And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

1:2 was upon the face of the deep. The universe as first called into existence by Elohim was in elemental existence, still “unformed” and unenergized, not yet ready for habitation, “void” (see notes on Psalm 33:6-9; Proverbs 8:22-31; Isaiah 45:18; II Peter 3:5). It would not be perfect (i.e., finished) until the end of creation week, when God would pronounce it “very good” and “finished” (Genesis 1:31–2:3). The “earth” material was suspended in a matrix of water (the “deep”) completely static and therefore in “darkness.”

1:26 likeness. Man was not only created in God’s spiritual image; he was also made in God’s physical image. His body was specifically planned to be most suited for the divine fellowship (erect posture, upward-gazing countenance, facial expressions varying with emotional feelings, brain and tongue designed for articulate symbolic speech–none of which are shared by the animals). Furthermore, his body was designed to be like the body which God had planned from eternity that He Himself would one day assume (I Peter 1:20).

2:10 out of Eden. The geography described in these verses obviously corresponds to nothing in the present world, although some of the names sound familiar. The Noahic Flood was so cataclysmic in its effects (note II Peter 3:6) that the primeval geography was obliterated, with the post-Flood continents and oceans completely different. The similarity of certain names (e.g., Ethiopia, Euphrates) is best explained in terms of the ascription by Noah or his sons of these names to postdiluvian features which reminded them of antediluvian geographic features, just as the explorers of America often gave European names to American sites.

3:16 rule over thee. She who had acted independently of her husband in her desire for the forbidden fruit must henceforth exercise her desires through her husband, and he would be ruler in the family. This prophecy has been fulfilled throughout history, in every time and nation. To the woman who knows God, however, especially in the full light of Christianity, her role of submission to God and to her husband becomes her means of greatest fulfillment and happiness. The “rule” of a true Christian husband is not one of harshness and subjugation, but one of loving companionship and caring responsibility (Colossians 3:18-21; Ephesians 5:22-33; I Peter 3:1-7; etc.).

4:9 I know not. Cain thus added blatant lying to his sins of self-righteous pride and murder. However, in one sense, he was speaking the truth. He knew where Abel’s blood was spilled but not where Abel himself was. Abel was now the first human inhabitant of Sheol (or Hades), that place in the heart of the earth where departed spirits would reside while awaiting the coming of the Savior (Luke 16:22-26; Ephesians 4:8-10; I Peter 3:18-20).

4:24 seventy and sevenfold. Contrast Lamech’s vindictiveness with the forgiving attitude enjoyed by Christ, who urged Peter to forgive his brother seventy times seven times (Matthew 18:22).

5:27 nine hundred sixty and nine. Methuselah’s 969 year life span is the longest ever recorded, possibly testifying to God’s “long-suffering...in the days of Noah” (I Peter 3:20; II Peter 3:9), since the Flood was to be sent to destroy the world immediately after Methuselah’s death.

5:29 hath cursed. The memory of God’s curse on the ground was still fresh in the memory of Adam’s godly descendants, showing that the million or more years of human history imagined by evolutionary anthropologists are an absurd dream. Lamech was undoubtedly one of those in Peter’s mind, when he preached about those holy prophets who “since the world began” had been promising the “times of restitution (i.e., ‘restoration’) of all things” (Acts 3:21).

6:2 sons of God. The identity of these “sons of God” has been a matter of much discussion, but the obvious meaning is that they were angelic beings. This was the uniform interpretation of the ancient Jews, who translated the phrase as “angels of God” in their Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. The apocryphal books of Enoch elaborate this interpretation, which is also strongly implied by the New Testament passages (Jude 6, II Peter 2:4-6; I Peter 3:19,20). The Hebrew phrase is bene elohim, which occurs elsewhere only in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. In these three explicitly parallel usages, the contextual meaning can be nothing except that of angels. A similar phrase bar elohim, occurs in Daniel 3:25, and another, bar elim, occurs in Psalm 29:1 and Psalm 89:6. All of these also refer explicitly to angels. The intent of the writer of Genesis 6 (probably Noah) was clearly that of introducing a monstrous irruption of demonic forces on the earth, leading to universal corruption and eventual judgment.

17:16 bless her. Sarah (with a new name meaning “princess”) was blessed first by a miracle (probably at the time of Genesis 18:14) that rejuvenated her body, enabling her to have a son long after it seemed biologically possible. As Isaac became a type of Christ, so she became a type of Mary, and is considered to be a spiritual mother of believers as Abraham was their spiritual father (note I Peter 3:6; Hebrews 11:11-12).