il,' and that he was a murderer from | kind which in Scripture are called seraphs or seraphim, from their luminous, burning, glowing appearance, an appearance that might very naturally have suggested the phrase, 'angel of light.' There can be no reasonable doubt, therefore, that the devil actuated the serpent by which Eve was beguiled, and that he was consequently the instigator of the first sin in Paradise. This being is here designated under the appellation serpent from his insidious, subtle, and malignant nature, and the epithet old is applied to him Rev. 12. 9, from his having commenced his diabolical acts at the creation, and continued to practise them through several thousand years down to the period of that prophecy. He is moreover elsewhere called Devil from his being a calumniator, or slanderer; Satan from his being an adversary or hater; and the Wicked One from his general character. the beginning,' where he probably alludes to his destructive agency in the transaction here recorded, as well as to that which he exercised in instigating Cain to the murder of Abel. For if he was 'a murderer from the beginning,' he must have been so from the earliest period in which he could have been guilty of this crime; and he could not justly be styled 'the father of lies,' if he were not the first from whom a lie ever proceeded. But he plainly acted in both these characters at the period referred to, and to this our Lord undoubtedly alludes. Again, the Apostle Paul in exhorting the Corinthians to beware of false teachers, says, 'I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.' Here is a comparison between the seduction of the Corinthians, and the seduction of Eve; and as the former were in no danger of being deceived by a mere brute animal, Eve cannot be supposed to have been beguiled by a mere irrational creature. If the serpent in Genesis were nothing more than the brute reptile, the comparison is destroyed, but if it were the organ of Satan, the comparison is true and forcible; that is, there was danger lest Satan should deceive the Corinthi an converts through the means of false teachers, as he did Eve by means of the serpent. That such is the apostle's meaning is implied in vs. 13-15, of the same chapter; 'For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.' We know from Scripture of no other period in the history of this archapostate when the transformation here predicated of him is so likely to have taken place as that now referred to when he perhaps assumed the form of a bright, glorious, and winged serpent, of that -T Was more subtle than any beast of the field. Heb. 7. That is, more cunning, wily, insidious. The term in its primary import signifies naked, but like many other Hebrew words originally expressive of physical properties, it came gradually to be applied to certain mental acts or attributes of a somewhat analogous nature. Whatever is naked is more free from impediments, and can therefore act in a more unembarrassed, easy, flexible, and effective manner than that which is hindered and harassed by any kind of covering. The transfer of the term, therefore, from corporeal to intellectual operations, as equivalent to expert, adroit, possessing quickness of mind, discernment, sagacity, either in a good or bad sense, is at once natural and accordant with the metaphorical usages of most ancient tongues. Thus, Heb. 5. 14. 'Who by reason of use have their senses exercised (Gr. yeyvpvasμeva make naked) to discern both good and evil.' It is consequently in numerous instances the term in the original which cure its head when assaulted, it is not peculiarly distinguished by superior astuteness. But its shape and properties may not have been originally the same as they now are. It is not unlikely that a debasing and deteriorating change has taken place in consequence of the curse pronounced upon it. It is here but if it had then been a vile reptile as classed among 'the beasts of the field;' the Greek translators have represented | its unwary victim, and of aiming to seby the epithet doovipos wise, and in the present passage that version exhibits pрoviμoтatos most wise, in allusion to which our Saviour says to his disciples, Mat. 10. 16, 'Be ye wise (ppovipoi) as serpents and harmless as doves.' In other cases it is translated by πavovoуos cunning, crafty, and in our English version is very often rendered by the epithet prudent, as Prov. 12. 16, 'A pruit now is, it would have been more natdent man (1) covereth shame.' Pro. 14. 8, 'The wisdom of the prudent (D) is to understand his way? The verbal root occurs in the sense of acting with serpentine subtilty in 1 Sam. 23. 22, where in reference to Da-thou eat all the days of thy life,' would vid's hiding himself in lurking places and thence making sudden sallies on his enemies, it is said, 'It is told me that he dealeth very subtilly (0191 07).'ject condition than that in which he In the present case commentators are not unanimous in explaining the application of the epithet. Some think that it refers both to the animal and the dev urally ranked among 'the creeping things,' as the distinction is somewhat closely observed in the first chapter of Genesis; and the denunciation, 'Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt seem moreover to import some great and remarkable punishment, such at least as his being reduced to a more ab was created. Accordingly we find a general belief both among the ancient Jews and the early Christians that the serpent before the fall was not only il who actuated it; others, that the ser-gentle and innocuous, but in form and pent is called 'subtle' solely by reason of the subtlety of the devil, who used it as his instrument, as the tongue is said to be wise or crafty when moved by a person possessed of these qualities. appearance among the most beautiful of creatures. In Num. 21. 6, it is said that "The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.' Here the original phrase is The former of these opinions strikes us as the more probable of the two. The attribute described pertained, we think, seraphim or burning serpents, both to the primary and the secondary agent here employed. At the same time, we do not hesitate to admit that the dominant and more especial reference is to the spiritual rather than the natural serpent; for of him insidious cunning and malignant subtlety may be preeminently predicated. We remark also that as far as the epithet applies to the material serpent, it is not properly characteristic of the reptile tribe as at present known to us, as this is neither the most sagacious, nor the most cunning and subtle of the brute creation. Except in the mere instinct of lurking insidiously to attack may in which they resembled an order of 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree c ch. 2. 17. quoting Num. 21. 6, he adds, "The Scripture calls serpents seraphim because they were which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. of the tempter evidently was, by artful insinuations, to weaken the authority of God's word. 'What, is it credible, is it possible, that a Being so good, so bountiful, so mindful of the happiness of his creatures, should have laid such an arbitrary command upon you?—that he of any part of the ample provision he should have grudged you the enjoyment has made for your use and comfort ?— Surely you must have mistaken his meaning?' Thus corrupt nature alden indulgence. It secretly impeaches ways reasons when it craves a forbid. the reasonableness of the divine precepts, and finally comes to deny both their truth and their existence. the offspring of the old serpent. Understand this as a matter of great concernment.' 'Which can have no meaning, I think, but this; that the devil, whom St. John calls Rev. 12. 9, the old serpent,' in this serpent here spoken of counterfeited a glorious seraphim, and thereby seduced Eve to give credit to him.' Patrick. If this then were the primitive form and aspect of the serpent, he may have possessed a proportionate degree of intelligence, and sagacity, and a part of his sentence may have consisted in his being degraded in the scale of creation, not only trees of the garden. The first assault 2. We may eat of the fruit of the in outward form, but in the inward of the insidious tempter is well susproperties here spoken of. But of this tained by the woman, though she would sentence we shall have more to say in a probably have acted a still wiser part subsequent note.- - Said unto the by flying at once and holding no par. woman. Knowing doubtless that she ley whatever with one who had thus was the weaker of the two, and less assailed her instinctive sense of right. capable of sustaining an assault; and It will be observed that his question, taking advantage, moreover, of an op- from its ambiguous phraseology, was portunity when she was alone, bereft very artfully framed. Without noti of the counsel and succour of her hus-cing the free grant of all the trees but band, and consequently still less pre-one, he slyly insinuates that they had pared to withstand the temptation.- been forbidden the use of every tree TYea hath God said? Heb. without exception. 'But no,' says the 3 is it surely so that God woman, 'you misinterpret the tenor of hath said? As the particle ' yea' in En- the command. It is not a prohibition glish is generally used as an addition to of every tree. On the contrary the Cresomething going before, so the corres- ator has kindly allowed us the use of ponding Hebrew phrase is one that sel- all the trees, with one single exception. dom occurs at the beginning of a sen- We may not eat of the tree in the midst tence. The probability therefore is that of the garden. this was not the commencement of his discourse, but that something which the historian does not relate had been previously said.¶ Ye shall not eat every tree of the garden. The drift 3. God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it. The phrase, 'neither shall ye touch it,' does not occur in the terms of the original prohibition, and some have supposed that the 4 ⚫ your And the serpent said unto | the day ye eat thereof, then • the woman, Ye shall not surely eyes shall be opened; and ye shall die: be as gods, knowing good and 5 For God doth know, that in | evil. d ver. 13. 2 Cor. 11. 3. 1 Tim. 2. 14. e ver. 7. Acts 26. 18. into a gentle caution against a possible or probable misfortune, 'Touch not for scarcely be sustained upon philological grounds. The Heb. pen frequently occurs in connections where it implies no doubt, as Ps. 2. 12, 'Kiss the son, lest (15) he be angry, and ye perish from the way,' &c. Where there are so many real grounds for condemning Eve's conduct, it is our duty to be cautious in giving those which are merely problematical. 4. Ye shall not surely die. Heb. 'ye shall not dying die.' Gr. 'ye shall not die the death.' Improving the advantage he had already gained in securing Eve's ear to his suggestions, he proceeds to question in direct terms the grounds of her fears as to the penalty threatened. 'It is not so certain as you imagine that such a direful consequence will follow. True, indeed, God has said it, but you cannot suppose he was really in earnest. He made use of this language merely as an expedient to keep you in awe, or he had some poison had even now begun to work in the mind of Eve, and that this was added as a tacit insinuation of the harsh-fear ye die.' But this construction can ness of the command. But as in our view her innocence was yet incorrupt, we cannot well imagine that she should knowingly have added to God's word, and therefore we deem it more likely that she sincerely understood the prohibition of touching to be involved in that of eating, as the former would naturally be the occasion of the latter, and so was carefully to be avoided. And this exposition of the woman while upright affords a good rule to us. If we would shun evil, we must shun the appearance of it, the occasions of it, every avenue that leads to it. To parley with temptation is to play with our ruin. In all this Eve sinned not nor charged God foolishly; and by thus reciting the command in all its entireness, she not only vindicated it from the falsification and distortion of Satan, who would have represented it as capricious and tyrannical, but showed that she regarded it as altogether kind and equitable, and such as ought to be implicitly obey-mystical meaning in the words different ed; first, because God had liberally from that conveyed by the simple letgiven them the freedom of all the trees ters. Do not then give way to such of the garden with one exception; and unworthy thoughts of an infinitely kind secondly, because he had enforced the and gracious Being. Do not suppose command by the terrible threatening of that for so trivial an offence as eating death in case of disobedience. Lest a little fruit he will doom you to perdiye die. Heb. 11. These words, tion, and thus suddenly destroy the it has been supposed, indicate a secret most excellent work of his hands.' working of the power of temptation; Thus the enemy proceeded to impugn inasmuch as they show a disposition the divine veracity, charging God with on Eve's part to soften the terms in nothing short of a lie. And such is usuwhich the prohibition had been given.ally the method adopted by his artful While God had said, 'Thou shalt sure- emissaries. They begin by suggesting ly die,' she in repeating it said, 'lest ye doubts, often in the form of specious die;' thus converting a most positive interrogatories, and end in positive asthreatening of instant and certain death | sertions, denying, ridiculing, or openly f 6 And when the woman saw | make one wise; she took of the that the tree was good for food, fruit thereof, and did eat; and and that it was pleasant to the gave also unto her husband with eyes, and a tree to be desired to and he did eat. blaspheming the divine declarations. In allusion to the policy of Satan on this occasion, our Saviour says, John, 8. 44, 'When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it. Accordingly here, as far as we know, is his first-begotten lie. ་ her, f 1 Tim. 2. 14. g ver. 12. 17. brought to the condition of the angels that fell, as angels are sometimes styled Elohim, Ps. 8. 6. By 'knowing good and evil' she doubtless understood a kind of divine omniscience, whereas his meaning was that they should have a woful experience of the difference between good and evil, or between happiness and misery, such as he himself had. The same equivocal character distinguished the responses of the an special engines of Satan; and wicked deceivers in all ages have employed the same diabolical subtlety in the use of double senses to compass their ends, concealing the essence of a lie under the semblance of the truth. 6. When the woman saw. That is, by a close and prying observation, by 5. Your eyes shall be opened. Finding that Eve did not revolt at his impious assertions, he rises in his effrontery and assumes a tone of direct and open blasphemy. Knowing that to an in-cient oracles, which were probably the telligent and holy being nothing was so desirable as knowledge, he boldly affirms that there was in the fruit of the tree a virtue capable of wonderfully enlarging her views, so that she and her husband should become as gods,' and possess a self-sufficiency and independence suited to that high character. Not only so, he appeals to God him-gazing upon it with a longing eye, by self, as knowing that this would be the case, and blasphemously insinuates that in withholding the fruit from them he had been actuated by nothing but envy, and a mean jealousy, lest they should become as wise and happy as himself. In all this there was at the same time an artful ambiguity of phrase wonderfully calculated to impose upon unsuspecting innocence. His language -T To make one wise. That is, if is so constructed that while he meant the word of the serpent were to be beone thing, she would naturally under-lieved. This was all the evidence she stand another. By 'opening the eyes,' she understood a farther and higher degree of wisdom, as the phrase imports, Acts, 26. 18. Eph. 1. 18, but he meant it of their perceiving their own misery and feeling remorse of conscience. By 'being as gods' (Elohim), she probably understood the being elevated almost to an equality with the Deity himself in point of knowledge and dignity; but he probably meant it of their being imagining to herself the gratification it would afford. Thus Achan saw and coveted and took. Josh. 7. 21.—T Pleasant to the eye. Heb. 'a desire, a lust,' i. e. something exceedingly to be longed for. The lust had now conceived which, as the apostle say, 'bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.' James, 1. 15. had that the tree was possessed of this property. As to its other inviting qualities, she could be satisfied of them, in a measure, by the testimony of her senses, but as to its ability to make one wise, this she was necessarily obliged to take upon trust.- -T She took of the fruit thereof, and did cat; and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. Yielding to the soph istry of the serpent, and overpowered |