20 And Noah built an altar to Jehovah; and took of every clean animal, and of all clean fowl, and offered up burnt-offerings on the altar.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the animals which ye shall eat of all the beasts which are on the earth. Whatever hath cloven hoofs, and feet quite split open, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts -- that shall ye eat. Only these shall ye not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those with cloven hoofs: the camel, for it cheweth the cud, but hath not cloven hoofs -- it shall be unclean unto you; and the rock-badger, for it cheweth the cud, but hath not cloven hoofs -- it shall be unclean unto you; and the hare, for it cheweth the cud, but hath not cloven hoofs -- it shall be unclean unto you; and the swine, for it hath cloven hoofs, and feet quite split open, but it cheweth not the cud -- it shall be unclean unto you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch: they shall be unclean unto you. These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatever hath fins and scales in waters, in seas and in rivers, these shall ye eat; but all that have not fins and scales in seas and in rivers, of all that swarm in the waters, and of every living soul which is in the waters -- they shall be an abomination unto you. They shall be even an abomination unto you: of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase ye shall have in abomination. Whatever in the waters hath no fins and scales, that shall be an abomination unto you. And these shall ye have in abomination of the fowls; they shall not be eaten; an abomination shall they be: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the sea-eagle, and the falcon, and the kite, after its kind; every raven after its kind; and the female ostrich and the male ostrich, and the sea-gull, and the hawk, after its kind; and the owl, and the gannet, and the ibis, and the swan, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture, and the stork; the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat. Every winged crawling thing that goeth upon all four shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these shall ye eat of every winged crawling thing that goeth upon all four: those which have legs above their feet with which to leap upon the earth. These shall ye eat of them: the arbeh after its kind, and the solam after its kind, and the hargol after its kind, and the hargab after its kind. But every winged crawling thing that hath four feet shall be an abomination unto you. And by these ye shall make yourselves unclean; whoever toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. And whoever carrieth [ought] of their carcase shall wash his garments, and be unclean until the even. Every beast that hath cloven hoofs, but not feet quite split open, nor cheweth the cud, shall be unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. And whatever goeth on its paws, among all manner of beasts that go upon all four, those are unclean unto you: whoever toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. And he that carrieth their carcase shall wash his garments, and be unclean until the even: they shall be unclean unto you. And these shall be unclean unto you among the crawling things which crawl on the earth: the mole, and the field-mouse, and the lizard, after its kind; and the groaning lizard, and the great red lizard, and the climbing lizard, and the chomet, and the chameleon. These shall be unclean unto you among all that crawl: whoever toucheth them when they are dead, shall be unclean until the even. And on whatever any of them when they are dead doth fall, it shall be unclean; all vessels of wood, or garment, or skin, or sack, every vessel wherewith work is done -- it shall be put into water, and be unclean until the even; then shall it be clean. And every earthen vessel into which [any] of them falleth -- whatever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. All food that is eaten on which [such] water hath come shall be unclean; and all drink that is drunk shall be unclean, in every [such] vessel. And everything where upon [any part] of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; oven and hearth shall be broken down: they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. Nevertheless, a spring or a well, a quantity of water, shall be clean. But he that toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing-seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean; but if water have been put on the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. And if any beast which is to you for food die, he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. And he that eateth of its carcase shall wash his garments, and be unclean until the even: he also that carrieth its carcase shall wash his garments, and be unclean until the even. And every crawling thing which crawleth on the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. Whatever goeth on the belly, and whatever goeth on all four, and all that have a great many feet, of every manner of crawling thing which crawleth on the earth -- these ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. Ye shall not make yourselves abominable through any crawling thing which crawleth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am Jehovah your God; and ye shall hallow yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy; and ye shall not make yourselves unclean through any manner of crawling thing which creepeth on the earth. For I am Jehovah who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of cattle, and of fowl, and of every living soul that moveth in the waters, and of every soul that crawleth on the earth; to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that is to be eaten and the beast that is not to be eaten.
And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built the altar there, and piled the wood; and he bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him. And he removed thence towards the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel toward the west, and Ai toward the east; and there he built an altar to Jehovah, and called on the name of Jehovah.
Of all clean beasts thou shalt take to thee by sevens, a male and its female; but of the beasts that are not clean two, a male and its female.
And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offering of bullocks to Jehovah. And Moses took half the blood, and put [it] in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read [it] in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah has said will we do, and obey! And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled [it] on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that Jehovah has made with you concerning all these words.
yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
By him therefore let us offer [the] sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, [the] fruit of [the] lips confessing his name. But of doing good and communicating [of your substance] be not forgetful, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your intelligent service.
And Jehovah called to Moses and spoke to him out of the tent of meeting, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When any man of you presenteth an offering to Jehovah, ye shall present your offering of the cattle, of the herd and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt-offering of the herd, he shall present it a male without blemish: at the entrance of the tent of meeting shall he present it, for his acceptance before Jehovah. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall slaughter the bullock before Jehovah; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood round about on the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And he shall flay the burnt-offering, and cut it up into its pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat, in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar; but its inwards and its legs shall he wash in water; and the priest shall burn all on the altar, a burnt-offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour. And if his offering be of the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, for a burnt-offering, he shall present it a male without blemish. And he shall slaughter it on the side of the altar northward before Jehovah; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood on the altar round about. And he shall cut it into its pieces, and its head, and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar; but the inwards and the legs shall he wash with water; and the priest shall present [it] all, and burn [it] on the altar: it is a burnt-offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour. And if his offering to Jehovah be a burnt-offering of fowls, then he shall present his offering of turtle-doves, or of young pigeons. And the priest shall bring it near to the altar and pinch off its head and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be pressed out at the side of the altar. And he shall remove its crop with its feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east, into the place of the ashes; and he shall split it open at its wings, [but] shall not divide [it] asunder; and the priest shall burn it on the altar on the wood that is on the fire: it is a burnt-offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour.
An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me, and shalt sacrifice on it thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen: in all places where I shall make my name to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and bless thee. And if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone; for if thou lift up thy sharp tool upon it, thou hast profaned it.
And Moses said, Thou must give also sacrifices and burnt-offerings into our hands, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.
And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar unto the ùGod that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
And there he set up an altar, and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son], whom thou lovest, Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and there offer him up for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Then Abram moved [his] tents, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron. And he built there an altar to Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 8
Commentary on Genesis 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
Ge 8:1-14. Assuaging of the Waters.
1. And God remembered Noah—The divine purpose in this awful dispensation had been accomplished, and the world had undergone those changes necessary to fit it for becoming the residence of man under a new economy of Providence.
and every living thing … in the ark—a beautiful illustration of Mt 10:29.
and God made a wind to pass over the earth—Though the divine will could have dried up the liquid mass in an instant, the agency of a wind was employed (Ps 104:4)—probably a hot wind, which, by rapid evaporation, would again absorb one portion of the waters into the atmosphere; and by which, the other would be gradually drained off by outlets beneath.
4. seventh month—of the year—not of the flood—which lasted only five months.
rested—evidently indicating a calm and gentle motion.
upon the mountains of Ararat—or Armenia, as the word is rendered (2Ki 19:37; Isa 37:38). The mountain which tradition points to as the one on which the ark rested is now called Ara Dagh, the "finger mountain." Its summit consists of two peaks, the higher of which is 17,750 feet and the other 13,420 above the level of the sea.
5. And the waters decreased continually—The decrease of the waters was for wise reasons exceedingly slow and gradual—the period of their return being nearly twice as long as that of their rise.
6. at the end of forty days—It is easy to imagine the ardent longing Noah and his family must have felt to enjoy again the sight of land as well as breathe the fresh air; and it was perfectly consistent with faith and patience to make inquiries whether the earth was yet ready.
7. And he sent forth a raven—The smell of carrion would allure it to remain if the earth were in a habitable state. But it kept hovering about the spot, and, being a solitary bird, probably perched on the covering.
8-11. Also he sent forth a dove—a bird flying low and naturally disposed to return to the place of her abode.
10. again he sent forth the dove—Her flight, judging by the time she was abroad, was pursued to a great distance, and the newly plucked olive leaf, she no doubt by supernatural impulse brought in her bill, afforded a welcome proof that the declivities of the hills were clear.
12. he … sent forth the dove: which returned not … any more—In these results, we perceive a wisdom and prudence far superior to the inspiration of instinct—we discern the agency of God guiding all the movements of this bird for the instruction of Noah, and reviving the hopes of his household.
other seven days—a strong presumptive proof that Noah observed the Sabbath during his residence in the ark.
13, 14. Noah removed the covering of the ark—probably only as much of it as would afford him a prospect of the earth around. Yet for about two months he never stirred from his appointed abode till he had received the express permission of God. We should watch the leading of Providence to direct us in every step of the journey of life.
Ge 8:15-22. Departure from the Ark.
15, 16. And God spake … Go forth—They went forth in the most orderly manner—the human occupants first, then each species "after their kinds" [Ge 8:19], literally, "according to their families," implying that there had been an increase in the ark.
20. Noah builded an altar—literally, "a high place"—probably a mound of earth, on which a sacrifice was offered. There is something exceedingly beautiful and interesting to know that the first care of this devout patriarch was to return thanks for the signal instance of mercy and goodness which he and his family had experienced.
took of every clean beast … fowl—For so unparalleled a deliverance, a special acknowledgment was due.
21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour—The sacrifice offered by a righteous man like Noah in faith was acceptable as the most fragrant incense.
Lord said in his heart—same as "I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth" (Isa 54:9).
for—that is, "though the imagination is evil"; instead of inflicting another destructive flood, I shall spare them—to enjoy the blessings of grace, through a Saviour.
22. While the earth remaineth—The consummation, as intimated in 2Pe 3:7, does not frustrate a promise which held good only during the continuance of that system. There will be no flood between this and that day, when the earth therein shall be burnt up [Chalmers].