Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

“In the beginning--a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Pr 8:22, 23.”

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

“created--not formed from any pre-existing materials, but made out of nothing.”

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

“No permanent change has ever since been made in the course of the world, no new species of animals been formed, no law of nature repealed or added to.”

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.

“Not from any human source, for man was not in existence to witness it; not from the light of nature or reason, for though they proclaim the eternal power and Godhead by the things which are made, they cannot tell how they were made.”

Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

“Here the sacred writer supplies a few more particulars about the first pair. formed--had FORMED MAN OUT OF THE DUST OF THE GROUND.”

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.

“Eden--was probably a very extensive region in Mesopotamia, distinguished for its natural beauty and the richness and variety of its produce. Hence its name, signifying "pleasantness."”

Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food.

“Its prominent position where it must have been an object of daily observation and interest, was admirably fitted to keep man habitually in mind of God and futurity.”

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what…

“God brought unto Adam--not all the animals in existence, but those chiefly in his immediate neighborhood to be subservient to his use.”

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

“Though Moses makes no mention of this wicked spirit--giving only the history of the visible world--yet in the fuller discoveries of the Gospel, it is distinctly intimated that Satan was the author of the plot (Joh 8:44; Re 20:2).”

The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,

“But there is reason to think that she had already received an injurious impression; for in using the words "lest ye die," instead of "ye shall surely die" [Ge 2:17], she spoke as if the tree had been forbidden because of some poisonous quality of…”

And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

“The woman . . . gave me--He blames God [CALVIN]. As the woman had been given him for his companion and help, he had eaten of the tree from love to her; and perceiving she was ruined, was determined not to survive her [M'KNIGHT].”

So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field!

“From being a model of grace and elegance in form, it has become the type of all that is odious, disgusting, and low [LE CLERC, ROSENMULLER]; or the curse has converted its natural condition into a punishment; it is now branded with infamy and avoided…”

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

“Thus, fatal shall be the stroke which Satan shall receive from Christ, though it is probable he did not at first understand the nature and extent of his doom.”

And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

“God made coats of skins--taught them to make these for themselves. This implies the institution of animal sacrifice, which was undoubtedly of divine appointment, and instruction in the only acceptable mode of worship for sinful creatures, through faith in a Redeemer (Heb 9:22).”

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil.

“And God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us--not spoken in irony as is generally supposed, but in deep compassion. The words should be rendered, "Behold, what has become [by sin] of the man who was as one of us"!”

And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.

“Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord--that is, "by the help of the Lord"--an expression of pious gratitude--and she called him Cain, that is, "a possession," as if valued above everything else; while the arrival of another son reminding Eve of the…”

Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.

“Abel was a keeper of sheep--literally, "a feeder of a flock," which, in Oriental countries, always includes goats as well as sheep. Abel, though the younger, is mentioned first, probably on account of the pre-eminence of his religious character.”

So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

“Leaving it, he not only severed himself from his relatives but forsook the ordinances of religion, probably casting off all fear of God from his eyes so that the last end of this man is worse than the first (Mt 12:45).”

Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech.

“Lamech said unto his wives--This speech is in a poetical form, probably the fragment of an old poem, transmitted to the time of Moses.”

So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

“Since we cannot obtain satisfactory evidence on these points, it is wise to resolve the fact into the sovereign will of God. We can, however, trace some of the important uses to which, in the early economy of Providence, it was subservient.”

When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah.

“Enoch . . . begat Methuselah--This name signifies, "He dieth, and the sending forth," so that Enoch gave it as prophetical of the flood. It is computed that Methuselah died in the year of that catastrophe.”

After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

“Noah was five hundred years old: and . . . begat--That he and the other patriarchs were advanced in life before children were born to them is a difficulty accounted for probably from the circumstance that Moses does not here record their first-born sons, but…”

This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.

“Noah . . . just . . . and perfect--not absolutely; for since the fall of Adam no man has been free from sin except Jesus Christ.”

And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.

“And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood--The repetition of the announcement was to establish its certainty (Ge 41:32).”

You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and…

“But what was the use of the seventh? It was manifestly reserved for sacrifice; and so that both during Noah's residence in the ark, and after his return to dry land, provision was made for celebrating the rites of worship according to the religion of…”