PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Genesis
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 265,871 words · 567 reading sections
Genesis 1:1
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Genesis 1:1 INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS This book, in the Hebrew copies of the Bible, and by the Jewish writers, is generally called Bereshith, which signifies "in the beginning", being the first word of it; as the other four books of Moses are also called from their initial w…
2,425 wordsSECTION 2Genesis 1:2
Genesis 1:2 Ver. 2. And the earth was without form, and void,.... It was not in the form it now is, otherwise it must have a form, as all matter has; it was a fluid matter, the watery parts were not separated from the earthy ones; it was not put into the form of a terraqueous globe it is now, the sea apart, and the ea…
1,477 wordsSECTION 3Genesis 1:3
Genesis 1:3 Ver. 3. And God said,.... This phrase is used, nine times in this account of the creation; it is admired by Longinus the Heathen in his treatise "of the Sublime", as a noble instance of it; and it is most beautifully paraphrased and explained in Ps 33:6 as expressive of the will, power, authority, and effi…
483 wordsSECTION 4Genesis 1:4
Genesis 1:4 Ver. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good,.... Very pleasant and delightful, useful and beneficial; that is, he foresaw it would be good, of great service, as Picherellus {k} interprets it; for as yet there were no inhabitants of the earth to receive any advantage by it; see Ec 11:7 besides, it was d…
335 wordsSECTION 5Genesis 1:5
Genesis 1:5 Ver. 5. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night,.... Either by the circulating motion of the above body of light, or by the rotation of the chaos on its own axis towards it, in the space of twenty four hours there was a vicissitude of light and darkness; just as there is now by the l…
723 wordsSECTION 6Genesis 1:6
Genesis 1:6 Ver. 6. And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,.... On which the Spirit of God was sitting and moving, Ge 1:2 part of which were formed into clouds, and drawn up into heaven by the force of the body of fire and light already produced; and the other part left on the earth, not yet…
453 wordsSECTION 7Genesis 1:7
Genesis 1:7 Ver. 7. And God made the firmament,.... By a word speaking, commanding it into being, producing it out of the chaos, and spreading it in that vast space between the heaven of heavens and our earth {z}. And divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; th…
301 wordsSECTION 8Genesis 1:8
Genesis 1:8 Ver. 8. And God called the firmament heaven,.... Including the starry and airy heavens: it has its name from its height in the Arabic language, it being above the earth, and reaching to the third heaven; though others take the word "shamaim" to be a compound of two words, "sham" and "maim", that is, there …
266 wordsSECTION 9Genesis 1:9
Genesis 1:9 Ver. 9. And God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place,.... Which are before called the waters under the firmament; and which were either on the surface of the earth, or in the bowels of it, or mixed with it, which by the compressure of the expanse or air were separated f…
246 wordsSECTION 10Genesis 1:10
Genesis 1:10 Ver. 10. And God called the dry land earth,.... The whole chaos, that was a turbid fluid, a mixture of earth and water, a rude unformed mass of matter, was called earth before; but now that part of the terraqueous globe, which was separated from the waters, and they from it, is called "earth": which has i…
8,190 wordsSECTION 11Genesis 2:1
Genesis 2:1 INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 2 In this chapter are contained a summary of the works of creation on the six days, and God's resting from his works on the seventh day, and the sanctification of that, Ge 2:1 and an account of various things relating to several parts of the creation enlarged on and explained, and …
530 wordsSECTION 12Genesis 2:2
Genesis 2:2 Ver. 2. And on the seventh day God ended his work, which he had made,.... Not that God wrought anything on the seventh day, or finished any part of his work on that day, because he could not then be said to rest from all his work, as be is afterwards twice said to do; and because of this seeming difficulty…
427 wordsSECTION 13Genesis 2:3
Genesis 2:3 Ver. 3. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,.... A day in which he took delight and pleasure, having finished all his works, and resting from them, and looking over them as very good; and so he pronounced this day a good and happy day, and "sanctified" or appointed it in his mind to be a day…
477 wordsSECTION 14Genesis 2:4
Genesis 2:4 Ver. 4. These [are] the generations of the heavens and the earth, when they were created,.... That is, the above account, delivered in the preceding chapter, is a history of the production of the heavens and earth, and of all things in them; the creation of them being a kind of generation, and the day of t…
220 wordsSECTION 15Genesis 2:5
Genesis 2:5 Ver. 5. And every plant of the field, before it was in the earth,.... That is, God made it, even he who made the heavens and the earth; for these words depend upon the preceding, and are in close connection with them; signifying that the plants of the field, which were made out of the earth on the third da…
282 wordsSECTION 16Genesis 2:6
Genesis 2:6 Ver. 6. But there went up a mist from the earth,.... After the waters had been drained off from it, and it was warmed by the body of light and heat created on the first day, which caused a vapour, which went up as a mist, and descended: and watered the whole face of the ground; or earth, and so supplied t…
172 wordsSECTION 17Genesis 2:7
Genesis 2:7 Ver. 7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,.... Not of dry dust, but, as Josephus {h} says, of red earth macerated, or mixed with water; the like notion Hesiod {i} has; or out of clay, as in Job 33:6 hence a word is made use of, translated "formed", which is used of the potter that forms…
390 wordsSECTION 18Genesis 2:8
Genesis 2:8 Ver. 8. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden,.... Or "had planted" {m}, for this was not now done after the formation of man, but before; and so the word translated "eastward" may be rendered, as it is by some, "before" {n}: for the plain meaning is, that God had planted a garden before he ma…
1,623 wordsSECTION 19Genesis 2:9
Genesis 2:9 Ver. 9. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food,.... That is, out of the ground of the garden of Eden; and this was done on the third day, when the whole earth brought forth grass, herbs, and trees: but a peculiar spot of ground was fixed …
1,017 wordsSECTION 20Genesis 2:10
Genesis 2:10 Ver. 10. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden,.... Before man was created, as Aben Ezra observes, this river went out of Eden and watered it on every side; but what river is here meant, is hard to say. It is more generally thought to be the river Euphrates, when that and the Tigris met, and be…
400 wordsSECTION 21Genesis 2:11
Genesis 2:11 Ver. 11. The name of the first is Pison,.... Not the river Nile in Egypt, as Jarchi, who thinks it is derived from "Pashah", which signifies to increase, expand, and diffuse, as that does at certain times, and spreads itself over the land of Egypt, or from "Pishten", linen, which grows there, Isa 19:9 nor…
461 wordsSECTION 22Genesis 2:12
Genesis 2:12 Ver. 12. And the gold of that land is good,.... Arabia was famous for gold: Diodorus Siculus {x} speaks of gold in Arabia, called "apyrus", which is not melted by fire out of small filings, as other; but as soon as dug is said to be pure gold, and that in the size of chestnuts, and of such a flaming colou…
463 wordsSECTION 23Genesis 2:13
Genesis 2:13 Ver. 13. And the name of the second river [is] Gihon,.... There was one of this name in the land of Israel, which, or a branch of it, flowed near Jerusalem, 1Ki 1:33 this Aben Ezra suggests is here meant, and which favours the notion of the above learned man, that the garden of Eden was in the land of Isr…
363 wordsSECTION 24Genesis 2:14
Genesis 2:14 Ver. 14. The name of the third river is Hiddekel,.... A river which ran by Shushan in Persia, and retained its name in the times of Daniel, Da 10:4 where it is called the great river; and it seems it bears the same name now among the Persians; at least it did an hundred and fifty years ago, when Rauwolff …
4,840 wordsSECTION 25Genesis 3:1
Genesis 3:1 INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 3 In this chapter an account is given of the temptation of our first parents, of the instrument of it, and of their fall into it, and of the effect of it, Ge 3:1 their summons upon it to appear before God, against whom they had sinned, Ge 3:8 their examination by him, and the excus…
1,347 wordsSECTION 26Genesis 3:2
Genesis 3:2 Ver. 2. And the woman said unto the serpent,.... Or to him that spoke in the serpent, which she might take to be a messenger from heaven, a holy angel: had she known who it was, she might be chargeable with imprudence in giving an answer, and carrying on a conversation with him; and yet even supposing this…
205 wordsSECTION 27Genesis 3:3
Genesis 3:3 Ver. 3. But of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden,.... This tree stood near the tree of life, as is highly probable, since that is described in the same situation, Ge 2:9 she does not give it any name, which perhaps was not as yet given it; or she was not acquainted with it, its nam…
288 wordsSECTION 28Genesis 3:4
Genesis 3:4 Ver. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman,.... In reply to her answer: ye shall not surely die; in direct contradiction to the divine threatening, and which he would insinuate was a mere threatening, and which God never intended to put in execution; so that they had nothing to fear from that, God would …
117 wordsSECTION 29Genesis 3:5
Genesis 3:5 Ver. 5. For God doth know,.... Or "but {k} God doth know", who knows all things, and has foreknowledge of all future events; he foreknows what will be the consequence of this event, eating the fruit of this tree, that it would be so far from issuing in death, which he has threatened, that the effect of it …
543 wordsSECTION 30Genesis 3:6
Genesis 3:6 Ver. 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,.... She being near the tree, and perhaps just at it when the serpent first attacked her; wherefore looking more wishfully at it, she could discern nothing in the fruit of the tree which showed it to be bad, and unfit to be eaten, or why it sho…
574 wordsSECTION 31Genesis 3:7
Genesis 3:7 Ver. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened,.... Not of their bodies, but of their minds; not so as to have an advanced knowledge of things pleasant, profitable, and useful, as was promised and expected, but of things very disagreeable and distressing. Their eyes were opened to see that they had been dec…
751 wordsSECTION 32Genesis 3:8
Genesis 3:8 Ver. 8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God,.... Which they had heard before, and knew, though perhaps now in another tone, and very terrible, which before was mild and gentle, pleasant and delightful: some by it understand a clap of thunder, sometimes called the voice of the Lord, Ps 29:3 and the rat…
572 wordsSECTION 33Genesis 3:9
Genesis 3:9 Ver. 9. And the Lord God called unto Adam,.... The Jerusalem Targum is, the Word of the Lord God, the second Person in the Trinity; and this is the voice he is said to have heard before: and said unto him, where [art] thou? which is said, not as ignorant of the place where he was, nor of what he had done,…
350 wordsSECTION 34Genesis 3:10
Genesis 3:10 Ver. 10. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden,.... The voice of thy Word, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan: this was not the true cause of his hiding himself; he had heard his voice in the garden before, when it did not strike him with terror, but gave him pleasure; and I was afraid, becaus…
200 wordsSECTION 35Genesis 3:11
Genesis 3:11 Ver. 11. And he said,.... The Lord God, or the Word of the Lord; who told thee that thou [wast] naked? or showed it to thee; by what means hast thou got knowledge of it? what hast thou done that thou perceivest it, so as to cause shame and fear? man was made naked, and so he continued, and he must be sen…
368 wordsSECTION 36Genesis 3:12
Genesis 3:12 Ver. 12. And the man said,.... Not being able any longer to conceal the truth, though he shifts off the blame as much as possible from himself: the woman whom thou gavest to be with me: to be his wife and his companion, to be an help meet unto him, and share with him in the blessings of paradise, to assi…
301 wordsSECTION 37Genesis 3:13
Genesis 3:13 Ver. 13. And the Lord God said unto the woman,.... Who was first in the transgression, and drew her husband into it, and upon whom he seemingly casts the blame of his eating the forbidden fruit: what is this that thou hast done? dost thou know how great an offence thou hast committed in breaking a comman…
312 wordsSECTION 38Genesis 3:14
Genesis 3:14 Ver. 14. And the Lord God said unto the serpent,.... And to the devil in it; for what follows may be applied to both; literally to the serpent, and mystically to Satan; both are punished, and that very justly, the serpent in being the instrument Satan made use of, and is cursed for his sake, as the earth …
593 wordsSECTION 39Genesis 3:15
Genesis 3:15 Ver. 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,.... Between whom there had been so much familiarity, not only while they had the preceding discourse together, but before; for it is conjectured by some {y}, that she took a particular liking to that creature, and was delighted with it, and laid i…
5,446 wordsSECTION 40Genesis 4:1
Genesis 4:1 INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 4 In this chapter an account is given of the two eldest children of Adam and Eve, their names and calling, Ge 4:1 and of their different offerings to the Lord, and the different respect had unto them by him, which in Cain issued in wrath and envy, which appeared in his countenance,…
688 wordsSECTION 41Genesis 4:2
Genesis 4:2 Ver. 2. And she again bare his brother Abel,.... Or "added to bare" {y}, not directly or immediately, but perhaps the following year; though some have thought, because no mention is made of her conceiving again, that she brought forth Abel at the same time she did Cain, or that the birth of the one immedia…
311 wordsSECTION 42Genesis 4:3
Genesis 4:3 Ver. 3. And in process of time it came to pass,.... Or "at the end of days" {c}; which some understand of the end of seven days, at the end of the week, or on the seventh day, which they suppose to be the sabbath day, these sons of Adam brought their offerings to the Lord: but this proceeds upon an hypothe…
425 wordsSECTION 43Genesis 4:4
Genesis 4:4 Ver. 4. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock,.... As he was a shepherd, his flock consisted of sheep; and of the firstlings of these, the lambs that were first brought forth, he presented as an offering to the Lord; and which were afterwards frequently used in sacrifice, and were a prop…
486 wordsSECTION 44Genesis 4:5
Genesis 4:5 Ver. 5. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect,.... Not because of the matter of it, as some have thought; but because it was not offered in faith and sincerity, but in a formal and hypocritical manner, without any regard to the Messiah and his sacrifice, and without any view to the glory of …
254 wordsSECTION 45Genesis 4:6
Genesis 4:6 Ver. 6. And the Lord said unto Cain, why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?.... Which was said not as being ignorant of his wrath and resentment, but to bring him to a conviction of his sin or sins, which were the cause of God's rejecting his sacrifice, and to repentance and amendment; and …
124 wordsSECTION 46Genesis 4:7
Genesis 4:7 Ver. 7. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?.... That is, either if thou doest thy works well in general, doest good works in a right way and manner, according to life will of God, and directed to his glory, from right principles, and with right views: so all the Targums, "if thou doest thy wor…
740 wordsSECTION 47Genesis 4:8
Genesis 4:8 Ver. 8. And Cain talked with Abel,.... Or "said", or "spoke unto" him {l}; either what the Lord God said to him in the foregoing verses, as Aben Ezra; or he spoke to him in a kind and friendly manner, and thereby got him to take a walk in the field with him. The Vulgate Latin version adds, "let us go abroa…
645 wordsSECTION 48Genesis 4:9
Genesis 4:9 Ver. 9. And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother?.... Perhaps this was said to him the next time he came to offer, he not being with him: this question is put, not as being ignorant where he was, but in order to bring Cain to a conviction and confession of his sin, to touch his conscience wit…
305 wordsSECTION 49Genesis 4:10
Genesis 4:10 Ver. 10. And he said,.... Not Cain, the last speaker, but the Lord God, what hast thou done? what an heinous crime hast thou committed! how aggravated is it! I know what thou hast done; thou hast slain thy brother, thine own, thine only brother, a holy, righteous, and good man, who never gave thee any of…
343 wordsSECTION 50Genesis 4:11
Genesis 4:11 Ver. 11. And now [art] thou cursed from the earth,.... From receiving benefit by it, and enjoying the fruits of it as before, and from having a settled dwelling in it, as is afterwards explained: which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; the blood of his brother, which was…
121 wordsSECTION 51Genesis 4:12
Genesis 4:12 Ver. 12. When thou tillest the ground,.... Which was the business he was brought up in and followed, Ge 4:2 it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; the earth had been cursed for Adam's sin, and was not so fruitful as in its original state; and now it was cursed again for Cain's sin; not the…
418 wordsSECTION 52Genesis 4:13
Genesis 4:13 Ver. 13. And Cain said unto the Lord,.... In the anguish of his spirit and the distress of his mind: my punishment is greater than I can bear; thus complaining of the mercy of God, as if he acted a cruel part, inflicting on him more than he could endure; and arraigning his justice, as if it was more than…
316 wordsSECTION 53Genesis 4:14
Genesis 4:14 Ver. 14. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth,.... Not from being upon the earth, or had chased him out of the world as a wicked man is at death, but from a quiet settlement in it, and from society and converse with the inhabitants of it; and especially he was driven from th…
483 wordsSECTION 54Genesis 4:15
Genesis 4:15 Ver. 15. And the Lord said unto him,.... In order to satisfy him, and make him easy in this respect, that: he need not fear an immediate or bodily death, which was showing him great clemency and lenity; or in answer to his begging for death, "therefore", or as some render the word, taking them for two, "n…
661 wordsSECTION 55Genesis 4:16
Genesis 4:16 Ver. 16. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord,.... Either from the place where the Lord was talking with him; or from the place where his glorious Majesty usually resided, where was some visible token of his presence, some stream of light and glory which showed him to be there, and which was at…
4,425 wordsSECTION 56Genesis 5:1
Genesis 5:1 INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 5 This chapter contains a list or catalogue of the posterity of Adam in the line of Seth, down to Noah; it begins with a short account of the creation of Adam, and of his life and death, Ge 5:1 next of five of the antediluvian patriarchs, their age and death, namely Seth, Enos, Cai…
311 wordsSECTION 57Genesis 5:2
Genesis 5:2 Ver. 2. Male and female created he them,.... Adam and Eve, the one a male, the other a female; and but one male and one female, to show that one man and one woman only were to be joined together in marriage, and live as man and wife for the procreation of posterity; and these were not made together, but fi…
394 wordsSECTION 58Genesis 5:3
Genesis 5:3 Ver. 3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years,.... The Septuagint version, through mistaken, gives the number two hundred and thirty years: and begat [a son]; not that he had no other children during this time than Cain and Abel; this is only observed to show how old he was when Seth was born, the so…
505 wordsSECTION 59Genesis 5:4
Genesis 5:4 Ver. 4. And the days of Adam, after he had begotten Seth, were eight hundred years,.... The Septuagint version is seven hundred; for having added one hundred years more the should be, to the years of his life before the birth of Seth, here they are taken away to make the number of his years complete: and …
264 wordsSECTION 60Genesis 5:5
Genesis 5:5 Ver. 5. And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years,.... Not lunar years, as Varro {d}, but solar years, which consisted of three hundred and sixty five days and odd hours, and such were in use among the Egyptians in the times of Moses; and of these must be the age of Adam, and of h…
772 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.