The First Book of MOSES, CALLED, GENESIS. T INTRODUCTION. It is HIS is, undoubtedly, the most ancient book in the world. almost universally agreed, that the author of this and the four following books, commonly called the Pentateuch, was MOSES; a man of a very extraordinary character, who was educated in the court of an Egyption prince, and acquainted with all the branches of learning taught in the schools of Egypt. Considering how long the Patriarchs lived, the history of facts which he relates came down to him through so few hands, as to leave no room to suspect their authenticity. On these accounts, this book claims peculiar attention, separate from the consideration of the writer's being under the influence of the Holy Spirit, without which, the true history of the creation could never have been known. This book, though doubtless intended for the general information of mankind, seems to have been written more particularly for the instruction and advantage of the Jewish people; to prevent their complying with the idolatry of other nations, and preserve their entire obedience to the divine law; as well as to lower that pride and vanity which they were ever prone to indulge, on account of their being the peculiar people of God; in which views many things in it appear peculiarly beautiful. Genesis, which is the name it bears in the Greek Septuagint translation, signifies generation ;* and it is so called, because it relates the history of the generation or beginning of the heavens and the earth, the production of man, and the genealogies of the patriarchs. This history begins about 4000 years before Christ, and contains a period of 2365 years, or thereabouts. The account of the creation, with which it commences, cannot reasonably be supposed, as it hath been by some, to relate to the universe at large, but, at most, to the solar system, and principally to our world. And though it be granted that the Bible was not intended to teach men natural philosophy, we must suppose, if we believe its divine inspi. ration, that what it relates is agreeable to truth and the nature of things. CHAP. I. Verse 1-25. Contains the History of the Creation of the World, with its appen.. dages and inhabitants, in the space of six days; and of the work of each day. 1 I N the beginning God created the heaven and the earth; He made out of nothing, the common matter of which the 2 heavens and the earth were afterwards formed.* And the earth was without form and void; without order, beauty, or furniture; the stamina, or principles of future productions, being all blended together; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep waters which surrounded the solid mass, occasioned by the thick vapours which rested upon them. And the Spirit of God, or his infinite wisdom and power, moved upon the face of the waters, made a violent agitation in order to expel those vapours, and separate the fluid and solid matter, of which, together with luminous and fiery particles, this chaos seems to have been 3 compounded. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light; the gross particles were dispelled, and the dark 4 earth was illuminated. And God saw the light, that [it was] good; agreeable to his great design: and God equally divided the light from the darkness, by giving the earth its diurnal mo5 tion. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night, that is, he appointed they should be so called. And the evening and the morning were the first day.‡ 6 And And God said, Let there be a firmament, an expansion or atmosphere, in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the 7 waters in the clouds, from the waters upon the earth. accordingly God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament, and designed for seas and rivers, from the waters which [were] above the firmament, in the clouds; and it was so; part of the waters ascended in va8 pours into the air. And God called the firmament Heaven; including the space where the birds fly, the clouds gather, and the stars appear to move. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven, which at first equally overspread the earth, be gathered together unto one place, and be kept within their appointed channels; and let the dry [land] appear in continents and islands: and it was so * Here the agency of the blessed God is asserted in the formation of all things: and in the New Testament we are told, he made all things by Jesus Christ, John i. 3. Eph. ii. 9. Heb. 1. 10. Philosophers have had great debates about the formation of the world; come asserting its eternity, others forming the most ridiculous notions of its being made by chance, or a concourse of atoms: but this first verse of our Bible clears up all the difficulty. + Some suppose, that the fiery particles which contained light and heat, were separated from the rest of the mass, and collected into distinct bodies or globes of light, which moved rond and caused a kind of day to some parts of the earth, while other parts were in darkaess. But if we suppose that the Sun was first created, then the earth was illuminated by the Sun's rays Longinus mentions this verse as an instance of the true sublime. The evening is mentioned first, because the Jewish sacred days begin from the evening. And 10 as God commanded. (Psalm civ. 5-8.) And God called the *Dr. Kennicott observes that the words are found in the Greek version at u. 8. Edit. + The moon in mentioned first, to denote its peculiar usefulness to us above the other planets. Mr. Whiston well observes, Moses seems to have given an account of things as they would have appeared to an observing spectator, had such an one been here upon earth during the creation: when the Sun, on his first appearing, would seem to have been at that instant created. Whiston's Theory, pref. p. 40. The original word is often rendered dragens, and crocodiler; see Ezek. xxix. 3. xxxii. 2. But here it seems to be put for large fish in general. Edit. forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, for the use of man, and the creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his 25 kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. L REFLECTIONS. ET us adore the infinite majesty of God, as displayed in all his works, both in heaven and on earth. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all those who have pleasure therein. What can we see but displays of power and wisdom in all the works of his hands! What are the nicest, or the greatest performances of human skill, when compared with His, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working! The meanest animal, the least vegetable or insensible being, declares his eternal power and Godhead. What skill, beauty, and harmony appear in all his works! What reason have we after such a survey as this chapter affords, to adopt the devout rapture of David, O Lord, how manifold are thy works, in wisdom thou hast made them all! 2. Let us be daily sensible of the divine goodness in all the works of his hands; that he hath provided so richly, not only for the support, but the comfort of all his creatures, and their agreeable entertainment. That he hath given the vegetable world, in particular, such beauty and grandeur. The earth is full of his riches; so is the great and wide sea. All his works praise him; and his rational creatures, especially, should bless his holy name. They alone are capable of admiring his works, and they should constantly do so. 3. We learn to use all the creatures for the honour of that God by whom they were made. They are not our own; are not produced by our wisdom or power. Let us use them as the creatures of God. We are stewards of his manifold gifts, therefore let us not abuse them; let none make unnecessary waste of them, or tyrannize over the brute creation, over which God hath given us dominion. A merciful man is merciful to beasts and insects. Every degree of cruelty is unworthy a rational creature. Let us set God, the great creator of all, continually before us, and seriously consider what use of these things will be most pleasing to him, and advantageous to ourselves; that whether we eat, or drink, or whatever we do, we may do all to the glory of God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. CHAP. I. 26, to the end. CHAP. II. 1-3. 26 A ND God said, speaking to his son, or spirit, or both, or 29 And God further said to them, Behold, I have given you 1 CHAP. II. Thus, as before related, the heavens and the earth 2 And on the seventh day God had ended his work which he had made it and he rested on the seventh day from all his Herbs are only mentioned; animal food not being allowed, as some think, before the flood, at least not till after the fall. See Cradock's History of the Old Testament, p. 4. 5. Dr. Kennicott observes, that the Samaritan text with the Greek and Syriac versions road, Gud ended his work on the sixth day. 1 |