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Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:28

Isaac loved Esau - but Rebekah loved Jacob - This is an early proof of unwarrantable parental attachment to one child in preference to another. Isaac loved Esau, and Rebekah loved Jacob; and in consequence of this the interests of the family were divided, and the house set in opposition to itself. The fruits of this unreasonable and foolish attachment were afterwards seen in a long catalogue of both natural and moral evils among the descendants of both families. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:29

Sod pottage - נזיד יזד yazed nazid , he boiled a boiling; and this we are informed, Genesis 25:34 , was of עדשים adashim , what the Septuagint render φακος , and we, following them and the Vulgate lens , translate lentils, a sort of pulse. Dr. Shaw casts some light on this passage, speaking of the inhabitants of Barbary. "Beans, lentils, kidney beans, and garvancos," says he, "are the chiefest of their pulse kind; beans, when boiled and stewed with oil and garlic, are the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:30

I am faint - It appears from the whole of this transaction, that Esau was so completely exhausted by fatigue that he must have perished had he not obtained some immediate refreshment. He had been either hunting or laboring in the field, and was now returning for the purpose of getting some food, but had been so exhausted that his strength utterly failed before he had time to make the necessary preparations. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:31

Sell me this day thy birthright - What the בחרה bechorah or birthright was, has greatly divided both ancient and modern commentators. It is generally supposed that the following rights were attached to the primogeniture: Authority and superiority over the rest of the family. A double portion of the paternal inheritance. The peculiar benediction of the father. The priesthood, previous to its establishment in the family of Aaron. Calmet controverts most of these rights, and with... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:1

Verse 1 1.Then again Abraham took a wife (15) It seems very absurd that Abraham, who is said to have been dead in his own body thirty-eight years before the decease of Sarah, should, after her death, marry another wife. such an act was, certainly, unworthy of his gravity. Besides, when Paul commends his faith, (Romans 4:19,) he not only asserts that the womb of Sarah was dead, when Isaac was about to be born, but also that the body of the father himself was dead. Therefore Abraham acted most... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:6

Verse 6 6.But unto the sons of the concubines. Moses relates, that when Abraham was about to die, he formed the design of removing all cause of strife among his sons after his death, by constituting Isaac his sole heir, and dismissing the rest with suitable gifts. This dismissal was, indeed, apparently harsh and cruel; but it was agreeable to the appointment and decree of God, in order that the entire possession of the land might remain for the posterity of Isaac. For it was not lawful for... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:7

Verse 7 7.And these are the days. Moses now brings us down to the death of Abraham; and the first thing to be noticed concerning his age is the number of years during which he lived as a pilgrim; for he deserves the praise of wonderful and incomparable patience, for having wandered through the space of a hundred years, while God led him about in various directions, contented, both in life and death, with the bare promise of God. Let those be ashamed who find it difficult to bear the disquietude... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:8

Verse 8 8.Then Abraham gave up the ghost (20) They are mistaken who suppose that this expression denotes sudden death, as intimating that he had not been worn out by long disease, but expired without pain. Moses rather means to say that the father of the faithful was not exempt from the common lot of men, in order that our minds may not languish when the outward man is perishing; but that, by meditating on that renovation which is laid up as the object of our hope, we may, with tranquil minds,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:9

Verse 9 9.And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him. Hence it appears, that although Ishmael had long ago been dismissed, he was not utterly alienated from his father, because he performed the office of a son in celebrating the obsequies of his deceased parent. Ishmael, rather than the other sons did this, as being nearer. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 25:12

Verse 12 12.Now these are the generations of Ishmael. This narration is not superfluous. In the commencement of the chapter, Moses alludes to what was done for the sons of Keturah. Here he speaks designedly more at large, for the purpose of showing that the promise of God, given in the seventeenth chapter (Genesis 17:1,) was confirmed by its manifest accomplishment. In the first place, it was no common gift of God that Ishmael should have twelve sons who should possess rank and authority over... read more

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