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18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every Jer. 31. 35-b Or, creeping-e Heb. soul-d Heb. let fowl fiy.-e Heb. face of the firmament of heaven. I

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The STARS, in general, are considered to be suns, similar to that in our system; each having an appropriate number of planets moving round it: and that, as these stars are innumerable, consequently there are innumerable worlds, all dependent on the power, protection, and providence of God. Where the stars are in great abundance, Dr. Herschel supposes they form primaries and secondaries; i. e. suns revolving about suns, as planets revolve about the sun in our system. He considers that this must be the case in what is called the milky way; the stars being there in prodigious quantity. Of this he gives the following proof: on August 22, 1792, he found that in 41 minutes of time, not less than 258,000 stars had passed through the field of view in his telescope. What must God be, who has made, governs, and supports so many worlds!-For the magnitudes, distances, revolutions, &c. of the sun, moon, planets, and their satellites, see the preceding TABLES.

living creature that moveth, which the waters
brought forth abundantly after their kind, and
every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw
that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, & Be fruitful,
and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and
let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth

f Ch. 6. 20. & 7. 14. & 8. 19. Ps. 101 26.-g Ch. 8. 17.

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Verse 20. Let the waters bring forth abundantly] There is a meaning in these words which is seldom noticed. Innumerable millions of animalcula are found in water. Eminent naturalists have discovered not less than 30,000 in a single drop! How inconceivably small must each be, and yet each a perfect animal, furnished with the whole apparatus of bones, muscles, nerves, heart, arteries, veins, lungs, viscera in general, animal spirits, &c. &c. What a proof is this of the manifold wisdom of God! But the fecundity of fishes is another point intended in the text: no creatures are so prolific as these. A TENCH lays 1000 eggs, a CARP 20,000, and Leuwenhoek counted in a middling-sized cop, nine million, 384,000! Thus, according to the purpose of God, the waters bring forth abundantly. And what a merciful provision is this for the necessities of man! Many hundreds of thousands of the earth's inhabitants live, for a great part of the year, on fish only. Fish afford not only a wholesome, but a very nutritive diet: they are liable to few diseases, and, generally come in vast quantities to our shores, when in their greatest perfection. In this also we may see that the kind providence of God goes hand in hand with his creating energy. While he manifests his wisdom and his power, he is making a permanent provision for the sustenance of man through all his generations.

Verse 21. And God created great whales, Dan D ha-tanneenim ha-gedoleem.] Though this is generally understood by the different versions as signifying whales, yet the original must be understood rather as a general than a particular term, comprising all the great aquatic animals, such as the various species of whales, the porpoise, the dolphin, the monoceros or narwal, and the shark. God delights to show himself in little as well as great things: hence he forms animals so minute, that 30,000 can be contained in one drop of water; and others so great, that they seem to require almost a whole sea to float in.

Verse 22. Let foul multiply in the earth.] It is truly astonishing with what care, wisdom, and minute skill God has formed the different genera and species of birds, whether intended to live chiefly on land or in water. The structure of a single feather affords a world of wonders; and as God made the fowls that they might fly in the firmament of heaven, ver. 20. so he has adapted the form of their bodies, and the structure and disposition of their plumage, for that very purpose. The head and neck in flying, are drawn principally within the breast-bone, so that the whole under-part exhibits the appearance of a ship's hull. The wings are made use of as sails, or rather oars, and the tail as a helm or rudder. By means of these, the creature is not only able to preserve the centre of gravity, but also to go with vast speed through the air, either straight forward, circularly, in any kind of angles, upwards or downwards. In these also God has shown his skill and his power in the great and in the littlein the vast ostrich and cassowary, and in the beautiful humming-bird, which in plumage excels the splendour of the peacock, and in size is almost on a level with the bee.

Verse 24. Let the earth bring forth the living creature, &c.] nwo nephesh chaiyah, a general term to express all creatures endued with animal life, in any of its infinitely varied gradations, from the half-reasoning elephant down to the stupid potto, or lower still, to the polype, which seems equally to share the vegetable and animal life. The word nn chaiyeto, in the latter part of the verse, seems to signify all wild animals, as lions, tigers, &c. and especially such as are carnivorous, or live on flesh, in contradistinction from domestic animals, such as are graminivorous, or live on grass and other vegetables; and are capable of being tamed, and applied to domestic purposes. These latter are probably meant by nona behemah, in the text; which we translate cattle, such as horses, kine, sheep dogs, &c. Creeping thing, wo remes, all the different genera of serpents, worms, and such animals as have no feet. In beasts also God has shown his wondrous skill and power; in the vast elephant, or still more colossal mammoth, or megalonyx, the whole race of which appears to be extinct, a few skeletons only remaining. This animal, an astonish

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the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you i shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it 27 So God created man in his own image, in was so. d the image of God created he him; male and 31 And God saw every thing that he had female created he them. made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish

a Ch. 5. 1. & 9. 6. Ps. 100. 3. Eccles. 7. 29. Acts 17. 20, 28, 29. 1 Cor. 11. 7. Eph. 4. 24. Col. 3. 10. James 3. 9.-b Ch. 9. 2. Ps. 8. 6-c1 Cor. 11. 7-d Ch. 5. 2. Mal. 2 15. Matt. 19. 4. Mark 10. 6.-e Ch. 9. 1, 7. Lev. 26. 9. Pa. 127. 3. & 128. 3, 4.

ing effect of God's power, He seems to have produced merely to show what he could do; and, after suffering a few of them to propagate, he extinguished the race by a merciful providence, that they might not destroy both man and beast. The mammoth, or megalonyx, is a carnivorous animal, as the structure of the teeth proves; and of an immense size; from a considerable part of a skeleton which I have seen, it is computed that the animal to which it belonged must have been nearly twenty-five feet high, and sixty in length! The bones of one toe are entire; the toe upwards of three feet in length. Few elephants have ever been found to exceed eleven feet in height. How wondrous are the works of God! But his skill and power are not less seen in the beautiful chevrotin, or tragulus, a creature of the antelope kind, the smallest of all bifid or cloven-footed animals, whose delicate limbs are scarcely so large as an ordinary goose-quill; and also in the shrew mouse, perhaps the smallest of the many-toed quadrupeds. In the reptile kind we see also the same skill and power, not only in the immense snake called Boa constrictor, the mortal foe and conqueror of the royal tiger; but also in the Cobra de Manille, a venomous serpent only a little larger than a common sewing needle.

Verse 25. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, &c.] Every thing, both in the animal and vegetable world was made so according to its kind, both in genus and species, as to produce its own kind through endless generations. Thus the several races of animals and plants have been kept distinct from the foundation of the world to the present day. This is a proof that all future generations of plants and animals, have been seminally included in those which God formed in the beginning.

Verse 26. And God said, Let us make man] It is evident that God intends to impress the mind of man with a sense of something extraordinary in the formation of his body and soul, when he introduces the account of his creation thus: Let US make man. The word N Adam, which we translate man, is intended to designate the species of animal, as n chaieto, marks the wild beasts, that live in general a solitary life; nona behemah, domestic or gregarious animals; and premes, all kinds of reptiles, from the largest snake to the microscopic eel. Though the same kind of organization may be found in man, as appears in the lower animals, yet there is a variety and complication in the parts, a delicacy of structure, a nice arrangement, a judicious adaptation of the different members to their great offices and functions, a dignity of mien, and a perfection of the whole, which are sought for in vain in all other creatures. See ch. iii. 22.

In our image, after our likeness] What is said above refers only to the body of man; what is here said refers to his soul. This was made in the image and likeness of God. Now, as the Divine Being is infinite, he is neither limited by parts, nor definable by passions; therefore he can have no corporeal image after which he made the body of man. The image and likeness must necessarily be intellectual: his mind, his soul, must have been formed after the nature and perfections of his God. The human mind is still endowed with most extraordinary capacities: it was more so when issuing out of the hands of its Creator. God was now producing a spirit, and a spirit too, formed after the perfections of his own nature. God is the fountain whence this spirit issued; hence the stream must resemble the Spring which produced it. God is holy, just, wise, good, and perfect; so must be the soul that sprang from him: there could be in it nothing impure, unjust, ignorant, evil, low, base, mean, or vile. It was created after the

f Heb. creepeth.-g Heb. seeding seed-h Ch. 9. 3. Job 36. 31. Ps. 104. 14, 15. & 136. 25. & 146. 7. Acts 14. 17.- Ps 145. 15, 16. & 147. 9.-k Job. 38. 41.-1 Heb. a living soul-m Pa 101. 24. Lani. 3. 38. 1 Tim. 4. 4.

image of God; and that image, St. Paul tells us, consisted in righteousness, true holiness, and knowledge, Eph. iv. 24. Coloss. iii. 10. Hence man was wise in his mind, holy in his heart, and righteous in his actions. Were even the word of God silent on this subject, we could not infer less from the lights held out to us by reason and common sense. The text tells us, he was the work of ELOHEEM, the Divine Plurality marked here more distinctly by the plural pronouns US and OUR; and to show that he was the masterpiece of God's creation, all the persons in the Godhead are represented as united in counsel and effort to produce this astonishing creature.

And let them have dominion] Hence we see that the dominion was not the image. God created man capable of governing the world; and when fitted for the office, he fixed him in it. We see God's tender care and parental solicitude for the comfort and well-being of this master-piece of his workmanship, in creating the world previous to the creation of man. He prepared every thing for his subsistence, convenience, and pleasure, before he brought him into being: so that comparing little with great things, the house was builded, furnished, and amply stored, by the time the destined tenant was ready to occupy it.

It has been supposed by some that God speaks here to the angels, when he says, Let us make man: but to make this a likely interpretation, these persons must prove, 1. That angels were then created. 2. That angels could assist in a work of creation. 3. That angels were themselves made in the image and likeness of God. If they were not, it could not be said in our image; and it does not appear from any part in the Sacred Writings, that any creature but man was made in the image of God.-See the note on Psalm viii. 5.

Verse 28. And God blessed them] Marked them as being under his especial protection, and gave them power to propagate and multiply their own kind on the earth. A large volume would be insufficient to contain what we know of the excellence and perfection of man, even in his present degraded fallen state. Both his body and soul are adapted with astonishing wisdom to their residence and occupations; and also the place of their residence, as well as the surrounding objects, in their diversity, color, and mutual relations, to the mind and body of this lord of the creation. The contrivance, arrangement, action, and reaction of the different parts of the body, show the admirable skill of the wondrous Creator; while the various powers and faculties of the mind acting on, and by, the different organs of this body, proclaim the soul's divine origin, and demonstrate, that he who was made in the image and likeness of God, was a transcript of his own excellency, destined to know, love, and dwell with his Maker throughout eternity.

Verse 30. I have given every green herb for meat] It seems from this, says an eminent philosopher, that man was originally intended to live upon vegetables only; and as no change was made in the structure of men's bodies after the flood, it is not probable that any change was made in the articles of their food. It may also be inferred from this passage, that no animal whatever was originally designed to prey on others; for nothing is here said to be given to any beast of the earth, besides green herbs. Dr. Priestley. Before sin entered into the world, there could be, at least, no violent deaths, if any death at all.

Verse 31. And behold, it was very good) No tobh meod. Superlatively, or only good: as good as they could be. The plan wise, the work well executed, the different parts properly arranged, their nature, limits, mode

A. M. 1. B. C. 4004.

CHAP. II.

The seventh day is consecrated for a sabbath, and the reasons assigned, 1-3. A fecapitulation of the six days work of creation, 4-7. The garden of Eden planted, 8. Its trees, 9. Its rivers, and the countries watered by them, 10-14. Adam placed in the garden, and the command given not to eat of the tree of knowledge on pain of death, 15-17. God purposes to form a companion for the man, 18. The different animals brought to Adam, that he might assign them their names, 19, 20. The creation of the woman, 21, 22. The institution of marriage, 23, 21. The purity and innocence of our first parents, 25.

HUS the heavens and the earth were finTH ished, and all the host of them.

2 b And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the

a Pa 33. 6-b Exod. 20. 11. & 31. 17. Deut. 5. 14. Hebr. 4. 4-c Neh. 9. 14. Isai. 58, 13.

seventh day from all his work which he had
made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and
sanctified it: because that in it he had rested
from all his work which God created and made.
4 T These are the generations of the heav-
ens and of the earth when they were created,
in the day that the LORD God made the earth
and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before

d Heb. created to make.-e Ch. 1, 1. Ps. 90. 1, 2-f Ch. 1. 12. Pa. 104. 14. wisdom and mercy. Read so as to understand, for these things were written for thy learning: therefore mark what thou readest, and inwardly digest, deeply and seriously meditate on what thou hast marked, and pray to the Father of lights that he may open thy understanding, that thou mayest know these Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation.

God made thee and the universe, and governs all things according to the counsel of his will: that will is infinite goodness, that counsel is unerring wisdom. While under the direction of this counsel, thou canst not err; while under the influence of this will, thou canst not be wretched. Give thyself up to his teaching, and submit to his authority; and after guiding thee here by his counsel, he will at last bring thee to his glory. Every object that meets thy eye, should teach thee reverence, submission, and gratitude. The earth and its productions were made for thee; and the providence of thy heavenly Father, infinitely diversified in its operations, watches over and provides for thee. Behold the firmament of his power, the sun, moon, planets, and stars, which he has formed, not for himself, for he needs none of these things, but for his intelligent offspring. What endless gratification has he designed thee, in placing within thy reach these astonishing effects of his wisdom and power, and in rendering thee capable of searching out their wonderful relations and connexions; and of knowing himself the source of all perfection, by having made thee in his own image, and in his own likeness! It is true, thou art fallen: but he has found out a Ransom. God so loved thee, in conjunction with the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Believe on HIM, through him alone cometh salvation; and the fair and holy image of God, in which thou wert created, shall be again restored; he will build thee up as at the first, restore thy judges and counsellors as at the beginning, and in thy second creation, as in thy first, will pronounce thee to be very good, and thou shalt show forth the virtues of Him, by whom thou art created anew in Christ Jesus. Amen.

NOTES ON CHAPTER II. Verse 1. And all the host of them.] The word host signifies literally an army, composed of a number of companies of soldiers under their respective leaders; and seems here elegantly applied to the various celestial bodies in our system, placed by the Divine Wisdom under the influence of the sun. From the original word Nax tsaba, a host, some suppose the Sabeans had their name, because of their paying divine honours to the heavenly bodies, From the Septuagint version of this place, as aurov, all their ornaments, we learn the true meaning of the word xors, commonly translated world, which signifies a decorated or adorned whole or system. And this refers to the beautiful order, harmony, and regularity, which subsist among the various parts of the creation. This translation must impress the reader with a very favourable opinion of these ancient Greek translators: had they not examined the works of God with a philosophic eye, they never could have given this turn to the original.

Verse 2. On the SEVENTH day God ended, &c.] It is the general voice of Scripture, that God finished the whole of the creation in six days, and rested the seventh; giving us an example that we might labour six days, and rest the seventh from all manual exercises. It is worthy of notice, that the Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Samaritan, read the sixth day instead of the seventh; and this should be considered the genuine reading, which appears from these versions, to have been originally that of the Hebrew text. How the word sixth became changed into seventh, may be easily conceived from this circumstance. It is very likely that, in ancient times, all numerals were signified by letters, and not by words at full length. This is the case in the most ancient Greek and Latin MSS. and in almost all the rabbinical writings. When these numeral

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letters became changed for words at full length, two letters, nearly similar, might be mistaken for each other: vau stands for six, zain for seven: how easy to mistake these letters for each other, when writing the words at full length, and so give birth to the reading in question! Verse 3. And God blessed the seventh day] The original word 2 barac, which is generally rendered to bless, has a very extensive meaning. It is frequently used in Scripture in the sense of speaking good of or to a person; and hence literally and properly rendered by the Septuagint y from, good or well, and xy, I speak. So God has spoken well of the sabbath, and good to them who conscientiously observe it. Blessing is applied both to God and man; but when God is said to bless, we generally understand by the expression that he communicates some good: but when man is said to bless God, we surely cannot imagine that he bestows any gift or confers any benefit on his Maker. The truth is, that when God is said to bless, either in the Old or New Testament, it signifies his speaking good to man; and this comprises the whole of his exceeding great and precious promises. And when man is said to bless God, it ever implies that he speaks good or him, for the giving and fulfilment of his promises. This observation will be of general use in considering the various places where the word occurs in the Sacred Writings. Reader, God blesses thee, when, by his promises, he speaks good to thee; and thou dost bless him, when, from a consciousness of his kindness to thy body and soul, thou art thankful unto him, and speakest good or his name.

Because that in it he had rested] na shebath, from shabath, he rested; and hence, sabbath, the name of the seventh day, signifying a day of rest-Rest to the body from labour and toil; and rest to the soul from all worldly care and anxieties. He who labours with his mind hy worldly schemes and plans on the sabbath-day, is as culpable as he who labours with his hands in his accustomed calling. It is by the authority of God that the sabbath is set apart for rest and religious purposes, as the six days of the week are appointed for labour. How wise is this provision! It is essentially necessary, not only to the body of man, but to all the animals employed in his service. Take this away, and the labour is too great; both man and beast would fail under it. Without this consecrated day, religion itself would fail, and the human mind, becoming sensualized, would soon forget its origin and end. Even as a political regulation, it is one of the wisest and most beneficent in its effects of any ever instituted. Those who habitually disregard its moral obligation, are to man not only good for nothing, but are wretched in themselves, a curse to society, and often end their lives miserably. See the notes on Exod. xx. 8. xxiii. 12. xxiv. 16. and xxxi. 13. to which the reader is particularly desired to refer.

As God formed both the mind and body of man on principles of activity, so he assigned him proper employment; and it is his decree, that the mind shall improve by exercise, and the body find increase of vigour and health, in honest labour. He who idles away his time in the six days, is equally culpable in the sight of God, as he who works on the seventh. The idle person is ordinarily clothed with rags; and the sabbath breakers frequently come to an ignominious death.-Reader, beware!

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There are about three of the ancient nobility who still keep up this honourable custom, from which the very name of their nobility is derived. We have already seen, ch. i. 1. with what judgment our Saxon ancestors expressed Deus, the Supreme Being, by the term God; and we see the same judgment consulted by their use of the term Lord, to express the word Dominus, by which terms the Vulgate version, which they used, expresses Elohim and Jehovah, which we translate LORD GOD. GOD is the good Being, and LORD, is the dispenser of bread, the Giver of every good and perfect gift, who liberally affords the bread that perisheth to every man; and has amply provided the bread that endures unto eternal life for every human soul. With what propriety then does this word apply to the Lord Jesus, who is emphatically called the Bread of Life, the Bread of God, which cometh down from heaven, and which is given for the life of the world! John vi. 13. 48. 51. What a pity that this most impressive and instructive meaning of a word in such general use, were not more extensively known, and more particularly regarded!

Verse 5. Every plant of the field before it was in the earth] It appears that God created every thing, not only perfect as it respects its nature, but also in a state of maturity; so that every vegetable production appeared at once in full growth; and this was necessary, that man, when he came into being, might find every thing ready for his use.

The

Verse 6. There went up a mist] This passage appears to have greatly embarrassed many commentators. plain meaning seems to be this: that the aqueous vapours ascending from the earth, and becoming condensed in the colder regions of the atmosphere, fell back upon the earth in the form of dews, and by this means an equal portion of moisture was distributed to the roots of plants, &c. As Moses has said, verse 5. that the Lord had not caused it to rain upon the earth, he probably designed to teach us in verse 6. how rain is produced, viz. by the condensation of the aqueous vapours, which are generally, through the heat of the sun and other causes, raised to a considerable height in the atmosphere, where, meeting with cold air, the watery particles, which were before so small and light that they could float in the air, becoming condensed, i. e. many drops being driven into one, become too heavy to be any longer suspended, and then, through their own gravity, fall down in the form which we term rain.

Verse 7. God formed man of the dust] In the most distinct manner God shows us that man is a compound being, having a body and a soul, distinctly and separately created; the body out of the dust of the earth, the soul immediately breathed from God himself. Does not this strongly mark, that the soul and body are not the same thing? The body derives its origin from the earth, or, as Dy apher implies, the dust: hence, because it is earthy, it is decomposable, and perishable. Of the soul it is said, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: on ni ruach chayam, the breath of LIVES; i. e. animal and intellectual. While this breath of God expanded the lungs, and set them in play, his inspiration gave both spirit and understanding.

Verse 8. A garden eastward in Eden] Though the word y Eden signifies pleasure, or delight, it is certainly Verse 4. In the day that the Lord God made, &c.] the name of a place. See ch. iv. 16. 2 Kings xix. 12. Isa. The word m Yehovah, is for the first time mentioned xxxvii. 12. Ezek. xxvii. 23. Amos i. 5. And such places here. What it signifies, see on Exod. xxxiv. 5, 6.- probably received their name from their fertility, pleasant Wherever this word occurs in the Sacred Writings we situation, &c. In this light the Septuagint have viewed translate it LORD, which word is, through respect and it, as they render the passage thus: QUTSUGIY | 010; «preverence, always printed in capitals. Though our Eng-ov v ESTμ, God planted a paradise in Eden. Hence lish term Lord does not give the particular meaning of the word paradise has been introduced into the New the original word, yet it conveys a strong and noble sense. Testament, and is generally used to signify a place of Lord is a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon hlayond, hla- exquisite pleasure and delight. From this the ancient ford, afterward written Lovend, loverd, and lastly Lord; heathens borrowed their ideas of the gardens of the Hesfrom hlar, hlaf, bread: hence our word loaf: and fond, perides, where the trees bore golden fruit; the gardens of ford, to supply, to give out. The word, therefore, implies Adonis, a word which is evidently derived from the Hethe girer of bread: i. e. he who deals out all the necessa- brew y Aden; and hence the origin of sacred gardens, ries of life. Our ancient English noblemen were accus- or enclosures, dedicated to purposes of devotion, some tomed to keep a continual open house, where all their comparatively innocent, others impure. The word paradise vassals, and all strangers, had full liberty to enter, and eat is not Greek; in Arabic and Persian it signifies a garden, as much as they would; and hence those noblemen had a vineyard, and also the place of the blessed. The Mothe honourable name of lords, i. e. the dispensers of bread. I hammedans say, that God created the lüş

eastward in Eden; and there he put the man | the garden; and from thence it was parted, and whom he had formed. became into four heads.

b

e

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

f

10 And a river went out of Eden to water

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Jennet al Ferdoos, the garden of paradise, from light, and the prophets and wise men ascended thither. Wilmet places it after the root farada, to separate, especially a person or place, for the purposes of devotion, but supposes it to be originally a Persian word, cox originis Persica quam in suâ linguâ conservarum Armeni. As it is a word of doubtful origin, its etymology is uncertain. Verse 9. Every tree that is pleasant to the sight, &c.] If we take up these expressions literally, they may bear the following interpretation: the tree pleasant to the sight, may mean every beautiful tree or plant, which for shape, colour, or fragrance, delights the senses; such as flowering shrubs, &c.

The tree that is good for food] All fruit-bearing trees, whether of the pulpy fruits, as apples, &c. or of the kernel or nut kind, such as dates, and nuts of different sorts, together with all esculent vegetables.

The tree of life] on chaiyim, of lives, or life-giving tree, every medicinal tree, herb, and plant, whose healing virtues are of great consequence to man in his present state, when, through sin, diseases of various kinds have seized on the human frame, and have commenced that process of dissolution which is to reduce them to their primitive dust. Yet, by the use of these trees of life, those different vegetable medicines, the health of the body may be preserved for a time, and death kept at a distance. Though the exposition given here may be a general meaning for these general terms, yet it is likely that this tree of life, which was placed in the midst of the garden, was intended as an emblem of that life which man should ever live, provided he continued in obedience to his Maker. And probably the use of this tree was intended as the means of preserving the body of man in a state of continual vital energy, and an antidote against death. This seems strongly indicated from ch. iii. 22.

And the tree of knowledge of good and evil] Considering this also in a merely literal point of view, it may mean any tree or plant which possessed the property of increasing the knowledge of what was in nature, as the esculent vegetables had of increasing bodily vigour; and that there are some aliments which, from their physical influence, have a tendency to strengthen the understanding and invigorate the rational faculty, more than others, has been supposed by the wisest and best of men: yet here much more seems intended; but what, is very difficult to be ascertained. Some very eminent men have contended, that the passage should be understood allegorically; and that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, means simply that prudence, which is a mixture of knowledge, care, caution, and judgment, which was prescribed to regulate the whole of man's conduct. And it is certain, that to know good and evil, in different parts of Scripture, means such knowledge and discretion as leads a man to understand what is fit and unfit; what is not proper to be done, and what should be performed. But how could the acquisition of such a faculty be a sin? Or can we suppose that such a faculty could be wanting when man was in a state of perfection? To this it may be answered, the prohibition was intended to exercise this faculty in man, that it should constantly teach him this moral lesson, that there were some things fit and others unfit to be done; and that, in reference to this point, the tree itself should be both a constant teacher and monitor. The eating of its fruit would not have increased this moral faculty, but the prohibition was intended to exercise the faculty he already possessed. There is certainly nothing unreasonable in this explanation: and, viewed in this light, the passage loses much of its obscurity. Vitringa, in his Dissertation De Arbore prudentiæ in paradiso, ejusque mysterio, strongly contends for this interpretation. See more on chap. iii. 3.

Verse 10. A river went out of Eden, &c.] It would astonish an ordinary reader, who should be obliged to consult different commentators and critics on the situation of the terrestrial paradise, to see the vast variety of opinions by which they are divided. Some place it in the third heaven; others in the fourth; some within the orbit

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

h

12 And the gold of that land is good: 1 there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon:

g Ch. 25. 18. 1 Sam. 15. 7.-h Num. 11. 7. Exod. 16. 81.

of the moon, others in the moon itself; some in the middle regions of the air, or beyond the earth's attraction; some on the earth, others under the earth, and others within the earth; some have fixed it at the north pole, others at the south; some in Tartary, some in China; some on the borders of the Ganges, some in the island of Ceylon; some in Armenia, others in Africa, under the equator; some in Mesopotamia, others in Syria, Persia, Arabia, Babylon, Assyria, and in Palestine; some have condescended to place it in Europe, and others have contended, it either exists not, or is invisible, or is merely of a spiritual nature, and that the whole account is to be spiritually understood! That there was such a place once, there is no reason to doubt; the description given by Moses is too particular and circumstantial to be capable of being understood in any spiritual or allegorical way. As well might we contend, that the persons of Adam and Eve were allegorical, as that the place of their residence was such.

The most probable account of its situation is that given by Hadrian Reland. He supposes it to have been in Armenia, near the sources of the great rivers Euphrates, Tigris, Phasis, and Araxes. He thinks Pison was the Phasis, a river of Cholchis, emptying itself into the Euxine sea, where there is a city called Chabala, the pronunciation of which is nearly the same with that of Havilah, or Chavilah, according to the Hebrew, the vau being changed in Greek to beta B. This country was famous for gold, whence the fable of the Golden Fleece, attempted to be carried away from that country by the heroes of Greece. The Gihon he thinks to be the Araxes, which runs into the Caspian sea, both the words having the same signification, viz. a rapid motion. The land of Cush, washed by this river, he supposes to be the country of the Cussai of the ancients. The Hiddekel all agree to be the Tigris; and the other river, Phrat, or Perath, to be the Euphrates. All these rivers rise in the same tract of mountainous country, though they do not arise from one head.

Verse 12. There is bdellium (n bedolach) and the onyx stone, Dawn 2 Eben ha-shoham. Bochart thinks that the bedolach, or bdellium, means the pearl-oyster ; and shoham is generally understood to mean the onyx, a precious stone, which has its name from ovv, a man's nail, to the colour of which it nearly approaches. It is impossible to say what is the precise meaning of the original words; and at this distance of time and place it is of little

consequence.

Verse 15. Put him into the garden to dress and to keep it.] Horticulture, or gardening, is the first kind of employment on record; and that in which man was engaged, while in a state of perfection and innocence. Though the garden may be supposed to produce all things spontaneously, as the whole vegetable surface of the earth certainly did at the creation; yet dressing and tilling were afterward necessary, to maintain the different kinds of plants and vegetables in their perfection, and to repress luxuriance. Even in a state of innocence, we cannot conceive it possible that man could have been happy if inactive. God gave him work to do, and his employment contributed to his happiness: for the structure of his body, as well as of his mind, plainly proves that he was never intended for a merely contemplative life.

Verse 17. Of the tree of knowledge-thou shalt not eat] This is the first precept God gave to man, and it was given as a test of obedience, and a proof of his being in a dependent, probationary state. It was necessary, that while constituted lord of this lower world, he should know that he was only God's vicegerent, and must be accountable to him for the use of his mental and corporeal powers, and for the use he made of the different creatures put under his care. The man, from whose mind the strong impression of this dependence and responsibility is erased, necessarily loses sight of his origin and end, and is capable of any species of wickedness. As God is sovereign, he has a right to give to his creatures what commands he thinks proper. An intelligent creature, without a law to regulate

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