25 And he said, H559 Cursed H779 be Canaan; H3667 a servant H5650 of servants H5650 shall he be unto his brethren. H251
And all the people H5971 that were left H3498 of the Amorites, H567 Hittites, H2850 Perizzites, H6522 Hivites, H2340 and Jebusites, H2983 which were not of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 Their children H1121 that were left H3498 after H310 them in the land, H776 whom the children H1121 of Israel H3478 also were not able H3201 utterly to destroy, H2763 upon those did Solomon H8010 levy H5927 a tribute H4522 of bondservice H5647 unto this day. H3117
And it came to pass, when Israel H3478 was strong, H2388 that they put H7760 the Canaanites H3669 to tribute, H4522 and did not utterly H3423 drive them out. H3423 Neither did Ephraim H669 drive out H3423 the Canaanites H3669 that dwelt H3427 in Gezer; H1507 but the Canaanites H3669 dwelt H3427 in Gezer H1507 among H7130 them. Neither did Zebulun H2074 drive out H3423 the inhabitants H3427 of Kitron, H7003 nor the inhabitants H3427 of Nahalol; H5096 but the Canaanites H3669 dwelt H3427 among H7130 them, and became tributaries. H4522
As for all the people H5971 that were left H3498 of the Hittites, H2850 and the Amorites, H567 and the Perizzites, H6522 and the Hivites, H2340 and the Jebusites, H2983 which were not of Israel, H3478 But of their children, H1121 who were left H3498 after H310 them in the land, H776 whom the children H1121 of Israel H3478 consumed H3615 not, them did Solomon H8010 make to pay H5927 tribute H4522 until this day. H3117
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 9
Commentary on Genesis 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 9
Ge 9:1-7. Covenant.
1. And God blessed Noah—Here is republished the law of nature that was announced to Adam, consisting as it originally did of several parts.
Be fruitful, &c.—The first part relates to the transmission of life, the original blessing being reannounced in the very same words in which it had been promised at first [Ge 1:28].
2. And the fear of you and the dread of you—The second part re-establishes man's dominion over the inferior animals; it was now founded not as at first in love and kindness, but in terror; this dread of man prevails among all the stronger as well as the weaker members of the animal tribes and keeps away from his haunts all but those employed in his service.
3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you—The third part concerns the means of sustaining life; man was for the first time, it would seem, allowed the use of animal food, but the grant was accompanied with one restriction.
4. But flesh … the blood … shall ye not eat—The sole intention of this prohibition was to prevent these excesses of cannibal ferocity in eating flesh of living animals, to which men in the earlier ages of the world were liable.
5. surely your blood of your lives will I require—The fourth part establishes a new power for protecting life—the institution of the civil magistrate (Ro 13:4), armed with public and official authority to repress the commission of violence and crime. Such a power had not previously existed in patriarchal society.
6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood … for in the image of God made he man—It is true that image has been injured by the fall, but it is not lost. In this view, a high value is attached to the life of every man, even the poorest and humblest, and an awful criminality is involved in the destruction of it.
Ge 9:8-29. Rainbow.
13. I do set my bow in the cloud—set, that is, constitute or appoint. This common and familiar phenomenon being made the pledge of peace, its appearance when showers began to fall would be welcomed with the liveliest feelings of joy.
20. And Noah … planted a vineyard—Noah had been probably bred to the culture of the soil, and resumed that employment on leaving the ark.
21. And he drank of the wine, and was drunken—perhaps at the festivities of the vintage season. This solitary stain on the character of so eminently pious a man must, it is believed, have been the result of age or inadvertency.
24. This incident could scarcely have happened till twenty years after the flood; for Canaan, whose conduct was more offensive than that even of his father, was not born till after that event. It is probable that there is a long interval included between these verses and that this prophecy, like that of Jacob on his sons, was not uttered till near the close of Noah's life when the prophetic spirit came upon him; this presumption is strengthened by the mention of his death immediately after.
25. Cursed be Canaan—This doom has been fulfilled in the destruction of the Canaanites—in the degradation of Egypt and the slavery of the Africans, the descendants of Ham.
26. Blessed be the Lord God of Shem—rather, "Blessed of Jehovah, my God, be Shem,"—an intimation that the descendants of Shem should be peculiarly honored in the service of the true God, His Church being for ages established among them (the Jews), and of them, concerning the flesh, Christ came. They got possession of Canaan, the people of that land being made their "servants" either by conquest, or, like the Gibeonites, by submission [Jos 9:25].
27. God shall enlarge Japheth—pointing to a vast increase in posterity and possessions. Accordingly his descendants have been the most active and enterprising, spread over the best and largest portion of the world, all Europe and a considerable part of Asia.
he shall dwell in the tents of Shem—a prophecy being fulfilled at the present day, as in India British Government is established and the Anglo-Saxons being in the ascendancy from Europe to India, from India over the American continent. What a wonderful prophecy in a few verses (Isa 46:10; 1Pe 1:25)!