Commentary on the Book of Genesis by Matthew Henry
| Exposition of the Book of Genesis | Read Genesis Online |
| Index | |
| Introduction to the book of Genesis | |
| Commentaries on Genesis 1 | Read Genesis 1 |
| Commentaries on Genesis 2 | Read Genesis 2 |
Full Answer
What does God teach us in the Book of Genesis?
God is against sin. In the Book of Genesis, we read about a spiraling out of control of man's sinfulness and wickedness in the world to the degree that God purposes to bring about judgment, and this will be a global judgment when he brings a great flood on the earth.
What can we learn from the Book of Genesis?
What can we learn from the book of Genesis? God is forgiving, however, and decides that: Man’s heart is evil from its youth (Genesis 8:21 KJV). God decides to establish a covenant with Noah and promises to never cut off the waters or flood all of humanity again.
What questions does the Book of Genesis answer?
Answer the questions, based on the Book of Genesis. 1. How many chapters are there in the book of Genesis? The book of Genesis consists of 50 chapters. 2. What does the word 'Genesis' mean? The word 'Genesis' is derived from a Greek word meaning, the 'birth' or 'origin'. 3. Which is the first line in the Bible?
What is the basic message of the Book of Genesis?
- "The account of the heavens and the earth" ( 2:4 -- 4:26)
- "The written account of Adam's line" ( 5:1 -- 6:8)
- "The account of Noah" ( 6:9 -- 9:29)
- "The account of Shem, Ham and Japheth" ( 10:1 -- 11:9)
- "The account of Shem" ( 11:10-26)
- "The account of Terah" ( 11:27 -- 25:11)
- "The account of Abraham's son Ishmael" ( 25:12-18)
What does the book of Genesis teach us today?
Genesis is arguing that our lives are not accidental and purposeless, that we are not helplessly caught between good and evil, that the world is not morally neutral, and that we have a role to play in it, based on our relationship with the creator.
What is the main message in Genesis?
1. We are All Created In God's Image. At the beginning of the world, God created heaven and Earth. God then created light and divided it into night and day.
What does the book of Genesis talk about?
Genesis, Hebrew Bereshit (“In the Beginning”), the first book of the Bible. Its name derives from the opening words: “In the beginning….” Genesis narrates the primeval history of the world (chapters 1–11) and the patriarchal history of the Israelite people (chapters 12–50).
What are the three principal themes of Genesis?
What are the three principal subjects of Genesis 1-11? The sovereign Creator, the nature of His creation, and the extent of its ruin.
Why is the Genesis story important?
For Christians, it was the Spirit of God that created the universe out of nothing. This is important because it shows that God is omnipotent and the source of all life. It also shows that the concept of the Holy Spirit has been part of the universe since the beginning of time.
What are the 5 covenants in the Bible?
There are several covenants in the Bible, but five covenants are crucial for understanding the story of the Bible and God's redemptive plan: the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, The Mosaic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant.
What are the 2 creation stories in Genesis?
The overlapping stories of Genesis 1 and 2 are contradictory but also complementary, with the first (the Priestly story) concerned with the creation of the entire cosmos while the second (the Yahwist story) focuses on man as moral agent and cultivator of his environment.
What are the differences between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2?
The first creation story (Genesis 1-2:3) always and only refers to God as Elohim. The second creation story always refers to God as Yahweh, or Yahweh Elohim, but never as Elohim alone....Genesis 1-2:4aGenesis 2:4b-3:24Man is to rule the world.Man is to have charge of Eden only and, presumably, is never to leave it.8 more rows
What is the purpose of Genesis?
Genesis (beginning, becoming) is the book of beginnings. It contains the "seed" for all the dealings of God with this world, the principles of the relationships of God with man, and in type anticipates all future revelations of God.
How many times is the word "toledoth" mentioned in Genesis?
A certain structure of Genesis can be seen in the fact that eleven times the Hebrew word "toledoth" (generations, histories) is mentioned as conclusion - or introduction - of a report. Similar stereotype statements are known from cuneiform tables from Mesopotamia.The word "toledoth" occurs in the following passages:
What are the two names of God in the Old Testament?
3. Peculiarities. a. The names of God. Not only in Genesis, but in the whole Old Testament occur mainly two names of God: God (Hebrew: El ohim) and Jehovah (Hebrew JHWH: The Eternal One, probably to be pronounced Yahweh).
What is the first part of the Old Testament?
Already in the Old Testament it often refers to the whole Pentateuch, the Thora, i.e., the first part of the Old Testament. Compare Joshua 1:7; Joshua 8:31; Judges 3:4; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Chronicles 23:18; Ezra 3:2; Nehemiah 8:1; Daniel 9:11; Malachi 4:4.
Who wrote the first 5 books of the Bible?
The tradition that Moses is the author of the first five books of the Bible originates from the Word of God itself. The title "law" does not only refer to the commandments that Moses received at Sinai from God. Already in the Old Testament it often refers to the whole Pentateuch, the Thora, i.e., the first part of the Old Testament.
Who wrote the Pentateuch?
Author and Time of Writing. According to an old tradition, not only Genesis (also called the first book of Moses), but the whole Pentateuch (from Greek pente - five and teuchos - container for scrolls) were written by Moses. As far as Exodus to Deuteronomy is concerned, Moses was an eyewitness and partly even main character.
What are the things that are recorded in Genesis?
18f) offers a list of things the beginning of which are recorded in Genesis, including the following: The universe, life, man, marriage, evil, language, civilization, nations, religion, and the promises to Abraham regarding his descendants (Israel).
Why did God make man mature?
Rather, God created man mature so that he could function as God intended, caring for the garden, reproducing, etc. . 2:8,9 –God placed man in a garden in Eden and placed there trees, including the tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Next we are told of the place where man first lived.
What is the name of Abraham's son?
21:1-5 –The son was born, was named Isaac , and was circumcised on the eighth day. God had told Abraham and Sarah that the child should be named Isaac — 17:19,21. In obedience, Abraham gave this name to his son. So at this point God had determined the names of Abraham, Sarah, and their son Isaac.
Why are genealogies important?
Genealogies were important to people in that day especially because many blessings were determined by inheritance, such as land, privilege of the firstborn, and sometimes office (such as kings, priests, etc.).
How many times does the Bible say "days"?
In every case, “days” is literal, never a long period of time. In particular, Moses uses “days” 191 times.
Did Cain do evil?
And other verses confirm that Cain did evil. 1 John 3:12 says that he murdered his brother because his brother was righteous but Cain’s works were evil. And the account here shows that God spoke to Cain and implied that he did not do well (v7).
Who was the king of Salem?
Both king and priest . Melchizedek was said to be king of Salem and priest of the Most High God — i.e., the true God, not an idol. His name Melchizedek means, in the original language, “king of righteousness.”. He is also called “king of Salem” (likely a reference to Jerusalem), and Salem means “peace.”.
What is the book of Genesis?
The book of Genesis is basically prose narrative, punctuated here and there by brief poems (the longest is the so-called Blessing of Jacob in 49:2-27 ). Much of the prose has a lyrical quality and uses the full range of figures of speech and other devices that characterize the world's finest epic literature.
What is the summary of the Book of Genesis?
This summary of the book of Genesis provides information about the title, author (s), date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of Genesis.
What does Genesis talk about?
Genesis speaks of beginnings -- of the heavens and the earth, of light and darkness, of seas and skies, of land and vegetation, of sun and moon and stars, of sea and air and land animals, of human beings (made in God's own image, the climax of his creative activity), of marriage and family, of society and civilization, of sin and redemption. The list could go on and on. A key word in Genesis is "account," which also serves to divide the book into its ten major parts (see Literary Features and Literary Outline) and which includes such concepts as birth, genealogy and history.
What is the significance of the number ten in Genesis?
Numbers with symbolic significance figure prominently in Genesis. The number ten, in addition to being the number of sections into which Genesis is divide d, is also the number of names appearing in the genealogies of chs. 5 and 11 (see note on 5:5 ). The number seven also occurs frequently.
What does the word "Genesis" mean?
Depending on its context, the word can mean "birth," "genealogy," or "history of origin.". In both its Hebrew and Greek forms, then, the traditional title of Genesis appropriately describes its contents, since it is primarily a book of beginnings.
How many sections are there in Genesis?
The message of a book is often enhanced by its literary structure and characteristics. Genesis is divided into ten main sections, each beginning with the word "account" (see 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1 -- repeated for emphasis at 36:9 -- and 37:2 ).
What is the 11th tablet of the Gilgamesh epic?
The 11th tablet of the Gilgamesh epic is quite similar in outline to the flood narrative in Ge 6-8. Several of the major events of Ge 1-8 are narrated in the same order as similar events in the Atrahasis epic. In fact, the latter features the same basic motif of creation-rebellion-flood as the Biblical account.
What did God say about the beginning of the Bible?
v2 The earth had no shape. It was empty. The waters were dark. God’s spirit moved over the waters. v3 And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light. v4 God saw that the light was good. God separated light and darkness. v5 God called the light ‘day’ and he called the darkness ‘night’. And there was evening and there was morning. It was the first day.
Who wrote the Bible at the same time as Jesus?
Peter, who lived at the same time as Jesus, tells us this. He is writing about the first part of the Bible (the Old Testament). He writes, ‘Men whom the Holy Spirit guided spoke words from God.’ (2 Peter 1:21) That is true for the whole Old Testament. Genesis is a part of the Old Testament.
What are the names of the 4 kings in the Bible?
v1 At this time there were 4 kings. One was Amraphel and he was the king of Shinar. Another king was Arioch and he was the king of Ellasar. Another one was Chedor-laomer and he was the king of Elam. The other king was Tidal and he was the king of Goiim. v2 These 4 kings fought in a war against 5 kings. One out of these 5 kings was Bera and he was the king of Sodom. Another one was Birsha and he was the king of Gomorrah. Another one was Shinab and he was the king of Admah. Another one was Shemeber and he was the king of Zeboiim. The last one was the king of Bela, which is also called Zoar. v3 These 5 kings joined their armies together in the valley that is called Siddim. That is the valley where the Salt Sea is.
What does the Bible say about leaving your country?
v1 The *Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country. Leave your home. Leave your father’s house. Go to the country that I will show to you. v2 And I will make you become a great nation. I will bring many good things to you. I will make your name famous. You will bring good things to people. v3 I will be kind to those who are kind to you. I will do evil things to those who do evil things to you. All the families that are on the earth shall receive good things because of you.’
What does the Bible say about the daughters of men?
v2 Then the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful. They chose some of them and they married them. v3 Then the *Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not always remain with men, because they are human. They shall live for 120 years.’
How many people did Jacob's family have in Egypt?
The number of all the persons of Jacob’s family who entered Egypt was 70. ‘These are’ refers to the names in the verses that follow. In these verses, the word ‘sons’ sometimes means ‘grandsons’. And it can also include the sons of grandsons. We do not know why the total is 33.
Who were Noah's sons in the Bible?
v18 Noah’s sons who went out from the *ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. v19 These three were Noah’s sons. The families of these sons became the inhabitants of the whole earth.
What does Moses teach about the ark?
Wherefore, that we might not measure the mode of preserving the ark by the capacity of our own judgment, Moses teaches use that the waters were not restrained from breaking in upon the ark, by pitch or bitumen only, but rather by the secret power of God, and by the interposition of his hand. 17.
What does Peter say about the deluge?
On which account, Peter speaks of the old world as having perished in the deluge, (2 Peter 3:6 .) Moreover, the deluge had been an interruption of the order of nature.
Does Moses say that man may murmur?
For men commonly do not refrain from accusing God of excessive haste; nay, they will even deem him cruel for taking vengeance of the sins of men. Therefore, that no man may murmur, Moses here, in the person of God, pronounces the depravity of the world to have been intolerable, and obstinately incurable by any remedy.
Does God speak after the manner of men?
God, however, speaks after the manner of men, when he says, that at the sight of the rainbow he will remember his covenant. But this mode of speaking has reference to the faith of men, in order that they may reflect, that God, whenever he stretches out his arch over the clouds, is not unmindful of his covenant. 18.