Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Verſe 1. All the hoſt of them.]
HIs upper and nether forces, his horſe and foot, as it were, all creatures in heaven, earth or under earth, called Gods Hoſt, for their, 1. number, 2. order, 3. obedience. Kimchi.Theſe the Rabbines call magnleh cheloth and matteh cheloth, the upper and lower troopes ready preſt.
Verſe 2. He reſted] That is, He ceaſed to create, which work he had done, without either labour or laſſitude, Eſa. 4.28. He made all nutu non motu.
Verſe 3. God bleſſed the ſeventh day] i. e. made it an effectuall meanes of bleſſing to him that ſanctifieth it, as a reſt from bodily labour and ſpirituall idleneſs, foreign. Ignat. Epiſt. 3. ad Magneſi…s. Spec Europ….as Ignatius exhorteth. And ſanctified it] i e. Conſecrated and ſet it apart for holy uſe, as they ſanctified (that is, appointed) Kedeſh for a City of refuge, Joſh. 20.7.
Verſe 4. Jehovah God] Moſes firſt calls God Jehovah here, when the univerſall creation had its abſolute being. This is the proper name of God. The Jewes pronounce it not, we profane it, which is to them a great ſtumbling block. The firſt among the Chriſtians that pronounced Jehovah, was Petrus Galatinus. But if ye would pronounce it according to the own letters, it ſhould be Jahuo, of Jarmuth, Jagnak…b.
Verſe 5. The Lord God had not cauſed it to rain] And none but he can give raine, Jer. 14.22. the meanes of fruitfulneſſe, which yet he is not tyed to, as here. The Egyptians uſed in mockery to tell the Grecians, that if God ſhould forget to raine, they might chance to ſtarve for it.
Verſe 6. But there went up a miſt] The mater of raine: And hereby God tempered the morter whereof he would make man, as he did the clay with ſpittle, wherewith he cured the blinde, Ioh. 9.
Verſe 7. Zuinglius.Formed man of the duſt] not of the rocks of the earth, but duſt, that is ſoon diſperſt; to note our frailty, vility, and impurity. Lutum enim conſpurcat omnia, ſic & caro. But why ſhould ſo glorious a ſoul (called here Neſhamah, of affinity to Shamajim, Heaven, whence it came) dwell in this corruptible and contemptible body? Lomb lib. 2. diſt. 1.For anſwer; beſides Gods will, and for order of the univerſe. Lombard ſaith, that by the conjunction of the ſoul with the body (ſo far its inferiour) man might learn and beleeve a poſſibility of the union of man with God in glory, notwithſtanding the vaſt diſtance of nature, and excellence; the infinitneſs of both in God, the finiteneſs of both in man. And breathed into his noſtrils] Quidam volunt metaphoram ſumptam à vitrorum formatione. The greateſt man is but a little ayre and duſt tempered together. Nazian.What is man, ſaith One, but foreign, ſoul and ſoyle, Breath and Body, a pile of duſt the one, a puffe of wind the other, no ſolidity in either? And man became a living ſoul] Dicaearchus doubted of the ſoul, …uſc. quaeſt.whether there were ſuch a thing in rerum natura. He could not have doubted of it, without it, as man cannot prove logicke to be unneceſſary, but by logick.
Verſe 8. And the Lord God planted] Had planted (to wit, on the third day, when he made trees) for mans pleaſure, a garden or paradiſe in Eden (whence foreign) in the upper part of Chaldea, whereabout Babel was founded. It was deſtroyed by the Deluge; the place indeed remained, but not the pleaſantneſs of the place, cecidi… roſa, manſit ſpina. foreign Herod l. 1. Plin. l. 6. c, 16 Donec à ſp… ad ſpeciem tranſtretAnd yet that Country is ſtill very fruitfull, returning (if Herodotus and Pliny may be believed) the ſeed beyond credulity. He put the man whom he had formed] And formed him not far from the garden, ſay the Hebrewes; to minde him, that he was not here to ſet up his reſt, but to wait till his change ſhould come.
Verſe 9. Every tree, &c.] The Hebrewes think, that the world was created in September, becauſe the fruits were then ripe and ready, foreign. The tree of life alſo] A ſymbolicall tree; by the eating of the fruit whereof Adam ſhould have had Gaius his proſperity, his body ſhould have been in health, 3 Jo…. 2.as his ſoule. proſpered. The tree of knowledge of good and evill] So called not becauſe it ſelfe either knew, or could cauſe man to know; but from the event, God Forewarning our firſt parents, that they ſhould know by wofull experience, unleſſe they abſtained, what was the worth of good, by the want of it; and what the preſence of evill, by the ſence of it. In like ſort the waters of Meribah, and Kibroth Hattaavah, or the graves of luſt, received their names from that which fell out in thoſe places.
Verſe 10. And a river went out] Pliny writeth, Plin. l. 2. c. 106.that in the Province of Babylon, there is burning and ſmothering a certaine lake or bog, about the bigneſſe of an acre. And who knowes, whether that be not a peece of Paradiſe, now drowned and deſtroyed?
V. 11. Where there is gold] Which (though never ſo much admired & ſtudiouſly acquired) is but the guts & garbage of the earth. Gold is that which the baſeſt element yeelds, the moſt ſavage Indians get, ſervile Apprentices work, Midianitiſh Camels carry, miſerable muck-worms adore, unthrifty Ruffians ſpend. It is to be wondred, thatt reading upon the Minerals, we canot contemn them. They lye furtheſt from heaven, and the beſt of them in Havilah, furtheſt of all from the Church. Adam had them in the firſt paradiſe: In the ſecond, we ſhall not need them. Money is the Monarch of this world, and anſwers all things: but in the matters of God, money bears no maſtery, will fetch in no commodity, Iob 28.15. Wiſemen eſteemed it as the ſtones of the ſtreet, 2 Chron. 1.15. children of wiſdome might not poſſeſſe it in their girdles, Matth. 10.9. Medes cared not for it, Eſa. 13.17. and divels were ſet to keep rich and pleaſant Palaces, verſe 22. So ſubject theſe mettals are to enſnare and defile us, that God made a law to have them purified, ere he would have them uſed, Num. 31.22, 23. and appointed the ſnuffers and ſnuffe-diſhes of the Sanctuary to be made of pure gold, Exod. 25.28.to teach us to make no account of that, that he put to ſo baſe offices, and is frequently given to ſo bad men. The Spaniard found in the mines of America more gold then earth. D. Heyl. Geogr. p 774.Haſten we to that Country where God ſhall be our gold, and we ſhall have plenty of ſilver, Iob 22.25.
Verſe 15. To dreſſe it, and to keepe it] This he did as without neceſſity, ſo without paines, without wearineſſe. It was rather his recreation then his occupation. He laboured now by an Ordinance, it was after his fall laid upon him as a puniſhment, Gen. 3.19. to eat his bread in the ſweat of his noſe. God never made any, as he made Leviathan, to ſport himſelfe only; or to do as it is ſaid of the people of Tombutum in Affrick, that they ſpend their whole time in piping and dancing; …ph. 4.28.but to work either with his hands or his head (in the ſweat of his brow, or of his braine) the thing that is good; and with how much the more cheerfulneſſe any one goeth about his buſineſſe, by ſo much the nearer he commeth to his Paradiſe.
Verſe 16. Commanded the man, ſaying] God hath given man dominion over all the ſublunary creatures; and leſt he ſhould forget that he had a Lord whom to ſerve and obey, he gave him this command to keep. [Of every tree of the Garden thou maiſt freely eat] The leſſe need he had, to have been ſo licoriſh after forbidden fruit. foreign hic adhibet; quod miſerecordiae eſt. But ſtoln waters are ſweet, Nitimur in vetitum, &c.
Verſe 17. But of the tree, &c.] An exploratory prohibition. God knew well where we are weakeſt, and worſt able to withſtand; viz. about moderating the pleaſures of our touch and taſte, becauſe theſe befall us not as men, Ariſt. Ethic. l. 1. c. 3.but as living creatures. Here therefore he layes a law upon Adam, for the triall of his love; which, left to his owne free-will, he ſoon tranſgreſſed. Thou ſhalt ſurely dye] Certiſſimè citiſſimé que morieris, ſaith Zuinglius, thou ſhalt ſurely and ſhortly or ſuddenly dye. And without doubt every man ſhould dye the ſame day he is born: the wages of death ſhould be paid him preſently. But Chriſt begs their lives for a ſeaſon. For which cauſe he is ſaid to be the Saviour of all men, not of eternall preſervation, but of temporall reſervation. 1 Tim. 4.10.In which reſpect alſo, God is ſaid ſo to have loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, &c. It was a mercy to all mankind, Iob. 3.16.that the Meſſiah was promiſed and provided, ſealed and ſent into the world, that ſome might be ſaved, and the reſt ſuſtained in life, for their ſakes. Symmachus renders it, Thou ſhalt be mortall.
Verſe 18. And the Lord God ſaid] Had ſaid, to wit, on the ſixth day when he made Man, and there was not a meet help found for him. Then God ſaid, It is not good, &c. and ſo created the woman by deliberate councell, as before he had done the man. Only there it was in the plural, Let us make, here, I will make; to ſhew the unity of the Eſſence in the Trinity of perſons. foreign. Athenis in nuptiis dici ſolitum. Zenod. Proverb.It is not good for man to be alone] It is neither for his profit, nor his comfort. Optimum ſolatium ſodalatium. I will make him a helpe meet for him] or, ſuch another as himſelfe, of the ſame form for perfection of nature, and for gifts inward and outward; one in whom he may ſee himſelf, and that may be to him as an Alter-ego, a ſecond-ſelf, Eph. 5.28. Such an one as may be a help to him both ſo this life, 1. By continuall ſociety and cohabitation. 2. For procreation and education of children. And for the life to come, 1. As a remedy againſt ſin, 1 Cor. 7.2. Secondly, As a companion in Gods ſervice, 1 Pet. 3.7. Nazianzen ſaith, foreign Naz. in pat. …pitaph.that his mother was not only a meet help to his father in matters of piety, but alſo a doctreſſe and a governeſſe; and yet he was no baby, but an able Miniſter of the Goſpel. Budaeus (that learned French-man) had a great help of his wife in points of learning; ſhe would be as buſie in his ſtudy, Non tractat negligentius libros …eos quàm liberos. Daniels Chron. fol. 262.as about her huſwifery. Placilla the Empreſſe was a ſingular help to her husband Theodoſius in things both temporall and ſpirituall: And ſo was our King Edward the thirds Queen, a Lady of excellent vertue, the ſame that built Queens Colledge in Oxford. She drew evenly (ſaith the Hiſtorian) with the King her husband in all the courſes of honour, that appertained to her ſide, and ſeems a piece ſo juſt cut for him, as anſwered him rightly in every joynt.
Verſe 19. To ſee what he would call them] If he had been permitted to name himſelf, it ſhould have been probably, Luke 3. ult.the Sonne of God, as he is called by St. Luke in regard of his creation. But God, to humble him, calls him firſt Adam, (and after the fall) Enoſh, that is, frail, ſorry man, a map of mortality, a maſſe of miſery.
Verſe 20. Adam gave names] A ſign of his Soveraignty, Num. 32.38, 41. an argument alſo of his wiſdome, in giving them names according to their natures, as Hebricians well know. But for Adam there was not found, &c.] God ſet all the creatures before him, ere he gave him a wife: 1. That ſeeing the ſexes, he might deſire to have a help in his kinde, and nature alſo. Men ſhould not marry, till they finde in themſelves the need of a wife. Vt ei commendatius eſſet Dei donum. Pet. Martyr.2. That ſeeing no other fit help, he might the more prize her.
Verſe 21. And the Lord God cauſed a deep ſleep] It may be thought that Adam, obſerving that among all the creatures there was no meet match found for him, prayed in this deep ſleep, or extaſie, Gen. 24.63.that ſuch a help might be given unto him. This is Peter Martyrs note upon the text. Iſaac went forth to pray, when he had ſent forth for a wife; Prov. 19.14. A bad wiſe is but the image of a wife, or (as Lam…chs wives name was) a ſhadow of a wife, tſilla, umbra ipſius. Mr. Gatak.and it was but reaſon, For a prudent wife is from the Lord. And he that findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, ſaith the Wiſe-man. A wife, that is, a good wife; for every married woman is not a wife, unleſſe ſhe be a help to her husband, in the beſt things eſpecially. The Heathen well ſaith, that every man when he marrieth, brings either a good or an evill ſpirit into his houſe, and ſo makes it either a heaven, or a hell. And it is a device of the Rabbines (but the morall is good) that in the names of Iſh and Iſhah is included Jah, the name of God; and that, if you take out Jod and He, whereof that name conſiſts, there remains nothing Eſch, Eſch, fire, fire; the fire of diſſention and brawl, which burneth, and conſumeth to the fire of hell. It is not evill therefore to marry, but it is good to be wary, to marry in the Lord, as the Apoſtle hath it. He that marrieth in the Lord, marrieth alſo with the Lord; and he cannot be abſent from his own marriage. A good wife was one of the firſt reall and royall gifts beſtowed upon Adam; and God conſults not with him, to make him happy. As he was ignorant while himſelf was made, ſo ſhall he not know, while a ſecond-ſelfe is made out of him; both that the comfort might be greater then was expected, as alſo, that he might nor upbraid his wife with any great dependence or obligation; See Yates his Modell.he neither willing the work, nor ſuffering any pain, to have it done. The rib can challenge no more of her, then the earth can of him. And he tooke one of his ribs] The woman was made of a bone (ſaith a Reverend Writer) and but one bone, Ne eſſet oſſea, B. Kings Vitis Palatina.leſt ſhe ſhould be ſtiffe and ſtubborne. The ſpecies of the bone is expreſt to be a rib (a bone that might be beſt ſpared becauſe there are many of them) a bone of the ſide, not of the head; (the wife muſt not uſurp authority over her husband) nor yet of the foot; ſhe is not a ſlave, but a fellow-helper. A bone, not of any anterior part, ſhe is not praelata, preferred before the man: neither yet of any hinder part, ſhe is not poſt-poſita, ſet behind the man; A yokefellow ſtanding on even ground with thee, though drawing on the leſt ſide. Gatak.but a bone of the ſide, of the middle and indifferent part; to ſhew, that ſhe is a companion, and the wife of thy covenant, Mal. 2.14. A bone ſhe is from under the arm, to put man in mind of protection and defence to the woman. A bone not far from his heart, to put him in mind of dilection and love to the woman. A bone from the left ſide (as many think likely) where the heart is, to teach, that hearty love ought to be betwixt married couples:
Ʋxorem vir amato, marito pareat uxor;
Conjugis illa ſuae cor, caput ille ſua.
Verſ. 22. And the rib which the Lord God had taken,] Matter, in the beginning of time, was taken from man, to make a woman: And matter, in the fulneſs of time, was taken from a woman to make a man, even the man Chriſt Jeſus. 1 Tim. 2.5.And as out of the ſide of ſleeping Adam, Eve was formed; ſo from the blood iſſuing out of the ſide and fleſh of dying Chriſt, came his Spouſe the Church. Epheſ. 5.26. Diabolus per coſtam tanquam per ſcalam, ad cor Adami aſcendit. Mor. l. 3. c 5. Sic Phoroneus apud Bruſon. l. 7. c. 22. Requirit vir coſtam ſuam, requirit ſoemina ſedem ſuam. Hinc Ruth 3.1.9. Annon… quaererem tibi requiem? Aben-…zra.His chief care therein was to ſanctifie and cleanſe his Church, and therefore he came by water and blood. So ſhould it be every husbands; then would not the devil ſo oft break his head with his own rib; or as Saint Gregory hath it, Climbe ſo oft by h…s rib to his heart, as by a ladder. A good wife doth him good, and not evil, all her days. But this is not every mans happineſs. Sylla faelix, ſi non habuiſſet uxorem. So Job and Moſes, quorum conjugium, conjurgium. There is in moſt, a propenſion to the nuptial conjunction. The man miſſeth his rib (ſay the Rabbines;) the woman would be in her old place again, under the mans arm or wing. Then Naomi her mother in law, ſaid unto her, My daughter, ſhall I not ſeek reſt for thee, that it may be well with thee? Ruth 3.1. [Made he a woman,] Heb. builded, That is, created with ſpecial care, art, and fit proportion, in the manner of a houſe. A body hath God given the woman more capacious and roomthy, both for the conceiving and containing of her young babe, which dwells in her womb, as in its houſe; and hath all its houſhold-ſtuffe, as it were about it, till time produce it into the light of life. Adam was formed, Eve builded; her frame conſiſts of rarer rooms, of a more exact compoſition then his doth. And if place be any priviledge, we finde, ſaith one, hers built in Paradiſe, when his was made out of it. [And brought her unto the man] Marriage then is of divine inſtitution. The Saturnilian hereticks ſinfully ſaid, that it was of the devill. And the blemiſh will never be wiped off from ſome of the Ancients, who to eſtabliſh their own doll of I know not what Virginity, have written moſt wickedly and baſely againſt marriage. Three things we have here out of Moſes to ſay for it againſt whatſoever oppoſite, viz. Gods 1. Dixit. 2. Duxit. 3. Benedixit, Gen. 1.28. God the Father ordained it. God the Son honoured it with his firſt miracle. God the Holy Ghoſt did the like, by overſhadowing the betrothed Virgin, Papiſts and others that diſgrace it, appear herein more like Devils then Divines, if S. Paul may be judge, 1 Tim. 4.2 or Ignatius, who ſaith, Habet inbabitatorem Draconem Aposta…a…. Ignat. Epiſt. ad Philad.If any call marriage a defilement, he hath the Devil dwelling in him, and ſpeaking by him.
Verſe 23. This is now bone of my bone, &c.] This ſentence (ſaith Tertullian, and after him, Beda) is the firſt Propheſie that was ever uttered in the world. And it is uttered in a way of admiration, which they that are taken with, do commonly uſe a conciſe kinde of ſpeech; eſpecially, if overjoyed as Adam here was upon the firſt ſight of the woman; whom he no ſooner ſaw but knew, and thereupon cryed out, as wondring at Gods goodneſs to himſelf, [This now is bone of my bone, and fleſh of my fleſh.] Luther, the night before he dyed, was reaſonably well, and ſate with his friends at table. The matter of their diſcourſe was, whether they ſhould know one another in heaven or no? Luther held it affirmatively, and this was one reaſon he gave. Melch. Adam.Adam aſ ſoon as he ſaw Eve, knew what ſhe was, not by diſcourſe, but by divine revelation; ſo ſhall we in the life to come. All the Saints ſhall ſit down with Abraham, Iſaac, and Jacob, having communion with them, not only as godly men, but as Abraham, Iſaac, & Jacob. And if with them, why not with others? S. Chryſoſtome ſaith we ſhal point them out, and ſay, Lo yonder is Peter, foreign.and that's Paul, & there are the Prophets, Apoſtles, &c. [She ſhall be called Woman] Or Manneſs, of Man, as Iſhah of Iſh. He gave her her name, from his own, by taking away one numerall letter that ſtands for ten, and adding another that ſtands for five; to note her infirmity, and duty of ſubmitting to her husband, whoſe very naming of her notes her ſubjection.
Verſ. 24. Therefore ſhall a man leave, &c.] Whether theſe are the words of God, Adam or Moſes, it is uncertain, and not much material. The husband is bound more to love his wife then his parents, in regard of domeſtical communion, Paraus ad locum.adh…ſion and cohabitation, not in regard of honor, obedience and recompence. [And they two ſhall be one fleſh.] Two in one fleſh, not three or four, as the Patriarks of old through ignorance, or inobſervance of that plain prohibition, Levit. 18.18. It is poſſible they might miſtake the word (ſiſter) for one ſo by blood, which was ſpoken of a ſiſter by nation, as thoſe clauſes (to vex her) and (during her life) do evince.
Verſ. 25. They were both naked, and not aſhamed,] Neither needed they. Sin and ſhame, as Papiſts ſay, hops and hereſie, came in together. Cloaths are the enſignes of our ſin, and covers of our ſhame: To be proud of them is as great folly, as for a begar to be proud of his rags, or a thief of his halter. As the priſoner looking on his irons, thinketh on his theft; ſo we, looking on our garments, ſhould think on our ſins.