Thus the earth, and the beings that people it, existed before the gods; the universe is but the result of chance; not moral but physical laws were the creating agencies.

The name of God was, in the preceding section, invariably Elohim; in this part it is almost as constantly Jehovah Elohim. This combination seems to imply that Jehovah is the Elohim who created the world; that both words designate the same Being; and although they express different attributes of His nature, He is one, and the only framer of the universe. Thus the compound term Jehovah Elohim is far from indicating a spirit antagonistic to that of the first chapter; on the contrary, it confirms and strengthens it; it removes the possible misconception, that not Jehovah, as the God of Israel (Exod. vi. 3), but the universal Lord, Elohim, has produced the world. By the use of the name Jehovah, the narrative advances a very important step towards the peculiar theocratical character of the Pentateuch; but by combining it with Elohim, it reminds, also, of the Omnipotent Creator. The God of the Universe is the God of Israel; but the God of Israel is, at the same time, Governor of the whole world. In the first chapter, the mere external act of the creation of man was narrated; it was, therefore, sufficient to designate God as the all-powerful Being, as the God of gods, or Elohim; but the following section describes an internal change in the heart of man; it delineates how sin took the place of innocence, and how misery succeeded happiness; it was, therefore, desirable to introduce God by a name, which implies holiness, which. by its mysterious signification, awes the heart, but which yet shows this Being as the Creator, and therefore Jehovah Elohim was employed. That this was really the

idea of the Hebrew writer is evident from the striking fact that in the whole conversation with the serpent, not Jehovah Elohim, but simply Elohim, is used (iii. 1-5); it would have been a profanation to put the holy name of God in the tempter's mouth, or to pronounce it before his ears. Thus the identity of Elohim and Jehovah having once been impressed, it was not necessary to repeat this composition later, except on peculiar occasions. Wherever it is subsequently employed, it adds pathos and emphasis to the ideas; but the nature of this emphasis is always coloured by the context in which it occurs; it is not necessarily the same as that obvious in this our passage.

7. The earth filled itself, by spontaneous growth, with herbs and trees; a fertilising rain supported the productive strength of the virgin soil; and the surface of the globe stood adorned by the benignant care of the Creator. But all this luxuriance of vegetation was not destined to bloom merely as a gay ornament; it was ordained to serve the purposes of a higher being; and though the animals might always find in abundance the freelygrowing herbs, which sufficed for their food, their future rulers were to owe their subsistence to their own exertion; they were intended to "till the ground." It was, then, the will of God, that His representatives on earth should learn early the dignity of work; they should imitate Him in His unceasing activity also; unlike the golden age of the heathens, the state of Paradise, even, should be exalted by the energy of labour; the Eden, even, should be guarded and cultivated by man (ver. 15): the genius of nations is mirrored in their gods; the deities of the Olympus are "living without duty and care"; but the God of Israel "does not sleep and does not slumber." In this zeal

man might still resemble Him; but God "does not weary, and is not fatigued "; this great privilege was forfeited by man through his fall; he was doomed thenceforth to "eat his bread in the sweat of his brow" (iii. 19).

Thus God formed man of the dust of the earth. Though bearing the seal of the Most High, he is like "a transitory shadow," like a "vessel in the potter's hand." He might harbour a noble pride, but he must temper it with fear and humility; a consciousness of his Divine origin might fill him with lofty aspirations, but the recollection of his frailty must teach him lowly resignation to a higher will; he might sow for eternity, but he must be prepared to leave the harvest to other reapers. He combines earth and heaven, mind and matter, animal and Divine life, nothingness and infinity. And the great reconciler of all these conflicting antagonisms is God, who has framed the body in the darkness of the earth, but granted the soul from the spheres of eternal light. The origin of man from the earth is a notion extensively -adopted; it was prevalent not only among

the Greeks and Romans, but among the Peruvians, who believed that the world was peopled by four men and four women; and that whilst the soul is immortal, the body consists of clay," because it becomes again earth;" among the Collas, the Carribbees, and the North American Indians, who maintain that man lived long in the interior of the earth, till an egress to the surface was discovered, where they were tempted to remain by the abundance of excellent game. It was familiar to the ancient Egyptians, who considered man to have been formed from the slime of the Nile; to the Hindoos, who think the human body either composed of five elements, or consisting of earth alone; to the

Chinese, who believe that man was shaped from yellow clay; and to several other ancient tribes. Others derive the origin of man as confidently from the water (as the Lamas), or from a mixture of earth and blood (as the Chaldeans); whilst the Persians are convinced that a certain tree (Reivas), produced by the seed of the man-bull Kaiomorts, was animated by Ormuzd, and transformed into the first human pair: and few nations only avow their ignorance with regard to this mysterious question (comp. notes on i. 2431).

In the classical writings we find many analogous passages regarding the nature of man. Euripides says: "The body re

turns to the earth, from whence it was framed, and the spirit ascends to the ether"; and still more distinctly Lucretius: "The earth is justly called our mother: that which first arose from the earth, returns back into the earth; and that which was sent down from the regions of the sky, the regions of the sky again receive when carried back to them." Similar sentiments are found in other Greek and Roman authors.

8, 9. The first man was placed in Eden, in order to enjoy undisturbed peace and felicity. A description of this happy abode was therefore necessary. It abounded in every production which delights the senses; ornament and utility were equally provided for; but in the midst of it, and forming its very heart, were two wonderful trees, bearing more precious fruit than the rest; they did not afford a merely momentary enjoyment; their effects were as lasting as they were miraculous; the one secured eternal life; the other roused the slumbering intellect; it taught reason to reflect; and enabled the judgment to distinguish between moral good and moral evil. Man was then still

undiscerning, and, therefore, irresponsible and guiltless; he was in the state of harmless childhood; he was not yet called upon "to reject the evil and to choose the good," or to pursue, with self-conscious energy, the way of virtue and glory. The "knowledge of good and evil" does not, therefore, merely apply to the external senses, nor to the perception of decorum in dress and manners; it includes all the nobler faculties of man, which distinguish him, and permit him to claim relationship with the Creator Himself. And around these trees centres the interest of our narrative. The tree of life has analogies in the "king of trees," Hom (or Gokenen), which the Persians believed to grow at the spring Arduisur, issuing from the throne of Ormuzd; and in the tall Kalpaurksham (or pilpel) of the Indians, to which was also ascribed the power of securing immortality, and every other blessing. But the tree of knowledge may be compared with the well of wisdom in northern mythology, from which even the great god Odin drinks, and which gives knowledge even to the wise Mimer.

The garden was planted in the east, in the region of light, where the sun sends his first and purest rays; in that region with which the notions of joy and splendour were naturally associated.

10-14. The Eden is geographically described in a manner which leaves no doubt, that a distinct locality was before the mind of the author, and which enables us to fix its general position with some probability. A river went out of Eden to water the garden; it is by no means said to have had its source there; it branched

out" from thence," that is, evidently, from the garden, or, at least, from Eden, in those four streams which were chiefly important to the Israelites. In the same manner, the Persians traced the origin of all the streams of the earth to the fountain Ardechsur.

This principal river divided into four heads, that is, arms; for, after the parting only, the stream can be said to send forth

arms.

The four rivers diverge to the four parts of the earth, embellishing and fructifying the countries. Beyond this obvious sense, we must not seek any hidden symbolical meaning in the number four; for instance, as typifying proportion and order; or the four cardinal virtues; or prophetically foreshadowing the four great monarchies (Daniel vii.).

The first arm, Pison, traversed the land of Havilah, which is distinguished by three productions: 1. Gold, which is described as good, that is, pure.-2. Bedolah, which is, probably, bdellium, the gum of a tree growing in Arabia, India, and Babylon, whitish, resinous, and pellucid, and nearly the colour of frankincense; when broken it appears the colour of wax, with grains like frankincense, but larger.-The third production was the onyx-stone, about which we refer to our Commentary on Exodus, p. 409.

It might be supposed, that the four rivers which proceeded from Eden, and then fertilized the principal parts of the whole earth, were distinguished by their extraordinary qualities; and this is, indeed the case. The Indus was famous as the holy river of some of the mightiest and

most ancient nations; the Tigris was remarkable for its uncommon swiftness; and the Nile and Euphrates for the sweetness and excellence of their water.

15. Eden was prepared for the reception of man; its locality has, by way of parenthesis, been described; the text returns now to a former statement (ver. 8), and repeats, that Paradise was assigned to man as his delightful abode; but it adds significantly, that it became the duty of man "to cultivate and to guard it"; he should not only protect it against the inroads of the animals which were to be created, but maintain, by his own labour, its primitive beauty; thus only would the fruits remain delightful to his sight, and refreshing to his taste (ver. 9). But we do not see in these words any resemblance to the Persian myth, that Ormuzd commanded the first man to guard the Paradise against the power of the evil genius which had penetrated into the world, especially against snow, and frost, and sterility. How could man prevent this? If Ormuzd is powerless against Ahriman, how should a mortal prevail? But no such warfare was necessary. The universe had just been finished, and declared perfect. The Hebrew writer manifests his genius often by using and modifying the common eastern traditions,-but much more frequently by rejecting them, where they would either fail to enhance, or where they would destroy, the purity of his conceptions.

16, 17. The important command which occasions the catastrophe in the history of man is given; all the trees of Paradise are dedicated to his enjoyment; the tree of

knowledge alone is forbidden; and a participation of its fruits is threatened with death. Adam was originally designed by God for perpetual life; he was destined for unceasing happiness in childlike simplicity; but he should not, like God, combine eternal life with discerning wisdom; it was so ordained, not from any motive of envy on the part of the Deity, but for his own felicity. Though he was, therefore, permitted to eat of the tree of life, he was severely forbidden to taste of the fruits of the tree of knowledge. But he was disobedient; he acquired the Divine intelligence by tasting of the former (iii. 22); and he thus called death upon himself; and, lest he should eat again of the latter, and thus counteract and frustrate the Divine punishment, he was excluded from the garden where it grew; for, after his disobedience, any previous participation of the tree of life, was without effect. is evidently the train of thought delineated in the Biblical narrative. The historian was deeply engaged with the problem why death was necessary in the human race; why God impresses man with His own image, if He so soon destroys him. This question was especially important to the Israelite, who so eminently valued a long life in the land which the Lord had promised. Many later writers, indeed, found death a jarring discord in the universal harmony; and if they regarded the world as perfect, they did not forget to point to death as the only great and awful evil. The Hebrew writer intended to solve this problem; and he teaches us, that this discord was not designed by God, that this evil was not intended by the benign Cre

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