a Isai 65 25. Mic. 7. 17.-b Matt. 3. 7. & 13. 38. & 23. 33. John 8. 44. Acts 13. 10. 1 John 3. 8-c Pa 132. 11. Isai. 7. 14. Mic. 5. 3. Matt. 1. 23. 25. Luke 1. 31, 34, 35. Gal 4. 4-d Rom. 16 20. Col. 2. 15. Hebr. 2 14. 1 John 5. 5. Rev. 12. 7, 17.- Ps 48. 6. Isai. 13 8. & 21. 3. John 16. 21. 1 Tim. 2. 15, trangression: I did not pluck the fruit, she took it, and gave it to me. 2. When the woman is questioned, she lays the blame upon God and the serpent, (nachash) the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat-Thou didst make him much wiser than thou didst make me; and therefore, my simplicity and ignorance were overcome by his superior wisdom: can have no fault here, the fault is his, and his who made him so wise, and me so ignorant. Thus we find, that while the eyes of their body were opened to see their degraded state; the eyes of their understanding were closed so that they could not see the sinfulness of sin; and at the same time their hearts were hardened through its deceitfulness. In this also their posterity copy their example. How few ingenuously confess their own sin! They see not their guilt-they are continually making excuses for their crimes: the strength and subtlety of the tempter, the natural weakness of their own minds, the unfavourable circumstances in which they were placed, &c. &c. are all pleaded as excuses for their sins, and thus the possibility of repentance is precluded: for till a man take his sin to himself; till he acknowledge that he alone is guilty, he cannot be humbled, and consequently cannot be saved. Reader, till thou accuse thyself, and thyself only, and feel that thou alone art responsible for all thy iniquities, there is no hope of thy salvation. Verse 14. And the Lord said unto the serpent] The tempter is not asked why he deceived the woman? He cannot roll the blame on any other: self-tempted he fell; and it is natural for him, such is his enmity, to deceive and destroy all he can. His fault admits of no excuse; and therefore God begins to pronounce sentence on him first. And here we must consider a twofold sentence, one on Satan, and the other on the agent he employed. The nachash, who was at the head of all the inferior animals, and in a sort of society and intimacy with man, is to be greatly degraded, entirely banished from human society, and deprived of the gift of speech. Cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field-thou shalt be considered the most contemptible of animals-upon thy belly shall thou go-thou shalt no longer walk erect, but mark the ground equally with thy hands and feet-and dust shalt thou eat, though formerly possessed of the faculty to distinguish, choose, and cleanse thy food, thou shalt feed henceforth like the most stupid and abject quadruped, all the days of thy life-through all the innumerable generations of thy species. God saw meet to manifest his displeasure against the agent employed in this most melancholy business: and perhaps this is founded on the part which the intelligent and subtle nachash took in the seduction of our first parents. We see that he was capable of it, and have reason to believe that he became a willing instrument. Verse 15. I will put enmity between thee and the woman] This has been generally supposed to apply to a certain enmity subsisting between men and serpents; but this is rather a fancy than a reality. It is yet to be discovered that the serpentine race have any peculiar enmity against mankind; nor is there any proof that men hate serpents more than they do other noxious animals. Men have much more enmity to the common rat and magpie than they have to all the serpents in the land, because the former destroy the grain, &c. and serpents, in general, far from seeking to do men mischief, flee their approach, and avoid their dwelling. If, however, we take the word nachash to mean any of the simia, or ape species, we find a more consistent meaning, as there is scarcely an animal in the universe so detested by women as these are; and indeed men look on them as continual caricatures of themselves. But we are not to look for merely literal meanings here: it is evident, that Satan, who actuated this creature, is alone intended in this part of the prophetic declaration. God in his endless mercy has put enmity between men and him: so that, though all mankind love his service, yet all invariably hate himself. Were it otherwise, who could be saved? A great point gained toward the conver | 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; "cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; f Ch. 4. 7.-g Or, subject to thy husband.-h 1 Cor. 11. 3. & 14. 34. Eph. 5. 22, 23, 24. 1 Tim. 2. 11, 12 Tit. 2. 5.1 Pet. 3. 1, 5, 6.- 1 Sam. 15. 23-k Ver. 6.1 Ch. 2. 17.-m Eccles. 1. 2, 3. Isai. 21. 5,6. Rom. 8. 20.-n Job 5. 7. Eccles. 2. 23. sion of a sinner, is to convince him that it is Satan he has been serving; that it is to him he has been giving up his soul, body, goods, &c. he starts with horror when this conviction fastens on his mind, and shudders at the thought of being in league with the old murderer. But there is a deeper meaning in the text than even this, especially in these words, it shall bruise thy head, or rather, hua, HE, who? the Seed of the woman, the Person who is to come by the woman, and by her alone, without the concurrence of man. Therefore the address is not to Adam and Eve, but to Eve alone; and it was in consequence of this purpose of God, that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin: this, and this alone, is what is implied in the promise of the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent. Jesus Christ died to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and to destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.-Thus he bruises his head, destroys his power and lordship over mankind, turning them from the power of Satan unto God, Acts xxvi. 18. And Satan bruises his heel-God so ordered it, that the salvation of man could only be brought about by the death of Christ: and even the spiritual seed of our blessed Lord, have the heel often bruised, as they suffer persecution, temptation, &c. which may be all that is intended by this part of the prophecy. Verse 16. Unto the woman he said] She being second in the transgression is brought up the second to receive her condemnation, and to hear her punishment. I will greatly multiply, or multiplying, I will multiply; i. e. I will multiply thy sorrows, and multiply those sorrows by other sorrows; and this during conception and pregnancy; and particularly so in parturition or child-bearing. And this curse has fallen in a heavier degree on the woman than on any other female. Nothing is better attested than this; and yet there is certainly no natural reason why it should be so it is a part of her punishment, and a part, from which, even God's mercy will not exempt her. It is added farther, Thy desire shall be to thy husbandThou shalt not be able to shun the great pain and peril of child-bearing, for thy desire, thy appetite, shall be to thy husband; and he shall rule over thee; though in the creation both were formed with equal rights, and the woman had as much right to rule as the man; but subjec tion to the will of her husband is one part of her curse; and so very capricious is this will often, that a sorer punishment no human being can well have, to be at all in a state of liberty, and under the protection of wise and equal laws. Verse 17. And unto Adam he said] The man being the last in the transgression is brought up last to receive his sentence. Because thou hast harkened to the voice of thy wife-" thou wast not deceived, she only gave and counselled thee to eat-this thou shouldest have resisted;" and that he did not, is the reason of his condemnation. Cursed is the ground for thy sake; from henceforth its fertility shall be greatly impaired; in sorrow shalt thou cat of it; be in continual perplexity concerning the seed time and the harvest, the cold and the heat, the wet and the dry. How often are all the fruits of man's toil destroyed by blasting, by mildew, by insects, wet weather, land-floods, &c. &c. Anxiety and carefulness are the labouring man's portion. Verse 18. Thorns also, and thistles, &c.] Instead of producing nourishing grain and useful vegetables, noxious weeds shall be peculiarly prolific, injure the ground, choke the good seed, and mock the hopes of the husbandman. And thou shalt eat the herb of the field-Thou shalt no longer have the privilege of this garden of delights, but must go to the common champaign country, and feed on such herbs as thou canst find, till by labour and industry thou hast raised others, more suitable to thee, and more comfortable. In the curse pronounced on the ground, there is much more implied than generally appears. The amazing fertility of some of the most common thistles and thorns, renders them the most proper instruments for the fulfil them. 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring | LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed forth to thee: and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 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 funto dust shalt thou return. e 20 And Adam called his wife's name & Eve1; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the ment of this sentence against man. Thistles multiply enormously; a species called the Carolina silvestris, bears ordinarily from twenty to forty heads, each containing from one hundred to one hundred and fifty seeds. Another species, called the Acanthum vulgare, produces above 100 heads, each containing from 3 to 400 seeds. Suppose we say that these thistles produce at a medium only 80 heads, and that each contains only 300 seeds; the first crop from these would amount to 24,000. Let these be sown, and their crop will amount to 576 millions. Sow these, and their produce will be 13,824,000,000,000, or thirteen billions,eight hundred and twenty-four thousand millions; and a single crop from these, which is only the third year's growth, would amount to 331,776,000,000,000,000, or three hundred and thirty-one thousand, seven hundred and seventy-six billions: and the fourth year's growth will amount to 7962,624,000,000,000,000,000, or seven thousand nine hundred and sixty-two trillions, six hundred and twenty-four thousand billions. A progeny more than sufficient to stock not only the surface of the whole world, but of all the planets in the solar system, so that no other plant or vegetable could possibly grow, allowing but the space of one square foot for each plant." The Carduus vulgatissimus viarum, or common hedge thistle, besides the almost infinite swarms of winged seeds it sends forth, spreads its roots around many yards, and throws up suckers every where, which not only produce seeds in their turn, but extend their roots and propagate like the parent plant, and stifle and destroy all vegetation but their own. As to THORNS, the bramble, which occurs so commonly, and is so mischievous, is a sufficient proof how well the means are calculated to secure the end. The genista, or spinosa vulgaris, called by some furze, by others whins, is allowed to be one of the most mischievous shrubs on the face of the earth. Scarcely any thing can grow near it; and it is so thick set with prickles, that it is almost impossible to touch it without being wounded. It is very prolific; almost half the year it is covered with flowers, which produce pods filled with seeds. Besides, it shoots out roots far and wide, from which suckers and young plants are continually springing up, which produce others in their turn. Where it is permitted to grow, it soon overspreads whole tracts of ground, and it is extremely difficult to clear the ground of its roots where once it has got proper footing. Such provision has the just God made to fulfil the curse which he has pronounced on the earth, because of the crimes of its inhabitants.-See Hale's Vegetable Statics. 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 the sweat begins to issue: this is occasioned by the blood being strongly propelled to the brain, partly through stooping, and 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 22 And, the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. That is, living-h Acts 17. 26-i Ver. 5. Like Isa. 19. 12. & 47. 12, 13. Jer. 22. 23.— k Ch. 2. 9.-1 Ch. 2. 5. & 4. 2. & 9. 20. Eccl. 5. 9. 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. Verse 20. And Adam called his wife's name Ere, because she was the mother of all living.] A man who does not understand the original, cannot possibly comprehend the reason of what is said here. What has the word Eve to do with being the mother of all living? Our translators often follow the Septuagint: it is a pity they had not done so here, as the Septuagint translation is literal and correct. Και εκάλεσεν Αδαμ το ονομα της γυναικός αυτου Ζο οτι μητερ παντων των ζώντων, "And Adam called his wife's name Life, because she was the mother of all the living." This is a proper and faithful representation of the Hebrew text; for the chavah, of the original, which we have corrupted into Ere, a word destitute of all meaning, answers exactly to the Z of the Septuagint, both signifying life; as does also the Hebrew chai, to the Greek Tv, both of which signify the living. It is probable that God designed by this name to teach our first parents these two important truths: 1. That though they had merited immediate death, yet they should be respited, and the accomplishment of the sentence long delayed; they should be spared to propagate a numerous progeny on the earth. 2. That though much misery would be entailed on this posterity, and death should have a long and universal empire, yet ONE should, in the fulness of time, spring from the woman, who should destroy death, and bring tife and immortality to light, 2 Tim. i. 10. Therefore Adam called his wife's name Life, because she was to be the mother of all human beings, and because she was to be the mother of HIM who was to give life to a world, dead in trespasses, and dead in sins, Ephes. ii. 1. &c. Verse 21. God made coats of skins] It is very likely that the skins out of which their clothing was made, were taken off animals, whose blood had been poured out as a sin-offering to God: for as we find Cain and Abel offering sacrifices to God, we may fairly presume, that God had given them instructions on this head; nor is it likely, that the notion of a sacrifice could have ever occurred to the mind of man, without an express revelation from God. Hence we may safely infer, 1. That as Adam and Eve needed this clothing as soon as they fell, and death had not as yet made any ravages in the animal world, it is most likely that the skins were taken off victims offered under the direction of God himself, and in faith of HIM, who, in the fulness of time, was to make an atonement by his death. And 2dly, it seems reasonable also, that this matter should be brought about in such a way, that Satan and death should have no triumph, when the very first death that took place in the world, was an emblem and type of that death which should conquer Satan, destroy his empire, reconcile God to man, convert man to God, sanctify human nature, and prepare it for heaven. dif Verse 22. Behold, the man is become as one of us] On all hands, this text is allowed to be difficult; and the difficulty is increased by our translation, which is opposed to the original Hebrew, and the most authentic versions. The Hebrew has hayah, which is the third person preterite tense, and signifies was, not is. The Samaritan text, the Samaritan version, the Syriac, and the Septuagint, have the same tense. These lead us to a very ferent sense, and indicate that there is an ellipsis of some words, which must be supplied, in order to make the sense complete. A very learned man has ventured the following paraphrase, which should not be lightly regarded: "And the Lord God said, the man who was like one of us in purity and wisdom, is now fallen, and robbed of his excellence: he has added my ladaât, to the knowledge of the good, by his transgression, the knowledge of the evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live for ever in this miserable 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed | and a flaming sword which turned every way, to at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, keep the way of the tree of life. a Ch. 28. state, I will remove him, and guard the place, lest he should re-enter. Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden," &c. This seems to be the most natural sense of the place. Some suppose that the words are spoken ironically, and that the Most High intended by a cutting taunt to upbraid the poor culprit for his offence; because he broke the divine command, in the expectation of being like God, to know good and evil; and now he had lost all the good that God had designed for him, and got nothing but evil in its place; and therefore God taunts him for the total miscarriage of his project. But God is ever consistent with himself; and surely his infinite pity prohibited the use of either sarcasm or irony, in speaking of so dreadful a catastrophe, that was in the end to occasion the agony and bloody sweat, the cross and passion, the death and burial, of the Almighty's fellow, Zech. xiii. 7. b Exod. 25. 2, 20. 1 Kings 6. 25-23. Josh. 5. 13. Pa. 101. 4. Heb. 1. 7. word compounded of ke, a particle of resemblance, like By the flaming sword turning every way, or flame folding back upon itself, we may understand the formidable appearances which these cherubim assumed, in order to render the passage to the tree of life inaccessible. In chap. i. 26, 27. we have seen man in the perfection of his nature, the dignity of his office, and the plenitude of his happiness. Here we find the same creature, but stripped of his glories and happiness, so that the word man no longer conveys the same ideas it did before. Man and intellectual excellence were before so intimately connected as to appear inseparable; man and misery are now equally so. In our nervous mother-tongue, the AngloSaxon, we have found the word Irod, God, signifying not only the Supreme Being, but also good or goodness: and it is worthy of especial note, that the word man, man, in the same language, is used to express not only the human being so called, both male and female, but also mischief, wickedness, fraud, deceit, and villany. Thus a simple monosyllable, still in use among us in its first sense, conveyed at once to the minds of our ancestors the two follow-husband, which was never originally designed—the man, ing particulars:-1. The human being in his excellence, capable of knowing, loving, and glorifying his Maker. 2. The human being in his fallen state, capable of, and committing all kinds of wickedness. "Obiter hic notandum," says old Mr. Somner in his Saxon Dictionary, "venit, Irod Saxonibus, et DEUM significasse et BONUM: uti (Man) Man, et hominem et nequitiam. Here it is to be noted, that among the Saxons, GoD signified both the Divine Being and goodness, as the word Man signified both the Human Being and wickedness." This is an additional proof that our Saxon ancestors both thought and spoke at the same time, which, strange as it may appear, is not a common case; their words are not arbitrary signs; but, as far as sounds can convey the ideal meaning of things, their words do it. And they are so formed and used, as necessarily to bring to view the nature and properties of those things of which they are the signs. In this sense the Anglo-Saxon is inferior only to the Hebrew. Verse 24. So he drove out the man] Three things are noted here: 1. God's displeasure against sinful man, evidenced by his expelling him from this place of blessedness. 2. Man's unfitness for the place, of which he had rendered himself unworthy by his ingratitude and transgression. And 3. His reluctance to leave this place of happiness. He was, as we may naturally conclude, unwilling to depart, and God drove him out. Thus terminates this most awful tragedy, a tragedy in which all the actors are slain! in which the most awful murders are committed, and the whole universe ruined! The serpent, so called, is degraded-the woman cursed with pains, miseries, and a subjection to the will of her the lord of this lower world, doomed to incessant labor and toil-and the earth itself cursed with comparative barrenness! To complete all, the garden of pleasure is interdicted, and this man, who was little less than God, (see on Psal. viii. 5.) and who would be like Him, shamefully expelled from a place where pure spirits alone could dwell. Yet, in the midst of wrath, God remembers mercy, and a promise of redemption from this degraded and cursed state is made to them, through HIM, who, in the fulness of time, is to be made flesh, and who, by dying for the sin of the world, shall destroy the power of Satan, and deliver all who trust in the merit of his sacrifice, from the power, guilt, and nature of sin, and thus prepare them for the celestial paradise at the right hand of God.-Reader, hast thou repented of thy sin? for, often hast thou sinned after the similitude of thy ancestor's transgression. Hast thou sought and found redemption in the blood of the Lamb? Art thou saved from the disposition which led thy first parents to transgress, living a life of dependence on thy Creator, and of faith and loving obedience to Him who died for thee? Wilt thou live under the curse, and die eternally? God forbid! Return to him with all thy soul, and receive this exhortation as a call from his mercy. To what has already been said on the awful contents of. this chapter, I can add little that can either set it in a clearer light, or make its solemn subject more impressive. He placed at the east, po mikkedem, or before the We see here that by the subtlety and envy of the devil, sin garden of Eden, before what may be conceived its gate entered into the world, and death by sin; and we find that or entrance; cherubims. Dan ha-kerubim, THE cheru- death reigned not only from Adam to Moses, but from Moses bim. Hebrew plurals in the masculine, end in general in to the present day. How abominable must sin be in the sight im: to add an 8 to this when we introduce such words of God, when it has not only defaced his own image from into English, is very improper; therefore the word should the soul of man, but has also become a source of natural be written cherubim, not cherubims. But what were these? and moral evil throughout every part of the globe. DisThey are utterly unknown. Conjectures and guesses rela-ruption and violence appear in every part of nature; vice, tive to their nature and properties are endless. Several profligacy, and misery, through all the tribes of men, and think them to have been emblematical representations of orders of society. It is true, that where sin hath abounded, the sacred Trinity, and bring reasons and scriptures in there grace doth much more abound; but men shut their support of their opinion: but as I am not satisfied that this eyes against the light, and harden their hearts against the opinion is correct, I will not trouble the reader with it. truth. Sin, which becomes propagated into the world by From the description in Exod. xxvi. 1, 31. 1 Kings vi. 29, natural generation, growing with the growth, and strength32. 2 Chron. iii. 14. it appears that the cherubs were some- ening with the strength of man, would be as endless in its times represented with two faces, namely, those of a lion duration, as unlimited in its influence, did not God check and of a man: but from Ezek. i. 5, &c. x. 20, 21. we find and restrain it by his grace, and cut off its extending that they had four faces and four wings: the faces were influence in the incorrigibly wicked, by means of death! those of a man, a lion, an or, and an eagle: but it seems How wonderful is the economy of God! That which there was but one body to these heads. The two-faced entered into the world as one of the prime fruits and effects cherubs were such as were represented on the curtains and of sin, is now an instrument in his hands, to prevent the veil of the tabernacle, and on the wall, doors, and veil of extension of its contagion. If men, now so greatly multithe temple: those with four faces appeared only in the plied on the earth, and fertile in mischievous inventions, Holy of Holies. were permitted to live nearly a thousand years, as in the ancient world, to mature and perfect their infectious and destructive counsels, what a sum of iniquity and ruin would The word 2 or kerub, never appears as a verb in the Hebrew Bible, and therefore is justly supposed to be a CHAPTER IV. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was da 8. Goi calls him into judgment for it, 9, 10. He is cursed, 11, 12. He despairs, 13 tiller of the ground. 14. A promise given him of preservation, and a mark set on him to prevent his children, among whom are Lamech, the first bigamist, or of musical instruments, the use of tents and feeling cattle, . Jubal, the inventor 21. Tubal-cain, the inventor of smith-work, 22 Strange speech of Lamech to his wives, 23, 24. Seth born to Adam and Eve in the place of Abel, 25. Enoch born, and the worship of God restored, 6. ΑΝ ND Adam knew Eve his wife; and she a That is, gotten, or acquired.-b Heb. Hebel-c Heb. a feeder. Ver. 25, 29. 1 John 3. 10, 12, 15. Psal. 127. 3. John 8. 44.-d Ch. 3. 23. & 9. 20. the face of the earth present! Even while they are laying plans to extend the empire of death, God, by the very means of death itself, prevents the completion of their diabolical and pernicious designs. Thus, what man, by his wilful obstinacy, does not permit grace to correct and restrain, God, by his sovereign power, brings in death to control. It is on this ground, that wicked and blood-thirsty men live not out half their days: and what a mercy to the world that it is so! They who will not submit to the sceptre of mercy, shall be dashed in pieces by the rod of iron. Reader, provoke not the Lord to displeasure; thou art not stronger than He. Grieve not his Spirit, provoke him not to destroy thee; why shouldst thou die before thy time? Thou hast sinned much, and needest every moment of thy short life to make thy calling and election sure. Shouldest thou provoke God by thy perseverance in iniquity to cut thee off by death before this great work is done, better for thee thou hadst never been born! How vain are all attempts to attain immortality here! For some thousands of years men have been laboring to find out means to prevent death; and some have even boasted that they had found out a medicine capable of pre- serving life for ever, by resisting all the attacks of disease, and incessantly repairing all the wastes of the human machine. That is, the alchymistic philosophers would have the world to believe, that they had found out a private passage to the tree of immortality! but their own deaths, in the common order of nature, as well as the deaths of the millions which make no such pretensions, are not only a sufficient confutation of their baseless systems, but also a continual proof that the cherubim, with their flaming swords, are turning every way to keep the passage of the tree of life. Life and immortality are, however, brought to light by the Gospel, and he only who keepeth the sayings of the Son of God shall live for ever. Though the body is dead, consigned to death, because of sin, yet the spirit is life, because of righteousness, and on those who are influ- enced by this spirit of righteousness, the second death shall Verse 1. I have gotten a man from the Lord.] Cain rp signifies acquisition: hence Eve says op kaniti, I have gotten or acquired a man, meth Yehovah, the Lord. It is extremely difficult to ascertain the sense in which Eve used these words, which have been as variously translated as understood. Most expositors think that Eve imagined Cain to be the promised seed that should bruise the head of the serpent. This exposition really seems too refined for that period. It is very likely that she meant no more than to acknowledge, that it was through God's peculiar blessing that she was enabled to conceive and bring forth a son; and that she had now a well-grounded hope that the race of man should be continued on the earth. Unless she had been under divine inspiration, she could not have called her son (even supposing him to be the promised seed) Jehovah; and that she was not under such an influ- ence, her mistake sufficiently proves; for Cain, so far from being the Messiah, was of the wicked one, 1 John iii. 12. We may therefore suppose, that mm ns eth Yehovah, THE LORD, is an elliptical form of expression for mm AND meeth Yehovah, FROM THE LORD, or through the Divine Verse 2. And she again bare his brother Abel] Literally, she added to bear (n¬55 pm vatoseph laledeth) his brother. From the very face of this account, it appears evident that Cain and Abel were twins. In most cases, where a subject of this kind is introduced in the Holy Scriptures, and the successive births of children of the same parents are noted, the acts of conceiving and bringing forth are mentioned in reference to each child: here, it is not said that she con- ceived and brought forth Abel, but simply, she added to bring forth Abel his brother; that is, as I understand it, Cain was the first-born; Abel, his twin brother, came next. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings LORD had respect unto Abel and to his of 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had e Hel at the end of days.-f Numb. 18. 12-g Numb. 18. 17. Prov. 3. 9.-h Heb. sheep or goats.-i Hebr. 11. 4. farmer. These were the three primitive employments; and, I may add, the most rational, and consequently the best calculated to prevent strife and an immoderate love of Verse 3. In process of time] D`ppo mikets yamim, at the end of days. Some think the anniversary of the Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering] minchah, unto the Lord. The word minchah is explained, Lev. ii. 1, &c. to be an offering of fine flour, Verse 4. Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his Cain, the father of Deism, not acknowledging the neces- Verse 5. Unto Cain, as being unconscious of his sinful- and A Ch. 31. 2. Numb. 16. 15. Isai. 3. 10, 11. Psa. 20. 3-b Or, have the excellency. not being accompanied, as Abel's was, with a sacrifice for sin, he had not respect.] He could not, consistently with his holiness and justice, approve of the one, or receive the other. Of the manner in which God testified his approbation we are not informed; it was probably, as in the case of Elijah, by sending down fire from heaven and consuming the sacrifice. Cain was wroth] That displeasure which should have been turned against his own unhumbled heart, was turned against his innocent brother, who, though not more highly privileged than he, made a much better use of the advantages which he shared in common with his ungodly and unnatural brother. Verse 6. Why art thou wroth] This was designed as a gracious warning, and a preventive of the meditated Verse 7. If thou dost well, that which is right in the sight of God, shalt thou not be accepted?] Does God reject any man who serves him in simplicity and godly sincerity? But if thou dost not well, can wrath and indignation against thy righteous brother save thee from the displeasure under which thou art fallen? On the contrary, have recourse to thy Maker for mercy. Pannon nne lapetach chatath robets, a sin offering lieth at thy door: an animal proper to be offered as an atonement for sin, is now couching at the door of thy fold. The words non chatath, and non chatah, frequently signify sin; but I have observed more than a hundred places in the Old Testament where they are used for sinoffering, and translated ex by the Septuagint, which is the term the apostle uses, 2 Cor. v. 21. He hath made him to be sin, agт, A SIN-OFFERING for us, who knew no sin. Cain's fault now, was his not bringing a sin-offering, when his brother brought one; and this neglect and contempt caused his other offering to be rejected. However, God now graciously informs him, that though he had miscarried, his case was not yet desperate, as the means of faith from the promise, &c. were in his power, and a victim proper for a sin-offering was lying (probets, a word used to express the lying down of a quadruped) at the door of his fold. How many sinners perish, not because there is not a Saviour able and willing to save them, but because they will not use that which is within their power. Of such, how true is that word of our Lord, Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life! Unto thee shall be his desire, &c.] That is, thou shalt ever have the right of primogeniture, and in all things shall thy brother be subject unto thee. These words are not spoken of sin, as many have understood them, but of Abel's submission to Cain as his superior; and the words are spoken to remove Cain's envy. Verse 8. Cain talked with Abel his brother, PDN vaiyomer kain; and Cain said, &c.] Not talked, for this construction the word cannot bear, without great violence to analogy and grammatical accuracy. But why should it be thus translated? Because our translators could not find that any thing was spoken on the occasion, and therefore they ventured to intimate that there was a conversation, indefinitely. In the most correct editions of the Hebrew Bible, there is a small space left here in the text, and a circular mark, which refers to the following note in the margin: pop ysDND NPDD piska beamtså pasuk. There is a hiatus or deficiency in the verse. Now, this deficiency is supplied in the principal ancient versions, and in the Samaritan text. In this the supplied words are, 25 neelkeh hassadeh, LET US WALK OUT INTO THE FIELD. The Syriac has nerde lepakatho, Let us go to the desert. The Vulgate, egrediamur foras, Let us walk out. The Septuagint, SIASME I TO Wedov, Let us go out into the field. The two Chaldee Targums have the same reading, so has the Coptic version. This addition is completely lost from every MS. of the Pentateuch now known; and yet it is sufficiently evident, from the Samaritan text, the Samaritan version, the Syriac, Septuagint, and Vulgate, that it was in the most authentic copies of the Hebrew, before, and some time since, the Christian æra. The words may therefore be safely considered as a part of the sacred text, and with them the whole passage reads clear and consistently. "And Cain said unto Abel, his brother, Let us go the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, 8 T And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother; and slew him. c Or, subject unto thee. Ch. 3. 16.- Job 11. 15. Ps 24. 3-6. & 55. 21. & 139. 19 out into the field; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up," &c. The Jerusalem Targum, and the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, pretend to give us the substance of their conversation; the piece is curious, and I shall insert a translation of it for the sake of those who may not have access to the originals. "And Cain said unto Hebel, his brother, Let us go out into the field; and it came to pass that, when they were in the field, Cain answered and said to Hebel, his brother, I thought that the world was created in mercy, but it is not governed according to the merit of good works, nor is there any judgment, nor a judge, nor shall there be any future state in which good rewards shall be given to the righteous, or punishment executed on the wicked; and now, there is respect of persons in judgment. On what account is it that thy sacrifice has been accepted, and mine not received with complacency? And Hebel answered and said, the world was created in mercy, and it is governed according to the fruit of good works; there is a judge, a future world, and a coming judgment, where good rewards shall be given to the righteous, and the impious punished; and there is no respect of persons in judgment; but because my works were better and more precious than thine, my oblation was received with complacency. And because of these things they contended on the face of the field, and Cain rose up against Hebel his brother, and struck a stone into his forehead, and killed him." It is here supposed that the first murder committed in the world was the consequence of a religious dispute; however this may have been, millions since have been sacrificed to prejudice, bigotry, and intolerance. Here, certainly, originated the many-headed monster, religious persecution: the spirit of the wicked one, in his followers, impels them to afflict and destroy all who are partakers of the Spirit of God. Every persecutor is a legitimate son of the old murderer. This is the first triumph of Satan; it is not merely a death that he has introduced, but a violent one, as the first-fruits of sin. It is not the death of an ordinary person; but of the most holy man then in being: it is not brought about by the providence of God, or by a gradual failure and destruction of the earthly fabric, but a violent separation of body and soul: it is not done by a common enemy, from whom nothing better could be expected, but by the hand of a brother; and for no other reason, but because the object of his envy was more righteous than himself. Alas! how exceeding sinful does sin appear in its first manifestation! Verse 10. The voice of thy brother's blood] It is probable that Cain, having killed his brother, dug a hole and buried him in the earth, hoping thereby to prevent the murder from being known; and that this is what is designed in the words, thy brother's blood crieth unto me FROM THE GROUND, which hath opened her mouth to receive it from thy hand. Some think that by the voice of thy brother's blood, the cries of Abel's widow and children are to be understood; as it is very probable that he was father of a family; indeed his occupation and sacrifices seem sufficient proofs of this probability: and probability is all we can expect on such a subject. God represents these as calling aloud for the punishment of the murderer; and it is evident that Cain expected to fall by the hands of some person, who, from his consanguinity, had the right of the avenger of blood; for now that the murder is found out, he expects to suffer death for it. See ver. 14. Verse 12. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be] Thou shalt be expelled from the presence of God, and from thy family connexions, and shaft have no fixed secure residence in any place. The Septuagint render this a Tev on, thou shalt be groaning and trembling upon the earth; the horror of thy crime shall ever haunt thee, and thou shalt never have any well-grounded hope that God will remit the punishment thou deservest. No state out of endless perdition can be considered more awful than this. Verse 13. My punishment is greater than I can bear.] The margin reads, mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven. The original words w Gadal avoni mineso, may be translated, Is my crime too great to be forgiven? Words which we may presume he 47 uttered on the verge of black despair. It is most probable |
