Genesis 1

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:1

Genesis 1:1. This verse may be understood as a general introduction to the account of the creation, which Moses is about to give; asserting, in confutation of all who held the eternity or fortuitous formation of the world, that the Almighty God gave a beginning to it, by creating the heaven and the earth. It may also be understood as a part of the following account, expressing, that God, in the first place, created that substance in a chaotic form, out of which the regular and beautiful system... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:2

Genesis 1:2. And the earth was without form, and void— In its first state the earth, or the whole of the terraqueous globe, was a mere confused chaos, without any regular form, or without any of its present furniture, plants, trees, animals, &c. Darkness on the face of the deep— Every thing was yet in a stagnant, black, and unformed state; and the whole face of the deep, or vast abyss of primordial matter, was inveloped in total darkness: there was an absolute privation of all light. And... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:3

Genesis 1:3. And God said— To speak and to will, with the Almighty, is to command. His word is with power. Struck with the grandeur of this passage, the celebrated Grecian critic Longinus produces it as an instance of the true sublime. "So likewise," says he, "the Jewish legislator, no ordinary person, (ουχ ο τυχων ανηρ, ) having conceived a just idea of the power of God, has nobly expressed it in the beginning of his law. And God said—What? Let there be light: and there was light." We may here... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:4

Genesis 1:4. That it was good— The word טוב tob, signifies not only what is goodly and pleasant in itself, but what is useful and fit for the end to which it is designed. And surely it could not be more properly applied than at the first, to that light, which, as Cowley calls it, is, "Active Nature's watchful life and health, Her joy, her ornament, and wealth." The world, which now is a palace, would have been a dungeon without it. Truly light is sweet, says Solomon: it rejoiceth the heart. And... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:5

Genesis 1:5. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night— He gave them names as Lord of both, for the day is his, the night also is his. He is the Lord of time, and will be so till day and night shall come to an end, and the stream of time be swallowed up in the ocean of eternity. Let us then acknowledge him in the constant succession of day and night, and consecrate both to his honour, by working for him every day, and resting in him every night, and meditating in his law day... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:6

Genesis 1:6. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters— After having given an account of the generation of light, the sacred writer goes on to inform us of the generation of the air, or of that expansive element which fills the space between the earth and the highest regions, and which goes under the general name of the heavens. This air, in its first created state, was intermixed with the other elements in the chaotic mass; upon which a motion having been impressed by the divine... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:7

Genesis 1:7. And God called, &c.— And this expanse God called heaven, shemmim, (because waters were there placed,) from שׁם sham, there, and מים maim, waters: a derivation the rather to be approved, because, as we shall see throughout the scriptures, the Hebrew names were generally given from the actions immediately at hand. REFLECTIONS.—1. God having made the light, a proper medium is now provided through which its rays may pass. But though this firmament is stretched over us, the way is... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:9

Genesis 1:9. And God said, Let the waters be gathered together— After the elements of light and air were appointed to their proper places, the next in density, the water, i.e.. the lower water, or that under the air, is separated, by the divine direction; and thus, at length, the earth, or dry land, emerges and appears. It is to be observed, that Moses introduces every mutation with the words God said; intimating, that the power and energy of the Divinity over-ruled and conducted each... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:11

Genesis 1:11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, &c.— The elements being formed, the sea collected to its proper place, and the surface of the earth appearing, the next act of Divine Power was to clothe that surface with the beautiful furniture which we now behold upon it. Accordingly he gave his almighty fiat; and the grass, that which springs up annually without sowing; the herbs, all plants, corn, &c. which are sown; and the trees, in their lovely verdure, and amazing... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:14

Genesis 1:14. And God said, Let there be lights— The Almighty now proceeds to furnish the heaven, or expanse of air, after having furnished the earth; and so to complete his inanimate creation. The light, by whatever means till now sustained, was to be collected; or, at least, two great bodies were to be formed, as instruments of the diffusal of it; as lamps, if I may so speak, hung up in the firmament, to enlighten the earth by day and night. For the word translated lights, מארת meoroth,... read more

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:1

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:2

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:3

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:4

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:5

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:6

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:7

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:9

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:11

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:14

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