THE CREATION 'The foundation of foundations and pillar of all wisdom is to know that the First Being is, and that He giveth existence to everything that exists! 'Thus wrote Moses Maimonides, a Jewish scholar of the 12th cent, a.d., concerning whom the Jewish proverb runs: 'From Moses to Moses there... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE HOST OF THEM] i.e. 'all the contents of heaven and earth.'... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD] Heb. _EloMm_. The word probably signifies 'strength,' but the etymology is obscure; cp. Arabic _Allah._ The Heb. word is plural in form, but as a rule it is significantly followed by verbs in the singular, except when used of heathen gods. The plural form may be used to express the variety of a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND GOD SAID, LET THERE BE LIGHT] A sublime sentence! 'By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.' Light and darkness are regarded as two objects, each occupying a place of its own (Job 38:19). Light is created on the first day, the luminaries on the fourth. Not as an explanation, for this it is... [ Continue Reading ]
GOOD] i.e. perfect for the purpose for which God designed it. THE LORD GOD] Where Lord is thus printed in capitals in the English Bible it stands for the Heb. JHVH, the sacred divine name which was probably pronounced 'Yahweh.' In later times the word was considered to be too sacred to be uttered; t... [ Continue Reading ]
PARADISE AND THE FALL In this famous passage we possess a wealth of moral and spiritual teaching regarding God and man. The intention of the writer is evidently to give an answer to the question: How did sin and misery find their way into the world? As is natural among Orientals he put his reply int... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE EVENING, etc.] RV 'and there was evening and there was morning, one day.' In the endeavour to bring the Creation story into harmony with the ascertained results of science, it is often maintained that the writer meant indefinite periods of time by the term 'days.' But the science of Geology... [ Continue Reading ]
MIST] The kindred word in the Assyrian language denotes the annual inundation of the Euphrates; see on Genesis 2:8 and on Genesis 3:7. THE FIRMAMENT] the sky, heavens. The word means something 'solid' or 'beaten out,' like a sheet of metal. The ancients supposed that the sky was a solid, vaulted dom... [ Continue Reading ]
MAN] Heb. _adam_ as in Genesis 1. AV renders the word as a proper name frequently in Genesis 2-4; RV gives 'man' throughout except Genesis 3:17; Genesis 4:25. GROUND] Heb. _adamah._ A connexion is thus suggested between the two words, but the derivation of Adam is uncertain. FORMED MAN OF THE DUST O... [ Continue Reading ]
A GARDEN] LXX renders by 'Paradeisos' (a Persian word meaning 'a park'), hence the English 'Paradise.' EASTWARD] i.e. of Palestine, such as Babylonia would be. EDEN] The Heb. word _eden_ means 'delight,' but there is a Babylonian word _edinu,_ meaning 'plain,' and there may be a reference to the gre... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY TREE] The garden was planted with trees, like a king's pleasure park. The trees are specially mentioned, partly because they were to provide man's food, and partly because attention is directed to two of them for a particular reason. As life was to be sustained by them, so immortality was to b... [ Continue Reading ]
LIGHTS] rather, 'luminaries,' to hold and distribute the light created on the first day. IN] rather, 'on' or 'before' the firmament; so Genesis 1:17. See on Genesis 1:6. SIGNS.. SEASONS.. DAYS.. YEARS] For some of the modes in which the heavenly bodies were believed to serve as signs see 2 Kings 20:... [ Continue Reading ]
DRESS] i.e. cultivate. KEEP] i.e. protect (from the beasts).... [ Continue Reading ]
KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL] i.e. moral consciousness issuing in moral judgment; the power to distinguish between good and evil, not in act only but in consequence as well. This faculty is necessary, in order that man may reach moral maturity. The narrative implies that it would have come gradually t... [ Continue Reading ]
HELP MEET] This is not one word but two, the former being the noun and the latter the qualifying adjective on which the main emphasis lies. Man might have many helps; the vegetable and animal creation might minister to his welfare and comfort. But though these are 'helps,' they are not 'meet,' i.e.... [ Continue Reading ]
The giving of a name implies a power of discrimination and reflection not possessed by the lower animals. Even proper names in the Scriptures are usually significant and descriptive of some quality supposed to be possessed by the person who bears it. Cp. e.g. the importance attached to the 'name' by... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THE WATERS] render, 'let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures,' animalculæ, insects, fish, etc. FOWL THAT MAY FLY] RV 'let fowl fly.'... [ Continue Reading ]
GREAT WHALES] Heb. denotes rather creatures like serpents, crocodiles, etc. The symbolical account of the creation of woman teaches the close relationship of the sexes, and the dependence of woman on man.... [ Continue Reading ]
BLESSED THEM] As animate creatures they received a divine blessing, which suggests God's pleasure in the creation of beings capable of conscious enjoyment. 24-31. Sixth day:—Creation of animals and man.... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS IS NOW] Render, 'This time it is bone of my bones,' etc. It is Adam's cry of delight at finding a congenial, sympathising companion, after failing to find one among the animals (Genesis 2:20). SHE SHALL BE CALLED WOMAN] The similarity of the English words 'man,' 'woman' (wife-man) is also found... [ Continue Reading ]
See on Exodus 3:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
LET US MAKE MAN] the crowning work of creation and its highest development. The plural form 'us,' which occurs again Genesis 3:22; Genesis 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8, has been interpreted of the Holy Trinity, but this would be anticipating a doctrine which was only revealed in later ages. The thought is pe... [ Continue Reading ]
MALE AND FEMALE] There is nothing in this account of the Creation to suggest that the sexes were not simultaneously created: contrast Genesis 2:21, which is from the earlier document. 29, 30. The writer of the Priestly narrative here represents men and animals as living only on vegetable food. We se... [ Continue Reading ]
VERY GOOD] Certain systems of philosophy and morality, ancient and modern, have proceeded on the assumption that evil is inherent in matter, and therefore that God and the world are antagonistic. This idea is quite foreign to the Scriptures, which teach that 'every creature of God is good.' Genesis... [ Continue Reading ]