In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.
19. in the sweat of thy face ] As in the sentence upon the woman, so here, in the sentence upon the man, suffering is not punitive, but disciplinary, being associated with his highest vocation. The necessity of labour has proved man’s greatest blessing; it has evoked the qualities which are distinctively most noble, and has been the cause of all progress and improvement.
till thou return, &c.] Man’s work is to continue to the end. Old age has its own scope for activities. Physical robustness is not the only measure of responsibility or efficiency.
dust thou art, &c.] See note on Gen 3:7. Jehovah does not slay man at once; He is merciful, and relaxes His first decree. Man is not to enjoy earthly immortality: but he shall live until “the breath of God” is taken from him, and he becomes dust again.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 19. In the sweat of thy face] Though the whole body may be thrown into a profuse sweat, if hard labour be long continued, yet the face or forehead is the first part whence this sweat begins to issue; this is occasioned by the blood being strongly propelled to the brain, partly through stooping, but principally by the strong action of the muscles; in consequence of this the blood vessels about the head become turgid through the great flux of blood, the fibres are relaxed, the pores enlarged, and the sweat or serum poured out. Thus then the very commencement of every man’s labour may put him in mind of his sin and its consequences.
Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.] God had said that in the day they ate of the forbidden fruit, dying they should die – they should then become mortal, and continue under the influence of a great variety of unfriendly agencies in the atmosphere and in themselves, from heats, colds, drought, and damps in the one, and morbid increased and decreased action in the solids and fluids of the other, till the spirit, finding its earthly house no longer tenable, should return to God who gave it; and the body, being decomposed, should be reduced to its primitive dust. It is evident from this that man would have been immortal had he never transgressed, and that this state of continual life and health depended on his obedience to his Maker. The tree of life, as we have already seen, was intended to be the means of continual preservation. For as no being but God can exist independently of any supporting agency, so man could not have continued to live without a particular supporting agent; and this supporting agent under God appears to have been the tree of life.
, .
Anac. Od. 4., v. 9.
“We shall lie down as a small portion of dust, our bones being dissolved.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the sweat of thy face, i.e. of thy body: he mentions the face, because there the sweat appears first and most. Or, with labour of body or brain, Ecc 1:13, and vexation of mind,
shalt thou get thy food and livelihood:
bread being put for all nourishment, as Gen 18:5; 28:20.
Dust thou art, as to the constitution and original of thy body. See Gen 18:27; Job 1:21; Psa 103:14. Though upon thy obedience I would have preserved thy body no less than thy soul from all mortality; yet now, having sinned, thou shalt return unto dust in thy body, whilst the immortal spirit shall return unto God who gave it, Ecc 12:7. Thus thy end shall be as base as thy beginning.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. till thou return unto thegroundMan became mortal; although he did not die the moment heate the forbidden fruit, his body underwent a change, and that wouldlead to dissolution; the union subsisting between his soul and Godhaving already been dissolved, he had become liable to all themiseries of this life and to the pains of hell for ever. What amournful chapter this is in the history of man! It gives the onlytrue account of the origin of all the physical and moral evils thatare in the world; upholds the moral character of God; shows that man,made upright, fell from not being able to resist a slight temptation;and becoming guilty and miserable, plunged all his posterity into thesame abyss (Ro 5:12). Howastonishing the grace which at that moment gave promise of a Saviourand conferred on her who had the disgrace of introducing sin thefuture honor of introducing that Deliverer (1Ti2:15).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,…. Or “of thy nose” f, sweat appearing first and chiefly on the forehead, from whence it trickles down by the nose in persons employed in hard labour; and here it takes in all the labour used in cultivating the earth for the production of herbs, and particularly of corn, of which bread is made; with respect to which there are various operations in which men sweat, such as ploughing, sowing, reaping, threshing, winnowing, grinding, sifting, kneading, and baking; and it may have regard to all methods and means by which men get their bread, and not without sweat; and even such exercises as depend upon the brain are not excused from such an expense: so that every man, let him be in what station of life he will, is not exempt, more or less, from this sentence, and so continues till he dies, as is next expressed:
till thou return unto the ground, his original, out of which he was made; that is, until he dies, and is interred in the earth, from whence he sprung; signifying that the life of man would be a life of toil and labour to the very end of it: and nothing else can man expect in it:
for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return; his body was composed of the dust, was of the earth, earthly, and should be reduced to that again by death, which is not an annihilation of man, but a bringing him back to his original; which shows what a frail creature man is, what little reason he has to be proud of himself, when he reflects from whence he came and whither he must go; see
Ec 12:7.
f “nasi tui”, Picherellus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
19. In the sweat of thy face. Some indeed, translate it ‘labor;’ the translation, however, is forced. But by “sweat” is understood hard labor and full of fatigue and weariness, which, by its difficulty produces sweat. It is a repetition of the former sentence, where it was said, ‘Thou shalt eat it in labor.’ Under the cover of this passage, certain ignorant persons would rashly impel all men to manual labor; for God is not here teaching as a master or legislator, but only denouncing punishment as a judge. And, truly, if a law had been here prescribed, it would be necessary for all to become husband men, nor would any place be given to mechanical arts; we must go out of the world to seek for clothing and other necessary conveniences of life. What, then, does the passage mean? Truly God pronounces, as from his judgment-seat, that the life of man shall henceforth be miserable, because Adam had proved himself unworthy of that tranquil, happy and joyful state for which he had been created. Should any one object that there are many inactive and indolent persons, this does not prevent the curse from having spread over the whole human race. For I say that no one lies torpid in such a degree of sloth as not to be under the necessity of experiencing that this curse belongs to all. Some flee from troubles, and many more do all they can to grasp at immunity from them; but the Lord subjects all, without exception, to this yoke of imposed servitude. It is, nevertheless, to be, at the same time, maintained that labor is not imposed equally on each, but on some more, on others less. Therefore, the labor common to the whole body is here described; not that which belongs peculiarly to each member, except so far as it pleases the Lord to divide to each a certain measure from the common mass of evils. It is, however, to be observed, that they who meekly submit to their sufferings, present to God an acceptable obedience, if, indeed, there be joined with this bearing of the cross, that knowledge of sin which may teach them to be humble. Truly it is faith alone which can offer such a sacrifice to God; but the faithful the more they labor in procuring a livelihood, with the greater advantage are they stimulated to repentance, and accustom themselves to the mortification of the flesh; yet God often remits a portion of this curse to his own children, lest they should sink beneath the burden. To which purpose this passage is appropriate,
‘
Some will rise early and go late to rest, they will eat the bread of carefulness, but the Lord will give to his beloved sleep,’ (Psa 127:2.)
So far, truly, as those things which had been polluted in Adam are repaired by the grace of Christ, the pious feel more deeply that God is good, and enjoy the sweetness of his paternal indulgence. But because, even in the best, the flesh is to be subdued, it not infrequently happens that the pious themselves are worn down with hard labors and with hunger. There is, therefore, nothing better for us than that we, being admonished of the miseries of the present life, should weep over our sins, and seek that relief from the grace of Christ which may not only assuage the bitterness of grief, but mingle its own sweetness with it. (206) Moreover, Moses does not enumerate all the disadvantages in which man, by sin, has involved himself; for it appears that all the evils of the present life, which experience proves to be innumerable, have proceeded from the same fountain. The inclemency of the air, frost, thunders, unseasonable rains, drought, hail, and whatever is disorderly in the world, are the fruits of sin. Nor is there any other primary cause of diseases. This has been celebrated in poetical fables, and was doubtless handed down, by tradition, from the fathers. Hence that passage in Horace: —
“
When from Heaven’s fane the furtive hand Of man the sacred fire withdrew, A countless host — at God’s command — To earth of fierce diseases flew; And death — till now kept far away Hastened his step to seize his prey. (207)
But Moses, who, according to his custom, studies a brevity adapted to the capacity of the common people, was content to touch upon what was most apparent, in order that, from one example, we may learn that the whole order of nature was subverted by the sin of man. Should any one again object, that no suffering was imposed on men which did not also belong to women: I answer, it was done designedly, to teach us, that from the sin of Adam, the curse flowed in common to both sexes; as Paul testifies, that ‘all are dead in Adam,’ (Rom 5:12.)
One question remains to be examined — ‘When God had before shown himself propitious to Adam and his wife, — having given them hope of pardon, — why does he begin anew to exact punishment from them? Certainly in that sentence, ‘the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent,’ the remission of sins and the grace of eternal salvation is contained. But it is absurd that God, after he has been reconciled, should actually prosecute his anger. To untie this knot, some have invented a distinction of a twofold remission, namely, a remission of the fault and a remission of the punishment, to which the figment of satisfactions was afterwards annexed. They have feigned that God, in absolving men from the fault, still retains the punishment; and that, according to the rigour of his justice, he will inflict at least a temporal punishment. But they who imagined that punishments are required as compensations, have been preposterous interpreters of the judgments of God. For God does not consider, in chastising the faithful, what they deserve; but what will be useful to them in future; and fulfils the office of a physician rather than of a judge. (208) Therefore, the absolution which he imparts to his children is complete and not by halves. That he, nevertheless, punishes those who are received into favor, is to be regarded as a kind of chastisement which serves as medicine for future time, but ought not properly to be regarded as the vindictive punishment of sin committed. If we duly consider how great is the torpor of the human mind, then, how great its lasciviousness, how great its contumacy, how great its levity, and how quick its forgetfulness, we shall not wonder at God’s severity in subduing it. If he admonishes in words, he is not heard; if he adds stripes, it avails but little; when it happens that he is heard, the flesh nevertheless perversely spurns the admonition. That obstinate hardness which, with all its power opposes itself to God, is worse than lasciviousness. If any one is naturally endued with such a gentle disposition that he does not disown the duty of submission to God, yet, having escaped from the hand of God, after one allowed sin, he will soon relapse, unless he be drawn back as by force. Wherefore, this general axiom is to be maintained, that all the sufferings to which the life of men is subject and obnoxious, are necessary exercises, by which God partly invites us to repentance, partly instructs us in humility, and partly renders us more cautious and more attentive in guarding against the allurements of sin for the future.
Till thou return. He denounces that the termination of a miserable life shall be death; as if he would say, that Adam should at length come, through various and continued kinds of evil, to the last evil of all. Thus is fulfilled what we said before, that the death of Adam had commenced immediately from the day of his transgression. For this accursed life of man could be nothing else than the beginning of death. ‘But where then is the victory over the serpent, if death occupies the last place? For the words seem to have no other signification, than that man must be ultimately crushed by death. Therefore, since death leaves nothing to Adam, the promise recently given fails; to which may be added, that the hope of being restored to a state of salvation was most slender and obscure.’ Truly I do not doubt that these terrible words would grievously afflict minds already dejected, from other causes, by sorrow. But since, though astonished by their sudden calamity, they were yet not deeply affected with the knowledge of sin; it is not wonderful that God persisted the more in reminding them of their punishment, in order that he might beat them down, as with reiterated blows. Although the consolation offered be in itself obscure and feeble, God caused it to be sufficient for the support of their hope, lest the weight of their affliction should entirely overwhelm them. In the meantime, it was necessary that they should be weighed down by a mass of manifold evils, until God should have reduced them to true and serious repentance. Moreover, whereas death is here put as the final issue, (209) this ought to be referred to man; because in Adam himself nothing but death will be found; yet, in this way, he is urged to seek a remedy in Christ.
For dust thou art. Since what God here declares belongs to man’s nature, not to his crime or fault, it might seem that death was not superadded as adventitious to him. And therefore some understand what was before said, ‘Thou shalt die,’ in a spiritual sense; thinking that, even if Adam had not sinned, his body must still have been separated from his soul. But, since the declaration of Paul is clear, that
‘
all die in Adams as they shall rise again in Christ,’ (1Co 15:22,)
this wound also was inflicted by sin. Nor truly is the solution of the question difficult, — ‘Why God should pronounce, that he who was taken from the dust should return to it.’ For as soon as he had been raised to a dignity so great, that the glory of the Divine Image shone in him, the terrestrial origin of his body was almost obliterated. Now, however, after he had been despoiled of his divine and heavenly excellence, what remains but that by his very departure out of life, he should recognize himself to be earth? Hence it is that we dread death, because dissolution, which is contrary to nature, cannot naturally be desired. Truly the first man would have passed to a better life, had he remained upright; but there would have been no separation of the soul from the body, no corruption, no kind of destruction, and, in short, no violent change.
(206) “ Sed etiam dulci temperamento condiat.”
“
Laquelle non seulement appaise l’aigreur des douleurs, mais aussi leur donne saveur, meslant le sucre parmi le vinaigre.” — Which not only relieves the sourness of griefs, but also gives them savor, mixing sugar with the vinegar. — French Trans.
(207)
” Post ignem aetheria domo Subductum, macies et nova febrium Terris incubuit cohors; Semotique prius tarda necessitas Leti corripuit gradum .” — Hor. Carm. in. Lib. I.
(208) “The punishments inflicted by God are the remedies and the restraints of our vitiated nature.” — Peter Martyr, in Genesis fol. 17.
(209) “ Quasi ultima linea.” “ Comme le bout.” — French Trans.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) Dust thou art . . . It appears from this that death was mans normal condition. A spiritual being is eternal by its own constitution, but the argument by which Bishop Butler proves the soul to be immortal equally proves the mortality of the body. Death, he says, is the division of a compound substance into its component parts; but as the soul is a simple substance, and incapable of division, it is per se incapable of death (Analogy, Part 1, Genesis 1). The body of Adam, composed of particles of earth, was capable of division, and our first parents in Paradise were assured of an unending existence by a special gift, typified by the tree of life. But now this gift was withdrawn, and henceforward the sweat of mans brow was in itself proof that he was returning to his earth: for it told of exhaustion and waste. Even now labour is a blessing only when it is moderate, as when Adam kept a garden that spontaneously brought forth flowers and fruit. In excess it wears out the body and benumbs the soul, and by the pressure of earthly cares leaves neither time nor the wish for any such pursuits as are worthy of a being endowed with thought and reason and a soul.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread Not only shall the sweat oppress thee in thy toil, but even when thou sittest to eat bread, it shall appear on thy face . “This sentence includes all the sorrows, pains, and sweating toils to which men are subject in gaining a livelihood . ” Jacobus . “No man eats bread but by the sweat of some man’s face . ” Conant . Dust thou art, (Gen 2:7) and unto dust shalt thou return Excluded from the garden and the tree of life, man must, sooner or later, suffer bodily dissolution. He may live nine hundred and thirty years, (Gen 5:5,) but the death will surely come . The perfection and vigour of the first man may reasonably be believed to have been the cause of patriarchal longevity. The vigour of the race gradually deteriorated until human life rarely continued beyond a hundred years. See note introductory to chapter 5.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 3:19. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return The plain inference to be drawn from this part of the sentence is, that the human body would have been preserved from decay and death, immortal and incorruptible, had man persevered in innocence.
REFLECTIONS.Our first parents wanted to be wiser, wanted to see more, and now they are gratified. But oh, what a sight! How preferable had blindness been to such a discovery!
1. They saw their own nakedness; not only of their bodies, but of their souls. The robe of innocence was rent; the image of God was defaced; their minds now a scene of disturbance; their happiness departed; their misery come upon them; all was lost, and dark despair; and dread of deserved punishment overwhelmed them. Observe, (1.) How dreadful a thing is sin: it smiles in the face, but it leaves behind the poison of a serpent: O that we felt its evil more, and, from the fear of its consequences, kept from the jaws of the destroyer! (2.) How shameful. It must cover us with confusion, either in time or eternity. Happy they, who, by real repentance, have taken shame to themselves here before God and man, and, through the Blood of Jesus, have their iniquity pardoned and their sin covered!
2. They sought to conceal it; and the methods they took shewed how improved they were in wisdom. Strange folly, to think that fig-leaves could hide their shame: it was a poor covering respecting themselves: it was useless respecting God. How like are we! (1.) We think all is well, if we can hide our shame from each other, and save our credit among men! But shall not the day come, when it shall be laid open before an assembled world? (2.) How apt are we to fly to excuses, instead of humbling ourselves under conscious guilt!
Guilt and fear are inseparable. They no sooner hear the voice of God, than that which was before their delight and joy, becomes their horror and confusion. It is probable that the second Divine Person sometimes appeared to them in Eden, as he afterwards designed to appear in the world to suffer, viz. in a human form: and this might tempt them to think it was probable enough, that as, he appeared like them in person, they might become like him in power. But now their presumptuous hopes are at an end, and they seek the thickest covert to be hid from his eye. Their own consciences become accusers, and they have already the sentence of death in themselves: now they began to discover the lie of the tempter; their godhead is debased into the lowest wretchedness, their promised power into abject weakness, and their proud wisdom into senseless folly. Reader, stop, and learn!
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ver. 19. In the sweat of thy face. ] Or, of thy nose, as one a rendereth it; that sweat that, beginning in thy brow, runs down by thy nose, through thy hard labour. This is a law laid upon all sorts, to sweat out a poor living, to humble themselves, by just labour, to sweat either their brows or their brains, b for this latter also is a “sore” occupation, Ecc 1:13 and the minister’s toil is compared to that of those that cleave wood; or work hard in harvest. 1Th 3:5 Mat 10:10 1Co 9:14 , &c. c
Shalt thou eat bread.
Until thou return unto the ground.
For dust thou art.
And to dust thou shalt return.
a Picherelius in Cosmop .
b See my True Treasure .
c , .
d Panem, dictum volunt – Isodor ., lib. xx.
e Etiam muta clamant cadavera. – Basil .
f Exercit. ad Cardan.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
face = whole body. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part). App-6.
bread = all kinds of food. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species).
dust. This is literal. See Gen 2:7. Psa 103:14. Ecc 12:7. 1Co 15:47. Note the emph. by Introversion | return. | it = (dust). | dust. | return.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
return Death (physical).
Gen 5:5; Gen 3:19; Heb 9:27
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
In: Ecc 1:3, Ecc 1:13, Eph 4:28, 1Th 2:9, 2Th 3:10
till: Job 1:21, Psa 90:3, Psa 104:29, Ecc 5:15
for dust: Gen 2:7, Gen 18:27
and: Gen 23:4, Job 17:13-16, Job 19:26, Job 21:26, Job 34:15, Psa 22:15, Psa 22:29, Psa 104:29, Pro 21:16, Ecc 3:20, Ecc 12:7, Dan 12:2, Rom 5:12-21, 1Co 15:21, 1Co 15:22
Reciprocal: Gen 2:17 – of the tree Gen 3:23 – till Gen 5:5 – and he died Gen 9:20 – an husbandman Gen 23:19 – General Gen 35:29 – Isaac Gen 47:29 – must die Gen 50:5 – bury me Gen 50:24 – I die Jdg 19:16 – his work Job 4:19 – dwell Job 10:9 – thou hast Job 21:33 – every man Job 30:23 – the house Job 33:6 – I also Psa 103:14 – we are dust Psa 104:23 – General Psa 128:2 – thou shalt eat Psa 146:4 – he returneth Pro 12:11 – tilleth Ecc 3:10 – General Eze 46:1 – six working Joh 11:39 – Lord Act 13:36 – and saw Rom 5:17 – For if Rom 6:23 – For the wages 1Co 15:42 – in corruption 1Co 15:47 – first 2Co 5:1 – our Heb 9:27 – as
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
HE REMEMBERETH THAT WE ARE DUST
Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Gen 3:19
I. Men know not that they shall die, even though they confess it with their lips almost daily.If we consider what death is, we see that men who know its approach will act in all things as in the fear of it. There is no more startling paradox in the wonders of our nature than this, that men in general are thoughtless about death. When our own turn comes and there is no escape, then, for the first time, we really believe in death.
II. Death is a fearful thing, because of the great change that it implies in all our being.Life is that power by which we act and think and love and intend and hope. And suppose that all our energies have been wasted on things that cannot follow us into the grave, then how can we conceive of any life at all beyond this? When we know that we must die, we feel about for something in us that shall not perish, some thread of continuity to knit our present and future life into one; and if we have never lived for God, never realised the difference between treasures of earth and treasures of heaven, we find nothing that shall assure us of that other life. We start back in horror from a grave so dark and so profound.
III. If these two terrors were all, some at least would not fear to die, would even court death as a repose.But there is yet another terror. Death means judgment. To die is to meet God. You tremble because you stand before a Judge of infinite power, whose wrath no man can resist; before a Judge of infinite wisdom, who shall call back your acts out of the distant past and lay bare the secret thoughts of your spirit.
IV. Accept the salvation purchased for you with Christs passion, then death cannot come suddenly upon you, for the thought of it will have sobered all your days. The day of account will still be terrible, but the belief that you are reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus will sustain you.
Abp. Thomson.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Gen 3:19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread His business, before he sinned, was a constant pleasure to him; but now his labour shall be a weariness. Unto dust shalt thou return Thy body shall be forsaken by thy soul, and become itself a lump of dust, and then it shall be lodged in the grave, and mingle with the dust of the earth.