_A.M. 1. B.C. 4004._ We have three things in this chapter. (1,) _ A general idea of the work of creation, Genesis 1:1._ (2,) _ A particular account of the several days' work, distinctly and in order, Genesis 1:3._ (3,) _ The review and approbation of the whole work, Genesis 1:31._ NOTES ON CHAP... [ Continue Reading ]
The _earth_ When first called into existence, _was without form and void: confusion and emptiness_, as the same original words are rendered, Isaiah 34:11. It was without order, beauty, or even use, in its present state, and was surrounded on all sides with thick darkness, through the gloom of which... [ Continue Reading ]
_God said_ Not by an articulate voice; for to whom should he speak? but in his own eternal mind. He willed that the effect here mentioned should be produced, and it was produced. This act of his almighty will is termed, Hebrews 1:3, _the word of his power._ Perhaps, however, his _substantial Word_,... [ Continue Reading ]
_God saw the light_, &c. He beheld it with approbation, as being exactly what he designed it to be, pleasant and useful, and perfectly adapted to answer its intended end. _God divided_ Made a separation between the _light and the darkness_, as to time, place, and use, that the one should succeed and... [ Continue Reading ]
_God called_, &c. God distinguished them from each other by different names, as the Lord of both. _The day is thine, the night also is thine._ He is the Lord of time, and will be so till day and night shall come to an end, and the stream of time be swallowed up in the ocean of eternity. _The evening... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let there be a firmament_ This term, which is an exact translation of the word used by the Septuagint, or Greek translation of the Old Testament, by no means expresses the sense of the word used by Moses, רקיע, _rakiang_, which merely means _extension_ or _expansion._ And as this _extension_ or _ex... [ Continue Reading ]
_God said_, &c. From the production, or separation from gross matter, of _light_ and _air_, and the assigning them their proper places and uses in the creation, God proceeds, on the third day, to separate, put in order, and control the clement nearest to them in quality and use, fluid like them, com... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the earth bring forth grass_ Here we rise to organized and vegetative bodies. Thus, before God formed any living creature to abide upon the earth, he wisely provided for its sustenance. _The herb yielding, seed, whose seed is in itself;_ that is, in some part of itself: either in the root, or b... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let there be lights_, &c. God had said, Genesis 1:3, _Let there be light;_ but that was, as it were a chaos of light, scattered and confused: now it was called and formed into several luminaries, and so rendered more glorious, and more serviceable. _Let them be for signs,_ _“AN HOROLOGE MACHINERY... [ Continue Reading ]
_Two great lights_ Or enlighteners, מארת, _meoroth_, distinguishable from all the rest, for their beauty and use. Moses terms the moon a great light, only according to its appearance, and the use it is of to us, and not according to the strictness of philosophy. For there is abundant proof that most... [ Continue Reading ]
_The moving creature that hath life_ Endued with self-motion and animal life. How much soever we may be astonished at the stupendous vastness and magnificence of inanimate matter, the least piece that is animated and has _life_, is still more admirable. But who can conceive the nature of _life?_ We... [ Continue Reading ]
_Great whales_ The Hebrew word here rendered _whales_ is sometimes put to signify great dragons of the wilderness; (see Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 14:6; Malachi 1:3;) but it undoubtedly here means some very large inhabitants of the waters, and probably what we call whales, whose astonishing bulk and pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_God blessed them_ Behold the cause of the continuance in existence, and of the fruitfulness and multiplication, of the sundry kinds of creatures! It is owing to this word only that, though thousands of years have rolled away since their creation, not one species of them, amid so many, has been lost... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the earth bring forth_ He that of stones can raise children to Abraham, and who called forth the universe from nothing, could easily produce animals from the dull and sluggish earth, although inanimate. _Cattle_ Those tame beasts which do not shun the society of men, and are most useful to us f... [ Continue Reading ]
_God said, Let us make man_ We have here another and still more important part of the sixth day's work, the creation of man. Having prepared a fit habitation for man, and furnished it with all things necessary for his use and comfort, God now proceeds to create him. But this he does, as it were, wit... [ Continue Reading ]
_So God created man in his own image_ In his _natural_, but especially in his _moral_ image, with an habitual conformity of all his powers to the will of God, his understanding clearly discerning, his judgment entirely approving, his will readily choosing, and his affections cordially embracing his... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be fruitful, and replenish the earth_ A large estate is given them, and they are to fill it with inhabitants, to cultivate it, and enjoy the fruits it produces. But these words rather contain a benediction and a promise, than a command, as appears from Genesis 1:22, where the same words are applied... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have given you every herb_ It does not appear that liberty was given to men to eat animal food before the flood. Indeed, there seems to have been no need of it, as before the deluge, and more especially before the earth was cursed for the sin of man, undoubtedly its fruits were not only brought f... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, it was very good_ It had been said of each day's work, except the second, that it was _good_, but now, of every thing, that it was _very good._ For man, the master-piece of God's works, and his visible image and deputy here on earth, was now formed and constituted the head and governor of t... [ Continue Reading ]