— male and female] That is, one male, and one female; and the female from the male. Polygamy and divorce were not from the beginning. Compare Matt. xiv. 3, 4. Bp. Kidder. He made woman the same day He made man, as He did both sexes of all other living creatures; also He made woman, as well as man, "in the image of God;" forming the male of the matter of the earth, and the female afterwards of the male, of which a more particular account is reserved for the following chapter. Bps. Patrick and Hall, Dr. Wells. Ver. 1. — all the host of them.] That is, of each of them. The word "host" is plainly used to signify every thing that is in heaven or in earth; or, as we say, in the whole world, which in Hebrew is always expressed by these two words, "heaven and earth." Bp. Beveridge. The several creatures are called "host" or army, be- The first sabbath. The garden of Eden. Before CHRIST 4004. A Exod. 20. 11. &31. 17. Deut. 5. 14. Hebr. 4. 4. created to make. 11.—whose seed is in itself.] The meaning is, that the plant should include in itself its proper seed, by means of which it should be afterwards propagated from one generation to another. Dr. Wells. 14.—Let there be lights] Or luminous bodies, by which light is communicated. The light produced at first was now distributed into several luminaries, distant from the earth, "in the firmament of heaven;" or in those upper regions, where the sun and the planets are placed. Bp. Patrick. —to divide &c.] Partly to make a perpetual and constant division between day and night; and partly to be certain and natural signs for man's direction, in his course of judgment and practice, for sowing, planting, sailing, and such other common affairs; and partly, to make a distinction of seasons, summer, winter, spring, autumn, years, months, weeks, days, hours. Bp. Hall. As also to direct mankind afterwards in their solemn festivals. Bp. Kidder. We must distinguish betwixt God's saying, Let such a thing be, and let such a thing do, so or so. By the first He produced the thing out of nothing: by the other He gave laws to it, then in being. As, when He said, "Let there be light," by that word, the light, which was not before, began to be: but when He said, "Let there be lights in the firmament, to divide the day from the night, &c." He thereby gave laws to the light He had before made, where He would have it be, and what He would have it do. This is what we call the law of nature: that law, which God hath put into the nature of every thing, whereby it always keeps itself within such bounds, and acts according to such rules, as God hath set it, and by that means shews forth the glory of His wisdom and power. Bp. Beveridge. 15. And let them be for lights &c.] Let them there continue to give constant light and warmth to the earth and its inhabitants, which is their principal use. Bps. Hall and Patrick. 16.—two great lights;] That is, which appear to us greater than all the rest; namely, the sun and moon. With regard to the inhabitants of the earth, the moon, though certainly an opaque or dark body, and less than most of the planets, may be not improperly called a great light: since, on account of its nearness, it communicates more light, and is of more use and benefit to us, than all the other planets put together. Dr. Wells, Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse. —to rule the day, &c.] As the sun is said "to rule the day," because he then only appears in the firmament; so the moon and stars are said to "rule the night," because they then appear with splendour, and give a supply of light, which the sun does not then immediately afford. Dr. Wells, Bp. Kidder. 17. And God set them &c.] By repeating this so often, Moses intended to fix in the people's 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. Bp. Patrick. This supposition is the more probable, because the most early idolatry is reasonably judged to have been that of worshipping the host of heaven, or the celestial lights. Dr. Wells. 21.—whales,] Or great fishes of all sorts. Dr. Wells. B 2 The creation of man, Before CHRIST 4004. and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 26. And God said, Let us make man] God not only reserved man for the last of His works, but, as it were, advises and consults about his production; not to signify any deliberation within Himself, or any difficulty in the work: but to represent to us the dignity of man, and that he was made with admirable wisdom and great prudence. It is to be observed also, that God does not say, "Let the earth bring forth man," as He said before of other animals; and that for the same reason: namely, to represent man as a far more noble work, than any other upon earth. Bp. Patrick. — Let us] The ancient Christians looked upon this as a plain intimation of a plurality of persons in the Godhead. Epiphanius says, "This is the language of God to His Wows and only begotten, as all the faithful believe;" and again, "Adam was formed by the hand of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost." Bp. Patrick. It is the language of St. Barnabas, one of the apotolical Fathers, "And for this cause the Lord was content to suffer for our souls, although He be the Lord of the whole earth; to whom God said, before the beginning of the world, Let us make man, &c." Abp. Wake. St. Chrysostom concludes some observations on the same passage, in the following eloquent terms: "Who was He, to whom God said, Let us make man? Who else but He, the Angel, of the Great Council, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty One, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the future age, the only-begotten Son of God, the equal to his Father in essence, by whom all things were made? To Him it was said, Let us make man." "Let us make man." Us.—He speaks to one who has the power of creating. John i. 1, 2, 3. Bp. Wilson. The phraseology, in which this resolution is couched, is remarkable. "Let us make man:" but the Old Testament furnishes more instances of a similar kind: "Behold, the man is become as one of us:" "Let us go down, and there confound their language;" "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" These plural forms, thus used by the Deity, demand our attention. Gen. iii. 22: xi. 7: Isaiah vi. 8. Three solutions of the questions have been offered. The first is that given by the Jews, who tell us, that in these forms God speaks of Himself and His angels. But may we not ask upon this occasion, "Who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His counsellor?" With which of the angels did He at any time vouchsafe to share His works and His attributes? Could they have been His coadjutors in the work of creation, which He so often claims to Himself, declaring He will not give the glory of it to another? A second account of the matter is, that the King of heaven adopts the style employed by the kings of the earth. But doth it seem at all reasonable to imagine, that God should borrow his way of speaking from a king, before man was created upon the earth? Besides, as it hath been judiciously observed, "though a king and governour may say us and we, there is certainly no figure of speech that will allow any single person to say, 'one of us,' when he speaks only of himself. It is a phrase that can have no meaning, unless there be more persons than one concerned." What then should hinder us from accepting the third solution, given by the best expositors ancient and modern, and drawn from this consideration, that in the unity of the Divine Essence there is a plurality of Persons, coequal and co-eternal, who might say, with truth and propriety, "Let us make man," and, "Man is become as one of us?" Of such a personality revelation informs us: it is that upon which the economy of man's redemption is founded; his creation, as well as that of the world, is, in different passages, attributed to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; what more natural therefore than that, at his production, this form of speech should be used by the Divine Persons? What more rational than to suppose, that a doctrine, so important to the human race, was communicated from the beginning, that men might know whom they worshipped, and how they ought to worship? What other good and sufficient reason can be given, why the name of God, in use among believers from the first, should likewise be in the plural number, connected with verbs and pronouns in the singular? It is true, we Christians, with the New Testament in our hands, may not want these arguments to prove the doctrine: but why should we overlook, or slight, such very valuable evidence of its having been revealed and received in the Church of God, from the foundation of the world? It is a satisfaction, it is a comfort, to reflect, that in this momentous article of our faith we have patriarchs and prophets for our fathers; that they lived, and that they died in the belief of it; that the God of Adam, of Noah, and of Abraham is likewise our God; and that when we adore Him in three Persons, and give "glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," we do "as it was" done "in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be." Bp. Horne. — in our image, after our likeness:] Approaching to the Divine likeness in understanding, freedom of choice, spirituality, immortality, &c. in righteousness, and true holiness likewise, as may be gathered from the Apostle, Eph. iv. 24. Bp. Patrick. Of man's distinguishing excellencies we are taught to entertain the most exalted sentiments, when we are told, that he was made "in the image and likeness of God." For what more can be said of a creature, than that he is made after the similitude of his Creator? Bp. Horne. We should learn to be cautious, lest we charge God foolishly, by ascribing that to Him or the nature He has given us, which is owing wholly to an abuse of it. Men may speak of the degeneracy and corruption of the world, according to the experience they have had of it; but human nature, considered as the Divine workmanship, should methinks be treated as sacred: for in the image of God made He man. Bp. Butler. 27. — him:] God thought fit to make one man to be the head and parent of the whole race of mankind, that men might not boast and vaunt of their extraction and original, (as the Jews have observed,) and that they and appointment of food. Before CHRIS T 4004. in Chap. 9. 1. ell. ing seed. heavy seed. 28. And God blessed them.] That is, besides the excellent endowments, which He bestowed on them, He gave them power to multiply and increase their kind. See Psalm xxxviii. 3, 4. Bp. Kidder. This power He had before bestowed upon other creatures: He adds to it here two other things, "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 every wild beasts. For, secondly, He gives them the "dominion" over all other creatures, whether in the water, air, or earth. Bp. Patrick. — have dominion] The divine writers have informed us, that God at the beginning gave mankind dominion (that is, an impressed awe and authority) over every living thing that moveth upon the earth, as a defence and security against the beasts of prey, which would otherwise have destroyed them. Dr. Bentley. By the dominion God gave him over the creatures, Adam, though naked and defenceless, had full security that they could not hurt him; and he had a convincing proof of this by their obedience, when they were brought before him. Bp. Wilson. 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. The allowance was expressly enlarged after the flood, when He gave them every living thing for meat, as well as the herbs, Chap. ix. 3. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 31. — very good.] Exactly fitted to the ends and uses, for which He designed it; and contributing, as much as it could, to the manifestation of His glory. Bp. Beveridge. The least or worst of creatures in their original is not any way derogatory to the Creator. Whosoever is evil, is not so by the Creator's action, but by the creature's defection. Bp. Pearson. given every green herb for meat: and it was so. — 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 phrase of inspiring him with "the breath of life" would not prove this, yet Moses speaking in the plural number, that "God breathed into him the breath or spirit of lives," it plainly denotes that spirit, which makes man not only breathe and more, but think also, reason and discourse. Bp. Patrick. — tree of knowledge of good and evil.] A tree, which would make those that should eat of it sensible of good and evil. Bp. Wilson. It was so called, as being the appointed test of the obedience or disobedience of our first parents; procuring "good" or happiness in the former case; and "evil" or misery in the latter. Dr. Hales. — Ethiopia.] Not the country so called in Africa, but another in Asia, adjoining to the easterly mouth of the Euphrates; called in Hebrew, as in the margin of our translation, Cash; by the Greeks and Latins Susiana; and now called by the Persians Chusistan, that is, the province of Chus. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. — It is not good] Not so comfortable an estate, that the man should live alone. I will make him an helper, of his own nature, meet for him. Bp. Hall. 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. Bp. Patrick. The verse may be rendered, agreeably to the translation of the Seventy, "On the sixth day God ended His work which He had made: and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made." Dr. Wells. An emblem of the rest that we shall have, when we have done our work faithfully, and left none undone. Bp. Patrick. 3. — blessed] That is, ordered it to be observed, as a day for praising Him, and for obtaining His blessings: and no doubt it was so observed by all good men from Adam to Moses. Bp. Wilson. — sanctified] That is, set it apart, that it might preserve to all ages the memory of the Creation and the Creator; man being by an express law obliged to commemorate them fifty-two times a year. And as the neglect of this law brought in idolatry and infidelity, so the breach of it has ever since been punished most remarkably, by a judicial hardness of heart, forgetfulness of God, and exemplary judgments; as numberless offenders have confessed. Bp. Wilson. 4. These are the generations &c.] This is a faithful account of the generation, or original, of the world. Bp. Patrick. — in the day] Or, at the time, "that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens." From henceforward the Supreme Being is called "Lord," having been hitherto called only "God." The Hebrew doctors observe, that JEDOVAN ELOMIN, (LORD God) joined together, is the full and perfect name of God; and therefore fitly reserved till this place, when the works of God were perfected. Bp. Patrick. 7. — of the dust of the ground,] Not dry but moist dust, or clay; such as is used by potters: as the Greek and Hebrew words are thought most properly to signify. Upon this original of man's body the ancient Fathers make many pious reflections; but none better or shorter than this, that it is intended to teach us, that when we are inclined to be lifted up, because we are made after God's image, the thoughts of the dirt, out of which we are taken, may humble and lay us low. Bp. Patrick. In this instance, as in another since, God seemeth to have chosen the base things of the world, to confound things honourable and mighty, when of the dust of the ground He composed a frame, superior, in rank and dignity, to the heavens and all their hosts. Bp. Horne. rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 8. And the Lord God planted a garden] Or had planted, probably on the third day: "eastward," that is, eastward of Judea, or of the desert of the Amorites, where Moses wrote these books, in a country, long after called "Eden" from its pleasantness and fruitfulness. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. When we think of Paradise, we think of it as the seat of delight. The name EDEN authorizes us so to do. It signifies PLEASURE; and the idea of pleasure is inseparable from that of a garden, where man still seeks after lost happiness; and where, perhaps, a good man finds the nearest resemblance of it, which this world affords. "What is requisite," exclaims a great and original genius, (Dr. Young,) "to make a wise and happy man, but reflection and peace? And both are the natural growth of a garden. A garden to the virtuous is a Paradise still extant; a Paradise unlost." Bp. Horne. — and there he put the man &c.] We cannot conceive such a creature, as man, to be put into a more happy state than this. The ground naturally, without any labour or trouble, brought forth every thing that was necessary and convenient, and also every thing that was pleasant and delightful. So that there was nothing for man to do, but to dress and to keep the garden for his diversion, and to satisfy himself with all the variety which it afforded. Dr. John Clarke. 9. — the tree of life] So called, because he, that ate of it, would have lived for ever, either by virtue of that tree, or by the appointment of God; as the sacraments are means of grace. Bp. Wilson. This garden being a type of heaven, perhaps God intended by this tree to represent that immortal life, which He meant to bestow upon man with Himself. Rev. xxii. 2. In other trees there was a nourishment for man; but in this also a sacrament. For it was a symbol both 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 Before CHRIST 4004. Or, a mist which went up from, &c. of the ground. b. 1 Cor. 15. 47. c. 1 Cor. 15. 45. The river of Eden. The tree of knowledge forbidden. of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10. And a river went out of Eden &c.] It should seem that Paradise lay on the confluent stream of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, but principally on the eastern bank; which divided into two branches above the garden, and two more below it. From the description of these rivers by the ancient historians and geographers, Major Rennell collects, that in ancient times they kept distinct courses to the sea, until the time of Alexander; although at no great distance of time afterwards they became united, and joined the sea in a collective stream. The Cyrus also and Araxes kept distinct courses in ancient times. This, however, does not invalidate a primeval junction of these rivers, before the deluge, which certainly produced a prodigious alteration in the face of the primitive globe. Besides, the changes in the beds of other great rivers, such as the Pile, the Ganges, and Barampooter, even in modern times, are known to be very great. Dr. Hales. 11. — Pison.] The westerly branch, by which the Euphrates empties itself into the Persian gulph. Both this river and the Gihon have long lost their names; the Greek and Roman writers calling them, after their parting, by the names which they had before they met, Euphrates and Tigris. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. — compasseth the whole land of Havilah.] That is, washes, with a winding stream, all one side of the land of Havilah; or of the eastern tract of Arabia Felix. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 12. And the gold of that land &c.] Arabia was famed for its gold, both as to its fineness and its quality; as also for its aromatic gums and pearls, whichever of these is intended by "bdellium:" and for its precious stones, whatever was the particular species signified by the word rendered "onyx-stone." Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 13. — Gihon.] The easterly channel of the two, into 14. — Hiddekel.] The Tigris. The word, which is rendered toward the east, should be rendered simply toward or before. For it has that signification, as well as the other; and so expresses better the course of the river, which does not run toward the east of the province, properly called, of old, Assyria; but does run before it, in respect to the place where Moses wrote. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. — Euphrates.] In Hebrew Perath or Phrath. The course of it was so well known, that Moses gives no description of it. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 17. — thou shalt not eat of it.] It was fit to lay upon Adam this small restraint, to make him sensible, that though he had dominion over all things, yet he was not their Lord, but a servant of the Most High, who required this abstinence in token of his subjection, and to prove his obedience to Him. But still some ask, Why should his obedience be tried in such an instance as this? not considering that a trial of it could scarce have been made in any of the moral precepts, which there was no opportunity of violating. 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 nobody but he and she in the world? How could he steal, or what room was there then for coveting, when God had put him in possession of all things? It had been in vain to forbid that, which could not be done: and it had been virtue to abstain, not from that, to which there was no temptation, but from that, which invited them to transgress. I speak of them in the plural number, because it must be remembered that this prohibition was given, not to Adam only, but to Eve also, Chap. iii. 1, 2. Bp. Patrick. — thou shalt surely die.] This does not signify, as appears by the event, that he should instantly die, but that he should become mortal; lose the immortality with which he was invested, Chap. iii. 19. Diseases, sicknesses, and pains, the forerunners of death, are included in this threatening. Bp. Patrick. The threatening implies a promise, that if he did not eat of the fruit, he should not die, but live. This was the first covenant which God made with man. Bp. Beveridge. 18. And the Lord God said,] Or had said, before the The making of woman, and the institution of marriage. Before CHRIST 4004. e Exclus. 36. 24. before him. Or, the man. is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help † meet for him. 19. — Adam] The Hebrew word, hitherto rendered Man, or the Man, is here rendered as a proper name. Dr. Wells. It is commonly thought that this name, given to the first man, signifies as much as red earth. But it is far more probable, that it imports elegant or beautiful. Bp. Patrick. 20. And Adam gave names &c.] The ancient and modern professors of Atheistical philosophy represent the faculty of articulate speech, or language, as the mere instinctive expression of the wants and desires of a herd of associated savages, gradually invented for mutual convenience of communication, and established by mutual consent. But our great Lexicographer justly remarks, that "language must have come by inspiration: a thousand, nay a million of children, could not invent a language: while the organs are pliable, there is not understanding enough to form a language; and by the time that there is understanding enough, the organs are grown stiff. We know, that after a certain age, we cannot learn a language." Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson. This is confirmed by experience. Alexander Selkirk, when cast away on the desert island of Juan Fernandes, almost lost the use of his native tongue, after some years residence. The young savage, called Peter, caught in the woods of Hanover, several years ago, though soon tamed and reconciled to society, never could be taught to speak. And lately, the young savage of Aveyron, in France, though put under the care of the celebrated Sicard, master of the deaf and dumb school, has never yet been observed to utter an articulate sound, not even to express his most urgent wants. It is remarkable, that Adam was endued with the faculty of speech in his solitary state, and gave names to the animal tribes before the formation of Eve. Dr. Hales. 21. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep &c.] Adam was thus less sensible of bodily pain; at the same time that there was represented to his mind, both what was done to him, and the mystery of it, as appears by ver. 23, 24. Bp. Patrick. — and he took one of his ribs,] God did not form Eve out of the ground; as He had done Adam; but out of Adam's side, that He might create the greater love between him and her, as parts of the same whole. By alept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22. And the rib — made he a woman,] Which was as easy for the Divine power to do, as to make the man himself out of the earth. Bp. Patrick. — and brought her unto the man.] Presented and gave her to him to be his wife. God Himself made the expousals (if I may so speak) between them, and joined them together in marriage. Bp. Patrick. 23. — This is now bone of my bones, &c.] Now indeed have I found, what I could not see before among all God's creatures, a fit helper for me; even another self. Bp. Hall. — she shall be called Woman,] Partake of my name, as she doth of my nature. For he called her John, as he was called Ish. Bp. Patrick. 24. Therefore shall a man leave &c.] Dwell with his wife, rather than with his father and his mother, and be joined to her in the closest and most inseparable affection, as if they were but one person, and had but one soul and one body; an obligation arising from the singular union of the flesh of our first parents, one of whom was taken out of the other. Bp. Patrick. — wife:] Not wives. All this must be from express revelation; for otherwise Adam knew not what a father or a mother was, nor that the affections of children and parents were great: and yet that the ties of husband and wife would be greater. But it appears from our Saviour's words, Matt. xix. 4, that this revelation was from God; that it is founded upon the law of nature, for one man to have one woman only; for God knew, and none else could know, the evil consequences of unlimited mixture, and that the number of males and females should be so nearly equal, that many of them would be deprived of the comforts of marriage, if it were otherwise than as God ordained. Bp. Wilson. 25. — were not ashamed.] Because they were innocent, and had done nothing as yet to be ashamed of. Bp. Kidder. If we consider seriously what God is; how great, Before CHRIST 4004. balided. Matt. 10. 5. Mark 10. 7. Ver. 1. — the serpent] That this was the devil's act, in the serpent, we have the authority of Christ himself, who says, "He was a murderer from the beginning," John viii. 44; plainly in allusion to this seduction of our first parents, and the mortality thereby induced. The same appears also from the Apostle, who calls the devil or Satan, "the great dragon, that old serpent, which deceiveth the whole world." Rev. xii. 9; xx. 2, 10. And the author of the Book of Wisdom, ch. ii. ver. 24, who was well acquainted with the doctrines of the Jewish Church, tells us, "Through envy of the devil came death into the world." Bp. Beveridge, Dr. Kennicott. — more subtit] And therefore a fitter instrument for the devil, who made use of him; and also a more — Yea, hath God said, &c.] The best interpreters understand this to have been spoken interrogatively, Hath God indeed said? or, Dost thou think God meant absolutely by saying, &c.? Pyle. The devil in these words seems to question the kindness of God, in that He did not permit to man the eating of every tree in the garden. Bp. Kidder. — knowing good and evil.] An Hebrew phrase, signifying as much as to know every thing, or a very enlarged knowledge, as in 2 Sam. xiv. 17 and 20. And on the contrary, to know or speak neither good nor evil, is to know or speak nothing at all, Deut. i. 39; Gen. xxxi. 29. Pyle. — and they sewed fig-leaves together.] They twisted the branches of the fig-tree about them for coverings: as the true translation is. The fig-tree leaves in eastern countries are so broad, that a few will cover the body of a man. Pyle. — me.] The devil assaults us where he finds us weakest, as here, in this first sin, he attempts the woman, the weaker vessel. "The serpent beguiled me:" for he knows this is the readiest way to overcome. Jos. Mede. Let the fatal example of the fall of Eve be a warning to others, how they listen to sophistry in opposition to divine truths. For though the tempter, since that time, has no more made use of serpents, in such a way, yet he has other instruments proper to work with, and often does the same thing by the tongues or pens of serpentlike men. Dr. Waterland. 14. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, &c.] Namely, because he had beguiled the man and woman, which God hath made, and caused them to transgress his great commandment. He therefore that is the cause and occasion of another's sin is as hateful to God as the doer, and is liable to as great or rather a greater punishment. May, the serpent's doom is first read to him, as if he were the archoffender: for which same reason the woman's sentence comes next, because she had been a sin-maker, and was guilty, not only of her own personal sin, but of her husband's also. The same might be confirmed from the quality of their several judgments; in that the serpent alone is doomed to be "cursed," and no such sentence is pronounced either upon the man or upon the woman. Jos. Mede, Bp. Patrick. — thou art cursed &c.] What follows has a reference to the serpent, the instrument; and to Satan, who made use of that creature. As an argument of the detestableness of the sin, and a constant memorial of it, the abused beast is "cursed." Compare Exod. xxi. 28, 32; Levit. xx. 15, 16; and Gen. ix. 5. The curse upon the serpent consisted, 1, in bringing down his stature, which was probably in great measure erect before this time: "upon thy belly shalt thou go;" or, "upon thy breast," as some versions have it: 2dly, in the measures of his provision, "and dust shalt thou eat," inasmuch as creeping upon the ground, it cannot but lick up much dust together with its food: 3dly, in that "enmity," which hereafter ensued between this creature and mankind: for the wisest naturalists among the heathens (proper witnesses in the present case) have agreed, that there is a mortal enmity between the human and the serpentine species. Bps. Patrick and Kidder, Dr. Kennicott. — it shall bruise thy head.] "It," that is, the seed of the woman, which is Christ, as our translation rightly expounds it. But the Latin Vulgate renders it, "Ipea conteret caput tuum," "She shall bruise thy head," as if a woman should do it: which the Papists interpreting of the Virgin Mary, ascribe to her this great victory and triumph over sin and Satan; and are taught to say in their addresses to her, "Adoro et benedico sanctissimoe pedes tuos, quibus antiqui serpentis caput calcati:" "I adore and bless thy most holy feet, whereby thou hast bruised the head of the old serpent." Bp. Beveridge. 16. — I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception;] That is, "thy sorrow in thy conception:" a figure of speech not unusual in Scripture. See Ps. cxvi. 1; Jer. xxix. 11. Jos. Mede. The sentence upon womankind consists, 1, in her sorrow and pain in conceiving and bringing forth children; it being observed that brute creatures bring forth their young with far less pain, difficulty, and danger than women do; 2dly, in her more helpless condition, by reason of which she would need to have recourse to her husband, and be more subject to him and his corrupt will; for whom at first she was designed for a meet-help. Compare 1 Cor. xiv. 34; 1 Tim. ii. 11, 12; — thy desire shall be to thy husband.] That is, it shall be subject to him: so the phrase is used, chap. iv. 7. Bp. Patrick. By a just retribution, the woman's desire of gratifying her appetites is punished with the pains of child-birth; and her ambition to vie with gods in knowledge, or to be exalted, with her subjection to her husband, and her submission to his will. Dr. Hales. — for thy sake;] Because of thy sin; which shall be punished partly by the barrenness of the earth, in its being "cursed," or not bringing forth fruit so plentifully, nor so easily as it did. Bp. Patrick. 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;] The word "thorns" seems to be put for all noxious plants, shrubs, &c. by which the labours of the husbandman are impeded, and which are only fit for burning. Our word "thistle" does not denote the plant or plants, meant by the Hebrew word, which signifies something of a prickly kind. The word in the Greek version is the same as in Heb. vi. 8, where it is rendered "briers." We are not to suppose that thorns and briers were now for the first time created: but they now became vexatious; as they grew more abundantly and vigorously, perhaps from favourable seasons; and as man was expelled from his garden to till the land, where they were native, and consequently most prolific and troublesome. Script. illustr. Expos. Ind. — and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;] Be content with such things as the common field produces, instead of the delicious fruits of Paradise. Bp. Patrick. God made this earth amiable and sweet, and the world a scene of happiness to a creature that was to continue in it: but when sin introduced death, God in His goodness "cursed the earth" by a diminution of its excellence, to make the world less desirable to a creature who was so soon to leave it. Dr. Delaney. God condemned man to toil and misery, that he might look for rest somewhere else than on earth. Bp. Wilson. 2. — We may eat of the fruit, &c.] She seems to have understood him, as if he thought God had forbid them to eat of any fruit in the garden. And indeed the foregoing question is ambiguous. Bp. Patrick. 4. — Ye shall not surely die:] As before he called in question God's kindness to man, so does he here deny God's veracity or truth: and deserves the character, which our Saviour gives him, of "a liar," John viii. 44. Bp. Kidder. From this first lie that was told in the world by the devil himself, he seems to be more particularly called by our Saviour, "The Father" of lies. Dr. Wells. Unbelief is not only a great sin of itself, but one great cause of all other sins. It may be truly called the Mother of sin, as the devil is the Father: for it was that, which by his instigation brought forth sin at first into the world; and it is that which still maintains and keeps it. When the old serpent assented our first parents, the first attack he made was upon their faith; and when that was once shaken, he soon overcame them. Bp. Beveridge. 5. For God doth know &c.] The first accuser that ever was in the world was a false accuser; and that was the devil. He was "a liar from the beginning;" and the first false report he raised, was of the Most High: unjustly accusing God Himself unto our mother Eve, in a few words, of no fewer than three great crimes at once, Falsehood, Tyranny, and Evey. He was then a slanderous accuser of his Maker; and he hath continued ever since a malicious accuser of his brethren. Bp. Sanderson. — your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,] The eyes of your understanding, which are now half-shut, shall be fully opened, and ye shall be full of divine knowledge, like your Maker. Bp. Hall. Or, like the angels of God, who are frequently called "gods" in Scripture. Bp. Patrick. Be our ends and aims what they will, unless we arm ourselves with strong resolutions beforehand, not to do any thing we know to be unlawful upon any terms, seem it otherwise never so expedient; and then afterwards use all our best prayers and endeavours by God's grace to hold our resolutions, we are gone. Satan is cunning, and we are but weak, and he will be too hard for us, if he do but find us at all staggering in our resolutions to Man's shameful fall. God arraigneth Before CHRIST 4004. devis. 24. 6. And when the woman saw &c.] She could conclude that it was good for food, only by the serpent's eating of it before her eyes, and by seeing that he did not thereupon die, as God had threatened: so she gave him credit and distrusted God's word. Bp. Wilson. — did eat.] Her sin was great and various; being guilty of ambition, incredulity, ingratitude, curiosity, inordinate desire, open rebellion against God, and the drawing aside of her husband, and the involving of him in sin, and their posterity in misery also. Bp. Kidder. — and gave also unto her husband with her.] Besides the aggravations common to both our parents, Eve adds one more to her weight, in that she was not content to sin herself alone, but she allured, and drew her husband also into the like horrible transgression with her; whereby she was not only guilty of her own personal sin, but of her husband's also. And this added so much to her former sins, that St. Paul speaks of her, as if she had been the only transgressor; "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." † Tim. ii. 14. So great and horrible a thing it is in the eye of God, to be the cause or mover of another's sin. Jos. Mede. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened.] They had no sooner transgressed than they began to reflect upon the guilt, and feel the fatal consequences of so doing. Their understandings were indeed "opened," not in the sense the tempter had promised; but in a manner that discovered to them their own folly, degeneracy, and shame. Pyle. — and they knew that they were naked;] Who knows not the story of Adam's fall? Who hath not heard of the sin of Eve our mother? If there were no Scripture, yet the unexampled irregularity of our whole nature, which all the time of our life runs counter to all order and right reason; the woeful misery of our condition, being a scene of sorrow without any rest or contentment; this might breed some general suspicion, that from the beginning it was not so: that He, who made us lords of His creatures, made us not so worthless and LORD God walking in the garden in the † cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden] The sound of the Majestick Presence, or the glory of the Lord, approaching nearer and nearer to the place, where they were. For the "walking" is to be referred to the voice, and not to the Lord. Bp. Patrick. — hid themselves] Their very reason was so corrupted, as to think they could hide themselves, as wild beasts run into a wood when they see a man. Bp. Wilson. 9. — the Lord God called unto Adam.] Emphatically called, JAROVAN ELOHIM, God the Lord. By which, in the language of Philo, according to the opinion of all the ancient Fathers, is to be understood God the FATHER, speaking by CHRIST, the LOGOS, the WORD, or Son of God: the Messenger and Representative of the Father, "the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person;" who appeared in, and spake from, the Shechinah, or cloud of glory; the same cloud of light, with its heavenly host of angels, from whence He communed with Adam, with Noah, with Abraham, and the Patriarchs; and communicated His will to, and conducted, the Israelitish nation. For of God the Father it is expressly said, "No man hath seen Him at any time," John i. 18; vi. 46. "Neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape," John v. 37. Pyle. — Where art thou?] Such questions do not argue ignorance in Him that asks them; but are intended to awaken the guilty to a confession of their crimes. As appears from chap. iv. 9, "Where is Abel thy brother?" Of whom, when Cain stubbornly refused to give an account, the Lord said immediately, (to shew that He needed not to be informed,) "the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." Bp. Patrick. 10. — because I was naked;] They became sensible that they were divested of their inward purity; they also blushed at their bodily nakedness, of which before they were not ashamed. This shame was part of their punishment; and it is entailed upon their posterity, as a standing memorial of the sins that occasioned it, being an impression from God upon their spirits: for no other account can be given of its being so universal as it is. Bps. Patrick and Wilson. 11. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?] Adam appears to have avoided a confession of the cause, Before CHRIST 4004. Adam and Eve. The serpent is cursed. Before CHRIST 4004. the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12. — The woman whom thou gavest to be with me.] He throws the blame upon his wife, which however he did not intend should rest there, but recoil back upon his Creator. "I have eaten," says he, "but the woman gave me of the tree:" even the woman, "whom thou gavest to be with me," or to be my constant companion. Thus we are apt to excuse and palliate our faults; by laying that load upon others, with which we ought to charge ourselves. Dr. Kennicott, Bp. Patrick. From the beginning man hath always been apt to lay the blame of his faults where it can least lie, upon goodness and perfection itself. The very first sin, that ever man was guilty of, he endeavoured to throw upon God. And his posterity are still apt to excuse themselves the same way. Abp. Tilberson. 13. And the Lord God said unto the woman, &c.] He from whom no secrets are hid, He that formed the heart of man, and knows all the works we do, He that searcheth and trieth the heart and reins, even He will first examine the fact, will first hear what miserable man can say for himself, before his sentence shall pass upon him: not out of ignorance of what was done; for how should the omniscient God be ignorant? but out of His wonderful clemency and unspeakable moderation towards men: I say, towards man: for to him alone He shews this favour: for as for the serpent, we see He vouchmeds not to ask him one question, nor to wait for what he could say for himself, but presently without examination proceeds to judgment against him. Jos. Mede. — What is this that thou hast done?] Who would not think this rather the speech of a familiar and condoling friend, than of so great a Judge, so greatly offended? Here is no word of asperity, but of lenity: no meaning, no upbraiding terms; but only, "What is this that thou hast done?" Jos. Mede. — and the woman said, The serpent beguiled me.] My weakness was deceived by the cunning of the devil. Thus she also threw the blame upon another. But God, no doubt, convinced them both of the greatness of their guilt, and the miserable condition into which they were fallen by their transgression, before He ended this discourse with them. This shews the infinite mercy of the Creator of all, who would not abandon them, but sought after them to "save" them, when they had "lost" themselves. Bp. Patrick. — beguiled] This first act of the devil is that wherein we may behold, "as in a glass," the art he still weth to tempt us to sin, and bring us to utter destruction. His practice is uniformly to "beguile." He presents all things fair to our face, and suffers not evil to appear before us in its own deformed shape; for then every man would fly from it. When he would tempt a 15. — I will put enmity &c.] This last particular more peculiarly refers to the devil or Satan, who made use of the serpent as an instrument, and is called a serpent, Rev. xii. 9; xx. 2. "Thy seed;" that is, The apostate spirits, and all those that in wickedness resemble their father, the devil, John vi. 70; viii. 44; Acts xiii. 10. "Her seed;" that is, the Messiah or Christ, (who is peculiarly the seed of the woman, Isa. vii. 14; Gal. iii. 16; iv. 4; and His members, Eph. vi. 11, 12; Rev. xii. 13. "It shall bruise thy head;" that is, the seed of the The punishment of mankind. Before CHRIST 4004. seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 17. And unto Adam he said,] For Adam's transgresin sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.] As some of God's curses (such is His goodness) are promises as well as curses; as is that of the "enmity," between the woman's seed and the serpent's; so some of God's curses (such is his justice) are precepts as well as curses; as is that of the woman's subjection to the man. This of eating our bread in the sweat of our face is all the three: it is a curse; it is a promise; it is a precept. It is a curse; in that God will not suffer the earth to afford us bread, without our sweat. It is a promise; in that God assureth us, we shall have bread for our sweat. And it is a precept too, in that God enjoined us, if we will have bread, to sweat for it. Bp. Sanderson. All Adam's children are bound to labour; for that which was said unto Adam, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," is likewise said unto us. Bp. Latimer. 20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve;] He had before called her "woman" as her common name, or a name for her and all her sex, because she was taken out of man: and now he called her Eve, because he had found she was still to be "the mother of all living." Before CHRIST 4004. to bad. Their first clothing : and casting out of Paradise. wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.