Commentary on Genesis, Chapter 1

Commentary on Genesis · Chapter 1

p. 1THat MOSES wrote this and the Four following Books hath been ſo conſtantly believed, both by Jews, Chriſtians, and Heathens, that none, I think, denied it, till Aben Ezra (a Jewiſh Doctor, who lived not much above five hundred Years ago) raiſed ſome Doubts about it, in his Notes upon the Firſt of Deuteronomy, out of XII Paſſages in theſe Books themſelves: Which he pretended could not be his, but the Words of a later Author. But when I meet with thoſe places, I ſhall make it appear, that all ſuch exceptions are very frivolous, and ought not to ſhake our belief of this Truth, That theſe Five Books were penned by MOSES and no Body elſe.

The firſt is called GENESIS, becauſe it contains, the Hiſtory of the Creation of the World, with p. 2which it begins; and the Genealogy of the Patriarchs, down to the death of Joſeph, where it ends. It comprehends an Hiſtory of Two thouſand three hundred and ſixty nine Years, or thereabouts: The truth of all which it was not difficult for Moſes to know, becauſe it came down to his time, through but a very few Hands. For from Adam to Noah, there was one Man (Methuſelah) who lived ſo long as to ſee them both. And ſo it was from Noah to Abraham: Shem converſed with both. As Iſaac did with Abraham and Joſeph: From whom theſe things might eaſily be conveyed to Moſes, by Amram; who lived long enough with Joſeph. In ſhort, Moſes might have been confuted, if he had written any thing but the Truth, by learned Men of other Nations, who ſprang from the ſame Root, and had the like means of being acquainted with the great things here reported by tradition from their Fore-fathers: Who lived ſo long in the beginning of the World, that they more certainly tranſmitted things to their Poſterity. Beſides, it is not reaſonable to think, they had not the uſe of Writing as we have; whereby they conveyed the knowledge of Times foregoing, to thoſe that came after.

Verſe 1. In the beginning.] The World is not eternal, but had a beginning, as all Philoſophers acknowledged before Ariſtotle. So he himſelf informs us, L. 1. de Coelo, cap. 2. (ſpeaking of the ancient Opinions concerning the Original of the World) foreign, they all ſay it had a beginning: But ſome thought it might have no End; others judged it to be Corruptible.

God created.] He who is Eternal gave a Being to this great Fabrick of Heaven and Earth, out of Nothing. p. 3It is obſerved by Euſebius (in the beginning of his Book De Praepar. Evang. p. 21, & 25. Edit. Pariſ.) That neither the ancient Hiſtorians, nor the Philoſophers, do ſo much as mention GOD, foreign, no, not ſo far as to name him, when they write of the beginning of the World. But this Divine Law-giver, deſigning to hang the whole Frame of his Polity, upon Piety towards GOD, and to make the Creator of all, the Founder of his Laws, begins with him. Not after the manner of the Egyptians and Phoenicians, who beſtowed this adorable Name, upon a great Multitude: But puts in the Front of his Work, the Name of the ſole Cauſe of all things; the Maker of whatſoever is ſeen or unſeen. As if he had told the Hebrew Nation, That he who gave them the Law contained in theſe Books, was the King and Law-giver of the whole World: Which was, like a great City, governed by him. Whom therefore he would have them look upon, not only as the Enacter of their Laws; but of thoſe alſo which all Nature obeys. See L. VII. De Praepar. Evang. c. 9, 10. & L. XII. c. 16.

The Heaven and the Earth.] The Hebrew Particle Eth, put before both Heaven and Earth, ſignifies as much as with, if Maimonides underſtood it aright; and makes the Sence to be this: He created the Heavens, with all things in the Heavens, and the Earth with all things in the Earth; as his Words are in More Nevochim, P. II. cap. 30. Certain it is theſe two words, Heaven and Earth, comprehend the whole viſible World. Some would have the Angels comprehended in the word Heaven; particularly Epiphanius, Haereſ. LXV. n. 45. foreign. But others of the Fathers are of a different p. 4Opinion, as Petavius there obſerves. It is a pretty Conceit of Theophilus Antiochenus, L. 2. ad Autolycum, That the Heavens are mentioned before the Earth, to ſhow that God's Works are not like ours: For he begins at the top, we at the bottom: That is, he firſt made the fixed Stars and all beyond them, (fo I take the word Heaven here to ſignifie) for they had a beginning, as well as this lower World, though they do not ſeem to be comprehended in the ſix days Work, which relates only to this Planetary World, as I may call it, which hath the Sun for its Center. And thus Philo underſtood the firſt word Bereſchith, in the beginning, to reſpect the order wherein things were created. God began his Creation with the Heaven, as the moſt noble Body, and then proceeded to the Earth; an account of which follows.

Ver. 2. And the Earth was without form, &c.] Some connect this Verſe with the foregoing, by tranſlating the firſt Verſe in this manner, When God firſt created, or began to create, the Heaven and the Earth, the Earth was without form, &c. That is, at firſt he only created a rude Matter of thoſe things, which afterwards were faſhioned as we now ſee them.

Without form.] A confuſed, indigeſted heap, without any order or ſhape.

And void.] Having no Beaſts, nor Trees, nor Herbs, nor any thing elſe, wherewith we now behold it adorned.

So theſe two words, Tohu Vabohu, are uſed in Scripture, where we meet with them (which is not often) for confuſion and emptineſs, XXXIV Iſaiah 11. IV Jer. 23. Being a deſcription of that which the Ancients called the CHAOS (of which the Barbarians had a Notion, no leſs than the Greeks) wherein p. 5the Seeds and Principles of all things were blended together. This is called, in the Pagan Language, by Epicharmus, foreign, the firſt of the Gods: Becauſe all things ſprang out of this; which was indeed the firſt of the Works of God, who, as Moſes ſhows in the ſequel, produced this beautiful World out of this CHAOS.

And darkneſs was upon the face of the deep.] Nothing was to be ſeen, for want of Light: Which lay buried, as all things elſe did, in that great Abyſs, or vaſt confuſed heap of Matter before-mentioned. So the Hebrew word Tehom ſignifies (which we translate deep) tumult and turbid confuſion: The firſt Matter being very heterogeneous, as they ſpeak, i. e. of various ſorts and kinds, hudled together without diſtinction.

And the Spirit of God moved.] Men have been extreamly fanſiful in the expoſition of theſe plain Words: Some underſtanding by the Spirit of God, the Sun, which gives Spirit and Life to all things upon Earth; others the Air, or the Wind: When as yet there was no Sun in the Firmament, nor any Wind that could ſtir, without the Power of the Almighty to excite it. This therefore we are to underſtand to be here meant; The Infinite Wiſdom, and Power of God, which made a vehement Commotion, and mighty Fermentation (by raiſing, perhaps, a great Wind) upon the face of the Waters: That is, on that fluid Matter before-mentioned, to ſeparate the parts of it one from the other.

Waters.] That which Moſes before called the Deep, he now calls the Waters: Which plainly ſhows that ſome Parts of the confuſed Maſs, were fluid and light; as other Parts were ſolid and heavy. The heavy p. 6naturally ſunk, which he calls the Earth; and the lighter Parts got above them, which he calls the Waters: For it is clearly intimated the Waters were uppermoſt.

The Word we here tranſlate moved, ſignifies literally brooded upon the Waters, as an Hen doth upon her Eggs. So the ancient and modern Interpreters have obſerved: And Morinus, who oppoſes it, hath ſaid nothing to make us doubt of this Sence of the Phraſe. From whence ſome have, not unhappily, conjectured, the Ancients took their Notion of a foreign, a firſt laid Egg, out of which all things were formed. That is, the CHAOS (out of which all the old Philoſophers, before Ariſtotle, thought the World was produced) conſiſting of Earth and Water, of thicker and thinner Parts, as an Egg doth of Yolk and White.

Now the Spirit of God thus moved upon the Waters, that by its incubation (as we may call it) it might not only ſeparate, as I ſaid, thoſe Parts which were jumbled together; but give a vivifick Virtue to them, to produce what was contained in them. The Souls and Spirits, that is, of all living Creatures, were produced by the Spirit of God, as Porphyry ſaith Numenius underſtood it. For his Opinion, he tells us, was, That all things came out of the Water foreign, being Divinely inſpired: For which he quoted theſe Words of the Prophet, as he called Moſes. See Porphyry, foreign, on thoſe words of Homer:

—foreign

Which gives us to underſtand, that the Spirits of all living Creatures (which we call their active Forms) p. 7did not ariſe out of Matter, for that is ſtupid; but proceeded from this other Principle, the Powerful Spirit of God, which moved upon the Face of the Waters, by a vital Energy, (as St. Chryſoſtom ſpeaks) ſo that they were no longer ſtanding Waters, but moving, having foreign, a certain living Power in them. From whence we may alſo gather, that the Spirits of living Creatures are diſtinct things from Matter; which of it ſelf cannot move at all, and much leſs produce a Principle of Motion.

And thus indeed all the Ancient Philoſophers apprehended this Matter: And ſome of them have moſt lively expreſſed it. For Laertius in the Life of Anaxagoras tells us, that he taught among other things, foreign, all things were hudled together: And then the Mind came and ſet them in order. And Thales before him (as Tully informs us, L. 1. de Nat. Deor.) Aquam dixit eſſe initium rerum: Deum autem eam mentem quae ex aqua cuncta fingeret; ſaid, Water was the beginning of things: And God that Mind who formed all things out of the Water.

By the Spirit of God ſome of the ancient Jews have underſtood the Spirit of the Meſſiah, (as Hackspan obſerves in his Cabala Judaica, n. LXVI. out of Baal Hatturim, the Hieruſalem Targum, &c.) which explains the Evangeliſt St. John, who in the beginning of his Goſpel ſays, all things were made by the Eternal ΛΟΓΟΣ or WORD of God, (the ſame with the foreign of the ancient Philoſophers) whoſe Almighty Spirit agitated the vaſt confuſed Maſs of Matter, and put it into Form.

p. 8Ver. 3. And God ſaid.] Theſe words are taken notice of by Longinus, foreign, as a truly lofty expreſſion; wherein appears the Wiſdom of Moſes, who repreſents God like himſelf, commanding things into Being by his Word; that is, by his Will: For whereſoever we read theſe words in the Hiſtory of the Creation, He ſaid, the meaning muſt be underſtood to be He willed, as Maimonides interprets it, More Nev. P. I. cap. 65. This Juſtin Martyr demonſtrates Orpheus had learnt out of Moſes his Books, when he ſwears by the Heaven, the Work of the Great and Wiſe God, and by the Word of the Father, which he ſpake at firſt, when he eſtabliſh'd all the World by his Counſels. So his words are in foreign, p. 16.

And as there is nothing more famous in Antiquity than the foreign, Orpheus his Egg, which I before mentioned; ſo it is remarkable that the Egyptians (among whom Orpheus travelled) deſcribed their God KNEPH, with an Egg coming out of his Mouth: Which was a lively repreſentation of this World (noted by the Egg) produced by God's Omnipotent Word. For how richly ſoever the CHAOS was furniſhed with Materials, it could have brought forth nothing, without his Powerful Motion, and Wiſe Contrivance, by whom it was created. So Anaxagoras himſelf reſolved foreign, that Mind was the Principle of Motion, (as Laertius tells us in his Life) by which Mind he underſtood God, as others have reported his Opinion more largely in theſe admirable words. The Beginning of all things is foreign, the Mind, who is the Cauſe and the Lord of the whole World; and gave foreign, &c. order to things in p. 9diſorder, and motion to things immovable, and diſtinction to things confuſed, and beauty to things deformed.

Let there be Light.] Having ſpoken of the Creation of all things, now follows an account of their Formation out of that rude Matter which was at firſt created. And the firſt thing produced was Light; which Greg. Nazianzen (Orat. XLIII. p. 699. a.) calls foreign, becauſe it was not yet collected into a Body, as it is now in the Sun. Others think it to have been a dimmer ſort of Light from the Sun, not yet perfectly formed. Abarbinel (upon the XL of Exodus) takes this to be the SCHECHINAH, the moſt excellent of all created things, called, in Holy Scripture, the Glory of the LORD; which God, ſaith he, ſealed up in his Treaſures, after the Luminaries were created, to ſerve him upon ſpecial Occaſions, (for inſtance, to lead the Iſraelites in the Wilderneſs, by a cloudy Pillar of Fire) when he would make himſelf appear extraordinarily Preſent. And becauſe of the Perfection of this Light he fanſies it is that Moſes ſays in the next Verſe, That God ſaw the Light (repeating the word Light) that it was good: Whereas in all the reſt of the Six Days Work, he only ſays, He ſaw it was good, without naming again the thing he had made.

But it ſeems to me moſt rational by this Light, to underſtand, thoſe Particles of Matter, which we call Fire, (whoſe two Properties, every one knows, are Light and Heat) which the Almighty Spirit that formed all things, produced as the great Inſtrument, for the Preparation and digeſtion of the reſt of the Matter; which was ſtill more vigorouſly moved and agitated, from the top to the bottom, by this reſtleſs p. 10Element, till the purer and more ſhining Parts of it, being ſeparated from the groſſer, and united in a Body fit to retain them, became Light.

Ver. 4. And God ſaw the Light, that it was good.] He was pleaſed in this Work of his, as agreeable to his Deſign. Which for the preſent was (we may conceive) to influence the upper Parts of the CHAOS, and to be the Inſtrument of Rarefaction, Separation, and all the reſt of the Operations, which were neceſſary to mold it into ſuch Creatures, as were afterwards made out of it.

And God divided the Light from the Darkneſs.] Appointed that they ſhould conſtantly ſucceed one another; as we ſee they do now, that this Light is embodied in the Sun; and as they did then, by the circular Motion of this firſt Light of Fire, round about the CHAOS, in the ſpace of Twenty-four Hours; which made it Day to thoſe Parts where it ſhined; and Night, where it did not. It is remarkable how Moſes aſcribes every thing to GOD, the Former of all things; who by making this Light move round about the Chaos, ſtill more prepared, and exalted the remaining indigeſted Parts of Matter, for their ſeveral uſes.

Ver. 5. And God called the light, Day; and the darkneſs he called, Night.] He ſetled them (that is) in ſuch a conſtant Courſe, that it gave them theſe diſtinct Names.

And the Evening and the Morning were the firſt Day.] In the Hebrew Language, Evening and Morning ſignifie a whole Day; which the Motion of this Light made, if we conceive it to have been formed about Noon, and to have gone round the fore-mentioned Heap of Matter in Twenty-four Hours.

p. 11How long all things continued in mere Confuſion, after the CHAOS was created, before this Light was extracted out of it, we are not told. It might be (for any thing that is here revealed) a great while; and all that time the mighty Spirit was making ſuch Motions in it, as prepared, diſpoſed, and ripened every Part of it, for ſuch Productions as were to appear ſucceſſively in ſuch ſpaces of time, as are here, and afterward mentioned by Moſes; who informs us, That after Things were ſo digeſted, and made ready (by long fermentations perhaps) to be wrought into Form, God produced every day, for ſix days together, ſome Creature or other, till all was finiſhed; of which Light was the very firſt. This Maimonides hath very happily illuſtrated, in his More Nevochim, P. II. c. 30. where he obſerving that all things were created at once, and then were afterwards ſeparated one from another ſucceſſively; he ſays, their wiſe Men reſemble this proceeding to that of a Husbandman, who ſows ſeveral Seeds in the Earth at the ſame moment; ſome of which are to come up after one day, others after two, and others not till three days be paſt; though the whole ſowing was in one and the ſame moment. Thus God made all things at the firſt, which did not appear together; but, in the ſpace of ſix Days, were formed and put in order one after another: Light being the Work of the firſt Day.

Ver. 6. And God ſaid, Let there be a firmament.] The next thing that God commanded to come forth of the Chaos, was the Air; particularly, that Region next to us, wherein the Fowls fly, as it is expounded afterwards, verſe 20. The Hebrew word Rachia properly ſignifies a Body expanded, or ſpread forth, (as may be p. 12ſeen in Exod. XXXIX. 3. Iſai. XL. 19. Jer. X. 9. where it can have no other meaning) but is by the LXX tranſlated foreign, and from thence by us, Firmament; becauſe the Air, though vaſtly extended and fluid, yet continues firm and ſtable in its place.

In the midſt of the Waters, and let it divide the Waters from the Waters.] This Region of the Air, manifeſtly parts the Waters above it in the Clouds, from thoſe below it, here upon Earth; the one of which Waters bear a good proportion, and are in ſome meaſure equal unto the other; for there are vaſt Treaſures of Water in the Clouds; from whence the Waters here below, in Springs and Rivers are ſupplied. This appeared afterwards in the Deluge, which was partly made by continued Rains for many days. The great Objection againſt this Expoſition is, That now there were no Clouds, neither had it, after this, rained on the Earth, Gen. II. 6. But it muſt be conſidered, That neither were the Waters, below, as yet gathered into one place: And therefore Moſes here ſpeaks of the Air, as a Body intended to be ſtretched between the Waters above and beneath, when they ſhould be formed.

That the Clouds above are called Waters in the Scripture-Language, is plain enough from Pſalm CIV. 3. Jer. X. 13. and other places.

Ver. 7. And God made the firmament, and divided, &c.] What his Divine Will ordered, his Power effected; by that Light which rowled about the CHAOS, and that Heat which was excited within it; whereby ſuch Exhalations were raiſed, as made the Firmament. That is, the thicker Parts of them made this Region of the Air, which is the lower firmament, verſe 20: And the thinner Parts of p. 13them made the Aether, or higher Firmament, wherein the Sun and the Planets are ſeated, verſe 14, 15.

Ver. 8. And God called the firmament Heaven.] Made it ſo different from the reſt of the Maſs, called Earth, that it had the Name of Heaven, to diſtinguiſh it from the other. So all above the Earth is called, as appears by the following part of the Chapter, in the Verſes now mentioned. And that's the very import of the word Schamaim, which, in the Arabick Language, (as Aben Ezra obſerves) ſignifies heighth or altitude.

And the Evening and the Morning were the ſecond Day.] This was the Work of another whole Day. Concerning which it is commonly noted, That it is not ſaid of this, as of all the Works of the other five Days, God ſaw that it was good. What the reaſon of this ſhould be, is enquired by all Interpreters; and the moſt ſolid Account that I can find of it, is this; That the Waters mentioned upon this Day, were not yet ſeparated and diſtinguiſhed from the Earth: And therefore in the next Day's Work, when he did gather the Waters together, verſe 10. and when he commanded the Earth (which was become dry) to bring forth, verſe 1.2. theſe words, God ſaw that it was good, are twice repeated. Which made Picherellus and Ger. Voſſius, think the two next Verſes (9, 10.) belonged to the ſecond Days Work; and that the firſt words of the ninth Verſe ſhould be thus tranſlated, And God had ſaid, Let the Waters under the Heaven, &c. And ſo the words in the end of the tenth Verſe, God ſaw that it was good, relate to the ſecond Day. L. 2. de Orig. Idolol. c. 67.

p. 14Ver. 9. And God ſaid, Let the Waters under the Heaven.] All the Waters which continued mixed with the Earth, and covered the ſurface of it.

Be gathered together, &c.] Collected into one Body by themſelves.

And let the dry Land appear.] Diſtinct and ſeparate from the Waters.

There being ſuch large portions of Matter drawn out of the CHAOS, as made the Body of Fire and Air before-mentioned, there remained in a great Body, only Water and Earth; but they ſo jumbled together, that they could not be diſtinguiſhed. It was the Work therefore of the third Day, to make a ſeparation between them; by compacting together all the Particles which make the Earth, which before was Mud and Dirt; and then, by raiſing it above the Waters which covered its Superficies, (as the Pſalmiſt alſo deſcribes this Work, Pſalm CIV. 6.) and, laſtly, by making ſuch Caverns in it, as were ſufficient to receive the Waters into them. Now this we may conceive to have been done by ſuch Particles of Fire as were left in the Bowels of the Earth: Whereby ſuch Nitro-ſulphureous Vapours were kindled, as made an Earthquake; which both lifted up the Earth, and alſo made Receptacles for the Waters to run into; as the Pſalmiſt (otherwiſe I ſhould not venture to mention this) ſeems in the fore-mentioned place to illuſtrate it, Pſalm CIV. 7. where he ſays, At thy rebuke they (i. e. the Waters) fled; at the voice of thy thunder they haſted away. And ſo God himſelf ſpeaks, Job XXXVIII. 10. I brake up for it (i. e. for the Sea) my decreed place, and ſet bars, and doors. Hiſtories alſo tell us, of Mountains that have been, in ſeveral Ages, lifted up by Earthquakes; nay, p. 15Iſlands in the midſt of the Sea: Which confirms this Conjecture, That poſſibly the Waters were, at the firſt, ſeparated by this means; and ſo ſeparated, that they ſhould not return to cover the Earth. For the Word, in the beginning of this Verſe, which we tranſlate gathered, comes from Kav, which ſignifies a Square, a Rule, or perpendicular Line: And therefore denotes they were moſt exactly collected, and ſo poiſed in ſuch juſt Proportions, that they ſhould not again overflow the dry Land.

This Work of God (whereby the Waters were ſent down into their proper Channels, and the Earth made dry, and fitted for the habitation of ſuch Creatures, as were afterwards created) is obſerved by Strabo in his Geography, as an act of Divine Providence, L. XVII. Becauſe, ſays he, the Water covered the Earth, and Man is not foreign, a Creature that can live in the Water, God made foreign, &c. many Cavities and Receptacles in the Earth for the Water; and raiſed the Earth above it, that it might be fit for Man's habitation.

Ver. 10. And called the dry Land, &c.] This is ſufficiently explained, by what hath been ſaid upon Verſe, 5, & 8. only this may be added, That the word Eretz, Earth, in Arabick, ſignifies any thing that is low and ſunk beneath, oppoſite to Schamaim, Heavens, which in that Language, as I noted before, ſignifies high and lifted up.

Ver. 11. And God ſaid, Let the Earth bring forth graſs, the Herb yielding, &c.] Or, rather, it ſhould be tranſlated, and the Herb yielding, &c. though the copula be omitted, which is uſual in Scripture: Particularly in Habak. III. 11. the Sun, Moon, i. e. the Sun and Moon.

p. 16Moſes having ſhown how the firſt Matter, (ver. 2.) and then the Elements of things, as we call them (ver. 3, 6, 9, 10.) were produced, he proceeds to the Production of more compounded Bodies. And here an account is given of all ſorts of Vegetables, which are ranged under three Heads; Graſs, which comes up every Year without ſowing; Herbs, bearing a Seed, which comprehends (as Abarbinel here notes) all ſort of Corn, and whatſoever is ſown; and Trees, which alſo bear Fruit. There are ſeveral kinds of all theſe; which ſome have caſt into Eighteen, others into Six and thirty Claſſes; none of which could at the firſt ſpring out of the Earth, of it ſelf, by the power of external and internal Heat, and of the Water mixed with it, (no, not ſo much as one ſingle Pile of Graſs) without the Almighty Power and Wiſdom of God; who brought together thoſe Parts of Matter, which were fitted to produce them; and then formed every one of them, and determined their ſeveral Species; and alſo provided for their continuance, by bringing forth Seed to propagate their Species to the end of all things. And here it is very remarkable, how God hath ſecured the Seeds of all Plants, with ſingular Care: Some of them being defended by a double, nay, a treble incloſure.

Ver. 12. And the Earth brought forth Graſs, and the Herb, &c.] Theſe things did not grow up out of Seed, by ſuch a long proceſs, as is now required to bring them to maturity; but they ſprung up in their Perfection, in the ſpace of a Day, with their Seeds in them, compleatly formed, to produce the like throughout all Generations. Thus Moſes gives a plain Account of the firſt Production of things, according to the natural Method: For ſuppoſing they p. 17had a Beginning, the Herb and the Tree muſt naturally be before the Seed they bear: As the Hen is before the Egg ſhe lays. And to make a Queſtion, which was firſt (as ſome of the Philoſophers did) is very frivolous; becauſe that Power which alone could produce the Seeds of all things, could as eaſily make the things themſelves, with a power to propage their kind, by Seed.

It is therefore moſt judiciouſly noted by Abarbinel, a learned Jew, That the Production of Plants in the beginning, differed from their Production ever ſince in theſe two things: Firſt, That they have ſprung ever ſince out of Seed, either ſown by us, or falling from the Plants themſelves; but at the beginning were brought out of the Earth, with their Seed in them, to propage them ever after. And, Secondly, They need now, as they have done ſince the firſt Creation, the influence of the Sun, to make them ſprout: But then they came forth by the Power of God, before there was any Sun, which was not formed till the next Day. Of this laſt Theophilus Antiochenus, long before Abarbinel took notice, L. II. ad Autolycum, where he ſays, God produced things in this order; foreſeeing the Vanity of Philoſophers, who, ſaying nothing of him, made all things to be produced by the Sun, foreign, out of the Elements. Porphyry himſelf alſo (L. II. foreign) could obſerve out of Theophraſtus, That the Earth brought forth Trees and Herbs before Beaſts, foreign, &c. Which Euſebius remembers in his Praepar. Evang. L. I. c. 9. p. 28.

Ver. 14. Let there be Lights.] This is a different word from what we had, verſe 3. ſignifying, as Paulus p. 18Fagius obſerves, that which is made out of Light, luminous Bodies, whereby Light is communicated to us: The Hebrew Particle, Mem, before a word, being uſed to expreſs the Inſtrument of an Action: And ſo now we are to conceive, that the Light produced at firſt, having for three Days circulated about the Earth, and that near unto it, to further the Production of the things before-mentioned, was on this fourth Day diſtributed into ſeveral Luminaries, at a great diſtance from the Earth. So it follows; In the firmament of Heaven, in the upper Region, which we call the Aether, or Sky, where the Sun and the Planets are placed.

To divide the Day from the Night.] By a continued circular Motion, finiſhed in four and twenty Hours; in one part of which, by the preſence of the Sun, the Day is made; and in the other part, by the Sun's abſence, Night is made, in a conſtant ſucceſſion.

And let them be for Signs and for Seaſons.] That is, for Signs of the Times or Seaſons; as Ger. Voſſius expounds it, by the Figure of foreign. And by Times are meant, the Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter: And, by conſequence, the Seaſons for Ploughing, Sowing, Planting, Pruning, Reaping, Vintage, Sailing, &c. L. de Scientiis Mathemat. c. 38.

And for Days, and Years.] By a ſpeedy ſwift Motion round, in twenty-four Hours to make Days; and by a ſlower, longer Motion to make Years; and a grateful variety of Seaſons in the ſeveral Parts of the Earth, which by this annual Motion are all viſited with the Sun's Beams.

p. 19Ver. 15. And let them be for Light, &c.] i. e. Let them there continue to give conſtant Light and Warmth to the Earth: And ſo they do immovably.

Ver. 16. And God made two great Lights.] It is obſervable, that nothing is ſaid to have been created, ſince the firſt Matter, out of which all things were made or formed. And the two great Lights, or Luminaries, Inlightners, (as the word ſignifies) are the Sun, which inlightens us by Day; and the Moon, which inlightens us by Night. The Moon indeed is not ſo great as the reſt of the Planets, (for it is the leaſt of all, except Mercury,) but it affords the greateſt Light to us; by reflecting the Beams of the Sun to us, in its abſence; and thereby very much abating the diſconſolate darkneſs of the Night.

He made the Stars alſo.] That is, the reſt of the Planets, and their attendants.

Ver. 17. And God ſet them in the Firmament of Heaven, &c.] By the repetition of this ſo often, Moſes intended to fix in the Peoples Mind this Notion; That though the heavenly Bodies be very Glorious, yet they are but Creatures, made by God, and ſet or appointed by his Order, to give us Light: And therefore he alone is to be worſhipped, not they.

It is commonly taken notice of, that there is no mention of the Creation of Angels, in all this Hiſtory; nor was there any need of it. For the ancient Idolatry conſiſting in the worſhip of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, (as appears from the very Names of the moſt ancient Idols in the Old Teſtament, ſuch as Moloch, Aſhtaroth, and the like,) which they believed to be eternal Beings: The great Deſign of Moſes p. 20was to confute this Opinion, by repreſenting them (over and over) as the Work of the Eternal God; which ſtruck at the very Root of Idolatry. The worſhip of Angels was a later invention.

Ver. 18. And to rule over the day, and over the Night.] Some have fanſied, that the ancient Idolatry ſprung from this word Rule: Men looking upon theſe glorious Lights, as having a dominion over them. Whence the Sun was called Baal, that is, Lord, or Governor, by the Eaſtern People; and Moloch, that is, King, by the Egyptians. But one word ſure was not the ground of ſo foul an Error; when the ſcope of Moſes was to ſhow that theſe things were made by an higher Being, and made not to rule over Men, but over the Day and the Night; which the Sun makes when it riſes and ſets, by the order and appointment of God.

And God ſaw that it was good.] He was pleaſed with this Work, as ſuitable to the Ends for which he intended it. The firſt Light was good (ver. 4.) for the purpoſe to which it ſerved; which was, by its heat, to agitate, rarefie, and ſeparate the Matter of the CHAOS, for the making of Air, and gathering together the Waters, and drying the Earth, and producing Graſs, Herbs, and Trees; which made it neceſſary it ſhould continue ſome Days near to the Earth, that it might powerfully penetrate into the Matter it was to digeſt: But, if it ſhould have continued longer ſo near to the Earth, it would not have been good for it; becauſe it would have burnt up all the Plants, that the Earth had brought forth; and, by its too ſcorching heat, have hindred the Production of thoſe living Creatures, which were ready on the next Day to be made; or, at leaſt, made p. 21the Earth unfit for their habitation. For the Air, which all living things, even Fiſhes themſelves, need, (nay, the Plants alſo, which have Veſſels for conveying Air to all their Parts,) would have been ſo very hot, that it would have afforded no refreſhment to them: Therefore it was good that it ſhould be advanced into the Firmament of the Heaven, and there embodied in thoſe Luminaries, which, being removed further from us, give ſuch a moderate heat, as is neceſſary for the preſervation of us, and of all things living that dwell upon the Earth.

Ver. 19. And the Evening, &c.] Thus the fourth Day concluded.

Ver. 20. And God ſaid, Let the Waters, &c.] Now God proceeded to form the lower ſort of Animals, or living Creatures, viz. The Fiſh, and the Fowl; which are in many reſpects inferior to Beaſts. And the Fiſhes are called moving (in the Hebrew, creeping) Creatures; becauſe their Bellies touch the Water, as creeping things do the Earth. Both Fiſhes and Fowls were made out of the Waters; that is, out of ſuch Matter as was mixed with the Waters, which contained in them many things beſides ſimple Water; for the Sea and Rivers are ſtill very richly furniſhed with various Compounds, for the nouriſhment of an innumerable multitude of Fiſhes. The great congruity that there is between Fiſh and Fowl in many particulars, will not let us doubt they had the ſame Original: For they are both oviparous, which makes them more fruitful than the Beaſts of the Earth; neither of them have any Teats; they both direct, (and, as I may ſay, ſteer) their Courſe by their Tail, &c. See Ger. Voſſius, de Orig. & Progr. Idolol. L. III. c. 78.

p. 22Bring forth abundantly.] That is, various ſorts of both kinds; there being many hundred kinds of Fiſhes, and Birds, or Fowls; many of the latter of which live in the Water, (which ſhows their Original to have been from thence,) and others of them live both in the Air and Water. The formation of theſe Creatures is, in every part of them, very wonderful, eſpecially in thoſe parts whereby they are fitted to ſwim, and to fly. Which demonſtrate a moſt wiſe Agent, by whoſe infinite Power they were ſo contrived, as to be able alſo to propagate their Kind.

Ver. 21. And God created great Whales.] The vaſtneſs of theſe Creatures, perhaps, made Moſes again uſe the word Create, (which he had not done ſince the beginning of the Chapter, not becauſe they were made as the CHAOS was, out of Nothing; but becauſe it required a greater Power to make out of the precedent Matter, moving things of ſo huge a Bulk, and of ſuch great Agility, than to make any other thing hitherto formed.

The Hebrew word Tanim, which we tranſlate Whales, comprehends ſeveral ſorts of great Fiſhes, as Bochartus obſerves in his Hierozoic. P. 1. L. I. c. 7. where he ſhows the prodigious bigneſs of ſome of them. But he ſhould have added, that this word alſo ſignifies Crocodiles, which, he himſelf ſhows, are ſet forth in Job XLI. as the moſt aſtoniſhing Work of God. For Job Ludolphus, I think, hath demonſtrated, that nothing but the Crocodile can be meant by this word Tanim, in Ezek. XXIX. 3. and XXXII. 2. and ſome other places. Vid. L. I. Comment. in Hiſtor. Aethiop. Cap. XI. n. 86.

p. 23And God ſaw that it was good.] Was pleaſed with the Structure of theſe ſeveral Creatures: Of the Birds, who were furniſhed with Wings to fly in the Air; and of the Fiſhes, whoſe Fins ſerve them to ſwim in the Water; and of Water-Fowl, whoſe Feet are formed ſo, as to ſerve for the ſame uſe; and ſome of them (ſuch as dive under Water) covered ſo thick with Feathers, and thoſe ſo ſmooth and ſlippery, (as the Learned and Pious Mr. Ray hath obſerved) that their Bodies are thereby defended from the cold of the Water; which cannot penetrate or moiſten them. See Wiſdom of God in the Creation, P. I. p. 135.

Ver. 22. And God bleſſed them, &c.] His bleſſing them, was giving them a Power to Multiply and Increaſe, till they had filled the Water with Fiſh, and the Air with Fowl. Which required a particular Care of Divine Providence, as Abarbinel obſerves; becauſe they do not bring forth young Ones perfectly formed, as the Beaſts do; but lay their Eggs in which they are formed, when they are out of their Bodies. This, ſaith he, is a wonderful thing, That when the Womb, as we may call it, is ſeparate from the Genitor, a living Creature like it ſelf ſhould be produced. Which is the reaſon, he fanſies, that a Bleſſing is here pronounced upon them, and not on the Beaſts, that were made the next Day. The ancient Fathers are wont to obſerve, That the firſt Bleſſing was given to the Waters, as a Type of Baptiſm. Theophilus ad Autolyc. L. II. and Tertullian de Baptiſmo, cap. 3.

And let Fowl multiply in the Earth.] There, for the moſt part, they have their Habitation and their Food; though ſome live upon the Water.

p. 24Ver. 23. See verſe 19.

Ver. 24. And God ſaid, Let the Earth bring forth.] Thus by a gradual proceſs, the Divine Power produced Creatures ſtill more Noble: The Matter being more digeſted and prepared in five Days time, than it was at firſt. I do not know whether there be any weight in the Note of Abarbinel, who obſerves that Moſes here uſes a new word, which we tranſlate bring forth; to ſhow the difference between Plants and Animals. The former of which ſpring out of the Earth indeed, but continue fix'd in it, and periſh if they be ſeparated from it: Whereas Animals, though made out of the Earth, and living upon it, have a ſeparate exiſtence, and do not ſtill adhere to it.

After his kind.] Three ſorts of living Creatures are immediately mentioned, which were formed out of ſuch Matter, as the Earth afforded, (not ſimple Earth, we muſt underſtand, no more than before ſimple Water; for it was impregnated with many other Principles;) the firſt of which, Behemah, which we tranſlate Cattle, always ſignifies the Flocks and Herds of tame Beaſts, when it is diſtinguiſhed from Chaja, which we tranſlate in the end of the Verſe, Beaſts of the Earth, that is, wild Beaſts: Between which two, he mentions a third kind of living Creatures on the Earth, which he calls Remeſh, creeping things; becauſe whatever Feet they have, they are ſo ſhort and ſmall, that they ſeem to the naked Eye to have none at all; but to crawl on their Bellies upon the Ground. Of all theſe three kinds, there are various ſorts wherewith God hath repleniſhed the Earth: And of every kind, ſome vaſtly great, and others very little; as Abarbinel notes even among p. 25Reptiles, there being Serpents of a prodigious length, and other creeping things far ſmaller than Ants.

Ver. 25. And God made, &c.] The Earth did not bring them forth by Virtue of the Influence of Heaven, upon prepared Matter: But God framed them out of the Matter ſo prepared, and produced them in their full perfection, after their ſeveral kinds.

And God ſaw it was good.] Was pleaſed with the great variety of theſe Creatures, and their compleat Structure, fitting them for their ſeveral uſes.

Ver. 26. Let us make Man.] God not only reſerved Man for the laſt of his Works; but doth, as it were, adviſe and conſult about his Production. Not to ſignifie any Deliberation within himſelf, or any Difficulty in the Work; but to repreſent to us the Dignity of Man, and that he was made (as Abarbinel gloſſes) with admirable Wiſdom, and great Prudence. To the ſame purpoſe S. Chryſoſtom here ſpeaks. And ſee Greg. Nyſſen, de Opificio Hominis, cap. 3. and Orat. I. on theſe words: With Greg. Nazianzen, Orat. XLIII. p. 699. who obſerves that God brought him into this World, as into a noble Palace, ready furniſhed with all manner of things. Which is the Notion alſo of Methodius: See Epiphanius, Haereſ. LXIV. n. 18. It is to be obſerved alſo, That God doth not ſay, Let the Earth bring forth Man, as he ſaid before, verſe 24. of other Animals; for the ſame reaſon: To repreſent Man as a far more noble Work, than any other upon Earth. For though he was made (as we read in the next Chapter) of the duſt of the ground; yet a greater Power and Skill was imployed, in producing a Creature of ſuch Beauty and Majeſty.

p. 26Let us.] The ancient Chriſtians look'd upon this as a plain intimation of a Plurality of Perſons in the Godhead. Inſomuch that Epiphanius ſays, This is the Language of God to his WORD and only Begotten, as all the faithful believe, Haereſ. XXIII. n. 2. and ſee Haereſ. XLIV. n. 4. and Haereſ. XLVI. n. 3. where he ſays, Adam was foreign, formed by the Hand of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghoſt. To which one cannot but incline, who conſiders how poorly the Jews expound this place: Who fanſie a kind of Senate or Council of Angels, without whom God doth nothing, (which they ground upon Dan. IV. 14.) whereas there is not the leaſt ſignification as yet of any ſuch Beings; much leſs, that they had any hand in the making Man; who was not made in their Image, but in the Image of God. Yet thus Saturnilus fooliſhly expounded theſe words, as Epiphanius informs us, in the fore-named Haereſ. p. 62. Edit. Pariſ. And Moſes Gerundenſis ſtill more fooliſhly imagines God ſpake to the Earth, that it ſhould bring forth Man, as it had done other Creatures. But Maimonides, who magnifies that Saying of their Maſters, (That God doth nothing without his Council,) is forced to acknowledge, (More Nevoch. P. II. cap. 6.) That it is not to be underſtood, as if he askt their Advice, or was aſſiſted by their Judgment, but only that he uſed them as Inſtruments in the producing of every thing. Which is directly contrary to the very words, which are not in the form of a Command, but of a Conſultation before Execution. Others therefore think God ſpeaks after the manner of Kings; who adviſe with their Council, but do things themſelves: And are wont to ſpeak in the p. 27Plural Number, when they declare their Pleaſure. But I take this to be a Cuſtom much later than the Days of Moſes; when they ſpake as the King of Egypt doth to Joſeph, Gen. XLI. 41, 44. I am Pharaoh; and ſee I have ſet thee (not we have ſet thee) over the land of Egypt. In which Stile the King of Perſia writes long after this, Ezra VI. 8. I Darius make a decree.

All theſe poor ſhifts are a plain confeſſion, that they found it very hard (as the Socinians do at this day) to give any account of this way of ſpeaking, without granting a Plurality of Perſons in the Godhead. And therefore Menaſſeh Ben Iſrael in his Conciliator, mentions one of their Doctors, who, in Bereſchith Rabba, ſays, That when Moſes by God's Direction was about to write theſe words, Let us make Man, he cryed out, O Lord of the World, why wilt thou give Men occaſion to err, about thy moſt ſimple Ʋnity? To which he received this anſwer, Write as I bid thee; and if any Man love to err, let him err. The ſame Story is told by Joſeph Albo. Which ſhows that their Doctors have been long puzzled with this manner of Speech, which unavoidably ſuggeſted to their Thoughts, more than One Perſon in the Deity: Which till they believe, they are at a loſs what to ſay about it.

In our Image, after our likeneſs.] Two words (ſome think) to expreſs the ſame thing: With this difference only, as Abarbinel explains it, That the laſt words, after our likeneſs, give us to underſtand that Man was not created properly and perfectly in the Image of God; but in a reſemblance of him. For he doth not ſay, in our likeneſs (ſays that Author,) as he had ſaid in our Image, but after our likeneſs: p. 28where the Caph of ſimilitude (as they call it) abates ſomething of the Sence of what follows; and makes it ſignifie only an approach to the Divine Likeneſs, in Ʋnderſtanding, freedom of Choice, Spirituality, Immortality, &c. Thus Tertullian explains it, Habens illas ubique lineas Dei, quà immortalis anima, quà libera & ſui arbitrii, quà praeſcia plerumque, quà rationalis, capax intellectus & ſcientiae, L. II. contra Marcion. cap. 9. And ſo Gregor. Nyſſen, cap. 16. De Opific. Hom. foreign, &c. All have a Power of Conſidering and Deſigning, of Conſulting and Fore-appointing what we intend to do. Purity and Holineſs likewiſe ſeem to be comprehended in this: As may be gathered from the Apoſtle, Coloſſ. III. 10. For the new Man conſiſts in righteouſneſs, and true holineſs, Epheſ. IV. 24. But though he was created with a Faculty to judge aright, and with a Power to govern his Appetite, which he could controul more eaſily than we can do now; yet he was not made immutably good, (quia hoc Soli Deo cedit, which belongs to God alone, as Tertullian excellently diſcourſes in that place,) but might, without due care, be induced to do evil, as we ſee he did. For an habituated, confirmed eſtate of Goodneſs, was even then to have been acquired by Watchfulneſs and Exerciſe: Whereby in proceſs of time, he might have become ſo ſtedfaſt, that he could not have been prevailed upon by any Temptation, to do contrary to his Duty.

And let them have dominion, &c.] Some have thought the Image of God conſiſted in this alone. (See Greg. Nyſſen, cap. 4. De Opific. Hom. p. 143.). Which rather follows upon Man's being made in God's Image, viz. An intelligent being; which gave him p. 29Dominion over other things, that are not indued with ſuch Underſtanding. I conclude this Note with a very pertinent Obſervation of his in that Book, cap. 16. That Moſes ſpeaks more Magnificently of Man, than any Philoſopher ever did: For they could ſay nothing of him beyond this, That he was foreign, a little World: But according to the Churches account, his Greatneſs conſiſts not in his Likeneſs to the created World; but in his being made foreign, after the Image of the Nature of the Creator of all things.

Over all the Earth.] Over all four-footed Creatures in the Earth, though never ſo wild; as Bochartus obſerves.

Ver. 27. And God created Man in his own Image.] From theſe words Origen gathers there is a great deal of difference between foreign, Image, and foreign , Likeneſs; becauſe, though God ſaid, verſe 26. Let us make Man in our Image, and after our Likeneſs, yet here he is ſaid to have made him only in his own Image; and not, for the preſent, after his Likeneſs. For that, ſaith he, (Lib. IV. contra Celſum) is reſerved to the other World; when, as St. John ſays, 1 Epiſt. III. 2. foreign, we ſhall be like him. But this ſeems too curious. No doubt God made Man juſt as he deſigned, in ſuch a compleat reſemblance of himſelf, that there is no Creature like to Man, no more than God hath any equal to himſelf: As ſome of the Hebrew Doctors explain this Matter. And therefore Moſes repeats it again, In the Image of God created he him: To imprint upon the Minds of Men, a Senſe of the great Dignity of Humane Nature; which was foully debaſed by worſhipping any Creature.

p. 30Male and Female created he them.] He made Woman the ſame Day he made Man; as he did both Sexes of all other living Creatures, and as he made Herbs and Plants with Seed in them to propagate their Species, on the ſame Day they were produced. It is plain by this alſo, That Woman as well as Man was made in the Image of God. And it ſeems to be pertinently obſerved by Abarbinel, That Moſes here again uſes the word Create, (and that three times) to denote the Original of Humane Souls; which are not made out of pre-exiſtent Matter, as our Bodies are; but by the Power of God, when they had no Being at all.

Ver. 28. And God bleſſed them, &c.] The former part of this Bleſſing, be fruitful and multiply, God had beſtowed before (verſe 22.) upon other Creatures: Unto which he adds two things here, repleniſh the Earth and ſubdue it. He gives them the whole Earth for their Poſſeſſion, with a Power to ſubdue it: That is, to make it fit for their Habitation, by bringing under, or driving away wild Beaſts. For, Secondly, he gives them the Dominion (unto which he deſigned them in their Creation) over all other Creatures; whether in the Water, Air, or Earth. And he ſpeaks to them in the Plural Number; which is a demonſtration, that Man and Woman were both created, and received his Bleſſing, on the ſame Day.

Ver. 29. Behold, I have given you, &c.] Here he aſſigns them their Food; and makes no mention at all of Beaſts, but only of Plants and Fruits of the Earth. For Beaſts being made by pairs, in their ſeveral Species, (we may well ſuppoſe) as Man and Woman were, and not being yet multiplied; the killing of Beaſts, Birds, and Fiſhes, would have been p. 31the deſtruction of the kind: Whereas there were Plants innumerable, and great variety of Fruit for their ſuſtenance. And therefore here being no grant made to them of Animals for their Food, though no prohibition neither, it is very probable they abſtained from eating Fleſh, till after the Flood, (when God expreſly gave them every living thing for Meat, as much as the Herbs, IX. 2.) unleſs it were upon ſome ſpecial occaſions: As, perhaps, when they ſacrificed living Creatures; which they did in proceſs of time, (IV. 4) though not at the firſt.

Ver. 30. And to every Beaſt, &c.] Here he gives to the Beaſt, and Fowl, and Creeping things, all Herbs for their Food, but ſaith nothing of Fruit; from which we cannot well think the Birds would abſtain: And therefore they are included in the Phraſe, of every green Herb.

Ver. 31. Very good.] From theſe words Epiphanius confutes the Manichees, Haereſ. LXVI. n. 18. where there is an explanation of this Phraſe (God ſaw that it was good) throughout this whole Chapter. Where it being ſaid at the end of every Day's Work, God ſaw it was good; and particularly here on the Sixth Day, before he had quite ended the Work of it, he ſaith ſo of the formation of the Beaſts, ver. 25. Abarbinel will have this to relate peculiarly to the Creation of Man and Woman. But the beginning of the Verſe plainly ſhows that he ſpeaks of every thing that he had made: And therefore their Doctors in Bereſchith Rabba (whom he mentions) ſay a great deal better, That Man is meant in the firſt and principal place, when Moſes ſays, God ſaw every thing that he had made; and behold, it was very good.