The Lantern

Hebrew Questions on Genesis4

CCEL

6:4

(Version 4.) Now there were giants upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown. For falling ones, or giants, Symmachus interpreted them as violent ones. And it is fitting for the name of falling ones to apply to angels and the children of the saints.

6:9

(Verse 9) Noah was a righteous and blameless man in his generation, pleasing to God. Specifically, it says 'in his generation' to show that his righteousness was not according to the perfected righteousness, but according to the righteousness of his generation. And this is what is said in Hebrew: Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generations, he walked with God; that is, he followed in his footsteps.

6:14

(Verse 14) Make for yourself an ark of square wooden planks. For the square planks, we read it is coated with pitch in Hebrew.

6:16

(Verse 16.) Assembling, you shall make an ark, and you shall finish it with a cubit from above. As for the reason why it says, assembling, you shall make an ark, in Hebrew it has, 'you shall make the middle of the ark,' which Symmachus interpreted more clearly, saying 'transparent,' that is, making the ark clear, intending for a window to be understood.

8:2

(Chapter 8, Verse 2) And the water subsided, and the fountains of the deep were revealed, and the floodgates of heaven were opened. The interpreters have translated the phrase 'fountains of the deep were revealed' as 'the closed and sealed fountains were opened'. And regarding the following phrase: 'the water subsided from the earth', it is written that 'the waters returned from the earth, going and coming' (Ecclesiastes 1:7). Note, according to Ecclesiastes, that all waters and torrents return to the hidden veins of the abyss.

8:6

(Verse 6) After forty days, Noah opened the door of the ark which he had made, and released a raven, but it did not return to him until the waters had dried up from the earth. As for the dove, it is said differently: He released a raven, and it went out, going and coming back until the waters had dried up from the earth.

9:18

(Chapter 9, Verse 18) The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The Septuagint translators often struggled to render the letter Heth (), which has a double aspiration sound, into Greek. They added the Greek letter chi (χ) to instruct us to aspirate in such words. Therefore, in this passage, they translated Cham as Ham, because Ham is called "Ham" in the Hebrew language, and in Egyptian language, Egypt is called "Ham" until this day.

9:27

(Verse 27) May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem. From Shem come the Hebrews, and from Japheth, the people of the nations are born. Therefore, because the multitude of believers has been enlarged from the breadth, which is called Japheth, it has received the name "breadth". But what he says, "And may he dwell in the tents of Shem," is prophesying about us, who are engaged in the teaching and knowledge of the Scriptures, with Israel being cast out.

9:29

(Verse 29.) And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years. Behold, after the flood Noah lived three hundred and fifty years. From which it is clear that one hundred and twenty years were given to that generation, as we have said before, for repentance, and not for the establishment of mortal life.

10:2

(Chapter 10, Verse 2.) The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Japheth, son of Noah, had seven sons who possessed the land in Asia from Mount Amanus and Mount Taurus to the mountains of Syria Coele and Cilicia, all the way to the River Tanais. In Europe, they journeyed as far as Gades, leaving names to places and tribes: many of these were later changed, but others remain as they were. Gomer became the Galatians, Magog became the Scythians, Madai became the Medes, Javan became the Ionians, also known as the Greeks, hence the Ionian Sea. Thubal the Iberians, who are also called Hispani, from whom the Celtiberi, although some suspect they are Italians. Mosoch, the Cappadocians, from whom the city is still called Mazaca among them. (Furthermore, the Septuagint interpreters consider the Cappadocians to be the Caphthorim.) Thiras, the Thracians, whose name has not been sufficiently changed. I know that someone named Gog and Magog, both from present location and from Ezekiel, recently related a story of the Goths who were recently reveling in our land, which is demonstrated to be true by the end of the battle itself. And certainly all the educated Goths, more accustomed to call the Getae than Gog and Magog. Therefore, these seven nations, which I mentioned came from the line of Japheth, inhabit the northern part.

10:3

(Verse 3) The sons of Gomer are Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The Greeks call Ashkenaz 'Reginos', Riphath is the ancestor of the Paphlagonians, and Togarmah is the ancestor of the Phrygians.

10:4

(Ver. 4.) The sons of Javan were Elisha and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. From them were divided the islands of the nations in their lands, each according to its language, its kindred, and its people. From the Ionians, that is, the Greeks, were born the Aeolians, who are called Aeolians: hence the fifth language of Greece is called Aeolian, which they call 'the fifth dialect.' Josephus considers Tarshish to be Cilicia, stating that the letter θ was mistakenly corrupted by later generations into τ: hence their metropolis is called the city of Tarsus, glorious to the Apostle Paul. Cethim, they are the Cetians, from whom even today the city of Cyprus is also called Citium. Dodanim, the Rhodians: for so the Septuagint translators have rendered it. Let us read the books of Varro on Antiquities, and those of Sisinnius Capito, and the Greek Phlegon, and other most learned men: and we will see almost all the islands, and the shores of the whole world, and the lands near the sea, occupied by Greek settlers: who, as we have said, possess all the coastal areas from the mountains of Amanus and Taurus to the British Ocean.

10:6