Genesis 2

— 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.

Genesis 2:2

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.

Genesis 2:3

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.

Genesis 2:4

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.

Genesis 2:7

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.

Genesis 2:8

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.

Genesis 2:9

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.

Genesis 2:10

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.

Genesis 2:11

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.

Genesis 2:12

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.

Genesis 2:13

13. — Gihon.] The easterly channel of the two, into

Genesis 2:14

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.

Genesis 2:17

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.

Genesis 2:18

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.

Genesis 2:19

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.

Genesis 2:20

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.

Genesis 2:21

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;

Genesis 2:22

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.

Genesis 2:23

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.

Genesis 2:24

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.

Genesis 2:25

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.