32 And Noah is a son of five hundred years, and Noah begetteth Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
And the sons of Noah who are going out of the ark are Shem, and Ham, and Japheth; and Ham is father of Canaan. These three `are' sons of Noah, and from these hath all the earth been overspread.
And Ham, father of Canaan, seeth the nakedness of his father, and declareth to his two brethren without. And Shem taketh -- Japheth also -- the garment, and they place on the shoulder of them both, and go backward, and cover the nakedness of their father; and their faces `are' backward, and their father's nakedness they have not seen. And Noah awaketh from his wine, and knoweth that which his young son hath done to him, and saith: `Cursed `is' Canaan, Servant of servants he is to his brethren.' And he saith: `Blessed of Jehovah my God `is' Shem, And Canaan is servant to him. God doth give beauty to Japheth, And he dwelleth in tents of Shem, And Canaan is servant to him.'
Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons of Japheth: Gomer and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And sons of Gomer: Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And sons of Javan: Elisha, and Tarshishah, Kittim, and Dodanim. Sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. And sons of Cush: Seba and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecka. And sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the land. And Mizraim begat the Ludim, and the Anamim, and the Lehabim, and the Naphtuhim, and the Pathrusim, and the Casluhim (from whom came out the Philistim), and the Caphtorim. And Canaan begat Zidon his first born, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Sons of Shem: Elam and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech. And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber. And to Eber have been born two sons, the name of the one `is' Peleg, for in his days hath the land been divided, and the name of his brother is Joktan. And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, and Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab; all these `are' sons of Joktan. Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abram -- he `is' Abraham. Sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 5
Commentary on Genesis 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
Ge 5:1-32. Genealogy of the Patriarchs.
1. book of the generations—(See Ge 11:4).
Adam—used here either as the name of the first man, or of the human race generally.
5. all the days … Adam lived—The most striking feature in this catalogue is the longevity of Adam and his immediate descendants. Ten are enumerated (Ge 5:5-32) in direct succession whose lives far exceed the ordinary limits with which we are familiar—the shortest being three hundred sixty-five, [Ge 5:23] and the longest nine hundred sixty-nine years [Ge 5:27]. It is useless to inquire whether and what secondary causes may have contributed to this protracted longevity—vigorous constitutions, the nature of their diet, the temperature and salubrity of the climate; or, finally—as this list comprises only the true worshippers of God—whether their great age might be owing to the better government of their passions and the quiet, even tenor of their lives. Since we cannot obtain satisfactory evidence on these points, it is wise to resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God. We can, however, trace some of the important uses to which, in the early economy of Providence, it was subservient. It was the chief means of reserving a knowledge of God, of the great truths of religion, as well as the influence of genuine piety. So that, as their knowledge was obtained by tradition, they would be in a condition to preserve it in the greatest purity.
21. Enoch … begat Methuselah—This name signifies, "He dieth, and the sending forth," so that Enoch gave it as prophetical of the flood. It is computed that Methuselah died in the year of that catastrophe.
24. And Enoch walked with God—a common phrase in Eastern countries denoting constant and familiar intercourse.
was not; for God took him—In Heb 11:5, we are informed that he was translated to heaven—a mighty miracle, designed to effect what ordinary means of instruction had failed to accomplish, gave a palpable proof to an age of almost universal unbelief that the doctrines which he had taught (Jude 14, 15) were true and that his devotedness to the cause of God and righteousness in the midst of opposition was highly pleasing to the mind of God.
26. Lamech—a different person from the one mentioned in the preceding chapter [Ge 4:18]. Like his namesake, however, he also spoke in numbers on occasion of the birth of Noah—that is, "rest" or "comfort" [Ge 5:29, Margin]. "The allusion is, undoubtedly, to the penal consequences of the fall in earthly toils and sufferings, and to the hope of a Deliverer, excited by the promise made to Eve. That this expectation was founded on a divine communication we infer from the importance attached to it and the confidence of its expression" [Peter Smith].
32. Noah was five hundred years old: and … begat—That he and the other patriarchs were advanced in life before children were born to them is a difficulty accounted for probably from the circumstance that Moses does not here record their first-born sons, but only the succession from Adam through Seth to Abraham.