If it be overlooked that, in this appellation of God, there is implied the indirect designation of the blessings which are to be conferred on Shem (just as in Gen. xxiv. 27 the words, "Blessed be Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham," imply the thought: because He has manifested Himself as Jehovah, and as the God of my master; which thought is then further carried out in the subsequent words: "And who hath not left destitute my master of His mercy and His truth;"—and just as it is also in the utterance of Zacharias in Luke i. 68, where the words, "Blessed be the Lord [κύριος], the God of Israel," imply the thought: because He has manifested Himself as the Lord [in the New Testament, κύριος is used where the Old has Jehovah], the God of Israel),—if this be overlooked, we obtain only a weak and inadequate thought, very unsuitable to the context, the purport of which evidently is to celebrate Shem, and to mark him out as worthy of his name. So it is according to Hofmann, who, in the words, "Blessed—Shem," finds only an expression of gratitude for the gift of this good son, and who limits the announcement of blessings to the single one—that Canaan shall be Shem's servant. Against this feeble interpretation we must adduce these considerations also: that nowhere does the gift of the good son form, even indirectly, the subject in question;—that thus we should lose the opposition of the curse and the blessing (which requires that, under the "Blessed be Jehovah," we should have concealed the "Blessed be Shem"), just as we should, the contrast between Jehovah here and Elohim in the following verse;—and, lastly, that what, in the following verse, is said of Japheth's dwelling in the tents of Shem, would thus be deprived of its necessary foundation.

It is said: "Canaan shall be a servant to them." The suffix ־־ָ־מוֹ, which cannot be used for the singular, any more than can the suffix ־־ָ־ם, for which it is only the fuller poetical form (the instances of a different use, adduced by Ewald, § 247, d., can easily be explained in accordance with the rule), indicates that the announcement has no reference to the personal relation of Shem and Ham, but that they come into view solely as the heads of families.

Ver. 27. "

May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be a servant to them."—These words, in the first instance, contain the blessing pronounced upon Japheth; but they entitle us to infer from them, at the same time, a glorious blessing destined for Shem, which is the source of blessing to Japheth also. They thus complete the promise of the preceding verse, which directly refers to Shem.

The first clause of this verse has received a great variety of interpretations. The word יַפְתְּ, which refers to, and is explanatory of, the name יֶפֶת (i.e. Japheth), is the future apoc. Hiphil of פָּתָה. The Piel of this verb has in Hebrew commonly the signification: "to persuade, or prevail upon any one to do anything." Hence many interpreters translate with Calvin: "May God allure Japheth that he may dwell in the tents of Shem." Luther also, in his Commentary, thus explains it: "God will kindly speak to Japheth;" while, in his translation, he has: "May God enlarge Japheth."—But to this interpretation it has been rightly objected, that the verb פתה is found only in Piel, not in Hiphil, with the signification "to persuade;" that, commonly, it signifies "to persuade" only in a bad sense; and that, in this sense, it is never construed with ל, but always with the accusative.—All interpreters now agree that (in conformity with the LXX. [πλατύναι ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Ἰάφεθ], the Vulgate [dilatet Deus Japhet], and Onkelos) יַפְתְּ must be derived from פתה in its primary signification, "to be wide, large," in which it is found in Prov. xx. 19 (where שפתיו is accusative denoting the place), and which signification is the common one in Aramaic. But they then again disagree, inasmuch as some think of a local extension: God shall give to Japheth a numerous posterity, which shall take possession of extended territories; while others find here expressed the idea of general prosperity: God shall prosper Japheth, shall bring him into a free and unstraitened position.

Both of these views partake of alike mistake from regarding the words per se, and as disconnected from the following announcement of Japheth's dwelling in the tents of Shem. It must also be objected to them, that in the case of Shem, only one feature of the blessing is pointed out, viz., that God will be to him Jehovah, his God; and so, likewise, only one feature of the curse in the case of Ham. When those words are isolated, separated from what follows, and understood of extension, this difficulty arises, that Ham enjoys this extension in common with Japheth, as is shown by a glance at Gen. x. If, on the other hand, we understand them as expressive of prosperity (according to Hofmann: "general prosperity in the affairs of outward life"), this explanation is destitute of a sufficient foundation, and there is nothing reported in the sequel regarding the fulfilment of such a promise. To this we must further add, that the verb יפת is, on account of its immediate nearness to the proper name, too little expressive, and that, hence, we must expect to find its meaning more fully brought out in what follows.

But if it be acknowledged that the extension appears here as a blessing, in so far only as it leads to the dwelling in the tents of Shem, mentioned in the subsequent clause of the verse, and that the blessing can consist in nothing else, there is then no essential difference betwixt the two interpretations. But we decide in favour of the latter view, because the corresponding verb הרחיב, "to make wide, to enlarge," when construed with ל, is always used in the signification: "to bring into a free, unstraitened, easy, happy position." (See, e.g., Gen. xxvi. 22; Ps. iv. 2; Prov. xviii. 16; 2 Sam. xxii. 20.) Even when followed by an accusative, the verb is found with this signification in Deut. xxxiii. 20: "Blessed be He that enlargeth Gad." (In this passage, too, the word has been understood as denoting extension; and Deut. xii. 20, xix. 8, have been appealed to in support of the opinion; but this appeal is inadmissible, because extension of the borders is the thing which is there spoken of. The allusion to the signification of the name Gad = good luck [Gen. xxx. 11: "And Leah said, For good luck;[5] and she called his name Gad">[, is favourable to our view, as well as the circumstance, that in this case the subsequent words are only an expansion of the general thought, and more closely determine the happiness. Jehovah, who enlarges Gad, according to the words which follow, "He dwelleth like a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head," is contrasted with the enemies who wish to drive him into a strait. If room be made for him, he becomes happy, as it were, by enlargement.) To understand יַפְתְּ of prosperity and happiness, is countenanced also by the consideration that, in such circumstances, the name Japheth appears much more appropriate in the mouth of Noah, by whom it was uttered at a time when extension could be but little thought of, and that it corresponds much better with the name Shem.

Elohim is to enlarge Japheth. Elohim here stands in strict contrast with Jehovah, the God of Shem. It is only by dwelling in the tents of Shem, that Japheth passes over into the territory of Jehovah,—up to that time, he belongs to the territory of Elohim. But Elohim leads him to Jehovah. It is a contrast in all respects similar to that which we have in Gen. xiv., where, in verse 19, Melchizedek speaks of "the most high God," whose priest he is, according to verse 20; while Abraham, on the contrary, speaks, in verse 22, of "Jehovah the most high God."

There is a difference of opinion regarding the determination of the subject in the second clause of the verse: "and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem." According to a very ancient interpretation, Elohim is to be supplied as such; from which the following sense would be obtained: "God shall indeed enlarge and prosper Japheth, but He shall dwell in the tents of Shem." The inferior blessing of Japheth would thus be contrasted with the superior one of Shem, among whose posterity God should, by His gracious presence, glorify Himself,—first in the tabernacle, then in the temple, and lastly, should, in the highest sense, dwell by the incarnation of His Son. Thus Onkelos: "God shall extend Japheth, and His Shechinah shall dwell in the tents of Shem." The ancient book Breshith Rabba remarks on this passage: "The Shechinah dwells only in the tents of Shem." (See Schöttgen, de Messia, p. 441.) Theodoret also (Interrog. 58 in Genesin) advances this explanation, and ably brings out this sense. It has of late been again defended by Hofmann and Baumgarten. But against this view there are decisive arguments, which show that Japheth alone can be the subject. To mention only a few:—It cannot be doubted that it is on purpose that Noah, when speaking of Shem, has chosen the name Jehovah, and that, as soon as he comes to Japheth, he makes use of the name Elohim. We cannot, therefore, suppose that here, where, according to this interpretation, he would just touch upon the essential point in the peculiar relation of Jehovah to the descendants of Shem—the Israelites, he should have made use of the general name of Elohim, as in the case of Japheth. The subject—Jehovah—could not in this case have been omitted before ישכן. Further,—By such an interpretation we are involved in inextricable difficulties as regards the last clause of the verse. The words, "And Canaan shall be a servant to them," can neither be referred to Shem alone—for, in that case, they would be an useless repetition, as in ver. 25 Canaan had been doomed to be a servant to his brethren—nor can they be referred to Shem and Japheth at the same time; the analogy of the למו in the preceding verse, where the plural referred to the plurality represented by the one Shem, forbids this. If, then, the last clause can refer to Japheth only, the clause in which the dwelling in the tents of Shem is spoken of, must likewise be referred to Japheth. To these arguments we may further add, that there is something altogether strange in the expression: "God shall dwell in the tents of Shem." There is, in Holy Scripture, frequent mention of God's dwelling in His tabernacle, on His holy hill, in Zion, in the midst of the children of Israel. Believers also are said to dwell in the tabernacle or temple of God; but nowhere is God spoken of as dwelling in the tents of Israel. Further,—If we refer the second clause to Shem, the first, in its detached position, would be too general, too indefinite, and too loose to admit of the blessing of Japheth being concluded with it. We must not, moreover, lose sight of the consideration, that when we refer the second clause also to Japheth, there springs up a beautiful connection between the relation of Shem and Japheth to each other in the present, and during their future progress. As the reaction against the corruption of Ham had originated with Shem, and Japheth had only joined him in it; so in future also, the real home of piety and salvation will be with Shem, to whom Japheth, in the felt need of salvation, shall come near. Finally,—The analogy of the promise made to the Patriarch, according to which all the nations of the earth shall be blessed by the seed of Abraham, is in favour of our referring the second clause to Japheth. And if the Lord, alluding to our passage, says, in Luke xvi. 9, "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations" (σκηνή = אהל), He expresses the view which we are now defending. For, in that passage, it is not God who receives, but man: they who, by their prayers, are more advanced, come to the help of those who have made less progress; those who have already attained to the enjoyment of salvation, make them partakers who stand in need of salvation.

Of those who correctly consider Japheth to be the subject, several (J. D. Michaelis, Vater, Gesenius, Winer, Knobel) give the translation: "and he shall dwell in renowned habitations." But it is quite evident that this sense is admissible only as a secondary one: as such, we must indeed admit it in a context in which the appellative signification of the proper names is never lost sight of. That שם is here, however, primarily a proper name, is shown by the preceding verse.