospect of his being a more
|
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|
than ordinary blessing to his generation:
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|
<I>This same shall comfort us concerning our work
|
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|
and toil of our hands, because of the ground
|
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|
which the Lord hath cursed.</I> Here is,
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|
1. Lamech's
|
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|
complaint of the calamitous state of human
|
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|
life. By the entrance of sin, and the entail
|
||
|
of the curse for sin, our condition has become
|
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|
very miserable: our whole life is spent
|
||
|
in labour, and our time filled up with continual
|
||
|
toil. God having cursed the ground,
|
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|
it is as much as some can do, with the utmost
|
||
|
care and pains, to fetch a hard livelihood
|
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|
out of it. He speaks as one fatigued with
|
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|
the business of this life, and grudging that
|
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|
so many thoughts and precious minutes,
|
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|
which otherwise might have been much better
|
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|
employed, are unavoidably spent for the support
|
||
|
of the body.
|
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|
|
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|
2. His comfortable hopes
|
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|
of some relief by the birth of this son: <I>This
|
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|
same shall comfort us,</I> which denotes not
|
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|
only the desire and expectation which parents
|
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|
generally have concerning their children
|
||
|
(that, when they grow up, they will be comforts
|
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|
to them and helpers in their business,
|
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|
though they often prove otherwise), but an
|
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|
apprehension and prospect of something more.
|
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|
Very probably there were some prophecies
|
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|
that went before of him, as a person that
|
||
|
should be wonderfully serviceable to his generation,
|
||
|
which they so understood as to
|
||
|
conclude that he was the promised seed, the
|
||
|
Messiah that should come; and then it intimates
|
||
|
that a covenant-interest in Christ as
|
||
|
ours, and the believing expectation of his coming,
|
||
|
furnish us with the best and surest
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Page51"> </A>
|
||
|
|
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|
comforts, both in reference to the wrath and
|
||
|
curse of God which we have deserved and to
|
||
|
the toils and troubles of this present time of
|
||
|
which we are often complaining. "Is Christ
|
||
|
ours? Is heaven ours? <I>This same shall comfort
|
||
|
us.</I>"</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
II. His children, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
|
||
|
These Noah begat (the eldest of these) when
|
||
|
he was 500 years old. It should seem that
|
||
|
Japheth was the eldest
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+10:21"><I>ch.</I> x. 21</A>),
|
||
|
but Shem
|
||
|
is put first because on him the covenant was
|
||
|
entailed, as appears by
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:26"><I>ch.</I> ix. 26</A>,
|
||
|
where God
|
||
|
is called the <I>Lord God of Shem.</I> To him, it
|
||
|
is probable, the birth-right was given, and
|
||
|
from him, it is certain, both Christ the head,
|
||
|
and the church the body, were to descend.
|
||
|
Therefore he is called <I>Shem,</I> which signifies a
|
||
|
<I>name,</I> because in his posterity the name of
|
||
|
God should always remain, till he should
|
||
|
come out of his loins whose name is above
|
||
|
every name; so that in putting Shem first
|
||
|
Christ was, in effect, put first, who in all
|
||
|
things must have the pre-eminence.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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