Gen. 9 God renews his blessing, Gen. 9:1, and confirms our dominion over the creatures, Gen. 9:2. Grants flesh for food, but with the blood forbids it, Gen. 9:3–4. The penalty of murder, Gen. 9:5–6. God repeats his blessing, Gen. 9:7. His covenant with Noah and all his creatures, Gen. 9:8–11.

God renewed the old blessing and grant made Gen. 1:28, which might seem to be forfeited and made void by man’s sin, and by God’s judgment consequent upon it.

Before they loved and reverenced you as lords and friends, now they shall dread you as enemies and tyrants. Into your hand are they delivered, for your use and service. I restore you in part to that dominion over them which you for your sins have forfeited.

Every moving thing which is wholesome and fit for food, and clean; an exception to be gathered both from the nature of the thing, and from the distinction of clean and unclean beasts, mentioned before and afterwards. That liveth.

With the life thereof, i.e. whilst it lives, or taken from the creature before it be quite dead; which was an ancient practice, and an effect either of luxury or cruelty. Which is the blood thereof, i.e.

And; or, for, as the particle is oft taken; this being the reason of the foregoing prohibition. Of your lives; or, of your souls, i.e. of your persons; the word soul being oft put for person. Or, your blood, which is for your lives, i.e.

Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, wilfully and unwarrantably. For there is a double exception to this law: 1. Of casual murder, expressed Num. 35:31, Deut. 19:4. 2. Of death inflicted by the hand of the magistrate for crimes deserving it, mentioned in the following words, and elsewhere. By man, i.e.

i.e. As for you, I do not repent of that former blessing I gave to your parents, Gen. 1:28, but do hereby renew it to you, and your seed after you.

i.e. My promise, for the beasts included in this covenant, Gen. 9:10, are not capable of a covenant properly so called. And the word covenant is oft used for a simple promise, as we shall see hereafter. With your seed, i.e. your posterity, as that word is frequently taken, as Gen. 12:7, Ex. 28:43;c.

To wit, which shall hereafter be in the earth. So they are distinguished from those which were now with them.

i.e. A universal deluge; for particular inundations there have been, whereby towns and countries have been overwhelmed with all their inhabitants.

This is the token, i.e. the bow mentioned in Gen. 9:13, I appoint to you for a sensible sign and evidence, to assure you that I shall perform this covenant or promise.

I do set my bow; Heb. I have given, i.e. I will from time to time give and place. God calleth it his bow, partly because it was his workmanship, and chiefly because it was his pledge, and the seal of his promise.

Not always, but very frequently, which is sufficient for this purpose.

i.e. This covenant made with all succeeding generations of men and beasts. This and the like speeches are oft ascribed to God after the manner of men, who being forgetful, need helps for their memory.

The same thing is so oft repeated for the strengthening of the faith of all men, and especially of Noah and his sons, whom the remembrance of that dreadful deluge, which they had experience of, had made exceeding prone to fears of the like for time to come.

Which is here mentioned to make way for the following relation.

A truth which the old heathens were not ignorant of, though they changed the names, and mixed their fables with it; for they tell us that Saturn and his three sons divided the world among themselves.

i.e. Was a husbandman, as he had been before. The verb to begin doth oft abound, and is applied to him that continueth or repeateth an action begun before.

Either through ignorance and inexperience of the nature and strength of that liquor, or through the infirmity of the flesh, which was tempted by its great and, to him, new pleasantness, and by the refreshment he found in it under the weary labours of his body, and the sad thoughts of his mind, for…

The grown age of Ham was a great aggravation of this sin. The father of Canaan: this is here added as a reason of Canaan’s curse, Gen. 9:25. The nakedness, i.e. the secret parts, oft so called, as Lev.

Noah awoke from his wine, from his drunkenness, or from his sleep, the effect of it, and knew, either by the information of his sons, or by Divine inspiration, what his younger son had done unto him; or, his little son, either Ham, mentioned Gen. 9:22, or Canaan, mentioned in Gen.

And he said, not from the passion of revenge, but by Divine inspiration, and the Spirit of prophecy, Cursed be Canaan; hateful to God, abhorred by men, miserable in his person and posterity. Quest. Seeing Ham committed the crime, why is the curse inflicted upon his son Canaan? Answ. 1.

Blessed be the Lord God of Shem. Quest. What is this to Shem? For it is not Shem, but God who is here blessed. Answ. 1. Shem also is here blessed, and that in the highest degree, because the Lord hath here declared himself to be Shem’s God.

God shall enlarge Japheth; or, enlarge to Japheth. Understand here his place, as Gen. 26:22, Ps. 4:1, or his border; which was very literally made good to him, because he had a very numerous posterity; and by them he possessed the largest part of the world, even all Europe, a great part of Asia,…

Which reacheth to the fifty-eighth year of Abraham’s age, as the Jews note. And so we have a manifest account of the propagation of religion, from the beginning of the world to this day.

Here is an omission of that solemn clause used in all the preceding generations, and he begat sons and daughters; which implies that Noah had no more than these three sons, which also appears from Gen. 9:19.