Commentary on the First Book of Moses: Genesis #

St. Ephraim the Syrian

Introduction #

I did not intend to write this commentary on the book of Genesis, so as not to repeat what I had already presented in hymns and homilies. Yet, compelled by the love of friends, I now offer here in brief what I had more extensively expressed in those hymns and homilies.

The reason Moses undertook to write the book of Genesis was as follows: The Creator had implanted in the minds of the earliest humans a clear knowledge of Himself. Before the Tower of Babel, creatures were regarded as creatures; even after that event, the preaching of true doctrine continued among the descendants of Shem until the time of Moses. However, the descendants of Abraham, from the time of their sojourn in Egypt, began to lose the knowledge of God, following the ways of the world. They strayed from the good laws imprinted in nature, came to regard what was created out of nothing as eternal, and called beings that recently came into existence by the name of God. For this reason, God desired to instruct Moses’ misguided contemporaries in the truth so that the evil passed down to them by tradition would not endure for all generations.

God sent Moses to Egypt so that there, where error had arisen, it might be overcome by the light of true knowledge. To ensure there would be no doubt about the truth of what Moses would write, God worked signs and miracles through him. God enlightened, anointed, and illumined Moses so that the radiance of his face would testify to the Spirit speaking through his mouth.

After the miracles Moses performed in Egypt and the covenant made in the wilderness, he wrote about the created natures, declaring that they were brought into being out of nothing, thereby showing the falsehood of those who called them gods. He wrote that the creatures were made from nothing and yet were worshiped as gods through error. He wrote about God, that He is One, surrounded by thousands upon thousands. He revealed the mysteries of the Son, foretold at the very creation of the world, presenting to humankind the prefigurations of the Son inscribed by the ancient righteous ones and foreshadowed by the wonders performed with Moses’ staff. He recorded the true laws from which people had turned away and added the genealogies of the Hebrew people.

Thus, Moses begins by describing the six days of creation, accomplished by the hand of the Mediator, who is consubstantial and equal in power to the Creator. When he later says, “This is the book of the generations of heaven and earth” (Genesis 2:4), he returns to the same act of creation and adds what was not written in the first account. He then speaks of the creation of Adam and Eve, their dwelling in paradise, the serpent’s coming, its schemes, and the transgression of Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit, followed by their punishment and expulsion from paradise.

He recounts the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, the murder of Abel, the curses pronounced upon Cain, and the narrative up to the seventh generation, including the words of Cain’s descendant Lamech to his wives.

Moses speaks of the ten generations from Adam to Noah, the wickedness of the descendants of Cain and Seth, the building of the ark, and the small remnant of all creation preserved in the ark. He then describes the exit from the ark, Noah’s sacrifice, the rainbow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant of peace, the vineyard planted by Noah, Noah’s drunkenness, his uncovered state, the curse pronounced on Canaan, and the blessings given to his brothers.

Then, Moses enumerates the seventy-two descendants born of Noah’s sons, speaks of the building of the Tower of Babel, the confusion of languages, and the scattering of people across the earth. He lists the next ten generations from Shem to Abraham.

Next, he recounts Abraham’s migration from the land of Ur, his settlement in Haran, and his sojourning in the land of Canaan. He describes how Sarah was taken into Pharaoh’s house and later returned after Pharaoh’s household suffered afflictions.

Moses then narrates Lot’s separation from Abraham, Lot’s capture along with the people of Sodom, his rescue by Abraham, and the blessing of Abraham by Melchizedek, to whom Abraham gave a tithe of all the possessions recovered from captivity.

He speaks of Abraham’s faith in the promised seed, his inquiry about how his descendants would inherit a land already inhabited by many, and the sacrifice offered by Abraham. He recounts the covenant of peace that God established with Abraham on that very day.

Moses tells of how Abraham yielded to Sarah’s desire and took Hagar, who, after conceiving, began to despise and reproach her mistress. Hagar fled, but an Angel appeared to her, admonished her, and sent her back in submission to Sarah. He recounts the covenant of circumcision given to Abraham and how Abraham circumcised Ishmael and all the men of his household.

He speaks of the revelation Abraham received while sitting at the door of his tent, the visit of angels in the guise of travelers, their promise to Sarah of a son, Isaac, and her internal laughter at the news. He then tells of the angels’ departure for Sodom, Abraham’s intercession for the Sodomites, the angels’ arrival at Lot’s house, the wicked gathering of the Sodomites, Lot’s departure with his daughters, and the ultimate destruction of the Sodomites for their depravity. He also narrates how Lot’s daughters made their father drunk with wine, slept with him, and he remained unaware of it. He tells of Sarah being taken by Abimelech and how God prevented him from approaching her.

Moses recounts the birth of Isaac, his circumcision, and his upbringing, as well as the expulsion of Hagar and her son because Ishmael mocked the son of the free woman.

He then tells of the covenant Abraham made with Abimelech, the testing of Abraham, the offering of Isaac on the altar, his deliverance from above, and the ram caught among the bushes, which was sacrificed in Isaac’s stead. He describes Sarah’s death and her burial in the “double” cave of the Hittites (Genesis 23:9).

Afterward, Moses recounts the oath Abraham made Eliezer swear (Genesis 15:2), Eliezer’s journey to Mesopotamia, his prayer at the well, and his bringing Rebekah to Abraham’s household to be Isaac’s wife. He tells of Rebekah’s barrenness, Isaac’s prayer, and her conception. He relates how Rebekah inquired of the Lord and received the prophecy that two nations were in her womb, with the elder serving the younger. He tells of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and of the covenant Isaac made with the Philistine king, just as Abraham had done.

Then he tells of Jacob, following his mother’s advice, receiving Isaac’s blessing instead of Esau, Jacob’s journey to Laban’s household, and his vision of a ladder in a dream. He recounts how Jacob betrothed himself to one wife of his choosing but was compelled to take three others against his will. He describes Jacob’s return to his father’s house, Laban’s anger, God’s intervention to protect Jacob, and the covenant of peace they made at Mount Gilead.

Moses speaks of the band of angels who met Jacob, the messengers of peace, the gifts Jacob sent to Esau, Jacob’s wrestling with an angel, how the angel touched his hip, causing it to dislocate, and how Esau joyfully embraced Jacob. He tells of Jacob’s settlement in Shechem, the grief caused to their father, the death of Rachel near Ephrath, Jacob’s return to his father, and the death and burial of Isaac.

Moses then enumerates the descendants of Esau and the kings who ruled in Edom before Israel had kings. He tells of Joseph’s dreams, the marriage of Tamar, the sudden deaths of her husbands, her cunning deception of Judah, his initial condemnation of her to burning, and his eventual acknowledgment of her righteousness, declaring her more just than himself.

Then Moses recounts how Joseph was sent to his brothers, cast into a pit by them, and sold to the Ishmaelites. He tells of Joseph’s arrival in Egypt, his flight from his master’s wife, his imprisonment, and how he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s servants and later Pharaoh himself. He describes the honor Joseph received for his wisdom, the grain he stored during seven years of abundance, and the immense wealth acquired during the years of famine.

Moses speaks of the arrival of Joseph’s brothers, how he concealed his identity from them, tested them, and eventually revealed himself, embracing them with tears. He also narrates how Joseph’s brothers informed Jacob about him, Jacob’s migration to Egypt with seventy souls, Joseph’s meeting with his father, and how he brought Jacob before Pharaoh. He tells how Jacob blessed Pharaoh, how Joseph settled his brothers in the best regions of Egypt, and how he purchased all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, except for the land of the priests.

Moses then recounts Jacob’s illness, the blessing of Joseph’s sons, and how Jacob elevated the younger Ephraim above his elder brother Manasseh. He describes the blessings Jacob pronounced over his sons, how he drew his feet into the bed and was gathered to his people. Joseph buried Jacob in the same place where Abraham and Isaac were laid to rest. Finally, Moses tells of Joseph’s own death, how he made his brothers swear to carry his bones with them to the land of their inheritance.

This is what Moses recorded in the first book of Genesis, which he begins with these words:

Chapter 1 #

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), meaning the substance of heaven and the substance of earth. No one should think that the six days of creation are allegorical. It is also impermissible to claim that what is described as having been created over the course of six days was actually created in an instant or that the account contains mere names—either meaningless or signifying something entirely different. On the contrary, it must be understood that just as heaven and earth, created in the beginning, are truly heaven and earth and not something else under these names, so too everything else described as created and ordered after the creation of heaven and earth consists of real substances corresponding to the power of their names.

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” This was the extent of the initial act of creation because nothing else was created simultaneously with heaven and earth. Even the natures created on that same day were not yet formed, for if God had created them together with heaven and earth, Moses would have stated so. He does not, to prevent the notion that the names of things might precede their existence. From this, it is evident that heaven and earth were created out of nothing because neither water nor air yet existed, nor had fire, light, or darkness come into being; these were brought forth later than heaven and earth and are therefore creatures, for they came after heaven and earth, and they are not eternal, as they did not exist before them.

Moses then speaks not of what is above the firmament but of what lies between the firmament and the earth, as though within some kind of depth. He does not write to us about spirits or specify the day on which they were created. Regarding the earth, he states that it “was without form and void” (Genesis 1:2)—that is, it bore nothing upon it and was desolate. He says this to show that emptiness preceded the creation of other natures. However, I do not mean to suggest that emptiness is something that actually exists; rather, I aim to show that at that time, there was only the earth, and nothing else existed besides it. Having described the creation of heaven and earth and indicated their emptiness (since the time of their existence predates the natures created later), Moses turns to describe these natures themselves and says, “and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). This shows that the abyss of waters was created at the same time. Yet, how was it created on that day? While it was indeed created on that day and at that time, Moses does not describe here how it was created, and thus we must accept that the abyss appeared as stated and await Moses’ further explanation of how it was made.

Some regard the darkness “upon the face of the deep” as the shadow of heaven. If the firmament had been created on the first day, their opinion might hold. But if the heavenly realms above are similar to the firmament, then deep darkness would lie between the heavens and the heavens, for God had not yet created or placed the light that would dispel the darkness with its rays. If, however, the heavenly realm is full of light, as testified by Ezekiel, Paul, and Stephen, and the heavens themselves drive out darkness with their light, how could they have cast darkness over the deep?

If everything created (whether written or not written about its creation) was made within six days, then clouds appeared on the first day. Fire was created along with air, though its creation is not explicitly mentioned; similarly, clouds were created alongside the abyss, even though this is not stated, just as the creation of fire alongside air is not written. For it was fitting that everything be created within six days. The origin of clouds is known to us, and we must therefore conclude that clouds were created alongside the abyss, as they always arise from the abyss. “And Elijah saw a cloud… arising from the sea” (1 Kings 18:44), and Solomon states, “By His knowledge, the depths were broken up, and the clouds dropped down the dew” (Proverbs 3:20). The fact that clouds were created at this specific time, during the first night, is evidenced not only by their essence but also by their function, for we consider that it was through them that the first night came to be. Just as clouds covered Egypt for three nights and three days, producing night, so too did clouds spread over the whole world during the first night and the first day of creation. If the clouds were transparent, then the first day had some illumination, as the radiance of the heavenly realms was sufficient to substitute for the light created later that same day.

At the end of the first night and day, on the evening of the second day, the firmament was created, and from that time onward, its shadow produced subsequent nights. Thus, on the evening before the first night, God created heaven and earth, along with the abyss and clouds, and these clouds, spreading over everything, brought about the dark night. After this shadow covered all things for twelve hours, light was created, dispelling the darkness that was spread over the waters. After stating that darkness was “upon the face of the deep,” Moses continues: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit of God the Father, proceeding from Him not temporally but essentially, equal in creative power to the Father and His Only-Begotten Son. This Spirit, distinct in personhood yet inseparable, is referred to in Divine Scripture as the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit. Concerning Him, it is said that He “moved upon the waters” to infuse the waters, earth, and air with generative power, so that they would bring forth and produce plants, animals, and birds. It was fitting for the Holy Spirit to move in testimony that His creative power is equal to that of the Father and the Son. For the Father commanded, the Son created, and it was appropriate for the Spirit to contribute His work. This He demonstrated by “moving,” clearly showing that all things were brought into being and completed by the Trinity.

Furthermore, we must understand that when Scripture speaks of the creative power of the Godhead, it does not introduce another spirit, something created or brought forth, that moved with God over the waters, but speaks of the Holy Spirit. He warmed, fructified, and made the waters generative, akin to a bird sitting with outspread wings over its eggs, warming them with its heat and giving them the power to hatch. This same Holy Spirit foreshadowed the mystery of Holy Baptism when, by “moving” over the waters, He symbolized the begetting of God’s children.

Having spoken of the creation of heaven, earth, darkness, the abyss, and waters at the start of the first night, Moses moves on to describe the creation of light on the morning of the first day. After the twelve hours of night, light was created amidst the clouds and waters, dispersing the shadow of the clouds that hung over the waters and caused darkness. This marked the beginning of the first month of Nisan, during which days and nights have equal hours. The light was to remain for twelve hours, so that the day would contain the same measure and duration of time as the night. For although both light and clouds were created instantaneously, the day and night of the first day each lasted twelve hours.

The light that appeared on earth was similar to either a luminous cloud, a rising sun, or the pillar that illuminated the Israelites in the wilderness. In any case, it is certain that the light could not have dispersed the encompassing darkness unless it spread its essence or rays everywhere, like the rising sun. The primordial light was diffused universally, not confined to a specific place, and everywhere it dispelled the darkness without moving; its motion was in appearing and vanishing. Upon its sudden disappearance, the dominion of night resumed, and with its reappearance, night’s reign ended. To ensure that the light did not return to nothingness, as it had come from nothing, God specifically declared it “good” (Genesis 1:4). By this, He affirmed that all creation before the light, though not explicitly called good at the time of its formation, was nevertheless included in the declaration that all creation was “very good” by the conclusion of the sixth day: “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

The original light, declared good upon its creation, illuminated the first three days of creation with its rising and presence. It is said to have contributed to the conception and generation of all that the earth brought forth on the third day. The sun, established later in the firmament, was tasked with bringing to maturity what had already been initiated by the original light. Some claim that the sun, placed in the firmament, as well as the moon and stars, were formed from the same primordial light and fire created on the first day. Thus, the sun, governing the days, was to both illuminate the earth and mature its produce, while the moon, governing the nights, was not only to temper the heat with its gentle light but also assist the earth in yielding fruits and produce according to its original nature. Moses, in his blessings, refers to this, saying: “From the fruits brought forth by the moon” (Deuteronomy 33:14).

It is noted that light, in addition to its other purposes, was created on the first day specifically for the benefit of the earth’s produce. Though the earth, under the influence of light, brought forth all that was accomplished on the third day, this light was still in its original form. Nonetheless, all earthly fruits began through the moon’s influence, as well as through that of light, but it was the sun that brought them to maturity.

Thus, the earth produced all things through the assistance of light and water. Although God could have brought forth everything from the earth without them, it was His will to act this way to show that everything created on earth was made for the benefit and service of humanity.

The waters that covered the earth on the first day were not salty. Though an abyss of waters stood above the earth, the seas had not yet appeared. The waters became salty only after being gathered into the seas. Before their gathering, the waters were not salty but sweet, as they were spread over the face of the earth to water it. Once gathered into the seas on the third day, they became salty so as not to decay when confined together in one place and to accommodate the rivers flowing into them without overflowing. The waters of the rivers provided sufficient sustenance for the seas, preventing them from drying up under the sun’s heat while ensuring they did not expand beyond their bounds or flood the earth. The saltiness of the sea absorbed the incoming river waters, maintaining balance.

If we assume that the seas were created simultaneously with the waters and were filled at their creation, with their waters being salty, we must still say that the waters above the seas were not salty. For though the seas, created at that time, were salty during the flood, they did not impart their salinity to the sweet waters that flooded above them. If the seas had been able to make the floodwaters salty, how could olive trees and other vegetation have survived in them? Or how could Noah and those with him have drunk from them during the flood? Noah was commanded to bring food into the ark for himself and all with him, as there was nowhere else to find it, but he was not commanded to bring water, for those in the ark could drink the water surrounding them. Thus, just as the floodwaters were not salty while covering the seas, the waters gathered on the third day were not bitter, even if the seas beneath them were already salty.

Since the gathering of the waters did not occur before God’s command, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear” (Genesis 1:9), it is evident that the seas did not exist before God called the gathered waters “seas” (Genesis 1:10). When the waters received their name and were confined to their place, they became salty—a condition they did not possess before. Even the seabed itself was deepened at that precise moment when it was said, “Let the waters be gathered together into one place,” meaning either the seabed was lowered below the rest of the land to receive the waters, or the waters themselves receded into one another to make room, or the seabed split apart, creating a vast depth into which the waters rushed instantaneously. While the waters were gathered by God’s command, at the creation of the earth, an opening was also made for them, allowing them to collect into one place.

Just as the first and second gatherings of water did not result in a confined space from which they could not flow, so too, afterward, they emerged through streams and springs, returning to their seas by the same paths and channels established for them from the first day.

The upper waters, separated on the second day from the lower waters by the firmament stretched between them, were as sweet as the lower waters. They are not like the waters that became salty in the seas on the third day but are identical to those separated from them on the second day. They are not salty because they are incorruptible. They are not on the earth, where they might decay, for on earth, air enables waters to generate and produce creeping things. These waters require no rivers flowing into them, for they cannot be depleted, as there is no sun there to dry them with its heat. These waters remain as a dew of blessings, reserved for the outpouring of wrath.

It is also inconceivable that the waters above the firmament are in motion, for what has been ordered does not move without order, and what exists cannot be moved by something nonexistent. What is created within something else receives, at the moment of its creation, everything it requires: its motion, ascent, and descent, all within that which contains it. The upper waters, being surrounded by nothing, cannot flow downward or move in circles, for there is no medium through which they might flow or circulate.

Thus, as Scripture attests, heaven, earth, fire, air, and waters were created out of nothing. The light created on the first day, and everything else created thereafter, was formed from what already existed. When Moses speaks of creation from nothing, he uses the word “created,” as in: “God created the heaven and the earth.” While it is not explicitly written that fire, waters, and air were created, neither is it stated that they were formed from pre-existing materials. Therefore, they too were created out of nothing, just as heaven and earth were created out of nothing. When God begins to create from what already exists, Scripture uses expressions like: “And God said, Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and similar phrases. If it says, “God created great whales” (Genesis 1:21), it is preceded by, “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life” (Genesis 1:20). Thus, only the five types of creation previously mentioned were made from nothing; everything else was made from what had already been created from nothing.

Fire was created on the first day, though this is not explicitly stated because it is contained within other elements. Existing neither for itself nor independently, it was created alongside that which contains it. Since it exists not for itself, it could not precede the purpose for which it was created. Fire exists in the earth, as nature itself testifies, but that it was created alongside the earth is not explicitly revealed in Scripture, which simply states: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” Thus, while fire may now reside in earth, water, wind, and clouds, it was always commanded to emerge from the earth and waters at appointed times.

Darkness is not eternal, nor is it a created substance, for as Scripture shows, darkness is a shadow. It was neither created before the heavens nor after the clouds, but together with the clouds, and it was generated by them. Its existence depends on something else, for it lacks independent substance; when the source of its existence ceases, darkness ceases as well. What ceases with the disappearance of another is close to nonexistence, as its being depends on another. Thus, the darkness that accompanied the clouds and firmament and vanished with the appearance of the primordial light and the sun could not have been self-sufficient when one thing generated it by its presence and another dispelled it by its appearance. If one thing produces darkness and gives it being while another reduces it to nothing, can it be regarded as eternal? For the clouds and firmament, created in the beginning, generated darkness, while the light created on the first day dispersed it. If one creation brought it forth and another dispelled it—one consistently accompanying and revealing it while the other eliminated it at the appointed time—it follows that one initiated its existence and the other terminated it. Therefore, if creation brings darkness into being and also ends it, then darkness is the product of creation (as it is the shadow of the firmament) and ceases to exist in the presence of another creation (as it disappears with the sun). Yet some teachers regard this darkness, utterly subject to created things, as hostile to them! They declare this entity, lacking any independent substance, to be eternal and self-existent!

Moses, after describing what was created on the first day, moves to the account of the second day and states: “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters” (Genesis 1:6–7). The firmament, established between the waters above and below, had the same extent as the waters spread across the surface of the earth. Since above the firmament are waters like those above the earth, and below the firmament are earth, waters, and fire, the firmament is enclosed within them, as an infant is enclosed in its mother’s womb.

Some, believing that the firmament is at the center of all creation, regard it as the very depths of the universe. However, if the firmament were created as the center of the universe, then the light, darkness, and air that were above it when God created it would have remained above the firmament. If the firmament was created at night, then along with the waters that remained above, darkness and air would have stayed above it. If it was created during the day, then light and air would have remained there along with the waters. If they stayed, then those present here must be different. This raises the question: when, then, were they created? But if they did not remain there, how did the elements that were above the firmament during its creation change their place and end up beneath it?

The firmament was created on the evening of the second night, just as heaven was created on the evening of the first night. With the formation of the firmament, the shadow of the clouds, which had served in place of the firmament during the preceding night and day, disappeared. Since the firmament was created between the light and the darkness, darkness took its place above the firmament as soon as the clouds and their shadow were removed. However, the light did not remain there, as its appointed time was fulfilled, and it descended into the waters below the firmament. Thus, nothing rose above the firmament along with its creation, as nothing remained above it; the firmament was appointed to separate the waters above from the waters below, but not to separate light from darkness.

Therefore, there was no light during the first night of creation. During the second and third nights, as we have said, the light descended into the waters beneath the firmament and shone through them. On the fourth night, when the waters were gathered into one place and, as is said, the light was ordered and organized, the sun, moon, and stars were then formed from it and from fire. These celestial bodies were assigned their places: the moon was set in the western firmament, the sun in the eastern firmament, and the stars were scattered and arranged across the firmament at that same moment.

Concerning the light of the first day, God said, “that it was good”; however, He did not declare the firmament of the second day good, for it was not yet fully completed, nor had it received its adornment. The Creator delayed pronouncing approval until the celestial lights had been formed so that when the firmament was adorned with the sun, moon, and stars, and these luminaries dispelled the deep darkness upon it by their radiance, He could declare of it the same as of the other creations, namely, that they “were very good.”

Having spoken of the firmament created on the second day, Moses turns to the gathering of the waters, as well as the grasses and trees brought forth by the earth on the third day, and he writes: “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear” (Genesis 1:9). The words “Let the waters be gathered together unto one place” imply that the earth supported the waters and that the abyss was not under the earth, suspended on nothing. Thus, on that same night, as soon as God commanded, the waters gathered into one place, and the surface of the earth dried instantly.

After this was accomplished, God commanded the earth in the morning to bring forth every kind of grass and herb, as well as various fruit-bearing trees. The grasses, at the moment of their creation, came into being instantly, yet appeared as if they had grown over months. Similarly, the trees, though created in a single day, appeared as if they had matured over years, laden with fruit on their branches. The grains necessary for the animals created two days later were prepared, as well as the stalks of wheat needed for the sustenance of Adam and Eve, whom God would expel from paradise four days later.

Having described the gathering of the waters and the production of vegetation on the third day, Moses turns to the creation of the celestial lights on the firmament and writes: “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night” (Genesis 1:14), meaning that one was to rule over the day and the other over the night. God also said, “and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Genesis 1:14), for years are composed of solar days and lunar months.

It is written: “And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars” (Genesis 1:16). On the days preceding the fourth day, the creation of beings occurred in the evening; however, the ordering of the beings of the fourth day took place in the morning. After the third day concluded, with the words, “And the evening and the morning were the third day” (Genesis 1:13), God did not create the two lights in the evening, lest the order of night and day be disrupted and morning precede evening.

Since the subsequent days followed the same order as the first day, the night of the fourth day, like the previous nights, preceded the day. If the evening of that day came before the morning, it follows that the celestial lights were not created in the evening but in the morning. To claim that one of the lights was created in the evening and the other in the morning is contradicted by the words: “Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14) and “God made two great lights” (Genesis 1:16). If the lights were great at the time of their creation and were made in the morning, it must be that the sun then stood in the east, and the moon opposite it in the west. The sun, at that time, would have been low and partly immersed on the horizon, as it was created in the place where it rises above the earth. The moon, meanwhile, would have been higher, as it was created in the position it occupies on the fifteenth day. Thus, when the sun became visible on the earth, the two lights beheld each other, and afterward, the moon appeared to set. The very position of the moon at its creation, as well as its size and brightness, indicate that it was created as it appears on the fifteenth day.

Just as trees, plants, animals, birds, and humans appeared both old and young—old in the form of their members and composition, yet young in the time of their creation—so too was the moon both old and young: young because it had just been created, but old because it was full, as on the fifteenth day. Had God created the moon as it appears on the first or second day, it would have been too close to the sun to shine or even be visible. If the moon had appeared as it does on the fourth day, though it might have been visible, it would not have emitted light, making the words “God made two great lights” and “Let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth” (Genesis 1:14) untrue. The moon was created as it appears on the fifteenth day, while the sun, though it was its first day, appeared as though it were the fourth day, for all days are measured by the sun. The eleven days by which the moon is “older” than the sun and which were added to the moon in the first year are those same days that are annually added to the lunar year by those who follow the lunar calendar. Adam’s year was not incomplete because the missing days of the moon were accounted for at its creation. From this, Adam’s descendants learned to add eleven days to each year. It is thus evident that it was not the Chaldeans who established this reckoning of time and years, but that it was instituted even before Adam.

Having described the lights created in the firmament, Moses proceeds to the account of the reptiles, birds, and whales, which were created from the waters on the fifth day, and says: “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth…” (Genesis 1:20). “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind” (Genesis 1:21). After the waters were gathered on the second day, rivers formed, springs appeared, and lakes and marshes were established. Then the waters, dispersed throughout the universe, brought forth reptiles and fish by the command of God. Whales were created in the depths, and birds took flight among the waves at the same time. The creation of Leviathan (the whale) and Behemoth is mentioned by the prophets. Of the former, it is said that it lives in the sea (Psalm 64:8), and of Behemoth, Job says that it dwells on land (Job 40:10). David also refers to it, saying that it grazes on the mountains (Psalm 49:11). It is likely that after their creation, their respective habitats were assigned: Leviathan to the sea and Behemoth to the land.

After describing the creation of reptiles, birds, and whales on the fifth day, Moses moves on to the creation of those reptiles, beasts, and cattle that were created on the sixth day, and says: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind” (Genesis 1:24). The earth brought forth reptiles everywhere, while the beasts and cattle were created near paradise so they could dwell alongside Adam. Thus, by God’s command, the earth immediately brought forth reptiles, wild beasts, predatory animals, and cattle, in numbers sufficient to serve the one who would, on that same day, transgress the commandment of the Lord.

Having described the creation of reptiles, beasts, and cattle on the sixth day, Moses turns to the account of the creation of man, who was also made on the same day, and writes: “And God said.” To whom did God speak here, and elsewhere during creation? Clearly, He spoke to His Son. Of the Son, the Evangelist said: “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). Paul also refers to Him, saying: “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16).

“And God said, Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26), meaning that he was to have dominion if he chose to obey Us. Why are we the image of God? Moses explains this with the words: “and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth” (Genesis 1:26). Thus, the dominion that man received over the earth and all upon it is the image of God, who rules over both the heavens and the earth.

By the words “male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27), Moses indicates that Eve was already in Adam, in the rib taken from him. Though Eve was in him not in mind, but in body, she was not only present in body but also in soul and spirit, for God added nothing to the rib taken from Adam except form and external beauty. Since all that was needed to form Eve was contained in the rib, it is rightly said: “male and female created He them.”

“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). God blessed the forebears on earth because, even before they sinned, He had prepared the earth as their dwelling—knowing beforehand that they would sin.

“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish”—it is not said, paradise, but “the earth… and subdue it.” How could the forebears have dominion over the fish of the sea when there was no sea nearby? How could they rule over the birds that flew across all the ends of the earth, if their descendants were not destined to inhabit those ends? And how could they have dominion over all the beasts of the earth if their progeny were not to live across the whole earth?

Though Adam was created and blessed to have dominion over the earth and all upon it, God placed him in paradise. Thus, by blessing Adam, God revealed His foreknowledge, and by placing him in paradise, He manifested His goodness. To prevent the thought that paradise was not created for man, God placed Adam there; and to show that He foresaw man’s fall, He blessed him on earth. Moreover, God blessed man before he transgressed the commandment, so that man’s sin would not annul God’s blessing, and so the world, created for man, would not be returned to nothingness due to the folly of the one for whom it was made. God did not bless man in paradise, for both paradise and all within it are blessed. Rather, He blessed him on earth, before his entrance into paradise, so that the blessing, born of goodness, might mitigate the curse that soon afflicted the earth through divine justice. The blessing was a promise, fulfilled after man’s expulsion from paradise. Yet grace was manifested in action, for on the same day, man was placed in paradise, adorned with glory, and given dominion over all the trees of the garden.

Chapter 2 #

Having completed the account of the creation on the sixth day of reptiles, cattle, beasts, and man, and of God’s blessing upon them, Moses writes that God rested on the seventh day and states: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them… And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made” (Genesis 2:1–2). From what labor did God rest? For, behold, what was created on the first day was brought forth in a single moment, except for the light, which was created by His word. All other creations in the following days were likewise made by a single word. Who can claim that God grew weary from uttering one word on each day, when even for us, speaking a single word in a day requires no exertion? If Moses did not grow weary when he parted the sea with his word and staff, and if Joshua did not labor when he halted the course of the celestial lights with his word, how could God tire from creating the seas and celestial lights with a single word?

Thus, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day not because He needed rest (for He does not grow weary) nor solely to provide the Israelites a day of rest from their labors (for they, having been freed from slavery, did not yet observe specific days). God gave the seventh day so that even slaves, against the will of their masters, might find rest; and through the temporary Sabbath granted to a passing generation, He wished to foreshadow the true Sabbath that will come in the eternal world. Furthermore, since it was necessary to establish weeks of days, God exalted the seventh day with a blessing, which it had not received through acts of creation, so that by this honor it might be made equal to the other days and complete the sevenfold number of days essential to the world.

After speaking of the Sabbath rest and how God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, Moses returns to the account of the initial creation, briefly reiterating what was already said and elaborating on what had not yet been fully explained.

As he begins to retell the story of creation, he states: “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Genesis 2:4–6). Anyone hearing this must understand that although Scripture has already spoken of the days of creation and the sanctification and blessing of the Sabbath day, it now returns to the account of the beginning of creation: “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth,” that is, the narrative of their creation, “in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.” At that time, there was no plant of the field, nor had any herb of the field yet grown. Although indeed these did not appear on the first day, as they were brought forth on the third, the mention of them in the account of the first day is not without purpose. Scripture later explains why the plants and herbs had not yet grown—because the Lord had not yet sent rain upon the earth. “But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.” Since all things are now born from the union of water and earth, Moses wished to show here that plants and herbs were not created together with the earth, for rain had not yet fallen. When the great fountain of the deep burst forth and watered the entire earth, then, on the third day, after the gathering of the waters, the earth immediately brought forth every plant.

Thus, the waters over which darkness was spread on the first day were the same waters that emerged from the fountain and instantly covered the whole earth. This same fountain burst forth in the days of Noah and covered all the mountains upon the earth with water. The fountain did not emerge from beneath the earth but from within it, as it is not said to have come “from beneath the earth” but “from the earth.” That the waters on the earth are not more ancient than the earth itself is evidenced by the earth, which holds them in its depths. Thus, Scripture says that a fountain went forth from the earth and watered “the whole face of the ground,” and then the earth brought forth plants, herbs, and vegetation. This was not done because God could not have caused the earth to produce plants without water, but because He willed that the earth bring forth plants with the aid of water, thereby establishing a pattern that would continue until the end of time.

Having mentioned what was omitted or not elaborated in the account of the first day of creation, Moses proceeds to describe the creation of man and states: “and there was not a man to till the ground” (Genesis 2:5), meaning that until the sixth day, man did not exist, as he was created on the sixth day. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). Animals, cattle, and birds received both their bodies and souls at the moment of their creation. However, God honored man with several distinctions: first, by creating him, as Scripture says, with His own hands; by breathing a soul into him; by granting him dominion over paradise and everything outside it; by clothing him with glory; and by giving him the gifts of speech, reason, and knowledge of God.

Speaking of the glorious creation of man, Moses transitions to the account of paradise and man’s placement within it, writing: “And the Lord God planted a garden in the beginning in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed” (Genesis 2:8). Eden is the location of paradise. The phrase “in the beginning” is used because God planted paradise on the third day, as is clarified by the words: “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” To indicate that this specifically refers to paradise, Moses adds: “The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9).

Having described paradise, the day it was planted, the placement of man within it, and the trees of life and knowledge, Moses turns to the account of the river that flowed out of Eden to water the garden and divided into “four heads” outside paradise, writing: “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden” (Genesis 2:10). Here, Moses again refers to the blessed land of paradise as Eden. If the river did not water paradise, it would not have divided into “four heads” outside it. However, the four rivers flowing from the river differed in the taste of their waters from the original source. If in our lands, which are subject to the curse, waters differ in quality, how much more must the blessed land of Eden have differed in nature from the land cursed by God’s justice due to Adam’s transgression.

The four rivers are as follows: Pishon, which is identified as the Danube; Gihon, which is the Nile; and the Tigris and Euphrates, between which we dwell (Ephraim the Syrian refers to his monastic abode). While the locations where these rivers flow are known to us, the origin of their source is not, for paradise was situated at a great height. Near paradise, these rivers are absorbed and descend into the sea, as from some elevated reservoir, flowing beneath the earth under the sea, and emerging again: the first to the west, Gihon to the south, and the Euphrates and Tigris to the north.

Having spoken of paradise and the rivers that flowed from it, Moses moves on to the account of Adam’s placement in paradise and the commandment given to him: “And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). But how could Adam dress the garden when he had no tools? And why would he need to work when there were no thorns or thistles in paradise? How could he keep it safe when there was no danger of it being harmed? From whom was he to guard it, when there was no thief who might enter? The guarding of paradise after the transgression of the commandment demonstrates that there was no need for such protection as long as the commandment was kept. Thus, Adam’s task was not the physical keeping of the garden but rather the keeping of the law given to him. His work was the fulfillment of the commandment. If it is suggested that both tasks—guarding and working—were given to Adam alongside the commandment, I do not object to this interpretation.

Speaking of Adam’s placement in paradise and the reason for it, Moses moves on to describe the commandment given to him: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16–17). The commandment was light, for God gave Adam the entire garden but forbade him only the fruit of one tree. Had the single tree provided sustenance to man, while many others were forbidden, it would have served as his necessary food in times of hunger. However, since God gave him many trees in addition to the one tree, which alone would have sufficed, Adam’s transgression arose not from necessity but from negligence. God forbade only one tree and surrounded it with the fear of death so that, if Adam did not keep the commandment out of love for God, who gave it, the fear of death might restrain him from breaking it.

Having described Adam’s placement in paradise and the commandment given to him, Moses turns to the account of Adam naming the animals, writing: “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them” (Genesis 2:19). From this, it is evident that the animals were not directly fashioned by the Creator’s hand, for the beasts came forth from the earth, and the birds from the waters. This is precisely what Scripture intended to show by saying, “formed… out of the ground,” for all beasts, reptiles, cattle, and birds were produced from the union of earth and water.

The words, “and brought them unto Adam” (Genesis 2:19), demonstrate Adam’s wisdom and the harmony that existed between animals and man before the transgression of the commandment. The animals approached man, their loving shepherd, without fear. They passed before him in herds, according to their kinds, neither afraid of him nor trembling before one another. Predatory animals led the way, followed peacefully by the harmless ones. Thus, on the same day Adam received dominion over the earth, he became ruler over all creation. The creative Word became action, and the blessing was fulfilled: man was made the master of all creation on the very day he was blessed, even though he would soon prove disobedient to the Lord of all. God not only granted man the promised dominion over all things but also gave him the task of naming them, a privilege not previously promised. If God granted man more than what was promised, would He have withheld even what was promised had man not sinned?

It is not beyond human capacity to invent a few names and remember them, but for man to create thousands of names in a single hour, without repeating any or forgetting earlier ones, surpasses human nature. Man could assign many names to the various kinds of reptiles, beasts, cattle, and birds, but to avoid naming one kind with the name of another was already a divine act. If Adam accomplished this, it was through a gift from God. If God gave man dominion, made him a participant in creation, clothed him with glory, and placed him in the Garden of Eden, what more could have been done to encourage man to diligently keep the commandment?

After recounting the creation of animals and Adam’s naming of them, Moses turns to the account of Adam’s deep sleep, the taking of a rib, and the creation of woman, writing: “But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him” (Genesis 2:20). The helper is understood to mean Eve. Although animals and cattle served as helpers to man, a companion of his own kind was more suitable. Besides tending to household tasks and caring for sheep, oxen, and other livestock, Eve could also assist Adam in building, weaving, and other crafts. Though animals were subject to man’s dominion, they could not aid him in the same way. Therefore, God created a helper for him who would share in his responsibilities and provide significant assistance.

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:21–22). The man, until then wakeful, delighted by the radiance of light and unacquainted with rest, now lay bare upon the earth and fell into a deep sleep. It is likely that Adam, in his sleep, saw what was happening to him. In an instant, his rib was taken, and just as swiftly, flesh filled its place. The bare bone was transformed into the full form and beauty of a woman, and God brought her to Adam and presented her to him.

Describing Adam’s sleep, the removal of his rib, the creation of the woman, and her presentation to Adam, Moses writes: “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23). “This is now” means that this one, who has come to me after the animals, is unlike them; they came from the earth, but she is “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” Adam said this either prophetically or, as noted earlier, based on a vision during his sleep. Just as Adam named all the animals by their kinds that day, so he named the rib formed into a woman—not with her specific name, Eve, but with the general name of woman, belonging to her kind. The words, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife” (Genesis 2:24), signify the indissoluble union formed between two individuals, akin to the unity present at the beginning.

Moses then writes: “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25). They were not ashamed, not because they were unaware of shame, for if they had been like children, as some suggest, Scripture would not have noted that they were naked and unashamed. Nor would it have referred to them as “the man and his wife” if they had not been of mature age. The names Adam gave to the animals attest to his wisdom, while the command to “dress and keep the garden” demonstrates his physical strength. The commandment given to the first parents testifies to their maturity, and their transgression of it reveals their pride. They were not ashamed because they were clothed with glory. But when this glory was taken from them after the transgression, they became ashamed of their nakedness and hastily sought to cover their shame—not merely their bodies—with fig leaves.

Chapter 3 #

Having spoken of the nakedness of the forebears, which in their heavenly garment was honorable and gave no cause for shame, Moses turns to the account of the serpent’s cunning and writes: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1). The serpent was subtler than the dumb animals over which man held dominion. However, though it surpassed the beasts in cunning, it did not rise to the level of humanity. God created the serpent to be subtler than irrational creatures and craftier than unreasoning animals, but lacking reason itself, it clearly did not possess human wisdom. Adam surpassed the serpent in his very nature, in soul, mind, and the glory with which he was clothed, as well as in his place of habitation. Thus, it is evident that Adam far exceeded the serpent in cunning. Adam’s wisdom surpassed that of all animals, for God appointed him their master and ruler; he was craftier than all because he named them all. Just as the Israelites could not gaze upon the face of Moses without a veil, so the animals could not look directly at the radiant countenance of Adam. Lowering their eyes, they passed before him as he named them, unable to behold his glory. Therefore, although the serpent was subtler than the beasts, it was unreasoning compared to Adam and Eve, the lords of the beasts.

After mentioning the serpent’s cunning, Moses proceeds to describe its malicious approach to Eve, writing: “And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). The serpent spoke, and this could have been either its natural hissing, which Adam understood, or Satan speaking through the serpent, or the serpent having, by its own design, requested the gift of speech, or Satan having asked God to grant this gift temporarily to the serpent. However, the tempting word would not have led the tempted into sin unless their own desire had cooperated with the tempter’s guidance. Even if the tempter had not come, the beauty of the tree itself would have provoked a struggle within them. While the forebears sought to excuse themselves by pointing to the serpent’s counsel, it was their own desire more than the serpent’s suggestion that led them astray. For it is written: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat” (Genesis 3:6). If the woman was overcome by the beauty of the tree and the delight of its fruit, then she was not defeated by the suggestion that entered her hearing, but by the desire awakened within her. Nevertheless, since the commandment was given as a test, it provided an opportune moment for the tempter to approach.

Everything created in and outside paradise was given to man by God’s goodness, without demanding anything in return. Man was adorned with glory and clothed with honor. Everything in paradise, on earth, in the air, and in the waters was granted to man out of God’s goodness, while only one tree was withheld by God’s justice.

When God created man, He did not make him mortal, nor did He create him immortal. Rather, He made man capable of acquiring immortality or mortality by observing or breaking the commandment, choosing between the two trees. Although God created the tree of life, He concealed it from Adam. First, to prevent its beauty from provoking a struggle in the forebears and thereby intensifying their trial. Second, because in keeping the commandment, man should not rely on the visible promise of a reward before him but instead trust in the unseen One who gave the commandment. While God gave the forebears everything out of His goodness, He desired to bestow eternal life, which was acquired by eating from the tree of life, according to His justice. Thus, He gave them only the commandment, which was not burdensome and could not compare to the abundant reward prepared for them. By forbidding them from eating the fruit of one tree so that they would remain under the law, God gave them the entire paradise to ensure they would not be compelled to break the law out of need.

However, as I have said, a test was necessary. Even so, God did not allow Satan to send an angel, seraph, or cherub to tempt Adam, nor did He permit Satan to approach Adam in Eden in the form of a man or deity, as he later approached our Lord on the mountain. Nor were Adam and Eve tempted by any great or noble beasts, such as Behemoth or Leviathan, or any other pure animals, lest these serve as an excuse for breaking the commandment. Instead, God permitted the serpent to approach them—a creature that, though cunning, was utterly despised and vile. The serpent, approaching the humans, performed no actual miracles, nor did it assume a false form, but presented itself as it was: a creeping creature with eyes lowered to the ground, unable to look upon the radiance of the one it sought to tempt. It did not dare approach Adam out of fear but came to Eve, hoping to persuade her to eat of the forbidden tree before she tasted the fruits of the thousands of other trees permitted to her. She had not yet eaten, not because she was fasting, but because she had not yet experienced hunger, being newly created. The serpent’s haste to tempt Eve was permitted because this haste worked against it. It came at a time when Eve, being newly created, did not yet know hunger, and the tree’s beauty did not yet stir a struggle of desires within her. Thus, since Eve felt no hunger and the tree did not provoke her, the serpent was allowed to act as her tempter. Had Eve triumphed in this brief and light trial, both the serpent and the one who acted through it would have received the punishment they eventually did, and Eve and her husband would have eaten from the tree of life, gained eternal life, and received in justice the state of being promised to them. They would have justly possessed everything previously given to them by God’s goodness.

Thus, the tempter hastened to approach and was not restrained. The very fact that the tempter appeared alongside the commandment could have warned the tempted ones that he was indeed a deceiver, serving as a caution against his schemes. The tempter came and made grand promises, for he could not boast of anything minor. The one who acted through the serpent addressed the woman, saying: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). Here, it is worth noting that the commandment would have been burdensome if all the trees of paradise had been forbidden, as the serpent suggested. However, since the commandment was the opposite, it was hardly considered a commandment at all, being exceedingly light and temporary, meant only to last until the tempter departed.

Eve answered the serpent, saying: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Genesis 3:2–3). The serpent and the one acting through it, hearing that the fruit of all paradise’s trees was given to them for food and that only the fruit of one tree was forbidden, must have felt ashamed and thought of retreating, seeing that they had nothing else to promise. Thus, the tempter turned his attention to the commandment itself, noting that God forbade not only eating the fruit but even approaching the tree. He realized that God had warned them against looking at the tree, lest they be captivated by its beauty. Therefore, he urged Eve to direct her gaze upon it, saying: “Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5).

Eve failed to discern the serpent’s words, nor did she reflect that as a deceiver, he spoke contrary to what God had said. She did not rebut the serpent with his own words, nor did she say: “How will my eyes be opened when they are not closed? How, by eating the fruit, will I know good and evil when I already possess such knowledge?” She overlooked what she ought to have said and, yielding to his suggestion, turned her eyes away from the serpent before her and fixed her gaze on the forbidden tree.

The serpent fell silent, as it had already observed her inclination to guilt. It was not so much the serpent’s promise that persuaded Eve to eat the fruit as it was her gaze upon the tree, which beguiled her to pluck and taste its fruit. Eve could have said to the serpent: “If I lack sight, how do I see all that is visible? If I cannot distinguish between good and evil, why do I understand whether your promise is good or bad? Why do I know that being like God is desirable, or that having opened eyes is good? How do I comprehend that death is evil if I lack this knowledge—and why then have you come to me? Your approach proves that I already possess these things, for I discern your promise with the vision I already have and distinguish your guile with the wisdom I already hold. If I already possess what you promise, where is your cunning when your deceit is so evident?” But Eve did not respond this way. If she had, she would have triumphed over him. Instead, she turned her gaze to the tree and succumbed.

Eve, giving in to the desire of her eyes and yearning to become like God, as the serpent promised, plucked the forbidden fruit and ate in secret from her husband. She then offered it to him, and he ate as well. Since Eve trusted the serpent, she hurried to eat before her husband, hoping to return to him as one already clothed in divinity, having been created human from him. She sought to eat first to become the head of the one who was her head, to rule over the one from whom she was meant to receive commands, to appear in divine rank older than the one before whom she was younger in humanity. Yet after eating, she did not become superior to her former state, though she was not diminished either. She did not gain what she expected—eyes opened to her own nakedness, nor did she become a god. Realizing this, she brought the fruit to her husband, persuading him with many entreaties, though Scripture does not specify her pleas.

Thus, Eve ate but did not immediately die as God had warned, nor did she become a god as the serpent promised. Had her nakedness been revealed at that moment, Adam might have been alarmed and refrained from eating. Although he would not have been guilty of the transgression, neither would he have been victorious, as he would not have faced temptation. In such a case, Adam might have abstained due to Eve’s nakedness rather than out of love for the One who gave the commandment or out of reverence for God. Since it was fitting that Adam also endure a brief temptation from Eve’s seduction, as she had been tempted by the serpent’s promise, Eve approached the tree, ate its fruit, and yet her nakedness remained concealed. But when she enticed Adam and he also ate, Scripture states: “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Genesis 3:7). Their eyes were opened, not to make them gods as the serpent claimed, but to reveal their nakedness, which was the enemy’s intention.

Thus, the forebears’ eyes had been open before, enabling them to see everything, but closed to prevent them from perceiving the tree of life and their own nakedness. The enemy envied them because they, through their glory and gift of speech, were exalted above all on earth and were uniquely promised eternal life through the tree of life. Envious of both what Adam already possessed and what he was destined to gain, the enemy schemed to deprive him of it in a short-lived struggle, robbing him of what he might have secured through a longer test. Had the serpent not led them into transgression, they would have eaten from the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would no longer have been forbidden. From one tree, they would have gained infallible knowledge, and from the other, they would have received eternal life, becoming godlike in their humanity.

the flesh, but the serpent’s promise deprived them of what they could have attained. He convinced them that they would achieve this by breaking the commandment, solely to prevent them from obtaining what God had promised through obedience. By promising, “Ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5), the serpent deprived them of this. To ensure that the tree of life would not enlighten their eyes, he promised that the tree of knowledge would open them instead.

Had the forebears desired and repented after breaking the commandment, they would not have regained what they had before the transgression, but at least they would have been spared the curses pronounced upon the earth and themselves. Surely, God delayed His coming to give them time to recognize their mutual guilt so that when the Merciful Judge appeared, they might plead with Him. The serpent’s approach was not delayed, lest the tree’s beauty heighten their temptation. Yet the Judge delayed His arrival to allow the forebears to prepare for supplication. Nevertheless, the serpent’s haste did not benefit them, nor did they take advantage of the Judge’s delay, though both served their potential good.

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). God intended to help them not only by His long-suffering but also through the sound of His footsteps. These quiet footsteps were meant to prompt them to ready themselves for supplication to Him who had sent this voice. When neither His delay nor the preceding sound inspired them to come forth and stand before Him in silence, God added the voice of His words to the sound of His steps and said: “Adam, where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9). Instead of confessing his sin and entreating the Merciful One before the judgment was pronounced, Adam replied: “I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). The sound of God’s steps, heralding His approach and Adam’s judgment, prefigured the voice of John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for the Son of God: “Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor… He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire and gather His wheat into the barn” (Matthew 3:12).

“I heard Thy voice… and I was afraid.” When had you ever heard His voice before, Adam, as you now claim? For when He created you, brought you into the garden, caused you to fall into a deep sleep, took your rib, created and brought the woman to you, you never mentioned hearing His voice. If hearing His voice is a new experience for you, understand now that the sound of His divine steps was intended to prompt you to prayer. Speak to God before He questions you—confess the serpent’s coming and your transgression, as well as Eve’s. The confession of your lips might cleanse you of the sin committed by your hands when they plucked the fruit. But instead of confessing their actions, the forebears described what had transpired within them, revealing their hearts to the All-Knowing.

“Adam, where art thou?” Have you become a god, as the serpent promised, or have you fallen under the dominion of death, as I warned if you ate of the tree? Reflect, Adam: if instead of the serpent, this most contemptible of creatures, an angel or higher being had come to you, would it have been just to disregard the commandment of Him who gave you everything and heed the promise of one who had done you no good? Was it just to consider evil the One who created you from nothing, made you a second god over creation, yet believe the one who offered you only empty words? Even if a being of great power had come to you bearing such promises, it would not have justified your disobedience. How much less so when it was a mere serpent, without miracles or wonders? And yet, for its empty words, you disobeyed your God, believed the deceiver, and spurned the truth.

If the serpent had been forbidden to approach Adam, then those who now lament the serpent’s coming would have complained that it was forbidden out of envy, to prevent Adam from gaining eternal life after a brief trial. They would have claimed that the prohibition of the serpent’s approach denied Adam the opportunity to prove his virtue. The very people who now say, “If the serpent had not come, Adam and Eve would not have sinned,” would assert that if the serpent had been allowed, they would not have fallen. But as the event proves, Adam listened to the serpent, and Eve obeyed the reptile.

“I heard Thy voice… and I was afraid… and I hid myself,” because he failed to speak what was needed and instead spoke what was unnecessary. Rather than confessing his actions, which would have been far more beneficial, Adam recounted his inner thoughts, which were of no use to him. God asked, “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Genesis 3:11). You saw your nakedness with the vision granted by the tree, which promised you divine sight. But Adam did not confess his sin. Instead, he blamed the woman, saying: “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:12). He did not approach the tree himself, but his hand reached out to the forbidden fruit. Thus, the apostle says: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:14). Yet, Adam, if God gave you a wife, it was to assist, not harm you; to remain subject to you, not to command you.

When Adam refused to confess his guilt, God turned to Eve, asking, “What is this that thou hast done?” (Genesis 3:13). Instead of tearfully pleading for forgiveness and assuming responsibility, Eve did not recount the serpent’s promise or his persuasions but simply replied, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:13). When both were questioned and revealed no repentance or valid justification, God addressed the serpent—not with a question but with a direct pronouncement of punishment. Where there was room for repentance, God posed a question; but for the unrepentant, He delivered a judicial verdict. The serpent, incapable of repentance, is judged outright: “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle” (Genesis 3:14). The serpent does not deny his action, for he fears lying, but neither does he admit guilt, being devoid of contrition.

“Cursed art thou above all cattle,” God declares, because the serpent deceived those who had been made rulers over all creatures. “And above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go” (Genesis 3:14), for causing the woman to endure the pains of childbirth. “Dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life,” as punishment for depriving Adam and Eve of the fruits of the tree of life. “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). This enmity signifies that the woman and her offspring, deceived and enslaved to death by the serpent’s cunning, are set at odds with him. God foretells the ultimate victory of the woman’s Seed over the serpent’s head—a triumph over his power and dominion—while the serpent, in turn, will strike at the heel, a less vital wound.

God rightly began His judgment with the serpent, the instigator of sin, ensuring that Adam and Eve, witnessing His wrath upon the deceiver, might fear and repent, opening the way for His mercy to shield them from further curses. When the serpent was cursed, and neither Adam nor Eve sought forgiveness, God pronounced their punishments as well. Turning first to Eve, whose hand had brought sin to Adam, He said: “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16). Though childbirth had been granted as a blessing to her along with all living creatures, Eve would have borne only a few children, for they would have been immortal. Moreover, she would have been free from the pains of childbirth, the burdens of nurturing her offspring, and the grief of their deaths. “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” (Genesis 3:16)—this submission replaces the dominion she sought over Adam through her disobedience.

When Eve’s sentence was pronounced and Adam showed no sign of repentance, God turned to him: “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake” (Genesis 3:17). Although the earth was innocent, it bore the curse as a consequence of Adam’s guilt, subjecting Adam himself to suffering. The cursed earth, incapable of feeling the punishment, became the medium through which Adam, who could suffer, was chastised. God continued: “In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee” (Genesis 3:17–18)—plants that the earth would not have produced had Adam not sinned. “Thou shalt eat the herb of the field” (Genesis 3:18), for in heeding the vain persuasion of his wife, Adam forsook the delightful fruits of paradise. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19). By neglecting the commandment that would have soon bestowed eternal life, Adam was condemned to toil and eventually return to the earth, thereby humbling him to recognize his mortal origin.

The same day the serpent tempted Adam and Eve, Satan—created during the six days of creation alongside the serpent he later entered—was secretly condemned for his rebellion. Previously, Satan had been as radiant as Adam and Eve before their fall, but in his secret rebellion, he became the adversary. God, in His wisdom, withheld from Adam and Eve knowledge of Satan’s judgment to prevent them from foreseeing his temptation. Thus, Eve said, “The serpent beguiled me” (Genesis 3:13), and not Satan.

Satan was condemned in secret, along with all his fallen hosts. Though his sin was great, his punishment might seem insufficient were it limited to him alone. However, just as pain in childbirth was decreed for Eve and her daughters, as sorrow and death were assigned to Adam and his descendants, and as the serpent and its offspring were destined to be trampled upon, so too was Satan and his hosts sentenced to eternal fire. While this judgment was veiled in the Old Testament, it was revealed in the New Testament by our Lord, who proclaimed, “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:11)—meaning Satan had already been condemned.

Having described the punishments of the deceiver and the deceived, Moses recounts: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). These garments were either fashioned from animal skins or newly created, for Moses specifies that God Himself made them and clothed Adam and Eve. Perhaps the forebears, touching their new coverings, realized they were clothed in the skins of animals slain before their eyes—creatures whose flesh provided their sustenance, whose hides concealed their nakedness, and whose deaths foreshadowed their own mortality. Following this, God declared: “Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil” (Genesis 3:22). These words unveil the mystery of the Holy Trinity while simultaneously mocking Adam, echoing the serpent’s deceitful promise: “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Indeed, Adam and Eve, upon eating the fruit of the tree, came to know good and evil. However, before their transgression, they knew good by experience and evil only by hearing of it; after the transgression, the opposite occurred: they heard of good but experienced evil. God stripped them of the glory with which they had been clothed, and sorrow, which had never touched them before, overwhelmed them.

“And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22). If Adam dared to eat from the tree whose fruit was forbidden, how much more likely would he be to reach for the tree of life, whose fruit was not expressly forbidden? Yet, since God had already decreed that the forebears should live their days in toil, sweat, sorrow, and pain, He prevented them from eating of the tree of life. For if they had eaten and gained eternal life, their suffering would have become eternal as well. God, in His mercy, determined not to let the life-giving fruit of the tree of life become a source of greater suffering. What He had prepared for their glorification and immortality would have become an instrument of endless torment in their fallen state. The fruit of the tree of knowledge brought them temporary suffering; the fruit of the tree of life, if taken prematurely, would have made this suffering eternal. From the tree of knowledge, they gained death, which would eventually free them from their pain; the tree of life would have condemned them to live indefinitely in misery, effectively burying them alive in unending affliction.

Thus, God withheld the tree of life, understanding that it was unfit for blessed life to exist in a cursed world, nor for eternal life to be gained in a transient realm. If Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life, one of two outcomes would have occurred: either the sentence of death pronounced by divine justice would have gone unfulfilled, or the life-giving power of the tree would have proven ineffectual. To preserve the integrity of divine judgment and the efficacy of the tree of life, God cast Adam out of the garden. He prevented the forebears from compounding their misfortune by reaching for the fruit of life, as they had with the fruit of knowledge. God sent Adam “to till the ground from whence he was taken” (Genesis 3:23), so that by cultivating the earth, Adam might find some benefit in his labor, in contrast to the harm wrought by the pleasures of Eden.

After expelling Adam and Eve, God stationed a cherubim and a flaming, turning sword on the eastern side of Eden “to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24). The guardian of the garden possessed vitality and motion, turning itself continually to block the path to the tree of life. This ensured that none, driven by desire, could dare to pluck its fruit. The flaming sword, with its deadly edge, would strike down any mortal who approached to seize immortality.

Chapter 4 #

Having recounted Adam’s expulsion from Eden, the Cherubim, and the flaming sword guarding the garden, Moses turns to the story of Cain and Abel, their sacrifices, and the ensuing events.

“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, `I have gotten a man from the Lord’” (Genesis 4:1). This statement acknowledges that while Adam knew Eve, it was the Lord who formed the fruit in her womb. “And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground” (Genesis 4:2). This indicates that when they grew up, Abel chose the vocation of a shepherd, while Cain became a farmer.

“And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” (Genesis 4:3–4). Abel carefully selected and offered the firstborn of his flock and their fat, signifying reverence and thoughtfulness. Cain, however, offered without discernment—perhaps sheaves or an assortment of fruits—indicating negligence. While his offering was not as abundant as Abel’s, it could have been acceptable if offered with the right heart. Yet Cain, from the outset, revealed a careless attitude toward his offering, and God rejected it to teach him how sacrifices should be made. Cain had access to animals, including oxen and bulls, yet chose not to offer them. Even among the produce, he could have selected the finest crops, but he failed to do so. This reflected a lack of love and reverence for the Lord, and thus his offering was rejected. God did not accept Cain’s offering to demonstrate that He values the heart behind the sacrifice more than the gift itself.

“And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:5). Cain was not grieved because his offering was rejected—he could have easily offered a more acceptable sacrifice—but because Abel’s offering was accepted, and his was not. The descent of divine fire to consume Abel’s sacrifice distinguished it, and Cain’s jealousy and shame before his family caused his anger and despair.

“And the Lord said unto Cain, `Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him’” (Genesis 4:6–7). God gently rebuked Cain, encouraging him to correct his actions. Cain was reminded that if he offered a proper sacrifice, it would be accepted. However, if he persisted in wrongdoing, sin was lying in wait to ensnare him. He had the power to resist and overcome it.

Despite God’s warning and encouragement, Cain harbored resentment. “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him” (Genesis 4:8). By inviting Abel into the field, Cain plotted a premeditated murder. Perhaps the field offered a secluded place for his crime, away from witnesses. There, Cain shed his brother’s blood, an act born of envy and malice.

After the murder, Cain tried to deceive his parents, claiming that God had taken Abel into Eden as a reward for his sacrifice. He sought to justify his brother’s absence by implying divine favor, hoping to hide his crime. But God, knowing all, confronted him: “And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’” (Genesis 4:9). This question was an opportunity for Cain to confess and seek forgiveness. Yet Cain, in defiance, replied, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). His response displayed arrogance and denial, compounding his guilt.

God then declared, “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). Abel’s blood symbolically cried out for justice, and God’s omniscience exposed Cain’s sin. Despite God’s patience and opportunity for repentance, Cain hardened his heart. Thus, the Lord pronounced judgment: “Now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand” (Genesis 4:11). The ground, polluted by Abel’s blood, would no longer yield its strength to Cain. “When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth” (Genesis 4:12). Cain, who once walked with pride, would now wander in fear and trembling.

Since this curse was immediately fulfilled, the one who had spoken with arrogance, saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9), was now cast down from his pride and began to wail and tremble. He said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear” (Genesis 4:13). Yet this confession was not accepted, for Cain did not offer it when questioned, but uttered it only after judgment had been passed upon him, saying, “You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:12). Instead of seeking mercy and interceding with prayers, Cain, perhaps out of fear or deceit, responded defiantly: “Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from Your face shall I be hidden” (Genesis 4:14). By this, he meant, “I cannot stand before You, having shown defiance when I said, `Am I my brother’s keeper?’”

“And I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth; and it shall come to pass that anyone who finds me will slay me” (Genesis 4:14). Are you wishing for death, Cain, or fearing it? If you seek death, how will God’s judgment upon you be fulfilled? But if life, even amidst such suffering, is dear to you, was it not much dearer to Abel, who was free from your torments?

Some suggest that Cain was pleading for deliverance from death, while others argue he was requesting a swift death, prompting God to say, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold” (Genesis 4:15). Because Cain desired death to escape the shame of his punishment, he was condemned to endure this disgrace for seven generations before his death.

It is incorrect to assume, as some do, that seven generations of Cain’s descendants perished with him. If Cain’s lineage was eradicated in the Flood, it was only one seventh of humanity destroyed in the seventh generation. Moreover, if one generation perished with Cain, why then claim seven? Additionally, there is no evidence from Scripture that the Flood occurred during Cain’s seventh generation. According to Scripture, Cain begat Enoch, who begat Irad, Irad begat Mehujael, Mehujael begat Methushael, and Methushael begat Lamech. From Lamech came Jabal, the father of those dwelling in tents and raising livestock (Genesis 4:20). Clearly, even those living in tents as herdsmen were corrupt, as Scripture states, “For all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12). If nine generations passed from Cain to the tent-dwelling herdsmen and the Flood had not yet come, how can it be said that seven generations perished with Cain? Thus, it is accurate that Cain’s disgrace persisted until the seventh generation, despite his plea for immediate death to escape his shame. Cain’s lifespan, extending to the seventh generation, is evident both from God’s judgment and from the longevity of early humans. Adam himself lived until the ninth generation, dying in the fifty-sixth year of Lamech’s life, so it is not surprising that Cain lived to see the seventh generation.

Though Cain sought deliverance from shame, he not only failed to obtain it but also received an additional mark beyond his punishment. “And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him” (Genesis 4:15). Those who might seek vengeance on Cain—Seth’s descendants—were restrained by this mark. These descendants avoided Cain and his disgrace, refusing to intermarry with his lineage, yet refrained from killing him due to the divine mark.

After bearing his punishment and receiving the mark, Cain departed from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden (Genesis 4:16). He separated himself from his family, knowing they would not form marital alliances with him. The land, called Nod, meaning “wandering,” likely shared in his curse, trembling and yielding no strength to his labor (Genesis 4:12). Cain knew his wife, and she bore Enoch. Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch (Genesis 4:17), seeking to erase the association of his dwelling with trembling and shame.

The generations of Cain are recorded: Enoch begat Irad, Irad begat Mehujael, Mehujael begat Methushael, and Methushael begat Lamech. Lamech took two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah bore Jabal, father of tent-dwellers and livestock herders, and Jubal, father of musicians playing the harp and pipe. Zillah bore Tubal-Cain, a forger of bronze and iron tools, and a daughter, Naamah. Lamech said to his wives: “Hear my voice; I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold” (Genesis 4:23–24). Some interpret Lamech’s words as addressing wives from Seth’s line, urging him toward righteousness. But Lamech defends himself, asking, “Have I acted like my ancestor Cain? Did I kill a man in vengeance, as Cain did to Abel? If Cain was avenged sevenfold, I decree seventy-sevenfold vengeance for myself.”

Others, considering that vengeance on Cain extended to the seventh generation, and relying on the words, “all flesh had corrupted its way” (Genesis 6:12), argue that Lamech was wicked. Since his wives observed the decline of their lineage—where offspring were born female rather than male, as indicated by “when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them” (Genesis 6:1)—this reduction in their progeny caused fear. They suspected it signified the fulfillment of the judgment pronounced upon Cain and his seven generations. Lamech, in response, sought to reassure his wives with cunning reasoning, saying: “I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt” (Genesis 4:23). If God extended Cain’s punishment to seven generations, then surely, having slain two, my punishment will be prolonged even further—so that with me, seventy-seven generations shall perish. Thus, he suggested they would ultimately die and, tasting the cup of death, be freed from the punishment extending to seventy-seven times seven generations on his account.

Some interpret this differently, suggesting that Lamech, shrewd and calculating, noted the decline of his lineage and the refusal of Seth’s descendants to intermarry with them due to the stigma attached to their forefather Cain. Fearing the abandonment of the land due to a lack of laborers and the complete extinction of his lineage, Lamech took drastic measures for the supposed good of his kin. He is said to have killed Cain and one of Cain’s sons, the latter bearing the closest resemblance to his father, to erase the disgrace that the son’s resemblance might perpetuate across the entire clan. Having done this, Lamech cryptically confided to his wives: “I have slain a man and a young man”—effectively eliminating the barrier between Cain’s descendants and Seth’s, which had prevented intermarriage. He then urged his wives to adorn their daughters for Seth’s sons, reasoning that “the murders I committed, along with the beauty and adornment of your daughters, will persuade even those who have shunned such unions for the past six generations to marry with us.”

In this way, Lamech’s wives dressed their daughters to attract Seth’s sons. Jabal entertained them at feasts with meats from livestock. Jubal captivated them with the melodious sounds of his harp. The sons of Seth succumbed, forgetting the sacred covenant left to them by their father. They abandoned their higher dwelling places, which had been elevated above the settlements of Cain’s descendants. By this stratagem, Lamech mingled the two lineages, thinking: “If God shows mercy to Seth’s descendants who have united with us, preserving them from destruction, then He will also show mercy to us. Through this, we will escape punishment for the murders, since the innocents who married into our line will plead on our behalf.”

Chapter 5 #

Having enumerated the generations in the lineage of Cain and concluded the account of Lamech’s discourse with his wives, Moses turns to the genealogy of the descendants of Seth. Beginning with Adam, he says: “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Genesis 5:3). In Seth, who was entirely like Adam, we are given a figure of the Son of God, who is the express image of His Father who begot Him—just as Seth is the image of Adam, who begot him. When Seth begot Enos, Scripture declares, “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:26). This signifies that, since Seth’s lineage was separated from that of Cain, his descendants began to be called by the name of the Lord, or, in other words, as the righteous people of the Lord.

After stating that Adam begot Seth, Seth begot Enos, Enos begot Cainan, Cainan begot Mahalaleel, Mahalaleel begot Jared, and Jared begot Enoch, Scripture says, “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Some interpret this to mean that Enoch was taken into Paradise in the sight of Adam. This was done, they say, so that Adam would not think Enoch had been slain like Abel and grieve, but also so that he might be comforted concerning his righteous son Abel and come to understand that all who are like Abel will either be taken into Paradise before death or after the resurrection.

Enoch begot Methuselah, Methuselah begot Lamech, and Lamech begot Noah. Lamech prophesied concerning his son, saying, “This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed” (Genesis 5:29). By this, Lamech foretold that Noah would appease God with his sacrifices, thus bringing comfort to humanity in their labors upon the earth. For God, because of the sins of those dwelling on the earth, would destroy with the waters of His wrath the houses and gardens which human hands had labored to build.

After enumerating the ten generations from Adam to Noah, Moses says of Noah: “And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Genesis 5:32). Noah, who for such a long time preserved his virginity, served as an example to his contemporaries, for he maintained chastity for five hundred years among a people of whom it is said, “all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12).

Chapter 6 #

After speaking of Noah’s purity, Moses turns to recount how wicked desires intensified among Noah’s contemporaries, saying: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them” (Genesis 6:1). By “men multiplying,” Moses refers to the lineage of Cain. In adding that “daughters were born unto them,” he indicates, as we have said earlier, that the descendants of Cain were diminishing in number.

“And the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” (Genesis 6:2). The “sons of God” are the sons of Seth, who, as children of the righteous Seth, are called the people of God. The “daughters of men” whom the sons of God saw to be fair are the daughters of Cain. Their beauty and adornments became a snare for the sons of Seth. The words, “and they took them wives of all which they chose,” show that, in taking them as wives, they grew proud before them, selecting among them with arrogance. The poor exalted themselves over the rich, the old boasted over the young, and the most unseemly men puffed themselves up before the most beautiful women. Meanwhile, the descendants of Cain paid no heed to wealth or appearance; their sole desire was to acquire laborers for their fields, which had been left unsown. This began with the intemperate and the poor—those who were led by lust desired the beauty of the daughters of men, and those who were impoverished coveted their wealth. Soon, the entire lineage of Seth followed in their footsteps.

As the sons of Seth took Cain’s daughters as wives and neglected their former wives, the latter ceased to maintain the chastity and modesty they had previously observed for the sake of their husbands. Thus, as this unrestrained behavior spread among men and women alike, Scripture declares: “All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12).

“And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3). This means that in this generation, human life would no longer extend to nine hundred years, as it had in the early generations. “For that he also is flesh” signifies that their lives were consumed with fleshly pursuits. “Yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” means that if they repent within that time, they will be spared from the wrath hanging over them. If they do not repent, their deeds will bring that wrath upon themselves. Thus, God’s goodness grants one hundred and twenty years for repentance to a generation that, by justice, did not deserve it.

Moses then writes about the children born to Cain’s daughters by the sons of Seth, saying: “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4). The children born were considered giants compared to the short stature of the Cainite lineage, but not compared to the strong lineage of Seth. Among the descendants of Cain, people became of small stature because the cursed earth did not yield its strength to them, producing only weak and feeble crops as their food. This is still observed today when the earth, its fruits, and its plants sometimes yield strength and sometimes do not. As the descendants of Cain were cursed, being the children of the accursed and living on the accursed earth, they gathered and ate such weak and powerless crops, becoming as feeble as the food on which they subsisted.

The sons of Seth, being children of blessing and dwelling in a land near Paradise, consumed plentiful and robust produce from the earth and were physically strong. These strong sons of Seth, marrying the daughters of the grieving Cain, gave rise to mighty offspring in Cain’s lineage. The phrase “which were of old” indicates that, for the descendants of Cain, giants were born comparable to the early and renowned men—Seth and Enos.

After narrating the birth of giants in the lineage of Cain—whose daughters, although beautiful, were short in stature compared to the sons of Seth—Moses says: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Thus, throughout the years granted for repentance, humanity added sin upon sin. “The wickedness of man was great in the earth” means that evil spread across both lineages. The “imagination of the thoughts of their hearts” was directed “only to evil continually,” for they sinned not just occasionally but persistently and at all times, ceaselessly indulging in their wicked inclinations both day and night.

Because of such universal impiety, “the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them” (Genesis 6:7). God’s repentance does not imply that He had failed to foresee humanity’s corruption, but rather, He wished to demonstrate to future generations the great iniquity of humanity, which had reached such a level of intemperance that it seemed to compel even the unrepentant God to express regret. Moreover, the Holy Spirit justified God’s judgment, making it clear that humanity was not destroyed by the Flood without cause. If even the Being who does not repent could utter the words “it repenteth me,” this was said so that the arrogant generation might tremble upon hearing these words, and seeds of repentance might be planted in the hearts of the obstinate. If any flaw had existed in God’s creation, He could have created a new world and not preserved in the ark the creatures for which He expressed regret in creating.

Yet notice: by saying “it repenteth me,” God demonstrates that He does not actually repent! For if God repented concerning sinners, why would He lament over beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air, which had not sinned? If He did not lament over them, why then did He say “it repenteth me” when He did not repent? This grief over the creation of both the guilty and the innocent confirms that God spoke of His repentance out of love for sinners, not because He lacked foreknowledge. The Creator’s goodness grieved over humanity’s impending destruction for their deeds, knowing that if they were not destroyed, they would lead future generations into godlessness.

When the shortening of human life and God’s expressed repentance failed to bring humanity to fear or awaken in them remorse for their sins, God then said to Noah: “The end of all flesh is come before me… Make thee an ark of gopher wood… The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits… A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above… Rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch” (Genesis 6:13–16). God placed this enormous task upon the righteous man, not desiring to bring the Flood upon the sinners without giving them further opportunity for repentance.

Where was Noah to find such wood? Where could he obtain pitch, iron, and flax? By whose hands could he accomplish this work? Where could he find people willing to help him in this task? Who would listen to him when, among humanity, “all flesh had corrupted his way” (Genesis 6:12)? If Noah began building the ark with only his household, would not everyone who saw him mock him? Yet Noah began constructing the ark in the first year of the one hundred and twenty years given to his contemporaries for repentance, completing it in the hundredth year.

Chapter 7 #

When humanity did not repent, despite Noah’s holiness serving as an example to his contemporaries and his righteousness preaching to them for a hundred years about the coming flood, they mocked him. They ridiculed Noah for proclaiming that all kinds of living creatures would come to him seeking refuge in the ark, saying: “How will beasts and birds scattered across all lands come here?” Then God again said to him: “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by twos, the male and his female” (Genesis 7:1–2). Clean animals are understood to be gentle creatures, while unclean animals are considered harmful. Even at the beginning, God created clean animals in greater numbers.

For those unpersuaded by words, the visible would now testify. “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy” (Genesis 7:4). On that very day, elephants began arriving from the east, monkeys and peacocks from the south, other animals gathered from the west, and yet others hastened from the north. Lions left their thickets, fierce beasts came out of their dens, deer and wild asses left their deserts, and animals living in the mountains descended from there. Noah’s contemporaries gathered to witness this extraordinary spectacle—not to repent but to marvel at how lions entered the ark, followed without fear by oxen seeking shelter with them. Wolves and sheep entered together, as did hawks and sparrows, eagles and doves.

When even this hurried assembly of animals into the ark, along with the peace that soon settled among them, failed to move Noah’s contemporaries to repentance, the Lord God said to Noah: “Yet seven days, and I will destroy every living thing that I have made.” God had given humanity a hundred years for repentance while the ark was being built, but they did not change their ways. He gathered animals, some of which they had never seen, yet they would not repent. He established peace between harmful and harmless creatures, and still they did not fear. Even after Noah and all the animals entered the ark, God delayed another seven days, leaving the door of the ark open. Remarkably, not only did lions refrain from returning to their thickets, and all other beasts and birds of every kind cease seeking their former habitats, but Noah’s contemporaries, witnessing all that happened both inside and outside the ark, refused to forsake their wicked deeds.

God sought to delay the punishment of these wicked people for one hundred and twenty years, first so that they might repent, and second so that during this time, the righteous living among them could serve as witnesses against them. Lastly, this allowed the righteous to complete the years of their lives, leaving no grounds to say, “Why did God not spare those who had not sinned?” Testing humanity over the course of a hundred years, God then shortened the time by twenty years. The seven days during which God delayed after the animals entered the ark, accompanied by the signs that occurred during that time, were more significant than the twenty years that were removed. For if people did not repent after witnessing these signs over seven days, it was evident they would not repent over twenty more years without signs. Thus, by shortening the time by twenty years, God spared humanity from committing even greater transgressions.

At the end of the seven days, “in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month… all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened… and the Lord shut him in” (Genesis 7:11, 16). This ensured that when the waters began to rise, no one could force open the door of the ark to enter it. “And the flood was forty days upon the earth… and all flesh died… and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark” (Genesis 7:17, 21, 23). The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were open for forty days and nights, and the ark floated on the waters for one hundred and fifty days.

Chapter 8 #

“And the waters decreased continually after the end of the hundred and fifty days. And the ark rested… upon the mountains of Ararat… and in the tenth month… the tops of the mountains were seen… And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year… in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth… And in the second month, which is Iyyar, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried” (Genesis 8:3–5, 13–14). Thus, Noah and those with him remained in the ark for three hundred and sixty-five days. From the twenty-seventh day of the second month, Iyyar, to the twenty-seventh day of the same month in the following year—according to the lunar calendar—exactly three hundred and sixty-five days had passed. Observe, even in Noah’s time, the year was reckoned as having three hundred and sixty-five days; therefore, can it truly be said that the Chaldeans and Egyptians invented and established such a system of reckoning?

“And God spoke unto Noah, saying… Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee” (Genesis 8:15–16). God had commanded them to enter the ark separately to preserve purity, but now He instructs them to exit in pairs so that they might multiply and replenish the earth. Even the animals maintained their purity in the ark, as evidenced by the words: “Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh… that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth” (Genesis 8:17).

When Noah, along with all those who were with him, came out of the ark, “he took of every clean beast… and offered burnt offerings on the altar” (Genesis 8:20). On the very day Noah exited the ark, all the clean birds and beasts obeyed him. He offered every clean creature in sacrifice, a pleasing offering to God, and this sacrifice marked the end of the flood. “And the Lord smelled a sweet savor” (Genesis 8:21), not from the scent of the animal flesh or the smoke of the wood, but because He regarded the purity of the heart of the one who offered Him a sacrifice from all and for all. Then the Lord God spoke to Noah the words he most desired to hear: “For thy righteousness, a remnant of creatures has been preserved and has not perished in the waves of the flood. And for thy sacrifice, offered from every creature and on behalf of every creature, I will no longer bring a flood upon the earth.” God, as it were, bound Himself beforehand by this promise, declaring that He would not again bring a flood upon humanity, even if they once more followed their wicked inclinations, continually bent on evil.

Since the flood had interrupted the cycles of sowing and reaping and disrupted the natural order of the seasons, God restored to the earth what had been withheld in His wrath, saying: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). During the flood, for forty days, night prevailed due to the continuous rain, and for the entire year, while the earth remained waterlogged, winter endured without summer.

Chapter 9 #

“And God blessed Noah and his sons” (Genesis 9:1), so that they might multiply and fill the earth, and so that the fear of them might fall upon all living creatures, both on land and in the sea. “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat” (Genesis 9:4)—that is, do not eat the flesh of an animal that has not been slaughtered, nor eat meat while its blood, in which is its life, remains in it. Thus, God established three covenants with Noah and his descendants: first, the prohibition against consuming the blood of animals; second, the promise of resurrection, in which even the bloodshed by animals will be accounted for; and third, the decree that every murderer must be put to death. “Surely your blood… will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man” (Genesis 9:5). God demands an accounting for bloodshed both in this world and in the age to come. In this world, He requires it by decreeing death for the murderer, as shown by His command to stone even an ox that kills a man (Exodus 21:28). In the age to come, He will require it at the resurrection, when beasts will restore the human flesh they consumed. “At the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man,” just as He decreed punishment for Cain for the blood of Abel. The words, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed,” likewise underscore this. And by saying, “for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6), it is shown that man, like God, is endowed with authority to give life and to take it.

After establishing a covenant with Noah and all those who came out of the ark, God said: “Neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood” (Genesis 9:11). He added: “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9:13, 17).

Following this, Moses writes how Noah planted a vineyard: “And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent” (Genesis 9:21). Ham saw “the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without” (Genesis 9:22). Noah’s drunkenness did not result from excessive drinking, but because he had not consumed wine for a long time. He had not drunk wine while in the ark, for on the day all flesh perished, he could not have considered bringing wine into the ark. Thus, Noah abstained from wine during the entire year of the flood. Nor could he have planted a vineyard in the year he left the ark, as he exited on the twenty-seventh day of the month of Iyyar, a time when no ripe grapes or vines for planting could have existed. It was not until the third year after the flood that Noah planted vines from seeds preserved in the ark, and not until the third or fourth year after that could he have harvested grapes. Consequently, the righteous Noah did not consume wine for six years.

This extended abstinence and its role in his drunkenness are supported by the mention that Ham reported his father’s nakedness “in the street.” How could there have been a street unless they had already built a city? And if they had a city, surely it had taken years to construct. Thus, the building of the city and the street within it confirm that the elder Noah had not consumed wine for many years, as we have explained, and this was the cause of his drunkenness.

Ham’s brothers were aware of their father’s purity and that, like Jacob later, he was guarded by an angel both while awake and asleep. Therefore, they “covered the nakedness of their father” in such a way that “they saw not their father’s nakedness with their own eyes” (Genesis 9:23).

“And Noah awoke… and knew what his younger son had done unto him” (Genesis 9:24). Thus, Noah was both asleep and awake: asleep, in that he was unaware of his nakedness, and awake, in that he knew how his youngest son had behaved toward him. And Noah cursed him. “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren” (Genesis 9:25). Why was Canaan cursed if he was still in his father’s loins, and it was not he but his father who saw Noah’s nakedness? It is said that Ham had received a blessing along with all who entered the ark, and afterward received another blessing along with all who exited the ark. Therefore, God did not curse him directly but cursed his son instead, though this curse would have grieved Ham as well.

Others, based on the Scripture that says, “And Noah awoke and knew what his younger son had done unto him,” and knowing that Ham was not the youngest son but the middle one, conclude that the “younger son” refers to Canaan. They propose that it was the young Canaan who mocked the elder’s nakedness, while Ham, with a laughing face, went out and announced it to his brothers in the street. Therefore, it may be thought that, although Canaan was not entirely justly cursed—having committed the act in his childhood—he was also not cursed unjustly, for he was cursed for his own actions, not those of another. Moreover, Noah foresaw that if Canaan did not become worthy of a curse in his old age, he would not have committed the deed in his youth that warranted such a curse.

Justice required that Ham be deprived of blessing, rather than subjected to a curse. For if Ham had been cursed alongside the boy for mocking, then although it would have been just, all of Ham’s descendants, who had no part in the mockery, would also have been subject to the curse. Thus, Canaan was cursed as the one who mocked, while Ham was only deprived of his blessing for laughing along with the one who mocked.

In cursing Ham through his son, Noah also blessed Shem and Japheth, saying, “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Genesis 9:27). The descendants of Japheth multiplied and became mighty in their inheritance in the north and west. God Himself dwelt in the tent of Abraham, a descendant of Shem, while Canaan became a servant to Shem and Japheth. This was fulfilled in the days of Joshua, when the descendants of Shem laid waste to the dwellings of the Canaanites, conquered their lands, and enslaved their rulers.

Chapter 10 #

Moses then enumerates the generations descended from Noah: fifteen generations from Japheth, including Japheth himself; thirty generations from Ham, also counting Ham, but excluding the Philistines and Cappadocians, who descended from them later; and twenty-seven generations from Shem, including Shem himself. In total, there were seventy-two generations. Each generation formed its own nation and language, and each inhabited its own land.

Concerning Nimrod, it is said: “He was a mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:9), because, by God’s will, he waged war against various tribes and compelled them to move into the lands assigned to them by God. “Wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:9)—from this arose the custom of expressing good wishes to a prince or leader by saying, “Be like Nimrod, the mighty hunter, renowned in the battles of the Lord.”

Nimrod reigned in Arak, that is, Edessa; in Achar, which is Nineveh; in Chalane, that is, Ctesiphon; in Rehoboth, that is, Adiabene; in Chalah, which is Hatra; and in Resen, also known as Rish-Ayn, which was a great city at that time.

Chapter 11 #

After this, Moses writes: “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech… And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:1, 4). Why did they build a fortified city when they had no one to fear? Why did they need a tower reaching to the heavens when they had the unbreakable covenant that there would never again be a flood? They said, “lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” But who could scatter them when there was no one else besides them? From their statement, “let us make us a name,” it becomes clear that pride and arrogance drove them to build the city and tower, and their endeavor was halted by the division that arose among them.

“And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower,” meaning that God perceived the folly of their actions. “And the Lord said… This they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Genesis 11:5–6). This means that their ambition to avoid punishment, which they feared, would not succeed. They had said, “lest we be scattered,” but that is precisely what would happen to them. “Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language” (Genesis 11:7). These words were not spoken by a single Person, for it would be unfitting for one Person to say, “let us go down.” God the Father speaks here to the Son and the Spirit, for as at the beginning, so also in this instance, the gift of languages was imparted not without the Son and the Spirit.

“Let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Genesis 11:7). Likely, each tribe began speaking its own unique language, as given to it. Had they not lost their original language, they would not have ceased their work. However, with the loss of the original language by all tribes except one that retained it, the construction was abandoned. The new languages created such divisions among the tribes that they could no longer understand one another, and the resulting linguistic differences led to conflicts. Thus, the very people who had built a fortified city out of fear of attacks were scattered across the earth, as they had feared. Nimrod also participated in this scattering; he took control of Babylon and became its first ruler, for if he had not worked to scatter the tribes one by one, he would not have been able to take possession of the land, which had originally been shared by all.

Moses then resumes the genealogy from Noah to Abraham, saying: Noah begat Shem and his brothers; Shem begat Arphaxad; Arphaxad begat Cainan; Cainan begat Salah; Salah begat Eber; Eber begat Peleg; Peleg begat Reu (Ragau); Reu (Ragau) begat Serug; Serug begat Nahor; Nahor begat Terah; Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; Haran begat Lot, Milcah, and Iscah—that is, Sarah, who was so named because of her beauty. Both of these daughters later became wives to their uncles. Terah brought his son Abram, his grandson Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarah out of Ur of the Chaldees and came to Haran, where he settled (Genesis 11:31).

Chapter 12 #

God appeared to Abram and said to him, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee. And I will make of thee a great nation” (Genesis 12:1–2). Abram left his parents because they were unwilling to go with him, but he took Lot with him, as Lot believed in the promise given to Abram. Though God did not make Lot a participant in Abram’s inheritance, He also forbade Abram’s descendants from inheriting the land of Lot’s descendants. Thus, Abram took Lot and Sarai and journeyed to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:5).

“There was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt… And Abram said unto Sarai… When the Egyptians shall see thee, they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee” (Genesis 12:10–13). Abram said this as a man, fearing for his life, and Sarai was taken into the house of Pharaoh. This happened so that her love for her husband might be revealed, as even in captivity she did not exchange him for a king. Through this, Sarai’s daughters could learn an instructive example: just as Sarai was not enticed by the kingdom of Egypt, so they should not cleave to the idols, garlic, or leeks of Egypt. Just as Pharaoh’s entire household was afflicted with plagues for Sarai’s deliverance, so too, in the deliverance of her children, the whole of Egypt would be struck down.

Pharaoh’s household was punished for praising Sarai’s beauty and inciting Pharaoh’s desire to take her, while Pharaoh himself was punished for forcibly taking her and compelling her against her will to be his wife. Had Sarai not feared that both she and her husband would be killed, she would not have submitted to Pharaoh. This reveals her steadfastness and the divine protection over her and Abram, foreshadowing the deliverance of their descendants.

Chapter 13 #

“And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle” (Genesis 13:7). Because of this contentiousness, Lot’s quarrelsome servants were sent by God’s justice to dwell among the Sodomites, who were similarly quarrelsome, so that they might share in the same punishment. Yet God rescued Lot from among them. Although God had promised the land to Abram, he allowed Lot to choose for himself the region near the Jordan, which included the land of Sodom, through which the Jordan River flowed.

After Lot had separated from Abram, God appeared to Abram and said to him: “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee” (Genesis 13:17). This, clearly, foreshadows the Cross. The land promised to the patriarchs was, in a hidden way, bound to the mystery of the Cross. Yet, because of the Cross, it later cast out its children, and those lands were given to other inheritors.

Chapter 14 #

Then Chedorlaomer (Hodolgomor), the king of Elam, along with three of his allies, went to war against the king of Sodom and his four allies. He routed the king of Sodom and his confederates, seized all the wealth of Sodom, and took Lot, along with his possessions, captive before retreating. Abram, upon learning this, took 318 of his servants and, together with Aner and his allies, pursued the king of Elam. He struck down Chedorlaomer, rescued the captives and their possessions, and restored Lot, his nephew, along with all his property. However, since the possessions of the Sodomites were mixed with the spoils of the defeated kings, Abram refused to keep any of the plunder that had been taken from the conquered rulers.

“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed Abram, and said… Blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all” (Genesis 14:18–20). This Melchizedek was Shem. By virtue of his greatness, as the patriarch of fourteen tribes, he was a king; and as the priest of God, he inherited the priesthood from his father, Noah. Scripture attests that Shem lived not only until the days of Abram but even until the time of Jacob and Esau, the sons of Abram’s son Isaac. It was to Shem that Rebekah went to inquire, and Shem told her that two nations were in her womb and that the elder would serve the younger (Genesis 25:22–23). Rebekah would not have bypassed her husband Isaac—who had been so miraculously spared from being sacrificed—or her father-in-law, Abraham, who so often received divine revelations, had she not known of Shem’s greatness, as taught by Abraham and his son Isaac.

Likewise, Abram would not have given Melchizedek tithes had he not known that Melchizedek was incomparably greater than himself. It is unthinkable that Rebekah would have sought advice from any Canaanite or Sodomite, nor that Abram would have brought tithes of the recovered property to anyone from among them. Since Melchizedek’s life extended into the time of Jacob and Esau, it is likely, as has been said, that he was indeed Shem. Noah, his father, dwelt in the east, while Shem lived among two generations—namely, the descendants of Ham and his own descendants—serving as a kind of barrier between the two tribes. He feared lest the descendants of Ham might lead his own children into idolatry.

Chapter 15 #

After this, God appeared to Abram in a vision and said, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1), promising a great reward for his righteousness and for rescuing the captives. “And Abram said… What wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless?… Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir… And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:2–3, 5–6). This faith was counted to Abram as great righteousness, for he believed in what was seemingly impossible, something not every person could believe. Because he trusted in this, it was credited to him as righteousness.

Praising Abram for his faith, God said to him, “I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Genesis 15:7–8). Some interpret this as doubt on Abram’s part regarding God’s promise, citing God’s later statement: “Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs” (Genesis 15:13). However, those who assert this should also recognize the faith Abram demonstrated in believing the far greater promise—that his seed would be as numerous as the sand of the sea. If Abram believed the greater, namely, that a multitude would come from his own aging body and the barren, aged womb of Sarah, then surely he did not doubt the lesser—that his seed would inherit the land.

Had Abram doubted, why would God have said to him, “Take Me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon” (Genesis 15:9)? This was said to Abram during the night, and he fulfilled it by day. From morning until evening, he stood guard over his sacrifice, driving away the birds that swooped down upon it. After the fire descended upon his pleasing offering that evening, God appeared to him and foretold the future sojourning of his seed. If this had been a punishment for doubt, God would not have accepted Abram’s sacrifice, nor would He have made a covenant with him that day. God would not have promised Abram on that very day that his seed would inherit the lands of ten nations, nor would He have told Abram that he himself would go to his fathers in peace at a good old age.

All this God spoke to Abram because “he believed in the Lord; and it was counted to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). How then can it be said that this was a day of punishment for a lack of faith, when it was on this same day that Abram was rewarded for his faith with great promises?

Thus, Abram believed in the seemingly impossible—that from Sarah’s aged and nearly lifeless womb would come a multitude of people. When he asked about inheriting the land, it was not a question of whether it would happen but of how it would happen. Abram saw that the land of Canaan was occupied by kings and armies and filled with inhabitants. He also understood that it was not he but his descendants who would inherit the land, so he desired to know how this would come to pass. Would the kings destroy one another? Would other nations come, destroy the inhabitants, and leave the land empty? Would his seed grow strong, come into the land, and conquer its inhabitants? Would the land itself consume its inhabitants because of their sins? Or would the people be driven to another country by famine or other circumstances?

Abram’s inquiry did not stem from doubt in God’s promise but from a desire to understand the manner of its fulfillment. God, knowing Abram’s heart, revealed to him not only what he asked but also what he did not ask. By showing Abram the birds descending upon his sacrifice and Abram driving them away, God indicated that his descendants would suffer for their sins but would ultimately be saved through the prayers of the righteous. The flaming furnace descending from heaven symbolized that salvation would come from heaven when there were no more righteous among them. The three-year-old heifer, goat, and ram represented either the deliverance of Abram’s descendants from slavery after three generations or the kings, priests, and prophets that would arise from among them. The division of the animals symbolized the division of Abram’s descendants into tribes, while the undivided bird signified their unity and mutual agreement.

Having revealed this to Abram, God said: “Know of a surety” (what you desired to know), “that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs” (Genesis 15:13). Abram’s descendants would not be taken there as captives but would migrate with their pack animals and livestock. “And shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years” (Genesis 15:13). They would not cry out for deliverance if they had not been subjected to harsh bondage. “And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again” (Genesis 15:14–16).

The added words, “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full,” indicate that the measure of their sins had not yet reached its fullness, which would justify their final destruction by the sword according to divine justice.

“A deep sleep fell upon Abram” (Genesis 15:12). Just as sleep fell upon Abimelech when God appeared to him (Genesis 20:3), so too did it fall upon Abram. In this state, God appeared to him, made a covenant with him, and declared that ten nations would be subject to servitude under Abram’s seed and that the entire land, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, would be given as an inheritance to his descendants.

Chapter 16 #

In the same year, Sarah, seeing her barrenness, said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her” (Genesis 16:2). Although Abram hesitated to follow her advice, Sarah was insistent, and as it is written, “Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai” (Genesis 16:2). Sarah gave Hagar the Egyptian, one of the maidservants Pharaoh had given her when he took her as his wife.

When Hagar conceived, she began to despise her mistress, thinking that her offspring would inherit the promised land. Sarah could have subdued Hagar’s pride, but seeing that her former servant had become Abram’s concubine and shared his bed, she refrained from reproaching her, lest she bring dishonor upon Abram. However, she said to him, “My wrong be upon thee” (Genesis 16:5), meaning, “I did not exchange you for a king, yet you have preferred a servant over me. Hagar should have been grateful to me, for it was my prayer that was heard and allowed her to conceive. I gave her to you to find consolation through her, but she repays my kindness with evil, insulting me cruelly in the eyes of all the maidservants.”

Hagar, who had relied on Abram’s favor, became afraid when she saw that he had delivered her into the hands of her mistress, whom she had insulted. Fearing punishment, she fled. But an angel of the Lord found her and said, “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands… I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude… for the Lord hath heard thy affliction” (Genesis 16:9–11). The angel continued, “If you are willing to return and serve your mistress, you shall bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael” (Genesis 16:11).

“He will be a wild man,” likened to a wild donkey among men, “his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him” (Genesis 16:12). This meant that he would dwell in the wilderness, without peace with others, and would plunder all nations while also suffering attacks from them. “And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (Genesis 16:12), meaning the sons of Sarah and Keturah, for the lands of inheritance for the descendants of Shem had already been apportioned.

Hagar realized that Abram would have many children, but not through her. This became clear to her when she saw that Abram no longer came to her after learning she had conceived. Abram had gone to Hagar only at Sarah’s urging, to provide her with some consolation through Hagar until God would bring her joy by giving her a child of her own.

Hagar then said, “Thou God seest me,” acknowledging that God, in His mercy, revealed Himself to those who honor Him. She added, “Have I also here looked after Him that seeth me?” (Genesis 16:13), meaning that she had seen a vision after being seen by Him. Initially, the angel appeared without speaking, so as not to frighten her. When the angel spoke, she had a “vision in a vision,” for God appeared to her in the form of the angel. Thus, she named the well “Beer-lahai-roi,” meaning “the well of the Living One who sees me” (Genesis 16:14).

Hagar returned to her mistress and sought forgiveness. When she told Abram and Sarah about her vision and what the angel had said about her son—that he would live in the presence of his brethren—this news softened the grief Sarah had felt from Hagar’s earlier insolence. “And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name… Ishmael” (Genesis 16:15), following what Hagar had told him.

Chapter 17 #

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said: “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect… I will make my covenant between me and thee” (Genesis 17:1–2). “And I will multiply thee exceedingly, and thou shalt be a father of many nations”—referring not only to the descendants of Isaac but also to those of Esau, Keturah, and Ishmael, who themselves became many nations. “And kings shall come out of thee”—this pointed to the kings of the tribes of Judah and Ephraim, as well as the Edomite kings (Genesis 17:6). “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep: every man child among you shall be circumcised” (Genesis 17:10–11).

God also said to Abram: “I will give thee a son also of Sarah thy wife: and I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations” (Genesis 17:16). Abram “fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” And he said, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Genesis 17:17–18). Abram’s laughter was not a sign of doubt but of wonder and joy. His plea, “O that Ishmael might live before thee,” revealed his love for Ishmael.

For twenty-five years, God had left Abram waiting in hope for offspring, and throughout all the divine revelations given to him, Abram demonstrated unwavering faith. Just as he endured the struggle of barrenness, he also displayed the triumph of his faith. When old age was added to barrenness, Abram marveled in his heart, amazed at what God promised to do for him. Therefore, God reassured him, saying: “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed”—not as a test of your faith, but as an assurance of what I will fulfill. “As for Ishmael, I have heard thee: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly” (Genesis 17:19–20).

If Abram had doubted, God would not have confirmed His promise with an oath, nor would He have granted Abram’s prayer for Ishmael. Furthermore, God would not have announced that Sarah would bear a son within the year but would instead have rebuked Abram for his disbelief. The prophecy concerning Ishmael—that he would father twelve princes—meant that twelve tribes would descend from Ishmael, just as twelve tribes came from Jacob.

On that very day, Abram carried out the command of circumcision. He circumcised himself, his son Ishmael, and all the male members of his household, fulfilling the covenant that God had established with him.

Chapter 18 #

Since God, the Giver, had determined that within the next year Abraham would receive the promised gift, Abraham wondered whether the exact time would be revealed to him—when Sarah’s barren womb would be opened, and the blessing bestowed. While Abraham was pondering this, “the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day” (Genesis 18:1). Abraham longed to satisfy the eyes of his soul with this revelation, but God became invisible to him. As he wondered why God had appeared without speaking and then hidden Himself, “he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him.” Setting aside his thoughts, he “ran to meet them from the tent door” (Genesis 18:2).

When Abraham hastened to meet the three strangers, his eagerness revealed his love for hospitality. Then God, through one of the three travelers, made Himself known to Abraham as He stood by the door of the tent. Abraham “bowed himself toward the ground” (Genesis 18:2), imploring the One in whom divine majesty was revealed to enter his home and bless his dwelling: “My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant” (Genesis 18:3). Responding to Abraham’s plea, God did not refuse and said, “So do, as thou hast said.” Then Abraham “hastened… unto Sarah, and said… Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth” (Genesis 18:5–6). He himself hurried to the herd to fetch a fattened calf. Abraham offered bread and meat in abundance not only to feed the angels but also to share the blessing with all his household.

When the strangers’ feet had been washed and they sat under the tree, Abraham brought the prepared food and placed it before them. He himself did not dare to sit but stood by, as befits one serving his guests. After eating from the meal prepared by Abraham, the strangers inquired about Sarah. Although aged, Sarah, maintaining her modesty, came out from the inner tent to the door of the tent. By Abraham’s attentive care and the silence his household kept at his gesture, they understood that these were no ordinary travelers who had stretched out their feet to be washed by the servant of God.

Then the Lord said to Abraham and Sarah, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son” (Genesis 18:10). Sarah, though Abraham stood behind her encouraging her to hope, “laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (Genesis 18:12).

Had Sarah asked for a sign, one would have been granted to her, both because she was barren and aged and because nothing like this had ever occurred before. Witnessing or hearing such a thing might have strengthened her belief. However, even without asking, Sarah received a sign within herself and from herself. The Lord said, “Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?” (Genesis 18:13). Yet, instead of accepting the true sign given to her, Sarah denied it with a lie: “Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not” (Genesis 18:15). The angel, revealing to her that her denial was in vain, replied, “Nay; but thou didst laugh” (Genesis 18:15). He indicated that her heart itself testified against the falsehood of her words: “Your heart contradicts the idle denial of your tongue.”

The angels, who had given Sarah the promise of a son, “rose up… and looked toward Sodom” (Genesis 18:16). However, it was not revealed to Sarah that they were going to Sodom, so that on the same day she rejoiced in the promise of a son, she would not be grieved by learning of the impending judgment upon Sodom and its neighboring cities, where her brother Lot dwelled. The angels concealed this from Sarah to spare her from weeping continually.

To Abraham, however, it was revealed, so that he might persist in prayer. His intercession would demonstrate to the world that not even one righteous person could be found in Sodom for whose sake the city might be spared from destruction. The Lord said, “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grievous” (Genesis 18:20). The meaning of “cry” is clarified by the subsequent mention of their sins. The Lord continued, “I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know” (Genesis 18:21).

The Lord said this not because He was unaware of their sins—He had already declared, “their sin is very grievous”—but to set an example for judges, that they should not pronounce a sentence before fully ascertaining the facts. If the All-Knowing presented Himself as though He did not know, refraining from passing judgment before conducting an investigation, how much more should human judges acknowledge their limited understanding and avoid rendering a verdict without thoroughly examining the matter?

Chapter 19 #

The two angels came to Sodom and approached its gates, where Lot was seated, prepared to welcome any travelers entering the city. “When Lot saw them, he rose up to meet them,” as was his custom to greet strangers. But as he drew near, he recognized in one of the two angels the same divine presence that Abraham had perceived in one of the three who visited him. Lot “bowed himself with his face toward the ground” (Genesis 19:1).

It seems the angels who came to Sodom had an appearance of great beauty, for the Lord’s words, “I will go down now and see” (Genesis 18:21), imply that He would test the Sodomites. If the Sodomites, upon seeing their faces, had not been inflamed with wickedness, they might not have received forgiveness for their former sins, but neither would they have faced the punishment that ultimately befell them.

Lot hastened to bring the strangers into his house before the Sodomites could gather and be tempted. However, the angels delayed, giving the Sodomites time to come and be tested. Unlike Abraham, who was not refused hospitality because he was already proven righteous, the angels came to Sodom to test its people. Thus, when Lot urged them to enter his house, they replied, “Nay; but we will abide in the street all night” (Genesis 19:2).

When Lot “pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him” (Genesis 19:3), they accepted his hospitality, ate his prepared meal, and had not yet rested when “the men of Sodom compassed the house round” (Genesis 19:4). They said to Lot, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them” (Genesis 19:5). Notice that the angels came at night, when darkness concealed their beauty, to lessen the temptation for the Sodomites. Yet this did not help, for even in the cover of night, they pursued their sin and destruction.

Lot attempted to reason with the Sodomites, but they refused to listen. He even offered them his two daughters, but they rejected his plea and threatened him instead: “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge… we will deal worse with thee than with them” (Genesis 19:9). They pressed hard against Lot and “came near to break the door.” At this, the angels “put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness” (Genesis 19:10–11). Yet even blindness did not halt their madness, as they continued to grope for the door.

The angels then said to Lot, “Hast thou here any besides? Son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place” (Genesis 19:12–13). The “sons-in-law” mentioned were the men who intended to marry Lot’s daughters. Lot went out to warn them, but the Sodomites did not notice him leaving or returning, and the sons-in-law mocked him. When Lot returned, having been scorned by his sons-in-law, the angels “laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters… and brought him forth” (Genesis 19:16). Even as they passed through the mob, the Sodomites failed to perceive them.

The wives of Sodom were not directly tested, so they were tried with a command after leaving the city. When Lot pleaded for the salvation of Zoar, a nearby city to which he could flee, the angel replied, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city” (Genesis 19:21). This concession was granted in part as a response to the dishonor done to Lot’s daughters.

When Lot entered Zoar, “the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). This means that the angel, in whom the Lord appeared, brought down brimstone and fire from the Lord in heaven. However, Lot’s wife disobeyed the command given for her testing and “became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26). Her disobedience added to the trials of Lot and his daughters, yet even after this, they did not yield to transgressing the angel’s command.

Lot’s daughters, fearing to remain in the desolate city, urged their father to flee to the mountains. Believing that the fiery destruction had consumed the entire world, as the flood in Noah’s time had, they said, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on the earth to come in unto us… let us make our father drink wine… that we may preserve seed of our father” (Genesis 19:31–32). They thought that from them a third world would arise, just as the second world had come from Noah’s family and the first from Adam and Eve.

They lacked no wine, as everything in Zoar became theirs. The inhabitants of Zoar had perished, for although the angel had said to Lot, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city” (Genesis 19:21), the city itself consumed its inhabitants, leaving only their possessions. The people were taken to appease the Righteous Judge, whom they had angered by their deeds, but their wealth was left behind for the righteous Lot, to console him for the loss of everything he had in Sodom.

Lot’s daughters made excuses to convince their father, saying: “We are afraid to sleep; we are haunted by visions. Our mother stands before us as a pillar of salt; the burning Sodomites appear to our eyes; the screams of the women crying out from the fire ring in our ears. We seem to see children suffering in the flames. Therefore, father, do not sleep, but comfort yourself with wine to keep vigil and deliver us from these terrors.” But when they saw that Lot had lost his reason from the wine and fallen into a deep sleep, the elder daughter took advantage of the situation and took seed from him without his awareness: “and he perceived not” (Genesis 19:33).

After the elder saw her plan fulfilled, she persuaded her younger sister to do the same, proposing that she temporarily become a wife and afterward remain a virgin forever. The younger, convinced by her sister, also went in and came out: “and he perceived not” (Genesis 19:35).

The elder daughter bore a son and named him Moab (Genesis 19:37), who became the progenitor of a great nation, as he was the son of Lot. The younger daughter also bore a son and named him Ben-Ammi (or Ammon), meaning “son of my people,” since he was also the son of her father (Genesis 19:38). Thus, two sons were born, corresponding to the two offenses. These two sons gave rise to two nations, and for the sake of the two angels, the two offenses were pardoned.

Lot’s daughters did not live with Lot afterward, as he was their father, nor did they marry others, though suitors were available to them. Having hastened to commit what was forbidden, they refrained even from what was permitted. By their subsequent abstinence, they likely sought to atone for their previous transgression.

Chapter 20 #

After this, Abraham journeyed to the land of the Philistines, and, out of fear, claimed that Sarah was his sister. “And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah” (Genesis 20:2). However, because Sarah had already been tested in Pharaoh’s house, and since she now carried Isaac in her womb, Abraham’s unceasing prayers prevailed. As soon as Abimelech lay down upon his bed, a sudden sleep, like that which fell upon Adam, overcame him. In a dream, God said to him, “Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.” Abimelech replied, “Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.” God answered him, “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against Me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her” (Genesis 20:3–6).

Early in the morning, Abimelech summoned Abraham and reproached him for nearly causing him to commit a grave sin. Abraham explained, “I feared for my life and thus called her my sister; and I did not lie, for she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother. She is my sister through my father, being the daughter of his brother, but not through my mother, for Haran, the son of Terah, married not his sister but a woman from another family. Loving her own kin, she remained in her tribe and refused to go and live with Lot, her son, or with Sarah and Milcah, her daughters.”

Abimelech then said to Sarah, “Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved” (Genesis 20:16). He returned Sarah to Abraham along with gifts, saying that she had “placed a covering on the eyes” of all who were with him, openly rebuking him before his household. When the sudden sleep came upon Abimelech, Sarah, recognizing God’s help, publicly declared, “It is improper for you, having left your wife, to take another for adultery.”

If Sarah had not regained her youth upon conceiving Isaac, it is unlikely that Abimelech would have felt any desire for a woman of ninety years. “So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children” (Genesis 20:17). From the time Abimelech intended to take Sarah until she was returned to Abraham, the women in Abimelech’s household had suffered infertility. They were unable to give birth, even when the time for delivery had come, until Abraham’s prayer brought healing upon the house of Abimelech.

Chapter 21 #

The time drew near for Sarah to give birth, and she bore Isaac, nursing him in her old age. After Isaac was circumcised and weaned, on the day of the “great feast” that “Abraham made… on the same day that Isaac was weaned” (Genesis 21:8), Sarah saw Ishmael laughing. Noting how much Ishmael resembled his mother in character, Sarah inferred that just as Hagar had insulted her, so Ishmael might mock Isaac. She thought, “If Ishmael behaves this way toward my son while I am alive, what will he do when I am gone? Will he not claim a share of my son’s inheritance—perhaps even take two portions as the firstborn?”

Thus, Sarah became zealous to protect her son’s rights, though she had not guarded her own when she gave Hagar to Abraham without jealousy. To ensure that the son of the bondwoman would not seize the inheritance meant for the son of the freewoman, Sarah said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son” (Genesis 21:10). She reasoned that it was unjust for the son of a bondwoman to inherit alongside the son of the promise. It was also inappropriate for Abraham to act against God’s will, for God had promised that Isaac would be the heir, not Ishmael.

Abraham, however, loved Ishmael and made no distinction between his sons. This is why the matter is described as “very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son” (Genesis 21:11). But God said to Abraham, “Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed” (Genesis 21:12–13).

Early the next morning, Abraham rose, gave Hagar bread, water, and the boy, and sent her away. Hagar wandered in the wilderness, and when the water was spent, she despaired. “And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her… Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink” (Genesis 21:17–19).

Afterward, Abimelech and his commander Phichol approached Abraham, saying, “It is evident to us that God is with you and aids you in your battles with kings, and He has promised you the land of Canaan. We fear that after destroying the Canaanites, you may devastate our land as well.” For this reason, they sought to establish a covenant with Abraham. “And they made a covenant” (Genesis 21:27), ensuring peace between them.

Chapter 22 #

“And God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of’” (Genesis 22:1–2). The command was not to be carried out immediately but was delayed for three days, so that none might say Abraham acted in a state of agitation or confusion. “And Abraham rose up early in the morning… and clave the wood for the burnt offering… and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son… and went unto the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3).

Abraham did not disclose his purpose to Sarah because it was not commanded that he do so. Surely, had Sarah known, she too would have resolved to accompany him and partake in the sacrifice, just as she shared in the promise of Isaac’s birth. Abraham also refrained from revealing the purpose to avoid objections from his household, disputes within his tent, or interference from the inhabitants of the land who might try to take Isaac or delay the sacrifice. If Abraham feared to disclose his intent to the two young men who accompanied him, how much more would he have feared a wider revelation?

When they reached the mountain and the young men were left behind, even Isaac asked about the sacrifice. Abraham, who had hidden his purpose from his servants, prophesied to Isaac, as he had earlier prophesied to the servants when he said, “I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you” (Genesis 22:5).

Abraham “bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son” (Genesis 22:9–10). But the Angel of the Lord stayed his hand. To ensure that Abraham did not think his offering was rejected due to some deficiency, the angel declared that Abraham’s reverence for God had been proven, and through the one most beloved to him, his love for the Lord of all was revealed. Thus, Abraham became renowned for having sacrificed his son in his heart, though not in deed. He also demonstrated his unwavering faith that Isaac would rise again, for he did not doubt the truth of God’s promise: “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Genesis 21:12).

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son” (Genesis 22:13). That the ram had not been there before is evidenced by Isaac’s earlier question about the sacrifice. Likewise, the presence of wood already carried on Isaac’s shoulders implies there had been no tree on the mountain. The mountain provided the tree, and the tree held the ram, prefiguring the day when He, who is like a lamb, would be nailed to the tree and taste death for the world.

“And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time… ‘By Myself have I sworn,’ saith the Lord, ‘because thou hast done this thing… in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed… and in thy Seed’—that is, in Christ—‘shall all the nations of the earth be blessed’” (Genesis 22:15–18).

Chapter 23 #

Then Sarah died in Hebron at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years, and she was buried in the cave purchased from the sons of Heth.

Chapter 24 #

Three years after Sarah’s death, “Abraham said unto his eldest servant… ‘Put thy hand under my thigh, and I will make thee swear… that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son… of the daughters of the Canaanites’” (Genesis 24:2–3). The servant swore by the covenant of circumcision. For upon that which mankind had defiled both before and after the Flood, God placed the sign of His covenant. What had been regarded as dishonorable in the human body was given the highest honor by God as the site of the covenant’s sign. Thus, it became the object by which oaths were sworn and the testimony of those requiring the oath.

The servant swore to his master, “took… of all the goods… and arose and went to Aram (Mesopotamia), unto the city of Nahor” (Genesis 24:10). He stopped at a well, prayed to God, and asked for a sign. Rebekah’s arrival at the well brought him joy, yet he still sought to confirm her family lineage. When he learned that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, he gave thanks to God, entered her household, and stayed there.

When the servant explained the oath his master had made him swear and recounted how his prayer at the well had been answered, Bethuel and Laban said to him, “The thing proceedeth from the Lord… Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her and go” (Genesis 24:50–51). They summoned the maiden to hear her consent. Rebekah, having heard of the oath Abraham had sworn his servant to take, the servant’s prayer at the well, and the sign he had received, feared to refuse, knowing that it was God’s will for her to go.

Thus, Rebekah went and became Isaac’s wife. Her arrival brought Isaac great joy, and he was “comforted after his mother’s death” (Genesis 24:67), for he had mourned her for three years.

Chapter 25 #

Since the law regarding virginity and chastity had not yet been given, to ensure that natural desire did not stain the soul of the righteous, and because Abraham had been told that kings and nations would come from him—something God Himself testified to, knowing that Abraham would command his sons and his sons’ sons to keep His commandments—after Sarah’s death, Abraham took a concubine. This was so that his many sons, spreading across many lands of the earth, might, through their piety, disseminate knowledge and reverence for the one true God. Indeed, Abraham had children from Keturah; after giving them gifts, he sent them eastward and then died at the age of one hundred and seventy-five years. He was buried with his wife Sarah.

“And God blessed Isaac” (Genesis 25:11). Isaac “entreated the Lord for Rebekah… because she was barren.” After twenty years, “the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah conceived” (Genesis 25:21). “And the children struggled together within her… and she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her: Two nations are in thy womb” (Genesis 25:22–23), referring to the Edomite nation and the Israelite nation. As previously mentioned, Rebekah went to inquire of Melchizedek, as we have already explained in our earlier discussion. She soon returned home, for the time of her labor was near, and Rebekah gave birth to Esau and Jacob.

Jacob observed that Esau despised his birthright and began to devise ways to obtain it, trusting in God, who had said, “The elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). One day, Jacob was cooking lentil stew, and Esau came from hunting, exhausted, and said to Jacob, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage” (Genesis 25:30), meaning, “Give me some of that lentil stew.” Jacob replied, “Sell me this day thy birthright” (Genesis 25:31), and I will give it to you. Esau swore an oath and sold his birthright, and Jacob gave him the stew, which Esau ate. Scripture, showing that Esau sold his birthright not because of hunger, adds that after eating, “he rose up and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34). Therefore, he did not sell it out of necessity, but out of disdain; he treated his birthright as worthless and gave it away for nothing.

Chapter 26 #

“And there was a famine in the land… and Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar… And Isaac sowed in that land and received in the same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great” (Genesis 26:1, 12–13).

Then Abimelech became afraid that this sojourner might grow more powerful than he. Together with his commander Phichol, he approached Isaac and said, “We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee, just as He was with thy father Abraham. We have understood this not only from the hundredfold harvest of barley which you reaped, but from many other signs. Therefore, we said:… let us establish a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no harm when thou hast become mighty, even as we did not despise thee when thou wast weak.”

“And they sware one to another… and they departed in peace” (Genesis 26:28–29, 31).

Chapter 27 #

“Isaac grew old, and his eyes became dim… and he said to Esau: ‘Take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and hunt for me; and make me savory meat… that I may eat, so that my soul may bless thee before I die’” (Genesis 27:1, 3–4). Esau went out to hunt. Hearing this, Rebekah advised Jacob to go to his father, lest Esau receive the blessing of the firstborn, contrary to God’s word: “The elder shall serve the younger.” However, Jacob hesitated, fearing he might incur a curse instead of a blessing. When Rebekah said, “Upon me be thy curse” (Genesis 27:13), Jacob obeyed her instructions.

He brought the prepared food to his father and said, “My father.” Isaac asked, “Who art thou, my son?” Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau… I have done according as thou badest me” (Genesis 27:18–19). Isaac doubted, recognizing the voice of Jacob. Fearing that the blessing and birthright might pass from Esau to another, he said, “Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee” (Genesis 27:21). When the deceptive feel of Jacob’s hands convinced Isaac that it was Esau, he bestowed the blessing upon Jacob, and Jacob departed.

Later, Esau arrived with the food he had prepared and invited his father to eat. Isaac, realizing that someone else had received his blessings under Esau’s name, trembled greatly and said, “Who then was it that hunted game and brought it to me… and I have blessed him, and he shall indeed be blessed” (Genesis 27:33). Isaac could not revoke the blessing, for two reasons. First, he recognized that God’s will had been fulfilled, as revealed to Rebekah. Second, when blessing Jacob, Isaac had said, “Cursed be everyone that curseth thee” (Genesis 27:29). He feared that if he cursed Jacob now, that curse would return upon himself, having already blessed him.

“Esau cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry” (Genesis 27:38), but not because he had lost the spiritual blessings, rather because he was deprived of the fertile fruits of the blessed land. He grieved not over his inability to be justified but over his inability to rule over his brothers. He lamented not the loss of eternal life, but that the land of Canaan would not be his inheritance.

Esau hated Jacob and plotted to kill him. Rebekah, perceiving this, persuaded Jacob to flee to Laban’s house, to prevent the brothers from killing one another and to avoid losing both sons at once. She informed Isaac of the matter, and he blessed Jacob again and sent him to Haran to find a wife there.

Chapter 28 #

Jacob traveled for an entire day and spent the night on his journey. As evening fell, lacking the comfort of a pillow like he had in his mother’s tent, “he took a stone and put it for his pillow and lay down to sleep… And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it: and the Lord stood above it” (Genesis 28:11–13).

The ladder symbolized to Jacob the constant activity of the angels over him as he slept, revealing that he was guarded not only in his waking moments but even in slumber. The angels ascending and descending showed God’s unceasing care and protection for him.

Through the vision of the ladder, God clearly revealed His hidden providence concerning Jacob. While he slept, it seemed to him that he was resting in a distant and desolate land, far from God’s presence. But upon awakening and recognizing the great care being extended to him even in the wilderness, Jacob exclaimed: “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” To assure Jacob that the angels were guarding him, God said: “Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee wherever thou goest, and will bring thee back to this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”

“And Jacob said: Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not” (Genesis 28:15–16). The oil that Jacob poured upon the top of the stone was either taken from a nearby settlement or brought with him. The oil poured upon the stone prefigured the mystery of the coming Christ, hidden within it. “And Jacob called the name of that place Bethel”—that is, “the house of God,” as he had earlier referred to it. “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: If God will be with me… and give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear… then this stone… shall be God’s house; and of all that Thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee” (Genesis 28:18–20, 22).

In the stone, the mystery of the Church was foreshadowed, the Church to which the vows and offerings of all nations, gathered into her, would be rendered.

Chapter 29 #

Jacob continued on his journey, came to a well, and saw Rachel. She arrived barefoot, in humble attire, her face weathered by the sun. Jacob understood that the same God who had sent the beautiful Rebekah to the spring now sent the modest Rachel to the well. To demonstrate his strength, he rolled away the stone covering the well—a stone that many strong men together could barely move. By this miraculous act, he betrothed Rachel to God and sealed his own engagement to her with a kiss.

Jacob worked for seven years to marry her, but when the time came, Laban deceived him, giving Leah instead of Rachel. Laban’s trickery was not merely because Leah was unattractive and had found no suitor during the seven years of Rachel’s betrothal, but also because he saw how God’s blessing had multiplied his wealth during Jacob’s shepherding. Laban intended to secure Jacob’s service for another seven years, hoping to further increase his prosperity, just as it had grown in the first seven years while Jacob worked for Leah.

Laban excused his actions by citing the custom of their land: “It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn” (Genesis 29:26). He then openly admitted his intention, saying: “Complete the week of this one, and I will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me yet another seven years” (Genesis 29:27). Laban gathered the men of the region to act as witnesses and ensure Jacob’s agreement.

Jacob reasoned thus: If Leah remained in Laban’s house, the seed of the righteous could fall into idolatry there. Moreover, he feared breaking his promise to Rachel, for a betrothed bride is already considered a wife. Therefore, Jacob took Leah to honor the custom and his vow, and Rachel so that his lineage would not be corrupted. Had Laban simply demanded that Jacob work seven years for Leah without first taking Rachel from him, Jacob would not have agreed to work even seven days for her—not because Leah was unattractive, but because it was repugnant to him to become the husband of two wives.

Chapter 20 #

Leah bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, then ceased bearing children; Rachel, however, remained barren. Hearing from Jacob that Abraham had prayed for barren Sarah and was heard, and that Isaac had prayed for Rebekah with the same result, Rachel thought that her closed womb was not being opened because Jacob was not praying for her. Thus, she angrily and tearfully said to her husband: “Give me children, or else I die” (Genesis 30:1). In her anger, she said, “Give me children,” rather than, “Pray for children to be given to me.” Therefore, Jacob instructed her that his ancestors, though heard by God, were not answered immediately: Abraham after one hundred years, and Isaac after twenty years.

When Rachel understood that she needed great patience to endure a long wait without despair, she pleaded with Jacob: “Go into my maid; perhaps I may obtain children by her” (Genesis 30:3). Rachel said to him, “Abraham took Hagar and fulfilled Sarah’s wish because he loved her, but you do not listen to me because you do not love me.” To quiet her constant and insistent plea for children, Jacob agreed to take her maidservant, intending to make the children of both the free women and the maidservants joint heirs.

Jacob took Bilhah, and she conceived and bore Dan and Naphtali. Seeing that she had ceased bearing, Leah urged Jacob to take her maidservant as well. When Jacob told Leah, “You already have comfort because you have children,” she replied, “It is unjust to favor one maidservant over another. If you wronged me with Rachel’s maidservant, then wrong her with mine.” To avoid offending Leah, resolve the strife between the sisters, and restore peace in the household, Jacob took Zilpah. She conceived and bore Gad and Asher.

Later, Reuben “found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah” (Genesis 30:14). Mandrakes, it is said, are a fragrant and flavorful root fruit resembling an apple. For these mandrakes, Leah, combining joy with faith, brought Jacob to her that night. Scripture says: “God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore Issachar. And Leah said, ‘God has given me my wages because I gave my maidservant to my husband’” (Genesis 30:17–18). If it were not God’s will for Jacob to take Zilpah, God would not have rewarded Leah for giving her maidservant. Thus, Leah conceived and bore Issachar, then Zebulun, and finally Dinah, their sister.

“God remembered Rachel, and she bore Joseph, saying, ‘Now I understand that the Lord has added to me, and not my husband’” (Genesis 30:22–24). After Joseph’s birth, Jacob said to Laban: “Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, that I may depart” (Genesis 30:26). Laban, loving not Jacob but himself, replied: “I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake. Name your wages, and I will give it” (Genesis 30:27–28). Jacob agreed to the division because he had not yet received God’s permission to leave. But God, foreseeing that Laban would withhold rightful wages from Jacob, whom He had promised to deliver, enriched Jacob with Laban’s flocks without wrongdoing. As Laban himself discovered through experience, God caused the speckled and spotted sheep to multiply, showing that He was with Jacob and deterring Laban from further harm.

Chapter 31 #

Jacob had stolen away from Laban’s heart, and Rachel had stolen his household idols (Genesis 31:19). They reached Mount Gilead, but Laban pursued them and overtook them. “And God came to Laban in a dream by night and said to him: Take heed that you speak not to Jacob either good or bad” (Genesis 31:23–24). Nevertheless, Laban could not suppress his anger and said to Jacob: “It is in my power to harm you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Take heed that you speak not to Jacob either good or bad.’” (Genesis 31:29). He continued, “Why have you stolen my gods?” (Genesis 31:30).

Jacob’s great love for Rachel was evident, and she reciprocated by loving his God. She despised her father’s idols, demonstrating their insignificance not only by taking them as worthless objects but also by sitting on them when Laban searched for them, saying, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me” (Genesis 31:35).

Still unsatisfied, Laban persisted. The following morning, after being visited by the true God the previous evening, he again demanded his idols. Despite his earlier acknowledgment that Jacob had been blessed by the Lord’s presence—saying, “I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me because of you”—Laban now declared, “The flocks are my flocks, and all you see is mine” (Genesis 31:43). He suggested, “Let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us” (Genesis 31:44).

Initially, accusations were exchanged. Jacob declared, “My affliction and the labor of my hands, and all that was taken from me, God has seen, and He rebuked you last night” (Genesis 31:42). Meanwhile, Laban insisted, “The flocks are mine, and all you see belongs to me.” Ultimately, however, they agreed to move forward: “Let us leave behind all that has passed.”

Jacob set up a stone as a pillar, and they heaped up stones to create a large mound. “And Jacob called it Galeed,” which means “Witness Heap,” symbolizing that this mound stood as a testimony to their covenant. The mound, raised by many hands, would testify as if with many voices that a covenant was made before many witnesses (Genesis 31:47).

Jacob swore by “the Fear of his father Isaac,” and Laban invoked, “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge between us” (Genesis 31:53). The mound served as a solemn reminder, ensuring that neither party would violate the agreement. Thus, they marked the boundary of their peace and parted ways, each bound by the covenant established there.

Chapter 32 #

After Jacob and Laban parted ways, “the angels of God met Jacob” (Genesis 32:1). This meeting conveyed to Jacob that if Laban had not heeded the voice of God, who appeared to him the previous evening, he and all with him would have been struck down by the angels guarding Jacob. Just as angels had been shown to Jacob when he departed, so now, upon his return, God revealed them again to confirm His promise: “I will go with you, and I will bring you back.” The host of angels also reassured Jacob not to fear Esau, for those protecting him were more numerous than those accompanying Esau. Then Jacob “sent messengers to his brother Esau,” seeking to make amends for his delay (Genesis 32:3). Upon hearing that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men (Genesis 32:6), Jacob, though turning in prayer to God and recalling the covenant made during his departure, also sent conciliatory gifts to his brother to soften his heart and erase any lingering resentment over the blessing Jacob had taken.

That night, an angel appeared to Jacob “and wrestled with him” (Genesis 32:24). Jacob overcame the angel, yet the angel also overcame Jacob, revealing both his weakness and his strength. Jacob was weak in that when the angel “touched his hip,” it was dislocated (Genesis 32:25). He was strong in that the angel said, “Let me go.” To show Jacob how long they had wrestled, the angel added, “for the dawn is breaking” (Genesis 32:26). Jacob, recognizing the angel’s divine nature, asked for a blessing, for their wrestling was not out of hostility but love. The angel blessed Jacob, signifying he bore no wrath against him despite his boldness.

Thus, God fulfilled all His promises to Jacob. He enriched him, brought him safely out of Laban’s household, and accompanied him, as He had pledged. God delivered Jacob from Laban and protected him from Esau. Yet Jacob, who had vowed at Bethel to give God a tenth of all he received, had not yet fulfilled that promise. Instead, in fear, he offered gifts to Esau. Because of this hesitation, Jacob’s hip was dislocated, reflecting his wavering commitment. Though Jacob, who had “striven” with an angel, a being of fiery strength, stood now before Esau limping, he felt no pain, for he was upheld by God’s mercy and assurance.

Chapter 33 #

There is no commentary on this chapter

Chapter 34 #

After this, Jacob came and settled in Shechem. “And when Shechem the son of Hamor saw Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, he took her and defiled her” (Gen. 34:2). When the Shechemites began to ask the sons of Jacob to give Dinah to Shechem as a wife, the sons of Jacob spoke deceitfully (Gen. 34:13) to the Shechemites, saying that if they accepted circumcision, they would give Dinah to them, but they did not inform their father about this. And on the day when the Shechemites “were sore” (Gen. 34:25), they killed all the males in Shechem with the sword, took the women captive, and plundered the possessions.

Chapter 35 #

After this, “God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel… and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, Put away the strange gods… which ye took from the spoil of Shechem. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods… and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them… under the oak” (Gen. 35:1–2, 4), that they might not become a stumbling block for the descendants of Jacob. “And Jacob came unto Isaac his father… to Hebron” (Gen. 35:27) after the span of twenty-three years. “And Isaac died… being a hundred and eighty years old; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him” (Gen. 35:29).

Chapter 36 #

There is no commentary on this chapter.

Chapter 37 #

Joseph tended the sheep with the sons of the handmaids and brought an evil report of them to his father. For exposing their faults, his brothers hated him. Joseph had two dreams: the first about the sheaves and the second about the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowing to him. For these dreams, his brothers hated him even more. They mocked his dreams, saying, “Shall even Rachel, who has died, come and bow down to him?” But they did not understand that husband and wife are one flesh. When Jacob, represented as the sun, bowed upon the top of Joseph’s staff, Rachel, represented as the moon, bowed in him, though not in reality.

Jacob sent Joseph to check on the flocks and bring news of his brothers. Instead of news about Joseph, the brothers sent his coat, dipped in blood, to their father. Without pity, they cast Joseph into a pit in the wilderness. Yet at home, they wept bitterly for him. They sold him naked to the Ishmaelites and wailed over him in the presence of the Canaanites. Shackles were placed on Joseph’s hands and feet, and he was sent on his way. Meanwhile, the brothers sat at home, calmly lamenting him. Thus, Joseph came to Egypt, was sold there, and in a short time passed through the hands of two masters.

Chapter 38 #

Then Judah took a wife for himself and had three sons by her: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er, his firstborn, took a wife named Tamar. “And Er… was wicked in the sight of the Lord”—that is, he committed iniquity before God—“and the Lord slew him” (Gen. 38:7). Onan, Er’s brother, loved Tamar and took her as his wife. But because he hated his brother, he refused to raise up seed to him. Therefore, God, for Onan’s deliberate wickedness, “slew him also” (Gen. 38:10). Then Judah, believing that Tamar’s sins were the cause of the deaths of both her husbands, sent her back to her father’s house, hoping she would marry someone else, “until Shelah my son be grown” (Gen. 38:11).

When Shelah came of age and Judah still did not bring Tamar back into his household, she began to reflect: “How can I persuade the Hebrews that I desire not merely marriage, but the hidden blessing within them? By refusing marriage to Shelah, I can display my restraint. Yet if I enter into marriage with him, my faith will not be known. Is it not better that I take Judah himself as my husband? Then the treasure I gain will enrich my poverty, and my preserved widowhood will prove that I do not desire marriage.” However, fearing that Judah, recognizing her, might kill her in anger for the death of his two sons, whom he blamed on her, Tamar prayed for a sign, saying: “Thy omniscience knoweth that there is no carnal desire in my deed. I am certain in myself that I desire only the hidden blessing in the Hebrews, but I know not whether this is pleasing unto Thee. Grant me to appear as another in Judah’s eyes, that he might not slay me when his lips pronounce judgment upon me. This will teach me sufficiently whether it is Thy will that the hidden treasure of the circumcised be given to men by the daughter of the uncircumcised. Therefore, let Judah say unto me, ‘I will come in unto thee’” (Gen. 38:16).

As Tamar prayed thus, Judah approached and, contrary to custom, turned aside to her as to a harlot, drawn by Tamar’s prayer. Yet when Tamar saw Judah, she covered her face in fear. But as soon as his lips uttered the words that were the sign she had requested, she understood that her deed was pleasing to God. Without fear, she then uncovered her face and even asked for a pledge from the one who held the treasure. Judah gave her his staff, signet, and bracelets, and Tamar received these three as witnesses to testify of the Advocate who was to come forth through her lineage. She then returned to her father’s house.

“And it came to pass about three months after, it was told Judah… Tamar hath played the harlot… and behold, she is with child by whoredom” (Gen. 38:24). Judah, seeing no way for her to justify herself, decreed that she should be burned. The people of Hebron had already gathered to accompany her to the fire. Then Tamar presented her witnesses and sent them to Judah and his kinsmen, asking them to say, “By the man, whose these are, am I with child” (Gen. 38:25). When Judah saw his pledges, he marveled at the faith of the woman. Stretching out his hand to take them, he recalled the time when he had given them to Tamar and said, “She hath been more righteous than I” (Gen. 38:26), meaning, she is as much more righteous than I as my sons were more wicked than she, for I gave her not to Shelah, my son. She is righteous, whereas I, out of a single wicked thought, denied her my son Shelah.

Thus, Judah, having unjustly denied Tamar when she lawfully sought marriage, vindicated her when she fell into sin. The one he cast out for the deaths of his first two sons he returned to himself and took into his household for the sake of his other two sons. Yet he did not take her as his wife, for she had been the wife of his first two sons. Nor did he take another wife for himself, for she was the mother of his other two sons.

Chapter 39 #

“Joseph was brought down to Egypt by the Midianites. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, bought him” (Gen. 39:1). Potiphar became wealthy through Joseph, just as Laban had prospered through his father. The wife of Potiphar grew fond of Joseph and said to him, “Lie with me” (Gen. 39:7). But when all her cunning efforts could not sway him, she resorted to deceit and lured him into her chamber. When she “caught him by his garment,” and he, “leaving his garment in her hand, fled… and got him out” (Gen. 39:12), she, fearing ridicule from her servants, cried out loudly. Those in the household gathered, not to witness what she intended to do, but to hear what she intended to say.

Joseph could have fled further and returned to his father’s house, but flight was abhorrent to one who had already escaped from adultery. He resolved to endure patiently and await the fulfillment of his dreams. Potiphar, upon hearing his wife’s words and having them corroborated by the gathered witnesses, also saw Joseph’s garment, which seemed to bear testimony against him. Thus, he cast Joseph into prison, stripped of his garment, just as he had been cast into the pit in the wilderness, also stripped of his clothing.

Chapter 40 #

The one who had been a source of comfort to the servants in Potiphar’s house brought consolation also to the prisoners with whom he was confined. In the prison, he interpreted two dreams for two of Pharaoh’s servants. One was hanged on the very day Joseph foretold, while the other, according to Joseph’s interpretation, was restored to his position and again served Pharaoh the cup. Joseph asked this cupbearer to remember him before Pharaoh. Yet the result of his words, “Remember me” (Gen. 40:14), was that Joseph was forgotten for two whole years.

Chapter 41 #

“And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed a dream” (Gen. 41:1). Pharaoh saw in his dream two kinds of grain and two kinds of cattle. The meaning of the dream was not difficult for anyone to discern, but to ensure that Joseph would be the interpreter, the meaning of the dream was hidden from Pharaoh’s wise men. When the cupbearer, after two years, reminded Pharaoh of Joseph, Pharaoh sent to bring him out of the prison. Thus, the hair that sorrow had grown on Joseph was cut away by joy, and the filthy garment that grief had placed upon him was removed by gladness.

Joseph came before Pharaoh, listened to the dreams, and perceived the calamity that was about to strike the Egyptians. Then, after revealing the true meaning of the dreams, he added wise counsel for Pharaoh: “Let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise… and set him over the land of Egypt… And let them gather all the food… of the good years that come… And that food shall be for store… against the seven years of famine… that the land perish not through the famine” (Gen. 41:33, 35–36). By saying “look out a man,” Joseph had himself in mind, yet out of humility did not name himself. Nor did he point to anyone else, for he knew that no one but he could deliver the Egyptians from the great calamity that was to come upon them.

Joseph was exalted in Pharaoh’s eyes by the interpretation of the dreams and especially by the prudent advice he offered. Pharaoh gave Joseph authority over his entire kingdom and placed on his hand the signet ring with which royal treasures were sealed. What had never before been given to any Egyptian, Pharaoh publicly gave to Joseph, placing the ring on his finger in the sight of all the people. With the ring, authority over everything was transferred to him. “I am Pharaoh; and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt” (Gen. 41:44). Along with all else placed under Joseph’s authority were the commanders and royal officials.

When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, his former master, Potiphar, was present. Seeing that his former servant had risen to be second only to Pharaoh, Potiphar returned home with the same haste as when he had once gone to his wife, who had come out to meet him, to falsely accuse Joseph. He said to her, “Joseph, who was once our servant, has now become our master. The one whom we cast into prison without clothing, Pharaoh has clothed in royal robes. The one we threw among prisoners now rides in Pharaoh’s chariot. He who was bound with iron fetters now wears a golden chain around his neck. How can I now lift my eyes to gaze upon the one I dared not even glance at before?”

But his wife replied, “Fear not him to whom you did no harm. He knows whether his disgrace was justly or unjustly inflicted when he was cast out of our house, for he endured this from my hands. Go now without fear, joining the other nobles and commanders who accompany his chariot, so that Joseph will not think we are grieved by his present greatness. And to prove that Joseph is not vengeful, despite my former lies, I will confess the whole truth. I loved Joseph when I slandered him; I held him by his garment because I was overcome by his beauty. If he is a lover of truth, he may take vengeance on me, not on you. But surely, in his love of truth, he will not take vengeance on me either, for had he not been slandered, he would not have been cast into prison. And had he not been in prison, he would not have interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams or achieved the greatness you now describe to me. Though we did not elevate him to this height, we nonetheless contributed to it, for the humiliation we brought upon him became the cause of his exaltation, making him second only to Pharaoh.”

Potiphar went and, along with the nobles, escorted Joseph’s chariot through the streets. Joseph did no harm to him, for he understood that the One who had allowed his brothers to cast him into the pit in the wilderness and send him to Egypt in chains had also allowed Potiphar to cast him into prison, that through this humiliation he might be raised to Pharaoh’s chariot.

Joseph began gathering grain and collected it yearly in all the cities of Egypt. When the years of plenty ended and the years of famine began, Joseph showed his care for orphans, widows, and all the poor in Egypt, leaving no one neglected. If the famine had been limited to Egypt, the country would have had no reason to fear, for Joseph had stored an abundance of grain. But the famine spread across the entire earth, and all nations were in need of Egyptian grain. As a result, even the Egyptians had to pay high prices for their food. Scripture, showing the universality of the famine, says, “And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands” (Gen. 41:57).

Chapter 42 #

When the famine reached Jacob’s household, Jacob said to his sons, “Fear not. Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: go down thither, and buy for us… that we may live, and not die” (Gen. 42:2). Jacob’s words, “Fear not,” indicate that his sons were truly afraid, and his statement, “I have heard that there is corn in Egypt,” shows that there was no bread left anywhere in their land. His further words, “Buy for us… that we may live, and not die,” reveal the dire need Jacob’s sons, along with all the land of Canaan, were suffering due to the famine.

The brothers “came to Joseph, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth” (Gen. 42:6). He recognized them, knowing that they, like all the Canaanites, were tormented by the famine as if burned on a frying pan. He had already been concerned for them, saying to himself, “When will they come to buy bread for themselves?” Yet, upon seeing his brothers, Joseph pretended not to know them and “spake roughly unto them… Ye are spies” (Gen. 42:7, 9). The brothers responded, “We do not know the Egyptian language, which we could use to gain the Egyptians’ trust and uncover their intentions. We live in the land of Canaan, as you may judge from what we have brought with us. Furthermore, we are twelve brothers, and we cannot all have one evil desire—to act as spies. We have come to you willingly, which itself testifies that there is no deceit in us. Since we do not know the Egyptian language and our clothing is not Egyptian, it is clear that we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, both by birth and by number. We are known everywhere; and behold, one of us is with our father today, and another is not” (Gen. 42:13).

Joseph reflected that his dreams had not yet fully come to pass (for in his dream, eleven stars bowed to him, but before him were only ten brothers). He continued to conceal his identity, not wanting to become the cause of his dreams being perceived as false. Therefore, he said to his brothers, “Only when you bring your youngest brother to me will you prove to me that you are indeed brothers.” He then cast them into prison for three days, that they might experience a taste of the sorrow Joseph had endured for many years in captivity.

Afterward, Joseph meditated on his dreams, recalling that in his vision, his brothers had bowed to him twice—once in the form of sheaves and once as stars. From this, he concluded that when his brothers bowed to him a second time, the time would come to reveal himself to them. Thus, he took Simeon and bound him in the presence of his other brothers, intending to learn what they had told their father about Joseph’s disappearance. Joseph also knew that Simeon’s children and wife would press Jacob to send Benjamin to Egypt. Moreover, Simeon may have shown greater cruelty toward Joseph when the brothers had bound and sold him.

However, this act cannot be seen as an expression of vengeful wrath, for when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he embraced them with love. Yet, since the one who had most desired to bind Joseph was now himself bound, the brothers could see this as a just recompense. Indeed, they said to one another, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear” (Gen. 42:21). Joseph overheard Reuben reminding his brothers that he had urged them not to cast Joseph into the pit. Remembering this, Joseph wept—not because of what his brothers had done to him, but because of how God had raised him from that humiliation to such great heights.

When Joseph’s brothers returned home with provisions for their journey, they informed their father of the misfortunes they had encountered on their trip. They recounted how they had been mocked by the Egyptians, accused of being spies, humiliated, and now could only escape their predicament by bringing Benjamin to Egypt. While some were speaking to Jacob, others began opening their sacks and found their silver returned in each one’s sack. Jacob was grieved by their troubles, particularly over Simeon, who was bound in prison. The sons pleaded daily with Jacob to send Benjamin with them, but Jacob, fearing that Benjamin might suffer the same fate as his brother, refused to yield to their request.

Chapter 43 #

When the bread was exhausted, and all the household suffered from hunger, Jacob’s sons approached him, saying: “Have mercy on Simeon for the sake of his children, and agree to be without the youngest son for a few days for the sake of Simeon’s wife, who is now bereft of her husband.” Jacob, himself enduring hunger, reluctantly allowed Benjamin to go with them and sent them off with his blessing, saying: “As I have lost Rachel, so am I now bereft of Rachel’s sons.” Then Judah sought to comfort his father, saying: “If I bring him not back to thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever” (Gen. 43:9).

They took “of the best fruits of the land” (Gen. 43:11)—spices, balm, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and other items—and journeyed to Egypt, where they presented themselves before Joseph. Joseph instructed the steward of his house to bring his brothers into his home. Troubled by the sight of Joseph’s servants unloading their beasts and carrying their goods into the house, they said to one another: “Our father is deprived of Benjamin, and we shall no longer see his face. For the silver was intentionally placed in our sacks. Even if we escape the accusation of being spies, we will be taken as thieves and enslaved. Let us confess to the steward that the silver was found in our sacks before they inspect our goods and accuse us of theft. As Benjamin’s arrival clears us of the charge of spying, so will our confession free us from suspicion of stealing.”

Approaching “the steward of Joseph’s house” (Gen. 43:19), the brothers said: “When we bought corn here and returned, we opened our sacks and found each man’s silver in his sack (Gen. 43:21). Behold, we return it to you, for it is unjust to take with the corn the price thereof.” Observing their fear, the steward reassured them: “Peace be to you, fear not (Gen. 43:23). You are not brought here because of the silver I received, but because my master desires to see you, knowing your honesty. You are not here to be condemned for what you did not do. On the contrary, my lord has called you to dine at his table. My master is just, and by the honor he bestows on you now, he seeks to erase the disgrace you suffered previously.”

Then “Joseph came into the house, and they brought him the presents… and bowed themselves” with trembling. “And he asked them, How are you?” and they were comforted. He asked about their father: “Is he yet alive?” and they were reassured. He inquired about their brother, saying, “Is this your youngest brother?” and he blessed Benjamin, saying: “God be gracious unto thee, my son” (Gen. 43:26–27, 29). At this, all their fear vanished. Joseph gave his blessing to Benjamin in the Egyptian tongue, but the interpreter conveyed it to the brothers.

Joseph’s “heart yearned upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber and wept there” (Gen. 43:30). He prepared a joyful feast for them, and during the meal, Joseph sat apart, the Egyptians sat apart, and his brothers also sat separately (Gen. 43:32). Joseph, as though divining with his cup, arranged their seats in order of age: the eldest in the place of honor, the youngest in the least.

It is remarkable that the brothers did not recognize Joseph, even when he supplied their needs for their journey, returned their silver for the first purchase of corn, imprisoned Simeon and demanded Benjamin, inquired about their elderly father, treated them with apparent disdain, brought them into his house, blessed Benjamin, and demonstrated knowledge of each brother’s name. Although Joseph’s appearance was disguised, and his grandeur misled them, they could have recalled his dreams. Yet if they failed to recognize him due to his rank, language, and stern manner, it was by God’s will, who concealed Joseph from them until his dreams were fulfilled upon those who had sold him, intending to render those dreams false.

Chapter 44 #

Joseph’s brothers, having eaten, drunk, and rested, set off on their journey. In Benjamin’s sack, the steward had secretly placed the silver cup, and in each man’s sack, their returned silver. Joseph’s steward pursued them as commanded by his master, overtook them, and addressed them with stern accusations.

Confident in their innocence, they replied: “With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen” (Gen. 44:9). They hastily opened their sacks. The steward began his search with Reuben’s sack, and, finding no cup in the sacks of the elder brothers, lamented aloud that he could not now return to his own country. Joseph’s brothers tried to comfort him, saying: “Search the sacks of the younger brothers and return quickly, for perhaps you will find the cup in your master’s house.” The steward, as if following their counsel, placed his hand into one sack where the cup was not, intending to cease his search. But when Benjamin urged him to examine his sack as well, the steward, pretending indifference, placed his hand inside and drew out the cup.

The brothers were speechless. They could neither accuse Benjamin, for the cup was found in his sack, nor absolve him, for their silver had previously been returned to their sacks. Overwhelmed by the calamity that had befallen them, “they rent their clothes… and returned” (Gen. 44:13), this time with tears, to the house they had left with joy. Joseph, feigning anger in the manner of the Egyptians, reproached them: “What deed is this that ye have done? You claimed to be honest men, and at the great feast prepared for you, we proclaimed your honesty among the Egyptians. Now you have become a mockery in their eyes, for you have stolen the cup by which I divine for all Egypt. Knew ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?” (Gen. 44:15). They might have surmised this from how Joseph struck the cup when assigning their places at the feast.

Judah replied: “God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants”—not this specific crime, but another sin for which they were now receiving their just recompense. “Behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also with whom the cup is found” (Gen. 44:16). Joseph responded: “God forbid that I should do so.” For the Egyptians prided themselves on such lofty integrity that they would not even eat bread with the Hebrews, lest they defile themselves. How, then, could they act contrary to their sense of justice? Justice forbids punishing the innocent for the guilty. “The man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant” (Gen. 44:17). For him, servitude will be better than freedom, for this servitude will free him from the vice of theft and will be more beneficial than the freedom that made him a slave to his passions.

Chapter 45 #

Judah spoke tenderly to Joseph, moving him with his love for his brothers until Joseph was overcome. He not only returned Benjamin to them, as they had hoped, but also revealed himself to them, something they had not expected. Joseph ordered everyone to leave the room, for while he had judged them publicly for their supposed crime, he wished to judge the real crime without witnesses. When all departed in astonishment, Joseph changed his language and tone, speaking directly in Hebrew without a translator: “I am Joseph, your brother.” But “his brothers could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence” (Gen. 45:3). They feared that now, with their guilt exposed, Joseph would deliver them to death. Joseph, however, worried that if he said, “I am the one whom you sold into slavery,” the Egyptians outside might overhear and scorn his brothers. Therefore, he said, “Come near to me.” And when they came closer, he softly continued, “I am Joseph… whom ye sold into Egypt” (Gen. 45:4).

Seeing their sadness and their shame, which kept them from looking at him, Joseph comforted them: “Now therefore be not grieved… that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life… there are yet five years of famine; in which there shall neither be plowing nor harvest” (Gen. 45:5–6). He added, “Make haste and go up to my father, and say unto him, God hath made me lord… not only over my brothers, as my dreams foretold, but over all Egypt, something my dreams never promised” (Gen. 45:9). He further instructed them to tell their father, “of all my glory in Egypt” (Gen. 45:13), so that he might praise God for all that had come to pass.

Afterward, Joseph embraced Benjamin, and they wept on each other’s necks. Joseph also embraced and kissed his other brothers. Once they were convinced that Joseph harbored no anger against them, they opened their mouths and began to converse freely with him.

When their private conversation ended, the nobles and commanders of Egypt entered with joyful faces: “And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants” (Gen. 45:16). For they now understood that it was not a mere slave who had risen to be Pharaoh’s counselor and the master of all Egypt’s free men and nobles, but a son of free men, descended from the blessed house of Abraham.

Joseph, providing his brothers with clothing, chariots, and all the riches of Egypt, sent them to bring their father to Egypt. “Then he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way” (Gen. 45:24). With these words, Joseph forbade them to reproach one another, as if to say: “Do not accuse one another, saying, ‘You advised casting Joseph into the pit,’ or, ‘No, you insisted on selling Joseph, naked and in chains, to the Ishmaelites.’ As I have forgiven you all, so also should you forgive one another, lest your present joy turn to sorrow through quarrels and accusations.”

The brothers departed, rejoicing that they had found Joseph, yet anxious about how they would explain themselves to their father. Upon arriving, they recounted everything to Jacob. Seeing the chariots and gifts, Jacob readily believed them. “And his spirit revived” (Gen. 45:27), and he said, “Great… this is for us all, but even more for me, that Joseph my son is yet alive” (Gen. 45:28). When they told Jacob of Joseph’s glory, his wisdom in governance, and his final judgment of them, which was more painful than the first, their father asked, “Why did you not ask Joseph how and why he went to Egypt?” They all looked at one another, unsure of how to reply. At last, Judah opened his mouth and said:

“Let us confess our wrongdoing. From Joseph’s dreams, my brothers, in their simplicity, concluded that you and we would become his servants. In their ignorance, they devised that it was better for him alone to be a slave than for us and you to be enslaved. Thus, they acted out of care for you and Benjamin, not because you loved Joseph more. For you love Benjamin as well, and since he does not say that we will serve him, we all love him too. Therefore, forgive us for humiliating Joseph, for that humiliation raised him to greatness.”

Jacob accepted their justification and said: “For the good news about Joseph, which has brought me joy, your sin is forgiven, though the report of it once caused me sorrow.”

Chapter 46 #

Jacob and all his household prepared to go down to Egypt. But since Jacob feared that the Egyptian practices of divination might harm his sons, God appeared to him and said: “Fear not to go down into Egypt” (Gen. 46:3). And because Jacob also thought that, due to Egypt’s abundance, his sons might remain there forever, causing the promise to remain unfulfilled, God further assured him: “I will go down with thee… and I will surely bring thee up again.” Finally, as Jacob feared that Joseph might die soon, God added: “And Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes” (Gen. 46:4).

After this, Jacob arose and, with joy, journeyed to Egypt with seventy souls, including Joseph and Joseph’s two sons. Joseph came out to meet his father with chariots and a great company of people. When he met Jacob, he bowed before him, and they wept together on each other’s necks.

Chapter 47 #

Joseph instructed his brothers to say before Pharaoh, “Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers” (Gen. 47:3), so that Pharaoh would settle them in the land of Goshen, thus separating them from those who worshipped sheep and calves. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell…” Then Joseph “brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh… and went out from before Pharaoh” (Gen. 47:6–7, 10).

At first, Joseph sold grain to the Egyptians for silver. When their silver was depleted, he sold grain in exchange for livestock. Finally, to sustain them, he sold grain for their fields, “only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion” (Gen. 47:22). In the seventh year of the famine, Joseph provided the Egyptians with seed and “made it a law… that Pharaoh should have the fifth part” (Gen. 47:26).

“And the time drew nigh that Israel must die,” and he said to Joseph, “Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh” (Gen. 47:29). Just as Abraham bound Eliezer with the covenant of circumcision, so did Joseph swear to Jacob that he would bury him “with his fathers,” and Jacob “bowed himself upon the bed’s head” (Gen. 47:30–31).

Chapter 48 #

“And it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, ‘Behold, thy father is sick.’ And he took with him his two sons” (Gen. 48:1) and brought them to Jacob to receive his blessing before his death. “And Jacob said… God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz…, when I lay down to sleep with a stone for my pillow, and blessed me. And He said unto me: Behold, I will make thee a multitude of nations” (that is, tribes). “And now… Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance” (Gen. 48:3–6). “And he said… Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them” (Gen. 48:9).

As Jacob blessed Manasseh, the firstborn, “he crossed his hands, and laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, who was the younger” (Gen. 48:14). In this act, he traced the sign of the cross, prefiguring the mystery that the firstborn of Israel would be diminished, as Manasseh was, and the Gentiles would be exalted, as Ephraim was. While blessing the children, Jacob said: “God bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac” (Gen. 48:16)—that is, they would be called the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph, however, sought to move his father’s right hand to Manasseh’s head, but Jacob refused, saying: “He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he” (Gen. 48:19). And, emphasizing the superiority of the younger over the elder, he added: “In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh” (Gen. 48:20).

“And Jacob said to Joseph: Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow” (Gen. 48:21–22). This refers to the portion he had purchased for a hundred sheep (Gen. 33:19), gained through his pastoral labors. While blessing Rachel’s son, Jacob sorrowfully recalled Rachel’s death, caused by the birth of her child.

Chapter 49 #

The Blessing of Jacob

“And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days” (Gen. 49:1). Because Joseph had come to his father, and because Jacob was near death, his sons gathered together on that day and came to their father’s house, as they did not all live in the same dwelling but each apart. Joseph sat with them, surrounded by his brothers, waiting—not so much to receive a blessing or a curse, but to hear what “shall befall them in the last days.”

Jacob then opened his mouth and said: “Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength” (Gen. 49:3). From this, we may infer that Jacob remained in chastity for eighty-four years until he took Leah as his wife. “Thou art my might, and the beginning of my strength.” This means: you are the son of my youth, while your brothers were born of what remained of my vigor and strength. Alternatively, it may mean: if you were like me in virtue, the double portion of the firstborn’s inheritance would rightfully belong to you. “Unstable as water,” which, leaving the ground it waters, moves to quench another (Gen. 49:4). From the words “unstable as water,” we may reasonably conclude that Reuben had a wife, yet he left her, and, without need or thirst, desired stolen waters. “Unstable as water; thou shalt not excel”—that is, you shall not have a distinct tribe. Therefore, when Moses blessed the tribe of Reuben, he said: “Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few” (Deut. 33:6). “Because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed.” It is likely Reuben entered Bilhah’s bed while she slept, which is why Bilhah is not cursed with him. “Thou defiledst my couch with a loathsome deed, which thou committedst upon it” (or, by “couch,” a wife is implied) (Gen. 49:4).

After addressing Reuben, Jacob turned to his next two sons, saying: “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations” (Gen. 49:5), referring to their secret plot to first circumcise and then kill the Shechemites—a plot of which Jacob was unaware. “O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united”—when they entered Shechem to slay its inhabitants with the sword, God struck fear into the surrounding nations. Though I expected destruction at their hands, God preserved me from the disgrace they sought to bring upon me (Gen. 49:6). “For in their anger they slew a man”—not justly, for only Shechem should have been punished for defiling their sister, not the inhabitants of the whole city. “And in their self-will they digged down a wall” (Gen. 49:6)—this refers to their destruction of the houses of the city. “Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel” (Gen. 49:7), for their rage against the Shechemites did not abate even after many days, from the time they demanded Dinah’s hand for Shechem until the men of Shechem underwent circumcision and suffered from it. “I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel”—meaning, I will separate them from each other. After the curse, they will no longer have the unity they once shared, as when they acted together without informing their brothers of their plan to avenge Dinah’s dishonor. “I will divide them in Jacob,” separating them among Jacob’s sons, “and scatter them in Israel” (Gen. 49:7), distributing them among the tribes of Israel.

This division is evident in the story of Zimri, a descendant of Simeon, and Phinehas, a descendant of Levi. Just as Simeon and Levi had conspired to kill many for the sake of a woman, so, after the curse, Phinehas killed a descendant of Simeon and his Midianite wife for the same reason. God not only divided Simeon and Levi in their thoughts, rendering their former unity unprofitable, but also scattered their tribes among the others. The tribe of Levi was scattered, with its inheritance distributed across all the tribes, and Levi received no distinct portion as the other brothers did. Similarly, the descendants of Simeon, having a small inheritance, were forced to migrate and settle in the borders of the other tribes’ territories.

“Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise,” for restraining your brothers from shedding Joseph’s blood. If you had not advised sparing Joseph’s life, there would not have arisen from him two tribes, and the other tribes would have perished in the famine. Therefore, because you preserved your brothers from the sin of murder and from death by starvation, “thy brethren shall praise thee” for these two deeds. For by your hand they were delivered from both (Gen. 49:8). “Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies,” foretelling the victories of David’s kingdom, which descended from Judah. It is promised that David will subdue all nations, from the sea to the River Euphrates.

“From the prey, my son, thou art gone up”—either referring to how Judah refrained from executing Tamar and her two sons or how he refused to consent to the murder of Joseph. “He stooped down, he couched as a lion”—not as an aged lion reclining in his inheritance, but as a “young lion,” fearless and bold. The phrase “he couched as a lion” may also refer to Judah’s inheritance, indicating that no one shall take this portion from him (Gen. 49:9). However, Jacob speaks of the kingdom which could not be wrested from Judah’s tribe, though it was oppressed and humbled, for this kingdom was preserved in Judah’s lineage for the Lord of the kingdom. Clarifying that he refers to royal dignity passed to the Lord, Jacob adds: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,” meaning the kingly rule, “nor a lawgiver from between his feet,” meaning the prophet who foretells future events, “until Shiloh come,” not David, whose greatness was magnified by the kingdom, but Jesus, the Son of David, who is the Lord of the kingdom. Thus, the king and prophet shall not depart from Judah’s house “until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:10).

If not so, let them show me kings of Judah who preceded David and preserved royal dignity for him. If no kings arose from Judah before David, it is evident that David and his descendants transmitted and preserved the kingdom for the Son and Lord of David, who is the Lord of the kingdom. While the prophecy from “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise” to “the sceptre shall not depart from Judah” may be applied to Judah and David’s kingdom, the words “until Shiloh come, and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” must clearly refer to the Son of God, not David or his descendants. The phrase “until Shiloh come” indicates that all previous kings were merely stewards of the kingdom, passing on royal dignity that did not belong to them as their own. “And unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” refers to the Church of the Gentiles (Gen. 49:10).

“Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine” (Gen. 49:11). The vine symbolizes the synagogue, as David also calls it (Ps. 80:9–16). The phrase “binding his foal unto the vine” means that His kingdom was bound to the synagogue and entrusted to it. This is also implied earlier: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah… until Shiloh come.” When our Lord came, He bound His foal to the true vine so that He might fulfill, not only in Himself all prophecies, but also the images entrusted to the Jews. When the Lord entered the temple in Jerusalem, outside the temple was a vine to which He bound His foal, or, in the village from which He came, the foal was bound to the vine, as He said to His disciples: “Ye shall find a colt tied… loose him and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? Say ye that the Lord hath need of him” (Mark 11:2–3).

“He washed His garments in wine”—that is, He washed His body with His own blood—“and His clothes in the blood of grapes” (Gen. 49:11), meaning that He cleansed His flesh, which was the garment of His divinity, with His own blood. “His eyes shall be red with wine,” for the clarity of His thoughts is brighter than the purest wine, “and His teeth white with milk,” signifying the beauty and purity of His teachings (Gen. 49:12).

“Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens” (Gen. 49:14). This refers to Gideon, who called others through messengers to attack the Midianites. With only three hundred men, he strengthened himself and attacked the vast camp of his enemies, numbering thousands. “And he saw that rest was good”—that is, the land of his inheritance—“and the land that it was pleasant,” flowing with milk and honey. Though his inheritance was no better than that of the other tribes, Issachar surpassed the others in gratitude. “And bowed his shoulder to bear”—not to serve the Gentiles, but to serve God—“and became a servant unto tribute” (Gen. 49:15), meaning that his descendants willingly offered tithes from their flocks and produce to the Levites.

“Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea,” meaning he will settle near maritime harbors. “And he shall be for an haven of ships,” signifying he will engage in trade, transporting goods by sea. “And his border shall be unto Zidon,” a city also situated by the sea (Gen. 49:13).

“Dan shall judge his people,” referring to Samson, who judged Israel for twenty years. “As one of the tribes of Israel,” indicating that, though Dan was one of Jacob’s sons, he would hold authority among his brethren, like any of the freeborn sons of Jacob. “Dan shall be a serpent by the way,” dwelling in mountainous places, like the serpents of the Sinai wilderness that lift their heads from the dust. “An adder in the path,” indicating that just as travelers fear serpents in untrodden places and adders lurking by the road, so the Philistines would fear Samson, whether traveling on well-worn paths or through unmarked terrain. “That biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward,” symbolizing the famine Samson inflicted on the Philistines when he burned their fields with foxes, causing their downfall like a horse that crushes its rider. Without bread, they would fall, hopeless and desolate, as if struck down. “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord,” may refer to the Philistines seeking deliverance from God when they captured the Ark of the Covenant, or it may speak of the children of Dan, or Jacob might mean all Israel, teaching that all past deliverers were only figures of the great salvation to be accomplished for all nations by the true Savior, Jesus (Gen. 49:17–18).

“Gad, a troop shall overcome him,” referring to the forty thousand armed men who led the six hundred thousand Israelites with their children, wives, and flocks. “But he shall overcome at the last,” meaning he will lead the multitude, as the heel follows the foot (Gen. 49:19).

“Asher’s bread shall be fat,” indicating a land of abundance, as Moses also said: “Asher… shall dip his foot in oil.” This likely refers to the fertile lands Asher inherited. “And he shall yield royal dainties,” such as pure oil and the finest wines (Gen. 49:20).

“Naphtali is a hind let loose,” swift and unrestrained, “he giveth goodly words,” not only delivering messages but also speaking eloquent words himself. This refers to Barak, who brought good news to those fleeing the might and strength of Sisera (Gen. 49:21).

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall.” He is called “fruitful” because he was well nurtured from his youth. Like a tree planted by a well, he was surrounded by God’s protection, sustained by faith, and supported by his royal dignity and his brothers. His sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were as branches spreading on either side. “The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him,” meaning the patriarchs of the tribes, his brothers, opposed him and sold him to the Egyptians. “But his bow abode in strength,” for he became master and lord over his brothers. “And the arms of his hands were made strong,” though he had the power to destroy his brothers, he was not moved by anger, which is likened here to the strength of the arms. Instead, his arms were weakened by love. “By the hands of the mighty God of Jacob,” who supported Joseph because of Jacob’s faith, and “by the name of the Shepherd,” who guided Israel through the wilderness and provided bread from heaven and water from the rock.

“Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee,” granting you victory over your enemies, “and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above,” such as abundant rain and dew to nourish the crops. “Blessings of the deep that lieth under,” signifying rivers and fountains watering his inheritance. “Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb,” describing the tender love with which a mother blesses her nursing child and the affection with which a father blesses his beloved son.

“The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors,” meaning the blessings Jacob gave to Joseph surpassed those Jacob himself had received. “Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills,” referring to the blessings of Isaac, received on the mountain where he was offered in sacrifice. “They shall be on the head of Joseph,” making him a crown among his brothers in Egypt and, in the future, a ruler over his inheritance (Gen. 49:22–26).

“Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey,” referring to victories over the Arabs, Sennacherib, and Gog’s people, “and at night he shall divide the spoil,” signifying the time of peace in Jerusalem, when Benjamin will share the spoils with Judah, who dwells with him (Gen. 49:27).

Up to this point, we have spoken of Jacob’s blessings in a literal sense; now let us speak of them in a spiritual sense. In addressing them literally, we have not said as much as we ought, and in addressing them spiritually, we will likewise fall short of what is due. If what we have said in the literal sense is insufficient, what we will say spiritually is even more so.

“Reuben… thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength… unstable as water, thou shalt not excel” (Gen. 49:3–4). As Jacob’s firstborn was cursed for his transgression by the just judgment of Jacob, but his curse was later lifted by Moses, a descendant of Jacob, so too was Adam condemned to death by God for transgressing the commandment, but the Son of God came and annulled this judgment with the promise of resurrection, spoken to Adam when he was sent out of Paradise.

“Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations” (Gen. 49:5). They are a figure of Satan and death. Simeon and Levi, in their anger, destroyed a city and, out of greed, plundered the possessions of the Shechemites. Similarly, Satan, out of envy, subjected the whole world to death, as Simeon and Levi slew the Shechemites openly. Death, with equal ferocity, took possession of all bodies, just as Simeon and Levi took the Shechemites’ goods. But now those secretly slain by sin are raised by the Gospel of our Lord, and the dead, who had been held by the tormenting grip of death, are raised by the blessed promise of the Son of God.

Zebulun, dwelling by the seashore, represents the Gentile nations living near the prophets. Just as Zebulun’s border extended “unto Zidon” (Gen. 49:13), so too was sin, depicted by Sidon, close to these nations. This corresponds to the prophet’s words: “What have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon?” (Joel 3:4).

“Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens” (Gen. 49:14). He prefigures the One who captures transgressors of righteousness but brings them to life through repentance. “And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant” (Gen. 49:15), meaning He sees that His Church is good, and His dwelling is holy, and so He bends His neck under the cross, becoming the Redeemer from sin.

“Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel” (Gen. 49:16). If Dan’s descendants judged their people, how much more shall He who is from Judah and to whom the kingdom belongs judge all nations? For our Lord became a serpent to the ancient serpent and the basilisk of Satan, just as the bronze serpent was raised to counter the serpents in the wilderness. Since the salvation of a single person, however great, is insufficient for the world, Jacob, in the Spirit, speaks of salvation for all humanity: “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord” (Gen. 49:18).

“Gad, a troop shall overcome him” (Gen. 49:19). This refers to the forty thousand armed men leading the children of Israel. Spiritually, however, it signifies the twelve apostles, who went forth before all nations to attack the thief and rescue the people he held in bondage.

“Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties” (Gen. 49:20). This represents the Church, which offers forgiveness of sins and the healing of life not only to kings but also to all the armies accompanying them.

“Naphtali is a hind let loose; he giveth goodly words” (Gen. 49:21). When the Lord taught in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, those who heard Him brought the good news and proclaimed: “Here is the One we have been waiting for.”

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall” (Gen. 49:22). As Jacob, instead of his firstborn Reuben, relied on Joseph, so too, instead of the first Adam, who grieved God, the Son of God became the world’s support, for upon Him, like a pillar, the whole world is established. “A well” refers to the strength of brothers and sons surrounding Him. The world is fortified by the strength of our Lord through the prophets and apostles. Just as Joseph was a wall for his brothers, feeding them in famine, so our Lord became a spiritual wall for the world given to error. Tribal leaders rose against Joseph, just as the rulers of nations rose against our Lord. “His bow abode in strength,” for both Joseph and our Lord subdued their enemies. “The arms of his hands were made strong,” for neither struck arrows against their brothers. “By the hands of the mighty one of Jacob,” signifying the Son, who is called the rock that followed Israel in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:4).

“Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil” (Gen. 49:27). This prefigures Paul, who became a wolf against wolves, rescuing souls from the power of the wicked. “At night he shall divide the spoil,” meaning at the world’s end, he will enter into rest and receive abundant reward for his labors.

Chapter 50 #

Jacob, having blessed his sons, died at the age of one hundred and forty-seven years. Joseph, along with the elders of Egypt and all his father’s household, went to bury Jacob with his ancestors. Afterward, Joseph and all who accompanied him returned to Egypt. Jacob’s brothers, fearing Joseph, said: “Thy father did command before he died, saying: Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil.” Upon hearing this, Joseph wept and said: “Fear not: for am I in the place of God? Although your father has died, the God of your father still lives. For His sake, I will not harm you, because what you intended for evil, God meant for good, to save many people alive as it is this day. Therefore, I will not harm those who were the cause of the preservation of many lives. As I have not failed to care for you here in Egypt, so I ask that you care for my bones when the time comes.”

He bound them with an oath, saying: “God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. If I do not inherit the promised land with you, then I will rise with you in the resurrection.” And Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old, “and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt” (Gen. 50:24–26).

** Conclusion** #

God, who created all things by His word out of nothing, did not at first commit this knowledge to writing, for the origin of all creation was revealed to Adam’s understanding. The generations nearest to him learned this from their ancestors. However, when humanity turned away from God and fell into ignorance concerning His works, God delivered this knowledge through Moses in writing for the people of Israel, because mankind had corrupted the natural witness to the creation of all beings. Moses wrote in the wilderness what had been revealed to Adam’s mind in Paradise.

From the early nations, who knew this truth without writings; from the nation that received it in Scripture and believed; from the later nations, who accepted the Scriptures from God’s people; and from those who still cling to their sacrifices and have not believed—unto God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit be glory and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages! Amen and Amen.

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