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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter V].</TITLE>
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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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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC01004.HTM">Previous</A>]
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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
|
|
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
|
|
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
|
|
(<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
|
|
intimates the shortness of the life of man
|
|
when it is at the longest, and the quick revolution
|
|
of our times on earth. If they
|
|
reckoned by days, surely we must reckon by
|
|
hours, or rather make that our frequent
|
|
prayer
|
|
(<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
|
|
in the numbering of the years of their life
|
|
that their life, when those years were numbered
|
|
and finished, came to an end; and yet
|
|
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>
|
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<P>
|
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IV. That which is especially observable is
|
|
that they all lived very long; not one of them
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|
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>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge5_32"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Account of Noah.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 2448.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>28 And Lamech lived a hundred
|
|
eighty and two years, and begat a
|
|
son:
|
|
29 And he called his name
|
|
Noah, saying, This <I>same</I> shall comfort
|
|
us concerning our work and toil of
|
|
our hands, because of the ground
|
|
which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath cursed.
|
|
30 And Lamech lived after he begat
|
|
Noah five hundred ninety and five
|
|
years, and begat sons and daughters:
|
|
31 And all the days of Lamech were
|
|
seven hundred seventy and seven
|
|
years: and he died.
|
|
32 And Noah
|
|
was five hundred years old: and Noah
|
|
begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here we have the first mention of Noah, of
|
|
whom we shall read much in the following
|
|
chapters. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. His name, with the reason of it: <I>Noah</I>
|
|
signifies <I>rest;</I> his parents gave him that
|
|
name, with a prospect of his being a more
|
|
than ordinary blessing to his generation:
|
|
<I>This same shall comfort us concerning our work
|
|
and toil of our hands, because of the ground
|
|
which the Lord hath cursed.</I> Here is,
|
|
|
|
1. Lamech's
|
|
complaint of the calamitous state of human
|
|
life. By the entrance of sin, and the entail
|
|
of the curse for sin, our condition has become
|
|
very miserable: our whole life is spent
|
|
in labour, and our time filled up with continual
|
|
toil. God having cursed the ground,
|
|
it is as much as some can do, with the utmost
|
|
care and pains, to fetch a hard livelihood
|
|
out of it. He speaks as one fatigued with
|
|
the business of this life, and grudging that
|
|
so many thoughts and precious minutes,
|
|
which otherwise might have been much better
|
|
employed, are unavoidably spent for the support
|
|
of the body.
|
|
|
|
2. His comfortable hopes
|
|
of some relief by the birth of this son: <I>This
|
|
same shall comfort us,</I> which denotes not
|
|
only the desire and expectation which parents
|
|
generally have concerning their children
|
|
(that, when they grow up, they will be comforts
|
|
to them and helpers in their business,
|
|
though they often prove otherwise), but an
|
|
apprehension and prospect of something more.
|
|
Very probably there were some prophecies
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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