all the evil results which followed from it. "The man,” in v. 15-17, evidently includes the woman. 18. not good] Not fit and convenient, not suited to the design of the Creator, ch. i. 4. 28. "An help meet for him," i. e. a help-mate or companion suitable for him; there being none such among the animals, v. 20. 66 19. brought them, &c.] Those who object to this as an impossibility, forget that with God all things are possible. Besides, the word "all" is often used by the Hebrews for many; and every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air," may only denote those of the field and climate of the garden of Eden; so that the meaning probably is, that God brought a multitude of the newly created animals together, perhaps only those within the garden, for Adam to impose names upon them. This might serve many useful purposes: 1st, It might be designed as the means of assuring him of the dominion over the animal creation with which he was invested. 2dly, The Almighty might thus supply him with such a knowledge of their nature and properties, as might be necessary for him in the infancy of the world. 3dly, It might be intended to call into play his vocal powers, for language cannot reasonably be ascribed to any other than a Divine origin. And, 4thly, It served to convince Adam of his solitary condition, and of the need of “an help meet for him,” v. 20. 21. And the Lord, &c.] Whether there was some peculiar organization in Adam, in order to provide for the production of the woman, or God substituted another rib for the one taken away, we need not inquire; but it is obvious that the formation of the woman out of Adam's side, was intended to convey a valuable, though mystic meaning. 1st, Both being, as it were, one flesh, signifies the partnership and love which ought to exist in the nuptial state; and the foundation of the happiness of it being thus laid in their identity of nature, strongly evinces the indissoluble bond of that union, v. 22, 23.; Matt. xix. 3-6. 2dly, The creation and marriage of our first parents was intended to be typical of the union between Christ and his Church, Ephes. v. 28-32. 22. brought her] Viz. presented and gave her to him for a help-mate, v. 18. 23. she shall be called Woman,] That is, since she is thus partaker of my nature, by being "bone of [from] my bones, and flesh of [from] my flesh," she shall partake of my name. "Therefore," by reason of this formation of the woman out of Adam's side, and her union with him in marriage, the union in this state shall be such that "a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh," i. e. they shall be intimately and inseparably united, as if they were but one person; 1 Cor. vi. 16. As Adam could not know the nature of the relationships arising from marriage, this declaration, though spoken by him, must have proceeded from Divine inspiration, and our Lord refers it to the Almighty; Matt. xix. 3-6. where see notes. Thus the marriage of one man with one woman, was ordained in the state of primeval innocency; and polygamy is thereby clearly condemned. 25. were not ashamed.] Because they were pure and innocent; ch. iii. 7. 10. CHAPTER III. 1. the serpent] Some are of opinion that this is an appellation of Satan, who, they think, seduced Eve without using the body of any creature. But that some animal was employed in the temptation is plain from its being classed with the beasts of the field, and from the malediction, v. 14, 15. which, in their primary sense, clearly refer to a reptile. That the animal used in the first and fatal deception was a serpent, is proved, 1st, by the usual and acknowledged sense of the word: 2dly, by its being rendered by words denoting a serpent in all the ancient versions: 3dly, by the punishment inflicted upon it, which agrees with the present state of no other animal than a serpent: 4thly, by the infallible authority of St. Paul, who affirms that "the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety," 2 Cor. xi. 3. 5thly, by the allusions to it in the sacred Scriptures; Isa. lxv. 25.; Micah vii. 17. and, 6thly, by the voice of an uniform tradition. Though a brute serpent was used as the instrumental means, yet Satan actuated its body, and was the efficient agent in the calamitous delusion of our first parents. This appears, 1st, from the circumstance that no mere animal could of itself be capable of what is here attributed to the serpent; which, consequently, must have been impelled by some superior agent; and as the object effected was a deed of darkness, it must have been a malignant agent: and, 2dly, from the declarations of the sacred writers; Matt. xiii. 24-30.; John viii. 44.; 2 Cor. xi. 3.; Heb. ii. 14.; 1 John iii. 8.; Rev. xii. 9. xx. 2. comp. Ephes. vi. 11, 12.; 1 Thess. iii. 5.; Wisd. i. 13. ii. 23, 24. more subtil] The Hebrew denotes, in a good sense, discernment, sagacity; in a bad one, cunning, subtilty; but in neither sense of the term does it apply to the present reptile tribe, which is neither the most sagacious nor the most cunning and subtil of the brute creation; and therefore it is reasonable to infer some debasement in their shape and properties. The expressions, v. 14. "Thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field," imply that, while other creatures were cursed in some measure, the serpent was so in a more signal manner; and the sentence, "upon thy belly shalt thou go," &c. imports some great and remarkable punishment; but if the serpent was originally formed to go upon its belly, and to eat dust, its continuing in that state could be no punish ment. We may, therefore, conclude that the serpent, at its creation, was in beauty and sagacity far superior to its present state, and consequently was a fit instrument for Satan in effecting the primeval apostacy. Yea, hath God said," i. e. according to the force of the original, Is it indeed true that God hath commanded not to eat, &c.? 66 3. touch it,] Viz. in order to eat it; for the bare touching it was not expressly forbidden, ch. ii. 17. 66 5. your eyes] Viz. of your understanding, "shall be opened," v. 6, 7.; Isa. xxxv. 5. xlii. 7.; Luke i. 79.; Acts xxvi. 18.; Ephes. i. 18. and ye shall be as gods," or, as it may be rendered, as God, knowing good and evil;" which last expressions may either refer to God, who will thus be characterized as the Discerner of good and evil, or to our first parents, ye shall be knowing good and evil, even as God, or the gods;" i. e. you shall acquire a great and eminent degree of knowledge, equal to that of God; v. 22.; 2 Sam. xiv. 17. 20. comp. ch. xxxi. 29.; Deut. i. 39.; 2 Sam. xiii. 22. 66 6. when the woman saw] Viz. when, by gazing at the forbidden fruit, she concluded that it was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes," i. e. in appearance very desirable, very agreeable to look upon, and "to be desired to make one wise," i. e. desirable for its virtue and power to impart knowledge, "she took," &c. v. 17.; 1 Tim. ii. 14. 7. aprons.] Rather, "they platted, or put together figtree leaves, and made themselves girdles," i. e. to cover their shame. 8. hid themselves] Through dread of punishment, being conscious of guilt. 9. Where, &c.] Questions like these do not argue ignorance in the speaker, but are intended to awaken the persons addressed to a sense of their guilt, and at the same time to convey a reproof; ch. iv. 9. The speaker here is "the Lord God," in Hebrew, Jehovah Elohim, the one a singular, and the othe a plural noun, thereby denoting a Plurality in the unity of the Divine Essence; ch. i. 1. note. As no man hath at any time seen God the Father, or heard his voice, John i. 18. v. 37. vi. 46.; Col. i. 15.; 1 Tim. i. 17. vi. 16. the Divine Person who walked in the garden must have been the second Person in the holy Trinity, God the Son, who appeared to the patriarchs and the prophets, and gave laws to, and conducted the children of Israel: see note on ch. xvi. 7. 14. And the Lord, &c.] This sentence, in its literal sense, applies to the brute serpent, as is evinced by its corresponding with the fact; and also, in its figurative or parabolical meaning, to Satan, as may be inferred from v. 15. and other texts. Literally understood, the sense is, Because," as the instrument, "thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field," i. e. thou shalt suffer a greater 66 and more conspicuous degradation than any other of the brute creation at the Fall, and it shall consist in this, namely, upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life;" i. e. thou shalt become a reptile, creeping on the ground, and in consequence shalt in part feed upon dust, and at least shalt swallow it with thy food: "and I will put enmity between thee and the woman," &c. i. .e there shall be a natural antipathy between man and the serpent tribe. All the particulars of this sentence are fulfilled in the present state and condition of the serpent tribe; but in its symbolical sense it implies the degraded state to which Satan is reduced. It has been supposed by some that the curse was pronounced only upon the individual serpent abused by Satan as the instrument of his deception. But the mention of "the seed" of the serpent implies a succession, or different generations, of serpents; and the sentence corresponds with the present state of the whole serpentine species. And in extending the curse to all the tribe, there is nothing repugnant to the justice and benevolence of the Deity: for, 1st, As the Sovereign Creator, he has a right to dispose of all his creatures in whatever manner he pleases: 2dly, The degradation to which the serpent was reduced was most likely not attended with any diminution of its corporeal enjoyments: 3dly, Important benefits may have resulted from the vengeance exercised upon the serpent, as serving to convince our fallen progenitors of God's absolute sovereignty and dominion, and as a standing monument of the penalty of sin 4thly, The cussing of the serpent is a symbol to us, and a visible pledge of the victory which would be obtained over the old serpent, the Devil, by our blessed Redeemer. : 15. thy seed] In its literal sense denoting all the serpentine tribe; in its figurative sense, all the apostate spirits, and those wicked persons who resemble their father, the Devil, Prov. xxix. 27.; John vi. 70. viii. 44.; Acts xiii. 10.; 1 John iii. 8. 10.; "and her seed;" literally, all the posterity of the first pair; figuratively, the Messiah or Christ. Isa. vii. 14.; Micah v. 3.; Gal. iii. 16. iv. 4. notes. "It (i. e. the seed of the woman) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," i. e. primarily, the posterity of the woman and the serpent tribe shall be in lasting enmity and warfare; secondarily, Christ, who is the seed of the woman, shall bruise the head, or destroy the power, and abolish the empire of Satan; Luke x. 18, 19.; John xii. 31.; 1 Cor. xv. 55. 57.; Col. ii. 15.; Heb. ii. 14.; 1 John iii. 8.; Rev. xii. 7. et seq. but this victory was not to be obtained without a struggle, for Satan would bruise the heel of the woman's seed; i. e. should persecute and afflict him with various sufferings, should wound him, not in the head, but in his heel, in his human nature; Isa. liii. 3, 4.; Dan. ix. 26.; Matt. iv. 1. et seq. ; John xiv. 30.; Col. ii. 15.; Heb. ii. 9. et seq.; 1 Pet. i. 18. et seq. Thus the denunciation in v. 14, 15. has a two-fold application; in its literal sense applying to the brute serpent, to the present condition of which it exactly agrees; in its figurative sense, to the great spiritual enemy of mankind; the creeping on the belly and eating dust clearly pointing out the wretchedness and degradation to which he is reduced, while the fifteenth verse admirably depicts the continual hostility of Satan to the human race, the subjugation of his wicked empire in the world, and the final victory over him by the Redeemer, here described and foretold as "the Seed of the woman." It may, perhaps, be likewise further extended to all the faithful, who, through the redemption by the Seed of the woman, and by the power of Divine grace, have a continual conflict with, but finally triumph over all their spiritual enemies; Matt. xiii. 19.; Acts xxvi. 17, 18.; Rom. xvi. 20.; Ephes. vi. 12. et seq.; 1 John ii. 14. v. 18. 16. thy sorrow and thy conception] Meaning, according to the Hebrew idiom, thy sorrow in conception, i. e. sorrow and pain in pregnancy and parturition. "Thy desire shall be to thy husband;" thou shalt be in subjection to him, "and he shall rule over thee;" 1 Cor. xi. 3. xiv. 34. notes. Who does not perceive the accomplishment of this sentence in the present circumstance and condition of the woman? While the females of the animal creation are for the most part exempt from these evils, she has multiplied sorrow during her pregnancy; she experiences excruciating pangs in bringing forth children, and she alone is subjected to the authority of her husband, who from the moment of their union becomes her lord and master, and not unfrequently her stern and unrelenting tyrant. 17. cursed is the ground] In what this consisted is explained here and in the next verse; viz. it was to bring forth thorns and thistles," which words include all hurtful weeds and noxious plants; and it was to become so far sterile, that it would not produce its fruits for the food of man without his labour and cultivation. By this sentence it is better adapted to a probationary state than if it revolved in perpetual serenity, and brought forth fruits with spontaneous fertility. The labour required for obtaining food and needful comforts is attended with many beneficial effects. By experiencing the toils and hardships of life, man becomes more resigned to quit this world when summoned away by death, and is stimulated to fix his hopes of happiness in another and a better state of existence. 18. thou shalt eat the herb of the field;] Viz. thy food shall be those common productions of the earth instead of the delicious fruits of the garden of Eden. 19. In the sweat of thy face] Viz. with labour and toil shalt thou procure food, Ephes. iv. 28.; 1 Thess. iv. 11.; 2 Thess. iii. 10. By "bread" is meant all articles for food and raiment ; see Matt. vi. 11. note. 20. Eve;] The Hebrew denotes Life, and the reason for the |