them throughly. And they had (which Jofephus afbrick for ftone, and flime had they for mortar. firms) did encourage wothers of his Race and Temper to this contempt of God. Brick: The place being a Plain, not affording Stone Slime: A natural Cement to be found in Pits and lower Grounds...dow volt lea 4. And they faid, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whofe top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name, left we be fcattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 4. Build: In this attempt they were guilty, [1] Of contempt of God's declared Will, (chap.9. verfe 1.) which they endeavour to make void. II. Of proudly feeking their own Fame, and advancing their Power and Dominion: Let us make us a Name: They are by fome alfo thought guilty, [HI.] Of a diftruft of God's Truth, who had declared that he would not drown the World any more; whereas they are suppo fed to defign a City and high Tower against the danger from another Floud. To Heaven: It is expreffed Hyperbolically, and imports a great height, Deut. 9.1. A Name: i. e. A Fame and Renown. Compare Gen.6.4. 1 Chron. 17. 8. with 2 Sam. 7.9. Left we be Thus while they' confult to defeat God's purpose, they do that which was the occafion of bringing it to pass. 5. And the LORD came down to fee the city, and the tower, which the children of men builded. 5. Came down to fee: This is fpoken after the manner of Men. God is then faid to defcend, when he reveals himself by word or deed to us who live in this lower World. The Chaldee renders. it, he appeared, &c. 6. And the LORD faid, Bebold, the people is one, and they have all one language and this they begin to do, and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. E 3 6. Reftrained: They will give farther inftances of their Reif they be not defeatbellion and Tyranny, ed. 7. Go $4 7. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one anothers fpeech. 7. Us: See Gen 1.26. with the Note there. 18. So the LORD fcattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9. Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth and from thence did the LORD fcatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. 10. Thefe are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the floud. 9. From thence : From that very place which they intended to build, to prevent their being scattered abroad, v. 4. 10. Thefe, &c. As (ch. 5.) we have an account of the Generations from Adam to Noah, who was the tenth from Adam; So we have here an account from Noah to Abram, who was the tenth from Noah: And from hence we may learn, that the Age of Man's life was much fhortned after the Floud. The whole time from the Floud, to the Birth of Abram, is but 352 years; whereas from Adam's Creation, to the Floud, was no less than 1656. 11. And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begat fons and daughters. 12. And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah. 13. And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah, four hundred and three years, and begat fons and daughters. 14. And Salab lived thirty years, and begat Eber. 15. And Salah lived after he begat Eber, four bundred and three years, and begat fons and daughters. 16. And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begas Peleg 17: And 17. And Eber lived after he begat Peleg, four hundred and thirty years, and begat fons and daughters." 18. And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu,19: And Peleg lived after he begat Reu, two hundred and nine years, and begat fons and daughters.`y 20. And Ren lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug. 21. And Reu lived after be begat Serug, two hundred and seven years, and begat fons and daughters. 22. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor. 23. And Serug lived after he begat Nabor, two hundred years, and begat fons and daughters. 24. And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah 25. And Nabor, lived after he begat Terah, an bun dred and nineteen years, and begat fons and daughters. 26. And Terah lived feventy years, and begat Abram, Nabor, and Haran. 26. Begat Abram: Not that Abram was the firft-born: But he then began to be get, Gen.5. 32. Tis fuppofed that Haran was the eldeft, and Abram the youngest. That Abram was not the eldeft, is evident from this, That Sarah, the Daughter of Haran, was but ten years younger than Abram; and then Haran will be fuppofed to have begotten her when he was about nine years old, Abram must be born the 130th. year of Terah's life; For Abram was 15 years old when he left Haran, ch. 12. v. 4. And this was after Terah's death, who 2008. lived 205 years, v. 32. w 27. Now these are the generations, of Terah: Terah 1996. begat Abram, Nahor, and Huran: and Haran begat Lot. 28. And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 28. Before: i. e, in Mefopotamia, Act.7.2. It received its Name from the Chaldees, who, as they might fubdue it at firft, fo, lived in it, and gave it its denomination afterwards. Ur, in the Hebrew Tongue, fignifies Fire. 30. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31. And Terah took Abram his fon, and Lot the fon of Haran bis fons fon, and Sarai bis daughter in law, his fon Abram's wife, and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan: and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 31. Terah took Abram, &c. Terah removed from his own Country with Abram, who had received a Command from God to come out of it,Gen. 12.1. 15.7. Act.7.3. And though this Command were the chief reafon of this remove, yet 'tis thought that Terah was rendred inclinable to remove from the grief which he took at the Death of Haran there, as well as at the Barrennefs of Sarai, v. 28, 30, [See Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 1. c.7. and Abravenel on the place.] Haran: This is the name of a place in Mefopotamia. Dwelt there: It is likely that the occafion of their stay there was from the fickness or weaknefs of Terah. When he was dead, Abram went into Canaan, 32. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. СНА.Р. CHAP. XII. The ARGUMENT. God calleth Abram from his own Country, and encoura geth his Remove, with a promise to bless him, and a particular promife of the Meffias. Abram's age when he left Haran. He comes into the land of Canaan, and fojourns there. Upon occafion of a famine in Canaan, he goes into Egypt: He owns Sarai as his Sifter there. Sarai is taken into the houfe of Pharaoh King of Egypt, who by plagues was forced to restore her, and difmiffeth both Abram and Sarai, and all that belonged to Abram. I. •NOW OW the LORD had faid unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will fhew thee. 1. HAD faid: viz. Before he came to Haran, Alt.7. Get thee out: i. c. 2,3. with Gen.11.31. Go thou at least whe ther thy Relatives go with thee or no: So it follows, of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house. I will shew thee: God did not tell him whither; and Abram's obedience was therefore the greater argument of his faith in God, that he went out, not knowing whither he went, Heb. 11. 8. with Isa. 41. 2. 2. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou halt be a bleffing. 2. Great Nation: i. e. The Head and Father of a great Nation: See ch. 17. v.4. Blefs thee: viz. In all things, ch. 24. v. 1. Not onely with Temporal, but Spiritual Bleffings, Gal. 3.9, 14. Thy Name: i. e. Thy Renown and Fame I will make great: See ch.23.6. and ch. 6.4. with the Note on ch. 11.4. Than sbalt be; Os, be thon, as it is in the Hebrew. |