Genesis 5:29

Gen 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

Ver. 29. This same shall comfort us.] Herein a figure of Christ. And Peter Martyr thinks that Lamech was in hope that this son of his would have been the Christ. A pardonable error, proceeding from an earnest desire of seeing his day, whom their souls loved, and longed for: “Greeting {a} the promise afar off,” {Heb 11:13} and “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” {Luk 2:25}

{a} ασπασαμενοι

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen_5:29

This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands

Hope through the gloom

I.

THE HARDNESS AND DIFFICULTY OF LIFE. These words are the words of parents. Lamech, the powerful, is not ashamed to confess that he needs comfort; and when this child comes to him he accepts him as a Divine gift, as a commissioned, competent, and thrice-welcome messenger of comfort from God.

II. THE COMFORT THAT COMES INTO THE WORLD WITH CHILDREN. These words of Lamech are the permanent inscription in the horoscope which parents everywhere and always see over the cradle of the latest born. There is a bright prophecy of God concerning the future in this invincible hopefulness of the parental heart.

III. THE SECURITY WE HAVE FOR THIS IN THE GREAT PACT OF OUR REDEMPTION. Our Noah has been born; the Rest-giver, strong Burden bearer, all-pitying and all-suffering Saviour. Noah was a preacher of righteousness, but Jesus Christ brings and gives righteousness, instilling it into every believing heart. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)

Comfort in toil

These words, used by Lamech, apply far more truly to the descendant of Noah after the flesh, even Jesus Christ.

I. When our Lord appeared among men the world was in almost as sad and hopeless a condition as when Lamech looked around him. Among the Gentiles there was ignorance, darkness, and false imaginations; among the chosen people there Was hardness and impenitence. Christ comforted His disciples after His resurrection by raising up the temple of their wrecked faith, as He raised again the temple of His own body. He comforted them with the assurance that their faith was not in vain, that He had the keys of death and hell, and was able to succour to the uttermost those who trusted in Him.

II. The risen Christ comforted also the fathers of the ancient covenant. Moses and Elias appeared unto Him on Tabor, speaking with Him of the things concerning His passion. The ancient patriarchs could not enter into heaven till the gates were opened by the cross of Christ, and the handwriting that was against all sinners was taken away.

III. The resurrection of Christ is a joy and comfort to us also--

1. Because in Him a way of safety was opened to the world.

2. Because He will repay a hundredfold all that is done for him. (S. BaringGould, M. A.)

The third Sunday in Advent

I. THE DEEPER MEANING OF THE GENEALOGICAL LISTS OF SCRIPTURE. They serve to tell us not only--

1. Of the physical interdependence of the race, awakening thus our attention to the great problem of heredity; but

2. Of the moral variety of the race, bringing us face to face with human free will; and

3. Of the great glory of the race. There are names, like mountain peaks, of spiritual grandeur; they find their apex in the Name which is above every name.

II. THE MERCIFUL DEALING OF GOD WITH A SINFUL WORLD. Samples of Gods education of man by--

1. Promise;

2. Disappointment;

3. Manifold discipline.

III. THE TRANSCENDENT SUPERIORITY OF OUR PRIVILEGES. In the advent of Jesus Christ--

1. We find no disappointment;

2. We have profound satisfaction. (Homilist.)

.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 5:29. He called his name Noah — Which signifies rest; saying — No doubt by a spirit of prophecy; This same shall comfort us concerning our toil, &c. — That is, the hard labour and manifold troubles to which they were sentenced. This he did, 1st, By the invention of instruments of husbandry, whereby tillage was made more easy: 2d, By removing a part of the curse inflicted on the earth: and especially, 3d, By preserving a remnant of mankind from that deluge which Enoch had foretold, and which he foresaw would come, and by repeopling the empty earth with a new generation of men.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lamech had respect to the promise, Gen. 3:15, and desired to see the deliverer which should be sent, and yet saw but a figure thereof, he also spake this by the spirit of prophecy because Noah delivered the Church and preserved it by his obedience.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 29. This same shall comfort us] This is an allusion, as some think, to the name a Noah, which they derive from נחם nacham, to comfort; but it is much more likely that it comes from נח nach or נוח nuach, to rest, to settle, c. And what is more comfortable than rest after toil and labour? These words seem to have been spoken prophetically concerning Noah, who built the ark for the preservation of the human race, and who seems to have been a typical person for when he offered his sacrifice after the drying up of the waters, it is said that God smelled a savour of REST, and said he would not curse the ground any more for man's sake, Ge 8:21; and from that time the earth seems to have had upon an average the same degree of fertility; and the life of man, in a few generations after, was settled in the mean at threescore years and ten. See Ge 9:3.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work. In the Hebrew languages the etymology of the verb נחם (nacham) does not correspond with the noun נוח (noach,) unless we call the letter ם (mem) superfluous; as sometimes, in composition, certain letters are redundant. נוח Noach signifies to give rest, but נחם nacham to comfort. The name Noah is derived from the former verb. Wherefore, there is either the transmutation of one letter into another, or only a bare allusion, when Lamech says, “This same shall comfort us concerning our work.” But as to the point in hand, there is no doubt that he promises to himself an alleviation, or solace, of his labors. But it is asked, whence he had conceived such hope from a son whose disposition he could not yet have discerned. The Jews do not judge erroneously in declaring Lamech’s expression to be a prophecy; but they are too gross in restricting to agriculture what is applicable to all those miseries of human life which proceed from the curse of God, and are the fruits of sin. I come, indeed, to this conclusion; that the holy fathers anxiously sighed, when, being surrounded with so many evils they were continually reminded of the first origin of all evils, and regarded themselves as under the displeasure of God. Therefore in the expression, the toil of our hands, there is the figure synecdochee ; because under one kind of toil he comprises the whole miserable state into which mankind had fallen. For they undoubtedly remembered what Moses has related above, concerning the labourious, sad, and anxious life to which Adam had been doomed: and since the wickedness of man was daily increasing, no mitigation of the penalty could be hoped for, unless the Lord should bring unexpected succor. It is probable that they were very earnestly looking for the mercy of God; for their faith was strong, and necessity urged them ardently to desire help. But that the name was not rashly given to Noah, we may infer hence, that Moses expressly notes it as a thing worthy to be remembered. Certainly some meaning was couched under the names of other patriarchs; yet he passes by the reason why they were so called, and only insists upon this name of Noah. Therefore the contentious reader is not to be allowed hence to pronounce a judgment, that there was something peculiar in Noah, which did not suit others before him. I have, then, no doubt that Lamech hoped for something rare and unwonted from his son; and that, too, by the inspiration of the Spirit. Some suppose him to have been deceived, inasmuch as he believed that Noah was the Christ; but they adduce no rational conjecture in support of the opinion. It is more probable, that, seeing something great was promised concerning his son, he did not refrain from mixing his own imagination with the oracle; as holy men are also sometimes wont to exceed the measure of revelation, and thus it comes to pass, that they neither touch heaven nor earth.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(29) He called his name Noah.—This is the first recorded instance, since the days of Eve, of a child being named at his birth, and in both cases the name ended in disappointment. Noah brought no rest, but in his days came the flood to punish human sin. We have already noticed that this longing of Lamech for comfort is in strong contrast with the arrogance of his namesake of the race of Cain. (Comp. Gen_4:18.)

This same shall comfort us . . . of our hands.—These words form a couplet in the Hebrew, and rhyme like the Arabic couplets in the Koran.

The ground (adâmâh) which the Lord hath cursed.—It is usual to style this section Elohistic, because it so evidently takes up the narrative at Gen_2:3. Yet, first, the writer distinctly refers to Gen_3:17, where it is Jehovah-Elohim who curses the ground; and next he uses the name Jehovah as equivalent to God, according to what we are told in Gen_4:26. Here, then, as in several other places, the idea that Genesis can be arranged in two portions, distinguished as Elohistic or Jehovistic, according to the name of God employed in them, entirely breaks down. It is remarkable, also, that the word for “toil” in Lantech’s distich is the same as that rendered sorrow in Gen_3:16-17, and that it occurs only in these three places.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29. saying, This same shall comfort us, &c.] It is generally supposed that this verse, containing a poetical couplet which is intended to explain the name of Noah, has been inserted from the same source of tradition (J) as Gen_4:25-26. Certainly, (a) the saying interrupts the bare list of names and years; (b) it contains a reference to the curse pronounced upon the soil, Gen_3:17; (c) it recurs to the use of the sacred name “Jehovah” (“Jahveh”), whereas “God” (“Elohim”) has been used in Gen_5:1; Gen_5:22; Gen_5:24.

comfort] Heb. naḥem, “to comfort,” “relieve.” The name “Noah,” however, is not derived from naḥem, but there is a play on the general similarity of sound. The LXX renders “gives us rest.”

for our work] The word “for” is in the Heb. “from,” and the meaning is that Noah will comfort his fellow-creatures and give them relief and refreshment “from” their toil.

because of the ground] Better, as R.V. marg., “which cometh from the ground.” This clause is in prose, following two metrical clauses.

In what way did the tradition connect the name of Noah with “comfort” as regards work upon the ground? According to the Hebrew figures in this chapter, Lamech, Noah’s father, must have died either before or in the Flood. It is conceivable that the saying recorded in this verse is taken from a group of Israelite traditions which contained no account of the Flood, and only associated the name of Noah with the work of an husbandman and with the first planting of a vineyard (Gen_9:20).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Noe means consolation, or repose. After he had beheld the most dreadful catastrophe or disturbance that ever happened in the world, he settled mankind once more in the friendship of God, and merited a blessing both for himself and for the whole earth. He gave, likewise, comfort to all, by useful inventions in agriculture, and in the art of making wine. He saw an end of the distractions caused by the wicked sons of Cain, and became the restorer of a new world: in a word, he was the progenitor of the Messias, who is the King of Peace, and our only solid comfort. (Menochius) (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And he called his name Noah, which signifies rest,

saying, by the Spirit of prophecy:

This same shall comfort us, concerning the hard labour and manifold troubles to which we are sentenced, Gen 3:19.

And this he did either,

1. By the invention of instruments of husbandry, whereby tillage was made more easy. Or,

2. By removing in some part the curse inflicted upon the earth, and reconciling God unto mankind. Possibly he might suppose that this was the Messias, or promised Seed, and the Saviour of the undone world; as it was frequent with the ancient fathers, through their earnest desire of the Messias, to expect him long before he came, and to mistake other persons for him. Or,

3. By preserving a remnant of mankind from that deluge which he by the Spirit foresaw would come, and repeopling the emptied earth with a new generation of men, and by restoring and improving the art of husbandry: see Gen 9:20.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. Noah — This name signifies rest or comfort. The godly hope and prophetic aspiration of the Sethite, Lamech, as expressed in this name, contrast strongly with the fierce and defiant song of the warrior and polygamist of the same name, who was descended from Cain. Lamech groans under the curse of severe bodily toil, the consequence of sin. In this son he expects deliverance, and, therefore, names him Rest. Rest and deliverance came to man through Noah, but in a way that Lamech had not thought. Exactly what Lamech expected is not clear; perhaps, like Eve, he looked upon his firstborn son as the great promised Deliverer.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed - Very probably there were some prophecies that went before of him, as a person that should be wonderfully serviceable to his generation.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

זה ינחמנו THIS WILL COMFORT US — He will ease from off us (ינחמנו) the toil of our hands. For until Noah came people had no agricultural instruments and he prepared such for them. The earth had brought forth thorns and thistles when they sowed wheat in consequence of the curse imposed upon Adam Harishon: in the days of Noah, however, this ceased (Tanchuma 1:1:11). This is what is meant by the word ינחמנו (viz., ינח מנו). If, however, you do not explain it in this manner, but from the root נחם “to comfort”, then the meaning you give to this expression (connecting it with the idea of “comfort”) will have no application to the name נח, and you would have to call him מנחם “Comforter”.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויקרא את שמו נח, לאמור זה ינחמנו ממעשינו, our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 25,2) say that לא השם הוא המדרש, ולא המדרש הוא השם, that the name נח is not compatible with the allegorical explanation offered by the Midrash, neither is the Midrash compatible with the name נח. Lemech should not have related the name נח to נחמה, but should have related it to נח זה יניחנו, “this one will bring relief,” as opposed to: “this one will comfort us, i.e. the meaning of the word נחמה. On the other hand, if what he had in mind by naming his son נח, was נחמה, the comfort that he expected or hoped that his son would bring to the world, he should have named him נחמן זה ינחמנו. “this one will bring us comfort, consolation.” The Midrash is absolutely correct. However, if someone finds rest, relief after having experienced troubles, this is in itself his comfort, his consolation. The Hebrew language does not make such fine distinctions when it comes to the names reflecting linguistically accurately what the giver of the name had in mind. When Chanah named her first born son, the one for whom she had prayed in the Tabernacle at Shiloh, שמואל, giving as her reason for this name כי מה' שאלתיו, “for I have borrowed him from the Lord,” she should have called him שאול, if she had taken the words of our Midrash to heart. (Samuel I 1,20) The word שאול means something or someone borrowed. The name שמואל is close enough to make us realise what she had had in mind. In fact Chanah’s thoughts are reflected more accurately in the name שמואל than they would have been in the name שאול. The name שמואל actually contains not only the thought that he has been borrowed, or asked for, but that he had been borrowed, or asked for from G’d. Similar considerations apply to the name יעבץ, derived from עצב, anguish, sadness, (Chronicles I 4,9) His mother mentioned that she named him so because he had been born out of pain. There are more such examples to be found throughout the Bible. According to our sages Lemech must have been a great prophet, for how else could he predict that Noach, his son, would turn out to be a boon to mankind? What did he see or know that caused him to make such a prediction? According to Tanchuma Bereshit 11, people did not know what a plough was and they had to do all their work on the soil by hand. Noach invented the plough, thus becoming a great benefactor of mankind. He trained oxen and donkeys to pull a ploughshare, thus easing the labour the farmers had to perform. This was the relief and consolation he provided for all of the human species. When Lemech referred to ממעשי ידינו, “from what we had to do with our hands,” he meant that henceforth due to his son, animals could perform some of the labour which, up until then had been performed by each farmer literally with his own hands. [In accepting this interpretation, we must assume that the name Noach was not bestowed on Noach at birth. Ed.] The word מעשה as applying to working one’s field, appears in Judges 19,16 ממעשהו מן השדה, “from his work, from the field.” Even though the word מעשה can apply to any kind of work, it is used in the main in connection with work in the field. ומעצבון ידינו, from the frustration we have been experiencing over the work of our hands 'אשר אררה ה, which the Lord had cursed. Lemech referred to 3,17 where G’d had told Adam that as a result of his having listened to his wife, the earth would be cursed and he would have to eat his bread only after experiencing עצבון. In spite of Noach having invented the plough, people after him continued to work very hard to gain their livelihood through tilling the soil. However, he had definitely made their chores easier due to his clever invention. According to the plain meaning of the text, when Lemech had said זה ינחמנו, he had certainly not expressed a prophetic vision with these words, but he had called Noach by that name as a sort of prayer, seeing in his birth a special blessing. [perhaps the fact that he had not become a father until he was 182 years old had something to do with this. Everyone else mentioned in the chapter fathered a son at a much younger age. Ed.] When Rachel gave birth to Joseph, she called him Joseph as a good omen, saying that she named him thus so that G’d might give her another son. (Genesis 30,24). Moses recorded, at the command of G’d, all these vital statistics of the people from Adam until Noach, in order that we, who have inherited the Torah, should know that the universe has not always existed but was created by G’d, an important fact for every human being to be aware of.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

This one will bring us rest (or “consolation”). Adam informed Lemech through prophecy that his son would bring about the salvation of the world.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.