Commentary on Genesis, Chapter 2

Commentary on Genesis · Chapter 2

p. 32CHAP. II.

MOSES having given a ſhort Account of the orderly Production of all things, from the meaneſt to the nobleſt, explains more largely in this Chapter ſome things, which were delivered briefly in the foregoing, becauſe he would not too much interrupt the coherence of his diſcourſe about the Works of the Six Days. Particularly he relates how Eve was made; and alſo further illuſtrates the Production of Adam, &c.

Ver. 1. Thus the Heavens, and the Earth.] i. e. The viſible World.

Were finiſhed.] Brought to that Perfection wherein we ſee them.

And all the hoſt of them.] That is, all Creatures in Heaven and in Earth; which are called Hoſt, or Army, becauſe of their vaſt variety, and excellent order.

Ver. 2. And on the ſeventh Day God ended his Work.] Or rather, had ended, (as it may be tranſlated) for he did not work on the Seventh Day: But, reſted from all his Work which he had made; haing ſo compleatly finiſhed it, that there remained no more to be done. An Emblem of the Reſt that we ſhall have, when we have done our Work faithfully, and left none undone, as Origen's words are, L. VI. contra Celſum.

Ver. 3. And God bleſſed the ſeventh Day, and ſanctified it.] As God ſanctified Jeremiah in after-times p. 33from his Mother's Womb, (Jer. I. 5.) by ordaining him to be a Prophet: So he now determined and appointed the Seventh Day, from the very beginning of the World, to be obſerved in Memory of its Creation. And this ſetting it apart, and conſecrating it to that Holy Uſe, was his bleſſing it, or recommending it to be obſerved, as a Day of bleſſing and praiſing him, in all his Works of Wonder: And (I know not why I ſhould not add) of his beſtowing Bleſſings upon all his pious Worſhippers.

There is no mention, indeed, made of Adam's, or Abel's &c. obſerving this Day; which hath inclined many to conclude theſe words to have been written by way of anticipation: This Day being ſet apart in after-times by the Law of Moſes for God's Service; but, in their Opinion, not till then. To which I cannot agree; becauſe it ſeems to me far more reaſonable to think, That God took Care to preſerve the Memory of the Creation in the Minds of Mankind; and the Worſhip of Him, the One Only God, by whom it was created: Which could not be done by any means more effectually, than by ſetting apart this Day for that purpoſe. Which if he had not appointed, yet Men being made Religious Creatures, I cannot but think they would have agreed upon ſome ſet time for the Exerciſe of their Religion, as well as ſome ſet Place (though that be not mentioned neither) where to meet for Divine Service: And what time more proper, wherein to Honour their Creator, with their Sacrifices, Praiſes, and Thanksgivings, than this Day? Which Philo well ſtiles foreign, the birth-day of the World: Which was ſo much obſerved all the World over, (though they forgot the reaſon) that the Seventh p. 34Day, he obſerves, may be truly called foreign, the Ʋniverſal Feſtival, kept by all People. Joſephus ſpeaks to the ſame purpoſe, and there is a great deal more ſaid by Ariſtobulus a Peripatetick Philoſopher, out of Heſiod, Homer, and others, in Euſebius his Praepar. Evang. L. XIII. c. 12. concerning the Sacredneſs of the Seventh Day. Which though Mr. Selden (L. III. de Jure N. & G. cap. 17, &c.) endeavours to prove is meant of the Seventh Day of the Month, not of the Seventh Day of the Week; yet we may look upon that as a Remain of this ancient Tradition. Which, in time, Men forgot, as they did the moſt Natural Duties; having ſo corrupted their ways, (as we read Gen. VI. 10, 11.) that there was nothing good among the generality of them. And therefore no wonder if they did not regard the Service of God, every Seventh Day: To which I ſhall ſhow in due place, Noah, the only righteous Man among them, had ſome regard. Which continued in the Family of Abraham after the Flood: Moſes ſpeaking of it, not long after their coming out of Egypt, (where it is likely they were not ſuffered to obſerve it, having no time free from their intolerable Labours,) as a Day known to them before the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, Exod. XVI. 23, 25, 26.

Which is not to be underſtood, as if the Patriarchs before and after the Flood, kept ſuch a Reſt, as God enjoyned the Iſraelites by Moſes: For that was proper to them, for a peculiar reaſon; becauſe they had been Slaves in Egypt; and therefore were commanded to keep the Sabbath, without doing any manner of work upon that Day, Deut. V. 15. Which is all the Chriſtian Fathers mean, when they ſay the p. 35Patriarchs did not Sabbatizare, keep the Sabbath as the Jews did. (See Tertullian adv. Judaeos, cap. 2, & 4. Irenaeus, and others.) For in Religious Offices I doubt not they obſerved the Seventh Day; as a proper time for that Sacred Hymn; which Galen himſelf (L. III. de uſu Partium) ſays, we ſhould all ſing to the Creator of all; if we our ſelves firſt know, and then tell others, foreign, &c. how wonderful he is in Wiſdom, how great in Power, and how rich in Goodneſs.

Becauſe that in it he had reſted from all his work.] This is the reaſon why this Day was diſtinguiſhed from the other Six; That a remembrance of God's reſting from all his Works on this Day, might be preſerved; by Mens laying aſide their other Employments ſo long as to praiſe him Solemnly, by whom this great World was made.

Which God created, and made.] Or, as the Hebrew phraſe is, created to make, i. e. reſted from all the Six Day's Work. For he created ſomething at the firſt, out of which to make all the reſt, in ſix Day's ſpace; and now he ceaſed from all.

Ver. 4. Theſe are the generations, &c.] That is, this is a faithful Account of the Original of the World. Which Moſes here repeats, more deeply to imprint on the Peoples Minds, that the World was not a God, but the Work of God: Which they were to acknowledge every Seventh Day.

In the Day.] i. e. At that time (ſo Day often ſignifies) when the LORD God made the Earth and the Heavens. It is obſerved by Tertullian, That exinde Dominus qui retro Deus tantum, &c. from henceforward (verſe 7, 8, 9, 15, &c.) he is called LORD, who hitherto was called only God: Of which he p. 36endeavours to give a reaſon, L. adv. Hermog. cap. 3. The Hebrew Doctors obſerve, that Jehovah Elohim (LORD God) joyned together, is the full and perfect Name of God: And therefore fitly reſerved till this place, when the Works of God were perfected, and not before.

Ver. 5. And every Plant in the Field, before it was in the Earth, &c.] That is, before there was any Seed to produce them, God made them to ſpring up, with their Seed in them; as was ſaid before, in the firſt Chapter. And Moſes here mentions theſe alone, becauſe they were the firſt Productions out of the Earth; without which there had been no Food for living Creatures.

For the LORD God had not cauſed it to rain on the Earth, and there was not a Man to till the Ground.] Here are two reaſons to confirm, that Plants were not produced, in the way they are now: For there had been no ſhowers of Rain; nor was there any Man to prepare the Earth to receive the Seed, (if there had been any) both which are neceſſary in the ordinary Method of Divine Providence, ever ſince the World was made. From hence ſome collect there were no Praedamites, (People before Adam,) for then Moſes could not have ſaid, there was no Man to till the Earth.

Ver. 6. But there went up a Miſt, &c.] Many think this will beſt cohere with what went before, by tranſlating it, nor did there (taking the Particle foreign not, from the foregoing Verſe, as is uſual) a Miſt go up from the Earth. See Druſius, Levit. X. 6. and Hottinger in Hexapl. Pariſ. p. 89. But I ſee no neceſſity of this; and think it more likely there did go up a Vapour or Steam out of the Earth, when it came p. 37reeking out of the Waters, (as was ſaid upon Verſe 9. of the 1. Chap.) to moiſten the ſuperficies of it; before any Clouds were raiſed, by the Power of the Sun, to give Rain.

Ver. 7. Out of the Duſt of the Ground.] Not dry, but moiſt Duſt, as the LXX have it, foreign. From whence the Apoſtle calls him foreign, 1 Corinth. XV. 47. which teaches us this Duſt was mixt with Water: For ſo foreign ſignifies; Limus, as the vulgar Latin hath it. Which agrees with the Hebrew jatzar, formed; which is uſed concerning Potters, who make their Veſſels of Clay, not of dry Earth. Diodorus Siculus ſeems to have had ſome Notion of this, when he ſaith Man was made out of the Slime or Mud of Nile. Upon which Original of Man's Body, the ancient Fathers make many Pious Reflections: But none better or ſhorter than that of Nazianzen's, who ſays, it is to teach us, foreign, that when we are apt to be lifted up becauſe we are made after God's Image, the thoughts of the Dirt out of which we were taken, may humble and lay us low.

And God breathed into his Noſtrils the breath of life.] This being ſaid of no other Creature, leads us to conceive not only that the Soul of Man is a diſtinct thing, of a different Original from his Body; but that a more excellent Spirit was put into him by God (as appears by its Operations) than into other Animals. For though the ſimple Speech of inſpiring him with the breath of Life would not prove this, yet Moſes ſpeaking in the Plural Number, that God breathed into him Niſchmath chajim, the Breath or Spirit of Lifes, it plainly denotes not only that Spirit which p. 38makes Man breathe and move; but think, alſo reaſon and diſcourſe.

And he became a living Soul.] This is the immediate reſult of the Union of the Soul with the Body. Which Euſebius thus explains, L. VII. Praepar. Evang. cap. 10. Moſes having laid the Foundations of Religion before-mentioned, viz. The Knowledge of God, and of the Creation of the World, proceeds to another Point of Doctrine moſt neceſſary to be underſtood; which is the Knowledge of a Man's ſelf; to which he leads him by ſhowing the difference between his Soul and his Body: His Soul being an Intelligent Subſtance, made after the Image of God; his Body, only an Earthly Covering of the Soul. To which Moſes adds a third, foreign, &c. A certain Vital Breath, whereby the other two are united and linked together by a powerful Bond, or ſtrong Tie. His Soul, it is manifeſt, did not come out of the Earth, or any Power of Matter; but from the Power of God, who infuſed it into him by his Divine Inſpiration.

And this was the Original of Eve's Soul alſo, though it be not mentioned: For if her Soul had been made out of Adam, as her Body was, he would have ſaid not only, She is Bone of my Bone, but Soul of my Soul; which would have mightily ſtrengthned the Bond of Marriage, and exceedingly heightned Conjugal Affection.

Ver. 8. And the LORD God planted.] Or, had planted; for it doth not ſeem to be a new thing.

A Garden.] A moſt pleaſant part of the Earth.

Eaſtward.] Or, as others tranſlate it, before, in the beginning. viz. On the Third Day, when he made p. 39all Vegetables. And it cannot be denied that mikkedem may ſignifie time, as well as place: But as the greateſt part of Interpreters, Ancient and Modern, take it here to ſignifie place; ſo Moſes himſelf uſes it in the following part of this Book, III. 24. XI. 2. XII. 8. XIII. 11.

In Eden.] A Country (as moſt underſtand it) ſo called, perhaps, from its Pleaſure: foreign, as Theophilus ad Autolyc. ſpeaks, L. II. Where Eden was, there are two or three places of Scripture, that give ſome direction to our ſearch, 2 Kings XIX. 12. Iſa. XXXVII. 12. Ezek. XXVII. 23. which ſhow there was a Country, that for many Ages after this, retained the Name of Eden: And that Eaſtward, as Moſes here tells us it was ſituated. That is, Eaſtward of Judaea, or of the Deſart of the Amorites, where he wrote theſe Books. For the Scripture calls thoſe People, the Children of the Eaſt, who dwelt in Arabia, Meſopotamia, and Perſia. But in what Country of the Eaſt Eden was, will be beſt underſtood from ver. 10.

And there he put the Man, whom he had formed.] He was formed we muſt ſuppoſe in ſome other place; and conducted hither by God, in Token of his ſingular Kindneſs to him. Where he declared him, ſaith a Syriac Writer mentioned by Hottinger, (in his Diſſert. de Hexaplis, Pariſ. p. 115.) an Heir of Paradiſe, and made him foreign a King, a Prieſt, and a Prophet.

Ver. 9. And out of the Ground.] Of that Garden before-mentioned.

Made the LORD God to grow every Tree, &c.] The greateſt variety of the choiceſt Plants, Flowers, p. 40and Fruit: For Tree comprehends every thing that grows out of the Earth.

Pleaſant to the ſight.] He gratified Man's Eye, as well as his Taſte, and his Smell.

The Tree of Life.] So called, becauſe there was a Virtue in it, as ſeveral of the ancient Fathers think, not only to repair the Animal Spirits, as other Nouriſhment doth; but alſo to preſerve and maintain them, and all the Organs of the Body, in the ſame equal Temper and State, wherein they were created, without any decay: Until Man ſhould have been fit to be tranſlated into another World. To this purpoſe Irenaeus, St. Chryſoſtom, Theodoret, but eſpecially Greg. Nazianzen ſpeak, foreign, &c. If therefore we had continued what we were, and kept the Commandment, we ſhould have been what we were not by coming to the Tree of Life, foreign, being made immortal, and approaching nigh to God. Orat. XLIII. p. 699. D. And why we ſhould think it impoſſible or unlikely, that God ſhould make ſuch a Fruit, I do not ſee. Nay, it ſeems neceſſary there ſhould have been ſuch a kind of Food; unleſs we will ſuppoſe God would have preſerved Adam (had he continued Innocent) from dying, by a continual Miracle: Which is a harder ſuppoſition than the other.

But this Garden being alſo a Type of Heaven; perhaps God intended by this Tree to repreſent that immortal Life, which he meant to beſtow upon Man with himſelf, Revel. XXII. 2. And ſo St. Auſtin in that famous Saying of his, Erat ei in caeteris lignis alimentum, in iſto autem Sacramentum, L. VIII. de Gen. ad Lit. cap. 4. In other Trees there was Nouriſhment for Man; but in this alſo a Sacrament. For it was p. 41both a Symbol of that Life, which God had already beſtowed upon Man, (who was hereby put in mind, that God was the Author of his Being, and all his Enjoyments,) and of that Life he was to hope for in another World, if he proved Obedient.

In the midſt of the Garden.] This ſignifies either its Situation, or its Excellence: For that which is moſt Eminent in any place, the Hebrews ſay is in the midſt, XXIII. 10.

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.] So called, as I take it, becauſe God intended by this Tree to prove Adam and Eve, whether they would be good or bad: Which was to be made known, by their abſtaining from its Fruit, or eating of it. It is generally thought indeed by Interpreters, (of which I leave the Reader to judge,) that it had this Name afterward; either becauſe the Tempter pretended it would make them ſo wiſe, as to know all things, (for ſo good and evil may be expounded, (III. 5.) to ſignifie as much as all things whatſoever,) or becauſe, in the event, upon the eating of this Fruit, they did actually know by miſerable experience, (which they would not learn without it,) the great difference between obeying, and diſobeying God's Commands. That is, they who did not ſufficiently attend to their Duty, nor conſider what it was to Sin, and what the effect of it would be; preſently, upon the eating of this Fruit, reflected upon both. For they ſaw how grievous it was to incurr God's Diſpleaſure, by believing a Creature rather than Him, and by being ſo ungrateful as not to acknowledge his Bounty in all the Bleſſings they enjoyed; without thinking Him envious in denying them one, as a proof of their Obedience.

p. 42Some think it was ſo called, as a Caveat to them, not to ſtudy Craft and Subtilty; but to content themſelves in a ſimple plain way of life, (wherein God made them,) without any Curioſity to know more than was needful for them. Which they think is confirmed by III. 6. She ſaw it was good to make one wiſe; i. e. cunning and wily.

Ver. 10. And a River went out of Eden, &c.] Theſe words afford us ſuch a Key to open to us the Place where this Garden was planted, that one can ſcarce doubt whereabout it was; though the preciſe ſpot of Ground be not marked out in this deſcription of it. For it lay in the Country of Eden; and we are directed to find that out by this remarkable Circumſtance, That a River went out of it. Which doth not ſignifie that the Spring of the River was in Eden; but that the River run through that Country into the Garden, to water it. The Garden therefore, it is probable, was a part of the Province of Eden; and was water'd by that River which came from it. The only difficulty is to find what River this was. Our Country man Mr. Canver, in his learned Diſcourſe of the Terreſtrial Paradiſe, chap. VII. endeavours to prove, that the two great Rivers, Euphrates, and Tigris, having but one and the ſame Fountain in Armenia, the greater, run along for ſome time in one Stream called Tigris: Upon which he thinks this Garden was ſeated, before this River parted into two Streams, Euphrates and Tigris. This he confirms, out of the two Epiſtles of the Neſtorian Chriſtians, written to Rome 1552, and tranſlated by Maſius; where they call Tigris the River of Eden. And there are indeed ſome ancient Authors, particularly Lucan, and Boetius, who ſay that theſe two Rivers come out p. 43of the ſame Spring: But their miſtake aroſe, its likely from hence, That they ſprung (as Strabo tells us) out of one and the ſame Mountain, viz. Niphates, which is a part of Taurus: And Euphrates ſprung out of the Northern ſide of it, and Tigris out of the Southern; as Salmaſius obſerves upon Solinus, p. 621, &c. Certain it is, that the beſt Authors; both Ancient and Modern, make them to have different Springs, from whence they hold different Courſes, Euphrates toward the Weſt, and Tigris toward the Eaſt: And do not make one River, till (after they have run through many Countries) they meet and joyn together about Apamia, according to Ptolomy. And then indeed they make for a long way, but one great Stream: Which I take to be the River here mentioned by Moſes, and run through the Country of Eden, which perhaps lay on both ſides of the River; as the Garden it is plain by verſe 8. did on the Eaſtern ſide of it; extending it ſelf to the place, where theſe united Rivers parted again. For ſo it follows.

And from thence.] i. e. Below the Garden.

It parted.] Or, was divided again, as it had been before into two other Streams. By which words we ſeem to have found the Place where the Garden ended; but being not told where it began, nor how far it ſpread it ſelf Eaſtward from the River ſide, I will not preſume to ſay what Country or Countries it included. Certain it is there was a Country, as I obſerved before, called Eden in after times, which was part of the Kingdom of Aſſyria, 2 Kings XIX. 12. And that Kingdom then comprehended not only the Country anciently called Aſhur, but Meſopotamia, and Babylonia, &c. In ſome part of p. 44which laſt Province it is probable this Garden was ſeated.

And became into four Heads.] He doth not ſay was parted into four Heads, but became into four Heads, (whoſe Names here follow,) two before they united, viz. Tigris, and Euphrates; and two after they again parted, viz. Piſon, and Gihon. Theſe he calls Heads, or Principal Rivers, as David Chytraeus, I think, rightly underſtands it, quatuor illuſtria & magna flumina efficiebant, made four famous and great Rivers. For all Diviſions from the main Stream are called the Heads of a Water; as Sir W. Raleigh obſerves out of Ʋlpianus. And it is indifferent whether the Water come out of a Fountain, or out of a River, or a Lake: For that part of the River (ſuppoſe) where the Branch forſakes the main Stream, is called the Head of that Branch; which becomes a new River. In like manner may Euphrates and Tigris be called the Heads of that River which they made at their meeting: As where they part again, the beginnings (as the LXX tranſlate the word) of the other two Rivers, Piſon and Gihon, are properly called the Heads of them.

Ver. 11. The name of the firſt is Piſon, or Phiſon.] This is that Branch which runs Weſterly; and being neareſt to the place where Moſes wrote, on the other ſide of Jordan, is firſt mentioned by him. It is a long time ſince both this River and Gihon have loſt theſe Names: The Greek and Roman Writers calling them ſtill, after their parting, by the Names they had before they met, Euphrates and Tigris. But there was a remainder of the Name of Piſon preſerved in the Eaſterly River called Paſitigris, which is the ſame with Oroatis, as Salmaſius obſerves in his p. 45Exerc. Plinianae in Solin. p. 701, 702: And is called (as Mr. Carver notes) by Xenophon ſimply Phyſeus; in which the Name of Phiſon is plainly enough retained. Which continued till the time of Alexander the Great: For Q. Curtius, as he further notes, commonly calls Tigris it ſelf, by the Name of Phaſis, and ſays it was ſo called by the Inhabitants thereabouts. Which, in all probability, was at firſt the Name of this other River Phiſon; but loſt by the many alterations which were made, for a long time, in the courſe of it, as Pliny tells us. For he ſays, the Orcheni, and other neighbouring Nations, made great and deep Cuts or Canals to carry the Water of Euphrates (meaning this River) into their Fields; and ſo it loſt its courſe, and run through Tigris and the Marſhes into the Sea. Strabo ſaith the ſame, that from theſe foreign, as he calls them, deep Trenches which carried the Water of Euphrates into Tigris, came the Name of Paſitigris; that is, Piſon mixed with Tigris. See Salmaſius in the fore-named Exercitations, pag. 703: where he ſhows this River was not perfectly reſtored to its Courſe till the times of Alexander the Great.

That is it, which compaſſeth the whole Land of Havilah.] By finding where this Country was, we certainly find the River Phiſon. Now Moſes makes mention of two Havilah's; one deſcended from Cuſh, Gen. X. 7. and the other from Jocktan, ver. 29. The latter of theſe cannot be here meant, for his Poſterity were planted Eaſtward; but, the former, who were a more Weſtern People, in that part of Arabia Foelix which bordered upon this Stream. For the Iſhmaelites (who inhabited Arabia deſerta) are deſcribed by Moſes, XXV. 18. as bounded by Shur towards p. 46Egypt, and by Havilah in the way to Aſſyria. And Saul found Havilah in after-times in the very ſame ſituation, 1 Sam. XV. 7. And ſtill, much later, Strabo mentions the foreign (which are certainly the Poſterity of Chavilah) among the People of Arabia. See Bochart's Phaleg. L. IV. c. 11.

Where there is Gold.] Nothing is more famous than the Gold of Arabia: Where Diodorus Siculus ſays it is digged up in great Lumps, as big as a Cheſnut, L. II. p. 93. Edit. H. Steph.

Ver. 12. And the Gold of that Land is good.] i. e. Is excellent: For the fore-named Author ſays, it is of ſuch a flaming Colour, that it adds much to the Luſtre of precious Stones, that are ſet in it.

There is Bdellium. The Hebrew word being Bedolach, ſome have thought Bdellium to come from thence, which is an Aromatick Gum. Others think Bedolach to be Chryſtal, others Amber; but Bochart rather thinks it ſignifies Pearl: Which he proves (in his Hieroizoc. P. II. L. V. c. 25.) from the Country it ſelf here mentioned, viz. Havilah, which he looks upon as that Part of Arabia, which lies upon the Perſian Gulph: Where, at Catipha, there is a great Pearl-fiſhing. The Manna alſo wherewith the Iſraelites were fed in the Wilderneſs, is deſcribed Numb. XI. 7. to be round like Coriander-Seed, and of the Colour of Bedolach. Now in his former Deſcription Moſes ſays it was white, Exod. XVI. 14. which agrees to Pearls, as alſo doth roundneſs, but not to the ſweet Gum called Bdellium: Of which ſee Salmaſius in his Exerc. Plin. p. 1150.

And the Onyx Stone.] This Country alſo was famous for Precious Stones; as appears by the Report which Nearchus (Alexander's Admiral) made of the p. 47Weſtern Coaſt of the Perſian Gulph, in Strabo, L. XVI. But Braunius (L. II. De Veſtitu Sacerd. Hebr. cap. 18.) thinks Schoham ſhould rather be tranſlated the Sardonyx. Which ſoever it be, Arabia was famous both for the Onyx and Sardonyae, as Salmaſius obſerves out of Pliny, Ib. p. 562, 563.

Ver. 13. The name of the ſecond River is Gihon.] There is no footſteps of this Name remaining that I can find; but we are directed, by the Country it is ſaid to compaſs, to take it to be the Eaſtern Stream that aroſe from the parting of Euphrates and Tigris; as Piſon I ſaid was the Weſtern.

Compaſſeth, or, runneth along by the whole Land of Aethiopia.] Or Cuſh: Who was ſeated more Eaſtward than his Sons, Havilah, Seba, and the reſt, (mentioned Gen. X. 6, 7.) upon the Borders of this River. For when People firſt began to ſpread themſelves, they kept as near to great Rivers as they could; for the better Communication one with another, and affording mutual Succour and Aſſiſtance. It is probable that he gave Name to the Country of Suſiana; which the Greeks called foreign, and is now called by the Perſians Chuzeſtan, i. e. The Province of Chus. And when his Poſterity multiplied, they went more Weſtward toward the Arabian Sea: From whence his Brother Mitzraim paſſed into Egypt. Our Tranſlators follow the LXX in rendring the Hebrew Name Cuſh, by Aethiopia: Not meaning that in Africa, but this in Aſſa. For the Ancients frequently mention a double Aethiopia, as many have obſerved; particularly Job Ludolphus, who herein juſtifies the LXX in great part, L. II. Comment. in Hiſtor. Aethiop. Cap. III. n. 16.

p. 48Ver. 14. The name of the third is Hiddekel.] Which River being called by Daniel, X. 4. the great river; cannot be, as many have fanſied, Nahar-malca: For that was but a Cut, made by Trajan to waft his Army out of Euphrates into Tigris, (as Ammian. Marcellinus tells us,) and therefore Hiddekel, is Tigris it ſelf. Which, as Pliny ſays, was called Diglito, in thoſe Parts where its Courſe was ſlow; and where it began to be rapid, it took the Name of Tigris. And ſo the Arabians call this River Deglat, and Degela, from the Hebrew word Hiddekel. Which Salmaſius derives from Hadda, or Chadda, ſharp pointed; and Kal, ſwift; becauſe of its very quick and haſty Motion: And thence the Greeks he obſerves derive the Name of Tigris, foreign, Exerc. in Solin. p. 694. Rauwolff in his Travels, P. II. c. 9. ſays, That when he was at Caruch, on the Confines of Media, (which was about an hundred Years ago,) Tigris was ſtill called in their Language Hidekel.

Which goeth toward the Eaſt of Aſſyria.] If it make a great bend Northward, (as Pliny ſaith it doth about Apamia,) it muſt needs run toward the Eaſt of Aſſyria, for ſome time. But this is not the Courſe of the River; and therefore the LXX tranſlate the word Kidmath, which we engliſh toward the Eaſt, ſimply toward: And it is certain Tigris did run by Aſſyria; for Nineveh, the chief City of Aſſyria, ſtood upon the Eaſt ſide of this River, as Bochart hath demonſtrated in his Phaleg. L. IV. cap. 20.

The fourth River is Euphrates.] None doubt that the River called here in the Hebrew Perath or Phrath, is the ſame that hath been called for many Ages Euphrates. The Courſe of which was ſo well p. 49known in thoſe Days, that Moſes gives no deſcription of it.

Ver. 15. And the LORD God took the Man.] After ſuch a manner as he took David from the Sheepfolds, (Pſalm LXXVIII. 70.) by an extraordinary Motion. For as a Prophet was ſent from God to anoint him; ſo God himſelf, I ſuppoſe, appeared to Adam, in a viſible Glorious Majeſty, which the Jews call the SCHECHINAH, (as was noted before, I. 3.) becauſe it was a Token of God's ſpecial Preſence, and by it he dwelt among his People. It ſeems to have been a very ſhining Flame, or amazing Splendor of Light, breaking out of a thick Cloud: Of which we afterward read very often, under the Name of the Glory of the LORD; which at firſt appeared to Moſes, as a flame of Fire out of the midſt of a Buſh, Exod. III. 2. To this I cannot think our firſt Parents to have been Strangers; but look upon it as highly probable, that this Divine Majeſty conducted Adam from the place where he was formed, into the Garden of Eden.

And put him.] Or, placed him there.

To dreſs it, and to keep it.] To preſerve it by his Care and Labour, in the Condition wherein he found it. Theophilus Antiochenus thinks it is not without a Myſtery, that God's putting Man into Paradiſe is twice mentioned, (here, and verſe 8.) to ſignifie that after Man was caſt out of one Paradiſe, he ſhould ſtill have a right to another: By being well inſtructed in his Baniſhment, and prepared for a Reſtitution, at the general Reſurrection and new Creation, L. II. ad Autolicum.

Ver. 16. And the LORD God commanded the Man.] This is a further indication, that the Divine p. 50Majeſty appeared to Adam and ſpake to him; as he did to Moſes, out of the flame in the Buſh, ſaying,

Of every Tree in the Garden thou maiſt freely eat.] A very liberal Conceſſion; which was abundantly ſufficient to demonſtrate that it was not Envy (of which the Divine Nature is not capable) which moved their Creator to abridge our firſt Parents Liberty, in one particular.

Ver. 17. But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, (why ſo called ſee ver. 9.) thou ſhalt not eat of it.] This ſmall reſtraint it was fit to lay upon Adam, to make him ſenſible, that though he had Dominion over all things, yet he was not their Lord; but a Servant to the moſt High: Who required this Abſtinence in token of his Subjection, and to prove his Obedience to him. This Account many of the Fathers give of it; particularly Tertullian, who calls this the Primordial Law; which was, quaſi matrix omnium praeceptorum Dei, (adv. Judaeos, cap. 2.) including, as it were, in its Womb, all the Natural Laws of God. For, as in obſerving this Law he had teſtified his unſpotted Love and Obedience to God; ſo in violating it, he threw off the Divine Government, and oppoſed his own Will to God's. But ſtill ſome ask, Why ſhould his Obedience be tried, in ſuch an Inſtance as this? Not conſidering that an Experiment of it, could ſcarce have been made in any of the Moral Precepts: Which there was no occaſion to violate. For what ſhould tempt him to Idolatry, or to take God's Name in vain, or to murder his Wife? How was it poſſible to commit Adultery, when there was no Body but he and ſhe in the World? How could he Steal, or what room was there then for Coveting, when God p. 51had put him in poſſeſſion of all things? It had been in vain to forbid that, which could not be done; and it had not been Vertue to abſtain from that to which there was no Temptation; but from that which invited them to Tranſgreſs. I ſpeak in the Plural Number; becauſe it muſt be remembred that this Prohibition was given not only to Adam but to Eve alſo, (III. 1, 2.) An Account of whoſe Production immediately follows.

Theophilus Antiochenus in the place before-named, hath ſeveral pretty Reflections upon this Prohibition; and this among the reſt: That Adam and Eve being but newly brought into the World, were in ſimplicity, to be wholly ordered and governed by the Will and Pleaſure of their Heavenly Parent; and not affect much Knowledge, (as not agreeable to their Infant State,) but to grow up in it by degrees, and not foreign, to aim at Wiſdom above their Age. To which purpoſe Greg. Nazianzen alſo diſcourſes in many places: Orat. XXXVIII. p. 619. Orat. XLII. p. 681. and Carm. Arcan. VII. p. 162. And indeed many excellent Meditations may be raiſed from hence; particularly, That Chriſtians new-born ſhould not be ſo greedy of Knowledge, as careful and ſolicitous of well-doing: For many have been ruin'd by early Speculations. Which, if one could pick any good Senſe out of ſuch ſtuff as the Valentinians uttered, I ſhould think they intended to repreſent; when they ſaid, The laſt of their Aeons, whom they called Wiſdom, labouring to comprehend the foreign, or Depth, (i. e. the Father of all) had like to have loſt it ſelf, till it was helpt by foreign, or Limit. That is, we are preſerved by ſetting ſome Bounds to our Deſires after Knowledge.

p. 52Thou ſhalt ſurely die.] In the Hebrew, dying thou ſhalt die; to ſhow the certainty of it, as we rightly tranſlate it. Which doth not ſignifie, as appears by the event, that he ſhould inſtantly die; but become Mortal; loſe the Immortality wherewith he was inveſted, Gen. III. 19. And, as Athanaſius thinks, the doubling the Expreſſion denotes, foreign, (L. De Incarn. Verbi,) he ſhould not only die, but remain in the corruption of Death; as we ſhould all have done, had not the Second Adam obtained for us an happy Reſurrection.

I need not add, That Diſeaſes, Sickneſſes, and Pains, the fore-runners of Death, are included in this Threatning.

Ver. 18. And the LORD God ſaid.] Or, had ſaid, as it is by ſome tranſlated; the better to ſhow that the foregoing Precept was given to both. And to ſay in this place, is as much as to reſolve and decree: As Melancthon well explains it, in one of his Epiſtles, Dicere, hoc loco ſignificat, miranda ſapientia ſancire, & nobis hoc decretum tradere; to ſay, here ſignifies to eſtabliſh with wonderful Wiſdom, and to deliver this Decree to us. L. I. Epiſt. 126. Where he again repeats it, The LORD ſaid, that is, by his wiſe Counſel and immutable Decree, he eſtabliſhed this Order.

It is not good that the Man ſhould be alone.] Uncomfortable to want Society, and unfit there ſhould not be an increaſe of Mankind. Concerning which Plato hath left theſe wonderful Words, L. VI. De Legibus: This is the incouragement to Marriage, not only that humane Race may be perpetuated; but a Man may, foreign, p. 53leave Childrens Children behind him when he is gone, to ſerve God in his ſtead.

I will make him an help.] For all the Neceſſities and Uſes of Life.

Meet for him.] In whoſe Company he ſhall take Delight; ſo the Hebrew Phraſe, as before him, imports; being as much as, anſwerable to him, every way fitted for him; not only in likeneſs of Body, but of Mind, Diſpoſition, and Affection: Which laid the Foundation of perpetual Familiarity and Friendſhip. Or, as the Author of Cether Schem Tobh, mention'd by Hackspan, interprets it, She ſhall always be ready to obſerve and ſerve him. For to ſtand before any one, in the Hebrew Language, ſignifies readineſs to do what is deſired. See more on verſe 25.

Ver. 19. And out of the Ground the LORD God formed.] Or, had formed, I. 20, 24.

Every Beaſt of the Field, &c.] The Ground here muſt be underſtood to comprehend the Water alſo; out of which the Fowl were made.

And brought them unto ADAM.] It is commonly thought that this Name of Adam, given to the firſt Man, ſignifies as much as red Earth. But Job Ludolphus hath made it far more probable, that it imports Elegant, or Beautiful. See his Hiſtor. Aethiop. L. I. cap. 15. n. 17, 18. and his Commentaries upon that Chapter, N. 107. How the Beaſts and Birds were brought to him, we are not told: But, it is likely, by the Miniſtry of Angels; who were perpetual Attendants upon the SCHECHINAH, or Divine Majeſty.

To ſee what he would call them.] To exerciſe and improve his Underſtanding.

p. 54And whatever Adam called, &c.] God approved of it.

Ver. 20. And Adam gave Names, &c.] Or, though Adam gave Names, to all Creatures; yet among them all, when they were brought before him, there was not a fit Companion found for him. It doth not follow from his giving Names, that he knew the Nature of all thoſe Creatures: For the Names of them in Scripture (which they who are of this Opinion generally ſuppoſe were the Names given by Adam) are taken from their Voice, their Colour, their Magnitude, or ſome ſuch External difference, and not from their Nature. Therefore this impoſing Names upon them, denotes rather his Dominion, than his Knowledge. The Anonymus Author of the Chron. Excerpta before Joh. Antiochenus Malala, ſays, That Adam impoſed Names upon all Creatures, foreign, by the Commandment of God, foreign, but his own Name and his Wife's were told him by an Angel of the Lord.

Ver. 21. And the LORD God cauſed a deep ſleep, &c.] Whereby he was made leſs ſenſible of the Pain, which otherwiſe he would have felt in the opening his Side; if his Mind had not been wholly intent upon ſomething elſe. As it was in this Sleep; which was accompanied with an Ecſtaſie, (ſo the LXX tranſlate this Word, and it is agreeable to what we read Job IV. 13.) wherein was repreſented to his Mind, both what was done to him, and the Myſtery of it; as appears by verſe 23, 24. Vid. Epiphan. Haereſ. XLVIII. n. 4, 5, 6.

And he took one of his Ribs.] Tho. Bartholinus, a late famous Phyſician, thinks it probable that Adam p. 55had XIII Ribs on each Side, and that God took away one pair, with the Muſculous Parts that adhere to them; and out of them made Eve. For commonly Men have but XII Ribs, though ſometimes there have been found (as Galen and Riolanus upon him teſtifie) thoſe who have had XIII. and, very rarely, ſome who have had but XI: As Bartholin himſelf obſerved in a luſty ſtrong Man whom he diſſected, An. 1657, who had but XI on one Side, and a ſmall appearance of a XIIth on the other. Hiſtor. Anatom. & Medic. Centur. V. cap. 1. It is fit here to be obſerved, That God did not form Eve out of the Ground, as he had done Adam; but out of his Side: That he might breed the greater Love between him and her, as Parts of the ſame Whole. Whereby he alſo effectually recommended Marriage to all Mankind, as founded in Nature; and as the re-union of Man and Woman. It is likewiſe obſervable, That there is no mention here of his breathing a Soul into her, as into him: For Moſes only explains what was peculiar to Eve, (which was her being made out of his Side,) the reſt is ſuppoſed in thoſe Words, verſe 19. I will make him an help meet for him; which the vulgar Latin rightly tranſlates ſimile ei, like unto him. For ſo the Hebrew word Kenegdo is uſed by the Jewiſh Writers, particularly by Benjamin in his Itinerary; where, ſpeaking of the Jews at Germuda, and naming ſeveral, he ſays there were many more Kenegdem, like unto them. And ſo the word foreign among the Greeks denotes likeneſs and ſimilitude, as well as contrary. Of which ſee Conſt. L' Empereur, Annot. in Benj. Tudel. p. 138. The Woman therefore was in all things like him; only he made out of the Earth, ſhe out of him: That he might cleave p. 56to her with the deareſt Love and Affection. It was alſo ſaid before this, I. 27. That both Man and Woman were made in the likeneſs of God.

And cloſed up the Fleſh, in ſtead thereof.] Made the Fleſh as firm, as it was before.

Ver. 22. And the Rib, &c. made he Woman.] Which was as eaſie for the Divine Power to do; as to make the Man himſelf out of the Earth.

And brought her to him.] Not merely by conducting her to the ſame place where he was; but the Divine Majeſty (which now appeared to Eve) preſented and gave her to him, to be his Wife. God himſelf made the Eſpouſals (if I may ſo ſpeak) between them, and joyned them together in Marriage.

Ver. 23. And Adam ſaid, &c.] Now indeed I have found, what I could not ſee before among all God's Creatures, another ſelf.

Therefore ſhe ſhall be called Woman, &c.] Partake of my Name, as ſhe doth of my Nature. For he called her Iſſcha, as he was called Iſſch. From whence Sepher Coſri, and Abarbinel indeavour (in a very long diſcourſe) to prove the Hebrew to be the Primitive Language. And Abarbinel obſerves the Chriſtians to be of the ſame Opinion, quoting for a proof of it, St. Auſtin's Book, De Civitate Dei.

Ver. 24. Therefore ſhall a Man leave his Father and Mother, and cleave to his Wife.] Cohabit with her, rather than with his Parents, (if they cannot all dwell together,) and be joyned to her in the cloſeſt and moſt inſeparable Affection: As if they were but one Perſon, and had but one Soul and one Body. That's the meaning of the next words.

p. 57And they ſhall be one Fleſh.] Moſt intimately conjoyned in intire and inſeparable Love. Which aroſe from the ſingular Union of the Fleſh of our firſt Parents; one of them being taken out of the other. From whence Maimonides and other Hebrew Doctors inferr all mixture with Beaſts to be contrary to Nature; who are neither one Fleſh with us, nor one with another. For in this our Bodies, as well as our Souls, have a preheminence above theirs; which were not made one Fleſh after ſuch a manner as Man and Woman were. They hence alſo conclude all inceſtuous Marriages, &c. to be unlawful, as may be ſeen in Mr. Selden, De Jure N. & G. Lib, V. cap. 2. Their Obſervation is more pertinent who take notice, That God creating and joyning together but one Man and one Woman in the beginning; intended Mankind ſhould be ſo propagated, and not by Polygamy. Which in proceſs of time indeed became the general practice; but from the beginning it was not ſo, as our Saviour ſpeaks in the Caſe of Divorces. Which he concludes, from theſe very words, were againſt the Divine Inſtitution, which made two to be one Fleſh, (Matth. XIX. 5, 6, 8.) So he interprets theſe words, (and St. Paul doth the ſame, 1 Cor. VI. 16.) they ſhall be one Fleſh: And ſo doth Jonathan's Paraphraſe, and the Samaritan Code, as Mr. Selden obſerves, in the place now named.

Ver. 25. And they were both naked, the Man and his Wife.] They did not yet find any neceſſity of Cloths.

And they were not aſhamed.] Did not bluſh; no more than little Children do, when they behold one another naked, and embrace with an innocent Affection. Beſides, there was no Body but they two p. 58(who in effect were as One) to behold them: And therefore they had no more reaſon to bluſh, than a Man doth when he is naked alone by himſelf.